The distraction was enough to give them a five-second head start before the two security guards were able to process what happened.
The gold-masked Transformer exclaimed, running after the two. Orion and (Y/Cyb/n) dashed through the corridors, weaving through the boxes and crates. The two security guards, slightly caught off guard, soon recovered quickly and gave chase. Their large servos pushed aside the obstacles in their way, creating a wake of destruction as they pursued the two.
The two security guards shouted at Orion and (Y/Cyb/n) as they closed in. With quick thinking, Orion let go of his friend's servo and leaped to grab a ventilation shaft, pulling it open.
The metal swung open, hitting the two security guards in their faceplates as they fell to the floor. While they were monetarily down, (Y/Cyb/n) activated one of his Algorithms, which was the Quadirectional Keeper.
He shifted a few boxes and crates over, creating a wall and barrier before running off.
Orion slid across the floor, hitting a shelf before getting back to his pedes and running alongside (Y/Cyb/n), who nearly tripped and stumbled. "I... I... I... We need something to fly." Orion muttered.
They were about to run further, but Orion paused when he noticed one of the security drones. "::Halt, criminals! Prepared to be detained—"
After they made a left turn, Orion grabbed the drone with his other servo. Passing through more crates, they were nearing a shaft that led to the outside. Behind the two, the noise of gears and metal shifting was heard. Glancing behind, they both saw the security guards turning into an aerial vehicle, increasing their speed.
"Hang on!" Orion shouted.
As they plummeted from the upside-down building, Orion gripped the security drone tightly, his panicked shouts echoing through the chaos. Meanwhile, (Y/Cyb/n) struggled to convey his emotions without functional vocalizers, resorting to selecting an audio file to mimic a scream.
"Start, start, start!" Orion cursed as he frantically thumped the security drone. The thought of dying was unbearable to him, not now, not ever, not today.
Suddenly, there was a powerful BWOOSH as Orion activated the drone's jet boost, propelling it into the air. (Y/Cyb/n) clung to the other side of the drone as it spun through the sky. Their moment of relief was cut short when an aerial vehicle collided with them.
They careened in a different direction, crashing into a right-side-up building with a resounding THUD. As they tumbled down the steep, slippery slope of the building, teetering on the edge, Orion urgently warned (Y/n) to brace for impact. With a tight grip on the security drone, (Y/n) swiftly deactivated it using the Saboteur Catalyst Algorithm.
They were launched into the air, hurtling across to the other side with a sharp CLANK as they barely managed to clutch onto the edge of another building. Orion struggled to find purchase on the smooth surface, desperately attempting to pull himself up as they dangled precariously over the edge.
(Y/Cyb/n) huffed and squirmed to pull himself up. He glanced behind and noticed the two security bots heading toward them in their alt modes.
Swiftly, (Y/Cyb/n) drew out his Laser Blade knife and stabbed it into the metal, using it as a stepping stone to pull himself up. "Come on." He offered a servo to Orion, who quickly grabbed it and pulled himself up. They both began to run to a door with an opening.
"Haha!" Orion turned back to taunt the two guards. "So long, sir-"
He was cut off as they both fell through a hole instead of feeling flat ground.
Orion landed on his back, breaking a table of a small party of Transformers. (Y/Cyb/n) landed more carefully, although it was clumsy since he tripped before falling.
"Ooh, Energon." Orion smiled, picking himself up and taking several small Energon cubes. "Evening, everyone. Pardon us." He waved as he casually left the room of confused Transformers with (Y/Cyb/n) shuffling along.
The door slid open quickly when they left. Orion ducked from a passing aerial vehicle, making him drop the armful of Energon. He again held (Y/Cyb/n)'s servo, guiding the trans-mech through the crowd. His optics soon landed on a train coming from their side.
"Hey, that's our ride!" He gestured to the moving transportation. "You ready?"
"[APPREHENSIVE NOD]" (Y/Cyb/n) nodded, nervous at the thought of jumping on the fast-moving train.
"Here we go!" Orion exclaimed, running to a railing of the central walkway of Iacon.
They stepped onto the railing and jumped over, freefalling to the moving train.
Orion carefully landed on the train's outside due to its rounded and smooth surface. (Y/Cyb/n) landed a bit off, making him slip off the train. The blue and red Cybertronian grabbed his friend's servo, helping him to his pedes. The Transformers who heard the noise looked annoyed, recognizing the two, especially the "the most defective one" out of the defective mining bots and society. They at least didn't make a big deal about their presence.
