Author's Note: Hello, I'm back! 131 views and 58 visitors, yeah! I'm really glad that lots of people like my story and have enjoyed reading so far. I do have an end goal for the story, and some scenes planned, but ideas are welcome. More reviews too (please)! I'm working on the next chapter, but I wrote these first four before the story was released, so the fifth is still in development, so expect it to take a while. Anyway, without further ado, here's the next chapter, my version of Crisscross. Till all are one! *Jumps in Wheelspin and races away*
Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the story. Fang has won the Transformers franchise off of Optimus in a poker game, so now he owns it.
Chapter 4 – Hasta la vista, baby!
It was over a week after the Igniters had allied themselves with the Autobots. Raf, Wheelspin, and Sparkmaker had convinced Bumblebee to play the starting level of Fall of Cybertron, as it was the only stage with him in it. The scout eventually gave in and Sparkmaker had given him a specially designed, Cybertronian sized controller that he had built. The scout was good, soon mastering the controls and completing the level with ease, giving his friends a high-five each, even Raf.
"Did that really happen Bee? Did you go through the portal?" Raf asked.
The scout cocked his head. "Not quite, but it was close. The portal ejected us at a different location than the Decepticons, but the Ark fractured in transit because of the damage the they had done, scattering Autobots across the universe. We were stranded on a desolate planet and made a temporary base there using the parts of the Ark we could salvage. Then we learnt that the Nemesis had survived the jump and was on course to Earth to harvest it's energon. We built a small, makeshift shuttle to travel here and warn your kind of the danger that the Decepticons posed. Optimus picked Ratchet, Bulkhead, me and another mech called Scattershot to join him. Arcee and Cliffjumper arrived here in their own way. Anyway, we accepted, leaving another mech, Blaster, to take command of the base. When we entered the Earth's atmosphere, the engines blew up from the strain. Being the pilot, Scattershot guided us down to North America. He saved us all, but he was killed in the crash landing."
"I'm sorry" Raf said, looking down, ashamed.
"Don't be Raf, It wasn't your fault." Raf looked up gratefully as Bumblebee stood. "I've got to go now. Ratchet said that Arcee and I had to go energon scouting. Wheelspin, could you run Raf home please?"
"Sure, Bumblebee." the young femme said. "You ready to go now, Raf or do you want to stay for a while?"
"I'm ready now, besides curfew is coming fast."
"Then let's burn rubber!" she said, walking out into the corridor. Transforming, she opened her passenger side door for Raf, who waved goodbye to Bumblebee before getting in.
"See you later, Hot Rod!" Sparkmaker called as Wheelspin pulled out. At Bumblebee's questioning look he explained "It's a Transformers the Movie reference."
The scout nodded, then left for the groundbridge. Sparkmaker turned off the X-Box before reaching for a book on one of the shelves. It was time to re-acquaint himself with the crew of the Lost Light.
As Jack left the greasy kitchen of K.O. Burger and stepped outside into the stale desert air, his phone started ringing. It was his mother calling. The night before, she had banned him from riding Arcee, as he was missing out on lessons in school and shifts at work due to his adventures with the Autobots and Igniters.
He liked the new bots. Sparkmaker was a fan of sci-fi and was fun to talk with about various movies and books. Sarblazer was very similar to him, mostly serious, but she did have fun when she could. Jack wasn't sure about Volley. He hadn't had enough time to get to know the tank much, but he was way too obsessed with explosions. Wheelspin was a lot like Bumblebee; young, but experienced. She was also a speed demon, obsessed with going the fastest she could and frequently modified her alt mode for its maximum performance. Finally, Fang was an enigma. He would only talk if he had to, or if he was interested in the conversation. Jack had found that he was a sucker for movies involving dinosaurs. Having been shown Jurassic Park by the children, he had demanded to be shown more. He particularly enjoyed Godzilla and often talked with Miko about it, as she loved anything with giant robots or monsters, and held Godzilla in very high esteem for being a Japanese creation. She often bragged to Jack and Raf about Japan having superior science-fiction than America, Fang and Sparkmaker agreeing with her, on account of the Godzilla and Gundam franchises, among the many others. Sparkmaker also made a point that though in one universe, Transformers was an American creation, the toys were originally created by Japanese companies, like Diaclone.
Mounting his bicycle, Jack accepted the call.
"Hey, Mom."
"Jack, I hope you're not planning to eat takeout tonight. I took my break early, so I could cook my grounded son a wholesome dinner."
