Ok this will be the last chapter for a week until I come back from vacation. Thanks to those who reviewed. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime or any of its characters. I only own my characters.
Chapter 7
"Get up! We don't have time for you to rest!" Megatron growled at me.
I groaned as I tried to pick myself up. We were in the ship's onboard training arena. When Megatron said "training", I didn't think it meant drill sergeant training. Megatron saw it fit to test my fighting skills today and frankly, I wasn't passing with soaring colors. He had used his blaster as well as his other weapons and gladiatorial training on me. I don't think my small frame could take much more and we hadn't even been fighting that long.
"Master, can we please start from the beginning?" I begged, finally able to stand on my pedes.
"No! Do you think Prime or any other of those filthy Autobot scum will wait this long for you to recover? I doubt that your sister will even hesitate to kill you! Now, charge at me again!" Megatron roared.
I hesitated, trying to find a way to attack him again without having to be thrown into another wall. I made it my goal to knock him off his pedes, so I would at least be able to land a couple of blows while he was on the ground. I rushed at him, trying to transfer all of my weight into my pedes, making me look clumsy and unbalanced. Megatron stared at me for a minute, then he raised his servo. He was about to swat me away again when I suddenly let myself fall to the ground and I started to slide across the ground. I crashed into his legs, making him fall over. I recovered quickly and I stood up and I pinned him to the ground. I activated my wrist blades and kept them a few inches from his neck cables. Megatron looked pleased.
"Now, that's what I wanted to see Stormwing, even though you hesitated at the beginning. You need to be able to think and act quickly, so you're enemy won't be able to react. Using your weight was good thinking although I don't quite understand how you managed to keep your balance with that technique. But, remember, the element of surprise is always vital to you no matter you use it before or during a battle." Megatron told me. I nodded. Act and think quickly with the element surprise and the battle is as good as yours. Piece of cake. I got off of Megatron, who stood up and walked to a different spot in the arena.
"Now, again and this time, go faster and don't hold back!" Megatron yelled at me.
"Knock Out, can I ask you two things?" I asked as I walked into the med-bay. Knock Out had his attention turned to a computer database.
"Yes, what do you nee- Whoa, what happened to your paint job?" Knock Out asked in horror as he turned around and looked at me.
"I was just getting to that. Can we switch the times of your teachings to at least six hours after I'm done with Megatron and can you buff out all these scratches?" I asked as I flopped down onto a medical berth. I honestly didn't care if Knock Out yelled at me about it since he doesn't like it when I use medical berths as a place to rest my optics.
"Well if you want to switch the times, then that's fine with me even though it'll interfere with some of my other activities." Knock Out said, slightly annoyed.
"I think you'll be fine without street racing and checking yourself out in a mirror for a couple of weeks chief. Or you can always take me with you when you go racing. My lips will be sealed about your little stunt missions. I'll say they were 'field trips'." I said, smirking a little. Knock Out glared at me.
"And what did I say about resting on the medical berths? Those are for extreme emergencies only." Knock Out snapped. I raised my arms in a gesture of surrender and got off the berth.
"Geez, someone's in a bad mood. What, did Geetee come in here and pester you? Or did a bug get caught in your grill?" I asked. Knock Out shook his helm in annoyance and turned back to the computer.
"Well, Geetee did come in here earlier, but it wasn't her usual act." Knock Out said, his back still turned to me.
"Well, that's a surprise. What did she do?" I asked.
"She came in here and started yelling at me about..." Knock Out started, then stopped. I stared at him, waiting for him to finish.
"What was she yelling at you about?" I asked, hoping that whatever Geetee was yelling about was something completely irrelevant.
"Nothing. Just...stuff." Knock Out said quickly. I eyed him.
"What sort of stuff?" I asked suspiciously.
"Things." Knock Out replied nervously.
