Disclaimer: I do not own The Transformers animated series/show, they belong to toy manufacturer Takara and American company Hasbro. This fanfiction is merely for the sole purpose of entertainment and not for selling/profiting purposes. What I do own are the 'Thrust Boosters' and 'Impulse Communicator' – nobody take 'em!
Key Terms:
()()()()()()()()()() Change in location/place
\\\\\\\\\\ Change in tense/time (past/present/future)
italics Character's thoughts/emphasis/sounds
Author's Note: A big thanks to all those who reviewed - without your words, I probably wouldn't have written this the best that I could.
Chapter 2: Falling In Combat
Light chirping and choric whistling were in song in the midday noon. A pair of small birds, the source of the music, were playfully whizzing through the air after each other, darting this way and that; the very epitome of total freedom. They swooped down into a thick pine tree, happy and content to chatter among themselves while glancing at an enormous orange-coloured shaped that was embedded into a volcano wall. The Ark was poorly out of place in the forest-mountain habitat with its mono-orange panelled bulk, jutting out from the base of the volcano, and its thrusters prominently at the end.
The Autobots were diligently working at their stations, in the combined atmosphere of ease and concentration. Every now and then, exchanges in conversation were given to and fro, but tasks were attended to nonetheless, not forgotten; play and work coexisting perfectly in the Autobot base.
Elsewhere outside of headquarters, play was the dominant activity between two individuals who were happily throwing a rugby ball to each other and passing it back in turns. They were on a grassy plain that was not too far from the base, overlooking a natural waterfall at one end and the other leading back to headquarters where the grassy surface gradually decreased to dusty sand.
A metal hand caught the high-flying rugby ball.
"Hey, that one was high! You know I'm too short!" shouted Bumblebee.
Spike laughed slightly. "Sorry, Bumblebee! I don't know my own strength sometimes," he apologized meekly as he raised a hand to rub the back of his head.
"Well okay. Let's increase the distance between us to match your strength then," Bumblebee suggested.
"Sounds good to me!"
The pair moved farther away from each other until both could see the other as smaller versions of themselves in the distance.
"Ready?" Bumblebee yelled.
"Yeah! Let it fly, Bumblebee!"
Okay, you asked for it, thought Bumblebee. He readied his arm, pulled back and threw the ball high into the air with more power than before. He smiled as he saw the ball reduce to the size of a mere dot against the blue of the sky. But his smile faded as he saw it next descend, not down to Spike, but irreversibly arching over the small cliff behind him and down into the depths of the waterfall. Spike was following the ball, turning round as it moved through the air and now stared at the place where it was last visible before it disappeared out of sight – just at the ledge of the cliff. He turned around to face Bumblebee and burst out in laughter.
"When I said "let it fly", I didn't mean it literally!" he said after his laughing fit. "Now who's the one who doesn't know his own strength?"
Bumblebee chuckled a little at his misjudged use of power. He always felt an enthusiasm to do his best at everything, whether it was to do with play or work, and some of the time it ended with him exerting too much force than was necessary. The older Autobots were lenient toward him, despite his over-enthusiasm, for they understood that a young spark was always full of energy and at times would make a rash choice of action without thinking it through or, in this case, display a lack of control over their abilities. As understanding as the older Autobots were, they also understood that a young spark needed to learn discipline if they were to develop and grow in maturity. So Bumblebee was occasionally given a few tips and helpful advices from them, constantly helping him to learn new things and become that little bit wiser. The war they were in could not afford such luxuries such as easy-going learning. One slight mistake or a perfectly planned action made in an all-out battle zone could be the difference between losing one's life and living to fight another day.
Such is the seriousness of this war that the Autobots rarely took any chances in so much as feeling completely safe outside of the base and kept their guards up at all or most times, for second chances don't come so cheaply. Which was why they were always teaching Bumblebee, whether it was subtle advice or a well-rehearsed lecture, for they experienced more cruelty and hurt from this war longer than he had and they were not willing to allow him to fall into those same experiences, simply because he didn't deserve it and that those kinds of things should never even exist. But they do because neither faction will give up and it will carry on until one of them does. At least Bumblebee understood that much.
"Sorry, Spike! We'll get it back later," Bumblebee shouted back and started to walk towards him. He reached the boy and saw that he sat down near the ledge and looking over it, trying to spot the lost ball. Bumblebee looked over his shoulder to do the same but to no avail.
"Never mind, Bumblebee. We can get another one next time," said Spike and then sat back down on his rear with both of his arms supporting him from behind, and legs outstretched in a listless way.
Happy with the forgiving statement Bumblebee just stood next to Spike and admired the natural scene of the waterfall and forest trees that covered some to most parts of the land in the horizon. The continuous sound of water falling and crashing on the rocks below filled the silence, which made Bumblebee feel a sense of peace and calm. The feeling reminded him of better days back in Cybertron when the war had not existed then and everyone was at peace with each other. How long had it been since then? Will he ever have that life again?
He pondered at the thought while partially listening to the sound of falling water until he heard Spike's cry within it. He looked down in alarm and saw that he was flaying his arms frantically over his head as if he were trying to fend off some invisible enemy.
"What's wrong?" he asked curiously.
"There's a wasp!" Spike replied in a panicked tone. "It won't leave me alone!"
Bumblebee zoomed his optic vision on Spike and indeed spotted an insect-shaped dot darting in between his arms and around his head as rapidly as it could to avoid getting hit.
"Didn't you humans have a saying that you should keep still when a wasp flies near you so it won't try and sting you?"
"Yeah, but it's easier said than done!" cried Spike as he made to swipe at the wasp but it yet again eluded his blow and decided to buzz a little ways in front of him and generally zig-zag in the air. An arm was lifted and speedily whacked the insect to the grass, so hard that the buzzing stopped instantly and it just lay on its side unmoving. Bumblebee stared at the still form and immediately felt somewhat confused and sad, now that it had been silenced.
"Why'd you do that for, Spike?"
Spike looked at him. "What? It was bothering me so I killed it."
"But you didn't need to do that. That was too cruel," Bumblebee accused.
"It's just a bug," Spike said as if it was the most obvious fact in the world. "And besides, I hate wasps. They bother you for no reason." He turned his head to look out into the horizon again.
