Chapter Text
Orion and D blinked, processing B’s words, as they stared at the awed sparkling who kept chirping happily as he reached for the chip. “Woah, woah, woah, what do you mean Alpha Trion is your cat?” D asked as Orion winced when B leaned a little too forward but quickly recovered by shifting forward to balance the wriggling sparkling.
“His voice! That’s my cat’s voice! He’s the one who told me to look for someone! I guess he meant you guys!” B beamed, frowning as he still couldn’t reach the chip. He looked up at Orion with a pout, but the blue and red mech was now staring at the map.
D pursed his lower lip before moving to gently bump his friend’s shoulder. “Hey you don’t… really think he’s… he must’ve been hearing it faintly from this right?” he murmured as lowly as he could.
Before Orion could answer, B’s antennas flew up. “I’m not lying! He was here! He was my cat!” he shouted. “He would bring me energon cubes, showed me this!” he opened his arm to show a compartment with three little energon cubes. “He said someone would come and showed me how to call!”
“B,” D gently said but huffed when B angrily turned away from him. “Orion, say something.”
“Those are coordinates to a location on the surface,” Orion murmured, flinching when D shoved him a little. “What?”
“I meant to B! About his ‘cat.’” D hissed, before stepping back when B angrily chirped at him and shooed his hand away from Orion’s shoulder. “Wha-”
“You’re being mean!” B huffed, frowning when D’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Orion believes me!”
“Orion,” D hissed, pursing his lips to not show that he was a little hurt by the sparkling’s words. “Tell him.”
“Yeah, tell him!” B huffed as both frowned at Orion.
“Well…” Orion winced as he glanced between the two, focused on them right now rather than the map. “B, I think D’s right,” he gently said, wincing again when the murmurs let out disappointed hisses and B’s eyes widened in shock. “B,” he softly said as the sparkling angrily looked between them.
“Neither of you believe me?” B grit out, crossing his arms when both of the older mechs shared a glance. “I’m not lying!”
“We- The recording was probably loud when you were alone, and well you’ve been alone for a while so you probably imagined the cat,” Orion softly explained and pouted when B angrily looked away from him. One of the hisses became angry at the sight of coolant in B’s eyes.
“It’s okay, look it’d drive anyone…. People would want to hear or hope that someone’s here after being alone for so long down here,” D gently added, reaching to put his hand on B but stopped when the sparkling shifted away from his hand.
“Put me down,” B grit as he clenched his arms.
“B-” Orion tried, wincing when B wriggled to get out of his arms.
“Now!” B hissed, wiping the coolant away angrily.
Orion sighed but listened this time as he gently set the sparkling down on the table. He watched a little forlornly as the sparkling marched to Keanu and angrily sat down as he started to work on the cat sculpture with his back to the two mechs.
“He’ll understand once we get him out,” D sighed as he gently put a hand on Orion’s shoulder. “If we can find one,” he bitterly said.
“Yeah,” Orion murmured and turned to his friend. “We will, we have to, for B and to go here,” he said as he gestured to the map again. “This could be where the Primes died in the Quintesson war,” he said when D frowned in confusion. ”Which means, this is where we could find... the Matrix of Leadership,” he revealed. The hisses mostly turned to hums of approval, only one continued to hiss only softly in both approval and anger.
D blinked as he glanced between the hologram and Orion before settling on the latter in disbelief. “What are you talking about? It's an old beacon inside…” he trailed off, glancing at B who still wasn’t looking at them. “A wonderfully made statue, but it’s still,” he paused. ‘Garbage,’ he mouthed.
“Or it's a clue, of how we could find the Matrix of Leadership!” Orion said as he moved the hologram to show the coordinates again. The hums became insistent as his finger lingered on the red X.
“No. No way. Absolutely not,” D immediately shut down as he shifted to hide B from view. “We’re not going on some wild chase that could get us in more trouble! Especially with,” he gestured to the sparkling behind him. “We’re not putting him in any danger.”
“We’ll be careful, or we’” Orion quickly assured, wincing when D glared at him. “Hey D, come on, this could be our chance to show everyone-” he tried.
“No,” the grey mech quickly cut him off. “You already tried to show everyone in the race YOU tricked me into running which got us stuck down here in this waste hole!” he shouted as he gestured to the area. “Which B made very homey,” he quickly added. “It’s safer here than up there.”
B said nothing, only giving a small nod of thanks as he continued working on Keanu.
Both mechs frowned at his quiet response. “I'm just saying–” Orion started again when the murmurs became insistent again.
“There's a reason no one goes to the surface. It's dangerous! I’m not taking B up there where he could get hurt!” D yelled with finality and leaned the conveyer belt. “I'm waiting right here until Sentinel Prime finds us.”
Both mechs paused when they heard B stop working on Keanu, his antennae were up showing he was now focused on the conversation. D gestured to the sparkling with a smug face.
Orion rolled his eyes at his friend’s expression before another plan came to mind. “Hey D,” he drawled. “What do you think Sentinel's reaction would be if you personally handed him the Matrix of Leadership... that YOU found?”
