Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.
Authoress: Sorry, no fun quips today. Sick as a dog but wanted to get this out.
Chapter 3: Recovery
Dunce's 1st P.O.V.
Even though Megatron and his Decepticons were flying away from the battle, I was still shivering in shock. I had locked blades with Decepticons. And, not only did I lock blades with the insecticon, but with the leader of the Decepticons himself. Most Primes had never even done that and lived. The ruthless leader of the Decepticons and I fought. I still felt like running even though he was gone.
I didn't even want to be a part of the battle. But, then that insecticon showed up and attacked me. I had to defend myself. But, that must have caused...him, to notice me and attack me. That was the only thing I saw as an explanation. He was testing me. I was new and he wanted to see what I could do. The thought that I held any of the interests of the Decepticon leader caused me to shiver.
"Mech, that was amazing!"
I jumped and turned to see Galleon, one of Optimus Prime's newer teammates smile before she wrapped her arm around my shoulder. "It was nothing...I was just defending myself."
"That wasn't nothing!" The other twin, Caravel, said in surprise as she stood on my other side. "I don't think any of us here could have moved as you did! That was awesome!"
My spark constricted in panic at her words. That wasn't true. Almost any of them could have done what I did. "Th...that's not true! I just got lucky. You all could have done much better in that fight then I could have hoped to even try." Taking a glance at Sentinel, I barely held back myself from tensing at his hard look. I knew that he was already upset with me for coming to the park, and then playing that game of lobbing. I knew that when it was just me and him alone, that I would be reminded of my place in the Autobot fold.
I couldn't even pass boot camp. I shouldn't be getting any sort of praise for surviving. I was just a spare part in the great Autobot machine. Maybe before boot camp, I had a slight hope that maybe...just maybe, I would be able to show that I was no different than anybot else. But, I had been unable to even pass the first solar of boot camp. Even after all that training that I had put in, I was nothing compared to the other bots.
Then, a ray of hope came to me. Maybe, after doing good in fights here on Earth, I could have another shot at boot camp!
"Come on femmes, let the mech have some space." I felt relieved when Jazz walked up and motioned for the two femmes next to me to move. I was becoming uncomfortable between them and the looks that Sentinel was sending me. Once they had moved, Jazz leaned in closer. "Dunce, are you okay?"
Thankfully, the others had moved their attention away from me, even Sentinel, so I felt safe in answering my friend. "Yeah, nothing hurt." I then sighed as I felt a wave of exhaustion hit me. "But, I think I am going to go back to the ship and go to recharge early. This solar cycle has taken a lot out of me." And it had. Between arriving here on Earth, a new planet for me, and having to defend myself against the Autobots, I was ready to just go to the ship and start the guard duty I knew Sentinel was going to put me on. He had wanted to earlier and I might get some goodie points with him if I got on the job right away.
While I walked toward the ship, I started to think. The Decepticon leader, Megatron. As terrifying as I had always pictured him. While I knew that a part of me had battled him because the humans had still been evacuating, there had been something else. Something that drew me to want to fight the leader. That feeling had scared me. What more, as I fought Megatron, I had felt like he was studying me. Trying to figure something out. I didn't like being in the center of attention of bots in leadership positions.
It never ended well for me.
As I neared the ship, I felt worried. I had fought and hadn't been killed. Since everybot who had heard about me knew that I never completed boot camp, then they might start to suspect that I had received extra training. The Elite Guard didn't allow bots to get extra training, unless in special circumstances that were approved unless the bot in question had completed boot camp. I hadn't. Before boot camp, my guardian, Plena Teo, had decided to train me his way to learn to defend myself. I didn't like attacking other bots, and I hadn't even wanted his training at first. But, Plena convinced me to take the training for defensive purposes. I didn't mind defending.
But, with the fighting I just had to do, I could be investigated and that could get Plena into some serious slag. He was a neutral living on Cybertron as it was, something that many Autobots looked down on, and if anybot found out that he had done some illegal training with me, it could get him in into a lot of trouble.
