Transformers Meta

Discussion in 'Transformers Fan Fiction' started by Meta777, Mar 11, 2013.

  1. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    The Seeker was jamming his communications, or maybe it was that bike, but either way Wheeljack found himself unable to summon support from either Jazz or the Zeta-1; every attempt to contact back-up was met with gurgling static. Frag. This was bad news, obviously, since Wheeljack wasn't quite as adept at fighting Seekers as some of the others were.

    The jet swung at him with those sword-arms, and he barely managed to avoid being skewered by jumping back, but the Seeker kept at him, its superior size allowing it to keep pace with him easily. The swords came at him again and he managed to deflect the swipe with his own blade, before bringing up his cannon and shooting at it. The Seeker withdrew somewhat, shielding itself from the blasts with its wide arms.

    See, Grimlock could just tank every hit it threw at him and rip it apart with those massive jaws of his. Jazz was an agile bot who'd be jumping and swinging around it so fast it wouldn't have time to blink before he drove that sword of his through it's head. Hound could just confuse it with holograms and nail it with a missile.

    Wheeljack didn't have Grimlock's raw power or Jazz's sheer speed or Hound's holograms, and thus he was really, really wishing he did right about now.

    The Seeker's blades were at him again, and it was practically a dance and a half trying to keep ahead of them. A blade thrust for his abdomen, and he managed to strike it aside with a backhand, but then the other head was swinging for his head, and he ducked under it, but now the Seeker brought a leg up, bodily kicking the tow-truck back.

    He hit the dirt hard, but managed to swing his legs up and roll back onto his feet, as the Seeker used its thrusters to boost forward. He dodged to the side, but it caught his hip with its blade, a grazing attack that nevertheless procured leaking Energon and a yelp of pain from the Autobot.

    Okay, okay, this wasn't much good at all. He wasn't fast enough to keep ahead of it reliably, he wasn't tough to endure all its attacks, and he didn't have any holograms. Jazz, Grimlock and Hound were so fragging lucky to have the traits they did; he wasn't well-suited for an opponent who combined speed, agility and power as well as a Seeker.

    Oh, but there was one advantage he did have over those three, one advantage he had over this drone-

    The Seeker came at him again, and he jumped to the side, his third arm firing the towline right before the drone, the hook digging into the nearby tree. Unaware of this development, the Seeker's forward momentum ended up catching its legs across the line, and with a rev of surprise, it tripped forward and slammed face-first into the dirt.

    Wheeljack would have grinned had he a mouth, retracting his tow-line and bringing up his plasma cannon to blast at the vulnerable Seeker's back. Oh yes, he may not have all these traits some of the other Autobots had, but he did have an absolute knack for quick thinking and innovation. He might not out-speed or out-match a Seeker, but he could definitely outwit it.

    The Seeker got back up, its armour somewhat resisting the blasts he was peppering it with, but he had another trick ready for it; a compartment on his thigh, covered by his vehicle mode's door, sprang open, and a little device popped out of it. With no hand to catch it, he simply kicked it at the Seeker as it fell down, yelling: "Heads up, drone!"

    The device clanged against the jet's chest as it turned to face its foe, and it had only a second to wonder what it was before it exploded in a blinding flash- BANG! Wheeljack had had the sense to avert his gaze, but the bewildered drone ended up with an optic-full of overwhelming photon disturbance. Ah, good old flare grenades, a joy for the user, a blinding pain in the rear for the target.

    Blinded and disorientated, the Seeker wildly lunged forward, blades viciously swinging at everything within range, but Wheeljack was already a step ahead of it, darting by its leg and slicing into it with his sword, sending the drone stumbling forwards and crashing into a tree.

    His earlier pessimism had been quite mistaken! He just gotten himself the advantage, he'd just flipped the table! Ah, so busy thinking of the other's traits that he hadn't really put much stock into his own. Seekers were strong, but he was smart and talented and possessing a good deal of tricks and he was also better looking as well, so-

    BLAM!

    The tow truck staggered when a blast struck him in the back, frying his armour a tad and sending pain hissing through his neurals. Shocked at such a sensation, he spun round, plasma cannon at the ready, and caught sight of that purple bike Decepticon loitering by a tree a fair distance, energy rifle poised like a sniper and aimed RIGHT AT HIM.

    He ducked out of the way just in time before the second shot went through his face, impacting a tree behind him, and he swiftly returned fire with his plasma cannon. The fragging tiny coward darted into cover before wheeling away out of sight, no doubt off to find another hiding place to keep shooting at him from.

    Damn, this complicated things. A Seeker alone was bad enough, but one with support fire from a long-distance fighter was even worse! He had to keep his head in the game and his scanners on full alert if he had any hope of overcoming his foe whilst avoiding getting nailed through the processor.

    And speaking of complicating things, the Seeker was back on its feet, and it had deployed its shoulder-mounted turrets, both of which promptly and unerringly locking onto the Autobot. Right, he could blind its optics but he couldn't blind it's gun's auto-targeting systems. Urgh.

    Quickly, he darted behind a tree for cover as the turrets opened fire, blasts of energy ripping through bushes and dirt as they shot after him. The Seeker was patient now, simply letting its turrets guide it while it waited for its optics to recover, slowly stalking towards the Autobot's hiding spot. While cautious, it still bore the confidence of a much stronger opponent, and Wheeljack was aware he'd need to change his strategy now.

    First order of business was to take out those turrets.

    Quickly, he darted from his spot just as the Seeker reached it and swiped with its blade, bisecting the tree he'd been behind with ease. As the severed half toppled over, he blasted at the jet, forcing it into a defensive position as its turrets returned fire, but Wheeljack was ready! Quick as a flash, his grapple fired, and his hook lodged into the barrel of the left turret. The gun sparked violently at the piercing, before Wheeljack jerked the hook away, ripping apart the front of the weapon.

    The Seeker revved in pain at the dismantling of one of its weapons, promptly retracting its remaining one before the same fate befell it, before the drone decided to take a brief reprieve. Its thrusters activated and launched it into the air, where it converted into jet mode and soared off. A vehicle form had no need for optics either, and it would be a good opportunity to regain itself, recover its sight and decide when to launch another attack.

    Wheeljack revved in frustration as his foe took the easy way out, knowing full well the jet would soon be coming at him again once it had sufficiently recuperated. He had no way to block out its scanners, so there was no trying to run away from it, nor would it be at all useful trying to shoot it down; its speed and armour would ruin that plan very quickly. His best bet now was just to stick to cover where it couldn't launch missiles at him and get ready for when it came back down. But then there was the trouble of the bike Decepticon.

    He narrowed his optics and scanned the environment, finding no sign of the runt. But he would still be around here somewhere, waiting for another opportunity to try and catch him off-guard. Well, so long as the Seeker was taking a moment to recuperate, he ought to take this chance to try and find the other one.

    So, sword at the ready, retracting his cannon in case he needed to grapple with the little bugger, he set off through the forest in search of his other opponent. He could hear the jet flying around overhead, but it wasn't in any position to shoot at him so long as he had his cover.

    Assessing his damages as he ran, Wheeljack was pleased to note he was doing alright; his armour had suffered only minor grazes, and even the bike's stabbing and shooting hadn't really done anything drastic to his systems. If he could keep this up, he might be able to walk away from this fight.

    "Ah, it'll be fine." Wheeljack snorted. "I always get out of these one way or another."

    But another problem he'd now just considered was the fact that Evac had been downed somewhere close by. The rookie would have survived the crash, no doubt there; his armour was much stronger than Wheeljack's, and the missile that hit his tail would not have been enough to inflict fatal damage. However, the rookie could well be stunned or immobile, particularly if he had crashed in vehicle mode rather than trying to catch himself in robot mode.

    And if Evac was downed and helpless, that bike Decepticon could well be off trying to find him and finish him off while he was vulnerable. Urgh, he should have thought of that beforehand!

    But to be fair, he'd been stuck fighting a Seeker. So, you know.

    "Well, rookie, might as well try and find you while I still can." The tow truck muttered, continuing his pace towards where he estimated Evac may have spiralled down to. If Evac was alright, than at least he could secure some back-up for when the Seeker restarted the fight, and if he wasn't alright, Wheeljack could at least defend him from anyone who'd try to finish him off. Win-win, hopefully-

    A flash of purple. Wheeljack spun on a dime and fired his grappling hook, forcing the bike to recoil behind the tree he had poked out from, the line retracting when it was clear he had missed the Decepticon.

    "Try to snipe me, will you, you sad little coward?" Wheeljack snapped, rushing over to the bike's hiding spot. "How about I take that damn gun and ram it right up your exhaust pipes!"

    The Decepticon realised he was moving in and promptly darted off, wheeling away as fast as he could on that single leg. Wheeljack swung out his tow-line again, bringing it swinging in from the side, and it managed to catch the bike's leg, wrapping around it and promptly tripping the annoyance up.

    The Decepticon was quick, untangling himself and jumping up just as Wheeljack closed in. He brought his gun round, ready to fire, but this time, for the first time, Wheeljack was quicker; his sword swung down and sliced through the barrel, tearing the front of the gun open with a burst of misfired energy and rendering it useless.

    The bike squeaked in horror at the loss of his strongest weapon, before falling back onto a previous strategy; spinning round, the exhaust pipes protruding from his hips and elbows opened up with a massive flare of the black smog, enshrouding both of them in its choking darkness.

    Wheeljack had beaten this trick before, however, and his strategy was the same as before; he simply lunged forward, counting on the Decepticon to be over-reliant on the blinding qualities of the smog to realise that it didn't stop basic movement. However, the bike had learned from Wheeljack's own adaptation and had wheeled to the side out of Wheeljack's reach, before coming back round to stab at his legs with that damn knife.

    Pained and with the smog still clouding his vision, Wheeljack viciously kicked out, managed to knock the Decepticon back, before he stumbled forwards out of the smog cloud, shaking his head to clear his sight before turning back round to face the dissipating obstacle.

    The bike was getting up nearby, dazed by the kick, and Wheeljack went in to the takedown, sword manoeuvring to slice off the Decepticon's single leg. However, the bike was quick to see this coming, rolling himself out of the blade's path, and he revealed yet another trick up his sleeve.

    Pulling a silver device from a side compartment, the bike tossed it at the tow truck, who recoiled, fearing a grenade or something, but alas, it was something worse. The circular thing hit the ground and promptly expanded into some kind of bizarre series of lighted conduits, before it flared a bright blue and emitted some kind of energy field.

    Wheeljack, too close to avoid it, ended up with the field enveloping him, and suddenly his entire frame sagged downwards, his every molecule seemingly overtaken by weight beyond the Earth's gravity! It was like he'd just gained ten tonnes, and his fists dug into the dirt to try and stop himself being pinned down under his own mass.

    Damn fragging graviton mine! They were rare, but potent, utilising a special energy field that disrupted Cybertanium structures, over-energising and condensing their structure in order to make the frame feel as thought it was becoming unbearably heavy! If he let himself get pinned down by it, the bike would easily finish him off!

    Fortunately, the bike's ranged weapon had been destroyed, and he couldn't go in to knife the Autobot without being caught in the mine's field. So he pulled back to a safe distance and tapped into his com-link, summoning the Seeker to come down and finish off the inventor.

    Wheeljack could hear the jet swooping in, but he was still too heavy to even stand, never mind defend himself. Cursing his luck, the tow truck did the only thing he could do right now; he unfolded his shoulder missile launcher and pivoted the weapon straight down at the mine just by him. It was close enough to guarantee he'd get hit by the missile's splash damage, but it would be worth it to destroy the mine and make sure he still had a fighting chance.

    A brief second, he considered just shooting the bike; his armour had to be flimsy. But even if he did kill or maim that coward, he'd have no chance of fighting off the Seeker; it would never give him the time needed to reload another missile and destroy the mine too.

    Sighing, he fired-

    BOOM!

    At close range, the explosion practically tore his audios a new one, and he ended up thrown back as the missile destroyed the mine in a burst of ruptured energy. The bike was also stunned by the sudden feedback, knocked right onto his rear. As the two struggled back up, there was a shifting of plates and the Seeker landed between them, blades deployed and optics back online.

    Shaking off the disorientation, Wheeljack had to leap back when it came at him, blades aiming right for his head, before he darted under another swipe and rammed himself into a leg, knocking the Seeker off-balance and giving him the chance to rush the bike.

    The small Decepticons squeaked when he saw Wheeljack coming, before wheeling out of the way of his sword. However, rather than trying to run away as he often did, the bike suddenly leapt at the Autobot with a shrill howl, latching onto his side and knifing him repeatedly.

    Wheeljack yelped in pain, trying to grab at the wriggling stabbing nuisance, but before he could grab the runt, the bike jumped off of him just in time to avoid getting caught up in the Seeker's next attack.

    Wheeljack only just barely got his sword up to deflect the oncoming blades, but then one got through and slashed at his hips, spurting Energon from the wound. He cried out in pain, before the jet gave him a hefty back-hand that had him slamming to the ground. The bike moved in again, leaping atop the downed Autobot and attempting to jam his knife through the tow truck's head.

    Wheeljack managed to grab the oncoming limb, but struggling with this foe as he was, he realised he'd have no chance of fighting off the Seeker when it joined in. The bike must know this too, hence his sudden bravery, and he hissed: "Can't beat us both, Autobot! Seeker, kill him! Kill him now!"

    Just as the Seeker moved to obey, there was the sudden sound of something crashing through the foliage. All three fighters spun round at the source of the commotion, just in time for the titanic form of Evac to come crashing through the trees, barrelling right towards the Seeker and knocking over every tree in his path with astounding ease. The Seeker had no time to react before the rookie slammed into it, sending them both crashing to the floor.

    Pinning his foe down, Evac settled himself atop the Seeker and slammed a massive fist into the drone's chest, crumpling the purple armour with ease. The jet attempted to force itself up, but Evac gripped it by the shoulders and slammed it back down, preventing its recovery and opening it up for another punch that caved in one of its optics, half-blinding the jet.

    Stunned at the sudden arrival of another Autobot, the bike was promptly caught off-guard himself when Wheeljack grabbed hold of him, the Autobot wrestling with the struggling Decepticon before he hoisted him by up by the single leg and swung him into the floor with a hefty upheaval of dirt.

    The bike was persistent, mind you; he promptly twisted around, the single leg more flexible than expected, and jammed his claws into the tow truck's shoulder, furiously ripping at the vulnerable sections in an attempt to force the Autobot to release him. Wheeljack grabbed the attacking appendages, but his foe began spurting out that thick smog again, disorientating him as they furiously struggled.

    Finally, the Decepticon managed to wrench himself free from the tow truck's grip, squealing something or other into his com-link, before he folded down into a motorcycle and beat a swift retreat. Waving off the last remnants of the smog, Wheeljack's vision cleared just in time to see a ground-bridge portal opening up a distance away, the bike promptly disappearing through it before it vanished.

    Coward.

    A heavy impact caught his attention; the Seeker had kicked Evac off of it and was back on its feet, its lethal blades ready and waiting to slice into the stunned rookie. Wheeljack unfolded his plasma cannons and opened fire on the Seeker, but it was already leaping towards Evac with a boost of its thrusters and a swipe of its blades. The rookie was on his feet, but before he could defend himself-

    Evac cried in pain when one blade sank into his abdomen, Energon spurting out across the sword as he staggered from the penetration. The other blade came down, but he managed to get his arm up before it, the thick armour of his forearm managing to deflect the attack. The Seeker responded by twisting the blade it had managed to drive into him, ripping at the helicopter's armour, before Evac attempted to force it back by bringing up his other arm, his welder flaring up with power as he unleashed a stream of fire upon it.

    The Seeker, agonised by the fire burning over its armour, brought up a leg and kicked itself off of the helicopter, both of them staggering back- and now Wheeljack had his chance.

    His hook lodged into the Seeker's back, and he grappled upwards, slamming into it as he secured a good grip on the jet and prepared to bring his sword down onto its head. The Seeker twisted under him, throwing him off-balance, but nevertheless his downward swipe resulted in his blade lodging itself into the Seeker's shoulder.

    Sensing an opportunity, Wheeljack acted with impressive speed; he released his sword and jumped down, grabbing the handle with his other hand. This left his other arm free to grab the Seeker's own arm, his legs swinging down to press against the jet's side. Before it could do anything, Wheeljack, gripping both sword and appendage as tightly as he could, kicking off of the Seeker.

    His blade ripping through the vulnerable section, bolstered by his own weight and force, and the Seeker's arm was torn off of it. Wheeljack landed in a heap as the drone staggered away, systems shrieking in pain, but he'd done it! He'd delivered a truly potent blow to the drone indeed!

    Tossing aside the Seeker's severed arm, he readied his shoulder missile launcher, intent on finishing off the weakened drone, but he'd underestimated its ability to recover; no sooner had he locked on, it lurched at him, a foot kicking out and grappling onto his chest; the talons squeezed, crunching his armour and earning a yell of pain, before it tossed him back. The tow truck hit the ground hard, armour leaking from the tears in it, as the Seeker moved to finish him off-

    And then Evac was back in the fray, his left hand transformed into a kind of apparatus that was holding his main rotor; spinning around with immense speed, his rotor was now a massive whirling blade, and he swung it at the drone. The Seeker attempted to dodge, but too late; the rotors came down and tore at its chest, exposing inner circuitry, and then Evac swung it round again and severed the right leg.

    The Seeker staggered and swayed on its remaining appendage, but it was terrifyingly persistent and remarkably balanced as it swung its arm around; the blade slashed across Evac's face, and the rookie was forced back with a howl of pain as bright blue Energon sprayed from the wound, collapsing to the ground in disorientated agony.

    The drone fell now, forced to balance itself on its leg and sword, but now it had the chance to chose between its victims, both equally vulnerable, and it chose Wheeljack. Manoevuring itself to face him, the Seeker reared back, before kicking off the dirt right at him, sword ready to rip into him-

    But then he reacted.

    Rolling over, rolling under the Seeker's lunge, he swung his arm round, and adhered to his arm was a device resembling an energy rifle, albeit heavily modified. Wheeljack would grin if he could; time to test out his secret weapon.

    The weapon fired, unleashing a blast of blue energy that ripped through the vulnerable tear in the Seeker's armour, ripping into its innards, and the blue blast seemed to energise the Seeker's very Energon, before dragging the split blood into itself and transferring into Wheeljack via a multitude of wires lodged into his wrist. Instantly, the extra energy was diverted to the Autobot's regenerative systems, and minor wounds over his armour promptly began repairing themselves.

    The Seeker? It crashed to the floor, and it moved no more.

    Wheeljack shakily got to his feet, assessing the drone's corpse. It seemed his new toy had pierced its energy core, ripping it open and pulling the power straight from it. Nice; it was good to know his invention actually worked!

    "Oh yeah. I'm the best." Wheeljack crowed, before he turned his attention to Evac. The rookie was shakily getting back to his feet, one hand returning the rotors to his back, the other hand nervously assessing the damage to his face. The tow truck darted over and requested a look, which the helicopter obliged.

    Despite the Energon, it wasn't too bad. A nasty gash over his face, sure, but his armour was tough, and it hadn't hit his optics, so it should be an easy fix. The stab to his abdomen was a bit more serious, but it wasn't fatal, nor had it hit any important vital structures.

    "Good job out there, rookie." Wheeljack stated approvingly once he'd deemed the wounds tolerable. "You came in right on time."

    "Glad to help." Evac muttered, still a bit uneasy about his injuries as he straightened up. "What's your invention do then?"

    He gestured to the gun still adhered to the Autobot's arm, and Wheeljack proudly held it up and declared: "This, Evac my friend, is what I like to call an Energon Harvester. It's kind of like a shotgun, except it emits a powerful energy blast, and uses the convertor to over-energise and absorb the target's Energon, which is then transmitted into the main systems via these attachments."

    His optics shone brightly as he went through this, ever the mad scientist: "I can't believe no-one's ever thought of something like this before! This gun could be a vital advantage to the Autobot cause! You can gain extra healing energy just by shooting people! How great is that?"

    Evac looked a little viral: "Um, sucking out other bot's Energon with a shotgun-thing? That's kind of.... gross. Disturbing. Unethical maybe."

    "But it works." Wheeljack replied cheerfully, perhaps unaware of the other Autobot's unease in his excitement. "I got a nice refill from that Seeker, and it transferred perfectly! I have got to send the blueprints to Elita, see if we can get this thing mass-produced-"

    Behind them, the Seeker gave a low rev.

    Wheeljack spun round and blasted the torn body again, once more, twice more, in bright flashes of energy both shot from the gun and drawn towards it, and then it was still for good. Evac stared in surprise, before the tow truck grumbled: "Meh, surprised me. Alright, Evac, let's just go home now. I'm not in the mood for converters anymore, not when I have some new plans to go through! Oh, and bring that Seeker with you, I could totally-"

    The rookie shuddered a bit: "I hate carrying dead people home."

    "-Use the spare parts for stuff and what not. Well, see you back at the ship! And don't forget any piece of it, I want as much Seeker as possible to go through later."

    And with that, he pranced off into the foliage towards the road, happily nattering to himself about his new Harvester and a bunch of other stuff. Evac watched him go in disbelief, before he revved softly and turned to the dead Seeker, wincing a bit as he gathered up its severed limbs, dumped them on the body, pulled out his magnetic pulley and attached it to the corpse.

    "I hope this doesn't become a recurring habit, carrying dead things home all the time." Evac whimpered, before extending his rotors and lifting off into his vehicle mode, hoisting up the dead Seeker and flying upwards and onwards back to the ship. "Why is Wheeljack such a weirdo?"

    --

    "Now that is interesting." Blackout mused, amusement lacing his tone. "I couldn't imagine being trapped in such a situation with a rookie Autobot. I daresay it would be rather... awkward."

    "It was, it really was." Slipstream chortled, the two sat down by the head of the table as she cheerfully waggled her tailfins. "But to be honest, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He was a decent enough conversationalist, albeit kinda probing. Funny thing was, it was the same Autobot I had captured around a week or so before. Weird how things turn around like that, you know?"

    "Indeed. One might even think it could be meaningful in some cosmic fashion. Perhaps your paths are now fated to cross at near every turn."

    She scoffed: "Ah, Blackout, the others already made fun of me for getting caught up with that Autobot again like that. Are you gonna start too?"

    "I don't know." He replied, optics shining brightly. "Are you going to contact me one day and ask for advice on how to handle a forbidden romance?"

    A sparked laugh from the jet: "Commander, I'd sooner have a romance with Sideways than I would an Autobot."

    "Ah yes, he's joined your crew recently, hasn't he?"

    "He has indeed. Hasn't done much, he's kind of flighty and nervous, but he knows a thing or two about fixing things, so I guess he's not too bad."

    "And with Sideways comes Grindor." Blackout mused. "How have you found him?"

    "Oh, I like Grindor a lot. He's smart, he's eloquent, he's talented and he's much at medical functions than the others. I could have him as my apprentice!"

    Blackout just nodded: "He's a good Decepticon. Just keep an optic on him."

    "Why?"

    "Just in case."

    "If you say so, sir." She replied, shrugging, before she took on a more contemplative expression. "Commander, going back to that cave-in bit, I wanted to ask.... Suppose, while you were stuck in there talking to that Autobot, talking about things and what not, and... well, suppose he said something that kind of made you... think."

    "Think." Blackout repeated. "Define think."

    "Everyone has perceptions right? The way they see the world and the way they feel things should be handled. You have yours, I have mine, he has his, so on and so forth. But what if something he said kind of made you wonder... what if your perception has the chance to be.... wrong? Not that it's guaranteed to be wrong, but just if it might have a chance of being wrong?"

    He considered that: "Hm. That is something to think about. Do you have a specific perception in mind when you say this?"

    "Well.... Should a medic prioritise all life instead of just their factions, even if helping someone on the opposite side could well end up coming back to bite you in the thrusters?"

    A moment of silence as she twiddled her fingers, curious for his answer, as the larger Decepticon mused on her words. The hefty wings on his back flared a bit, the rotors at the end spinning a little, before he nodded to himself and turned to give her his reply.

    "Your motto, Slipstream. Tell me it again."

    She hesitated, before responding: "Life is life."

    "Life is life. Does that include Autobot life?"

    A pause.

    He tilted his head and pressed on: "Does it?"

    "Well, Airachnid asked me that once and.... I guess.... n-not really, no." She admitted. "I've never prioritised healing an Autobot, never even really considered it. They're the enemy, the opposing side, the obstacle in our leader's quest for glory. Why should I give them anything except imprisonment or death?"

    Blackout replied: "Do you think that's wrong?"

    "... No."

    "Well then, that's that. The Autobot has challenged your profession, asked why you will not extend the same courtesy a medic would give their own faction to the other, and it has bewildered your resolve. Bewildered, but not damaged. Not destroyed. You stand by your opinion."

    He went on, gazing off into thin air now: "Is it right to prioritise the lives of your comrades over the lives of others when your very career is dedicated to the preservation of life? Are all lives worth saving, or only those you can be somewhat confident in that they will not stab you in the back? I believe these are the questions that truly challenge any medic. Is there a right answer to them? I'm not sure. It's honestly a matter of circumstance, just like many situations in life are."

    He shook his head a bit, before he finished up: "Ultimately, it's up to you to decide what you feel is the right answer, Slipstream. If you wish to keep your stance as it is, do so. If you wish to change it, do so. It is your right as a sentient being to have the freedom to chose."

    She stared at him, perplexed: "Did you just quote Optimus Prime?"

    "I did. I may oppose his sentiments, his faction, but even the gravest of enemies can shed some wisdom now and then."

    His optics shine again and she giggles a bit, before he adds: "And I'll also add that I'd trust your judgement long before I'd trust an Autobot rookie's. I have faith that you'll decide what is right for you."

    Another giggle, before she's shifting over and affectionately hugging her old commander, the larger flyer a tad surprised at the gesture but nevertheless returning it.

    She held him tightly, feeling that adoring feeling that a human would describe as the ever-lasting respect for someone you may consider a father or mother, before she murmured: "Thank you, sir. For listening to me, for helping me, for... for having faith in me."

    "I always did, Slipstream. And I always will."

    --

    Nighttrace looked as though she had simply gone through another day on monitor duty than whatever kind of intensive interrogation Airachnid may have put her through. When she emerged from the chamber, her armour was as clean and intact as ever, her wings always so fluttering, her tail idly swaying from side to side and her expression calm and without worry.

    The drones stepped back somewhat, allowing her to flutter over to the other two Decepticons. Starscream didn't say anything, but his expression switched into brief relief and for a moment they simply gazed at each other, the jet reading the UAV's optics intently as she conveyed whatever silent messages she had for him. Barricade felt a bit viral; he hated it when other people got like that, when they got to the point they'd just stare into each other's optics and know exactly what the other was thinking.

    Get a fragging room.

    Still, he was a little bit relived himself. If Airachnid hadn't seen fit to torture Nighttrace, then maybe she was in a good mood and she wouldn't torture him! That would be lovely. He wouldn't mind if she tortured Starscream, though; the jet was rude enough to accuse him of giving a scrap about consequences or something like that. Whatever.

    Regardless, he interrupted the other two's little optic-nattering and asked: "So, what she'd ask you? How'd she ask you? She probe your processor or what?"

    Nighttrace just shook her head and settled herself beside Starscream, flipping over and adhering her tail's claw onto the ceiling to hold herself in place, her wings finally stilling as she took this moment to relax and reflect. Barricade was annoyed at the fact she didn't even answer his question, but then he received an answer from the emerging Airachnid.

    "That's none of your business, Barricade." The helicopter stated coolly, standing at the doorway of the chamber and looking a tad bemused. "Interrogations are confidential, and everything Nighttrace said to me is for her, myself and Shockwave to know, and only us to know."

    "Of course." Starscream said snidely. "Everything between you two is between you two and no-one else, excluding Shockwave."

    "Shockwave is a Conciller and the Head of Shokaw." Airachnid replied coldly. "There's nothing that goes on here he doesn't know about. I should also remind you that he was the one who arranged this in the first place, so obviously he's entitled to know what happens in his absence."

    Starscream backed down, nevertheless muttering under his breath, before the helicopter stated: "Well then, Barricade, you're next. Into the chamber please."

    The car was surprised, and so was his commander. Why was he going next? Surely it would be more logical to interrogate Starscream before him, saving the worst, so to speak, for last. But apparently that was not the case. He narrowed his optics suspiciously, glaring at her, before Airachnid revved impatiently at his hesitance and gestured for him to enter the room immediately.

    Switching his glare at her into a brief glance of bewilderment at Starscream, Barricade nevertheless muttered for the other two to wish him luck, before stomping off past the helicopter into the room, Airachnid promptly following him inside and shutting the door behind her. He turned just in time to get a final glimpse of Nighttrace and Starscream promptly leaning in to discuss something or other, before the door sealed shut and the room went dark.

    A light flickered on, a bright white spotlight illuminating a chair in the middle of the room. It was a simple silver seat, with no back to it, and the multitudes of panels upon it suggested it had the ability to alter its size based on who'd be sitting on it. As it was, the chair was perfectly suited for a Decepticon of his size, and Barricade had to give slight props for Shokaw's attention to detail.

    "Sit down." Airachnid instructed, stepping forward and assuming a professional stance before the chair, hands interlocked before her and her expression stoic.

    He glared at her, before reluctantly shuffling over to the chair and plopping down atop it.

    She pulled a data-pad from a thigh-mounted compartment and switched it on, the blue light illuminating her face slightly, as she declared: "Testing, testing. Secondary recording?"

    There was a beeping sound, a slight clattering of mechanics, and Barricade noted some kind of spherical camera at each corner of the room, all of them glowing with a purple light. A mechanised but feminine voice replied: "Secondary recording, online."

    Nodding, Airachnid shifted into some kind of obligatory opening speech: "Hello Barricade. I am Airachnid, right-hand of Shockwave, Head of the Abominus Initiative and a personal right-hand of Lord Megatron, Leader of the Decepticon Faction. I'd like to discuss the incident, designated Incident 1134, in which you stole a prototype Battle-Inducement Nodule to satisfy your desire for vengeance against the Autobot scout Hound."

    His glare reminded unfazed. Undeterred by his uncaring demeanour, she went on.

    "I am obligated to inform you that our conversation is being recorded, and anything you say can be used against you if Shokaw decides to bring this case to Lord Megatron. However, its contents will only be released if I or Conciller Shockwave see fit; otherwise, it will remain confidential and no-one else need know what you say to me. Is that clear?"

    "Transparently." He grunted, folding his arms tightly and flexing the spoilers on his shoulders, the wheels lodged within them spinning slowly in agitation.

    Her professional tone dissolved into something a tad more curious: "What provoked you to steal technology from us, Barricade? You must have known the consequences of such an action, and yet you carried it out regardless."

    "Isn't it obvious?" The car snapped, and when she just stared blankly at him, the kind of blankness that was uncaring instead of unaware, he deigned to continue: "I want Hound to die. You know Hound, don't you? The fragger who's got holograms down to an art, they say. I wanted something that would give me an edge, something that would make sure that the next time we fought, I walked away with his face staining my fists and his worthless little friends mourning his mutilated corpse."

    He leaned in a little bit and hissed: "There's the final answer, Airachnid. I stole something that would make me stronger because I want him to die. I want every last Autobot to die. They don't deserve to live."

    "No aspirations of mutiny, then?" She mused, idly noting down his response in her data-pad. "No desire to overthrow your commander, seize power for yourself?"

    "No. I don't give a frag about bossing about those idiots or killing those idiots or having meetings with the likes of you. I'm in this war to kill Autobots, plain and simple."

    A slight smile appears on her face, perhaps impressed by his brutal yet simple resolve, or more likely just amused at his honesty. She leans back and makes another note, tilting her head with those observing red optics before she nods and asks him another question.

    "Why do you want to kill Autobots?"

    "Because they deserve it."

    "Why?"

    "Because."

    She's bemused: "I would kill an Autobot in self-defence. I would kill an Autobot because they impede our Master's vision of the future. I would kill an Autobot to deny our enemies another gear in the grand machine. And yet all you can muster is 'because'?"

    He revs with annoyance: "You don't get it. None of you do. Autobots waste life. They take it from better Cybertronians and waste it on their pathetic little sentiments. They have to be punished for that. They have to die for that."

    "What makes a better Cybertronian, then?"

    "Not being an Autobot."

    Airachnid rolled her optics, sensing this particular thought-track had become quite circular: "Fine then. I'll leave it at that. But here's something you ought to consider; say the Decepticons win, every last Autobot is wiped out and our glory is upon us. What will you do then?"

    He doesn't answer.

    She presses on: "They say that the greatest question for any warrior is: What do I do next? When you win your wars, when you slay your enemies, what do you do next? That's what I'm asking you, Barricade. If the Decepticons win, what will you do next?"

    "I'll go back to Earth and find the mermaids." He replies.

    Now that's unexpected.

    "I beg your pardon?"

    He sighs dramatically and explains himself with the tone an irritated teacher would take with a youngling who asks the same question ten times regardless of whatever answer it gets: "Mermaids. Half-human, half-fish. Or dolphin, or eel, I don't know. Either way, a marine hybrid with mystical powers. I extracted the discovery of their existence from that captive rookie we had that one time."

    He pauses, then snidely sneers: "The one you let escape, I might add."

    "And you were so successful in stopping him, weren't you?" She replies sweetly, causing him to huff and glare at her. "Well, fair enough, you'll go look for mermaids, assuming they're real and not the myths humanity had made them out to be. I suppose I ought to get back on track now."

    "That'd be fan-fragging-tastic."

    She ignores that and asks: "So, you stole a nodule because you hoped its effect would give you an edge against Hound. You employed it against him, brutally mutilated him, before being repelled by the rookie medic. Did you expect to get away with it, Barricade?"

    "Yes." He replied bluntly. "I didn't fragging expect Shockwave to have his stupid little scanners in them, so obviously, at the time, I thought it wouldn't be any hassle to just keep it hidden, pull it out when no-one else is around and use it whenever I had an Autobot cornered. Whatever."

    "Even though Starscream had assigned Waspinator to you at the time?"

    Barricade didn't respond.

    Airachnid smiled: "Hmm, that doesn't surprise me. You act without thinking of consequences. Didn't you have even the slightest worry that using the nodule around a drone capable of recording you would end up exposing your theft?"

    No reply. He was too busy fuming in anger at what he likely perceived as her accusations towards his intelligence. Well, she supposed, there wasn't much sense insulting something that was never there to begin with.

    "Silent treatment." She cooed, rearing up now. "How mature. Well, I suppose we've laid our Shift-shapers on the table. You are aware that stealing from Shokaw is a crime punishable by a sentence to Polyhex and a removal of any and all ranking, I presume, and as of now, you quite frankly have no defence that could ever convince anyone of your innocence. We have the nodule's readings, we have Waspinator's recordings and now we have a confirmation from your ship's lieutenant."

    She paused, and added: "A good choice, I might add. Nighttrace knows where her loyalties lie."

    "She's a fragging little snitch." Barricade growled.

    "She's also the reason Starscream didn't dig your entire ship into a hole it could never fly out of." Airachnid snorted. "You'd do well to have respect."

    "I don't respect stupid fluttery mutes who snitch on me."

    "Decepticons like you find it most reassuring to insult the makings of more competent individuals. Demeaning them makes you seem better in comparison, but alas, you'll never compare to many Decepticons, let alone Nighttrace."

    He sputters angrily, enraged at such a blatant offence towards him, but she overrides his protests with a sharp statement: "Put bluntly, Barricade, I really don't need to keep this up any longer. It's obvious to anyone that while your intentions may have lacked any ulterior motives, they are still a foolish and petty excuse for stealing from Conciller Shockwave. I simply need to go over final details with Shockwave and that will be that."

    He glared at her, crimson optics blazing with fury, but she was cold and dismissive: "You admitted it; you thought you would get away freely with this. That does not happen, I'm afraid. All you can do now, Barricade, is wait while I wrap things up with Star-"

    Suddenly she pauses, rearing upright with a surprised look, before she muttered 'excuse me' and turned from him, engaging in silent conversation with whoever had just called her.

    Barricade huffed and span his wheels in distaste, quite frustrated with how this whole piece of scrap had turned out. He really did not like being probed like this, and he did not like being insulted like this, and he did not like Polyhex, and he did not like Airachnid and FRAG ALL THIS SCRAP.

    Urgh, maybe he shouldn't have stolen the nodule.

    But then if he hadn't he wouldn't have felt so good when he'd been tearing Hound apart. Well, all good things in life tend to have a compromise now and then. He shrugged.

    Well, that was that. Quick as a flash, he was guilty and awaiting judgement from Shockwave. How lovely. He wondered if he'd get to say goodbye to the other Decepticons before that fragger carted him off to Overlord's doorstep, but then he just shook his head. No way would Shockwave allow that; the single-optic moron would probably just whinge something about enhancing his punishment or whatever.

    Barricade revved with annoyance. He didn't like Shokaw much.

    Airachnid was still talking, pacing in front of him now, a rather perplexed expression on her face, and he hoped that whoever she was talking to had bad news for her and she'd end up in deep slag or something. Barricade liked hoping for bad things to happen to jerks. It made him feel so much happier.

    And then she was finished, and then she said: "Well then, that changes a few things. Alright, Barricade, the interrogation is over. You may leave the room now."

    Obediently, the door slid open, and he promptly jumped up from the chair and darted outside as she followed him, promptly stopping right before a startled Starscream and declaring: "Well that was a colossal waste of my time. Have fun, Starscream!"

    The jet promptly regained himself with a huff and asked: "So, what was your verdict then?"

    "Guilty." Barricade replied, surprisingly lax about it. "Just gotta wait for Shockwave now to pass judgement, and then I'll probably end up in Polyhex."

    Starscream just stared at him, perhaps suddenly struck by the actual reality of losing a soldier to Overlord, while Nighttrace, still hanging from the ceiling, gave the Mustang a rare luck of genuine concern. She didn't often look at him that way, and it made him uncomfortable, and it made him want to call her a stupid little snitch and it made him want to ask why she always liked to hover.

    Airachnid piped up: "There's been a slight change of plan, Decepticons, both in regards to Barricade and to you, Starscream."

    He was perplexed: "Why? Did Shockwave end up getting executed by Lord Megatron or something?"

    "On the contrary." Airachnid replied calmly, and then she stepped into the centre of the corridor, casting a sharp smile at the jet. "His meeting went very well. In fact, it ended a few moments ago."

    The implication hit Starscream, hit the other two, just as the lift door at the end of the corridor beeped and swung open.

    All optics turned to it, and Starscream's widened in horror. From the lift stepped a rather tall Decepticon, just a tad shorter than the jet, but nevertheless taller than the rest. It strode forwards, purposeful and refined, on hefty legs clad in thick purple armour. The torso was reinforced by peculiar struts arched over two prominent glowing panels, both vertical, one on either side of the chest.

    One arm ended in a relaxed hand bearing four claws. The other ended in a hefty cannon, bearing a rotating chamber, a multitude of sharp protrusions and a long silver barrel. Most optic-catching of all was the Decepticon's face; flat purple armour with a pitch-black mouth-plate, several sharp horns and a single large crimson optic.

    The Decepticon strode over to them, the corridor echoing with clanking footsteps, and his single optic locked onto Barricade, who was attempting to hide himself behind Starscream's leg, glaring right back with the kind of defiant vulgarity meant to camouflage intense unease. He's seen pictures of human organs and skeletons on the Internet, when he was curious as to what they would look like if he peeled off their skin, and the Decepticon's torso is the spitting image of a ribcage enclosing a pair of glowing lungs, right down to subtle movements from the struts

    It's fragging creepy.

    The optic stared at him as if it could see into his very spark, seemingly taking note of his defiant covering and contemplating his fate, before it changed targets.

    Nighttrace flinched ever so slightly when the intense crimson made contact with her, but otherwise her calmness managed to remain, the flyer gazing right back at the bulky Decepticon. He seems to glean nothing from her, though he himself seems to exude a slight air of approval, so the optic changes targets again.

    Airachnid simply nods slightly when it locks onto her, respectful, and he nods in return, both well aware of what he has told her and what is to happen next. Their gaze is one of familiarity and shared purpose rather than intense observation, and it is highly professional.

    And then he turns to Starscream, and he speaks, tone surprisingly soft and unfailingly polite.

    "Hello, Starscream. Shall we talk?"

    The jet stared at him with a mixture of vicious loathing and cold unease, his claws repeatedly flexing as his panelling shudders and his thrusters warm up. The others watch him with slight anticipation, wondering if his infamous temper might rise up, but the jet revs slightly and straightens out, regaining control of himself, his expression shifting into the kind of distaste that is acquired when one is gazing upon a pile of virulent sludge.

    "I would love to, Shockwave."

    Author's Notes: Blackout is best Decepti-dad ever. He is Decepti-dad now, forever and always, and I want to hug him.

    Also, oh snap, new con in the block, uh-oh. Starscream gone get it now.
     
  2. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    "Do you ever wonder.... if maybe you're out of touch?"

    Ratchet was sat on a seat near the console, his chassis sagged and his optics dull with dejection. Occasionally his wheels would spin a little, or he'd raise a hand to rub at his temple, or perhaps he'd spare a glance backwards at the prone form of Hound, but otherwise he remained relatively still. He hadn't felt quite so grim since Grimlock had laid into him after the battle with Grindor and Slipstream.

    The console flickered a bit, and Moonracer's concerned expression shifted into one of bewilderment: "What do you mean?"

    "I mean that... perhaps I don't have what it takes anymore." Ratchet murmured, and she was unsure if he was replying to her or musing to himself. "I haven't seen battle in many years, and when I have reunited with it here, it ends in defeat, in humiliation. I couldn't even finalise a victory against that flyer, never mind Starscream, never mind their own medic-"

    "Ratchet." Moonracer interjected, revving softly in condolence. "You shouldn't condemn yourself over these incidents. We've all made our mistakes, every one of us, but we've kept going regardless."

    "But Moonracer, what use is someone who cannot fight alongside their comrades?" Ratchet retorted, shame building up within him and releasing itself in mournful anger. "I am a medic, I am an Autobot, but... can I truly maintain those titles if my weaknesses continue to impede myself, my team, my commander? Can I live up to the goals of the Autrio if I continue to stagger?"

    "Are these even your words?" She asked softly. "Forgive me, but I feel as though what you're saying is something recycled from what someone else has said."

    He paused.

    "Is it?"

    "Hound, Grimlock and I.... during our battle against the Decepticon medic and their engineer, an injury impeded me, preventing me from landing a decisive hit. We won regardless, but Grimlock told me.... he told me I was useless. That I was a liability, that Hound was a fool for entertaining the notion that I could have been useful..."

    He folded his head in shame: "And to be honest, I.... I feel he is right."

    Moonracer considered this for a moment, before she softly replied: "Tell me something. Do you think Grimlock is moping in his quarters, hurting over the things you yourself have said about him?"

