TFE
C13 The Demon Unbound
Copyright 2007, masterfwiffo. All rights reserved.
"No. Absolutely not." Red Alerts arms were crossed over his chest, glaring at the two youngest members of Optimus's crew. Prowl hung his head, and Aidia looked back at the old war veteran pleadingly. "But Red-"
"Forget it. I'm not about to let you run off with that idiot kid again. Not after last time."
"Oh for cryin' sakes Red." Ironhide butted in. "These two kids have been cooped up here for 3 cycles now, and most of the time they've been sitting around. Ain't healthy for a couple of young ones to spend so much time doing nothing."
"Absolutely not." Red Alert repeated stubbornly. "I will not let Prowl endanger Aidia's, or anyone else's life again."
"Red!" Aidia protested, "It wasn't his fault and-"
"NO." He glared at her until she backed down, hanging her head in defeat. She turned away sadly, unwilling to make eye-contact.
Optimus watched the proceedings, and decided it was time to make his call. "Ahem." Everyone glanced at him. "What's this about?" He demanded, knowing perfectly well that he already knew every detail.
"Prowl's got the daft idea to take Aidia out for a drive." Red Alert said his voice filled with annoyance.
"He did not!" Aidia protested, "It was my idea!"
"Quiet Aidia!" Red Alert barked. He turned back to Optimus. "I don't need to remind you what happened last time. They can't go."
"I'll be the judge of that." Optimus shouted. He turned back to the pair, who were staring at him with wide optics. "Now... Aidia, Prowl? What do you have to say?"
Prowl seemed too embarrassed to say anything, as he remained silent. Aidia, however, spoke up. "We want to go out. Not anywhere far, not anywhere fancy, just get out on the road and drive for awhile. Optimus... you understand, don't you?"
Optimus glanced at Prowl, and then at Aidia. "Hmm... I think I do."
Red Alert's jaw dropped. "Optimus, you aren't going to-"
"You two can leave the base." Optimus said casually. "Go out, and have a good time." Their faces brightened, and Red Alerts' fell. "HOWEVER," Optimus continued, "I want you to stay far away from any human settlements. No passing through them, and keep off of busy roads whenever possible. And if anything happens, report in at once."
"Thank you Optimus!" Aidia yelled happily, as she transformed, rushing out of the room with Prowl close behind her.
Ironhide chuckled. "That's more like it."
Red Alert, however, was turning red with rage. "How- you- Optimus! You KNOW what they did, what Prowl did, what-"
"I do." Optimus answered. "And I feel confident that they'll be ok. It's been a long time since that last disaster, and both know enough of the human culture to keep out of trouble this time. Besides, we solved the issue with human communications interfering with ours, so they can contact us of anything goes wrong."
"But-"
"Relax Red." Ironhide said, laying a hand gently on his shoulder. Optimus nodded, adding, "It'll be all right."
---
"I can't believe they let us go." Aidia said excitedly, rushing down the abandoned freeway. "At last, a chance to get out and stretch."
"Yeah..." Prowl said, confidence far from present in his voice.
Aidia slowed down a bit. "What's wrong Prowl?"
"I- err..."
"Speak up!"
"I really don't feel comfortable..." Prowl admitted quietly. "I'm just worried-"
Aidia slammed on her brakes suddenly, skidding to a stop. Prowl was forced to turn to avoid smashing into her. Aidia transformed and whirled, glaring down at him.
"Then why'd you agree to come with me, to help me get out of there, huh? After all of that, you want to back out?"
"N-No!" He protested.
"Then why-"
"Aidia..." Prowl transformed, shyly trying to avoid her glare. "You're the only friend I really have here. And I know you were getting tired of being cooped up there, and, well, I really just wanted to make you happy... "
Aidia's jaw dropped. "What?"
Prowl shifted uncomfortably, unable to form an answer. She stared at him for a long moment, then transformed. "Do you want to go back or keep going?" She asked softly.
"I'll go with you." He answered after a moments pause.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." The words were not unkind.
"N-No. It's all right."
"Then lets go." Aidia said gently, starting off. Prowl gazed after her, knowing somewhere in the back of his mind that something important had just happened, but he couldn't for the life of him really figure out what. He gave up, and transformed, following Aidia toward the slowly descending sun.
---
For the next two hours, the drive was uneventful. They were in a secluded enough area that few Earth vehicles were met, and those they passed were luckily jaded enough to give no thought to an ambulance and a police car on an empty road.
Aidia pulled alongside of Prowl. "Isn't this nice?" She said softly.
"Yeah."
"Just you and me, not having to worry about the others for awhile..."
"Yeah."
"You're not very good at this."
"Yeah. Wait- Good at what?"
