A/N: As usual, your reviews are always welcome.
Chapter 3
Aboard the Nemesis, the passengers stood in awe as Dreadwing, Slipstream, and Knock Out escorted the latest arrival to the ship. It was none other than Terra Breaker, one of Megatron's top Lieutenants during the War for Cybertron. He'd led the Decepticons to many victories over the Autobots at key points. He even managed to hold off an entire battalion by himself during the siege of Iacon. It had been mega-cycles since he was put into the stasis to watch over a vital energon depot when it was destroyed, sending his pod into farthest reaches of space.
With him on Earth, their victory over the Autobots seemed all the more real since there were few who could match in raw strength. Making their way towards the bridge, Terra Breaker took in the ships interior. It was as dimly lit and depressing as ever, but he wasn't about to complain about something like that to Megatron. He'd been in stasis longer than he thought since there had been a shift in the chain of command. Starscream had apparently abandoned the Decepticon cause in favor of becoming a neutral.
It wasn't surprising; either Starscream would become a neutral of Megatron would kill him eventually. Being a neutral, however, was fate worse than death; at least being aligned with a faction provided one with the necessary supplies to survive in the War. Being alone and an enemy to both sides did not guarantee one a long life. Terra Breaker noticed something odd, "Where's Breakdown?"
Dreadwing wasted no time in answering, "He was left in stasis after a brutal attack from our former 1st Lieutenant; Airachnid." Airachnid; that spider-bot? She'd always given Terra Breaker chills whenever they were around each other, though he had to admit she was attractive. He'd heard that she'd gone rogue sometime after the war. Entering the bridge, the four of them kneeled down before their one true master; Megatron.
"Arise," he ordered and they did as such. He smiled and walked over to Terra Breaker, "What a momentous occasion it is. Within one cycle of this planet, two of my finest warriors have returned. This makes victory against the Autobots all the more certain."
"Lord Megatron," Slipstream spoke. "If I may be so bold, why is it that Starscream has gone rogue?"
"Ah yes," Megatron chuckled. "Shortly after my return to this planet, Starscream began plotting against me. He left me for dead at my space-bridge and almost succeeded in finishing me had it not been for Soundwave."
'What?' Terra Breaker thought. 'So Ol' 'Screamer's gotten a bit bolder in trying to take the throne from Lord Megatron.' Terra Breaker glanced Dreadwing, whose face was twisted in disgust at the Seeker's actions.
"Thanks to some… unexpected help, I was able to recover and punish Starscream for what he'd done. However, I foolishly spared his life and allowed him to continue his attempts. Thanks to Soundwave's monitoring, I kept track of him. I finally got bored watching him fail time and again, so I decided to end him once and for all. His execution was halted by the Autobots and I gave him another chance after showing him some mercy."
"And that's when he decided to fly the coop?" Slipstream asked, earning an amused look from Megatron.
"Something along those lines," he answered. "Since then, I have had my scouts out looking for him in the hopes to find him and end him once and for all." The doors slid open and they turned to see who it was, only to find no one there. Looking around, Terra Breaker's optics fell on a human, dressed in black pants and boots. He wore a black shirt with some kind of necklace and wore a white cloak around his body. He had black hair, pale skin, and teal eyes; eyes that threatened to pierce their sparks if he they looked at him wrong.
"How did that get on board?" Slipstream scoffed in disgust.
"That is Oni-Kage," Dreadwing explained. "He has proven to be a rather reliable ally and a cunning warrior. I would not advise antagonizing him."
"Oh please," she scoffed again. "Like this vermin could be any…any…" she stopped as she noticed his demonic aura. He glowed a dark purple as his eyes turned the same color. He looked like he was ready to kill someone, but chose to leave instead.
"That…was uncomfortable," Terra Breaker stated.
"It is best that you rest for now," Megatron stated. "I have plans for you that require you be at your best when they are put into motion. That applies to the rest of you as well."
"Yes, Lord Megatron," they replied in unison, leaving for their quarters. Terra Breaker opted go in a direction that was away from Oni-Kage (that guy gave him the creeps). Entering his quarters, chose to do as instructed and go into recharge. He knew it wouldn't be long before he was sent on to the battlefield again.
ShadowStrike: Terra Breaker
(Flashback)
Standing on a perch overlooking the battlefield of Polihex, the lone scout, Arcee, scanned the area for any surviving members of both sides. The end-run tactic had worked, thanks to Optimus Prime's quick thinking. Thankfully, that meant more Decepticons than Autobots were sent to the Well of AllSparks this day. Still, there was still one Arcee would send there herself when the time came; Airachnid. She could still vividly see the chamber she was held in for Primus knows how long.
