Disclaimer: Transformers: Animated and everything related belongs to the rightful company Hasbro. I am in no way shape or form making money off this.
Author's Note: Ever have those moments when you have your notes all written out, you can picture the chapter in your head how you want to go, you're all set to write but you just end up staring at a blank screen? Or your muse decides to be a major b**** and refuse to cooperate? Or when you do finally get the drive to write you can't fo whatever reason (glares at work)? Or you just feel like "meh"? (raises hand) So, without further ado, I bring you the latest chapter of "Nightmare." Please enjoy (bows)
Poll updated as of 9/29/2020:
Prowl: 24
Starscream: 29
Optimus Prime: 5
Other: 5 (Bulkhead: 1; Skywarp: 1; Sentinel: 2)
Rankings haven't changed much but if I'm wrong please le met know. Enjoy!
"Nightmare"
Written by: Beloved Shadow
Inspiration by: JazzTheTiger
"B-Bee… the Autobots… are, in trouble," she said, still sore from her failed attempt to rescue her friends.
"Sari!" Rushing forward, the scout held his techno-organic friend in his servos carefully. "What happened?"
"It's a long story, but Soundwave is back, and he's-he's reprogramming the Autobots."
"Wait, what? But Soundwave's gone, busted into pieces! And how'd he take everyone down?"
"I dunno how, but it's true. Listen…"
After hanging up with Slipstream, the young techno-organic began looking around the base. She revisited each of the bots' room twice, including the storage area and medbay but there was no sign of her friends anywhere. That's when it dawned on her if she couldn't find them physically, didn't mean she couldn't locate their spark signature. Logging onto the computer, Sari watched as it scanned the immediate area for their signatures, only for the results indicate that they were currently at her location.
"So, they're here but I can't find them? What, they turn invisible or something?" None of this made any sense but Bumblebee wouldn't lie to her, so, where were they?
The almost silent hiss of a panel sliding open was heard, prompting the young lady to go investigate just in time to witness a large, black and dark yellow robotic bird fly out of what appeared to be an elevator shaft built into the floor, taking off via the same open skylight she had entered earlier. Her astonishment grew as the lift came up to let loose what looked like a miniature army of Sound Wave toys! Who immediately noticed her and began charging towards her.
"Oh no you don't!" Still fuming over the way the original had tried to ruin her friendship with Bulkhead, Sari didn't hesitate to send a blast of energy at them, destroying the lot of them. "That's one gift I don't care that I can't return." But the question reminded, how come the Autobots never told her about having a basement with a working elevator? Deciding to move cautiously, she stepped onto the lift and watched as it began to go down, the doors closing above her head.
"You might be able to hide from me, but you can't hide your energy signals," Sari murmured to herself as she closed her eyes to concentrate. A slight furrow formed between her brows as she focused on them but it wasn't making any sense. Her friends were still here, but there felt like there was something trying to interfere. Her eyes opened when the lift stopped and she found herself in an underground structure that looked like it may have been used as storage a long time ago. "I didn't know they had a basement." What's more, there was a massive charge in the air. Moving in deeper she finally found her friends and now understood why they hadn't come out to greet her.
The basement seemed to resemble a mad scientist's lair with machinery everywhere, giving the basement a dark and foreboding atmosphere. All of the Autobots were laying on metal slabs, all recharging with various cables and wires sticking out from their helms, all of which led to a large console with several screens. Standing before said console was a blue bot with dark yellow trimming, a bot the techno-organic had not seen for a while and was most definitely not a friend or ally.
"Reprograming status: currently at 57%. Virtual simulation successful, but we must increase the process," Soundwave said aloud, watching as the humans on the screens continued about their insignificant lives.
"I told you, you can't rush the program. If you want it to do its job it needs to finish rewriting every line of code and that takes time," a voice said from the console, a small window opening up to reveal what looked like a shadowed figure at the other end. "But the toys have all been delivered and their prime directives are being uploaded. Soon, all of New Detroit will be ours to command and we each get what we want."
"Reprograming my friends? Taking over my city? I don't know who you're working with, but I'm not letting either of you get away with this, you over-sized toolbox," Sari said with a frown, a glowing ball of energy forming in her hand, she stepped out from her hiding spot but a sudden shriek above/behind her made her start and she looked up to see a dark red and black robotic bird staring down at her. The same bird she had seen flying away earlier except for the coloring.
Soundwave immediately turned and noticed the one organic he despised more than all the others. "Insolent organic, your elimination begins now," he said as he charged at her.
"Soundwave, wait!" the figure on his console spoke up but his words were ignored. Sari jumped back and launched the ball of energy at the larger bot, smirking in satisfaction as it blasted a relatively large hole in his shoulder, causing him to stumble and fall back. "Damn you, Sumdac. Laserbeak! Operation: Sonic Attack, now!"
The robotic bird let out a cry, taking to the air it transformed into an electric guitar and fell into the awaiting grip of Soundwave even as he struggled back up onto his peds, ignoring the sparks and leaking energon from his injury.
"I've heard your music before, Soundwave. I'm not impressed."
"I have upgraded my instruments." To prove it, he strummed a few cords, releasing a powerful burst of sonic energy that struck Sari with such force, she was sent flying back, slamming into the wall with a cry of pain. Releasing the guitar, it transformed back into a bird, hovering in the air.
"I still need her alive," the shadowed figure reminded the blue bot, even as Laserbeak flew straight for the struggling teen.
Sari wasn't out, but she was in pain and she knew she clearly underestimated Soundwave. Especially since he was clearly working with someone else and he had back-up of his own. "… I'll be back for you guys, I promise," she whispered to herself as she forced herself to run the remaining distance to the elevator, darting inside and watching as the door closed just in time for the mini Decepticon to slam into it. It struggled to get to her but the lift moved up, allowing her to escape.
"That's when I knew I needed help and began flying straight here, almost didn't make it when this guy found me," the teenage girl said as she gestured to the flying Dinobot.
