-Australia-
In the cover of night time in the Land Down Under, a single ground-bridge opened up, and out of it came four Decepticons. Shockwave arrived first into the forests outside of Brisbane, carrying the necessary equipment in case of excavation. Behind him strolled Crowbar and Wildrider, and at their ankles walked Ethan, eyeing the scenery around him. Crowbar was holding the locator in his hands, occasionally looking around to check the area around them for the relic. Wildrider walked close by, and made sure to reach down and pluck Ethan off the ground as soon as he left the ship.
The boy didn't even question his guardian's logic. She needed to have him around for her own sanity. Doing anything with an ex-romantic partner would drive anybody crazy, even if they were already crazy. His new position on her shoulder gave him a good view of the city nearby as the four of them walked into the forest, lead by Shockwave. Their trek took them deep into the heart of the Australian wilderness, but not far enough to escape the lights and sounds of the metropolis behind them.
"Got it, Shockwave." Crowbar said, taking a moment to stop and align himself straight with the relic's location. "That way, in the construction zone." Crowbar pointed towards an unfinished neighborhood, littered with scaffolding, bulldozers and glimmering yellow streetlights. The three Cybertronians and the human made their way towards the location as Crowbar's indication marker made more noise as they neared the relic.
"This place ain't creepy what so ever." Ethan muttered, images of all the horror movies he'd watched replaying in his mind. This place was so quiet, the only source of sound being the footsteps of Shockwave, Crowbar and Wildrider and the weak breeze in the air.
"Looks like there was a party around here." Crowbar said while kicking a stacked tower of trash, eyeing the litter that seemed to decorate the construction zone. Beer bottles and cans and what looked to be the remains of a fire pit right in the middle of the road. Shockwave took a moment to stop and put the metal case down on the ground before returning his attention to the other three Decepticons.
"The relic buried here. Let us retrieve it." Shockwave opened up the case to reveal a large machine with a bulky body and a large pair of drills connected to two braces on the underside. Crowbar, Ethan and Wildrider watched as Shockwave hefted the device with his hand and slammed it down onto the asphalt, the drills effortlessly piercing straight through. A soft whir emitted from the device chimed up and the two drills went to work. "The excavation unit will help unearth the relic within the confines of this location. However, I will need sufficient support as I monitor the drill. Wildrider, you shall stay here while Crowbar and the boy patrol the area."
"WHAT?!" Wildrider shrieked, not believing what she was hearing. "No. No way, Ethan stays with me and that's final!" She was not going to have Crowbar anywhere near her boy in the mission let alone take him for a scouting run. She didn't trust the Dread as far as she could throw him. As far as she knew he might make Ethan go "missing" or he "lost him" to something just to be spiteful.
"Dreads are equipped with stealth technology that I designed, useful for staying underneath Autobot scans. The boy shall assist him in acting as a secondary scout and to avert the potential of human authorities. He will not be harmed as long as he stays with Crowbar." Shockwave explained to the flustered Stunticon, but to no avail. Wildrider wasn't buying into any of it.
"Look 'Rider, I'll be fine, okay?" Ethan said, catching her off guard. Since when had he trusted the Dread so readily? "I'll keep an eye out on Crowbar and make sure that he doesn't do anything really dangerous. I'll be back in one piece." Ethan smiled at her frowning face, and she decided to relent. Reluctantly, she reached up and gently put her charge on the ground.
"I'll protect your kid, no problem 'Rider." Crowbar said, using her nickname just to get on her nerves. "We'll tour around the neighborhood, make sure the coast is clear and then we'll be back so that you and him can snuggle and hug and do other thing later together. Sounds good?"
Wildrider grit her denta like two steel plates while imagining taking a fist to that stupid smile on Crowbar's face, her hands tightening hard enough for her fingers to dent her metal palms. Crowbar turned his head to give a smile to the boy, an unsettling sight in Wildrider's purple optics. Seeing that the situation had diffused, Shockwave turned to the drilling machine and began to start scanning the area for the relic. However, as soon as he turned his back, Wildrider reached over and grabbed Crowbar by the neck and brought the Dread down to her optic level. Before he could make any sound, Wildrider put a finger on his mouth to shut him up.
"Listen to me Crowbar, you listen real fraggin' well. That boy is mine, my charge. I want him back safe and sound, and if he comes back with so much as one tiny, itty-bitty bruise on any part of his body, flesh or metal, I'll rip your spike off and make you EAT IT." She seethed, whispering painful promises into his audio receptors. Ethan watched the whole thing, a chill running down his spine. "Understand?"
The Dread nodded feverishly, and the Stunticon let him go.
"Good!" She said with a frighteningly happy smile, seeing as the two understood each other for now. "Now have fun, you two!"
Crowbar transformed into his Chevy Suburban alt-mode and quickly opened the door so Ethan could get in. And as soon as the boy hopped in Crowbar shut the door and speed off as fast as he could from the Stunticon, who was waving goodbye. Satisfied that the Dread got her message and that he knew not to do anything stupid she walked over back to Shockwave, and saw that his single optic was staring at her.
