4. Decepticons are only permitted on Cybertron for the purposes of building a crypt and laying their dead to rest.
"If, as you say, these are the foundations of Darkmount, then we're in Trannis' original Fortress, built ten million years ago during the second Cybertronian War…"
Scrapper was making a conscious effort not to gawk at Rewind. Never had he heard Trannis' name spoken with such reverence; among Decepticons, he was remembered as the warlord who had led their faction to such total defeat that their very name and symbol had been banned for thousands of years.
Fortunately, Darkmount had survived both the association with its founder and the smothering of the so-called Golden Age. Over Scrapper's millions of years of existence, he had probably worked more on this building than any other; it had adapted well to changing times and though Unicron had mutilated it, the core of Darkmount endured.
Scrapper resolved to show similar endurance with the Autobot guided tour, which looked like it might take some time. There were two chambers on this level, a hallway connecting them and a stairwell leading upwards. So far, they hadn't got past the smaller of the two chambers. They had deliberately sunk their access shaft into the empty space that would once have housed the building's generator, but the dividing walls had long since disappeared, leaving a chamber that was squarely practical at one end and dramatically domed on the other. Rewind was in raptures at the domed side of the room.
At the opposite end of the room was the only other Autobot down here, and Scrapper had already put her off conversation. Instead, Arcee was watching them balefully by the access shaft, Bonecrusher's explosives pack still slung over her shoulder. He had neglected to tell her that they couldn't risk using concussion bombs in here.
Their new Autobot-Decepticon collaboration was shuffling through some sort of courtship dance. Arcee and Rewind had come down to the site to support (monitor) the Constructicons. Soundwave had stayed on the surface with Springer, Steeljaw and Wheelie to see off the Autobot leaders—but he had sent Ratbat and Laserbeak to keep optics underground too. In theory, Hook and Mixmaster were watching the surface from the shuttle to safeguard Constructicon interests—assuming Scrapper could trust them to share their observations.
"Megatron was built here, wasn't he?" Rewind's prattle caught his attention again. "Darkmount is believed to have been the base for the new Decepticon movement at the end of the Golden Age."
Scavenger began to nod along with the Autobot, and Scrapper interrupted curtly: "Before our time." His inner salesman felt it best to avoid historical specifics.
A crash and the shriek of twisting metal suddenly sounded behind them. Bonecrusher had just punched a hole in the wall.
"What—Why would you—?" Rewind's faceplate was working in abject horror.
"Whole wall's corroded," Bonecrusher told him. "Gonna have to come out. Don't worry—it's not load-bearing."
"But there are engravings on the upper walls. If you keep the panels intact and apply the right restoration techniques, the original, ancient artworks might be revealed…"
Scrapper had seen the original fresco, The Triumph of Murdron, in his youth. In his opinion, Bonecrusher had already applied the correct technique. However, appearances were important, and he dutifully tugged Bonecrusher aside, murmuring a few instructions over the com-link and waiting for the other Constructicon to nod before he released him.
"Shall we check the stability of the level above?" he asked rhetorically, already moving towards the stairwell. He was disappointed but not surprised when Rewind was the first to follow him. Scavenger and Long Haul fell in as well, as did Laserbeak, but Bonecrusher and Ratbat stayed behind under Arcee's watch.
Scrapper saw the weathered containers as soon as they reached the next floor, but he ignored them for the time being, keeping up the pretence of scanning for structural weaknesses. Fortunately, the murals on this level were slightly better preserved, and Rewind's attention was on those as he tried to decipher the images. It would probably be a kindness not to tell him that it depicted Floron's conquest of Helex, complete with the deception that had led to the mass slaughter of the Autobot philosophers who had originally founded the city.
The little Autobot had not yet reached the more graphic panels when there were further crashes from below. Rewind froze, his optics turned towards the steps but dimmed as if listening to his com-link. Scrapper had told Bonecrusher not to give Arcee cause for objection, but he was betting Rewind wouldn't take her word for it when it came to site conservation. Sure enough, the cassette excused himself and pelted back down the stairs.
"Right," Scrapper rubbed his hands together. "Now that our wannabe archaeologist is out of the way, let's see what we can find in these boxes…"