Instruments of Destruction

Part 3

Magic Carpet Ride

By Nick Maro

Adrenaline surged through his veins as he ran without knowing where to go, David looked at Spike who was running along side him. They were trying to elude the Decepticons Rumble, Frenzy and Ravage. Their flight found them in a small acre of forest behind the Starlight House. Jumping a fallen trunk of a tree, David looked behind himself, the twin Decepticons robots were having trouble making it through the thick woods. Ravage was having no trouble keeping up and gaining on them.

"We need to split up, Spike. Any tips on how to deal with these persistent pests?" David ducked under a low branch.

"Agreed, they're not too bright. Just watch out for Rumble and Frenzy's pile driving arms. They can cause a minor earthquake and actually split the Earth open." Spike looked back at Ravage who was about fifty feet behind him. "Let me take care of Ravage. He and I have a history." He looked back again and yelled, "Hey, kitty-kitty. You'll never get me." Spike ran off to the right. Ravage followed David for a moment before he chased after Spike.

David began to scan the woods. He knew he could use his environment against the two Decepticons. The trees around him were all varied in species. David found an old oak branch about three and a half feet in length. He turned around and spun it around his body and head. The weight was perfect for fighting. Rumble and Frenzy were starting to close the distance.

"Willya lookit that? The foolish human is making a stand." Rumble laughed to himself.

"Yeah, what's with these humans? Are they programmed with a suicide path or just plain stupid?" Frenzy snapped a tree branch off that was blocking his way.

Without saying a word David ran at the purple and red twin robots. He leapt into the air with a battle cry and smacked Rumble in the back of his head with the oak branch. A loud clang rang out. David landed in a battle ready stance with the branch tucked under his arm. He was expecting the robots to be sturdy, so he had braced for the shock of the branches impact. Fury raged in Rumble's optics as he turned around. He made a wild and sloppy swing at David who easily dodged it.

David dug the branch firmly into the ground and used it to brace his kick at the Decepticon's head. He connected and grunted with the pain of hitting solid metal. Using his momentum David hit Rumble again with the branch. The purple robot staggered back slightly, but caught his balance. Frenzy ran towards David who ran backwards a few feet. He fell to the side and wrapped his legs around the bottom part of Frenzy's lower legs. The red robot fell but quickly got up.

Finding himself between the two robots David looked for a way to escape. He spotted a branch a few feet over his head just out of his reach. Waiting for the two Decepticons to rush towards him, David jumped up using the tree trunk to boost his leap. He grabbed the branch and pulled himself up to safety. Below him the Decepticons rushed into each other with a loud clang. He smirked realizing that Spike was right about them being not too bright.

Carefully jumping to the ground, David noticed that they were both knocked out. He grabbed the two guns on the back of Rumble and started running back to the Starlight House. He figured that one of the guns would even up the odds against Ravage. David ran back to the Starlight House. The sounds of the battle began getting louder the closer he got to the mansion. Deep down David hoped that there wasn't much damage to the house.

David spotted Spike near the pool house where he was fending Ravage off with a leaf skimmer. He never understood why Jerrica needed one since the pool was enclosed. David tried to fire off a shot with one of the guns he was carrying. He couldn't find a trigger. The gun finally fired when he touched a pressure plate on the underside of the gun. There was no recoil. David brought gun around and aimed as best as he could at Ravage and tapped the pressure plate. A bolt of energy hit the ground near the Decepticon.

Both Spike and Ravage turned in surprise at him. Ravage growled at him and Spike both. "Spike catch!" David tossed the other weapon to Spike. "There's a pressure plate that acts as a trigger near the handle." David fired at Ravage again glancing off his right side. Ravage jumped back as Spike shot at him. They both leveled their guns at him when Ravage took flight and flew over the mansion. David turned when he heard the snapping of branches behind him.

