Airachnid could remember the Prime as if she had seen him yesterday, his dark gray frame mixed with bits of platinum, his layered armor that was designed for fighting, a face decorated with old scars, and blue optics that had seen far too much energon shed, yet filled with determination to put an end to the senseless violence. That was who she remembered, Megatronus Prime.
This tyrant that stood before her shared only one thing with the mech she respected above all others, the scars. Everything else was twisted and perverted into everything Megatronus stood against. Megatron's red optics were filled with clear malice and a desire to spread violence. The edges of his frame spiked upward menacingly, giving him a sinister appearance. The smile was uncharacteristic enough as her Prime rarely did so, but the razor sharp teeth he bore made it even worse. And the weapon attached to his arm, that was the biggest insult to her Prime of all. Megatronus wielded a sword and shield, nothing more. He went into battle with both held to his back and never used a blaster in his life, not even a stun-blaster. It went against his code as a gladiator, which he proudly upheld. But this doppelganger was armed with a cannon that was bigger than the arm it was attached to. She could only imagine the countless frames that were blown apart by the massive weapon.
But what truly angered her, as well as terrified her, was the way he was looking at her, her among everyone else. His smile was cruel, but his optics were boiling with rage, and they were aimed at her. Megatronus was not immune to anger. Truthfully, it was something he struggled with, much to his own shame. Whenever he allowed his anger to break through the calm and quiet appearance he was known for, it was followed with regret. According to Knockout, moments like that made him feel unworthy of being a Prime. But Megatron didn't hide his intentions in the slightest. He wanted to hurt Airachnid. It was written in fire around him. She was always slightly intimidated by, if not a little attracted to, Megatronus. But this mech, the way he was looking at her, it made her afraid.
The Autobots, however, stood between the Decepticons on either side of them and her protectively. Knowing that she was being targeted by the three, they formed a circle around her to protect her. Bumblebee and Bulkhead were standing closest to her. Arcee and Wheeljack were sizing up their opposition, while Optimus stood before Megatron, never taking his optics off the warlord. Megatron gave Optimus his full attention, incredulous disgust so very visible.
"I truly cannot comprehend what I'm seeing." Megatron said. "Optimus Prime and his noble Autobots defending Airachnid, of all the Decepticons."
"She is not a Decepticon, anymore." Optimus answered.
Airachnid and the others wondered for moment, but soon understood why Optimus implied that she had been a Deception. He was feeding Megatron misinformation to protect her. They didn't know what he would do if he found out about the world she came from.
"You couldn't be more wrong, Optimus. She was never a Decepticon. All the atrocities she's committed throughout the galaxy were done for nothing more than her own amusement. She was never loyal to me or my cause, which is why she abandoned us after the fall of Cybertron."
"After you destroyed, Cybertron!" Bumblebee shouted in beeps.
"Silence, Scout!" Megatron yelled back, causing Bumblebee to flinch and recoil. "You will do well to hold your tongue or else I shall tear it out as I did your voice box!"
Bumblebee narrowed his optics to appear intimidated by Megatron, but it was a futile attempt. Even after all these vorns, the warlord still struck fear in the spark of the young scout, the painful memories of his claw tearing his voice away still easy to envision. He tried to hold his gaze, but surrendered and looked away in fear.
"Bumblebee."
Bumblebee looked to Airi standing by his side, horrified and saddened by what she had just heard. He looked away from her, not wanting to show her the pain he was remembering.
Once again, the nature of her team's doppelgangers shocked Airachnid. She had wondered to herself, many times, why Bumblebee was unable to speak. To learn that it his voice box was ripped out, by the servos of Megatron no less, it made her feel sorry for him, but it also angered her towards this impostor.
"Is that pity I see in your optics, Airachnid?" Megatron mockingly asked. "You truly are dedicated to this act of yours. Do you really believe that you have reformed her, Optimus? If she doesn't strike one of you down the moment you turn your back to her, she will most certainly leave you to die to save her own spark."
"That remains to be seen. But you will not have her, Megatron." Optimus said. "You have taken far too many of our allies. Cliffjumper was the last. No more of us will die by your servos."
Megatron looked confused for all of a second, but let it go just as quickly. He had no idea who Cliffjumper was, nor did he care.
"Whatever madness that has led you to believe a single word from that traitor's mouth doesn't concern me."
He raised his fusion cannon at Optimus. The Decepticons began charging their blasters as well.
"A traitor will die tonight. And if you wish to protect her, you can die here as well, Optimus Prime."
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The Pit broke loose the moment the first blast was fired. The entire base became a free for all, with Team Prime trying to hold their own against the leader of the Decepticons, two of their ranking officers, and Primus knows how many faceless Aerial Drones.
Megatron and Optimus went at it, as they always did. Airachnid guessed that some things transcend dimensions, even when the people are the exact opposites in either world. But as the fight began, Knockout wasted no time and went straight for her. Before he could close in, Arcee jumped in and knock him back, standing in his path.
"Step aside, sweet-spark. I'm not here for you." He said.
Arcee's response was to shift out her arm blades and take her fighting stance.
"Fine, then. Be that way." Knockout followed.
Airachnid wondered why Knockout seemed so intent on getting to her, almost as much as Megatron was. She surveyed the area and saw that Dreadwing was being held at bay by Bulkhead and Wheeljack. Bumblebee had stayed by her side, waiting for the first Decepticon drone to make a move. As Arcee began duking it out with Knockout, several drones closed in on the scout and the supposed traitor. Airachnid quickly shifted her leg blades and claws while Bumblebee was at her back with his wrist blasters moving from one 'Con to the next. None of them seemed willing to make the first move against the pair, so they remained on guard for them to strike first instead.
"Don't worry, Airi. We'll get out of this."
"Just watch yourself, Bumblebee. We don't want Rafael to see you stumble back to base injured."
"No, we don't want that."
And with that, both Autobots opened up on the surrounding drones, blasting them two at a time. Airachnid kept them from getting too close with her leg blades and was more than capable of forcing back the one or two that managed to get within range of her claws. Bumblebee possessed more firepower in his blasters than Airi, which kept them even further away. But unlike her, he didn't possess any melee weapons. If any of them were to get too close, he would have to rely of his boxing moves to push them back. He'd be overwhelmed before he could incapacitate even one of them.
