Author's note: Additional disclaimer at the end.

Reunions - Part Eight

"Sir!" An agent came running toward Banachek, his face white as a sheet. "Th-that vehicle out front -- it just transformed. It said it needed to speak to Captain Lennox right away."

"What vehicle?" Will blinked. Gears and Windcharger were supposed to have remained at his house.

"We were followed," Tom said with a frown.

"Please, sir, it's urgent," the agent pleaded. "He said Autobase is under attack by something called Stunticons!"

Will traded glances with Tom, then both slowly turned to look at Powerglide, who had transformed and was looking down, his expression grim.

"Autobase is under attack!" was all Chromia had to say to mobilize Tracks and Ironhide. They began to head out of the city, Epps with them. Ironhide was convinced they had been misled into thinking their human allies were in danger. Bobby insisted on coming, wanting to help if he could.

"Best place for you," Ironhide told his passenger, "Would be inside the base, assisting Broadcast. We merely need to get you through the entrance before we all get stomped."

"Explain this 'Menasor' thing to me again. You said he's a big robot made out of other big robots. That doesn't seem physically possible when there are so many complexities in just moving a limb. How do you guys walk around, become vehicles, and also become additional limbs for someone else?" Epps gestured in disbelief as he spoke.

"Ask Ratchet," Ironhide grumped.

"He ain't here. I want to know, 'cuz that will give me an idea of weak spots."

"Menasor does not have many physical weaks spots. It is his collective mind that can be his downfall. However, if he is utterly focused on destruction, it can be difficult to get the attention of the individuals."

Epps stared out of the front windshield as he tried to wrap his head around the explanation. "So we're basically fighting the Borg."

"The who?"

"From a science fiction show. The 'collective mind' reminded me of 'em."

"What tactics were used against them?" Ironhide asked, his tone curious.

"I can't remember. I didn't see the last couple of movies." Bobby leaned his elbow on the open window frame, tapping the top with his hand as he looked at the buildings going by. "Tell me how his 'collective mind' can be his downfall."

"A team that combines like the Stunticons is only as effective as the unit is when working together. The Stunticons hate each other, but Motormaster has bullied them into keeping in line. They can cooperate together, but they would each prefer to undermine the others."

"Uh-huh..." Epps said thoughtfully. "What are they each li--"

He was interrupted as a spray of machine gun fire tore up the street in front of them.

"Unknown jet circling! It will come back in at two o'clock!" Chromia called out. She transformed without hesitating, forming up her cannon arm. Tracks did the same.

Epps jumped from his seat, only to swing himself around to Ironhide's bed. "Hold your fire! We need to confirm who it is, and if we have to fight, get this away from civilian areas!"

"He's right," Ironhide called out. "Human cities do not stand up well to our battles."

"And what if it is a human flying that thing?" Chromia tensed as the jet flew by again, but it didn't fire on them.

"Because it is Dirge," Tracks said, one hand touching the side of his head. "I just received a message from Broadcast on the specifics. He said Dirge hit the base then went north."

Upon that announcement the jet circled around yet again, this time shooting two even lines along the street directly toward them. Chromia grabbed Epps, shielding him, while Ironhide sped through the barrage and transformed on the other side. Tracks took aim and fired at Dirge's underside. An amplified growl answered him. The jet then flipped, transforming, and Dirge landed forcefully on the street, cracking the pavement.

Chromia put Bobby down, whispering for him to run. She turned away, optics bright with anger. She did not see Epps hurry along the sidewalk, ducking behind parked cars as he headed toward Dirge. The Decepticon was either oblivious or did not care. "Chromia! I have not seen you since AltazeRuz. Tell me, how is Steelsever these days?"

If the comment was supposed to effect her, Chromia showed no sign of it. She continued to hold her weapon arm pointed at him. "What are the Decepticons after, Dirge?! Tell us NOW!"

Dirge chortled as he looked down the barrels of the four weapons pointed his way. "This WORLD!!" he roared, clenching his fists. His voice carried throughout the air, echoing off of the surrounding buildings and returning as he continued to hold the last syllable. Chromia felt her arm twitch, while Tracks' legs began to shake. His optics dimmed as well and he took a step backward. But then he punched his weapon arm with his free hand, forcing his feet to move forward two steps.

