Chapter Text
CHAPTER 1 - Scavengers
At the center of a distant universe, there is a planet. A planet that's surface shines metallic silver, with a heart like a burning star. No one truly knows where this living celestial body came from, but the blood that flows within its veins brings life to the children it has brought into the world so carefully, so lovingly crafted.
Those who know it as a parent call it Primus, those who know it as home call it Cybertron.
A culture of music and art once lived here, shaped by the metal hands of its many people. Communities rich with diversity, with bodies that change and shift, some flew the skies while others dominated the lands. This planet was a vast place, long stretching fields of chrome lit by rich cities and little houses.
But now it exists torn and empty, new wounds never cease to be opened on its surface as its own children twist the knife ever deeper. Conflict born of spite and fire burn and melt the once shimmering surface of Cybertron, and the heart of Primus struggles to beat.
Floating silently, dimly in the vastness of space, the stars weep tears of grief for the loss of their dear friend. But there are those who still function upon it, who will stop at nothing to live, even if it means picking apart the corpse left behind. A parent still must provide for its children.
And the children must survive.
"Any luck yet?"
"Nope."
Two bots make their way across the flat, empty landscape that used to make up the small town of Median. The plateau ground is raised and jagged from being torn during battle, sharp edges reaching up and down without reason. Underneath the outer chunks of metal, steel beams reveal themselves and twist about at random, rust creeping in from all directions.
The smaller of the two bots, flashy red and adorned with gold, is holding a tracking device in his talons, optics only glancing away momentarily to ensure he doesn't stumble from the uneven ground. He growls, hitting the side of the device to get it to function.
The larger of the two, hulking in blue-gray with optics reminiscent of sunshine, is bored out of his processor, stomping around like an unhappy sparkling stuck in a body capable of tearing down a building as if it was made of tin foil. If there were any buildings left standing, anyway.
"C'mon, we've been walking all day. can't we take a little break?"
"Not unless you want us to starve," the smaller bot replies in a sarcastic tone, "but that would be ridiculous coming from you." he gestures to the rounded armor on his partners stomach, much to said partners amusement.
"Heh. All I'm saying is, we aren't getting any closer to finding fuel, Knock Out. I'd like something to drink just as much as the next bot, but out here is just rubble n' bodies."
He motions one of his large, sturdy hands out to the open, the two stopping in their tracks for a moment to observe their surroundings. There are dozens of mangled structures around them, steel crushed and caked in ash so severely they have become unrecognizable. Limbs and pieces of bots frames scattered about in the rubble have become one with the town, their alt-modes made unclear and their paint stripped, so that one can't be certain if any given bot could be traced to having been a prior resident.
Knock Out sighs and glances back to the tracker after having enough of the sight of the state of everything around him, lest his spark become more weary.
"That blip on the radar couldn't have been a false signal, surely… we have to be close. Think you could stomp your pedes a little longer, dear?"
The larger bot grumbles, staring at the ground.
Knock Out puts his hand on his hip, "Well then, Breakdown, why don't we find a nice spot to sit on the comfy rusted metal below us and give the Scraplets a feast instead." he smirks.
Breakdown grumbles more, before accepting he doesn't want rust making its way into his undercarriage. No way in the pits he'll even entertain the idea of there being Scraplets in this junkyard, for all that remains of his sanity. Not like this place is doing him any favors on that front, however.
"Fine. You're the leader. But if we find a better place to rest my aft? You're not gettin' me back up."
Knock Out shakes his head and chuckles. "Fine by me. Let's get going, the radar blip said it should be… this way."
The two continue to press on with this small device as their guide, Knock Out keeping his optics glued to the tracker with Breakdown's occasional groaning as his background noise. Their pedes ache and their tanks complain of hunger. But they have to march on, that's all they can do.
Above them, the sun still watches. Feeling their exhaustion, it reaches over the horizon sliced by distant alloy blades, mountains that outstretch themselves to the heavens. They're far from any other bot out here, the fighting has already moved on somewhere else, somewhere with life still available to exterminate and resources to plunder.
Memories of before the war have yet to become hazy in their minds. When the light catches just right, or the air is just clean enough, or the ground has yet to bleed, they can still see what once was. They can see the life they almost had together, and if their pedes walk just a little longer, they might be able to get it back.
"Hold on," Knock Out stops, Breakdown almost falling over himself from the sudden halt.
"Is that…?"
Standing there absentmindedly is a house. A standing house. A proper, standing, stable house. Sure, some glass seems to be broken, and a whole other toppled building is cloaking a majority of it in an eerie shadow, but it lives. Despite all the chaos around it, it still stands, unyielding.