The Drones must've seen this weakness because several of them began to rush Bumblebee, leaving Airachnid with very few to deal with. Try as he might, Bumblebee wasn't able to hold them off with his blasters for very long. The first one that got too close was quickly knocked into stasis with his quick fists. But before he could even retake his stance, he was taken off guard by the rest of them. He managed to wrestle a few of them away from him, but the only thing that was keeping him from being tackled to the ground was the femme he had his back against. Instead, they were trying to pull him forward and force him onto the ground.
Suddenly, the femme at his back disappeared. Before he could even wonder what happened, or the Decepticons could take him down, Airachnid's legs came down and ran through the ones that had their servos on Bumblebee. She had taken her spider form and jumped over the scout, killing those that were trying to force him down. Using one of her legs to push Bumblebee back, Airachnid came slightly off the ground and spun herself with enough force to knock several more drones out of the way with her legs. With some more space between them, she fired back at the rest of them, dispersing those that were left. But it seemed that more had come just as they had disappeared and the duo could tell that they would be surrounded again if they didn't make a run for it.
Before the 'Cons could close in on them, Airachnid eyed a nearby building. Doing what her world's Miko would refer to as "Pulling a Spider-Man", Airi shot a line of web at the edge of the building's rooftop. Bumblebee was still blasting away at the Aerial Drones running towards him when he felt a clawed servo hook under his arm. Before he knew it, he was being pulled up like a slingshot to the top of the building. Airachnid had put enough tension in her web that they were able to shoot over ledge and give her enough time to take her bi-pedal form before landing on her pedes. Bumblebee was too dizzy from the sudden action to land on his own and fell to his knees. Airi knelt down to see if he was okay, but stopped when she realized that her claws had dug into his arms. She removed them and saw trace amounts of energon. The femme grimaced in embarrassment.
"Sorry." She said.
Bumblebee looked at his claw marks. They weren't bad injuries, but they stung like the pit.
"Don't worry about it." He said in a forgiving tone.
Before anything else could be said, several Decepticon air crafts flew above them and began circling back to the rooftop. With the heat of battle, Bumblebee was able to ignore his little cuts and shifted his blasters back. Once again, both he and Airachnid began shooting at Megatron's cannon fodder. When they fired back, the pair began moving around on the rooftop, avoiding their blasts while still returning their own.
Arcee was merciless against Knockout, flipping and kicking and punching the daylights out of him. One hard kick to the helm knocked him into a parked Jeep, causing him to stumble over it and land of his aft. The 'Con medic got back up with his prod in hand, looking utterly annoyed.
"Would you kindly frag off, two-wheeler?!" He spat, still feeling all over the place from all the hits he had taken.
Arcee's response was to run towards the Jeep he tripped over, jump off of it, and land with a round house kick to Knockout's helm a second time. This one sent him flying and when he landed, he was just about done with Arcee. He got up on one knee to see her approaching, smiling triumphantly at her easy victory. Knockout looked up and saw several drone air crafts circling something on a nearby rooftop.
"A little help down here, please!" He yelled into his comms.
Arcee drew her arm blades and Knockout was beginning to panic. Seemed like she was ready to offline his aft. But before she could close the distance, she was shot several times in the back by Decepticon drones. Arcee fell over, but turned on her back quick enough to return fire at the approaching armada. Several veered off to avoid being blasted, while a few others weren't so lucky. But they were coming at her from all angles and Arcee was forced to get back on her pedes and outmaneuver then while she shot back.
With the two-wheeler distracted, Knockout proceeded to search for Airachnid. He made sure to get away from Arcee, just in case she managed break free of the armada. He looked back up to where the other drones were circling the building and was surprised to see Airachnid and the Autobot scout fighting together. Seeing the traitor made Knockout clench his teeth and grip his prod in his servos. The two were so focused on the few drones they were duking it out with, they didn't notice anything going on below them. Knockout saw that the building wasn't particularly high and had an idea.
Airachnid had moved closer to the edge of the building, giving Knockout a clear shot of her. He took his prod in one servo, aimed it carefully and with all his strength, he threw it as hard as he could at Airachnid's back. The rod hit its mark, landing just below where her legs connected to her back. Airachnid cried out and fell over the edge, but Bumblebee managed to grab her servo before she dropped.
"Get that scout away from her and keep him away!" Knockout ordered into his comm link.
Several Aerial Drones ran up to Bumblebee and pulled him away from Airachnid, despite his desperate attempts to fight them off. If Knockout gave a frag about anything else at the moment, he would've been thoroughly confused as to why the Autobots were so fixated on protecting her. Nevertheless, Airachnid fell to the ground below.
From both whatever had struck her in the back and the fall itself, Airi was out of of her head for a moment. She stood up slowly to regain her senses, trying to figure out what happened and where she was. Before she could register anything around her, someone tackled her from behind, smashing the both of them into the building she was standing next to.
Airi collected herself fast enough to throw her attacker off of her and ready her leg blades the moment he tried to attack again. But she stopped herself when she got a good look at him. Knockout was still trying to get to his pedes, giving her a good opportunity to take him down, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Even though she knew who he really was, made more clearer by the way he acted, she still saw her old medic.
Knockout regained his stance and saw Airachnid staring at him, putting his defenses back up immediately. He armed his saw blade and glared hatefully at her. Her only response was to look at him with confusion and what appeared to be sadness, but Knockout wasn't falling for it.
"Oh, spare me the sad optics, you little glitch spawn. I'm not a fool like the Auto-chumps."
Airi shook her helm and pushed away any thought that her old teammate was somewhere in there. This was a Decepticon in front of her, nothing more. She was prepared for this when she went along with this mission. She knew that this was coming and she was ready to do what needed to be done. But in the back of her mind, she knew she wouldn't be able to kill Knockout, no matter how much he tarnished his memory.
Knockout charged at her with his saw and began swiping and swinging it in her direction. Much like the one of her world, this Knockout wasn't much of a fighter. Vorns of putting more effort into maintaining their appearances than improving their combat skills left them with much to be much to be desired in that department. Needless to say, Airi had no trouble at all dodging Knockout's sloppy attacks.
Every swing he took her, Airi merely stepped out of the way, causing him to stumble behind her. Every so often, she would parry him and knock him to the side with her legs, no longer bearing the blades at the end. With every missed strike, Knockout left himself open for attack. Her counterpart would've taken it with no mercy, but Airi didn't. This only seemed to enrage Knockout even further, causing him to strike more unfocused. He was beginning to fall over himself every time Airachnid dodged him. This, of course, made him even angrier.
