A flicker of blue ignited in the fallen warrior's staring optics then disappeared as he fell back into darkness. The sun beat down mercilessly on the discarded figure, strewn across the desert and left to perish from his injuries. Motionless, he laid with a thin rivulet of lubricant leaking from the corner of his mouth. It streamed across his silvery cheek and dripped from the edge of his faceplate, moistening the dry ground beneath him. The air over his searing form distorted and rippled from the heat of the blazing sun. A hot gust of wind barely disturbed the mirage as it dusted him lightly with fine sand.
A soft, blue glow gradually returned to the warrior's glassy optics, flashed, then became stable. Two silvery covers briefly lowered over the beaten warrior's optics as he slowly regained awareness. He stirred, first testing the yellow fingertips in his line of sight as they came into focus. The digits responded so he moved some more. The warrior lifted his torso. Two vanes from one of the tall, sweeping vents on the side of his head came loose and dropped into the sand as the warrior pushed himself up.
He sat upright, wiped away the trickle from his mouth and noticed a wide crack in the black casing of his forearm. He brought it close to his faceplate, drummed the fingers of his hand and emotionlessly watched the mechanisms moving inside his arm through the opening. His optics narrowed then he looked away.
How long he had laid there senseless on the ground? His chronometer was not functioning. The world made little sense as his automatic repair system reset blocks of his memory bank. A motor in the lower, left side of his torso hummed loudly as he forced himself to lift his beaten body up off the ground. As the yellow warrior steadied himself on his feet, the yellow fender plating fell off the side of one leg. A scowl emerged on his faceplate.
He surveyed his damaged body where he stood, surrounded by the vast, dead landscape. The Decepticons left him with a long dent that creased his chest plate at an angle. The gull door windows in line with the blow mark were completely shattered. Crack lines in the glass starred his other gull door windows. He felt the rest of his torso for damage he could not see over the top of his Lamborghini passenger compartment. His hands knocked shards of glass loose from the perimeter of his broken windshield as they touched the interior of his vehicle form. The window debris tinkled as it landed on his feet, then scattered.
He checked his midsection. Something wet trickled from a separation between his torso and his hip section. He leaned over and observed the smear of hydraulic fluid and energon where he had wiped his hand and saw the trail of vital fluid trailing over his hip plate and down his leg. The Decepticons would pay for this. He was not finished with them yet.
Consumed by revenge, the yellow warrior began treading in the direction of the power plant. He moved noisily, encumbered by the damage he had sustained from the swarming. But he would not surrender, would not retreat. As he approached, he watched the enemy figures moving in the distance, collecting energon cubes from the solar generator. The harsh sun struck him, casting a gloomy shadow across the sand as he limped toward the Decepticons to finish what he had started.
A glint of sunlight in the distance caught Skywarp's attention as he made his way back toward the generator with an empty energon cube held between his palms. The large, black Decepticon turned to see the approaching figure.
"Stupid Autobot," he snorted and flicked his hand in the air to get the attention of one of the dusty, blue Seekers nearby. Skywarp sneered at the approaching Autobot as he set down the energon cube. "You didn't learn your lesson, did you?"
The other Seekers stopped and watched as the two Decepticons strode off, then went back to looting the plant of energy. The best part of the show was already over.
The ragged warrior plodded forward. Each step carried him closer to the black figure whose triangular-wing profile framed him like a mechanical demon. He readied himself to fight the two larger Decepticons, hand-to-hand, with whatever energy reserves he had left. He called out to them, but his vocalizer unexpectedly sputtered static instead.
He adjusted his speech synthesizer to filter out the damaged vocal range then called out with an angry grimace on his faceplate, "I'm going to send you back to Cybertron in pieces!"
Skywarp mocked him. "The only one going anywhere in pieces is you," the black Seeker returned. A smile curled across his lip components. He did admire the Autobot's persistence.
A draught of scorching air and sand blew from behind the yellow warrior toward the Decepticons. The black Seeker and his henchman waited. He narrowed his optics, scowling. The black Seeker's faceplate wrinkled into an expression of aggression and his optics burned red like rubies from the Pit. This was it.
The journey to Nevada was filled with the smooth sound of the Autobots' hyper-efficient engines and the deafening roar of subsonic air as it swept over their aerodynamic vehicle forms. The sun blazed high above them in the clear, midday sky as they raced side by side along the unending ribbon of asphalt and into the distance. Desert terrain appeared before them and then vanished in a gleaming blur of light and sound. Other vehicles – human-driven vehicles – appeared motionless as they danced past them.
