Disclaimer: Transformers: Armada and all associated characters belong to Hasbro, Takara and bunch of other people who I don't even know. The only thing I do own is the original character.
Author's Notes: Alright this is one of those stories where the idea just wouldn't leave my head until I wrote it down. I got it right after the first ep with the Star Sabre in it and then when I saw "Overmatch" it just clinched my desire to write this. Then I saw "Gale" and that helped push me even more into writing it. Unfortunately, I didn't get it done before the newest ep aired and that kind of changed everything that happens in this fic, so I'm just saying it takes place a little after "Gale" when Sideways was introduced. And that's about all you need to know before you can read this thing. So snap to it!
HARSH LESSON
Hot Shot stared at the glowing blade of the Star Sabre in front of him. His thoughts trailed back to this most recent battle with Scavenger and the taunting of the much larger bot. He beat him in the last battle and still the guy talked down to him! Hot Shot snarled and began to swing the blade angrily. How dare they guy call him an amateur! He had the most powerful sword in the universe. He could easily take Scavenger out and yet...he hasn't been able to. Heck, in the first battle they had, he buried the blade in Scavenger's arm and the large mech still easily beat him. It was like he didn't even feel the pain. And what was all this talk about drawing out the sword's full potential? Even Red Alert mentioned it. But the sword could already cut through all the Decepticons so what was the problem? And even if it was more powerful then how come it wasn't working for him? There had to be some secret to it that he was missing, but what was it? He sighed and lowered the sword tip to the ground, resting his hands on its handle.
"So what do you think Jolt? What's holding me back from reaching this 'full potential' everyone's talking about?" he asked his Mini-Con partner, who was his only specter at the moment.
The tiny red helicopter simply shrugged in response.
"Maybe you're the problem," a voice rang out.
"What? Who's there?!" Hot Shot shouted, bringing the Star Sabre up to a defensive position.
The young Autobot's optics darted around the field where he was doing his training. He scanned the entire area over at least twice and couldn't find the source of the mysterious voice. He relaxed a little and started to chalk it up to his imagination when the voice called out to him again.
"Up here!" it instructed.
Hot Shot titled his head upward and found the owner of the voice standing atop of the rocky ledge overlooking his training ground. He let out a slight growl as he gritted his teeth in slight frustration. He was sure he checked over that spot twice, how did he miss that guy? He shook his head slightly to help him focus on the new possible opponent in front of him. From what he could tell, this new guy had a helicopter for a vehicle mode like Jolt or Cyclonus. Unlike the other two, however, the rotor blades on his back looked stationary and actually seemed to remind Hot Shot of swords. The tail section of the helicopter became his legs while the very tip spilt in half and folded up to become his feet. From what he could tell, the cockpit section became the bot's forearms and his hands extended from them. The exposed helicopter parts gave him a mostly drab green coloring with a slightly lighter green making up the rest of his body. The thing that stuck out the most to Hot Shot though was the bot's face. He has a blue visor and a black faceplate that made it stand out from the rest of his body. It was almost like the whole thing could be detached. Hot Shot sized him up one last time before pointing the Star Sabre towards him.
"Hey, who are you?!" he demanded.
"I'd be careful where you point that sword little boy. People might start to think you actually know how to use it," the newcomer replied, in a condescending tone.
"I'll have you know I'm pretty handy with this sword!"
"Well if that's true," the mystery bot started, then jumped off the ledge he was standing on and landing soundlessly a few feet away from Hot Shot, "then charge me with that sword!"
"What?!" Hot Shot asked in utter surprise.
"You heard me. I said attack me with that sword. Unless of course you're afraid you can't handle it as well you say."
"I'll show you who's afraid!"
With that, Hot Shot brought the Star Sabre up to bare and charged the other mech, yelling fiercely. As he closed in on his target, part of him told him to halt his attack for fear of doing serious damage to someone who just might be another Autobot. At the same time, another part of his mind told him this bot could just as easily be another Decepticon determined to take the Star Sabre away from him. By this attitude and gestures it seemed the latter option was the most likely and if that was the case he was going to show him and the rest of those clowns why they shouldn't even think about taking his sword. When he reached the appropriate length, he swung the Star Sabre down, fully expecting for his enemy to be cleaved in two. To his great surprise, however, there was a loud "clang" sound and he felt something actually holding back the Star Sabre. He looked past the glowing blade and found his earlier assumption about the other bot's helicopter blades where right, they did become swords and he was currently holding one out to keep his own sword at bay.
What the?! What's going on here?! How's this guy able to keep the Star Sabre at bay? I mean, even Starscream's sword gave up eventually and it was a lot stronger than that thing looks. So what's the problem? Hot Shot thought in frustration.
"What's the matter? I thought you said you were pretty handy with that sword? Was that just another one of your empty boats?" the 'masked' bot prodded.
