Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of their human character friends…I only wish to pay tribute to their greatness
Tickets please! Sorry this took so long. I've been swamped with tons of other writing assignments and haven't had time to write for fun lately. Not to mention action chapters take me A LOT longer to come up with and write than "fuzzy" chapters. Thank you all for being patient, so here she is. Wear protective goggles…metal shrapnel with fly.
Tinman
"Chapter 21: First Energon"
By Leah Wood
Near the mountains…
From his vantage point, Barricade could see the dust kicked up by Soundwave and Ironhide's vehicle modes in the valley below. Barricade narrowed his quadruple optics in befuddlement. That Autobot was willingly following Soundwave and according to Soundwave he'd surrendered his cannons without a single shot from either one. All to preserve the lives of two insignificant, human flesh-bags? It didn't make sense. Why would that old slaggard surrender for such a stupid reason? He was going to get off-lined just to save them. Barricade could perhaps understand if the old Autobot was risking his aft for another Autobot, but for two puny flesh creatures? It was insane! It was ridiculous! Then again, maybe the rust bucket was just as mad as the rumors made him out to be.
Unhurried, Barricade transformed into his cop car mode and trailed the two, waiting for the signal from Starscream. He just couldn't believe a plan conceived by that power-hungry Seeker was actually working. However, the plan was only half complete. Actually taking Ironhide down would prove difficult, cannons or not.
...
On a mountain peak…
Starscream sat on the crest of a mountain, surveying the rolling landscape before him. His mind boggled at the vast quantities of energy resources this organic mud-ball had to offer. When he finished with the Autobots on this planet, he'd siphon all the energy the Earth contained and head back to Cybertron with his troops, where his reign over the Decepticon forces would allow him to conquer the known universe. Megatron's name would pale next to his, a forgotten relic taken down by the puny flesh creatures. While he, Starscream, would have dominion over all he surveyed, striking fear into his enemies at the very mention of his name.
The jet mech smiled to himself. "Yes, yes I like the idea of that. Starscream…the terrifying Ruler of the Universe."
Perhaps when he ruled the universe he could have a nice metal planet constructed for himself, filled with minions and femmes.
His fantasizing processors were cut off, "Barricade to Starscream. I see Soundwave and he's leading the Autobot, Ironhide. They can't be more than fifteen kilometers from the attack zone."
Narrowing his optic shutters Starscream acknowledged the update, "Very good Barricade." In mere milliseconds he relayed his attack plan to the scout and then fed his other orders to the other Decepticons.
He focused on Thundercracker's signal a moment. "Thundercracker, you will bring the humans to the following coordinates. Make sure that Autobot gets a good look at them. I want him to know I have the advantage." he commanded.
"Acknowledged," Thundercracker replied with no amount of excitement.
Starscream's voice lowered, "And when I order it, you will get rid of them."
Gracefully, the jet leaped off the mountain and ignited his thrusters, soaring off into the sky. Events were falling into place just as he had planned.
…
Something was happening, Sara could almost sense it. Thundercracker was sitting perfectly still, staring off into the distance as if he were listening for something. Noticing the Decepticon's brief preoccupation, Sara discretely stuffed a rock into the band of her jeans and covered it with her shirt.
After a moment or two, Thundercracker leaned forward and rose up to his full impressive height.
He mimicked Starscream in a derogatory voice,"'Bring the humans.' he says. Stupid, pompous scrap head. What do I look like? A prisoner transport vessel?"
The big Con glanced down at the humans. His face plates grated as he grimaced, realizing what bringing the prisoners entailed. Thundercracker didn't want to put the humans in his cockpit. It was unnatural and disgusting even thinking of little fleshies squirming around in his chest. The Seeker felt it was enough just touching them with his hands, but putting them in his cockpit was unacceptable! Then, he was expected to terminate them. While the task itself was as easy as dropping a foot, Thundercracker had reservations. Terminating such helpless creatures seemed beneath an accomplished warrior such as himself. Tell him to terminate an Autobot, no problem. But being ordered to execute a couple puny humans was just insulting.