Sideswipe was not in the mood for conversation as they tore toward the solar power plant. He put the strange events of the day out of his mind and focused only on his brother. Everything else in the world could fall apart if Sunstreaker alone remained there for him. He revved his engine and edged ahead of the white Porsche.
Jazz was quiet as he scanned the horizon. He knew that he and Sideswipe could not escape with Sunny if the yellow warrior was in rough shape. They needed help – someone with the ability to rapidly enter and exit the danger zone. It was a long shot, but he had been able to establish contact with the right individual for the mission. It helped to be connected.
Jazz checked his geographical positioning readout. The two blinking icons representing him and Sideswipe were closing in on the image of the power plant. It would be visible at any moment after they passed a large butte on one side. There was still no sign of the promised backup. Jazz was concerned that they would have to deal this situation on their own – and the odds of success were poor. The two Autobots followed the highway and rounded the large desert rock formation. The solar power plant panned into plain view ahead of them.
"Almost there," Sideswipe said aloud over the drone of their engines and the howl of the wind.
Jazz redirected his attention to look for Sunstreaker. "Stick together," he instructed Sideswipe. "I only see low-rank Seekers, but there sure are a lot of them." He had already observed more than a dozen Decepticons as they approached.
"I'm with you, Jazz," Sideswipe replied in solidarity. "Those energon thieves can't put up a decent fight."
"Just keep your optics open for their commanding officer," warned Jazz.
They left the highway and raced toward the outer ring of solar reflectors. The dish-shaped reflectors were arranged in huge rings that spread out from the central power plant. They directed the sunlight up to the main collector on the tower, and into the solar generator. The bulky transformers in the fenced yard next to the plant sat dormant, as did the overhead high voltage lines that normally channeled the electricity south. The entire apparatus had been hijacked, the precious electricity siphoned into Decepticon energon cubes.
"Those solar reflectors will give us cover while we look for Sunny," Jazz instructed. "If we avoid detection we'll have a better chance of getting out of here in one piece."
The polished dishes shone brightly in the sunlight. "They'll have a hard time seeing us past all that glare," Sideswipe agreed.
"This way," Jazz directed. He drove around the perimeter of the outer ring and then wove his way into the forest of reflectors.
Alternating stripes of sunlight and shadow flashed over the two Autobots as they searched for the yellow warrior. Sideswipe looked toward the power plant at the stacks of glowing energon cubes. He recognized the dusty, blue Seekers as part of Starscream's aerial forces, but was surprised to see so many of them without a commanding officer.
The sound of the Autobot's engines amongst the solar reflectors alerted several of the Decepticon Seekers. One of them directed his long, arm-mounted laser blaster at the source of the sound. A second later, one of the scoop-shaped collectors behind Jazz shook violently from a blast that echoed through the air. A second blast shook the panel directly in front of him and he reflexively braked. An explosion immediately followed above them, in the direction of the tower where the light was focused. The laser blast had reflected off the curved surface.
"Don't fire, you moron!" one Seeker called to another. The other Decepticons regarded the smoking pockmark on the plant structure high above them. "You'll destroy the solar collector!"
As the Decepticons began arguing with each other, Sideswipe caught a glimpse of a struggle through the web of silvery dish supports.
"Over there!" the red warrior called to Jazz.
The world seemed to fall silent as Sideswipe's optical sensors locked onto the unmistakable yellow and black form of his brother. Sunstreaker was out in the open, making his last stand on the plant access road that cut through the rings of solar reflectors. The play was typical Sunstreaker, a brazenly grandiose gesture. He was embroiled in a losing fight with Skywarp and one of the blue Seekers. He wanted it to end that way. The yellow Lamborghini's slow, clumsy movements told Sideswipe that he was badly damaged and low on energy. As he tore toward Sunstreaker, Sideswipe watched with dismay as Skywarp knocked Sunstreaker to the ground and held him, pinned under his exhaust nozzle heel.
Skywarp sneered as he trained his arm blaster on the defeated Autobot. "You Autobots just don't know when to stay down."
Sunstreaker glared at the Decepticon above him, but he was too weak to resist. "Slagger!" he weakly cursed through his damaged vocalizer. Spent of energy and overcome by systems malfunctions, his head fell back against his chromed air intakes with a clank.
"I'll take the blue one!" Jazz called to Sideswipe.