Frenzy and Rumble flew out of the forest and over the Starlight House as well. David and Spike ran as fast as they could to the front of the house. The Decepticons were retreating. Ravage, Rumble and Frenzy transformed back into the cassettes and slid into Soundwave's chest cavity. The weapons in their hands were yanked from them and disappeared inside Soundwave's chest as well. David looked around and noticed that the mansion itself was fine except for some light damage, but the lawn was in ruins.

Waiting in the clouds above Jetfire, Megatron pointed at the red and white jet for his arriving troops. "The machine is aboard that Autobot. The machine is not to be damaged. Do what you will to the Autobot and its occupants." He turned and looked at his command. "Decepticons! Attack!" The Decepticons all dove at Jetfire at the same time.

Inside Jetfire's cockpit, Jerrica stared at the image of Optimus Prime in shock at what the Autobot leader had told her. "What do you mean Synergy is Cybertronian? That…that she came from Cybertron? My father found her like this?" She stood to pace the cabin, but hit her head on the low ceiling.

"I believe I can explain, Ms. Benton," an Autobot answered. He was white and when he spoke the panels on the side of his head glowed a bluish tint. "My name is Wheeljack. While analyzing Cerebrix's designs, I found a schematic of Synergy. The only thing that's Cybertronian about her is the holographic matrix she uses. I suspect when the Ark was crashing to Earth, this matrix fell out and landed in a spot where it laid hidden. It's possible that your father found it and fixed it if it was damaged. I'm not saying your father didn't create Synergy. He did. He just didn't fully design the holographic technology."

Jerrica shut her eyes and leaned back in the seat of Jetfire. She was trying to calm herself down with the breathing exercises that David had taught her. She thought back to just before her father had started work in holograms. He had taken herself, Kimber, Aja and Shana camping in northern California. She remembered that he had brought a metal detector for fun. She opened her eyes and smiled sadly at Wheeljack. "You're right. He did find it when we were on a camping trip. He—"

"Sorry to interrupt, Ms. Benton, but I need you to strap yourself in," Jetfire said softly but with urgency in his voice. "I've got a handful of Decepticons on my tail and I need to shake them." Jerrica began to stand up to head into the back near the Starlight Girls. The seats straps whipped around her and fastened tightly. "I wasn't asking. Don't worry the little ones will be okay. Just don't hold this against me later."

Before Jerrica could question him Jetfire began to arc up at a severe angle. Jerrica clutched the arms on the seat with her life. Behind her she could hear the Starlight Girls scream in terror and excitement. She felt the Autobot increase his speed. The view outside the cockpit widow was changing from blue sky to dark space. Her vision began to blur before she passed out from the gravitational forces. The last thing that went through her mind of was the safety of the girls.

Not waiting for Hound to come to a complete stop David and Spike jumped out of their seats and ran up to the Gabor Mansion. David opened the front door quickly and skidded to halt as he almost crashed into Jetta. The British drummer of The Misfits arched an eyebrow. "What's gotten you in such a hurry?" She then saw the look of panic on his face. "Awright, out with it then. What's going on?"

"[We need to get out of here and to safety. Where's everyone at? There's a group of Autobots who are going to get us to the Ark.]" David stopped talking when Jetta gave him a strange look. "[What? Something wrong?]"

"I don't understand what you're sayin'. You're speakin' in Japanese. Just calm down and tell me what's goin' on." Jetta placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She nodded a hello to Spike.

David took a deep breath. "We have to get out of here. There's a group of Autobots outside who are going to take us to the Ark. Spike and I were attacked at Jerrica's by a group of Decepticons. Optimus Prime thinks that Megatron will try to use us as pawns. Jerrica is already with The Holograms and the Starlight Girls." David began to run up the stairs. "One of the Autobots will take you home to get some clothes. I already talked to Roxy and my sister. They're on their way here."

