She waltzed up to the door and knocked. Not a very stealthy approach, but an effective one, for as soon as her fist hit the door, it buckled and fell in, sending up a cloud of dust.
Zora blinked once. And then twice. She tilted her head to the side and poked her head through the door, bracing herself for any oncoming attacks. What had Quinn and Sledge rigged the place with? Explosives? Automatic guns that would fire once she stepped inside the premises? Or, were they hiding in the shadows, planning an ambush?
She stepped fully inside, hands raised, palms out. She didn't want to use her power, but she would if she had too.
A sudden honk from Bumblebee caused her to turn. He was driving behind a building, and she could just see a patch of his bright yellow armor disappear behind a dumpster. She sighed. Smart, as always. A bright, brand new Camaro sitting on the side of the road in a town like Synapsis would attract unwanted attention. And that was the last thing they needed.
Zora cleared her mind, and shook her head, getting back to the task at hand. She couldn't believe she was about to do this….technically, she was defying Prime's orders….by not telling him. But she had made a promise to her friend, and she had to keep it. She had always been about keeping promises.
Check in, check out. That was all she needed to do.
She let out a shaky breath as she slunk past bookshelf after bookshelf, each time, peeking behind one, and then drawing back out of fear that Quinn or Sledge would jump her.
"They wouldn't kill me…," she assured herself. "They would tie me down, beat me, and then kill me."
That was how Quinn and Sledge were. Brutal and swift, sort of like her and Drake. If her and Drake were murderers.
And then, there were the bugs. Where were they? Hiding out somewhere? Waiting for Megatron's command? They were drones, after all, intelligent drones. But they didn't have the skill to plan and execute their own operations. That was all up to Megatron, who could control them like puppets.
Something wet splattered onto her face. Something wet, and sticky, and….red.
She looked up and saw the blood leaking thought the upstairs floorboard.
She stepped on a piece of wood. It creaked, loudly, the sound like a moan.
Wait…..it was a moan. A long wail coming from upstairs. Zora spun towards the spiraling wooden stairs that looked like they would collapse any minute, and ran towards them, grabbing the railing and practically catapulting herself up each step.
She opened the door to a room. A room with two mattresses, no doubt where Quinn and Sledge slept, and a lamp. A bedside table. A dusty old closet that held barely any clothes. A window was beside one of the mattresses, its shades twisted and torn.
A hunched figure sat in the corner.
"Sledge?"
He raised his head, giving Zora a perfect view of his delirious, bloodshot eyes. He held out a shaky hand and pointed towards the other corner.
"T-They killed him. T-They came in…a-and they k-killed h-him," Sledge stammered, his hand shaking so badly that he had to draw it back and clasp it against his stomach. He pulled his legs tighter against his body, and Zora got a good glimpse of the blood running down his leg.
"You're hurt," she said softly. Then, she looked at Quinn.
What was left of Quinn was no longer recognizable as a human being. Zora felt like puking right there on the spot.
"Sledge, you need to tell me everything. What happened? What happened to Quinn?" Zora crouched down beside the boy. Sledge raised his head again and snarled.
"It's the aliens, Z, they're real. Nobody believed me when I told the cops. They said that I was crazy. I came back and Quinn was…they killed Quinn and took the alien…thing, whatever it was…."
His words became so jumbled that Zora had a hard time understanding them. She silenced him by raising her hand.
"I believe you."
"You work for the aliens?" Sledge said, eyes widening. He scrambled back. "G-Get away f-from me! I-I didn't do anything!"
"I don't work for them, Sledge, calm down!" Zora waved her hand. Sledge visibly relaxed, and inched a little closer to her. In the light, she could see his green eyes, sparkling with fresh fear. She actually felt bad for him…despite his role in her past. He didn't deserve to be a part of all this…like she was. And Quinn…..he didn't deserve a death like that.
"They're coming for you. They…t-they told me that they wanted you….and they searched the place looking for you."
"Who was it?"
"A giant robot. He turned into a cop car. He had a friend, too, a jet."
