"So, 'Con…"
"Steeljaw."
"Right, right, my bad. So, Steeljaw, you do know where you're going, right? Not leading us into a trap or anything?"
"Blurr, this is a rescue mission in enemy territory! Be quiet!"
"I'm just making sure he isn't tricking us, Quickshadow."
Steeljaw bit back a retort. While he had no qualms with Quickshadow, Blurr was really making him lose his processor with their excessive talking and need for speed. Just the fact that he's literally a shorter version of Sideswipe is enough to irritate him.
Stay focused on the mission, Steeljaw. You'll be rid of them before you know it.
"Hey, you going to answer me or what?" Blurr demanded, pulling forward to drive alongside Steeljaw.
"Blurr!" Quickshadow snapped.
"What? He didn't answer me! Isn't it rude for…"
"Both of you, shut up and get down!" Steeljaw hissed, quickly transforming and diving behind a rock. The Rescue Bots pulled a U-E and joined the Lupicon.
"W…" Blurr was about to ask as soon as he transformed, but was abruptly cut-off.
"Stop. Talking." Steeljaw growled, his tail tightly wrapped around the annoying mech's helm.
The trio waited a few minutes. A pair of Insecticons were on patrol, and if Steeljaw hadn't noticed them in time, then the whole plan would've been screwed to the Pits, and Steeljaw would have killed Blurr. That is, assuming the Insecticons didn't get them, first. Thankfully, the Insecticons passed them; they were free to continue.
"We haven't seen any roamers until now," Quickshadow pointed out as she scanned the area. "I believe it's safe to assume that we're getting close to our target."
"If you mean where Knockout is, then yes, that would be my best guess," Steeljaw agreed, peering over the rock and sniffing the air. When he didn't pick up anything worth being alarmed about, he turned back to Blurr. "Ready to get going?"
Steeljaw's tail was hiding Blurr's pouty face, but he didn't need to see to know how the other mech felt. Chuckling, he unwrapped his tail.
"Yeah," Blurr dead-panned, rising to his pedes and transforming. Steeljaw and Quickshadow, after one last look around, transformed as well and left, Blurr in tow.
The remainder of the trip was completed in silence, the trio only stopping to hide from approaching patrols, which were becoming more and more frequent the closer they got to the Hive, and in turn, Knockout. Once they did reach the Hive, Steeljaw and the Rescue Bots stealthily made their way to the bottom of the cliff, and were about to enter one of the tunnels when they heard the unmistakable sound of Insecticon wings. They rushed to hide behind the closest thing to the tunnel – a large, pointed stone – and waited for the Insecticon to move.
It didn't.
"Scrap," Blurr cursed. "We don't have all day! Can't we just go another way?"
"Oh, sure, let's ignore the scent trail and risk getting lost, captured, and/or killed in a maze of tunnels and burrows made by hundreds of thousands of Insecticons… great idea," Steeljaw answered sarcastically.
"Wait, you were tracking Knockout by scent this whole time?"
Steeljaw closed his optics and smacked his helm.
How… why… I really need to meet his boss, and ask him these questions at a later date, assuming the kid doesn't get us all killed before then.
"I swear, Blurr," Quickshadow mumbled, clearly sharing Steeljaw's sentiments.
"I thought he was using some sort of special scanner or something!" Blurr exclaimed. "But if it wasn't that, then what did you grab before we left?"
Due to the high-stakes, stressful situation, it took Steeljaw a moment to process the question.
"Oh, that," he perked, leaning back and opening his subspace. He reached in and brought out a small, black disk with a gray button in the center. "Just a little something I put together. I'm thinking of calling it a blackout disk. It's designed to force a complete system shut-down, and before you ask, yes, the effect is temporary."
"Whoa! Basically a one-hit wonder!" Blurr replied, looking over the small, seemingly harmless object pinched between two of Steeljaw's claws. "I mean, that's assuming it can only be used once."
"Don't worry, I made plenty of them. A whole batch, specifically designed to take care of Insecticons. It won't do anything to something bigger than an Insecticon, but something smaller…"
"Permanent shut down," Quickshadow finished, understanding what Steeljaw was, supposedly, warning them about.
"Precisely. Now, let me give you two a little demonstration."
Before either Blurr or Quickshadow could process what was happening, Steeljaw ran out of hiding, straight for the tunnel that the Insecticon was still guarding. He pressed the central gray button, leaped onto the guard's back, and stuck the disk to their armor. He jumped off just before the resulting shockwave could hit him.
The Insecticon collapsed, unconscious, almost instantly.
"Wow, those things actually work!" Blurr mused as he and Quickshadow rushed to Steeljaw's side.
