20- Partners.
"I have been a fool. Made mistakes, monumental ones. I now realize that I was never destined to be a leader, or even an equal partner. And I'm in peace with that. I have gained a clear understanding of my place in this universe. Of who I am. Of who I was always meant to be: Darkscream, second-in-command. Humble servant to lord Galvatron. Thank you for listening, Soundblaster."
Darkscream made an entire confession giving what he witnessed during his experience with Galvatron at the abandoned energon mine. But when he entered the Nemesis' bridge, he found Galvatron talking with Airachnid.
"Is this true?!" Galvatron asked in disbelief.
"Darkscream never mentioned it." Airachnid answered.
"If he's up to his old tricks I shall grind him into powder."
Darkscream coughed to signal them that he was already present.
Galvatron turned at him. "Darkscream."
"Lord Galvatron, please excuse Airachnid's impertinence. Now, what was it that I allegedly failed to mention?"
"The Harbinger."
"What about it?"
"Eons ago a Decepticon transport crash-landed on this planet." Airachnid explained as she showed an image of the ship on the bridge's screen.
"Oh please, common knowledge. I scouted the crash site right after the Nemesis was completely functional."
"Then I presume you recovered the experimental weapon prototype the Harbinger had been transporting?" Airachnid asked, catching Darkscream off guard.
"Where is the crash site?" Galvatron demanded.
"It was never logged into your ship's database." Airachnid pointed.
"You failed to record the coordinates of a Decepticon transport?!" Galvatron asked mad.
"An oversight, master. But I noted its exact location." Darkscream defended.
"Then you can lead Airachnid there, so that she may retrieve the prototype for me." Galvatron declared before returning back to his business.
"My personal native guide. How delightful." Airachnid expressed.
But Darkscream wasn't exactly glad to have to show her the way, because he gritted his teeth. Meanwhile, on top of the Autobot base, Arcee was looking at the sunset sitting at the edge.
"I had the feeling that I would find you here."
Arcee turned back to see her partner coming. "Oh, hey Hot."
"Heck of a view you got up here." Hot Rod admired. "What's on your head?"
Arcee sighed. "I was just…thinking. Before knowing the Cons were back, we have been so close to possibly lose you."
"Yeah, but it didn't happen, so it's okay." Hot Rod simply said, but his face changed to a serious look once he knew where Arcee was going with that conversation. "Arcee, you are not thinking what I'm thinking, right? Even if something would happen to me, it would not be right for you to go after the responsible one in the case you know who was."
"But doing nothing would not stop that or any Con to inflict more harm, and you know they don't regret it."
"It doesn't matter. We already know how much Tailgate's demise affected you, and because of that you almost let Serena at the hands of Airachnid. We Autobots know revenge would not bring any good to our fallen comrades, because in the case they are still out there listening, I'm sure they would not like for us to do that. That's one of the few things we're better at than them."
And with all said, Hot Rod left Arcee alone with her thoughts. At the same time, inside the forest of the Unova's Nature Preserve, Darkscream hovered near the ground before changing to robot form. He waited for Airachnid, who came in vehicle form, transformed, and landed too.
"Your chosen vehicle mode lacks thrust." Darkscream criticized.
"Are you going to preen or are you going to guide?" Airachnid defended.
"I will reveal the exact location of the Harbinger when you tell me exactly what we're looking for."
"That information is need-to-know, and right now you don't."
"Oh, you would do well to respect me, Airachnid. Before I joined Megatron I was air commander of a squadron of energon seekers."
"On Cybertron. And how many eons ago was that?"
"Just recently I personally almost vanquished one of Optimus Prime's fiercest warriors." Darkscream said, trying to impress.
"Almost. Which means you didn't actually manage to snuff off his spark."
"Maybe. But I was close thanks to my great tactic. And without mercy."
"Oh, even Galvatron showed you mercy when he planned to terminate you at the mine."
"What? He told you about that?"
"We talked."
"Bah. The wreckage lies just beneath where we stand. I will need to find a point of entry." Darkscream started while Airachnid started to dig a hole to enter the ship. "Showoff."
Once inside, Airachnid crawled on the ceiling while Darkscream followed her easy.
"Suit yourself. I conducted a thorough search of this husk long ago." Darkscream said.
Airachnid turned on the ship's terminals.
"What are you doing?" Darkscream asked.
"Accessing the cargo manifest. Or didn't you think to do that during your thorough search?" Airachnid answered as she typed on the terminal.