"Organic tofu... awesome. Hey, car beats bicycle. See you soon, bye!" Hanging up and beginning to panic, he began to dial Arcee. "Come on... pick up, pick up, pick up!" She did. "Arcee, you wouldn't be in the garage right now?"
"Negative, Jack. Can we talk about this later?" He heard blaster fire in the background as he pedalled furiously towards his house.
"No, Mom's on her way home! If you don't race back there now, I will be grounded for life, and Mom will make me sell you for parts."
On the other end of the call, he heard Arcee yell "Bee, Volley can you handle it?" A pause, then "Ratchet, I need a bridge."
Sighing, Jack disconnected the call and cycled harder. Reaching home, he saw... his mother's car on the driveway. Crap.
"JACK!"
Arcee came through the groundbridge just in time to hear Jack's mother questioning him about where she was. Protesting that he had left her in the garage, Jack opened the door as the groundbridge collapsed into nothingness.
An argument ensued, resulting in Jack saying "Okay Mom, you really wanna know?"
Edging forward slightly, she thought 'No, Jack! Don't do what I think you're gonna do!'
"My motorcycle is a sentient, robotic organism from a distant planet."
'Oh, for the love of the All-Spark, I'm scrapped.' It just got worse as he went on.
"It's okay, Arcee. Show yourself." A pause. "She's- she's shy. Arcee, really. No more hiding, no more lies."
'Erm, no.'
"Come on, roll out already!" A kick.
'Seriously? No.'
Jack's mom seemed to relent slightly. "So, the bad crowd you've been hanging out with is... a science fiction club." Jack didn't respond.
'Thank Primus, I'm saved!"
"I have to get back to work. We will continue this when I get home."
As the nurse got back in her car, Jack turned on her. "Thanks for the support, partner."
"Don't blame me, remember-"
"I know, I know, you don't exist." He walked off grumpily, kicking the ground as he went, the garage door shutting behind him.
An hour later, Jack returned, the garage opening to let him in.
"Arcee, is Mom home yet? I didn't see her car."
"I don't know" she replied. "I just bridged from base to beat her here. Oh, and there's a package for you."
The package in question was leaning against his helmet on a wooden table. Opening it curiously, a communicator fell out, activating as it struck the surface.
"Hello, Jack." The voice was cold and ruthless, like a cobra about to strike.
"Silas" Arcee accused.
"What is it?" Jack asked. "What's going on?"
"MECH" His gaurdian said, as if the very word was a curse.
"They know where I live?" he asked her, shocked.
"We know things about your family that even you don't know. For example, do you know where your mother is?"
"What did you-"
"Understand, Jack, we have no intention of hurting her. In fact, we'd like to reunite the two of you as soon as possible. I just need you and Arcee to follow the GPS coordinates programmed into this communicator. They'll lead you to the temporary facility I've set up."
Quietly, Arcee tried to comm base, only for an intense pain to stab through her CPU.
"Did I not mention our communicator scrambles the signal and your brains? Any break in communication or attempt to reach the other Autobots and Miss Darby... Well, I wouldn't want to feel responsible for the outcome." The communicator fell silent as Arcee transformed and raced out into the night, Jack riding with her.
"If anything happens to her because of my connection to all this" he began.
"Jack, Mech is only interested in me. Once they get what they want, they'll let your mom go."
"That's not exactly reassuring. You're family, too."
They heard a brutally wild engine behind them and felt the touch of lights. The car pulled up alongside the motorcycle and rider, Jack almost fainting with relief when he realised who it was. Wheelspin. She began flashing her lights at them in a sequence that Arcee translated onto her main screen.
"Jack, Arcee, I was returning to base after dropping Raf home and doing a little raci- I mean, other stuff. I heard everything, which is why I'm talking to you like this, so MECH don't know. I know MECH has your mother, Jack. I've contacted my siblings through our bond. They've told Optimus, who told Agent Fowler. He's on his way. Optimus and the other Autobots can't come, but the other Igniters can, as MECH doesn't know about us yet and we've shielded our spark signatures, so even if they're looking for us, they can't find us. It should take a few minutes for us all to arrive, as a Spinosaurus and a tank aren't exactly built for speed. Try to delay as much as possible. If they don't arrive in time, and if Arcee can't, I'll get you and your Mom out. You don't have to worry, but you must act like you're scared stiff. Good luck, both of you. I'll stay out of sight until you need me."
Jack looked over, nodded and gave a thumbs up to make she knew he understood. With that, Wheelspin reduced her speed and muffled her exhaust, following at a distance in near silence. As Arcee turned into an abandoned industrial complex, the Igniter pulled over and transformed, slowly moving the other way for a vantage point. She would not let MECH kill anyone, whether she knew them or not.
