Chapter 34

Driller burst from the red walls like a beast from the pits. The earth shuddered and groaned, and his roar echoed like thunder through the canyon. Plates of armor spun around his body, constantly in motion, flinging dirt and rock as he spiraled up into the air. He rose and rose, casting them in all in shadow. Prowl watched with a sense of dread as he angled his body and dove towards one of the aerials.

Shouts went up in the canyon. One of the snipers that had been stationed up high came tumbling towards the ground when his perch crumbled beneath his feet. Prowl called out, shouting for Jetfire. The old mech responded, arcing downwards sharply and tucking right beneath the small mech before he slammed into the ground and shattered. Prowl shifted back, optics shifting back and forth to take everything in. The autobot snipers were firing at Driller, but ever shell and blast harmlessly bounced off his thick armor. The aerials circled like vultures, taking a careless dive every now and then to try to throw him off or deal a hit.

Prowl moved back, shouting, "Solaris!"

He turned to see the young mech standing stone-still, wide blue optics fixed on the decepticon. Prowl vented sharply and clasped him roughly on the shoulder, "Youngling!" Solaris snapped out of his shock and focused on him. Prowl hesitated when he saw the fear in his optics, bright and sharp in his gaze. "Go back to the others! Tell Ratchet that we need heavy artillery, and that Wheeljack's assistance is needed-"

"We're not prepared for this," Solaris whispered, "our defenses won't hold against him!"

Prowl squeezed his shoulder, "They must. Now go!"

Solaris hesitated before turning on his heel to run back to their stronghold. Once the mech was out of sight, Prowl turned back to Driller. The beast was curving through the air in an tight 'S'. The tentacles around his maw were pulled taunt, stretching to snatch up Powerglide as he rolled right past his mouth. Prowl lifted his rifle from it's holster and reloaded quickly before he raised it and looked through the scope.

There had to be a weak spot, a chink in the armor. It was impossible for anything to become invincible. "If Galvatron could fall," He said under his breath, finding a bare joint in the monster's spine. It was in one of the few places that wasn't protected by rotating armor, and what was around it looked as though it had already been melted down. Sundance. He focused on it, and squeezed the trigger, "So can you."

The shot made its mark, clipping the bare joint with a sharp snap of metal meeting metal. Driller felt it and coiled away with a screech. The snipers in the walls cheered. Prowl started to move forward, but paused when Sideswipe slid around the corner and shouted from behind, "Hey! We're missing all of the action!"

Prowl glared at him, "Get back to your post!"

"What!" Sideswipe squawked, "all the way in the back with everyone else?! This is a battle, mech, not hide and seek! I wanna get in on this action!"

"Get your aft back there and help protect our injured!"

Sideswipe frowned at him before turning away to stalk back into the shadows. Prowl turned back to Driller when the earth shuddered again. He was leaning against the wall, using it to grip with his armor and propel himself even higher. Another sniper fell from the walls, screaming all the way down. Chromia popped out somewhere beneath him and caught him, pulling him into her hiding place.

Driller was curving back downwards when three vehicles shot over the edge, diving into the fray. One by one, they transformed in a flurry of glinting alloys. Prowl watched as they all landed on Driller's back. The one with black armor, Backlash, shouted out something and the other two scrambled to find a joint in the spine to balance on where they wouldn't be chopped to pieces.

Backlash drew his blades and wedged them into the joint, twisting and scraping it until it snapped. Driller screamed, entire frame jerking. A ways behind him, Flashback drew both of his pistols and fired at the joint he was standing beside. Further down Driller's back, Hotshot was doing the same with a hand held blaster. Prowl wrapped his processor around what they were doing, and lunged into a run to help. The aerials saw, as well. They transformed and landed, pounding exposed joints and vertebrae with their fists. The snipers adjusted their aim.

Prowl reached the belly of the beast and, slipping his rifle into it's holster, he leaped up and caught one of the rotating plates by the edge. It lifted him to Driller's back before slipping between a set of groves to appear on the other side. Prowl quickly let go, swinging his body up to stand firmly against his spine. He pulled out his blaster and shot at the joint closest to him until it was a smoking, melted mess.