"Idiot. The ship's systems haven't been activated for eons. The Autobots could detect its energy signature."
"Ah, here it is. Section 23."
But Darkscream was right, because the ship's signal appeared on the screen of the Autobot base.
"Optimus, our scanners have detected a Decepticon energy profile. But it's ancient." Ratchet reported.
"The past has a way of catching up with the present, Ratchet."
Back in the Harbinger, Airachnid was heading to her destination with Darkscream behind her.
"Section 23 should be right about…here?" She observed that she reached to a dead end. "The ship just ends. It must have broken in half during the crash."
"Hum, or in the air. If you performed actual research, you would have learnt than an Autobot battalion shot the Harbinger out of the sky." Darkscream revealed.
"How far away is the other half?" Airachnid demanded turning at him.
"I'm afraid that information is need-to-know."
Mad, Airachnid immobilized Darkscream with her webs.
"What are you…?!" Darkscream started.
"You're trying to make me look like a fool before Galvatron: have me return empty-handed while you locate that weapon yourself."
"How dare you accuse me?! You are nothing but a scavenger, an opportunist!"
"Aren't you one to talk."
"Perhaps, but I've changed. Seen the error of my ways, I live to serve Galvatron now."
"You won't live to serve anyone if you don't tell me where to find the rest of this ship. Now." Airachnid menaced.
"Arg, a few clicks north of here through a stone arch. Now release me."
"When I have the weapon in hand. That is if I can find my way back without my guide." Airachnid replied as she walked away.
"This is not funny, Airachnid! Come back here right now and cut me loose! Airachnid, that is an order! I am your commanding officer!"
Airachnid chuckled, but her fun ended when she saw the Autobots right in front of her when she turned at the next corridor, accompanied by Ash's Pikachu, Serena's Pancham, Zippo and May's Skitty. And they spotted her too.
"Pika pika!"
"Pancham!" He said getting ready to fight once he recognized her.
"Airachnid." Arcee saw.
"Surrender." Optimus ordered.
She responded changing to her spider mode and crawling away, followed by Arcee.
"Airachnid, you traitor!" Darkscream called as he saw her walking above him before she made a hole to get out before he saw the Autobots arrive and the pokémon look at him confused. "Don't ask."
"Arcee, wait!" Elita called.
Arcee followed Airachnid through the hole back to the surface. Once there she looked for Airachnid with her gun ready, but she wasn't there. Suddenly, she came from below her, pushing her aside.
"Arcee, huh."
"I didn't peg you for re-signing with the Decepticons." Arcee said before she charged at her rival with her blades ready.
"A temporary arrangement, Arcee. You know I prefer working alone."
Arcee tried to hit her, but Airachnid managed to dodge and grab her by the foot with one of her spider legs. Next, she threw her, but landed perfectly before charging again. She tried to strike again, but Airachnid grabbed her from behind.
"Speaking of, add any more decease partners to your growing list?" Airachnid provoked.
"Airachnid, release her!" Elita ordered running at them.
Airachnid pushed Arcee aside before changing to her vehicle form and fly away. Elita One tried to shot her down, but she was already far away.
"Arcee, how many times do I have to tell you to not engage the enemy alone? You already know that well." Elita remembered.
"Not her. Not after what she did to Tailgate." Arcee swore, remembering the flashback of how she ended him. "She will pay."
"Arcee, I know that she made you pass a horrible chapter in your history, one that took you apart from our unit, but I'm sure Tailgate wouldn't you to torture yourself by not letting go your pain."
"Besides, revenge will not bring back those we have lost. Is that understood?" Optimus asked arriving.
"Move it!" Warpath shouted as he, Hot Rod, Bumblebee and the four pokémon were forcing Darkscream to walk beside them as their prisoner.
"No need to use force." Darkscream said before he felt to his knees. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."
"Hehe, is that right?" Hot Rod laughed. "And what do you want in return?"
"I want to be on your side." Darkscream answered, looking at Optimus.
"Pika?
"Pancham?"
"On our side?" Warpath asked before starting to laugh. "Yeah right, and I've lobbying with The Fallen."
"He wouldn't betray the Decepticons." Arcee said.
"Wouldn't I? What have they done for me lately besides humiliate me, spy on me, demote me? Galvatron tried to extinguish my spark in cold blood. Then all but replace me with that treacherous wretch Airachnid. She abandoned me, left me for scrap! So why not rat them out?"
Optimus, Hot Rod and Warpath went alone to discuss it while the others stayed guarding Darkscream.
