The Firehouse on Griffin Rock was bustling with noise although there was no emergency. Boulder and Graham were discussing the importance of quadratic equations to parabolas. Dani was discussing a favorite TV show with Blades. Chief Burns was cleaning the wax off of Chase as the police bot dozed in the sun. Heatwave and Kade were arguing over… something. And Cody and Frankie were playing Burns Ball outside under the sky and wispy clouds. All in all, a pretty normal day.
Normal, that was, until the alarm echoed throughout the emergency building. It seemed that there were a few citizens complaining about odd noises coming from the mountain turned volcano that they had once stopped lava from coming out of. Chief Burns reluctantly allowed Cody to come along as Doc Green wanted to take a couple samples of the soil and was bringing Frankie. So, the whole team, including Cody, Frankie, and Doc, ended up dispatching.
They were able to use the tunnels under Griffin Rock to avoid traffic to get to the source of the complaint quickly, although Chase mentioned how the speed limits for the tunnels were missing. Once everybody made it into the main chamber, the bots could immediately tell something was amiss.
Boulder used his seismic imaging to assuage their fears, but it only served to intensify them as several figures were detected in the cavern with them. Chief Burns gave the order to retreat outside of the cavern just in case, but it was in vain as the only exit was blocked by falling rock as a shot resounded through the enclosed area. The entire family gasped as a Mor Bot separated from the darkness, weapon still smoking. The evil laughter of Dr Morocco echoed as the tall, slender man approached.
"Morocco," Chiefs voice was harsh with anger, "What's the purpose of this?"
Morocco only laughed. "I don't care about you Chief Burns. I'm only here for your, how shall I put it, Rescue Bots."
The entire family left their vehicles to confront the stubborn scientist. Heatwave made to step forward ominously, but was halted by Kades sharp "Fire Bot, remain still."
The evil scientist only laughed. "Oh you ignorant, ignorant Burns and friends. I know your robots are not AI's. They are so obviously sentient. I don't know how it took me this long to discover their secret."
The bots drooped as it became apparent that another human had become aware of their secret. Heatwave was the first to perk up.
"Well, at least this means I can smash you to pieces with a smile on my denta."
Morocco smirked, seemingly not at all threatened by the violent alien that towered above him.
"Affirmative," Chase added, "There is not a day in existence where I would allow a miscreant of your like to acquire the technology and intricate workings of our circuitry."
Once again, Morocco simply smirked. "Behind on the times, are we? I am no longer after your inner workings. No, this time I am more interested in your feelings. Or, better yet, your memories. Memories of what your world was like and how your livelihoods become how they were."
The doctor smirked as he watched the faces of the rescue team turn from anger to confusion. Memories? Why would he want memories? The most intelligent Burns was the first to figure it out. No surprise there.
"Memories," Graham spoke slowly, "You want their memories to figure out how they function emotionally. You've given up on physical weaknesses and have moved on to destroying them mentally by using faults and past tragedies."
Doc Greene and the rest of the Burns family could only stare in horror. Physical harm was one thing. Everybody deals with it everyday whether it be bullying, sports, work, or simply stubbing a toe on a table. But Morocco… Morocco wanted to publically dig through the Bots' memories so he could slowly break them down from the outside in. He was talking years of emotional trauma and PTSD. He was talking about bringing up things best left forgotten. Morocco was talking about shattering someone's mind. Someone's entire life . It was truly and disgustingly diabolical.
Everyone was deeply disturbed by these thoughts, but Heatwave spoke up.
"Yeah? That's a lot of talk for someone who can't even figure out how we tick. And you think you can somehow access our memories? Pft. Good luck."
The smirk on the fire bots face disappeared as a different Mor Bot approached, this one cradling something delicately in its arms.
"Oh my Primus…"
"What is that thing?"
"How did he even find that?"
"Impossible!"
It was a cortical psychic patch. Two of them, to be exact. Chief Burns looked at the telling reactions of the Bots. This device couldn't be could. Graham asked the million dollar question. What was it?
