Sky Dancer

By: PhantasmBabeIvory

Disclaimer: Don't own the Transformers; Hasbro does.

Chapter Eleven

Until she and Scavenger had deposited Hot Shot at the med-bay and heard Red Alert say that the damage was far too severe for him to fix through conventional means, Alexis hadn't really taken note of just how bad off their wounded comrade was. Throwing a glance at Hot Shot's prone form laid out on one of the exam tables, she blanched when she saw Megatron had done far more than just rip the guy's arm from his socket; part of the shoulder area had been torn away as well.

Subsequently, Red Alert radioed down to the mines to have a pair of the Omnicons mix up a hefty amount of liquid Energon to fill a large pool-like container. Once the tank was filled near to the brim, the medic then called on Alexis and Scavenger to help him get their impetuous comrade submerged. When Alexis questioned this, Red Alert answered by saying, even as he punched in some commands on the tank's control panel, "It's going to take some time, but the liquefied Energon will help regenerate Hot Shot's armor and wiring."

"I thought that only the Omnicons could touch that stuff," piped up a small voice to Alexis' right, startling her and making her turn to look at its owner. She'd not noticed that Kicker had accompanied them here.

Red Alert focused on the boy, giving a sigh. "In small doses, it can work like medicine for us," he responded, gesturing to himself and his two equally-sized friends. "What you're seeing here, Kicker, is a very diluted form of this mineral, in no way dangerous to a standard Transformer."

Kicker paused, briefly looking downwards. "Didn't seem to bother Megatron none," he said, speaking so softly that his three larger companions almost didn't catch it. When asked to clarify this, Kicker hesitantly went on with, "I could feel it coursing through him. Maybe four percent of what's been taken from us… And that's not all. Half of Alpha Q's army, Scorpinok, even the sword Megatron was using -- each of them carried an Energon signature at their core, almost as if it had been used to create them."

Kicker looked up at each of his three companions in turn before adding, "Whatever Alpha Q's plan was, odds are that Megatron didn't factor into it. Something must have happened to bring about this outcome."

Alexis sighed, saying softly, "And gave us an even bigger problem to worry about." She wrapped her arms around herself, trying her best to put her rattled mind at ease, as the enormity of the situation fully hit her. Briefly, she found herself wondering if the installation of the base defenses might have inadvertently led to this, but then shook off the thought as perhaps being too farfetched. She didn't know enough of the big picture to make that assumption.

Much to Alexis' surprise, Scavenger noticed her discomfort and was compelled to comment on it. She hadn't realized he'd been watching her so closely.

"There's no shame in being scared," the elder Transformer told her. "It's a good way to guarantee you'll be on guard and ready for whatever comes next." He paused momentarily, then turned to look at Kicker, appearing puzzled. "Speaking of being prepared… What's this about Scorpinok having an Energon nucleus? To my knowledge, none of the Transformers created in my day were manufactured with such a thing."

Kicker shrugged. "How should I know?! I just sense the stuff, I don't explain how it got there!" he said with a hint of irritation.

After a second or two of hesitation, Alexis turned to look at Scavenger, intrigued by the possibility of learning more about Scorpinok. "That reminds me," she said as a kicking-off point. "In our first encounter, I saw that Scorpinok has two alternate modes… Until the fact presented itself, I didn't think such a thing was possible."

Scavenger nodded. "It was a feature given to some of the earliest Transformers," he answered. "I'm not certain which of the elders specialized in that kind of technology, but it has died over the ages… I'm not even sure how many of the triple-changers, as they were called, are still in existence."

"So Scorpinok is older than you, then?" Alexis asked curiously.

"Barely… If memory serves, we were created around the same time. I remember training with him at an academy designed to allow the younglings of our race to discover what they excelled at… As I said earlier, I didn't socialize much with him, but I know he allied himself with a group of pacifists. And then, the war began, and Scorpinok and his friends fled Cybertron." Scavenger paused, rubbing at his face. "I never expected to see him again, especially not in this capacity." He looked at Alexis, seeming as if he was reading her mind by saying, "And no, I don't know how he, or Alpha Q, happened to come into contact with Megatron."

Alexis sighed, feeling a touch of disappointment; she'd been hoping to learn more than that about the being(s) who had instigated this whole mess. As a means of distracting herself, she focused back on Hot Shot, remaining silent and lost in thought for a time before asking, "Should we be worried that he hasn't yet regained consciousness?"