"We gotta help them, we can't just sit here and let Soundwave get away with this either," Bumblebee said firmly, looking ready to give orders but he winced as he grabbed at his swollen tank once more, venting deeply.
"Bumblebee! Are you-"
"I'm fine!" he hissed, ignoring the warnings that were starting to fill up his HUD. Instead, he looked at the group and nodded. "We're going to New Detroit, we're gonna get the other bots free, and we're gonna offline Soundwave once and for all."
"but the scary medic said you're supposed to be resting," Skywarp brought up quietly.
"well, he's not here right now. there's no one else except us, and those bots-are my family," Bee hissed, ignoring the increasing pain as he looked at the terrified seeker. "wouldn't you do the same, even if it scared you?"
Everything scared the violet seeker, but none more so than being alone. "Alright," he said quietly then looked at the Dinobots; he could tell they were unsure themselves, but Grimlock slowly nodded.
"Me Grimlock say we help robot cars. But, me no have to like it," he huffed.
"But Bee, you can't transform!"
"I can't stay here knowing they're in trouble! And even if you leave me here, I will find a way to go there by myself if I have to." And he would, even if he didn't know how nothing was going to stop him. Sari finally agreed which prompted the minibot to grin. "and I know the perfect way were gonna get there in record time."
Linda sighed for what felt like the hundredth time today, massaging her forehead but nothing she did eased the headache she had been feeling for a while now. She had just finished her lunch and was enjoying the peace and quiet when the headache appeared out of nowhere. She thought that taking a walk around the city would help but it seemed to have also affected her vision as she began hallucinating.
Strange structures were overlapping the buildings, sleeker, taller, futuristic, and the skies seemed darker, like it was permanent twilight. That wouldn't have given her cause for alarm until she realized she wasn't seeing people walking back and forth but robots, different sizes and a variety of colors, some were even changing into what looked like vehicles and back. It got to the point where she had stopped and was looking at a store's window that her own reflection changed to that of an aqua blue robot. It startled her so much she had stumbled backwards into the street and would have been run over had the driver not stopped in time.
Corey looked at the woman with a critical eye. Twice he had nearly run over someone, in the same day. He didn't believe in coincidences, but unlike the young man from earlier he didn't immediately snap at the woman. Well, not really but it had taken some persuasion to get her out of the street. "How are you feeling now?" he asked.
"The same. I'm not seeing things anymore," she said. Well no, that wasn't entirely true. Now she was seeing some strange writing before her, like her face was pressed up a transparent computer screen but while the writing made no sense, she felt like she should know what it was saying. Sighing deeply, she ran her hand through her white blonde hair, rubbing the back of his neck. "Still wish I knew what caused it."
"So you already mentioned. And this is the first time it ever happened to you?"
"Yes. Though I am grateful you stopped yelling at me after seconds of meeting me."
"Well maybe if you had watched where you were going, I wouldn't be yelling at you for doing something so reckless like that. I've dealt with enough young idiots today; I don't need to add an older one to the mix."
"… did you just call me old?
"What? No, I didn't!"
"Yes, you did. And you also called me an idiot!"
"I did not! And even if I did what else do you call someone who stumbles into a busy street without looking?!"
"Someone who was freaking out by what they saw! You think I wanted to get a headache that caused me to start seeing things like something out of a sci-fi movie?!" The two doctors glared at each other, ready to have a full-blown argument right there where everyone could watch and listen (and no doubt record it) when Linda blinked and saw a robot in front of her, mostly white with some red accents and a broken chevron in place of a scar. He was berating her, a frown on his worn-looking face, but even though he was yelling she could tell he was only upset because he had been so worried about her, because he cared.
"… Ratchet…?"
Dr. Burton blinked, staring at the other woman as though she had grown a second head. "What did you call me?"
"I…" Once more the strange characters filled her vision and the pain in her head blossomed into a full-blown migraine that left her staggering. She was dimly aware of the slightly older man catching her before she fell to the ground and she could hear him asking her something but it sounded like static. "W-What?" she asked, wincing; her own voice sounded so weird to her ears, like it wasn't right.
"I said we're going to the hospital, I want to run some tests to try and figure out what's causing this," he said firmly with a hint of concern. Still holding onto her arm, Corey led Linda to his car, buckled her in the passenger seat then went around and climbed in behind the wheel. "Let me know if you're going to be sick."
"Trust me, you'll be the first to know." Linda had a feeling deep down, that this was only the beginning and she didn't like it.
In the basement level beneath the old car factory, Soundwave finished with the last of his repairs, feeling his systems giving him the all clear. On the console's screen, the shadowed figure watched him for several quiet moments.
"I told you, I need Sumdac alive."
"The human is of no consequence," he replied.
"Maybe not to you, but she is to me." Sighing deeply, the figure began typing something on their end, causing a new screen to appear on his console. "The program finished uploading to all the Sound Wave toys, including the ones that haven't been sold. Just give the command and it'll activate."
"Affirmative." Reaching to the side, the blue bot picked up a black and dark purple keytar then turned to the Autobots. "Initiate final phase of Autobot reprograming. Autobots: will fight for us. Soon they will be called—Decepticons."
"Everyone will pay for the pain they caused."
Soundwave wordlessly began playing the keytar, sonic waves washing over the Autobots, rewriting their original programing, making them loyal to the Earth-built Decepticon himself. As their optics came online, they were all glowing crimson. "Autobot reprograming: near completion. Autobots will succumb to the will of Soundwave."
"All going according to plan, now we just-" But whatever the figure was about to say was cut off as a cable that had been damaged during the fight with Sari earlier fell and touched the console. The live wire sparked and the electricity fried the circuitry inside, causing a cascade of errors to appear and putting a halt to the upload.
"Error. Reprograming: interrupted. Autobot reprogramming: will take longer than anticipated." How the Earth-made Decepticon detested such primitive technology, but he was superior. He would fix this mess and continue with their plans.
