After the Fall

by SpenName

Set after the events of Fall of Cybertron, the Autobots have made their way through the space bridge, however not everyone is accounted for as Jetfire, Ratchet, and Ironhide, all uncover disturbing facts about their closest friends. Meanwhile, a con once thought dead takes command of the Nemesis while Thundercracker learns there is more to this enigmatic leader than meets the eye.

25. Burned Part ll

AN: I think this goes down in history as the most edited chapter, I ended up changing the dialogue of two characters, adding dialogue in places, adding scenes, deleting scenes and ultimately improved it, things still turned out the same way, I just made it flow much better than in the first draft. Also I realized how much the bolded text for my notes seemed to cry out for attention, so for now I will be using italics. The epilogue will be coming after this, and after that I have come up with some ideas for other story ideas before continuing After the Fall.

They are;

A what if story involving Smokescreen (TF Prime)

A detective one shot involving Swerve (Mtmte)

And a Prime one shot involving Soundwave

Did I mention that most of my favourite characters start with an S?

---

Mirage was thrown directly into a sharp piece of metal causing him to wince in pain; he pushed at ground lifting himself up just for Cliffjumper to be thrown into him sending him back into the sharp metal that pierced his back. He hated how reminiscent the fight was to his days in the Decepticon army.

'Frag!' he shoved the wounded body of Cliffjumper off of him and caressed his wound gently. Brakedown was stronger than he would have imagined, the old mech was not only armed to the brim with concussion rifles and thermos launchers, but he also held great skill and strength in hand to hand combat. He had obviously been preparing himself for a situation like this for a long time.

Cliffjumper rolled himself over and rubbed the back of his skull.

'Scrap Mirage, what were you doing in my way? I think I might have scraped my arm over your pointy Decepticon symbol'

'Oh shut up will you,' spat the ex-Decepticon 'I think I've got a chunk of metal sticking out of my back from you'

'Well maybe I- Whoa!'

A laser blast hit the ground beneath the bots sending the two of them flying away from eachother from the force of the blast.

Brakedown's shoulder mounted guns seemed to work independently as he lifted Hotshot off of the ground by his throat.

'You know this really is more of a joke then anything.' He muttered grimly

He tightened his grip causing Hotshot to feel a mix of pain and light headedness with the feeling of his spark nearly disconnecting to his brain module.

'You have all been fighting in a war for a century and yet with a little cyber ninja training and some armor enhancements it is this easy to best you.'

He slammed Hotshot into the ground forming a small crater where he stood.

'Okay, maybe some cyber ninja training and a lot of armor enhancements.'

Brakedown raised a fist to land a finishing blow on the young bot when a sniper blast knocked him away from his opponent.

The wielder of the sniper rushed up to the Velocitonian and pistol whipped him across the face with his weapon.

'Mirage' yelled Jazz 'Take Hotshot and Cliffjumper and go!'

Mirage gripped his wounds as he stood himself up 'I told you, we're staying this to the end.'

Jazz fired a shot into Brakedown's abdomen causing him to stagger.

'Don't give me that scrap man; just leave before I end up having to dig some graves.'

Mirage turned his back to the fight and gripped the handle of his rifle

'You know what? After abandoning me- for abandoning us, I always thought that despite all that you were –that you are, that I could do just as good as you, now I realize that without you coming here to the rescue, I would be dead.'

Brakedown roundhouse kicked Jazz in the face bringing him to the ground.

'But that isn't the reason why I want to help you, when you abandoned us all that time ago we lost some great men…'

Brakedown allowed Jazz to get onto his knees only to punch him across the face shattering his visor and sending optic fluid flying across the floor, staining the silver alloy yellow.

'And to be honest?'

Gripping onto Brakedown's arm, Jazz managed to tear off a mounted pulse rifle only for Brakedown to tear off a Gatling gun in response

'…I believe that you should be abandoned just like we were,'

Brakedown swung the Gatling gun across Jazz's face like a club.

'And you deserve it!'

Brakedown unsheathed a sword from his back and hovered it above Jazz's neck

'But you know what?'

Mirage spun around and fired two shots from his nucleon charge rifle. 'If I were to abandon you, I wouldn't be any better.'

One hit Brakedown in the face causing him to stagger; the second hit him in the chest sending him flying away from Jazz. The ex-Decepticon rushed over and helped his former partner to his feet. From the corner of his optic he could see Brakedown lifting himself up and raising his head to reveal his endo skull beneath his torn off faceplate.

'Sorry man.' Muttered Jazz 'But the best way to help…' he pushed Mirage away from him and charged towards Brakedown 'would be to get outta here and live your life!'

Jazz put Brakedown into a headlock and raised his hand as if to wave goodbye. He fired a grapple at the hole in the ceiling and grappled himself up with Brakedown in tow.

Mirage cursed to himself in distraught yet felt a feeling of relief coming over him as well.

'Cliffjumper!'

The red minibot rubbed the back of his neck as he began to come to

'What…'

'Grab Hotshot, we're retreating.'

Cliffjumper sprang to his feet 'What? But what about-'

'Jazz left to fight Brakedown alone, we need to escape so that-'

Cliffjumper peered at the ceiling 'No, I won't leave Jazz, not after everything he's done for me.'

Mirage began to worry about the horned bot.

'Look Cliffjumper I know you and Jazz are close but…' He spotted Hotshot from the corner of his eye and jogged over to him. He draped the knocked out bot over his shoulder and made his way back to Cliffjumper.

'I won't leave him like this.' Cliffjumper started grabbing at the side of the wall, trying to find a loose crevice to climb onto.

