Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

D-16 charged forward, tackling Elita and pushing her out of the way as Orion came out behind him with Jazz. The tunnel slammed shut behind them and machinery went flying.

Elita scrambled back up as D goes to check on both Orion and Jazz, a furious expression etched across her features. “What the hell, Pax, I told you to evacuate,” she snarls as D helps Orion to stand.

Orion offers her one of his winning smiles and opens his mouth to reply, but instead, he falls forward, landing face-first on the hard ground.

“Pax!” D exclaims, crouched beside him immediately. Elita only gapes, but her surprise is short-lived, because not one klik later, Darkwing appears behind her, and D shrinks down, covering Orion’s frame with his own.

“Elita-1, you’re fired,” he says with no emotion.

“What?” she exclaims, turning to face him. “Why? I followed protocol to the letter! Darkwing, please, I’ve worked too hard for this, you can’t just-”

“You are no-cogged bots with limited options,” Darkwing scoffs in response. “Report to waste management immediately.”

Elita’s optics widened. “Waste management?” As Darkwing exits, she turns to look at Orion, still unconscious in D’s arms, and D sees a fury he’d never seen on anyone in her face. “And I don’t even have someone to yell at for it,” she mutters as she storms off, kicking various tools as she passes them.

D watches her go for a moment, then sighs, pulling one of Orion’s arms around his neck. “I guess you lucked out a little there,” he murmurs to him. He heaves Orion’s frame up, then catches Ironhide’s optics, who was supporting Jazz.

Ironhide tilts his helm down the tunnel to the medbay, and D nods in response, walking silently down the dimly lit corridor beside the older mech. 

What happened to you, Pax? He finds himself thinking. You’ve never just… passed out on me like that before. Orion’s helm thunked against D’s chassis and D grimaces as he holds him closer. Not much farther, he thinks, seeing the light of the medbay up ahead.

Soon, the four of them are out of the tunnels, and one of the medics sighs as she sees Orion, comming Ratchet immediately.

“Your favorite patient is here,” she says dryly to the only doctor for the cogless, before she leads Ironhide and D-16 to a unit to wait.

D carefully lays Orion down on one of the berths as Ironhide gently eases Jazz down onto the other, and soon Ratchet appears in the doorway.

“What happened now?” he asks disapprovingly. 

“The tunnel was collapsing,” D explains as Ratchet connects a cable to Jazz’s leg to numb the pain. “Pax went back for him, and then he passed out afterward.”

Ratchet sighs, shaking his helm. “It’s always something with that one.”

“I’m grateful,” Jazz pipes up. “He did save my aft. Will he be all right?”

“I’ll have to examine him to find out,” Ratchet replies. “Ironhide,” he says to the mech who had started to leave. “If you would assist me in finding a replacement part for Jazz?”

“Of course,” Ironhide says with a nod, then follows Ratchet out and leaves D-16, Jazz, and Orion alone.

“How’s your leg?” D asks Jazz after a klik of uncomfortable silence.

“It doesn’t hurt as much anymore,” Jazz answers. “I guess that was what this was for.” He tugs slightly on the cable attached to his thigh, then winces as energon drips from his severed leg onto the floor. “I could definitely be better, though.” He glances over at Orion’s still form. “What do you think happened to him?”

D sighs. “I don’t know,” he admits. “He was chased out of the archives again earlier. Maybe something happened there. Who knows? This is Orion Pax we’re talking about.”

Jazz chuckles softly. “Don’t I know it. Nice of him to wait to pass out until after we got out, though, huh?”

D scoffs, though he smiles. “I guess so.” His smile fades. “I just hope he’ll be okay.”

“Come on, mech, he’s Orion Pax! He’s always been going off and putting himself in danger. It’s how he lives. I’m afraid there’s not much we can do about that, but he’s always able to pick himself up, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.” D looks over Orion’s frame. There were a few new dents and scrapes from the mining accident, but nothing that looked too bad. There should have been no reason for him to just collapse like that unless he’d hit his helm and damaged any internal circuitry. Needless to say, D-16 was a little more than concerned.

Before he could voice his worries, however, there was a soft pinging playing over the speakers, and a voice saying, “ Attention, all sectors. Stand by for a live transmission from Sentinel Prime. ”

“He’s back?” D asks aloud as he stands suddenly. “He’s back already?” He takes a step forward, then halts, looking back at Jazz and his severed limb.

Jazz followed his gaze, then offered him a small smile. “Go ahead.”

“What about-”

“I’ll be fine, D, just go,” Jazz chuckles. “I’ll watch over Orion, too. Besides, I’ll be able to hear whatever Sentinel Prime is saying perfectly fine over the speakers.”

D nods, unable to stop the smile that spreads across his face. “All right. Thanks, Jazz.”

He hurries out, running down the corridor until he sees it: a large hologram of Sentinel Prime, talking to someone out of view.

“ Is it on? ” he asks them. “ Okay. Thank you. ” He turns to acknowledge his subjects with a smile. “ Hello, my friends. Hello, Iacon City! Hello to our saviors, the industrious miners who toil selflessly to maintain our energon reserves. I celebrate you! ”

D-16 couldn’t contain his excitement. Humility and presence! That’s leadership! Nobody does it better! He felt a pang in his spark as he wished for Orion’s company, but he pushed it aside as he listened to the rest of Sentinel Prime’s message.

“ Once again, I have narrowly returned with my fleet after another treacherous expedition across the desolate, dangerous surface of our planet, ” he begins. “ I departed with hopes of finding the Matrix of Leadership, the key to bringing balance to Cybertron. I regret to inform you that we’ve returned empty-handed. ”

D deflates, his previous excitement washing out like an electric charge from an unstable vein. Not again. 

“ This is a setback, ” Sentinel Prime continues, “but not a failure. Rest assured, I will find the Matrix of Leadership so that energon can flow again. But that’s in the future. Right now, I think we all deserve a little fun! ” D perks up, knowing what’s coming next. “ Tomorrow there will be no work, all shifts off, because tomorrow is the Iacon 5000! ”

D, like the rest of the bots surrounding him, cheers, excitement flooding his frame. I can’t wait to tell Pax about this! I wonder if Jazz will be fixed up in time to be able to watch it tomorrow. 

“ My favorite event! A high-octane race all across Iacon City. Let’s all see which competitor can prove they are truly more than meets the eye! ” 

D cheers again as the transmission ends, the other miners around him also celebrating. He hurries back to the medbay, weaving his way through the crowd. When he reached the unit Orion and Jazz were in, Ratchet was already back, attaching a new leg to Jazz.

“Hey, D!” Jazz greets. “The Iacon 5000 tomorrow! Isn’t that exciting?”

“You bet it is,” D replies giddily, sitting back down beside Orion. His smile quickly fades. “Hopefully Pax will be awake to see it, too.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Jazz responds, waving a servo dismissively. “Like we’ve established, he’s Orion!”

“Shut it, you two, I’m working,” Ratchet snaps.

D huffs with mild annoyance, then looks back at Jazz. “Sentinel Prime will be there, too. That’ll definitely be cool! Even if he hasn’t found the Matrix yet, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time!”

Jazz chuckles. “I always thought Megatronus was your favorite Prime. What, are you getting a new favorite?”

“Definitely not,” D responds. “But, I mean, Sentinel is the last living Prime, and he’s the one trying to save us! It’s hard not to admire someone like that!” D hears Ratchet scoff and roll his optics, but before D can snap at him, he stands. 

“There you go,” he says gruffly as he pulls the cable from Jazz’s leg. “Should be good as new. Why don’t you stand up and walk around a bit? Let it calibrate a little.”

 Jazz beams and stands, taking a careful step forward. The new leg was a bit stiff, but it slowly loosened up as Jazz walked around. “This feels great! Thanks a lot, doc!”

“Don’t call me that,” Ratchet mutters, but it goes unnoticed, because in that moment, Orion stirs. 

D-16 lurches up, rushing to his friend’s side. Orion’s optical ridges were furrowed and his optics seemed to have shut tighter. His servos clench into fists, and in that moment, Ratchet pushes D back to Jazz.

“Give him space,” he orders. “I still need to check his vitals.”

Huffing softly, D acquiesces, standing beside Jazz with his arms crossed as he watches Ratchet plug a cable into Orion’s arm.

“Everything seems stable,” Ratchet mutters. “No alerts for serious damage, normal fuel levels…” He trails off. “He needed to recharge,” he says simply. “Whatever he was doing last night must have used more battery than he’d bargained for, especially after what happened in the mines today.”

“So he’ll be okay?” Jazz asks, a hopeful expression on his face.

“He should be,” Ratchet huffs, crossing his arms over his chassis. “Assuming he stops wandering off to places he shouldn’t be venturing to.”

“I keep telling him not to,” D sighs, shaking his helm. “He never listens. You can’t force him to stay out of the archives if he knows a way to get in.”

Orion groans suddenly, squirming in the medical berth. His face shifts into a tight grimace for a brief moment, then relaxes again, his optics slowly flickering open. He smiles up at Ratchet once he sees him. “Hey, Ratch,” he greets, his voice slightly raspy. “Why do you look so irritated to see me?”

Ratchet huffs and takes a step back. “I see you more times in a single solar-cycle than I get hours of recharge,” he grumbles. “You really must stop doing such stupid things, especially if they’re going to keep knocking you out.”

“What are you…” Orion starts, but trails off as his helm tilts towards D-16 and Jazz. D offers him a relieved smile, but his spark goes cold as Orion’s face contorts, staring dead into his eyes with an expression of horror and possibly fear.

“Pax?” he asks softly, and Orion scrambles up with a gasp.

“Stay still,” Ratchet hisses. “Take it easy. You were just unconscious; take some time to-”

“Is he really okay?” Jazz asks, and Ratchet shoots him a death glare that shuts him up.

“Pax, are you-” D starts, placing a servo on Orion’s forearm, but Orion jerks away, recoiling as if he’d been struck. He was venting heavily now, his optics wild with terror.

“Back up!” Ratchet shouts at both of them. “Let me handle this. He’s clearly overwhelmed. Now either leave or sit down and shut up!”

Both Jazz and D hurriedly say down, bearing twin expressions of confusion and concern. D watches in silent fear as Ratchet holds Orion’s servo tight, trying to get him to listen, to take deep vents, telling him everything was fine and would be fine, and would he just fragging listen to him for once .

D-16 watches, thousands of questions flooding his processor. What’s happening with Pax? Why is this happening? Is he really going to be okay? What if Ratchet missed something, and there actually is something wrong with Pax we should be worried about? Will he still be able to watch the Iacon 5000 with me tomorrow? What if this is seen by a supervisor and he gets demoted? What if Ratchet can’t help him?

But one question rang above all, one that made D-16’s spark ache and his processor hurt.

Why did he look at me like that?

Chapter Text

Orion shifted slightly in his berth, staring across at D-16. The miner’s barracks were silent as everyone within was deep in recharge, giving Orion the perfect opportunity to study his opponent. Friend. D is his friend.

His Amica Endura. At least, he is here and now.

I am Orion Pax, he thinks to himself. I am Optimus Prime. I am a miner who digs into Cybertron for energon. I am a Prime and the leader of the Autobots, fighting a war against the Decepticons. The Decepticons are led by Megatron. D-16. The Decepticons do not exist. Yet.

Orion Pax takes in a deep vent, his optics closing as he comes to himself. I am Optimus Prime, but in this moment in time, I am Orion Pax. D-16 is my friend, and he is not yet Megatron. I have the opportunity to stop him from becoming just that.

Orion raises a servo to his chassis, the absence of the Matrix—and a cog—heavy as he gently touches it. He opens his optics and looks back across the corridor at D, still and silent in stasis. And I fear I may have already made a mistake.

He had returned to the barracks with Jazz and D-16 after Ratchet had calmed him down, but the three of them did not speak, the air around them tense. Jazz had been the first to finally speak up, tapping Orion lightly on the shoulder, his derma tight with a concerned frown.

“So, do you mind telling us what that was about, Orion?” he had asked.

Optimus hated lying so much, but he knew they’d never believe what was really happening, and besides, he was Orion right then. A truth Optimus had come to learn in all of his cycles is that sometimes dishonesty was necessary. Still, he had been a little hesitant with his response.

“I just…” he’d started, but trailed off, his arms wrapping around himself. “I had a horrible nightmare.” Primus, that had made him feel awful, but he couldn’t think of a better alternative at that time. I guess I really am Orion Pax now.

“What could have happened?” D-16 had asked, his voice gentle, gentler than what Optimus was used to, and it made Orion's spark ache. “I’ve never seen you like that before.”

Orion had glanced over at him and tried to fight back the tears building in his optics, though not for the reason D and Jazz might have thought. “I watched you die.”

D-16 had given him some frantic reassurances afterward and then they were back in the barracks. Most miners were already getting ready for recharge, so Jazz left them both to go to his own berth, and then Orion had pretended to sleep until the environment had fallen mostly silent. When he’d opened his optics again, he’d caught sight of D and hadn’t looked away since.

Those calm yellow optics had met his and looked so relieved after he’d woken up, but all Orion could think of was those same optics turning from golden to orange to red.

“I’m done saving you.”

Orion still felt the phantom touch of D-16’s servo on his wrist, remembering the sight of those red optics as he spat those hatred-filled words and the sensation of falling after Megatron let him go. He couldn’t get it out of his helm; the moment he’d known he’d truly lost his Amica. But Optimus knew now that he’d lost him long before that moment. What Orion hoped was to perhaps pinpoint exactly where it had happened. And now he had the chance.

Orion once again finds himself fighting back the tears that wanted to escape him as he looked over D-16’s frame, his processor flashing from the friend he once knew, his once-Amica, to the rage-filled warlord who had tried to kill Optimus countless times. It was hard to put the two pictures together, and yet it was all-too easy. Even now, Orion could tell the signs had been there all along, from things D had said to him on the train to the mines to what he’d said during the Iacon 5000.

The Iacon 5000 is tomorrow, Orion remembers. D will want to go to it together. Orion steps out of his berth, approaching his Amica cautiously. The race is where it all went wrong. It’s how we got sent to sublevel 50. Orion suspected that had been when the resentment towards him had first sprouted. He sighs softly as he lifts a servo, reaching towards D as if to wake him, but he doesn’t touch him. Eventually, he lowered his arm.

If we don’t race, B-127 will still be in sublevel 50, Orion realizes. I also won’t be able to get Alpha Trion’s message which will lead to the truth. Despite how simple it would make this life, Orion knew he couldn’t just let Sentinel keep lying to all of Iacon. And despite how much he might want to, Orion knew from all of his experiences that he could not do this kind of thing alone. I need an actual plan.

Orion hated roping everyone else into this mission, but what other choice did he have? He knew, deep in his spark, D-16 would hate him doing something this reckless without telling him. Orion had his doubts that D would believe him if he told him the truth, and anyway, knowing what was supposed to happen was an advantage.

No one can know, Orion thinks as he takes a step back from D-16. Even though, during this little quest I’ll have to go on, I’ll have company, I’ll still be alone, to an extent. He takes another step back, slowly backing away from D. He sighs deeply, finally tearing his gaze away from his Amica. Okay, let’s figure this out one step at a time. First things first: getting B out of sublevel 50.

It would be easy to just jump down the trash chute and sneak B-127 back out and retrieve the message along the way, but then Orion would have to catch the train to the surface immediately, and he’d be forced to deal with B after “killing” Steve. He’d also rather not abandon D right before the Iacon 5000. So how can I get B out without going down myself? Orion began pacing around the barracks, his processor running as his pedes clicked quietly against the floor.

