Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or any of the characters in this fic: Hasbro does.
Mixed Feelings
Chapter Seven: Back to Reality
Optimus peeked around the corner, trying his utmost to remain hidden while he looked for Decepticons. Finding none, he darted from behind the outcropping of rock to another that was further ahead in the dark tunnel. He made a quick gesture with his hand, and Brainstorm moved forward to the rock that Optimus had been crouched behind just before. He carried the offline form of Hot Rod on his shoulders, and Optimus frowned. Hot Rod's energon supplies had dipped so low that they had had little choice but to put him in stasis lock until they escaped. Optimus was growing more and more concerned that they wouldn't be able to find their way out of this maze of tunnels before Hot Rod died, let alone get through the Decepticons that waited for them on the surface.
He banished the thought from his mind as he saw Brainstorm looking to him for guidance. He looked up the tunnel, and yet again finding no Decepticons, he darted forward, this time putting his back to the wall and withdrawing his rifle from subspace. His audio receptors picked up something around the corner, and he gestured for Brainstorm to get down. Optimus prepared himself.
"And another thing-"
"All right, that's it! I've had enough. I've tried to listen. I've tried to be polite. I've tried to ignore you. But… nothing… works. So please SHUT UP before someone hears us!"
Optimus recognised the voices of the Aerialbots Slingshot and Skydive. He sighed and shook his head, a small smile beneath his faceplate. The two turned the corner and pulled out their weapons as they spotted him, but quickly lowered them when they recognised him.
"Prime! You're all right!" Skydive said, and Slingshot frowned.
"Where've you been?" he asked, some irritation in his voice.
"Busy," Optimus replied, tilting his head back to indicate Brainstorm and the wounded Hot Rod. Slingshot promptly shut his mouth, and Skydive let out a bark of laughter, prompting his companion to shoot him a dirty look. Skydive shrugged happily and walked over to Brainstorm, helping him to carry Hot Rod by putting one of Hot Rod's arms over his shoulder. Brainstorm did the same and nodded to Skydive.
"Thanks," he said, the relief in his voice apparent. Optimus winced, regretting having made the Autobot carry Hot Rod the whole way. He looked at Slingshot.
"Any word from the others?"
He opened his mouth to speak, but it was Skydive who answered. Optimus turned to look at him.
"We received a coded transmission from Silverbolt, telling us to stay where we were until they could get reinforcements. But someone insisted on finding some Decepticons to… how did you put it? 'Blast and Smash'?"
Optimus turned back to look at Slingshot, who was again shooting Skydive a glare. He glanced up at Optimus sheepishly.
"What? Just because I didn't want to sit around…"
Optimus sighed and shook his head. "Never mind. Hot Rod's energon supplies are dangerously low; if we don't get him some medical attention soon, he will die. Where did you just come from? Did you see any passages to the surface?"
Slingshot nodded. "One or two, but we kinda tried to steer clear of them."
Skydive's head shot up. "You mean you were paying attention during the complaints?" he admonished mockingly. Slingshot smiled sarcastically.
Optimus nodded. "All right. Lead the way, Slingshot."
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Onslaught stood above the asteroid with both hands behind his back, tapping his fingers rhythmically. One would have assumed he was deep in thought about the Autobot's whereabouts, but the true cause of his anxiousness came from another source: Galvatron. He wondered whether he would be able to destroy the Autobots this way. He knew full well that if Prime were to die again, the morale of the Autobots would sink into an all time low; Onslaught had been almost elated to see that Prime had brought Hot Rod with him as well. Not only would Prime be dead, but any chance of a successor would be quashed along with Hot Rod's death.
But, as was usually the case for the Decepticons, things didn't go according to plan. He could now understand why Megatron would become so incensed at the continual interference of the Autobots. Onslaught shook his head. He was just glad Starscream wasn't here.
"Problems, Onslaught?"
He whirled to find Galvatron stood behind him. He relaxed and turned back to his view of the asteroid, being careful to make sure he knew where Galvatron was. He still wasn't sure that this sudden change in attitude was permanent, or even real.
"You're supposed to be scouting the perimeter."
