Ch. 70
Bulkhead didn't care if he was 'screaming like a little girl' as Miko had once put it. He did NOT like falling from large heights. If he survived all this, it would be one heck of a story he could tell. He looked to the side and saw Knockout was falling right next to him, the red mech screaming just as loud as he was. Soundwave's robot form zipped passed the pair and transformed, the mech's flight mode catching itself under Knockout to help slow his descent.
Bulkhead watched as Soundwave changed the trajectory and started heading for the horizon. And within seconds, Starscream and his clone were on either side of the green mech.
"We're going to transform alongside you!" Blue hollered over the wind.
"It won't be pleasant," Starscream admitted, "but keep your arms outstretched from your sides and try to lock your joints! Hold onto the front of our noses, closer to the cockpits! We'll slow your descent until we can get you to the ground safely!"
Blue looked back up at the Nemesis and gasped loudly, "He's following us! We don't have time to plan further!"
Starscream snarled, "Fine! One, two, three, transform!"
The two seekers transformed simultaneously and dipped the noses of their jet forms out for Bulkhead to hold onto, the green mech's arms and servos reaching out and catching them.
"Good!" Starscream grunted as the two began to take the weight, "Now hold on tightly, we're going to level out-"
The seeker suddenly screamed in agony as Megatron shot Blue out of the air, the jet swirling and exploding off to the side. Starscream's frame was wracked with pain. His chassis spun out of control and threw Bulkhead off him and into Soundwave and Knockout. The blue spy drone almost fell out of the sky at the force of the hit, leaving the red mech clinging to the Wrecker.
Knockout screamed, his pointed digits digging into metal plating, and his legs latched around Bulkhead's form, "HOLD ME! SAVE ME! SAVE MEEEE!"
The green mech could only scream, first from the fact that he was falling and second from Knockout's chassis clinging to him. The two were dropping out of the air like rocks. Soundwave was on the pair instantly, transforming and snaking his long arms around them as they fell. There was little else he could do.
Starscream transformed to stop his ridiculous tail spin and tried to aim himself closer to them, "Here!" he hollered painfully, reaching under his thigh armor, "Use this or get yours working!"
The seeker threw his ground bridge remote at Soundwave, who caught it expertly and held it steady for Knockout to mess with.
"I-I have to consider altitude and speed!" the red mech trembled, "But we might just make it!"
Starscream smirked then cried out when he was tackled into hard from behind, Megatron grappling at his wings and arms as he moved to get the upper hand, "You DARE switch factions?!" the warlord roared, "After everything we have been through, everything we have done, you dare ABANDON me?!"
The seeker yelped as claws dug into his chest plate and Megatron snarled, spinning him around, "You will never escape me! And since you can't die, it won't matter WHAT I do to you!"
Bulkhead struggled to free an arm from Knockout's grasp and transformed his servo into a blaster, trying hard to aim carefully, "Screamy, I got ya!"
He fired, missing both mechs, but kept firing in the hopes of hitting his target as the two fought. Starscream maneuvered himself at an angle to put Megatron in Bulkhead's line of shots but the larger mech swerved to keep the seeker in front of him, forcing the green mech to cease fire.
The warlord slashed angrily at Starscream as the smaller mech thrashed, cutting deep into his leg, and growled at him, "You may as well submit now so that I may spare torturing you back under my control."
A loud beep came from the ground bridge remote and Knockout squealed loudly, "I got it!"
Soundwave took the remote and aimed forward, opening a bridge a few hundred feet from them. And it was coming up fast.
Starscream glared hard in pain as his blue optics seethed defiance and he snarled back, "Never. I will NEVER let you put me under your reign again!"
The seeker raised a servo up high and brought his claws down swiftly, scratching Megatron's face and chest plate deeply. The warlord released him in surprise and Starscream kicked off him, disappearing into the floating ground bridge portal with Soundwave, Knockout and Bulkhead.
Megatron roared loudly as he transformed to fly into the bridge after them, but it closed, leaving him to circle the open air.
Arcee shook her helm, looking at the floor of the base, "I'm not sure, Optimus. I don't know what happened... Maybe if we talk to Starscream, he can tell us what was supposed-" the femme paused when she heard what sounded like pedfalls walking down through the tunnel, "Maybe that's him now."
Optimus, Breakdown and the rest of the team looked up, expressions turning from relief to horror within seconds. Starscream was still leaking little drips of energon from his leg, limping and dragging the limb painfully. Bulkhead was walking behind him sorely, Knockout's terrified chassis still blatantly attached to his own. Breakdown glared noticeably at this. Soundwave was walking slowly behind the green mech, arms hung low.
The seeker continued to limp forward even when the others stopped and simply pointed at Optimus, "You... are fragging welcome," he let himself collapse forward to rest on the floor.
Bulkhead quickly followed suit, causing Knockout to yelp in surprise. Soundwave quietly looked at the tired mechs and shrugged, sitting carefully on the floor before laying down to join them, his servos folded neatly across his abdominal plating.