He shook his head, dismissing his own thoughts as he transformed into his chosen earth mode of an F-22 Raptor, the same as Starscream, except blue in color.
Distastefully, he opened his cockpit and growled, "Get in, fleshies." Sara hesitated which made the big jet's afterburners erupt with angry flame, "That wasn't a request. Get in NOW."
Sara picked up Annabelle and approached the jet slowly, noticing the height of the jet was too much for either of them to climb without a ladder.
"How are we supposed to get in if we can't reach?" Sara inquired.
The blue jet Con growled, resentfully folding his landing gear so his entire front half and cockpit rested on the ground. Sara swallowed hard and reluctantly sat Annabelle on the edge of the open cockpit, knowing they had no choice but to obey, no matter how terrifying the thought of climbing inside a Decepticon seemed. Sara pulled herself up and settled into the cockpit. Immediately, she felt the seat beneath her tighten like a muscle.
Thundercracker's deep voice rumbled with disgust from all around her, "Ugh. Don't you even THINK about touching anything you squirming little flesh bag."
Ignoring his hostility, Sara brought Annabelle down in her lap just as the glass slammed down over them. Thundercracker lifted straight up off the ground sending a shudder and a loud roaring through the cockpit. Annabelle's eyes widened as the landscape rose higher and higher.
"We fly mommy! We fly!" she whispered excitedly.
Sara was not so thrilled with the idea. Had the jet been anything BUT a Decepticon this flight might have proved exhilarating.
She faked a smile, trying not to damper her daughter's calm mood with the severity of their situation, "Yeah, Annie. We're flying."
Thundercracker hovered just above the tallest trees, assessing his bearings before he ignited his thrusters and flew north. Both of his human passengers were pushed back into the seat as he increased speed.
"Where are you taking us?" Sara boldly asked as they climbed higher in the sky.
The jet didn't respond.
Angered, the blonde woman rapped the monitor in front of her with her knuckles, "Hey! Where are you taking us?"
"DON'T touch that!" Thundercracker snarled, his voice lowering with menace.
The Decepticon suddenly sped up and executed a triple barrel roll in less than two seconds, throwing his riders harshly against his interior.
Sara felt her stomach curl up her throat under the nauseating maneuver and Annabelle screamed loudly.
The monitors in front of both of them flashed with each syllable of Thundercracker's voice. "Keep that runt quiet!" he threatened.
The woman scowled, "Well don't fly crazy and she will be!"
"I warned you not to touch anything."
Sara closed her eyes and sighed, trying to tame her temper, "I only wanted to know where you were taking us."
"Anywhere I want. Now switch off." the Con replied brusquely.
Annabelle whimpered, nuzzling into her mother's chest for security. Sara glanced out the cockpit window viewing the masses of clouds they were slicing through. Tears welled up in her eyes. She just wanted this nightmare to end.
Suddenly a blur of blackish purple screamed inches above Thundercracker's top making him flinch downward and both humans inside him yelp.
"HEY! Slag it Warp! Watch it!" the blue jet cursed aloud, making both Sara and Annabelle cover their ears under his huge voice.
Skywarp's derisive laughter filled his communication line, "Just seeing if you were awake, T.C."
Thundercracker grumbled peevishly.
The blackish-purple jet wheeled around and suddenly disappeared in a blur. Out of thin air Skywarp reappeared on Thundercracker's left, briefly banging his wing tip against his comrade's.
"You ready to bust up that Autobot?" he asked with vigor.
Internally, Thundercracker smiled, "I'm always ready to bust Autobots."
Skywarp flipped over on his back right over Thundercracker so their cockpits were mere feet from each other. "Oh, fritzing disgusting! You've got those fleshies inside you."
"Yeah. I swear I'm going to feed Starscream his own wings for this." Thundercracker growled bitterly.
