Author's Note: I hope I can convey my moods well in this chapter. My uncle died Tuesday, and my mom is completely devastated…he was the youngest of five, and although I didn't get to know him that well, it's still hitting me pretty hard, too.
But on to a lighter note…and reviews!
blood shifter: Thank you! And yes, Wheeljack will get his own little piece of love!
Nola1: Here's your update!
MidnightEmerge: Sorry I couldn't update sooner! This week has been filled with drama of all kinds, unfortunately…
Haha, feel free to kill Thrust! Saves me some work!
Azura Soul Reaver: How is it that you always figure these things out? Are you inside my mind?!
KnucklesRedFury207.2: Oh yes, yes they are! And here's your update!
'HURRICANE'Hannah: Yeah, so do I! Poor Shockwave…sigh. Here's your update!
DarkMizar: Ooh, sounds like you had fun! I wish I could do something like that…sigh. Unfortunately, I've got school now…but hopefully my two girl best friends and I will go on a cruise for next summer! One can only hope.
Mistress Megatron: No worries! And I can't really say whether there will be both just yet…I'm trying to figure that out.
Next Wednesday? I started school Monday the 18th! You're lucky! I'm a senior too, and I've been having a blast so far. Despite all the work, I can tell it's going to be a fun year.
2200 hours 10:00 PM. And pfft, I'm not a genius, silly! I just manage to be able to figure out military time. And like the others, here's your update!
P.S.: I unfortunately still do not have any ownage of the awesome Transformers series…sigh.
"Slag it!" Starscream screeched, after attempting to fit a puzzle piece into its rightful place. He had been attempting to put it together with Alexis as they sat outside, but every time the mech tried to fit a piece, his fingers would cause the ones already together to separate and scatter onto the grass.
Alexis watched him, laughing. "Oh Starscream, don't get so frustrated. It's just a puzzle." She picked up the scattered pieces, setting them on the wooden board Starscream had snatched from inside the base. Truthfully, he didn't know why they needed wood, so he figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to take it.
"How about this," She paused, fitting the pieces back together, "You tell me where they go and I'll put them in the right place." She suggested, waiting for his response. When none came she blinked, halting her work on the puzzle and turning around to face him.
"Star—" She gasped, eyes traveling up the person's muscled chest to meet their orange-red eyes. She could barely see her reflection in their fire, stumbling back and tripping on the wooden board.
Something reached out and caught her, clasping her firmly by the waist with an arm. Alexis could feel her heart beating in her ears as she was pressed against the figure, her fingers tracing up his arm to rest on his chest, curling slightly around his shirt. Her deep, emerald eyes rose curiously to meet his heavenly orbs, and she raised one of her small hands timidly to set on his cheek.
"Starscream…" She whispered, knowing she didn't need to say his name but loving the way it sounded.
The holoform responded with a grunt, his light pink lips curling up into a smirk as he looked at her. "You seem surprised." He spoke suddenly, his raspy-voiced remark causing her cheeks to change shade.
"No, I…well…yes." She smiled nervously, reaching up on her tiptoes to get closer to his face. "You never seem to show me your holoform anymore – that's why I'm surprised." She humphed before rocking back on her heels, falling into his protective embrace.
Starscream chuckled, leaning down to press his lips against the side of her face. He could feel her heartbeat quicken with his actions, and he kissed her gently on the cheek before moving his lips back to her ear.
"This is your reward for being a good little sparkmate."
Alexis had to think twice about what he said – considering the fact that he was distracting her with his kisses, she waited for his face to be in front of hers again before she spoke.
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really."
Alexis stuck her tongue out at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. When Starscream tried to loosen them, she simply puffed her bottom lip out and remained firm, holding her stance.
"Alexis, what are you—" He grumbled, trying to wrap her arms around his neck. When she wouldn't budge, he tried a different technique – he hugged her close and began to kiss her neck, her ear, her cheek, and tickled her sides. Fortunately, she couldn't hold her straight face for much longer and began to crack, letting out small giggles and attempting to push his hands away.
When he continued, she finally burst out into laughter and threw her arms around his neck. "Okay, okay, I give! Stop tickling me!" She pleaded; burying her face into his neck and feeling him relax. She sighed into his synthetic skin and closed her eyes briefly before pulling back, looking up at him with her beautiful green eyes.
