A/N: The title kind of says it all. In this chapter we finally learn just how TC joined the Cons, Optimus is having reservations, and the stage is set for some "interesting" events to come, namely negotiations between the Cons and 'Bots, as well as a personal score that needs settling. It's a little shorter, but much is revealed. Recently, I came across a song that pretty much sums up TC's life and character; It's "Life of My Own" by 3 Doors Down. Great song in any event; give it a listen. Anyhoo, enough chatter--Enjoy!
Chapter 19: Culminations
Optimus Prime stood in the entrance way of the massive building that comprised the central complex of the Autobot base. The Autobots had been given close to 500 square acres in order to ensure their privacy and to conduct training operations as they saw fit. Being in the southern Nevada desert meant neighbors were few and far between and the large expanse of land only cushioned that security. The Autobot leader studied the first few twinkling stars that had begun to dot the evening skyline. The stillness and beauty of the desert sunset belied the turmoil that was swirling through Prime's CPU. So much had happened in the past two and half days—the Boneyard slaughter, the human's recovery, her connection with the Decepticons, Thundercracker in particular, and now the soon-to-be arrival of Starscream, the Decepticon leader himself. The humans termed it the "snowball effect," when one small event triggers an avalanche of interconnected events that seem to never stop and only grow more troublesome as time drags by.
The fact that Starscream was even considering meeting with him was enough to puzzle Prime. He had known Starscream since before the War; he had been an outstanding scientist as well as a great advisor to Megatron when he was Lord High Protectorate. When the War began, Starscream's decision to join the Decepticons surprised Optimus; he never expected for the scientist to exchange his test tubes and studies for weapons and violent action, but it happened all the same. Since the War's inception, Optimus wasn't surprised as easily as he used to be. But still, with Starscream leading the Decepticons there may be a slim chance to end this War. Starscream always had a penchant for reviewing alternative methodologies. Unfortunately, most of the methods he did come up with were of the vile and underhanded variants.
Then there was Thundercracker. Optimus inhaled a vast amount of air and then expelled it slowly through his air vents. Next to the human girl, the blue jet was the biggest conundrum in this mystery. Optimus shook his head wearily; the sound of approaching footsteps quickly drew his attention.
"Waiting for the new arrivals, Optimus?" Ratchet's rich, mechanical voice came from behind. Prime turned and gave the CMO a small smile.
"I guess you could say that, Ratchet," he replied, "I presume they will be here shortly if my estimations are correct."
"Well, you did send out a locating signal the night of the Boneyard incident; they should be arriving sometime tonight," Ratchet confirmed, stepping up to stand beside his leader. A flash of concern crossed Optimus's features as he listened to his trusted friend. The change in demeanor did not escape Ratchet's attention. "What disturbs you, Prime?" he asked gently, although he had a pretty good idea of what the answer might be.
"Several things concern me, old friend," Optimus sighed, "Tensions will certainly be tight when Starscream arrives and they will only get worse when our allies land and begin to head for the base. I also fear that a fight may be inevitable," he confided, casting a worried glance at Ratchet.
The medic seemed to mull over Optimus's words for a minute before he formulated a reply. "It's definitely a possibility; on that I won't disagree, but Starscream is a very capable leader and we both know he won't do anything foolish." He chuckled softly to himself. "In all honesty Prime, I think we should concern ourselves with the behavior of our troops more so than the Cons. The fact that we'll be having several new arrivals in the midst of negotiations will be enough to send their processors into emergency shutdown."
Optimus gave another small smile at Ratchet's wry comment. It was true; if those coming were who he thought they were, then they would have a difficult time grasping the concept that the Autobots and Decepticons were going to be having negotiations. At this point in the War, it was almost a foreign concept. But he hadn't intended for Ratchet to take his comment in that particular direction. No, there was something else bothering Optimus; he had seen the implications the moment Ironhide stepped forward and raised his cannons at the Seekers' arrival.
