DISCLAIMER - You know I don't own Transformers, but I gotta tell ya anyway. Damn legal system. I did create Artemis, Silica, Hyperdrive and Powerpack, though. This chapter, and later chapters, contain some scenes which the sensetive may not appreciate.
- - -
CHAPTER THREE
---------------------------
The pain told Artemis he was still functional.
As his optic circuits booted up, flickering weakly, he lifted his head to look around him, and instantly cried
out as pain shot through his neck. He reached around and fingered the huge dent in the back of his head,
which was cracked at the centre, and had oil leaking out. He moaned softly, and carefully got to his feet.
He could only stand open-mouthed at what he saw. Flaming wreckage from the Indomitable was strewn as
far as the optic could see, imbedded in the apparently techno-organic substance that comprised the
landscape. Some chunks of the ship were slowly sinking into pools of viscous reddish-golden ooze that
decorated the surface of the planet.
"Silica!" Artemis called out. "Wheelie!"
There was no reply. Immediately, Artemis transformed to his vehicle mode and shot off across the terrain,
screaming out his wife and son's names. After a few cycles of searching, he came across the largest hunk of
the ship. The bridge was still intact for the most part, despite the damage done to it by the claw-beast.
Artemis screeched to a stop and transformed to robot mode, somersaulting through the air to land amidst
the burning scrap that had been his ship.
"Silica!" he bellowed again, but this time, he was greeted with a moan in response. Realising it was coming
from beneath a pile of rubble that had once been a bulkhead, he charged over and grabbed hold of the metal
chunks, tossing them away as best he could. But physical strength was not Artemis's greatest skill, and he
was barely able to move a few chunks - and even then, those chunks were only comparatively small in size -
before he found himself tiring. He collapsed to his knees, and pounded his fists on the pile weakly, as he felt
despair growing inside him.
Artemis yelped in surprise as a pair of strong, green hands appeared beside him, gripped one of the largest
pieces of bulkhead, and threw it away as if it weighed no more than a feather. Artemis looked up to see
Powerpack standing there, much the worse for wear. Half his face had been seared off in the crash, exposing
his wiring and circuits, and dents peppered his body, one particularly noticeable injury adorning his right
thigh, and, Artemis noted, that as he threw the lump of metal away, his leg jerked and he winced.
"Not... dead... yet..." Powerpack said, forming a grin as best as he could with only half a mouth. He
continued to haul the rubble clear, with Artemis helping to some extent, until, suddenly, a huge orange blade
smashed through the remaining layer of debris. Silica clambered out of the pile, cradling Wheelie in one arm,
having used the convertible hand-blade on her free arm to smash her way lose. With a flick of her wrist, she
transformed her hand back, and staggered free of the rubble.
Artemis couldn't find words, and embraced his wife, wrapping his arms around her tightly, and holding
Wheelie in between them. Powerpack stepped back.
"Mama... Daddy..." Wheelie's high-pitched voice was heard, "you're squashin' me!"
Immediately, the two parents broke their embrace, and Wheelie dropped to the ground. The little robot
gasped when he saw the damaged Powerpack.
"S'okay, kiddo," Powerpack replied, in little more than a garbled slur. "Had worse in my time..." Then,
fear gripped him. "Hyperdrive!" he cried, realising his friend was not present. "Where is he?"
Everyone began to look around. "I... don't see him..." Silica said.
"HYPE!" Powerpack screamed. "Talk to me! Where are you!" His cries echoed into the air, as he began
scrabbling through wreckage, looking for his friend. The others followed suit, clawing at the piles of metal.
A cry from Wheelie caught everyone's attention.
"I foun' him!" Wheelie squeaked, thrusting his hand through the air and pointing repeatedly at
Hyperdrive's arm, which was jutting out from beneath the mangled remains of a console. Powerpack
thundered over.
"Hype!" he cried. "Aw, man, Hype! Say somethin', buddy, please!" He kicked a few chunks of console
away, and grabbed Hyperdrive's arm, tugging on it, trying to drag out his friend. Suddenly, he lost his
balance, as the arm came away from under the wreckage, and he fell on his waste disposal. Hyperdrive's
severed arm - for that was all that there had been underneath the debris - landed on his chest, and jerked and
sparked once, before slumping over. "Hype..." Powerpack breathed, fighting back oil tears as they welled up
in his optics.
