Transformers does not belong to me, blah blah, you know the drill…
By the way, if you haven't read my oneshot "Survival Skills" yet, you should go check it out right about now. Some stuff in this chapter might not make so much sense otherwise.
Mistakes Made
Chapter Ten: No Mercy
The base was deadly silent when they returned, soaked and muddy down to their protoforms. Ratchet didn't need to ask to know what had happened, the quick glance he shared with Optimus already told him everything.
Optimus didn't even stop in the main hall, going straight for the storage instead. A room which not only held supplies, but also a couple of locked, armored cabinets. He returned with a dark box, which he put down on Ratchet's workbench with a heavy clang.
His expression was darker and more threatening than the thunderstorm outside. He took an empty magazine from the box and started filling it with yellow marked rounds quickly. It was no kind of ammunition they would usually fire with- this was the kind that melted armor and exploded after it had done so. Brutally effective, especially when paired with rapid fire guns. A bot hit by one of those was lucky if he ever got back up again.
"What's the plan?" Arcee asked, turning her gaze from Bulkhead, who was sitting on a crate, shivering, to their leader.
"The Nemesis must be infiltrated. We cannot let Megatron have any opportunity to harm the sparklings or Silica." He almost slammed the first full magazine on the table, then started filling another.
"A preemptive strike? Are you sure?" The blue femme put her hands on her hips. It wasn't something their leader would normally consider. But this time was different.
"If we wait for him to contact us for negotiations, we might be gambling with their lives. I, for my part, am not willing to take that risk." He paused. "I am aware this goes against quite some principles. I will not force any of you to participate in this mission."
"I'm with you." Bumblebee beeped.
"Me too."
"Bulkhead, are you-"
"I'm fine, doc. Just a few dents is all. And I think I know another mech who would love roughing up some 'Cons." Wheeljack. Of course. His old friend would probably even be pissed if he didn't invite him to the party.
"This is all my fault. If I had just paid more attention…" Ratchet sighed painfully, shaking his head. "But that won't help them now. Optimus… anything I can do to help you save them, I will."
Arcee walked up to Optimus, he looked at her. Fiery optics gleamed back at him. "We will bring them back."
The Prime mustered his whole team, one by one. They all looked determined, their optics fixed on him. After all, Silica, Flux and Bentona were part of their family, too. And any Decepticon that dared stand between them would now have a very bad day.
"What if it's too late?" Bumblebee asked, although he dreaded even to think of it.
Prime didn't reply, merely lifting the automatic handgun from the box and shoving the loaded magazine into place aggressively. That was clear enough.
XXXXXXXXXX
She was being dragged across the floor by her arms, that was the first thing she noticed when she came to. Her ankle hurt like pit, as did her face. Whoever was dragging her then stopped and let go of her. Slowly, she put her palms on the metal floor in front of herself and looked up.
Feet. Huge feet, silver and purple lower legs- she gasped in shock when she looked further. Never before had she seen him in person, but there was no Autobot in the universe who wouldn't have recognized this mech. Megatron. His ruby optics bore into hers, like those of a predator having spotted easy prey.
Silica couldn't help but shiver in fear as she sat there on the floor before the Decepticon leader.
"Well well, so this is the mysterious new Autobot. I expected something more… impressive."
"I heard she didn't even stand a chance against these two." A slim, winged mech remarked mockingly. Collective laughter. There were at least twenty other mechs on what seemed to be the bridge of their warship.
"Apparently that one's qualities lie somewhere other than the battlefield. Who would have imagined to find Autobot sparklings here on this miserable ball of dirt? And these aren't just anyone's sparklings, now are they?"
The flier, Starscream, cocked his head to the side and looked behind her. She turned around as well. Two bots, looking exactly like the ones that had attacked them, were holding her sparklings, servos clamped over their mouths to keep them from wailing loudly.
"Please, they have nothing to do with this! Do whatever you like with me, but leave them alone, I beg of you!" She pleaded, but even before she got an answer she knew it was useless.
"Silence, Autobot! Now Starscream, look at their faces and tell me who it is you see." Megatron sounded smug and that didn't sit well with Silica at all.
Starscream shrugged. "They look like any other Autobot to me."
"Your deductive skills are miserable." The warlord turned to the young femme again, his evil grin showing off his sharp teeth. "I must say I'm surprised. One wouldn't believe the noble Optimus Prime would lower himself to mingle with the common folk."
Silica scowled and looked away. There was nothing she could have said that would have made the situation any better for them. Had she denied Optimus was their father, she knew he wouldn't have believed her.
"Optimus Prime? Oh this is brilliant. Finally we possess the means to bring him to his knees."
