A/N: Welcome to chapter 15, readers. In this chapter, I'll take you back and fill in the details of Skywarp and Dezba's lost days, so to speak. I hope that by doing this, I've built Warp up as a character in this story. He may play some pivotal roles later down the road. Thanks again for reading and please enjoy! Also, italics indicates a flashback.
Chapter 15: The Art of Revenge
Thundercracker stepped out of the repair bay feeling like a brand new mech. He flexed his arms and stretched his wings until the very tips brushed the ceiling. All his injuries had been completely repaired, including the ones from his crash in the forest. Now it was time to meet with Starscream and determine a plan of action.
Behind him Barricade finished cleaning the various tools used in his repair. "Don't get too comfortable, flesh lover," he growled in a low, menacing tone.
Thundercracker turned to regard the interceptor. "You got a problem, ground-grunt?" he snarled back in an equally dangerous voice.
"Yeah, it's standing in my way," Barricade replied, stepping up to the blue Seeker. Standing at just chest level on the jet, Barricade could still be considered a very dangerous foe. There was a very good reason that the Saleen was considered to be the best shock trooper in the Decepticon army. He glared at Thundercracker, his vehemence nearly palpable. "Starscream may have gone easy on you, but don't expect the rest of us to welcome you back with open arms, traitor."
Barricade stood inches from the burly jet; the stare-down continued for a minute longer before the black and white Con snorted derisively and walked down the corridor towards the Command Center.
Thundercracker continued to stand in the doorway of the repair bay, his optics searing the spot Barricade had vacated. His thoughts were on the interceptor's last word—traitor. It was a two-edged sword and Barricade knew it.
He needn't worry about the Saleen faultily repairing him; his repair job would be subject to Starscream's scrutiny—no, he would need to watch his tailfins on the battlefield—where anything could go wrong. He turned and followed Barricade's path down the darkened hallway.
When he reached the Command Center, the reception was less than warm—in fact, Thundercracker could feel the stone cold hostility attack his sensors. On the right side of the room stood Barricade, Runabout and Runamuck flanking either side. Barricade's optics still held a murderous storm, but the rest of his features were unreadable. The two twins glowered and sneered quietly behind his back. Thundercracker discerned words such as "pet" and "human-lover." It rankled that he couldn't put them their place, but there was a time and place for every lesson and now was neither the time nor place.
On the left hand side of the room, stood Skywarp and Soundwave. The black and purple Seeker had taken quite a beating from the humans. Had Barricade not been on his trail hunting him and the girl down, Skywarp would have probably ended up as a sick wall display. He had been in the repair bay offline when Thundercracker entered for his repairs. The blue jet felt a pang of guilt in his spark; it was his fault that his one friend had almost been terminated. He made a mental note to see Skywarp as soon as this meeting was over. The aforementioned Seeker had a detached look on his face, an expression that clearly said 'I'd-rather-be-anywhere-than-here'.
Standing the closest to the front of the room was Soundwave. Starscream had given him a brief account of the Communication Officer's repair. The Air Commander himself repaired the damage dealt by Thundercracker's hand (and thrusters). Most of the injuries were moderately serious but not life-threatening. Like Thundercracker, the Communication Officer had been built to withstand all types of frequencies and intensities of sound. Thundercracker studied the black mech before him; the new visor glinted unemotionally under the weak lighting. Unlike Skywarp, he didn't feel an ounce of guilt for his actions against the F-117. Soundwave had attempted and nearly succeeded in destroying his and Dezba's mind. Even though Starscream had given the order, Soundwave could have opted to use less "invasive" methods of persuasion.
His thoughts strayed to Dezba while they awaited Starscream's arrival. He had been unable to establish contact with the human since he had learned of her capture; it disturbed him deeply. If only he could connect with her, he could obtain some knowledge as to her whereabouts, but as he stood now, they had only Barricade's intelligence to go on.
Suddenly, Starscream appeared in the entranceway, his bulk blocking the lighting of the hallways. After pausing in the doorway to assess his soldiers, Starscream then walked slowly up the center of the room to stand beside Soundwave. It was time to begin the meeting.
