Title:Our New Divide
Rating:T
Summary: Sam receives a solid B for his genealogy report which means no car for the 17 year old Witwicky. That's okay; he now has an F-22 perched on his lawn instead.
Warnings:possible ooc-ness, brain-breakage, Shattered Glass. This chapter is un-betaed.
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Starfire201 – to be honest, the Allspark-Decepticon bit was a joke ;D
And yes, I thought Megatron was a little too coherent for a dude who's been on ice for... who knows how long.
Fire From Above – No, Powers did not shoot anyone—I'm sure he wants to at this point. Starscream is a pacifist and I guess he figured anyone who was prepared enough to fight him probably knows about his kind.
Thanks everyone for reviewing :D
-x-
"Take me to him." Starscream said suddenly, holding the cube lightly between his claws. Most stared at him, taken aback by the absence of scratches and rasps that had dotted the Seeker's words from the beginning. Others speculated, drawing convoluted connections from the Allspark's miniaturization. The Seeker stood up, his wingtips trembling with the strain of keeping his and the cube's energy fields from overlapping. Red lines crawled over his vision, citing fuel loss and partial corruption of his priority programs. He ignored it, grimacing inwardly as the warning was cast away into the corner of his left optic.
"Take me to the one you call N.B.E.-1"
-x-
'Multiple Decepticon signatures: Detected'
Jazz closed the comm. link and saluted to the sky.
"That's good work Sky. Now ladies," he turned to the three Autobot sisters[1] and their army of drones. The lead pink Arcee stared at him expectantly, her optics bright and alert. She punched back a drone that had strayed too close; it fell back with a whirr when the headlights broke. Her purple sister let out a snorting giggle, the blue Arcee stoically ignored the scene. "Are you ready—?"
"Born ready sir," the pink Arcee replied, her battle-helm sliding down her narrow face as her two sisters raced ahead down the hills where they had set ambush. She folded herself into her vehicle mode and gave a chase, a swarm of black and red following after her.
The Autobot lieutenant gave an appreciative whistle before transforming to take his part in their little war.
'I just loooove the smell of energon in the morning.'
-x-
"Primus..."
Starscream disconnected his optics for a full Earth minute before rebooting them. He repeated the process fruitlessly once more, twice, thrice, wondering if he wasn't suffering hallucinations as a side effect of the Allspark draining his systems in order to restore him. It was the only explanation that he could think of—the only logical explanation—to elucidate the anomalies he was witnessing—he was running on nothing but fumes!
Or maybe, he thought with a touch of desperation creeping up on him, the lenses of his optics hadn't been grown properly. Perhaps the layers of glass weren't thick enough or even too thin. It was one of many problems medics encountered with Seekers and too some extent, other flyers. Though they could grow spare lenses given time, the process often resulted in a temporary myopia while the glass was smoothed down to the right thickness and shape. A tiny imperfection on the surface of the lens would be more than enough to cause the ghost-like apparitions on the periphery of his hyperactive vision. But even as he looked around, switching from filter to filter, the scene didn't change. If anything, the broken limbs became clearer, more focused.
All around him lay empty frames like the ones he had seen after the fall of Praxus. The bodies of the fallen had been left behind to be stripped down and scavenged of all useful parts; armor, processors, limbs, wings, wiring—everything. What little the scavengers deemed useless, a flux of mechano-vultures and turbofoxes feasted upon. In less than a cyber-week, there was nothing left but skeletons of mechs littering the once great city-state.
He shuddered as the logic programming took over, automatically scanning the surroundings for pertinent information about the mechs' demise. His battle computer went on a standby, in case he needed to make a quick escape.
He recognized the body closest to him as the gutted remains of a fighter plane—but no further, too badly damaged for a positive ID. Its wings were gone as was its tail and the part of its nosecone. Its empty spark chamber was clearly visible from all angles, the broken edges still sharp and pointed. It was vulgar, his processor allowed, it was what might have been the discovery of a naked corpse with its legs spread to humans.