Red Alert looked across at Alexis and answered, "I wouldn't… More than likely, Hot Shot is suffering from shock as a result of the trauma he's been subjected to, much as a normal human would. The Energon in this pool will aid in fixing that along with his injuries." Off of the slightly dubious look she gave him, Red Alert said, "He's going to be okay, Alexis. Trust me."

A period of silence ensued, broken when Scavenger's mind drifted back to something Kicker had said. Turning to look at the teenager, he tentatively asked, "You said that Megatron's sword had been forged using Energon?" When Kicker nodded, Scavenger's expression turned introspective. Rubbing at his chin, he said, to all of his companions in general, "That gives me an idea… Perhaps we could have the Omnicons construct similar weapons for our team to use, such as swords, and rifles with Energon cartridges."

Red Alert nodded after a moment, smiling for the first time since Hot Shot had been brought to him. "That would certainly give us an edge. Thanks for the suggestion, Scavenger," he responded, turning away slightly after a moment and activating his comlink to send a message down to the mines.

While Red Alert was at this task, Alexis turned to regard Scavenger. "So, what do you plan to do now?" she asked. "As I understand it, you were only called upon because we temporarily needed the extra help… Will you be going back to Cybertron?"

Scavenger hesitated for a while, then shook his head. "Now that Megatron is back in action, I just might stick around for a while longer." He paused, then added, referencing his stint in the Decepticon camp as a spy, "Aside from Optimus, Starscream, and Demolisher, I probably know better than anyone the way Megatron thinks. And frankly, we need all the help we can get in figuring out what game is being played here." He looked at Alexis, a troubled glint in his optics. "I also wouldn't mind knowing why our friend, Alpha Q, even started this to begin with. If there's one thing I don't like, it's not comprehending what exactly it is we're fighting over."

Before Alexis could respond, she was distracted by the fact that Starscream's voice suddenly sounded in her head, heralding the arrival of him and Starxis. Even as her fellow jet entered the med-bay and came to stand at her side, Alexis was silently asking him, How did it go with Demolisher?

Starscream turned his head to gaze at her, simultaneously reaching for her hand. I'm not sure yet, he answered. When we parted ways, he said he was going to go talk to Optimus about being taken off guard duty… He doesn't trust that he'd be able to resist going back to serve at Megatron's side, if confronted.

Alexis shook her head. I don't understand. I thought… If not the Autobots, Demolisher has grown to be quite loyal to you…

Starscream cast his gaze downwards. That doesn't change the fact that the only reason he is where he is right now was due to Megatron's untimely "demise." If Megatron had never made that sacrifice, it's likely that Demolisher would have remained in servitude to him. Looking back at Alexis, he added, In this case, the fact that no clean break was made is working against us. From a psychological standpoint, Demolisher's allegiances are divided between me and Megatron.

Alexis gave a very soft sigh, taking half a step closer to Starscream and maneuvering so her arm was draped across his waist. Inclining her head so it rested against his upper arm, she answered, Let's hope that Optimus proves agreeable to the request then.

She remained silent for a time, her thoughts in a state of flux, before she looked up at Starscream. Would Optimus be in the command center? When she got an affirmation to this, Alexis shifted her weight, reluctantly drawing away from him. Good. There's something I need to discuss with him… I'll catch up with you later?

Starscream nodded, watching as she took a few steps towards the exit. Take care…

As Sideways discovered, regaining a solid form, even in part, actually sounded better on paper than it turned out to be. For several hours after Alpha Q had used the remainder of his Energon stash to do what he'd promised, Sideways had been trying continuously just to interact with his environment.

Though it took him a while to figure it out, Sideways nevertheless realized it took an enormous amount of concentration just to hold his newfound solidity. And even then, he couldn't maintain it for longer than six minutes at a time.

When he finally could pick up a loose rock from the floor of the chamber, Sideways could only laugh bitterly before chucking it at the far wall. With a huge amount of irritation, he turned to look at Alpha Q (or rather, Brainiac), crossing his arms. "Happy now?!" he asked. "And don't you dare hit me with more of that slag that I need to learn how to clear my mind! Frankly, it's not helping!"

Brainiac gave something like a smirk. "We do not wish to prolong this arrangement any more than you do, Sideways," he responded, a slight edge to his voice. "But just think of the rewards if you are successful. If Megatron is destroyed, we will be free to gather all the Energon we need. And with more of it at our disposal, we would be able to bring you all the way back."

Sideways sighed, trying to calm himself by thinking of how great it would be to achieve such a thing. To further put himself at ease, he decided to bring up a battle strategy that had been circulating in his mind for the past couple hours. "Yeah, about that… It's quite possible that our best chances of success are to strike at Megatron outside of Unicron's remains." A slight pause, and then, "He won't be expecting to see me out in the open, so that would give us the element of surprise. You'd just need to spy on him to figure out which of the Earth colonies he's planning to target next."

