Fire of Youth
Chapter 26
*Note to Kaleia: Glad you enjoyed! That battle was fun as heck to write! :D After watching the two How to Train Your Dragon films I got inspired. And yeah, poor kid's still gettin' the hang of those beast urges. That will be a bit of a point in this: What happens when you turn a modern Cybertronian into a Predacon? How will it affect them psychologically with all that foreign coding implanted into them, not to mention a full-body makeover to go along with it? Let's just say some formerly introduced characters will be having a part that aspect of the series.
Seriously. It's Miko. How did you not see that coming? xD
*Note to Guest: Holy hell. Hold your horses, buddy. I put the chapter out and you instantly say "Please update." It's not like I can magically make the next chapter appear or something. I have college to deal with, and I can't exactly write one of these chapters in an hour. :P Trust me, I've timed myself.
*Also, this is a much longer "episode arc" than most others, because we're also going to visit Ireland and some of the isles as well. Scottish and Irish lore are very similar. There's also something very interesting there that I think warrants some investigation...but first things first: Scotland!
"I freaking told her to stay put! And she just ignores me! Are you kidding me?!"
Out of sheer exasperation the Prime flung his arms in the air. An untranslatable noise escaped his vocalizer that sounded like a groan, moan, and scream of annoyance and indignation.
"I told her to stay here. I freaking told her! And here I thought she was actually listening to me! I thought we had some kind of understanding!"
Jack honestly felt a little sorry for him. He'd gone off to El Paso without the slightest idea of what was going on on the home front and came back with a wounded ally and a Predacon jaw to find out one of his human charges had decided to play truant stowaway with the Wreckers. Miko probably hadn't realized in hindsight how much of a stress explosion that was to him, having to worry about her on top of everything else. Then again, he doubted she ever would stop to think about the future ramifications of her actions. She was the kind of person who lived on excitement and impulse, going through life with her foot on the accelerator and dodging through oncoming traffic. Only rarely would she stop to shift her foot onto the brake.
"Infernus, it's okay." he reassured him. "She wouldn't have listened to you either way. Telling Miko what to do is like trying to tell a cat what to do. They just don't listen. I'm not even sure you could've stopped her. Miko would've found a way to dodge around you and go with them. And it's not the disaster you make it sound like. It's not like she went off on her own or anything. She's with the Wreckers. They'll keep her safe."
The young Prime's agitation began to die down. Ratchet tossed Jack a grateful look.
"...Magnus is not gonna be thrilled about finding her, Jack." Infernus reminded the youth stiffly. "You and I both both know that. And trust me, the mech's not exactly famous for his people skills."
"So...what are supposed to do about her?" Rafael wondered, adjusting his glasses. "I don't think we could ask them to turn around and bring her back or drop her off somewhere so we can 'bridge her here. The 'Cons would be able to detect the groundbridge, and wherever they stop to drop her off that's where the 'bridge would have to be. Find the 'bridge, find the team. Not to mention it would be a waste of fuel."
Infernus considered for a moment. Raf made a pretty good point. Asking the Wreckers to hightail it back to base when they were already near the eastern seaboard was a waste of time and Energon, and stopping to 'bridge her back would alert the 'Cons to their location – something Magnus was trying to avoid. He hemmed. There was of course the simple possibility of just letting her stay with them...but that might just reinforce to her that her truant behavior was totally fine. Bad association to go making there. What other choice was there though?
"Prowl's probably gonna smack me for saying this." he said. "But I think our best bet here is to just let her stay with them. I mean, who knows? She might be useful."
*So long as she doesn't go picking a fight with a Vehicon and alerting the entire 'Con army to their location.* Bumblebee trilled dryly.
He smirked: "Point."
Just as he thought, Prowl glowered at him. "That is the most ill-conceived strategy I have ever heard put forth. The female native is a liability, Prime, not an asset. She is too small and too frail to be of practical use in a fight, she is not armed or armored, and she has shown a consistent passion for disobeying authority and endangering herself for thrills. Should the enemy capture her and not immediately terminate her, she would be leverage for bargaining. No, the moment they land in the highlands she should be transported back via groundbridge."
