Centaurions: Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Two orns of constant movement had passed. The owner of the circus had barely allowed his mechs to stop so the haulers could refuel before pushing them on.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker could tell they were headed south, away from Iacon, probably toward the equator, and the border between North and South Cybertron. The creaking and swaying of their trailer-cage was familiar, and in a strange kind of way, comforting. If it was moving, they weren't expected to do anything but rest, so rest they did. After the first orn of travel, and as much recharge as their troubled defrag cycles would allow, they had polished each other, doing their best to clean off the grime of the arena. It took a long time; the tunnelworm's energon and their own had dried, cementing the dust and rust to their armor.
After doing all they could to clean up, they had simply watched what scenery they could out the bars of the trailer. In the light, they could see the hills and valleys slowly filling with crystal and mineral growths, the northern wastelands slowly transforming into the more lush and life-filled equatorial environments. The road they were did not seem to be well traveled. It was bumpy and slow, and they rarely passed other travelers.
Trying to avoid attention, they concluded, their owner had chosen old, back-road routes, not the massive highways between city-states that channeled most of Cybertron's ground traffic these ages.
They spent the second orn doing what they could to avoid thinking of their two fights in Iacon.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
Sideswipe's chronometer read half a joor before the middle of the dark cycle when the shouting began.
Sunstreaker gave his brother a look when a scream echoed through the valley, followed by the sound of swords clashing.
~Get ready, brother,~ the yellow Twin whispered, and checked his subspace. His swords were there, easily accessible.
The red Twin nodded and did the same, shifting his weight from side to side.
With a staggering lurch, their hauler hit the accelerator, and they picked up speed. Other mechs raced around them, some going the same way, others going back toward where the screaming and shouting were coming from.
Then, with the sound of tearing metal, their trailer rolled. Sideswipe screamed as his frame was thrown into his brother's. Sunstreaker huffed, then grunted as they landed on what was normally the wall. Crygrass fluttered down around them as the trailer creaked and groaned and settled. The screaming was all around them now, and through bleary, stunned vision, Sunstreaker could see mechs rushing past their trailer's open end.
Then someone stopped in front of them.
~Sides. Sides. Get up.~
Sideswipe groaned and flailed, then managed to get his hooves under him. Sunstreaker pushed him up, then hefted his own bulk upright.
The mech was silhouetted against the lighter backdrop of the sky, so they couldn't make out his colors, only that he was massively large and heavily armored, with a massive broadsword in his hand. Without warning, he lifted the sword and brought it down on the now horizontal bars of the sideways trailer. Sparks flew. The bars dented slightly, but didn't give.
“It's no use,” Sideswipe said, and the mech jumped. Sideswipe subspaced his own sword as he stepped forward, and hacked at the bars himself. “We've tried,” he offered with a shrug.
The mech hesitated for a moment, then turned slightly and raised his sword again. With a CLANG that rattled the whole cage, the locking mechanism on the top (once the right side of the trailer) sparked and broke. The mech reached out with one hand and yanked at the bars, but they wouldn't move. The trailer, on its side and tilted precariously, jammed the swinging door closed.
With a growl, the mech swung his sword again, this time at the hinges on the other side of the door, but before he could connect the blade and the metal, another mech charged into his side and dragged the mech out of view of the Twins.
Without warning, Sunstreaker gathered his legs under him and launched himself forward in a massive horizontal leap, putting his whole strength and weight into it. He ducked his head and his shoulder connected with the bars, and with a shriek of metal on metal, the door shifted slightly. He backed away, and launched himself again, and this time, the bars scraped past the frame and fell on the ground.
For the first time in a long time, the Twins looked out the back of their trailer without bars in the way.
~Come on!~ Sunstreaker urged as he regained his footing. Sideswipe leaped over the bars and took stock of the situation outside with his Twin.
Fires were burning along the line of the moving circus, or what was left of it. They could see three offlined mechs off on the edge of the road, energon still seeping in a growing pool around them. Screams echoed from farther back down the line, and an explosion rocked the ground ahead of them. Crystal forests grew around them, massively tall, thick growths spreading crystaline tendrils above them, shattering the dim starlight into rainbow pinpricks in the sky.
“There they are!” a voice roared, and the Twins jumped. A mech was charging toward them, a massive warhammer in hand. “Whoever can capture the split-sparks will be rewarded a million credits, per order of the Prime!” the mech shouted, and suddenly, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were the center of attention. Mechs began rushing toward them.
They didn't have time to think or talk or make any response. Instinct drove them, and they listened, and they ran.
Off the road, up the hill, into the forest. Hooves pounded on the semi-soft ground as they ran, dodging crystaltrees and low growing mineral bushes and vines. Mechs shouted behind them.
