Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The wind howled outside as the storm grew even worse. It seemed to be going on for hours, and maybe it had been. The scraptool had lost count of how long they'd been in here for. He was practically freezing and huddled into a corner, shivering while D-Structs was near the warm lava.

"We could cuddle..?" Skrap-it's voice broke the usual ominous silence in the cave. Well, D-Structs' cave. He'd made that perfectly clear to Skrap-it many times before that this was HIS cave and HIS cave only. That often left the scraptool wondering why he was allowed to stay in there with him, but assumed that it was just convenient for him to be there in case he needed a repair. A small part of him still hoped that he allowed him to stay because D-Structs actually enjoyed his company... But no. They weren't even a 'we' now after he'd yet again failed him...

Skrap-it looked over at the t-trux with a hopeful look on his face, though deep down he knew that it was a wasted attempt. A low growl from said trux proved those thoughts and he in return lowered his head submissively. He didn't want to get hurt by him again...

D-Structs huffed and glanced over to where the draft was coming from before realising that the entrance to the cave was slightly open. That was definitely causing the cold air to invade his cave. "Skrap-it." he said in a snappy tone, causing the tool to flinch. "Go shut the entrance." was the order.

The scraptool immediately made his way over to where it was, "Right away- SKZZZT- D-Structs!" he said. He tried to reach the door but found that he was too small. Not wanting to let the other down again he jumped up and hung off of it, attempting to pull it down with his rather light weight. "Allllmost got it..." he said, mostly speaking to himself. After a few more failed attempts he pulled it one last time, and hard. However, instead of it closing it somehow triggered the entrance to open fully and the next thing he knew a huge gust of wind hit him, blowing him straight into D-Structs' face with a 'clank'.

D-Structs growled lowly as the scraptool froze where he was. "H-how about that cuddle..?" he suggested nervously. The t-trux roared and flung the tool off his face, watching as he hit the stone wall with yet another 'clank'. But this time there was a new noise which accompanied it... A metallic crack. Skrap-it whimpered and curled into himself in a protective manner, trembling as if to hold back tears of his silent pain. D-Structs felt his gears drop. Skrap-it never acted like this after a hit. It was always just a casual comment and then they went back to whatever they were doing. He actually felt... bad for him. What? No. Mildly concerned.

The trux glanced at him again and heard the other sniffle sadly, still curled up in a ball. That's when he realised- his tail. It had bent. "Skrap-it? Uh... I- Are you okay?" he asked. Hell, this felt weird. He'd never asked that in his life.

"Mmhm, j-just fine..." came the muffled and highly unconvincing reply. D-Structs gulped. He'd never meant to hurt him... Not that much, anyway. He approached the tool and carefully picked him up with his mouth, carrying him over to a flat rock near the lava. Skrap-it's eyes were wide in fear, "I said I'm- SKZZZT- fine!" he said with a nervous twitch in his voice.

The trux's eyes narrowed, "Your tail is twisted. So you aren't fine." he retaliated, placing him on the rock. Skrap-it curled his tail into himself, still protective and trembling in his vulnerable state. Did D-Structs actually care about him..? Or was this just a cruel trick..?

"Uhh... You aren't going to smash me, are you..?" he asked nervously.

The trux growled. "I will if you don't shut up!" he said in a harsh tone, causing the tool to flinch again. He didn't dare to speak now.

D-Structs hummed quietly and looked around for something that could help fix the other, but he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He was a t-trux after all, not a rep-tool. Then he paused. A rep-tool... Didn't Ty and his gang have a bunch of them..? But he couldn't ask them to help due to his excessive pride and stubbornness, so that wasn't an option.

Skrap-it had started to cry very, very quietly so D-Structs wouldn't be able to hear, but he did. The trux turned around to look at him, "Are you crying?" he asked accusingly.

Skrap-it froze. "Of- SKZZZT- course not! SKZZZT!" he lied, twitching double time. That always happened when he lied. A big give away...

D-Structs rolled his eyes. "Don't lie to me, Skrap-it!" he growled out. Then he sighed. "Which I guess means that you're in a lot of pain, right?" To which the tool nodded reluctantly, holding back his emotions. "Great." he said, sarcasm dripping in his tone.