Galvatron walked up until he was stood alongside the Combaticon. He smiled and shrugged. "I think Cyclonus and Scourge can handle that, don't you? And besides," he said, his smirk growing, "don't you want me to see the death of Optimus Prime in person? At your hands, of course."
"Indeed," Onslaught said quietly, keeping his optics on the asteroid. "Are you sure you're not just worried that I may succeed?"
Galvatron laughed briefly. "Of course I'm not, Onslaught. Do you know why?"
Onslaught looked over at him nonchalantly. "I don't know, Galvatron. Why?"
Galvatron leaned close to him, and Onslaught began to feel uncomfortable, being in such close proximity to his leader. "Because Prime can crush you," he said, raising his hand, "like that," he said, snapping his fingers as he did so.
Onslaught ducked slightly at the snapping noise, and Galvatron's smile grew stronger. He turned back to the asteroid. "Just don't let him get his hands on you. The last thing you want is an angry Optimus Prime coming at you."
He pushed himself up off the ground and proceeded to float away. Onslaught watched him go, hate and anger burning in his optics. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was worried about what Prime could do to him. Onslaught, while not exactly an inconsiderable fighter, was no match for an angry Optimus Prime. Or even an angry Rodimus Prime. What if one of the Autobots had been killed? What if Optimus had been killed and Rodimus was coming for him? He shook the cowardly thoughts from his head.
If Galvatron can fight them, then so can I.
His communicator bleeped angrily, and he pushed the receive button.
"Onslaught."
Brawl's voice exploded from the communicator, surrounded in static. "Onslaught! Get your rusty chassis down here! We've found Prime!"
"I'm on my way. Tell the Predacons and the other Combaticons to meet us there."
"Right. Brawl out."
Onslaught smiled beneath his faceplate, all previous doubts gone with the excitement of an upcoming battle. As much as he liked to plan and prepare, he was still a Decepticon through and through, and couldn't resist the allure of an all out battle from time to time. He looked down at the modified cannon that the Constructicons had built for him, and briefly considered not taking it, considering how low its energon pack was. He shook his head and picked up the weapon. He pushed himself off the ground and headed for the asteroid, where he could already hear and see the flashing of weapons fire.
All it would take is one good shot, and Prime would be dead.
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"Some plan," Slingshot muttered, ducking a laser blast from Vortex and firing back with one of his own. Optimus ignored his angry mumbling and fired off a volley of shots that caused all of the firing Decepticons to duck under cover. Optimus took the opportunity to duck himself, and turned to Brainstorm.
"How is he?" he said, nodding at the offline form of Hot Rod. Brainstorm shook his head.
"Not good. We haven't got much time."
Optimus frowned and nodded. He turned to Skydive. "How's the signal?"
Skydive checked his wrist communicator and pushed a few buttons. "It works, but only short range."
Optimus muttered a curse and ducked his head as an energon grenade exploded nearby. Without coming up from behind the outcropping of rock behind which they were taking cover, Optimus lifted his rifle and fired blindly ahead, hoping to stop the onslaught of laser fire for a little bit longer. The laser fire subsided slightly, and Optimus again turned to Skydive.
"Try sending a message to Silverbolt."
Skydive nodded and got to work. He knew as well as Optimus did that if Superion were here, he would tip the scales in a second. Optimus bowed his head slightly.
As long as Onslaught doesn't use that weapon again.
"Skydive to Silverbolt. Silverbolt, do you read?"
There was static for a few moments, and Optimus was about to give up hope when a voice responded through the communicator.
"Skydive… you, lad?"
Optimus optics widened. "Kup?"
Skydive nodded. "Sounds like it." He looked back down at his communicator. "Kup, I don't know where you are, but we could use some help."
"On… way. Just… on a… longer."
"We'll try," Skydive said.
"Good… lad."
And with that, the signal cut out. Whether because Kup cancelled it, or the interference became too much, Optimus wasn't sure. But now he had something to aim for. Reinforcements were on the way. He looked over at Hot Rod, and hoped that he would survive long enough.
He's not done yet.
Optimus face knitted in determination as he looked over at Slingshot. "Slingshot," he said, gesturing with a nod of his head for Slingshot to join him. The Aerialbot nodded and fired off a few shots before jogging over to him quickly. He crouched in front of Optimus.