"What?"
...
"Your guardian never ceases to terrify me." Crowbar said through the radio as he drove into the unfinished neighborhood, putting some distance between them and the two back at the drill site. The world blurred around Ethan as Crowbar easily reached over a hundred miles an hour, only slowing down after gaining at least half a mile between them and Wildrider.
"Y-Yeah, she's really scary when she's mad." Ethan shivered. He thought Bridgette was cold when she was pissed, but Wildrider took the whole "hell hath no fury" to an entirely new level of fear.
"Believe me kid, that much I know." The Dread said, pulling up into a parking lot that oversaw most of the neighborhood. There was more indication that there was a massive party from all the beer cans and broken glass in the area. There was a derelict, broken down car in the middle of the lot, without any tires or windows and covered in spray paint. Without any sort of streetlight in the area, the only source of light was the bright full moon above. Ethan stepped out of the Dread and the Decepticon transformed to eye the scenery.
Seeing that there wasn't a soul to be found either human or Autobot, Crowbar took a seat on the ruined vehicle with a thud. Just in case of an emergency, Crowbar whipped out his handheld burst gun. Ethan walked around, kicking a few beer cans here and there and minding the silence. He'd much prefer the quiet tranquility than having Autobots coming down and him getting caught in the middle of a battle.
"Hey kid, I gotta ask you something." Ethan turned around and saw that Crowbar was staring at his metal arm.
"How'd you get that?" He pointed at his appendage with his gun.
"Oh, my arm. I got it a couple years ago, back when we were just punishments for the Stunticons." Ethan explained. "Me and Wildrider were scouting for energon in Texas and we made a stop at a gas station somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Turns out we had some Autobots following us. I don't remember much about what happened or who caused it, but I do remember taking cover next to a pickup truck, and the next thing I know the whole gas station explodes with me right next to it." Ethan looked down at his artificial limb, feeling the wires and circuits connected to his brain. That day would be embedded in his head for as long as he lived.
"Damn." Crowbar muttered. He leaned down closer to the boy, intrigued by the tale.
"I remember flying though the air, like a cartwheel. The whole world spinning around and around. And then pain. Like someone had decided to pour molten lead both in and on my arm." The boy winced, the feeling of losing his limb to the fiery explosion of an ignited gas tank too traumatic to push back. "Flatline amputated what was left, which lead to my current replacement. Getting it wired to my head was almost as bad as losing the limb in the first place. For a while I hated it, because it made me feel less human, but over time I changed it up to help fill my own deeds. I think after that the Stunticons started to take their roles as guardians a little more seriously, so their charges don't have to lose their limbs like I did."
"It's a harsh world out there kid. You set the example. Not an easy thing to live through." Crowbar said, impressed by the boy's hardship. He'd never guessed that the boy lost his arm in such a horrific accident. When Crowbar had heard that Shockwave was on the Nemesis, he'd guessed that the arm on the boy was of his design for some sort of experiment. But he was so wrong. Hearing that Ethan had instead gotten his arm cut off and surgically replaced by Flatline was far more gruesome.
"Yeah, I guess you could say it like that. But enough about me," Ethan turned to Crowbar, asking a question that was plaguing his mind for some time, "What's the beef between you and Wildrider? I know you two were a couple at one point back before the whole civil war happened because she told me all about you when you came aboard the Nemesis."
"Really?" Crowbar asked, and Ethan nodded. He raised an optic ridge. "What did she say?"
"She told me how much of an asshole you were to her." Ethan said, crossing his arms while frowning at the Dread. He'd heard all the stories surrounding Crowbar thanks to Wildrider. There had been plenty of stories, all forming around the same principal; Crowbar was a dirty bastard who she used to trust and he took it and kicked it down like a defenseless child.
Crowbar rolled all four of his optics. "Figures."
"Look, I know there's always two sides to a story like this, so I want to hear it from you. Just what did you do to make Wildrider hate you so much?" Ethan asked, really wondering just how potentially tragic the relationship between Crowbar and Wildrider truly was. While Ethan stayed far away from any sort of drama, anything that dealt with his guardian he had to know. Wildrider wasn't a fan of talking about her personal life that much, even to her fellow Stunticons. It takes time for some people to really open up to others, be they human or alien.
"Remember when I told you that she can hold a grudge? Well, back before the war started, she and I were part of the underground arenas, the gladiator stuff that Megatron and most of the other big Decepticons came from." Crowbar told the boy, who was standing there digesting the information.
"So you two were badass gladiators?"
Crowbar let a chuckle out. "Hell yeah we were. We wound up being put into the doubles matches, facing off in two-versus-twos, and we were good at it. We eventually became one of the best tag teams in the whole of Kaon. People started waging on us, started to earn lots of money, and we became celebrities in the ring. And as we started to get better, we got closer as well. Really close." Crowbar's mouth formed a slight smile, remembering the nights of passion that the two of them shared after big victories. Splendid memories, they were.