Bumblebee felt slightly irritated at his lack of emotion and found it hard to infer why he hated so small a being when all it did was not out of spite but out of its very nature. Surely that was not its fault?
Humans are strange, he thought. Even though Spike was the human that he mostly felt connected with, sometimes his off-handed nature puzzled him. It was then a COM dial was blinking on and off on Bumblebee's chest and making a bleeping noise. He pressed and held down a button next to it and spoke:
"Bumblebee here. What's the problem?"
The voice of Optimus spoke back: "Bumblebee, return to base. Teletraan-1 has detected Decepticon activity that's not too far from here and I need everyone to get ready. Over and out."
The transmission ended and Bumblebee immediately transformed into his alt form and opened the front door.
"Jump in."
Spike did so, and the two sped through the dirt track that made the dust rise from behind them and float lightly in the air.
()()()()()()()()()() Autobot base:
Soon they arrived in the main command room where most of the Autobots were standing in a crowd in front of Teletraan-1, with Optimus Prime at the control pads. Behind the crowd, Bumblebee let Spike to join his father who was at the side of Perceptor at the controls, then transformed back to his robot mode. The view of Teletraan-1 was blocked from his sight by the tall forms in front of him and he tried to tiptoe to achieve a better view but unfortunately was not tall enough. Jazz before him turned around, apparently noticing the small Autobot.
"Hey, Bumblebee, you just made it. Optimus is about to give his orders."
"Oh good. Just one thing though – I can't see him," Bumblebee pointed out. For once he wished he were as tall as the other Autobots so that he didn't have to raise his voice or do anything to attract attention.
"Oh sorry, Bumblebee. I'll take care of that for ya'." He turned around. "Hey guys, make some room for Bumblebee here – he can't see."
"Sure thing, Jazz," Ironhide obligingly replied. "Come on guys, move over."
The Autobots parted on either side in the middle of the crowd to allow Bumblebee through to the front compliantly. Bumblebee truly appreciated this.
"Gee, thanks."
"No problem, lil' buddy," said Jazz while giving a thumbs-up.
Bumblebee walked through smiling. Sometimes he thought they were treating him too royally these days. He finally reached the control pads, standing in between Brawn and Gears, and looked at the wide screen, which displayed a large map in a bird's eye view with an animated arrow pointing at the location of the Decepticons. Accompanying this were titbits of data surrounding the location.
"Alright, Autobots," Optimus announced, "Teletraan-1 has finally located the exact area in which the Decepticons are extracting vital oil reserves west of here. We'll gather our forces and drive them out of there to stop them from completely draining the oil rig. The humans need the rig for their own purposes and the Decepticons mustn't steal their energy reserves. We'll protect it by any means possible."
Everyone obediently nodded in agreement and approval. Only one voice spoke up:
"Optimus," it was Perceptor, "before Teletraan-1 detected the Decepticons there was a weather channel stating potentially dangerous storm clouds heading over that exact area. Just to warn you."
Optimus turned to Perceptor. "Right, Perceptor. I'll keep that in mind."
"What's a little rain gonna do to us?" Cliffjumper asked sceptically on Bumblebee's right.
"It's not the rain that's concerning me, it's more of the large exposure to lightning," Perceptor answered. "If you happen to get hit by one, it could seriously overload your internal circuitry and cause a malfunction and –"
"Okay, okay!" cut in Cliffjumper impatiently. "I get it: it'll be bad. But what are the chances that it'll even hit one of us?"
"A good chance, Cliffjumper. What with the rain conducting the electricity and with nothing but a few trees to shelter you, I'd say that you'd better watch yourself."
"Right, right. Whatever," Cliffjumper waved off. "Whenever you start explaining stuff like that, I know it's gotta be bad news."
"Enough, Cliffjumper," said Optimus gently. "Perceptor wouldn't lie to us about these things, especially if it concerns out safety. Now let's go. Perceptor, Sparkplug and Teletraan-1 will hold the fort."
In response Cliffjumper simply folded his arms and looked away moodily muttering: "Whatever you say, Optimus."
Optimus transformed and the others followed suit, leaving the base in an orderly line with him in the lead. Bumblebee was roughly in the middle and had Spike with him. He felt the hot sun beating down on his hood and wondered how rain could possibly occur in this season, particularly in an area that was almost completely desert. Perceptor was right. There were only a few lone trees and rocks that Bumblebee drove pass and they weren't even ideal for a bird to build its nest in, let alone to use as cover from rain.
I hope this mission goes okay…
()()()()()()()()()() At the oil rig:
Starscream continued to pile energon cube after energon cube on top of each other, all the while in a mood. He did not take the recent confrontation with Megatron so genially as he had wanted. He still felt the bitterness and humiliation resulting from it, and the insults toward his character dwelled in his mind. Why did it have to be that way with Megatron? he asked himself. Surely he had proven himself capable of much more amazing feats than what he thought?
Megatron was an enigma to Starscream – one moment he would praise him for his efforts however little it was, the next moment Megatron would snap and scold him for a few mistakes, many of which resulted because his so-called 'fellow' Decepticons did not aid him at the right moment. He knew he was receiving more reprimands than rewards and he hated it. Was getting belittled in the job description of being Second-In-Command? He certainly did not think so, but in his case it was and he was puzzled in why that was.
At a time of one of their disagreements concerning an "error" he had made, he remembered the grey-white leader telling him: "It should not have happened with your level of genius."
That stupid, foolish old rust bucket. I am every way superior to everybody in this team and he can't admit it because he's jealous. Not that I'm surprised; he was always the egotistical bag of bolts. He just sets his standards way too high. That's why I can never seem to impress him in the least with the best of my endeavours. I can't control all that happens almighty one, sad to say.
An alternative idea of his unfair treatment was possibly the most obvious and apparent reason: Megatron simply disliked him. Starscream would not be at all too surprised if that was the answer he was given if he questioned Megatron about it. If it was, then he already knew, by looking back on the many confrontations, arguments and fights they had had in the past, that he was more than disliked: he was hated. He immediately thought of the humans' phrase: "Actions speak louder than words."
He made a slight grin in ironic amusement at the level of truth that seemed to describe his relationship with Megatron, coming from a flesh creature no less.
How right they are, he thought, unhappily knowing that he was agreeing to a flesh creature's words.