He charged at her again, only this time, she grabbed the arm he was attacking with and used his momentum to flip him over and slam him on his back. She quickly got on top of him to pin him down. Making sure she had a firm hold on him, she look him in his optics, still burning holes into her spark. She couldn't reach him, she knew that, but she had to try. She tempered her expectations, knowing she was setting herself up for disappointment. But with everything that's happened in the past few days, she dared to hope that maybe she could get back another member of her family.
"I don't want to fight you, Knockout." She said calmly.
Knockout struggled to break free of her with no success.
"I need you to listen to what I have to say." She continued.
"You can rust in the Pit of Unicron with whatever you have to say, Airachnid."
There was so much hate in his voice and the smugness he had shown earlier was nowhere to be seen or heard. What had her opposite done to make him hate her like this?
"Knockout, please."
The way she spoke to him only seemed to confuse/anger him even more.
"Will you stop with this redeemed femme act?! Nobody believes you!" He shouted.
Suddenly, Knockout headbutted Airachnid in the face, forcing her to get off of him. He got up quickly and slashed at her again with his saw. She jumped out of the way quick enough to receive a minor mesh wound on her arm.
"Nobody with brains, anyway." He followed.
"It doesn't have to be this way." Airachnid pleaded.
"Oh, yes it does, Airachnid. It absolutely does."
"But why? Why do we have to fight like this?"
The mere question left Knockout flabbergasted and so angry that he almost couldn't respond.
"Wha-Why?! You're asking me why?!"
The look on his face was so intense that Airi had actually taken a few steps back.
"Do all your kills just run together in that twisted head of yours? You can't even keep track of them, can you? You...You killed Breakdown and you have to nerve to ask to me why?!"
Airachnid was shocked for a second or two, but then lowered her helm for failing to realize this sooner. Dreadwing had revealed to her that her Decepticon counterpart had indeed killed Breakdown in this world. Now she realized that the close friendship he had with Knockout also transcended dimensions. This is why he hated her, because the other Airachnid killed his best friend. She looked back at Knockout, ever so sorrowful.
"Knockout, I..."
"Don't. You. Dare. Airachnid!" Knockout cut her off. "Don't you dare feign remorse for what you did! I already told you, I don't buy this whole redemption scrap!"
The visceral hatred in his words were crushing any hope that Airi could convince him to leave the Decepticons and join the Autobots. But the fact was, Knockout was hurting. He was going through the loss of his closest friend, meaning he had some compassion in his spark. Maybe if he knew who she was really was, she could get him to listen to her. She missed her Breakdown too and knew too much about loss. She could help him get through it, maybe help him see the light along the way. But should she take the risk? How would she be able to convince him that she wasn't the Airachnid he thought she was. Would it even matter to him? She needed to feel him out a little before she made her decision, but she needed to calm him down first.
"Knockout, I'm sorry for what happened to Breakdown."
"No...you're not."
"I am...There's a lot of things that's happened that I wish hadn't. I can't change any of it. But I'm trying to move forward."
Knockout wasn't as vicious as he was a second ago, but he was no less unbelieving or unforgiving.
"Even if I believed anything that comes out of your mouth, it wouldn't matter."
Airi knew that he was going back on the attack. She wasn't going to reach him here, not as he was now. She would give him time to let what she said sink in.
"You killed my friend. You can't undo that."
Airi let the situation play itself out by allowing Knockout to continue his attack on her. Just as before, she kept him at bay, letting himself tire out. But to try and break him down faster, she returned a few strikes of her own. Nothing fatal or anything serious, just a few punches and kicks. But it seemed that his rage alone was enough to drive him to continue fighting such a hopeless battle. Airachnid could only look on with pity as Knockout continued to let himself be consumed by his anger. It reminded her of how she almost let herself become consumed by her own despair.
After a while, Knockout had become exhausted. Airi was going to deal the finishing blow and put him in stasis so she could help the other Autobots and they could all escape. There didn't seem to be anymore humans in the base, so their mission was complete. But Knockout wasn't done. Picking up a piece of human machinery, he threw it at Airi as hard as he could. She moved out of the way and it missed her, but it was just a distraction. He rushed her again with his saw and his drill. Airi reacted quick enough to stop either from tearing her face apart. She held his weapons in place, but Knockout was struggling to move closer. They were near the open entrance, so Airachnid kneed him in his lower chassis and threw him outside behind her. He knocked over a military truck as he fell. Airachnid had stepped back out into the open, prepared to finish the fight for now. But she stopped at the turned over vehicle and saw what had been hidden inside of it.
Airi couldn't believe it when she saw it. The back of the truck was holding a handful of deceased human soldiers. They all looked like they were killed from strong impact, a Cybertronian. Airachnid could only stare in at shock the familiar sight of dead humans. Knockout had gotten back up and was ready to continue fighting, but stopped when he saw Airachnid looking horrified at what she had found.
"Oh, what? You're gonna pretend you care about humans now?" He said far too casually.
Airachnid looked to him now, disbelief in her optics.
"Did you do this?" She asked in shock.
Knockout merely raised one of his brows. Then he scoffed in amusement.
"I did." He said, empathizing the I, implying that Dreadwing took no part in it. "What of it?"
Airachnid could only stare in horror, unable to process what she was both seeing and hearing.
"Why?" She desperately asked.
He scoffed again, this time in disbelief.
"Is that some kind of joke? You, of all femmes, should know why."
Airachnid continued to look at the corpses, feeling a familiar anger stir within her.
"Humor me." She said with an slight but noticeable aggression in her voice.
Knockout seemed to find this amusing, temporarily forgetting his mission in the first place.
"It's their own fault, you know. We just wanted to raise a little chaos to lure the Autobots out."
Airi clenched her fist, seeing the notable differences with this and her Knockout more clearly now, just as with Starscream.
"We gave the meat bags a chance to run away, but they wanted to put up a fight. I would've preferred not to slaughter the little pests if I didn't have to. They always leave behind this disgusting red fluid that really messes with the paint job."
Airachnid was practically digging her claws into her own fists. Starscream had spoken ill of his dead brothers, but this was even worse. Knockout had killed humans and didn't show the slightest hint of remorse. It took everything she had to hold herself back, if only to ask one question.
"And Dreadwing...did he do this too?"
Knockout looked annoyed by the question.
"Come now, you know better than that? Dreadwing's all about honor and and all nonsense. He doesn't believe in slaughtering a weaker species like these humans."
That calmed Airi some, knowing that Dreadwing didn't take part in this massacre. But the mere sight of this red colored impostor filled her with more anger than the sight of her worst enemy herself, her world's Arcee.
