They moved quickly through the Nemesis, all other vehicons they encountered were quickly dispatched by the four powerful Autobot warriors, Switchshade doing what he could to shield the humans, as his weapons systems were still down. As they moved down the halls, taking down enemies as they went, one lucky shot came far too close to the humans for comfort, and Switchshade stumbled a bit as he was thrown off balance. He could feel no pain, however, and so shrugged it off, continuing to follow the Autobots as they hurried towards the brig.
At a point nearly to their location, Arcee suddenly paused, and then knocked several times on one of the doors on the side of the hall, and when the vehicons within opened it, she instantly shot them down with her blasters, taking down two in less than a klik. "All clear. Wait here." She commanded the humans. Bumblebee protested, but the femme would not yield, stating that the humans were slowing them down, but would be safer in that room. Switchshade glanced at them, then looked to the femme, his optics questioning, but she instantly shook her helm. "I'm not taking my optics off of you. You're still coming with us. Let's move!" she demanded again, sprinting down the hallways once more, leaving the humans in questionable 'safety' behind.
Soon, they had reached the brig, and the guards there posted were taken down nearly instantly as well. Arcee moved to the ceiling panels, while Cliffjumper, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Switchshade went through the main door. Bulkhead took out the final sentry, and then knocked on the door, holding the lifeless frame before him as it opened. "Well?" Starscream's distinctive voice shook Switchshade to the spark, and he froze on his pedes as Bulkhead let the deactivated vehicon fall and fired on the final remaining guard that had been with the Decepticon SIC. Bulkhead, Cliffjumper, and Bumblebee hurried into the room, blasters trained on Starscream, and only paused when he leveled his own blaster on Fowler's head. The agent hung from the ceiling in chains, unconscious, and Switchshade shook his helm to clear it, stepping forward even as he heard Starscream addressing the Autobots, "Not so fast."
Switchshade began to move forward again, trying to speak, trying to figure out what he could possibly say, when a distinct *tap, tap, tap* noise was heard, Arcee glaring down from where she was perched above Starscream, her own blaster pointing at the top of his helm. "I wouldn't." The seeker grinned wickedly, his blaster charging even more, as he threatened, "Oh, but I might." There was a pause, as everyone realized they had reached a stalemate, and then Starscream declared, "Now, Agent Fowler and I will take our leave."
"Commander." The seeker froze, his bright red optics instantly seeking out Switchshade, whose trembling voice had addressed him. "You" Starscream hissed, venomous rage in his voice. "It had to be you, didn't it? Could not any other Decepticon have so betrayed me? Why? Why did it have to be you?" Switchshade cycled his optics in surprised confusion, but moved closer regardless, ignoring the seeker's threatening posture. "What do you-?"
"You betrayed me! After all that you did, every single time you stepped in and- when Megatron- And then, after all that, you betrayed me!" The seeker's normally scratchy voice was growing even more audial-raking than usual in his agitation. He suddenly ex-vented heavily, his wings dropping to lay low against his back as his shoulder plating dropped slightly. "I suppose you'll want the human back?" Before any of the Autobots could react, he had cut the chains suspending Fowler to the ceiling, only just catching him before he hit the floor and lowering him safely down.
Switchshade's vents stalled in shock. "A debt, for a debt." The seeker would not look at him. "Though it pains me to admit it, I owed you, for your actions in the past. This debt between us is now settled. If I see you again, I will not hesitate to do to you what I should have done today." With that, Starscream transformed, flying past all of them before any could react, and was gone. Switchshade cycled his optics several times, utterly shocked. He had known the seeker had honor, but to give up so easily, to… He knew he could not win this fight. He took the only way out that would permit him to retain some dignity, escape unscathed, and be able to justify it to himself as a repayment of his debt. Clever, cunning seekers…
Silence reigned for a short time, and then Cliffjumper moved, as if in a daze, to collect Fowler, who had regained consciousness, but not coherence, if the odd words he was murmuring were any indication. "What…" Bulkhead was staring after Starscream as if he had never seen him before, and Bumblebee whirred softly in confusion. "What even… I don't… What?"
"Come on… Let's get back to base." Even Arcee seemed subdued, shocked by the seeker's exceedingly uncharacteristic actions. Still, she was suspicious, and not willing to trust that they would meet with no further trouble on their way out, and the Autobots quickly regrouped and began to move back to retrieve the three young humans they had left behind. As the group hurried towards the room, they heard weapons fire, and Bulkhead suddenly shot ahead, transforming into his alt-mode and tearing around the corner. He got to the room first, the humans already out and running as a single vehicon followed them, blasters up. Bulkhead charged, transforming mid-leap as he vaulted the humans and collided with the vehicon, instantly destroying it as they landed.