"And by doing that we'd alert the 'Cons." Arcee deadpanned. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm with Infernus on this one. I know it sounds ridiculous, Prowl, but consider our other option is to put the team at risk. That's not a tactical decision. The Commander would say the same thing. You know that better than I do. We got hammered at El Paso thanks to the 'bridge tracking. A 'bridge would alert the 'Cons in an astrosecond. Besides, she's not completely helpless, you know. She can handle herself. She's been in worse spots and come out alright."
"Like being stuck in an alternate dimension with a zombie with me and Raf." Jack suggested. "That was a weird day..."
The white and black tactician seemed to find the idea about as believable as the Unmaker himself being thousands of klicks beneath his trods. It was utterly preposterous. Pocket dimensions were believable, as his race were wont to use them in daily life, but entire alternate realities? Not even the brightest physicists had been able to prove that.
"...You should be more concerned about this than you are, Prime." he said.
"Believe me, Prowl. I may not look it but I'm plenty worried. I've got a bunch of robotic demigods in my helm saying there are roughly a hundred ways for this situation to go south. I've just learned that mindless panic over something that would've happened either way is totally and completely pointless. Roadblocks like this are bound to happen with her. Sometimes you just gotta roll with it."
"And hope for the best." Grimwing finished.
"Exactly." Infernus nodded. "Just...cross your digits and hope Miko doesn't do anything totally nuts."
Ratchet snorted.
In hindsight, hiding behind Wheeljack's crate of explosives probably wasn't the smartest idea she'd ever had. But she did have to say that hitchhiking and eavesdropping definitely was. Best. Decision. Ever. It would be like an Indiana Jones movie – in Scotland! Now there was somebody with his priorities right. Life got boring without a little adventure and risk-taking. And hey, he did it for a good cause. So were they. The boredom was a killer though. She'd refrained from texting or playing games on her phone to help conserve battery life, but the conversations were only interesting at times. That discussion about kelpies and water bulls about ten minutes out had been real cool, but the Sidhe? Eh. Interesting as that had been, she just wasn't much into faeries. They had to be getting close now, right? She couldn't even see the scanner map thingy from where she was, and it wasn't like she had GPS on her phone or anything.
"What exactly are we gonna even be looking for?" Wheeljack asked. "I need some mission parameters here so I know what to bring."
Ultra Magnus shot him a disapproving look filled with muted aggression. The white Wrecker merely rolled his optics at him. Bulkhead intervened for the zillionth time. Miko personally wondered about the friction between the two. Bulk had made it seem like the Wreckers were a bunch of lean, mean killing machines that no sane 'Con wanted to mess with, and here one of them was arguing with another.
"I-I think what 'Jackie means is that he'd like to have some specifics over what our priority targets are gonna be. Sir."
That is dependent." Ultra Magnus replied, appeased. "The data from old sources has been reviewed and there are some creatures and locations of interest. In particular I find the mythology of the Scottish dragons, the Pech, and the Aos Sí and anything relating to them to be our priority targets. There are still natives who believe in many of these folkloric entities, but I have not discovered any modern day reports of strange creatures. Either that means our beasts are all long dead or they are in hiding for one reason or another. As for locations – searching the area around the megalithic stone structures and mounds would be best. Those are often attributed to either the Pech or the Aos Sí. If we find nothing of note here, Ireland was also inhabited by the Celts and their mythology mirrors the Scottish."
Miko's interested was piqued. Hide? What kind of giant metal beast would hide? They were giant! They were made of metal! They could breathe fire!
"Yeah, but I thought Raf said all those stone circles and stuff were astronomical?" Bulkhead wondered. "Like giant calendars?"
"There might be a reason for that. We are not from this planet. We came from the stars. Not only were they used to chart the positions of celestial bodies, they might also have been used as a form of...story-telling or appeasement or even power funneling. The Predacons were and are powerful beings. Perhaps the ancient Celts believed they could draw on their power through building such structures. And, of course, no one knows how precisely the Celts moved the stones that were used to build the circles, as they did not have access to modern technology. There are theories but no solid evidence for any of them."
Bulkhead stared. "You thinkin' they might've helped, sir?"
"Perhaps." said the larger mech noncommittally. "We have seen that Predacons will form alliances with the natives. And we know through Grimwing and the feathered serpents of Mesoamerica that not all Predacons are inherently violent. Some at least are cooperative and relatively peaceful."