"Soundwave? Damnit," the figure hissed, glaring at the screen on her laptop. Something happened, breaking their connection, but they had both come too far to just let their plans fall through. Instead she restored the command window and began typing away. "Wouldn't be the first time someone opened their presents early," she muttered as her laptop asked if she wanted to activate the program. She didn't hesitate for a moment as she clicked on confirm. "Merry Christmas, New Detroit. Let's see how many survive to see the New Year."
All across the city, millions of Sound Wave toys came online, their miniature visors glowing red as they burst free from their packaging. Operation: Organic Control had been activated and they swarmed the streets, brainwashing any and all humans they came across. Even an unsuspecting Powell, who was too busy counting his profits, was taken back as the hottest selling toys leapt down the shelves and surrounded him. He was one of many that immediately fell under their control.
In the skies, optics were watching and recording everything back to their creators, making sure all was going according to plan. And it was due to their keen optics that they noticed something clearly out of the ordinary. Flying low, said optics landed within the shadow at the end of the alleyway, looking down where several bots had suddenly "appeared" out of thin air.
"Me Grimlock, no feel good," the large mech said, swaying a bit unsteadily on his peds.
"Hey, don't sit down! We gotta rescue the others!" Sari said but she looked at her best friend in concern as he dropped to his knees, once more clutching at his mid-section. "Bumblebee-"
"I'm fine!" he lied, once more ignoring the messages popping up in his HUD. As long as his sparkling wasn't offlining, he was going to continue to push on. Thankfully he didn't have an urge to upload the energon he had earlier and he didn't fight it as servos carefully helped him back up to his peds. "So… what's the plan?"
The young techno-organic blinked as everyone turned to look at her. "Why are you all looking at me?"
"You're the one that told us to come here, surely you have a plan on rescuing the other Autobots?" Skywarp asked. When the small human said nothing, his optics grew huge and his wings began to tremble ever so slightly. "Wait, you don't have a plan? We're going to be eliminated!"
"No, we aren't! Look, I know where Soundwave is keeping everyone, so we head over to the factory, take the elevator down, free the others, and smash him back into a million pieces!" she said with such determination, the group felt compelled to believe in her words, but someone was determined to bring them down before they could even start. The technimal narrowed her optics as she opened her wings, and released an audio-splitting shriek. It not only had the desired effect of stunning the intruders, it also alerted the programmed toys to their location.
"What's going on!?" Skywarp shouted, trying very hard not to rip out his auditory sensors from his helm.
"Someone stop screaming!" Bumblebee screamed himself, curled on the ground as he struggled to offline his sensors.
The Dinobots were roaring in obvious pain, trying to stop themselves from listening to the piercing sound they ended up transforming into their dino modes and were spewing fire all around them, uncaring that they were coming close to roasting their own comrades on the spot. One such blast came close enough to the shrieking technimal she was forced to stop and took to the skies.
Sari winced, looking up she blinked as she saw something yellowish flying off but she didn't have a chance to tell anyone as she turned to the entrance of the alley and saw that an army of Sound Wave toys had found them. "Great. Just what we don't need right now," she groaned to herself but her ears were still badly ringing. She covered her ears once more when the Dinobots let out a loud roar, and nearly trampled her into the ground as they charged out of the alleyway, chasing after the toys. "Hey, wait!"
"Me Grimlock smash puny bots!" the defacto leader roared, stomping on as many toys as he could as well as blasting fire with enough heat that the asphalt was melting. "Me Grimlock DESTROY!" Right behind him was Snarl who used her greater bulk to pave a way through the toys, spearing many of them on her horns. Swoop, however, took to the air, letting out battle shrieks of his own as he picked up random vehicles he could lift and dropped them down on the unsuspecting toys. The trio were too busy destroying their targets, they ignored the young human-turned-Cybertronion even as she yelled at them to stop.
"I'm the leader, so you should be listening to me!" Sari shouted but it was no use. "Why is this so difficult?!"
The cowardly seeker was about to answer but jumped when his "sister's" vocalizer blared over his comm link. "Y-Yes?" he answered weakly.
::What the slag are you doing here with the Autobot?!:: Slipstream yelled at him, fury evident in her tone.
"H-How did you know we're here?"
::I have optics, nuts for processor!:: Sure enough, from her vantage point she could see them. But sadly, so could the bots she was fighting. ::GET DOWN!::
The purple and black seeker clone looked up only to yelp and immediately grabbed Bumblebee and Sari tightly to his chassis. There was an audible popping sound before the spot they had been standing was peppered with laser fire. A large shuttle pulled up but was finding it difficult to shake off the laser fire from the teal colored jet as it tried to shoot him down. A short distance away in another alleyway there was a distinctive "popping" sound and three forms appeared.
"That was too close," he said mostly to himself, looking around warily just in case.
"What's the big idea? Where are we, anyway?" Sari demanded, flying out of the seeker's grip she didn't notice the way Bumblebee slid down the wall until he was sitting. Flying up she realized they were pretty close to the factory, merely a block or so away. "Why didn't you just teleport us inside? We had the element of surprise!"
"I-I can't. I mean, I tried but I panicked and just warped us somewhere safe," Skywarp replied nervously, tapping the tips of his claws together as his wings gave a nervous twitch. "Or, at least away from the fighting?"
"We're still in the open like this!" the teenager yelled at the seeker, said mech shrinking in on himself, neither of them noticed the increasing amount of pain and distress the Autobot carrier was in. No matter what he did, Bumblebee could not ignore the warnings so he finally pulled the latest one up and felt his spark just drop. He tried to warn the two that he needed help but froze when he looked up and saw a bot standing in front of him. However, the surprise quickly turned to fear as servos reached down and wrapped around his neck cables.
"P-Prowl! What—are you doing!?" The digits continued to tighten around the cables, optics glowing a bright red behind the gold tinted visor with no sign of recognition on the ninja bot's faceplates. This was not his ninja-bot, only cemented when his opened his lip plates and said in a cold, monotone vocalizer, "Autobots must be destroyed."