And he saw that not all wounds were fatal—or at least they shouldn't have been. At most, they were deep enough to peel back the layers of armor and derma to pierce the proto-mass beneath. The downed flyer had none of the heavy insulation around his exposed core processor and spark chamber. There were also crusts of iridescent crystal growth around the plane's undercarriage, suggesting that the fighter—the Seeker—had been alive during the violent vivisection. Its undisturbed development suggested that the phenomenon was common place enough that it had been left alone—just how many had been through these chambers? [2][3]
The data processed lead to the conclusion that the damage was too precise to have been inflicted during a firefight. Not even Ratchet with his arm-saws and a disturbing amount of fascination towards anatomy would have taken the time to do it.
And what even their enemies wouldn't do, the humans did.
But perhaps the greatest insult of all was that these humans—these insects—were still cutting into the supine bodies right before his optics.
Behind him, Keller turned to the Sector Seven agents for answers. But it wasn't out of concern for the dead Cybertronians.
"Agent Powers?"
"Sir," Powers answered reluctantly, trying to muster up an air of importance even as the workers were called down to form a line. "They were ordered to gather all pertinent data of our research before the evacuation."
"Yes, yes, brilliant idea." Agent Jackson said scathingly, "desecrate the remains of his people in front of him, by all means."
"To be fair Agent Jackson," Special Agent Loiseaux pointed out, "it is not even certain that these beings are capable of emotion."
"Ohh," Jackson blew through his teeth, looking up at the tall jetformer. "I'd say it's a fair assessment."
Starscream let out a small click.
"You were searching for a way to stop us. Did you find it?"
Powers deflated visibly,
"No."
"No," Starscream repeated, his voice oddly hollow without the familiar gritty texture and loops. "Of course you wouldn't have, how could you? They were barely alive when you found them. Did it ever occur to any of you that someone might be looking for them?"
Silence
The Seeker threw them an unreadable look as he traced the runes on the Allspark. The subtle friction made its energy fields flare, visible to the naked eye. Sparks skittered down the length of his claws, burning ghost-like smudges across their surface.
"They were regaled as heroes in our world, lost. Now I find them suffering a less deserving death than those of unwanted server-hounds culled by noblemechs. Tell me, why am I still here?"
Agent Jackson stepped forward, his features set.
He thought that he and the man could have been friends under different circumstances. Jackson was a strange creature, a deviant even within his set social circle. He had seen how Powers and even his partner Loiseaux look at him as though they couldn't quite make heads or tails of the Agent-Colonel. Starscream noticed other things as well; like how the man's eyes, pale blue but opaque, were flecked with grey like a storm brewing.
And how he was in none of the extensive databases provided by Sector Seven's network.
His talons clenched unconsciously around the Allspark.
"Because we've got a problem big guy. Look, I'm sorry you found them like this, I really am. I can't say that I know why they've ended up here, I don't even know how. But I do know that the ones you came with—your men—are still out there. And they're waiting for you; they're waiting for you to show up with that thing."
Starscream was silent, his blue optics fixated upon the dead. Then with a groan, he broke off from mourning and knelt before them, singling out Sam with a laconic bow.
"Can I trust you?"
"What?" The teenager asked in surprise, more at the smooth rumble of the Decepticon's voice than anything else.
Wordlessly, Starscream spread his claws, presenting the Allspark.
Sam unconsciously reached out and caught it in his hands. It was incredibly light for a fifty foot block of metal folded down to a cube. It was also warm, like a water bottle left out too long in the sun.
"Do not stop running." Starscream ordered, "The Autobots will be unable to detect its presence for a short time—that's the best I can explain it. Pass it onto Barricade or Bonecrusher, they will arrive soon enough. If they ask... tell them that I sent you."
"What are you going to do?" Mikaela asked, looking up at the mech.
Starscream shook his head, his fearsome hawk-mask giving nothing away.