After waiting for about twenty minutes David's cell phone rang. It was Stormer telling him that she, Chip and Kimber would be riding in Bumblebee. She also said that they're going on ahead while David waited for his sister. He had already called Clash and Techrat. Techrat said that they would be fine. They were perfectly safe in his home. Stopping his pacing, David looked up when Pizzazz drove through the gates.

"It's about time I got here." Pizzazz slammed the van door. "Goddamn traffic snarled up the freeway." David quickly introduced his twin to the Autobots.

The Autobots and the Misfits were about to leave when a car came racing through the gates of the Gabor manor. The driver got out and looked extremely angry and worried. David got out of the driver's side of Ironhide and smiled. Rio stopped and combed his hand through his purple hair. "What happened at Jerrica's? Where is she? Where are the Starlight Girls? What the hell happened?"

"Rio calm down. Something has happened, but everyone is safe. We're off to go see them now," David explained softly and quietly.

Slamming David against the side of the red Autobot, Rio spoke quietly but with deadly venom behind his words. "Tell me where they're at." He turned when someone tapped his shoulder. "Wha—?"

Kaori brought her arm back and punched Rio in the chin. He quickly fell to the ground unconscious. "How about a steaming cup of shut the fuck up?" She looked at David innocently. "[We didn't have time to deal with him acting like that. It was the best way to get him to go with us.]" She gave her boyfriend a little shrug. "[I also didn't like him roughing up my boyfriend.]"

David put Rio in the back seat of Ironhide next to Roxy who gave Kaori a wink and giggled. Ironhide led the Autobots out of the gate and down a few back streets before getting on the expressway. An hour later they found Bumblebee and his passengers. By then Rio had regained consciousness. David explained to him what happened. Rio looked out the window somewhat angered at the whole situation.

The reflection of the orangish-golden glow of the metal panels caused Jerrica to cover her eyes as she woke up. She looked around and found herself on a table made from the same metal panels that covered the floor, walls and ceiling. The other Holograms were still unconscious and a few of the Starlight Girls were missing. Feeling panic begin to well deep inside her, Jerrica looked for the girls frantically in the room.

There was no door for the room just an opening. She looked around the corner, listening closely for the sound of her girls. The hallway was brightly lit just like the room she was in. Jerrica walked softly and slowly down the hall. After walking around for a few moments, she heard the clank of metal on metal footsteps of an Autobot. Jerrica slipped into an opening and pressed her back against the wall. Unconsciously, Jerrica held her breath and shut her eyes until the footsteps had passed.

"Well, greetings Earthling," came a jovial robotic voice in front of her. Jerrica opened her eyes and gasped slightly. The Autobot in front of her smiled. She still couldn't understand how a robot could do that. He spoke again. "Don't be scared. You're among friends here in the Ark. My name is Ratchet. I'm the head medical officer of the Autobots. And you're Jerrica Benton. It's nice to finally meet you."

Jerrica finally found her ability to speak after a few moments. "Where—where are my girls at? How did we get here? What happened? I thought we were being attacked by Decepticons."

Ratchet let out a soft chuckle. Humans seemed to amuse him with their innocence. "You were. Jetfire out flew the Decepticons jets by rapidly going into a low orbit around Earth. The gravitational forces however knocked out everyone on board. Once Jetfire had landed, we helped unload everyone and made them comfortable in a makeshift recovery room. I assure you that everyone is okay. You just might have a headache for a few hours."

"You still didn't answer my other question."

"Don't worry. Your girls are okay. I think Sparkplug is with them outside." Ratchet put down his tool and started walking out of the room. "I'll show you the way out." Jerrica hesitantly followed the giant robot.

Having only been at the Ark for less than an hour, Roxy and Jetta wanted to leave. Jetfire had picked them up along with the rest of the Misfits on their way to the Ark in Ironhide. They didn't want to have anything to do with what was going on. Roxy was personally tired of being dragged into world and life threatening situations. She knew her girlfriend Jetta was also sick of it. They chose to go for a walk while David did whatever he was going to do. Deep down they each knew they would agree to whatever he asked of them.