Both Wreckers lapsed into silence. Miko seriously wished she had a means of hacking into their minds or something to see what they were thinking. She was so jealous that they could download so much info, store it, review it like a human would a Word document, and even wirelessly hook up to computers and stuff. At least that's what Raf said. He might as well be half 'Bot himself. Bored again, she let out a soft huff and stretched out, back against the crate. She hated being forced to slow down and relax but what other option was there? A stowaway had to play it low or they'd get caught and bad things would happen. The last thing she wanted was to be discovered too soon and forced back the hangar. Booooring.
She felt the ship bank, the engines fire. Soon its flight became smoother than a passenger plane. She heard pedefalls come her way and panicked, a sudden rush of adrenaline making her heart race. Had she done something to alert them? Would she be discovered – sent back? Frantically she looked around for another hiding place as the pedefalls drew dangerously close. There was a little nook type thing near her where the metal bent; tight, but it looked like she'd fit. She darted over to it, registering a dreaded plastic clattering sound, and slipped in, hunching up and hoping the slight overhang and shadow kept her hidden. Looking back, she was horrified to see her phone lying just behind the crate where it had fallen – and saw Wheeljack kneel down and begin examining his explosive cache. He picked one grenade up, tossed it up and down and attached it to his hip. The white Wrecker got up and made to leave. Miko breathed a sigh of relief.
And then Wheeljack did a double take.
'Scrap!' Miko thought. 'I'm done for!' She wedged herself further in, eyes wide.
"Hey, Bulk?" Wheeljack called. "C'mere."
The green Wrecker ambled over to him. "Yeah?"
Miko freaked out even more when Wheeljack managed to "pick up" the phone by somehow attaching it to his digit. He held it up to show his pal.
"Isn't this the kid's communicator?"
Bulkhead's optics widened a little. His face became confused.
"Her cell phone. Yeah. That's weird. Normally she keeps it on her like a magnet. Wonder how it got here?"
"Is there a problem, soldiers?" Magnus called back to them.
Miko nearly cursed aloud when he set the ship to autopilot and joined them. She was so royally screwed.
"I dunno whether it's a problem." Wheeljack admitted. "But seems his little friend dropped her communicator on your ship. No idea when."
The tall blue and maroon mech focused on the green Wrecker. "Did the female native have it on her the last time you met?" the taller mech wondered.
"I'm...honestly I'm not sure, sir. I'm so used to seeing it by now I don't even think about it."
Ultra Magnus examined her cell phone with a keen optic. It was all Miko could do to keep her breathing steady and quiet. He eventually took the phone from Wheeljack and made his way to the front of the ship.
"I will store it in the deadbox for safe-keeping. When we return we will see it restored to its rightful owner. My ship is not shielded from terrestrial wireless devices and the Decepticons could track the signal if it attempts to connect to a relay tower as we near land. Hopefully it was not attempting any connections as we crossed the continent."
Miko blinked and winced. She hadn't even thought about that. Lucky her that cell signals usually sucked in the middle of the ocean.
Satisfied that none of the mechs were aware they had a hitchhiker but annoyed that they'd basically stolen her phone from her, the girl slunk out of hiding and resumed her position behind the explosives crate. She still couldn't see the map thingy so she didn't know how close they were to Scotland, but the ship felt like it was going real fast, way faster than even the fastest plane. Letting out a sighing huff, she put her back against the crate and tried to think of ways to entertain herself – without revealing herself. That was probably going to be a lot harder than it sounded. No music, no phone, no talking to her friends. Nothing. All she had to listen to was the occasional bit of talking between the Wreckers and the sounds of the ship. Not exactly entertaining.
She just had top hope they got there before she really got bored. This was gonna drive her nuts.
Ultra Magnus had the ship on autopilot but all the same he remained in the pilot's seat, optics on the motion sensors and on the clouds below them. No one had stopped the consider it, not even Prowl, but there was the distinct risk of the bronze Draconian attacking them on the way or on site. It had found his Wreckers once before and nearly slaughtered them. There was no reason to think it would not happen again. Vigilance alone would keep himself and his soldiers safe. The beast was fast, strong, and dangerous, and the scanners had a range on them – if it ambushed the Iron Will from below the clouds they would barely have time to react.