"It cannot be helped—I must deactivate him."
When the others made a movement to follow as he stood up, he let out an exasperated click and raised his wings. "Go, I do not want you to see this—any of you." He stuttered, his head jerking left as he stepped sideways. There were shrieks as a stray cart was crushed where the bird-like toes landed.
"Get down!"
An F-15C Eagle flew into the room, its wedge-shaped wings scraping against the sides of the walls and severely bent from its abrupt entrance. Starscream launched himself at it in its mid-transformation, using the advantage of his superior body weight to shove the red-and-white raptor into the other chamber.
"Starscream!"
"GO!"
He saw Agent Jackson pull the boy out of sight and received a fist to the underside of his helm for his efforts. Air Raid squawked, recognizing the familiar energy signature moving away from them both. He threw the Seeker an incredulous look and back towards where the humans had gone, struggling to get his pedes beneath himself. Starscream pushed him aside, talons flashing in warning as they raked the air.
The other flyer let out a disgruntled boom with his turbines, using the blunted edges of his wings as contusive objects. He parried the blows and caught the Autobot in the exposed space between the helm and the torso. Air Raid spat and let out a curse when a bright spray of energon stained them both. Starscream used this distraction to blast the entrance shut, sealing them inside the frozen chamber with the inert form of Optimus Prime.
-x-
'I hate driving long distance.'
'Yeah,' Barricade quipped, his com scratchier than he would have liked, 'anyone got a space bridge handy?'
'Cute'
At that point Frenzy joined them with his undecipherable warble, music blasting out of his speakers at random times. The cassette maneuvered Bumblebee with more ease than either mech was comfortable with. Barricade shuddered inwardly when he thought about every time they'd linked up to one another.
'...And Soundwave unleashes yet another unholy spawn into this universe...'
'Wait till the next one.'
'Guysdon'tlooknowbutwe'vegotcompany!'
'!'
A jet flew past them at supersonic speeds, shattering glass as its wing divided the line between Barricade, Bonecrusher and Goldbug.
'That's Slingshot'
'Ya think! How'd he get so close?'
'My radars are broken, what's your excuse!'
Bonecrusher didn't bother replying. He transformed, skating on his pedes as his two compatriots passed him. Slingshot dove close, obviously curious as to why Goldbug was accompanying them. With a tilt of his wing, he spun out of the way just in time as Bonecrusher aimed his laser pistol at him.
'Missed~!'
The Harrier sang smugly, blasting off into the air but not out of sight.
Bonecrusher growled.
But before he could take another shot, motorcycles appeared on all sides and surrounded them. They cut the dusty-colored mech off from Barricade, boxing the battered Mustang in a ring.
"Traitor!" A purple Arcee declared as she blew Goldbug's tires out. The yellow Chevrolet honked loudly before rolling to a stop. He transformed, grabbing the purple Arcee by her neck as he snapped her right arm off. The femme let out a high-pitched wail, stirring the drones into a state of fervor as her sister jumped on the yellow mech's back.
Suddenly, out of the blue, shots began to fire, peppering the drones with magnesium flares and armor piercing rounds.
'It's the humans' Bonecrusher reported, pulling a red and black drone apart.
'Quick question, do they know that we're the good guys?'
Bonecrusher ducked and Barricade wisely swerved behind a line of red-and-black motorcycles as Bumblebee was taken down, Frenzy quick to jump the ship when he was able. He was collected by a drone that got a kick in the face for her troubles.
'Okay, nevermind.'
'I hate it when this happens.'
'Lookslikethey'vebroughttherestoftheparty...!'
'Don't panic 'Zy.'
'I'm not panicking!'[4]
'Start panicking,' Bonecrusher grunted over their comm. prepared for the worst.
Barricade sped ahead,
'What the frag are you doing?'
'I'm Improvising!'