    His head immediately snaps up, optics widening and brightening at the statement, an expression of shock on his face, but she changes the subject before he can offer any kind of protest or defence: "I don't imagine he is. I can't say I like Grimlock, to be honest, but for all that he is, for all he has gone through, he keeps his head held high. What fears or doubts does he have? Even if they exist, he moves forward, and they've never slowed him down."

    A pause, considering, before she goes on: "I think, Ratchet, that you are making a Marauder out of a Cutter. I think you need to have faith in yourself, to take to spark the faith of your friends. Defeat only lasts as long as you are willing to allow it to stay, you know."

    ".... But Moonracer... what if I really am-"

    "No, Ratchet." She responds, stern now, intensely serious. "I won't hear you deprecate yourself like this. You are a good Autobot, a good friend of mine. You've taught Evac so much, you have taught many Autobots so much, and you have saved countless lives and you have upheld your integrity throughout your years in this war. No-one is perfect, and neither you nor I nor Grimlock nor anyone else is perfect. But we will keep going regardless."

    He doesn't respond, and she asks: "I also think that is best that you reconsider your stance on Evac. Trying to send him away from everything could threaten him won't work forever. You know I would gladly have him back if you truly feel your situation has escalated beyond his ability to react, but he should face his fears, and you yours, together. Have faith in him, Ratchet. He has faith in you."

    "I know...." Ratchet murmured. "He's a good Autobot..."

    She gave him a small smile, before she revved softly and murmured: "I'm being deployed soon, so I won't be able to answer your calls for quite a while. I'm needed in the support unit of Commander Windblade's campaign on Volcalore, so you'll have to make do without me for a while. I trust you'll be alright?"

    "I'll be fine." Ratchet sighed softly, turning to face her with sad green optics. "I wish you the best of luck, Moonracer. Please be safe, old friend."

    "I will. Take care, Ratchet, and send Evac my regards."

    He nods, and that is that. The monitors flickers to blackness and she is gone.

    The med-bay is awfully quite now, with her gentle voice no longer permeating it.

    Ratchet revs softly and leans back slightly, her words ringing throughout his processor. He's been sat in this seat since Wheeljack and Evac left, confined to the whirling doubts and emotions ringing his head, and he'd been forced to resort to calling Moonracer yet again for advice. Her ability of patience and advice is staggering, and he's immensely grateful for it.

    Her advice floats through him now, leaving him to contemplate the matters at hand, and he turns to face Hound, the jeep prone and seemingly lifeless on the berth. He stares at him for a moment, before he stands and moves over to sit down in the seat next to him. The thoughts he's thinking now are perhaps best mused on with company, even if that company is currently offline.

    Hound will survive, he assures himself. Hound won't die. The Hummer doesn't know how his processor will have handled what he went through, but he won't die. His systems are stable now, his armour regenerating and his neural net recuperating. Ratchet has seen too many Autobots die on berths like these, and it's a powerful feeling knowing that Hound will not be among them.

    Revving softly, he stares at him for a moment, optics shifting over the patch-jobs and dented sections of where the foul Barricade ripped into him, and he thinks. He thinks of Hound and what he has done and what he has said and how much he means to him, to every Autobot on this ship. Even Grimlock had some shred of respect for the jeep, if only for Bumblebee's sake.

    And regarding respect, that is what Hound is best at; respecting his friends and comrades. He stands up for them, he stands by them, he does his best to help him. Look how he has supported Jazz throughout the time on Earth, look how he has cared for his apprentice...

    And right now, Ratchet draws one particular example of the jeep's never-ending respect and kindness

    "In the forest..." He murmurs, clasping Hound's limp hand in his own and gazing into the face of his poor friend, so still and peaceful in stasis. "You stood up for me. You reassured me of my usefulness, even when my mistake nearly cost us the battle. I know I have... not been very active on Earth, either handicapped by that damn Starscream or generally confined to the med-bay, but yet you still have faith in me."

    A pause, before he admits: "We would have certainly lost if Grimlock hadn't been there. He fought them off when I couldn't. I owe him for that."

    He bows his head slightly. Thinking about it, he knows that even Hound is not perfect; sometimes he is fearful, sometimes he is hesitant, and there lies a dark hatred in his spark that burns whenever he thinks of that brute Barricade. But Ratchet can accept that; he is not perfect himself, and the positive factors of his friend easily outweigh the negative.

    A soft chuckle: "You always were quite optimistic, you know. Perhaps that's where Bumblebee gets it from. You always have something to say; you can only hear Bumblebee quoting you so many times before it's apparent you have many things for us to contemplate...."

    He'd have advice for him, if he were online. He'd have advice and support and kindness for Ratchet even in his moments of doubt and unease. That was what Hound did; he helped others overcome obstacles, he helped others aspire to greater things, and Ratchet could see that trait reflected in Bumblebee too. Like a younger version of his mentor, Bumblebee was a shining light of optimism for those around him.

    Even Grimlock looked to the rookie's light, and in turn, the rookie sought out whatever light remained in the berserker.

    If a rookie can do that, why can't you, Ratchet?

    He bowed his head in groaning dejection. Why couldn't he? Grimlock was brutal, yes. Grimlock had demeaned the life of this planet as nothing but an energy source, Grimlock had thrown away all restraint and morality in the field of battle, Grimlock was insubordinate and monstrous and he had been out of control all those years ago.

    Despite that, a little rookie had managed to worm his way into the brute's spark. There was a goodness in him. Had he spent so long feeling nothing but cold dislike for Grimlock, of seeing him as the animal the Decepticons had wanted him to be, that he'd become incapable of even attempting to see any kind of light in him?

    Possibly.

    Ratchet murmured to himself: "Ironic; they made him a monster in physical form, and yet... yet it was our own fears that finalised the process. Have I prioritised my morality over my compassion, and in turn, has that?... Have I.... I... Oh, Primus...."

    He didn't know, really. He wished Hound were online; Hound would know what to say-

    There's a sudden clattering outside, some kind of light crash, followed by the sound of whining and protests. Ratchet jolts out of his thoughts, surprised and bewildered by the sudden kerfuffle, before he stands up and moves to the door to investigate. Have Wheeljack and Evac or Jazz returned? What on Earth could they have done to make such a racket?

    Opening the door, he comes across the bizarre sight of Wheeljack lecturing Evac on being careful; apparently, the rookie hadn't had a good grip on the cargo he'd been transporting, and he'd ended up tripping over something and dropping it on the corridor. Bumblebee is there too, nattering incessantly at the tow truck as Grimlock simply observes the kerfuffle with slight amusement.

    Ratchet blanches a bit when he sees the cargo his apprentice had dropped is a dead Seeker, its torn body leaking Energon over the floor and two severed appendages lying nearby. Had the inventor honestly had the nerve to make poor Evac ferry that thing around? Despicable.

    "I need this thing in good condition, you know!" Wheeljack whined. "I barely got any good stuff from the last one, and this is one is so much more intact, and now you're just dropping it everywhere!"

    "It was an accident." Evac grumbled (and Ratchet is shocked to feel a fresh tear streaked across his face), rotors clattering with rare annoyance. "The leg fell down and tripped me up."

    "Maybe you should have held the leg tighter-"

    "Maybe you should cart the dead jet home next time!"

    "Right, right, turn it on me, why don't you?!"

    "I call dibs on the sword!" Bumblebee hollers, picking up the severed arm and eagerly examining the curved blade still protruding from it. "Ooh, it's crazy sharp! I don't even have a melee weapon, isn't that crazy, so I think this could help me out a bit, granted I'm not really a stabbing kind of bot, but you never know-"

    Grimlock snorted: "Heh, as if Grimlock or any sane Autobot would let you run around with a large sword, Bumblebee."

    "Aw, but Grimlock-"

    "Grimlock appreciates Grimlock's limbs not getting skewered, thank you very much."

    "You say that like I've skewered people before, I've never skewered anyone before, I haven't even had the chance to skewer someone, not that I'd want to or anything, but you know what I mean and this isn't helping me is it?"

    "Not a bit."

    "Can I ask what's going on here?" Ratchet interjects, moving over to the crowd as Wheeljack asks Grimlock to take the Seeker to his lab for him (Evac is surprised, but the tow truck informs him that he needs repairs, duh). "I thought you two were just going to check on the converter, and now you're dragging dead Decepticons home and looking as though you got dragged through a Driller's nest?"

    As Grimlock picked up the Seeker's corpse in his mouth, his strength very apparent in that he lifted the entire body without even his head sagging, Bumblebee helping out by picking up the severed leg as well and wheeling after the truck, Wheeljack turns and replies:

    "Well, you know, a trip turned south, Seeker attacked me, nearly killed me, but hey! Evac came in and saved my life!" His words only added to the rather arrogant yet accusing gaze he was giving Ratchet. "Who would have thought?"

    Ratchet does not take the bait. Ratchet does not sag in guilt or dejection. Instead, he responds: "I would have. Evac is stronger than we give him credit for. He is a fine Autobot."

    The helicopter practically glows with pride upon hearing this, Bumblebee cheerfully agrees as he wheels off after Grimlock, and Wheeljack seems a bit surprised, before it melts into something that seems like delight.

    Ratchet smiles softly: "Well, I suppose I probably don't want to know exactly how it came to pass that you'd end up fighting a Seeker. But well done for handling yourself against one, Evac; they're quite tough."

    Evac all but danced before the medic as he eagerly replied: "Yeah, but nothing was gonna stop me helping Wheeljack!"

    "Of course not." Ratchet replied proudly. "And nothing will stop me helping you two too. So, who's ready for some repairs?"

    --

    "Sit down."

    Starscream reluctantly settled himself upon the central chair, now expanded to accommodate his greater size compared to Barricade. Making himself comfortable, he folded his arms and maintained his cold stare at the other Decepticon. Shockwave's cannon's barrel had retracted, and a hand had folded out from underneath, currently holding a data-pad.

    Starscream often forgot he could do that. Of course, what use was a scientist with only one hand? Not much, he supposed.

    The pulsating lights on his chest illuminating his purple armour in the darkened chamber, Shockwave murmured: "Testing recording systems for tertiary recording."

    Following a beeping sound, the mechanised voice replied: "Tertiary recording, online."

    "Hello Starscream." He began, always so prompt. "I am Shockwave, Head of the Abominus Initiative and a personal right-hand of Lord Megatron, Leader of the Decepticon Faction. I'd like to discuss the incident, designated Incident 1134, in which the Decepticon designated Barricade stole a prototype Battle-Inducement Nodule to satisfy his desire for vengeance against the Autobot scout Hound."

    His single red optic cast a probing glance at the fuming jet, before he went on.

    "I am obligated to inform you that our conversation is being recorded, and anything you say can be used against you if Shokaw decides to bring this case to Lord Megatron. However, its contents will only be released if I-"

    "Spare me your formalities, Shockwave." Starscream hissed. "Get on with it."

    "I advise you to keep your emotions under control, commander; now is not the time nor the place for petty angers and grievances. But if you insist, I will move to the point." Shockwave replied dryly. "Your soldier, Barricade; you are aware of his crime committed, and you are aware of Airachnid's decision."

    "Perfectly aware." Starscream stated coldly, keeping a sharp check on his temper, always so easily provoked in the presence of this despicable fool. "He stole one of the experimental nodules you had your second deliver to us. He kept it a secret and used it for his own purposes. And now he has been found guilty, and all that remains is whether or not you chose to condemn him."

    The jet leaned forward now, the tailfins on his feet flexing in irritation: "I am more than aware, Shockwave, so you'll have to forgive me in that I'm not really seeing the point of continuing your game any longer. You have what you summoned us for, so why do you insist on dragging this on?"

    "You are right, Starscream. I could have easily ended this with Airachnid's second interrogation; the word of your lieutenant regarding her comrade's crime can substitute your own. But what I wish to discuss now is a matter that must be discussed with you, the commanding officer of the Darksyde."

    Starscream bristled a little bit, profusely disliking the sound of that. Any matter that coerced Shockwave to keep him around for longer than the situation required could not be a matter that favoured him in any way.

    Still, he didn't have much choice, so he muttered: "Fine. Speak your peace."

    "The Battle-Inducement Nodule, when your soldier activated and utilised it against the Autobot Hound, produced the most intriguing neural activities I have ever seen in a long time." Shockwave informed him. "The readings escalated beyond original expectations, produced an effect not unlike that which fuels the Autobot berserker himself. My nodules were designed for artificial fury, but what it showed to me was something beyond a mere machine's effect; a union, if you will, between inherent rage and external enhancement, creating a neural hybrid of rabid intensity."

    Starscream considered this as the scientist went on: "I theorise that Barricade's hateful and vicious aspects reacted to the nodule's effect in a manner most extreme, producing the intense readings we recorded and the brutal power and fury he unleashed upon the Autobot. But this requires further examination."

    Shockwave tapped something into his data-pad, before he stated: "This is what I propose to you, Starscream. I will grant you and your crew leniency-"

    The jet jerked up, optics widening with surprise as he stared at the other Decepticon with an expression of utter bewilderment. Had he just heard what he'd thought he heard?!

    Shockwave did not falter despite this extreme and rather hopeful reaction from the Raptor: "I will nullify all charges against you, dismiss any punishments awaiting you. In exchange for your freedom, the retention of your reputation, your ship and your rank, you will take the nodule back to Earth and allow your soldier to continue using it."

    The jet hesitated: "Um... that's it?"

    He nodded: "Yes."

    "No strings attached, no ulterior plan? Just go back and let Barricade use an effective weapon against our enemies?"

    "Yes."

    Starscream's optics narrowed, and he stated: "I know you, Shockwave. You have something more you want, don't you? You wouldn't just brush this whole thing under the panels, just let us go free with one of your devices like this. What do you want?"

    "Your suspicions are unfounded; I have told you my proposal, and that is all. The only other aspect you ought to know is that I am sending Airachnid to Earth with you, to keep an optic on Barricade's progress and your own."

    The jet blanched in horror, as the scientist idly continued: "So, the simple outline is that you return to your planet, continue your business and have your soldier provide more readings for me to analyse. That is all."

    Starscream considered him for a moment, seething somewhat at the idea of having to put up with Airachnid again, before he revved slightly and leant back a bit, muttering: "Well, I'd be a fool to refuse that deal. Fine; I accept your proposal, Shockwave. Is that all? Can I leave this wretched planet now?"

    "Two more points first." Shockwave replied calmly, before turning to the cameras and declaring: "Terminate recording."

    "Tertiary recording, saved and terminated." The voice replied, before the cameras shut off with a dull whine.

    He returned his attention to the jet: "Lord Megatron is curious as to how your mission is progressing; as you know, our Master is very fond of prompt results. What have you to report on your self-acclaimed Operation Harvest?"

    "It's been going very well." Starscream huffed. "The Autobots have no idea of the scale of my plans, nor have they any means to stop it even if they were aware of it. We're at the final phase, preparing for construction to begin. I've just been a tad side-tracked recently, what with this whole nodule business."

    He ended that with a rather accusing sneer and glare at the other Decepticon, who remained utterly unfazed by the jet's presumptuousness.

    Shockwave nevertheless nodded in acceptance: "I find your response acceptable. I will inform our Master that your mission nears completion. The second point is a personal musing on my point; when you first tested the nodules on Earth, you assigned one to yourself, correct?"

    "I did, but it failed to work for me. My two Seekers benefitted from the other ones, but my one didn't do a damn thing."

    "I am aware; Airachnid and Slipstream, who's judgement I will also trust based on Airachnid's praise of her, were there for monitoring the test if you recall. She reported to me that, whilst the nodule was not activated, you nevertheless entered a state of fury upon witnessing the berserker claiming one of your Seeker's lives. However, she implied that you seem to have denied such a loss of control in the field of battle. I wanted to know why."

    The jet stared at him blankly, before taking on a rather ugly expression: "I don't know what you mean, Shockwave. I had perfect control of myself in that battle."

    "Why do you deny this?" Shockwave asked, tilting his head slightly. "Slipstream witnessed it herself."

    "I said, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what Slipstream insists on blabbering to your second, but-"

    The single optic reflected the jet's increasingly angered expression: "Do you hold yourself in such high regard that even the slightest hint of extremities that could expose you as less than you wish to be must be buried where no-one else may witness them?-"

    The jet reacted violently, his claws locked onto Shockwave's shoulders and slamming him backwards into the wall as he shrieked, furious in potent denial: "I don't know what you're talking about!"

    The clang of metal on metal echoed briefly. Shockwave was utterly unfazed by this blatant con-handling, simply observing the other Decepticon's outburst, his rib-like chest pulsating softly. Starscream revved furiously, struggling to reign his temper in. The single optic continued to stare at the jet, before the scientist gently whispered:

    "Take your hands off me."

    Starscream hesitated for a moment, suddenly hit by a sudden thrill of danger, before he released the Conciller and backed away, frame heaving somewhat with his burst of exertion. Shockwave studied him for a moment, before he said: "I do not like being touched against my consent, Starscream. Be thankful you are more useful to me alive than dead, lest I test how long I need whittle out your Energon before you expire."

    A pause, considering the shaking Raptor, before he finished: "Very well then. I need not enquire anything more from you. It's been a pleasure talking to you again, Starscream."

    The Raptor glared at him and muttered his hatred for the scientist before he stomped over to the door and swung it open, the Conciller following behind as casual as could be.

    Outside stands the usual crew, but now Slipstream and Commander Blackout are there as well, the jet cheerfully nattering to the helicopter and the massive commander asking Barricade a few questions. Judging by the Mustang's venomous glares, they weren't questions he was thrilled about answering.

    "Our business is complete." Shockwave declared, immediately earning the attention and silence of everyone around him as the jet settles himself next to Nighttrace. "Starscream, you and your crew are free to return to your ship. Airachnid will escort you back to the chamber where we will open a space-bridge for you."

    "Fantastic." Starscream sneered, glaring intensely at the scientist. "You've been such a wonderful host, Shockwave. I'm so glad we would put this all behind us."

    "Of course." Shockwave replied politely. "And I do hope to hear from you again. We've spent far too long loitering in the past, you know."

    The jet ignored him, already stomping off down the corridor towards the lift, followed by a contemplative Nighttrace and a sullen Barricade. Slipstream promptly turned to Blackout and said: "I'd like to thank you again, sir, for your advice earlier. It was an absolutely pleasure seeing you again."

    "Likewise, Slipstream." He replied, shaking her hand in fond farewell. "I hope to see you again soon, under better circumstances than contemplating a miscreant's failings."

    "Me too, commander. Keep doing what you do best." She stated happily, before striding off after her fellow crew-mates. Airachnid moved to follow, before she also turned to Blackout and added her piece:

    "I'm glad to have seen you again too, sir. It's always a pleasure to know you are doing well."

    "Of course, Airachnid." He said, shaking her hand as well, the helicopter much more professional than the more enthusiastic medic. "You've done very well for yourself. Take care."

    "You too, sir." She replied, before she sauntered off after the others. Shockwave moved to stand next to Blackout, his lit purple frame a colourful contrast to the larger Decepticon's dark armour, watching the Decepticons move into the lift.

    As Airachnid typed in the level for the lift to move to, Shockwave called out, his polite tone surprisingly loud considering the distance between them now: "Starscream. One last thing."

    The jet snapped back: "What?"

    The single optic flashed slightly: "I'll be watching."

    The lift door then closed, and Starscream, against his will, shuddered a little bit as the door closed out the sight of the Head of Shokaw, his crew flashing cautious glances at him as Airachnid wryly smiled to herself.

    --

    "The life signal is offline." Soundwave informed Grindor, casting an accusing glare at the cowering Sideways, the bike still scrapped and dented from his rough-housing with the Autobots. "The Seeker is most likely dead, and I'd imagine the Autobots have claimed its remains."

    The Trojan gave a soft rev of dejection, shaking his head as he irritably scraped a claw down his cheek: "Unfortunate. Starscream will be gravely disappointed with the loss of one of his assets, particularly an asset as rather taxing to replace as a Seeker. Still, perhaps this situation can yield a positive light in consolation for this misfortune."

    He turned to Sideways and asked: "Were you able to uncover the source of that mystery signature?"

    The bike straightened up and squeaked: "Yes, yes I did Grindor, temporary-commander, sir, Grindor, yes I did! It was coming from an Earth vehicle designated Pontiac Solstice, silver in colour, license plate 777M 3TA and bearing one human passenger! Thermal readings are consistent with that of Cybertronian internal systems, and Pontiac Solstice vehicle is consistent with the Autobot Lieutenant's observed vehicle mode!"

    He said this very quickly, without pause or hesitation. Soundwave spun a tire in bewilderment, but Grindor was used to interacting with his much more dramatic comrade and thus gleaned every useful piece of information the motorbike had spouted. Humming a bit to himself as he contemplated this, he turned to Soundwave.

    "It seems your theory behind the source of that signal was correct; the Autobot Lieutenant has been interacting with a human. Radiation from his spark chamber has permeated it somewhat, adding a vulnerability to the Autobot's otherwise impeccable shielding. This could be useful to us."

    "Indeed." Soundwave agreed, visor flickering somewhat as he settled into strategic discussion with the engineer. "The radiation will dissipate, but if the Lieutenant drives the human to their home or the radiation persists long enough for us to track the organic to its dwelling, we can easily follow and identify it."

    "And then perhaps use it as bait to lure the Lieutenant into a trap." Grindor mused thoughtfully. "Hm, that's an idea that's gone back to the dawn of time, but what point is there in fixing what isn't broken? Maintain your monitoring, Soundwave; if you are able to trace that human back to wherever it dwells, we'll have ample opportunity to capture it and use it to draw the Lieutenant straight into our grasp."

    "Yeah!" Sideways agreed, wheeling around the larger Decepticon. "And then we can kill him once and for all, and Lord Megatron will reward us! He'll give us promotions! New weapons! He might even make me le- I MEAN, he might even give us each our own ship!"

    "Patience, Sideways. We have Starscream's Operation Harvest to focus on, remember. Capturing the Lieutenant's organic acquaintance will be a side-along endeavour at best, assuming Starscream approves of it and allows us to carry it out rather than concentrating our efforts on the primary objective."

    "And you'd be lucky if you get anything at all when Starscream is informed that one of his Seekers was lost under your watch." Soundwave added snidely.

    The bike immediately shrank back and whimpered, no doubt reminded of the time the jet had brutally punished Barricade.

    "And speaking of Starscream-" The Lamborghini added, idly examining the monitors as his wheels slowly spun around. "I wonder how he and the others are doing on Shokaw. Do you think Barricade has already been convicted of his guilt and sent to Polyhex?"

    Sideways promptly lost interest in this conversation and wheeled off to one of the other consoles as the Trojan mused: "Hmm, it's entirely possible. Conciller Shockwave and Airachnid are most efficient in their businesses and would have likely provided an ultimatum by now. But I would imagine they'd have informed us first if they had decided to deport him, so perhaps his fate is not yet confirmed."

    The two considered this, before the tank revved slightly and said: "Well, we'll soon see. Maintain your monitoring of the signature, Soundwave, and inform me if the Lieutenant sees fit to reveal to us the location of his human's abode."

    The communications officer nodded, and with that, the control room fell into silence, each Decepticon busying themselves with their current activities. The quiet was appreciated, to be honest, and there was a slight sense of ease in the air despite the lack of news from Shokaw. At one point, Sideways wheeled over to engage Grindor in whispered conversation, while Soundwave, noting no activity from the Lieutenant yet, opened up another tab upon which he pulled up a video game.

    This silence persisted for a while, and then the console beeped.

    Soundwave took a look at the incoming signal, before declaring: "Ah, Shokaw has made its decision. I'll let you take this, Grindor."

    "Very well. Put it on the main hub." The tank replied, waving Sideways away as he stood up to receive the message.

    The main console flickered and promptly displayed a holographic image of none other than Shockwave himself, his image coloured purple and his single optic ever staring. Sideways cringed at the sight of him, Soundwave's visor flicked a little with unease, and Grindor simply bowed his head in respect.

    "Conciller Shockwave." He greeted. "It is an honour to speak with you."

    "I am flattered." The scientist replied politely. "I presume you are the one in command in the absence of Starscream?"

    "Correct, sir. I am Grindor."

    "Ah yes. Well, you and the others aboard the Darksyde may be pleased to hear that your acquaintance, Barricade, has been cleared of his charges. He and the others who have come to Shokaw will be returning to you momentarily."

    Soundwave stared at him in surprise, Sideways tilted his head in bewilderment and the Seekers exchanged a few glances, before Grindor replied: "That is good news indeed, sir. We were concerned for the fate of our comrade."

    Shockwave simply nodded: "Your commander will inform you of the finer details of our business upon his return. I should also note that my second-in-command, Airachnid, will be re-joining your ship for a length of time, and thus I advise you to treat her with the same courtesy and respect you would extend to myself. That is all."

    Grindor and Soundwave exchanged a glance, the former having been absent the last time Airachnid had been hosted by the Darksyde, and upon receiving a simple nod from the car, he replied: "Of course, Conciller. Thank you for the update."

    Shockwave nodded, and then he was gone.

    "Well then." Soundwave mused. "Barricade got off the hook. That is a surprise. Huh, and here I was thinking it would be so much more peaceful around here. Less entertaining, but peaceful."

    "All good things have their prices." Grindor replied. "And I strongly suspect that Barricade's freedom has a price of its own. Shockwave would not let a thief of his technology return to normality so easily; he must have an ulterior motive behind this decision."

    "I suspect Starscream will inform us of whatever it is." The car stated with a shrug. "At any rate, at least we're spared any further trouble from Shokaw. It must have been quite dramatic for you and Sideways, to have joined our crew right as this whole situation came down on us."

    Grindor just chuckled: "What is the life of a Decepticon without some drama now and then? Prepare to receive the space-bridge, Soundwave; I'm certain our commander will have answers for our questions."

    He nodded and prepped the consoles, and within moments had received another transmission from Shokaw, a space-bridge signal desiring entrance into their ship, and he promptly allowed it. Grindor turned as a shining blue-green portal flared into existence behind him, illuminating the dark chamber, and from it came the tall form of Starscream, followed by Nighttrace, Slipstream, Airachnid and finally Barricade.

    The Mustang wasted no time; the second he was back on board and the portal dissipated into nothingness, he darted over to the consoles next to Soundwave and shoved the other car aside, snapping: "You better not have been looking through my personal private files, you fragger!"

    "Why?" Soundwave asked dryly. "Would I find scandalous depictions of mermaids upon them if I did?"

    "Of course not, you idiot, those go in the recreational fol- Wait, why am I even talking to you about this, shut up."

    A pause, the Lamborghini idly assessing the other Decepticon's shifting expressions, before the Mustang muttered: "You know, when I was in that interrogation room, with Airachnid telling me just how deep a pit of slag I'd found myself in, I kind of wondered: Huh, this is really the end for Barricade. And I kind of felt... I dunno. Dejected, I guess."

    "The cruel reality of nigh-imminent consequence and punishment weighing down upon your egotistical delusions of self-superiority, perhaps?"

    "No that's stupid. What I mean is... as if some kind of grave consequence was pressing down on my previous perceptions, you know?"

    "Nicely put."

    "Mm. But now I'm not feeling pressed down anymore. I'm free! I got off easy, I came out a winner like I always do, and now I feel pretty good. And you know what, Soundwave? Even though you're an obnoxious pretentious moron who's unaware of how stupid he is, I really appreciate you as a friend until I get a better friend."

    Soundwave seemed touched: "Thank you, Barricade. I appreciate you as a friend until I get a better friend too."

    "Cool."

    Another pause.

    "Alright, that's enough emotion for a week. Wanna play Auto Combat and get your exhaust pipes handed to you?"

    "Barricade, I had no idea you were so eager to taste humiliating defeat. I'll be happy to whip you up a plate of it."

    "You wish, fragger!"

    As they had their bizarre little reunion, with Sideways staring at them in disbelief, Starscream had moved over to Grindor and stated: "Well, Grindor, how goes the situation on Earth? Did anything major happen while we were away, or is all calm on the front-lines?"

    "A few simple developments have occurred, both positive and negative, but it has otherwise been fairly lacklustre during your absence."

    Starscream simply shrugged: "Very well. We'll update each other on any further details in due time. First, I need to make a few declarations. And I probably want my chair back."

    He flashed a teasing grin at the Trojan, whom chuckled and stepped down, graciously allowing the commander his chair back. The jet stepped forward and sank into it with a moment of relish, enjoying the return to anything vaguely reminding him of normalcy, before deploying Waspinator from his compartment and allowing the drone to cheerfully buzz around the room.

    Satisfied, he declared to the Decepticons before them: "Well, Decepticons, as you are all aware, Shockwave has seen fit to spare us any punishments he had in mind in retaliation to Barricade's crime; the whole affair has been swept under the panels, and we need not worry about Shokaw anymore. However, there will be another change in our roster; as you can see, Airachnid has re-joined us, and she will remain with us for a yet unspecified amount of time. As such, I'd appreciate it if all of you treat her as respectfully as you would Shokaw's Conciller. Understood?"

    A chorus of 'yes, sir's from the Decepticons before him plus a disinterested grunt from Barricade.

    "Excellent. I should also inform all of you that the final phase of Operation Harvest will be put into play within a few days, perhaps sooner if I can make a few specialised arrangements. As such, I require all of you to be at your ready for when we execute our long-delayed victory in this star system. That is all for now."

    Another chorus of affirmatives, before the Decepticons dissipated; Slipstream danced off to the med-bay, Nighttrace fluttered off to inspect the Cybertanium in storage, Grindor meandered over to Sideways and the two cars and Seekers maintained their console activities. Airachnid, however, saw fit to approach Starscream, requesting a word with him.

    He stood up, maintaining his superiority in height over her, and asked: "What is it, Airachnid?"

    She smiled slightly, flexing her rotors a tad: "I just wanted to make a few things clear with you, Starscream. First and foremost, you are aware that you cannot delay in upholding your side of the bargain, operation or not."

    "I'm well aware." Starscream retorted. "All I require is some time to map my strategies out to ensure I can carry both tasks out with maximum efficiency."

    "I trust you will." She replied smoothly. "I believe Shockwave has also made it clear to you that, while you may remain the commander, you will answer to me if I so see fit."

    He seethed now: "He told me. I know."

    She smiled sweetly, virulently sweet now: "Excellent. That just leaves one tiny matter now-"

    And then suddenly Airachnid lashed out, her hand shifting into the claw of her beast mode as it locked around Starscream's throat, the other Decepticons jolting in surprise at such sudden violence. The jet let out a shocked squawk as she dragged the taller Decepticon down to optic-level, her lethally cruel crimson digging into his.

    "Don't think I don't know that you were willing to leave Slipstream to the Autobots." She hissed, her tone quiet enough that only he could hear her words, but sharp enough that the other Decepticons were well aware of her anger. "I don't care whether or not you intended to make up for it; if you ever even think of abandoning her like that again, you won't have to worry about Shockwave or Polyhex or promotions any more. Because I will end you, slowly, painfully, in ways you couldn't even imagine. Do you understand me, Starscream?"

    He squeaked, flashes of fear tainting his optics: "Y-yes, m-ma'am."

    "Good."

    She released him disdainfully, the Raptor stumbling back and falling into his chair, claws massaging his aching throat panels as he stared at the helicopter in disbelief. With that, she spun round on a dime, smiling widely and declaring: "Well, all's well that ends well, Commander. Come along, Grindor! I wish to discuss some engineering aspects with you for an upcoming project one of Shokaw's scientists is preparing to work on."

    The Trojan simply nodded in compliance, casting a cautious glance at the stunned jet before he followed the helicopter out of the control room. This left Soundwave, Barricade, Sideways and two Seekers with Starscream, all of whom were staring after the scientist's departure, before they turned and looked to Starscream to see how he would react.

    Starscream sat up a bit in his chair, one hand still massaging his throat, painfully reminded of Shockwave's own threat to him, before he turned himself to the main console and muttered: "Back to work, Decepticons. I have to think over some aspects of Operation Harvest before we initiate the final phase."

    None of them questioned him, and all of them promptly threw themselves into their distractions lest they end up gaining his attention and earning whatever outburst may be building up inside him.

    But Starscream was calm, perfectly calm, truly calm, as he brought up some files that only he was permitted to access, looking over the outlines of his plan. Yes, things had been hectic, and things would most likely remain somewhat hectic with that wretch revving down his neck, but at least now the weight on his shoulders had been lifted. Shokaw had spared them, no-one was getting sent to Polyhex and now he could get thins back on track.

    He gave a soft smile. Yes, Shockwave would be looming over him still, demanding Barricade's consistent usage of the nodule for his little experiments, and yes, Airachnid would be hounding him as well, but that was an easy price to pay in exchange for the retaining of his freedom and his rank and his mission. Starscream would see this through to the end, his Operation and the deaths of those Autobots, and he would prove himself to Lord Megatron and become a Conciller and elevate his crew to new heights!

    Ah, yes, good thoughts indeed, very positive thoughts now, always be buoyant, rise above the oppression. What could spoil his renewal of determination and pride now?!

    "Hey Starscream!" Barricade hollered with devious eagerness, having apparently heard something or other from a now horrified Soundwave. "Would now be a good time to mention one of your Seekers got killed while we were gone?"

    Urgh.

    Author's Notes: Next episode features new Autobots. Huzzah!

    So, Airachnid's back, Shockwave's watching you, Barricade's happy and the Autobots seem to be smoothing things over. We'll see how long that lasts :p 
     
  3. Jamocha101

    Jamocha101 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2012
    Posts:
    1,441
    Trophy Points:
    207
    Likes:
    +218
    I read it all ahhhhhhhh.

    Thus brings us to the conclusion of our first Evac and/or Wheeljack centric episode. one of the main things I noticed, and this might have been a balancing figure for the lack of action in the last episode (if I'm even remembering correctly because it's been so long), there was a lot of fighting in this episode. I guess not in quantity per se, but wow, that battle between Wheeljack and the Seeker lasted a really long time. I'm hesitant to call that out negatively because my attention span is seriously ungodly short, but in any event, I had a hard time getting through that. I always thought that things that appeal so much to visual media should be showed in such because when it's elaborated literately, it preserves all the detail in twice the amount of time that it takes to read over watch and simultaneously doesn't progress the plot. I guess kind of like the same thing I said about why I'm not a fan of detailed transformation sequences, except this instance mostly doesn't interfere with your syntax. I'm seeing a counter argument in the midst however, in which somebody will emphasize that such drawn-out action is important because it accentuates the durability of a Seeker, which is appreciable because it's not typical of mooks. And I'm totally not being facetious, I think it really is great that when generics die and PEOPLE ACTUALLY CARE and it ACTUALLY TOOK EFFORT. I also read almost all of it all at once, so it was all a lot to take in and my memory might just be exaggerating the actual length of the battle. Plus, it's Transformers fan fiction, so there has to be plenty of action, right? In the end it doesn't actually matter that much, it was still a decent episode.

    Speaking of such battles, it's clear that Wheeljack isn't as combative as everyone else, which is cool, because one thing that bugged me was that pretty much everybody (even Slipstream) showed that they're supposedly super battle savvy, even if you wouldn't believe that they would be. Wheeljack's monologue clearly indicated otherwise, however, not to mention it was nice that we finally got a glimpse into his psyche. I liked how when he was comparing himself to his fellow veterans, there was no mention of Ratchet. Because nobody likes Ratchet.

    Evac had another cool moment too, turns out that what Wheeljack had said about him continues to be true. As he implicated smartly to Ratchet, as I recall. I guess he didn't do anything completely extraordinary, so it's evident that he's not amazingly skilled, but the audience gets a show of his impressive strength.

    Speaking of Evac, I noticed another contrast point to put between him and Bumblebee, but it's more obscure than personality traits. I noticed that he was pretty disgusted at the notion of taking a corpse home with him, so it's obviously indicative towards the idea that he's unnerved by death and body parts. I wouldn't be asserting such an inevitable observation if I hadn't been perplexed by the contrast in Bumblebee's reaction. The latter's shown discontent at carcasses before, but he seemed entirely unperturbed by the bringing home of a dead seeker and even tried to claim one of its weapons. Granted, he may have been less unnerved because he wasn't the one that had to carry it back, but I shall continue to speculate nonetheless. I theorize that Evac has a better sense of awareness than Bumblebee does; the latter doesn't realize, despite his inexperience (and consequential lack of desensitization) how wrong that kind of is. Wheeljack's got the aforementioned desensitization and his characteristic eccentricity going for him thus far to account for his lack of perturbation. Perhaps the reason Evac was notably more agitated was because, since he's a medic, he's trained to disapprove of the loss of life. I wonder if there will ever come a day when Bumblebee will show more cognizance of the drastic circumstances surrounding his environment.

    As for Ratchet, he's still not one of my favorite characters, but good for him for showing a bit of self-evaluation. I get the sense of immaturity though, when he has to contact his psuedo wife for advice because somebody that he despises and frowns upon successfully pinched his ego. It's especially odd because it contrasts the ancient Ratchet that I associate with this one from previous incarnations. This Ratchet obviously lacks the same grouchy archetype. I mean, I guess he's still pretty anal, but not in the same "old man" way like TFA or TFP Ratchet.

    What I really loved, probably my favorite thing about this episode, however, was Ratchet showing his appreciation for Hound in that little aside. I really miss the scout's role in the story ever since he's been laid up because of THE INCIDENT. I'm really hoping that he'll wake up in the extremely foreseeable future, because I'm getting restless to see him back in action. Granted, he probably won't be "back in action" with the battling connotation for a while, but I at least would like to see him up and about, and I'm anxious to know how this happenstance has affected his psyche.

    Also, before I forget, there is obvious foreshadowing for dragging Ellen into the main story. She gun have robots on her doorstep, hoboy. Wait until Jazz has to deal with responsibility of that.

    I want to go back on this too, because I forgot to mention it earlier, about Wheeljack: I like how he's obviously not the most skilled team member but he still loves fighting nonetheless. He doesn't let his inability get in the way of his love for a thrill. Also, some foreshadowing for new weaponry, but Evac, once again, notices that there could be some problems regarding morals with that.

    So let's talk about cons. Barricade and Soundwave's reunion made me squeal. "And here I thought it would become more peaceful around here," he says. Pfft, you missed him and you know it. You wanted him back. Stop trying to fool yourself.

    I don't really have much to say regarding the plot twist, mostly because I already suspected it from the implication granted by that one shot you published a while ago, you know the one.

    I'm sure tons of people would think that all of the little Startrace implications are really sweet and cute but I really don't like either of the characters so I don't care for it that much. e_o I can appreciate the dynamics between the characters, nonetheless. Airachnid sticking up for Slipstream towards the end was pretty cool, for example.

    OH AND BLACKOUT SAID TO WATCH OUT FOR GRINDOR MAYBE HE REALLY IS A DICK. I also loved how Blackout quoted Optimus Prime. It's odd how a Decepticon character is portrayed with a sense of decency, but weird in a good way of course.

    There was something else that I wanted to address and now I can't remember what it is EH. EHHHHH. IF I EVER REMEMBER I'LL LET YOU KNOW OKAY.

    So this was a pretty cool episode, some good character insight. Lots of foreshadowing. Me gusta.
     
  4. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    Episode 11: Heavy Landing

    "How long have we been here, I wonder? Trapped in this vessel, drifting through the stars with no end in sight? Too long, I wager. Far too long. If Cybertron itself were annihilated, turned into dust by the war that consumes it, we wouldn't know.

    We are the crew of the Resurgence, one of the ships that took part in the Battle of Sandokan. We sustained heavy damage, and in our efforts to retreat, our warp-driver malfunctioned, putting us beyond the range of Cybertron's territories, with no hope of rescue in sight. Our engines offline, our warp-driver the only means of escaping planetary impacts, we have been condemned to this state of helplessness.

    We have been drifting for a long time. I wonder if we will ever see our comrades or our planet again. Our ship is losing power, slowly but surely, and I wonder if the end is nigh for us. Still, I must hope, at least for the good of my crew, that we will find a light.

    I am Kup, one of the last and greatest of the Wreckers, and I send this message to any Autobot vessel who may be in range, to any Autobot vessel who may provide our salvation; we need your help."


    When the grizzled voice had spoken its peace, Soundwave shut off the broadcast and turned to an intrigued Starscream: "And there you have it. It's a cry for help, basically, and I can't say I would blame them. The ship that's been sending this out is clearly in a bad condition; transmissions are weak, disjointed, and I've been unable to pinpoint its source. Their engines must be offline too, considering there is no trace of exhaust in the system."

    "Their shielding systems must be intact, though." Grindor pointed out. "Otherwise we would have detected the vessel's signature."

    "True, but it won't last for much longer." Soundwave replied, returning his attention to the main console and the message it displayed. "I've studied communications all my life, and I can tell you that such pitiful transmissions as these signal a ship on its last legs."

    "But they are in this solar system, correct?" Grindor asked, and upon receiving a confirming nod, he went on: "In that case, the Autobots would have picked it up as well, and they would not have needed to waste time decoding the frequency. I suspect our lost crew will have an answer from the Lieutenant in due time."

    "And the Lieutenant will guide them to Earth with whatever power they have left." Starscream declared, putting his hands on his hips and contemplating the actions of his enemy. "And bolster his ranks with whoever remains alive on that husk. Urgh, such a despicable turn of events. The last thing I need is an additional crew of Autobots to deal with, especially a Wrecker such as Kup."

    The Raptor turned from the main console and paced around for a moment, indulging himself on whatever schemes and rearrangements this new situation had coerced, a hand on his chin and a thoughtful flicker in his optics. Soundwave and Grindor watched him with slight interest, before the jet nodded and moved back over to them to relay his new plan.

    "Alright then. If they're still shielded, we cannot track them down whilst they remain in space. But we might have an opportunity to intercept them once the Lieutenant guides them to Earth; no amount of shielding can cover up atmospheric distortion. Keep a close optic on this planet's outer shell and report any major disturbance; from there, we can analyse possible trajectories of descent and chase them down, hopefully before the Lieutenant can rush to their aid."

    Soundwave nodded in agreement as the jet went on: "If their shielding fails whilst still in space, do not hesitate to take the ship over to intercept; weak as their ship is, their defences will be inadequate to repel us and we may even be able to take prisoners."

    He then turned to Grindor and asked: "Grindor, do you have an estimate for the completion time of Operation Harvest's final phase?"

    "I do." The Trojan replied, moving over to the console and bringing up a hologram of the project. "Assuming we have the maximum amount of acceptable constructors and basing on the stock of Cybertanium plus additional replications from extra Energon deposits, I daresay the foundation aspect will be completed within five or six days."

    The jet was flabbergasted, jaw dropping in surprise: "Five or six days just for the foundation?! Are you fragging with me?!"

    "A project of this scale needs time and care to avoid any mistakes." Grindor pointed out, rolling his optics slightly at the lack of foresight in those less inclined to engineering than he. "If you want your operation to proceed as smoothly as possible, you must adhere to the guidelines."

