Transformers Prime: Reinforcements
Chapter 4: Darkness Rising Part 4
With Optimus, Elita One and Ratchet,
Megatron smirked as he watched his army of Dark Energon-powered Terrorcons rose from the ground and began to march towards the trio of Optimus Prime, Elita One and Ratchet. The three Autobots could only watch on in horror at what Megatron had just done. "Megatron has desiccated the resting place of our fallen ancestors, and his own!" Ratchet proclaimed.
"Not even the dead are free from his war-mongering." Optimus sighed in frustration.
"This time he's gone too far…" Elita growled as she raised her rifle upwards, aiming straight for Megatron's spark chamber.
Megatron was too busy admiring his work to notice as his army of undead ancient Cybertronians advanced on the Autobots. "At last…symbiosis! I can feel it!" He proclaimed loudly. "I now possess complete control over my army!"
Suddenly an energy shot struck Megatron squarely in the chest, right where his spark chamber was. The shot causing Megatron to fall on his back with a scorch mark on his Decepticon Mark.
Optimus and Ratchet turned and looked at Elita who had a smug grin on her face as she lowered her smoking rifle. She looked at the others who were surprised at her action. "What?" She asked with a shrug. "You know you enjoyed seeing that as much as I did."
Neither Optimus nor Ratchet argued as they did enjoy seeing Megatron being shot because he wasn't pay attention to his surroundings.
Megatron slowly got up not because of pain but because of the shock that he had been shot! 'That bitch dares to humiliate me!' He thought angrily as he stood up and glared viciously at the Autobots. "Destroy them!" Megatron ordered his army.
The army began closing in at a quicker rate but, before they could reach the Autobots, Optimus Prime unfolded his cannon from his arms and opened fire. Elita One also opened fire on the monsters. Unfortunately, the blasts had no effect but then again they were up against an army of undead Ancient Cybertronians.
"Optimus, if our combatants are already deceased, how can we possibly defeat them?" Ratchet asked as the army came even closer.
For once Optimus had no answer for his old friend. "Ratchet! Retreat! Bridge yourself and Elita back to base!" He ordered.
"Forget it, Optimus! There's no way I'm leaving your side." Elita shouted in outrage that her sparkmate thought she would leave him in a situation like this.
"I agree with Elita." Ratchet said firmly as he unfolded his blades from his arms. "Besides you may require a medic when this is all over."
As one, the trio of friends ran towards the oncoming army ready to attack. Optimus and Elita continued firing their blasters while Ratchet decided get up close and personal by slicing up the undead Transformers. Every the medic, Ratchet kept a vigilant eye on the details that some might overlook, especially in the heat of battle. This allowed Ratchet to notice that the enemies he had slashed apart with his blades were not getting back up. They were, once again, dead. Seeing this, Ratchet was able to come up with a solution to their current situation.
"I recommend dissection! The smaller the pieces, the better!" Ratchet advised Optimus and Elita.
"Sound advice, old friend." Optimus complimented as he changed his blasters to his blades.
"Leave it to Ratchet to quickly come up with a solution even in the heat of battle." Elita said with a grin as she put away her rifle and unfolded her own blades from her arms.
The Autobots began hacking away at the undead Terrorcons with their blades. They cut off limbs, decapitated heads from the bodies, and gutted the Terrorcons.
"I have mastered Dark Energon." Megatron declared. "When you fall, Optimus, you too shall join my army!"
Optimus growled lowly at Megatron's declaration. He tried to ignore Megatron's words as he ran in, slicing and dicing the army of undead Cybertronians. Elita and Ratchet were right at Optimus's side, helping to take down the Terrorcons. In all honesty, all hell was breaking loose.
On route to the location of the Decepticon Ship,
Arcee tore through the desert that made up Nevada with Bumblebee right behind her. She had just received a message from Bulkhead saying that he was just outside the Decepticon flagship, the Nemesis, with Miko.
Oh, and Mark had been captured by the Decepticons along with Agent Fowler.
She unconsciously increased her speed as she thought about all the terrible things the Cons could be doing to Mark. He wasn't her partner. How could he be? He was just a human kid, her charge, and she seemed to already be failing at her new role as Mark's guardian.
For a brief instant, her processor replayed the memory of finding Cliff's horn and a new image formed over that. This time she found Mark's bloody jacket and nothing more. She pushed her engine harder.
"(Arcee, wait for me!)" Bumblebee cried out, snapping Arcee out of her morbid thoughts.
With reluctance, Arcee eased up on the gas so that she didn't leave the yellow bot in the dust.
By the All-Spark, she couldn't lose someone she was responsible for to the Cons again. Her psyche wouldn't be able to handle it. She was bent, she knew that. Not yet broken, but it wouldn't take too much at this point. When she snapped, if she snapped, she didn't know what would happen, but she knew it wouldn't be pretty for whatever Decepticon that stood in her way.
She mentally shook herself out of her thoughts of how damaged she was and focused on the rescue mission. She would not lose another friend, be it bot or human, to the Decepticons.
She thought about calling Optimus and Elita, but they were even further away from the Nemesis than she was. She checked her position and saw that she and Bee were still about twenty minutes away.
'If Mark is dead, I'll offline every single Con on that ship.' Arcee thought angrily.
Meanwhile, outside the Decepticon Warship,
Jack and Raf were being shot at by the Vehicons and barely avoiding getting him. As the two boys ran, Raf was knocked to the ground by a blast. Jack, without hesitation, threw himself over Raf, in an attempt to shield the younger boy from harm.
Luckily, Bulkhead sprang into action, transforming into vehicle mode and running down the Vehicons that were advancing on the boys. "Get in! Now!" He ordered the boys as he opened his passenger-side door.
The duo didn't waste any time. Raf jumped in first, followed immediately by Jack. As soon as they were inside, Bulkhead closed the door and took off like a bat out of hell.
"Thanks, Bulkhead." Jack panted.
"Yeah. Thanks." Raf agreed.
"W-What are you doing out here?" Bulkhead asked as he drove.
"We were worried about Miko. Have you seen her?" Jack asked worriedly.
"What she look like?" Miko joked as she popped up behind Jack and Raf in the back seat.