"I'll tell you what it is," Heatwave growled, "It's a cortical psychic patch, a torture device created my Decepticon scientists during the war. It gets into a bots head and projects memories."
"At what location could you have recovered such a foul device?" Chase interrogated the Doctor.
"A crashed ship. Called the Harbinger."
Blades exploded with questions. "The Harbinger? That's a Decepticon ship. It left Cybertron eons ago. Where is it? What was it like? Ho-"
"SILENCE" He was cut off by Morocco, who had grown tired of all the talk. He signaled and the Mor Bot began to approach him with the two cortical psychic patches. The bots shifted into defensive stances, ready to battle and protect their own. Unfortunately, several Mor Bots were somehow able to weasel their way behind the family without being noticed. This posed a problem when, as the bots shifted into defense, the Mor Bots knew it would become a problem. They grabbed Boulder and Blades, pinning the two Rescue Bots to the wall with immobilizers aimed at heads. Normally, immobilizer Ray's aren't that harmful to bots, but right at the head at this close of range? There was no telling what it could do to a professor that close.
As Heatwave and Chase stepped forward, Morocco found his voice again.
"Ah-ah-ah." He tsked, "We wouldn't want any harm to come to your friends now would we? Surrender or else I pulverize their processors."
Reluctantly, Chase stepped down, motioning for Heatwave to as well. The blue bot whispered to his partner, "Its ok. I do not think that Morocco has the knowledge of how to use the torture device in that of a torturing way. Also, he only expressed interest in knowing our memories, not tampering with them. We should be fine. As a backup, I have sent out a distress beacon to Optimus. Although it will take him time to arrive, we have backup."
Heatwave looked at their options. He was their leader, it was his job to keep his team safe and make the hard decisions. It was either allow Morocco to dig through he and Chases memories together, or have Blades and Boulder possibly suffer irrevocable damage. The choice was obvious. He and Chase were together most of the time anyway; their memories would be pretty similar. Heatwave lowered his water cannons with a glare.
"Heatwave! What are yo-" Kade was cut off by the sharp look sent to him by Chief Burns. One quick glance toward the two other bots being held at gunpoint told Kade everything he needed to know.
In the seconds before the Mor Bot attached the psychic patches, Chase made a series of quick observations. They were connected, so it was likely that only memories with the both of them would be shown. It also served possible that it would show a 3rd person view now that it had two different perspective. It would make their memories all the more interesting. Like a movie, Chase thought silently in disgust.
The police bot forced himself and Heatwave to sit against a wall, giving easier access to Morocco and ensuring they wouldn't crush anyone once the psychic patch was connected. They sat close, legs leaning against each other. The tall scientist approached with a slow strut. He gave the order, and a Mor Bot shoved a patch onto Heatwave and another onto Chase. Both gave a soft reflexive ah as they went under, helms tilting back and hitting the wall. Kade looked up at his bots dark optics worriedly.
Silence seemed to suffocate the room as everybody waited for something to happen Kade smirked and was about to berate Morocco for ruining another in invention when a white light shot out from where the patches were connected and projected an image onto the far wall.
"Woahh," Cody breathed, "Is that. Cybertron?"
"Yeah," Boulder sounded just as amazed, "That's our home. I-I haven't seen it alive in so long."
The mood sobered as the humans realized that Cybertron was now a dead world. They turned back to the projector to watch the scene.
Buildings shot into the sky and roads mapped the ground. The streets bustled with Cybertronians of all shapes and sizes. The markets were full of auctioneers and bargainers hoping to get a steal. It was lively. Two tall mechs walked side by side, serves entwined as they strolled the streets. A femme seeker was examining an expensive pair of Praxian crystals.
"Hey, what're you doing just standing there?"
Human and Bot alike perked up at the sound of their leaders voice.
The scene shifted out to show a younger, less angry looking Heatwave approach Chase who had been examining the people amongst the streets.