"He's dead, Optimus! Agent Simmons…I couldn't get there in time…It happened so quickly…" Bumblebee exclaimed in a rush of words.
Optimus looked up from his station in the Command Center. "Slow down, Bumblebee," the Autobot leader said calmly while placing his hands on the scout's shoulder. "Now tell me what has happened to Agent Simmons." Optimus had not seen Bumblebee this agitated since the battle at Mission City.
The yellow scout drew a deep draught of air through his intake manifold in an attempt to steady his processor. "He's been terminated, Optimus, sir," the scout replied in much more even tone.
"You are positive, Bumblebee?"
"Yes, sir. I found his vehicle overturned approximately 45 miles south of Mission City. He had been shot through the human's primary circulatory organ."
Optimus released his hold of the scout's shoulders; his expression showed deep concern. "Did you see who committed this crime?"
"No, sir. I was following him just as you ordered, staying just out of sight and keeping track on my scanner. When his vehicle stopped I continued until I was in optical range. But by the time I got within that range this is what I found." The scout proceeded to show the Autobot leader a holographic recording of the grisly scene.
When Optimus had seen the full recording, he shuttered his optics and raised a hand to his forehead, slowly shaking it back and forth.
"I notified the human law enforcement as soon as possible, but they do not know it was I," Bumblebee added.
"Very good, Bumblebee. We must assemble the other Autobots immediately. I cannot help but assume that Simmon's death is somehow related to the information he gave us shortly before leaving."
"Skywarp, I must speak with you."
"What?" the black Seeker replied with unveiled hostility.
Thundercracker approached his wingmate with steady strides. He knew that Skywarp would probably be more than a little angry with him after these past events. He only hoped that Skywarp would forgive him; if not, well, Thundercracker had walked the loner's path long before he and Skywarp were friends. If necessary, he would do it again.
"What happened?" the indigo Cybertronian asked.
"Do you really have to ask, Thundercracker? I got the slag beat out of me by a bunch of Pit-spawned fleshbags, no thanks to you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have Starscream's orders to fill." Skywarp turned to walk down the corridor, but was brought up short when a clawed hand grabbed his right wingtip, spun him around and slammed him into the wall.
"Warp, listen to me and listen good because I don't like to repeat myself. I apologize to you for pulling you into this predicament; Primus knows I had enough on my landing struts when this happened. But of all the bots in this base, I thought you would be first to understand my actions, especially since you were there when I augered into the dirt!" Thundercracker released his iron hold on Skywarp's shoulder. He then continued, "She's not just a human, Skywarp!"
"I know, slag it!" the black jet retorted angrily. "You've told me this before!"
"Tell me what happened, Warp," repeated Thundercracker, his steady gaze boring into Skywarp's own optics.
At first, the blue jet didn't think his wingmate would answer him. Skywarp looked away from him and stared at the floor with such intensity, the cobalt Con thought he'd melt a hole in the floor. When Skywarp did speak, his voice was muted and shamed.
"We should have stayed where we were, at least we would have been within com distance…
"Do you feel like a flight?"
"Isn't that risky?"
"Sure. But it's better than sitting here just waiting for someone to find us, besides I always think better when I'm in the air anyway," he said, standing to his full height and scooping Dezba up in the process. Before she had time to protest she was tossed into his cockpit and they were off shooting up into the clouds high above the earth. Dezba had a sinking feeling that this wasn't going to go well.