Bulkhead finally managed to find a good place for the humans to take cover behind. He opened his door. "Everyone out!" He ordered and the humans climbed out. "And this time, please wait here!"
Once the humans were out, Bulkhead drove towards the Decepticon warship. It was a daring maneuver but something had to be done if the Autobots were ever going to rescue Mark and Fowler. Bulkhead jumped into the air and transformed just before he crashed into the cliff face. Once his grip was secure, he started scaling the cliff face before reaching one of the sharp points that was part of the design of the warship.
Immediately, he jumped and used that sharp point to climb aboard the Decepticon Warship. When he noticed a Decepticon above him, he simply grabbed the guy by the ankle and threw him off the ship before jumping on. Instantly, the Decepticons fired, but to Bulkhead… they were easily scrap metal. In a matter of minutes, Bulkhead had 'taken care' of his Decepticon foes. He even did a body slam!
When the last of the Vehicons had been taken care of, he looked down at the rock he had dropped his human friends off at. He saw Jack and Raf watching the whole ordeal but he also noticed that someone was missing.
"Where's Miko?!" Bulkhead called down. The response he received was a banging coming from inside his chest compartment. He opened the compartment and Miko popped out, taking in huge gasps of oxygen as she was breathing hard. "Miko?!" Bulkhead squawked in surprise.
"I heaved on your floor mat. Sorry." Miko apologized before gagging once again as she suppressed the urge to empty even more stomach contents onto Bulkhead's interiors and climbed out of Bulkhead. "Remind me to never do that again." She requested as Bulkhead set her down.
Before Bulkhead could ridicule Miko about how reckless she was being, a Vehicon came out of nowhere and tackled to large green Autobot. Bulkhead, however, was able to easily take care of it. He flipped the robot above him and started pounding him into the scrap metal he is. However, when he looked behind Miko, he saw a door open and two more Vehicons step out, staring at Miko. Miko immediately realized how much trouble she was in and was wished she didn't stow away inside Bulkhead.
Luckily, for her, Bulkhead was right there and quickly reacted by shooting one of the Vehicons. Two more joined the two that had just came out of the ships. He withstood their blasts before running over and grabbing one of the sonar dishes on the Decepticon ship. He ripped it off and threw it at the Vehicons like a disk. Miko saw it coming a ducked down, just to make sure the flying disk didn't accidentally hit her.
With the coast clear for the moment, Bulkhead walked over to Miko, scooping her into his hand. A few shot hit him in that back as he cradled her against his chest near his spark chamber. Taking a chance, he ran and jumped into the Decepticon ship.
Down on the ground, Jack and Raf turned to face each other nervously. "Think they forgot about us?" Raf asked nervously, sounding a bit scared.
Jack shrugged and was about the answer when they heard loud stomping noise coming from behind them. The boys turned and saw two Vehicons reaching towards them.
Back with Bulkhead and Miko,
As Bulkhead entered the Decepticon ship, he grabbed the handle of entrance door and closed behind him as he fell into the ship. As soon as he landed, he began running through the hallways of the ship, trying to find somewhere safe for Miko, who was sitting in his hand looking as though she was going to empty her stomach contents once again.
Unfortunately, a pair of patrolling Vehicons noticed them and began to attack the duo. Bulkhead threw Miko underneath them. "WHOA!" She exclaimed in surprise as she slid across the floor and right underneath them while Bulkhead took them out with his hammer. Miko rubbed her butt as she got up on her knees. "I'm gonna heave again." She groaned as she suppressed the urge to once again empty her stomach contents.
However, she didn't have the time or the chance. Bulkhead scooped her into his hand once again and ran through the various corridors, looking for Miko's safe harbor.
In another part of the ship,
Jack and Raf were being held in the hands of a Vehicon who was following its companion who was a higher ranking Vehicon, a Vehicon Captain to be precise. "We'll take them to the holding cell. Commander Starscream is keeping the elder of the two other humans already captured there." The Vehicon Captain stated, not realizing that he was unknowingly giving Jack and Raf vital information.
Jack and Raf looked at each other with slight worry.
Suddenly, a car engine was heard moments before Bumblebee came out of nowhere and slammed into the two Vehicons. Arcee leapt into the air and transformed, catching Raf and Jack before they hit the ground.
"Whoa!" Jack called out in surprise.
Bumblebee transformed and joined Acree. "Bumblebee!" Raf cried in joy at seeing his guardian.
"(Hey Raf! Are you two alright?)" Bumblebee beeped as he knelt down.
Acree looked at the two boys. "Appreciate you opening the front door for us, but storming a Decepticon Warship was not on the activities list." She reprimanded them lightly.
"Tell me about it." Jack said in agreement.
The four then began running down the hallway as they searched for Miko and Bulkhead. When they reached the end of a corridor, Arcee leaned up against the wall before turning the corner. As a precaution, she was pointing her gun in front of her and what she thought might be a Decepticon but it was actually Bulkhead, who had his own gun pointed at her.
"Friendly!" Arcee proclaimed.
"Hello!" Bulkhead said at the same time.
Arcee retracted her gun as she sighed. "Brought the humans, huh?" She asked.
"You try getting them to stay behind!" Bulkhead retorted as he gestured to Miko, who was sitting in his hand trying to look innocent.
"We need to find Mark and Fowler, and get these kids out of here." Arcee stated as she took charge.
"Uh." Jack said getting the bots attention.
"Fowler's in the holding area." Jack and Raf answered together.
In the brig of the Warship,
Starscream was not pleased. He had shocked the human boy with the Energon prod over twelve times already. Any normal Cybertronian usually cracked after nine. The boy twitched and jerked uncontrollable and his earlier wounds had only intensified through all of it.
His lesions had opened up more and his lifeblood covered his upper body. 'How interesting that a human's lifeblood is red.' Starscream had thought upon seeing it. At one point, Starscream had heard something pop in the humans' left shoulder causing the boy to scream out in pain.
Yet with all the damage the human suffered, he didn't seem to be any closer to breaking or to revealing where the Autobot base was. The boy was foolish. He had nothing to gain by keeping his mouth shut.