Driller was swaying in the air now, struggling to stay upright as his spine was slowly destroyed. Prowl straightened and moved to attack the next joint. Driller suddenly thrashed, throwing him and the other autobots off balance. Shots of alarm rang through the canyon as they all rushed to grasp something solid. Above him, he heard Powerglide scream in agony. Prowl lifted his head in time to see one of the mech's hands fall towards him, severed by Driller's armor.

"Hold on!" Flashback shouted, "bastards tryin' to throw us off!"

Hotshot answered, "I'd say he's doing a slagging good job at it, too!"

Prowl clenched his dentals and forced curses through them when Driller's movements became even wilder. He yelled, "We have to retreat! This is suicide!"

"No!" Backlash countered, drawing his attention. Backlash was an arm's length away from Powerglide, effortlessly hanging on with a hand outstretched to grasp the mech's shoulder plating. Sensing his gaze, Backlash tilted his head in Prowl's direction, "There is no retreat! If we let him go now he'll destroy this entire canyon hunting us down!"

Prowl hesitated, watching as Backlash returned to pulling Powerglide back up into a safe place. He spoke with the mech, who nodded quickly and shoved off to transform and wheel away, dripping energon as he went. Backlash twisted his frame to look up at his brother who was screaming curses as loud as his voice box would allow it. Flashback turned to look over his shoulder at them, and pointed down, "He's diving!"

Prowl said, "We have to let go!"

"Then let go!" Backlash snapped without looking at him. He huddled down when Driller twisted and turned, pulling his body down towards the earth. Prowl vented sharply, processor split.

Common sense said to abandon their attack, pull back and regroup. If Driller managed to drag them into the ground, he had a sinking feeling that they'd never see the light of day again. Yet, the brothers weren't letting go. Even Flashback was still holding on, shouting back and forth between his brother and Hotshot. The longer he watched them, the more he realized that they weren't even afraid. And it confused him. Driller could crush them in a confined space with the slightest effort. Prowl wondered if it was because they had been hunting in the caverns for their entire lives, or maybe they had been hit in the head so many times that they were flat out insane.

"Aerials!" Flashback roared, "in the sky, now!"

Jetfire and Skyfire unlocked their joints and leaped off like Powerglide had. The transformed, wings spreading wide beneath the sun as they ascended. Prowl watched them leave, then looked ahead when he sensed someone approach.

Backlash was coming towards him.

"We'll all offline," Prowl stated tonelessly, staring at the mech's visor. "You're leading us to our death."

Backlash's face was expressionless, as usual. He said, "On the moon, we face offlining every day."

"This isn't the moon." Prowl ground out, "And this isn't a burrower."

"If you're so afraid, then let go."

"I'm not afraid!" He objected, "I just don't see a point in senseless slaughter!"

"Let go."

Prowl hesitated, "What about you?"

"I'm not afraid of the dark," Backlash said lowly, "or anything that thrives within it."

When Prowl didn't move, Backlash nodded slightly. Driller's form jolted as he met solid stone. Rocks flew up around them and pelted their armor. They began to sink downwards. "Keep your head down." Bakclash instructed, "lay down flat and whatever you do, don't let go."

Prowl obeyed, laying out as flat as he could without having something cut off. He laid the side of his face beside the still smoking, mashing in joint. Backlash shifted and followed. Prowl held his breath, waiting.

A mere few seconds passed before the ground rushed up to meet them. Prowl instinctively braced himself for impact, but none came. The light was suddenly snuffed out as he was swallowed in complete darkness. For a moment, all he could hear was the roar of Driller's armor as it worked to bore through the stone. Then, Hotshot shouted, "Anyone still there?!"

"Head down!" Flashback responded.

"Just making sure I wasn't offline yet!"

Prowl blinked owlishly, though it didn't help him see through the blackness engulfing them. He kept waiting for that breath of agony when Driller would twist the wrong way and smash them all against stone, but it never came.

The darkness lasted for a few agonizingly long minutes before something caved ahead of him and he could see a broken ring of light around Driller's frame. A breath later and he was squinting against bright sunlight. Fresh air touched his armor and relief flooded through them. Hotshot cheered. Flashback joined in, "Yeah! Just can't shake our hot afts!"

Backlash was up on his feet and making his way back up, hacking and slashing at whatever wasn't covered already damaged as he went. Prowl pushed himself to stand up again, swaying slightly when Driller curled and shifted directions. His optics lifted briefly to see where he had taken them, and he vented sharply.

