Sky Dancer
By: PhantasmBabeIvory
Chapter Twenty-Three
When she arrived back at Alpha Q's personal sanctum, Alexis was pleased to see that he was indeed calmer. At least, that was her first impression until she saw that the giant maw housing his interior heads had closed, and the two large yellow slits/optics positioned on his outer shell were simply watching her in silence.
After a few seconds of waiting for Alpha Q to speak, she turned to look for Scorpinok and found him and Rodimus leaning against the walls to either side of the entryway. Alexis quickly caught the attention of the former and asked, "Have you had any luck?"
Scorpinok shook his head, but it was Rodimus who got in the first word. "The last thing he said was that he would not be changing his mind and once more demanded that the boy be brought to him… I think he's even prepared to attack your friends' shuttle if they try to leave the area." Rodimus paused, then turned his head slightly to look at her. "I'll say one thing for Alpha Q -- he's incredibly stubborn."
Alexis sighed, tiredly rubbing at her face before focusing back on Scorpinok. "Is he at least listening?" she asked. "If I talk to him, I'd like to know that I'm not wasting my breath."
When Scorpinok answered that he believed Alpha Q's audio receptors to still be active, Alexis gave another sigh and softly asked the two mechs at her sides if they would give her and the spindly bot some time alone. Much to her relief, Scorpinok and Rodimus agreed to this and shortly headed off down the tunnel.
After a long moment spent just watching Alpha Q in silence, Alexis slowly stepped forward. When she was just yards away from her young companion, she settled down on the floor, quickly making herself comfortable.
When at last she spoke, Alexis took heart in the fact that her words caused Alpha Q to raise his head just a notch. "You must miss your world very much," she said softly. After a short pause, she added, "I know what it's like, Alpha Q, to be so attached to a place you call home. If the same thing had happened to Earth, to my planet…"
Alexis hesitated, a flash of pain showing in her optics. "But I can't imagine what you must be going through. No one should have to endure the level of pain and sorrow that you have, especially at your age. Unicron is a cruel one indeed, destroying your planet and the people you had grown to care about."
When Alpha Q spoke, Alexis was slightly taken aback. Still, she quickly determined that this gentle childlike tone must be his true voice and/or persona. "Some of my people might have had a chance if Scorpinok had listened to me that day," Alpha Q responded with a note of scorn.
Alexis bowed her head, answering simply, "That may be so. That's the problem with grown-ups; there are times where they mistakenly think that they're the ones who know best." She shifted her weight with a sigh, then continued with, "The boy that you want to help you in locating Energon… He was betrayed and hurt by someone he trusted too, for several years." Alexis paused briefly to let that sink in, then added, "You and Kicker have much in common. So tell me, do you think it's fair of you to use him for your own personal gain?"
The giant maw housing Alpha Q's interior heads reopened, and his spastic persona spun to the forefront. "How else are we to achieve our ends?!" he said in a downright frenzied tone. "We are cut off from the Autobot bases on Earth, and the Terrorcons in our possession are not good at performing long-range scans for Energon deposits!"
Alexis couldn't even reply before the spindly bot switched to the persona she could only define as aggressive. Briefly, she wondered if this was a facet of the so-called peaceful ruler's true personality that Scorpinok had not known about. "We will do whatever we have to! We want our planet back!"
Alexis let out a deep breath, mentally reminding herself to be patient. "You know there's another way," she said, in as calm a tone as she could muster. "It's what Scorpinok has been telling you all along."
Alpha Q scoffed. "Ally with the Autobots?! Why would we want to do that when they've been fighting us at every turn?"
Alexis took on a stern, deadly serious gaze. "Because until now, not one of them even knew what this was about!" she said loudly. "How could you expect me and mine not to go on the defensive when you started attacking and stealing from us?!" She sighed, then continued with, "We're not monsters, Alpha Q, nor are we against negotiating… If you had come and told us from the beginning what you were looking to achieve, we might have helped you."
After a long pause, Alexis went on when her companion failed to speak. "I'd say that enough damage has been done now. Like it or not, Megatron is back in action, and he will stop at nothing to play things his own way. The only way you're going to wrest Unicron away from him is to engage him and his army in battle. And for that, you're going to need all the help you can get."