Skrap-it looked away, "Was that a good great or a bad great..?" he asked. D-Structs growled. "Just shut up and get on my treads." he said. Skrap-it quickly followed the order without a second thought, it being extremely rare for the trux to ever let him go that close to him with permission.

Once he was on D-Structs' treads the trux opened the entrance and drove out into the raging storm.

Skrap-it gasped. "Whaaa-? Where are we going? SKZZZT!" he asked.

"To the flat irons. I can't fix you myself." he said shortly. Pride would have to be put on hold for the sake of the scraptool, and he had to remind himself that he was only doing this for himself. Skrap-it was useful at times so it'd be a shame if he was too injured to do anything.

The tool decided to stay quiet for once as the trux continued to drive. He tried to comprehend what was going on... D-Structs was going to help him..?

Chapter Text

The storm must have reached its peak by now. The wind was actually starting to disturb the straight line D-Structs was driving in, often pushing him to the side slightly. That wasn't good. Skrap-it had to lean into the t-trux to stop himself from getting blown away, all the while hoping that the other wouldn't mind too much. D-Structs seemed to be more concentrated on the path ahead anyway.

After a few more minutes of driving through the storm they arrived at the garage. D-Structs hit the entrance of it with his tail, either to break it or let the truxes on the other side know that someone was trying to get in. Either way would work for him. When the entrance didn't break he huffed and hit it again.

Click-Clack gasped and woke up from his sleep after hearing the thuds. "W-w-what was that!?" he exclaimed, immediately going into a full panic.
The other's woke up too, reluctantly, and Ty was the first to speak.

"Click-Clack? What's wrong?" he asked, looking at him. Another thud at the door, this time louder.

 The orange rep-tool whimpered. "Th-that!" he replied, bits trembling in fear as he tucked his head in.

Ty frowned and turned his attention to the entrance of the garage. "Maybe it's a trux trying to get out of the storm? I'll go check." he said and went over to it.

Skya wasn't convinced. "I don't know Ty. That sounded like a big trux to be hitting it that hard." she commented.

Ty opened the entrance anyway and was greeted with another t-trux. One that wasn't friendly. "D-Structs." he greeted in a confrontational tone.
"What brings you here at this time? You doing night shifts now?" he asked with a smirk.

The others rolled into the main part of the garage. Apart from Click-Clack, of course, who was now hiding in a bowl of bolts.

D-Structs growled. "Ty. Unfortunately I haven't come here to fight." he said.

Skrap-it twitched, causing everyone to turn their attention to him instead.
The greyscale t-trux picked the scraptool up with his tail and placed him in the centre of the garage. "This is why I've come." he stated simply.

Revvit gasped and approached him. "Skrap-it! What happened to your tail?" he asked.

The scraptool curled into a defensive position as he felt everyone's eyes on him. "I- Uh... SKZZZT- f-fell?" he said, sounding more of a question than answer.

Revvit frowned. "You would have had to fallen from quite the height for your tail to bend like this... Are you sure that you fell and did not just get hit by something much bigger than yourself?" he asked, glancing at the grey t-trux for a moment. Skrap-it stayed quiet, looking at the ground.
 
D-Structs spoke up, "Why does it matter how his tail bent? Just fix it!" he ordered.

Dozer scoffed, "You're telling me that you came all the way over here through the storm just to ask us to help Skrap-it?" he asked. D-Structs growled and glared daggers at the Dozeratops.

Ty cleared his throat. "Come on guys let's not get out of hand. Rev, can you fix him?" he asked, looking at the green reptool.

The tool nodded, "Of course I can. Though it does seem to be a rather big bend... He will have to wear some sort of support frame for a few days to ensure that the metal parts heal and do not completely break." he informed him.

Skrap-it looked at Revvit. "A support frame you say..? SKZZZT! That's gonna be embarrassing..." he muttered. He hated that idea.

Revvit shook his head, "Do not worry, Skrap-it." he said, understanding the scraptools hesitance to wear something like that. "It will not be big and obvious. I am sure that Ace and Waldo will be able to come up with a slim but strong design." he assured the scraptool. Revvit looked over at Ace and Waldo and they both nodded before going into the supplies room.

The green rep-tool then looked at Skrap-it again. "In the meantime I shall take a closer look at your tail and see what I can do about it." he said. "The rest of you should go back to sleep. We have a very busy day tomorrow, remember?" he asked.

