"When We Can't Dream Any Longer..."
Lightspeed was alone, though many Autobots passed him on their way to their duties. He had never felt this empty. He heard nothing, he saw nothing... the other Technobots were.. gone.
The ambush by the Terrorcons had left the Technobots in a state of defencelessness. And Afterburner had been the first to go. Of course it had to be him; that hothead was always getting himself in trouble. This time the trouble was Cutthroat. Afterburner had tried to shoot the Terrorcon with his sonic pistol, but had missed... that was all that Cutthroat needed. He slashed at Afterburner with his claws, making him stumble backwards. Transforming to robot mode, he aimed his magnetizer rifle at his adversary and fired... Lightspeed reeled at the memory of seeing his brother tear himself apart.
Then it was Strafe's turn to get shot down by Rippersnapper's cyclone gun. The Technobot whirled around uncontrollably, until he crashed nose-first into the ground. Rippersnapper made his way towards the crashed plane when Lightspeed himself decided to intervene. He transformed into vehicle mode and speeded towards the Terrorcon, knocking him down. Then he executed a sharp turn and fired two missiles on him. Rippersnapper was too slow to evade.
A powerful stream of fire knocked Lightspeed around, and on his roof. His windshield and windows broke, injecting shards of glass into his armor, making him transform into robot mode in pain. As he had suspected, the shooter was Sinnertwin. But now Lightspeed didn't have the advantage of a faster alternate mode. The two-headed freak was gaining on him fast. As usual, the blasts of fire kept charring him and, after a few cycles, he was already smoking and blackened.
He had heard a scream of agony. He didn't want to see what had happened. He didn't... but he did. It was Hun-Grrr, eating Scattershot alive. Alive? Lightspeed reeled again. It wasn't like Hun-Grrr to do that... usually he ate fallen foes, not... alive. The sadistic Terrorcon was ripping Lightspeed's brother apart limb by limb. He turned his head away, not wanting to see any more of it. He still heard the terrible crunching sounds and the pitiful screams. He jumped down a crevice, hoping that Sinnertwin wouldn't find him, and curled into a ball, holding his head in his hands and rocking back and forth. He repeated to himself "This is just a dream, just a dream" all over again.
The rescue team found a slightly deranged Lightspeed in the crevice the next day. It was then that he saw what had happened to Nosecone. It had been Blot, all right; the corroded and charred armor proved it. It was too much for him... Lightspeed, weighed down with sorrow, collapsed in a heap and went into stasis lock.
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He and Strafe were the only ones left alive. Though he had heard that Strafe's state was going worse day by day. Now he was in a coma, and no one knew if he would ever wake up. Lightspeed felt truly alone.
"...I don't have anything left in this world. Maybe now I should get upgraded and leave for the stars... could at least forget this and..." he sighed. He could get a faster mode and leave, but how could it help? He'd still remember everything. Nothing could erase that day from his mind, not even exploring. He was seriously thinking about becoming a Neutral and leaving the war behind, but he knew the Autobots would need every soldier they could get, now that the other Technobots had died. Then he thought about the most drastic solution he could come up with.
"What if I'd just off-line permanently?" then he snapped out of it and realized in shock and disgust that what he had thought about was the solution of a coward. A coward, that's what he would be if he'd do it.
"No," he thought. "I'll stay here and fight. That's what my brothers would've wanted me to do. I'll get to see them again when the Matrix decides it's my time. But it's not now. Not yet."
Then he heard a quiet voice say: "Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have," Lightspeed looked upwards at the stars. He nodded... and turned around to face Ultra Magnus. "But when we can't dream any longer we die. So don't give up on your dreams, Lightspeed. They will come true, eventually."
Lightspeed looked at the City Commander in astonishment. He was surprised at how perceptive he was. Then he looked him in the face and said:
"Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment. That's what Nosecone would have said..."
Then his optics widened and he looked behind him, but saw nothing. He looked at Ultra Magnus, who just smiled, taking Lightspeed by the shoulders and saying: "Let it go. Live your life, for your brothers."
Then he turned around and left Lightspeed alone with his thoughts. The Technobot looked upwards at the stars again and said aloud:
"You just had to infect Magnus with your proverbs... Nosecone, you old fox."