How can I help B? How do I get him out of that hell he's trapped in without getting myself into unnecessary trouble? What a very un-Orion Pax thought for him to have. The thought would have been funny if it didn't make him feel like crying. He sighs softly, his arms coming to wrap around his frame. How do I get you out of that mess?

Then a thought hit him. Promotion. Getting B promoted would surely get him out of sublevel 50, but now Orion had to figure out how he was going to do that, and how many ranks he could promote him before it seemed suspicious. Orion leaned back against a wall, his processor running with ideas.

I'd be able to keep him close if I made him a miner, but maybe that's too high, especially since he's at the very bottom right now. He sighs, his optics closing as he tried to think. He should be in a position where when D and I go down to the waste trains, he'll be there to join us. So maybe I can send him there? He won't get tomorrow off like the rest of us, but at least he'll be in a better position.

Another idea comes to him. And since Elita is also already down there, she'll also be able to join us. If I get her into a position she can train others in, maybe I can put B under her leadership and I can bring them along that way. Orion opens his optics, now sure of himself. Darkwing is the one who fired Elita and sent D and I down with B, so he probably has access to promotions and demotions. If I sneak into his quarters, maybe I can find a way to change their positions.

Orion was already on his way, keeping his steps as quiet as he could as he reached the corridor of the cogged supervisor's berth rooms. The halls were rather cluttered, so it was easy to find places to hide if anyone was walking down the halls. As he walks, he finds himself planning out his next moves. After I get B out of sublevel 50, tomorrow night, I can go down the trash chute to retrieve Alpha Trion's message, and if I have time, maybe I can do a quick raid of the archives and tell D I found it there.

That way, we can enjoy the Iacon 5000 before I get us into this fine mess.

Orion soon found Darkwing's name on a door and took some time to compose himself. Okay, relax. You've got this. You've snuck into the archives several times before this, and you've infiltrated Decepticon territory countless times after this. You can do something as simple as entering someone's room.

Orion shuts his optics, taking in a deep vent, before he starts tinkering with the lock.

Chapter Text

D-16's systems booted up, recalibrating as he came out of stasis. He blinks his optics once, twice, three times to refocus them, and as the blurriness fades, he's met with the sight of his Amica Endura still recharging across from him. It's good he didn't sneak into the archives tonight, he thinks as he sighs softly with relief. Though it was odd. Usually they woke up around the same time, but Orion still seemed deep in stasis despite all of the excitement from the other miners also awake.

If we want to make it to the stadium in time, he'll have to wake up soon, D thinks as he steps out of his berth and approaches his Amica. It might as well be me.

He stops short, though, when he gets closer and has a better view of Orion's frame. There was scratching on his chassis and a new dent in his right shoulder plating, and it looked bad. Oh, Pax. What did you do this time? D taps Orion gently on the helm like Orion had done so many times to awaken him, then says, "Pax, get up. It's the Iacon 5000! We have to get to the stadium early to make sure we get a good spot! Come on, wake up!"

Orion groans softly, his optics flickering as they open and focus on D. There was an odd but brief moment where they'd flared with something unknown, but then Orion took a step forward. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he replies with a soft yawn. "Just give me… give me a klik."

D steps back and watches as Orion stumbles forward, concern washing over him as Orion groans again, swiping a servo over his optics. "How are you feeling?" D asks. "Are you feeling better?"

"I think so," Orion responds. "Maybe some mild aches, or…" He trails off, his optics distant as he stares at nothing. He shakes his helm, finally looking D in the optics with a warm smile, though it looked a bit off. Too rigid for Orion's features. "I'm fine. Come on, let's get ready to go."

He walked in the directions of the wash racks without waiting for D to reply, and D scrambles to follow him. "Pax!" He calls, weaving his way past the other miners. He bumped into Red Alert and Moonracer, apologizing to them both, before he finally caught up to him. "What's gotten into you?" he asks, but Orion doesn't answer before he walks into a vacant stall. D just sighs and walks into another.

Cold water flows down his frame, washing away any grime it came into contact with. D had come here the previous night, but this time he'd clean himself more thoroughly, and he took some extra time to polish. He wanted to look his best for this, after all.

A few kliks later and he was back out, sitting on a bench, tapping his pede impatiently as he waited for Orion. What's taking him so long? he wonders, anticipation and excitement running through his wiring. He'd better get out soon. D idly listens to a nearby conversation as he waits, hearing Arcee talking to Prowl, Wheeljack, and Ironhide.

"Yeah, I did originally want to go to this with Elita," Arcee was saying, "but as you all know, she's not among our ranks anymore. So, you know, I kind of can't."

Had she glanced at D when she said that? D felt a flare of indignation run through him. It wasn't his fault Elita had been demoted! If anyone, Arcee should blame Orion, he was the one who violated protocol, and-

D cut his thoughts off as Orion finally came out of his stall, looking as shiny as ever. His paint was still scratched—which did make sense; he'd need a new paint job to fix it—but the dent that had been in his shoulder had been buffed back out. "You ready to go to the stadium?" He asks D.

"I've been ready," D replies as he stands. "Just one more stop before we head out." Orion tilts his helm. "Sideswipe's betting ring? Don't you remember? We need to place our wagers; it's tradition."

"Right, right," Orion says with a nod. "Sorry, you know it's been a while since the last race. I guess I forgot about that."

D rolls his optics, but he still smiles at Orion. "Come on, let's go." They weave their way back to the barracks, and soon they find Sideswipe with a data pad in his servo, talking to Firestar, who soon departs as Sideswipe types on his data pad.

He looks up as Orion and D approach. "Hey, guys! Placing your bets?"

"We are," D confirms, and Sideswipe stands up straighter.

"All right, D-16, which racer and how much?" he inquires.

"Fifty shanix on Hot Rod," D replies, and Sideswipe starts typing again.

"And you, Orion?" He asks after a moment.

"Ten thousand shanix on Chromia."

Sideswipe's optics widen and D turns sharply to Orion. "Pax, are you insane?"

"I think she has a good chance," Orion replies to D with a shrug.

Sideswipe hovered a digit over the screen of his data pad as he studied Orion. "That is your… final wager?"

"It is."

Sideswipe narrows his optics, but types in Orion's entry anyway. "Very well, then. Doomed bot." He muttered that last part, but if Orion had heard him, he made no indication as he started walking away, D once again scrambling to follow his Amica.

"Pax, what has gotten into you?" D asks for the second time that solar cycle as they make their way out of the barracks and to the stadium.

"I'm just feeling confident right now, that's all," Orion replies nonchalantly as they walk with the crowd.

"Ten thousand shanix? Pax, you do realize if she doesn't win you're as good as scrapped, right? The betting ring is just meant for fun! We're not supposed to make bets we can't pay back! This is reckless, even for you!"

"Look, D, the bet's already been placed," Orion says reasonably. "Don't worry, I know what I'm getting myself into. Just let it go."

"I'm not going to drag you out of this mess, you know," D warns.

"I'm not asking you to."

For some strange, incomprehensible reason, that kind of hurt. D was stunned into silence, trying to process the strange feeling running through him, but then the stadium finally came into view in the distance, just barely visible above the helms of the cogged bots walking ahead of them. The glowing sign for the Iacon 5000 everywhere pulled D out of his thoughts, replacing them with excitement.

"The Iacon 5000 is finally here," he utters. He can't stop the wide smile that creeps onto his face, wanting to get to the stadium as soon as possible. However, before he can continue following the crowd, Orion nudges his shoulder plating.

"I have a surprise for you," he says, starting to walk off-course.

"Where are you going?" D asks, frustration flooding him as he halts in his path. "The stadium's that way."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Orion dismisses, still walking away. "Follow me."

"Great," D mutters. "We're going to be late now." He walks after Orion despite himself, following him through a door. "I wanted good seats." He followed him through narrow walkways and crawlspaces, his annoyance growing. "We came all this way to miss the opening ceremony," he grumbles. "This is wonderful!"

"Trust me, I know what I'm doing," Orion reassures, continuing to lead him down the path he'd chosen. They come out of one corridor and approach a walkway bathed in red light. Orion grabs a pipe and holds a servo out, warning D back. "Hold up!"

D slows and looks at Orion confused, then a large gust of air sweeps through the area. D hurriedly latches onto another pipe as his pedes were lifted from the ground. The stream then cuts off and he falls to the floor with a grunt.

"Get caught in one of those, it'll launch you halfway across the city," Orion explains as he continues walking, D quickly standing back up to follow.

"Okay, where are you taking me?" D demands, then he hears another gust incoming and he hurries to get out of the area.

"Don't be a glitch, this will totally be worth it, trust me." Orion climbs up a ladder after he'd glanced back to ensure D had made it, and D close behind him feels another wave of annoyance wash over him.

"Hey, you don't be a glitch," he huffs, climbing up. They walk for a klik longer, and then Orion goes up a short flight of stairs and lifts a large grate trapdoor. "Look," D starts, "I know this is, like, fun for you, like we're joking around, but if you make me miss any part of the Iacon 5000, I swear I will," he glances to the side, coming slowly to a halt, "smelt your face right off your…"

D-16's optics widen as he takes in the scene. Through glowing red glass, he has a perfect view of the entire stadium, seeing the crowds filling the stands and all of the contenders coming onto the field. Right then, a voice sounds over the speakers, and the opening ceremony begins.

"Welcome to the Iacon 5000! There they are; put your hands together as today's competitors are taking the field!"

D's excitement flares back up again in full force. He sees all of his favorite racers in the group, as well as various other bots, from well-known competitors with winning streaks like Hot Rod, Mirage, and Darkwing to new racers hoping to make names for themselves today. "Look, look! There's Thunderglide, and Behemoth! This is unbelievable! I feel like I'm in the race!" D's voice box crackled with elation as he watches, and then his focus turns to his Amica beside him. "You did this for me?" he asks with a slight smile.

Orion turns to him and meets his gaze, offering D his own smile. "Of course," he replies with a nod. "I wanted to make up for that little scare I gave you yesterday. I figured the best view in the stadium would be enough." His optics darted away as he looked over the field, then slowly, almost nervously, went back to D. "Is it?"

D chuckles softly. "You've outdone yourself, Pax." He lifts an arm, curling his servo into a fist, and he swears he sees Orion flinch ever so slightly, before he mirrors the motion, their servos bumping together. However, the moment didn't last long.

"Just to warn you, though," Orion says, taking a step back and gesturing at the area around them, "after the opening ceremony, we're going to want to move back. We're right above the starting line and right now we're standing on top of the door. If we're not careful, the floor will drop out beneath us and we might find ourselves in the race. We're going to want to sit down right about…" Orion trails off as he walks back, heading towards the back of the area. "Here." He smiles apologetically at D. "I get the view won't be as good back here, but it'll still be a great one, right?"

D considers his words. "I guess so. Still, thanks, Pax. This is better than anything I could have hoped for today!"

Their conversation is interrupted by the announcer speaking once more. "And now, the moment you've all been waiting for." Both D and Orion walk back to the glass, staring out to see what D thought was definitely one of the best parts about this event. "The icon of Iacon! The Savior of Cybertron! Quintessons fear him, but we love him! Our leader, the one and only… Sentinel Prime!"

D catches sight of Sentinel Prime's gold and blue frame glinting off of the spotlights as he flies into the stadium, flying over the miner's section, before he lands on his floating podium. His excitement returns tenfold as the Prime begins speaking.

"Yes! It feels so good to be here with you all today!" Sentinel Prime calls, his voice projecting over the entire stadium. There was a moment of silence from him as he waits for the cheering to die down, and then he speaks again. "My friends. My Cybertronian family. It has been precisely fifty cycles since the Quintessons attacked our home. Fifty cycles since we lost the Matrix of Leadership and our Energon supply dried up." The stadium was completely silent now, all bots focused on the leader. "Fifty cycles since the battle that killed the other Primes, my brothers and sisters in arms. Today we honor the Primes who gave their lives for ours and we show them that the strength of Cybertron will never be diminished."

Holograms of the Primes appear beside Sentinel, and D finds his optics immediately locked on Megatronus Prime. He brings a servo to the glass as he looks upon his hero, and when he looks back at Orion, he sees him staring at another one of the Primes. D follows his gaze and sees that he was looking at Alpha Trion, and he finds himself wondering if Alpha Trion might be to Orion what Megatronus is to him. Then Sentinel Prime speaks again.

"Racers, on your marks!"

Orion grabs D by the shoulder. "We have to get back!" D stumbles back, soon finding himself sat down beside Orion a little ways back as the racers begin to transform.

"Get set!"

D leans forward, trying to get a better view at what was happening. Then Sentinel fires into the air and the race begins.

"And they're off!" The announcer calls.

Sure enough, the place D-16 had been standing moments prior dropped down, and D watched as the blurred forms of the racers sped past.

"The Iacon 5000 has begun!"

A fresh bolt of exhilaration jolts through D as the race commences, his optics glued to the leader board and his audials listening for anything the announcer might say.

"Off to a strong start with multiple bots fighting for the lead! Who will claim that spot? Who is going to take this victory? It's anyone's game right now, folks!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd, and D, too, found himself crying out. The thrill of being so close to the racers, even for just a moment before they were all out on the track, sent small shivers down D's back struts. He cheers one more time before laughing giddily, his smile wide. "This is great! I think this might be the best idea you've ever had, Pax!"

Orion seems to jump slightly when D says his name, and he hurriedly smiles back at him. "I really don't think that's saying much, given my track record."

"That just makes it more true," D replies with a playful smile. "If all of your plans are terrible, it's pretty easy to have a best one."

Orion nods, his attention turning back to the race. The pair watch in silence for a while, their legs dangling over the edge of where the floor used to be.

"It's Tailwind pulling into the lead down the main stretch followed by Strafe and Skyfire!" The announcer calls, and D looks back at the leader board. It was still pretty early in the race, so it would be impossible to tell if this would be constant, but Hot Rod's name was climbing up the numbers, and as D looked closer, he could see Chromia's slowly climbing up, too. Unfortunately, so was Darkwing's.

"Do you really think Chromia's going to win?" D finds himself asking.

"I put ten thousand shanix on the line for her, didn't I?"

D frowns, but he doesn't press any further, watching in silence as the race continues. The leader board continues shifting and changing, the lead position seeming to change every klik. D glances over at Orion once again to ask him something, however the sight he's met with prevents him from speaking. His Amica's optics are dim as they stare blankly forward, staring at nothing, and one of his servos was resting on his chassis right over his empty cog slot. The sight was so unlike Orion; it was rather disturbing.

D opens his mouth again to ask him if he's all right, but he gets distracted by the announcer speaking again, this time mentioning a certain someone D-16 couldn't stand.

"I don't believe it! One of Darkwing's engines seems to have malfunctioned and has sent him careening into a wall! Looks like he's out of the race!"

A dark, twisted feeling of satisfaction gripped D's spark, a grin stretching onto his face. Serves him right, he finds himself thinking. Beside him, he thinks he hears Orion chuckle lowly, but he's not sure. "No way that happened," he says with a smirk.

"I guess he got what he deserved," Orion murmurs. "It's not over yet, though."

Now that Darkwing was officially out, the other racers seemed to be trying even harder. The leader board's positions started changing faster than the mining tunnels close up, and stakes became higher.

"A four-bot pileup in the magnetic tunnel and the finish line has become a death sprint!"