Starscream toyed with the idea of just killing the boy and move on to interrogating Agent Fowler instead, but decided against it. It now felt like a challenge to try breaking this boy, and he would not lose.
Still, he had gathered some information from the boy, even if the info was basically useless. The fleshling had gotten tired of being called human or boy earlier and had told him his name with a growl.
This Mark certainly had a backbone.
"You try my patience, Mark! Where is the Autobot base? If you don't tell me, I may just have to try my hand at Agent Fowler and I don't know how long he would last. In any case, I doubt he will be as resilient as you!" Starscream growled at the boy and saw a flash of worry appear in the boy's eyes. He then smirked as he thought he had found just what he needed to get the info from the boy. "You don't want me to do this to him, do you?" Starscream asked and, for a second, he thought he'd won, until he saw the boy smirk back at him. "I can have him brought to me with a single command, Mark, just as easily as I can end your life. Perhaps, I will do just that." The Seeker continued taunting.
"But that would mean I win." Mark countered.
Starscream's eyes flashed a dark red before he lunged at the boy and wrapped his servos tightly around the Mark's body. "You dare to challenge me, boy! All I have to do is squeeze." Starscream growled as he tightened his grip to prove his point. He heard the boy grunt in pain and watched in amusement as the child bit on his lip so hard that it started to bleed.
Humans were so weak.
"Then what's stopping you?" Mark dared as he panted heavily.
Starscream growled as he took a closer look at the boy. His body was bleeding and broken, but his spirit had only grown stronger through it all.
Maybe humans weren't so weak after all.
In the holding area of the ship,
Fowler cursed as he tried to get out of his chains again without being noticed by the Vehicons in the room. Mark had been stuck with that creepy Decepticon for a good hour now. The grunts in the room had already started a betting pool on whether Mark would live through his interrogation or not and his odds weren't looking very good.
From what Fowler gathered from the various mutters of conversations from the Vehicons throughout the room, Starscream was a pretty vicious and abusive boss. However, Starscream was apparently not as abusive as their leader, Megatron.
The Vehicons' attention and Fowler's turned to the doors when they opened up to reveal the Autobots. Fowler watched in awe as he saw the Autobots take down the Cons in a matter of minutes, leaving them as nothing more than piles of scrap.
"Hey bots! Over here!" Fowler shouted but then he saw that they had three new kids with them. "Three more civilians! Man, you bots really go that extra mile, don't you?" Fowler said in disbelief as Arcee lowered him to the ground and removed his chains.
"Where's Mark?" Arcee growled, as she wanted to find her human charge as quickly as possible.
"He's in the brig." Fowler answered as he stood up and stretched.
In the brig,
Mark panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath. He'd lost count how many times Starscream had prodded him, but every time it happened seemed to be more painful than the last.
"My dear Mark, you do realize the Autobots have abandoned you." Starscream said and Mark felt his insides freeze.
'They wouldn't abandon me, would they?' Mark wondered. 'No, what am I thinking! Of course, the Autobots will rescue me. This is just a Decepticon trick to get me to give up what I know.' Mark thought with determination. He ignored the doubt he felt towards his own thoughts and clung to the excuse he had made up for himself.
"I'm not a traitor and the Autobots will come for me." Mark mumbled aloud to himself, forgetting where he was at the moment.
Starscream shot Mark an angry look at what he had heard, but quickly recomposed himself. He could tell that Mark's resolve was starting to crumble, despite the boy's brave words.
"I am the only one you can rely upon now." Starscream continued as he moved closer to Mark, offering an easygoing smile that he'd perfected from his years of lying to Megatron.
Mark looked at Starscream. A small part of him was telling him that he could rely on Starscream, at least to stop the pain. Mark shook his head in a useless attempt to get rid of his traitorous feelings. How could he be feeling this way towards someone who was hurting him, who was the enemy to his planet and the Autobots?
"So tell me what I want to know or…" Starscream trailed off and raised the prod threateningly towards Mark.
Mark stared at the prod with weariness and fear. God, he was just so tried. He wanted nothing more than to breakdown, to give in and to be left alone.
Why was he being so noble anyways? He owed the Autobots nothing… Wait, that makes no sense! They were his friends, right? Sure, he had only known the Autobots for three days, but so what. They were still his friends and Mark would never give up his friends.
Why should he give his life up for them?
Mark had never felt more lost and confused than he was right now. Suddenly, selfishness swelled up inside of him. Why should he allow himself be put through this pain for people who had apparently abandoned him? Rule number one: always look out for yourself.
Just as quickly as his selfishness came, it left, leaving Mark feeling ashamed with himself.
"Stop… no more…" Mark pleaded in a weak voice, just barely loud enough for Starscream to hear. "They're in a government base…" Starscream smirked in triumph at what he was hearing, until Mark continued, this time sounding defiant almost as if he was mocking Starscream. "Or was it an old steel mill? Or maybe it was under that carnival funhouse?" Whatever triumph Starscream had felt at the beginning of Mark's pleading had quickly turned into rage by the end of it.
The sudden pain surging through Mark's body told him that Starscream had not lied before. He really didn't have any appreciation for human humor. This time, not only did the pain feel worse than before, but Mark also felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. Before he passed out, Mark thought he heard sounds coming from outside the door.
Starscream had also heard the noise coming from somewhere on the ship. "Someone find out what is going on out there!" He ordered. The Vehicons standing guard immediately ran out to do just that.
Outside,
The firefight between the Autobots and Decepticons was still ongoing. And Jack, Fowler, Miko and Raff were caught in the middle of the little firefight. Bulkhead stood in front of them and fired back a few shots of his own. All three of them were destroyed by the shots he fired. On their other side, Arcee was doing a good job as well when it came to taking down the Decepticons that kept on attacking them. Same with Bumblebee. Whenever the four humans tried to get away, the Decepticons would open fire on them.
The firefight was becoming too much for them. It was suffocating. They needed to get out of there. Now. Right now. So they literally melted in relief when Arcee took down the remaining Decepticon in their little fight. Immediately, they took off running. Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee immediately followed them. Deep down inside, all seven of them were hoping that they wouldn't have to deal with anymore waves of Decepticons.
