Disclaimer: We do not own Transformers Prime or its canon characters; Hasbro and the Hub do. We do however own our OCs. Blondie-moyashi owns the lovely Skye Shelsher, Plasmarift and Silverblaze, and Dream'sRealm owns Darkstorm, Skybreak, Emusa, Starlight, Drift, Shiv, Jolt, Blackout, Air Raid, Caliber, Speedway, and Jetfire.
Theme Song: I Can't Do This by Plumb
"Are you sure you're alright, Darkstorm?" the concerned voice of Starlight interrupted Darkstorm's work. "You have been quiet ever since that cycle when you ordered Megatron and I to leave the medical bay. Did something happen?"
She vented before smiling softly. "It is nothing for you to worry about, I assure you. It is in the Lord's hands. What matters is that Bumblebee and I are safe now."
Starlight's optics creased in concern and she moved to question what the femme meant before deeming it best to remain silent. She was not one to press. Darkstorm continued working on the blind femme's optics for several more moments until a private comm call interrupted her.
"Is anyone there? Please come in, I need help!"
Darkstorm frowned. What on earth?
"I-I'm in Polyhex. B-but no ground bridge! Please, I can't do a ground bridge."
Someone was in trouble. Slag… She was on the verge of a breakthrough. Still, if someone required her aide…
She vented before turning to the blind femme. "Starlight, I'm afraid someone has just commed me for assistance. I'm truly sorry-"
"Darkstorm, it is quite alright," Starlight smiled softly. "Help whoever commed you. I shall still be here."
Darkstorm offered her a hesitant smile in return before turning to Megatron. "I shall take care of her in your stead," Megatron stated seriously. And, thinking on the past few stellar cycles, Darkstorm did not doubt his sincerity.
"Are you sure you don't need any help?" Ratchet asked, a bit worried though he refused to show it. "Especially after what happened, I don't think you should go alone."
"Ratchet, the war is over and Optimus has locked Sunstorm in his quarters until further notice," Darkstorm replied encouragingly. "Besides, from what I gathered, this particular bot is so nauseous that they cannot handle a ground bridge. I will travel there, repair them, and I will comm back if there is any trouble. If I am not back soon, then feel free to send the rescue party." The last sentence dripped with light humor.
Ratchet rolled his optics though a smile tugged on his lip components. "Try not to do anything heroic, will you?"
"It will take everything in my power but I will certainly try," Darkstorm grinned before turning to Knock Out. "Behave, alright?"
"Moi?" The medic put a servo on his chassis in feign shock. "When have you ever known me not to?"
Darkstorm giggled. "Keep it up and I'll have Emusa come in here and back me up."
"Keep what up? I swear I'm innocent." With an amused smile he nodded to the door, "Go. Save the day, be the hero, all that."
Darkstorm grinned. "I mean it, Knock Out. Behave!" With that, she exited the medical bay and began traveling towards the distress signal.
Darkstorm gazed around the ruins of Polyhex, searching for the mech that had sent her the distress call. "H-Hello?" she hesitantly called. "Are you here? It's me, Darkstorm, the medic that you commed. I'm here to help."
A weapon of some sort was pressed against her back. "Servos in the air. And don't even think about comming for help, there's a jamming device in effect." He clicked the button on a device in his free servo, possibly a beacon of some kind if the comms were jammed as he'd said.
Soon a bridge opened and several more bots appeared, surrounding the two with weapons drawn. The last to exit was a Seeker femme, though she walked with a more confident, authoritative stride and had no weapons of her own. She approached Darkstorm from the front, probably confident the medic wouldn't try anything with so many guns trained on her.
"Before we do anything else, are you familiar with the Seeker Sunstorm?"
Bumblebee, I'm in the ruins of Polyhex. Darkstorm's spark rate rose due to her fear. Tell the others. I'm in trouble. I am surrounded by Seekers with weapons.
Bumblebee's fear matched her own. 'Storm, what-?
Now, 'Bee!
