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Chapter two Never forget
Iron Blade landed his ship in the Iacon space port.
He was glad to be back on Cybertron.
The Knight of Cybertron walked up to Jazz and Skyshadow who were there waiting for him.
"Prowl wanted to be here too to hear your report, but Cybertron is still too far out of hand for both first and second in commands to be here," explained the saboteur.
"That's understandable, I'm sure someone will debrief him later," replied Iron Blade as they walked towards Autobot headquarters.
"I take it you found the Matrix?" asked Skyshadow.
"I did, that's what is inside this crate," said the Knight of Cybertron as he gestured to what he was carrying.
"So, now it can choose the next Prime?" Jazz asked.
"That isn't why I was sent to get it. Vector Prime said that the age of Primes is over," replied Iron Blade.
"Then why were you sent to get it?" asked Skyshadow.
"Because it is Primus' life source. When the war started, Primus gave Orion Pax his life source, for Primus knew that the war would last for a shorter time if he was dormant. Causing energon to stop flowing from the planet's core," the grey, black, and white half-seeker explained.
Jazz asked, "Are you telling us that Primus has been dormant for almost ten vorns!?"
"Yep," replied Iron Blade.
"Who told you this?" asked the red and black femme.
Iron Blade replied. "Unicron."
Suddenly, the three stopped walking and stood still for a few astrokliks.
Jazz and Skyshadow were staring at Iron Blade in slight shock.
"Are ya tellin' us that ya talked to Unicron?" asked Jazz, disbelief in his tone.
"As I was leaving Lumen, he jumped out of hyperspace and blocked my path home. Then he told me what I told you. Then I asked him if he came to eat Lumen and just happened to catch me on his way, but he said that he eats only one planet every vorn, so he didn't have a need to destroy Lumen," explained the Knight of Cybertron.
"What did he do to you since you were carrying the life source of his arch enemy?" asked Skyshadow. She gave him a concerned look, optics narrowed.
"Well, he waited a few astrokliks before answering, but when he finally did, all he said was that he would let me go. Then he turned around and left," said Iron Blade.
"So he came all that way to tell you that?" asked Jazz.
"Yes, I suppose so," replied the grey, black, and white half-seeker.
Confused but happy with that answer, the three carried on to Autobot headquarters.
Iron Blade thought it best to leave Hun-Gurrr out of his report because it would just complicate things, so he just told his comrades that he was told where to look for the Matrix of Leadership and found it in the former terrorcon hive.
When they reached Autobot headquarters, and Iron Blade's report was finished, the Autobots told him their bad news.
"Shockwave released a virus that is slowly going to kill off those of us who were terrorized because we don't have very much immune system left to fight it off," said Prowl.
"Who all has been infected?" asked the Knight of Cybertron.
"Bumblebee brought it back to us unknowingly, and now is very sick with it. Ratchet and Whirr have been feverishly studying and researching, trying to make a cure," explained the tactician. "So far, there isn't one. Ratchet is afraid he won't be able to help any of us."
Iron Blade slammed his fist on the table. "Where is Shockwave?"
"He's in hiding. Probably in one of his many labs across Cybertron," replied Jazz.
"Then let's go find and kill him. I know where a few of his labs are from when I was recovering from my injuries after I fought Skyshadow vorns ago," said Iron Blade.
Skyshadow said nothing of the mention of their past, only nodded in contemplation.
"We can try the labs we know, but there are so many places he could be hiding," Prowl noted.
"Well, maybe we'll get lucky. Oh, and we should bring Bug, he's an amazing tracker and would probably love to finally be able to kill Shockwave for everything he's done to him," said the Knight of Cybertron.
Prowl nodded. "Agreed, Bug will accompany you, and maybe we will have luck on our side for once."
/
After Iron Blade visited Bumblebee, and promised to avenge him, three of the Autobots set out to hunt down Shockwave.
Only Jazz, Iron Blade, and Bug set out to find Shockwave because Prowl needed to stay behind and manage things at Autobot headquarters.