"That may be true, Ratchet, but that wasn't quite the fight I was referencing."
Ratchet was silent as he tried to decipher Optimus's meaning. Suddenly, understanding came to him and his cerulean optics brightened with the revelation. "You're referencing the complications between Ironhide and Thundercracker, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yes, I am," Optimus answered. "Their history is rocky at best."
"Hmmm. Indeed it is. So it's safe to assume that Ironhide has never forgiven his old friend, has he?"
"No, he hasn't," Optimus replied with a resigned sigh. "Thundercracker was a phenomenal warrior. He and Solarflare both. I would dare say they were best flyers in the Autobot army," Optimus said softly, once again turning his head to the stars. "When I heard the news of Solarflare's death and Thundercracker's betrayal…" Optimus trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.
"Optimus," Ratchet began solemnly, "you and me both know there is more to that incident than what we were told, and now that Thundercracker is here of his own free will…now may be the time to find out the other half of that story from the being to whom it all happened. I myself believe that Thundercracker never did abandon our cause completely, at least not willingly."
"What makes you say that, Ratchet?" Optimus inquired, cocking his helm to one side curiously.
"Think about it, Optimus. Thundercracker has never killed anyone unless he was attacked first, even as a Decepticon. He has only ever retaliated when close friends, family units, even innocents were in danger. That is the Autobot programming acting deep within his processor. Take this human for example," Ratchet elaborated, gesturing back inside toward the med bay, "You yourself saw how protective he was over her first at the Boneyard, then following Bumblebee here, and now within my med bay. He refuses to leave her side. Their mental connection only serves to reiterate my observations. If he ever truly were a Decepticon, I would bet my finest high grade that that girl would have long been another dust cloud floating on this planet's breezes."
Optimus pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Your observations are sound, dear friend. I have never quite put the puzzle pieces together in the way that you have and it certainly makes sense to me, but I fear Ironhide will refuse to see the connection."
"Because he doesn't want to, Optimus. To Ironhide, willingly or not, Thundercracker not only betrayed the Autobots when he sided with the Decepticons, but he also betrayed Ironhide's friendship as well."
"Do you think he killed her, Ratchet?" Optimus asked quietly, the darkness slowly embracing the desert scene before him. Off in the distance a coyote began to cry, adding to the loneliness of the landscape and the solemnity of the question asked. "Do you think he intended to kill Chromia?"
"No, Optimus, I don't. But I have been wrong before; only time will tell and if Ironhide continues acting the way he has, I think we may find out the answer to that question real soon." Ratchet then turned to leave. "I believe I'm going to go and enjoy these last brittle moments of solitude. Will you be coming inside, Optimus?" he inquired.
"I believe I may stay out here and wait for Starscream's arrival. I wouldn't want him to receive the same welcoming party that we gave Thundercracker and Skywarp," Optimus replied, a wry smile pulling at his lip components.
"Understandable, Prime," Ratchet said, grinning in return.
"I'll notify you of his arrival. Would you please ensure that Skywarp and Thundercracker are aware as well, if Starscream doesn't contact them first."
"It will be done, Prime. Good night," Ratchet said, disappearing into the warm corridors of the base.
"Good night, old friend," Optimus murmured, more to himself than his departing medic. Ratchet had certainly left him with some deep things to ponder. It was one reason Optimus enjoyed conversations with the CMO. Ratchet had a tendency to go beyond all the nuances and reveal the real issues that needed to be considered. And as Ratchet had subtly indicated, it wasn't a matter of ifIronhide and Thundercracker would fight, but it would be a matter of when.
Meanwhile back in the med bay, Thundercracker and Dezba were tucked into its far corner, recuperating from the week's earlier events. Sometime during the past few hours, Thundercracker had removed his hand from around Dezba's body; she now lay quietly against his cockpit, flat on her stomach, her good arm tucked under her chin. He, on the other hand, lay sprawled across the floor, head resting against the wall with his chin tucked into his chest. Warm air wafted from his intakes as he cycled fresh air every few minutes. The dull hum of cooling fans and other circuitry were the only other sounds in the room.