The sound of the sirens cut through the air as firefighters yelled out orders to one another, unloading equipment as fast as they could. A heavy-duty hose was unraveled before several of the uniformed men and women took a hold of it and released the trapped water. Steam poured out of the building as some of the fires were doused but it wasn't enough.
"Get the other hoses out!" David ordered even as he helped unload another hose from the truck. "Keep an eye on the fire, make sure it doesn't spread to the other buildings!"
"What are you idiots doing?! Get these gawkers back, they're getting in the way!" Townsend shouted at the police officers, shoving at those that were getting in his way without so much as a 'excuse me'. "What are you two doing just standing there?! Do something!"
"We need to make sure our equipment is secure," one of the firefighters was saying as he helped one of his comrade's strap on his gear began roughly patting him on the shoulder to let him know he was good to go.
"Well, work faster, damnit!"
"Townsend! Stop yelling at my fire fighters, you don't give the orders around here," David said with a frown even as he finished hooking up the second hose to the truck.
"Someone has to since you're doing a poor job of leading them," he sneered himself. The two would have gone into a full-blown argument if at that moment the fire fighters came out of the burning building, supporting a woman who was coughing harshly.
"We have a victim!" one of them yelled as they led her away from the building. Near the emergency ambulance Dr. Burton cursed under his breathe but wordlessly helped the lady sit as EMT quickly wrapped a space blanket around her, placing an oxygen mask to help her breathe. "You'll be alright, miss. Just focus on breathing," he said calmly but the woman was shaking her head, trying to say something even as she continued coughing, trying to rid her lungs of the smoke.
"But- *cough cough* -inside-" she weakly pointed at the building, wheezing painfully. "H-He's- *cough* -not here! *wheezing*"
Linda frowned as she leaned into the lady, gently patting her back. "You were with someone?" she asked and the woman nodded. "He's not here, where did you see him last?" The woman was too busy wheezing, nearly doubled over as she struggled to breathe but even with the noise of people shouting and the fire roaring there was a quiet cry that had the psychiatrist immediately whirl towards, eyes widening as she caught site of a young boy peering out of an upstairs window.
"M-Mommy!" he called out desperately, coughing himself as heavy black smoke continued to billow out from the windows. "Mommy, help!"
"B-Billy!" The woman clearly wanted to save her son, struggling weakly as she tried to stand only to collapse into the arms of the two doctors.
"We gotta get her to the hospital," the EMT workers said even as they loaded her into the back of the ambulance, trying to get her to lie down but she continued to struggle, weakly calling for her son, begging for someone to save him. Officer Bennet had heard it but he could tell the fire fighters were struggling to keep the fire from spreading. He wasn't trained for such situations, but he had to do something. Ignoring all the chaos around him, he pushed past everyone and ran inside amidst the flames and smoke.
"What the-" David had a split moment as he watched someone clearly not part of his team run inside the burning structure, not the least bit prepared but he didn't care. He made to follow after him, about ready to yell for back up but never made it as debris collapsed over the main entrance, blocking anyone else from entering or leaving. He felt his heart seize at the base of his throat, praying for some sort of miracle.
The smoke was thick, flames covering every inch of the walls but the police officer ran down the halls, taking the stairs three at a time as he focused on the almost inaudible cries of the young child. He shouldn't be able to hear him over the crackling of the flames but he could, as though something was guiding him where to go. Coming to another floor he looked around as he ran down the hall, raising his arm to try and cover his face as he struggled not to breathe too deeply.
"Where are you?!" he called out, looking around. He checked the rooms as he rushed past them, hoping, praying he would find him where he heard a terrified whimper and entered a large room. The furniture was completely engulfed in flames, the floor boards warping from the heat but there, hiding in a corner was a small boy, his arms covering his head as he whimpered and cried for his mother. Bennet slowly made his way over and knelt before him, smiling gently as the child looked at him with tear-filled eyes. He knew he should grab him and run but he didn't want to terrified the boy any more than he was right now. "It's okay, I'm here to take you to your mother," he said softly, holding his hands out to him. "Can you trust me?"
The little boy had always been told if he was ever in any trouble and he couldn't find his parents, then to go straight to a police officer and they would help him. They helped everyone. Whimpering, he reached out and clung to him tightly as he was pulled into his arms. The fire was so scary, he shut his eyes tightly, once more calling for his mother.
Bennet made sure his had his arms firmly around the young boy and turned to leave the room but found his way was blocked by a wall of fire. Even the floor board were burnt through and there was no other way out. They were trapped and if the fire didn't kill them first the smoke would suffocate them. The heat had been so intense, it even blew out the windows but as he peered out he saw they were several stories up. There was no safe way to climb down and there wasn't enough time to get a ladder up to save them. What was he going to do?
"…-owl…!"
What was that? Had, he heard someone? Was someone else trapped in the building as well?
"P-… -owl…! … -mem- … me?!"
Remember? Had he forgotten something, or someone? Bennet was confused, and what was with the strange static he was hearing? It was so loud he couldn't even hear the terrified whimpers from the child he had been trying to save.
"… Prowl!"
Prowl… why, why did his heart suddenly skip a beat? Looking at the intense flames he watched as the flames began to take shape, not of anyone he knew, not even human for that matter but what looked like a robot, the color of the sun on a clear day with matching blue eyes. He knew this being, the name was on the tip of his tongue but what was it? How did he even know him?
"Prowl! You… You promised you would protect me—protect us!" One of his hands moved over his stomach protectively, blue eyes pleading with him. "Please, you have to remember me! Remember your promise!"
Promise… he, had made a promise… to protect him and his unborn child… to protect the one he loved…
Being best friends with the Autobots was great, considering the young techno-organic never had any friends to speak of, and sure she got away with a lot of stuff she knew she shouldn't have, but they had always been there for her and protected her from all sorts of danger. But she had gotten so used to them coming to her rescue, when it was her turn to come to their rescue, she was finding it a lot harder than she had originally thought. Especially, when she was fighting said friends themselves.