Mirage grabbed him by his back collar and lifted the smaller bot off of his feet.

'No, NO!' Cliffjumper lashed at the air in front of him as if doing so would pull Jazz back to him. Mirage hurled him over his other shoulder, shrugging off the weight of two bots.

Cliffjumper was screaming now, he flailed and kicked as Mirage reluctantly carried the bot into the lift and away from his partner. Cliffjumper was reaching out, gripping the air as the image of the control room disappeared under the lift's door.

---

Nemesis

'AGGGHHH!'

'Starscream! I know that it isn't a pretty sight but-'

'…there's nothing here'

'-we need to be- what?'

Starscream stood in front of the opened door wearing a look of confusion and boredom, Thundercracker peered into the tight broom closet to find it completely scrubbed clean of anything reminiscent of a corpse. He placed his hands behind his head and shut his optics.

'Damn it...'

'Is this it?' asked Starscream irritably 'Is all this just one of Thundercracker's world famous jokes? 'cause it isn't very funny.'

'It was here!' Thundercracker snapped and pointed a finger at the empty closet 'I am certain of it; a few days ago I found Slipstream's body in this very closet, there's no mistaking it.'

'Well you know…' Starscream wringed his hands together nervously '…it could have just been your imagination, I mean it would only make sense that the troops would hallucinate after witnessing such a thing as the budding process, especially when it is being done by an old friend.'

Thundercracker glared at the seeker with widened optics

'What?'

'Well it's just…'

Thundercracker moved closer to Starscream causing the air commander to back away in fear.

'I know what I saw Starscream, I am the sane one on board, don't you forget it.'

He turned himself around and inspected the interior of the closet. Starscream sighed in relief upon realizing that he wouldn't have to go through the same events that had happened inside his cell earlier. Upon realizing what he was thinking, Starscream slapped himself in the face, this wasn't Megatron he was talking to, this was Thundercracker, he had never feared of the weakest amongst the Seekers, so why did he feel afraid now?

'Yup…' Thundercracker nodded as he closed the closet door. 'She moved the corpse somewhere else, she must've been aware that I found her secret and hid the one bit of proof I had against her.'

Starscream placed his hands behind his head

'So… do you think Slipstream is the Novacon on board?'

Thundercracker froze 'What makes you say that?'

'You mean besides the fact that she is an imposter pretending to be the real Slipstream and she happened to have shown up around the same times the broadcasts to the Novacons started?'

The blue seeker sighed 'I don't know Starscream.'

'it only makes sense is what I'm saying, her budding process could have been a side effect on one of those experiments the Novacons always did to themselves. And the smiling, we both know how much this new Slipstream like to smile, and if I recall, the Novacons always had these wide smiles on their faces no matter what, I did stare a Novacon in the face while it taunted me for a whole day mind you'

'Yeah, you mentioned…'

Starscream noticed the look of regret on Thundercracker's face and decided to change the subject

'Say did I ever mention the time I terminated the life of an Autobo-'

Vzzzzm….

'What was that?' Starscream asked

Thundercracker raised a finger to calm him and reached for his belt.

'It's just my communicator' He grabbed a small cellular device and flipped it open.

'It's a message, it says-'

Thundercracker froze as he read the message

Dear Thundercracker,

It is not a hallucination, or a trick, but for the good of everyone you care about, please believe that it was. Do not interfere with events that do not concern you seeker, if you do then you will be erased, I am watching you right now and I am aware of how much you already know; too much.

-Anonymous

'What? What does it say?'

Thundercracker dropped the communicator.

Erased

'What's with you?' Starscream reached for the littered object but was quickly stopped by Thundercracker's foot.

'It was Soundwave…' Thundercracker grabbed the communicator and tucked it into his belt '…he says we should head to the med bay.'

Starscream huffed and rolled his optics 'That oaf? What does he want?'

'How should I know?'

Starscream shrugged and continued down the hall with Thundercracker following close behind. One word was stuck on the blue seeker's mind; the same word he kept repeating it under his breath.

Erased…

---

Velocitron

It had all happened so fast, the rioting, the shooting, and the fires. Override's video had created a war between not only those that agreed and disagreed to Brakedown's morals, but between the intolerant and the different beings that were held in Brakedown's prison, soon to be drained of Energon. No matter which way he looked, Barricade could see the signs of the premature war that was about to break. Fires were lit turning the once pristine spires into black shrivelled pitchforks that signalled death above the coloured flames below. Velocitronians that were only recently sharing drinks and playfully racing were now stabbing each other with whatever sharp objects they could get their servos on. Barricade should be laughing right now, he should having the time of his life watching the Velocitronians tear each other apart, so why did he have this feeling of regret

'Hah, did you see them Barricade? One of those bots got their head knocked off with a pole!'

Barricade waved a hand to silence Motorhead and kept walking amongst the huge crowd of rioters.

'I signalled the ship to land at our position once we get to the clearing, we'll wait for the Stunticons and the Constructicons there.'

'GOOD THINKING BOSS!' announced Groundhog

'Whatever, I think there is a clearing right past he-'

Barricade found himself face to face with Hound, Red Alert, Bluestreak, Wheeljack, Arcee, Grotusque, and Dogfight. There weapons were all trained on him as Pincher used his armored plating in scorpion mode to defend the group from stray bullets.

'AUTOBOTS!' announced Groundhog

'Way to point out the obvious…' muttered Grotusque

'He does that' replied Barricade

'Listen' said Hound lowering his blaster 'We don't want any trouble, we just want to retreat to our ship and leave this planet'

Barricade raised his hands in surrender 'What a coincidence, so are we, now if you don't mind I would prefer not to be gunned down right now' he tapped two fingers at his wrist signalling the time 'and you know we are both on the clock so how about lower the weapons and we can act as if we never even saw each other here yeah?'

