"Hawk, no," Drake said in realization, holding up the knife. "You took a piece of your sword to make this?" His Autobot friend nodded, still smiling. "I-I can't accept this."
"Oh please. I've gotten by with more than just a notch in my blades, and besides, it might come in handy someday." Caden was about to open his mouth to protest further, but Hawk stopped him. "It's a gift, partner. Free and sincere. Keep it."
Finally relenting, Caden broke into a smile and looked at the shining blade. "Thank you." His smile went wider as his eyes met Hawk's optics. "Partner."
…
3 months later
The Maze, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6 months after the death of the Fallen
"Contact negative. Still waiting on intel."
Caden paced nervously at the declaration over comms., the black NEST bodysuit clinging uncomfortably to all the wrong places as his body streamed with sweat. He could stand heat, but shunned humidity. Unfortunately, this place had both. Nervously fingering the trigger guard of his Daggertail, the consultant checked his watch and gear for the umpteenth time, wishing the Con would come out of hiding already so they could vaporize it and get back home. Before they had stepped onto the cargo plane from DC to Brazil, an alarm had gone off from energon detectors in the massive, mountainous city, prompting the local government to call NEST to verify. Less than half an hour later, they were booked to go to South America.
Now, Caden was standing on the corner of a deserted street in the hottest part of the day, his only respite from the oppressive heat the shade that came from having three-story buildings next to six-foot-wide streets. "The Maze," as the surrounding area was called, had been aptly named, its narrow, twisting streets sitting on the side of a mountain, giving the area an uneven, tiered look that, Drake had to admit, had a sense of beauty about it. Still can't believe that a Decepticon would hide out here, especially with all these tight corners.
"Hawk," he spoke into their private comm., "you usually have a sixth sense about these things, so what's your opinion on the opposing force? How many you think?"
There was a silence from the other end for a few moments before he got a response. "Well, based on the level of energon detected and the lack of maneuvering room, I'd say one, maybe two. If they know about the sensors, though, it's possible they're hiding their signatures somehow."
Caden nodded absently and checked his ammo again, a frown of concentration creasing his features.
"Stop it, Cade."
His head snapped up. "Stop what?"
"Being nervous. You'll do fine. You have for the last three months."
Drake scoffed lightly. "Well excuse me if I'm still not used to fighting guys that are a couple dozen feet taller than me, and a lot tougher."
"If they were really that much tougher, you wouldn't be standing here, don't you think?"
"You know what I mean."
"Yes, I know, and I'm telling you your fears are absolutely unfounded."
"Considering it took me around five years to fully wrap my head around fighting my own kind, how long do you think it'll take me to adapt to fighting yours?" He heard a grunt over the radio.
"Touche."
No more words passed between them as they eagerly waited for the scouting team to finish their reconnaissance. While he doubted that Hawk was one to unduly compliment him, Caden couldn't help but think that maybe he was stretching just how much of a help he'd been. Just a little. Upon considering it further, though, he realized that the million-year-old bot quite obviously had the advantage of experience in these situations, so Caden silently deferred to his judgement, and decided that if he said he was fine, he would continue to do what he had been doing. Though he prided himself on having monumental patience, he fidgeted more in the abnormally intense heat, pulling at his collar irritably as the wait started to get to him.
"Hawk, do you think-"
"Contact! Contact sighted!" Sudden and intense gunfire was heard over Lennox's voice as he and two other squads engaged their first Decepticon.
"Copy that," Drake responded sharply as he mounted into Hawk, "moving to assist."
"Negative! We got another energon spike a quarter klick north of your position!" More gunfire and shouting was heard on the other end.
"Roger. Hawk, let's go!"
The Lambo rumbled in response as the Autobot floored the accelerator and drove as fast as he could in the crowded favela streets. Caden double and triple-checked his weapons, flicking the on switch to activate the MA fire mode on both weapons, keeping the safety in his pistol on. They hit another bump in the neglected roads and bounced twice, the spy keeping one hand on the dashboard to steady himself as they approached the target area. When the quarter-kilometer started to run out, Epps' voice was heard over the radio.
"Scans show you should be right on top of it!"
"Copy," Hawk responded. "Caden-"
"I know," his partner interrupted, opening his side door as he slowed to a stop and clambered out, heading for the nearest roof access to get a vantage point. Out of the corner of his eye, Drake saw Hawk transform and draw one of his pistols in his right hand, his chipped Cybertanium sword in his left. Unconsciously, the human reached toward the knife at his hip, double-checking it was still there, something that had become a nervous habit in the last three months. He knew what making that knife had cost his friend, and was determined never to lose it despite the fact that he had never lost combat possessions before. Still, better safe than sorry. As he proceeded to the roof, he lost track of Hawk, noting with admiration his partner's ability to stay hidden and move silently despite his size and weight.
"Caden, got a line on the enemy. Major heat sig about 200 meters west of you."
"Copy." Drake broke into a run, clipping his Daggertail to the harness on his back, the weight evenly distributed as he sprinted into position, leaping from one crowded rooftop to the next. Nearing the target, he drew the rifle again and swept the area below him, the red dot on his scope glowing urgently as he looked for signs of movement. "I got nothing. Visibility is poor from up here, but so is maneuvering room down there. If you spot him, be careful and shoot first, 'cause there's zero room to dodge."
"Copy."
Caden leapt to another roof, landing almost noiselessly on the balls of his feet as he made his way to another vantage point. "Still nothing," he whispered into his comm., knowing Cybertronians had very acute auditory sensors. Immediately after the words left his mouth, a single word in Cybertronian was heard, clear as day, that he had learned little more than two months ago: transform. A moment later, muffled, metallic thumps were heard from the street below, and Caden pressed himself against cover. "I've got one-" He peeked over his cover to see a metallic hand grasp a section of an opposite roof and tear off the shingles. "In the street directly below me. He's making his way toward the mountain peak."
"Got it, good work. I'm on my way."
Just then, the Con's upper body came into full view, revealing a gray-black Cybertronian who looked, for the most part, like a protoform, but bore traces of vehicle parts corresponding to a black Chevrolet Suburban. And it was speaking in Cybertronian. Caden's eyes widened. Wait, if it doesn't know I'm here, who the hell would it be speaking to? Sounds of movement came from behind him, and he snapped around to see what he was hoping to goodness wasn't there.
"Pretenders!" he yelled into his comm. as he opened fire with his Daggertail, nailing the first of said enemy contacts in the head and arm. The magnetic accelerator made short work of the Pretender's relatively weak armor, and he moved from cover to avoid the Decepticon, who had just taken notice of both the gunfire and his shout. Caden heard more angry shouting in Cybertronian, and he correctly assumed the Con was sending more Pretenders his way. Leaping to a shingled roof, Drake broke off at a sprint, dodging incoming fire and intermittently ducking behind cover to break their line of sight. One came around his corner at point-blank range and he shoved his Cybertanium knife into its neck underhandedly, then pulled it sideways, tearing out its neck servos and eliminating it. Another was backing it up, and Caden drew his signed Sig Sauer, double-tapping it through the chest and perforating its power source.
"Hawk, what's the status on the Con?" For a moment, there were no sounds save the click and shuffle of his reloading.
