I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to update before now. I guess my hopes of finishing this story on Halloween were a little too high. Oh well. I'll probably finish this story at the beginning of 2017 as my schedule is pretty crazy until then. I've actually been working on a novel (I've passed 22000 words as of today).
As always I don't own Transformers. Please let me know if you spot any errors. I always love the feedback.
I'll hopefully have another chapter out soon, but it might not be until 2017. So Happy Holidays if you don't hear from me before then.
Prowl's platting occasionally rattled. He couldn't deny the pain he was in, but he needed to focus. He might not be able to save himself, but he had to find a way to save Bluestreak. The young mech had been his light in the darkest days of the war.
"Prowl," said Bluestreak. "Please, Prowl, please be alright. We'll get out of this. I know we will. You always have a plan."
Except Prowl didn't have a plan. He was completely immobile and he couldn't think through all the pain. Curse Barricade and curse this evil place.
"Prowl, hey Prowl," said Bluestreak. The young mech's voice shook with uncertainty.
Prowl somehow managed to lift his helm up to look at the young mech. "Yes Bluestreak," said Prowl with a shaky voice.
"What are our odds of escaping?" asked Bluestreak. This wasn't a question from a youngling seeking comforts, but from a young soldier caught behind enemy lines. "Is there any hope of a rescue?"
Prowl glanced around him. The cell was dark, only illuminated by their optics and Bluestreak's head lights. He couldn't be certain that someone or something wasn't listening in.
"Prime should know we're missing by now. I haven't been able to communicate with Iacon since I landed," said Prowl. "He'll have likely sent out a search party already. Depending on how closely he kept to protocol, they should be here within the next few cycles."
Prowl didn't want to give away the fact that Bumblebee had also come with him to Praxus. Barricade wasn't stupid. He must have guessed that Prowl had brought backup with him, but Prowl hoped that the possessed Decepticon would think he'd have brought Jazz or Smokescreen instead of the small minibot.
"I landed in the western area of the city. The search teams would have to start their investigations there," said Prowl.
"I see," said Bluestreak. The young mech sounded resigned. Hopefully whatever Barricade and the priest had planned would take a long time to prepare. "How are you doing?"
Prowl shut his optics for a moment. "I am alright for now," said Prowl. "But I would only slow you down if an opportunity to escape presented itself."
"I'm not leaving you," said Bluestreak. The chains binding him rattled as Bluestreak tried to lean closer to his mentor.
"Bluestreak I want you to live," said Prowl. "If there is even the slimmest chance of escape, I want you to take it and I want you to leave me behind if you have to."
"No!" yelled Bluestreak.
"You will," said Prowl. "How are your wings?"
"They hurt a bit," said Bluestreak. "Ratchet's going to throw a fit when he sees them. The wounds aren't that deep, just uncomfortable."
Prowl gave him a tired smile. He hoped that Bluestreak managed to see the grumpy medic again. He hoped that Bluestreak lived a long life, maybe raised a few sparklings of his own, and that he enjoyed every klik of it. Bluestreak had a future ahead of him.
"Ratchet is gonna want to tear something apart when he sees you," added Bluestreak.
"I'm sure he will," said Prowl. He tried to move the digits of his right servo, but only succeeded in causing a few twitches.
"Can you move at all?" asked Bluestreak.
"It's difficult," admitted Prowl. It was a small miracle that he could make any movements. Perhaps Prowl's luck hadn't run out just yet.
"I could carry you," said Bluestreak. Prowl couldn't help the deep affection that wrapped around his spark at Bluestreak's devotion to him.
The door to their cell creaked on its rusty hinges. Barricade made sure the awful noise lasted as long as possible. He chuckled as he stepped into the small dark cell like a menacing shadow.
"Plotting are we?" asked Barricade glancing between the two captured mechs. "Aw, so sweet."
"Stay away from us," snarled Bluestreak.
"Ah, ah, ah," said Barricade wagging a single clawed digit in the air. "You shouldn't stress yourself out. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your body before Unicron can take it over."
Bluestreak shuddered at the threat. Prowl studied Barricade as though he were an insubordinate recruit.
"Don't worry," said Barricade sweetly, walking up to Bluestreak and petting one of his doorwings. "It'll be quick. You might have a slight personality change, but there won't be any pain."
"I won't let you use me for some heinous ritual," said Bluestreak.
"Oh, like you have a choice," said Barricade. He slapped Bluestreak upside the helm. Bluestreak jerked from the impact.
Barricade turned to look at Prowl. Their optics met for a few kliks. "What?" Barricade asked. "Nothing to say to me? Have you figured out your escape attempt yet?"
"At least twenty," said Prowl coolly.
"Liar," said Barricade with a chuckle. "There won't be any escape attempts from you."
"If you already knew the answer, why did you ask it?" asked Prowl. Barricade narrowed his optics at him.
"Prime's rescue team will be here in a matter of breems," interrupted Bluestreak. "He knows we're missing. They'll stop you."
"Really?" asked Barricade. "I haven't picked up any signals. I think you might be underestimating your timeframe by a little bit." He held up two of his claws very close together, but not touching. He laughed again at his own joke.
"Barricade!" snapped a hoarse voice. "I told you to get them ready."
The shape of the priest melted out of the shadows to fill the doorway, two zombie mechs looming behind him. Barricade rolled his optics as he turned back towards Bluestreak. He reached up to where the chains were hooked to the poll in the ceiling and released Bluestreak's servos. Bluestreak had seconds to stop himself from falling on his face. Streams of energon began to pour from the holes in Bluestreak's wings.
Barricade grabbed the spikes that had been shoved into Bluestreak's wings and pulled. With a sickening pop, they came out. Bluestreak gasped in pain and sank to the floor. He was caught by Barricade, who lifted him onto a shoulder.