"Oh, Starscream…" She whispered, feeling one of his hands cup her chin and tilt it closer to him. When he began to lean forward, she shut her eyes and did the same, soon after feeling his lips embrace hers in a surprisingly gentle kiss.
Saber thanked herself for not having Jetfire's ability to interrupt at the most awkward times. She had seen Starscream's form struggling in the distance, and she figured Alexis was making him do something that perplexed his abilities in one way or the other. She had been ready to go help when he suddenly became still, causing the girl to freeze and take a step back.
Saber shook her head, standing outside of the base with her arms crossed. "Man, that would've been so weird…" She thought, imagining what would've happened if she had managed to stumble into a kiss between the two. As Alexis' older sister, she would've been tempted to part the two and scold her younger sister, but she would've had to remember the feelings Alexis had towards Starscream. No matter what, she would refuse to get in the way of her sister's heart. Something told her that although Starscream could be pretty grouchy sometimes, he really cared about the younger Anderson and would take care of her at any cost.
But still, she was glad she hadn't stumbled into the situation.
"I need to ask Jetfire what his secret to getting out of those situations is." She thought, blinking twice and jumping when she felt someone touch her waist. She was ready to defend when she realized who it was, and instead allowed him to scoop her up into his hand and carry her into a separate part of the woods from where Alexis and Starscream were.
She adjusted her shirt when he set her down, and when she was turning around to say something he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her close, kissing her adamantly and catching her completely off-guard. Instead of pushing him away, however, she shut her eyes and gave in to his kiss, waiting for him to part it and taking a deep breath of air.
"Blurr…?" She managed to ask, eyes showing curiosity, "…is that you?"
The latter laughed, responding quickly with his deep, baritone voice. "Of course, my sparkmate…" He brought his face closer to hers, watching as she smiled. He kissed her on the cheek, pulling back and suddenly gaining his usual seriousness.
"Saber, I know you've probably felt this, but…" He hesitated, watching her eyes for any negative response, "…I've detected something in my central processor that is causing me to worry." He watched her eyes widen – a not surprising reaction considering his non-fearing demeanor, "It is what you humans call…a 'bad feeling'."
Saber hesitated briefly before responding. "Yes, I've had one…something's going to happen tonight, isn't it Blurr?"
The holoform's eyebrows furrowed, showing his disapproval.
"Indeed, my sparkmate. I can chance that the other 'bots know…even Starscream, which is why he is acting so closely to Alexis. He doesn't want to believe that what he has may come to an end…" He paused, "And to be honest, neither do I."
Saber shook her head at him. "No, Blurr…" She set her forehead against his, smiling, "We'll get through this together, I promise." She held up her pinky, watching as he uneasily hooked his with hers, "I'll do my best to keep the girls safe and out of harm's way…but I can't control or predict their actions, remember that." She felt him nod, her eyes softening as she looked at him. "I love you, Blurr…"
"And I you, my sparkmate…" He smiled, tilting his head up slightly and watching as she pulled back. In retort, he leant forward and caught her lips in another kiss, soft and gentle. He moved away after a moment and traced his lips down her chin and neck, smiling when he saw her skin gain goosebumps. He let out a chuckle, causing the girl to shift a bit in his grasp and let out a playful 'humph'.
He couldn't help but feel something was going to go terribly wrong that night, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Rosaline sat happily on Jetfire's shoulder, holding on to one of his shoulder protrusions carefully. She glanced down over his shoulder to see what he was working on, which seemed very complex.
"Wow…that looks really hard." She said with a frown, staring curiously at the object in his hand.
The mech looked up with interested optics, noticing her expression. He set a large tool down and moved to pick her up gently, setting her on the tabletop that he was working on and smiling beneath his faceplate. "Oh, it's not. I'll show you." He grinned, pointing at a screw that was about half her size, "Look. That goes here." He pointed at a certain place, watching as she attempted to lift up the heavy metal object. Without a word, he gently moved over and helped her pick it up, setting the screw so it would be ready for her to turn.
"There. Now turn it."
Blinking, Rosaline did as told and let out a gasp when her 'hard work' began to fall into place. "I did it, sweet!" She said happily, letting out a laugh and looking up at him.
