Chapter 13: Any Way but Sideways
"Come on! Speed up!" Sari demanded banging on the dashboard on the inside of Optimus, "We have to go faster! There's no telling how far away Sideways could be right now!" "We're going as fast as we can Sari," Optimus assured, "And we have no way of tracking Sideways. We just have what you told us to go on." The girl crossed her arms and sat back in the driver seat angrily with tears sliding lightly down her cheeks. She couldn't believe how stupid she'd been, and to drag Bumblebee into it also! It always had seemed so easy to run away whenever she had heard it mentioned. But now she knew she'd never try that again, especially not with Bumblebee...if they ever even saw each other again.
"Now I know this might not be the best time, but what exactly happened?" Optimus Prime asked curiously, "You didn't make it really clear why the whole running away thing happened and how you and Bumblebee got split up in the first place." "We were running away because of you," Sari muttered glaring at where she thought Prime might be viewing her from. "...what'd we do?" "You wouldn't let Bumblebee be a human." Optimus was quiet for a moment. "Sari, you may not realize it but Bumblebee has a responsibility as part of our-" "Save it big bot," Sari said obviously not in the mood to be lectured to, "Me and Bumblebee were in a relationship called being in love. That's something humans can only be with each other. That's why we were doing all we could to keep you guys from turning Bumblebee back."
"Oh..." Optimus said now seeing just why they'd run away, "Why's being in love so important?" "We don't have time for this," Sari sighed blushing and paused for a second, "It's when a girl and guy meet each other and want to be with each other together, permanently." An awkward silence encased the two as Prime drove along. "It's the first step in making new organics," Sari muttered to break the silence blushing more violently. "So you and Bumblebee-" "NO!" she exclaimed blushing even more, "That doesn't come till later! I...just drive." "Well you still need to explain how you two got split up," Prime told her.
Sari sighed recollecting on the memory as the color of her cheeks returned to their normal skin color. "I don't really know how we got split up," she started and looked down at her lap sadly, "It's just that Sideways guy. We found him and he offered to help us after telling us he was keeping us protected from Waspinator yesterday. We had no idea what went on after you dropped us off at my dad's." "Quite a bit happened," Prime muttered, "But continue." "Well, he offered to give us a ride and we got on and his little driver guy wrapped its arms around me and Bumblebee not allowing us to move at all and he sped off. I managed to get free and topple away on the grass but Bumblebee...they were out of sight before I could do anything..."
"I'm sorry," Optimus told her as they sped along a highway, "We'll do everything we can to get Bumblebee back, trust me." "I do," Sari sighed closing her eyes and leaning her head back, "I just...feel so useless..." "Prime!" Ratchet's voice called from his radio diverting both characters' attentions, "We have a situation!" "What? Did something happen with the bots back at the factory?" Optimus asked. After the fight with Meltdown he had decided that all the combatants be attended to immediately, especially the more banged up ones like Sentinel. "No," Ratchet replied, "We have something more of nuisance than a threat but I can bet you anything it has to do with Sideways! It's just too coincidental for this all to happen when it is!" "What?" "Fanzone informed me that both Slo-Mo and Nanosec have been reported to be attacking the city!" "But they lost their powers!" Sari exclaimed, "at least Slo-Mo did, the police gave us her fragment after they took her to prison." "Exactly why I think Sideways is involved," Ratchet murmured.
"Can anyone else handle it?" Optimus asked wearily. He still had his leg pretty badly damaged from the fight with Meltdown and had been the only one not to report in to Ratchet for a check-up since he went to get Sari. He even sent Jazz back to get his dents pounded out after they'd found the red-haired girl. "Not at the moment," Ratchet told him, "Blackarachnia's busy working with a regretfully cooperative Meltdown on the machine to get our little buddy back to normal and I'm still getting the polishing done on Sentinel. To add to that Jazz just wheeled in here." "Fine," Optimus said and turned off the highway much to Sari's dismay, "Just give me the coordinates and we'll be on it." "What about Bumblebee though?" Sari asked sadly. "If Ratchet's right taking down these two might get us the info we need to find Sideways and Bumblebee," Optimus responded, "Now hang on tight." As the truck's sirens began to wail it sped off into the weaving passages made by the large buildings of Detroit.
Arcee moaned as she stumbled about the interior of the large Autobot genocide ship, Omega Supreme. She was still recovering from the lasers that had hit her as she was trying to do as Ultra Magnus had told her on the way to the ship. "Never thought I'd be back even near this planet again," she mumbled to herself as she shook her head and looked out the window, "A lot more wet than it looked like from this planet's moon though." Curiously, the intelligence agent looked around the various control panels lining the insides of the ship. There were far more than she had ever imagined even when she had been informed of her mission during the Great War. "Omega Supreme?" she said to the air around her.
No response. But the ship was active, the lights were illuminating the rooms inside it. "Activate command Omega," Arcee ordered. "This function has been deactivated in attempts to more efficiently conserve energon," the robotic female default voice of the ship's mainframe replied. "Too bad I don't have Ratchet here," Arcee muttered to herself as she put a hand to her forehead in thought. "That's it!" she exclaimed snapping her fingers and looking out into the watery world outside of the ship, "Ratchet and his group went back to earth after bringing Megatron and his men to Cybertron! All I need to do is send out a frequency message for him to pick up and I should be outta this mess in no time!"
