One last candle
Disclaimer: Everything that doesn't have an owner, belongs to me.
Story Summary: Post 07 and 09 movies, slightly AU. This takes place more than a century after the second movie. Megatron returned with overwhelming forces, attacking the Autobots as they were able to find another way to revive their planet. Some time later, the tyrant managed to kill Optimus Prime, while his Decepticons scattered all over the newly-revived Cybertron, causing mayhem and destroying anyone who tried to defy them. However, Megatron's reign didn't last long, as Starscream finally managed to overthrow him, casting the planet into chaos. The Autobots' only hope lays in the hands of a young mech and a prophecy, told them by Primus' angel. The young mech, known as 'the Saviour', will have to overcome his cockiness and bypass the obstacles that stand in his way towards redemption. A fantasy adventure full of suspense and humour, with a lot of fluff, a teaspoon of action, and a hint of romance!
Chapter Summary: Two mysterious figures are running from the Decepticons, and heading to a place named the 'Gate'. En route, they are blocked by their pursuers, and forced to split: one of them, injured, stays and fights the Decepticons, while the other runs, carrying all their hopes and sacrifices with her.
A/N: This is a new piece and doesn't have anything to do with the other fanfics I'm working on. It is movieverse-based, but it'll have G1 and IDW comics influences. I know I shouldn't write another story, but this idea just refused to leave me alone! Damn plot bunnies!!!!
Beware: I am not English, so please, forgive any misspelling/grammar errors.:)
Enjoy. ;-)
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Chapter 1: Escaping Hell
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The night was cold and silent, barely lit by a half moon, partially hidden behind dark clouds. There was a huge forest in which the frail rays bounced off, not daring to illuminate the trees too much. Everything was still, asleep in the dampness, small puffs of vapour escaped the trunks as they tried to keep themselves as warm as possible. Nothing stirred and nothing moved.
Suddenly, lightning flashed over the forest, as two shadows soared above the giant trees. There was the roar of powerful engines disturbing the calmness of the slumbering nature, and the unmistakable noise of laser-guns going off and missiles exploding.
"Slag it! They're on us!" A masculine voice, coming from a green and yellowish Apache helicopter, muttered under his breath, though his companion could not hear him above the noises of the small army behind them.
"They're not giving up!" An alarmed feminine voice, coming from the magenta F-22 Raptor that was fighting alongside the green helicopter, yelled back, as the jet dodged some oncoming missiles, and whipped around to try and shoot the twenty pursuers off their tails.
"You know, I adore that move!" the green helicopter chuckled, as the magenta jet aligned with him again.
"Let's hurry up! The Gate should be nearby." That said, the two increased their speed.
The area behind them brightened a bit thanks to the light cast by the jet's engine. Though, due to the large number of missiles exploded, a thick haze of smoke hampered visibility, making it impossible to see if the Decepticons were still following them. Turning his scanners back to the pursuers behind them, the helicopter realized with horror that they not only didn't give up the chase, but they had almost caught up with them.
"Aargh!" The green Apache grunted, after being hit by a Null-ray. Black smoke curled around his rotor, causing him to slowly descend to the ground.
"SPRINGER!!" his companion screamed, as she heard the ground-shaking noise he made when he hit the dirt. The F-22 shot forward, performing the first half of a loop, and, when she was completely inverted, she rolled to the upright position, and released other four missiles, that exploded on the Decepticons with a shrapnel effect.
Whipping around once more, she descended to reach her fallen comrade. Transforming and landing more or less where she saw Springer crashing onto, the femme ran through the darkness. Twisting and turning her head and body, ignoring the higher branches of the trees that were hitting her armour, she whispered her companion's name to locate him and avoid being heard by their pursuers; she knew there were ground troops as well.
A faint groan brought her attention on a sparkling spot somewhere on her left. She ran to her fallen comrade, and knelt next to him, as excess heat escaped her lips, something akin to what happened to humans' breath when the temperature was very low.
"Springer," she called softly, looking him over for injures.
He was sprawled on his stomach, face down, and she could see a sparkling fresh hole on his left shoulder blade, where his rotary assembly rested. The femme smiled ironically, without any real joy, as she noticed that it was thanks to the leaking Energon if she could find her comrade. She winced as she tried to touch the spot, and a jolt of electricity hit her fingers.