"You do know that I can just ask Geetee about what happened earlier, right? All you need to do to get her to tell you 'stuff' is a little persuasion." I said, my fingers sharpening into talons. Knock Out stared at my talons and started laughing nervously.
"There's nothing to tell. Especially not from Geetee." he said, grabbing a buffer.
"I highly doubt that. We all know Geetee. She's like Starscream; if it's any benefit to her, she'll reveal information to you, even when her life is at stake in the hopes she will be spared. SO, if you don't want to tell me about the 'stuff' she yelled at you about, that's fine. But remember, gossip doesn't get past me that easily." I said, making my voice sound threatening.
Knock Out rolled his optics and he came over to me. He took my arm and he was about to start buffing the scratches on my arm when all of a sudden, it felt as if a current of electricity went through us. I looked at Knock Out, who was also looking at me. I had never noticed before, but now, I noticed how good-looking he really was. There was a reason why red looked so sharp on sports cars. I shook my helm, trying to clear my thoughts. I didn't really like Knock Out that way...did I? Knock Out must have sensed the now awkward atmosphere because he started to buff my arm and change the subject.
"I take it that our liege didn't start with lesson one today." Knock Out stated as he went to buff my other arm. I heaved a sigh.
"More like lesson 57. He went all gladiator on me and threw me into the wall a few times." I said.
"Well, he was a gladiator at one time, so no surprise there. Besides, he never was one for patience, so of course he started in the middle. Just get used to it." Knock Out said. I glared at him. Yeah, of course it was easy for him to say that.
"Would you like to switch places with me? I'd like to see you 'get used to it'." I snapped.
"I would love to, but I already have a job and that's the ship's medic." Knock Out said sarcastically.
"Really? I didn't know. I thought I was receiving medical training from an unprofessional." I shot back.
We glared at each other. I snatched the buffer from him and began to buff the remainder of my body that had scratches. Knock Out stalked back to his computer. I was still glaring at him, thinking the whole time that I would find out what Geetee had said to Knock Out. If he didn't want to tell me, it was probably something embarrassing about him...
"What the frag do you mean, Geetee!?" I shrieked at said femme.
After I had finished buffing, I went on a search for the royal blue femme which wasn't that hard to do since Poisonclaw always knew where she was. mentioning Poisonclaw, he had been acting extremely kind to me since the announcement that I was the heir to the right of Decepticon leadership, which was kind of strange. Anyway, I had Poisonclaw tell me where Geetee was and he said she was wandering around the vaults. I had found her walking down a corridor and I had asked her what she had to Knock Out. Her response wasn't what I had had in mind.
"That's all he said to me, I swear!" she whimpered, pressing herself against a wall.
"You must have heard him wrong or you're lying to me. He doesn't have feelings for me. Scrap, he hardly cares about another Decepticon." I said, getting frustrated. Geetee looked at me like a frightened sparkling.
"I went in there to tell him a thing or two about hurting a femme's feelings and he said it, confirming my suspicions: he likes you. Think about it Stormwing. He treats you better than most of the Decepticons here which is kind of strange since he didn't give a scrap about anyone since Breakdown and before you showed up." Geetee pointed out.
I shook my helm. Knock Out only cared about his paint job and how he looks. How could he possibly like me when he protects his finish more than Megatron himself?
"Geetee, this isn't funny. If you're trying to make me like Knock Out less, than you're wasting your time. Knock Out and I are partners, nothing more and nothing less." I snapped.
"I'm not joking Stormwing. I swear I'm telling the truth. Ask Knock Out the way you're asking me. I'm sure he would tell you. Scrap, who wouldn't tell you when you were this angry?" she asked, laughing nervously.
"I will and if he tells me otherwise, you will pay for your little 'joke'." I growled and I stalked away, returning to the med-bay.
I walked into the med-bay, trying to act as casual as possible. Knock Out saw me and got out his database pad.
"I talked to Geetee just now." I said.