They were deeper in the canyon now, and closer to the place where the others were hiding. He raised his pistol and fired at bare points further down Driller's back. The beast began to lean, a low groan reverberating through his body. Steam was beginning to rise up through his rotating armor, clouding the sky. He heard the distinct sounds of Flashback's pistols firing before the entire monster seemed to freeze in mid air.

His body shuddered violently, and Prowl shifted back and prepared to jump for solid ground. With a agonized cry, Driller convulsed and fell. Prowl crouched down and leaped off once he was close enough to the ground to prevent injury. He landed in a roll and popped back up to his feet. He turned with his blaster in hand to fire, but found himself stumbling instead as the entire canyon shook wildly. A thick cloud of red dust and black smoke rose up and rushed towards them. Prowl turned his shoulder to it and covered his optics. The aerials roared past overhead, then shouted in triumph. Once the smoke had cleared, Prowl turned forward again and found himself staring at Driller's still form, stretched out through the canyon. Only the tip of his tail remained hidden, still tucked inside of his newest burrow.

Driller had fallen.

Prowl stared in disbelief, optics wide. He kept waiting for the best to rise up again and swallow them all whole. But he did nothing. Footsteps approached. Prowl couldn't tear his optics away, not even when Flashback came to stand beside him. The younger mech threw his arms up in the air and gave a loud battle cry, a huge grin splitting his face plates.

A few steps behind, Hotshot murmured, "We did it. I can't believe we..." He laughed, "We stopped him! We brought down Driller!"

"...But how?" Prowl muttered, "how did we..."

"By exploiting his weakest point," Backlash answered. Prowl blinked then turned slowly towards him. Backlash was watching Driller warily, like he too expected him to come back to life any second now, "every warrior has his faults. Driller is no different."

"How did you know that we wouldn't be crushed in the tunnel?" Prowl asked suddenly.

"I didn't."

Prowl flinched, "What? Why did you send the aerials away then?"

Backlash met his gaze, "Flashback sent the aerials away because they have the best advantage in this fight. We couldn't afford to lose them."

"But we could have afforded to lose...us."

"You had your chance to get off." Backlash said, "So did Hotshot and Flashback."

"You're insane." It was all Prowl could think to say, "horribly, ridiculously insane."

"Maybe, but we survived, didn't we?"

Prowl turned away from him, irritation squeezing his spark. He would never get used to these mechs, or their sister. Backlash sheathed his swords and walked past him, "Have the aerials watch the tunnels. Driller is down but theres still a small army of burrowers and decepticons coming for us, and he's made an easy entry for them. Guarding this canyon and the autobots won't be as simple as we originally thought."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Flashback said, rushing to catch up with him. HE grabbed Backlash by the shoulders and flipped him around with some effort, "You won't be doing any guarding. You've strained yourself as it is-"

"We need all the warriors we have-" Backlash started, only to be cut off.

"I don't care. You've done enough, baby brother. Just let me fight for you, okay?"

"Thats not necessary-"

"Yes it is!" Hotshot chimed in.

Prowl moved away from them before their arguing gave him a head ache. His optics lifted to the tunnel and narrowed. He half expected to see a crowd of burrowers just come spilling out, snarling and spitting like rabid animals. He said, breaking into the argument, "Lets move back to the front of the canyon, where Driller first attacked."

The three mechs fell quiet, then abruptly ducked when something whistled through the sky and slammed into one of the canyon walls, exploding on impact. Jetfire wheeled around tightly and called out in alarm. His engines roared, but they were overpowered by a second aerial that seemed to sweep in from out of no where. This one was larger, and painted a dark purple.

"Decepticons!" Hotshot exclaimed.

"Move!" Backlash ordered.

"Where?!"

"Back to the front of the canyon! They're faster because they can fly, but the burrowers won't be far behind!" He lunged forward, shifting down quickly into his alternate. He hit the ground hard and sped off. Flashback cursed violently before following. Hotshot and Prowl transformed and tore after them, straining themselves to keep up with the two brothers.

Explosives dropped from the skies and landed dangerously close to their alternates, but they managed to swerve and evade. Hotshot swore, "Where the pit are the others!"

"Holed up somewhere safe!" Prowl answered.