Meanwhile, outside of Starscream's musings, Megatron still leant on his rock and stared out into the wilderness unblinkingly. He wore no expression on his face now, a thin line replacing his grin. He was a perfect picture of non-existent emotion. A robotic squawk sounded before him. He looked up to find Lazerbeak soaring toward him. Lazerbeak gracefully perched on his outstretched arm. Electronic signals from him told Megatron that incoming Autobots were heading their way now from around 100 or so miles at a speed of over 100 miles per hour, leaving time enough for his plan to be prepared. He knew that the Autobots would more than likely interfere with a raid such as this, and he was ready to retaliate.
"Good work, Lazerbeak," he praised. "Return to Soundwave."
He did as he was told and Megatron saw Soundwave had noticed the robotic hawk who let him land in his cassette compartment. He looked up at Megatron and nodded knowingly, then instructed Rumble and Frenzy to stop collecting energon. Megatron proceeded with his commands:
"Decepticons, stop what you are doing! We have oncoming Autobots heading our way and we shall meet them head-on. We can spare some energon cubes and use them as explosives and bait. Meanwhile, the rocks can be used as shields and coverage from sight where we will attack by surprise. Thundercracker, Skywarp, Starscream – you three hide in that gorge to initiate the assault on my command. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" said Thundercracker and Skywarp in unison. While the two seekers complied, Starscream was less than obedient, as usual.
"Why do I have to hide in that hole when I could be on the battlefield and enforce some real damage to the Autobots?" As Starscream was near Megatron he could clearly see the scowl printed on his face.
"Because if you don't want to be turned into a pile of junk parts, you'll do as I say!" Megatron yelled, so loudly that his audios felt pain. "Now go before I do just that," he threatened with an imposing glare.
Starscream received the point, as did the rest of the Decepticons from their nervous looks, and decided that he had tested Megatron's patience far enough. After all, he didn't want to risk his threat to become a reality. But he also did not want to leave without saying the last word. In a mock bow he said:
"Whatever your orders, oh mighty strategist." Without a pause, he turned around and took off into the sky toward the gorge, giving no time for Megatron to reprimand him again. He revelled in his rebellion as he soared freely through the air. He took extreme pleasure in doing what no common soldier could ever do, retorting back where it would be stupidly suicidal for any mech to try, whereas he dared enough to.
He landed at the edge of the gorge and peered over only to see a black abyss that gave no indication of its depth and no visible surface at whatever end it had, if any. It looked like it continued on into the depths of the earth.
Megatron expects me to hide in here? Starscream thought. What if I fall in there?
At that he berated himself. Megatron would be most unlikey to care. He turned around and zoomed his optic vision on the group he had left behind. They were speedily separating the energon that was to be used as bait and the stock energon from each other, placing the bait and explosive-purpose cubes several meters in front of the rig tower where tall rocks were conveniently a good distance away to shield from the planned explosion. Most of the stock cubes, he assumed, would be moved a good deal away from the presence of the Autobots, which would most obviously be on the opposite far side of the gorge. He leaned on one leg and crossed his arms in expectancy, waiting for his two wing mates who would probably be the ones bringing the rest of the energon and wondered if he could steal a cube to quench his over-heated circuits.
()()()()()()()()()() Autobots:
All Bumblebee could hear was the vrumming and vrooming of engines in front and behind him that resonated into the isolated silence around them. He felt the bumps and protrusions coming from the uneven surface of the dirt track that made Spike jerk around in his seat with only a seatbelt to prevent him from crashing into the walls of his interiors. The sun was still shining as brightly as a glowing coin, its rays blinding everything into a golden glow. All looked clear and safe. However, Bumblebee had a presentiment about this mission that he couldn't get rid off. It looked too safe, too perfectly smooth was the journey that made Bumblebee suspicious of the events that he predicted were to follow. He remembered Perceptor's warning of something "potentially dangerous" to come to the area that the Autobots were about to enter. What would entail he did not know and he did not have the time to guess as the metal spike of the oil rig tower came into view, slowly gaining size and height as they drew nearer.
"Come on! Let's kick some Deceptibutt!" Sideswipe said loudly, behind Bumblebee.
"I'm with ya', bro!" Sunstreaker responded just as enthusiastically behind his twin.
"You two are eager today," said Mirage in front of Bumblebee.
"We sure are. Nothing like a good ol' Decepticon whooping time!" said Sideswipe, putting energy into his tone.
"Well I'm not arguing with that, but keep your guards up, you two. Decepticons aren't easily defeated with just confidence," Mirage wisely told the eager Lamborghinis.
"We got some tricks up our chromium sleeves, don't you worry," said Sunstreaker, apparently self-assured that the pair will come out from the coming battle unscathed.
A screeching of braking wheels were heard.
"Autobots, halt!" came Optimus' voice.
They did so and transformed back into their robot modes. Bumblebee let Spike out before transforming. Whatever had caused the abrupt halt was in full view of the Autobots. A curiously neat pile of energon cubes were left unattended away from the oil rig – so alone and neatly stacked that it was, it seemed that it was a planned present for them to find in this wide-spread wilderness. The image of such an enticing energy source laid completely alone unguarded had the word 'trap' stamped all over it.
But where are the Decepticons? Bumblebee thought to himself. His suspicious feelings now reached a high level. This was not good.
"Energon cubes?" Optimus asked himself sceptically. "This is obviously a trap." He turned around. "Don't touch any of the cubes. All of them could be set to self-destruct by touch."
"Now why would Megatron set such an obvious trap? Surely he knows that we would suspect it to be so?" asked Wheeljack.
"I don't know, Wheeljack. But there's always a scheme in that maniacal brain circuit of his no matter how obvious or subtle a trap can look like, you can be sure of that," said Optimus. He surveyed the surroundings as if attempting to look for the mech in question. "Megatron! I know you're out there. Why don't you show yourself like a true warrior instead of waiting pointlessly for a first grade trap to be activated? You know we're too smart for that!"
Only silence greeted him in response, accompanied by moaning winds that pushed waves of sand to weakly move past his feet.
"That coward," Bumblebee heard Optimus mutter to himself. He raised his voice again, this time sounding resolute. "Fine, Megatron! If that's the way you want it, we'll come to you instead."