They flew for the better part of the night and for once Skywarp didn't have a whole lot to say. He was busy mulling all this new information over in his processor, trying to make heads or tails of the situation. He knew that the human was valuable—that much was clear. However things began to grow a little murky when he considered other stakeholders in this game. On one hand, there was Starscream, his leader and trinemate. And as such, Starscream should be the first to know of anything that seemed strange and out of place—such as the human's strange connection with TC. But it seemed as if Screamer was in the dark as much as everyone else with the exception of Thundercracker. Which, that led into his next concern, TC. The largest Seeker of the three, Thundercracker was the type of mech who really didn't want to have anything to do with anyone. Their friendship had solidified purely on the basis of Skywarp's dogged determination to never leave the big, blue Con alone. Over the centuries, the blue Seeker had slowly opened up to reveal a few tidbits of his life, once he realized he would have a permanent second shadow. But there was still a great deal Skywarp did not know of his friend. In fact, he had tried to find out several times Thundercracker's past—where he came from, who his creators were, why he joined the Decepticons—but each time he was met with Thundercracker's deadly glare or a warning from Starscream that he was cruising to a quick and early deactivation, most often it was both. He eventually learned to leave well enough alone and just accepted the fact that he may never know.
But the human instigated a whole new avenue of curiosity. Sure he knew that TC and the fleshling had a weird (and somewhat disgusting) mental connection. But why go to the extreme of protecting her as if she were a fellow Cybertronian-in-arms? Self-preservation, perhaps? Nah, if anything TC was the type of mech that would welcome termination. Skywarp growled in frustration. Would he ever completely understand his seemingly psychotic wingmate? And most mechs thought he was a few bolts short of a fully functioning processor…Ha, as if!
He focused his scanners inward on the girl. She was resting against his cockpit glass staring morosely out over the landscape. All this hype over one pathetic fleshling.
Dezba allowed her thoughts to wander as she watched the scenery below her flash by in a blur of greens, browns, and yellows. Was Thundercracker OK? Would he make it to meet them? Since her life had turned into a living hell that fateful night at dinner, he, whether willingly or not, had become her one anchor point. He was the one robot she did not fear. Starscream terrified her, even if he was the mech that had doctored her. And yeah, let's not even mention Soundwave. Barricade had little love for humans as it was and the two Vipers—well, as long as they could wreak havoc they were satisfied to leave her alone. Was staying with the Decepticons such a good idea? Then again, where could she have gone? It wasn't as if she could have walked out anytime she pleased.
Skywarp's idea for a flight soothed her nerves somewhat. Her first flight had been with Thundercracker and although it had some scary elements to it, deep down she had enjoyed it. Flying with Skywarp produced the same calming effect and since she was awake to fully enjoy it she marveled at how good it felt. It seemed almost as if she had left every problem she ever had back on the ground—it was a very liberating feeling.
Skywarp's voice broke into her musings. "What do you think, human?" He yawed slightly to the left and allowed her a more comprehensive view of the earth below.
She stared in awe, taking in every minute detail she could. Farms appeared as a multi-colored green and brown patchwork quilt; the roads resembled the threads that would bind such a beautiful sight. Further on the horizon, she saw the great Rocky Mountains glistening in the early morning light. It was absolutely stunning. "It's gorgeous," she whispered to the glass.
Skywarp slowly righted his flight path and began a slow turn back towards the mountains. Suddenly, the black Eagle rotated into a vicious barrel-roll slamming Dezba into the glass and reminding her of past injuries that had yet to completely heal.
"What was that for!?" she cried indignantly.
"Shut-up, squishy!" came the retort, followed by another vicious roll. This time, Dezba caught sight of what instigated the jet's sporadic behavior. A plume of gray smoke shot past Skywarp's upraised wingtip and disappeared into the cloudbank ahead. It was a missile.
"Shit! Where did THAT come from!?"
"Them," the black and purple Con replied easily. Dezba quickly turned around in the seat to see a squadron of almost twelve dots tailing their smoke trail. At that point she faced forward, her face white and blank; robotically she began to fasten the safety harness.
The next few minutes became the most terrifying and exhilarating moments in the girl's life. Skywarp dove, rolled, and flipped in a series of aerobatic maneuvers that would have made a Blue Angel pilot jealous. The intense g-forces pushed Dezba's consciousness to the limit. Several times she blacked out only to wake up several seconds later about to engage in another evasive maneuver. Skywarp then executed a perfect Kulbit, forcing his pursuers to overshoot their target and allowing the Seeker to slip in behind them. He launched his own assault, and cackled gleefully as three jets began to smoke and tilt earthward.
