Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.
Remcy: Ok, what has taken so long with this updating?
Authoress: I have been on vacation for the weekend bots. At least I got quite a few chapters finished.
Pandimala: How many did you get done?
Authoress: You shall see Pandimala.
AN: WARNING! There may be some parts in this chapter that are borderline M rated. I'm not quite sure but I want to warn you just in case. There is some close forced interfacing that is present so I want to make sure that you are all warned about this.
Ch. 26: Scarred Victory
Pitch growled as he paced in Fortress Maximus. It had been five solar cycles since Praxus had gone back into the Alliance's servos and he was now very upset. When Helex had reported that the scout, Zarron, was pretty much offline, he had been preparing for a major strike at Kaon because he believed that they would be weakened by their grief for their comrade. He thought this because he knew how close Pandimala was to the scout. But, the Alliance had done the opposite of what he had thought and had attacked Praxus immediately, taking the city back. Over the past few days, the Alliance had been taking back Cybertron. The only stronghold that Pitch had was Iacon now and he was not going to lose it.
"Pitch, we have a report from our scouts." Sentinel stated as he entered the room.
"Tell me that it is good news Sentinel. I need to hear some after all of our losses." Pitch implored.
He smirked when Sentinel nodded. "Very good news. Our scouts have seen the Dragon Scouters dividing their main fighting force and sending them to the separate cities. They believe that means that Pandimala and the Alliance do not plan on attacking Iacon any time soon."
Pitch let off a smirk at that. The Alliance must have finally realized that Iacon would not be as easy to take as those other cities were. Iacon was his key prize. It had been the beacon of hope during the first war and had also been a beacon of strength for the Alliance. He needed to hold this city for as long as he could.
"Sentinel, how are our numbers looking?" Pitch questioned.
"Well, we roughly have about two thirds the number of the Alliance. It has been hard trying to find bots who are willing to go against Pandimala, Megatron, and Ultra Magnus. If it was individuals, then we would have more. But, since they are in an alliance together, the bots who would have come will not risk it." Sentinel grumbled.
Pitch hated this Alliance. It cost him members each day, either from being offlined or in the fact that they would not go against all three leaders at once. That fact was a sore point that dug at Pitch's spark each solar cycle. The Virons had allowed the Alliance to grow for too long and they had strengthened their bonds.
"Frag it. We have to take the Alliance down, or make them take themselves down. If only we had succeeded in offlining Pandimala and her sparkling when we had the chance, then this would not be happening and we would be the rulers of a strong Cybertron." Pitch stated.
Sentinel nodded and said, "Maybe we should refocus our plans on Pandimala. If we can take her down, we can retake the cities we lost and maybe even take control of Kaon."
Pitch mulled over Sentinel's words before nodding and saying, "I agree. We have to take Pandimala out of the picture. But the how is still a problem."
"I think I may have a solution." Sentinel hinted with a smirk.
"How?" Pitch asked.
Sentinel then walked closer to Pitch before whispering the idea. When Sentinel finished, Pitch smirked as well. It was a very good plan that should work. That Alliance would fall for this ploy completely.
"What's our status Remcy?" Megatron asked the Dragon Scouter intelligence agent. So far, their progress in gaining back Cybertron had been very rapid. After they had taken Praxus, they had figured out the basis of how the Virons worked and so they were able to formulate a strategy based on that.
"All of our troops have separated like planned and the Virons are none the wiser. Pandimala is waiting for the signal to start Operation: Iacon." Remcy stated.
Megatron nodded and said, "Tell her that I'll contact her and Ultra Magnus when I am ready. I want to stop by med bay first."
Remcy nodded in understanding before saying, "Ok. And Megatron, it is not your fault. As I have been telling Pandimala and Ultra Magnus, you all made the right move in send the three of them into Praxus. Because of that move, we have been able to retake much of Cybertron and we will get back Iacon soon. Zarron knew the risks when he accepted the mission."
Megatron simply shook his helm before he walked out of the room. His processor had not prepared him for when Zarron had been teleported into the room, Mirage and Hound holding him, he saw the condition the screaming mech was in. Energon was everywhere and Pandimala, who was on the verge of breaking down, was holding back Beam, who was screaming and reaching toward her bondmate.
