Speech Legend:
"Human Speech/Cybertronian Speech"
[Bumblebee Speach] -Beep Translation
"Spirits Speech/Communications Line/Karas Talking"
'Thoughts'
"Inhuman/Non-Cybertronian Creatures/Intense screams or yelling/Introductions"
Chapter 9: Bugs and Blades.
"But, I will bring you back a snowball."
Raf's disappointment suddenly vanished the moment Optimus said that, "Awesome!"
Watching off to the side, Jack let out a small sigh. Hearing that Arcee and Optimus were heading off on a mission of some kind, Jack couldn't help but feel a bit…left out.
Being told that he couldn't go with them when it came to this mission wasn't the problem. The bots were heading to the Arctic for crying out loud. Even that was a bit too much in Jack's opinion. But no, it was something a bit more...permanent when it came to Jack and the Autobot's missions.
Still, it was something he should have expected after the recent battle with the Mikura known as 'Rampage'.
Shortly after the battle with Mikura himself, Optimus had approached Jack and basically demanded (in his own personal way) that Jack should not rush in to assist the Autobots whenever something seemed wrong. Even if it was Mikura, such situations were their battles and Optimus didn't want to risk any of their human allies...even if the human in question could defend himself quite well.
The Prime knew how important his duty was, he knew that more than the rest of the Autobots. But still, he couldn't in clear conscious allow Jack to endanger himself like this.
Still, Jack did agree to such a term, his only condition being that Optimus wouldn't hesitate in calling him if anything was wrong. He respected the Prime's concern but Jack still wanted to help them out in any way that he could.
Such a feeling surprised even Jack actually. It's amazing what a few days of spending time with these people could do to a boy's opinion of them. Earlier he was only helping them out due to Yurine's recommendation…but now? It was far more personal.
Watching the two walk through the Ground Bridge was a pain but one that he would have to get used to. Jack doubted that Optimus would go back on his request anytime soon, the Prime was just too protective for something like that. No, if Jack was going to be able to join them in battle again, then he would need to work on his methods. Like Optimus said, he couldn't just dive into the fight anymore. That was far too reckless, even if it worked on Mikura more often then not.
No, if he wanted to help his friends in the field, he had to think about his actions more clearly. Sure, hunting Mikura is one thing. But when he also had some friends to protect and fight with, Jack couldn't be all gun-ho on everything.
Still, with Arcee and Optimus investigating whatever the others might have found in the Arctic, that left the kids without something to do.
"So," Climbing up to the common area for the humans, which consisted of a couch, coffee table (which happened to have a cat sleeping on it for some reason), and a old TV and game system, Miko turned her attention to three of the four Autobots left in the base, "What do you guys feel like doing today?"
Bulkhead and Cliffjumper gave her a shrug, the latter not really having a idea of what to do with the kids. Seeing as he was the only one of the team besides Ratchet and Optimus that didn't have a human to watch over, he was a little bit out of touch with what they might want to do. The Red speedster did spend most of his free time messing with humans, not having fun with them.
Bumblebee quickly let loose a few beeps, something that was lost on the young girl but not the other two humans, "Video game Tourney! Last one standing wins!"
With Raf quickly joining Jack and Miko on the couch, Cliffjumper couldn't help but give the local scout a look, "Really Bee? Video Games? Thats your best idea?"
"[Hey! What else can we do with the kids? Anything else and Ratchet will likely interrupt us with some stupid excuse-]"
"Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Bulkhead! Here. Now."
"[-like that.]"
Giving the trio the best shrug they could, the three Autobots made their way over to their local medic. Watching Bumblebee give him a apologetic look, Raf waved at the bot before reaching for a controller. Before he could grab one though, Miko took it and turned to Jack, much to Raf's disappointment.
"Prepared to be destroyed." Miko smirked at Jack, who looked...less then impressed.
With his arms behind his head, Jack let out a small yawn, "Yeah, not really my thing Miko."
The girl apparently took that as a challenge, "Oh yeah? Afraid to get beaten...by a girl?"
And of course the local feline poked her head up just at THIS moment, having heard the girl's challenge. Having two girls staring at him now, Jack couldn't help but groan. There was no way of getting out of this now...not when one of these girls was in fact his boss as a Karas.
"Fine." he then snatched the controller from her hand, "Bring it on!"
Smirking, Miko quickly focused on the game itself, "Prepared to be destroyed."
With the two quickly getting into the game, Jack couldn't help but notice how sad Raf looked. This was his idea originally and yet here they were, leaving him out of it. That didn't seem fair at all, especially to Jack. So, reaching over, Jack gave the small boy a pat on his shoulder.
"Hey," he offered his controller, "Why don't you handle Miko for a bit?"
Surprised by the offer, Raf shook his head, "Nah, I got some stuff to do."
Frowning, Jack could tell that the boy was still a little miffed at being left out in what was his idea in the first place. So to prove his point, Jack actually dropped the controller into the boy's hands, "Come on now, I insist."
Raf couldn't help but stare at the controller for a moment or two, "You sure?"
"Hey," Jack stood up from his seat and patted him on the shoulder, "Like I said, games aren't really my thing. Besides, I'm kind of in a exploring mood right now."
The teens had only visited the Autobot's base for a little while now, so the massive complex was still mostly unexplored. So while these two distracted by a video game and the bots off doing something else, why not looking around for a bit?
Seeing his point, Raf happily took the controller and turned toward the television, "Thanks!"
"Anytime."
Standing up and moving out of their way, Jack reached over and grabbed one thing he wasn't going to forget. He was about to explore a giant reconfigured missile silo, might as well not do it by himself.
So, Jack picked up the white cat without a moment's notice. She let out a small 'meow' in return but didn't object to such a thing otherwise.
"Come on," he placed the feline on his shoulder, "You're coming with me."
Giving his friends a small wave (Just as Raf started to smoke Miko at her own game), the teen then walked down the stairs to the common area and turned toward one of the massive tunnels that ran into the base. He could have asked one of the bots if they wanted to give him a tour or something but they were apparently busy with repairs or something.
With them busy however, that just left Jack to march out on his own. Picking the tunnel to the left of Miko and Raf, Jack and his furry companion marched off into the base on a mission to find something to pass the time. Say what you will, but until now...Jack really didn't have time to do all that much.
When you have to juggle school, a job at a lousy fast food restaurant, and protecting the town from mechanical monstrosities...doesn't leave all that much time to do stuff.
Walking through the massive tunnel, Jack couldn't help but look in awe at the massive structure. But as he continued to walk through the halls, Jack quickly noticed how...empty the halls were. Sure, he hadn't expected anything but still, it would have been nice to see something interesting.
Sometime later:
"You know, this would be much nicer if you...I don't know, didn't sit on my head."
"Meow."
Groaning, Jack tried to pry the cat off his head, "I don't care if its comfy, your fur is making my head sweat! Now get off!"
So far, Jack's little tour around the Autobot's base had gone about as well as he had expected. The place was huge for sure, but it was just as empty as it was huge. He guessed the bots didn't need all that much stuff but he thought there would be at least something that could keep him occupied for a bit. But of course, there had been nothing as of yet.
Hell, things had even got so bored that Yurine had planted herself on his head so she could take a nap.