With the undead army,
Optimus, Ratchet, and Elita One weren't having much luck against the army of Terrorcons. Whenever they took down members of Megatron's army, more swarmed around them. They were nowhere close to having a facedown with Megatron himself. It was suffocating. And there was an undead Cybertronian ancestor everywhere they turned. There was no way out. Eventually, Optimus and Ratchet stood back-to-back as even more Transformers surrounded them.
"Optimus, this prolonged exposure to Dark Energon is sapping our strength." Ratchet observed.
"We cannot falter now." Optimus proclaimed as they raced ahead.
More undead Cybertronians were surrounding them faster than they could take them down. Eventually, they piled onto Optimus, pinning him to the ground. Ratchet and Elita both notice immediately.
"OPTIMUS!" They cried before they were also buried under the undead Cybertronians.
As much as they tried to fight, it was useless. The undead Cybertronian army consumed them.
Above the scene, Megatron watched in delight as his army brought down his enemies.
However, it didn't stay that way for long. Optimus managed to free himself from the pile with both his blaster and his blade, as did Elita using her own blaster and blade. They turned and saw that the enemy had pinned down Ratchet, who wasn't doing so well in fighting back.
The two Autobot leaders immediately went to help their old friend. Optimus grabbed one possessed Cybertronian in each of his hands and simply tossed them aside like scrap metal, after smashing the two together and actually turning them into scrap metal. Elita grabbed another and threw it into another approaching Terrorcon. Once they were taken care of, Optimus helped Ratchet to his feet.
Ratchet's earlier observation was becoming clear. The three Autobots were slowly losing their strength the longer they exposed themselves to the Dark Energon that surrounded them.
"After all these years, Optimus, still at the top of your game?" Megatron tormented as Ratchet, Elita One and Optimus Prime prepared for another attack. "My legion, FINISH THEM!"
The battle was grueling. There seemed to be no end for either side. But there was still hope for both sides. Megatron held onto the hope that he would finally defeat Optimus Prime. Ratchet held onto the hope that the army could be defeated despite their Dark Energon possession. And Optimus held onto the hope that he could save the Earth and help Megatron see the error in his ways and join their cause. However, some of those hopes are not to be.
On the Decepticon Warship, in one of the main computer rooms,
The Decepticons heard banging coming from outside. Once one of the Vehicons opened the door, he was shot in the chest by a blaster from the Autobots. In a matter of moments, Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee had taken care of the Vehicons inside. Outside, Fowler Jack, Miko and Raf waited for the all-clear. They didn't want to get caught up in a battle like that did before ever again. Well…mostly Jack, Miko and Raf.
"All clear." Arcee proclaimed.
Once they heard the all clear, the four humans immediately ran into the computer room. They were relieved about the fact that they wouldn't have to deal with anymore Decepticons. That part was over…for now…
"Wait in here." Arcee instructed the humans.
"(Are you sure this is a good idea?)" Bumblebee beeped in concern.
"They're slowing us down and easy targets. They'll be alright in here as long as they stay put." Arcee argued. Arcee looked at Fowler. "I want you to watch the kids and stay here." Arcee said and left with the other Autobots before Fowler could protest.
Fowler shook his head at the whole situation he had gotten Mark into. Had he left the kid at the Autobot base or not radioed his position for anybody to hear, then Mark wouldn't be stuck in this mess.
Fowler turned to look around the room, hoping to find some sort of weapon he could use to protect himself and the kids.
"That was intense." Miko remarked.
"Was?" Raf repeated in disbelief as he looked at Miko.
"It's your fault that we're stuck in this intensity. What were you thinking, Miko?" Jack demanded angrily.
"Did I ask you to follow me?" Miko retorted as if she had done nothing wrong at all.
"You wanted us to be a band! Doesn't that usually mean playing together?" Jack shot back, turning Miko's own words against her.
"Well, maybe I decided to go solo!" Miko snapped as she refused to be in the wrong.
"Well, maybe I have some regard for your safety!" Jack confessed.
"Oh! I'm sorry! Is your name Optimus?" Miko asked rhetorically. "You can leave my protection to Bulkhead! Thank you very much!"
Unbeknownst to the other two kids, their arguing was upsetting Raf. "STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!" Raf exploded as he ran to the ledge of the large step and sat down. He pulled his legs close to his chest with his arms wrapped around them as he began to cry.
Fowler stopped his search when he heard the outburst from the smallest of his charges and walked over to the kids but kept his distance for the time being.
Jack and Miko immediately regretted their little argument. They never wanted to make anyone upset…maybe each other. But they didn't want to make Raf upset. They both immediately felt guilty. This was their fault. They made the mess and they have to clean it. So they walked towards Raf and knelt next to him.
"Oh. Hey, hey, hey, Raf, it's okay." Jack reassured him.
"Yeah. We're gonna be fine." Miko promised.
"Our bots will come back for us." Jack assured him.
"They're gonna take us home, okay?" Miko added.
"How do you know?" Raf asked.
Neither could answer for sure.
That was when Jack noticed something on one of the computer screens. Figuring that this would be a good way of getting Raf to think about something other than the situation they were in, Jack decided to bring it to Raf's attention. "Hey, Raf, what do you make of that?" He asked.
Together, Raf jumped down the large steps to get a closer look at the Cybertronian equations that made their marks on the screens. Jack and Miko joined him looking at the equations.
"It's important. Really important." Raf observed as he looked over the equation before pulling out his laptop to try to hack in. Fowler had to agree as he looked at the equation as well.
In the brig,
"Wake up you pathetic lump of flesh!" Starscream shouted, instantly waking Mark.
"I'm up." Mark said groggily. His shoulder still ached terribly, as did the rest of his body. "So when's cookie time?" He asked almost deliriously.
Starscream growled in anger at the human's stupid question.
Suddenly the door opened up behind him and Starscream turned to address the Vehicon he had sent out to inspect the earlier noise. "Well?" He shouted and saw the Vehicon fall to the ground, revealing Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Bulkhead shot at the other Vehicon, who had been in the room, and moved into the brig with Bumblebee, both armed and eager to fire. Starscream quickly brought out his own gun and pointed it at Mark. "Not so fast." He growled and was rewarded with a tap on the top of his head. He looked up and saw the Autobot Arcee hidden above him, gun humming and ready to be fired.
