X
Knockout stalked toward Sparklet, his weapon lowered. She was lying on the floor near the charred remains of the bridge control and of D-99. He should have known the drone was up to something, after all, he had been acting off ever since the day Knockout had punished the little Autobot for her friend's mistake. And now, her optics glared out at him in the dim light of the room, the fire that had been a mere spark an hour before was a full blaze now. There was little doubt that she now hated and despised him. Yet he still found himself unable to destroy her.
"I told you there was no escape from this ship, Sparklet," Knockout said quietly, keeping an optic on her energon cannon. If she fired it, it would do little damage to him, but it could send her into stasis lock.
The femme's arm transformed, energy pulsing along the edges of the armor that split to reveal the hidden weapon. It was built for defense only, designed to drive away possible threats. It also used her own energon as an energy source.
"Are you so willing to die for nothing?" Knockout stopped walking toward her, crossing his arms over his chestplate and glancing at the remains pointedly, "He is already gone."
"And you will be too," Sparklet spat, suddenly rolling away from Knockout. Shocked, Knockout took a single step toward her, but only made it half way as a mass that was roughly a half size larger than his own slammed into him – hard.
By the time he had regained his senses, Sparklet was on her feet, holding her right arm tenderly, the majority of her weight supported on her right leg. Beside her stood an enraged Interceptor, all four of his cannons trained on Knockout. He had enough time to consider his options, maybe. From all accounts, Interceptor was not known for his kindness towards prisoners. If he even took prisoners.
"Foolish femme!" Interceptor snapped, even as he crouched down to check her wounds, handling the arm gingerly. Knockout noted that the cannons were still pointed at him, even though the Autobot seemed to be focused on the femme.
Knockout stood, testing his theory that the weapons system the 'bot had was in fact auto tracking. Sure enough, the barrels of the cannons on the mech's shoulders followed his every more. He resigned himself to waiting for backup. Hoping it came before the crazy mech blew him back to Cybertron.
"I'm fine, Interceptor!" Sparklet said, pulling her injured arm from her friend's grasp. He gave her a reproachful look before turning back to Knockout.
"You are a fine coward, doctor," Interceptor growled, stepping closer to Knockout, finding the attempt of the 'con to move back a step very satisfying, judging by the look of glee that crossed his face plate. Of course, with the stations that were positioned there, Knockout could not go far.
"Last I knew, cowards lived to fight another day," Knockout replied, quoting Starscream was not one of his favorite things to do, but it seemed apropos to the current situation.
"Not when they meet me," Interceptor snarled, sounding very much like a male version of Ravage. Knockout strained his audios, hoping to pick up the sound of pounding feet on metal deckplating.
If they showed before Interceptor fragged him, he'd ensure the femme's safety. But, Interceptor would be all theirs. Sparklet, however, was his. He would deal with her in his own way and she would learn the true meaning of the word pain.
&*&*
"Primus Interceptor, if we don't get this fragging thing working, we're done for," Fusion shouted, pulling on his arm and indicating the bridge's rounded entrance. She released him and limped to where D-99 had once stood. She looked at everything but his remains.
As she pounded and pulled on different portions of the station, Interceptor stalked toward the coward of a medic. Knockout, as he was called, seemed nonchalant about the situation, but Interceptor knew a falsehood when he saw it. The medic was scared and had every reason to be. Interceptor's reputation had preceded him to the ship. He'd allowed three drones to live, allowed them to return to their masters with news of how he had destroyed their brothers, and it had worked just as he knew it would.
The pounding of feet reached his audio senors. Backup for the medic was on the way. Interceptor was prepared to fight his way out of this predicament, but Fusion was in no shape for a battle. Her energon levels were dangerously low and many of her systems were malfunctioning as a result of her treatment aboard the Nemesis. Seeing her in such dire straits merely infuriated Interceptor that much more. When the medic died, it would be a nasty, painful, and very slow death. He would make certain of that. Unfortunately, now was not the time.