D’s smug expression immediately fell into shock before frowning at his friend. “Okay stop- I know what you’re trying to do,” he huffed then beamed. “And it's definitely working. I'm in!”
“Yeah, buddy!” Orion did a little fist pump and moved closer to his friend. They shared a fist bump before both turned to B and gasped when they saw the sparkling and the sculpture weren’t on the table. “B?” they called out.
“Where’d you go bud?” D called out, frowning as he wondered if the sparkling somehow snuck past them.
Orion frowned as he glanced around, knowing they didn’t see the sparkling sneak by them… He thinks.
Both mechs realize this and kneel to look under the table where they find B, with his back still towards them, hugging the sculpture. “B,” Orion gently called. The two older mechs winced as B curled around Keanu even more.
“No,” B murmured.
“B,” D gently tried this time. “We-”
“No,” B said again.
“We can’t stay down here,” Orion tried.
B tensed before scooting more to be under the center of the table.
D glanced at his friend, gently punching him before shuffling to go under the table too. “You know the way to the surface right?” he softly asked, frowning when B shifted so his back was still towards him.
“If you show us, we can all go out together,” Orion beamed, wincing when D punched him a little harder this time. “What? We’re not leaving him down here,” he huffed as he scooted to also be under the table. He pouted when B shifted again so both were behind his back.
“Obviously, but we also can’t take him up to the surface. We can leave him with J-55 and the others,” D hissed as he gestured to the sparkling. “He can tell us how to go up and he stays here safe.”
“Why would you trust me? I’m nothing but a liar right?” B huffed, drawing both their attention again.
“B,” Orion murmured, shifting to get closer to the sparkling and heard the murmurs whine when he saw coolant still falling from his eyes. “Oh, B, we didn’t-”
“But you don’t believe me,” B grumbled as he gently shifted Keanu’s paws and moved them with a sniffle. “Trion’s real.”
“B… Trion is real, he’s a Prime who fell though, that’s why he can’t be your cat,” D gently tried to explain before wincing as B spun to glare at them.
“Why can’t he be both?!” B demanded. “That’s his voice! I know that’s him!” he huffed before turning back to Keanu. “I know it…” he said brokenly. “He was here… I-I’m not lying… I promise…”
The larger mechs turned to each other, rubbing the back of their heads as B sniffled. The murmurs became angry once more in Orion’s head as the sparkling silently cried in front of them. The red and blue mech watched as his friend continued trying to talk to B.
‘Oh B….’ Orion thought as he tried to make sense of everything. None of it really made sense if he thought about it. Trion can’t be here, he fell with the other Primes. But he recalled the murmurs, the call, the four lights which now he realizes might’ve been eyes, a pair belonging to the sparkling before him, B’s familiar chirp to that night with the voices.
The voices. It doesn’t make sense. Other bots thought he was crazy too when he asked if they heard the murmurs, but he knows they’re real. He’s heard them all his life. He heard them loud and clear when he touched the chip. He heard them. So, why can’t B?
The conversation stopped as Orion gently put his hand on B’s shoulder. “I believe you,” he murmured before the yellow mech could say anything. “I’m sorry for not before, but I do now. Trion is a Prime and your cat.”
“Orion,” D hissed, stopping when B turned to look at his friend.
B scanned the red and blue mech, narrowing his eyes as he searched for something before finally landing on staring into his eyes. Orion stared back, his expression genuine and open as he let the sparkling look for whatever it was he was looking for. He seemed to have found it as he threw himself into Orion’s arms and hugged him tightly. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“Of course kiddo,” Orion murmured as he gently hugged B back. “I… I understand and I believe you.”
B pulled back, scanning him again before he slowly nodded. “I believe you too,” he murmured before pulling away and crawling out from under the table.
Orion shifted to follow but was stopped as D grabbed his shoulder. “What was that?” D hissed as he glanced between his friend and the sparkling as the yellow mech crawled up to put Keanu on the table. “We can’t feed into his… He’s been alone Orion,” he gently murmured. “It’s not healthy if we add to it. We should take him to Ratchet-” he stopped when his friend winced.
“D, I’m not lying. I do believe him…” Orion firmly said before shaking his head when D was about to interrupt. “I- I don’t know how to explain it, but I will, I promise I will… I just…. I know he’s not lying…. Or at least, not willingly…”
D frowned, scanning his friend before letting out a heavy sigh and crawled onto the table. “Ok… I trust you,” he murmured. “Just… explain it to me when you can, ok?”
“Thank you, and I will, promise,” Orion swore before the two crawled out from under the table. They stood and turned to B who was now on the table and holding the chip.
“B, I wanted to say sorry,” D said as soon as he saw the sparkling. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You’re a friend, and I didn’t mean to call you a liar.”
The sparkling blinked up at him, scanning him silently before he beamed. “I forgive you, both of you, I’m sorry too, I shouldn’t have yelled,” he apologized.
“It’s okay,” Orion assured before glancing around. “So, how do we get to the surface?”
“It’s this way, but it’s not easy,” B said as he pointed at the trash chute. “It takes a lot, I only got used to it because Trion said I should know ways out,” he hummed as he pushed a chair close.