While the two gave the appearance of peaceful sleep, the reality playing within both of their dreams was a completely different ballpark. One was reliving a nightmare; the other watched from the sidelines as if she were a ghost.
A dark, navy blue Cybertronian jet streaked through the lower atmosphere of Cybertron. He needed to catch up with her, he needed to tell her not to follow through with this suicidal plan, orders or not. The whole thing reeked with 'set-up'.
Finally he saw it, the bright, twin glow of afterburners shining through the smoke. In a flash of blazing blue and orange flame, he lit his own burners and began to quickly close the gap. As he pulled up to her three o'clock, Thundercracker gently knocked wingtips with the crimson-colored wings of the other jet.
"Solarflare, please land. We need to talk."
"Not now, TC. Can't you see I've got a mission to complete?"
"That's what we need to talk about. Land, now!"
"Bossy much?"
Thundercracker gave a disparaging growl.
"OK, OK. I'll land! What flew up your thrusters and malfunctioned?"
The brightly-colored Seeker femme landed gracefully in a small clearing amidst the destruction of one of Cybertron's many small cities. She landed in a crouch, hands out before her. Thundercracker landed in a similar manner just to her fore. Solarflare slowly stood, purple optics filled with confusion as she regarded her brother. She had never seen him this agitated before; something must have really crossed his wiring in order for him to have pursued her all this way.
"Now, what is so all-fired important that you had to interrupt my mission?"
"Don't go," he said simply.
"That's it? 'Don't go'? You chased me half way around Cybertron and into Decepticon territory to tell me 'don't go?'" She snorted derisively through her vents and waved her hand dismissively. "I'm outta here."
Before she could take-off, Thundercracker reached out and grasped her arm, his massive hand enveloping her delicate limb and holding her fast.
"I said, 'don't go,'" he repeated quietly.
"Where do you get off telling me what to do?" Anger flashing in her purple optics.
"Because I'm your brother, that's why!" he replied with equal intensity.
"Exactly! Brother not father, therefore you have no right to order me around! My superiors get that privilege!"
"Solarflare, I'm tellin' you don't do it! Something isn't right with this set-up. It could be a trap."
"Look, I know you're looking out for me, Thundercracker; you wouldn't be a good brother if you didn't. But I'm a fully upgraded Seeker now; I need to make my own decisions and I need to follow my superior's orders, now you can either help me or not. That's your call."
Thundercracker reached around with his other hand and grasped Solarflare's other arm. He held her at arm's length and studied those fervent purple optics. He could see there was no changing her mind. She was out to prove that a femme Seeker could complete tasks just as dangerous as her male counterparts. She was not backing down.
He gave a long sigh. "Alright, 'Flare. We'll do this together," he finally said, relenting to her iron will. She was his sister and he would never forgive himself if something happened to her on this mission.
She nodded her head with gratitude, and then quite unpredictably, she leaped into his arms and gave the mech a large hug, her thrustered heels dangling a few feet above the ground. "Thank you so much, TC! Doing this mission means so much to me. You're the best brother ever!"
Thundercracker shifted uncomfortably with this very unsoldier-like behavior. "Well, if we're going to do this, we better get going before a patrol flies by and spots us," he suggested, peeling his younger sister off his frame and preparing for take-off.
Together the two Seekers fired their thrusters, a large cloud of metallic grit and dust surrounding their heels. In a blast of brilliant flame they transformed and blasted off into the coming night.
The attack came so suddenly, so swiftly—it had to have been preplanned; there was no other way to think about it. They had flown straight into their waiting claws.
Thundercracker and Solarflare had flown low over the land in order to avoid detection from the Decepticon Seekers in the upper atmosphere. Solarflare had planned the route meticulously; there was to be no known Decepticon patrols. As they flew through one of the steeper canyons, energy nets seemed to materialize out of thin air.