"Still...kicking!" Hawk yelled between grunts, clearly in a furious fight.
"Acknowledged. I'm on my way." Caden broke off toward his position at a sprint, barely seeing the threat on his right before dropping into a slide, falling off the second-story roof to land in the neglected street below with a roll. Using his eidetic memory and impeccable sense of direction, he was able to lose the Pretenders in pursuit long enough to back up his partner.
A ten-round automatic burst knocked off a section of the Decepticon's armor, causing him to roar in pain and rage, attempting to get a clear shot against the new combatant. Hawk ended that notion quickly when he slashed his right-hand blade through the servo keeping the Con's gun mounted to his arm, effectively disarming him while plunging his left-hand sword into his lower chest. The Combaticon hissed sharply at him before driving the back of its head into the front of Hawk's, stunning him long enough to lunge forward off the Cybertanium blade, transform into its black Chevy SUV mode, and drive down a narrow brick street.
"Hawk!" Caden yelled, and his partner responded instantly, picking him up gingerly and transforming, landing Caden in the passenger seat. They started to gain on the target within mere seconds between the superior speed and handling of Hawk's alternate form and his near-suicidal driving. "Keep it steady!" Leaning out the now-open passenger window, Caden aimed for the Con's rear wheels, as he did the day he first met the Autobots, and fired two well-placed MA shots that ruptured the rubber-like disc and sent the Chevy tailspinning into a half-roofless house. Hawk's Lambo form shifted subtly, but Caden knew what that meant: Stealth Force, an enhanced, weaponized version of the Bot's vehicle mode that allowed for massive offensive potential while mobile.
Before the Autobot could nail the Con, several Pretenders sent a flurry of automatic rounds into his ceiling from nearby rooftops, eliciting a sharp curse in Cybertronian and a break-off from his previous aggressive pattern in favor of defensive driving. His wheels shifted directly sideways, and Caden found his stomach churning at the sudden turn, except when he looked, the car wasn't turning so much as gliding. Hawk did an about-face and angled his weapons upward, firing off his deployed Neutron SMGs at the Pretenders and taking two of them out before forcing the rest to take cover. By this time, the Combaticon had started to recover, and Caden banged on Hawk's door to let him know, but the Bot either didn't understand the reason for his action or ignored it.
Hardheaded, one-track… Drake grit his teeth and lowered the window further before unbelting himself and using what limited leverage he had to jump out the window, landing awkwardly. Raising his rifle, he fired on the Con, having snapped a fresh mag into it during their brief chase. The bullets bounced off and dented its armor, causing more enraged growls and other sounds of pain as the Decepticon warrior was pounded by what it no doubt considered a being beneath its notice, much less lethal attention. One fortunate round went through its left eye, knocking it lifeless and limp as the Con seethed and drew another weapon, firing wildly, shots missing wide.
Caden ran towards it for two steps before he heard a familiar transformation from behind and felt himself being picked up by an equally familiar hand and placed on a nearby rooftop. When the spy checked on the number of Pretenders on the opposite roof, all he found was a pile of charred, steaming metal corpses. Drake found he could only stare at his robotic partner as he picked the Con apart piece by piece, effectively dissecting it before piercing its spark. After Hawk made sure it was dead, he lifted a finger to his ear and activated his comm. system.
"Lennox, our target's down, along with a bunch of unexpected backup."
"Solid copy," the major responded, "we're wrappin' up here too."
"Did Sideswipe make a mess of things," Hawk asked with a smirk on his face.
A sigh came from the other end. "Surprisingly, no. The Twins did."
Hawk winced involuntarily, suddenly and immeasurably grateful he didn't have to have more than brief contact with them at any given time. "Roger that. Try, try very hard not to put any dings in them that they haven't already. We're on our way." With that, he turned to Caden, who had approached him on a closer rooftop, practically meeting him eye-to-eye.
The boy's arms were crossed, eyes narrowed dangerously, and his expression was one that left little interpretation. He was pissed. When the Bot's mouth opened to ask what was wrong, Caden cut him off.
"You. Don't. Trust me."
…
6 hours later, 2:08 PM EST
Sudley, VA
The ride back to the States was tense and silent, Hawk having given up on earning a deeper explanation as to what his partner meant. Not even halfway through the flight, he threw his hands up, figuratively speaking, since he was in car mode, and just stopped trying. Now, he was driving the silent, brooding spy to his house in Sudley, more of a small mansion really, a location that he had seen from the outside many times since the start of Caden's "consultation." When he began to pull into the side road that led there, he chanced another try.
"Caden, what did you mean when you said I didn't trust you?" Once again, Hawk prepared himself to receive the silent treatment yet again, but instead got a small huff and a derisive snarl. It was, at the very least, a different reaction.
"For such an advanced being," Caden started, "and a spy to boot, you're awfully slow to catch on." Internally, Hawk's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at this. Still seeing that his "partner" didn't get the point, the boy rolled his eyes. "You really wanna know? Fine. You don't trust me. After three months of being partners, you don't trust me to take care of myself. I had that Con dead to rights, but you stepped in and took the kill."
Hawk deployed his holoform in the driver's seat, who gaped at the human incredulously. "You're pissed at me...because I 'kill-stole'? Really?"
Caden huffed again and rolled his eyes, exasperated rather than angry. "Yeah, you're missing the point." He drew in a deep breath and sighed. "The fact that you took out the Con is nothing to me, but the fact that you put me on a roof before you did is everything. You needlessly took me out of harm's way."
"Needlessly? You're my charge, and I'm your guardian."
"And my partner."
"I'm honor-bound to keep you safe."
"Within reason," the human hissed out between clenched teeth. "Like I once told a dear friend of mine, I'm used to taking care of myself, and I don't need to be coddled."
"Taking care of yourself? Maybe against humans, but Cybertronians?"
Caden exhaled a long sigh and laid his hand on his forehead, hearing his voiced fears reflected in what Hawk just said. True, he was good, one might say the best in the world. But, as the Bots and soldiers kept reminding him, he was only human. With another sigh, Drake relented and sunk against his seat, tension leaking out of him. "I'm sorry. You're right, I...I'm sorry." He felt a gentle pat on his shoulder and looked over to see a knowing expression on Hawk's face.
"You're used to being a guardian, not the guarded. I understand." The Bot smiled slightly, the remaining tension and anxiety flowing out of his partner. He could tell Caden wasn't one to make himself vulnerable very often, not even to those he called friends, so this rare moment of softness was indeed a rarity. For such a fragile being, Hawk had to admit, over the last three months, Caden Drake had shown himself to be surprisingly resilient, both physically and mentally. He seemed to pass both off as the product of his Achilles enhancements, but the Bot had a hard time believing it was all just his genetics. After all, Optimus Prime, the last of his kind and a peerless fighter, was spawned a peaceful bot, a librarian, for Primus' sake!
