ch10
Well, I meant to have this out sooner, but life intervened. Things have been...unusual...around my place of late, which certainly affects what is published and when. Still, I thank you all for your patience, those of you following the story. And now I present for the readers: "Darkness Rising, part 3". I really have little else to say by way of introduction save that I own only my imagination.
Also, this is a really long chapter.
The Ground Bridge snapped open and the away team rushed in barely ahead of the flames. Megatron transformed halfway through the tunnel, skidding to a halt on the crowded deck with a screech of metal.
"Wow," Sierra whispered.
"What happened?!" Knock Out cried, medical kit already in hand. All eyes turned to Starscream, whose wings drooped low.
His optics were haunted, and he crossed his arms tightly over his chestplate. "That...wasn't 'Warp. Not anymore."
Airachnid moved to stand next to the Commander and laid a hand on his arm. "Starscream..."
Megatron did not look at him, but a shaking hand clamped down on his shoulder in understanding. The older warrior's optics were shuttered tightly, refusing to let a single drop of coolant escape.
"It was like something from the Autobot experiments during the War!" Starscream choked.
From the catwalk, Miko reached up and laced her little fingers through Jack's. She had not known about Skywarp's death until earlier that afternoon, when he had finally explained the mark to her. Wide brown eyes shone with sympathetic tears.
Soundwave pushed through the throng and held his hands out for the youngest human. She ducked under the railing without hesitation and soon found herself in a huddled knot with Ravage, Frenzy and Laserbeak, curled up against the spy's spark.
June stood with Knock Out, lips pressed firmly together as she patched the various scrapes and dents her parents had picked up. This was war, she told herself, and it wasn't going to get much better if the Prime was back.
"Dad, did you see...?" she let the question hang.
Breakdown shook his heavy helm in answer. "No, only Starscream did, poor kid."
Said Decepticon suddenly faltered in his explanation to Megatron. His knee joints buckled and he dropped to the deck. Megatron barely caught him in time.
"What was that?!" Knock Out demanded, whipping out his scanner.
Airachnid and Megatron forced the young Seeker to take a seat at the navigation controls as the medic waved a beam of blue light over him. When it passed over his hand, the light turned an angry red with a warning buzz. Knock Out moved the beam up and down a few times to double check, then nodded grimly.
"Junebug, decontaminant!"
The human woman sprinted to the med kit and fished out a diluted energon composite used as a mid-level disinfectant. The red mech, in the meantime, used a delicate probe to scrape a viscous amaranthine liquid from Starscream's wrist. "What is this?" he whispered.
The patient shrugged with minimal effort. "I don't know. My broth—that thing was covered in it."
He remained motionless as June heaved herself up onto the seat beside him and tended to the infected area. She glanced up at the catwalk, where Sierra stood with a stricken look next to Jack. The boy's face was stony and unreadable.
"Robots that get injured?" Sierra whispered, more to herself than to Jack, "Robots that can...die?" Jack responded anyway.
"Not what you'd expected, I know." He turned away from the sight, eyes clouding, and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I am so sorry, Sierra. I never meant to drag you or Miko into our war."
Trembling, Sierra reached up and covered his hand with her own. "War? Is this going to happen more?"
She jumped slightly when Megatron answered gravely, "Until the Earth is free."
It was a strange feeling, Sierra decided, discovering that the world you thought you knew was not only in grave danger, but gigantic space aliens were trying to save it. She felt a little like Frodo Baggins must have when he discovered the importance of the Ring he carried.
Megatron turned from the frightened girl to the lost-looking Seeker and made a decision. "The Autobots are clearly readying themselves for something, and I fear for our human allies. Their safety is the very reason they have been moved to the Nemesis. Nevertheless, from now on, no human is to go without a Decepticon guardian."
He cast a sharp look at June and Jack. "Not even you. Is that clear?"
Mother and son saluted together. "Yes, Lord Megatron."
From the corner, still clutching his cassettes and Miko close, Soundwave tilted his helm towards his charges. A movie clip from Nim's Island played across his visor. "Whether it's here or...or anywhere, I'll take care of it. You will not be alone."
He glanced up at Megatron, who nodded. "Soundwave, I am relying upon you to protect Miko," he said quietly.
"Starscream." The despondent mech raised his helm slightly, somewhat acknowledging his leader. "Sierra's safety is your responsibility now."
The silver Seeker made a noncommittal sound and dropped his helm once more. Megatron frowned. It would take a long time for the commander's spark to heal from the loss of Skywarp, he knew this. Still, Starscream needed to look after someone younger and smaller than him. It was almost part of his coding. Watching over Sierra might begin the healing process, if only the stubborn youngling would open up a bit.
