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Prologue can be found in this entry: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/22882.html#cutid2
Chapter One: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/23391.html#cutid1
Chapter Two: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/25558.html#cutid1
Chapter Three: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/26387.html#cutid1
Chapter Four: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/30030.html#cutid1
Chapter Five: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/33647.html#cutid1
Chapter Six: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/35097.html#cutid1
Chapter Seven: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/37448.html#cutid1
Here’s Chapter Eight. A fair bit of warning, it’s not been run through my betas, so no telling what you’ll find in there. If something doesn’t make sense or is wrong, just let me know, as I was having quite a bit of trouble with this chapter.
Title: Survivalism
Chapter Eight: Free Fall
Author: Mini-Bot
Series: Movieverse/AU
Rating/Warnings: M (violence, mention of character death, light language)
An Autobot who aided Decepticons, willingly. Unheard of. He deserved punishment, right? He deserved to be shunned by his Autobot brothers and sisters.
Optimus strode into the room, proud of the fact he was still standing up for what he thought was right after so many stellar cycles, even though doing so could cost him his freedom... his life... his everything.
He could feel all the optics on him. Shooting through him. Judging him. Trying to find his reason, as he made his way to the front of the room.
This is for you, brother.
“Ah, such a noble one you are, Optimus,” Ironhide scoffed. “Most in your situation would have fled.”
“I accept any and all consequences for my actions, as I feel my actions are just,” Optimus stated, reaching the front of the room. Standing mighty and proud, ready to take Ironhide’s attacks head on.
“Hmm. Well, is it just to endanger your crew to pursue your own little agenda?” Ironhide asked, starting right in and trying to fuel the flames from the other Autobots gathered in the room.
“I did no such thing,” Optimus said.
“But, you did! You allowed an armed Decepticon into the ship AND handed over precious Autobot energon supplies without a second thought!” Ironhide thundered.
“Correction. The Decepticon was unarmed and I gave MY rations away to him,” Optimus countered.
“I can vouch for dat first part,” Jazz spoke up, the audience all turning to face him. He cleared his throat and added, “I was present at da crime scene.”
“Jazz, you being the only witness to this crime, can you explain what happened, exactly, in your own words?” Ironhide questioned.
“Uhhhh... sure,” Jazz answered, looking around at his fellow Autobots, who all still had their optics planted on him. Before he spoke again, his optics found their way to Optimus, who was also staring right at Jazz. Jazz expected a look of resentment from the commander, since Jazz had placed Optimus in this mess, but Optimus still had that soft, understanding look about him. A look that always put Jazz at ease. And, seeing that face made Jazz feel completely awful for what he had done, but it was too late to go back and fix anything. “Umm... I was wanderin’ around da base. Makin’ nightly checks,” he began. “Thought I heard sumthin’, so I went ta investigate. Turns out we had a ‘Con onboard. So, I did what most would do, pointed da guns and started ta get some back up, but Commander Optimus came along,” Jazz paused, his optics wandering back to Optimus once more. Optimus’ face remained unchanged. “He told me ta get back to my quartas. ‘said he handle it,” he finished.
“Do you honestly believe the Decepticon was unarmed? I mean, did you check him?” Ironhide inquired. “Sounds to me like you didn’t really see enough to properly determine the danger levels of this Decepticon menace.”
“Nah, I didn’t inspect ‘em, but da Commander is still here, right? If da ‘Con had been armed, he woulda fired on Optimus,” Jazz retaliated.
Ironhide shot Jazz a look of disgust before turning back to Optimus.
“What possessed you to aid the Decepticon, Commander?” Arcee spoke up.
“It was the right thing to do, Arcee,” Optimus replied, his powerful voice speaking up to be sure to reach every audio receptor in the room. “I was under the impression that the Autobot code was to protect all life, even the life of a sworn enemy, if he was not threatening the life of innocents.”
Ironhide chortled, leaning in close to Optimus. “I see what you’re trying to do here, Optimus,” he hissed. “You think you can win the sparks of your fellow crew members, huh? Think your goodie two stabilizing servo act can make them defect to your silly little cause? Make them all gung-ho for helping Decepticons? Well, it can’t!” Ironhide bellowed. “I can assure you anyone who chooses to side with you will be crushed down just as the Decepticons were!”
“How much does Sentinel Prime reward you for killing innocents, Ironhide?” Optimus murmured.