"And then the war happened." Ethan said.
"Yeah, civil war. Kaon became a battleground, far bigger than anything we'd imagined. When it started getting bigger, Megatron came to me and offered another type of job other than being a soldier for the armies we'd built. She'd noticed my skills in the ring and my expertise in sabotage had gotten her attention and she wanted a Secret Police, so I took it. The only downside was that I had to leave Wildrider behind." Crowbar answered.
"Really? You left her for your new life as a Dread?" Ethan said incredulously. "How'd Wildrider like that little bit of news?"
"Let's just say that she didn't take it very well..."
...
-Kaon, millions of years ago-
"You're going without me?!"
That went just as expected as he'd hoped the moment he'd told the news.
Crowbar was sure that both his audio receptors had been blown out, but a systematic double check cleared that it only a blowback from Wildrider's deafening scream that nearly caused him to lose his hearing. The two of them were in their shared apartment located in the underbelly of the gladiatorial arenas, or at least their formerly shared apartment. Crowbar's bombshell had certainly earned his eviction from the living space, not that it mattered. He'd be gone in the next megacycle anyway thanks to his new promotion.
Which had been the reason behind this whole dilemma between him and Wildrider. The femme had been looking through her collection of prized accessories that she had bought and been gifted to during their years. In her hand she held her favorite, a platinum heavy chain complete with a stylized pendant. She'd worn it in many battles, and had come to wear it as her signature piece. Crowbar had once worn a chain himself as did many other gladiators, even Megatron. It had grown popular in the earlier years of the underground for famous mechs and femmes to wear such things like chains, rings and even "blinged"-out weapons.
Both of them had joined the Decepticon movement, as issued by the purple insignia on his shoulders and on her chest. It was easy of them to join since they had been here, where Megatron made himself known many years ago on Declaration Day. The rest of the planet had responded as well. Crowbar and Wildrider hadn't been blind to the planetary politics of Cybertron. Time had come to choose a side and they had chosen.
"I've got more important things than to stay here and argue with you on this Wildrider." Crowbar said, trying to bury this conversation as fast as possible. He'd already thrown himself into a proverbial minefield and he didn't need to make it any worse. He'd slapped together the necessities from his home that he'd need later and all he needed was to leave. The shuttle was waiting for him at the docks.
"What could be more important than your friend?" She asked, crossing her arms while glaring at the mech in front of her.
"How about not sitting here on our afts all day wasting our time and waiting for some goddamn enforcers to come down and kill us! How about doing something bigger than just being a soldier! Does that sound more important?" Crowbar said back, his temper finally reaching its limit. He'd tried very hard not to lose his cool around Wildrider but he just couldn't hold it in anymore. He jabbed a finger at her chest and yelled, "Would it hurt you to think for once in your life?!"
"I do think! I think about me, you and everyone else!" Wildrider cried back.
"Really? 'Cause all I see is someone who's willing to throw her life away without a purpose!" He yelled at her.
"So that's it? You're just gonna abandon me for some new group?!" The femme felt the sting of lubricant at back of her optics. This was getting too heavy for her to handle.
"If it means getting somewhere in life, then yes I would! Maybe you would too if you weren't so fragging stupid!" He roared at her, finally spilling his guts and losing what little self-control he'd attempted to have. He'd just wanted to let her go without any sort of drag but of course something just had to go wrong. Crowbar slowly realized what he'd just said as seen by Wildrider's stunned face, as if she'd been slapped. The amount of hurt in those optics burned into his soul.
"Wildrider, I didn't meant that." He said, but he'd said too much.
"Go." She said, in a defeated tone, a small river of coolant leaking from her optic, "Just go, Crowbar. I don't want to see you again."
Crowbar knew that whatever bridge he'd crossed he had certainly burned now. He saw that in the hassle of their argument she'd dropped her chain, so he picked it up and tried to give it back. She pushed it away, shaking her head. It was a symbol of a life she didn't have anymore.
"No. I don't want it anymore." She said, and Crowbar slowly retracted his hand but kept the chain held. Crowbar knew it too. So he pocketed it in his personal subspace.
"Fine."
And then he left, knowing full well it might be the last time he'd ever see her again.
...
"Smooth, Crowbar. Real smooth. Talking down to her like she's some sort of idiot and then you leave her heartbroken. That must make you feel super good about yourself, you assclown." Ethan glared at the Dread in front of him, who was having a sheepish look on his face. Hearing the words coming out of Crowbar's mouth was a whole different experience rather than Wildrider telling him tales. It had completely changed his view on the history between his guardian and the Dread. Now he knew for certain that Wildrider wasn't telling stretches of the truth, there was a large amount of veracity in her words regarding her ex.
"Look, I said some things that I shouldn't have, alright?" Crowbar said.
