Well, this story got popular quickly. Thank you to everyone for the support! And yes, I know Evanescence didn't exist in the eighties. Humor me, please. I did not actually mention Amy Lee's name within the context of the actual fanfic either, so FIGHT ME I guess. I also know that my knowledge of the Dutch language is limited and suckish at best... I own nothing, save for the general overall plot and other occasional few mishaps. Also, if anyone can point out the importance of the code A113, hehheh...
I'd love to live without the constant fear and endless doubt
But I can't live without you
My Immortal (Original Version) - Evanescence
i
Universe A113 B
No. No no no no no no.
Starscream stood outside the medical bay of the Nemesis with his arms shaking. In fact, even his wings were shaking with the effort of trying to keep himself under control. It wasn't a rare thing to see him a bit shaken up after battles - any of his fellow Decepticons could and would tell you this - but it was never this severe. The Seeker knew he had a nerve problem, everyone knew, but he really did not care about his wobbly appearance among the other Transformers bustling around him.
His body was smeared in energon. His mate's energon.
Starscream shuddered again violently, although he went unnoticed by the Constructicons and Soundwave working madly to keep his mate stabilized. His spark nearly burned out twice within two minutes of his arrival at the Nemesis of Cruelty – Nemesis for short – and his ability to sense his mate's spark had made him somewhat useful in finding out if they were in danger of losing him. So far, after two hours of being back home at their address base, his spark readings had partly leveled out... but the silver plated mech wasn't out of the woods yet.
Soundwave turned on his heel with two clamps in hand and managed to shove them into Megatron's chest to cut off his fuel pump's leaking valve and erupted fuel line. The communications officer had very little knowledge in medicine, but he was a useful assist in the fact he was the only 'Con within the entire ship with his own sparked creations. His own bondmate, Shockwave, was probably instructing him through their bondlink. At this point in time as well, all the help they could get was, thankfully, received. When he had noted Soundwave and the Constructicons running amok, that did not necessarily mean they weren't the only ones in the room. Skywarp was monitoring the computers linked up to their commander with an attention not thought capable of him, Ramjet was adjusting instruments according to what Hook told him to do, Thundercracker, Thrust, Swindle, and Dirge were currently with Mixmaster making energon donations - how Thundercracker had managed to convince Swindle into accepting needles, Skywarp must have been proud of - and the Cassettes were watching the scene intently from the sidelines, giving moral support if needed. The rest of the Decepticon fleet, unable to fit all of themselves inside the medical wing, had resorted to standing their ground worriedly outside the room.
And the humans of course. Starscream couldn't help but smile lightly in the back of his mind at how much he appreciated them.
"Starscream?"
The red and silver Seeker turned his azure gaze downwards to see one of his personal human companions. Spike was messily dressed - Frenzy had managed to wake him up in the early hours of the morning, just half an hour after Megatron had arrived at base, to get him to come to the Nemesis, and said human nearly had a heart attack at the news - with had a saddened look in his tanned face. He was currently wearing his black T-shirt inside out, his jeans were a baggy disaster, and his hair was a rat's nest. Still, the Seeker could have cared less. He'd remind him to fix his appearance once he knew his bonded was to be alright… if his bonded partner would be alright.
"Spike? I thought you were with Carly and Chip a second ago," Starscream's voice squeaked with effort, although he forced himself to not dwell on the sound of his voice. "Did the humans find out what happened to the plant?"
Spike ran a hand through his thick, blonde hair. The hair itself clashed with the surfer tan color of his skin and Rumble had joked about it playfully for a few weeks after he first got his tan. Even Megatron had managed to make Spike feel better about the stares he got cracking several friendly gags about it, and, considering Carly had taken a major liking to his new look unlike Sparkplug - the old man had been rather negative about Spike overdoing his tan at the salon due to a dare by several kids at his high school - he felt even better about it. "Yes. It's not looking good either. Apparently there weren't many survivors and the Autobots destroyed the entire plant." He paused briefly, as if deciding what to say. "The government is going the abandon the contracts with the other countries to cancel building the other plants like it. They're scared the Autobots will pull another stunt like what they did earlier. And you should hear about the estimated electric bill crap…"
"Screw the slaggin' bills! What about that new blaster," Frenzy interrupted, running over. "It's going to be another slagging pain in the afterburners if we don't figure out how to naturalize it. Jesus, where the Hell did they manage to make something like that?" Aside his adoption of humans terms and slang, the red and black mech was one of the few Decepticons with red optics, concealed from view behind his red visor, but those optics were plagued with concern for his leader and loathing for the mech that unleashed that weapon on Megatron.
Starscream shakily shook his head, his wings trembling still with the shock of all that was happening now. "I-I don't kn-know." Everyone knew Starscream was practically useless when he was panic stricken, although they could not help but feel sorry for him in this case. Still, the Seeker managed to regain some of his composure. At least, just barely enough to look down at Frenzy to give orders. "Assist the others with Megatron. We… we need to get him stable before we do anything else…"
Frenzy shook his head. "That's what I wanted to tell you boss. He is stable. At least, he's not in any immediate danger of dropping dead on us." The cassette shook his head. "Scrapper saw you over here having a spark attack and told me to send you off to the wash racks. You won't be helping Megatron if you're not mentally stable."
