Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Tip of a Feather. Enjoy the 3500-word chapter. I do not own Transformer, Hasbro does.
Cybertronians did not sleep in the traditional sense, clearly being ready to fight and act now they were woken up.
"Hmm…" Airazor said, watching Rhinox deal with Bantor and his corruption.
It was not getting any better and even she knew about this in a sort of way that the others did not.
"You want me to ask Wheeljack? No, ok…" She heard before glancing over the hill.
Contrail stood with both Arcee and Mirage, chatting about something before he finally noticed the Maximal.
"Get into stasis mode for a few hours, Prime's orders," Arcee stated to which Contrail shrugged and then moved towards her.
"Your friend… Is he ok?" Contrail asked before he blinked to himself before he sighed to himself.
There were a few seconds of frustration on his face as he sighed, thinking of what was happening and what they could do for now.
He clicked his fingers before he sighed to himself. all of him felt silent, knowing what was going on before he relaxed.
He seemed to think of it but he could not as there was nothing that he could say at the end of the day. There was something else on his mind before he relaxed.
He would not be able to fix it for now, there was something that he could think of it at the end of it as he clicked his fingers and looked to the ground.
Airazor was silent, both thinking about what tomorrow would be bringing.
"I have been through a lot… What comes tomorrow ain't easy." Airazor heard.
"I am aware," Airazor spoke.
"Meaning?" Contrail spoke, leaning on the hill.
"Scourge will find us within the next few hours. He will track the key anywhere we take it and he will go through everyone in his way to get it." Airazor stated.
"That's why you are not sleeping?" Contrail asked. "If you can sleep at all?" Contrail asked, frowning.
He knew damn well sleeping was not the same thing for Cybertronians. They did not tire without low energon and they could not power down that badly.
To be fair? It was not like they did not wish to, none of them could power down for a night.
"Let me fix…" Rhinox stated before he paused.
"Your friend a mechanic?" Contrail asked.
"He can be," Airazor stated before her beak clicked shut.
She sighed before she clicked her talons on the stone. He hummed as she relaxed, looking at him, optics glowing.
"I'm sorry I chat so much. I don't know what to do besides fight, to be honest. I expect something to happen soon and then I'll get to do something productive." Contrail stated.
He had been able to fade into the background when the rest of them were busy talking and handling work like this.
"You are all right, Contrail. I am merely wondering about the fight coming up." Airazor stated.
"Terrorcons or Predacons?" Contrail asked before he clicked his fingers and then relaxed before he paused to let himself fall silent.
There was peace on his mind, still? it would not last at this very moment, not when he could feel the coming battle up to the end of their existence.
"I heard you talked with Primal about Prime," Contrail stated before he sighed and shook his head, looking to the side.
"I heard he said Optimus is not the hero we remember… He does not know Optimus or your exploits…" Airazor said.
"War isn't easy when you are on the verge of extinction," Contrail stated.
"Indeed, making a choice is never easy, it is why leaders are never used to the call of it," Airazor stated before he paused.
There were a lot of problems that needed to be dealt with it for now as he clicked his fingers before long.
She sighed, knowing what was going on now and for good reason. She clicked her talons against the ground.
"You know how it is to be a warrior under the command of another," Airazor stated.
"Yeah… It's funny, I act like we've worked together for a while but we've barely been on a few missions." Contrail stated.
"You remind me of Bantor," Airazor stated as she sighed.
The flying Autobot frowned. The Maximal had taken a hit from Scourge for Airazor, something any soldier would do for their leader. He did not know the Maximal, did not work with them… But he knew a soldier and they had done what they needed to do for the team, for Airazor, for Primal… For everyone.
That he did know.
"How is Bantor? Does he need anything?" Contrail questioned to which Airazor frowned.
"I do not know, the sickness is something even we do not know. All I can do is rest, and see if an answer comes." Airazor stated.
Contrail seemed far more interested in what would come next, knowing even then it wouldn't matter much. The chaos was setting in, close enough to end eventually. All such pain and suffering would be easily dealt with for now.
