A/N: I think, out of all the chapters, this one is my favorite. There's just something about it that I really, really like.
Okay readers, listen up. I've gotten this question several times already and I guess I just haven't made it clear enough. The focus of this plot arc is the Seekers. Meaning, there will be no new(er) characters arriving at any point before this plot arc is finished. Thank you for being concerned, but PLEASE STOP asking about Sideswipe. HE IS NOT COMING YET. He's due for an appearance (along with a number of others), but NOT NOW. Thank you.
Sweet cheddar-baked Jeebus, my birthday is next week!
Disclaimer: Transformers is property of HasTak and some other companies whose names elude me.
'Til All Are One
Chapter Twelve: Nowhere Else To Go
Relief and surprise produced a truly enjoyable sensation when they mixed and that sensation washed over Optimus when he saw the Autobot insignia gleam scarlet on the nosecone of the jet. Skyfire had arrived and the Autobots now had one up on the Decepticon Seekers.
His relief died quickly, however.
Spotting the newcomer as well, Megatron freed his right arm and the fusion cannon and released a volley of fire on the Valkyrie jet.
Optimus forced Megatron to the ground, but it was already too late. Skyfire was hit and going down, even as he tried vainly to pull up. Megatron laughed, long and loud. He grinned smugly at the Autobot commander.
"You're next." he said gleefully.
Primus himself could not have predicted what happened next.
There was a scream. It was a blood-curdling, energon-freezing scream that could make even the hardiest of mechs shudder in fear. It was a spark-deep howl of agony; of someone who had spent far too long pushing away a sharp pain and now it was coming out all at once.
And it was coming from Starscream.
Optimus watched in stark amazement as the Seeker transformed and landed, digging massive furrows into the sand, his face twisted in an expression of utter rage, his optics a bright, furious, blazing red. He raised his arms. The null rays warmed and the laser cannons hummed.
And he was not aiming at Optimus.
The Autobot leader flung himself away and covered his head with his arms just as Starscream emptied every scrap of firepower he possessed into Megatron, screaming incoherently all the while.
Ratchet stopped his work to stare and Sunstreaker shouted something incoherent, but it was very much what Ratchet was thinking.
Upon hearing their commander's screaming (and a shot to the wings each, courtesy of Ironhide), Thundercracker and Skywarp left off fighting the other Autobots and banked sharply, transforming on the fly and staggering on the landing. Skywarp just about fell over, but Thundercracker caught him.
"What's he doing?!" Skywarp asked, thoroughly lost and confused. He knew Starscream held nothing but loathing and resentment for Megatron, but surely this was going a tad too far?
"He's gone mad!" Thundercracker hissed, likewise confused but certain of that one fact.
"We gotta stop him! C'mon!" Skywarp made to run forward, but the blue Seeker wrapped his arms around his comrade to prevent him from running into the fray.
"No! Skywarp!"
"Starscream! Stop it! STOP IT!!"
"Have you completely glitched?! It's too danger--"
"Megatron'll kill him! Starscream, stop it!"
Skywarp struggled to escape Thundercracker's grip. It didn't even occur to him to teleport. He was afraid for Starscream; that the Seeker would get himself killed.
The Autobots could only stare.
Then, all the thunder and screams and snarling energy, all the noise, simply stopped. Skywarp's last panicked shout faded quickly in the sudden silence. Optimus raised his head now, peering out from underneath his hands at the scene. Through a haze of smoke, he saw Starscream. The Seeker was still standing, but he was swaying and then he slumped to his knees. With hot air hissing from his vents, his optics went totally dark and he fell over, hitting sand with a loud, painful-sounding crunch.
Megatron was still standing, but he looked much worse for wear now. Great chunks of his armor were scorched and bubbling; smaller chunks had ripped away completely. Every joint was sparking and energon oozed down one leg, coating the metal. By all rights, he should at least be on his knees.
But he was still standing.
He wiped away the energon trickling down the side of his face into his optic and checked the damage on his body. Judging from his expression, he was more surprised than dismayed at what had been inflicted. Cautiously, Optimus tightened his grip on his gun and brought it ready to bear.
"So unwise." Megatron growled at Starscream's prone form and raised his fusion cannon again.
The weapon didn't even get the chance to whine. Three energy blasts pelted him at once. One of them had come from Optimus -- he simply would not let Megatron shoot Starscream, enemy or not; the Seeker was utterly defenseless -- the other two from Thundercracker and Skywarp. Caught off-guard, Megatron staggered, but caught himself.