But he was a skilled multi-tasker. Even as he watched the skies and scanners, he was reviewing archaeological data and the myths and folklore of the Celts. The cellular device Wheeljack had found troubled him, however, distracting his line of thought within only a few minutes.
'How did the communicator arrive on my ship?' he wondered idly. 'If it is here it must mean the female native somehow got aboard, possibly quite recently. Bulkhead's words indicate she would have reported it missing at once. But how did it come to be here of all places? She cannot board without the help of the hatch ramp; she is too small, and the hangar my ship was housed in had a small guard attached to it. Could she have slipped by? If she did, why was I not informed of it? Military protocol dictates such incidents be reported at once.'
He shook his helm. This was troubling. Without the device the native possessed no ready means of communicating to her allies if they were some distance from her, and he knew through the native called Fowler that the Decepticons were not above native abductions – or torturing said abductees to gather intelligence. Should she be captured before he returned it she would be mute. He would inform the doctor of this dangerous oddity, but he and the Wreckers were under orders of radio silence, and they were not to break it until their arrival, nor were they to use it frequently. Every precaution needed to be taken to ensure the mission was accomplished covertly.
The mech leaned forward onto the controls, elbows firmly but gently planted in place, hands intertwined and supporting his chin. He resumed his watch and research, but now his expression was thoughtful – thoughtful and concerned. He now had one extra problem to ponder. He hoped the young female was safely in the hangar. He didn't need any more problems.
"Sir?" Bulkhead asked.
Ultra Magnus glanced back. "Yes?"
"...You think Miko's okay? If she leaves her phone it's usually by accident, but accidents with her tend to cause...problems."
Wheeljack snorted. "That's an understatement." That girl was a magnet for trouble. But brave he had to admit. He liked that about her. She'd saved his sorry spark by blasting Hardshell into scrap metal.
The pilot blinked.
"The device was on my ship. There are no dangers on site nor on the vessel. I sincerely doubt she has come to harm. I suspect someone may have helped her gain access at some point recently, possibly one or more of the military personnel, and she dropped it here without even being fully aware of it. Considering your evidence and what I have observed of her behavior firsthand that seems likely."
Bulkhead breathed a sigh of relief. Most of the Wreckers had loathed Magnus because of his cautious attitude towards basically everything (the mech was never willing to tasks risks) but he had generally liked his cool, calm, cautious logic. Sometimes it was a little bit annoying. But sometimes, when it really mattered, it could be reassuring. Hope and reassurance were hard to come by when you were outnumbered and outgunned by the enemy.
Two hours later...
Miko woke with a start when she felt the ship lurch. Adrenaline pumped into her veins. She thought for a second they were under attack. But when it didn't happen again and she heard no shouting or blaster fire or anything the thought vanished. Excitement replaced fear when Magnus deployed the hatch ramp. The ship had lurched because it had landed, not because of any attack.
'Finally!'
She slowly got to her feet and peeked from around the explosive crate. Wheeljack had the one grenade he needed so she didn't need to worry about him coming back until after he used it. And by then she'd be in the field with them and helping, so she wouldn't need to stay hidden. They wouldn't send her back 'cause she'd prove she could be helpful to them, that she was as tough as they were. 'Jackie and Bulk would defend her being here. They liked her. She was one of them. Magnus might groan and gripe about it but he'd get over it once she proved her worth. Hopefully, anyway. 'Jackie had been a bit skeptical of her to start with but he'd come around in the end. Magnus would do the same. Wouldn't he? She'd helped draw the 'Cons away from their super fortress, hadn't she? What more proof did the guy need?
She darted after them as they exited the ship, too thrilled to bother to look at the map scanner thing; she wasn't that great at geography anyways. They'd tell her where they were. And then off to adventure! Mark had gotten to meet a real live Predacon that hadn't tried to kill them. Now she would, too!
Ahead of her was a vast expanse of rolling green hills. Puffy clouds rolled along in the skies. Mountains loomed in the near distance. Up on one of the peaks she could've sworn she saw something flash in the sunlight, like it was made of metal. But then it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Had that been a Predacon? A car? Were they being watched already? Her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, she was sure of that – she'd definitely seen something up there. If they'd been spotted by a civilian they were in so much trouble.