    Starscream pouted, Soundwave gave a short chuckle, before the Trojan reassured him: "But if it's any consolation, the secondary aspect will take a mere two days at most, provided our workbotship is optimal."

    "It will be, I assure you." Starscream said, a tad more thoughtful now. "So, overall, a week to initiate our final phase. Hmm... the Autobots may well become suspicious if we are absent for too long and come hunting for us... I may have to make another call to Ramjet soon enough. But in the meantime, I suppose we ought to deal with this new development first."

    A nod to himself, satisfied with his quick thinking, before he declared: "I'm going to discuss this further with Nighttrace and Airachnid. All of you be prepared to deploy at a moment's notice, understood?"

    "Yes commander."

    "Of course, Starscream."

    Another nod, and then he turned and strode out of the control room, flexing his bulky frame and flickering his tailfins. Soundwave and Grindor watched him leave, before resuming the message sent out by the distraught vessel. Meanwhile, the Seekers clustered about the room idly checked over their weapons, whereas Barricade and Sideways maintained their focus on the game they were playing.

    The silence, distorted only by the message, wavered on for a moment, before Grindor spoke: "I've found Kup's file on the archives. It says here that he is one of the most prominent and experienced of the Wrecker sub-faction, bolstering physical strength with impressive leadership qualities and unrelenting willpower."

    "I hate willpower." Soundwave revved, flexing the tires on his shoulders with a musing annoyance. "The berserker would have been ended long ago if he didn't just refuse to die."

    "Kup has a similar record of survival." Grindor noted, idly reviewing the notes on the Autobot. "The efforts of many Decepticons, of even the elite Hunters, have failed to kill him. Like the Lieutenant, he has a good habit of escaping fate. Though, it would appear that his evasion of death in the past has finally run its course, if he has been reduced to a desperate survivor aboard a failing ship."

    "The Wreckers were never renowned for their survival rates." Soundwave pointed out. "Even before Lord Megatron deployed the Hunters, a fair amount of them often died on the missions they were sent on."

    "But Kup didn't." Grindor reminded him. "He's a survivor amongst the damned, and that which survives even the most dedicated of pursuers will not perish easily."

    "What does it matter anyway?" Barricade snapped, abandoning his game with Sideways and striding over to the other two with annoyance flickering in his optics, his attention roused by the current debate. "Who cares what he's survived, what he's done? All that matters now is that we have him here, have him vulnerable in a piece of slag ship that can barely call for help!"

    The Mustang drew his scythe and raised it, declaring: "Where the Hunters failed, we will succeed! If I can shoot down the Lieutenant himself, I can just as easily kill this moronic waste of life in his sad little husk!"

    "Vulnerable as he may be, we must not underestimate him, or whatever remains of his crew." Soundwave pointed out, rolling his visor's optics slightly. "Their vulnerability will have made them desperate, and desperation will make you do anything to survive. Besides, even without that factor, Kup has his reputation for a reason-"

    "Reputation cannot cover up for weakness." Barricade snorted. "The Lieutenant has his reputation, yet Starscream would have killed him if that rookie hadn't shown up! I came close to killing him myself! Even the berserker has failed to kill any of us-"

    "Possibly because we always fled from him." Soundwave muttered.

    "-An Autobot's reputation is like an Autobot's life; meaningless, pointless and easily dismembered."

    "And what of your reputation, Barricade?" Grindor questioned coolly.

    "My reputation is well-deserved." The shock trooper bragged, utterly unaware of Grindor's deeper intent. "The weak fall short of it, but the strong exceed it, and I-" He slammed his fist down impressively on the console, grinning cruelly at the two. "-am the stronges- URGH!"

    Grindor lashed out with surprising speed, his huge claw wrapping around the car's throat and cutting off his words with a clenching of metal. The Trojan stood up, lifting the smaller Decepticon easily, his long arm preventing the scrabbling and squawking Barricade from kicking at his torso. Soundwave, Sideways and the Seekers all stared at the Trojan in shock, certainly not expecting such a display from one as collected as he.

    "Tell me something, Barricade; if I were to break your neck right now, would your egotistical perception of strength and reputation be able to regenerate your injury before your body can collapse without guidance from the processor?" Grindor asked softly. "If I crushed you here and now, would your self-glorified aspects raise you from the dead?"

    Barricade just hissed, claws furiously scraping at the tank's forearm. Grindor callously tossed him away, the Mustang hitting the floor hard and rolling to a stop, before he continued: "You are absolutely right, Barricade. Reputation is not a shield, a sword, nor a fountain of youth. But what reputation certainly is is a warning, and warnings are to be heeded. Regardless of his vulnerability, do not underestimate the Wrecker. And most importantly, do not overestimate yourself. Many Decepticons have died in their pride."

    "Then they deserved it." Barricade growled, massaging his dented throat as he got back to his feet, body shaking with the urge to pay back the tank. "If you can't win for yourself, you can't win for anything, and if you can't win for anything, you don't deserve to live!"

    "You miss my point; you mustn't allow your ego to cloud your rationale. Not against Kup, the berserker, the Lieutenant, not against any foe."

    "I've survived the berserker. I've survived worse than the berserker. You don't think I can't handle myself against a lone Wrecker in a shoddy ship full of rusting pieces of scrap?"

    "Intensity inspires intensity in turn, and you have faced your share of it. But never assume that a stroke of fortune has granted you leniency from mortality, Barricade. Kup is an experienced and capable warrior, even in his moments of weakness, and we mustn't cast aside caution, as you are prone to do."

    Barricade revved furiously, but then Sideways tentatively chipped in: "Well, um, just a thought; maybe we might not even have to fight the Wrecker at all. I mean, if his ship's all messed up and losing power, he might be de-energising to death, or forced into stasis lock!"

    "Possibly." Soundwave added, satisfied to have a more calm resolution to the confrontation. "Even the strongest of warriors have their limits. If he's been drifting as long as this message implies, he may well be on his last legs himself."

    "And that will just make it easier to kill him." Barricade snorted, folding his arms as he glared challengingly at Grindor.

    Wheeling over to the main console to have a look at the file, Sideways asked: "What kind of weapons does he have? Even a weakling can still surprise you with a knife or something."

    "Well, you would know all about that, wouldn't you?" Barricade jeered, promptly flickering his rear lights at the smaller Decepticon tauntingly.

    The bike recoiled at the accusation, engine revving loudly as he attempted to stutter out a defence, before both of them were silenced by Grindor. He then browsed over the file and gave a slight murmur of interest, before he said: "Interesting; it says here that, alongside consistent usage of a particular durable flak shield and an energy pistol, Kup also makes use of a Thunder Cannon."

    A moment of silence as the other Decepticons digested this news, expressions of surprise flickering over their faces, particularly the shuddering Sideways. Even the Seekers glanced up at in unease upon hearing this.

    But then Barricade's expression shifted to malicious delight and he laughed: "A Thunder Cannon?! An actual real-life legit Thunder Cannon?! Fantastic! Then I call dibs on it! A Thunder Cannon is the perfect weapon to complement my excellent talents, ha ha!"

    "It is surprising, though, that he'd have one." Soundwave mused, tapping a claw on his chin. "Thunder Cannons were decommissioned years ago over the amount of Energon they required and most of them ended up recycled, yet one of the few remaining Wreckers would still clutch to one?"

    "Kup don't care, Kup don't care one bit." Sideways pointed out. "I heard that after the Hunters decimated the Wreckers, he went all kinds of crazy, so I'm not too surprised if he went against the Autrio's orders over that stuff."

    "Who cares about his stupid little scrap mind?" Barricade snapped. "All that matters is that we're gonna wrench that beautiful weapon from his filthy little hands and use it against the other Autobots! Ooh, imagine Hound returning from stasis only to see me exploding his little friends into scrap with such a treasure!"

    Sideways shuddered a little bit at the Mustang's everlasting brutal outlook, as Soundwave snorted: "That's if you even get it. Perhaps I may be interested in procuring such a weapon for myself."

    "Ha! You'd actually have to kill Kup for that, Soundwave, and you don't have the ball joints for taking on a Wrecker!"

    Soundwave stood up promptly, visor flashing and vibrational amplifiers pulsing as he challenged the other Decepticon: "Is that what you think? Well then, Barricade, let's make a deal, shall we? If I kill Kup before you, then the Thunder Cannon is as good as mine. But if you kill him before me, I will graciously allow you to claim it for yourself."

    Sideways chipped in: "I want in too! If I get him before either of you, I get the cannon! Me, Sideways! It will be perfect for building up my pow- killing the Autobots, killing Autobots!"

    Barricade laughed as Soundwave cast the bike a cold stare: "Ha, you couldn't kill a human even if I held its head to your exhaust pipes-"

    "Do you think any of the others would be interested in joining our competition?" Soundwave interrupted, casting a glance at a disinterested Grindor, who's small shake of the head requested he remain removed from the conversation. "Starscream, Airachnid and the like?"

    "The more the merrier!" Barricade laughed. "Just means more people to get disappointed when I, Barricade, am the one to rip the fragger's head from his shoulders and take that beautiful weapon from his dead little hands!"

    Sideways gave a little snigger all of a sudden: "Imagine Nighttrace with a Thunder Cannon. The recoil would send her flying!"

    Soundwave chuckled slightly at the image, before stating: "Well then, are we agreed? Winner takes all?"

    The other two nodded and Barricade stuck out both his hands towards the other two, declaring: "Shake on it, fraggers; the killer of Kup is the winner of the Thunder Cannon. OH! And whoever kills whatever worthless crew he has left also gets whatever stuff they have!"

    The deal set, they shook hands and nodded to each other, even Sideways bearing a rare confidence in his optics now at the prospect of earning victory over the Wrecker, before Soundwave sat back down and the other two meandered off to play their game again.

    Grindor had remained silent throughout their exchange, and when Soundwave cast him a questioning glance over his lack of participation, he elaborated: "Personally I've always found it to be nothing less than disgraceful to throw aside a life purely for the earning of additional weapons and abilities. I would prefer our enemies meet their end because they opposed our righteous endeavours rather than purely to reduce them to the prize winnings of an egotistical competition."

    Soundwave just shrugged: "Waste not, want not."

    "You seem more interested in want first, waste next."

    Another shrug, before Soundwave fell silent, clearly uninterested in discussing the moral aspects of their latest endeavour. Grindor went over Kup's file for a little while longer, before he shook his head and took his leave, Sideways watching him go with a curious expression whereas Barricade was merely dismissive. The control room was again silent, save for the faint murmurs of the lost ship's message, the gruff voice reaching out across the stars for salvation.

    --

    A day had passed since Wheeljack and Evac had returned triumphant to the Zeta-1 with a fallen Seeker in tow, and in that time, changes were beginning to occur in the Autobot ranks. With the knowledge that Starscream's master plan still remained shrouded in mystery, the decision had been made to finally move the ship from its typical resting place to the location of the converter stored by the human solar farm.

    The reasoning behind this manoeuvre was simple; it had been weeks since they'd first arrived on this planet, and they had had yet to deliver a supply of newly crafted Energon back to Cybertron. Honestly, Wheeljack and Ratchet had been wondering whether or not Zeta Prime himself would start calling them for an update on any deliveries, but Jazz had seemed unconcerned.

    "They know we'll be busy, dealing with both a local sapient species and Starscream's crew." Jazz had pointed out when the tow truck had asked him this. "Besides, there are certain advantages to being the Lieutenant, you know."

    The rookies weren't concerned either way, more focussed on their childish whims than the objectives of their superiors, and Grimlock was incapable of caring. Wheeljack supposed that Grimlock would become unconcerned with the whole energy-gathering business never really appealed to him, not when he had Decepticons to vent his frustrations on. Ratchet simply suspected Grimlock knew better than to maintain his darker intentions for energy-gathering after the Lieutenant had shot them down.

    Still, the Autobots had a job to do, and it would be best to fulfil it sooner rather than later. Currently, the Zeta-1's transfusion tubules were being connected to the underground converter that had been harvesting energy from the solar farm, and the ship's forge would be serving as a makeshift transporting room, delivering power straight to Iacon itself.

    Jazz had personally taken up the work involved in the connection, recruiting the aid of Bumblebee and Evac as well. This left Wheeljack with the privilege of preparing the ship's warp-driver to serve as a ground bridge, and left Grimlock with the simpler task of monitoring the ship's communications while everyone else was busy with the other endeavours. It was a task he profusely disliked, giving the awkward positioning of his head and arms, but with everyone else busy, it fell to him.

    Grimlock was rarely impressed with any of the Lieutenant's plans, and this was a time when he was certainly not impressed. But he supposed it was better than fiddling with warp-drivers or repairing Hound, both tasks were even more finicky for his bestial design.

    But then the message had come, right as the rookies and Wheeljack entered the control room. The tanker truck idly examined the nature of the incoming transmission as his audio sensors picked up on the unearthed argument behind him.

    "-Saying, Superman would beat Batman a thousand times in the time it takes Bats to blink. Literally! There's no way a little human dressed as a little fluffy thing could beat superpowers like that!"

    Wheeljack shook his head: "You have no imagination, Evac; superpowers can only get you so far against good planning, and Batman always has a good plan in store. Who's to say he wouldn't just clone his own Superman to fight the original, or have Kryptonite injected into his very skeletal-thing to catch Superman off guard?"

    Evac clacked his rotors together in annoyance, ignoring Bumblebee's continued sniggering: "Wheeljack, Superman can do all kinds of stuff Batman can only dream of; you're being illogical-"

    "Meh meh illogical meh meh super-stuff meh meh, that's what you sound like sometimes, Evac. Tell you what, let's just get a second opinion on this. Hey Grimlock!"

    "Yes?"

    "Who do you think is the better superhero? Superman or Batman?"

    "Obviously Superman." Evac whispered.

    The tanker truck paused for a moment, considering, as the other three joined him around the main console, before he declared: "It matters not which between them is better; Wonder Woman is ten times better than both of them."

    "Exactly, just as I- Wait what?"

    Grimlock rolled his optics and elaborated: "Superman is the ideal born from sunlight. Batman is the vengeance nurtured in darkness. But Wonder Woman represents our ability to defy restrictions and encompass reality. In this petty human world, Wonder Woman defies restrictions placed on her purely over her gender, stands tall against foes crafted by gods themselves and refuses to allow a disjointed moral compass to provide mercy for that which would never deserve it. She does not allow the most depraved of monsters to escape justice purely over a zealous morality, nor will she convey her message with simple fear or exaggerated idealism. She is love and she is strength, and she is more than either the night or the sun alone can be."

    He paused, and added: "Besides, any who would make a lethal weapon from a simple tiara deserves Grimlock's respect."

    The other Autobots stared at him in wonder and surprise, before Bumblebee declared: "That's it, Grimlock wins, everybody out."

    "Can't really argue much with that." Wheeljack admitted.

    "Nope!" Evac agreed.

    Grimlock allowed a flicker of amusement in his optics, before he stated: "But we have other matters to attend to rather than debating organic fiction. Grimlock has picked up an interesting transmission emanating within the solar system; a distress signal from a damaged ship."

    Wheeljack perked up: "A damaged ship? How would it have gotten all the way out here? Earth is way too far out of Cybertron's territories for them to have missed a trip to a repair bay or something."

    "Well let's listen to it then! We gotta help them if they need help, right? Right."

    The tanker truck agreed to the Beetle's words, before he tapped a button on the console to play the message. The computer promptly emitted the transmission, relayed by a gruff and weary voice:

    "How long have we been here, I wonder? Trapped in this vessel, drifting through the stars with no end in sight? Too long, I wager. Far too long. If Cybertron itself were annihilated, turned into dust by the war that consumes it, we wouldn't know.

    We are the crew of the Resurgence, one of the ships that took part in the Battle of Sandokan. We sustained heavy damage, and in our efforts to retreat, our warp-driver malfunctioned, putting us beyond the range of Cybertron's territories, with no hope of rescue in sight. Our engines offline, our warp-driver the only means of escaping planetary impacts, we have been condemned to this state of helplessness.

    We have been drifting for a long time. I wonder if we will ever see our comrades or our planet again. Our ship is losing power, slowly but surely, and I wonder if the end is nigh for us. Still, I must hope, at least for the good of my crew, that we will find a light.

    I am Kup, one of the last and greatest of the Wreckers, and I send this message to any Autobot vessel who may be in range, to any Autobot vessel who may provide our salvation; we need your help."


    A moment of silence after it ended as the four comprehended the message.

    "Did that speaker just say Kup?" Wheeljack asked, just a tad quietly. "Was that literally Kup speaking?"

    "Grimlock believes it is." Grimlock replied, tilting his head in interest.

    "Kup? THE Kup? As in, one of the last and greatest of the Wreckers?!" Evac squeaked.

    "And he's stuck in this solar system?!" Bumblebee gasped. "The very same solar system we are currently hanging out in?!"

    "No-one's seen valve nor optic of the bot since his ship vanished over Sandokan." Wheeljack pointed out. "Crazy luck he ended up here."

    Now all of them were particularly intrigued, curious, excited, for this new development was particularly interesting. Kup was well-renowned amongst the Autobots as one of the most successful of the Wrecker sub-faction, led by Ultra Magnus of the Autrio. He was a capable soldier, a good leader and a particularly determined warrior.

    Alas, the Wreckers had seen better days; years of being hounded by the elite Decepticon Hunters had diminished their ranks profusely, not to mention the own low rate of survivial associated with them; Wreckers were the best of the best, designed to dive into the most appalling situations imaginable and bring victory from the mouth of Unicron itself. Small wonder they were the smallest group amongst the Autobots, but no surprise they were among the toughest.

    And now, one of their last, one of their best, was here in the solar system, in peril, in desperate need of guidance. The solution was obvious, as was the statement spouted by one certain car:

    "We gotta help him and his crew!" Bumblebee declared righteously, flaring himself up proudly. "Send them a ground-bridge, give them coordinates! We gotta save them!"

    "Speaking of which-" Grimlock said, turning to Wheeljack. "Did you succeed in modifying the warp-driver?"

    "Of course I did! I read the manual. We just gotta test it out, see if it works and what not. Hopefully it won't turn out like the last time I modified something. Do you remember that, Grimlock?"

    "Not the scenario specifically, but Grimlock remembers the total number of lives lost."

    "Eh, good enou- wait what?"

    "If Kup's crew has shown up here, we need to tell Jazz!" Evac chirped up, rotors flexing excitedly. "Maybe we'll have to fly over and get them- Oooh, I should tell Ratchet too! But Jazz first, I guess, 'cause he's our leader and stuff. Where is he anyway?"

    "In the forging room, arranging an Energon delivery to Iacon." Wheeljack said, maintaining his disgruntled glare at the tanker truck.

    "But do we really need his permission to help our estranged comrades?" Grimlock snorted, stopping the helicopter short when he turned to leave. "Leave him to his other businesses; we can easily reclaim Kup's ship on our own jurisdiction."

    Bumblebee tentatively spoke up: "I don't know, Grimlock. No offence, but the last time you did something without permission from the Lieutenant, you got in a whole lot of trouble."

    Grimlock tilted his head and shot the car an irritated glance, who simply held up his hands up defensively. Any other Autobot would have certainly gotten worse than a simple glare at the reminder of the berserker's previous clash with the commander, but as always, Bumblebee had far less to fear from the larger Autobot.

    Regardless, Evac had a grim thought, and asked: "I just had a grim thought; what if, immediately after sending this message, Kup died of Energon deprivation? What if they all starved to death and when we go find them we'll find only dead people?!"

    Wheeljack rolled his optics: "Calm down, Evac. You're a medic, right? You should know that if they were that low on Energon, they'd just go into stasis lock."

    "But if-"

    "If they are alive." Grimlock grunted. "Then we will adopt them into our ranks to aid us in our battle against Starscream. If they are dead, then we will simply harvest what is useful".

    Both Bumblebee and Evac blanched at such a comment, and even Wheeljack promptly adopted an uncomfortable expression.

    The helicopter, regaining himself, protested: "B-But Grimlock, that's... that's awful! I mean, a Seeker, a Seeker is one thing, but... but our own comrades? That's not-"

    "No." Grimlock snapped, promptly and intensely irritated: "No it does not adhere to one's moral standings to recycle what is useful from their dead colleagues, but understand this, Evac; we are at war, and war demands sacrifice. If they are dead, starved in their isolation, then we must not let their remains go to waste. This is our reality, and the sooner you can accept that, the better."

    Evac flinched back at the truck's bluntness, bleakly turning to Bumblebee for aid, but the yellow car simply and slowly shook his head, unable to argue against Grimlock's logic. With no hope of support from Wheeljack either, Evac bowed his head, muttered something about going to tell Jazz and retreating.

    They watched him go, before Bumblebee asked: "Do you really have to phrase it like that, Grimlock? You don't have to be so mean like that."

    A huff: "He was the one who brought up the matter. Grimlock was simply educating him to what our situation demands."

    "Didn't have to say it like that." Bumblebee sighed, shaking his head at his comrade's crude manner about such subjects.

    "Well maybe it won't come to that." Wheeljack offered reassuringly. "Let's just hope they're still alive and not get so down about things, right? What do you say, Bee? Always be buoyant?"

    "Something like that." The car sniggered slightly. "So, what do we do then?"

    "Evac would have us wait for the Lieutenant." Grimlock replied. "But Grimlock suggests we align our transmission frequency with theirs and let them know of our presence; whatever remains of the ship's guidance systems will automatically have them lock onto us. If they are online, we can then communicate with them and coordinate their landing, though Grimlock suspects we may have to compensate for whatever malfunctions their ship may be suffering."

    "Well look at you, big bot, just sorting out everything oh so professionally." Wheeljack chortled, bumping the larger Autobot's side with a fist. "Who'd have thought you could switch between scaring rookies and handling broken down lost vessels on the fly like that?"

    Grimlock just huffed and Bumblebee giggled.

    Ratchet entered the room at this point, though the lack of Evac implied he had come here of his own accord, striding through the doors without an uncharacteristically pleased swagger and a very wide smile. The other Autobots turned to observe his entrance, and all of them were a tad perplexed at the sudden invigoration he was displaying. Normally he was more reserved but now he looked as though the Day of Primes had come early.

    "Well someone's in a good mood." Wheeljack observed, putting his hands on his hips and observing the Hummer with a bemused expression. "What's got you humming, Hummer?"

    Ratchet didn't answer him, maintaining his small smile as he strode over to the main console and sitting himself by it, revving ever so softly in a kind of satisfied way. Tires span, lights flicker, panels flexed, and he was completely and utterly relaxed.

    The other Autobots were very perplexed now; rarely did they see the rather high-strung medic take it so easy like this. Something good must have happened, something very good must have happened. But what? Dare they hope that it might just be...

    Everyone was leaning in towards the medic, waiting for something, for anything.

    Everyone stared at him, intent on knowing.

    Ratchet watched them with a soft smile, before he turned specifically to Bumblebee with a compassionate and proud gleam in his optics, and he said: "Hound is online."
     
  5. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    Should have done this earlier, to be honest, but here we go, a table of heights for the main characters!

    Autobots
    Jazz: 13 feet
    Hound: 20 feet
    Bumblebee: 15 feet
    Grimlock: 25 feet (50 feet in length)
    Ratchet: 26 feet
    Evac: 42 feet
    Wheeljack: 22 feet (25 feet +third arm)
    Hot Shot: 16 feet
    Arcee: 20 feet
    Warpath: 28 feet
    Kup: 26 feet
    Cliffjumper: 16 feet

    Decepticons
    Starscream: 40 feet
    Nighttrace: 28 feet
    Slipstream: 39 feet
    Airachnid: 34 feet
    Soundwave: 16 feet
    Barricade: 16 feet
    Grindor: 25 feet (30 feet +third arm)
    Sideways: 10 feet
    Seeker: 38 feet
    Waspinator: 5 feet (10 feet in length)
     
  6. Jamocha101

    Jamocha101 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2012
    Posts:
    1,441
    Trophy Points:
    207
    Likes:
    +218
    I read this on Sunday very late at night and didn't want to review because I was so tired, but since then I haven't been able to get on the computer hardly at all, so some things may have escaped my memory...I'm still going to try my best, though. All of the following will be written on the pretense of agony because this cliffhanger is literally killing me.

    So, this is the episode where we get the inevitable cast expansion, which is great for the audience because the Decepticons are up plus three. By episode eleven, seems like a pretty good time to introduce new main characters. After so much build-up in our conversations and so on, I'm eager to see how the new team behaves and how they will interact between the other main characters. So far both the teams only just received Kup's message, but it's interesting how the Decepticons have received it too and now it's kind of like the Space Race. Although as I try to recall the preview, and I don't remember clearly, but it seems like Kup's team doesn't lands independently and the Jazz and Grimlock and whoever else finds them, or at least Arcee. And since we didn't see any of the other team members in that particular instance, it could mean they get separated at some point. ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN.

    And so the deal that Sideways and Soundwave and Barricade struck was pretty amusing, but I have to agree with Grindor in that it's disconcerting that apparently none of them found absolutely nothing wrong with a competition to kill somebody just to snag one of their weapons. Because of that, Grindor clearly gives the impression of being one of the more morally inclined (or at least morally AWARE because we still don't know what he's doing behind everybody else's back) Decepticons, just like we have less moral Autobots. I was also a little surprised to find that Soundwave wasn't unnerved by this consensus of KILL FIRST AND TAKE FIRST but granted, the latter has never actually shown concern with morals despite his relatively stoic characterization. I guess he gives the illusion that he WOULD be because he's more polite than other characters, but he shows that he's still actually pretty apathetic towards depraved behavior. And this actually might be nudging at his more "playful," trollzy tendencies.

    As for Sideways, although I still am not a fan of him, I love where his characterization is going because by now he's inherited an actual trademark, so to speak but it's only been hinted at, and that's his childish desire to rise to power. Which is of course humorously ironic but also granted because of his laughable size and nervousness. I guess you wouldn't initially expect such lofty ambitions from a character as diminutive as he is, but as one Autobot once said, "the least likely are always the most dangerous." It adds a little more humor to his characterization, but there's always the undertone of threat if ever he were to efficiently act on his desire. Here's to hoping that he won't get his little hands on that thunder canon.

    Oh yeah and Grindor fired shots at Barricade. That guy is always getting beat up and pushed around and hooked by the neck and he never seems to learn. Silly Barricade. You will never see the error of your ways. Others will always beat the crap out of you just 'cause.

    As for the Autobots, it was interesting to see Bumblebee disapprove of Grimlock's behavior for once, but it's also pretty comedic how Grimlock hardly stands up to him. The conflict between Grimlock and Jazz is making me a bit antsy because I'm just waiting for the day that Jazz's condescending and Grimlock's defiance finally peaks. Even though we've had sparing moments of repair so far, it's clear that this issue will not just go away any time so, and there's always the idea that both of them know something about the other that they're willing to use at any time, which I speculate is what will lead up to the climax of this subplot. I wonder if Grimlock really wants to lead, or if he just DOESN'T want for JAZZ to lead.

    I continue to like Wheeljack's mannerisms with Grimlock, that soft crazy scientist. Other than that, there's nothing more really to say about the characters' dialogues or Kup's message that I can immediately recall, BUT

    Dat cliffhanger. I handled Star's Sreams's ending better than this, legit. Funny how I can moderately handle a kidnapping and its Hound's waking up that REALLY GETS TO ME.
     
  7. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    "It is an interesting development." Airachnid mused, tapping a claw to her chin in thought. "Reports of the Battle of Sandokan stated that the Wrecker's ship had been destroyed in the conflict, yet here he is drifting into the very solar system without a care. I suppose you'll be taking another break from your Operation Harvest to deal with this?"

    Starscream revved with annoyance at the jibe: "As much as I'd adore to maintain our focus on my operation, we cannot allow such a potent warrior of the Autobots to just pass through here on a whim. Pre-emptively annihilating him and his crew will deny the Lieutenant any possibility of bolstering his ranks, and that denial will make our lives so much easier."

    His comment was met with a nod of agreement from Nighttrace and Airachnid herself shrugged in acknowledgement of the logic, whilst Slipstream idly hummed to herself whilst going over some maintenance notes on her data-pad, Waspinator chattering and cooing to her from her shoulder.

    The quartet were currently in the med-bay, Airachnid reclining on one of the berths with her rotors flexed outwards to avoid being a nuisance while Starscream and Nighttrace stood/hovered by another berth. Slipstream was currently meandering around going over her duties, not quite fully invested in the strategic conversation taking place though nevertheless casting a curious audio sensor over it.

    "The main problem of course is that the Autobots will have already picked up the transmissions." Airachnid said, examining a claw. "They'll know of Kup's presence by now."

    "I've decided to bank on that." Starscream stated smugly, folding his arms in a manner of one who has constructed a truly elaborate plan. "The Lieutenant will guide the Wrecker's ship to Earth, but disabled as it is, it will be unable to make any kind of controlled landing. They will crash, we will register the impact and then we can strike."

    "Simples." Airachnid mused. "This plan depends on the Wrecker's ship maintaining its shielding until it reaches Earth, I presume?"

    A nod in response, before she went on: "In that case, I suggest any strike force you send in should prioritise stealth over power. The Autobots will know that we can easily detect this ship's crash-landing and thus they will have no objection bringing their own ship in to defend it considering the location would be compromised anyway. A smaller unit that might sneak past their defences could therefore reach the weakened crew of the Wrecker and finish them before the Lieutenant can recover them."

    "That was the plan." Starscream replied, seemingly a tad bemused that he and she had come to the same conclusion. "If we give the Autobots the impression we are not intent on annihilating them immediately, their defences may be lowered, giving us the perfect opportunity for a strike unit to move in and, well, annihilate them."

    "Fantastic detailing, Starscream." Slipstream snorted.

    "Shut up Slipstream."

    The helicopter jabbed in before the two could descend into argument: "So, oh so wise commander, who do you propose will form your strike team?"

    "Myself of course." Starscream replied cheerfully, flaring up with pride. "I am amongst the strongest Decepticons here, of course, more than suited for doing battle with whatever forces the Lieutenant brings."

    "Of course you are."

    "Yes, I are- I mean, am. I am. Anyway, I'll also bring Nighttrace; her surveillance talents will be useful in pinpointing targets, especially bolstered with Waspinator's own scouting. And I'll also bring you two."

    Now this was surprising; Airachnid raised a brow as Slipstream turned in surprise, Nighttrace tilting her head curiously, before he elaborated: "You two are fairly decent in combat, excluding against that yellow rookie apparently, but I don't need you two to fight the Lieutenant or the berserker; your role is precision assassination. Slipstream can deduce the weak amongst the Autobots, especially those amongst Kup's crew, and then you both take them out, like the old Hunters would do to their victims."

    Slipstream and Airachnid exchanged a glance, before the former said: "I suppose we could. Still, I can't say I'm entirely... comfortable deliberately eliminating Energon-deprived weaklings. Surely capturing them would be more productive, to see what information they have in exchange for sustenance?"

    Starscream rolled his optics snidely: "You know, Grindor told me you appeared to be having a nice chat with that rookie when they dug you up. Has he compromised your commitment to the Decepticon cause with whatever little Autobot sentiments he may have spouted?"

    Slipstream recoiled at his words, immediately indignant and flustered over such an accusation, before Airachnid stepped in, stating coolly: "She raises a good point, Starscream; in their weakened state, Kup's crew are certainly vulnerable to such coercion, and in not much condition to resist capture."

    Nighttrace spoke up at last: "Nevertheless, prioritise only the weakest. Those who resist, put down."

    They stared at her for a moment in surprise, before Starscream revved a bit, regained himself and said: "Right, what she said. If they're weak and feeble, fine, capture them. But if it's more trouble than it's worth, just kill them. It would be nice to kill an actual Autobot sometime soon, especially after they've claimed two of MY Seekers."

    "Speaking of Seekers, will you be employing them in this mission as well?" Airachnid asked.

    "Four of them, as back-up. If we get in a pinch, I'll call them in to deliver air support." Starscream replied. "It shouldn't be much hassle, though; even if they bring their ship in, the Lieutenant will have to disembark to scour the derelict vessel, and that will be our opportunity. Well then, are we agreed to the plan?"

    Nighttrace nodded, Waspinator nodded and the other two, upon granting each other a contemplative gaze, nodded as well. Satisfied, Starscream recalled his drone and declared: "Excellent! Be prepared to deploy at a moment's notice, and be prepared to take down any Autobot who would interfere with our grand and glorious campaign."

    With that, he turned around and left the room, Waspinator buzzing on his shoulder. With him gone, Nighttrace promptly fluttered upside-down, adhering her tail's claw to the ceiling and settling down to contemplate something or other, thus leaving the other two to promptly discuss with each other.

    "The neurals on that con." Slipstream promptly huffed, examining her ray-arm and rattling her tailfins in distaste. "Accusing me of losing loyalty to our faction over that stupid incident! An incident he initially refused to free me from, I might add!"

    "Starscream's tactlessness knows no bounds." Airachnid snorted. "After this mission has passed, I may just remind him of the consequences of needless insulting. But the blathering of a nitwit is insignificant to the grand machine. Tell me something, Slipstream; considering the last time we discussed a manner like this, have you somewhat altered your opinion on mindless Autobot slaughter?"

    "I was never into mindless Autobot slaughter. Maybe back during training, but not anymore." Slipstream huffed. "Still, you would accuse me of going soft on them too?"

    "No. Just curious."

    "Whatever. Let's just get the job done, okay?"

    Airachnid smirked: "But of course. Just like old times, eh Slipstream? You and me, eager to rush into combat and see who between us would be bringing the most sparks home?"

    The jet revved whimsically: "Ah, simpler times, back when all we could think about was shooting Autobots. Things sure have changed, right?"

    "Right. But whatever else changes-" The helicopter stepped forward and took the medic's ray-arm's spindly fingers in her hand. "-It's always going to be me and you, Slipstream."

    She was graced by a smile at that: "I wouldn't change that for the universe, Airachnid. Shall we?"

    "Ladies first." Airachnid replied, politely bowing Slipstream towards the door with a teasing smirk. The jet giggled and strode off, followed by the helicopter. Nighttrace watched them leave, watched the door shut behind them.

    For a moment, the UAV simply hung there, contemplating something or other with occasional twitches of her antenna, until finally coming to a conclusion.

    "Wedding bells in the distance." She murmured, before detaching from the ceiling and flitting off after the others.

    --

    "Resurgence, this is Ratchet, Chief Medic of the Zeta-1, do you copy? Resurgence, can you hear me? I repeat, can you hear me?"

    The news of Hound's resurfacing into consciousness had been received very well by the present Autobots; Bumblebee had wasted no time racing past the Hummer out of the control room, his optics suddenly overcome with a desperate wish to see the reality of Ratchet's statement and the other two had expressed their pleasure of the jeep's upcoming return, Wheeljack exuberantly so.

    But alas, Ratchet's moment of true triumph was sullied somewhat by the distressing news of a derelict ship floating in the system with a potentially starving crew aboard, and thus he had raced forward to set up communications once the siutations was explained to him. Interestingly enough, Wheeljack noted that Ratchet actually agreed with Grimlock on this matter; he too believed Kup needed them more than they needed Jazz's permission.

    And so, the two waited beside the Hummer as he repeatedly attempted to contact whatever crew might still remain online in the vessel. Alas, he had been met with no success so far, though he certainly persisted with impressive zeal. The loss of life where Ratchet could offer no support was something that had always troubled him.

    "Resurgence, this is Chief Medic Ratchet, what's your status? Resurgence, answer me!"

    Wheeljack and Grimlock exchanged a grim glance at the Hummer revved softly in defeat and grunted: "No answer. Their transmitters are still working, so their inability to respond is purely down to the fact no-one is answering..."

    The tow truck patted him on the shoulder, reassuringly stating: "Hey, they could still be alive, Ratchet. Have some hope, alright? We had hope when we went to rescue Bumblebee, and we had hope that you could fix Hound, and voila, there they are! I'm sure we can do the same for these Autobots."

    Ratchet nodded slowly, smiling just a little bit at such sincere reassurance from the scientist. For all their disagreements the day prior, it was good to know it had not sullied their relationship. No-one ever wanted to lose a friend over a divide in opinions.

    Giving them a few more seconds of connection, Grimlock then spoke up: "Well, what now, Ratchet?"

    A moment of hesitance, before he replied: "The only thing we can do now is to connect to the Resurgence's guidance systems and grant it coordinates to Earth. The message said the ship's warp-driver has been handling motion, so I suspect their engines are offline. In that case, we'll also have to give the guidance systems a layout of the solar system so the warp-driver can compensate for any obstacles."

    The Hummer added: "But the true problem is the landing procedure. Without an engine, there really is no landing other than a glorified crash, and in its damaged state, Kup's ship could splinter on impact for all we know, be obliterated in a fiery explosion and-"

    "No apocalypse scenarios, Ratchet, please. Just tell us what we could do." Wheeljack snorted.

    Ratchet considered the question, sirens flashing a little bit, before replying: "We could feasibly establish a remote link with the Resurgence and take manual control of it, perhaps extend the gliding panes or something, but... we'd need someone aboard the ship to override the firewalls and grant us access. And since no-one has been responding, well, that just can't happen. Unless one of their crew manages to contact us, all we can do is give them coordinates and hope the ship holds."

    Wheeljack nodded, considering, before he asked: "Or maybe, we could just take the ship up and go get them ourselves."

    Grimlock interjected now, huffing exhaust with his snide annoyance: "Right, and lead the Decepticons right to them."

    "Oh, oh yeah. My bad."

    "So we're settled then?" Ratchet asked. "We'll upload coordinates for the ship to follow, coordinates for somewhere remote where the humans won't stumble across the landing-"

    "And then we ground-bridge somewhere nearby, drive the rest of the way and investigate the ship." Wheeljack added.

    "And if any Decepticons come to attempt to take advantage of our comrade's vulnerabilities, we will destroy them." Grimlock finished coolly.

    The three exchanged glances, before nodding, and then they turned as one to the sound of the door opening. In stepped Jazz, looking just a tad affronted as he strode into the control room, doors flexing on his arms and wheels rotating as he stopped by the main console, the other three spreading around it to give him room.

    "Does no-one just call people anymore?" The Solstice grumbled, promptly bringing up the transmission on the monitor and browsing what it said. "My lieutenant's back online, an old Wrecker's ship reappears and yet you three don't even think to just send me a quick com: Hey Jazz, cool stuff's happening, come and see! Bah."

    Wheeljack exchanged a glance with Ratchet, Grimlock couldn't care less and then Jazz stated: "So, we finally found out where Kup went. I think all of you know our highest priority is to make sure he and his crew, if they're still alive, reach Earth in one piece."

    "Of course, Jazz." Ratchet said. "We were just contemplating coordinates to grant them so their ship can guide itself to Earth. Somewhere remote, out of the reach of typical human interest."

    "Good point. Ratchet, go through the archives and see if you can find out who Kup had on his ship during Sandokan. Wheeljack, if you have the warp-driver converted, double-check it and make sure we have ourselves a fully operational ground-bridge. I'll see where we can put the Resurgence."

    The other two nodded and got to work, while Grimlock slunk off to stare out of the observation panes. Wheeljack paused, thought of something, and asked: "Where'd you put Evac after he told you?"

    "He's handling the Energon delivery in the forging room right now. I've given him full clearance to act in my steed. He was quite thrilled, actually."

    "Well yeah, it's not every day a rookie gets to play Lieutenant."

    "Ha, true."

    "I've got some information for you, Jazz." Ratchet spoke up, earning their attention and that of Grimlock's as well. "It says here that after the Wreckers were disbanded, Kup decided to form a new team for himself, an attempt to rebuild the Wreckers and return them to glory, according to analysis from the procologist designated Firestar."

    "Can't say I'm surprised." The tow truck mused. "I remember that day when Ultra Magnus declared the Wreckers finished; most of them just went back into the main chain, but Kup didn't take it well at all."

    "Of course he didn't. He was always quite intense about his profession." The Solstice replied dryly. "Carry on, Ratchet."

    "Well, according to this, his new crew aboard the Resurgence consists of four others. The role of lieutenant is shared between soldiers designated Warpath and Arcee, and the other two are designated Cliffjumper and Hot Shot. The latter two are nothing special; Cliffjumper's just a generic soldier, nothing credible to his reputation, and Hot Shot's a rookie ex-Neutral hoping for some glory who's never achieved anything worthwhile so far. But Kup certainly has high regards for Warpath and Arcee; he's given them both plenty of praise."

    The other two considered that, before Grimlock moved over to re-join them, muttering: "Grimlock knows Warpath; he was sent to Critico for a brief time due to intense violence against Decepticons, notably a lack of mercy toward potential prisoners, until he was released upon Ultra Magnus' orders."

    "And Arcee's no sweet bot herself." Wheeljack added, gazing at the file on the monitor. "Says here she suffers from that blankness condition. What was the proper name?"

    "Processing Memory Blankness Disorder, abbreviated as PMBD." Ratchet declared professionally, well within the field of his career in this description. "Very rare, only found amongst infused sparks. Put simply, the processor deludes itself into thinking it had a long-term memory before the infusion took place, thus causing a sort of paradox within itself. Very unfortunate."

    "Right, thanks for that. Anyway, it's made her pretty bitter. She's not exactly a social bot, prefers to keep to herself. Very good at what she does, she's got one crazy kill-count here, but not very good at actually, you know, working with others."

    Jazz promptly gave a cold laugh: "So, this is what the legendary Kup has become then; a nostalgic zealot with a crew consisting of an ex-prisoner, an introvert, an overconfident Neutral and some average no-name, all stuck on some derelict ship. How the mighty do fall."

    The others stared at him blankly, bewildered at such a statement. Even Grimlock was surprised.

    "When they land, we'll bridge over to fetch them, see if they're still alive and salvage what we can if they're not." Jazz contemplated, ignoring their reaction to his prior statement. "Ratchet, I'll need you to come along for this one; if they're damaged, they'll need a medic. Wheeljack, you come too; you're the best suited of us to go over their ship's systems. And Grimlock-"

    He paused, considered.

    "-Well, I just need you to take care of any Decepticons who would ruin the reunion."

    "Grimlock would be delighted, Lieutenant." The tanker truck replied coolly.

    "Of course you would. Now, I'm assuming Bumblebee is with Hound, so that leaves Evac to monitor the communications while we're gone. Grimlock, give him a call and tell him that. Ratchet, apply these coordinates for the Resurgence to follow, northern edge of Russia in Asia, by the Sea Ka- No, Kara Sea, and Wheeljack, prep the ground-bridge. When the time comes, roll for it."

    --

    A warp in space, a crackling of blue and green and white, and the Resurgence appeared in a flash close to the Earth, drawn into the area via its warp-driver. Derelict, rusted, bearing scars and blemishes, the Seeker-class vessel had seen better days; years of drifting combined with damages inflicted during the battle that had cast it into isolation in the first place had taken their toll.

    But the isolation would soon be past it; the Earth's gravity seized the ship and pulled it towards salvation. Aligning itself with the planet, the Resurgence made its descent, fire streaking over its hull as it was dragged through the atmosphere.

