This chapter took longer than I expected, hopefully the wait was worth it.
Expect more chapter uploads a little more frequently as the Christmas holidays draw closer.
Spark of a Predacon
Chapter 10:
Traitorous Blood
The ice blue and silver dragoness flew higher, still clutching the panicking Vehicon in her talons, who also had a firm grasp on Miko. The higher she flew, the more terrified the drone became. It was difficult to imagine that a Vehicon such as himself would possibly meet his end via the jaws of a monster who could make good on her threat. However, if he did drop the human, she would snuff out his spark and she'd save the miserable human anyway. No one was going to help him in this Primus forsaken situation. He was on his own.
When the Miko started to cough the higher the femme Predacon flew, she knew that time was short. She opened her wings, slowing her rise and flapped to keep herself in place. Now that she was hovering at roughly six thousand feet, judging from her altimeter, Miko was showing signs of difficulty in breathing. She'd have to end this quickly and make good on her threat to the Vehicon.
She brought the drone closer to her snout, her golden optics leering with anger and spite. "Release the human," she snarled between clenched fangs, causing the drone to flinch with each word she spoke. "But if you drop her, I make good on promise by dropping you."
She arched her swanlike neck, the sharp spines rattling threateningly, and her chest panels began to expand, the ice blue glow slowing making its way up her throat. "Drop the human!" she roared.
The terrified drone yelped and slowly opened his clawed servos.
Suddenly, pain erupted through the Predacon's systems between her wings and her entire world blurred into white, her head threw back and screeched with intense agony. The shock of the pain automatically loosened her hold on the mech and she dropped him.
The loose grip the Vehicon had on Miko released her and she plunged to the world below with an ear-piercing scream.
Instinctively, Spiritstrike looked around for her attacker, only to spot a silver and black jet with the Decepticon symbol on its wings flying away from her. She didn't have time to chase down Starscream, her primary objective was to save the human who believed in her, and she was counting on her right at this very moment.
Her wings snapped against her sides and she dove down.
The wind whistled fiercely in her audio receptors, between her wings was pain, her systems weightless in her body, her optics focused on the tiny blur that was Miko, she was moving, but her eyes weren't open.
If Spiritstrike's timing was off, her wings would either break from their sockets or she would meet her death sooner than she expected, and no one would be able to catch the human at all.
Closer and closer she drew, but the ground was fast approaching, and there was little time to spare.
She reached out with a forepaw toward Miko, but she was still too far away.
She'd have to get even closer.
But she couldn't afford to risk injuring Miko than she already was, but her arms were just too short.
Unless…
She'd seen Smokescreen and the other Autobots do it many times when she was still captive. Their limbs were longer and stronger, able to reach what she could not with her useless talons. Smokescreen had done it so many times in front of her, it looked natural and instinctual.
There was little time left, and she only had one shot to make it count.
Momentarily she closed her optics, letting all images of the world fade away into the back of her processor. All Cybertronians had this gift, and she knew deep down that she did too. She felt the changes happening the moment she began to think clearly.
Then the changes began to take shape before her very optics.
Her legs extended, becoming longer and stronger, her wings returned to subspace, her graceful head and neck split and rested upon her back, her tail curled further up her back, her waist turned, her arms became longer, her digits split to become flexible, and a new head emerged from between her shoulders.
With fierce golden optics glowing and she ignited the thrusters on her back and jettisoned forward, pushing her further than she had ever gone before. She extended a new limb out toward the unconscious Miko. She felt her body touch her palm and she opened her chest panels, shoving her inside to protect her from the strong currents.
Every astroseconds she spent in the air, Miko was losing time.
She opened her wings and she fought the urge to cry out with pain as the unexpected force pulled on her muscle cables. But the pain was worth it if it meant keeping Miko from meeting the ground. Her descent slowed somewhat, giving gravity a chance to take her safely down the rest of the way.