That just left his human Decepticons. He had no doubt that Airachnid and Breakdown would not let them out of their sight, and he was willing to contribute another set of optics himself for all four humans. Knock Out was out of the question. He was certainly going to be busy enough as ship's doctor without extra responsibilities.
The matter settled, Megatron excused himself from the main deck and slipped into the lift, stopping it between floors. In the solace of the dark elevator shaft, he allowed himself a moment to grieve for Skywarp a second time. A bitter smile forced its way onto his faceplates when the ghost of a memory whispered in his audial receptors.
"This is your home, now. If you need something, you tell me. Understand?"
Thundercracker cocked his helm curiously. "You actually care, don't you Teacher?"
The silver mech ruffled the neon Seeker's helm. "What, you think I teach you brats because the pay is good?"
Skywarp wandered over and picked up an old datapad from the table. "Hey! It's Bucky!" he cried, delighted.
Megatron laughed. "No, Skywarp. That's the old Kaon crest. Remember from history class?"
The little black Seeker pouted. "I liked it better when it was Bucky."
Tears stung at the corners of Megatron's optics and he forced them back, even though there was no one to see. How long ago had it been? How long since an idealistic young teacher had all but adopted three orphaned Seekers, only to be dragged away from them to the gladiatorial pits of Kaon when he spoke against the Senate?
Of their own accord, silver talons rose to brush across the sign of mourning still emblazoned under his left optic. Starscream was the only one left now, and Megatron was worried. He had heard tales of Seekers that had been driven mad when the members of their Trine were killed. It was part of the reason he'd assigned Sierra to his Air Commander. If Starscream was busy looking after the well-being of another, he had less time to focus on his own sorrow.
"I do not know what you have done, Optimus," Megatron murmured aloud as he started the lift moving once more, "But you will answer for it."
Cliffjumper slunk into the main chamber of the Autobot base, hoping his answer would satisfy Optimus.
"The mine is no more, Prime," he simpered, "There's no way the Decepticons could have survived!"
Optimus did not move. He remained staring at what was normally a miniature containment chamber. Now it had been converted into a makeshift display case for a solidified mass of Dark Energon as big around as Optimus's torso.
"Do not be so sure. Time and again, Megatron has proven himself stubbornly resilient." The scarred helm turned slightly, catching Cliffjumper in the glare of a ruby optic. "Where is Liaison? I have need of him."
The SIC chuckled nervously. "Right, of course. Liason. I'm sure Goldbug knows where he's scampered off to." He trailed off into silence when he realized that the massive Autobot remained focused on the unwholesome glow of the so-called Blood of Unicron.
"Prime? P-p-prime?" Cliffjumper slid back out of reach. "That crystal seems to be...affecting you. Perhaps you've been exposed to that a little too long?"
With an incoherent growl, Optimus snapped his arm forward and broke a spike of the purple substance from the main mass. "On the contrary, Cliffjumper. I have not been exposed to it enough!"
The horned mech's optics widened when he realized what his master meant. "What? Prime, don't! This is madness!"
Slowly, ever so slowly, the distinctive helm turned to face him.
"Madness? This is power!" And he drove the shard into his own spark with a thunderous cry. Violet eclipsed the chamber.
In his laboratory, Knock Out squinted into a microscope at the liquid removed from Starscream's hand.
"Hm. I can't help but feel I've encountered this before..." the medic murmured. He scowled. "This isn't the right tool. I need a higher magnification!"
He turned and shouted over his shoulder, "Breakdown! Do you know where I put that paraboloid submicroscopic scanner?"
As he moved, his elbow bumped the slide, sending a single drop of purple flying onto a manipulator arm used for small repairs. It twitched for a moment, then transformed itself into a crab-like creature, lit with a violet glow. With a chittering hiss, it launched itself towards the doctor's unprotected back.
At the last moment, he turned and saw the metal spider. With a whoop of dismay, Knock Out dodged and swung the submicroscopic scanner like a bludgeon, knocking the little fiend to the deck.
"Gyahh!" the medic slammed the instrument down on it several more times in panic. It lay on the ground, twitching slightly, and the doctor allowed himself to relax. Suddenly the purple lights glowed again and it began to rouse itself for another attack!
Crunch!
A heavy silver pede slammed down on it, grinding the abomination to atoms.
"Thanks," Knock Out gasped, half collapsed against his workstation.