Once I stepped pede onto the bridge, I sighed and moved down one of the halls toward the monitor room. I would simply go in there and be on duty for the rest…
I paused my internal thoughts as I heard the sound of an engine behind me. I was hoping that it was Jazz or one of my other teammates like Setophis. But, I felt my spark grow cold as a large plow vehicle drove up the gangway and closed the hatch access to the outside. Once it was completely shut, Sentinel walked toward me and he did not look happy in the slightest.
"You complete fool!" He yelled at me and before I could try to even think of defending myself, a fist slammed into my faceplate. The pain traveled through my helm from the blow and I dropped to eh ground from shock.
"What….What...d...did I do sir?" I was terrified and I couldn't think of what I had done to cause Sentinel to be this angry at me. I could practically feel the anger coming off of his chassis. More fear than I had even felt fighting Megatron was welled up inside of me. At least against the Decepticon leader, I could defend myself.
Sentinel growled at me and I knew that I was not done with the lesson he was giving me. "It's what you didn't do you glitch! You made the Autobots look like cowards to the Decepticons and you have disgraced the Autobot name! Running from Megatron the first chance you got. You're nothing!"
I winced and cried out in pain when Sentinel drove his pede into my side. Again and again, he struck me and I felt like it wouldn't stop! The pain! I felt it traveling up my side and I just wanted it to stop. But, I couldn't ask him to stop. In past experiences, if I asked him to stop he would just make it worse. I didn't want worse.
After what felt like an eternity for me, Sentinel finally did stop. Once he did, I just laid there on the floor. Shivers of pain and fear traveled up and down my chassis as his lesson struck into my spark. I hadn't meant to mess up. I was sorry. "It won't happen again Sentinel Prime sir. It won't happen again, sir." My vocalizer bare got out that form of an apology, barely above a whisper.
A flinch traveled through me as I heard a huff come from Sentinel. Was he going to start again? "Get your weak aft off the floor and get yourself fixed up. Quickly, before anybot else sees you." I felt relief as Sentinel then walked off of the ship.
While it took me a few clicks, I pulled myself off the floor as fast as my chassis would allow me. I had to get up and get to my room quickly. Of course, with the injuries I had now, I was forced to limp back to my room. The pain from my side was causing me to have problems walking. But, I had experienced worse before. And I knew I was going to live. I was a part of the great Autobot cog, even if only a spare part, and I was not going to mess it up by not playing my part. I was here to serve and, no matter how painful serving was, that was what I would do.
Once I was in my room, I took out a medkit that Sentinel had forced me to learn how to use. Some of the good medics on Cybertron had started to ask Sentinel questions about how I was always hurt so much so he made me learn to use this so I wouldn't have to see them unless the situation was really serious. While my side hurt, I knew that I could take the dents out myself.
A hiss escaped my vocals when I started to take out the dents in my side. Just because I was used to the beatings didn't mean that I was used to the pain. With each lesson that I was taught, the pain felt like it was something new. I had hoped that, over time, the pain would become numb. But, so far, that hadn't happened.
In the back of my processor, I could hear a faint voice saying that I should stand up to Sentinel and any others who beat down on me. But, I squashed the voice. I wasn't going to risk my place in the Autobots because of a few beatings. I was a necessary part of the great Autobot machine, or so the advertisements always said. I would not risk the Autobots losing a piece in their machine, even a spare piece, no matter how much pain I went through to secure it.
Jazz's 1st P.O.V.
Slag it I was worried. Sentinel had returned to the warehouse from the ship. Dunce must have decided to stay on the ship to take a turn at watch, maybe so he could relax after the battle. Since he had never been off of Cybertron, suddenly facing the Decepticons on a new planet had to shake the mech. The mech probably needed time off.
Of course, I was also worried about Sentinel. He had said, after the fight, that he was going to stop by the Steelhaven to see if Cybertron had called. At first, I didn't think anything about it. Then, Prowl had reminded me that Dunce had walked back first. I knew that I couldn't just go back to the ship without an excuse to go.
Then, when Sentinel had walked into the warehouse without Dunce just now, I studied him. He had scuffs on his knuckle joints and right pede that were not there after the fight with the Decepticons. Sentinel barely moved away from behind his shield to get anything even close to scuffs.