Pulling back one massive fist, Interceptor closed the distance between himself and the medic, throwing his full weight into the punch. Knockout attempted to avoid the blow, only to come up short against a corner of the wall. Interceptor's fist caught the side of his helmet, knocking him into stasis instantly.
Kneeling beside the unconscious medic, Interceptor spoke quietly so that Fusion would not hear what he said, "I will return for you, 'con. And you will not survive the encounter, I can promise you that. All the horrors you brought upon Fusion will be brought upon you, plus a few I doubt even your sick processor has thought of."
With that said, he stood once more and prepared to defend the furiously working femme. If he had to take out every 'con on board this ship on his own, he would do so. All four cannons whirred back to live, targeting the only entrance into the room. Waiting was the hard part, but soon enough, the wait would be over.
&*&
Fusion ignored the altercation between Interceptor and Knockout, her full attention on the bridge's control panel. At least, she hoped that was what she was currently messing with. The amount of information she had about either space or ground bridges could fit onto on page the size of a pin's head. But she wasn't ready to give up yet. D-99 had given up his life for her and she wasn't going to let that sacrifice be in vane.
A group of five drones stormed the control room, all of them going for Interceptor. The Autobot enforcer took each of them down with little trouble. Knowing he was capable of defending her aft, Fusion continued to work, becoming deaf to the battle that raged behind her.
Ten or so minutes later, Interceptor shouted out, pain laced in his voice. Fusion turned to find Ravage darting in and out of the crowd of drones that the larger Autobot was currently facing. The feline-like Decepticon was striking out with steel claws each time she moved in closer for an attack. Interceptor could not focus on both her and the onslaught of drones. Looking about herself, Fusion found a thick pole, shoved out of the way by those that had worked in the control room. Lifting it experimentally, she swung it in a short arc. She may not be the strongest or fiercest Autobot, but she was still one.
Limping her way toward the last position she had seen Ravage in, Fusion watched silently. This was something she was good at, observation. There was a pattern to Ravage's attacks. A pattern that Fusion memorized the first time the small 'con executed it. It was designed to bring Interceptor to his knees and it was beginning to work.
As Fusion went to swing her pole, an explosion rocked the ship, throwing her off balance and forcing the damaged left ankle to take almost all of her weight. The injured joint gave nearly instantly, causing her to fall forward onto that knee. When she looked up, she was optic-to-optic with Ravage. Snarling, Ravage then turned her attention to Fusion.
&*&
Ravage threw herself at the injured femme, her claws splayed and ready to tear into the far-less armored Autobot. Another explosion tore through the Nemesis, causing the object of her desire to roll out of the way. Ravage found herself landing to far to the left, sliding on the scorched and metal floor. She hit the melted console that had once controlled the bridge system. Shaking her head, she glared at the little Autobot, now kneeling with a poll held tightly in her hands.
"You're either very brave or very stupid, 'bot!" Ravage snarled, leaping high into the air. This time she landed true. Only the pole stopped her from reaching her target, the energon lines that ran through the front of the Autobot's neck.
Pushing all of her weight against the pole, Ravage slowly made headway toward the little femme's chestplate. There was not much strength left in the Autobot, Knockout's interrogation techniques had done a number on her, and yet she fought valiantly to survive. Even now, when Ravage was forcing her weakened arms closer and closer to her body, she fought.
Ravage's claws were centimeters from the femme's throat when two things happened. The first was the bright light of a bridge forming. A green portal came into existence only a few feet from where the two of them fought. The second thing was a third explosion that tore through the ship's interior. Ravage was prepared this time, gripping the decking on either side of the femme's body with her back claws. When the ship stopped pitching and lurching, she lifted her paw high, preparing to strike.
&*&
The drones never stopped coming, even as explosions tore through the ship. Interceptor had watched the other 'cons, the ones who controlled the drone's foolish actions, run in different directions. They took only a few drones with them. Not enough to stop the constant onslaught he was enduring. He hated physical altercations, preferred fighting with guns blazing. But in these tight quarters, his cannons were of only slight assistance. At least the quadruped was no longer attacking his legs, though he was worried as to where it had gone.
