Hello peeps. Thanks to all that have followed and favored this story, it always means a lot to me. Here is the next chapter though.
ENJOY! :D
"Shadowstep! Shadowstep!" Mentora cried, her optics wide and body trembling as she looked helplessly around for her beloved. Darkness, that is what surrounded her. There was nobot around. That is when she realized that Bassdrop wasn't in her arms. Shocked at the realization, she called out to him, but once more, only silence answered her desperate cries.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions...Missiles, turbos out of water and any type of bullets existing was shot at her, they were going at a scary slow speed, yet still coming at her. That is when she saw it. Red, red optics where starring at her from all over the place. Decepticons.
"Go away! Leave me alone!" She cried as she desperately ducked for cover as the dangers came closer. She was alone, oh so very alone and would die that way. Suddenly, a flash of maroon appeared before her and curled around her form like a cocoon. Whoever it was, that bot took the impact of everything.
"Shadow!" Mentora gasped, pushing herself out of the live protection and allowed her beloved to rest his helm on her lap. His form was horribly damaged with his chest open, revealing his weak humming spark.
"T-take c-ca-care of our B-Bassdrop, my lo-love..." he sputtered out before his optics shut off and the decepticons laughed and slowly approached. Tears formed in the femme bot's optics and she cried to the dark sky with all her power.
"Noooooo!" The red femme bot gasped, her helm whipping itself upwards to franticly look around. No red optics, no Shadowstep...
A servo was slowly lifted to caress her cheeks. They were wet, due to the coolant tears she had let fall during her horrible dream. Movement on her stomach awoke her from her saddened daze. Bassdrop was in a deep recharge lying stomach agains hers. He twitched slightly with a distressed looking expression across his innocent little face. At the sight, Mentora felt painfully guilty and innerly scolded herself. Indeed, for what she felt, it quickly rubbed off onto her sweet little one. She should have known better! She needed to control her feelings, surpass it, hide them.
Lightly massaging Bassdrop's helm with slow loving touches, his frown soon vanished and was replaced with a relaxed complexion.
Mentora sighed in relief and looked back up at the closed doors where a thin streak of light found it's way through. What was going to happen today? To her, to her sparkling.
Three decepticon mechs traveled slowly down the hallway to the brig. One being a vehicon, the second in command, having his heels loudly clang against the floor in mock intimidation for whoever passed by and the third one being the ever so silent Soundwave who was, without even trying, far more intimidating than Starscream ever could master in just a few steps, being that the vehicons were more on edge when he was around.
"Now to finally put the plan into action." Starscream smiled and cracked his digits behind his back. "Hopefully that femme won't put too much of a fight when we take the sparkling. I'm not in the mood for fussing around with a weak annoying bot like her." The vehicon remained wearingly silent, not wanting to say anything pointless in front of the ill-tempered second in command and creepy faceless communications officer. He was simply tagging along due to recent given orders.
They arrived at the very door once more and it whooshed open for them . As the very little light that existed on the ship entered the "comfortable" brig. The red femme-bot who inhabited the very room scrambled up from the berth and cowered into the the corner, sparkling faced away from their sights. Just as she had done the day before.
"Greetings, femme." Starscream "smiled". At the familiar sound of his voice, the femme-bot cowered even further into the corner despite the thought of it being impossible. Bassdrop had awakened by the voice as well and was once more trying to catch a peak around his mother's form.
"I hope you are well rested, for today is when everything begins." Not knowing or liking what he was saying, Mentora faced the trio and narrowed her optics into slits.
"Commander, Starscream. Shall I grab the sparkling?" The vehicon finally spoke and gestured to the tiny being.
"You may pursue," Starscream smirked. At this, the mother bot's form froze. The vehicon closed in, coming deeper and deeper into the room until he finally was at the end of the berth and reached an arm out with an open grasp. Just as he was to reach around, Mentora hissed at his servo and kicked it away.
"Don't you even dare!" she snarled. Her dentals were showing, as if she were some kind of canine. She had not done such an action for a LONG time, being that she had spent countless years to simply get rid of that very habit to become a successful teacher. However, at the sake of protecting her very sparkling, anything would have to be done. For there was NO way she was about to allow any of the bots in the very room to even as much lay a single digit on her little bundle without a proper fight.
The vehicon tried again, only to receive a kick to the face. Angered by this, he tried once more though this time he was given not only a firm kick to his abdomen, but a stinging slap on his servo. This went on for a while, the vehicon trying over and over again while the enraged mother countered his movements with violence. All the while this occurred, the second in command was about to lose his patience. Soundwave watched on in hidden amusement. Anybot would have found the sight gush streaming, especially when the very sparkling, whom is the main target, was loudly giggling at his mother's funny movement's to give proper impacts at a vehicon.
"Oh for spark's sake! Let me handle it!" Starscream finally announced and marched right over. Pushing the poor vehicon aside, he proceeded to reach his very own clawed servos out to grab the giggling baby, only to have the same results happen to him.
