Old Friends, Old Enemies
It's time for a new "season" (that's what I'm calling them now) of TTT! I'm still on my "break", so you'll be seeing less uploads than usual. But I'm not quitting on this series, and I'm glad those of you who read do enjoy this. Anyway, I just decided to upload this and get it over with, and there is something new I'm changing! Chapters in ALL of my stories will now take more time to write as I edit them and make them better and more enjoyable to read compared to my *ahem less enjoyable earlier chapters. Hopefully you are still with me as we continue this series! ENJOY!
Disclaimer FOR THE WHOLE ENTIRE "SEASON" BECAUSE I'M TIRED OF WRITING THESE THINGS: I don't own anything except the sotries and OCs. All other things like the Teen Titans and Transfomers are owned by their respective owners.
"Ah it's such a nice that we have a break from the Decepticons now? Just imagine, all the things I can do now with the free time I have!" Windblade said as she soared through the air in her alt mode. Starfire flew right beside her, the wind blowing in their faces. Down below, they could see tons of people and cars, along with all the shops that were dotted all over the city.
"Yes friend Windblade, I must agree with you. It is quite fun!" Starfire agreed.
"Hey Starfire? Why don't we grab the other girls and go shopping?"
"Oh, I would love to. Shall we return to the Tower?"
"Nah, we just left. Besides, I think the guys are doing something right now."
"Ah, I see." Starfire said. She then noticed something. An object in the sky, falling while leaving a distinct trail of black smoke and orange sparks behind. It looked like a crumpled piece of paper, with all the dents and caved in areas covering the surface.
"Windblade, look!" the Autobot immediately looked over to where her friend was pointing, obviously hearing the shock in Starfire's voice.
"What is that?"
"It's going to crash!" Starfire exclaimed.
"C'mon, we have to get people out of there." Windblade said as she flew off toward the area. She then transformed, with many of the bystanders suddenly stopping and looking in awe.
"Everyone, I need you to go over there, away from this area!" Windblade shouted. They then noticed the burning object falling towards them, making them scream and run to the direction WIndblade was pointing.
"Why do they always have to scream?" Windblade asked herself quietly before turning around to see the object was nearly about to hit her. She dove out of the way just in time, but the object swerved the other direction before ramming straight into a nearby building, the crash echoing through the city block. Starfire flew down as well, checking if the Autobot was alright.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, fine. Let's go check this thing out." Windblade answered. They walked over to the object, still emitting smoke. Once they looked closer they realized it was a small ship, probably the size of a very large escape pod.
"Wonder who this ship belongs to." Windblade muttered.
"Perhaps there is a badge on it?"
"Not all of our ships have badges painted on them. Some, not all." Windblade explained.
"Okay." Starfire replied. Just then, a section of the ship started to move. They assumed it was the door, but you could hardly tell it was due to how damaged and wrecked it was. The door started to pop open and automatically form a ramp until it just popped off and fell to the ground, obviously from the toll it had taken along with the ship. A figure walked through, waving the smoke away from his face. The figure eventually walked into the light, and the two saw him. His color scheme was made up of mostly white, with his forearms being a dark shade of blue. His chest had a large red dome, and his face had a yellow faceplate. They noticed the Autobot badge on his chest.
"Greetings Earthlings, I'm- oh, hey Windblade, didn't see-" the Autobot was then punched across the face by Windblade, making him stumble a bit before he composed his posture.
"Ow, damn, you couldn't have waited, could you? Why don't you just punch everyone before they finish talking." the Autobot said. Windblade just glared at him, obviously having a sort of hatred for him.
"What? Oh, are you really still mad about THAT? It's been, what, several years and you still haven't let that go?"
"Why should I?"
"Moving on…" the Autobot said, completely avoiding the topic. He then turned to Starfire, who was confused about several things. Why did WIndblade punch this guy, who was an Autobot just like her? Who was he anyway?
"Do any of you know where I can find Rodimus? I have a message to tell him, and it isn't good."
"Hey Bulkhead, what's my score?" Bumblebee said as he looked up. Behind him were several targets, all with singe marks from Bumblebee's stinger blasters. They were all outside, each taking turns to go through a training course Nautica set up earlier in an attempt to make training more "realistic".
"One minute and twenty-six seconds."
"Woohoo! New record!" Bumblebee cheered, raising his fists up high.