"I'm going to distract them away from Brainstorm and Hot Rod; I'll need you to come out with me and cover me. Understood?"
Slingshot grinned in anticipation and nodded. "Oh yeah."
"Skydive?" Optimus said, looking over Slingshot's shoulder at the tactician. He turned towards Optimus.
"Sir?"
"Stay here with Brainstorm and Hot Rod. I'm entrusting them to you."
Skydive nodded. "Yes sir."
"Brainstorm?"
Brainstorm looked up from his feverish work on Hot Rod. "Yes?" he said, his voice impatient. For split second, Optimus could see Ratchet knelt in front of Hot Rod, irritated by Optimus' interrupting him.
"Keep him alive as long as you can."
Brainstorm nodded quickly and turned back to his work. Optimus shook the déjà vu from his head, and turned to Slingshot.
"Ready?"
"I was built ready."
Optimus nodded and stood, firing off a barrage of laser fire that made the Decepticons once again duck for cover. He turned to Slingshot.
"Go!"
Slingshot transformed and took to the air with a loud 'yee-haw', firing wildly in all directions as he went. Vortex was soon transformed and in pursuit, and Optimus resisted the urge to shoot him down, reminding himself that Slingshot was supposed to be distracting the other Decepticons. He transformed and took off as fast his alternate mode would allow. He heard some orders being yelled in the distance, and the Predacons were on him soon enough. He ignored their attacks as best he could, grunting in pain as their lasers sliced into his trailer section. He slowed slightly as he went uphill, and he pushed himself over, freeing him from danger of being hit by a stray laser blast from the Combaticons. As far as he could tell, the only Decepticons here were the Combaticons, the Predacons, Cyclonus, Scourge, and his Sweeps. It only made him more curious as to the whereabouts of Galvatron.
He transformed into robot mode, bringing his rifle out of subspace as he did so. The Predacons stopped in front of him, stood in a group. One stepped forward, and from the reports he had seen and read, Optimus identified him as Razorclaw, the leader of the Predacons. He transformed into his robot mode and pulled out his sword.
"So you the great Optimus Prime," he snarled. "I not impressed."
Optimus remained silent. Razorclaw tilted his head. "No talking? Good. I get sick of Autobots who just talk. It about time there was one who took this seriously."
Optimus still didn't say or do anything. He just remained perfectly still, waiting for them to make a move. He was tempted to simply fire the rifle and blow a hole right through Razorclaw's chest, but something stopped him. Suddenly, Razorclaw leapt forward, knocking Optimus rifle from his hands before he had a chance to do anything.
Primus, he's fast.
Razorclaw sneered derisively, bringing his sword up to cut through Optimus' head. Optimus jumped back, and Razorclaw, having put all of his weight into the swing, stumbled forward slightly. The other Predacons laughed, and Razorclaw growled. He charged Optimus yet again, leaping into the air as he did so. He brought his sword back above his head, and let out a loud battle cry as he descended. Optimus waited until he was almost on top of him, and then moved to his left. Razorclaw landed next to him, sending a cloud of dust up around him. Optimus swiped his leg out, knocking Razorclaw off his feet and on to his back.
Optimus brought his fist down on the Predacon's head, but ended up punching solid ground as Razorclaw flipped to his feet and out of the way of Optimus' blow. Optimus stood to his full height.
"Done?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. Razorclaw laughed.
"Not yet."
He moved forward, and Optimus prepared himself to fight again when the beeping of Razorclaw's communicator interrupted them. Onslaught's enraged voice came through.
"What are you doing over there? Have you killed Prime or not? Report!"
Razorclaw ignored the question, continuing his charge at Optimus. Just before he reached the Autobot leader, he leapt over him, slicing his sword at Optimus' head as he went. Optimus ducked the sword and quickly turned to face his landing enemy, greeting him with an uppercut to the chin. Razorclaw was sent flying back, and he landed with a heavy metallic thud on an outcropping of rock. His sword was sent skittering away, and he snarled at Optimus yet again, who merely raised an optic ridge.
"I don't need sword to kill you."
