Warning: Sad chapter is sad. You have been warned :)
Chapter 32
Faded Legacy
Smokescreen fell backwards against the pyramid wall, pondering that perhaps this was the wrong time to make himself solid again as his body painfully collided with the ancient stonework. He was so glad he had borrowed the phase shifter, otherwise Megatron would have killed him and Ironhide with that ominous new sword.
"Whew! That was a close one, huh?" Smokescreen whistled as he stood up, "So, should we go back out there and kick Megatron's bucket? Huh? Um...sir?"
Smokescreen, upon realizing that Ironhide wasn't responding, turned to see what was holding the old mech up. The sight that greeted him was ghastly. Ironhide had taken the brunt of Megatron's attack, and his back was gashed open with glowing blue vital fluids running out of his massive wound. He was face down and seemed to be unconscious. At least, Smokescreen hoped he was just unconscious.
"Ironhide!" Smokescreen screamed as he rushed to the soldier's aid, "Sir! You have to wake up! We have to get you to Ratchet, now!"
Ironhide groaned and lifted his helm to look up at Smokescreen; the light in his optics a few shades dimmer than normal.
"Kid...we gotta go back out there," Ironhide rasped, his voice barely above a whisper, "I can still fight."
"I know you're tough, but even you can't handle this much punishment," Smokescreen worriedly replied, /Ratchet, I need a ground bridge./
No response.
"Are you kidding me?" Smokescreen huffed in exasperation, "Getting knocked against that wall must've messed up my comm link. Sir, you'll need to call the bridge."
"No..." Ironhide insisted, "Arcee...still out there. Need...to fight. Megatron...will not win. He's taken too much already. Gotta keep him busy...for Arcee...to finish off."
"No, you need to stop," Smokescreen all but pleaded, "Arcee will understand that we had to retreat. We'll get him next time."
"Megatron...will kill her," Ironhide grunted, "Three against one, remember? We can do this..."
Smokescreen, despite the dire situation, felt a rush of pride for Ironhide. Smokescreen had read about Optimus' bravest warriors in the academy, and Ironhide was chief among them. Brave, strong, and determined. He was everything Smokescreen thought he would be. Part of the young Autobot wanted to believe that Ironhide was right, that he could overcome his wounds, battle Megatron, and return to base with a great battle story and a few new scars. Listening to the liquid sound of his intakes however told a different tale.
"I have to get my comm line working," Smokescreen declared, "We have to get you out of here."
"Kid...look outside," Ironhide ordered.
"What?" Smokescreen asked in puzzlement.
"Look outside and see if Arcee is okay!" Ironhide barked with what little strength he had left.
Smokescreen rushed to do as instructed, and used the phase shifter to poke his head out of the wall. There was no one around. Not Megatron, not Arcee...nothing. Smokescreen made sure to check the ground for any wreckage, but there was nothing. Not even skid marks. Clearly there wasn't much of a battle after Smokescreeen and Ironhide left.
"No one's out there," Smokescreen reported, "My guess is they took the battle elsewhere."
"Or Arcee was captured," Ironhide growled, "Fraggin' Megatron. We gotta get him this time. For Iacon, for Cliffjumper...for Elita One."
"I heard Starscream killed Cliffjumper," Smokescreen pointed out.
"Dudn't matter," Ironhide slurred, the energon loss starting to get to him, "Megatron is still...responsible. Him and them fraggin' 'Cons. Starscream...is just a...symptom. Still hope Arcee scraps him though."
"My self repair is working on the comm link," Smokescreen told him, "It should be repaired in four or five breems, tops. Don't worry sir, help will soon be on the way. I'm on top of this. You survived Tox-en, you can survive this."
"We gotta find them," Ironhide groaned as he tried to get up.
"No! You need to rest," Smokescreen insisted as he gently forced Ironhide back down.
"Kid, this is important," Ironhide said as he grabbed Smokescreen's arm, "I need you to...do somethin' for me. You hear?"
"Yes sir. Anything," Smokescreen replied.
"Chromia...Make sure Chromia...gets my cannons," Ironhide requested, "She'll put 'em...to good use."
"But those are your weapons," Smokescreen protested, "You're still gonna need them after Ratchet patches you up."
"Oh, right. Forgot..." Ironhide breathed out; humoring Smokescreen, "Oh, and let everyone know that Megatron did this to me. Chromia and Arcee...will get him back. An optic for an optic, and a spark for a spark. They'll be just fine."
"Sir, while we're waiting for the comm line to repair, can I ask you a question?" Smokescreen ventured, "Why didn't you come with Optimus Prime to earth? Ratchet came, so why not you?"
