Hey everyone! I'm not dead! I am sorry this took so long. Thank you Solarwave and AllSpark Princess for checking in on me. I appreciate it.
Violence/robot gore warning cause I feel like the end scenes kinda need it.
{DC squad, an escape pod crash landed near your patrol area. Your orders are to investigate. DA and DB squads are enroute to assist you. Confirm command.}
"Command confirmed. DC squad changing course to investigate."
Raf was scrolling thru conspiracy sites on the internet looking for pictures of the Bots and scrubbing them. Most of the pictures were of Bumblebee but there were occasionally a few of Bulkhead and Arcee as well. He had yet to see one of Optimus. And Ratchet hardly ever left the base.
"Wait. What's that?" asked Jack.
The older boy was sitting next to him on the couch while he was doing his daily search. The picture he pointed at was the latest post on the site after Raf had refreshed the page. The picture was titled 'Mystery Meteor' and was captioned with 'Fall point is where?'. The picture itself was of something streaking across the evening sky over a forest. Raf highlighted the object and zoomed in.
"A Cybertronian escape pod…?" Raf said.
"Here in Earth's atmosphere?" asked Ratchet from where he stood at the main console.
Raf sent the picture to Ratchet's monitor. It certainly looked like an escape pod but the image was of poor quality.
"Autobot or Decepticon?" asked Arcee.
"Impossible to tell given the image resolution," replied Ratchet.
"In any event, this merits investigation." Optimus moved up to the comm. "Omega One to Rebel Base."
{Ho? Rebel Base. I like that. Anyway, yes? You rang?} Mike answered.
Optimus recognized the voice of the miner. "Mike, can you tell us if there are any new Cybertronians on the planet?"
{Hmm... Yes, there is one. Landed less than an hour ago. Unconfirmed faction. Would you like the coordinates?}
"Yes, please."
The coordinates appeared on the monitor.
{I sent them to you. Also, be careful. It seems the Cons are moving too. Mike out.} The link terminated.
"Since it is an unconfirmed faction, there may be an Autobot in distress," said Optimus. "Ratchet, bring your medical kit."
They came out of the ground bridge on a ridge overlooking the crash site. It was in a forest. The pod had knocked down several trees when it plowed into the earth, leaving a large trail of energon in its wake. The pod itself had a big hole in the side of it where the occupant had forced their way out. But that was not the cause for concern.
The cause for concern was the three squads of eradicons currently locked in a fire fight with a lone mech who was using some fallen trees and a boulder for cover.
"Looks like Optimus was right," commented Bulkhead.
"But it could also be another trap," countered Arcee.
"There is only one way to find out," said Optimus, his servo changing into a blaster. "Autobots, roll out!"
The four Autobots with blasters leapt down the side of the ridge while opening fire on the Cons. Ratchet followed at a slightly slower pace since he was only there as backup.
Ucon looked up as more blaster fire rained down on them from above.
[Whiskey! It's Team Prime!] he sent across their bond.
Whiskey seemed annoyed and angry. [I can see that!]
Ucon suddenly flinched as a few bolts headed his way. But they burst on something invisible before they reached him.
"Don't worry, Spark." Whiskey's voice was a lot closer than Ucon expected, meaning he was facing him. "I'll protect you."
"That didn't hurt you, did it?" he asked.
"My armor is a lot thicker than yours," Whiskey said as he turned. He added a command across their bond. [Just stay behind me and you'll be fine.]
"But-" Ucon was more concerned about the other members of his squad.
[Stay behind me!] Whiskey insisted.
The Autobots had finally reached ground level. Bulkhead rushed forward to engage the closest eradicons with his mace.
Ucon looked around. The Autobots were hardly holding back at all.
[The Madam did go and talk to the Autobots, right?] he asked.
[Yes. But they only promised to try to hold back.] Ucon's concern was irritating him.
[So much for their promises.] His side of the bond was angry. [Show me your outline. I don't want to accidentally shoot you.]
Whiskey's outline appeared on his visor.
[Can you crouch? I need to use your shoulder.]
The outlined mech went down on one knee. Ucon rested his arm on Whiskey's shoulder as he took careful aim at Arcee, his visor flickering to a deeper shade of red so he could correct faster. Three low powered blasts knocked her arm blade off course and it scratched harmless across DB-07's armor rather than slicing through her neck cables. He managed to divert Optimus' blade next. The second time it happened, the Autobot leader looked over see where the shots were coming from. He spotted Ucon and pointed his blaster at him. But Ucon suddenly raised his blaster because Whiskey had stood up in front of him to take Prime's shot. Optimus hesitated at that movement and hesitated even longer when Ucon looked away from him.