Starscream's head snapped up. The chaos did calm without his notice. Soundwave was talking quietly with the Constructicons, Ramjet looked as though he was doing a several more checks on the instruments that connected themselves to the silver mech, and Skywarp had gotten up to join Thundercracker towards where Dirge and Thrust were - lightly considering the situation they were all forced in - bugging Swindle. Leave it to the Coneheads to try to lighten any mood.
And, in the center of it all, was his mate, his chest ripped open and smeared in energon. A cooling oxygen mask over his mouth in an attempt to prevent his systems from overheating since working overtime to keep his spark burning.
Starscream's face was neutral. "I can't—"
"Yes you can," Rumble said coming over to see his brother. The purple cassette had a visor as blood red as his twin, but the facts surrounding his optic color were the same.
"I'm second in command, so—"
"So nothin.' With Megs down and out, we need someone who's washed up and chilled out before anything's gonna happen next," Frenzy looked up in time to see Starscream drop his shoulders just barley, meaning the Seeker was already feeling better, although the look in his electric blue optics said otherwise. Smiling, the black cassette placed a hand on the Seeker's leg. "Don't worry. It's gonna take more than some mother fraggin' blaster thing to take ol' Megs out."
Starscream looked down at Frenzy before turning his look to Rumble and Spike. The human had a comforting look on his face and Starscream nodded weakly before turning away without another word toward the washing area. After several steps, he stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Thanks, and Spike?"
"Yeah?" Spike had a incautious look on his face as to what the Seeker could want now.
"Fix your shirt." With that said, the Seeker was gone, walking silently away.
Spike suddenly took the time to look down at himself. "Oops. I never even noticed…"
Rumble and Frenzy were on either side of the small human now, rather playful looks in their optics. If the twins were being mischievous at a time like this, it meant Megatron was going to be fine in due time. Although, considering Optimus Prime's homicidal tendencies, time was something they really did not have. Regardless of how grim their situation was however, the matching expressions on the cassette brother's faces were welcome enough… until Rumble spoke. "I wonder if Carly noticed…" The emphasis on "Carly" was unmistakable, and Spike felt his face flush red.
"Shut up."
ii
Universe A113 A
"Starscream you idiotic buffoon!"
"I'm sorry, Megatron! Please forgive me! I-I didn't mean to—ACK!"
All of the Decepticons present in the room, aside Thundercracker and Skywarp, were smirking viciously as Megatron slammed his second in command into the wall brutally. The Seeker had the wind knocked out of him for the briefest of moments before regaining his breath, although said breath was lost again when he noticed Megatron's fusion cannon pointed directly towards his face. Starscream's sunset red optics flashed with fear as he stared down the barrel of the deadly weapon.
"You've failed me again Starscream! Tell me how an Air Commander like you could possibly be unsuccessful at a simple energy raid!" The silver mech's voice was disturbingly maleficent, although, around Starscream, that voice was very often used, especially when the silver warlord was upset with him.
Starscream, with his hand not yet clamped around the ebony fist around his throat, pointed at Thundercracker and Skywarp. "T-They didn't give me suitable backup when Skyfire attacked us! We-"
"One Autobot sabotaged our plan! Just one!"
"He was heavily armed! And the-"
Starscream never had enough time to finish. A blast of purple luminosity emitted from the barrel of Megatron's cannon, although the Silver 'Con found enough timing in his to throw the Seeker to the side before re-aiming and hitting the treacherous Seeker in the left wing. Even though on stun, the Seeker's sensitive wings flared to life with agony and he screeched in pain, his back arching as he rolled onto his side as far as his mangled wing could allow him.
Megatron stood there, his cannon raised and the barrel of the weapon smoking. He lifted his head and optics from the immobile Seeker to his other two wing mates. They were damaged heavily, encouraging the fact they were under heavy fire, but the fact also remained they had all failed to return to base with even one energon cube in possession. Red optics narrowing, he pointed his cannon in their general direction. Both Skywarp and Thundercracker visibly tensed but remained where they kneeled, both out of respect and lack of energy.
After several seconds of staring his second in command's wing partners down, he sneered at them nastily. "Get Starscream down to the medical bay and have yourselves repaired. I'm not finished with any of you yet…" The silver Decepticon, to emphasis the point, realigned his gun and shot Starscream a second time, this time in the upper back. The Seeker made another shriek of pain and Megatron grinned with malice. The other Decepticons in the room were still grinning like the sadistic soldiers they all were.
Megatron turned to Thundercracker and Skywarp, optics still blazing. The two Seekers were still kneeling there, more so looking like they were trying to regain their composure to move. Outraged, his temperament peaking at the day's total breaking point, whipped his cannon towards them and shot at the ground where they stood. As the blast of light exploded at their feet they two Seekers recoiled and either ended out on their backs as in Skywarp's case, or on their skid plates with wide optics as in Thundercracker's.
"I said get going!"
The two Seekers were on their feet in moments, both of them managing to hoist their Air Commander up so they could sling his arms over their shoulders. Megatron watched as the two slowly made their way out of the control room, the weight of the mech between and their own injuries slowing them down. Megatron, still scowling, turned his attention to the others in the room. Now their pleased looks left their faces. If the reason for his anger was gone and his anger still lingered, that meant they were on the receiving ends for-
"All of you! Back to work! Now!"
iii
Universe A113 B
Starscream was relatively grateful the heat of the volcano the Nemesis was lodged in heated up the water and cleaning fluids to a relaxing level. He just wasn't in the mood for a cold shower.
energon flowed of his agile body easily, although there were patches that had dried right onto his armor. Sickly doing so, he had managed to scrub off some of the caked on 'blood' - Chip had compared processed energon to that once, and thus the word had managed to snake its way into his CPU at the moment - as the cleaning fluids in the water took care of the rest, cleaning his body.