Ton-Ton grinned, "Oh yeah! I'm gonna need a ton of rest for that! Night guys! Night D-Structs!" he said and reversed back into his rock bed.

D-Structs grumbled and then looked down at Skrap-it and Revvit. "How long is this going to take?" he asked, sounding impatient as usual.

Revvit looked up at him, "If my calculations are correct then just over ten minutes." he replied before focusing on the scraptools' tail.

Skya and Dozer gave each other a look of concern, none of them very happy about their new visitors but knew they did have to get some rest. Skya gave a small nod and then reversed back into her personal part of the garage, Dozer doing the same but in his part.

That just left Ty. "I'll stay up with you, Rev. Make sure everything goes smoothly and whatnot." he said.

Revvit nodded, "Thank you, Ty." The rep-tool knew that it was because of D-Structs Ty wouldn't go to sleep but he wasn't going to turn down an offer to have some protection while he did this.

"It looks like I will have to bend it back in place by force since it is the metal that has bent and not just a part." he spoke, gently holding the injured tail.

Skrap-it's eyes widened. "By- SKZZZT- force? That sounds like it's gonna- SKZZZT- hurt." he said, twitching even more than usual because he was nervous.

Revvit nodded, "Most likely. But it is either pain for a very short amount of time or constant pain forever, and I am guessing that you are not going to go with the second option. Am I correct?" he asked.

Skrap-it huffed quietly. "Yeah yeah, you're right..." he muttered.

A faint drilling sound could be heard from another part of the garage along with other construction noises. Ace and Waldo were already starting to build the support frame.

Revvit nodded to himself and held Skrap-it's tail again, having lost grip of it when the scraptool twitched. "Now, you need to hold very still whilst I do this, okay?" he asked.

Skrap-it nodded, deciding not to talk to decrease the risk of twitching again.

"Good. Now then..." The rep-tool quickly pushed the tail back where it should be, making Scrap-it cry out in pain.

"Aahhahoww! That hurt!" he complained, trembling a little.

"Like I said." Revvit reminded him. "But the good news is that your tail is now fixed." he said.

Ty smiled, "Good job Rev! I knew you could do it!" the red t-trux praised.
 
Revvit smiled too, "Thank you, but it was nothing really. A simple fix." he said.

D-Structs looked at the two tools. "That's it?" he asked.

Revvit shook his head, "Not exactly. Skrap-it will have to wear the support frame for two full days before he can take it off. Speaking which- Ace! Waldo! How is it coming along? Do you need my assistance?" he called out to them.

The two tools returned just after Revvit had spoken, bringing him the slim support frame.

"Nope, already done." Waldo said.
 
"Yep!" Ace chimed in.

Revvit took the frame and attached it to Scrap-it's tail. "There. How does that feel?" he asked him.

Skrap-it walked around in a small circle and then moved his tail. It was very lightweight and inconspicuous, just like he was hoping it would be. "Heyy, it actually feels good!" he replied happily. "More than good! SKZZZT! It feels like I can take on a whole scrapadactyl! No- make that two scrapadactyls! SKZZZT!"

Revvit smiled, "Great. Just remember to keep it on for two full days, otherwise your tail could bend again. That also means that you will have to be extra careful around those high places." he said and gave D-Structs a look.

The greyscale trux growled at Revvit. There was no getting anything past that tool.

Ty yawned to interrupt any conflict that was about to start again. "It must be getting late now. I'm tired." he commented.

D-Structs picked Skrap-it up with his tail, actually being quite gentle this time, and put him on his treads. He then turned around to leave.

Ty chuckled quietly as he watched the bigger t-trux go out into the raging storm without a word. He was probably embarrassed about the whole situation of having to come to them for help. "You're welcome!" the red t-trux called after him.

All he got in return was the sound of D-Structs roaring loudly in the distance. Ty chuckled again and closed the entrance to the garage for what he hoped to be the final time tonight...

Chapter Text

D-Structs rolled into his cave, or his lair as he liked to call it, after what seemed like an eternity of driving. Though- in reality- it was probably only around five minutes or so.

