A/N: Thank you, my awesome reviewers! Just saw Dark of the Moon (again, this time in 3D!).
In which the plot gets moving.
Optimus Prime's spark pounded with a worry that had nothing to do with rocketing through space at roughly three million miles per hour. The newly repaired Xanitum II blasted through space, rocking the party in such a way no human would be able to survive, which was why no humans were aboard.
Laserbeak's last transmission had been nearly seventy-two human hours ago. He, Starscream and the Decepticon's medic, Hook, had left as soon as Soundwave had first contacted Earth. Times began to add up in his processor. Soundwave and Bumblebee had been without energon or medical supplies for more than twice that time.
Sam was terrified for his friend, and Optimus couldn't blame him. He had begged to come, but conflicting elements (such as lack of oxygen) had forced the human to concede this was not a mission he could go on.
The Matrix hummed inside Optimus's chassis, content to recharge. They had tried the Matrix on nearly every body found, but most simply refused to come back. Then, it had promptly burned out. Optimus wasn't sure if it would recharge in his lifetime. It had never been used so often in such a short amount of time.
Optimus could see the wreck of the Nemesis against the hard colors of Mars. Bumblebee had answered the first few transmissions via comlink, but none had reached the Prime for thirty-six hours.
The Xantium II landed, to Optimus's relief.
Starscream looked at the Autobot inquisitively, and Optimus realized the Seeker simply wasn't used to having a nonviolent leader around. He nodded, and Starscream exited the ship, Hook in tow.
Starscream touched down on the surface lightly. He could see the tracks Soundwave and his spawn had made, as well as the tracks of the Autobot Bumblebee. Scans revealed the defenses were online, which would probably mean the death of Prime if he set foot inside the ship.
No matter what Megatron thought, the Seeker was not stupid. A truce was in everyone's interests, and having a leader that actually appreciated what you did wasn't a bad change either.
His spark clenched in nervousness as the thought of Blackarachnia entered his processor. His best and worst creation all smashed into one, and even though Shockwave shared part of the blame, it had been Starscream the insane femme had chosen to obsess over.
Prime touched down and nearly crashed into him as his legs struggled to adjust to being used again.
"Sorry."
Starscream's wings twitched in annoyance, but he nodded.
"The ship's defenses are online." Hook observed.
"Meaning?"
"They'll blow anyone without a Decepticon energy signature to the Pit." Starscream said shortly. "We'll go in first."
"Alright." Optimus seemed content to wait for the fate of his subordinate, so Starscream took the liberty of running a scan (or three) of the interior.
Dead hatchlings barely registered but he could distinctly see five online bodies, all on the floor. Only four mechs had been sent up. The fifth must be her.
Summoning all of his courage, Starscream entered. Hook followed albeit nervously. The younger mech had only heard tales of Blackarachnia, and was probably completely terrified.
As he well should be.
It was completely dark, save for the muted light of the panel signaling the defenses were online. Starscream switched to night vision and tripped over Ravage, sending him sprawling over the body of Bumblebee. Hook, having switched on his night vision before entering the ship, felt a bit better about himself.
The Autobot twitched, beginning to come out of stasis.
"Stars…cream?"
"What?"
He heard the defenses begin to power up.
"Deactivate!" Starscream shouted in Cybertronian. "Ordered by Starscream, code 9331."
"Thanks." Bumblebee staggered to his pedes, also tripping over Ravage. He activated his night vision.
"What happened?" Starscream pinged Optimus the 'ok' to enter.
"Sound-wave and creations went…stasis…spider-lady…offline."
Spider-lady? Starscream looked around. Barely a meter away lay Soundwave. Had the mech died again?
"He's not dead." Hook said, as if he could read Starscream's processor, running a scanner over the spymaster's body. Just needs some energon and a jolt to wake up."
"You're sure of that?" Starscream asked sarcastically, recalling Hook, himself and a certain triplechanger.
Hook glared. "Positive."
"Bumblebee?"
The Scout turned to see his leader in the entrance. The Sun shone behind him, making his entrance even more dramatic and casted the room into light.
"All quiet on the western front." The Autobot said in greeting.
