Thanks for the reviews everyone! They mean a lot to me so I hope to see more of them! More mouthing off from Aquafire in this chapter so we know it means a confrontation with Starscream. Let's see how this plays out shall we? Sorry if it seems a bit rushed.
Warnings: Character death, mentions of interfacing
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. I claim only Aquafire, her trine, Skyblitz and Wildfire.
Remember to review, I want at least 2 reviews before I upload the next chapter.
Aquafire continued having problems with Starscream for the next orns, on and off the battlefield. He always made a point of critiquing her battle formations in the air, criticizing her basic leadership skills, he basically did everything he could to just get under her dermal plating and it worked most days. Steel Wing and Storm Ridge always needed to hold her back from going after their commander but there were times when they just wanted to let her loose on the slagger.
Today was one of those days.
"Are you so weak that you need your wingmate's to protect you all the time?" He sneered at the younger trine. "This is why femme's don't lead." He turned his vicious optics toward the two mechs now. "One of you should grow some bearings and do what needs to be done and kick her out of her position as leader. It's obvious she's just holding you back from your full potential."
"I'll show you weak...!" Aquafire lunged at him. Steel Wing and Storm Ridge reacted too slowly and the femme slipped past their servos to tackle the slightly larger Seeker. Starscream, who was far too used to the other two holding the femme back, gave a squawk when Aquafire actually tackled him to the ground. The blue Seeker began to pummel him with all of her pent up rage and anger, not letting up for even a second. It took the combined efforts of Steel Wing, Storm Ridge, Thundercracker and Skywarp to pull them apart. The femme snarled once she was safely tucked against her own wingmate's, optics nearly white with rage. "The next time you decide to taunt and threaten my trine, you won't be so lucky!" She spat out.
"Put her in the brig!" Starscream screeched. Her wingmate's protested and argued but in the end, Aquafire was taken down to the brig. The Air Commander made his way towards the throne room, wings held high with anger.
"What is it, Starscream?" Megatron scowled at his SIC.
"Why do you insist on keeping her?" He spat out.
"Who?" Megatron raised an optic ridge at him.
"Aquafire," He snarled angrily. "That femme is a nuicinse! She attacked me!"
"Perhaps you should stop taunting her," He smirked at the incredulous look on his faceplates then. He knew very well how much his SIC taunted and teased the femme and personally, he thought he deserved what had just happened. He was honestly surprised she hadn't done this days ago. "She is confined to the brig until I have personally spoken to her. Should I hear that you have gone near her before I have done so, than you will be sharing her sentence."
"But, Lord Megatron-"
"Is that understood?" He glared at the Seeker who sneered at him.
"Crystal," He growled, turning and leaving. Megatron leaned back in his chair and x-vented heavily. Seekers... why did he ever try to put up with them? Nothing but trouble, all of them. Always squabbling over something or another. Primus help him...
-X-X-X-
"Aquafire, your trine is with me!" Starscream ordered as the troops got ready for another battle. Both sides were working on massive ships, though Megatron had ordered one be built after he'd found out that the Autobots were building one. Today's battle was more or less to try and slow down the Autobots and their project.
"Sir?" Aquafire shuttered her optics, surprised by the order.
"Are your audio receptors malfunctioning?" He growled. "I said: your trine is with me!"
"Of course," She nodded hastily and transformed, flying out behind the Elite trine, Steel Wing and Storm Ridge with her. It was like any other battle, the Seekers providing aerial support while the groundpounders battled it out below them. Aquafire made a bit of a game of it, flying low, taunting to see who would start firing at her first. It had a duel effect though, not only was she getting herself into a fight but she was also providing an opportunity for the ground forces to take out the distracted bot. Laughing, Aquafire flew over the Autobots, firing upon them as she tried to avoid the pit-spawned twins as much as possible.
As she was flying back towards the Decepticons, a flash of pain lanced through her spark and she was forced back into her bipedal mode. Gasping, she crashed to the ground below gracelessly and struggled to get up. She reached through the bond and found Storm Ridge was fine but when she reached for Steel Wing... pain lanced through her spark. She hurried to get up and rushed to where the distress beacon was coming from.