Barricade watched as Bluestreak transformed his assault rifle back into his hand

'Yeah, see that is all it takes to-'

Bluestreak unsheathed an Energon blade and leaped at the off-guarded Groundhog. He sliced at the Decepticon's stomach causing him to stagger before kicking him into the riot.

Groundhog tried numerous attempts to get back up but the crowding rioters kept bringing him to the ground under their feet. It must've been after the ninth time he gave up trying to stand as large foot came down onto his skull trampling what was left of the Decepticon into a flattened corpse.

Barricade watched the carnage and spun around to face Bluestreak,

'Damn y-!'

Bluestreak unloaded an assault rifle round into Barricade sending him onto the ground, only unlike Groundhog he managed to make it to his feet before getting trampled. It wasn't enough time however and Bluestreak came charging forward with his Energon blade aimed at his throat. Barricade could feel his brain module whirr and suddenly everything was going in slow motion, he could feel the burning sensation in his processor as the hot air it produced danced within his skull. He could dodge it, he could counter it, but he didn't, because Motorhead had jumped in the way.

Bluestreak's blade pierced through Motorhead's throat causing purple viscera to spray from the nape of his neck.

'NO!'

Barricade grabbed Motorhead's shoulders and lowered the con to the ground as he fell.

'Motorhead! Listen to me we'll get you to safety, we'll-'

'Barricade?' rust was forming around Motorhead's optic sensors.

'What, what is it?'

Motorhead tried to lift an arm but only managed a finger.

'Did I- Did I do good?'

Before Barricade could answer, the light behind Motorhead's optics was already gone.

'Yes Motorhead…' Barricade shut the deceased con's optics and lowered his head against his chest '…you did good'

Barricade leapt to his feet gripping the handle of his rifle.

'Damn you all too-'

A blade pierced through Barricade's back and out his stomach causing the black and white mech to fall head first into the ground.

Grotusque held back Bluestreak as they watched Mirage unsheathe his blade.

'A little help?' he gently placed Hotshot next to the team and held out the still struggling Cliffjumper.

Wheeljack and Dogfight held Cliffjumper's arms behind his back as Hound approached Mirage.

'Did you…'

'Kill him? No, I only disabled some minor circuitry' Mirage placed a pair of stasis cuffs around Barricade's wrists before giving Hound a confused glance. 'You guys still take prisoners right?'

'Yes, of course!' exclaimed Hound

Mirage lifted the restrained Barricade to his feet and eyed Bluestreak skeptically

'You sure? Because with Bluestreak just now-'

'Trust me, that was an exception, he's just on edge. Anyway…'

Red Alert approached them with a worried look.

'I'll deal with Barricade's incarceration, but for now I am unable to do that…' he motioned to his missing arms that were blown off by Brakedown 'For the good of us all though I would suggest we get to the ship as fast as possible, the chaos is spreading.'

Mirage nodded and pulled Barricade by the collar 'Got it, Windcharger and Swerve radioed me saying they are ready for lift off, they got Blurr in there safe and sound too so they are just waiting for us.'

Wheeljack gripped onto Cliffjumper as he struggled 'And Jazz? What about him?'

Mirage shook his head 'He stayed to finish off Brakedown'

Wheeljack lowered his head 'Oh…'

'We'll wait for him though' Mirage said nodding encouragingly 'I wouldn't worry.'

'Are you kidding?!' Cliffjumper relinquished himself from Wheeljack's grasp and turned back to the grand hall.

'We need to go back for him it is-'

Dogfight clubbed the horned bot over the head knocking him into stasis.

'What? He was being a nuisance…' he turned his head from one side to the other as the Autobot's glared at him 'Okay fine, I'll carry him.'

'Guys?' Arcee called from ahead of the group.

'What is it?' asked Mirage dreading to hear more bad news

'Where's Hotshot, he was here just a second ago.'

Mirage began pacing nervously 'Damnit, where'd he-' he cupped his hands around his mouth and called

'Hotshot!'

Hound placed a reassuring hand on the blue bot's shoulder.

'Relax, I know where he is.'

'What? But how-'

'Trust me, they didn't name me head tracker in the Autobot army for nothing, take the others to the ship, I'll grab Hotshot and bring him to you.'

Hound smiled assuring 'Just go.'

Mirage nodded 'Autobot's let's roll.

While Dogfight carried Cliffjumper in his aerial jet mode, the others all transformed into their vehicle modes and drove through the crowd and into the clearing. Hound transformed into his armored jeep mode and drove in the opposite direction; he fired his mounted missile to scatter the rioters around him and pressed on until he found himself at the Velocitronian Circuit.

Within Override was on her knees, the revelation of what she had done was staggering.

'Oh god, what have I done.'

A dark figure emerged from the flames, it was Hotshot.

'Override' he croaked 'We need to leave, now!'

She shook her head weakly 'No, I can't, I just… can't-'

'What do you mean?' Hotshot managed to help the racer to her feet 'If you stay here we'll lose you too, and we can't have that'

She held out her arms as if to catch a falling object 'Please Hotshot, just look at- at what I've done'

Hotshot rubbed the arch of his nose 'It isn't your fault, what happened, happened, there is nothing we can change about that, for now let's just get a move on before this place comes down.'

She shook her head grimly 'I don't deserve this… any of this.'

