The Transformers are property of hasbro. Therefore I don´t own them.
Nightmare
They were standing in the middle of a dead world. It was a endless wasteland of devastated cities and burned up land. Barely anything living was left. The entire planet was lying in ruins.
They didn´t knew what exactly had happened or when. They were on a mission. In search for for their intended target. The two lonely living shapes were walking through the devastated area. Destruction and decay was everywhere around them. The sky of the planet was darkened from clouds of nuclear ashes. This world hadn´t seen real day or night for centuries. The atmosphere was full of ashes that blocked the light of the sun out. It was a nuclear winter.
They were two large robotic beings with red eyes and large wings that were attached on their backs. Both had glowing red eyes. The two robots were obviously built for fighting. They were armed with deadly weapons, they had nearly indestructible bodies and their strength was far greater than that of nearly every other species. Both could fly several times faster than sonic and had fast and lethal reflexes.
Under normal circumstances this warriors would have been intimidating for everybody who saw them.
Between the endless wasteland of ruins and ash however, they seemed small and insignificant. As if the landscape would come to life and swallow them any time.
The surface of the destroyed world created a horrifying atmosphere that made the two robots look harmless in comparison.
Their names were Skywarp and Thundercracker. They were Decepticons from the planet Cybertron. Both were jet form Decepticons, so called seekers or skyraiders and members of Megatron´s airial elite. Between the rubble and the ruins, the two Decepticons were making their way. Right following the signal that led them to this place. The two soldiers did their duty without paying much attention to their surroundings or at least they tried to.
As far as they could say, the destruction was caused by century long conventional and nuclear warfare between the natives. A war that had ended at a point where they had destroyed each other and their entire world with them. That was at least the most likely explanation. Nobody could say for sure, nobody was left to tell.
The two visitors didn´t knew if this was the truth, they didn´t even knew how the creatures were called who had lived on this planet, they could only guess. All they had seen of them were skeletons and rubble.
In the few hours they had been here, they had seen the remains of atrocities, they had not even witnessed in nearly two centuries of war. Whatever happened here, it were clearly not only nuclear explosions.
On their way they had found the scarred corpses on several natives. The creatures had clearly not died from explosions or radiation. The bodies had been mutilated. They had been clean cut open with knives and swords, the weapons were in some cases still lying next to their owners, others had been beaten to death, killed with stones, cracked bones, limps had been ripped out.
Everywhere on this world, they came along, it was the same picture. Everywhere the rests of the nuclear fallout as well as natives who had been killed and tortured in the most gruesome way.
What had happened here?
Thundercracker saw all that around him and couldn´t help to get a bad feeling. He knew the same could easily happen to Cybertron too. A devastating war between the Decepticons and the Autobots was raging on the planet. His world was in a stage that could also lead to this kind of destruction. Every Transformer knew, even if nobody was willing to admit it.
Over two vorn ago, in the battle of kalis, the planet Cybertron had been trown out of it´s orbit. Since then it had been travelling uncontrolled through space. The situation was bad.
It was a good explanation for the uneasy feeling that was dwelling inside him.
But if he was honest, there was something different too. This entire place, this world, somehow it had something menacing.
Since they had arrived here, Thundercracker had a feeling as if someone was watching them, someone who was still here.
He didn´t say anything. He knew Skywarp would laugh about this.
A Decepticon, who was fighting a deadly war for centuries, afraid of ghosts.
It was ridiculous, right. But he just couldn´t shake off the feeling.
Skywarp checked the sensor, then he pointed in the direction in front of him.
"It is in this direction", he informed Thundercracker, seemingly undisturbed by everything around him.
The two Decepticons continued their walk without saying another words for a few minutes.
None of them had liked this mission from the beginning. Their orders were to search for a group of Decepticons on a exploration mission, who had gone missing in this sector, five cicles ago.
Under normal circumstances this could have also been done by lower ranked seekers. If it hadn´t been for the leader of this particular exploration team.
