Into the West

The air was moist, and the clouds overhead were heavy with rain. Beyond the mountains in the west, intermittent flashes of light brightened the darkening horizon. Boom sniffed, and turned north to face the unbeaten path he had been following for the past two days. An expanse of dark forest lay naught but four miles way. He could find shelter from the impending storm there, and nourishment, perhaps. This planet had an abundance of energon, yet the bulk of it was impure, unrefined, and thus, ill-suited for his Cybertronian physiology. So much raw energon, in fact, that he awoke from stasis to find himself out-fitted with an organic alternate mode. An ape, a baboon, if his memory of the old data tracks served him well.

            The cravings for organic intake had started almost immediately upon his waking, but he had been hard pressed to find much of substance on the open plains he had been traversing. He looked again upon the distant mountains, and again to the forest. In his “beast mode”, something called to him from within its musty depths, something primal whispered secrets to his spark.
“Maximize.”
            Boom’s internal diagnostics showed twenty minutes to energon build-up. Enough time to fly to the mountains. It might take him just as long to reach the forest while in beast mode.
            Why was he even considering this? A storm was coming, and a rather sizable one by the look of it. He needed to find a place to weather the downpour.
Boom fired up his jets, and set his sights once more upon the forest.

            The forest didn’t seem as foreboding and mysterious as it had from a distance. Boom placed a paw upon the trunk of a wizened oak, and ran his fingers through the grooves of the bark. This world was so varied. More than any of the outposts he had been stationed at, and far more than Cybertron. Had the Old Ones known of it?
Something in the back of his mind twitched for a moment, and then was still again. This hadn’t been the final destination of the Axalon; he knew that much was true. Something had happened, something terrible. He had mulled this over since waking. Where was the crew? And Primal (slag him)? Where was the Axalon? He was determined to find them, find anyone. He hadn’t survived the Fourth Conflict to just to die on some backwater mud ball.
            Thunder overhead. The patter of raindrops upon leaves became steadily stronger until it was a percussive beating. Boom ran, deeper into the forest.

            Shelter turned out to be a grouping of fallen trees. Overgrown with foliage and fungus, they provided a verdant canopy that offered dry, if not comfortable, protection from the storm. The darkness of the storm had blackened with the onset of night, and Boom found his initial feelings toward the forest had returned. It was indeed dark, and dank, and he didn’t like it. He wished he had headed toward the mountains. There might have been an abandoned cave there. That he could deal with. Caves were inorganic, and impersonal, and that made him feel right at home. The forest was bombarding his new senses with an onslaught of sensations, and none of them pleasant. He was cold and hungry, and through the cacophonous blustering of the storm, he heard other noises. Strange noises. Boom lay himself on the ground, curled his arms and legs around his body, and tried to drown it all out.
            Predator.
            It echoed in his mind.
            There’s something out there.
            Don’t let your guard down.
            He eased his head up, and looked out into the blackness. Lightning lit the forest floor with a sickly electric hue, and for a moment, it was bright as day. Ten yards away, a dark, cannid form stood, looking back at Boom. Then blackness again. Boom scrambled out from underneath the trees into the din. What was out there?
            A fallen branch snapped, and for the first time in ages, Boom found himself panicking. He heard a low growl, growing steadily closer. He was going to die, he knew it. This beast was going to tear his circuits out.
            Stop it! You’re better than this! Your new organics are clouding your mind!
            “Maximize.”
            The feelings of panic ceased immediately. Boom switched his optics to night vision, and saw the beast had stopped just short of two yards away. He shifted his weight, preparing for it to pounce. But it only stood there, a look of near puzzlement on its face. Its mouth opened, and it spoke.
            “Maximize.”
            Where the beast had been seconds before, a tall Cybertronian figure now stood.
            Boom did not let down his guard.
            “Name,” he said gruffly. “Now.”
            The Cybertronian took a step forward, hands raised, palms forward, as if saying ‘Take it easy, boss.’
            Quick as a flash, Boom reached behind his back and pulled his concussion rifle from its storage, raised it level with the figure’s head. “Stop. I don’t know you, and I’m not taking any chances. Name, now.”
            The Cybertronian stopped, and lowered his hands. “Fang,” he said. “I’m a Maximal.”
            Thunder boomed overhead, and once again lightning arced the sky. Boom’s optics overloaded from the brightness, and he shut off his night vision.   “I don’t know your name. What are you doing here? Were you on the Axalon?”
            “Yes,” came a voice from the black. “My partner and I had paid for passage to Doran, in the Lambda Sector. Our flight was cancelled last minute. The captain of the Axalon offered us a ride, as the ship would be passing near to it.”
            Boom lowered his rifle, and took a step forward. They had been scheduled to pass by Doran seven days out, and Fang seemed sincere enough. “Fine,” he said. “Where’s your partner?”
            “I… I don’t know…” There was a hint of sorrow in Fang’s voice. And fear. “When I awoke from stasis, I was alone. I’ve been in this forest for days now, searching for her.”
            Boom stored his rifle, and crossed his arms over his chest. This fellow, Fang, was no threat. From the look of him, and the sound of his story, he was a wealthy socialite. “I imagine you were heading to Doran for a holiday.”
            “Yes, we were. We go every year.” Fond remembrance in his voice now. “There’s a resort on the beach. We go during the winter season, it’s when the nitrogen oceans are the most beautiful.”
            “I wouldn’t know.”
            Silence.
            “What happened?” asked Fang. “This most certainly isn’t Doran; it’s not even the same system if I’m correct.”
            “You were stalking me.” Boom said, avoiding the question. He could hear Fang shifting his weight, thinking of an explanation.
            “Well, yes…” he stuttered. “I was. I was… hungry, if that makes any sense.” Boom grunted. Yes, it did. “I find these organic alternate modes to be quite perplexing,” Fang added. A pause. “I hear… well, not voices, but… something else… when I’m a beast.”