"I wouldn't!" Arcee growled angrily.
Starscream smiled as he remembered that Mark was reported to have been seen with her. "Oh, but I might." He taunted back and his smirk widened as Arcee glared at him. Really, there was something attractive about her fits of anger. If he didn't know any better he would say that Arcee would fit in better with the Decepticons than with the Autobots.
Back in the computer room,
"We gotta get this to Optimus." Raf said as he looked at the formula.
Miko didn't look all that convince. "How do you know it's not a recipe for space nachos?" She questioned.
"I know math when I see it. And that is one serious equation." Raf stated as he worked.
"Can you download it?" Jack asked as Fowler decided to rejoin the kids and saw Raf already working on doing just that.
"The encryption system they have is way too complex for me to crack. I don't think I can download it either." Raf answered as he pulled out a flash drive. "Maybe if I can find a port for this, I can download it along with the encryption codes and the Autobots can break it."
"Sounds like a plan, little man. I'm Special Agent William Fowler, you?" He asked the kid.
"I'm Raf and these are Miko and Jack." Raf said as he searched for a port on the alien console.
"Hey." Jack said with a wave.
"Dude, what are you doing? You never give your real name to a fed!" Miko shouted from beside Fowler, who shot her an irritated look. So far, Mark, Jack, and Raf seemed like good kids, but he wasn't so sure if he liked the girl.
Raf ignored Miko as he looked at the Cybertronian tech. "I don't see anywhere to plug in. This tech is way alien." He stated.
Just then, the door opened and a Vehicon walked in.
"Let's go!" Fowler hissed as he grabbed Miko's hand and ran for cover. Jack grabbed Raf's and hand pulled him up and towards cover but the boy managed to get loose.
Raf ran back to grab his backpack that was out in plain sight. But he was caught by the Decepticon when he saw him sliding the straps up his arms and onto his shoulders. Immediately, the Decepticon unfolded his blaster and began charging it, ready to fire and kill Raf. Raf gasped in fear.
Fowler had let go of Miko's hand as they hid in an alcove and turned to look up at the Con, only to find it about to fire at Raf. Fowler was about to charge from his cover and pulled the kid out of the way of the shots, when Jack beat him to the punch. Just before the Decepticon began firing his shots, Raf began running and screaming. When one shot came too close, Jack pushed him out of the way and tackled him to the ground
"Miko! Take a picture!" Jack shouted.
"Great idea!" Miko cheered as she ran out and grabbed her phone. "Hey you!
However, Miko got the wrong message. Instead of taking a photo of the mechanical equations, she took a photo of the Decepticon that is currently trying to kill them. Jack and Raf groaned in frustration as they spectacularly face-palmed.
"NOT THAT! THAT!" Jack shouted pointing at the computer screen with the equation on it.
"Oh." Miko said quietly, causing Fowler to smack his forehead in irritation.
'These kids are going to be the death of me, I just know it.' Fowler thought, as he made sure to grab both of the children before fleeing from the Vehicon who was in hot pursuit.
As this was going on, back in the brig,
They all stared at each other for a few moments and Starscream felt his confidence increase. The Autobots would not risk their humans' safety. Perhaps he should hang on to Mark a little bit longer then. He may be able to use the human as a bargaining chip in the future. The idea had merit, plus there was still the matter of breaking the willful boy.
"Now, Mark and I will take our leave." Starscream said and he watched with amusement as the Autobots shifted a little, whether from nerves or anger, Starscream could only guess.
"Yeah, Starscream and I have grown real close in our short time together. Heck, we're almost like brothers!" Mark said sarcastically as he warily eyed the gun aimed at his head. He had come to his senses once Bulkhead had fired at the Vehicon. He had watched the standoff for a minute before he realized that the Autobots were waiting for the right moment to attack, so that meant a distraction.
As Mark had hoped, Starscream shot him a look between revulsion and disbelief. Mark got the feeling that Starscream was about to go into a tirade about how a disgusting fleshling could never be his brother, before the Autobots opened fire on him that is.
Mark almost laughed when he heard Starscream scream like a little girl before the Decepticon weaved in and out of their shots and managed to get away. It looked like Starscream carried the title of being the fastest Decepticon Coward. Mark paused to reexamine this last thought, but gave it up as a loss cause. He was really hurt right now and he didn't have the brain power or energy to think about everything he'd experienced within the last hour.
"By the All-Spark! Mark!" Arcee shouted when she finally got a good look at the state he was in. Mark looked toward her as she moved to undo his chains as gently as she could. He bit his already bleeding lip to stop himself from screaming aloud as she jerked his left shoulder painfully. She brought him close to her chassis, supporting him with both arms, and showed him to the others.
"Scrap kid, they got you good." Bulkhead said in a low tone and Bumblebee let out some sad sounding beeps.
"I didn't tell them where the base is." Mark muttered with a small smile as he fell back into unconsciousness, proud of himself for being able to stay strong until the end.
"That's good, Mark. You did good, partner." Arcee whispered to him as Bumblebee transformed and she gently laid him in the back seat. "Let's go get Agent Fowler and the kids and get back to base." She said to Bulkhead and Bumblebee before she transformed and drove to where they had left the humans.
The Autobots soon found the other humans as the four ran out of the room they had been left in with a Vehicon hot on their tails. Bulkhead sped up and honked his horn, getting the Decepticon soldier's attention away from the humans. Fowler and the kids ducked as Bulkhead jumped over them and transformed, ready to fight. In a matter of seconds, Bulkhead had demolished the Decepticon that was trying to bring harm to them. He transformed and raced over to the kids as Bumblebee and Arcee arrived.
When Bumblebee opened his front doors, Fowler climbed into the driver seat while Raf took the front passenger seat. Bulkhead opened his doors and Miko and Jack immediately climbed in.