Kade looked interested. "Heatwave looks so different… younger."
Blades nodded his head. "I never met him before the war, but I heard from some of his buddies that he was different. That the war changed him. I can't really blame him though. The war changed everyone. I didn't know he knew Chase back then though."
Chase turned to face the red bot, a small smile spreading across his denta.
"Where to next?" Heatwave asked, itching to travel somewhere new to explore.
Chase responded, "I was thinking maybe a drive to the Vosian cliffs? Or maybe a little research in the Iacon Hall of Records?"
"To Vos it is then."
Chase laughed at the response; he knew Heatwave wouldn't have and would never choose research as a date unless Chase really begged. They began to walk down the markets, heading for the exit so they could transform and drive. The Enforcer looked down as a servo joined with his. Their digits stayed entwined until they reached the exit. Then the sound of transformation pins and metal echoed as they changed forms and sped towards Vos.
Obeying the speed laws of course.
"Uh… I never knew they were… together?" Kade spoke awkwardly to break the silence. Boulder and Blades only glanced at each other nervously.
"Wait. You two knew and you didn't tell me!" Dani demanded, an angry frown on her face, "They're so cut together! Ugh I could've been interrogating them this entire time. If only I knew."
"Hey!" Kade cut in, "Heatwave's my partner. I should be the first to know. You can't just go and annoy him about him and Chase."
"Oh what, annoy him like you do every day? And when do you suddenly care about what he does when he's alone."
Kade whispered "Chase" under his breath and Dani looked stuck between either squealing with glee or slapping Kade upside the head.
Graham appeared to have already taken the information without breaking stride.
"Woah. Are those Cybertronian alt modes? They're so different yet so similar! I wonder how they compare to Earth vehicles. The lines and rivets are so much smoother."
The scene cut to the two bots driving next to each other as the Vos skyline came into view. Although there were ground vehicles occasionally entering and leaving the sky high city, there weren't many. Jets streaked overhead, leaving trails of smoke behind as they shot towards Vos. The echo of transformation could be heard faintly in the distance as helicopters transformed in mid air to land on the tops of buildings in root mode.
"Why is this Vos so different from the other Cybertronian city they were in?" The Chief asked his question very politely.
Blades was the one to answer. "That's because Vos is the city of the seekers."
"... seekers?" Cody looked for clarification. Doc Greene and Frankie also looked very interested.
"Seekers are Cybertronians with air alt modes like jets or helicopters. They have an entirely different build. More slender with amplified pain sensors to detect wind speed and stuff like that. They also have an entirely different culture than us grounders. Tribes and such. It's complicated."
"Are you a seeker Blades?" Cody asked with wide eyes.
"Oh no, definitely not. I hate flying! Being in the air is in a seekers energon. I wasn't made a helicopter, I only transform into one because we needed it for Sigma-17."
As if detecting all interest from the scene had been derived, the screen blackened only to return to a different joint memory. It showed Chase and Heatwave entering a building together. The sign on top read Maccadams Oil House.
"Boy, do I ever miss Maccadams." To the questioning look Boulder answered, "It was basically the Cybertronian version of a bar."
Kade rubbed his hands together. "Finally, maybe something juicy will happen."
As the doors swung open, the scene drastically changed. Outside the bar it had been a quiet night with only the occasional metal footfall echoing. Two moons gleamed in the night sky. Inside; however, was an entirely different story. Music blasted throughout the building even though there were no speakers to be seen. Cybertronian of all kinds mechs, femmes, seekers, Praxians, Kaonians and even the occasional Arachnicon gathered around tables to chat and have a drink. The view panned around before finally settling on the two bots they were here to be watching, sitting at the bar.
Chase began to give an order to the bartender, but was quickly cut off by Heatwave ordering that they receive two of Maccadams finest High Grades. Chase glared, beginning to argue that, "Heatwave, do you know the content of high grade in just one of those orders? We will both be knocked out in a nanoclick."