He shut the entrance behind him with his tail and huffed quietly. That was quite a harsh trip through the storm, even for him. A big t-trux who didn't let anyone or anything stand in his way. Apart from Ty and his gang... But not for long. Soon they would be out of his way too and he could once again rule the crater. HIS crater.

The trux glanced down at his right tread to see the scraptool still sitting on there, looking up at him with an almost curious expression on his face.

"You can get off now." the t-trux said in his usual annoyed tone.  

Skrap-it immediately hopped off and sat down on the floor in front of him. "Thank you for taking me to get fixed, D-Structs, I... I didn't- SKZZZT- know that you cared about me..." he said softly. He sounded quite emotional about it. And that was because he was. It wasn't often that the t-trux, or anyone, did anything nice for him.

D-Structs growled lowly. "The only reason I took you there was so you wouldn't be too injured to do anything useful for me. Not that you do anything useful anyway." he added before driving past the scraptool and towards the lava, almost crushing him as he did; the tool just managed to jump to the side in time.

"What do you mean I don't- SKZZZT- do anything useful? I do lots of useful things!" he protested, following after him. The t-trux never said that he didn't care about him though...

D-Structs came to a stop near the lava, the place he usually slept to keep warm but at a safe enough distance. "Name one useful thing you've done for me this week." he said, glancing at the scraptool who was now standing near the lava too.

"This week..? Well, I... I- SKZZZT- I don't think I've done anything useful THIS week but last week I did some useful things! Remember when I shouted 'Look out!' when Ty's tail was about to hit you? That was pretty useful of me, r-right?" he asked, looking up at the black and gray t-trux.

"I could've seen Ty's tail coming at me from a mile away. If anything I'd say that you just distracted me." The trux turned his attention back to the lava.

Skrap-it looked down at the cave floor. "Right, of course. I should've- SKZZZT- known that... But that's not the only thing I've done! Remember when I told you where Ty and his- SKZZZT- gang were heading to? Yeah! That was a useful thing I did, wouldn't ya say D?" he asked again.

D-Structs hummed quietly. "I suppose that was useful at the time..." he replied, just as quiet. He was reluctant to say such a thing but the scraptool did have a good point there.

"Ha! See? I am useful!" The tool looked at him with a grin. All Skrap-it ever wanted was a bit of praise from D-Structs but sadly he didn't get any. Even when he did do a useful thing...
 
"Enough of this. I'm going to rest now and I suggest you do the same. Unless you want to stay up collecting ore for me all night, that is."

Skrap-it shook his head quickly. "I'll have to pass on that one. SKZZZT!" He paused for a moment and then looked at the warm-looking lava. He didn't want to go back to his cold corner part of the cave... Especially not with his injury. "Uh... D-Structs..?" he asked hesitantly.

"What now?" came the cold response of the trux.

Scrap-it hesitated again. Should he ask? What if D-Structs got mad again and kicked him out for good..? It was worth a shot at least... He finally decided to ask. "Can I stay in your part of the cave for tonight..? My part is kinda cold, you see. And dark. And- SKZZZT- lonely. And-"

"If you name one more thing about your part of the lair then you can sleep outside in the storm." he threatened.

"No more naming. Got it. SKZZZT! Does that mean that I can stay near the lava then? Just for tonight..?" he asked in a hopeful tone.

D-Structs huffed. "Fine. Just for tonight." he agreed.

Skrap-it made a happy little noise and then moved to the ledge which D-Structs was on before laying down next to him. Maybe a little too close because the trux then pushed him away a few centimetres with his tread. The tool didn't mind too much, of course, as he was lucky to even be allowed near the lava. This was a big thing for him.

"And don't even think about trying to scrap me again like you did last time." the trux added.

Skrap-it looked at him with an innocent expression. "Well technically I was sleep-scrapping last time... It's not like I could- SKZZZT- control what I was doing..." he said quietly.

D-Structs growled, making the scraptool wince instinctively and start talking again, "Okay, okay! No sleep-scrapping! I'll do my very best to control myself, hehe... SKZZZT!"

The t-trux made a quiet noise which Skrap-it was almost one hundred percent sure was a chuckle, but it was too quiet to make any bold assumptions like that.

Skrap-it shrugged, curled into a ball and then closed his eyes. "Goodniiight D-Structs." he said quietly.

D-Structs grumbled before allowing his own eyes to close for the night. Scrap-it took that response as a goodnight and smiled to himself.

