I'm sorry this took so long to get up... I know I promised one of you to have it done in a week, and that was 2 weeks ago. *facepalm*My goal from here on out is to have an update up every two weeks, so... set your calendars.
A big thanks to GoldenEagle13 (and several other friends) for beta-reading this chapter for me. Hope you all enjoy it! As always, reviews and critiques are welcome.
Despite his decision to trust Knockout, Bumblebee kept a close watch on the medic over the next few days. It was one thing to accept his help; it was another to let him run around wantonly.
However, Bee's concerns proved unmerited for the most part. Knockout settled into the team without incident. Strongarm still hated him—he hadn't stopped calling her "sweetspark"—but he'd been civil with the rest of the team, including the humans. Bee had worried about that most of all; Knockout had never been fond of humans, even after joining the Autobots. He wasn't exactly "pals-y" with Denny or Russell now, but at least he was treating them like team members instead of pets—or pests.
After three days with no fights, death threats, or narrowly-avoided squishings, Bumblebee's worries about the medic began to ease. Besides, he had more important things to attend to.
"You're sure it's a Decepticon signal?" Bee asked, peering at the monitor over Fix-it's shoulder.
"It just registered a little while ago," Fix-it confirmed, pointing to the blip on the screen indicating a Cybertronian signal. "Definitely one of the escaped prisoners. I'm guessing his stasis pod kept him offline until recently, which is why we didn't detect the signal before now."
"I'll send Strongarm and Sideswipe to check it out; hopefully it's no one too dangerous." Bumblebee winced as the words left his mouth. Shouldn't say things like that; I probably just jinxed it. Shaking off the superstitious thought, he went to find the rookie cadet and the reckless youngling. Strongarm, as he'd guessed, was on her usual perch atop the old fast food sign.
"A Decepticon?" The stoic femme tried unsuccessfully to hide her delight. "I'll investigate at once, sir!"
"Not alone, you won't." Bumblebee said firmly, curbing her enthusiasm. "Do you know where Sideswipe is?"
"Out driving, I think." Strongarm shook her head in disapproval. "Without permission, no doubt. He's been doing that more and more lately."
Bumblebee suppressed a sigh. "I'll talk to him. Meanwhile, you get ready—I don't want you walking into a potentially dangerous situation unprepared."
Yes, sir!" Strongarm gave an enthusiastic salute and ran off to collect her weapons. Bumblebee watched his overzealous cadet go, shaking his head.
At least she gets the job done, he thought. She wasn't wrong about Sideswipe, either; while Strongarm tended to be overly critical of the mech, she had a point about his recent behavior. He was spending a lot of time outside the junkyard. He'd find excuses to leave—"It's a long walk to the football field, Russell, let me drive you there;" or "You need to go into the city, Denny? I'll give you a ride!" He hadn't even complained about going on patrol for the past few days. It was uncharacteristic, to say the least.
Maybe he's just trying to be more helpful, Bee thought. The more cynical part of his processor scoffed at his optimism, but Bee tried to ignore it. He trusted his team, Sideswipe included—and until Sideswipe gave him a reason to do otherwise, he'd try to think the best of the mech, After all, he'd been in Sideswipe's position before: the young rookie, trying to prove himself to the world.
Here's a chance to prove yourself, Sideswipe. Bee thought as he opened his com-link to contact the mech in question. Don't mess it up.
Sideswipe grumbled as he sped down the uneven dirt road. "This bites! I'm getting mud in places I didn't even know I had!"
"Okay, first of all, I didn't need to know that," Strongarm snapped. "And second of all, this is a very important mission! We've been entrusted to track down a potential fugitive; we can't let a little mud get in our way."
She couldn't hear Sideswipe's muttered reply, but she guessed it was uncomplimentary and/or insubordinate, like everything else that came out of the punk's mouth. Never mind, she told herself. Focus on the mission. Don't let him distract you.
Up ahead, the road curved as it rose up a steep incline. These were the roots of a mountain; the signal was coming from somewhere among them, off the road. Strongarm pulled up short of the curve and transformed, eyeing the slope appraisingly. Outcrops of stone jutted out of the rising ground, becoming more frequent the higher one went. It was a place better suited to an animal-based alt-mode than their wheeled ones.
"Be on your guard," Strongarm warned. "If the perp has a beast form, he'll have the advantage in this terrain."
"Whatever; let's get on with it." Sideswipe said, brushing off the advice like dirt off his chassis. Strongarm let out a huff of indignation that was also ignored as they began climbing. It quickly became apparent who was better suited for this activity—much to Strongarm's chagrin. Sideswipe practically danced up the uneven slope while the cadet struggled to keep her footing.
