ATE: Yes! I finally managed to finish this chapter after slaving over if for three days straight! Yes, you read right! THREE DAYS STRAIGHT! And I managed to get it done before I have to go back to college for my fall semester on the 20th. Okay, I gotta thank Crystalmaiden62, Sailor Shinzo, Screamer's Prime, Bee4ever, storygirl99210, Autobot NightFury, Autobot-Bre, and lilbit for their review for the previous chapter and anyone else that's still reading TDATS or has gotten this far. Like the chapter title says, this one's covers the events of Episode 47 (Portent) from Armada. I'll even admit that this chapter is kinda dark compared to previous chapters of TDATS, so expect that much when you read this. I hope you like it.
Declaimer: I don't own Transformers, Transformers Armada, or any else that might be referenced in this chapter. I do own my OCs Valerie and Astera.
Chapter 24 - Portent
"Tell me again, Rad. Why did you guys come to Cybertron?" Hot Shot asked, gazing down at us.
"We came to rescue the Mini-Cons." Rad answered. "I figured you guys could use all the help you could get. And we weren't much good just hanging around on the Autobots' ship."
"Man, it was totally boring out there." Carlos said.
"Yeah, we're just so lucky. Starscream found us and brought us down to the planet." Alexis added.
"Starscream found you?" Hot Shot asked.
"Yeah, that's right. And he's a really good friend of ours."
"I dunno if I'd call him a friend yet." Carlos said, looking at Alexis.
'Oh no.' I thought when Alexis turned to Carlos after hearing his comment.
"What do you mean by that, Carlos?" Alexis asked, glaring at him.
"He saved us. That's all." Carlos looked uneasy.
"Because he's our friend?" Alexis turned away from Carlos and crossed her arms. "What does he have to do for you guys to trust him, anyway?"
"Needs to surrender." Hot Shot deadpanned.
"Is Starscream still chasing after Thrust?" Wheeljack asked.
"You betcha." Carlos replied. "So let's go after him!"
"No way. Because it's far too dangerous for all of you." Hot Shot said.
"Aw, Hot Shot! We came to help out and all we've done so far is stand here and talk. We're wasting time!"
"He's got a point." Alexis added. "If we don't get moving, Thrust will give the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster to Unicron!"
"Yeah, but –"
"We've got High Wire and the other Mini-Cons with us, so we'll be able to look after ourselves." Rad said.
Both Alexis and Carlos nodded while humming in agreement.
"You know, these kids could be useful." Wheeljack said, causing Hot Shot to look at him. "Whatever happens, we can't let Thrust hand over those weapons to Unicron."
"Yeah, okay." Hot Shot sighed in defeat before looking down at us. "But ya gotta stay close to all of us."
"It's a deal!" Carlos exclaimed before turning to Grindor. "C'mon, Grindor, let's go!" The Mini-Con bleeped before transforming into a skateboard, allowing Carlos to jump on. "Woohoo! Yay, c'mon!" Carlos started riding off, but before he could get far Hot Shot merely picked him up between his thumb and forefinger while Grindor kept going. "Whoa! Hey, come on, let me down!"
"Cool it." Hot Shot said dully as he held Carlos with both hands.
"What?!"
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"Optimus! The kids are down on the planet!" Red Alert exclaimed when he entered the room.
"Huh?" Optimus said, turning to the monitor to see the image of Hot Shot holding Carlos with both hands.
"Stand by. We have an incoming transmission, sir."
The screen switched to show Rad, Alexis, and Valerie. Optimus was surprised by the fact that she was with them as well, especially knowing how protective Jetfire was when it came to her.
"Optimus, I'm sorry, but I know the Mini-Cons need our help down here." Rad told them.
"Some friends they are." Billy scoffed as he and Fred walked into the room. "They better not have left us behind and headed back to Earth."
"Yeah, you said it." Fred agreed, and that was when he noticed what was on the monitor. "What the?!"
"Huh?!" Both Billy and Fred exclaimed in surprise.
"Please, try to understand." Alexis said. "We're willing to do whatever it takes to save the Mini-Cons."
The screen then switched back to Hot Shot and Carlos.
"We've got work to do. C'mon, let us go, Optimus!" Carlos added.
"So do they have your permission, Optimus-sir?" Hot Shot asked.
"Uhhh..." Optimus thought for a moment before answering. "Very well. You're good to go. But I don't want you to do anything too risky, understand?"
The screen switched to Rad, Alexis, and Valerie.
"That's awesome!" Alexis said excitedly.
"Hey, thanks a lot, Optimus!" Rad said.
"Take care of them, Hot Shot." Optimus ordered.
The screen switched back to Hot Shot and Carlos again.
"Hey, they're in good hands! Don't worry." Hot Shot said reassuringly before the transmission ended.
Billy and Fred started protesting as then ran over to stand in front of the monitor.
"Not fair! We don't ever get to do any good stuff." Fred complained.
"Aw, man. This is such a rip-off." Billy added.
"I think we should send someone along to back them up, sir." Red Alert suggested after turning to face Optimus.
"Good idea." Optimus replied, nodding in agreement. "Contact Jetfire at once."
'Knowing Jetfire he's not going to be happy to find out that Valerie left.' He thought. 'But then again, letting him know about this could encourage him to get the job done quick.'
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Jetfire never felt so alive as he flew through the Cybertronian skies over the battlefield down below. The fact that explosions were going off everywhere due to the conflict did little to take away from his exhilarated mood. After having stayed on Earth while fighting the Decepticons for as long as he had made him realize that those battle had been nothing more than child's play compared to the one he was now in. The battles on Cybertron – those were real battles! And to him they described his definition of battles to a T. But unlike the battles they fought back on Earth Jetfire didn't have to worry about fighting the enemy in secluded locations away from the curious eyes of humans and risk being discovered. On Cybertron he was in his natural environment where he could fly through the skies freely and unhindered. And it was the excitement he got from the battles on Cybertron that got the energon in his system pumping.
"Aaallllright!" Jetfire cheered enthusiastically as he flew over the battlefield. "Well, that was some fireworks display, fellas, but who said you could start the party without me?!"
The Decepticon soldiers on the ground became aware of Jetfire's presence and started firing at him, but the shuttle mech merely smirked behind his face mask before shooting at them with his blaster. That didn't stop the enemy from firing at him. having Jetfire knew that he still had to deliver Optimus' orders to the Autobot soldiers that were still fighting.