Ucon's focus was suddenly on Bulkhead who was fighting with DC-08. He saw the way the wrecker shifted his weight, bringing his arm back for a strike that would probably at the very least severely cripple DC-08. He hesitated for a second, knowing that Whiskey would be mad at him for leaving his side.
"Ucon-?" Whiskey noticed the change in his partner an astroclick too late. Ucon was already moving.
However, Ucon miscalculated the speed of Bulkhead's swing. He thought he heard someone scream his name but it was hard to tell over the sound of his frame being crushed between the wrecker's mace and the boulder. All he knew was that he had pushed DC-08 out of the way in time. He coughed, filling the inside of his mask with energon from his internal bleeding. He turned his helm and saw Whiskey rushing toward him but his vision was blurring fast. He wanted to reach for his partner but his frame didn't want to listen anymore.
The sheer volume of Whiskey's scream had startled everyone in the area and all fighting came to a halt. Bulkhead was also surprised by the second eradicon appearing out of nowhere to push the first out of the way. There was a sickening crunch as his mace collided with the smaller frame, smashing it against the boulder. The eradicon coughed, an odd colored energon seeping out of the edges of his mask.
Whiskey screamed Ucon's name when he realized that his partner was in danger. But he was too late. The sudden flare of pain across their bond caused him to stumble but he managed to keep his peds under him as he ran forward, no longer invisible. He needed to get to Ucon. He could feel him fading. Ucon turned his helm to look at him. He saw Ucon's servo move as if he was trying to reach for him but then his frame slumped and even his paint job faded to his usual matte black and his visor went dark.
Whiskey roared with rage as he rushed at Bulkhead. He caught the offending arm of the surprised wrecker and wrenched hard. Bulkhead screamed in pain but Whiskey did not stop. He grabbed him by the wheels on his back and, with a mighty heave, threw him across the battlefield. The big, green mech collided with Optimus and sent them both sprawling.
Not caring what happened to the Autobot after he released him, Whiskey immediately knelt at Ucon's side and pulled off the energon soaked mask.
"Ucon! Spark, please! Stay with me!" he cried as he cradled his partner's helm.
Ucon's optics flicked and his mouth moved but no sound came out.
A ground bridge appeared. Foxtrot, Seasar, who was filling in for Oscar, and Leecher arrived. Whiskey moved out of the medics' way. He watched them for a moment with clenched fists, his spark aching at the mangled sight of his partner. Rage welled up in him again and he whirled around to face the Autobots.
Optimus was back on his peds but Bulkhead was still on the ground. Ratchet was beside him, checking his arm. Arcee and Bumblebee were on guard.
"She warned you, didn't she?" he snarled at them, one servo transforming into a blaster. "SHE WARNED YOU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU DIDN'T HOLD BACK!"
"Whiskey!" Leecher's servo caught his blaster arm before he could raise it. "That's enough!"
Visor flashing, Whiskey glared down at the smaller mech. Leecher tightened their grip on his arm in a silent warning.
"It's no good, Commander," Foxtrot suddenly called. "We can't stabilize him."
Leecher was already moving. The next words out of their vocalizer were ones that only Whiskey and the medics understood for they were in Lassic, Liliy's native language. "Prepare for a spark transplant then."
It was an odd sight to the others there. Leecher laid across Ucon's broken frame after the medics pried open his chassis and exposed his dimming spark. Leecher's chestplates had been open as well but there did not appear to be any light within. The light was gone from Ucon's chassis when Leecher finally pushed off him, their chestplates sliding shut as they did.
Foxtrot leaned closer as Leecher sat back on their heels and whispered, "Is he stable?"
"For now," Leecher replied in the same quiet tone, their visor dimming as they diverted most of their power to keeping the foreign spark inside their chassis alive. "But we should get him back as soon as possible. However…" They glanced at all the bots that were still gathered.
The Autobots were bunched together with the new mech hovering close to them while the eradicons were spread out, unsure of what to do. Leecher turned to the eradicon who was still close by, the one Ucon saved. He was sitting on the ground, watching them.
"You." The eradicon flinched almost violently when he became the center of their attention. "What's your designation?"
"I-it's DC-08, s-sir," he answered shakily.
Leecher tilted their helm. "Just DC-08?"
He nodded. "Y-yes, s-sir."
"Well, DC-08, the mech who was in the escape pod is obviously an Autobot so there is no need for the eradicons to be here anymore. You and yours should go."
"B-but the A-autobots are right t-there. We have to f-fight them."
Whiskey suddenly stepped forward. He grabbed the frightened eradicon by his shoulder and easily lifted him off the ground.
"Do you want to end up like him?" he growled, pointing at Ucon's corpse. He gave the eradicon a little shake. "Huh?"
"N-no, s-sir," DC-08 squeaked.