"Safe?! What about us?!"

Backlash spoke up, his voice tight, "We'll hold them off for as long as we can. If we're overcome, the next line of autobots will be rested and ready to fight while the decepticons are worn. But not until they break past us."

"I really don't like this plan."

"Neither do I," Flashback grunted, "but its the only one we got."

All four of them swerved in unison to avoid another explosion, turning sharp around a red jagged corner. One of the autobot aerials came spiraling past, nose tipped down with smoke trailing behind him. He was headed straight towards the ground at break-neck speed. Prowl's spark clenched when he saw flames licking the aerial's belly and glowing energon running free down his sides. It was Skyfire.

Hotshot saw, too, and revved his engine as he tried to pull ahead of the others and get to him again, but Skyfire was spinning out of control and coming down way too fast. Prowl braced himself for the impact like he was the one plummeting towards the ground.

Something roared through the air, and a rose red shape came rushing over the canyon. It plunged nose-down and swept down towards Skyfire so fast it was a blur to Prowl's optics. Relief flooded through him when the new arrival passed Skyfire and pulled up gracefully to catch him by the wing and send him tumbling the other way. Skyfire managed to straighten himself out, wobbling as he hovered for a moment like he was trying to figure out what had just happened.

The red aerial mirrored him, suspended in the air. Prowl vented heavily with relief when he took in the color of the armor and the shape of the aerial's alternate. Flashback and Backlash abruptly changed course and circled tightly towards her like they were pulled to her. She reacted to them, gliding closer before transforming. Demona emerged from the mess of twisting alloys with her soft optics bright. She opened her arms when both of the brothers transformed and practically flung themselves at her.

Prowl shifted backward to give them privacy as she embraced her creations. Hotshot transformed, optics wide and focused on her at first. Then they lifted to the top of the canyon when a familiar voice called, "Autobots! Stand and fight!"

Hotshot's jaw dropped, "Its Optimus!" He pointed, "Look! And the others-there with him!"

Prowl looked, and allowed a slight smile to curve his lip plates. There at the top stood their Prime, with the autobot's finest standing on either side of him.

Perhaps they would have a chance of winning this war after all.

Flashback squeezed his mother as tight as he could, optics shuttered as he breathed in her scent and felt her spark embrace his. He almost had to fight Backlash for her, who was also crammed up in there with an arm around her. Demona was smiling. She was smaller than either of them, but her arms squeezed back. She said quietly, "My sparklings."

"Primus," Flashback shifted back, "I missed you."

Backlash released her as well, but didn't move back as far. Demona raised a hand to their faces, "You are both wounded."

Flashback pointed at his brother accusingly, "Tell him that. Shockwave shot a hole through him and he's torn open the welds twice now."

She focused on the younger of the two immediately, gaze shifting down to his side where energon was beginning to flow freely again. She raised a hand to the wound like she could stop the flow, then asked, "Where are the others?"

"In the back with the wounded. We left them there to guard the injured and our supplies."

"The're all back there?"

"Everyone but the aerials and the sharp shooters. A lot of them were damaged in the initial attack." Backlash answered tonelessly.

Demona met his gaze, then said, "Skyfire is damaged beyond fighting now. I want you to get him to Ratchet, and I want you to stay there."

Backlash tensed like he was going to argue, but he didn't. Demona squeezed his arm gently, "I am proud of both of you, but you need to rest."

Backlash inclined his head, "Yes, mother."

Demona turned to Flashback, "I want you to make sure he gets there safely. Once they're with Ratchet, come back here and help."

"Promise." Flashback grinned. He turned to Backlash, "You heard mom! Lets go!"

Backlash was already turning towards Skyfire who had transformed and was leaning against the wall tiredly. Flashback started to follow, pausing only to turn and watch as his mother shoved off the earth and transformed. She shot back up into the sky, spinning into formation on Jetfire's left. The two of them moved seamlessly, taking off after one of the seekers.

"What am I supposed to do?" Hotshot called.

"Wait for someone to have their wings torn off," Backlash threw over his shoulder, "and then you can decide whether to help or finish them off when they hit the ground."

Flashback approached Skyfire and lifted one of his thick arms to rest over his shoulders. The aerial was huge and was leaning a good deal of his weight on Flashback. Flashback supported him though, along with Backlash who stood under the mech's other arm. They started the long walk back to the end of the canyon.