The fire bot simply responded with a shrug and, "That's the point. Come on Chase, loosen up a little. For me. We don't need to do anything tomorrow." And as an afterthought, "Plus all this politic slag is driving my fragging crazy. Who even is this Megatronus anyways and why does he think he deserves to be stirring everything up?"
Blades inhaled quickly and said, "Megatronus? Does he mean…"
Boulder nodded in confirmation, "Megatron." And once he saw the looks from the humans, "Megatron. Decepticon leader. Fights for tyranny and the enslavement of the Cybertronian kind. The slimy bot who started the war that killed millions, including our planet."
Kade winced in sympathy and Chief Burns shook his head sadly.
Their drinks arrived in glowing blue cubes, brighter and more pungent than normal because of the high grade added in. Heatwave took his in in slow gulps, savoring the burn and stopping every so often to give his throat a break and talk with Chase. Once the red bot had finished his drink, he stared expectantly at the other. He was already feeling the effects and he'd be slagged if he looked like an idiot while Chase wasn't inebriated also.
Sighing in defeat, the blue bot threw down the intoxicating energon even faster than Heatwave, wincing as the empty cube clanked against the counter.
"Thatta bot, Chasee!" Heatwave began, vocalizer already beginning to slur words, "Zee? Isn't this funn?"
Chase let a loose smile appear. His coolant system was starting to detect a rise in core temperature and his limbs were beginning to feel a bit looser. The tires on his struts were itching to burn some rubber. The sounds in the back faded away.
"Come oyn," words began to slur, "Les go somewhere Heatwave."
The bots drug each other out of the bar, barely keeping balanced. As soon as they were far enough away, Chase dropped to his wheels in transformation and revved his engine. The fire bot smirked and transformed as well. The sound of burning rubber echoed through the streets as they took off. The screen began to flash. Segments of black intertwined with pieces of the road and different buildings passing by.
"Hey!" Kade stated, "what's wrong with this thing? It's skipping stuff and going all weird."
A groan from the screen echoed through the cavern. Optics opened and light blazed in. Another groan. A pair of yellow optics hovered overhead. The scene zoomed back to reveal Heatwave slouched over Chase. Both riding an awful hangover. The apartment they were spread across the floor in was small but modest. Marks from each of them hovered here and there if one were to look close enough. The meticulously organized energon cubes and law and regulations textbooks on the shelf were a sure sign of Chase's presence. While the workout area and gear eerily similar to a human fireman's spread across the floor was definitely Heatwave.
Outside, the metal buildings gleamed with reflected sunlight. Bots once again walked along the streets. There was a tool shop next to the apartment building along with a place that looked like it could pass for some sort of Cybertronian eatery.
"Chase?"
"Yes Heatwave"
"We are never doing that again."
"Affirmative"
Cody smiled at the camaraderie that passed between the two bots. It was nice to see images, or memories, of times where they seemed really happy. Plus, it seemed like a nice treat for Blades and Boulder to see Cybertron when it was still lively and bustling with bots again. Chief Charlie Burns unknowingly agreed with his youngest sons line of thought. The only difference was, Chief was still wary. Yes, things had been ok so far, but you don't become Police Chief without a healthy dose of wariness and/or skepticism. Something was bound to happen. These good memories had to come crashing down sometime soon. Chief just hated knowing that he was probably right.
The scene was once again set in Heatwave and Chases shared apartment. And it was once again at night. The only difference from the last memory was that there were no bots present. Darkness reigned in the silent living quarters, even the light from the twin moons was shielded by overcast clouds. They gathered overhead and let loose a concoction of corrosive rain. It wouldn't kill a healthy, full grown Cybertronian mech, but it would sure sting like slag.
The door slammed open as Heatwave hustled in, dragging Chase behind him.
"Frag that acid rain stings."
"I healthily agree with that statement. My optics feel as though they were dragged through the Pit by Unicron himself."