Breakdown tilts his head. "You think anybody's home? I could probably take em' if they are." he clenches his fists tight.
"Doesn't matter if they are or not," Knock Out faces the tracker at the humble abode as it chirps with urgency, "the energon signature is from there. A stash, perhaps?" he raises an inky black brow.
"I ain't above stealing." Breakdown admits- no, outright states, with pride. "Not to mention they might have furniture. And furniture means a couch. And a couch means no more fraggin' walking!" he yells.
It doesn't take much more to convince Knock Out to go, the promise of fuel, shelter, and a place to safely cuddle his partner tonight outweighs some of the caution he may have. He knows this is ultimately the only choice, regardless of what may happen, as night is drawing closer and the shadows are growing darker.
Knock Out begins to lead the way. "If you see anyone, punch their lights out for me, got it?"
"Course." Breakdown pops the joints in his few digits, "Unless they're willing to play nice. A roomie doesn't sound half bad…"
"No thank you. You already take up enough room as is." Knock Out teases, but he truly can't imagine another bot accompanying him and his partner at this rate, even if Breakdown has gotten lonely. It's too much of a risk to let anyone that close, with dangerous bots willing to take advantage of anyone for the sake of their faction. As unaligned bots, they're better off together than with anyone else.
That's just how it is.
The duo reach the front sliding door of the house, the stairs creaking in retort on the way up, Knock Out twists his wrist around to tap with the back of his hand a couple times.
"Knock-Knock."
Breakdown snickers, "Whose there?"
"Knock Out… and a good friend of his."
He steps aside as his partner plans to send a massive pede through the front door, before placing it back on the ground and lightly tugging at the handle instead, opening it with ease. Light begins to spill inside, their figures casting shadows in the doorway, side by side.
"Oh. Damn. Well, there goes…" sharp red optics peer inside, before widening in astonishment. "By the Allspark, I sure would hope no one lives here- just look at the state of things!"
The interior is in shambles, likely from the nearby collapsed building rocking the structure mercilessly, or so Knock Out wants to believe. Dust coats surfaces in a thick gray, pieces of furniture rest every angle but upright, the walls are peeling apart, almost as if in agony.
"Someone would have to despise themselves to live here without even bothering to make it look presentable." Knock Out scoffs, watching his step as he creeps inside.
"Presentable to… who?" Breakdown follows closely behind.
"I- uh… Forget it, let's just have a look around."
Cautiously, the partners look through every corner they can find of the place, with not a single life-form in sight. The walls pop, the floors squeak, and loose dirt crumbles from the ceiling on top of them. Breakdown does the honor of beginning to flip the furniture back to a usable state, sitting himself down on a couch as it squeals adjusting to his large size. A sigh of relief escapes him, he isn't moving from this spot.
Knock Out searches what appears to be the kitchen, opening a cupboard to reveal untouched energon cubes behind some rusty utensils.
"Ah-hah! Breakdown, we're eating good tonight!"
Breakdown hurriedly jumps up and makes his way over, grabbing a cube in disbelief and planting a kiss upon the glowing blue surface. "Fuel, sweet fuel! Oh, how I've missed you!" he delights in admiring the beauty of a single cube, something so simple, but so scarce.
"Whoever lived here previously must have left in a hurry. Likely saw the incoming conflict and decided to make a break for it." Knock Out theorizes as he rummages around, finding a beaten up energon processor and placing it on the counter top. Breakdown gazes at the cube in his hands before lending it over to be processed, "I don't blame them, not with how their neighbors must have turned out."
Something about that statement makes them feel… guilty. They hadn't even stopped to think about their own former neighbors and where they are now, they both separately assumed they'd evacuated as the fires reached the outskirts of Vos. Before they lost… everything. But where are they now? Where would they be?
Knock Out laughs nervously, "I highly doubt they're the only one on the block who ran. I mean, who wouldn't? It's either that or pick a side… and I wouldn't have much sympathy for them if they did."
Breakdown takes a glance outside the cracked window, optics narrowing as they gaze into the gray wasteland, unsure of how to respond. "I… I don't know. I wonder if they're better off than we are. At least they wouldn't have to be scavengers with a faction."
"At the cost of having to assist in ruining the lives of everyone else upon the planet, sure."
His partner chooses not to respond, musty air around them growing quiet. Only interrupted by the energon processor beginning to lazily drip fuel, the machine is old and beginning to rust, they'll have to wait longer for a meal than they were hoping.
