Sorry, I don't post chapters more consistently, hope you enjoy!
Chapter eight Shot In the Back
Skyshadow stepped into Prowl's office. "You called for me?"
"Yes, close the door," replied the Praxian.
The red and black femme closed the door behind her, and turned back to face Prowl, a blank expression on her faceplate."
"I want you to keep an optic on your brother," said Prowl.
Skyshadow, knowing what had just happened to Prowl's brother, waited a few astrokliks before answering, "Understood, but it will be on my terms. We are finally starting to make up for lost time, and I don't want anything to ruin that. He's the only close family that I have left, I don't want to lose him too." Then she turned around, opened the door, and left the office.
Prowl looked out past the doorway and stared at the blank wall in deep thought.
/
At their graves
Iron Blade stood in front of his parents' grave stones. He removed his helmet, so that his tears could stream down his scarred faceplate. He stood there in silence for a few astrokliks before saying, "Hey, Sire. Hey, Carrier. I kept my promise, I found out who killed you and I gave him what he deserved, but it didn't solve anything. It's been exactly twelve vorns since you were killed, but it's orns like these when that doesn't seem to matter. I miss you…so much." He gritted his denta as he closed his optics. "I wish you both were here."
Skyshadow was listening to what her brother was saying. She noticed that he was holding his helmet. She had not seen her brother's faceplate since they had fought each other vorns ago.
For an entire vorn Iron Blade had been taken for dead, killed by the hands of his little sister, but in truth he was just hiding from the universe.
It had been about five vorns since the orn Iron Blade was believed to be dead, but so much had happened since then.
Skyshadow soundlessly walked over and stood beside her brother. "Before we left Cybertron to continue the war on Lumen, Bumblebee and I would visit Sire and Carrier's graves every jour. I haven't been here in vorns."
Iron Blade just stared forward and watched the sunset, uttering nothing except for the occasional sniff to clear his vents.
A few astrokliks went by before Iron Blade asked, "Did you follow me here?"
"Not intentionally. I remember the on-cycle our parents were killed too," Skyshadow answered.
"Fair enough," came the reply from the Knight as he put his helmet back on.
"You don't have to hide your faceplate, you know," said the black and red femme, "Especially, not here."
"You never know who's watching, waiting to stab you in the back while you look away," replied Iron Blade as he turned and started walking away. "Never trust anyone, little sister. Always assume everyone will betray you at some point, so that when they do…" He stopped walking away and continued to say, "You won't be disappointed."
Then the Knight continued walking away, leaving Skyshadow to ponder what her older brother had just told her. This advice her brother had just shared was not a foreign concept to her. In fact, it was something that she was all too familiar with, and something that she had a hand in at times.
Skyshadow wondered if Iron Blade was hinting at what happened in their past. She wondered if it was more than just the scars on his faceplate that he carried around with him, or if they still go unreconciled for what had happened.
Either way, that was something that would never happen between them again, and that is a promise she would carry with her forever.
/
Skyshadow and Sunstreaker were summoned by the Allspark to come to the Well, and they immediately followed. They decided to tread carefully because this was something they had never experienced before.
When they stepped out of the ground bridge, the Well of Allsparks in front of them, they looked at each other before Sunstreaker asked, "Why have you summoned us here!?"
Then a loud deep voice spoke to them, "It is time. I bestow upon you a sparkling."
Then a beam of light shot up out of the Well towards the sky, and then the grey shape of a sparkling came out of the beam of light and levitated over to Sunstreaker and Skyshadow.
They held out their servos and caught the sparkling. As it's colour turned to yellow and black and blue light came into it's optics, the two now parents held him in their arms.
Then the beam of light diminished, and the voice spoke again, "It has been many long vorns since I last bestowed life upon this planet's inhabitants. This life is a great gift. Do not take it lightly."
"Thank you," said Sunstreaker, then the three turned and went through the ground bridge.
The sparkling looked up. He saw the light of the ground bridge as all the blue and purple lights seemed to fly by at amazing speeds. It seemed to fascinate the little sparkling.
When they reached the other side and stepped out of the bridge, Sunstreaker asked his sparkmate, "What should we call the little mech?"
Skyshadow thought for an astroklik before answering, "We should use the last part of your name and my Sire's, Shadowstreaker."
Sunstreaker looked down at his son. Smiling, he said, "Shadowstreaker, I like that name."