"You're a monster, Knockout."
"That's rich, coming from you. I've grown tired of this...whatever this is suppose to be."
With that, he shifted back his surgical weapons. But when he saw the look on Airachnid's face, he stopped himself from attacking. The hunter's optics she was known for were set upon him, but the sadistic smile she was also known for was replaced with the fierce look of pure hatred. Never had Knockout seen Airachnid so angry, not even at the two-wheeler.
"And I've grown tired of you, Decepticon." She said, coldly.
Just by calling him that, she let go of the resemblance of her old friend and saw only the enemy. Her legs readied and shifted the blades at the end, her claws were bared, and her fangs dripped with the venom of one angry Autobot. Knockout was growing concerned by what she could see, but he stood his ground. He still wanted revenge for Breakdown. But she also wanted revenge, for the humans he killed, for even existing. She was going to end that existence.
Knockout charged at at her with his weapons and began striking and swiping as he did before. Airachnid used her leg blades to parry them away from her, being sure to slice his arms as she did. He swung his saw at her head, she deflected it with her arm without cutting herself in the process. That move left him open and she clawed the side of his face, forced him to step back. The strike left for lines on one side of his helm and face, but it didn't stop him. He went to strike at her torso with his drill, but she caught his forearm with her servo and began digging her claws into him. The medic grunted harshly and she used her other servo to grab him by the throat. She pulled him closer to her and hissed when he was face to face with her.
"You're the one who killed my friend, Airachnid. What are you so mad about?" He forced himself to say.
"If he's anything like you...he deserved to die."
Knockout's optic were lit with anger and he swung his saw blade at her. Luckily, she managed to dodge in time. Once he was free, he stood straight and glared at Airachnid.
"You glitch!" He yelled.
He ran at Airachnid with his weapons pulled back, ready to swing at her with both. She ran for him as well, but jumped over him before he could attack. As she landed, she used her legs to whack Knockout a few steps forwards in the back. Frustrated now, he angrily turned around with a blind swing of his saw, exactly what she wanted.
She extended her leg and allowed Knockout to impale his arm onto the blade at the end. He yelled in pain, but attempted the same thing with his drill, which was met with the same outcome. Airachnid brought down two more legs onto his shoulders, forcing him to his knees. The blades were so deep that he had no hope of getting up without her removing them. He defiantly looked up at her, not giving her the satisfaction of being afraid.
Airachnid felt herself falter for a moment, allowing her angry expression to fall for just one second. But she shook her helm and removed her blades from his shoulders. She pulled him up and pulled her other blades from his arms, knowing he was too weak to fight back. She turned around and forced him back on his knees, her servo around his neck and her claws ready to open his throat.
"Look at them, Knockout. Look at what you've done."
"What, not impressed? Sorry, we can't all masters of genocide like you."
Airachnid dug two of her digits into one of his shoulder wounds, forcing another pained grunt out of him.
"You don't even care, do you?"
"No, not even a little."
"You should. You're going to feel what they felt when you killed them."
"I'm not afraid of you, Airachnid. You're not going to make me beg for mercy. I may not be able to kill you, but you can't run forever. Sooner or later, Megatron is gonna get his servos on you and when he does, you're finished. So go ahead and do it. I'll be seeing you soon enough anyway."
Knockout's words were real and he was as prepared to die as the last time she saw him in her world. She was ready to oblige him. The tips of her claws pressed against his energon line, threatening to puncture it. One slight movement in any direction and it would be torn open. Knockout shut his optics, submitting to his fate. He couldn't avenge his friend, but at least he tried his best. He just hoped that Dreadwing and Megatron sent her to the Pit right after him.
Knockout deserved to die for what he did. If he didn't, he would would only kill again. She had no idea what he was like when he wasn't in the field, what kind of doctor he was. He could of been a butcher like Ratchet The Surgeon, carelessly acting as Lord Optimus' glorified torturer and component harvester. He could be even worse than Ratchet, going straight into mad scientist territory and conducting experiments on his captives. Maybe he was just a doctor and did what he was suppose to do, if only in service of the Decepticons. But the chance couldn't be taken. He wasn't above killing humans and he needed to be stopped. Airachnid needed to end him right here and now.
But she couldn't do it.
Even after seeing his true colors, after all the mental preparations leading up to this moment, the strength of her resolve that she gained when Optimus Prime accepted her as one his Autobots, when it came right down to it, she still wasn't ready to kill the familiar Decepticons.
She stood there with her claws at Knockout's throat, but she did nothing. If her captive was growing impatient, he said nothing. Her frame began to tremble and she pulled her claw away just enough that she wouldn't accidentally cut him. Finally, after what felt like a vorn, she released Knockout and pushed him forward. As he fell to his servos and knees, she backed away from him. She felt ashamed of herself for being able to do what was necessary, clenching her servos in frustration. Knockout stood up slowly and turned to face her, her mercy doing nothing to sway him.
"I don't know what you think you're doing..." He began, but she cut him off.
"I'm not killing you, Knockout, not today."
The medic scoffed at her words, not caring to know the reasons for her inaction.
"You're really going the extra mile to convince me of this turnaround, aren't you?"
"This isn't mercy, Knockout. I don't just have it in me to snuff you out just yet."
Knockout must've found this amusing if his smile was of any indication.
"Is the famous predator, Airachnid, losing her edge after all this vorns? If only Breakdown could see you..."
"Shut the frag up!" She yelled which took Knockout by complete surprise.
Airachnid calmed herself before she continued on.
"I've heard enough out of you...I tried to reason with you, but now that I've seen what you've done...I can't forgive you."
"Forgive Me?! Who do you think you are, talking about..."
Airachnid bolted forward and drove one of her blades into his chassis, right next to his spark, and pinned him back to the ground. He said nothing after that.
"The next time we meet, I'm going to kill you. But right now...I can't even stand to look at you, alive or dead. So get out of my sight and stay out of it...before I rip your spark out."
Airachnid pulled her leg from Knockout's chassis roughly, getting one last pained grunt from him. But just as she did, she heard the sound of an aircraft flying overhead. She looked up and saw Dreadwing's alt above her. He transformed and landed behind her not too far from where she and Knockout were standing.
She stepped a safe distance away from Knockout, allowing him to get up and limp to Dreadwing's side. Dreadwing took a quick look at Knockout and turned back to Airachnid.