-x-
"We were created to be better than you." Air Raid muttered petulantly as he was forced to submit, the lights on his the remnants of his wings crackling loudly as they exploded in their sockets. He hissed, wounded and angry as his turbine cycled the stale and frozen air beneath the dam. The bleeding was already slowing, the damage clotting with the abundance of proto-flesh at the base of his wings. His sensors pinged to suggest that he find a competent medic in the next few cycles. The Aerialbot had to wonder why it was his sensors that always survived a beating.
He shied away from Starscream's touch, clicking and snapping his mandibles at the offered hand. The Seeker snorted at the response though his optics were not wholly unkind.
"It's like Thunder says—you don't mess with this level of perfection."
Air Raid let out a strained chuckle,
"You could have been good with us, now you're nothing more than a dirty war-make."
"It's nothing that wouldn't have happened had I stayed."
"Perhaps..." the jetformer's servos twitched, his optics dimming as he slowly entered stasis lock. "But now we'll never know."
-x-
"Oh shit! Stop! Stop! Don't shoot!" Sam screamed when he saw a battered mustang with what vaguely appeared to be a black-and-white paint job. To be honest, it was barely recognizable as a car, more like wreckage on wheels.
"Cade!"
"Hi kids," and when all available hand guns and rifles—machine guns were too busy firing at the line of Autobot drones—were aimed at him, Barricade lowered the volume and let out an unapologetic—"sorry" for all the burst ear drums.
"We've got the Allspark!"
"Shit kid! That is not something you shout out about!"
"Wait," Barricade started, "then how come I can't..."
He heard the ill concealed databurst from Sky Dive as he announced—'Allspark energy: detected.'
And Jazz's chilling answer—'commence bombing!'
"Frag they're going to..." he cut himself off and called, 'Bonecrusher!'
The Decepticon tactician heard but couldn't answer as he was mobbed by a swarm of Arcee units, whom, in another lifetime he might have admittedly flirted with. Frenzy, free of such burdens, hijacked[5] a drone and vaulted over another to scream,
"INCOMING!"
Hearing the Casseticon's warning or perhaps hearing the jet engines from above, the line of cars attempted to scatter but too late. Barricade began to bodily knock the heavy, military-issue jeeps off-road and into the dirt, honking when the people driving them didn't seem to get a clue. By the time he came back to the one Sam and Mikaela were on, the vehicle was lurching from a missing tire.
'Oh slag'—Barricade transformed to shield the jeep with his body. Then the bombings began.
-x-
"Optimus Prime." Starscream breathed, inadvertently attaching the suffix '-Prime' to a mech who no longer deserved the title. "After all this time it is you who have found Allspark first. How it must have rankled you to have it at your fingertips yet unobtainable."
He hooked a claw beneath the cracked windshield, gently teasing the latch open. What he couldn't simply pry apart with brute strength and a little wiggle room, he brought his nullrays to until at last the armor locks opened and the leader of the Autobots stood vulnerable before him.
Starscream frowned when he saw that the core processors were working at a normal—albeit lowered—capacity. He looked up at the masked and glazed face, sphinx-like and unwilling to give its secrets away. His clawtips fluttered before the blank optics, neither seeing nor feeling a trace of consciousness in the unlit bulbs. He turned his attention back to the task at hand, shifting through wire, lamina of proto-mass cringing away from his wicked sharp claws. The thermal regulator was fried, which was why the humans had been able to keep the Autobot down for this long. But the internals were active and healthy for those that had been neglected for more than a hundred vorns. It seemed to sigh at the long forgotten caresses as it willingly parted to reveal the spark chamber housed within.
No two sparks were alike, though color was largely an inherited trait. The general population leaned towards paler hues of the spectrum like light blue, green, red or yellow. Rarely was the spark completely absent of color. He himself had been told that the core of his spark was white with a webbing of electric blue running through it—"like fine grade." Thundercracker said once, admiring its brightness. The exhibitionist streak in the blue jet had granted him with the sight of a wounded spark, pearly grey with whorls of blue curled within.