Despite the fact that he knew Caden was fragile physically, Hawk also knew that he wouldn't put up with being treated as such, and had been trying to find the proper balance between guardian and partner since the moment he joined NEST in a full combat capacity. If today's operation had been any indication, he still had a long way to go. Although, the Autobot thought resignedly, I'd rather have his pride and ego come to harm than his body. In another ten seconds, they were in the driveway of his three-story, 5,000 square foot house and pulling into his secure garage. Hawk's holoform hesitated to step out of the vehicle, as all he'd done in the aftermath of previous operations was drop off his charge-slash-partner and leave to monitor at a safe distance, but as Caden stepped out the door, he thumbed a button on the interior wall of the garage and closed the exit door.
Hawk's eyebrows went up and his holoform stared at Caden in question, who stared back with a confused, almost amused expression.
"Well," he asked the Bot, "you coming?"
Hawk opened his mouth for a snarky reply, but found he had no way to counter it. I've never even seen the inside of his place before. Wonder what changed today, especially in the wake of that...botched action. Slowly but surely, he opened his driver-side door and stepped out, form flickering as his mind wandered briefly before solidifying completely again. Caden waved him through the garage door and into one of the most immaculate houses he'd ever seen the inside of, though that hadn't been many. The halls seemed to scream at him in ivory colors, Corinthian columns by the front door on his left, on the inside and out, the bright walls and supports a stark contrast from the dark mahogany wood of the floor. From the instant he entered the house, Hawk was very aware that contrast figured very heavily into the colors and physical design of the dwelling's interior.
As they strode into an atrium that linked the front door, garage, living room, and staircase to the upper levels, Hawk noticed a slight bit of tension in the house's owner and looked over to see his smiling, almost beaming expression. His eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion over the cause of the tension until Caden spoke.
"So...you like it?"
Startled out of his thoughts, Hawk took a quick glance around the large, open room, one glance all he needed to commit every detail to memory. "Absolutely," he said with a large smile. "Even on Cybertron, there was nothing quite like this, even in the early days. It's...beautiful." His holographic optics scanned around the house slowly, as if to take an even closer look than before, to attempt to appreciate all the minute details in this building.
"I do my own interior decorating."
Hawk's eyebrows shot up and he stared right at the speaker in disbelief.
"Now, before you accuse me of working myself to death, I didn't do...everything, at least as far as the work goes. Just the designs. I drew up a scale model of the entire building before I had it commissioned for construction."
"You drew...all this? Wait, did you say, commissioned?"
Caden gave him a smug smirk and nodded. "Yep. Contrary to the vibe I give off, I'm part of what you might call the 'one-percent.'" Allowing Hawk a moment or two to look up the term online, he grinned as the Bot's optics widened even further. "I'm actually worth billions, thanks to my parents. But...I thought you already knew that."
"I...I did. I guess...I guess I didn't make the connection when you said they stole billions of dollars from the Keystone. Didn't think to ask if it was yours now."
"That's the way human inheritances usually go. If the parents die and their child doesn't, everything they owned automatically goes to them, unless otherwise specified."
"Huh," was all Hawk could say as he took in the fact that before one cornerstone or brick had been placed, Caden had seen all of this in his head and translated it into a solid structure. The creativity, the colors...it's incredible...artistic, even. He looked at Caden, who was himself becoming lost in the grandeur of the building. Hawk's systems flashed realization at the train of thought he'd just had. That's because he is an artist, on the battlefield or off. Again, he wasn't sure that all, or even most of that, was due to his Achilles enhancements. Finally, he broke the long, awed silence. "So, does this mean we're 'good'?"
Caden smirked and stared at the ground for a few seconds, hands in his pockets as he nodded slightly. "Yeah, we're good. If you wanna tour the house, I'm more than willing to show you around."
Hawk pressed his lips together thoughtfully before shaking his head slightly. "I don't feel I'm privy to that kind of closeness just yet. Trust and friendship have to be earned, and frankly, I feel like lately I've been doing, as you humans would say, a 'piss-poor' job of it."
Caden arched an eyebrow. "Well, considering you've been around humans much less than the other Autobots, with the exception of Que, of course, I'd say you're tryin' your best." A sly grin came to his features. "Besides, the whole 'you being my car' thing helps."
"Funny," Hawk said with a slight chuckle, "never thought you were that shallow."
Caden's smile faded. "I'm not." An awkward silence passed between them before Caden continued. "Well, if you're not gonna have me take you around, I'm gonna go shower, maybe put some time in the workshop."
"Don't forget to take care of your weapons," Hawk scolded.
Caden rolled his eyes tiredly. "Yes, mother. You do realize that I've never neglected a weapon in my life?"
"No offense, but most of you fleshies have the attention span of a glitch mouse and the memory of a scraplet."
Caden's eyes went wide in confusion. "Not exactly sure what that meant, but I get your drift." He saw Hawk flash confusion at the phrase and had to resist the urge to roll his eyes again, instead striding toward and up the stairs as he changed the subject. "I'll be by my phone if you need to contact me. If you want to get out of my garage, just press the up arrow on the control you saw me use. Remember to close it from the outside when you're done."
"Uh, thanks." Guessing it was about the right time for him to leave, Hawk's holoform vanished and reappeared in the garage, thumbing the retract button on the control Caden mentioned. His Lambo form backed out and stopped as his holoform hit the close, then hit the gas, speeding him 25 mph backward and causing him to gain enough momentum to execute an almost instant 180, then shift gears and drive away. He had been watching guard, effectively staking out the house and surrounding area for the last three months from an abandoned, overgrown barnyard, keeping his car form hidden inside the barn itself while his holoform watched the road. Today was no different, or at least it didn't seem to be, but he could feel something wrong, in his gut. There was no logic to it, no rational reasoning, Hawk just felt eerily and unexplainably anxious and on edge.
Something was coming. He just knew it.
…
Four hours later, 6:04 PM EST
Sudley, VA
He hated this planet. With a passion that was rivaled only by his hatred for anything related to the Autobots. The seasons, the weather, the population, everything about this place irked him to no end. Not even the high quality of vehicles on this world could redeem it in his optics, though he had never put much stock in that sort of thing. That kind of vanity was reserved for Knockout. He grit his teeth internally, his car form going well over the human speed limit as his frustration and anger rose. He would obey Lord Megatron without question, but his tolerance in the face of duty had its limits. The sooner I get this human, the better. As he rounded another corner, he found himself on a well-paved side road through a heavily forested area.
He snarled internally at the overgrown nature of his surroundings, loathing every second he had to spend here. Even human cities are better than this chaos. Chaos… His insides twisted into a cruel smile at the thought. He had spent the last three months tracking the human's transactions, movements, sightings, even. It had been a far more difficult task than he had ever expected to track a man who, according to virtually every database on the planet, didn't exist. The human "intelligence" agencies on this planet had files on him barely a few pages thick. Though he loathed and hated the entirety of their race, the Con had to admit that his target was...special among his kind...but it mattered not. Any minute now, the human would be in his grasp and on his way to Megatron. Afterward, well, let's just say this particular Cybertronian was hoping that the human would resist whatever Megatron had planned. He was looking forward to inflicting pain and not just death.
He approached an intersection and saw a black-haired man standing at the corner, leaning against a fence and staring at him very intently, trying to gaze beyond his tinted windshield. His engine snorted in contempt as he rounded the bend and sped up again, leaving him in the dust. He didn't notice just how intense that gaze had become, or the way the human's eyes went wide when he snorted at him, the look of realization as he realized exactly who and what the car was.