"We have the Terrorcons!" Alpha Q responded, though his tone was wavering.
Alexis lowered her head a notch, momentarily dimming her optics. "Which may not be enough," she said gently, praying she was getting through to him. "Each and every one of the members of my team knows Megatron and what it takes to combat him. You don't have much of a choice at this point, Alpha Q. You need our help. I can make that happen if you only ask."
"Why should we trust you?" his spastic persona barked out.
Alexis shifted her weight once more, rubbing at her face. "Because, believe it or not… I actually care…"
*****
Once Optimus had mobilized the soldiers under his command, the only thing to do was to wait for Megatron to show himself. For the most part, all the troops gathered in the shuttle depot (most were waiting to make use of the one-man crafts at their disposal) were greatly on edge. Those not present were standing guard in various parts of the planet, keeping watch for the Decepticons who were hiding for the purpose of sounding an alarm if and when they might enter the fray.
Perched on the wing of one such craft, Starscream was finding time to converse with Demolisher, who was already settled into the cockpit. The latter's surprisingly light-hearted comment about how it finally appeared that he and Starscream were going to be wingmates caused the former to chuckle in response.
Starscream turned serious a second later, giving voice to something that had been weighing on him and which he imagined Demolisher might be concerned about. "I hope you're going to be okay, going up against Cyclonus and Tidal Wave. Realistically… We might not be able to spare them."
Demolisher took on a solemn expression, giving a deep sigh. "They've made their choice about who they were going to side with, just as I've made mine," he said flatly. "If it comes to that…" He reached up, clasping Starscream's hand in an amicable gesture and seeming to sense what his friend was thinking. "I don't regret being here. Whatever happens to our former comrades, I never will." There was a short pause, then Demolisher continued with, "Still -- it wouldn't hurt, having Cyclonus and Tidal Wave live through this battle. Misguided as they might be, even they could come around under the right leadership."
A small smile pulled at Starscream's lips. "Funny you should mention that…"
Demolisher chuckled, adopting a small smile of his own at the implication. After a second, he said, "Personally, I think you'd do a far better slagging job than Megatron!"
Before another word could be said, a loud buzz sounded through the hangar, followed by the sound of Red Alert's voice over the coms. "Everyone gear up!" the medic barked out. "Megatron's battleship has just been spotted!"
Demolisher, while listening to the set of coordinates that followed, hurriedly worked to strap himself in; Starscream launched himself away from the shuttlecraft, fully prepared to switch to his jet mode. "Good luck out there," Starscream said simply.
Demolisher looked up, keying in the command to seal the hatch. "You too…"
*****
Megatron had to admit to being apprehensive for an instant, when he saw the Autobot fleet, headed by Optimus (whom he was surprised to see flying), Starscream, and Jetfire, approaching. In the next instant, he was ordering his men and the Terrorcons to get out there and to ensure that the battle be focused primarily on the starboard side of the ship. While briefly cursing the fact that Tidal Wave had rendered the port side cannon useless, Megatron knew they could still make use of what they had available.
Thankfully, the Terrorcons proved to be agreeable to the command and didn't hesitate when it came to going into combat.
In moments, Sideways, Snowcat, and Tidal Wave had been positioned at various spots on the hull, and Megatron took a few seconds to watch them in action on the main monitor. Sideways had left his sword on the bridge so he could remain intangible, though he was still apparently able to make use of his laser weaponry. Tidal Wave, too, had an edge, as his four torso-mounted cannons could be focused in several different directions at once.
Megatron focused on Snowcat for a moment until he was sure that his remaining soldier was effectively holding his own, then went to the console to operate the battleship's massive weapon. Still, the Decepticon commander silently prayed that the Autobots would not notice the ship had a weak spot.
*****
As focused as he was at eliminating one Terrorcon after another in order to cover Demolisher and several other members of the fleet (when he could actually catch the darn pests), Starscream was still able to take note of the three soldiers under Megatron's command. The longer the battle wore on, the more curious he became about just who was missing.
