Chapter 11 Death on a Wing
Oriona didn't know what to do with Wingdagger anymore. She knew that it would be rocky and difficult to deal with her after the death of her sparkling, but she didn't expect this of all things to happen. She expected violence, maybe even screaming and yelling, random acts of screaming, but not what she was doing. She had withdrawn from reality almost completely.
She was distant and unresponsive, ignoring everything around her. She would stare at something on the wall for hours on end, her arms held to her chest, and rocking herself as if she were holding a sparkling. She was not interested in anything anymore, standing around as everyone made preparations for another invasion. No amount of shouting or shoving could get her to help or move.
Starscream was being affected by this immediately. He was sluggish and often lapsed into silence in the middle of a sentence, staring off into nothing. His reaction time was lower than normal, letting him get overpowered by the young recruits time and time again during training. His outlook on life took a wicked twist to where he sounded a few seconds away from suicide.
Everyone was sure that sooner or later one of them was going to snap and all hope would be lost. None of them could understand the pain of losing a sparkling, not even Oriona who had given up her sparklings; the pain was different. She ordered everyone to give the grieving mother space and to let her come out of her depression at her own pace. There was nothing any of them could do to alleviate the pain.
"Oriona," Prowl called from where she was typing at the keyboard, "we've got trouble."
"What kind?" she asked while trying to keep herself firmly planted so that Tracks would not fall while trying to repair some of the wires in the ceiling.
"Decepticons," she replied before hitting a few buttons on the keyboard. "And they're moving in fast!"
Oriona waited until Tracks had jumped down before opening her com link and ordering everyone out onto the planet's surface. She told Tracks to stay behind and help Side Swipe monitor everything, earning a soft whine from the younger femme. Prowl reproached her daughter, telling her that any order given was to be followed, no matter how much she hated it. Both of them spun around after Tracks shuffled off to stand by the younger mech and raced out of the headquarters as fast as they could. Prowl smiled sadly before sighing that Tracks got her attitude from her father, to which Oriona let out a sad laugh; she missed her cousins terribly.
They passed Wingdagger on the way, the mourning femme showing some recognition in her optics. She asked what was happening, wondering why everyone was running around. Prowl told her that the newly freed Decepticons were attacking. Wingdagger's red optics flashed before she asked if Shockblast was amongst the mechs attacking. Prowl confessed that she did not know who exactly was attacking the planet, only that they were.
"I'm coming with you," Wingdagger stated without hesitation. "I'll take Shockblast's life before he even has a chance to snatch another innocent being from this planet."
Oriona was slightly worried about the look of murder in her friend's optics, but she held her glossa. She told her to follow close before they continued down the hallway. When they got outside, Wingdagger took to the air immediately, flipping herself around Thundercracker as he flew down to meet her. They preformed a customary Seeker greeting-dance in midair before flipping over to blast off to where laser were ripping across the sky.
Oriona and Prowl transformed and took off after the Seekers, speeding through the deserted streets. They split up when lasers started shooting at them, Prowl charging head on into another mech while Oriona skirted the group of mechs fighting with each other. She wanted a bit of height on her opponents before she would fight them, just so that she had the element of surprise and did not end up having to get saved. She managed to find a building that had gotten the windows broken and hid inside, waiting with her gun out to catch a Decepticon off guard.
She smirked as one ran by seconds after she slipped past the door. She slunk after him for a few steps before lunging and tackling him to the ground. She spun her gun around and pistol whipped the mech unconscious; just because she use to be the Autobot leader didn't mean she was above fighting dirty. When you're half everyone's height for most of your life, you learn how to bring the offenders down to your level quickly. She scuttled off the moment she heard others coming, crouching down in the shadows of another building to avoid detection.
"Definitely Oriona's work," a mech laughed.
"That had to hurt," another laughed.
"Poor sucker," another one agreed.
She peeked out and sighed with relief; it was Wheeljack, Hot Shot, and Blur. She slipped out of her hiding spot and slipped up beside Hot Shot, earning a squawk of surprise from her son as she leant on him. She requested an update on what was happening and Blur told her that apart from causing a lot of property damage, the Decepticons were running around like idiots doing nothing. She told them to keep their senses sharp and to let her know the instant the Decepticons actually started acting like they were attacking. She then turned and set off at a brisk trot to see if there was anyone with different information.
