Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers
Note: This is based on the Cybertron series and NOT on the Japanese Galaxy Force.
Hello it's me, who is, once again, very late with the update. I'm truly sorry, but I got dragged off to my Aunt's house and she doesn't even own a microwave, let alone a TV or computer. So I was stuck, unable to type anything at all. Here's the second last chapter of the fic, and I'm guessing it will be the longest too. An apology in advance for the horrific fighting scenes; I don't do well in that type of thing.
So with a last apology let me bring you the late and museless chapter.
Brae for impact!
A place usually tells one what it is like by its appearance and setting. For example, one doesn't feel threatened out in the park on a sunny day, with lots of flowers blooming around one's feet giving off fragrance and beauty. And in space, in total nothingness, with only the light of stars that seem so close, yet so far at them same time and that twinkle happily at you, you feel peaceful and safe.
But sometimes appearances lie. The flowers could be ejecting a poison deadly to you and their colours could be beacons, drawing you in to your demise. And space can suddenly show that it is really a place of sheer emptiness where one is small and insignificant; a bug that the sneering stars can squash with little trouble at all.
This sudden change in the way the place makes you feel is shocking and it leaves one confused and scared. Something that was, a minute ago, safe and comforting has just revealed that it was exactly the opposite. In fact, the feeling is so unique and irregular that no one can really explain it; it's just there and it doesn't go away.
The three Earth teens felt that way up there in space. Lori and Bud sat, side by side, on an upturned box while Coby paced in front of them. None of them spoke; they were too afraid they might jinx the momentary peace. Each one of them knew that trouble was coming; they could almost see it rushing towards them. They wanted out, very quickly. That wanted to go back to the state they had been in before; unaware and happy that they were safe with the Autobots.
"How… are they planning to get rid of us?"
Lori's voice broke through the silence and made Bud look up from the spot on the floor he had been staring at for a long while. Coby did not stop pacing, but it was him who answered.
"It must have something to do with our damaged ship or they wouldn't have made it possible for us to follow them only with it. I mean, the whole reason they drew us out to space focuses on that. But what I don't get is why they lead us all the way out here. They now have to go all the way back to Earth, which is going to take unnecessary time."
Coby sighed and shook his head. In the books they had made it seem so easy to play the detective. But when the moment comes to you the panic and worry makes you almost incapable of thinking.
"Think like a Decepticon. If you wanted to destroy an entire ship-load of Autobots who are quite a bit more battle worthy than you, why would you lure them off into space?" Bud said, trying to reason it out.
"Well, we already know that one reason is that our damaged ship can be used to their advantage. But then there is still the problem that the Autobots are better fighters than them. Maybe they thought that they'd call some new weapon from the Earth if they battled too close?" Lori mused.
"Or," Coby said, and he had stopped pacing to stare at his brother and best friend, his eyes widening. "Maybe it's the other way round. They know the Autobots are better than them in combat so they drew them out here…"
"For an ambush?" Bud yelped. "But Optimus said-"
"Optimus has been wrong before," Coby replied quietly.
"But… how can they make that possible?" Lori squeaked, trying to put some confidence into her argument.
Coby said nothing but he dug out one of his trusty gadgets and typed on it for a while. He suddenly stopped and the other two realized with sinking hearts that what he had found was not good news for them.
"Just behind the huge meteor in front of us is a space warp. It doesn't say where it starts, but I'll bet it's far away. And I'll also bet that on the other end-"
"Are more Decepticon troops," Bud whispered.
"Ready to come to the aid of their fellows when the signal is given," Lori finished grimly.
The serene blankness around them had just gotten darker and more sinister. They were in much more trouble then they had originally thought, and their comrades were wearing themselves out outside, unaware of the danger.
"Coby, what do we do?" Lori said, a quiver in her voice.
Coby thought for a moment, then slowly the confusion vanished from his face to be replaced by a look that in a cartoon would be accompanied by a light bulb above his head. He rushed out the room and Lori and Bud, who followed him quickly, found him staring outside the window to their own ship.
"Co? What are you doing?"
Coby turned back to them and their hearts leapt. On his face was a smile, and that single expression brought them hope and joy.
"Their ship is similar to ours, both in structure and, I'm hoping, system."
"So?" Bud asked curiously.
"So," Coby said patiently. "We'll go down to their engine room and leave them a little surprise of our own."
000
War cries echoed too plainly through the emptiness. The cries all pooled together as choruses of noise, so that you couldn't tell which cry belonged to who.