    Barely minutes after the ship had vanished through the clouds below, the Darksyde idly drew up over where it had breached the atmosphere. On-board, the Decepticons monitored the ship's plunge over the continent of Asia with interest. Within minutes, planetary impact become apparent with a hefty series of tremors over the continent and the process was complete.

    "There we go then." Starscream stated smugly, flexing his arms in anticipation. "Soundwave, you have the coordinates; activate the ground-bridge!"

    "Why do you need a ground-bridge?" Barricade asked grumpily, sullen over the fact he was not allowed to go down to Earth. "You can just fly there."

    Starscream made to reply, but he paused at Airachnid tapping his shoulder, silently requesting he leave this to her. When the Raptor stood back, she smiled sweetly at the wary Mustang and elaborated: "You see, Barricade, I am a helicopter, and helicopters require an appropriate air volume to maintain flight. In the vacuum of space, there is no air, and without air, my vehicle mode has no propulsion. And that is why I require a ground-bridge. Because helicopters, surprise surprise, cannot fly in space."

    He considered that for a moment, then offered an elaborate rebuttal: "Shut up Airachnid."

    Soundwave rolled his visor a tad at the shenanigans and activated the ground-bridge above the four flyers, leading Starscream to declare: "Flyers, transform and rise up!"

    He and Slipstream went first, shifting into their jet forms and flaring out through the vortex, following by Nighttrace swivelling into the UAV and darting off after them. Airachnid flipped a rude hand gesture at Barricade, before her rotors flared and she was a chopper hovering up through the portal. Finally, the four Seekers also assumed vehicle mode and flew off after the others.

    With this done, the communications officer shut off the ground-bridge and returned to his monitoring, as Barricade complained: "What a bunch of Driller-residue! Going off to kill Kup and leaving us behind! How can I ever hope to get a Thunder Cannon now?!"

    "How can you hope?" Sideways whined, waving his handlebars about. "What about me?! I need a Thunder Cannon more than you do!"

    "If any would deserve such a weapon, it would be myself." Soundwave pointed out. "Of us three, I am easily the most competent-"

    "Shut up Soundwave, Unicron below I hate you so much, SHUT UP."

    Grindor revved wearily, before turning his attention to the console. The other three could descend into argument as they pleased; he had more important trails to follow.

    --

    In the rough terrain near the crash site, under a moonlit night, the Autobot ground-bridge opened and the four Autobots drove through. Gleaming silver, the Pontiac Solstice took the lead over the other three, ordering: "Hang back. I'll check it out first."

    Faster than the others, he wasted no time traversing over the ground near the mountainous region, heading towards the spiralling black smoke in the distance where the ship had made its landing, so to speak. It was cold up here, very cold, and he could see ice on the ground in the distance. Hm, maybe he should have designated somewhere warmer.

    No matter; what's done was done and now he had to see if the old Wrecker's ship hadn't just exploded on the impact. The crash site was up ahead, and he knew he didn't have long before humans would come to investigate; their technology was decent enough to know when hefty objects plunged through their atmosphere and they would be sending their new reporter things to have a look.

    Of course, by that time, either Kup's crew was evacuated and their ship could be set to implode, removing all evidence, or the ship had plain exploded, and all he and the other three had to do was a bit of mopping. Either way, their presence would not be detected-

    Wait, what?

    Jazz screeched to a halt when he reached the crate; a hefty tear in the ground signalled where the ship had skidded to a halt after the initial landing, the ground blackened and bearing a few fires, fresh earth torn up by the Resurgence. And yet there was no Resurgence. The ship wasn't here.

    Huh.

    The Solstice hunched a bit on his tires, windscreen wipers dipping similar to a perplexed eyebrow, before he called the other three: "Hold back, Autobots. The ship's not here."

    "What?!" Ratchet yelped through the com-link. "How is that possible?!"

    "I have no clue. Alright, the Decepticons will be here soon; there's no way they'd have missed this impact. Autobots, head for the nearby ridges for cover. We'll figure something out."

    "Roger, Jazz. We'll catch up with you in a bit." Wheeljack said.

    With that, the Lieutenant reversed and raced off as fast as he could. It would do him no good at all to be out in the open when the Decepticons popped by to look around.

    The Autobots re-grouped a few mile away from the crash site, settling down by a series of mountainous ridges near a frosted forest, all of them brimming with curiosities.

    "Well, where did it go?" Wheeljack asked, waving his tow-line around.

    "Primus only knows." Jazz replied. "There's no residues, no wreckage, no corpses, nothing. It crashed, and then it vanished. I don't suppose any of you have any theories as to how that happened?"

    "Just one." Ratchet murmured, tilting himself on his tires slightly. "Perhaps their warp-driver activated again, jarred by the impact. It may have transported them somewhere else. It's the only thing that could have allowed a whole ship to vanish like this."

    "But if their warp-driver malfunctioned, they could be anywhere!" Wheeljack protested, flashing his headlights. "In the ocean, in Africon- no, Africa, or a volcano. Frag, maybe they're in the sun!"

    "So what now, Lieutenant?" Grimlock asked. "They could have entered an alternate dimension for all we know. Do we abandon them?"

    Jazz hesitated: "I don't know. Until any kind of signal makes itself known, there's no way of knowing where they are..."

    An uncertain pause passed between the four.

    "Well.... on the bright side, at least the ground-bridge works just fine." Wheeljack offered.

    Grimlock huffed exhaust and the other two just groaned-

    "Jazz, Jazz, are you there?! It's me, Evac!"

    The car jolted at the sudden communication, before revving a bit and answering: "I'm here, rookie. We've got a problem here; the Resurgence's warp-driver malfunctioned, popped them off somewhere. We've got no clue where they've gone."

    "Ooh, that's what I rang to talk to you about! We got an answer from them! Some bot named Hot Shot called us and I told him you were going to look for them and he told me their ship transported a little bit. They're still in the Russian, not too far from you actually! I'll send coordinates now!"

    Coordinates were uploaded by the helicopter, Jazz thanked him profusely and Wheeljack promptly chortled: "Well, that sorted itself out nicely."

    "Yes it did, and we have confirmation that at least one of them is alive." Ratchet agreed, cheerful at the fact that at least one death had been avoided. "Their new location is along those ridges, deeper towards the mountains by the forest; should be easy enough to drive to."

    "Right then. Autobots, roll out!"

    Invigorated, they did just that, wheels spinning and sending up dirt and snow as they headed towards the new coordinates.

    It was an annoying journey, admittedly. The weather was freezing cold and their systems had to run pretty hot to counter it, which could make them vulnerable to any thermal imaging by whatever Decepticons might be flying about. The ground was uneven, laden with snow that loved to crack into their tires and undercarriages and a whole host of branches and stuff.

    Ratchet hated it, muttering about possible contamination from this freezing stuff. Jazz hated it, grumbling about the cold peeling off his paint. Wheeljack hated it, whinging about how his spark was going to freeze at this rate. Grimlock hated the other three's hating, demanding them to shut the Pit up before he set them on fire.

    But the journey deeper into the mountains was soon to end. They were coming up to the coordinates now, in a less snowy part shielded by a massive expanse of rock, and they could see that Evac had been spot on about the ship having come to rest here.

    The wall of rock had been torn somewhat, blackened scars among the expanse, tears in the ground. Something had crashed by here, sure enough. But oddly, the damage disappeared after a short distance; the gouges in the rock simply vanished into unaffected rock.

    "Hologram shielding's still in play." Jazz deduced. "Alright then; Ratchet, Wheeljack, hang back. Grimlock, you and me up front."

    The two transformed as the tow truck and the Hummer paused, the Lieutenant drawing his energy pistols and fire building in the tanker truck's throat. Carefully, the two shifted forward towards the holographic barrier. Jazz paused before it, but Grimlock rolled his optics and casually strode through. Annoyed, the Solstice followed.

    Free from the hologram's deception, the two could now behold the sight of the Resurgence. The ship had certainly seen better days; though reasonably intact, nothing burning, nothing torn in half, its hull was covered in scars, dents, tears and rust, its observation panes shattered and its engines coated in sludge. The ship was imbedded at the foot of the mountain, halfway dug into the rock, and it was coated in jolted rubble and snow.

    Jazz gave a low whistle: "I'm not cleaning this up."

    Grimlock huffed a bit, before they advanced towards the side-hatch. Stopping just before it, Jazz called out: "Hello! Anyone in there?"

    Nothing happened.

    "Anything happening?" They heard Wheeljack shout.

    "Not yet. Just wait a bit." Jazz called back, and then, right after he had said that, something happened.

    With a heavy groan of damaged mechanics, the side-hatch forced itself to activate, door squealing open as bits of debris dropped off from it, tumbling down the ramp it was extending. A groan of weakened hydraulics, before it hit the ground, and at the top of the hatch, a figure emerged. A bit taller than Jazz, still short, very lanky and coloured bright red and orange, his yellow optics locked onto the two Autobots, widening in fear when they identified one as the berserker.

    Despite the fact this had to be the sole surviving Hot Shot Evac had mentioned, despite the fact he had his hands raised and his yellow optics signalled him as an ex-Neutral, Grimlock snarled furiously, extending his hip blasters: "Identify yourself!"

    The Autobot froze, cowering in horror at the sight of the berserker, before he swiftly complied: "Identification Hot Shot, Autobot soldier under Kup's command! Please don't shoot me!"

    "It's fine." Jazz stated, stepping forward and sheathing his pistols, moving forward to meet the Autobot. "Grimlock's just been on edge lately, Decepticons being present and all. Go get the others, Grimlock."

    The berserker growled, but nevertheless retracted his weapons and stalked off to do just that.

    The Neutral, Hot Shot, abandoned his fear completely, replacing it with an intense exuberance, and eagerly hollered: "Pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant, right hand of Optimus Prime, sir! I've heard great things about you, sir, and it's an absolute honour to meet you in person, sir!"

    "I'm flattered. Just call me Jazz, okay?"

    "Okay Jazz, I'll call you Jazz, except in front of Decepticons because I assume they don't know your actual name Jazz judging by-"

    "Hot Shot, calm down."

    "Yes sir. I mean Jazz."

    "Hm."

    The Solstice turned at the sound of approaching footsteps and, glad for a distraction from this rookie's nattering, he said: "Hot Shot, this is my Chief Medic Ratchet and my scientist Wheeljack. You already know Grimlock. You three, this is Hot Shot, one of Kup's bots."

    The rookie leapt down to greet the newcomers, eagerly declaring: "Oh yes, Ratchet! I know you! You're one of the best medics ever! And I know you too, Wheeljack! I was awed and inspired by that grenade-on-a-sword trick you pulled off that one time!"

    Ratchet was amused, smiling politely as he returned the greeting. Wheeljack, on the other hand, just stared blankly at him, as if he could not believed what he had just heard.

    "Hot Shot." Jazz declared, moving down the ramp to join them. "Much as I'd love to spend more time getting us all acquainted, we have business to attend to. What's the status of the rest of your crew?"

    Hot Shot spun around and declared: "All alive sir- JAZZ! All alive, all of us! But Kup and Cliffjumper are in stasis; their Energon levels are nearly depleted. Arcee and Warpath left the ship a few minutes ago to go do some hunting or something. They'll be back when they've sorted it out."

    Ratchet immediately spoke up before Jazz could question him further: "Where are Kup and Cliffjumper? If they're in stasis due to deprivation, I must attend to them immediately."

    "Oh, sure! They're in their quarters just inside, first room to the left!" Hot Shot squeaked.

    The Hummer would have moved in immediately at that, but Jazz paused him with a commanding glance, before he asked: "What are Arcee and Warpath hunting, Hot Shot?"

    He hesitated, before replying: "I don't know. Something was attached to the ship I think, or maybe inside it, and it got out when we crashed. All I know is, I really wanted to go help them, but they told me to stay and keep an eye on the ship in case you bots showed up!"

    "A mystery something that immediately shifted the priorities of two stranded Autobots to hunt it?" Wheeljack mused. "That doesn't sound good."

    "Alright then." Jazz said slowly, weighing the situation in his head. "So long as these hologram generators hold up, we don't have to worry about the Decepticons anytime soon. How long will they hold, Hot Shot?"

    "Um, I don't know. Arcee was the one who diverted the warp-driver to them before she left. She never tells me anything."

    "Okay then. Autobots, here's what we're gonna do; Ratchet, you stay here and tend to the two in stasis. Hot Shot, you stay with him, keep in contact with Evac on my ship. Grimlock, Wheeljack, we'll go find Arcee and Warpath, help them hunt down whatever it is that's caught their attention.

    The tow truck was perplexed: "I thought you needed me to look over the ship?"

    Hot Shot was depressed: "What?! But Lieutenant- JAZZ! I can help you hunt down whatever it is! I don't need to play bodyguard to a medic on-"

    Jazz cut him off: "Hot Shot, your comrades will need someone familiar when they come online, and I can't count on your skills given I've never worked with you before. Wheeljack, I know what I said before, but Hot Shot and Ratchet can handle the Resurgence; I need the other half of your skillset with me."

    The two agreed, the rookie albeit reluctant, before he led Ratchet into the ship, the side-hatch retracting the ramp and sealing itself when they were inside. Satisfied that the two should be safe inside, Jazz turned to Grimlock, curious to see the tanker truck was glaring at some rust on the side of it, and asked: "What are you doing, Grimlock?"

    "This rust..." Grimlock grunted, olfactory sensors sniffing intently at it. "It doesn't smell like rust. It smells... alien."

    The other two exchanged a bewildered glance, before the tanker truck shook his head and turned to them, asking: "Regardless, what will you do if the Decepticons come in our absence, Lieutenant? Their flyers can easily map this area, and if they have Waspinator with them, they will discover this ship."

    "We'll deal with that later, Grimlock." Jazz said. "Besides, if their flyers are watching from above, they're more likely to spot us than the ship."

    "And we can take them on either way." Wheeljack declared confidently, unsheathing his plasma cannons. "Now how about we go find those other two and take down whatever it is that needs taken down?"

    "Grimlock likes that plan."

    "I figured you would!"

    With that, weapons drawn, the trio turned and raced into the frozen forest nearby, in search of both fellow Autobots and a threat that needed eliminating. Whatever it might be, surely it would stand no chance against five Autobots out to get it. The trio may say they were confident, and certainly satisfied that the Resurgence was reasonably safe.

    High above them, however, well out of their scanner's range, a white UAV lazily circled the area, sensors locking on to the trio of Autobots charging into the wilderness as the giant wasp clutched to its underside chattered cheerfully at the massive target below.
     
  8. Jamocha101

    Jamocha101 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2012
    Posts:
    1,441
    Trophy Points:
    207
    Likes:
    +218
    I felt like there were a lot of little things to catch in this chapter as I was reading, but I seriously doubt that I'll be able to remember all/any of them as I write out this review, so if anything, they'll more likely come up in conversation. I'll try to remember though. Also I didn't JUST read the update, so it's not completely fresh in my mind and I am just too dang lazy to take notes tonight.

    I thought it was interesting that we got to hear all of the pre-introduction chatter about the characters before we actually met the characters, because it's always fun to hear what certain people think about other people in fiction but it's also casting a source of judgment for the audience. So what we can gather is that Cliffjumper is basically a nobody first of all, but I theorize based on what I know about him that he's probably not really bothered by that. There's always the chance that this allusion to him might actually be very subtle foreshadowing and it may come up later, but it's so vague at this point that I definitely would not bank on that. In any event, since he and everybody are being brought up into the main conflict, I'm sure that this aspect about him will change, just as it appears to be with characters like Bumblebee and Evac are holding their own against their opponents. In the past, Cliffjumper has always been known for being all rough and tough, especially for being pretty small, but I sense that this will change a little bit as he's brought into this incarnation; you said yourself that he's kind of like Kup's team's equivalent to Hound: nice and all, but he can definitely fight. I'm looking forward to meeting him, even though he's inevitably going to be one of the less outrageous characters in the series, at least at first.

    As for Arcee, it looks like she's got a bit of character shilling along with Warpath. I remember when you were telling me about Ultra Magnus kind of being like a "justifying the means" type of guy where he may not do things that people would generally consider "right," but he does things to get the job done and that's that. It gives the whole effect of restraining from seeing a broader perspective, if that makes sense. Based on what I know about Arcee and Warpath, it strikes me as odd that Kup, a top-tier Autobot, would appraise them so highly, but that's what makes me compare him to Ultra Magnus. It doesn't matter to him, necessarily, whether or not those two are actually GREAT people. What matters is that they get ish done; and they do, apparently. It could also lend to an idea that Kup is another not-quite-so-morally-inclined character. With the connotation of "Wreckers," this doesn't exactly surprise me.

    But getting back to Arcee, there's already an implication towards her tougher nature I suppose, especially when there was a brief touch on her mental disorder. Unfortunately, even though I like to try and give every character a chance before I decide whether or not I like them, I'm already banking on not being a fan of Arcee; I guess it's unfair because I have prior knowledge about her, but just going off of the allusion to her being "bitter," I'm kind of sour toward her because I can't stand characters who have any tangible phenomenon involved in their characterization that "makes" them angsty. I have the same problem with Jazz too. When we were talking about him and you used, basically, the "war changes a man" to explain his Ice King tendencies (doing really dicky stuff like using Grimlock's friendship with Bumblebee against him), I still wouldn't bother to bight into that because it's not an excuse to be a dick. Likewise, Arcee already comes off as being characteristically angsty. And if she wants to be angsty, then that's great, I can tolerate the female robot equivalent of Kicker to be honest. But if her angstiness makes her a dick (which was the point at which I stopped tolerating Kicker and any other character of that kind), then I'm over that because mental disorders are not excuses for douche baggery imo. Just as exposure to war is not an excuse in Jazz's case. Yes, they are VERY TANGIBLE situations with VERY TANGIBLE consequences, and yes, they are HARD TO GET THROUGH and are REAL, but they are still NOT EXCUSES FOR BEING A DICK. I can liken the Blankness to anything; PTSD, OCD, ADHD, Bipolar, etc, which are all mental issues that people have to deal with. But you can have any of those things and still be a decent person. Granted, of course, people are allowed to struggle with their problems; obviously, everybody has to. But if it gets to the point where you're going to be bitter with me personally and the entire world because you feel sorry for yourself over a situation that is out of your control and will continue to then USE this situation as a fulcrum FOR your douchebaggery, then no thanks. Now I mean, that's a lot to say about a character who hasn't even show up yet, but now if I decide that I don't like Arcee, I will have gotten the trouble of explaining why out of the way. There ARE instances in which I will find a dicky character very likable, (Barricade for instance), but that is a whole different ball park.

    So then there's Warpath, who I foresee myself enjoying as a character. From what I know about him, he seems to be one of the only couple of genuinely pleasant characters on his team, but his extreme habit of unprecedented violence on the battlefield is what makes him interesting and sets him apart from the Cliffjumper/Hound types. I would sooner liken him to Wheeljack, but with more characteristic depravity. It's interesting, because I don't recollect being exposed to a character who's main quirk is politeness with his friends and EXTREME AND UTTER VIOLENCE WITH NO REGRETS with his enemies. Inasmuch, I'm really excited to see how he interacts with both his fellow Autobots and also the Decepticons and other nemeses when we come to that.

    But so lo and behold, the first new Autobot that we actually got to meet in this chapter is HOT SHOT. I was actually surprised because I was expecting him to be more conspicuously irritating, but he mostly just came off as nervous and kiddish in his introduction, polite even. I got the unpleasant sense that his team isn't really all that tightly knit with one another, at least not as much as the main team has been so far, because he had absolutely no qualms with leaving his two comatose teammates alone with strangers, one of which I understand is his mentor. I don't know if that was intentional, but that was just a thing that I gathered, along with him being afraid of Grimlock which I seem to recall being something that he shares with Arcee (and probably everybody tbh). I have a strong feeling that he will at least attempt to defy Jazz and follow him along to seek out Arcee and Warpath at some point later on, but of course, I could be wrong. It would be an extremely opportune time to introduce the whole "reckless idiot" thing that he has going on, though. I also noticed that he comes off as a kiss-up kind of, but at least he was educated enough to know who Wheeljack and Ratchet and Grimlock and Jazz and everybody were.

    As for Kup, I don't have much to say about him, except that I kind of feel like Jazz has something against him? With that whole snarky thing that he said about Kup at one point, there just seems to be a bitterness that he holds against him. I don't know if it's a personal thing or if it's Wreckers in general or what, but I dunno, I feel like there's something. I guess I'll find out if there is at some point.

    Another short note, Wheeljack pleases me with his ability to let go of his qualms against Ratchet. He's so nice underneath all of the haughtiness. <3

    Also, still wondering what that THING is. :I

    So it seems like we shall run into conflict in the A-story with the Decepticons wanting to bank in on everything that's going on, so aw man. I'm KINDA HOPING we'll maybe see the other three Autobots in a B-story BUT I GUESS I'LL JUST HAVE TO WAIT TO FIND OUT.

    *sits cross-legged in the distance with arms firmly crossed*

    EDIT: GRENADE ON A SWORD REFERENCE: CAUGHT.
     
  9. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    The trip through the dark cold woods, with the knowledge that some kind of creature was lurking within them, was rather unnerving for the Autobots. Well, not for Grimlock, who strode ahead of the pack with predatory intent in his optics and fire aching in his throat. The other two, on the other hand, were understandably more cautious, given that neither of them were highly aggressive and heavily armoured dinosaurs.

    The scientist maintained his forward pace, but his torso continually rotated, plasma cannon aiming at each and every thing he could see, while Jazz kept his fists clenched and his legs tense to react to any possible attack. It didn't help either of them that the ambient noises increased the tension further; the hooting of an owl and the scurrying of rodents could easily be masking the stalking of whatever creature was out here.

    Still, they pressed on, and after a few minutes of silence between them, Jazz asked: "So, Wheeljack, any theories on what might be out here?"

    "A few. Maybe Insecticons. Maybe a mutant Decepticon. Maybe some kind life-form that no Cybertronian has never seen before. All of them nasty enough to provoke Warpath and Arcee into immediate pursuit for pre-emptive takedown, which thus makes them nasty enough to make this walk pretty freaky."

    "Insecticons seem most likely. They've always been a bunch of bewildering horrors; wouldn't surprise me in the least if they'd been burrowing through the ship and producing that rust to protect themselves or something."

    "Well, regardless of what it is, how do you propose we kill it if we find it?"

    "Same way we've killed a lot of things, Wheeljack; we stab it, shoot it and punch it until it stops moving."

    "Heh, good plan."

    "Of course."

    "Yep."

    A moment of silence. They crunched on through the snow as Grimlock huffed a bit.

    "Wheeljack, if it actually was Insecticons, what would you do?"

    "Run home screaming. You?"

    "Get Grimlock to set them on fire."

    The tanker truck gave a sardonic chuckle.

    "Hm, fair point. Change my idea to that then."

    "Of course."

    "Yep."

    The three continued to trundle on through the snow. It was bitterly cold, annoyingly dark and the forest here was even messier than the other forest they regular headed out to. All in all, the search for Autobots and creatures alike was rather lame.

    But then the repetition was broken when Grimlock paused, rearing up to sniff at the cold night air. Jazz strutted on past him, deciding to inspect the ground ahead, whereas Wheeljack paused beside the larger Autobot and asked: "What is it, Grimlock?"

    "Grimlock smells something." The tanker truck muttered, glaring around through the dark forest with suspicious optics as Jazz paused and turned to listen. "Something... unnatural."

    "Arcee or Warpath?" Wheeljack asked, nervously aiming his plasma cannon around in response to the apprehensive tone of the berserker. "The thing we're hunting?"

    "Possibly." Grimlock muttered, growling softly as he continued to sniff at the air. "There is something nearby. Something that is not our kind..."

    "You mean to tell me the mystery monster is nearby?" Jazz asked, gazing around their environment as his body tensed in anticipation for whatever it might be. "Okay then; prepare to engage and destroy if it-"

    From the bushes came a blur of bright purple and pink, and it rammed into Jazz with stunning speed and force, sending both him and his attacker crashing through the undergrowth. The other two Autobots, shocked at this turn of events, immediately dashed forward to assist their commander.

    Alas, the Lieutenant and his foe were rolling down a hill, faster than they could hope to reasonably catch up. Still, he needed their help, so they darted towards a less steep slope to try and reach him before whatever was attacking him could gain the advantage. At the bottom of the hill, said Lieutenant managed to recover from he rolling and lock his feet into the ground, throwing his attacker off of him and simultaneously regaining his footing.

    But alas, whatever was attacking him was faster than he though; he'd barely turned around to face it before the figure, a slender Cybertronian of superior height, was upon him, sharp arms darting this way in a multitude of punches. Jazz managed to bring his door-laden arms up like a shield to deflect the blows, before flicking his doors outward in a retaliatory snap.

    Alas, it was not enough to deter his foe, who suddenly swept down with impossible speed and took out his legs with a neat swipe. He fell to the floor, and his opponent was already pinning him down with a foot stamped on his chest, and the arms fused together into an ominously powered up fusion weapon, the distinctive coils identifying it as a railgun and the barrel aimed right at his head.

    Trapped and held at point-blank range, he could do nothing but remain still, silently submitting to his foe, as they snapped at him: "Identify yourself, Cybertronian; Autobot or Decepticon?"

    Of course; his visor would prevent anyone noting his optic colour, and the contrast between Wheeljack's blue and Grimlock's red would only confuse the matter more. But at least he could identify his assailant; an Autobot judging by the insignia on the chest, and a ruthless one at that what with the railgun pointed right at his face. And it was an Autobot he knew.

    "I am the Lieutenant of Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots." Jazz replied calmly, right as he unveiled a surprise; a slender barrel darted up between the gap in her arms and her optics widened in surprise as the barrel of his sniper rifle, so stealthily formed, tapped at her chest, right where her spark ought to be.

    She glared at him now in indignant outrage, the duo locked in what the humans liked to refer to as a Mexican stand-off, and he gave her an overly happy smile: "And you?"

    Of course, the question was rhetorical; he already knew that this was Arcee, one of the two Autobots currently out in the wilderness and the speedster to Warpath's bruiser. And she certainly lived up to her reputation as one of the fastest Autobots around; very few opponents could have outmatched the Lieutenant so quickly like that.

    For a moment, the standstill maintained itself, him smiling, her glaring, before she accepted the turning of the tables and retracted the mouthplate around her lower face as she stood off of him, the railgun splitting apart and folding back into her natural arms. She offered a hand to him and he took it, the taller Autobot hauling him back to his feet.

    With that done and the misunderstanding out of the way, she replied: "Arcee, sir. Co-lieutenant of the Resurgence, under the command of Kup." She tilted her head slightly and added: "You're shorter than I imagined."

    "And you're faster than I thought." He replied amiably, idly draping his rifle over his shoulder. "But no matter; my ship picked up your transmission, and me and some of my crew came to look for survivors. Your buddy Hot Shot told me that two of the crew are in stasis and the other two went out hunting, so we came to look for you."

    "Hot Shot's not my buddy." She replied dryly, tilting her body away from him a tad and folding her arms, her previous aggression replaced by a bland disinterest. "But he's right; Warpath and I are hunting the stowaway, and Kup and Cliffjumper have seen better days. Are they still alive?"

    "My medic is with them now." He assured her, before asking: "Arcee, what is it that-"

    "Jazz!"

    They turned at the sound of Wheeljack's shout, the tow truck running towards them, plasma cannon aimed at Arcee, albeit the tow truck's disposition was that of relief in that she apparently wasn't a threat. Her reaction to him was cool and undisturbed; however, her reaction to the Autobot behind him was not.

    The instant she identified Grimlock, the tanker truck locked ferociously upon her, her optics widened in utter horror and she swiftly back-pedalled, mouthplate sliding out and arms combining into the railgun as she shrieked: "You! Stay back! You stay away from me!"

    Shocked at her sudden reaction and Grimlock's aggression, Wheeljack promptly latched onto the tanker truck's tail when he shoved past him, attempting to hold him back as he hollered: "Hey, hey! Take it easy! We're all Autobots here, Grimlock, no need for the biting and the clawing and the fire-breathing!"

    "Would you fragging power down, Grimlock?!" Jazz snapped, promptly putting himself between Arcee and the berserker and thus forcing Grimlock to halt his advance. "You don't have to keep attacking everything you see! She's another Autobot, not the thing we're looking for!"

    "You should not be so quick to lower your guard, Lieutenant." The tanker truck snarled in response, flexing his tail to force Wheeljack to let go. "She reeks of the stench of that alien filth; she may be parasitized with whatever we hunt! Grimlock must determine her legitimacy-"

    "You won't come near me, monster, not unless you want to be dragged back to Critico." She hissed, attempting to cover fear with threatening tones. "I know what you've done to other Autobots before! Don't you remember all of the Autobots who died because of your mindless rage?! You won't come near me!"

    Grimlock flared up furiously, fire seeping from his jaws and exhaust pipes: "Grimlock remembers every name and every face. Do not force Grimlock to add you to the list over your inability to cooperate-"

    "Shut up, Grimlock." Jazz snapped, impatient with the other Autobot's aggression. "I'll take care of this, without the need for senseless violence."

    He turned to Arcee, still defensive and quite panicked, like a cornered animal, and stated: "It's alright, Arcee. Grimlock won't do anything to you as long as he knows you're not a threat to us."

    Arcee maintained her stance regardless, railgun humming in anticipation: "You think he needs an excuse?"

    "Grimlock's not what he used to be. Besides, even if he were, I know he won't do a damn thing because-" He then turned, visor locking onto the fuming tanker truck. "-I know what he's scared of."

    The response from Grimlock was as intense as it was withheld; his entire chassis shuddered with immediate and potent fury, his optics practically flickered in rage and fire leaked from his mouth, sizzling in the cool night air. It seemed every instinct boiling within him was begging for him to lunge, to take the impudent Solstice between his jaws and just squeeze until everything popped. Wheeljack tentatively reached down for a flash grenade, Arcee tensed and kept her railgun pointed at the berserker and Jazz simple stared him down, as if daring him to give into his anger.

    Grimlock gave a rumbling snarl, before cutting it short and turning away, shuddering as he forced his violent response back under control.

    Satisfied, Jazz turned to Arcee and said: "See? Nothing. Proof enough, Arcee?"

    She hesitated, before rather half-sparkedly nodding and retracting her weapon. She seemed quite surprised, as though struggling to comprehend the infamous berserker actually preventing himself from rampaging. After all the horror stories she'd heard of Grimlock's actions before he was sent to Critico, she'd all but expected him to attempt to kill all of them.

    Still, she wasn't comfortable at all with his presence. If she had been in charge of the choice between releasing or detaining him rather than Ultra Magnus, she'd have kept him locked away in the Isolated Moon where he belonged.

    Wheeljack, well aware of how tense things just got, decided to step in with some exaggerated cheerfulness: "Well then, now that that's all done, how about introductions? I'm Wheeljack, the Zeta-1's brilliant and talented scientist! How do you do?"

    He offered a hand for her to shake, optics bright and cheerful and the lights on the side of his head flickering pleasantly. She stared at him for a moment, before retracting the mouthplate, muttering a dull 'nice to meet you' and shook his hand quickly.

    With that, Wheeljack cheerfully clapped his together and asked: "So, business, business. Are you actually the monster thing in disguise?"

    She revved: "Of course not. Can't you read my spark emissions?"

    "I can. Just wanted to make sure, you know?"

    "Hm."

    "Speaking of which-" Jazz added, tapping his sniper rifle against his thigh a tad impatiently: "What is it that you and Warpath are hunting out here?"

    Arcee folded her arms, again slipping into a disinterested posture now that the fear of Grimlock had passed over, though she still glanced suspiciously at him: "We're not entirely sure. It deployed from the rusty scrap on the side of the ship, ran off into the woods. We think it might be contagious to this planet's local life-forms, so we decided to take it down before it could cause any kind of damage to this world."

    "Wait, hang on a second." Wheeljack muttered, spinning his tires in immediate agitation. "Some kind of weird thing pulling itself out of rusty alien gunk on a ship... you don't think it could be space barnacles, do you?"

    Arcee hesitated: "The residue on the ship matches their excretions, but space barnacles can't just jump off and run into this... forest? Forest, can't just run into the forest like that. Their mobile states are slow crawlers, not agile runners."

    "Unless of course Earth's atmosphere has mutated or agitated them." Jazz proposed, head dipped in thought. "Regardless, taking this mobile state of them down has become all the more necessary."

    Another moment of thought, before he nodded and turned to Grimlock: "Alright then; Grimlock, I need you to return to the Resurgence, so you-"

    "Grimlock begs your pardon, Lieutenant?" He snapped, fixing the smaller Autobot with a loathing glare. "You wish for Grimlock to go back to that scrap-heap?! Grimlock has come out here to hunt, not to-"

    "So you can burn off whatever remains of the space barnacles on it." Jazz snapped, interrupting the tanker truck in his frustration at his impudence. "You hear me? Cleanse the ship in fire and make sure there's nothing left of them. We cannot have any more mobile phases moving into the forest. And then you're going to stay there and make sure Ratchet and the others stay safe. If the Decepticons come, or the barnacle we're hunting heads back to it, you have to make sure they don't get a damn thing on that ship, understand?"

    Grimlock maintained his glare for a moment, before derisively spitting a globule of flaming napalm at the Lieutenant's feet and sneering: "As you command, oh decisive leader."

    With that, he turned his back on the others and strode away, tail waving incessantly and exhaust huffing profusely from his tubes.

    "And I thought Hot Shot could be a pain." Arcee stated coolly. "How do you deal with that?"

    "Painfully." Jazz grunted. "Arcee, do you have Warpath's location?"

    "I do. I'll patch in his coordinates for you and align our com-links."

    "Good. Wheeljack, give Ratchet a call and give him a heads-up on what we're looking for, then contact Evac and have him pull up everything the archives have on space barnacles, see what might provoke a mobile phase to run like a champ instead of crawl like a slug,."

    "On it, boss."

    Jazz was satisfied when his internal scanners promptly pinged with an updated location of Warpath and Arcee's signature, his data chip confirming communication-conformation, as Wheeljack confirmed Ratchet was updated. He did enjoy it with the little things came together.

    So, with this done, he declared: "Alright, Autobots, now we roll out and meet up with War-"

    But then Arcee interjected: "With all due respect to you, Lieutenant, I hunt better on my own. You've got all you need from me in regards to location and communications, so I'm not entirely obligated to follow your lead anymore."

    Jazz gaped at her in disbelief: "You're not seriously going to pull some lone hunter scrap on me right now, are you?"

    "It's just how I roll." She replied dryly, already turning her back on and sauntering off dismissively. "Was never one for extended social efforts, and even if you do run into trouble without me around, I'll be there to help before you know it. Besides, Warpath would be better company anyway. Believe me, he would."

    With that, she folded into vehicle mode, a low-riding Cybertronian speedster, and was off through the woods in a flare of thrusters so fast that either of them had blinked, they would have missed her departure.

    The Solstice stared after her for a moment, before grunting: "I don't know if I like her. Well, whatever. Let's go grab Warpath, Wheeljack; he better be better company."

    "I'm sure he will, Jazz. I mean, we're pretty secure right now! We know where they are, we know what we're hunting, Grimlock's gonna look after the ship. It'll be fine."

    --

    "Ah, what a delight it is to have someone like Waspinator on the team." Starscream declared cheerfully as he soared through the sky towards where Nighttrace was circling. "Hologram-breaking optics are so useful; I ought to invest in them myself!"

    At first, when he and the others had arrived above the Russian wilderness and found that the Autobot ship had vanished without a trace (and not under a hologram at that), there rose the grim possibility that this had been a waste of time. Starscream hated wastes of time, and thus he had complained for a while, cursing the damnable Autobots and their damnable interruptions!

    But then Nighttrace, ever the surveyor, had taken Waspinator and branched out the scouting range, eventually coming across the Resurgence's new location as well as the group of Autobots led by the Lieutenant. It was a delightful reparation of the group's endeavour, and Starscream adored delightful reparations of his endeavours.

    Currently, the Deceptions were simply circling, watching the Autobots below. Well, Nighttrace was; of the four of them, she was the only one with the systems necessary for long-scale observation. This left the commander, Slipstream and Airachnid waiting patiently, tapped into the UAV's visual feed and inspecting the Autobot's actions.

    "So, Starscream-" Airachnid stated coolly, idly hovering in mid-air. "-What do you propose we do? Hunt down the Autobots or secure the ship?"

    Starscream floated over to her, his jet mode altered somewhat to allow hovering: "I'm debating. The new Autobots in the field are Arcee and Warpath, according to what Soundwave gleaned from the archives, and the former is too fast to hunt and the latter is quite a monster. Even with numbers on our side, Warpath will not go down easily, and with the other Autobots in the field, he could summon them to ambush our ambush."

    "But we have the Seekers on stand-by." Slipstream pointed out, hovering over herself. "The three of us plus the four of them should easily allow us to overcome the newcomers or the Lieutenant and his subordinates. Seven on five puts the odds in our favour."

    "That's correct, Slipstream, and I have considered that, but think for a moment; five Autobots are currently running around in a cold dark forest. Why are they out there, when they could just use their newly acquired ground-bridged to take Kup's crew to safety and destroy the ship? If you ask me, they're looking for something. I want to find out what they seek, and thus I must exercise patience."

    "Let them find what they're looking for and then swoop down for the prize?" She mused. "Hm, fair point. But what about the ship?"

    "We'll leave it be for now. Now that it's grounded, it can reroute whatever energy it has to weapons and shielding, making it too much of a hassle to assault-"

    Their chatter paused when Nighttrace's live-feed of the movement below picked up something interesting; the berserker had split off from the others and was making his way back to the crashed Resurgence.

    "The berserker's split off." Airachnid noted. "I suspect the Lieutenant's sent him back to guard the spoils."

    "Yes..." Starscream mused, flicking his tailfins slightly in contemplation. "Right then. If he's guarding the ship, then there must be survivors, or at least resources. This leaves the other four scouting around for whatever they seek. A valuable piece of technology that fell off? Some kind of stowaway? Who knows. But this is a good opportunity; the berserker is now isolated and the Lieutenant cannot reliably count on him for back-up."

    He dipped his nose as if he were nodding to himself, before continuing: "Alright then. Airachnid, Slipstream, take one of the Seekers and engage the berserker."

    The helicopter was perplexed, as the F117 dipped somewhat in shock: "I beg your pardon? Are you honestly suggesting that we, a scientist and a medic, should fight Grimlock?"

    "Yes."

    "What possible kind of Barricade-inspired idiocy would prompt you to send us against the berserker, even with a Seeker? Didn't you say you were amongst the strongest here on Earth?"

    "I did."

    "So, why us? Why don't you fight him?"

    "Because I have faith that your superior intellect and cunning, plus the advantage of teamwork, can overcome Grimlock's mindless brute force. Besides, I need to keep an eye on the Lieutenant; I have the best chance against him, after all. The remaining Seekers and I will ambush him when he finds whatever he looks for, by which you'd have either killed the berserker yourself, or weakened him enough for us to finish."

    "I thought you wanted to kill Grimlock to gain yet more of Lord Megatron's favour." Slipstream pointed out. "Even ignoring the fact we're not exactly suited for fighting him, why let us potentially end him?"

    "Because I like you."

    "You're despicable, you pretentious little nitwit." Airachnid stated blandly. "Fine. We'll fight the berserker for you. You can hope he rips me apart all you want, safe up here, while you stalk a little car. Stay classy, Starscream."

    With that, the helicopter dipped down, heading towards land. Slipstream squeaked and shot after her, promptly radioing one of the Seekers to rendezvous with them. As they descended, Starscream could already hear them debating strategies and musing on tattling on him to Shockwave, but whatever.

    Nighttrace, hovering nearby, gave a disdainful flicker of her wings, and Starscream replied: "Oh relax; I have every bit of faith that Airachnid will achieve victory over the powerful and resilient and particularly zealous monster. Besides, at least they only have one Autobot to deal with; I and my other Seekers have to cope with four. Who's got the better deal here, really?"

    Were she in robot mode, Nighttrace would have rolled her optics. Sometimes she wondered why she bothered.

    --

    Jazz and Wheeljack were running through the woods towards the coordinates of Warpath as fast as they could, weapons drawn and ready for anything. The trees seemed to blur by them, the snow and dirt whipping up under their footfalls and their sensors pinned down on the location of Warpath, nearly two miles away by a location the local geography identified as a rather large lake, currently frozen over.

    And it would make sense that Warpath seemed to be holding down the lake; space barnacles, according to information drawn up from Evac, were attracted to liquid water. While the solid snow and ice were frustrating to them, the possibly of digging through the lake to reach any water underneath ought to have the creature's attention.

    A perfect place to hunt for it.

    "So Jazz!" Wheeljack hollered, racing after the faster Autobot: "How do we propose we take down an abnormal space barnacle thing?"

    "All things fall with enough firepower." Jazz replied. "Shouldn't be too hard to take down, especially if we get together with Warpath first."

    "Of course. I hear the bot packs more firepower than a squadron of gunships!"

    "Let's hope he does; it'd make our lives so much more easier if he's as much a tank as they say he is."

    The two continued through the woods until the forest began to dissipate, trees thinning as they came closer to the lake. For the last stretch, the two assumed vehicle mode and drove through the snow, scanners glimpsing the large form of the frozen lake coming up ahead. On any other day, the great sheet of ice amongst the snow and trees under the moonlit night would be beautiful, but now there was only the mission in mind.

    They drove up to the lakeside, pausing slightly to register Warpath's coordinates; apparently, he was just along the riverbank, but there was no physical sign of him. How bizarre.

    The duo transforming back to robot mode, Jazz stated: "He should be around here. Do you see him anywhere?"

    Wheeljack shrugged, glancing around: "Maybe still in the forest? Hiding under the snow? The cold is kind of bugging our systems a bit; maybe he's just further up."

    "Maybe." Jazz replied, moving over to stand on top of a nearby boulder to get a better view of his surroundings. The lake was a sheet of ice, cracks and loose bits here and there near the edge, and the forest was just a veil of darkness and leaves and snow. "But still, we ought to have some kind of visual sign of him."

    Wheeljack shrugged: "Maybe he's waiting to jump at us like Arcee did. You think you can handle another friendly-fire beatdown today?"

    Jazz revved a bit, turning to face the tow truck: "She's one of the fastest Autobots alive, Wheeljack. You can't exactly make fun of me for losing a straight fight to her-"

    He paused, because at that moment Wheeljack's optics suddenly widening in horror, his whole frame freezing with shock. And that did not make Jazz feel good in any way, because the only thing that could make his scientist freeze up like this in an open environment at night is either a Decepticon or-

    Jazz could hear it now, actually. Something moving near him, some kind of virulent slimy slithering thing. He froze himself actually, not daring to move as his sensors detected some kind of alien limb rearing up right behind him.

    "Jazz." Wheeljack said slowly, carefully unsheathing and raising a plasma cannon. "If you want to live, please don't move."