The sight of Beam alone rendered his spark into millions of pieces. While he himself did not have a bondmate as of yet, he had studied up on the effects of when a bondmate was injured and he had seen the pain many times in the bots that served underneath his command.
Walking into the med bay, Megatron sighed when he saw that Zarron was still unconscious and Beam was keeping her vigil next to him. She would not leave his side no matter what.
"How is he doing Beam?" Megatron asked her.
Beam looked at him and said, "Well, sometimes, I can feel him through our bond. It is a small feeling of encouragement but it is still there. But, the longest that one of those has ever lasted was twenty nano-clicks. He is very weak." She then turned back to Zarron.
Megatron walked to Zarron's other side and said, "I did not mean for this to happen."
Beam's laugh surprised him and he knew that he had to have a surprised look on his faceplate. "Megatron, Zarron wouldn't have taken this mission if he didn't want to take the risks that came with it."
Megatron sighed and said, "You are the second bot today to tell me that. Remcy told me that right before I came here. But, what I really want to know is who attacked him."
"It's nice…nice to hear you laugh dear."
Both himself and Beam jumped when they heard the bot currently laying on the med berth say that. Beam smiled and gave him a light hug before saying, "Oh Zarron. I was so worried."
Zarron lifted one of his arms and gave her a hug before his arm went back to his side. Megatron then watched as their optics met before Zarron said, "To answer your question. Helex was the one that put me here."
Megatron remembered the bot's name from what Ultra Magnus had told him about the enemies of the Scouters. His optics automatically narrowed in anger. It seemed that there were many enemies making appearances. These bots seemed to be causing many problems for their troops. "Tell me what happened."
As Zarron recounted what happened, both he and Beam growled at many of the parts. The tale was very gruesome at parts. Megatron felt shock and he saw Beam's optics widen when Zarron said that Helex had promised to pay Beam a 'visit'.
Once the tale was done, Beam turned to him and said, "Megatron, you need to go get in place. The others are waiting for you to begin Operation: Iacon."
"Wait, what is going on?" Zarron asked.
Beam placed a servo on his chestplate and said, "I'll explain everything once we get Megatron here to get out."
The look that he got from Zarron was enough to get Megatron to raise his servos defensively and say, "Alright I'm leaving. I'll tell Pandimala and Ultra Magnus that you are awake." He then walked out of the door. His next stop was the teleport room. His assignment was going to be right outside of Iacon's north side, which was where the Guardian headquarters were.
The bots that he was to command for the first part were Starscream, Optimus, Elita, Ratchet, Hindsight, Tune, Foresight, Scale, and Lugnut. Their mission was to secure Guardian HQ and then use that to teleport more of their troops into the city and also serve as a med center.
Speaking of their objectives, they were split up into four teams. Besides himself, the leaders of these teams were Pandimala, Ultra Magnus, and Chaom. Malwing was staying in Kaon with Malice and Pandemonium.
Ultra Magnus' team consisted of Blackout, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Team Galaxy, Casius, and Lockdown. Their primary objective was to regain the Hall of Records so they could have another base of operations and another med center.
Chaom's team was made up of Cyclonas, Strika, Ness, Prowl, Jazz, Knockout, Breakdown, Oilslick, and Razor. Their objective was to retake the Cyber-Dojo so they could have access to the weaponry that was locked inside and to have yet another rest station.
After those three teams were set up in their locations, they were to send in troops and go help Pandimala's team take on Fortress Maximus. On Pandimala's team were Balm, Stormfire, Tana, Blackbit, Blitzwing, Mirage, Hound, Chromia, and Radar. They were to start the main attack on Fortress Maximus from the inside and see if they could not somehow shut down Viron communications. They were all hoping that they would be able to prevent the Virons from escaping if the converged on them at once.
When Megatron arrived at the teleport pad, he typed in his coordinates before stepping on the platform. It amazed him how the technology used in the teleports worked. But, as the scene in front of him changed, he pushed those thoughts to the back of his processor.
Glancing at his team, he got on his communicator and said, "This is Megatron. Just wanted to say that Zarron is now awake and we are ready on our end."
"Ok then, Operation: Iacon is a go." Pandimala answered into her comm. link. After she said that, she shut it off and turned to her team before saying, "Ok then; let's go give these Virons a wake up as to what happens when you attack us."