Aidia sighed, and pulled back behind him. "Never mind."
They rolled on for another ten minutes in silence. Then, without warning, Prowl slammed on his brakes.
"Hey!" Aidia cried, transforming to stop herself. "What-"
Then she too paused, staring up at the darkening sky. Over some nearby ridges, they saw a fireworks display of lasers, accented by a sudden, powerful and large explosion.
"Humans?" Aidia whispered fearfully.
"No..." Prowl said, his voice almost a hiss, then with a roar, his engine gunned to life, and he shot off towards the explosions.
"Prowl, wait!" Aidia cried, transforming and following closely behind him. But Prowl ignored her, moving at great speed. In what seemed like minutes, he was at the ridge wall, transforming and scaling it with an intense determination on his face.
He reached the top at the same time Aidia reached the base, stopping to give her systems a chance to cool before following him. She arrived at the top, where Prowl was staring intently, and her jaw dropped.
"Decepticons..." She gasped. Prowl quickly cupped his hand over her mouth.
"Yes." He whispered back. "Megatron... But who is he fighting?"
They saw Megatron and a strange orange robot locked in combat near the center of the battlefield. The newcomer had Megatron down, but a surprise shot by Megatron engulfed both in flame.
Aidia hit Prowl, motioning toward the other end of the field, where Shock Fleet and another, unknown Giant were locked in combat. Prowl squinted. "The slag is- that looks like Omega Protectorate!"
Aidia nodded. "I had only seen him in the history books. I thought he was supposed to be dead!"
"He is- was... Aidia, what's going on?"
"I don't know. We should contact bas-" Her words were cut off by a sudden bellow.
Both turned, to see Megatron facing his opponent. "I warned you!" He roared, his cannon coming to his side, facing his opponent. "I gave you a chance!" Then they saw his aim shift. Prowl followed it, and his eyes went wide, and he gripped Aidias arm.
"Aidia! There's humans!"
She turned, just in time to see one of them become engulfed in flames.
She gave a cry, and started to move. Prowl grabbed her. "Aidia, we can't-"
Her eyes were wide as she looked back at him. "Prowl..." She said quietly. "We have to." Prowl stared at her for a long moment, then turned in time to see the other human start scrambling through the wreckage.
"If it's still alive, get the injured one." He said grimly. "I'll grab the other, and we'll get both out of here."
"All right." She nodded, transforming.
"Go!"
The two roared into the canyon at full speed, fortunately ignored by the other combatants in the arena. Prowl leapt out of his vehicle mode as they arrived at their destination, landing right in front of the standing human. He saw briefly the other - in very bad shape, but appearing still to breathe as Aidia came upon it. He left her to her work and grabbed the other human, mumbling an apology as he transformed back into vehicle mode, throwing him into his back seat as he did. He saw Aidia scoop up the fallen, ever so gently as she too transformed, and then both were off, fleeing the opposite direction of the battle.
"How is it?" Prowl called out.
"No time to examine." Aidia called back. "We need to get out of here first! Call Aris and-"
She went silent as a sudden, brilliant light seemed to scatter the descending darkness. Both stopped, skidding into a turn to face the source of it.
"By Primus..." Prowl whispered. "What is that?"
"I don't know." Aidia said weakly. "Prowl, I don't like this. Lets get out of here."
"R-Right." He turned, and as they started off again, another sound assailed their audios. Prowl yelped. "It's him!"
Sure enough, the strange spacecraft that had left him stranded in the middle of a human city was baring down on them.
"Aidia, watch out!" He cried, "He's going to-"
The warp gate materialized in front of them, and they vanished into it.
----
The two Autobots reappeared in the middle of nowhere. They sat still for a moment, trying to come to their whereabouts, then a sudden flash caused all their speakers to squeal loudly. The spacecraft soared overhead, and then it too disappeared again. Prowl transformed, dropping his passenger at the same time. He gripped his head for a moment as he tried to reassess his situation.
He had been dropped in a field. For miles, all he could see was an endless expanse of grassy hills, with no hint of civilization or anything remotely resembling it in sight.
"Prowl to base." He said quickly, hoping to get help. His com squealed loudly at him in response. then faded and died. "A frequency bomb." He muttered. "Great. That guy thinks of everything."
He paused, looking around, finally noticing his former passenger staring up at him with his jaw open.
"Ooh." Prowl gulped, staring back at him. "Err... umm..."
"I've seen you before." The human said quietly, staring at him. "On the TV. You're the one who-"
"I didn't mean to!" Prowl protested quickly. "It was an accident- I mean-"
"Saving those people from the jet." The human finished.
Prowl halted, wavering in-between his next words. "Oh err..."