As the seconds ticked by, he grew increasingly bothered by the absence of Scorpinok and Alexis. Sure, he could somewhat see why Megatron might want to avoid sending the latter into battle, but there was no viable reason why the former shouldn't be present.
After a few moments spent pondering this, Starscream shook his head and mentally reminded himself to stay focused. Getting sidetracked would only put him and those around him in danger; he could worry about this issue later. And, odds were great that he'd get answers soon enough. Megatron's army, for all their firepower, were still very much outmatched; the Autobots were sure to overcome the Decepticon commander.
Starscream's hopes towards this end, however, were crushed when he saw a shuttlecraft in his peripheral vision get struck by a stray laser blast through one of its wings. Once he realized that the laser fire hadn't originated from the direction of Megatron's battleship, Starscream turned slightly on his axis to look towards Cybertron with a feeling of dread and wildly wondering just why an alert hadn't reached the armada.
As he feared, this battle was soon to turn in Megatron's favor. The Decepticon troops who'd been hiding somewhere on the planet were about to join in on the festivities, and there were far more of them than Starscream had anticipated.
Quickly, Starscream activated his coms, barking out a warning to every Autobot in the fleet even as he moved to head off the counter-attack as best he could…
*****
Alpha Q was silent for so long following her admission that Alexis was eventually wondering if she'd have to prompt him to say something. She was poised to do so when he switched to his most serene persona and said, "How are we to believe you? You'd say anything to be allowed to return to those you love."
Alexis resisted the urge to laugh. "You should know that Scorpinok gave me a chance to leave, while we were en route. Those desires have nothing to do with why I'm here." She paused, then added, "Is it so unbelievable to you that I might sincerely want to help?"
When he didn't answer straightaway, Alexis began to notice just how uncertain he looked; she hazarded a guess that he was unsuccessfully trying to make sense of just why she would care. "I ask you to trust me, Alpha Q… You, me, the Autobots -- We all want the same thing, and that's to stop Megatron. It's the only way that all of us are going to achieve our ends." A pause, then, "Fighting together would ensure that the odds would be in our favor and that everyone finds peace of mind. So, what do you have to lose by agreeing to an alliance?"
Alpha Q didn't answer except to once more close the maw housing his interior heads. After a long moment of silence, Alexis simply sighed and at last got to her feet. "Maybe I had you figured wrong," she said softly. "You must not want your home back as badly as I thought, or you wouldn't be so stubborn." She waited to see if he would respond, then said, her hopes sinking, "Very well, Alpha Q. I guess it's up to the Autobots alone to battle against Megatron… All I offer you is my word that Unicron will not be taken down as well."
After a few seconds, Alexis simply said that any attempt on his part to stop her and her partners from leaving would end badly, then offered a parting remark that she would be in touch and moved to exit into the adjoining corridor. She wasn't surprised to find Rodimus and Scorpinok milling around. Both of them soon fell into step beside her, and Rodimus was asking how the talk went.
"I couldn't convince him," Alexis said with a hint of sadness. "Either he's too scared or too proud to admit he needs help. I'm not sure which." She looked over at Scorpinok without breaking stride, intending to reaffirm their earlier deal regarding Unicron, but stopped when a sudden tremor coursed through the entirety of the tunnel.
Alexis tensed, instantly made uneasy by the vibrations beneath her feet, especially when it didn't stop. "What's happening?" she asked shakily, fearing in some part of her mind that Unicron might be regaining consciousness.
The fact that Rodimus' comlink buzzed to life and that Chromia's voice sounded through it shortly put Alexis at ease, however. "What gives, Rodimus?!" the blue femme said in an agitated tone. "You could have shouted out a warning that we should remove the docking clamps before Unicron's head started moving!"
When Rodimus responded by asking her to clarify this, Chromia answered, sounding testy, "How should I know?! I wasn't even aware that this thing had it's own propulsion system!"
Rodimus sighed, and addressed Elita when next he spoke. "What's our bearing?"