At the sight of Megatron's Undead Army,
Megatron watched as Optimus managed to fight his way through the Terrorcons and now stood on the ground before Megatron as Ratchet and Elita continued to fight the Terrorcons. "Bravo, Optimus." Megatron praised as he was indeed impressed. "Though this is but a prelude. You may wish to save your strength for the main event."
Optimus retracted his swords as he walked up to the wall of rocks that Megatron stood at the top of. He leapt up and grabbed hold of the rocks before climbing upwards. "You will not prevail, Megatron." Optimus panted as he climbed. "Now while Energon still runs through my veins." He managed to reach the top of the wall.
Megatron knelt down to look his enemy in the eyes. "Fitting for it is Dark Energon which flows through mine." Megatron remarked.
The response he received was Optimus's fist coming at his face. Sadly, he wasn't in the mood to fight with Optimus. As he jumped into the air to avoid the attack, he transformed into his alternative mode and flew away. Optimus fired shots at the retreating Decepticon commander but they all missed. Megatron couldn't be shot down today. He bent down, helping Elita and then Ratchet onto the stable ground. Elita and Ratchet had finished off the Terrorcons and climbed up the wall after Optimus to help fight Megatron.
"If this wasn't Megatron's endgame…" Ratchet started nervously as he looked down at the remains of the Terrorcons.
"Then what is?" Elita finished the question
Optimus didn't reply as he was almost afraid to admit what Megatron could be planning.
Later, at the Autobot Base,
It took a good half an hour before the Autobots returned back to base and, throughout the ride, Mark kept slipping in and out of consciousness. On the way to the base, Arcee had called Nurse Shadow. Once they entered the base, they found Sarah Shadow waiting with an old gurney that had been stored away. Fowler helped her placed Mark on it. She then began to administer first aid to her son's injuries.
Arcee had moved to operate the ground bridge, bringing back Optimus, Elita, and Ratchet, who had been calling to be bridged back to base for fifteen minutes. Ratchet's medic sensors must have been tingling because the first thing he asked when he was bridged back was who had been hurt. Once Optimus, Elita, and Ratchet had found Mark, Ratchet was quickly at the side of the gurney trying to help Nurse Shadow as Optimus demanded to know what happened.
The explanations seemed to go on for hours, but in truth, they only lasted minutes. Then came the moment where everyone tried to take the blame for what happened. Arcee for leaving the base with Bumblebee and ignoring his orders to stay with the children, Fowler for taking Mark out of Bulkhead's care, Bulkhead for allowing the children to come with him onto the Decepticon Warship, and Jack for not being able to keep Miko from following after Bulkhead.
Optimus stared at the dower and guilty party in the room. In truth, it was all their faults. However, had he not been so adamant on keeping his Autobots with their assigned children, none of this might have happened. It was just the way fate went sometimes. Even though a person can take every precaution necessary, things can still go wrong.
With those thoughts in mind, Optimus turned to look at Mark, a human who had bled for them today, and was currently being treated by his own mother, Sarah Shadow, who Mark himself had suggested bringing in on the secret.
Optimus understood that Mark would make an easier target to interrogate than Agent Fowler. Mark was a youngling; whatever defenses or attachments he had should have been easily broken, as children are often weaker than adults. The fact that Mark had not broken and given up the location of their base was astounding.
What was even more amazing was the fact that Mark had consciously decided not to tell. He could have easily saved himself from pain, but had decided to protect them instead of himself.
Humans were far greater than he preconceived.
"Well, he'll continue to have muscle spasms for the next few days due to how much Energon was exposed to his nervous system, but there shouldn't be any lasting damage." Ratchet reported, as he was the more experienced medic between himself and Nurse Shadow. "The lesions are mostly shallow and insignificant; the only reason for why he bled so badly was because of the thrashing he did while under the influence of Energon. He won't need a blood transfusion, but he will be a little light headed and dizzy for a little bit. He has a mild sprain in his left ankle and severe bruising on his right ankle. His left shoulder had popped out of his socket, but I was able to put it back in while he was sedated. He should be waking up any moment now."
"You've done well, Ratchet." Optimus said as he nodded to his medic and oldest friend. He then helped Ratchet put a brace onto his damaged arm and his friend shook his head in disagreement before he continued to speak.
"We are fortunate that Nurse Shadow was here and that his injuries were not more severe or complex." Ratchet confessed. "What little knowledge I hold for the human anatomy is shaky at best but Nurse Shadow was able to quickly explain things I didn't know. I see now that I must further my studies in human medicine, so that I can treat them if they need it in the future." Ratchet said as his optics landed onto the other children.
"I'd be more than happy to help you with that, Ratchet." Nurse Shadow offered kindly. "I'm also interested learning about some of your medical advances as well. Although it might not be all that often as I have work."
Ratchet nodded in understanding with a bit of a smile. He would gladly interact, whenever he had the chance to, with this human.
"What happened to you guys anyway?" Miko asked after she watched Optimus put on Ratchet's metal brace.
"We engaged an army of undead Cybertronian warriors." Ratchet said calmly as if it were an everyday occurrence.
"Zombies? You guys fought zombies and I missed it!" Miko shouted indignantly as she stomped her foot.
"What? Storming the Decepticon stronghold wasn't enough for you?" Fowler asked in disbelief as he looked at the girl.
"Bulkhead, you exercised extremely poor judgment in allowing the humans to accompany you." Optimus berated his soldier. He did not want a repeat of what happened to Mark to happen to the other children.
"It won't happen again Optimus. I promise." Bulkhead replied solemnly. Had he only fought harder to keep Mark at the base, the kid wouldn't be in the position he was now.
"But it wasn't Bulkhead's fault-" Miko started to say and was interrupted by Bulkhead.
"Miko, please." He whispered urgently.
"-and check it out. Recon!" She continued to say while ignoring Bulkhead. She flipped up her cellphone screen and showed Optimus the equation she had taken a photo of the computer.
Optimus knelt down to get a better look. "Hmmm, Ratchet, have a look. It may be of importance to Megatron." Optimus said as he moved back from Miko and turned to his friend.
"Megatron's back?" Mark whispered to himself from the gurney. He now realized that he had made the right choice in sacrificing himself to protect the others. If Megatron was as bad as he sounded… he didn't even want to think about what would've happened if it had been Megatron doing the interrogations instead of Starscream. He turned his attention back to the others in the room.