'But that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun.' He thought mischievously. And when he spotted a certain giant Decepticon on the battlefield Jetfire grinned. 'And I think I just found my target!'
"Show-off." He heard Tidal Wave say before Jetfire flew right past him. And the results were priceless when the Decepticons accidentally unleashed some 'friendly fire' on their large ally.
"Ha, ha, hahaha!" Jetfire laughed gleefully, making a U-turn and flying past all the Autobot soldiers that were still on the battlefield. "Listen up, Autobots! Head office says we're pulling out and moving on right now!"
Jetfire didn't really pay attention to what the various Autobot soldiers were saying and as he flew away he spotted Blurr on the ground, gazing up at him as if he'd been waiting for him for some time. He made his way over to him.
"What's up, Blurr?" Jetfire asked, landing in front of him.
"Jetfire, Optimus has an important mission for you." The blue Autobot told him.
"An important mission, eh? Just how important are we talking here?"
"Important enough to convince you to take this mission a little more seriously than you usually do."
"And what does this mission entail?"
"Provide backup and possibly retrieval."
Jetfire merely chuckled at this.
"Really? Optimus is sending me on a backup mission and calling it important? It can't be that bad!"
"It's not just Hot Shot and Wheeljack you have to worry about, Jetfire." Blurr stated, crossing his arms "The kids are with them as well."
This caught his attention.
"Wait, the kids are with them? As in Rad, Carlos, and Alexis?" Jetfire asked.
"It's not just those three and their Mini-Cons. Valerie happens to be with them."
Jetfire's optics widened in shock at this and it seemed like his vocal processor decided it didn't want to work. Blurr seemed to observe the shuttle mech's reaction before deciding that he had better things to do.
"However you decide to approach this mission, you better do so quickly." Blurr told him. "Last I heard they were located in the underground passageways. Knowing you, I doubt you'd have any trouble finding the entrance."
With that Blurr walked off, leaving Jetfire by himself to register what he was just told. Optimus knew that telling him about Valerie would've given him enough reason to undertake this mission, and even he had to admit that it was quite clever of his leader to do so. Without thinking twice Jetfire flew off to where the entrance of the underground passageway was.
'Just what were you thinking, Valerie?' Jetfire thought. 'Why did you decide to leave the Axalon when you know full well that Sideways will…'
Jetfire's thought trailed off as he remembered his last conversation with Valerie when she was still in the shower (something he still wished he'd been around for).
I love you, Jetfire. I really do.
I love you too, Skydancer. But why are you saying it like that?
He remembered feeling that she was a little confused through their connection as she tried to figure out why she said what she said.
I just felt like I needed to let you know how much you really mean to me. I love you that much.
Jetfire's optics widened as he began to realize the hidden meaning behind Valerie's words that even she didn't seem to be aware of! If what he realized was true, then she could very well be walking into a trap! He quietly growled in anger. As much as he hated to admit it, Sideways had played his cards well so far. He somehow managed to play with not just Valerie's mind and emotions at times, but his as well, even going as far as to give them a false sense of security and allow them to think that they were safe. Jetfire and Valerie had unknowingly played into his servos and it made the shuttle mech angry that so far they had possibly done what he wanted so far.
As much as he wished he were wrong, Jetfire knew there was no time to waste. He wouldn't allow Sideways to continue manipulating them. He was going to save Valerie one way or another and that virus wasn't going to stop him. He refused to lose his sparkmate like he did his own mother. And if it ever came down to it, he'd die trying. Failure was not an option. Because Jetfire knew that if he failed, then all his efforts to keep his sparkmate safe would've all been in vain.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Galvatron stood alone as he gazed out at the battlefield. He didn't know why, but for some reason he couldn't stop thinking about the incident that took place before Thrust stole the Requiem Blaster and Skyboom Shield from him.
'What a shame that the young Autobot is under Optimus Prime's control.' Galvatron thought, recalling how Hot Shot begged him to listen to him. 'If what he said is the truth, then the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons has all been for nothing. Nevertheless, most of my goals have been achieved. Despite a few minor setbacks, I control Cybertron and I have brought the Autobots to their knees. Hh. What was I thinking? The Autobots and the Decepticons will never be allies. Not as long as I'm still in charge.'
"Galvatron." Galvatron turned around to find Demolishor standing behind him. "The Autobots are all pulling out and moving to a new location on the other side of the planet, sir."
"All of the Autobot troops, you say?" Galvatron asked.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Starscream chased after Thrust through the tunnel they were currently in and every now and then the traitor would look over his shoulder to see how much distance was between them.
"Thrust! Get back here!" Starscream yelled.
But what happened next took him by surprise. Some kind of portal appeared out of nowhere in front of Thrust, who didn't hesitate to go through it as he laughed. Starscream came to a stop before the portal and examined it by using his wing sword and sticking it inside. The surface of the portal seemed to ripple a bit like water as soon as the sword made contact with it and he was glad that that his sword wasn't damaged in any way. But he was still wary of the portal itself. Thrust had gone, and knowing that coward he wouldn't have gone through if it hadn't been safe at all.
"There's no choice." He told himself. "Looks like I'm gonna have to go through there."
With that Starscream walked through the portal, not sure what exactly he was getting himself into.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"You do know you're still being followed, Thrust." Sideways stated after Thrust returned with the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster.
"Whoo, it's that pest Starscream!" Thrust complained. "I tried, but I couldn't shake him!"
In his anger Sideways knocked down a large rock that was in the way of the passageway he had been working on, the loud booming sound of it impacting the ground causing Thrust to jump in surprise. On the bright side at least he finished making it.
"Spare me your excuses!" Sideways yelled, his pink optics narrowed as he stepped out of the hole. "If our plan is going to succeed, we can't afford to make any more mistakes. Do you understand?!"
"Ah, y-yes. I'm sorry!"
"Now, to take care of Starscream."
"Here he comes!"
Just after Thrust said that the portal appeared behind him, along with Starscream coming out of it. He landed on the ground, all the while looking around cautiously.
"What is this place?" Starscream asked.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
After wandering through the tunnels we eventually came across some sort of portal. Wheeljack hummed quietly as his stuck his hand inside it.
"You think Thrust escaped through there?" Carlos asked. "What a ride!"