The jettwins were goofy in their own way, and acted slightly younger than her but they were really good bots and they were always up for a video game challenge, but she never thought she would have to actually fight them. And slag it if they weren't good!
'But they had way more practice flying than I have!' she thought, dodging a blast of fire and launched a blast of electricity at him only to miss. "Will you-hold still and let me help you!" she yelled at him and cried out as a strong gust of wing hit her from behind, causing her to go tumbling through the air. It took her a bit to gain control but now she could admit she knew what a sock in a dryer felt like.
Skywarp was having difficulties of his own, his warp drive was actually saving him from being roasted or blown away, reacting to his fears, but when he saw that Bumblebee was in danger, he was having difficulty getting close. The programming to protect the carrier was trying to override his logistics. If he wasn't careful, he could seriously hurt them.
'What do I do? What do I do?' he asked himself, wondering if he could teleport the carrier without the ninja tagging along but as long as they were in physical contact that wasn't possible. He growled lowly as the minibot let out a chocked cry of pain, feeling his claws flew he reacted without thinking when he heard something approaching him from behind. He teleported once more, appearing behind the pale yellow mechling he grabbed him by the ped. Igniting his thrusters, the Decepticon jet flew towards and in an unimaginable idea, swung the smaller mech right into the ninja, not only knocking him away from Bumblebee but causing both of them to go flying to the end of the alley, crashing into a pile of trash. He made sure to stand protective before the gasping minibot, challenging anybot else to come near them.
Bumblebee knew his cables were gonna be sore and likely bruised but that beside the point right now. "P-Prowl… please, re-remember your promise…!" he called out weakly, struggling to get to his peds but the pain was getting worse. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to make it like this.
Sari was breathing heavily herself, not only feeling sore but defiantly out of her element. Flying over to her best friend she could see he was clearly in pain but hearing transformation she looked over and wanted to curse some rather colorful words she had heard Ratchet muttered when he thought he had been alone one time. If she had trouble with just one of the jettwins, there was no way they could take them down when they formed into Safeguard! "R-Retreat!" The black and purple seeker growled lowly at the new threat, ready to fight but the techno-organic flew up to his audio receiver, whispering to him in low tones. He seemed to ignore her but let out a low growl before turning and lifted the heavy carrier against his chassis. Once more activated his warp drive, the three of them were gone in a flicker of color followed by a popping sound.
A few seconds later there was a flicker and the violet seeker appeared in one of the laboratories of Sumdac Towers. He quickly looked around, searching for any signs of threats but seeing none felt part of his protective programming shutting down. The teenage girl paid him no mind as she immediately flew to one of the computer consoles, her fingers flying over the keys as she typed.
"C'mon, boot up already," she hissed, tempted to give the console a good solid kick but sighed as the screen lit up. "Yes! Activate full security protocols!" she shouted even as she typed in the command.
"Command initiated. Sumdac Tower on full lockdown. Repeat: Sumdac Tower on full lockdown."
Throughout the building the emergency lights began flashing as reinforced steel doors suddenly began sealing off hallways, rooms, windows and even the elevator shaft was sealed off. In the tower of the tower where the Sumdacs resided Professor Isaac Sumdac found himself sealed within his own home but just as before he seemed completely oblivious to it all. Outside the force field generator hummed to life and it projected an electrical shield that was more than enough to completely encase the building in a protective bubble, glowing with enough electrical charge for it to be seen by the naked eye.
Satisfied, Sari pulled back. "There. Like to see anyone try to get us now-" she began saying, turning to face the bots but her joy grew to worry/concern at the sight of her best friend clutching at his belly with both hands, choking back his cries. "B-Bumblebee! What's happening!?" He tried to answer but all he let out was a growling curse as he reached out and immediately grabbed the nearest thing which happened to be the seeker's clavicle armor seam and bared down on it hard enough to actually cause the durable metal to bend under the shape of his digits. The pained yelp and seeing the taller mech being pulled down was enough for her to stay back for the time being.
"39% dilation—and fragging counting!" Bee growled out, shutting his optics as tightly as he could but oh Sweet Solus Prime did this hurt!
"Y-You have to stay calm-" Skywarp tried saying, having successfully removed the yellow digits from his plating but instead they closed around his clawed digits and squeezed with so much strength at least three digits were crushed.
"I am CALM!" he nearly shrieked, vocalizer erupting in a sharp burst of static as it ended in a weak whimper. "… 4-40% dilation…"
"W-What does that mean?" The young teenager tried racking her brain for that term, vaguely remembering if from someone but right now she was dropping a complete blank. Hovering close to her friend she watched as he continued to clutch at his stomach and she felt her eyes blow wide open. "Oh no… no, no no no Bee you-you can't! Ratchet's not here!"
"Try telling -oh fragit!- her that," he whimpered but forced his optics open, gazing at his abdominal plating. He was glowing so much now he could see the outside of his sparkling shifting inside. He really did want to meet his sparkling, but they weren't ready. He wasn't ready! Choking back another cry he caressed his swollen tanks with his servos.
Sari couldn't stand to see Bumblebee in pain and she remembered clearly saying that they would need a medic on hand since the minibot was never meant to carry a frame larger than his, and thanks to Starscream's coding the sparkling was going to be a big one. "We need help," she said, mostly to herself but when she flew back to the console to try and reach anyone the screen read error. "What? C'mon override!"
"Error. Unauthorized user."
"Unauthorized? Why you stupid!" Bringing her foot back, she gave the computer console a solid kick, denting the panel. The screen went black before alarms began blaring loudly. "Big mistake!"
"Sari! Make it stop!"
"I'm trying!" She began furiously typing at the keyboard but was taken back when panels along the walls folded back and what looked like mechanical pinchers emerged. They immediately locked around the techno-organic, pulling her away from the computer. More came up and tried to trap the seeker but he teleported to the other side of the room.