“I beg your pardon? Are you suggesting that Decepticons are innocent?” Ironhide questioned, before turning toward the other Autobots. “Do you hear this deranged mech?!” Ironhide called out. “He expects you to believe that the thieves, liars, and murders who call themselves Decepticons are innocents and that we should aid them!” Ironhide chuckled.
“I wasn’t only referring to Decepticons, Ironhide,” Optimus said.
“Just who exactly where you referring to, Optimus?” Ironhide snapped, getting close to Optimus’ face again.
“Remember Sapphire?” Optimus asked. “You remember how she suddenly disappeared after she helped the Decepticon known as Long Haul? You were the last mech she was seen with, and no one investigated you for anything,” Optimus commented.
It was an angle Optimus didn’t like playing, but for the others in that room to see his reason, he would have to play a little dirty. Megatron’s way.
“How about Drift and his family?” Optimus questioned. “He converted to an Autobot to protect that family that was so brutally murdered along with him. Even though, he had no criminal record even as a Decepticon,” Optimus explained. “Completely innocent.”
The other Autobots in the room where looking to Ironhide, waiting for him to shoot down Optimus’ accusations. But, Ironhide was clearly struggling to find the right response to the truth Optimus Prime spoke.
“What about that girl? Your femmefriend? She went kind of soft for Decepticons, didn’t she? What happened to her?” Optimus probed.
“Decepticons murdered them,” Ironhide said, finally, his anger levels rising.
“Is that the truth, or is that just what Sentinel Prime and you wrote off on the crime reports?” Optimus questioned, pushing further.
Ironhide jumped at Optimus, hands grasping the commander’s neck, squeezing belligerently.
I-Ironhide,” Optimus choked, grabbing at Ironhide’s hands.
“Let ‘em go!” Jazz shrieked, rushing to them with other Autobots following after him. “‘Hide, stop!” Jazz tried again, grabbing hold of Ironhide’s arm.
Ironhide reacted by shoving Jazz backwards, causing him to fall to the floor.
Ironhide managed to get Optimus down on the floor, pinning him in place with his knee. He released his grip on his neck, repositioning his hands on Optimus’ wrists, further holding him in place. “Prowl! Stasis cuffs! Now!” Ironhide barked.
“But,” Prowl protested.
“That’s an order, soldier!” Ironhide growled. “I’m relieving Commander Optimus of his duty and am assuming command, myself.” he added. “You gonna defy a direct order given by your new commander?”
“No, sir,” Prowl sighed, reaching into his sub space pocket for a pair of stasis cuffs. Grabbing a pair, he made his way over to Ironhide and Optimus.
Releasing one of Optimus’ wrists, Ironhide quickly grabbed the stasis cuffs from Prowl and cuffed Optimus’ wrists together.
“There, traitor, now you ain’t getting no where,” Ironhide muttered. “Take him to the brig.”
***
“Once we get off the ship, we’ll try to locate your fellow Decepticons,” Ratchet whispered, still holding my hand firmly in his. He surveyed the area, looking for any Autobot patrols, who had not made it to the meeting for some reason or another.
We were making our way to the hidden exit in the back of the grand Autobot ship. Ratchet had mapped out a near perfect route to avoid any and all detection. There were only a few questionable check points, which we were stopped at one now.
“Coast looks clear,” Ratchet observed.
“Not as clear as you’d like to think, Ratchet,” a voice warned from the shadows.
Ratchet froze, griping my hand tighter.
“Who’s there?” he asked.
“A friend,” the voice said back.
“Show yourself!” Ratchet exclaimed, his arm plating shifting to reveal his stored weapons.
Suddenly, a large, bulky Autobot defense drone came barreling out of the shadows toward us, two giant swords drawn.
“Get down!” Ratchet yelled, tossing me out of the way just in time to meet the drone’s attack. They rolled. Ratchet on bottom, then top, then bottom again. Sword and saw clanging against each other.
Glancing around for something to convert into a weapon, I spotted a box set outside a door. I leapt at the box, tearing it open to reveal nothing, but empty cubes needing to be refilled with energon.
“Dammit,” I cursed, glancing back at Ratchet just in time to see him get flung across the room, right towards me. He collided with me, slamming us against the wall. Waves of pain erupted over my sensor net, upon impact. Ratchet, not knowing that he literally crushed me under his weight, fought to get back to his feet for the drone’s next attack. The drone slammed into him, grabbed him by his arm, and tossed him to the opposite end of the hallway like a rag doll. Laughing, the drone turned his attention to me, down on the floor. I struggled to move away from him, get myself closer to the only protection I had, at that moment. Ratchet.