Skywarp just laughed, "You know what would be really fun?"
"What?"
"You should eject those fleshies in the atmosphere. I'll bet they'd explode like little organic bombs." Skywarp chuckled darkly.
Thundercracker grimaced, "Ugh. That's revolting."
Skywarp suddenly ignited his thrusters and sped forward, "Well at least give them a good ride, transport vessel!"
"Why you stupid slagging…" the blue jet hissed, blasting flame from his thrusters in a more powerful surge of speed.
Annabelle screamed and Sara winced as the G-forces slammed them deep into the pilot seat. The trees and the sky blurred into incoherent streaks of color as Thundercracker chased after Skywarp. A huge blasting boom nearly deafened both of them as the Decepticon easily broke the sound-barrier and overtook the blackish purple Seeker. He rolled right, slamming his wing against Skywarp's back.
"Call ME a 'transport vessel' will you?" he barked, finishing out the barrel roll until he was on Skywarp's left.
The blackish jet suddenly shouted out loud, "Hey! Hey! Save it for that slagger Ironhide!"
Sara faintly heard Skywarp through the glass and her head perked. Ironhide? ……
Minutes later…
Soundwave continued to lead Ironhide at a steady pace, almost too steady. Ironhide didn't like it. They were out in an open valley with mountains to the North and West and forest in between all of it. He knew being out in the open was a horrible position for a ground mech to be in when facing flying opponents like Starscream. Ironhide had no way of knowing how many Decepticons he was about to face. He knew Starscream, Barricade, and Soundwave with his drones for sure, but there could be more. Ironhide kept all this sensors attuned for any sign of ambush.
Hard as he tried to focus, the thought of Annabelle and Sara distracted his mainframe. He hoped they were still alive, and if so, he hoped he would be able to hold off the Decepticons long enough for them to escape. The very thought of the two females coming to harm made his processors surge with fear and rage. He'd extinguish every last one of the Decepticons involved with their kidnapping—cannons or not.
Suddenly, without warning, Soundwave's hood and doors flew open, ejecting Rumble, Ravage, and Laserbeak. Transforming in midair, Laserbeak took to the sky, while Rumble and Ravage launched off of Soundwave's roof, landing right on Ironhide's hood. Startled by the sudden ambush of little Cons, Ironhide swerved to the left in an attempt to throw off the miniature menaces.
"ARG! Get off of me you little pests!" he shouted.
Ravage had already sunk his fangs into the Topkick's grill guard while Rumble formed his fists into pile-drivers. Though small, Rumble could hit just as hard as a full-size Decepticon and even harder with his pile-drivers. Reacting instantly, Ironhide slammed on his brakes, throwing the humanoid Con off of his hood and rolling in the dirt. Ravage dug in his claws and hung onto Ironhide's hood. The panther mech snarled, ripped a nasty set of gouges in his armor, and reached into the spaces between the Topkick's grill, trying to get at any vital wiring it concealed. Ironhide reacted quickly. Pushing hard with his rear tires, the Autobot Topkick threw his back end into the air, executing a nosegrind on his front. Ravage tried to jump away, but his back legs smashed under Ironhide's merciless weight. The cyber-panther squealed in a horrible metallic pitch as the Autobot flipped over him, transforming and landing skillfully on his feet.
Ironhide spun around to dispatch the wounded drone, but a hot red laser blast struck his plated shoulders. He ducked, just as Laserbeak swooped over his head, screeching. The black Autobot lifted his arms instinctually, forgetting his cannons were no longer attached.
"Slag." he hissed, throwing down his arms with frustration.
He hated fighting little drones. Larger Decepticons he could handle, but these tiny Cons could scurry into any nook and cranny in his frame and really screw up his key circuitry. Not to mention they fought with a swarming mentality, attacking all at once in all directions to overwhelm much larger opponents.
In that instant a silvery blue dervish sprung toward his face, shouting loudly, "TAKE THIS, AUTOBOT SCUM!"
