Ye gads I'm alive! I deeply apologize for the LONG wait between chapters, but I've been crazy busy! (Teaching summer camp and riding lessons, packing and moving to a new home... we still have no couch, sitting on the floor as I type this, eeks!) I decided to go get something out and actually try to mesh with the story line now!
( I always feel like these things take me forever to write, then I put it up and go "Dang, it's so short." a pox on writing! )
It had been an interesting week, to say the least. Knock Out had begun to move with the Autobots, though they still kept a wary eye on him. He wasn't sure who's reaction he found to be more amusing, the Autobot's when he actually assisted them, or the Decepticon's when he showed his face on the battlefield standing against them. In all honesty he was still unsure of his position, but constantly reminded himself of what was at stake and of what could be when all was said and done.
Knock Out was attempting to keep his mind in the game, but it was difficult given the last few missions had gone completely awry. Megatron had butchered his own body, attaching the arm of a fallen Prime so he could use the Forge of Solus Prime as he saw fit. Knock Out hadn't seen the battle himself, but he knew what had happened. Megatron had destroyed the Star Saber, and in shattering that he had shattered the Autobot's morale.
The entire base was in a lull, Optimus was still decoding co-ordinates leaving only Ratchet and Diana at work, the Medic working at one of his consoles while Diana scrutinized the battered hilt of the Star Saber. Knock Out was hovering near Diana, his arms folded over his chest as he watched her.
"What're you doing?" he leaned forwards, trying to peer around her.
"Just checking things out." she replied quietly, also affected by the somber mood.
Knock Out frowned at her soft reply, sighing and standing up straight. He was rather frustrated that she was as upset as the others, not that he was mad at her for being upset, instead he was annoyed that he couldn't brighten her spirits. He knew he would never be able to bond his spark to her as he would with another Cybertronian mate, but his spark felt and understood his affection for the little human and was doing it's best to compensate by being sensitive to her emotions and actions. At present, there was a deep ache in his chest, his spark matching the somber mood that Diana was in, trying to match itself to her as it would another Cybertronian.
"Knocks?" her voice broke him from his thoughts, the mech rubbing at his chest absentmindedly.
"Hmm?"
"Do you think the Decepticons know what the keys are for?" Diana finally turned from the Saber, sighing and wiping the back of her left hand against her forehead.
Knock Out frowned, shaking his head gently. "I don't know, when I was with them we had no idea they existed, as far as I knew at least. But secrets are Megatron's business, he has many and always finds the answers he needs."
Diana nodded lightly. "I don't know how you guys have been at war for so long, it only feels like a few days for me and I'm tired of it.
"You have no idea." he replied, sighing and rubbing at his optics.
The sound of robotic footfalls caught the pairs attention, both of them glancing to a disheartened looking Smokescreen. "But I had the Omega Key right in my hand."
Diana's heart fell a bit at the young mech's words. Everyone knew how upset Smokescreen was over losing the third key, he practically carried the guilt around like a ball and chain. She could only watch as Bulkhead did his best to console him, and bite her tongue when Arcee stepped forwards to reprimand the young mech, ending with Smokescreen leaving the base in a flurry of anger and shame.
"Well, that was amusing." Knock Out murmured sarcastically, shaking his head lightly and looking to Diana.
The blonde shrugged slightly. "It's hard to lose when you have everything to prove." she hugged her arms about her chest, glad the children weren't around to see the defeated expressions on their friends and guardians.
Silence had fallen on the base again, the others doing little more than standing about as Optimus worked. Only when the Prime gave a sigh of satisfaction did the others stir.
"The final entry has been decoded." Optimus said his voice drawing the attention of the others who began to gather about him.
"Has it?" Ratchet asked, pointing to the console that had yet to provide co-ordinates, but instead began to shuffle about the symbols and lettering on it's screen.
The Prime frowned at the display. "Perhaps it is a secondary layer of encoding."
The group watched as an image began to take shape on the screen.
"An image? None of the other entries contained an image." Knock Out said quietly, his gaze narrowing a tad.
The others mumbled amongst themselves, Diana moving about on the catwalk so she could see the screen better.
The image had finally settled, clearing up and confirming itself.
"Smokescreen?" Bulkhead's voice relayed the confusion they all felt.
Arcee glowered, setting her hands on her hips. "Is this that hot-shot's idea of a joke?"
Bumblebee gave a few chirps of confusion, looking between Arcee and the console.
"Well, maybe he knows where the key is?" Bulkhead offered.
"And never bothered to mention it?" Arcee kept her glare, even as Ratchet spoke.
"A more likely possibility is that Smokescreen somehow is the key himself without knowing it."
"What better hiding place then an oblivious and mobile mech?" Knock Out offered, folding his arms over his chest.
"Whatever the case, Smokescreen may be in grave danger." Optimus interrupted their musings, trying to contact Smokescreen via their comm links.
A few futile attempts proved that the young mech had turned off his link.
"We need to get him." Diana said, looking up to Ratchet who turned to one of his consoles to search for Smokescreen.
It only took a few moments for Ratchet to find out where Smokescreen was and feed his location into the ground bridge, he and Diana watching as the other Autobot's darted into the bridge.
Knock Out was on Optimus' heels, his expression mimicking the Prime's when they saw that they had arrived too late. "There!" he pointed to an all too familiar form, Soundwave, hauling an unconscious Smokescreen into the Decepticon ground bridge.
The group sprinted for the pair but fell short by a few seconds, the bridge winking out of sight as they drew near.
Diana darted towards the ground bridge as it re-opened, Ratchet doing a much better job of hiding his hopefulness as the Autobot's filed back into the base, her shoulders dropping as she realized Smokescreen wasn't with them.
"What happened?" Ratchet asked gently.
"Soundwave, I knew the guy could had eyes everywhere, but really?" Knock Out grumbled, walking straight to Diana and kneeling, offering a hand for her to climb into. "He must have been decoding the entries too."
The Autobots glanced to one another, a silence hanging about them.
Eventually Arcee stepped forwards. "Knock Out, what will they do to him?"
Knock Out looked to the femme, carefully setting Diana on his shoulder near his neck, a spot she'd come to favour. "They have him so they have to know what he is, or what he has." he frowned, looking to the floor for a moment. "And they don't ask as nicely as you guys do when they want something..."
Arcee visibly tensed, all of her earlier fury diminished. "He is the key, so to get it..." she trailed off, her optics flickering between the other Autobots and the former Decepticon.
The red mech shifted about on his feet. "If it were me, dissection is the best and probably only option, as I doubt Smokescreen will willingly hand over a key." his voice was lower than usual, a hint of shame to his words.
"We'll get him back." Bulkhead spoke, pulling the others from their contemplation. "Ratchet'll find him, and we've got you." the large mech gestured towards Knock Out. "Who better to help us find the Decepticon warship than the former Decepticon Medic?"
"Don't you think I would have told you how to find the ship already if I could?" Knock Out frowned, shaking his head. He felt Diana's hand on the side of his face, a gentle prod to be careful about his wording. He gave a soft sigh before continuing. "But, we've never had a comrade aboard the ship before, I'll do my best."