Optimus stood, the cries engulfing him, as he faced Galvascream. The Decepticon and Autobot had completely different body languages. While Optimus was concerned and worried and stood straight up, tense and alert, his opponent almost lounged, looking as if he was at a relaxing tea party. That unnerved Optimus even more, which seemed to please Galvascream endlessly.
"Oh what's the matter, Optimus Prime? Have you lost your nerve? Or maybe it's just that you finally realize your doom is inevitable."
His taunting seemed to wake Optimus Prime up from his trance.
"You seem very confident that you will defeat me, Galvascream. Haven't you learnt your lesson yet that I will not be beaten by the likes of you?"
"Oh Optimus, your words do hurt me so," mocked his adversary. "You are such a naive one, aren't you? You think that I care for something like my… creators… did. I do not. They wanted something; something that would give them power. And so you fought over an object. I am not so. I want nothing but to destroy you and every one of those miserable planets that gave me grief before. I have enough power to do that, believe me."
"And just how do you plan to get rid of me, Galvascream?"
The Decepticon just laughed, clearly enjoying his elevated status knowledge gave him.
"If I tell you, I'll spoil the surprise. Don't worry, Optimus Prime, you shall see soon enough."
With that and no warning, he flung himself at Optimus, his sword at the ready somehow. Optimus barley had time to defend himself slightly, and the blow hurt him more than he wanted to be wounded. He swung around, hoping to catch the Decepticon off guard but found nothing but air there. He realized with a shock that he had pulled the move he had tried to pull now on Starscream once. Galvascream was obviously too smart to fall for the same thing twice. This imposed a problem, as he now had to think up new strategies as he went.
"Oh Optimus, up here."
The second blow was as harsh as the first and this time Optimus was knocked backward. He was on his feet again very quickly, but he now knew the penalty of underestimating his opponent. This was going to be a hard fight.
000
Not too far away from where Optimus and Galvascream battled fiercely was a room that was almost noisier than the outside space. Coby had been expecting it, but Bud and Lori had to close their ears upon their arrival. The room wasn't a particular shape; it curved and straightened out in a jagged fashion. Even though it looked very unpractical, it seemed to work for the Decepticons as every machine fitted inside it like a jigsaw. The entire room was bathed in a light that can only be described as moss green in colour. Where it came from was a mystery, but one the three had no time to solve.
"Coby, what do you plan to do?" Bud said into his brother's ear, although it was unnecessary to be quiet in all the din.
"I've got no idea yet," Coby yelled back.
Lori sighed and rolled her eyes to the heavens. Men.
"Well, I suggest you think of something. And quickly."
"I will, I will. Just give me a minute."
Coby walked up and down the machines, looking at each one carefully. He was lost in his own world of thoughts, but the other two weren't and the noise was irritating them.
"How can you think in all of this noise?" Lori finally yelled.
"What?"
"HOW CAN YOU THINK IN ALL THIS NOISE?"
"Is it bothering you?"
"Just a tad," Lori's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
Coby moved to the first machine and opened a square box on its side. He then pulled out a wire and the noise instantly stopped.
"Better?" He turned to Bud and Lori with a questioning look.
"Thanks… But what was it that you disconnected?"
"Their air-conditioning."
"Their what?!"
"Air-con."
"Wow… it makes a lot of noise for something that… simple." Bud said, looking at the wire that now hung free.
"Well then, you and it are exactly the same, Bud!"
"Shut up, Coby, and go and play with your machine bits."
Coby grinned, but didn't press it any further. He then went back to being serious as he tried to think of a way to get the Decepticons back.
"Co, I hate to be the one nagging but would you please figure this out so we can go back to our ship? You know, the one that can blow up at any minute?"
"Yeah, you're right we…" He suddenly stopped stock-still, a vague look on his face.
"Coby?"
"Our ship… blow up… take a lot with her…"
"Yes Coby, which is why we have to get back to it." Lori shot an alarmed look at Bud as she said this, but the younger boy was at as much of a loss as she was. Coby suddenly let out a whoop of laughter, causing both of them to jump.
"Lor, you're a genius!" He yelled happily.
"She is?"
"I am?"
"We'll do to them what they want to do to us."
They still stared blankly at him and so he sighed and explained it properly.
"We'll rig their engine so it thinks it's been under a lot of battle stress. It, just like our ship, will bow up if it's under too much stress. Our ship is in that danger because it isn't fully repaired, so you can say it's already been under battle stress. This ship hasn't, but I'm sure I can rig the engine to believing it has."