"Having problems, cadet?" Sideswipe called to his partner cheekily, watching her clamber over the rocks. "These aren't the smooth city streets you were trained on! Maybe you should've spent more time off-roading, like me and the other 'punks'."
Sideswipe heard her mutter something in response. "Whatever," he shrugged, and continued climbing. "I've been called worse." The road was nearly out of sight now; instead of the dense forest he'd grown accustomed to, this place was all rocks and scrub brush. Not many places for a Decepticon to hide...
Sideswipe vaulted over a particularly tall boulder and landed on an important clue.
"Uh—Strongarm! You might wanna see this."
It was a minute before the femme caught up to him, panting to cool her systems. Her annoyed look vanished as she saw what he'd found.
"The stasis pod!" The metal cylinder lay on its side, covered by native fauna that had sought to reclaim their invaded landscape. But what worried Strongarm was the fact that it was in two pieces. The jagged halves lay next to each other like a broken egg. Judging from the lack of plant growth inside the pod, it had only been destroyed recently—by its occupant, Strongarm guessed.
"This thing is totally trashed," Sideswipe muttered, running his hand over the torn metal. "I don't wanna meet the bot that can rip a stasis pod in half."
"Then let's be extra careful." Strongarm replied, pulling her Decepticon Hunter from its holster. For once, Sideswipe didn't argue. Weapons at the ready, they continued on. Signs of their quarry appeared as they climbed higher: trampled plants, humongous footprints, deep scratches in the stone. Several of the larger rock outcrops had craters in them, as if something big had slammed against them. Strongarm eyed the craters with trepidation. From the signs, it was clear that this 'Con was powerful. Perhaps it would be wisest to call in backup now...
"Maybe we should've brought Grimlock with us," Sideswipe spoke up suddenly.
"If the Lieutenant thought we couldn't handle the situation, he would've sent Grimlock with us from the start," Strongarm replied, despite having had the exact same thought only a moment ago. Now that Sideswipe had suggested it, the idea no longer seemed so appealing. "Besides, this is a recon mission. Grimlock is too clumsy; he'd compromise our position."
"You're not the picture of stealth right now, either." Sideswipe replied, frowning. "The way you're stumbling around, I could hear you coming a mile away."
"I am not stumbling—"
Strongarm's defense was cut short by a crash that made both robots jump. They looked around for the source; it seemed to have come from further ahead.
"Think we found our 'Con," Sideswipe deadpanned. He rushed forward in the direction of the noise.
"Wait! Protocol states that we have to stick together!" Strongarm called after the red mech. He gave no signs of hearing her. Biting back a complaint, Strongarm hurried after him. She was so writing him up for this…
A little ways on, the ground began to level out. The boulders grew scarcer, a fact for which Strongarm breathed relief. As the rocks disappeared, trees took their place—massive trees whose roots sprawled across the ground. Strongarm took care to watch her step as raced after Sideswipe's now-distant form.
Finally Sideswipe slowed and stopped. He vanished behind one of the larger trees. Strongarm redoubled her pace; she didn't trust the rookie where she couldn't see him. When she caught up to him, he was crouching close to the tree trunk. She gave him a dirty look for leaving her behind, which he returned. He then jerked his thumb at something in the trees to their right. Strongarm followed the motion. She instantly followed Sideswipe's example and dropped to the ground. Several of the giant trees lay haphazardly on the forest floor, leaving a trail of carnage that extended into the distance. And in the trees beyond was the cause of the destruction: an orange-and-brown shape whose primal snarls could be heard even from here. Strongarm had guessed from the state of the stasis pod that the Decepticon was big, but—the shape was massive. It was hard to judge accurately from this distance, but the fugitive looked at least as big as Underbite; maybe bigger. And judging from the sounds of trees being massacred, he wasn't happy.
Sideswipe dropped to his belly and crawled toward one of the fallen trees. Strongarm moved to stop him, but hesitated. He was right, for once; they needed a closer look at the perp. "Big and orange" wasn't a good enough description for a positive ID, and knowing who they were dealing with could mean the difference between a successful capture and potential offlining. She followed Sideswipe, tensing as the violent sounds grew louder. At last, they reached one of the mangled trees a few hundred yards from the 'Con. Strongarm hoped it would provide sufficient cover to hide them. Crouching behind it, she and Sideswipe peered over the top to get their first real glimpse of their quarry.