Ironhide rumbled something to Chromia. She moved aside and he took center position, aiming both cannons at Dirge. The Decepticon didn't flinch -- or stop his unsettling crooning. Ironhide fired one cannon, then the other.

Dirge whipped both arms up and let loose his machine guns, taking out the missile, but the pulse blast hit him full force. He was knocked backward, but he regained his footing and laughed, then leapt upward to transform. A buzz went through their systems -- and, unseen, through the telephone lines. Dirge took off across the city.

Humans screams of terror came in his wake.

Ironhide growled out, "No!"

Epps came out from his cover, wide-eyed but he had his wits about him since Dirge's attack was currently out of their range. "How are we going to get him grounded long enough to stop him?!"

"We do not. I will." Tracks reformed his arm then changed to car mode. Then his panels rearranged themselves further until he resembled, well...

"A flyin' car? You gotta be kid--"

Epps was cut off as Tracks gunned his engine, traversed the ruined street, and took off into the air, his dual exhaust pipes spewing fire like a rocket. Bobby gave Ironhide a look. "I know what that Sector Seven guy showed us, but, man, you guys really can transform into anything. Next thing I know, my mp3 player will get up and dance to its own music."

"Keep it on a leash if it does," Ironhide said absently as he followed Tracks' progress. He knew Optimus would have preferred another way that wouldn't have exposed them like this, but the choices were few. He looked at Chromia. "Ideas? I have a suggestion or two."

"Yes. I have devised a strategy." She commed Tracks with an external connection so that Ironhide and Bobby heard, too. "Tracks, drive him south. We will meet you at the waterside."

"Water?" Epps questioned. "Wait, you mean the inner harbor?"

Chromia transformed. "Get in and belt up!"

Ironhide transformed and the two drove off at top speed. Only when Dirge passed overhead did they have to stop as panicked humans spilled out of the buildings. Chromia and Ironhide slowed to a crawl in order to not spook them further. Epps dug his fingers into the bottom of the passenger side seat, his teeth gritted and his heart racing. After what he had been through before with Decepticons, he wasn't afraid of Dirge himself. But the terror was involuntary, invoking memories of things he was afraid of.

"Fight it, Robert Epps," Chromia hissed to him. "You are a brave man. You cannot be defeated by someone like Dirge."

"You got that right, lady," he said between his teeth, "But try telling natural impulses that!"

"I know it is difficult to override. We are warriors, we have no choice." She picked up speed again as they reached clear streets.

"Excuse me for saying, but everyone's afraid of something, sometime. It keeps you alive." Bobby began to relax slightly, now darting glances out of the window to look for Dirge or Tracks. "Blackout scared the crap out of all of us when he hit our base, but we still fought back. I guess you guys can just switch it off."

"Some of it we can," Chromia admitted hesitantly. "I know I, at least, have one constant fear. However, Dirge has little to do with it."

"You don't have to say another word. I know what you're talkin' about."

With a screech of tires they reached their destination -- the inner harbor docks. On cue, Dirge came spiraling down with smoke trailing from his left engine. He was able to transform to ease his landing. Likewise, Tracks flipped forms in mid air and landed beside Ironhide as the two other Autobots joined him. Epps took cover behind an overturned row boat as the three targeted Dirge again.

"Surrender," Chromia called out. "You will only have one chance. Tell us your objective!"

The Decepticon snorted. "What does it matter? You three can do nothing about it. Autobase has the key and you cannot stop us now!" His guns came up without him having to move his arms. He fired along their line before they could react. He laughed, turning it into another vocal attack.

Tracks' arm shook just as the last time. He muttered angrily and clapped his free hand on top of his elbow. "You are delaying the inevitable! You will not get us with that trick again!"

A police siren arose from one block over, coming toward them. Epps looked toward the sky. "What I wouldn't give for a cheap walkie-talkie right now." He snuck a peek over the spine of the boat, judging the distance between himself and the street. "Gotta tell those boys the situation's in control before they start shooting." He checked again, then, keeping low, headed for the street.

The police car arrived before he did, but only sat there. Bobby figured the driver and his partner were probably staring. He climbed the rest of the embankment and was about to call out to announce himself when the car exploded into a loud clatter of metal. A menacing voice roared out as the mid-transforming mechanoid lunged toward Epps. He tumbled down the embankment but recovered enough to shuffle backwards to the boat. The robot standing in the car's place laughed as he straightened to his full height.