Much to Jack's annoyance.
The small sound of something metal bouncing off the floor distracted the two moments later however. Looking around the corner, Jack carefully picked Yurine off his head while he looked at...the strange creature in the middle of the hall.
It was small with a tiny round body and two blue eyes...and it was actually quite cute.
Whatever it was, the little thing was sniffing the ground while its tiny legs scampered across the ground.
Taking a step forward, the small creature looked up at Jack with its big blue eyes. They were wide and curious, something that Jack shared as the two looked back and forth at each other.
"Hi little guy," Jack gently greeted the creature, "I didn't know the bots had pets..."
Jack then reached over to pet the small metal creature. But upon touching it, Yurine let out a savage hiss. He claws dug into Jack's hands and her hair stood up straight. She was furious, more so than Jack had ever seen her and that just confused him even more.
"Whats with you?" he questioned, giving the cat a strange look.
Not responding, Yurine just continued to hiss at the small metal robot. But with that going on, Jack turned his attention back to the machine in question. It wasn't doing anything that warranted such hate. In fact, it was actually nuzzling up to Jack's touch and making a metallic 'purring' sound. It was completely non-hostile and actually pretty cute in Jack's opinion, just like a real pet.
Sending Yurine a strange look, Jack cautiously shifted the feline onto his shoulder and picked up the strange little critter. Then, much to Jack's amusement, the little creature actually snuggled up to him and closed its optics like it was asleep or something. It was something that almost made Jack go 'aw'.
Almost.
"I wonder if Miko and Raf have met you..." he mused, "...eh, who am I kidding? Lets go show them."
With something that could easily sway his boredom, the teen began his trek back toward the command center. During that however, Yurine continued to glare at the creature for some reason. It was like the feline could sense something that Jack could not.
And to add to that, by stopping there Jack didn't have the chance to notice a pipe just a few feet ahead of him...
...one with a giant chunk bitten right out of its side.
Later, Command Center:
Raf smirked, hands lightly tossing his controller into the air. It had been a bit too easy...
"Agh!"
But, beating Miko in more then a few rounds of racing had been more than a bit fun. Heck, he might even say it was quite enjoyable. Especially since Miko didn't know when to give up, something that came very apparent after the seventh game.
Letting out a huff, the girl in question crossed her arms while glaring at the television, "I almost had you..."
Raf didn't share her sore mood. So when she turned toward him and demand 'Two out of Three', the boy couldn't help but laugh.
"Its more like Seven out of Eight, Miko."
The girl threw her hands up into the air, "Same difference! Now put up your dukes and lets go again."
Miko quickly picked up the controller while Raf shook his head, "Come on Miko, don't you think we should take a break? How about wait for Jack? I'm sure he'll want a go."
"But hes not here is he?" Miko countered, not seeing a trace of Jack, "Now come on! Lets have another go before he gets back!"
Raf looked a bit unsure about that and was about to object to that...
"That hurts Miko." Jack called out to the duo, "I only went on a small walk, it wasn't that big deal."
Taken by surprise, Miko and Raf quickly dropped their controllers and looked behind themselves. Standing behind them was Jack of course, smirking at the two of them after finally showing up again. He had Yurine on his shoulder of course, but there was also something strange sitting in his arms too. Something Raf noticed quite easily.
"Hey, whats that?" he pointed out, "Did you find something while on your walk?"
Jack gave the little creature a smile before walking closer to the two teens, "Yeah, I think it may be a pet or something."
Walking up to the two of them, Miko and Raf looked on with curiosity at the little creature.
"Wow," Raf mused, "What is this little guy?"
Jack shrugged, "No clue, just found him sniffing around or something. Seems nice though, even if Yurine keeps giving him an evil eye for some reason."
Indeed, the cat was still glaring at the creature, something that still made no sense to Jack. But, it did make Miko laugh slightly.
"Maybe shes jealous or something." the girl suggested, "Holding something like that while she has to ride shotgun? Would make anyone in her position a little bit...jealous."
The boy ignored the smirk Miko had but did give his companion a glance. Telling from the icy glare she had, Jack didn't think that was the case, "No offense Miko, but shes not the type to get like that. And besides, how she acted when I first found this guy...well, it was more like she wanted to tackle it than just take its spot."
"But, why would she want to hurt it?" Raf asked while petting the small robot, "It looks harmless."
About to respond, Jack was soundly cut off when the three kids heard-
"AHEEE!"
-a rather...high pitch screamed, which echoed through the command center.
"Ow..." the three muttered before turning to the local Autobots, who were shaking in their boots. They were pointing their blasters at the trio as well, or the little machine more specifically. There was also a bit of...fear in their optics?
"What?"
Bulkhead was the most frightened out of all of the four Autobots, "Scraplet! Scraplet!"
Confused by the Wrecker's frantic yelling, Raf looked at the small bot before turning back to his friends, "Whats a Scraplet?"
"The most Dangerous vermin to ever crawl upon the face of Cybertron," Ratchet told the trio with disgust in his voice. He had terrible memories of those vile monsters, such things that the old medic never wanted to witness ever again.
The three teens looked confusingly at the little critter, this 'Scraplet'.
"This little guy?" Jack asked upon lifting the creature in question, "You guys can't be serious."
Miko agreed with that, "Yeah! Bulk, you guys are giant robots! You guys are GIANT robots. Scrapy here is...tiny."
Shaking his helm, Bulkhead stood firm along with his shaking blaster, "Y-you have no idea what that 'Tiny' thing can do!"
Picking up the little machine with both of his hands and holding it in front of him, Jack looked at the Autobots with a disbelieving face. After seeing the little creature cuddle up to him, he couldn't seriously believe that this machine was truly like that.
"Come on guys, look at this thing." he asked them, showing the bots the little creature, "It wouldn't hurt a fly."
Upon being lifted however, the little Scraplet slowly opened its eyes with a tiny putter. With blue optics moving around for a bit, the Scraplet eventually settled its gaze on the trembling Autobots. A swift scan of them suddenly triggered something within the small machine, something the humans weren't expecting.
Its head opened up, revealing a massive set of sharp, spinning teeth. The sound of a buzz-saw followed as the machine frantically shook and struggled before it ripped itself out of Jack's grip. Its reaction, this sudden change in the Scraplet's behavior was so sudden that Jack couldn't hold onto the shaking machine, causing it to fall to the ground once his grip was broken.
Clattering to the ground, the tiny legs that held the Scraplet up scampered across the floor at a speed that was surprising for something its size. With the distance between it and the bots shrinking, the machine's mouth almost watered in anticipation.
"Agh!" Bulkhead freaked out, "Blast it! BLAST IT!"
And they tried. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Cliffjumper all tried to reduce the Scraplet to ash before it got to them. But due to its small size and speed, the tiny machine dodged most of their blasts and leaped toward the nearest Autobot, which was Bumblebee.
Falling back on his aft, the scout and the others looked on in horror as the Scraplet comped down on his leg. It left a nasty trail as it chewed, tearing metal in a horrible manner. Bumblebee tried to grab the machine in a attempt to stop the beast, but it merely bit through his hand and continued to rip him apart.
As the creature made for his helm however, a red servo suddenly swatted the Scraplet out of the air and tossed it to the side.