…
No, Hawk thought, his holoform shaking his head in denial. No, no, no. There's no way he's still alive. But as much as he tried to think of all the rational reasons why what he had just seen and heard was impossible, he knew that silver Audi, the way it acted like it owned the road and...snorted at him. Actually snorted. Belatedly, he began to accept the truth, with only one word on his mind. Sideways… His holoform vanished and engine roared to life as he collected his thoughts and focused on catching up to his presumed-dead nemesis.
…
Sideways scowled at his scanners, having picked up a sudden spike in energon readings in his immediate vicinity, and rightly assumed that the Autobots had discovered his presence. Opening a channel to Soundwave, he asked to be relayed to Megatron and was rewarded with a single word from the Decepticon leader.
"Speak."
"My lord, I am closing in on the human, but the Autobots have been alerted to my presence somehow. I will be pursued even if I successfully retrieve the human."
"I anticipated as much, Sideways. Focus on taking the human and returning to base. Leave the details of your escape to me."
Scowling again, he suppressed the urge to show it over comms. "Yes, Lord Megatron." Closing the link, he sped up slightly, rapidly approaching the three-story human dwelling and pulling over behind a set of bushes. He activated his holoform and strode toward the house silently, the deepening shadows masking his approach somewhat. As Sideways hacked the building's security system, a familiar thrill of excitement rushed through him as he was, once again, the hunter.
…
Caden laid down his welding iron and took off his mask, grabbing a nearby towel to wipe the sweat off his face. Before he could reach for a bottle of water, his eyes noticed the light of a nearby smoke detector stop blinking and froze. Narrowing his eyes, he strode over to a computer panel on his second-floor workshop's wall, touching a few functions on the panel before realizing that all his security cameras and systems were down. Holy...that shouldn't even be possible. Whoever hacked my systems is a genius. Reaching over to his folded jacket, he belted on his gun and knife holster and drew his trademark Sig Sauer, flipping the safety off while walking to the stairwell, keeping behind the cover of the hallway wall before peeking out slightly. Seeing the door ajar sent a slight jolt through his system.
Who could possibly know where I live and be stupid enough to break in? He moved toward the stairs, gun raised, and cleared the atrium before silently descending the stairs. Sudden movement in his peripheral vision drew his eyes and gun before the latter was yanked out of his hand and he was pulled off the stairs from the rail. He hit the ground hard, but not hard enough to keep him down, as he rolled to the side almost instantly, escaping the grasping hands of his assailant. As he got to his feet, he got a good look at the attacker: five-ten, wiry but defined, with dirty blonde hair, dark eyes, and a cruel smirk on his face. He charged at Drake, but the spy dodged sideways, driving a short uppercut into his lower ribs. To his surprise, his opponent didn't stagger, grunt, or respond at all. Hell, his body didn't even give.
What was worse, the attacker drove an elbow into the side of his head that made all of the above happen to him. A few more blows from the invader let Caden know that whatever he was fighting, it wasn't human. He withdrew and attempted to run for his weapon when he felt an arm around his neck, gripping him tightly. As his body prepared itself for the darkness, he remembered the Cybertanium knife at his hip and drew it, thrusting it deep into the enemy's hip. To his relief, the grip around his neck slackened and the man drew back in pain, or at least what he thought was pain. Caden dove for his gun and rolled over to face upward, pointing the weapon right between his eyes and squeezing the trigger. The round went right through him...it, but then the 'man' did something he genuinely wasn't expecting.
He vanished. Right into thin air. The knife dropped to the floor, no longer anchored to anything, and clattered against the wood with a metallic clang. Drake got to his feet and bent over to pick it up, looking at it and then the air where his opponent had just been standing, apprehension sinking in as his mind raced to figure out the answer to this mystery. Then his eyes widened and he slid the knife back into its sheath, yanking his phone out of his pocket and dialing his guardian's number.
"Hawk," he said the moment he heard the ringing stop, "Cons!" That was all he was able to get out before a gigantic metallic hand reached through the open door and picked him up roughly, yanking him out the door and bringing him face-to-face with a transformed silver Audi and a pair of blazing red optics. Oh no, oh hell no!
Before he could even think about resisting, he felt the impact of his head against one of his columns and dimly felt his hand slip his phone into his pocket before blacking out.
…
Fallen's black spark! Hawk thought as he saw Sideways transform and tuck Caden into his backseat, slipping a tight seatbelt over his limp body. He furiously scanned the Decepticon, and recycled his energon in relief when he found strong lifesigns on his human charge. He briefly contemplated all-out assaulting the Con, but instantly decided against it, knowing the extent of his cruelty and that he would annihilate the human if he thought it would cause the former Con pain. He grit his teeth internally and went over his limited options, deciding to tell Optimus as he watched them drive away.
"Optimus," he said over his comms. "Prime, come in."
A burst of static came over the connection before the Bot answered in his familiar regal voice. "Hawk, I'm receiving."
"Caden's been kidnapped." Hawk waited a moment before continuing. "Prime, it's...Sideways. He's alive." Another pause.
"This is grave news. We assumed he had perished in Shanghai, but if he is indeed alive...this could mean only one thing."
"Megatron's got something planned. He wouldn't deploy his greatest assassin otherwise."
"I agree. Do you have a fix on them?"
"Affirmative. I had to drop back to a safe distance. I have no idea what Megatron wants him for, so Sideways may have orders to kill him if we intervene. We'll have to play this just right."
"I agree. Keep your distance, but do not lose track of them."
"Couldn't if I wanted to. Caden had the sense to keep his phone on him, the one that's hard-coded for our comm. channels. Brilliant!"
"Excellent. I'm scrambling reinforcements as we speak. Stay on them!"
"Done." As Hawk kept tailing his former rival, he prayed to Primus, to the Allspark, to any higher being that Caden be kept alive until the other Autobots arrived to save him...and tried desperately to ignore the uncomfortably rapid thrumming of his spark.
…
NEST headquarters
Washington, D.C.
"Ironhide, let's move!" Lennox watched as the black bot transformed down and waited for him to finish before getting in and hearing the Topkick screeching off to join Optimus, Sideswipe, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Chromia. Ratchet was already en-route from an unexpected energon mine in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the Twins were peeling off from their usual debauchery to intercept. In no time at all, the NEST personnel had cleared out the extensive highway traffic and allowed the Autobots to speed toward their target at over three times the normal speed limit without incident. "What do we know," he asked the Autobot guardian.
"Caden Drake has been abducted," Ironhide responded in his usual gruff voice. "The Con that took him is currently fleeing to destinations unknown. The logical explanation is that Megatron would like to kill him personally, so that's where he's being taken."
"Megatron? What interest could he possibly have in one human?"
"Is that not the question we asked four months ago?"
"It's also one we have yet to answer."
Ironhide had no answer to that except to accelerate more, pushing his vehicle form to the limit as they all struggled to intercept the Decepticon kidnapper.
"Ironhide, Chromia."
"Here, Optimus," the sparkmated Bots replied in unison.
"It is entirely possible that Sideways has backup in hiding. If Megatron sent him to retrieve Caden, he will not leave his 'investment' unguarded."