A sudden memory about some new tunes that I got gave me the perfect idea to go and check on the mech. "Hey S.P., I'm going to go to the ship to get some of my new tunes to show Prowl."
The panicked look that, for a nano-click, crossed Sentinel's faceplate told Jazz that something was up. "I believe that we should all stay here just in case the Decepticons try to attack while we are recovering."
Scrap, now what was I supposed to do? "Then I believe Jazz, Prowl, and I should go and find Dunce." Again. Again Setophis spoke up for Dunce. I wasn't sure if the mech was truly a friend of Dunce yet, but he was getting higher and higher in my list of bots I liked every time he spoke up for the mech. "If he is alone, and with his lack of experience, then he would be in serious trouble if he were to be caught by them alone.
Again, the panicked look returned to Sentinel's faceplate. He was hiding something. I had served under S.P. long enough to when the mech was trying to cover something up, something that he should not have done.
But, before S.P. could try and say a response, Optimus walked in and started to speak. "Dunce just called in and said that he is going to be staying up on the Steelhaven tonight at monitor duty so the rest of us can get some recharge."
Slag it! There went our only excuse to go and check on Dunce. Frag it why did Optimus have to come in now? If he had waited for a few clicks, I was sure that we would have been able to go and see Dunce. Now though, I would have to go to recharge...for a little at least.
So, deciding to let out a fake out-vent, I started to walk toward the room that I was sharing with Prowl. It was quite comfortable sleeping in that tree of his. "Well, then I am going to hit the berth. who knows what could happen tomorrow?" I figured that it wouldn't' take Prowl long to catch up to me and, if Setophis was serious about going to check up on Dunce, then he wouldn't be far behind either.
As I guessed, it didn't take Prowl or Setophis long to follow. However, I was surprised to see that Templar, one of the new bots on Optimus' team, came along. I knew that he and Setophis were sharing a room but I hadn't mentioned anything to him before and he hadn't been around Dunce long enough to see that something was wrong...or so I thought. "So, I am assuming we will be sneaking out of the base here to check up on Dunce?" When I shot him a look that I hoped conveyed my confusion, he sighed as we kept walking. "Look, I'm a war veteran despite my age. I know after a bot first sees combat, they need other bots there. That is especially if they look as timid as that mech Dunce does."
So, with that answer, I decided to fill them all in. "I figure that everybot should be in recharge in about a cycle. Once they are out, we'll go to the Steelhaven and check up on Dunce. Poor mech fought Megatron this solar and I doubt he would want to stay awake long unless something else was going on."
The three others nodded and me so we all went to our respective rooms. In a cycle's time, Setophis and Templar came to Prowl's room and the four of us made our way out through the hole in the roof. As we walked to the Steelhaven, I felt driven. Dunce was a timid mech, and even if I didn't suspect something wrong going on between him and S.P., I would want to see that he was one hundred percent before I would be able to get some recharge. But, I had a feeling that Dunce was hiding something and I wanted to know what it was. However, I would have to be careful in asking. Dunce was the type of mech to get real nervous about questions and clam up his answers quickly.
Once the four of us arrived at the Steelhaven, I punched in the codes before the platform to enter the ship came down. "You think that Dunce is still awake?" Templar asked.
I shrugged my shoulders and motioned to the hall we were walking down. But before I could give my answer, Setophis stepped in. "I haven't been on Sentinel Prime's team for long, but I have observed enough to know that it is almost up to chance."
Nodding, I took over. "Right. Some solars, Dunce can stay up for a few solar cycles before he finally goes to recharge and others he can barely stay up for a cycle before he crashes. We'll see when we get to the bridge." I was curious when Setophis answered that. He hadn't been on S.P.'s team long and yet he noticed enough about Dunce to realize that he had strange recharge habits.
It took the four of us another click before we arrived at the doors. When they opened, I let out a sigh in relief when I saw that Dunce was alright, but in recharge. His back was straight but his helm was resting on his shoulder. So, I was guessing that Dunce had drifted off sitting there. "Let's get him to his room," Templar stated as he studied the mech.