Airazor hummed and closed her eyes, letting her systems wind down for recharge mode. She was oddly at peace, well as much as a possibly techno-organic Maximal could be. She had demanded to be left in silence and it seemed he was willing to listen.
Contrail understood what she was asking for and decided to rest as well, walking towards the spot of the cresting hill the village was upon. He decided to sit on the hill, fall asleep… Tomorrow? There would be war and they would fight all too easily chaos.
He had been able to think, to figure out. They would be fighting and they might die. These Terrorcons were as vicious as any Decepticon, as relentless as any warlord.
And yet? For all his cruelty? All his bluster and hatred of them? A desire to end them in fire and guns? Megatron was less of a threat, he did not crave the death of an entire planet just for existing.
It did not suit them, either of them at the time when it was all said and done.
He slowly and surely fell into sleep mode, knowing that the rest would not ease his mind at all.
(7 years ago.)
A group of jets streaked across the sky, firing off machine guns and missiles as they moved ahead.
"Move out! We need to secure the launchpad for Optimus!" One of them stated before another fired a missile, tossing a seeker to the ground.
The machine crumpled and exploded but it was replaced as a familiar red and grey jet streaked across Cybertron's sky.
"Can't take the hint, can you, Autobots?" they heard as it flew away.
"Starscream." One of the jets said, turning to intercept him. "Let's take that slag heap out!" He heard.
"Contrail, no! He's trying to bait us, we need to stick together and take out his troops on the pad!" he heard.
"No, we can take him! They've taken enough from us, time to take some out!" He said before he flew towards the manic seeker.
"Contrail! Go and secure the pad, I'll deal with him and Starscream!" The commander of the small group spoke up before he flew after Contrail.
"C'mon, slag heap, not so tough when you're evenly matched!?" Contrail stated before he flew faster after him.
"Heh…" Starscream said before cutting his engines.
Contrail blinked and fired his machine guns, a stream of bullets ripping from them which the seeker dodged around easily… Except for a single bullet that slammed through his wing, denting it.
"Blast it!" Starscream yelled as Contrail chuckled.
"You're only good because you can fly, old man. You're living in Megatron's…." Contrail said before the seeker transformed.
He kicked Contrail in mid-air, sending him skidding alongside the edge of a building, sparks flying from his thrusters as they temporarily shorted out.
"You were saying, Autobot…?" Starscream chuckled, transforming his arm into his cannon. "We've won. All of Cybertron is ours… Your precious prime might have escaped the siege but we blow him out of the sky before he breaks the atmosphere." Starscream stated.
The smaller seeker growled and lunged at him only to be kicked across the roof.
"Back off, Starscream!" He heard as he turned and fired. "Kid, get out of here!" He heard as Contrail blinked.
The seeker, sparking, his armor damaged… Looked up to see Fuselage crash into the roof, armor shattered and broken across his body, he didn't know what was going on.
There were a lot of things that he could have dealt with for now as he clicked his fingers, trying to push himself to his feet.
"Fuselage, no!" Contrail said as Starscream aimed his gun at the seeker.
"Contrail… You shouldn't have tried…" Fuselage stated before a shot hit through his spark.
Contrail watched in horror as the seeker was grabbed by Starscream, lifting him off the ground before putting his gun to the seeker's head.
"No!" Contrail said as he transformed his arm into his canon and fired.
Starscream whirled around, dragging Fuselage into the range of the gunfire. Contrail watched in horror as his rounds tore into his friend's spark, tearing it apart.
Starscream chuckled and tossed the body of the dying soldier to the ground and left the damaged flier alone.
All he could do was stare at his dying friend and bow his head.
'It should have been me. You shouldn't have been ready for now…. No, you are NOT ready.' Airazor stated before he clicked his fingers.
(Present times, 4 hours later)
Contrail awoke to screams, to gunfire… To death. There were burning huts and plenty of chaos and violence.
The sounds of battle drew him to the hill… Only he turned and noticed what caused it. The little robots that Airazor told him that the Terrorcons used were screaming and clawing at humans.