Ratchet was not down for the count, yet. He rushed towards the drone, slicing him in his side with his saw weapon. Shards of metal were sent flying through the air, and the drone turned his attention back to Ratchet.
“Identified: Autobot Medic. Aiding Decepticon femme. Traitorous behavior noted. Complete termination authorized.”
“Terminate this,” Ratchet sneered, firing his gun repeatedly at the drone’s face.
The drone, not very phased by Ratchet’s attacks, stomped toward him. Closing the space between them, he grabbed Ratchet, and slammed him into a near by wall as hard as he possibly could. Ratchet was not out, but he was certainly down for the time being.
Seeing that Ratchet was recovering, the drone came back to me, still trying to struggle to get to some sort of safety.
He yanked me up off the floor, squeezing me nearly to death.
“Main mission: Destroy Decepticon femme. Mission success: 75% complete,” the drone informed no one in particular. He positioned his sword, so that he could impale my spark chamber, killing me instantly. Shutting my optics, I prepared for the worst. The only thing that made this awful for me was the fact I had been so close to a live Decepticon again. No telling what or who might await me in the Well of All Sparks. Would I even see a Decepticon there? Or, were we truly the spawn of Unicron himself? Doomed to a life of despondency.
Just as I was sure I had seen the white light at the end of the tunnel, the drone released his grip on me. I felt myself free falling to the floor, only it felt like slow motion falling. Like I was falling off the most colossal mountain and the fall was endless.
I expected more pain on impact, but instead I felt arms catch me. Familiar arms. The arms of someone I knew all too well....
***
“Look, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Rumble admitted, clinging onto Soundwave.
“Relax. We are no where near the Autobot ship, yet, Rumble,” Soundwave comforted, patting the mini-con’s back, gingerly, as he cradled him in his arms.
Barricade was leading this small scout team, made up of Soundwave, Rumble, and Ravage, to the Autobot ship, where, as understood by Barricade, Optimus Prime had more energon to replenish the Decepticon crew, giving them a much better chance at prolonged survival.
Growling, Barricade stopped and turned toward Soundwave and Rumble. “This is what you wanted, Rumble! How dare you put Commander Starscream through so much and turn around and be oh so scared when you’re actually getting your way!” Barricade snarled.
“Leave him alone. You know how mini-cons get when they are scared,” Soundwave countered, letting what little emotion he had show through.
“Boo-fragging-hoo! We’re all scared!” Barricade shouted. “And, you know I wouldn’t have said a word had he not been walking all over Starscream this whole time! Guess what, Rumble?! Starscream’s scared too! That’s why he didn’t want us to be exploring this planet like crazy! Exposing ourselves to possible threats that could end us, prematurely!”
“Lower your vocalizer. Something is coming,” Soundwave advised.
Barricade whirled around, looking for any movement in the distance. “I don’t see anything,” Barricade huffed.
“Not in visual range, yet,” Soundwave informed.
“Friendly?” Barricade asked.
“Scans reveal, one Autobot signature and two unknown origin signatures.”
“Maybe cloaked?” Rumble suggested.
“Possibly. Remain vigilant,” Soundwave said.
Ravage emitted a sound from his vocalizer, signaling the others of the movement he had detected near by. Barricade, Soundwave, and Rumble all looked to where he was looking. Three beings on the move. One strangely organic carried by another who was definitely Autobot. And, the third? Difficult to determine.
“What are we gonna do?” Rumble questioned, looking up at Barricade.
“Hold your positions. I’m going to make contact,” Barricade answered. “If anything happens... fall back to base. It might be an ambush of some sort,” Barricade ordered, before slipping out of their concealed place in the forested region they had been passing through.
“Let’s set her down here,” Ratchet said. “I need to look her over. Think I banged her up pretty good when I was thrown into her by that defense drone.”
“That would explain her unconscious state. Her frame can’t handle near us much as we can,” Longarm stated, setting her down on the ground below.
Ratchet lowered to his knees beside the unconscious me. He began checking me over, feeling for any broken internals or anything else that could be wrong. His optics kept trailing over to Longarm, the mech who had saved us from the defense drone.
“Why did you help us, Longarm?” Ratchet inquired.