But an entire island to explore...oh, where would she even start? Free reign on an entire island! If only she had her phone though. She could use that to snap pictures and video evidence if she found anything. But Magnus had locked it up on his ship. Wasn't like Indian Jones relied on cell phones. So neither would she. Besides, he's said her phone was a danger because the 'Cons could lock onto the signal. She could make do without. And maybe she'd find a friendly Pred who could help her get onto the ship so she could get her phone – and impress them even more! So, grinning, she went in the opposite direction the Wreckers were heading. The big guy had mentioned something about burial mounds and stone circles. She'd look for one and she'd start there. He'd said they were all over the island, so she was bound to run across one at some point, right? She didn't even know which island this was though. She dimly remembered from her classes that Scotland was only one of many islands. There were a couple others that were nearby, Ireland being one of them. She brushed that aside. Maybe she'd run into some hikers and she could get some directions.
'Right!' she thought. 'Stone circle or mound thingy – here I come!'
A dark, mottled green form the size of a calf peeped out from its hiding place behind a boulder up on the grassy cliffs, its large metal ears pricked straight up as it listened. He could hear the chatter from the other metal beings below it, but he dared not reveal himself to an Autobot. Too many of his kin had perished at their hands in the past. Safer to stay hidden. Even the folk of the island had at one point tried to hunt them down. It had taken thousands of years for them to become rumor and superstition. And unfortunately not everyone was gifted with the ability to keep their mouths shut.
He opened a comm. channel: [Ramhorn? Yae got sights on 'em too, aye?]
[Aye, that I do.] replied another male voice. [We need ta tell the others afore we hit trouble. Meet at Barpa Langass. Bring the others, and stay outta sight.]
[Nae need ta tell me twice.] replied the mottled green hound.
But he did not move out right away. He focused on the Autobots for a short time, satisfying himself they were headed west, not north. The girl, however, was headed in a northerly direction towards their meeting place. That could mean trouble. He did note she bore no weapons. She was nowhere near the threat the Autobots were. A thought struck him then – was the girl a prisoner and had she escaped their clutches? That might explain why she'd split from them. If so he felt obligated to help her.
Belly plates brushing the soft grass, Tag-Along activated his color-mimicking outer armor and slunk after the girl. He'd keep an optic on her and guide her safely towards the cairn. She would be safe there until the Autobots were off the island. The Seelies would ensure that. The Canipid just had to hope their enemies would would not bother them today. Their attacks had become far more frequent of late. Trying to help civilians and remain aloof and hidden from them was no easy feat.
Miko forewent running after a minute of it, panting heavily. She had no idea where the heck she was even headed, and she hadn't brought water or snacks with her. She didn't even have any cash on her.
The grass rustled behind her. She spun but saw no one aside from the Wreckers driving off into the Highlands and vanishing over a hill. The girl turned, sincerely wishing she had a phone. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move, but when she turned to see what it was there was nothing to be seen. On edge now, she picked up a stone and aimed it at thin air. She heard something that sounded like heavy breathing and threw it at the source. There was a clang as it hit something metallic. A nightmarish sound like a bellow and a horse whiny followed it, and the air before her shimmered to reveal a horse that surprisingly wasn't that much larger than one of those big workhorses. It was made of sickly green metal that dripped with some kind of liquid that made the grass beneath it wither at a single drop. Its eyes burned red as it reared back. Its hooves kicked wildly.
She screamed.
Bulkhead slammed on his breaks the moment he heard the scream. He spun around and transformed, wildly scanning the hills. His spark nearly stopped at what he saw less than five miles away: a familiar young Asiatic teen girl in bright pink and black clothes. Looming over her was some sort of metal horse with red optics and a bright violet Decepticon crest on its flank, hooves kicking at her. Nightmarish noises were escaping its throat.
"MIKO!" he thundered in panic.
He didn't even wonder how the Pit she'd gotten here. He transformed and roared in her direction. That horse meant to kill her. He could see it in the thing's optics.