"Let's do it!" the red warrior responded eagerly as he glared at the dark, winged creature hovering over his brother. Sideswipe pushed his engine to the limit as he accelerated.
Hearing the engines racing toward him, Skywarp glanced up in time to see Jazz and Sideswipe transform. The vehicles morphed in a synchronous blur of machinery to reveal the Autobots. Their momentum unabated, Sideswipe and Jazz rushed the unwary Decepticons at breakneck speed.
"Look out!" Skywarp hollered at his henchman.
A second later, Jazz made contact with the blue Seeker. Both went tumbling.
Stunned by the sudden attack, Skywarp saw the other Seeker catapulted by the blow. Then a black fist met his faceplate. The punch hit him squarely in the jaw mechanism and sent him stumbling backward.
Jazz fought to hold down the blue Seeker while Sideswipe dealt with Skywarp. "No… you... don't," Jazz struggled then pushed against the Seeker's faceplate.
With gun in hand, Sideswipe quickly closed in on Skywarp. The black Seeker had no time to collect himself. Sideswipe leveled his gun at him at first, then grimaced and thrust himself shoulder first at the Decepticon, knocking him completely off balance. Skywarp crashed to the ground and landed flat on his back.
Sideswipe strode up to the black Seeker as the Decepticon raised himself on his elbows. Skywarp squinted at the red warrior with a bewildered expression. "It can't be. You're dead."
Sideswipe glanced over at his beaten brother then scowled at the Seeker.
"B-But-" Skywarp stuttered in dismay.
Aiming his weapon at Skywarp's shoulders – first the left shoulder, then the right – Sideswipe fired and fired again. The shots ripped the Seeker's arm blasters from their mountings. They clanked as they hit the ground.
"My weapons!" Skywarp protested as the red warrior kicked the blasters out of his reach. He looked suspiciously at Sideswipe and frowned. "You can't do this to me! You're not really here!"
Sideswipe at last pointed his gun at Skywarp's faceplate. The Decepticon's optics popped wide open. "No, don't!" Skywarp gasped. "What do you want?" But there was no answer. "Whatever it is, take it. Just take it!" The Seeker groveled as he stared at the gun barrel.
"I will," he answered enthusiastically with bright optics.
Skywarp inched himself backward on his elbows, but Sideswipe's heel came down hard against his chest and held him still. An impish grin inched onto the red warrior's lip components and he narrowed his optics.
Jazz nearly lost his hold on the blue Seeker as Sideswipe's point-blank blasts tore into Skywarp's faceplate. The black Seeker's arms jerked at first few shots but then lay still. Sideswipe paused then moved his aim from Skywarp's head down to his torso. He resumed firing. The black Seeker's chest housing burst open and his circuitry sparked and smoked. Cold and impassive, Sideswipe stepped back from the wreckage.
The blue Seeker beneath Jazz wrestled an arm free and clobbered Jazz in the side of the head. Jazz curled his fingers for a tighter grip instead of letting go. "Hey, that wasn't nice," he said, shaking his head from the blow, then leaned against the Seeker's shoulder to pin the free arm. Moments later, several laser blasts sizzled through the air from the direction of the power plant. Both Autobots looked up to see a handful blue Seekers approaching.
"Uh-oh," Jazz observed. "We've got trouble." The remaining Decepticons greatly outnumbered them. But in the distance above the Seekers, a familiar silhouette against the sky caught Jazz's attention. "It's about time," he muttered to himself. More laser blasts cut through the air, narrowly missing the Autobots.
The red warrior returned the Decepticons' fire. The blue Seeker seized upon the moment of distraction to throw off Jazz. He scrambled to his feet and fled toward the safety of the other Seekers. Jazz retrieved his photon rifle from subspace and fired after the coward, dropping him to the dirt.
As he concentrated his fire on the advancing Decepticons, Sideswipe backed away from Skywarp toward Sunstreaker, who was still lying prone on the ground. The Seeker troops lacked the resolve and skill of the higher-ranking Decepticons. They would have been easy adversaries if not for their greater numbers. He glanced back at his brother and almost choked at the image caught in his peripheral vision. Sunstreaker was very badly beaten and staring blindly. "We've got to get him out of here," Sideswipe implored as the two sides continued to assault each other with laser fire.
A shadow passed over Sideswipe and he looked up to see the silhouette of Swoop against the blue sky. The robotic pteranodon cocked his head at Sideswipe. "A Dinobot?" he frowned as he remembered the incident in Perceptor's lab. Sideswipe aimed at the bombardier.