“I told you I was a friend,” Longarm replied, setting his hand on Ratchet’s shoulder and giving him a light pat.
“It was YOU talking to us... just before the drone attacked?!” Ratchet exclaimed.
“Yes.”
“If you knew we were trying to escape why wouldn’t you signal the other Autobots or, Primus forbid, let the drone terminate her and arrest me for treason?” Ratchet questioned.
“Because, that would be betraying all of what I am,” Longarm answered.
Ratchet ceased his checking me over, momentarily.
“What? What do you mean?” Ratchet asked, looking into Longarm’s azure colored optics.
“Don’t you know?” Longarm simpered.
“Know what?!”
“I am a Decepticon spy, of course,” Longarm admitted.
Ratchet’s optics went wide.
“I must say, Ratchet, I am quite impressed with the fact that you and Optimus Prime, of all mechs, are so... set on helping Decepticons. Perhaps, though, Optimus is a bit eaten up with guilt, hmm? That is what has fueled this interest in helping us?” Longarm accused.
“Guilt? I’m not sure I know what yo--”
“Hold it, Autobots!” Barricade called, cutting Ratchet’s sentence off.
“Barricade, how lovely it is to see you again,” Longarm said.
“Who the frag are you?” Barricade questioned, eyeing the mech he thought he had never seen in his life before, calling him by name.
“You may have known me by a different identity,” Longarm replied, taking a step toward Barricade. His parts began to shift. Extending and relocating themselves to reveal a much larger and very different mechanoid.
“Shockwave?!” Barricade gasped. “Shockwave, you’re alive?!”
“Yes. I veiled myself within our enemies ranks for survival purposes, of course,” Shockwave explained. “I was under the impression that everyone had perished in the war or the hunts, thus I concluded I would have to adapt or cease to function.”
“Some of us got out,” Barricade said.
“How many?” Shockwave asked.
“Not too many, but a group of us are here,” Barricade said.
“Led by whom?” Shockwave inquired.
“Starscream,” Barricade answered.
“And, her? Did you know about her?” Shockwave pointed to me, still unconscious on the ground. Ratchet working away trying to make sure I wasn’t severely damaged, after being crushed under his weight.
“Who is she? A ‘Con?” Barricade questioned.
“Don’t you recognize her?” Shockwave quizzed, reaching over and turning my head, so that Barricade could see my face.
“Impossible!” Barricade exclaimed. “There’s no way she could have survived that last battle she was seen in! Starscream scrutinized every inch of that battle field and all he found was shards of metal and energon. No life signals.”
“We will need an explanation from her, as to how she still functioned after one of the worst battles in the history of our war. And, how she continued to function after so many years without a soul to aid her,” Shockwave said.
I could hear their voices. Their familiar voices. So familiar, in fact, that I blurted out their names. “Shockwave! Barricade!” At least, I thought I blurted out their names. My optics wouldn’t open. I was still half way unconscious, but I could hear them... feel their presence. I just wanted to scream out with joy. Raise up and throw my arms around whoever was closest. However, something just wouldn’t let me wake up.
“Crystal,” I heard Shockwave’s accented voice say. “Come on. Come back to us, femme,” he added, his claws resting on my arm.
Just as their voices had become so clear, they began to fade away. And, the light I saw. The light that indicated how close I was to awakening began to fade too. No. Was I dying? Was something as petty as accidentally being crushed by a mech going to end me? Just as I was so close to them? My Decepticons.
This just couldn’t be the end....
Notes:
+ Ironhide’s an asshole.
+ Shockwave! Yes, Shockwave! Try to picture him as a live action version of Animated Shockwave, because that’s totally what he is. This story idea was thought up long before I knew about movie Shockwave, and his HAWTness. xD
+ Crystal has a habit of being... well... knocked out, doesn’t she? Yeah, well, that could be because she hasn’t been properly energized in FOREVER, and she’s just not as tough as the mechs. Her being half organic and all. I swear, I’ll get more into her origin one day, but not in this story.
Well, it’s about time for me to get ready to go to my classes. No more writing until I get home. =( And, I just happen to be on such a writing kick right now, too. With two more drabbles from the Transformers: Prime episode “Masters and Students” floating around in my head. More POV stuff. But, it’ll just have to wait until I return from hell.
Edit: Ummmm.... want. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140511094704&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_14656wt_1141
Primus, I wish I had some form of income!