Enthusiastically, Arcee walked over to a set of keyboards and began typing in various combinations. She may not have known how to input all the orders into such a complex monster of a ship but the pink Autobot at least knew how to send a simple distress signal. The monitor above the keyboards soon flashed to a screen of static. "Hello?" she said into a microphone device jutting forth from the monitor, "Hello, this is Intelligence Agent Arcee of the Autobot Council sent specifically by Ultra Magnus on a top secret mission to earth. If Ratchet or anyone from his unit is out there I need you to locate me and retrieve me and the materials I have brought as soon as possible. Until then I will be in cryogenic sleep. Please hurry." After finishing her message Arcee switched off the communication device and started walking towards the resting chambers of the ships. She definitely did feel as though she were in need of a stasis-nap.
"And why exactly am I helping you again?" Meltdown hissed as he reluctantly placed a piece of scrap metal over the hull of one of the capsules he and Blackarachnia were working on, "And this trash isn't exactly the best material to work with for such a magnificent machine." "Do you enjoy those EMP blasts from the doc bot?" Blackarachnia asked as she used her claws to pinch some sheets together around the glass entrance of the capsule, "Cause unless you do you'll keep your non-existent mouth shut and keep doing as your told." "You know, after we finish the process of turning that kid back into his old self," the humanoid muttered, "Maybe we could turn the tables on these wreckilicious lame-bots and I could finally work on you-"
"Ok, one," Blackarachnia hissed leaning down to look at Meltdown, "I don't have any intention of turning on these guys, at least not now, and two, there is no way on Cybertron I'm letting you anywhere near my circuits again! I'm already a freak enough without your 'help'!" "But you'd be beautiful," Meltdown told her lustfully, "A completely organic wonder of morphing abilities." "You're making me sick just hinting at what I'd be like," the spidery transformer growled as she stood back up and continued the work on the capsule, "please just stay quiet so we can get through this as quickly as possible."
"Why not give it a try?" asked Sentinel's voice from behind the two, "I mean come on, you're already hideous, why not just complete the look?" Blackarachnia hissed viciously as she whipped around and stared at the intruder in the laboratory. "Even your friend there gives a viable reason," Meltdown laughed. "He's no friend of mine," Blackarachnia murmured glaring at Sentinel Prime, "I thought you were getting worked on by Ratchet..." "Who's to say I wasn't?" Sentinel asked shrugging his shoulders with a sly smile on his face, "It took some time but that old rusty bucket of bolts finally got me all patched up from what your little freak of a partner did to me earlier." "I regret nothing," Meltdown announced as he continued to work.
"Why are you here?" Blackarachnia asked under her breath. "Just checking up on what the freaks of nature are doing," Sentinel responded. With a growl Blackarachnia leapt onto her former colleague and grabbed him by the throat. "You listen here Sentinel," Blackarachnia hissed bending her face down to his, "I can't help it if I'm like this! I never wanted to be like this, I never chose to be like this! I had to be like this! Otherwise I couldn't survive!" "Who says you should have?" Sentinel muttered knocking her off him, "I'd rather be offline than become what you are. Elita 1 died on that organic-filled planet of horror all those cycles ago and there's no way I'm going to let the freak that was born from her demise live that down."
"You really don't care about me at all?" Blackarachnia asked as Sentinel turned around to begin walking away. "I care about Elita 1," Sentinel Prime told her, "That's who I care about." Blackarachnia stood there and watched the door close as Sentinel walked out into the hallway. She felt like crying and ripping that bot apart in fury at the same time. She really couldn't help what had happened. "And I thought humans had complex relationships," Meltdown laughed to himself, "I'd have never suspected you alien robots were even more entertaining in your soap operas." With an angry expression on her face, Blackarachnia turned back around and continued working on the pod.
"There they are!" Sari exclaimed pointing out of Prime's front windows at the blur of a human, Nanosec, carrying a woman in his arms garbed in old timey maroon clothes with a rather large glowing red clock-like device strapped to her, Slo-Mo. "Alright," Prime said leaping into his robot mode with Sari on his shoulders, "This shouldn't be too hard." "Only Bumblebee and me ever really dealt with Slo-Mo," the girl told the Cybertronian, "And we weren't really able to win an actual fight against her with what her medallion could do." "It's just a human opponent," Optimus replied as he ran along the street after them and got out his ax while Sari gave him a glare, "er, meaning no offense of course."
"Oh great," Nanosec muttered looking back over his shoulder, "Looks like we got company babe." "They aren't a problem, they're through, final curtain call," Slo-Mo assured the orange and black suited supervillain as she fired her time piece back at Optimus immediately causing him to turn grayish and fall to the ground with a thud, "Now that I got a time piece back we'll be owning this city, top of the line, monarchs of vigilantism baby." "Man I love you," Nanosec laughed staring back at their downed pursuers. "Come on Prime!" Sari moaned trying vainly to pull the Autobot to his feet, "They're getting away!" "Sayonara brat!" Nanosec's voice echoed as he rounded a corner and zoomed out of sight as Optimus began moving again. "Oh my aching processor," he mumbled clutching his head-plate. "Just cause their humans doesn't mean they'll be all that easy," Sari told him as he got back up, "Now let's try actually thinking before just leaping in this time."
"Alright," Optimus said and took the girl in his hand before leaping onto the roof of a building, "I doubt they'll be looking up at the sky all that much." "How'll we figure out where they are though? They're faster than Sideways as long as Nanosec has that suit on," Sari pointed out. "I'm sure the sound of car alarms and honking horns'll be a clear indication," Prime told her as the sounds echoed beneath them, "They may be fast but subtlety isn't their strong-suit." As limberly as possible the red and blue Autobot began leaping over the city streets from rooftop to rooftop trying to pin-point just where the criminals were.
