I seem unable to write this story without playing video games at the same time. Or, alternatively, being a cowboy on Red Dead Redemption is just too much fun...
Damn bears killing my horses...
Aaaanyway, enjoy!
:D
Chapter Eight: Delivering the Goods
Flash Bang gasped as she came back online, her systems going haywire as she began panicking badly. She wanted to squirm about and look around, but she was completely frozen. The reason why become obvious when her optics flickered downwards and focused on the glowing pair of stasis cuffs around her wrists. Flash Bang offlined her optics and tried to focus inwards, calming her systems and making sure things were as they should be.
Something was wrong though; the stasis cuffs weren't allowing enough of her energy to be redirected to the new spark in her abdomen. It was growing weaker by the nanoclik. As she realised this, a single lubricant tear fell from Flash Bang's optic. What if she didn't get out? The spark would die... and Blurr didn't even know there was one...
Suddenly she heard someone chuckle darkly. "So sad to have been torn from your loving mech creator's arms?" Shockwave taunted, stepping into the light. "Or is it the concern for you precious speedster that draws lubricant from your optics?"
Flash Bang glowered, not at Shockwave, seeing as he wasn't in her line of sight and she couldn't angle herself to face him, but at the ground she was laying on. "What do you care?"
"Oh, I don't," Shockwave replied. "I just find it entertaining to watch you suffer."
"How chivalrous of you," Flash Bang hissed. "Although I don't suppose such a thing is in your programming."
Shockwave laced his claws around the stasis cuffs, hoisting Flash Bang from the floor so her support servos dangled freely above the ground. He looked her right in the optic, and despite the lack of a brow or even an optic ridge, Flash Bang could tell he was glaring at her.
"Such things surely don't bother you in such a situation?" Shockwave demanded. "Or did Blurr pick a mate as incompetent as himself?"
"Don't you dare talk about him like that!" Flash Bang yelled as loud as her weakening systems would allow. "When he catches up to you he'll pluck out your optic and tear the rest of you to shreds!"
"I have no intention of being beaten by Blurr," Shockwave purred. "He may be a new model but his armour is incredibly weak, and I've upgraded my weapons since our last confrontation. He'll be more than easy to dispatch."
Flash Bang's cooling fans suddenly kicked in, for what Shockwave assumed was no reason. But then he noticed the plating on her abdomen, how it was slightly raised with a soft glow emanating from between the plates.
"Now this is interesting..." he purred, settling Flash Bang back on the ground and forcing her to lie down. He gently caressed her abdomen, examining the raised plates. Flash Bang wanted to wriggle away from him, but she couldn't. "Seems Like Blurr left you with a souvenir."
"Speaking of Blurr," a chilling, female voice called out, "I think our guest's little friends are on their way here." Dark Spark stepped into view, and Flash Bang automatically frowned at her.
"One last thing before we go, Blurr," Gearshift said, taking something from a nearby shelf. "Here."
He tossed something long and thin over to Blurr – a sheathed sword. Slightly confused, the black armoured speedster drew the blade from its cover. A glowing blue katana slid from the scabbard, lighting the space around it with a soft blue light.
"It's the katana I trained with when I was a student of Master Yoketron," he explained. "Finest blade I ever wielded. Can you use it?"
Blurr pulled off a few rapid moves, demonstrating the fact he'd used swords before. "Not quite the style of blade I'm used to, but I'm sure I can handle it. Thank you."
"I want it back," Gearshift replied with a winked.
Blurr couldn't be certain why, but suddenly he felt a little more confidant. Five of them against two Decepticons. Sure, one of them was Megatron's top lieutenant when the Decepticon leader had been free, but surely the lot of them could take him on and win.
"So where do we start looking?" Searchlight demanded.
"Good question," Gearshift said. "Lockdown, do you still have that old tracker you used to use all the time?"
"The one that focused on Decepticon signatures?" Lockdown replied. "Think I know where it is..."
Lockdown turned and began rifling through the compartments lining the walls. He tossed things haphazardly over his shoulder, which the watching bots dodged lamely. All the while, Gearshift was staring at his friend's back with a frown. Why was he being so compliant? Just because he'd promised to watch over Flash Bang, it didn't mean he'd agreed to help in a case like this...
After a while, Lockdown found what he was looking for, and tossed it over to Gearshift.
"Guess I'll leave yall to it," Lockdown grumbled. "Ya got what ya need now, that's it from me."
"What?" Blurr demanded. "You're not going to help us? You just put me through an agonising upgrade to just turn your back and storm off? And what about your vow to watch over Flash Bang? What about "obligation"?"
"The deal was I'd watch over Flash Bang when Gearshift couldn't," Lockdown retorted, calmly. "Everythin' else t'day has been in return fer various other favours I owe 'im." Blurr just stared at Lockdown, completely aghast. Everyone else was much the same, save Gearshift.
"I knew this wouldn't last. Thanks for the stuff, though," Gearshift said, sounding as if it were just a regular occurrence. "Come on, everyone, Flash Bang's our main priority."
Blurr gave one last glower at Lockdown's back before latching the sword onto his back and turning to leave. He'd see to the bounty hunter later if he felt the need, but Gearshift was right, Flash Bang was the main priority now.
Gearshift stood outside with the box like tracking device Lockdown had handed him. He held it out and powered it up, the screen glowing green and showing a pair of red arrows pointing to the north east.
"Got them," Gearshift murmured. "Let's go."