A scream shattered the silence, as Silica staggered back from where she had been searching. Hyperdrive's
decapitated head stared up at her with empty optics. Artemis took her in his arms, and shielded Wheelie's
eyes as Powerpack slowly, perhaps almost denying that it could be true, walked over to the dead sphere of
metal that had once been his friend. He picked it up in his hands, and clutched it to his chest, weeping
silently.
- - -
Artemis was forced to conclude that there was no way in the Pit they were going to be able to salvage the
Indomitable. So, the small group set out across the terrain, looking for someone - anyone - who could give
them some help. There had, after all, been numerous Energon signatures, all over the world. Everyone was
in their vehicle modes - Silica in her hover car form, Artemis in his streamlined shuttle-car mode, Wheelie in
his neophyte buggy shape, and Powerpack in jet mode - and no-one felt much like talking. The silence was
broken by Artemis.
"I've got a reading!" he exclaimed. "Lots of them, actually!"
Wheelie would have jumped into the air, had it been possible in his current mode. "Yay!" he cried. "Where,
daddy, where?"
Artemis came to a halt, and transformed. He paused for a second, then pointed off in the direction the
signals were coming from. "This way!" he said. "Come on!"
Silica and Wheelie transformed and jogged along with Artemis, while Powerpack was content to remain in
jet mode and keep an eye on things from above. "Hey!" he yelled down to them, "all I can see from up here
is a lake!"
"Well, my scanner says it's this way..." Artemis insisted, not letting up his pace. Before long, they had
arrived, as Powerpack said, at a lake.
"Slag," Silica mumbled.
Artemis turned away from the lake and bashed the scanning relay in his wrist with the flat of his other palm.
"Slagging thing... what's wrong with you?" he muttered to it.
"Daddy!" Wheelie exclaimed, tugging on his father's leg. "Look!"
Artemis turned his head, and allowed his jaw to drop in shock as he saw the red-gold liquid of the lake
surge and heave, as a bizarre entourage of mechanical creatures broke the surface and stepped on to the
shore, moving towards them. They were stunted in height, with olive-green, grey and purple armour and
sharp protrusions on their shoulders and heads. Their giant, beak-like mouths snapped as they advanced on
the family.
"What... are those things?" Silica asked, taking a step back and almost tripping over Wheelie, who was
hiding behind her leg.
"I don't know..." Artemis said, softly. "Let's try to reason with them." He held a hand up in the air, and the
weird creatures stopped moving. "I am Artemis, of Cybertron," he said. "These are my family - Silica, my
mate, and Wheelie, our son." He pointed to Powerpack, still floating in the air. "That is Powerpack, our
friend. Our ship crashed here a little while ago - we're looking for some one to help us."
The creatures turned and grunted to one another, in an incomprehensible dialect. Artemis let his hand drop
to his side, taking it as a good sign that the creatures weren't dismembering them. The lead creature looked
back to Artemis, then up to Powerpack. He studied Wheelie, then Silica, allowing his optics to rest on her
longer than the others. He licked his lip components. Silica shivered and stood closer to Artemis.
The head creature barked something to the others, and they immediately ran around behind the small
group. Then, he focused his attention on Artemis, garbling something that the robot didn't understand. From
his hand motions, however, Artemis fathomed that the creature wanted them to follow him.
"We're getting somewhere," he whispered to Silica, as they started walking, led by the creature.
"Yeah," Silica replied. "Let's just hope it's not into deep slag."
Powerpack swooped down, and hovered by Artemis. "I'll just stay up here, boss," he said, before Artemis
even got the chance to ask him to transform. "I'm functioning better in the air than I could on land right
now."
"Whatever you want," Artemis said. He reached forward and tapped the head being on the shoulder. "Do
you think it would be possible to see about getting some repairs done on our friend?" The creature nodded,
and Artemis grinned. "Wonderful."
It was a pity, really, that Artemis didn't know that the creature hadn't understood one word he had said. It
had just nodded dumbly, lulling the Autobots into a false sense of security. For, actually, out of everything
Artemis had said to it, the creature and it's fellows had understood one solitary word.