"We was trackin' down Megatron," Ironhide replied, "He wasn't on earth. Optimus...he was lookin' for planets the 'Cons might target. Chromia and me, we only cared about one 'Con; the head honcho."
"Wow, you guys are unstoppable once you set your processors to something," Smokescreen said with admiration, "Did you find him?"
"Nope. Tracked him here," Ironhide explained, "You know younglin', Chromia was often more determined than I was. Elita One...was her best friend. She needs to crush Megatron's spark in her servo. She needs to avenge Ariel."
"Who's Ariel?" Smokescreen asked.
"That's...Elita's old name. From before she became Primess," Ironhide recalled, "She and Optimus knew each other when they were both nobody, and supported each other's struggles and battles. She was...stronger-willed than Optimus, but Optimus was...more diplomatic. Elita was stubborn, and once she set her processor to something, then nothin' changed it. Just like my Chromia."
Ironhide then hacked up a puddle of energon on the ground, and his optics went even dimmer. Smokescreen frantically checked his internal diagnostic. His comm link still needed five more earth minutes to repair. He looked back down at Ironhide, and his ragged intakes were becoming more shallow and haggard.
"Sir, just five more minutes. We'll get you back to base in five minutes!" Smokescreen shouted in an effort to keep Ironhide awake.
"Kid...Remember...spark for...Chromia..."
Most of Ironhide's words were garbled by energon, and his servo reached wildly at nothing. Smokescreen grabbed his servo to hold it, but that didn't stop Ironhide from searching for some unseen thing. After a moment that last both a microsecond and forever, the servo went limp and the optics went dark. Smokescreen desperately opened Ironhide's chest cavity to search for his spark, but there was nothing there. It was just an empty shell.
"No..." Smokescreen whispered shakily, but then screamed, "NO!"
He pounded on the ground in helpless anger, and looked once again at the frame that had once been Ironhide. How could he have failed so completely? He failed the mission, he lost Megatron and Arcee, and Ironhide...
Smokescreen didn't know what to do. Could he leave a dead Autobot in an ancient human tomb? Probably not. He didn't know what to do, and his comm link was still broken. How could he return to Optimus Prime after failing to save one of the Prime's oldest and dearest friends? Why didn't he take a medical course at the academy? Why didn't he think about this sooner?
Just as Smokescreen's thoughts were weighing him down, he heard noises coming from outside. Willing himself to stand up and check, Smokescreen used the phase shifter to once again peek out of the wall.
This time there was definitely activity. Optimus Prime was fighting Megatron over the Omega Key. Smokescreen walked toward the key, but continued to watch both faction leaders battle. It was truly a sight for the young elite guardsmech to behold. The Star Saber against its evil counterpart. Prime vs Decepticon warlord. Good vs evil. The fate of their way of life and Cybertron's future at stake.
Just as Smokescreen grabbed the key, he heard the sound of shattering metal. In a dark and surprising turn, Megatron's falsely forged blade had sliced into the Star Saber and broken it to pieces. Optimus, too exhausted to continue fighting, fell to his knees. Megatron, smug and victorious, placed his own blade upon the shoulder of the defeated Prime to hold him in place.
"And so it ends, just as I always imagined," Megatron bragged, "With your head sitting on my mantle next to my new trophy!"
"Oh, you mean this?" Smokescreen interjected as he held up the key, "Finders keepers."
Optimus, seeing that Smokescreen was alive and in danger, used Megatron's moment of distraction to push him away! Megatron's sword directed another energy beam at Optimus, who was barely able to dodge it.
"Smokescreen, fall back!" Optimus ordered as he readied himself to hold off Megatron.
Smokescreen wasn't going to obey that order however. He had already seen one good 'Bot die that day. He wasn't about to leave Optimus Prime unprotected and at Megatron's mercy.
Megatron readied a particularly powerful pulse from his blade, and Optimus knew he had no way to defend himself from this blow. He was too tired, and his own sword was mere dust on the ground. Just as he assumed the inevitable had come upon him however, Smokescreen jumped in the way to shield the Prime. Optimus feared the young Autobot would be killed, but instead the beam passed through them as if they weren't even there. Optimus recognized this as the work of the phase shifter.
/Ratchet, we need a ground bridge, now!/ Optimus shouted into his comm.
The swirling portal home appeared at once, and Optimus and Smokescreen made a run for it; Omega Key in hand.
"No!" Megatron snarled, unwilling to let his arch rival take the relic for the Autobots.
Megatron tried to use his sword's deadly beam to stop them, but somehow through some miracle of physics and good fortune, the duo managed to outrun the beam and make it through the bridge safely.
