And here we are with another chapter! So buckle up kiddos - this one's a doozie!
The base shook as the blast rung out throughout the corridors, followed closely by the alarms blaring.
::Contacting all Autobots!:: Red Alert shouted frantically over the public comm channel, ::Decepticons have breached the northernmost wall and are flooding in! All troops, mobilize immediately!::
Without any question, the available Autobots started marching towards the breach.
::We need Autobots in the air!:: Silverbolt called out, ::All aerial troops, transform and take to the skies! Stop the drop-ships from landing!::
Those that had aerial alt modes quickly went to the nearest launch bay, transforming and taking to the skies.
Sonic aimed her rifle carefully, then fired three consecutive shots, each one taking out a drone, "Seventeen!"
Arcee fired two more shots, "Twenty."
Sonic fired again, taking out four drones with the one shot, "Twenty-one!"
The blue and pink femme nodded a little, firing three more shots, "Twenty-three."
Sonic smirked a little, re-positioning herself to get more targets, "I'm gonna beat ya, just you wait!"
Arcee chuckled a little at that - nothing like a little competition on the battlefield.
Ember and Lightning fought with their backs pressed against each other, the former blasting round after round from her new Riot Cannon while the latter released a constant flow of electricity from her EDK TechVolt.
"C'mon, sis, we gotta move ahead! Keep the front lines in our favor!"
"It's difficult to proceed when you're surrounded, Em."
"Then we gotta cut a path through 'em! We got the firepower!"
"Be my guest, then."
"A'ight then!" Ember started to walk forward, blasting all of the drones before her with her cannon while Lightning handled the ones coming in from the sides.
In a matter of moments, the Terror Twins dropped in next to them, each of them brandishing a blaster in one hand and a sword in the other.
Sideswipe grinned at the femme twins as he sliced through a drone. "Heyo!"
"'Bout time you showed up, Red!" Ember proclaimed as she blasted a few more drones.
"Air traffic was bad as the Pits!"
Sunstreaker calmly blasted off drones' head and sliced through their torsos.
"Tsk tsk! Excuses, excuses!"
Sideswipe laughed, blasting another drone's head clean off.
Grimlock swung his sword in a wide arc around him, slicing several drones clean in half.
Swoop flew above him, mowing down the drones from a distance with his dual blasters.
Sludge charged through them in his dino mode, crushing them all beneath his feet. Slug was using a similar tactic, impaling them with his sharpened horns.
Snarl threw his daggers at the drones, calling the blades back to him after they drained the energy from them.
Jade darted around their legs, firing at exposed wiring with her pistol, slowing down the drones enough that Grimlock could cut down more of them at once.
Blacklight spun in an elegant dance of death, her trench coat swirling about her as she fired from her dual blasters. The drones fell all around her, making it increasingly harder and harder for the others to reach her.
Off to the side, Rose was slashing through them with her two swords while Ark tore them apart with his teeth and claws, blasting them apart when needed.
"How're you holding up, Lights?" Rose asked as she sliced down another Con, parrying a blow from another.
"Doing just fine, Rose," the other femme replied as she released another round on an approaching group of Cons, "You?"
"Fantastic!"
Ark pounced on a particularly large Con, digging his teeth into his exposed neck cables. Over the time Rose has had the Predacon, he'd grown more than a little, being just barely taller than her when standing on his hind legs.
"Good boy, Ark!"
The Predacon payed the Prime no response, however, as he went back to blasting and tearing through the Cons.
In the distance, they could hear a fusion cannon being fired.
Ark looked to the source of the sound, optics narrowing, before darting off.
"Ark!" Rose ran after him, weaving and slicing through the Cons in her path, "Wait!"
Blacklight went to follow, but was stopped by a particularly large wave of Cons. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..."
The femme Prime chased after the Predacon desperately, weaving between other Autobots and dodging blows from Decepticons.
Ark, on the other hand, barreled straight through the Decepticons - quite literally, in fact. Any Con unfortunate enough to be in his path ended up getting torn to shreds as he ran by.
Megatron fired another blast from his fusion cannon, tearing through yet another one of the Autobots. He smirked - of course this cannon fodder would fall with such ease before him. Why, they practically begged for it, daring to challenge him, the Lord of Destruction himself.
He started to walk away, only to feel his back peppered with small blasts. He turned around, not really harmed by the bullets but his attention caught all the same.
John's blaster was pointed at him, his free hand trying to stop the Energon leaking from the wound on his side while his left leg was missing entirely. "Not so fast, Decepti-freak...!" The brave Autotrooper spat, firing again.
Megatron marched towards him, lifting him by the neck cables before pointing his huge cannon at the Autobot fool's spark chamber. He asked, with a light smirk on his lips, "Any last words, Autobot?"
"Burn in the Pits, Megsy."
Before the Decepticon leader could fire, a black blur struck with such speed and force from the side he had no choice but to stumble away, dropping the Autotrooper. He growled, staring at his attacker - only to receive a plasma blast to the shoulder.