Whiskey turned and tossed him to the ground so he was closer to the rest of his squad.
"Well, that's what's gonna happen if you guys continue this fight. Don't let DC-09's sacrifice be in vain." He looked around at the others to make sure they were listening. "I suggest you all get lost while you still can."
The eradicons looked at each other, still unsure of what to do. Finally DA-01 stepped forward.
"He's right. It is pointless to continue this battle when there is nothing to be gained but more casualties."
"But, Dane-" one of the others protested.
DA-01 held up his servo to quiet the others. He focused on Leecher. "First, please answer my question."
"What is it?"
"Is DC-09 really dead?"
"Yes," Leecher replied. "The mech known as DC-09, formally ZZ-05, is dead."
"I see... Thank you for indulging my request. We will now return to the Nemesis." He turned to the other eradicons. "All squads move out!"
All the eradicons transformed and flew away.
Leecher sighed. "They left their wounded behind again. Foxtrot, Seasar."
"Yes, Commander."
The two medics' visors flickered to red before they disappeared. There was a startled cry among the thicket not too far away. The medics returned after a moment, each with an unconscious eradicon over their shoulders.
"I see. Not that injured, huh?" asked Leecher.
"Nothing life-threatening. Mostly just unable to transform."
"That's good. Only one real casualty then. Whiskey, if you please."
Whiskey helped Leecher to their peds. They leaned on Seasar for support while Whiskey gathered Ucon's corpse into his arms. The ground bridge reappeared.
"Let's go."
The new mech had stopped firing when the Autobots arrived. He watched in awe at their ferocity as they engaged the enemy despite being outnumbered.
Then everything ground to a screeching halt when someone screamed a name. Optimus knew that kind of scream all too well. The sound of bot seeing their partner fall on the battlefield. He had heard it many times over the years, though it had become less and less frequent as the war dragged on. That is why it must have surprised everyone.
Optimus realized what had happened when he saw Whiskey materialize and rush at Bulkhead. He moved forward, hoping to stop the brown and gold mech but he was too late. Bulkhead screamed in pain and then he was suddenly flying at Optimus. The Prime hit the ground hard with the wrecker on top of him.
The other Autobots were trying to get the disoriented Bulkhead off him, so he did not see the other CRC members arrive. But the medics were already working the eradicon that Bulkhead had hit when Optimus finally got his peds under him again.
Whiskey whirled on them. Optimus could sense the raging hatred from where he stood.
"SHE WARNED YOU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU DIDN'T HOLD BACK!"
Yes, Liliy had. But the Autobots had failed to listen, had forgotten their promise. Optimus feared that the mech was going to attack again when he brought out his blaster but Leecher stopped him. For the Autobots' sake, Optimus hoped that the eradicon would live, but when the medics called to Leecher, he thought all hope was lost.
However, Leecher moved, uttering a command that set the medics working again. When Leecher laid across the broken frame, chassis open, spark exposed, Optimus remembered what Liliy had told him about Leecher. They were just sparkless armor that needed a pilot. It was hard to believe then but now, seeing the blink of light pass between the two frames, how eerily dull and lifeless the eradicon became just before Leecher lifted off him, he was sure that they were using the armor to keep the spark alive.
Leecher remained seated on the ground, visor dim. They looked around before addressing the other eradicon that was still near them. There was an exchange of words with the eradicons, convincing them that there was no longer a need to fight. And, much to the surprise of the Autobots, they did leave.
There was a brief moment in which the medics disappeared. There was a startled cry from a thicket nearby in that time too. And then the medics came back with a couple eradicons. Whiskey helped Leecher stand and they used one of the medics for support while Whiskey collected the eradicon's corpse. When a ground bridge opened, Optimus realized they were going to leave without a word.
"Leecher!" he suddenly called out.
His private comm pinged as the CRC members disappeared.
{We will talk about this later, Optimus Prime.} Liliy's voice was so icy that Optimus felt a chill run through his frame. {Right now, there is a spark in need of a new frame.}
Optimus flinched slightly at the audible termination of the commlink. Sighing, he turned finally to his Autobots.
"Ratchet, how is Bulkhead?"
"The damage to his arm is fixable," Ratchet replied.
"We screwed up big time, didn't we?" asked Bulkhead, looking up at Optimus from where he sat.
Optimus just nodded.
"Serves them right," growled the medic.
"Ratchet..."
"Uhm, excuse me." They all looked at the white and blue mech from the escape pod. "Sorry to interrupt but I can't hold it in anymore. I can't believe I ended up on the same planet as the Optimus Prime! Wow!"
"What is your name, soldier?"
The mech snapped to attention and saluted. "Smokescreen, sir!"
"Welcome to Earth, Smokescreen."
"Hey, where's DC-09?" someone asked.