Megatron laughed. "Indeed, Starscream." He then took a step forward and grabbed Silica by the helm none too gently to look at her face. Then and there, Silica thought she might die from fear. "Maybe we should keep you as entertainment for the troops… and send their heads back to their sire. But first, we shall see if there is any valuable information hidden away in that little processor of yours. Breakdown!"
"Lord Megatron?" Wait. She had heard that voice before. When Megatron let her fall to the floor again, she turned around to look at the mech the voice belonged to.
"You?!" There he was, the mech with the dark blue armor, red face and yellow optics. She remembered their last encounter only too well, back on Cybertron.
"You seem to know each other." The Decepticon commander inquired. Breakdown gave a dry laugh.
"We've met."
"Take her to the brig for interrogation."
When Breakdown grabbed her by the arm, her first instinct was to struggle and fight to stay with her sparklings, but then she reminded herself it would get her nowhere. She needed to stay functional and conscious if they were to be saved. As hard as it was, she let herself be walked out of the room without resistance- and quietly started the broadcast.
The Decepticon maneuvered her into an elevator.
"So, Breakdown. Nice to finally know your name." Silica said quietly, throwing the bulky mech a side glance as the lift started descending. His altmode had changed obviously, but other than that he looked pretty much as she remembered him. Actually, the fact that it just so happened to be him who had been chosen to take her to the brig was probably a lucky coincidence. She knew how to pull his strings and she fully intended to exploit that.
He chuckled. "So you remember me. I'm flattered."
"How couldn't I?" She did her best to make her voice sound low, silky, sexy. "Actually, I've been thinking of you. When I was alone in my quarters, if you know what I mean."
He looked at her, his optics darkened a bit, wandering up and down her body slowly. She knew she looked slightly different after having the twins, but if he noticed at all, he didn't seem to mind. That leer of his was pretty unmistakable.
"Oh, you haven't changed one bit, have you?" He now turned towards her fully and stepped a bit closer. She bit her lip and quickened her venting a little.
"I still like big and strong mechs…" She put her hands on his chest and arched her back just a little bit. He grinned. The elevator then made a little pinging sound and the doors opened to reveal a rather dark corridor. Two Vehicons were standing there, waiting to go up. Breakdown cleared his throat and grabbed her arm again, dragging her into the hallway with him.
"The frag are you two looking at?!" The lower ranked mechs made room for them quickly and they marched past.
After two minutes or so, they stopped in front of a door. By the way Breakdown checked whether anyone was there to see them before he opened it, she could tell this was definitely not the brig. Instead, it was a rather messy storage. There wasn't much opportunity for her to really inspect the surroundings though, as she was pressed against the next wall in a matter of seconds, a hot mouth kissing her forcefully.
She returned it with just as much ferocity, wrapping her arms around his neck. He had walked right into her trap. His strong hands groping her, he let her turn them around so his back was against the wall.
"Open." He growled, she obeyed. He pushed two fingers into her port, she moaned. "That's right… I wonder what Prime would say if he could see you now, you little whore…"
Silica gave him a sultry smile and rubbed his crotch firmly. When he opened his own covering and extended his spike she grasped it harshly and pumped it a few times. His hands grabbed her hips and started maneuvering her back towards a cluttered table.
It all happened very quickly after that. Her enticing smile disappeared and was replaced by a scowl. Breakdown howled when her knee crushed his exposed, vulnerable parts full force and he fell to the floor in a heap, tears shooting into his optics.
"… why you little- hnnnaaagh… I swear… I'm… I'm gonna…"
She ignored the now incapacitated mech, snapping shut her port covering, opening the door and shooting the control panel from the outside once it had closed again. Then she took off down the corridor.
XXXXXXXXXX
Five pairs of optics were locked onto the main screen above the space bridge controls, waiting for a very specific pattern. And, as much as Ratchet dreaded it, a certain sound. They had already geared up, ready to go and had also contacted Wheeljack, who, unsurprisingly, was beaming at the idea of getting to shoot up some Decepticon fliers for a diversion. Now all they needed were coordinates.
Then, as expected, it started. A rhythmic sound filled the room, followed by a somewhat squawky female voice starting to sing.
~When I dance they call me Macarena and the boys they say que estoy buena~
Ratchet gave a sigh. "Why did it have to be that song?" Well, at least this meant Silica was online and well enough to set off their beacon.
"It's recognizable." Arcee shrugged. Ratchet simply grumbled and got to work to find out Silica's exact location.