However the remaining nine quickly banked and countered his assault. Even though Skywarp was more powerful one-on-one than the human's F-22s, he was no match for their numbers and combined firepower. He rolled again as another volley of missiles streaked passed his ailerons, but this time, he wasn't so lucky. One missile clipped his left wingtip. The black Con growled in pain as he began to spin towards the ground. Dezba covered her eyes having no desire to see the earth well up to meet them. Then, she felt the aircraft slowly pitch upwards and heard Skywarp groan with effort. She uncovered her eyes to see that they were skimming the tree tops and making a beeline for a large canyon. Dezba turned around to see if the jets were still following—they were, flying at a slightly higher altitude and strangely, not attacking.
"They know…you're with me," her transport ground out. "That and they won't fire on me at this low of altitude—not with so many fraggin'…human residences…around."
"Yeah, OK," she replied, casting a glance to his injured wing. "How's that wing?"
"Painful. Going to land…in this canyon…try and hold 'em off until reinforcements…arrive."
She nodded silently as the foreboding canyon swallowed them into its shadowy depths. Skywarp's landing was less than gentle. He began to transform midflight while simultaneously reaching inside his cockpit and withdrawing his terrified passenger. He clutched her tightly to his chassis and hit the ground hard on his right shoulder, rolling with the impact to prevent further damage. Dezba screamed hysterically as she was tightly curled in his fist. What had been a peaceful, reflective flight had turned into the amusement park ride from hell. Skywarp ground to a stop in a cloud of red dust; he was on his back, one arm outstretched above his head, the other firmly pressed against his shattered cockpit.
Slowly, he opened his hand to see the human shaking uncontrollably, but alive nonetheless. With a grunt, he rolled to his side and deposited the quivering heap in the dirt, then unsteadily climbed to his feet.
Dezba wrapped her arms around her head as a shower of dirt and small pebbles rained down upon her. As the second cloud of dust slowly drifted apart she could distinguish Skywarp's large, metallic feet on either side of her. Shakily, she stood up and brushed the dust from her clothing. Her ribs ached dully, but otherwise she felt OK.
"There's a shallow cave behind me. Hide there," came the command from somewhere high up.
"But why…"
"DO IT NOW, FLESHBAG!"
The intensity of his command, cut off any more words she was about to say. Casting another glance up at the towering Seeker, she quickly ran for the shadowy opening. She crouched behind a smile pile of talus and cautiously watched the opening of the box canyon. It wasn't long that she understood why Skywarp had been so brusque with her—she distinctly heard the rumble of several vehicles.
The black and purple jet crouched low to the ground. A pink, viscous fluid mixed with the dirt caked around his injured wing, creating a vile-looking brownish sludge that slowly matriculated down his wing and onto his lower chassis. His weaponry thrummed in the silence adding to his dangerous air. He resembled a giant, living shadow in the bright sunlight and death and destruction radiated from his being. These pathetic insects had dared to attack him, Skywarp! His pride screamed for retribution.
Slowly the caravan of vehicles approached the angered Decepticon, but these particular vehicles were unlike any he had ever seen or scanned. A multitude of humans climbed from these strange war vehicles like a swarm of nanobots, each armed with a rifle-like weapon. Some were dressed in blue uniforms with German-style helmets. Red kerchiefs shielded their faces from view. Dezba also noted a strange snake-like sigil on the front of each one's ches; she had never seen that symbol before. Others were dressed exactly as the SWAT team that had attacked her home those few days before. One human stepped out in front of the others. He looked strangely out of place wearing a black business suit. He removed his shades to reveal eyes as cold as ice.
"Give us the girl, Decepticon, and we may leave your scrapheap of a body for your buddies to find."
"I don't take orders from insects, like you," Dezba heard Skywarp reply, poison dripping from each word. "The human belongs to us."
"I was afraid you'd say that. Oh well, have it your way. Turn him into a molten puddle, boys!"