D was on the edge of his seat, at risk of falling through the hole and falling onto the track as he locked his focus on the race. The top positions seemed to be in a deadlock, and D saw Chromia's name crawling up, and then…

"We have a winner!"

Chromia slides back into the main stadium with a victorious cry, and the crowd erupted into deafening cheering. D himself was in shock, processing the fact that Orion had been right, and he now had an additional ten thousand shanix.

"Chromia speeds through and takes the prize! Talk about an Iacon 5000 for the ages."

"Well, would you look at that," Orion comments. "I guess there was no need to call me crazy, huh?"

D scoffed and shoved Orion lightly. "That was still a ridiculous wager to take," he scolds. "You wouldn't be laughing about it if she'd lost, you know."

"But she didn't," Orion responded with a small laugh, though his frame seemed to tense at D's touch.

D's words were lost as the stadium slowly filled back up with the racers, and once they were all back—save for all those badly injured on the track—the closing ceremony began.

"Thank you all for today's race," Sentinel Prime says to all of the competitors. "And thank you all for coming," he says to the crowd. "This Iacon 5000 was certainly a memorable one. Congratulations to Chromia for her outstanding victory, and good effort from all other competitors for putting up a good fight! May Primus be with you all."

More cheering sounded throughout the stadium as Chromia was presented with a trophy and a medal, and other racers that weren't as damaged came up to congratulate her as per racing customs. Other bots too damaged to make it any farther were carted off to the medbay and a few medics went onto the tracks to collect racers who hadn't made it back, and then the stadium began emptying out. D looked back at Orion, who was still being so uncharacteristically quiet, before he stands.

"We should probably get going," he says, offering a servo to Orion.

Orion, once again, seemed to flinch, but after a moment, he took the servo offered to him. "Probably."

The two of them made their way back, Orion taking the lead as they navigate out of the back ways they had taken, and when they make it back to the main streets, he silently falls back and lets D take the lead again.

This was definitely not normal.

They walk in uncomfortable silence for a moment, and then D turns to face his Amica, concern written on his face as he opened his mouth to ask of Orion was okay. Before he could speak, Orion just smiled at him.

"Why don't we have our own little Iacon 5000?" he asks, and before D can respond, he starts running. "I'll race you back to the barracks!" he calls as he looks back, before Orion is lost in the crowd.

"Pax!" D shouts, his frustration growing as he tries to catch up to him. He pushes past other bots while he struggles to keep his optics on Orion's blue and red frame in the distance. What's gotten into you? He finds himself asking for the third time that solar cycle. More questions came to D's processor, taking into account Orion's strange behavior, how he seemed to flinch whenever D so much as moved, and how he sometimes looked at D like he was a stranger. It hurt to think about, and it frustrated D that Orion might be hiding something from him.

What did you see in the archives? What could you have found that would make you act like this? Why do you keep acting like you're afraid of me?

What won't you tell me, Pax?

Chapter Text

Orion Pax stood in his recharge berth, his optics shut as he pretended to be in stasis. Shortly after returning from the stadium, he'd cleaned up without a word and returned to his berth. There was a lot of chatting around him, and Orion could tell some of them were talking about him. He was, admittedly, not very good at acting like himself in this time.

Optimus listened to the conversations around him, able to pick out and identify certain voices. Prowl and Brawn were talking about tomorrow's shifts, Jazz, Wheeljack, and Red Alert were talking about the Iacon 5000, and just across from him, D-16 was talking about Orion with Ironhide.

"I don't know, he's just been acting weird ever since he woke up," D was saying to him. "It's almost like he… doesn't want to be around me sometimes. He even started recharging early today, and he never does that! I'm just worried about him."

"You think he might need more medical attention than what he got?" Ironhide asks.

There was silence from D for a moment, followed by some kind of clicking sound. "I don't know," he says finally. "Pax, he's… I don't think his problem is physical. I think it might be internal."

"So you think he should see someone for that?"

"Maybe."

"I'll see what I can do," Ironhide says, then there's the sound of him walking elsewhere. Orion hears D sigh, sensing his optics on his frame, before he hears the familiar sound of a recharge berth being activated.

Slowly, the conversations began dwindling, but Orion needed to wait until it was fully silent to make his move. He could still hear friendly chatting, distant murmuring, some heated arguments, and, somewhere nearby, Jazz's laughter. It wasn't long until Orion was able to pick up on goodnights being exchanged, and soon a gentle silence washed over the miner's barracks.

Orion carefully opened his optics, glancing around the area to see if anyone else was awake still. It was completely silent, but that didn't necessarily mean it was safe for him to begin his mission. Luckily, it seemed everyone in sight was in stasis, so Orion stepped carefully out of his berth.

He surveys the area one last time, but his gaze stops and lingers on D-16. His spark aches with guilt and regret, but most prominent was fear. Orion had no weapons. He couldn't transform. If Megatron decided to attack-

Orion shakes his helm, taking a step back. He is not Megatron yet. He is D-16, and he is your Amica Endura. Remember your mission. You can prevent him from becoming what he is in your future. He looks back at D, frowning softly. I will do everything I can to ensure the future will be brighter for us both.

He tears his optics from his Amica and carefully, quietly travels to the nearest disposal chute big enough to fit his frame. A servo creeps up to his shoulder, where the denting used to be. Last night, he'd been worried Darkwing would wake up while he was still in his quarters, so when he'd jolted in his stasis, kicking Orion and damaging him, he'd been briefly terrified he'd been caught. Fortunately, Primus had been on Orion's side that night, and Darkwing stayed in stasis.

It felt strange and rather vulnerable to be in this cogless form. Orion had no weapons to defend himself whatsoever, he was unable to transform, and so many bots were so much larger than he was. Optimus was used to being the largest bot in the room most of the time, being a Prime, and he was by no means short by cogless standards, but it still felt so odd.

Orion moves his servo to his chassis, once again feeling the absence of the Matrix. The lack of that familiar buzzing of power left him feeling rather empty, and it felt off not hearing quiet murmurings of the other Primes on occasion. Their banter had annoyed Optimus at first, but after the fall of Cybertron and the exodus to Earth, he had been left longing to hear their voices again. Distance from Primus had eventually cut their voices off, and Optimus couldn't hear them anymore. If he did end up getting the Matrix again this time, at least he'd have that source of comfort.

Orion shakes himself, continuing on his path and eventually exiting the berth section of the unit.

It was always a risk sneaking out of the miner's barracks after curfew when he went to the archives, and Orion was definitely familiar with the consequences of being caught. But tonight, he couldn't risk that. He had to get down to sublevel 50; he had to get Alpha Trion's message.

Orion treads carefully through the corridors, taking caution to prevent his pedes from clicking too much against the ground. He takes a familiar route, passing by the wash racks and common areas, until he finally found a big enough chute. He approaches carefully, peering into it as his servos come to rest on its edge.

He stared into the vast expanse of darkness below that he'd have to jump into, feeling sudden trepidation run through his circuits. Orion would have to jump, and he would be falling in the dark. It reminded him too much of the last time he saw D-16; when Megatron had been born.

Orion felt a shiver go down his back-struts, taking a step back as those red optics filled his vision. Suddenly he hears those words being spoken and then he's falling, falling deep into Cybertron, falling into its core. There's a pain in his chassis and he can't feel his left arm. Orion is falling. Orion is dying.

"I'm done saving you," he hears again, and deep within him, a voice murmurs in his processor, asking if he truly deserved to be saved.

Orion shakes himself, shutting his optics as his servos clenched into fists beside him. Whenever the voices got too overwhelming, Optimus grounded himself, taking some time to be in the moment, remember who he is, who he's doing this for, why he needs to keep a level helm and focus on what's really important.

I am Optimus Prime, he tells himself. I have fought a war for many, many cycles. I am not scared of the dark. I will not be afraid of the fall. Orion opens his optics. I can do this.

Orion vents deeply, taking a moment to gather himself, before he steps back to the chute and climbs over the edge before he can think any other thoughts.

He's falling, allowing gravity to bring him down all the way to sublevel 50. Orion has no idea when he'll reach the bottom, but he'd rather the journey be quick and risk minor injuries than spend all night slowly sliding down. He was still hoping to get into the archives later, after all.

When there was a faint light at the bottom, Orion braced himself for impact, before he landed hard on the conveyor belt. He groans as he sits up slowly, feeling a dull ache in his lower back-struts, but he brushes it aside as he remembers his task.

Orion hurries off of the conveyor belt, stumbling a bit as he looked around the room. Sublevel 50 had been more or less empty the first time, but somehow it felt more devoid without B's presence. There was a soft dripping sound in one of the corners, and as Orion slid open the door that concealed B's "friends", he stepped on various pieces of scrap.

There sat EP-508, A-A-Tron, and Steve. Orion couldn't help but smile softly as his gaze landed on Steve. How interesting that Bee somehow knew a human name before any of us even knew of Earth's existence. He hears the broken sound of Alpha Trion's message and sees the blue blinking light, and he steps forward towards the scrap mech, toying carefully with his helm to get the message out.

Unfortunately, Steve's helm still broke off and fell onto the table, Orion wincing as it sparked and his body leaned forward. Sorry, Bee. Optimus knew B-127 had come down here at least a few times after Sentinel's defeat, but he'd known Steve was broken then. When he came down this time, he was certainly in for an unhappy surprise.

Orion pushed Steve's helm away and Alpha Trion's transmission activated fully, basking the room in a blue glow. He was silent as he allowed the message to play.

"Quintesson ambush!" Alpha Trion exclaims. "Calling the High Guard for immediate support. Immediate support!" There was an ache in Orion's spark as he saw the form of the ancient Prime, remembering when he, Elita, and B had found his corpse in Sentinel's tower shortly after Megatron's banishment. "Repeat, Zeta Prime has fallen! Protect the Matrix! Sending location coordinates. Sending location coordinates." Alpha Trion's form disappears, and in its place was a map of Cybertron's surface.

Orion stares at the map for a long while, recalling the journey made to the grave of the Primes. Traveling there with his friends was actually a rather nice memory, remembering the few nights they'd spent under the stars. That had been all right, save for the encounter with the Quintesson ship near the end. Orion sighs, taking the chip and putting it into his mouth for the time being, due to his current lack of a subspace. After I climb back up, I'll see if I have time to enter the archives before shifts start. If not… well, I'll think of something.

At the thought of climbing back up the trash chute, Orion walked back to the conveyor belt, looking up into the dark tunnel. He remembered how unpleasant it had been before, and he knew it'd be unpleasant now. On the plus side, at least he wouldn't have to deal with two other mechs as he climbed back up. I must do what has to be done, he thinks, before he takes in a soft vent, turns on the light on his helm, and begins climbing back up.

The process is slow to the point where it was agonizing, just like Orion remembered it to have been. He tries to keep his venting even as he makes the slow crawl back up to the miner's barracks, but this frame didn't quite have the endurance Optimus had built up over the centuries. It was still impressive for a cogless miner; it just wasn't the level Optimus was used to.

Orion continued climbing, wincing as some scrap pelted down on him. It was still the dead of night, so while garbage still rained down on him occasionally, it wasn't as bad as it had been before.

He winces as something almost hits him in the optic. Still rather annoying, though. Orion reaches up, only for his servo to land on something slick, causing him to slip and start falling again.

Orion hurriedly lashes out, grabbing onto anything he could, scraping down the sides of the chute until he came to a stop. He grimaces as he feels whatever he'd slipped on seep into the seams of his servo, before he continues climbing once again.

The journey is even slower than before now that Orion's servo was prone to slipping, and he grits his denta as he pushes through. He can sense time ticking by and he realizes there probably wouldn't be time to go to the archives by the time he finally reached the top. I'll have to think of something else, he thinks. Or maybe I can hold on to the message and go to the archives tomorrow night instead.

Finally, Orion sees the dim light of the miner's barracks above him, and he heaves himself further up. Soon, his servos reach the edge of the chute, and he pulls himself up, falling out and sprawling on the ground, venting heavily as he lies on his back.

Primus, that took so long, he thinks as he recovers. At least it's over now. He sighs, his optics flickering shut as the servo not coated with some kind of oil reaches up and turns off the light, before it comes to rest on his chassis. How did I manage last time?

"Orion?"

Orion lurches upward, his optics wide as he turned to the direction the voice had come from. He saw Jazz and Arcee stood across from him, staring at him with confusion and concern on their faces, and he felt his spark sink. He fakes a cough to get the chip out of his mouth, holding it in his clenched fist to hide it.

"Orion what…" Jazz starts, taking in Orion's appearance. "What are you doing?"

He spoke without thinking, a critical error on Optimus' part, but fairly in character for Orion, at least. "A raid of the archives," he says hurriedly. "It, uh, went a little wrong, I guess." He forces himself to laugh sheepishly at his ordeal, hoping it sounded convincing enough. He winced as he looks at his frame in the light, taking in just how dirty he was. It was worse than he'd thought.

"What could have happened?" Arcee asks, taking a cautious step towards him. "Usually when you're found, the guards just chase you out until D-16 inevitably saves you. Why would it be different this time?"

Don't panic, Optimus tells himself. Panic is what gets you in trouble. Think. Do not panic. "I think she was a new guard," Orion soon responds, trying to keep his tone even. "She caught me and instead of giving chase, I guess she just decided it would be better to toss me down there."

He sees them exchange a glance, and then they're beside him, helping him to stand, or at least trying to. "Well, are you okay?" Arcee asks, her optical ridges furrowing as her servos become slick with the oil nearly coating Orion's frame. "Surely that must have been quite a fall, right?"

"You aren't hurt, right?" Jazz asks, hooking an arm around Orion's waist and putting Orion's arm around his shoulders.

"I'm fine, I promise," Orion says, pulling away from Jazz as he makes sure to keep the servo holding the chip closed tightly. "You really shouldn't worry about me. Besides, you both know I've been through worse."

"We should take you to see Ratchet," Jazz suggests. "Just in case, y'know?"

Arcee nods. "At the very least, maybe he can get you cleaned up a little."

"Guys, I'm okay," Orion protests, stepping away from them. "Really. I'm not hurt and I can manage myself perfectly fine. And anyway, do we really want to be bothering Ratchet this late? Or, uh, early?"

"How long have you been climbing?" Jazz questions. "And when were you thrown down there?"

"The first mining shifts are supposed to start soon," Arcee says. "It's a little outside normal hours, but it should be fine if you show up."

"Ratchet will probably be more annoyed that it's you he's seeing than he is that someone is seeing him," Jazz points out, his tone laced with mild amusement.

Orion continues to protest even though all three of them were already heading toward the medbay, trying to ignore the comm notifications from D popping onto his HuD. He'd check those later. "If the mining shifts start soon, shouldn't you two be getting ready for that? Won't you get in trouble if you aren't present? You shouldn't be worrying about me, I'm fine."

"Wheeljack will cover for me," Arcee dismisses. "He's done it before. He'll understand."

"I'm fine prioritizing you over mining," Jazz states. "I'll gladly miss a shift or two for you. We're friends, aren't we?"

Orion sighs, admitting defeat. Optimus knew that these two bots were hard to convince otherwise once they had their minds set on something. He just allows them to walk him to the medbay, trudging silently between them. As he walks, he checks his comms from D.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS LINE

Link Status: Open

Receiver Designation: D-16

Receiver Status: Inactive

:: Pax, please reassure me that you did not break into the archives again. ::

Orion winced as he read through the messages.