"What's happening?" he asked, teleporting again and causing a pair of pinchers to slammed into the wall and get stuck.
"How should I know?" the trapped teenager asked back, squirming but cried out in pain as the pinchers tightened around her. Another pair reached up and roughly removed her jetpack only to crush it. "Hey! I just got that!"
"W-Warp!" Bee tried to sit up but cried out in shock as smaller pinchers came up from beneath the table and locked themselves around his servos and peds, trapping him against the table.
"Bumblebee!" That split moment was all it took as a pair of pinchers grabbed him from behind but an electrical current ran through it and shocked him enough to knock him into temporary stasis. More pinchers ensnarled him, even going so far as to painfully pulled his wings back until they were nearly touching one another. The computer screen flickered at the same time the alarms finally stopped blaring and revealed a figure wearing a hooded sweatshirt, the same that Sari had seen when she stumbled across Soundwave.
"Sari Sumdac. The world believes you to be the only daughter of Isaac Sumdac, founder and CEO of Sumdac Industries, and the reason New Detroit is named the Robot City is all thanks to him… or so people say. But only a select few know the truth." The figure silently lifted his head to reveal a mask that looked like a metallic skull with wires, springs, and gears decorating it, as though it was created to mimic what a transformers skull would look like beneath all the plating. Beneath the gears covering the eyes sockets was a bright intense red color that pulsed, indicating life. The same color as the Decepticons. "Tell me, would the people continue to idolize Professor Sumdac if they knew all his advances in technology were actually reverse engineered from these alien robots? That they're here because it was just by sheer chance? What do you think the government would do if they found out you're not completely human but a hybrid of our two worlds? People thought you were weird before, what would they call you now?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as though curious.
The young lady paused in her struggles, blinking a few times before realization hit. "You… you're the one I saw working with Soundwave. Why are you doing this?! My dad has done nothing to you!"
"… you don't know the truth, but that will not stop us from doing what must be done," the figure said calmly. The window minimized to reveal several other windows all over the city, revealing not only the fighting outside but the Sound Wave controlled robots destroying the city and the brainwashed people just standing there doing nothing. "Sumdac will pay for what they have done to me, starting with your so-called friends."
Everyone was watching the building continue to burn, fire fighters doing their best but the flames were just too hot; it was taking all they had to just keep it contained. EMT was having difficult trying to keep the mother calm short of giving her a sedative as she kept crying for her little boy. David was trying to get his team and half-brother to let him go, that he had to get the officer and child out.
"Damnit David, are you trying to get yourself killed!" Townsend yelled, refusing to let go of his arm. His answer was almost a fist in the face. "Again?!"
"At least I'm trying to do something!" David yelled angrily, ignoring the way Dr. Ballentyne kept holding onto his other arm. Yelling at each other, everyone jumped as they heard glasses breaking and looked up in time to watch as a figure jumped out of said window.
"I-Is he crazy?! He won't survive!"
"Everyone, get back now!"
It would take too long to get the net ready but the group watched even as he began to fall, he seemed to be in perfect control. He landed easily on his feet in a slight crouched position, his arms wrapped firmly around the small child, saying nothing for several tense moments until he slowly stood, straightening. Looking at everyone he was prepared to say something until he heard a woman calling out weakly for her son. The little boy shifted, lifting his face from where he had hidden it, tears smeared along his face.
"M-Mommy?" He blinked, surprised to see he was no longer surrounded by fire but clutched at the officer as a stranger came towards him, holding his arms open.
"It's alright, these people are going to take you and your mother to the hospital," the officer told him calmly. He smiled even as he cautiously allowed the other man take him but his fears were quickly replaced with joy as he was reunited with his mother, crying as he clung to her now. Bennet watched as the doors to the ambulance closed and it took off, sirens wailing. But before he could so much as breathe someone grabbed him by the front of his jacket and began demanding answers.
"How the hell did you do that?! And who do you think you are, some kind of-of hero?! Answer me, you-!"
"Back off and let the officer breathe!" Corey snapped as he pushed his way between the two of them, scowling at them. "He saved the kid, a'right? Though by all rights you shouldn't have been able to survive a fall like that, not in one piece."
"I… I don't know how I survived." And there was still the yellow robot he had seen, calling him by some strange name and a promise he had apparently made.
Bill had never seen anything like this before, it was something outta the movies and it looked like the fire fighters were finally getting the fire under control but he blinked when he saw that the skies were suddenly turning dark. "Huh? What's going on?" he asked, looking up but his eyes widen beneath his shaggy hair as he realized it wasn't clouds blocking the sun from sight but something else entirely.
A planet made entirely of metal was looming over their heads, like something straight out of a science-fiction movie, more than large enough to block out the sun it didn't take long for others to look up and see the planet themselves. They watched as what looked like air crafts flying off the planet, heading straight for them until they were close enough to change their shapes, transforming from vehicles to robots as tall as buildings. A particularly dangerous-looking silver-gray one smirked as he lifted his arm which sported a very large cannon that was beginning to glow brightly with power.
"Decepticons! Rise up and destroy these pitiful organics," he ordered. There was a hum before a blast erupted from the cannon, destroying the burning building and causing it to rain down debris everywhere. The people began screaming as they ran for their lives as the others robots began to tear their city apart.
For a split second, no one moved, too awe-struck at the sight of these metal titans in their beloved city, but it took one person to scream and start running that others quickly began to follow suit. It was chaotic as some people even abandoned their vehicles in order to get away faster. The police tried to direct the running citizens to safety as others open fired on the alien robots. None of their weapons did any good and they, too, were forced to scatter when they became targets.
"Everyone, fall back! That's a direct order!" Townsend commanded, helping a fallen soldier up to one of the remaining patrol cars. David was doing the same with the firefighters, telling them to just go and help out those they saw along the way, no one saw one of the massive robots coming at them until it was too late. "Kaye, behind you!" Said man turned and cried out in pain as he was suddenly back handed by a metallic hand bigger than him, sending him flying down the street where he lay, groaning in pain. "No!"