"Buzz off!" Cliffjumper growled.
Crashing into the ground however, the Scraplet wasn't done yet.
Almost as if nothing had happened, the machine let loose a small growl and rushed toward the Autobots again. But before it could get close, a boot suddenly smashed it into the ground. Dented but not defeated, the Scraplet tired to rise again...
-Crunch!-
But, Yurine's boot silenced the machine, crushing its head and leaving it in tiny little pieces.
"Oh, nice one." Miko complemented, the rest of the group also noticing the spirit had once again taken her humanoid form.
With the Scraplet dealt with, Ratchet quickly went to check on Bumblebee. But luckily the medic put both Raf's and the others concerns to rest, "Its merely a mesh wound, nothing to worry about."
Relieved, the group suddenly found themselves back on the subject of the cause of all this mess, the Scraplet.
"So..." Jack mumbled slightly, "That wasn't so bad..."
Bulkhead gave the boy a disbelieving look, "Not so bad!? Did you see what that thing just did!? We're lucky its scrap now or the rest of us would be instead!"
Okay, Jack had to admit that the situation was a bit terrifying. The thing was fast, had sharp teeth, and ate like a devil. He could easily see why Bulkhead was so terrified of them. But there was one good thing about all of this. It was dead and gone, hopefully.
"Okay, but at least its dead...right?" Jack asked, giving the Scraplet's remains a good look over.
The crunching sound of Yurine stepping on said remains was a good indication of that. But for some reason, Ratchet did not seem so sure.
"Perhaps, but if I know Scraplets, this is not over yet." the medic regrettably said, much to Bulkhead and the others fears.
"What do you mean?"
Letting out a small sigh, Ratchet looked back to his console and made his way over to it. Upon reaching it, the Autobot brought up a few bits of data and showed it to the group. And of course, all of it was focused on the subject of Scraplets.
"We may have destroyed one of them, but Scraplets rarely ever hunt alone." he explained, "A pack of Scraplets may send out one or two of them so they can scout ahead, but the main force could contain a massive number of them. Easily enough to overwhelm a fully developed Cybertronian if needed."
The teens gave Bulkhead a glance upon hearing that. The Wrecker was shaking in his boots, and for good reason.
"So, you think there is more of them?" Jack asked as a bad feeling crawled up his spine.
Reluctantly, Ratchet nodded, "Unfortunately."
Walking back toward a electrical panel that was located in the center of the room, Ratchet reached into it and pulled out a circuit board. One that had a huge bite taken out of it, "These creatures are likely the cause of our mechanical issues. And with all of the ones we've been dealing with...we have quite the infestation."
"Oh, thats just fantastic..." Cliffjumper and Bumblebee groaned.
An infestation did not sound good to anyone, especially the humans, "Just how bad can a...infestation be?"
Ratchet let out a sigh, "If they are as wide spread as I may fear, then we are in much larger danger than we are currently equipped to handle..."
The medic then turned his gaze toward the Ground Bride. The Deactivated Ground Bridge, "But, that isn't the only danger presented to us."
No one liked the sound of that, ["Do we even want to ask?"]
"We may be in danger, but Optimus and Arcee are in just as much, if not more." Ratchet explained as he marched back to his console, "The temperature of their current location will cause them to shut down permanently if exposed to it too long, and without the Ground Bridge to get them back..."
The team, both bots and humans didn't want to consider that...outcome.
"Well, what can we do to get them back?" Jack asked.
With such a question asked, Ratchet went on to explain the current situation. The damaged components that needed to be repaired, the lack of power, and of course there was the Scraplet problem. The entire situation seemed to be one giant mess. And worse, it was a mess with a time limit. One that if allowed to run out, would cost the team two valued friends.
So to combat such a limited amount of time, the medic came up with an plan. Even if it made Bulkhead nearly glitch upon hearing it.
"You want us to WHAT!?" the Wrecker nearly screamed.
Ratchet let out a sigh, having fully expected this, "I need you three to split up and search the base. With Scraplets about, I need you to make sure the base's systems aren't damaged any further than they already are. I have enough to deal with as it is and those creatures will cause havoc if left to their own devices."
If the base's systems were damaged any further, then there would be no way for Ratchet to fix the Ground Bridge in time...
Even with that logic however, the Wrecker was still unsure about all of this. A feeling the other Autobots shared as well, "No offense Doc, but splitting up? Do you really think that's a good idea?"
The medic glared at Cliffjumper for questioning him, but the warrior raised his servos in his defense, "Hey, I'm just saying. I like going into a rumble as much as the next bot, but these are Scraplets we're talking about. What if we're swarmed while on the hunt?"
The very idea made the Cybertronians shiver. Getting caught by these little buggers while in the middle of one of the cramped hallways? Its sounded like one of the old stories the veterans told the protoforms to scare them into stasis. But in a situation like this? It was all too possible.
"Well, why don't we go with you guys!" Miko suggested, sounding far too excited than she should have been, "We can be like your body guards!"
Everyone looked at the girl in disbelief, "Body guards? Seriously Miko?"
The exchange student shrugged, "What? The little creep completely ignored the three of us, maybe they only eat metal or something?"
"That is actually a correct assessment." Ratchet added, "Being natives of Cybertron, the Scraplets are only designed to feed off beings found on Cybertron, such as us. But organisms such as yourselves..."
The medic actually considered Miko's idea for a moment, something that greatly excited the girl, "Perhaps your...fleshyness will be useful after all."
"Yes!" Miko cheered, pumping her fist into the air, "This is going to be awesome!"
Bulkhead on the other hand was less thrilled, "Yeah...awesome...whoo."
However, the plan did have a bit of sense to it. There were three Autobots (minus Ratchet) and three humans (Yurine didn't particularly count herself among them due to her passive nature), plenty to make teams for such a plan. However, Jack noticed that there was a snag in it.
"Um, don't you think one of us should stay and watch over Ratchet? Just in case?" he suggested.
Making sure that the bot who was fixing the Ground Bridge was safe did seem rather important. What was the point of protecting the rest of the base if the only person who could fix the Ground Bridge got eaten while they were all busy?
"[That is a good point.]" Bumblebee agreed, "[How about having Jack guard Ratchet with his fancy powers while the rest of us go...exploring?]"
Raf went to translate what Bee had said to the other two teens, but someone beat him to it...
"Yes, that seems acceptable."
Surprised by the sudden voice, the group turned to the source and found that it was Yurine who had spoke. It was a surprise considering that she was normally silent most of the time (or a cat, either or), "I shall accompany one of the Autobots while Karas remains here and defends the medical officer from anything that may do harm to him."
Everyone around the girl was rather surprised when she suggested this. However, Cliffjumper couldn't help but smirk. Perhaps he could be getting his own charge after all...even if it was some strange spirit who could change into a cat. He supposed that it was better than nothing.
To tell the truth though, Jack was the most shocked to hear such a plan. Yurine never involved herself like this, "Yurine..."
Closing her eyes, the spirit in question began a chant that was quite familiar to Jack, "1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...it is 10. Sway to and fro, sway. RELEASE!"
"What! Hold on for a min-"
After uttering that final word, Jack was enveloped in a extremely bright light, which then took the form of a large portal. Stepping though one side of the portal, everyone watched as Jack's body slowly fell to the ground just as Karas stepped out the other side.