"He's telling the truth about Galvatron trying to scrap him. Sideswipe, Ritchie, Ash and I saw it with our own eyes." Hot Rod reminded.
"You're not saying you actually trust Darkscream." Warpath said.
"Trust him? Never. But this may be the one time our objectives align. Besides, he has been Galvatron's second-in-command for longer than anyone else. He must know a lot of Decepticon intelligence."
"You're right to be wary, Warpath. But I agree with Hot Rod." Optimus decided.
Airachnid flew through a canyon, still inside the Nature Preserve until she reached to the other part of the Harbinger. Once inside, the checked the inside until she opened a compartment and found what she was looking for.
"Be still, my beating spark." She said pulling out the weapon, some kind of staff that turned on and emanated a blue wave of energy from the tip.
Meanwhile, the Autobots were driving at the same location. Optimus was carrying a trailer hooked to his back while the little pokémon traveled on top of him and Zippo followed them by air. Once they reached the canyon's entrance, they changed back to robot form after allowing the pokémon to get off.
"What do you know?" Warpath observed.
"Could still be a trap." Hot Rod warned.
"We all know that Darkscream's loyalty to Galvatron has always been questionable." Elita reminded.
"If he has truly split from the Decepticons, our prisoner's knowledge of their agendas could make him a valuable ally." Optimus pronounced.
"You don't mean permanently. As in keys to the base and everything?" Hot Rod asked in disbelief.
"However, unlikely that scenario, every sentient being deserves an opportunity for redemption."
"Even Bot killers? Even Airachnid?" Arcee asked annoyed.
"Without that hope, we may never achieve lasting peace."
Warpath opened the trailer's door, revealing that it was transporting Darkscream, now with cuffs in both hands and wings.
"Rise and shine, Screamy." Warpath said before he and Zippo dragged him out.
"We're here. Where's the ship?" Hot Rod asked.
Darkscream took a look around before responding. "It's through the arch, among the stones."
"Warpath, Bumblebee, Hot Rod, Elita, pokemon, you're with me. Arcee, remain with our prisoner." Optimus instructed.
"Optimus, please." Arcee stopped him. "For Tailgate."
"No Arcee. We all know that when it comes to Airachnid, you get carried away by your hate toward her, the reason why she managed to take advantage over you before many times. Your desire to avenge Tailgate will only continue to cloud your judgment, and endanger the mission. That's the reason you will remain here to guard Darkscream." The female Autobot commander clarified, making Arcee sigh in defeat before they entered the canyon.
"I'm sorry, partner. But she has a point." Hot Rod said with sad tone before he went with them.
Arcee stayed with Darkscream, who found his cuffs a little uncomfortable.
"Is the clamp really necessary? I promise not to fly away. It's really giving me a crick." Darkscream asked.
"I can shove you back in the trailer." Arcee answered, making Darkscream groan.
The rest of the Autobots started looking for the ship with their guns ready.
"Be alert. Airachnid is known to attack from below ground." Elita warned.
"Right." Warpath said nervous.
"Pika pi." Pikachu said a little nervous, before Zippo offered him, Pancham and Skitty to ride aboard him and search from the air.
After a little walk, they finally found the Harbinger. But Airachnid was hidden behind the structure. Optimus signaled them to advance, not aware that Airachnid was on top of the ship aiming them with the weapon active. Fortunately, Optimus dodged the beam it shot and fired at her, but she jumped every time, dodging the shots.
"I got her." Warpath said advancing and firing.
Airachnid took the advantage and fired the weapon again, and this time the energy beam hit Warpath. Once it finished, the green Autobot was completely frozen, like paralyzed.
"Warpath!" Hot Rod exclaimed.
"The Immobilizer. True to its name." Airachnid said before firing it again.
Back with Arcee, she was walking back and forth with frustration while Darkscream looked.
"I'm not really so bad, you know? Galvatron, he's the evil one." Darkscream said, trying to make conversation.
"Tell it to someone who cares." Arcee responded dully.
"Like whom? Airachnid? What I wouldn't do to get my hands around her wretched throat."
"So we can agree on one thing."
"Oh, you have no idea. She showed up one day and the next thing you know she's acting like she runs the place. She whispered lies into Galvatron's ear, maneuver to rob me of my rightful place."
"Well, she terminated my partner." Arcee added.
"What? She's taking credit for trying to scrapping him now too? That was my doing!"
"What? You weren't there."
"Yeah, of course I wasn't. I don't know what I was thinking." Darkscream corrected nervous.