"Well, if that's true, then we'll have to go in after him." Rad said.
"There's no need to be scared, Carlos." Alexis said.
"Hey, I'm not scared!" Carlos said defensively, looking at Alexis. "I'm ready! Let's do this thing! Huh? What are you doing, Alexis?"
I turned to look at Alexis and it was then that I noticed her pulling out a pendent that had a huge, yet pretty, green stone on it. I don't know why, but for some reason something about that green stone looked familiar. Where have I seen it?
"What is that?"
"Oh, it's just a good luck charm!" Alexis replied, giggling quietly after she fastened the pendant around her neck.
"A good luck charm? Looks to me like you're the one scared around here!"
"Okay, guys!" Hot Shot said, causing Rad and Carlos to look up at him. "Everybody onboard. We're going in."
Hot Shot picked Alexis, Rad, Carlos, and I up while Wheeljack had High Wire, Sureshock, and Grindor. I glanced over at Alexis and the pendant she wore, only to smile as I soon realized why the green stone looked so familiar.
'Oh, Alexis. You really have it bad, don't you?' I thought.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Starscream continued forward with his sword in hand. He wasn't surprised when he found Sideways up ahead, as if he'd been waiting for him to come.
"Hello Sideways." Starscream greeted.
"Been a long time, Starscream." Sideways commented.
"So you're the mastermind behind all of this, huh?"
"I'm surprised you didn't figure it out sooner. Listen, I'm gonna make you an offer. Join our side now and be a part of Unicron's glorious plan."
Starscream turned around when he heard movement behind him, only to see Thrust wielding the Requiem Blaster.
"I'd do it if I were you." Thrust suggested.
'Of course you would, you coward.' Starscream thought before turning back to Sideways, already knowing his answer.
"Thanks but no thanks." Starscream answered.
"Really?" Sideways asked. "But I thought you wanted to defeat Galvatron. Hasn't he humiliated you long enough? Together we can finish him!"
Starscream smirked, realizing what Sideways was trying to do.
"Maybe..." Starscream chuckled quietly. "But you're the one I wanna finish off!"
Starscream bared his sword at Sideways, but he latter didn't seemed fazed.
"You really are stubborn, aren't you? I'm offering you a chance to stand alongside Unicron when he takes control of the universe and you refuse because of your misguided loyalty to Galvatron?! Very well. Have it your way."
Sideways raised his arm up, laughing as these strange creatures appeared, looking like a mixture between robotic and organic. Starscream's optics widened in surprise when he realized what they were: bot-spiders!
"You were wondering what kind of place this is. Well for you, it's a graveyard!" Suddenly Sideways swung his arm forward, sending the bot-spiders flying at Starscream. "Goodbye, Starscream!"
Sideways laughed as he watched Starscream's futile attempts to fend off the bot-spiders with his sword. Even hearing him screaming in pain when they latched onto the seeker was music to his audio receptors. It didn't matter to him if Starscream joined them or not, just watching him suffer the consequences for his decision was satisfying.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Words couldn't begin to describe how glad I was when we came out of that portal. Despite the fact that it was different than the warp gate the Autobots used back on Earth it still made me feel queasy. Hot Shot lowered Alexis, Rad, Carlos, and I to the ground, along with Wheeljack doing the same with the Mini-Cons. I don't know why, but something about this place scared me. Before I could ponder about this place Carlos suddenly screamed which caused us to look at him to see why he was freaking out.
"It's a transformer!" Carlos exclaimed.
And that was when we noticed the forms of dead transformers that were all partially buried in a cocoon of what seemed to be some kind of organic matter. I was suddenly reminded of when we saw Hot Shot and the others in the same state as well. We were all terrified of what we saw and no matter how hard I tried to block the sight by closing my eyes the image still wouldn't go away. In fact I couldn't stop myself from being reminded of when I saw Jetfire like that as well.
"Where are we?" Hot Shot asked, who seemed to be surprisingly calm.
My eyes widened in fear when I heard the familiar voice laughing in the direction ahead of us.
"That sounds like Sideways' laughter!" Hot Shot stood up.
And that's when we heard another familiar voice as well that sounded like they were in pain.
"Starscream's struggling with him. He needs our help!" Alexis said before running off.
"No! Wait, Alexis!" Ran yelled.
We were surprised when Sureshock went with her, transforming into a moped before Alexis jumped on.
"Move, Hot Shot!" Wheeljack said urgently as he started running after Alexis.
"I'm right behind ya!" Hot Shot said.
I was forced to hitch a ride with Rad on High Wire since I didn't want to ride with Carlos. I had nothing against Carlos or Grindor at all, but it was the fact that the Mini-Con transformed into a skateboard. I still remembered back when we were all little that he tried to teach me how to ride a skateboard (while Alexis and Rad tried to encourage me), but that lesson didn't end well for me. So it was safer for me to ride with Rad instead of Carlos.
All of a sudden everything around me was replaced with Lincoln, Nebraska. The others weren't anywhere to be seen, but the side of my face was still pressed against someone's back as I watched the buildings, vehicles, and people fly past my eyes, along with my arms wrapped around them. And I noticed that instead of the spacesuit I had been wearing I had on my usual outfit.
I'm going to need directions to where you want me to take you.
I gasped and my head jerked up, only for my eyes to widen in horror when I saw instead of Rad and High Wire I was sitting behind a familiar leather clad person while riding on Sideways while he was in his motorcycle form. I tried to pull my arms away from him, but fear filled me as I realized I couldn't move them at all! I tried to scream, but it seemed like my voice was caught in my throat.
Got it. By the way, I never did catch your name. Sideways continued talking as if he didn't notice anything wrong.
I'm…Valerie. What about you?
I was scared! My words just came out automatically and I had no control over what I said at all! What was going on? Why was I here? Why was I seeing and reliving this memory all over again?
My name is – Sideways.
"Valerie!"
Before I knew it I gasped and that was when I realized that I still sitting behind Rad who happened to be looking at me from over his shoulder as High Wire continued to follow the others.
"…What?" I asked, my voice slightly shaky from what happened.
"What happened to you?" Rad asked. "I kept calling you, but you wouldn't answer. And now you look like you've seen a ghost."
"I don't know." I honestly didn't know what was going on and I was scared.
