Chapter 29-Hurt
Megatron exited the ground bridge and entered a deep canyon bordering a large mountain with a small forest along the left side. Both sides of the canyon sported large rock formations that looked kind of like animals. This region was named "Black Horse" for the tribal chief who led a massive battle against Britannian colonists, and what followed after was a slaughter on both sides.
Leader-1 had detected a faint, encoded transmission in the area. Considering this was also where a deposit of energon was located, Megatron knew this was no coincidence and went to investigate himself after sending Nightshade out on her mission. Honestly, he wasn't expecting to find anything, but it didn't hurt to be thorough. But he wasn't expecting to hear the sound of wings.
Looking up, he saw three large robotic insects flying around above him haphazardly. When they spotted him, they flew to the ground and transformed to their bipedal modes. These were insecticon alphas, genetically altered by Shockwave no doubt. They were Venom, Barrage and Chop Shop.
"This is a welcome surprise." Megatron smiled. "To think that three insecticons would find their way so far from Cybertron. Shockwave's doing no doubt."
"We live to serve you, Lord Megatron." The insecticons intoned. Megatron looked around the arid landscape.
"I thought you insecticons never travel alone. Where is the rest of your hive?"
"Gone, my lord." Barrage hissed. "We were attacked by a femme aided by humans, a rogue who wielded great power. She overpowered us and the humans captured a third of the hive before we were forced to flee."
"We were then attacked by that traitorous witch Airachnid while we were hibernating and she somehow took control of the rest of the hive. We alone escaped her influence." Venom said.
"That explains the insecticons Flamewar sent after us." Megatron muttered. "If you were here all this time, then why haven't you made any attempts to contact us?"
"We didn't know you were on this planet, my lord, otherwise we would've tried that already." Venom replied. "It's just that those humans have been hunting us for so long."
"And their weapons hurt." Chop Shop said.
"Quiet your groveling." Megatron growled, making them recoil. "Who here is the strongest among you?"
"I am the strongest alpha here, my lord." Barrage said, standing up. "But we insecticons are stronger together."
"Then I have a job for all of you, then." Megatron said. "I want you to retrieve something for me, and eliminate anyone who gets in your way!"
XXXXXX
At the Ark, the Autobots were already mobilizing for the stasis panels. Optimus had just sent out Rodimus and Moonracer with Kevin and Penny, and Skyfire and Lifeline after them.
"Bulkhead, you and Annie will search for the third panel." Optimus told them.
"You two will be heading for the equator." Ratchet said.
"We're heading to the hottest place in the western hemisphere? Oh boy, I'm gonna sweat like a pig in that humidity." Annie groaned. Bulkhead chuckled and picked her up.
"Don't worry, Annie. Just slap on some sunscreen and bug repellant and you're all set." He said. He lifted her up to the Enyo's cockpit, where she climbed in and secured herself in the seat. "Hope your talos has air conditioning."
"Don't worry, the torrential downpour will make up for the heat." Annie quipped.
Ratchet activated the ground bridge and the two stepped of the archway ready to depart. Optimus saw them of with some parting words.
"Be on your guard, you two." Optimus warned. Bulkhead nodded and he followed Annie into the portal.
XXXXXX
The coordinates they were sent to landed them at the foot of a volcano near the southernmost region of Azteca, smack dab in the middle of the equatorial region. Bulkhead took one step into the thick, humid air and whistled as he got his first experience of equatorial climates.
"Whoo, this place is hot!" Bulkhead looked around. "I'm made of metal and I can still feel myself sweating."
"That's Azteca, Bulk. It's in the 70s to 90s all year round in this place." Annie grinned. "Man, I wish I could breathe in all that heavy, ash laden air but I'm all cooped up in my nice, air conditioned talos. Ain't that a damn shame?"
Bulkhead shot her a deadpan glare. "Yeah, it is. Now if you're done gloating about your fancy toy, can you run a scan of the area? I can't make heads or tails of this place."
"Yeah, it's easy to get lost around here. At least we don't have to worry about getting stung by poisonous insects or something?"
"That, and being eaten by those metal eating plants you told me about." Bulkhead grumbled.