Megatron offered him a hand up. "Are you alright, doctor?"
Said doctor replied with a distracted affirmative as he examined his sadly mangled scanner. "Aw, I needed that!" he sighed.
Gingerly, Knock Out lifted the dead manipulator arm between thumb and fore-servo. "What in the Allspark could have caused this?" he asked no one in particular. A deep frown creased Megatron's faceplates.
"I have my suspicions," he rumbled.
It was close to an hour before Soundwave finally let go of Miko and his cassettes.
"What we do now, Big Bro?" Frenzy mumbled, rubbing at his remaining optic.
The silent mech tilted his helm contemplatively and sent a flurry of question marks over his visor.
What do you want to do? he signed to Miko.
The little girl stood up and tapped her chin thoughtfully. All at once, her face brightened. She held up one hand and ran the fingers of the other up and down as if it were a brush.
You want to paint? The words scrolled across Soundwave's face.
Eagerly, the human nodded. It took a moment or two for Frenzy to realize what was being said, but when he finally deciphered the text on the visor, he clapped his hands and began to jump up and down.
"Yes paint! Paint much! Paint me!"
Beaming, Miko laced her fingers through Frenzy's servos. Can we? Pleeeease? her other hand spelled almost too quickly to be read.
The young mech pretended to think for a moment, displaying the "troll face" to his charges. Even Laserbeak let out a happy static trill when he relented and pulled up a security footage picture of where Knock Out kept the paint supplies. With mischief alight in the eyes and optics of all involved, the small gang slipped into the storage room and cordoned off a section of the wall for their artwork. Who even came in here in the first place? Soundwave reasoned. No one would even notice!
Someone noticed all the same, and it led to rather unexpected results. It began with Crossways, who had been sent in to find a certain shade of blue to mend a scratch on Breakdown's shoulder that Airachnid thought unsightly. He paused at the door, hearing giggles. Inside, Soundwave sat cross-legged in a corner with several open cans of paint around him. A somewhat nonplussed Ravage stood in front of him, his gleaming white hide marred by splashes of bright blue and red, which were being liberally smeared around by Frenzy and Miko. Completely caught off-guard, the soldier let out a low-frequency boom of Cybertronian language. Miko's head snapped around, whipping her hair into her eyes, which were as big as saucers.
"Busted!" Frenzy squeaked. He held his servos over his audial receptors, getting blue paint all over his helm.
I heard that! Miko signed rapidly.
Soundwave ran his servos over the back of his hand. Slow down! What did you hear?
The little girl climbed up onto the spy's pede, leaving bright handprints as she went. I heard! I heard the noise! She practically glowed.
Confused, Soundwave sent out a low sonic pulse similar to the one Crossways had made.
Miko laughed, a high-pitched shrieking sound. You said Miko! I heard you say Miko!
Ravage and Frenzy winced at the harsh noise and drew away from the girl, but Soundwave decided that it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard.
The violent glow faded, and Cliffjumper slowly uncovered his optics. Surprisingly, or perhaps disappointingly, Optimus Prime still stood. So much for the "anti-spark". Perhaps the only visible change was the mech's optics. Once a vibrant red, they now shone with a sickening lavender hue.
"Ah...Prime?" the horned soldier gulped.
Haltingly, the blackened helm rotated to view the Autobot SIC. The purple lights narrowed, unfocused.
"I know what I require."
The words were not meant for Cliffjumper, it would seem, as the mighty Prime lumbered past the smaller Cybertronian without another word.
"Optimus! Where are you going?" Cliffjumper called after him, utterly bewildered.
Blunt servos flippantly waved him off. "You are in command of the base until I return."
Cliffjumper raised an eyebrow. Well, somehow that had turned to his favor.
He turned to gloat and shrieked like a sparkling. Goldbug watched him impassively from not two feet away.
"How do you do that?!" the larger mech snapped, shuddering. "Away with you, spirit!"
Goldbug tipped his helm to the side in slow, deliberate movements and pointed after Optimus Prime's retreating figure.
"Oh yes. That." Cliffjumper shrugged carelessly. "It would seem that when our master reached for the stars, he came down with a touch of...space madness."
The Autobot spy did not seem to appreciate the remark, though it wasn't as if one could tell from his expression, for he had none.
Still, Cliffjumper sidled away from the silent mech. "I'm just saying, you might want to increase surveillance around here."
The mission had been a success.
Agents of MECH trailed below decks into their submersible base carrying the spoils of war proudly. In her small, neatly pressed uniform, Violet waited at the ladder. Silently, she counted names in her head. Jacobs, Andersen, Anderson, Anders, Blackwell, Hartley, Richards, ah! Bishop! Silas slid down the rungs and landed with a thump.