"Don't even think about it." Optimus warned. He had the Decepticon leader at point-blank range, rifle barrel buried in one of the gaps in the silver armor, very close to a main energon line.
Megatron looked around and saw that every Autobot functional enough to hold up a weapon had one trained on him and even his very own Seekers were glaring at him with murderous rage, lasers primed.
Hmm... This was not favorable.
"The battle is yours today, Prime." Megatron growled. He had the air of one who had just done someone else a great favor.
"As the war shall be mine as well, Megatron." Optimus shot right back.
Without another word, the Decepticon lord stepped back and transformed back to his jet-mode and tore off over the dunes, leaving only a burning trail of heat behind. Very, very slowly, Optimus lowered his rifle.
The air around them quivered like a taut bowstring.
It snapped when someone let out a strangled cry.
In his efforts to free himself from the confines of the sand, Skyfire had transformed. He was sitting up now, staring with optics wide with shock at Thundercracker and Skywarp. He looked just as startled to see them as they were to see him.
Optimus looked quickly between Skyfire and the Seekers. A long-ago conversation came back to him and he suddenly feared for how this situation was going to unfold. He readied himself to jump in if it came to that.
"'Fire?" Skywarp whispered in a tone that sounded very much like longing mixed with a healthy dose of surprise; taking one staggering step towards the Valkyrie. But Skyfire surged to his feet and with a sound that was almost a spark-wrenching sob, he transformed back to his alt-mode and fled into the shimmering blue sky. Skywarp lurched forward to follow.
"Don't!" Thundercracker hissed, a restraining hand on the black and purple Seeker's shoulder. He gestured with his other hand to their prone commander. Skywarp looked between their commander and the rapidly disappearing speck that was Skyfire, obviously torn.
Optimus could see the decision being made. Shoulders and wings slumping in defeat, Skywarp trudged over to Starscream's side and kneeled. He laid a hand on one of the Aerial Commander's wings and took Thundercracker's wrist with the other. The blue Seeker nodded respectfully to the Autobot commander and then the Seeker trio was teleported away.
The tension bled out of the air.
That could have gone much worse.
Optimus scrambled to his feet and rushed over to his comrades. Ironhide gave him a sort of encouraging smile, but he was definitely looking worse for wear. Wheeljack was already poking the ugly gap in his shoulder armor, investigating the extent of the damage beneath, causing the Weapons Specialist to flinch every now and then. Jazz seemed to be in shock; he didn't seem to notice his commander standing over him. He was missing the armor on his chest, leaning very heavily against Prowl, his optics dim. Bumblebee looked to be the worst, as he was missing a leg and was unconscious.
"Everyone will live." Ratchet said in response to Optimus's unasked question. "But..." He looked around furtively, as if he was afraid of being overheard. "We've got no way of transporting them back to base. Bee can't transform like this and I don't think Jazz is any condition to transform either."
"Where is the Decepticon base?" Optimus asked.
"Just over the ridge-- Ow! Stop that!" Ironhide slapped Wheeljack's hands away.
"But it's flash-welded together!"
"And it hurts! Get your fingers outta there!"
Optimus sighed heavily. "We're too close to their base. Is there anywhere we can fall back to?"
"I didn't see anything along the way." Prowl replied, shaking his head. Ratchet merely sighed and set back to work.
"Can't you rent a trailer or something?" Sunstreaker asked blandly. He had sat down, tired of trying to balance on his mismatched legs.
"A -- trailer?" Optimus repeated. Of course! He could do that! Those things were big enough to hold at least two of them comfortably!
"Yeah, just hack into the phone lines and find a rental place--"
"Sunstreaker, I know."
"Oh... Right." The yellow mech shut up.
"Find some sort of shelter." Optimus ordered the rest. "It doesn't matter if Megatron has retreated; I wouldn't put it past him to try something in my absence. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Then he headed back to the road, returned to his alt-mode, and motored off to Salt Lake City.
"Aaaarrrggghhh!!"
Thundercracker flinched as Skywarp slammed his forehead into the rock wall over and over, screaming angrily.
"Skywarp--" the blue Seeker started tentatively.
"It was him!" Skywarp shouted, grabbing his head with both hands and smashing into the rocks again. "It was him! It was Skyfire! I saw him! It was Skyfire!"