"He's dead," DC-10 replied wearily, not bothering looking up to see who was speaking. He didn't really want to talk to anyone right now.
"What?!" they gasped.
"No way!" someone else exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" a third person asked.
That was a voice he immediately recognized. DC-10 looked up. It was his former squadmate ZX-02. With him was two of the other Z squad members that ZZ-05 used to sit with while on break. He looked down at his peds again.
"Yes. I saw his corpse myself."
Breakdown paused when he glimpsed an eradicon hiding in the back of a supply room.
"Zuza?" he asked, recognizing the mech as ZZ-04 as he approached. "What are you doing back here?" He noticed the mech was shaking. "Hey… Are you crying? What's wrong?"
"H-he didn't come b-back," Zuza replied between sobs.
Breakdown knelt beside him and laid a comforting servo on his shoulder. "Who didn't come back?"
"DC-09. I mean I-I know that it i-is c-common for the c-combat troops not to… not to c-come back, b-but it s-still hurts, kn-knowing that h-he's gone. He w-was my f-friend."
Breakdown was shocked. He had no idea. "DC-09 didn't come back from his last mission?"
Zuza looked up at him. "You haven't h-heard? Everyone is t-talking about it."
"No. I hadn't heard, but that explains the mood around the ship. The other officers probably haven't noticed. Did you hear how it happened?"
"A-apparently, he took a hit for DC-08."
"Sacrificed himself for someone else…" Breakdown mused. "That sounds like him." He gave Zuza's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Hey, don't stay back here too long, ok, Zuza? I don't want you to get in trouble."
"Y-yes, sir."
Breakdown left the supply room and quickly went in search of the eradicon Zuza mentioned.
"DC-08," he called out when he spotted him in the hallway.
The mech jerked to attention and faced Breakdown. "Yes, sir?"
"Can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Uh, yes, sir."
Breakdown pulled the eradicon aside. "Please tell me about your last mission."
DC-08 stared at him. "Sir?"
"I want to know how ZZ-I mean DC-09 died."
"Yes, sir." DC-08 told him everything. "And then we left. But it seems we left DA-02 and DB-07 behind as well."
"I see. Thank you for telling me. I am sorry for holding you up."
"It's fine, sir. I will be going back now."
Breakdown nodded. He watched the back of the retreating eradicon until he disappeared around the corner. Then he turned on his heel and headed for the medbay.
"Hey, Knock Out," Breakdown said quietly as he entered the medbay.
"What's wrong, Break'?" Knock Out looked up at the blue mech. He could tell his partner was upset about something.
Breakdown shrugged. "You wanna go for a drive for a bit?"
So it was something they couldn't talk about on the ship. That was fine. Knock Out never minded going for a drive. "Sure."
However, Knock Out didn't expect to end up outside Jasper, Nevada again. He kept stealing glances at Breakdown but the blue mech was staying quiet. After a little while, Knock Out caught the sound of a high-pitched engine approaching them. Breakdown pulled over to the side of the road.
"Breakdown, what are you doing?" Knock Out asked, following his partner's example.
Breakdown still did not answer him as the other car approached. It was a dark red speedster. They were almost on top of them before they braked hard and transformed, leaping into the air. The mech landed gracefully on his peds.
"You guys have some nerve, showing up in a place like this again," he said, putting his servos on his hips.
Recognizing him, Breakdown transformed as well. "Is Tango busy?"
"No," Romeo replied, pushing up his mask. "He's just still restricted to base because the medics haven't cleared him to transform yet."
Breakdown started. "What happened?"
Knock Out transformed then and asked with concern. "Was he hurt?"
The corner of Romeo's mouth turned up, amused at their worrying. "He had a little run-in with Starscream but he and Oscar are on the mend."
Knock Out's optics narrowed. "With Starscream?"
Romeo nodded. "It's a long story, but that's not why you're here," he looked at Breakdown, "is it?"
"No," Breakdown replied.
"I thought so. You want to know about the eradicon."
"...Yes."
Romeo sighed. "For all accounts and purposes, the eradicon you knew as DC-09, formally ZZ-05, is dead."
"But his spark wasn't extinguished?" Breakdown asked.
"No. The medics simply put him into a new frame."
"A spark transplant?" Knock Out inquired. "You had a spare frame just laying around?"
"Why are you surprised?" Romeo replied. "You guys are the one fighting the war and making all the corpses."
"And they used to say I was barbaric for using parts from the dead to fix the living," Knock Out mumbled.
Romeo still heard him though. One optic ridge rose. "Used to? They don't anymore?"
Knock Out huffed. "Because everyone who used to do it is now dead."
"I suppose that makes sense. Is that all you wanted to know then?" Romeo asked Breakdown. "If he was really dead or not?"