"Success?" she asked needlessly.
The man smirked and tugged her braid affectionately. "Zero casualties, Agent Woodlock. We couldn't have asked for better."
Man and girl walked side by side out of the narrow corridor to an open chamber with a wide window. Violet crossed her arms and leaned her weight back onto one foot.
"Mhm. I know that look," Silas sighed and slung his rifle off of his back. His young charge scowled and held up a discarded arm brace.
"Now Woodlock," Silas held up a hand in hopes of forestalling a lecture, "I didn't need it. The bones have reset."
The girl grabbed his hand. "Non. Vous êtes juste têtu." Violet grumbled under her breath as she forced her commanding officer out of the heavy jacket and strapped the brace to his left arm.
"How did you even hold the rocket launcher during the raid?! This will never heal properly!"
A worn smile ghosted across the man's face and he stood still, allowing the young soldier to tend to his arm. She clucked her tongue and scolded like an older woman, shaking her head. When the last strap had been buckled into place, Silas took her metal hand in his flesh one.
"Cherie, n'avez-vous pas reposé?"
Violet snorted. "Rest? Who has time to rest? We are soldiers, Silas."
Gently, the head of MECH brushed a wisp of hair from the thirteen-year-old's face. "Vous êtes encore un adolescent. Juste pour aujourd'hui, pouvez-vous agir comme un?" he murmured, "Take a day off, Violet. No more war, no more espionage. Just be a normal child today, that's all I ask."
There was a long silence, and then the girl whispered, "I want to see my mother's grave."
Silas winced. He ought to have known she would want to go to Jasper. Still, Megatron's patrols hadn't picked up any Autobot activity since the day the human girls were brought to the Nemesis. He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Agent Woodlock could be trusted to run messages between himself and the Decepticon leader with no trouble. She had good aim, followed orders well, and behaved like a soldier twice her age. Why, then, did this request fill him with apprehension? He shook it off. Violet was not going to be a child forever. Surely she deserved a little time to herself?
"I'll ready a warp gate for you," he promised.
Sierra groaned and stretched her back. Starscream had decided that she and Jack were going to learn Baguazhang style if it killed them.
She had fared better than her companion, her history of ballet working in her favor. Still, the Seeker had drilled them for what seemed like hours before relenting. It hadn't been until what felt like 5:00 when the really big one—Megatron, wasn't it?—briefly entered and said something to Jack about homework.
Well, it had sounded like he said homework, but the way Jack's face lit up and how quickly he moved to follow the big guy suggested to Sierra that it couldn't possibly be that. Who in their right mind enjoyed homework? As she rolled her shoulders in an effort to work out the cramps, a voice broke into her thoughts.
"Sore?" Starscream crouched next to her, vaguely sympathetic.
"Yeah," Sierra sighed. "I'm not used to fighting."
The silver mech smiled sadly at her. "Most of us weren't to begin with. Still, if you're going to live with us, you should know how to protect yourself." He held out one spindly hand for her.
"Fly with me?" he asked, almost shyly.
"Absolutely." Sierra needed no second bidding. Even in the few brief days knowing the Decepticons, she had discovered that there was nothing on Earth to compare to flying with a Seeker.
"Can we break the sound barrier?" she grinned up at him, all fatigue fading away.
Starscream pretended to buff his "nails" on his armor. "Sound barrier? Please. I've already done that!"
They bantered cheerfully and slipped down the hallway, neither daring to cease joking. The moment the laughter faded into silence, they would each be alone with their thoughts once more, and that was an unnerving notion.
Goldbug had indeed increased surveillance...but not on the Autobot base. Rather, he had taken to scanning Jasper.
He never said why, or even indicated it, but no one questioned Goldbug. He was silent, lethal, and fanatically loyal to Optimus. The only being who even came close to his devotion to the Autobot cause was Liaison, and he hardly counted.
A lucky sensor sweep over the coded airwaves of Jasper had turned up the unmistakable sound of a warp gate. Goldbug would have sneered if his mouth had been visible. Warp gates indeed! Foolish, unwieldy human recreations of Ground Bridge technology with their limited resources. He had tracked the feedback to its source: the Decepticon/Human contact from MECH. She was walking down the sidewalk with her hands shoved into her pockets, obviously thinking. How very fortunate.