Skyshadow stayed behind to help look after Bumblebee, Mirage stayed in Iacon to temporarily take over for Jazz in his absence, and the Cyberbots were still looking for Vortex and Brunt.
"There is another problem we forgot to tell you about, I B," said Jazz as they stepped out of the ground-bridge into Tarn.
"What's the problem?" asked the Knight of Cybertron.
"A crime syndicate has been spotted on the surface in Kaon," replied the saboteur as Bug tried to sniff up a trail to follow.
"What syndicate is it?" Iron Blade asked.
"The Cyber-Hounds, a dangerous group that has thrived during the war because of black market dealing and their alliance with the Decepticons," Jazz explained.
"We'll have to keep an optic on them to make sure they don't surprise us," said the half-seeker.
"Follow us. We have trail!" said Bug as he continued to sniff out the scent he was following.
The two Autobots followed the large beast, listening and looking for any signs of recent activity in the area that wasn't from the creatures that commonly inhabited that part of Cybertron.
The first building they arrived at was the lab Bug was created in. It was now only used for storage, which by the looks of things, Shockwave, or someone else, had been there recently.
"Someone was here no more than a couple on-cycles ago," said Jazz after they had searched the building.
"It was Shockwave, we smelled his smell," said Bug.
"Bug, did his scent leave the building and carry on outside anywhere?" Iron Blade asked.
"Bug lumbered over the the building and sniffed all around the outside until he caught Shockwave's scent again at a side door.
"This way!" said the large creature as he followed the scent away from the old lab.
Jazz and Iron Blade followed Bug.
A few astrokliks later Bug suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong," said Iron Blade quietly.
"The trail ends here," said Bug.
"Shockwave must have taken a ground-bridge somewhere else," noted the saboteur.
"Which could be to anywhere on Cybertron," added the Knight of Cybertron.
"I think we should bridge to Kaon next. I know of a couple labs of his that are there, so we can try those next," said Iron Blade.
"Sounds like a plan," said Jazz.
Then the three ground-bridged back to Autobot headquarters, and bridged out to Kaon to try again.
As they stepped onto Kaon territory, Iron Blade said, "Keep your helms on a swivel, I know this territory, those who at least used to live here didn't always act quite so hospitable to their guests."
"Hopefully this time we'll find the purple menace," growled Jazz as they walked cautiously, looking for the hidden labs.
A few kliks went by before Bug caught the scent again. "This way," he said.
Iron Blade and Jazz followed Bug to a broken old building. When they went inside they noticed that they weren't the first mecha to enter. There was a trap door.
Iron Blade and Jazz lifted the trap door and peered inside.
They saw a set of stairs that led down a hallway. The three quietly climbed down the stairs and followed it with extreme caution.
At the end of the dark passage was a door.
Iron Blade whispered to his comrades, "Careful, anything could be on the other side."
Jazz tried the door. "It's locked," he whispered.
Bug sniffed and then said, "Step aside."
Jazz and Iron Blade stepped to either side of the door.
Bug extended his claws and scratched on the door, saying, "It's too thick for us to shred." Then, he retracted his claws and punched the door right off it's hinges.
The very dented metal door landed with a loud clatter on the floor of what seemed to be Shockwave's lab.
A large purple mech turned around in his chair at the computer, straight across from the door way Bug just cleared.
"I've been expecting you," said Shockwave.
"That's hardly surprising," said the Knight of Cybertron as he drew his sword and ignited it in flames.
"If your looking for Vortex and Brunt, they left here a orn ago to hide elsewhere," said the large purple mech.
"That is not why we are here," said Jazz dropping his usual accent. "You know why."
Shockwave stood to his pedes, and said, "Have you come here to take me to prison?"
"No, not even to Garrus-9," said Iron Blade, "You, Shockwave, are…"
"Going to die right here for your sins," interrupted Bug, mimicking Shockwave's voice perfectly, for Shockwave altered him to have this ability. "Stay back. He's ours," said Bug in a deep savage voice to his comrades behind him.