There was almost no fighting going on, even with all of the Decepticons in the air shooting at them. Whenever one of their men got close to the flying buffoons, they took off cackling like idiots. It would seem that they got lessons from Snowcat. Starscream radioed in to report that he had spotted some Decepticons moving towards the refineries, but the moment they had caught sight of him they turned and fled back to the main fight. They wanted to slip away without anyone noticing so that they wouldn't have to struggle to collect the energon without Scorponok's Terrorcons.
"Hey!" she heard someone shout from behind her. "What is she doing?! Wingdagger! You're going to get yourself killed!"
She looked up and saw her friend making a beeline for something hovering in front of one of the huge towers native to Iacon. She thought her friend had finally snapped and was going to commit suicide, until she saw the purple figure firing on the mechs below; Shockblast had finally made his appearance. Oriona felt a twinge of fear go through her spark as Shockblast spotted Wingdagger. She heard him shout something at her and Wingdagger's reaction was to snarl and speed up.
They collided in mid air, tumbling end over end while exchanging blows. The Cybertronians on the ground were cheering Wingdagger on, snarling at Shockblast each time he tried to shoot her off of him. They broke apart for a few minutes, circling each other and shooting insults at each other. Shockblast charged at her and caught her around the middle, only to receive a furious pummelling as Wingdagger retaliated. She was screaming with fury, her optics ablaze with more hatred than Oriona thought Cybertron-ally possible.
They were tumbling around in the air for another few minutes, their armor dented from the number of punches landed. Wingdagger had even gone so low to kick and scratch the much larger mech whenever she got the chance, spitting in his optic to make him howl. The Decepticons had long since retreated, chased away by the Seekers that had taken Wingdagger's distraction as a signal to attack, leaving Shockblast all by himself. The deranged mech let out a snarl as the two of them broke away, his head spinning around violently as he searched for his comrades. He let out a shout of "cowards" before turning to take off.
Wingdagger lunged and one of the daggers hidden inside her wrist compartment stabbed into Shockblast's back. He howled in pain before twisting around in an attempt to dislodge her as she stabbed her other dagger into his back. He fired his cannon off several times, tearing the tower behind them apart. The top of the tower tipped towards them, letting out an audio-shattering rumble as it twisted around. Wingdagger looked up as the shadow engulfed her, letting out a scream of terror before both she and Shockblast were struck by it.
Shockblast's back was torn open as her daggers slid down. He used the chance to break away from her, the daggers firmly lodged in his back as he flew away. Energon was cascading out of his wounds, but he only laughed as the tower smashed into Cybertron's surface, trapping Wingdagger beneath. Oriona let out a scream of denial as Shockblast fired once at the rubble.
"That'll teach you, you miserable glitch!" he shouted before turning and flying away, energon falling from him in globs.
"WINGDAGGER!" Starscream's voice shattered the surrounding air before he dove out of the sky towards the fallen tower. "NO!"
Oriona was racing across the ground, her spark hammering in her chest as tears built up in her optics. Wingdagger had to survive, she couldn't be dead. It was Dag, nothing took her out, nothing killed her, nothing. The other Seekers had already landed by the time she got there, digging desperately through the rubble, screaming their fallen comrade's name. Oriona started hauling away chunks of metal, screaming her friend's name at the top of her intakes. Tears were blurring her vision, the panic of the others around her making her dig that much faster. She could hear the other ground-based mechs arrive behind her, shouting to one another to start digging.
Starscream let out a long trailing keen of pain, drawing everyone's attention. Oriona couldn't remember what happened first, her dragging herself over to Starscream or him hauling Wingdagger's grey form out of the rubble. The whole area became dead silent, the sight of the offlined femme in Starscream's arms chilling everyone to the core. Her body was crushed from the force of the impact and only Starscream's arms kept her back from snapping in half. Oriona let out a weak whimper before she collapsed against Starscream's side, her hand resting on her friend's chest in a desperate attempt to find a spark pulse below the grey armor.
"She's dead," Starscream whispered before he pulled her body closer, hiding his face in his mate's neck. "Wingdagger...no.... NO!"
He tipped his head back and a loud keen of agony split the air. Thundercracker let out a soft, shaky sob before his keen joined his cousin's, his lower and deeper than Starscream's. Skywarp let out a wailing keen from where he had collapsed on the ground, shaking his head in denial at the sight of his trinemate's mate's dead body. The other Seekers started adding their own keens into the mourning song, each one different from the rest.