Bud and Lori looked less confused and more excited as Coby sat before a machine more or less in the middle of the mass. He took out his tools, which had been hanging from his belt, and opened three lids that were on the machine in front of him. Each lid revealed a lot of wires that meshed and tangled together, hiding even more parts and wires. The other two were at a loss, but Coby, as usual when near things like this, seemed quite at home.
"Hold on, Co. We can't rig this ship exactly like ours because then we won't have enough time to get away and we'll be taken out with them."
"Oh, I know. But I've realized that the plan is to use the space warp for two things: to get the troops in but also to get them all out before our ship's blast takes them all out. I'm rigging it so it will only blow after it's been flown three kilometers from this spot. Now the ship is on standby, so it will only be flown again when the Decepticons make their grand exit to the space warp. Three kilometers from here and they should be nearing the end of the warp, if they're not out already. As soon as they hit the distance mark-"
"Their ship, and them, goes bye-bye!" Bud hooted happily.
"Wait, you can do that? Rig this thing to blow at three kilometers, I mean."
"Sure. All you need to do is take the central-"
"Woa, woa woa!" Lori said, interrupting Coby and holding up her hands in a surrender pose. "Coby, at this very moment I know what's going on and I'm not confused. Let's keep it that way, shall we?"
Coby grinned and heeded her by saying nothing more. He then got very busy with the wires and things before him. What he was doing made absolutely no sense to Bud and Lori, but Coby was concentrating hard and so they didn't dare to ask.
Fifteen minutes passed. The other two had taken up Coby's earlier stance by pacing around him as he worked. He had said nothing for those past fifteen minutes and his gaze had only wavered for a few seconds to find the right tool from his belt. Even though they trusted Coby, they were beginning to get very worried. Finally, after about another seven minutes Coby stood up.
"It's done," he said, a little pride in his otherwise expressionless voice.
"And it will work?" Lori questioned, looking at the same clump of wires Coby was.
"Almost certainly."
"Almost?!"
"Nothing is ever a hundred percent, you should know that. Anything could happen. All I do know for a fact is that it won't blow anywhere near us except if we follow them, which I don't think anyone intends on doing."
With one last look around the three left the room and entered the dark hall again. They then began their creeping back up to the hatch where they had left their transport means. In one of the halls they had to cross the outer wall was just glass, and it was passing past that window that Lori suddenly stopped.
"Lor? What's wrong?"
All she could see was the one side of Coby's face as he turned around to look at her. She turned back to the sight of their own ship, searching the air around it while she replied.
"I'm sure a mini-Con just entered our ship. And it wasn't one of ours."
Coby joined her and grimly stared at their ship.
"Then we have to get back, very quickly. Come on. Bud, come on! Bud?"
The younger boy was too paused at the window, but his gaze wasn't on the ship. It was on the battle that could vaguely be seen from their vantage point. He was silent as he watched the Decepticons attack his friends, and a feeling of utter helplessness overcame him as he saw them struggling but ultimately failing at the unfair conditions. Coby grabbed his shoulders and gently but firmly steered him away from the sight. As he walked past Lori, he grabbed her wrist gently too and so the two of them were lead out by Coby.
"We have to get back to our ship, or they really won't have a chance."
000
"Jetfire!" Optimus couldn't help the bellow that left his mouth as he saw his comrade being thrust aside by a sword that was the size of an average pen to a twenty-foot giant.
He himself was pushed against a mass of rock, Leobraker on one of his arms. Even in Savage Claw Mode he was being slowly but surely beaten by Galvascream. The thought frustrated him and, adding the fact that the rest of his team was matched two or three to one, he was running on a very short fuse at the moment. Galvascream seemed to find this even more amusing then a comedy movie, as he was now surveying the Autobot leader with a badly disguised laugh on his face. Leobraker growled at him menacingly and Optimus climbed to his feet.
"I knew you wouldn't disappoint me, Optimus. Welcome back to your doom. Want to give your pet a little longer to live? No? Alright then, I'll take him out before you."
"You're full of big words, Galvascream. I am not beaten yet, and I don't intend to be!"
"Oh Optimus, you have to learn that sometimes our plans don't work out, as in your case right now. If you don't believe me, just take a look around."
Optimus grudgingly did just that, and the worry and sadness in him increased as he saw the full extent of the battle. Why, even Jolt was fighting in the far corner. It wasn't right, and the gore made him despair somewhat. Sensing this, Leobraker spoke up.
"Come on, Optimus! Don't you dare give up on us now! We're all still fighting; you should be too."
A little unorthodox, but it worked. Optimus tore his gaze away from his team and put it back on Galvascream.
"I will not be brought down, Galvascream."
The Decepticon, however, did not seem to be listening. He was still surveying the battle, but I was with a look of puzzlement that shocked Optimus and Leobraker.