Violet stopped in front of a gutted brick building and traced her fingers over the warm, worn stone. No, I don't need to see your insurance, her mother's voice reassured a patient in her mind's eye. She could see them now, Cosette Woodlock demonstrating all the compassion of her fictional namesake, surrounded by the urban poor in her tiny clinic.
Vi, cherie, come hold this little one's hand. He needs a little help being brave. Her mother had quietly and respectfully disobeyed the government's insurance and medical practice sanctions on a day-to-day basis. "A Gentle Resistance", she'd called it. It had been far from perfect, but it was home.
Then one day it was gone. A man came asking for a flu shot for an ill child, and the next thing they knew he was handcuffing them and speaking of tribunals. Violet knew that he had something to do with the Autobots. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to will the hatred welling up in her heart to go away. She did not see the huge hand behind her until is was too late.
Peering out of a peephole, Lila Cody gasped as she saw what appeared to be a car with arms kidnapping a girl of its own volition. Hands shaking, she dialed the first person she could think of: her daughter.
Violet came to in a dark, dank chamber, hanging from chains. Where was she?
A raspy voice echoed from the shadows. "Well well! Little Miss Woodlock, is it? You're terribly late for your appointment, you know!"
A mad light sprang out of the optics of her captor, and Woodlock stiffened.
Darkness. Somewhere, an animal is howling...or perhaps it is her heart. There is something dripping on the floor—don't think about it, Violet. Don't think about it—a creeping ichor pooling just close enought to touch—It isn't real, Violet! Don't look at it—a child cries out and she winces at the plaintive tone.
"Mama!"
Why is her throat so raw? Who is screaming?
Cliffjumper waltzed in through the doors.
"My dear doctor," he practically purred, "I trust you've made our guest comfortable?"
Violet shut her eyes and prayed it was all a vision. The arrogant blue Autobot sneered and stopped in front of the girl.
"So, Ms. Woodlock. Nice to see you again!" the pleasant tone turned nasty. "And now, if you please, we will discuss the location of the Decepticon base."
Something is wrong.
Megatron couldn't quite put a servo on it, but his instincts had never failed him before. Plated armor shifted almost imperceptibly in response to his discomfort.
Pax looked up from the Cybertronian history vid he was watching.
"What is it?" he asked quietly.
Megatron hid a smile. June and Pax alike always seemed to know when something was bothering their larger family members. He supposed it was because they were so small that body language that seemed subtle to a Cybertronian must seem very obvious to a human.
"Premonitions, Pax Minor," he answered simply. "That is all."
The boy stood and crossed the broad surface of the desk to look up at the huge mech. It seemed that he was about to say something, but wasn't sure how to begin.
"Speak, young one. Is something troubling you?" Megatron motioned vaguely to him.
Jack rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and looked away. "It's just...I'm going to miss doing homework in here, talking to you."
There was a muffled exclamation of mild surprise and the warlord bent slightly to look at the human. "I was unaware that you had intended to cease your visits."
Noting the confusion in his leader's optics, Jack spoke quickly and very nearly unintelligibly. "Well, we're at war now, right? I mean, everyone's going to be busy fighting. You won't have time for things like this."
Very carefully, Megatron rested one talon on the boy's shoulder. "You are right. We are at war, and that does mean that things will be different. Perhaps we will not always be able to do this-" he motioned to the curriculum spread across the table, "But I will always have time for you. You know that, don't you?"
And he meant it. Pax, Starscream, Soundwave, and now Sierra and Miko; they were still very young, in Megatron's optics, and needed guidance. Most of them had no parental figures of their own, and somehow it had fallen to him to ensure that they made it through life in one piece.
The boy blushed and mumbled something, but before the Decepticon could tell him to speak up, the wall comm chimed. Megatron turned to the screen, which resolved itself into an image of Silas of MECH.
"Megatron," the man said politely.
The warlord nodded in return. "Colonel Bishop, is something wrong?"
The skin around Silas's eyes grew tight. "Agent Woodlock isn't aboard by any chance, is she?" When Megatron confirmed that she was not, the human only grew more worried.
"I sent her out on shore leave today," he admitted, "But she was supposed to have returned two hours ago. I had hoped that perhaps she was with your people."
A second screen opened abruptly, displaying Starscream's faceplate. "Lord Megatron! We have a situation!"
Beside him, Sierra suddenly was lifted into view. "Go on, tell him what you told me," the Seeker urged. Shaking, she held up a cell phone.
"My mom called me while I was out flying with Starscream," she tried to steady her voice. "She said she saw a black and yellow car with arms grab a girl off the street in Jasper."
"Describe the girl." Megatron ordered tersely.