She could feel every cut, every inch of her body in pain, and could still see the glee in the spider-bot's optics. She could see them drag in her partner, Tailgate, string him up like animal. She could see Airachnid turn one of her spider-legs into a blade, flash her fangs. She could hear herself screaming for her partner as Airachnid snuffed his spark. It wasn't long before she was rescued, but the damage had been done.
She heard footsteps behind her; from the fact they weren't trying to hide themselves, she chose to ignore them. They came closer, meaning whoever it was wanted to see her, but she opted to continue scanning the area. Finally, a deep voice called, "Arcee." They femme turned to find Optimus Prime and a mech she'd never seen before. Before she could turn away, the Prime spoke again, "A moment of your time?"
Giving an annoyed sigh, she stood from her perch and walked over to meet with him, "Yes, sir?" She made sure the last were made her feelings on being interrupted clear, but the Prime was not phased. Her previous commanding officer had informed him of her demeanor since Tailgate's death. He was used to dealing with soldiers with less than savory attitudes.
"I would like you to meet our newest recruit, Sky Flash," the femme turned to look at the young white, with light red stripes, mech. He certainly looked like he could handle himself in a fight, but she wasn't impressed.
"Nice to meet you," she replied dryly, "is that all?"
"No," he said plainly, earning a huff from the femme. "I have decided that he will be joining Delta squadron today and I expect you to help him."
"Do I look like a babysitter?" she asked in annoyance. No way was she being stuck with a rookie, even if she was being ordered by a Prime.
"No, you look like someone I can trust to help young Sky Flash down the path to becoming an Autobot so that we may end this war once and for all." He simply left them there without any further word.
ShadowStrike: Terra Breaker
In the Autobot base, Arcee had just finished explaining to Jack the nature of her meeting with the young mech named Sky Flash. The human was slightly amused, "Who'd of thought Optimus would put his foot down like that?"
"He can be stern when he needs to be," she laughed lightly. "Especially when it comes to me. I wasn't happy to be stuck with a rookie to babysit, but I had no choice. There were a lot of 'Bots who would've loved to bring me before a Tribunal if I disobeyed a direct order from a Prime."
"And I thought your charm only affected me," he grinned, that awkward teenager making an appearance after an extended period of time. While Arcee was glad to see Jack more confident than he'd been before, she was glad there was still some semblance of that young boy who "fell in love" with her at the K/O Burger joint. The situation right now seemed like a forgotten memory for the moment until Jack regained his composure, "You were saying."
"After being assigned a new… well I guess we could call him a partner, I spent most of my time training him and giving him orders. He did everything I asked him, no matter how small."
"A real gentlemen," Jack replied.
"On the battlefield, I always told him to stay out of the way, but when one our own was hit, he came to the rescue. He took down at least three Brutes by himself. I was still too deep in my own self-loathing to appreciate it. Finally, I started to see him for the first time and realized he was a pretty good kid. When I finally started to let him in he became… well, let's just call him my 'Sunny'."
"I doubt he was adorable like her."
"That's a matter of perspective," she replied, a smile on her face. "When I finally started opening up to him, he did the same. It turns out he was taken from his home in Kaon and forced into a Decepticon science experiment headed by Shockwave."
"Interesting," Jack replied, making a mental note to ask who Shockwave was later.
"When he was found, he'd already been altered, but his mind was still intact," she continued. "There was a huge debate by the higher ups whether or not to let him into the army, but Optimus supported him. He was let in and he helped us win a lot of important battles to gain footing in the War."
"But someone didn't like it," Jack deduced, knowing where she was going.
"Sentinel Zeta Prime didn't trust him," she replied. "He thought he was still under some kind of Decepticon mind control despite having been cleared by every medic he was sent to. He tricked Sky Flash into going on a suicide mission, using it as an opportunity to kill him himself."
"Or so you thought?"
"He survived, barely. Megatron found him and used his charisma to turn him against us. He became Terra Breaker and was more than a match for most of the Autobots, having trained with them. He held most of us during the siege of Kaon while Megatron infiltrated the capitol building. And the rest is history.
"You still miss him, don't you?"
"If I had just gone with him, he might still be with us," she started to tremble. "I vowed that I'd get him back on our side no matter what, but it's been so long. I don't even know if he remembers me."
"I'm sure he does," Jack sat in her lap, stroking her leg. "A bond can't be so easily broken, even when it comes to the test of time."
ShadowStrike: Terra Breaker
Terra Breaker's optics opened as he sat up in his berth, surprised that he'd had that dream, "Arcee."
ShadowStrike: Terra Breaker
A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Next time: ShadowStrike decides to take matters into his own hands when a new relic is discovered.