"Hmmm," Galvascream murmured, and it was more to himself than his foes. "Something isn't quite right… Why does it seem… empty?"
His gaze swept over the battle again, this time seemingly counting his troops. Suddenly realization hit him.
"Ah! Now I see what it is! I haven't allowed my other troops to enter yet."
Cold dread and disbelief consumed Optimus as the form in front of him blew on a whistle type object.
"…Other… troops?"
"Oh yes, Optimus. From the space warp just beyond that hunk of rock. Ah, here they come now."
They reminded Optimus sickeningly of a swarm of locusts as they came. And now each Autobot was faced with at least four Decepticons, each who wanted nothing more than to end their foe's life. Optimus could do nothing but stare in shock and grief as the battle intensified and his team was forced further into submission. Even Leobraker had nothing to say. Galvatron watched them, a small smile on his face.
"Don't worry, Optimus. I will give you a chance to say goodbye to them. Every one."
The words slipped through the numbness and tapped Optimus' consciousness.
"And you'll have the pleasure of watching us see, and probably taste, our first bloodshed. Yes, that is something I admit to be looking forward to; I have never seen a human bleed before. They say if you cut that simple tissue they call flesh in the right place the liquid flows like water in a river… Is it true?"
The numbness was disappearing and in its place came an anger Optimus didn't know he had.
"Of course, you will only witness the first three humans we gut. By the time we get back to Earth you will be dead along with your humans and your team."
Optimus snapped. He had never, ever hated someone as much as he did now. With a roar of fury and renowned strength he flung himself at a very surprised Galvascream.
"You have made a very grave mistake endangering them Galvascream! Now I will make you pay!"
000
"Look at all of them." Lori's whisper was tearful as she pressed her face to the glass of their ship.
The three had just boarded it again, and now they were faced with the sight of a swarm of Decepticons swooping in hungrily on their team. Bud joined her silently, but Coby stayed where he was, securing the escape pod down and refusing to look. After only a short while Bud left Lori and joined his brother, also refusing to look. Coby stopped what he was doing and looked at his brother, then at Lori. Sighing he stood and, taking Bud's hand, pulled him up too. He then went to Lori and just as he had done on the Decepticon ship, took her as well and lead them both away from the sight. This time, however, his hands were gripped to each of theirs and his pace was a little slower. Both of them clung to him as they walked through their ship, both too sad and fearful to care how babyish they looked. Coby was a symbol of protection to them right now, and they would do anything to hold onto that. Suddenly Coby stopped and pulled them to a halt too.
"Coby wh-?"
Coby pulled his hand out of Bud's and placed it over his brother's mouth. Bud obediently fell silent and Lori didn't speak either, though her grip intensified on Coby's other hand. They stood in utter silence listening, trying to hear the sound that had upset Coby. It turned out to be one of the Decepticon Mini-Cons, and it had seen them before they saw it. Was a shriek it bore down on them, its small sword drawn.
"Move!" Coby bellowed, dragging both Lori and Bud out of its reach.
The Mini-Con missed them but they all turned as best they could on the floor to see if it was going to try and attack again. It stopped and turned around, its eyes never wavering from them. He then snarled, transformed into an object they couldn't quite see but that resembled a forklift, and raced out. Coby leapt up and ran to the door, staring out and watching the Mini-Con's retreat.
"Is it gone?" Lori whispered, not knowing why she was still lowering her voice.
Coby nodded and turned around again.
"Yes, but I don't think it broke in just to have a look around. Come on, we have to check the engines."
Now they walked independently and much quicker than before, Coby slightly in the lead. They finally reached the engine room and, stealing himself slightly, Coby pushed open the door. Nothing seemed to be wrong except the lighting. Instead of the usual conventional yellowish light, the entire place was filled with a flashing red. Coby saw this and let out a few very choice profanities, which surprised Lori and Bud immensely.
"I'm guessing its bad?"
"Oh yeah. That Decepticon did real damage. The red lights are part of our warning system; it disconnected the noise part of it."
Bud's eyes widened. He knew from past conversations that when this ship finally displayed the warning signal it was very, very bad. Coby rushed over to the main server and opened the box. The look on his face told them that more curses might not be too far behind.
"What did they do?" Lori cried, hating how shaky her voice was.
"Almost the same we did to their ship. Except he didn't have to rig it, he just had to damage some of these systems; our ship is damaged enough."
"And I'm guessing he didn't put the 'after three kilometers' bit in, did he?"
"Nope. She's going to blow right here, and she's going to blow soon."