:: Where are you? ::

:: Pax, answer me. ::

:: Pax. ::

:: I'm serious, Pax, tell me what's happening. ::

A small break, and then,

:: Shifts start soon. I'm heading out. Hurry up and get your aft over here, I'm not covering for you again. ::

:: Seriously, where are you? ::

:: Why won't you answer? Pax, we're supposed to start mining soon. ::

The messages ended there. Orion sighs. I have to respond, don't I? D's status was inactive, which probably meant he was getting ready to start mining, but at least he'd have a response when that shift was done.

:: Sorry, D. ::

:: Something went wrong. ::

:: Heading to the medbay with Jazz and Arcee. ::

Orion left it at that, closing the comm-link as he continues walking with them, nearing their destination. Hopefully he won't be too upset, Orion thinks, a sense of uneasiness running through him. If he is, hopefully he won't be for long.

The three of them are soon escorted to a room to wait, Arcee and Jazz muttering to each other as Orion sits down. I guess that's two bots now who won't be pleased to see me today. He sighs again. Hopefully this won't take long.

Chapter Text

D-16 was, needless to say, quite annoyed when he came out of stasis and saw Orion was gone. He steps out of his recharge berth with a sigh, taking a moment to recalibrate before he comms him.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS LINE

Link Status: Open

Receiver Designation: Orion Pax

Receiver Status: Inactive

:: Pax, please reassure me that you did not break into the archives again. ::

D begins getting ready for the first shift of the day as he awaits a response, but after exiting the wash racks, Orion still hadn't replied.

:: Where are you? ::

Nothing.

:: Pax, answer me. ::

No response.

:: Pax. ::

D began feeling a thread of concern weave its way into his spark. Orion usually would have responded by now, but his status was still inactive.

:: I'm serious, Pax, tell me what's happening. ::

He continued getting ready to go, but he'd still gotten nothing by the time his team had to leave the barracks to catch the train, and D was starting to get worried now. Ironhide, who'd been promoted to captain of the group after Elita's demotion, was calling for everyone to start getting ready to leave. Out of the corner of his optic, he thought he saw Jazz and Arcee wander off, but he didn't have time to see where they were going, because right then, they started moving out.

They must've forgotten something, D reasons. They'll catch up. He checks his comms, but he still received nothing from Orion by the time they were all out of the barracks, and he frowns.

:: Shifts start soon. I'm heading out. Hurry up and get your aft over here, I'm not covering for you again. ::

:: Seriously, where are you? ::

The station came into view, and D's internal clock told him shifts were ticking dangerously close. He messages Orion one last time in a last ditch effort to get a response.

:: Why won't you answer? Pax, we're supposed to start mining soon. ::

If he doesn't reply soon, I hope he knows the train won't wait for him, he thinks with a sigh, before turning notifications off to avoid distractions while he works.

As the group walks to the train station, D keeps himself alert for any response from his Amica, but he'd still gotten nothing. It was only when they were halfway to the station that his thoughts were pulled somewhere else by something. Namely, the announcement of another announcement coming from Sentinel Prime.

"Attention, Iacon City. Stand by for a live transmission from Sentinel Prime."

The entire group of miners halts in their tracks, all falling silent. D looks up to see the regal form of the last Prime standing tall, and he can't help the feeling of admiration in his spark.

"Hello again, Iacon City!" Sentinel Prime greets with a wide smile. "I know I haven't been back for very long, but my team and I are once again departing for the surface. We hope to return with the Matrix of Leadership this time, but, once again, I ask that you all keep up the good work and maintain that good morale, even if our chances seem low. This journey will take many days, as they usually do, but I promise to you all, I will return, and hopefully this time it will be with the Matrix!"

D and the rest of the team offer their cheers just like everyone else, but they do still have work to do, so they continue on their path quickly. Once they reach the station, there was still no word from Orion, and now that D was looking, he couldn't see Jazz or Arcee, either. He sighs again. They're going to be in a lot of trouble.

The team boards the train, the journey feeling unusually quiet without Orion, and not just for D. He usually was the life of the party for everyone, and without him, things just felt… dull.

He'll show up eventually, D tells himself. He might miss this shift, but I know he's not dumb enough to think he can get away with missing more than that without a valid excuse. Still, he worried, as he tended to do.

"Approaching sublevel station," A voice calls, indicating they were near their drop off point. "Stand clear of doors. Mining teams, prepare to unload."

Ironhide leads them to their loading station for roll call and gear distribution, and as D fights with himself from checking his comms again, he's approached by Ironhide.

"Gone again?" he asks.

D nods. "He didn't make it back in time."

Ironhide sighs, typing something on a data pad. "I don't suppose you know anything about Jazz and Arcee's whereabouts, do you?"

"I did see them earlier," D replies. "Where they went, I couldn't tell you."

Wheeljack pipes in. "Arcee wasn't feeling well," he says. "I couldn't tell you what Jazz is doing, but Arcee just wanted to rest a little bit more, and she said if it got worse she'd go to the medbay."

With Jazz? D thinks skeptically, but he doesn't push it. Arcee and Wheeljack were close friends (and while D wasn't certain whether or not they were Amica Endurae at this point, he did know Arcee preferred other femmes, so Conjunx Endurae was out of the question), so they always covered for each other. They always made excuses for each other, and D could tell Wheeljack had just said something on the whim. For all Wheeljack knew, Arcee could be getting wasted on high-grade right now, but he'd still cover for her no matter what, because their friendship was like that.

Orion and D's was not.

Soon, everyone was geared up and Ironhide led them to the tunnel they'd be mining that day. Everyone grabbed their tools and set to work, and as he mines, D can't help but feel lonely without his Amica. For the time being, though, he'd push the feeling to the side to concentrate.

"Tunnel is stable," he hears Ironhide say over the group vocal comms as D mines. "No sign of danger. Stay on task."

D hears other miners communicating with one another, but he had nothing to report, so he stays silent. The job was always tedious, not to mention dangerous, but rarely was it ever boring, if not a bit dry. Right now, though, it was definitely at least a little bit boring.

He'd prefer boring over unsafe, though, any day. D just wasn't used to shifts without Orion, as rarely as they happen. He'd been late countless times, but he was seldom absent. D found himself wondering if this was connected to Orion's weird behavior as of late. Probably, he reasons.

D almost stumbles, getting so caught up in his own thoughts he tripped on a loose rock. He shakes himself, pushing thoughts of Orion out of his helm, at least until the shift is over.

Time drags by, carts of energon are taken up, and soon they're heading back out. The area they'd been assigned had been more or less depleted, so their work there was done.

D sighs as he takes a moment to sit down outside of the tunnel entrance, the energon the team had mined being brought to the processing units as the miners took some time to rest and gather themselves before mining again. He idly watches the bots around him, before finally remembering the comms he'd sent Orion. He checks their link again, and, for some reason, feels immense relief at the sight of a notification. However, his spark sinks as he reads what he was sent.

:: Sorry, D. ::

:: Something went wrong. ::

:: Heading to the medbay with Jazz and Arcee. ::

D-16 felt something akin to dread and possibly panic sinking into his circuits as he read and reread Orion's words. Abruptly he stands, searching for Ironhide in the area. He spots him speaking to a cogged supervisor, reporting the amount of energon mined. D knew better than to disturb them, so he stood silently nearby until the report was completed, his worry growing by the minute. Finally, the cogged supervisor nods at Ironhide and walks away, and D finally approaches.

"Captain," he greets, fighting to keep the tremor of anxiety out of his voice. "I've finally received word from Orion. He's up in the medbay with Jazz and Arcee, but he didn't say why he's there."

Ironhide hums in response, looking vaguely annoyed. "I always knew his antics would get him hurt sooner or later. Did he say why Jazz and Arcee were with him?"

D shakes his helm. "He didn't. All he said was that he was going there with them."

Ironhide looked deep in thought. "I'll update their statuses," he says finally. "Hopefully it'll be resolved by tomorrow. Thank you, D-16."

D shifts nervously. "Do you think I… could maybe go check on him?"

"Go ahead," Ironhide sighs with a slight smile. "Just don't be long, all right? We still have a lot of work to do, you know. Go ahead and tell them that for me, too."

D chuckles softly. "I'll be sure to," he says, and then he's walking to the medbay, his pace brisk. Worry clutches his spark once again, and he comms Orion again as he strides through the tunnel to the medbay.

:: I'm on my way, Pax. What happened? ::

He walks swiftly up to the medbay level, his dread growing the longer he goes without a response. He makes it to the miner's entrance before he got one, and it was frustratingly vague.

:: I was caught in the archives. ::

:: Really? You don't say! Where are you? ::

There was a klik between D's comm and Orion's response, and then,

:: I think you'll know. ::

D groans as he enters the medbay, just deciding to head towards Ratchet's usual pod. None of the medics in the halls even glance at him as he passes through, since all doctors here were cogged except for Ratchet. While other medics did help cogless bots if they needed to (and often they did, considering how regular mining accidents were), Ratchet was the only medic in their sector who was exclusively for the cogless, but because so many miners were damaged so frequently, he usually taught his patients how to treat their own injuries as long as they were minor.

So if Orion had been dragged to the medbay, this had to be serious.

D is one corridor away from his destination, and then he understands what Orion had meant, because before he'd even rounded the corner, he heard Arcee and Jazz arguing with Ratchet. He turns down the corridor and walks until he reaches the room they're in. There he sees Ratchet standing between Jazz and Arcee, and a bored looking Orion sitting on the medical berth, almost completely covered in a slick black substance.

He looked perfectly fine for the most part. He certainly didn't look like something had gone wrong in the archives. D felt a spark of annoyance at Orion for making him think he might have been badly hurt, but also relieved that he wasn't actually in bad condition.

He clears his intake, and the room falls silent, all optics turning to D where he stands with his arms crossed. "Does anyone want to tell me what actually happened here?" he questions, his scowl shifting meaningfully to Orion.

Orion winces under D's gaze, but he offers him a sheepish smile. "I was caught by a new guard in the archives," he explains, a nervous edge to his tone. "After she found me, instead of chasing me like everyone else does, she took me by surprise, and then she dropped me into the trash chute." He gestures to his frame. "I fell all the way down and climbed back up."

"We found him after he'd climbed back out of the chute, and we brought him here," Arcee explains to him.

"And I appreciate it," Orion says, "but it's completely unnecessary. I feel perfectly fine. I'm in good condition, and medical treatment isn't needed."

"That's exactly why I can't do anything for him," Ratchet speaks up, his voice almost exasperated. "I am legally not allowed to violate a patient's wishes. I have other bots to attend to, though, so if you lot are done here-"

"Orion, you need treatment," Arcee insists. "At the very least get the examination done."

"Just because you don't feel hurt doesn't mean you're not," Jazz points out, leaning back against the wall.

"It's completely unnecessary-" Orion says again, or starts to say, but he's cut off by D before he can finish.

"For Primus' sake, Pax, just get the damn examination done," D snaps. "We all have a ton of work to do, and the longer we spend arguing with you, the more trouble we'll be in later. Just get it over with so we can all leave."

Orion is silent for a moment before he releases a relenting sigh. "Fine. Just get it done, Ratch."

Ratchet huffs and walks over to the medical berth, beginning to work as D took a seat off to the side, Jazz still leaned against the wall, and Arcee sat down on the floor. All watched silently as Ratchet checked Orion's vitals.

"Everything seems stable, save, of course, for your charge levels, because Primus be damned if you actually got a full night of rest," Ratchet scoffs. He moves on to the physical examination, testing Orion's joints and scanning for any obvious injuries. He ends up spending a couple kliks focused on Orion's right arm for whatever reason, before he steps back with a soft hum.

"Other than obviously needing a cleanup and recharge, I didn't detect any serious problems," Ratchet concludes. "A few scrapes and scratches here and there and a small dent or two, but nothing worth worrying about. There is-"

"That's how it usually is after he raids the archives," D says with an exasperated sigh.

"Y'know, maybe Orion should take the rest of the day off," Jazz suggests. "If he needs recharge that badly, I don't think he'd be a very efficient miner. Don't want you passing out on us again, after all." He offers Orion a playful grin.

"It'll prevent him from having to come back here, at least," Arcee comments, smiling softly herself. "I'm glad you're okay for the most part, though, Orion."

Orion offers her his own smile, but before he can say anything, Ratchet speaks again.

"You didn't let me finish," he snaps. "He has no major problems, but I've still found something concerning." He takes Orion's right servo with a shocking gentleness. "This thing is stuck clenched into a fist. It's not opening." Ratchet attempts to pry it open for emphasis, but sure enough, it was locked shut. He turns back to Orion. "I am required to ask what you think might have happened to cause this."

Orion shifts. "I mean… I might have landed on it when I was thrown into the garbage chute," he responds, but D saw how he refused to look at Ratchet and began to suspect he was lying. Why, though, he had no idea.

Ratchet hums in response, seeming skeptical, but lifts Orion's arm again. "Well, I'll have to take a look at the internals to pinpoint the issue," he says, plugging a cable into Orion's elbow joint. "It will take some time, so you two," he gestures to Arcee and Jazz, "are free to go. I don't think I'll be getting rid of you," he says to D, "so just try to be quiet. Don't you be chatting while I work."

D nods, sitting a little straighter to better watch the procedure. "Are you sure it can be repaired?"

"Nothing I can't fix," Ratchet replies gruffly.

"I'm staying right here," Jazz objects. "I can be quiet, too, doc, I promise. You won't hear a word from me."

"I'll stick around, too," Arcee says. "Knowing Wheeljack, he probably made an excuse for me good enough to get me out of work for the entire solar cycle. I'm fine waiting here a little longer."

Ratchet huffs, but doesn't try to stop them. "Fine, then. Just don't be distracting." He turns back to Orion, who was starting to look slightly more nervous than before, which D supposed did make sense, considering he rarely got damaged enough to warrant an operation on him.

Ratchet opens Orion's inner arm plating, muttering to himself as he analyzed the state of his wiring and circuitry, before he gently shifted them around to look at his gears. Orion watched it happen with a tense expression, and D found himself wondering what might happen if this issue couldn't be fixed. He hated doubting Ratchet, but his processor couldn't stop considering the possibilities. Would Orion just be stuck like that forever? How would he retain any kind of job?

Would he be forced to leave me?

D shakes that thought away, not wanting to think about a life without Orion. Sure, his habits caused D a lot of unnecessary stress, and he sometimes had dumb ideas that could get both of them into trouble (and has), but Orion was pretty much the life and light of the party not just in the mines, but, really, anywhere he went. If he wasn't with him anymore, well, D wasn't certain he'd survive being separated from his Amica. He couldn't imagine ever losing Orion Pax.

Evidently, he needn't worry, because as Ratchet manually turned Orion's internal gears, his servo snapped open.

And as it did, a transmission chip clattered to the floor.

Everyone, including Ratchet, stared at it in shock, and Orion just refused to meet anyone's optics. D ended up being the first to break the silence.

"You stole something from the archives?" He exclaimed, disbelief and horror and a tiny bit of anger lacing his tone. "Pax, what in Primus' name were you thinking?"

Ratchet huffs and turns back to Orion, who still wasn't looking at anyone. "Can you move it now?" Orion's digits twitch and curl, and Ratchet nods, before beginning to reattach his arm plating.

"Have you gone crazy?" Arcee questions. "Stealing from the archives? Do you have a death wish or something?"

Orion flinches slightly again, then offers her a small, strained smile. "Sure feels like it."