Heatwave risked a glance at his internal chronometer and automatically regretted it.
"Slag it all to the Pit Chase. It's already 0100 hours. We have be back by 0600."
The Enforcer sighed and looked down. Currently, he wanted nothing more than to simply short circuit right there. Or recharge and not wake up until 1300. Or maybe both. With a considerable bit of effort, Chase sat back up and looked both of them over. He came to the consensus that they looked awful. Heatwave was covered with dents, scratches, and the more than occasional scorch mark. Chase himself had dents that were muddled in with the gunk from roads. His wheels ached from chasing perpetrators for over a day straight. Heatwave was covered in soot from the fires of unrest.
"If only Megatron and his Pit slagging Decepticon rebels would frag off. Its putting the whole planet on edge."
Chase added in his views. "I heard there's another bot arguing against Megatron's viewpoint. His names Orion Pax and he was but a data clerk in the Iacon Hall of Records."
Chase projected a hologram of the former clerk in question.
Dani spoke first. "That's not Orion Pax the data clerk. That's Optimus!"
Boulder smiled as he responded, "Actually Dani, that is Optimus. Before he was a Prime, his name was Orion. He earned the respect of the Council when he stood against Megatron and preached his own views on peace. I remember the recordings of him speaking. 'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.' Once the war started, we needed a Prime to lead. The Matrix chose Orion. It made him Optimus."
"Man today is just full of juicy secrets that are finally coming to light." Kade expressed his delight at the entire situation. Then quickly followed it with, "Well I mean it'd be alot better if Heatwave and Chase weren't tied up y'know."
Everyone sighed.
It was starting to go downhill. The apartment lay silent once again, but this time Chase was there. He laid alone on his and Heatwave's shared berth. They barely had any time together anymore. The sound of sirens outside of the apartments thin walls was a constant. Chases audials perked up as the faint echo of metal footfalls grew louder. Heatwave was finally home. It was rare that their off time linked up.
They could work anywhere from 1 to 2 to sometimes even 3 straight days without coming home. Things were bad. Things were getting really bad. The Decepticon cause was growing. They weren't rebels anymore. Now to some, they're martyrs, to others they're enemies, to Chase and Heatwave they were simply annoyances that needed to be dealt with. There were uprisings in every city, every town. Kaon was basically one big bar fight. The most peaceful city was Iacon by far.
The council was still trying to preach peace to keep everyone calm, but Chase saw what was happening. Heatwave did too. They chased criminals and put out fires in the slums. There wasn't enough energon. Bots in the slums were being sucked dry. Their corpses empty of energy sometimes managed to make their ways into the streets. He and Heatwave were still doing ok. Not great, but ok. They were too tired to eat most of the time, which was a blessing in disguise.
Their respective departments didn't pay credits regularly anymore. A casualty of the uprisings they said. First responders shouldn't need incentive to save people they said. So Heatwave and Chase just refueled with the meager rations kept where they were stationed. Whatever energon was left at home became an unmentioned stockpile with extra bits of energon added every so often when not enough credits came in.
Another faction was rising through the sudden upshoot of crime. They called themselves the Autobots. Their leader was Orion Pax, now known as Optimus Prime. Somehow the meager data clerk had been able to worm his way into the Matrix's good graces and become a Prime. Chase couldn't argue though. They were in dire need of a good leader and they had been for a long time. Even in the Golden Age, which seemed so long ago, the leadership had had too many faults to be considered good. The footfalls grew louder as Heatwave finally entered their apartment. All they could do was serve and protect. They were Rescue Bots, they didn't fight or shoot or kill. They saved. They rescued. All they could do now was wait.
"Wow" Graham's voice was the first to break the heavy silence, "I've never seen Chase so bleak. So… pessimistic about the odds."
Both Cybertronians sighed wistfully. Blades spoke, "In the days before the war, it was hard. Since battle hadn't actually been officially declared yet, there wasn't really much anyone could do. But yeah credits started running low because of the corrupt Senators stockpiling it and that's actually one of the things that started the official war."