Now it was Lori's turn to swear, causing both boys to look at her. She shrugged defensively.
"Our lead photographer at the modeling industry has an extensive vocabulary."
Coby's eyebrows raised, but he said nothing. For a second time in fifteen minutes he took out his tools, and this time a sort of desperation hung about them. The first time had been in aid of their salvation as well, but this time it was so much closer. The older boy began to work feverishly, his brow furrowed as he tried to undo the damage that had been done. They could tell from his face it wasn't going to be easy.
"I need those extra parts I brought. They're in the store."
Both boy and girl nodded and set off together. They almost flew to the store and found the box easily. They grabbed it and were about to return to Coby when something tapped on the window behind them. Whirling around they found it to be Jolt, who was a little worse for ware but alive.
"Jolt!" Lori cried joyously.
"Don't worry, we're doing better out here now. You kids alright?"
"We're fine. But Jolt, listen. Galvascream and his cronies have another Ace up their sleeves."
"Yeah, their real plan was to break into the ship and make it explode, taking us all out for good."
"They planned to use the space warp as their escape rout. Coby's rigged their ship, so it will blow up instead."
"But one of their Decepticon Mini-Cons broke in here to set the timer for our ship's, and also our, demise. Coby's fixing it though."
"So as soon as Galvascream and the rest of them disappear to make their getaway make sure everyone gets inside this ship, ok?"
Jolt nodded, seemingly wanting to speak. A cry broke his concentration.
"I have to go," he called through the glass, as loudly as the two children had been speaking. "Take care!"
"You too Jolt!" both of them yelled in response at his retreating form.
They then hurried out of the room and back to the engine room, now worried for their battling comrades as well as the ship. But they say that once something starts to go wrong, a whole chain of bad events follow until they are so horrible you just curl up and go to sleep, hoping to dream them away.
Unfortunately, this was the case then. Bud and Lori had faithfully delivered the parts to a muffled thanks from Coby and had watched him for only two minutes before another sound broke the semi-silence. The sound of Coby's watch's alarm. The teenager pulled his head out of the machine and looked at it in utter alarm, his eyes oddly blank.
"No biggy," Bud said quickly. "You can take three or four minutes off. It surely won't make that much difference."
The look on Coby's face didn't disappear and Lori felt her blood ice over. A horrible thought had just entered her mind. A thought she refused with all her might to be true. She parted her shaking lips and asked the question anyway, screaming in her head for it not to be true.
"You didn't bring the medicine, did you?"
The answer drove daggers into her heart and made Bud pale instantly.
"No. No I didn't."
Bud began to shake his head, refusing to believe it.
"No, no you must have. Co, you must have."
Coby said nothing, then slowly raised his hand and switched off the alarm. He then carried on working. Bud was shaking, and Lori could see that he was really scared for one of the few times in his life. Coby had always been the one who scared easily and Bud had always been the fearless one. But how could she judge him when she felt more afraid than she had in a very long time? She moved forwards and pulled Bud close to her. He resisted for only a moment then clung onto her.
Bud held onto his friend and both watched the boy before them. He was suddenly reminded of the day Coby had called them to tell them he was going to fix a place that had presumably been destroyed by a Transformer. The two had waited with bated breath, side by side, expecting some excitement but never, ever expecting what happened next. He shuddered just remembering, and Lori squeezed him comfortingly.
That was how it went on for what could have been eternity. Coby worked while Bud and Lori stood waiting for the inevitable to happen. A part of each of them was rebelling against the knowledge that it was very bad. Nobody had ever been allowed to go that long without treatment, so how did they know what would happen? And it wasn't as if it was common. Sure, Coby proved that the first bit of the diagnosis was right, but what if it stopped at a certain point? They both clung to those thoughts like a talisman. It was all in vain.
Ten minutes passed before Coby couldn't hold up the pretence any longer. It was a sudden thing; one minute he stood working the next a suppressed moan left his lips and he doubled over. Even though he tried to hide it from them, it was clear he was in a great deal of pain. And only now did they notice how much he was shaking and exactly how much he had paled. They both shot forward, wanting to help but stopped in front of him, not knowing how.
"Coby?" Lori's voice was desperate and begging for him to tell her how to help.
But he mutely shook his head and straightened up a bit, continuing with the repairs. Lori and Bud stepped back a bit, but continued to watch him. Coby tried, but as the minutes passed he worked slower and slower and he began to shake more. His breathing became labored and Bud, squinting at his brother's forehead, saw beads of sweat sitting there like dew on the only blade of grass in a concrete slab. Bud bit hard on his lip, knowing full well that they couldn't make his brother stop. He was their only hope and so he had to carry on working and fixing their ship. After eighteen minutes even Coby's will couldn't stop his legs from giving out in pain.