He made a signal for the others to follow him, moved past the untouched energon carefully and, holding his laser rifle securely, made his way toward the oil rig platform.
()()()()()()()()()() Decepticons:
Megatron, who was witnessing the move, grinned in amusement to himself. He stood behind a very large rock, big enough for him and Soundwave to lean against. He watched the Autobots from their left far afield away from detection, and as he saw around half of them reach past the energon he COM dialled to Starscream:
"Starscream, get ready to surprise attack the Autobots at my order. Understood?"
"Of course, Megatron. We'll be ready."
"Good. Megatron out." He turned and watched the Autobots' progress with more calm but was still anticipating his victory with retained excitement. "Of course I knew you were too 'smart' to take the bait, Optimus Prime," Megatron said, talking to his unaware rival. "I expected you to leave it. What do you take me for? Perhaps your desire to vanquish me has malfunctioned your logic circuits." A smirk formed itself on his lips. "Now you'll pay for your haste, Prime."
()()()()()()()()()() At the gorge:
How long is he going to take? thought Starscream, who felt impatient to officially test his neglected inventions that were attached to his legs, waiting to display their full abilities. And the Autobots were the perfect guinea pigs.
At hand at the moment, he was gripping onto small ledges within the gorge's interiors that were high enough to allow him to peek over the mouth to see the figures of the first Autobots approaching the platform. Thundercracker was at his right and Skywarp to his left.
"I hope Megatron tells us to go soon. I'm getting tired of hanging around. Literally!" said Skywarp to Thundercracker.
"Just be patient, Skywarp," replied Thundercracker. "We'll only have to stay here during this time once. Then afterwards you can fly all you want."
"Well, I guess so. But it sure is taking a long time."
It was one of those rare moments when Starscream finally agreed with the obnoxious Skywarp on one subject, when their clashing personalities somehow found a similar trait both of them shared: Impatience.
"I couldn't agree with you more, Skywarp," said Starscream. "I say we should attack now."
"Now? But I thought Megatron was going to give us a signal first."
"Blast the signal. He's taking way too long and while we wait for it our chances of a better impact on the Autobots' damage are dwindling away. I say we should have made the cubes explode in the middle of their party to separate them into two. That way they would be easier to pick off."
"But Megatron's orders were for us to wait, Starscream," cut in Thundercracker. "We can't go against it."
Starscream looked down from watching the Autobots with an angry look. "I am your Air Commander and when I give you an order, you follow it! I'll take the blame regardless if you alert him or not. Now do as I say!"
He knew that he practically screamed at him and inwardly cursed his habit of raising his volume whenever he felt angry, thinking that he had given away their position. He glanced at the rig. Fortunately his voice wasn't carried to the enemy's audios as they showed no change in their marching.
"Stop trying my patience, Thundercracker, and listen to me," he said, making an effort to keep his voice under control. "I know what I am doing. If it makes you feel any better, I will take the full responsibility for this instead of all three of us. Agreed?"
"Well, if that's the case then… fine. Let's do it your way," said Thundercracker with some hesitation.
"Good. Now this is my plan…"
The two seekers on either side leaned their heads toward the middle of their trio and listened carefully to the specific instructions of their Air Commander.
()()()()()()()()()() Autobots:
"Hmm," muttered Optimus. He was standing next to the platform and perused its surroundings for anything unusual but found nothing. Save for some disturbance on the ground where splashes of residue oil and giant footprints could be made out, little else provided any clue as to the whereabouts of the Decepticons.
Bumblebee was behind him and felt just as confused, having not as much luck spotting an enemy in this abandoned area. What's going on?
"Keeps your guards up, everyone. Decepticons are as sneaky as they are cowards," said Optimus. "They'll do anything to win."
"Too right, Optimus," Ironhide spoke up. "How I would love to beat their tailpipes out of here for good."
"But the question is: Where in Cybertron are they?" asked Ratchet in an air of impatience. "As much as I want a day off without broken digits, we should have been battling it out by now for as long as we've just arrived here."
"That's what's worrying me," said Optimus.
All of a sudden a high-pitched sound filled the air but the sight of three seekers were much quicker than the noise, with one being unusually speedier than the other two, and all three of them firing upon them like rain.
"Take cover!" shouted Optimus and the group of Autobots took action, firing back in return as they did so.
With amazing quickness, the like they've never seen before, Starscream zoomed over them like lightning to leave only a blurred image and a loud roar of jet engines as evidence of his presence.
"What the? –" started Ironhide, but the noise of a giant explosion sounded over him from behind.
Bumblebee looked to see some of their group cut off from them and separated by a wall of black smoke and amber red flames.
He hit the cubes! he realised, now witnessing Starscream soaring back to the small group he had created and firing on them as he did so. But he flew no farther than the rise of smoke filling the air but, instead, rounded off from it, returned to the group then fired and repeated, paying no attention to the larger group of Autobots. It was Thundercracker and Skywarp who were taking care of them for him, and displaying an impressive show of teamwork: Thundercracker and Skywarp at opposite ends of the surprised group, shooting at them from afar, then coming to meet each other in the centre as the swooped down on them, lifted themselves in the air and gracefully U-turned to start the cycle again – like two pendulums travelling back and forth.
The Autobots were not expecting this kind of attack, caught off guard by the sheer speed of it and now could do little except to fire back in defence from the large amount of firepower they were receiving rather aggressively.
"Spike!" cried Bumblebee, who grabbed him without a second thought and ran out of his group, dodging the movements of Jazz and Prowl, to the safety of the platform behind its walls. He set him down.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Thanks for saving me. If it weren't for you, I'd be a goner!"
"It was nothing. I'll protect you here, the others can take care of the rest."
He signalled for Spike to move next to the platform wall and crouch down while Bumblebee acted as a shield on his other side and crouched down as well. He peered around the corner and saw that nobody took too much notice of his absence. The loud noise of continuous gunfire told him enough that it was too dangerous to act yet.
Well, he thought, no can do about that now. I have to protect Spike. That's my first priority.
So he waited for a better time to act and carried out his self-appointed role as guardian.
()()()()()()()()()() "Starscream, you dribbling dirt bucket!(1) What do you think you're doing? I didn't give you the order to start a full-out assault!" Megatron was undeniably fuming. He yelled so loudly into the COM link that Soundwave jumped slightly from the instant increase from 0 decibels to a likely 80 decibels. Next came a voice that was evenly loud – only screechier.