Ironhide threw up his arms for protection as Rumble tried to slam his pile drivers into his face. Luckily, he was quick enough and Rumble only managed to dent his wrist armor. Sparks flew under the precise strikes, making Ironhide wince. The little Con skillfully landed on Ironhide's protecting arm and hopped from it onto the Autobot's shoulder, again attempting to hit his head. Ironhide threw his shoulder down and forward, knocking Rumble off-balance. The little brawler made vicious swipes at his head, but missed as he fell off the Autobot's shoulder. Somehow Rumble reformed one of his hands and caught the truck bumper protruding from Ironhide's sternum to stop his fall.
Like plucking up a persistent bug, Ironhide grabbed the Con's pile-driver and ripped him off of his chest. Rumble growled and swung his free fist, still attempting to get at the Autobot.
"Let me go! You'll pay for this you old scrap head!" Rumble snarled.
The whoosh of a flying engine made Ironhide wheel around, only to be struck again by Laserbeak's merciless strafing run. He growled with pain, staggering back as the condor mech zoomed over his head again. Ironhide's blue optics narrowed dangerously at the flying drone. In an instant he reared back the hand that held Rumble and with a mighty heave, chucked the miniature Con at Laserbeak.
"LOOK OUT!" Rumble screamed crashing headlong into Laserbeak's back and sending them both spiraling to the ground.
Much to Ironhide's surprise, Soundwave's alt form skidded to a halt beneath the falling drones.
"Rumble, Laserbeak, return!" the monotone voice ordered loudly.
In mid-fall both drones transformed back into their storage mode and disappeared through a compartment on the Balkan's roof. Simultaneously, the bluish gray vehicle unfurled. Soundwave landed skillfully in a crouched position, one hand out in front for balance. His crimson visor flashed.
Ironhide didn't wait for the Decepticon to strike. Charging headlong, Ironhide lowered his shoulder and slammed into the mech. In an instant, the bluish Con dug his feet into the ground, absorbing the impact and stopping Ironhide's rough charge. Soundwave grabbed Ironhide's shoulder and drove his knee joint straight into the plating over the Autobot's Spark. The black mech hissed, falling back to clench his ringing chest plates.
Before Ironhide could recover a black and white blur slammed into his metal ankles, throwing him off balance. Arms spiraling to maintain his equilibrium, the Autobot let loose a roar of pain as jagged metal claws buried deeply into his chest armor. Barricade's quadruple, red optics bored into the larger mech's, as he drove the Autobot back, forcing his razor claws deeper to find the Spark casing.
"How's it feel, Autobot?" Barricade growled.
Ironhide's optics flashed brighter. With a mighty swing of his arm, the black mech bashed the side of the cop car's head, throwing bits of silver metal into the air. Barricade snarled in pain, but stubbornly clamped his hydraulic hands firmly into Ironhide's chassis, refusing to let go as Energon began to leak out. The weapons specialist reversed the strike, belting the other side of the Con's jagged face. Again and again Ironhide swung his arm, sending face shrapnel tinkling to the dirt until Barricade finally released him and collapsed. His crimson optics flickered, trying feebly to remain on—until a black and silver foot stomped down in the middle of his back, severing the connection from his mainframe to his legs. The Con groaned gutturally until his optics dimmed.
"It feels good, Decepticon." Ironhide replied just as a horrible vibration rocked his circuits.
Ironhide bent over holding his crested head. His circuits shivered, his plating rang with a metallic keen, and his optics flickered on and off sporadically. Though the din, the Autobot could make out Soundwave's distorted image a few meters away, the crimson visor dominating the obscure blob of color. The pain was horrendous, like his very baser components were shaking themselves apart under the powerful sound assault. Ironhide was built to sustain untold amounts of physical punishment, but sound was not something his tough hide and delicate sensors could withstand for long. He dropped to his knees, desperate to escape the sound, until a new sound broke through—the sound of jet engines.