This had been Rafael's idea- and it was ridiculously simple really. The Nemesis had inbuilt jammers to avoid detection and hide cybertronian life signatures, but jamming simple radio signals was apparently nothing the Decepticons bothered with. The problem with homing beacons was usually that they would either be jammed automatically, or registered as such and then jammed or otherwise deactivated after a short time. However, there were countless radio stations on earth and broadcasting a certain song on loop at a certain frequency might have been unrecognizable as a beacon by the enemy, but if one knew what exactly to look for, it was easy to distinguish from the usual broadcasts.
Now the only thing needed to locate the exact origin of said broadcast was three receivers within range. Comparing the distance- related time lag between the three points and using that data to calculate the coordinates was child's play.
~Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegria cosa buena~
"We've got a location. Are you ready?" Ratchet called, entering the coordinates into the ground bridge control hub.
"Locked and loaded."
"Let's go."
"Hey Macarena!"
"Autobots…"
"Opening bridge in 3… 2… 1…"
"… roll out!"
Bright blue light filled the room as the bridge powered up and just a seconds later, Ratchet was the only one left in their base. Now all he could do was to relay the coordinates to Wheeljack- and wait.
XXXXXXXXXX
Silica ducked into a doorway as a group of fliers stormed past her. She had successfully avoided to be spotted up to now and she wanted to keep it that way. She didn't know whether Breakdown had been able to inform anyone of her escape, but in any case trying to keep out of sight was the best course of action. For now at least.
Bending down, she wiped the energon off of her damaged ankle again and shook it off her hand and into the corner. The bleeding wasn't strong, but a constant drizzle would make it far too easy for anyone to find her, easier than a small, hidden puddle here and there.
When the Decepticons were out of sight again, she continued through the hallway. Making sure to check every corner carefully before walking out into another hallway, she made her way further towards the front of the ship.
"Hey! You! Stop right there!" The femme froze in her tracks. A couple of Vehicons had stepped into the corridor ahead and promptly spotted her. She spun on her heel and started running, or rather limping back in the direction she had come from. Shots were fired behind her, but she wasn't hit. As she was too slow to get away with her damaged leg, she took the first possible turn, stopped and returned fire, using the wall for cover. The inbuilt blaster in her arm had indeed been a good decision.
The 'Cons didn't leave her much time to fire at them in between their own shots, which allowed them to advance further towards her. Silica didn't dare transform as she couldn't fight in vehicle mode, so she tried her best to take them out with her blaster. She actually managed to hit one of them right in the face, at least she thought so. It was hard to see, having to duck back behind the wall after every round.
The sound of screeching tires, bellowing engines and a crash then reached her audios, followed by several transformations. Another peek around the corner made her spark jump with relief and tears sting her optics. Her hands raised, she stepped out from her hiding place, shouting the code word they used to avoid accidents.
"Friendly!" The guns pointed at her out of reflex were lowered.
"Silica!" Bumblebee exclaimed. She quickly limped towards the group of Autobots. The Vehicons that had been shooting at her lay on the ground, deactivated. One was missing part of his head, the other had been run over and crushed.
Optimus seemed a little surprised when she wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed against his armor. After a few seconds, he relaxed a little and rubbed her back gently. He had of course noticed her injury, but apart from the nasty limp, she didn't seem too affected by it.
"I'm sorry, Optimus, I- I couldn't…"
"Calm down, Silica. Where are Flux and Bentona?" She looked up at him, swallowing her tears. Silica knew she had to be strong now- she wanted her sparklings back and she would fight to her last drop of energon if need be. Their leader's voice too carried an air of exceptional urgency barely heard with this degree. And he looked angry. Angrier, in fact, than she would have ever imagined he even could. It was not directed at her, but in that moment Silica was somewhat intimidated by him. She tried not to flinch.
"We got separated. They were still on the bridge when the 'Cons took me away, but they might have relocated them by now."
Optimus gave a grim nod. "We will find them. Can you transform?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Good. Stay between Arcee and Bulkhead. Bumblebee, keep securing the back. I am taking the lead. And…" He took a quick moment to look back at his team. "… should anything have happened to them, we shall make the Decepticons regret they ever even laid optics on them." In other words, they were to show no mercy- and they certainly wouldn't. Following their Prime's lead, they transformed and raced down the hallway.
XXXXXXXXXX
When Knockout's commlink notified him of an incoming conversation from Breakdown, the Decepticon rolled his optics. He'd just been on his way back to the med bay to go about fixing up some battered cannon fodder, but apparently, his partner was unable to just leave him to his business for five astroseconds.
However, he didn't expect the voice from the other end of the line to sound so… squeaky. He raised his brow at the weird noises.