I mustn't have been paying attention to what was going on since I was brought back to reality when I heard Alexis call out Starscream's name. Starscream turned around to face us as we came rushing into the area.
"Hang on! We're coming!" Hot Shot announced.
"No! Don't! Stay back!" Starscream yelled.
"What are those things?" Alexis asked when she came to a stop.
"You kids stay here." Hot Shot told us as he ran past up with Wheeljack.
"Bot-spiders!" Wheeljack exclaimed as he and Hot Shot came to a stop near Starscream.
"Forget about me! I can handle these things. Just get the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster." Starscream insisted.
"We can't leave him like that." Hot Shot said.
"No. Do as he says." Wheeljack told him.
"The bot parasites will make a meal out of you." A familiar voice stated.
I gasped quietly and despite how hard I tried not to I ended up turning my head to see Sideways along with Thrust. I started hearing this quiet buzzing sound inside my head as my fear started to build up.
"Don't count on it, Sideways. We'll squash them just like we're gonna squash you." Hot Shot said.
"Oh, I doubt that."
"If you hand over the Skyboom Shield…"
Wheeljack's voice faded out as the buzzing sound got louder to the point that it drowned out every sound around me. My body felt like it was in pain yet I was unable to cry out or do anything to stop it. I suddenly felt lightheaded and my vision got blurry, but the one thing that wasn't blurry – the one thing that was crystal clear – was Sideways. I was unable to look away from him and it seemed that the longer I looked at him the stronger the fear I felt got. My mind was screaming at me to move, to get away, and yet I wasn't able to do so.
I became terrified when something suddenly grabbed my arm and I tried to fight it as it dragged me somewhere. It didn't help that my surroundings were so obscured at the moment, and it seemed like something else grabbed my other arm when it saw that I was fighting. What was going on? Where was I? I was scared! I wanted Jetfire! No, I needed him! I needed him to be here with me! My body was in so much pain that I just wanted to cry, but I was unable to do even that.
'Jetfire, where are you? Why aren't you here when I really need you? Why can't I feel your presence?' I thought pathetically. 'I thought you said you'd come to save me if I was ever in trouble!'
"Valerie, snap out of it!"
Suddenly my vision was no longer blurry and I realized that Alexis, Rad, and Carlos were giving me concerned looks, and I noticed that I was almost in a sort of fetal position. The buzzing sound that had been loud was gone down to a quiet hum and my body was still in pain, but not to the extent that it had been before. Looking at my friends' concerned looks I knew what they wanted to ask me.
"I'm fine." I lied, hoping that they wouldn't ask me any questions if I told them that.
Alexis placed a hand on my back and that was when I realized that we were hiding behind some rubble as my friends watched what was going on with the others.
"Our only chance, guys, is if we can get the Mini-Cons in those weapons to wake up." Rad told us.
High Wire bleeped in agreement.
"Feh. You Autobots never learn." Sideways scoffed. "The Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster belong to Unicron now! Get used to it!"
"Mirage! Wake up!" Rad yelled.
"C'mon, Mirage! You just gotta wake up!" Alexis begged.
"Hey Dirt Boss! Downshift! Mir! I don't care who's first, just wake up!" Carlos yelled.
I could hear High Wire, Sureshock, and Grindor bleep from where they were.
"Man, why aren't they waking up?" Rad asked.
The three Mini-Cons bleeped before they suddenly combined into Perceptor and letting out a high-pitched whistling noise. Before the whistling never bothered me, but for some reason it seemed to make the quiet buzzing sound in my head increase in volume along with the pain to spike up as well. I gritted my teeth to hold back a cry of pain as I watched the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster glow briefly before it disappeared, but the pain and buzzing sound went back to being quiet and dull again when the whistling stopped. However Thrust seemed to notice that that the two weapons had been glowing and turned in the direction we were in, which caused us to duck down in order to hide ourselves from him.
"Huh? Oh, it appears we have an audience." Thrust said before he addressed us. "You can stop shouting. It is impossible to wake up the Mini-Cons who make up these weapons when they're in this form."
"Impossible?" Alexis asked.
"Ah! No way! That can't be!" Carlos exclaimed as he stood up.
"C'mon! Get down, Carlos!" Rad hissed urgently, grabbing a hold of Carlos. "You wanna get nailed?!"
We cried out in shock when Thrust aimed the Requiem Blaster at us and on reflex we ducked down in an attempt to avoid the blast. I started shaking in fear as my eyes were shut tightly.
"Forget about them." Sideways suddenly said, causing me to open my eyes that widened in surprise. I risked a peek at what was going on to see that Thrust turned to him, probably feeling just as confused as I was. "No sense wasting ammo. Once these Autobots are out of the way, those humans will be lost without them. Let's go. Unicron is waiting."
So that was why he stopped Thrust. But then there was the fact that-!
I clutched at my head as the buzzing sound and pain increased again, but then it started to slowly fade away when I heard Carlos yelling that Sideways and Thrust were getting away. I felt someone grab my hand and I realized that Alexis was holding my hand as she pulled me along, following Rad and Carlos as they chased after the two transformers. I noticed that the farther away they got the quicker buzzing sound and pain dulled until it was nonexistent. As we approached the opening of the tunnel Sideways and Thrust went through a bunch of tentacles shot out at us. The tentacles suddenly got a hold of Carlos and tried to pull him in, but we managed to grab onto him as we tried to save him
"H-h-hey! Put me down!" Carlos yelled at the tentacles.
Out of nowhere a stray tentacle suddenly wrapped around my arm and tried to pull me through the tunnel, but luckily we were saved when Perceptor jumped in and cut the tentacles. We landed on the ground roughly as the combined Mini-Cons tried to protect us, but even then they were having trouble as well as the tentacles got a hold of Perceptor.
"Out of the way, Perceptor!" I heard Hot Shot's voice yell.
Perceptor managed to get away just in time as both Hot Shot and Wheeljack came in, the both of the back to back as they spun like a top. Once they took care of the tentacles they stopped spinning.
"Good work, Autobots." Perceptor said when he approached Hot Shot and Wheeljack.
Rad, Carlos, and I went up to the two transformers. Perceptor then separated into High Wire, Sureshock, and Grindor.
"You kids okay?" Hot Shot asked.
"Yeah, but what about the Shield and Blaster?" Carlos asked.
"We'd better hurry and go after them!" Rad said.