"Who are you talking about?"
"No one. Who are you talking about?"
"Tailgate."
"Eh…Who's Tailgate?"
Then Arcee widened her eyes as she realized what Darkscream was referring to.
"You are the one. You almost caused Hot Rod's demise."
"Hot Rod? It was that the Autobot who was on the outside energon crater?" Darkscream asked alarmed, confirming by mistake Arcee's superstitions as she was about to strike him. "No! No no no, you misunderstand. It wasn't like you think. The troops were firing at him without my authorization, I was trying to help Hot Rod: warning him so he could get away as far as possible from the explosion."
But Arcee didn't believe him, so she kicked him back.
"Okay, okay, it was a mistake. I've made many, but I've changed. You wouldn't terminate a defenseless prisoner, would you?"
Arcee didn't say anything. Instead, she pulled out a small device and threw in front of him.
"What? What is that?" Darkscream asked confused.
"The key to your cuffs." Arcee answered.
"What for?"
"If Hot was here, I'm sure he would have given you a fighting chance."
"No, please. I don't want to! What's past is past. I'm one of you now."
She pulled out her weapons and aimed at him, scaring him a lot.
"No!"
"Take it!" Arcee shouted.
Darkscream grabbed the key and was about to release his cuffs, but he dropped it by the fear.
"You're pathetic." Arcee said as she changed one of her guns for a hand and was about to take the key.
But in that moment, Darkscream chuckled darkly as he prepared his claws and used them. Arcee immediately felt a huge pain coming from one side of her stomach, showing claw marks from which energon was leaking. The pain made her fall to her knees while Darkscream used the key to free his hands.
"Something wrong, Arcee? I thought you wanted a fight." He said advancing at her pulling out his double chainsaws.
Meanwhile, the other Autobots continued dodging the Immobilizer beams and trying to hit Airachnid with their guns, the same as Pikachu and the other pokémon, which attacked with Thunderbolt, Dark Pulse, Blizzard and Flamethrower. But she was too fast, jumping over the rocks with her spider legs. Optimus and Elita were about to try again when suddenly, she was gone. As Bee, Hot Rod and the pokémon went with them, Airachnid appeared from below the ground behind them.
Freeze." She said firing again.
The Autobot leaders tried to fired her back, but the Immobilizer paralyzed them first.
"No! Big mistake, Airachnid." Hot Rod said as he, Bumblebee and the pokémon continue firing at her.
But she continued jumping above the rocks and firing paralyzing beams. At the same time, Arcee wasn't going well either: with her injure, she only was able to block Darkscream's chainsaws with her blades or simply dodge them. Until she had the chance to kick him back.
"You're tougher to scrap than I thought. Of course, I'm sure Hot Rod would have been a better challenge. But what about Tailgate? Was he weaker than Hot Rod?" Darkscream provoked as they started to circle around.
"Just keep talking, Darkscream." Arcee said before striking again.
Because Airachnid was too quick to shot her down, Bee, Hot and the pokémon had no choice but to cover themselves behind a boulder.
"Tell me, guys. Do you think Galvatron will enjoy his new trophies? He'll probably use the bulky one here for target practice." Airachnid deduced as she pushed down a paralyzed Warpath with one of her spider legs before climbing above Optimus. "Huh, Prime and the female leader are the true prize. Perhaps they'll adorn the prow of Galvatron's warship."
She laughed before firing at the boulder they were covering. Then, Bumblebee saw some of the shots hitting a hugger boulder in front of them, making a lot of dust.
"(Hot, I have an idea.)"
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"(Totally.)"
"Then let's go. Pikachu, we need you guys to follow our lead and do exactly what we tell you. You're ready?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded determined as the other pokémon nodded.
"Then listen carefully." Hot Rod started before whispering them their plan.
Then, both Autobots fired at the same boulder until it was no more. That created a huge cloud of dust that didn't allow Airachnid to see a thing. Next, the pokémon' same attacks came from the dust with a few laser shots, so she fired the Immobilizer again. When the cloud cleared it revealed both Autobots still and the four pokémon lying on the ground defeated, making her chuckle.
"But you, Hot Rod, I suspect Galvatron will simply dismantle you and the yellow one for spare parts. The pokémon will surely will be delivered to Knock Out for study or experimentation maybe, if he doesn't allow me to conserve them as my new personal collection of Earth." Airachnid told them face-to-face before returning with Optimus. "As a rogue, a scavenger, I should disappear into the night with this treasure. But using it to worm my way into Galvatron's favor is too good an opportunity to pass up. Wouldn't you say, Prime?" But Prime couldn't answer. "I mean, with results like this I could earn Galvatron's eternal trust."