"Shut up!" Hot Shot growled, trying even harder to push the Star Sabre forward, but to no avail.
"I think it's high time that you where the one that shut up and listened for once! Instead of acting like a fool and trying to do something you know is useless, take in your surroundings and see the differences in our postures."
"Huh?" the young bot asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion.
He took a second glance at the other mech and quickly picked up on what he had said. While he using both of his hands and all of the strength he could muster to force the Star Sabre forward, his opponent was using only one hand to hold up his own sword and it didn't even look like he was trying that hard. So why couldn't he beat the guy?! Maybe he just lacked the power to do it.
Well, if that's the only problem, he thought with a smirk. He looked over his shoulder to Jolt and called out to his Mini-Con, "Hey Jolt!"
"No!" his opponent shouted, again earning Hot Shot's attention. "Don't call on your Mini-Con! You have the power inside yourself to defeat me. Stop thinking of the Star Sabre as a weapon and more as an extension of yourself. Dig deep down, search your spark and find that place where the two become one. Draw that power out and use it to push back my blade."
"What are you talking about?!" Hot Shot demanded.
"I'm talking about your gross misuse of the Star Sabre! It's supposed to be the most powerful weapon in the universe and it's unable to even move my normal sword. Do you have even the slightest idea as to why that is?"
"I...I don't know. Because you're stronger then me?"
"Physically no, but spiritually yes. My will power is the only thing that's keeping you from attacking me. Similar to when you were fighting Starscream and he head his own against you vaulted sword. His sword was much weaker then yours and physically he wasn't that much stronger, but his willpower was much greater than yours. That's how he was able to hold his own against you."
"Hey, how did you know-" Hot Shot started, but was cut off by another outburst from his attacker
"You fool!" he shouted.
In a flash he swiped his blade forward, forcing the Star Sabre back. Before the young Autobot could recover, his opponent swung his leg around and tripped him. Hot Shot let out a small shout as he fell too the ground, dropping his weapon in the process. Before he could reach for it, a tip of a sword pressed itself against his throat. His optics scanned upward to see the mystery bot glaring down at him.
"A true warrior never allows himself to become distracted in battle," he admonished. "A mistake like that could very well end up costing you your life."
"Well if you want the Star Sabre so bad then why don't you just kill me and take it?!" Hot Shot dared.
"Who said anything about me wanting the Star Sabre?"
"But...then why did you attack me?"
"To try to force you to open your eyes! That sword is said to have enough power to destroy planets. Yet it hasn't demonstrated any hint of that power. Do you know why?"
"I don't know."
"Exactly, you don't know. You don't know how to use it properly. Right now you're nothing more then a spoiled little bot who's full of himself just because he happens to have a better toy than everyone else. And it's exactly that kind of attitude that will lead to your down fall and cause the Star Sabre to end up in the Decepticons' hands. Unlike you, there are actually have some warriors out there that might know how to bring out that full potential that weapon. If that happens...then Primus help us all." The masked bot then drew back his sword and resheathed it. "Now my advise to you is to stop fooling around, stop listening to all that false praise those kids are giving you, and start getting serious about your training with that sword. And that means more than just swinging it around. Think about it, the Star Sabre is the combined form of three Mini-Cons, three sentient beings. Try tapping into their thoughts, their feelings as you're using that sword. Turn the four separate beings into one strong entity. Then, and only then, will you be able to draw out the full power of that Star Sabre."
With those words, the mysterious bot turned and began to walk away, leaving Hot Shot humiliated and thoroughly confused.
"Wait! Where did you come from? Who are you?" he called out.
The bot stopped and looked over his shoulder at him.
"Where I came from is obvious, Cybertron. As for my name...well you can just call me Spectre. Now pick up that sword and try to let what I told you today sink into that thick skull."
Hot Shot looked back over that the fallen blade.
"Yeah, but..." he started but stopped when he turned back and found that 'Spectre' had disappeared. "Where'd he go? Man, what's with all these weird bots showing up lately. First Scavenger, then Sideways, now this guy. Doesn't anyone know how to just coming and say hello anymore? Eh, whatever," he sighed as he stood up and picked up the Star Sabre. "Come on Jolt, let's get back to the base."
As Hot Shot and his group of Mini-Cons transformed and drove and flew away, they where unaware that they were still being watched by the very bot they thought had disappeared. Spectre starred down at them from his hiding spot within the treetops, his mind reviewing the lesson he had hopefully taught the young Autobot.
You have a lot of potential in you Hot Shot, even without the Star Sabre, he thought. I just hope you're able to get over your cocky attitude so you can draw it out. And it had better be soon, because with Scavenger on the Decepticons' side, they now have the will and strategy to take the Star Sabre from you if you're not properly prepared. Should that happen, then you, the Autobots, this planet, the very universe could be doomed.