The energy-sapping netting pulled the two Seekers to the ground; a harsh tug caused them to nose down and over, crashing into the unforgiving metallic ground upside down. He heard her groan painfully, saw the energon begin to coat the canyon's floor. They couldn't transform; the netting leeched their energy making them nearly immobile. His wings ached something terrible; he was injured as well, but at the moment he was more concerned for Solarflare.
Heavy footsteps shook the ground on which they lay and then he heard the voice. It was a voice that struck fear into the spark of many an Autobot, a voice that once gave assurance and confidence, but now instilled terror and dread. But for Thundercracker, the voice confirmed his worst fears.
"Well now, Thundercracker. I must say this is a pleasant surprise. We were expecting only Solarflare for this 'meeting', but you are more than welcome to join in," the voice of Megatron cut into the night like an energon blade through armor. Thundercracker could hear various other mechs snicker and laugh all around him. The blue Seeker had been right; it had been an ambush, but he wished he had never been more wrong.
The next scene flashed to Thundercracker being restrained by two unknown Decepticons, his sister was bound to a wall before him. A mech he had seen several times back in Vos leaned against the room's far corner. His powerful arms were crossed over his cockpit; he regarded the scene before him with indiscernible, red optics. Starscream. That was the flyer's name.
Megatron paced ominously between the two captives. His optics were glowing a deep, malignant maroon. He stopped before Solarflare and grasped her fine chin with his claws, forcing her to look into his face. The massive Decepticon leader almost dwarfed the Seeker femme, but her purple optics burned with defiance.
"Two for the price of one," the leader growled softly. "How convenient."
"Leave her alone!" Thundercracker snarled, lunging against the Cons pinioning his arms. As fast as a cracking whip, Megatron snapped around and backhanded the navy Seeker. Thundercracker's head snapped around due to the force of the blow; he felt the metal that composed his helmet buckle and bend with the impact. Vaguely, he heard Solarflare cry out angrily and then heard the mocking laugh of the Decepticon leader. Megatron then stepped up into Thundercracker's face and smirked evilly.
"By coming with your sibling, you've saved me a great deal of trouble, Thundercracker."
The blue Seeker raised his head defiantly, but said nothing.
"You should have joined the Decepticons from the outset, Seeker," Megatron said softly in his face.
"I would rather crash and burn in the Smelting Pools than follow you, Megatron," Thundercracker rumbled in return.
"As would I, you walking slagheap!" Thundercracker heard his sister's retort. He grinned inwardly to himself.
"Silence!" Megatron snapped. He turned to Solarflare. "You have served your purpose, femme. Your life now rests in the hands of your brother."
"What are you talking about!?" Solarflare exclaimed, her optics now reflecting confusion and anger.
"I thought it was obvious," Megatron replied. "You should have listened to your brother, femme. Some missions are just too good to be true."
The silence was suffocating. Solarflare's optics widened with surprise and then dimmed to a dark violet. "We were betrayed?" she asked softly, shock and hurt permeating her voice.
"My, you are a smart one," Megatron sneered. "Did you really think that I would stand to let the Autobots keep one of the best Seekers in all of Cybertron?" He faced Thundercracker once more. "I'm willing to be generous Thundercracker. Join me and my Decepticons; swear an oath of allegiance and denounce your Autobot loyalty. If you do so, I will spare this pathetic collection of scrapmetal which is your sister. Refuse my offer and I will ensure you watch every last astrosecond of her death and it will not be quick, of that I can assure you. Your choice, Seeker."
It felt as if liquid nitrogen had been poured over his spark. How dare Megatron thrust such a repulsive decision on his shoulders!? His loyalty was to the Autobots, forever and always! But it was either betray his sister to her death and refuse to join or betray his faction to save her life. It was a lose-lose situation and Megatron knew it. And who was to say that Megatron would keep his word and spare Solarflare anyway, even if he did decide to join? He hung his head in defeat.