Hotshot began walking her towards the exit. A wave of pain shot through his leg with every step he took.

'Primus I wish this was easier…'

Hound burst through the flames in vehicle mode and drifted to a halt

'You rang?'

Hotshot chuckled at the convenience and placed Override on top of the jeep.

'Take Override, I can drive on my own.'

'Got it.' Hound made sure Override was secure and drove towards the exit.

Hotshot transformed into his sports car mode and drove closely behind Hound. Minutes after they left, the Velocitronian circuit had collapsed.

---

Nemesis

Needlenose walked proudly next to Spinister, he carried the last known alien data signature on the ship in a cage and joyfully shook it around.

'I'm telling you man, Slipstream is going to award us big time for making this catch'

'And… how do you suspect she will be awarding us?' asked Spinister

Needlenose gave Spinister a look that said "are you an idiot" and laughed

'Energon of course, loads of Energon, and cy-gars! Y'know what I'm saying right, something reminiscent of a hero's welcome of course.'

They entered the med bay with the prisoner

'Heyoooo check out what we got!' exclaimed Needlenose

'We found the last signal on the ship' said Spinister plainly

Slipstream rushed over to them and high fived Needlenose 'Great! Now who is this you've got here.' She examined the cage to find a small purple cassetticon reminiscent of a bat.'

'Senator Ratbat at your service ma'am'

She tapped at the cage curiously 'Senator Ratbat huh, haven't heard that name in a long time.'

With a grin she opened the cage in which the metallic bat ascended to the ceiling and dug his talons into the metal allowing him to perch.

'What is it you wish from me?' asked the upside down bat.

Slipstrea dropped her marvel and became stern. 'Are you the one sending our coordinates to the Novacon?'

Ratbat snarled spewing oil from his mouth. 'I must say I am genuinely insulted by this accusation, I would have you know that I was willing to sacrifice hundreds of troops, just to end the Novacon war.'

'Hah, well that's funny, because you are the only one left on the ship that isn't in this room besides Thundercracker and Starscream, and there is still a signal being sent out to the Novacons as we speak.'

'Slipstream' Soundwave spoke humbly yet in a disappointed tone 'I am afraid that Ratbat is not a Novacon conspirator, he has been in stasis before he could ever get the chance to ally with anyone, I saw to that.'

'Ahh.' Slipstream made a beeline for the containment room and began entering the unlock code.

'Excuse me for a second.' Slipstream shut the door behind her and took a deep breath.

From outside, the decepticons watched as she broke into frustration and started hitting the walls, then the chairs, then the walls with the chairs. Screaming every curse word she knew, she remained oblivious to the fact that the Decepticons could still see her through the glass.

'FRAG,SHIT,COG,DITCH, DAMNIT, PISTON, JOYSTICK,SUCKING, F**KING, BALLJOINT-'

'She seems angry' muttered Demolishor to Thrust

'Yeah she really doesn't like having things kept under her nose like this does she?'

'Who does?'

Triggerhappy approached the two with a wave 'Hey guys, do you know how the others are doing, the ones that were hurt when they fought with Grimlock I mean.'

'Oh, Demolishor is all fine and dandy right here' motioned Thrust to the tank'And Quake and Ramjet are nearing recovery, Slugslinger is also doing better from what I've heard.'

'Oh really? That's great, y'know it really is great that people are getting proper medical attention'

'Yeah I-'

'Unlike me… because I AM STILL ON FIRE YOU MONSTERSSS!'

Triggerhappy turned around to reveal that his back was still in flames from Grimlock's attack.

'What the- how?!'

The Targetmaster began running around the med-bay with a flaming back as Demolishor and Thrust chased after him.

Inside their cell, the Autobot's watched.

'What do you see?' asked Blaster

Rewind brought his face away from the keyhole and paused

'People on fire, robot bats, several Decepticons wandering about, and a very energetic young femme in containment.'

'What are the Decepticons doing?' asked Steeljaw

'Nothing much… just standing around… talking.'

'Mhm, what are they talking about?' asked Blaster eagerly

'Something about a traitor on board? Someone who is broadcasting their location to- to Novacons I think.'

'Novacons?' Grimlock grumbled to himself 'I thought they dead long ago.'

Rewind lifted an index finger 'Not all, some were thought to have run away, but by the looks of it, it seems to be sent to a very powerful Novacon, possibly the leader.'

'The leader?' asked a shocked Ramhorn 'but didn't the leader die long ago from… what did the official reports say... died of poisoning?'

'Official report- my aft.' said Grimlock gruffly 'I was there, during war, what me saw was no poison, me saw Leader perish from massive gun.'

Rewind looked puzzled 'A gun?'

'Yes, large gun appeared from the sky and shot big laser onto him, created the sonic canyons.'

Rewind rubbed his chin 'Fascinating, I had always heard the rumors but…'

The small cassettebot stopped and snapped his fingers 'That's it!'

'What is?' asked Blaster

'I can access the original manifest from this ship's databanks and see who the supposed Novacons are on the ship.'

Eject rolled his hand in a circular motion 'Sooo that means…'

'I should be able to find out which of these Decepticons bunked with the others after the Nemesis took off.'

'No!' snapped Grimlock 'We not going to help Decepticons!'

Rewind waved his hands in surrender 'we don't have to help them, I am just curious as to who is pulling the stunt here.'

Grimlock turned his head away and growled in approval.

'Okay, so should I-'

'Do it.' ordered Blaster

'Alright just a sec…'

The hardware within Rewind's body whirred and clicked until a hacking frequency emitted from his chest, meeting with the Nemesis' database. In moments Rewind had downloaded the entire crew list and stored it safely into his processor.