"Yes," Darkstorm said slowly. "Please, I don't know what this is about, but I am sure this situation can end peacefully. Just tell me what you want."
"In a moment." The femme motioned to the bridge. "But if you please, let's talk elsewhere. We have a space set up specifically for you."
Darkstorm nodded, optics displaying her fright despite her strong posture. Lord, let her children be alright… "Of course. Just please, no guns. I can walk on my own." As per her words, she began to approach the ground bridge out of her own free will.
They're taking me into a ground bridge. See if you can track my location.
No, 'Storm! Don't go in there!
I have to… Just go! Tell the others!
Once they went back through the bridge, Darkstorm found herself in the palace she'd visited after Cybertron had been restored.
"By the way I'm Skydancer, and I welcome you to the glorious Vos. You'll forgive us for not bowing," the femme leading the group motioned to many bots lining the walls of the area, some of which in poor condition, "But the majority of us lack such respect for the royalty of our home."
"Bowing?" Darkstorm's brow furrowed. "I am no royal and even if I was, that privilege is reserved for God alone." Her gaze softened as she observed the bots. "And if you needed help this badly, why kidnap me at gunpoint? It was unnecessary. If you had told me there were this many who required my aid, I would have brought more help."
The femme turned back to look at the medic, "You don't have to lie; we're not going to hurt you. We simply need your help in a little matter." She stopped at an area that opened up to several corridors before turning to the group following her. She motioned to the mech who had initially found Darkstorm. "Thunderblast here will show you to your accommodations. You'll find they're not so quaint as they used to be, but you will want to rest, no?"
The group slowly disbanded as the mech nudged the medic toward one corridor, his weapon still activated.
Darkstorm turned to the mech pleadingly. "Please, I don't know what's going on. I was born in Kaon; I am no royal."
He vented and rolled his optics, though the speed with which he did so seemed less annoyed and more a habit. "Whether you are or not, it doesn't matter. I know what I saw. Now if you please?" He motioned onward again.
Darkstorm paused in her tracks, turning to him with piercing optics. "What did you see? I may not be a royal but I was taught Vosian law. I have a right to know why I am being held. What did you see? Perhaps… I can help you."
"The law might have worked back when the place was in one piece, but in case you failed to notice we're not exactly an established society. Not only that, but we're a group that, shall we say, is adverse to the law." Thunderblast walked past Darkstorm. "I hope you can walk and listen at the same time." He glanced back at her as the two continued down the hall. "Look, I know you and Sunstorm have something going on. You're the only femme he's shown interest in, and I've been tailing the mech for long enough that I should know. I always assumed it was just that he didn't care for such things, but seeing how he treats you, and your delicate condition, it doesn't take a space bridge engineer to figure it out."
Darkstorm nearly stopped again as she stared at the mech, mouth agape. Did he-? Truly? She began to laugh bitterly at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. She was kidnapped for some assassination plot because they thought her and Sunstorm were bonded? "Sunstorm may admire me but we are hardly sparkmates. He pursued me even though I have already have a sparkmate." She looked him in the optic. "I am not lying. His name is Bumblebee and he is an Autobot scout. If you need proof, simply comm Optimus Prime. I'm sure once this situation is explained, he can help you and the wounded I saw."
The mech's optics widened the longer she held her gaze on him, eventually forcing him to turn away and continue down the hall. "Well either way you're here now, and we can still use you."
"Then let me tend to the wounded rather than being kept in confinement. Please, I swear to you that I have nothing to do with the royal family," Darkstorm insisted. "This is all just some big mistake."
"I'll leave that to Skydancer." The two approached a door with a mech standing on either side of it. "But for now I need you to stay here. We can't have unknowns around these refugees."
Darkstorm turned to him pleadingly but found no sympathy in his gaze. Silently admitting defeat, she went into the cell.
Once the door shut, one of the two mechs standing next to it leaned towards Thunderblast. "Mech, you never told us you were kidnapping a sparked femme."