"Coby!" Lori heard the tears in Bud's voice as he bent beside his brother.
Coby gently stroked a hair out of his brother's eyes, trying to tell him it would be alright. How can it be alright? Lori thought, feeling her own eyes well up with tears. Look at him! It's hardly been twenty minutes and already he can't hold on.
"Coby you can't any more. It's just not possible."
"I… have… to. The ship…"
Lori crouched so her face and his were level.
"Tell us what to do. It's halfway done, isn't it? We can do the other half if you tell us how."
"More than halfway. But… the rest is… crucial."
The last word was pushed out with obvious pain.
"Ok. Stay down there and tell us what to do."
Lori's voice was of forced calm, but it seemed to be calming Bud down a bit too. Coby handed her his screwdriver and she tried not to linger on how much his hands were shaking. Bud too, stood up and both of them moved over to the spot he had vaccinated.
"Alright… There should be… a red wire on the… left of Bud's… right ear."
"Found it."
"Cut that… as close to the… top as you possibly can."
Lori obediently obeyed, forcing her mind off of Coby and onto the task in front of her.
"Now… wire it into the… the…"
Coby shut his eyes tight, his forearm pressed over his stomach and he tried to fight the pain. Bud whimpered slightly and Lori felt a sob close to her throat. She pushed it down resiliently; she couldn't fall apart now.
"Into the washed out pink one… that runs along the… top rim."
She obeyed, her hands shaking a bit too. Bud suddenly took the two wires from her and he held them in place while she wired. She thanked her lucky stars she had paid attention to the small lessons Coby had given her. Her hands trembled as she worked. Everything seemed to be falling apart. The Autobots were being beaten outside, the ship was close to destruction and their mechanic was sitting on the floor in pain that Lori never, ever wanted to experience. And then there was the looming knowledge that now he only had thirty five minutes left before it was too late for him… She shut her eyes for a moment and vehemently prayed they would make it back in time.
"Ok… now this is… important. You can muck up… all the rest, just...not this. There's a black wire… sort of in the middle… you have to cut… on the first… green line you see… on it."
Lori quickly looked the wire up and down, finding the jade-green line Coby had talked about. Her gaze shifted quickly to the warning system which had calmed down a great deal but that was still flashing none the less. She had a feeling it was this action that would change it all.
"And now? Coby? Coby!"
There is only so much a human can take, even if that human is fighting with everything he has. Coby had, despite all his efforts to stay as conscious as possible, began to slip into nothingness. He was in a fog that kept drawing him down and his tired brain was forever nagging him to let it take him away; the pain would stop there. And even as he fought he felt himself slowly giving in. It was just like Lori had said: calm and serene even though it was darkness…
"Coby what must I do?" Lori cried, desperation making her start to panic.
Coby couldn't go; they needed him for cripes sake! They needed him! Bud knelt beside his brother and the tears started to pool up. He had managed to fight them back but now, just like his brother, he was losing his battle.
"Coby please! Please stay with me! You need to tell me what to do!"
Coby blinked. Then he blinked again, harder this time. Drawing the last strength he had he pushed away the fog and his eyes, which had been bleary and almost closed a second ago, opened. Bud wished they had just stayed closed. His brother's eyes had never been able to lie to him; he knew them too well. And now all the helplessness, pain and fear Bud saw in them suffocated him. Coby had been the strong one through it all. And now, he wasn't strong anymore. The entire world was collapsing on him again, and he couldn't bear it. Coby's hand twitched and curled over his, squeezing it ever so lightly. To anyone else it would have been a feeble attempt at comfort but to Bud it was his brother's way of saying: 'Give up and I'll kill you when we get home'. Bud fought again, as did his brother.
"Split… the bottom… bit and… feed… yellow wire on left… into it. Top half… connected… to… third red…wire on… left."
In the time it took Coby to force all of that out, Lori's hands had stopped shaking just a bit and she had been able to calm down. Bud was a boy, yes, but he was still young and he couldn't be expected to take all of this on him. It was up to her. It was ironic really; she had always dreamed of the moment she saved people and so showed everybody she was more than just a pretty face. Only in her dreams Coby and Bud weren't this hurt.
