I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I managed to crank it out in only about 6 hours.
That time doesn't include the times when I wasn't writing though.
Anyway, I hope this is as much fun to read as it was to write.
Once again, I'm looking to rename this story, ideas for a new name would be much appreciated!
I do not own Transformers, Hasbro and other companies do!
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Gabriel parked his car off of the road this time. He was back at the crater where Jetfire had landed several days ago and dirt still was strewn everywhere. In fact it looked like it had barely moved since then. He doubted only one or two people had driven this way since.
Turning the car off, he climbed out of his side, leaving the keys in the ignition and snagging his backpack off of the passenger seat. A quick check of his cell phone told him he'd managed to get here in less than ten minutes. Of course he'd broken all sorts of traffic laws to do it.
Now he walked toward the crater, where Jetfire seemed to be attempting to hide. Half of his head was sticking up over the side of the crater. When Gabriel got to the edge to look down on him, he found Jetfire in an awkward bent up position that he'd had to manage so as not to bend his wings on the wall of the crater.
"You can get up now." Gabriel told him. As he did, Jetfire turned his eyes on him, seeming a bit distracted. "Now can you please explain what is coming?"
Jetfire grunted as he pushed himself up, apparently relieved to uncurl himself. He stood up to his full height and turned his eyes down at the boy. "Took you long enough." he grunted, though Gabriel suspected he merely needed to grouch about something at this point. In respond, Gabriel gave him a look that meant "move on or else." The threat would be wasted on the Autobot, but it got the job done.
Jetfire let out an annoyed huff and made a very human gesture, by pinching the bridge of his nose plates. "In short... A Decepticon is coming."
Gabriel had suspected something along those lines, but it didn't help to here it come from the robot. Unconsciously, he clutched the strap of his bag a bit tighter. "Do they know it's here?" he asked seriously.
"That, I'm not entirely sure of..." Jetfire started. He shifted on his feet and rolled his head back for a second. "But, I know this Decepticon personally."
Gabriel raised an eyebrow in confusion. Jetfire just continued to fidget. "Personally?"
"Yes. We are enemies, but you might say we are...acquaintances." Jetfire sighed. After a few moments of silence, he added "We've talked on neutral terms a few times."
"So is he a threat or not?" Gabriel pushed, started to feel anxious as well. When a two story robot started acting nervous, it's not a surprise when it rubs off on the smaller being.
"I don't know." Jetfire half snapped. "He might just be coming by coincidence, or it could be the energon signal from the Matrix, or he might now that we have the Matrix." The wings on Jetfire's back began to twitch up and down in a nervous fashion.
"So what do we do?" Gabriel pushed again, no longer threatened by Jetfire's burst of annoyance. He knew by now that was how the Autobot was; being annoyed by everything in general. He was just one of those bots.
Jetfire released a heavy sigh and sunk a bit on his joints. Eying Gabriel for a moment, he seemed to be finalizing his own planes. "You need to stand back and keep the Matrix hidden. If he approaches you to get it, run to your little...vehicle. Try to drive into a tunnel or where a plane can't get to." He paused when Gabriel gave him a puzzled look. "Not me. This Decepticon will have a jet mode like me though."
Gabriel nodded slowly and eyed the Autobot. "What about you?"
Jetfire gave him an "Are you stupid?" look. Shaking his head lightly, the bot explained anyway. "I will hold him back of course. I've never faced him head on before, but I'm confident I could hold him off just fine." He paused again, considering something. "This is only if he has a hostile intent of course, which he might not."
Gabriel nodded, hoping, but not expecting the latter. Of course, to some it might seem stupid for him to be there with the Matrix if there was a chance that a hostile alien robot might come after him. Gabriel understood perfectly though. If this Decepticon was after the Matrix, a crowded dorm room wouldn't be a concern. The robot would probably just tear through it. At least out here he could run easier and with less of a chance of human death.
"So, do you want me to hide?" Gabriel asked.