Her team nodded before they all split up. While they had been waiting for Megatron, they had decided that splitting up would be the best option. Pandimala went with Tana, Balm, Mirage, and Blitzwing to take find the main communication hub and shut it down.
Tana, for one, had been glad that they were splitting up. She knew that a team of ten would be too noticeable and the Virons might catch on to their plans before they could get close enough to their objective. She really loved her sub-team because Mirage could turn invisible so that made them look like an even smaller group.
"Balm, I want your scanners going on full. I want to know as soon as we get close to the communication room." Pandimala stated.
Balm nodded and said, "If they haven't changed the location of the communication room, it shouldn't be too hard to find."
"The only thing we need to worry about is any Virons that we run into on our way there." An invisible Mirage stated.
Tana mashed her fist into her opposite servo before saying, "That's why Blitzwing, Pandimala, and I are here. We have to keep you two safe and there are none better than us."
Blitzwing nodded and said, "I vould love to see zem try and get in our vay."
Pandimala nodded and said, "Definitely. But, we need to get to that communications room first."
"Easy. I went there often to get some assignments so I know the way. We just need to follow this hallway." Mirage stated.
The others nodded and started to traverse the path that Mirage said they needed to follow. As they walked though, Tana couldn't help but let her thoughts go to Zarron. He was one of her best friends and she had been shocked to hear about the damage that he had. She was very glad to hear that he was now awake. But, that did not mean that she was not going to make those Virons pay for what they did to him.
Tana dear, you need to stay focused. I know you are upset about Zarron, we all are, but we need this mission to go smoothly and we can't do that if your anger is taking over. Blackbit said over their bond.
Tana smiled sadly. I know sweetspark, but I can't help it. I practically grew up with him. Pandimala and I both did and it hurts to think that he was in the condition he was in. Shoot, Balm was so torn up about it that she couldn't help in the surgery. It is hard for all of us.
She wanted to say more but her team soon arrived at the communication room door. I'll get back to you Blackbit. We are at the communication room and I have to concentrate. Love you.
Alright, love you too dear. Blackbit said before the bond went silent.
Tana then took out her morning star as they all made a semicircle around the door.
"Ladies first!" Blitzwing said with a smile.
Tana nodded before she took out her flail and swung it at the door. She was proud that the door flew off of its hinges. But, as they ran inside, she growled when her optics landed at the bots in the center of the room. While there were other bots inside, Tana was more interested in the main ones. In the middle of the group was Sentinel. She could tell by the glare and growl coming from Pandimala that she was none too pleased to see him.
Then next to him was Helex. Seemed that Mirage would be able to take revenge for her from how his growls were filling the room and his daggers shot daggers at said scout.
But, Tana's attention was solely focused on Pitch. The mech had attacked them one too many times and she was going to make him pay for all of the evils that he had ever done. She remembered the first time that she had seen Chem. She could tell that the visor that was over his optic was not natural and she had asked the others about it. But, not even Blackbit would tell her. She had to go up to Chem and ask him personally what had happened and she had been horrified when he had recalled the events to her.
Tana jumped, though, when Balm let out a fierce snarl. And, from the shocked looks from everybot else on their side, she wasn't the only one. At first, Tana wasn't sure who her normally reserved and shy friend could show that much hate for, except for Spittor and Tana did not see that disgusting mech here. When she followed her friends gaze though, her sight landed on three identical car mechs and they all had dangerous smirks on their faceplates.
"Well look here brothers, seems like the little medic femme is back." The one that was black with blue markings.
The three of them then chuckled and Balm's optics hardened.
"I am surprised to see you all here. Especially since there are so few of you. I thought that the Alliance would have sent in more bots then you all to retake their beloved Iacon." Pitch stated.
Tana growled at him and said, "Well, we couldn't wait for them to get their helms screwed on straight so we came here before you Virons could do any more damage to the city." She wanted to say so much more but she had to go along with the plan.
Sentinel scoffed at that and said, "Well, maybe you will finally learn your lesion in going into situations helms first after we are done with you all."
Pandimala growled at him before saying, "That is a lesson that you should learn for yourself."
"Well, I thought that they would have learned their lesson after I offlined that scout of theirs. I heard he was quite close to you all." Helex taunted with a smirk.