Ironhide turned to look, uttering a rumble of displeasure. "Barricade. It appears he did not stay terminated."

Dirge transformed and took off across the city again while Barricade fired on the Autobots with a pair of shoulder-mounted laser guns to keep them busy. Chromia took a few hits before leveling her arm cannon. Then Dirge came back, the very air thrumming with a subsonic assault. Ironhide stood his ground, glancing first at Chromia, who had stopped to clutch at her wounded shoulder, then at Tracks. The blue mech was trying not to give in, but he kept flinching and his gun arm shook. Dirge circled, and Ironhide noticed Barricade had stopped shooting. He looked toward the street from the corner of his optics, seeing that Barricade was waiting for Dirge to weaken them further. "Tracks, take Bobby and draw off Barricade. We will handle Dirge."

"But--" Tracks stared in the direction of the approaching jet, then looked at Ironhide and nodded. He waved to Epps, who ran over as Tracks transformed. The Corvette stopped long enough for Bobby to get in, then drove off. He shot up the embankment and onto the road, burning rubber on the way. Barricade transformed and pursued, siren wailing.

As Dirge flew over then circled again, Ironhide wrapped his left arm around Chromia's waist. She nodded to him, slipping her right arm behind him. They both shuttered their optics, identical blue glowing spots appearing behind their chest armor, the spots first pulsing separately then synching up. As Dirge dropped lower, they brought their free arms together, mechanisms unfolding and joining up to create a new type of cannon.

Dirge scanned it and knew it wasn't a weapon anyone should challenge. But he wasn't planning to -- nor could -- turn away, so he increased his subsonic generators to maximum output. He never had the chance to use them.

The sound of the pulse blast detonating against Decepticon armor was heard across the city, along with Dirge's song of agony.

Tracks sped through two intersections and took a sharp right at a third, his tires squealing. Epps kept watch through the back windshield. "What's the plan? Should I tuck-and-roll so you can blast his fender off?"

"For now, outrun him and get him away from the harbor. The sooner Dirge is dealt with, the better off we will be."

"Why not fly circles around him to herd him away, rather than catch some shots in the rear?"

"Can you handle the G-forces?"

Bobby smirked. "Try me."

"All right, then. Keep your seat belt fastened."

Epps heard clattering from outside the car and then grabbed the shoulder strap as the inside of the door broke up and moved around. He had to duck his head as part of the roof also shifted. "Just give me warning on what's gonna move next. I don't want to find out the seat belt is the only thing keeping me in here!"

"Do not worry, the seats will remain as they are."

Epps glanced out of the back window again. "I don't suppose you can reconfigure the glove compartment into a Sabot launcher for me?"

"I cannot, but I will make the suggestion to Ratchet when we finish this. In general, our weapons are not fully detachable. We use energy resources from our own bodies to power them."

"How about carrying a spare?"

"That is very possible. Hang on, now." Tracks accelerated then took off, tires withdrawing into his undercarriage.

Bobby watched the buildings as they flew past. "Smooth take off considering the landscape. You have external weapons in this mode?"

"Of course. Just...hang on to your seat belt again. It will become cold in here." Epps did so and the doors began to shift again. The bottom half of both folded upward on the outside and a pair of missile launchers formed up from beneath the vehicle. Tracks turned and came back around along the street they had launched from. Barricade had transformed and seemed to be waiting for them as Tracks reached firing range. One missile impacted to Barricade's left, the other hit him square on as he shifted to the right.

A series of laser fire came at Tracks through the smoke. "He is still standing," the Autobot muttered. He circled around for another strike, but the rapid shots followed him. Tracks turned sideways to dodge the assault. Bobby braced his feet to keep from sliding toward the open section of the door. He yelled when a shot came clean through the opening and struck the inside of the roof. "Left! Left!" he cried, trying to press against the seat so he wouldn't stick out far enough to be grazed.

"You don't have to tell me!" Tracks straightened and flew higher, then dipped unexpectedly as another pair of missiles locked into place. Barricade adjusted his aim, but Tracks increased his speed and flew right over his head. Something clacked against his back fender -- and a weight on his trunk suddenly disrupted his flight path. As he compensated, the weight advanced to his roof. Epps glanced back just as Barricade's leg went by the windshield. "Oh, sh--"

Skrakt went something across the roof.

