Friend or Foe? VIII
Echo ran and ran until his legs couldn't carry him any further. Without looking he ran into the first room he came across, and straight into a pair of legs. Falling back onto his skid plate, the youngling looked up only to come face to face with Ratchet.
"Echo?" The CMO said looking down at the youngling by his feet. "What are you doing here?" As he said this he reached down to pick the small mech up. Before he could even touch the small mech, Echo had jumped to his feet and sprinted out the door.
"Echo!" The yellow medic shouted as he ran after him. He had just stepped into the hallway when he was confronted by Jazz.
"Did Echo come by 'ere?" He asked in a hurried tone.
"He just ran out, what happened?" Ratchet asked furrowing his optic ridges at the silver mech.
"Echo jus' found out that he's…different from us," the saboteur said with a hint of sadness. "The fact that 'Hide jus' showed tha' he doesn't care 'bout 'em doesn't help either." Ratchet narrowed his optics angrily. So I was right, he thought bitterly.
Elsewhere, Echo turned a corner in the Autobot base and found himself in the main entryway of the base. His spark leapt when he saw that the hatch was open. Sprinting across the room he quickly found himself outside in the bright sunlight.
After running a good mile or so, the youngling decided to stop and rest. Sitting under a large tree, he finally got to look around. Echo hardly knew anything about other planets, more or less about anything organic. However, despite his young age, he sensed that almost everything around him was alive. Too tired to ponder such complex thoughts, he yawned, curled up into a small ball and slipped into recharge.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the ocean, Megatron was on the verge of beating the slag out of the two Seekers in front of him. The Decepticon leader clenched his fists at his sides and glared at the two jets.
"And just how did he get here?" he asked in a deathly calm voice. The two of them cast unsure glances at each other.
"We don't know, sir," Thundercracker replied respectively as he cast his red optics to the floor in front of him. The response get got was a hard punch to the left side of his face plate, denting it badly. He was then picked up by his throat and slammed against a wall. Coughing energon from his wheezing intakes, the blue jet winced as Megatron tightened his hold on his neck. Just as the Seeker was about to blackout, the main computer beeped loudly and a map of some nearby woods appeared on the screen, accompanied by a small purple dot.
"It seems that you might have the chance to redeem yourself after all," the giant silver mech growled as he threw Thundercracker to the ground with ease.
"Soundwave, go with Thundercracker and make sure he doesn't screw up," he ordered as he typed several commands onto the computer.
"As you command Lord Megatron," the dark blue mech said in his usual monotone voice. With that said, both of the mechs left he base to retrieve Echo.
Echo was pulled from his peaceful recharge by the low rumbling noise. On lining his deep red optics he found that they sky was no longer a cheerful blue, but a deep grey. Then it started to rain. The temperature dropped and the wind picked up considerably. Echo shivered and wrapped his arms around himself to try and stay warm. The young ling was so focused on trying to stay warm that he failed to sense the approaching mech.
"Cold?" A voice asked. Echo's head jerked up and his red optics met another pair of red ones. The small mech squealed in happiness and threw himself at Thundercracker. The Seeker smiled and lifted the small youngling into his arms, keeping him warm and shielding him from the cold rain.
"Mission: Successful. Return to base," Soundwave said appearing out of the woods as well. Just as the three were preparing to leave, Thundercracker was shot in the back.
Staggering forward he shielded Echo the best he could from the gun fire surrounding them. Soundwave ejected all of his casseticons and had already engaged in combat with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Just as the jet was about to take off, he was hit in the back once more, knocking Echo from his protective grip.
"ECHO!" He yelled. Said youngling screamed as he flew through the air of the rain soaked battlefield.
"I got ya!" Jazz yelled as he dove and caught the small bundle of wires before he could hit the ground. Jumping to his feet he started sprinting back to the base.
"TC! TC!" Echo screamed as he reached back towards his caretaker. When Jazz didn't stop running, he got angry. There was no way he was going to be separated from Thundercracker again.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!" Echo screamed so loud that Jazz actually dropped him and had to cover his audios. As soon as he hit the ground, he took off running back in the direction of the battle.
"Echo!" Jazz yelled once his audios stopped ringing. He turned and chased after him but he was already gone.
The knee high youngling sprinted into the middle of the skirmish looking for the familiar blue mech. Apparently the scuffle had turned into an all out battle when he was gone, both Optimus and Megatron were there. His red optics found Thundercracker pinned to the ground by a very angry looking Ironhide. Without thinking, Echo sprinted across the clearing.
He was almost there when he was snatched up by a pair of rough hands. Letting out an angry squeak he whipped his head around only to come face to face with the leader of the Decepticons himself.
Thundercracker's spark clenched when he saw Megatron pick Echo up. The blue Seeker knew what the Decepticon lord wanted to mold the small mech into and there was no way in Pit that he was going to let him do that.
"Hello little one," the giant silver mech said in a sickeningly sweet voice.
"Echo, plan B," the Seeker said through their com-link. Echo understood and the small blade snapped from his wrist. Before anyone knew what happened, Megatron was howling in pain and clutching his shattered right optic, dropping Echo in the process.
"This isn't over yet Prime," the half blind mech roared as he ordered a retreat.
Echo was on his feet in an instant and running over to his slowly standing caretaker. Thundercracker couldn't help but let a small smile spread across his face when Echo hugged his leg tightly.
"Hey Echo," he said as he rubbed his helm slightly. However, his smile quickly faded when he saw the dried energon on the little mech's arm.
"Listen," he said as he kneeled in front of the youngling. "You can't come with me."
"W-Why not?!" Echo stammered as a look of fear spread across his young face.
"It's not safe, you're much safer with them," he said casting a glance at the Autobots not more then twenty feet away.
"NO!" Echo yelled in protest as he clung to Thundercracker's arm with surprising strength. The jet sighed, leaned his head back and stared at the angry clouds overhead. I guess I have no choice then, he thought as he reached up to his left wing. Bracing himself the best he could, he ripped off his Decepticon emblem.