Mirage growled. "Why don't you let me wipe that smirk off of your mistaken faceplates? Zarron is awake and doing just fine and now I can rip that helm off of your chassis."
The air then grew tense around of them all. They were all just waiting for somebot to make the first move. But, no one seemed to want to take that first lunge.
Well, that was, until, the three brothers smirked at each other and the one that was black with gray markings said, "Well, let's get this started. We want to finish what we started with that medic femme." The three of them then launched at Balm. Tana went over to help but was stopped when the other Virons followed the brothers into an attack. So, since Pitch was charging straight at her, Tana raised her morning star and charged at the mech.
Pandimala snarled at Sentinel as her sword met his lance. She was going to make that mech pay for what he had betrayed and for attacking her and threatening her sparkling. That was crossing a line. No one messed with her family and got away with it.
"What's the matter Pandimala? You seem to be a little distracted." Sentinel tried to taunt as he swung at her helm.
But, she blocked it with ease and said, "No, I was just wondering when the fight was going to start."
She was glad when he looked fragged off at that. She knew that he hated it when bots teased him about how he was fighting. He had always reacted badly by it. Ever since boot camp as far as she knew.
"I'm holding my own against you Pandi. That has to count for something according to your team." Sentinel shot back.
Pandimala shook her helm and said, "If I was actually trying, then this would be impressive." And it was true. While she wanted to rip the mech apart, she had to wait until the other three teams had taken their locations before she could try. Risking a glance around the room, Pandimala was surprised to see another entrance that was hidden by the shadows. There was no door and it seemed to run right into a hallway.
Sentinel growled at that and lunged at her again. Pandimala, of course, easily blocked it and twirled around Sentinel to try and get some better damage on him. But, he reacted faster then she thought he would and actually cut her on her arm.
"Ha, see. I can get through your defenses." Sentinel bragged.
Pandimala shook her helm and was about to take a swipe at him when she was suddenly thrown to the side from a blast. The thing hurt like the pit and, when she turned, she saw one of those triplets aiming a smoking gun at her while his brothers fought Balm.
Thinking about Balm, Pandimala had been extremely shocked when her friend had snarled at the three brothers. Pandimala couldn't think of how those three had gotten Balm so upset with them. But, from the way that the brothers had been talking, they had met Balm before in the past.
Pandimala then saw the mech turn and aim his blaster at Tana.
"Tana helms up!" Pandimala yelled. Sentinel was holding his blaster to her so she couldn't move. She knew that he wanted to offline her but she also figured that Pitch wanted them all restrained before giving Sentinel the ok to offline her.
Tana turned the direction of the brother just as he fired. Tana had no time to dodge and she was thrown back against the wall. Pitch then aimed his blaster at her. Taking a glance around, Pandimala's spark fell when she saw that almost every other bot was at blaster point as well. Surprisingly, the only one who was not was Balm.
Pandimala had never seen Balm look so enraged and that rage was probably what was allowing her to continue to dodge the attacks of the brothers. But, just as she thought that, the brother that was black with silver markings back slapped her across the faceplate and sent her into the arms of the brother with the gray markings. Pandimala's optics widened in fear for her friend when she saw the looks on the three mechs' faceplates. It was a look of, lust, and Pandimala was now panicking for her friend. Whatever they tried to do in the past, they must be trying to do again now.
Balm struggled against the mech who was holding her. She knew what would happen to her if she didn't fight them off. And, since she was bonded to Storm, he would feel every horrifying feeling and touch that she would.
"How have you been femme?" The brother with gray markings asked from behind her.
Balm growled at him and said, "I have nothing to say to you Spark Root."
The brother with silver markings chuckled at that and said, "I see that you are still as feisty as ever little medic. That will make this so much more enjoyable."
"Get fragged Lock Root." Balm growled as she continued to struggle against Spark Root.
The final bother walked so he was inches away from her and put a digit underneath her chin before saying, "Oh, but that is what we are planning on doing Balm darling. You should know that."
Balm felt her spark drop in fear and she kicked out at the bot. Her kick successfully hit the bot and she snarled. "Stay away from me if you know what is good for you Blood Root."
Blood Root growled as he tried to stabilize himself. That was a small victory for Balm. Well, that was until Blood Root took two steps toward her and landed a punch on her faceplate, forcing her helm to the side.
