Disclaimer: Still don't own TF! Only Nightflare, Alpha, Omega, Kit and Orcus. HT and Jade still belong to Lady S. (No matter how hard I try to steal them. XD Just kidding!)
Nightflare sighed as she hurried through the Nemesis towards where she was supposed to meet the other seekers; they were going to teach her how to fly. Apparently, that was something that the mech – Orcus, she had learned was his name – had forgotten to program into her. Joy, oh, joy.
She found Starscream and Thundercracker waiting for her at the lift that was to take them to the outside world. They seemed impatient, but that wasn't what made Nightflare nervous; it was the fact that Skywarp was missing. She had heard of the male seeker's ability to teleport and knew that, if he wanted to, he could scare the living slag out of her.
Or do something worse.
The young femme trotted over to them and eyed them. "Where's Skywarp?" She asked, bringing their attention to her. Both eyed her and she fidgeted slightly. "He not coming?"
"He's right behind you, femme." Starscream snorted nonchalantly and Nightflare jumped when two arms wrapped around her, trapping her arms at her side.
"H-Hey! Put me down!" Nightflare yelped, kicking the air as Skywarp lifted her into the air, cackling madly.
"Well lookie what I found, guys!" The seeker sneered behind her.
"Skywarp, put her down." Thundercracker sighed, "If we have to baby-sit her longer that necessary because of you, I'm going to tear you apart and dump your remains in a slag pit." He didn't even glance up when he talked to his twin.
Skywarp frowned and dropped Nightflare on her butt. The femme 'oofed' when she hit the ground and glared up at the trio of seekers. She gave them an undignified look and stood, brushing herself off. She put her fists on her waist and glared, but all three just rolled their optics.
"Why you-!" She reached for her whip, but someone grabbed her wrist, raising it above her head. "What?"
"Don't try it, femme, or you'll become shark food before you can even blink." Starscream threatened, letting go of her wrist, "Now let's get this over with."
The lift lowered and all four entered, barely fitting into it. The door closed and it lifted slowly. Once they got above the water, it opened and the trio filed out, leaving Nightflare in the lift. She looked at the water hesitantly. The three male seekers turned and looked at her; Starscream rolled his optics.
"C'mon!" He growled.
Nightflare shook her head. "I can't fly. I'll sink."
Starscream rolled his optics and looked at the seeker twins, who flew over and grabbed Nightflare's arms, pulling her out. The female seeker yelled and kicked, but once they got above water, instantly froze.
She eyed the rolling blue waves carefully. "Don't you dare."
Starscream nodded; the twins grinned and dropped Nightflare. "You're going to fly or you're going to sink!" He yelled down at her.
"Starscreeeeeeeeeeam!!" Nightflare screamed as she plummeted, but the rest of her words were lost as soon as she hit the water. Her optics widened in fear and she tried to swim, but only ended up making herself sink lower faster.
She hit the sandy ground and grunted, looking around. She looked up and saw no trace of the seeker trio; from the water she could heard the lift going down and she felt hurt. They had left her down there, knowing she couldn't swim or fly! The cyber-rats! Nightflare grunted as she pulled her feet from the sand and started to walk towards the shore. They wouldn't leave her alone permanently, would they? They'd coming looking for her, right?
Oh, she hoped they would.
The femme finally made it onto somewhat solid ground and grunted as she slipped in the mud and hit the sand, it covering her from head to boot. The cool nighttime beach wind caressed her body and she shivered, pulling herself out of wave's reach as she continued to lie in the warm sand.
Oh how she hated those three. Skywarp, Thundercracker, Starscream…
Especially Starscream.
He let them drop her in the water; he commanded them to! Then, to make matters worse, he just left her down there and took the others with her. The bastard!
Shivered, the femme pushed herself to all fours and coughed, trying to get the salt water that had leaked into her systems out. She shuddered as she coughed up the water and what little was left in her fuel tanks. Nightflare somehow managed to get herself onto her feet and, even though her legs threatened to give out from under her, started walking away from the beach, looking for shelter. She'd find someplace to stay the night, maybe try to fly, and then call the Decepticons in the morning.
She would have to deal with Megatron and her creator sooner or later, but she would rather make it later. Once she felt a bit better and had some energon in her fuel tanks.
Nightflare found a small grotto and managed to squeeze in, her wings almost making it impossible to get in. Once she was safe and inside, she started to try to clean the dirt from her front and wings. The femme shivered as the cold, damp air chilled her, but she knew that if she left this spot, she wouldn't make it to another. Without thinking – nor caring – that someone could find her, she fell into recharge right there, arms tucked under her head like a pillow and the handle to her whip in her hand.
She awoke to voices talking around her. They were soft, muffled, and definitely did not belong to any Decepticon she had met. With a soft moan, Nightflare lifted her head and looked around; she was no longer in the cave she had fallen asleep in, but she was now out in open in the middle of the forest.
How the heck did she end up out here?
Looking around, the seeker femme spotted two mechs talking nearby; one was a large, blocky red, white and blue mech and the other was a white mech with a red chevron, who kept giving her weird gazes. They were both Autobots, judging by the symbol on their bodies. Nightflare tensed when she realized that white one noticed she was awake and was now pointing to her.
The seeker jumped to her feet and eyed them, bringing their attention to her completely. She grabbed the whip's handle, which was back on her hip, and activated it. The purple energy whip came to life and she cracked it at their feet expertly. "Don't come near me…" Her voice wavered slightly when she realized that the red and blue mech was much taller than her; she only went up to his chest. "You hear me?" She cracked the whip again.
"We're not going to hurt you." The red and blue mech put his hands up in a surrender-like gesture, but Nightflare took it as an assault and cracked her whip at them; it hit his wrist in warning.
"I-I know how to use this…don't think I won't…" Despite her words, the purple and gold seeker took a step back. "'Cuz…'Cuz I will! I mean it!"
"Please, clam down."
"Prime," The white mech said softly, but Nightflare heard him. Her optic sight was not the best, but her hearing was, "what are the Decepticons doing with a femme?" He asked. "I've never heard of a female Decepticon."
"I do not know, Prowl." Prime looked up at the femme and Nightflare cracked her whip again, taking another step back. "Are you sure this is where you found her?"
"Yes, sir." Prowl nodded.
Prime nodded and then looked up at Nightflare again, who was silently begging for her wings to help her take flight. That confused the Autobot leader. She was a seeker; her wings appeared uninjured; so why was she begging them to work? When Prime wasn't looking, the female activated her emergency beacon. It beeped once before sizzling out.
Great. The water had damaged it.
Both Autobots heard the beep and looked up at the purple and golden Decepticon. Nightflare eeped in fright and just ran for it. Prime and Prowl exchanged confused looks and Prime raised his rifle. He intended to capture her, but not kill her. Maybe she knew where the missing Autobot was. He carefully aimed his rifle to hit her dead in the center of her back, lowered the power setting, and fired.
Nightflare grunted and fell flat on her face, pain racing across her back, where her wings met. She cried out when she tried to stand, but found she could barely even move.
Goldie: You read, please review.