"Barricade and Starscream….." Zora murmured. She stood up, towering over Sledge, who shrunk away. She saw that he had a gun beside him, a shotgun. He hadn't even bothered to use it against her.
"Who?"
"Some old….friends of mine," Zora said sarcastically. "No. Not really."
Sledge cleared his throat and stood, picking up the gun and cradling in in his arms.
"They told me to…shoot you if you came," he stammered. "B-But I-I'm not."
"Really?"
"Y-Yeah," Sledge puffed out his chest in an attempt of bravery. However, his frame shook and his lips quivered. He was waiting for her to turn her back. She could tell.
"Look, Sledge, enough of the false bravado. We both know that they can kill us in a heartbeat. If you come with me, you'll be safe, and not have to work for them," Zora said, "I'm not lying. There are good robots, and bad robots. I'm with the good robots."
"I-I don't trust you."
Zora understood. Fear was clouding his judgment. She closed her eyes and let out a breath.
"I get it. But you're not safe here."
"You care about me?"
"No. But you don't deserve to die by Decepticon hands," Zora said, looking out the window. Outside, a streetlamp flickered. Headlights blared. Bumblebee was outside, parked on the curb, waiting. "Just tell me what you need to know, and I can get you somewhere else."
"Your looking for the finger?" Sledge said, hobbling towards the window. His lips curled into a grimace when he saw the sleek Camaro.
"Yeah."
"They took it."
"What?" Zora grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. She stared into his twinkling green eyes, her own eyes narrowing. "What do you mean? They took it?"
"I-I didn't complain when they did," Sledge crossed his arms. "I ain't going up against those two ton beast. I ain't suicidal."
Zora rubbed her temple. Great. All the work for nothing, and now, she was stuck in Synapsis in the middle of the night with one of her most dangerous human enemies.
Suddenly, there was the sound of a jet. Close by, so close that it sounded like it was right above the building.
Sledge's eyes widened and his mouth opened in a silent scream as the wall suddenly imploded.
Long talons dug into his waist, pulling him through the hole and into the night. His screams were high-pitched and deafening. She saw him in Starscream's palm, thrashing around, wailing, crying, and begging for mercy.
"Humans are so undependable."
With a flick of a finger, Sledge's head was removed from his body. Starscream let the headless corpse slide off his palm and onto the street below.
"I can sense you, girl, come out come out to play!" Starscream bellowed gleefully, cackling madly as he reached through the hole. Zora screamed and scrambled away as his talons grasped for anything that moved. They knocked into the mattresses, into the table. Zora threw herself across the floor, sliding on something wet and sticky.
It was Quinn's blood. Zora ignored it, thought, and focused on getting away from the sharp claws.
"Come out, girl, before I am forced to bring you back too Megatron minus a few limbs!" Starscream called, poking his face through the hole. Zora gulped and stared into ruby red optics and a horrible leer. She raised her hands, palms up.
"Don't make me do this."
"You wouldn't have the courage."
"You'd be surprised."
Starscream reeled back and reached through again. Zora fired, the light singing his palm. It was a weak shot, poorly aimed, and she was knocked off balance when one of his claws swiped her off her feet. Her head bounced painfully against the wooden floor, and she saw stars.
Just as the roof was ripped away, revealing the Seeker in all of his glory. Zora blinked and looked up, cursing, making a mad dash towards the door that led downstairs.
"Making this a game, are we? Well, I do enjoy chasing my prey…" Starscream sneered as Zora tumbled down the stairs. She ran past bookshelves, knocking over chairs, tripping over dusty carpet, scared, worried…..
The sound of an engine, and an angry bellow. Bumblebee wasn't very happy.
"Get off me, you fragging Autoscum!" She heard Starscream roar.
Zora froze. Bumblebee, as great of a fighter he was, wouldn't be able to take on Starscream alone. Starscream was twice the size of the little scout.
"Bee! I'm coming!" Zora shouted. Not the best battle cry, but it would do. She would be able to help if her aim improved….