They ran without direction, only knowing they needed distance.
When they began to outpace those following, a fierce joy began to rise in their sparks. This was what they were made for. The ground was swallowed beneath their massive strides, their pains and injuries forgotten in the freedom of finally, finally being able to run!
For the first time they could remember, there were no walls, no cages, no bars, no restrictions. As far as they could see was open, wild forest.
Only an arrow whistling through the trees and shattering a small crystal growth to their left reminded them that they weren't free yet. Sideswipe glanced backward.
~They're on ironhorses,~ he offered his Twin. Sunstreaker just snarled as he leaped over a fallen crystaltree.
~Doesn't matter. We can still outpace them.~
Sideswipe glanced back again. He had his doubts - if the mechs hadn't had ironhorses, they definitely would have been able to. No mech would be able to keep up with them in the forest, not in alt mode, not in bipedal mode. Ironhorses were just as maneuverable as the Twins themselves, though.
~Don't doubt,~ the yellow Twin hissed over their bond. ~Just run!~
And he pushed his own passion at finally being able to do just that at his brother. Sideswipe took that feeling and pushed his own fears away, and let his hooves carry him on.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
He could tell they were starting to slow, and he didn't like it. They hadn't heard their pursuers in joors, but that didn't mean they weren't still following, and Sunstreaker knew they had ways of following even if they couldn't see. So he pushed his Twin, and himself, onward, southward, toward some hope of the same freedom the circus owner had been seeking and failed to find.
~Suns,~ Sideswipe called as he slowed his canter to a trot, ~I need to refuel. You do too. We're still healing. If we can't rest, we need energon.~
Sunstreaker knew he was right, and so slowed himself, but didn't stop. ~Refuel as you move. Please, Sides.~
Sideswipe, tired though he was, could feel the urge that was pushing his brother. They couldn't go back. If they did, he knew they would die. Who knew what the Prime wanted them for, but they knew it wouldn't be good. Not if that second fight was anything to go by - they had concluded that the tunnelworm had been the Prime's idea, a test perhaps, or a way to keep them in town a while longer, or some other farce. If he had sent mechs out with orders that the whole circus troupe could be offlined in order to capture the Twins...
But that didn't bear thinking of. They just needed to keep moving, so Sideswipe did as his brother asked, pulling a cube out of subspace and cracking it without slowing his easy trot.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
It was well after dark when they stumbled across the small cavern in the side of a steep hill. Sideswipe had spotted it, a darker depression in the ground surrounded by the vaguely luminous crystal growths. Without question, they headed toward it and stepped inside. It was empty, save for a large amount of soft, small metallic growths covering the walls and floor.
They sank to their knees and fell into recharge, abused and tired systems finally given a rest.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
Sunlight filtering through the trees and into the cavern woke them. For a bleary moment, Sunstreaker couldn't remember where he was. There were no bars, no loud sounds of the circus...
Then his optics focused and he looked out at the forest around them. It was quiet. A light wind made crystal branches above them tinkle together with a sound like windchimes. Some kind of small, flying creature chirruped in the distance, answered by another of its kind somewhere slightly closer.
The yellow Twin allowed himself a moment to simply enjoy the quiet before he stood, and Sideswipe stood with him.
“Finally,” the red Twin said out loud, and Sunstreaker smiled. It was nice to be able to talk without dozens of mechs listening in.
“Yes. Let's keep moving, though. I won't feel safe until we're well past the southern border.”
“How do we know when we get there?” Sideswipe asked as he led the way out of the cave, looking up and around at the wildness surrounding them.
“I don't know.”
They limped up the hill back to the same game trail they'd been following the night before. After resting, their injuries had reasserted their presence in the form of stiffness and sharp pains when limbs were pushed too far.
But the Twins were no stranger to pain, and ignored it, slowly working the tenseness out of their long legs, their arms, the rest of their bodies.
They shared a cube between the two of them, knowing their stores were limited (Sideswipe had two left, Sunstreaker had three).
The sun was almost directly above them, but the trail seemed to keep a pretty straight course, mostly south and a little bit west, so they stayed on it.
“Do you remember when we lost them?” Sideswipe asked suddenly, thinking back to the previous night and day and night.
“Kinda. Last I remember, I heard one of them back in that one valley with all the thorny fiber-vines. I've got a feeling they're still following us somehow, but we have a little bit of space between us. And as long as we stay under the trees, they can't send fliers after us.”
Sideswipe looked up at the branches above them. Multicolored crystals fractured the light and chimed softly. “We should probably move a little faster, then,” the red Twin murmured, a strange feeling tickling deep in his spark.