After a few minutes of searching Sari pointed down to a fast-moving streak of orange breezing through the traffic below. As Nanosec rounded another corner Optimus leapt over to a building on the other side of the street and dropped down. THOOM! The speedy criminal was knocked clean off his feet and tumbled straight into a car that had been parked next to a department store. "Oh my head..." he moaned as Slo-Mo tumbled off him and looked up at the Cybertronian. Prime tried to duck but the blast from the medallion still hit him. "Alright, this stops now," Sari mumbled to herself as she morphed into her robot mode and launched herself at the woman. "You sure seem to have grown since last time," Slo-Mo said blasting her as well causing her to topple out of robot mode and skid on the ground below as her human self, "Love the upgrade, shiny, sleek, sexy, but still no match for me kiddo."
Sari moaned painfully as she tried to get back up shaking her head. "It sure is good that you got your powers back babe," Nanosec stated finally get back up and taking his partner by the hand, "Sure makes things a ton easier against these junkyard pieces of scrap." "Indeed, quite absolutely, and definitely," Slo-Mo agreed, her mouth running a mile a second as her legs were picked up by the man, "Now let's get back to taking money, robbing people of cash, scoring big!" With a nod of his head Nanosec was off again and Optimus's colors returned to normal once more. "Sari, are you okay?" he asked kneeling down and scooping the girl back up. "Just a few scrapes," she mumbled wiping some blood off her arm, "How's about we try something different." "Like what?" Optimus asked. "Sneak up on them," Sari told him with a smile, "I doubt they'd really be able to tell you apart from any other firetruck. Optimus nodded and transformed into his vehicle mode.
Ultra Magnus looked up at the starry sky of Cybertron in thought from the roof of the Fortress Maximus. He was waiting. He knew that he'd be found soon, but he didn't care, he just wanted to see what he could of his old homeworld while he still had the chance. He knew what was coming, and he knew that he may never get another chance such as this to observe the beauty of life. The bustling sounds below, the bright lights of the cities, the olfactory scents. He loved it, he loved everything about it, it's what he fought to keep at peace. But the planet hadn't been properly taken care of despite what he had grown up believing. They hadn't done as they needed to. The troops always had the right intentions, but what matter was what the Council decided. And they hadn't made the right decisions. "Ultra Magnus," Cliffjumper said from behind him with a platoon of guards, "We're here to escort you back to your holding cell." "I'm ready," Ultra Magnus told them.
"I think I heard a crash to the right!" Sari exclaimed as the fire truck sped through the chaotic streets. The two criminals had sure worked the drivers up. With a screech, the truck nearly fell over as he rounded the next corner and spotted the orange blur with his optics. "We'll never catch them at this speed," Optimus told her, "Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on Bumblebee and his rockets." "Yeah, maybe you shouldn't have," Sari muttered, "But I got an idea, round the next left, that's the only way they can really go up ahead at their corner." Prime did as he was told and began breezing down the next path. "Now right!" Sari ordered and with another screech they began speeding towards a building. WHAM! Before they had time to fully get into the next intersection the criminal duo slammed straight into the firetruck.
"Hi there," Sari said to Nanosec who had burst the passenger side's door before kicking him out. "You're under arrest," Prime told the criminals as he transformed into his robot mode and picked up Nanosec, "Wait, where's Slo-Mo?" The robot suddenly turned grayish and toppled over from a blast from the time medallion. "Right behind you big guy," the woman announced and began walking over to her now unconscious partner. "The decision still stands though!" Sari yelled leaping at her and turning into robot mode as she did so, "You're both through!" "Do kids honestly never learn?" Slo-Mo asked shaking her head as she blasted Sari like in their previous encounter causing her to morph into human mode again, "You're no match for me kid, old news, washed up, obsolete-"
WHAM! Slo-Mo fell backwards clutching her stomach that Sari's fist had suddenly slammed into as her time medallion flew into the air. "You might be able to stop machines," Sari muttered catching the medallion, "But that's the great thing about me. I'm not entirely a machine." "Wait stop kid!" Slo-Mo coughed, "What're you gonna do with that?! Look, we can join forces, have a crime family, become the terrible trio, just gimme that back!" "Don't think so," Sari said glaring down at the older female, "No matter if this thing glows blue or red it still gives you the same irritating powers that we need to stop you from using."
CRSHH!!! Slo-Mo screamed as the remnants of her once elaborate-looking time-twisting fashion accessory crumpled to bits and shards on the ground from the wall Sari had smashed it into. Instantly Optimus Prime started moving again and regained his colors as Sari morphed back into her robot mode and began walking towards Slo-Mo. "Hey wait kid!" the woman pleaded crawling backwards with each step that the girl took towards her, "We can talk this over alright?! Look, we got money, you can have it! Take it all! We don't need it! Just-erk!" "Sari, what are you doing?!" Optimus exclaimed as the girl grabbed Slo-Mo by the throat and one of her arms popped open revealing one of her sharp dagger-like blades. "Doing what we gotta do," she muttered glaring at Slo-Mo.
"Look kid! You're a good guy! I'm a bad guy! Good guys don't kill!" Slo-Mo cried. "I can't help it if my hand accidentally slips," Sari told her raising an eyebrow and sliding the dagger up along the underside of the criminal's chin. "Sari!" Optimus yelled walking over to her only for her other arm to pop open and hold its dagger up to Prime. "I want answers, before the police get involved," Sari hissed, "How did you get your powers back?" "Some purple guy!" Slo-Mo instantly blurted out, "A sweet purple sleek sugar-daddy of a motorcycle! He fixed up my medallion after he busted us outta prison! Gave me red, not blue, shards this time, said they's more efficient!" "And where is this guy?" Sari muttered. "Said he was gonna meet us around three at an old abandoned power plant along the harbors of the city!"