Skywarp's spark was known amongst the Seeker's for its odd lavender cast while Ramjet's spark was pale red; Dreadwing's a bright yellow-orange. He knew that the Constructicons, including Bonecrusher, shared a vivid green spark and that Barricade possessed one that could only be described as pastel blue. He had had a rare honor of seeing High Lord Megatron's spark chamber once but never had he seen a spark the color of a dying supernova.
He focused the lens and magnified the view, wondering if there wasn't a structural anomaly that would have caused the unusual coloring. Then he remembered that Air Raid lay on the ground, only meters away, and his brothers would not be far behind. They would be the first to arrive after the impulsive raptor's call if they did not stop to pick up other Autobots along the way.
He charged his null rays to full power and pressed a talon against the still warm processors.
"My apologies for being failing to take you alive. Farewell."
He felt the lines in his vocal processors tear as it was crushed in Optimus Prime's hands. He let out a single, distressed click, the shattered pieces of his voice box shredding the delicate construct of his throat. Blue-white energon erupted in his mouth, spilling down his parted mandibles and painting his golden canopy as his vision faded black. His meta-processor held on stubbornly, disjointed red scrawls giving him a cheerful warning that in addition to Allspark-induced starvation, his head was about to pop off.
"So," the mech rumbled, lifting a thumb to trace the outer edges of the fearsome hawk-faced helm. "The prodigal son returns."
-x-
A.N.: And of course Starscream's voice wasn't meant to be =D
Writing this chapter has resembled building a house in Sims2 in many ways. You first build the foundation, the walls... you put on a roof and start painting, and tiling, and flooring. Then you add artful touches like that fake, plastic flamingo out on your lawn. Yes, the one you keep kicking down and propping back up just to do it again.
Hmm... oh yeah, this chapter was supposed to be longer what with all the fighting scenes, the other Decepticons, yadda, yadda, but I thought this was a nice place to end it in a sort of cliffhanger-y way. So there is one more chapter to go before the epilogue. So that's two chapters? -groans- Don't worry, I will finish this... somehow...
Hope you enjoyed this exciting installment...!
[1] Arcee(s) - Even though I haven't made clear distinctions in this story... the pink Arcee is Arcee, the blue Arcee has been credited to Chromia so who's the purple Arcee? Is she Elita-one or not? Wait, didn't Starscream kill her before ROTF? But this story chronologically takes place before her death so... I've just given myself another headache.
[2] Seekers(1) - Regarding Seekers that appeared in ROTF, would Simmons have been dismissed that quickly when he came up with a comprehensive list/photographs of suspected Transformers living on Earth? As a government agency specializing in extraterrestrial technology and threats, would it kill them to check some of them out?
Yes, getting their hands on a genuine SR-71 might have led to several layoffs and bounced checks but in the comics, Soundwave sent Grindor to find a rusting car. It wouldn't be that difficult to replace them with replicas while they made sure that the Ford T-Model was in fact a Ford T-Model and not some giant robot cleverly in disguise.
[3] Seekers(2) - Does anyone know who these Seekers were? I've heard some say that the Hudson Steam Locomotive is actually Astrotrain in disguise but the Ford T-Model and the rest are kind of hard to place...
[4] Frenzy - In Bay!verse, Frenzy was the little guy that sprouted gibberish and acted like he was on speed... or at least a robot equivalent. In SG!verse, he is apparently a thoughtful and rational soul. So unable to let go of either personalities I've decided that Frenzy is rather excitable until he's placed in a critical situation, then he becomes level-headed.
Maybe I should have just gone with him being bipolar—
[5] Hacking - In this story, Frenzy's abilities are to hook up to another transformer and hijack their body. Obviously, drones are the easiest to infiltrate. Gestalt teams would be difficult seeing as how they're a collection of several different mechs. And tend to be quite large. Superion would have stomped him flat before he could reach anything in the first place.