So Fang had felt it too. Primal urges. “I’m Boom,” he said. “Axalon security officer.”

“It’s good to meet you Boom, certainly good to see a fellow Maximal.”

            It was, Boom thought. And the storm had begun to die down. A good sign.             “You’re not going to tell me what happened,” Fang said. “Are you?” Boom turned away from him, and looked through the trees into the overcast sky. “You don’t want me panicking, I could get dangerous. They taught you that in the military, right?”
            Boom turned back to Fang. He might have been coddled, but he wasn’t stupid.
“They taught me a lot of things in training,” Boom said. “Less than half of which matter in the field. The military didn’t teach me that, kid, experience did.”
            “Were you ever involved any wars?”
            Boom grunted. “The Maximal Council of Elders has never declared any wars. They’re deemed military actions, High Command has seen to that.

“I was a Colonel in the Fourth Conflict. Now I suggest we power down for the night. In the morning, this storm will have blown over, and we can look for your partner, together.

“Beast mode.” Boom walked back, under the fallen trees. He looked back over his shoulder.

            “If you try eating me in the middle of the night, I’ll kill you.”
            “Oh no no no no no no! I wouldn’t even imagine of dream---"
            “It was a joke, kid.”

            The sun had risen earlier than expected, and Boom awoke with the advent of its coming. The previous night’s storm had dissipated, and the sky was bright and clear. The light of dawn filtered through the tree branches and mottled the forest floor. Boom came out from under his canopy, and took in his surroundings. The beast form of Fang laid a few yards away, curled head to tail near a group of large oak. The kid had weathered the remainder of the storm with little shelter to shield him. Boom felt a pang of guilt for his behavior the night before. Fang was lost and alone, as he was, but unlike Boom, Fang was not accustomed to it. Probably had never been anywhere near poverty, conflict, disease, let alone any situation that required him to call upon the dim memories of survival skills he may have been programmed with.
            “Coulda been nicer,” he mumbled. “Wouldn’t have killed ya.” The kid had probably been scared to death of him.
            Fang grunted, and twitched. Stretching, he rose and sat on his haunches.
            “Morning, kid.”
            “Morning,” Fang yawned. His white teeth gleamed with saliva.

            Boom was suddenly very aware of his throat. His feelings of sympathy vanished. “Hungry?” he asked.
            “Yes, very much so.” Fang looked directly into his eyes. They were the color of amber, cold and hungry. But there was something else behind them. An eagerness?
Boom shook his head.
            “Maximize,” he grunted. “Let’s get something to eat. I’m a little hungry myself.”
He strode through forest, heading west and setting a brisk pace. Fang followed at his heel, trotting in beast mode.
            “You know, I’ve found that being quiet and cautious is a better way to spot prey than-“