"Best. Night. Ever." he whispered to himself just low enough so D-Structs wouldn't hear him. And he didn't.

The two soon fell asleep, Skrap-it unconsciously making his way further and further towards the greyscale t-trux to curl up against his treads...

Chapter Text

The early morning sun barely managed to shine it's light into D-Structs' lair the next day. What did get through illuminated the rocky interior with a faint orange glow as scraptors in the distance started to wake up and make some noise. 

Those noises were what caused the greyscale t-trux to open his eyes, he too waking up now from his surprisingly deep sleep- usually his sleep was disrupted by frustrating dreams, noises from outside or Skrap-it sleep scrapping. Last night, however, none of those things disturbed him. And for that he was almost grateful. Almost.

The first thing he noticed when he woke up was that there was some sort of pressure against his right tread. A light amount but still noticeable. That was odd... He looked down to where he felt it to see a very familiar scraptool curled up against him, fast asleep. 

D-Structs rolled his eyes; it was too early in the morning to shout at the tool or even knock him away with his tail, so as an alternative he pushed him away a few centimetres with his tread. He refused to even acknowledge that his mind had somehow supplied him with the word 'cute' after looking at him for a second too long.

He then watched as Skrap-it stirred in his sleep and mumbled something about scrap before rolling into a presumably more comfortable position. That wouldn't have been a problem had it not been into the lava pit. 

The t-trux's quick reflexes were what saved the scraptools' life that morning. 

Before Skrap-it even knew what was happening D-Structs caught him with his tail, a millimetre off hitting the lava. 

"It- SKZZZT-  wasn't me!" the tool spoke on instinct after being woken up so abruptly. He soon realised that he was being held just inches away from the lava and then caught onto the situation. "Oh... We should really get a fence or something around this lava pit... SKZZZT! Maybe get the dinotrux to put one up for us!" 

D-Structs growled at the mention of Ty's gang and tightened his grip around the scraptool, making him flinch.

"I've just saved your life and you're talking about Ty and his friends? I could just drop you in the lava myself..." he said, an empty threat really; D-Structs wouldn't do that to him, but Skrap-it took the threat seriously. As he should do.

"No!" the tool hugged onto one of the claws on the t-trux's tail, "I- I'm sorry, please don't- SKZZZT- drop me in there oh mighty D-Structs!" he pretty much begged.

D-Structs' eyes softened and he lifted the Skrap-it away from the lava, placing him safely back on the ledge he had slept on last night. The trux then stretched and exited the cave to find some breakfast. It wasn't like he was going back to sleep after all of that. 

Skrap-it followed after the t-trux out into the dangerous (for him) world, though he was slightly safer being with someone like D-Structs. It was just that the t-trux often used him as a spy or, on the very rare occasion, bait. Luckily for him, D-Structs had been treating him a lot nicer than he usually did. That meant that he wasn't being bullied or thrown around as much by him. The t-trux even allowed him to keep some of the scrap sometimes from when he got into fights with scraptors or other trux. Skrap-it was always very happy and grateful for when that happened.

The t-trux made his way over to a slightly different coloured part of the ground and hummed. 

"What's the- SKZZZTZ- matter with the ground..? Oh, wait, don't tell me! You're going to use the ground to get rid of the trux somehow!" The scraptool exclaimed, thinking that he'd finally caught onto what D-Structs' plan was.

D-Structs glanced at the tool with an almost sympathetic look. "No. I'm making sure that when I hit it, it isn't going to explode." he told him. It was difficult to distinguish whether the ground here had regular ore in or explosive ore. 

"Ohhh, riiight. That makes much more sense. SKZZZT!" the scraptool said.

After some consideration the greyscale t-trux lifted his tail and brought it down hard onto the ground, revealing some regular ore. Pleased with the outcome, he started to eat it while keeping an eye out for possible 'threats'; they were only threats if he didn't notice them approaching. Even then they wouldn't really be a threat to a t-trux such as himself, just a nuisance.

Skrap-it watched as the trux ate in silence. He debated asking D-Structs if he could have some too but then remembered that the other didn't like to be disturbed while eating, so he decided not to risk it. Instead, he patiently waited for a small piece to be broken off like he usually did. He didn't have to wait long as a decent-sized piece landed next to him. The scraptool snagged the ore and then went over to a rock so they could both eat in peace. 