When the returning heroes made it back to base, at first everyone was happy to see that they had retrieved the Omega Key and came one step closer to securing Cybertron's revival. The celebration was short-lived however, as two things were clearly missing. One was the Star Saber, which Megatron had broken. The other...
"Hey Optimus, where's Ironhide?" Chromia asked almost casually, "Did he get stuck in something durin' the fight? I told him he wasn't ready yet. I told him the Tox-en was still in his system. So...where is he?"
Optimus, having known Chromia longer than the others had, could see that her face was pensive. She was talking as if everything was fine, but denial was frequently her go-to move when things were very wrong. Optimus turned to Smokescreen, a questioning look in his optics, and Smokescreen couldn't even look back at him.
"I'm sorry," Smokescreen whispered morosely, "Ironhide...didn't make it. Megatron killed him, and I couldn't repair my comm link in time to get help. I'm so sorry."
No one spoke for a few tense seconds. No one knew what to say, or even how to process it. Ironhide was old, but he was full of vigor. To think that Megatron could so easily snuff his spark seemed...wrong somehow.
"Where is he?" Chromia finally asked.
"In the pyramid we phased into," Smokescreen told her; voice drained and body sagging from grief and exhaustion.
"Alright then. I'm gonna go get him," Chromia announced, "Ratchet, keep that bridge warm for me, okay?"
"Carrier, how can you be so calm?" Arcee asked heatedly, "Sire is dead! How could this happen?!"
"Same way they all happen, sparklet," Chromia sighed, "The 'Cons get some shiny new toys and decide to play target practice. Don't you worry though, sweet spark. We're gonna snuff Megatron; some way, somehow. Your sire won't die in vain."
Back on the Nemesis in Starscream's room, the Vehicon lay prone as Starscream fiddled with its processor in the hopes of returning her memories and gaining a new warrior. Of course Starscream believed he had Strika on his berth, but Thundercracker knew better. That Vehicon had once been Elita One, the legendary warrior that could outrun, out fight, and outlast any Decepticon she came across. She was very dangerous, and Thundercracker was starting to get cold pedes about reviving her.
"Starscream, there's something I need to tell you!" Thundercracker suddenly blurted out.
"Finished!" Starscream declared as he welded the top of the helm back in place, "Arise, our new warrior! Reclaim your place as a Decepticon elite!"
"Starscream, I need to tell you-!"
"Not now, Thundercracker! I want to see Strika's face when she realizes we were the ones who rescued her. Megatron took her granted, just as he did with you. But now, we can begin anew our plans to overthrow Megatron!"
"You couldn't overthrow a punch," ICN-39576 groused as she awoke from stasis, "Are you always this loud or am I just lucky?"
"Errgh! I forgot what a smart mouth Strika had," Starscream muttered in annoyance, "No matter. The point is you were turned into a Vehicon and I have liberated you. No need to thank me."
"Good, because I don't intend to," ICN-39576 deadpanned.
The Vehicon then got up from the berth and went for the door. She was stopped however by an irate Starscream blocking her way.
"And where do you think you're going?" Starscream demanded to know.
"Back to work," The Vehicon replied, "The engines are fussy and require constant attention to function properly."
"The engines?" Thundercracker repeated incredulously, "You just got your memories back! Your whole life before you became a Vehicon is now a part of you, and you act as if nothing happened!"
"I didn't ask for my memories back, and my reaction is none of your concern!" ICN-39576 snapped angrily, "You already have my t-cog. You don't need my spark to go along with it. However, if you insist, it's right here."
The Vehicon then pointed to her chest, and the glow of her red visor as much as dared Thundercracker to attack her. He was prepared for a fight, but he wasn't prepared for whatever this was happening now.
"Elita...how could you not want to return to the Autobots?" Thundercracker asked.
"Elita?!" Starscream shrieked, "As in, Elita One!? You told me she was Strika!"
"I know, but I knew you wouldn't save her otherwise," Thundercracker replied defensively, "I owe her my wings, if not my life. Giving her back her memories was the least I could do."
"First Jazz and now this!" Starscream hollered, "Megatron was right! You are an Autobot sympathizer!"
"No, I'm not!" Thundercracker roared, "I know this is wrong! I know Elita One is dangerous! I know all of this, but it doesn't matter. She gave me her t-cog. I had to repay her somehow."
"There's just one problem with your logic," The Vehicon spoke up, "I'm not Elita One."
"What?" Thundercracker asked; dumbstruck, "But...but...your spark reads as Elita One! I can prove it!"
"No. Elita One died vorns ago, at the Second Burning of Iacon," The Vehicon insisted, "Elita One died a war hero that saved civilians and sacrificed herself. All that remains is a Vehicon, and the Autobots have more use for a martyr than a drone. I can't return like this. Optimus wouldn't be able to handle it."