"What is his real designation?" Breakdown wanted to know.
"Ah. I'll leave that to him to tell you."
"Speaking of names," Knock Out suddenly piped up, "is there a medic called Fritz in your group?"
"Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while…" Romeo chuckled. "Technically, yes. But he hasn't gone by that name for at least a hundred years. You've met him actually. The medic that was with me in the mine."
"You mean that time that Ratchet showed up and punched Megatron in the face and then you shot me."
Romeo raised an optic ridge again. "That's what you remember from that time?"
"Well, I remember that medic too. But is he the one who taught the eradicon first aid?"
"Huh? First aid? No. That was the commander. They made sure we all knew it."
"Your commander?"
"Yeah. They're kind of a jack-of-all-trades. They let us do the specializing."
"And what do you specialize in?"
"Surveillance."
"What kinda specialization is that?"
"Field work. You could say, the Surveillance Team are the first responders. The soldiers who had no interest in a particular profession that would benefit the team."
Starscream had finally made it back to land. Stowing the Apex Armor for later, he grumbled as he continued walking. He barely glanced up as he passed under the stone arch and entered the canyon. Eventually, he rounded a corner and found what he was looking for. The remains of a wrecked spaceship nestled against the side of the canyon, forgotten by everyone once again since the Immobilizer incident. Everyone but Starscream.
"Ah, Just as I left it. The Harbinger. Things are beginning to look up."
Starscream made his way on board and immediately started searching for anything useful. He searched for a long while but hardly found a thing. Incredibly frustrated, he kicked over the crate he had been going through, scattering the contents across the floor.
"Really!? Not one scrap of energon!" he growled, slamming his fist against the wall.
Mechanisms creaked in the wall. A lock released and a door opened behind him. Curious, he stepped back to look inside this new room. He didn't notice anything suspicious so he stepped inside.
"A laboratory…?" he said, recognizing a bit of the equipment. He approached the console in the middle of the floor and tapped a key. It responded, the small monitor lighting up. "And it's functional."
Tapping a few more keys, he managed to divert some power to the surrounding lab equipment. Lights clicked on on the wall before him, revealing five white but armorless bodies.
"Protoforms…"
Curious, Starscream started scanning the data on the monitor.
"Let's see. Transference of binary bonding. Sub molecular infusion. The formulas seem straightforward enough. Well, my little lumps of clay, you look like you're right for the molding. Let's give cloning a whirl shall we?"
He extracted some of his energon and inserted it into the machine. The computer analyzed and decoded his CNA. He laughed maniacally as the cloning equipment around him sparked and crackled with electricity.
"GIVE ME LIFE!" he shouted over the noise, pulling the lever to start the cloning process.
More arcs danced around the lab and over the protoforms as his CNA was poured into them and they took shape. Only a minute passed before there were five exact copies of him. Sparks still flew around as the equipment shut down.
"Ahh. Like minded company. At last! Well now," he mused as he looked them over. "What to do with you?"
"We are at your command, commander," replied the closest clone, startling him a bit.
"What shall we do first?" asked the second.
"Kill Megatron and take over the Decepticons?" suggested the third.
"Take revenge on the Autobots?" said the fourth.
"Or perhaps the annoying neutral scum who dropped you into the sea?" added the last one.
"Uh. How did you know that?" Starscream wanted to know.
"We are as one, commander," answered the last.
"We share your memories," the first informed him.
"And your feelings," said the third.
"...I see. Well, then you should know that I cannot transform at the moment so all your suggestions are useless. Unless one of you knows how to reactivate the t-cog protocols?" Starscream waved a servo at them.
They all shook their helms.
"Then the first thing we need to do is find someone who can so that I can fly too."
"Who then?" asked the second.
"Knock Out?" the fourth offered.
"We could…" Starscream thought about it. "But there is a chance he might tell Megatron about us. Plus Soundwave is always monitoring Decepticon frequencies, he would definitely notice."
"Then Ratchet perhaps?" suggested one.
"Perhaps," said Starscream. "But he hardly leaves the Autobot base. And the last time I asked him to come alone, he didn't listen."
"Hmm…"
"Then that leaves the Neutrals," concluded the third.
"Hmm. Yes. That might be the most logical choice. But how?"
"Call them?"
"No. That'd be too risky. It would be best if we could just find one alone."
"Alone? But how? Do you want us to search the whole planet until we-"
An alarm sounded. Starscream hadn't realized that he had activated it when he powered up the lab.
"It seems there is an intruder," he informed the clones after pulling up the security footage. "And it seems that luck is on our side. She's one of the Neutrals. Go now and bring her to me."
"Yes sir."