Climbing on top of a container, she peeked over the wall into the complex. MECH agents had Jack and Arcee on the end of at least fifteen laser sights. Suddenly, Arcee wheelied, charging through the enemy forces, into a warehouse as they opened fire. She could still see them- just. Jack dismounted, shouting for his mother. It was then when MECH unleashed a surprise. Airachnid.
Wheelspin had heard of that twisted femme and cursed her to the pit multiple times, as did her siblings. Locklon made it a point that he would offline her if he ever had the chance. She dropped from the warehouse ceiling as Arcee transformed, webbing the two-wheeler in place. MECH agents closed in, raising their guns at the Autobot and teenager. Wheelspin transformed her right servo into a Nucleon Charge Rifle, the perfect gun for the job. She took aim as an agent stunned Arcee with an EMP, knocking to the ground as other agents restrained Jack. Airachnid bent over the boy, then gestured to a clock on a computer screen showing the time; 11:53.
The Igniter understood what was happening. She knew enough of Airachnid to know she was going to play one of her... games. Lowering the gun, Wheelspin dared to climb another container to try and find the boy's mother. She saw nothing. She needed a better viewpoint, like- that; a crane designed to move containers on and off trucks. Moving as fast as she could towards the crane without making noise, she sent another message through her bond. "Airachnid is here, allied with MECH. Arcee's out cold and spiderbot is playing one of her sick and twisted 'games' with Jack, making him find his mother by midnight or they both die. Be as fast as you can. I'm getting into a sniping position now."
The response from Starblazer came immediately "I'm already here, circling from far above. So is Sparkmaker. Volley and Fang will be here by then. They're running in bot mode. It's faster than their alts. If you have a shot on Airachnid, take it and offline the glitch."
"Affirmative, Sis."Reaching the top of the crane, she looked down into the complex. Jack ran out of the warehouse, shouting desperately for his mom, Airachnid following slowly. Looking back towards Arcee, Wheelspin almost fell in shock. MECH was cutting her open. After the Igniters arrived, they were told of the incident with Breakdown and how MECH dissected him.
She was split in what to do. Should she continue to cover Jack from Airachnid, or save Arcee from MECH? Hesitating, she evaluated the situation. There were three minutes to midnight. Jack was still searching, Airachnid casually trailing him. Wheelspin didn't know what type of cutting devices humans possessed, but she had to hope that Arcee's armour could withstand it. Wait, what was that? A white cocoon of webbing dangling from a platform on top of an empty silo and inside- Jack's mother.
Jack had stopped in a space clear of containers. He looked around, panicking. 'Mom, where are you?' he thought desperately. Catching a glint of light from on top of a crane, he looked up. The light flashed again, and he could vaguely make out the shape of Wheelspin. She waved at him, then urgently pointed at one of the rusting silos. Following her direction, Jack saw his Mom, hanging from the platform in the cocoon. 'Thank God. Wheelspin, you are the best! Except for Arcee.' Running toward the silos, feet pounding on the concrete floor, he reached a ladder and began to climb. Only thirty seconds remained on the clock as he reached the top of the silo.
"Jack, what are you doing here?" his Mom asked. "Who are these people? How did I get in this... stuff?"
"Don't worry Mom, I'm going to get you out" he said. Then Airachnid slammed into the side of the silo, climbing up to the top using her spider legs and laughed evilly.
"Jack, the robots are real!?" his Mom questioned in terror.
"I beat your deadline!" Jack yelled to the spider bot.
"Fraid not, Jack" she retorted. "The task wasn't to find your mother by midnight, you had to rescue her." Jack stared, open mouthed in disbelief. "And time's up." Airachnid continued, webbing his hand to the metal floor of the platform. "Take a seat, sit back, and enjoy the horror show."
That was when a bullet smashed through Airachnid's left optic, tearing through her helm, barely missing her CPU and breaking through to the other side, creating a hole Jack could see straight through. He cheered and Airachnid screamed in pain and shock, as Wheelspin began to move towards them, continuing to fire from her Nucleon, rounds tearing through the spider bot. At the same time, Jack heard the tune of We're Not Gonna Take It blaring from her radio. Airachnid backed up, a servo over her damaged optic as Wheelspin jumped from the crane to the silo, switching her servo from the Nucleon to a Subsonic Repeater. She opened fire, covering Jack and his Mom, as the would-be murderer retreated to another silo. Airachnid turned back to Wheelspin, firing a web from her right servo, which the younger femme dodged.