Roxy sat on a tree stump and watched the construction of Autobot City in the distance. The construction was moving along quickly. The whole city was expected to be finished in a few weeks. She picked at the bark and tossed it idly. "Hey hon," Roxy said quietly after a moment, "I've been doing a lot of thinking. Where's our relationship going?"

Jetta looked away from the construction to the young platinum blonde woman. "Wherever it goes luv. You know that. Why do ask?"

"I dunno. Just been feeling like it should go further. You're the closest person I've ever been to. I just want to show you how much that means to me, especially to an emotional wreck like me." Roxy let out a small laugh.

"Let's talk about it another time. This is startin' to sound like the cliché you see in every bloody war movie that has a love interest. I just don't want what you're goin' to say to weigh on me conscious while we're off doin' somethin' stupid." Jetta looked back at the construction and mumbled quietly. "I just know we're gonna be doin' somethin' stupid."

"I don't believe what I'm hearing!" Pizzazz yelled at her brother. "You're having us do something stupid! Again I might add." She backhanded his shoulder. "This could get us killed for real this time." Pizzazz paced in the makeshift bedroom the Autobots had created for her. She avoided David's eyes. "Listen, Jerrica is a great woman and all. I'm glad she and I are friends, but why do we have to risk our life for her?"

David gave a small shrug. "I never said you had to go. I'd feel a hell of a lot safer with you here. So if you want to stay that's fine with me, but I already asked Mary about it and she wants to go. I just need to ask Roxy and Sheila. I mean this is something that would sound better coming from me than you or Optimus." He walked to the door and it opened automatically. "I'm going to plan a strategy with Prowl and the others."

Pizzazz sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the door. She was getting tired of constantly being on the run. All she wanted to do was make music. She flopped back on the mattress and let out a long sigh while staring at the ceiling, thinking about what her twin had said.

Picking up the camera Stormer had spotted on the ground near the Ark, she nodded as she listened to her best friend talk. She examined the odd looking camera. She had never seen one like it. "Hey Kim, check this out. Think one of those tabloid photographers dropped this?" She held up the camera.

"That was months ago, but we better get inside. David said he wanted you there when he and Prowl planned the strategy. We can study it later." Kimber still couldn't get over how the Autobots had remained hidden for all these years. Their technology was amazing and she was enthralled with everything around her. She looked forward to when Autobot City would be finished so she could visit.

"Wait a sec, Kim. I want to put this in my room. Don't feel like hauling it around everywhere." Stormer jogged quickly to her room and tossed the camera lightly onto her bed. It bounced a few times and finally rested on the mattress. She caught up with Kimber and they entered the dimly lit tactics room. There were two tables in the room. One at about ten feet high and the other was human sized. They were each identical except for their height.

David stood with Spike as they studied the map on the surface of the table. Prowl and Optimus Prime did the same around the larger table. David frowned when he saw Kimber come in with Stormer. "Optimus, will you excuse me for a moment?" The Autobot leader nodded his head and David walked quickly to Kimber. "Can I talk to you in private for a moment?" Before Kimber could answer, David lightly grabbed her by the upper arm and led her out of the room. "What were you doing in there?"

Kimber looked at him in mild shock. "I'm going with you guys."

"No you're not. You're staying right here. I will not be responsible for you getting hurt."

"Mary is going. What about her safety?"

"I asked her to come with because she has a few special talents we could use. She knows about the danger."

Kimber frowned a bit. "So you're just exploiting her then? She has that sixth sense thingy and you want to use it. Oh very nice, David. It's so nice to see the real Gabor in you showing."

David held back his retort and chewed the inside of his cheek. "Fine, you can come. But you're coming with me, so I can make sure you're okay. I don't want you getting hurt. This is dangerous."