Ark growled at him, wings spread wide and his body lowered in a battle stance.
"Ah... So the good doctor's experiment finally returns!" Megatron grinned, stepping towards the Predacon.
The dragon started firing blasts of plasma in response, not letting up on his assault. The warlord frowned, actually feeling the power of the blasts - not enough to cause serious damage for now, of course, but it would certainly prove a problem if it wasn't dealt with immediately.
So obviously Megatron had to deal with it. He raised his blaster -
- Before a blade came out of nowhere, striking the bottom of his signature fusion cannon and making the blast go straight up.
He growled again, getting increasingly annoyed with this as he turned his helm to his second assailant.
Rose stared right back. "Well hello there, Megsy." She struck with her blade again, catching his cheek.
Megatron took a step back. "Ha! Do you truly expect me to fall to a-?!"
Drip!
The tyrant stopped, bringing a servo to his cheek. It was wet.
There was Energon on it.
His Energon.
...
Megatron grinned - oh, it would be fun snuffing out this one's spark.
Rose raised her blades into a defensive stance, ready to fight. In response, Megatron formed his chain and mace on his left hand, swinging it wildly towards her to drive her back.
The Prime darted back each time he swung forward, briefly darting in between blows to strike his sides before spinning away from his energy weapon.
"You fight well for a femme!" The warlord stated boldly, striking once more.
"For your information, Megsy," she darted in for another strike to his midsection, "my name is Rosalina Prime!"
Megatron's grin widen. "A Prime, now?" He caught her arm, crushing it in his iron grip.
She cried out, dropping the blade in that arm before swinging wildly with the one she still had.
He knocked it away, lifting her up by the arm to stare her in the face. "Then I will relish taking your sparkchamber from your cold, offline chassis."
Ark struck at his legs, firing his back in an attempt to make him release Rose.
The Decepticon leader didn't budge, however, and fire at him without looking.
"Ark!" The femme cried out, trying to kick the warlord.
"Is that what you call it?" Megatron asked, pushing his pede down on the Predacon, earning a whimper. "How amusing - you named the beast designed for your destruction after the ship the Autobots thought would save them!" He grinned wickedly, bringing her closer to his face.
She kicked wildly at him, trying to pry his fingers off her arm with her free hand.
Megatron simply pointed his cannon at her chest, powering it up. "Any last words, Rosalina Prime?"
"I hope you rust in the Pits."
"Not even a creative one-liner. Pathetic." He lowered the cannon, and blasted her left leg.
She couldn't hold back her scream, her leg nearly torn off.
He brought it back to her chest. She offlined her optics, waiting for the blast. She heard something be fired - but didn't feel the pain. Had she turned off her pain receptors without noticing? Or is that what it's like when it kills you-
She fell to the ground, and she most definitely did feel the pain of landing on her hip awkwardly. She turned her optics back on.
Megatron was holding a servo to his left shoulder, glaring at something.
She turned her head to the side - and got a flash of silver. She grinned at that.
Sonic you beautiful femme.
The warlord lifted his cannon to fire, but a second blast from Arcee knocked off his aim.
Rose looked to Ark - his face was scorched from Megatron's blast, but it didn't look too serious.
Thank Primus Predacon armor is resilient.
She dragged herself to Ark, holding him gently and speaking softly, "Ark? You alright, buddy?"
His optics flickered on, looking at her silently.
She sighed in relief before pressing a digit to the side of her helm. ::Lightning?::
::Sonic already called, I'm heading to your coordinates with Ember and the Terror Twins as we speak.::
::Thanks.:: She turned off her comm, reaching for one of her dropped swords as she stared at Megatron.
He was sporting a few wounds from Sonic and Arcee's constant firing from different locations. The warlord growled, shouting through his own commlink "Decepticons, retreat!" He crouched down, launching into the air.
"Not on my watch..." Rose muttered, throwing her sword at his leg. It spun in the air, imbedding itself into his leg.
He winced, growling at the blade before pulling it out and dropping it to the ground.
Rose grinned, dragging herself to pick up the Energon-soaked blade as the Decepticons retreated.
Lightning ran to Rose, TechVolt ready should the Cons decide a second attack.
Ember ran beside her, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker close behind. "Yo, Rose?"
"Over here!"
The blue femme ran over, crouching down next to her as she got out her tools and checked over her wounds - a mangled right arm, a scorched leg attached only by a few frayed wires, and a few dents from a few glancing blows.
Sideswipe whistled, "Geez, what Con did this to you, Rosie?"
"You look like you tussled with Megatron." Sunstreaker remarked, glancing in dismay at her paintjob.
"That'd be because I did, Sunny. It's not fun." Rose winced as Lightning reattached her leg. "Ow!"
"Quit your whining or I'll toss you back to Bucket Head."
"Primus, no. And check on Ark first."
"Femme, your leg is a glorified Scraplet pipe and your arm is so mangled that it's bending forty-five degrees at the middle of your forearm."