"Nice Bee. My turn." Beast Boy said. Bumblebee walked off and sat next to Rodimus, who was watching everyone go through the training course, comparing their times.
"So, what're you up to? You haven't gone yet!"
"Meh, not much. I guess I just feel like watching today." Rodimus answered, not peeling his eyes off the training course.
"Really? Cause I know you want to show off some of your skills. C'mon, it's what you do!"
"Seriously, I don't feel like it today. I'll just watch." Rodimus continued to watch Beast Boy's run through the course, and watched as he rammed straight through a target in rhino form.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah fine. All good over here." Bumblebee looked around Rodimus' face, observing his facial expressions.
"Wait a second...you're worried!"
"What!?" Rodimus said, finally taking his eyes off the course.
"Yeah, worried about Windblade...you TOTALLY like her."
"I do not! Where did you get that idea?"
"Pfft, you're never like this. Usually you're eager to beat me in everything, except for speed, but Windblade isn't here so you're all mopy and whatnot."
"What!? No, I really just don't feel li-"
"Hey, what're you bothering Rodimus for Bee?" Bulkhead asked.
"Rodimus over here likes Windblade." Bumblebee whispered to his friend's audio receptor. Bulkhead had a confused look on his face.
"So?"
"Eh nevermind, I guess you had to be here from the start." Bumblebee said.
"AND DONE! What's my time, big guy?" Beast Boy eagerly asked. Bulkhead quickly looked back at the scanner.
"Two minutes and five seconds."
"Seriously!?" Beast Boy asked in shock. He didn't believe he took that long to finish.
"Yeah, that's what the scanner says." Bulkhead reaffirmed.
"Nuh-uh, there's no way I got that time."
"You were struggling against the big drone targets." Robin pointed out.
"Yeah Beastie, accept that you got the longest time here." Cyborg added.
"Fine. This thing's rigged." Beast Boy said, moping back to the seats.
"Ah, I agree with you, little green thing." a voice answered. Everyone, not really recognizing the voice, all turned toward where it came from. There stood Starfire and Windblade, with an Autobot in the center.
"GETAWAY!?" Rodimus exclaimed. The Autobot literally hopped out of his seat, his mouth and eyes going wide in shock.
"The one and only escapologist, at your service." Getaway said.
"YOU!" Getaway leaned to the side, only to see a large spherical object flying towards him at a rapid pace. It slammed into Getaway's chest, blowing him back into several rocks. Everyone turned to see Bulkhead there, seething with anger, the flail lying on the ground.
"AAAGH!" Getaway shouted as he hit the rocks. Bulkhead ran over, slowly retracting his flail into its mace form as he did.
"I can't BELIEVE you thought you could just come to us and say hello like we're all best buds. Not after what you did."
"Oh hey...nice to see you too big guy." Getaway weakly said as he attempted to get up. The red dome on his chest was now cracked, and it started to cave in and make a shallow crater. Bulkhead felt like hitting the Autobot once more, but Beast Boy and Cyborg stopped him. Getaway got up, stretching afterwards.
"Ouch, first her and now you. Great way to greet your old pal, guys."
"Nice to see you too, Getaway." Rodimus said. He didn't sound happy about the Autobot's presence, but at the same time he didn't sound angry.
"Look, if you want to beat me up later, make an appointment. But I have a message you would all want to hear."
"Fine. C'mon guys, let's go inside." Rodimus said, and they all walked back in.
Inside…
Star Saber hadn't gone outside like everyone else. He was looking through the computer, attempting to track the Decepticons loose around the world ever since Deathsaurus' death. The pressure is high, with the mayor of Jump City and several other government officials not very happy that they let several triggerhappy, dangerous Decepticons out into the world. He's discovered several sightings of "large robots", "giant aliens", and "self-driving vehicles", but everytime he went to investigate, nothing turned up. His searching was interrupted by everyone coming back inside. Well, almost everyone. The Titans came in, but the Autobots didn't.
"Greetings everyone. I take it the training was fun?"
"Yeah, until some random dude just showed up and then Bulkhead whacked him." Cyborg said.
"Random dude?" Star Saber asked, tilting his head in confusion.
"Another Autobot, apparently." Zatanna answered.
"Windblade also punched him earlier when we met him."
"Then should we not receive him as a friend? Why did Bulkhead and Windblade attack him?"