He pushed himself to his feet and transformed into his alternate mode, which was that of an Earth lion. He stalked forward and encircled Optimus, who turned and followed every step he made. Razorclaw froze for an instant, and then leapt forward, knocking Optimus on his back. Razorclaw attempted to bite at Optimus face, and the Autobot leader moved his head from left to right to avoid the razor sharp teeth. He grabbed Razorclaw's neck, and, using all his strength, dug his fingers into the metallic chassis of his opponent. He slammed Razorclaw into the ground beside him and stood, quickly jumping down onto the Decepticon with his elbow extended. Optimus smiled beneath his faceplate.
I suppose Sideswipe and Sunstreaker constantly watching human wrestling has its advantages.
There was a loud clanging noise as Optimus' elbow bent the metal of Razorclaw's chassis. Optimus stood and grabbed Razorclaw's legs, lifting him over his head and slamming him into the ground. He slammed him onto his opposite side, and then proceeded to twirl with the Predacon still in his grasp. He waited until he was aimed at the other Predacons, then let him go, sending him bowling into the group of Decepticons. They ran out of the way, letting their leader crash painfully to the ground. Optimus walked over to his laser rifle and picked it up, checking it over for damage.
Grunting in pain, Razorclaw slowly transformed, his gears churning as they attempted to shift the dented parts of his chassis. Finally, with a pained roar, Razorclaw emerged in robot mode again.
"Predacons," he hissed, "unite!"
The others transformed instantly with a speed that only intense training could have instilled in them. However, someone didn't transform: Razorclaw. He stood, grunting as he attempted to transform, but his dented chassis wouldn't allow it. The others transformed back to robot mode, looking slightly confused as they looked at their damaged leader. He growled in frustration.
"Don't stare at me! Attack!" he said, leading a charge towards Optimus. Optimus rolled forward, firing laser blasts left and right as he darted between the five Decepticons. They were consecutively thrown backwards by the blasts, landing with a heavy thud on their backs, their chassis' smoking as they groaned in pain before their systems went offline and put them in stasis lock. Optimus stood and reloaded his rifle.
Suddenly, he heard the familiar whine of Onslaught's weapon, and turned to see him stood on an outcropping of rock in the distance. Optimus fired off a few stray shots in Onslaught's direction with his rifle as he retreated. He ran in a straight line until he heard the whine disappear, which he had come to guess was the precursor to a discharge. He quickly darted to his right, and, sure enough, the ground beneath where he was stood exploded, sending him flying forward. He landed roughly on the ground and scrambled to take cover behind an outcropping of rock. He turned to look at the hole left behind him; it was smaller than before.
The weapon must be losing power.
He looked up over the outcropping of rock and tried to see Onslaught in the distance. But he saw something else approaching; an Autobot shuttle. He smiled beneath his faceplate and crouched down, activating his wrist communicator. Kup's face appeared on the small monitor.
"Prime! Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, but Hot Rod needs medical attention, now."
He heard the whine of Onslaught's weapon.
"I could use some backup as well."
Kup smiled. "All taken care of."
The whine suddenly stopped, and Optimus chanced a peek over the outcropping in time to see Grimlock snapping Onslaught's new weapon in half on his knee. Optimus couldn't help but be amused at the sight before him, as every attack that Onslaught attempted was swatted away by the Dinobot. He turned and saw Defensor being dropped from the shuttle, as well as the remaining Aerialbots.
They must have been picked up by Kup.
He stood and was about to make his way to the battlefield when a voice interrupted him.
"Where are you going, Prime?"
He turned to see the smirking form of Galvatron looking down at him, stood with his arms crossed on the outcropping that Optimus had taken cover behind. He raised an optic ridge.
"So, you are alive. I thought Onslaught had led a mutiny and killed you."
Galvatron laughed. "That idiot?" he said, gesturing over his shoulder to where Grimlock was still dismissing every one of Onslaught's offensives. Galvatron hopped down from the outcropping, landing in front of Optimus.
"I thought you knew me better than that, Prime."
"That depends on who I'm talking to."
Galvatron smiled and nodded. "I would expect no less of you, Prime. Rest assured, you are talking to your old adversary, not the out of control maniac you have no doubt heard of."
Optimus raised an optic ridge. "Indeed?"
Galvatron nodded, and his smile grew into a smirk. He began to flex his joints, and removed his cannon. "So, shall we begin? I have to admit, I'm curious to see how the new body will compare in battle with you."