Flexing his armored hands, Karas couldn't help but sigh. He didn't even get a say in the matter.
"Well, a little warning would have been nice." he mused before picking his body up and flinging it over his shoulder, "But, I guess this is the plan, isn't it?"
Ratchet gave the armored teen a swift nod, "Indeed. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Cliffjumper will take a human and search the base for any damages whole taking care of any Scraplets they find on their way, while you will assist me here."
"Understood," Karas nodded.
But before the mission got underway, he sent Yurine a look before focusing on Cliffjumper.
"If anything happens to her..." Karas' voice as as cold as steel, "...you'll wish I left you in the clutches of those Cons, got it?"
And to push his point home, the protector of Jasper reached toward and grabbed the hilt of his sword. Cliffjumper had seen what he could do with that sword on more than one occasion, so the bot knew how bad things could get if he rubbed the boy the wrong way.
"Hey, don't worry!" the crimson bot gave Karas a thumbs up, "She'll be better than fine! I'll scrap anything that comes near her, you got my word on it!"
Quite ironic really, the humans were suppose to be protecting the Autobots during this assignment.
"Right..." Karas mused, letting go of his sword before turning toward the common area so he could drop off his body. After all, he couldn't just leave it lying around if the Scraplets showed up, they could trample it or something.
With the pleasantries out of the way however, Ratchet quickly got the dire mission underway. While under the medic's orders, Bulkhead, Miko, Raf, and Bumblebee went down one tunnel while Cliffjumper and Yurine went down the other. They had precious time to lose. In the meantime however, Karas deposited his body on a nearby couch and returned to guard over Ratchet, who had quickly gotten to work on repairing the Ground Bridge.
If the world was in a merciful mood, this wouldn't take long.
Hopefully.
A Short Time Later:
It was not, unfortunately for everyone.
Several minutes had gone by but for Karas and Ratchet, it seemed like hours. The situation was tense for the two individuals, with Ratchet doing his best to replace the broken parts of the Ground Bridge's circuits and with Karas guarding over the Autobot as he worked.
His hand never leaving his sword's hilt, Karas constantly scanned the room for anything that even vaguely looked like a Scraplet. If even a single one of those little machines entered the command center, he would be on it in a nano-second.
But so far, there had been nothing. Not a single Scraplet had arrived to torment the two, and Karas was only slightly relieved to see that...
However, if they weren't attacking these two, then where were the Scraplets? Were they tormenting the base? Or, could they be attacking their friends? Right this moment?
It made his stomach twist. He wanted to go hunt them down, to tear this little machines apart. Just cut the problem's head off and end it there. But, he couldn't. Karas had to protect Ratchet, he had to make sure that the Ground Bridge was brought back online.
For Optimus's and Arcee's sake.
"Hows it coming Ratchet?" he asked from atop his perch, looking down at the Autobot.
The medic let loose a growl before tossing one of his tools to the side, "Slagging parasites! They tore through nearly all the main circuits! It would normally take me hours to clean this mess up!"
"We don't have hours..." Karas sighed.
Ratchet didn't turn to look at the teen, but he did let out a grunt, "I am well aware of that, and it won't. By simply bypassing some of the damaged pathways, I can temporarily restore functionality to the Ground Bridge, more than enough to get them back."
A hopeful light shined in Karas' eyes, "You're sure?"
"More than sure," the medic nodded, "As long as the others do their duty and nothing else happens, we should be good to go."
Smiling under his helmet, Karas went to thank the Autobot. But before he could, a sudden sound stole the warrior's attention away. It was the sound of something crawling against the ground, something very small. And it wasn't just one thing, it was several...dozens even.
And they all were heading right toward the command center.
"Ratchet..." Karas warned as he drew his sword, "We got incoming..."
The medic instantly shot his helm up, "What?!"
Not bothering in responding, Karas put all of his focus into guarding the Autobot instead. But as the sounds grew closer, Karas grew more tense as he waited for something to appear. For the moment, there was no sign of anything. No Scraplets or his friends. There was only the numerous sounds of tiny little feet echoing even closer to Ratchet and himself.
Even when it sounded as if the noises were right on top of them, there was no sign of anything threatening...
...at least until he heard the sound of something metal hitting the floor, loudly.
Quickly looking toward the source of such a sound, Karas noticed what seemed to be a metal hatch on the floor. In fact, it looked like something that sealed off the end of a air vent or something. But if that was the case, then why would it be on the floor instead of the wall...
"Oh no."
Slowly lifting his head, Karas saw the exact thing he...didn't want to see.
On the far wall of the command center, even higher than the Autobots could reach, there was a air vent. And coming out of it? There was numerous Scraplets just pouring out of the hole, their buzzing teeth anticipating whatever the command center may hold for them.
"Ratchet," he warned while drawing his sword, "Companies here."
Barely reacting to the warning, the Autobot quickly dropped his tools and stood upward. With his hands transforming into his primary weapons, the medic gulped slightly at the horde of Scraplets charging at him. He might have been a veteran in the war against the Decepticons, but something like this would put fear into the sparks of even the most battle harden warriors.
Still, he wasn't alone in this fight. As before the metal eating machines even reached the medic, Karas suddenly dropped from the rafters above and set himself between his friend and the vermin that had entered the base.
Said vermin quickly leaped at the two, gladly ready to devour the Autobot meal that stood in front of the. However, that didn't mean they would get to taste their meal.
Dragging his sword against the ground, Karas let out a small sigh. Upon taking a single step forward, the armored warrior shot forward and swiftly cut down the closest Scraplets he could reach. And even when their broken bodies fell to the ground, the teen was already assaulting the ones behind them.
While they were numerous, the Scraplets were hardly a challenge for a Karas. As a being who could slice and dice Mikura like it was nothing, a few of these creatures was child's play in comparison. But, they did have one advantage over the guardian, and that was their numbers. At the rate they were approaching, it seemed like their numbers were endless for the most part.
Even as Karas cut more than he fair share in half with his sword, at least three more took the place of the ones he had killed. It was almost frightening when some of them even made it past Karas and attacked Ratchet, prompting the teen to divert his attention back to the medic.
"Get away from him!" he screamed. Materializing a number of daggers and launching them at the creatures, Karas quickly dealt with the Scraplets just as they aimed to make Ratchet their next meal.
Watching as the small machines exploded in a small puff of smoke, Karas sighed, "You okay?"
Ratchet scowled upon ripping one of the remaining Scraplets off his shoulder, "Just fantastic."
Crushing it in his servos, Ratchet glared at the remaining Scraplets, who were being cut down mercilessly by Karas. It was almost as if time stood still as he flashed around the room, cutting the small creatures into even smaller pieces. Eventually, he even forced the remaining Scraplets to back off slightly. They might have been closer to animals than machines, but even they had a sense of self preservation.
Watching in a bit of awe, the medic kept his optics on the tiny metal eaters even as Karas landed in front of him, his sword covered in the Scraplet's own fluids.
"That was...quite something." he remarked.
Karas gave him a small nod, his attention also focused on the remaining Scraplets, "Thanks. Its a bit of a strain to move that fast, but it can be handy."