"The four of us can take over until the morning. Then, we'll wake him up so he won't get into trouble." Setophis added as he too seemed to study Dunce. While I didn't know these two bots as well as I knew Prowl, from how they were reacting to Dunce I had a good feeling that I was going to be getting closer to the two mechs.
Plus, both of them had made good-sounding ideas. After the solar that Dunce had, he could use a nice recharge on an actual berth. So, taking Dunce's right arm, and Setophis grabbing his right, we started to pull him forward so the others could help us move him. "Hang on you two," Templar said, causing both of us to stop. "Prowl, shine a light here." He was pointing to Dunce's backplates when he said that.
My friend nodded and did as Templar said. As the light hit Dunce's backplates, I frowned. There was a small dent that had not been there after the battle with the Decepticons. I would stake my spark on that. How could Dunce have gotten that? "Now I know something is going on," I muttered. But, I didn't mutter that quit enough as I noticed the looks that Templar and Setopis had. "I'll...tell you two about it after we get Dunce to his room.
The position of the dent was the reason that I knew something was going on. It was one of the few spots on Dunce that he would most likely not be able to reach on his own. That meant that the mech was hiding something. Eventually, I was going to find out what that was...before it was too late.
Megatron's 1st P.O.V.
As I waited for Shockwave to get off the line with our new Autobot spy, I thought about the battle. That fragging mech. I had decided that I was not going to pay any attention to the seemingly worthless mech. An Autobot who couldn't even complete their boot camp shouldn't have been worth my attention.
Yet that battle we had with the Autobots now had the mech at the focus of my attention. Dunce; the mech who had been able to dodge both Lightning Bug's and my attacks with no record of training. Something was strange about the mech and I wanted to know everything that there was to know about the bot. It was a top priority. None of my other goals were going to come over that. His case was very confusing to me. There he was, an Autobot who had talent and skill, and the Autobots wouldn't train the mech. With that much potential, they were being foolish to not train him. He could be a key factor in their fight against us, and yet they let all that potential go to waste. It made no sense. Hopefully, our new spy would give Shockwave some more information.
"Fragging mech," I grumbled. I hadn't planned on being this distracted by the mech. But, hopefully, once I learned more information on him I would finally know how to look toward the mech that seemed a defensive fighter, and yet was skilled enough to be a top fighter for the Autobots.
"So, you're thinking about him too." Moving my sight toward the entryway into the communication room, I watched as Lightning bug walked up to me. "He's been on my processor as well." He then held up a data-pad that I had given the mech regarding the information that we possessed on all the Autobots currently on this planet. Starscream had told me he gave it to the mech per the insecticon's request. "And reading about all the Autobots on this planet causes me to be even more interested in the mech."
What had Lightning Bug found about the other Autobots just on the information that we already had? "Explain."
He nodded and he pulled up each Autobot as he spoke on them. "Optimus Prime; strong leadership qualities, loyalty, compassion, and a drive to protect. He has his secrets but tries to keep his team out of harm's way. Obviously outside the norm of Autobot leadership."
"True." I agreed with the mech. Optimus Prime had many qualities that I admired. It was probably why I had not offlined the mech during the chances I had to do so.
"Next we have Prowl; cyber ninja who displays qualities of a lone-cyber wolf in his past. And yet with this team, his cooperation in working with others is astounding for a mech who spent the majority of his younger onlining being very much alone. Then, there is Bulkhead; a space-bridge engineer who was obviously built for brute strength and yet shows a sense of his surroundings and others that many bulkier Autobot frames tend to push aside for the power they have."
So far, I was finding his observations aligned with my own. "Go on."
He nodded. "Ratchet; war veteran and medic, his stubbornness hides a caring spark that does not wish for his allies to be harmed, and to heal them of that as quickly as possible. Plenty of brushes against the political structure of Cybertron. Bumblebee; a young and brash mech who is always pushing to prove himself, even if he is naive about his world. He speaks his processor and that has gotten him in trouble plenty of times."