Author's Notes: Alright this is one of those stories where the idea just wouldn't leave my head until I wrote it down. I got it right after the first ep with the Star Sabre in it and then when I saw "Overmatch" it just clinched my desire to write this. Then I saw "Gale" and that helped push me even more into writing it. Unfortunately, I didn't get it done before the newest ep aired and that kind of changed everything that happens in this fic, so I'm just saying it takes place a little after "Gale" when Sideways was introduced. And that's about all you need to know before you can read this thing. So snap to it!
HARSH LESSON
Hot Shot stared at the glowing blade of the Star Sabre in front of him. His thoughts trailed back to this most recent battle with Scavenger and the taunting of the much larger bot. He beat him in the last battle and still the guy talked down to him! Hot Shot snarled and began to swing the blade angrily. How dare they guy call him an amateur! He had the most powerful sword in the universe. He could easily take Scavenger out and yet...he hasn't been able to. Heck, in the first battle they had, he buried the blade in Scavenger's arm and the large mech still easily beat him. It was like he didn't even feel the pain. And what was all this talk about drawing out the sword's full potential? Even Red Alert mentioned it. But the sword could already cut through all the Decepticons so what was the problem? And even if it was more powerful then how come it wasn't working for him? There had to be some secret to it that he was missing, but what was it? He sighed and lowered the sword tip to the ground, resting his hands on its handle.
"So what do you think Jolt? What's holding me back from reaching this 'full potential' everyone's talking about?" he asked his Mini-Con partner, who was his only specter at the moment.
The tiny red helicopter simply shrugged in response.
"Maybe you're the problem," a voice rang out.
"What? Who's there?!" Hot Shot shouted, bringing the Star Sabre up to a defensive position.
The young Autobot's optics darted around the field where he was doing his training. He scanned the entire area over at least twice and couldn't find the source of the mysterious voice. He relaxed a little and started to chalk it up to his imagination when the voice called out to him again.
"Up here!" it instructed.
Hot Shot titled his head upward and found the owner of the voice standing atop of the rocky ledge overlooking his training ground. He let out a slight growl as he gritted his teeth in slight frustration. He was sure he checked over that spot twice, how did he miss that guy? He shook his head slightly to help him focus on the new possible opponent in front of him. From what he could tell, this new guy had a helicopter for a vehicle mode like Jolt or Cyclonus. Unlike the other two, however, the rotor blades on his back looked stationary and actually seemed to remind Hot Shot of swords. The tail section of the helicopter became his legs while the very tip spilt in half and folded up to become his feet. From what he could tell, the cockpit section became the bot's forearms and his hands extended from them. The exposed helicopter parts gave him a mostly drab green coloring with a slightly lighter green making up the rest of his body. The thing that stuck out the most to Hot Shot though was the bot's face. He has a blue visor and a black faceplate that made it stand out from the rest of his body. It was almost like the whole thing could be detached. Hot Shot sized him up one last time before pointing the Star Sabre towards him.
"Hey, who are you?!" he demanded.
"I'd be careful where you point that sword little boy. People might start to think you actually know how to use it," the newcomer replied, in a condescending tone.
"I'll have you know I'm pretty handy with this sword!"
"Well if that's true," the mystery bot started, then jumped off the ledge he was standing on and landing soundlessly a few feet away from Hot Shot, "then charge me with that sword!"
"What?!" Hot Shot asked in utter surprise.
"You heard me. I said attack me with that sword. Unless of course you're afraid you can't handle it as well you say."
"I'll show you who's afraid!"
With that, Hot Shot brought the Star Sabre up to bare and charged the other mech, yelling fiercely. As he closed in on his target, part of him told him to halt his attack for fear of doing serious damage to someone who just might be another Autobot. At the same time, another part of his mind told him this bot could just as easily be another Decepticon determined to take the Star Sabre away from him. By this attitude and gestures it seemed the latter option was the most likely and if that was the case he was going to show him and the rest of those clowns why they shouldn't even think about taking his sword. When he reached the appropriate length, he swung the Star Sabre down, fully expecting for his enemy to be cleaved in two. To his great surprise, however, there was a loud "clang" sound and he felt something actually holding back the Star Sabre. He looked past the glowing blade and found his earlier assumption about the other bot's helicopter blades where right, they did become swords and he was currently holding one out to keep his own sword at bay.
What the?! What's going on here?! How's this guy able to keep the Star Sabre at bay? I mean, even Starscream's sword gave up eventually and it was a lot stronger than that thing looks. So what's the problem? Hot Shot thought in frustration.
"What's the matter? I thought you said you were pretty handy with that sword? Was that just another one of your empty boats?" the 'masked' bot prodded.