Weird. The last time he was even in the shower racks, Megatron had been with him.
The Seeker, optics dimming considerably, pressed his forehead against the wall in front of him. The cooling metal from the wall face did not make him feel any better about nearly loosing his bonded. Slagging Primus, he had seen the blast rip through Megatron's chassis like a hot knife through butter! Optimus Prime was just standing there… just laughing…
Starscream's fist flexed, spastically clenching and several times as he tried not to let Optimus Prime's murderous tendencies get the better of him. The Seeker had been with Megatron when they first arrived at the plant, but the grey and silver mech had run off as soon as he saw Prime - in his vehicle mode attempting to run over some scientists - off in the distance. He had attempted to follow, but a huge solar panel ablaze had fallen in his way, making him loose sight of his mate. He had jetted off into the sky then, but the aerial-bots spotted him. Evading them for ten minutes had been painful, his mind racing in attempting to shake his enemies and relocate his beloved, but they would not give up their chase on the Decepticon second in command. It was only when Skywarp, Thundercracker, Ramjet, and Thrust showed up to assist him that Starscream was able to escape, the other four Seekers telling him that they could hold off on their own.
They had. Megatron did not.
He had showed up seconds too late. Seconds.
Megatron had been damaged, although not enough to fully disable him, and was locked in a fighting stance. Optimus was in a similar state of situation, but the Autobot leader stood firm, ready to kill. They had obviously been locked in battle for the entire time Starscream had lost sights of his leader, and the Seeker was glad his mate wasn't seriously damaged. The Seeker was ready to swoop down to his leader's aid - his leader's cannon was lying several feet away from Megatron's reach, and Starscream knew the odds would be fair again if he assisted - but then Megatron charged. It shouldn't have been a problem, Optimus' gun would never throw his leader off enough for Prime to avoid the blow, but then Prime whipped out another gun…
Like that, Megatron screamed in agony as the incredibly powerful blast ripped through his chassis, sending him sprawling backward while the beam continued to tear through him. He had screamed in agony too. Starscream's spark had pulsed with so much painful energy due to their bondlink that he couldn't help but scream in pain and for his beloved.
Luckily, Optimus had recoiled from the powerful blast and was sent sprawling backwards as well. Starscream wasn't sure whether or it was on instinct alone or on his own, but he dived to the ground after his mate.
Then he called everyone to retreat. The Autobots had won.
Starscream whimpered lightly, pressed his face to the wall, and finally broke down sobbing at the mounting stress.
He stayed in the shower even after all his mate's vital fluids were cleaned off him.
iv
Universe A113 A
"This sucks," Skywarp had stated rudely, keeping his air commander's arm hoisted over his damaged shoulder.
Thundercracker snorted, though the gesture went unnoticed by Skywarp and Starscream. The red and silver Seeker had regained some form of consciousness and was cursing his two wingmates to the Pitt and back, and all Thundercracker and Skywarp could do was let his threats go in one audio receptor and through the other. It was only when the ranting got too much that Skywarp made his rather crude statement.
"Excuse me?" Starscream made a rasping sound, probably due to the damages he took when Megatron had him by the throat. It was a question, but it did sounded more like an unsaid threat.
Skywarp mimicked his rasping noise in a mocking manner, true to pitch and all. "First we get blown up by Skyfire because of you, then you pin the blame for the failed mission on us, and then we get to drag your sorry skid plate down to the medbay. Anything wrong with that?"
Thundercracker snorted again, though loud enough for both Seekers to hear. "You need to suck it up just as much as Starscream, Warp."
Skywarp growled and grated his teeth. "It wasn't my fault we-"
"Suck it up," Thundercracker said again, more firmly mind you as he cut off his wingmate. Skywarp only resorted to growling lowly and looking away from both Starscream and Thundercracker.
"If only this bastard—"
Starscream resorted to screeching out a scream in frustration. "SHUT UP!"
Thundercracker was relieved when they finally made it to the medbay. His headache was starting to seriously bother him now…
It would bother him a hell of a lot more later.
v
Universe A113 B
Let it only be said once and remembered for the rest of the time you functioned: you never went against Optimus' orders unless you had a death wish.
Ratchet and Ironhide had to dive out of the way to avoid getting hit by Prowl as Optimus Prime threw him into the nearest computer console. The second-in-command slammed into the console with a sickening crack from his own battered body and from the now destroyed computer. Even more enraged than before, Optimus lunged for the white and black police cruiser once more and punched his officer hard in the face.
Prowl's head snapped off to the side and the now unconscious mech crashed to the floor hard, his back smoking from where he had been shot prior to being attacked. Optimus stepped on the mech's head and applied enough force to dent his officer's head. He looked up at the surprised battle scarred Autobots and glared.
"Someone tell me what he did wrong."
No one in the room dared to even respond. The red eyed Autobot commander had very little patience to begin with, and it took him all of two seconds to aim his new blaster - the same one he used to nearly kill Megatron too, mind you - in Ironhide's direction. Ironhide took an immediate step back from the weapon aimed in his direction and everyone around him immediately backed away from the Prime's intended target. Ironhide was too much frozen in fear to back away further. If he did, he'd only hit the wall behind him anyways…
Optimus' optics flickered dangerously, like a spark before starting a forest fire. "What did he do, Ironhide?"