'Oh yeah, I did tell him that, didn't I?' Annie thought with a naughty grin. She meant it as a joke, but he took it seriously.
She pressed a button on her computer panel and began a grid scan of the local area. She got some results back immediately, but they weren't exactly what she wanted. "I'm not getting anything on the radar, Bulk. I don't think the panel's here."
"What do you mean? We're right on top of the coordinates." He said.
Annie moved forward, but her talos stepped on a gas pocket that exploded a hot geyser in her talos's face. She stumbled back in surprise, but Bulkhead caught her.
"Let's figure this out before you step on a magma pocket or something." Bulkhead said. "Bulkhead to base, do you copy?"
"Reading you loud and clear, Bulkhead." Sparkplug replied over the comm.
"Sparkplug! You're back!" Annie smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"A little sluggish, but better than before. Ratchet's working on the others, so I'm your caretaker for now." Sparkplug said. "So what's the problem?"
"We need to reconfirm coordinates. We're on site, but the panel's not here." Bulkhead said.
"Hold on," Sparkplug went silent as he checked the data. "You're definitely in the right place. In fact, you guys should've seen it by now."
Bulkhead gave a deep grumble. "Well the damn thing's not here. I hope it's not floating in a lava flow or something. That'd just be out luck."
"Lava flow…" Annie muttered and looked down at the deep canyons of cooled lava they stood in. "Bulk, I think you're onto something."
"I am?" Bulkhead blinked.
"Yeah, maybe the panel was here, but I got washed away in a lava flow when this volcano erupted all those years ago. The Minicons probably only got a lock on its general location, not its specific coordinates." Annie pointed down the slope with her mecha's arm. "If we follow the rivers of cooled magma, we might find the panel."
"That's my girl!" Bulkhead laughed. "I knew you'd be the brains of this operation!"
He gave Enyo a hard pat on the back, almost knocking it over. "Hey, watch it!"
"Sorry."
XXXXXX
On the other side of the volcano, Barrage, Venom and Chop Shop emerged from the ground bridge into the volcanic region. Barrage studied the hellish landscape before him and took a deep breath.
"This planet is not like Cybertron." Chop Shop growled in a voice like clashing needles. "Everything here is soft and easy to break. The weather, the climate, the noises, it's all so much. It's a wonder this world hasn't destroyed itself already."
"Focus on the mission. We are here for one thing and one thing only." Barrage said gruffly. "Now divide, and do not hesitate to conquer."
The three insecticons transformed into their insectoid beast modes and flew off in different directions, following the scent of the Autobot and his human. The hunt was on, and woe to any poor soul, man or beast, who got in their way.
XXXXXX
Annie kept her eyes forward as she and Bulkhead walked down the slope of the volcano. The sounds of wildlife could be heard all around them, and the dense vegetation made it hard to see farther than her eyes could see. It was the perfect opportunity for an ambush.
"You doing okay there, Annie?" Bulkhead asked.
"Yeah, just a little tense." She answered, looking around at the thick trees just a foot away from them. The rainforest was a hard place to traverse, and little to no one lived this far into the dense vegetation, and yet she couldn't shake that unsettling feeling of eyes on her. "I don't know why, but I feel like we're being stalked."
"Ah don't worry about it. You're probably still running on that high from all the excitement on Luna." Bulkhead said. "Just take deep breathes and calm down or else you'll be jumping at every shadow."
Annie smiled and followed his advice. She loved it when Bulkhead used his past battlefield experience like a war veteran. It made her feel cool to hang out with a seasoned pro like him. But her calm was interrupted by something popping up on her audio arrays. Bulkhead heard it as well.
"What is that?" Annie asked.
"Buzzing," Bulkhead changed his arm into his blaster and stepped closer to Annie. "Watch the skies, I think we're about to get some company."
His caution was rewarded with a green and white blur jumping down on them from the sky, slamming into Bulkhead and knocking him into the hardened magma. Annie didn't bother questioning why there was a giant rhinoceros beetle here; she only opened fire on it with her beam cannons. The beams only grazed the beetle, and it fought back by spinning around and slamming its horn into Enyo's side. The beetle then transformed into a green and white mech as large as Bulkhead.