"Shut up!" Hot Shot growled, trying even harder to push the Star Sabre forward, but to no avail.
"I think it's high time that you where the one that shut up and listened for once! Instead of acting like a fool and trying to do something you know is useless, take in your surroundings and see the differences in our postures."
"Huh?" the young bot asked, tilting his head a bit in confusion.
He took a second glance at the other mech and quickly picked up on what he had said. While he using both of his hands and all of the strength he could muster to force the Star Sabre forward, his opponent was using only one hand to hold up his own sword and it didn't even look like he was trying that hard. So why couldn't he beat the guy?! Maybe he just lacked the power to do it.
Well, if that's the only problem, he thought with a smirk. He looked over his shoulder to Jolt and called out to his Mini-Con, "Hey Jolt!"
"No!" his opponent shouted, again earning Hot Shot's attention. "Don't call on your Mini-Con! You have the power inside yourself to defeat me. Stop thinking of the Star Sabre as a weapon and more as an extension of yourself. Dig deep down, search your spark and find that place where the two become one. Draw that power out and use it to push back my blade."
"What are you talking about?!" Hot Shot demanded.
"I'm talking about your gross misuse of the Star Sabre! It's supposed to be the most powerful weapon in the universe and it's unable to even move my normal sword. Do you have even the slightest idea as to why that is?"
"I...I don't know. Because you're stronger then me?"
"Physically no, but spiritually yes. My will power is the only thing that's keeping you from attacking me. Similar to when you were fighting Starscream and he head his own against you vaulted sword. His sword was much weaker then yours and physically he wasn't that much stronger, but his willpower was much greater than yours. That's how he was able to hold his own against you."
"Hey, how did you know-" Hot Shot started, but was cut off by another outburst from his attacker
"You fool!" he shouted.
In a flash he swiped his blade forward, forcing the Star Sabre back. Before the young Autobot could recover, his opponent swung his leg around and tripped him. Hot Shot let out a small shout as he fell too the ground, dropping his weapon in the process. Before he could reach for it, a tip of a sword pressed itself against his throat. His optics scanned upward to see the mystery bot glaring down at him.
"A true warrior never allows himself to become distracted in battle," he admonished. "A mistake like that could very well end up costing you your life."
"Well if you want the Star Sabre so bad then why don't you just kill me and take it?!" Hot Shot dared.
"Who said anything about me wanting the Star Sabre?"
"But...then why did you attack me?"
"To try to force you to open your eyes! That sword is said to have enough power to destroy planets. Yet it hasn't demonstrated any hint of that power. Do you know why?"
"I don't know."
"Exactly, you don't know. You don't know how to use it properly. Right now you're nothing more then a spoiled little bot who's full of himself just because he happens to have a better toy than everyone else. And it's exactly that kind of attitude that will lead to your down fall and cause the Star Sabre to end up in the Decepticons' hands. Unlike you, there are actually have some warriors out there that might know how to bring out that full potential that weapon. If that happens...then Primus help us all." The masked bot then drew back his sword and resheathed it. "Now my advise to you is to stop fooling around, stop listening to all that false praise those kids are giving you, and start getting serious about your training with that sword. And that means more than just swinging it around. Think about it, the Star Sabre is the combined form of three Mini-Cons, three sentient beings. Try tapping into their thoughts, their feelings as you're using that sword. Turn the four separate beings into one strong entity. Then, and only then, will you be able to draw out the full power of that Star Sabre."
With those words, the mysterious bot turned and began to walk away, leaving Hot Shot humiliated and thoroughly confused.
"Wait! Where did you come from? Who are you?" he called out.
The bot stopped and looked over his shoulder at him.
"Where I came from is obvious, Cybertron. As for my name...well you can just call me Spectre. Now pick up that sword and try to let what I told you today sink into that thick skull."
Hot Shot looked back over that the fallen blade.
"Yeah, but..." he started but stopped when he turned back and found that 'Spectre' had disappeared. "Where'd he go? Man, what's with all these weird bots showing up lately. First Scavenger, then Sideways, now this guy. Doesn't anyone know how to just coming and say hello anymore? Eh, whatever," he sighed as he stood up and picked up the Star Sabre. "Come on Jolt, let's get back to the base."
As Hot Shot and his group of Mini-Cons transformed and drove and flew away, they where unaware that they were still being watched by the very bot they thought had disappeared. Spectre starred down at them from his hiding spot within the treetops, his mind reviewing the lesson he had hopefully taught the young Autobot.
You have a lot of potential in you Hot Shot, even without the Star Sabre, he thought. I just hope you're able to get over your cocky attitude so you can draw it out. And it had better be soon, because with Scavenger on the Decepticons' side, they now have the will and strategy to take the Star Sabre from you if you're not properly prepared. Should that happen, then you, the Autobots, this planet, the very universe could be doomed.