"We didn't kidnap, we borrowed. And whether she's sparked or not should have nothing to do with it. She's probably the best shot we have at making this thing work." Thunderblast turned away from the room and mechs guarding it and headed back the way he'd come. I certainly hope she is, he thought.
I have to… Just go! Tell the others!
Bumblebee didn't have to be told twice. He ran as quickly as he was able towards Optimus' location. The Prime immediately sobered and handed his young son to Elita once he spied the panicked expression on the scout's facial plating.
Before he could ask what had happened, the scout rushed, "It's 'Storm, Optimus! She was captured by a bunch of Seekers in Polyhex and taken through a ground bridge."
Seekers… And Optimus couldn't help but think they were connected to the royals.
"Have you tried comming her?"
"It's jammed! And her life signal isn't showing up on my radar either. You don't think they'll hurt her, do you?"
Optimus wished he could reassure the scout but, at that moment, the Prime was as clueless as he. "Elita, stay with Rodimus," Optimus softly ordered before storming out of the room, comming all of his soldiers. "Autobots, one of our own has been taken. Requesting a meeting at once."
Sunstorm's brooding was interrupted as he heard a familiar caustic voice argue, "You had better get the slag out of my way. Those pirates have been tracking us for voors. Sunstorm deserves to be at the meeting as much as me."
Sunstorm smirked wryly. Ah, Slipstream, always arguing for my defense. However, the word "pirate" made him pause.
Pirates? Meeting? What was going on?
He sat up and seemed disconcerted when his sister walked in, the rare emotion of panic flashing across her optics. "You said pirates…" he whispered, spark filling with dread. "What has happened?"
"Those bots who've been tailing us? They just took Darkstorm."
Sunstorm's optics widened in disbelief as he stared back at his sister. It took him several moments to process what had just been said before his fists clenched. He stood up from the berth, wings and frame tense and alert. "You are certain?" he asked, his voice cold and clipped.
"She's been taken by 'Seekers with weapons,' but it all happened before Bumblebee even knew what was going on. They swooped in, took what they wanted, then made away before we could send a ground bridge. Sound familiar?"
Sunstorm grit his denta in anger, snarling. "This is all my fault. They must have seen me with her and thought they could use her as leverage. I swear, if they lay a single digit on her, I'll slaughter them all."
"Cool your jets, Bruda. The others are having a meeting about what to do. And while I would normally be the one rushing in right next to you, let's not forget our last encounter with the group . . . or the fact that the result of said encounter was what brought us here to seek shelter."
Sunstorm growled in frustration but knew he couldn't deny it. They had barely escaped with their lives the last time they encountered the guerillas. "Then, by all means, let's see what the glorious Optimus Prime plans to do."
Darkstorm lied there on the berth, servos over her large abdomen. She offlined her optics painfully as she turned over.
How could she have been so foolish? Sunstorm and Slipstream were fleeing from something and she had walked right into their trap all because of the prince's obsession with her.
She shakily vented, despair threatening to overtake her at any moment. She had thought she could live a peaceful life after the war had ended. Things had started out so well…
But first the DJD incident and now this? She didn't know how much more she could take.
But, her hopeful inner voice countered, because of the DJD Plasmarift was reunited with her sparkmate. Perhaps, something good can come out of this as well.
Lord, let it be so, she silently prayed. And allow me to return to my family.
Thunderblast lightly grabbed Skydancer's arm, stopping her daily routine of handing out energon to some of the refugees.
"We might have a problem. Do you have a minute?"
She looked at him before nodding and handing off the rest of the cubes in her servos to a nearby family. She then turned and led him to a room connected to the large area most of the refugees were staying in. Said room had become the unofficial office for the femme, somewhere to go for a private chat or just to get away from the crowd for a moment.
Once in the room, Skydancer turned to the mech. "What kind of 'problem' are we talking about here?"
"That femme we picked up? She isn't budging in her claim that she's not who we thought she was. What if she really isn't lying? What if she's not related at all?"