~Anton
Chapter One: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/23391.html#cutid1
Chapter Two: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/25558.html#cutid1
Chapter Three: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/26387.html#cutid1
Chapter Four: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/30030.html#cutid1
Chapter Five: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/33647.html#cutid1
Chapter Six: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/35097.html#cutid1
Chapter Seven: http://miss-paw-prints.livejournal.com/37448.html#cutid1
Here’s Chapter Eight. A fair bit of warning, it’s not been run through my betas, so no telling what you’ll find in there. If something doesn’t make sense or is wrong, just let me know, as I was having quite a bit of trouble with this chapter.
Chapter Eight: Free Fall
Author: Mini-Bot
Series: Movieverse/AU
Rating/Warnings: M (violence, mention of character death, light language)
An Autobot who aided Decepticons, willingly. Unheard of. He deserved punishment, right? He deserved to be shunned by his Autobot brothers and sisters.
Optimus strode into the room, proud of the fact he was still standing up for what he thought was right after so many stellar cycles, even though doing so could cost him his freedom... his life... his everything.
He could feel all the optics on him. Shooting through him. Judging him. Trying to find his reason, as he made his way to the front of the room.
This is for you, brother.
“Ah, such a noble one you are, Optimus,” Ironhide scoffed. “Most in your situation would have fled.”
“I accept any and all consequences for my actions, as I feel my actions are just,” Optimus stated, reaching the front of the room. Standing mighty and proud, ready to take Ironhide’s attacks head on.
“Hmm. Well, is it just to endanger your crew to pursue your own little agenda?” Ironhide asked, starting right in and trying to fuel the flames from the other Autobots gathered in the room.
“I did no such thing,” Optimus said.
“But, you did! You allowed an armed Decepticon into the ship AND handed over precious Autobot energon supplies without a second thought!” Ironhide thundered.
“Correction. The Decepticon was unarmed and I gave MY rations away to him,” Optimus countered.
“I can vouch for dat first part,” Jazz spoke up, the audience all turning to face him. He cleared his throat and added, “I was present at da crime scene.”
“Jazz, you being the only witness to this crime, can you explain what happened, exactly, in your own words?” Ironhide questioned.
“Uhhhh... sure,” Jazz answered, looking around at his fellow Autobots, who all still had their optics planted on him. Before he spoke again, his optics found their way to Optimus, who was also staring right at Jazz. Jazz expected a look of resentment from the commander, since Jazz had placed Optimus in this mess, but Optimus still had that soft, understanding look about him. A look that always put Jazz at ease. And, seeing that face made Jazz feel completely awful for what he had done, but it was too late to go back and fix anything. “Umm... I was wanderin’ around da base. Makin’ nightly checks,” he began. “Thought I heard sumthin’, so I went ta investigate. Turns out we had a ‘Con onboard. So, I did what most would do, pointed da guns and started ta get some back up, but Commander Optimus came along,” Jazz paused, his optics wandering back to Optimus once more. Optimus’ face remained unchanged. “He told me ta get back to my quartas. ‘said he handle it,” he finished.
“Do you honestly believe the Decepticon was unarmed? I mean, did you check him?” Ironhide inquired. “Sounds to me like you didn’t really see enough to properly determine the danger levels of this Decepticon menace.”
“Nah, I didn’t inspect ‘em, but da Commander is still here, right? If da ‘Con had been armed, he woulda fired on Optimus,” Jazz retaliated.
Ironhide shot Jazz a look of disgust before turning back to Optimus.
“What possessed you to aid the Decepticon, Commander?” Arcee spoke up.
“It was the right thing to do, Arcee,” Optimus replied, his powerful voice speaking up to be sure to reach every audio receptor in the room. “I was under the impression that the Autobot code was to protect all life, even the life of a sworn enemy, if he was not threatening the life of innocents.”
Ironhide chortled, leaning in close to Optimus. “I see what you’re trying to do here, Optimus,” he hissed. “You think you can win the sparks of your fellow crew members, huh? Think your goodie two stabilizing servo act can make them defect to your silly little cause? Make them all gung-ho for helping Decepticons? Well, it can’t!” Ironhide bellowed. “I can assure you anyone who chooses to side with you will be crushed down just as the Decepticons were!”
“How much does Sentinel Prime reward you for killing innocents, Ironhide?” Optimus murmured.