"Call for a ground bridge, Knockout. You're no longer fit to continue this mission."
But the medic sent another hostile look to Airachnid, clearly not intending to miss out on the next battle.
"I want to see her die." He said coldly.
"You'll be in my way in you remain here. Call for a bridge and begin patching yourself up. You're of no use to us as you are now." Dreadwing replied.
Knockout growled in protest, but he knew better than to go against Dreadwing's orders. He kept looking at Airachnid for a few seconds more.
"Make sure she suffers." He said before leaving to call a bridge elsewhere.
The two of them were left alone, staring each other down. Dreadwing may not have been as viciously hostile towards Airachnid as Knockout was, but he was no less determined to bring her back to the Nemesis to answer for her perceived betrayal.
Airachnid was also feeling very differently now that Knockout was gone. Learning that Dreadwing hadn't killed any of the human soldiers returned some of the hope she felt after their last encounter. Foolish, perhaps. But after dealing with Knockout, she wanted to at least try and see if Dreadwing wasn't too far gone into Decepticon corruption. But before she could even entertain the thought...
"Bulkhead and Wheeljack?" She asked.
"Hmph, incapacitated for now." He replied.
"You didn't kill them." She stated, semi question like.
"We're here for you, Airachnid, no one else."
"I see."
Airachnid kept her legs and claws shifted, but she allowed herself to appear non-combative. She needed to talk some sense into Dreadwing.
"Dreadwing, why do you fight for the Decepticons?"
Dreadwing narrowed his optics, as if trying to decipher a hidden meaning behind the question.
"I chose the Decepticon cause a long time ago, to fight against the broken caste system that left Cybertron divided."
"But Cybertron is gone. Why continue to fight for a dead cause?"
"You Autobots are the cause now, your eradication the new mission."
"So even after losing everything, you still remain loyal to Megatron."
"I chose my side and and swore my loyalty to Lord Megatron."
That was the answer Airachnid was looking for. She took a few steps forward, still far enough that Dreadwing couldn't attack her.
"Your loyalty is wasted, Dreadwing. You don't belong with the Decepticons."
Dreadwing had remained stoic up until now, as Airachnid challenging his loyalty clearly angered him.
"And what would you know of loyalty or honor, traitor?!"
"Enough to know that Megatron has neither."
Airachnid took a few more steps further and came to a point, halfway to Dreadwing, where she stood by an opening between two buildings.
"Dreadwing, you may have sworn loyalty to Megatron but he has none for you. The moment you fall in battle, he will disregard you just like he did Skyquake."
Once she became an official Autobot of this world, Airachnid read reports on past missions in her spare time and learned of Skyquake's demise. Shame, since he was as honorable as his twin. But once again, Dreadwing didn't want to hear Airachnid challenge his loyalty, especially using Skyquake. He quickly drew his giant sword the moment she mentioned him.
"You will not speak my brother's name again!"
"I speak the truth, Dreadwing. You're brother died fighting for Megatron, even when he was thought to be dead. Skyquake didn't bend the knee Starscream. His life was lost in service to your lord and yet Megatron has done nothing to avenge his death. That's how little he thinks of your loyalty."
Airachnid watched him closely and she saw it. It was only for a split second, but she saw a chink in his armor. What she said caused Dreadwing to falter ever so slightly.
"And what of your honor, Dreadwing? Where is the honor is slaughtering defenseless humans? I know you took no part in what happened here today. I know you didn't kill any humans."
Dreadwing seemed indifferent, but not by what Airachnid was saying. He didn't take part in the senseless massacre. The humans stood their ground against them. Admirable as it was, it was also foolish. But Dreadwing saw no point in killing them as merely being there was enough to get the Autobot's attention. But the Vehicons and Knockout decided to vent their frustrations out on the lower lifeforms and conducted themselves like savages. Dreadwing found the whole thing disgraceful.
"The only thing that drives Megatron now is his hatred of the Autobots and Optimus Prime. It's that same hatred that started the war and destroyed Cybertron and now, it threatens to destroy Earth. Dreadwing...leave the Decepticons. If you remain by Megatron's side, it won't be long before he forces you to do the unthinkable and taint your honor forever. I don't expect you to the join us...but you don't have to fight us either. I'm asking you, Dreadwing...walk away from this...from him."
Airachnid knew Dreadwing, and even though he remained as emotionless as he always had been, she could tell that he was deep in thought. But she couldn't know of the confusion her very words were creating inside of Dreadwing's head. He lowered his sword and took a non-combative stance. He stared at Airachnid in puzzlement, trying to figure the femme out.
"What is this, Airachnid? What are you doing?" He asked.
"What do mean?"
"You, an Autobot, fighting alongside Arcee, defending the humans. What's happened to you, Airachnid? What did they do to you?"
The Decepticon hunter Dreadwing believed he was speaking to must have been quite the monster for them to refuse to accept such a drastic change.
"Nothing was done to me, Dreadwing. Things are not what they seem."
"With you, they never are. What is your endgame? What's going on? Because, even if I believed that you have changed and let go of your barbaric ways, I can't believe that you could get the Autobots to trust you and defend you as they do now. I can only draw two conclusions. Either they brainwashed you and rewrote your personality, or something has caused you to forget who you are and what you do."
If that's what Dreadwing wished to believe, Airachnid would not deny it. All she cared about was getting him on her side, or at the very least, away from Megatron. Unfortunately...
"Even if that is the case...It does not matter. You swore loyalty to Lord Megatron and you broke that loyalty. You've abandoned us, attempted to overthrow Lord Megatron, and you took the life of Breakdown. You may change your ways, if you wish. But you cannot change what you have done any more than I can change what I must do."
She tried, she really tried. But in the end, Dreadwing was far too loyal for his own good.
"I'm sorry, Airachnid, but there is no redemption for you. You must die for your crimes against the Decepticon cause."
"I could not have said it better myself." Megatron's voice was heard.
Airachnid turned to the opening she was standing in front of, only to be blasted in a wall by a low charged shot from Megatron's cannon.
"That's not entirely true." The smirking warlord continued. "I wouldn't say it with any sympathy for you or your change of spark."
Airachnid's entire frame was smoking from the blast. As she tried to sit herself up against the wall she flew into, she saw that most of her upper frame had been singed. She looked up to see Megatron walking towards her. There was no hope of her running away from him.
"A turncoat is still a traitor, regardless of her reasons."
He servo clamped around her throat and Megatron lifted up off her pedes. She tried to move her legs to stab him, but found that they had become immobile. Airachnid could only choke and gasp as Megatron tightened his grip.