"Whoever you are, you're a fool to challenge me alone!" Airachnid said.
A mischievous grin spread over Wheelspin's face. "Whoever said I came alone?" Out of the night, Sparkmaker streaked down creating a sonic boom, transformed into his arm mode and grabbed the former con in one massive fist, his momentum propelling them down into the clear space as June screamed.
"Don't worry Mom, these are the good guys!" Jack yelled over the noise.
"I've got her pinned!" Sparkmaker yelled, closing his servo in a fist around Airachnid as she clawed at him. "Igniters, COMBINE!"
Fang and Volley burst through a cluster of containers in their robot forms, as if waiting for the command. Wheelspin jumped down from the silo, turning off the music, transforming into her leg mode before she hit the ground. The tank and dinobot followed suit, combining with the femme to form Locklon. Starblazer swooped down and attached herself as Locklon's head rose out of Fang. Kneeling, the combiner reached out and secured Sparkmaker onto his right side, still gripping Airachnid as Locklon stood.
"Airachnid, your crimes against the sentient beings of the galaxy have not gone unnoticed!" Locklon roared into the face of the terrified ex-con. "You have driven species to extinction and are responsible for more mass murders than Primus himself can count! Therefore, I have the extreme pleasure of ending your reign of terror, sparing the universe the annihilation of another species." The combiner transformed his left servo into a massive Path Blaster, whining with power, and levelled it to Airachnid's helm. The last words she ever heard were "Hasta la vista, baby" as Locklon fired, atomising her helm. Dropping the smoking corpse and slamming a massive foot down on it, the combiner turned to the two Darbys, transforming the Path Blaster back into its original state.
"I'm sorry you had to see that" he said as he gently pulled Jack's mom out of the cocoon and placed her on his servo. The combiner also picked up Jack and placed him next to his mom, who hugged him in a tight embrace. "Are you two functional?" Locklon asked.
Jack looked up, shaken by the ordeal. "Yes. Thank you, all of you. If you hadn't all shown up when you did..."
"Don't mention it. Besides, we're not out of the woods yet. MECH still has Arcee" The combiner started walking towards the warehouse that held the captive Autobot. "What about you, Miss. Darby? I imagine that this comes as a large shock. Are you... okay?"
The nurse just looked up and nodded, saying "Yes, I think. Thank you. Call me June." in a very small voice.
Stopping in front of the warehouse, Locklon put the two humans down, saying "Stay here. I'll come back for you once I've made sure Arcee's okay. Jack, you might also want to run your mother through the basics of robot fight club."
After they had climbed off him, Locklon rose and tore the warehouse roof off with a painfully loud screech of bending and snapping metal. Throwing it aside, the combiner strode through the doorway and sunk to one knee over Arcee. Suprisingly, MECH had left without a trace, but the Autobot femme was in a terrible state. Her blue armour was scuffed and tarnished with small holes in her torso, and her right leg had been removed by a saw and was nowhere to be seen, leaving jagged joints and multiple leaking energon lines. Locklon swore at the damage and managed to detach both of his arms, giving them orders as they transformed.
"Sparkmaker, patch up Arcee. Starblazer, get on MECH's trail. Follow them and alert Optimus on their position."
The two bots did as they were told, the seeker transforming into her jet mode and soaring after MECH while the triple changer got to work on stabilising Arcee. What remained of Locklon got up and strode outside to collect the two Darbys. He started at the sight of three helicopters and human soldiers that had arrived, but he recognised Agent Fowler from Optimus's description, talking to Jack and his mom. When the soldiers saw him, they raised their guns and trained them on him, unsure if he was an enemy. When Jack saw, he yelled at them to stand down, which they only did when Fowler repeated the order.
"So, you are Special Agent William Fowler." the combiner said.
Fowler's limit of speech was "What in the name of Uncle Sam?"
"I'll take that as a yes. I am Locklon, and as Jack can testify, I've been working with the Autobots since my components crash-landed on this planet, around a week ago."
"Your... components?"
"If my arms were on right now, I would facepalm" Locklon sighed in mock distress, prompting a few chuckles. "I mean my arms, legs and torso" he clarified as Fowler's mouth formed a silent 'Oh'.
"Where are Sparkmaker and Starblazer?" Jack asked.