Slo-Mo was practically in tears as the dagger delicately slid up along the side of her face. "You better pray to God that was your saying is right," Sari told her and flung her to the ground, "Cause if it turns out to be a trick this blade is going right through your skull the next time I see you." After a few large gasps of air Slo-Mo slumped fainted and slumped over on the street. "Sari!" Prime said stepping down in front of the girl and looking down at her, "What was that all about?!" "I'm going to find Bumblebee," she replied looking up at Optimus as a group of police cars swerved onto the scene, "And besides, I got the information we were looking for so come on. Turn into vehicle mode and let's go." With a sigh Optimus set Nanosec on the ground and transformed.
"Stupid lousy worthless piece of slag," Rattletrap muttered with his arms folded over his chest-plate as he sat in his prison cell, "Last time I ever do anything a runaway Autobot Elite Guard Member asks me to do." "Did I hear you say Autobot Elite Guard Member," asked a frigid voice across the room before a rather angry voice continued the sentence, "Because I'd do anything to get my servos around a certain one's gearshaft just about now so that I can-" "Swing him into a trance with my elaborate dancing skills," a rather psychotic-sounding voice ended with rather red eyes and a jagged red smiling mouth glowing from the cell that the voice was emitting from." "Yeah, a big blue guy crazy face," Rattletrap told his newfound affiliate, "He got anything on you?" "Other than locking me up in this cramped little closet of a cell for being one of Megatron's followers?!" the angry voice asked and switched to the first voice which was rather calm and icy, "no not really."
"Well I'd definitely be even more ticked off if I were crammed in there with two other guys," Rattletrap said walking over to the bars of his cell and looking them over, "There's usually a weak spot in these things..." "Oh you misunderstand," the voice responded as a pair of dark hands clutched the bars of its cell and its blue face peered through the shadows, "It is indeed three people-" "But it is one body you miserable little rodent!-" "The name's Blitzwing!" the crazy voice finished after the red face yelled at the brown Autobot. "Uhuh..." Rattletrap said slowly, "Well by the sound and looks of it you sorta belong in this place."
"Well what did they have on you?" the more intelligent sounding blue face asked as Rattletrap pulled out a filing utensil and began to slide it along the bars of his cell. "Some jerk that I helped free and get outta this place decided that the nicest way to pay me back was using me as a shield and leaving me behind when he went through the Space Bridge to make his gettaway so that I'd just get tossed right back in here," the brown Autobot told the Decepticon, "I think his name was Sentinel Prime or something like that, he became the Magnus of Cybertron while the real guy was recuperating." "Speaking of Magnus," Blitzwing said pointing down the hallway to the Autobot official that a few guards were escorting down the hall, "He who beat his way to the roof seems to be getting escorted back." "I'll never bust out of here at this rate," Rattletrap mumbled hiding his filing utensil.
"Alright Jazz," Ratchet said patting the ninja-bot's back, "Good as new. Might wanna take it easy on the servos though." "Thanks a lot dawg," the beatnik-like Autobot replied hopping off the surgical table and do a few kicks into the air, "appreciate it." "Just doin' my job," Ratchet laughed, "Though I'm serious, you probably shouldn't move as much that fast. Could loosen up a few healing circuits." "Relax dawg," Jazz said, "I just go with the flow man, do as the air tells me." Ratchet just shook his head and began walking over to a console with a viewing monitor above it. "Now all I got to patch up is Bulkhead," the red and white Autobot said to himself as his latest patient walked out and the screen flickered to life.
"Hello," Ratchet murmured looking intensely at the monitor, "What do we have here? Never seen this frequency transmitting before." With a few clicks of the keyboard the screen flicked to another window that dealt with sound-waves. "Now just a few adjustments and...there!" With a curious expression the doctor plugged his finger into a socket on the side of the keyboard and his sound receptors began to vibrate with the message the frequency was carrying. His optics grew wider and wider as the message transferred through his processor. "Arcee..." he said as the message ended, "Don't worry, I'll get on it right after I get done with the repairs!"
"Alright, come on!" Sari exclaimed hopping out of Optimus as they came up along the docks not even waiting for him to stop. "Sari, stop!" Optimus ordered morphing into his robot mode, "We don't even know what to expect. For all we know this could be a trap!" "Doubt it," Sari replied and continued heading towards the doors of the power plant, "And this is the only power plant along the docks that there is. My dad used to own it, I'd know." "Sari-" "Look, every second we waste Bumblebee's in danger!" Sari yelled turning around to look up at the Autobot figurehead, "and I'm going to save him whether you're coming or not!" "Sari," Optimus said kneeling down to look at her better, "Caring about someone is good, but don't let it cloud your mind. You might do more harm than good if you think in the way you're thinking."
"And letting Bumblebee's life remain at risk is any better?" she asked and turned back around to head towards the power plant again. Optimus shook his head and followed after the girl. She definitely did care a lot about the boy. The first door Sari came to she was instantly in. Prime however had to keep sliding along the edge of the dock until he came to a loading door and heaved it open from the bottom. "Sari?" he whispered cupping a hand to his mouth while his other slid the door back down, "Where are you?" "Right here," she said running up alongside Optimus and looking into the dark large lobby of the facility, "Definately big enough for a motorcycle tall robot to hide out in."