Orion quickly nudged D when he saw the grey mech’s lips purse. “It’s ok we can handle it,” he promised. “Lead the way B!” he dramatically said.
B giggled before nodding furiously and started to crawl up the chute. Orion and D shared a grin. They were finally getting out! They both jumped up to start climbing before freezing as trash landed on both larger mechs.
“Why is there so much trash?” D whined as he tried to shake off the trash from himself.
Orion almost screamed as the trash landed on the corner of his mouth but quickly shut it before shaking to get it off. “Eughh!” he groaned once it was off. “Warn me next time, please, my mouth was open!”
Both looked up when they heard giggling and gave B a deadpan expression as the sparkling shifted to avoid the falling trash. “I told you,” he sang, then continued climbing. “Only forty-nine sublevels to go!”
Another groan escaped the larger mechs but their vents hissed with determination as they continued climbing, doing their best to ignore the trash as it landed on them. The only upside was they were escaping, and B’s giggles.
Hours later, and with much help from B to crawl out from the chute, the three mechs crawled onto a crane that lifted the cars onto the train. “So, your cat showed you this route?” D whispered as they shifted to stay stable while the crane moved.
“Mhm,” B said as he stayed crawling, moving to the edge to point down at the train. “He said waste disposal trains are the only vehicles that go all the way to the surface. I’ve been watching the mechs though seeing their routines. It’s weird that no one gets on.”
“It is, but it’s for their safety,” D agreed, watching the other bots haul crates in too. “It’s dangerous so they don't allow passengers. The trains are autonomous.”
“Yeah,” B drawled as he turned to D. “That's the "won't be easy" part. It wasn’t the trash chute, it’s sneaking on fast enough,” he snorted before pointing down. “There’s a small window. Once they’re done loading, they don’t check the train since no one should be on. We’ll sneak in when the last crate is loaded.”
Both of the older mechs winced at the thought of the trash chute but Orion quickly recovered and nodded. “It's perfect. We'll be safe inside the train,” he said then turned to B. “Alright B, if you go up-”
“What? I’m going with you,” B quickly said as he stood up. “I know how to time it to get on.”
“Wha-? No, you’re staying here,” D quickly said as he gently tried to usher B away. “You showed us the way, time for you to go somewhere safe.”
The sparkling in turn frowned at the two, quickly skirting around D’s hands. “B-but I came up with the plan, a-and I’ve been the one watching them to make sure it was safe,” he pointed out. “You said I could come!” he whispered.
Orion winced at the look of betrayal. “Look-”
“We never said that!” D whispered back before looking at Orion. “We’re not takin- B!” D hissed as the sparkling crawled down. “B! Stop!”
Orion winced at his friend’s tone and quickly followed the sparkling. “B, maybe you should listen, it’s safer here. The other bots are nice and- woah,” he gasped, trying to not fall before glancing as he saw B effortlessly crawling to be hanging from the crane. No, not effortlessly, he could see the slight tremble in B’s hands and the determination in the sparkling’s eye. “You’ve done this before,” he realized.
“You’ve what?!” D hissed as he also made his way down, quickly clenching his teeth as he did his best to not fall or look at how high they were above the ground. “Why?!”
B glanced at them before nodding as he looked at the ground. “I- ….it doesn’t matter,” he sniffed, ignoring their inquiring stares. “Get ready to let go,” he said.
“It does matter,” Orion said, hearing the voices murmur louder as they drifted closer to the train. “What do you mean let go?”
“No, don’t you dare let go,” D hissed, glancing around to see if there was somewhere B would be able to safely get off that wasn’t the train. He settled for glaring at the sparkling. “B-127 don’t you dare-”
The sparkling beamed up at the two mechs before letting go of the crane and rolled before hopping up into a sprint to the roof panel. Orion gave his friend an apologetic smile before letting go too and quickly following B.
“Huh,” Orion said as he watched B open an access panel and frown before he slowly started pushing certain buttons. “Here let me help,” he said.
“No, no help,” D hissed, doing his best to keep his voice down as he finally let go. “You get off this train now young bot,” he said as crawled to the other two.
“D please,” B pleaded as he looked up at the grey mech. “I- If I go, it’ll feel like I’m alone again. And I want to see Trion again, I want to make sure he’s ok.”
“B,” D sighed, kneeling as he gently put his hand on the sparkling’s shoulder. “It’s not safe on the surface.”
“He’s right,” Orion agreed, so did the murmurs. “The surface is bad B. Maybe you don’t know the mechs but they’re safe and they’ll be your friends, and-”
“I don’t feel safe here, in Iacon,” B murmured and gently grabbed D’s wrist. “Please, I wanna go with you guys. I feel safe with you two.”
D and Orion paused, glancing at B in confusion at his words. The murmurs went silent as they stared at the sparkling. “What do-” Orion whispered,
The three turned as the roof panel hissed open. B clenched D tighter, making the grey mech turn to look at him again. “Please?” he whispered.
Orion glanced at the grey mech, B, then down before looking up at him. “D?” his eyes softened when the grey mech turned to him. The murmurs became hisses as he thought of leaving B here, and he knew what his choice was. “We’ll keep him safe. He’ll stay with us the whole time,” he assured.
