A/N: Another prologue to a story I will write after the Prime Judgment.
Prologue
The Decepticons stood at the site of the latest Iacon find, perhaps the most important yet considering its reputation. Lord Megatron had attempted to retrieve the relic himself but found only a Prime could do so. Undeterred, he simply ordered that take the mountain it was buried in if necessary. And so began their construction, the servant-class soldiers drilling away to apparently no avail. The protective field surrounding it proved to be powerful indeed.
"Enough!" a voice bellowed and all turned to face their lord and master, Megatron. "Begin transport!" The Nemesis loomed overhead, a crane descending to grasp the rock. As they prepared for departure, Lord Megatron's second-in-command, the ever loyal Dreadwing, stood by his master's side.
"Lord Megatron," he inclined his head in a bow. "Our rouse seems to have worked. The Autobots do not suspect a thing as Soundwave continues to lead them astray."
"Excellent news, Dreadwing," he replied. "If I cannot wield this new weapon, we can at least ensure it never falls into hands of Optimus Prime." The two continued to watch as the ship prepared to lift the rock, when blaster fire was suddenly heard. They turned towards the troops, who returned fire, as unidentified attacker ran towards them. Megatron growled, "Who in the Pits of Kaon is that?"
"Unknown, my liege," Dreadwing readied his weapon to fire. "Perhaps it is the new Autobot our troops reported on the previous cycle. He certainly fits the description." They continued to watch this new opponent as he charged his way through, managing to take down several of their troops. Finally, he reached the sword and started to pull, to no avail. He muttered something they could not hear from their distance before he was blasted from behind. Megatron and Dreadwing joined their troops in confronting this newest Autobot.
"And who might you be?" Megatron raised an optic ridge.
"Wouldn't you like to know," the Autobot smirked, earning a growl from the Decepticon Lord. He readied to finish him when more blaster fire was heard, the remaining Autobots charging forward. With a snarl, Megatron opened fire, followed by Dreadwing. He took notice of the femme, Arcee, who seemed distracted as she dealt with two of their soldiers. She then shifted her gaze elsewhere, Dreadwing following her.
She watched as two Insecticons were gathered by a rock, clawing at something. Immediately, she dashed toward them and defeated them, just as they removed the rock to reveal a human. One of the humans allied with the Autobots, and the one responsible for disrupting Lord Megatron's plans from what he'd heard. She appeared to scold the boy for something before gathering him in her arms and retreating to a safe distance. For now, she was of no concern as Dreadwing continued to fire upon the others just as Lord Megatron realized something.
"Where is Prime?" He glanced up towards the boulder being lifted, catching Optimus Prime closely following, using speed foreign to someone his size. With a look of horror, he ordered, "Make sure Prime does not reach the relic!" Dreadwing nodded and transformed, barreling towards the Prime. He launched his missiles just as the Prime grasp the relic.
His rockets missed as an energy flowed through the rock, releasing the Prime along with the relic. He fell to ground, adjusting himself, and landed on his feet. Dreadwing transformed just as the Prime emerged from the cloud of dirt. In his hands was the fabled Star Saber, a powerful blade forged by Solus Prime herself. The Seeker could not help stare in awe at the blade, just as the Nemesis released the boulder.
The other Autobots, gathered a far distance from their leader, shouted for him to run, but, like a true warrior, he stood his ground. With a mighty slash, he split the boulder in two, to the shock of all. Dreadwing could not help but stare in awe at the sight. With such power, the Autobots may very well be able to turn the tide in the War. In the name of Lord Megatron, and his twin Skyquake, he could not let that happen. He transformed and prepared to face the Prime just as he unleashed a powerful wave of energy toward the Nemesis.
The ship faltered but remained airborne, just as the master radioed him, "Dreadwing! Where are you?"
"Merely ensuring that Prime will not live to use the relic to its maximum potential against, my Lord," he replied.
"Do not be foolish! The power he now wields is far too great for you to handle! Return immediately so that we may devise a more effective solution. That is an order!"
"Forgive my insolence, master," he replied shamefully. "But as you 1st Lieutenant, I must ensure you victory no matter the cost to my own well-being." Dreadwing transformed and stood before the other Autobots, just as a prepared to depart. They turned to face him, Arcee standing protectively in front of her human. "Optimus Prime," he unsheathed his own blade. "Let us see if you have what it takes to handle that weapon in battle."
"Dreadwing," the Prime stood ready to face him. "We have not come to fight, merely to retrieve one of our human allies. If we must do battle, then permit me to return him to our base." Dreadwing glared at the human, the femme ready to pounce on him should he attack. The human deserved whatever punishment Lord Megatron deemed fit for him, but he would only serve as a distraction for the Prime. Dreadwing stood down briefly and nodded. As the Prime contacted for a ground-bridge back to base, more blaster fire rained down from above.
Dreadwing looked to find Lord Megatron and a squadron of flyers racing toward them, his one true master firing toward the Autobots fiercely. They were forcibly scattered as the landed. Megatron glanced at Dreadwig, "Be thankful you have proven to be one of my most loyal soldiers or I would have left you to your fate."