"I am doing what I think is best! If we hadn't acted sooner, your plan would've been even less effective than it is now!"
"What?" Megatron tried to see what Starscream was talking about. He watched the struggles of the Autobots with some incredulity, but looking longer still saw that they were striving harder than normal, especially with the smaller group that Starscream was currently attacking. They were sitting drones. This was his chance.
"I'll deal with you later," he quickly dismissed in a tone that told the receiver that he would be given a harsh scolding for his disobedience. "Decepticons, attack with everything you have!"
He proceeded to fire at the larger group of Autobots and at the general direction of Optimus Prime, while Soundwave released his cassette partners for battle in which they immediately took fire on landing.
It was an uncontrolled frenzy of laser fire; volts of purple bullets hitting Decepticon and Autobot alike, more so for the Autobots, but they were trying their best to defend themselves, and Trailbreaker's force field was helping but could not cover all of them.
"Optimus! Are you okay?" shouted Prowl who was back-to-back with him and shooting at an air-borne Bombshell.
"Yes, I'm alright!," Optimus replied without pause. "I'd feel better if we aren't surrounded by attacking Decepticons and if we acquire some shelter fast!"
"Maybe I can help!" cut in Mirage who overheard their exchange within the crowd and promptly disappeared.
Distant footsteps could be heard, then suddenly a Shrapnel was pushed out of his place behind a rock face first into the ground. One leg was lifted up and his whole body was swinging in a full 360 degree rodeo and, in perfect aim, was released into the air to collide with an unawares Bombshell.
The waving blue and white mech instantly reappeared by the rock and pointed at it. "Over here guys!"
"Way to go, Mirage!" yelled Sunstreaker happily, and he, Optimus and a few others who witnessed the unexpected assault, rushed over to gain some much-needed coverage.
"Good work, Mirage," said Optimus. "We can still win this thanks to you."
"It's okay, Optimus," Mirage brushed off. "Now let's beat these goons!"
Optimus nodded and the firing commenced once again.
A crazed laugh sounded from the air above the vulnerable Autobots. Cluster bombs were released upon them and the sight of explosions were created around and in their little group.
"How do you like my cluster bombs, Autobots!" Starscream yelled down to them.
Their lasers barely came close to his body and their many attempts at shooting him down always ended up futile – Starscream's surprising new speed confounded them.
For the first time in the day, Starscream felt invincible. Nothing could touch him, not in the air, his primary element that was like a whole 'land' for him to move in to his fancy. The boosters he wore were a work of art. Better than his expectations: They drastically changed his whole movability, allowing him to cut through the atmosphere more cleanly, like a sharp knife through soft butter; to turn sharper in all angles, and enhanced his adroitness and speed. Now he was a more powerful version of himself, a destructive machine capable of dealing more damage and displaying deadly agility. At this moment, he was a dangerous force to be reckoned with.
Starscream U-turned in the air to face the Autobots again, some of whom were trying to recover from the blasts that his cluster bombs made and the rest shielding them and shooting at him in defence.
"It's useless to keep fighting, Autofools! You might as well surrender now!"
A laser bullet skimmed over his wing.
"No way, Starscream! I'd rather dysfunction than surrender to you!" It was Cliffjumper who defiantly shouted back.
"Wish granted!" Starscream bellowed and sent accurate null rays to his chest and he instantly fell backwards in a state of paralysis.
Starscream saw that Gears was on the ground with him and clasping a wound on his arm. Hound, Brawn, Huffer and Bluestreak were still standing and shooting after his retreating jet engines.
Wait. Where is that other small 'bot? The yellow one, he thought to himself. I thought I saw him somewhere.
Drip. Huh? Drip-drip. Raindrops.
His optics were lifted skywards. What he saw suddenly took over his thoughts. The menacing dark nimbuses seen earlier in the day had now reached their destination, more imposing than ever now that it was in close proximity and looking down on Starscream in sheets of black, like a predator spying its prey. It slid under the azure sky quickly, as if eager to blot out the sun as soon as possible and wanting to take the skies for itself. Raindrops came down more profusely, increasing as the seconds passed by until it turned into a torrent of water pouring down on the earth, and every single drop colliding with the ground joined together to create a deep, resounding harmony of crashing noise.
Warning dial pulsating erratically, Starscream arched roughly to fly over the Autobots, forgotten and left, to out-fly this new enemy. He had to find refuge, a shelter – anything. He knew that he would be an easy target if he stayed in the air that had now turned from his place of control and freedom to a zone of danger and surprise. He felt unsafe, trapped, threatened. Where could he go? His optics searched frantically, scanning the open plains too barren to support any kind of life, let alone shelter.
"Starscream! Where do you think you're going?" Megatron's angry voice broke out, interrupting his line of thought through the COM link.
"Uh – what?" was his incoherent response. He looked downward to find that Megatron and Soundwave were below him to his left, and Megatron glaring angrily at him. He could feel the stare even over a mile above him.
"Are you trying to escape this battle?" he accused. "Just what has gotten into you?" It was amazing how Megatron's scolding could still reach him in one hundred percent intensity, even as he flew high above him in a curtain of rain.
"I-It's those clouds, Megatron! They're here!"
"You're still fearing them? Stop being such a coward!"
"Why you –" But his retort was interrupted by an unexpected bolt of lightning that fell next to him, so near that his sensors felt a scalding heat singing his alloy skin.
"Argh!" he cried as he spiralled down, a trail of smoke following him where the lightning had burnt him. He transformed and landed on his knees behind the two occupants of the rock.
"You are a fool," Megatron said, sounding fed up with him. Starscream only glared at him and kept silent with embarrassed indignation.
"Megatron," came the monotonous voice of Soundwave.
"Yes, Soundwave."
"Human sighted with an Autobot at the platform." A digit was pointed in its direction and sure enough the human called Spike was with Autobot Bumblebee, and they were watching the shoot-off between Optimus Prime, his comrades and Skywarp and Thundercracker who were now circling them like birds of prey.
An evil smirk surfaced on Megatron's lips that Starscream had seen too many a time to know that it was a definite sign he had formed a plan of some kind.