Seasar was surprised when she saw Starscream because he didn't have a spark signal so she was slow in reacting when he fired a missile at her. She was able to dodge the missile itself but not the explosion when it hit the wall behind her. She was thrown across the hall and hit her helm hard. As she lost consciousness, she thought that maybe her optics or processor were damaged in the impact because now she saw three of him.
She found that that was not the case when she woke up again. There were six of him now. And one definitely had a spark signal. She was sitting on the floor in a lab with stasis cuffs on her wrists.
"I see. So you cloned yourself." She looked pointedly at the original.
"How do you know I'm the real one?" Starscream demanded.
"You're the only one with a spark signature," she replied coolly.
"That doesn't make the rest of us any less real," one of the clones cried.
She nodded. "You're right. It just makes you harder to track. So, what do you want with me?"
"I need you to reactivate my t-cog," answered Starscream.
"No," she said simply.
"No? Why not?" Starscream's voice rose a bit.
She shrugged. "Because I don't want to."
"How do we even know she can do it?" asked one of the clones.
"If I remember correctly, you are one of the scientists," said Starscream.
She nodded again. "Yes."
"So that means you have medical knowledge too because your scientists also double as medics."
"Correct. However, when it comes to the CRC, you don't really need a medic," Seasar explained. "Any member will do. Deactivating and reactivating a t-cog is basic first aid knowledge."
"Why would that be basic first aid knowledge?" one of them asked.
"Why not?"
"Then can you teach us how to do it?" asked another.
"No."
"Why not?" It was Starscream again.
"You should know why not," she snapped, her calmness slipping for a moment. "Who receives help and then turns around and stabs their benefactors in the back?"
"I didn't ask to be helped."
"No. You're just an ungrateful son of a glitch. You don't deserve that t-cog or that leg you stand on!"
Starscream shot forward and grabbed her by the throat cables.
"I could kill you right now," he warned, his clawed servo tightening.
If she was in pain, she did not show it. In fact, the calmness she displayed before was back. "Go ahead. But I warn you. The moment my spark is extinguished, they will come for you. And there is no place on this planet where you can escape from her wrath."
Starscream smirked. "I have faced Megatron's wrath many times. I'm not scared."
"Trust me, Starscream. The burn of her blade as she draws it slowly across your armor is far worse than anything Megatron can throw at you. And she already has an optic on one of your wings since you nearly took off Tango's."
"And you know what it feels like?" Starscream asked, sounding oddly surprised. His grip on her neck even loosened a little.
"Not all of us were very accepting when we met her. I made the same mistake you did and hurt one of her mechs. And, well, by the time she was satisfied, I had to have some armor and a limb replaced."
"And you still loyally followed her?"
"Obviously not at first. Rebuilding trust takes time. I advise you to remember that."
Optimus stood alone on top of their base watching the sunset. He turned at the sound of a ground bridge opening behind him. A matte black mech stepped and the portal closed.
"Leecher… I was expecting Liliy."
The mask split open, revealing Liliy and Leech. "I'm here, Optimus."
"So that really is just armor."
"Yes." The mask closed up and then Leecher transformed into their alt-mode. Liliy climbed out of the driver's seat with Leech still attached to her shoulder. She shut the door and leaned back against the car while staring at the sunset.
Optimus waited for a minute but neither of them seemed inclined to speak so he carefully lower his frame to sit on the ground next to them.
"Are you angry?" he asked finally.
Leech's yellow optics turned to look up at him. "Compared to what she felt toward Starscream, I would say she is only mildly upset at you and yours. But yes, her general emotion is currently anger. By the way, I am Leech, Liliy's partner, living prosthetic, and the primary pilot of the Leecher armor."
Optimus nodded in greeting. "What happened with Starscream?"
"Ah." Leech raised a tail to the side of his speaker and spoke in a low voice after a quick glance at Liliy. "It's best not to ask."
Optimus nodded again. "What about the eradicon? Did he survive?"
Liliy spoke this time, her tone hard. "This conversation would be going very differently if he did not."
"Yes, he did," Leech quickly followed up. "We were able to stabilize his spark and get it into a new frame. But, unfortunately, this means we have lost our spy on the Nemesis."
"I'm sorry."
"Which brings us to another matter," Leech continued. "After this incident, the 'boys' have gotten together and complained that the number of serious injuries has increased since we started actively helping your Autobots. They are requesting that Liliy withdraws from your base."
"And how do you feel about this, Liliy?" asked Optimus, focusing on the Laserblade.
She sighed and actually glanced up at him for a moment. "It's hard. I've come to think of you guys as family. But I also have a responsibility to my boys as well. I'm sure Ratchet will be glad to hear that I'm leaving."
Optimus shifted. "I agree. Being a leader is very hard. And I am sorry to hear that you will be leaving us."
