1) So that y'all know, these chapters will get longer. Promise. :)
Prologue
2,974 words
Things couldn't stay this bad forever.
That was the phrase repeating in her processor as she peered over the edge of the tall, yet short building. The roof was only about fifty feet off the ground, a one story building that had once served as a café for more wealthy people; however, to a ten-foot-tall youngling, that was a long, long drop. She wiggled her growing wings a little as she gauged the distance to the distant junk pile on the ground. Developing thrusters lit up as she jumped off, slowing her descent. She landed soundlessly in a crouch and sprinted across the deserted street. The Seekling turned sharply down an alleyway and made her way to the latest battleground, hoping to find some form of life. She had heard the gunshots from the Loft, a place in lower Praxus where she was living with another youngling, Bluestreak. Gunshots meant two foes, and two foes meant that at least one had to be an Autobot… hopefully. She wasn't kidding herself. There was a big chance that one Decepticon pissed off another one, causing a fire fight. But if that were the case, she'd just go back to the Loft.
"Foolish Autobot. Your bravery will be your end!" a deep voice crowed. The Seeker femling sped up before dropping down to hide behind a dead Decepticon body as she surveyed the scene before her. The Autobot was obviously a medic, a fact proven by the red and white armor that marked every Autobot medic. A blue visor covered his optics, and a dented white facemask protected his mouthplates. Energon was leaking from little cuts across his body, and it flowed from a gunshot wound on his right shoulder. A small stream of the stuff was flowing from the bottom of his facemask, proving that it hadn't done its job. The two fallen Decepticon bodies were proof that the 'bot had been ambushed. A scowled marred the Seekling's face. Without thinking twice, she pulled a sniper rifle from subspace. The gun accessed her transformation cog and joined with her arm, completely replacing her arm from the elbow joint down. A black visor snapped down over her red optics and connected with her targeting systems as she aimed. She hesitated for a klik. She hadn't ever shot to kill. Heck, her aim wasn't very good to start out with. What if she missed and hit the Autobot on accident?
"Die, Autobot scum!" the Decepticon cried out melodramatically, aiming his own plasma pistol at the Autobot's spark chamber.
"No!" the Seeker femme gasped, and she shot. The Decepticon's shoulder jerked before a fountain of energon exploded from it.
"Fraggit!" he roared. His red optics landed on her immediately, and she gasped as she jumped to her pedes and made a break for the junk pile a few yards away. "Fraggin' Seeker!" he snarled. A few shots rang out.
"Ow!" she yelped as fire exploded through her right thigh. She screamed in agony when another shot ripped through the right side of her torso. She collapsed just as another shot grazed her right wing, sending her sensors into a fritz. Her systems forced her gun to transform back into subspace with the knowledge that she didn't have enough energon to make any more ammo. Slag, it hurt so bad! Another shot rang out, followed by a pained bellow, before a final shot silenced the area.
"Are you okay?" a voice called out. The voice was gentle, a silent promise to protect. The femling moaned in pain.
"Hurts," she called back weakly. She heard heavy footsteps and turned her head to see the medic slowly dropping to the ground beside her.
"It's going to be alright. My teammates are on their way here right now," the medic promised. He managed a gentle smile. "That was a pretty good shot," he praised.
"Nuh-uh," the femme said weakly. "I was aimin' for the spark." The medic chuckled.
"Then aim for the shoulder next time. Maybe you'll hit the spark," he said as he started checking her wounds. "No, no, stay awake. Talk to me. My designation is First Aid. What's yours?"
"Skyshock. I'm Skyshock," she whispered, wincing at the temporary patches First Aid was putting on her wounds to staunch the energon flow. "Are you a medic?"
"Yes, I am. Are you a Seeker?"
"Yeah. The last femme Seeker."
"That's quite a feat, being strong enough to be the last of your kind."
"I have ta take care a' Bluestreak. Can't afford ta offline. I'll die 'vent'ally anyways. No Seekers equals no trine bond," the femling replied cynically.
"Maybe the Autobots can give you a reason to live," First Aid offered as he removed an energon ration from his subspace.
"I doubt it. When's yo'r friend gonna get 'ere? C'n ya fix meh up quickly? I'm s'posed ta be home soon. Blue'll freak out."
"Who is Bluestreak? I don't recognize that designation. Is he another Seeker youngling?" the medic questioned as he allowed her to refuel in small sips.
"Not a Seeker. Praxian. He's back at the Loft, waitin' for meh t' report."
"I see. Well, I'm gonna take you back to our small base for medical treatment, and I'll send one of my partners to find Bluestreak."
"No! You'll scare 'im. I 'ave ta get 'im," Skyshock argued. "He saw 'is creators offlined. He don't trust strangers."
"I see…" the medic said slowly.
"Please. I c'n get'cha t' the Loft. We still 'ave a groon 'til the next p'trol comes through, an' we c'n make it there an' back in two breems," she pleaded. First Aid gave a sigh, not really wanting to move around in plain sight, but he had no choice. He didn't want the mechling to freak out and run away.