"Really? Like calling her stupid and saying you'd leave her if it meant getting ahead in life?" Ethan replied, "Y'know, maybe Wildrider was telling the truth about you." He found himself disliking the Dread the more he talked like it wasn't even his fault.
"I had no choice. I wasn't going to make her tag along like a lost orphan." Crowbar shot back. There was no way Wildrider of all femmes could survive being a Dread, and with their relationship it would have been costly to the Decepticons if anything happened to either one of them. Any sort of romantic partnership was highly discouraged in the Decepticon war machine, saying that it was an area of exploitation that the Autobots could use against them. Plus having more focus on winning battles was more important than winning dates.
"So why now?" Ethan asked, confusing the Dread, "Why the hell do you care about her so much anyway? Has it ever occurred to you that she doesn't want to be with you anymore?"
"Because dammit kid," And in Crowbar's clenched hand dangled a very familiar and very personal item that he had kept with him for many, many years; Wildrider's platinum chain, the very one that she had prized when she was younger. Ethan stared in awe at the shiny accessory, stunned that Crowbar had kept it for so long,
"I owe her. I owe her for every battle we fought together and came out on top, owe her for sticking with me until the end. I've done a lot of dumb slag in my life and dumping Wildrider was up there, and I'll be damned if I don't get one last shot at being her friend."
Ethan looked long and hard into Crowbar's optics, and found that he was telling the truth in his vision. For all his spectacular blunder and bad attitude he really did want to get back in Wildrider's good graces again, but if Crowbar's earlier advice told him anything Wildrider wasn't just going to forget everything that the Dread said to her. She wasn't a "forgive and forget" type of femme. She could remember every word said to her, and she remembers everything. Everything.
Ethan had to ask one final question, the one that had been bugging him for some time, ever since meeting Crowbar.
"Crowbar... did you love her?" He asked. This was taking a very personal turn, but this was his guardian, the one who had protected him for many years. He needed to know if the Dread was either being a lusty bastard only earning his way back into Wildrider's good side so that he could frag her and forget it, or he was truly trying to get back into her good graces as repent for destroying what friendship they had. Crowbar closed his eyes and huffed out some air from his vents.
"Yeah. Yeah kid, I did. She was the most awesome femme anyone could ask for and I totally blew it." The Dread answered with every bit of truth that he could pour into his words. He really did love Wildrider for who she was and who she is, that kickass dirty fighter that could make a crowd scream in hype. He'd blown his chance with her once, and he wasn't about to let another fly by.
"And you really want to make up for what you did?"
"Isn't that the point of this whole conversation?"
"Well for starters, have you apologized to her for calling her an idiot?" Ethan asked.
"Um..." Crowbar scratched the back of his head, and Ethan pressed his hand against his face.
"So you haven't done that. How about for saying that you'd leave her to get ahead in life?"
Silence. Crowbar blinked.
"Really?! None of that? Good god, no wonder she avoids you like the plague!" Ethan cried out. The boy mentally facepalmed that the Dread hadn't tried anything to win back Wildrider's favor. Unsurprisingly he was still being given the boot. "For goodness sake's Crowbar at least say you're sorry for the things you said! Maybe then Wildrider can see that you're trying to make up for, dude!"
"That's it? You want me to say that I'm sorry?" Crowbar said, incredulously.
"Yeah dude! Totally! Oh, and the chain too. Maybe if she sees that you held on to it for so long she might actually start liking you again, y'know. For being courteous." Ethan gestured towards the hunk of platinum in Crowbar's hands. He looked down at the glimmering trinket. He hadn't thought about that before. Truthfully he'd forgotten that he had the damn thing before arriving on Earth, only remembering once he had seen Wildrider roaming the Nemesis in search of her charge. The idea of using it as a token of forgiveness wasn't a bad idea at all.
"Alright kiddo, you got yourself a deal." Crowbar smiled down at the boy, who responded by giving a thumbs up.
The sudden sound of a ground-bridge opening up startled the two. The Dread and the Stuntikid looked to the right, barely a hundred feet from them to see that there opened a portal, and the Dread had to guess that it wasn't theirs. And he was proven right as he saw a handful of Autobots jump out. From the portal came Prowl, Smokescreen, Arcee along with Shadowraid and suprisingly Ratchet, who he thought was dead. Looks like Sprawl missed his shot. Crowbar instantly took cover as much as he could behind the wrecked car, but thankfully the Autobots were too busy talking to Ratchet.
"Autobots? We should get outta here." Ethan said, taking a moment to peek around the vehicle. He'd much rather run and live than stay and fight for his life. He wasn't cut out for combat, leave that stuff for his commander. The Dread continued to watch, waiting for the right time to leave. As the Autobots started to walk towards the developing neighborhood, with all their backs turned to him, now he decided to make a move.