Boulder picked up Blades train of thought. "The Decepticons needed energon for their ranks. The Autobots, the same. The Neutrals, such as Rescue Bots or normal civilians, were left in between. They got the least energon of everyone. Even though the Autobots fight for freedom, they had to support troops somehow. And yeah, both Heatwave and Chase seem different now then say, in the first memory. In war, ideals change. Bots change."
Those words seem to turn the room noticeably colder. It still seemed so foreign to Chief and Kade and Dani and basically everyone who knew the bots personally. That they had been in a war and seen death and fighting. That their planet was dead. In war, ideals change. Bots change. It was a bittersweet realization that the only reason they had met the bots was because they were looking for a new home.
"I never thought about…" Kade looked down at his hands, "I never realized what Heatwave had to do to get here. What he'd been through. I mean I knew that-or I heard that- Cybertron wasn't… active anymore but it never really registered."
Although Kade wasn't really that great with words, he got his point across quite well. It matched what everyone else was currently thinking too. If this is was what Heatwave and Chase went through before the war even started, what happened when it actually did start? And more importantly, how did they manage to survive?
It was happening. Everything was burning. Everything was falling. Everything was dying.
"Oh no," Kade whispered under his breath. Cody could only find the strength to nod in agreement.
The air was thick with ash and soot and particles of metal that could've been former friends or acquaintances. The sounds of shrieking metal and blaster fire filled the entire planet. The war had begun. Cybertron was at war and there was nothing Heatwave or Chase could do about it. Chase was speeding. He was breaking the law for what might've been the first time in his life.
Charlie tensed in anticipation. If Chase was knowingly breaking a law without chasing some sort of perpetrator or criminal, then something was wrong.
The dust he kicked up was lost in the ashy air. Above, the sky had turned a sickly shade of grey from the pollution that the gunfire had wrought over their once peaceful planet. The gleam of Cybertron's twin moons was obscured. Their planet was dark. Chase took a turn so fast he almost skidded out, but afterward he made no motion to slow.
Cody recognized the street he was on. Barely. Rubble was strewn about with the occasional spot of drying energon. Cody gulped as he thought about it. Cybertronian blood littering the streets.
"Come on. Come on." Chase's voice was panicked, "Please be ok. Please be putting out a fire far away from here."
He was so focused on sending out a prayer to Primus, that he didn't notice Heatwave stepping out into the street and motioning to him. Chase almost ran him over but swerved at the last second.
"Oh thank Primus you're ok. I thought you might've been hit or-or something had happened." Chase rambled frantically, something he never did.
Heatwave pulled Chase into his arms, happy that his conjunx was ok.
"We've gotta get out of here, Chase. They're calling all Rescue squadrons to evacuate. The Decepticons… they're picking us off. One by one."
Chase was horrified. They were killing bots who did nothing but rescue? It was immoral. Absolutely unforgivable. The police bot took his energon blaster from it's holster, ready to defend a civilian, of himself if necessary.
Graham looked surprised. "I didn't know Chase carried!"
Blades answered, "He doesn't much anymore now that we're on Earth and there's no threat of any Cybertronian uprisings with full grown mechs. Now we just watch over humans. I do think Chase still has his blaster, he just keeps it in his subspace."
Heatwave looked conflicted before snatching a photon rifle from a Decepticon soldier that had been crushed under rubble. It was a life or death situation. Better safe than sorry. Together they looked at each other and nodded. First they would stop by their apartment building for extra energon and any keepsakes they couldn't leave behind.
Running in, they began gathering anything they might need. Chase heard a yell from outside.
"Hurry! Get everyone out of there! The structures collapsing! This building is gonna go any second now!"
Heatwave was still rummaging around frantically. Chase grabbed him and tried to drag him out.
"Wait," Heatwave pleaded, "I-I need my hat."
Chase was yanking his arm more frantically, "Please Heatwave come on. We don't have much time."