"Excellent. Send Lazerbeak to take care of him. Perhaps the Autobots will cease combat if their little friend is harmed, or better yet, killed."
"Yes, Megatron," obeyed Soundwave. He held down a button on his chest: "Dispose of the human, Lazerbeak."
Starscream got up and walked over to the pair seeing that Megatron was still eyeing the human.
"Honestly, I don't know why they bring that earthling along to their battles sometimes," he said in a moment of self-opinion, which Starscream couldn't help but agree with.
()()()()()()()()()() "Honestly, Spike, I don't know why we bring you to our battles sometimes!" Bumblebee loudly said above the laser fire and rain. He was shielding Spike while at the same time attacking the two seekers with his laser rifle. He saw that his friends were putting up a good fight and were now over-powering the seekers gradually, as they had no shield of their own to protect them from their attacks. Now the other group of their once-separated team have joined the struggle to turn the tide. They now have the advantage.
"Sorry, Bumblebee. I just wanted to help you guys somehow." Spike slightly lowered his head dejectedly.
Bumblebee looked at him and immediately felt guilty for somewhat scolding him. "Never mind, Spike. Just stay put until this is over and then we can get out of here."
Suddenly there was a huge flash in front of him, then a cracking explosion that had sent his friends flying onto their backs from its impact. The rock that had been their shield was now broken into small chunks by a bolt of lightning that had struck it.
"Excellent shot, Shrapnel!" supported Bombshell over in the distance where Shrapnel himself stood atop a tall rock, hands thrust forward in another act of conjuring up another shot of lightning.
Thundercracker and Skywarp unexpectedly landed in their robot modes not too far from his grounded friends.
"You idiot!" shouted Skywarp. "You could've fried us to smithereens!"
"Yeah, that was too close. Watch it next time!" Thundercracker added accusingly.
"Oh stop your whining!" replied Bombshell. "Shrapnel's aim has always been accurate. You shouldn't have been flying that close anyway!"
"Why you little insect! If you knew that we were too close then why did you fire?"
"Maybe you should have been watching us-us," said Shrapnel. "Then you wouldn't have been in the way-way."
"What? We were just doing out job," defended Skywarp. "What were you two doing? Snacking on trees?"
"No," joined in Kickback, "we were just watching you until you were beginning to lose the fight, so we took over from there. Is that a problem?"
"Why I oughta'," began Skywarp and a rather heated argument broke out between the Decepticons, consisting of insults and threats of injury.
However, this gave time for the fallen Autobots to regain some consciousness, allowing a bold Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to stand up and lunge at Thundercracker together, dog-piling him. Before a surprise Skywarp could aid his partner, Brawn and Hound were soon upon him, as if they hadn't tired at all but obtained renewed energy.
Others started to run toward the Insecticons for an attack but a lightning bolt cut short their path. Mirage and Prowl, who wisely remembered a previous fight with the Insecticons, transformed to their alt modes, as their rubber tires were impervious to electricity. Gears and Huffer jumped on them to be carried over to their targets – Shrapnel sending bolt after bolt futilely – and took away any time for his lightning attacks to gain enough power by sending themselves on them, using the momentum of Prowl and Mirage. Jazz and Bluestreak made to follow but halfway over to them they were met with Soundwave and his ever-loyal cassettes by laser fire. Optimus Prime was up and had finally spotted his dreaded rival and foe in front of him in the distance: Megatron.
"So there you are, Megatron. Finally come out of hiding now have you and decided to face to me?"
"No, Prime, I've decided to finally put an end to this masquerade of a battle. This was planned all along! Did you really think that I was that naïve to apply that "first grade trap", as you called it?"
"Well I must give you credit for that one, Megatron," Optimus bluntly complimented. "But I must also point out that your warriors take all of that away." He motioned with his arm to show that most of said fighters were not faring well at all: two seekers were being wrestled on the ground and the Insecticons had nothing but their rifles and flying abilities to ward off the equally quick land-travelling Autobots. Only Soundwave seemed to be holding his own better than the rest and even he was not gaining an advantage over his attackers with his cassettes on his side. "They really are terrible fighters."
Megatron growled angrily in answer. "You'll regret saying that to me, Prime!" He transformed to his Walther P38 gun form for Starscream to catch from behind.
"Die!" he shouted as Starscream fired.
With quick reflexes, Optimus dodged the shot to his left and fired back with a few well-placed aims to remove the weapon that is Megatron out of his hands. The gun returned to his robot form and saw his most-hated enemy rushing toward him – he met him head-on with a thunderous crash; hands gripping hands, optics locked on optics. A deep, low rumble in the dark skies made itself known, the background to their fierce clash.
Bumblebee watched the fight with awe and yet, at the same time, with fear of their crushing blows that each time sent the other toppling for a moment before returning it with equal flourish that could easily smash him if his smaller, more fragile body were hit.
Bumblebee was so enthralled that he did not notice Spike's cries for help until a robotic squawk was made, breaking his trance, and caused him to turn around.
The spot in which Spike was was empty, his form now in the sky with his captor. He is held by the shoulders in Lazerbeak's talons, squirming and struggling against his iron grip.
"Hey! Let go of me you, bird brain! Let go!"
"Don't worry, Spike! I'm coming!" Bumblebee ran forward as fast as he could to keep up with the robot hawk's flight, all the while keeping his optics on his captured friend in fear of him falling.
He glanced quickly to the line of travel Lazerbeak was moving in and a dreaded realisation dawned on him.
Oh no. The gorge!
No other thought entered his mind. Laser rifle whisked out, he took aim and fired. In the nick of time, Lazerbeak dropped him and squawked in pain from the shot to his wing.
In a burst of speed, Bumblebee rushed forward to catch Spike in his hands and landed to perform a forward roll before becoming upright again to put him down.
"Are you okay, lil' buddy?"
"Yeah I am, thanks to you. You saved me. Again!" Spike laid a grateful hand on Bumblebee's arm. "What would I do without you?"
"Nothing much, that's for sure. You would "be a goner" if it weren't for me, right?"
Spike laughed a little. "Yeah, that's right."
"If one of you can't be a goner, then you might as well both be goners!"
A mixture of red, white and blue swooped vertically down in front of the two unexpectedly, causing Bumblebee to fall on his rear in surprise. A threatening null ray was pointed in his direction, owned by a fierce-looking Starscream.
