This story is to a collection called 'Toying With Reality'
I own none of the characters other than 'Skyfall' and 'Dawnbreaker'
'Com'
"Speech"
"Messages"
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When Skyfall received a ping from Megatron to meet him in the hangar she was apprehensive like she knew a toss off the side of the Nemesis wouldn't kill her but who knows what the deranged Decepticon leader had in mind. Sighing Skyfall swung her pedes over the side of a few crates that she had been perched up on delicately she climbed down the tower of random parts her data pads safely tucked away. Tapping lightly on the control panel the door slid open for her with a hiss, peaking her helm out she slipped into the low lighted corridors. The dark hallways were no longer labyrinth-like to the tripplechanger, they were familiar and the low lighting now oddly comforting. Briskly walking towards the elevator Skyfall received the usual salutes from the drones, glancing their way seemed to appease them immensely. It was precious how loyal the drones were, and how talkative they can be when given the opportunity. Skyfall mused as she rode the elevator to the hangar when the doors opened she walk calmly towards Megatron and Starscream. "My Lord." She dipped her helm as she approached.
"Excellent timing Skyfall," Megatron rumbled, "Follow me." She nodded quickly and transformed following their leader right next to Starscream. Sky had a gut feeling about where they were going, she was not looking forward to this at all. Looking over to Starscream she had wondered where he had hidden for these past few days, the lithe silver mech had been scarce on the Nemesis.
When they neared the stripped Energon mine and transformed Skyfall toed the dirt and looked around. But it was Starscream that spoke first, "Uh, Lord Megatron far be it for me to question your intentions, but I don't understand why we've returned here after all this time…alone."
Skyfall quirked a brow plate at this. Kinky? She watched Megatron cast Starscream a glance then walk towards the mine entrance. Keeping her mouth shut she let her visor fall and silently she scanned the mine. An Energon signature was definitely here, but there was major structural instability making even entering the mine a gamble with death.
"Uh…Every last trace of Energon was extracted from this mine." Starscream's wings were high as he nervously looked around. "There's nothing left."
Megatron stopped and turned towards Starscream his ruby optics glowing in the dark cave, "Indulge me, Starscream won't you?" The same red fell to her in a glance and a silent order, she nodded again and fell into step next to her fellow seeker.
"Relax Starscream, it's empty therefore this will just be a short trip no worries." She patted his shoulder softly. But the nervousness never left the mech next to her whom visibly looked in pain at being in here. They silently followed Megatron into the main cavern, where multiple mining units were left, Skyfall frowned.
"How intriguing…" Megatron's voice was filled with a barely contained promise of hurt. It was as if he knew what went on here, Skyfall nearly chuckled, of course, Megatron knew.
Starscream's nervousness skyrocketed, which he quickly masked with fake anger on the Drones who had worked in this mine, "Incompetent fools!" He stomped forward, "This mining equipment should have been relocated. Why is it still here?" His voice was getting screechier by each word he spoke, effectively revealing his lie.
"A most valid question." Megatron rumbled looking down at Starscream.
Sputtering Starscream's wings drooped. "My apologies, Master. I believe Soundwave was in charge of coordinating transport." Megatron growled at him getting more displeased by the seconded. It was getting too awkward in the main chamber for Skyfall, she shifted on her pedes. She looked off to the side visibly uncomfortable it wasn't right to be standing here overseeing the fall of Starscream. "But in fairness, during your interstellar travels, we all had to assume additional responsibilities. Clearly, mistakes were made." Her fellow seeker was backing up nervously twiddling his talons.
"Yes. Clearly." Megatron turned and buried his servo into the wall and tore out a chunk of Energon. "Every last trace of Energon extracted?" These were dangerous waters that Starscream was treading and from the looks of it, he was sinking faster than Jack Dawson did.
"Lord Megatron, I can explain…"
"Explain what? That you have been hoarding a supply of Energon for your personal use?" Megatron tossed the shard at Skyfall who caught it and stepped off to the side.
"No! Not exactly. You see I-"
"Do not take me for a fool Starscream!" Megatron started to walk closer to Starscream, "I have been wise to your transgressions from the beginning. Not only did you pluck the dark Energon from my chest in a failed attempt to snuff my spark. In an attempt to raise your own undead warrior with it, you killed one of our own! It's no secret you lost an arm in the process, which you've since had replaced."
Oh shit, he's pulling out all the receipts…Skyfall chose to sit on a boulder and watch hugging the crystallized Energon like a girl hugs a pillow during a slumber party. At the mention of Skyquake, her servos tightened on the glowing crystal and she glared at Starscream who had cast her a nervous glance that quickly went back to Megatron.
"You know about that?!" Shaking like a leaf Starscream was almost paralyzed with fear.
"Soundwave is quite competent at surveillance, I can assure you." They moved closer and closer to the bright center of the main chamber. "The fact is, Starscream, despite your treachery, I've allowed you to carry on this long a certain delight in following your string of failures. But, you've finally become tiresome, predictable." Raising his blaster to Starscream's face Megatron grinned, "You've hit rock bottom."
The sound of the charging cannon made Starscream flinch and cover his face in a useless attempt at shielding himself from the blow, his scared whimpers bouncing off the walls of the cave. "Master, please! His wings and servos press together to beg forgiveness, "Give me one more chance! I beg of you!" Falling to his knees helm towards the ground Starscream's cries rang loudly in the empty cavern.
"You have ceased to be of use to me Starscream. So you shall simply cease to be."
