Hurt: A Symbiote Droid Tale

Interlude

A/N: I updated the ending of the scene. It makes the chapter longer, but I like this version better.

Knockout glared at the message staring at him from his counsel screen. A grim mood settled over the small room.

A long time ago, Knockout had been a proud citizen of the great colony of Velocitron. In his youth, he thought it was the perfect place. Speed and racing ruled the great planet. The faster you were, the greater your fame and power. And Knockout- not one to brag- was fast.

Maybe not the fastest on Velocitron, but he was great enough to be known. It got him Current, another speedster who he would soon bond to.

And then, the mech he was courting was snuffed out in an accident. Knockout sought out justice for his past lover.

It was never found.

Well, the conventional way, perhaps. Knockout found the mech who snuffed Current. That mech no longer exists.

But it was then he realized Velocitron wasn't the perfect civilization. Actually, the system was very flawed. Current wasn't able to get justice because he was recorded being the slower mecha in the collision that took his life. So he was at fault. It didn't matter if Current had the right away. Primus forbid mecha follow the rules, but if they're slower-

Knockout left then. He decided to try his luck in the Great Society of Cybertron. Any mech could become anyone.

Oh, how foolish Knockout had been.

At first, Knockout didn't see the rust that made up Cybertron. Being a colony immigrant granted him certain privileges. For one, he was never casted.

After Current's death, Knockout had reformatted his alt mode. Not much, but he wasn't instantly pegged as a speedster anymore. It just looked like he loved speed modes, which he did. Speed and racing were still his pride.

But Knockout wanted more. Racing wasn't something he wanted to just be known for. He wanted something more fulfilling.

Becoming a medic was more of an accident. After Current (the mech's death changed him a lot) he wanted to be able to fix things. Maybe if there was a more competent medic on sight, his love would still be there with him.

He had taken a couple first aid courses. Nothing special, just learning to solder, uncrimp lines, use the CN pump to keep energon flowing when the spark was too weak to.

And Knockout had found this all fascinating. He kept taking online courses, mostly funding his expeditions with the grants Cybertron lent him and extra money from races he won.

Then the Incident happened.

An explosion had happened in a lab. It had been big, setting multiple buildings aflame. Worse, a hidden energon line ran underneath the buildings. Search and rescue scrambled to get everyone to safety, checking the line to see if it would ignite.

Knockout had been on the nearby road at the time the explosion went off. He stayed, feeling a deep code urge to help the injured, but real medics were already on scene by the time he got control of himself. He wasn't needed.

Until...

"Leave her." A voice snapped. Knockout looked over the fence to see two medics hovering over a little Cyro-Condor. One was ready to walk away while the other crouched. Knockout didn't know what was wrong with her, but he could see energon pooling underneath her frame.

"S-sir?" The other medic- younger and hesitant, asked.

The elder scoffed. "It's a symbiote. Her host was found dead. Her spark will gutter soon from shock, anyway. Best not to waste our supplies on her."