    The Lieutenant fought off the urge to whimper or cower as the creature behind him shifted into view; some kind of serpentine creature, or appendage, weaving to and fro in front of him, dark grey in colour and dripping with slime and pustules.

    Oh Primus.

    Something was moving under the skin, some kind of bulge, and right in front of his face, the bulge split skin apart in a sickly twisting of rended flesh. From within the limb, a black sphere protruded from the tear, squiggling around somewhat, before the blackness receded a tad, like a.... like a....

    Like a pupil. The bulge was an eyeball, and it staring right at him.

    "On three, I want you to just jump for it, okay?" Wheeljack squeaked, as the tip of the limb began to split apart. "One-"

    The tendril turned, its tip divided into four, and at the centre of the split-

    "-Two-"

    -Was a horrific circular mouth, laden with row upon row of razor-sharp teeth. It gave a sickly hiss at him, the eye narrowing at him as the limb reared back.

    "-Three!"

    Jazz jumped just before the horrible mouth could clamp onto his face. He hit the ground, rolled, drew his pistols, as the monster shrieked in anger and pain when plasma blasts struck it, spilling black blood across the snow.

    The boulder Jazz had stood upon was moving now, shaking violently as more tendrils burst from it; not a boulder at all, but a rocky armoured body, sharp and long. Seven tentacles in total had emerged from the alien monster; four on the ground, three wheeling about on its back, each limb split at the tip with a shrieking toothed mouth, and each limb bearing an uneven amount of staring eyes dotted throughout the tendrils.

    "Space barnacle!" Jazz snarled, already joining his comrade in firing upon it as the creature shrieked and lunged at him, the Solstice dodging the waving tendrils.

    The barnacle was fast, horribly fast, its limbs throwing it across the ground as it lunged for him again, Jazz rolling under its aggressive attack. And not only that, it was tough, disturbingly tough; their shots were practically bouncing off its armoured core as it continued to shriek and snarl, waving its limbs at him like predating whips.

    "Body's too tough!" Wheeljack shouted. "Aim for the limbs!"

    The Lieutenant revved a bit to himself in slight annoyance. Thanks, Captain Obvious, he could have thought of that. Unfortunately, the change in tactics did little to improve the situation; the monster's tendrils whipped around too fast to get a good hit in, and its plethora of eyes easily enabled it to dodge the shots aimed at the vulnerable flesh.

    Still, a lucky shot from Wheeljack eventually caught a limb, ripping out a chunk of flesh. Enraged at the wound, the barnacle turned its attention to him and lunged with terrifying speed, ignoring the desperate blasts he shot at it. Too fast for him to dodge, the barnacle lunged, its rocky body ramming the Autobot to the floor.

    Pinning him down, the creature lunged with a gaping maw, but he managed to grab it with his free hand. Another one came at his head, but his other hand seized it, wrestling furiously with the struggling limbs. Enraged, the creature's third dorsal appendage came at him, but his own third arm was ready, seizing it before it could reach his face, its plethora of teeth snapping inches from his horrified optics.

    "Wheeljack!" Jazz cried, combining his pistols into their sword form and dashing in, the gleaming energy blade swiping in and slicing one of the legs clean off, the severed limb flailing and shrieking as it flopped away.

    Alas, the main body was not so easily swayed; detecting the threat behind it, it relented its assault on Wheeljack and rose up, swivelling around on its remaining hind limb with impressive grace, and Jazz was too slow to block the powerful bludgeoning appendage it struck him with, knocking him to the floor and sending his sword sliding away.

    Jazz was struggling back to his feet as the barnacle advanced on him, its multitude of mouth-bearing tendrils hissing in anticipation. The Solstice glared at it, internally debating that perhaps he had underestimated the creature. A glance to his left; if he was quick, he could roll to his sword and counter whatever it threw at him. Get ready, you can do this.

    The creature reared up to attack and-

    BOOM!

    An explosive shell struck the monster's side, sending it flying with a trail of fiery smoke, the space barnacle crashing to the ground and flailing and shrieking as if the fires of the Pit itself were upon it. Eventually righting itself, the creature reared an eye-laden tendril that see what had hit it, and upon sighting the new threat, it decided that enough was enough and it promptly retreated, limbs stretching out and dragging it into the forest with impressive speed.

    Surprised, though relieved, Jazz also turned to see what had attacked the barnacle, as Wheeljack tentatively leaned up to have a look himself.

    From the lake, emerging from beneath shattered ice, was a bulky and armoured Cybertronian, a deep navy-blue in colour laced with reds and purples, bearing a smoking chest cannon, stocky legs and thick arms, and the small armoured head atop the heavy-set torso bore crimson optics. It strode onto the lake shore, idly staring after the retreated creature, before he moved over to the Autobots, the ground shaking with each step it took.

    Wheeljack cowered when the armoured saviour stopped right above him, but promptly relaxed on noting the Autobot insignia gleaming on its shoulder. The Cybertronian glanced at him curiously, glanced at Jazz curiously, before leaning back and giving an amused laugh.

    "Well bam, that was cold." The hulking Autobot declared cheerfully, voice deep and masculine, dusting a few remnants of ice off of himself and shaking water off of his armour. "And lucky too. You bots never fought a mobile space barnacle before?"

    Dumbly, the car and the tow truck shook their heads.

    "Well, no worries. I'm here to help now." He stated, offering Wheeljack a hand. The two truck accepted it and he pulled him onto their feet with ease. With that, the Autobot with the red optics and the massive cannon protruding from his chest added: "How do you do, Autobots? I'm Warpath. Pow."

    --

    Bumblebee entered the med-bay slowly, quietly carefully, as if he were fearful that even the slightest mistake would send the room up in flames. Tires gently rolling across the floor, he tentatively approached the berth that held his mentor. For too long, the jeep had been locked in stasis, recovering from the horrific injuries inflicted on him by that monster Barricade, but now....

    Now he was online, so said Ratchet. Bumblebee revved a little bit, before wheeling over to stand beside the berth.

    He was tempted to whimper when he saw that Hound's optics were active; glowing dull blue, they stared blankly at the ceiling, conveying a kind of bleakness that hurt Bumblebee right in his very core. What had Barricade done to him to produce such a subtle horror?

    A flare of anger at the thought; the next time he saw that Decepticon, he'd tire his face until he had no face left.

    Bumblebee shook his head, regaining control and nervously touched a hand to his beloved mentor's shoulder. The jeep didn't react. Headlights flickering uncertainly, he murmured: "Hound?"

    Slowly, with a faint whimper of hydraulics, Hound turned to see who had spoken. His expression was blank, mouth drooping, optics dull and bleak, and it was like he was looking through Bumblebee instead of at him.

    The young scout was almost terrified. He'd seen lies and compassion and uncertainty in the optics of Grimlock, the fear of death in the optics of Slipstream, and what he saw in Hound's optics were.... were horrible.

    "Hound?" He squeaked, fighting the urge to run away from these horrible optics that should not be on his mentor, should have nothing to do with his mentor!

    The jeep stared at him for a moment, blinking slowly. There was nothing in his face, nothing in his optics, that indicated he even knew who Bumblebee was, never mind that someone was talking to him. The rookie revved helplessly; had Barricade damaged Hound so greatly his very memories were damaged? His processor? Had his defeat traumatised him so greatly that he could not even withstand basic contact?

    Bumblebee whimpered again: "Hound..."

    And then Hound smiled. It was a small smile, a small soft smile, and yet it transformed him. His face wasn't blank anymore, but alight with a kind of happiness that one might expect to see on the face of one gazing upon their new-born child. And his optics brightened, brightened like the sun, and all the horrors were chased away by relief and hope and compassion.

    Bumblebee could only react with awe at the sudden invigoration of life in his mentor, and Hound said, voice weak but joyful: "Hello, Bumblebee. You don't know how happy I am to see you."

    Author's notes: Two new characters, the threat identified and the return of Hound! What a good day.
     
  10. Jamocha101

    Jamocha101 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2012
    Posts:
    1,441
    Trophy Points:
    207
    Likes:
    +218
    New characters, yeh.

    So there's good news, for all of the rambling I did about the reasons that I MIGHT dislike Arcee, it turns out, I'm actually rather fond of her; at least, for the moment. I didn't go in expecting too much, but her demeanor managed to rise above my initial impression and I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively sociable she seemed. Emphasis on relatively, but I disgress. Despite being evidently bitter and so on and so forth, she still displayed some sense of maturity, which I appreciated, but the moment of truth was when she stated that she's a lone ranger, the notch in her character; and even that I appreciate it, because it's the thing that individualized her most prominently at the moment. I would even venture to say that I relate to her; I hate working with other people. :I It may be a poor attitude, but I've always felt as though collaborations ******ed my progress, the same way Arcee feels. Additionally, I was invested in her initial freak-out with Grimlock and the latter's expectant retaliation; I really look forward to how her fear of him (and everyone's disconcert toward him really) is going to cause turmoil in future interactions.

    Which leads me to, OH JAZZ KNOWS WHAT HE'S AFRAID OF AHHH. The return of such fodder only renews my curiosity to how the arc between those two is going to escalate. Jazz still irked me a little bit this time around, because I didn't think Grimlock's reaction was actually TOO unjustified. If it had been anybody else that reacted similarly, I suspect that the Lieutenant wouldn't have put up one of those episodes. Granted, I'm not saying that Grimlock was ultra polite and entirely morally sound in this installment, but I don't think Jazz was either in his handling of it. ALSO WHAT I'M NOT SAYING is that I think that Jazz should have reacted any other way, because it would have been out of character, so despite my lack of eloquence in trying to get to the point, what I'm basically saying is, I AM INTRIGUED. I'm wondering what exactly it was that Jazz was alluding to as well; I know that he likes to store Grimbee as a weapon against Grimlock in his manipulation arsenal, but I don't see how exactly that would have helped him in that very situation. If that was the case, I'm sure he would have made it come to a head somehow, but ehh I guess I may find out sometime in the future.

    Oh, and Space Barnacles. I'm digging those guys, what cool villains. (By the by, I was happy that a character suggested the possibility of Insecticons because it made me feel a little more competent in my speculative abilities. X3). I liked visualizing the thing creeping up on Jazz, definitely didn't suspect that he was standing RIGHT ON TOP OF ONE. That was a nice bit of action, looks like our heroes and our villains may have a new adversary to deal with.

    I haven't much to say about Warpath because he was there for all of like two seconds, but he seems cool so far, so I think I'll like him. :p 

    Now as for the Decepticons, I can safely say that Starscream has once again sparked a new bit of agitation in my soul. I honestly can't even speculate about him competently this time around, he's such a bipolar weirdo, I swear. Imma take better care of my team but also I kind of want to get rid of this one person that annoys me so Imma send her and my colleague in WHO I PROMISED NEVER TO FORSAKE AGAIN on a suicide mission for the lulz and hopefully they won't actually kill Grimlock so that I can do it later. What the actual flying frag, Starscream. WHAT IS YOUR DAMAGE, STARSCREAM? I guueeess I can try to speculate anyway and say that he really did just want to say a giant "frag you" to Airachnid in this very special way, but I really can't go deeper than that, I am so done with this guy.

    Now AS FOR THE ENDING, I really almost cried. I was an emotional wreck for about five minutes. When I was reading about Hound's empty stare and how it seemed as though he didn't even RECOGNIZE Bumblebee, I was convinced that you were going to leave it at that and that a whole new conflict was going to be Hound having to deal with amnesia or something, but thank the Almighty, you spared me and had him at least utter something. I'm really hoping that this isn't the last of the B-plot for this episode, but at least now I have something to go off of and I know that Hound will at least be relatively okay? Hopefully he won't find out about the trouble that Bumblebee got into while he was comatose. X3

    Awesome chapter, I'm really looking forward to the rest of this episode. :) 
     
  11. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    "Hound?"

    "Mm?"

    Bumblebee paused for a moment, taking some time to consider his question as Hound curiously gazed at him. The car was clutching his mentor's hand tightly, as if fearing the jeep would slip away if he let go, and Hound in turn returned the grasp, engine humming softly as he basked in the comforting reality of survival and his apprentice.

    A soft rev, before Bumblebee asked: "Why... Why do our factions have to keep fighting each other? Why do we... why do we have to keep killing each other?"

    It was a harsh question, and it was one Hound knew he would have had to face one day. When his young apprentice's spark was birthed from the Iacon Spark Well, infused into a new soldier, he'd received the basics; the planet was at war, Decepticons were the enemy, fight in the name of peace and freedom. But, young as he was, Bumblebee had never truly thought about the depths of this war.

    Until now, evidently.

    Bumblebee was a bit uncertain when faced with his mentor's silence: "If, if it's too tough a question, Hound, I'm sorry. I can, I can wait until you're feeling better, or maybe-"

    "No, no, Bumblebee, it's fine." Hound sighed. "I owe you a better explanation than what you've been given so far. And it's best I do it now anyway; get it out of the way, while I've still got some spark in me."

    He'd hope to mean that as a joke, but the car spun his tires nervously, immediately shuddering at the idea that Hound could have met his end here and now. Hound sensed this, silently chided his thoughtlessness and gently squeezed the Beetle's hands, reassuring him of his continued presence, before he stated: "It's a tough question to answer, of course. I think.... hm, first, what do you already know?"

    Bumblebee answered promptly: "When I came online, they told me that our planet was locked into civil war. I was an Autobot, I fought for peace and freedom for all sentient beings. They told me I would serve and that I would fight. The evil forces of the Decepticons were our enemies and Megatron was their dread master. And I... I accepted that. If this was life, okay then, sure, I could do it!..."

    He then gave a weak little laugh: "Should have thought more about it, really, but I always figured, I'm doing alright now, no problems, just ask Hound later... but then you... then Barricade hurt you. He nearly killed you. I know... Ratchet and Jazz got hurt too before, but they aren't my mentor, they... When Barricade hurt you, I thought; huh, I don't really know, and I should have asked you before, but I didn't and now I might never get the chance to ask you."

    A shuddering rumble of his engine to calm himself, and then he nodded and finished: "And that's it, I guess."

    Hound gave a gentle nod of his own: "I understand. Well then, now it's my turn to answer. It's a grim story, Bumblebee, and it's got questions I can't answer myself. But I'll do my best."

    He shuffled a bit on the berth, grunting: "Mind getting me one of those spare Energon cubes first? I think I'll need my hologram generator for this."

    The scout promptly obeyed, wheeling over to Ratchet's table and picking up a cube-shaped container, darting it back to his mentor and opening the lid for him, revealing the glowing blue Energon within. Hound extended a transfusion tubule and idly set it into the cube, absorbing its energy at leisure, before nodding and beginning:

    "In the Golden Age, the time before the war, Cybertron was at the peak of its success. Our kind had explored strange places beyond our home and mapped many star systems as it spread, colonising planet after planet and spreading our territory across entire galaxies. I myself was a biologist, studying life-forms on other planets, most prominently Riva Li. Our sciences developed, our entertainments adapted and peace was maintained by the Cybertronian Enforcement State."

    His hologram generator activated, showing a multitude of star systems, with a silvery Cybertron in the centre. Above the home planet of their kind was a symbol, similar to the Decepticon insignia but thinner, sharper and encased in a hexagonal barrier. Under this barrier was a plethora of armoured Cybertronian warriors, settled in a variety of defensive postures.

    "The Enforcement State was led by Grand Enforcer Megatron." Hound murmured, his hologram shifting into a huge and intimidating silvery Decepticon, bearing red optics, a stern expression and a huge cannon on the right arm. "He kept the peace throughout our planet's territories, made sure that no threats both internal and external could ever harm our great society... But over time, I suspect he grew to covet Cybertron's glory. He maintained its power, so surely he deserved to control its power, correct?"

    Bumblebee hesitated: "I... Well, I could see why he'd think that, but you can't just grab power all for yourself."

    "You can't." Hound agreed. "But Megatron tried regardless. He began a campaign to instil himself as the Grand Ruler of Cybertron, gathered followers who shared the vision of power and glory he spouted; why be content with this slow peace when we could spread ever faster, prove our superiority to all other species in the universe, grab all the power this reality had to offer? The High Council accused him of deceiving his followers, and thus they labelled him a Decepticon. Megatron was unfazed; he adopted the name for his new army and declared his intent to war with those who would deny his rightful quest."

    A dry chuckle: "You can see how he got his new faction's insignia from his old profession." The Enforcement State insignia shifted into the iconic Decepticon logo. "War began to brew, between those who believed in Megatron's journey of conquest and those who opposed his arrogance, and eventually, Megatron unleashed his army upon the High Council in Polyhex, annihilating them and converting Polyhex into his prison centre, while Kaon, the base of operations for the Enforcement State, became Megatron's capitol. The Decepticons had made their move, and they dared anyone to challenge their power."

    "Polyhex..." Bumblebee murmured, optics dimming in thought, as the hologram shifted from the gleaming past of Polyhex to the intimidating prison centre it had become, flanked by the Decepticon capitol itself. "I've heard a bunch of bad stories about that place back in Iacon. But I thought Critico was Cybertron's best prison? Why didn't Megatron just claim it?"

    "Egotism, I suppose." Hound sighed. "A prison of his own making. At any rate, many Cybertronians fled, abandoning Cybertron's territory to seek out other worlds far away from Megatron, and they formed the Neutral Colonies."

    His hologram now displayed a variety of cowering Cybertronians, all bearing yellow optics, before they turned to flee into thin air.

    "But in turn, many Cybertronians were prepared to fight back, and thus, Ultra Magnus rose from the gladiator pits to rouse an army of his own. He was joined by two of our planet's most influential Primes, Optimus and Zeta, preachers of the Covenant of Primus, and they helped him raise up an army of their own to challenge Megatron's lust for tyranny."

    The hologram changed to the three leaders of the Autobots, and Bumblebee gazed at them in awe as Hound added: "They were autonomous in their methods, yet united by their cause, and thus they formed the Autrio, and the Autrio formed the Autobots. The war now had two distinguished sides, and thus the war escalated into the devastation we've long since been forced to accept."

    The Beetle nodded in understanding and thus his mentor went on: "Our goals have never really changed for what they were first proclaimed to be; we fought to defeat tyranny, to stop the mad quests for power and to preserve peace, to protect all from the cruel hands of warmongering. But as time went on, as the war continued to ravage us all, we've been forced to sink lower and lower to match the Decepticons. The Infusion Process, the Sentinel Projects, the induced supernova of the star within the Optimal System. And of course, with so many more Autobots being bred into warfare, the moral standings we seek to uphold become more and more consumed into our violent generation."

    "My generation?" Bumblebee murmured, and Hound gave a gentle rev, squeezing his hand again.

    "You and Evac... you're better than many of them. You've questioned why we do this, and I imagine Evac has asked Ratchet by this point. That alone is more than what many new Autobots have considered."

    He paused, then went on: "Well, that's the history of it, and that's the situation we have found ourselves in. The fighting's been going on for so long that at this point I imagine both factions will do anything to end it decisively, no matter the cost. Our ideologies continue to oppose each other, and so long as it happens... we can't stop fighting."

    A moment of silence as Bumblebee processed this, Hound switching off his generator and leaning back into the berth with a small groan. The exposition and the usage of holograms had worn him down in his weakened state, and he was visited with an urge to shut his optics and recharge.

    But quite frankly, he didn't want to recharge, and thus he redirected energy from his generator to his optics to maintain that desire to remain alert. Stasis lock had been blank, black, unnerving and-

    And tormented by after-images of his 'final' moments; Barricade tearing into his body, ripping his way towards his very spark chapter with teeth born from a face scarred by acid. Every time he blinked, he saw those burning red optics and those acid-burned teeth, painted blue with his own Energon.

    The face of a monster, a monster even more horrific than the Insecticons.

    A monster he'd unwittingly created.

    Would this be his fate then? His processor scarred from such brutality that it could stand to rest without seeing that brutal display again and again? He remembered the pain, he remembered the hopelessness. He remembered realising he'd never see his apprentice again.

    He glanced to the side, glanced at the contemplative rookie with his head bowed and his hands clasping his mentor's. Here was Bumblebee now, alive and well and with his mentor still amongst the living. To see him again, after what Barricade had done, after how his fate could have been met, was nothing short of a miracle.

    Could he honestly let Barricade ruin this for him? Could he honestly haunt Hound for the rest of his life? It was a cruel concept, but Hound shook his head in defiance. No. He could not let that brute take what little light he had left from him. Never. Never. He was alive, wasn't he? Despite Barricade's efforts, he'd escaped his nemesis and escaped death. That was something, right?

    Maybe his recharges would be frequented with nightmares. Maybe. Maybe every dark corner he saw would bear the image of that which tore his very frame asunder. Maybe. But he would never let Barricade win.

    No. No he would not.

    Hound knew the truth now, the truth of Barricade's hatred and the truth of the consequences of his old failure. At the time, the truth had hampered him, weakened him. But not this time. When next they met, Hound would not let the past corrupt his present. Hound would not let the monsters of old strengthen the monster of his present.

    When next they met, it would be Barricade who lay broken and bleeding.

    We are what war has forged us as.

    And this struck a thought in him, and thus he murmured: "Bumblebee, can I ask you something?"

    Bumblebee perked up, perplexed but accepting: "Sure, sure! Anything you want."

    Hound hesitated, before he asked: "What do you feel... what do you feel about Barricade now, knowing what he did?"

    The Beetle flinched back as if struck, shock flickering over his features as the question pierced him. He shuddered a little, recuperating, before he squeaked: "I... I don't really know. Anger, I guess. I'm angry, really. Scared, maybe, that he could do this, I... I feel angry at him, but I'm scared of him but I don't want to be scared, I want to be angry enough to... to beat him. To make him realise he shouldn't hurt people I care about. I want... I want..."

    Hound muttered: "Do you want to kill him?"

    Bumblebee had no answer, shuddering again as his optics widened yet further, chassis rattling with his tension.

    Reassuringly, the jeep squeezed his hand. The young scout was like a son to him. His precious dear son, the one whom he must teach and protect, and to unnerve him so stung at Hound's very core. But it was something he needed to know. Back in the forest, he'd made the decision that to overcome the cruelty of Barricade, he himself would need to be crueller. To kill a monster often required another monster.

    He regretted what he'd thought then. But he knew it would not change; so long as Barricade lived, so would Hound's hatred. If he ever did kill his nemesis, rid the universe of his filth.... would he really have won their rivalry?

    Still, it wasn't a decision he would ever want his scout to make. Let his innocence prevail, let his light shine through. Don't give into hatred, don't believe cruelty is the only way you can win, he wants to say, but he stays silent. Bumblebee must answer this question, not him.

    Hound wishes he could cry. Bumblebee didn't deserve to be caught up in this war. He didn't deserve it to taint him so. Suddenly, he's scared of what he might hear. He's scared of what Bumblebee might think. So long had he provided light to Grimlock, but had Grimlock in turn tainted the bright chain Bumblebee held?

    Finally, the car murmurs: "I.... I don't want to kill people. If I thought... if I thought I could only hate and kill Barricade, then that would make me like Barricade, wouldn't it?"

    Hound remains silent, and Bumblebee leans forward, almost desperate: "If I just killed him because I hated him, would I be any better than him? Really?"

    The jeep revs softly: "To kill someone out of hatred... that, I feel, is the worst crime you can commit. To take life out of spite, that is a terrible thing. But you... I know you would never do that. You would never kill someone because you hated them, or because you felt you could, or were stronger, or better. You're a good person, Bumblebee. I wish the world was more like you."

    And in his mind, Hound thinks, I wish I were more like you.

    In his mind, he can only now think of the crimson monster, teeth stained with his lifeblood and claws ripping him apart.

    --

    "Glad you could make it, Grimlock." Ratchet stated through the com-link, his tone rather harried as if he were impatient or stressed. "I've delivered a personal Energon transfusion to both Kup and Cliffjumper, but they've been in stasis for at least a few weeks; system re-activation will take some time. Not to mention Hot Shot himself is quite lacking in full operations-"

    The tanker truck heard the ex-Neutral nattering from Ratchet's side: "Hey, hey, I'll have you know that I'm in perfect condition-"

    "Your alternator circuits are offline, advanced systems powered down, shields at- You know what, just keep quiet for a moment. I can't make promises, Grimlock, but I may be able to get them back online within the hour."

    "Acceptable." Grimlock grunted dully. "Maintain your work, medic. As Wheeljack ought to have mentioned, the others are hunting a mobile-phase space barnacle. Grimlock has returned to exterminate whatever remains of them on the ship, and then Grimlock will maintain watch outside."

    "Wheeljack told me, yes. Primus, of all the things... well, so long as they kill it before it spores, I suppose I can't say much else on the matter."

    He paused, before adding: "Thank you, Grimlock. For keeping an optic out for us."

    "Whatever." Grimlock muttered, before shutting off the com-link. He was in no mode for Ratchet right now. His innate anger was burning right now, infuriated at being denied the opportunity to hunt, to vent out the fires within him. He'd been denied battle during the rescuing of Bumblebee, he'd been denied the deaths of the black jet and the white fluttery scrap before that and now he'd again been denied the violence he needed to release.

    Shaking his head in distaste, reining in his anger, he turned his attentions to the rusted residue on the sides of the ship. Space barnacles were always so persistent in their parasitic tendencies, latching onto anything that could transport them to other places to spread their virulent pestilence. Grimlock snorted; he detested such creatures, pathetic creatures that had to steal from the superiority of others to survive.

    Burning these remains would not be satisfying as hunting the mobile one, but he would take what he could get.

    Powering up his flamethrower, narrowing the vent to concentrate his fiery breath into a stream, Grimlock unleashed his flames in a precise stream of burning fluids and fire. The fiery stream struck the residue, burning into it with hisses of steam and combusting organic material. Though the barnacle's external shell was strong enough to resist atmospheric entry, concentrated flames focussed on them as such would breach their defences soon enough.

    The only problem was, while burning off barnacles was a fond reminder of the many Decepticons who perished under his infernos, it was a painfully repetitive task that soon had him aching with frustration and boredom. The mighty berserker reduced to a glorified cleaner; what a despicable thought.

    The human's Internet was of little comfort to this boredom. He had no interest in their petty little facts and forums and media, had no interest in their history and their philosophy. As far as he was concerned, humanity had only assisted him in being on the same planet as the tyrannosaurs upon which he were based.

    Well, they may have also been useful in providing energy for the Autobots to claim, but the Lieutenant was far too strung up to take advantage of that. Grimlock scoffed to himself; as usual, those who could not seize the initiative were allowed authority while those who would not hesitate to secure advantages were delegated to the lower positions.

    In what world must morality overcome the basic logic of practicality?

    Well, it mattered not. The Lieutenant could indulge his sad delusions as long as he liked; Grimlock would bide his time. No matter how strong or skilled they may be, those who were weak of conviction would eventually be weak in battle, and when the Lieutenant's weaknesses became apparent, Grimlock would be there to seize opportunity.

    Jazz may know what he feared, but Grimlock knew what the message said. Did the other Autobots know? Alas, no; poor little Jazz could not bear to lose their loyalty so soon, and he could not bear to lose them now. But their ignorance would end when Grimlock's moment came and the truth was revealed.

    And when that moment came, may the best Autobot win.

    The ship was cleansed of the barnacle's remnants by his fire, but alas, he could reach any that might have been on the other side, buried into the rock. He could only hope the physical trauma had killed any barnacles on that side, or at least trapped them so they could starve to death. Well, he'd done what he could, and thus the tanker truck began to pace around the clearing, huffing to himself as he thought of other things to stave off his frustration.

    If only Bumblebee were here; his little friend always had ways to entertain him, always had ways to brighten up his day. But he was currently with Hound, reuniting with his mentor at last. On the bright side, that would certainly boost the rookie's spirits, and his invigorated joy would in turn invigorate Grimlock. Still, selfish as it was, Grimlock would have preferred the scout was accompanying him rather than the jeep.

    Oh well. Who could deny a rookie their mentor? Grimlock revved softly, considering. Yes, the Lieutenant had been right in what he had said to Arcee; he did know what Grimlock feared, and that fear was Bumblebee's discovery of just how low Grimlock considered the worth of the sapient species on this world. If that happened, what might Bumblebee think?

    Would he hate him? No, he was too good for hatred. But he would not simply forgive him on the spot either....

    Well, if the Lieutenant cost him that which provided light for his dark path, than the Lieutenant's path would become darker as well. Grimlock promised this to himself-

    Grimlock paused in his pacing and tilted his head to the sky, optics narrowing in suspicion and olfactory sensors sniffing intensely. There was no smells here other than cold, forest and combustion, but yet... Something wasn't right. One did not survive centuries of warfare without picking up a knack for detecting danger.

    With the ship's holographic generator having limited its range to directly around itself to preserve yet more energy, Grimlock knew that he was currently uncovered and thus exposed to an attack from above. But he also knew that the light of the full moon would aid his detection; the shadows were weakened by the satellite and thus he could better see into the sky.

    Still, sight and smell alone weren't much comfort against flyers, who tended to move faster than most sensors could adequately follow. Cautiously, he redirected some systems to his shielding, maintaining his vigilance. For all the Lieutenant's faults, there was logic in defending the Resurgence; to deny the Decepticons any trophy of war was always a positive, not to mention the defence of fellow Autobots was productive in itself, he supposed.

    So long as his spark pulsed, nothing would get by him. All Decepticons who would challenge him should be aware of the fate that awaited them.

    Yet lo and behold, challenges came nevertheless.

    He swiftly leapt backwards upon noting the blur in the sky, and just in time; missiles impacted where he had been standing seconds before, razing the ground before him in bursts of flame and thrown-up rocks. The black jet swooped above him and was off before he could return fire, much to his immediate anger. Fly-by's were such a cowardly strategy.

    But there was a positivity to the sudden attack; that jet was the one who had kidnapped Bumblebee, who had been trapped in the rocks with Bumblebee, and thus Grimlock was more than happy to finally pay her back for taking his friend from him. He would make sure her death was as agonising as his fear had been.

    Hip-blasters deploying, Grimlock readied himself for her second attack, only to find his audio sensors picking up the sound of engines coming in from the behind. Again, he promptly threw himself to the side to avoid whatever attack the new enemy slung at him, and another missiles impacted the ground. This time, he looked up in time to see the purple form of a Seeker fly past and shot a few warning blasts after it.

    As much as he appreciated an extra victim for the record, Grimlock revved in frustration at their cowardice; shooting down flyers was satisfying in exposing their pathetic aspects, but he had always preferred close-quarters violence to a gunfight.

    The jets circled around, avoiding the shots he sent at them, but they refrained from shooting back, aware that the element of surprise was lost and that he would dodge or defend any other attacks they sent at him. They were on equal footing, so to speak, neither side able to deal decisive blows to the other. Grimlock hissed with annoyance, nevertheless maintaining his defensive stance; they would have to come down eventually, and then he would annihilate them-

    Wait... oh, of course.

    Grimlock spun round and just in time too, for a third Decepticon stood atop a rocky outcrop above the crashed ship, and it had energy rifles aimed right for him. Immediately he opened fire on it, his new foe returning in kind. However, he was unable to get a good hit on it, the coward using the outcrop as cover, and it in turn wasn't able to deal much damage to him.

    Taking a moment to recalibrate, the Decepticon taunted: "As on the ball as ever, Grimlock. Thunderwing certainly spared no expense for your improvement."

    Grimlock growled in fury; he knew this Decepticon. Airachnid, the second-in-command of Shokaw, the very planet that twisted him so. Fire boiling in his mouth, he snarled: "Misdirection is so becoming of your worthless race. Come down here and die at Grimlock's hand in a true battle."

    "You barely have hands to deal with, berserker." Airachnid snorted. "You fight with your teeth like the violent animal you are."

    "You would know a thing or two about fighting as an animal yourself, Airachnid!" Grimlock roared, shooting another flurry of blasts at her. The Decepticon was forced back into cover, and Grimlock, even in his increasing rage, knew very well she was distracting him. So, he spun around to return his attention on the incoming jets, hoping to attack him whilst he was busy with the other Decepticon.

    This time, however, the jets did not remain focussed on simple fly-by shooting; in mid-air, they transformed and swoop downwards, landing on either side of the berserker in a classic flanking manoeuvre, poised defensively to withstand any shots he fired at them. With a snarl, he focussed his hip cannons on them, ready to fire at a moment's notice, while returning his attention to the de-facto leader of this group.

    Airachnid leapt down from the ridge, landing atop the ship with a clang, before strutting to its edge, gazing down at her opponent with sadistic arrogance: "Perhaps; I'm no stranger to the urges of warfare. But between you and I, at least one of us can keep it separate. But regardless, you still have the option to surrender both yourself and this ship to us, Grimlock. There's three of us and only one of you; a fight will not be in your best interest."

    The tanker truck simply spat a breath of fire, body trembling with the rage of war, blasters powering up, tail whipping and teeth heating with the flames he exuded: "Three for Grimlock to fight is three for Grimlock to kill, Decepticon."

    Airachnid smiled coldly: "So be it. Decepticons, claim our victim."

    With a sudden movement, she was in the air, hands unfolding into powerful claws as she leapt in for the attack. Thrusters firing, blades deploying, Slipstream and the Seeker copied her strategy, darting in to join their comrade in a tri-directional assault. But it mattered little to Grimlock what they did; this was what he'd been redesigned for. Let them come with their numbers and their blades and their taunts. All of them, all of their kind, would burn.

    With a roar of unending rage, fire bursting from him, he swung into battle.

    --

    Currently, Wheeljack was scanning the severed limb of the space barnacle, optics glowing brightly and head-lights flickering as he examined it, currently feeding the visuals back to Evac on the Zeta-1. The rookie had done his job on bringing information on the creatures via the archives and were currently transmitting them to the tow truck as he examined the sample.

    Freaky sample it was as well. Though the limb was dead, having bled out all remnants of its black blood, it was still an unnerving piece of work, considering the two blank bulbous eyes and the toothed maw on it.

    Wheeljack promised himself to take a long trip to the decontamination chamber after all this. Provided he didn't get eaten next time they confronted the monster.

    Meanwhile, while the scientist did his work, Jazz was currently discussing present matters with Warpath: "-The sooner we put down this thing, the better. Space barnacles don't do any favours for their environment, and this planet has enough problems of its own without an extra-terrestrial invader."

    "We'll take it down, Lieutenant, no worries." Warpath replied amiably, flexing his massive arms. "I've dealt with worse than barnacles in my time. There are few threats in this universe that a good amount of pow won't solve."

    "If you say so." Jazz replied coolly. "But there's also the fact that Decepticons may be in the area soon enough, and I really can't deal with them right now, not while we've got a threat to this planet's very ecosystem on the loose."

    Warpath revved in derision, flexing his arms again: "Good amount of pow sorts them out too. If it pleases the Lieutenant, I'd be happy to take the flak from any trespassers to our hunt."

    "Hopefully you won't have to. I’d prefer we sort out this mess before they show their ugly faces."

    "To each their own kablam. I highly anticipate a reunion." A pause, before he amended: "But heck, I guess you're right. Our ship brought damn dirty space barnacles to an innocent rock and we need to rectify that bam mistake promptly."

    Jazz considered that, before asking: "Do you have a tic?"

    "A tic?"

    "You say stuff like pow and bam a lot. Just wondered if it was a habit or something."

    "Eh, just a vocal processing repetition. Nothing serious. Does it bother you?"

    "No, just wondering."

    "Fair enough. Anyway, so what kind of Decepticons are we-"

    His chatter to the Solstice was interrupted by Wheeljack requesting their attention; the Solstice turned to face him, flanked by Warpath as the scientist waved them over to examine the limb.

    "Alright you two." The tow truck said cheerfully, holding up the dead appendage with a confident insightfulness flickering in his optics. "Been going over this thing with Evac, and we've got an answer to the barnacle's mutation. The trick is, barnacles love water, right? Dihydrogen monoxide, they adore it. It's absorbed into their cells, toughens them up and makes them stronger, and the increased strength in turn makes them more aggressive and confident. Well, look around! We're on a planet that's 70% of the good stuff!"

    "So the barnacle's powered up on its favourite chemical." Jazz mused. "Fair enough. Any specific weaknesses?"

    "They're vulnerable to high heat, fire. That's why they have to armour up like that, cover themselves in the rust scrap if they're attached to a ship. Granted, all the water it's soaked up makes it more difficult to burn them, but it should be enough. And of course, once you break through the armour itself, you can hit the soft parts."

    Jazz nodded, digesting the information, before stating: "Alright then. Anything else?"

    "Sure, but you won't like it. Well, two things you won't like. One, once the mobile phase has secured a safe environment, it'll convert itself into a dispersion phase and release spores in order to spread out. And when that happens, we'll have a major infestation on our hands, especially with all the water the spores will have available. And two, an injured mobile phase tends to head back to whatever spot it started out from."

    It took mere seconds for the other two to deduce the meaning.

    "It's heading back to the Resurgence then." Warpath said.

    "And right towards Grimlock." Jazz added.

    Now this had the tank intrigued: "Grimlock? The berserker? He's here on this planet?"

    "Mm-hm. I sent him back to the ship to wipe out any remaining barnacle matter and to guard it. My medic's aboard your ship, looking after your other shipmates, so it's imperative-"

    "Well kablam!" Warpath chortled. "I haven't seen the berserker in stellar-cycles, not since the Battle of Darkmount, in fact. I wonder if he's still just as procotic as ever."

    "Whatever. The plan now is to search the forest between here and the ship; Grimlock can handle the barnacle if it reaches the Resurgence-"

    "Having fire breath helps in that regard." Wheeljack offered cheerfully.

    "-And we can take it out if we find it before that." The Solstice finished, already prepping his sword and starting off towards the woods. "Preferably before the Decepticons get antsy."

    "Right." Wheeljack added, drawing his own sword and following his commander, Warpath right behind them. "Lemme just call the truck and let him know...."

    Setting up his com-link, he said: "Grimlock, you there? I just want to... huh? Grimlock?... Grimlock?"

    The other two paused when Wheeljack stopped in his tracks, suddenly uncertain: "Huh... there's only static. It's not going through to him."

    Warpath exchanged a glance with the tow truck, as Jazz gave a cold dry chuckle, visor flashing in understanding: "Well, what do you know. The Decepticons have arrived."

    "As they always do." The tank stated cheerfully. "Well, I can't complain; it's been far too long since I've seen them. Stellar-cycles drifting through space really makes you ache for the old thrills."

    "You can get your thrills soon enough." Jazz snorted. "Assume vehicle mode and head to the Resurgence; we need to make sure that Grimlock has back-up-"

    "Watch out!" Wheeljack suddenly shrieked, lunging forward and grabbing the Solstice, dragging him out of the way just in time as a plethora of missiles suddenly struck the ground around them, explosions rippling the air with fire. Warpath was unfazed, simply kneeling down and poising his arms defensively, ignorant of the concussive forces around him as the other two rolled further away to safety.

    Obviously the first to recover, the tank unfolded and glanced at the sky, noting the trio of purple jets swooping by. With a chuckle, he declared: "Soon enough came sooner than expected."

    With that, panelling on his back opened and he reached around and withdrew a massive Annihilator Gatling cannon from a compartment in his armour. Swinging it around, he locked one hand into the rear of the weapon, the other seizing a handle on its side. With a moan of delight, he powered it up, and the barrel of the massive weapon began to spin at an intense pace.

    "Kablam! Here I am, Decepticons!" Warpath roared, howling his challenge into the night as his gun swung up to take aim at his airborne foes. "Come to me and die!"

    His cannon opened fire, an immense barrage of superheated metal slugs bursting from it in a stream of fiery orange that seared through the cold air towards the jets, whom immediately scattered to avoid the gunfire. Warpath strode forward, maintaining his projectile rate as he roared in glorious chaos.

    While the tank kept them at bay, Wheeljack helped Jazz up, the Solstice muttering thanks for the quick save, and asked: "Well, the Decepticons are here after all. What's your plan now?"

    Jazz just prepped his rifle and grunted: "We'll help Warpath with these ones. If you can, contact Arcee and tell her to provide support for Grimlock. I don't care how fragging lonely she wants to be, if Grimlock's got a barnacle and whatever other Decepticons might have come along to deal with, he's going to need help."

    "I'd love to contact her, Jazz, but our communications are being jammed on our side too."

    "Fine. We'll just have to hope Grimlock can manage on his own and that Arcee has good hearing."

    With that, the two raced out to join Warpath, raising their guns and firing at the Seekers.

    The jets swooped and soared to avoid the gunfire being thrown at them, occasionally swinging around to toss a missile back or fire a flurry of bullets, and Jazz felt a tad frustrated at this; he really, really hated shooting at flyers. They were such tricky little targets, all jetting around and tricky to aim at, even with the scope of his sniper. Wheeljack was expressing his own frustrations as well with a plethora of derogatory statements the Lieutenant hoped he’d never mention around the rookies.

    Warpath, on the other hand, seemed to be having the time of his life, unveiling a pair of shoulder cannons to assist in firing at the flyers as he bellowed: “WAR IS THE PATH I WALK, AND IT IS PAVED WITH YOUR CORPSES, DECEPTICONS!”

    With the fact the exuberant tank's fire more than accounted for the other two's shots as well, Jazz felt it productive to take a moment to sweep the environment with his rifle. Starscream's pragmatic nature would make it more than likely that he was employing the Seekers to distract them whilst he prepared an ambush attack, or had some minions do it in his place. His visor was not detecting any sign of the Decepticon commander or any goons, but he ought to remain vigilant nevertheless.

    Above the sound of gunfire, he declared: "You two, keep these Seekers occupied, take them out if you can. I need to sweep the area for any other Decepticons trying to set up an ambush while these things take the heat."

    "Sure thing boss!"

    "As you command, Lieutenant!"

    Jazz promptly flung himself into vehicle mode, reversing swiftly and swivelling around to set off around the perimeter, sensors boosted up to as high as he could afford them to go. On his watch, there would be no more sneak attacks here today.

    The Seekers seemed to recognise the futility of their airborne attacks at this point; Warpath was unfazed by any of their projectiles and Wheeljack made clever use of the stronger Autobot as cover, rendering their assault rather meaningless. Thus, the three Seekers split up, two to one side and the third to the other, and they transformed as one, landing on either side of the remaining Autobots.

    Back-to-back, Wheeljack and Warpath faced off against their opponents, their guns prepped as the Seekers deployed their weaponry, shoulder turrets ready to lay down firepower upon them as their blades gleamed in the moonlight.

    Considering the match-ups, Wheeljack snorted, withdrawing one cannon and pulling out his sword: "Well, what a way to bond with new friends, eh Warpath?"

    "The best bam way I know how, Wheeljack." The tank replied cheerfully, sheathing his weapons and clanging his fists together challengingly at the drones. "I can handle these two. Are you capable against the third, scientist?"

    "No worries; I've killed one of these things before." Wheeljack bragged, readying his shoulder missile launcher. "They're not nearly as tough as they might think they are."