"Just be careful," Optimus warned as Sari marched further into the room, "Sideways is very dangerous." "And I'm dangerous too," she muttered flicking out her arm blades. After a few minutes of walking around the pair looked at each other in the center of the room. There was nothing in the facility! "Slo-Mo is so dead," Sari hissed. Just then the bright lights along the rims of the rafters blared on and shone down on the two blinding them temporarily. "Well, I was wondering when you two'd noticed you'd been tricked," Sideways laughed from a screen at the top of the room with Bumblebee clutched in his hand, "You guys sure are slow." "Sideways!" they both exclaimed. "Indeed you were lied to," Sideways announced, "But now by those idiotic humans, oh no, they were gonna come to the exact same place you're at now. No matter who came though, it'd be satisfying watching the fireworks."
"What?" Optimus asked. "Look around at the walls," Sideways commanded. Both Sari and Optimus's eyes widened as they scanned the panels making up the outline of the facility. There were bombs planted everywhere! "Sari!" Bumblebee cried from the screen. "Relax kiddo," Sideways said patting the boy's head, "At least you'll be okay...until I have confirmation that someone there is no longer online." While Sideways was busy monologuing, Prime got out his ax and slammed it against the door he'd come in. Instantly he bounced back from a rather severe electric shock. "I wouldn't try getting out," Sideways told them as Prime got back up and shot something into the underside of the screen that the traitor's face was projecting from, "I've rigged it so that once you're inside there's no way out, unless of course you wanna fry your circuits to nothing but charred bits. Now then, have fun in your last few seconds."
"SARI!" Bumblebee cried again as the bombs began flashing. "Bumblebee!" she cried back. "Sari, quick," Optimus said transforming into his vehicle mode and driving up beside her, "get in me!" "But Prime-" "Get in, NOW," he yelled popping open his door, "At least one of us is going to survive this!" With a final look at Bumblebee Sari leapt into the truck and it locked shut. All she could hear was Sideway's laugh echoing throughout the doomed facility as the screen flickered off and the bombs flashed faster and faster. Then the flashing stopped.
"Oh come on," Ratchet muttered as Bulkhead squirmed about, "It is not that bad kid, besides that, you're the least damaged out of all the guys that were involved in the fight." "What about Captain Fanzone?" "He don't count," Ratchet sighed and picked up a rather sharp looking utensil that soon began sparking at the tip, "Now hold still, you want that wrecking-ball welded back on right?" "Just be careful," Bulkhead grumbled, "I don't want it ending up like when I got my head reattached the first time the Headmaster struck." "I highly doubt I could mess up that bad with just one little cord," Ratchet told him.
It took a few minutes but Ratchet got the snapped strands tidied up as good as new. "See, nothing to worry about," the medical bot said wiping his hands. "I guess so," Bulkhead mumbled inquisitively as he swung the wrecking-ball around a few times to make sure it worked correctly, "Definately could be a lot worse." "You're welcome," Ratchet grumbled and turned back to the monitor he'd received Arcee's transmission from, "Now then I got some business to attend-" Just then another frequency beamed through the console surprising the red and white Autobot. "Now what's this?" Ratchet asked scratching his head before putting his finger in the side of the console to receive the message. "What is it doc-bot?" Bulkhead asked. "Bulkhead," Ratchet said, "Get ready to roll out."
"Waspinator have plans..." Waspinator hissed as Meltdown walked around his chained up body, "Waspinator destroy Bumble-bot and Spider-bot..." "It's....beautiful," Meltdown gurgled, "Just...completely and utterly magnificent!" "And I thought Blitzwing was deranged," Blackarachnia said rolling her eyes, "And that Sideways guy sent you after him?" "With good reason obviously," Meltdown replied still mesmerized by the beast that was subdued before him, "It's even more intricate than you my fair lady." "I'm already creeped out by you enough," the spidery-bot muttered closing her eyes, "I don't need you giving me nicknames now."
"You both definitely deserve the honor," the acidic humanoid commented smiling up at Blackarachnia who just looked away in disgust. Suddenly the door behind them hissed open. "There you two freaks are!" Sentinel yelled bursting in, "What are you doing with Wasp?" "Just showing the man what he was trying to capture when he beat us up earlier," Blackarachnia replied shrugging her shoulders. "You mean beat me up," Sentinel growled, "You got off without even a scratch." "Do you think it's really all that less painful being organic? Sure it doesn't show the damage as easily but that doesn't mean I'm not still fragile!" "Ugh," Meltdown muttered sitting down, "You know, at first it was amusing to watch you two but now it's just annoying. You're like a married couple on the verge of a divorce."
"What's that mean?" Sentinel asked glaring and the villain just shook his head as Blackarachnia blushed slightly with a frown on her face. "What are you even here for?" the spidery-bot muttered. "I was sent to tell you two that we're heading out," Sentinel replied, "You're supposed to keep freak boy here from doing anything bad while we're away." "Great, demoted to protoform-sitter," Blackarachnia sighed and looked down at Meltdown who just smiled back, "And where are you guys headed?" "Sideways," Sentinel responded and walked out. "Soap opera over, now for some cartoons hopefully?" Meltdown laughed to himself. Blackarachnia just kicked the humanoid in the chest of his suit in irritation.
"That's right Ratchet," Optimus Prime said to the radio next to Sari as he trudged out of the ruins of the power plant, "We'll meet you there. This ends tonight." The girl inside the truck looked with wide eyes out of the front of Optimus's windows. "Optimus," she said quietly. "Sari, just rest until we get to where Sideways is." Optimus Prime had done his best to shield the girl from the explosion nearly making himself go offline in the process. A large chunk of the ceiling had smashed clean through the roof of the fire truck and nearly skewered Sari amongst the other injuries and scrapes his body had sustained. By the time they'd gotten anywhere near seeing natural light again the sun was setting. "You're the one that needs rest," Sari told the Autobot, "You've been fighting since last night apparently and not gone to Ratchet even once." "I'm fine," he muttered, "I have to be, I lead this team."