"Steel Wing!" She screeched when she found her downed trine mate. Multiple parts of his chassis were sparking, energon and other fluids pooled around him. She fell beside him and reached to touch his faceplates with shaking servos. He had a large hole, just beside where his spark chamber was and his cockpit was shattered from the fall. Aquafire could feel his half of the bond weakening, rapidly, and let out a soft, agonized trill. "Don't leave," She whimpered. She was reminded of her Creators all over again as she held his servo, squeezing tightly.
"Aquafire, you glitchhead," He teased, voice raspy and static filled. "Look after Stormy, alright? You two need each other," The blue femme chocked out a sob when his optics flickered and his body spasmed.
"Shh, i-it's okay," She tried to assure, though it did little to ease her own panic. "I'll find Hook a-and he'll fix you," She put her basic medical protocols to use and tried to stop the bleeding. Weak scans showed that he had some internal damage but Hook could get that... right? "Everything will be fine," She smiled shakily, wincing as her wingmate struggled to keep himself online. Despite her efforts though, Steel Wing continued to fade.
"Aquafire..." He rumbled out her name and caught her wrist as she attempted to fix the damage on his chest. "Stop," He saw that she was struggling against her instincts and sighed. "Just... hold me, please?" At this, she relented and shifted his frame so she could hold his upper body in her lap, mindful of his damaged wings. The blue femme tried hard not to cry as she felt the slow, uneven pulse of his spark against her chest and nuzzled his helm softly.
"Steel Wing, don't do this to us," She whispered. Weakly, the black and white mech raised his servo and cupped her cheek, thumb stroking along the soft plating.
"You and Stormy... will be fine," He told her. "You still have e-each other."
"It won't be the same without you," She murmured, leaning into his touch.
"I know but... please just take care of yourselves," He frowned, unable to think of what he wanted to say after that. "I'll always be with you... in memory and in spark. I'll watch over you both... with our Creators." He gave her a weak smile as his optics flickered a few times. "Though you're a pain in the aft and stubborn as Pit, I'm glad to have served under you as your wingmate."
"I'm happy to have had a wingmate as protective as yourself," She murmured back. "I promise, I'll look after Stormy. We'll stay strong.. for you," She placed a chaste kiss on his lip components and pulled back with a smile. "May Primus watch over you and grant you entrance to the Well of Sparks." His servo slipped from her cheek and fell to his side uselessly as his optics flickered again and he stiffened. Aquafire felt his end of the bond sever itself completely and let out a short, mourning cry as his spark gave out and his frame began to gray. She heard the Autobots retreating and quickly gathered Steel Wing's body before engaging her thrusters and carefully flying back to Kaon. She knew she was vulnerable in this state, especially weighed down by the frame of her wingmate but she didn't care. Ignoring everyone else, she made her way to the sick bay where she was joined by a sullen looking Storm Ridge. She laid Steel Wing's frame on an empty berth and the two remaining Seekers huddled close, quietly mourning his departure.
Hook, who had been working on patching up one of his fellow gestalt members, looked up and frowned. He knew Seekers were a proud race of Cybertronians and the bonds between them ran deeper than even a gestalt bond. Losing one wingmate was like losing a bondmate, except, the other two remained online. Not much would change except the formations in which they fought and flew.
Finishing the repairs, Hook made his way towards the Seekers who tensed and stood ready to defend the dead body. Hook looked at them and rolled his optics before saying, "I can repair the damage before you bury him." This seemed to calm them and the looked at each other, communicating silently over their bond.
"Alright," Aquafire nodded and she stepped aside with Storm Ridge. The two hovered nearby as Hook set to work, wings twitching and trembling as they comforted one another. When the mech was finally finished, they inspected his work, making sure it was to their standards before they thanked him. The other Constructicons helped them to move the frame to where many of the more honored Decepticons were buried and settled him there, engraving his name into a piece of metal that they used as the headstone. After this was said and done, the trine was called into a meeting with Megatron, who frowned upon their entrance. Starscream had been the one to inform him of the young trine's loss but he hadn't told him what to expect. He was used to the spitfire attitude that so suited the femme Seeker and the usually bright and cheerful nature of Storm Ridge. Now, both looked as though they could use a good few cycles of recharge and a couple cubes of high grade.