A list of names paired with faces appeared in the corner of his optics. He soon mouthed the names of each Decepticon as they appeared in alphabetical order.

Barricade, Blast Off, Bonecrusher, Brawl, Breakdown, Bruticus, Buzzsaw, Demolishor, Direct-Hit, Dirge, Dragstrip Fireshot, Flatline, Frenzy, Groundhog, Half-track, Hook…

'Anyone in there that shouldn't be?' asked Steeljaw

'What it matter?' asked Grimlock 'We going to kill them anyway.'

…Laserbeak, Megatron, Meltdown, Misfire…

Ramhorn shuffled against the wall and glared at Grimlock uncomfortably 'Y'know, I aint one to care too much about grammar, but yours is just terrible, you should try learning some proper Cybertronian, it aren't that hard you know?'

'Blaster.'

The Autobot craned his head around to face Rewind 'Did you find who it is?'

'While the special teams and Megatron are seemingly missing, it appears that there is someone in that room who's face doesn't match the manifest.'

Blaster peered into the keyhole and spotted dozens of Decepticons wandering about, while some he recognized immediately such as Demolishor, Soundwave and Skywarp, others he had only set his optics on recently such as Dirge, Misfire and Triggerhappy.

'You can really tell apart?' asked Grimlock

'Yup and I should be able to match their face with my database and find some past details. Now let's see here, searching database with a picture of the cons face and… one result.'

Rewind went quiet.

'What?' Eject shook the cassettebot by the shoulder 'C'mon tell us who it is.'

Rewind began to shake his head ever so slowly 'God…'

'What?!' Bellowed Grimlock

He sprang to his feet 'We need to get out of here, NOW!'

'What?!' Grimlock repeated himself

Rewind was frantically scrambling across the floor, trying to escape from his bonds.

He began muttering to himself 'You don't understand, this goes beyond us, beyond everything, we need to warn the Decepticons or else everyone on this ship is going to die!'

Blaster placed both hands onto Rewind's shoulders and lifted him to his feet. He spoke in a soft voice

'Rewind, I need you to calm down and tell me something, who is it, who is the one that is broadcasting the Nemesis' location?'

Blaster could feel Rewind trembling beneath the palms of his hands as he asked the question.

'It's-'

Outside the Cell

'YOU!'

Starscream and Thundercracker stood in the doorway to the medical bay; Starscream was pointing a finger across the room at a certain Decepticon. On closer inspection the seeker was trembling all over.

'You- YOU!' he shrieked hoarsely.

'You are the one! You are the same Novacon, the one that was staring at me back during the end of the Nova war!'

---

Velocitron

After twenty minutes of shooting at each other from behind the wreckage of the great hall, Brakedown stood up and disabled all of his weaponry, allowing it all to fall to the floor with a clang.

'Now look here Meister, I don't want there to be any misunderstandings between us, I liked torturing your friends, it was lovely but if you don't just kill yourself right now, I will have to go over there and do the same to you.'

Jazz sprang up from behind the curled metal and put pressure onto his chest from beneath his finger tip causing his armor casing to open up and fall apart.

'Then why don't we do this the old fashioned way then?'

Jazz managed to do a front flip over Brakedown (for style) and elbowed him in the back, the more experienced bot countered with a kick to the shin followed by a barrage of brutal punches.

'I love it!' exclaimed Brakedown.

As the two fought Jazz's mind began to flow away like a moving tide. He wondered if the others got to safety yet, surely they have. He also wondered if they had left without him. No. They wouldn't, not that he would mind, but he knew them too well, they would wait.

Brakedown managed to get his hands around Jazz's throat as he held him to the ground.

'You see, this is what I don't understand about you bad guys.' He spoke as he slammed a fist into Jazz's face 'You always try to ruin our grand designs and yet you will always fail, why?'

Jazz kicked Brakedown's stomach sending him a few meters back.

Brakedown cracked his neck 'Because good always triumphs over evil of course.'

Jazz jumped in the air and did a kick against Brakedown's skull followed by another jab at the gut.

'We are not the evil ones here'

'But of course you are!' Brakedown mused 'You see, the villains always come up with a plan, or a super weapon that can further their victory, on the other side all the heroes do is sit around and wait for a problem to arise before dealing with it. The heroes never take the first punch, unlike you.'

Jazz grabbed Brakedown and slammed him into a large plexi-glass window that overlooked the burning city underneath the crimson sky.

'Look at this, can you not see the chaos you have caused?' asked Jazz wildly

'Now don't be so negative Meister, I see this as a fresh starting point.'

Jazz gritted his teeth and slammed Brakedown's head into the window creating a web of cracks.

'You are no better than Razorclaw.'

'Who?'

'Predacon, pupil of Shockwave, you have probably met once before'

'Hmm I'm sorry Meister but I am afraid you will have to go into better detail than that.'

He threw Brakedown onto his back and aimed a rifle at the elderly bot's head.

'More important things first Brakedown, my name is Jazz! Don't you forget it.'

Brakedown clapped his hands 'Ah yes, I love it, right out of the movies, there's only one problem with this whole performance.'

Jazz kept his scope trained in between the Velocitronian's optics. 'And that is?'

'You can't kill me' Brakedown crawled closer to Jazz 'Executing an unarmed combatant in cold bloodgoes against everything you supposedly stand for; doing so will only prove that you really are the villain.'

Jazz lowered his rifle and turned his back on Brakedown.

'You are right; I can't kill you, not like this…'

Brakedown smiled and reached for his blaster 'Excellent.'