"You're right, Rad." Hot Shot agreed.
"Wait!" Alexis yelled, causing us to look at her. That was when I saw that Starscream was still having trouble with the bot-spiders as he tried to fend them off. "Starscream is still being attacked!"
"Go on without me!" Starscream told us, causing Alexis to turn around completely to face him. "I'll catch up! And stop Sideways!"
"Yeah, let's move out!" Hot Shot said.
Hot Shot, Wheeljack, the boys, and High Wire and Grindor started to leave, but then Rad seemed to notice that I wasn't following them.
"Are you coming, Valerie?" Rad asked.
"No." I replied, shaking my head. "I'm going to stay behind with Alexis and Sureshock."
Rad seemed somewhat hesitant with my answer, but eventually he left with the others. I made my way over to where Alexis and Sureshock (how had transformed into her moped form) were waiting. I know Alexis was concerned as we watched Starscream continue to defend himself against the bot-spiders. I was confused when he suddenly started running off, but then I saw why when he jumped into the air and twisting around quickly before firing at the bot-spiders. Those tiny creatures were gone by the time Starscream landed on the ground, but then he seemed to be surprised when he noticed us waiting for him.
'More like he's surprised to see Alexis.' I thought wholeheartedly, smiling as Starscream came over to where we were.
"Why are you still waiting around for me?" Starscream asked, a confused look adorning his face.
"Because you're our friend." Alexis answered as if the answer were obvious.
"I'm your friend?"
"Yeah, that's right! You're our friend! That means we have to help each other."
"Help each other?"
Alexis hummed as she nodded. She then got on Sureshock and I climbed on behind her.
"We better get moving." Alexis told him before Sureshock started riding off. "C'mon, let's go!"
It was quiet, but after awhile we heard the sound of large footsteps following behind us.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Even though his features were hidden by his face mask it wasn't a secret that Jetfire was getting annoyed with this place. He thought this mission would've been easy; find the others, provide backup, and get their afts out ASAP. But much to the shuttle mech's annoyance things weren't going as plan…or the way he wanted them to. It hardly took him any time at all to find the entrance to the underground passageway, but the majority of his time was spent wandering through countless tunnels (he lost track after the fifth tunnel). And so far? No slagging progress! None! Zip! Nada! Jetfire had a feeling that if he were human (holoform aside) he'd probably be trying to pull his hair out by now in frustration.
'Hopefully this next turn will lead me to the others.' He thought, trying to be optimistic about the situation.
But as soon as he turned the corner that optimism quickly deflated.
"Tugh, great. Another tunnel that goes nowhere." Jetfire complained, showing just how displeased he really was. "Man, I'm the best flyer in the universe. How'd I end up getting stuck underground in a place like this?"
What was the term humans used in situations like these? Karma? Yeah, that sounded just about right. Jetfire couldn't recall any instances where he did something bad enough to deserve bad karma, but then why else was he stuck wandering around these tunnels for so long? He didn't have time for this and the longer he took to navigate through this place the more time he wasted.
"I sure hope I find the others soon." He said quietly.
It wasn't just the others he was worried about, but Valerie as well. He had to save her. Jetfire had tried to communicate with her through their connection, but all he got was some sort of interference. And it didn't help that the only things that did manage to get through were horror, pain, and a desperate need for him. There wasn't any doubt Sideways had something to do with it, which was why he had to hurry.
'Anything at all for the one you love.' Jetfire mused.
Jetfire was too determined to back down now. He would save Valerie, and even if every second counted against him he refused to admit he was lost!
…
…
…
…
…
'Okay, so maybe I am lost...'
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"This place gives me the creeps!" Carlos said from where he and the others were up ahead.
'I'm just glad we managed to catch up to them this fast.' I thought, feeling relieved.
"C'mon, Starscream! We're falling behind!" Alexis called over her shoulder to where Starscream was behind us.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
As soon as they arrived inside Unicron's core Sideways merely took the Skyboom Shield and Requiem Blaster away from Thrust. It was only then that he noticed something, or in this case a lack of something.
"You didn't get the Star Saber from Galvatron?" Sideways asked.
"B-but that young Autobot got in my way!" Thrust stuttered.
"You've failed, Thrust! Unicron will not be pleased that we don't have all the weapons in our possession." Sideways turned around, walking off with the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster.
"B-b-but I ju –"
"No excuse can explain your incompetence!" Sideways yelled, cutting Thrust off as he narrowed his optics at him in anger over his shoulder. He turned back around before placing the Requiem Blaster and the Skyboom Shield on the ground before the giant spark – Unicron's spark – that illuminated the area as its only source of light. "Unicron will awaken and both the Autobots and Decepticons will be destroyed! They will become a distant memory... The Mini-Cons' true destiny will be revealed... Those who helped will be rewarded and all others will suffer Unicron's wrath!"
He and Thrust gazed up at the spark, but it was only Sideways who was fully appreciate its true nature. The absence of the Star Saber only served to be a minor setback to his plan; he had the Requiem Blaster and the Skyboom Shield after all. But there was still one aspect left which had been oh-so generously delivered to him personally. And the best part was that she was ripe for the taking.
'It's too bad that Autobot didn't have his way with her when he still had the chance.' He thought in mock sincerity.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
As we continued making our way through the organic looking tunnel I started feeling uneasy. It was just like the one I had when I was on that one planet with Hot Shot and Red Alert, before we encountered Nemesis Prime. Did that mean something bad was going to happen like last time?
"It's okay, Valerie." Alexis whispered suddenly, and it was then I realized I was shaking a bit. "There's nothing to be scared of."
We cried out in surprise when the ground suddenly started shaking violently, followed by tentacles coming out of the walls. Hot Shot, Wheeljack, and Starscream started fending them off while protecting us.
"Ah! Get away from me!" Hot Shot yelled as he punched at the tentacles.
Starscream was using his sword ward the tentacles away from me and Alexis, but it was after he sliced through them that this strange purple liquid appeared. As the purple liquid moved in our direction it made contact with the severed tentacles that were on the ground and (to our shock) disintegrated them.
"It's acid!" I said fearfully.
"C'mon! Let's get outta here!" Hot Shot shouted.
We didn't have to be told twice as we started running away as fast as we could down the tunnel, but the passageway up ahead started to close up.
"It's a trap!" Wheeljack exclaimed.