"Aquafire," He acknowledged her. "Storm Ridge," The mech nodded to him. "It's come to my attention that you lost a member of your trine in battle."
"Yes, Lord Megatron," Aquafire murmured, loud enough for him to hear.
"Will the loss affect you in any way?" He had to make sure that they would still be useful in battle, even without their third member.
"No," She shook her helm. "We need only adjust our flight and battle formations."
"Excellent," He smirked. "You are dismissed. I suggest you each head to the rec room and relax," The two nodded and left, leaning against each other. The two Seekers sat side by side when they finally reached the rec room and sipped at the mild high grade they were offered. The Coneheads stopped by and offered their condolences to them before they left the mourning Seekers by themselves. Were they still a trine?
"So long as you and I still function, we are a trine," Aquafire grunted softly. "We may have lost Steel Wing but we are still a trine, no matter what."
"Of course," Storm Ridge nodded. He watched his leader as she eyed a few mechs in the room, ones he knew would willingly sleep with her and try to comfort her on some level. "Go," He muttered. "Do what you must but... please, come back to our room tonight." He looked at her with pleading optics.
"I promise," She leaned into him and nuzzled his shoulder affectionately before she sauntered away. Storm Ridge watched as she was embraced by a fellow Seeker, one he knew she'd been with in the past and one he himself trusted to take care of her needs for the time being. He tore his optics from them and focused on his energon cube. There would be time later for them to talk but for now, they needed time to get over Steel Wings death.
-X-X-X-
Aquafire nuzzled close to the warmth of her remaining wingmate, not wanting to get up just yet. It had been a little over three orns since Steel Wings death and the remaining two had easily reconfigured their aerial maneuvers to fit only them. While Aquafire still went to other mech's for a meaningless frag, she and Storm Ridge had sought comfort in each other on several occasions. There was nothing wrong with it, trine's often interfaced with one another and even became spark bonded. She and Storm Ridge had, on more than one occasion, spark merged, not only to strengthen their trine bond but also to experience a more intense overload. It was a casual merge between them, so long as they did not let down their firewalls, they would be okay. They had no intentions of becoming spark mates, they'd both made that quite clear and they were fine with it. A spark bond would only hinder them in the long run anyway and Megatron looked down on bonded pairs, stating they were a liability in battle. Should one die, the other would follow. So he would end up losing two warriors instead of one.
Storm Ridge held her close, servos brushing over her wings in a soothing manner as his engines revved quietly.
"Sweetspark, we've got to get up," He rumbled quietly. He'd taken to calling her this whenever they were alone and had been quite pleased when she didn't argue with him about it.
"Too tired," She grumbled, curling closer to him.
"As am I but I do believe we have work to do today," He mused softly. She pouted in a sparkling like manner before she untangled herself from him and sat up, stretching her aching joints. Storm Ridge went with her and pecked her lips quickly before ducking away and heading for the wash racks. Aquafire followed and the two quickly cleaned up before reporting to the Command Centre. They sent a glare towards Starscream who had a smug look on his faceplates and turned their attention to Megatron. Construction of the Nemesis had been completed an orn ago and it was merely a waiting game to see which side would strike first. Both were intent on protecting their ships, so most, if not all, forces were focused on guarding them on both sides.
"You will be going with Starscream to launch an aerial attack on the Autobots," Megatron told them.
Obviously, Megatron had lost his patience.
"A ground force will follow you," He added.
"Yes, Lord Megatron," Aquafire bowed her head, frowning softly as she and Storm Ridge followed Starscream and his trine. A few others were with them, forming a small squadron of Seekers as they took to the skies over Cybertron. Storm Ridge, sensing his trine leaders slight discomfort at being out in the open, brushed his wing against her own and flooded their bond with warmth. She bumped him back and he could feel her smiling even as they flew. They roared over Iacon and split up into two groups when the defense grid was set off. The ground forces arrived at the same moment that the Autobots began to flood out, firing at them. Aquafire and Storm Ridge stuck close together, not wanting to be separated under any circumstance... They couldn't afford to be.