'But they can.'

Brakedown paused 'What?'

The wall was blown open and five guns slinging Stunticons barged in.

Jazz flashed a grin before shattering the glass of the window pane and grappling out of the great hall.

'There he is!' yelled the Stunticon Breakdown 'That's the one who stole my name!'

In moments, Brakedown was surrounded by the Stunticons

'None of this is my fault Jazz do you hear me!?'

Motormaster grabbed his legs while Wildrider and Deadend grabbed him by the arms

'All of this is the cause of you, you are the chaos bringer not me!' Brakedown continued to yell at the broken windowpane as Motormaster tore off his legs.

'What we had was legitimate peace! What is wrong with that, why must we all participate in a war that isn't ours!?'

Wildrider proceeded to tear off Brakedown's right arm yet the Velocitronian made no response.

'WHY MUST YOU PROTECT THESE ANIMALS?!'

The Stunticon Breakdown unsheathed his blade

'There's only room for one of us.'

He proceeded to sliced at Brakedown's neck from the throat to the nape until his head was fully decapitated from its body.

'What makes an angel of peace a villain I'd like to kn-'

Suddenly Brakedown came to understand what was going on. As the other Stunticons tore his body to shreds, Dragstrip had aimed a rifle at his bodyless head.

'N-'

In a moment, a large gaping hole replaced where Brakedown's face was. The Stunticons continued to beat his body even after velocitronian's life had ended.

---

Nemesis

Slipstream looked from Starscream to Spinister and back again.

'Really, Spinister?'

'Yes!' snapped Starscream 'I couldn't forget his face anywhere!'

Thundercracker shook Starscream by the arm

'Starscream, I know what you are saying but it can't be Spinister, he's been with us for…'

'That's it isn't it? When have we ever seen him on the Nemesis- no, when have we ever seen him in the Decepticon army before you left through the spacebridge.'

'You need to listen to yourself Starscream, there are thousands of Decepticons, it is expected for someone not to know every single other combatant.'

'Thundercracker look at me, do I look like I am lying?'

The seeker looked at his former partner in the eyes and felt them simmering with rage.

'I know you seem determined about this but it's just-'

'Just… Spinister of all bots' Slipstream interrupted 'Broody, Emo, annoying, nerdy, stupid, video gaming, Spinister? Sorry but I don't think so, I just don't see it. I mean, there's no way this guy could possibly have been a Novacon this whole entire time.'

She turned to Needlenose reassuringly

'Needlenose, you are Spinister's partner, you know for certain that he is innocent right?'

He made no response

Slipstream eyed him curiously 'Needlenose?'

Skywarp walked into the med bay with a look of worry on his faceplate

'Hey has anyone seen Doggy around? I can't seem to find… him.'

Skywarp craned his head to each con in the room, from Thrust, to Soundwave, to Cyclonus, to Spinister.

'Wait…' he could feel the tense atmosphere within the facility 'What's going on…?'

Spinister grabbed Skywarp by the neck and aimed a riot cannon at the seeker's head.

'NOBODY FRAGGING MOVE OR THE SEEKER GETS IT!'

Misfire, Triggerhappy, Demolishor, Soundwave, Frenzy, Slipstream, Thrust, Dirge, Flatline, Cyclonus and Starscream, all raised their blasters on the Novacon.

'Wait!' Thundercracker waved his hands in a calming manner

'Nobody shoot, Skywarp is in the way.'

'Everybody shoot, it's just Skywarp that's in the way.' Ordered Slipstream

'No!'

The Decepticons all opened fire on the Novacons but before the bullets could connect, a wave of gold light stopped them in their tracks. The light was emerging from the palm of Needlenose's hand. One bullet managed to pass through and blow off Spinister's faceplate revealing a wide Novacon smile beneath.

'You never expected there to be two Novacons on board did you?' said Needlenose smugly

With a wave of his hand the bullets were shot back at the barrels that had fired them causing each of the Decepticon's guns to explode.

'Pathetic…'

'Flatline, Cyclonus, Thrust…' Slipstream addressed the bots with the wave of her hand 'get Slugslinger, Quake and Ramjet out of the med bay'

Flatline extended his arms and pulled out Slugslinger while Cyclonus and Thrust pulled in Quake and Ramjet.

As Quake was trolleyed out of the room he tilted his head weakly and looked Spinister in the optics.

'Spinister… Why?'

'We are following orders from our master… our still living master…'

Sparks danced around Needlenose's fingers as he spoke 'The Novacons will rise from their graves and further our evolution to the next level. Our race will become an artistic masterpiece of the likes the Universe has only witnessed in the moments of its birth.'

Spinister pressed the bunt of his gun against Skywarp's temple 'Orders for our mission were rather clear, it was to infiltrate the ship and kidnap one of the following Decepticons; Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, or Slipstream.'

'The Seekers?' asked a startled Demolishor

'Correct' answered Needlenose 'Or more specifically, the ones who were present during our leaders temporary defeat.'

He chuckled behind his faceplate

'You see we are in need of something that the seekers own, it isn't something we could just ask for of course' he leaned towards the decepticons and tapped the side of his head with his index finger. 'It is something that is inside their heads after.'

The Decepticons took a moment to look within their ranks and observe Slipstream, Thundercracker and Starscream trying to blend in amongst the crowd.

'That's right; there are things that your elite flying corps doesn't like to say out loud. Anyways we ought to be on our way, Spinister had already scanned the ship's schematics and found that –like the Ark- your medical facility has the ability to change into an escape craft as well, convenient isn't it? It ought to be, we've been luring you all in here just so that we have the chance to capture one of you and make the escape. Now then, soon enough we will have exactly what we need to-'

The wall separating the medical facility and the containment cell was blown open as a large metallic Tyrannosaurus smashed through and tackled Needlenose into the adjacent wall.

