Ratchet watched carefully as the two made their escape. The familiar whir of a cannon brought his attention back to the two Decepticons before him. His body tensed when he saw that the cannon, belonging to Starscream, was aiming, not at him, but at the retreating form of Barricade.
"You two cannot escape the soon-to-be leader of the Decepticons!" Starscream boasted as his cannon glowed to life.
In what seemed like a flash to Sideways and Starscream was in slow-motion to Ratchet. He whipped out his EMP generator in his left servo while the right remained a saw, aimed the EMP at Starscream, and fired. The pulse hit the seeker like a tidal wave and his whole body collapsed to the ground, disarming him almost immediately.
"What!" Sideways shouted, staring at the fallen seeker. He turned his attention back to the armed medic in front of him and saw the the EMP was now aiming at him. He hadn't expected this sudden turn of events, but surprises were his specialty. But for just a fraction of a second, a small wave of fear pulsed in his spark, but was gone as soon as it came. He wouldn't let an Autobot medic get the better of him.
Ratchet wanted to pull the trigger desperately. He had been planning this moment for years and there was no way he would let this glorious opportunity pass him by. This Con single-handedly took almost everything from him. He killed his Nina. Tortured Sam. He knew Sideways wouldn't stop until there were no more loose ends. He had to end this now. So why was he hesitating now? All he had to do was pull the trigger, yet his finger refused to move.
He was programmed to be a medic, not a warrior. He was not meant for the battlefield. He was meant to remain on the sidelines until someone was hurt. Barricade and Sam were injured, yet he sent them off alone. Why hadn't he gone with them?
Was revenge really that important to him?
Sideways saw Ratchet's hesitation and decided to test how far he could push the medic.
"What's the matter, Ratchet? Suddenly lost all your drive?" he teased.
Ratchet's hand tightened around the EMP, yet he still couldn't squeeze the trigger.
Sideways smirked, seeing Ratchet's weak point. He wanted to push things a bit further to and see how much it would take for him to crack.
"You don't have what it takes to pull that trigger. You're not programmed to. You're a medic, not a warrior. You are only meant to save the lives of others, not take it away. You don't belong on the battlefield to play with the big bots. No, you belong on the sidelines where it's safe. You're nothing more than the Autobot's cheerleader." Using human terms was not Sideways' specialty, but it seemed fitting for the moment and he was willing to use every trick in the book to get Ratchet to snap.
"You're pathetic, Ratchet. You can't even protect a puny human girl." Sideways smirked, his plan working.
Ratchet growled as his finger finally tensed enough on the trigger. The EMP fired.
Sideways barely managed to dodge the shot. He had let his guard down, not thinking that he was actually willing to fire the weapon. That won't happen again.
"Aw, did I hit a nerve? You see, I've been doing this job for so long that it has become a second nature to me. My talents come as easily as drinking energon. And throughout the years of torturing my victims, Cybertron and Earth alike, I have to say that my favorite client has to be your daughter."
That was enough for Ratchet. In a flash, he sub-spaced the EMP and tackled Sideways to the ground, both of them fighting for dominance. Ratchet used his free hand to hold Sideways down while his saw whirred dangerously close to the Con's head. But Sideways was far from done.
"Oh yes, you should have heard her scream for you and her guardians to come save her every time I had her in my grasp. There's just something about the tortured screams of a young human girl that ignites an excitement in my spark. I truly wonder, though, what Nina's screams sounded like that night."
Something inside of Ratchet snapped and all he saw was red.
Sideways saw a 360 change in Ratchet and knew he may have taken things a tad too far, but it was worth it to see the Autobot medic fight with the fury and energon-thirst of a Decepticon warrior.
However, Sideways was not expecting this level of strength from a bot from his class. As a rule, the medic should not have been this powerful in battle. But here was Ratchet with such brute strength. Sideways looked over to Starscream, who was struggling to stand.
"Starscream! Don't just lay there like a pathetic sparkling! Make yourself useful and get this Autobot off of me!" Sideways shouted.
"Help yourself, Sideways! I've got my own problems to deal with!" Starscream snapped back, still trying to get up.
"Like what? Oh yea! Failing to apprehend Barricade and running back to Megatron with your thrusters between your legs! You're all talk, Starscream! You're about as threatening as a sparkling without its casing!"