"Of course. You can do anything as long as you desire it." He replied, watching her cheeks turn a deeper shade of pink. He couldn't help but smile at her antics; although it had been really hard to keep his feelings towards her hidden, he was having an easier time being around her. It seemed almost as though she returned his feelings without ever having to speak of them, and the two just got along well enough to not need to express the words. Her words of gratitude suddenly snapped him out of his trance, and his optics flickered, as if he had blinked.
"You're welcome, Rosaline."
The girl blushed again, turning away sheepishly and letting out a nervous chuckle. "God, why am I so shy?" She thought sadly, moving her gaze to watch him work again.
Jetfire glanced at her out of the corner of his optic, still smiling. His smile faded off when he remembered what he and Blurr had discussed, and how they needed to be prepared. The device he was working on was actually something for his cannon – it would allow Decepticon signals to be tracked and locked on to. He had gotten the idea from Red Alert, but he figured it was a good thing to have if the unwelcome visitors decided to show up that night.
All of their thoughts were confirmed. Exactly at ten that night, there was a horrible, ear-piercing screech, of metal being torn apart. Most of the Autobots, excluding Red Alert who stayed with the girls, ran to the source and spotted a large, gaping hole on the side of the base – the weakest point, it seemed, of the older section that nobody really went to.
"Slag it, they're already inside." Jazz commented, turning quickly and running back towards where they had left the humans.
Jetfire was about to speak when he suddenly heard a gut-wrenching scream, his optics widening when he realized it was from Rosaline. "Rosaline, no!" He yelled, hurrying into the room and freezing immediately at the sight. Shockwave was busy hacking into the communications room mainframe, to gain information about the Autobot base back on Cybertron. Red Alert was pinned against one of the metal walls, obviously weakened by Thundercracker's attack. Close by was Iris, held in place by Wheeljack and the super-powered taser at her neck. The femme was obviously having a struggle; as much as she wanted to help the others, Wheeljack was keeping close tabs on her movements and with each millimeter she moved, he moved the taser an inch closer.
None of those sights were anything compared to the one directly in front of him. She was in Skywarp's hand, dangling by her arm and obviously in pain. The mech was having a fun time using his index and thumb to squeeze her abdomen, causing a few ribs to crack with a nasty, loud crunch. The girl screamed and her cheeks were adorned with tears; where her blush usually reigned there was nothing but a pale, sickly color.
Jetfire felt energon pumping hot in his internal wires and he let out a scream, suddenly lunging towards Skywarp to save his mate.
Skywarp, seeing his oncoming attack, suddenly threw Rosaline's weakened form into the air and watched Jetfire's optics widened. The larger mech screeched to a halt and gasped; Skywarp smirked and reached up to catch the falling girl, holding her firmly in his hand.
"Alright Jetfire – it's your move." He smirked, squeezing the girl to the point that she screamed even louder than before.
Blurr was horrified at his teammate's pain, but it was nothing compared to the one he felt when he realized that Thrust was holding his mate. Not only his, but he was holding Starscream's mate, too – one in each hand, firmly.
"So, which one will it be, boys? Older, or younger?" He laughed loudly, causing Shockwave to cringe in the distance but continue his work. Blurr growled, attempting to move closer but freezing when Thrust let go of the girls and they began to fall into the air. He caught them swiftly by their right foot, dangling them helplessly in front of the two mech's eyes.
Blurr could almost taste Starscream's anger without even looking at him. His optics narrowed and he clenched his fists, gasping when his comrade suddenly lunged at the new Decepticon 'leader', his attack followed by the loud clanging of metal on metal.
Blurr followed close, seeming to growl in desperation. He heard the pained screams as the two girls were roughly dropped on the ground, and he managed to scoop them up into his hands and roll out of harm's way as Starscream began his angered assault on Thrust.
He set them down by a vent, not explaining his logic as he returned to battle, helping Starscream out with his attack.
Saber ignored the pain coming from her joins as she crawled over to her sister, who seemed too dazed to recognize anything. She gritted her teeth when she noticed a cut on her sister's forehead, which had begun to bleed and was gaining speed on allowing the crimson liquid to reign free over her sister's clothes.
"Damnit." She muttered silently, remembering Lillian and looking around for the girl. "Where did she go?" She asked quietly, her eyes widening when she spotted said girl wheeling herself closer to Red Alert, to aid him. "Oh god, no! Lillian!" She yelled, trying to get the girl's attention but failing miserably.