It was too late since the tunnel was completely sealed off and wouldn't open. The purple acid was getting closer to us, but luckily it was at that time that another tunnel decided to open up nearby.
"This way, quick!" Hot Shot yelled before he and the others ran ahead.
"C'mon, Starscream!" Alexis urged as we went through the same tunnel as the others.
"We'll never find Sideways now!" I heard Wheeljack's voice say ahead of us.
"Let's just concentrate on getting outta here alive, okay?!" Hot Shot told Wheeljack, looking over his shoulder at him.
Alexis, Starscream, Sureshock, and myself tried to catch up with the others but we suddenly got cut off from them as the tunnel closed right behind them. This wasn't good!
"This can't get any worse!" Alexis exclaimed.
"Don't say that, Alexis! It usually-!" Before I could finish tentacles appeared out of nowhere, but Starscream was able to take care of them. But then another problem appeared in the form of the purple acid we had been running away from. "I told you!"
"We're getting outta here!" Starscream announced after he lowered his hand to us. "Climb aboard!"
"Okay!" Alexis said before me and her got on Starscream's hand. "C'mon, Sureshock!"
Sureshock transformed and got on as well. Starscream made sure that had a good hold of us so that we wouldn't fall off.
"Okay. Both of you hang on tight!"
It was a good thing we went with Starscream since he was able to fly over the purple acid with ease. So it looked like we'd be able to get out safely without worrying about the acid. I turned to Alexis and was surprised when she pulled out Laserbeak.
"You have Laserbeak?" I asked.
"Of course. And I gotta make sure the others know we're okay." She told me.
Alexis held her hands out to allow Laserbeak to fly off and find the others. Seeing that it was safe Starscream carefully moved us from his hand so that we could sit on his shoulder. After awhile there was a beeping sound before Alexis pulled out her comlink.
"Alexis! What happened with you guys? Are you okay?" Rad asked.
"Rad, Valerie and I are here with Starscream." Alexis told him as she smiled. "We had a couple of close calls, but we're okay. We'll see you on the topside."
Starscream glanced at Alexis as she put away her comlink before looking forward again. Just as he was flying his way through the tunnel some tentacles suddenly appeared and Alexis cried out as one of them managed to pull her necklace off. My eyes widened in shock as I watched it land on the ground.
"Oh no! My good luck charm!" Alexis said before turning to Starscream. "Please, Starscream, we have to stop so I can get it!"
"No way." Starscream told her, looking at her with a stern look. "It's not safe."
"But without that necklace, we won't be safe out here. We just have to stop."
"I'm sorry, I can't do that!"
"I need it!"
Oh crap! I recognized that tone! Whenever Alexis used that tone that meant that she already had her mind set and nothing was going to change it. Even if I knew that she'd take matters into her own hands, I was still shocked when she suddenly jumped off Starscream's shoulder. Starscream obviously saw this since he turned to where she was falling.
"Come back!"
I watched as Alexis landed on the ground and rolled a few times before she ended up lying on the ground.
"Sureshock!" I cried, looking at the orange Mini-Con beside me.
Sureshock bleeped, sounding somewhat worried before jumping off just as Starscream stopped to hover in the air.
"Hurry! Grab her!" Starscream yelled urgently.
I watched as Alexis looked up and over to where her necklace was before running over to it. Sureshock chased after her, but she ended up being grabbed by tentacles just as Alexis picked up the necklace before turning around in shock to see that her Mini-Con companion was in trouble.
"Oh no!" I was surprised by the tone of Starscream's voice since it was filled with worry and fear. It almost reminded me of all the times I've heard Jetfire used that tone whenever I was in trouble.
It was then that Starscream used his sword to cut the tentacles that held Sureshock captive before she and Alexis climbed into the Decepticon's servo. It was a good thing they got on when they did since I could see the purple acid coming closer and closer to us, but since Starscream was able to fly he was able to make his way through the tunnel without any trouble at all, not to mention we were now safe. I felt so relieved that Starscream managed to get to Alexis and Sureshock in time, but most of all I was glad that Alexis got her pendant back.
"Thanks a lot, Sureshock. You're the best." Alexis said, looking at Sureshock before hugging her while laughing. "Hahahaha!"
"I guess that necklace means a lot to you." Starscream said. I turned to him to see that he was…smiling. I don't think I've ever really seen him smile before until now.
"Yeah, it's very special to me." Alexis told him before putting her necklace on. "It's made from some kind of rock I found on planet Cybertron."
"Huh?" Was all he said, glancing at Alexis with a thoughtful expression before looking ahead. "Good, I think I see a way out."
'Liar.' I thought.
I knew Alexis made that part up about the rock on the necklace was make of some rock she found on Cybertron. I knew that it was really from the same Mars rock she got from Starscream when he and Jetfire went on their mission to retrieve the Mini-Con on Mars. All the same, the necklace was still special, but even more since the rock was from Starscream. I have a feeling he must've realized this too, despite what Alexis told him.
I cried out in fright when something wrapped around my middle, left arm, and legs and my head shot to look at what grabbed me, only to be filled by shock and fear when I saw that they were tentacles!
"Valerie!" Alexis cried out.
The tentacles were starting to drag me away from Starscream and Alexis, but then Alexis grabbed my right arm along with Sureshock keeping a hold on my friend as they tried to help save me.
{Stop struggling!} I suddenly heard Sideways' voice inside my head. {You may have escaped last time, but this time you won't be so lucky!} My eyes widened at this as I realized what he was talking about. {That's right, sweet Valerie. The time has come for you to finally play your part in Unicron's plan.}
"Hang on, Valerie! We'll save you!" Alexis told me, before turning to Starscream. "Starscream, help Valerie!"
Starscream looked like he was getting ready to swing his wing sword at the tentacles.
{Remember, sweet Valerie. This is your fate.}
"Stop! Don't save me!" I cried, causing Alexis' eyes and Starscream's optics to widen in shock. "You can't save me! No one can save me now! My fate was determined ever since the day Sideways appeared and the Decepticons ended up taking the Requiem Blaster from the Autobots!" I felt tears start to form in my eyes. "Alexis, you have to let me go. You too, Sureshock."
"What?!" Alexis gasped. "Don't talk like that! We're gonna save you! We're both gonna get out of here in one piece! And I'm not gonna let go until we got you back!"