"An Insecticon, great." Bulkhead grunted. "I thought you bugs jumped ship with Flamewar."
"Flamewar and her freakish consort hold no sway over us alphas. We are the strongest of our race, the apex predators." The Insecticon said.
"Enough bragging and tell us who the hell are you." Annie demanded.
"I am Barrage, an alpha under the command of Lord Megatron." Barrage growled and looked at Annie like a piece of meat. "And I know you two. The little girl who challenged my king, and a washed up Wrecker out of his field."
"Watch it bug!" Bulkhead charged at Barrage and threw his wrecking ball arm at Barrage's face.
Barrage took the powerful blow with little damage and dug his claws into the Autobot's chest, leaving behind a deep gash in his chest plate. Annie came up from the rear and slashed her beam saber along his back, the energy blade easily cutting through his armor and damaging the circuitry underneath. This unexpected pain made Barrage snarl and kick Enyo in the chest and caught Bulkhead's fist in his claws.
"You're strong," Barrage slashed his claws into Bulkhead's shoulder. "But you're too slow!"
"Tell me something I don't know!" Bulkhead head butted Barrage in the face to knock him back and Annie fired three missiles at the Insecticon's head, sending him crashing onto his back.
"And stay down." Annie spat. She turned to Bulkhead. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Bulkhead wiped some energon bleeding from his mouth and ignored the stinging in his shoulder clavicle. "Let's move. If there's one Insecticon here, then more are nearby. They like to travel in groups."
Annie gave the down Insecticon one last glance before following Bulkhead, neither of them noticing the little puddles of energon the Autobot was leaking.
XXXXXX
After a few minutes of walking, they final found the panel stuck in a small cave formed from hardened magma. Bulkhead stood guard at the entrance while Annie cut through the hard rock with her beam saber to grab the panel.
"Wow, this thing's completely unscathed." Annie observed.
"These panels survived a fall from orbit. A little dip in some lava will only make it a little warm to the touch." Bulkhead remarked. He took a step forward before stumbling a bit and holding his head with a groan.
"Whoa, what's wrong?" Annie asked, suddenly scared for her friend.
"Just a bit woozy. That bug might've hit me harder than I thought." Bulkhead said. "Come on, let's call for a ground bridge."
"Sparkplug, this is Annie. We've got the panel. Can you bridge us out of here?" Annie called in. There was no response from the Minicon, even after she tried again. "Scrap, I can't get him on the line."
"Might be the volcanic activity screwing with our comm." Bulkhead frowned.
"We might get a better reception at the caldera. It's high enough." Annie suggested.
They went back the way they came out of the cave, but as soon as they left it, they were attacked by a barrage of electrical bolts being fired from the jungle. Annie managed to avoid getting hit, but Bulkhead stumbled and took a couple of blasts to his chest. Annie jumped in front of him and fired back with her beam cannons.
"Come on, you call that firepower?" A black and orange robot locust flew out of the tree canopy. "This is firepower!"
The Insecticon known as Chop Shop landed on the ground and kicked Bulkhead in the chest with his back legs, hitting him with enough force to leave a visible dent in his chest plate and actually sent him flying nearly two feet back into the cave. Chop Shop turned his attention to Annie and started rubbing his hind legs together to create an intense sonic vibration that filled the air like nails on a chalkboard.
"Ahhh!" Annie covered her ears as the vibrations affected her even in the safety of Enyo's cockpit. The vibrations even started messing up her unit's systems, and Annie couldn't get her machine to move.
Chop Shop cackled madly as he continued his assault. His sonic vibrations were agonizing enough on Cybertronians, but devastating to organics, as those exposed to the vibrations for too long would often have their ear drums ruptured, or suffer from severe internal injuries. Fortunately for Annie, Chop Shop didn't get the chance to take her out as Bulkhead slammed into him. The Insecticon hit the ground and switched forms mid-fall, shifting both hands into concussion blasters and shooting at him. Bulkhead fired back with his own blaster. Both mechs hit each other with laser bursts that scorched their armor and burned their bodies and it would've gotten physical had Bulkhead not fired a blast at a gas pocket under Chop Shop's feet, dousing his face in gas.