"Skywarp--"
"I thought he was dead, TC!" Skywarp interrupted, turning on his friend. "We all did! Starscream never talked about what happened that day! How could he keep something like that from us?! Skyfire's alive and he's an Autobot! How come Starscream never told us?!"
"Maybe he didn't know!" Thundercracker shouted before the black and purple Seeker could go on. "He thought Skyfire was dead too! That was why he never answered our questions about that day!"
"But Skyfire's alive!" Skywarp shouted. That seemed to be the most important thing. "He's alive! He's alive and Primus knows how many times we must have shot at him! Our friend, TC! Our friend! He's the reason Starscream never wants to fill the second-element leader position! He's the reason Starscream's been dreaming so much lately! The reason he's been skipping out on recharging! TC!" The Seeker grabbed his friend's shoulders, his optics shining brightly with unshed fluid. "TC, Skyfire's alive!"
Thundercracker could only stare at his friend. He could feel his processor working double-time to keep up with Skywarp's words, replaying what he remembered of the battle, trying to fill in the gaps...
It had been... surreal. One second, he'd been pummeling away at those Autobots and then he'd seen something large and silver bearing down on him. He hadn't recognized the Valkyrie form; his only distracted thought was that it had to be an enemy. Gunfire crackled angrily and the newcomer had dropped from the skies, trailing smoke. That was the only clear memory he could dredge up at the moment.
It wasn't until he'd heard Starscream's agonized howl that reality returned.
It felt like he had snapped from a dream back to the real world in one instant. Pit, even the memories of the battle were already blurring together.
Thundercracker had not understood why Starscream was throwing everything he had at Megatron, but he certainly hadn't been about to let Megatron get in a cheap shot.
And then he had seen Skyfire.
The feeling he had experienced... The closest comparison he could think of was "breathless". For far too long a minute, all he was able to do was gape like a star-struck sparkling. The shock had been broken when Skywarp had made a move and then Skyfire had taken off, looking nothing short of panicked.
"Why did you stop me?!" Skywarp suddenly screamed in anger, slamming his fists into Thundercracker's chassis, knocking him onto his aft.
"He was right there! We could have talked to him!" the Seeker went on, bristling with rage. "We could have finally found out what happened that day! Why did you stop me?!"
The canyon they had teleported to rang with Skywarp's voice. He glared at Thundercracker, vents heaving hot air out of his battle-heated systems and dragging in the marginally cooler air. He looked furious; mutinous if Thundercracker didn't know any better.
The blue Seeker drew himself together, bringing his knees up to his chest and staring levelly at his friend.
"You mean right there?" he asked with a quirked browridge. "Right there in front of all those Autobots?"
Skywarp deflated a little.
"There's a chance that they don't know about our connection to Skyfire." Thundercracker went on calmly. "They must have rescued him. But that doesn't mean he told them anything. This could be the first time they've heard anything about it."
Skywarp sagged, his anger bleeding away.
"It wasn't the time or the place." Thundercracker continued, though he shook his head in regret. "Didn't you see the look on his face? He was panicking. I don't think he ever expected to see us there. Or anywhere for that matter. And... We had Starscream to think about." he added, glancing over his wing.
Starscream lay a few feet away, completely shut down. Only the occasional twitch of his fingers assured the two Seekers that they hadn't lost their friend. But he was so deep in stasis, they weren't sure if he would pull out of it on his own.
Skywarp sagged further, shuttering his optics and running his hands over his face. He sat down beside Thundercracker and hunched forward, keeping his optics covered. They stayed like that for a full minute.
"My wings hurt." he whimpered at length.
"Mine too." Thundercracker sympathized.
"Whadda we do now?"
Thundercracker thought for a moment, hoping an explanation would appear. They had pretty much signed their own death warrants; firing on Megatron like that. No one landed a hit on Megatron without paying for it. If Megatron didn't blast them out of the sky next time he saw them, then one of the others would. Barricade had made it clear once that he harbored no love for any Seekers and Soundwave would simply act on Megatron's orders. They couldn't go back to the base.
That left them with two options.
Option number 1: stay right here in this canyon.
Thundercracker really didn't like that option. There was a very real chance that Starscream could die if he didn't get any medical help and Thundercracker's medical knowledge was extremely limited. He could patch up a bad cut in the middle of the battlefield and have it hold out long enough to get it treated by a medic, but he knew squat about how to treat severe energy depletion. And given the extent to which he and Skywarp had been roughed up, they all needed a trained and qualified medic.