"Your guess is as good as ours." Raven said. The Autobots then walked in, all of them with unpleasant faces. A newer Autobot strolled right behind them, looking confident and smug. Star Saber could easily make out the area where Bulkhead would have hit him, as well as where Windblade could have punched him due to a few scuff marks on his mouthplate.
"Look guys, I'm sorry about everything, I really am, but this message is important."
"We'll listen to your message Getaway, but that doesn't mean we like you." Windblade said. Getaway walked over to the computer, where he noticed Star Saber.
"So, new guy? Huh. Anyway, move it shorty, I got work to do." Getaway said. Star Saber was in his small Brain form, and glared at the newcomer. He then trudged over to everyone else.
"I still don't know why they hate him, but I have my suspicions…" Star Saber grumbled.
"Yeah, I can see that just by watching him walk." Zatanna whispered.
"Guy walks like he's the king of the world." Cyborg adds. Getaway pulled something up to the big screen
"While you guys were absent, I thought you guys might wanna know what's been going on at Cybertron. I mean, the little guys can watch if they'd like, not that they would understand advanced stuff like this." Getaway said. This made all the Titans glare at him and star daggers now.
"So Optimus planned to lead an attack on this Decepticon fort. According to intel from scouts, the fort was supposedly heavily guarded."
"Supposedly?" Bumblebee asked.
"Yeah, because once Optimus arrived, he realized everyone there was gone. No troops, and the defenses were offline." Getaway explained.
"Well, they must've realized they couldn't beat Optimus the freakin' Prime, so they hightailed outta there. Right guys?" Bumblebee said.
"Actually, if they did that they would have taken all their supplies and stripped the fort clean. Energon, extra weapons in the armory, medical supplies...you name it. But when we searched the base, everything was still there." Getaway said.
"So, what happened to the troops?"
"We don't know yet, and then Optimus got several messages from several Autobots in charge of bases and forts as well: they were missing several troops as well. It starts by one or two guys missing in a base, and then the number increases until we lose communication with the base. When we investigate, everyone's gone."
"How do we know Megatron isn't up to this?"
"Because Megatron demanded Prime return his troops. But Prime explained his situation, and now both sides are confused and paranoid as hell. Now, nobody leaves unless given a direct order." Getaway explained further.
"And what exactly does this have to do with us?" Rodimus asked.
"Well, Optimus heard Earth has a fair amount of natural Energon deposits."
"Yeah, we know that." Windblade added.
"So he assumes that people stationed here are gonna start disappearing as well, and he also assumes whoever is behind it is hiding out at Earth where he most likely won't be found."
"Why not other planets? The Cons are occupying tons, and so are we just to protect them." Bulkhead asked.
"Because all of those planets either don't have sufficient resources for someone to hide out there and plus the ones that do are heavily occupied. Earth isn't heavily occupied compared to other planets, so this would be a suitable location." Getaway said.
"Okay...so troops on both sides are randomly disappearing, and no one has any clue about it...strange…"
"I must say Rodimus, I have to agree with you." Getaway said.
"Mr. Getaway, why was your ship damaged? If you said Earth wasn't occup-"
"My ship and crew were hijacked by several Decepticons, thinking it was some Autobots who started to kidnap troops. I barely managed to escape...I wonder how my crew are doing now…"
"If you want, I can try to track their spark signatures" Cyborg offered, walking over to another computer.
"Well, then you can go ahead and do that while I try to have a nice chat with Rodimus." Getaway said. Rodimus' expressions were still neutral. Neither anger or happiness was written on his face. Just a blank expression as the two Autobots left the room.
"Been a while since we talked. So, what's with you?" Getaway asked. Rodimus sat down on the chair that was located in his room. His desk had a knife embedded on the surface, with many drawings and doodles carved into the surface. Getaway leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed as he looked away from Rodimus and out the window, where he can see the clear blue sky of the planet.
"Well, had to fight some Decepticons, and now I'm dealing with an angry mayor and a bunch of loose Decepticons."
"Yikes. Personally, I would have just gunned those no-lifers right where they stood."
"You should've been there, Getaway."
"Oh yeah, I know."
"No, I meant you should have been there just so that you could see it wasn't that easy." Rodimus finished. Getaway rolled his eyes, but his glare stayed at the window.
"So...I've been meaning to ask, where's Carnifex and Longarm? I mean, surely they couldn't have disappeared out of the blue."
"Longarm was a double agent for the Decepticons. Turns out he was Shockwave, and that the real Longarm is dead. As for Carnifex, he defected."