The huge half-Insecticon stepped forward and said, "Your creations have always caused us great pain, your success is our loss, your corruption has only caused corruption, and you will pay for it. I am the monster you created with so many different abilities to kill with, and now we use them." Bug roared as his knee, elbow, back, and claw spikes extended. In a deep fierce voice, Bug then said, "Death is what you created, and death is what you earned! Maybe the Allspark will look on you with pity, but that is unlikely."
Jazz and Iron Blade watched as Bug shredded Shockwave to pieces.
When the huge beast finished, he picked up Shockwave's helm, looked into his cracked lifeless optic, and without another word, turned around and carried it out of the lab in his big hand.
Neither the saboteur or the Knight had seen Bug act that way before. They always knew him as a sort of gentle giant, but not this on-cycle. This on-cycle, Bug was the monster Shockwave had created.
Jazz turned around and walked down the passage to the stairs to leave the hidden lab.
Iron Blade stayed behind to search the lab. To him it seemed a little too easy to succeed this mission.
/(Section music is: Mountains by Hans Zimmer.)
When Iron Blade climbed up the stairs and closed the trap door, Jazz was standing beside him, looking outside of the small building they were in.
Iron Blade looked outside too then, it was dark out and the sky was a vast array of stars. He saw Bug standing a little ways out from them.
The half-Insecticon was looking up at the stars, and was speaking. "We did it Steelblue. We did it. He's gone now, the evil one is dead, so he can't hurt anymore of us. We miss you Steelblue, we miss you so much. It hurts, right here." Bug put his hand on his chest, over his spark. "We won't ever forget you Steelblue, never, Bug never forgets, and he never forgives."
Then Bug frowned and looked down at the helm he was holding in his hand. He gritted his denta in anger and crushed the helm, Shockwave's helm. Then he looked up at the stars again, "We'll never forget you, Steelblue, so don't ever forget us! Never forget!"
Jazz, tears streaming down his faceplate, repeated, "Never forget."
(Credit music is: Sea of Stars by Epic Score.)
(Credit song is: What Could Have Been by Jonathan Young & Cole Rolland.)
/
Gift fic from space-blue-spirit
"Never forget," echoed an unheard voice from a realm between the living and dead.
Sorrow and grief warred in the optics of the owner of the ghostly hand that laid itself on Bug's servo.
He'd watched what had happened in the lab. He knew it had hurt his former friend, and also that it had perhaps been also very satisfying.
He hoped it would be at least somewhat healing for Bug. That it would bring him some closure.
That it wasn't just revenge that had possessed the creature to use all of what Shockwave had created against him.
The hidden watcher knew that road and knew it left you empty and hollow. That it didn't make you feel better.
That you had to let it go and move on, even when that wasn't fair.
There had been no way for Shockwave to atone for what he'd done. Not even if those living could keep him held somewhere until he died. Not even if they had been able to do so, and would bend to torture as well.
And so, Steeldust, though his opinion could no longer be heard nor mattered, agreed with what had been done.
However...
He had a bad feeling about it all the same.
There was just something prickling at his ghostly doorwings that something was wrong.
The living, as they began to head away from the lab and Shockwave's tomb, didn't seem to notice.
Perhaps, the ghost thought as he followed from a short distance behind them, it was nothing.
Still. He would continue to deny journeying all the way to the Allspark just yet.
He'd been given the option to go and rest or stay behind and watch.
"Of course," some who knew him well would say if they knew, he had chosen the latter.
If he couldn't be there in body to help his comrades, he would do this for them at least.
He'd been told by older ghosts and fellow ghosts who'd been wandering longer than he, that the young and taken out of the land of the living too soon often did choose to stay in the in-between realm for a time before they went home.
It was as if they weren't finished in it yet.
Even if they could not touch or speak to the living unless the Primes, before they all joined the Allspark, or Primus himself, granted it in seldom instances, the watching ghosts hoped that somehow, they could be a comfort to those they loved and had lost them.
And so, Steeldust followed the trio until they groundbridged home. Then he went on his own way to watch over others of his comrades and friends.
Thanks for reading!