Option number 2: Go to the Autobots.
As much as Thundercracker detested the idea of begging the Autobots for help, they had a medic on staff and quite a good one at that. Prime was merciful enough. He would keep that blast-happy Weapons Specialist of his from blowing their afts to pieces.
Really, the second option was the best.
Now he just had to convince Skywarp of that fact.
"'Warp, what about the Autobots?" the blue Seeker asked.
"What about that them?" Skywarp asked, hurriedly scrubbing the fluid from his optics as he looked up. Thundercracker gave a pointed look to Starscream. Skywarp immediately shook his head.
"N-Not a chance! We're Decepticons! They'll tear us apart!"
"What if we told them we're defecting?" Thundercracker suggested, a sly edge in his voice.
"Are we?" Skywarp asked weakly, sounding half-hopeful, half-terrified.
"Well..." Thundercracker shrugged half-heartedly. "I don't think we have much of a choice in the matter. The Autobots only might tear us apart if we go to them, whereas Megatron will definitely tear us apart if we go back... And the Autobots have a medic. We don't."
"I don't think it's a very good idea." Skywarp muttered, looking away, but in Starscream's direction.
"Starscream needs help." Thundercracker pleaded. "C'mon 'Warp, I don't want him to die! And you don't either!"
"I know! I know! It's just..." He trailed off, staring at their commander and friend's prone form.
"It's just -- I don't know where the Autobots' base is." he finished, sounding sheepish.
Thundercracker couldn't help himself. He laughed. He really laughed; a deep laugh that shook his body to his wingtips. Skywarp's sullen and pouting look just set him off again and he doubled over, chassis starting to ache from it all.
"Shut up TC!" Skywarp snapped, crossing his arms and continuing to look sullen. "I really don't know where it is!"
"I think I do." Thundercracker said, still sniggering. Oh, he hadn't laughed like that in ages! Maybe not even since the war started. "I overheard Barricade telling Soundwave about a city called Tranquility. The Autobots have some human allies living there, according to him. I wouldn't be surprised if they set up base somewhere nearby. All we have to do is look around. We're bound to find it. Worse come to worse -- they've always got someone out here spying on us -- we can just follow their scouts back from the air."
"All right." Skywarp climbed to his feet and flexed his arms. "I don't have any coordinates to work with, but I might be able to get us within spitting distance."
Thundercracker relaxed quite a lot. They had a plan. Whether it worked or not was anyone's guess, but it would do for now.
Acquiring a trailer had turned out to be even a more onerous task than Optimus had expected.
Sure he had called ahead to let the rental company know of his request, but this particular company required the renters to show up in person and sign a few papers. Optimus had panicked slightly with that. This particular company was the only one within a reasonable distance of his Autobots' position and while he didn't feel comfortable leaving them alone for longer than was absolutely necessary, he didn't have much choice. The problem was, though, his holoform was still fuzzy and incorporeal and still passed through walls as though it was a ghost. But when he pulled into the parking lot and activated his holoform, Primus must have been smiling on him. His holoform had been as every bit corporeal and functional as Jazz's and Bumblebee's.
Optimus had signed the lease forms with a false name and pulled an obscure phone number right out of his aft and prayed that the men behind the counter wouldn't run a background check.
Primus's divine intervention held through on that part.
Then Optimus had to wait a full hour and fill out a completely nonsensical questionnaire while the workers searched for a free trailer and inspected his protoform for whatever obscure reasons they had. He'd been straining to maintain his holoform by the end of the hour, but had been wholly grateful that he hadn't been able to feel the men's hands all over his protoform. By the time he'd been able to shift functions back to his protoform, he'd felt distinctly violated.
The weight of the trailer seemed to pull on him, slowing him down, even though Optimus was pushing his speed as much as he could without breaking the limit. He hadn't heard anything from anyone, though Prowl had probably insisted on maintaining radio silence until they were safe back at the base. That was perfectly understandable as they were very nearly on top of the Decepticon base and only 20 miles from Salt Lake City.
So how Starscream had refrained from attacking the city was a mystery.
What was wrong with Starscream was an even bigger mystery but not one that Optimus wasted any processing power on at the moment.
His comrades had taken refuge in a shallow canyon. It was a little difficult to navigate a way down, but he managed it in the end and pulled up beside them.