But Airachnid didn't realized that the Autobots were not paralyzed, they only pretended to be it, the same as the pokémon, who approached her without making a noise while Airachnid was distracted while the Autobots simply observed. Airachnid turned back and discovered them, but it was too late: both Zippo and Pancham hit her hard with Dragon Claw and Arm Thrust, making her loss grip of the Immobilizer, and Pikachu launched a Thunderbolt against it, the same as Skitty who used Assist, summoning a Flamethrower, splicing it in many pieces. And of course, Airachnid saw it, making her loss her great opportunity.
"You fools!" She cursed before changing to her vehicle form.
The pokémon launched their attacks at her again, slowing her down a bit, but when Hot Rod and Bumblebee joined them firing at her, she had no other option but to fly away.
"Pff, at least she will not turn us into showcase decorating items. Pikachu, Pancham, let's go see if Arcee is doing well with Scream. Bee, you and the others call Ratchet for help." Hot Rod instructed before he and the two pokémon went outside the canyon.
But Arcee wasn't exactly well: she received continued hits from Darkscream, who next kneed her on the wound, elbowed her on the back, and when she was on the floor, he kicked her down a hill.
"Ugh." She groaned in pain.
"You should have finished me when I was helpless to fight, just like I would have done with Hot Rod the previous time if I could. Now, prepare to reunite with your fallen partner." Darkscream declared as he readied his chainsaws to execute her.
"This…" Arcee tried to say hardly.
"What's that? I can't hear your last words."
"This…is for…Hot Rod!" She yelled activating one of her blades.
She hit Darkscream hard with her blade on his face, making him an ugly cut, before hitting him on the chest and the face again, and finishing pushing him against the floor, with her in top of him. She put her blade on his neck.
"Go on, do it. Galvatron will only terminate me for treason if I dare return to the Decepticons. You may as well be the one to put me out of my misery."
"As if I needed convincing." Arcee said preparing her blade to finish him.
"What? Wait, no!" Darkscream begged.
"Pancham!" Was what Arcee heard when she was about to execute Darkscream.
She looked up the hill and saw Pikachu, Pancham and Hot Rod looking at her: both pokémon showed sad eyes while Hot Rod looked at her with disappointment. At the end, she retrieved her weapons and walked away from Darkscream. The pain made her collapse, so Hot Rod and the pokémon went to help her, while Darkscream walked away. Meanwhile, back in the Nemesis…
"You left Darkscream with the Autobots? Do you have any notion of the consequences of your blunder?!" Galvatron asked furious.
"But, my lordship, it was Darkscream's incompetence that cost us the Immobilizer." Airachnid defended.
"I don't care about some trinket!" Galvatron yelled at her face. "My second-in-command is a prisoner of the enemy. Which means all Decepticon intelligence could be at the fingertips of the Autobots!"
But that wasn't exactly true. Instead, the Autobots returned back to base, where Ratchet still had to reverse the Immobilizer's effects. And he did it.
"The damage looked bad, but it was a snap to repair, allowing us to reverse its effect on you." Ratchet informed, with a fully restored Immobilizer at hand while Warpath, Elita and Optimus checked that they were completely normal. "You should regain your full range of motion before long."
"You can give the pokémon the thanks for being able to recover it." Hot Rod clarified looking at them.
"Pika pi." Pikachu said a little embarrassed, the same as his companions.
"And Arcee?" Elita asked.
"She's rather resilient, for a two-wheeler." Ratchet said.
Everyone looked at her, who was sit on the medical berth, with her hand still covering her injure.
"It is the external wounds which heal the quickest." Elita added.
"I thought settling scores would allow me to move on. Instead, I chased away our hope of winning this war anytime soon." Arcee lamented.
"Wisdom cannot be granted, Arcee, it must be earned. Sometimes at a cost." Optimus said.
Meanwhile, all that time, Darkscream had been trying to remove the cuff of his wings, by forcing a Haxorus to cut the cuff of his wings with its fangs in exchange to releasing its offspring: two Fraxure on his hands. Once it was done, he released them and changed to his alt form, taking flight and leaving the place.
"I have been a fool, made mistakes. Monumental ones. But I have gained a clear understanding of my place in this universe, of who I am: Darkscream, aligned with no side, servant to no one."