With the third, and final, detonation of a bomb, a large group of drones broke off from the oncoming forces. This gave him a chance to look around. What he saw froze his spark. Lying on the floor, a pole the only thing between the her and the quadruped, was Fusion. The quadruped's claws were raised high, prepared to tear the femme's delicate throat from her body. Behind them was an active bridge portal.
Before he could turn and help his friend, another onslaught of drones fell upon him. He fought furiously, his mind focused on saving Fusion from the feline 'con.
Weapons fire from behind him caught three of the drones, dropping them instantly. The quadruped rolled past him, its side smoldering from another bolt of energy. It jumped to its feet, snarled, and ran from the room, no doubt seeking out its master. More drones had fallen while the quadruped disappeared. The drones who were left looked to one another, communicating silently, before turning and fleeing the way they had come.
Trepidation filled Interceptor as he turned from the strewn bodies of drones; a pile that reached his knees. All of his weapons remained online and locked onto the bots that stood behind him, until he saw who they were. Then a sigh of relief, something he had not been expecting to EVER do, escaped his vents. Powering down his weapons, he crossed his arms over his chestplate and regarded the leader of the Autobots silently.
As soon as the portal had opened and they were able to pass through, Optimus had moved in. The message had been cryptic with barely enough information to explain why their assistance was so urgent, yet he'd felt that it was true. Ratchet had protested, as had Arcee, however he would not leave any to die at the hands of Megatron.
Passing through the portal, his weapons ready for instant battle, he was startled to see the Autobot named Interceptor fighting a losing battle against a massive group of drones. Bodies lay strewn all about him, piled high on the floor. Scorch marks scored the walls and consoles of the bridge control center, even the main control panel had been melted. Against a far wall, the Decepticon medic laid – unconscios or dead, he could not be certain of which, especially where Interceptor was concerned. Most worrisome, however, was the sight of the tiny femme with Ravage on top of her, paw raised to strike. All of these observations took less than a second. Once they were processed, he fired, sending Ravage rolling away from the pink and black femme. Ratchet rushed forward then, doing as he was trained.
Drones fell as the other Autobots on his team fired their weapons, eventually driving them away. When the immediate danger was past, Optimus lowered his cannon, transforming it back into his hand. He waited, watching Interceptor's body language. If the mech came at him, it would not be for the first time and he would be prepared.
Interceptor turned then, his weapons armed and ready to continue the confrontation. When he saw who stood there, however, he powered down the weapons and regarded Optimus silently.
"Interceptor," Optimus greeted grimly, still wary of the Autobot law enforcement officer. According to Ratchet, the mech was unstable, as likely to take out an ally as he was an enemy. Yet, he had proven himself loyal to the Autobot cause on numerous occasions. That did not make him any easier to read.
"Prime," Interceptor's reply was equally short.
"Optimus, not to break up this lovely reunion, but if I don't get this youngling back to base soon, she's going to slip into stasis lock," Ratchet interrupted, drawing attention back to the small femme.
"Bumblebee, we need a bridge, now," Arcee's voice floated from behind Optimus. He returned his attention to Interceptor.
"I will expect a full report about this, and as to why you chose to send the SOS message in such a strange way," Optimus stated, watching Interceptor curiously. He had believed the message was from him, yet the news of it seemed to confuse Interceptor.
"I sent no message. If I had, you would have known it was me," Interceptor growled, "Perhaps it was Fusion." He indicated the femme that Ratchet was lifting from the floor.
A new ground bridge opened behind Optimus. The explanations could wait. For now, it was time to return home and allow Ratchet the time he needed to heal the femme that Interceptor had called Fusion. He waited as the others entered the bridge, Ratchet leading the way. Interceptor stepped up beside him and indicated the portal, a clear insistence that he not be followed. Optimus frowned at the mech's distrusting nature, but chose to ignore it, stepping into the ground bridge portal before Interceptor.