"Understood, Prime," Ironhide acknowledged. "All units, expect heavy resistance."
"I hope to Primus it does not come to that, but his mercies have been somewhat lacking lately. Prime out."
They drove on in silence and tension, waiting until either they were in range or Hawk gave them another report.
…
Sudley, VA
Outskirts
Frickin'-a. Caden rolled his eyes in their closed sockets rather painfully, willing the throbbing in the back of his head to stop before experimentally opening them. The light wouldn't have been so bright and painful if A: he hadn't just suffered a blow to the back of the head, and B: the sun weren't setting, and right in front of him. His eyelids snapped shut and allowed the light leaking through them to adjust his abnormally sensitive eyes to the brightness. A few seconds later, he opened them again and saw that, as he suspected, he was strapped tightly to the center seat of a silver Audi. With no one in the driver's seat. Letting out a long sigh, he considered the reasons why Sideways could still be alive after literally being cut in half, but stopped when he realized it didn't matter. What mattered was what he was doing kidnapping a human.
"So," he said suddenly, breaking the deafening silence in the supposedly posh car. "You're Sideways."
A growl came from the speakers before he heard a response. "And you're nothing...except awake and fleshy and irritating."
Caden mock winced. "Ouch, that hurts my feelings, 'Ways, it really does."
A mocking snort came from the radio. "See if I care, insect."
A few more silent moments passed before Caden became his usual direct self. "So, I've been wondering for the past few months, what the hell do you want me for?" Silence. "Or maybe I should ask, what does Megatron want me for? Seems a waste to sic his 'left hand' on a mere 'insect,' doesn't it?"
"For once, I agree with a human, but Megatron's word is law, his command absolute. Failure means death."
Caden smirked. "Is that what he told you when he 'commanded' you to take out Crow?" He could have sworn he felt the car shudder.
"Who told you that," Sideways hissed out.
"A little bird," Caden said, his surprisingly smug smirk widening, "or...should I say, a Hawk." Another shudder, slightly more powerful, but enough that Drake could feel it.
"Do not. Ever. Mention. That. Name."
"Why not? Is it because you had to stab him in the back to win? Shoot him from a mile away? Hell, even Sideswipe friggin' cut you in half without a fight. In half! Hawk was always your better, and you know it, so you prey on those weaker than yourself so you can feel more powerful, is that it? You're a weakling, and a coward with a few cheap tricks."
A diagonal seatbelt snaked itself around his neck, cutting off his air as it tightened painfully. He gasped and sputtered for breath as Sideways responded to his accusations. "You are flesh. I could snap your neck right now." To accent this point, the belt tightened harder. "And you would speak to me of weakness?" The belt released him harshly, and he gulped in air, feeling the heat of pooled blood start to fade as oxygen circulated through his system.
Caden's smirk vanished at his tone and actions, but internally, he was grinning confidently. He knew he was getting to the Con, exciting his darker emotions, making him unconsciously vulnerable. No matter who it was, human or Cybertronian, sentients tended to spit out random bits of truth when they were angry, and right now, he needed one truth in particular.
"Physical weakness is one thing," Drake choked out, still getting his bearings, "but the longer I live, the more I realize that it matters so much less than weaknesses of the mind and heart. Without the intellect to come up with a plan and the heart, the determination, the courage to follow through, physical strength is useless."
"I'm sorry," Sideways scoffed, "you seem to think I'm someone who gives a frag."
Caden arched an eyebrow. A frag. Now there's an idea… Surreptitiously patting his pockets, he listened to Sideways rant on about the weakness of 'fleshies' and the absolute will of 'Lord Megatron.' Yeah yeah, keep blabbing the manifesto. Just a matter of time before I find a way to kick your ass. When the spy's hand went to his belt, he found something that both exhilarated and shocked him. His Sig and knife were sitting pretty, right where he preferred to keep them. Caden's eyes narrowed to slits. Is he stupid or just doesn't think either of these can do anything to him? Either way, he meant to capitalize on the unexpected turn.
"Yeah yeah," he said, interrupting the ranting Con, "tell me something I don't know. Like what Megatron has planned for me. You mentioned I was a gigantic waste of resources." He noticed belatedly that as he spoke, the temperature in the car had gotten uncomfortably high, and he knew he had thoroughly pissed him off by interrupting.
"I don't know!" Sideways yelled at a painful volume, causing his human occupant to realize that the interruption itself hadn't caused anger as much as the question and his inability to answer it. "All I know is, I have orders to take you in alive, and I'm beginning to overlook their validity."
Caden clammed up at the thinly veiled threat and showed Sideways an expression of terror, an emotion starkly opposite to his actual curiosity and amusement. Not even Sideways, his left hand, knows. He realized that whatever Megatron had planned for him, it required absolute secrecy, and that thought alone almost made his terrified expression real. In that moment, all he knew was that there was only one remotely favorable option left to him: escape. Looking around the car, he noticed that the door's locking system wasn't engaged, as he expected that the seatbelt would be enough to keep Caden in his seat. I'll have to be fast.
Caden's hand went for his knife and drew it in less than a sixteenth of a second, slashing the belt around his waist before his free hand hit the opening lever on the door.
…
Thirty seconds earlier
Hawk was tapped into Caden's cell phone, listening in on their conversation, recycling his energon at the sound of his partner's voice and freezing whenever he made Sideways even remotely angry. After the Con threatened him again, he knew the situation was bound to degenerate fast, especially if Drake kept on provoking him. Much to his relief, the boy stayed quiet and still. A thought ran through the Bot's head, and for a moment, he actually considered letting Sideways get away with him. After all, he had a tap on Caden's phone, and if Sideways was going back to Megatron… Primus almighty! Optimus was in tow with almost all the other Autobots and a veritable army of NEST soldiers. If and when they caught up, they could corner the Decepticon leader and offline him for good. They could end the war, today. Hawk actually smiled when he looked at the phone's camera feed and saw the human still not moving. That's it, partner, just take it easy. We've got it from-oh slag!
Caden had just moved in a big way, and from the feed coming from his phone, Sideways was none too happy. A seatbelt was trying to wrap itself around the boy's neck, but he slashed his Cybertanium knife through it before opening his left-side back door fully and leaning half his body out. Hawk's optics went wide. Oh, no. Please tell me you're not going to jump, cause not even I'm that fast. His caution was well-merited, as Sideways had increased his speed from an easy cruising velocity of just over 40 mph to around 110. Even barrel-rolling with the impact with his Achilles genetics, he didn't stand a chance of surviving. One move later, and he realized Caden knew this.
The knife plunged into Sideways' back wheel, rupturing it and causing the entire car to buckle and swerve. Thankfully, there were no cars on this back road, but the Con and his human occupant were driving dangerously close to a cliff. Hawk's spark did a flip when Caden leapt from the vehicle, but when he checked the boy's speed from his phone, he saw that it was well in the survivable range even for a normal human. The moment he rolled to a stop, Drake scrambled to his feet and sprinted, ignoring his bruises and injuries in a last-ditch attempt to escape Sideways. Well, there goes the tail idea. Even if Sideways managed to recapture Caden, he would be suspicious that with the Autobots nearby, he could escape without a fight, or at the least a chase.