Ironhide could not help but stammer. "H-he, uh, he went against yer' orders, uh, sir-"
As soon as Optimus shot him with the cannon on stun - a nuclear acid cannon on stun isn't really effective for stunning just for the record - and as soon as Ironhide was down with the cannon blast ripping through his hip, he aimed it at the nearest mech to Ironhide's immediate left. Blaster.
"What did he do, Blaster?"
Blaster, from the perspective of his comerades at least, was well known for always staying on the Prime's good side. He was a vicious warrior and killer, and it was a well known fact the Autobot Prime treated him like one of his favorites. It was a useful advantage when you did not want to get shot, but Optimus was more unpredictable than caring towards him in situations like the one Blaster found himself in. Blaster had little control over his voice box seeing he spoke before he realized what he said. "He went after Rumble and Frenzy when you told him to go after the Constructicons, boss?"
Optimus said nothing for a moment, he dropped his cannon, seemingly smirked behind his faceplate, and turned away. Blaster slouched his shoulders in relief-
Optimus turned around and shot him in the leg. Blaster howled in agony as the nuclear energy tore through his wiring like acid and he fell over in white hot pain. His screaming died down when Optimus walked over and effectively kicked him in the head.
The Autobot Prime growled. "Wrong answer." He looked back up, this time seeing Bluestreak in his sights by the doorway, and snarled when the young sniper seemingly wasn't paying attention. The assassin was smirking to himself and, all things taken into account, it was something that made Optimus even more angry. An angry Optimus was a usual Optimus, so there really was not too much of a difference in situation here compared to other times the Autobot Prime had been greatly enraged with his crew...
Except this time he had his nuclear cannon with him.
Optimus glared hard. "Can you tell me what Prowl did wrong, or should I send to the medbay after in the same condition as Blaster and Ironhide?"
Bluestreak did not even look up. "Hij was een verrader om tegen uw orders in the gaan en is een verraderlijke bastaard, neem ik aan?"
Optimus glared even harder. "In a language I understand, you pathetic excuse for a warrior…"
If there was one thing that irked Optimus the most, it was the assassin's excessive use of Dutch. Despite it having been a human language and therefore inferior, the skilled sniper had taken a strange liking over it for whatever frivolous reason he had. Optimus lowered his cannon ever so slightly and glowered at his soldier hard. Had the Prime's gaze been a laser, it would have cut through Bluestreak like a hot knife through soft butter. Nonetheless, Bluestreak did not seem deterred in the slightest. He still did not look up as he responded. "He was a traitor for going against your orders and being a treacherous bastard, I presume?"
Optimus finally dropped his weapon, finally letting his temperament cool. "See? Now was that so tough to figure out?" The Autobot commander looked to the rest of his crew standing around the command center, all of them still ready to leap out of the way in case their leader decided to make them his next victims. "Let this be a lesson to you all: Never go against what I say." The Autobot leader's voice had dropped dangerously low as he stared at with his darkened optics. "Unless you wish to end up like this."
No one had any time to react as nor did Bluestreak. His cool and collected air immediately vanished when Optimus whipped around and shot him in the shoulder with the cannon at full power. Bluestreak screeched on agony and crashed to the floor. Thankfully, the blast had glanced off his shoulder at an angle as so as little damage as possible was produced… and as little damage as possible for his new weapon was still much damage all on its own. The wound was not fatal, but it was would most certainly leave a permanent and horrible scar on Bluestreak's shoulder.
Optimus glared at everyone. "Now, where's Wheeljack!? This weapon needs to be stronger! I nearly slaughtered that soft fool Megatron today, and I was so close! Unless someone finds him right now, you're next!"
vi
Universe A113 A
Sideswipe blinked. "That's bull."
Sunstreaker looked far from forgiving towards his twin. "It's true."
Bumblebee had to cover his audios to keep himself from going insane as he sat on the sofa in the rec room. "It's only a superstition, Sunny. Y'know? Black cats, walking under ladders…" Bumblebee could not help how his voice sounded when he spoke, but the current argument he found himself having to listen to was driving him insane. Still, he found it necessary to add one last comment. "…Breaking stupid mirrors."
Sunstreaker was far from the point of being impressed. He stomped his foot and glared in the yellow Volkswagen beetle's direction. "You're not helping!"
Sideswipe rolled his optics and starred at his yellow twin with mischievous optics. "Bro, relax. If you're mad at me about breaking your mirror, all you have to do is yell at me to get you another one. 'Sides, since when were you, heh, superstitious?"
Of course Sideswipe could not help but put the emphasis on "superstitious" for all that it was worth. Sunstreaker shoved the broken hand mirror in his brother's face and glared at him. If looks could kill, Sunny would have put his younger twin in some sort of a comma. "Since it involved my looks and my luck! Breaking mirrors is worth seven years of bad luck, and if you're unlucky, I'll be unlucky! My paintjob will get scratched, my wax will never look good, I'll be hideous for the rest of my life starting now—"
Halfway across the room, and ironically, Jazz started to play the karaoke version of Dancing Queen on his radio. Sunstreaker would have ignored him if the black and white Porsche did not start singing his own version of the song…
Bumblebee and Sideswipe could not help but giggle at the lyrics. "He is a drama queen! Young and not-so-sweet, only… erm, however old it is that you are, anyway?" Jazz was good at his singing, true, but it left Sunstreaker far from impressed. The interloper playing the song looked at the mech with a playful look in his optics. "Look man, you really just gotta relax. I mean, it's just a mirror."
