Darkness

Ch.11 (The Bar Chapter)

"Alright, I doubt Ratchet would want us spreading news of you around, so we're keeping this quiet," Misdirect said, "One drink, a few peeks around, and then we leave. With any luck, no one will even notice me, the toolbox, or you." He entered the bar.

The place sure sounded incredibly popular; It was noisy, and the casual chatter was unmistakable even if in a language I could not understand. I took a quick peek. The room was big, there were tables sprinkled around, some seating groups of bots of all sizes and colors, and along the wall I even spotted some booths, very similar to what would be in a restaurant. It was weird, seeing so many robots conversing and laughing. They looked so animated: alive.

Directly ahead of us looked uncannily like an actual bar. A giant counter stretched across from wall to wall with bar stool-like chairs spaced out evenly in front of it. Behind the bar, the wall was filled with various bottles of liquid, and at the very center were four huge glass tubes sporting their own mysterious colored liquids.

"What do you guys drink?" I ducked back down.

After a moment I felt the box get set down, my back resting flat on the bottom. Misdirect's voice came from my left, "It's engex, a type of energon, basically fuel. Just a bit more potent."

"Could I try some?"

"It would probably kill you."

"Excuses."

Someone called something out in Cybertronian nearby and I nearly jumped. Above me, Misdirect cursed.

"What—?"

"Quiet quiet!" He whispered, "I'll handle it, hold on."

Doing my best to keep out of sight I listened as he conversed with the bot in Cybertronian. After a bit, I was picking up that the new bot seemed particularly chatty, and even though I didn't understand a word they said I could tell that Misdirect was struggling to keep up.

After a particularly intense and quick back-and-forth between them, Misdirect suddenly groaned as if in defeat and the conversation stopped. The rest of the bar continued in its noisy chatter.

"This is what you're hiding?" An entirely new voice said, "A language? What's the big deal?" The new voice sounded maybe in his thirties and very conversational, the type of person who oozed charisma. Reminded me a bit like a standup comedian.

I bolted upright, being careful to stay out of view. What in the world was Misdirect doing?

"You got what you asked for, now shoo," Misdirect tried to dismiss the new bot, but even I could admit threats weren't his strong suit. 

Apparently, the new bot was also less than swayed, "So what's in the box?"

"Nothing," Misdirect said.

"Lemmie look then."

"No."

"Have you lost a circuit?" The new bot asked, "C'mon what's in the box?"

I couldn't resist any longer, carefully I peeked. My box had been set on the massive counter resembling a bar. With Misdirect having taken a seat near the wall, there was no one else around us, besides of course, the charismatic stranger. Standing behind the bar was a bright red robot, a bit stout and squarish, with a blue visor over his eyes. He noticed me immediately.

"Kathrine!" Misdirect pushed me back down out of view, causing me to land on my knees rather roughly.

There was a long stretch of awkward silence.

"An organic?" The new bot finally said.

"Look, just forget it."

"It is, isn't it?" The new bot pushed, "There's an organic in that box. Hold on! Is this its language? Is that who you were talking to?"