"Even if you are the leader that doesn't mean you can't rely on others," Sari said, "Speaking of which, how did we find out just where that traitor of a motorcycle really is?" "Before the self destruct sequence went off I shot a tracking device up into the screen that Sideways was transmitting from," Optimus explained, "The information filtered through to Ratchet and he's getting the other Autobots ready to take on Sideways." "You really are a quick thinker," Sari said, "uh...sorry I was so worked up today..." "It's fine," Optimus replied speeding down the road, "As long as you're alright. I understand how worked up you are about Bumblebee." "How can you?" "I had a friend I lost as well," Prime said remembering his final mission with Elita 1 and Sentinel Prime, "Sometimes fate has plans that we don't exactly agree with. You have to be ready for anything."
"Like Bumblebee going back to how he used to be?" Sari asked folding her arms over her chest. "We'll deal with that if we even get him back," Optimus told her sternly, "I still don't exactly see why you two want him to stay human. I mean, you are a Cybertronian we found out, it's not like you have to stop being together." "Don't say that," Sari told him, "You know what it's like to be a human, remember your little trip into Soundwave's virtual reality?" At this Optimus was silent. "Those emotions you can only feel as a human. Well, how Bumblebee and me are in our relationship is something only humans can be like, something that they want more than anything once they're involved in that sort of thing. And Bumblebee helped explain to me better how to use my powers with my "Spark" or whatever by having to do with what humans feel."
"Either way," Optimus said rounding a corner, "We still need to get him before anything else happens. Scrapper was sent to inform Captain Fanzone once Ratchet received the information. The police'll be there to back us up." "You think they'll be able to help?" Sari asked. "No," Optimus responded grimly, "Not with what I've witnessed Sideways is capable of. To him we're all just pieces on a giant chess board I'm starting to believe. Whatever his goal is I think he's almost to it, and it can't be anything pleasant. The police'll be there mostly to keep people away from the scene while we're dealing with Sideways ourselves."
Ultra Magnus sighed and closed his optics as he sat down on his metal resting slab in his small room. He didn't know what more he could do. He'd already sent Arcee to the planet earth and written down his discoveries in files in case someone might find them. Now Sentinel Prime had gone missing and the Elite Guard was disbanded. Everything was falling apart on Cybertron. Slowly, but surely the planet was deteriorating and becoming more and more at risk with each passing time fragment. There was nothing else that he could do in his position. If what he believed was true from what he had been told and what he had come to know in the time since his reawakening all might be in place now. All he could do now is wait for the Cybertron's final hour.
Optimus Prime leapt into his robot form from a highway above and landed in front of Ratchet, Bulkhead, Jazz, and Sentinel Prime with Sari on his shoulder. "Are we ready?" Optimus asked looking at the warehouse they had all gathered around with Fanzone's troops forming a ring around the outskirts of the area. "This place is an old storage building my dad was gonna keep the Dinobots at before they came to life," Sari told them. "Scrapper and Snarl are with the police," Bulkhead informed pointing back towards the troops. "Alright," Optimus muttered and began walking towards the loading doors of the structure, "Let's end this."
The group followed their leader inside, with surprisingly no complaints from Sentinel Prime. After Jazz had come in last the slick ex-Elite Guard Member slid the door shut and they looked on in the dimly lit building. There were large boxes and scattered machines littering the complex. "About time you showed up," Sideway's voice echoed through the facility darkly. "Sideways!" Optimus yelled and started leading the group through the maze of crates and storage boxes, "This stops, NOW! Give us back Bumblebee!" "You honestly think it'd be that easy to get my little ace in the hole?" the dark voice chuckled seeming to come from all around them, "I'm not just gonna hand the kid over. I want what I came to this miserable rock of a planet for first."
"I'm going to rip your optics out when I get my hands on you! I have my own score to settle!" Sentinel yelled angrily and got out his lance, "Let's just strip these things out of the way." "No!" Sari exclaimed spinning around on Optimus's shoulder, "These boxes contain old highly unstable chemicals. If you break them it could cause an explosion!" "Better listen to the kid little blue bot," Sideways laughed, "I didn't just pick this location at random." With a growl, Sentinel put his lance away and the group continued walking. "We're just going in circles dawg," Jazz eventually said as time wore on and the group continued twisting and turning through the maze. "Might wanna hurry up," Sideways muttered as they heard a scream from Bumblebee, "I might get bored..."
"Leave him alone!" Sari yelled viciously as her robot mode formed around her body much to Sentinel Prime's surprise. "My my," Sideways said intrigued, "And here I thought you were just some girl. In fact, just to let you know, that little explosion at the power plant was mainly to get rid of any humans that might be with the Autobots, namely you. I knew it wouldn't finish off any Prime that there was." "What?!" Optimus exclaimed angrily, "What would you even accomplish killing her off?!" "My own amusement," the dark voice laughed, "And besides that, if I don't get what I want, I want you to feel a true loss, not just one human partner gone. You see, I get enjoyment out of seeing others suffer. It's what I live for, the look on a teammate's face when they realize I've stabbed them in the back. It's my specialty after all."
"He's even more of a twisted processor than I thought," Sentinel muttered. A few more minutes passed as the group trudged on. "I guess I should tell you now since I'm getting irritably bored out of my mind," Sideways sighed, "I made sure that the boxes weren't dangerous before you got here." "Then why have us go through this maze dawg?" Jazz asked. "How else would I have had this lovely calm conversation with you if you'd have just come right for me at the center of the building?" Furious, Optimus got out his ax and began smashing his way through the boxes and machinery with the rest of the Autobots chasing close behind.