Sunstreaker was far from deterred. "Fine! Your music is just music!"
Jazz glared. "…Fine. I understand your point perfectly fine, but man, seven years of bad luck is just bull. Where'd you hear that?"
Sunstreaker was blunt. "Spike."
Jazz threw his hands in the air, more for emphasis than it was for his steadily growing frustration at the yellow Lamborghini. "It's a human myth! You don't honestly believe it, do you?"
If Sunstreaker did not have an instantaneous reaction, it was a sure sign the apocalypse was coming. When the yellow mech did not respond immediately, Sideswipe shared a nervous glance with Jazz and Bumblebee. It was only for a moment mind you, noting that Sunstreaker snapped back to attention and pointed an accusing black finger in all of their direction.
"Hound walked under a ladder a week ago and Dirge shot him down the next day! Explain that!"
They shared a collective groan of frustration. Had the yellow Lamborghini's behavior not been so irritating, his demeanor might have actually be amusing. Sideswipe spoke up next, sparing a sideways glare of discontent at his twin. "Bro, he was shot because he wasn't watching what he was doing. Geez, you really are crazy."
Sunstreaker glared. "I bet Optimus will back me up!"
Bumblebee, realizing where this was going, only turned up the volume on the news station he was watching. Jazz only groaned and bashed his head into the table he was seated at. Whether or not he did so to imply comical input on the situation or out of genuine disgust went unanswered.
Sideswipe yelled over the volume of the television. "You're on! Don't go crying to me later when I prove you wrong!"
Both yellow and red twins ran out of the rec room, Sunstreaker holding the broken mirror in his hand. All things considered, it would've been easier if they stayed.
Even though Sunstroke's mirror was smashed, there was still a reflective surface. It would be more than enough.
vii
Universe A113 B
Starscream was still in the shower as he had been for the past forty cycles.
The Seeker kept his forehead pressed to the misted and cool wall and left his optics offline. It was a fact that he forgot what time it was and how long he had been in there really, but he did not really find it in himself to care. Megatron nearly dying in his arms came back to mind.
Starscream clenched his fist hard every time the mental image came back to mind, which was usually every ten clicks or so. The longest time it took, Starscream remembered, was twelve, noting all he could do to try to keep those horrible images from coming back was to count. Of course, this wasn't helping him in the slightest. Counting only helped him to remember them.
Eight… nine… ten…
There was that horrible image again. Starscream clenched his fist. Out of impulse, he lightly thumped his head against the wall. It hurt a little, but it was something to do other than think about his mate nearly dying.
Starscream grated his teeth and he started to go through different radio frequencies on his radio to help keep his mind off things. His F-15 fighter mode was usually used for picking up signals by his enemies, true, but it also conveniently had radio stations as well. A nifty little thing the human's entertainment radio frequencies were. Starscream was one of the many Decepticons that had grown to like Earth's music. There were hundreds and genres and thousands of styles. Despite being a single species, the human race's range of creativity was both astounding and amazing.
I don't know any Decepticon who doesn't like some of the pieces humans come up with, he thought mentally, but I'm the only one who will ever appreciates it as something beyond mere entertainment alone.
Finally, he found one. It was towards the finishing chorus on a terribly poor frequency muddled with white noise, but he listened regardless. A woman was singing in time with strikes of a piano's chord in a soft spoken manner, her tone sad and yet oddly powerful at the same time.
"I'd love to walk away by myself out of the rain, but I can't leave without you…" the woman's voice faded ominously as the signal was nearly lost, flickering on a blade's edge of fading from existence altogether.
::I'd love to live without the constant fear and endless doubt, but I can't live without you… hmm. Interesting choice in music, Starscream. I prefer Benatar myself.::
Megatron.
The mental blast from the bondlink startled Starscream badly. The Seeker whipped around, splashing water off his body onto Megatron. The Decepticon leader stood there in the doorway to the shower stall with a slightly pained expression on his face as he leaned against the frame in a manner heavier than Starscream would have ever wanted. His surprised and gapped expression seemingly went unnoticed by Megatron. The white and grey mech spoke up via their bondlink first with a low mental chortle.
The Decepticon leader grinned, although the pain he felt from his injuries was still horridly embedded in his expression no matter how hard he tried to fight it. ::Only you could be distracted by a song long enough for me to sneak up on you without having the bond closed.::
Starscream immediately turned to his mate, the song he was playing forgotten. You should be in the medbay! What are you doing-?
::The Constructicons let me come down. I was not as bad off after they fixed me up as they thought I would be. They said they were worried about you and the bondlink was noticeably inactive on your end...:: Megatron smiled lightly at the red and silver Seeker then, making Starscream shudder ever so slightly. ::I owe you my life yet again, Starscream. Thank you. Perhaps Skywarp was right about keeping tabs on all the times you've saved me after all.::
Starscream looked away. ::I thought you were going to…::
Megatron reached forward and took the Seeker's chin in his hand, tracing his thumb across the Seeker's cheek. ::And I'm not. It'll take more than one of Optimus' new toys to put me down for good.:: Megatron paused then, eyeing the Seeker critically. ::…I take it the plant was lost?::
Starscream shuddered again at the tone. It wasn't threatening, but he knew how much it would hurt Megatron when he found that Optimus had killed all the plant workers.