The four Autobots transformed and followed Gearshift as he led the way according to the tracker. Blurr's processor was a whirl of thoughts – what would Flash Bang think of him now? Was she even okay? How had Dark Spark and, assumedly, Shockwave treated her? Blurr felt his new pistons whirring erratically as he grew impatient and he had to work to keep them under control, unsure of what effect they'd have on him in vehicle mode.
Searchlight and Wheelie flanked Blurr, as if conscious of the fact that his new systems could send him zooming off uncontrollably at any time. Blurr was thankful that he had the two of them with him. He may have survived his last encounter with Shockwave, but it had... scarred him to some extent. It was much the same now as it was then, Flash Bang was in Shockwave's clutches and Blurr had no idea what he was doing to her. They'd been lucky last time; it was simply a trap, which Blurr supposed it was this time, too. But if Dark Spark was luring Blurr to their lair for herself, then what would they do with Flash Bang if and when they got him? Blurr avoided thinking of it, pushing it from his processor as the four sped onwards. The less he thought of it, the less painful it was.
It was a megacycle later when they arrived. As they passed through a long, dusty tunnel, the red arrows had turned to red dots and blinked more and more rapidly the closer to the end of the tunnel they got. Before long, they were virtually on top of them. Gearshift transformed and looked around him, they were in a huge basin littered with caves along its walls. According to the tracker, the two Decepticons were in any one of the caves directly opposite the tunnel they'd entered through, though which one wasn't obvious. Blurr, Wheelie and Searchlight stopped behind Gearshift and reverted to robot mode.
"Can you tell where they are?" Searchlight asked.
"It's hard to make out exactly," Gearshift admitted. "This isn't the most high-tech of trackers."
Blurr grumbled something no one heard and sped off into the nearest cave, only to come flying out of another before much time had passed. He tried another, and another, going round and round in circles until he'd tried every cave. Frustrated, Blurr stamped a support servo on the ground, only to be rocketed into the air. The others watched him soar with some mild amusement, and Wheelie couldn't contain the laughter when Blurr fell back to the ground with a thump.
"Blurr's clumsy acting suggests he may need practising!" the little orange bot squeaked. Blurr frowned at the little bot.
"Not the best time, really, Wheelie," he hissed. Wheelie just grinned innocently, and glanced around them. It was then he noticed something peculiar amongst the caves higher up. Carved into the metal was what looked to be a series of bot-made footholds, leading from one of the highest caves into thick clouds of pollution that hovered over the basin. Blurr and the others followed his gaze.
"Looks like that may be our way up," Gearshift announced. "Though I'm not certain I'd like to fight them in their territory."
"So we call them out," Searchlight said with a shrug, putting his servos to his mouth. "Hey, Dark Spark! We got a present for you!"
For a while, there was nothing but silence. The four mechs strained their audio sensors to hear anything over the ever present din generated in the Canyons, but nothing out of the ordinary could be heard. What felt like megacycles passed, but then a soft chuckle came from above.
"Finally come to give yourself up, Blurr?" Shockwave's voice purred. "Dark Spark's been getting awfully lonely." There was a moment of silence as Shockwave leapt from the cave he had been concealed within and dropped to the ground before the four Autobots. Blurr couldn't help but believe small smirk would have been playing on Shockwave's lip modules, had he had any.
"I don't give a damn about Dark Spark," Blurr hissed. "Where is Flash Bang?"
As if on cue, Dark Spark descended into view, carrying something large and red. Flash Bang was cradled in her black armoured arms, stasis cuffs preventing her from moving. Gearshift's optics widened, she looked even worse than when he'd last seen her! But that wasn't his only concern.
"Get those stasis cuffs off her!" he yelled. "You'll kill the new spark!"
Everything seemed to crash then. Blurr stood stock still as he tried to process what Gearshift had said into anything other than the obvious meaning. Flash Bang couldn't be sparking! They hadn't done any of... that... in ages! Though, maybe this was the reason? Maybe they hadn't been spending as much time alone in the recharge room recently because Flash Bang hadn't been... "up to it"? If that were the case, it would probably mean she was about ready to deliver...
Then it hit him that Gearshift clearly knew.
"Why didn't you tell me? Didn't you think I had a right to know? She's my bondmate, after all! What were you doing not telling me?"
"I was under the assumption that you already knew, and Flash Bang didn't exactly say it out loud to me," Gearshift retorted. "I took a close look at her when she was offline and saw it for myself. Maybe if you paid more attention to the little things, you'd have noticed."
"Are you saying I'm inattentive to her? Not like you have! Or am I just not to your liking, sir? I didn't realise you were one of those bots that demands to measure up suitors for their creations!"
"Um, probably not the best time for it, guys," Searchlight said. He cast a quick glance around him to get help from Wheelie, who'd vanished. "Where the Pit did short stuff go?"
Watching with some amusement at the bickering bots, Dark Spark glanced over at Shockwave.
"Do you want the first shot?" she offered. "I better get prissy here out of the way."
"I thought you'd never ask, my dear," Shockwave replied, raising his cannon. Gearshift and Blurr were still engaged in a heated argument, and it was only Searchlight who noticed the cannon.
"GET DOWN!"
So Blurr's finally discovered what's going on with Flash Bang, but there is still the mystery of why he can't remember Dark Spark/Silverstar. But, for now, let's hope our heroes get out of this sticky situation alive!
Please review!
:D