And in a few seconds? Contrail reduced the machines to scrap with shots of his cannon, shattering them into slag heaps as he looked for a single ally.
"Another one…" He heard before he turned to greet one of the Terrorcons.
Contrail barely managed to push himself backward with his thrusters as they swooped past. The Terrorcons were here and he knew what it meant, they wanted the damned key and were laying waste to everything to get it.
"Where is she?" Contrail asked, looking around as he scanned for the flying Terrorcon.
He was not going to let them take the key. Not while he was still functioning.
There were the sounds of thrusters and he turned only to be greeted by the flier trying to stab him only for a familiar cry to cut the air and a bird to slam into her, throwing the soldier down the hill.
"Contrail, have you seen Primal?" Airazor asked.
"No. I just got up, how did the Terrorcons find us?" Contrail asked to which Airazor hummed.
"The probe…." Both stated as they realized that Bantor was infected for a reason.
"Is the key safe?" Contrail questioned.
"I don't know," Airazor said as the flying Terrorcon recovered.
"Then we fight… You think we can take her alone?" Contrail asked to which Airazor hummed.
"I do," Airazor said as both stood against Nightbird.
(With Primal)
Primal was at a loss, he had seen the attack coming… He had known that their haven would be compromised eventually.
The idea that Bantor would have betrayed them was something he could not grasp until he had seen the dark energon injector on his back, the same one Rhinox had tried to remove… They had been not only betrayed but Scourge used them to get the damn key.
He would rip the Terrorcon apart if he managed to get his hands on him. He called for Rhinox and Cheetor as he could not find Airazor and she had the ability of flight, if she wished to deal with it to the end.
This battle was going to tear them up and not a single time could they allow it, letting them all let it come crashing down upon them sooner or later.
All of it hurt, all of this would hurt and it was clear that such a thing would come next at the end of the day.
He had been able to try and figure out when it came down to them… And he would fight as he had been able to.
He charged up the hill only for a blur to slam him to the ground, rolling him along the ground like a bowling ball.
He looked up to see Bantor, a feral-crazed look in his optics. The baboon Maximal screamed and roared at him, firing his weapon at the Maximal leader as he leaped free.
There was a chuckle as Scourge strode through the fire, the other half of his key with him.
"Nobody escapes Unicron… Not even you." Scourge stated before he looked to the side. "Kill them all." Scourge stated as Primal roared in fury.
There was a screech of anger as he turned to see Airazor and her friend battling Nightbird, she went to stab Airazor only to be tossed to the side by the Autobot soldier with her. He drove a knee up and into her chest before chasing her off with some shots from his gun as Airazor flew after her.
"I'll chew your spark, Scourge." Primal hissed as Scourge tapped a Maximal emblem on his chassis.
"Didn't I kill you already?" Scourge asked before he transformed his hand and fired.
Primal threw himself down the hill as the Terrorcon leader prepared to leave. The village burned around them as Autobot, Maximal, and Terrorcon all ripped into each other. Primal caught a glance of Nightbird being sent into a hut by Airazor as Contrail followed.
"You good, Zor?" Contrail asked before the Maximal nodded. "Good, go find the others… She ain't here for us." Contrail stated.
"You can't fight her alone," Airazor stated.
"Ain't planning to… She's after the key, find your boss and get the key out of here, I'll catch up when I find Optimus." Contrail stated.
"Stay alive." Contrail heard as he nodded and transformed, soaring away as Nightbird gave chase, her engines letting her keep pace with it for now.
She knew damn well Contrail could not fight a Terrorcon alone… But he was right, they wanted the key and that was best to try and relax, knowing what was happening next for now.
There were plenty of things that needed to be addressed, one of which was the fact that he had been so relaxed it might as well not be funny at all, not even close to what needed to be done and dusted.
To be fair? There were a lot of things that needed to be dealt with for now and for good reason.
He had a lot of things that needed to be introduced, their goals were secondary to them now. This had to end, it would end eventually or else they would go mad.
All of it pointed to their real plan, they were drawing fire for the Maximals. Contrail burned fuel, turning and slammed a wing into Nightbird, staggering her enough for him to clear her range.