Skyfire shuttered his optics, "Thank you, for doing this."

"Hey, thats what we do, right?" Flashback said cheerfully, "we look out for each other." He ignored the loud scoff that came from Backlash.

Skyfire looked down at him. His dazed optics drifted back and he blinked. "You have a femme on your back."

"Huh?" Flashback blinked before turning his head.

Sure enough, Paradox was still there, somehow. He'd been so lost in the struggle to bring Driller down that he'd completely forgotten about her. And she didn't look too happy about it, either. "Yeah, I do." He said, "She's an old friend of the family. She helped me out when Backlash came to rescue me."

Skyfire nodded numbly, dragging his feet. Flashback whistled, "You took a hard hit, didn't you?"

"Yes." Skyfire blinked slowly, "Cyclonus is brutal in the air."

"I hear he's brutal on his feet, too." Flashback vented quietly, "You are a really big mech. Are you in anyway related to-"

Backlash stopped walking. Flashback was forced to stop as well or drag the big aerial along all by himself. He twisted and leaned around to glare at his brother, "Whats wrong now?"

"Burrowers," Backlash rasped, "I can sense them."

"...What?" Flashback leaned the other way, looking past Skyfire's arm and back at the way they had come. Hotshot and Prowl were both still on the ground with rifles in their hands trying to shoot down the seekers, though Flashback doubted their shells made it far enough to do any real damage. Some of the snipers had crawled out of hiding to get a better shot for the same reason. His mother, Jetfire, and Powerglide were still slicing through the air. They cut off one of the seekers and flew over and under him, sending him into a confused spiral. Optimus and his crew were still on the edge, doing their part in trying to bring the decepticons down.

Flashback scanned over all of them before his optics stopped on the tunnel, the one Driller had first entered the canyon through. At first he couldn't see anything...then there was liquid smooth movement. A simply shift of an arm or a leg. Then, all at once, a wave of the bastards came spilling out, dentals gnashing and claws clenching. "FRAG!" He snarled.

"Go and fight!" Backlash said suddenly.

"And leave you two? You can't carry him by yourself, 'Lash!"

"If one of us doesn't do something, the autobots will offline!"

Flashback hesitated, processor scrambling for some type of solution. His optics darted around. The burrowers were splitting up. Half of them was clawing their way up the wall and towards Optimus. The other half were racing towards Prowl and Hotshot. Backlash called his name in irritation. Flashback hissed, "I'm thinking! Give me a damn second!"

He looked back and forth, then said quickly, "I...shit. There's too many. Theres way too many." We can't do this. "I don't know what to do-"

"Above!" Skyfire cried, shifting back clumsily. Both of the brothers looked up in time to see one of the seekers slicing through the air, coming straight towards them. Flashback reached for his pistols and quickly reloaded them. He could hear the song of Backlash's blades leaving their sheaths.

"This day just keeps getting better," Flashback muttered. The mech transformed and hit the ground. He rose, a wicked grin splitting his face. Anger and hate curled around Flashback's spark. He spat, hating the name and the mech with every ounce of his being, "Scourge."

"Hey there, runt. Happy to see me again?" He raised a hand to scratch at some thick patches on his throat cables and beneath his chest armor where Backlash had stabbed and slashed. "Well, your scrawny little brother can't just sneak up on me this time, can he? In fact...he looks a little bad off himself. No one to save you this time, huh?"

"Take one step closer and I'll blow your spark to pieces," Flashback snarled.

Scourge did just that, grin still wide and smug. Flashback would rather just shoot him in the face first. He cocked the guns and started to squeeze the trigger, "I'm not joking, 'con."

"The runt shows no fear in the face of his offlining." Scourge chuckled, "we'll see whos laughing when your head rolls across this canyon."

"Touch him and it'll be yours left to rust here," Backlash said sharply.

"Oh, I'm so scared." He moved closer. Flashback pulled the trigger. Scourge's body jolted but he didn't fall. He pulled the trigger of his other pistol, the bullet burying deep in the mech's armor. Still, Scourge approached.

Backlash moved then, darting out from Skyfire's side with blades drawn. He ducked low and slashed at Scourge's legs, but the mech stepped out of reach at the last possible second. Scourge laughed, "You're slow today, little one!"