    "Then they emulate their master perfectly, pow." Warpath laughed. "Let's kill them together, friend."

    "Arcee wasn't kidding; you are better company!"

    With that, the Autobots threw themselves toward their designated targets, Wheeljack firing with his plasma cannon as he charged at the lone Seeker, darting this way and that to avoid its turret fire. As he shifted into range, the larger Cybertronian swung forward, its blades coming down to carve him in two. Wheeljack simply threw up his own blade and deflected the attack, sending the Seeker stumbling and giving him a good opportunity to blast at its exposed side.

    It retaliated with a back-hand that knocked him back a fair few metres, but the tow truck was not so easily stunned; swiftly, he aimed his missile launcher at the drone's head and fired, but alas, he'd underestimated its reflexes. With another back-hand, the jet batted away the missile, which spun into the ground nearby with an impressive explosion. Its crimson optics gleamed and it readied its blades for the next strike.

    Wheeljack revved. No bikes to harass him this time, yet he doubted that would make this any easier than the last battle.

    Warpath, on the other hand, was far more confident in his own situation. Like a train he barrelled towards the other Seekers with shocking speed and momentum, utterly oblivious to the pathetic dots of their gunfire upon him before bringing his arms up and swinging down into a mighty ground pound that had them both staggering back. They recovered quickly and came at him simultaneously, blades flashing as they swung and jabbed at him.

    But the tank's armour was more than adequate for his defensive play; expertly, he used his thick forearms to deflect and stave off their strikes with impressive precision. The drones were relentless in their attacks, but he almost casually maintained his defence, at least until one of them had the sense to mix it up by jumping up with a boost of their thrusters and spinning, delivering a kick to the Autobot's head that staggered him.

    The other drone jumped in to seize the opportunity, but alas the tank was not as vulnerable as it had thought; Warpath ducked under its sword swipe and lurched forward, ramming his shoulder into the jet and knocking it back. The other one came at him again with a vicious attack, but he deflected its opening slash with an arm. The Seeker swung at him with its second blade, but astonishingly, Warpath simply lashed and caught with the blade with his free hand, stopping the attack right in its tracks.

    The Seeker hesitated, utterly unprepared for such an unexpected manoeuvre, and Warpath revved in disappointment: "The same old weapons as ever. When is Starscream going to upgrade you obsolete contraptions?"

    With that, he clenched his fist, snapping the trapped blade in two, before his other arm reared back, locked into position, charged up energy and swung forward, punching the Seeker's chest hard enough to crack the torso armour and sending it flying backwards straight to the dirt and grinding through the ground before stopping with a whine of abused systems.

    Warpath shrugged, examining the minute cut on his hand from where the blade had dug somewhat into the armour: "Well, I have been away for some time, so a tutorial will do me good. After all, only a fool would say-"

    With a boost of its thrusters, the other Seeker lunged at him, but he simply ducked under it, lurched his arms up and knocked it off-balance, sending it crashing to the floor with its own momentum turned against it.

    Undeterred, he finished: "-That they have nothing left to improve on. Pow."

    Both Seekers were getting up now, ready to fight some more, and Warpath laughed. Oh, he had missed this. He had really, really missed this.
     
  12. Ømnidrive

    Ømnidrive Stop.....think......fart.....and keep on going

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2011
    Posts:
    11,351
    Trophy Points:
    322
    Likes:
    +146
    .........Warpath can Grim a run for his money!!! :jawdropper: 
     
  13. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    Author's Notes: Sneak peek time!

    Episode 12: Bad Decisions

    Synopsis: Kup's crew settles into Earth, but they find themselves called into action sooner than they think when the Decepticons hope to invokes consequences for the Lieutenant's recent sentiments for the locals.


    The dirt was torn up beneath her feet, sending her flying through the air and landing in a heap amongst the grasses, slamming the air right from her lungs and sending tremors wracking through her body. Ellen gasped in pain as she struggled to move, limbs shaking as they attempted to push her up from the floor. Alas, her efforts were futile; with her momentum gone, her body was just too tired to try again.

    The sound of footsteps behind her, something crunching through the bushes, and she squeaked in terror as she rolled onto her back, eyes darting frantically in an attempt to spot it as she tried to crawl backwards. But there was nothing, no sign of anything, yet she could hear it, hear the movements, hear the cruel chuckling-

    "Poor little human." The sadistic voice cackled, so close yet with no visible sign of its speaker. "You're so funny when you try to run away on those flabby blood-filled legs. It's like watching a ball of jelly flopping around!"

    She was panicking now, desperately trying to maintain her retreating crawl, when the air shimmered before her and the horrific scarred visage of the crimson robot's silvery face appeared out of nowhere, flexing sharp claws and murderous intent. Body overcome with terror, Ellen found her efforts dwindling in both fear and weakness as he moved towards her, eyes locked onto her with all the viciousness of a hungry bear on his frozen and helpless victim.

    "You stupid little fleshy thing." He sneered, his skull-like inner face bearing a vicious grin. "I'm going to enjoy correcting the universe's mistake in letting worthless fragging wastes of life like you survive. Heh, maybe right before you die, you'll realise the fragging consequences of stepping into a stranger's car."

    His foot stomped mere inches, shaking the ground and her whole body as he leaned in over her, the girl shuddering with terror as his claws lingered by her head, and he whispered: "But don't worry about dying alone or anything; after I'm done bleeding out every last bit of you, I'm going to go see your sister, and I'm going to kill her too. What do you think will be sweeter; her screams as I peel her open, or her tears when I tell her what I did to her precious sibling?"

    He chortled as if he'd heard the most delightful joke in the world, and all the fear she felt right now, trapped under his monster, was suddenly null and void, replace by an overwhelming sense of danger and terror for her sister, her sister who knew nothing of these mechanical monstrosities, who would never see them coming, who would die because of her-

    "N-No, please-" She whimpered, tears leaking down her cheeks. "D-Don't hurt her! Please, leave her alone!"

    "Tell me, Ellen." He whispered, delightedly ignoring her pleas, leaning in close enough she could see the intricate workings of his deep red eyes. "Do you believe in the Reaper?"

    He gave a sharp cackle that had her ears ringing in pain, before he inched a claw right above her eye, the sharp metal coming in closer and closer. Helpless, terrified, too weak to fight back or even struggle, with only her agonising demise before her and the horror of her sister's fate tearing at her, Ellen clenched her eyes shut and prayed for the end to come swiftly-
     
  14. Ømnidrive

    Ømnidrive Stop.....think......fart.....and keep on going

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2011
    Posts:
    11,351
    Trophy Points:
    322
    Likes:
    +146
    JAZZ YOU SCREWED UP BADLY!!!! :popcorn 
     
  15. Jamocha101

    Jamocha101 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2012
    Posts:
    1,441
    Trophy Points:
    207
    Likes:
    +218
    I don't have any excuse for dropping off the face of the Earth. Literally all I've doing lately on the internet is watching and blogging Star Trek. Blame Star Trek.

    But so okay I read like a little less than half of this a day after it came out and then I read all the rest today so some things are more fresh in my memory than others, but over all, I don't actually have that much to say. I didn't want to write a flimsy review after abandoning my TFM post for such a long time, but I have a really hard time getting through the long action scenes and like 85% of this chapter was action because it's lines upon lines of intensive detail onto the characters getting knocked around and their combative strategies and no plot progression. I guess I already vented about the use of detailed fights in non-visual literature before so whatevs. Since I end up kind of skimming through it, I'm way more likely to miss hints at things if there are any. But I digress.

    The opening scene with Bumblebee and Hound though was just golden...I'm really happy that Hound is able to speak fluently and that any effects on his processor aren't painfully apparent (yet), like detriments to his cognizant skills and things...I guess I wouldn't mind either way, but the conversation that those two had was really touching and thought-provoking. I actually wondered before: Hound is (or was) a biologist with an avid appreciation for life, but he's a renowned soldier in a way who supposedly has no qualms against teaching his apprentice the same violence and cruelty that's inherent in this situation. However, there was finally an exposure of that conflict as he's speaking to Bumblebee about it and the latter asks genuinely intriguing questions.

    Which is another thing: it's nice to see a more somber side of Bumblebee. Don't get me wrong, I like his bubbliness and childishness but I've also wanted to see more of the deep side of him that's been implied a couple or so times. Since he's so naive, I enjoy the idea that there is tons of room for a frickin parabola of a character arc. I thought that I picked up that darker side of him when, for once, he inquires something genuinely brooding; also like how it shows that he's capable of competent inquiry and doesn't just do everything blindly for the lulz or because he was told to. Not to mention, it was an enjoyable way to get some insight into how exactly the war had gotten started in the first place; I personally really like when origin stories and backgrounds are revealed via dialogue or actions instead of through just the monologue of the story itself.

    I'm not sure whether or not I'm surprised that Bumblebee still didn't want to kill Barricade even after what the latter did to Hound. I feel like the idea that he doesn't hate the guy could be at least somewhat comprehensible because I've heard the idea of soul force or whatever, but I find it more potentially controversial that it's still undecided whether or not Bumblebee has the urge to actually kill him. Granted, there was the elaboration that he wouldn't want to kill Barricade purely out of hate, but I question under exactly what circumstances he would kill the guy? Odds are, it's not going to happen out of self-defense; it could, but it's probably not going to. And it's not like that killing Barricade, no matter whether or not it's out of contempt, wouldn't exactly be tactically sound. The guy needs to die. But I guess the whole point is a question of morality, I'm just inquisitive toward how objective morality actually is. Hound actually expressed that more people (and inwardly, he himself) should be more like Bumblebee because the latter doesn't want to let the power of hate overcome him, (insinuating, incidentally, that by now Hound has which I feel is perfectly justifiable tbh), but I can't honestly say that I agree with that. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not criticizing the writing or anything, these are just genuine thoughts that have been provoked within me as I think about it.

    Now as for the rest of the story, when he get a crap load of action fighting jets and bugs and everything, I didn't gather much out of that. I thought it was weird that Jazz had outwardly inquired about Warpath's speaking habit (it actually felt kind of rude of Jazz but he's been peeving me the heck off lately and I'm not surprised) and Warpath made it sound like he had some physical ailment that was causing the compulsion. I don't know if that's what I was supposed to garner out of that, but I'm just trying to get what the point was. Otherwise, Warpath's dialogue bugs me, the whole onomatopoeia habit, as I imagine it would many people. Especially if I knew the guy in real life. I can't say I'm wild about him himself just yet, but he's barely been around, so. idk

    Eeeeehhh I dunno other than that stuff...I think there were a few things that I caught here and there, but over all, there wasn't remarkable progression in this chapter. Granted, I seem to recall you saying that this episode would be longer than normal, so I'm looking forward to the rest of it.

    EDIT: I forgot to talk about the sneak peek, okay. So the most prominent thing that I got out of it is now Ellen is definitely on my shitlist for becoming the apparently unavoidable Dumbass In Distress and I was really enjoying not having any humans with a prominent role. Like, excuse you, Ellen. Just how important do you think you are. And that's not a hit at the writing, that's just me. I also hate girls like wow.

    Jazz has also efficiently ticked me off for being stupid all the while and associating regularly with a human girl. Yeah Jazz you smart. Always needing help with your freakin crap.

    Dang, even Barricade pissed me off. He's playing up the stereotypical villain trait with the trying-too-hard-to-be-snarky dialogue so much that something in me during this go around literally snapped and now all I can tell myself is wow no jest stap. He gets beat up and kicked around literally all the time for being such a little piece of shizznit and he's still such a huge beeznitch that just thinks he's great. Aaaaahhhhhhh.

    This next episode is going to invoke much rage upon me I am calling it now.
     
  16. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    The Seeker went flying on his next hit, collapsing into a heap next to its struggling comrade, the jet forced to prop itself on its swords to regain its footing. Warpath idly watched them, taking a moment to flex his fingers and examine the subtle denting on his knuckles.

    "Close-quarters combat executions seem to be in order. Legs move well, arms move better, reflexes up to date, systems doing fine and it seems the old power levels haven't dropped as badly as I thought. Considering I've been out of the game for so long, I'm impressed I'm doing so well." He mused, before admitting: "Though, in fairness, I'm not exactly being tested here."

    The recovering Seeker lunged at him, swinging with in a flurry of bladed fury. Warpath dipped this way and that, focussing mainly on evasion at this point; being shorter than his foe, he had an edge in that the taller jet's attacks had to deal with compensating for the height difference. The Seeker's arm came down, but Warpath easily caught, swung around with his back to the jet and flipped it over him, the jet cracking the ground on impact.

    Warpath's chest cannon dully glowed as he considered: "I could finish you now and just practice with the other one, but bam, I think it'd be better to keep up my two-on-one techniques. This next move is an old favourite."

    Maintaining his grip on his opponent’s arm, and with a hefting of hydraulics, he swung the jet around and tossed it into the other one, sending both Seekers crashing down to the floor.

    "Hit a fragger with another fragger." Warpath stated, chuckling now with delight. "The moment passes so quickly, but the memory is forever."

    Wheeljack, on the other hand, was not quite as secure in his conflict as his new buddy. The truck danced and darted this way and that to avoid the aggressive slashes of the drone, deflecting as many swipes as he could and trying to sneak in a counterattack. He jabbed with his sword, but the jet just stepped back before kicking forward, knocking him backwards.

    The tow truck managed to roll back onto his feet, plasma cannon raised and firing as the Seeker charger. The blast struck its chest, searing purple armour, but the drone powered through and swung its swords at him, flashes of metal barely grazing the retreating Autobot.

    Wheeljack was feeling a bit frustrated at this point. So far, he’d had no opportunities to safely deploy a flash grenade, nor was the Seeker granting him much relief with its constant offence, keeping him strictly on the defensive and preventing effective retaliation. If he wanted to win, he’d either have to think of something particularly outlandish or press his own attack. Considering the latter didn’t quite befit him against such a foe, he opted for the former.

    After all, he wasn’t the Autobot’s brilliant and talented inventor for nothing.

    Leaping backwards from another strike, his third arm leaned back and jammed his hook into the ground, extending the cable as he continued to retreat from the attacking Seeker, between his legs, further and further, underneath the Seeker too, and then he was ready.

    His tow-line promptly retracted to retract just as he leapt up into the air; hook secured into the ground, he was promptly dragged forwards by his arm with a jolt, twisting himself in mid-air and thus aligning his legs with the Seeker’s own legs. Unprepared for such a trick, the Seeker was sent tumbling head-over-heels by the tow truck’s collision.

    Oh wow, he really was awesome, he gleefully thought as he rolled back to his feet. His cool trick had given him the opportunity he’d needed to unveil his missile launcher and blast the recovering Seeker in the chest, sending it staggering back with chest armour torn and set aflame by the potent projectile. Taking advantage of its agony, Wheeljack lunged in and jammed his sword into a leg, twisting it in order to disrupt the joint and force the Seeker down onto its knees.

    But the drone was not completely overwhelmed and lashed out with an arm, attempting to drive its sword back into its attacker-

    BAM!

    -Only for the forearm to be torn off at the joint by an accurate shot from Warpath’s shoulder turret, whom had left his own opponents in a defeated heap and had decided to wander off and see how his new friend was doing. Surprised at the intrusion, Wheeljack nevertheless regained his wit and pulled his sword from the Seeker and kicked out its uninjured leg, causing the jet to slump to the floor in pain, and turned to the tank.

    “Excellent strategy, Wheeljack; targeting the joints of larger opponents is the age-old tactic of turning the tables upon them.” Warpath stated cheerfully, pausing beside the bemused tow truck and examining his damaged opponent. “But you need to be more aware of any desperate counter-measures your foe may take, pow.”

    “Yeah, thanks.” The tow truck replied, flexing his arms and twirling the Energon off of his sword. “But I’m pretty sure I could have handled it.” A glance over at the tank’s beaten adversaries, before adding: “You seem to have done well yourself. You know, for a bot who’s spent years drifting through space.”

    “Indeed. These Seekers are not up to acceptable combat standards; Starscream has woefully fallen behind on updating his models.” Warpath revved regretfully. “A shame. I’d hoped for more satisfaction in our victory.”

    “If you say so. I’m feeling pretty satisfied myself.”

    The tank just shrugged and nodded, before stepping towards the disorientated drone, struggling to get back up. It had barely a second to register the Autobot before Warpath casually raised a foot and stomped its head into pulp, idly noting that at least their deaths retained their original satisfactions. Wheeljack raised a brow at such a callous fatality, watching the tank idly scrape the bits and pieces off of his feet on the ground, before noting that the other two Seekers were getting back to their feet.

    “Oh hey, your ones are getting back up. I thought that was unheard of for you.”

    “Assisting my comrades takes priority over my own self-satisfaction. That said, I do have plenty to do to regain past expectations.” Warpath replied cheerfully, patting the tow truck on the head in the manner of a parent correcting their child, before he transformed into his vehicle mode, a massive hulking hovering form reminiscent of an Earth tank, complete with a plethora of massive guns.

    The Seekers had seemed at first ready to continue their battle, but upon seeing Warpath’s vehicle form and the array of cannons aimed at them, as well as the corpse of their fellow drone, they promptly decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Immediately, they turned tail and assumed their vehicle forms just as Warpath opened fire.

    And what a firestorm it was! Just as his opening attack had filled the sky with firepower, so too did this next barrage, rending the air asunder with plasma blasts and missiles and gigantic fiery spheres of destruction born from his main cannon. Were it not for the fact the Seekers were as fast and manoeuvrable as they were wise in retreating, they’d have certainly been destroyed in the onslaught. As it was, the jets managed to avoid the fire in the sky and boosted to Mach speeds, vanishing into the night as fast as they had first appeared.

    With his foes gone, Warpath ceased fire, systems powering down as he idly vented air over his smoking barrels. Next to him, Wheeljack just stared in complete awe, optics wide and head lights wildly flickering at the awesome display of projectile perfection he’d just witnessed. Damn, he’d heard Warpath packed one Pit of an arsenal, but that was like watching a Devastator-class warship in action, never mind a single tank!

    “Whoa.” He vocalised. “And I thought Grimlock was a master of annihilation. He might just have competition now. Man, I’ve never seen someone take down Seekers so quickly like that; those drones are pretty tough but you just came along and made them cry uncle!”

    The tank merely chuckled: “High praise indeed, Wheeljack. Still, let’s not forget that overcoming Seekers is hardly a challenge to brag about.”

    A pause, then he added: “What’s an uncle?”

    Wheeljack ignored that, preferring to state: “Pfft, maybe they don’t have much challenge for you, tank, but I had a pretty hardcore fight with one this other day and I gotta tell you, I was feeling pretty damn good when I tore it a new one with my awesome invention.”

    “Such is the method of science that even if their skills in combat are not necessarily overwhelming, intelligence and innovation will make up for that lack of refinement.” Warpath complimented. “Ka-blam.”

    “Thanks, bot. Nice to have someone around who can articulate the importance and competence of an inventor! So, what now?”

    The turret swivelled around, considering: “The Seekers are defeated and yet their master does not appear. If Starscream did send them to kill us, he has either decided to leave us be or has gone to pursue other targets. His cowardice, as I’m sure you know, is most prominent in every action he takes.”

    “Heh, ain’t that the truth. Alright then, I think we ought to head back to the ship, in case he and some other goons try to pay it a visit. Grimlock’s great at holding the line, but even he might need help against whatever saps Starscream might try to throw at him”

    “Very well, then reinforcing the berserker will be our next objective. And what of this corpse?”

    Wheeljack turned to give the dead Seeker a glance, its crushed head leaking Energon into the ground, before he shrugged and said: “Meh, we’ll come back for it later. I’ve already got its coordinates locked in anyway, so when this whole thing blows over we can come and pick it up, assuming the Cons don’t come for it themselves.”

    With that, he twisted around into vehicle form, doors and panels locking into place as he revved ups his tires and initiated a communication with Jazz, thankful that the line went through without those Seekers jamming it: “Hey Lieutenant, me and Warpath just finished with the Seekers. How goes your scouting?”

    ”Fine as wine, as it goes.” Jazz replied dryly. ”I’ve got a lock on the barnacle’s trail, so I’m heading out to put it down. Did Starscream show his face?”

    “Nah, no sign of the smoke-heeled fragger. We’re on our way back to the ship now, unless you need any help taking down that freak?”

    ”No, I’ll be fine, and if all else fails, I might hold out for Arcee swooping in to save me. Head back to the ship and keep me updated. Lieutenant out.”

    With that said and done, the tow truck span his tires, spitting up snow, and set off into the forest, followed by the massive form of the Cybertronian tank. They vanished into the trees, leaving no sign of their conflict here save for some scorch marks, cracks in the ground and one particularly dead drone.

    --

    Evac was monitoring the main console when Bumblebee wheeled in, taking a moment to turn and greet the smaller Autobot before returning his attention to the transmissions. So far, Ratchet and Hot Shot had remained silent, likely engaged in their reparations of the other crew members of the Resurgence, and the signals for the other Autobots were rather erratic and weak, probably as a result of the weather on their end.

    Transmissions from Cybertron in turn had been put on hold for a while, since Iacon was on the defensive in response to yet another half-sparked Decepticon assault, so Energon transfers would have to wait for a while. Evac hoped they'd call back soon; it would be pretty grim for all their efforts to achieve nothing in the wake of Iacon somehow losing this fight. Evac shook his head slightly; Iacon wouldn't lose. It had lasted five centuries so far, damaged but alive, and he was sure it would last this as well.

    But then he contemplated the other order he'd been issued recently, specifically that of looking up space barnacles. He’d never seen a live one before, or a dead one either, but he was aware of their reputation as potent parasites, feeding off of the resources of other species in order to spread their foul spores, further boosting the presence of their kind within a territory. Add in the fact they had an annoying tendency to hide upon ships in order to spread their range across entire planets and one could imagine in how their presence was never appreciated.

    Still, he hadn’t quite suspected such an aggressive mobile phase from the creature. Most of the time, the mobile phase of a barnacle was more like the Earth creature called a snail, a slow crawler that reacted defensively to attackers rather than initiating an assault. The idea of some multi-legged jumping beast capable of horrifying agility unnerved him; who would have guessed that water, such a simple life-giving concept on this planet and a fair few others, could be such a potent enhancement to the parasite?

    Well, so long as his comrades destroyed it soon, he supposed he shouldn’t worry too much. Oh sure, their failure to stop it spreading spores could result in ecological catastrophe, but he was confident that his buddies would kill it soon enough. After all, Grimlock was with them, and Grimlock alone was more than a match for any barnacle-

    “Evac, do you ever really think about how we share a ship with people who have killed other people?”

    What the frag?

    Evac jerked slightly in place when he heard such a question, optics widening with shock as he turned his head towards Bumblebee, sat by one of the side-consoles and wearing an uncharacteristically contemplative expression with extra elements of dejection and solemn grimness. The car’s own optics locked onto the helicopter, awaiting an answer and Evac had to take a moment to compose himself.

    “W-Well… to be honest I never really… really thought of it. Um… w-what do you mean by, you know, that? Like, um-“

    Bumblebee spared him the effort and elaborated: “Hound’s my mentor. He’s one of my best friends, the bot who taught me practically everything I know. And he’s killed people. And he wants to kill people. Well, specifically this one bot, but he’s every bit as intending it as pigs intend to fly, so the saying goes.”

    Evac hesitated: “Pigs flying means it doesn’t happen.”

    “Oh. Well, you get my point. He’s a good bot to me, to you, to all of us, but still, he has killed Decepticons. And Jazz has, and Grimlock, and Wheeljack and I’m sure Ratchet’s managed one or two on a good day And then there’s us, the rookies, the new bots, the ones who can count our dumb old skirmishes on one hand never mind actual kills. Doesn’t that make you just stop and… think?”

    Now this was definitely unnerving the helicopter; while he was aware that his ever-go-lucky friend had his moments of eloquence and genuine contemplation, he’d never seen it focussed towards such a dark subject, never seen the dimmed optics narrowed on such concepts. And quite frankly, it freaked him out, not the least of which being it was sparking a similar thought-track in his own processor.

    Jazz for instance, his commander and one of the bots he had the most respect for, had killed people, fellow Cybertronians. Had he done it with the grim air of doing what must be done? Or had there been moments in his life where he had enjoyed it? Hound, Wheeljack, his good friends, had killed people before. Grimlock, no doubt, he’d killed lots of people, but then Grimlock wasn’t exactly someone he was close to.

    His own mentor, Ratchet, must have killed someone in this war. Maybe not as many as others, but he’d killed nonetheless. The thought made his exhaust pipes smoke.

    Evac’s rotors clattered together in sudden anxiety, and he forcibly shook himself out of it and mumbled, trying to get his thoughts back together: “It’s… well, it’s…. you know… we’re… we’re at war, Bumblebee, a war that’s gone on for centuries. It’d be, it’d be unrealistic for them to have somehow, you know, avoided killing someone along the way since, you know, they were around at the start of it and fought lots of battles and… and stuff.”

    A lacking way to finish, the chopper considered as he sagged a little bit while Bumblebee considered that for a moment. But still, what else could he say, really? This current subject of conversation was not one he preferred to think about, not one at all.

    The Beetle had yet to respond, so Evac, against better judgement, decided to continue: “Besides, it’s not as if…. It’s not as if they kill for fun or enjoyment or twisted stuff like that. They do it to, to protect themselves, to stop the Decepticon’s tyranny-“

    “But that’s something rather subjective, isn’t it?” Bumblebee suddenly spoke up, optics glowing with some kind of epiphany-like inkling of thought. “Are Decepticons really evil, or is that just what we’re told? You and I, we came into this world to older Autobots telling us about the evil Lord Megatron, how he and his army of tyrants would destroy us all, and we need to be the brave new awesome soldiers to combat him! But is that truth, or just propaganda?”

    “I…. I know the world isn’t black and white, Bumblebee, but you kind of have to admit, what we’ve seen of them kind of points to the whole, you know, they’re-pretty-twisted thing. Remember what Starscream did to Ratchet? What he tried to do to you? They captured and interrogated you, a rookie! And…. And I saw what Barricade did to Hound-“

    “You’re right, Evac. There are bad Cons out there. Of course there are!” Bumblebee declared, waving his arms around to emphasize his point. “But that doesn’t mean all of them are, right?”

    “I… well, no, I guess there would be… wait, where, where is this even coming from, Bumblebee? You’ve never talked to me about this before.”

    The car considered that, before replying: “When I was trapped in that landslide, when Jazz, Grimlock and Wheeljack had to go pull my bumper out of the metaphorical technically-non-existent fire, I had this talk with the Decepticon I was trapped with. You know her? The medic, Slipstream, the black jet with the ray arm.”

    “I remember her. She was the one who kidnapped you.”

    “Yeah, that too. But here’s the thing; when we were stuck in there, with no way out and nothing to do but talk, we did just that; talk. And I feel… I feel I gained some insight, you know what I mean? I learned stuff about her, about who she considers friends, how she values her sentiments, her morals. I’d thought Decepticons were just, you know, the bad guys, the people we need to defeat once and for all. But talking to Slipstream made me realise; what if she’s not a bad guy? What if she’s just like you and me? A regular bot who just happens to be on the other side?”

    Evac tapped his fingers together, considering that, before the car went on: “And then when I was talking to Hound in there, realising just how close I came to losing him, he asked me about Barricade, what I felt about him doing that to my own mentor. He… he asked me if I wanted to kill Barricade for it.”

    A pause then, the car considering, the helicopter horrified.

    With a nervous rev, rotors clacking together more prominently now, Evac asked: “So… so, um, do you?”

    “I don’t know. I told him no, mind you. I told him that I didn’t want to be like Barricade, just some hateful monster who kills things out of anger or revenge and stuff, and he accepted it. But when I think about it a bit more, I wonder…. Would I? If I had the chance, would I kill Barricade for what he did to Hound?”

    Evac, sensing his comrade’s inner turmoil, tentatively leaned down and placed a hand on Bumblebee’s shoulder, coercing bright blue optics to lock onto his green as he replied: “Bumblebee, I… I don’t really know what to say, to be honest. I wasn’t there when Starscream broke Ratchet’s hip, I only got there afterwards. I was shocked at what had happened, but I never thought about killing Starscream, getting revenge on him or something. I just wanted to help my mentor, you know? Maybe it’s ‘cause I was raised to be a medic, but I don’t think that death, that killing someone, should be the first option we think of, you know? I think we have to consider, think about things, maybe offer a chance. I don’t know.”

    He hesitated, then muttered: “And I know that’s gonna sound kind of hypocritical when I say what I’m gonna say next. But…. I was there when Barricade hurt Hound. I saw it. And that… that wasn’t a Cybertronian soldier fighting a war. That was a, a monster, killing and hurting for its own pleasure and cruelty and… it’s horrifying. They always tell us Decepticons are bad, but I’ve never seen one that bad. I think… maybe in this case, considering what happened… that maybe it would be for the best if Barricade was killed.”

    Bumblebee raised a brow: “You’d condone his murder.”

    “I’d condone putting down an animal.” Evac clarified. “If you had seen what I’d seen him do- Seriously, it was like he wasn’t even Cybertronian anymore. Like, it’s like what happens if you take out a rational mind and replace it with an Insecticon or something. It was, it was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen” A moment of hesitance, before he added: “But I’m not asking you to go out right now, hunt him down and kill him, Bumblebee, I’m not telling you to extend that to every other Decepticon. All I’ll say is that, if you or me or any of the others had the opportunity, to take out just this one, just this one particular Decepticon… maybe we ought to take it.”

    “But here’s something.” Bumblebee pointed out. “When Slipstream was telling me about the Decepticons, she mentioned Barricade. She told me, sure, he was a jerk most of the time. But there were moments when he was… good, I guess. When he was actually nice. Is he really just some animal then, if his comrade offers sympathy for him?”

    Evac’s optics flickered in uncertainty as he leaned back, considering that. Bumblebee leaned against the main console himself, idly tapping a few buttons to bring up a hologram of a bumblebee idly buzzing around a flower; the sight of the simple insect was somewhat soothing, an amusing reminder of how small the universe could seem. He could do with it, considering his current mood and situation.

    Finally, the helicopter offered a response: “Well, that’s that I guess. Barricade’s not as dark as he might be, at least to his own faction. But it doesn’t really change what he does to our faction, what he did do to our friend.”

    The car nodded simply, and again Evac put a hand on his shoulder: “Bumblebee, there’s no shame in feeling sympathy for the enemy, you know, if that’s what’s getting you down. Even for someone like Barricade. You’re a good bot, you see the best in people. It’s part of what makes you… you. This war’s really big, you know. It’s way bigger than we are. We don’t understand much of it, or the Decepticons that much either. We can only rely on our friends to help us and…. And stuff, I guess.”

    He hesitated a moment, and Bumblebee took that moment to respond: “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. We do rely on our friends. And with friends like you, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

    “Me neither, Bumblebee. Me neither.”

    The car revved a bit, before sullenly adding: “Still… part of me agrees with you, you know. That maybe Barricade doesn’t deserve that sympathy, that it would be better for us if we took him down, if I took him down. But another part… another part doesn’t want to have to resort to that, you know? To look into his optics when they go black and know it was you who did it, you know? That… that scares me.”

    “It scares me too. Lots of things do. But I think… even if we have to do things that, that scare us, that makes us wonder if we were right or not… I think that so long as we make sure to know when to do it, that we can keep it from being our first option, keep it only as the last option we could have… I think we might be okay. I think. I… I don’t know. I don’t know.”

    “I don’t want to kill.” Bumblebee murmured. “Even someone like Barricade.”

    “I don’t want to either. I hope we never have to.”

    “We take what we get, right?”

    “Right.”

    “Evac.”

    “Yeah?”

    “If I did kill Barricade… would you be scared of me?”

    “A bit. And if I did it?”

    “A bit.”

    “Well then.” Evac revved softly. “Let’s try and not scare each other then.”

    “We’ll try. Evac?”

    “Yeah.”

    “Thanks. You’re one of my best friends, you know.” And with this said, Bumblebee got down from his chair, hopped onto the larger Autobot’s lap and hugged him tightly, the kind of hug that both demanded assurance that they were cared for and declared that they cared in turn. Surprised but receptive, Evac returned the gesture and murmured: “You’re one of my best friends too.”

    Silence then, with nothing but the faint glimmer of the holographic bee to disturb them.

    --

    Driving through the forest and scanning intently the trail of blood left by the injured space barnacle, Jazz occupied his thoughts with strategies on how to deal with the creature. It would certainly see him coming at it, with all those freaky eyes scattered over its limbs, and damaging it would be tricky considering that rocky shell, not to mention the fact it had impressive speed to complement its defences.

    On the bright side, at least its limbs were more vulnerable to a good old-fashioned energy blade slice. Carve off the limbs, the thing would be helpless to stop him from prying it open. Well, so long as he actually managed to carve the limbs off. He decided not to think so negatively.

    Still, parts of him expressed their concern. Though Warpath and Wheeljack had won their fight, Grimlock and the Resurgance were still at risk of being attacked by any other Decepticons. He could be reassured that those two would be heading back now, but still, he was concerned.

    But he had his own mission to do right now, and that was to find and kill the space barnacle before it could start spreading its spores around. So long as he beat it before then, it wouldn’t be able to impact the area’s environment.

    Well, he hoped so at least.

    Regardless, he drove on, and it seemed he might be onto something; the trail of blood was getting fresher, less coagulated. The barnacle had to be close then, and thus he transformed to robot mode and prepped his pistols; if he was lucky, he might just catch it off-guard while it was nursing its wound and secure the advantage. All he had to do was be stealthy-

    BOOM!

    At least he would have been were it not for the missile that just exploded nearby, sending him rolling into the bushes for cover. He gave a short curse as he clambered back to his feet, in time to now hear the sounds of thrusters descending nearby. A thump of something heavy upon the ground and now he felt quite sure he knew where Starscream had gone.

    And just to prove it, he could hear the jet call out: “Lieutenant! So good to see you up and running after your bout with Barricade on my ship. We’d been so concerned that you might have perished from your wounds.”

    “Concern from you is acid from an Insecticon.” Jazz snorted derisively, as he kept to the bushes and snuck around in search of his foe. “I know you love an ego boost, Starscream, but I’ve got bigger issues than you to worry about right now.”

    “Oh I’m aware. A space barnacle, was it? Nighttrace saw your brawl with it; very lucky that your tank was there to save you.”

    “A shame he won’t extend that favour to you.” Jazz stated, and now he could spy the tall form of his opponent stalking through the trees. Calmly combining his pistols into sniper form, he added: “Tell me, Screamer, did you intend for your Seekers to lose against them?”

    “Not necessarily; merely to occupy.” The jet replied, gazing around his opponent. “Our true target is much more valuable than your soldiers, Lieutenant.”

    “You want the ship.” He replied calmly, sheltering behind a tree and aligning the scope of his weapon with the jet’s head, ready for the fatal shot.

    “Very astute. Your observations are nearly as precise as my own.”

    And with that, he spun around and fired his null rays right where Jazz was hiding. Again the car cursed as he was forced to abandon his shot in favour of evasion, rolling around to avoid the barrage of pink energy and assuming a position to return fire. The jet in turn employed evasion, ducking behind a tree before popping back out to fire at the car.

    The adversaries returned to defensive positons, and Starscream continued: “If it’s any consolation, Lieutenant, I too seek the barnacle’s extermination. Once I’m finished with you, I’ll hunt it down in your stead.”

    “Aw, growing to care for this planet, Screamer?”

    “Barnacles infest all they come across. It would be quite frustrating for my plans to end up delayed by the rapid spread of the creature’s spores. I destroy it purely in my own interest, just as I will destroy you.”

    “That’s the funny thing about trying to destroy me; it’s actually quite difficult.”

    “Believe that if you will.” Starscream stated coolly, flexing his arms and the weapons upon them. “I will be glad to prove you wrong.”

    “Well then, Starscream-“ Jazz replied, charging up his weapon. “-May the best bot win.”

    --

    With a pivot of claws, Grimlock curled in on himself, spinning around with bladed tail gleaming; Airachnid raised her claws defensively and absorbed the incoming blow, thrown to the side but able to maintain her footing. The tail swung further along and Slipstream leapt back to avoid it, the Seeker own blade's clashing with it as fire spewed from Grimlock's mouth, further intensifying Slipstream's need to get away.

    Two opponents held off, Grimlock focussed on the lone Seeker, lunging for it with jaws ablaze and teeth flashing. In response, it swung its blades at him, but the berserker ducked under it and maintained his charge; his head crashed into the Seeker's chest, knocking it backwards. To it’s credit, the recovery was swift with arms jolting back to catch the ground and flip it back up, landing neatly on its feet before unveiling the shoulder turrets and opening fire on him.

    Shrugging off the light fire, Grimlock shot back with his own blasters, forcing the Seeker to cut off its shots to maintain a solid evasion. However, the other Decepticons were re-joining the fray, with Slipstream running in to deal the next blow. Grimlock swung round and parried her blades with a swing of the tail before he lunged at her, but she simply jetted upwards, and he barely had time to curse his miss when her foot shot out, kicking the side of his head and jolting him off-balance.

    Airachnid was next, and her claw crashed into the other side of the berserker’s head, before following up with another swipe. Infuriated, Grimlock belched a stream of fire that forced her back before swinging his tail at her. Airachnid’s rotors flared outwards as she bent over backwards to dodge it, but she was too slow to avoid the follow-up kick that sent her flying back into a heap of dirt and snow.

    Eager to rip her apart, Grimlock made to follow up on his advantage, only to be distracted by gunfire peppering his sides. Enraged, he turned and locked onto the Seeker before charging, jaws flaming for the kill. The Seeker dodged his wild lunge and leapt to the side, causing the tanker truck to realise he’d been led into another attack from Slipstream; the jet came at him from above, blades slicing at his back and earning a howl of pain.

    She landed neatly next to him, plasma cannon already charging and ready to fire, but she’d overestimated the effects of her attack; in an impressive display of brutal cunning, Grimlock swung his tail around and impaled the blade straight into her ray arm, Slipstream squealing in pain as the weapon dug into her. The Seeker moved in to help her, but Grimlock swung himself out of the way and aimed the medic’s own cannon at the drone. A twist of the blade forced her to fire, and the blast of energy struck the Seeker in the chest, sending it crashing to the floor.

    Slipstream attempted to wrench herself free of the agonising blade, but was jolted onto her knees by the tail’s jerking movement, putting her directly into the perfect position for the Autobot’s incoming jaws to aim for her head. Realising he’d get her before she could retaliate but refusing to die without a fight, Slipstream swung up her other arm to bring her blade towards his head in a final act of defiance as his teeth closed in-

    Quite suddenly, both of them were suddenly jolted off-course as something slammed into Grimlock’s back, his trail wrenched free from Slipstream’s arm as he flailed off-course in agony, the jet slumping to the floor in her own pain as she quickly glanced up to see what had saved her.

    To her relief, it was none other than Airachnid, now shifted into her beast form and clinging tenaciously to the back of the Autobot, her sharp legs and jaws buried into his backside where he could not so easily reach as he swung round and round, jaws snapping futilely in his efforts to reach her. As he lurched away from the jet in his efforts to dislodge the ferocious scorpion, Slipstream turned her attention to the injured Seeker. Assuring herself that Airachnid could stave off Grimlock for now, she quickly jetted over to the drone to administer some repairs.

    As she did that, Grimlock finally locked his jaws around a stray claw of his attacker and threw her off of his back. Airachnid landed heavily on the floor but was quick to roll back to her feet, baring her stinger menacingly as she circled her opponent. Grimlock snarled, fire flaring from his jaws as he kept his optics locked onto his quicker foe, pivoting this way and that to keep up with her rapid side-to-side movements, both bestial Cybertronians snarling and hissing at each other.

    Growling angrily, Grimlock snapped his jaws at her, but the Decepticon retaliated by jabbing at him with her stinger, which he managed to evade. The game of hit-and-run continued between them, the two lashing out at each other yet unable to secure decent hits. Finally, Grimlock lunged forward and Airachnid retaliated by grabbing his jaws with her claws, locking them in a furious power struggle.

    Naturally, the tanker truck proved the physical superior, instantly shoving the scorpion without any effort regardless of how she tried to dig her legs in. But Airachnid had always favoured intellect over force and thus she turned the berserker’s own strength against him. With a quick side-step, she dodged to the side and caused him to slam his own head into the ground. Seizing this moment of opportunity, she stabbed her stinger forward and jammed it straight into his neck.

    Grimlock gave a howl of pain at the piercing, before twisting away, freeing himself from the attack and bringing his tail around to bear, smacking his opponent away. Airachnid recovered swiftly and prepped to attack again, before pausing as she noticed something interesting; from the wound she’d inflicted was dribbling orangey fluids, steaming in the cold air. Not Energon, but in fact flammable fluids utilised in flamethrowers.

    His flamethrower’s components were stored in his neck! Airachnid’s optics widened in stunned amazement; she had just uncovered a weakness!

    The berserker came at her again, tail first and blade gleaming, but she was ready; her own tail retracted the stinger and instead the tail rotor upon it was deployed, blade spinning around rapidly. She darted out with it and the blades clashed in a flare of sparks. Again their tails clashed and clashed, before she swung round and darted under him, slicing his belly with the rotor. Grimlock snarled angrily and chased her off with a blast of flame before the helicopter dug her claws and flipped up, transforming into robot mode.

    Grimlock lunged at her then, but she side-stepped the attack and danced over to Slipstream, whom was helping the rejuvenated Seeker back to its feet, her healing ray having proven quite adequate in restoring the damage her own weapon had done to it.

    “Slipstream.” Airachnid stated swiftly, firing up the weapons on her shoulder-wings to keep the Autobot at bay. “I’ve found us a weakness. Aim for the napalm on his neck; it should ignite and trigger the rest of it right inside his neck.”

    “Good job, Airachnid.” Slipstream complimented as she and the Seeker spread out, ready to reengage. “We might just pull this off at this rate.”

    “Perhaps. The Seeker and I will occupy him; ready your blaster and keep an optic on his neck. When you have the chance, take it-“

    Suddenly, she was struck by a wave of thermal energy that staggered both her and her comrades, a wave that instantly had her weapons overheating in a protesting of neurals. Snarling in anger at this, she twisted her head round to see where it had come from. Surprise, from the Autobot ship itself, more specifically from the grinning Autobot with the yellow optics and the overheat generators protruding from his arms standing at the doorway of the side-hatch.

    “Surprise, Decepticons!” This new opponent hollered, leaping down from the hatch which sealed itself behind him and immediately converting into a speeder vehicle mode. “Bet you didn’t see this coming!”

    He whizzed across the clearing, an energy pistol mounted on his side blasting at them as the Seeker spun around to swing its blades at him, though unable to keep up with the Autobot’s speed. The other two would have assisted the drone, were it not for the fact that Grimlock was moving in to resume the battle. Airachnid gave a hiss of annoyance, before exchanging a nod with Slipstream and resuming her beast mode, charging back into battle with the berserker alongside the medic.