Megatron felt the thought over their link. The Decepticon leader sighed and looked away. He sounded so distant to Starscream even thought he was standing so close. After a moment, he spoke up through the bond again. ::All those innocent lives lost. They'll be avenged. I'll stop Optimus no matter how long it takes.::
Starscream interrupted. ::Not now you won't. You're still hurt…::
Megatron leaned closer to his mate. ::Since when has that stopped you, my immortal?::
With that, he closed the distance between them and kissed his mate. Starscream, unable to resist his lover, melted right into the larger white and smoke grey Transformer, the mech's unusual choice of prior words lost to him. They were still lost to him when Megatron gently pushed him into the stall and let the door close behind him.
Starscream never found out the name of the song.
viii
Universe A113 A
"If there was a chance your latest project would not blow up the base, I would not ask you what you were doing. Seeing as nothing you make doesn't pose a threat to potentially blowing up the base however, I have little choice but to ask."
Wheeljack turned to face Optimus from his latest project on the desk in front of him with a sheepish expression on his face, his light panels blinking blue to signal he was both surprised and embarrassed with Optimus Prime's entrance and statement. He glanced back at the project for a moment, nothing so far but a small device and a scattered mess of wires and bolts, before turning back to his leader. "It's not activated, so it won't blow anything up. I promise."
Optimus smiled playfully behind his faceplate and walked over to his engineer. "That's what you said two months ago about that radio disabler."
Wheeljack looked slightly taken aback as he put down his wrench to face Optimus entirely, swiveling his chair around to look at Optimus fully. "How was I supposed to know it was going to disable Blaster's radio? It was purely by chance. Six hundred to one!"
"And," Optimus added with a bit of emphasis, "it led to Blaster unable to listen to his music. He sang as loud as he could on monitor duty for three weeks until you got it fixed. Blaster is tone deaf."
Wheeljack fake pouted with a playful air to his attitude. "At least I got it fixed before we all went deaf ourselves!"
"Or insane." Optimus added with a smile. He was only playing around of course, and Wheeljack knew that too. It was a part of his job as leader of the Autobots: not only did he lead them through difficult battles, he kept their spirits up as well. Moments like these, small and silly as they were, acted as massive morale boosts. It was something they despretely needed so far away from home, fighting their enemies on foreign, alien soil...
Wheeljack, sighed. "How was I supposed to know Jazz would use his cameo judge appearance on Idol against Blaster? That was a ten to one chance!"
"It's still Jazz, which means the chance increases by a good eighty percent. A nine to ten chance," Ratchet interrupted the two when he walked into the room. He glanced at Optimus, winked, and walked over to Wheeljack with a crate full of wires and mechanical parts. The medic looked back at Optimus and made an entirely un-useful gesture with his hand. "I'm watching Jack, so I promise he won't blow anything up."
Wheeljack huffed and looked at Ratchet. "You're no fun."
"So," Optimus said casually, eying the device his medical officer and engineer were working on. "May I ask what it is, anyways?"
Wheeljack turned back to face the project and gesture for Optimus to walk over. Carefully, Optimus did so and looked over Wheeljack's shoulder as he opened up the top portion of the device, showing off a scanner and a reactor within the frail build of the small machine. "It's a dimensional reactor. It's only a prototype, but I tested it once and it worked."
Optimus raided an optic ridge. "It's been tested?" He looked at the box of materials Ratchet had brought in and eyed Wheeljack again. "Why are you still working on it then? Did it work before?"
"It did actually," Wheeljack said proudly. Maybe a tad bit too proudly actually, noting the rude snort that escaped Ratchet when the medic crossed the room to attain more equipment, but it deterred Wheeljack in no way. Perhaps he had not even heard him. The engineer reached across the table and showed Optimus two small rubber balls, one red and one purple. The Autobot commander held out his hand and Wheeljack dropped them in the Autobot commander's palm. Wheeljack beamed visibly even though Optimus couldn't see his mouth. "What can you tell me about those two balls?"
Optimus raided an optic ridge. "One is red and one is violet. They won't—"
"They won't explode, I promise." Wheeljack grinned even wider, panels flashing giddily. "What else can you tell me?"
Optimus did not know what else to say. His online systems and readouts told him the two balls were the same exact mass, made from the same chemical proteins to form the rubber…
The readings on the purple ball came out screwy when the Autobot Prime scanned it. Not by much, but there was still something amiss about it. Exactly what that was however, Optimus found himself unable to adequately place it. He scanned it again and came up with the same results. He looked at Wheeljack with an expectant look.
"Something's wrong with the purple ball. I don't know what though. Care to explain?"
If Wheeljack could grin any wider behind his faceplate, Optimus was sure the mech would tear his face in two. Wheeljack made an entirely un-useful gesture with his hands in the same manner Ratchet did and gestured to the red ball. "This red ball is mine. When I placed it in the machine - BLAM - I had the purple ball as well."
Wheeljack was still looking rather proud of himself and Optimus blinked. "So you cloned the ball?" Optimus looked at the two rubber spheres and Wheeljack's expression dropped slightly. Optimus looked back up at the engineer. "That can't be right. Wouldn't they both be red?"
Wheeljack's proud and boastful air returned to him. Optimus briefly wondered if he ever got whiplash from such abrupt mood changes when he was in his lab. Nonetheless, Wheeljack continued. "Exactly! If it was a regular cloning device, it would have made the purple ball red! But it didn't! That's because this isn't a cloning device!"