"I'm sorry." Knock Out whispers with a tired sigh. "I think I'm just exhausted from all the walking… and starving."
"Me too, partner." the giant mass of Breakdown's frame lowers beside Knock Out, sitting down as delicately as possible. Blue-gray armor rests atop pristine red, their digits finding each other to interlock.
The shadows grow darker, night finally upon them. Somehow, some of the remaining street lamps still turn on outside, illuminating what would have been pitch-blackness with a gentle glow. Breakdown flicks on a switch from curiosity, the bulb turning on and casting them both in soft blue light.
They haven't seen a functioning light bulb in a while. Maybe it's the nearby power plant at Kalis still working its magic, having powered neighboring cities and towns for as long as its stood. Such a magnificent, efficient, and massive generator also has the potential of wiping the aforementioned settlements entirely off the planet without a trace if any major damage were to come to it. Thus, the partners preferred to keep their distance from it. But desperate times lead them into being less picky about their travel destinations.
But none of that matters right now. There's light above them and fuel to fill their empty tanks being prepared, just like back home around this hour. If they don't pay attention to the grime coating the walls, it almost feels normal. Just for a moment.
Before it all goes dark again, with the flick of a switch.
"Maybe we should keep that… off?" Breakdown whispers, gold optics batting in the darkness. "Y'know, so no one sees this place and gets any… bright ideas?"
"Oh, shut up!" Knock Out laughs, elbowing the darkened frame next to him before standing up. the joints in his knees giving an unpleasant pop- his age is starting to catch up to him.
"What?? I'm just trying to lighten the mood." followed by a mischievous chuckle.
"Hush." Breakdown is silenced by the noisy clank of his partner bumping a glass into his broad chest, full of bright blue energon. He grabs it with pure delight on his faceplate.
Knock Out leads the way to the living room holding a glass of his own, wiping some dust off of the couch with his free hand before taking a seat, his partner joining his side as always. They're practically bursting at the seams to have something proper to drink, giving each other a proud cheers before gulping down their servings.
They place their empty glasses onto the rickety table in front of them, Breakdown laying his frame down as the couch beneath them creaks supporting the mass. He gives himself a pat to invite Knock Out to rest on top of him- which he accepts without hesitation, letting out a sigh as he feels the familiar comfort of his Conjunx beneath him, large hands finding their rightful place on his frame.
"I'm going to recharge good tonight." Knock Out declares, shutting his optics.
Breakdown strokes the bio-lit back of his partner slowly. "Sure hope so… love you, babe. Get some rest for me."
"I love you too. Don't be up too long staring at the ceiling."
Hopefully Breakdown will get some decent recharge tonight, too. He always catches himself up too late deep in thought. Sometimes he thinks long and hard about life, other times he lays awake fearful that something is waiting for him to drift off just to snuff him out- or worse, his partner, and he won't be awake to protect him. The eerie, haunted feeling of the house he has to sleep in tonight sure isn't helping to put those fears to rest.
There are sounds all around him. Howling wind whistles through the windows, the structure itself crackles and pops at random, and his paranoia is eating away at him to make matters worse. He knows there's no other bots in the house, but he feels… watched. Like dozens of eyes are seeing through his thick armor and straight to his protoform. His optics dart around the room- did something just move? No, he imagined it, the darkness is playing tricks on him.
Looking down towards his chest, Knock Out is recharging peacefully, without a care in the world. His oral lubricant is spilling out of his mouth, and the low rumble of a quiet snore gives Breakdown a sense of ease. Even in a place like this, after a day like that, the red bot still manages to make it feel worthwhile in the end. Maybe things will be alright after all, and the past can be put behind them, with a better future in store for them. That's what he hopes for.
Breakdown finally finds the courage to shut his optics. Even if most of his frame is cold, the warmth close to his spark gives him all the comfort he needs to enter a deep sleep. He isn't sure what they're going to do tomorrow, having found a place to stay and energon to keep them full for a little while. Whatever happens, he'll be ready.
"Riiiise and shine!"
Knock Out sings, the open windows casting a bright light directly onto Breakdown's tired frame. He groans, lifting his heavy body upright, before getting a good look at his surroundings…
He sees his partner didn't do any dusting or organizing while he was asleep, so he'll take care of that sometime. They're warming up to the place and all, so might as well make it presentable. Besides, Breakdown likes cleaning, and that includes more than just buffing Knock Out's finish.