Two orns of constant movement had passed. The owner of the circus had barely allowed his mechs to stop so the haulers could refuel before pushing them on.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker could tell they were headed south, away from Iacon, probably toward the equator, and the border between North and South Cybertron. The creaking and swaying of their trailer-cage was familiar, and in a strange kind of way, comforting. If it was moving, they weren't expected to do anything but rest, so rest they did. After the first orn of travel, and as much recharge as their troubled defrag cycles would allow, they had polished each other, doing their best to clean off the grime of the arena. It took a long time; the tunnelworm's energon and their own had dried, cementing the dust and rust to their armor.
After doing all they could to clean up, they had simply watched what scenery they could out the bars of the trailer. In the light, they could see the hills and valleys slowly filling with crystal and mineral growths, the northern wastelands slowly transforming into the more lush and life-filled equatorial environments. The road they were did not seem to be well traveled. It was bumpy and slow, and they rarely passed other travelers.
Trying to avoid attention, they concluded, their owner had chosen old, back-road routes, not the massive highways between city-states that channeled most of Cybertron's ground traffic these ages.
They spent the second orn doing what they could to avoid thinking of their two fights in Iacon.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
Sideswipe's chronometer read half a joor before the middle of the dark cycle when the shouting began.
Sunstreaker gave his brother a look when a scream echoed through the valley, followed by the sound of swords clashing.
~Get ready, brother,~ the yellow Twin whispered, and checked his subspace. His swords were there, easily accessible.
The red Twin nodded and did the same, shifting his weight from side to side.
With a staggering lurch, their hauler hit the accelerator, and they picked up speed. Other mechs raced around them, some going the same way, others going back toward where the screaming and shouting were coming from.
Then, with the sound of tearing metal, their trailer rolled. Sideswipe screamed as his frame was thrown into his brother's. Sunstreaker huffed, then grunted as they landed on what was normally the wall. Crygrass fluttered down around them as the trailer creaked and groaned and settled. The screaming was all around them now, and through bleary, stunned vision, Sunstreaker could see mechs rushing past their trailer's open end.
Then someone stopped in front of them.
~Sides. Sides. Get up.~
Sideswipe groaned and flailed, then managed to get his hooves under him. Sunstreaker pushed him up, then hefted his own bulk upright.
The mech was silhouetted against the lighter backdrop of the sky, so they couldn't make out his colors, only that he was massively large and heavily armored, with a massive broadsword in his hand. Without warning, he lifted the sword and brought it down on the now horizontal bars of the sideways trailer. Sparks flew. The bars dented slightly, but didn't give.
“It's no use,” Sideswipe said, and the mech jumped. Sideswipe subspaced his own sword as he stepped forward, and hacked at the bars himself. “We've tried,” he offered with a shrug.
The mech hesitated for a moment, then turned slightly and raised his sword again. With a CLANG that rattled the whole cage, the locking mechanism on the top (once the right side of the trailer) sparked and broke. The mech reached out with one hand and yanked at the bars, but they wouldn't move. The trailer, on its side and tilted precariously, jammed the swinging door closed.
With a growl, the mech swung his sword again, this time at the hinges on the other side of the door, but before he could connect the blade and the metal, another mech charged into his side and dragged the mech out of view of the Twins.
Without warning, Sunstreaker gathered his legs under him and launched himself forward in a massive horizontal leap, putting his whole strength and weight into it. He ducked his head and his shoulder connected with the bars, and with a shriek of metal on metal, the door shifted slightly. He backed away, and launched himself again, and this time, the bars scraped past the frame and fell on the ground.
For the first time in a long time, the Twins looked out the back of their trailer without bars in the way.
~Come on!~ Sunstreaker urged as he regained his footing. Sideswipe leaped over the bars and took stock of the situation outside with his Twin.
Fires were burning along the line of the moving circus, or what was left of it. They could see three offlined mechs off on the edge of the road, energon still seeping in a growing pool around them. Screams echoed from farther back down the line, and an explosion rocked the ground ahead of them. Crystal forests grew around them, massively tall, thick growths spreading crystaline tendrils above them, shattering the dim starlight into rainbow pinpricks in the sky.
“There they are!” a voice roared, and the Twins jumped. A mech was charging toward them, a massive warhammer in hand. “Whoever can capture the split-sparks will be rewarded a million credits, per order of the Prime!” the mech shouted, and suddenly, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were the center of attention. Mechs began rushing toward them.
They didn't have time to think or talk or make any response. Instinct drove them, and they listened, and they ran.
Off the road, up the hill, into the forest. Hooves pounded on the semi-soft ground as they ran, dodging crystaltrees and low growing mineral bushes and vines. Mechs shouted behind them.