"Don't worry," Leech said. "You can still count on us a little bit. Like if you are running low on supplies or if you need to find someone. Although, I think Pepper may be wanting to enlist your help soon, Optimus."
He seemed surprised. "My help? Why?"
"He has been working on decoding the Iacon database from where you-Orion left off," explained Leech. "So far he has been able to keep ahead of Soundwave who was doing the same but this last entry, Soundwave showed up himself while we were in the process of digging up the relic. Thankfully, injuries were kept to a minimum because Wheeljack showed up."
"Wheeljack? Is he alright?"
"Oh, yeah!" Leech waved off Optimus' concern. "Apparently he really gave Soundwave a run for his money. Now he's been staying with us 'cause he and X-ray started dating."
"Him and X-ray? Well, they did seem to work well together." He smiled a little. "Good for them. But back to the Iacon database… how many entries has Pepper decoded?"
"Four so far-"
"Four?" Optimus interrupted. "You have uncovered four Iacon relics and yet we did not pick up a single one of their signals?"
"We used signal jammers when we went to dig them up. Though, I wonder if that one on the Tox-En even worked. The container was sitting out in the open when the 'boys' found it."
Optimus started. "Tox-En?"
"Don't worry. No one was infected and we made sure to destroy it."
"What were the other three relics?" he asked.
"There was the phase-shifter," said Leech.
"Which we still have," Liliy added.
"Right. The Resonance Blaster."
"Which Soundwave got away with."
"And the Apex Armor," Leech concluded.
"What happened to it?" Optimus asked when Liliy didn't seem too inclined to add.
It was Leech who answered in a grave tone. "Starscream took it."
"And he is going to pay for it!" Liliy growled, slamming her fist against the car door behind them. While her fist did not leave a dent, the car did rock heavily on its tires. Leech reached around and caught her wrist so she wouldn't punch the car again.
"Easy, Lil'." At Optimus' questioning look, Leech explained. "He didn't just take it. He put two of our mechs in the medbay with serious injuries. Also, did you forget that we uncovered two of the three relics that you-Orion decoded? You probably didn't pick up their signals either."
"That's true." After a brief pause, he spoke again. "Liliy, I know I'm not the one you want to hear this from but revenge only makes things worse."
"You're right," she growled, glaring up at him. "I don't want to hear that from you. Be grateful I like you, otherwise Bulkhead wouldn't've gotten off so easily."
Optimus sighed. "Perhaps it is a good thing you are leaving us."
"Yes," Leech agreed. "We should go and get your things, Liliy."
Liliy nodded and the next thing Optimus knew, she and Leech were over by the human sized door that led to the elevator into the base. With another sigh, Optimus picked himself up out of the dirt and headed inside as well.
By the time he made it back to the main room, Liliy was heading back into the elevator to leave.
"See ya 'round, O.P.," she said just before the door closed on her.
"What was that about?"
Optimus turned and looked at Ratchet who was just coming back from a trip to the supply room judging by the box in his servos.
"She did not talk to you?" Optimus asked, a little surprised.
Ratchet frowned. "No. I didn't even know she was here." He moved past Optimus and set the box down on his work table.
"She left."
Ratchet looked up at him. "Left as in…?"
"She took her things and she won't be coming back."
"Finally!" The medic practically whooped.
"Ratchet. Admit it, you'll miss her."
Probably but no way was he going to admit it. "About as much as I miss the scraplets."
"Ratchet!" His tone was a bit exasperated and a bit resigned.
Ratchet turned to his work table and started going through the box. "But the children will miss her."
Optimus stared at the medic's back. "...Yes. Yes, they will."
He glanced up at the human's rec area and noticed three poster sized pads of paper leaning against the entertainment center. Each one had one of the children's names on it. Curious, he moved over to the rec area and picked up the one labeled with Raf's name. He very carefully flipped through it. Pictures, all hand drawn or painted, of Raf and Bumblebee. Some were just the two of them. Some included various other members of Team Prime. All of them were good or happy memories. Optimus smiled as he replaced the pad.
"What are those?" asked Ratchet, glancing up at him.
"Gifts for the children. From Liliy."
Ratchet just humphed and returned to his work.
With a knowing smile, Optimus disappeared down the hall to his room. He was utterly surprised when he entered and found another large pad of paper with his name on it. Except it was a bit larger than the ones left for the children.
'Thanks for all the memories.' was written on the first page. He flipped through the pages. The first half was him with his team. Then he paused on a picture of himself with Liliy sitting on his shoulder in her human form. He appeared to be having a conversation with her but there was something off about him. He realized it was his expression. The mech in the picture looked… Confused. Innocent? Less burdened. Nothing like the war-hardened leader he now was. He looked down at the caption.
'Orion learning about Earth.'