HIT! KICK! SLAP! KICK-KICK! SLAP-SPLAP!
"Enough of this you scrap-made femme!" Starscream roared as a final kick was connected to his shoulder. He was about to use great violence himself, when a tentacle wire suddenly appeared out of nowhere behind the mother and easily grabbed the sparkling out of her exhausted grasp. She in return gasped and let out a desperate cry as she watched her child "zoom" through the air until he finally reached the end from where the wire had come from. Soundwave.
Bassdrop giggled at the not-so-very expected "air-ride". Whatever it was, he had enjoyed it. Looking up with his massive blue optics, he found them reflecting right back at him by a screen. He cooed at the sight.
"Get your filthy claws off MY child!" Mentora snarled and hopped off the berth to sprint right at him full on, perhaps to tackle him, or punch him. Anything! Though she was pulled back by the second in command. He sneered at her.
"Oh, no you don't." He turned his gaze at the communications officer. "Now to have that sparkling taken to the med-bay. Knockout is awaiting for his arrival." The vehicon stepped forward and grabbed the sparkling who Soundwave had gently placed down into the other bot's grasp. Not pleased with the parting from the silent bot, Bassdrop let out a whiny moan. However his pleads where not heard, or more or less ignored, by any of the adult mechs as he was taken out of the brig, through the open doors and away from his poor mother's sight.
"Bassdrop!" Mentora cried as tears dropped onto the floor from her twinkling optics. She pulled and pulled, but she could not escape the death grip. She scratched and she scratched her capture's wrists, but there still was no avail to her actions. At the realization and saddened admitting that she was no match at all for the large and sleek decepticon mech, she stopped her hopeful prevail and turned her desperate and heartbroken gaze up to the second in command's red optic glare.
"Please, bring him back." she sobbed. However he never answered her. She looked up at the screen-faced bot and gave the very same devastated expression. "Please," she pleaded. "PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!"
"Enough with your ridiculous pleads! It is time for interrogation!" Starscream heartlessly sneered and roughly threw the femme back onto the berth. At the sudden force, Mentora received a great impact to her helm and she grabbed it at the burning within her metallic skull. While it indeed hurt, the feelings within her spark concurred every other pain her body was experiencing. She curled her legs behind her and placed her servos onto her lap for her miserable optics to watch being that she did not wish to look at any of her captors.
"Now, let's see. Mentora, for how lon-" he stopped mid-sentenced when noticed that said femme was not paying attention at all. He groaned and stomped up to her. "Listen! When did you enter earth's atmosphere?" No answer, "What did you work as on cybertron?" Silence, "Is your spark-mate offline?" At the tiny twitch the female made, he knew she indeed had lost her partner. However he still received no answer. At this, he groaned and stomped right back out through the brig doors.
"Whatever! Mourn however much you want! For I shall be back and you better be talking! Otherwise I will have to use different methods. And I can assure you that they are not that very pleasant" And with that, he was gone. Only Mentora and the silent communications officer remained in the brig.
Soundwave was mentally tsking at the second in command's behavior. What was he expecting from a mothered femme-bot who just had gotten her sparkling forcefully taken away from her? To willingly do as he said? Preposterous! Of course she was to be in the very position he was watching her in.
Shaking his head, Soundwave turned his heels and proceeded to step through the doors as well but paused in his actions to properly inform the very distressed femme.
::He shall be brought back::
Knockout was eagerly looking back and forth in his med-bay. Hoping to find something useful when checking the sparkling. He grinned. He hadn't done a check-up on a sparkling for ages being that they all were sure that they'd never see one again due to the lack of femme bots...and romance.
The doors whooshed open and the very vehicon with the sparkling entered. The tiny being seemed rather uncomfortable within the larger bot's grasp and the medic quickly noticed why.
"Er-er-er! Lighten your hold!" he scolded and ran up to the lower ranked bot. He glared at him and lightly took the sparkling away from him. At this, Bassdrop's uncomfortable expression vanished and was replaced with relief.
Knockout allowed the baby to rest in one arm that he bent like some sort of makeshift bed. After making sure he was fine, he resumed his former icy glare at the vehicon who backed away slightly.
"You need to be more careful! Sparklings are extremely fragile!" The vehicon seemed to have something to say but kept quiet when an unexpected voice filled the medbay
"Stupid slaggin' femme!" Starscream hissed, stomping into the med-bay and paced around while trying to control his anger. Knockout was surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Starscream? Why are you here?" he paused, "Aren't you supposed to be interrogating the femme?" At his question, the second in command lifted his gaze to reveal slitted optics that seemed to glow a darker shade of red. At this, the vehicon slowly snuck his way out of the med, just in case the second in command would wish to let his raft out on a "poor" low ranker.
"That blasted red colored scrap-heap refused to say anything! How dare she?! And before my very presence! Does she have a death wish?"
For some reason, Bassdrop did not find the winged bot's outbursts scary in the least. If anything, he found it quite amusing. He smiled at the sight and let out a delighted coo before clapping his servos. Knockout grinned along with the sparkling.