            Boom stopped, and looked down at him. He squinted, studying Fang’s muzzle, his grey coat of fur. Wolf. That’s what he was. Pack animal, indigenous to… to where? Slag.
“You’re a wolf, Fang,” said Boom. “You know what that is?”
            “Wolfang? Well, um… well no. I never spent much time studying.” Fang chuckled. “Actually, I used to go the Hall of Records to--"
            Boom interrupted. “Wolves and baboons.” He shook his head. “Where are we. I know, I do. It’s… ugh.” He looked back to Fang. Wolf. “I think my data tracks got jostled a bit in the crash.”
            “Crash?” Fang cocked his head, ears pricked.
            Boom turned west again.   “You go hunt. I’ll wait here. I need to think a bit.”
            Fang looked confused.   “Um… right. Ok. I’ll bring something back for you.”
            “I’m not hungry anymore. Go.” Boom watched as Fang trotted off, tail wagging behind him. “Beast mode.”
            He scrambled into the nearest tree, and eased himself along the length of a branch.
Something was wrong with him. With both of them. With Fang. With this world. He gazed through the forest canopy into the clear blue sky. What had happened during the crash to jumble his data tracks? It was just like Primal to let something like this happen.
He heard a growl, and the crunching of dead leaves in the near distance. Fang may have caught something. His hunger would soon be satiated, and perhaps that would help Boom to feel more at ease with his new companion. But those eyes…

            Fang returned some time later, a small carcass clenched in his jaws. He casually walked to the foot of Boom’s tree, and dropped the carcass to the ground. He called to the ape. “I’m back.”
            “I know.”
            “I caught some sort of small… rodent, I think? There’s some for you if you want.”
            Boom looked through the branches to the ground. Fang sat eagerly at the base of the trunk, carcass at foot and blood on his muzzle. Boom gave a shudder. That could have been him last night, dead and broken, mangled and torn.
            Coward. What are you so afraid of? You could take this kid out without scratching your chassis. It’s the beast talking. Don’t let it control you.
            That was right. He was a warrior, a… no, he wasn’t a hero. And he wasn’t proud. He had done some things in the name of Maximal freedom he would sooner forget. He wasn’t a hero. And he could kill this kid. If he wanted to. He swung down through the branches with a sudden and surprising acrobatic ease, and landed on the ground beside Fang. He wasn’t going to let this bother him anymore.
            “Let’s see what you got here,” he said, picking up the dead animal. He brought it close to his face, and sniffed it. Raw. Blood had pumped through its veins not long ago. It was fresh. He fought the urge to take a chunk out of it, and handed it to Fang, who snapped it from his hands. “You go first,” Boom said. “I’ll eat what’s leftover. I can go longer on smaller amounts of energy.”
            Fang proceeded to tear chunks away from the carcass, holding it down to the ground with a bloody paw. Boom twitched.
            Don’t think about it. You’re not vulnerable, you’re in charge. He’s a predator, but you can be too.
            After a bit, Fang nudged the remainder of the rodent over to Boom. “Well, I’m done. Here’s the rest.” Boom picked it up and ate the rest in one bite.

            The day was getting on, and searching the areas of the forest untread by Fang proved fruitless. They left the forest late in the afternoon, and headed for the plains. Fang gawked at their vast expanse.
            “It’s so… flat. How could it be so flat?”
            Boom looked west to mountains, squinting through the brightness of the sun. He knew, somewhere in his mind… he knew somewhere why it was flat. Somewhere, he knew where they were. This planet…
            “Are we heading to the mountains?” Fang asked, looking at Boom.
            Boom turned to face him. “I think so, yeah. We’re heading west, at least.”
            Fang blinked his golden eyes. “Why west?”
            Don’t look directly into his eyes.
            “You know the story of Oscilla?”
            “Well… I’ve heard of it. It’s a story for fledglings. A myth.”

            “Yeah, it’s a myth. It’s a decent story too.”
            “Does it have anything to do with why we’re heading west?” A tone of sarcasm in his voice?
            Boom shot him a sly look. “Shut up and listen, kid.” He began walking away from the forest, farther onto the plains, and toward the mountains. Fang followed. “Oscilla was a Cybertronian merchant. A good one too. She was wealthy beyond anything you or I could imagine. Well, beyond what I could imagine, at least. She lived in the largest mansion on all of Cybertron, had hundreds of serfs at her disposal. If she wanted to read something, she bought a Hall of Records. If she wanted to see a play, she would have one written for her. She could have anything she wanted as soon as she wanted it. But she wasn’t happy.
            “See, wealth can’t bring you happiness, and things can’t make you happy either, and after a few decades, she started to figure this out.”
Fang shrunk away at this, looking a little guilty. Boom ignored him and continued.
            “So Oscilla went in search of something that could keep her happy. She scoured Cybertron, asking all of the Great Sages and Elders what could be done. They told her only she knew. She roamed the galaxy looking for answers to her question, looking for something that would let her enjoy her life. But she couldn’t find anything. After centuries, after millennia, after eons of adventure she returned home, but only to find Cybertron torn apart, in shambles, a war torn wreck of a world.”
            “The Great War,” Fang said.
            “The Great War had torn her home apart. Her mansion was gone, her serfs dead. She was old now. Older than the Great Sages and Elders she had spoken with so long ago. From the spot where her mansion stood, she turned to face the west, and began walking through the destroyed cities of Cybertron.”
            They walked in silence for some time.
            “Is that it?” Fang finally asked. “She stopped looking? She just walked west?”
            “She found what she was looking for in looking for it. She walked west to die. West is where the sun sets. West is where the story ends.”