Seeing it in the bright morning rays, he realizes that this place should be pretty fun to clean up. Though, he'll leave the decorating up to Knock Out, he loves that sort of thing. He has a better optic for color coordination and organizing in a way that makes sense to everyone, rather than Breakdown's tendency to organize in a way that only really makes sense to himself.
Suddenly, he's snapped out of his daydreams of a clean environment as Knock Out approaches with 2 glasses in hand. He's smiling and looks beautiful in the white light.
"Good morning, I processed us some fuel, and I know you'd love to partake." he hands over a glass carefully, the blue liquid sloshing around inside. "Though, in order to not burn through all of our stash… we'll have to go a while with just one cup a day after this, okay?"
Breakdown takes a big drink and nods. He hates how Knock Out has to sound so apologetic about their situation, it isn't his fault.
"Fine by me. But what isn't fine is my lack of a morning kiss." the blue bot gives a smirk, tilting his enormous chest over to give easier access to his faceplate.
"Ah, silly me." Knock Out leans in, white lips placing a delicate kiss onto scarred crimson ones, "How'd you sleep?" He pulls away just enough to ask.
"Like a sparkling. Not to mention feeling refreshed." Breakdown leans back, stretching his arms into the air as his frame creaks and his hinges give a satisfying twang. He feels ready to take on anything, if the war showed up on their doorstep, he'd be capable of wiping them out, surely.
"Great!" Knock Out hops up onto his pedes, "Then I take it you're all set for scavenging today?"
"Scavenging?"
"Well," he places a hand on his hip as per usual, "we may have had bad luck with energon, but that doesn't mean we'll have such bad luck finding new decor."
Wordlessly, they've both agreed they're going to stay here a while. It definitely beats recharging in damp tunnels and buildings missing entire walls.
"Sounds fun, but…" he rises to his own pedes, slouching a little to meet the gaze of his partner. "Where would we… look, exactly? I don't remember seeing any nice chairs n' tables laying around out there."
"Glad you asked. You see, the Decepticons may not seem like decorative types, but I've gotten a glimpse of some of their camps before, and they have plenty of luxury decor being hoarded. As a show of status, I suppose."
Yellow optics go wide, "What?? Are you suggesting we steal from Decepticons?" Breakdown asks in complete disbelief, they both very well know just how aggressive and selfish the Decepticons are out of either faction. Autobots may have a tendency to throw you into jail for any reason they can muster and figure out a way to torture something outta you, but a Decepticon wont even bother with that, they'll just snuff you right then and there. That is, if that specific 'con isn't feeling like being extra cruel that day and torturing you just for the game of it.
But he is right the Decepticons are bots of status first and foremost, they're the ones with the most troops and the biggest fanciest ships. Both partners can appreciate a bit of luxury in their lives, and they've already taken what wasn't previously theirs before, so…
"… How do you suppose we do it?"
"Hmm…" Knock Out strokes his chin with his pointer and thumb claws. "According to the posters I've seen floating around, they seem to have set up shop in Mebion, marking it as under Decepticon rule. I'd be willing to bet a campsite is there."
Ah, Mebion, of course the Decepticons would love that place. Home of some of the finest high-grade energon that was in production, Breakdown used to drink tons of the stuff. He misses that rich electric flavor and the saltiness it left behind in your mouth as it hit your tanks. What he wouldn't do for just another drop… in fact,
"Alright then. I'll go." he sits his empty glass aside.
Knock Out tilts his head a bit as he places his own glass beside Breakdown's. "Hm? Oh, come on, don't tell me you're only in it for some high-grade."
Damn it. If only Knock Out weren't so perceptive.
"I said I'll go. Does the reason really matter?" Breakdown puffs out his chest, both hands on his hips assertively.
"It matters if you'll end up drunk while in Decepticon territory." Knock Out crosses his arms as he continues, "Then, you'll get blaster fire right through your processor, and I'll be stuck wide in the open with a couch worth 30k shanix I can't lift. And not only will I be very upset about not having a new piece of furniture, but now my Conjunx is dead! Hows that sound, hmm?"
"Orrr… I could just steal the high-grade and drink it when we're back here, y'know."
"Oh." Knock Out uncrosses his arms. "Good idea."
Breakdown scratches his chin with the tip of a blunt digit, "So, it's settled, then? A trip to Mebion?"
"Indeed." his partner steps out into the cool morning air as Breakdown follows unthinkingly. "And with proper fuel in our tanks…" Knock Out's frame shifts apart with a distinct whir, bits of living metal rearranging themselves purposefully as he transforms into his sleek automobile vehicle-mode, his engine revving with excitement.
"we'll be able to get there on wheels."
Today is going to be an interesting day.