"I'm guessing by the fact I'm still here, you aren't going to hurt me." The human continued, standing up and brushing himself off.
"Ye- yes! Of course!" Prowl said quickly. "I mean-" The human clearly had far better control of the situation then he did.
The human continued talking without missing a bit. "Name's Chris. What do they call you?"
"Prowl. How come-"
"I'm not running away scared or anything?" Chris smiled faintly. "Because I've been hanging out with bots like you for the past couple of months."
Prowl shook his head. "This can't be right. I have no idea what's going on."
Chris laughed. "Don't worry, I know that feeling." Then he paused, a grim look suddenly crossing his face. "Speaking of bots..." He turned, looking anxiously around as if something had just occurred to him. "Where's-" He took off suddenly, in a dead run. Prowl's optics followed him, and he became suddenly aware that he hadn't taken notice of Aidia. He whirled, and found her kneeling over something. Chris was already running toward her, and Prowl followed quickly.
She was kneeling over a small rectangular workspace, composed of accessories that decorated the interior of her ambulance mode. The human medical equipment was a near-perfect copy of the original item, thanks to the advanced scanning process. But though she surrounded the small cot with the medical equipment, all she could do was stare at the figure forlornly.
Chris ran up to the cot, staring at the figure. "Oh no..." He whispered.
Aidia looked at Prowl, despair in her eyes. "Prowl..." She said weakly. "I- I think we made a mistake..."
Prowl looked down at the figure. Her breaths were still coming in ragged gasps, but to him, she didn't look any different.
"What's wrong?" Prowl asked. "Can't you help her?"
Aidia sat there, beginning to tremble. "Prowl..." She said weakly. "She's in really bad shape. And... I thought I knew human physiology... but- but- I don't know what to do!"
Chris grimaced, staring first at the body, then up at the two robots. "Well. That's just dandy."
---
"Evac, you've got to rest." Crosswise said gently.
"Don't go killing yourself before anyone else can." Jazz added, trying to force a smile out of the grim situation.
"No..." Evac muttered, forcing himself to his feet. "She's hurt... I can't... wait... any-longer..."
"Listen." Crosswise said, grabbing him. "I don't care what mystical mumbo-jumbo Omega used to put you back together, you aren't up to another fight."
"I'm... FINE." Evac pushed her away, shakily rising up. "She needs me."
"I have to agree with Evac." Sideways put in. "There's no telling what they'll do to her. Autobots aren't any friendlier with prisoners than Decepticons."
Omega rumbled, his own voice still carrying a hint of weakness. "I will follow what Evac says."
"We go." Evac said.
"There's only one place they'd go." Sideways announced. "Back to their base. I managed to get a tracker on em before they warped, so if Omega can generate a warp, we can get there fast."
"I cannot." Omega rumbled. "Too weak."
Sideways looked downcast, making a show of checking his nonexistent coordinates again. "Hrmm, it appears it's relatively close by- only two hours or so away. Best of both worlds- it'll give Evac and Omega a chance to recover some strength. Follow me!"
He transformed, and took off. Omega and Evac transformed, following him.
"This is insane!" Crosswise whispered to Jazz. "Nobody is in the condition for another fight!"
"You know that and I know that." Jazz muttered. "But on the other hand, if they've got Chris and Michelle, we can't leave em to die. Face it Crosswise, damned if we do, damned if we don't."
"Jazz..." She said softly. "Something tells me... this isn't right. None of this is right."
"I know... I feel it too. But what can we do?"
"I don't know..."
---
Aidia had managed, with Chris's guidance, to set up a respiratory device and vital statistic monitor on Michelle's unmoving body. Now, she sat there, staring quietly at her patient, and ever so slowly attempting to work her healing arts.
Chris and Prowl sat nearby, quietly. Prowl glanced down at his human companion. "Did we make a mistake, pulling you out like that?"
Chris shook his head. "Nah. You did what you had to. However, I don't know how Evac's going to take it."
"Oh." Prowl said wearily, consciously neglecting to query who 'Evac' was. "I just thought- well... we didn't want you to get hurt."
Chris didn't answer, an when Prowl glanced down at him, he saw the human looking back up, curiosity on his face. "You're not used to dealing with other cultures, are you."
Prowl shifted uncomfortably. "No... I'm just a soldier. I just don't want anyone to get hurt."
"That's why you did what you did... in the city?"
Prowl winced. He knew exactly what Chris was talking about. "Yeah. I didn't know he didn't mean to harm the child. I thought-"
Chris nodded. "I understand. Quite a bit now, actually. You aren't the bad guys after all."
Prowl didn't answer.
---
"That's it?" Evac said skeptically.
"Oh yeah." Sideways seemed to grin maniacally. "That is most definitely it."