Crowbar transformed, and for the first time Ethan noticed that the Chevy Suburban had chrome razor wire knotted across the bars at the grill of the SUV. He found it to be rather fitting of Crowbar's personality as he hopped in shotgun and the two of them took off.
...
"Argh, I hate waiting!" Wildrider kicked a dumpster into a brick wall, shattering it like glass. If being separated from her charge wasn't bad enough, now she had to work slowly with the biggest stiff in the cosmos. Shockwave had been with the drill ever since Crowbar left with Ethan to scout ahead in case of emergencies and that just left her by herself, and she hated being alone. "Could you hurry up? I'd rather get back to the Nemesis with some of my youth, thank you."
"Your whining will not help the drill retrieve the relic any faster." Shockwave answered, and Wildrider turned away to pout.
"Wildrider, Shockwave, you there?"
"Affirmative, Crowbar. What is your status?" Shockwave commanded.
"There aren't any humans around, but we've got Autobots scouring the area now. Five of them. Sooner or later they'll be on your asses and you've better get that relic out of the ground before they get to you. Me and Ethan will be back in a couple moments, so hang tight." Crowbar answered, leaving a bad taste in Wildrider's mouth. Since when has Crowbar addressed Ethan as anything other than "boy" or "kid"? Why use his real name? Wildrider felt a cold storm rising in her gut with the fear of Ethan getting too close to the Dread for her to be comfortable. She'd been in his shoes before.
"Copy that." Shockwave said, and at the same moment the drill let out a small ping.
"The relic has been retrieved." Shockwave said, beginning to retract the drills and bringing up the relic. "I will need time to pull the artifact from the earth. Wildrider, cover me while I work."
"Cover me while I work," She said in a mocking tone, "You want me to shine your aft while I'm at it?" The Stunticon muttered silently and out of Shockwave's hearing. Wildrider stayed close by and cocked her rifle. Her optics watched every direction, every corner, watching out for anything that even closely resembled Autobot. It didn't help that it was night, and she couldn't really see in the dark.
If she had been paying attention to the unfinished mansion behind her, then she would have noticed a pair of orange optics staring at the both her and Shockwave...
...
"Five Autobots consisting of Ratchet, Smokescreen, Arcee, Prowl and Shadowraid. Arcee and Smokescreen I know are fighters, Ratchet not so much, Prowl can put up a fight when he's in a good mood, and Shadowraid. Who is she again?" Ethan counted off the names of the Autobots that he and Crowbar spotted, and now the two of them were racing to get back to Shockwave and Wildrider as fast as they could.
"She's an ex-Decepticon. 'Raid was with us for a while until Iacon was conquered. Now she's an Autobot." Crowbar explained as they rounded another corner.
"You think she'll turn back?"
"HAH!" Crowbar laughed, "You're funny, kid. Do humans have a massive sense of humor or is it just you? Nah, Shadowraid got herself caught, went turncoat and now works for them, probably because she can't stand her brother."
"Brother? That's Sprawl, right?" Ethan wondered, and didn't get an answer as an explosion rocked the construction zone. Ethan saw a fireball rise into the sky some distance in front of them, where Shockwave and Wildrider were currently digging. His eyes widened with fear. That could have been Wildrider! Crowbar made a hurried stop at a corner and opened his door. "That was at the drill site!"
"Get out, and stay low. I don't want Wildrider ripping off any of my appendages." Crowbar said, and the boy nodded. The Dread took off as fast as he could.
"Hurry Crowbar!" Ethan shouted. "Wildrider's in trouble!" He watched as the Dread shrunk from sight, and started to run right to the battle. Screw staying low, he had to get the relic!
...
Meanwhile at the dig site, the battle continued to rage. Shockwave was having a tough time fighting against three Autobots, even if they weren't as bulky or powerful as he was. Smokescreen avoided a blast from Shockwave's hyperflux cannon, and Prowl and Ratchet both charged at the monoptic scientist, who responded by slamming his fist into the ambulance's back, knocking him to the floor. Prowl tackled the Decepticon down but got a face full of fist as soon as they landed, freeing Shockwave, but yet again Shockwave was sent on the defense, having to try and avoid Ratchet's blades and Smokescreen's blaster fire.
Wildrider, however, was totally in her element.
"C'mon two-wheeler! I thought you were made of sterner stuff!" Wildrider laughed as she deflected blow after blow from Arcee, the Autobot finding plenty of trouble trying to land a hit. Wildrider was just bigger and stronger, but not as agile. Arcee, however, didn't have the strength to overpower the Stunticon. Wildrider kicked the smaller Autobot away, and was intercepted by Shadowraid, who swung her arm-blade to try and bisect the Decepticon, but Wildrider saw it coming and jumped back, gnashing her denta at the sight of the traitor.
