To all my reviewers: Rose, OptiMoose, Optimus Magnus, Maria, and Glaivester -- and of course, to any invisible readers that have read this story:
I hope you have enjoyed our humble story or... well, if you say otherwise I will personally sic Dusty on you! =)
Chapter Five: Autobots are Back
Dusty had just settled his crosshairs on Megatron when the silver mech leaped into the sky, moving too fast for Dusty to keep the scope centered. Slag. That was the second chance he'd had to eliminate the Decepticon leader, and he'd waffled both.
The Autobots gathered near the power plant and raised their weapons in the air, obviously cheering as the Decepticons fled. Smaller human figures poured out of the newly blasted opening; many bounced and waved their arms excitedly despite their energy restraints.
Ah well; all in a day's work. Dusty settled contentedly on the ground to watch Ironhide and the others go about freeing the humans from their high-tech shackles. Grapple and Hoist transformed into their vehicle modes and began to clear away battle debris with help from Prowl, Red Alert and Inferno.
He looked to the sky. The sun was well past the halfway point, already on its way down to the horizon. Had it been only last night that he'd fired his first shots, not far from this very spot?
It took several hours, but eventually the last captive was unshackled and the mess had been gathered into a neat mound. During that time the military arrived and erected a multitude of tents to house the civilians until they could be transported home.
The sky was aflame with sunset colors when the Autobots gathered outside the power plant's fence once again to confer with several humans, Mr. Sean Berger among them. Mr. Berger now had two guards with him at all times, courtesy of the Army. They weren't letting him get out of sight for a moment. Dusty felt his lip twist with extreme dislike. The big human had only discovered what Dusty already knew; Megatron kept his promises no longer than it suited him to.
He dispelled the thought with a shake of his head. No need to dwell on that. It looked like there was a three-way conversation going on between the Mayor, Mr. Berger and Optimus Prime. Whatever was being said, it wasn't going well for Berger. Fortunately for him, the Autobots didn't suggest deep-spacing; the Mayor looked angry enough to agree.
Finished talking, Optimus called to his Autobots. They transformed and took off into the setting sun, headed west toward the Ark. Feeling a spreading satisfaction, Dusty rose, put his rifle away and transformed.
He dropped over a small roadside cliff to join the Autobot convoy and landed with an airy thump, sending a wave of condensed air across the road. Hound and Prowl saw him coming and moved over, but Sideswipe caught the worst of accompanying dust and swerved a bit before recovering.
"Hey, watch it, big guy! You nearly sent me off the road with that seismic wave of yours," Sideswipe groused, revving his engine irritably.
Dusty snorted. "You want a seismic wave, try the Dinobots stomping grounds."
Hound chuckled. "Good to see you, Dusty. What have you been doing with yourself?"
Dusty's fins conveyed a shrug. "Oh, I put in some target practice to pass the time. I found that big green and purple objects are hard to miss. You?"
"Oh, you don't want to know," was Hound's reply. "Count yourself lucky that your one-way rocket ticket got lost in the mail."
Prowl dropped behind Dusty only to pull up on his other side. "You're missing your patches, Dusty."
"Um, yeah," Dusty confirmed. Trust Prowl to notice a detail like that. "Maybe you could dig me up some more, once we get to the Ark."
Prowl's headlights flashed briefly in an understanding smile. "I'll do that first thing."
"I'm not going to let anyone kick me off this planet again," Hound promised. "Prime or no Prime. There's too much beauty here for me to leave willingly."
"I know what you mean," Dusty murmured. "We can't let Megatron have free rein here."
Sideswipe made a noise of disgust and with a roar of engines pulled up ahead of the three.
"C'mon, slowpokes!" he hollered back to them. "Pick up the pace so we can get home! I've got to get to my room before Sunstreaker does!" With that he tore ahead of them, weaving between the other cars until he pulled up alongside his twin brother at the front.
Home... his home had been on Cybertron. Dusty felt a pang of loneliness that he quickly banished. Now, home was this strange planet Earth; home was the Ark, buried in the side of a fiery mountain.
Still, it felt good to be able to call this place home.
"For once, Sideswipe has a good idea. Let's go home, guys."
The sun touched the hills, turning them into gold-laced silhouettes and setting off a cascade of colors along the whispy cirrus clouds. The sun itself glowed red as it sank lower in the dusty atmosphere. Then it vanished, and all that was left was the deep blue sky.
The End
... or is it?