Jetfire looked about ready to answer, but paused. After several seconds, Gabriel understood why. In the distance, he very faintly heard the sound of a jet's engine. The Decepticon was almost there. He turned his eyes skyward and managed to spot the small dot in the sky. It was coming on extremely fast.
"Just don't attract his attention." Jetfire hissed shortly. The robot stopped shifting now and climbed up the side of the crater, showing his full height now. With his eyes turned upward, the Autobot stood with one leg partially blocking Gabriel. The bot's anxiousness seemed to disappear in an instant. He was certainly one of those people, if you will, that knew the time and the place for certain things.
Gabriel shifted the backpack on his back, becoming increasingly aware of the awkward weight of the item inside. He could make out the features of the jet now. He didn't know what kind it was, but he knew it wasn't your average F-22, which was just about the only jet name he knew off the top of his head. It seemed stockier than an F-22 and seemed to have bigger engines for it's size.
After a few more seconds, the plane began to slow down, but not lowering to the ground to land on the road. Gabriel quickly realized that the jet was going to miss them entirely at this rate. In fact, it just kept slowing down... And slowing down... To Gabriel's astonishment, the jet stopped in midair and hovered. He blinked slowly, watching it. The large engines under its wings made sense now. The plane was some kind of hover jet.
As the jet began to lower itself, it began to transform. The cockpit, empty to begin with, flipped down and clamped onto his chest in the exact fashion that jetfire's did. Then the tail end of the plane began to shift and flip, the legs of the Transformer come out. At the same time, his head folded out from is chest, snapping into position. Then in one final movement, his arms twisted out from under his wings as he threw his weight back. The Decepticon tilted back, shutting off his engines to land with a dull thud on the dirt in front of them. The bot's eyes flickered on in a deep red light.
Gabriel immediately noted the almost cruel looking smile of the Decepticons face. He also noticed the resemblance of the Transformers face to the Decepticon symbol. His eye-sockets, or what could be compared to them, were diamond shaped. Lines beginning on each side of his face ran down to align in a triangle where his chin was. In the center of his forehead were two strips of metal that stretched upward in another open triangle. Then on each side of his head two strips of metal resembling horns.
"Starscream."
Gabriel looked up. He was surprised that Jetfire was the first to have spoken. Not only that, but his tone was even, portraying nothing.
"Jetfire." Starscream hissed, stepping forward.
At first, Gabriel tensed to bolt for his care, taking the hiss hostile.
"Oh long has it been? Two centuries?" The Decepticon hissed again.
It was the second time that he spoke that Gabriel realized that the hissing was how Starscream normally talked. His voice was just low and raspy. It wasn't a hiss, it was just how he spoke.
"Something like that. It's hard to keep track." Jetfire replied, a small smile tugging at his metal mouth. Gabriel noticed that this reply wasn't controlled, but actually housed a tone of trust.
To Gabriel's horror, Starscream stepped forward quickly, one metal arm flying out towards Jetfire. With a loud squeal of metal on metal, his hand collided with Jetfire's shoulder. He managed to dive out of the way just in time as Jetfire stumbled backward a few steps, his foot coming down right where he'd previously been.
"It's good to see you again." Starscream said, his voice portraying excitement.
Jetfire let out a small grunt and rubbed his shoulder. "Nice to see you too. I still can't believe your arm strength for such a tiny bot." Jetfire grunted, looking back at Gabriel. He'd obviously been concerned about squishing him.
Starscream chuckled lightly, the sound rasping. After a second, the Decepticon seemed to realize something. He paused and followed Jetfire's gaze. Gabriel then found himself staring into the red eyes of the Decepticon.
"You know this human?" Starscream questioned.
"It's good to enlist local help when you can." Jetfire explained, providing a simple and true explanation.
Starscream seemed to consider this before nodding slightly. "Not a bad idea." he mused lightly. Then Starscream looked back down at Gabriel. "Don't let the Autobot confuse you. I'm not tiny, he's large." The last part came out in a huff.