Chop Shop flinched back from the hot gas and this distraction allowed Bulkhead to run in close and punch the alpha in the head with his wrecking ball. That one blow shattered Chop Shop's red visor and another punch nearly caved in his head, knocking him offline. Bulkhead waited for the bug to crumple to the ground before running over to Annie.
"Annie, are you okay?"
"Ugh," Annie groaned, shaking her head. Her ears were ringing and her vision swam from her headache. "Don't yell, Bulk, my head's killing me. I'm fine, but my talos is down and needs a system reboot. It won't take long."
"Don't worry, out pest won't be waking up any time soon." He assured her.
But the universe liked proving its occupants wrong at the most inopportune times. A green figure flew out of the canopy and landed next to Bulkhead. The mostly green and brownish gold Insecticon known as Venom quickly switched to beast mode, a giant emerald cicada, and stabbed his stinger into Bulkhead's side. Venom dragged the stinger through Bulkhead's abdomen, leaving a deep gash in his armor before leaping back and flying away, cackling.
"Bulkhead!" Annie opened her cockpit and ran over to the Autobot, who fell to one knee clutching his wound. "Oh my god, are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, this is just a mesh wound." Bulkhead hissed. "Hurts like a glitch though."
Annie looked at the wound. It was like a knife had carved into Bulkhead's torso, ripping into his thick armor and exposed the vulnerable circuitry within. Ironically, the heated stinger had cauterized the wound, welding together the ruptured power lines that should've been leaking energon profusely.
Bulkhead saw Annie's worried expression and poked her in the chest with a large finger. "Don't start getting teary eyed on me, Annie. This is nothing new. People get hurt in battles all the time."
"But if my talos had been working, I could've…" Annie bit her lip.
"As I said, this is nothing serious. My repair systems can keep me going until we get back to Ratchet." Bulkhead handed her the stasis panel. "Now let's get back to the volcano before we run into a giant man-eating Venus fly-trap or something."
Annie giggled. "Okay."
Annie ran back to her talos and climbed back into the cockpit, starting the mecha back up again. Bulkhead got back to his feet and marched back up the volcano, unaware of the poison cycling through his system right now.
XXXXXX
"Have a nice sleep?"
Barrage groaned as he came back online, his eyes blinking on to see the face of his much hated leader, Venom. He pushed him away and got to his feet, rubbing at the burns on his face.
"I don't know what's sad. That you got laid out by a retired Wrecker and his human harlot," Chop Shop chuckled, wincing a bit at the throbbing dent on his head. "Or that I did more damage to him than you."
"Like you did any better you good for nothing-" Barrage snarled, but Venom broke them apart.
"Enough, both of you. We don't have time for this." Venom said. "Our prey is weak, and is heading to the highest point in the area to escape the signal interference. We have them cornered and outnumbered."
"So are you up for the killing shot, Barrage?" Chop Shop asked.
Barrage narrowed his ruby-red eyes and stood to his full height over the suddenly nervous shorter Chop Shop. "The Wrecker left me alive. The first and last mistake he will ever make with me."
XXXXXX
The side effects of Venom's poison didn't take long to start ailing Bulkhead. Not long after Venom's surprise attack, Bulkhead started feeling weak and dizzy. His vision was starting to become blurry, and his hearing dulled a bit, like he was trying to hear underwater. It got to the point where he was having trouble standing on his own and was fighting to stay conscious.
"Come on, Bulk, stay with me!" Annie urged. She had Enyo help Bulkhead along, using her suit's flight function to slightly drag Bulkhead up the hill.
"I…don't know what's wrong with me." Bulkhead groaned. He was really beginning to regret his weight right now. His legs could barely hold him up. "I was fine just a few minutes ago."
"It was that Insecticon." Annie said, pushing her talos to its limits just trying to get the Autobot up to the caldera. They were close now. "He must've done something to you when he cut you."
"Figures. I get scratched once and I crash harder than a 90-bit computer." Bulkhead said and chuckled.
"What?"