They faced a barren hillside, with nothing seemingly out of the ordinary. Evac surveyed it with a grimace on his face. "I see nothing."
Sideways picked up a rock, tossed it in his hand, then threw it forcibly at the hill. The hill seemed to shimmer as the rock bounced off, definite ripples forming around the impact.
"Holographic shielding." Sideways chuckled. "Most useful, when you're hiding like rats.
Evac nodded. "Very well then. Lets end this, as quickly as possible. Omega?"
"Agreed." Omega voice rumbled, as energy swelled around and into his arms, and then shot out toward the apparent hillside.
----
"They've been gone too long." Red Alert announced, laying his useless hand of stocks down.
Ironhide groaned loudly. "Oh fer booting up cold, Red, it's only been an hour."
"Two hours." Red Alert corrected. "And that's-"
"Give it a rest, Red Alert." Jetfire barked.
Optimus laid a hand on Jetfire's shoulder, then turned toward Red Alert. "They're fine. I wouldn't be surprised- if- if..." He paused. "Do you guys hear something?"
He was answered by a thunderclap of sound followed by an explosion that shook their base so hard it knocked everyone off their feet, sending stocks and energon chips flying through the air. Optimus grabbed the console. "Aris!"
She appeared, a look of genuine fear on her face. "We're under attack by unknown Transformers!"
"What? Main screen!" The main viewing window came to life, and Optimus looked upon the attacking force opening up an endless barrage on their ship. And his eyes narrowed in on one in particular.
"It's him again." He hissed, staring at Sideway's form diving down to strafe their shields again. "He brought his friends..."
Jetfire, Red Alert and Ironhide looked back at him grimly. Optimus glanced at them for a moment, then back at Aris. "Get ready to drop the shield. Fire any weapons we have left at the big one. We'll handle the others. And see if you can contact Prowl!" Aris nodded in agreement, then disappeared as she dropped her disguise to concentrate on more important functions. Optimus turned back toward his men. His friends. "Ok Autobots!" He announced loudly, energy filling his voice. "Transform, and roll out!"
---
"Keep up the attack." Evac called. "Don't let up until-"
He paused. The shield had shimmer and wavered under the assault, giving glimpses of the ship below, but for the briefest of moments, it dropped completely, revealing the wrecked ship in all its shredded glory. Evac stared at it in stunned silence- he had thought the Autobot ship had landed- but this was a wreck, nearly destroyed. Sideways hadn't mentioned that...
But before he could contemplate further, a speeding wall of steel smashed into him, throwing him violently backwards to the ground. He got a glimpse of a streak of red, as the boxy truck skidded on its wheels, turning to face him.
"It's their commander!" Sideways voice rang out.
Evac didn't even register the other vehicles roaring out of the base toward his troops, nor the barrage of fire leaping suddenly up from the downed ships guns. All he saw was their commander, and in his mind, the one holding a wounded Michelle hostage. With a roar, he charged, leaping into the air and bringing his sword down with newfound strength. The truck transformed, splitting apart in time to grab his arm, and for the briefest of moments, Evac stared into the optics behind the grimly set faceplate. Then there was a rush of energy and he was forced backwards, skidding along the ground and bracing for the next attack.
"Give her back!" Evac demanded loudly, his voice booming. His opponent looked at him, without any sign of comprehension. Furious at the lack of a reply, Evac charged again, and the Autobot dove out of the way, rolling to his feet.
Now, it was the Autobot's turn to come straight at him, fist raised. Evac dodged, but fell for the feint as the other fist came up. He didn't allow himself a chance to recover, bringing his foot under the Autobot's leg and sending him backwards. The Autobot responded with his own feet, shoving them together into Evacs abdomen. Evac stumbled backwards, and for a moment he saw Sideways in the air, bobbing and weaving under the persistent and infuriated attacks of a green sky-bound Autobot, and another Autobot dodging Omega reflecting his own fire back at him.
"They fight bravely..." He thought, before the Autobot commander attacked him yet again...
---
Jazz glanced at Crosswise grimly. "Well, which side do we choose?"
"My mind says Evac." Crosswise answered, watching the aerial Autobot stop his own attack on Sideways to provide cover for his comrade. "But my spark tells me otherwise."
"I know what you mean." Jazz muttered. He grabbed her suddenly and pulled her aside as one of the Autobot ship's automated cannons spotted them, and fired a volley in their direction. "But we'll have to choose fast!"
"What if we try going into their base?" Crosswise asked. "See if we can find them for ourselves?"
"I like the way you think." Jazz muttered. "Come-on!" The two transformed, speeding through the terrain toward the base, Jazz swerved to avoid more of Omega's fire towards the cannons that were endlessly harassing him, and a large explosion erupted from the ships hull, ceasing several of the guns.