"Yeah, and he got a direct blast to the face from Megatron."
"... Yeah, I'll see him first." She moved to Ark, lifting his helm.
He hissed and tried biting her servo, unable to see clearly and thinking she's another Con.
"Hey, Ark, no." Rose spoke softly, resting her good hand on the spot between his wings, "That's Lightning. She's a friend."
Ark looked in her general direction, then turned his optics back forward, trying to refocus them.
Lightning set to work cleaning the blast marks off his face to get a better look at the damage.
"How is he, Lightning?"
"Well, obviously, his optics received some damage from the Fusion Blast, but I think they were closed so the damage's mostly just light. They'll readjust to the correct brightness setting in time. And his Predacon armor absorbed most of the damage from the blast - the scorch marks suggest Megatron didn't use a full-power blast, though. Had he powered up before firing, I don't think Ark would've made it." Lightning set his helm back down. "So since we now know his damage is only superficial, I'm going to focus on you."
"But-"
Lightning hit the Prime upside the head with a wrench, "I'm treating you first, end of story Doctor's orders."
"Primus, she's just like Hatchet..." Sideswipe muttered, shivering a little.
"Not an insult." Lightning replied. "I don't have what I need to fix your arm, and you can't exactly transform with it bent out of shape like that. And since none of us have an alt mode big enough to hold you, we're gonna have to wait until a bigger bot can get here to carry you back to the med bay."
"Ugh, fine." Rose rubbed the back of her helm gingerly. "Think you could've been more gentle with that wrench, though?"
"No." The medic replied, using a soldering iron to seal the leaks in her chassis.
Later, in the Med Bay
Ratchet finished patching up John, "Take it easy for three joors, and check back with me to make sure everything's fine. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." The Autotrooper slowly got up, "Thank you, sir."
"You're welcome."
John saluted the medic, which Ratchet returned. The previously injured mech lowered his servo, carefully walking out of the medbay.
Lightning approached him as he readjusted his tool table, hands behind her back as she spoke, "... Sir?"
He looked over his shoulder at her, "Yes, Lightning?"
"... Do you think I could possibly get a new frame?"
The senior officer paused, then slowly turned to face the young femme. "Why?"
"While my current one is ideal for speed, it doesn't do too well when I need to quickly move Bots off the battlefield for serious medical attention. And even if there is a safe zone, I should be able to at least shield my patient's exposed circuits as I treat them with my frame."
Ratchet contemplated this. "... It could be done. But the procedure is a long one, and you would have to be inactive for it."
"I understand, sir."
"Alright. If you're completely certain with this... We can do it."
Lightning nodded. "Absolutely, sir."
Ratchet nodded slowly. "... We can start tomorrow. But for now-" he started to walk out, patting her shoulder lightly, "- get some rest. You've earned it."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
He smiled faintly. "... It's just Ratchet for you, Lightning." He gave her shoulder one last pat before walking off to get some High Grade.
Lightning took a deep breath, then walked to her berth room.
Ember was tossing a ball at the wall when she walked in, "Hey sis! All done?"
Lightning nodded, sitting down on her berth silently.
Ember kept throwing the ball at the wall.
Lightning looked at the door, making sure it was closed. "... Tracey?"
Ember paused, missing the ball. Lightning sounded... Scared.
And that wasn't her thing.
"What's up, Kayla?"
The blue medic looked down. "... i'm getting a new frame tomorrow. A bigger one."
Oh, that's not too bad.
"Oh yeah, to carry your patients, ri-"
"A more masculine frame."
They could hear a pin drop, and the blunt of it hit Ember.
... Oh.
"Oh, so... So you're...?"
"... I want to be a mech."
Ember silently got up, sitting next to her sis - no, brother.
Get that in your head, Ember - him. Lightning wants to be a him.
"Alright. That's cool."
Lightning looked up at her.
Ember put on her best grin, "It'd be cool to have a bro. Bro." Playfully slugs his shoulder.
...
Lightning cracked a small smile, slugging her shoulder. "Thanks, Tracey."
She hugged him, "No problemo, bro. You still gonna go by Lightning Strike? Or something new?"
"I... Haven't thought of it. Does Lightning Strike sound masculine?"
Ember shrugged, "Kinda sounds like it could go either way to me."
Lightning pondered this. "... I'll figure it out." He hugged her a little tighter, "Thanks for understanding."
"You're welcome. So," she released him, "get some rest! You've got a big day tomorrow."
"Heh, right."
Ember got up, flopping down on her own berth. "Night."
"Goodnight." He replied, laying down.
And there you have it, Chapter Thirteen!
I hope you all enjoyed the action-packed chapter with a spark-felt ending!
On another note, I apologize for my tardiness, as life and writer's block decided to be more prominent once more. As always, I'll try to work on these as often as I can. And finally, I have a question for you all: Should Lightning change his name, or leave it as is? Your input is appreciated, and if I like all the responses I get I might do a poll to see which one of the suggestions gets the most votes!
Til All Are One,
- Alpha