In no time at all the group had broken their way to the center of the facility where they saw Bumblebee hanging from a box about Ratchet's height. "Finally," Sideways laughed from a box that he was leaning on off to the right of Bumblebee's constraints, "took you guys forever." "Show's over Decepticreep!" Sentinel yelled pulling out his lance and shield. "One, it's Decepticon," Sideways said, "and two, I'm not one of them." "Well you're obviously not an Autobot like you told us you were," Optimus said. "Boy, you are bright this time aren't you?" the purple transformer laughed pointed one of his gun barrels at his hostage. "Then who are you?!" Ratchet demanded slamming his foot down in anger, "If you're not an Autobot and not a Decepticon what's your game?!"
"You pathetic morons," Sideways replied darkly with his eyes glowing red, "Caught up in your stupid war. Autobots, Decepticons, it's no different. You're all still Cybertronians in the end, just fighting for what you believe to be different values that matter more than what the other side is based on. You fight and fight and never ever stop, loosing sight of what really matters, not that I complain, it makes my job all the more easy. But it's pathetic. Every single time, Cybertronians fighting their stupid little civil wars. I never understood it, why they were programmed the way they were, allowed to have emotions and actual personalities like the doomed human race which fights just about as much as them. There's no point, it just results in more self destruction."
At this the group was silent in a mixture of awe and disbelief at the speech. Never had any of them gone up against an opponent that actually seemed to understand everything, possibly even more so than Optimus, Prowl, or Ratchet. "You want to know what my alliance is to?" Sideways asked, "My partnership is to something that actually matters just as the Autobots and Decepticons both are supposed to be working together for the alliance of Primus." "So you work for that old myth, er, Primus?" Bulkhead asked confused. "You're such an idiot," Sideways sighed shaking his head and looking at Bumblebee, "Optimus though, no matter where I go, you always seem to be the one most qualified to be in my position for what you're supposed to be doing. Therefore, my business is with you."
"Not before-" "Sentinel" Optimus said putting a hand on his shoulder-plate, "Let me talk to him, step back." "No!" Sentinel yelled knocking the hand off him. "Baka," Sideways muttered and shot the lance clean out of the Elite Guard Member's hand, "Do as the one that actually matters says." "Are you sure about this big guy?" Sari asked as Optimus set her on the ground and walked forward. "It's our best bet at getting Bumblebee back unharmed," he replied and stopped walking a few feet in front of the traitor. "What is it that you want?" Optimus asked.
"The Matrix," Sideways said holding his hand out. The group looked around at each other in confusion. "The what?" Optimus Prime asked in confusion. "Don't play games with me," Sideways hissed, "The Matrix, that which is beneath your chest-plate Optimus Prime! Hand it over and you get the boy back!" "My Spark?" Optimus guessed looking down at his torso. "I said stop toying with me," Sideways yelled with his voice beginning to change to his dark echoey one smacking his face in frustration, "unless of course you want to see how many pieces I can blast this little organic nobody into!" "Calm down," Optimus said putting his hands up calmly, "What does this Matrix thing look like." "Come on!" Sideways muttered, "You know! The Matrix! A sphere with an unparalleled energy locked inside and handles on the metal sphere surrounding it!" "The Allspark," Ratchet murmured just audibly enough so that Prime could hear as his optics widened, "What we gave to the Autobot Council when Prowl and Jazz brought the fragments back together..."
"Well?" Sideways said tapping his foot, "I'm waiting." "I don't know what you're talking about," Optimus Prime said. "Alright fine!" Sideways roared with his glowing eye twitching as he reached his hands between Optimus's chest-plates, "I'll just tear it out of you!" The purple transformer's eyes just widened in shock though as the plates flipped open revealing just a normal glowing spark. "Where...is...the...MATRIX?!" Sideways screamed with his voice becoming darker and more echoey with each word, "WHERE IS IT?!" "I told you," Optimus said backing up and shutting his chest-plates, "I don't know what you're talking about." "You...you seriously don't know what the Matrix is?..." Sideways asked dumbfounded as his eye twitched more and his voice returned to normal, "....then this has all been a complete waste of my time?!"
The group just watched the purple transformer as he clutched his head and seemed to have a seizure standing up in obvious fury. "Fine!" Sideways laughed hysterically and pointed his wrist cannon back at Bumblebee who's eyes widened in horror, "The kid's dead then!" WHAM! BZAPP!! The laser blasted straight through the cord holding the kid up as Optimus's ax slammed into his face-plate knocking him off balance. Instantly Sari dove for the falling boy and caught him in a somersault. "Bumblebee!" she gasped looking down at him as her robot form's helmet and mouth plates retracted. "He-Hey Sari," the boy stammered looking wearily up at her.
"Finally!" Sentinel exclaimed charging at Sideways after retrieving his lance, "Let's bust this bot up Optimus! Just like old times!" "Right," Optimus responded swinging his ax Sideways back launching the purple transformer straight into Sentinel's lance. "How's it feel now that I can actually fight you?" Sentinel asked smiling darkly at the skewered bot. "Not that much different," Sideways murmured kicking the blue Autobot's feet out from under him and yanking the lance out of his torso, "And don't fool yourself, you're still no match for me. None of you are." "Doesn't mean we're just gonna stand still and let you do what you want!" Ratchet yelled holding him still with the electric blasts from his wrists, "Now Prime!"