"Ain't gonna be easy!" Crosswise called, swerving to avoid another cannon volley.
"Did we think it would?" Jazz called back - and then crashed headfirst into an oncoming Autobot. Both were thrown into the air, transforming and landing to face each other. Crosswise sped to his side, transforming and grabbing him. They turned to face the Autobot.
"You two ain't going nowhere!" Ironhide announced loudly, gun drawn. Then with a war-cry sounding straight from a western, he charged at them.
"Wait!" Crosswise protested, but a heavy-handed punch to the face sent her flying.
"That does it." Jazz growled, whirling on Ironhide and leaping onto him, throwing his arms around the bigger bots neck. Ironhide grunted, grabbing Jazz's arm and throwing him over his shoulder, only to have Crosswise tackle him from the side.
Above them, Jetfire continued an ariel battle that was far from his liking.
"Slaggit, where do these giants keep popping out of?" He muttered to no one in particular as he dodged Omega's great fist. Something about this giant's design gnawed at the back of his mind, but he couldn't place it. Suddenly, Sideways was in front of him again, appearing out of nowhere to play a two-second game of chicken. Jetfire veered in a panic, straight into one of Omegas energy blasts, which sent him careening toward the ground, nearly straight into Red Alert.
Omega noted the flying threat and ground threat had both been eliminated, then turned his focus back toward the ship. Another round of blasts tore into his armor, but he hardly cared. The next volley was absorbed into his system, refocusing in his hands and shooting back towards the offenders, which exploded. Most of the guns now gone, the ship shimmered for a moment, and the shield returned. With a grunt, Omega continued his own assault, sending continuos waves of energy into it. The shield strained under the attack, and Omega dully noted that it appeared the shield was getting dimmer...
---
Prowl gloomily stared at the sky. It seemed an eternity, Aidia working in silence, and he and the human staring at the night sky, wondering how soon until the dawn.
Chris ventured over toward Aidia. "How is she?"
Aidia paused, stopping to stare quietly at the unmoving forms. "I- I think I have a suitable splint for the breaks. And I think I applied enough covering. But I- I really don't know if they'll be effective. As for the rest, I- I can't begin to think I have enough knowledge to repair her." She stared down at him, sadness in her eyes. "We have to get her to your medical experts. That's all I can do."
Chris sighed, turning away from Aidia looked at Michelle for a moment. For the briefest of instances, he almost found her wrapped and covered form humorous, like a mummy in a old B-movie. But then, as he saw what Aidia had sloppily left uncovered, the humor fled. He turned away. "Damn all." He muttered. He glanced up at Prowl. "You sure you can't contact your base?"
"It's scrambled." Prowl said grimly. "I'm no tech, and neither is Aidia. If I had a signal booster of some kind-"
"Wait..." Chris said thoughtfully, suddenly reaching to his back pocket. He pulled out his cell-phone, its battery long dead from neglect, yet still something he always carried with him. "Will this help?"
Prowl grabbed it, staring at it. "If I can connect it to my com, it just might. But I don't know how-"
Chris looked up with a grin. "Let me see it. I might be some use after all."
----
Aris winced under the assault. As a near-sentient representation of the ship's main computer, she could feel each and every strike that battered her hull, in a manner of speaking. And it was becoming clear to her that she- as a ship, as a computer, as a person- was about to die. And there was nothing more terrifyingly frustrating than the inability to do anything about that fact.
Her weapons were gone, her engines destroyed, and her protective shielding, her armor, about to be stripped. Another explosion rocked her as the giant continued its assault. Another two hits like that, and the shields would be gone.
Unable to do anything else, she sent out a distress signal, knowing full well the Optimus and the others were too occupied to answer it. Her last hope was fading. Another hit rocked her, dropping her shields to 3 power. The next hit would be the last.
Then suddenly, a signal came through. Faint, but present. She quickly called it up, noting that Jetfire had made a renewed attack on the giant, buying her some very brief time.
Her optics went wide at the face in front of her. "Prowl? Thank Primus! We're under attack, we need you!"
Prowl stared at her, dumbfounded. Suddenly another face pushed into view, one that sent Aris's circuits to a screeching halt.
"Attack?" The human on her screen said. "By who?"
----
Optimus kicked his opponent off, climbing to his feet and taking a moment to send a potshot in the giants direction. He didn't get another chance as Evac charged into him again, at full force. Optimus grabbed Evac's shoulder, diverting his opponents attack into a throw, that sent Evac stumbling forward. With a sudden motion, Optimus turned, bringing his elbow down into Evacs back. His opponent hit the ground hard.