"No wonder the guard threw you in the trash," D mutters as Ratchet unplugs the cable from Orion's repaired arm. "Let me guess: you tried taking more and that was all you ended up getting away with before she caught you?"

Orion doesn't answer, not even glancing in D's direction, which hurt. Then, Jazz speaks again.

"What could have been so important that you risk your safety like that?" He asks. "Orion, if someone finds out about this, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. You know that, right?"

Orion just looks at the chip, which no one was approaching to pick up, maybe out of fear that if a supervisor came into the room and saw them holding it, they'd all get in trouble.

"Oh, for Primus' sake," Ratchet scoffs as he stands and walks to where the chip had fallen, "we can see for ourselves easily, can't we?" He reaches down to pick up Orion's contraband, and in doing so, he activated what ended up being a message stored inside.

All (save for Orion) watched in stunned silence as the blue hologram took form.

"Quintesson ambush! Calling the High Guard for immediate support. Immediate support!"

"Is that…" Jazz starts, but trails off as he takes in the form of the bot speaking.

"Alpha Trion?" Arcee finishes.

"One of the Primes?" D utters, a hint of reverence under his shock.

"Repeat, Zeta Prime has fallen!"

"It's an S.O.S. message," Orion mumbles. "I found it buried deep in the archives."

"Protect the Matrix!" Alpha Trion's transmission continues. "Sending location coordinates. Sending location coordinates."

The image of the ancient Prime vanished, and in its place was a map of the surface. Orion grabs the chip from Ratchet's servo. "Those are coordinates to a location on the surface," he explains. "I thought it might be where the Primes died in the Quintesson war. Which I took to mean that this is where we could find the Matrix of Leadership."

"Don't you dare," D says with a warning tone. "That is by far your stupidest idea ever, and that's saying something." He sighs. "And what makes you think Sentinel Prime hasn't found that before? Maybe it was buried in the archives because he already scouted the location and found nothing!"

Orion's gaze darkens, but it's gone before D can register it. "We can still go to the surface ourselves and check."

"Go to the surface?" D scoffs. "Ratchet, you might want to do a processor scan on him real quick. Because Pax has officially lost it."

"Look, it can't hurt to try, can it?" Orion asks, but he's quickly shut down.

"Pax, you and I both know there's a reason no one goes to the surface. It's dangerous! We will die if we go up there!"

"D, come on, this could be our chance to show everyone our potential."

"No, no, I am sick of your reckless plans that keep putting you and others in danger! Infiltrating the archives is one thing, but stealing out of them and proposing this insane plan to go to the very deadly surface of Cybertron with the possibility of not even finding anything is crossing a line!"

Orion flinches and opens his mouth to speak again, but he sighs instead. "Fine. Fine, you're right." He looks D in the optics, his gaze boring into his processor. "I can go on my own. If you don't want to get into trouble, I can leave you out of this."

It would be an understatement to say D is shocked. Orion Pax, actually not trying to drag D-16 into his messes? His spark almost aches at that thought. Why does that hurt so badly?

"You won't be alone," Jazz says confidently after a beat of silence. "I'll go with you. Anything to get out of having to go back to work. And besides, D is right about a few things. The surface is too dangerous to face by yourself. At least if there's more than one of us, our chances of survival will increase, right?"

Orion offers Jazz a small but warm smile. "Right. Thank you, Jazz."

"I would if I could," Arcee says regretfully. "Wheeljack will cover for me as long as he can, but he can't do it forever, and I fear he'd get in trouble after a while. I don't want him going through that for me. Plus, I was hoping to hang out with Greenlight later today, and I don't want to let her down."

"I can't go," Ratchet huffs. "I'm needed down here. I'm a medic, after all, and the only cogless one at that."

"Maybe we can still help, though," Arcee suggests. "We can keep you updated on what happens down here, like if Sentinel comes back before you reach him. Just promise you'll keep us updated, too."

"I'll admit, I am interested in seeing how this goes," Ratchet says. "But I'm not agreeing to anything just yet."

Orion's smile widens. "That sounds great. I promise I'll update you both on anything we find." He turns back to Jazz. "Thanks for agreeing to do this with me."

D's resolve shatters. "You know what, fine," he relents. "I'll go with you, but I still think this is a ridiculous idea. If anything, I figure I can continue to increase your odds of survival."

"Aw, do you care about me, or something?" Orion teases.

"Of course I do," D huffs. "I'm not spark-less, Pax."

Orion smiles softly at D, and Primus above why did that make his spark flutter? D dismissed it as just being relieved Orion was genuinely smiling at him again. "I'll make it up to you somehow," he promises. "If we do end up getting in trouble, I'll take the fall for that. But if we end up finding the Matrix, I'll let you take credit for it. How does that sound, D?"

D can't help himself from smiling back. "That… does sound good."

"All right!" Jazz exclaims. "Looks like we've got ourselves a party!"

Orion laughs. "Yeah, buddy!" He smiles at him again, his expression carrying such a warmth it made D wonder just how close he and Jazz really were. He knew they were fairly good friends, if not well acquainted, but the look Orion gave him had D questioning some things. He didn't really care if they were more than that, but he was curious.

He sighs softly, deciding to save that thought for later. "All right, Pax, since you've successfully dragged me into this, I assume you know a way to the surface."

"Oh, I definitely know a way to the surface," Orion responds with a grin. "But it's not going to be easy."

Chapter Text

Jazz looks around the barracks warily, leaning back against the wall as he and D-16 wait for Orion to get out of the wash racks. Most miners were out doing their shifts, like they were technically supposed to be doing, and their group wasn't on break yet, so if they were caught here by a cogged superior, they'd be in a lot of trouble. Jazz shifts uneasily as a trio of miners passes by, trying to look like he was doing absolutely nothing wrong, that he wasn't supposed to be working right now, that there was no need to call for a supervisor.

It was a bit hard to relax, though, with D-16 rigid beside him, practically radiating with annoyance. He was intimidating, to say the least.

Jazz sighs, trying to avoid looking directly at him. He was well acquainted with D-16, but no one was close to him like Orion was. Orion bonded pretty well with just about everyone, but he was closest to D, considering they were Amica Endurae. D, on the other hand, pretty much kept to himself. He was always focused on work and protocol, and occasionally getting Orion out of his messes, so most bots didn't know him very well outside of that.

All Jazz really knew about D was that he really cared about Orion and hated breaking protocol, and that he wasn't a mech to be trifled with, especially when he was upset for any reason. And this little stunt they were about to pull was definitely breaking a lot of protocol.

Before they'd left the medbay, Jazz had created a group internal comm line with the five of them, and while no one had actively used it since its creation, it was at least there, should they need it. They'd be able to relay information to Ratchet and Arcee that way, but they decided to reserve it only for important matters. D and Ratchet had been hesitant, but Orion had accepted it, and Arcee had thought it was a good idea, so they went with it. And in this moment, Jazz was struggling with himself to not use the channel as a means to vent.

"So," D says, breaking the silence (and surprising Jazz), "has Orion been acting… weird around you, too?"

"Uh, not really," he replies with a slight shrug. "But I guess I also don't know him as well as you do. So you tell me. How has he been acting weird around you?"

D shifts, his optics darkening just a bit. "It's just, I don't know, ever since he woke up after passing out on us, it feels like he's growing distant. He flinches away every time I so much as move around him, he's been quiet lately, and I feel like he's been avoiding me." He holds his helm in his servos. "I just don't understand. Have I done something wrong?"

Jazz knows there's a right thing to say here, but his processor is blanking on what it might be, so he just stays silent for the moment, worry eating at his spark. It would be considered unusual for a bot to start acting like that around their Amica Endura, but in Orion's case, being quiet was a means for concern itself. It always seemed, to Jazz, that Orion always had something to say, so if he wasn't saying anything, there might actually be something else going on neither he nor D know about. What that could be, Jazz had no idea.

The two just stand there in uncomfortable silence, D's gaze fixed to the floor while Jazz looked toward the rest of the barracks. D was the kind of mech who kept his EM field closed tight to himself, but Jazz could still practically feel the negativity emanating from him, so either his emotions were just that strong or D wasn't managing his field at all in this moment. And now that he was thinking about it, Orion's own field had also been held close as of late. Maybe that would count as something strange, but surely D would have also noticed that by now, so Jazz didn't bring it up.

Luckily for them, the silence ended when Orion finally emerged, looking much shiner than before, and while he smiled like nothing was out of the ordinary, something about his expression just seemed off to Jazz. He couldn't quite put his digit on it, though. Maybe he was acting weird.

"I think I'm feeling much better now," Orion says as D passes him the transmission chip he'd found and he magnetically attaches it to his arm. "I'm ready to roll out. How about you?"

D comes off of the wall and Jazz has to prevent himself from sighing in relief as D's optics brighten and he no longer suffocates the area with his negativity. "I'm ready when you are, Pax," D says, his tone a little bit gentler than what Jazz was used to.

"Same here," Jazz responds, offering Orion a warm smile. "So you never did say, how exactly are we getting to the surface?"

"Follow me and find out," Orion says, before pushing past the two of them and making his way out of the barracks. Jazz and D follow closely, and Jazz can't help but notice the way D kept his optics glued to Orion's frame. They traveled through countless corridors, until Jazz realized where they were heading. He'd grown quite familiar with the walls they walked through when he worked in waste management a long time ago, and he felt a sense of unease wash over him. Not only did he hate that job just a little more than he hated being a miner, but he was beginning to develop a sneaking suspicion on why Orion was taking them there in particular.

Jazz was about to say something when Orion veered off course, walking into a tunnel very clearly labeled with "Authorized Waste Management Staff Only" that opened up into an equipment service and waiting area, before beginning to climb up onto a magnetic lifter. D paused, but then sighed and followed him wordlessly, and Jazz hurried to climb up after them when it started rising. Once at the top, they had a view of the station. There was a train currently being loaded, bots moving into the train carrying crates and walking back out without them.

"Waste disposal trains are the only vehicles that go all the way to the surface," Orion says as they crouch behind the lifter's cables and look over the scene.

"Yeah, but they don't allow passengers," D responds, his optics flickering with doubt. "The trains are autonomous."

"I'm guessing that's the part about this that's not going to be easy," Jazz chuckles. "So how are we gonna get in?"

"Through the top," Orion responds, before the lifter starts moving again, going over the train.

The three of them shifted to be out of view of the workers below, and as the lifter got closer to the train, they began climbing off of it, holding on until they were right above the train and then letting go. There were soft thudding sounds as their pedes landed, but no one seemed to notice, so they proceeded.

Orion crept forward and D and Jazz followed, until he stopped just before the roof entrance. He motioned for Jazz and D to be quiet, before pulling it open to see inside.

"He really knows what he's doing," Jazz whispers to D while they wait for Orion to move in. "Has he done this before?"

"Never anything this stupid," D mutters in response. "I still can't believe I'm actually going through with this."

"It's not too late to back out still, you know," Jazz murmurs. "At this point you'd only have missed two shifts. With the cover of visiting Orion in the medbay, you'll probably be excused."

"I'm not letting him do this without me," D responds with a soft sigh. "We promised we'd always watch each other's backs. It's annoying, yes, but it's a promise I intend to keep."

"Move in," Orion says, motioning to D and Jazz as he pushes the opening further apart and carefully steps inside. D goes down next and as Jazz starts climbing down the ladder, he sees a flash of pink out of the corner of his optics. Before he can register it, though, an unfamiliar voice shouts from outside the train.

"Hey, wait, hold on! I have one more!"

The door hisses open and Orion mutters "Scatter" under his breath, before he goes one way and D goes another, and Jazz in a brief moment of panic just follows Orion.

As he and Orion crouched behind a stack of crates, in walked none other than Elita-1, her servos on her hips as a small golden-yellow mech scrambled in behind her, holding a crate.

"This is why you should move faster," she scolds as the golden mech sets the crate down.

"Sorry, Elita," he apologizes. "I'm just not used to moving fast, you know? Back down in sublevel 50, I just stood there by the conveyor belt all the time. You know, I've wondered why some scrap goes down to sublevel 50 while some comes here to be loaded into crates. Maybe what needs to be incinerated is too dangerous to just dump on the surface so they get rid of it in a safer manner, but I don't know what that would mean for me, considering my exposure to it for so long, but maybe-"

"B," Elita says sharply. "You're rambling again."

"Right, sorry," the golden mech—B, apparently—says.

"We're locking it down," Elita calls outside, before reaching over to a panel beside the door and clicking something. Jazz sees the lights under the crates go from green to red, then he sees her turn around. His vents catch in his in take as he follows her gaze to the ceiling hatch they'd entered from. Then, he feels his spark sink as she begins walking back into the train.

"Elita?" B asks, looking back at her.

Elita doesn't acknowledge him as she walks over to the ladder they'd climbed down just moments prior. "Thanks for being an idiot, whoever you are," she says, coming to a stop right in front of the crates Jazz and Orion were hiding behind. Orion grabs Jazz by the arm and pulls him down right as her helm was starting to turn their way. "Turning you in will definitely get me promoted back up a rank or two."

Then, out of nowhere, D tackles her. "Got her!" he shouts, and B yelps in alarm as Elita runs up the wall and flips over D and sweeps his legs out from under him.

No use in hiding now, Jazz thinks as he leaps from his hiding spot and pins B down, holding him in a chokehold as Orion runs up to her, narrowly dodging two of her strikes.

"Elita, stop!" he shouts.

"Orion?" Elita questions furiously.

"Hold on, let me-" Orion cuts himself off as he barely ducks down in time to avoid a punch to the face. "Please, Elita!"

Elita runs to the door. "Security! Sound the alarm!" But the door shuts before she can finish, trapping her in there with them as the train starts moving. Elita growls in frustration, pounding once on the door, before she turns and starts sprinting up the train's length.

"What's going on?" B asks, his voice strangled from how Jazz held him.

"I don't even know anymore," Jazz responds, loosening his hold on the smaller mech's neck.

"She's heading to the engine!" Orion exclaims, scrambling up and running after her. "Hold on, let me explain!" D follows close behind, and Jazz hurriedly gets off of Elita's underling and dashes after her as well, B also stumbling as he runs. "We're on a mission!"

"So am I!" Elita snaps back. "To ruin your life!" She leaps effortlessly over the crates in their way, and as the train went on a vertical incline, she swings herself up onto a crate. Jazz stumbles as he loses his footing, and he sees D hurriedly press the button to shut the door to the next cart before they could fall through it, and B landed on top of them both as Orion caught himself on his own crate halfway between Elita and the door.

"Elita, wait!" Orion calls up to her. "We found a message; we know where-" Elita presses something on the side of the crate. "Look out!" Orion shouts as it falls down toward Jazz, B, and D, and the three of them yelp and quickly jump out of the way.

"Elita, wait!" B calls up to her. "I'm still down here!"

"Elita!" Jazz shouts, but then Elita leaps up to the ceiling hatch and climbs out that way.

"Looks like we have to climb," Orion shouts, already beginning to make his way up. Jazz quickly follows, B right behind him and D taking up the rear. The train still ran vertically, and Jazz found himself occasionally having to leap from one crate to the next as he climbed. He hears B struggling behind him, and he looks up to see Orion was already at the ceiling hatch, glancing back at them before he exited the train cart.

Jazz heaved himself onto the ledge before the hatch, peering outside before climbing further. Oh slag, he thinks as he looks down at the rapidly shrinking lights of Iacon below him. His grip on the train tightens, recognizing that if he fell, he was dead. Behind him, he hears B yelp.