Skyfall saw the flicker of movement towards the tunnel nearest to where she sat her helm scanned the Cybertronian lifeform to be Arcee and the human to be Jack. Well shit, she almost forgot. Her orange optics met the bright blue of the Autobots she mouthed the word "run" and Arcee's widened snatching up Jack quickly she pulled him into the shadows right as Megatron spotted the movement of blue and the last bit of Jacks shoes flying behind the wall. Skyfall ducked and rolled out of the way as Megatron let loose cannon fire at where Jack and Arcee were hiding. Starscream took this chance to bolt into another tunnel sprinting away from Megatron.
"Starscream!" Megatron roared in fury, momentarily distracted Arcee opened fire on the Deception leader aiming at his cannon forcing his shots to falter and hit the ceiling causing the weak rock to crumble and come crashing down on the massive mech. Skyfall rushed forward towards a cavern arch sprinting over the cracking floors, but she wasn't fast enough and the ground fell though and her, Arcee, and Jack went into the crater followed by tons of rocks.
Skyfall felt rocks and dirt all in her intakes and worked to cough them out, her arms shook under the weight of a few borders that had fallen on her. "Megatron!" she called out but her voice barely echoed in the space she was stuck in. "Mother fucking piece of shit rocks!" Pushing again she managed to displace the rock above her and crawl her way out of the crevasse she was lodged in. Energon leaked slowly from a cut on her arm, her head lights brightened the black cavern and she began to scan the walls for points of weakness. Finding one she began to claw at the stone yanking borders from the pile watching them crumble to the floor in a flurry of dust, stepping forward into another cavern she heard the sounds of drilling to her right and the sounds growls and earth scraping to her left. Megatron! She stumbled towards her leader, finding the hole Jack had made with the drill, the large mech was clawing his way slowly out of the rubble. Scanning the walls that encased the con she began to remove boulders, "Lord Megatron I'll get you out in no time." Skyfall grunted pulling at the heavy stones with all her might, "You had to get lodged in the hard stuff…you could say you're trapped between a rock and a hard place."
"Now is not the time for your quips Skyfall," Megatron warned his claws digging into the rock to peel it away from his body.
Sky grunted as she made the hole larger and larger, "Aw I thought you liked my quips, they are often misunderstood but amusing." Laughing breathlessly she kept digging, her helm was spinning but she shrugged it off as disorientation from the mine collapsing on top of her.
"Skyfall."
"Right right I'll be quiet now." Skyfall breathed out slowly, she stumbled back when a massive servo slammed like a bear trap into the ground between her feet. Skyfall gasped as Megatron pulled his body out of the rubble stones, and loose dirt falling off him as he pulled himself up to his pedes immediately towering over her. The groan of stabilizers and joints let Skyfall know that she wasn't the only one to be feeling the aftershock of the ceiling coming down on them.
"You're leaking Energon."
Skyfall looked to her arm, "It's not bad and it stopped leaking a while ago." She jolted when his claws tilted her helm to the side and slid just above her antenna making her wince as he pulled back his fingers glowed with bright Energon. "Oh…"
"Oh indeed, you've lost a lot of Energon already it's surprising you're still able to stand. I find it reassuring to know my medic will disregard her own ailments to come to the aid of her fellow Decepticons." Megatron sounded pleased, Skyfall tried to smile but she felt too weak to move her plating the low lit cavern started to spin and she placed a servo to her helm. Swaying slightly Skyfall's bio light flickered and her optics went offline right before she crumpled to the dirt.
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It was only moments later when Megatron found Starscream holding up the massive boulder he leaned into the cavern with an amused smirk, an unconscious Skyfall draped between his shoulder spikes.
"Master! Thank the All-Spark!" Starscream cried weakly his much smaller arms shaking under the weight, his crimson optics turned to Skyfall's limp form, "I see your second in command didn't fare well, what a pity I actually enjoyed the young femme. But of course you never did like such weakness, this— ah collapse shows that she was too fragile for war." When Megatron glared at him Starscream panicked, "I-I did not abandon you! I returned to - - save you!"
"To save me?" Megatron growled, shifting his shoulder slightly he motioned to the gray and orange femme. "Skyfall chose to save me over her own plating, forgoing repairs on her serious injuries to dig me out."
"Look into my spark, Lord Megatron! My intentions were true. Please! Have mercy!" Starscream begged.
Megatron smirked and grabbed Starscream throwing him out of the cavern.
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Arcee and Bulkhead came to a stop and transformed a good distance from the collapsed mine, Jack and Miko stepping away so that their guardians could transform. "We could finish them here and now."
Bulkhead punched his palm, "Shame we didn't bring any grades…"
Jack and Miko stepped forward both covered in dust, "Would Optimus….finish them?" Jack looked up at Arcee with a frown.
Arcee looked down at her charge, "No, he probably wouldn't. Not like this." The two-wheeler looked at the rubble again in contemplation, her and Jack both knew Skyfall was in there too. She was the only Decepticon they wanted to see come out of this alive.
Miko looked to Jack, "But Optimus wouldn't rescue 'em either, right?"
Jack hesitated…Skyfall was under those rocks and he knew Dawnbreaker would spend every hour digging her out. His shoulders stiffened and he looked at the collapsed mine in fear, what would happen to Dawnbreaker if her sister didn't make it out? Before Jack could say anything the coms crackled to life.
"Finally! Please tell me you are all alright?!" Dawnbreakers voice was so filled with worry Jack wouldn't be surprised if she had started crying. "I saw the collapse." They heard the gasp from Ratchet and instant questions coming from Optimus muffled in the background. "Did Skyfall make it out…" Jack and Arcee stiffened looking at each other horrified.
Miko looked confused, "Skyfall was there too? I thought it was just Megatron and Starscream."
That sparked up a flurry of background noise from Prime and Ratchet. But it was Dawnbreakers broken voice that came through loud and clear. "I can't feel her anymore. Is she ok?"