The sound of a body crashing and exploding told her that the Vehicon she had threatened had lost its life.
Perhaps if the Grey Flier had not been so careless in attacking her, he would have been alive.
Front flipping when the ground drew closer, she landed with a heavy thud, the impact sending tremors of discomfort up her two back legs, dust, stones, and dirt kicking up and bouncing on her armour.
"Miko!"
Her somewhat dulled audio receptors picked up the worried call of the Green One, the one Miko called Bulkhead if she remembered correctly.
She turned and saw him running toward her, bright blue optics filled with worry for the well being of his charge. Behind him was Smokescreen, with Ratchet, Optimus and the rest hot on his pedes.
She willed her talons to hold their ground when she saw the look on Ultra Magnus' face plates.
She raised her forearms, causing them to slow down.
"What have you done with her, Predacon?" Bulkhead growled warningly, one blaster aimed at her.
They still didn't trust her, even with Smokescreen being only one to not raise a weapon at her.
But she didn't care, trust or no trust. She had done what she had promised Miko.
"Miko safe," she promised as the words rolled off her glossa. She opened her chest panels with a soft hiss, revealing the still unconscious human girl inside. Her exposed flesh was covered in scratches, but her head showed signs of bleeding. Quickly and carefully, Spiritstrike pulled her out and delicately handed her over to Ratchet.
"What happened to her?" Ratchet demanded, his scanner activating.
"The drone tried to hand her over," Spiritstrike explained, keeping a safe distance from them, "the Grey Flier hit me." She pointed upward and they looked up in time to see the grey and black vehicle flying away. "She fell, I had to catch her. She blacked out from not being able to breathe. My arms were too short, not enough time to think, so I changed my shape… like Smokescreen showed me."
"Figures Starscream would stoop to a low level to harm a human," Arcee hissed, but she still kept her blaster primed and pointed at the femme Predacon.
"Ratchet, attend to Miko," Optimus ordered, and he turned to Bulkhead, "go with him, I know she needs you."
Bulkhead nodded gratefully and helped Ratchet get his beloved charge into his ambulance form. Together, the two drove back to base, leaving the rest of the Autobots to deal with the Predacon.
"Why did you come back?" Optimus questioned her.
She looked down at her flexible digits, twitching them and watched in fascination at how easily they moved, giving her a wide range of use. It seemed like being in this bipedal form gave an advantage, even if she preferred to be comfortable in her true form.
Finally getting over her curiosity over her new form, she looked deeply into Optimus' optics.
"Because," she explained, keeping her tone neutral, "Miko need my help. I not owe anything to you two-legged walkers but owe to Miko and Smokescreen, they help me when I alone and scared. Taught me how to talk, still have lot to learn. Said I come back if needed."
"You wouldn't help unless it benefitted you," Ultra Magnus frowned.
She turned to him slowly, her optics burning, and she watched with secret satisfaction when he flinched. "It does not… benefit me at all to help Miko," she snorted. "But you only have him as flier." She pointed at Optimus. "He get hurt easily had I not helped. Could have been killed. No more Prime."
Smokescreen glanced between Optimus and the vice commander. "She makes a fair point," he said. "Optimus would have gone offline had she not arrived on time, plus she did save Miko from the Vehicons. Besides, we could always use another flier on the team."
"I not stay at base where not welcomed," Spiritstrike pointed out. "Make your uptight friend have something up his aft that crawled and died, see way he looks at me, sees me as enemy."
Ultra Magnus glared dangerously at her, but she ignored him.
Optimus stepped closer, but this time she found herself willing to let him get closer until she was almost level with his chest panels. "While you did help us save Miko – Spiritstrike was it? – you are still a Predacon that was brought back to life by Shockwave, something that was dangerous to everyone thousands of years ago."
She lowered her head dejectedly.
"However."
She blinked, confused.
"But we do need more allies if we are to win this war, and Predaking is someone who is more than willing to destroy us if we cross paths with him again."