Springer's head looked up at her, and dimming blue optics met dark red ones. He blinked a few times, and gasped silently at the sight. Her big, crimson red optics lit a bit of her white face, casting a bloody shadow on her childish features. He struggled to turn and sit up, and she helped him by snaking her white hand on his back, being careful not to touch his wound. He could barely see her silhouette in the blackness, and scolded himself when a shadow of dread passed on his optics upon seeing hers glowing in the dark. If she took note of his fear, she didn't say anything, but that didn't stop him from cringing; she was here to help him, at the risk of her own safety.
Pushing those thoughts to the back of his CPU, Springer squinted his damaged sight in order to find her hands. He was aware that one still rested on his back, but he couldn't feel the other on him. Deciding that her left hand was resting on her crouched knee, he took out a small bundle from his subspace, and pushed it in her free hand, thanking whoever painted her hands white, because they were well visible in the night.
"Take it and go!" Was all he said, and her optics lowered to look at what he had given her.
Red mechanical eyes widened upon seeing the small bundle, and looked up, staring into the soft blue hues of Springer's optics. "What?"
"Take the Matrix. Find the Saviour. Our lives depend on this!" he replied forcefully, repressing a painful hiss.
"What about you?" she protested. The F-22 didn't want to leave Springer behind to deal with the Decepticons on his own, although knowing very well that the other Autobot was capable of taking care of himself. She looked silently at Springer, red optics meeting blue pleadingly, begging him not to ask her to leave him.
"I'd just slow you down." He shook his head. The femme hesitated still, her spark pulsing with anxiety. "Go, Skyblade!" Springer commanded, removing her hand from his back, and shoving the jet in the direction they were heading to before his crash-landing.
That surely shocked her. Springer had never called her by her name, and that was enough to jolt her out of her trance. He had always tried to avoid referring directly to her, never called her by her real designation, but often coming up with nicknames. She couldn't blame him; after all, with a past like hers, she could accept the wary looks, not only Springer, but other Autobots were casting at her. But that was a story for another time.
Interpreting her silence for hesitation and concern, he sighed, and smirked. "Don't worry. I've got better things to do tonight than die!" he winked.
That jolted her out of her thoughts completely. She nodded understandingly, then got up, and ran as fast as her tired systems allowed her, not looking back.
Springer summoned all his strength, and forced himself on his feet. He heard Skyblade's footfalls running in the opposite direction several Decepticons were landing on. But he paused when one sentence, escaping Skyblade's lips with a twinge of rebuking, reached his audio receptors: "That's a cheesy line!"
Springer frowned slightly, and shook his head in disbelief, as he let out a chuckle, and loaded his whole weaponry. The Decepticons were coming for him now. He had to buy Skyblade some time.
"Frag those Decepticons to the Pit!" He yelled, as the helicopter readied his cannons, targeting the approaching Decepticons, and opened fire, unleashing more firepower in twenty shortkliks than his enemies did in the twenty megacycles of hunting them down. Most Decepticons were completely obliterated, and those who weren't, were slashed as Springer took out his swords, and used them with deadly precision.
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Skyblade ran.
Springer told her to run, and she did it, carrying with her the hopes and sacrifices of her people. She could not fly and risk to be spotted, so running was her only option. Why did they have to design me as a flyer? She thought bitterly, as she kept on, wishing for an instant that she could be as fast as Blurr. The speedster's ability could come in very handy now.
Skyblade gritted her dental plates, and continued to run. She didn't stop when the sound of lasers and the squeaky friction of metal on metal reverberated in her audio receptors. Instead, she kept on running, even when the pain spreading from her thrusters due to the abuse of being forced on the ground was making several of her functions seize up. She didn't stop even when she heard Springer's battle cry, or when she felt her spark being pierced by the fear of having lost yet another comrade. Regardless of the many branches and leaves that whipped across her body, sometimes tearing painfully a bit of her paint, she continued her mad dash through the darkness, her faceplate set in a line of exhaustion and determination.
C'mon, Sky! You're almost there! Percy said it should be here. Stopping briefly, panting heavily, she examined her surroundings. Not seeing anything but trees, she took out a small device, in which few numbers and strange symbols glowed. "C'mon, Percy…" she chanted, pointing the device this way and that, much like someone would do as they try to find signal on their mobile phone. "…Don't let me down…" she mumbled again, and the device started to crackle quietly.