"Handy is right," Ratchet mumbled, "I have rarely seen Scraplets intimidated like this...and if we can keep them as such, perhaps I will be able to finish the repairs without any other-"
"Ratchet," the thunderous footsteps of two Autobots approuching made the medic stop, turning his attention toward the source.
Tumbling out of the tunnel to the left, Bumblebee and Bulkhead looked less than in optimal condition. In fact, the Wrecker was holding onto his arm like it was going to fall off at any moment. Miko and Raf were with them (both wielding crowbars), but there was no sign of Cliffjumper or Yurine. That of course made Karas worry just a bit but it was nothing in comparison with what happened next.
"Break out the patch-kit, we're leaking energon like-Whoa!" Bulkhead tried to ask, but he and others gasped at the sight of the remaining Scraplets.
And unfortunately, the Scraplets had a reaction upon seeing them as well.
While Karas had intimidated them into submission for the moment, upon seeing fresh sources of nourishment set them off faster than a Mikura would have upon seeing warm blood. Their mouths shot open and charged directly at the Autobots, and worst of it...they began to fly as well, something the humans didn't even think was possible until then.
Bumblebee quickly tried to blast them as fast as he could and Bulkhead even crushed a few with his mace, but it wasn't enough. There was just too many. It was like a horror show, dozens of tiny little robot piranhas quickly overwhelming the Autobots in a frenzy of teeth and pain.
But, their allies weren't willing to just sit back and watch as their friends were eaten alive.
Miko and Raf quickly rushed to their guardian's sides and smashed as many Scraplets as they could reach. And Karas? He picked a far more effective manner when it came to dealing with the flying infestation.
With his eyes glowing, the armored teen quickly dragged his fingers over his sword. Letting out a sigh, Karas then flicked his blade into the air and preformed a few hand-signs. Upon doing this, the glowing sword then started to spin through the air in a manner that would have seemed impossible to anyone else.
"Bazusōdo!"
Spinning like a buzz saw, the sword flew through the air and and viciously cut down any Scraplets that got in its way. Their tiny forms were no match for the sword and were reduced to scrap in a matter of moments. With this and the assistance of Miko and Raf, the bots were able to relax as the last of the swarm was taken off-line.
"Well," Karas sighed as he caught his sword, "That was fun..."
However, Ratchet seemed to be correct in his earlier statement. Even after slaughtering so many of them, the sounds of tiny feet treading against metal didn't stop. In fact, it only seemed to get worse. Eventually looking up, the were all horrified (Bulkhead especially) to see even more Scraplets flying above them. Hell, there were even more just floating up there then the entire swarm the group had just finished off!
"Aw Scrap..." Bulkhead groaned while in too much pain to be terrifed at the moment.
"Oh...thats just great." Karas muttered, agreeing with the green Autobot.
Almost as if provoked, the Scraplets quickly turned their attention on the group. Mouths wide, the tiny creatures approached the Autobots and humans with a clear goal in mind. But what was curious about this horde was that they weren't looking directly at the Autobots...but instead, they were focused on Karas this time.
Such a thing made Raf a bit confused...at least it did until he heard the clanking of Karas' armor...and then the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Um, Jack." Raf poked his friend, "What exactly is your armor made out of?"
Looking confused, Karas just shrugged, "You know, I'm not exactly sure really. What about it?"
"Well…" Raf gulped at the sight of the dozens of Scraplets that were approaching the duo, "Despite being magical or whatever…I think your armor is still made of metal…"
"And?"
Taking a step back, Raf looked around frantically, "And what do these things eat?"
"Metal of-"
Stopping himself, Karas looked at the horde of Scraplets before giving his arm a good flick, earning himself a loud metal 'ding' in response. Hearing this, the Scraplets imminently grinned with their razor sharp teeth and approached the young boy in a predatory fashion.
"Aw nuts." Karas' shoulders slumped, realizing both what Raf was saying…and what was about to happen.
"No offense…but I'd get running if I was you."
Shaking his helmet, Karas slowly turned his back to the horde, "Yeah, I get'cha."
With one long breath, Karas took off running down the tunnel opposite of the Scraplets. Noticing this, the horde of metal eaters quickly gave chase, flying through the air after the armored warrior. With his hunters quickly catching up to him, Karas imminently summoned a portal and dove through it, instantly transforming into one of his alternative modes. Picking this motorcycle form, the boy quickly burned rubber and drove through the large tunnel while the Scraplets gave chase.
After turning a corner however, Karas decided that he had done enough running at that point. With multiple compartments opening throughout his current form, Karas waited till just the right moment before firing a payload of missiles at the Scraplets. The tiny creatures had virtually no time to react to such a response, the missiles filling up a section of the tunnel with a few explosions and only a few Scraplet bits left as a result.
"Ha! How did you like that, you little bugs!?"
Sure, his motorcycle form wasn't as destructive as his humanoid form or as fast as his jet form, but it had its advantages.
Missiles were always a good alternative after all.
These advantages didn't seem to be enough however. Despite destroying a sizable amount of Scraplets in his first volley of missiles, a new horde of them simply replaced the destroyed ones just seconds later.
"Scrap!" Karas cursed before speeding off again.
As he drove through the tunnels that made up the Autobot's base however, Karas quickly realized that simply running from the Scraplets was turning out to be a failing strategy. This was proven to be true when a pipe stationed at the ceiling of the tunnel suddenly ruptured, spilling dozens of Scraplets into Karas' path. With no where to go in both directions, Karas quickly returned to his humanoid form and took up his sword.
He wasn't going down without a fight. These little buggers would have to tear his armor off his cold, dead bod-
Wait, armor?
"Seriously? Did I..." Karas muttered before slapping himself in the head, "Ugh, I feel like a moron."
The Scraplet horde still descending on him, Karas let out a small chuckle before generating yet another portal. Stepping though this construct, Karas just watched as the horde of metal eaters swarm him like bugs on flies on a fresh piece of meat. However, this swarm soon just lost all of their furiousity, as if their prey had suddenly vanished.
And the reason for this? Simple. Karas was no longer standing in the middle of the horde. Instead, all there was at the center of this horde of Scraplets was one Jack Darby. Wearing a strange hooded overcoat and with a familiar looking sword in his hand, the young teen smiled as he walked over the confused machines.
"Wow, should have done this from the start." the boy smirked, resting his sword on his shoulders as he made his way back the way he came. Sure it would take some time to walk back, but it was better to walk then to risk transforming and getting swarmed again.
Arriving back at the commander center however, Jack was meet with the sight of three frantic Autobots and two children acting as body guards. Still, that front was dropped the moment Miko noticed Jack and imminently turned to look at the boy's body...which was sitting right next to her.
"But I thought...?" she looked confused, her gaze going back and forth between the two 'Jacks'.
The moving one however just laughed, "What? I told you guys it was armor, didn't you think I could just take it off?"
Miko was still a bit shocked at this but Raf was able to understand what was going on...mostly, "But then what are you at the moment? You said that you're basically a soul in a suit of armor."
"Well," Jack shrugged, "Yeah, pretty much. At the moment I'm just...my soul, just given form."
It sounded weird for sure, but it was the truth. This is what Jack looked like under that armor of his. Instead of being...whatever the others might have imagined, it was just him with one or two differences, thats all.