"All of my devices work," Steeljaw clarified, reaching back into his subspace and taking out the rest of the disks, splitting them between him and the Rescue Bots.
Whether they've been properly tested or not is something that could be up for discussion.
Steeljaw didn't dare say that out loud.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Quickshadow gestured down the tunnel with an outstretched servo. "Lead the way, Steeljaw."
Unaware of all that is occurring, Knockout remains in a painful, leaking pit of despair, full of questions and doubts. After all that happened, after all that Airachnid revealed to him…
Knockout knows that he can't trust Airachnid, – never has, never will – but after their last discussion, he can't help thinking about what he knows. Or rather, what he thought he knew.
She said she killed him only out of self-defense, which I guess I can see, but she still killed him. Airachnid did not have to kill him. Then again, she is a hunter; even she admitted that, and I guess as someone who's entire function has basically been one thing, of course she couldn't help the thrill.
Besides, it's not like she desecrated Breakdown's corpse; a bunch of good for nothing, disgusting flesh bags did! And what's worse, Megatron was even considering allowing that monstrosity to stay on the ship if he proved himself useful! Thank Primus he didn't, but it still doesn't change the fact that Megatron even let that thing on board and didn't immediately terminate it!
Of course, I did have some fun experimenting on Silas. I'm sure Breakdown wouldn't have minded, and who knows? Maybe if he was still around, he would've had better luck talking some sense into Starscream.
What am I saying? Nobody can talk sense into Starscream! Except maybe Moonracer.
You'd be proud of her, Breaky. Our little Moon, all grown up, like… what do the humans call it again? . . . Oh yeah! Like our little sister. That's it.
Moonracer, our rough and tough, and smart and caring little sister.
Knockout's thoughts abruptly stopped. He couldn't see, but felt something sliding down his faceplates. He blinked his optics to clear them, only for them to become more blurry.
"Crying?" Knockout whispered. A small, pained smile formed on his tear-streaked faceplates, and he released a coarse laugh. "Well, I guess that's all I can do right now."
Suddenly, Knockout's audials perked at the sound of pebbles scattering, signaling someone or something heading his way. Not expecting help, he kept his mouth shut and tried to curl in on himself as protection, but couldn't due to his bonds.
"Blurr, be careful where you step! We don't want to alert any more Insecticons than we already have!"
"None of that was my fault! . . . Okay, not all of it was my fault, but still, stop blaming me for everything!"
Geez, they certainly know how to get along. Strange how they don't sound like Insecticons…
"You two are really making me wish I was forced to bring along Strong Arm and Sideswipe instead," a third – very familiar – voice retorted.
Wait, isn't that…
"Steeljaw?" Knockout called out, holding onto the tiniest bit of hope that one of his comrades was really here, and that this wasn't some cruel trick being played on him by the Insecticons.
The sounds vanished, but just as quickly as they did, they resurfaced, and it just kept getting louder and louder and more distinct until…
"Knockout?"
The red medic swore he's never been happier in his life when he saw Steeljaw standing in the burrow's entrance. Behind him were two other bots Knockout didn't recognize: a tall, white femme, and a short, purple mech. Both had the Rescue Bot insignia engraved upon their plating.
"Uh, yeah, who else would there be?" Knockout jokes, now that he knew he was safe.
"Humor under stress… guess Starscream was right about one thing," Steeljaw admitted.
"For once."
Knockout looked at the bots behind Steeljaw and nodded his helm towards them.
"So, who're those two?" The red medic asked.
"Blurr and Quickshadow," Steeljaw introduced before the former could open his mouth. "And I can assure you, it was not my idea to bring them."
"Bumblebee and the others didn't want you to go alone, and I for one agree with them," Quickshadow spoke as she walked past her comrades and over to Knockout.
"And not just because he's a 'Con and we don't trust him," Blurr inputted, following Quickshadow. Steeljaw grumbled something before turning around.
"Hey, former Decepticon medic sitting right here!" Knockout exclaimed.
"Uh, no offense to you… to either of you! I'm just saying that's how we all feel… maybe."
"I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the Autobots had prior knowledge of Bumblebee's partnership with two Decepticons," Quickshadow said as she worked on breaking the chains. "Perhaps you would be willing to shed some light on the subject?"
It took Knockout a minute to realize that the femme was talking to him.
"Oh… uh… yeah, I can't really say, it's sort of a secret," Knockout stammered, attempting to think of a believable excuse.
"Optimus Prime said he'll give you all some of the details later, after we rescue Knockout," Steeljaw spoke. The other bots looked to him, noticing that he was still in the burrow's entryway.
"I suppose so," Quickshadow whispered, then shook her helm and promptly got back to work on the chains.