"And a traitor must suffer for turning against her master."
Megatron then turn around and threw Airachnid clear through the opening behind him. She flew a good distance before hitting the ground and skipping across the concrete to a stop, pieces of her damaged frame chipping off as she tumbled to the ground. She landed on her front side and struggled to lift herself up. She saw that she was in front of the base now. Around her were several Vehicons and Aerial Drones, eagerly waiting for Megatron to finish her off. She also saw that Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and even Optimus had been beaten. But they were just coming out of there stasis and would soon come to Airachnid's aid. Dreadwing, however, flew above them and landed right in front of the three.
They must've been taken down hard because they weren't too quick to recover. Before they could even stand straight one of the Aerial Drones threw Dreadwing his mini-gun. He wasted no time and aimed the weapon at them, forcing them to stay where they were. If they tried to rush him or help Airachnid, they'd be blown away.
Airachnid continued to try and push herself back up, but stopped when she heard someone land behind her. She knew it was Megatron, but could do nothing to stop what he was going to do. Suddenly, she felt something sharp go through her lower back and out of her front. It happened so quickly that she didn't cry out from the pain. She just remained perfectly still, unsure if it really just happened.
Bulkhead sprinted forward only to be rammed in the chassis by the barrel of Dreadwing's weapon. The Wrecker was tempted to try his luck, but he relented, hoping that Optimus would have a plan.
Megatron kept his blade in Airachnid's back as she weakly groaned in response. With a sadistic look on his face, he twisted the blades, causing her to jerk forward and cry suddenly. His twisted it in the other direction, getting her to loudly groan in pain. He pulled his blade out, getting another grunt from her.
"Megatron, stop this now!" Optimus yelled.
"Stay out of this, Optimus!" Megatron yelled back. "This is Decepticon matter. I will deal with you once I deal with this traitor."
Turning his attention back to Airachnid he began circling her as she pitifully tried to hold herself up on her arms.
"Megatron...please." She weakly begged.
"Is that Starscream I hear?" He mockingly replied. "Strange, I was under the impression that we were dealing the great hunter, Airachnid, not the cowardly seeker who thought he could lead the Decepticons."
He thrust his blade into her, below her shoulder. She cried out much louder this time. He began twisting his sword once again, getting more pained cries. He pulled his blade out and continued circling her.
"Tell me, Airachnid, when did you receive these upgrades on your limbs?" He asked, referring to her leg blades.
Airachnid, of course didn't answer.
"Is this what you used to take the head off Breakdown? Or was this a gift from your new allies along with your paint job and new alt form?"
Megatron grabbed one of her immobile spider limbs, examining it closely.
"I'm sure you've snuffed out many sparks with such an efficient enhancement. But if you're going to beg for your life like Starscream would, then you don't deserve to have weapons such of these."
And with that, Megatron sliced the top half of her leg clean off. The pain she felt was excruciating and her cry reflected that. The groans that followed did the same. Megatron grabbed two more limbs.
"I recall you once saying that if you were ever to be defeated in battle, the one who beat you would do well to make it hurt just as you would. You've tortured and killed many Autobots before you betrayed me. For your service in the past..."
"Please don't, Megatron." She pleaded.
"I will fulfill your request."
Airachnid's screams echoed through the base as Megatron removed two more of her legs. Bulkhead couldn't stand it and attempted to rush to her aid, but was whacked in the chassis from Dreadwing's weapon once again. Optimus attempted to use the distraction to try his luck, Wheeljack attempting the same thing. But Dreadwing saw them and opened fire at their pedes. Optimus was hit in his armored leg and brought down to his knee. Wheeljack stopped in his tracks when Optimus fell. The three of them were grabbed by several Vehicons and held in place to keep them from interrupting Megatron's torture session.
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Cried Airachnid as Megatron cut off a fourth leg.
"If you want your hive to hear you, you need to scream louder!"
Megatron yanked on two more of her legs, pulling her up off the ground slightly and hacked them off. Once again, she screamed in pain.
Dreadwing stayed focused on the three Autobots and tried his hardest to ignore what was happening behind him. As much as Airachnid deserved to be executed, he felt the torture to be unnecessary. He never had a taste for it, even if he sometimes felt it was needed for information and the like. But he could never stand to watch it or hear it. Right now, he wished Megatron would just kill Airachnid and get it over with.
Airachnid was shivering in pain on the floor with only two of her spider limbs remaining. Megatron stabbed at one in the base, drive the blade through her breastplate, not too far from her spark. Though it was still horribly painful, she did not scream, even when Megatron twist his blade as he had the other two times. When he pulled his blade, he severed her leg as he did. Energeron began to pool underneath Airachnid and her vision was beginning to fade. The Autobots could see her optics dimming as the loss of energon was beginning to put her in stasis.
"You're a sick fragger, Megatron!" Wheeljack shouted. "If you're gonna do it, than just get it over with already."
Although Wheeljack was extremely grateful for everything Airachnid had done for him, Bulkhead, and Miko, he had no real relationship with her. Despite that, even he couldn't stand to see what Megatron was doing to her and just wanted her suffering to end. Megatron cruelly looked at the three of them before grabbing Airachnid's remaining spider leg. He didn't cut it off this time. Megatron's pede held Airachnid down, pressing against the wounds on her back and causing her more pain. He put his other servo around her leg. Optimus knew what he was doing.
"Megatron, don't!" He pleaded, but the warlord wasn't listening.
The Autobots struggled against their many captors holding them back, unable to break free in their extenuated states. Dreadwing kept his faced turned away, even though it was all happening behind him. Even for Megatron, this was cruel.
"This is what happens when you betray me, Airachnid!" He said.
Megatron began pulling on Airachnid's leg, making her groan in pain. Even with Megatron's considerable strength, pulling off an unrusted limb was not an easy thing to do. Megatron applied more effort and increased tension, causing the pain to get worse. Airachnid's groaning became teeth clenched grunting. Megatron had broken her leg from where he was pulling, but Airachnid could still feel them in her back and his pede was still pressing against her, damaging her back even more. Airachnid began screaming now as Megatron's effort was pulling her up, even with his pede on her back. Bulkhead and Wheeljack looked away as they heard the sounds of metal being torn and Airi's screaming getting louder.