"Very well. Direct me," he said as he tossed the empty cube away and gently lifted her up. The medic frowned at her light weight. She must not get a lot of energon. Not a good sign, especially with two serious wounds. He had managed to stop the energon flow, but her body would have had to use some of her energon to make the ammo for her sniping rifle. He scowled, mentally praying that Blades got there quickly.
Skyshock, it turns out, wasn't very good at giving directions. In fact, her directions consisted of "Turn tha' way" and "This doesn't look f'miliar. We should pro'ly turn around." By the time they reached "the Loft", which was nothing more than a broken-down housing unit with a single berth and tons of dust, the two breems had come and gone. First Aid grimaced as he walked into the building.
"Hey, Blue! I go' shot an' found a Autobot medic!" the femling in his arms called out suddenly. There was a moment of silence before a gray door-winger stumbled into the room. In complete contrast to his name, the only bit of blue on the mech was in his optics. His developing armor was mostly light gray. His thighs were protected by red armor that didn't match the rest of his armor in the least, and his chest sported a single thick stripe of black paint. His forehelm was adorned by the traditional Praxian forked chevron, red in color. His wings rose in curiosity, stiffening in fear as they did so.
"H-Who is this, Sky?" the youngling stuttered out, his optics fixed on the medic.
"This's First Aid. He's a Autobot medic," she informed him bluntly. Bluestreak frowned.
"What does he want?"
"I'm going to–"
"I didn't ask you, Autobot," Bluestreak interrupted, scowling. First Aid frowned as Skyshock spoke for him.
"He's gonna fix my hurt," she stated matter-a-factly. "Ge' the import'nt stuffs, 'cuz we gotta jet." Bluestreak hesitated for only an astrosecond. He pointed at his own optics before turning the same hand to First Aid to let the medic know that he was keeping a close optic on the elder's movements. With his warning given, the youngling scurried into the other room. First Aid took that moment to study the femme in his arms.
She was only about nine and a half feet tall, rather short for a Seeker youngling. The armor on her lower arms and legs was light gray. Black armor covered the rest of her protoform, aside from her pedes, which were red. First Aid surmised that they had stolen the paint and had just been forced to make do with what they had. The femling's wings were both black with a single red strip across the top part of each delta wing. A bunch of what appeared to be sensory wires fell from the crown of her head. The thick wires went down to her lower back, and at the very end of each one was what looked like a spear.
"I c'n move 'em." A female voice broke through his musings. His optics met hers, and he realized he had been caught studying the extensions rather closely. "They're where I got mah des'gnation. I c'n wrap 'em 'round stuffs," she began, demonstrating her skill by making the thick wires slither up his arm like Medusa's snakes, "an' I c'n make 'lectricity shoot through 'em." She let the wires go limp and drop back down. "The spears a' the end keep meh fr'm 'lectrocutin' mahself, an' I c'n also use 'em ta cut the bad guys. They're really, really s'ns'tive, so it really 'urts when they're cut off, an' it feels weird when bots touch 'em withou' me knowin'. I only le' Blue handle 'em when they break, 'cuz 'e don't make 'em feel weird."
"Ah," First Aid said unintelligently.
::First Aid, where the slag are you?:: the impatient voice of Blades filtered through the medic's comm. link.
::Transmitting coordinates:: was First Aid's reply. Bluestreak trotted back into the room and moved to stand in front of First Aid.
"I can hold her," the mechling stated. First Aid blinked.
"Perhaps, but I think it would be best if I held her for now," the soft-spoken medic replied.
"I don't. Hand her over!" the door-winger ordered.
"Blue, I'm okay. Jus' don't leave meh," Skyshock said, her wires reaching in his direction. Bluestreak scowled, but moved forward to meet the tendrils. He held an arm up and let the wires wrap around his forearm, allowing the Seeker to be comforted by the contact.
"Blades is here. Let's go, you two," First Aid ordered gently, moving toward the door. Bluestreak followed closely, still attached to the femme. The loud whup-whup-whup-whup of rotor blades filled the air, and Bluestreak knew that if Skyshock wasn't holding onto him, he'd be running for the Loft.
"Sky?" he called out hesitantly. "I'm not so sure 'bout this…"
"I'm not either, but I'm dyin', Blue. We need 'em righ' now," was the reply. Bluestreak whimpered as they approached the red and white helicopter. The door opened as First Aid didn't hesitate to put Skyshock inside. The Praxian slowly climbed in, lying down on the floor of the Autobot's alt. mode beside his femme friend.
"Be careful with them, Blades," the medic ordered as the helicopter took off. There was a light jerk when First Aid grabbed onto the 'copter's landing gear with his good arm, and the bot designated "Blades" lifted the three passengers into the air, flying a swiftly as possible. The flight, in reality, wasn't as long as Bluestreak would later swear it was; however, by the time they arrived, the sensory wires wrapped around the youngling's arm were limp, and the femme lying beside him was in stasis lock. The helicopter landed with ease on a hidden pad, which turned out to be a sort of elevator to an underground base. Bluestreak huddled closer to the femme's left side, somehow taking comfort in her presence, even if she would be unable to defend him. First Aid's face appeared in Bluestreak's line of sight.