"I did notice that about the little Autobot." That was Starscream, who was standing next to me. As one of the first ones to face this team on this planet, Starscream had an insight that many of us did not have about the rough start of this team.
Lightning Bug nodded toward my SIC. "Sari; the techno-organic. She shares many of the qualities that Optimus Prime holds along with a curiosity for the world, and other worlds, around her. She also shares a drive with Ratchet in wanting to make sure that her allies are safe." He then moved on to the newer members of the Prime's team. "Galleon and Caravel, also known by the moniker 'The Sea Terror Twins'. Their blatant rejection of the structure of Autobot command is very Decepticon-esque in nature, and with their drive to protect what they believe in, no matter what the odds or cost, they are a fearsome duo to be wary of on the battlefield." He then paused, "And then finally the young war veteran known as Templar. A calm and collected warrior who would judge each an every situation that was in front of him and follow which was more just at the time, regardless of faction. Made him a very unpopular bot. Disappeared out of the Autobot public optic for hundreds of stellars before he was recently brought onto this team."
"And what does this have to do with the mech called Dunce?" Starscream asked the question that I was about to ask myself. Having a rundown of Optimus Prime's team, while refreshing from a new bot's perspective, did not tell me why this caused Lightning Bug's thoughts to focus on Dunce.
The insecticon then scrolled through the datapad before continuing. "Sentinel Prime; brash, loud, impatient, and a mech whose main purpose of his existence seems to be keeping a good public face toward the Autobots, no matter what he has to do to accomplish that. His drive to rise higher in his ranks causes him to burn many of his connections to accomplish those goals."
"That is much like he was during our previous encounters with the mech," I remarked. I didn't trust a mech who would flip-flop between helping the factions to improve his standing. A mech like that could never earn true respect or trust.
"Jazz; cyber ninja. A laid-back and calm-helmed mech who takes on the battlefield in front of him. He is open to change and has a set moral compass. His attacks on the field are focused and driven toward winning with as little loss as possible. Blurr, a loyal Autobot with the ability to travel at extreme speeds in both alt mode and his bi-pedal form. He seems to focus on a mission, but can be distracted by obstacles he does not understand."
"And is a fragging pain in the aft," Starscream muttered. "That speedster nearly caused me to be captured before the final battle on Earth."
Lightning Bug barely paused at Starscream's interjection before he continued. "Jetfire and Jetstorm; the only two Autobots on record with the created ability to achieve flight. They are sparkling like in nature, reasonable given their young age and being placed directly into adult frames. These mechs seem willing to learn, yet do not understand that some bots should not be emulated. Then, we have the second to last member of that Elite Guard team and the newest. Setophis; a strategic-processor mech who seems to observe situations and finds the best place for him to give his views."
"And they used my scans to create those fragging twins " Starscream muttered angrily. I understood the anger since those scans were personal and the Autobots didn't hesitate to take them without his consent.
"And finally the mech that I have the least information on. Dunce; a seemingly nervous mech, despite his size, who has a hidden talent to fight, though it is unsure how he has developed that." Lightning Bug then paused before his faceplate turned one of confusion. "Comparing the two teams, it is immediate to me the stark differences in their creations. Optimus Prime's team is full of bots who have gone against the order of the Autobots at least once, though they are loyal to the faction as a whole. Even the young techno-organic has seen her troubles with them."
"And Sentinel Prime's team?" I encouraged Lightning Bug.
The mech shook his helm. "Their creation makes little sense to me. Radically different bots with radically different motivations and goals. It seems like this 'team' was solely created on ability except for the fact that Dunce, to the Autobot records, seems to have none."
These comparisons of the two teams caused me to think even more. The two teams were drastically different from each other, and Optimus' team seemed the most united in their drive. The team of Sentinel Prime, however, turned toward a chaotic pile of slag that, from what I saw during the fight, compounded at the lack of unity there. If it wasn't for the unity of Optimus' team, and the surprising effectiveness of the mech who was supposed to be Sentinel Prime's 'least effective' mech, then that first fight would have gone much worse for the Autobots.