Oh. A memory from his time on the Nemesis. No wonder it was unfamiliar. He was going to have to ask her about what happened again. She still hadn't told him. But that could wait till later.
The last few pages were pictures from the time he spent with the CRC. He smiled at those memories as he flipped the pad closed and put it in a safe place.
Later, Ratchet also found a similar gift in his room. He grumbled about her sneaking into places she shouldn't be but the pictures still made him smile fondly to himself.
Starscream stumbled through the ground bridge. He came out in the hallway outside the lab. He looked down at the small cluster of red energon in his servo. He had managed to secure it but it also cost him the Apex Armor and both the clones that were with him. Plus he had probably failed to destroy the rest of the red energon.
Speaking of clones, the lab was strangely quiet. There was also the smell of something burnt in the air. Cautiously, he crept to the door and peeked inside. It was mostly dark but he could make out the silhouette of one of the clones in the glow of the ship's biolights. He stepped into the room.
"Hey, why are the-!" The lights came on, cutting him off with a gruesome scene. He gagged, one servo covering his mouth. But the carnage was too much. Dropping the red energon, he turned and fell to his knees, purging the remains of his last refuel all over the floor.
One of the clones was strung up by their wrists, back facing the door so that Starscream could see the hole pierced in their back, slightly right of the spinal strut, and the wing that looked like it had been wrenched and was barely hanging on. There were even dents in the wing from the assailant's digits. The other wing was in a stiff, upright position and there was a vaguely familiar crest burned into it. Energon streaked down the clone's back and still dripped off the left ped. The right ped half lay in the pool of energon beneath the clone, the ankle twisted awkwardly while the rest of the leg dangled from some wires and tubes, the inner strut having been snapped off just below the hip joint.
There was another clone on the floor next to the first. At first glance, it appeared that this one had simply been sliced down the middle by an energy blade of some sort, a terrified expression forever frozen on both halves of their face. A closer look, however, revealed that the right leg had also been mostly severed from the body, just below the hip joint.
The remaining clone lay face down on the other side of the first one. Their wings and winglets had been cut off. Along with all their limbs save for the left arm. The wings and limbs were in pieces around the body as if they had been cut off a piece at a time.
The remaining servo of this last clone twitched at the sound of Starscream purging his tanks. The clone's helm turned. The impossibly dim optics barely opened. The quiet, static laced 'Commander?' scared poor Starscream so bad he screamed and scrambled back. Venting hard, he stared at the mostly limbless clone, unsure of if he had really heard them speak. The servo twitched again, reaching for him slightly.
"Commander?" they managed again.
Starscream crawled forward on his servos and knees and gently took the reaching servo in his own. "I'm here."
The helm turned toward him, the optics opening a little wider. "Commander, I'm sorry."
"Who did this to you?" Starscream demanded. "Was it the femme?"
"No-" The voicebox fritz out and it took longer than normal for them to reset it. "...No. It was her commander… black… frame similar to a vehicon… moved like the wind… they said that if you… if you ever hurt one of theirs' again… it will be you next time…" They burst static that almost sounded like a laugh. "...She was right… the burn of the blade was worse… worse than anything you ever imagined…" Their voice trailed off.
Their servo squeezed his own for a moment before going limp. The dim light in their optics died as their life force went out. Starscream let go of the servo and looked up at the knife-like crest on the first clone's wing. He had seen it on a few of the Neutrals. He wondered if it was their symbol. But he also felt he had seen it somewhere else, a long, long time ago, back on Cybertron.
Starscream glanced over at the red energon. These clones weren't the only ones taken by the Neutrals that evening. He had taken the other two clones with him when he went to investigate the red energon sighting they had found on the humans' internet. There they encountered the Autobots who were doing the same. Just as they managed to corner the Autobots, however, the Gulf twins showed up and took out the clones instantly. Since Starscream was wearing the Apex Armor, he was able to stand his ground against all of them. It was then that the Bots' newest recruit, a grounder Starscream had never seen before, said he might be able to defeat him if he had a phase-shifter. And just like that, another of the Neutrals' flyers appeared out of a ground bridge with said tech. Sure enough, the young Autobot was able to kick Starscream out of the Apex Armor using the phase-shifter. Even though he was a bit shocked that the mech's plan actually worked, he managed to keep his wits about him and fired both of his rockets at the red energon crystals that the Autobots were guarding. He didn't bother to stay to see if the rockets even hit the right mark. He grabbed the little bit of red energon he had managed to get his servos on and disappeared through his ground bridge, the sound of explosions following after him.
Starscream looked down at the corpse before him again and a realization struck him. He was alone again. The intensity of the realization combined with everything that had happened in the past several hours drew a sob from his frame. And they did not stop. Not caring anymore, he simply curled forward, frame shaking as he cried.