"Well what did you expect from a femme who suddenly had her sparkling taken away from her? To happily be submissive to your every order?"
"Silence!" Starscream roared. Just then, Soundwave entered. At the sight of the screen-faced bot, Bassdrop happily cooed, but it went unnoticed.
"Anyways, what do you have in mind on starting on, Knockout?" Starscream finally sighed.
"Well, commander Starscream," Knockout grinned and placed the sparkling onto a medic berth. "I am just about to do a body inspection. To make sure that everything is properly in place or if there is anything that shouldn't be there." Starscream and Soundwave stepped closer around the berth.
Bassdrop looked curiously around him, but then noticed something.
"M-mama?" he chirped and looked around in search for his carrier. Knockout patted him on the head at that and proceeded to lift his arms to inspect underneath.
"No worries, little one. Your mama is back at the bridge." Bassdrop tilted his helm at this but moved his gaze onto what the other red bot besides his mother was doing. After a while of inspection, the medic stood back up properly.
"Well, nothing seems out of place. He was indeed born just a few weeks ago, perhaps a month. But it would seem that he is slightly smaller than what he is supposed to be..."
"What do you mean?" Starscream interrupted.
"Well, from what I can tell. His armor is somewhat thinner and more fragile that what a sparkling his age should be. Its almost as if he were born a week ago. And his gears should have grown out a little bit more than what they are." He pondered for a second, "It could be because his mother is the only support he has. When a sparkling is born, it receives power and connections from both its parents. This usually causes a slight exhaustion from both parents but both supporting the new creation makes it grow healthier, both physically and mentally. If the femme's mate is offline then that would mean that the sparkling is receiving all it needs from only her. A single bot giving 100% support to a sparkling is risky and not as effective."
"Hmm...I suspect she indeed has lost her mate." Starscream mused. "However, if thats the case, then it wouldn't be much of a difference with him. If he is offline, then he must have been a weakling." Stepping over to Bassdrop, Starscream sneered. "And my superior intelligence has come up with an other splendid idea." He smirked at his comrades. "If we are to raise this sparkling to be the best of the best, then he needs the best of the best support." Grabbing Bassdrop, with a little more force than necessary, he lifted the sparkling up into the air and forced the large blue eyes to look into his red ones. Bassdrop squirmed at the sight, asking to be put back down onto the berth.
"And what might this idea be?" Knockout questioned with a roll of his optics. Soundwave too was curious, but suspected he already knew what the second in command had in mind.
"I Starscream, shall form a spark-bond with this sparkling. And with my support he will grow into the greatest decepticon in the world!" 'And be on my side forever,' he mentally added with a smirk.
"Well...I guess that could work." Knockout mused. "I believe it has been done a few times when a bot would re-bond. But in this case I'll assume you'll only be bonding with the sparkling," It was more of a statement rather than a question but Starscream still burst out.
"Of course! As if I would bond with a weak femme like THAT!" he spat. Bassdrop did not like his tone and whined. His small voice drew everyones attention to him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, my little future warrior." Starscream smirked. Bassdrop grimaced. Suddenly, the second in command's chest-plates opened to reveal his large thrumming spark. This took the sparkling's grim expression away and replaced it with curiosity and wonder. But then he noticed that he was being brought closer to it. His little conscious instinctually knew what the jet-bot was trying to do and kept his own chest-plates shut.
"Now-now, sparkling. This is the part when you open yours." Starscream impatiently frowned. But still, he did not click them open. Bassdrop just turned his face away from the exposing spark and started to wiggle in avail of getting out of his clawed grasp. "Stop squirming, you little pest." Starscream hissed. "Just open your chest plates so that we can get this over with!"
"Uh...Starscream. I don't think tha-" Knockout began but was quickly interrupted.
"Silence! Let me handle this. He just needs a little help, thats all." Bassdrop hissed right back at him with surprisingly intimidating slit optics. This caused the second in command to smirk again. "See, he has it in him. He just needs a little push. Now, OPEN THEM!" No avail. "Fine! Then i'll open them myself." And with that he proceeded to try and claw the small chest-plates open. This caused the sparkling to squirm even more and cry out in pain and fear. His clawing was however abruptly stopped when a long wire slid over and took the sparkling away from Starscream's grasp.
"What the-" Starscream stuttered and turned to Soundwave who now had the sparkling within his long talon servo. Bassdrop sighed in relief and pressed his form into the screen-faced bot's abdomen. Meanwhile, the ever so silent communications officer had a stern stare-down with the second in command, despite his screen.
"Wh-wha...FINE!" Starscream roared and slammed his chest-plates shut. "If that little brat refuses to receive MY support. Then he will not receive any!" he spat, "It would seem that he is not that very intelligent. Well if that is the case then you better build him up with great brawn, Knockout!" That was the last thing he said before stomping out of the med-bay, all the while muttering insults bout a bad mothering.
Reviews of all kind are welcome. Until next time.