"So...you are Elita One, but you're afraid of tarnishing your legacy?" Starscream asked for clarification.
"It's more than that," Elita replied, "The way I died, or at least how they think I died, rallies the Autobots. If they knew how Megatron's so-called victory actually went, well...Optimus would think I was a coward."
"Did you sleep with Megatron? Tell me everything! I want details!" Starscream eagerly exclaimed.
"Is he always like this?" Elita dryly asked Thundercracker, who nodded, "Anyway, no, that's not what happened. First of all, you need to understand how I managed to win so many seemingly hopeless battles. It all started when Alpha Trion reformatted me to be a warrior. He used the Allspark's power to recreate me, but something even he didn't expect occurred..."
"What was it?" Thundercracker dared to ask.
"My fuel pump was replaced with a fuel pump that generated...red energon," Elita explained almost sheepishly.
"Red energon?" Starscream slowly repeated, "As in, the stuff that can make a mech travel at the speed of sound? That red energon?"
"No, Red Energon the stand-up comedian," Elita replied sarcastically, "Of course speed enhancing energon! My body produced its own cache of red energon that I could access whenever I needed a boost on the battlefield. It was as if time stopped every time the red energon flowed through my veins. I was faster than Blurr, and no one could defeat me. But then Megatron and his forces started burning Iacon to the ground, and I had to stay at normal speed to lead the civilians to safety. Then, tragedy struck. Well, technically a beam struck my abdominal struts, but it was rather tragic. I was impaled to the ground and trapped amid the melting and burning wreckage."
"That sounds frightening," Thundercracker commented.
"It was, but my orn only got worse," Elita sighed, "Megatron found me trapped and helpless amid the wreckage. He knew of my special fuel pump, and he wanted it for himself. He was going to take me alive and keep me in Shockwave's lab forever, using me to produce red energon for his troops. By the time I realized what he had planned I was already being led to a prison cell. I couldn't let Megatron have that kind of power. He would kill Optimus, Bumblebee, Hound, and everyone else I ever cared about. I could only think of one way to save them...you can probably already guess."
"You interfaced with Megatron?" Starscream teased.
"No! Slagger..." Elita muttered crossly as she struggled to collect her thoughts.
Elita then took in a ragged intake of air, and walked back over to Starscream's berth to sit down. Of all of her recovered memories this one was the most painful, at least on a physical level. She clutched her chassis, and the seekers waited for her to finish her story.
"I turned my servo into a blade, and I cut out my own fuel pump," Elita recalled, "By the time I was finished carving it out Megatron had returned to collect me. He watched in horror as I crushed my own fuel pump in my servo. I knew it would kill me, but I also knew it was the only way to keep the red energon out of Decepticon reach. I won't say it was a smart decision, but I was out of options. Little did I realize however that Megatron wasn't quite done 'harvesting' me. The last thing I remember before I lost consciousness was him ordering a Vehicon trooper to remove my spark and processor before they were extinguished. I didn't know why, but now I do. He wanted to conserve resources."
Elita said this last part with such venom and hatred. Not only had Megatron taken her from her beloved sparkmate and sons, but he had put her into a body with slave coding and used her as an anonymous pawn. She looked down at her Vehicon servos, her Vehicon armor, and sighed sharply. She was angry, but at the same time she had lost the ability to do much about it.
"So, you hate Megatron?" Starscream asked intently.
"Do you really have to ask?" Elita replied in a flat tone of voice.
"We hate him too," Starscream told her, "The reason we revived you is that I and my trine brother are secretly forming an army against Megatron. What better insiders than disgruntled former Vehicons?"
"I always heard you were underhanded," Elita remarked.
"If you're not going to return to the Autobots, then you might as well aid us in our quest," Starscream reasoned, "Megatron has tainted out sparks, destroyed our world, and not brought us any closer to victory. If I were leader of the Decepticons, then I might be able to sign a peace treaty with the Autobots, and bring forth a new era of peace and progress for Cybertron. What do you say? Partners?"
"You're full of slag, Starscream," Elita replied bluntly, "Besides, are you even free to speak like this here? Soundwave could be listening in on you."
"I have taken the appropriate precautions, I can assure you," Starscream replied cryptically, "Besides, I can give you what you really want. Revenge against Megatron. If you help us, I'll let you join me in snuffing out his miserable spark. What do you say, my dear?"
Elita was quiet as she pondered for a moment that seemed to drag on forever. Finally though, she looked up at Starscream and Thundercracker and said "I need to check on the engines."
She then got up and walked toward the door, leaving the seekers stunned. Before she went through the open door however, she turned back to them and said "Comm me when slag hits the fan. I can't transform, but I can still fight."