D glanced at Orion, the access panel, then B. “You stay close to us, do you understand? You don’t go anywhere unless Orion and I can see you. If something happens, you run and hide, ok?” he sternly said. “Promise you’ll run, not fight.”
“Promise!” B beamed and quickly hugged D. “You won’t regret this!” he giggled before hugging Orion. “Thank you,” he whispered again before crawling into the car.
Orion snorted as he watched the sparkling wiggle in before turning to his friend. He gently put a hand on his shoulder as he leaned to meet his worried gaze. “We’ll keep him safe,” he softly repeated. “Between me and you, there’s nothing we can’t handle. Our kid’s smart.”
“The kid’s insane,” D snorted before nodding as he gently put his hand over Orion’s. “Let’s go.”
The two dropped into the car, glancing around when they didn’t see the sparkling. Both paused when they saw him near the panel, putting the code in to close it. “That’s the last one. Send 'er up!” a bot called from outside.
B frowned as he glanced up at the panel and beamed when it started closing. He looked down at the other two giving them a thumbs up. The bigger mechs, though still nervous for their younger companion, returned the thumbs up. They were in.
“Hold up, one more.” Orion and D’s eyes widened at the familiar voice before looking around frantically. B let out a squeak as Orion snatched him from the ladder before rushing to hide with him behind the crates as their old boss stepped on board. D quickly shifted them to be under his arm as he watched Elita, hoping she’d be in and out in a second.
Thankfully they were blocked from her eyesight by the large crate in her arms. “I’ll lock it down,” she called to the other bot as she set the box down.
B peered up at the two larger mechs curiously, tilting his head at their obvious fear before leaning up a little to look at the bot who was scaring them. He blinked, pouting a little as Orion gently tried to push him back down behind the crates.
The two older mechs almost let out a sigh as they watched her almost out, until their sparks froze as she looked up just as the panel finished closing. They ducked again as she moved closer to the panel before wincing as she started chuckling.
Orion and D shared another glance, the grey mech glanced around before he nodded to himself then gestured to B and Orion then down before pointing to himself then Elita.
“Thanks for being an idiot, whoever you are,” they heard Elita call out. Orion gave him an incredulous look, wondering if his friend was crazy before deciding yeah they’re both crazy as he watched D quickly crawl away. He looked down at B and gestured for him to stay here as he snuck the other way.
“Turning you in will definitely get me promoted back up a rank or two–” The rest of whatever she was going to say was cut off as she was tackled from behind by D-16.
“Got her!” D called out victoriously, despite the fear he was feeling as he was so close to pinning down the bot he deeply respected, admired, and was very afraid of.
His fear was proven right as Elita immediately acted by running up the wall and flipped over him to switch their positions before sweeping his legs from under him.
“Elita, stop!” Orion called out as he ran out from his spot, quickly dodging one- no two of her punches, hoping B would stay hidden while they tried to talk to her.
Elita’s eyes widened as she saw who was in front of her. “Orion?!” she gasped and looked over towards D, now realizing who were in front of her.
“Hold on,” Orion gently tried as he put both hands up hoping a calmer approach would be better. “Let me explain–” As expected he was cut off by a punch to the face and fell back. “Ow,” he winced.
“Security! Sound the alarm!” Elita quickly called, turning to run out of the car but gasped as the doors shut in front of her. Her head snapped behind, wondering how they closed. She opened the panel to try and open the doors before growling when she saw some of the wires missing. “Damn!”
D winced as he rubbed his head and sat up, his eyes went to their previous hiding spot before tensing as he didn’t see a hint of yellow there. He quickly shook Orion, looking a little apologetic at his friend’s groan. “Where’s B?” he whispered, glancing as he saw Elita try to pry the door open.
Orion quickly sat up, ignoring the pain as he frantically looked around. The murmurs became nervous as he looked at their previous hiding spot and didn’t see him before glancing at Elita and the panel, then at D. “I think he got the wires,” he whispered to him hoping the pink mech wouldn’t hear him.
Elita spun to look at them. “Who did?” she hissed. “Who’s with you two idiots? Who messed with the wires?” she demanded.
Both mechs froze before they saw behind her, in some of the crates on the other side of the room, was B peeking out to look at them. With some wires in his hands as he shifted as if to step out. Orion quickly shook his head.
B nodded, quickly ducking again when Elita turned to look behind to see who they were talking to before glaring at the two again. She said nothing else before turning and running to the next car.
“She's headed to the engine!” D gasped in realization.
“Don't worry, I got this!” Orion shouted and quickly got up to run after her. He picked B up as he ran past his hiding spot, thankful Elita didn’t see him, and gave him a thumbs up. “Good job with the wires!”
“Thanks!” B chirped, his voice bouncing a little as Orion ran with him under his arm. “Are you both ok?” he asked as he glanced between Orion and D.
Both mechs gave him a quick smile and thumbs up, only wincing when the sparkling turned to look at Elita again. Yeah they’ll feel the ache tomorrow from her kicks and punches.
“Woah, she’s so cool, I wish I could do that,” B gasped as he watched her jump over the cargo effortlessly. “But, I don’t want to be mean like her,” he murmured. “Do you both know her? She said your names.”