"Why? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this?" he repeats over and over again as he goes higher.

"Climb faster!" D shouts up, climbing up behind him.

The five of them climb higher along the train, before the train starts curving down and leveling out. Jazz is taken by surprise at the sudden movement and briefly flies up, but his grip tightens even more and his frame slams back down against the train as it barrels through some kind of dust storm. Jazz covers his face as he's pelted with tiny shards of metal, and he looks up at Orion and Elita ahead of him.

"Gotcha!" he hears Orion shout as he grabs Elita's heel, and Jazz sees Elita aim a blow at Orion, before he and probably everyone else are distracted by the train clearing the storm and revealing their first clear view of the surface.

The sight was extraordinary. Metal shifts and grows and changes, forming outcroppings and growths, patterned and highlighted by various colors of alloys. The sky was scattered with countless stars, streaked with colors and lights, some emanating from Cybertron itself. To the left, the sky filled with bright orange and red light from the rising sun, bathing the environment in an even more ethereal light. To their right, Cybertron's two moons glimmered softly, their pale light beginning to fade out as sunlight took their place.

"The surface," Jazz hears D-16 utter as he gazes upon the landscape.

"It's… beautiful," Elita breathes, she too captivated by the sight.

"I am… speechless," B says in awe.

"I never thought something like this could be up here," Jazz himself murmurs, marveling at the sheer beauty of the surface. As long as he could remember, they'd been told the surface was extremely dangerous. Jazz wasn't certain what he'd expected it to look like, but it definitely wasn't this.

After a moment, Orion speaks. "Elita," he says, as he and everyone else turns to him and her (and B starts shuffling closer to Elita), "listen to me. We know where the Matrix of Leadership is."

"Oh, sure," Elita scoffs, "and I'm really a Prime, I just prefer loading crates of toxic w-" She cuts herself off as Orion taps the transmission chip, the coordinate map displaying itself before them. "Whoa. Where did you get this?"

"He stole it out of the archives," D says scornfully. "I guess it shouldn't come as a shock to you he'd do something as stupid as this, given his track record."

"D, please," Orion says with a note of exasperation, which stunned just about everyone here, D especially. Jazz was shocked Orion of all mechs would speak like that to his Amica, especially considering their normal dynamic, and he could tell Elita was surprised, too. He didn't miss the brief flash of confusion and possibly hurt in D's optics either.

"Look," Orion starts, "Sentinel told us he was going to the surface and then we found this message. We figured that we could hand deliver it to him or scout the locations ourselves, whichever comes first." Jazz couldn't help but notice there was something off about the way Orion spoke, as if he had been reading off of a script, like he knew he had to say something like that at some point. But that would mean he'd have to know Elita would somehow get roped into their little quest and that just didn't make any sense. "This was too important to wait," he continues. "It will change all of our lives."

Elita studies Orion and the map pensively, then she sighs and shuts her optics. "No, no, no, no, I'm not going to get demoted again because of you. I'm turning this rig around and notifying the proper auth-"

Jazz heard the distant rumbling right before D cut Elita off. "Hey, guys, guys," he says, catching the attention of everyone else. "What is that?" D points to something in the distance behind the train, a metal formation that was shifting and changing as it did. "Is it getting bigger?"

"Or closer?" Elita questions, taking a few steps forward.

Jazz locked optics with B, and then they both turned around and bolted. An alarm sounded from somewhere and Jazz heard Elita, Orion, and D following them close behind as they made a mad dash for the nearest ceiling hatch.

B was repeating the word "no" under his breath as they ran, and then Jazz saw the hatch start to close.

"Why are you closing don't close stop closing," B fell to his knees and pulled futilely at the locked door, "it's closed!"

Jazz and the others immediately crouch down beside him, desperately trying to get inside the train before the formation caught up to them. Unfortunately, their attempts were useless, the door remaining shut tight. They all look up in horror as the metal wave finally reaches them, lifting the train and its track up into the air.

"Oh, now I know why no one comes to the surface!" D shouts, before they all lunge to hold on to the railings along the side of the train roof.

The train maneuvers roughly around the shifting metal walls and waves, throwing the five bots around as it did. The train turns sharply and they were all airborne for a moment, before crashing back down as the train barrels forward.

And as the train went over another metal wave, none of them could hold on any longer. They were thrown into the air, and as Jazz hurtled toward the ground, he was surrounded by screaming, until he hit the surface, getting knocked out instantly.

Chapter Text

Arcee sighs as she walks out of the mining tunnel beside Wheeljack, shaking dirt and rock scrap off of her servos. Wheeljack carried their gear as the mined energon was carted off and numbers were reported, and as they headed towards the resting area for miners, Wheeljack speaks.

"So I never got the chance to ask before the shift started, but what were you actually doing earlier today?" he asks. "You're not usually this late to work."

"Ah, I was just helping Jazz take Orion to the medbay," she responds, waving a servo dismissively. "Apparently he was caught in the archives again and the guard that found him tossed him into the garbage chute. We found him after he climbed out of it, so we took him to Ratchet, and I left shortly after D arrived."

Wheeljack nods. "Gotcha. Was Orion okay?"

"He looked kind of worse for wear, but otherwise fine for the most part," Arcee answers with a shrug. "Taking him to the medbay was just precautionary. Ratchet had only just started to examine him when I left, so I don't actually know how he's doing right now." She felt bad about lying to Wheeljack, but technically it wasn't fully a lie. She really didn't know how Jazz, Orion, and D were doing or if they had made it to the surface yet or not, so at least she was giving him a version of the truth.

"And what about Jazz?"

"He decided to stick around with Orion and D. I don't know if we'll see them for the rest of today, but I was under the impression Orion's injuries were minimal, so he should be fine."

They then arrived at the resting area and Arcee sat down on an available bench as Wheeljack turned in their equipment. Arcee sighs as she stretches for a moment, before allowing her frame to relax a bit. Then she caught sight of a familiar bright green frame, and she perks up.

"Greenlight!" Arcee greets as she walks by, unable to stop the bright smile that made its way onto her face. "Hey! How are you doing?"

Greenlight turns to her and her face lights up. "Arcee!" She walks over to where Arcee sat and Arcee stands to wrap her in a warm embrace. "I'm doing great! How about you?"

"Better now that you're here," Arcee responds, still holding Greenlight tightly. "It's like I never see you anymore ever since I got transferred out of your group."

"Aw, come on, you know you still see me every day," Greenlight laughs. "We're still in the same wing of the barracks, after all."

"I know, but it's still not enough," Arcee says as she releases her and sits back down, Greenlight sitting right beside her. "I hardly ever see you between shifts."

"Well, you're seeing me now. I'm afraid we don't have long, though." Greenlight's optics dim slightly. "My team is heading back out soon. But hey, it was so nice to actually see you during work." She offers Arcee another warm smile, and Arcee feels her spark stutter.

"Yeah." Arcee leans against Greenlight and they bask in each other's presence for a moment, before Arcee receives a comm.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS LINE

Link Status: Open

Receiver Designation: Ratchet

Receiver Status: Active

:: Arcee, I am aware you're busy right now, but after you're finished with your shifts, could you meet me in the medbay? There's something I need to talk to you about. ::

Arcee hums softly, curiosity sparking within her.

:: Sure thing, Ratchet. What is it you need to talk about? ::

:: You'll find out. ::

Arcee sighs. She can't say she didn't expect that kind of response from Ratchet, but it was still disappointing. So much for hanging out with her later.

"Something wrong?" Greenlight asks.

"Oh, no, just not looking forward to you leaving again."

Greenlight laughs. "I won't be far. You'll see me again; it'll be fine."

"I know."

That was when Wheeljack returned. "Sorry that took a bit longer than I'd thought, there was a supervisor there inspecting the equipment," he says. "Oh, hey, Greenlight. How are you?"

"Hey, Wheeljack," Greenlight replies as Arcee sits up. "I'm doing fine. Afraid I can't stick around much longer, though. I'm going to be called back any klik now." Right then, her name was called, and she grimaced. "Right. So sorry, I have to go." She stands and Arcee felt cold without her frame beside her, but duty called. "See you later, Arcee, Wheeljack."

"Yeah. See you later," Arcee sighs as Wheeljack waves. He sits down beside her.

"Everything okay?"

"I just wish I could see her more often," Arcee responds. "Ever since I was transferred out of her group, I only get to see her at the start and end of the day. Rarely do we ever get to see each other during breaks, and when we do," she gestures in the direction Greenlight had walked, "it's not for long."

Wheeljack hums sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Arcee says, turning and offering him a small smile. "I guess if I hadn't been transferred out, I never would have met you. And I'm glad we can be friends."

Wheeljack's optics brighten."Right. I'm glad I know you, too."

They continue chatting for a while, but soon, they have to start working again. Ironhide calls for them and Arcee stands with a soft groan. "All right, I guess it's time to get back to work."

"Right," Wheeljack says as he stands with her. "It's go time."

They grab their gear and follow Ironhide and the rest of the group to the mining area, the team notably dull without Orion and Jazz there. Arcee sighs as she walks along with the others, dreading the hours of work ahead, but she just tells herself to push through and get it done so she can see what Ratchet wants from her.

"Sideswipe!" Arcee calls, running towards her teammate as Wheeljack again puts their stuff away, this time for the last time that day. He looks up as she approaches.

"Do you need something, Arcee?"

"Can you keep Wheeljack busy for a while?" She asks. "I'm going to go see Ratchet again to see how Orion's doing and I feel like he's been by himself enough for one day. He seemed really disappointed when I told him and I feel like he just needs the company right now."

Sideswipe shrugs. "Sure, I guess. But why can't he go with you?"

"You know he's had a hard time being in the medbay ever since the incident," Arcee responds, tapping her face over where Wheeljack's mask covered his own. "I just don't want him to get lonely."

"All right, then," he responds, before starting to walk over to the equipment storage where Wheeljack was waiting to turn in their tools.

"Thanks!" Arcee calls before she begins walking briskly down the tunnel to the medbay. She knew Ratchet wasn't the most patient mech, and she was already a little behind. During their last shift, they'd accidentally knocked over one of the carts of mined energon, and they'd had to spend some extra time picking up what spilled.

Arcee slowed her pace once she began seeing other bots walking along the path, most being miners helping their injured friends. There weren't many, but there were enough that she wondered if Ratchet would prioritize the other miners and then talk to her, and then she found herself mentally slapping herself, because of course he would.

Maybe I could have waited a bit, she thinks to herself as she enters the hallway of the medical facility. Then again, it was easier to leave immediately than it would have been to leave later. I can just wait in the medbay.

Arcee keeps her helm down under the gazebo of the cogged medics looking at her, praying that none of them stopped her to ask what her problem was. Luck was on her side, though, because she reached Ratchet's service pod without any offers to assist her.

Ratchet was repairing the crushed servo of a miner Arcee had never seen before, and the patient looked up at her as she appeared in the doorway.

"Uh, how much longer will this take?" he asks Ratchet, glancing apologetically at Arcee.

"Not much longer," Ratchet responds, before he looks up and sees Arcee. "Ah, right. Arcee, I won't be occupied for long, go ahead and take a seat."

Arcee sits down in the medical berth beside the unfamiliar miner, watching as Ratchet welded together a gash in the metal, rewired his digits, and buffed out the large dents. It took a while, but once he'd finished, he stepped back. "Does it function?"

The miner clenched his servo into a fist, then unclenched it and shifted his digits. "It does," he says looking up at Ratchet with a smile. "Thank you so much."

"Go find one of the other medics and ask for a plating seal," he instructs. "That should keep it shut until morning, and you should be more or less fully healed by then."

"Yes. Thank you, Ratchet," the miner says, before he stands and leaves the pod.

"All right, Ratchet," Arcee starts once the other miner is gone, "what did you need to see me for?"

Ratchet sighs, crossing his arms as he stood beside her. "Since you decided to drag me into this mess, I say it's only fair you help me out with my own little quest."

Arcee perks up, feeling a spark of curiosity and a bit of excitement. "Oh, really? What kind of quest? What are we doing?"

Ratchet is silent for a moment, as if hesitant to actually involve her. "How would you feel," he starts, shifting slightly, "about a quick visit to Kaon?"

Her optics widen. "Kaon? Why would we need to go there? And how would we get there?"

"To answer your first question, it's to speak to an old friend. I'd rather not see him alone this time, so I'm bringing you along. After all, you are, allegedly, trustworthy."

"Allegedly?" Arcee scoffs and smirks. "Come on, Ratchet, you know you can trust me." Her smile drops just a bit. "But are we sure this is a good idea? I mean, the cogless aren't supposed to leave the boundaries within Iacon set for us. We're restricted to this area."

"That certainly never stopped me before," Ratchet huffs. "Or Orion, or any other bots who've violated protocol before, or even you." Arcee tenses and Ratchet notices. "That's right, don't think I haven't heard about your own little escapades to the archives. Even Orion knows he's not the only one to do that; he's just completely reckless about it."

Arcee chuckles nervously. "I see. Well, then you should also know that I've never done this kind of thing with someone else before. I'd say that actually increases our chance of getting caught, don't you think?"

"Kaon isn't exactly a safe city for the cogless; not much safer than Iacon, anyway," Ratchet says, taking a single step toward her. "Our risks of getting caught are higher, yes, but we'll also be safer." He sighs. "Look, I know my way around both cities, and I have some connections. Are you willing to help, or not?"

Arcee is silent for a moment, then releases a sigh of her own. "Fine. So how are we getting to Kaon?"

"Follow me," Ratchet says, before exiting his pod. Arcee walks close behind him, glancing warily at the other bots around them and hoping they weren't stopped. He led her down the tunnel to the miner's barracks, but it was a wing Arcee was unfamiliar with, so the chances of running into Wheeljack or any of her other friends lowered significantly, so she let out a soft sigh of relief. Then Ratchet turns down past a row of recharge berths, where a cogless mech with muted blue plating leaned back against the wall.

They look up as Ratchet and Arcee approach, raising an optic ridge at Arcee but not saying anything. Wordlessly, Ratchet passed something shiny to them (shanix, probably, if Arcee had to guess), and they accept it, before they and Ratchet exchange a quick nod and the miner pulls some kind of lever on the wall. They step to the side as the wall then opens up, revealing a dark passageway behind it.

Arcee looks questioningly to Ratchet, but he only steps forward into the tunnel and motions for her to follow. She glances back to the miner who'd helped them, but their gaze was locked forward, so she, too, steps into the tunnel behind Ratchet. She looks back as the wall shuts behind them, then takes in a deep vent, turns on her helm light, and keeps moving forward.

"So," she says almost hesitantly after a moment, "how long have these been here? And why didn't I know about them before?"

"These were the old tunnels used to bring injured miners back to the barracks," Ratchet explains. "They stopped being used after a quicker, safer tunnel was dug out, and the reason one of the tunnels leads all the way to Kaon is because there used to be a deal that miners too damaged to be useful anymore would be sold to the pits and have their frames smelted into armor and weapons for the gladiators. Then the Kaon senate got into some kind of massive argument and the deal was forgotten after they were forcibly replaced by those who called themselves the High Guard." He clears his intake. "That's what I was told in training, anyway."

Arcee felt almost sick. Smelted? She shivers. "I guess I should be glad they don't do that anymore." She glances over at Ratchet. "Training, huh? I know you're the only cogless medic in our sector, but were there others with you in medical school?"

