Chapter 4 Endeavour
** AN; if you've already read this chapter, skip to the last bit, I've added a new part and epilogue will be up in a few hours**
Ravage gave up the facade of searching around the Medbay for his target as he heard the fleshling crumple to the floor. Foolish of it, to think that he wouldn't have known it had been hiding there.
The panther-like Decepticon barely glanced at his little brother as he clambered his way onto the table where their target laid. instead, he not-so-gently manoeuvred the young human into his mouth.
Common sense told him that hostages were better kept close at hand.
With little effort, he joined his brother with a jump, finally getting a glimpse of his target.
It was smaller than him, but not by much, its only visible weapons the sharp claws that ended its four appendages and a tri-pronged tail. In all, it made for a fearsome-looking beast, one he was sure Soundwave might appreciate adding to his assortment.
He sent his brother his proposal over their link, who nodded and seized it. Or at least tried to. The mini-cassette had barely touched it before it uncoiled and sent the twin into contact with the far wall.
With a snarl, Ravage released his hostage and tackled the target.
He could virtually feel the young human fall to the ground, and he practically leapt up at that moment, but his logic-processors quickly pointed out that the boy was merely unconscious, not dead. Unbidden, memories of firedeathprotectshameglory flood his mind, overwhelming his sensors.
Memories of Maximals, Predacons, and a war yet to come, a war long finished a war in process. Of dying, twice, to defend a species that might one day develop into the race known as humans, who would ally themselves with the sworn enemies of his ancestors, who would help defeat Unicron.
He remembered betraying Megatron, betraying Optimus. The shame, of betraying a great leader, and the harmony he felt when he had regained the honour he had lost, and the knowledge that the people in another life he would have called friends were proud of him.
At that moment, he knew exactly who he was and that he was finally free to decide his own destiny...
...though that would have to wait until after a few parasites had been taken care of.
Unseen by the mini-cassettes behind him, Dinobot smirked.
Spike didn't know whether it was the unholy screech of metal-on-metal that had woke him up, or the earthquake-like shuddering that surrounded him, but one-moment he had been blissfully unaware of the danger, the next he felt his heart hit a speed that would have shamed a squirrel on crack as he became aware of the battle not five feet from his position.
A quick turn of his head revealed that Ravage and whatever it was the Autobots had brought back earlier were going at it. It was hard to tell who was winning, between the blur of redblackwhite, all he hoped was that they would be at it long enough for him to reach the communicator and get at least Autobots aware that some of Soundwaves minions were in the medbay.
Without a look back, he made a mad dash for the way off the table, barely giving a thought to how he had gotten up there in the first place. He had long ago learned that when weird things happened to him, the blame automatically went to the Cons.
Thankfully, the communicator was where he had left it.
He pressed down on the button until he heard a faint click, followed by a short his of static.
"-ing down really hard on the south side, Optimus!" Yelled Bluestreak, which nearly caused the speakers to blow. "I can't take them down fast enough!"
There was a pause, "Back up would be very much appreciated, Ironhide!"
"Bluestreak?" Prompted Spike, hoping to get the gunners attention before something else happened.
"Spike?! Are you okay? What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Bluestreak, slow down! I'm fine, but there are Cons in the medbay, and our little friend is fighting him and I don't want to be alone when one of them wins!"
"Oh, don't worry little fleshling, I won't leave you alone."
Spike instinctively rolled, grabbing the communicator as he did so, to avoid the hit he knew was coming and felt the faintest trace of metal brush against the back of his head.
"Call you back in a bit, Blue, I got more company!" Spike twisted so that he was facing the Con. He didn't know if it was Frenzy or Rumble, all he knew was that he was blue and not very friendly.
He used the communicator as an impromptu shield, where it showed its worth by not breaking under the stress of the first blow, but Spiked judged from the white noise that came through the speakers that the internals hadn't fared as well.
A second blow that made the bones in his whole body shudder made him reconsider the whole shield idea. With a war cry, he threw the demolished communicator at the surprised Con and used confusion to run and search for a better weapon or, better yet, an Autobot to step on the little pest. He wasn't in the position to be choosy, if he wanted to be honest with himself.
Over and over he rolled with his opponent, using powerful jaws and razor claws to deal as much damage as he could, heedless that his foe was doing the same to him.
He was a Transmetal II; his flesh wounds would heal before Ravage could get a chance to inflict more. It had taken him a few clicks, but Dinobot recognized the Con from the few data-tracks he had been able to acquire on the black market before his ill-fated adventure had begun.
With a heave, Dinobot grabbed the larger Con by the neck and threw him clean off the table. Roaring, he jumped on his prey, crushing the stunned mini-cassette beneath his weight. He landed with one foot on the haunch and his other foot clamped tightly around Ravages' neck.
Neither one moved, except to twist their heads to look each other in the optic. Dinobot gave the cat a crocodile smile.