"You promise you won't harm her?"
"Thundercracker! Don't do it! Don't worry about me!"
"I promise."
The blue jet sighed heavily, the air rattling his vents. "Very well, Megatron. If it means 'Flare is spared, then so be it."
"TC, NOOO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
"Good." In a silver flash, the Decepticon leader had whirled on the femme and gripped her tightly by the throat. She gasped and struggled against Megatron's iron grip. Her panicked cries filling the room.
"Thundercracker, help me, PLEASE!"
"NO! Let her go Megatron!"
"Oh, I think not, Thundercracker!"
"YOU SWORE TO ME!" he roared. Anger raced through his systems. With a strength he didn't know he possessed, Thundercracker swung his arms together, causing the two Cons that held them to crash into each other. Reaching up with his right hand, he disengaged his left wing. In a fluid motion, the wingtip morphed and flowed until it resembled a fierce sword, glowing and crackling with blue energy. In two swift movements both Decepticon mechs were beheaded. Just as Thundercracker turned to face the tyrant, an audio-shattering scream pierced the room, causing the remaining mechs to flinch from its intensity.
Thundercracker stood staring in horror, his sword upraised over his right shoulder, ready to strike. There before him, Megatron held Solarflare aloft by her throat in one hand; in the other a nasty conglomeration of wiring and other circuitry dangled from his claws like spaghetti, energon dripping indiscriminately to the floor, but in the midst of it all was a pulsing, blue orb—it was Solarflare's spark.
Her body convulsed one, two times before finally going limp; the colors on her armor fading to a dull gray.
Megatron glared at Thundercracker, triumph in his optics. "Rule number one in the Decepticon army—never trust the word of another Decepticon." Cruelty burned in his optics as he cast the lifeless body of Solarflare to the side. Walking up to the stunned Seeker, he punched Thundercracker across the face, sending the flyer to his knees and his sword sailing. More alarms went off and lights flashed across his HUD display as Megatron followed up with a vicious kick to his chest, rupturing his armor. Then the beating stopped and Megatron knelt down beside him and whispered into his audios, "Rule Number Two—Family only makes you weak…weak…weak…weak…"
With a start, Dezba jerked awake, cold sweat rolling down her body. Her ribs ached horribly and her arm throbbed in painful pulses, but that wasn't what quite woke her. The dream had been so vivid, so real, the emotions so raw. It hadn't been like anything she had envisioned previously. There had been no mist, no mysterious figure that gave her puzzling phrases to mull over; it was almost as if she had just witnessed someone else's nightmare…
Slowly she pushed herself up onto her knees, wincing as the various injuries protested her movements. Here wide, hazel eyes traveled up and stopped on Thundercracker's face. His optics were already blazing with life. She watched the delicate rods and spheres within his optics twist and rotate as he focused on her form.
Slowly she crawled along Thundercracker's chest plating, following the curvature of his cockpit. When she reached his face, Dezba turned and sat in the crook between his neck plating and his wing joints. She wasn't too sure that she should be doing this, but he hadn't given an objection yet. Once she was settled comfortably against his neck, she leaned against him and gave a tired sigh.
"I didn't disturb you, did I?" he rumbled softly, one large red optic regarding her with mild concern.
"Depends," she replied vaguely, studying her new cast. "How long have you been awake?" she inquired.
"No more than a couple kliks at the most. Your movement woke me completely."
"I had a dream, a very vivid dream," she said, almost whispering her words. "You and this one other robot were in it." She felt him stiffen beneath her.
"What did this other robot look like?" he asked almost hesitantly.
"I…I think it was female. It looked feminine to me. She or it resembled you, only slighter in build, thinner wings and the coloring was real vibrant; I think it wore a bright shade of red, orange and silver."
No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she felt her guardian shudder. The sudden movement caused her to cling to his armor, her one good arm snaking into a crevice and gripping the wires within.