"And what did she say?" Knock Out asked, turning his back to me and pulling some tools out of a drawer. I stared at him. I didn't want him to do anything rash if I accused him of something like this. I just wanted to know the truth. Did he really have feelings for me?
"She said...I don't know how to say this." I said, looking at the floor, feeling like Cloudwing again. I saw Knock Out look at me out of the corner of my optic.
"She said that?" Knock Out asked, sounding confused.
"No. What she said was that you...hadfeelingsforme." I mumbled.
"What?" he asked.
"She said that you hadfeelingsforme." I said again.
"Speak up Stormwing. I can't understand you." Knock Out said. I took a deep breath.
"She said that you had feelings for me." I said, looking him straight in the optics.
It was deathly silent. Knock Out stared at me with a blank expression. It was kind of scaring me. Well, it wasn't the hardest thing in the world. I was only repeating something someone else said. Knock Out chuckled.
"She said that? That's ridiculous." he said, but he sounded nervous. Funny, now that I think about it. Knock Out was never nervous. He had always been a flirt, but he had never gotten nervous. This was a first. I decided to lighten the mood by changing the subject.
"So...what's tonight's lesson? How to replace a servo?" I asked. Knock Out smirked at me, now looking like his old self.
"Tonight's lesson will be going on a 'field trip'. I don't think our liege will mind as long as he doesn't know our true intentions." Knock Out said slyly. I returned his smirk with a playful smile.
"Ok, I hope your engine can handle mine. After all, my
Porsche Carrera 911 GT model is a whole lot sleeker than your Aston Martin Dbs v12 model." I said.
"Is that a challenge?" Knock Out asked, his voice a purr.
"I don't know. However you want to take it, hotshot." I said, smiling. Knock Out rolled his optics.
"You're on." he said and he started walking toward the exit.
"Prepare to eat my dust." I called, following him. If he thinks he can beat me, then he is greatly mistaken.
"Soundwave, could you open a Ground Bridge?" I asked the TIC sweetly.
"You will continue your studies with Knock Out." Soundwave activated a recording of Megatron.
"I am, but you see, Knock Out is taking me on a field trip. It's kind of important." I said urgently.
Knock Out and I had went into the control room since that was where Soundwave spent most of his days, unless Megatron called him on a mission. I would have asked Poisonclaw for a Bridge, but Soundwave was the only one on the ship who controlled them. Soundwave listened to me most of the time, but he was in one of those silent moods where "I won't let you go anywhere unless Megatron approves".
"You've been street racing among the humans again, haven't you?" Soundwave activated a recording of Starscream.
"No, we're not going street racing. Knock Out is going to teach me more about humans and the proper way to dissect them without actually having to do it." I said. Soundwave nodded and he opened a Bridge. I smiled at the mech.
"Thanks Soundwave. You're awesome." I said and Knock Out and I walked through the portal.
We arrived somewhere in the desert. I looked around and glanced at Knock Out quizzically. This was not at all what I was expecting.
"Um, Knock Out? I thought we were going street racing, not dune bashing." I said, looking at all the dunes.
"We are going street racing. Just try to keep up with me if you can." Knock Out said teasingly and he transformed into his automobile. I smirked and I transformed into my automobile too. We took off, kicking up sand as we did so. I had left Knock Out behind me, but soon enough, he was right beside me. But this time, we weren't enemies. We were having fun and I had never felt this kind of feeling in a long time. Pretty soon, the road came into view. The sun was setting, casting a yellow, pink and orange glow to the sky. I slowed down until we came to a complete stop behind a boulder. Knock Out inched out from behind the boulder to get a look at the competition. He lingered there for a moment, then he reversed to where he had been a few nano-seconds before.
"There are four cars. Not one of them seem decent competition to me. I'm not sure if you can handle them, but I could drive donuts around them." Knock Out boasted. I huffed.