"You..." Wildrider spat. "I heard about Sprawl's loser sister coming to Earth. How about I show you just how I treat backstabbing punks." She shot at the Nissan GTR while pounding her knuckledusters together, and Shadowraid snarled in anger. The talk of her brother was always something that drove her mad. She charged at Wildrider, going for a low swing and the Decepticon jumped, avoiding the orange blade. Shadowraid swung again, this time with a fist, which Wildrider turned her body and gave an uppercut to Shadowraid's face, then a body blow, which hit hard enough for her to cough out a glob of green fluid from her mouth, optics wide as saucers. The timely return of Arcee prevented Wildrider from knocking off Shadowraid's head.
"You're all gonna pay for what you did to Jack." Arcee said, her optics narrowing at Wildrider, who stood there confused before realizing what she was talking about.
"Aw, did widdle Jack got a boo-boo fighting a girl?" Wildrider mockingly pouted with a duck-face, knowing just how much it would piss off the Autobot. "I mean, come on Arcee. You could have at least taught him some moves, or something! I can totally get keeping him safe, but you don't want him to join your other partners in the afterlife, do you?"
Arcee grit her denta and ran at Wildrider, the Stunticon readying a fist to be sent straight for her face, but as she swung the Autobot feinted, and Wildrider watched with stunned optics as Arcee cocked her leg back and threw a vengeful spin-kick straight towards the side of her head.
"HIYAH!"
The hit landed, and Wildrider was sent spinning with stars in her vision. Who knew Arcee could kick that hard? Wildrider tried to shake it off but was kicked once again, this time in the gut and almost toppled right on her back, the impact jarring her brain and nearly making her lose conscious. She steadied herself with her hand on a light pole, trying not to have double vision. Arcee huffed and walked over to Shadowraid and offered a hand and she took it.
"Thanks for the save, Arcee. I owe you one." Shadowraid said and looked at Wildrider slowly making the world stop spinning by shaking her head and slapping her helm, blinking a couple times before focusing on the two Autobots in front of her.
The sound of a roaring engine caught the two Autobots off-guard, and turned around to see none other than Crowbar launch himself into the fray, transforming then jumping into the air with a spin-roll. The arrival of the Dread had been so sudden that the two female Autobots couldn't react in time as he reached towards his back and equipped the Dread's signature weapon of choice; explosive barbed spears, which he threw straight at them. Arcee was quick enough to slice the one he threw at her in two, but Shadowraid was not as fortunate and the spear embedded itself right into her left shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain.
"Shadow!" Arcee cried out as the spear exploded, taking Shadowraid's left arm off her body in a shower of metal and fire. The femme let out a horrendous howl of pain as she buckled to her knees and clutched her injury, eyeing her left arm which lay some distance away, the joint completely wrecked.
Crowbar landed on his feet and turned his attention to Wildrider, who was slowly regaining her senses together. Once she could see straight she noticed that there was a certain someone missing from the Dread's company.
"Where's Ethan?" She practically shouted at him, "Where is he?!"
"He's safe. I told him to stay away from the battle, once we've got the relic we can get him and head home." Crowbar answered, and Wildrider grumbled unintelligible curses. The two stood side-by-side as Arcee tried to slow down Shadowraid's wounds with little success. "She's done for, let's get the relic."
Ping!
The Decepticons and Autobots heard the sound, realizing that the drill machine had successfully retrieved the relic, whatever it may be. Prowl made the first move and ran towards the drill away from Shockwave, who tried to grab the tactician before he could get there first. Smokescreen and Ratchet kept the Decepticon scientist busy. Crowbar and Wildrider ran as well, with the Dread intercepting Prowl before he could make a move. Wildrider charged right at the machine as Crowbar and Prowl fought to either protect the Stunticon or steal the relic from her. Crowbar managed to get Prowl in a headlock and give him a rather violent noogie, rubbing his sharp knuckles on Prowl's forehead.
"Ha ha ha! Suck it, nerd!" Crowbar said, like a tyrannical schoolyard bully.
"Arcee! Smokescreen! Focus on the relic!" Prowl shouted while trying to fight off Crowbar. The Dread hit his head and sent him straight to the ground, and Crowbar ran towards the drill. Smokescreen, ever the eager rookie made a move and went to attack Wildrider, who saw it coming and proceeded to fight him one to one. Smokescreen was showing that he wasn't just a newbie by throwing out precise strikes and hits, some of which actually managed to hit the Stunticon. His fist was then caught in one of her hands and she squeezed.
"It's rude to hit a girl, Smokey." She said to him. "Didn't your teacher tell you that?"
"Alpha Trion told me that the ways of justice aren't prohibited by gender," Smokescreen replied, taking a moment to glare at Wildrider right at her optics. "So don't think you're getting off easy, Stunticon."
"Party pooper, no cake for you."
Shadowraid sucked in air and allowed her dampeners to bar the pain from becoming overwhelming. It was a miracle she was still operational with her injury. With her being without an arm, she was pretty much useless in the fight. Just as she was going to call it quits, she noticed that there was a human hiding in one of the houses with a metal arm, watching the battle unfold. If her research was correct, then this human could be one of theirs.