"A few," Ratchet responds. "It was only recently they started allowing the cogless to become medics, and even then, we're still forced to mine if they need us to. That's… that's how I lost a friend, once."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Arcee falls silent after that, the atmosphere tense. They continued walking down the dark pathway, and eventually Arcee couldn't stand it anymore and made an attempt to lighten the mood. "You sure know a lot about a lot of things." She offers him a wry smile. "What's it like being impossibly ancient?"

Ratchet scoffs indignantly. "I'm only four cycles older than you!"

Arcee laughs. "Come on, Ratchet, you know I'm just joking." She shoves him lightly, her smile brightening.

He huffs in response. "Why don't you get better material?"

"Why don't you learn how to handle teasing?" Arcee suggests. Ratchet only grumbles softly in response. She turns back to facing the dark expanse before them. "How long is this tunnel, anyway?"

"Even in an alt-mode, it's a long way to Kaon from Iacon," Ratchet says. "I'd say we're about halfway through at this point."

Arcee sighs dramatically. "I don't think I'll make it. Who are we even meeting, anyway? What are we doing, exactly?"

"Someone I knew from medical school," Ratchet answers. "He's cogged, before you ask. He moved to Kaon after things got rocky with his Conjunx."

"Oh no, what happened between them?"

Ratchet grimaces. "I don't think that's my story to tell."

Arcee nods in understanding, and they continue walking in silence. She checks the group comm line, but no one has said anything yet. She ex-vents softly and looks back at Ratchet. "Should we maybe tell the others we're going to Kaon?"

"It probably doesn't matter," Ratchet responds, waving a servo dismissively. "It's just going to be a quick visit and we're only going to talk to someone, so I say it doesn't matter if they know or not."

She hums softly in response. It's not urgent. They don't really need to know right now. This is the kind of detail I can just tell them when they get back.

Soon enough, there's a distant light at the end of the tunnel, and Arcee shuts off her helm light. She found it interesting that, in contrast to the Iacon side, the exit to the passageway to Kaon didn't have any kind of wall or barrier blocking it from public view. Instead, there was a large (cogged) purple mech sitting beside the opening, and he stands as they approach. He regards Ratchet silently for a while, until he holds out an open servo. Ratchet drops more of what was probably shanix into it and the purple mech closes his servo with a grunt, before stepping to the side and letting them pass. Arcee glances up at him as they walk by, and he glares back at her, so she quickly averts her gaze.

"Stay close," Ratchet says. "This city isn't very friendly to outsiders, even if we're only staying for a brief visit."

Arcee nods and walks a little closer to Ratchet, looking around and taking in the Kaon scenery. The derelict buildings here were small and dull, nothing like the glittering towers of Iacon. The structures here looked like they'd dropped wherever there was space; nothing like the stalactite and stalagmite nature of Iacon's construction. There were very few other bots on the streets, the handful that were cogless keeping their helms down and their arms full, and usually following behind a cogged bot. Arcee swallows and turns her focus back to Ratchet beside her.

"How much farther do we have to walk?" she asks him in a hushed tone.

"Not much farther," Ratchet answers. "We're almost at the place we'd arranged to meet."

"Arranged?"

"I wouldn't be in this Primus-forsaken city if I wasn't absolutely certain I'd actually see who I'm planning on meeting."

They turn a corner and then another, weaving their way through the roads until Ratchet turns them into a dark alleyway. Silently, he motions for Arcee to press herself against the wall, into the shadows and out of sight.

"How long will we be waiting here?" Arcee whispers.

"Who knows?" Ratchet responds. "He'll get here eventually. In his own time."

Arcee sighs and leans back against the wall, checking her internal chronometer. It wasn't that late yet, but they definitely wouldn't be back before the curfew. Maybe I should have refueled before we left, she thinks.

They continue to wait in silence, until the distant roaring of an engine grows closer and closer, and Arcee and Ratchet shrink back against the wall, Arcee looking over to the alleyway entrance as she forcibly shut off her biolights and willed the light of her optics to dim. Then a red blur speeds by and the sound of a transformation can be heard, before a tall, sleek, slender red mech walks into the alley.

Ratchet steps forward and out of the shadows, and Arcee follows. I guess this is him.

"Ratchet," the mech greets with a nod and a slight smirk. "Long time no see, old friend. Who's that?" He inclines his helm towards Arcee.

"Knock Out," Ratchet responds gruffly. "I'm afraid we don't have time to exchange pleasantries. Our meeting must be brief."

Knock Out rolls his optics. "You're still no fun even after all these cycles. Fine, go on, get on with it." He crosses his arms and leans back against the wall, and Ratchet takes a step forward, Arcee warily following.

"This is serious," Ratchet says grimly. "There's a trio of miners on their way to the surface right now, going up to investigate something involving the Matrix of Leadership. You're close to the High Guard. Would it be possible to keep them busy and off of the surface for the time being?"

Knock Out is silent for a moment, pondering as he looks from Ratchet to Arcee and back to Ratchet. "You're asking quite a lot of me, Ratchet," he says after a moment. "High Guard leadership don't really like distractions. I just might need something in return."

Arcee's optics narrow with distrust and Ratchet grumbles. "How exactly do we know we can trust you to do what we ask if we give you what you want?" she questions. She hears something clatter softly behind them, but before she can register it, Knock Out speaks again.

"I'm not going to ask for much," he says smoothly, looking back at her.

"Spit it out, then," Ratchet hisses. "Name your price."

Knock Out's smirk falls, and he sighs as he looks down at the ground. "How's Breakdown?"

Ratchet falters, and Arcee looks back at him, confused. "Breakdown?" she asks. "Wasn't he in the Iacon 5000 yesterday?"

"I think so," Ratchet mutters in response.

"The Iacon 5000?" Knock Out asks. He smiles softly. "I remember once we ran in that together a couple cycles back. I got him into racing, you know. We used to always go speeding around Iacon all the time. Now I can only ever race against whatever High Guard idiot is willing to at the moment. I'm glad to hear he's… still doing it. Even without me." He sighs again. "How did he do?"

Arcee thinks back. "Well, he didn't win," she says, "but I don't think he did terribly, either. Top twenty or something, right, Ratchet?"

"That sounds about right. I don't think I saw him with anyone in the medbay after the race, so he probably didn't get damaged too much, either. I'd say he's doing just fine."

Knock Out's helm tilts down. "At least he's happy."

There was an awkward silence for a while, Arcee glancing at Ratchet, who looks back at her with a perplexed expression and a shrug.

"So, uh," she starts, "are you going to help us?"

"I guess I have to now," Knock Out mutters. "I might be able to convince some of the High Guard leadership to race with me. Maybe start a competitive tournament 'for fun', though certain Seekers probably won't be too pleased with me afterwards for distracting them."

Suddenly loud laughter rings throughout the alley, coming from above. "Possibly," an unfamiliar voice calls. "Screamer might let it slide, though, if you're able to stoke his ego enough and maybe let him win a few times."

Knock Out's expression falters into one of terror and Ratchet and Arcee look up as a large mech jumps from the roof above them, landing neatly between them and Knock Out. A tall, angular, blue and grey Seeker who smirks down at all three of them. "You are right, though, that my dear brother won't be too pleased with this distraction regardless. Considering he feels what we're doing is very important."

"Thundercracker," Knock Out gasps. "How- how long have you been there?"

Thundercracker cackles. "Oh, just as soon as these poor cogless bots arrived. You know, Skywarp was wondering where you were off to in such a hurry. I suppose it's a good thing I spotted you while I was following these curious visitors and was able to solve two mysteries at once." His smirk widens. "If I so chose, I could comm him right now and get him to tell old Screamer what's happening here."

"Don't you dare tell Starscream," Ratchet hisses, and Arcee glances back just momentarily, long enough to spot a long, silver pipe lying close behind her.

"Do you really think you're threatening from down there?" Thundercracker questions with a sinister grin.

Right then, Knock Out turns and tries to get away, but Thundercracker catches him mid-transformation and pulls him back. Right then, Arcee quickly grabs the pipe while the Seeker is distracted and hides it behind her back, locking optics with Ratchet for a brief moment.

"And why don't you tell me why exactly I should be silent about this?" Thundercracker inquires as he turns back to Ratchet and Arcee, gripping Knock Out tightly.

"Careful!" Knock Out exclaims. "You'll scratch my finish!"

Arcee is quick as she comms Ratchet.

:: Grab Knock Out. I'll go for Thundercracker. ::

Ratchet offers her a very, very small nod, before he opens his mouth as if to speak. However, he instead lunges forward and slams a fist into Thundercracker's abdominal plating, causing Thundercracker to gasp and release Knock Out (who falls to the ground with an undignified grunt) to clutch at his midriff.

"You little-" he starts to snarl, but before he can do anything, Arcee leaps up and smacks the pipe onto Thundercracker's helm. He stumbles back and Arcee hits him again and again, before Knock Out sticks out a leg that he then trips over, and Thundercracker lands hard on the ground.

Arcee then pins one of his wrists down with a knee and holds the pipe against his throat with both servos as Knock Out grabs his other wrist and Ratchet holds down his legs.

Thundercracker glares up at them with murderous optics, and Ratchet smirks. "Well, if you want to go ahead and tell 'Screamer' that you were so easily defeated by two cogless bots, you can go right ahead." He glances to Knock Out, who returns the smirk.

"I'll gladly bear witness to that."

"I could easily overpower you all right now," Thundercracker snarls. "I can shake you all off easily!"

"Then why don't you?" Arcee challenges, pressing the pipe harder against his neck, and Thundercracker glowers at her.

"You can help us," Ratchet offers smoothly. "If you help distract your dear brothers, they'll never have to know the humiliation that befell you."

Thundercracker hisses, then releases a choked gasp as Arcee again presses the pipe harder against his intake. "Fine, fine!" he relents. "I'll help you! Just get off of me!"

Arcee lifts the pipe and tosses it behind her, and one by one, they release their hold on Thundercracker, watching as he slowly stands. Then, suddenly Thundercracker smirks again, crossing his arms behind his back.

"I will help you," he says, "but I'll only help if both of you stay here in Kaon. After all, you've done a good job proving I'll need to keep an optic on you both. So, I'll do what you ask, you'll come with me to the High Guard headquarters. Deal?" He holds a servo out, and Ratchet stares warily at it as Arcee watches Knock Out bolt and disappear, the sound of his transformation and speedy exit already distant.

"I'm not an idiot," Ratchet growls after a moment. "You're going to take us prisoner."

"Oh, no, no," Thundercracker says, shaking his helm. "You managed to best me in a fight, I'll admit that much, and I'm not stupid enough to let that potential go to waste. I think you can be of better use to us among our ranks than rusting away in a cell. As long as you tell them it was at least a narrow victory. So what do you say, miners? Care to stop being looked down on?"

Arcee and Ratchet exchange a confused glance, before looking back at the extended servo in front of them. "What do you mean?" Arcee questions.

"I'm saying, cogless bots, do you want to be able to transform for the first time?"

Ratchet's optics widen and Arcee feels confusion, fear, and hope flare in her spark. "We'd… get cogs?"

"We have some additional ones laying around," Thundercracker says with a shrug. "Most harvested from offline bots. But don't worry; we weren't the ones who killed them." He holds his servo closer to them, growing impatient. "So do we have a deal, or not?"

They exchange another uneasy glance, before Ratchet tilts his helm questioningly toward Arcee, and she swallows and offers him a tiny nod, though she still felt unsure inside.

Ratchet sighs, then takes Thundercracker's servo. "Fine. We'll go with you to the High Guard headquarters.”

Thundercracker's smirk widens. "Perfect."

Chapter Text

Elita's senses came online one by one. She could feel a hard surface beneath her, she could feel what had to be some kind of gentle breeze, and she could feel a faint pain in her back. Actually, no, there was pain in her entire frame. Her olfactory sensors kicked in next, and then her audio sensors soon after, and then she could hear a familiar voice saying her name. A groan escapes her as she feels her processor slowly catch up to what happened, and her optics flicker open. When they focus, Elita sees Orion hovering over her.

"You okay?" he asks.

Elita slams her fist into the side of his face, though she does notice he attempted to dodge her strike as if he knew it was coming. She attempts to stand but finds her pedes don't have a good grip on the smooth metal of the surface, so she slips as Orion groans in pain.

"Guess I deserve that," he says with a soft chuckle. "But are you okay?"

Elita huffs as she keeps attempting to stand, soon getting up unsteadily. "I swear to Primus, Pax, you-" She tenses suddenly. "The train- Where's the train?"

"Relax, okay?" Orion sighs. "The trains are everywhere on the surface; we'll find one eventually. Listen; you can hear them coming, and there's one close by."

Elita's antennae twitch as she hears the sound of a coming train, and she turns toward the sound, but it speeds off in the opposite direction.

"Well, I guess that one wasn't for us," Orion continues as he stands and steps toward Elita. "It's fine, there should eventually be another one coming by and maybe luck will be on our side this time. No reason we can't make it on foot, though; it should only be possibly a few days-"

Elita barely hears him as the frustration reaches its boiling point, and she shuts her optics tight and screams. She hears it echo throughout the surface, and she can almost feel Orion tensing behind her. When her scream runs out, she turns and starts punching one of the nearby outcroppings as Orion takes another step in her direction.

"Okay, so, I think this is us," he starts, and Elita sees him pointing to a red dot on the holo-map, "and if we follow the path to-"

Elita doesn't let him finish, snatching the chip where it's magnetically attached to Orion's arm. "Now you listen to me, Mister Zero-Seconds-Since-My-Last-Accident," she snarls. "I'll go on your little quest because 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 those two idiot go-bots back to Iacon city 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! Got it?" Elita was vaguely aware of B sidling closer to her as D and Jazz watch what was happening, and Orion takes a step back from her.

"Yeah, okay, deal, great, fine," Orion mumbles.

"Let's go!" Elita calls, turning and not waiting for everyone else. B walks alongside her for a moment before looking back at the others.

"We're- we're joining them?" he laughs softly. "Fantastic!"

Elita can't help but roll her optics as B slows his steps to walk back to the others, though she supposed more connections would be good for him. She idly tinkers with the holo-map as she listens to the conversation behind her.

"Hi there," B says to the others, "wanted to formally introduce myself, uh, I'm B-127, one of you held me in a chokehold earlier, back there. Uh, you- you can call me B, or, Badassatron, it's a nickname some of the guys gave me, I don't know." Elita knew B was lying out of his aft right there, but truth be told, she didn't really care. "Actually, it's pronounced 'BADASSATRON', in case you were wondering."

She hears Jazz laugh. "All right. Nice to meet you, Badassatron. I'm Jazz. Sorry about the chokehold thing; I panicked."

"I'm Orion Pax. It's nice to meet you, B."

"D-16."

"It is beyond amazing to have so many friends now," B says excitedly. "I can't wait to learn everything about you, and then tell you everything about me! I have a lot of hopes and dreams that I am just dying to share with one or two or three new best friends."

"Can't you share those with Elita?" D questions, and Elita stifles a sigh.

He certainly has. Quite a lot, she thinks to herself.

"Well, yeah, but she's made it clear I'm just her underling rather than a friend," B responds sheepishly and Elita feels a pang of guilt in her spark followed by mild indignation. "I'll keep trying, though! But anyway, tell me about you guys. Where did you come from? How did you figure out how to reach the Matrix of Leadership? What makes you so sure about it?"

"All three of us were miners," Jazz says. "I actually worked in waste management once upon a time as well, but I clawed my way up and soon I found myself mining under Elita's leadership. She used to be our captain before Orion got her fired for breaking protocol to save me."