“She’s- she’s not mean B, woah,” Orion quickly jumped over a box. “She’s cool, but it’s complicated because she also takes her job seriously which is how we know her,” he said as he slid over another. “She’s our friend!”
“Why is it complicated?” B asked, curling up a little when Orion got him a little too close to one of the boxes so he wouldn’t take too much space.
Orion winced as the murmurs reprimanded him, making him pull B closer to himself. “Sorry,” the red and blue mech whispered. He smiled when B gave him a thumbs up.
“Orion here got her demoted,” D huffed as he also jumped and weaved around the boxes. “She’s ambitious, and that’s great but there was an accident and she got demoted.”
“I can hear you!” Elita shouted. “I don’t know who you’re talking to but Orion and D-16 are not my friends!”
“Darkwing demoted you!” Orion shouted back. “Elita! Hold on, let me explain! We're on a mission!”
Elita scoffed. “So am I -- to ruin your life!” she retorted.
All the mechs eyes widened as they felt the train start to go up vertically. D pushed himself to run faster hoping to catch Elita before she was out of reach as Orion quickly put B closer to one of the crates that were magnetized. “Hide and hold on ok?” he said, and followed D immediately.
B nodded, clutching the crate as the train started to climb. D and Orion were close, reaching forward to grab Elita before gasping as she smoothly jumped onto one of the crates and gracefully sat on it as she watched the two fall. They groaned, waving quickly at B to reassure him.
“Elita, wait,” Orion called as he sat up. “We found a message, we know where-”
Elita glared down at them before pushing the button on her crate and jumped to climb higher into the train.
“Look out!” D shouted as the crate fell towards them. He reached, gasping as he didn’t think he’d reach to pull Orion out of the way in time.
Orion gasped, turning to run as the murmurs hissed at him before grunting as something barreled into him. “B!” he exclaimed, looking down at the yellow sparkling. “Are you ok?”
“Are you both ok?” D asked as he scanned both, frowning as he saw how shaken B looked but the sparkling huffed with a nod and another thumbs up.
“I am! Are you ok?!” B asked, glancing back at the cargo then up at Elita. “She’s not acting like a friend!” he exclaimed. “You were almost hurt!”
“I’m ok thanks to you, just don’t do that again ok?” Orion quickly said before glancing up. “She’s just-” he paused before clearing his throat as they watched her climb higher to the blocked door. “Dead end, Elita! There's no way…”
The three froze as she opened a smaller access panel and punched some of the buttons. They sighed as she jumped through the roof panel as it opened.
“...well, she's gone,” Orion sighed before glancing around. “Come on guys, start climbing the crates! B, hold on ok?” he said as he shifted for him to be on his back.
“I got him, you get her,” D said as he grabbed B and put him on his back. “I’m not getting kicked again,” he said at Orion’s pout.
“Fine,” Orion huffed and the two mechs quickly started climbing after their old boss. Their eyes widened as they looked out into the city and B held onto D tighter. “I’ve never been this high,” he whispered.
“It’s ok, don’t look!” D called out, wishing he could cover B’s eyes but had to focus and used both hands for climbing.
Orion winced at hearing his friend’s words, wishing they could be in the safety of the train but kept climbing towards Elita. Hopefully once they explain, they can go in, she can hit him and D, leave B alone, and they’ll be fine. The three kept climbing higher, trying their best to not fly off despite the harsh wind pushing against them.
“Look out!” B shrieked as he pointed up.
“Don’t let-” D was about to reprimand before his eyes widened at the metal dust storm ahead. “Orion!” He quickly shifted B to be between him and the train as he curled around the sparkling.
Orion glanced up before quickly clutching the ladder. “Elita stop! It’s dangerous!” he shouted after her as he blocked his face. The murmurs filled with concern as they urged him, only softening when he curled closer to the train.
Elita winced, pausing as she glanced back, frowning at the small yellow spot in D’s arms before her head snapped to look up and quickly curled closer to the train.
The three clung on for dear life, wincing as the larger shards scraped against them as it flew past them. Orion grit his teeth, noting how close Elita was before he continued to climb. “Elita!” he called out, gasping as he grabbed her heel. “Gotcha!” he cheered before pausing when she turned to him.
Elita glared at him, raising her fist to punch him off before her eyes widened as the dust started to dissipate.
The three stood up slowly, looking around as the dust fully cleared to reveal a beautiful world in front of them. Hues of pinks, reds, blues, and greens shone in the sky reflecting off the beautiful shiny surface of alloys in all shapes and sizes. They watched as another spire grew before them, racing towards the red light as if alive. Their planet. Alive.
D slowly lowered his hand from B’s head to let the sparkling look. “The surface,” he murmured in shock.
“...It's beautiful,” Elita whispered.
B gasped as he scanned the surface. “I am... speechless,” he whispered, drawing the attention of Orion.
The red and blue mech’s spark ached when he saw the sparkling’s eyes flicker all over the surface as if trying to absorb and memorize everything. Orion knew he wasn’t only fighting for D, the other miners, and Iacon. He was fighting for the future. For B.