Eating in peace- separate from one another- wasn't how Skrap-it would prefer to eat his breakfast. He would have liked to eat with D-Structs and possibly have a conversation with him, but if this was what the t-trux liked then he couldn't exactly change it.

Once D-Structs seemed to had finished, the scraptool went over to him, having finished his own piece already. 

"So, what are we gonna do today? Smash some things up? Spy on Ty and his- SKZZZT- friends again?" he asked, looking up at the t-trux with curious yet mischievous eyes. 

D-Structs hummed thoughtfully. "I think we should spy on them and see what they're doing. Didn't that reptool mention something about it being a big day tomorrow? I bet they're building something again..." he said, distaste clear in his voice.

"Yeah! We should go and destroy it! Or better yet- destroy whatever they're building and then destroy them! It would be a- SKZZZT- scrap paradise..." he said, getting lost in the fantasy.

"No." D-Structs' firm tone snapped the scraptool out of it. "We should make a plan. As much as I hate to say this, getting into a fight straight away without a real plan has rarely ended up succeeding." he admitted reluctantly, much to Skrap-it's surprise. "Especially with Ty's friends always backing him up... No. What we need is to get rid of them first. That way it will just be me and Ty. I can beat him alone with my eyes closed." 

Skrap-it tilted his head a little at the other's claim. "With your eyes closed? I know you're stronger than Ty but maybe not when-"

D-Structs growled deeply, making the scraptool shut up before he could finish his sentence. 

"You're right, you're right! SKZZZT! You could definitely beat him with your eyes closed! Hehehe..." the tool chuckled nervously. 

More pleased with that reaction D-Structs started to drive back to his lair. But then stopped. Something didn't feel right. He drove again before stopping once more just to prove his suspicions- It wasn't just Skrap-it causing the pressure on his tread this morning. There was something else and it was slowly starting to get more irritating, more painful.

"Skrap-it." the trux spoke.

"Yes D-Structs?" 

"There's something wrong with my tread. Fix it." he ordered.

The scraptool nodded, "Right away D-Structs!" he said and crawled onto the tread which was most likely damaged somehow. 

While Skrap-it had a look at what was wrong, the t-trux couldn't help but realise how much trust he was putting into the other. The scraptool could easily take a vital part out so he couldn't move and then scrap the rest of him. D-Structs understood that it was probably tempting for him to do so but Skrap-it was one of the most controlled scraptools he had encountered so far, as crazy as that sounded. Besides, Skrap-it seemed to genuinely enjoy working for him so he wasn't too concerned.

After a few more moments of the scraptool crawling in and around his treads he finally returned with a not too happy expression.

"Uh... One of your tread bolts seems to be- SKZZZT- missing..." he said, looking down submissively. 

D-Structs sighed. "Probably from the storm yesterday..." he muttered to himself. "Well fix it then."

Skrap-it twitched nervously. "That's gonna be a problem, you see... I don't- SKZZZT- have the bolt needed for this repair." he said in a hesitant tone. He never liked giving bad news to D-Structs, usually because he took it out on him. This time though, he didn't. He just gave another sigh of annoyance.

"Go and find the bolt then. There's a big pile of scrap next to Scraptor Valley, last time I checked." he told him.

"S-Scraptor Valley..? I- SKZZZT- don't think that's a very good- SKZZZT- idea. I mean it's a good idea!" he added after seeing the look on D-Structs' expression. "I just don't want to turn into scrap myself... Could you come with me at least? Do a little scrap run- SKZZZT- together..?" he asked.

D-Structs was about to hit Skrap-it in the direction of Scraptor Valley but then supposed it would be practical for him to be with the tool to oversee that he got the part. Scraptors could definitely get in the way and the scraptool might not make it back with the bolt. 

"Fine. But only to make sure you don't mess things up. Again." he added.

Skrap-it grinned. "Thank you D-Structs! I wont- SKZZZT- let you down! We'll get that bolt and you'll be fixed before you know it!" he said happily, making his way to where Scraptor Valley was.

"I'm sure... Let's just get this over with so we can start planning out how to get rid of Ty and his friends. For good...." he said in a dark tone, making Skrap-it shiver in anticipation and excitement. 