"Predaking… is the name of…" She didn't know the correct word to use for this situation. Did she still consider him as a friend? She shook her head, biting her bottom lip for a moment. "All I want for us is to live in peace and not fight anymore. All I have known is fighting, hunting, and tracking. I failed the Grey King. He sent me away to die."
She clenched her fists tightly and she looked Optimus deep in the optics.
"I not fight for you," she said firmly, "I not join the Autobots, not wear your mark. But… if need me again for bad time, Miko or Smokescreen call me." She pointed at Smokescreen and he nodded to confirm his promise.
"Keep in touch, will you?" he asked.
She smiled softly. "Promise."
She vented deeply and willed herself to become her true form once again, spreading her wings and the Predacon symbol on her chest plates glowed dimly in the fading light of the sun. She roared to the heavens and flapped powerfully, flying high into the sky and then headed westwards to parts unknown.
The wind howled violently as a storm began to break across the sky, each flash of lightning seemed to make every ounce of the sky ominous and forbidding. But even a little light show wasn't going to stop Starscream from reaching his destination.
Behind him, the last two remaining survivors of his Seeker Squadron lagged behind, but he didn't care. He had to get to the Nemesis as quickly and as urgently as possible.
After their encounter with the Autobots, he hadn't expect the femme Predacon to be alive, let alone assisting the Autobots and protecting the humans. It made him sick to his tanks that such a vile and violent creature would stoop so low as to even help those goodie, goodie two shoes.
He ignored the groans of pain on his rear end and pushed his thrusters harder, the Nemesis now in clear sight.
"This is Commander Starscream requesting landing permission," Starscream said over the com-link.
"This is Bridge Command, we read you Commander," came a drone's response. "You're clear for landing." There was a pause before the drone spoke again, its tone dropping with a hint of nervousness, "You're a few members short of your Squadron, Commander."
"Don't you think I know that?" Starscream snapped.
"Of course, I apologise, Commander," the drone said hastily. "Proceed."
Starscream dipped his wings and transformed into his bipedal mode, followed by the others. He whirled around and pointed a claw at the two, his red optics narrowing, "Hurry up and see Knock Out!"
They saluted weakly and scurried away, but not before they leapt aside when they saw who was lying near the entrance of the ship.
Predaking.
The male Predacon was curled up in his draconian form, his head resting on his forepaws and his long tail coiled neatly around the rest of his frame, his optics were closed in supposedly deep recharge.
Starscream growled softly but restrained himself. The last thing he needed was a few scrapes and dents from an angry Predacon. Just because he had proven himself a valuable ally, he was dangerous and shouldn't be toyed with. He was secretly glad they had disposed of the rest of Project Predacon, but… if Predaking found out that his femme companion was still alive…
He tensed and slowly stepped around the Predacon as quietly as he could.
He had to get this message to Lord Megatron as quickly as possible before Predaking got wind of it.
Predaking twitched and began to stir, smoke escaping from his olfactory sensors.
He stopped mid-step.
The Predacon's breathing increased for a split second, but then lessened and he turned his head in the opposite direction, his snoring louder than before.
Starscream released a vent he hadn't realised he'd been holding and quickly made his way inside, relieved that he had managed such a feat. No one was as silent and as sneaky as he was and he took pride in that. He chuckled as the door closed behind him and he made a mad dash for the Bridge, hoping that Megatron was there.
But he was unaware of the narrowed golden slits of the Predacon's optics, his brow twisting into a suspicious frown.
Starscream bolted onto the Bridge, gasping and spluttering with urgency.
Megatron was there, just like he thought he would be.
But so were the last two mechs he wanted to ever speak to.
The silver tyrant turned around slowly, his blood red optics narrowing dangerously. "Starscream," he sneered.
Starscream's wings stiffened warily when he caught the other two also looking in his direction.
"M-M-Master," he stammered nervously.