The Decepticon's size was even more apparent now. He stood head-and-shoulders taller than Grimlock, and just as broadly built. He was clearly a beast-former; his stabilizers were shaped like the paws of an enormous feline, with steely claws gleaming at the tips. A mane of wires sprouted from his helm and shoulders like a ruff around his neck. But what caught Strongarm's attention were the wings. Not Seeker wings, but leathery, animal-like ones that stretched to the ground. They reminded Strongarm of a fictional creature that Russell has shown them—a "dragon," he'd called it. Two shiny clamps pinned the appendages together, preventing the mech from either transforming or flying. As the Autobots watched, he threw himself back-first against one of the trees.
"Get off! Get off!" The Decepticon growled. As he hit the tree, the clamp gouged into the wood, but remained locked. So that's what he was doing. That must have been what caused the damage to the rocks they'd seen; the 'Con was throwing himself against things in an attempt to break the clamps off.
Strongarm ducked back behind their tree. "Keep an eye on him," she instructed Sideswipe quietly. "Alert me if he approaches." She then pressed two digits to her com-link.
A hiss of static sounded through the radio before giving way to Bumblebee's voice."-Cadet? Have you found anything?"
"We've located the fugitive, sir." Strongarm whispered. "He's in the mountains, well away from any human habitations, so we shouldn't risk discovery. He's big, and a flier; that should narrow down the suspects."
"Got it. Searching for an ID now," the lieutenant replied. "What exactly do you mean by 'big?' How big?"
Strongarm hesitated. She wanted to bring this perp in herself, but if she told the lieutenant how formidable he was, he'd want to send backup. Bumblebee would never let her take on such an obviously dangerous opponent herself. "I think Sideswipe and I can handle him, sir. We've tackled worse."
"How big, cadet?" The lieutentant's tone was suddenly suspicious. Strongarm winced; he knew her too well.
"He's… a little bigger than Grimlock, sir."
"Wait, bigger than Grimlock?" The suspicion was replaced by shock. "And he's a flier?!"
"Unless those wings are just for show."
There was silence on the line for an instant while the lieutenant digested this information. "All right, I'm sending back-up, cadet. Fall back and observe until we get there. Do not engage, understand?"
"Sir—"
"That's an order. For both of you." Bumblebee's tone brooked no argument. Strongarm sighed inwardly.
"Yes, sir," she mumbled.
"I can't hear you, cadet."
"I said, 'yes—'"
Suddenly, Sideswipe seized her wrist. He jerked it away from her helm, breaking off the communication. Strongarm whirled around, glaring daggers at him. What was the punk doing?!
"Wha—" Sideswipe's hand clamped down on her mouth before she could get the question out. Normally, that would've earned the mech a smack upside the helm—but any ire Strongarm felt puffed away as Sideswipe hissed three words:
"He hears us."
Strongarm's optics widened. She shook his hand off and peered over the fallen tree. The Decepticon had stopped his rampaging; he now stood stock still in the clearing he'd created, head cocked to the side as if listening for something.
And… he was sniffing.
Idiot! Strongarm cursed herself, dropping behind the barrier again. He's a beast-former, of course he has enhanced senses! He can probably hear, maybe even smell us right now!
Strongarm's processor raced through the implications of this development. They couldn't fall back as ordered—any movement could give away their position. Their best chance was to remain still and silent and hope backup arrived before the 'Con discovered them.
The 'Con was still standing frozen, scanning his surrounding for his quarry. Strongarm glanced at Sideswipe, who met her optics. He put a hand on his Decepticon Hunter and tipped his head in the 'Con's direction. The meaning was clear: Do we attack?
Strongarm shook her head vehemently. Wait for backup, she mouthed.
Sideswipe frowned. How long? he mouthed back. To that, Strongarm could only shrug. Sideswipe's frown deepened. He clenched his weapon more tightly.
The 'Con suddenly let out a snort. Strongarm heard the sound of splintering wood again. She relaxed despite herself. As long as he was smashing trees, the noise would cover their retreat. She motioned for Sideswipe to follow her—
A large branch soared over their heads and crashed into the ground in front of them. Alarmed, Strongarm peeked around the tree and was greeted by the sight of another tree limb soaring toward them.
"Move!" Sideswipe and Strongarm dove in opposite directions as the branch glanced off their tree shield. Strongarm rolled to her feet and found herself staring into the optics of the fugitive. The amber orbs seared with fury and hate.
Strongarm activated her Decepticon Hunter. Out of the corner of her optic, she saw Sideswipe do the same.
"Can we attack now?" the mech muttered wryly. The question answered itself as the 'Con let out a roar and charged.