"All she said was that she was small and had a prosthetic arm. I thought it might have been Agent Woodlock?"
On the other screen, Silas's eyes widened and he set his jaw grimly. "MECH is coming in on this one." he announced.
"Out of the question," Megatron retorted, "The casualties would be-" He did not get a chance to finish. In the submarine base, Silas slammed his fist down on the console in a rare show of temper.
"I'm not letting them hurt her again!" he stood abruptly. "I'll have a stealth team to the Nemesis in twenty minutes: I would appreciate it if you attempted to track Woodlock's location."
In the tense silence that followed, Sierra turned to look up at her guardian. "Again?"
The Seeker shook his helm regretfully. "The Autobots took the Woodlock family once before, when she was younger. I don't know how they concealed it from your government, given that humans don't usually approve of being experimented upon."
A cold feeling squirmed in the pit of her stomach, Sierra no longer felt that she could hold Violet's attitude against her.
"Well, we're going to rescue her, right?" she asked.
Through the comm, Megatron issued orders. "Starscream, find Soundwave. We shall require stealth more than force, and the ability to fly away if needed."
He lifted Jack from the table and set him on the floor. "Go find your mother," he advised, "And tell her to have the human medical equipment ready, though I pray we will not need it."
As the boy darted from the room, Megatron nearly staggered as a thought that had been teasing at the edge of his processor the entire day suddenly crashed through into recognition. The experiments. Skywarp's corpse. The manipulator arm. They all had one thing in common, one thing so rare as to be thought almost non-existent.
The silver gladiator clenched his fists. He had an inkling of Optimus's plan now: he just had to find a way to beat him to it.
"Knock Out!" he growled into his personal comm, "Meet me at the Ground Bridge. I fear I may require a medic's expertise on this matter."
"Now really, Agent Woodlock. Is there a need to be so unfriendly? And after all I've done for you!"
Cliffjumper paced around the dangling figure like an animal. "Why, just look at poor Ratchet over there. I've made him wait this whole time so that you would feel more comfortable! Isn't that at least worth one, teeny tiny answer?"
But Violet didn't answer. Her lips were pressed firmly together and her eyes were as glassy as a doll's. This isn't happening. I'm not really here. She chanted the words in her mind over and over, determined to fool both herself and her captor into believing she was not frightened.
A thought came to her and a forced smile quirked at the corners of her mouth. Grapsing the chains above her head, she began to swing back and forth, whistling cheerfully.
"Riddle me this, Batman, what goes up with a whistle and comes down with a bang?"
Cliffjumper was not impressed. "Missile?" he guessed.
"Non. Your head, when the Decepticons are done with you." Violet corrected, sneering.
The Autobot leaned back, disgusted. "So, we're playing games now, are we?" He turned to the shadowy figure of the Autobot CMO.
"Bring me the energon prod!"
Woodlock froze as dark whispers intruded on her mind. Not now! But the memory ignored her pleas and submerged her in the gloom of another med chamber.
Excruciating pain. Her arm feels as though a swarm of scorpions has been set loose beneath the skin, and she's not entirely sure that this is an exaggeration. The hated voice over her head continues speaking.
"Experiment on the effects of corrupted energon in an organic host, stage two. Limb is showing marked tissue damage and loss of flexibility. There appears to be subcutaneous melting, but it's hard to tell at this distance. Requires further study: I recommend amputation."
A hand transforms into a saw and raises itself high. Violet shuts her eyes and turns away. It's always the same view anyway. Blood and more blood, and the Autobot, and That Man. He watches, always watches, and writes things down to take to their hateful leader.
Soundwave dropped out of the Ground Bridge silently, landing in a crouch behind Starscream and the MECH team.
"This is the place," the Seeker whispered, motioning to a blackened mesa before them. "Not that I know how we're getting in there yet..." he turned to Soundwave. "Did you bring a deployer?"
Raising one servo in a 'just a moment' gesture, the spy opened his chestplates. And nearly went into spark arrest. Red flags and warning signs displayed across his visor as he gently lifted Miko from the small chamber. She yawned and rubbed her eyes and looked around. Tiny arms flailed in shock when she realized that they were not on the Nemesis anymore.
"Scrap." Starscream uttered.
"What the—That's a kid!" one of the MECH soldiers hissed. Soundwave cobbled together a few video clips to form an explanation.
"I didn't-know-she was-hiding-in there. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
Starscream rolled his optics at the dramatic-looking man in the pinstriped suit that Soundwave had chosen to speak through.