The rest of their escape went smoothly, Raf and Miko hurrying Fowler into Bumblebee when he transformed, and Jack quickly getting on Arcee. Bulkhead lead the way, and Switchshade and Cliffjumper took the rear, the group of Cybertronians and humans making it out of the Decepticon warship nearly entirely unscathed.
As they drove, kicking up dust, Switchshade tried to blank out his processor, tried to focus on anything but the fact that when they returned to the Autobot base, it would be time for repercussions. The blame for the humans being endangered rested with him, as well as his reckless behavior and disobedience when he and Bulkhead had first encountered the vehicons. Lord Prime would, of course, have first say in his punishment, for he was the leader and highest ranking, and all vengeance was rightfully his first and foremost. When Lord Prime was satisfied, if Switchshade was not deactivated, he would be turned over to Bulkhead, and then Arcee, and then likely Cliffjumper or Bumblebee as well, for it was their humans whom he had endangered.
If, by some miracle of Primus, he had not succumbed to deactivation by then, his broken frame would then be placed at Ratchet's mercy. While the thought initially made his spark stutter even worse, the more he thought about it, the less terrifying the prospect became. While alarmingly strong, as most medic builds are, Ratchet had been nothing but gentle and careful with Switchshade. His servos had caused the dark mech no pain, no harm, and had only healed and comforted. Perhaps, I could even beg his mercy. If Prime-no, not Lord Prime. Lord Prime will do as he wishes. But Bulkhead, or Arcee perhaps. If they go too far… if they begin to cause damages that could not be repaired, maybe… maybe I could beg Ratchet to intercede. Maybe… maybe he would stop them, let me heal first, before the penalty continued. Maybe…
When they finally returned safely to the base, however, all thoughts of punishment and pain fled Switchshade's processor, as Lord Prime and Ratchet were there to meet them, and the news they bore took precedent. As Lord Prime explained to the Autobots what had happened, and how he and Ratchet had fought a veritable army of undead Cybertronian warriors, Cliffjumper helped to settle Fowler in a human-sized gurney to rest. Switchshade, for his part, edged slowly along the wall towards the hall that led to his cell, wanting nothing more to delay the inevitable pain, until he realized that Ratchet was hurt. No. No. Ratchet-Ratchet could not be hurt. He was a medic, he was strong, he was- he was the Hatchet. He… Without realizing what he was doing, Switchshade immediately changed direction, until he was nearly hovering beside the medic as Optimus welded together a brace on Ratchet's left arm from shoulder plating to servo. Even his proximity to the Prime was not enough to dissuade Switchshade as his dark red optics gazed in horror at the damage to the medic.
Without conscious thought or decision, Switchshade curled into the medic, clawed servos gently grasping the sturdy shoulder plating as the dark mech rumbled softly. Thoughts of times past came to him, of the rare occasions when Laserbeak was injured, when the tiny femme would submit to his cuddling with a good-natured grumbling but genuine affection and happiness in her field. Optimus had finished his repairs, and turned his full attention to the mechs and femme before him, and Switchshade stumbled back a step in shock when the medic embraced him carefully in return.
"You worried about me, kid?" his gruff voice sounded almost… touched, and when he pulled back, the old medic was grinning a bit. "Don't be. I've had much worse in my time, and Optimus had my back. But it sounds like you've got quite the story to tell, yourself, when all is said and done."
Switchshade moved back, his spark calming for the first time since he had agreed to come with the humans to find Miko, and offered a reluctant nod at Ratchet's last comment. He forced himself to keep from cowering back and trying to hide when Arcee began to tell Lord Prime what had occurred while he was gone. Oddly, Ratchet's calming field felt almost identical to how Soundwave's had at times, when Switchshade or Laserbeak had been gravely wounded or mortally terrified. The paternal, soothing sensation of safe/protected/calm being subtly projected was enough to settle the dark mech slightly, although he found some small amusement in just how similar Ratchet's field was to how Soundwave's could be. He wondered what the gruff old medic's reaction would be upon being informed of this fact, and forced his faceplates to remain blank to keep a grin form working its way across his face at the thought.
Optimus Prime addressed Bulkhead as soon as Arcee finished her report, reprimanding him, "Bulkhead, you exercised extremely poor judgment when you allowed the humans to accompany you. Additionally, you left Switchshade alone and free in the base with them, where untold amounts of damage could have been wrought." His grave, deep, rumbling voice was clearly deeply disappointed, but Switchshade could detect none of the expected fury. Then, the Prime turned to face him, and the mech stumbled back a step, trembling, his vision blurring and then going dark at the edges, as Lord Prime began to say, "Switchshade-" All else was lost to the black mech, and his processor shut down. His frame fell lifelessly to the floor, energon leaking from a forgotten blaster wound in his back, right between his doorwings.