"Ooh, and here I thought the 'amazing' Rodimus was a flawless leader who is practically told by everyone that he could be the next Prime! Oh boy, look how amazing he is! And yet, the mighty have fallen. Two out of seven defected, and now there were five." Getaway said in a mocking tone. He now stopped gazing out the window, facing a gloomy looking Rodimus.
"No one ever told me I was gonna be a Prime, Getaway." Rodimus said, playing around with the knife and rolling it by the handle like a joystick.
"And no one ever told ME that I was great. I'm just some random piece of scrap generic."
"You were great Getaway. And then you had to go off and do THAT." Rodimus retorted. He was starting to get angry,
"Oh, are we back at THAT now? Are we REALLY gonna bring that back up!?" Getaway asked. By now, Rodimus had raised his head and glared at Getaway. It was as if he had shot the knife on his desk into Getaway's eyes by glare only.
"Look Rodimus, what I did all those years ago was a mistake. I see that now. I saw the errors of my ways! Even Optimus Prime has the decency to give mercy to people like Megatron. I don't even get it, why YOU of all people? Had I been here, there wouldn't have BEEN a Decepticon threat. I would have taken a better designed ship that had advanced scanners to detect the Decepticon ship trailing you. I would have shot that ship down and all of the problems YOU created now would have been extinguished. Bye bye, see ya later Decepticons." Rodimus Slammed the knife deep into the desk angrily before rising from his seat.
"Angry much? Look, I just wanted to privately cha-" Getaway received a punch across the face, before being pinned against the doorway.
"You think you could just waltz in here like you own the place, act like everyone's your best friend and that you did nothing wrong, and then do nothing but reopen old wounds and insult everyone, especially me!? No, I've had it with you. And here I had the small hope that you would change..." Rodimus said angrily, choking Getaway.
"Y-y-you're *cough* being transferred…" This made Rodimus release his grip, stumbling backwards.
"What?" Rodimus asked quietly in shock. Getaway held his own neck, before slowly standing up.
"Heh, yeah, I'm your replacement. Happy?"
"H-h-how, w-WHY!?"
"Heh, that's for you to find out. I was just told I was to take your place. Don't worry, your team and everything you did here will be in good hands. I've learned my lesson. I'm a good Autobot now."
"Good Autobot? I'd rather have to fight Megatron alone with bare fists than have to believe that." Rodimus said as he pushed Getaway out of the way and walked down the hall, with the Autobot following close behind.
"So, what did Getaway do exactly? I mean, you guys all seem mad at him for some reason." Cyborg asked as he attempted to search for the Autobot ship.
"We don't like to talk about it." Bulkhead said.
"Yeah, and even when we do, it puts us all in a bad mood." Bumblebee added.
"Yeah, but what did he do?" Raven asked. Windblade sighed. She knew they were gonna keep asking, and that sooner or later they would find out. Besides, it was better they told them now.
"I guess I should tell you guys now. Anyway, we weren't Rodimus' first group. The only person who was from his first group was Carnifex, and we all know what he's doing now." Windblade said.
"Anyway, Rodimus' first group had to undergo a mission to retrieve an old artifact called the Magnificence. Most of them died, with only Rodimus, Carnifex, and another Autobot named Dealer as the survivors. Dealer left the Autobots to find a peaceful place to live the rest of his days, leaving the other two behind. Rodimus was distraught about the deaths of his teammates, so instead he joined the mainstream army on Cybertron. Eventually, he met Getaway where they became fast friends. Actually, Getaway was our original leader…" Windblade said. This shocked everyone except the other Autobots.
"Wait, wait, wait...GETAWAY was your leader? You mean that guy?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yeah, hard to believe, right? He was actually nice back then. Pretty cool dude to hang out with." Bumblebee said.
"Anyway, Rodimus started to get promoted after he led successful attacks on several key areas belonging to the Decepticons. Getaway helped with the attacks, with our group often serving as a special ops one. Optimus promoted Getaway too, and they both stayed around the same level of importance. That is, until Getaway led us and several Autobots on an unsuccessful charge against a Decepticon squad consisting of a new weaponized Cybertronian named Sixshot. He killed most of the people there, and Getaway, not used to having this much loses, started to panic. Our militia was ordered to retreat, but Sixshot pursued, and would pick us off little by little. This didn't help Getaway at all, who was starting to panic more and didn't know what to do. Rodimus was soon sent in with reinforcements, and although there were heavy loses, he never backed down and never panicked. He knew how to lead, and he knew where to put who in what position. So for that, Optimus was proud and promoted Rodimus while Getaway was demoted. This made Getaway angry, and soon he attempted to kill Rodimus by ambushing him. He told Rodimus to meet somewhere for a friendly chat, and then he started to beat him. It's actually a miracle Rodimus survived. I remember seeing nothing but torn limbs, gashes and dents all over him…"
"Yikes…" Robin said.
