Author's Note: Thanks to Riptide2 (Yeah it would be) and I am Blueberry (yeah. The last two chapters were made hard to write by that fact!) for reviewing the last chapter! Enjoy and I own nothing but my OCs
What It Takes To Live- Rough Landing
"Commissioner Gordon: What weighs six ounces, sits in a tree, and is very dangerous?
Robin: A sparrow with a machine gun
Commissioner Gordon: Yes, of course"- Batman The Movie (1966)
Even the most tolerant of mechs or femmes was extremely glad when Cybertron came into sight. The landing was less than ideal though. They hit the ground hard with a massive jolt that sent everyone flying this way and that. "That was great," Shadow drawled as she pulled herself off the floor and then offered her hand to Nieva who she had landed on.
"Perfectly wonderful," Nieva grumbled, leaning against a wall with a huff after Shadow had pulled her to her feet. "Just the kind of entrance I wanted to make when returning home."
"We may have more of a problem," Jazz called, stepping back from a viewport. "We have Autobots standin' in full view with weapons ready in case we're enemies."
"You may as well just said Decepticons," Jetfire pointed out, pulling himself off the ground. "Sorry 'bout landing on you 'Screamer," he added with a smirk as Starscream peeled himself off the floor.
"Just try to land on Blackout next time," Starscream grumbled and Blackout sighed.
"So who's going out?" Blaster asked, glancing around the group.
"I will," Optimus said finally. "Someone needs to explain things to them before you bring the others out," he added to Starscream.
"Fine," Starscream agreed. "But I'm coming out at the first sign of other Decepticons. It wouldn't do for you to be killed in the first five minutes home."
"Ah'll come with ya boss," Jazz added, making his way through mechs and femmes still climbing to their feet to his commander. Optimus nodded and the two made their way into the side hallway that led to the exit. Jetfire, the Autobot Air Commander, greeted his leader with surprise.
"I didn't think you;d ever show up back here," he said and his twin brother nodded from his side. "Welcome back though you'll find Cybertron in worse shape than it was before."
"We can see that," Jazz commented wryly. "It's good ta see old friends in one piece though."
"I think we're lucky to be left in one piece," Jetstorm said with a slight smirk. "At least the Decepticons have laid off with the attacks lately."
"Yeah," Jetfire agreed. "Rumor has it that they're in even worse shape than we are."
"What do you mean worse shape?" Optimus asked, worried now. He had been warned that Cybertron was in bad shape but he hadn't thought it would be this bad. Everything around where their ship had crash landed had been wrecked by the war with no sign of hope in sight.
"Energon is low because of the shape of the planet right now and the frequent skirmishes. Plus the Decepticons haven't had a medic for a while. We only just lost ours," Jetfire explained briskly, optics scanning for any sign of danger.
"What do ya mean lost our medic?" Jazz asked sharply, redirecting the 'Bot's attention to him.
"First Aid, Ratchet's other apprentice, has been injured for three or four cycles now. He gestalt, or what's left of it, has been crazy worried," Jetstorm said, his expression solemn, which was unusual enough for him.
"Please say you brought a medic with you," Jetfire added and both Optimus and Jazz heard the desperation in his tone.
"Yes. We brought Ratchet back with us," Optimus said calmly, his optics showing his worry. That was when those inside the ship, the ones who knew what they had been looking for, saw several shadows in the sky.
"Blitzwing maybe," Nieva suggested, holding the recharging Reverb to her chassis.
"Please no," Shadow muttered, holding Nova carefully so the young femme couldn't see what was going on. "We don't need four of him." Jetfire snickered next to Starscream and the Decepticon leader simply sighed, exasperated.
"Not likely," Starscream said calmly. "The flight patterns are two bulky and unaccustomed to what's going on. They're probably drones."
"Still we need to stop them," Thundercracker hissed. "Before someone ends up dead."
"Wait for my call," Starscream ordered and the others nodded.
"I'm staying here," Nieva added softly. "Someone has to keep Nova and Reverb grounded until we take care of the drones."
"Thank you," Shadow told her friend softly and Nieva nodded.
"Now," Starscream snapped suddenly as Shadow placed Nova carefully on the ground. They all shot around the corner and into the air as the drones closed in, more than there had originally appeared to be.
That was when they heard someone from the ground yell, "Decepticons!"
Oh great!