Blaster and the others came following from behind all brandishing Energon blades.

'Alright team; let's do what we do best.' exclaimed Blaster

'We can't!' said a hesitant Rewind 'You don't understand what we're dealing with; we need to escape while we still can!'

'C'mon Rewind' said Ramhorn as he charged at Spinister 'grow some -hrrk-'

With the raise of an eyebrow, Spinister sent over a hundred volts of electricity through the cassettebot's body sending him into stasis.

'What? Now that's a damn penalty.'

As Eject charged forward, large weapons erupted from Spinisters shoulders and blasted the cassetticon out of the Med bay.

Gathering Ramhorn, Rewind turned his attention to his comrades.

'Blaster, Steeljaw, we gotta go!'

'Not today man!' Blaster sliced at Spinister continuously with an Energon blade but a seemingly magnetic force kept propelling him back. 'Damn Novacon, would you just-'

'Need projectile!' roared Grimlock as his throat began to light up a heated red.

His Jaws began to rotate and his optics glowed as a wave of flames torched the ground where Spinister and Skywarp were.

'I'm with you Rewind' exclaimed Steeljaw 'let's get out of here.'

The flames dispersed and Spinister stood unscathed with a slightly torched Skywarp still in his hands.

'You really think it is that easy?'

Needlenose freed himself from the wall and approached Grimlock from behind.

'Grimlock!' called Blaster 'Needlenose is behind you, move!'

But the Dinobot wasn't listening, he was still trying to singe Spinister who blocked all of the attacks with a light force field standing in front of him and Skywarp

'Grimlock!'

'He can't here you' said Rewind 'Soundwave blew his audio receptors remember?'

'It's funny' remarked Needlenose as he cracked his neck back into place 'You all seem to forget what the Novacons are really like.'

Needlenose sent a wave of electricity from his fingertips which completely engulfed the Dinobot.

Grimlock let out a roar of pain as he was forcibly transformed back into his robot mode in a step by step process.

'I must say you are a fun one to play with, not many times do I get to undergo forced transformation with a beast.'

The electricity moved on from Grimlock and attacked Blaster forcing him into his Boom-Box mode

'Now then, begone!' Spinister activated his magnetic prowess and sent both Dinobot and Autobot crashing through the walls of the med bay and back into the ship

Thundercracker took a step forward from the crowd 'How can you-?'

'Use our mental capacity's to form matter? Why my dear Thundercracker while you spent thousands of years fighting your own war, we've been evolving even further, we can do things that you couldn't even comprehend now.'

'No…'

Dirge was trembling as he drew closer to the Novacons. A thick red liquid was dripping from his optics.

'You can't'

'Mm?'

Dirge walked as if he were a zombie

'You can't hurt us… you can't hurt her…'

He fell to the floor as red and black foam began pouring out of his mouth.

'YOU CAN'T HURT HER, YOU CAN'T HURT OUR GODDESS!'

Slipstream brought a hand to her mouth

'Oh no…'

Dirge was screaming as he lay on the floor.

'She is one of the creators… she is a- a wicked storm of colour and ferocity… she is… LOVE!'

Thundercracker grabbed Dirge and slapped him across the face only to find the luster in his optics dull to fades of grey.

The blue seeker turned his head to Slipstream

'What the hell was that?'

'Sparkmeal psychology' she answered ashamed 'I managed to use it on him so that he wouldn't pull a gun on me again, I'm sure he has mentioned to you how he has been feeling around me? Anyways the fact that it hasn't been used for so long and the recent… events… well it is understandable as it could lead him to this.'

Thundercracker threw the cone head aside and took another step forward

'So what's next?!' he yelled balling his fists 'you kidnap one of us and for what?! You have all the power you want to conquer a galaxy, so why do you need us?'

'No telling.' Muttered Spinister

'But why?! What does your leader want, why take Skywarp?! If you really need someone to take with you don't take him. Take Me! I-'

He felt a warm hand squeeze his shoulder and turned around.

'Slipstream…' he looked passed her shoulder to see that the medical bay was now empty besides Him, the Novacons, Skywarp, Slipstream, Starscream, and Soundwave who watched from the doorway. The other decepticons had run away in fear already.'

'Thundercracker we need to go.'

'What?' he looked at the doorway to spot Rewind and Steeljaw retreating with their wounded comrades and looked back.

'You don't mean…'

Slipstream pushed Thundercracker aside to face the Novacons.

'Go now, we understand your strength and are willing to let you leave with your hostage.'

Spinister's grin broadened 'Thank you.'

'What?' Thundercracker panicked 'NO!'

Slipstream restrained Thundercracker while Soundwave and Starscream dragged Dirge out of the med bay.

'NO! We can't just let them take Skywarp!' Slipstream began dragging him away from the scene, just as she did from Orion Pax all those centuries ago.

'Thundercracker…' As Skywarp spoke Thundercracker stopped resisting Slipstream's pull and was soon outside the medbay.

Skywarp was smiling, but Thundercracker didn't feel relieved, it was a sad smile, a scared smile.

'…I'll be fine, take care of Doggy while I'm gone okay?'

'Skywarp we'll get you safe we'll-'

The Medbay doors slammed shut and Thundercracker felt himself pressing himself against the glass that separated the facility from the hallway.

He saw Skywarp's smile for half a second before the entire med bay ejected from the side of the ship and morphed into a spacecraft.