            They found an empty stasis pod the next day. No dents, no dings, its retrorockets had eased into the world without incident. Boom couldn’t tell how long it had been abandoned, but it couldn’t have been long.
            “Smell like anyone to you, Fang?”
            Fang stretched his head out, nose in the air. “I honestly don’t know. I wouldn’t know what… well, what anyone smelled like.”
            “Yeah, me neither. It hasn’t been here long though.”
            “How can you tell?”
            Boom pointed at the ground around the pod. “See how the grass is dead and burnt? The earth around it is black from the rockets.”
            “Could it have been Mirta?”
            Boom shook his head. “Don’t know. There’s no designation on the pod. Probably another crew member.” He hoped.
            He had been setting them at a brisk pace, and the mountains were growing closer. It might have been easier, and faster, to fly there, but Fang had no means of flight. Besides, they both needed to conserve energy. Earlier that day, he had wasted time and power trying to help Fang bring down some hoofed animal, only to have it escape, and leave their circuits drained.
            “Maybe whoever was in it is nearby. Waiting for help.” Fang sounded hopeful.             “Maybe,” Boom sighed. “Let’s go.”

            A single moon was curled in the northern sky, a silver fingernail casting pale light about the plains. Another was peaking over the horizon, and soon it would dwarf the other. The mountains loomed in the west, so close now, great shadows blocking the stars. Boom heard the snorting of herd animals, and rose from his position on the ground to look through the tall grass. Fang stirred, and rose beside him.
            A dozen or so giant creatures were passing by, not six yards from where they lay. They had thick, black shaggy coats, and large curving horns. The herd rustled and shoved each other as they made their way east. All were snorting and wheezing as if perturbed.
            “What are they?” whispered Fang.
            “Slag if I know,” Boom whispered back. “But they don’t look too pleased.”
            “Shouldn’t they be… you know, asleep? It’s late.”
            Yeah, they should be. But something had disturbed them. Made them anxious, and a little upset. Was it the occupant of that stasis pod?   “Stay low,” advised Boom. “Wait for them to pass.” He looked at Fang. He was watching the passing herd, but Boom could see his eyes reflecting the light of the moon, and for a moment, he saw death in them.
            Better them than me, he thought.
            Bah. The kid’s a milquetoast, and you know it. Get some rest.
            Boom lay back down on the ground, while Fang continued to watch the herd as they moved east, away from the mountains.

            Fang sat at the foot of the mountains, and gazed up at their peaks. “Boom? What do you think we’ll find on the other side?” he asked.
            Boom glanced at his companion.   “The end of the story.”

            Climbing the mountains proved a troublesome task for both. Though not sheer, the mountain sides were steep enough that Fang and Boom often found themselves at a loss for footing and sliding back down. Eventually Boom became so tired with it all, that he transformed, and grabbing hold of Fang, flew them up several hundred feet. They continued climbing in beast form from there.
            Soon, they discovered the air near the summit was quite thin, and the more progress they made, the more fatigued they became. By early evening, they reached the peak, short of breath and exhausted. Without saying a word, the two collapsed near a cairn of rocks, falling instantly asleep.

“So now what?”

Boom sat gazing at the mountainous expanse spread before them. He hadn’t thought about the possibility of the range being so vast. He hadn’t thought they would have to continue traversing such rocky and dangerous terrain. The mountains had symbolized a hurdle, an obstacle to overcome and be done with. Last night he had thought it was over; their story’s end was on the other side. In the dim light that filtered down through the overcast sky, his surroundings took on a vaguely funereal tone.

“Did you hear me Boom? I asked you what we’re going to do now.”

Boom snapped his head around, angry with the kid’s tone, and was greeted by the golden eyes he had grown to loathe. Fang’s head hung low, close to Boom’s own, less than four inches away. He quickly scrambled to his feet and backed away, bumping into the cairn of rocks they had slept by.

“I heard you kid,” he said nervously.

“So?”

Like flakes of flint captured in resin, though Boom. He found himself more agitated than he liked. He needed to transform, get the beast out of his head, out of his spark. He looked to his right where a large deposit of raw energon had formed. He couldn’t risk so much exposure without access to a c-chamber.