In the middle of Sideways' speech, he vaguely noticed that Alpha Q had shifted his weight and was gazing at him with something like shock. When the spindly bot failed to say anything for a full minute in response, Sideways gave an exasperated sigh and gruffly said, "What's your problem now?!"

Alpha Q raised one elongated hand, making a weak gesture in Sideways' direction. His statement ("We can't see you.") caused the latter to uncross his arms, lifting his hands in front of his face with slight irritation. However, Sideways' belief that his companion had to be playing games with him went out the window when he found himself indeed staring at empty air. As he watched, his hands phased back into view, though they looked almost transparent.

Twisting his arm to look at his right hand from different angles, Sideways gave an amused laugh when he saw this see-through state wasn't changing. "Isn't that interesting?" he said aloud, his mind in overdrive with how this could work greatly to his advantage…

Had he not been so intrigued by Optimus' responses whenever his attention drifted to the girl at Starscream's side, Megatron might have thought twice about letting the Autobots get away. As he and his team made their way back to the battleship (of Scorpinok and Alpha Q's decimated planet) that the Decepticon leader had adopted as his secondary base of operations, Megatron found himself wondering over what kind of relationship Optimus may have with her to generate such a reaction.

Such thoughts had Megatron quizzing Cyclonus about the girl at the first opportunity, but was disappointed when his soldier claimed to know nothing. "I'd never seen her until after the raids started… I didn't even know that she and Starscream were involved," Cyclonus said.

After a long silence, Cyclonus felt compelled to speak again, gazing out through the ship's viewscreen to look at the remains of Unicron. He'd been caught off guard when the latest stash of stolen Energon had gone towards implementing repairs for the dark god, and now might be the perfect opportunity to find out why. "Forgive me for saying, Megatron," Cyclonus stated with a nervous cackle. "But what are we doing here? Do we really want to waste our energy in restoring someone who tried to wipe us all out?"

Megatron sneered, and his right hand curled into a fist at his side. Yet, he couldn't entirely fault Cyclonus for questioning his motives; perhaps some explanation was in order. "On the contrary," the Decepticon leader said in a tone that suggested he was scheming something, "that's exactly what we want."

After a second or two of silence, Megatron turned to regard his troops. While Cyclonus was staring at him with widened optics, Scorpinok looked almost indifferent, as if he didn't care one way or the other. Tidal Wave, on the other hand, was wearing an unreadable expression, though his gaze was firmly fixed on his leader. Offering them a wry smile, Megatron went on to say, "If our good friend, Alpha Q, can manipulate Unicron for his own ends, then I don't see why we can't do likewise. Once Unicron is fully restored, we will be using him and his power to achieve our own goals." Megatron paused, his gaze drifting to each of his three soldiers in turn. "The Mini-Cons were greatly sufficient in boosting the power of each and every one of us, so just think what we could accomplish with their creator at our disposal."

While Cyclonus' optics lit up with all the creative implications and Tidal Wave's expression remained unchanged, Scorpinok silently bowed his head. Though the latter didn't say so out loud, he was definitely concerned that Megatron may be biting off more than he could chew. He would have loved to say that the Decepticon leader didn't possess anywhere near the same level of mental discipline as himself or Alpha Q, but he feared what the consequences would be if he did. As Scorpinok had already figured out, Megatron didn't take kindly to any challenges to his authority.

When none of his troops offered a response, Megatron's thoughts soon returned to the girl and the measures Optimus had taken to keep Megatron from focusing too wholeheartedly on her. While his immediate goal was to sway Starscream and Demolisher back to his side, he may just focus his sights on her in future battles. What better way to unnerve my greatest adversary? the Decepticon leader mused.

After a moment, Megatron's attention was redirected, as he inevitably focused on what this battleship was lacking in regards to his vanity. "You know, men," he said in a slightly beguiling manner designed to make one of them adhere to the request. "I think I wouldn't mind having a throne constructed in here…"

Though Megatron expected that one of his soldiers would volunteer, he was unprepared for it to come from Tidal Wave, especially so quickly and eagerly. Even as Megatron turned in the direction of the colossal Decepticon, the big guy was giving a slight bow, one hand across his chest in a show of respect. "Tidal Wave will do as requested, Lord Megatron," he said, surprising the Decepticon leader with the enthusiastic tone in his voice.