Optimus threw his rifle to the floor. "According to Rodimus, you obtained a substantial strength increase from Unicron."
Galvatron raised an amused optic ridge. "Is that right?"
Optimus nodded, and there was suddenly no more talk. They circled each other like wild animals, each one waiting for the other to make a move.
Optimus went first. His right fist shot out towards Galvatron, who blocked with his left arm, returning the blow with his right. Optimus ducked to his right, grabbing Galvatron's wrist and turning into Galvatron. He pulled the arm and tossed Galvatron over his shoulder. Galvatron landed on his feet and shot out his left leg, hitting Optimus in the grille area of his torso. Optimus stumbled back from the blow, and Galvatron jumped in the air, bringing his leg around for a kick to the head. Optimus grabbed the leg and threw Galvatron again, this time throwing him towards the outcropping of rock. Galvatron slammed into the rock with a loud clang and slid to the floor.
The two leaders remained motionless, the only noise being the distant chirping of laser fire and the dull thuds of the Gestalts trading blows.
Then Galvatron smiled. Then he began to laugh. Optimus didn't respond as Galvatron leapt to his feet and retrieved his cannon, reattaching it to his arm. Optimus gradually did similarly, walking over to his rifle and checking it over.
"Quite a test, eh?"
Optimus nodded slowly, looking at his old enemy. "Quite a test."
"I just wanted to be sure."
Optimus raised an optic ridge. "Sure of what?"
Galvatron looked at him, a smirk on his face and in his optics. He raised his wrist communicator to his mouth, still looking at Optimus. "Decepticons, this is Galvatron. Onslaught has failed. Retreat. I repeat, Decepticons, retreat."
He hovered upwards and looked down at Prime for a moment. "Until next time, Prime." He turned and flew away, quickly being joined by the forms of Cyclonus and Scourge with his Sweeps. Optimus heard the laser fire die down and gradually saw the Decepticons leave one by one. Onslaught was the last to leave, though he was missing his backpack module.
"Until next time," Optimus said quietly. He heard footsteps trudging towards him in the newfound silence and turned to see Grimlock walking up to him, something in his hand. He lifted the object up, and Optimus smiled when he recognised the crumpled remains of Onslaught's backpack unit. He looked up at Grimlock, who just shrugged.
"Gift from Onslaught."
Optimus let out a laugh and turned, patting Grimlock on the shoulder. "Let's go," he said, nodding in the direction of the shuttle landing site. As they trudged further along, Optimus eventually saw that everyone was all right, no worse for wear. He always felt lucky for such privileges. First Aid was tending to Hot Rod, who was now online again. Upon spotting Optimus in the distance, he gave him a weak smile and a shaky thumbs up. Optimus returned the unfamiliar gesture as best he could, prompting a fit of laughter from the weakened young Autobot. Optimus and Grimlock stood back and watched the Autobots slowly gather themselves and head into the shuttle.
Once everybody was on board and waiting, they walked towards the shuttle.
"So," Grimlock said slowly. "What you and Galvatron talk about?"
Optimus paused for a moment as he looked at the Dinobot leader. "There wasn't much talking."
Grimlock nodded. "I see."
Optimus noticed that Grimlock was looking at him as they walked along, and he looked over at the Dinobot with a raised optic ridge. "Is something wrong, Grimlock?"
"You laughed."
Optimus tilted his head slightly. "Come again?"
"Earlier. Me never hear you laugh before. It strange noise." Grimlock let out a grunt of laughter. "Me suppose that dying put things in perspective for you."
Optimus laughed and nodded. "You have no idea, Grimlock." They walked back to the shuttle, and Grimlock walked up the ramp. Optimus paused at the bottom, looking back across the ravaged asteroid. He saw the hole that he, Hot Rod and Brainstorm had fallen down. He remembered Hot Rod's words, and how they had put things in perspective for him. He smiled wide.
"You have no idea…"
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(A/N: Since I can't respond to your reviews here, I'd just like to say thank you for reviewing, and keep on reviewing. And speaking of reviewing… review this and tell me what you thought.
And don't worry, there's more to come – remember:
'It's not over until…'
Actually, I can't think of a fat Transformer, so I'll have to go with:
'It's not over till the fat femme sings'.)