“Elita,” he softly, but firmly said as he turned to the pink mech. “Listen to me...please,” he asked as he turned to her. His vents let out steam as he took a deep breath. “We know where the Matrix of Leadership is,” he revealed.
“Oh sure,” Elita scoffed and gestured towards herself. “And I'm really a Prime, I just prefer loading crates of toxic waste-” she said, pointing down at the car.
Orion said nothing as he showed her the map. The voices were gentle as he observed Elita scanning the holo-map in shock.
“Whoa…” Elita whispered as she stared at the map then up at Orion. “Where did you get this?”
“From my friend Steve,” B piped up, shrinking only a little when Elita’s head snapped to look at him. “Orion killed him,” he quickly murmured.
Elita blinked, her eyes now scanning the sparkling before glancing at Orion who let out a huff at B’s words.
“I did not kill Steve,” Orion quickly assured Elita before turning to B. “We… fixed him, remember?”
“Yeah, before his arm fell off and you killed him again,” B countered, grinning when Orion stammered to say something.
“He was never alive,” D gently pointed out, shaking his head at Elita’s inquisitive look. “He’s a sculpture.”
“Steve was my friend, and Orion hurt him,” B murmured with crossed arms before shrinking again when Elita looked at him again. “Hi,” he whispered with a tiny wave.
“Who, is that?” Elita slowly asked.
“Oh, Elita, this is B, our new friend,” Orion introduced as he gently took B from D’s hands and walked closer to Elita. “B, this is our friend Elita,” he emphasized to the pink mech as the sparkling shrunk more, shifting as if trying to hide from her. “She’s nice, right? He said you were cool earlier.”
“Orion!” B softly whined and let out a squeak when Elita’s eyes narrowed. He shifted closer to Orion, hiding half his face in his neck while keeping one eye on the pink mech.
Elita frowned, glancing between the two before sighing when both pairs of blue eyes peered up at her. “Right,” she drawled before leaning closer to get a closer at B. “...He’s a sparkling isn’t he? Not a minicon? But a real sparkling?” she murmured as analyzed the tiny mech.
“Yeah. We found him and the map in sub-level 50 all by himself,” Orion murmured, nodding when Elita looked up at him in shock. “He’s actually the one who showed us how to get on the train.”
“Him? But I didn’t see-” Elita slowly asked, eyes trailing back to the sparkling before her eyes narrowed. “You’re the one who took the wires off. The one who pushed Orion out of the way of the crate,” she realized.
“I… Yeah,” B shyly murmured, glancing up at Orion, then at D, then back at Elita. “Sorry, I… I didn’t want Orion and D to get in trouble…You were cool though.”
Elita’s eyes widened for a brief second in surprise before quickly schooling her expression again to a more stoic grimace. She pursed her lips, saying nothing for a second before frowning as she leaned in closer as if looking for something. “How are you here?” she softly asked, more to herself than anything but B shrugged.
“Well I came up the trash chute-” B started to explain.
“No not that- the trash chute?” Elita blinked before waving that off. “No I meant-” she paused, glancing up at Orion and D before standing taller as she cleared her throat. “Nevermind… That doesn’t explain why you’re all here, especially if you have a sparkling,” she grit as she turned to Orion.
“I wanna be here,” B quickly said, quickly ducking to tuck his head in Orion’s neck when Elita glared at him. “I do.”
“No, as the older mechs, Orion and D should’ve told you no, not let you come,” Elita hissed before she shut her eyes when B turned away from her. “You should be somewhere safe, in Iacon, not here on the surface.”
“Look we’re here because Sentinel told us he was going to the surface,” Orion explained, gently pulling B closer to himself when the sparkling gripped his arm tighter. “And then we found this message. We figured that we could hand deliver it to him or scout the locations ourselves, whichever comes first,” he shrugged before his expression softened as he looked down at the yellow mech. “We brought B, because he felt safer with us and it’s better to keep him close.”
Elita glanced down at the sparkling. “Still Orion,” she huffed. “He’s the first sparkling in ages, he shouldn’t be up here. You should’ve given him to Ratchet, Prowl, or even Arcee. You know any of them take care of him, she murmured.
The red and blue mech shook his head just as B did too. “It’s not safe in Iacon,” B murmured as he turned to look at Elita again. “I- The other mechs sound… nice and I want more friends, but I want to be with Orion and D. I want to make sure Trion’s ok. I promise I won’t be in the way! I’ll keep up!” he promised.
Orion and D shared a concerned glance at the sparkling’s words, noting Elita’s eyes widened at them too. “We couldn't abandon him after getting him out, not if he feels safe with us,” the red and blue mech murmured. “We’re going to keep him safe,” he promised, then gestured to the map again. “And this was too important to wait. It will change all of our lives. All of them,” he said as he looked down at B.
Elita watched as the sparkling beamed up at Orion before quickly shaking her head and took a few steps back. “No, no, no, no -- I'm not going to get demoted again because of you,” she huffed, trying to ignore the tug in her spark. “I'm turning this rig around,” she huffed as she walked away. “And notifying the proper auth-”
“Hey,” D quickly called, lightly tapping Orion’s shoulder for him to turn around. “Guys, guys... what is that?” he asked as he pointed into the far distance.