As Megatron watched, Tidal Wave stood up straight and fixed his leader with something like adoration in his large yellow optics before turning away with the intention of getting to work.

Megatron blinked, caught off guard by this reaction. For a long, awkward moment, he stared after Tidal Wave's retreating form, simply thinking, Okay, that was weird…

The last thing that Alexis had expected, upon reaching the command center of Ocean City, was for the doors to be locked. She had one hand raised to knock, but was stopped by the muffled, angry voices that she could hear from within; something about the tones raised her curiosity and made her simply stop to listen, though she couldn't make out most of what was being said.

The doors slid open so quickly a minute later, with a soft hiss that sounded explosively loud, that it caused Alexis to nearly jump out of her skin. With wide optics, she peered into the room, barely registering that Demolisher was standing near the door with his back to her before he said heatedly, "Do not say that this conversation is over! And stop pretending that it's as simple as you're making it out to be!"

On the opposite side of the room, Optimus looked up, his golden optics blazing with fury. However, whatever he'd been about to say in response died on his lips when he caught sight of Alexis. After a short pause, he made a visible effort to calm down before stating, "I think I've made myself perfectly clear, Demolisher. I am done arguing about this!" He made a gesture towards Alexis, causing the hard-edged bot to turn to look at her and deflating the fury in his optics as well. "Now, I suggest you return to your post," Optimus added.

For a long tense moment, Demolisher remained silent, looking as if he wanted to continue arguing but didn't dare now that he and Optimus had an audience. At last, he turned away with an angry cry, stomping past Alexis and taking off down the corridor. Feeling cold, Alexis watched him go before turning her focus onto the Autobot commander. "What's going on?" she asked hesitantly, unsure if she was going to like the answer.

Optimus sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter behind him. Quietly, he said, "Demolisher had asked to be relieved of his duties… And unfortunately, I'm going have to deny that request at this time."

Alexis blinked, staring across at Optimus in disbelief. "Why would you do that?" she blurted out after a few seconds of silence. "If Megatron gets to him…"

Optimus cut her off by saying, "Because I have faith in Demolisher to do what's right. When it all boils down, I have no doubt that he'll make the right decision."

Alexis paused again, wanting to argue the point but realizing in the same instant that she didn't know what all had been said in the conversation between Demolisher and the Autobot commander to have made Optimus reach this assumption. Still, she had to throw out one last statement to the contrary. "With all due respect, sir… If you're wrong, it's going to cause a rift between you and Starscream when this comes out."

Optimus gave a single nod, but said nothing more on the subject. Instead, he lifted his head a notch and stated, "May I ask what brought you here to see me?"

This sudden question caught Alexis off guard, but she quickly recovered. Clearing her throat and shifting her weight, she tentatively said, "I… I came to talk to you about Scorpinok." When Optimus nodded again as an indication for her to go on, she added, "During this morning's encounter, I couldn't help noticing that he seemed to be pleading for our help… I know we probably have no reason to trust him, but I wouldn't feel right about leaving him to Megatron if we could help it."

Optimus cast his gaze downwards, a slightly gloomy look coming to his optics. For a long while, he remained silent, seeming as if he was weighing all the options, before saying, "I hate to disappoint you, Alexis, but inviting Scorpinok into our camp should not be our main priority. We don't know enough of him or his motives to determine whether or not that would be a good thing… And frankly, that is a risk I'd rather not take at this point."

Alexis tilted her head downwards a notch, feeling slightly disappointed by this proclamation though she knew on some level that Optimus was right. Before she could offer a response, the communications speaker on the control panel buzzed to life and Jetfire's voice rang through. "Optimus, if you're there, we need you topside," Jetfire said. "We've just received reports of a portal opening near Ocean City."

Optimus took on a startled expression, even as he activated his own comlink to send a response. "Are you sure, Jetfire? I didn't think Megatron would initiate another attack this quickly…"

After a short silence, Jetfire responded with, "I don't think it's Megatron… Unless you can think of a good reason why he'd open a portal thirty miles outside the city, over the ocean."

Optimus hesitated for a moment, then told Jetfire that he was on his way before turning to Alexis and bidding her to come with him with a single look.

As they were approaching Jetfire (in his space shuttle guise) on the surface of Ocean City, Alexis was surprised when Kicker hurried to catch up with them, providing every indication that he'd heard the reports of the mysteriously-located gate by the fact that he was decked out in the suit of battle armor his father had built for him. While Alexis was curious about where the troublesome teenager consistently got his information, his tendency to want to be where the action was bothered her slightly.