Balm what is happening? Stormfire asked in a panicked voice through their bond. She could tell from how his thought sounded rushed that he was running somewhere.
But, Balm herself could barely focus her thoughts. Help me. Root brothers. Please, help me Storm. Balm then let out a mental sob and sent a feeling of terror run through their bond to him. She had told him what the brothers had tried to do to her and he had seen what they had tried to do when they had bonded.
She felt shock come through Stormfire's side of their bond. No. He more thought to himself but Balm still heard it. Feelings of encouragement then came from his side before he said, Keep them off of you for as long as you can Balm. I am on my way.
Balm sent a feeling of confirmation through their bond before she refocused her attention on the three brothers. The other two had gotten closer to her and Balm knew that she had to hold them off if she wanted Stormfire to get there in time.
So, she started thrashing around and kicking the mechs. She wanted them to let her go. But, then, the feeling of something sharp against the back of her neck stopped her movements completely. She knew the feeling of a dagger when she felt one.
"Hold still femme or this will hurt a lot more than it already will." Spark Root threatened. Balm shuddered as she felt his breath against the back of her neck. She wanted to start thrashing again but the other two brothers then grabbed hold of her. Lock Root grabbed her shoulder firmly and Blood Root grabbed her waist, stopping all movement.
Balm then felt the dagger leave her neck. She knew that they knew she wouldn't be able to move much, but that didn't mean that she still couldn't.
Balm yelped in disgust and shock when she suddenly felt lips start to kiss the back of her neck. She shuddered when she knew that it was Spark Root. The others then joined him on kissing her neck. Now she was in a panic. This was as far as they were able to go last time and Balm didn't want to know what would happen after this.
"Leave her alone!" Balm heard Tana scream at the mechs.
Balm shuddered when she heard Blood Root chuckle bounce off of her armor as he said, "I would be quiet miss. From what I have heard from Pitch, he has plans for you as well."
The silence that followed told Balm that Tana must be registering what Blood Root said.
Balm shrieked in horror as she felt six servos start to explore her armor. Luckily it was nowhere, delicate, yet but Balm couldn't stop her armor from heating up at the touches.
"Hmm, seems as if the femme is enjoying this." Lock Root chuckled when he paused in his kissing.
Balm growled at them and said, "I am not you slag helms."
Blood Root stared at her for the briefest second before saying, "No, we will save silencing your voice when we get to the interesting part."
Balm felt her spark freeze in terror when he said that. There could only be one thing that he meant when he said that and she did not want this to get that far.
Movement from behind the mechs had her studying the black doorway that seemed to lead down a passageway. Must have been how they were reporting messages right away. A flash of white was all that she saw and she allowed hope to travel through her bond to Stormfire. Storm, is that you?
She was glad when she felt a feeling of love travel through the bond before Stormfire responded. Yes it is love. He then growled in the bond before saying Blackbit, Chromia, Hound, and Radar are with me and Blackbit is a little fragged off. But, he is nowhere near as much as I am.
Balm let off a groan as one of the brothers started to place light touches with his digits on her servos. They were the most sensitive parts of her chassis and she wanted him to stop.
"Get…get away f…from me!" Balm stuttered out. She knew that this was growing really serious really fast.
Lock Root tilted his helm and smirked before saying, "Why would we do that little medic? We are about to get to the good part and this time you will not be getting away."
Balm then saw Stormfire step into the room, though none of the other bots would be able to see him since the three brothers were too busy with her and the others were blinded to him by a jut out in the wall. Can I let out a laugh dear and tell them you are here?
Of course Balm. Just make sure you have fun with it. Stormfire answered in a happy tone though Balm could see by his faceplates that he was furious.
Pandimala stared in utter horror as the mechs prepared to force Balm to interface with them. It was immoral and she knew that the pain that both Balm and Stormfire would feel would be enormous. None of them that day would be able to forget what as threatening to happen. Of course, Pandimala was also worried about Tana. That mech Blood Root said that Pitch had hinted of doing something similar to Tana.
Balm's laughter ringing out caused them all to stare at her in utter shock. Even the three mechs currently attacking her paused in their actions and stared at her in surprise. But, Pandimala noticed that the one holding her friend from the back, Spark Root, didn't look up at her, only stared at her armor that was in front of him.