Cybertron.
The masters would be pleased.
- - -
C'mon, R&R already!! :)
- - -
CHAPTER THREE
---------------------------
The pain told Artemis he was still functional.
As his optic circuits booted up, flickering weakly, he lifted his head to look around him, and instantly cried
out as pain shot through his neck. He reached around and fingered the huge dent in the back of his head,
which was cracked at the centre, and had oil leaking out. He moaned softly, and carefully got to his feet.
He could only stand open-mouthed at what he saw. Flaming wreckage from the Indomitable was strewn as
far as the optic could see, imbedded in the apparently techno-organic substance that comprised the
landscape. Some chunks of the ship were slowly sinking into pools of viscous reddish-golden ooze that
decorated the surface of the planet.
"Silica!" Artemis called out. "Wheelie!"
There was no reply. Immediately, Artemis transformed to his vehicle mode and shot off across the terrain,
screaming out his wife and son's names. After a few cycles of searching, he came across the largest hunk of
the ship. The bridge was still intact for the most part, despite the damage done to it by the claw-beast.
Artemis screeched to a stop and transformed to robot mode, somersaulting through the air to land amidst
the burning scrap that had been his ship.
"Silica!" he bellowed again, but this time, he was greeted with a moan in response. Realising it was coming
from beneath a pile of rubble that had once been a bulkhead, he charged over and grabbed hold of the metal
chunks, tossing them away as best he could. But physical strength was not Artemis's greatest skill, and he
was barely able to move a few chunks - and even then, those chunks were only comparatively small in size -
before he found himself tiring. He collapsed to his knees, and pounded his fists on the pile weakly, as he felt
despair growing inside him.
Artemis yelped in surprise as a pair of strong, green hands appeared beside him, gripped one of the largest
pieces of bulkhead, and threw it away as if it weighed no more than a feather. Artemis looked up to see
Powerpack standing there, much the worse for wear. Half his face had been seared off in the crash, exposing
his wiring and circuits, and dents peppered his body, one particularly noticeable injury adorning his right
thigh, and, Artemis noted, that as he threw the lump of metal away, his leg jerked and he winced.
"Not... dead... yet..." Powerpack said, forming a grin as best as he could with only half a mouth. He
continued to haul the rubble clear, with Artemis helping to some extent, until, suddenly, a huge orange blade
smashed through the remaining layer of debris. Silica clambered out of the pile, cradling Wheelie in one arm,
having used the convertible hand-blade on her free arm to smash her way lose. With a flick of her wrist, she
transformed her hand back, and staggered free of the rubble.
Artemis couldn't find words, and embraced his wife, wrapping his arms around her tightly, and holding
Wheelie in between them. Powerpack stepped back.
"Mama... Daddy..." Wheelie's high-pitched voice was heard, "you're squashin' me!"
Immediately, the two parents broke their embrace, and Wheelie dropped to the ground. The little robot
gasped when he saw the damaged Powerpack.
"S'okay, kiddo," Powerpack replied, in little more than a garbled slur. "Had worse in my time..." Then,
fear gripped him. "Hyperdrive!" he cried, realising his friend was not present. "Where is he?"
Everyone began to look around. "I... don't see him..." Silica said.
"HYPE!" Powerpack screamed. "Talk to me! Where are you!" His cries echoed into the air, as he began
scrabbling through wreckage, looking for his friend. The others followed suit, clawing at the piles of metal.
A cry from Wheelie caught everyone's attention.
"I foun' him!" Wheelie squeaked, thrusting his hand through the air and pointing repeatedly at
Hyperdrive's arm, which was jutting out from beneath the mangled remains of a console. Powerpack
thundered over.
"Hype!" he cried. "Aw, man, Hype! Say somethin', buddy, please!" He kicked a few chunks of console
away, and grabbed Hyperdrive's arm, tugging on it, trying to drag out his friend. Suddenly, he lost his
balance, as the arm came away from under the wreckage, and he fell on his waste disposal. Hyperdrive's
severed arm - for that was all that there had been underneath the debris - landed on his chest, and jerked and
sparked once, before slumping over. "Hype..." Powerpack breathed, fighting back oil tears as they welled up
in his optics.
