Chapter 15
Battle for the Staff of Merlin
Starblossom landed as the other Autobots gathered around her.
"We have to move." Starblossom said. "We don't have much time. Both of our planets are in danger. Optimus, our leader, has been brainwashed by Quintessa to retrieve the staff for her. If she gets the staff, it's game over."
"That explains why he shot Stripes." Cade said.
"That is the least of our worries, I'm afraid." Starblossom continued. "We must go, now! We don't have any time to waste!"
Hound looked at Star. "Now?! We have a wounded bot over here, we can't just..."
At that moment, a scream tore through the air that could have woke the dead. Everyone looked towards the source. It was Stripes! His systems were somehow going through a hard reset, the wound from Optimus's shot partially closing itself! Then he got up, rising onto his feet as his optics glowed a creepy nuclear-green!
"What in the name of Primus is this!?" Drift exclaimed.
"Dark Energon." Star said. "Remember that mission he was on when he went missing a few weeks ago? When we found him after the unknown attack?"
"If that's true then…" Hound immediately armed his gatling cannon. "Stripes! Stay back!"
A ferocious growl came out of Stripes' pipes as he looked at the Autobots, dental bands bared.
"I don't think he's listening, Hound." Crosshairs said, arming his blasters, as Stripes started to walk towards them.
Stripes then spoke, as a dark aura formed around him. "Don't even think about it, you two. Your little pea shooters won't do you any good this time. Now, Starblossom!" He pointed to Star. "Where is the traitor, Prime?"
"I don't know, and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you in your current state." Star replied. "You are not well, Stripes! You need help, you need to calm down. Please, Stripes! Listen to me!" Star pleaded. "BY PRIMUS, I AM YOUR SISTER! LISTEN TO ME!"
Stripes popped out his shoulder cannon, and his hands turned to their multi-barreled machine gun mode.
"Sorry, Star. I don't think I want to this time..." Stripes replied with a voice as sharp and cold as freshly-honed daggers.
With that, he unleashed a barrage of shots, all of them amplified by the power of the dark energon running through him.
Bee immediately tackled Star out of the way, as the other Autobots took several hits. They were all on the ground from that barrage. He walked over to Starblossom and Bumblebee, looming over them as they lay in the dirt.
"You disappoint me." Stripes spoke. "No matter. I'll find him on my own. Today's specialty: Vengeance with a side of death and dismemberment…"
With that, his optics grew bright, and dust formed around him in a cyclone. Bits and pieces of rock and earth transmuted themselves into metal, forming a Jetpack for Stripes, complementing the jets he already had!
"Optimus betrayed me… Now he shall get it all back, tenfold. I wouldn't worry too much about him, though. You'll be next after I'm done crushing his spark…" Stripes spoke before taking off towards Stonehendge.
Bee and Star got up soon after he left.
"...We need to stop him." Star said.
"We need to stop them both!" Bee said. "Come on, let's go! The others can catch up in the Autobot spaceship!"
Shortly after that, they transformed and were in pursuit.
# # #
Stonehenge…
On the ship...
The brainwashed and deprived Nemesis Prime fought with Megatron as they struggled on who would take the staff. Unfortunately, Megatron was winning, though the victor didn't matter at this point. Either way, it seemed Quintessa would have the staff for her bidding.
"Why are we fighting each other?!" Megatron asked. "Don't we have the same goal?"
"It doesn't matter..." Prime replied. "I just don't trust you."
"How sad..." Megatron replied with sarcasm.
"It is. For both of you..." A voice said on the radio band. Megatron and Prime looked over to see an Autobot with a jetpack flying in. They immediately recognized who it was.
"Stripes!" Megatron exclaimed. "I was wondering when you would show up! Still Prime's lapdog, I see."
Stripes' response to that was opening fire on them both with his machine guns as he dive-bombed in from a high altitude.