The t-trux followed the scraptool, keeping an eye out for threats to distract himself from the steadily growing pain in his tread...

Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. 

Chapter Text

The pain was getting worse.

At first it was difficult to notice; just a light pressure, but now it was starting to get painful. Of course, he wouldn't mention it to Skrap-it purely because he didn't want him to know he was feeling like this. Weak. Vulnerable... Who knew missing a small bolt would cause this much pain? Not him, that's for sure. At least they were almost there now anyway.

Skrap-it looked up at the t-trux as he ran beside him. Somehow he could sense that the other was in pain, but didn't want to ask him about it. He knew from experience that D-Structs didn't take well to conversations about physical feelings or even emotion. Unless it was anger. So this time he didn't actually say anything and continued to look at the path ahead.

They made it to where the scrap pile was just outside of Scraptor Valley after a few more minutes. Much to both of their relief there didn't seem to be any scraptors hanging around.

"Ohhoho, you weren't- SKZZZT- kidding when you said there was a big pile of scrap~" he said dreamily, practically drooling at the sight of it all. There were so many different kinds of bolts- some new, some old, some rare and some not... The same went for all of the other parts which were in the pile and around it too. It was perfect...

"Skrap-it." D-Structs warned, catching onto the tools oncoming fantasies. "We haven't come here for you to add to your growing scrap collection. We came here to get a bolt to fix my tread, so get on with finding it." he said sternly.

Skrap-it sighed sadly, "Fine... Could I at least get a- SKZZZT- few pieces for my collection..?" he asked in a hopeful tone, looking up at him with puppy eyes.

"Don't try to manipulate me, scraptool." he growled. The trux then picked him up with his tail before lightly throwing him onto the pile of scrap. He would have thrown him with more force but remembered about his injured tail. He didn't want to make another surprise visit at Ty and his friends' garage to get Scrap-it fixed again. That had been a very embarrassing day for him.

The scraptool huffed and got to work, starting to filter through the different parts as efficiently as possible, talking to himself as he did so. "That's not it... This isn't it either..." He tossed the parts to the side which weren't of any use at the moment before picking up a rare golden bolt for an ankylodump. "Ooo, look at this- SKZZZT- part! It's so pretty..." he said, presenting it to D-Structs.

D-Structs' eyes narrowed. "Is that the bolt you need for repairing my tread?" he asked, voice threatening because he already knew the answer.

 Skrap-it twitched, looking down. "No... it's not. But it's still pretty." he said defensively and placed the bolt to the side. After hearing the t-trux growl he quickly went back to searching for the required bolt.

"Could you search any faster? It's going to get dark by the the time you find it." D-Structs commented. Impatience was natural for him, but this kind of impatience was being fuelled by something else- pain.

"I'm searching as fast as I can, D. There's a lot of scrap here ya know?" He moved a piece of scrap metal away which revealed the bolt he needed. "Oh! Found- SKZZZT- it!" he exclaimed happily.

But the bolt wasn't all that was revealed... A scraptor was too. It had presumably been sleeping in the scrap before being awoken by a chattery scraptool who, at the moment, had no idea it was there. He was too busy admiring the t-trux bolt he had found.

The scraptor jumped out from the big pile and made a screeching noise, causing the scraptool to turn around quickly.

"Scraptor!" he shouted in fear. The tool ran behind D-Structs on instinct, knowing the t-trux would have no problem with showing this creature who was boss around here. At least, that's what he thought.

D-Structs, despite the silent pain he was experiencing, roared loudly in an attempt to scare away the scraptor. Usually did the trick and they would just run away. But not this time. Instead, the roar alerted the other scraptors hiding around the area and they soon surrounded both t-trux and scraptool.

"Well... this is unfortunate. But at least it can't get any worse, right? SKZZZT!" the tool said optimistically.

As soon as the words left his mouth D-Structs' damaged tread made a low creaking sound, indicating that it had completely broken down.

"I hate it when I speak too soon..." Skrap-it said, sounding deflated.

"Stop talking and fix me already!" the t-trux ordered.

"Fixing it!" the tool agreed, already climbing onto the t-truxes tread to make the repair.

The five scraptors caught onto what had happened to the truxes tread and two of them jumped on it, starting to bite roughly.

