Backbreaker stops as the familiar sounds of conflict reach his audio receptors. Turning to Thundercracker he says:
"Wait here with Sleeping Beauty. “I’m gonna check something out.”
Unless he was mistaken, all other fights had been called off for the day, which meant that this little brawl was probably an unsanctioned scuffle between some disgruntled slaves. Backbreaker marches off toward the commotion.
“Alrighty then. I’ll try and get him up.”
The prisoner’s observation chamber was closed up at the moment, so it would he wouldn’t be able to see what was going on there.
The only other way to see the goings on of the battle ground was to go there himself.
Maximus had accidentally left the door ajar, allowing a slim view of what was happening.
Maximus could be seen, brandishing new weapons. That should be no surprise after his axe got snapped. But who was he fighting?
Try as one might it was hard to tell. The two bots moved and jumped with great agility. The other bot clearly being of high skill.
It took a few moments before he properly came into view, but when a good glimpse of the warrior could be seen, it was unmistakable. Railfire? But he was hardly a fighter. He was the old grumpy medic. No one could have ever imagined he would be able to move with such speed and grace.
This certainly was an unexpected sight, and Backbreaker takes a moment to simply watch the duel in amusement. How had Railfire kept this little detail about himself a secret- and why?
The two fought with a great speed and ferocity. Maximus displaying a noticeable higher amount of skill than his battle that same morning.
The predacon threw his hammer forward with great force, which Railfire easily dodged. The decepticon medic rushed him and slashed with his blades. Maximus blocked with his shield and pushed his ancestor back. The hammer came back around, striking Railfire in the shoulder, catching him by surprise. The hammer then returned to Maximus’ hand, and he prepared for the next attack.
Railfire then noticed something at the edge of the field. He hurled his blade forward. Much to Maximus’ confusion, as he very clearly wasn’t aiming for him.
The sword flew through the small gap in the door, and stuck into the wall behind Backbreaker, just above his head.
“You told me you weren’t followed!”
The decepticon scolded.
“I wasn’t I swear!”
Maximus replied, putting his hands up. He then turned around and noticed the slightly opened door.
“Oh… My bad.”
Backbreaker calmly swivels his eyes upward to glance at the blade impaled into the wall above him.
“My fault, doc,” he says to Railfire, looking back down at the medic. “Got curious when I heard all the noise. Gotta say, I never thought I’d see you on the giving end of a beat-down. No offense, of course.”
“And I intended it to stay that way.”
He growled, looking at Maximus. The predacon recoiled slightly, clearly ashamed that he made a mistake.
“I said I was sorry…”
The medic gave a frustrated sigh.
“Well, I suppose you deserve an explanation. Come here and I will give it to you… And bring me my blade while you’re at it.”
Tie-Grabber looks around the room, trying to see who would be a good target.
Machbreaker eyes the blades very intently and swiftly nods in agreement for keeping secrets. Though he does so very fast, looking more like he’s head banging to some jamming tunes about four-five times over what would be necessary. He is a bit speechless at the moment, not sure where to go from here. Probably from the shock.
Railfire gives a comforting smile. The gesture was little odd, but understandable. He picked up the blades and sheathed them on to his back.
“I’m sure you’ve seen our newest recruits by now. The Maximal and the Predacon. It’s the latter I’ve taken interest in. Maximus is his name. Before today, I have never had any aspirations for escape or freedom. But seeing him here, someone who would not exist without my actions. He is young, with his own life to live. And for some reason, I feel responsible. I care not for my own fate, but his… He deserves a better life than the one I’ve lived… And I must see to it that he gets it.”
He approached the door.
“After having lived so long without raising my blades against another. Tonight I must end it. For his sake.”
Railfire sounded sorrow. Remorseful almost.
“But I’m sure you’ve heard more than enough of an old decepticon’s ramblings, and anything you might try to share would be meaningless to me…”
He opened the door.
“So then, let us be on our separate ways.”
Backbreaker pries the blade from the wall and walks over to Railfire, giving the weapon back to the Decepticon.
“I’m all ears, doc,” he says. “What’s your story.”
“Beep-zatta-bzzt. Bwoo-dee-beep-boop,” Oddball chirps.
“It’s nice having someone to talk to. Y’know, someone who understands what I’m saying, I mean.”
Railfire takes back his sword and then plants them into the ground.
“During the great war… I was not a medic. But a warrior. One of the best in fact. The most skilled swordsmen in my entire division. However, come the war’s end, I realized just what it all meant. The unbelievable death and destruction. So it was then I vowed to retire my blades, and never again use them against another. I studied as much medicine and mechanics as I could. From then on I would only heal, and never harm.”