"Call off your attack!" Optimus demanded, aiming his gun at Evac's head. "Now!"
"Never!" Evac cried, shooting straight up into the air with a force that knocked Prime off his feet. He made a complete turn in a split second, and dived down after him, his blades aimed at Optimus's head. Optimus barely had time to jerk his head aside. The blades pierced deep into the ground where his head had been a moment before. Optimus reached up, grabbing Evac's arm and throwing him aside, pushing himself to his feet and staring down at his opponent again.
"What do you want?" Optimus demanded.
"I want her back!" Evac roared, charging at Optimus with his fists flailing. But Evac's hand to hand combat was no match for Optimus's who turned every one of his attacks back on his opponent. Evac hit the ground.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Optimus answered.
"Liar!" Evac roared, again leaping at his opponent. And again Optimus deftly turned it back on him, sending him to the ground.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Optimus yelled again.
Evac let out a wordless cry of rage, then with a sudden move that caught Optimus completely off-guard, two cannons flipped up above Evac's shoulders and fired a blast that caught Optimus square in the chest, sending him flying backwards with a smoke pouring from the wound. Evac got to his feet, grabbing Optimus by the neck and hoisting him into the air.
"This is your last chance Autobot." He hissed.
Behind them, a sudden whoosh of energy and a deafening crash signaled the failure of Aris's shield. Optimus looked weakly down at his opponent. He saw in his peripheral vision Jetfire hit the ground a second time, smoke pouring from one of his wings. He saw Red Alert holding his arm and looking helplessly up at the giant advancing toward the ship they had called home. He saw Ironhide, still bravely fighting his tow opponents despite the uneven odds. And then he saw his own opponent, staring grimly at him, rage emblazoned on his face.
"Send yourself to the pit." Optimus swore.
Evac threw him to the ground, grabbed his sword, and raised it to skewer his opponent.
Then a voice loudly yelled "STOP!", causing every combatant on the field to halt and stare.
From the smoking remains of the downed ship, a small figure floated out. It was in the shape of young human female- a disguise that quickly dropped, revealing a small, winged sphere with two spindly claw arms. A squarish section on it's 'face' lighted up, and suddenly a projection the size of the ship appeared on the field. And in that projection was the face of a human.
Evac's weapon hit the ground as he stared in shock, unable to form words. Jazz's voice did for him. "Chris? Little buddy, you ok?"
"I'm fine." The projection answered. "Listen, you got the wrong guys! They don't have us, they were trying to help us!"
Evac spoke suddenly. "Michelle, is she-"
"She's hurt. She needs help. The Autobot tried to help her, but she can't do anymore for her. You've got to get here fast!"
Another voice echoed across the battlefield. "LIES!" Sideways screamed, uncharacteristic desperation in his voice. "IT'S A TRICK! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!"
Chris's image turned to stare at him. "It wasn't the Autobots who cut off our contact," He said grimly, "It was Sideways!"
Sideways seemed to turn visibly pale. "They're trying to trick you!" He called, his face turning toward Evac, pleading. "Its a lie!" But when he saw Evac turn back toward him, hatred on his face, all hope of keeping his charade going vanished.
With a scream of wordless rage, Sideways shot into the air, a hole in space materializing in front of him, swallowing him up and taking him away.
Optimus got to his feet. "What the slagging pit is going on?" He demanded.
"I'm not sure." Evac said weakly. "I don't-"
"We're running short on time." Another voice entered, as Prowl poked his massive head into the frame. "Optimus, we've got a human that needs help. We need you to get here, so we can get her to the nearest hospital."
Optimus stared at Prowl for a long moment, then back at Evac, then back to Prowl. "All right. Where are you."
"I'm not sure, our comms were scrambled and- what the-: Suddenly both he and Chris disappeared in a screen of static and noise.
"What happened?" Evac cried, grabbing Optimus suddenly. "Bring him back!"
Optimus stared at the pleading desperation in his former opponents eyes, and suddenly, he found he was not facing a noble warrior, but someone driven by fear and desperation- and compassion. He nodded slowly. "All right. Aris! Track that signal down!"
---
Prowl stared in horror as his screen disappeared, wincing at another high-frequency burst that shattered his communications and caused his audios to wail in pain. He was vaguely aware of Chris grabbing his ears under the sound, and Aidia crying out in surprise, but he was far more concerned with the form that shot in the air overhead.
The winged form turned about in midair, and dove at him, cannons at the base of its nose blazing. Prowl held up his arms to shield himself, then with a sudden movement, grabbed the wing of the craft as it passed. The craft veered off behind him and ran straight into the ground. It didn't hesitate a moment before leaping into robot mode and doubling back, his face blazing red like a demon's grin.