A scream shattered the silence, as Silica staggered back from where she had been searching. Hyperdrive's
decapitated head stared up at her with empty optics. Artemis took her in his arms, and shielded Wheelie's
eyes as Powerpack slowly, perhaps almost denying that it could be true, walked over to the dead sphere of
metal that had once been his friend. He picked it up in his hands, and clutched it to his chest, weeping
silently.
- - -
Artemis was forced to conclude that there was no way in the Pit they were going to be able to salvage the
Indomitable. So, the small group set out across the terrain, looking for someone - anyone - who could give
them some help. There had, after all, been numerous Energon signatures, all over the world. Everyone was
in their vehicle modes - Silica in her hover car form, Artemis in his streamlined shuttle-car mode, Wheelie in
his neophyte buggy shape, and Powerpack in jet mode - and no-one felt much like talking. The silence was
broken by Artemis.
"I've got a reading!" he exclaimed. "Lots of them, actually!"
Wheelie would have jumped into the air, had it been possible in his current mode. "Yay!" he cried. "Where,
daddy, where?"
Artemis came to a halt, and transformed. He paused for a second, then pointed off in the direction the
signals were coming from. "This way!" he said. "Come on!"
Silica and Wheelie transformed and jogged along with Artemis, while Powerpack was content to remain in
jet mode and keep an eye on things from above. "Hey!" he yelled down to them, "all I can see from up here
is a lake!"
"Well, my scanner says it's this way..." Artemis insisted, not letting up his pace. Before long, they had
arrived, as Powerpack said, at a lake.
"Slag," Silica mumbled.
Artemis turned away from the lake and bashed the scanning relay in his wrist with the flat of his other palm.
"Slagging thing... what's wrong with you?" he muttered to it.
"Daddy!" Wheelie exclaimed, tugging on his father's leg. "Look!"
Artemis turned his head, and allowed his jaw to drop in shock as he saw the red-gold liquid of the lake
surge and heave, as a bizarre entourage of mechanical creatures broke the surface and stepped on to the
shore, moving towards them. They were stunted in height, with olive-green, grey and purple armour and
sharp protrusions on their shoulders and heads. Their giant, beak-like mouths snapped as they advanced on
the family.
"What... are those things?" Silica asked, taking a step back and almost tripping over Wheelie, who was
hiding behind her leg.
"I don't know..." Artemis said, softly. "Let's try to reason with them." He held a hand up in the air, and the
weird creatures stopped moving. "I am Artemis, of Cybertron," he said. "These are my family - Silica, my
mate, and Wheelie, our son." He pointed to Powerpack, still floating in the air. "That is Powerpack, our
friend. Our ship crashed here a little while ago - we're looking for some one to help us."
The creatures turned and grunted to one another, in an incomprehensible dialect. Artemis let his hand drop
to his side, taking it as a good sign that the creatures weren't dismembering them. The lead creature looked
back to Artemis, then up to Powerpack. He studied Wheelie, then Silica, allowing his optics to rest on her
longer than the others. He licked his lip components. Silica shivered and stood closer to Artemis.
The head creature barked something to the others, and they immediately ran around behind the small
group. Then, he focused his attention on Artemis, garbling something that the robot didn't understand. From
his hand motions, however, Artemis fathomed that the creature wanted them to follow him.
"We're getting somewhere," he whispered to Silica, as they started walking, led by the creature.
"Yeah," Silica replied. "Let's just hope it's not into deep slag."
Powerpack swooped down, and hovered by Artemis. "I'll just stay up here, boss," he said, before Artemis
even got the chance to ask him to transform. "I'm functioning better in the air than I could on land right
now."
"Whatever you want," Artemis said. He reached forward and tapped the head being on the shoulder. "Do
you think it would be possible to see about getting some repairs done on our friend?" The creature nodded,
and Artemis grinned. "Wonderful."
It was a pity, really, that Artemis didn't know that the creature hadn't understood one word he had said. It
had just nodded dumbly, lulling the Autobots into a false sense of security. For, actually, out of everything
Artemis had said to it, the creature and it's fellows had understood one solitary word.
Cybertron.
The masters would be pleased.
- - -
C'mon, R&R already!! :)