"Here I am, thinking I've got to protect you from the Cons, and instead you've been carrying my can this whole mission. Funny how life works like that."
Annie smiled, though he couldn't see it. "Shut up and save your strength. We're almost to the top."
"I'm serious. You, along with Darren and Gina, even Kevin and Penny; you've all grown so much. Makes a mech like me proud to be fighting alongside cool kids like you."
"Seriously, Bulk, shut up. You're making me blush and I don't like blushing." She said. She turned Enyo's head towards her partner and saw Bulkhead's shutters fluttering close. "Don't konk out on me!"
She had Enyo give him a hard slap on the back of his head to wake him and it worked. "Ow!"
"Look up there," Annie pointed at the top of the volcano. They were close enough to feel the heat from the caldera and see smoke rising from its interior. "We're close, Bulkhead, just keep your head in the game. The mission comes first, right?"
"Yeah…the mission comes first." Bulkhead nodded and grinned. "No bot left behind."
Annie nodded and held out her (Enyo's) hand. "You can do this. For the Minicon. For me."
'For Annie.' Bulkhead thought and grabbed offered hand, allowing Annie to lead him the rest of the way. It was a bit of a hassle climbing those last few feet, but eventually they made it to the mouth of the volcano. They nearly rejoiced, but that was cut short when a chilling laugh filled the air.
"Welcome Autobots." Venom said, standing on top of the cooled section of magma. "So glad you could join us."
Bulkhead and Annie stood back to back as Chop Shop and Barrage surrounded them. Bulkhead's vision got worse and he shook his head to clear it.
"Feeling sluggish? That's a little side effect of the neurotoxins I injected into you when I stabbed you." Venom tapped his stinger. "It's a lethal concoction. Affects your motor and cognitive functions. Messes with your vision, makes it hard to think. And after half an hour, death is the only reality you'll experience."
"Unless you can get proper treatment." Barrage grinned. "And you need to call for help first."
"And we ain't gonna let you do that." Chop Shop said. "Unless you give us the Minicon."
"Go to hell!" Bulkhead shouted.
"Have it your way. Barrage, Chop Shop, the Wrecker's mine!" Venom howled, signaling the start of the battle.
The three Insecticons transformed to beast mode and charged at their prey. Venom singled out Bulkhead and started bombarding him with hard and fast punches that kept the Autobot on the defensive. Bulkhead took his punches and swung his wrecking ball at Venom, smashing it against his face. Venom was knocked into a spin, only to spin around and draw an energo-scythe, slashing Bulkhead against the chest. The cut hurt more than it should've and Bulkhead bit back a cry of pain.
"Did I mention my toxins also increase your sensitivity to the point that a shallow cut feels like a brand on your laser core?" Venom's mouth plate slid back to reveal a grinning maw of sharp teeth. "No? Too bad."
In the skies above them, Annie was fighting Chop Shop and Barrage. She had her hands full keeping both mechs from swarming her at once, firing her beam rifle to stave them off long enough to lock her missiles onto them.
"We're coming for you little girl!" Chop Shop's face suddenly appeared in her screen, making her jump. She fired two missiles at his upper torso and he flew back with his head covered in smoke and flames. Barrage lunged at her from behind with an energo-sword and nearly cut Enyo in two had she not weaved around the blade and slammed her fist into the side of his head.
'I can't fight both of them at once!' Annie thought, torn between watching Bulkhead and her two opponents. Then Barrage appeared again, firing laser blasts from two cannons on his insect mode's back like a flying artillery unit. 'Shit!'
Enyo raised its arm to fire its beam cannons but Chop Shop, in his stag beetle form, pounced on her from below, his pincers clamping down on her arm and snapping it off like it was plastic. Annie had no time to survey the damage to her talos as Barrage descended upon her into robot mode and kicked Enyo in the chest, sending it crashing back into the caldera with a loud crash.
"Annie!" Bulkhead shouted and ran to help his partner, only for Venom to slam his knee into his face to knock him back.
"You should worry about yourself Wrecker!" Venom growled, brandishing his scythe like a robotic grim reaper.