"Yeah sure. Let's see if what you say is true." I said and I drove toward the road. I adjusted my side view mirror to see Knock Out following me. We drove onto the road behind the four other cars. I revved my engine and I heard Knock Out respond with a rev of his own. A human stepped out into the middle of the road. He had a flashlight and he raised it above his head. I stopped revving my engine. I heard Knock Out snicker beside me.
"What's the matter Stormwing? Did your engine die?" Knock Out asked mockingly.
"You wish. I'm just wondering how I'm going to beat you without making you shed lubricants." I shot at him. The flashlight clicked on and everyone took off...except me. I remember Arcee telling me that winning wasn't everything; you got to make the losers cry about it as well.
"Hey, what's wrong with your car? The race started!" the human said and he started walking toward me.
If I had been in my bipedal mode, I would have smirked. My wheels started to squeal and I took off, almost hitting the human in the process. He jumped back before I hit him and I giggled. Now I know why Decepticons despised humans. They were no fun. In no time at all, I had caught up to the other racers. Knock Out was in front of them, making it look like he was leading a gang of drifters. I snickered. He wouldn't be in the lead for long. Soon I passed one...two...three...four cars easily. The only car that was left was Knock Out. I lingered behind him until I saw the finish line that the humans set up before the road wound into a forest.
"How are you enjoying the view back there? Don't I look grand?" Knock Out asked over my com link.
I decided that this would be a good time to pass him. I zoomed past him and crossed the finish line. I kept on driving until I was sure I lost the humans. I skidded to a stop and I transformed into my bipedal mode. I turned around to see if Knock Out had kept up with me. He was nowhere in sight.
"Knock Out?" I called, hoping he could hear me. Silence.
"Knock Out!" I called again, starting to panic.
Suddenly, I felt someone grab me from behind. I activated my blaster and I whirled around, terrified. But instead of an enemy, I saw Knock Out instead. He was laughing, clutching his torso because he was laughing so hard. I deactivated my blaster ad I glared at him.
"You...should have seen...the look on your faceplates!" Knock Out managed to say before he started laughing again.
"Yeah, it must have been a real hoot." we heard a voice say behind Knock Out.
Knock Out whirled around and we both saw a familiar royal blue femme with the Autobot symbol on her winglet. A femme whom I had considered a sister.
"Arcee." I managed to say, my voice barely above a whisper. Knock Out activated his saw, but Arcee ignored him. Instead she looked at me in disbelief.
"You went to the Decepticons?" she asked, her voice filled with shock. I looked away from her. She had looked at me in such disbelief that it hurt me. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt because of my decision except Razorwing.
"Cloudwing, come back home. I'm sure we can work this problem out with Razorwing." I heard Arcee say.
"Her name is no longer Cloudwing." Knock Out hissed.
"Why would you care? You murdered her partner." Arcee snapped. I looked at Arcee and I snapped. I would not allow this accusation to be aimed at an innocent bot. I stormed toward her.
"He did not murder Flamestrike! I take it that Razorwing is still keeping you in the dark." I hissed at Arcee through clenched teeth, stopping in front of her. Arcee widened her optics in surprise.
"What have you done to her?" Arcee hissed at Knock Out.
"He didn't do anything. I chose to become a Decepticon, I chose to become what I am right now. Maybe Razorwing should fess up and tell you guys what really happened that day." I said menacingly. I turned and started walking back to Knock Out.
"What would Ratchet think about this Cloudwing? Do you think he would be pleased to know that his former apprentice chose this path? He considered you a daughter and you have hurt him enough. Come home." Arcee pleaded.
I had stopped dead in my tracks when she had mentioned Ratchet. I knew that what she said was true and I couldn't stand to know that I had hurt one of the most important bots in my life. But I also couldn't stand to know that Razorwing was strutting around some base, thinking she had won. She would pay for her crimes and I would make sure of that. I transformed into my automobile mode.
"I will not go back. And by the way, my name is Stormwing." I said and I sped off.
Review? And see you guys in a week! :)