To his credit, Tracks had evened out his flight and didn't let the weight bother him further, but it was hardly an ideal situation. He tipped to the right, but found that Barricade had a grip on his wings. "Hang on, Robert Epps!"

"You got it! I'm gonna start praying, too, if it's all right with you!"

Tracks went into a spiral, first remaining level in the air then heading toward the ground. Barricade's grip didn't loosen, even when Tracks swooped toward an overpass. Only when they were within five feet of it did Barricade let go on one side, swinging under the Corvette and getting a new handhold via the opening in the driver's side door. He punched through the rest of it. The sudden shift of weight caused Tracks to turn sideways. He couldn't change course in time or even drop lower. His right wing was sheared off by the overpass. He and Epps both screamed while Barricade let go and dropped to the ground.

Bobby shut his eyes, expecting the Corvette to go spiraling into a concrete barrier. He heard Tracks make a frightening sound then something closed around him -- he wanted to believe it was a giant hand, but it felt too rough and piecemeal. Metal clattered and shrieked against itself, then shrieked against concrete. Epps felt the impact with the road. He was held steady, however, throughout the following slide. But as Tracks fetched up against a barrier, the sudden stop jarred Epps' spine, giving him a case of whiplash.

He winced, although had other concerns as the half-formed digits holding him loosened and he fell toward the ground all the same. It wasn't so far that he couldn't land on his feet but he ended up sitting on the ground. He kept his head down as he massaged his neck.

Nearby, a great hiss of steam burst through the air. Tracks groaned. A loud clang followed. Bobby lifted his head to see how the mech was faring. The clang had come from Tracks' arm, the skeletal hand that had been holding Epps twitching and leaking fluid from between the joints. Tracks himself looked like a 3-D puzzle gone horribly wrong, his bottom half partly in vehicle mode while his top half just looked mangled. There were no face plates around his optics, just the cameras themselves and the mechanisms of his olfactory sensor and his vocal processing unit.

Epps scrambled up, although he moved carefully -- unsure how the mech's sensors would react to sudden moves. "Tracks -- can you hear me? Are you gonna be all right?" The blue optics looked toward him. He stared back, amazed at the depth in those lenses. He reached to put a hand on what existed of Tracks' face, but the mech drew back. Bobby saw an electric current dancing amongst tiny receptors and dropped his hand to his side. "Lemme know if there's anything I can do to help..."

Tracks' optics brightened, his head lifting slightly, and Epps thought he might be able to speak. Instead, a scrape on the pavement made him turn to see what Tracks was actually looking at. Barricade, swinging what looked like the manual weedwacker from below, stepped around a displaced barrier and closed in, growling something in Cybertronian.

Tracks uttered what could have been a response, but it was too broken and foreign for Epps to begin to guess. He backed toward Tracks' head, standing beside the Autobot's face. "I don't know what to do, so I'll just say it was an honor to meet you, Tracks. I would have liked to take one more of these suckers out before I left..."

The drone of a plane came from above the hill beside the roadway. Epps didn't bother to look up. Another one, come to watch? Or did Dirge win?

Machine gun fire rained down -- starting in front of Tracks and progressing toward Barricade. The Decepticon growled as the plane flew past him and headed off over the road. Barricade snorted in Tracks' direction. "I will be back. You are not going anywhere." He laughed, then tore off after the plane.

Bobby stared after the plane. "Was it just me, or did that thing look like it just flew in outta World War Two?" Tracks didn't reply. Epps moved in front of his face, squatting down to study the Autobot. "Blink if you're repairable." Tracks' optics dimmed, then brightened again. "I'll take that as a blink. I wish I could do something..." He recalled how he had felt when they found Fig wounded after the battle with Scorponok. He knew what he could do. "I'm right here, man. I won't leave you."

Barricade was fast becoming irritated with the little plane's agility. It seemed abnormally fast and the pilot had extraordinary reaction time for being a human in a human-built machine. Or two humans, as a heat scan revealed. They kept dodging his laser shots and continued to nail him with their puny machine gun. A futile effort, and he wasn't sure what they were trying to prove. Of course, he had been toying with them for about ten minutes. I should put them out of their misery and return to destroying that foolish flying Autobot and his human.