A Seeker's keen represented the pain they felt over someone's passing; it was hard to tell to someone inexperienced, but each mech and femme was saying something different in their keen. Thundercracker was crying "friend", Skywarp "comrade", and Starscream was crying "mate". Oriona wished that she could keen with Starscream, but she lacked the ability to. She didn't have the right voice box to make the sounds necessary to make an appropriate keen.
Her antennas perked curiously as another keen joined in with the rest, deep and vibrating the very air. She looked up and gawked at her mate as Megatron tilted his head to the sky and repeated "sister" over and over again. His voice, though deep, did not overpower Starscream's, but Oriona felt her mate's pain over the loss of her friend. He had considered Wingdagger his sister because of how close she and Oriona were; Oriona closed her optics and silently thanked her mate for voicing her pain.
She wasn't sure how long it was until the keening finally stopped, each Seeker quivering with barely contained sobs. She looked around and saw every other mech and femme had their heads bowed in respect as Starscream cradled his mate's corpse to his chest, placing kisses along her shattered frame in farewell.
"May the winds carry your spark to the Matrix," he whispered before pressing his face into Wingdagger's neck. "And may your wings never lose their freedom. Goodbye, Wingdagger; I will miss you."
"Goodbye, Wingdagger," Oriona whispered before she rested a hand on her friend's shoulder, bowing her head as more tears threatened to fall. "You were the best friend anyone could ask for. Rest peacefully and say hello to Padlock, the Twins, and Ironhide for me."
Starscream stood up, holding his mate's frame tightly to his, before he took to the air and made his way slowly back to base. Oriona stood up rubbing her optics, sniffling as the others started to head back to base. She felt a presence nearby and looked around curiously, wondering who was making her spinal unit prickle. She spotted a huge red mech standing on top of one of the buildings and rage bubbled through her fuel lines.
Megatron, who was about to take off, paused at the sensation of her fury down the bond. He turned to see what was wrong, spotted the mech as well, and let out a snarl of outrage. Skywarp didn't even need an order to teleport over to the mech, grab him by the throat, and throw him as hard as he could off the building. Oriona bolted forward and slammed the mech into a building as he stood up, punching him repeatedly.
"You fragger!" she screamed. "You fragger! This is all your fault!"
"How...ow! Is this...sonnovaglitch, slag off! My fault?" the mech demanded between attempts to dodge her blows.
"You let Shockblast out!" she snarled before punching him again, relishing in his grunts of pain. "You're the reason Padlock's dead. You're the reason Wingdagger's dead. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT MY BEST FRIEND IT DEAD!"
The mech let out a grunt before giving her a hard shove that made her stumble. He made to lunge at her, only to find himself pinned by Megatron as the much larger mech moved in to protect his mate. He let out a low growl of warning as the red mech tried to reach his gun, tightening his grip on the other's neck to keep him still. There were several loud thuds before Oriona shied against her mate's body, staring at the two massive mechs that had their guns turned on them.
"Lower your weapons," Megatron growled before his shoulder guns were pointing at the red mech's head. "Or Hot Rod's head will be no more."
Springer let out an angry growl, refusing to listen to Megatron. The other mech, however, lowered his weapon obediently. He smiled at Cybertron's leaders before patting Springer's shoulder.
"Drop it, young one," he chuckled. "Rodimus has no more power over us in the presence of Cybertron's leaders."
"How can you say that?" Springer demanded, turning on the smaller mech with outrage in his optics. "You left Cybertron to follow Rodimus, now you claim not to? Are you as treacherous as Prowl?"
The older mech laughed before shaking his head. "You're duty and loyalty should be to Cybertron above all else, Springer," he replied before nodding to Oriona and Megatron. "These two are our leaders; obey them."
Springer stared at the older mech in disbelief before letting out a strangled noise and crossing his arms over his chest. Oriona and Megatron exchanged a grin before giving Rodimus a smug look; Landmine always did like them best. Rodimus looked ready to explode with fury, grinding his dental bands together until Megatron slammed him into the building again.
"I'll make you a deal, Rodimus," Megatron sneered. "Get us an audience with this Alpha-Q character and I'll let you live."
Rodimus struggled against him for a moment before growling. "Good luck with that; he doesn't see anyone at anytime unless it is to give him energon."
Megatron smirked before tightening his grip, making the other mech gag. "Well, you'll just have to convince him, won't you?" he sneered before tossing him to Springer. "Take the message to Alpha-Q. Remember, if you don't get the audience as I requested, you will suffer."