"Wh…What are you laughing at?" Blood Root asked in surprise.
Balm's smirk at that question started to cause Pandimala to question her friend's sanity. These mechs were planning on attacking her in the most brutal and disgusting way possible and yet her friend was smirking.
"Oh, it seems as if Sentinel and Pitch haven't informed you bots about something that has changed since our last…encounter." Balm stated.
From how they had been talking earlier, Pandimala had assumed that the last time they had met had been when Balm was still an apprentice to Ratchet on Cybertron during her time in training to be a Prime. Not much had changed about Balm since then. The only thing that had changed since then that could effect this was…
"And what is that femme? Your mysterious air has intrigued me. What could possibly have changed since our last encounter?"
"Storm."
Lock Root looked confused at that and asked, "What does a storm have to do with what we are doing?"
But, Pandimala knew exactly what, and who, Balm was talking about. That was when her processor went to the opening that she had seen earlier.
Balm let out a humorless scoff before giving an empty smirk and saying, "No, you imbecile. I am not talking about a storm."
"Then what are you talking about femme?" Blood Root demanded, anger now present in his voice.
Pandimala realized that all of the Virons were focused on Balm so she slowly lowered her shoulder cannons. She wanted to be prepared if they got the chance to attack these bots again.
"Me!" A very angry and familiar voice said from the entry.
Lock Root and Blood Root had no time to fully turn around as a flail spiked flail slammed into Lock Root and Blood Root, throwing them off of Balm. Then, almost as soon as the two Root brothers were away from her, Balm took out her saw mod and jabbed it behind her at Spark Root, forcing him to let go of her and retreat next to his brothers.
Stormfire, whose optics Pandimala noticed were almost black, snarled at them with an animalistic fury while standing in front of Balm protectively before growling, "You will never touch her again."
"Who the frag are you?" Blood Root hissed. Pandimala could see that a steady stream of energon was leaking from Lock Root.
Stormfire growled right back at Blood Root and snarled, "I am the weapons specialist for the Dragon Scouters. I am also Stormfire, bondmate to Balm."
The three mechs' optics widened in shock and they were unprepared as Stormfire transformed his servo into a sword and charged at them.
Pandimala took the chance to fire her cannons at both Sentinel and Pitch, causing them to fall back. The others soon joined in on the fighting, Blackbit staying next to Tana the entire time.
But, the fighting lasted only a few clicks before an alarm went off and Pitch let out a growl. "Iacon is lost. All Virons retreat to the asteroid base." Pandimala then jumped in shock as the Virons suddenly vanished. Sentinel and the rogue council members must have given them schematics for the teleport system. That would not be good.
Turning to Balm, Pandimala wanted to run up to her and give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be fine. But, she could see that Stormfire was still acting very possessive of her and she did not want to get into a fight with him.
Pandimala, are you all alright? Chaom asked her.
Pandimala sighed and said, Physically, I think so. Mentally though, we have a long road to recovery I think.
What happened? Chaom asked. When she recounted the tale to him, Chaom snarled and said, They tried to do that?
Yes, but I think that Balm will survive it. From how she was talking before, these mechs attacked her once before in this way. But, just like this time, they didn't get very far. Pandimala answered.
Chaom sighed and said, Well, the Virons have all retreated. Do you have any idea of where they could be?
Only that it is on an asteroid. But, there are so many of those that it could take forever in finding it. Pandimala sighed.
Chaom sent a happy feeling through the bond and said, Well, the good news is that we now control all of Cybertron again. And, those Virons will never get this back again.
Pandimala smiled at that. Cybertron was free from the Virons. Now she and Chaom could raise their sparkling in a fear free environment. They would not have to worry about any attacks on her and Pandimala could feel that the days would be getting better quickly. Very quickly.
Megatron: Ok, so we have all of Cybertron back under our control.
Ultra Magnus: Yes but I am worried about where they went to. We can't let them hide away again and replenish their strength.
Pandimala: Well, I hope that Balm will be ok. That was a terrible experience to go through.
AN: And here is part of the awesomely huge update that I am doing. I worked all weekend getting these chapters done. Well, there isn't much for me to say now so please read and review. But no flames.