Ratchet had patched up what he could, but he wouldn't be able to make any real repairs until they got back to base. Bumblebee was still unconscious, but Jazz seemed to be a little more aware than when Optimus had last seen him. He actually looked up when he heard the engine, but he didn't seem to entirely comprehend it. Those two were loaded into the trailer and Ratchet jumped in with them to keep an optic on them.
"Prowl, what's our status?" Optimus asked wearily after the remaining ones had transformed and were heading back to the road.
"Ratchet has not said much, but Bumblebee's injury looks bad." Prowl replied grimly. Optimus groaned faintly. "Jazz only needs to spend a day in stasis-lock; his CPU needs to be rebooted. Ironhide just needs to have his right shoulder joint separated and a patch-job done on his armor. Sunstreaker is simply being Sunstreaker, so any complaints about the prosthetic, the discoloration on his aft while in alt-mode due to the prosthetic, and the lack of his brother's presence are entirely normal. Myself and Wheeljack are relatively unharmed."
"And -- Skyfire?" Optimus asked.
"I've tried several times already to establish radio contact, but he's not answering." Prowl said.
"Give him time." Optimus advised.
"I've only just remembered that Skyfire was friends with the Decepticon Seekers before they became Seekers." Prowl admitted, sounding just a bit sheepish. "And sometimes I forget that he wasn't involved in the war from the beginning."
"He adjusted well, despite learning that his three best friends are among the best fighters the Decepticons have." Optimus said. He could still distinctly recall Skyfire's reaction to learning that fact. It hadn't been pleasant, neither to watch nor endure. The poor mech had been a mess for days.
"Perhaps not so much now." Prowl said thoughtfully. "After the earlier debacle, I can't imagine Megatron welcoming them back to base with open arms."
"We'll see Prowl." Optimus said. "We'll see..."
The four-hour drive brought them back to the base in the early evening hours. The sun was glowing orange and sitting low on the horizon and Optimus felt his spark give a leap of relief. They had made it back in (relatively) one piece. For some unknown reason -- and Optimus was not going to question why -- the Decepticons always gave them enough time to complete their repairs before the next attack came.
Maybe they thought that there was no sport in beating enemies who couldn't even fight back.
Or more likely, they needed to get themselves fixed up as well.
Oh, but he certainly not going to question why.
It was the grace time that they needed.
The trailer had to be unhitched before Optimus could transform and with a scowl, Sunstreaker set about to that task. Ratchet and Ironhide were too busy extracting Bumblebee from the trailer and Jazz was too unsteady on his feet to walk without assistance.
"Well... That was fun." Ironhide commented sarcastically once he had returned outside, Prowl trailing after him.
"I wouldn't have called it fun." Sunstreaker retorted. "That sand got everywhere." He ran a hand over his other elbow and groaned. "I can feel it grinding in my joints."
"Quit you whining! You're not missing a chunk outta your shoulder!"
"I'm missing a leg!"
"Shut up, you two!" Prowl intervened, in no mood whatsoever to deal with this. Part of him was sort of glad that Sideswipe was AWOL, otherwise he'd just be egging his brother on, someone would get hurt and then Ratchet would have more damage to deal with. There would be wrenches flying everywhere.
Mercifully, the yellow twin and the Weapons Specialist fell silent.
"Ironhide, what's the status of the Decepticons as last you saw them?" Optimus asked. He was watching the sunset, as he was wont to do these days.
"Jazz used a flash grenade, so their optics are fried. No medic in their ranks means that they're not getting repairs done anytime soon." Ironhide explained, grinning, looking very, very happy. "Soundwave and his cassettes are all out of commission. So is Barricade and those three Seeker bastards. Megatron's been sidelined too." He grinned wider. "Today has been a very good day."
Because he'd finally been able to shoot something.
Then there was a loud snapping noise; far too loud to be caused by any of the local nighttime wildlife. It had come from just around the corner of the building. Still running on the "adrenaline" rush of the battle, Ironhide promptly fired a warning shot into the ground near the source of the noise. There was a squeaky yelp.
"Come on out!" he shouted, cannons still humming. Sunstreaker and Prowl reached slowly for their own rifles, though Optimus made no move for his own.
"There are four of us here. You're outnumbered." the Autobot commander said. "If you surrender peacefully, we will be willing to negotiate."
Nothing happened for half a minute and then a mech stepped slowly out of the shadow of the building. Weapons instinctively snapped up to the ready.
Thundercracker raised his hands.
"I surrender."