Skydancer took a deep breath and averted her gaze in thought. "You said you saw Sunstorm acting . . . different towards her. Affectionate?" The mech nodded. "Then it could be that we did misjudge the situation to a certain extent, but not in that he cares for her. He'll come for her. Royals don't like having their toys taken away." Her last sentence was said with a bitterness that Thunderblast saw rarely from his leader, but even once was one time too many.
She quickly recovered and looked back to him. "Besides, we still have the dampening field surrounding Vos. No one will pick up her signal until we go to the surface."
"That's another thing though. Won't having Vos appear completely invisible to sensors be conspicuous? If someone knows where it should be they'll investigate an-"
"Thunderblast, you act like we're still pirates. We're not anymore, remember? The only thing we're hiding are these bots who don't have anything else."
"And a hefty stash of energon that someone might be looking for."
Had this been a voor earlier, she might've rolled her eyes, smirked, and made a remark on how old habits died hard. As the situation was now, she simply vented. "It won't be 'hefty' for long. We have too many to feed and Vos, in all its splendor, doesn't produce nearly enough energon on its own." She vented again. "That's why we're doing this, Thunderblast. We just finish our task, set up the Vos government, and make peaceful trade with the surface so we don't have to steal anymore."
Skydancer leaned against the nearest wall to her and crossed her arms as she studied the crowd of refugees. "Primus knows we have a lot riding on this. We don't have much choice in the matter."
"I know." The mech approached her, stopping behind her but also in sight of the group. "That's why you have all our support."
She turned her helm to face him, bearing a fatigued smile. "Thank you. Having such loyal friends by my side helps more than you know." Skydancer again looked to the larger room and vented. "Well, no point in talking about it much longer. Tell everyone to gather what they need in case this goes sideways."
Thunderblast raised an optic ridge, "And why aren't you telling them?"
Skydancer replaced her relaxed stance against the wall with a straight posture. "I'm going to talk to our new friend. Hopefully by the time I'm done with that, everyone will be ready and we can get this over with." With that, she walked back into the larger room before heading towards their "guest's" room.
D/N: Just a warning, you guys, life has been getting busier and busier for me. Not only do I have the SAT, I have the ACT and college applications so if my responses are short and clipped, I apologize. I just have a ton going on right now.
And if you could pray for blondie, my father's health, and one of my best friend's lil sis who broke her wrist, I'd be much obliged.
Me (Guest): Thank you! ^^ I don't really know your name but we thank you so much for the review and the support.
To Guest: Yes, don't worry. Unless something life threatening comes up, we should update this saga every Wednesday.
To Bluefeather4299: Awesome? Aw, you are too sweet, darling. Thank you! We're so glad you like it.
To Saibot-Vapor: Well, I am glad to hear that you have found such a way. And thank you so much, darling! You are the kind one between the two of us. You have a lovely day, as well.
To Mindwipe: Thank you. All thanks be God's for giving me my abilities. We are so glad you are enjoying the story thus far. May God give you a wonderful day, my dear friend!
To Super Shadic: If you think that chapter was feely, I hope this one satisfied you… Just wait until you read on though. The drama will only increase lol.
"I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies. Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings" Psalm 17:6-8
Thank you everyone for sticking with us and for all the support. You are what encourage us to keep doing what we do. May God bless each and every one of you and your days!
Until next time, Dream'sRealm
B/N: Welcome to the crazy-drama-excitement-etc part of the day. This we actually kinda just recently thought of when we realized we knew that the Seekers had a "situation" but we never really explained what it was. Hope you enjoy et in all its multi-part glory mwahaha
And on a kind of serious note, I sincerely apologize if you guys have sent me messages or emails and I haven't replied. Work is taking enough of my time, but I'm gonna be even more stressed and busy beefing up my home security after I had someone break into and steal from my cars and shed Monday night/yesterday morning. I'll try to catch up now that I have a couple days off, but just wanted to let you know you're not forgotten ;~;
God bless, guys