It took a few moments for Elita to come through with a set of coordinates, as she'd had to wait until the massive head stopped rotating and embarked on a fixed trajectory. Shortly thereafter, Scorpinok showed his knowledge of their current location and of mathematics by working out just where they were headed.
Looking at Alexis with a small smile, Scorpinok said simply, "Looks like you may have had an effect on Alpha Q after all… We're on our way to Cybertron…"
*****
Once the Decepticons from Cybertron joined the battle, everyone under the command of Optimus Prime adopted a tighter formation, switching from offense to defense in a matter of moments. Still, it was amazing that very few of them fell, in those tenuous seconds. Given that the battle now seemed to be turning in Megatron's favor, Optimus decided that the best option was to order a retreat and sent out a broadcast for all of his troops to break away in whatever way that they could.
Towards this end, it helped that many of the Decepticon soldiers were focused primarily on getting to Megatron's ship.
Still, those on the Autobot side who were positioned near the center of the battlefield faced some challenge when it came to getting out of the line of fire. Starscream alone was a tad overwhelmed in having to provide Demolisher and several other ships with cover.
In all the confusion, it was hard to say who suggested turning tail and flying past Megatron's shuttle rather than attempt to go through the approaching army. Once this plan was agreed upon, Demolisher began to bring his ship around to lead the charge, only to unexpectedly find himself face to face with Shockblast.
When he saw that the murderous Decepticon's weapon was maneuvering to aim right at him, Demolisher almost didn't dare breathe. It had to be pure chance; Shockblast must be randomly picking targets to shoot at. Steeling himself, Demolisher tightened his fists over the steering column, his thumbs moving towards the weapon controls.
Demolisher didn't even get a chance to shoot and was soon startled out of attacking by the laser volley that went careening past the cockpit and towards Shockblast. The latter, too, was startled, but that didn't stop him from dodging out of the way. Nevertheless, the blast caught Shockblast at the edge of his upper arm, opening a shallow gash in the metal.
Demolisher turned his head in the direction that the laser fire had originated, half expecting to see Starscream if not one of their other comrades. When his optics alighted on the instigator, they were practically bugging out of his head.
"Tidal Wave!" Demolisher exclaimed, his mind reeling; it wasn't like the colossal Decepticon to attack anyone on his own team, especially not of his own volition. But Demolisher doubted that firing at Shockblast was something that Megatron would have ordered Tidal Wave to do. The hard-edged bot briefly wondered if the big guy had done so because he'd seen his former teammate was in danger.
It didn't take Shockblast long to right himself and reach the same conclusion. By all accounts, he was virtually seething when he raised his cannon once more, though this time it was aimed right at Tidal Wave. "How dare you," Shockblast barked out even as he fired. However, while the big guy's shots would have caused a non-threatening injury at best, Shockblast's was geared to kill.
Demolisher quickly turned his ship around and fired the thrusters up to maximum, simultaneously bracing himself. Glancing off of Tidal Wave's shoulder, with that speed and power, was sufficient to cause the latter to stumble to the right by a few feet. As a result, Shockblast's return shot just missed its target.
It proved fortunate that Shockblast was soon thereafter knocked out by a stray shot (Demolisher couldn't even begin to guess where this one originated from), though a couple other Decepticons soon rallied around their fallen comrade to help.
Demolisher breathed a sigh of relief, looking around until he caught sight of the rest of his squadron, then moved into formation with them to begin doubling back to Cybertron. He didn't care what had prompted the big guy's actions. On the opposing team or not, Tidal Wave was still close to being a friend. And Demolisher would be very much slagged if he didn't do everything in his power to prevent his former teammate from getting hurt.
And, if that meant making an extra effort to remove Shockblast from the equation, then so be it…
*****
Shortly after they'd gotten underway, Alexis had once more gone to Kicker, Ironhide, and Misha to let them know what was happening. It wasn't long before their shuttle and Rodimus' had set a course for Cybertron, and the two ships were soon traveling side by side.