Gritting his teeth, Hawk toyed with the idea of staging such an event, but when Caden's phone camera got a transformed Sideways in its view, and he saw the sheer hatred in the Con's optics, he knew the boy wouldn't last that long. Gunning his engine, he rushed to close the five-mile gap and stop Sideways from killing his partner.
…
"Optimus! Optimus, do you read?!"
"Loud and clear," the leader responded. "What's your status?"
"In active pursuit, sir! Caden just did something really stupid, like, say, breaking out of Sideways, and he's gonna get himself killed!"
Optimus' spark skipped a beat at the sound of Hawk's voice. He actually sounded...panicked. He never panicked. "Understood. Engage at your discretion." Closing the channel, he opened another one to the NEST soldiers and Autobots. "All units, the Consultant has just escaped from Decepticon custody and is under attack. You are all authorized to use lethal force and engage any and all threats on sight."
"Satellite scans of the area show minimal civilian presence," Lennox added. "We're cleared hot."
"Autobots, maximum overdrive!" Bursts of ignited nitrous oxide came from the exhaust pipes off all the Autobots present as they pushed the limits of just how fast they could go. The Prime checked his GPS and saw that there was a large, deep valley, more of a hole really, dead ahead. Hawk and Caden were on the other side of it and getting closer, according to his transponder, and the NEST convoy would have to go off-road to reach it quickly. "On me!" Prime's wheels pointed sharply sideways as he slammed on the brakes, turning off the road and plowing through a row of bushes in the relatively level area. Trees were scarce on this side of the valley, so they could essentially beeline it to their target.
Or they should have been able to.
Without warning, fanfare, or prelude, an explosion hit one of the NEST trucks and capsized it. The Bots' attention turned skyward, and they saw the source of the attack. A steel-gray Cybertronian jet flew overhead, intimidating, but a different model from the one they were all used to seeing. Optimus' optics went wide in realization. No...it can't be. When the jet transformed and landed in the path of the convoy, spraying concussive explosives in a wide arc and forcing them to stop, his suspicions were confirmed.
"Ironhide," Optimus said, voice rising in intensity, "take Chromia, Bumblebee, and Major Lennox around this ambush. Get to Caden and save him at all costs!"
"On it, Prime!" Ironhide shouted as he and his sparkmate kicked up more dust and sped away from the brewing battle, Bee in tow.
Optimus and most of the other remaining Bots, now including the Twins, transformed to their bipedal modes, several weaponized NEST jeeps flanking them in a protective formation. The Prime's battle mask snapped over his features as he drew his right ion blaster from his back, his left hand retracting to deploy an energon sword as he stared into the dust kicked up by the explosions.
"Shockwave," he said darkly, pointing his blaster at the steel-gray Con's silhouette. When the dust finally cleared, he could see the focus of his attention was not alone, several other Combaticons and Seekers having joined him on the ground. A single evil, red eye stared back at the Prime, and his vertical mandibles contorted into a sideways, disturbing version of what one might consider a smile.
"Optimus Prime," he hissed out, saying nothing else. A gigantic cannon sat on his right arm, a chain of ammo linking to his back to allow for rapid fire and reloading, and a pointed shield sat on his left, the end of it sharp and hard enough to pierce even the toughest armor. Neither side made a move for several seconds, and everyone waited with bated breath, knowing they were all on a hair trigger. As expected, the Cons made the first move.
Shockwave pointed one thick claw at the Autobots, and all of his backup fired at once, forcing them to rush for what limited cover they could get as they returned fire. The Decepticon commander opened fire on Optimus himself a second later, sending concussive rounds in his direction. One nicked the large Bot in the shoulder, and he lost his balance briefly before executing a combat roll and retracting his sword in favor of his second blaster. They exchanged fire chaotically as Ironhide and the others raced to stop Sideways, barely taking the time or processing power to notice that several Combaticons broke off from the main group to follow.
…
Hawk skidded around a tight turn, flooring the accelerator in his mad dash to stop Sideways when he saw Caden's camera feed and stared at it in shock. Is he glitched?! Drake was almost within Sideways' grasp when the kid leapt off the side of the cliff and fell ten feet, driving the knife into the cliff wall with both hands to slow his fall. He could hear the yells of strain and pain over the link as he held the knife in, slowing his four-hundred-foot fall into the valley, evidently a quarry. His feet hit the ground, and other than a slight grunt, Caden showed no signs of injury.
The Bot recycled his energon in relief until the feed panned again, and he saw Sideways following closely, leaping half the distance unharmed before driving his clawed hand into the cliffside to slow himself down. By the time he reached the bottom, Caden had already sprinted halfway toward a warehouse used for collecting large-cut rocks. At least he might have a chance in there. Hawk booked it toward the cliffside, still over two minutes out, and desperately hoped his previous hesitation wouldn't cause the human his life.
…
Caden was breathing heavily by the time he reached the warehouse, which was saying something. His adrenaline was pumping his blood faster, and his fear was driving his flurried steps, a feeling that he didn't experience often. He was actually running for his life. Caden snarled at that fact. I really hoped never to be doing that again. Shoving his pride away, Drake entered the building and shoved it closed behind him, breaking off in a sprint to get to the top level and an administrative booth. He ducked inside and crouched down, pressing his back against a wall, body out of view from anywhere Sideways might break in. As if in answer to his thoughts, he heard a loud clang of metal against metal as the sheet metal wall of the warehouse was torn open.
Loud metal steps were heard getting closer and closer to him, and he knew it was only a matter of time before the Con found his hiding place. Thinking hard and fast, he realized where he was: the administrative booth. He leapt to his feet, staying low to avoid being seen, and made his way to a schematic of the building. A confident smirk came to his lips at what he saw, and he silently made his way onto one of the upper catwalks, timing his movements with Sideways' field of vision to avoid detection until he reached the controls for the warehouse's machines. A conveyor belt activated on the far side of the building, and Sideways moved to investigate, his arm plating opening to unveil a 12.7 mm minigun.
As he neared the source of the disturbance, Sideways lurched backward at the sound of new movement, yet another belt coming online. His head swiveled at the various machines that seemed to activate on their own, and his optics narrowed in suspicion, trying to trace the movement to its cause. As he stalked the building, Sideways stepped under a slowly moving crane holding a ton-worth of rocks. The crane released its payload, and the Con's armor was dented under the sudden weight. Shoving the rocks away and snarling, he started scattering automatic rounds in every direction, hoping one of the rounds would hit his tormentor.
As it was, a few came close. Dangerously close. Gritting his teeth, Caden activated another crane and caused Sideways to duck in response only to be knocked over when the spy reversed the machine's path. Snarling and growling, the Con's optics finally alighted on Drake's position, and the kid's eyes went wide in panic for an instant before instincts and years of training sent him running for the end of the catwalk and a second-story window. Bullets bounced around him, missing by mere inches as he crashed through the glass, falling twelve feet to land with a roll and keep running, this time toward an inactive bulldozer. Praying for a miracle, Caden was pleasantly surprised to find the keys still in the ignition.