There was a silence in the room as Wheeljack stopped. Optimus made the gesture for him to continue. Wheeljack did.
"Well Optimus, here's the thing. This isn't an ordinary device. Like I said before, it's a dimensional reactor. That…" He gestured to the device for good measure. "...means it immediately takes the same ball and gathers the atoms of an exact copy of it... from another dimension!"
Optimus said nothing.
The semi truck blinked once. Twice. Three times. He stared at Wheeljack curiously and tilted his head to the side. "This will help us how?"
Wheeljack's air of confidence faltered so quickly again Optimus was positive the engineer had whiplash as a result. Still, the mech blinked his light panels and shook his head. "I don't know. It should come in handy though if we want to create new weapons from ones we already have."
Optimus gestured to the purple ball with his free hand. "But it's not exactly the same."
"But…" Wheeljack said, "It is. It only plays a different role. The red one is red, the purple one is purple. They're both toys used for the same exact purpose."
Ratchet finally walked back over with more items. It was obvious he was listening in as he addressed Optimus from where Wheeljack left off. "Medical tools for saving a mech's arm could be used to get a medical tool for saving a mech's leg. This device could be real useful in those terms and could help very much. It's practical at least." Ratchet glared at Wheeljack and Wheeljack blinked his panels once. "…But there are downsides."
"Downsides?" Optimus did not like this. If one of Wheeljack's crazy inventions involved downsides, it usually meant something bad was going to happen…
Ratchet quickly responded. "No one's going to get blown up, I promise, but the device's properties would not do well with reflective materials." Ratchet shrugged halfheartedly. "Polished metals, glass, mirrors…"
"And why is that?" Optimus asked.
"The machine wouldn't know what to copy because a mirror is only a reflection of everything around it. Anything could be brought in from another dimension." Wheeljack shrugged. "Bringing something through at random probably wouldn't be a good idea."
This sounded very bad, true, but Optimus kept his calm air and set the two rubber balls on the table next to Wheeljack's elbow. "Could anything sentient be brought through?"
Silence.
Ratchet blinked at Optimus. Wheeljack did the same. Both mechs glanced at one another – and when Wheeljack broke the impromptu silence by blowing a raspberry and shrugging.
"Don't you shrug at me!" Ratchet looked exasperated, throwing his hands up. "You – never once – even thought about that as a possibility, did you?"
The grey mech looked up at Optimus, gauging his reaction so far, before turning his attention back to Ratchet. "Well, I never anticipated putting anything living into the device, never mind the one thing we are not supposed to put in, so really everything should be fine—"
Optimus sighed. "I'm sorry Wheeljack, but I'll have to ask you to scrap the—"
"Hey Optimus!"
All three mechs looked up to see Sunstreaker with his broken mirror in hand in the doorway. It was usually never a good thing for one of the twins in Wheeljack's lab, and Optimus was about to address him to leave had the yellow mech not spoken up. "Listen, Sideswipe broke my mirror and I wanted to ask you if you believe in the superstition that—"
Hell broke loose. Sideswipe ran in after his brother, crashed into the yellow Autobot, and the smashed mirror went flying out of his grasp. Wheeljack jumped up, knocking both of the rubber balls to the floor, and realized a second too late the lid to his device was left open. There was little time to react as the mirror fell into the device. The machine abruptly activated and all mechs in the room stared dumbfounded as the device began to react.
Sunstreaker stared dumbly at where the mirror had landed, before looking over his shoulder at his idiot twin lying on his back. "SEE!? I told you so, you stupid son of a—!"
A blinding white light overtook everything.
ix
Universe A113 B
Frenzy looked underneath Soundwave's chair and looked up at everyone when he did not find what he was looking for. "Has anyone seen my purple rubber ball?"
He went unnoticed. Skywarp's optics flashed a bright blue and the Seeker's slouched position straightened in surprise.
The black and purple Seeker, when not being a being a total idiot and pulling pranks on anyone who he saw fit, was incredibly sensitive. Although his ability to teleport was caused by a special space-time neutralizer device in his super-structure, it still made him receptive to anything related to the fabric of space. Although that sense of space around him was originally small and went unnoticed by the Seeker himself, it increased in strength by a huge amount when he and Thundercracker bonded. When Soundwave had first detected the change in the Seeker, he had explained that bonding had strengthened Skywarp's ability because Thundercracker's spark energy was adding extra power to his sensory skills. It scared the Seeker at first being able to strongly sense things unseen going on around him, but the purple flier became accustomed to his heightened clairvoyance in time.
Still, that didn't mean that what he felt now was something he felt ever before. This was new – and dangerous. Something had happened. Something big, and it was coming for them.
Optimus Prime's nuke gun had nothing on this shit.
Thundercracker - sitting next to his companion on the large sofa located in the rec. room - straightened as well in surprise to his mate's sudden movement. The blue Seeker redirected his optics from the news station they were watching - the huge buzz on the power plant was still dominating all the news stations and interviews on the incident were constant - to the black F-15 beside him, instantly tense and starring out into space. Alarmed, Thundercracker nudged his partner with his elbow.
"'Warp?" No use. The Seeker was still, no indication he even heard the other Decepticon to begin with. More alarmed than before at no response, he put a hand on Skywarp's left shoulder, giving him a slight shake. "Skywarp, answer me!"
Silence. Skywarp and silence were to phrases not meant to be used in the same sentence.
