TFP: Alone

Chapter 11: Sick and Hungry

Sunstreaker's P.O.V.

Kup had gone into recharge. His injury was much worse than I thought. I had been using a piece of scrap metal to keep the hole covered. He had been hit in the upper left portion of his chest. Around the actual hole, rust was forming and it was oozing discolored energon constantly. I didn't know what to do for him. He had been tired and sick for the last couple weeks, but I watched as he slowly withered away. He was holding on though. For that I'm thankful.

"Kup, I'm gonna get you better." I say, looking at his unconscious form. I had been looking into getting a job so that I could get energon. I hadn't had a full cube in weeks because I gave most of my rations to Kup and Sides. I could feel my systems slowing down. There weren't any pit fights because of the recent riot and all the Enforcers in the area, so I was out of luck.

I had talked to some of the other Bots in the sixth level and I finally had a job. The Autobot's name was Tracks. He was part of an interstate criminal ring. He got me in and now I dealt out circuit speeders to Iacon's population.

It was a drug that would make it's user feel like they were on top of the world. When their systems had used all of it, they feel depressed and they buy more. It was a vicious cycle, but it was profitable. I was getting paid in energon cubes for every tablet I sold.

It was time I got to work. I open a compartment of my armor on my side and I place the packets in there. I made my way to the bad part of the sixth level, next to the pits, and I stand at a corner among the wreckage from the Great War.

For every tablet I sold, I would get one energon cube. The buyers of the speeders would pay in credits, which I give to Tracks.

I was impressed with Tracks. He was obviously no slum dweller. He spoke intelligently and he had pristine armor that I could almost see my reflection in. I looked down at myself and a frown tugged at my lips and my opticbrows drew together.

My paint was dull. The gold had faded into an ugly yellow. My armor was scratched and had hideous welding marks on it.

Sideswipe didn't know about my job. I have kept it blocked off in our bond. For him, his daily life resumed as it normally did after I was discharged. I was happy for him. I was still angry at the femme though.

She was talking to my twin like they had been friends for megacycles! She needed to go back to where she came from. I noticed that my twin was thinking about her often. He was curious about her. Where she came from, what she is, etc. I admit that I was curious too, but we have bigger problems than to be concerned with her.

Soon, I had customers rolling in and paying me for the speeders. They were sad Bots who had dim optics and moved slowly. They were deprived of energon. It disgusted me to see them. How could they choose this over their fuel. They're dying without it. They were slowly withering away.

By the time the Learning Center was dismissing they students, I still hadn't sold enough to go to Tracks. I had to sell my entire supply before I could go o him for the energon. Hopefully tomorrow would be busier.

I went met Sideswipe at the transport lifts. All the Enforcers had their optics on me, but I paid them no mind as I waited for my twin. I had left the circuit speeders in a hiding spot before I came here. It was under a pile of rubble that used to be part of a building from the Golden Age. Nobody would think to look there anyway. It was a secluded spot that nobody dared go because it was next to a smelting pit. The heat of it burned your optics if you were to close.

"Hey bro! You'll never guess what happened today." Sides says cheerfully. I looked at him and I focused my attention on him.

"Legacy told me to meet her in the operating systems room during break and I thought she was gonna make a move on me, 'cause I'm so irresistible... I'm the handsom-"