And yet, hadn't she been just as gung-ho on joining in on a fight that wasn't hers, when she'd been Kicker's age?

Regardless of Kicker's hatred of all Transformers, his desire to battle for something he believed in (the safeguarding of his own planet, Alexis supposed) seemed to be overriding it. Seeing as this cause may help pave the way for him to get over his attitude problem and defiance with authority figures, Alexis was all for it.

Optimus, on the other hand, wasn't so agreeable, and responded to Jetfire's offer to let Kicker come with him to investigate the anomalous portal by forbidding the teenager to go along. Before any protest could be issued from the latter, Optimus turned towards Jetfire and ordered him to take off; thankfully, Jetfire, in spite of being in his vehicle mode, gave something like a shrug and did as requested.

Watching his "ride" depart without him, Kicker scowled, then turned to regard Optimus with open defiance. "What gives?!" he said brusquely.

Optimus squared his shoulders, saying simply, "I don't want you taking part in these battles anymore, Kicker… Now that he's out there, it's just too big a risk."

"You mean Megatron, don't you?" the teenager asked with a trace of bitterness.

Optimus nodded solemnly. "If he figures out that you have the ability to detect Energon, I can guarantee he'd make every attempt to try to capture you, Kicker. Staying low-key from now on will lessen the chances that he'd notice you and may even deter his men from thinking to share this information."

Kicker crossed his arms. "Oh, give me a break! You assigned me a set of guardians, remember? I doubt I'd be in that much danger with someone looking out for me all the time!"

Optimus narrowed his optics, feeling his patience being tested. "Enough, Kicker!" he said ferociously, scaring the teenager slightly with the amount of intensity in his tone. "You don't get to make light of this situation! Not when there's some doubt that my soldiers or I will be able to protect you 24/7!"

Kicker paled slightly, struck silent as the words and the meaning behind them fully sank in. He'd heard some of the stories over the years, about how much of a tyrant and overall bad-aft Megatron could be, but he'd never had cause to believe that the guy was more than any of the Autobots could handle. Shivering a little, he spoke Optimus' name in a questioning manner, perhaps seeking some denial that the situation wasn't as terrible as was being implied.

At this point, Alexis took a step towards Kicker, catching his attention as she dropped to her knees. In as sympathetic a tone as she could muster, she said, "It's time to start trusting us, Kicker. We will make every effort to keep you safe, but you have to meet us halfway… That means no more taking unnecessary risks. The less time you spend making an attempt to spite us, the greater the chances that no harm will come to you."

An odd flicker passed through Kicker's eyes at the conclusion of her speech, as if the words had sparked a bad memory, but it was gone just as quickly as it came. He gave a deep sigh, and the way his shoulders slumped indicated he was giving in. "Fine," he said, still sounding a touch irritated. "Where do you want me?"

Optimus breathed a soft sigh of relief, silently thanking Alexis for her intervention in the matter. "Down in the control room," he said in a gentle tone. "You'll be able to monitor the situation from there…"

By the time Jetfire arrived in the vicinity of the portal over the ocean, there had been no sign of an intruder passing through it. He spent a few minutes circling the "disturbance" in the air, but was puzzled by the fact that nothing seemed to be coming through the gate.

What further added to Jetfire's belief that this had to be a false alarm were the heavy raindrops that began to fall from the dark clouds over his location. Near as he could tell, they didn't seem to be striking anything, which ruled out the possibility of an invisible enemy.

With a sigh, Jetfire banked around in the direction of Ocean City, prepared to make the trek back to his point of origin. He hadn't gotten far before he activated his comlink, broadcasting a message back to Optimus of his findings (or lack thereof). Though both he and the commander were confused by why the gate was even there, the shared speculation was that it had to be some kind of ruse to draw their attention away from the city.

Seconds after Jetfire had vacated the area and the gate had dissipated, a single figure shimmered into view, completely unaffected by the droplets of rain that were passing right through him. One of the benefits of being a ghost, Sideways mused, was that at least he didn't have to worry about a trivial thing like gravity.

Watching Jetfire disappear into the distance, Sideways smiled deviously beneath his faceplate. How fortunate it was that he could turn intangible, or else he might not have learned that a certain Autobot commander was present at this particular colony.

Sorry, Alpha Q, Sideways thought. But I think Megatron just got pushed back to a secondary target… I'd say that the privilege of being first in line goes to the one who killed me to begin with. A slight pause, then, I hope you enjoy the next few hours, Optimus Prime. They will surely be the last you'll ever see…

Next up: Demolisher makes his choice, and Sideways makes his first assassination attempt...