"In a jacket? Thats it?"
Looking down at himself, Jack stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Hey, it has a hood. Could be useful if I ever need to hide my face..."
Miko laughed, "And when have you needed to do that? Head to any sporting events in your down time between fighting monsters?"
"Oh, Ha Ha." Eye twitching, Jack quickly blew off Miko's taunts and turned to Ratchet. The medic and the other two Autobots looked a bit better since the last time he saw them, but Jack couldn't help but wince at all the damage his friends had sustained due to these little creatures. It was amazing what they could do.
And to add to the bad situation, there was still no sign of Yurine or Cliffjumper...
"Laughing aside, we have bigger things to deal with. Ratchet, how is everything coming?"
Turning his attention away from the console, the medic sighed, "Not good at all. I've repaired the damages and rechecked the circuits, but the Ground Bridge still won't receive power!"
Slamming his servos into his console, Ratchet sank to his knees due to either his wounds or the hopelessness of the situation. Time was running out, Arcee and Optimus wouldn't last that much longer in the Arctic and the Scraplet issue was no where near solved.
"Do you have any idea what could be causing this?" Jack asked, getting just as frustrated as the others were.
Letting out a small sigh so to calm himself down, Ratchet quickly began to consider other possibilities. If it wasn't the circuits and the program was up and running, then why wasn't there any power? It was almost as if the system was all ready, but it just wasn't plugged in...
It hit Ratchet like a ton of bricks, "There...there must be a breach in the Energon fuel line!"
"Great," Bulkhead mumbled while Bumblebee tried to stand, "And if we weren't so breached, one of us could go out and fix it!"
That wasn't a option however, as the present Autobots were all too damaged for such a task. And even if Cliffjumper were there and unharmed, he would likely be overwhelmed before he even reached the breach, let alone fix it.
Overall, it seemed hopeless for the bots...
...but, there wasn't just Autobots present on the team.
"Where do we find it?" Jack asked, while Raf stepped forward with a determined look on his face.
"And how do we fix it?"
Later:
"Remember...we're not metal...we're okay."
Seeing the logic of sending the three organic humans who were immune to the Scraplets' hunger, Ratchet informed the three of what they had to do and where they had to go. It was rather simple task really. All they had to do was find a pipe that was leaking Energon and patch it up. It sounded simple, right?
"Right..." Miko muttered, "No pressure..."
Normally, it would have been if it wasn't for one very important factor.
Raf took a deep breath, "Just...watch your feet."
That of course, being the hordes of Scraplets that were scourging the halls while in search for something to devour.
There were dozens of them, all crawling on the floor, ceiling, and basically everywhere else they could fit. It was like this was a hive for the little machines, taking up every little space they could find. And the shear number of them made the kids uneasy. While with the the bots the little machines didn't seem that bad. But alone? Just the kids and a uncountable amount of Scraplets?
Well, they finally started to understand why the frightened Bulkhead so much.
Still, the trio had a job to do, and they weren't going to stop just because the little creatures freaked them out a bit. They had lives hanging in the balance, and that was all the motivation that they needed.
Such motivation was what pushed them ahead, right up until they found a pool of Energon collecting under a fairly large pipe with a large tear on its underside.
"There it is!" Jack called out as the three rushed over to the pipe. Putting the tool box he had brought with them, Jack turned to his companions, "Okay, lets get to work."
Nodding, Miko and Raf quickly unpacked the needed tools and the three quickly got to work. With a large metal patch in their hands, the teens were extra careful as they positioned the patch right under the tear. And with Jack taking a deep breath, he forcefully pressed the patch against the tear while Raf and Miko carefully started to seal up the gaps between the two surfaces.
It seemed to be going nice and smoothly, at least...it did until Miko heard a strange thumping noise in the background.
"You guys hear that?" she asked, looking around in the meanwhile.
Jack sighed, "No Miko, kind of busy here."
They were all busy, but Miko couldn't ignore the strange noises. It wasn't a Scraplet or a Bot, that was for sure. And whats worse, she could have sworn that it was getting closer.
"Guys, seriously..."
Letting out a sigh, Jack gave Raf a small look before sitting up, "Okay Miko, what is it?"
The girl was looking quite distressed now, her gaze was frantically looking left and right constantly, "Theres this sound...do you hear it? Its not one of the bots and its not one of those little bugs."
A brow raised, Jack listened for a moment just as she said. But for a little bit, he didn't hear anything. All he could hear was the sound of something dripping and the little Scraplets walking past them. But other than that, there wasn't anything noticeable reall-
-Thud!-
Jack's eyes shot open, "Okay..."
"You heard that, right?" Miko asked.
The teen slowly nodded, his hand unknowingly reaching for his sword. He might not be in his armor, but he would feel much better if he had the sheath's wooden texture against his skin.
"What is-"
A large crash interrupted anything the teens could have been thinking. Causing their heads to spin toward the source of such a thing. It sounded like metal tearing, or something ripping a piece of metal apart. Whatever it was, it surely wasn't a Scraplet. They made a buzzing, almost garbage disposal-like sound whenever they ate something. But this was far too loud, and far too quick to be one of them.
And then, they saw it.
Standing at the far end of the hall was something much larger than any Scraplet. While the small piranhas were about the size of a soccer ball at the most, this creature was at least the size of a over-sized beach ball. And while the Scraplets had a tiny body holding them up, this creature was made up a entirely round surface.
The appendages that were holding the creature up were several spike-like limbs, all of which were protruding from the creature's body at completely random spots. In all, it looked similar to a ball with a bunch of nails driven through it.
But its mouth was the most horrible part of the strange new creature.
Instead of the sharp, buzzing mouths of the normal Scraplets, this creature had a mouth filled with large blocky teeth. Some of them were sharp while others were flat as a board. They were just a mess, a gruesome and terrifying mess. It was all random, something that made it even more horrifying. In fact, the fact that it had no visible eyes just made it even worse for the teens.
"Wh-what is that?" Miko muttered, resisting the urge to vomit at the sight of such a grotesque monster.
The lumbering creature slowly inched its way toward the three, its 'legs' stabbing into the ground and the walls as it pulled itself along.
"I don't know..." Jack took a step back, "Maybe its just another version of a Scraplet or something?"
-THUNK-
Those words died in his throat as a sudden burst of wind brushed by Jack's face. Looking slightly to the left, Jack nearly fall back at what he saw.
Next to him was a fairly large spike, just a few inches away from his face and sticking out of a nearby pipe. Somehow, it had traveled at such a speed and power that Jack didn't even see it move, let alone pierce the metal pipe like it was tissue paper.
"Ah!" Raf fell backward, he and Miko having been also caught off guard by the sudden projectile.
His body shaking slightly, Jack looked back at the strange Scraplet, "Did that thing...just shoot that at me?"
But if that was the case, then why? The other Scraplets hadn't even noticed them while they walked through their swarm. Why had this noticed them but attacked them as well? What reason did it have to do that? They were organic, not machines. It made no sense.
"Jack..." Raf muttered, tugging on the boy's arm, "We...we should go, the breach is fixed. L-lets go tell Ratchet so we can get the others back..."
"Right..." he nodded.