"No, Alexis! You have to let me go!" I saw the look in Alexis' eyes and I knew that she didn't understand why I was telling her this. I could feel the tentacles' pull start to get stronger and it was only a matter of time. My tears started falling from my eyes. This was already starting to get really hard for me to do now, to say the words that I was about to say. "Tell Jetfire…tell Jetfire he tried his best, and that I'm glad that he did! He'll know what you mean if you just tell him!" I turned to Starscream. "Starscream…please take care of Alexis. I'm counting on you to do this first and last favor for me."
This surprised Starscream since I saw his gray optics widened in response. I could feel Alexis and Sureshock struggling to keep a hold of me. If I were to just let go of Alexis' hand I'd be taken away by the tentacles. I gave Alexis, Sureshock, and Starscream a sad smile, knowing what would come next.
"Goodbye Alexis, Starscream, Sureshock…"
I let go of Alexis' hand and I cried out as the tentacles pulled me away from Alexis, Starscream, and Sureshock. I could hear Alexis yelling out my name before I was pulled into a wall near the ceiling. To my horror the tentacles were pulling me through the organic-like wall as if it were nothing more than thick water, and before my head was submerged my world went dark.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Saying that Jetfire was surprised after coming out of the tunnels he was in and seeing Cybertron's moon crumbling was a huge understatement. He was completely shocked to see it. The surface was coming apart and it looked as if something was trying to come out from underneath it. Luckily he was able to spot both Hot Shot and Wheeljack stranded on the moon with Rad and Carlos in the Autobot's arms while High Wire and Grindor were held in Wheeljack's arms. At first he was worried since he didn't see Valerie with them, but when he spotted Starscream flying out of the corner of his optics he assumed that she was with him and Alexis. So with that he came flying in.
"Hang tight, guys!" Jetfire yelled enthusiastically before stopping. "I'll getcha outta here!"
"Well, hurry up!" Hot Shot yelled as he looked up at him.
"Okay, I'm coming, I'm coming." He couldn't help but grin behind his face mask despite Hot Shot being impatient. He flew over to where he and Wheeljack were and grabbed a hold of their servo in each of his own. Though he didn't expect the combined weight of the two transformers that slowed him down as he flew upward. They were heavy! "You guys have…really put on some weight!"
It was a good thing that he came and got them when he did since the objects that were erupting from the moon's surface were coming out, but to Jetfire they reminded him of horns in a way and yet the features seemed familiar to him. His optics widened as he realized why they looked familiar. It…couldn't be!
"Is that thing Unicron?!" Hot Shot asked in shock.
"I kinda thought Unicron was just a myth!" Jetfire said honestly, his voice slightly strained from the effort of keeping his grip on the two transformers he was carrying.
"What?! The moon was Unicron all along!" Starscream exclaimed.
All the stories that his mother had told him about Unicron had fascinated him when he was still a sparkling, yet they also frightened him as well. He could remember how relieved he felt when she told him that he wasn't real, but actually seeing and finding out that Cybertron's moon was actually Unicron was just unbelievable, yet the proof was right before their very optics.
"He must've been spying on us and planet Cybertron all along!" He concluded, just realizing how much of a threat Unicron really was and how close to home he had been.
As Jetfire (while carrying Hot Shot and Wheeljack) flew back to Cybertron with Starscream he noticed a group of Autobots looking up at the moon that they had learned was Unicron. Most of their tones were in awe and shock from finding out that the myth they had heard was real. It was still hard for him to believe despite the fact that he had witness the whole thing himself.
'What's next?' Jetfire thought. 'The planet Cybertron turning out to be Primus himself?'
Eventually the landed on Cybertron's surface and Jetfire was glad that he no longer had the extra weight from carrying both Hot Shot and Wheeljack (he didn't think that Rad, Carlos, High Wire, and Grindor would've made that much of a difference to the overall weight of his cargo). He glanced over to where Starscream was just as he was placing Alexis and Sureshock on the ground, but there was no sign of Valerie anywhere at all.
"Where's Valerie?" He asked as he suddenly felt dreadful of the answer.
He didn't miss the saddened yet guilty expression that Alexis had on her face, but he was somewhat surprised that Starscream had the same expression as well, albeit a more toned down version of it. His spark clenched slightly as the dreadful feeling he had grew.
"Jetfire…Valerie was with us as we were trying to get out of Unicron." Alexis said. "We were almost out when these tentacles grabbed her. We tried to save her, but she told us that no one could save her. She wanted me to tell you…that you tried your best and that she was glad you did. And then Valerie was taken away as soon as she let go of my hand."
Jetfire's optics widened in shock upon hearing this and he understood the message Valerie had Alexis give him. She had told him time and time again that Sideways would come for her and that she was scared since she didn't know when he would. He just recently figured out that Sideways had been manipulating her without her knowledge and had rushed as fast as he could in order to save her, but now she was gone. His anger flared up as he turned to Starscream and before he knew it Jetfire found himself punching the Decepticon in the face plate, knocking him to the ground. This shocked everyone since they hadn't expected the shuttle mech to react that way. Jetfire took this time to go up to Starscream and picked him up so that his feet were dangling off the ground.
"You slaggin' glitch!" Jetfire yelled, not hiding his anger from the Decepticon. "Why didn't you save her?! You were right there and could've done something, but you let her get taken away!"
"Jetfire!" He heard Hot Shot's voice, but Jetfire ignored it.
"Why didn't you save her?!" Jetfire was surprised when two pairs of arms grabbed a hold of his and tried to hold him back from getting at Starscream again. He knew that it must've been Hot Shot and Wheeljack since they were the only other two transformers with them. "TELL ME!"
Glaring at Starscream Jetfire saw that he didn't seem the least bit surprised by his outburst, almost as if he'd expected this to happen. This only made him even angrier than he already was at the moment.
"Jetfire, calm down!"
"No!" He turned to glare at Hot Shot. "Not until I get answers!"
"Don't think I didn't try, Jetfire!" Starscream said, causing the shuttle mech to turn to him. "I would've saved her if I could!"
"You where right there! What was stopping you from doing so?!"
"She didn't want to be saved! She said that her fate had been determined ever since we took the Requiem Blaster from you Autobots! I was about to even use my sword but she stopped me!"
Jetfire clenched his servos into fists at this before shoving Hot Shot and Wheeljack away from him.