“I beg your pardon? Are you suggesting that Decepticons are innocent?” Ironhide questioned, before turning toward the other Autobots. “Do you hear this deranged mech?!” Ironhide called out. “He expects you to believe that the thieves, liars, and murders who call themselves Decepticons are innocents and that we should aid them!” Ironhide chuckled.
“I wasn’t only referring to Decepticons, Ironhide,” Optimus said.
“Just who exactly where you referring to, Optimus?” Ironhide snapped, getting close to Optimus’ face again.
“Remember Sapphire?” Optimus asked. “You remember how she suddenly disappeared after she helped the Decepticon known as Long Haul? You were the last mech she was seen with, and no one investigated you for anything,” Optimus commented.
It was an angle Optimus didn’t like playing, but for the others in that room to see his reason, he would have to play a little dirty. Megatron’s way.
“How about Drift and his family?” Optimus questioned. “He converted to an Autobot to protect that family that was so brutally murdered along with him. Even though, he had no criminal record even as a Decepticon,” Optimus explained. “Completely innocent.”
The other Autobots in the room where looking to Ironhide, waiting for him to shoot down Optimus’ accusations. But, Ironhide was clearly struggling to find the right response to the truth Optimus Prime spoke.
“What about that girl? Your femmefriend? She went kind of soft for Decepticons, didn’t she? What happened to her?” Optimus probed.
“Decepticons murdered them,” Ironhide said, finally, his anger levels rising.
“Is that the truth, or is that just what Sentinel Prime and you wrote off on the crime reports?” Optimus questioned, pushing further.
Ironhide jumped at Optimus, hands grasping the commander’s neck, squeezing belligerently.
I-Ironhide,” Optimus choked, grabbing at Ironhide’s hands.
“Let ‘em go!” Jazz shrieked, rushing to them with other Autobots following after him. “‘Hide, stop!” Jazz tried again, grabbing hold of Ironhide’s arm.
Ironhide reacted by shoving Jazz backwards, causing him to fall to the floor.
Ironhide managed to get Optimus down on the floor, pinning him in place with his knee. He released his grip on his neck, repositioning his hands on Optimus’ wrists, further holding him in place. “Prowl! Stasis cuffs! Now!” Ironhide barked.
“But,” Prowl protested.
“That’s an order, soldier!” Ironhide growled. “I’m relieving Commander Optimus of his duty and am assuming command, myself.” he added. “You gonna defy a direct order given by your new commander?”
“No, sir,” Prowl sighed, reaching into his sub space pocket for a pair of stasis cuffs. Grabbing a pair, he made his way over to Ironhide and Optimus.
Releasing one of Optimus’ wrists, Ironhide quickly grabbed the stasis cuffs from Prowl and cuffed Optimus’ wrists together.
“There, traitor, now you ain’t getting no where,” Ironhide muttered. “Take him to the brig.”
“Once we get off the ship, we’ll try to locate your fellow Decepticons,” Ratchet whispered, still holding my hand firmly in his. He surveyed the area, looking for any Autobot patrols, who had not made it to the meeting for some reason or another.
We were making our way to the hidden exit in the back of the grand Autobot ship. Ratchet had mapped out a near perfect route to avoid any and all detection. There were only a few questionable check points, which we were stopped at one now.
“Coast looks clear,” Ratchet observed.
“Not as clear as you’d like to think, Ratchet,” a voice warned from the shadows.
Ratchet froze, griping my hand tighter.
“Who’s there?” he asked.
“A friend,” the voice said back.
“Show yourself!” Ratchet exclaimed, his arm plating shifting to reveal his stored weapons.
Suddenly, a large, bulky Autobot defense drone came barreling out of the shadows toward us, two giant swords drawn.
“Get down!” Ratchet yelled, tossing me out of the way just in time to meet the drone’s attack. They rolled. Ratchet on bottom, then top, then bottom again. Sword and saw clanging against each other.
Glancing around for something to convert into a weapon, I spotted a box set outside a door. I leapt at the box, tearing it open to reveal nothing, but empty cubes needing to be refilled with energon.
“Dammit,” I cursed, glancing back at Ratchet just in time to see him get flung across the room, right towards me. He collided with me, slamming us against the wall. Waves of pain erupted over my sensor net, upon impact. Ratchet, not knowing that he literally crushed me under his weight, fought to get back to his feet for the drone’s next attack. The drone slammed into him, grabbed him by his arm, and tossed him to the opposite end of the hallway like a rag doll. Laughing, the drone turned his attention to me, down on the floor. I struggled to move away from him, get myself closer to the only protection I had, at that moment. Ratchet.