"Hey, is there a reason you're, oh, I don't know, not over here helping us?" Blurr questioned, partly oblivious to the fact that he's not really doing anything, either. This got a laugh out of the Lupicon.
"Like I'd trust you to keep a look out for incoming Insecticons!" Steeljaw replied. "Besides, it seems to me that the only able-bodied bot not doing anything right now is you."
Blurr knew he couldn't argue with Steeljaw. The Lupicon had the racer dead-to-rights on that point. Not that it made him feel any less embarrassed, being rightfully called out by a Decepticon, in front of two other bots, one of whom had to be Quickshadow.
"Then, perhaps, may we switch places?"
Steeljaw swerved around to face Quickshadow, who appeared to be trying very hard to hide her frustration, but her clenched fists and stiff posture immediately gave her away.
"These chains are proving to be more difficult than I imagined. No matter what I do, I can't break them. Maybe you'll have better luck?"
"Why ask him and not me?" Blurr questioned.
"If it's any consolation, you can assist me in keeping an optic out for Insecticons," Quickshadow offered, already walking back over to Steeljaw. "Four optics are better than just two."
Blurr immediately brightened and joined Quickshadow. While that was going on, Steeljaw accepted the femme's invitation and crossed over to Knockout. He kneeled down behind the red medic and inspected the chains.
"I'm guessing I missed the… reunion earlier, huh?" Knockout said, trying to make light conversation. Steeljaw didn't answer. "Okay, so maybe reunion isn't the right word, but I bet it was something."
Still, no answer.
"Listen, Steeljaw, I know I'm causing you and the others a lot of trouble…"
"Knockout," Steeljaw interrupted.
"Yeah?"
"I don't care what you have to say. I'm not the one upset. If I were you, I'd save the apologies for those who really need it."
"That hurt, but I understand. Bee's probably upset and is gonna give me a lecture later."
"It's not the Lieutenant you need to worry about."
"I know, I know. Starscream will never let me live this down, assuming Moonracer doesn't kill me first."
Knockout heard a laugh coming from behind him and smirked.
"So, moving on, how are those chains coming?"
No answer.
"Steeljaw?"
"Mmm… I'm not sure, but there's something about these chains," the Lupicon spoke, sounding like he was only half listening.
"Quickshadow couldn't break them… hey, I can't see from here, obviously, but is there a lock back there?" Knockout asked.
"No."
"Oh, well, I was just wondering. Not that I'm saying that Quickshadow can't pick a lock, but I heard you're pretty good at that stuff. Then again, that's more along the lines of electronics and subsonics and other technological jargon… and where are you going?"
Steeljaw had left Knockout to go talk to the Rescue Bots. This confused the red medic, but it wasn't just him who was stumped by whatever was going on in the Lupicon's processor.
"You want me to do what?" Blurr asked.
"Blast that crack in the wall," Steeljaw repeated, pointing to something behind Knockout. "Honestly, is that so hard to understand?"
"But, why? And won't that attract Insecticons?"
"Just do it!"
Blurr reeled back from the outburst. He looked to Quickshadow for advice. The femme was studying Steeljaw.
"Listen to him," Quickshadow said, turning back to Blurr. "I know it's a risk, we all do, but Steeljaw clearly sees something that we don't."
Knockout noticed how unsure Blurr was of this course of action, and he understood fully. They snuck in with the intention of sneaking back out. Now, they put that plan at risk. Blurr took a moment to calm his nerves before stepping forward.
"I hope I don't regret listening to you guys," Blurr moaned. And with that, he raised his blaster and fired off a couple, well-placed rounds in the crack in the wall.
The four bots waited in anxious silence as the dust cloud settled around them. Knockout closed his optics so the particles wouldn't irritate them, which is more than can be said for his open, and definitely rusting, gash.
Great. This just keeps getting better and better. If this doesn't work, the first chance I get, I'm going to kill…
"Whoa! Hey, guys, come check this out!"
Blurr's voice broke the red medic out of his violent thoughts. Keeping their senses on high alert, Steeljaw and Quickshadow joined the racer in the back. Knockout heard a collective gasp from the two.
"What is this thing?" Blurr asked.
"I don't know," Quickshadow admitted. "I've never seen one before."
"I have a pretty good idea," Steeljaw replied.
Knockout heard Steeljaw tinkering with whatever it was that they found, followed by a series of clicks, growls, purrs, and other strange noises. The red medic was just about to ask what was going on back there when a new sound – like a machine makes when it powers down – reached his audials. After that, the chains disappeared into thin air.
"Well what do you know? A machine that creates chains entirely out of energy," Steeljaw mused. He walked out in front of Knockout with what looked like a Cybertronian-sized human video camera clutched in his servos.