Sideways howled as he collided into Prowl shoulder first, knocking the young Autobot off his feet. But then he was caught by surprise as another form hit him from the side- Aidia in vehicle mode, her wailing sirens and flashing lights attempting to confuse him. Sideways stumbled, and then found Prowl attacking him again with two direct hits to the face. Then Prowl clamped his hands together, and brought the formed ball of steel upward into Sideway's jaw. The rouge landed square on his back, and ceased to move.
Prowl let out a sigh of relief, and sank to his knees.
"Prowl!" Aidia grabbed him, pulling him up and holding him close. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Prowl answered, a bit dazed. "The humans?"
"We're fine." Chris called, from Michelle's side.
"You did great." Aidia said, with a smile on her face.
"Not so bad yourself." Prowl answered. Then he grimly turned toward the crumbled form. "Sideways again. What the hell is his game?"
"It's one I like to call 'End Game'."
Prowl and Aidia whirled as they saw Sideways get to his feet, wobbling and unsteady. But though his form didn't look it, his voice was menacing. "For too long have you idiots interfered. I had everything all nice and cozy before you damn Autobots showed up. I don't know how you managed to screw up every plan I laid, but now, I stop playing."
Suddenly his form began to unfold- a different transformation scheme. His back wings rose up above his head as his body stretched out, his arms unfolding and seeming to grow longer, as did the legs, growing from the shorter bot he'd always been to a taller, menacing figure. Bright red lights shot down from the outstretched points, forming blood--red wings of energy. Then last of all, the bright orange face turned to red, and two points of light opened above it, as the face that so resembled a demon's grin became one in actuality.
Prowl and Aidia took a frightened step backwards at the now clearly demonic form.
"I can not fool you any longer." Sideways voice hissed, rising out of its familiar softer tones to a deafening screech. "So I'll end you all now!'
He charged. Prowl panicked, bringing his gun to bear and firing wildly. The shots seemed to phase right through Sideway's form. Then, the demon was upon him. One swat from his hand sent Prowl careening backwards with force he did not think possible.
Aidia yelled something, trying clumsily to grab her own blaster, before Sideways grabbed her by the head, and slammed her face-first into the ground.
Prowl pushed himself wearily to his feet, and charged again, sending his fist toward the demon's face. But to his shock and horror, his fist went right through Sideways, as if his opponent was a ghost. But then it was real enough again as the devil's fist grabbed Prowl's head from behind, hoisting him off the ground and slamming him back to Earth, then a second time without so much as a pause. Done with his toy, Sideways cast Prowl aside like a rag doll.
Sideways turned, seeing Aidia rushing in vehicle mode toward the humans. He started toward her. Aidia screeched to a halt, transforming. "Get behind me!" She called to Chris, who promptly obeyed.
Aidia stared down the demon, but felt her will evaporate as his soulless gaze met her eyes. The demon raised his fist to strike, then Prowl came again from the side, sirens blazing as the police car smashed into the demon's side. Sideway's stumbled for a moment, then seemed to become transparent as Prowl's fists met their target, yet hit nothing. Then his hand was suddenly caught in Sideways grasp, and wrenched backwards with a sickening crack, and his other hand met Prowl's face, sending the Autobot flying backwards.
"I tire of this." Sideways announced, and from his center, a red light began to flare.
Aidia's optics went wide as she realized what was coming, and she threw herself over Chris and Michelle's body. A moment later, a deafening blast of red energy emanated from Sideways, blanketing the whole field in a red sphere.
Chris looked up at his protector, and he could see Aidia's face contorted in a wordless scream of pain. Then the light faded, and he saw Aidia collapse in front of him. In the distance, he could see Prowl's body torched black. And then he realized that Aidia too had her entire back burned to a crisp- her sacrifice to save them.
Powerful hands grabbed and hoisted Aidia's limp form, throwing her aside with ease. He looked up into the face of a being from hell. On its arm, a cannon moved into place, four spines rising up from them, forming a crossbow-like structure, now aimed straight at him. Then the cannon moved upwards- pointing at the comatose form behind him. Chris's eyes widened with a sudden realization. He swallowed hard, and ran, putting himself in-between the cannon's barrel and Michelle.
"Move." Sideways stated coldly. "I only give you one chance."
"Why are you doing this?" Chris demanded weakly. "I thought this was about the Autobots! Why her?"
Sideways snorted. "The Autobots? They are nothing, nor are the Decepticons. This was always about Evac. He was supposed to remain buried for another thousand years. But since I can't stop them now, I'll just have to break him. And this is the way to do it."
Energy welled into the cannon, and Chris closed his eyes and waited for the end.
It never came.