When her leg was finally torn from her back, she let out a cry that could've been heard from the other side of the base. Even as she fell forward, she continued to cry out in between pained gasps. Megatron carelessly threw the torn leg off to the side. Most of the others were littered around him. She began to whimper loud enough for the Autobots to hear. Optimus looked to her and saw her convulsing and her optics lit brighter from the shear pain of what had just happened. Megatron stood over her with a satisfied look on his twisted face. Optimus felt such anger in his spark, but he also felt shame for allowing this to happen. Airachnid had trusted him and accepted him as her new Prime and he had failed her.
Megatron turned Airachnid on her back with his pede, allowing him to see the pained and hopeless look on her face. She turned her face away from her tormentor, staring at a pile of her own limbs.
"sierra...jack..." she whimpered.
"How the mighty have fallen." Megatron said.
He brought his pede down on her again, only this time, he stomped it. With a sadistic smile on his scarred face, he began crushing Airachnid's chassis. With everything that was done to her, the femme could barely let out a weak groan as she felt her frame crumble.
"Now's the time for parting words, Airachnid. Anything you wish to say?"
With what little strength she had, Airachnid looked Megatron dead in his red optics as defiantly as she could.
"you're nothing...compared...to megatronus."
She was talking about about the Prime she served before coming to this world, but Megatron thought she was referring to one of the original 13 from which he took his name from and the first Decepticon. Airachnid's words were not appreciated and Megatron drew his sword again.
"And you are less than nothing when compared to me!" He yelled as he pulled his sword back to run it through Airachnid's spark.
Airachnid merely turned her head and waited to be reunited with her Autobots and her humans. She didn't want to die, but she had long since prepared for that. She was ready.
A furious engine caught everyone's attention and stopped Megatron from executing Airachnid. They all turned back to the base and saw Bumblebee driving at full speed towards the crowd of Decepticons. Megatron growled and gave the order without having to say a word. The Vehicons and Aerial Drones opened fire at Bumblebee as he got closer. The scout ended up swerving and flipping over before landing in his bipedal form on his servos and knees. He looked up to see Megatron staring him down. He looked down to the ground beside him and saw Airi lying frighteningly still. His optics widened in panic, fearing the worst.
"You're just in time, Scout. You can watch me cut out Airachnid's spark."
Bumblebee looked on with fear and anger, but he wasn't done yet...and neither was Arcee. The sound of another engine was heard from where Bumblebee had just came from and and the aforementioned femme was coming at them even faster than the scout. Getting off his servos and sitting on one knee, Bumblebee acted as a ramp for Arcee to shoot over the Decepticons and transform mid air, before descending upon Megatron and kicking him as hard as she could right in his mug. The kick wasn't nearly as strong as it needed to be, but it was enough to get the warlord's pede off of the injured Airachnid and away from her. But before Arcee could even land, she was grabbed by the throat and held off the ground by the very mech she had just attacked.
Megatron was livid for Arcee daring to interrupt him. The femme glared defiantly at him, not allowing him to see her falter. He readied his sword to run her through, but thankfully, no one was paying attention to Bumblebee anymore. He had transformed and kick his top speed towards the two. Megatron looked behind Arcee and saw him coming straight at him, allowing her to kick him in the chin and break free. Bumblebee rammed into him and pushed him away from her and Airachnid, then came to a stop which threw him back.
Seeing the opportunity he needed, Optimus elbowed one of the Vehicons holding him in place, freeing one of his arms. He shifted his wrist blade and slashed at the other three and broke free of them. Bulkhead and Wheeljack were able to do the same. The three rushed Dreadwing before he could open fire on them and managed to get both his weapon away from him. Optimus saw that Bumblebee were left to deal with Megatron alone and quickly hit Dreadwing hard enough to put him downand get past him. Trusting Wheeljack and Bulkhead to handle the Armada Commander, Optimus rushed into Megatron and held him at bay as best as he could.
Bumblebee and Arcee ran up Airachnid and were shocked to see the shape she was in. She lost a serious amount of energon, what was left of her spider legs were sprawled out and leaking underneath her, and her front chassis was absolutely mangled.
"Airi." He said in fear.
She was in stasis and both Bumblebee and Arcee feared that she wasn't going to make it. Arcee quickly called Ratchet.
"Ratchet, we need a bridge, right now!"
"On it's way, Arcee." Ratchet answered back.
"When we get there, we need to move fast. We have injured...and it's bad."
The comms were cut immediately and a ground bridge opened up right next to the three. Megatron saw the portal and immediately pushed Optimus out of the way.
"No!" He yelled in fury.
The warlord attempted to stop them as Bumblebee scooped up Airachnid and ran for the bridge. But Megatron had his back turned to Optimus who punched him in the back of the head as hard as he could. He then stabbed Megatron in the back of the knee to immobilize and keep him from going after Airachnid. Megatron roared from the pain and growled when he saw Optimus standing over him.
"This isn't over, Optimus! You can't protect her forever!"
The Prime said nothing and ran towards the bridge. Bumblebee had already run through and Arcee was gathering the last of her spider legs while Wheeljack was fighting off Vehicons. Bulkhead was holding back the unarmed Dreadwing and when he saw that Airi was gone, he whacked him in the head with his wrecking ball and knocked him down. The remaining four Autobots ran into the portal and Ratchet shut it the second the last one was through. Megatron recovered just quick enough to see the portal disappear. Airachnid had gotten away when he just had her right where he wanted her.
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Megatron roared with all his might.
The Prime had gotten in his way once again.
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While Airi was on her mission, Sierra had gone off and found an empty room to vent her frustrations. She was more than angry about what had happened with Jack's mother and Airi. But she was more angry with Jack than June because he had lied to her. Then again, she wasn't all that happy with June either, taking Jack away from the base and telling Arcee not to go with them. She'd spent most of the time debating with herself who was more to blame for all of this, Jack or his mom.
Raf had come to see if she was alright and to tell her that Ratchet was going to bridge them home if the Autobots didn't return soon. Sierra didn't want to leave without Airi and she was getting worried about the mission that was taking too long for her comfort. The two began walking back to the main hall when they heard the commotion. Both of them ran, eager to see their guardians. But when they saw what happened, they were anything but happy.
Sierra's heart stopped when she saw Airi in Bumblebee's arms. She was dripping with some blue substance that would've rained on any human that was standing under her. She knew it had to be her blood. Bumblebee placed her on an Autobot sized stretcher where Ratchet began examining her as best as he could. Sierra remained motionless as Bumblebee anxiously stood by Ratchet.