"What's wrong?" she asked, concern lacing her voice. "TC? Tell me what's wrong." It was the first time Dezba had ever referred to him using his nickname, but either the Seeker didn't hear or he didn't care. His trembling eased and Dezba slowly relaxed her grip on his cables. He shifted his bulk, sitting up straighter against the wall. With his left hand he reached up and gently grasped the girl and brought her before his optics. For the first time since she had known the Decepticon, Dezba saw pain and sadness within those deep, crimson depths. She could feel the whirlpool of emotions swirling within his processor; she could sense that the being she had described had some sort of a strong connection with her guardian. Amidst the swirling emotions she was able to glean certain snippets of some very familiar images, images she herself had just dreamed; this both frightened her and intrigued her.
"You dreamed of her too, didn't you?"
Thundercracker didn't reply at first, but then slowly turned his head from her and shuttered his optics. "I did."
Before either of them could say anything more, a flash of brilliant purple light illuminated the med bay. Skywarp materialized within the large room, two large containers held in each hand. He cocked his head to one side and quirked an optic ridge as he regarded the curious scene before him—Thundercracker sitting casually against the wall, the human female sitting within his wingmate's palm, a somewhat startled expression on her features.
"I'm not interrupting anything here, am I?" Skywarp asked innocently, a somewhat sardonic glint in his ruby-colored optics.
Thundercracker snorted derisively, the old fire returning to his optics. "Can it, Warp," he growled warningly, not really in the mood to put up with Skywarp's sarcasm.
Skywarp shrugged his wings, but the devilish glint in his eye had yet to disperse. "Hey, you're the one that appears to be in deep thought, not me. I thought I'd bring ya something to refuel," he raised one hand to indicate one of the containers.
Thundercracker took one of the containers that Skywarp offered him and drew a long draught. Dezba watched him with a curious look in her hazel eyes; she had never seen him "refuel" before. "What is that?" she asked, peering over the edge of the container and watching the swirling eddies in the pink liquid.
"Energon," Thundercracker replied gruffly. He watched her eyebrows knit together in confusion and smirked behind another gulp of the viscous fluid. "It's liquid energy. The best form of energy in order to sustain our critical systems."
"Oh," she said simply, not fully understanding, but her curiosity sated for the time being. She could sense that the large, blue Seeker was still disturbed by their shared vision. What's bothering you? she asked telepathically.
Need you ask? came his snappish reply.
Someone's a little grumpy! I was just trying to be civil!
Save it.
How about shove it!? Up your afterburners!
It would be so easy to crush you right now.
You've gone through too much trouble to get me back to just turn around and kill me. Counterproductive, don't you think?
Who said I was going to kill you? Maybe I was just going to squeeze you until you passed out again, therefore giving me some peace of mind!
OK, OK! I'll shut up now. But this isn't over; I want to know why that dream upset you and for that matter, why we both had it to begin with.
Another time, another place.
While this conversation was taking place, neither of the two discussers noticed Skywarp come briefly to attention, nor did they notice that several seconds later, the purple and black Seeker was trying to capture their notice.
"Hey! Are you guys even listening to me?" Skywarp growled, waving a black and purple hand in front of his blue wingmate.
"Huh, Oh sorry, Warp. Internal conversation," Thundercracker said, leveling a hard glare at the human in his hand. Dezba stuck her tongue out in retaliation. She winced slightly as Thundercracker half-heartedly clenched his hand.
"I don't even want to know," Skywarp moaned, holding his face in one hand.
"So what were you saying?" Dezba inquired, trying to draw the conversation off of herself and Thundercracker.
Skywarp tinkered with the back of his helm, trying to recall the exact subject of the medic's transmission. Suddenly his optics brightened as he remembered said transmission. "Oh, yeah. We've got company."
"Please tell me it's Starscream," Thundercracker said beseechingly.
"Nope. Autobot reinforcements."