"Well she's here now and we can't change that! Put her back in your scout chamber and stay out of sight. We'll handle things from here." Motioning the humans to follow him, the Air Commander crept into the shadows at the base of the stone formations, blaster at the ready. This would take luck.
The Ground Bridge opened and two figures stepped through, dwarfed by the canyon walls that yawned above them. The larger of the two moved at a sedate pace, hands folded behind his back.
"Knock Out, do you recall the period late in the war when both factions began hiding their energon spoils on other worlds?" the regal tone was troubled. The listener blew out a sharp exvent and hurried to catch up.
"I was pretty young at the time, my lord, but yes. I remember." Knock Out drew level with Megatron, and the titan's azure optics seemed to glisten with memories as he made a wide, sweeping gesture.
"This was the site of one of the largest skirmishes over energon. There are hundreds buried here, both Autobot and Decepticon."
Knock Out's mouth hung open. The canyon was massive already, but to imagine it as the battleground Megatron described was nearly overwhelming.
Bzzt!
Violet hissed painfully, but did not cry out. She had no strength left for tears.
"Stubborn fleshling!" Cliffjumper snarled, "I do not appreciate my time being wasted!" Somewhere above him, on a narrow platform, a door opened. In the shaft of light that parted the gloom, a dark shadow waited.
"Really? That's funny, given that all you ever do is waste time," a husky voice mocked.
Cliffjumper gritted his denta and straightened his back with a creak and a pop. "And you would know, wouldn't you?" he replied in a falsely pleasant voice.
"Slinking little organic sneak-thief," he muttered under his breath.
The man scoffed and stepped into the room, dragging someone else behind him. The light touched his grizzled face and Agent Woodlock recoiled in shock.
She remembered him. He had come to her mother's clinic dressed in rags and had tearfully told them of a sick child and the government denying care. Of course, Cosette had immediately given him the medical supplies needed: she had always operated on a good-faith basis. Not two hours later, men came in the night to arrest them.
"Where is Papa?" the little girl asked fearfully. She could hear muffled gunshots outside the dark van.
"Shh, shh my love, it will be alright," Cosette held her close.
They didn't know where they were going, or why they'd been separated from the patients that had been arrested.
Violet squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, willing the flashback to end. She was stronger than this! She would not give in! The images gradually began to fade, but the screams still rang in her ears.
"Where are you taking her?" Mama was reaching, reaching for her. "She hasn't done anything!"
That Man wrenched them apart, completely emotionless. Without a word, he cuffed their hands and led them to a door.
"Don't worry, you'll receive due process of law," he lied, and shoved them through.
Some huge beast with red eyes stirred in the darkness. "New subjects!" it barked, "It's about time!" Violet was separated from her mother and placed in a cage with two other humans who were more dead than alive.
She was awake when the giant dissected—No. She refused to remember.
She glared up at the shadowy man with all the hatred she could muster.
"Jack!" Sierra dashed around the corner. "I can't find Miko anywhere, have you seen her?"
The young Decepticon frowned. "Isn't she with Ravage?"
He got his answer when the decorated feline mech bounced happily around the corner with Frenzy on his back, singing.
"Cuz yoo mai cheezburger, mai nommy cheezburger. Ai snack on yooooo, yah ai snack on yooooo...O hai hoomans!" The two humans paled.
"Frenzy?" Jack swallowed hard. "You're supposed to be with Soundwave and the others!"
Very quickly, Sierra put two and two together. "But if he was supposed to be there, and Miko was supposed to be here..." She turned with a panicked look.
"You don't think-?"
"Oh scrap!"
Jack vaulted over a low rise in the floor and sprinted for the command center. "We have to get her back!"
"Rani!" Jack skidded to a halt in the main deck. "Frenzy's still here! I think Soundwave took Miko with him by mistake!"
Airachnid uttered some very unladylike things and opened the security footage. "Yeah," she sighed, "There she is." The spider femme shook her helm.
"Stay with your grandfather," she ordered Jack. She pointed at Sierra. "You too!" Quickly, she set the Ground Bridge coordinates for Starscream and Soundwave's location and disappeared into the vortex.
"So...we're staying here?" Sierra asked uncomfortably.
Jack looked torn. On the one hand, he rarely ever disobeyed his grandmother. On the other hand, a human would be less easily spotted amongst Cybertronians.
"Mom will absolutely murder me," he said finally, "But I can't stay here if Miko's in trouble. The stealth team will have their hands full rescuing Agent Woodlock: who's going to look after her?"
He vanished from sight for a moment, and returned seconds later with a sleek rifle slung over his back.