Jetfire grinned wolfishly at that, but seemed to drop that particular subject. "He has been quite a help, but it's not like it matters."
"Oh? Another dud planet?" Starscream questioned.
"Of course." Jetfire huffed. Gabriel noted that the Autobot was a good liar. The conversation was getting faster and he hadn't missed a beat.
"You're sure?"
Jetfire snorted softly, as if dismissing the idea. "So far all that's been on this planet are tiny energon crystals. There's not even an energy reading large enough to suggest a servo crash-landing here."
"I can see that." Starscream replied gesturing to Gabriel.
Both of them reacted. Jetfire's optics were wide for a second as they looked at Gabriel.
Gabriel was the first to react, trying not to look surprised. "Jetfire said I could keep one." he replied. It seemed to him that energon crystals weren't rare for them so it might not be unusual to say that he wanted to keep one.
Starscream seemed to be amused by this. "You humans are fascinated by collecting and categorizing things." he mused.
Gabriel blinked in confusion, still tense. It didn't seem like Starscream suspected anything, but he couldn't be sure.
"Plants, animals, minerals. Anything unknown and you scramble to categorize it." Starscream clarified, seeming only amused by his reactions.
Gabriel only managed a dull "Oh."
By then Jetfire seemed to recover and take over again. "So, are the 'Cons still after your sorry hide?" he asked.
Gabriel furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Why would his own side be after him? He made a mental note to ask Jetfire later if they managed to get out of this.
Starscream's smile twitched upward a bit more. "Thank Primus, no. They gave up three systems ago. I guess I'm not worth their time anymore."
They both chuckled lightly at that. Jetfire seemed to laugh genuinely though, although Gabriel was sure he was still nervous about the close call.
"Unfortunately..." Jetfire began on a sigh. "We can't remain here much longer." Starscream gave him a puzzled look before Jetfire continued. "You see, I didn't recognize your energy signature at first and assumed you a threat." They both seemed amused by that. "Since the kid here has been carrying around an energon signal, I figured he might be in danger and went to get him. Apparently for humans, it's not normal for a jet to pull into a parking lot."
Starscream nodded in a way that suggested he might have encountered a similar problem.
"I'm afraid they might be searching the area for a loose, unmanned jet. I haven't experienced it first hand, but I've found several references to the human policy of 'shoot first, ask questions later' principal." Jetfire explained. Gabriel realized now he was cutting the conversation off. He was getting ready to part with him.
"Understood." Starscream rasped, giving Jetfire a false salute. "Then, my friend, I hope to meet you on another planet in this barren star system."
Jetfire grunted in agreement. Now it was Jetfire's turn. As before, Jetfire stepped forward and smacked Starscream on the shoulder. It was exactly the same kind of gesture many human men would do to each other, only much harder.
Then both Transformers stepped back, Gabriel of course following Jetfire. When they were back far enough, Starscream nodded in farewell before his head folded down and the nose of the jet popped back into place. Just as his arms and legs fused back into the jet, the engines powered up loudly. A gust of air from the engines blew Gabriel's hair back.
Fairly quickly, the jet's wheels came off of the ground. Before he was even 5 feet off of the ground, Starscream's back engines fired up and shot him forward. Gabriel thought for sure he was going to hit a tree before he was high enough, but the Decepticon easily cleared the tree tops.
Just as fast as he'd come, Starscream was gone and both human and Autobot visibly relaxed.
"Think he bought it?" Gabriel muttered quietly, feeling his muscles beginning to unclench themselves.
"I hope so, but I can't be sure." Jetfire sighed.
"What if he didn't?"
"Then we're in deep shit." The Autobot grumbled, once again showing off his knowledge of english slang.
Gabriel sighed heavily and shifted the backpack again. He'd hoped the Matrix would cloak its energy, but it didn't.
Jetfire shifted again and turned his head upward. His metal brows shifted down. He was very obviously trying to make a decision. Finally he released a heavy sigh. "I suppose it's time to call Cybertron."