He took a deep breath, and let out a sigh.
“But of course, all of that changed tonight.”
“Primus,” Backbreaker swears. Looking at Maximus, he asks:
“Do you cause this much of a fuss everywhere you go?”
The predacon shrugged.
“I don’t think so.”
Railfire continued.
“Something you must understand, I care not for my own fate. My life has been long and heavy with regret. I don’t care if I stay here, locked away, for all eternity. But Maximus… You’ve changed things. You are my doing, my progeny. And I feel… Responsible. You deserve a better life than what I’ve lived, and you cannot live a better life if you cannot fight. So, this is why I have broken my vow. I will do everything within my power to see that you escape this vile planet. This I promise.”
“Wow…”
Maximus said, quite taken aback.
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Hotshot’ll love this,” Backbreaker chuckles. Admittedly, the prospect of a revolution intriqued him, too, but he’d seen plenty of bots attempt the same in the past, only for their efforts to end in failure. There was no guarantee that this time would be any different.
Railfire quickly pulled up one of his blades, spun it, and extended it out with the tip just barely pressed against Backbreaker’s chin. All done in a single, fluid, lightning fast motion.
“You tell a single soul, and I will gut you like a wild animal.”
His voice was cool and sharp like the metal of his sword.
Maximus took a step back in shock and surprise.
“I’ve held these secrets for a reason. And I do not intend for them to become public knowledge. Understand?”
Backbreaker slides one foot behind him as Railfire aims his blade at his face. Apart from that, he remains nonchalant.
With two fingers, Backbreaker gently nudges the blade away from his face.
“You got it, doc,” he says, sincerely wanting to avoid the Decepticon’s wrath; he was the one who put him back together after a fight, after all.
Railfire spun and stored his blade, just as quickly as he drew it.
“Good.”
He then turned to Maximus.
“That being said, it’s late. You have made much progress for your first night. It’s time you get some rest. We will continue same time tomorrow.”
Railfire said, sheathing his other blade as he spoke.
“Thank you! I really appreciate the help.”
Maximus jumped in and hugged the old warrior, much to his surprise and confusion.
“Y-yes… You’re welcome.”
He said awkwardly.
Maximus then ran back to the door and made the trip back to the barracks. Leaving the autobot and decepticon alone under the moonlight.
“So…” begins Backbreaker, searching for a topic of conversation.
“…You and the kid are related? How’s that work?”
Backbreaker was largely unfamiliar with the legacy project, of how many Autobots and Decepticons had left behind genetic material to be used in the creation of many a Maximal and Predacon.
“At the dawn of the reformation, every autobot and decepticon on Cybertron was required to deposit a sample of their energon into the well of allsparks. I do not understand the details of how it works, but from what I know it was a necessary step in the well’s transition from producing one form to another. As a direct consequence, every maximal and predacon alive shares C.N.A with one of us. He is my progeny. My descendant. For without my contribution, he would not exist as he does now. And that is why I feel responsible for his well being.”
From a cracked open door nearby, Maximus would hear a light feminine voice, in the mid-alto range, singing.
Doctor, my eyes have seen the years
And the slow parade of fears without crying
Now I want to understand
I have done all that I could
To see the evil and the good without hiding
You must help me if you can
The song was a song of both sorrow, and despair. The singer had been through much, and tried all their life to see the good, and the evil in the world.
Doctor, my eyes
Tell me what is wrong
Was I unwise to leave them open for so long
Now the singer asks, were they foolish? Was it a mistake to do so? They aren’t sure.
'Cause I have wandered through this world
And as each moment has unfurled
I’ve been waiting to awaken from these dreams
People go just where they will
I never noticed them until I got this feeling
That it’s later than it seems
The singer had seen much, good and bad, and was yet, unaffected, or so it seemed. The singer had trouble realizing that people needed their help, but it was now to late to help them.
Doctor, my eyes
Tell me what you see
I hear their cries
Just say if it’s too late for me
Here the singer hums the melody before launching inti the next stanza.
Doctor, my eyes
Cannot see the sky
Is this the prize
For having learned how not to cry
Now the singer asks, “is it too late to change this callousness?” Or are they doomed to forever see evil in the world, but never motivated to do something about it? Is this their reward for seeing all the evil mixed with the good? Is this their reward for accepting the evil as a fact of reality, and changing it is futile?
The song ended as the voice trailed off.
“Hm,” Backbreaker reacts. He wasn’t much of a scientist, but the concept seemed simple enough, from how Railfire explained it.
“I guess I can understand. You’re technically his… what, his father? Grandfather?”