Bulkhead tried to fire his blaster, but Venom just kicked his arm away and slammed the staff of his scythe into his head, sending him to his knees. Venom spat on Bulkhead in distaste.
"Look at you. You can't even stand and you want to help the human? Where's your sense of self-preservation?" Venom held out his hand. "Give me the panel, and this suffering will end quickly."
Bulkhead glared up at him before grabbing the outstretched arm and jumped up, slamming his head into Venom's face. Then he snatched the scythe from Venom's grasp and slashed it down on the Insecticon.
"Raaahhh!" Venom cried as his left arm was severed.
"Wreckers never surrender!" Bulkhead yelled.
With Annie, she was slowly starting to get a handle on her own battle. She had already blinded Chop Shop by shooting out his eyes and them stabbed her beam saber into his torso, impaling his T-cog and fuel pup in one motion. Barrage kicked her talos in the face, but he took a beam to the chest, blasting apart his chest plate in a fiery burst. He stumbled back at Enyo stood up and stomped a large foot on Chop Shop's chest.
"Stay down, bug!" Annie growled. Her helmet was off, the protective glass cracked and a thin cut on her forehead from a piece of glass.
Chop Shop snarled and leapt up to bite at her. Annie leapt back and slashed her beam saber across his neck, severing vital neck cables before kicking him away.
"Now that was satisfying." Annie said as she watched Chop Shop writhe on the ground, bleeding fluids and sparks. She looked around for Barrage. "Now where's…no, Bulkhead!"
Bulkhead was in the process of beating Venom in the face with his non-weapon hand when he heard Annie cry out his name. He turned to see Barrage throwing Chop Shop's spear at his back. The green Autobot knew that in his condition, he wouldn't be able to dodge in time, but that fear was replaced by something else. Enyo had thrown itself directly in the spear's path and Bulkhead's Spark stopped cold as he saw the spear sink into Enyo's chest, directly into its cockpit.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The scream Bulkhead heard from Enyo's speakers was something he would never forget. It ended as quickly as it started and he saw the black talos fall onto its back, the spear sticking out of its chest.
"ANNIE!" Bulkhead's roar actually made Barrage step back in fear as the former Wrecker glared at him in pure hatred.
Barrage quickly suppressed his fear and savagely beat his fists against his damaged chest like an animal. "Come at me, Autobot! You'll join her soon enough!"
Bulkhead snarled and threw Venom's beaten body at Barrage. Without a care for his "leader", Barrage kicked Venom aside, only to find Bulkhead charging at him like a mad bull with Venom's scythe in hand. Startled, Barrage tried to fire his concussion blasters, but Bulkhead was already too close; a single slash separated Barrage's gun arm from his body and another downward slash would've him in two had he not moved a few inches back. That split second move helped him avoid death as the energo-scythe dug into his shoulder, shaving off a section of his torso and damaging multiple fuel lines in the process. He hit the ground in pieces as Bulkhead turned away from him and went into stasis lock.
Bulkhead ran over to the still motionless Enyo and pulled the spear from its cockpit. Ignoring the blood coating the blade, he tossed it aside and called the Ark. "Sparkplug, get us out of here, now!"
"Bulkhead?" Ratchet replied. "What's wrong?"
"JUST BRIDGE US OUT OF HERE! ANNIE'S HURT!"
Seconds later, a ground bridge appeared and Bulkhead gently picked up Enyo and started limping towards the portal. "Come on, girl, stay with me. We're getting out of this together."
Venom weakly lifted his head and glared at the two Autobots that had utterly humiliated him. He pushed himself upright with his one arm and pointed it at Bulkhead, shifting it into an electro-cannon.
"No…survivors…" He spat and fired a charge electrical beam at the Autobot. The beam hit Bulkhead in the middle of his back and sent him and Annie flying into the ground bridge as it disappeared.
XXXXXX
Bulkhead and Enyo flew out of the portal and crashed onto the floor of the shuttle bay before a horrified Ratchet and Sparkplug. Ratchet ran over to his friends and saw the smoking hole in Bulkhead's back and the blood leaking from Enyo's ruptured cockpit.
"No…" He whispered in horror.