The Seeker's bright gleaming blue optics were still bright and his air intakes were normal, indicating he was still conscious. Just as well, more or less fortunately for the growingly panicked blue Seeker, Chip had noticed the commotion as well. The small human had been sitting back in his wheelchair watching the massive television beside the metallic sofa - if you could even call a large metal slab with a thick metal back support a couch to begin with - before redirecting his attentions to the two Seekers sitting there.
Seeing the increasingly nervous look in Thundercracker's face, the blonde human managed to crank his head up to look at them, blue eyes wide with concern. "TC, what's wrong?"
Thundercracker's head whipped around to see where the voice came from, until he looked down at saw Chip. Frantically, the blue jet looked back over at his counterpart once again. "He's… he's just zoning out. I… I can't... Primus, he just won't snap out of it!"
The loud outcry had harbored attention from the other participants in the room now, earning Thundercracker several stares of concern and several mechs clamoring over to see what was wrong. One of these, fortunately, was Rumble, begin tailed closely by Spike. Good. If anyone could get sky to come back to reality, it was either himself, Rumble, or one of the humans, preferably Spike or Carly.
"Rumble was the first to speak. "Whadaya mean he just won't snap outta it? Is he even online? Idiot might've just fallen asleep with his optics online again."
"Yes!" Thundercracker's response had come out a bit more roughly than intended, but the cassette stood firm, Spike glancing between the blue and black fighter jets.
Spike jumped into the conversation. "Did you try your bondlink?"
Thundercracker blinked at Spike. "No…"
Spike threw his arms in the air. "Then try that!"
The Decepticons had taken awhile to get used to the humans and their abrupt outbursts, but it did really good for the effect when it came around to convincing the 'Cons to do something. Still, it did nothing to help the panicked air that had consumed Thundercracker. Without even responding to Spike, he turned his attention to Skywarp and addressed him through their link.
Skywarp? Thundercracker nearly jumped out of his own plating when the black and lilac Seeker whipped around to meet his gaze.
Things would have been considered alright had his mate's optics not been wide with fear.
Alarmed, the blue flier drew his face to Skywarp's and clenched his partner's shoulder, his own spark suddenly feeling heavy. If anything made Skywarp as scared as the look in his optics, it was usually very, very bad. ::Warp, what's wrong?::
Skywarp was still for another moment before he shuddered violently, making his lover almost loose his grip on his shoulder. ::Something's… wrong…::
::What?::
::I… oh, Primus, something is REALLY wrong!::
::But what—?::
It was at that moment that Soundwave ran into the room, red optics bright crimson with something crossed between sheer panic and worry. Bot feeling were radiating off the lieutenant in harsh waves, alerting everyone in the room.
"Status: Do you sense that?"
Skywarp looked up so suddenly that the gears in his neck snapped as his head cranked up, the noise from them rather loud and violent. The sudden fear in his azure optics was evident to those all standing a whole room's length from him.
Even Thundercracker felt his spark wrench in horror.
Skywarp roughly stood, reeling back in terror. "EVERYTHING'S FALLING APART! HOLY SHIT! The MULTIVERSE, IT'S—!"
He never had a time to finish due to the blinding light that engulfed them all.
x
Universe A113 A
Skywarp blinked. "Why do I have a feeling something really bad is going to happen?"
Hook grunted something in annoyance as he worked on Starscream, the Seeker trying not to squeak in pain. Thundercracker turned to face Skywarp as they waited their turn for repairs. "You say something 'Warp?"
Skywarp seemed slightly more nervous. "I mean something really, really whacked…"
It was an uncomfortable feeling actually. Skywarp felt his spark tighten and he got a sick feeling to his stomach. It felt alien and unusual to him, and anything along the lines of that usually meant something bad was going to happen. He did not know why he got the feelings he did - this was not the first time, mind you - but it was usually never something good…
Thundercracker poked him in the shoulder, not liking his friends silence one bit. "Warp…"
Before he could respond, there was a blinding bright light.
xi
Universe A113 B
Starscream broke away from Megatron for the briefest of moments, his face flushed from their activities. "Do you feel something?"
Megatron was about to respond when there was a bright light.
xii
Universe A113 A
Megatron looked up from the monitor he was examining from over Soundwave's shoulder when Soundwave stiffened in his seat. Whatever it was, Megatron felt it too.
Megatron blinked. "What the slag—?"
Before he could realize what happened, there was a blinding light.
xiii
Universe A113 B
Optimus effectively had Wheeljack against the wall, strangling his engineer, with a cruel sneer on his face. Wheeljack was badly beaten and had a large dent in the side of his head, his optics were cracked, and Optimus had torn off a piece of the engineers right head panel for, ahem, a not-so-good measure.
A deep growl had torn itself from his voice box and he stared heatedly into Wheeljack's near offline optics. "The blast didn't kill Megatron instantly. Why?" It was an unsaid threat clearly, and Wheeljack did not need to be half-dead to realize that. The engineer sputtered and coughed.
"P-perhaps your aim… Perhaps your aim was too low…"
Optimus bashed the smaller mech into the wall again and held him by his neck even tighter. "I shot the fragged bastard right in his fragging SPARK! He LIVED! YOU FAILED! WHY!"
Wheeljack would have responded had Optimus not suddenly dropped him.
The Autobot Prime stood there, silent, as he felt an alien sensation creep throughout his systems before…
There was a bright light that engulfed everything.
ixx
In both nor neither dimensions, the mirror of sorts between them broke. Now neither of them were reflections.
They were one and the same.
"Shit."