Ring of Fire

|11| - Cave Trouble

A/N: First of all, it has been WAY too long since I last updated this book (*cough* October 3rd 2020 *cough*). I am so sorry to keep those of you who love this book waiting, but I'm finally back with an update! With that said, hope y'all enjoy!
———

"Well look at this. It's just me, you, and the creepy cave!" You said in a cheerful tone, though the part about the cave was more sarcasm than excitement. Heatwave rolled his optics and you grinned. "Hey, does this count as our first date? I technically asked you to come with me."

Heatwave huffed as he clambered over some rocks. "It's a rescue mission, not a date. I wouldn't exactly call rescuing humans romantic..."

"I can make it romantic~." You chuckled, watching his face turn several shades of blue before he shot you a venomous glare. You raised your servos in surrender. "Kidding!" After a moment, you leaned over so that your head was beside his, a cheeky smirk on your face. "Does that mean you'll ask me out on a real date?"

Heatwave looked as though he were considering it, but then he snorted and pushed you away using the palm of his servo on your face. "Focus on the mission, lover boy." He replied in a playful tone.

You let out a sigh and shrugged your shoulders. "Alright, alright. Just don't let me down." And you left it at that. It was good timing anyways because you were just now reaching the entrance of the cave.

"Okay, Chief, we've arrived at the cave. What's the situation?" Heatwave spoke through the comms. He paused near the mouth of the cave, waiting for an answer.

::A couple of hikers decided it was a good idea to explore the cave and got stuck somewhere halfway in. You'll have to go fairly deep to reach them, but the ceiling should be high enough to allow both of you passage.:: Chief Burns' voice crackled over the comms. ::They may be injured, so be prepared for that.::

"Got it. Anything else we should worry about?" You asked, shifting your weight from pede to pede. You were anxious to get going. It had been a while since your last mission.

::Be careful as you go deeper into the cave. It's very old and some places may become unstable if disturbed. Try not to bury yourselves if you can.::

"No promises there." You commented, glancing at Heatwave with a playful grin. "Ready to go, hothead?"

Heatwave let out an exasperated sigh, but you could see a smile tugging on the corner of his dermas. "Let's go." He led the way into the cave, with you at his heels.

•
•
•

Inside, it was dark and damp like... well, a cave! There was a musty scent in the air that your vents were having trouble filtering through your systems. At least the Chief was right about the high ceilings. Things would certainly be more miserable if you had to continuously hunch over to avoid hitting your head.

"Who would even want to explore a cave anyways? It's just a dark hole in the ground." Heatwave said, illuminating the area with his headlights.

"I don't know, probably some thrill-seeking teenagers." You replied with a shrug.

Heatwave cast you a look over his shoulder. "Oh, so you then?"

You gave him a slight glare in return, though it was all out of playfulness. "First of all, I'm not a teenager. Second of all, a little bit of thrill-seeking every now and then isn't a bad thing. It makes you feel alive."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather feel safe than alive." Heatwave grumbled, turning his attention back to the path in front of him.

You chuckled and continued to follow behind him. The cave floor began to progressively slope downwards, which forced the two of you to be extra careful so your pedes didn't slip on the wet rocks. The further down you went, the more stagnant the air became. While you didn't have to breathe to survive, it still felt uncomfortable trying to filter that stuffy air through your vents.

"Ugh... Where are they? I don't see any sign of them anywhere!" Heatwave complained as he shone his headlights all around the space in front of him. "There's nothing but rock."

You narrowed your optics. "If what Chief told us is correct, we should be getting close." You took the lead, flicking on your headlights. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Heatwave rolled his optics. "They're not gonna respond to—"

"Who's there? Help us, we're stuck!" A small voice echoed through the cave.

You turned to Heatwave with a grin and he just shook his head. "See? Easy peasy." Quickly, you settled into your fake robot programming since these were humans you were dealing with. "Stay where you are, citizen. I am coming to aid you." The ambulance lights mounted on your back flickered online so the humans could see you were a medical vehicle before you continued forward.

Heatwave shielded his face from your blinding lights and huffed. "Do you have to turn those on every time you rescue someone?"

"Would you rather them think I'm some giant monster coming to eat them?" You hissed quietly over your shoulder.

"Why would they think you're a monster? Monsters aren't real!"

"Tell that to the hairy beast we chased down last week."

"Come on, you and I both know that was fake!"

"And what if it wasn't?"

While the two of you bickered, you failed to realize that you weren't watching where you were going. As a result, your shoulder accidentally bumped the wall and knocked a few rocks loose. You stumbled a bit, quickly regaining your footing.

"Nice job. Now you're gonna bring the whole cave down on us." Heatwave sneered.

"I am not. Nothing is even happening." You huffed in annoyance, brushing your shoulder with one servo. Though, that was proven to be false as a soft rumbling noise filled the cave. "I stand-corrected.."

"You idiot!"

Small pebbles were the first to start raining down from the ceiling. They bounced off your plating like hail. While they weren't exactly a threat to you, they were a threat to the humans cowering over in the corner. "Heatwave, make sure the entrance doesn't get blocked in. I'll shield the humans." Before he had a chance to reply, you were already rushing over to them.

"I- Y/N!" Heatwave growled, cursing under his breath. He turned to the entrance and started clearing it of any rocks that accumulated on the ground.

While Heatwave was busy doing that, you stood over the humans and used your body to shield them from the falling rocks. "Remain calm. I will protect you." Primus, you sounded so stupid using that voice...

The humans, who looked to be mostly teenagers with a few adults, only stared at you in awe and fear.

As the rumbling continued, you could only hope that you hadn't accidentally caused a cave-in, especially after Chief Burns' warning.