Guess the company doesn't expect anyone to get very far stealing a vehicle this slow. Caden keyed the demolition and excavation vehicle on and pushed the engine and hydraulics, turning to face a furious Sideways. Gunning the engine, he charged the Con at maximum speed and leaned over in his seat, ducking down to avoid a salvo of automatic fire. Ten feet away from his target, Caden hit the lever to lower the 'dozer's arm and caused the metal teeth to slam directly into Sideways' chest. Hearing the Con's grunts of pain and frustration, Caden returned to a normal seating position and raised the arm, grinding the teeth further into his chassis as the machine tried to lift the Con. Eventually, Sideways was pinned against the side of the warehouse, and Caden pulling away with the 'dozer, slamming into him again and again until his opponent shoved his left hand down and activated his buzz saw hand, cutting at the metal arm until a blade hit the hydraulic line and caused it to sag.
Uh-oh.
Sideways pushed back on the vehicle and plunged a hand into its front, crushing the engine before reaching toward the cab and gripping the safety bars that were all that stood between him and his human target. Prying them apart, the Con snarled and growled, then recoiled when Caden laid into his face with a half-dozen rounds of magnetically accelerated shots from his pistol. Clambering out of the 'dozer, the human made it as far as thirty feet before Sideways grabbed him and squeezed his body, causing him to drop the gun. In a last-ditch effort to escape, the boy drew the Cybertanium knife and plunged it into his hand before a quick and painful flick of the Con's wrist sent the blade flying into the dust.
Releasing the human, Sideways drew his trademark Nucleon rifle and leveled it at the human, watching as his eyes widened in fear, then narrowed in resignation.
If I'm going out, I'm doin' it with eyes wide open.
Caden stared into the blazing red optics of his killer as he watched his right fist and index clench in a firing motion.
…
"No!" Hawk roared as he slammed into his nemesis, making his shot go wide, over twelve feet away, putting a nicely-sized crater in the quarry's rock floor, but not much else. A Cybertanium blade snapped from its arm sheath as he plunged it between Sideways' shoulder plates. "Caden," he shouted, turning to his charge, "run! The others are looking for you. Go!" He watched the human eye him and Sideways for a moment, carefully, almost doubtfully. "I got this," Hawk hissed out, a confident smirk on his face as he successfully restrained the Con.
Caden nodded and broke off toward a company vehicle at a sprint, then duck inside to hotwire it.
"It's you and me again, old friend," Hawk hissed out, turning his focus to the glaring Cybertronian struggling in his grasp. With a snarl of contempt, the Bot shifted his weight backward and threw the Con to the ground, drawing his right pistol, left arm still bearing one of his blades as they faced off.
"Get slagged, Crow," Sideways responded with an equivalent snarl.
Hawk narrowed his optics at him. "Sorry, but, didn't you already try that?" Before Sideways could answer, he charged the Con and cut another gash into his armor, firing off two glancing shots with his pistol before being disarmed of it and drop-kicked backward. Recovering with a roll, he entered the fray again, barely glancing to the side at the sound of an engine starting up and the corresponding car driving away. Suddenly feeling at ease in the knowledge that his partner was relatively safe again, he focused on the battle with Sideways with renewed vigor-and anger, finally allowing his rage over Caden's abduction to boil his energon and give him the strength and ferocity he knew all too well.
…
"Caden!" Ironhide shouted at seeing the human in the nondescript car, doing a rough 180 to match his direction and matching his speed a few seconds later. "Where's Sideways?"
"With Hawk," Caden muttered darkly, clearly not happy about the fact. Glancing over at the Topkick, he saw Lennox looking toward the quarry worriedly, the major having known about the Con's nearly successful attempt on Hawk's life on Cybertron. "Yeah, I know what you're thinking, but...he's got it." I hope.
"Chromia and Bumblebee were cut off by Onslaught and a few of his Combaticons," Ironhide said, explaining why he and Lennox were the only ones looking for him.
"Then let's back 'em up. Lead the way."
Lennox nodded to Ironhide at the Bot's hesitance, and the Topkick went off-road through a cluster of bushes and tall grass, Caden's pilfered car following closely. After about a minute passed with worry and anxiety flowing through him, Caden did a 180 and went back toward the quarry.
"Slaggit, Drake! What are you doing?"
"I can't leave him to fight Sideways alone. It's been years, maybe millennia since they've last fought. The Con could have a whole litany of tricks up his metal sleeves that Hawk has no idea about. Go help your wife, uh, sparkmate. Trust me, I'll be fine." He saw Ironhide reluctantly keep going toward the sounds of battle through his rearview mirror and heard Lennox's voice through the speaker of his phone.
"Good luck, kid."
Caden arched an eyebrow and smirked. "Luck," he asked snarkily. "In my experience, Major, there's no such thing as luck." A light chuckle was heard over the connection before it broke and he was left to the relative silence and solitude of driving.
…
Chromia was busy taking on two Combaticons at once when her sparkmate arrived, Bumblebee managing to hold his own against Onslaught himself. When Ironhide joined the fray, however, a twin blast from his new Que-made cannons offlined one of Chromia's opponents for good and another heavily damaged Onslaught. Bee took that as an opportunity to shove his cannon into the Con's elbow joint and fire, severing the lower half of his arm and causing him to shriek in pain. The roars of two more engines were heard in the distance, and Ironhide looked to see Knockout and his ever-attached appendage Breakdown streaking toward them, the flamboyant red Ferrari a stark contrast to the tough-looking military jeep.
Snarling in contempt, the weapon specialist left Bee and Chromia to handle the two remaining Cons and fired his weapons on the newcomers, causing them to swerve in evasive maneuvers and Knockout to whine about dirt getting on his brilliant finish. Breakdown transformed and engaged Ironhide up-close, but the bulky Con was no match for the older, more experienced Bot. As it were, the Decepticon partners were barely holding their own against Ironhide, and the Autobot specialist honestly seemed to be enjoying the battle...until Breakdown pointed his shoulder cannon at Chromia. Then all bets were off.
…
By the time Caden returned to the quarry, he could see the signs of damage both on the facility and the robots battling in it, and though Sideways had clearly taken the worst of it, he could see that Hawk's movements were getting a bit sluggish. One moment of hesitation was all the Decepticon assassin would need to power up his rifle and give Hawk's spark the blast that he had intended all those years ago. Caden's teeth clenched. Not on my watch. The pedal literally hit the metal as the spy pushed the car to its limit and into Sideways' legs, bowling the Con over and causing half his torso to crush the right side of the car.
Snarling in anger, Sideways rolled off, dragging his claws through the roof and yanking it out of its driving pattern and into a wall. The airbag deployed, and Caden was pinned to his seat for barely a moment, but a moment was all his enemy needed. Sideways sent his saw through one end of the roof lengthwise and tore the rest of it off, activating his rifle and leveling it at the spy. Once again, he found himself staring down death, but this time, he knew help was coming, and actually smiled as he heard the loud thumps of Hawk's sprinting steps.
Realizing his error, Sideways spun rapidly, firing a hastily aimed shot in Hawk's direction. The Bot juked around it, spinning counterclockwise mid-stride to shuffle to Sideways' right, slashing his right-hand blade forward as he fell into a slide, dragging the blade's edge through the mounting servo of the Nucleon rifle. It fell to the ground with a loud thud, and its owner's optics went to their maximum width as he realized he was done. Hawk plunged both blades into his body, one through his right shoulder and the other his left hand, pinning him against the wall.