"That is horrible! Should he not have been punished?" Starfire asked angrily.
"Oh, he was. Optimus sent him to prison. It wasn't until some time until Rodimus healed. He was sent to lead our team, and that's how we met. I'm surprised Getaway is out of prison…"
"Must have learned his lesson. Sort of. I highly doubt he's nice now though." Bulkhead said. Just at that moment, Rodimus and Getaway returned.
"Well, I see you all have been talking while we were gone. But enough about what I have to say, I think Rodimus here has some news to share." Getaway said, stepping aside and presenting him like a car dealer presenting a brand new sports car model.
"I'm transferring." Rodimus announced. This shocked everyone, including the Titans.
"Transferring where? Not far, I hope." Star Saber asked.
"Cybertron. All the way back."
"And as for who your new leader is, that would be mwah." Getaway said, pointing to himself.
"Why you little…" Bulkhead held Winblade back to prevent a violent fist fight while Nautica and Bumblebee glared at the Autobot.
"What? Not happy to get you old leader back?" Getaway asked.
"Not when our old leader was nothing but a jerk." Bumblebee retorted.
"Especially when he tried to murder someone…" Nautica added.
"I already apologized. Besides, everything's already been taken care of, and Rodimus has no choice. He's transferring, and you can't change that."
"Sorry guys. It was...nice knowing all of you. Heh, maybe one of these days I'll visit. Of course, when I'm not in a firefight." Rodimus said. This was gonna be a long day…
Later…
Rodimus and the rest of the group stood on the roof. It was time for him to return to Cybertron, back toward the frontlines of the Great War. A ship was already there to pick him up, with several Autobots guarding the entrance.
"So, I guess this the end?" Robin asked.
"No. Not the end. There's still more to do here. I can only hope you guys will know what to do from here."
"Don't worry, Earth is in good hands." Robin reassured.
"We won't fail you." Star Saber, who was now in his larger form, added.
"Goodbye guys. I'll miss you all." Rodimus said. He suddenly felt something crash into him. He looked down to see a saddened Windblade, hugging him tightly and wrapping him in her embrace.
"Bye Rodimus."
"Bye Windblade. I'll be back soon, I promise." Rodimus whispered. WIndblade kept on hugging him, not ever wanting to let go. Eventually, she had to and Rodimus entered the ship, the two armed guards following him. He turned around one last time, waving back to everyone before the door closed.
"Hey Hot Rod, long time no see."
"Hey Springer. So, we should be off?"
"Yep. Whenever you're ready." the green Autobot replied. Rodimus peered outside the window to see his teammates. The new friends he had made on Earth as well. And he saw Windblade, who waved to him. He kindly waved back, and knowing the possibility of him returning, he most likely won't ever see any of them again until the end of the War.
"We can go."
"Alrighty. Broadside, let's fire this baby up and head off."
"Getaway said he was ambushed by a Decepticon ship near Earth." Rodimus mentioned.
"Well, we didn't detect anything unusual, so they must've left." Springer said. He turned to see Rodimus watching out the window as their ship started to rise up into the air a bit before flying into the sky.
"I know buddy. I know." Springer said, putting a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. Down below, the Titans and Autobots watched the ship disappear into the sky, only remaining as a tiny speck they could only see if they squinted.
"Welp, now that our goodbyes have been said and that's all done and over with, we can get to work on trying to take down those Decepticons." Getaway said. They all walked back inside, with Windblade lingering a bit, just staring off into the sky before she joined them all back inside...
And there we go! Sorry if this chapter was a little short. Funny thing is, not a lot of references in this one. Eh, whatever, hopefully you guys enjoyed the start of this one and again, I apologize if the uploads become less often. I found out earlier that I was rushing on them just for the sake of getting finished, which just ended with me being upset about how some chapters ended up. Besides, the more time I have to work on these, the more time I have to edit them to make them better! See you later, and be sure to leave a review!