/Kn… Knockout…? I… think I need some help…/
/Breakdown? What the frag is wrong with your voice?/
The sound of roaring engines drowned out what was said further over the commlink. Knockout turned around and jumped with fright. If there was one thing no Decepticon ever wanted to see, it was a band of furious Autobots driving towards them, least of all on their own fragging warship.
Knockout was no fool. Engaging the Autobots on his own, he wouldn't stand a chance- and he had no intention to even attempt it. Nope. So Knockout did what he did best: he turned, about to transform and flee. However, he never even got to fully activate his sequence, for Prime's hand had quickly taken a hold of his foot, swung him in an arc over his head and smashed him onto the floor harshly.
Static filled the medic's vision for a moment and in the next, there was an immense weight on his back and his head was yanked back none too gently to meet the icy glare of a very, very angry Prime. He gulped.
"You are going to tell me where my sparklings are. Now." The Autobots were quiet as their leader spoke. None of them had ever seen him like this. His voice was outright poisonous, a low, dangerous growl, dripping with the certainty he was going to dismantle anyone who would lay harm to the little ones or even keep them from him. It was a truly terrifying sight to behold.
"Please, please not the…"
"Not the finish?! Tell me where they are!" Optimus' fingers dug into the smaller mech's shoulder armor, producing the awful sound of metal being crushed.
"Argh! They're- they're down by the energon storage! Deck three, section B. Let go, I beg of you!" The Autobot commander stepped back, leaving the mech a shivering heap on the floor.
"Bumblebee." More of a command wasn't necessary. It was a matter of seconds before the Decepticon medic was in stasis cuffs and locked up in the next empty room.
They moved swiftly after that, sticking to their previous formation. The others were more heavily armed than usual, Silica noticed, and they were making use of their additional firepower, plowing through groups of Vehicons as they tried to stop them. Strangely, they encountered neither Megatron nor one of his officers before they reached a heavily guarded room in the area Knockout had described. The guards didn't stand a chance against them.
They entered the room cautiously. There was no telling as to what would await them in there- an ambush, booby trap or something of the like wasn't only possible, it was likely. But the only thing they found in the room was a heavy, locked crate. Optimus walked up to it slowly. He could detect no sign it was in any way rigged, but one could never know. However, he had a strong suspicion that something was very foul about this.
He broke the crate's lock, lifted the lid and gasped. After the initial relief, fury took over. How dare they.
In the box, his two tiny sparklings lay tied up and gagged. They seemed undamaged except for a few scratches, but there was pure terror in their optics. While the others secured the room, Silica fell to her knees next to him and helped him release their offspring. Flux and Bentona didn't wail, even after their parents had removed their shackles and gags carefully. They didn't even seem to really see their creators; instead, they kept staring into space, trembling as they were cradled lovingly. It hurt to see them like this.
The white and green femme looked up at Optimus, who was trying to comfort little Flux, holding the terrified mechling close. She could tell what he was thinking, as it was exactly the same thought bothering her: the fear that damage had been done to their little ones that could not be seen, could not be repaired. That they now knew the true meaning of terror and would never be the same.
"Scrap. They're here." Bumblebee informed them, watching the corridor, careful to not risk being shot. There were Decepticons closing in on them from both sides and this time, he could tell from the sounds of their footsteps there was at least one mech bigger than the Vehicons among them.
A loud clapping sound resonated from outside the room, huge palms being smacked together slowly but firmly.
"Bravo, Optimus." They all knew that rough voice. Of course it had been a trap. "I hope you're enjoying your little family reunion while you can. Surrender, Autobots. We have you surrounded."
Optimus looked up at his team, still kneeling beside Silica. They had anticipated the Cons to either use the sparklings to blackmail them or to use them as a bait- and they hadn't come unprepared. Slowly, he handed his son to Bulkhead and moved to step out into the corridor, raising his hands above his head.
Megatron chuckled when he saw his old enemy facing him. Had he looked closer, had he not been basking in the certainty of having gained the upper hand now, he might have noticed something was different. The Prime's controlled, deliberate movements were familiar, but the glimmer in his optics, the tiniest twitch of his face beneath that mask could have given his old enemy reason to suspect something was very wrong.
As it was, the leader of the Decepticons had made a grave mistake.
"Did you really believe it would be that easy?" Megatron growled. "I knew you were a sentimental fool, but this is outright idiocy. Prepare to meet your end, Optimus Prime, and know I will take great pleasure in ripping apart your foul spawn as well."
"Now!"