Springer caught Rodimus and the glare the two leaders received was enough to display their disgust. Landmine told the two of them to get moving; he was staying behind to help the planet recover from Wingdagger's passing. They watched the two mechs turn and head off Cybertron and Oriona had the sensation of a hand running over her cheek before a ghostly mech took off after the other two.
"Did...did anyone else...?" she whispered as she shuffled closer to her mate.
"You'll be seeing more of him soon," Landmine grunted before shaking his head. "I'm not sure who he is, but he was recreated by Alpha-Q to terminate Galvatron; he failed miserably."
"That explains a lot," Megatron grumbled before wrapping an arm protectively around Oriona's waist. "Come on; we'd better go make sure Starscream hasn't killed anyone." He shook his head sadly. "This is going to be a huge blow to moral."
Oriona couldn't help but agree. Her spark would break many more times before it could heal from the loss.
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"G-gone?" Thrust whimpered before twisting himself away from where Rodimus was standing just beyond his shadow prison. "NO! No, not Wingdagger!"
"Calm down," Sideways murmured, gripping his shoulders tightly. "Thrust, calm down."
Thrust let out a loud keen of anguish, hiding his face in his hands as he sobbed. His sister was dead, gone, and Sideways expected him to calm down?! This idiot obviously knew nothing about a Seeker's ties to the ones closest to them! He hadn't even been able to try to defend his sister, to help her the same way she had helped him. His pride use to stand in his way, now he was trapped within Unicron's body. He shook his head angrily as he continued to keen, ignoring everyone's demands for him to shut up.
The ghost, even though he was a Seeker model as well, snarled at him to hold his breath. Wingdagger, according to him, was not worth his keening. Thrust let out a vicious snarl before launching himself at the light beyond his prison. His fingertips just brushed the light before the powerful grip on his legs sucked him backwards, making him yowl in fright. The free mechs laughed at his struggles until Sideways let out a low snarl to silence them.
He rested a hand on Thrust's shoulder, whispering that everything was going to be alright. He reminded the distressed Seeker that she no longer felt any pain and was safe. Thrust couldn't argue with that logic, no matter how much it pained him to think that his sister was gone. He let out a low keen before twisting himself around to curl up against Sideways' leg.
There was shouting in the hallway before Shockblast stormed in, energon still streaming down his back where Wingdagger's daggers were embedded. He demanded to know why they had retreated when they had almost reached the energon refineries. Alpha-Q replied that they didn't have the resources to keep waiting for them to get off their afts and reach the energon. Shockblast let out a snarl before aiming his gun at Alpha-Q, snarling that he was going to be in command from now on.
Thrust watched in surprise as Alpha-Q separated from the cord on his back and fled the chamber. Shockblast roared and chased after him, snarling that he would kill him. Sideways told Thrust to stay put ("Like I can do anything else?") before he raced after the pair, his body fading away the moment he left the shadows.
Rodimus turned to Springer and told him to find Arcee as quickly as he could; they were heading back to Cybertron. Springer demanded to know what he was planning and he replied that he'd catch up after he made sure Alpha-Q survived. Thrust looked at the ghost mech as he chased after Rodimus, wondering how on Cybertron they expected to stop Shockblast. The mech had always been insane.
He felt a rumble along his legs and looked around him in surprise. It felt like Unicron was splitting in half! But that couldn't happen, could it? He felt the shaking increase and immediately covered his head, yelping in fear; he was such a coward. He became aware of shouting seconds before Shockblast burst back into the room, snarling and punching the walls. Sideways appeared behind him and slipped quickly over to Thrust's cowering frame.
"What happened?" he asked quietly.
"Alpha-Q split Unicron's head from his body," he whispered in reply.
"How?" he gasped.
Sideways shook his head before pressing his hand to Thrust's faceplate, glaring out at Shockblast as he stormed around the antechamber. Thrust gripped his lover's hand before asking what was going to happen now. Sideway's pet his helm reassuringly before replying that their plans didn't change; he was still collecting as much energon as he could from Unicron's body. If all went well, they would escape with fully formed bodies.
Author's note: Sorry for the wait, everyone! Kinda had computer problems; A.K.A dad had the computer all week because mom was out of town. Anyways, not much happening here other than Wingdagger dying. I was almost in tears writing it XD i'm so pathetic.