The train carried on, moving swiftly across the train tracks. Orion and (Y/Cyb/n) found themselves on top of other passengers of the same train, although it was evident that the other passengers were giving them disapproving looks. The occasional glance and murmurs indicated they weren't pleased with their presence, especially (Y/Cyb/n). However, nobody bothered to speak directly, simply grumbling among themselves.
"What's with all the sour faces?" Orion muttered under his breath, his optics scanning the train's occupants.
"[SHRUG]" (Y/Cyb/n) spoke reflexivelyflexively.
The train continued its ride until it stopped at a station. Orion and (Y/Cyb/n) slid down the train's door when it opened upward. They took off running again to get away further.
The noise of jet engines was heard above the two as they noticed the pair of familiar aerial vehicles approaching from behind.
Both Transformers turned into their bipedal modes, landing in front of them with a loud thud. "[NERVOUS GULP]" (Y/Cyb/n) instinctively spoke before he played an audio sound of gulping as he huddled behind Orion Pax.
"Hey, big fellas." The blue and red robot waved at the approaching security transformers as he tried to catch his breath from running. "Thanks for the headstart. Do you want to go for another run again?"
The magenta-masked transformer chuckled mockingly. "You're not getting away this time, Oeron."
He tilted slightly towards (Y/Cyb/n), who shyly peeked out from behind his friend's shoulder. "And we're not letting the walking ticking time bomb out of our sights."
Orion's optics narrowed with irritation as the security Transformers approached, their optics fixed on (Y/Cyb/n). He stepped forward to shield his friend, standing protectively before him. "Hey, watch your language. You don't even know him."
The magenta-masked guard smirked, clearly enjoying the chance to belittle (Y/Cyb/n). "Oh, we know him. Everyone knows him. He's the most defective mining bot on this whole planet."
"Okay--you might have a point right there-" Orion stuttered out. "But hey! You could probably know him better if you were just nicer to him! He doesn't bite or explode-"
The golden-masked guard let out a frustrated scoff and stepped forward. "You're dead!"
"I'll take that as a no..." Orion's sheepish smile faltered.
The golden-masked guard was bumped by a cart being pushed by a miner bot. The two guards turned behind to see who bumped into them.
"Hey!" A dark grey and silver Cybertronian complained when his stuff fell down. "What where you're going- His complaint died out quickly as he realized the Transformers he was confronting had a bigger frame.
"What did you say, no-cog!?" The golden-masked security guard snarled menacingly, addressing his superiority.
"Sorry, sir, I didn't mean you." The Cybertronian stepped back, his servos raised in a placid gesture. "I was referring to the two bots who were behind you."
At that moment, when they turned their helms to face the two bots they were trying to chase, they were gone already, taking the distraction to flee or hide. "Where did they go!?" The golden-masked guard snarled in disbelief and annoyance, looking around with his magenta-masked brother.
"The filthy red and blue bot with his special left optic?" The miner mech inquired, placing the spilled contents back into his cart. "Yeah- the red and blue with a big mouth, squeaky joints, and a corrosive metallic stench. His buddy..."
He trailed off slightly, not wanting to offend the poor "defected" trans-mech who was unfortunate to be built the way he was. "He's a bit... buggy here and there." He didn't have a lot of bad things to say about (Y/Cyb/n).
He was a genuinely kind and placid person, although extremely monotonous and quiet to others due to his "defect" of impaired vision, a broken vocalizer, and the need to narrate his actions and emotions reflexively.
The two security guards nodded in mutual understanding, a touch of disgust crossing their faceplates.
"That's them, alright." The magenta-masked guard grumbled, optics scanning the area.
"Where are they!?" The golden-masked guard echoed his companion's words, his voice dripping with irritation.
"They went that way." The miner bot pointed a servo to his right.
The security guards looked at where the miner bot supposedly saw them before they took off, not without the golden-masked Transformer grumbling, "When I get my hands on them..."
"Ooh, I can't wait to give that little defected-freak buddy of his a nice check-up." The magenta-masked Transformer was added.
Once they were out of the way, the miner bot pushed the car into the train as the door closed.
With a sharp hiss, the train began to move to its subsequent designation: The Energon Mines. While on the train, the miner acknowledged a passing bot with a nod and waited for a few moments. The miner bot then spoke to the cart, "Alright, all clear."
Orion popped out of the cart, grabbing the drilling machine. "D-16, I may be rusty but corrosive- that is too far." He chuckled at his best friend playfully. D-16 had covered him and (Y/Cyb/n) hiding from the guards by staying in the cart D-16 was carrying.