The fight that ensued raged for three long, agonizing hours. During that span of time, Skywarp fought like a black demon. The strange, tank-like vehicles packed the worst punch; several of those were armed with a powerful rail cannon that all but destroyed the Seeker's thick Cybertronian armor. The ground units were armed with laser rifles that seemed to be straight from a sci-fi movie. In fact, the whole battle seemed to be straight from a sci-fi movie.
Dezba watched helplessly as her surrogate protector fought to save their lives. She tried desperately to contact Thundercracker, to alert him of their plight, but was met with only a blank void.
Suddenly, a thunderous crash whipped her out of her thoughts. She stared in alarm and fear at Skywarp's shattered baulk lying in the dirt. Without thinking, she ran from the cave screaming his name.
"Skywarp! NO!"
Dezba rushed to his side and desperately tried to climb up to his cockpit. Rough hands grabbed her by the shoulders and yanked her off the blackened and charred metal. She saw Skywarp's hand move feebly in her direction, as if he was still trying to protect her. His optics flashed intermittently before dimming altogether. She screamed into the night wind, fighting the men for all she was worth. Several of them would be black and blue by morning. But it was all for naught. They drug her before the well-dressed leader and stood at attention on either side.
Dezba gasped as she recognized the very man who had ruined her life. "You!"
"Yes, me Ms. Collins," he said silkily, before grabbing her roughly by the arm. "You'll be staying with us from now on." The man then produced a large syringe and drove it deep into her shoulder. She gasped again before collapsing to the ground as the sedative took instant affect. The stranger gave a sickening laugh as he watched her get tossed into the backseat of an armored SUV. "Your metal friends can't save you now!"
Thundercracker stared into Skywarp's optics for the longest time. Skywarp returned the stare with one of equal intensity. "Barricade came shortly after they left. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if that fragger watched them beat the slag out of me before coming to help. It took us the remainder of the day to make it back here," Skywarp snarled softly. He turned his helm away once again. "I tried my best, TC, but those slaggin' germs had me outgunned and outnumbered. I was low on energy as it was, but even if I was at full power I don't think I'd have been able to hold them off."
"I'm surprised you held them off as long as you did, Warp. Three earth hours is a long time to fight a battle you knew you couldn't win," Thundercracker said quietly. "If their weapons are as powerful as you say they are we may have our work cut out for us."
"Believe me, TC. I've been shot at many times by humans, but the power this group of insects packed…" he trailed off, "well, you saw what happened." Suddenly he turned and punched the wall with such viciousness that Thundercracker withdrew a step.
"I knew she was important to you, TC!" Skywarp raged. "And bumbling ol' Skywarp had to go and mess things up as usual!" He slowly withdrew his fist from the crater in the wall; he felt Thundercracker place a hand on his shoulder.
"Listen to me, Warp. I'm the one to blame for this whole mess and I'm going to be the one to set things right. You did what was right by you and I don't fault anyone but my own stupidity," he paused trying to think of the best way to phrase his next words. "I want to…thank you for your loyalty to me, Skywarp. Not since I've lost my sister has anyone stood by side as you have these past three solar cycles."
Skywarp slowly turned and faced the hulking blue Seeker. He was shocked to say the least. In all the millennia he had known Thundercracker he had not once heard the blue Seeker mention any family of any kind, let alone a sister. Confusion and shock mixed across his countenance at this revelation. "You have a sister?" he asked tentatively.
"Had," came the brusque reply. "In another life before I sold my soul to the Unmaker himself." Bitterness permeated each word, but just as quickly as it came it left. "Let's go, Warp. We've got some unfinished business to take of. I want to show these meatbags exactly what it means to take from the Decepticons!"
"Now you're speaking my lingo, TC. Let's go catch up with the others!"
Together the two wingmates entered the entry bay, transformed and blasted out of the base, their afterburners setting the sky on fire. They would pay. They would pay dearly for what they had done—not only for taking Dezba, but for nearly offlining Skywarp as well and if there was one thing Thundercracker had perfected over the eons, it was the art of revenge.