Starscream turned his optics from the Happy Autobot Reunion and to the figure in one corner. She looked even worse than the last time Starscream had seen her image on a holoscreen after blowing up a rather valuable munitions plant.
Appendages like Soundwave's ridiculous tentacles had sprouted, ten of them in all, along with her arms and legs. Instead of a vocaliser, a completely organic mouth had grown in its place.
Still, her gold-purple-black paintjob was distinctive, and she could be no other.
Starscream swallowed.
"Containment?" he croaked.
Hook was at his side in a flash. "Yes, according to the specs you-" he swore. "What did you do?"
Starscream snarled, tempted to abandon all the pretenses he put up in front of Prime and just smack the young medic. "The legs weren't my idea. Neither was the mouth."
"Is it going to hold her?"
"Primus knows! She managed to take down Soundwave and his cronies, so who knows what she's done to herself!" Well, Soundwave had been defeated by the yellow Autobot, so that might not be saying much. "Prep her for transport, and we'll see."
"Yes sir."
Despite the terror of seeing his experiment, Starscream had enough presence of mind to remember why Megatron wanted bots up here.
They had to contact Cybertron. Shockwave's news had been new nearly an Earth week ago, and for all Starscream knew, the bots on Earth were an endangered species.
Ignoring his fear, and feeling much better for it, Starscream sat at the console and began to contact Cybertron.
After a few cycles and the help over several Energon infusions, he had contact. The Decepticon's communications center (thank Primus) seemed relatively undamaged; so the planet hadn't been consumed yet.
"This is Starscream!" he shouted, unsure if anyone was alive to receive the message. "Let me speak to Strika!"
He heard a shuffling and 'I'd know that voice anywhere!' before the door opened.
Breakdown and Dead End entered the room.
"Starscream!" Breakdown shouted. "We thought you were dead!"
"Never mind that. What is the status of Cybertron?"
Breakdown exchanged a glance with his fellow Combiner and allowed him to take the stage.
"Well, a third of the planet had lost power. We've also lost three combiner teams, two guardians and Shockwave's last Driller among other casualties. The Autobots haven't attacked in five joors, although we've spotted the Recordicons skulking just outside our perimeter." Dead End paused. "Is anyone coming to spend time with us until the end comes?"
"I've forgotten what an optimist you were, Dead End."
"Where's Megatron?" Breakdown asked.
"Earth."
"He's still offline?"
Starscream had forgotten the difference of time as it related to Earth and Cybertron. The Decepticons on Cybertron had and were content to wait for thousands of stellar cycles for the war to start again, unsure if their leader was even online yet.
"He's alive. We're not at war just now." Out of the corner of his optic, Starscream noticed Prime approaching.
"You tell them." Starscream said. Charismatic speeches weren't his thing.
"Decepticons." The Autobot said. Dead End and Breakdown could only stare as Prime began speaking. "The war for Cybertron is over. We must stand united to defeat a mutual threat to our home world. May I speak to your commander?"
Too stunned for words, the Decepticons silently exited.
"Very nicely done, Prime." He looked at Starscream, unsure if it was a compliment or sarcasm.
They settled down to wait.
…85%
Functional
Hard reset required. Activate?
Yes
Resync cassetticons?
Yes
Startup Complete
His optics flared to life. Hook, Soundwave hadn't seen him in several stellar cycles, stood above him.
"You're still alive." Hook observed, sounding mildly surprised with himself.
"Affirmative." Soundwave sat up and accepted the energon cube Hook handed him. "Status of Blackarachnia?"
"Erm…not sure if containment's good enough." Hook paused to look at the fallen technorganic. "We're going to be staying here for a while, until we get the status of everyone on Cybertron."
Soundwave stood, grateful that whatever Hook had done to him was working. Laserbeak flew to rest on his shoulder, rubbing his helm against his creator's neck like a human's canine.
"Cute."
Laserbeak hissed at Hook, who backed off, palms raised.
Soundwave made his way to the console, where Prime and Starscream were talking quietly. Starscream nodded in acknowledgement.
"We are waiting for General Strika to report."
As if on command, Strika herself entered the screen.