Ratchet was not down for the count, yet. He rushed towards the drone, slicing him in his side with his saw weapon. Shards of metal were sent flying through the air, and the drone turned his attention back to Ratchet.
“Identified: Autobot Medic. Aiding Decepticon femme. Traitorous behavior noted. Complete termination authorized.”
“Terminate this,” Ratchet sneered, firing his gun repeatedly at the drone’s face.
The drone, not very phased by Ratchet’s attacks, stomped toward him. Closing the space between them, he grabbed Ratchet, and slammed him into a near by wall as hard as he possibly could. Ratchet was not out, but he was certainly down for the time being.
Seeing that Ratchet was recovering, the drone came back to me, still trying to struggle to get to some sort of safety.
He yanked me up off the floor, squeezing me nearly to death.
“Main mission: Destroy Decepticon femme. Mission success: 75% complete,” the drone informed no one in particular. He positioned his sword, so that he could impale my spark chamber, killing me instantly. Shutting my optics, I prepared for the worst. The only thing that made this awful for me was the fact I had been so close to a live Decepticon again. No telling what or who might await me in the Well of All Sparks. Would I even see a Decepticon there? Or, were we truly the spawn of Unicron himself? Doomed to a life of despondency.
Just as I was sure I had seen the white light at the end of the tunnel, the drone released his grip on me. I felt myself free falling to the floor, only it felt like slow motion falling. Like I was falling off the most colossal mountain and the fall was endless.
I expected more pain on impact, but instead I felt arms catch me. Familiar arms. The arms of someone I knew all too well....
“Look, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” Rumble admitted, clinging onto Soundwave.
“Relax. We are no where near the Autobot ship, yet, Rumble,” Soundwave comforted, patting the mini-con’s back, gingerly, as he cradled him in his arms.
Barricade was leading this small scout team, made up of Soundwave, Rumble, and Ravage, to the Autobot ship, where, as understood by Barricade, Optimus Prime had more energon to replenish the Decepticon crew, giving them a much better chance at prolonged survival.
Growling, Barricade stopped and turned toward Soundwave and Rumble. “This is what you wanted, Rumble! How dare you put Commander Starscream through so much and turn around and be oh so scared when you’re actually getting your way!” Barricade snarled.
“Leave him alone. You know how mini-cons get when they are scared,” Soundwave countered, letting what little emotion he had show through.
“Boo-fragging-hoo! We’re all scared!” Barricade shouted. “And, you know I wouldn’t have said a word had he not been walking all over Starscream this whole time! Guess what, Rumble?! Starscream’s scared too! That’s why he didn’t want us to be exploring this planet like crazy! Exposing ourselves to possible threats that could end us, prematurely!”
“Lower your vocalizer. Something is coming,” Soundwave advised.
Barricade whirled around, looking for any movement in the distance. “I don’t see anything,” Barricade huffed.
“Not in visual range, yet,” Soundwave informed.
“Friendly?” Barricade asked.
“Scans reveal, one Autobot signature and two unknown origin signatures.”
“Maybe cloaked?” Rumble suggested.
“Possibly. Remain vigilant,” Soundwave said.
Ravage emitted a sound from his vocalizer, signaling the others of the movement he had detected near by. Barricade, Soundwave, and Rumble all looked to where he was looking. Three beings on the move. One strangely organic carried by another who was definitely Autobot. And, the third? Difficult to determine.
“What are we gonna do?” Rumble questioned, looking up at Barricade.
“Hold your positions. I’m going to make contact,” Barricade answered. “If anything happens... fall back to base. It might be an ambush of some sort,” Barricade ordered, before slipping out of their concealed place in the forested region they had been passing through.
“Let’s set her down here,” Ratchet said. “I need to look her over. Think I banged her up pretty good when I was thrown into her by that defense drone.”
“That would explain her unconscious state. Her frame can’t handle near us much as we can,” Longarm stated, setting her down on the ground below.
Ratchet lowered to his knees beside the unconscious me. He began checking me over, feeling for any broken internals or anything else that could be wrong. His optics kept trailing over to Longarm, the mech who had saved us from the defense drone.
“Why did you help us, Longarm?” Ratchet inquired.