Once their journey had commenced, Alexis took the time to have a serious talk with her two teammates. Aware that their three Mini-Con companions were manning the consoles behind her, she faced Kicker and Ironhide with crossed arms. "You know, when the three of us agreed to always look out for each other, this wasn't what I had in mind," Alexis said sternly. "Megatron or not, you all put yourselves at extreme risk. What you did would hardly have been worth the gamble, if you had been captured by the Decepticons or Alpha Q."
Kicker gave a dismissive wave and said, "Oh, please. We would have taken precautions…"
Alexis' face hardened, and even Misha had cause to feel ashamed given what she said next. "Except when it came to me… Under other circumstances, I wouldn't have known or cared who any of you were. Megatron would have known that, as well as anticipated that you'd take care not to harm me. How long do you think you would have eluded capture, under those conditions?"
Ironhide shifted his weight. "So, what?" he asked tentatively. "We should have just shot you down, no questions asked?"
Alexis sighed. "When it comes down to a matter of life or death, the answer would be yes… It's a hard fact, but sometimes war demands sacrifice," she said, her thoughts traveling to that terrible final hour of the war against Unicron a decade prior. She paused briefly, then continued with, "We all got lucky this time around, to get through this whole ordeal safely. But we don't know what's ahead, or even if we'll all make it through the coming battles unscathed… or even remain as we truly are."
Misha gave this some thought, lightly biting at her lip. Then, she looked up at Alexis, her grey eyes shining. "Well, then maybe we should take action to ensure that there won't be a repeat occurrence. Surely, your friend, Rodimus, has more of these nanobots on hand. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to carry a vial of them with you, Alexis. You could even have an encoded message programmed into your CPU, in case Megatron tries this again, to remind you of who you are."
Alexis had to smile at that. "That's not a bad idea. Thanks, Misha."
Before anything further could be said, the group's attention was caught by High Wire, who informed them that one of Rodimus' companions was standing on the hull of the accompanying shuttle and appeared to be trying to get their attention. Seeing as their communications array was down, this seemed to be the only way for Rodimus and his crew to contact them.
At Alexis' request, High Wire pulled up a visual on the main monitor and activated the ship's speakers to enable a conversation. "Okay, Chromia," Alexis said aloud. "We can see and hear you now. What's up?"
The blue femme shifted her weight, her impatience showing in her demeanor. "Scorpinok said he was going to see about removing the Decepticon symbol that Megatron branded him with. He wanted to know if you might want to do likewise, Sky Dancer."
Alexis didn't even hesitate before responding that she'd be right over. However, as she was turning to leave, she was surprised to see Ironhide gazing at the screen with an odd expression on his face. The femme jet blinked, wondering about his behavior before turning once more to look at the monitor. Chromia couldn't see them in return and was thus thankfully unaware of the scrutiny, but clearly there was something about her that had caught Ironhide's attention.
Alexis reached out, touching Ironhide's arm to make him focus on her. "Would you like to come with me to meet our traveling buddies?" she asked lightly.
Ironhide appeared flustered for several seconds before regaining his composure. Alexis resisted the urge to laugh when he then put on a show like he couldn't care less, though he did agree to accompany her.
As they made their way from one ship to the other, with Alexis actually ferrying her partner across, the femme jet was amusedly thinking, It didn't take long for Chromia to get someone to develop a crush on her…
*****
All in all, Megatron would say that he'd acquired perhaps three hundred more troops. There would have been more but for two reasons -- not all of the Decepticons made it through the Autobot lines, and there was barely enough room on the battleship to accommodate those that had. Ultimately, an unlucky few had had to be turned away, though they had undoubtedly gotten a rude awakening when the shuttle had warped away without them.
Once back at Unicron's remains, the battleship was, for the most part, unloaded. Megatron and his elite soldiers stayed on the bridge for some time; Snowcat and Tidal Wave were elated to be praised for their efforts, while Sideways regarded that same praise with indifference. Seconds later, Snowcat was instructed to go keep an eye on the new recruits.
Shortly after the eccentric bot had vacated the bridge, the silence was shattered when Shockblast stomped into the room, looking mad enough to kill. When the single large optic in the center of his face landed on Tidal Wave, Shockblast abruptly took to the air with a loud growl, flying at the colossal Decepticon with such speed that the resulting punch to Tidal Wave's face had an unexpected effect.