"Let me guess," the dark grey and silver mech spoke with a knowing smirk. "You checked out of the archives?"
"Yeah," the blue and red mech nodded enthusiastically, midway in pulling himself out of the cart. "I had to jump out of a window this time. Almost died- it was wild." He summarized.
"And going through ancient data is worth dying for?" D-16 asked sarcastically.
"Yes, it is." Orion pulled himself out before he tumbled, spilling the cart's contents again.
The contents spilled again, leaving D-16 groaning in slight annoyance, concern, and exasperation. "Ugh... I need a new best friend." The dark gray and silver miner bot mumbled with sarcasm as he felt to help Orion put the items back.
"Ow." (Y/Cyb/n) monotonously yelped, rolling out of the cart, too, faceplanting against the floor.
D-16 chuckled, patting the top of (Y/Cyb/n)'s helm affectionately before offering a servo to pull him up. "Careful, you clumsy buddy."
Orion chuckled as he began to pick up the cart's spilled contents. The other two mechs assisted Orion in placing the contents back. "If there are clues and our recording history to help us locate the Matrix of Leadership. There in the archives." The red and blue bot tried to reason. "Trust me-"
"Sentinel Prime," D-16 spoke sternly. "The-Sentinel Prime is up on the surface," He tossed in another metal prop. "Risking his life for us in search of the Matrix."
"That's exactly what I am doing!" Orion replied enthusiastically. "I'm trying to help him."
"Yeah, yeah- okay." D-16 chuckled, leaning against the cart as he chuckled at his best friend's ambition of searching the Matrix of Leadership.
"The sooner the Energon flows, the sooner we don't have to mine for it," Orion remarked. "Don't you want to choose your own path? Do whatever you want?"
"We're miners. We mine, that's all." D-16 deadpanned.
"No." Orion Pax disagreed, leaning back against the cart. "There's got to be something more I can do. I... I can feel it."
"Oh yeah?" The dark gray and silver bot had an amused smirk at his best friend. "Like the time you had a "feeling" you could "transform" without a cog?"
"You said you were never going to mention that again." The blue-optic mech pointed a digit at D-16, not wanting to remember the embarrassing memory.
"Took me three days to pry you over." D-16 added. "Your feelings can get you in trouble."
"Mm..." (Y/Cyb/n) hummed in agreement. He popped his helm out sheepishly his shawl. He tugged the metallic fabric over his helm as if it were his only security blanket to comfort him from society looking down at him.
Orion pouted sheepishly at (Y/Cyb/n)'s agreement. "Oh, not you, too?"
D-16 chuckled in amusement at his friend's sheepish response. "I think that says something..."
The blue and red bot let out a huff, feigning a hint of annoyance, but a hint of a smile was evident on his faceplate. "You two are both traitors, you know that?" He then chuckled jokingly.
"Sure are." The dark gray and silver bot placed a servo on the (a/c) trans-mech's shoulderplates.
"Yeah, yeah..." The blue and red bot waved dismissively at his friend's comment while he picked up another piece of metal.
"Just trust Sentinel Prime." The dark gray and silver bot shrugged.
"I do trust him," Orion remarked quickly before tossing in a piece of metal into the cart.
"Hey, if we did have cogs-"
"I'd transformed into a shovel. I would still beat you." D-16 answered his friend's rhetorical question quickly, leaning against the transparent door of the train. "What about you?" He looked at the other two mechs.
"I don't like how fast you answered that." Orion huffed, leaning against the cart.
"..." (Y/Cyb/n) contemplated in his own thoughts. The left pupil of his broken optic changed from a neutral, flat white line into a vibrant, ocean-blue teardrop once more as he stared at the floor.
For cycles since the incident, he'd been told that a Codex like him (despite not knowing the meaning) shouldn't deserve to be a Transform, or he wouldn't be granted the ability to transform because of his "strange powers."
Orion glanced at (Y/Cyb/n)'s optic, its tear-drop-shaped pupil gleaming of his defected optic. His optics widened, concern etched on his faceplate.
"Hey- hey." The blue and red mech turned his gaze directly at (Y/Cyb/n), his voice dripping with worry. "Don't listen to any of that nonsense. You're not an... a..." Orion couldn't bring himself to say the word.
Instead, he cleared his throat and replaced it with something more friendly. "You're an individual like us. You're not defective. You're not."
D-16's optics softened, sharing Orion's sentiment as he glanced at the (a/c) mech beside him. "Exactly," he replied, his tone mirroring Orion's concern.
He placed a reassuring servo on (Y/Cyb/n)'s shoulder plates, giving them a gentle squeeze. "No matter what anyone says, you're as much a Cybertronian as any of us."