Starscream growled threateningly. "Me? You can't even hold onto a single human girl! And you have the nerve to call me pathetic?" He finally managed to stand, but had a hard time keeping his balance. "Using you in my plans to destroy Megatron was the worst mistake I've ever made! A mistake I fully intend on correcting."
He activated his null ray and aimed it at Sideways, who still had Ratchet on top of him. (That sounded weird, I'm sorry). "Convenient that I get to take down an Autobot and a rogue at the same time."
Sideways growled at Starscream's arrogance. Since Ratchet was distracted by their sudden bickering, Sideways managed to throw the medic off of him. Sideways stood up and activated his own gun and aimed it at Starscream.
"This ends here, Starscream. We'll see who is more fit to lead the Decepticons." Sideways stated.
Starscream smirked. "I couldn't agree more."
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Barricade continued along the route, searching for any Autobots up ahead. So far, there were none.
"Barricade please! We have to turn around! Ratchet can't handle those two by himself!" I pleaded.
"He'll be fine. My mission right now is getting you to the checkpoint." he replied, leaving no room for argument. But I wasn't about to give up.
"You gave me my guns back! How am I suppose to use them if we run away from the fight?"
"I gave you your weapons to protect yourself should they attack you if Ratchet and I are otherwise preoccupied. I didn't say you should run off into the battlefield and start shooting. And in your current condition, you'd make an easy target."
I guess he had a point. I'd become more of a liability than an asset if he went back with me.
"Fine! Then drop me off at the checkpoint and go back and help Ratchet."
"I'm not going to argue with you femme! I'm merely going to fulfill my current mission and then go take down Megatron. Primus knows your Autobots are going to need all the help they can get."
I had nearly forgotten that Barricade wasn't an Autobot, but a Neutral. He had no interest in being a part of a faction anymore. It made me wonder what he planned to do after this fight was over. I probably wouldn't need him to guard me all the time now that I have both of the twins, and this was most likely the last time he'd help us out.
And I might end up losing Ratchet. The one person, or bot, that I'd actually considered my father. I don't remember anything about my father. All that I know was that he was a soldier at NEST and was killed in a Decepticon raid when I was three. Even during that time, and after, Ratchet was always there helping my mom. He's the only family I have left. If I lose him too...
I clenched my eyes shut, feeling a stray tear fall out. I snapped back up when I realized Barricade would be true to his word. In a flash I had the seatbelt unbuckled and tried to open the door.
"Sam! What are you-?"
"Saving my dad!" I glared at him, letting him know that he wasn't going to stop me.
I heard Barricade slam on the brakes.
"Enough Sam! There's nothing you can do! You'll only cause Ratchet more trouble! Don't make me have to knock you out and drag you to the checkpoint!" he shouted at me.
It was still raining and I didn't like it.
"I have to do something, Barricade, otherwise he's going to die! I can't let that happen." I fell to my knees, feeling weak, as these emotions finally burst through. "He's the only family I have left. I can't lose him too."
I couldn't see what Barricade was doing, but he was completely silent. Everything was. Except for the rain.
"Look kid, I understand how important he is to you. And I know you think you stand a chance, but you don't." There was something different in his voice. It wasn't harsh or threatening. It was almost as if there was protection in his voice.
"I have to try, don't I?" Barricade activated his holoform and we stared at each other intently, him pretty much glaring at me.
Finally he let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. But you listen to my orders and when I say run, you run. If I say hide you-"
"I hide." I finished for him. "Let's go Barricade!"
With a squeal from his tires, he immediately did a u-turn, heading back to Ratchet.
"Barricade! What are you doing? You're suppose to be at the checkpoint with Sam. Where are you going?" Ironhide's gruff voice demanded over the comm. link.
"We forgot something that belongs to her and she won't shut up about it until I go retrieve it for her." Barricade replied, sounding irritated.
"What could she have possibly forgotten that's so important you need to take her back where the Cons are?" Ironhide asked.
"My dad." I replied.
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Hey guys! Thought I'd go ahead and update this chapter! I just moved with my family and we have no Internet at the house yet...it's been like three weeks...so I'm at the local Starbucks uploading this lol. Enjoy this until I get my Internet and I'll upload the next chapter :)
Heads up though, I do have to head back to school the first week of August. I'm also working for the newspaper on campus, so I won't have a lot of free time. This story is almost over anyway, though. But there will be more! :)
Thanks for hanging in there! You guys rock!