The building under pede groaned and seemed to shift.
"HEATWAVE. LET'S GO."
"One more second Chase. I can't leave that hat. It's the only thing I have to remember my creator by… GOT IT!"
The fire bot finally found his helmet and, shoving it onto his helm, sprinted into the hallway with Chase. He grabbed a femme youngling clinging to a door frame because she was too afraid to move to find her creators. The floor cracked and the ceiling began to rain pieces of weakened and crippled metal upon them.
"Come on, faster. We're not gonna make it!"
The only slightly brighter light of the outside was beginning to be blotted out by the raining carnage. They dove out, pulling each other as one to make sure either they both made it or neither of them did. The building collapsed behind them and the femme ran crying towards her creators. Behind them, the sounds of fighter jets spurred them into action. The Decepticon forces were moving back in over the area. They would search for survivors and execute all unwilling to join their cause.
Transforming, both Rescue Bots sped off into the distance towards the nearest evacuation point, in Iacon. The streets were lined with rubble and charred from blaster fire gone astray. The sounds of jets were getting closer and for the first time over, Chase cursed the very visible Rescue Brand that all Rescue Bots carry.
If they were seen by the seekers, then it was over. Ground troops were easier to avoid and hide from. Chase swerved and nudged Heatwave off the road toward one of the smoldering buildings. They transformed and crept forward as fast as possible without accidentally bringing down one of the clearly unstable buildings. They were cracked and crumbling and obviously a hazard to any and all passerby.
Heatwave raced inside the closest building, dragging Chase along with him. The heavy thud of their footfalls made Chase wince as he imagined the seekers would definitely notice an entire building falling down. The noise of the jets become louder and louder until it seemed the deafening engines would short out Chase's audials. It may have just been the fear, but the Decepticons seemed to hover over their hideout. Heatwave clutched his conjunx's servo, squeezing hard. His calm yellow optics belayed the fear that Chase could feel in the tightness of Heatwaves grip. The engines were deafening. They were deafening and then they were gone.
Chase exhaled, tension leaving his struts in a stream of relief. Then footsteps outside forced the tension straight back in. Blue met yellow and this time, there was raw fear clearly visible in both pairs of optics.
Back in the cave under the volcano, Kade was wringing his hands together nervously as his eyes locked on the screen, vibrant red hair falling into his eyes. Behind him, Chief Burns lightly laid his hand on his son's shoulder in a comforting gesture. Although they knew that both of their bots would survive, it didn't make the situation any less nerve racking. Cody was covering his eyes and was peeking at the screen. Dani and Graham were stoic with a slight tension.
The crunching of metal grew ever so closer to the two bots' hideout. Chase pulled out his energon blaster and Heatwave readied his photon rifle. Looking down at the blaster, one flick of his digit and the safety clicked off. In that moment, the tiny click seemed to echo for mile. It was scary. It was an act of war.
Blood red optics gleamed through the entryway of the building. Heatwave, knowing neither of them would shoot unless absolutely necessary, kicked a chunk of rubble at the mech, grabbed Chases arm, and sprinted out of the building, shoving the Decepticon to the ground as they ran. The sound of a fusion cannon charging was all it took for the two Rescue Bots to duck into another building.
More footsteps in front of them caused their sprint to suddenly come to a screeching halt. Multiple in front, one behind. There was only one option. They turned around. The Con was just around the building. Photon rifle loaded, energon blaster charged. BAM. They shot. The blood red optics went out. So did the spark of another once innocent Cybertronian.
They ran.
Multiple sets of pedes followed them. A laser clipped Chases non-dominant arm. A blast grazed Heatwave's shoulder. A trail of energon followed them, weeping from various cuts and burns that would hurt like the Pit once the adrenaline ceased coursing through their systems. There was nowhere to go. The enemy would follow them anywhere. They were running on empty, neither having refueled for days and there wasn't time to stop now.