D-Structs wasn't going to let a few scraptors scrap him. One tread down or not, these scraptors were going to get it. He let out a loud roar and grabbed one of them with his tail, throwing it into a large rock with a resounding 'clank'. Three more scraptors attacked his injured tread and attempted to take more parts from it.

"Worthless beasts! Get off me!" the t-trux shouted, annoyed and in even more pain now. He bit down on one of the other scraptors and threw that one away as well without too much of a struggle. "Skrap-it! Are you done yet?" he asked as he grabbed and threw off yet another scraptor with his tail.

"Almost..." the scraptool muttered, concentrated. "There! All done!" The scraptool jumped down from D-Structs' tread and scurried off to a small rock to watch from a safe distance.

D-Structs felt the pain immediately subside. That bolt felt even better than the one he had in before... He laughed darkly, knowing that the scraptors didn't have a chance against him now he was able to move.

He quickly moved forward and skidded to the side, causing the scraptors on his tread to get thrown off into the large rock. The pack seemed to have realised that they were the ones in danger now and so they backed up. D-Structs wasn't done with them yet, however.

Skrap-it watched the scene unfold with admiration in his eyes. The greyscale t-trux never ceased to amaze him when he fought...

D-Structs roared at the scraptors, asserting his dominance to them. They turned around to make an escape but the t-trux caught one of them with his tail. "Got you... Now it's time to pay for what you did- well, tried to do to me." he growled out, glaring at the scraptor currently squirming in his claw.

"Ooh, that scraptor is gonna get it..." Skrap-it said to himself, watching eagerly.

D-Structs briefly glanced at Skrap-it, noticing that he was watching. He then turned his attention back to the scraptor, tightening his grip on it.

Skrap-it had obviously noticed the glance and couldn't help but wonder why he did it. Was it just a casual look? To make sure that he was safe perhaps? Or maybe it was something else... Whatever the reason, Skrap-it was happy that he wasn't being ignored.

D-Structs threw the scraptor with a huge amount of power- quite an unnecessary amount, actually- and the beast hit the same rock the others had hit before. The scraptor got up with some difficulty and retreated back into the valley as fast as it could before D-Structs could grab him again.

"Well, you showed them who's boss! Almost thought I- SKTZZZT- wouldn't be able to make that repair in time before they scrapped ya." the scraptool spoke as he approached his friend.

"I could have still taken them down with one tread working." the trux said defensively, looking down at the tool.

"Of course you could have. But I did help, right..?" he asked in a hopeful tone. Just a little praise was all he needed from the t-trux but he knew he would never get any. He wouldn't even get a thank you or a good job, let alone be acknowledged for-

"Yes. You did help." D-Structs said, causing the scraptool's jaw to drop.

"R-really..?" he asked, looking up at him with a shocked but doubtful look on his face. He was expecting to be told no and then get thrown into a wall like he usually did...

D-Structs was clearly hesitating as he looked at the scraptool. He wasn't used to this. Wasn't used to praising anyone or being with another in general. Well, being with someone who actually cared about him, anyway. It was new. Unnerving for him. It was something that he still wasn't sure about... But he decided that he could at least give the scraptool a little praise. This time.

"Yes, really. You did help." the t-trux said, trying to ignore how odd that felt to say. "Thank you."

Skrap-it looked as though he was about to start crying. Literally.

To stop that from happening, D-Structs swiftly located the rare golden ankylodump bolt and grabbed it with his tail. He placed it in front of Skrap-it, "You can keep this for your collection. Now come on, we still need to spy on Ty and his friends." he reminded him before turning around to go where he assumed Ty would be.

Skrap-it didn't exactly register anything that was said after being praised and then given the rare golden bolt; he was still in shock, jaw still open as he stared at the spot where D-Structs once was. Did that really just happen..?

"Skrap-it!" D-Structs shouted, snapping him out of his trance.

"Whaa-? Oh- SKTZZZT-! Coming!" he shouted back. He grabbed the bolt with his tail and then ran to catch up with the greyscale t-trux who was quite a ways ahead already.

He felt dragonflopters in his stomach at the thought of D-Structs actually accepting him as a friend, indicating that he was either nervous, happy or excited. In this case it was both.

Perhaps D-Structs did have a good side after all.