"What is this news of a truce, Starscream?" Strika asked. "And where is Megatron?"
"He is on Earth," Prime began, "Coordinating the construction of-"
"I asked Starscream, not you."
Starscream's wings straightened. Soundwave nearly sighed.
"Truce dictates Optimus Prime and Megatron are legitimate co-leaders of Cybertron. Respect rank." He said.
Strika glared at him. Soundwave stared back.
"Fine. Optimus Prime, sir, you were saying?"
"Megatron is coordinating efforts on Earth to build another ship to take us to Cybertron since the space bridge had been rendered inoperable by Sentinel's death." Optimus finished. "When is Unicron expected to return to Cybertron?"
Strika consulted a monitor. "He isn't. Howlback's last report was of Unicron leaving our system. He's going somewhere else now."
Soundwave's processor struggled to compute the information. Unicron would never leave a target unless directed to, either by instinct or order. Which meant the Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron had managed to drain him of enough power. Doubtful.
There seemed to be nothing else to say. A smaller Decepticon came into view and handed Strika a datapad.
"I apologize sirs," Strika said scathingly. "But it seems that the Autobots haven't gotten word of your truce." The screen went black.
"Contact the Autobot base."
Starscream obeyed with silence, save for his fingers tapping at the keys. Laserbeak fluttered his wings in annoyance as Bumblebee stood next to him.
They all heard the Autobot base before it came into view.
"Cover your receptors, Perceptor! We've got incoming from the Nemesis."
Optimus would have known that voice anywhere. Its distinctiveness was just behind Starscream's and Soundwave's.
Finally, the Autobot communications center came into view. It looked worse than the Decepticons, as if there had been a battle inside of it.
"Optimus Prime, my man!" Blaster cheered. Optimus sighed. Earth's language and culture had somehow pervaded Cybertron. How far-reaching was the Internet?
Abruptly, the red Autobot's facial plates fell.
"You get caught by the 'cons again?" he asked. "What do they want this time?"
"Nothing," Optimus reassured the other Autobot. "The war is over, Blaster."
"Does Magnus know this? I just sent Rewind out to recon the 'con's base!" Blaster saw Bumblebee standing beside Soundwave. "Hey, 'bee."
"No, he doesn't." The yellow Autobot waved. "Could you call him?"
"Sure Prime. You're sure this isn't some Decepticon ruse to catch us off guard?"
"If it were," Starscream snapped, gesturing to himself and Soundwave. "Would we be onscreen now?"
Blaster paused to think. "Guess not. I'll get him, but Prime, we're having some major problems with the chain of command here. Magnus will explain."
"Just let me talk to Magnus." If allowed, the Autobot officer would talk for joors.
Blaster nodded and began calling Ultra Magnus. Optimus turned to the rest of his merry party. Starscream had begun tapping a finger on a side panel watching Hook drag Blackarachnia outside, and Soundwave was staring into space with what a human would describe as a glazed look over his optics. Both seemed bored out of their processors.
Ultra Magnus walked in, hammer gleaming proudly in the dim light. However, the Autobot walked like a mech defeated.
"Optimus Prime, sir. Have your reinforcements arrived yet?"
"Yes. Now the war is over, and we are all returning to defend Cybertron from Unicron."
Magnus looked at the Prime with his vocaliser slightly open. Optimus waited.
"Okay." He finally said. "We'll be awaiting your return. Magnus out."
Starscream looked at Optimus. "Do all your subordinates treat you like that?"
"No. Something is wrong."
"Suggestion." Soundwave droned. "Return to Earth and prepare to leave for Cybertron."
Starscream shrugged, appearing to drop the matter of the Autobot's behavior. "Fine. Hook has secured Blackarachnia, so there's nothing left to do here."
Soundwave called Ravage, who awoke out of recharge. He jumped to his feet and began heading out of the ship. Optimus wondered if the Decepticon had ever seen humans and their pets.
Without another word, they followed Ravage outside.
Needless to say, the flight back to Earth was an extremely tense three days.
-Not particularly happy with the rushed-ness of this chapter, but it needed to get going. Did you like it?