"That's quite accurate Lightning Bug." We all turned to Shockwave as he approached, having finally finished his call.
"Shockwave, did our new informant have any information on Dunce?" I asked of the intelligence officer.
Now, I had known Shockwave for many stellars and it was very rare for the mech to outwardly show any emotion. So, when the mech's optic darkened in a way that I recognized, I hesitated. From that darkening, Shockwave was feeling, sympathy for the mech. Waiting patiently, it took the mech a click to respond. "Our informant has relayed information that says that Dunce is unlikely to cause us any problems in our cause. Actually, according to our informant, Dunce avoids trouble when he can. When somebot taunts him, even discrediting his honor, he simply walks away. Even if a bot attacks him, he will try to avoid physical confrontation unless another bot is in trouble or he is backed into a corner. Unfortunately, our information relayed to me that Dunce is completely sold on the idea of being needed in the 'great Autobot cause' and won't say anything against him. Most bots on Cybertron criticize him on his defensive views." He then paused. "Also, our contact said that Dunce didn't have any training, as far as they know. If he did get training, it was in secret."
While the latter part of Shockwave's report was important, I was shocked at the first part. The Autobots constantly talked about being one with each other, never treating another Autobot in any sort of ill way unless they had truly done something to deserve such treatment. At least, not do anything so blatantly as what our informant was saying.
I shook my helm. Many Autobots were under the spell that said that Autobots were good and my Decepticons were evil. While I would not hide the fact that some of my troops were not the greatest examples of honor that the universe had to offer during the war, I had noticed many of my troops had changed after the war. Frag, even Lockdown had changed. I had never seen a bot transform as Lockdown had; a sadistic bounty hunter to an information interceptor and, while he still liked mods, Lockdown would no longer take them from the bots he captured.
I had to know more about this strange mech. Dunce was a confusing point, even among an already confusing team. I had to find out more. But, with the lack of information I had on the mech and his past, or motivations, it would be difficult to learn.
Suddenly, an idea came to me. Dunce seemed different from most Autobots, even compared to Optimus Prime's team, and that could work in my favor for my plans to work. "Shockwave," I started, "what are the chances of this 'Dunce' being swayed to change sides?" If I could garner a defensive mech like this Dunce to my Decepticons, then I would be aided in convincing other Autobots who didn't agree with how their system was run that the Decepticons truly had changed.
"Difficult." Of course, that was not the answer I was hoping for. "As I said, Dunce has been deeply ingrained with the Autobot code. If you could convince him of the Autobot code is wrong, then he would most likely join. But, it would not be easy."
Humming in thought, I looked at the information I was given. Even though it would be difficult, if I could break Dunce of his loyalty to the Autobots, then I would stand to increase my numbers with swayed Autobots. From the interactions I had seen so far on Earth, Optimus Prime's team was already close to the mech and that means that I could have that team possibly joining my Decepticons as well. It all hinged on Dunce and his joining of my Decepticons. "Shockwave,"
"Yes?"
"Contact our new spy and tell him to keep looking for any information that may pertain to Dunce."
"Yes, Megatron." He then turned and left the room with the others.
Alone was a good thing at the moment. I needed to do some thinking. The way that Dunce had dodged the blows on the battlefield was flawless, and yet the mech only fought when not given another choice. Maybe this Autobot was who I needed to finally turn the tides of this war. I would just have to act cautiously. Dunce seemed like a delicate bot who, if pushed too hard, might break. I did not want that to happen.
Now, I had to set a plan in motion to test Dunce so I could move forward in my plans to restore peace for all Cybertronians.
Authoress: And again, still sick so no fun quips.
AN: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for taking so long to get it out. There is probably a lot to say here but I want you all to enjoy this. If you read the original of this story, there are obvious changes that have been made. The next chapter will see the Decepticons moving forward with their plan.
And the next chapters are...
Chapter 4: With a Touch of Planning
Chapter 5: First Connection
Chapter 6:...(find out next time!)
And that is all for now. Leave a review about the chapter, or say hi, and I'll get back to you. Until next time, TTYL! *wondering where the Powerade is*