That of course didn´t mean that they liked it any better.
Even if he didn´t show it, this planet made Skywarp nearly as nervous as Thundercracker. Both of them hated this place and the fact that they had to stray around on it for hours and days only to find a few Decepticons who were stupid enough to get lost here in the first place.
First they had searched this star system for days to find a trail to the missing and now they were wandering around in this hell without any end in sight.
"Do you think we will find Starscream´s group soon Warp?" Thundercracker exclaimed.
"I want to get away from here as soon as possible."
The blue seeker didn´t saw much of a point in hiding his unrest anymore.
"I think we are coming closer", Skywarp answered him. "It´s in that direction."
Something was lying before them. It was buried under rubble.
Then they saw that it was a destroyed ground vehicle and a rotten skeleton, that was lying next to it.
"No, unless he had really changed, that isn´t Starscream", Skywarp pointed out sarcastically.
"Let us go", Thundercracker muttered impatiently.
"Yes", Skywarp answered him, "it´s that way."
They were close to their aim. On Megatron´s orders, they had searched through this entire part of space to find the missing Decepticons.
Thundercracker thought for a moment that his audios had registered something. He looked around. There was nothing beside the wind. For a few moments was nothing, then it was back.
It was a laughing.
"Do you hear that?" He asked his partner.
"What?" In the moment Skywarp had asked this, he suddenly shrugged.
He heard it too. The laughing continued for a few more seconds. Then it was gone.
Their optical sensors couldn´t register a single living being in the area. But the analyses of their systems confirmed what they have heard.
"What was that?" Thundercracker asked nervously.
"I don´t know", Skywarp answered.
"I have slowly enough of this entire trip", Thundercracker called out. "First moping around in space for days and now this. If Megatron wants to find Starscream that bad, why doesn´t he come here himself and look for him?"
"Calm down", Skywarp told him. "It was probably nothing. Some surviving native, who is hiding out here or some strange weather phenomenon."
"weather phanomenon", Thundercracker repeated toneless, "clear, sounds really convincing."
Finally, they saw the body of a Transformer before them on the ground.
It was a seeker like them.
"Roughstart", Skywarp recognised him, "he was a member from Starscream´s team.
"It was his black box, we have been tracing."
The seeker was lying on his stomach in the mud. But by what they could see, he seemed to be relatively undamaged.
Skywarp felt for the first time since he sat foot on this planet actually relieved about something.
"It looks like he isn´t in a too bad shape Thundercracker."
Skywarp kneeled beside the unconscious seeker.
"We will save him and then he will led us to the others."
Skywarp smiled. He grabbed Roughstart by the shoulder and turned him around.
And he froze. He shrugged back and let Roughstart´s body fall back down.
Thundercracker´s mouth opened. For a moment he only stood there and stared.
Roughtart´s optics were gone. Where his eyes should have been, were only two gaping holes in his skull.
And that wasn´t everything. A giant widened cut went down over his chest and stomach. Parts of the circuity behind it seemed to have been ripped out.
Both Decepticons could only gape into the empty eye pockets for a few seconds.
"By Cybertron", Thundercracker finally brought out.
In that moment they heard the laughing again, more clear than before. Thundercracker turned around. There was nothing.
The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere around them.
When the mutilated Decepticon before them began to move again.
Despite that the two thought and somehow hoped, he wasn´t dead.
He smiled, something that looked bizarre in the eyeless face and he spoke.
His voice sounded rusty and hollow.
"You will all die", he said. The smile widened.
"All of you will die."
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Author notes:
This story is, as it was stated in the description, a sort of side-story to my fanfic time circle. Nightmare is so basically a spin-off. It gives some more background to some characters.
The story is based on ideas that I had for the other story, but is not part of it´s main plot. Both fanfics are still in close relation to each other. Many events in Nightmare are based of Time Circle and the other way around.
It can however still be read and seen as an indipendent story.
The rating will probably be changed to M.