The Decepticons had no time to react, nowhere to flee as Arcee and Bumblebee lunged out into the corridor and fired their grenade launchers at them. Thick smoke enveloped the stunned bots, smoke that was being pierced by explosive, rapidly fired projectiles within the next second. The swiftness and sheer brutality of the attack took them by surprise. Mechs screamed as they were hurled aside, beaten into unconsciousness, shot, stabbed or run over. The sudden noise was deafening.
Megatron hollered and charged, but he could barely make out the shapes of the bots in his closest proximity. Enraged, he drove his claws through the mech whose blurry silhouette he could make out before him, but it turned out to be one of his own warriors.
He stumbled over more of his disoriented soldiers to follow the sound of screeching tires and howling engines- these damned Autobots were getting away, quickly. But this was his ship and he knew the shortcuts they didn't.
Energon splattered on his windshield when his grill crashed into a staggering Vehicon. The brutal impact sent the smaller mech flying into the next wall. Optimus activated his wipers and decelerated slightly to let the rest of his team go past him. Now that he had cleared a path, he would put himself between them and their pursuers. Bulkhead and Arcee would hopefully be capable of dealing with more Decepticons blocking their way. No one was to get to Bumblebee or Silica, who were transporting one sparkling within their altmodes each.
He had already commed Ratchet to bridge them back, but the recalculation of their coordinates would take a few more minutes. His spark was racing as fast as his pistons were pumping to propel him forward and after his team.
Suddenly, his tires lost their grip on the smooth floor, he crashed into the wall, a heavy weight crushing his side. Optimus transformed quickly despite the immense pain and rolled out of the way just before a massive silver fist crushed the floor where his head had just been.
"Go!" He yelled after the others just when they were about to turn around.
"You cannot save them, Optimus!" Megatron sneered, kicking the Autobot commander in the chest. It hurt like pit and shattered his windows, but Optimus got back up, charged and tackled the silver mech. Megatron's optics went wide as he barely dodged a sharp blade aimed at his face, but he was too slow to avoid the punch thrown at him shortly after.
His own optics blazing almost white, Optimus let his attacks rain on Megatron. Remembering what he had said earlier about his sparklings only served to fuel his rage. His opponent was very obviously surprised at this uncharacteristic level of pure viciousness, struggling to keep him at bay. They both managed to land painful hits every now and then, knuckles getting stained with energon, armor tearing in several places.
Megatron screamed when Optimus managed to get a hold of his arm and kick his elbow so hard the joint broke, rendering his right lower arm useless. He in turn dug his claws into the Prime's side and inflicted considerable damage there, more energon staining his hand. The sound of heavy feet on metal floors was getting louder, Megatron's reinforcements were coming.
From the opposite direction, the unmistakable sound of battle was reaching Optimus' audios. He had to go, now. His knee rammed into the warlord's face with all the strength he could muster, throwing the other mech back and away from him, not without the latter gripping him harder with his functional hand and ripping off a large chunk of plating, exposing some of his internals.
Ignoring the agony surging through his neural network, Optimus ran in the direction his Autobots had gone. Three Vehicons foolish enough to get in his way were ripped to shreds, their mangled remains still twitching by the time he rounded the next corner.
Everything was a blur after that. He could see their spacebridge, his team in front of it, desperately fighting off their attackers. Metal crunched beneath his fists, bolts of laser fire surged past his audios. Megatron had followed him and was running towards them, backed by his troops. They had almost fought their way to their bridge, almost…
"COME ON!" Arcee yelled, practically shoving Silica with Flux through before she went to help Bumblebee and Bulkhead, who were still fighting. A Decepticon kicked Bumblebee's feet out from beneath him while he turned, he fell- and lost his grip on the little femme sparkling, who slid a fair distance across the floor, away from the bridge.
Optimus' spark jumped in his chest, he threw a quick look back over his shoulder. Megatron yelled at his troops running alongside him to shoot at them, and they did.
"Through the bridge, now!" Optimus hollered, picking his daughter up off the floor without slowing down and shielding her with his own body as the bolts of laser fire rushed past his helm. His shoulder was hit, but he carried on. As the last Autobot on the ship, he leaped into the ground bridge before it closed.
The only thought on his processor was to keep his sparkling save, curling around her as his velocity sent him tumbling across the floor harshly. Luckily, Ratchet was able to get out of the way just before Optimus crashed into the desk next to the ground bridge controls.
Silence. He didn't dare move for a solid twenty seconds, shivering, still in a tight ball around the infant. Finally, he unfurled slowly, only a bit, so he could check on Bentona. The sparkling was clinging to his chest, shivering and with wide optics, but undamaged. With a noise that was something between a shout and a sigh, Optimus, let his head fall back onto the floor.