All four mechs squinted as they tried to make out what was in the distance. D and Elita took steps forward, squinting hoping it would help but Orion didn’t move. He couldn’t as the murmurs became frantic and he looked down at B when the sparkling started trembling.
“What is that?” B softly asked him as they stared at what looked like a metal wave shifting haphazardly.
“I don’t know,” Orion truthfully answered, wondering what it was and why it was eliciting such a response from the murmurs. They did with Sentinel but he’s a Prime… But this thing…
“Is it getting bigger?” D asked. “Or closer?” Elita finished his question.
Orion flinched as B’s tiny hand started to frantically pat his shoulder. “Run,” he murmured as the voices became shrieks and an alarm started beeping when they realized the wave was rapidly coming towards them. “Orion! Everyone! Run, now!”
Everyone quickly listened to B’s pleas, turning as they rushed to run further up the train. “Back to the hatch, back to the hatch,” B murmured as he kept glancing back at the terrifying wave then forward towards the hatch.
“Don’t look,” Orion gently said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice as he covered B’s eyes to not look at the wave that was gaining on them. “We’re almost there!”
Dread washed over them as they saw the hatch starting to close. Elita slid to one side as D dropped on the other and Orion quickly kneeled before gently setting the sparkling down beside him to try and keep the hatch open. “Hold onto me,” Orion said.
B looked at their one and only chance of safety closing and grabbed Orion’s arm tighter. “Why are you closing, don't close, stop closing,” he pleaded, joining in as he tried to help the three mechs try prying it open. “IT'S CLOSED!”
“B!” Orion gasped when he saw the sparkling had let go.
“Guys!” D called, pointing again as they watched the wave crash the end of the train, curling high and over them “Oh, now I know why no one comes to the surface...!”
“Everyone, hold on!” Orion called out and quickly pulled B closer under him to keep him safe against the train. “HOLD ON!” he shouted as he put B’s hands to the rails and the four hung on to life again as the car they were on started to lift too.
All shouted as they were airborne before being slammed down again. Each winced at the pain before gasping and screaming as the jostles got worse, every time they would almost regain their grip the wave would crash into the train making their joints ache and fingers start to slip.
The next wave made them let go this time at the sheer force of it slamming against the car. Orion quickly curled around B when the sparkling’s hands slipped off the railings. He winced as he slammed into the other railing and quickly gave D a thankful glance when the gray mech now curled around them two.
They shouted again at the next wave as it made D fly off Orion, Orion’s back slam into the railings, and B frantically grasping for one of them or the railings. “GUYS!” B called out.
“B!” Orion shouted, voices shrieking just as the next wave slammed into the train. He watched in horror as all three of his friends were now airborne as a lot of the cars crashed onto the surface. ‘We’re next,’ he realized and helplessly reached for the sparkling as they started falling.
His eyes widened as he looked down at the ground, wincing at how rapidly they were falling towards it as the shrieks urged him to do something. He shut his eyes tightly before letting instincts take over as he put his legs together and acted as if he was running, but quickly ducked into a roll once the tip of his pedes touched the ground.
It was a very rough landing, his leg ached as it took a lot of the force of his fall before it sent a shockwave throughout his entire body as the adrenaline and pain started to catch up, his back was scraped and scratched as he ducked into a roll against the harsh surface.
The murmurs were frantic as he lay on the ground for a second, his vents wheezing as he tried to recalibrate himself before he gasped as he sat up. “B?! D?! Elita?!” he called out, anxiously scanning for his friends. He felt a little relief when he saw a small pink lump in the distance. “Elita?” he tried again, gasping as when he tried to get up he almost slipped.
He was about to try to get up quickly again before wincing as the murmurs reprimanded him, softening as he slowly got up and moved his feet slowly to adjust to what he realized was a very slippery surface. He nodded he was sure he wouldn’t fall and made his way to her. “Elita?” he softly asked as he gently shifted her to be on her back.
For a second, Orion was elated as her eyes fluttered open and her optics shifted to focus on him. “You oka-? OW!” he shouted as she punched him in the nose. He fell back, wincing as he held his nose, knowing everything will be hurting tomorrow for sure.
“Ugh,” Elita groaned as she struggled to get up, wincing as pain shot up through her but ignored it as she forced herself to stand.
“Please stop punching me in the face!” Orion pleaded before his auditors picked up movement. He quickly looked in the direction, sighing in relief when he saw D scrambling to stand up before glancing when he heard muffled cries of help. “B!” he gasped at the sight of the poor sparkling head first in some metal sand dune.
“I got him!” D called out as he put his arms out when he had balance and gave a thumbs up once he was able to walk without struggle. “Sorry B,” he shouted as he started to pull the sparkling out by his legs.
“Iacon-” Elita’s voice made Orion look back at the pink mech, watching as panic washed over her. “The train -- where's the train?”