"You can't go alone!" Sierra cried.
He turned and raised an eyebrow. "And you know what, exactly, about fighting?"
She was not to be dissuaded. "I'm coming with you!" she declared, following him into the still-open Bridge.
Before the light swallowed them both, she heard the boy mutter, "I've got a bad feeling about this." She couldn't have put it better herself.
Ratchet looked away from the human captive to the small figure on the walkway.
"Liaison Darby, what's the news?" he asked gruffly.
The deep drawl sounded amused. "Not much, old hack. Why the long face?"
Ratchet scowled and roughly gestured to Violet. "I have research to do, and no subjects to use because Cliffjumper wants to play 20 Questions!"
Liaison laughed: a sound not unlike sandpaper against a tin pail. "No luck, huh? Well, this ought to cheer you up." He motioned to the bound figure he had towed in behind him.
The "medic"'s optics brightened and he hurried over. "For me? What's this?"
The man shrugged, looking bored. "Oh, the usual story. Protest leader from the Times Square Incident. You know the rabble are calling it the "Times Square Massacre" now? Such drama. All yours, doc, with the compliments of the Oval Office."
Cackling, the Autobot snatched the unlucky human and disappeared into the shadows with a whirr of machinery. Liaison smirked and ran a hand through his graying hair. Then his eyes fell on the prisoner Cliffjumper was interrogating, and his eyebrows raised at the sheer intensity of her venomous stare.
"Well who's this?" he asked jovially.
Violet spat at him. "You don't remember?"
He shrugged. "Not in the slightest. Should I?"
She didn't dignify him with a response, but between her teeth she whispered, "I will kill you one day."
Cliffjumper bent down, having caught these words. "You know," he murmured, "I'd love to help you make good on that promise, but it won't be any use if you're dead. So, for the last time: where. Are. The. Decepticons?!"
Green eyes met red as she taunted him with her last ounce of energy. "Rouille à la ferraille, tas d'ordure!"
It took a moment for the blue mech to translate the insult. "Why you little-!" Slow, sarcastic applause halted his tirade.
The Liaison dropped from the observation deck to the table and calmly kicked the lever holding the chains. Violet fell to the surface, unable to stop the gasp of relief.
"You're going about this all wrong, y'know," the man crooned, "It's not about the threats, gentlemen, or the fear. It's all about asking the right questions."
He crouched in front of the girl. "Now, I'm not going to ask about our friends the Decepticons. That just won't do any good, will it?" he asked in a sing-song voice. "Let's talk about something else, eh? How about school! You go to school, don't you?"
He propped Violet up against a cannister on the work table and wiped her sweaty brow with his sleeve. "I'll bet you do. Probably top of your class, right? Lots of friends, I'm sure." He was not daunted when she remained silent.
"How about boys? Let's talk about boys. Girls your age are always talking about boys. Well, I'm thinking of one in particular, you may have met him once or twice. He'll be about sixteen, I suppose, black hair, blue eyes. Name of Jack. Jack Darby. You know him?"
Violet looked up at the seemingly friendly face and something clicked in her mind. Oh scrap.
The roar of an engine heralded the approach of some large vehicle. Megatron and Knock Out looked about for the source of the sound, apprehensive. Their fears were well founded. With a sound of mass displacement and rotations, a semi truck transformed at the top of one of the canyon walls.
"Optimus Prime." Megatron growled.
Harsh laughter rang throughout the canyon. "Megatron! The cycles have not been kind!"
Knock Out snorted. "He's talking about himself, right?"
The false Prime paced the rock like a caged tiger. "It is curious that we should both find our way to the exact same spot," he observed, "But it is of no consequence. Behold the power of Dark Energon!"
He held one fist high and the Decepticons could see that it clutched the same vile substance that had brought the manipulator arm to life.
Like an Olympian of old, Optimus hurled the shard to earth, and it buried itself in the ground. With a mighty rumble, the stone began to quake beneath their pedes.
"Knock Out," Megatron said grimly, "We must fall back to higher ground."
The medic scrambled up onto a ledge, unable to fly. "Lord Megatron, if Dark Energon really does bring back the fallen..." T
he former gladiator finished his thought for him. "Then our battle is not with metal and energon, but the undead."
To be continued...
(author's note: I apologize both for the length of this chapter and the lateness of posting. I could have broken this up into two parts, but I couldn't find a good place to do so. Also, I had family over and couldn't work on the chapter because when family is visiting, one must be sociable. And by sociable I mean the computer had to be left alone.)