Wildrider wailed blow after blow on Smokescreen, the cadet having to put his arms up to block the Stunticon's assault. Sparks flew as her fists collided with his arms, shoulders and even his gut. He could feel her knuckledusters making dents in his body with every strike, making it harder and harder for him to continue playing defensive. A single punch to his gut made him drop his guard and she gave an uppercut, sending the cadet into the air and crashing down on a streetlight. Smokescreen tried getting up, reaching to stand, but collapsed. Wildrider smirked as she turned to see Crowbar sock Prowl right in the face to send the Praxian sailing into a mansion. He looked back to see that his ex was watching him.
"Just like old times, eh?" The Dread walked up and readied a fist-bump, and Wildrider stared at him.
"Too soon?"
Shockwave struggled to get the medic off of him. He twisted his arm to pry Ratchet off his spine and slammed him into the ground with Ratchet letting out a cry of pain. Shockwave leveled his hyperflux cannon at Ratchet's spark, the Autobot feeling a sense of deja vu.
"Any last words?" Shockwave asked.
Ratchet said nothing, not wanting to give Shockwave the satisfaction of finishing him off. Sprawl had tried to do that and failed. Shockwave would not make the same mistake, powering up his cannon to waste away Ratchet.
"Stop right there Shockwave!" The one-eyed scientist saw Shadowraid still functional, and holding someone in her hand, "Or the human traitor gets it." In her right hand was Ethan, trying to get out of Shadowraid's unbreakable grip. Her thumb pressed on his head to make him stop. Wildrider's optics went wide at the sight of her precious charge being handled by Autobots.
"ETHAN!" Wildrider screamed, and was held back by Crowbar from running up there and murdering the Autobot where she stood. Shockwave powered down his cannon, allowing Ratchet to return to his kind without dying.
"Now that I have your attention, I think we can make a deal; you leave the relic here for us and we give you the kid. Sound fair?" Shadowraid said, allowing the rest of the battered Autobots to regroup and stand facing the Decepticons. Shockwave stood behind Crowbar and Wildrider, taking a moment to look back at the drill. The relic had been retrieved. The three Decepticons huddled up to decided whether or not to leave the relic behind. Shockwave knew that his input was only as good as his own, so a vote had to be cast.
"So what do we do? Let them have Ethan but we get the relic?" Crowbar addressed.
"We're not leaving Ethan to them. Give 'em the damn relic." Wildrider gave her expected input, totally in for giving whatever they dug up for her charge safely returned. Wildrider turned her head to make sure Ethan was still breathing, but this time he was in Prowl's hands as Shadowraid was being fixed by Ratchet. It only made her more worried that the cold, calculating tactician had her boy in his hands.
"We cannot allow the Autobots any strategic victory, Wildrider. It is imperative that the Decepticons remain victorious in retrieving relics." Shockwave said. While he knew the strategic importance to having human agents on Earth it was far too critical that the Decepticons get as many relics as they could.
"At Ethan's expense?! If we give him to them, who knows if we'll get him back? I say we give them the relic." Wildrider gave her final answer.
"I say we let them take the boy." Shockwave and Wildrider turned to the last member of their group, who had remained mostly silent and listening in to the conversation. Crowbar mentally sighed, of course his vote would be the most important. Both of them gave valid points; Ethan was very important to the Stuntikids as their medic and Wildrider's charge, so leaving him would be detrimental towards both. On the other hand, this relic could be a deciding factor towards winning or losing the war, but it also could be a completely useless trinket. Crowbar reviewed both arguments slowly.
He gave his answer.
"We can't leave Ethan. The boy is crucial for both the Stuntikids and the Stunticons. Wildrider's right. We might not ever see him again if we give him to them, and we can't replace someone like him." Crowbar said, stunning the Stunticon next to him. To hear the Dread defend her point was something almost otherworldly as they were. Why would he want to keep Ethan?
"Your answer is logical." Shockwave said, understanding their points. The Autobots watched as Shockwave made their way towards them, "The relic is yours, now hand us the boy and we shall leave."
Prowl slowly but surely handed Ethan over to the scientist, the boy blowing a raspberry at the tactician after being handed to Shockwave.
"Soundwave, we require a ground-bridge." Shockwave spoke to the Nemesis while handing the boy over to his guardian, who eagerly took him.
-the Nemesis-
The Decepticons returned, walking into the portal room empty-handed but together again. When the three of them returned the Nemesis, Shockwave left the Dread and the Stunticon, returning to his lab to continue his experiments and report their loss to Megatron. They all knew that she wasn't going to be happy with this mission failed. Wildrider and Crowbar made their own separate way towards either the rec-room or the shooting range to blow off some steam. If it meant avoiding Megatron for a small amount of time, they'd take it.
"We lost," Ethan said, getting a little emotional for the fact that he'd cost the Decepticons a relic, stuffing his hands in his pockets with a sorrowful frown, "I'm sorry guys, I messed this all up." He rubbed his eyes.