&*&
Interceptor looked around the ruins that had once been the Decepticon's bridge control room. His optics fell onto the form of Knockout, who was awake once more and was currently glaring at him. Throwing a rude gesture at the medic, Interceptor entered the ground bridge, leaving the 'con's to their clean up. Truth be known, he had never been so happy to see Optimus Prime. Nor, did he believe, he would ever be so happy to see him again.
&*&
Exiting the portal, the first thing that struck Optimus was how active the base currently was. Ratchet had enlisted the assistance of all present. He was throwing orders around as though each of the others was a trained medical bot. Bumblebee, for his part, looked particularly confused by some of the orders. Arcee was handling it well enough, as was Cliffjumper. But Bulkhead continually made a mess of whatever he was attempting to help with, to the point that Ratchet yelled at him to get out of the way.
Optimus left them to it, waiting on Interceptor's arrival. It was not long before the navy blue mech appeared, a grim look on his faceplate.
"She had better survive this so I can kill her," Interceptor growled, his optics followed the movements of the Autobots who rushed about the base to fulfill Ratchet's demands.
"Tell me, what has occurred over the last few hours?" Optimus asked it quietly, gently. Just as he would to any other Autobot.
"Ha – hours? Try days..." Interceptor smirked as he spoke, "I can tell you some, but she's the only one who can tell you everything."
Optimus nodded, waiting for the story Interceptor had to share. He did not have to wait long. But, what he heard was not what he had been expecting, especially where the little femme was concerned. When Interceptor was finished speaking, Optimus found himself wishing the scout was well enough to speak of her own experiences, however, he would have to wait.
&*&
Downbeat wandered the corridors of the Nemesis, busying himself with the repairs to the systems that he had destroyed with the timed detonations. So far, no one had called him out on it and it had been several days since the battle. Megatron and Starscream had returned from their own mission to find the ship in dire straits. Half of the drones had been deactivated, another third of them injured. Knockout had sustained damage as well and was working slowly. His drone assistant was dead, killed by his own master.
All within the vessel had heard Megatron's reaction to the devastation. And the destruction of one more drone. He had ordered that the ship be completely repaired within a week's time. This had caused many to become fearful for their lives. The damage was extensive, especially to the bridge control room where most of the fighting had occurred.
Even with this added stress, Downbeat felt strangely at ease. He had finally read the pad from the drone, the drone who had turned out to be one of Fusion's greatest allies and only real hope of escape. The drone who had given his very spark to protect her. He wished he had read the pad's contents that day, learned what the drone was planning. If he had, then D-99 may still be alive and thriving. Unfortunately, he had been focused on his own plans and D-99 had paid the price.
Stepping around a corner in the corridor, Downbeat stopped dead in his tracks. Standing at the other end of the corridor, attempting to convince a new drone assistant to do as he was told, was Knockout. The medic's hand continually went to the side of his helmet where a large dent was clear, even from this distance. The vain medic was enraged by this damage, but had chosen to forgo Soundwave's assistance until his own work was done. This had put him into Megatron's good graces, as well as his claim of having chased down the scout, her protector, and the rogue prisoner. If not for the miraculous appearance of the Autobots, as he put it, he would have been able to subdue all three.
Downbeat found it hard to believe that the medic could subdue Interceptor. Not even Interceptor could subdue himself.
Continuing along his path, Downbeat walked past Knockout, smirking at the glare the medic threw him. If he informed anyone of Downbeat's involvement in the entire affair, then he would reveal his own deceptions. It was good to know that the one who knew your secrets had secrets of his own. Downbeat felt remarkably comfortable in the knowledge that Knockout was unable, for now, the reveal his personal secrets. He would have to keep an optic on the medic though.
For now, he was simply happy to have made certain that Fusion was still alive. The Autobot medic had taken her with them. She was in good hands now and would, hopefully, stay far away from him or any other Decepticon. He hoped this experience had taught her a lesson about trusting the other side...
But he doubted it.