Lillian moved quickly, determined to aid her savior. She hadn't even realized Wheeljack was in the same room – she was too busy trying to help her friends. She barely registered Saber calling her name as one of the wheels on her wheelchair caught on a groove in the ground, causing her to fly into the air and land roughly on her stomach. She hit her chin on the ground, teeth grinding together but ignoring the pain as she continued, trekking on and dragging herself to Thundercracker's feet. As much as it hurt, she began to pound on his foot, screaming at him to let Red Alert go.
Jazz, perplexed, ran to Iris and suddenly kicked Wheeljack in the side. "Lay off my girl, Deceptiscum!" He yelled, catching the Decepticon off guard and causing him to stumble back towards Thundercracker, who wasn't too far away.
Thundercracker glanced down at the girl, his attention taken away from Red Alert and the incoming Wheeljack. He was about to shake her off his foot when his fellow Decepticon bumped into him, causing the two to fly a small way and land closer to Shockwave.
Lillian had been kicked into the air in the process, her limp body suddenly landing on the hard metal floor. She hit her head on impact, knocking herself out in the process and lying coldly on the ground.
Red Alert, weakened but wary, moved sluggishly over to the small girl and picked her up in his hand. He muttered something inaudible and tried to reach her wheelchair, gasping when it was suddenly crushed by a smirking Shockwave.
The Decepticon smirked, letting out a cruel laugh as his optic brightened mockingly. He glanced over at the fallen Thundercracker and Wheeljack, "Get up, you fools! There's Autobots to exterminate!" He said harshly, watching the two scramble to their feet and hurry to aid him. He kicked Red Alert in the chest, causing the mech to slide across the floor with a terrifying screech and unwittingly letting go of the frail human in his hand.
Wheeljack caught her before Lillian before any more damage was done to her body; he hesitated briefly and recognized her as the girl he had saved not too long ago. He felt something clutch at his spark, causing him to run suddenly across the room and set Lillian down by Saber, ignoring the shocked look coming from the girl. He hurried back to Thundercracker's side, aiding him in the art of making Red Alert feel as much pain as possible.
Jetfire, unaware of his comrade's struggles, let out a loud yell and charged at Skywarp, causing the mech's optics to widen in surprise. Skywarp let go of the female as soon as Jetfire rammed his shoulder into his chest, causing him to groan in pain and attempt to fight back.
"Don't you – ever – touch her again!" He yelled angrily, ramming his fists into Skywarp's confused face.
When Jetfire briefly hesitated, the Decepticon took this as an opportunity to hurt his spark. "What's wrong, Jetfire? Afraid you'll lose your sparkmate?" He sneered, using the mech's moment of shock against him. He reached his hand up and caught Jetfire's neck, squeezing it painfully and laughing at his pain. "It'll be my pleasure to annihilate her before your eyes!"
Saber glanced over, gasping at Jetfire's struggle. She glanced at Blurr, who seemed to engrossed with his battle against Thrust to notice anything else. She noticed Skywarp inching closer and closer to Rosaline, who simply lay limp on the ground after the force of the impact with the ground knocked her unconscious, like Lillian.
She was about to yell for help when a silver blur passed at the corner of her eye, and she barely registered it as Jazz until the mech scooped up Rosaline and handed her over to Iris.
Iris, without a moment's hesitation, ran over to Saber and set Rosaline down gently, looking at her. "We'll do the best we can to keep you all safe. Just stay here." She explained, waiting for Saber's nod before turning and moving back to help Red Alert.
Jazz, on the other hand, helped Jetfire by kicking Skywarp in the face, causing the Decepticon's grip to loosen on his comrades' neck.
"Take that and smoke it, sucka!" He mocked, laughing as Jetfire stood up readily and began his assault on Skywarp. Seeing that his comrade had the situation under control, he hurried to Iris' side to aid her with Wheeljack and Thundercracker.
Saber, horrified, watched from the distance. The broken females lay scattered closely to where she was, all unconscious from various impacts and wounds. Her hands trembled and her eyes began to fill with tears; a knot formed in her throat and she tried to blink the tears away feebly.
"I've…never been so scared in my life…"
Author's Note: Sorry I had to end it there guys. xD I've had a really bad day and I really need some rest…
I really hate drama.
Anyway, until the next update, everyone!