\\\\\\\\\\ He held the transformed Walther P38 gun in his hands and fired at Optimus without delay as Megatron yelled: "Die!"
The Autobot leader made a perfect dodge than counter-attacked with well-made shots, unarming him in short time. The gun fell to the ground with a heavy CLUNK and transformed back into Megatron, who shook his head slightly from the hit. Optimus Prime ran to Megatron who copied the action to meet with him halfway and began their inevitable fight.
Starscream watched, somehow impressed with leader's endurance to his rival's punches, and ability to retaliate so aggressively with as much energy. He felt a confusing respect for him, as well as the ambition to take Megatron's place as the most powerful Decepticon.
He saw Optimus deliver a painful-looking right-hook on the side of Megatron's face and felt irked at how only this one mech can damage Megatron like he can, and not he or anyone else. He wondered what made him so good.
Oh yes. Now I remember. I don't have the same build as he has, the same power. Speed is my strength but I need more than that to beat Megatron. So much more.
Envy was felt against the Autobot leader, just as much as hate for him. Although he and Megatron shared a similar opinion, Starscream secretly wished at times that Optimus would someday finish off Megatron for good to make way for him to lead the Decepticon Army, instead of getting his own hands dirty and unnecessarily be dealt fatal damage to himself. It was so much easier that way. But in the end, less satisfyingly rewarding.
Without warning, a force collided into his unguarded side that sent him sprawling to the ground some distance away. Pain pulsed from his side, clutching it as he saw who had attacked him.
"That's for the null ray blast you gave me!" The hot-red Autobot stood tensely, his face covered with anger and a laser rifle held in hand, pointing at Starscream.
"You little fool," Starscream said. "You'll pay for that assault on me, I promise you. And when I'm done with you, you'll be an unrecognisable pile of scrap!"
"Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you try." Cliffjumper moved forward, the rifle still trained on Starscream's form, which looked weakened and helpless in its unmoving state and lowered head.
Starscream sensed an opportunity to attack. Using the element of surprise, he pointed the arm holding his side straight at Cliffjumper and fired – the laser bullet forcing the gun out of his hand – and used his boosters to propel himself forward, tackling him to the ground like a rocket with a loud CLANG!
"Did you really think that I was down for the count?" he questioned into Cliffjumper's face. "I'm much stronger than that!"
"Don't flatter yourself, Starscream!" Cliffjumper spoke back and showing no sign of backing down, even when he lay on the ground. "I'm stronger than you think too!"
A powerful kick from two of his legs pushed Starscream off of him to fall into a rain-filled puddle. They both stood up in their similar will to battle each other, their hate for each other felt mutually. Starscream sneered in contempt. This tiny Autobot was no match for him – it would be all too easy to crush him now. This would be more enjoyable if he made him think that he had a chance to defeat him, and when he had enough fun, he would unleash his own demise upon him like the rain pouring down on their backs now.
"Well come on, Autobot," he invited. "Show me what else you can do that makes you so strong in a fight. I'm just dying to find out."
"Oh you'll get your wish, Starscream, don't you worry about that."
There was a moment of pause then Cliffjumper broke into a charge rather speedily but it was no challenger compared to Starscream's speed. He dodged to his right to avoid the impact and, using Cliffjumper's momentum against him, pushed the small mech with a foot that sent him crashing to the muddy ground. He smirked, pleasurably.
"What's wrong?" he crooned in a mock tone of sympathy. "Am I too much for you? Going to give up now? I would understand if you did but either way, if you do or don't, I'll still deactivate you in a painful way."
The fallen Autobot pushed himself up to face him with a stern look. "I told you before, I'd rather dysfunction than surrender to you. And there's nothing you can do to change my mind."
Starscream had had enough of this. If this defiant little 'bot didn't back down willingly then he will make him instead.
He shot him with his null ray to send him travelling and landing on a slope of a small hill. He walked over to his victim almost leisurely, kneeled down to roughly seize his throat and pressed a menacing laser rifle on his temple, allowing the paralysed Autobot to feel the cold barrel.
"Well I admire you for your bravery but there's always a fine line between courage and stupidity, which I think you've just crossed." He grinned over the unresponsive Cliffjumper, welcoming the feeling of complete control.
"Too bad that I can't have my fun a little longer. Your stupid refusal to surrender has worn out my patience. Now, die."
He felt his weapon gain power, the intensity of it increasing and increasing. A flash of lightning lit up from behind him, casting a shadow over his face. Optics widened in anticipation as he saw the power meter for his weapon reach halfway point and over.
"Farewell, Autobot Cliffjumper."
SQUAWK!
What the –? Irritated that his moment of carrying out his goal was interrupted, he let Cliffjumper slump to the wet ground, stood up and turned to find the source of the sound.
He detected a retreating Lazerbeak flying into the distance and, within his line of vision, a human boy falling down to the earth, fast. What he did not expect next was a sprinting Bumblebee who, with great agility, launched himself into the air to snatch the boy deftly into his hands, forward rolled upon landing and let him down without harming himself or the earthling. The rescue attempt took place not far from him, the small hill hiding him.
Impressive, for a small 'bot. So that's where he is. The thought of another opportunity to defeat another Autobot took place in his mind, and one such as Bumblebee would be no hard task. Starscream contemplated this action. He made up his mind instantly.
"You stay here for a while," he addressed Cliffjumper, looking down on him without sympathy. "It seems I have found a new 'playmate' to have fun with. But don't worry, I'll be back."
Wasting no time, he burst forth into the air and curved to fly over the unsuspecting human and Autobot.
"You would "be a goner" without me, right?" he caught in his audios before preparing to land from above.
The earthling laughed a little. "Yeah, that's right."
"If one of you can't be a goner, then you might as well both be goners!"
He straightened his form and landed heavily on his feet, catching them off guard. He aimed his null ray at Bumblebee assertively, causing him to fall back on his rear. There was fear present on his face. It gave him great pleasure in seeing it manifest on this little mech's face, seeing it evident in his wide optics like a cornered animal facing its hunter.
He smiled evilly before saying: "What are you last words before I destroy you?"
"You leave him alone, you freak!" defended Spike who clutched at Bumblebee's arm while glaring at the smug-looking Decepticon.