Frenzy, whispered the silky-smooth voice of Ravage through the spark-bond shared between the siblings, if you are done playing 'Catch the Squishy', I could use your help!
The blue Con nearly tripped over his own feet. Ravage? Asking for help? He nearly cackled with glee, but with more willpower than any of his siblings believed he possessed, he refrained from doing so and instead turned to look at what kind of trouble his eldest brother was in that would require aid.
To his shock, Frenzy saw his older brother at the mercy of their original target, claws ready to tear out vital bits of circuitry from torso or rip off the black bots' head at a whim. That would not do.
He removed his gun from its subspace pocket; took careful aim at the head. One shot was hopefully all it would take to render it unconscious so that they could finally leave this slag pit of a base.
With well-honed skill, the mini-cassette took aim and fired.
However, the shot did not get the reaction Frenzy had been hoping for. Instead of falling off his older brother into blissful unconsciousness, the mini-Grimlock terror took the full force of the blast with barely more than a quickly healed scorch mark.
Its foot tightened around Ravages neck, Frenzy could hear the toughened casing creak under the pressure, and turned its skeletal head towards the mini-cassette and smirked.
"Bad move." It said and kicked Ravage out of the way and charged.
"I agree!" Frenzy yelled as he tried to throw himself out of the way of the charging enemy.
He had barely regained his footing when heard the second charge. The raptor hit him head-on, sending him flying and crashing into yet another wall.
"Finished already? And here I thought the Decepticons were supposed to be the superior race." Taunted the approaching bot. Frenzy tried to come up with a retort, but the damage reports flooding his HUD were more important than witty retorts. At least, according to his sub-processors
Damn he hits hard! Frenzy raged as he kept a close optic on his target while they circled each other. With the speed that earned him his name, Frenzy ripped another gun from subspace and pointed it at his now frozen target.
"Now," the 'Con stated, lifting himself up from his crouch somewhat smoothly, though he kept one hand pressed against the energon leak he had acquired during his previous scuffle. "Let's finish this business, shall we? I have other things I'd rather be doing."
He set his gun to the highest setting. He vividly remembered what a lower setting had done earlier thank-you-very-much, and he had no intention of an encore. There was no way something so small should hit that hard! It just wasn't fair!
Especially if the message he felt from his spark-twin over the bond was correct and Autobot reinforcements were on their way.
"I agree," hissed the bot. "I grow tired of thisss...skirmish. Dinobot; Maximise!"
Oh you are fragg-erk!
Crawling out of corner he had not-so-gently wedged himself in, Spike watched with wide eyes as the now-transformed raptor tore through Soundwaves Mini-Cassette. Quite literally, as he watched a dismembered arm fly past his hiding spot.
It would only after the dust had settled, and what was left of the cons had escaped, would the young human realize that he was now all alone with his saviour. At least, he hoped it was his saviour. He didn't want to imagine the alternative.
He watched as the bot transformed back into his raptor form and turned to face him. Neither moved until Spike gathered his nerve and slowly approached, hands held in front of him in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner.
"Hello," Spike said slowly and stopped a few feet away, "my name is Spike Witwicky. I just wanted to thank you for saving my life. I owe you one."
The bot snorted and responded in oddly accented English.
"I didn't do it to save you, boy. You can keep your debts to yourself."
For his part, Dinobot was furiously trying to recall what he knew about the history of the Autobots done during their time on Earth.
The 'official' version the Maximal High Council had released boiled down to 'Bots and 'Cons crashed on Earth, spent many vorns in stasis, they awoke to find the planet ruled by humans, the Autobots defeated the Decepticons, Unicron attacks and is defeated, the Autobots leave Earth and return to Cybertron, the end.
Not the most valuable information for time-displaced Transmetal-II former Predacon.
Unfortunately, the information on the black-market added very little, except to say that the Autobots hadn't quite left Earth on as friendly terms as the High Council had let the general population believe. Though the details on why were impossible to find.
Dinobot was pulled out of his musings when the door to the medbay swooshed open and a horde of armed, angry, over-protective and overly-colourful Autobots came flooding in. He could feel the processor-ache awaiting him.
"Spike!"
"Bumblebee! Bluestreak!"
The smaller, yellow bot rushed towards the young human and scooped him up in a crushing hug. Dinobot stared at others cautiously and the Autobots returned the favour. Neither side reached for weapons. Yet.
The face-off lasted until the Autobots parted and allowed a large red and blue mech through.
Dinobot tensed and missed the feel of his tail blade in his hand. The histories had never painted the famous Optimus Prime as anything other than a wise and courageous leader, but the raptor was well aware that history was written by the victors.
"Ratchet, if I may borrow your office? I wish to speak to our guest in private," he waited until his CMO nodded in agreement. "Then please, if you will see to Spike and our injured. Those of you not in need of immediate medical assistance, please see to the repairs of the Ark and the security system."