"C'mon kiddo, don't be so gloom." Crowbar said, smiling down at the boy, "You win some, you lose some."
"Since when are you so friendly?" Wildrider asked with an edge to her voice. "Mind telling me what you two did while I had to stay with Shockwave?"
"Just dude talk, Wildrider." Ethan said from his place in Wildrider's hands. "Nothing special."
"Alright, I'll take your word for it." The Stunticon shrugged, and then smiled at him. She knew a way to get his mood up again, "You up for a re-run of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency?"
"Sure. Can Crowbar come watch with us?" Ethan asked, and Wildrider froze in her tracks. Those words, oh those (literally) dreaded words that came out of his mouth only fueled some of her worst fears that Ethan was getting friendly with Crowbar. Said Dread was standing next to them, Ethan looking back and forth from Wildrider's wincing face to Crowbar's slightly surprised one, who had not expected the Stuntikid to invite him to watch anime with the both of them. It was a little flattering to be honest. He'd rarely been invited anywhere that wasn't a top-secret mission.
"Hey Wildrider, I know it might be a little awkward for me to come and watch some shows with your kid, so I don't have to come. But before I do I want to give you something," Crowbar reached back and pulled out something she thought she'd never see again. The platinum chain. Her favorite. The same one she'd worn all those eons ago. He stuck his hand out for her to take it, "Here. I... I held on to it, for personal reasons, really. I guessed you'd might want it back since... I don't know. Maybe you would like it back, or not."
"You kept it." She said quietly in a very quiet tone of voice, almost unbelieving, staring down at the accessory. "For all these years. Why?"
"Because I'm sorry."
Wildrider blinked. Did she hear him right? Meanwhile Ethan was smiling ear to ear.
"You're what?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you behind when I promised we'd join the Decepticons together. I'm sorry for calling you an idiot all those years ago because you cared for both me and you rather than just yourself." He said, not holding back on what he wanted to say. There was no going back now. He couldn't just say psyche! I got you! and believe it. "I don't expect you to forgive me, I just want you to understand."
Wildrider said nothing. She couldn't. For so long she'd lived with the fact that Crowbar had left her for selfish reasons, and now hearing him confess that he was sorry was a bit much for her right now. She'd nearly lost her charge, her precious boy, to the Autobots. And now Crowbar was apologizing. Was this real life? Was fate playing a game with her feelings? It took a minute, but it suddenly started to make itself clear. Why else would Crowbar wait ten million years to apologize unless someone talked him into it?
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Wildrider realized just how proud she was of Ethan.
She pursed her lips, wondering just what she could say. Those words still stung, even if they were millions of years old. Trust came really hard for her, even before meeting Crowbar, and then the Stunticons. It wasn't something that she could hand out freely. And yet, the chain she held in her hand indicated that Crowbar really was trying to earn her forgiveness, which only fueled more confusion within her mind. She closed her eyes and accepted that maybe, just maybe, Crowbar was actually turning a new leaf with her and attempting to make up what he said.
"It's a start," She finally said, and Crowbar smiled. At least she acknowledged that he was trying. Wildrider slowly put the chain around her neck, feeling the smooth weight on her chest. It felt... right to have it again, a memoir of her past. She turned around to head to the rec-room, Ethan tagging along side her feet. After a few moments, Wildrider stopped and looked back to see the Dread still standing there.
"Well?"
Crowbar turned his head, "Well what?"
"Aren't you coming?"
"R-Really?" The Dread said, astonished that Ethan's advice had earned him some down time with Wildrider. He made a mental note to thank the boy once they were alone. Truthfully he was on his way to meet up with Crankcase and Hatchet, but that could wait. "I mean, thank you." He quickly walked up to the Stunt duo. "By the way, what is JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? Is that one of the human "anime" things that the vehicons watch?"
"It's not just an anime, Crowbar! It's," Ethan sniffed and held his head up high, "an adventure!"
"Really? I couldn't tell," Crowbar said sarcastically.
"Let him enjoy this moment," Wildrider said to the Dread, "He doesn't get to talk about his guilty pleasures that often."
"Hey, you enjoy it too!"
Oh my god this chapter kicked my ass to Cybertron and back. Not only was I constantly revising it to make it feel realistic, but my work schedule has been so overwhelming and my personal life is a major blockade. Every scene that was written here I redid because it felt all wrong.
But I finally managed to get it right! Wildrider and Crowbar are (maybe) friends again(?), but the Decepticons lost the relic. Oh well. Even trade. Also, Wildrider now has a chain, which is something that I found that was really cool that they added in The Last Knight. Many of the Decepticons in that movie had chains, such as Barricade, Nitro Zeus and Onslaught each had one. It was also in Megatron: Origin, as Megatron in his gladiator days wore a chain with the Decepticon symbol on it. Who knows, maybe another Decepticon could get one.
See you soon.