Starscream chuckled in response and said silkily: "You silly human. I'll blast you both anyway, whether or not I kill you or him first, so don't worry. I won't leave you out. But he will go first."
"NO!" yelled Spike but he could do nothing to stop the mighty Starscream from carrying out his killing blow.
The barrel end of his laser rifle glowed increasingly violet, as it took up more and more energy, ready to release its deadly force. Starscream could feel nothing but satisfaction at his own excellence, and anticipation to finally end a pathetic life by his own hands, which he was sure to receive praise for and gain reputation from. He could already see Megatron's jealous face as he readied to fire.
A sudden flash to his left and a searing heat intervened his intentions, sending him to land on his side – he clutched his left arm immediately and cried out in a mixture of shock and pain. Leaning up with a struggle, Starscream looked for the assailant who dare to attack him but instead of seeing an enemy, he saw a very large, coal-black burn imprinted on the ground at his feet. He then realised with a spark-freezing fear what it was.
N-No… The lightning, left forgotten in his desire to kill, had very nearly struck him – the most likely end to his life escaped from twice in two unpredictable moments that could have occurred in either encounter.
But this latest lucky avoidance of being killed unnerved Starscream, seeing as it was extremely close, so close that his pain receptors had felt nothing from the instant it fell until the next moment or two, such was the intensity of its power. He could not tolerate this danger-induced environment any longer. He had intended to stay longer to revel in his act of imposing fear on the Autobots, but it seemed that this recent dance with death had altered his plans to leaving the soaking grey battle field for good. However, not without finishing his last task before his departure.
He handled his rifle while enduring the pain and spoke as abhorrently as he could muster: "Now die, Autobot."
Just as he was about to fire, the rifle was shot out of his hands unexpectedly.
"Who dares! –" He looked up and the sight of the intruder truly surprised him. "Y-You. You circuits should still be inoperable."
"Cliffjumper!" Bumblebee and Spike happily recognised, also beholding the sight of their friend and rescuer.
White flashes of light lit up behind the form, wielding a laser rifle in both hands and stood tall atop the hill, looking tensed and ready for attack. As each flash of light emitted behind him, stretches of shadow spread over the saturated soil to reach the black hole in the earth and covered Starscream's features eerily.
"Like I said, Starscream," said the miraculously moving Cliffjumper, "I'm stronger than you think!"
"No, w-wait," stuttered Starscream as he raised his right hand on his uninjured arm in defence and surrender, taking steps backwards one at a time. "Please don't shoot. I-I'll leave right now if you spare me, I won't come back. Just don't shoot!"
He felt the solid ground reach its end. He turned his head to see loose chunks of the muddy edge and some number of stones slide down into the depths of the seemingly endless gorge under his weight, disappearing into its shadows. He turned fearfully back to his now attacker-turned-victim, irrationally thinking of how ironic his situation had become in a matter of astroseconds.
"You're so pathetic, Starscream!" Cliffjumper angrily responded in a tone that ruled out any chances of withholding his shot. "Why should I spare you mercy when you yourself have given none to so many? And when you take pleasure out of the agony of all that you hurt? Beings like you don't deserve mercy. This is the end for you, Starscream!"
He roughly lifted his rifle higher and made to aim using his hand and eye for co-ordination in which provoked Starscream to make another attempt at being spared from his wrath.
"No, wait! Please!"
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
All three laser bullets collided dead centre to his mid-section, the last forcing him to stumble backwards and into the gorge's mouth. Starscream saw one last flash of light in the dark grey skies that seemed to have dictated his fate before being replaced by dark shadows. He felt the resistance of the air pounding and pushing on the tip of his head as he fell head first into the abyss and saw his warning systems type itself out in front of his optic screens in red-alert font:
WARNING – WARNING. STATE OF TRAVEL HAPHAZARDOUS TO SELF. UPRIGHT FORM IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID HIGH RISK DAMAGE. WARNING – WARNING. STATE –
He tried to level off but met with a concrete rock wall to the shoulder that made his whole body rebound into the opposite wall dangerously, heavily damaging his external armour. He frantically thought of alternatives of saving himself.
Come on! Think!
The walls of solid rock were too close together – no room to manoeuvre. The flashes of light from above were moving farther and farther away, reducing to a think strip of jagged rectangle, lining from side to side horizontally and becoming out of reach with every metre of falling.
But wait! An idea had made itself known to his central processors – an idea so obvious in itself that he would have probably kicked himself in the gyros if there were any room to do so. His Thrust Boosters. His Thrust Boosters will save him!
He deftly adjusted the appropriate degree of angles to avoid slamming into the close proximity of the walls, felt the thrust angles rotating itself on his legs and activated its power. It had worked! He was quickly arched upright in a tight loop, skywards, and was moving at an incredible speed toward the grey light that was the opening, his way to freedom. Then he felt himself travelling slower and slower; his speed suddenly vanishing without explanation until he heard the spluttering of engines continuously producing short-lived bursts of energy until it stopped its efforts completely and he was falling again, with no other source of help to save him.
"Arghh!!" he cried in pain as his shoulder, on the side of his lightning burn, had deeply scraped alongside the hard, unrelenting walls. The impact turned Starscream's body to face forward to gravity's pull, to face only unending darkness.
No!
He drastically tried to force his boosters to activate once more only to hear the helpless spluttering of small bursts of firepower yet again, almost as if they were struggling to breathe. He immediately abandoned it and attempted to use his own thrust engines at his feet but the lack of space constricted their use.
His side met with a wall and richotted to the other side and back again, careening out of control and losing all sense of security, plunging down to his likely end.
BANG! His forehead violently hit a ledge that was jutting out, causing him to lose consciousness as he fell deeper and deeper and deeper still until, with a deafening CRASH, his body landed rock hard without preparing itself for impact, like a puppet let go by its strings.
By this time he could only feel the numbing contact with the bottom but the pain, that would have probably killed him itself if he could.
He could not feel and he could not see, but only a little that was the sight of faint sheets of light falling on his limp hand next to his face. The last thing that he could hear was the plitter-platter of continuous raindrops upon his broken form. Slowly, his optic lids closed, lost power and his world turned black.
(1) A quote taken from The Transformers G1 episode: Atlantis, Arise!
I just thought that insult sounded so funny that I had to use it lol.