Ratchet knelt down and looked at Miko's phone. "I…don't understand." He confessed.
Miko looked at the photo and had to refrain herself from bursting out laughing. Instead of the photo of the mechanical equations, she had the photo of the Decepticon on her screen.
"Oops. That's the 'Con who tried to blow Raf away. At least, that's what he looked like before Bulkhead rearranged his grill!" Miko cheered as she did some air punches.
"Miko, Raf was almost killed today!" Jack shouted angrily. "This isn't a game! When are you going to get that through you thick skull?!"
"The Decepticons mean business, so stop acting dumb, and wise up girl!" Fowler shouted angrily as Miko's attitude was finally too much for him to take anymore.
"Um, Jack, we were all almost killed. You, me, Raf, Mark, Fowler, even them!" Miko yelled back and looked away from Jack, glaring at the floor.
"Well if this is just an average day with the Autobots then I don't want to be a part of it, not anymore." Jack said.
"That goes for me too." Mark said as he struggled to get up from the bed he was on.
Everyone turned to him and Sarah was quickly at her son's side as Fowler quickly handed him a pair of crude metal crutches that the Autobots made for the boy while he'd been unconscious. Mark staggered for a moment before he balanced himself and looked at the others in the room.
"Boys, putting you in harm's way was never our intent. However, it is no longer the safety of you four that is at risk, but the safety of all human kind." Optimus said.
Mark interrupted the Prime before he could say more. "Optimus, look at me!" He shouted incredulously. He saw the Autobot quickly avert his eyes, and Mark felt like punching something out of frustration. Mark was hurt, yes, but he wasn't just talking about physical his injuries. His mind and feelings had been through hell and back today. He wasn't going to tell them that though.
"What if it had been Raf that they'd caught instead of me?" Mark said through clenched teeth and Optimus quickly looked back at him in surprise. Mark was simply showing concern for the others and was using his physical state as an example for what could happen to the other children.
Optimus's spark bridled with respect for the young human who stood before him. Young Mark was a credit to his species.
"Had the Autobots been any later, I don't think I could have held out any longer. Even though I knew Starscream would have killed me once I answered his questions." Mark said quietly, as if softening his voice would make what he'd gone through easier to bear.
"Mark, you never should've been in that situation. If we had known, Optimus and I would've immediately left the battle we were in to rescue you." Elita said softly.
"I'm just glad I'm not going to have to explain this to my mom." Jack said quietly.
Mark grinned. "Yeah, you'd probably have to wear large padded clothes every time you left the house." He joked, getting a laugh from Sarah and sheepish chuckle from Jack.
"That sounds like June alright." Sarah said, as her friend was definitely overprotective when it came to Jack's safety.
"Mrs. Shadow…" Fowler said as he approached. Sarah looked at the government agent. "I wanted to apologize one last time for what my actions caused. I had meant what I said about trying to protect your son and I failed."
Sarah sighed as she saw how guilty and upset Fowler was because of what his actions had caused. She wanted to be furious with him and the Autobots but seeing how guilty the man already felt, she just couldn't bring herself to stay angry at him. "You were just doing your job, Agent Fowler. Just remember to be more careful next time you do this." Sarah sighed.
"Boys, we will respect your decision if you wish to leave." Optimus said and it was now Mark's turn to avoid looking at Optimus. A sickening feeling swelled up in Mark as he realized how cowardly he must look to the other for running away like this. Honestly, he and Jack were leaving because they hoped it would stop the strange things that were happening to them.
Jack turned to Miko and Raf. "Are you two staying?" Jack asked, even though Jack and Mark both already knew Miko's answer.
"I'm staying." Miko said as she stomped her foot again.
"I'll be okay, guys." Raf said after he looking up at Bumblebee, though he seemed worried that his answer would upset Jack or Mark.
Jack laid a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder and smiled down at Raf, reassuring him that he wasn't angry.
"He better be." Mark growled toward the Autobots and saw some of them flinch, but Optimus and Elita simply nodded their head in response. Mark shook himself out of the strangely overprotective feelings he just displayed and turned to Fowler as the man walked towards him, his mother, and Jack.
Ratchet opened up the GroundBridge and, with his mother's and Fowler's help, Mark staggered down the stairs with Jack following right behind them. Arcee stood in front of him and, for a split second, Mark hoped she would try to convince him to stay.
"I know, I know, you don't exist." Mark said before she could speak as he hobbled around her and headed towards the GroundBridge.
"Don't make me hunt you down." Arcee replied quietly which was barely heard by Mark before leaving the Autobot base. Unlike last time, there was no hostility in her voice and she almost seemed to be reluctant to say it.
Back on the Nemesis,
"Please Lord Megatron! I meant no- Aaaagggghhh!" Starscream shouted as the ruler of the Decepticons hit him yet again. Starscream got up to his knees and wiped away the Energon that leaked from his mouth.
"I ordered you to await my command!" Megatron growled as the larger Mech clenched his fists and lashed out at his second in command again. Starscream cried out in pain as he crashed into the floor and slide several feet.
Starscream slowly pushed himself onto his hands and knees. He hated it when Megatron would beat him like this, but it was even worse to have an audience witness his humiliation. It wasn't unusual for Soundwave to be there as the eyes and ears of the Decepticons was always with his Master.
It was the times when the Vehicons were present that Starscream truly hated the most. He was degraded in front of them and then they went to tell any other Con they saw about it. Probably the only bots who didn't know that he was Megatron's personal punching bag were the Autobots.
Blearily, Starscream noticed some sparks erupt from different parts of his body and that usually meant a night in the infirmary.
"Instead your mindless agenda resulted in the disabling of my ship and the delay of my plans!" Megatron bellowed angrily as Starscream looked up and hastily pulled himself off the floor, away from Megatron.
Starscream immediately fell onto his backside, the damages Megatron had already inflicted upon him taking their toll and rendering him unable to stand at the moment. Starscream crawled away as he saw Megatron continue to advance toward him, vaguely hoping that his honest explanation might spare him from more pain.