    The Seeker, with its projectile weapons disabled briefly by the overheating, pursued the manoeuvrable Autobot relentlessly with bursts of flame from its thrusters, swinging again and again at him. Alas, Hot Shot proved too quick for it, laughing eagerly as he continued to dodge the larger Cybertronian and blast at it with his pistol. Ah, it was good to be in battle again!

    The Seeker swung at him again, but this time Hot Shot extended arms, grabbed the ground and threw himself upwards, transforming in mid-air to deliver an impressive kick to the jet’s torso, sending it staggering backwards slightly.

    “Oh yeah! How’d you like them moves?” He hollered arrogantly, before yelping as the jet kicked out at him, barely missing its smaller foe. As he continued to dodge and duck under the jet’s attacks, he added: “Gonna have to do better than that to get one over Hot Shot-“

    The Seeker’s next swipe grazed his leg with the blade, sending him hopping backwards with a squawk of pain: “Ow! Ow! Okay, that’s kind of better, but not better enough!”

    He promptly pulled out both the energy pistol and another weapon, another pistol with a prominent barrel, and opened fire on the drone, with the latter weapon shooting small grenades. The Seeker was forced onto the defensive by the sudden show of weaponry, and Hot Shot relished his advantage with a jolly laugh.

    Meanwhile, Grimlock was also enjoying the fact his fight was going in his favour. Though his foes were manoeuvrable, neither of them possessed his ferocious zeal. With the third opponent adequately distracted, it was much easier for him to focus on these two and press his attack. His head slammed into Slipstream, causing her to stagger, before a blast of flame had her retreating. He would have pressed this attack, were it not for the scorpion again leaping onto his back, claws aiming at his neck.

    With a swift lurch of his body, he rolled over onto his side, forcing the Decepticon to jump off to avoid being crushed and thus granting him the opportunity to bring his tail to bear and knock her away with a hefty swipe. Airachnid transformed back into robot mode and attempted to come at him with a spinning claw manoeuvre, but he easily caught an incoming arm in his jaws, crunching into metal with a snarl of pain from her, before tossing her to the side.

    And just in time too, for Slipstream had her plasma cannon ready and appeared to be aiming for his neck. He twisted his body for his thick torso to absorb the blast, before lunging at her. The jet jetted out of his way, but his hip blasters activated and blasted at her, causing her to stumble in a sudden effort to change course and avoid them.

    As Grimlock slammed his tail into Slipstream, sending her crashing to the ground, before he turned and opened fire on Airachnid, whom was attempting to shoot him, Hot Shot leapt back from another swipe of the Seeker and brought his grenade pistol to bear. With an arrogant smirk, he declared: “Eat this, Decepticreep!”

    But alas, just as he fired, the Seeker refused to indulge him, twisting itself to as to dodge the projectile. The projectile carried on and thus immediately sailed towards a target behind the Seeker; Grimlock himself. Hot Shot saw this and, realising his mistake, cried out: “Grimlock, look- ARGH!”

    The Seeker’s leg had swung into him and sent him flying with an impressive kick, just as Grimlock’s optics tilted to see what the other Autobot had called for, only instead to see the grenade heading straight towards him, right as it hit his neck.

    The projectile’s explosion ignited the flammable fluids dribbling from Grimlock’s neck and instantly fire began spewing from him uncontrollably as the napalm containers ignited prematurely, the metal of his neck ripping open from a sudden burst of flames. The tanker truck screeched out in pain as boiling fluids burst from his mouth. His optics were as wide as could be, flickering wildly as the fires enveloped his head, a truly horrific affair to witness.

    But even with his neck boiling apart and the agony flowing from it surely unimaginable, Grimlock proved nigh infallible in his quest for murder. Forcing himself through the agony, he lunged forward without regard for his torn neck and the igniting flames spilling from it and head-butted Airachnid mightily, sending her crashing to the ground. With an unholy roar of fury, he moved in to finish her once and for all-

    “Get away from her!” Slipstream thundered, lunging in from the side. Disorientated by the flames still burning fiercely at him, Grimlock was unaware of her approach until she struck; with a sickening tear of metal, she jammed both of her blades straight into his body, piercing him to the point that her black wingtips, dripping with Energon, protruded from the other side of him.

    Grimlock’s roar of agony had Airachnid jostling backwards at the audio-rending noise, the berserker struggling furiously to free himself from his attacker’s blades, but now the Seeker joined in, lunging from the his other side and mimicking Slipstream’s manoeuvre, shoving its swords straight through the Autobot. Impaled from both sides, Grimlock furiously attempted to lurch this way and that, tail flailing madly as his jaws snapped again and again, but the two jets held fast, keeping him pinned between them.

    His own lifeblood spilling out from the wounds, Grimlock’s struggles began to cease, body weakening from the potent wounds as his tail drooped down and he collapsed onto his knees, the flames on his head finally dissipating as his weakened neck caused it to sag somewhat. Both Slipstream and the Seeker nevertheless maintained their advantage, keeping their blades lodged within their prey as Airachnid got back to her feet. Now wearing a triumphant and cruel grin at the sight of her foe’s vulnerability, she unsheathed her energy rifle and began to power it up for the final blow.

    Seeing this from his kneeling position, realising exactly the utter magnitude of his mistake, Hot Shot cried out as he raised his gun arm: “No! Stop!-“

    Airachnid turned her gun on him and blasted him, sending him flying back to the floor in a dazed heap, his grenade pistol sent flying away. She would have no interruptions to her triumph now.

    Returning her gun to her desired target, Grimlock snarling and hissing weakly as he continued to try and worm his way off of the blades piercing him, she declared: “You have caused the Decepticons so much trouble, berserker. Thunderwing was gravely mistaken in granting you such power. But now, now I will correct his mistake. Die as you lived; a violent rabid animal.”

    And with that, she shot him directly in the head, charring and ripping armour with the power of her shot as a sharp hiss of sparks and Energon burst from the wound.

    Grimlock, the most infamous of all Autobots, sputtered and jerked at the shot, jaws open agape as if he could not believe what had happened, before his crimson optics flickered, went dark, and the ferocious berserker slumped. The jets cautiously pulled their blades out of him, and for a moment his kneeling position suspended, before he titled forwards and collapsed to the floor. His frame rolled over onto his side, and a final wheeze of exhaust was the last sign of life he gave.

    Then there was nothing. Not a twitch, not a flicker. Only the slow dribble of fluids continued to leak from him. Trembling, optics wide with disbelief and almost fear, Slipstream raised her ray arm and scanned the mighty warrior. Her arm beeped slightly, and the readings she'd garnered confirmed the impossible.

    Grimlock was dead.

    For a moment, the Decepticons could only stand there and stare, as if they themselves were incapable of comprehending this turn of events. Tentatively, the Seeker nudged the Autobot with its foot; no response. Again Slipstream scanned him. The same beep; his vitals were offline. Airachnid just revved heavily and retracted her weapon, claws flexing tensely.

    “I can’t believe it.” Slipstream murmured, legs starting to shake now as she took a moment to try and steady herself, before trembling over to Airachnid, whom laid a hand on her shoulder to steady her, and continuing: “We actually did it. We actually did it. You killed the berserker. We beat him. We won!”

    “Yes.” Airachnid said slowly, staring down at the lifeless Autobot. “Yes we did. I have to admit, I’m actually a tad underwhelmed. That seemed rather… easy.”

    “Cooperation proved to overmatch raw force.” The Seeker stated simply. “Commander Starscream will very satisfied with this outcome-“

    “No he won’t.” Airachnid snorted now, a rather vicious look of triumph spreading over her face as she disdainfully stepped onto the torn head of the berserker as a hunter would step on their downed prey. “He’ll be crying to Nighttrace as soon as he hears that we claimed the berserker before he could, that we were oh so cruel enough to deny him a gold star in the book from Lord Megatron. Fragging petty idiot.”

    “Not that his approval matters.” Slipstream said weakly, staring down at Grimlock’s corpse with that rather dizzied surprise. “We won the fight. We beat the berserker, the three of us-“

    “Two and a half.” Airachnid said dryly.

    “-And… and… oh wow. This is insane. Imagine how impressed our Lord Megatron will be with this victory! My gosh, I can’t even begin to consider how he’ll react, how he might reward us! We actually... we actually accomplished this. We beat him, we... Oh gosh, hold me.”

    “I’m holding you, no worries.”

    “I hope I too am rewarded.” The Seeker revved whimsically. "That would be nice."

    Groaning with pain, unaware of that conversation, Hot Shot tilted himself up, one hand rubbing his head as his processor throbbed with the hurt from his damaged chest. Shaking his head slightly, he gazed forward and then he gave a weak rev of horror as he bore witness to the lifeless form of the berserker, broken and bleeding. Such a sight drove as much terror into his spark as it had first being threatened by the feral Autobot; their most dangerous warrior was dead. Their most dangerous warrior had lost.

    Who could help him now?

    “But, but that’s impossible.” Hot Shot whimpered, optics wide and horror-struck as he stared at the corpse of his fellow Autobot, the Decepticons turning to him upon noting his recovery. “He… he was invincible.”

    “Luck was not on his side today.” Airachnid stated coldly, callously stepping over to him and stomping on the weakened Autobot, pinning him down with ease as she idly aligned her unsheathed energy rifle with his head. “Or rather, you weren’t on his side today. Who would have thought; after ages of trying to kill the berserker, the Decepticons meet success thanks to the misguided efforts of yet another useless rookie friend of his.”

    Hot Shot stared at her in dawning realisation of the immensity of his screw-up as she went on: “Ah, that Starscream. He woefully underestimated us today, believed that perhaps the berserker would relieve him of Shokaw’s second. Alas, not only has he failed in that, he has all but delivered glory to me on a platter. I will be the one who presents our Lord Megatron Grimlock’s head for a trophy, and as an extra bonus, I’ll have your spark as well.”

    With a sweet smile, she charged up her weapon and stated: “Goodbye, Neutral.“
     
  17. Ømnidrive

    Ømnidrive Stop.....think......fart.....and keep on going

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2011
    Posts:
    11,351
    Trophy Points:
    322
    Likes:
    +146
    NO HOLY FUCK GRIMLOCK IS DEAD!!!!

    That threw me for a loop.......I think Bee may lose his mind because if this :popcorn 
     
  18. Jamocha101

    Jamocha101 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2012
    Posts:
    1,441
    Trophy Points:
    207
    Likes:
    +218
    I like...forgot that I should probably review this. And then posting in the drabble thread reminded me, so. A lot of the stuff that I thought about this chapter I already said on dA to you so I'll try not to repeat myself too much.

    Obviously the stand-out of this chapter was Grimlock's unforeseen death and even after all this time I'm not sure how I feel about it. I heard it pointed from a nameless source out that having a character die for the sake of another character's development is poor because it just makes it gimmicky and all the cheaper and I can't discern any other reason for killing off such a big character after so little time (like I said, you REALLY MEANT IT when you said "ten episode rule") besides the character development of others. For the sake of storytelling, nonetheless, I can't say that your decision to kill him wasn't utterly unsuccessful, because I am indeed intrigued regarding what'll happen as consequence. Despite it being mainly in conjunction with the other characters' reactions as I earlier implied, I want to know how this turn of events will affect others like Bumblebee, Jazz, Ratchet, Hot Shot and other characters by extension (like how Hound might deal with however Bumblebee reacts and how Bumblebee might deal with Hot Shot if he ever finds out that it was the latter that killed him and how Evac might regard Bumblebee if he actually ends up going batshizz), so if I'm at all this immersed, then that must mean that some good can come of this. Granted, as I think about it, I always feel like the decision to kill him was a huge last-ditch twist (specifically because I REMEMBER you telling me that you weren't sure how this battle was going to go so I don't know how far in advance you were planning on killing Grimlock but I digress) and that's part of what makes it as unconsequently quick and kind of meaningless as it felt. If there had been backing to it, any precursors or foreshadowing or any emotional contribution to the scene with no undertone of "this will surely help incite some character arc," it would have felt like there was a lot more sincerity to it. But instead it just feels extremely trope-ish. Like the Sacrificial Lion. Like Grimlock had no other purpose than to show up and then die.


    And then despite all of the facts you had pointed out earlier, I still can't shake the feeling that Grimlock is not as strong as his reputation would make you think he is. Hot Shot himself attested that the dinobot was "invincible" and it's clear that most other Cybertronians think the exact same thing. But Grimlock's shown a fair share of difficulty in areas where it seems like he shouldn't have regardless of the idea that he hasn't ever retreated (besides the one time in episode, what, four?) while being faced by multiple foes. Specifically, I can't get it out of my head that Ratchet did a better job fighting Nighttrace than Grimlock did, because she was buzzing around in areas he couldn't reach and so on. Same with when Barricade exploited one of his weaknesses by jumping on his back or something...these physical ailments are glaring flaws that are seemingly easy to take advantage of, which should harshly lessen any credentials that Grimlock has as a warrior. Heck, Airachnid turned the worst of them against him and ultimately dealt the blow that was the beginning of the end. It was a lot that happened to kill him (though I wouldn't call it dramatic because it happened really fast), but now he's got the title of the FIRST MAIN CHARACTER TO DIE.


    Then I don't know if this is really fair of me to blame you for this, but it feels more cheap than I'm already convinced that it is because I know that he's not dead for good. There's no immersion that could have been there if I was unsure that he would remain dead because there are still arcs that you've convinced me will have to happen before Grimlock would actually ever be "allowed" to die. Because yeah, he has to come back to life to battle Jazz. And there was never a lick of closure regarding Grimlock's lie to Bumblebee that was introduced in the very beginning. So things need to be brought back, so despite my unawareness of how Grimlock will be resurrected, I know it's going to happen and in the meantime, I'm not interested in how it's going to happen. So after all of this, it turns out that the only thing I really care about as a result of this turn of events is everybody besides Grimlock, and that feels kind of weird for a character that I love having died.

    However. It’s not like I’m the one that’s writing this and putting my own time into it and I’m sure I wouldn’t doing any better if it were me, so I really hope that I’m not coming off as condescending by expressing my discontent with this particular event. I certainly don’t think any less of TFM for it, it’s just a bit of constructive criticism that you are, of course, fully discharged to ignore/disagree with. Everybody’s got their two cents. :p 

    Besides that, I kind of just rolled around in the Beevac fluff that ensued in this chapter. I always kind of wanted the two to buddy up in the beginning because, like you said, rookies gotta stick together right? And because they are both around the same age with the same experience level, it seemed like there was an opportunity for a good connection and I can see clearly now that I wasn’t wrong in that regard. Now I feel like one of my BroTPs has just officially become canon. :D  In all seriousness, it was really nice to see the two exchange their ideals in a thought-provoking conversation like that because it not only reveals some depth in their friendship, but also aspects of their personality. Bumblebee exposes the deeper, contemplative side of himself that’s been more opt to come around recently and Evac responds with a bit of characteristic hesitance which reinforces his shyness and unsureness. However, despite that, the latter comes around to engage Bumblebee’s topic and shows that he can be reassuring and contemplative himself at times. It’s a nice insight into both the characters.

    Nooowww we’ve got Jazz and Starscream doing some crap (another JXS fight with possible barnacle interjection, hoboy) and Wheeljack and Warpath doing some crap (love how these two are teaming up, they’ve come good chemistry I’ll tell you who I’m shipping right now) and Hot Shot REALLY doing some crap and Arcee’s up to who-knows-what whilst Ratchet is stuck at the ship taking care of Kup and Cliffjumper and the last three are on the Zeta-1, missing out on all the action. Since I brought up Ratchet and Hot Shot, it makes me wonder how exactly the former is going to explain letting Hot Shot go against Jazz’s orders…I’m sure Ratchet tried to stop him, but if Hot Shot just defiantly went off on his own, or snuck off perhaps, it’s reasonable that Ratchet would have preferred to stay with his patients. However, we saw how that turned out. XP

    Really anxious to see how this all ends up going…My best wishes go to all parties involved. Except for Starscream bc he’s a dick.
     
  19. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    Another blast from his opponent’s null ray impacted the ground behind as Jazz leapt forward, rolling neatly across the ground and firing his pistols in retaliation. Starscream tilted back to avoid the blasts of energy almost casually, his expression clearly disdainful of this feeble attack, before returning fire.

    As the Solstice maintained his evasion, the jet taunted: “Always so predictable, you Autobots. You should have just left the ship to fend for itself and avoided the trouble of being out in the open when my crew and I came hunting.”

    “You’ll have to forgive me then that I prioritise the safety of my comrades over the perfection of my paintjob.” Jazz retorted, spinning his pistols in his hands as he assessed the environment for any factor that might aid him in this fight. “It’s a little thing called basic comradeship; you ought to try it sometime, maybe get your crew to stop hating you so much.”

    He was fairly sure the Raptor twitched a bit at that: “I have my crew’s respect, Lieutenant. Can you say the same?!”

    With that, he bent forward and the missile pods on his back extended, releasing a flurry of missiles that soared skywards for a moment before turning around and soaring back down. Jazz was forced to abandon his cover to avoid the devastation that exploded just behind him, and it was enough for Starscream to jet forward towards him for a new attack.

    His claws lunged in for the Solstice, who swung around in a leaping roundhouse kick that bypassed the incoming limbs and struck Starscream across the cheek, sending him staggering to the side in disorientation. Of course, Jazz was more than prepared to take advantage of this opportunity, but Starscream took a measured guess and kicked his leg out backwards, striking the Lieutenant back before he could capitalise on his brief vulnerability.

    Jazz rolled back to his feet, ever the swiftest in recovery, as Starscream regained himself and turned to face his rival, as the Lieutenant offered a response: “I can easily say the same, Screamer. We Autobots are pretty friendly with each other, given we don’t go out of our way to back-stab our comrades.”

    Starscream scoffed as the two circled each other, anticipating the next bout: “Really now, you have to resort to your misinformed propaganda? I have the odd argument or two with one of my lot, but how do you cope knowing the berserker is always contemplating seizing power from you? Shokaw’s design lingers on, after all.”

    “The berserker is no problem to me.” Jazz replied, before darting forward, his pistols locking together into sword form and producing the bright energy blade. He ducked the jet’s claws and aimed for his legs, though the jet was smart enough to quickly leap out of the way. Jazz simply responded by deploying his grapple and locking it onto the leg of the Decepticon, immediately pulling himself after him for another attack.

    Alas, Starscream jolted out of the way and thus Jazz only got a graze on outer armour rather than a clean cut through a limb, but he could take what he got-

    Well, until Starscream reach down and pulled the claw off of his limb, thus seizing the Autobot’s grapple and using it to fling him through the air into the ground. Cackling with delight, Starscream raised a null ray, intending to shoot his foe while he was down only to be foiled when Jazz retracted his blade and fired a combined blast of energy from the ‘hilt’. The blast struck Starscream’s hand, throwing him off his aim in pain as he was forced to release the grapple.

    But just as Jazz finished retracting it and was prepared to deploy it again to try and latch onto the jet’s torso, he caught sight of movement coming from behind the Decepticon and instantly switched tactics from offence to retreat. It was a wise choice, for when the space barnacle burst from the foliage, Starscream was the closest target and thus its first choice of assault.

    The jet turned at the sound of the interruption as the monster shrieked and leapt at him, rocky body slamming into metal and resulting in the Decepticon struggling to maintain his footing as the barnacle latched onto his chest in a frenzy of biting and screeching. Starscream howled in pain and fury, swinging his claws in to scrape at the beast’s shell as it crawled over him, latching onto his back in search of weak spots to exploit.

    Jazz idly circled the brawl, scanning for opportunity as he twirled his blade around, as Starscream reached backwards and managed to seize a wayward limb, gripping it hard and throwing the barnacle off of his back onto the floor. It rolled across the ground for a moment before catching itself and standing up, the mouths on the end of its tendrils screeching angrily at the jet.

    Starscream did not seem concerned that his true enemy was seeking out a chance to stab him in the back, given that he pulled out his knife and engaged the barnacle in combat, swiping and slashing at the creature as it furiously attempted to restrain and bite into him. Though it managed to tear at his abdomen, he was able to grab one of the writhing limbs and slice it off of the creature, earning an infuriated shriek before he started whacking it with the dismembered limb.

    Jazz supposed he ought to act now, come in from behind and take out the jet, but before he could, he found himself under fire from above. Rolling backwards to avoid this new attack, he glanced up to see Waspinator fly by, the drone intending to distract him from its master while the Decepticon grappled with the parasite.

    “Urgh. This whole day is just a scrap-cluster.” Jazz lamented as he attempted to shoot his grappler at the drone, only for it to dodge. “Barnacles and Seekers and bugs. Just my luck.”

    As he split his sword back into his pistols to shoot at the drone, the barnacle adopted a new tactic against its foe; as they grappled, it suddenly jerked to the side, thus resulting in Starscream falling forward in surprise at the sudden lack of resistance. As he stumbled, the creature brought up its limbs and slammed them into the jet’s back. Starscream yelped in pain as the toothed maws dug into him, only barely managing to fend off the barnacle by firing flames from his thrusters at it.

    Waspinator noticed the attack on its master and immediately ditched its shoot-off with Jazz to assist him. As the barnacle readied another attack on the pained Decepticon, Waspinator darted in and blasted at it, earning its attention with an irritated snarl. The parasite lunged upwards and whipped outwards with a tendril, smacking Waspinator away and sending it spiralling off into the trees.

    Fortunately, this gave Starscream ample opportunity to recover, getting back onto his feet and aiming his weapons at the creature. The barnacle hissed at him, but paused, noticing Jazz nearby now. The Autobot himself simply raised his guns at his foes as Starscream also directed a null ray at him.

    The three were at a standstill now, Starscream’s weapons locked onto both his opponents, Jazz’s pistols mimicking the gesture, the barnacle limbs waving slowly as the eyes upon them assessed which victim would be best to target first. Jazz found it a bit amusing that he was once again in a Mexican stand-off, Starscream seemed just irritated and the parasite just waiting for opportunity.

    Mind you, none of them got the chance to make the first move, because the first move was made by a fourth combatant.

    It was practically a blur, what happened next, but all Jazz could see was sudden flashes of purple and pink light and suddenly Starscream was staggering back, his leg spitting sparks from an injury torn into it and the barnacle was shrieking with agony as burnt tears appeared on its rocky shell.

    “What the frag?” Jazz wondered, before his outspoken thought was answered in the form of Arcee materialising in front of him, her frame shuddering with expended energy and lights flickering as she span the bright pink energy whips deployed from her arms. The barnacle screeched at the intruding attacker and prepared to lunge, but she was a step ahead.

    Easily evading the attack it launched, Arcee utilised the jets on her shoulder to begin spinning herself around on the tips of her feet, her whips dancing around in a swirling vortex of light. The barnacle was perplexed, hesitating at this high-speed display before it, before she suddenly lashed out, her whips striking it across vulnerable flesh with spurts of black blood.

    The barnacle gave an angered shriek at this, before once more retreating into the forest, having sustained more damage than it appreciated. Arcee didn’t even bother to pursue it, turning instead to a much more important target in the form of the stunned Starscream, the Decepticon feebly hobbling backwards on his injured leg, still clutching the barnacle’s severed limb tightly like one might clutch a stress reliever, in utter shock at the Autobot’s outstanding speed.

    Jazz had to admit, he was impressed. She really was faster than he’d thought.

    “You… you’re that Arcee Autobot.” Starscream realised, optics widening in recognition. “You’re the one with the velocity generator.”

    “For once, you actually make a good observation.” Arcee replied disinterestedly, optics looking him up and down in a manner befitting one whom wondered where would be best to shoot first, before she slid her arms together into railgun formation and idly aimed it at his head. “A shame I have to cut such a victory for you short.”

    Starscream hissed in fury in response as she began to charge up her weapon for the finishing blow, only for his anger to switch to satisfaction when, once again, Waspinator swooped in to cover its master, blasting at Arcee with its stinger as it zoomed in from over the trees. She recoiled in pain at the attack, turning her railgun upon the drone, but it was already retreating, given that it had accomplished its objective; with attention diverted from him, Starscream promptly fled into the sky, shifting into vehicle mode as he made good on his escape, leaving one last holler after him:

    “Next time, Lieutenant! Next time!”

    Arcee watched him flee with the air of annoyance one would see around someone being pestered by a persistent fly, before she strode over to Jazz and remarked: “I’m told that that kind of parting phrase is cliché on this planet. Well, I have to say I’m impressed, Lieutenant. You actually didn’t die against those degenerates.”

    “I’m so relieved for your support.” He replied irritably, previous impressment swiftly vanishing as he sheathed his pistols and brushed dirt off of himself. “Nice of you to finally step in and do something; for the fastest Autobot around, you seem to prefer a dramatically late entrance.”

    “I’ll remember that the next time a parasite and an egotist have you on the ropes, sir.” She said, already resuming the posture of bland disinterest she’d taken in their first encounter. “What do you plan to do next then?”

    Ignoring her snide outlook, he elaborated: “Follow the barnacle, finish it off, reunite with the others back at your scrapheap of a ship, make sure everyone’s still in one piece and sort out formal introductions. I don’t suppose you can catch up to the freak and take care of it for me? Since you seem so assured of your success rate?”

    “Under normal circumstances I could. But I’m sad to say that my reserve energy has been severely drained. My velocity generator eats up a lot of power, as you ought to know, and it took a fair amount of its use to reach you in time as well as drive off those two. I won’t be speeding anywhere for a while.”

    Jazz revved a bit: “Always something. Well whatever; let’s just roll out and catch up to it. Grimlock’s at the Resurgence anyway, so if the barnacle gets there before us, he can take it out. But I’d prefer we kill it sooner rather than later.”

    Arcee twitched a bit: “Do we really have to race the berserker to a victim? Warpath and your other bot are on their way, we could-”

    “By my preference, we go after the barnacle. I know you’re waiting for your actual commander to rise and shine, and I know you’re a lone hunter and all that, but for now you’ll have to make do with me, super speeder. Let’s roll out.”

    With that, he flipped forward into vehicle mode and drove off in the direction of the space barnacle’s retreat. Arcee watched him go, before muttering something or other to herself and moving to follow.

    She wasn’t very fond of Grimlock.

    --

    “Wait, Airachnid!” Slipstream suddenly blurted out, causing the helicopter to pause in executing the horrified Autobot as the jet swiftly strode over, optics still flickering at the enormity of their victory as the Seeker decided to keep back and maintained watch over Grimlock, perhaps doubtful as to whether or not he was truly dead. “Hang on a second, let’s not be too hasty here; maybe he can be useful to us.”

    Airachnid tilted her head and raised a brow in curiosity as the medic moved to stand beside her, green optics locking onto yellow as she now addressed he who called himself Hot Shot: “Alright, Autobot. You know what we just did. We defeated your almighty berserker, and that doesn’t leave much hope for you in turn. So, how about a quick deal? You make yourself useful to us by granting us access to your ship, and in return I’ll coerce my friend here to spare you.”

    Hot Shot hesitated as he absorbed her proposition: “You… you won’t kill me?”

    “If you open the ship for us, you won’t have to meet your comrade’s fate.” Slipstream assured him. “That I can promise you.”

    The rookie revved a little bit, optics flickering slightly with uncertainty, but before he could offer an answer, the subject itself interrupted them. All present turned at the sound of the side-hatch once again opening up and deploying its ramp, only rather than producing a battle-hungry Neutral, it was instead none other than the medic Ratchet who appeared before them. His expression conveyed no emotion, though his optics were dull and deadened.

    The Seeker strode over, activating weapons and locking them onto the Hummer, but he made no move to attack any of the Decepticons, simply raising his hands in surrender. He gave a dull rev, before he stepped forward down the ramp, onto the ground and stopping a few metres from the cautious Slipstream as he stated: “There’s no need for further aggression, Decepticons. You have won here; we have no resistance left to put against you.”

    “Ratchet.” Slipstream said, optics narrowing a tad as the Seeker maintained its aim on him. “I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here, attempting to preserve whatever wounded lie aboard this vessel. But I am surprised that you’d have the neurals to come out and confront us directly.”

    “There are no lives left to preserve.” Ratchet murmured softly. “The crew of the Resurgence are dead; I tried to save them, but the time spent trapped in the void, all those years floating without aid or adequate Energon, they… they took their toll. Hot Shot here was the only one I could save, and thus I hope to save him again-“

    And then he froze, and Slipstream could immediately tell why; the way his head was turned, the way his optics widened in shock, the way his whole body seemed to shift between tensing and sagging, it was obvious he had just seen Grimlock. Slowly, the Hummer began to move away from the ship towards the tanker truck, almost shuffling in his mixture of shock and despair, and the Seeker obligingly stepped backwards to grant him access. Hot Shot did not seem to appreciate that Ratchet’s attention had left him, but he was in no position to protest.

    When he reached him, Ratchet knelt down by his fellow Autobot, frame shuddering as his widened optics scanned the corpse intently. Even as his processor continued to struggle in comprehending this, his data chip offered up the extensive damages; processor turn asunder by energy blast evidenced by energetic residue, rendered inoperative. Blade wounds delivered straight through central torso unit, piercing vital systems, splitting valves and neural netting alike.

    And most prominently, neck torn open at the side, struts broken, metal charred, chemical tanks ripped apart by premature detonation. Quite frankly, it was astounding his neck hadn’t just disintegrated, that enough of it even remained to keep his head attached to his torso.

    Grimlock’s body reflected his final moments of fury, though; tail twisted with blade deployed, jaws wide open, claws dug into the ground and the final feelings of anger frozen forever on his face. The berserker was as violent in death as he was in life, and in that way Ratchet would not have expected anything else.

    He scanned again, but there was nothing to give him hope. His readings were flat, his spark chamber emitting no radiation and whatever few meagre systems still online would soon be failing without the processor to guide them. He gazed at the pathetic fluctuations of one program within the torso, before he decided he didn’t want to watch those remnants fade, and thus he turns his scans away, unwilling to truly witness the end of Grimlock.

    All these years, he had detested Grimlock. Hated him, despised his unnatural state and his un-tempered aggression and his lack of even basic compassion for most others. Even his budding friendship with Bumblebee had done little to appease Ratchet’s opinion of the tanker truck; one new friend did not justify the carnage he had caused in his untamed years, did not justify the lives of both Autobot and Decepticon torn asunder in insane fits of rage.

    But what if that had exactly been the cause? A self-fulfilling prophecy? Had his own prejudice further driven Grimlock into his cold angry shell, made him feel as though his fury was the only companion he had? Had Ratchet, and many others with the same view as Ratchet, ultimately been the ones to finalise the creation of Shokaw’s monster? It was a depressing thought, and it was a thought he supposed was absolutely true.

    When Grimlock had needed acceptance most, they’d rejected him. Locked him in Critico. No wonder he’d hated nigh all of them. Ratchet bowed his head in acknowledgement of his failure, acknowledgement that his selfish concerns of morality had taking priority over simple compassion. And now, Grimlock had died here, forced to fight alone and forced to die alone.

    So this was it then. This was how the berserker met his end. Torn apart by a gang of Decepticon degenerates, his own flamethrower turned against him in a devastating blow, fighting to the last impulse and fuelled by fury until the end.

    What was he going to tell Bumblebee? The scout had almost lost his mentor, and now he had lost his best friend. How could he break this to him?

    As he paid these final respects to that whom he called both monster and comrade, Airachnid noted that the door to the Autobot ship was still open. She nudged Slipstream slightly and advised her to take the ship now while opportunity presented itself. Slipstream cast a hesitant glance at her, then at the Hummer, before nodding her compliance and darting up the ramp into the ship. Next, she gestured for the Seeker to take her place in keeping Hot Shot pinned, which it did with gusto; the second her foot was removed and she was moving towards the medic, the Autobot attempted to get back up, only for the jet’s foot to slam him back down and aim its sword at his neck.

    As she approached him, Ratchet seemed to remember the presence of his foes and dully muttered: “Tell me something. Do you ever look down sometimes, look down at someone you’ve lost, and you think to yourself: I wish I had done something? Do you feel regret when you look down at them, do you wish you could have turned back time and said something? Done something that you should have done? Because that, Decepticon, is what I’m feeling right now. That I should have changed something. That I should have changed myself.”

    “And now the opportunity will never again arise.” Airachnid stated, uncaring for his regret. “Whatever regrets you have for the berserker shall never be resolved with him now. The best you can do is resolve them within yourself and pray that you do not meet his fate now.”

    Slowly, Ratchet stood up and turned away from his comrade. His green optics met her crimson with a spark of defiance: “Even knowing the pain I feel now, even when you take my comrades, my friends from me, you would still find it in yourself to threaten a medic with death? For your own twisted sadism, you would kill me here and now?”

    “To be honest, I don’t know what I might do.” Airachnid snorted. “I’m riding a high, as the humans would say. I killed the berserker. I corrected Shokaw’s greatest mistake, I removed a potent threat to the Decepticons and I shattered any delusions of invincibility he might have clung to in his final scrabbles for life. If he can be killed, what hope do the rest of you Autobots have? So yes, Ratchet, I may well kill you here and now, purely because I can. But then, you’re probably worth more to us alive. Maybe I’ll settle for killing your rookie friend. Maybe not. It really makes no difference to me.”

    Ratchet’s optics narrowed: “I see. Is your lust for spilt Energon greater than any semblance of rationale you may have? Is the suffering and death of others nothing more than a thrill to you?”

    War is a thrill to me.” She replied, uncaringly flexing her rotors in dismissal of his thoughts. “I joined the Decepticons to indulge in it, and I became a scientist to refine it. It’s a nice plan if I do say so myself.”

    Ratchet revved slightly: “Nice to you, perhaps. Still, I can’t deny it is one that works out in a way, the ability to perfect the methods of death our kind has sunken to in this grim war. I can only hope your plan is at least as efficient as mine.”

    Airachnid paused at that, a sharp inkling of unease suddenly sprouting and then she glared at him, slowly raising her energy rifle: “And what plan might that be, Ratchet?”

    “The plan to distract you from what happens next.” The Autobot replied.

    A bright blue flash, a sudden crack of thunder, and then the Seeker exploded. With a shriek of surprise, Airachnid dodged to the side in case of any follow-up attack and regained her footing, turning her gun over to the source of the commotion. The Seeker’s upper body had been completely obliterated and its disembodied legs took a few tentative steps forward, almost comically, before collapsing over.

    Free of its restraint, Hot Shot leaned up, stunned at such a dramatic turn of events, before he turned to gaze at the ship. For the third time, the Resurgence had produced a surprise, this time being a dark-green Autobot, tall and armoured and bearing upon its shoulder the imposing form of a mighty Thunder Cannon, the barrel still spinning and crackling from its display of power. Even at such a weak setting, it had made short work of the drone.

    This newcomer calmly sheathed the Thunder Cannon and turned irritated blue optics to Airachnid, who aimed her gun at him: “Well well, if it isn’t Shockwave’s personal secretary.”

    She promptly fired at him, but the Autobot’s response was as swift as hers, deploying a retractable shield that easily absorbed the incoming blasts. Realising the futility of maintaining an attack on him, Airachnid intended to switch targets to Hot Shot, but he was already flipping backwards into vehicle mode and reversing out of range. Infuriated, she turned her gun to Ratchet, only to find he was already making the first move when a blob of adhesive gel lodged onto her weapon’s barrel and rendered it useless.

    Buzzsaw deployed from his other arm, Ratchet swung at her legs with surprising zeal, forcing the helicopter to stumble backwards to avoid the assault. She attempted to kick out at him, only for the Hummer to not only sidestep the attack but slice his buzzsaw along her leg, spilling Energon over his arm. The helicopter recoiled in pain, only to find energy blasts striking her from the oncoming Hot Shot, his energy pistol blasting her again and again.

    Getting desperate now under this multitude of attacks, she swung her claw around and smacked Ratchet back before he could shoot more gel, but before she could fire on him or Hot Shot with her unglued weapon, the third Autobot swung in battle, bringing his shield along and swinging it right at her face-

    CLANG!

    Airachnid’s lower jaw was briefly misaligned, optics rattling on impact, as the shield slammed right across her head, sending her flying backwards and crashing to the ground, the Decepticon promptly and frantically scrabbling to try and get back to her feet. Already the third Autobot was now sheathing his shield in favour of redrawing his Thunder Cannon, the weapon giving a sinister purr as its barrel began to spin.

    For all her talk of the high she’d experienced defeating the berserker, Airachnid could now only feel utter terror in the face of being subjected to the most powerful hand-held cannon ever developed by Cybertronians. There was no final taunt, no final attempt at an attack; as he began to raise it to aim at her, Airachnid turned tail and leapt into the air, shifting into her helicopter form and beating as fast a retreat as she could over the treeline out of sight.

    Barely moments after she’d disappeared, the faint glow of a ground bridge was known over the night sky before vanishing. She must have fled back to her ship then.

    He watched her retreat with a disdainful air, before the new Autobot powered down his mighty weapon and sheathed it onto his back. With the Decepticon sent into retreat and her comrade obliterated, he turned to the other two Autobots moving over to him and he said: “Excellent strategy, medic.”

    “Well played yourself, Kup.” Ratchet muttered, shaking slightly as he retracted his buzzsaw and sheathed his gel cannon. “Well played yourself.”

    “Oh yes, well played old bot Kup!” Hot Shot cried out gleefully, rolling up into robot mode and pumping his fists in triumph. “We did it! We turned the tide! We beat those Cons! Vaporised that Seeker right into nothing! Did you see me there, speeding circles around the Shokaw con?! She didn’t even-“

    “Rookie, shut up.” Kup said suddenly, a trace of sharpness in his otherwise dull tone and Hot Shot immediately silenced, before turning as the larger Autobot pointed to Ratchet, whom was now slowly swivelling to face Grimlock.

    “But I fear…” The medic murmured softly, bowing his head in sombre mourning. “I fear our victory today… had too high a price to pay…”

    --

    Inside the ship, strolling over to where the control room would, Slipstream raised a brow at the condition of the place; rust dotted what had once been pristine metal, there were exposed plates and wiring dotted about the place and doors laid ajar, creaking somewhat in sad attempts to open or close. And the control itself was no better; some of the monitors had cracked, rust-crabs scuttled about the place over all the rust patches and the observation panels were broken to bits. Were she to take a guess, she surmised it would take someone of Grindor’s standard perhaps a few days to repair this mess.

    Still, at least the main console proved operational when she strode over and activated it with a tap of a button. Evidently, the ship’s systems were still quite weak, for the activation sequence was painfully slow and the hologram display was disabled. That said, she could still access the archives of the vessel, and a few other top-priority commands, most interestingly communication and coordinates.

    Her optics brightened in delight as her tailfins waggled as well; this could be useful indeed. The Autobot’s presence here was easily justified in that their own ship would have detected this vessel, which meant that if they could track it, they could be tracked in turn. All she’d have to do is access the coordination system and retrace the Lieutenant’s trace straight back to his own ship, thus leading the Decepticons straight to his base of operations.

    Ooh, this day just got better and better; the berserker dead, two prisoners who could provide yet further information, this ship secured and the other one soon to be discovered. The Decepticons had achieved a good victory today! All it needed now was for Starscream to come here and tell her he and his Seekers had taken out the other Autobots and it would practically be perfection!

    Activating her com-link, knowing that this ship was incapable of blocking her in its weakened state, she declared: “Nighttrace, are you there? I have absolutely fantastic news for you!.... Nighttrace? Nighttrace, can you please give me an answer other than your silent treatment?”

    ”I am here, Slipstream.” Nighttrace replied, a hint of dryness beneath her typical stoicism, undoubtedly annoyed at having to break her stay-silent-90%-of-the-time shtick. ”What is your news?”

    “I have entered the Autobot ship and gained access to its systems.” She said brightly. “I’m going to use the coordination systems to trace the other Autobot ship’s coordinates, so be prepared for a coordinate upload in… in a minute or two, I guess. This gear is pretty fragged up, so it’s painfully slow.”

    Indeed it was. The ship was struggling to respond to her inputs, forcing the medic to have to wait a bit for it to actually begin retracing communications with the other vessel. But it would be worth the wait, for soon she would have the Lieutenant’s vessel dead-to-rights, and then she-

    “Funny you should say that, ‘cause this console ain’t the only thing that’s fragged up!”

    -Wait what?

    Slipstream barely had time to turn at the sudden sound of someone’s voice from behind her, before a heavy force slammed into her leg, taking out her knee and resulting in the jet tripping forward onto all fours with a shout of pain. She attempted to defend herself by raising her ray arm, but her attacker was quick to react, pinning it down with a slam of a crimson foot and further unbalancing her.

    Pain throbbing from her leg and arm, struggling to appropriately react to this sudden onslaught, she stared up in horror at this sudden Autobot attacker smiling down brightly at her and hoisting up an impressive hammer, before it said: “Have a nice recharge, medic!”

    “Oh fra-“

    BANG!

    The hammer came down on her head, slamming it straight onto the floor with a clang of metal and a few sparks, her processor completely spinning out of order before it finally gave up, and the last thing Slipstream could do before slumping into unconsciousness was give out a pitiful whimper:

    “Owie-ow-ow……”


    Author's Notes: Slippy's gonna be feeling quite trippy after this whole hammer flippy.

    Like humans, a dead Cybertronian's systems don't immediately shut down after a fatal blow; some of them keep whimpering on for a bit until the lack of processor sends them spiralling into failure.

    Pretty short chapter with two more Autobots albeit somewhat un-introduced and Slipstream again finding herself in bullshit. She probably knows how Bumblebee feels by now.
     
  20. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Posts:
    15,761
    Trophy Points:
    337
    Likes:
    +7,057
    The Autobots, barring the medic, took a moment to sweep the area, making sure that there no more signs of any Decepticons, Hot Shot poking the legs of the dead Seeker, the final remnant of the drone after being struck by the Thunder Cannon. Kup returned from the edges of the woods, nodding to himself in satisfaction that the enemy had completely retreated.

    “So boss bot, what about Cliffjumper?” Hot Shot asked, nudging a leg with his foot.

    “Online and perfectly functional.” The larger Autobot said. “He remained on-board to deal with the intruder. Giving I can still access his com-link, I can presume he succeeded.”

    “Sweet! Guess we have what it takes to prove our worth, right?”

    “Perhaps. If he has captured or killed the intruder, it would certainly be an appropriate success.” Kup replied, not seeming particularly interested. “What isn’t a success, however, is this development.”

    With that, he strode over to Ratchet, whom was kneeling beside Grimlock, apparently checking him over in a fervent desire to find some sort of hope that might assure him of the tanker truck’s survival. However, it did not appear that he had found one. Kup stood over him, examining the other Autobot’s corpse; the damages suffered seemed quite horrific, even by his fairly desensitized outlook. Seems like a flame mechanism misfired, burning the berserker from the inside out.

    How grim.

    Kup contemplated the tanker truck’s fate for a moment, noting how it was quite fitting that he had died in the very flames he’d relied on in life, before asking Hot Shot: “So, medic, can you determine the berserker’s exact fate?”