He turned towards his small guest. "If you would please follow me? I believe there is much that we need to discuss."
With limited options, Dinobot transformed back into his raptor form and followed the enormous Autobot to a smaller room. The office was utilitarian, with very few personal effects and the only thing that stood out was scaffold of dubious strength that would allow someone the size of a human to reach the desk without much trouble.
He turned an eye towards the Prime, who had managed to fit into the chair made for a smaller bot.
Back to the scaffold that seemed to sway in a non-existent breeze, back to the Prime sitting behind the desk, waiting to see what he would do.
With an irritated snort, he crouched and leaped neatly onto the desk.
Optimus stared at the smaller mech, mildly impressed with the ease at which the raptor accomplished a feat he doubted even the most acrobatic of his Autobots could achieve. His creator must have spent orns on the skeletal structure alone.
With some effort, the Autobot leader forced himself back to his task. Best to start with the basics, if he wanted everything to proceed as smoothly as possible.
"I believe we have not been properly introduced," started the large bot, placing his hands on the desk so that they could be seen. It was obvious the raptor had warrior programming, and by showing that he was unarmed, Optimus hoped to put him at ease. "My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. You are currently inside my ship, the Ark, which is currently located on the Planet Earth.
"You have already met one of the native inhabitants of this planet, a Human who goes by the name of Spike. I would like to thank you for saving him earlier. While I doubt the Decepticons would have outright killed the boy, they would not have been gentle with him."
The raptor scowled. "As I said before, I did not do it to save the boy. My reasons are my own, as is my name. You may call me whatever you wish. I am not an Autobot, but I am not a Decepticon either."
"I see," Optimus hesitated; the smaller mechs' behaviour had been slightly different than what he had predicted. Was he wrong? He hoped not. He has many questions that he wanted answers to, and his only source of answer right in front of him. The only thing to do was to stick to his plan.
"I must admit; I am curious about why someone who claims to not be a Decepticon was found of their flagship. The same flagship that was found on a different continent than it should have been, even taking into account the shifting of this planets crust."
The raptor said nothing, so Optimus continued.
"I have some theories, but there has been nothing to concrete as of yet.
"Ever since waking from stasis on this planet, I have felt…something. I do not know what it is. I believe it has something to do with what happened onboard the Ark during the time everyone on the ship was locked in stasis. I also believe that you are involved somehow."
The raptor snorted in disbelief. "This is my first time on your ship, Optimus Prime. UI highly doubt that I had anything to do with what may or may not have happened."
"And I believe that. But tell, do the words Beast Wars and Optimus Primal mean anything to you?"
Optimus watched as the raptor gave him the same look as before, with only the slightest twitch of his tail betraying his shock.
"Do they, Dinobot?"
For several seconds neither so much as twitched a servo.
Finally, the small raptor let out a deliberate hiss/snort as his tail swished side-to-side, as he had seen earth cats do.
"It would seem," he said eventually, "that you are aware of things that you should not be. Very well. I will answer what I can, but I will tell you now: I will answer all of them."
Optimus considered for several seconds.
"Understood. I imagine that there is something you want in exchange for this information?"
The raptor gave a smile similar to what Sparkplug had once described as a 'mamba smile'.
"But of course," Dinobot nodded.
With some questions put to rest and more questions raised, Optimus Prime watched with a heavy spark as their small guest leave their base just before the sun would cross over the horizon.
"Are you sure about this, Optimus?" Ratchet asked, the only other Autobot besides Jazz, who was staring at the retreating form of Dinobot. "It's not safe out there, with the Decepticons still active. Not to mention I doubt the planetary politicians will be very pleased to know that we knowingly let loose a Cybertronian of unknown origin and loyalty onto an unknowing populace with no way to track or communicate with him!"
"I am very much aware of that fact, Ratchet."
"Then why did you do it?"
"Because," Optimus said as the small bot disappeared from his field of view "he gave me no reason to doubt that he will keep his word, he is a bot of his honour. He paid a high enough price for it."
Optimus ignored the Look that Ratchet was opening giving him as well as the Look that Jazz was secretly giving him.
"Do you think we will ever see him again, Optimus?" His Second ask.
"Time will tell, Jazz." Was all Optimus said, before turning around and heading back towards his quarters, leaving his trusted friends to come up with their own conclusions.
AN; I am unworthy! I'm sorry for not getting this done sooner, but for the pat…err while, my life can easily be summed up as being in a SNAFU. Situation Normal; All Fuck Up.
On the bright side, my new University has a wonderful campus! It's only 227 years old and doesn't look a day older than 126!
Also, to all those who sent reviews and didn't get a response back, I'm doubly sorry. I usually try to write back, but I tend to forget when I get overwhelmed with stuff.
Fun Fact; This fic, not including ANs' is currently ~34 pages long (I have a few page breaks, generally at the end of chapters) and is 11 035 words long!