/(Intermission music is: This Is the Light of Life by Gabriel Salcedo & Epic Music World.)
Prowl hardly ever left Autobot HQ, he was building up the courage to go home. To go to Praxus. He stood outside Autobot headquarters, finally deciding it was time. He went back inside and set the ground bridge for Praxus.
"You good there, boss?" Blaster asked.
"I'll be alright," Prowl replied, "Just stand by in case."
"You got it," said the red and orange Autobot.
The Praxian sighed deeply before stepping through.
When the tactician stepped out on the other side he looked forward then all around him.
Everything was as it was when he was last there, the place was blown to bits.
"Close the ground bridge," said Prowl as he sat down, head bowed. He sat there for some time.
The ground bridge closed beside him.
It was quiet, only a little wind that blew over the ruined city state could be heard.
As the Praxian sat there, in the middle of the ruins, he suddenly heard slow pede steps. He looked up.
The sound seemed to be coming from in front of him.
The pede steps got louder as the mech got closer.
Prowl didn't move. He didn't really know why he didn't move. It wasn't because of fear, but rather a lack of effort. He was tired, and mentally he did not care in that moment what happened to him if it was a danger. He had already suffered pain worse than death, he wasn't afraid to die.
The mech stepped out from behind the ruins, it was Brunt.
Suddenly, Prowl woke up. Optics wide as he realized.
"You Autobots are making this too easy," said Brunt as he stood in front of the Praxian.
Prowl stood up with a heavy sigh.
"You're dying," said another voice from behind Prowl.
The tactician recognized the voice to be Vortex. Prowl turned to face the creator of the Cybercons, saying nothing.
Vortex stood leaning against a wall that was less than half there, "Didn't you get my note?"
"I did," said the Praxian with a frown.
Vortex frowned, "Then why are your lackeys still hunting us?"
"Because we can't let you roam free. We know what you're attempting to do," said Prowl.
"Oh, you do, do ya?" said the Decepticon as he pushed off the wall and walked over to Prowl, "And what pray tell would that be?"
They stood faceplate to faceplate.
"More Cybercons, obviously," said the tactician, "It's not that hard to figure out since that's all you and your brother do these orns, is make Cybers."
Vortex smirked as he stepped back, "I think it's time for another little surprise for your comrades."
Brunt deployed his electro-laser foreservo cannon.
Prowl's doorwings flicked. without looking away from the Decepticon inventor, he said with a smirk, "I think it is. Cyberbots, now!" Then he ducked down covering his helm.
Brunt looked straight ahead to the wall that Vortex was just leaning against, for pede steps were heard from the other side.
Cog came smashing through the wall, and took Brunt out in an aggressive bear hug.
Suddenly, Sixgun jumped in from the side, tackling Vortex to the ground.
Pinned, the mostly grey Decepticon squirmed under the red and white Cyberbot's hold.
"Gotcha this time, ya slipper cyber-weasel," said Sixgun.
Brunt threw Cog off him.
Both stood to their pedes.
Cog swung a fist at Brunt, but Brunt countered it by grabbing his foreservo in his crablike claws and crushed it.
The big navy blue Cyberbot yelled as he kneed the purple Cybercon in the chest.
Brunt let go of Cog's foreservo with a little momentum as he charged up his electro-laser foreservo cannon.
Cog stumbled backwards and tried to charge back at the purple Cybercon again, but he was blasted with a beam from Brunt's cannon.
Cog smashed through three ruin walls and landed in a pile of rubble. The cannon blast forced him into stasis sleep.
"No!" yelled Sixgun as he picked up Vortex and threw him at Brunt.
Who caught the Decepticon with a one hundred and eighty spin, and set him down nicely, but before he could turn around, Sixgun sliced him in half at the waist with his servo swords.
As Brunt fell to the ground, Sixgun was shot in the helm by Vortex.
The red and white Cyberbot fell on his back and laid still.
Vortex smirked as he spun his blaster and slung it back on his waist, looking over to where he saw Prowl last.
But the Praxian was no longer there.
The smirk vanished from the inventor's faceplate as he heard the click of a gun behind him.
"Servos up," said Prowl from behind Vortex.
Vortex raised his servos, "Looks like your lackeys are out for this round, Bud."
Prowl took Vortex's blaster off his waist and put it on his own. Then he put a servo around the Decepticon's neck and put his blaster to his helm.
Brunt suddenly reformed himself and stood to his pedes, staring down the Praxian.