A deafening cry of "SIDEWAYS!" echoed through the field, and with a movement so fast that the demon had no time to react, Evac's blades came down, severing Sideway's arm from his body. Sideways reeled backward in shock, as another swipe of the blade tore his midsection open, and he fell. Unable to stop in his rage and hatred of the traitor, Evac brought his blades straight down into Sideways face. There was a sickening crack as his head split open, the weapon tearing through his head and then deep into the ground. The body gave one last convoluted shudder, and then ceased to move.
Evac stared at the unmoving form, panting weakly, almost unable to comprehend what he had just done. Behind him, the other rest of his friends and Optimus and his Autobots came beside him. Optimus stared grimly at Sideways' dead form. "Remind me not to get on his bad side." He muttered to no-one in particular. Evac didn't hear him. With a powerful tug, he pulled the blades from the ground, then his attention shifted, from the fallen transformer to a fallen human.
He sank to his knees beside her, reaching out slowly. "Michelle..." he said softly, reaching down to grab her.
"Don't!" Evac stopped, looking up, the glare in his eyes loudly proclaiming that he would kill anyone who dared come between them. But Aidia, pushing herself painfully to her feet was no threat. "Don't move her." She whispered. "It would hurt her more-" She collapsed under the effort of her own words, as Red Alert gave a cry and ran to her side. Evac looked at her, somehow realizing that the life that was below him now was still there thanks to her doing.
"She's right." Chris said softly. "We've got to get her to a hospital." Evac turned to look at him, a forlorn look in his face. Chris stared back at him, and grimly added. "It's the only way to save her."
Optimus watched Evac's sullen reaction and sighed. "Aris..." He radioed, "Find the nearest human medical center. Give me exact directions."
"All right, Optimus."
Optimus glanced around, observing what was happening now. Red Alert held Aidia protectively to him. Ironhide was helping Prowl to his feet. The human and the bot called Jazz were greeting each other. And Evac continued to mourn.
"Fifty-Three clicks to South-By-Southeast." Aris's voice reported.
Optimus walked over to Evacs body, hunched over the human form. "We found a place we can take her." He said gently. "If you Transform, you can fly her there. We'll help you load her."
"Thank you." Evac said wearily. "Thank... you..."
As he transformed, Optimus watched Aidia and Chris supervise the loading operations, and before long, Evac was loaded with his one passenger, and preparing to take off.
"I'll go with you." Jetfire volunteered. "Just in case the Con's decide to try something."
Evac thanked him again, and a moment later, both were airborne and heading off into the rising sun.
Prowl looked wearily after them, then noticed a shadow hovering over him. He glanced at up at Red Alert, and winced, knowing he was in for it now. Red Alert glared at him for a long moment, then said, "Aidia told me the story. I told you guys to stay out of trouble."
Prowl stared at the ground. But to his shock, the next words were, "But you did what you had to. And, well, you did good kid." Red Alert turned, and walked off, taking Aidia away gently as she cast a wistful glance back at Prowl.
"Hey Prowl." Chris called up, Jazz at his side. "I don't know if you realize this, but I think she likes you."
Prowl was dumbfounded. "Err, huh?"
Chris laughed and Jazz bent down to do his own introduction.
Optimus noted Ironhide introducing himself properly to Crosswise, and cast glance up at Omega Supreme, who stood sullenly watching the blur that was his leader fade into the distance.
"Well Aris, I don't understand any of this." Optimus admitted into his comm. "Where they came from, who they are. I suppose these are all questions for another day."
"Yes Optimus." Aris responded. "But then again, wouldn't you rather they were our friends?"
"Yes, indeed." Optimus's eyes seemed to smile. But that smile faded as he turned realizing something. Even as the Autobots and the Earthbound Transformers made their introductions with each other, one now was notably absent. Surrounded by his former comrades and enemies, somehow, sometime, without anyone noticing, Sideways' body had disappeared, leaving nothing but a faint shadow...
---
Ben was staring lazily at the TV, watching mindless chatter about the government lab accident that had happened so long ago. He was in the med-bay, reclining on his bed - a few cracked ribs and a hell of a headache, but nothing worse. It surprised him a great deal when Smith walked in.
"Feeling better?" Smith asked, looking down at him with a faint smile.
"Not really." Ben muttered, his mind far from his physical condition. His eyes settled on Smiths companions, three he didn't recognize, all in marine outfits, though the looks in their eyes were definitely non-marine. One tall young man stood at the forefront, his arms crossed, a cocky grin on his face. Behind him, a young woman, long brown hair braided down her back, and then an older man, arms at his side with a grim look on his face.
"Who're the new recruits?" Ben muttered, motioning toward them.
Smith's smile took on a hint of evil. "Simply put, they're your replacements. Yes..."
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