"I am grateful and undeserving of your generosity, Master," he bowed his head in shame. "Please use my blade as a manner of evening the battle with Optimus Prime." Megatron took Dreadwing's sword and stood ready to battle the Prime. Dreadwing simply chose to do his part and deal with the remaining Autobot fools as they battled. The Wrecker and scout charged him, and he held his own against the two. He battled against them as they fought furiously, the Wrecker managing punch him a great distance. He landed just as ground-bridge opened behind him.
The femme and new recruit stood ready to fight him, the human hiding behind them. He stood ready for battle, "I will allow your pet to return to your base safely. I have no interest in him unless my master commands it." He stood aside, but remained close in order to resume battle. The femme aimed her blasters at him while urging the boy forward. He was almost there when Lord Megatron dodged an attack from Optimus Prime, the energy wave flying toward them.
The recruit saw this coming and tackled Arcee to the ground to avoid the attack, only for it to mix with the energy of the ground-bridge. The portal glowed brighter and brighter with each swirl, threatening all in the area. The human watched in fearful awe, prompting Dreadwing to dash towards him and shield him from the attack. Why, he didn't know, but his honor would never allow him to stand by while this unknown phenomena took place. He felt the energy engulf them as the femme cried out.
"Jack!"
Honor and Duty
That was all Arcee managed to get out before the ground-bridge overloaded, a wave of energy spreading them even further than they were. Once they recovered, she opened her optics to find nothing there except a large crater. Horror filled her frame as she ran to investigate the scene, "Jack!" Fear wracked her frame as she received no answer, searching through the crater for any sign of her charge, her partner. She'd already lost two, she couldn't lose a third.
The others recovered and watched in horror as she dug through the remains left by the crater frantically. Megatron stood, looking for Dreadwing but found no one. He remembered seeing him run to that human's defense. No doubt due to his honor, an admirable quality only surpassed by his loyalty. But it seemed to have cost him greatly.
He looked down at his sword, cracked from the strikes to the Star Saber and decided to depart for now. He may have lost one of his more loyal followers, but the Autobots had also lost one of their pets. That was even enough for his tastes.
"Arcee," Optimus tried, not wanting to believe what happened himself. Had he been responsible for the demise of one of their human comrades? He watched as his second-in-command search furiously through the dirt, stopping only to let out a cry of anguish. Smokescreen placed a hand on her shoulder, only to receive a fist to his faceplate.
"This is all your fault!" she shrieked, anger and despair evident in her tone. "You were supposed to protect Jack! And all you did was pull stupid pranks and put him in danger! You pit spawned-" Bulkhead and Bumblebee held her back as she clawed at the recruit. He only looked past them to the crater where Jack was. Guilt and sadness filled his optics, but it was lost on Arcee, who continued to spit a slew of Cybertronian curses at him. He glanced towards Optimus Prime, his idol, who stared back blankly, clearly blaming himself for what had happened.
But he also caught disappointment; in him for letting Jack tag along. He got up slowly as another bridge opened. He walked through, ignoring the furious daggers Arcee was giving him and returned to base. She shoved away from her teammates grasp and walked through the ground-bridge, sparing the crated one last glance before the anger faded. Bulkhead and Bumblebee exchanged looks of their own before walking through.
Optimus stared at the weapon in his hands, thinking about the massive power it held, and how he'd been so reckless with it. He walked solemnly through the ground-bridge, "Primus forgive me, what have I done?"
Honor and Duty
Jack groaned as he recovered from the large blast, surprisingly in one piece, as he heard Arcee call out to him. He opened his eyes and watched her run toward him, now in a crater created by the overload. She slid into the large hole and started searching frantically, to his confusion. He was right in front of her but she didn't see him. He was about to call to her before it dawned on him; he was in the Shadowzone.
Scrap, this was the worst thing that could have happened to him! He was trapped in an alternate dimension with no way to get out, unless… His phone! Of course, his phone was always with him. He quickly checked his pockets for any sign but came up empty. He searched around for it, his gaze falling on the large figure that lay next to him. Dreadwing.
Now, it was definitely much worse. He was trapped in an alternate dimension, unable to locate his phone and with a Decepticon! At least this one wasn't undead. But that probably made him all the more dangerous. Still, if he recalled, it was him who tried to protect him from the blast.
He was about to continue searching for his phone when he noticed it in pieces beneath the Seeker. His head hung in frustration as he felt his scars start to irritate, grabbing the ointment his mother prescribed to him after the FlameWar incident. They'd been irritated by most things, such as wool, hot showers for a time, and apparently his stress level. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Arcee's cry of anguish, guilt coursing through him. He never should have followed Smokescreen, now Arcee probably thinks he's dead.
A groan drew his attention, Dreadwing rising to his feet and shaking away the dizziness. He glanced down at Jack before taking notice of the other Autobots, he readied to fight them when Jack spoke, "Don't bother. They can't see, hear, or feel you."
"What?" He approached the Wrecker carefully, taking note how he seemed to only be staring at the femme in sympathy. He stood a mere foot away from him, but nothing happened. The Wrecker walked past him, or through him, as the case seemed. He couldn't believe what was happening, how such a thing was possible. But the proof stood before him plain as day.
The Autobots left, unaware of the two occupants trapped in the Shadowzone.
Honor and Duty
A/N: I hope you liked it. Sorry if anyone was OOC. Reviews are appreciated. Now I've got some plot bunnies to go hunt.