A shape slammed into the pavement just outside. A yellow shape that began to shift and change until it became a shiny yellow Camaro.
"Smooth, Bee," Zora murmured as she leapt over the fallen door and slid across the concrete. Bumblebee's door opened and Zora flung herself into the drivers seat, not even bothering to shut the door, for Bumblebee did it for her. She leaned back in the seat as revved his engine and took off, sending up a cloud of dirt and dust behind him.
"Is junior-Megatron following?" Zora asked, panting and twisting her neck to look into the rear-view mirror.
Bumblebee just chirped in response.
"I take that as a…." Zora heard the sound of metal against metal and she looked again. Sure enough, a jet passed overhead, flying low. "Yes. I take that as a yes."
Bumblebee chirped lowly.
"Houston, we have a problem."
"No duh." Zora replied. She let out a breath and leaned her head against the seat. What were powers if you didn't know how to use them? She had wanted to help Bee so badly….
BAM!
The ground in front of them exploded. Bumblebee swerved and Zora was violently thrown to the side.
"He has missiles?….oh, yeah, he's a jet," Zora winced and sat up, rubbing her temple. Bumblebee kept driving, seeming completely oblivious to the fact that Starscream was flying right above them, content to blast them both to oblivion. Zora let out a shaky breath and looked out the side window, peering behind her. The unmistakable glares of someone's headlights were getting closer and closer.
"Oh….Bee," Zora said quietly, "Starscream brought friend."
Bumblebee did not respond immediately. A moment later, he gave a small metallic click and took a hard left, his wheels screeching against the asphalt.
Barricade was still following, and Starscream was flying lower than ever.
Zora looked out the window again. If Bee transformed…he was as good as dead, and so was she. Bee could take on Barricade, he had done it before, but there was no way he could take on Barricade and Starscream, no matter how bad of a fighter Starscream was. The alien jet was twice Bumblebee's size. Heck, he had trouble with him alone.
They were oh-so screwed.
"Bee, roll down the windows. I think I can get a clear shot from this angle…" Zora said, squinting. Not even the streetlamps provided her with enough light to really see. The only target was two flashing strobes of light.
Bee obeyed and rolled down the window. He made no protest when Zora stuck out her head, and then an arm, and fired blindly.
A bellow. Then, the headlights flickered off. In the dark, she saw Barricade's hunched bipedal mode cradling his stomach.
"Bulls eye!" Zora cheered, and sank back into the seat.
Bam!
Another shot. This time, close. So close that Zora's world turned into a blur as Bumblebee transformed. She had never been inside a Cybertronian when they went from alt mode to bipedal mode….but now that she had, she could say that it made you stomach lurch and you limbs ache. Especially the part where you're thrown out of flung across hard asphalt.
She bounced once, and then twice, and then landed on her back.
"Damn…" she murmured, checking each limb. Nothing was broken. No blood. It was a miracle that she had gotten away unscathed.
Bumblebee, on the other hand, lay on his side. His optics flicked on, and then off, and then on again. But he did not get up.
Zora's blood ran cold.
"All right, where is that motherfu-"
Talons gripped her leg and yanked her backwards, and then spun her around and pinned her to the ground. Brilliant ruby red optics stared down at her in distaste.
Starscream didn't give one of his long, overbearing speeches. No. He looked way too pissed for something like that. He just raised a sharp talon and brought it down so it gently brushed against her throat.
She raised one hand to fire, but someone else pulled the trigger before her.
Starscream's arm exploded and hung loosely off his body. Wires popped. Sparks flew. He shrieked so loudly that Zora had to cover her ears, looked around frantically, and then transformed, slowly, and blasted himself away, disappearing into the night.
Zora coughed and sat up.
"Thanks, Bee," she said, staring at the little scout, who was slowly getting to his feet. He shook his helm and pointed to something behind Zora, something that was huge, and frankly, very, very, angry.
She turned her head, looked up at Optimus, and gave a hesitant smile.
"Hey….what are you doing here?"
"The question is, what are you doing here?"