Flashback lowered his aim to the bare joints in Scourge's knees. Backlash was shifting, quickly diving behind the mech. He crouched down and leaped up, bracing his feet against Scourge's lower back plates. He raised his blades and started to bring them down.

Backlash stopped halfway, optics widening when a harsh voice cried his name. Flashback jumped slightly, chancing a glance in the direction of the voice. He nearly glitched when he saw Viral running towards them. Not just crawling, but running. On her own two feet. The distraction was only momentary. Backlash was focusing back on his target to strike, but Scourge had his hands fisted around him before the blades could even touch his purple armor.

Flashback's spark seized in his chest, his optics widened. Backlash fought, writhing in the decepticon's tight grip like he had seen Viral do whenever he actually got his hands on her. Panic was clear on the younger mech's face. Scourge laughed, and then dug his fingers into Backlash's wound, tearing the hole wider. Energon spilled out in rivers. Backlash threw back his head and screamed.

"NO!" Flashback charged forward. He slammed to a stop, spark tearing, when Scourge squeezed tighter and snarled.

"Any closer and I'll turn him inside out!"

Flashback hesitated, balanced on his toe plates. He went rigid when a second decepticon landed behind them. Skyfire snarled threateningly, turning to face the second one, who growled, "Hurry and finish them, Scourge! I want to be done with this as soon as possible!"

"Cyclonus!" Scourge cheered, "why are you in such a rush? This is so much fun!" His grin returned, "Listen." He squeezed again, twisting his fist inside the wound this time. Backlash gave a hollow shout of pain, hands clenched around Scourge's arms. "Listen to the way this one cries! Like a broken little sparkling. He must be young to reach such a high, helpless pitch."

"Let him go!" Viral screamed, crouching down with her massive claws open, "put him down! NOW!"

"Make me."

"You hurt Backlash..." She hissed, sinking into a crouch, "I kill you."

Scourge scoffed, "I could step on you and-"

"Last chance, Scourge," Flashback said, "or you offline, here and now." He reached for his brother, feeling his agony bleed through their bond. He pushed against the walls around Backlash's spark until they came down and let him in, and he wrapped himself tight around his little brother, soothing as much of the pain as he could.

Scourge let go of the mech's mangled side and brought his arm back. Flashback ground his dentals when he saw the mech make a fist. "You don't scare me." Scourge said. Then he brought his fist forward and slammed it into Backlash's side. Backlash's entire body convulsed. He hardly made a sound this time, entire body pulled taunt with his mouth open in a silent scream.

With an enraged screech, Viral hurled herself at Scourge. She slammed her claws into his knees and ripped out wiring and cables. With a surprised yelp, the mech fell to his knees. She dove around and tore into his side mercilessly until his energon was arcing out in thick streams. Flashback turned on Cyclonus and shot the mech in the optic before he could react. Cyclonus recoiled with a roar.

Skyfire joined in then, lifting a huge gatling-like gun from his back. He gripped the weapon tight and fired. Shell after shell pelted Cyclonus' armor until it looked like swiss cheese. The decepticon retreated, transforming to escape. Flashback one more hole into him before he focused back on Scourge. The mech was still squeezing his brother, who looked close to falling into stasis. Viral was busy pulling Scourge to pieces. She had stripped more than half of his armor and was shredding every energon line she could reach. When he still wouldn't release Backlash, she fisted her claws around his head and slammed it down on the rock floor, over and over again.

Flashback winced. He tucked the nose of his pistol in against one of Scourge's wrists, and shot through the joint. His hand fell open, and Backlash tumbled to the ground. Flashback dropped beside him, dentals clenched as he turned him over to look at the wound. Skyfire hobbled over, cast a disturbed look at Viral who as still trying to bash Scourge's processor in, then focused on Backlash. Flashback's hands shook, hovering over the damage. His optics took it in, and he wondered at how the younger mech hadn't fallen into stasis yet. He vented heavily, "Shit." He raised his hands and dragged them down his face.

Paradox shifted on his back for the first time, crawling up further to see. Her optics narrowed, "He needs to see a medic. Immediately."

"Ratchets all the way on the other side of the fucking canyon!" Flashback snarled.

"I don't have the supplies to help him." Her optics saddened.

