Hostile Territory

Written by: Okami

Chapter 6- Actions From The Heart

~

You don't need to bother

I don't need to breathe

I'll keep slipping further

Once I hold on,

I won't let go till it bleeds

Lyrics: Bother_Corey Taylor

~

Authors Note: I do not own Robots in Disguise. I do however own Alana and Suzuki, therefore they can not be used anywhere other than this fanfic without my permission.

Helpful Hints: ****** - Means a change in scenery, or from Autobots to Decepticons

~~~ - Means a change in point of view but the same scenery

* * - Indicates a comlink conversation

******

Sideburn watched patiently as the Predacons landed on the shore, directly in front of him. He used the brush to hide his vehicle mode while his other sibling circled around to the side, planning on ambushing the enemy robots. Listening intently to the Predacons, he silently wondered whom they were taunting, not that it made much difference as long as he could avenge his eldest brother's death.

The sound of an engine revving gave the blue Autobot the signal to attack. Transforming quickly, he darted from his cover and attacked the first Pred in sight, which just happened to be DarkScream.

~~~

Prowl pressed down heavily on the gas, giving Sideburn the signal to engage in battle. He transformed as well and fired his attack on Slapper, knocking the unsuspecting Predacon into the rushing water. Not even savoring the victory, he turned to GasSkunk, optics glowing brightly.

"You are under arrest Predacon, for the murder of my brother," he growled, lifting his gun for another attack.

"Wait! He's still alive!" GasSkunk protested. "Look, there he is!" The skunk pointed across the river frantically, hoping to spare himself some abuse.

"I don't think so Predacon," Prowl spat, taking aim. "You're crimes will be punished." Anymore protests fell upon deaf ears as the middle Autobot brother fired his attack at the robot skunk, sending him flying over the trees and far into the forest.

~~~

Sideburn followed his brother's example and sent DarkScream flying through the air, then turned his attention to Skybyte.

"You will pay for what you did to my brother," he growled, pointing his weapon in the Predacon's direction.

Skybyte looked shocked for a moment, looking behind him then back at Sideburn. "But…he's…right over there."

"Don't play tricks on me Predacon."

The youngest Autobot brother let loose his attack and was greatly surprised when the shark managed to dodge it. Sideburn watched with boiling fuel as his enemy landed on the opposite shore, grinning victoriously.

"Not one step Autobots or this time I really will kill your brother," Skybyte sneered, lifting his clawed arm out behind him. He placed a foot on X-Brawn's gun and crushed in two, rendering it useless for the time being.

"What are you talking about?" Prowl growled, stepping up beside Sideburn.

Skybyte laughed. "Haven't you noticed yet? Just take a look for yourselves," the shark chuckled, stepping to the side slightly while keeping his claw aimed at an unseen source.

To the Autobot brother's great disbelief, behind Skybyte leaned the battered frame of their eldest sibling. X-Brawn's gun lay in pieces under the shark's foot so he was totally defenseless against any attacks, plus his low energon level added to his dilemma.

"One wrong move and I'll rip a hole through your chest-plate," Skybyte snickered to the injured Autobot.

X-Brawn heaved a heavy sigh and lowered his head, no longer able to keep it up. It was then that he noticed Alana standing slightly behind his leg, glowering up at Skybyte.

"Now, don't do anything foolish," he said quietly.

"What was that?" Skybyte questioned, glancing towards his prisoner. Upon seeing the latter staring at the ground, the Predacon followed X-Brawn's gaze and was surprised to see a human hiding behind the injured robot's leg. "What have we here? A helpless human cowering behind an Autobot?" the shark sneered.

Alana glared at Skybyte. "I'm not a helpless human you bucket of bolts. And I'm not cowering," she growled, stepping out into full view. "Leave X-Brawn alone. He's injured and has no weapon, there is no honor in fighting him this way."

Skybyte blinked down at the bold human who dared to say such things to him. "Leave him alone? I think not, he is my enemy and I must destroy him," he chuckled. "Now, step out of the way."

The human narrowed her eyes and stepped directly in front of the Autobot, her arms outstretched. "You'll have to go through me." Why am I doing this? her mind screamed. This isn't my fight, so why am I becoming involved?

Because he is in need of your help, a gentle alto voice answered. It is your nature to protect those who can not defend themselves; therefore you must protect him.

The Predacon second-in-command growled softly at the stubborn human. Part of him wanted to blast away the pestering Earthling, but another part did not wish to harm the compassionate female. Skybyte scolded the softer side of him that hated taking innocent human lives; he was Predacon after all and they were ruthless beings who lived to serve Gigatron, and do as he wished.

While Skybyte argued with himself over what to do, Prowl and Sideburn slowly edged their way closer with the Spychangers circling around from the other side, trapping the Predacon in a ring of Autobots. Before the Autobot brothers could distract Skybyte long enough for the Spychangers to secure X-Brawn, the human jumped up and grabbed one of the claws pointed at her, clinging with all her might.

"Get out of here!" she yelled at X-Brawn.

"What are you doing? Let go!" Sideburn cried out, surprised at the female's actions.

"I won't sit by and watch anyone else die! Now go!" Alana screamed, hanging on with all her might while Skybyte frantically slashed his hand through the air.

X-Brawn attempted to take a step towards the shark but was pulled back by Ironhide and Mirage. The two Spychangers guided him carefully away from the shore and towards the Global SpaceBridge. The eldest Autobot brother tried to refuse being led but was too weak to resist, so he merely cast Alana a worried glance before disappearing into the glowing tunnel.

Alana, seeing that X-Brawn was out of harms way, let go and fell to the ground. A sickening crack sounded as her hand was brought out to catch her falling body, but could not support that much weight and snapped under the strain. She lay on the flat of her back, clutching her aching wrist to her chest, and stared up at the angered face of Skybyte.

"Not another step Predacon," HotShot smirked, uncloaking himself. His team members did the same and Skybyte soon found himself surrounded by Autobots.

"I…uh…please don't hurt me!" he begged, collapsing onto all fours.

"You're pathetic," Prowl growled, stepping fully onto the sandy shore.

"So pathetic you're not even worth our revenge, so scram!" Sideburn shouted, firing at the kneeling shark. After the Predacon had retreated by swimming through the air, the blue sports car Autobot walked over the huddled human.

Are you all right?" HotShot asked, crouching beside Alana.

"That was very brave of you," Rev commented, resting his gun on his shoulder.

"If you don't mind my asking, why did you stand up to Skybyte?" Sideburn asked, suddenly curious.

Alana looked up into his crimson optics. Something flickered in her ice-purple irises but vanished quickly. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked calmly, her tone becoming chilled.

The blue Autobot looked shocked. "No!" he replied quickly.

"We're very grateful to you for saving our brother, we were just wondering why?" Prowl responded.

The teenager stood up stiffly, refusing any help. "Please forgive me if anything I have done has caused you to become suspicious of me. I was merely helping someone in need, that is all," she replied, tone as cold as ice.

No Autobot dared to follow the human as she slowly disappeared into the forest. They looked at each other in confusion, not sure how to react.

"Was it something I said?" Sideburn asked, casting Prowl a questioning glance.

"Shouldn't someone go after her?" Crosswise asked, looking in the direction of the recently departed teenager.

"Not now, we have more important matters to deal with," Prowl answered. "We should return to base and check X-Brawn's status."

"Agreed," HotShot nodded. "Then we can figure out how to deal with the human, if anything needs to be dealt with."