She headed in the direction the small machine was pointing, remembering that Perceptor told her he was able to find the barrier's coordinates, although with some little miscalculation. At least that was what she thought the scientist said; he had kinda lost her after he greeted her, and gave her the device…
After several minutes, she was still running, though a bit slower, muttering under her breath. "When you reach the pine tree, turn left." She harrumphed. "There's only one problem, Mr. Scientist: this is a pine tree wood!!" She stopped as she yelled lowly the last part.
Then she heard a noise. It was quiet at first, but it grew louder. It sounded like a heartbeat, but she knew better. Those were footfalls. Enemy footfalls coming straight at her. Skyblade held the bundle to her chest, and resumed her jogging once more. She never turned back, only kept going straight ahead, searching, looking for the barrier that would allow her to find the Saviour, their last hope.
All of a sudden, she felt her body smashing into something firm and hard. The force of the hit sent her falling on her aft with a startled gasp. The loud sound of metal meeting something harder, with the additional noise of sparks dancing from the friction, echoed painfully in her throbbing processor. Temporarily stunned and dizzy for the strike, the jet grabbed hold of her noseplate (the most delicate part of her that received the impact), rubbing at it gently, while forcing herself in a sitting position, and looking up.
What she saw made her optics widen in awe. Before her stood a weird sphere-like thing, which was trembling like the waters of a lake after someone threw a rock in them. Sure enough, she was face to face with what she was looking for. The barrier, or Gate, whose placid surface had been broken in small waves by her impact, was revealing itself at her, glowing slightly with its azure light.
Skyblade stood up, and prepared to punch in the code that would allow her entrance, when she stopped dead in her tracks, feeling a horrendous presence behind her. She froze, intakes working hard, her deep pants steaming in the cold, as her scanners tingled and became hyper sensitive as they detected the number of strangers standing directly behind her. With her Energon pounding in her audios, Skyblade turned, and met the heated crimson optics of her pursuer.
He was only partly visible, but she could make out perfectly his bulky, silver form, littered with sharp sheets, that gleamed in the feeble light, and added to his shining optics a hint of malice. His voice, low and silky, rumbled from his throat, as he let a sigh escape his lip components. "What a beautiful night to take a walk, isn't it?"
Skyblade didn't need him to talk to know who it was, and his voice, if anything, unnerved her. "Sideways." She growled, narrowing her optics to sharp slivers.
"Glad you remember me." He chuckled, exposing silver pointed dental plates, that looked much like fangs.
He was having some difficulty to see her in the dark; luckily, he knew what she was like, otherwise, with her standing in the shadows, signal dampened, he would have never been able to see her form, as it was oddly invisible, blending perfectly in the night.
While, technically, darkness was no limitation on his sight, Skyblade did have an uncanny habit of blending in until one least expected her to appear… and her, and many other flyers always complain how the light from their thrusters draws attention at night when they're trying to fly stealth!
The moonlight revealed only a small part of her, such as her wings, her sharp elbows, and her slender legs, all the parts of her frame that were painted white or silver. Few shy rays of the moon illuminated slightly the golden cockpit that rested on her abdomen, mainly feature of any Seeker, just like the twin Null-ray cannons that seemed to gleam menacingly at him in the moonlit night.
There was the classic pause to study one's adversary, before anyone of them made a move; a pause full of silent roaming of optics on the opponents, and their surroundings. Shifting her optical sensors to each side of her, Skyblade had to fight back a disgusted snort, as she took in the hideous creatures that accompanied her enemy. She could count twelve of them, but she wasn't sure if there were others behind.
They were called Swarms. They were animals, barbarians, not particularly intelligent, nothing but an obscene and twisted defilement of Insecticon clones, horrifyingly misshaped into one monstrosity. She had heard somewhere that the Swarms should be killed as an act of mercy. Now, even though Skyblade was never willing to take a life, she found hard to argue with that logic.
The Swarms were large, grotesque-looking beings, that really didn't seem like they were one, specific type. They had two, bird-like legs, strong arms that ended with four claws, one orange optic bigger than the other, two ant-like mandibles, and fangs that protruded from their mouths. Their horrendous bodies were black and made of metal, standing at a pretty decent height, they were littered with orange protuberances and tubes; their limbs were purple, while two white sheets, that seemed like the wings of a fly, jutted from their backs.