“We keep moving,” he said finally. “Keep up our pace, and, uh, keep our heads… I mean heading.”

Fang blinked. “I’ve been thinking, you know?”

“Oh yeah?” Boom stuttered.

Fang began to move toward the cairn where Boom was standing.

“Yeah. I’ve been wondering who could have stacked these rocks here.” He turned to face Boom. “They can’t be natural.”

Boom looked away. He had thought just as much, and decided it had been the occupant of the downed stasis pod. It had to have been a Cybertronian. The rocks used would have been too heavy to lift for whatever sentient life inhabited this world. “You’re right,” he said. “Someone did this intentionally. It’s a marker. It means we’re on the right path.”

“You think whoever was in that stasis pod did this.”

“Yes.”

Fang trotted around to the other side. “There’s some sort of pale residue on it. Over here.”

Boom joined his companion, moving slowly, careful to keep his eyes on Fang as he moved. He positioned himself behind Fang and looked at what the kid had found. There was indeed a thin, pale but almost luminescent film on the rocks, and had there been direct light, they wouldn’t have seen it.

“Slag, I know what this is.”

“What?”

“Our friend from the pod is functioning without core containment.”

“Meaning…”

Boom looked to the west. “His spark is ‘leaking’. He’s going to die, and before he does that, he’ll go insane. It must have happened when his… pod… crashed…”

“But the pod we found didn’t crash,” Fang intoned. He looked at Boom warily.

Boom shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. His pod had crashed. Had the kid’s? It was possible, Fang had never said otherwise. In fact, he had seemed surprised when Boom had mentioned a crash. If it was the kid’s spark leaking, he would be beginning to forget things. He would be getting paranoid. Boom eyed Fang and saw the way he was looking at him. Those golden eyes had a grim, calculating look, and Boom was reminded of the night spent on the plains. He had seen death in them then, and now they reflected his death.

“Is something the matter?” Fang inquired, taking a step back.

“I don’t know kid. Tell me, did your pod crash? Or did the retrorockets fire in time cushion your landing?”

The canine face of Fang adopted an exasperated look. “I… I don’t think so. I mean, when I came to, my pod was intact.”

He sounded sincere enough.

Those eyes! He lies! He’s going to kill you!

“You’re lying to me,” whispered Boom. “You slept near these rocks last night. You’re the one that’s in trouble. You’re going insane, Fang.”

Fang was shocked. “What are you talking about, Boom?! You slept near the rocks too! It’s not me, I swear! Maybe whoever was in the pod had an accident after he landed?” His voice had taken on a pleading tone. “We need to find him and help him!”

Those eyes never wavered, and Boom realized that what the beast had been telling him was true. Fang meant to kill him. But not if Boom killed him first.

“It’s alright kid. I know what you meant to do. I can’t let you do it, though.”

“You’re insane!” Fang said in horror. “It’s you Boom! You’re the one whose spark is leaking!”

“Doubtful, kid,” Fang replied. “I’m too full of vitality to be dying. Maximize!”

Internal systems informed him of the high risk of stasis lock, and Boom overrode the warning. “Maximize!” he again yelled.

            A blue flash pounced on Fang, knocking him back against the cairn. He tried to gain footing, and Boom shoved him to the ground.
            “I knew there was something wrong with you,” Boom growled. “I knew it from the moment I met you. The beast told me, but I ignored it, and now I’m going to put out your blasted optics!” He brought his hands up to Fang’s head.
Fang struggled beneath him, in vain. “Boom, no! Please!” he cried.
Taking hold of Fang’s muzzle in one hand, Boom forced his thumb through Fang’s left eye, popping it and exposing the workings beneath.
            Fang howled.

Suddenly, a spasming surge of energy forced his hands away from Fang. He fell against the cairn, shivering and jerking, trying to will himself out of it. He watched as Fang jumped to his feet, his right eye rolling with fear, dark fluid oozing from the left. Boom began to lose focus, and for a moment thought he saw a dark, shaggy figure step from behind the cairn. He lost consciousness, darkness sweeping over him. Internal systems took over, and he reverted to beast mode. He lay as he had during the previous night, close to the cairn, as if for protection, the essence of his spark seeping out, leaving its mark on the pile of rocks nearest to him.

When Boom came to, Fang was gone. There was no sign of him having left, but etched into the largest rock of the cairn was a message. Into the West, it said. Boom eased himself up, and looked out over the mountain range.

“I’ll put that other eye out, kid. You better hope you’ve died before I find you.” Boom looked again to the residue left on the cairn, turned west again, and began his trek.