The murmurs urged him to look to the left. “Relax, okay? Here it comes,” Orion assured as he pointed to the left just as the train peeked out before wincing as it zoomed away from them. “...And there it goes. Okay, I was wrong about that. It was going the other way,” he murmured and rubbed the back of his neck. “I-”
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”
The three mechs froze; Orion as he didn’t know if Elita would turn to punch him, D surprised to hear such a scream from his supervisor, and B didn’t know if she would yell at them next. They relaxed, just a little as she started to punch some metal spike.
D shook out of his shock first and quickly managed to pull B out with one more pull. “You ok?” he immediately asked as he scanned the sparkling. “I’m sorry we let you go.”
“Yup! Thank you D!” B chirped as he waved at him upside down before beaming wider when D shifted him right side up and hugged him. “It’s ok, it wasn’t anyone’s fault,” he assured, then winced and glanced back when he heard Elita angrily grunting as she punched the spike. “Is she ok?”
D winced and slowly shook his head as he slowly made their way to the other two. “I don’t know if any of us are,” he murmured. “Orion!” he called out and frowned when his friend looked at them.
“I’m ok,” the red and blue mech called back. He smiled when the two gave him a thumbs up. Orion cleared his throat as he turned the map on again. “Okay, so. I think this is us, and if we follow the path to–” He jumped back as Elita snatched the map from him.
“Okay, now you listen to me, Mr. Zero-Seconds-Since-My-Last-Accident!” she hissed as she followed him, somehow being menacing as she delicately held the chip between her fingers. “I'll go on your little quest 'cause I don't have a choice. But I carry the map, I navigate, and if this leads to nothing, then I'm dragging you and that idiot go-bot back to Iacon City, giving the sparkling over to Ratchet or Sentinel Prime and to the first supervisor depot we see, at which point you will explain everything that's happened using words that reflect me in a very positive light!” she growled, her voice slowly getting louder as she kept pushing his chest. “Got it?!”
Orion tried to not shrink into himself, but he did lean back at each of her shoves. “Yeah,” he quickly agreed. “Yeah, okay, deal, great, fine,” he winced. The murmurs hummed in approval, whether of her taking charge or her joining he wasn’t sure.
“Good! Let's go!” she snarled, spinning on her heel and started in the direction the map had told them to go.
“She's-- She's joining us?” B gasps from D’s arms. The two mechs were next to Orion as they watched Elita stomp away. Until she froze at his voice. The two older mechs froze too, quickly waving for B to be quiet as the pink mech slowly looked at them over her shoulder. “Fantastic!” he chirped. “Another friend is great and I know we-” He squeaked as he was plucked from D’s arms.
“I’ll keep him,” Elita hissed at the two mechs. “He’s safer with me than you two idiots,” she growled, awkwardly holding the sparkling at an arms distance.
“Elita, not how you hold-” Orion tried, wincing when he saw D frown and reach to grab the sparkling again. “I can-” the grey mech started.
“I’ll. Keep. Him,” Elita reiterated with another glare but she did adjust her hold to carry the yellow mech like she saw the other two doing before. It softened as she looked at the sparkling and felt a bit awkward when she saw he was staring at her. “What?”
“Elita, right? Am I saying that right?” B awkwardly smiled, beaming wider when she slowly nodded and started to walk. He gave Orion and D a thumbs up as the two slowly started to follow them. “Wanted to formally introduce myself, uh, I'm B-127. Uh, you-- you can call me "B", or Badass-a-tron, it's a nickname some of the guys gave me,” he nervously giggled, offering a shaky smile when Elita’s eyes flickered to him. “I don't know. I didn't give it to myself or anything it's just-- Actually, it's pronounced BADASSATRON,” he said in the deepest voice he could muster.
The pink mech glanced at him again, her brows furrowing for a second before she gave the other two another glare that promised, ‘We will be talking about this later.’ She shifted him to one arm as she raised the map again to make sure they were going in the right direction.
B glanced up at Elita, tilting his head at her lack of response wondering if she heard him. “... in case you were wondering,” he said again, a bit louder. He smiled again when her optics flickered to him. “BADASSATRON,” he did again. “You like that, right? BADASSA–” just as he was about to do the voice again, a hand went over his mouth.
“I'm gonna need you to talk less,” Elita bluntly said, and for a second she wondered if the sparkling would listen as he blinked up at her. She slowly lowered her hand, feeling a little bad as he slowly nodded. She raised the map again, focusing on the red X.
“Sure, no, yeah, no problem,” B murmured as he played with his fingers. “What– What am I talking less about? My nickname?” he questioned, straightening a little when Elita sighed. “That's fine with me,” he chirped, beaming when she looked at him. “How’d you do that kick? Or flip off the wall? Or climb up the crates? How are you so fast? You were like nyooom! A blur!” he excitedly asked.
Elita’s eyes widened again at his questions, her eyes flickering back towards her two subordinates before frowning when she saw Orion watching with a fond smile and D anxiously watching the sparkling. She turned back to the sparkling and her vents let out a hiss at his awed expression. “.... I trained to be able to keep my balance when I drop, when I’m on one foot, and sweep my opponent off their feet,” she slowly answered.
“Woah, so cool,” B gasped in awe. “Can you teach me?”
“No,” Elita immediately answered.
“Oh, come on please!” B pleaded.