"Not another move, big guy, or your boss here is offline," said Prowl as he slowly walked backwards with Vortex.
"Stand down, Brunt," commanded his creator.
"Blaster, open a ground bridge," the tactician commanded.
Suddenly, a ground bridge appeared behind Prowl.
Prowl stopped walking backwards, he could sense something wasn't right, "This isn't my ground bridge is it."
Vortex shrugged with a smirk, "Who knows."
Suddenly, a shot came from the ground bridge behind Prowl, and caught the tactician in the back and neck.
As Prowl was sent hurtling forwards, he let go of Vortex.
Vortex was pushed from the force of the blast, and was sent rolling. As soon as he stopped, he stood to his pedes and put his digit to his audio, and yelled, "You almost shot me!" Then he and Brunt ran into the ground bridge.
As the ground bridge closed another one opened a few pede steps away from Prowl.
Half a klik went by and nothing went in or out of the ground bridge.
Blaster was confused. Deciding to go take a look he walked through the bridge. When he stepped out on the other side he gasped as he saw Prowl. Immediately he clicked his comm link and said, "Ratchet! Jazz! Get to the main room and go through the ground bridge! It's Prowl. He's down!" Then he ran over to the Praxian, "Prowl! Can you hear me!"
Jazz ran through the ground bridge, followed by Ratchet, who yelled, "Step aside."
As the Chief Medical Officer scanned Prowl, Jazz shook him yelling, "Prowl, wake up! Please, wake up!"
"He's alive, but barely," said Ratchet.
"Can you save him?" asked Jazz.
"Not here," said the medic.
"We gotta get 'em back ta base," said the saboteur.
Ratchet put a servo on Jazz's shoulder, "Wait, we have to be careful. Blaster, help Jazz carry him to the medbay now."
As Jazz and Blaster picked up Prowl and started walking towards the ground bridge, Ratchet said, "Carefully now. Whirr, prepare the medbay."
When they reached the medbay, Ratchet said, "Set him down here."
Prowl coughed.
Jazz immediately went to the head of the table, "Prowl?"
"J-Jazz," said the Praxian.
"He's fading!" said the Chief Medical Officer.
"Flip him over, so we can treat his wound," said Whirr.
"No… w-ait," said Prowl weakly, "I… have… to tell Jazz… something."
Jazz put one hand on Prowl's shoulder and with his other, he held his hand.
Prowl squeezed Jazz's hand slightly, "J-Jazz,… I… I'm s-sorry. I… d-don't know… why I w-went out there. I just… longed f-for home."
Jazz quickly said, "Don't worry about that now. We've…"
"No, J-azz,… I n-need you t-to… tell Silver… that I-I l-ove… her," said Prowl.
"You'll tell her yourself. Now just lie still while…" Ratchet was interrupted by the medbay door opening.
Silver ran in, saying under her breath, "Prowl, Prowl, no, no, no."
Jazz stepped back so Silver could take his place.
"How bad is he?" asked the silver and purple femme.
The computer pinged.
"That was his reading," said Ratchet, "It looks like whatever hit him cracked most of his spine, and his vital organs are failing fast. He doesn't have long. I'm sorry."
Tears streamed down Silver's faceplate.
Prowl sighed as he looked at his sparkmate. Lifting his servo, he wiped the tears from her faceplate. "I l-love you… my dear S-Sliver. I always h-have,… and I-I al-ways… will."
Silver cleared her vents, "I love you too. I'll… be okay."
The tactician sighed, and moved his optics towards his best friend. He reached his servo up off the berth slightly.
Jazz moved in and knelt at his side, beside Silver, holding tightly to his best friend's hand.
Prowl pointed at Jazz with a digit of the hand the saboteur was holding, and said, "M-my brother." Then he moved his optics up towards the ceiling. The light faded from Prowl's optics as the pings telling his spark-rate diminished.
Prowl offlined.
Whirr turned off the spark-rate machine, leaving the room in complete silence.
As all this was happening more and more Autobots had gathered and stood in the doorway of the medbay.
Iron Blade was in the front. He removed his helmet and held it between his left servo and his waist. The Knight of Cybertron knelt down on one knee, bowing his helm, he put his right servo across his chest.
In that moment, every Autobot behind Iron Blade did their own salute or bow to honour their lost comrade; who was finally, at peace.
(Credit: music is: Where the Hills Are Green by Peter Roe.)
Thanks for reading!