They ran without direction, only knowing they needed distance.
When they began to outpace those following, a fierce joy began to rise in their sparks. This was what they were made for. The ground was swallowed beneath their massive strides, their pains and injuries forgotten in the freedom of finally, finally being able to run!
For the first time they could remember, there were no walls, no cages, no bars, no restrictions. As far as they could see was open, wild forest.
Only an arrow whistling through the trees and shattering a small crystal growth to their left reminded them that they weren't free yet. Sideswipe glanced backward.
~They're on ironhorses,~ he offered his Twin. Sunstreaker just snarled as he leaped over a fallen crystaltree.
~Doesn't matter. We can still outpace them.~
Sideswipe glanced back again. He had his doubts - if the mechs hadn't had ironhorses, they definitely would have been able to. No mech would be able to keep up with them in the forest, not in alt mode, not in bipedal mode. Ironhorses were just as maneuverable as the Twins themselves, though.
~Don't doubt,~ the yellow Twin hissed over their bond. ~Just run!~
And he pushed his own passion at finally being able to do just that at his brother. Sideswipe took that feeling and pushed his own fears away, and let his hooves carry him on.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
He could tell they were starting to slow, and he didn't like it. They hadn't heard their pursuers in joors, but that didn't mean they weren't still following, and Sunstreaker knew they had ways of following even if they couldn't see. So he pushed his Twin, and himself, onward, southward, toward some hope of the same freedom the circus owner had been seeking and failed to find.
~Suns,~ Sideswipe called as he slowed his canter to a trot, ~I need to refuel. You do too. We're still healing. If we can't rest, we need energon.~
Sunstreaker knew he was right, and so slowed himself, but didn't stop. ~Refuel as you move. Please, Sides.~
Sideswipe, tired though he was, could feel the urge that was pushing his brother. They couldn't go back. If they did, he knew they would die. Who knew what the Prime wanted them for, but they knew it wouldn't be good. Not if that second fight was anything to go by - they had concluded that the tunnelworm had been the Prime's idea, a test perhaps, or a way to keep them in town a while longer, or some other farce. If he had sent mechs out with orders that the whole circus troupe could be offlined in order to capture the Twins...
But that didn't bear thinking of. They just needed to keep moving, so Sideswipe did as his brother asked, pulling a cube out of subspace and cracking it without slowing his easy trot.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
It was well after dark when they stumbled across the small cavern in the side of a steep hill. Sideswipe had spotted it, a darker depression in the ground surrounded by the vaguely luminous crystal growths. Without question, they headed toward it and stepped inside. It was empty, save for a large amount of soft, small metallic growths covering the walls and floor.
They sank to their knees and fell into recharge, abused and tired systems finally given a rest.
.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.
Sunlight filtering through the trees and into the cavern woke them. For a bleary moment, Sunstreaker couldn't remember where he was. There were no bars, no loud sounds of the circus...
Then his optics focused and he looked out at the forest around them. It was quiet. A light wind made crystal branches above them tinkle together with a sound like windchimes. Some kind of small, flying creature chirruped in the distance, answered by another of its kind somewhere slightly closer.
The yellow Twin allowed himself a moment to simply enjoy the quiet before he stood, and Sideswipe stood with him.
“Finally,” the red Twin said out loud, and Sunstreaker smiled. It was nice to be able to talk without dozens of mechs listening in.
“Yes. Let's keep moving, though. I won't feel safe until we're well past the southern border.”
“How do we know when we get there?” Sideswipe asked as he led the way out of the cave, looking up and around at the wildness surrounding them.
“I don't know.”
They limped up the hill back to the same game trail they'd been following the night before. After resting, their injuries had reasserted their presence in the form of stiffness and sharp pains when limbs were pushed too far.
But the Twins were no stranger to pain, and ignored it, slowly working the tenseness out of their long legs, their arms, the rest of their bodies.
They shared a cube between the two of them, knowing their stores were limited (Sideswipe had two left, Sunstreaker had three).
The sun was almost directly above them, but the trail seemed to keep a pretty straight course, mostly south and a little bit west, so they stayed on it.
“Do you remember when we lost them?” Sideswipe asked suddenly, thinking back to the previous night and day and night.
“Kinda. Last I remember, I heard one of them back in that one valley with all the thorny fiber-vines. I've got a feeling they're still following us somehow, but we have a little bit of space between us. And as long as we stay under the trees, they can't send fliers after us.”
Sideswipe looked up at the branches above them. Multicolored crystals fractured the light and chimed softly. “We should probably move a little faster, then,” the red Twin murmured, a strange feeling tickling deep in his spark.