"Sideswipe, no!" Jazz hollered at him, catching the red warrior an instant before he fired.
Sideswipe stared at Jazz as if he was crazy. In that brief moment, a laser blast hit the red warrior in the torso and he buckled from the impact.
Swoop returned fire, strafing the Decepticons with a fusillade from his under-wing artillery. The dual streams of fire ignited a small pile of energon cubes behind the group of Seekers. They exploded violently, consuming several blue Seekers in a fiery release of energy. A tremendous chain of energon explosions shortly ensued, barricading the Autobots from the body of the Decepticon forces. Tall flames licked back toward the remaining stacks of energon. Panicked and wanting to preserve the energy stockpile from further detonation, the remaining Decepticons quickly forgot Jazz and Sideswipe and fled to the air.
Swoop shot at the scrambling Decepticons and sent several plummeting back to the ground. He nimbly dodged their futile protest blasts before gliding low over the flame barrier and coming to a landing with a gentle hop.
"Me Swoop come fast!" the Dinobot crowed to Jazz.
Sideswipe stood guard over his brother and eyed Swoop suspiciously.
"He's on our side," Jazz announced, to which the pteranodon stood up tall on his Dinobot feet and proudly flapped his chromed wings. "He's here to help us."
Sideswipe said nothing, but crouched over Sunstreaker. Swoop turned his long head toward Jazz and blinked.
"I'll explain later, Swoop," Jazz said to the confused Dinobot. "I need you to take Sunny back to Headquarters." Jazz took out some ties and fastened them to the Dinobot's back.
Sideswipe set his weapon aside and worriedly checked his brother's condition. Sunstreaker was heavily damaged and appeared on the edge of functionality. He put his hand on the leaking injury in his brother's midsection and Sunstreaker's optic covers lifted. The yellow warrior's head turned weakly toward Sideswipe.
"I'll take care of you Sunny," Sideswipe said with concern in his optics. "I'll get you fixed up."
A weak smile crept onto the broken warrior's lip components. A halo of sunlight glowed around the silhouette of the red warrior hovering over him. An angel had come to rescue him. "Sides…"
Sideswipe put his hand on the yellow warrior's helmet and Sunstreaker closed his optics again. A moment later his head went limp.
"Hang on bro'," Sideswipe said. The valve in his throat manifold stuck.
"Sideswipe, put him on Swoop's back," Jazz instructed. He was anxious that they be on their way before the Decepticons returned.
Sideswipe lifted Sunstreaker under his knees and back and carried him over to Swoop. The yellow warrior's optic covers fluttered. Sideswipe set him down carefully across the waiting Dinobot's back and Jazz strapped the yellow warrior down firmly.
"All set," he announced with a pat on the Dinobot's back. Swoop turned his beak sideways and pivoted an optic at the cargo on his back. "Get him back to medical bay, pronto."
"Swoop go now!" Swoop faced forward and squawked.
"Yes! Go!" Sideswipe agreed emphatically. "Go!"
Swoop pushed himself up with his wingtips then hopped into the air with Sunstreaker tied to his back. A small piece of the yellow warrior came free and bounced when it hit the ground. The Dinobot activated his flight drive and soared up into the sky and away from the solar power plant. The long wingspan of the Dinobot's ancient form swept through the desert air as Swoop headed northwest. Sunstreaker was on his way back to safety.
Sideswipe retrieved the small piece and placed it inside his forearm compartment for safekeeping. He would have flown back with his brother, but his rocket pack did not have the capacity. He also knew that he needed to accompany Jazz on the way back to the base. Decepticon retribution was often swift and merciless.
Sideswipe picked up his weapon then went over and kicked the unconscious Seeker. A light somewhere deep inside Skywarp's ruined optic structures flashed from the impact. The Decepticon grumbled weakly and feebly tried to move his busted body.
"Forget him," Jazz urged. "It's time we made our exit." He transformed into vehicle mode.
"Right," Sideswipe agreed, and took a step back from the black Seeker. He also transformed into vehicle mode.
Jazz started his engine. "Let's roll!"
The white Porsche and the red Lamborghini made haste back around the perimeter of the outer ring of solar collectors. They sped across the span of desert back to the strip of highway which led past the buttes and into the canyon. The bright flames from the energon fire gradually receded into the distance. Soon they were gone from sight, concealed by the rock formations. Both Autobots drove with deliberation as they headed back toward Oregon and their home base.