"Do pray tell why you returned from your mission with only two members of your Seekers," Megatron said almost pleasantly as he stalked toward his Commander slowly.
Starscream knew that Megatron was fooling him into a false sense of security, but he couldn't help but cower beneath the terrifying shadow of the Decepticon Leader. "We… we attacked the base just like you ordered, Master," he said, unable to stop himself from trembling.
"Oh, do go on," Megatron drawled, gesturing.
"One of my Seekers managed to capture the female human that the Autobot Bulkhead was attached to," Starscream continued, "but… but there was…"
Megatron rolled his optics. "Yes?"
"The femme Predacon is alive!" Starscream shouted.
A deep threatening growl vibrated through the gloom in the large Decepticon's vocal processor and Starscream suddenly found himself falling to the floor on his hands and knees, cowering pathetically at the pedes of his master.
"She… she helped them by freezing most of the drones," he explained, "her breath froze them in an instant and shattered them into a million pieces. She rescued the female human. I shot her in the back but she managed to save the human from falling to her death! I wasn't expecting her to be alive, nor did I think she would help the Autobots, I swear!"
Megatron raised an arm and sliced his claws across Starscream's face plates, he screamed with shock as energon oozed from two open wounds. He kneed the Commander in the abdomen, knocking the wind out of him, and then elbowed the back of his neck. Starscream collapsed, gasping with pain and spitting energon from his mouth.
"You blundering idiot, Starscream!" Megatron snarled, raising a ped and stamping hard on Starscream's head. "If Predaking hears that she is alive and is assisting the Autobots, I'll rip out your spark from its case and feed it to Predaking. Not a word of this is to leave this room," he glared at the rest of the drones to prove a point, "UNDERSTOOD?!" he bellowed.
The drones turned away while Shockwave merely nodded, and Soundwave remained silent.
Megatron removed his ped and stormed up to Soundwave, who dipped his head respectfully.
"Monitor all feeds for any communications with the Autobots," he growled. "We must hasten our progress." He then turned to Shockwave. "See what you can find out about Synthetic Energon."
Both mechs bowed respectfully and dispersed, but not before Megatron halted Shockwave in his tracks.
"And pick up this lump of scrap," he hissed.
Shockwave didn't respond but did as he was told, grabbing Starscream by the arm and dragged him to Knock Out's medical bay, the pathetic Commander groaned with pain as they left, with the doors snapping shut behind them, unaware of someone watching and listening from a nearby room, their golden optics glinting softly in the darkness.
His companion really was alive. He could scarcely believe it, he was certain she had died according to the Grey Flyer's words. But then again, he always was a treacherous snake when it came to using his glossa.
However, it seemed like the Grey King had no intention of wanting to let him know. Shouldn't he be thrilled that she was? It didn't make any sense at all, and he was determined to find her and get an explanation from her. Why did she help the ones that had played their role in destroying the beginnings of their kind? Didn't she care about the preservation of their species?
He had to find her, and quickly, before they noticed that he was aware of their secret.
He quietly stalked through the corridors of the flying fortress, determination welling up inside his spark. He was feeling all kinds of different emotions: relief that she was alive, joy that they could continue their mission, caution over her assistance with the opposite faction, and anger at the Grey Flyer for lying to him about her destruction.
Once he was at the doors to the launch pad, he growled warningly at the two guards that stood on either side. They cowered weakly at the mere sound he made and he felt pride that such pathetic creatures would be afraid of him.
"If Lord Megatron asks of my whereabouts, you will tell him I've gone on patrol," he growled, flexing his talons menacingly.
They nodded quickly and opened the doors, letting him pass. He opened his wings and took off into the sky, his olfactory, audio and optical sensors on keen alert. He'd have to treat this like a hunt, her scent still lingered at the back of his processor and he immediately picked it up, although it was very faint in the storm filled air, but he knew it well.
He flapped his wings once, catching them on an updraft and soared westwards.