“I told you I was a friend,” Longarm replied, setting his hand on Ratchet’s shoulder and giving him a light pat.
“It was YOU talking to us... just before the drone attacked?!” Ratchet exclaimed.
“Yes.”
“If you knew we were trying to escape why wouldn’t you signal the other Autobots or, Primus forbid, let the drone terminate her and arrest me for treason?” Ratchet questioned.
“Because, that would be betraying all of what I am,” Longarm answered.
Ratchet ceased his checking me over, momentarily.
“What? What do you mean?” Ratchet asked, looking into Longarm’s azure colored optics.
“Don’t you know?” Longarm simpered.
“Know what?!”
“I am a Decepticon spy, of course,” Longarm admitted.
Ratchet’s optics went wide.
“I must say, Ratchet, I am quite impressed with the fact that you and Optimus Prime, of all mechs, are so... set on helping Decepticons. Perhaps, though, Optimus is a bit eaten up with guilt, hmm? That is what has fueled this interest in helping us?” Longarm accused.
“Guilt? I’m not sure I know what yo--”
“Hold it, Autobots!” Barricade called, cutting Ratchet’s sentence off.
“Barricade, how lovely it is to see you again,” Longarm said.
“Who the frag are you?” Barricade questioned, eyeing the mech he thought he had never seen in his life before, calling him by name.
“You may have known me by a different identity,” Longarm replied, taking a step toward Barricade. His parts began to shift. Extending and relocating themselves to reveal a much larger and very different mechanoid.
“Shockwave?!” Barricade gasped. “Shockwave, you’re alive?!”
“Yes. I veiled myself within our enemies ranks for survival purposes, of course,” Shockwave explained. “I was under the impression that everyone had perished in the war or the hunts, thus I concluded I would have to adapt or cease to function.”
“Some of us got out,” Barricade said.
“How many?” Shockwave asked.
“Not too many, but a group of us are here,” Barricade said.
“Led by whom?” Shockwave inquired.
“Starscream,” Barricade answered.
“And, her? Did you know about her?” Shockwave pointed to me, still unconscious on the ground. Ratchet working away trying to make sure I wasn’t severely damaged, after being crushed under his weight.
“Who is she? A ‘Con?” Barricade questioned.
“Don’t you recognize her?” Shockwave quizzed, reaching over and turning my head, so that Barricade could see my face.
“Impossible!” Barricade exclaimed. “There’s no way she could have survived that last battle she was seen in! Starscream scrutinized every inch of that battle field and all he found was shards of metal and energon. No life signals.”
“We will need an explanation from her, as to how she still functioned after one of the worst battles in the history of our war. And, how she continued to function after so many years without a soul to aid her,” Shockwave said.
I could hear their voices. Their familiar voices. So familiar, in fact, that I blurted out their names. “Shockwave! Barricade!” At least, I thought I blurted out their names. My optics wouldn’t open. I was still half way unconscious, but I could hear them... feel their presence. I just wanted to scream out with joy. Raise up and throw my arms around whoever was closest. However, something just wouldn’t let me wake up.
“Crystal,” I heard Shockwave’s accented voice say. “Come on. Come back to us, femme,” he added, his claws resting on my arm.
Just as their voices had become so clear, they began to fade away. And, the light I saw. The light that indicated how close I was to awakening began to fade too. No. Was I dying? Was something as petty as accidentally being crushed by a mech going to end me? Just as I was so close to them? My Decepticons.
This just couldn’t be the end....
Notes:
+ Ironhide’s an asshole.
+ Shockwave! Yes, Shockwave! Try to picture him as a live action version of Animated Shockwave, because that’s totally what he is. This story idea was thought up long before I knew about movie Shockwave, and his HAWTness. xD
+ Crystal has a habit of being... well... knocked out, doesn’t she? Yeah, well, that could be because she hasn’t been properly energized in FOREVER, and she’s just not as tough as the mechs. Her being half organic and all. I swear, I’ll get more into her origin one day, but not in this story.
Well, it’s about time for me to get ready to go to my classes. No more writing until I get home. =( And, I just happen to be on such a writing kick right now, too. With two more drabbles from the Transformers: Prime episode “Masters and Students” floating around in my head. More POV stuff. But, it’ll just have to wait until I return from hell.
Edit: Ummmm.... want. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140511094704&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_14656wt_1141
Primus, I wish I had some form of income!
~Anton