"Aquafire, watch out!" The two split up just as a plasma blast came at them. The two moved back together and transformed, bewildered by the attack. They then figured that perhaps fighting on the ground might prove safer for them as they landed and began their assault anew. They fought back to back, protecting each other as the fight continued on. Just when they were getting the upper hand, a blast took them by surprise. Neither realized what had happened until Storm Ridge fell, energon pouring from his chest. Aquafire caught him before he fell and gently lowered him to the ground, vents shuddering as she forced air through them.
"Stormy?" She chocked out his name. The storm gray mech smiled shakily at her and clasped his servo over hers. No, this couldn't be happening... not again. "Oh Storm Ridge... I failed you," She let out a soft groan.
"L-love you, Aquafire," He stuttered out before he went completely limp, his form darkening. Aquafire let out a mournful wail as she held her offlined wingmate close to her chassis, catching the attention of several others, Autobot and Decepticon alike. The cry of a femme was hard to ignore, especially when it was one of pure sorrow and agony. Aquafire wasn't sure how long she remained like that, bent over Storm Ridge's frame as she sobbed but at some point she'd agreed to leaving, though she clung to the body tightly. She was transported back to Kaon and into the sick bay where Hook once again took care of Storm Ridge's offlined frame for the femme. Ramjet, Thrust and Dirge remained with her this time, offering her comfort in the wake of her recent loss. All of them spoke in low tones, speaking in a Vosian dialect that only they could understand as they rubbed her back and wings. While they did this, Hook left to speak with Megatron over the matter.
"It seems our young Seeker has suffered yet another loss," He stated upon his arrival in the throne room of sorts.
"What can we expect?" Megatron asked with a frown.
"The death of a trine mate is like the death of a bondmate, except she will continue living... I think," He winced at his own choice of words.
"You think?" Megatron raised an optic ridge.
"From what I've been able to observe, she is taking the loss hard," He began. "Blaming herself it seems. From what little I know of them, they lost their Creators in the bombing of Vos."
"Do you have a point?" The gray mech growled.
"Aquafire is a femme that takes things very seriously and to spark. She feels a need to prove herself to all others, given her frame type," Hook explained. "She takes the protection of those close to her seriously and, in the past when they've been injured, blames herself for them."
"She's blaming herself for the deaths of her wingmates?" Megatron asked as he caught on to what he was saying.
"Yes," Hook nodded. "Because of this, I believe she may have lasting... mental and emotional damage. Our best course of action would be to take her off of active duty and confine her somewhere close to the sick bay. There have been cases of Seekers committing suicide because of this sort of thing."
"Do what you must," Megatron frowned, now angered that one of his best fighters was being taken out of battle. Hook bowed and left, going to make the arrangements that would be needed.
-X-X-X-
"Shockwave, I am leaving Cybertron to you," Megatron told his tactile officer.
"As you command, Lord Megatron," He nodded.
"I also leave Aquafire in your care," The mech blinked his one optic then. "See to it that she remains in safe condition."
"As you wish," He was still somewhat perplexed as he watched Megatron and the others leave to board the Nemesis. Why in Primus' name would Megatron leave that unstable femme in his care? Shaking it off, Shockwave strode down the halls towards the room where Aquafire was being kept and punched in the code to open the door. The femme was curled up in a corner, muttering to herself, wings trembling as she did so. "Aquafire." The femme's helm jerked at the sound of his voice. "You are to follow me, we are leaving."
"Leaving?" She echoed, optics dimming as she processed his words. When was the last time she'd left Kaon? She couldn't recall...
"Yes, now get up," Shockwave watched her carefully. He knew of her tendencies and knew he would need to keep watch over her in case she attempted to do any harm to her being. Aquafire followed him quietly as they traveled to his watch tower in Tarn and he quickly made arrangements for her. "I will be coming to check on you every so often, you are not to bring yourself harm, is that understood?" Aquafire cringed and nodded. At times she thought Shockwave was even more intimidating than Megatron himself. With that, the mech left, making sure to lock the room from the outside. Aquafire curled up on the lone berth and forced herself into recharge before her thoughts began to wander.