From their lipless mouths, a greenish substance was dripping steadily and profusely, landing at their feet. Where the strange stuff hit the ground, it hissed and bubbled, corroding every life form that inhabited the dirt.
Sideways snapped Skyblade out of her thoughts. "Okay, I know you won't give me the Matrix, and I won't give up, so I'd say we skip the part in which I give you the opportunity to surrender: it's obvious you won't take it, anyway." He shook his head, then yelled at the monsters that were with him. "Get her!"
Skyblade narrowed her optics, and her right hand reached for the tip of her wing. In one swift move, she detached her wings, and threw them like a boomerang to the approaching creatures.
"DUCK!!" Sideways yelled, as he crouched, barely avoiding the huge weapon. He was forced to remain like that a moment longer, when he heard the whooshing of the wings, as they came back to their mistress.
Skyblade's wings reattached themselves to her back, and she watched as Sideways raised on his feet again, a confident smirk lit by the moon showed off his fangs again.
"Your aim is a bit screwed," he taunted.
Skyblade merely tilted her helm to the side. "You think?"
The Decepticon was slightly disturbed by her attitude, and immediately his audio receptors picked up the sound of a tree falling, and rolling down towards them. As he turned, he noticed that they were at the base of a rather tall hill, then he realized that many other trees had been cut down by Skyblade's formidable weapon, and were now making their way to crush them.
"SLAG!" Sideways dove to the side to avoid a falling tree.
His new position did nothing to improve his situation, for he now had three trees to dodge. He muttered a colourful dose of expletives as he barely avoided getting crushed by another pine, and watched as his small army was not that lucky. Sideways tried to turn to Skyblade, only to have to dive out of the way once again, as another tree fell directly in his path, almost on top of him.
Angrily, he whipped around to lunge at Skyblade once again, but paused to see what she was doing. The femme was punching furiously at a series of small buttons to enter the code that would allow her to pass through the Gate. Screeching in anger, Sideways ran towards her, followed by the survived Swarms, as a door-like panel shifted and opened, and she ducked inside.
Her body was pushed by another. Its clawed hands started to wrap around her arms securely, as they tumbled down what seemed another hill. Grunts sounded through the air, one being female, the other male. As they rolled down the slight incline, a strange jolt hit them both, causing the hands to release her arms, that immediately held the envelop tighter.
Soon, Skyblade landed alone, none too gracefully, in a small stream that was obviously on the bottom of the hill. The water where she landed was only a few inches deep, but it was very cold, and she felt it seep into herself.
Skyblade groaned, and onlined her optics. She only had few seconds before her diagnostic systems started ringing in her head, laying down the list of damaged systems and programs that ranged from 'major damage' to 'critical situation'. Skyblade's scowl got deeper as the list went on, and settled to a slight frown as she realized that her Energy Levels were the part of her that looked in better conditions, being at 70% of their capability.
Raising on all fours, ignoring the fact that her whole body ached hard, Skyblade looked around, and saw a surprisingly big hill – the one she had rolled down from, she presumed – and several huge trees. Well, at least her night vision still worked. Her body was beaten, scratched, and bruised, but still functioning. The magenta Seeker groaned again, and sat up, holding her head in one hand.
Something was wrong.
Instead of hard metal, her hand was caressing a wet, soft material. Gasping, she leaned down to take a good look at herself in the stream. The stars were twinkling in the sky as they looked from their thrones down upon the young human woman staring in the placid, cold water. Her long, blond hair slid down her shoulders, and veiled her from the rest of the world.
Skyblade blinked once, then twice, and then sighed. She was currently in a human pretender, but, at least, she was still online. Judging by the small envelop between her knees, she still had the Matrix. And, judging by the growls and groans she heard, she still had company…
"Oh… slag!"
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A/N: Hope you liked it! Don't worry if it's a bit confusing… those of you who know my style, know that everything will be explained in due time. Um… yes, Skyblade is my OC and she is Seeker-like, but don't worry, in later chapters I'll describe her properly… oh, and her story? All in due time!;-) So… any questions? Thanks for reading/reviewing. Here's a small preview for next chapter:
Chapter 2 summary: While running from Sideways and his minions, Skyblade passes out, and meets Dave 'Dorifuto' and his family. Not too thrilled by the meeting, she continues on with her mission.
Until next time… See ya! ;-)