"Ha ha ha ha ha... Oh, Megatron… You have no idea how wrong you are..." Stripes laughed as he landed, a grin on his faceplates. He shot at both Prime and Megatron relentlessly with one hand. He reached up with his free one, drawing his sword. He bolted forward, and sank the blade into Megatron's chest, knocking him down. He drove the blade deeper, going straight through his chest cavity and pinning him to the ship's hull with the blade. He then shot Megatron in the head, damaging his weapon processors.
"As the old saying goes: Two's company, but three's a crowd." Stripes looked at Prime, who was already in a combat stance.
"Aww, did you miss me?" Stripes taunted with laughter. "What's the matter? Still bitter that you killed Cybertron? My father's only gift to you, and what did you do with it? Oh yes, that's right, you snuffed it out!" He finished with heavy sarcasm.
Prime, enraged, lunged at Stripes with his sword, who dodged it with ease by boosting to the side with his jets, and kneeing Optimus in his abdomen, knocking the air out of his intakes. Prime fell to his knees as he dropped his sword. Stripes's mood then changed as if someone had flicked a switch: From heinous sarcasm to endless rage. He kicked Prime in the faceplates, knocking him over. He then grabbed him by the back of his helm.
"I TRUSTED YOU!" He yelled in his face. "I FOLLOWED YOUR ORDERS, I DID EVERYTHING YOU ASKED OF ME! I BLED FOR YOU! I BROUGHT YOU BACK FROM THE DEAD, AND YOU REPAY ME WITH THIS?!" He shoved the stunned Prime's face right above where he had shot him mere hours before, his spark chamber still partially exposed by the wound, energon partially leaking from a damaged pump. There was silence as anger and disgust flowed through Stripes' energon lines, his hatred radiating off of him through a clearly-visible aura.
"Take a good look, Prime and remember what you did." Stripes' words cut though the air like a heated titanium blade through ice. "Because once I get that staff, I'm giving all that pain, all that suffering, all that toil back to you tenfold..." Stripes then shoved Optimus away, and shot him in the face with his machine guns, knocking him on his back. Prime popped out his arm blasters, firing repeatably, but the shots somehow curved around Stripes' aura! Stripes then jumped on top of Prime, denting his chest plates. He then proceeded to pummel prime into the hull of the ship, striking him again and again leaving vicious dents, causing energon to leak from Prime as several damaged lines opened up.
Prime grabbed Stripes and threw him off at that point, and got up, un-phased. But Stripes was not done just yet. He readied his shoulder cannon, and shot Prime just as he charged. Prime fell to his knees, but got back up again.
The fight continued to rage, as Stripes jumped onto Prime, energon blades Extended. He dug the blades into his shoulders, drawing a satisfying howl of pain from Prime before he was thrown off. Prime fell to his knees, weakened. They got ready to charge each other once again...
Suddenly, several rockets impacted the space between Prime and Stripes.
"ENOUGH!" A voice shouted.
It was then that Bumblebee and Starblossom arrived, both of them getting between them. Bee faced down Prime, while Starblossom faced down her fallen brother, the Autobot spaceship orbiting
...
"Stripes, stop!" Starblossom demanded, her voice heavy with command. "Don't you see what you are doing? This is not what our father would want!" Energon tears started leaking from her optics. "We are the Children of Primus! We should not act this way! Stripes, please don't do this… Let you anger go…"
Bumblebee opened his voice box, speaking to the prime.
"Don't you recognize me?!" Bumblebee said. "I am Bumblebee… your oldest friend! Optimus… I would lay down my life for you… Stop this madness, please…"
Time stood still, as did each warrior on deck. The silence seemed to last for an eternity.
Prime's optics then switched back to their usual cold blue. Stripes' optics did the same, switching from nuclear green back to their usual violet.
"Bumblebee…" Optimus spoke, regaining his mind.
Stripes regained his mind as well, looking over himself, and Optimus…
"I don't believe it…" Stripes spoke, shame in his voice. "Optimus…. I almost killed you…"
He then realized how much energon he had lost from his leaking pump. From both the flight, and the battle with Optimus. He fell to his hands and knees, regurgitating energon as he purged his systems.