The seeker let out a high pitched scream as the ship housing the two Novacons and his best friend disappeared into the blackness of space leaving nothing but a vapor trail.

---

Velocitron

Mirage waited outside the ship with Hotshot and Override. Windcharger and Swerve were already at the controls, awaiting the order to blast off.

'I don't think he's coming.' said Mirage grimly

'We aren't having this conversation right now Mirage, he's coming and you know it,'

Mirage rubbed the arch of his nose and turned his back to the pair.

'You know what? It's been a hell of a day today and I think that for the first time in a while, I'm tired. So you can wait out here on this dying planet and we'll wait. But if- when the entire riot comes crashing through here, we are taking off no matter what, there is no negotiation there.'

Hotshot nodded 'Alright…' he wandered around the site and watched the city as the flames grew and reached the smoky crimson sky above. 'I can get behind that'

'Hey guys…'

The two bots turned their attention to Override who was pointing at the horizon where the silhouette of a car speeding towards them.

'Is that him?' asked Hotshot

Override shook her head 'No, I would know that shape anywhere'

The figure transformed and jogged up to the Launchpad

'Backstreet.' Mirage addressed with little concern 'You're okay.'

'Yeah' the orange and black Velocitronian replied, his hands were on his knees and he was panting vigorously. 'I started driving the minute I got your message; it's a bloody warzone out there, bots killing bots, sort of like the war stories you used to tell me.'

'How'd you get out?' asked Mirage

'Once they knew I was a mole the guards were on my tail, the minute I got outside however, well, let's just say the riot managed to tear them a new one, allowing me to escape.'

'Wait' Override approached Backstreet cautiously, He had been her bodyguard/secretary for most of her life yet not once did she consider him to be anything close to sinister. She wasn't sure whether she was to be relieved that he was never on Brakedown's side, or disappointed that he lied to her about who he was.

'Mirage mentioned that you were spying in on Velocitron's leaders' she said plainly 'does this mean-'

'That I was an assassin, no.'

Override waved a hand in denial 'No not that, does it mean that you were – that everything you said was just an act?'

Backstreet smiled warmly as he spoke 'No, Everything I said to you about my life outside of being a mole was the truth, I never changed anything about how I act or how I look.'

Override felt her excitement escalate as he spoke 'Then that means-'

Backstreet placed a hand on her shoulder

'I've always cared about you Override, always.'

Override smiled in relief

'Backstreet… Thank you.'

Backstreet nodded and snapped his fingers in realization

'Oh that's right; I brought a little something with me.'

Holo keys lit up on Backstreet's wrist as he began tapping in commands.

In moments Jazz materialized next to him covered in wounds.

'Jazz!' Hotshot rushed over to him helping him up.

The two of them shook hands violently as Backstreet cleared his throat

'I found him getting beaten by the crowd and dropped a cloaking device next to him on my way out, he managed to get away just fine I think.'

'I did.' said Jazz 'and I really appreciate it.' He looked past the Velocitronian and spied Mirage

'Mirage, get Backstreet fixed up and tell Swerve to start the countdown'

'What about you?' he replied curtly

'I'll be just a sec. Go.'

Mirage shrugged and motioned Backstreet over to him.

The bodyguard nodded at Override once before following Mirage into the ship.

'Now then.' Jazz made his way towards Hotshot 'get in the ship and tell them to launch, I'm staying here.'

Hotshot stared at Jazz blankly; he made no response to the spec-ops agents order.

'Hotshot, did you hear me?'

He still made no response.

'I'll stay too' said Override 'I'm the former leader of this planet and I will bring it back to a world of peace, real peace mind you'

Jazz nodded 'Very well.' He paused before turning back to her 'Former?'

'You and Hotshot passed the finish line before I did.'

'But I wasn't a part of that race…' replied Jazz skeptically

'No, but Hotshot was.'

This peaked Hotshot's attention

'It may have been with your help, but remember, the race has no rules, past leaders have won in ways worse than having help from a faster racer on the track, you weren't a participant so you didn't win, Hotshot on the other hand-'

'I see' Jazz interrupted 'anyways we should get ready to fight; the riot will spread here any minute, Hotshot.'

The bot nodded to him 'Tell Mirage he's in charge until you find Silverbolt and Perceptor, tell Cliffjumper he's ready and tell Wheeljack he can have my CD's, I'm afraid I won't be coming back to see them.'

Lift off in 10…

'You will.' Replied Hotshot.

9…

Jazz chuckled 'See that's what I've always liked about you Hotshot, you always focus on the positives.

8…

'No I mean you will be seeing them now.'

7…

Jazz's expression dropped 'What?'

6…

Hotshot held out his hand and in moments Jazz was lifted off the ground. Hotshot had activated the small bit of power Windcharger's had loaned him.

5…

'I'm sorry Jazz…'

4…

'Don't do this…' Jazz struggled in the air

3…

'…but you are far more valuable to the Autobot army than I am'

2…

'Hotshot please…'

1…

'I'm sorry, goodbye.'

0…

Hotshot flung Jazz into the ship with his magnetism and shut the door. Jazz could feel his chest hit the ground and leaped up in shock, by the time he had rushed over to the exit, the ship was already off the ground.

'NO!'

He watched the images of Hotshot and Override standing amongst the sandy dunes at the launch site disappear as the ship ascended farther away from the planet.

Mirage placed a hand on Jazz's shoulder from behind, he was standing next to Windcharger

'I really am sorry about this.'

The two were left to watch the planet as Velocitron burned.

---

Please R&R

(Reuse and Recycle)