"My intentions were pure, Master. I only wanted you to be rid of Optimus! Gaaahhh!" He cried out as Megatron's pede smashed into his upper body and he felt his chassis cave in from the sudden force.
"No one rids me of Optimus Prime, but me! Do you understand?! Do you?!" Megatron yelled as he applied more pressure and Starscream felt the heat of more sparks cover his body.
"Lord Megatron… I will make things right, I swear! I know how to set your plans back on course!" Starscream shouted in pain and desperation. He felt circuits being crushed with every passing second and he feared that his Spark would soon be next. He felt the pressure instantly disappear and he only had a few seconds of relief before Megatron grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
Starscream stared up at his torturer in fear as his body shook from the damage his leader had inflicted. He found himself staring at the red optics of his Master and was suddenly reminded of the color that was human blood. Yes, Starscream supposed that it was fitting name for the color of Megatron's optics, blood red.
"Explain Starscream, quickly." Megatron commanded and Starscream saw no reason to disobey this order.
That night, at Mark's Home,
Mark was alone at home, as he thought over what had happened today. His mom was currently at work at the hospital, leaving him on his own with his thoughts. He was currently tinkering with some spare parts he had in the garage. He did this whenever he needed to calm down and focus his thoughts. He gained this habit from his father, Alan, as he did this same thing before he died years ago. Taking things apart and putting them back together was common habit to him. It always helped him feel better once the job was done.
Miko had already been by and tried to convince him to return to being a part of the Autobot team. He honestly didn't know her as he'd only met the girl yesterday, but she seemed to have a dangerous thirst for adventure. She was definitely a thrill seeker, the kind of person who got themselves and others in trouble or hurt. His suspicions about her were confirmed when she told him about her life back in Tokyo. The life she had… it was the sort of life some kids out there would kill for. Sure, it sounded a bit mundane, but that was the kind of life normal people wanted, right?
"You protected me, Jack and Raf earlier today. If you hadn't gone with Fowler like you did, we could have been captured by the Cons too." Her words rang through his head. She had looked at him with awe when she said that and it sickened him.
When she said that he wasn't normal, it made Mark's insides freeze. He was normal, or he had been before today anyways, before he'd somehow gotten involved with a war he had no place in.
He was meant to be an average Joe. He would graduate from college, work a normal job, marry a pretty girl, and have a few kids. He wanted what every normal person wanted. He was done with the Autobots and anything else alien.
Mark gave his head a shake as he tried to forget about what Miko had said. The last thing he wanted was to go back to that life. His mother had already told him that she would respect his decision to leave the Autobots behind him but she was going to continue helping them whenever she could.
The Decepticon were no longer his problem as far as Mark was concerned.
At the Darby House,
Jack was sitting in the house's garage, working on his old ten-speed bicycle. The tinkering calmed him down and helped him focus his thoughts. He didn't know why, but taking things apart and putting them back together was common habit to him. It always helped Jack feel better once the job was done.
A car suddenly pulled into the drive way and Jack raised the wrench in his hand up to protect himself. The headlights turned off and Jack realized that it was only Bulkhead and Miko. Miko got out of Bulkhead and Jack went back to working on his bike, trying to ease his suddenly too tense shoulders.
"Now I understand why you had to rush home." Miko said as she walked into the garage.
"Don't you have something more exciting to do, Miko?" Jack asked impassively, hoping she would take the hint and leave.
"So this is where you hang, huh?" Miko asked rhetorically. "Back home in Tokyo, I have loving parents and two pure breed cats, Chichi and Ding Dong. I went to the best school and took piano lessons since I was three." She said as she fiddled with something from behind him.
"How nice for you." Jack responded apathetically.
"No, how boring." Miko countered. Jack turned to look at her in confusion. "It wasn't me. Why do you think I jumped at the chance to transfer here?" Miko asked.
Jack scoffed at her. "To Japer, Nevada? The entertainment capital of the world." He said sarcastically.
"Yeah, well, the brochure lied. Piano lessons were starting to look pretty good in fact, but then the last couple of days happened." She said in a burst of energy, her brown eyes shining at him expectantly.
"Do you have a point?" He asked wishing that she would just go. Nothing great happened today, yet Miko acted like it had been the best of her life. Did she not realize how close they had all been to dying earlier?
"You bet! I saw what you did today, when you saved Raf, when you saved me!" Miko said with excitement in her voice.
"I've been raised to be responsible." Jack said as he grabbed the wheel he'd been working on and slowly made his way over to his bike. "To my schoolwork, to my Mom, my job." He continued as he sat down.
"Dude, hear me out." Miko implored. "You're not a fry cook, you're a rock star! Stop trying to pretend your normal Jack, you'll never fit in. You were born to do so much more!" Miko said.
"Thanks Miko, but I think normal suits me just fine." Jack said in a harsh voice and Miko grunted in response as she walked out of his garage and got into Bulkhead.
Bulkhead pulled out of the driveway and left Jack alone to stare at his bike. He sat there for several more hours and just thought about what had happened today.
Back at the Autobot Base,
Ratchet was going over the data from the picture Miko had taken and what he had discovered was horrifying. "It can't be." Ratchet gasped. "Optimus!"
Optimus and Elita were standing nearby when Ratchet called so they both walked over to their old friend. "What did you find, Ratchet?" Elita asked.
"These are engineering specs for a Space Time Vortex Generator!" The old medic explained.
"Megatron is building a Spacebridge." Optimus realized gravely.
"If he hasn't already." Elita added.
"The sooner he leaves the better." Bulkhead commented as he and Bumblebee approached them.
"Bulkhead, a Spacebridge runs in two directions." Elita reminded the former Wrecker.
"Megatron may not be using it to leave Earth but to bring through his conquering army." Optimus proclaimed, his voice sounding even graver than before.
"The main event Megatron referred to. But the only place Megatron could possibly recruit that many fallen soldiers is…" Ratchet trailed off as it all dawned on him.
Elita also realized what Megatron was planning to do. "By the AllSpark… you mean he's going to use…"
"Precisely." Optimus answered ominously as his gaze drifted skywards. "Cybertron."
To Be Continued…