"Pathetic flesh creatures, vermin like you should be disposed of and I know just the way to do so," the maroon and black robot with wings smirked, raising its arm s up the guns mounted began to hum and he fired two energy blasts at the chief of the fire department, but squawked in surprise and pain as his own firepower was reflected back at him. "What the slag?! Who did that?!"
The security director was breathing heavily, standing before the downed man in a defensive position he didn't seem to realize there was a bright blue shield projecting itself from his arm until he looked down and did a double-take. "Wha-What the hell is this thing?" he asked aloud, shaking his arm to try and dislodge it but it remained steadfast. "How do I get this off?"
David groaned as he slowly pushed himself up but when he tried to stand, he collapsed with a pained cry, reaching down to grab his leg. "M-My leg, I think—I think it's broken," he hissed.
"That's not important right now, Kaye!" Townsend snapped, still waving his arm around he didn't realize the flying robot was staring at him with fury in his eyes.
"You think just began of that you can stop the likes of me, Starscream? Well, think again!" With a yell he began opening firing at the two of them, trying to destroy them only to yelp as some of his firepower was reflected back at him once more.
Townsend had no idea what was going on, least of all where this crazy shield came from but right now it was the only thing keeping these two alive! But as nice as the shield was, he could really go for a weapon right about now. As though reacting to his emotions, the light blue shield shifted so not only did it grow to cover and better protect the both of them, spikes began to form and rapidly extended outward, catching the robot off-guard and managed to pierce its metal skin. "Starscream" let out a shriek as he was injured. Cursing at the "pathetic organic lifeform" and his "lucky shot" he changed into that of a fighter jet and flew off.
Corey, who had taken the chance and ran over to the downed firefighter, looked at the security director with disbelief. "Did you just chase off that overgrown walking scrap heap?" he asked as he gathered some tools and began making a temporary split for the broken leg.
Townsend turned to face him, eyes wide open as he looked down at his arm, watching as the shield shrank down before disappearing from sight. "I-I did?" He looked at the retreating form of the jet and smirk, feeling a large swell of pride. "I did! Yeah, I sent that jet screaming!"
"Then maybe you can help us out!" Linda shouted as she dodged to the side, grunting slightly as a tank repeatedly opened fire on everyone and everything. She had to do something but she blinked as she lifted her head and watched as two young men, almost teenagers, stood protective before their downed guardian sending blasts of fire and wind back at the invading robots. Part of her felt calm, that this was a normal thing to see, but humans did not have these strange abilities! No one did! So why did that feel wrong? The psychiatrist winced as she was hit once more by a sharp pain in her brain, just like before but it was even more painful. It felt, as though something was trying to break free.
Officer Bennet was the closest so he saw the woman in pain ad made to run towards her but gasped as he was grabbed and lifted into the air. He struggled even as he found himself face-to-face with the large silver robot from before. "Who are you? What do you want from us?" he demanded.
"You will all bow before Megatron, Lord of Cybertron; and now that I have returned to Earth I will exterminate organics once and for all," he smirked as he began tightening his grip over the motorcycle cop. "Starting, with you."
Jeff grunted as he felt the fingers tightening around him, feeling his body giving way under the unyielding metal but he could not give up. He had a duty to protect the people of New Detroit, to protect and serve. He had a promise to keep. He struggled to break free of the grip, pushing with every bit of strength he had but they kept tightening over him, as though playing with him. He felt a moment of panic as the fingers closed around him completely, blocking out any and all light as the pain of slowly being crushed erupted all over his body-
"Prowl!"
That voice. Something about that name, that voice, sparked something so unexpected, he still didn't believe it. The mustached officer broke free of the unyielding grip, launching himself in the air, he had a brief glimpse of surprise from the one who called himself "Megatron" as he flipped through the air several times before extending his hand out and with a battle cry, sliced through his arm as though he was wielding a blade. Jeff landed effortlessly into a crotch, watching the silver monster let out a cry as he gripped his stump of an arm.
"Lord Megatron!" a hulking monstrosity of purple and green-gray metal bellowed, looking down at the human with such distain. "How dare you injure our glorious leader! I will dispose of you myself!" he declared, lifting a massive foot and brought it down on the officer, trying to crush him.
"Pick on someone your own size!" Bill shouted, running as fast as he could, he grunted as he barreled right through it, the metal and circuitry tearing apart as though it was all made of paper. He ran to the other foot, grunting as he actually lifted it then pushed back at the same time Jeff did, both of them causing the behemoth to not only over-balance, but fall backwards, right into the silver one and sending them both crashing to the street.
"Lugnut, you waste of spare parts! Get! Off!"
"F-Forgive me, oh mighty Megatron!"
"I vill turn joo all into meat pies!" the tank bellowed as he continued opening fire on everyone, blowing up cars left and right; he never noticed as a pale blonde woman ran up to him, didn't feel the electricity from the downed power lines until she jammed them into the gears that controlled his treads. When he tried moving forward, he ended up not only getting the cables tangled in is gears and treads, but the electricity fried his circuitry. The tank began spinning out of control, unable to control its actions and kept getting more and more tangled up in the wires. That's when the remaining humans decided to do what so many others had done before and took off.
A few blocks away, Townsend peered out from around the corner of a building then pulled his head back. "I think we gave them the slip. For alien robots, they don't seem all that bright."
"Compared to us tiny ass humans, if we don't watch it, we're gonna get stepped on," Corey grunted as he finished bandaging up Greg's arm. "There. How's it feel?"
The taller gentleman carefully and slowly moved his arm, wincing from the pain but nodded his appreciation. "Better, thank you. But I would like to know what exactly is going on. Those robots seem to bear a grudge against New Detroit, but what's more several of us were displaying unbelievable abilities." Carefully he stood with the help of the doctor and his two charges who had been abnormally quiet since the attack happened.
"Wait, you mean like how Townsend suddenly had a shield that protected both of?" David asked where he sat with his injured leg stretched out before him.