"Ready to go?" the medic asked. Bluestreak hesitated for a second before he nodded and started climbing out of the helicopter bot. First Aid smiled down at the gray mechling as he reached over him and lifted the femme out of his comrade's cargo space. The second they were clear, Blades transformed. Bluestreak's optics went wide as he stared up at the twenty seven-foot-tall mech wrecker. The two helicopter blades hung from the mech's back, and the landing gear decorated his arms, making the limbs look even bigger. Red armor covered the mech's chest and legs. His arms and helm were painted white, and his battle-hardened optics were icy blue. The nine-foot-tall mechling stared up at the mech with wide optics.
"Hey, kid," Blades greeted gruffly. Bluestreak scrambled backwards into First Aid's legs and wrapped his hand around a handful of Skyshock's sensory wires, seeking comfort. "Let's go before the 'Cons see us." With that, the landing pad suddenly started descending into the ground. A strip of metal shifted above them and covered the large hole caused by the descending helicopter pad. Darkness reigned for a few astroseconds before being chased away by lightbeams from Blades' and First Aid's chest plates. The pad came to an abrupt stop, and the three mechs made their way to a metal door. First Aid and Bluestreak walked through first, and Blades trailed behind. The mechling clicked as he examined his surroundings. The base was easily forty feet tall, obviously made to accommodate the tall mechs. The halls were a simple gray color, only a few shades darker than he was. There were multiple halls, but the hall they were walking down led to the medbay.
"Now, you go with Blades while I work on Skyshock," First Aid ordered to Bluestreak.
"No. I'm not leaving her," Bluestreak replied stubbornly as he stood beside the berth that Skyshock was being placed on.
"You need energon, and Blades can take you to get some," First Aid reasoned.
"I can refuel here."
"Or you can go with Blades. You don't want to be here while I'm performing surgery on your friend."
"Yes, I do. I gotta stay an' make sure you don't hurt 'er," the mechling said, releasing Skyshock's wires to cross his arms. First Aid gave a small sigh, but decided to acquiesce.
"Very well. Sit over there while Blades gets you some low grade," he ordered, pointing to a seat by the wall. Bluestreak nodded once as he scurried over to the chair and scrambled up onto it. He plopped down and stared at Blades as the large mech rolled his optics and walked away, having obviously just finished having an internal argument with the medic. Bluestreak looked at First Aid as he hooked his best friend up to an energon line and gave her a shot of sedatives to ensure that she slept through the whole procedure. He watched as the medic took off the first field patch. A small bit of energon streamed from the wound, but all-in-all, it wasn't as bad as when it happened. The patches had kept it under control. Bluestreak's optics dimmed a little as he watched. It was late, definitely past his and Skyshock's unofficial recharge-time. Maybe he could get just a little recharge in before Skyshock woke up. Then he could talk with her more… Yeah. Just a few kliks…
By the time Blades came back with the energon, Bluestreak was fast asleep.
"Blue?" a small voice whispered. Bluestreak shifted a little as he received the strangest feeling on his right arm. It was as if something was crawling up it… His optics onlined, and he looked down at the arm to find that there were, indeed, thick wires crawling up it. He groaned tiredly as he turned his head to the right and stared into dim red optics. Huh. Someone must have put him on the berth beside Skyshock while he was recharging.
"Hi, Sky. How're ya feeling?" he murmured as he cuddled closer to her.
"Tired," she whispered. "I 'ad a night terror."
"Oh. Well, I'm here, so you don't hafta be afraid." Skyshock giggled. Footsteps were heard, and a second later, First Aid walked into the bay.
"Ah. You're awake," he observed with a smile. Bluestreak frowned and looked over at medic as he walked in with one of his comrades. The new mech was just a little taller than First Aid, and his primary colors were light blue and black, with a bit of red on his chest. The two mechs stopped right beside the berth, causing Bluestreak to hide his helm in Skyshock's side. He didn't like all these strange mechs being nearby, Autobot or not.
"Hello. I'm Hot Spot," the new mech greeted with a smile. "I'm the Commanding Officer here."
"So, you're like Optimus Prime?" Skyshock asked in confusion, not quite understanding how much power a Commanding Officer would have. Hot Spot chuckled, his blue optics glinting in amusement.
"I don't have quite that much power. I'm just in charge of my Protectobots."
"Oh. I'm Skyshock. I'm in charge a' Bluestreak."
"Are not!" Bluestreak protested. His optics met Hot Spot's, and the mechling quickly went back into hiding. The Protectobot leader chuckled.
"It's nice to meet you, Skyshock. First Aid tells me that you are the one that saved him from a Decepticon patrol."
"Yeah, then I got shot," she told him bluntly. "It don't hurt no more."
"Well, that's good. I've got a question for you, though," Hot Spot stated. Skyshock cocked her head as she made optic contact. "What would you say if I told you that you are welcome to live here until the war ends?" Skyshock gasped, optics wide, while Bluestreak simply looked over at the mech.
"You'd let us stay 'ere?" she asked, sounding very excited.
"I would be honored."
And so began their stay with the Protectobots.
Well, this is all for today! Hope I got y'all interested, and hope to see some of my Cybercat fans over here. :)
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