They were lagging, falling behind. The scene was darkening with their optics, movements becoming visibly sluggish. Chase tripped. Heatwave stumbled. Either way, they fell. The only thoughts that raced through withers head, "This is it. We are going to die." They curled together. Faintly, an enraged roar echoed out from the opposite side of the battlefield. The sky wavered. Optics dulled. Warnings flashed across their visors. ENERGON LEVELS LESS THAN 5%. EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN IMMINENT.Red and blue and white painted onto a tall body. Soft blue optics. The Autobot brand. And then dark.
It was only later, once they were departing on their ship, Sigma 17, with two new partners, Blades and Boulder, did Chase or Heatwave realize. Red and blue and white. A tall body. An aura of leadership. Optimus Prime.
The ship took off, running away from the fighting. From space, Cybertron was black and dead. The occasional spot of yellow appeared to signify another flaming ball of destruction whether it be Bot or Con. Heatwave wanted to stay and fight. He felt like a coward running away, but he knew Chase would never become a soldier with him.
And they had killed a bot. It was war. It was plain, destructive, bloody war. But they had shot somebot. Heatwave had watched in what seemed like slow motion as the photon bullet pierced armor and then spark casing. Watched as blood red optics went out. Felt the sick pit of guilt in his intakes as he imagined the Decepticons spark, his lifeforce, fizzling and sparking and straining to live and just pull in one last intake. And then it went out.
They flew away and watched as Cybertron collapsed in on itself. As their once beautiful planet fell to wreckage and ruin. Their apartment lay somewhere severed in tube and destroyed. Last he saw, Maccadams Oil House was being used as a field hospital. He would later hear the Decepticons had bombed it. The Iacon Hall of Records fell, along with the remaining bots trapped planetside. This war, it had destroyed lives. It left their planet in shambles. And here they were, running away
STASIS LOCK IN 5...4...3...2…
Running away. After he had watched two million bots draw their weapons for a battle they would not win. Running.
1… STASIS LOCK COMPLETE
The memory ended. The silence that permeated the room was telling. It told that everyone, even Dr Morocco was shocked at what had happened. At the war and what it brought about.
Boulder parked up as he heard a very faint rumble. It wasn't an earthquake, no it was constant. Almost like a truck. Optimus?
He nodded to Blades as the copter bot had heard the same. They readied themselves for a fight. The wall opposite them caved as Optimus slammed through it in alt mode. Bumblebee followed as they blasted any Mor Bots dumb enough to get in their way. Boulder and Blades were released and quickly descended onto Heatwave and Chase, carefully removing the cortical psychic patches.
Blades grabbed Heatwave and Boulder grabbed Chase as Bot and human alike hustled out of the cavern. Once outside of the volcano, Optimus finally seemed it safe to rest. The explanation to the Prime about what had happened brought surprise even to a bot as stoic as Optimus.
The leader vowed to from now on, constantly monitor the Harbinger and make sure the Decepticons don't make any deals with more humans. MECH was bad enough.
Traveling back to the Firehouse seemed to take eons. Once there, after Heatwave and Chase were laid on medical berths, all that was left to do was wait for them to wake. They all gathered around and waited.
"Hey Boulder?" Cody asked, "when will they wake up?"
The green bot sighed, "I don't know Cody. I don't know. I do know that these bots have been through chaos. They've seen gruesome scenes and they fought to make it through Cybertrons fall. They survived. They really did. They're heroes."
And on they waited. Optimus Prime watched with a sad look in his optics. It wasn't the look of a Prime; it was the look of an old, old soldier, ravaged by eons of war. These were simply two conjunx trying to survive the war. Two Rescue Bots forced to watch as the Decepticons picked off their kind one by one. It was bitter, just plain sad really. Cybertron was dark. The war was still being fought. The entire Rescue Bot kind was basically extinct. They were dying out, slowly but surely fading away. All the while, Boulders words echoed through Optimus's head. "In war, ideals change. Bots change."