"Starblazer is in pursuit of MECH. They are headed east towards Utah, with Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead in following. Sparkmaker however, is in the warehouse, tending to Arcee's injuries. He's nearly finished, so you can come in and see her if she wakes up. Then I'll reattach him, as this isn't exactly healthy for me." With that, Locklon turned and started to walk back into the ruined warehouse, Jack following right behind him, dragging along Fowler and his mother. As they entered, Locklon asked "How is she, Sparky?"
Sparkmaker looked up. "Stable, barely. I've closed all the open lines and cleaned and smoothed the cut, but that doesn't change the fact that she's unconscious and missing a leg."
"Arcee's missing a leg!" Jack yelled in shock, only just catching the last of the conversation as he entered.
"Unfortunately, MECH has it." Sparkmaker replied before transforming back into his arm mode and attaching himself Locklon.
"That's better" the combiner said, rolling the arm around. "Now, I'm going to try to wake her up, so you might want to step back a little."
The three humans did so, while Locklon tapped Arcee very gently between her offlined optics. She stirred, groaning and pushed herself up with the combiner supporting her.
Suddenly her optics opened wide and she looked at the combiner in panic. "Locklon, Airachnid is-"
"-Offlined-"
"-and she has Jack's mom-"
"-who is standing over there-"
"-and Jack-"
"-who is also standing over there-"
"-is out looking for her, and- wait, what?"
"That was a quick realisation. Usually it takes longer."
"Say all that again" Arcee said, shaking her helm in confusion before looking back into the combiner's golden optics.
"Airachnid is offline and Jack and June are safe. Agent Fowler is here too. Look over there." Arcee looked, seeing Jack and his mom and visibly relaxing. She gave a shaky smile, which they all returned, then looked back at Locklon.
"You offlined Airachnid?" She asked.
"I shot her helm off after a 'hasta la vista, baby', but who knows, she might still be online!"
"But a Terminator quote, really. I think Sparky's rubbing off on you, and not in a good way."
"You should be a little more grateful to him. After all, he patched you up after MECH sawed your leg off."
"Now I know you're joking."
"Good." He smiled. "Now look down."
She did and her face fell. "Ah."
"Yes, 'ah'. Perhaps next time someone tells you that your missing a limb you'll listen to them?" Locklon suggested, grinning. "Since you can't walk, would you like me to carry you?"
"Fine." Arcee shakily responded.
"Agent Fowler, could you take Jack and June back to their home?" Locklon asked.
"Why can't you spin up your bridge and we'll all go through?" the agent queried.
"I have to take Arcee back to base, and I'm too big for the groundbridge and can't crawl through while holding Arcee, so there's no point in sending one."
"Okay, I'll get us a car or something while you two have a romantic walk under the stars." Fowler joked.
"Technically, there's six of us, and that kinda takes away the romantic part" the combiner replied. "Jack, June, Wheelspin will come and get you first thing tomorrow and bring you to base. We'll see you then."
Nodding to the three humans, Locklon rose and Arcee waved, sitting up on the combiner's servo. Locklon started walking out into the desert beneath a beautiful starlight sky, holding his charge to his chest.
"He reminds me of The Iron Giant, doing that" Jack commented, watching the combiner and two-wheeler go.
"He reminds me of Prime" Fowler said.
"I guess I see the resemblance"
"Who's the big one?" June asked.
"Locklon? He's a combiner made of five bots, built to protect their homeworld." Jack answered.
"And the smaller one, she would be..."
"Arcee, my motorcycle, guardian and Autobot friend." He smiled. The sound of a jet engine made them look up. Starblazer came in low, as if to land, but pulled up and transformed through a graceful flip at the last second, landing next to the three humans.
"Hey Jack. How's it going?"
"Not bad" Jack joked "I got a lot of exercise because of an annoying spider, but a big friend squished it for me."
"Good thing you don't have arachnophobia" the Igniter said, smiling. She turned to the boy's mother and the federal agent. "You two must be June and Fowler. I'm Starblazer. Just so you know Fowler, Optimus and the others have stopped the MECH convoy, who surrendered after they realised they couldn't win. They're waiting for you to send some prisoner transports."
"Erm... hi?" said June. Fowler just nodded excused himself to give some orders and find a car.
"I'm sorry for cutting this greeting short, but I really need to recharge. So do you, come to think of it." The femme paused, looking uncertain. "Organics do recharge at night, don't they?"
"We call it sleep" Jack said, yawning.
"Then I suggest you get some. I'll see both of you at base tomorrow." Starblazer said curtly, before slowly walking out into the desert.
She transformed into her jet mode and blasted off, soaring away into the night. Jack and June watched her go, the terror of the ordeal slowly fading as the stars shone down upon them.