As he flew north along the California coast, Starscream's processor ran at full force. Something was going on and his meeting with Jetfire had proved it.
Starscream had never considered the possibility that maybe, just maybe, this planet might house Megatron and Optimus Prime. He'd lost all expectation for that after his second solar system. He'd thought this planet would be the same. Empty and bare of his goal.
But no. Jetfire had found something and he was sure of it.
Never before, had Jetfire been so confident that a planet was going to be empty. He had also noticed both Jetfire's and the human's reactions to the energon signal coming from the boy's backpack. He wasn't sure what was in there, but they didn't want him to notice it. It also seemed that he was trying hard to get rid of him. Usually they'd end up searching the planet together just to keep company. Not this time.
Yes, this planet would be worth searching thoroughly. He'd have to do it fast as well. Luckily, Jetfire didn't realize that he knew something was up.
After 500 years, something was finally going to change.
"Alert, incoming message. Alert."
Blaster looked up from the data screen in front of him. The communication line was picking up an incoming signal. With a few bored taps on the keys in front of him, he discovered it was a message from a scout. Normally a message from one wasn't unusual, just a report on how they still had not found Optimus Prime. This time however, he discovered that the bot this message had come from was a quite a famous one.
Blaster remembered the fuss that took place several cycles after The Last Great Battle. Jetfire, a very important Aerial Commander at the time, had been injured terribly in that battle. He'd been due to take over as Commander of all Aerial Autobot troops but because of his heavy injuries and the need for immediate leadership after Optimus Prime's disappearance, Jetfire's position had been passed on to the next in line. Blaster had remembered sympathizing with the bot for that, even though Jetfire acted like it didn't matter. Instead of whining about a lost job, Jetfire signed up to take on the low rank job of a Scout. He had even known at that time that he was sure to get a high ranked position on the Autobot Council, which was the temporary replacement in leadership. Just about everyone on Cybertron tried to convince him out of it, but he had left determined to bring back Optimus.
Now, the screen in front of him said that he was sending a report back to Cybertron. Blaster knew it probably was just a failed report, but it wasn't every day that a message came in from such a legend.
He pressed a button on the keypad and listened as Jetfire's voice came from the speakers.
"Scout Jetfire reporting back to Cybertron from planet Earth. Although my mission has yet to be completed, I'm reporting back to issue Code 386."
Blaster's hand slid off of the keypad as the message faded out. He found his legs suddenly trembling as he struggled to stay upright. The message...That was impossible...
He weakly pressed the button to place the message again. It repeated and he pressed it again and again, not quite believing what he'd heard.
Gathering his wits, he turned and charged out of the room. This news was important. He had to get to the council!
He charged down the hall, shoving passed bewildered Autobots going about there business. Several bots tried to stop him to calm him down, but he paid none of them any mind. He just continued to run.
Quicker than he ever expected he arrived at the council room. Standing guard by the door was a rather put off looking Bumblebee.
"Hey, Blaster you can't go in there! There's a meeting!" The yellow mech protested.
Blaster completely ignored him and rammed though the doors before he could even try to stop him.
"THE MATRIX HAS BEEN FOUND!" Blaster screamed as he burst into the room.
Immediately, every single council member turned to stare at the communications bot in utter shock.
"Impossible...." Ironhide murmured, the only one who was able to open any kind of communication.
Blaster clenched his fists and stared into the room, using the unofficial title, but one everyone in the room felt was appropriate. "Aerial Commander Jetfire located it on the planet Earth."
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I enjoyed writing the part with Blaster for some reason.
Also, just to clarify, Bumblebee was feeling put out just because he'd gotten stuck standing guard to a minor council meeting.
Code 386 is just meant to be that the Matrix was found. The code is of course so if Decepticons pick up the signal, they won't understand.
And yes, the Decepticons are chasing Starscream, but the reason won't be revealed for a while.
The next chapter should be out very soon because I'm VERY excited about it.
I actually wrote this one very quickly so I could get to writing chapter 7.
I hope everyone is enjoying it so far, thanks for reading!