"I will admit, it is intriguing," Quickshadow said, analyzing the piece of tech from a distance.
"Not that I don't find it interesting or whatever, but can we please get out of here?" Blurr pleaded.
"Yeah… about that," Knockout trailed, leaning forward to show off his web-bound servos. Steeljaw rolled his optics, but came over and cut him free. "Thank you."
Free of his bonds, Knockout pushed himself to his one working leg and leaned back against the stalagmite.
"By the Allspark… your leg," Quickshadow gasped.
"Yeah, I know," Knockout vented, cradling his helm in one servo while the other attempted to keep a firm grip on the stalagmite.
So dizzy. My leg is getting worse by the second, and so is the rest of me.
An arm wraps around Knockout, and lifts his arm to rest on their shoulder plates.
"Okay, no transforming for you, buddy," Blurr spoke, adjusting his grip on Knockout.
"One of us is going to have to carry him," Quickshadow vented. "It won't exactly be quick, but it's our best option right now."
Oh, great. I'm so out of it I have to be carried! I have nothing but impending embarrassment and disappointment to unfortunately look forward to very soon.
"Agreed, but it's only going to be you two," Steeljaw said.
Wait, what does he mean by that? What did he mean by that?
"Steeljaw…" Knockout rasped, barely retaining any of the pep he had before actually moving.
The following events – escaping the tunnels, dealing with Insecticons, scaling the cliffs, racing across the land – were nothing more than a series of unfocused clips that Knockout happened to be partly conscious of. He couldn't remain online long enough to focus properly.
That immediately changed the second they passed the battlefield on their way to the specified rendezvous point.
The barren landscape…
The sounds of fighting…
Weapons clash…
Bodies lying everywhere…
Energon covering everything…
Holy Primus. This is a warzone.
Experiencing what the humans call an adrenaline rush, Knockout's exhaustion dissipates, out of the blue, and keeps him awake and alert. He digs his good ped into the ground to prevent the bots holding him from moving further.
"Whoa… hey!" Blurr exclaimed, tripping and nearly falling on his aft. "What the frag is wrong with you now, Knockout? Are you trying to get us killed?"
No response.
"Knockout, are you alright?" Quickshadow asked, concern etching her voice.
Still, no response.
Then, just above the cacophony of battle, Knockout heard it: the unmistakable sound of missiles being fired, and not just any missiles.
"Starscream," Knockout whispered. Using a burst of strength, the red medic tore away from the Rescue Bots, transformed, and sped off.
"KNOCKOUT!"
But he did stop for them. He didn't stop for anybody who recognized him, or called out to him, or anything. He only cared about one thing, and that's finding Starscream.
If there's one thing I know about Screamer, he won't use his missiles unless it's something big. I have to make sure he's alright. I can't lose him. I can't… not again… not like Breakdown. Hold on, Screamer, please. Do not die on me before you have the chance to ridicule me for making such a stupid mistake! And certainly not before I get payback for it! Please, Scream. I can't lose my best friend. My… brother.
Knockout had no idea why he was acting and thinking completely unlike himself, but he was in no mindset to wonder for long. The second he reached his destination, Airachnid had grabbed a hold of Starscream and slammed him into a pile of rocks. The Seeker dropped to the ground, panting, and leaking Energon from multiple cuts all across his frame.
"Honestly, Starscream, if you couldn't beat me back then, what makes you think this time will be any different?" Airachnid questioned, reaching down to grab the grounded Seeker by his neck.
Oh no you don't!
Before Airachnid could lay a single claw on Starscream, she was hit by something.
After impact, Knockout transformed to bipedal mode. Ignoring all his pain notifications and other system alerts, the red medic activated his Energon prod and took a stand.
"Knockout?" Starscream said, his vents haggard. "What… in the blazing Pits… are you doing?"
No response.
"Ah, Knockout, how nice of you to join us!" Airachnid greeted, recovering from the earlier blow and stalking closer to the heavily injured pair. "Although, I'm afraid you've come a little too late. You see, Starscream…"
"Shut up," Knockout hissed, not looking up. His grip on his Energon prod increased.
Neither Airachnid nor Starscream could believe how… emotionless Knockout sounded. Not so much emotionless, but rather something else. Something they couldn't describe.
". . . What?" Airachnid hissed back.
Knockout increased the output of his Energon prod, forcing it to spark to the max.
"I already lost one partner…"
Unbeknownst to him, dangerously powerful bolts of energy are covering his entire frame.
"I'm not about to lose another!"
Lunging forward with tremendous speed and power, Knockout engages Airachnid in the fight to save Starscream's life…
But all he can see is darkness.