Red leaned against the bars to get a better view of what was happening. His breathing was ragged, and sweat dripped down his face, but he forced himself to look calm. A pair of Gearborn he hadn't met walked past. In between them, they dragged an unconscious man. Red thought it was a man, at least. The person had a bag over their head, making it hard to tell who they were.
Behind the pair, trailed his good Gearborn friend. Red smirked at the robot as it passed, but it didn't offer him a second glance. Clearly, it was worried about what the other two were doing.
He was about to make a snarky retort when a sudden thought occurred to him. His hands shook slightly against the metal bars. He hadn't shut the bloody door at the end of the hallway!
For the first time since he had been captured, a wave of panic washed over him. If they found out he could get out of his cell, he would be doomed. His eyes fixed on the three Gearborn as they dropped the man in a cell diagonally to his own. Red watched and waited, trying to keep himself calm.
Finally, the cell door closed as the trio left. Red slumped against his bed as one of the newcomers turned down the hall carrying a bundle in his arms.
"Crap…"
A low grinding voice echoed, "Hey, why didn't you lock up here when you were done?"
Alpha slowly turned to the Gearborn, "I did."
Red heard the door at the end of the hall slam shut as he failed to keep the anxiety from his face.
"Like hell you did. There's a reason you were assigned down here 4589.1. Do you want me to report this to the captain?"
"No," Alpha muttered.
"No, what?"
The Gearborn glared at the two newcomers, "No, sir."
The pair walked past, "Idiot, you act like a human. Get the prisoner food and don't screw it up this time. The Captain wants him well taken care of."
Red stared blankly as the pair of Gearborn climbed back out of the hull, leaving Alpha behind.
"Huh, Seems like you are in hot water now. "
Alpha turned to him, his red eyes flaring.
"You know I've been meaning to ask what your name actually was. It has felt strange to be calling you Alpha in my head this whole time, but after hearing your name, I think I'm going to just stick with Alpha. Who the hell names their kid a number?" he paused, "Wait, do Gearborn even have kids?"
"Enough of your bumbling rabble monkey!"
"That's a little hurtful. After what you tried earlier, I would have expected you to at least ask my name. It would only be courteous. I just learned yours after all. What was it…4158.9 or something?"
"How dare you mock a great one's crest?" Alpha roared, his voice echoing down the halls.
"So that funky number isn't even your name? Knew I was right to stick with Alpha," Red noticed a slight movement from the cell the newcomer was in. "I suspect our new friend will be waking soon, so you'd best hurry with your duty. I doubt the others would be happy to know poor old 4591 was slacking again."
Alpha's eyes flared so red, Red thought they might pop straight out of his head.
"What's with the attitude? A piece of friendly advice: deep breaths help in difficult situations."
A wave of pressure surged out from the Gearborn. An uncomfortably strong pulsing slammed into his sea heart like an echo of a loud noise. His heart vibrated uncomfortably and Red heard the person in the other cell groan from the sudden force.
Robots weren't the only ones capable of performing a feat like this; anyone with a sea heart could. However, the strength was dependent on the power of the wielder and the strength of the thing being attacked.
In this case, Alpha was not a strong Gearborn, and his aura was not strong, no matter how much he tried to make it seem. Red didn't have to be strong to shrug off the pulse. From a stronger being, he might have been knocked unconscious, but Alpha…Red just shook his head. Before either one of them could do anything, the trapdoor at the end of the hallway flipped open.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing down there?"
Alpha flinched, and the pressure vanished as if it had never been.
"Just teaching this one some manners, sir." Despite having no proper facial features, Red could see the worry on the Gearborn's face.
"You'd better damn hurry. "
The trapdoor slammed shut again. Red opened his mouth to speak, but Alpha was already gone.
"Teaching me manners. What a load of crap. Like I'm the one who needs help. He keeps getting mad for no reason. No reason at all…"
Red watched Alpha return to the new prisoner's cell and delivered the man the same tray of food he had been given earlier. He chose to remain silent as Alpha slammed the door and marched past his cell to the ladder. Alpha didn't seem to be in a very good mood for some reason. That was fine; he now had a new person to talk to.
The trapdoor closed with a click, and Red turned to the newly occupied cell. The man inside seemed to have been rudely roused by Alpha's blast of aura, but he was still not fully conscious. Red waited patiently for a few minutes until the man finally began to move in his cell. He squinted, trying to get a better view of the figure.
"Why couldn't they have put him across from me?" he muttered, "It would have made conversation so much simpler."
"Hey, you over there. I don't know if you are awake, but if you are, I suggest you hurry up and eat before it gets cold. You'll have a fun time then," he called.
Red waited a few moments, and the man came stumbling into view, leaning heavily against the bars. He squinted, trying to get a better view of the man, but the bars mostly obscured him.
"What is going on?" The man asked in a strange accent; his voice sounded a bit ragged but young.
Red paused. He had never heard that accent before, but he knew one thing for certain. It was definitely not the accent of a native Valencian like himself. Whoever this person was, they were from some other sea than his own.
"Uh, you're in a cell."
The man turned in his direction, and Red was certain he was giving him a flat stare. He seemed to have gathered his bearings far faster than Red had.
"I can tell," he replied dryly, "When did I get here?"
"A few minutes ago. First time they've brought anyone else down here, so I suspect you must be special in some weird robot way."
"I see," the man fell silent.
"So uh, I recommend eating that stuff if you want any chance of getting it down."
"I'll be fine. I eat stuff like this all the time."
Red frowned. He had no idea what this man ate, but if this was the sort of food he ate in his sea, then he certainly needed help from some higher beings.
"Well, your loss, I guess. What's your name? I suspect we'll be spending some quality time together over the next few days."
"It's Derrin. Derrin Oren."
"Great. I'm Redwynn, but I mean, don't call me that. You can just call me Red."
"Alright…Red. How long have you been here?"
"Just a few days now."
"You've already been here for a few days, and you are still in such a good state? Are they not torturing you for information?"
"What! Torture? No one said anything about torture. Not that I would have anything to say if they did decide to torture me. The closest I've come to getting tortured was when I got choked out by Alpha earlier. Although I think he may have just wanted a kiss. I'm still unsure about that part."
Derrin sputtered, "What?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Don't even worry about it. He's a pretty swell dude, other than that. You're gonna love meeting him. I guess he's already sort of met you, but you should introduce yourself the next time he comes down here."
"Great," Derrin muttered to himself and turned away from the bars, "Not only am I here, but now I've got to deal with an insane person on top of it."
"What are you talking about? Alpha's great. He's just a little weird. I wouldn't quite classify that as insanity."
"I'm going to eat now, so please stop talking."
Red cocked his head, "Sure. Make sure you have water handy once you get started."
"Water?"
"Yeah, you'll want to wash it down as quickly as possible now that it's cold."
"I'll be fine."
Red sighed. Well, he had tried to warn the man. It was his loss.
"I'm not sure what you were complaining about. This stuff isn't so…" A muffled choking sound cut off the words.