Elita bristles. She still feels a bit bitter about that and it stung to hear Jazz just say it as if it were nothing to her. It was everything! I was so close to that promotion to supervisor! And then he got me sent all the way back to the bottom. She growls softly to herself, her servos clenching into fists.

Evidently Elita had missed the next part of that conversation, because they were now talking about the transmission they found that she was currently holding.

"I already said Pax stole it out of the archives," D says with a soft huff. "Got himself thrown into a garbage chute by the guard that found him. I don't know what he was thinking with that, but I guess we're already here, so there's nothing we can really do about it."

Orion was being uncharacteristically quiet, and Elita thought back to when they were on the train, when he'd spoken to D in that cold manner. Orion had always been a strange mech, but that had been strange even for him. Elita found herself wondering if something had happened between them. With the way D had looked after what Orion had said, though, his words and tone may have been completely unprompted.

"At least it's pretty up here," Jazz says wondrously. "With how dangerous they'd made the surface sound, I never could have imagined it looking like this."

Elita silently agrees with him. She looked up from the coordinate map and took in the beauty of the surface. They walked along the outcroppings, the landscape glimmering in the sunlight. The metal they walked on was dull and lacked luster, but it was still a novelty to them all.

"So how are you so sure this will lead to something?" B asks, and Elita realizes she had been zoned out.

"We aren't fully certain," Orion says, speaking for the first time since he'd introduced himself to B as far as Elita was aware. "Just mostly. And we're mostly sure because there was a transmission attached to the coordinates from Alpha Trion. I don't know how to replay it myself, but I'm sure Elita could figure it out."

Elita's optics flashed with surprise, looking back at the chip on her arm. Her antennae twitched and she reached down, slowly, almost hesitantly, turning the frame of the chip counterclockwise. Sure enough, a hologram of the ancient Prime appeared before her. She halted as the transmission played, and she heard the others come to a stop as well, B walking for a bit longer to get a better look at the message.

"Quintesson ambush!" Alpha Trion's voice cried. "Calling the High Guard for immediate support, immediate support!"

Elita feels shock washing over her, her frame tensing as B gasped. "That really is Alpha Trion!" he exclaims.

"Repeat, Zeta Prime has fallen!" the message continues. "Protect the Matrix!"

Elita had seen enough proof and clicked the chip's frame back into place and let the coordinates show again. "So you were telling the truth," she muses.

"Do you really think I'd lie to you, Elita?" Orion asks, and though his tone was playful, Elita could hear a thread of hurt in his voice. She feels the guilt again, but quickly stamps it down.

"Let's just keep moving," she grumbles, continuing down the path the holo-map displayed. The others once again fell into step behind her, and the conversation continued, Orion once again being unusually quiet while Jazz and B spoke and D occasionally pitched in.

They continued walking all throughout the solar cycle, stopping to take small breaks every now and then. Elita was listening to Jazz telling B about his (rather dull) time working in waste management when she feels a slight tremor beneath her pedes.

"Pax?" D says, and Elita turns her helm to see that Orion had stopped moving, his optics narrowed and his helm tilted up and to the left.

"What's going on?" Jazz asks, frowning slightly as B almost walks into Elita.

"I thought I felt something," Orion responds, before his helm turns fully to the left. "I think what happened on the train is happening again."

Elita tenses and turns in the direction Orion faced, and now that she was still, she could feel that shaking a bit more prominently.

"Should we start running?" B asks nervously.

"I think it's traveling away from us," Orion answers. "I can hear it growing distant. I think we'll be fine for now, but we should be more aware of our surroundings. We don't want to be caught off guard by one of those."

"Let's keep going, then," Elita says, though she stays wary as the five of them start walking again. Elita could see a mountain range in the far distance, and according to the map, they'd need to walk through it. Hopefully the shifting won't cause a mountain to collapse on us.

B starts chattering again and Elita continues to idly listen as he rambles about his old position. "You know, once I found a bunch of datapads thrown out down in Sublevel 50," he says. "I remember one about a theoretical connection between the movement of the surface and the shifting of the mining tunnels. I don't really remember all of the details, but I do remember the biggest theory being that Cybertron developed it as a defense mechanism to protect Primus at the core. Allegedly when we first started mining for energon after the Matrix was lost, it was a lot less dangerous than it is now, so they theorized that the shifting started to ward us away from doing it."

B definitely sounded like he wasn't done talking, but D ended up speaking before he could continue. "Aren't there only forty sublevels?"

"That's what I thought, too!" B exclaims. "Turns out there are ten more!"

Elita hears Jazz hum softly. "I wonder why we've never heard of that."

"Well, the other ten sublevels are not pleasant, which is probably why no one talks about them," B says in response.

"What did you even do to get sent all the way down there?" D inquires.

"You know what, that's a great question; I can't remember. I've been down there for a long time. I do know I've had other jobs, but I kept getting reassigned 'cause I'm so good at what I do." Elita noticed a weird edge to B's voice, but she doesn't have time to dwell on it, because right then, Orion speaks again.

"What did Sublevel 50 look like?" he asks, but he sounded as if he somehow already knew the answer.

"Oh, it was this small room with a conveyor belt that led into a furnace," B answers. "My job was to sort through the scrap that came from the chute to see if there was anything worth salvaging."

"That sounds a lot like the area I fell into," Orion says. "After I was caught. Is it possible I might have fallen all the way down to Sublevel 50?"

"If that's the case, you shouldn't be out here right now," D huffs. "I don't know how you didn't get more damaged than you did, but you should have been resting for a lot longer than you were."

"I'm fine, D," Orion insists. "I promise. You don't have to worry about me so much."

"You are telling me not to worry about you," D says dubiously. "Sure."

Elita has to stop herself from turning around. That was weird, she thinks. Orion is acting weird. Did he damage his processor or something? She shakes herself just a bit. Focus. You're on a mission. Orion doesn't matter right now.

Elita tries to block out the conversation behind her, trying to stay concentrated on traveling. Technically, because she was leading, her pace was their pace, so if she started moving faster, they were supposed to catch up with her. However, given the bots keeping her company, she had her doubts.

They continued moving forward, the mountain range in the distance growing closer, before B noticed the sky was growing darker.

"Elita!" he calls, his voice cutting through her concentration now that attention was directed to her. She halts and turns to face the others. "It's starting to get dark. We should stop to recharge soon, right?"

Elita looks up at the sky and notices the sun was setting and the stars were starting to come out. She sighs and nods. "Probably. Let's find somewhere safer first, though. We should keep moving forward as long as we can."

"Smart move," Jazz comments, before they continue on their path. Soon enough, D pointed out an outcropping that formed a natural overhang, and they diverted just slightly from their path to reach it. They settle themselves down, sitting in a small circle, and Elita puts away the holo-map.

"I can take the first watch," Orion says after a moment.

"What do you mean?" D questions with narrowed optics.

"Sentinel's still out here, right?" Orion responds. "Someone should stay awake to watch for him in case he ends up passing by. And besides, what if the surface starts shifting near us again? Someone should be aware of that to warn the others, too."

"That makes sense," Jazz says with a nod. "But are you sure you should take the first watch? I mean, you probably didn't get much recharge recently, given everything that's been happening the past few days. You know, raiding the archives and getting thrown down to Sublevel 50, and then spending the rest of the night climbing back up." He chuckles softly. "Any of that sound familiar?"

"He's right," D says to Orion, crossing his arms. "You need recharge. You're not watching for anything."

"Come on, D it'll be fine," Orion objects. "And anyway, I must have gotten some charge when we were knocked out earlier."

"That doesn't matter," D counters. "It definitely wasn't enough. You're recharging first. You need it, Pax."

"If he needs charge that badly, maybe he shouldn't watch tonight at all," B offers. "There's four more of us; we could probably all take watch shifts tonight and let Orion rest."

"That's not a bad idea," Jazz agrees.

"Guys, relax, I'll be fine," Orion starts, but is interrupted.

"Oh, for Primus' sake," Elita snaps, standing. "I'll take the first watch and Orion will take the second, and the rest of you can determine whatever order you want. That settle it?"

There was a tense silence after she spoke, Jazz and B sharing a glance and D looking to Orion, who wasn't meeting anyone's gaze.

"I don't think he should have a shift but… fine," D sighs after a moment.

"I'll take watch after Orion," Jazz volunteers, and Elita doesn't miss how he glances over at D before Orion.

"I'll go next, then," B says next.

"Good. Then we're all in agreement, then," Elita says, crossing her arms. "I'll watch first, then Orion, Jazz, B, and D."

A brief moment of silence, and then they nod. Elita sits back down with a sigh, and Jazz, D, and Orion all pull out energon cubes.

"Oh, scrap, Elita and I don't have any rations," B says, his tone panicked.

"You can have one of mine," Orion offers him, pulling out another and passing it to him. Jazz then tosses one to Elita who then catches it, though she does study the cube suspiciously before consuming it.

"How do you know you won't need this?" she questions.

"When we were getting our rations for this journey, I had us bring some extra in case we were out here longer than anticipated," Orion explains. "I guess it's a good thing we did."

"And how exactly did you get this many?"

"Take a wild guess," D says dryly, glancing meaningfully at Orion.

"Starting your life of crime with various thefts, I see," Elita scoffs, though she can't help but secretly find the thought amusing.

"I mean, hey, I'd say it's good to start small than to start big," Jazz comments with a mischievous grin.

"Don't encourage this," D huffs, but Elita catches sight of a barely-there smile on his face.

"So that's a transmission from the archives and large amounts of energon on your record so far," B says. "What do you think you'll steal next?"

"A certain someone's sanity," Orion remarks, grinning as he glanced over to D, though Elita noticed his optics flicker.

"You'll probably steal mine, then, too," she comments, wondering what was going through Orion's processor. I'll figure it out soon enough.

After they had all fueled, B was the first to lie down for recharge, followed by Jazz, and D shifts a little closer to Orion before he too allows himself to rest. Elita can feel Orion looking at her for a long moment, before she hears him sigh and lay down as well.

Now the only one awake, Elita looks over her resting friends, and then begrudgingly admits to herself that "friends" is the right word for them. Even Orion, despite everything that's happened to her because of him (she wasn't going to forget about that, though, Orion definitely still had to make up for what he'd taken). And B, despite how much he could grate her circuits sometimes, even in the brief time they've known each other. She eventually has to turn to the landscape of the surface to stop the stupid emotions starting to build within her spark.

It truly was beautiful. Elita could see outcroppings forming in the distance, but nothing came close, so there was no need to panic just yet. The stars scattered throughout the sky and the glow of the twin moons reflected on the surface and made for quite the light show. Elita couldn't stop the tiny smile that crept onto her face. She looks back down with a soft sigh, her smile fading as she looked back at the holo-map. She looks back to the others with a frown.

How can they be so sure about this? she finds herself wondering. The Matrix has been gone for cycles. If Pax really found this in the archives, who's to say this hasn't been found before? What if Sentinel Prime's already investigated these coordinates? She shuts her optics and takes in a deep vent, before opening them and looking to Orion. He's reckless, but hopefully he's smart enough not to be leading us into absolutely nothing.

She turns back around and looks back up at the stars, but then she sees some kind of dark shape moving across the sky, blotting out the stars as it traveled. She narrows her optics, but whatever it was, it was too distant to really make out. And then it traveled further, and eventually it was gone. She taps her pede against the ground impatiently, before she feels and hears a faint, distant rumble.

Elita tenses, looking around the outcropping, but she could see no shifting metal, so she lets her frame go lax, though she stays sharp. Eventually the tension within her processor becomes too much, so she stands and starts to pace around their encampment. She couldn't help but feel something was off, but she couldn't quite place what it was. All she could feel was a soft sense of dread building in her spark, as if she could feel that something bad was going to happen at some point soon.

She ends up walking a few circles around her sleeping friends, and then noticed, D in stasis had shifted closer to Orion, who she then noticed was tense. Curious and a little concerned, she sat down beside him, and she saw how his venting was uneven, and his right servo was twitching. Orion's derma tightened in a grimace, and then a whisper escaped him.

"D… no…"

Elita's optics widen with surprise and worry, and she feels a pang in her spark, but as she reaches out to him, Orion jolts awake, sitting up with a gasp. His venting was heavy and erratic, and his right servo was clutching the left side of his chassis, his optics wild with terror.

"Whoa, whoa, Orion," Elita whispers, placing a servo on his shoulder. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Orion continues venting heavily, before he finally looks up at Elita. Something in his optics softened, and he released a sigh of relief. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he says to her. "Just fine. It was only a dream."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be all right." He offers Elita a gentle smile. "It's not a big deal. Just a dream."

Elita can't help but hesitate. "Can I ask what it was about?" she asks softly.

Orion's optics dim and he looks away. "This isn't the first time I've had this nightmare. But it's about D. I see him, and then I… lose him."

Elita felt another pang in her spark. "When did they start?"

"I'm not sure," Orion responds. "All I know is that the same thing happens every time, and there's nothing I can do to stop it." He wraps his arms around his legs. "I can't save him."

Elita is about to speak again when Orion shakes himself and offers her a small smile. "Anyway, it's fine. But since I'm awake now, I can take over watching, if you want. I'm fine starting early."

"Didn't D-16 say something about charge levels?" Elita responds wryly.

Orion chuckles softly. "Oh, please, all of us know that one time I went nearly a week without sleeping. I was perfectly fine for most of it, save for the last day. I'd expect that you'd remember that."

"How could I forget?" Elita sighs with a smile. "You were horrible at work that day. By the end of the last shift, I'm pretty sure you needed help from D to get out of the tunnel."

"At least you weren't punished for my poor performance that day," Orion says, returning her smile. However, it soon fades, and he looks down with a sigh. "I'm sorry I got you fired. And stuck in waste management." He glances over at B, who was curled up on his side, mumbling even in stasis. "At least it wasn't rock bottom for you, though. How is he?"

Elita scoffs softly. "Annoying, but, I'll admit, I am starting to warm up to him. If what he says about Sublevel 50 is true, he must have been isolated for a long time." She sighs. "It only makes sense that he'd be so desperate for connection. It's pretty remarkable that even after all of that, he's still so… happy."

She sees Orion nod, a strangle gleam in his optics. "Yeah. How's he working with you?"

"Well, I guess there's something to be said for enthusiasm," she remarks. "Most bots down there were demoted as punishment, but I guess since B was promoted, it only makes sense he'd have a different attitude toward the job."

"Right." Orion sits up a little straighter. "So anyway, I don't think I'll be getting back into recharge any time soon. If you want to rest, I'm fine starting my watch shift early, like I said before."

Elita sighs again, knowing Orion probably needed a lot more recharge than that, but she is starting to feel a little tired, so she decides to take him up on his offer. "All right, fine," she acquiesces. She stands and moves back to where she sat before, between D and Jazz, and she lies down, finding a comfortable position to lie in, before shutting her optics. "Goodnight, Pax."

"Goodnight, Elita."

Elita sighs as she allows her systems to shut down. As she sinks into stasis, her processor still ran a bit, and she couldn't help but think about how Orion was definitely acting different now. From how he was so quiet earlier to how he seemed so calm and collected speaking to her was quite a contrast to how he usually behaved. As Elita drifted off, she found herself wondering what brought on the change, and she wondered if D had something to do with it. Probably not, she guessed, thinking back to the conversation on top of the train, because otherwise he wouldn't have looked as confused as I feel right now.

So why else might Orion be acting so strangely?