Standing up, the three slowly started to move back down the way they came...
-THUNK-THUNK-THUNK-
...until three more spikes slammed into the wall next to them, most of which nearly hit Jack and Miko this time.
"I don't think it likes us." Miko gulped.
Jack couldn't help but agree and by the looks of things, it wasn't willing to let them go either. If they simply tried to leave, this 'Scraplet' might just try to kill them anyway, even if they were organic. Perhaps it was some sort of advanced Scraplet and was meant to deal with threats instead of just eating them. They were machines, so such a idea wasn't that impossible.
"Guys," Jack sighed, "How about you go ahead and tell Ratchet that the Bridge is good to go? I'll deal with this."
Raf and Miko looked a bit concerned about that idea, "Jack? You sure?"
Narrowing his eyes at the strange abomination, Jack cracked his neck a bit, "Yeah, it'll be fine. I've dealt with much worse things than this. It'll be fine."
With a portal appearing in front of Jack, the teen gave the others a reassuring smile before stepping through. Emerging out the other side as Karas, the tiro noticed a imminent reaction in the nearby Scraplets. They all stared at him with a animistic look in their optics while the larger one merely approached the teens at a even greater speed. And while Raf and Miko didn't notice, Karas could have sworn he saw the larger Scraplet...drooling at the sight of his armored state.
It was as disgusting as it sounded.
Karas gave the closest Scraplets a careful gaze before drawing his sword, "Get going guys, this is going to get nasty in a minute or two."
The sounds of the Scraplets buzzing mouths echoed through the halls, prompting the two teenagers to consider and eventually accept their friend's advice. Sure, they didn't like leaving him in the middle of such a mess, but what could they do?
"Just meet us back in the command center, alright Jack?" Raf asked as he and Miko slowly started to back away.
"Right."
With that confirmation, the two teens quickly took off down the hall. Karas was relieved to see such a thing, as it allowed him to focus on the Scraplets completely. It was unlikely that the situation was going to be as simple as a game of cat and mouse again.
To add to such an idea, the larger Scraplet attacked the teen once again. Using the same spikes as before, the massive monster of a machine aimed to impale Karas through the shoulders before planting one directly in the center of his head.
However, Karas had a much better reaction time as Jack did. So with a simple twist of his body, Karas dodged two of the spikes while merely snatched the third out of the air, just inches before it would have reached his helmet. Even so however, the teen couldn't help but feel just how hot the spike was.
"Super heated?" he mumbled, looking directly at the spike. It was glowing a bright orange color and was extremely hot, almost as if it had just been pulled from a forge.
"Oh, I get it." he mumbled before dropping the spike, "You create these things out of the material you devour and then keep them super heated so to cut through any armor that might get in your way."
Such a idea made sense. With a tactic like that, the smaller Scraplets could get to the more vital part of a Cybertronian faster and disable it quite easily. Thicker armor must have been a pain to get through after all, so a shortcut could easily work in their favor. That could then leave the poor soul defenseless and ripe for the picking until his unfortunate end.
Shifting one of his legs back slightly, Karas let out of small chuckle, "A nasty trick to be sure."
"But, I'm a bit too fast for ticks such as that."
And then, he shot forward like a bullet, even leaving a small afterimage behind him before it followed in his footsteps. Karas' feet barely even touched the floor as he ran forward, moving so fast that it was almost as if he was simply gliding over the ground below him. And any Scraplets that got in his way were either knocked to the side or annihilated as his foot traveled through them like a train and a piece of paper.
The parasites weren't about to let this pass however. The smaller ones quickly leaped at the young guardian while the abnormal shot even more spikes at him. But due to his speed, none of these attempts worked. Karas either shifted his body so to dodge them or flicked them out of his path with a slight twitch of his sword.
And when he reached his destination, it was over in a millisecond.
It appeared as if nothing had happened at first, Karas was merely standing behind the larger Scraplet with his sword extended and the Scraplet was unmoving. But after a few seconds, the Scraplet suddenly dropped to the ground, its body having been cut in half at its 'jaw-line'.
Flicking the collective fluids off of his sword, Karas looked back at the remains of the strange Scraplet, "Well, that was simple enoug-"
-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-
His words died in his throat upon hearing such sounds, "Ah crap..."
Turning slightly to the side, the guardian noticed two things.
One, there was a giant hole in a nearby wall. Likely created by the Scraplets as they started to spread throughout the base. And two, there was countless more of these abnormal Scraplets inside the hole...and they were all staring at him (or as close to staring as they could get with no eyes).
"Well..."
-THUNK!-
Vanishing for a mere moment, Karas nearly became a pin cushion at that very moment. Gazing back at where he had been, the teen took notice of the multiple spikes that were now sticking out of the wall opposite of the Scraplets. They had all attacked at once, unleashing a swarm of spikes that impaled and tore apart everything in their path.
With his grip tightening, Karas took a step back as the Scraplets started to emerge from the hole they had crafted. The hall was too narrow for him to deal with all of these creatures at once. Karas needed to lure them away, into a more open part of the base so he could have a better range of movement and-
"Hm?"
The remaining Scraplets, the smaller ones who had been watching this entire incident suddenly let out a strange screech and flew into the air. Every single one of the little machines were just floating above them with their mouths wide for some reason. They buzzed around for a moment before taking off toward the other end of the hall.
"What?" Karas mumbled, "Whats with these guys?"
They had been passive for a moment or two, what had changed? What could have caused them to suddenly lash out like this? It had to be pretty big or some...
Karas suddenly realized something, "The Bridge...they must have activated the bridge."
And with all that power concentrated at one place, the Scraplets must have been driven into a frenzy of sorts. They likely could sense such power, and now they wanted to sink their tiny teeth into whatever it was. But, such a notion would just lead them back to the command center with the Bots, his friends, and...
"Arcee and Optimus..." he mumbled, the horror of the situation clear in his voice.
Optimus and Arcee would be coming through that bridge any moment, likely wounded and tired due to their prolonged stay in the Arctic. They would be fresh meat for the Scraplets and would be overwhelmed in moments...and they'd be...
Turning on a dime, Karas quickly took off after the Scraplet horde, "Not going to let that happen!"
Racing through the halls, Karas quickly caught up to the massive cloud of machines. But he wasn't the only one that was on the chase. Not far behind the armored teen was the abnormal Scraplets, who were constantly trying to shoot him down during the entire exchange. They might have been too large to fly, but their strange appendages allowed them to leap at a speed that was quite remarkable for their size and build.
Karas didn't care about such a thing however, either deflecting or just ignoring the spikes as they nearly ripped into his body.
Eventually, the teen and the horde of Scraplets came to a halt inside the Command center. The Ground Bridge was lit, swirling with energies that had been denied to it due to the damages to the base. And the bots were there as well, Bulkhead barely standing among them as Karas dropped to the ground right in front of him.
"Hows it going big guy?" he joked, his tone just a bit down due to the situation at hand.
Bulkhead let out a tired sigh, "Oh, you know...about to play bait for a bunch of metal eating pests. So...nothing new."
"Bait?" Karas mumbled confusingly.
"Yeah, they hate the cold apparently..." Bulkhead moaned before focusing on the Ground Bridge, "But...it seems its time for me to do something incredibly stupid..."