"I wouldn't try to escape," said Barricade. "One snap of my digits and Prowl will find himself short a helm."
"Don't believe that for a second," said Prowl. "He needs both of us to complete the ritual."
"True," said Barricade. He made a show of thinking hard for a moment, putting a single claw to his chin. Bluestreak squirmed on his shoulder. "But if a rescue team is on its way, like you said, I guess I'll be able to find a replacement."
"Enough," snapped the priest. "The crystals will only keep the proper frequency for so long. We must act now!"
"Alright, alright," said Barricade. He pointed at Prowl. "You lot, drag the enforcer to the altar and make sure he's secure. We wouldn't want him to run off anywhere now would we? Oh wait, you can't."
Barricade laughed as the two zombies approached Prowl, each one taking an arm as they removed the chains holding Prowl down. Prowl tried to move again, tried to stand on his own, but it was useless. He could no more walk on his own peds than he could fight.
"Who's ready to meet Unicron," said Barricade following the priest out of the cell, pinching Bluestreak's aft. Bluestreak yelped at the evil mech's touch.
Bumblebee and Thundercracker followed the spirit orbs of Grayscale and Barricade down the dark tunnel. After their first encounter and disappearance, the two orbs had returned to offer the two living mechs guidance. Occasionally Bumblebee would tap along the wall to make sure they weren't about to meet any more nasty surprises. The way was clear.
"Do you feel that?" asked Thundercracker after what felt like several cycles of silence. He had stopped in the middle of the tunnel, blocking Bumblebee from moving past him. His wings twitched.
Bumblebee stiffened and focused all of his senses on his surroundings. A rhythmic pulsing faintly danced across his sensory net. He put his servo to the tunnel wall. The pulsing intensified.
"What is that?" asked Bumblebee.
"The crystals are reacting to the darkness within Cybertron," said young Barricade in his far away voice. It gently echoed around the dark tunnel.
"Crystals?" asked Thundercracker. "Like the red ones that have taken over Praxus?"
"No, these crystals are blue," said young Barricade.
"What's so special about these crystals?" asked Bumblebee.
"According to legend," said Thundercracker. "They are a link between the many plains of existence. The priests would use them to communicate with the Matrix and Primus, but they were corrupted over time."
"Partially true," said Grayscale. "The crystals are actually impartial to what we think of as 'good' and 'evil'. They merely align with the natural frequencies of Cybertron. A very special alignment is about to take place. If the ritual is allowed to continue, Unicron will be able to cross back over into our world."
"That doesn't sound good," said Bumblebee.
"It's not," said Grayscale. "He will be our complete destruction."
"Something Megatron failed to do," said Thundercracker.
"Okay," said Bumblebee. "So we stop this ritual and we'll save Prowl and Bluestreak."
"You have to stop it before the black mist can rise," said young Barricade. "Once the mist is inside the sacrifice they will become like me. If you want to save your friends you must do it before or right as the ceremony starts."
"It's always got to be complicated," said Bumblebee. He rolled his shoulders back. "We'll need a plan."
"The room is large," said young Barricade. "Thundercracker, you'll have a hard time hiding, but Bumblebee might be able to find a spot behind one of the crystal growths."
"With that paint scheme?" questioned Thundercracker. He glanced back at Bumblebee, taking in his bright yellow paint.
Bumblebee rolled his optics. "And yet, I was never caught by you guys," he said. He then activated his paint nanites to change to a dark dusty yellow with other shades mixed in certain spots to create a camouflage pattern.
"So that's why you were always hard to stop," said Thundercracker. The paint job made it difficult to notice the minibot was there unless you were intentionally looking right at him.
"Jazz and Ratchet helped me figure this out ages ago," said Bumblebee. "Most mech's optics have a hard time tracking this paint job, so I blend right into almost any background.
"Impressive," said Thundercracker.
"So, where should I position myself?" asked Bumblebee.
"There should be an altar on the far edge of the room," said young Barricade. "There was a door close by it. It's hard to see and will likely be guarded."
"I can take the door," said Thundercracker. "Bumblebee, why don't you sneak in while I take out whoever's guarding the door? Do we know if the ritual has started yet?"
Grayscale's orb floated closer to the two mechs. "I'm sensing that they are moving the two mechs now. Bumblebee should have plenty of time to sneak in before they arrive."
"What if there isn't a guard?" asked Bumblebee.
"Then I'll just burst in," said Thundercracker. "It should provide you with enough of a distraction to stab the priest and, um, Barricade with your crystal."
"Agreed," said Bumblebee. He checked again if the area was clear. "There are two smaller connecting tunnels not too far from here, then the tunnel ends. I'm not sensing anything big blocking the path."
"We will be with you too," said Grayscale. "We'll remain out of sight until you need us." Thundercracker nodded his thanks to the floating orb that was his brother.
"But you can't help us fight," said Bumblebee.
"No," said Grayscale. "But we might be able to cause enough of a distraction in our spectral forms for you and Thundercracker to free your friends."
The pulsing was getting stronger. Thundercracker's wings twitched in agitation creating a light breeze. Bumblebee's plating was starting itch with each pulse.
"How long will the crystals be at the frequency needed for the ritual?" asked Bumblebee.
"Less than a cycle," said Grayscale.
"That's a long time," said Bumblebee.
"Not if you can stab the priest and the creature in my body," said young Barricade. "Then they'll be forced to cross over and they can't complete the ritual from the Matrix. Just a nick is enough."
"Sounds like a plan," said Bumblebee. "You guys will distract them and I'll stab them with my crystal. It shouldn't be too difficult. It almost sounds like an Earth myth."