"This probably won't end you!" Optimus yelled seeing the hole from Sentinel's lance already patching itself up as his ax tore through Sideway's waist, "But it'll sure make me feel a ton better!" "That's it Optimus!" Sideways laughed as Ratchet slammed his halves to the ground, "Fight, kill, annihilate! That's what you're designed for! Show me what you got! Let it all loose!" Ratchet's optics widened in a mix of shock that the opponent was still talking and in a bit of horror now that Optimus was not moving. He looked at the Autobot leader. He was just standing there with his ax in the air. "Come on," Sideways urged, "Finish me, you know you want to."
Sentinel just looked at the scene in surprise as he heard the clang of Optimus's ax hitting the ground. He'd dropped his weapon. "What are you doing?" Sideways and Sentinel both asked. "I already know you won't die from that," Optimus said, "And I'm not going to let myself become what you want me to." "You really are honorable to the point of disbelief Optimus Prime," Sideways hissed reforming and tackling Optimus to the ground, "No matter what reality I'm in! It's insane that Primus wanted troops like you in the first place!" "Hands off the boss-bot dawg," Jazz said slapping the maniac off Optimus with his nun chucks before letting loose a kick to the side, "He don't deserve your attitude."
"Here's for the Space Bridge that Sentinel wrecked this time!" Bulkhead yelled launching the wrecking-ball into Sideways back before he had a chance to get back up. "ENOUGH!" Sideways roared in his dark voice as his eyes glowed red. In an instantly he had flipped back up and began charging at the two newest combatants. Bulkhead tried to reel the ball back in under Sideway's feet. The purple transformer however backflipped over it and landed behind Jazz disarming him of his nun chucks and snapping his foot into his back causing him to fall to the ground. "Take this!" Bulkhead yelled launching the wrecking ball again only for Sideways to hop onto it and ride it back to the green Autobot and slam his fingers between his collar and neck-plates. With a thud Bulkhead fell to the ground paralyzed.
"And this is for my boyfriend!" Sari's voice yelled as she sent a blast whizzing at Sideways who simply sidestepped it. "Aw isn't that cute?" Sideways mocked and snapped his fingers causing his helmet to morph into one of his two Minicons as the other came out from behind his head and they dropped to the ground, "Crosswire, Rook, keep the two humans company will you?" Sideways barely turned around before he heard two explosions and slowly turned back around to look at the boy and girl. Lying before them were the ruined remains of Rook and Crosswire. "What did you...do to my...MINICONS?!" Sideways screamed clutching the sides of his head. "So, you think I'm not worth paying attention to?" Sari muttered with her hands holding two bright blue balls of energy above their palms.
"You little freak!" Sideways roared in his dark echoing voice, "Die!" Sari stood frozen in fear as the wrist cannon began to fire at her. Just then she felt something hit her from the side and everything seemed to move in slow-motion. Bumblebee had knocked her out of the way of the blast and she looked at him just in time to see it pass straight through his shoulder sending pieces of bone, skin, and blood flying everywhere. The flow of time began to return to normal she hit the ground with the boy on top of her twitching and spasming. "Bumblebee," she said quietly with tears streaming down her cheeks inside her helmet, "Bumblebee..." "I told you," he coughed spitting some blood out onto her dress, "I wouldn't even let Unicron let a servo on you..."
"Well, I was gonna slag him anyway," Sideways laughed and pointed his arm now at Sari who remained sitting with her body bent over Bumblebee's, "You'll join him shortly." The gun barrel didn't have time to fire however as it exploded from one of Sari's energy balls as she stood up and looked furiously at the homicidal maniac with her eyes glowing brighter than they ever had, even brighter than when she had first upgraded herself. "What the?!" Sideways exclaimed looking at the wrist cannon before twirling around from another blast destroying his left arm, "Stop it you little brat! That hurt!...wait a sec...that hurt?!" Roaring, Sideways launched himself at the girl with his remaining arm only to be tossed back from the next blast that tore right through the right side of his face.
Everyone watched as Sideways wobbled back to his feet and stumbled about from the lack of parts making up his body. "You're dead," Sari muttered leaping into the air and generating a huge ball of energy from both hands above her head. "Wait! STOP!" Sideways pleaded. The ball was brought down and Sideways erupted into a fountain of shredded metal and circuitry. Sentinel helped Optimus to his feet as Bulkhead finally regained control of his body and stood up as well to better view the scene. Sari's face-plates retracted as the shower of machinery came to an end leaving just a dark grayish cloud where the transformer had been. Suddenly two red eyes peered down at her as part of the gray. "We will meet again little girl," Sideway's voice said alongside the dark echoing voice, "and I promise you, I will kill you."
"What on Cybertron is he?" Sentinel asked. "Something you could never be," Sideways hissed and the cloud evaporated into the air. Sari stared at where the cloud had been for a few seconds trying to take in what all had happened. Had that been the kind of power that Bumblebee had tried to teach her about?...Bumblebee! With her eyes wide Sari Sumdac turned around and ran over to where the boy was lying. His shoulder was gone and his his had rolled back into his head as blood continually leaked out. "Bumblebee!" Sari cried loudly falling down next to him and taking him in her arms, "Bumblebee!!! Please wake up! Bumblebee!!!" A few minutes later sirens were wailing through the night air with the moon shining brightly above.
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Well...uh...yeah, page 100 reached and this story has sure taken a darker turn with this latest chapter. Hope it was a good gift after that sort of filler chapter I gave last time. I've been planning this one out ever since the beginning of the story pretty much, and I just hope it turned out good enough...phew...yeah. So uh...dark...I saw Transformers Revenge of the Fallen in lighter news ^_^;
And as usual, the illustration for the chapter. Don't look if you're a Sari/Bumblebee fanatic and don't want to burst into tears:
warahi(dot)deviantart(dot)com/art/Bumblebee-s-Sacrafice-128499219