He had wanted them to suffer, so he had let them lay there instead of finishing them off. Now he wished he had because the current chase had become tedious. He stopped on the shoulder of the road, looking for a vantage point while the military plane was busy looping back toward him. His sensors alerted him to two vehicles approaching from the east -- the other Autobots. He growled. They must have defeated Dirge. He didn't hesitate a moment in sending his report, transforming, and speeding off at a velocity and silence unachievable by normal human cars. He crossed the city before turning into an underground parking lot, confident the two Autobots and the human in the plane had been unable to track him.

Since he could not detect it, he had no way of knowing the plane was perfectly capable of keeping a target lock on him. However, there was a greater concern, so once the location of the garage was transmitted to the black Topkick heading for a damaged overpass, the plane turned south.

Ironhide and Chromia transformed to examine the overpass, but even as he touched the scraped portion, Ironhide caught a glimpse of the mangled form across the way. "Oh, no..." He ducked under the structure, Chromia at his heels. "Tracks!"

Bobby stood to meet them. "I don't know what he did to himself, but he saved my life. I asked him if he was repairable, he signaled 'yes' with a blink."

Chromia knelt by Tracks' head and spoke quietly in Cybertronian. Epps moved away as Ironhide stepped in to listen to the fragmented reply. Bobby was reminded of Bumblebee's cries just before Sam brought a halt to the 'study' S7 was performing on the yellow Autobot. He moved further away, turning to look toward the city. The sound of metal sliding over metal brought his attention back to the three Autobots. It looked like Ironhide and Chromia were helping Tracks transform, nudging panels and freeing cables that became snagged on misaligned plates. The arm and hand he had used to hold Bobby remained skeletal.

By the time they were finished Tracks was able to stand. Armor was missing from his left side, back, and chest, the arm on that side hanging loose in its socket. Fluid was still leaking from it, dripping to the ground. His face plates were flat. Epps knew the signs of a soldier taking his pain stoically.

Ironhide looked the blue mech over. "Ratchet will have to fix the rest. How many errors from your alternator circuits?" The reply was something like a deep, digitized gurgle. Bobby wondered why Tracks didn't respond in English. Ironhide inspected the other warrior's damaged side. "Yes, I see it. We could either 'procure' a tow truck or I could carry you. I prefer the tow truck." Tracks said something that sounded like an offended agreement.

"Leave the procuring to me," Epps called. He waved his open wallet. "I got the badge for it. Chromia, can I hitch a ride? I know of a couple of places we can try."

"Affirmative." The femme transformed, backing up a few feet as if to study Tracks before Bobby hopped in. A private comm from Ironhide made her pause again.

"Do you think we will make it to Autobase in time? You could manage things here while I set out for the base."

"Stay with Tracks. It will be for the best." She drove off with Epps citing directions to the closest towing center.

Ironhide watched, then scanned the sky before returning to Tracks' side. The blue mech indicated that he wanted to sit, so Ironhide provided a spot check in case anything went wrong while Tracks lowered himself to the ground. The transition went fine. Ironhide then sat beside him. He tilted his head as a fire alarm siren went off. "Surprised it took this long," he grumbled. "I wonder if we can get out of here before someone comes at us with pitchforks. It is becoming more difficult to seem innocent."

"As long as...no one sees...me...like this," Tracks said, optics dimming.

"Or hears you, I take it?" Ironhide looked over at him. "I have no place to judge. Just believe me when I say you cannot worry about your outward wounds." He gestured to his own face. "You cannot let them stop you." Tracks darkened his optics further. Ironhide sighed, then patted the younger warrior's shoulder. "Ratchet can fix it. It was a worthwhile sacrifice. My first impression of humans was that they were noisy, fussing creatures who deserved their fate at their own hands. I thought we should have focused on taking care of our own. But Will, Bobby, and their team proved to me that they have just as much right to live and protect this universe as anyone else. Those who would fight beside us deserve our protection, in turn."

Tracks nodded slowly then looked toward the overpass. "I should...not have...risked his life in...such a way."

"You will learn."

To Be Continued

Additional Disclaimer: To anyone familiar with G Gundam, yes, Ironhide and Chromia performed the Transformer version of the "Bakunetsu Sekiha Love Love Tenkyoken Godo Fingah". XD