As if to prove David's comment true a klaxon went off inside the Ark. "Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! All Autobots to Teletran-One! Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!" David grabbed Kimber's hand and ran down the hallway following the Autobots who were rushing to the computer room. They came to a halt when they entered. They couldn't see much with all of the Autobots in the way but there was a struggle going on with three other robots.

A sudden flash blinded all in the room. When David's eye sight came back he saw that the three robots were gone. He turned when Stormer came running up behind him. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. It looked like there were three robots in here but I couldn't get a clear view."

"It was the Decepticon trio known as Reflector, David," Bumblebee said walking up to the three friends. "Teletran says that they began to download the specs on Synergy but only got half of it."

"David," Optimus Prime spoke softly walking up to him, "get the rest of your team together. We have to get to the space bridge as soon as possible, and get everything Wheeljack needs there. Our timetable has been moved up to leaving in an hour. I want to get the data on Synergy and the holographic technology hidden as soon as possible."

It was rare that Megatron was pleased with his soldiers, most of the time he was amazed at their ineptitude to get something simple done. The three robots together known as Reflector stood before their leader. Even though they had only gotten part of the information, but Megatron was still pleased. They waited for their next commands. "Very good work Reflector, Prime and those miserable fleshlings don't know what they have." He turned and pressed a few buttons on the communicator.

The image on the monitor went from static to the image of a one-eyed purple Decepticon. "All hail the Mighty Megatron."

"Shockwave, I'm about to transmit to you some data. I want you to get a team of your best Decepticons to search for the rest of it. It's Autobot technology in origin that's been lost for ages that could turn the war to our favor." Megatron pressed a button and transmitted the data. He smiled to himself with the thought he may have finally found the weapon to destroy the Autobots.

The Decepticon's space bridge looked nothing more than a giant metal ring in the middle of nowhere. Two Decepticons guarded the opening to the space bridge. David went back to where the rest had gathered. "There's just two Decepticons guarding the entrance. How are we gonna do this?"

Prowl finished checking his weapon and looked at David. "We're going to do it how we usually do. Bust through the garrison and take off. It's worked before." He turned and looked at David, Kaori, Kimber, Stormer, Roxy and Jetta. "You've never been to Cybertron, so here's what you should expect. The gravity is bit similar to Earth but a little less. Also the atmosphere is thinner. We Transformers don't need to breathe oxygen, but we need it to keep our engines cool. Any questions?"

"I-I just want to apologize again for bringing that Reflector Decepticon into the Ark. I didn't know." Stormer looked away a little embarrassed.

"You're damn right you should apologize! That lousy Decepticreep was able to get some of the data and now we have to scramble to Cybertron without a good plan." The Autobot known as Gears was furious. "You humans are just more trouble than you're worth protecting."

"Gears! That's enough! Transform and roll back to the Ark. You're off this mission." Prowl watched and waited as Gears glared at him and at Stormer. He finally transformed and left. "Your apology was accepted already, Stormer. No need to keep doing so. Now, are we ready?"

Windcharger sped up to the group and stopped. He transformed after his passenger got out. Pizzazz came running up with a smirk on her face. "Y'know, I thought about it and figured that my brother and The Misfits can't do something suicidal and stupid without me." David smiled and turned his attention back to Prowl who explained the plan to Pizzazz. She nodded and the Autobots present transformed.

Roxy, Jetta, Spike and Pizzazz rode inside of Bumblebee. Stormer, Kimber, Kaori and David were in Cliffjumper. Prowl and Hound led the two other Autobots down the cliff side toward the space bridge. They caught the Decepticons off guard and rolled right through the space bridge's entrance. Immediately the space bridge activated and began to warm up. David saw over head the sky start to open up into a black circle as electricity danced in the sky. The space bridge began to suck the Autobots and The Misfits up toward the black void.

TO BE CONTINUED IN "THE LAND OF CONFUSION"

PART 4 OF INSTRUMENTS OF DESCTRUCTION