He had to find Optimus… Then they could handle it as he seemed to be dealt with for now, he clicked his fingers before he sighed to be ready to try and figure out when it came down to it.
There were a lot of things before she sighed as she figured to try and figure out what to do next. Such a thing was only going to hasten their end now, there was a lot more to try and deal with for now as he clicked his fingers.
The Autobot looked downwards and found Optimus fighting against Battletrap who kicked him down the hill before he could fire a missile at him. He felt someone whom he had been prepared for now slam into him and then threw him into the ground.
He slammed into the ground for now, rolling into the ground before. He had been prepared for now as he transformed, slamming into the ground once more.
There was a lot more to try and figure out… Like how to fight the rest of the Terrorcons.
But he was beginning to hate fighting Nightbird if only because she was proving to be nigh impossible to fight, and she was too dangerous for him to spare.
He slammed a fist into the ground, transforming his hand into his cannon, and fended her off yet again, knowing what would become of it next was madness to deal with.
He looked for Optimus, for Primal, and for good reason at the end of what was becoming a problem before he sighed.
He clicked his fingers before. He had not been able to relax and then seemed to be dealt with for now as he rubbed the energon from his chin before he faced off for her.
He was prepared for a fight but he had been relaxed for now. This sort of fight when he went to fly away was bothering him, but he would not relent and he would be relaxing once more.
The soldier in him fought and won to fight… So, fight he would and fight as hard as he possibly could.
(With Primal)
Primal was silent, he had acted as he could have done for now… But he had fought knowing he could try and fight better. The Terrorcons had struck him a blow.
This seemed to be a hard battle but one they could fight through… And it was as Airazor and his team landed close to him? he remembered that they were united and could stand against the darkness.
All of it seemed to be dealt with… A chaos which dealt them a heavy prince… One which needed to be dealt with for now… So much needed to be addressed at the end of the day, he had been prepared for a fight like this.
Bantor roared and clashed with him only for Primal to throw the jungle warrior to the side, punching him hard enough to dent the ground where Bantor landed.
"Snap out of it." Primal stated, sighing. "Please, don't make me do this." Primal stated.
If Bantor could hear him? He said nothing, only charging forwards with his guns blaring at Primal who shrugged off his hits and sighed.
"Forgive me." Primal stated, closing his eyes as he mentally prepared him for now and then looked to the side.
He knew what to do and looked to the side as he clicked his fingers and then paused once more.
He was saddened as he grasped the maximal, applying pressure to their chest and digging in his fingers. metal crumbled as he twisted their neck, shattering the circuits within and ending the life of one he would call a friend. He fell to the ground, optics fading.
He had been prepared for a fight, but this? This was nothing that he could relax for now and he seemed to be eager to try and deal without bloodshed, without the death of it all.
To be fair? This war was going to take more and he knew it… But that didn't make it any easier, it didn't hurt less when the bodies fell broken to the floor.
He blamed scourge before long and he seemed to be dealt with for now as he clicked his fingers and then looked downwards to the ground before he looked to try and think of it once more.
There was a lot more to this, a lot more chaotic at the moment before it came crashing to the ground for now as he sighed to try and figure out what to say and to do next. They retreated as he looked to the hills. Scourge laughed as the Terrorcons left the carnage and slaughter to complete their goal.
It was then Optimus joined… And he looked at the broken Maximal, a shattered corpse… As an all too familiar sight that he could share. He knew what it meant and he had no less a desire to see it occur again.
He had not the desire to let it come again as the remaining soldiers all came to him. They knew what had happened and knew they had failed as well, he could not wish to relax before he sighed to himself, cursing what was going to be happening next before it came.
Primal knew they would mourn… But he would have vengeance either way… If they could survive Unicron to begin with.
Author Note
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that I MIGHT be speeding along the story. I am not trying to make Contrail and Airazor overshadow the others. Nor will this story end at the end of the film. The next chapter is in 2-10 months and will be 900-6500 words. It will show the start of the final battle and more of the Predacons and some possible Terrorcons not in the film, Until then? Lighting Wolf out!