Looking between the wounded wrecker and the Ground Bridge, Karas had to admit...this didn't seem like a good idea. What if the Scraplets survived long enough to chow down on Bulkhead? What if they caught him before he reached the other side? What if they didn't want a wounded Wrecker to feast on while the others were still in the base?
It all sounded very risky, especially with how damaged Bulkhead looked.
"Stupid sounds right..." Karas muttered, "...although, I have a slightly worse idea."
Bulkhead nearly ignored what the boy said and started to make his way toward the Ground Bridge, "And whats...that?"
"This."
A sudden pressure exploded in one of Bulkhead's legs. With how unstable he already felt, this knocked the Wrecker on his aft in a couple of seconds. When his back hit the ground however, he noticed Karas standing right next to where he had previously been, his arm extended out like he had hit something.
"Lets switch."
Bulkhead's optics widened, "What are you-"
"Karasutaron."
Several expositions suddenly filled the air above the bots. Looking up, they were shocked to see that several Scrapets had been destroyed, their remains falling to the ground below. The remaining horde of the pests however, they remained unaffected. Instead, their attention was then drawn to Karas, whose hand was smoking for some odd reason.
"How about it?" he asked, several energy daggers materializing in between his fingers, "How about we go on a trip?"
The Scraplets released a ear splitting screech and launched themselves at the teen, their bodies forming a cloud of metal eating parasites as they rained down on him. But Karas seemed unworried. He merely turned his back to the swarm and ran toward the Ground Bridge, with the Scraplets following close behind him.
"This has to be one of my dumbest ideas yet..."
Same time, the Arctic:
The cold winds of the Arctic environment raged on, blowing snow and ice through the air. It was a barren environment, where no real life could ever hope to thrive indefinitely. Any attempts would normally be met with death. But, for two special cases, there was one small bit of hope for their escape from such a death trap.
"Its about...time..." Arcee mumbled.
Arcee and Optimus' time in the frozen environment had been a hell touch one. Having far overstayed their welcome, the Cybertronian's bodies were at the point of nearly shutting down, permanently.
But when a Ground Bridge suddenly appeared in front of them, even after all their attempts to contact the base...
Well, it was a sight for sore eyes to be sure.
However, something they did not expect to see when the Bridge appeared...was Karas to come running out of it with his sword drawn.
Or, that a entire horde of Scraplets (after so many years at war, the two Autobots could easily recognize the little monsters that have taken so many of their friends in the past) would be following right behind him. Hell, they were actually shocked to see just how many of the little creatures there were. It was insane, there was enough to slaughter a entire platoon of Autobots.
What in the All Spark had been happening while they were gone?
The chilling atmosphere of the Arctic had a instant effect on the Scraplets though. Despite how enraged they were as they poured out of the bridge, the tiny machines were suddenly stopped dead in their tracks the moment they touched the freezing Arctic air. Their little joints were frozen solid and all the life in their eyes promptly vanished as they fell to the snow covered ground.
In a matter of moments, the entire Scraplet swarm was immobilized in the snow, unable to move or feed.
Finally stopping, Karas gazed at the swarm before turning his attention to the two Autobots, "Sorry for the mess, we kind of have a bit of a infestation back at the-"
It happened in a instant. Several more creatures emerged from the Ground bridge, all homing in right on Karas. They were all much larger than the normal Scraplets, and steam was emerging from their twisted mouths. One in particular appeared right above Karas, aiming to devour the boy right then and there with its humongous void of a mouth.
It was cut in half before its drool even touched his armor.
The others quickly spread out and slammed into the snow, pushing themselves upward as more steam billowed forth from their mouths.
"Great," Karas observed as the abnormal corpse fell to the ground in a thud, "You guys are a bit too tough for some cold to take care of you, right?"
They didn't reply, but anyone could see the warm glow from inside their mouths. It was like there was a fire at the center of their bodies, keeping them from going belly-side up like the rest of the Scraplets. A nice alteration, even if it annoyed the crap out of Karas.
"Well," he mused before resting his sword on his shoulder, "If thats the case then, I guess I'll just have to deal with the rest of this mess."
His sword suddenly expanded, the blade splitting in two down the middle as it glowed with purpose.
"After all, I'm sure my friends are a bit chilly, wouldn't you agree?"
The Base, moments later.
Minutes had passed in silence.
The Autobots were in shock at what just happened, as were the humans. Karas had just lead the horde of Scraplets (along with some giant ones) through the Ground Bridge right after he knocked Bulkhead on his aft. It was shocking, it was reckless, and it was also quite dangerous.
So obviously, the team was relieved when they noticed something that WASN'T a Scraplet walk through the Ground Bridge.
Arcee and Optimus were first, the two quickly stepping out of the portal with the last of their strength. Both of their bodies were covered in a thick sheet of ice and snow. They had to feel terrible, especially after all that time in the sub-zero temperatures. It was written all over their faces, even if they were relieved to be home now.
And following them was Karas, who was also coated in something. But, instead of ice and snow, he was covered in some sort of frozen fluid.
If someone had to guess, it would have been that it was the remains of those giant Scraplets.
Ratchet quickly sat up and rushed over to the freezer burned bots despite his own injuries and expected them. Meanwhile, the other bots just sat back and sighed. It seemed as if the trouble was over for the moment. The Scraplets were gone and had been returned, safe and online.
What else could they be happy about?
Certainly not seeing a lone Scraplet fall from the ceiling, its teeth buzzing as it fell right toward Karas. Everyone shouted out a warning to him, even Optimus and Arcee looked on in shock as the Scraplet descended on Karas. The teen in question didn't seem worried however. In fact, Karas just seemed irritated upon seeing the creature. The teen had hoped to be rid of these damn things.
But before he could cut the final Scraplet in two, the little pest suddenly exploded after someone shot it out of the sky.
Noting that none of the present bots were in any condition to do such a thing, everyone turned to their attention to who had done the deed.
"Wow, that was a close one."
Strolling out of one of the base's tunnels, a familiar looking red Autobot grinned. His body had a few scratches on it but overall, Cliffjumper looked absolutely fine. A real difference from the condition of the other members of his team. He even had Yurine sitting on his shoulder like nothing had happened.
But upon getting more than his fair share of looks from everyone else, Cliffjumper had only one thing to say.
"Did I miss something?"
Chapter End.
-Sorry for how long this took. I started a Dark Souls based crossover and that took some of my attention away. But still, here is one long Chapter for your troubles.
-Can anyone guess what the 'Abnormal' Scraplets were based off of? Well, I doubt many will know. But if you know the series 'All you Need is Kill' and know what a 'Mimic' looks like, than you'll get what these Scraplets were meant to look like. They were basically an idea I had when it comes to a next step in a 'Scraplet' evolution. What if they grow after they eat so much? What if they could overcome their weakness to cold? How would they do that? Could they have other methods of defending themselves than just eating things? Well, thats where this came from.
*Karasutaron = Crow Talons*
-A technique which has Karas summoning and throwing a series of energy daggers in Raid succession. They move so fast that the attack appears to be instantaneous. The name comes from the apparent the Daggers have while thrown, as they almost look like a set of Talons rushing through the air while attacking some poor defenseless prey.