Shockblast, despite being one-third of his opponent's height, knocked Tidal Wave flat on his aft.
Sideways shifted his weight, his interest piqued enough that a look of surprise actually showed on his face. Megatron, on the other hand, was soon feeling enraged by this single act and wasted no time in laying into Shockblast as the latter drifted in for a landing.
"How dare you!" the Decepticon leader barked out, catching the attention of the new arrival and making a point of aiming the laser cannons on his shoulders at Shockblast. "I hope you have a good excuse for striking one of my favored warriors."
Shockblast's face was hard to read, given that he didn't exactly have a human-like visage like many of his brethren, but his tone suggested he was scowling. Pointing towards Tidal Wave, he said angrily, "Well, maybe you should ask your 'favored warrior' why he shot at me for no reason when I was approaching the ship."
While an amused grin soon came to Sideways' lips beneath his faceplate, the colossal bot jumped in with a pretty good explanation. Still, Sideways, having heard Tidal Wave's comments pre-battle, had suspicions that it was fabricated.
"Shockblast is mistaken. Tidal Wave was aiming for an Autobot shuttle and unfortunately missed."
Megatron hadn't seen the dispute in question, but was more inclined to believe the soldier who'd been in his company longer. He responded to Shockblast's angered statement towards Tidal Wave ("You slagging liar!") with an equally fierce one. "Watch it. Shockblast," Megatron practically shouted. "This is hardly the first impression you want to make! Unless you wish to instantly make three enemies out of those standing in this room, I'd suggest that you back down right now!"
Shockblast surprisingly didn't look or sound inclined to honor the request, causing Sideways to begin to wonder about this guy. It genuinely seemed as if the newcomer was actually challenging an order given by a commanding officer; Shockblast was either incredibly stupid or insane to think of openly defying Megatron. "But, sir," Shockblast started, only to be cut off.
Megatron took it up a notch and effectively obtained the desired reaction by saying, "Very well then. You clearly have a desire to be taken off-line. Permanently." With that, Megatron began to power up his weapons, the look in his optics showing he was fully prepared to carry out the threat.
The way that Shockblast's shoulders slumped after a few tense seconds cancelled out Sideways' assumption that he was lacking in brains. "Very well," he said, though something in his tone gave the impression, at least to the intangible bot, that the conflict was far from settled.
In spite of himself, Sideways actually found himself caring about this unusual friction between Tidal Wave and Shockblast. As he would later tell himself, nothing good could come from these two soldiers wasting their time taking shots at each other instead of the real enemy. Perhaps it would be best to keep them separated as much as possible.
As if the situation on the bridge wasn't tense enough, it was made even more so when the four soldiers gathered there were joined by a fifth bot. In fact, Sideways and Shockblast didn't even notice that someone else had joined the party until Megatron looked past them with a slightly exasperated expression. "Can I help you?" the Decepticon commander asked wearily.
This caused the gazes of all the bridge's occupants to turn towards the newcomer, which soon answered any questions on Megatron's attitude. Before them stood a blue and gray mech who was looking a tad too excited about being here. This was supported by what the newcomer had to say first. "Quite the contrary," he said in an excitable tone, with an accent that his companions couldn't quite place. "I'm here to help you… Name's Thundercracker. Snowcat requested that I come see you, sir, once I told him about what's happening on Cybertron."
Megatron waited in silence for several seconds, then shook his head in annoyance when he realized he needed to prompt Thundercracker to go on. Already, he was starting to know just why someone had asked permission to shoot the guy.
Still, Megatron was intrigued to learn about the security grid that was being established around Cybertron. If anything, the notion that Optimus and the Autobots were seeking to deny him and his soldiers their rightful home caused Megatron a great deal of anger. Out loud, he said, "If Prime thinks that we're going to stand idly by and let him close the door on us, then he's got another thing coming." Megatron paused, turning towards Thundercracker. "I want you to relay a message back to the troops. Tell them to prepare themselves for a battle and that they shouldn't rest until all those towers are taken out…"