A movement caught her eye and she lost concentration for a moment to see what was going on. Bud, looking like he was doing something against his better judgment and indeed against all his common sense, was pulling Coby to his feet, his brother's arm around his shoulders. Coby had the look on his face that told Lori it was his idea and that he had fought with Bud, silently, until his younger brother had given in. Even though Lori was not far at all from where Coby had been, it was a huge job getting him over to her. She had never, ever seen legs that shook as much as his did then. She sobbed suddenly, unable to take in his weak appearance and, despite it all, his sheer stubbornness to remain on his feet. Bud squeezed her shoulder quickly, then went back to supporting his brother with both his arms. Lori turned back and thought back quickly to what Coby had told her to do.
As she followed the orders she thought she heard something boarding the ship. She bit her lip and hoped it was the Autobots. Throwing caution to the wind she called out in sheer desperation.
"Guys! Down here! We're down here!"
She hoped to Primus she hadn't just made the biggest mistake of her life.
000
Things looked grim up there, that was for sure. The extra Decepticons had taken them all by surprise, and it wasn't one of those good surprises either. They had been having a tough time before, now it seemed they were just being stubborn against the force that would as surely as the sunrise beat them. None of them could ever remember feeling this beaten before and it was a horrible feeling. In every other battle they had all known they stood a good fighting chance. Now…
Jetfire was one of the lucky ones; all he had to deal with was Blatscar, as it had been promised to the Decepticon. He felt so helpless as he stared around him at his comrades, not knowing what to do to help them and indeed who to start helping first if he found the means. Blatscar was like a shark who had smelt blood; he was a drivin maniac, thrusting himself on Jetfire even as the Autobot managed to push him off time and time again. After some time he didn't even look at his friends; their faces were haunting. He wondered vaguely if he had the same look on his face.
Then came the cry that stopped the battle in its tracks. Every Transformer, both Decepticon and Autobot turned to where the sound had emitted from. No one had ever dreamt of hearing Optimus that angry. It knocked some of the confidence out of the oppressing Decepticons, but the ringing sound installed a bit of hope back into the Autobots. Battered as they were, they could still fight, and they would. Until the very bitter end.
"Let's go Autobots!" Hot Shot roared from somewhere to Jetfire's right.
For some unknown reason, Jetfire felt himself yelling along with the rest. Then, he never did find out what possessed him to do it, he flung himself on his advisory, seeing his teammates do the same out of the corner of his eye.
And so the battle raged on, this time with the Autobots hitting back. They still weren't winning flat out, but something had definitely changed. And so after that cry had sounded the Autobots slowly pushed their way forward, refusing now to be beaten and with their sparks glowing with courage. Naturally, the Decepticons could not let this happen. At first they put it down to pure luck but after a while even Galvascream's smile slipped down a few notches. Enough was enough.
"Optimus Prime, you fought back well. But it was still all in vain."
Optimus, still in Savage Claw Mode, looked up at the Decepticon and wondered how he could say such a thing. Optimus had finally done damage to his foe and as a result he hadn't gotten thrashed badly in the second half of their battle. But now Galvascream stood, a bit battered but smiling nonetheless down at a panting Optimus. When he spoke again, his voice was loud and addressing his entire crew.
"The third stage of our plan is now going into motion."
As soon as they heard this, every Decepticon backed off, leaving their Autobot foes extremely surprised. Their surprise turned to astonishment and disbelief as all the Decepticons fled back to their ship. Only Galvascream remained, and by his stance it would not be for long.
"I would stop the smiles your team has on their faces, Optimus Prime, for we have done everything but surrender. You see, while you were busy with us one of our Mini-Con friends sneaked into your ship's engine room. Yes, I know about its handicap and I used that to my advantage. My Mini-Con has made it so your dear ship thought it was taking battle damage. It will explode shortly, taking all of you with it, no matter how hard you try and get away. We, however, will be safe on the other side of the space warp. It's been fun, Optimus Prime, but today is your downfall!"
He then left as well, leaving the Autobots stunned and starting to panic. At that moment they saw it just as the Decepticons did; they were going to be blown to smithereens no matter what they did.
"Optimus, what do we do?"
Every eye turned to him as he stood, staring after the Decepticon ship, which was being fired up.
"I… We have to try and get away. I know they said it was fruitless, but we must at least try. Those who can do this by themselves, help those who cannot. We'll head Sou-"
"No Optimus wait!"
They all turned to see who it was that had interrupted. It was Jolt, also bearing signs of battle but with an urgent look on his face.
"Jolt? What is it?"
"We have to get inside the ship!"
"Uhm Jolt," came Hot Shot's voice. "The ship is going to blow up. You know, Kaboom?"
"No it isn't!" The Mini-Con insisted vehemently, taking them all by surprise.
"Jolt," Optimus began gently, but he was again interrupted by the small Transformer.