    “These injuries…” Ratchet murmured. “Just a single one of these could potentially be fatal to another Cybertronian. Yet it was the combined effects of these wounds that killed him. Had he not suffered such a chain of damages, he may have pulled through. Through the damage to his processor… I… All I know is that the energy residue matches that of Airachnid’s weapon. I swear, she will pay dearly for this…”

    “The Decepticons we encountered.” Kup said. “The intruder, the Seeker and Airachnid herself; I am surprised that they were able to outmatch the berserker by themselves. Was there another factor as of yet unrevealed?”

    “Nope! No other factor! I can confirm that!” Hot Shot piped up suddenly, bouncing slightly in being able to provide information to his commander. “The three of them you mentioned, they triple-teamed him, managed to get him in a weak spot that left him open for a combined attack!”

    The Wrecker raised a brow: “I’d have thought Arcee and Warpath would have commanded you to remain aboard the Resurgence rather than allow you to join such a brawl.”

    Before the smaller Autobot could reply, Ratchet spoke up now, a hand resting on the berserker’s muzzle with a forlorn pain: “Hot Shot had been with me initially whilst I worked on you and the other Autobot-“

    “Cliffjumper.” Kup enlightened.

    “-Cliffjumper, I was about to say that, Hot Shot told me. But he left to aid Grimlock against the Decepticons despite my request for him to remain with me.”

    Absorbing this, Kup suddenly turned a cold glare upon the smaller Autobot, who immediately withdrew at the intensity of the glare: “You participated in the berserker’s fight against the Decepticons despite the medic’s request for you to stay at his side? Was it your misguided efforts to assist in a battle beyond you that led to the berserker’s death?”

    Hot Shot blanched and revved immediately, shaking with outraged indignation under the gaze of his superior as he began to protest: “M-misguided?!?! It was three against one! They ganged up on him, took him by surprise! I tried to help, to even the odds, I tried to save him! It was that flying one, the Shokaw one, she was the one who killed him, got her buddies to pin him down while she blasted him! I tried to help Grimlock but they got him before I could do anything about it! It was their fault, not mine, it was the Decepticon’s fault, it’s always their fault, you always blame me-“

    “Shut up.” Kup grunted, silencing the indignant rookie with a raised hand and a tone that utterly conveyed his annoyance with such prattling. “I’ve heard enough. A team effort by those Decepticons is an option I suppose I can accept. I surmise they had simply outmanoeuvred him and taken advantage of a moment’s weakness.”

    Hot Shot glared incessantly at his commander, clearly riled at having blame needlessly put against him, as Ratchet stood up, his last observation of the fallen Autobot concluded.

    “There’s nothing I can do anyway. There was nothing I could have done even if I had come earlier, regardless of the specifics behind his end.” He stated softly, turning to the other two. “His systems have reached near 100% shutdown. Auxiliary systems are failing one by one, and the final one will be gone in another cycle.”

    “I’m sorry for your loss.” Kup offered, Hot Shot promptly nodding in agreement. “Monstrous as he may have been, his contributions to our cause were appreciated.”

    “It’s not my loss I’m sorry for.” Ratchet murmured. “He had a best friend here, and now I must tell the poor bot what has become of his comrade. It not a task I… I will enjoy, but it is a task I will do regardless. It is only fitting that I must atone for my mistakes.”

    “Best friend?” Hot Shot blurted out, immediately perplexed and utterly ignorant of the Hummer’s faint twitch. Kup also seemed a tad off-guard, but he was far better at regaining himself and simply nodding, before putting a hand to his head and imitating a communication to his crew.

    After a brief moment, he nodded again and declared: “Warpath and Arcee have driven away any remaining Decepticons in the area. They, the Lieutenant and a fourth Autobot are on their way back. The space barnacle remains at large, but we will find it. Afterwards, we have a Seeker corpse to collect and finally, Cliffjumper reports an interesting development aboard my ship.”

    “Development?” Ratchet asked. “You mean-“

    “Regarding the Decepticon invader.” Kup confirmed, before addressing the smallest of the present Autobots. “Rookie, return to the ship, assist my remaining soldier in whatever he needs. The medic and I will bring the berserker aboard. We shall grant him final respects and honour the glorious battles he has won for our cause in the past.”

    The smaller Autobot didn’t seem particularly happy with being told to return to the ship, apparently still maintaining his previous hopes to help in hunting down the space barnacle

    “Do you know what I hate the most?” The Hummer said suddenly, earning a curious glance from the larger Autobot.

    “What would that be?”

    “What I hate the most… is that for all our time together, I had been so blinded by my own prejudices that I never saw fit to see him as anything other than an animal, a monster, a weapon to point at the Decepticons.”

    “In fairness, that was what became of him after Critico.” Kup pointed out. “Ultra Magnus sought to make better use of him than to see him rust in the Isolated Moon. It is better to put violence to use against our enemies than waste it. The Battle of Coror taught me that.”

    “Nevertheless, I should have done better to be acceptant, to make him feel welcome rather than an outcast, to remind him that we still considered him an Autobot rather than a beast of burden. If only I had had the light in Bumblebee’s optics to see goodness, to see past my own selfish perceptions and acknowledge the light buried under darkness. I have not just failed as a medic today. I have failed as an Autobot.”

    Kup paused, uncertain of how to respond to such an emotional distress. This kind of talk was not quite his forte; he was a commander, a strategist, a Wrecker, not a shoulder to lean on. Discussing the procological misgivings of someone else was definitely not a feat he would consider himself good at; Cliffjumper or Warpath were better at it anyway. With this in mind, he found he was quite thankful for when interruption presented itself. His sensors were picking up incoming movement, coming fast and not matching any signal he might expect from an Autobot or a Decepticon.

    Therefore, that left one possibility, as he turned and drew his shield in anticipation.

    And indeed, it was a space barnacle that emerged from the native coalition of organisms known as a forest. It looked fairly injured, with a missing limb, another in a state of regeneration and multiple scars over its rocky shell, but its aggressive posture revealed an intent to fight. Impressive; it clearly had been in multiple battles already, but it seemed unwilling to give up just yet.

    Readying his shield and taking a defensive stance between the Hummer and the parasite, Kup stated coolly: “We have an unwelcome presence before us, medic.”

    “I welcome it.” Ratchet stated coldly, moving to stand beside Kup, his adhesive gel cannon ready to roll. “For Grimlock, we will remove this blight upon this planet.”

    “Well said.”

    The space barnacle hissed angrily, clearly dissatisfied with yet another situation in which it was outnumbered, slowly stalking around the Cybertronians in anticipation for an opportunity to attack. Kup moved forward, motioning that he would take up the brunt of battle provided he had adequate support. Ratchet agreed to this and remained by Grimlock, defensive of his lost comrade.

    Seeing Kup’s approach, the barnacle paused in its circling and began to slowly stalk towards the Wrecker, hissing threateningly all the while. Intently, the two continued to approach one other, bracing for battle, before the tension split and they lunged; Kup brought up his shield and the barnacle collided against it with a shriek, before his free hand darted in, seizing one of its limbs and forcing it back to give him space to rear his shield back and slam it into the beast.

    His attack knocked it to the ground and he clambered atop it, repeatedly hitting it with his shield. However, a tendril seized his leg and dragged it out, knocking Kup onto his back and giving his foe the chance to lunge atop him, attempting to bite off his head. The Wrecker managed to get a leg under the monster and kick it off of him.

    The barnacle landed in a heap but was quick to scurry back to its feet. Before it could resume battle, however, a glob of adhesive gel suddenly struck a ‘foot’, gluing the monster to the ground. It gave a furious shriek as Ratchet, seeing his opponent trapped, opened a shoulder compartment and fired a plasma grenade at it. However, the battle would not be won so easily!

    Wrenching its trapped appendage from the ground, bringing a wad of glued earth with it, the barnacle dodged the grenade and reared up to meet Kup’s incoming attack. Ready this time, the barnacle deflected his shield bash and brought up the rock-laden appendage, smashing it across the Cybertronian’s face.

    The rock itself did little to hurt Kup, but it was the dirt and dust sliding into his optics that threw him off-guard, sending the Wrecker staggering back as he attempted to wipe it out. The space barnacle seized opportunity and lunged, slamming him to the ground and resuming its attack as he kicked and punched wildly at it.

    Thankfully, Ratchet was on hand, firing another grenade that adhered to the parasite’s rocky shell. It paused, surprised, before the grenade exploded, flinging it off of Kup with an agonised howl.

    Enraged, the barnacle got back up and charged towards its aggressor, whom raised his gel cannon and fired again. The barnacle dodged the projectile and lunged forward, colliding with the Hummer and sending them crashing to the ground. Though his gun was knocked away, Ratchet viciously fought back with his extending laser scalpels instead, attempting to slash at the parasite’s unarmoured appendages. However, the creature would not stand for this, seizing his arms with its tendrils and pinning him down.

    Ratchet struggled furiously against the beast, attempting to deploy another grenade only for the creature pin down his shoulder compartments, rendering him truly helpless. As Ratchet was overwhelmed by the parasite, Kup was getting back to his feet, instinctively reaching for his Thunder Cannon, only to curse in that it was already out of power. He reached for his shield, hoping to throw it at the creature, but he already knew he would not make it in time, especially with the dirt still affecting his aim-

    Wait, what? Suddenly he froze. Was that-

    Satisfied that the prey was pinned down, the barnacle reared up a free tendril, splitting it open to reveal the horrific maw of teeth in between the struts and aligning it with Ratchet’s head. The medic’s struggles were futile at this point, pinned down as he was, and there would be nothing to prevent the monster from devouring his head.

    His greatest regret at this point, he realised as he beheld death ready to consume him, even greater than his inability to have seen past Grimlock’s monstrous outside, was that he wouldn’t be able to see Evac grow into the fine Autobot he knew he co-

    Suddenly the barnacle jerked somewhat, its attempted murder cut short by its frame rocking along with a sickening cracking sound. As the creature shuddered and hissed in pain, Ratchet, perplexed at this, tilted his head to see what had interrupted the monster. His optics widened.

    Grimlock

    Fear flooded through the medic, beyond what the barnacle could have done. Because Grimlock was supposed to be dead. Because the dead did not suddenly get back up and attack the living. But mostly, because he could look into the berserker’s optics given the angle of attack, and what he saw in them frightened him. The berserker’s optics were blank, the crimson light replaced by an all-consuming blackness reminiscent of some spectral monster from beyond the grave, and quite frankly, that must be what Ratchet was looking at.

    Because Grimlock, alive, on his feet, assaulting the space barnacle, was impossible. Impossible.

    But the tanker truck himself did not care for such a detail. Grimlock, completely lost in whatever mindless violence had raised him from beyond the dead, dragged the barnacle off of Ratchet, his neck twisting dangerously as the creature struggled to release itself, tendrils smacking and stabbing and biting at its attacker. Grimlock, utterly devoid of any response other than to maintain his jaw’s grip, simply reared up, lifting the barnacle above himself as he leaned his frame upwards as high as it could go.

    The increased weight on his torn neck was causing it to creak and compress, weakening from having to tolerate the writhing monster in his jaws. Energon continued to spurt from the wounds in his body, splattering across the ground. And yet Grimlock does not react to these increasing protests of his injuries. His eyes are blank, consumed by the need to kill and yet devoid of any emotion behind said kill.

    It is as if he is some sort of puppet, driven to kill by an outside force, as his jaws continue to squeeze tighter, sickening crunches sounding as the barnacle squealed and struggling, unable to break free of his inescapable maw.

    As Ratchet disbelievingly beholds the barnacle’s inevitable defeat, his scanners suddenly pick up something emanating from the berserker; a strange signal lodged within his torso, growing stronger and stronger with each passing second, pulsing out energy to otherwise deadened systems. It is not his spark; it is unlike anything he has ever scanned before. It is odd, it is alien.

    And whatever it is, it scares him.

    Finally, Grimlock’s jaws clamped together with a sudden snap of metal, utterly crushing through the victim’s shell and thus the barnacle was split in half by the action, the two halves of the squealing monster falling to either side of the tanker truck. It was a fatal wound beyond the parasite’s ability to endure, as after a moment of demented struggling its agonised squeals soon died down into pitiful whimpers, its innards pooling out of the crushed shells as its pitiful struggles ceased. The Autobot’s secondary endeavour in this place was accomplished; the space barnacle was dead.

    The berserker revved softly, leaning downwards now and shuddering ever so slightly as the pitch blackness faded from his optics, replaced by a dull crimson. His expression shifted a bit from the previous monotone into something, if possible, yet more disturbing; some odd mixture of anger, dejection and dissatisfaction.

    Ratchet didn’t even dare move, staring with wide optics and mouth agape at the recuperating truck. Kup himself remained still, one hand tentatively clutching his shield in readiness as he cautiously observed the berserker.

    Finally, the strange energy signal fading away and replacing itself with the familiar pulses of a spark Grimlock exhaled exhaust from his pipes and gave a low growl: “Weaklings… all of them… weak….”

    Shaking his head, utterly ignorant of a few scraps of metal dropping from his torn neck, he titled his unstable visage towards the paralysed medic and wheezed: “Grimlock is leaving. Call Evac. Grimlock will return to the Zeta-1. Grimlock is tired of weakness.”

    Ratchet’s vocal systems finally managed to reboot, and he squeaked: “G-Grimlock, h-how, how did you, how i-is this, I-“

    Grimlock-“ The berserker hissed, crimson optics flashing dangerously in their instability and Ratchet suddenly fears for his life, suddenly believes that Grimlock is an annoyance away from killing him. “-Is tired. Of weakness. Call the ground bridge now….”

    With that, disdainful, he stalked past the Hummer, revving heavily as his huge frame shook and trembled on unsteady legs, barely able to keep his head upright with the weakened struts of his ruined neck, dazedly growling and muttering to himself. Slowly, forcing himself to move past the shock and fear of this improbable circumstance, the Hummer managed to activate his com-link and call Evac.

    “Evac.” Ratchet whimpered, tilting his frame around and watching the tanker truck stumble away with disbelieving and fearful optics. “Activate the ground bridge at these coordinates immediately and prepare the med-bay. Grimlock is… he’s…. just, just do it. Ratchet out.”

    With the call ended, he watched intently as Grimlock lumbered further and further away, before the bright light of the ground bridged expanded before him and granted him access to the retreat he evidently desired. Grimlock vanished through the bridge, and just before it closed Ratchet could have sworn he’d heard a shriek of shock come through. But then the bridge closed and all was quiet.

    Ratchet stood there for a moment, continuing to stare after the berserker’s leave, before Kup walked over, his expression pondering and the last of the dirt wiped from his optics as he stated: “Well, that was a turn of events.”

    “I don’t believe it.” Ratchet replied weakly, not even moving now.

    “And yet there it was.” Kup said simply. “Quite the experience to reawaken to, I must say. Reminds me of the Insecticon swarm back in Polyhex. I believe you were present for that, medic. I’ll never forget how we managed to pull ourselves out of that fiasco.”

    The medic didn’t reply and the larger Autobot didn’t continue, the latter instead now turning to examine the corpse of the space barnacle once it became clear that Ratchet was not in a mood for reminiscing. The creature was certainly dead, split in half with its blood spewing across the ground, but Kup was never one to take unnecessary risks, especially since he had just witnessed another assumedly dead entity rise up.

    Fishing a device from a compartment in his abdomen, Kup idly held it over the exposed innards of the corpse and flicked a small trigger. The little tool immediately sparked, scattering a flare of sparks over the barnacle and promptly setting it alight. Repeating the motion on the other half of the parasite, admiring the way the flames immediately leapt up around it, Kup revved a bit and said: “Funny. Despite so many megacycles of war, all that time in the void nearly made me forget what fire felt like.”

    Again, the Hummer did not reply. Kup shrugged and simply stood over the burning residue, absorbing and recollecting the warmth of a burning flame. If the medic sought to become so worked up over the berserker’s continued resilience to nigh anything the Decepticons could throw at him, then that was his business.

    Personally, Kup had seen weirder.

    It was at this point that the other Autobots finally reached the Resurgence. Jazz and Arcee came first and shifted into robot mode to observe the bizarre situation; Kup standing over a roasting space barnacle, Energon and blast marks scattered across the ground, the bottom half of an exploded Seeker and Ratchet staring into empty space. The two exchanged a perplexed glance, before Arcee shrugged and moved over to Kup, acknowledging her revived commander with a half-sparked salute and a mutter of appreciating his survival, which he returned.

    Jazz also walked over to him and said: “Kup, I presume?”

    “Correct. Lieutenant?”

    “The one and only.”

    “Good. Still in Zeta’s shadow?”

    “Always. But Optimus makes for a nice light.” Jazz replied sweetly, ignoring the subtly snide insinuation of the larger Autobot’s words. “My crew and I came here to inspect your ship’s carcass and see if there was anyone left to save. Glad to see you managed to make it out alive.”

    “I’ve survived worse. Comes with the package of being a Wrecker.” Kup replied dryly. “As you can see, the space barnacle that stowed away on our ship has been slain by the berserker. You need not worry about its parasitic influence anymore.”

    “I love it when things work out like that.” The car sighed wistfully, before pausing and asking: “Wait, where is Grimlock?”

    “He returned to your ship mere moments ago.” Kup said, shooting a cautionary glance at the still immobile Ratchet. “He was… damaged, in the battle against the barnacle and some Decepticons, who have been driven off, save for this Seeker I destroyed.”

    “Fair enough. So then, shall we board your oh-so attractive vessel and bring you and your crew up to speed?”

    “I think, Lieutenant, that that would be very nice.”

    And they did just that, Kup and Jazz entering first with Arcee loitering behind him and Ratchet finally finding it in himself to shakily stand up and shuffle into the vessel. Mere moments later, the remaining Autobots, Wheeljack and Warpath, finally arrived back at the ship, the former shifting into robot mode as the latter examined the surroundings with his turret.

    “Well then.” Wheeljack stated cheerfully, glancing around at the splatters of Energon and black blood on the ground, the burning parasite and the twitching Seeker legs with the air of one who’d entered a casual discussion rather the aftermath of gruelling combat. “This looks like something fun went down.”

    --

    Currently, the Autobots of the Resurgence, plus Wheeljack and Ratchet and minus the two leaders (whom were discussing some matters in Kup’s quarters), were gathered around the ship’s main console and examining the weakened machinery. The Decepticon that the fifth new Autobot, Cliffjumper, had intercepted was currently propped up by the door, locked down with a pair of stasis cuffs and still unconscious with a notable dent on her head.

    The tow truck finished his current line of speech and clapped his hands together deftly, glancing between the others, before adding: “And that’s really about the size of it. Our ship has our Energon line ready to roll, so we’ll be happy to transport some to you bots to help with the repairs.”

    “That’d be appreciated.” Warpath said, examining his chest cannon. “The sooner we get this hunk of junk repaired and ready to ka-blam, the better.”

    “Assuming we even want to stay here.” Arcee pointed out. “I’ve seen enough of this ship to last me a lifetime, not to mention the Decepticons know where it is. Better to set it to implode and move into the Lieutenant’s vessel if you ask me.”

    “Do you really wanna share a ship with Grimlock?” Cliffjumper asked, pointedly nudging the taller Autobot. Arcee just revved a little bit, before he added: “Nah, better we stay here for now. The Decepticons won’t try anything so soon, not so long as we have one of their own stuck with us.”

    “Decepticons don’t care for their own.” Warpath snorted, casting a disdainful glance at the prisoner. “They care only for our annihilation.”

    “Not quite.” Wheeljack contradicted. “This particular Decepticon had a rescue effort devoted to her before, when she and one of our crew got caught in a landslide. If they were willing to help her before, they’ll do it again.”

    “In that case-“ Cliffjumper said, musing a bit. “-We ought to transport her to your ship then. If the Cons do come for us, at least they won’t be able to get her back. Besides, your ship is in better condition, much more suited for restraining a prisoner.”

    “Assuming of course Grimlock doesn’t just eat her when the Lieutenant’s back is turned.” Arcee said dryly.

    “He won’t.” Wheeljack assured her. “My little yellow Bumble-bro will keep him in check, no worries.”

    As he said this, some of the new Autobots expression curiosity at another mention of a close comrade of the berserker, the door jerked open and in walked Jazz and Kup. The two finished up their discussion as they entered the room, just as Ratchet perked up, the first movement he’d made since joining the others around the console and immediately darting forward to confront the Lieutenant.

    “Jazz.” He stated urgently, optics intense in his need to discuss as the car stopped at his blockade. “We need to talk about Grimlock.”

    “With all due respect to the circumstances, medic.” Kup said coldly, glaring at the medic’s interruption. “Your commander has his priorities right now.”

    “Don’t worry, Kup.” Jazz interjected when Ratchet seemed ready to retort, casually patting the Wrecker on the leg in a friendly gesture. “We won’t take too long. I’ll talk to Ratchet and then we’ll finalise our businesses, okay?”

    Kup didn’t seem too pleased, but he nevertheless yielded to the Lieutenant’s word and strode off, leaving Ratchet to grab Jazz by the hand and swiftly lead him out of the room, dragging the surprised car after him in his search for somewhere to talk.

    “Ratchet, what’s the rush? Are you alright?”

    The Hummer ignored him until he came across the door that led to the ship’s inner workings, forced it open and pulled them both inside, forcibly slamming it shut behind them and then turning to the perplexed car with an almost procotic expression.

    “Did Kup tell you…” Ratchet breathed, engine rumbling as he leaned in uncomfortably close to the car. “About what happened with Grimlock?”

    “He, he told me he was injured in battle, that he went back to our ship for repairs. You were there when he said that, you heard-“

    “Well he fragging lied.” Ratchet hissed, causing the Solstice to tense up. “Grimlock was not merely injured in battle, Grimlock was, for all intents and purposes, dead.”

    Suddenly, Jazz found he was really not liking the way this conversation was going.

    “W-what do you mean?”

    “I mean Grimlock was dead. I mean Grimlock had his processor shot apart, his neck torn open from the inside out, swords wound straight through internal systems!-“ To emphasize this, he projected a diagram of the injuries he’d scanned on the berserker to the shocked car. “-His neural net was collapsing, his spark’s signal died down, his systems were on the brink of complete failure and shutdown! But he got back up! It didn’t kill him, it should have killed him, AND HE GOT. BACK. UP!”

    Jazz squirmed in unease, really not liking how Ratchet was practically screeching this in his face, the medic’s hands looking as though they were gonna grab him and shake him apart in a deranged frenzy. Desperately, he tried to calm down the situation:

    “Okay, Ratchet, let’s just, let’s just calm down quickly, and think-“

    “Jazz, you have to understand, please fragging understand when I tell you this; Grimlock should not have gotten back up! The very fact he didn’t die then, the very fact he was able to recover, stand up, attack, talk, it went against everything I’ve ever known about fatal wounds in Cybertronian metallicology, it went against five centuries of warfare and repairs and medical efforts!”

    Jazz considered that, unnerved by the intensity in the medic’s fevered gaze, before replying: “So… what you’re saying is, Grimlock should have stayed died- dead, stayed dead?”

    “That is exactly what I’m saying! And I don’t mean it as in I dislike him and wish him death, I mean it as in it is physically impossible for him to have recovered from such injuries so swiftly like that. It was like being a human watching a corpse, a zum, zombie, a zombie rise up! Jazz, that just doesn’t happen! I’ve never seen this before, I never thought it could even happen, yet there it was and I DON’T KNOW WHY!”

    Okay, now the Solstice was beyond unnerved, raising his hands in an attempt to placate the intensely unhinged Hummer: “Okay, okay, take it easy, I get it! Grimlock should have stayed dead, fair enough, I understand what you’re saying. But he’s not dead, right, and we ought to be grateful for that. Bumblebee will be grateful for that. I’m sure we’ll find out how he managed it sooner or later, okay? Just, just relax, Ratchet. Can you relax for me?”

    “I…. I’ll try. I’m trying. I’m relaxing.”

    “Do, do you need me to massage you? Ellen told me massages are very relaxing.”

    “I don’t need a massage, I need to know what sorcery is at play here! I need to know how he did it! I need to know what that signal was-”

    “Okay, okay, okay! Ratchet, calm down!... Alright then. Just… let’s just head back to the control room, okay? You can talk about this with Wheeljack in a bit, alright, he’d be better at this than me, and then you can call Evac to see if he found out anything, alright? Let’s, let’s just get the final bits of business done first, okay?”

    A deep rev, a flash of lights and a spinning of wheels, before Ratchet sagged in defeat: “Okay.”

    Jazz really didn’t like that kind of teeny little response after such a spectacle: “Tell me you’re okay.”

    “I’m okay.”

    “…Alright then.”

    With that, the two hopped out of the internal chamber and headed back to the control room, the Hummer tensed and the Lieutenant doing his best not to let the other robot’s tenseness get to him. He preferred to stay loose, all things considered. Still, his conversation with the medic had been an unnerving one, excluding Ratchet’s minor breakdown; apparently Grimlock had the power to rise from beyond the grave, regardless of horrific injuries he’d suffered or the fact his own processor had been blasted to bits. That kind of scrap was disturbing, especially if they had been bad as Ratchet’s scan had indicated.

    He’d always known that Grimlock was tough as Pit, always pulling through in a fight and sending Decepticons running screaming back home or leaving them straight up torn apart, and he’d always heard all sorts of the stories of the berserker returning from battles as a sole survivor, physically battered beyond belief but functional. But that had always been put down to mere willpower, excellent enhancements and stuff; if what Ratchet said was true, something about some sort of signal, then something unknown, possibly even straight up unnatural, might be the true cause of the berserker’s reputation to never stay down.

    He shuddered a bit at the thought of someone as physically brutalised as Grimlock had been getting back up like nothing had happened. Freaky. He could only hope that Evac didn’t freak out like his mentor did when also confronting this anomaly.

    Anyway, they entered the control room and meandered over to the central console. Warpath and Wheeljack were joking with each other, Hot Shot was poking the unconscious Decepticon, Cliffjumper was nattering to a barely responsive Arcee and Kup was deep in thought. Upon seeing the Lieutenant had arrived, everyone promptly perked up and gathered around the main console to await his word.

    Upon making sure everyone was present and listening, Jazz promptly began: “Alright, everyone. I assume Wheeljack has brought you lot up to date on my crew, the present Decepticons and our situation?”

    “I did indeed! I’m good like that, don’t you know?”

    “That’s great, tow truck. Okay then, if he’s caught you up on everything, I suppose we should start getting to productive matters. The Decepticons aren’t going to be too happy that we have a prisoner-“

    “Should have just killed her, to be quite honest.” Warpath said.

    Jazz ignored him: “-Which means they’re going to be out for plots to get her back, get revenge, all that jazz-“

    “Ha!” Cliffjumper and Hot Shot sniggered.

    Jazz ignored them: “-And thus we need to decide what we’ll do with her.”

    “Your ship is in better condition than ours, and it boasts an added advantage in that the Decepticons are unaware of its position.” Arcee said, nodding at Cliffjumper in reference to his earlier suggestion, a fact he seemed fairly pleased with. “Warpath can carry her in for you when your crew bridges you back, set her up in one of your brigs.”

    “And what makes you think I’ll do that?” Warpath stated rhetorically.

    Arcee didn’t even look at him: “Because I told you to.”

    “Bam, got me there.”

    “Alright then.” Jazz agreed. “We’ll take her back with us. I’m sure one of my crew will be happy to see her again.”

    Kup spoke up now, as some of the others gave the Lieutenant perplexed brow-lifts: “If we are to maintain our residence on this planet, we ought to follow the Lieutenant’s example and adopt vehicle modes based on the technology of the native species. That way, we can operate outside the ship in more conventional native zones without exposing ourselves.”

    “Speaking of example-“ Hot Shot chirped up. “What’s the command structure now? Do we still take orders from you, old bot, or do we follow young, short and silver now?”

    Some of the Autobots gave soft little chuckles as Kup, his expression suddenly turning colder in distaste, replied: “You remain under my command, rookie. But the Lieutenant outranks myself, and thus we are under his command as well.” This said, he turned his gaze onto the Solstice and said: “Ask anything of the Resurgence, Lieutenant, and we shall obey without question.”

    Jazz nodded in acceptance of this and then stated: “Very well then. I’m going to return to the Zeta-1 now, see how Grimlock’s doing and how the rookies are and such. Wheeljack, Ratchet, I want you two to remain here and assist with the repairs, make sure everything and everyone is ship shape, okay?”

    “You got it, boss.” Wheeljack stated cheerfully, already calling Evac for the Lieutenant’s transport.

    “Yes sir…” Ratchet muttered, lost in his thoughts.

    Jazz took a final moment to observe the Autobots gathered before him, before giving a small smile towards Ratchet and turning around to walk into the ground bridge that opened behind him, Warpath promptly moving over to pick up the prisoner and lumbering behind the car with the jet dangled over his shoulder. A flare of green light and they vanished, the portal itself fading away mere seconds later.

    Kup watched it fade, before clapping his hands and declaring: "Alright then. Autobots of the Resurgence, welcome to Planet Earth."

    --

    Most of the Decepticons couldn’t help but feel an uneasy sense of repetition when the previously calm and quiet atmosphere in the Darksyde was broken by the sounds of outraged arguments, furious complaints and petty insults coming from their commander and his latest annoyance.

    “Two of my Seekers dead, not a single one of their number taken down, and now you’re going to tell me that you left Slipstream with the Autobots?!” Starscream screeched, flailing around in a rage as he threw the barnacle’s severed limb across the room, the black-blooded flesh hitting Soundwave in the face with a grotesque slapping sound. “Do you have any notion of the consequence-“

    “I am perfectly aware of what this situation entails!” Airachnid shouted back, rotors flaring and spinning in her fury, managing to drown out the jet’s own hollering. “I am perfectly aware that our medic, my friend, has been captured by the Autobots, I am perfectly aware that the new Autobot crew survived this day and I AM PERFECTLY AWARE YOU AND YOUR DRONES COULDN’T EVEN DESTROY THE LIEUTENANT-“

    “You accuse ME of failure?” He shrieked, flexing his shaking arms as if he was but a step away from wrapping them around the helicopter’s neck. “You’re the one who got Slipstream captured! You’re the one who’s brought up yet another damn interruption for me! How can I expect to complete my Operation and actually make Lord Megatron proud if all you idiots keep doing is bringing up barricades in front of my plans?!?!”

    “Well you’re the one who threw us against the berserker!” She shrieked, immediately unveiling her claws and snapping them threateningly. “Guess that didn’t work out too well for you, considering he didn’t just eat me and save you some hassle!”

    “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Barricade was hollering, thumping his fists on the consoles in tune with his shouts in violent anticipation for a fight to break out for him to holler some more at! Ooh, how he loved it when people he hated fragged each other up!

    “Oh my, if they actually killed each other, maybe I could become the leader!” Sideways squeaked.

    “A shame indeed!” Starscream shouted, absolutely livid and frame bracing for battle. “But you know what, you worthless impersonation of a glorified bug? Frag Shokaw! Frag Shockwave! Even if I go to Polyhex for it, I’LL SNAP YOUR NECK IN LIEU OF THAT AUTOBOT!”

    “NOT IF I BREAK YOURS FIRST, YOU SAD PIECE OF S-“

    SHUT UP.”

    Nighttrace’s voice echoed through the room, amplified by her sudden flitting in-between the two aggravators and shoving them backwards with an impressive flick of her arms. The two were flabbergasted at such an interruption to their declarations of intense dislike, as Nighttrace cast them both lethal glares, weapons drawn and posture aggressive.

    And then she simply retracted her weapons, placed her palms together and stated softly: “Calm.”

    A pause.

    “Déjà vu.” Soundwave snorted, Barricade switching between looking entertained at the shenanigan he’d just witnessed and disappointed in that it had not led to outright combat.

    Starscream revved a bit and obligingly backed down, Airachnid retracting her claws and looking quite sheepish before the two muttered a dull apology to Nighttrace, whom simply nodded and fluttered back over to the main console. With this calm restored, Grindor stood up and stepped forward, deciding to take matters into his own hands.

    “This in-fighting will serve us no purpose other than unnecessary damage to our commanding figures.” He stated plainly, tapping his claws together as Starscream lounged backwards in order to sink into his chair, Airachnid folding her arms and revving a bit. “Slipstream has fallen into the Autobot’s grip, and unlike last time, there will be no outside force provoking cooperation in our efforts to retrieve her. Therefore, we must contemplate alternate strategies to rescue her from our enemies.”

    “Well, Grindor, since you seem so eager to plan, plan for me; what do you propose?” Starscream asked, flaring heat from his thrusters in his attempts to disperse his pent-up anger.

    “I propose the alteration of an earlier plot we had previously considered.” The tank stated, moving over to stand by the main console as the other Decepticons gathered around to hear him out. “Do you recollect what Sideways discovered whilst investigating that anomalous radiation signal?”

    “I remember.” Soundwave chipped in. “The Lieutenant’s vehicle mode, playing host to a human, who was mildly saturated by the Autobot’s spark radiation and thus resulting in a chip in the Lieutenant’s camouflage.”

    “Exactly. Our original discussion of this revelation, Starscream, was that we could initiate a side project to capture said human and use it as bait to lure the Lieutenant into a trap. Do you see where I am going with this, commander?”

    “I do indeed.” The jet said, leaning in with an interested expression. “Let’s see exactly how much stock the Lieutenant puts into the life of his little buddy. The human’s safe return in exchange for the equally safe return of our medic. Grindor, you are a Decepticon providing many blessings to us.”

    “I do what I do in favour of assisting my comrades.” He replied amiably. “I had endeavoured to help Slipstream before, as she had done for me during our battle with the berserker, and thus I shall do so again.

    “Indeed. Good sentiment, Grindor. Right, okay then Decepticons, let’s lay it all out on the table. New Autobots, who will do who and most importantly, how we must prepare for the final phase of Operation Harvest. I’ll start! I can confirm that the Autobots designated Warpath and Arcee are alive and active on this planet. I encountered the latter personally, who so rudely interrupted my duel with the Lieutenant.”

    A Seeker chirped: “The one named Warpath was also the causation of one of the two Seeker casualties suffered today, sir.”

    “And I can add-“ Airachnid stated, examining her claws as if they were human fingernails. “-That the Wrecker, Kup, was the one who slew the second. He had another Autobot with him, one who called himself Hot Shot. A stupid little ex-Neutral rookie, much like the Lieutenant’s yellow car and the helicopter. Both of them, unfortunately, continue to walk amongst the living, though I-”

    Soundwave then spoke up, holding up the severed barnacle limb: “And what of the creature that this came from? Does the parasite still live?”

    “Unknown.” Starscream replied. “I briefly engaged and wounded it, but it retreated when Arcee intervened. Well, we’ll just leave it to the Autobots to clean up that mess if it survived its injuries.”

    Airachnid resumed her previous statement: “I do have another piece of news that may prove pleasant for all of us.”

    They all turned to look at her, and she paused for a moment to build suspense amongst them, before a smile spread across her face, contrasting her earlier anger intensely whilst she elaborated: “I am pleased to report that the berserker, Grimlock himself, is dead. Personally slain by my own hand and his end confirmed by Slipstream.”

    For a final touch, she initiated and projected a weak hologram from her optics, depicting the view she’d had of the berserker’s corpse, adding extra emphasis to the obliterated neck, the torn processor and the sword wounds through the torso. It was an intense image, the sight of the monster they’d all feared laid on his side with massive injuries. The Decepticons did not react for a moment, simply caught up in disbelief and shock as they beheld this unexpected

    Most delightful of all was Starscream’s expression; briefly shocked, turning into irritation, escalating into anger, then forced down into an equally forced calm. How beautiful it was that his intention to have her slain by the berserker had only given her the opportunity to take the glory of his demise from him.

    But he was not he who spoke next; in fact, it was Sideways, looking surprised at himself for his daring to speak up, who shook his head and replied: “T-That’s impossible. The berserker, he, he’s invincible! He can’t be dead!”

    “Do not allow the delusions of reputation to fill you with doubt, Sideways. Slipstream, the Seeker and I were able to wear him down enough to deliver a finishing strike.” She paused, then added sweetly: “Though, it didn’t hurt that the berserker’s own ally was the one who delivered a crucial blow to the monster’s exposed weak spot.”

    “The berserker doesn’t have weak spots…” Sideways muttered, unable to maintain his gaze with the larger Decepticon and looking downright dejected, as if learning a hero of his was not quite as majestic as he’d thought, just as Starscream stated slowly, softly, still processing this turn of events: “Airachnid… can you confirm, really confirm, that Grimlock is dead?”

    “Slipstream scanned him thoroughly. His processor was damaged beyond repair, his systems were failing and his spark lost its signal. If he was not rendered immediately dead from my shot, his own systems would fail and collapse within mere moments. Any hope of recovery is impossible-”

    “Wait a moment. Wait a moment everyone.” Barricade suddenly chipped in, sounding quite snidely amused as he then gave a chuckle, all optics now turning to him. “Okay, that’s pretty cute, Airachnid, that’s pretty cute. You blew open his fragging neck, stabbed him up and shot his processor to bits. Excellent stuff, exactly the kind of brutality Autobot filth deserve! But believe it or not… I’m with Sideways.”

    The bike immediately squeaked in fear and shimmied over to Grindor. Soundwave and Nighttrace exchanged a shocked glance, Grindor tilted his head in bewilderment, Starscream stared and Airachnid looked quite irritated.

    “Yeah, lap it in, you fraggers, I don’t think the berserker’s dead either! I hate Autobots, I hope they all die and burn in the Pit forever, and I hate thinking they can stay alive, and I hate complimenting them on anything other than the ways they scream as I rip their sparks out!-“ He slammed his fists into the console at this point, briefly overwhelmed by his self-provoked anger. A moment to regain himself, then he added: “But if there’s one thing the berserker is good at, it’s not dying when we want him to! Look at me, you puffed-up bug-faced moron! I took an Insecticon infestation to the face and a self-destructing facility to the dome, but I’m still fragging here talking to you moronic losers and ripping up Autobots! If I can survive that kind of slag, I can bet every ounce of Energon in my bumper that the berserker can survive your weak scrap, Airachnid.”

    He finished his dramatic tirade by leaning back and shooting an arrogant and cruel sneer at the helicopter, who brushed off his silent insults with all the distaste of one sweeping away a bothersome fly.

    No-one spoke for a moment, before Starscream revved a bit and said: “Right. Okay then. Let’s settle this diplomatically. Hands up if you think, judging by this injury assessment, that Grimlock is dead.”

    He raised his hand, joined by Nighttrace, Airachnid, Grindor, Soundwave and the two Seekers. Barricade just sneered and muttered insults at them, Sideways trembled meekly.

    “Right then. Majority rules, we’ll assume that Slipstream’s final scan confirms that Grimlock is dead. Fantastic. But let’s not be hasty regardless. Before we dare report anything, even the slightest hint that Grimlock is gone for good, to Lord Megatron, we ought to gather conclusive proof of his demise, a body part or something. I’m sure we’ll find something or other when we inevitably conquer the Autobots here. We’ll save it for now.”

    He seemed fairly calm, all things considered, what with the fact his hated rival had been the one to exterminate the berserker and not he, despite previous wishes to be the one. Perhaps he had grown above such petty thoughts, or maybe he was focussing on the plain logic of appreciating the loss of a potent foe. If so, Nighttrace could say she was proud of that.

    “Not that it makes much difference anyway.” He added dryly. “The berserker’s death is wonderful news, but the Lieutenant has just gained four extra troops to replace him with. Morale may be lowered, but numbers, definitely not. Well, whatever. In the meantime, Grindor, you are in charge of capturing the human and bargaining for Slipstream with it. You will take Soundwave and Sideways-“

    “AND ME!” Barricade suddenly shrieked, again whacking his fists against the console, much to the other’s annoyance. “Don’t forget me, you smoke-spewing acid-glugging fragger! I saved her last time, I get in on another save this time!”

    “Fine, whatever, just shut up already. If any deal with the Autobots screws up, you’ll have a nice excuse to try out your nodule again and start repaying your debt to Shockwave. Anyway, your four will handle that. Capture the human and lure the Autobots out so you may prepare a trade, but do not harm the organic. We’ll need it in prime condition for the Lieutenant to remain pacified. While you do that, Nighttrace and I have some calls to make. We’ll need a distraction for the Autobots when Operation Harvest is underway.”

    He considered for a moment, and added: “And I don’t need to remind anyone that we should try and avoid suffering major damages for a while, given our current lack of a trained and competent medic. Grindor and Airachnid, what with their engineering and scientific expertise, will have to fill in for Slipstream until we get her back.”

    He gazed around the console for a moment, observing his troops, before finishing: “Right. That’s all I’ve got to say. Anything else anyone wanna add, or can I go take a fragging break from this slag?”

    “I’ll add something!” The Mustang hollered, and Starscream contemplated having Waspinator shoot his spark out from within. “Why don’t we take the ship and go frag up the Wrecker’s ship?! We know where it is, we know it’s a hunk of junk, let’s go blow it up!”

    “Shut up Barricade. The Autobots may well have set its warp driver to implode and abandoned it already, or they’re diverting Energon to it to boost its defences. Either way, too much hassle. We have other scrap to attend to anyway, so let’s just get to it so we can actually get something done in our lives and not look like fragging Barricade-level idiots in front of our Master.”

    The other Decepticons agreed, Soundwave most profusely as Barricade offered a choice few words on where Starscream could put his head, before they began to disperse. Starscream was first to leave, turning and strolling out of the control room with Nighttrace fluttering after him, his head immediately leaning towards her to start a quiet discussion with her. Grindor and Soundwave went to a side console to start planning their upcoming mission (the latter idly playing with the severed parasite limb), Sideways rolled around in contemplation and Barricade hopped back to a video game, now muttering stuff on how he’d get Slipstream back even if he had to murder the whole universe to do it.

    Airachnid watched the jet leave with an air of disdain, flexing her claws as she turned her irritated gaze to the other Decepticons, all of whom made it a point to avoid looking at her. Flexing her rotors slightly, she then turned to look out through the observation panels. Though the satisfaction of the berserker’s demise remained fairly prominent, along with infuriation at both Starscream and the Autobots, there was a rare inkling of unease now budding up within her and replacing the other sensations. This was an unfamiliar feeling, but it was one she easily recognised; fear, fear for those one cared about. She did not like it.

    “Don’t worry, Slipstream.” Airachnid murmured, stepping over to the observation pans and gazing up the blue-and-white form of Earth with a cold anger to the miserable Autobots infesting the surface. “We’ll get you back. Even if I have to kill everyone in my way to do it.”


    Author's Notes: And that's that for this episode, at long last.

    So, Grimlock isn't actually dead. Evidently he's tougher than we thought. But how did he do it? That's something to perplex our heroes with for now, particularly poor disturbed Ratchet. Rest assured, its influence will be felt in time. On the bright side, Bumblebee won't have to be so sad.

    Next episode is Bad Decisions, the culmination of Jazz and Ellen's subplot.