Viral finally stopped beating Scourge's head on the ground when his helm split open and pieces of his processor had come apart and bounced out. She crawled over him then squeezed past Flashback to curl up against Backlash's chest.

Flashback leaned back, glaring at the sky. He saw the glint of armor, and spotted his mother rushing down towards them. On her way down, she purposely clipped Cyclonus on the wing and sent him spinning. Flashback pulled at her spark, 'He's hurt. Bad. But he's still online. I can carry him. I swear I'll get him to Ratchet.'

Her response was instant. 'I will not leave either of you to suffer again.'

'Mom. The burrowers are going to destroy Optimus and the others. You have to stay and help them, or they'll offline here.'

He pressed his hand to Backlash's wound, "Alright, baby brother." Backlash's visor flickered. He lifted a hand to weakly grasp Flashback's shoulder. Flashback smiled sadly at him, "Yeah. I'm here. Big brothers still here, okay? I'm gonna get you some help. And you're going to make it, and get right back to being you're stoic, pain-in-the-ass self."

'I can't leave you.' His mother whispered.

'You're not. As long as we feel your spark, you won't ever leave us.'

She kept coming at them for a second longer before she turned sharply and rolled towards the burrowers that were beginning to overcome Prowl and Hotshot. She transformed in the air and dropped down, extending her wrist blades. In one swipe, an entire line of the bastards fell to the ground. She spoke to the two mechs, who both turned and started to race towards them.

Flashback shifted Backlash and hesitantly reached down to scoop Viral up. She hissed like a cat but didn't attack him. He set her on Backlash's chest, "Hold your...hands to his wound so he doesn't come apart. You can do that, right? You know what I'm saying?"

"Yes. I know what Flashback is saying."

Flashback tensed, watching her as she lowered both sets of claws to Backlash's side. She pressed her cold palms to the wound instead of her claws to keep from cutting him open further. Flashback slipped his arms beneath his brother then began to lift him. For such a scrawny mech, Backlash was heavy. Flashback staggered at first until he found his ground and managed to get a good hold on the mech. He looked at Skyfire, "Can you walk by yourself?"

"For a while." Skyfire said. He tilted his head, "Prowl and Hotshot are coming to help. I'll wait here for them."

Flashback nodded then started to walk, forcing his sore legs to move. After several minutes of walking had passed, they were still under they heavy fire in the sky, where the fliers waged their war. But the burrowers were out of sight, and as far as he could tell, they were alone. Paradox had climbed down at some point to give him a bit of a break and was scooting along beside him. He asked, "How come you didn't say anything to mom when she came down."

"...I don't know what to say." She answered softly.

"I don't get it. She's your creation, right? And she loves you. Like crazy."

"Its not that simple, young one." She narrowed her optics, "I am not as I was. I don't know if I could allow myself to..." She trailed off.

"To what? Settle down with your real family?" Flashback paused when Backlash shifted. He glanced down when Viral started humming happily. The younger mech had curved an arm around her, like he was trying to keep her from falling off or even embracing her. Her green optics were bright, and softer in color. They weren't as vivid or evil looking as before.

"I was never there for her when she needed me. How are you so sure that she even wants to see me again?"

"I just do." Flashback paused when he heard something, then cursed and ducked into a crevice in the wall. Paradox followed, cramming herself in against his legs so she wouldn't be seen. It wasn't long before a couple of burrowers scuttled past, moving as fast as they could like they were on a mission. Flashback vented. "They're trying to find the others."

"We have to get there before they do." Paradox said, "or they'll cause more damage than we can mend."

Flashback looked down at his brother, once again racking his brain for some sort of answer. He said quietly, "Backlash would know what to do."

Viral shifted around a little to get more comfortable, then looked up at him expectantly.

AND THERE I GO TORTURING EVERYONE AGAIN.

So one party has returned. :) Prowl seems to be kinda warming up to the boys now. And I so cannot wait until Demona sees Paradox.

And damn, Flashback is pretty tough. I mean, he was carrying both of the femmes and his younger brother, who practically dwarfs him.

Much love to you all! I hope you enjoyed. I really love hearing your feedback on the story, so some reviews would totally make my day. :)

Demona and her family, friends, the burrowers, and the story belongs to me. Transformers does not.