(Y/Cyb/n) looked up at the two mechs, his optics filled with gratitude and vulnerability. "[GRATITUDE AND SHEEPISH NOD]" He flatly spoke his action and emotion reflexively again while doing it.
Orion and D-16 nodded at (Y/Cyb/n)'s response, their expression holding a mixture of concern and reassurance. Both shared a glance, a silent understanding passing between them.
The dark grey and silver bot took the lead, breaking the momentary silence. "And don't let those guards' words get to you either." He spoke sternly. "You are not a 'defect.'"
"... And you are not a walking ticking time bomb." the blue and red mech quickly added, turning his gaze towards (Y/Cyb/n) as he spoke.
"Yeah." D-16 chimed in with a firm nod. "You're just... a bit buggy here and there, that's all."
For a few moments, the train carriage was silent, with the only sounds being the low hum of the train's engines and the occasional click of metal against metal.
Orion broke it as he glanced at D-16. "Listen, if you did beat me, I could give you this Megatronus Prime I have here, or I could give it to someone else."
"What Megatronus Prime thing?" The dark gray and silver mech inquired.
"It's nothing. You know, the unconditioned Megatronus Prime decal first edition?"
Orion smirked, taking out a Megatronous Prime sticker out of nowhere.
D-16 gasped in shock and surprise. He was a massive fan of Megatronous Prime. "What?" He spoke breathlessly.
"I mean, if you don't want it. I can just throw it away." The red and blue bot teased, twirling the sticker.
"Throw it away-" The dark gray and silver mech furrowed his optic ridges in disbelief. "That's not funny, let me see-"
"Waaait- don't grab." Orion stepped back after D-16 tried to reach for it. "You're going to crease it." He smiled, gently placing the sticker on his best friend's arm.
The yellow-optic mining Cybertronian smiled with contentment. "As Sentinel Prime says, Megatronous was-"
"-strongest Prime who ever lived." Orion crossed his arms with a knowing smirk. "I know that." He looked at the sticker on his best friend's arm. "Looks good on you." He complimented.
"Dawg, it's-" The yellow-optic mech was still in awe at the sticker he was given. "It's really cool." He glanced back at the blue-optic mech. "Thanks."
"[REALIZATION]" (Y/Cyb/n)'s optics suddenly lit up. He clicked a button on his wrist, opening up a mini-storage compartment, revealing several cubes of Energon. "Surprise." He smiled monotonously, his left pupil turning into a yellow circle.
"These were stolen when Orion and I ran away from the guards. So I thought we could fuel on some snacks before we get to work in the mines."
The two mechs were surprised at how their friend was able to obtain a handful of the and store it in his compartment. "How did you-" D-16 looked at the Energon cubes with a mixture of awe and disbelief.
"I-I thought I dropped them?" The blue and red mech was genuinely confused about how (Y/Cyb/n) was able to steal several cubes of them.
"I picked them up and stored them in the compartment. [GIGGLE]" (Y/Cyb/n) flatly remarked.
"Why thanks, (Y/Cyb/n)!" Orion reached for one of the Energon cubes while the dark silver mech just stared at it.
"This is the best surprise I've ever got, (Y/Cyb/n)!" He grinned widely at the (a/c) mech. "Thanks!" He took one of the snack cubes.
Orion Pax smiled at the warm-hearted camaraderie between each other. "Always got each other's back." He held out a curled servo.
"No matter what." D-16 agreed, fist-bumping Orion's servo.
"[AGREEING NOD]" The (opt/c) optic trans-mech chimed his emotion reflexively as he bumped his servo between the two best friends' own. "Cheers to friendship." He held up the Energon cube.
"To friendship." Orion Pax and D-16 spoke simultaneously before the three popped the Energon cube into their intakes.
As the trio savored the last of their Energon snacks, the train gradually decelerated upon reaching the next underground station, enveloping the surroundings in dimness.
"::Approaching sublevel station. Stand clear of doors...::" The voice echoed through the train's intercom as they delved deeper into the tunnel.
"Ah, man, looks like it's time for work," the dark grey and silver bot remarked with a sheepish chuckle before disembarking from the carriage.
Orion Pax, his shoulders drooping in resignation, muttered, "You can say that again," as he followed the dark grey and silver bot.
Feeling nervous and apprehensive, (Y/Cyb/n) clutched onto his shawl for comfort. Orion Pax offered a reassuring pat on his friend's back, saying, "You'll be alright down here, buddy. No one would judge you."