"No Optimus Prime, sir it isn't going to! Lori and Bud told me so. They said that Coby's working on repairing the ship and that we have to get inside of it very quickly because Coby rigged the Decepticon ship to explode, almost like what they did to us."
"He did what?!" Jetfire exploded.
"Not now, Jetfire." Optimus commanded, making Jetfire fall silent. "Alright everyone, you heard him. Into the ship, now!"
They all filed as quickly as possible into the ship, making more noise than they would have if they hadn't all been so wounded. They were a bit apprehensive as they stood there, some supported by others, but they all had faith in what Coby could do. So until Landmine spotted the clock and asked the one question no one had thought of, none of them were really panicked.
"O…Optimus." It was clear Landmine was forcing himself to be calm.
"Landmine? What is it?"
"What time did we leave Earth?"
"About three. Why?"
"Because then we've been up here two-and-a-half hours."
"Yes that-" Optimus broke off as he and everyone else there realized what Landmine was saying.
"Coby!" Hot Shot's voice was drenched in worry for one of the first times in his life.
Then they heard a call that confirmed all their fears. No one would sound that desperate if something wasn't wrong, especially not Lori.
"Guys! Down here! We're down here!"
Her voice was muffled, but they knew where it came from. They all rushed as quickly as they could to the engine room, dreading and hoping all at once. They pushed open the door and their eyes caught a sight they had never wanted to see.
The warning system was still flashing, causing everything to have a red tint to it. Lori stood at the main machine, her hands buried into the mass of wires. Bud was standing just behind her, his face grimmer than they had ever seen, holding up Coby. And Coby…
The teen was paler than they had ever thought possible and he was shaking like a leaf in heavy wind. The only thing that was keeping him in the sort-of upright position he was in now was his brother. They saw that he had been instructing Lori by the way he forced himself to keep his eyes open and on her work. All three turned their heads to the door as it opened and Lori couldn't help but give a relieved cry when she saw who it was. Because her concentration was off the wires before her, one slipped out of its place. Coby lurched forwards, caught it and stuck it back in. Then, his presence not needed anymore, he finally let his body do what it had wanted to for ages: pass out.
There was a pause and then the place erupted with activity. Landmine picked up Coby, Lori and Bud and took them out of the engine room and into the control room. Red Alert rushed to the now vacant machines and finished the repairs, inwardly marveling at Coby's ability. Optimus, very much aware that they had only half an hour to get back, ordered that every bit of spare energy go to the thrusters so they could get out of there quickly.
"We have half an hour to do an hour's journey. Anything and everything you think will help, do it!"
Even as he spoke Scattorshot was turning the ship around. Every Autobot, badly hurt or not, was scuttling around finding new ways to make the ship go faster.
"Red Alert, will she hold at a fast speed?"
"Thanks to Coby, she probably will, sir."
He nodded and then returned to the control room, inwardly praying to Primus that somehow, somehow they would get back in time. Entering the room he stopped and looked at where Coby lay, now with his head on Lori's lap. Bud sat behind the two of them, his head in the crook of Landmine's arm. Both humans were now crying, not caring anymore what anybody thought.
"Come on, Co. You can do this," Lori whispered, stroking his hair, her teas falling all over his face.
Coby moved, his eyelids fluttering slightly. Lori let out a shuddering breath as she watched him.
"Come on, Co. You have to get through this." When there was no reply from the semi-conscious boy in her lap, she broke down. "Damn it Coby! You can't do this to me, do you hear? You can't! It's my turn to get what I want, do you hear me? It's my turn. I want to live in Colorado again, in the same house as I used to. I want to go to the same school and forget about the fricking modeling crap. I want everything to be as it was before all this stared. Everything!"
She then started to cry heavily and put her head down on Coby's, not noticing as he slipped back into unconsciousness. Optimus watched her and Bud, who was also crying his eyes out and holding onto Landmine as a child would to a blanket. He swallowed and turned around to see everybody else watching them too. Then:
"Optimus! I think I've found a way to go faster!" This came from Hot Shot, not surprisingly.
"And how do you plan to do that, Hot Shot?"
"A star is dying quite far from here, but the waves it's emitting reach very, very far. If we can find one, we can ride it. The waves are very strong, so it should work."
"You heard him, Scattorshot, find us a wave!" And hurry, he added silently to himself, looking again at Coby.
There we go. The very late chapter is the longest so far as well as the second last. It will also be the last cliff-hanger, so I suppose you can be happy for that. Once again, my apologies for the lateness. Last chapter coming ASAP, which won't be as long as it took for this one, I promise. Until next time.