"Valerie would be here if you'd saved her!" Jetfire growled. "I can't even depend on others to keep her safe anymore!"
Before anyone could respond to what he said Jetfire took off into the sky, not caring what the others thought of his reaction. He landed in a remote location just as his anger slowly started to be replaced by grief; he got on his knees and started pounding his fist on the ground before letting out a yell of anguish. He didn't care if anyone could hear him yelling at all, his processor kept repeating Valerie's message and its meaning. Some part of Valerie must've known something like this would happen eventually as soon as she was captured and sacrificed herself. Starscream wasn't the one he should be angry at, but Sideways! This was all Sideways' fault in the first place! He took advantage of the fact that he hadn't been around to protect his sparkmate, that he hadn't caught on to just how deeply he had manipulated until it was too late and simply took her!
But then Jetfire realized something. Valerie, Alexis, and Starscream had been inside Unicron when this happen. And it was Sideways that had taken her so that she could fulfill her end of their deal. Did that mean that not only Sideways wanted her, but Unicron as well? Was Sideways in cahoots with him?
'What does this mean?' Jetfire thought.
Jetfire could barely feel Valerie. He had felt her fear earlier before he came to rescue the others, but then it suddenly went blank, just like it did whenever she fell into a deep sleep. What happened to her after she was captured?
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Everyone had been quiet after Jetfire left and most of them were confused by his reaction over the fact that Valerie was taken. As for Starscream he knew the real reason for the shuttle mech's behavior, and he could honestly admit that he probably would've reacted the same way if Alexis had been in Valerie's place.
"This is the end of the line for me, Hot Shot." Wheeljack said after turning to Hot Shot.
"Whaddya mean?!" Hot Shot asked.
"I'm saying I enjoyed fighting with you but I'm moving on." The look on Wheeljack's face was grim. "We'll meet again...on the battlefield. Later." With that Wheeljack started walking away.
"Hold on! Wait a minute!"
Despite Hot Shot's protests Wheeljack ignored him and left. Starscream saw this and decided to leave as well. He didn't want to leave, but he knew he had to.
"Starscream! Don't go! Stay here with us!" Alexis begged, and Starscream was very tempted to stay for her, but he just couldn't. "We could really use your help right now."
"You know she's right, Starscream!" Hot Shot added. "How 'bout joining with us?"
Starscream stopped. Again, the offer was very tempting, but after having been a Decepticon for so long and an Autobot for a short time, he knew that he had only one choice despite how much he didn't want to choose it.
"I'll have to pass." Starscream told them after coming to his decision. "I don't want to risk betraying you a second time. It wouldn't be fair."
'It wouldn't be fair to Alexis, either.' He thought.
"I know you wouldn't do that! You wouldn't betray your friends, would you?" Alexis asked.
"Hmmmm..." Alexis wasn't making things easy for him. She just had to consider him her friend when in reality she was his sparkmate. Starscream was aware that she'd feel attracted to him, but he honestly believed that she deserved someone better than him, someone that wasn't so tainted as himself. But she saw the good in him just as Valerie had. "I'm...not sure. I'm not sure of anything, anymore..." He turned to look at Alexis over his shoulder and he saw that she was looking at him with sympathy in her green eyes. In the end he knew one thing. "You trusted me, Alexis. And I thank you for that."
Starscream turned around before walking away. His decision had been made.
"Oh, Starscream..."
Starscream knew that Alexis was still watching him and it made him feel horrible that he was doing this to her. As he walked away from those he had considered his friends his processor kept repeating Jetfire's words over and over again. He had blamed him for not saving Valerie and could only imagine what he was going through at this moment.
Starscream…please take care of Alexis. I'm counting on you to do this first and last favor for me.
He was surprised that he recalled that promise as if it happened a few seconds ago. Starscream knew that he'd never forget the sad smile Valerie gave him and Alexis despite the tears that she had been crying at the time. He hadn't expected her to give him such a request or the fact that she sacrificed herself like that. It was as if she knew there was no other option for her. But her last words showed him just how much she trusted him and he was sad that he couldn't do anything to save her, for Jetfire's sake.
'I'm sorry, Valerie, but I might not be able to keep that promise I made to you.' He thought sadly. 'I have something I need to take care of first before I can…be with her.'
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Sideways smirked behind his face mask as his pink optics gazed at Valerie's unconscious form, bound to the wall by tentacles as the light from Unicron's spark shone on her. He chuckled. At last she was finally his and she would soon play her part in the Chaos Bringer's plan.
"Why could you possibly be laughing, Sideways?" Thrust asked, completely dumbfounded. "It's just a small insignificant human! Completely useless!"
"That's where you're wrong, Thrust." Sideways told him, turning to face Thrust. "She's quite the opposite."
"I fail to see how she could be of use to me—I mean Unicron."
Sideways didn't miss Thrust's supposed "slipup" and narrowed his optics. Even if he swore loyalty to Unicron, he knew that he would get what he deserved.
'In due time.' He told himself.
"She'll play a vital part to Unicron's plan." He explained. "She happens to be the first human to be sparkmates with a Cybertronian."
"What?! The first human to be a Cybertronian's sparkmate?"
"To be more specific, she's the Autobot Vice Commander's sparkmate." Sideways couldn't help but smirk at Thrust's expression. Completely priceless. "Because of this, she'll help fuel the hatred between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Just capturing her has caused Jetfire to feel hatred towards Unicron."
"What…an excellent idea, Sideways. I'm sure Unicron would be most pleased."
"Oh, he's pleased alright."
'More than you know.' Sideways added silently.
"It wouldn't hurt to consider her as an alternate resource in case the Autobots and Decepticons...no longer hated each other."
"What kind of alternate resource could she provide Unicron?"
"Fear. A fear sweeter than the best high grade energon Cybertron has to offer."
With this Sideways laughed darkly. All the pieces were falling into place and once he got the Star Saber it was only a matter of time before the first act began.
'Enjoy your little dreams while you still can. Because when you wake up, that's when your nightmares will begin.'
ATE: Looks like you've finally reached the end of this chapter. Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter that I worked really hard to write.
I'll tell you right now that I've made two references: one of them being a reference to Transformers Cybertron while the other one is from a different anime that happens to have a movie that takes place after its series. If you can find these two references, then you'll get some cyber cookies of your choice and flavor!
Please remember to review! ;D