CHAPTER THREE
In all his many, many years of life, Kup had encountered his fair share of interesting people. More than once had he met an Autobot or Decepticon who was too eccentric for their own good. Still, as long as they knew how to function on a battlefield, he would respect them as much as he would any other bot.
None of them however, over the course of seven thousand years, quite compared to Agent Seymour Simmons.
At first, Kup had passed off as a cultural divide. He wasn't quite as familiar with Earth as some of the others were, so perhaps Simmons' quirks were common across all humans. But the further Kup drove down the country road, the more Simmons kept talking. And the more Simmons talked, the more Kup was convinced that he was not normal even by human standards.
"You know," Simmons said as he flicked a cigarette butt out Kup's driver-side window. "I don't trust rabbits."
Kup wasn't sure if the Sector Seven agent was waiting for a response, so he allowed a few seconds of silence to pass before Simmons resumed speaking.
"Oh, sure, people think they're cute and all; all fluffy and carrot-eating-y. But they didn't grow up in the Midwest like I did. I've seen them up close with my own eyes and they are nasty."
Kup was tempted to agree. While he doubt Earth rabbits were anything like petro-rabbits, he had discovered first-hand just how nasty they could be, especially when under the command of a Decepticon general. Still, he decided to keep to himself and let Simmons keep on talking.
"I was eight when my friend Mike and I went out into the fields looking for critters to mess with. Usually it was just squirrels and whatnot... until, one day, Mike came across a rabbit."
Kup was only half-paying attention at this point. He could tell that the warehouse he and the rest of his unit had been sent to was coming up. He wouldn't have to listen to this scrap for much longer....
"It was a big one. Big, white, and fluffy... with blood-red eyes."
Kup nearly braked at this. That description -- not necessarily the "white and fluffy" bit but the red eyes... that stirred memories he had long since repressed. All of a sudden, he was back on Delta Pavonis V, traversing the Shadow Forests as glowing red eyes blinked in the darkness....
"Kup, you're veering."
The teal pickup quickly straightened itself, though Simmons did not seem to take notice. A green and yellow car came to drive alongside him, revving its engine in concern.
"You doing all right, old timer?" Springer asked. "You don't seem like yourself."
"I'm fine," Kup snapped. "Just reminiscin', s'all."
Springer made a derisive noise with his engine. "And just what could a mission like this possibly remind you of?"
Kup didn't satisfy him with an answer. At that point, the two of them -- along with Guzzle, Bulkhead, and Ironhide -- arrived at their destination. The abandoned warehouse stood out in the middle of the Washington Desert, where not a single soul could be spotted. Simmons and his fellow agent Samantha Walker exited their respective rides as the five Autobots transformed.
"So what are we expectin' to find here?" asked Ironhide. "Onyx hardware or somethin'?"
"Anything, really," said Walker. "Our agents uncovered this location while trying to sift through Blackrock's records. No clue as to when or what he used this place for."
"So we just smash our way in then?" Guzzle was already making sure strides towards the building.
"Wait, Guzzle!" Springer ordered. "Don't do anything until I--"
The large tank ignored him and proceeded to tear open the warehouse's facade. Fortunately, no traps were sprung as a result. Springer shook his head in exasperation as he and the others followed Guzzle in.
Simmons and Walker lit their flashlights while Ironhide, Kup, and Bulkhead switched on their headlights. Rusted pieces of machinery were scattered about the warehouse, showing evident signs of disuse. There wasn't much in terms of hardware that had been left behind, save for a dusty computer on a desk in the corner of the room.
The two agents cautiously made their way over to the computer. Simmons used his sleeve to wipe the monitor clean before booting it up. After a few minutes of loading, they were presented with a login screen. However, rather than display the Onyx company logo, it instead showed a completely different design.
"Epsilon Holdings?" Walker murmured. "Wasn't that a front Machination used?"
"I always knew there was some kind of connection between them and Onyx," Simmons grunted, clicking away at the keyboard. "Let me see if I can bypass this."
While the two agents worked, the five Autobots continued to explore the warehouse. As Kup walked the perimeter, he became distinctly aware of someone staring at him. He looked over his shoulder to see Guzzle following him, uncharacteristically quiet.
"Anything I can help you with, lad?" Kup grunted.
"Just somethin' I've been wondering," Guzzle rumbled. "I thought we were here to get this Ultra-Energon I've been hearing about."
"We are, but Jetfire and Elita've already got the others workin' on that. In the meantime, Elita wants us to get to the bottom of this Onyx stuff."
"'S'too bad. I've heard that stuff can be real strong. Real powerful." Guzzle stepped closer to him. "Real destructive."
Kup eyed him warily. "Ya doin' alright, kid? Yer not takin' syk or anythin', are ya?"
Guzzle leaned in closer to the veteran, his optics flaring slightly. "I hear Tsiehshi's on the road map as well."
Kup tensed at this. "You... you know 'bout Tsiehshi?"
"Of course I do. Believe it or not, old timer, I actually pay attention to your stories. In fact, I was on one of yer ships when you told us all about how you crash-landed on Tsiehshi." Steam exhumed from the vents in Guzzle's faceplate. "But you never told us how got off it."
"Guzzle," Springer said carefully from across the room. "Can this wait."
"Why? 'Fraid I'm gonna tell him the truth?" Guzzle snapped. "I was there, ya' know! Right there with you with all the other Sparkabots!"
Kup looked confusedly between the two. "Springer... what's going on?"
"My brother died trying to save his aft!" Guzzle bellowed, startling all present. "Hardspark, Hotspark... they all died trying to rescue him... 'COS HE KILLED THEM!"
Kup froze at this, his optical sensors dilating. His voice came out as a croak, barely audible. "What...?"
"He killed them," Guzzle repeated, glaring down at the veteran. "And High Command said nothin'. They didn't wanna tarnish his squeaky clean reputation. Primus forbid that everyone's favorite war hero finally snapped. We were all sworn to silence 'bout the whole thing... but I'm done pretendin' now."
Springer stepped forward, his hand on his gun. "Guzzle, stand down."
"I'm done listenin' to you." With an enraged cry, Guzzle lunged at Kup. Before he could tackle the veteran, Bulkhead charged towards him and slammed his fist into the Wrecker's face. Disoriented, Guzzle stumbled towards the wall and crashed into it... which caused the floor beneath him to give way, sending him tumbling down a flight of stairs. It was quite some time before they heard him hit the bottom.
"Well, whaddya know," Ironhide muttered. "Never would've found that otherwise...."
Not even paying attention to the unexpected discovery, Kup looked over to Springer, his optics wide.
"Kid... was any of what he said true? Did I really...?"
Springer sighed as he patted his former mentor's shoulder. "This can wait. We've got other things to deal with."
Provided with no chance to argue, Kup followed the others as they descended the flight of stairs.
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