"Exactly. When I was hurt, I told the boys to run, so they wouldn't get hurt. Instead they stayed and tried to protect me. I feared for a moment they were going to get hurt, possibly killed… but Tom—suddenly, his arms erupted into flames and he made sure nothing could get close enough to hurt us. And when that failed, Phil, summoned powerful gusts of wind." He reached out and wrapped his hands around their shoulders, pulling them close. "Something strange is going on, and I know I'm not the only one who can sense that." For a long moment, everyone was quiet, trying to process what the taller man said but the broad college student murmured something under his breathe as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Ya know… when I ran towards that big robot, I-I didn't think anything about it, I just ran right on through and then managed to lift him up," Bill said, slowly looking at everyone in turn. "It, it didn't feel weird though, it was like my body knew what to do and just—did it."
"… That's doesn't make any sense!" the old doctor grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"No, he's right," the motorcycle cop said quietly. "Earlier, you all asked how it was possible for me to survive jumping out of a window several stories tall with the young boy in my arms, landing without so much as a scratch. I still can't explain it, but I know there is something very different about each of us."
"… that still doesn't make any sense! And if that's so, how the hell are we gonna get rid of that-that monstrosity that's hanging over New Detroit?! If we don't do something, more of those blasted robots are gonna come down and-"
"Decepticons."
"Huh?"
"The robots we were all fighting. They call themselves Decepticons. And the planet, it's their home. Cybertron," Linda said quietly, her back to the group as she continued speaking. "And… it's our home, too."
"What are you talking about?"
The therapist didn't say anything but she looked at them over her shoulder, her eyes hidden in the shadow of her bangs. "Ever since today, I kept getting this feeling we're not who we think we are. That all of this, in a dream—no, that's not right." She frowned and slowly turned to face them fully, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. She opened her mouth to continue but she nearly stumbled as she felt another sharp pain.
"Lotus!" Corey immediately came to her side, keeping her steady as she regained her balance. "Its those damn migraines, you need to get to a hospital."
"They can't do anything for me, Ratchet," she hissed softly but blinked and looked at him. "What did you call me?"
"What? I called you Linda."
"No, you didn't." David and everyone else were looking at them with large eyes, as though finally remembering something they didn't know they had forgotten. He also surprised everyone as he forced himself to stand, putting weight on his injured leg. "You called each other different names, names I know I've heard before."
"Hey wait! You're leg's broken!"
"No, it isn't. Whoever created this-this virtual world, they want us to think what we're seeing is real." Looking down at the splint he reached down and removed it, showing his leg was completely fine. "And if my injury isn't real, then these bodies of ours aren't real." Closing his eyes, he decided to take a chance and uttered with the utmost confidence, "Autobots, TRANSFORM!"
As though a switch had been turned on, everyone watched as their human bodies shifted and changed to that of robots, different sizes and colors, and almost all of them bearing a red symbol that was clearly different from the purple symbols the robots they had been fighting earlier. Soon they were all standing as tall as some of the buildings, and they remembered everything.
"Hey… we're back!" Bulkhead said excitedly, glad to have his green bulky frame back.
"I never want to experience that again!" Ratchet said with a scowl, resisting the urge to tremble.
"I'm afraid not all of us have regained our true forms," Jetfire said, looking down to where Townsend stood, looking up at them with wide eyes.
"W-What the!? W-Why didn't I change like everyone else!?" he demanded, his voice rising in pitch.
"Is that being Sentinel Prime, sir?" Jetstorm asked as he and his twin bend down to get a closer look at him. "He is being tiny organic."
"But he is having faceplates before being," Jetfire pointed out even as he reached out and lightly poked at the human.
He scowled and quickly slapped the offending fingers away. "Watch it, you two; I'm still your commanding officer! And I demand someone tell me how to get back to my real body-I mean frame!"
"Well, you can try how we teach sparklings on the neutral colonies to transform," Psyche said as she carefully knelt to be at his level. "First, picture in your processor your alt form. Then repeat these words, "choo-chuh-chah-chik", while still picturing your alt mode."
"… are you glitching?! I'm not doing that, I'll look like a-a-a glitch!" the human protested with a scowl, crossing his arms over his chest.
"If that's how you feel, then it looks like you'll just have to stay in that human body until we can find a way out," she sighed, slowly lifting to her full height. No one said anything but some of the bots were either smirking or trying not to stare. The jettwins also stood up but they were failing to stifle their giggles even behind their servos.
Sentinel could feel his ears—audio sensors burning (which was a strange experience) but seeing how he had no other choice he decided to give it a shot. He imagined his beautiful, perfect frame, smooth and polished to a shine, muttering the words under his breathe, over and over. "Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik! Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik! Oh, for the love of—this isn't working!"
"Just keep trying."
"I swear… just-transform already! Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik!" Before his eyes he watched as his real frame gave way and he was soon back to his tall and proud self. "Yes! Finally! I told you I could do it!" he declared proudly but before anyone could say anything the ground beneath them shifted, changing to that of a massive servo as they were suddenly lifted high into the air. The owner of said servo appeared, red visor glowing ominously at them.
"Escape is impossible. Autobots inferior, Soundwave superior." A powerful electrical charge surged from the servo to the Autobots, causing them a great amount of pain that they couldn't contain their cries. Even though they had remembered who they really were, they were still trapped in the virtual prison and Soundwave was not going to let them escape so easily.
Author's Notes: Okay, I know I said the sparkling was coming and she is, but this chapter was going on longer than I expected so I decided to just stop it here. Sorry, my bad! I kept rewriting the chapter and trying to figure out how I wanted this to work but I did it and I hope you all enjoy it!
On another note, today is my birthday (its never polite to ask anyone their age, but I don't feel that much wiser :p) so think of this as my gift from me to you ^^ And I'm also on vacation so I'm really really really hoping I can squeeze out another chapter! If you're still with me, thank you very much and I hope you continue to enjoy it. Ta ta for now!