"This is not good, she's lost far too much energon." The medic said. "Bumblebee, go into my storage and grab the medical grade energon. She's going to need a transfusion. I need to seal these wounds as best I can. Hurry, Airachnid's hanging by a thread."
"Okay, Ratchet." The panicked scout replied.
But when he turned to go down the hall, he saw Sierra and Rafael standing there, petrified.
"Bumblebee, I need those..." Ratchet said when he noticed that Bumblebee hadn't left, stopping when he noticed the two humans. "Oh."
None of them said anything or made a sound, but the portal was still open. Arcee, Wheeljack, Bulkhead and Optimus ran through and Ratchet quickly shut the bridge. Arcee ran up to Airachnid carrying a bundle of something in her arms.
"Ratchet, I made sure to salvage these. They're Airachnid's." She said before noticing who was there.
Sierra recognized what Arcee was handing over to Ratchet almost right away. They were long legs with blades at the end of them, eight of them, the same colors as Airi...They were Airi's legs.
Rafael reacted before Sierra did, muffling a frightened cry that was like a sword through Bumblebee's spark. Reacting to sisterly instincts she didn't even know she had, Sierra turned and grabbed Raf, shielding his vision of their bleeding friend. Bumblebee went to comfort his buddy, but stopped when he remembered Airi. As much as he hated to leave Raf like this, Airi needed a transfusion and Ratchet needed that medical grade. The scout ran as fast as he could down the hall so he could get back to his charge as soon as possible.
Ratchet began prepping Airachnid for surgery but Optimus stopped him.
"Ratchet, we need to move Airachnid." He said.
"But Sir, time is of the essence."
"Indeed, however, it is going to get worse before it gets better and the children do not need to see that. I will call Bumblebee back and we will move Airachnid to medical storage. Grab everything you need and we will work on her there."
Ratchet wanted to get started right away, but he could still hear the sobs of Rafael and knew that he would be distracted with worry. The medic relented and did as ordered.
"Bulkhead." Ratchet called. "Grab my equipment and follow me and Optimus. Arcee, bring Airachnid's legs and do the same. We need to move quickly."
Though they looked confused by what they were told to do, but didn't hesitate to follow the order. Sierra looked up and saw the Autobots preparing to move Airi.
"What are you doing?" She asked in concern.
Ratchet stopped to briefly answer Sierra.
"We're moving her to the medical storage room so we have everything we need."
Optimus passed Sierra while pushing Airachnid, Bulkhead with Ratchet's surgery equipment, and Arcee with Airi's legs on s push cart. Sierra grew concerned, not liking the idea of Airachnid being taken away. Ratchet needed to assure her that she would be alright before he could bring himself to leave her.
"Sierra, look at me." He said.
Sierra did just that and Ratchet could see the tears forming in her eyes as well.
"I'm going to do everything in my power to treat Airachnid. She will not offline on my operating table. You have my word, I will fix her. She's going to be alright."
Ratchet stood up and ran down the hall to meet up with the others. Sierra was left in the main hall with Rafael, who was still crying, and Wheeljack. Smokescreen was still out on patrol.
With all the mayhem winding down, Sierra held Rafael tighter and broke down as she buried her face in his hair.
"Airi." She choked.
It was too much for her, seeing Airi in that state. Now she was standing there with no idea what was going to happen. She sat against the wall with Raf still hugging her. She couldn't keep herself from crying. As much as Wheeljack wanted to say something, he had no idea what to say. He decided to mop up Airachnid's energon instead to keep himself distracted.
Sierra held Rafael tightly against her, afraid to let him go. She wasn't prepared for this, seeing someone she cared about like that. Never before had she felt so powerless to do anything. But she was only human. All she could do was hope and pray. How she wished that Jack was with her right now. Then again...he'd be as worried as she was. He needed to know what was happening. Sierra waited a little while to allow herself to calm down. When she could speak without sounding like she had been crying, she pulled out her phone and dialed Jack's number. The first time went straight to voicemail, meaning his mother didn't allow him to take her call. She called a few moments later and this time she received an answer.
"Hey, Jack, it's me...Something's happened...No, I'm still here...Yeah...It's Airi, Jack. She got hurt...and it's bad."
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Okay...I have some explaining to do.
I messed up going so long without so much as an update. If any of you haven't jumped ship, you've been very patient and I appreciate that. I finished my classes and jumped right into the job and the job chewed me up and spit me out. It was way more physical than I thought it'd be and it took a lot out of me. Most of my days have been 10 to 12 hours and six days a week and while my bills have never been more caught up, I've been coming home exhausted. So for the past month, I haven't been writing. I've got one of my days off back, and I've been using those days to catch up on my stories and that's how this one was completed. But I cannot stress how sorry I am that you had to wait this long. I won't let that happen again. I said that last time, but I really, really wanted to write for these past few weeks but haven't had the energy to with what little time I had to myself. So, I'm going to do what I can on my days off to stick with my two week schedule. You guys have been great to stick with me and I don't want to lose you.
So let's talk about the chapter. As you can tell, it's told from a several POV's even though the last chapter had Bulkhead and Arcee recounting the events to Jack and Sierra and we see things that they weren't there for. Whenever I have a chapter in this story that is told completely in flashback, it's going to be as if it were happening in a present from everyone's point of view. But next chapter, Jack and Sierra won't know anything about Airi's fight with Knockout or her conversation with Dreadwing. As for the action, as you can see, I didn't put an awful lot of detail in the fighting, but there's a reason for that. The battles weren't really the focus of this chapter so much as the interactions, specifically Airi with Dreadwing, Knockout, and Megatron. Don't fret though, there are plenty of good battles to come, especially when Shockwave comes to Earth.
Airi went through a lot this chapter and we now see why Sierra was so upset when she called Jack. Now she knows just how much Megatron is not worthy of being a Prime. Add that to the fact that she see's that Knockout is beyond redemption, just like Starscream. If you're wondering what Bumblebee and Arcee were doing while Airi was getting tortured by Megatron, they were still dealing with a few Vehicons. Probably, should've addressed that in the story. Now, Airi is going to be okay. The real question is: how is she going to deal with what happened and who did it to her, and how will this affect June's opinion of her.
Like I said in my last Old Nightmare, I tried double spacing my paragraphs, but Fanfiction seems to undo that when I upload my stories. Anywho, thank you for your patience and thank you for staying on board. Again, I'm sorry. Review and comment and I will be back and it won't be a month later, I promise. Penny, if you would.
Penny: Salutations!
Thank you, Penny.