Turning to Caden, he saw the "Consultant" standing, unharmed. "You okay," he asked to confirm. The human responded with a nod, causing Hawk to nod back before turning his attention to Sideways. "Tell Megatron," he hissed out, "that Caden Drake is off-limits. If he wants the human, he better come for him himself, because as long as I'm still standing, he will never get what he wants." He threw Sideways sideways, snapping his blades back into their sheaths and glaring at him.
"You've gone soft," Sideways snarled, left hand clutching his right shoulder, "lost your edge."
Hawk grinned at him mockingly. "Is that why you're disarmed and running home to mama?" He sensed Caden tense beside him, obviously expecting the fight to break out again, but Hawk knew better. As expected, all Sideways did was snarl at him and sluggishly transform, driving away at an equally sluggish speed. "Like I said," he laughed, turning to Drake, "running home."
Caden laughed heartily. "You know, for someone who's supposed to be older and wiser, you're crazy."
The Bot cocked his head. "No," he started thoughtfully, looking back toward Sideways' dust trail, "I just know my enemy."
…
Optimus spun clockwise, dragging the shallow edge of his right-hand sword across Shockwave's chest plates as the Con recoiled in an attempt at a dodge. Lunging forward, the Prime brought his left sword down on Shockwave's cannon, knocking the barrel away as his right sword stabbed into his left shoulder. Yelling in pain and rage, the Con swept his left hand and shield upward, the sharp end cutting through part of his shoulder plating and causing the Prime to recoil defensively. His left-hand blade was knocked off his arm by a shield bash on Shockwave's part, and the Con raised his cannon, firing at him point-blank. Prime flew back, rolling sluggishly as he hit the ground, the battle with the assassin taxing him more than he would like to admit.
As Shockwave readied himself for another salvo, the angry rumble of a GMC Topkick was heard behind Optimus, as was its transformation and combat roll. Ironhide drew his cannons as he rose to a crouch, leveling them at Shockwave and firing, blowing the Con back twenty feet with sheer force. Shockwave rose to his feet, snarling at the both of them as the leader got to his feet, then turning his head to the side slightly, freezing as his expression turned even angrier, if that was possible. Optimus and Ironhide exchanged a brief look, weapons leveled at the assassin, before the Con finally came out of his stupor, red eye glaring at the two of them.
"This...isn't over, Prime," he hissed out at them before turning and transforming into his jet form, flying away at maximum speed.
"It is for now," Optimus said to no one in particular. As his optics scanned the area, trailing over the minimal injuries and casualties, he accessed his comm. system and sent a message to Hawk. "The boy, is he…?"
"He's fine," the Bot replied. "Handled himself like a pro, as always."
Though it was clear Hawk was trying not to let much emotion leak through, Prime could hear the pride in his voice and smiled. "Good."
…
2 hours later, 8:41 PM EST
NEST headquarters
Washington, DC
The post-op meeting was short but sweet, all team leaders summarizing the main points of the rescue mission-turned-all-out battle. Optimus finished the meeting by telling Que that his battle with Shockwave showed him that he needed access to more firepower in the field and commissioning a new mobile armory to be built for him. When they adjourned, Hawk withdrew from the room and transformed into his semi-beat up Lamborghini form.
Caden strode over to the car and patted the hood affectionately before climbing into the driver's seat. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle." The car purred at him as he gripped the shifter and smoothly drove him from NEST all the way to his house. The Bot was silent the whole time, and Caden knew something was off. He stood next to the car after parking it in his garage, looking at it intensely before hitting the button to close the door. "You're recharging here tonight." It wasn't a request.
Hawk's holoform appeared, and, like his actual body, he had scratches, cuts, bruises, and various other injuries from his battle with Sideways. "Why the sudden hostility?"
Caden looked at him, brows drawn together, and shook his head. "No hostility. You've just been quiet lately. I figure it's either from your injuries or something bothering you." The Bot looked away, and he knew the latter was the case. "So what's up," he asked, leaning against a wall. His stare left little room for reticence, his dark gaze piercing even to Hawk's eon-old optics.
Eventually, the Bot looked down and away, his expression ashamed. "I...I almost let him have you." He looked up to see Drake's face unchanged, his expression impassive. Taking a breath, Hawk continued. "I thought he would bring you back to Megatron, and that using your cell signal, we could trace you to his lair, ambush him, end the war once and for all. I tried to use you as bait, without your consent or knowledge. I'm so sorry." Their eyes met and stayed that way until Hawk was forced to turn away from Caden's dark, unchanging gaze.
"I forgive you."
Hawk's head snapped up and met his eyes, this time a little softer and laced with understanding...and something else he couldn't identify. "Really?"
Caden nodded. "Really. Put in your position, knowing what you could do, I might have done the same. Trusted you to handle yourself until I could swoop in with reinforcements and get you to safety."
Hawk's optics widened as he looked down again, this time in thought. Was that really what I was doing? he thought. No, it wasn't. I didn't consider his skills, or how he could have been killed regardless. Looking back up, he kept his composure and emotions tightly, but Caden had almost inhuman powers of intuition. If he flashed any sign of the guilt he was still feeling, Caden would have seen it. "Well, thank you. I don't really think you would have been as cold and calculating, but...thanks."
Caden nodded and gave him a brief, almost forced smile before turning to the garage door. "Get some rest, and make sure your auto-repair protocols are working."
"They are, thanks." Hawk watched him go, shutting the door behind him and leaving the Bot in sweet darkness. His holoform vanished, and he went into recharge, a proximity sensor set up in case the Cons tried to attack again, thinking how his mysterious host was quite possibly one of the bravest sentients he'd ever met.
…
Caden climbed the steps sluggishly, distantly remembering his brief scuffle with Sideways' holoform and wanting nothing more than to crash into bed. After a brief, gentle shower, he did just that, gingerly pulling the covers over his shirtless torso, wanting to avoid aggravating his injuries. His head spun from the events of the day, replaying it over and over again with his perfect memory. Getting kidnapped was the thing that bothered him least, now that Hawk made his confession, though honestly, he didn't know why. He had meant what he said about doing the same thing in his position...mostly. Honestly, until he was put in that position himself, he, like most people, had no idea how he would react.
Hawk was trying to act for the greater good, he knew that. I'd like to think I would too, but… He grimaced. I've lost...so many people in my life, but so has Hawk. Hell, with a million years of war, he's probably lost so much more than I can imagine. There came a point, though, when the greater good had to be the people you care about. Drake knew better than anyone that even if he ended this war, if there was no one to share the peace with...he'd be empty. His face softened. I learned that the hard way when I went after the Keystone. Caden gave out a long sigh as he rolled painfully onto his side, face settling against his pillow. I just hope I can show him that without nearly so much pain.
AN: The battle sequence was extraordinarily long, simply because it was chaos with a lot of different angles and parties involved. Nasty business, especially with Shockwave. Hope you liked it, and as always, please review and recommend.
Musical Inspirations:
Transformers: AOE - I'm an Autobot: Caden's breakout to Hawk's threat