"Bulkhead!" Magnus bellowed. "This enemy is unknown to us! We must strategize!" Idly he registered this beast as one of the smallest they'd encountered thus far, yet it was still larger than the Gwyllgi had been. And despite it lacking fangs and claws he had no cause to think those hooves would inflict any less damage. Blunt force damage was equally devastating than that brought on by sharp weaponry.
Wheeljack snapped at him: "Frack strategy and get your over-sized rear in gear! That thing ain't gonna wait for us!"
The white Wrecker raced after Bulkhead, pedal floored. There was no way they were getting there in time. They were only halfway to her and the thing's hooves were already starting to come down on her. It'd crush her skull into powder.
Shock rippled between the Wreckers as a flash of mottled green light appeared just beside Miko to reveal the form of a large dog with a Decepticon insignia on its shoulder. Its massive paw slammed into the horse's neck like boxing gloves and made it stagger to the side. The dog growled and batted the horse again, never letting its paw remain in contact with its metal hide for more than a few milliseconds at a time. Miko tried to dart around the two brawling beasts but their limbs stamped down wherever she tried to run, and the weird liquid dripping from the horse she was pretty sure wasn't something she should let touch her. Not only was it killing the grass, every time the dog's paw met with it there was a sound like hissing steam. She needed an opening. She yelped when the dog was replaced with green light – and it and the horse vanished like ghosts. The hair on the back of her neck was standing on end, and the air around her felt...it was hard to describe. Buzzed maybe, like it had been shooting up energy drinks. It made her skin tingle. A second later and the dog reappeared as if by magic, almost dropping on top of her. Miko noticed its paws were smoking. Its head whipped in the direction of the approaching Autobots. It then looked down at her and plucked her up in its jaws by the neck of her shirt. She shrieked and struggled instinctively.
"I am not about to be your dinner, mutt!" she shouted. "Put me down!"
Uselessly she kicked the dog's upper chest. It didn't even react. But she noticed its red optics – they weren't the mindlessly aggressive ones of the bronze dragon or the weird horse. They actually had a glimmer of fear in them as the dog sized up the charging Wreckers. That was weird. Predacons weren't afraid of anything. The Gwyllgi had attacked mechs twice its size, and Grimwing hadn't exactly ran from the intruders in his home.
Before she could even register what was happening the world around her began to glow bright green. In less than a second the light engulfed her and the dog, and the hills and valleys and cliffs were no more.
"MIKO!" Bulkhead bellowed.
But it was no use. Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus skidded to a stop where empty air now stood in place of the two. She and the dog were gone, no trace of them left.
Location: Decepticon warship Nemesis
On a display screen tucked within one of the quieter areas of the vessel. Staring at it intently through his visor-masked face was Soundwave. On the screen was video feed from the other day that showed the interactions of Ravage and the Predacon within the launch bay hangar. Though he could not understand what was being said owing to the series of clicks, growls, screeches and other such unidentifiable sounds, he knew the signs of communications better than anyone. Shockwave would need to know about this if he was not already aware. The communication might be innocent...or it might not be.
The screen beeped. The silent mech tapped a digit onto the console and the image changed from video feed to a map of an island off the European coast which they were rapidly approaching. Another series of beeps occurred, and signals erupted across that island and those near it. Twelve of them in total. The latter he knew to be chip signals from Shockwave's Predacons, but the former – he honestly did not believe what his optics and the ship itself was telling him. It was faint, so faint that only the ship's sensor array could have detected it...and it overlapped one of the signals. He tapped into the slumbering ship's sensors and issued a request.
[Request. Confirmation.]
[Confirmation. Tachyon particle reading. Accuracy: 99.99%]
Even as he watched, the signal in question traveled a spectacular distance of well over one hundred fifty klicks in the span of an astrosecond, taking another signal with it, then bounced back to where it had been previously just as swiftly, leaving the other signal where it had been a moment before. So Soundwave pinged Shockwave and sent him the data readings.
[Have Starscream ready the Predacons.] Shockwave answered. [Our priority is the Energon, but the Predacons on the island are no less important. The more we add to our arsenal, the simpler it will be to exterminate the Autobot opposition.]
[Understood.] droned the spy.
And the signal was sent on to the Seeker.
Author's Note: Muahahaha :P
