Predaking was the first to reach the wreckage of the Nemesis. No Autobots wandered around the site, so he drew them out from the warship with a screech. Most of them poured out: the Prime, the black and yellow bot, the blue and yellow one, the round green one, the white bot Predaking had been tasked to hunt before, and a puny blue one he could have squashed underfoot. Predaking then noticed the red Decepticon in their midst (Knockout, was it?). His unexpected presence among the Autobots confused Predaking.
Predaking stumbled closer, clutching his eye. The faces of the Autobots lit up with concern.
Optimus Prime stepped forward. "What has happened?"
"Starscream," Predaking reported. There were twin thuds as Skylynx and Darksteel landed behind him. Scowling, Predaking made sure to raise his voice. "We pursued and cornered him, intending to exact revenge. However, I deemed that physical harm would be unjustifiable. I let him go. He lashed out at me before he fled."
The Prime said, "I appreciate your decision to cause him no harm. We would prefer that he be captured, so that he may face civil justice."
Skylynx and Darksteel were dead quiet behind him.
The Autobots ushered them into the med bay within the warship. Inside, Predaking spotted Ratchet overlooking a patient. He remembered the medic by name, but he had yet to learn the name of the tall blue and red Autobot lying on the berth beside Ratchet. Predaking certainly recognized him, however—it was the Autobot whose hand he had crushed. Now, that same Autobot was scorched from fire and pierced by fangs. Predaking glanced at the doorway as Skylynx and Darksteel filled it: only one of his brethren had fangs.
Predaking thought he should feel no empathy for the Autobots, but his hide prickled. He found himself disliking the state he saw that Autobot in now. A new emotion was turning his blood hot...
The Prime calmly told him, "You will be in good hands."
Shame. It was shame that he felt, now mixed with embarrassment as Predaking tried to lie on a berth only for his wings to get in the way. Without a word, Predaking found a wall and slid down it. He hated all the eyes upon him. Never had he felt so large, brutish, and awkward.
"Do you... need my assistance?" Knockout asked Ratchet.
"I'll manage," Ratchet grunted.
Everyone continued to watch. Ratchet swung his sour face to Predaking and walked up to him, but then halted and stood in place. Predaking stared back, frowning in confusion, until the medic huffed, "Do you want me to examine it or not?"
Predaking raised a brow.
"You are going to have to move your arm."
Ratchet grasped the large appendage that barred his path; Predaking shifted it aside and allowed Ratchet to step in closer. Sharp eyes suddenly filled Predaking's vision while cold hands tilted his face.
"I can mend it," Ratchet commented. "It is not deep, but you were wise to come to me as soon as you did—otherwise, it may have begun to heal improperly and blind you on this side."
Predaking blinked quickly.
"The surgery will be quick, but I will induce stasis," Ratchet muttered. "You may believe you are tough enough to handle the pain, but flinch once while I am operating, and you will lose this optic."
Predaking nodded, then called out, "Skylynx, Darksteel! Remain here until my surgery is finished."
Darksteel retorted sarcastically, "Oh, we wouldn't dare defy your command, Your Majesty."
Ratchet rolled his eyes, then collected a tube with a needle at its end. Once it pierced a vein in Predaking's arm, he immediately fell into darkness.
Predaking woke suddenly, his vision darker on one side. Groaning, he pawed at his eye with a heavy hand and found a smooth translucent covering over it.
Ratchet said, "I placed a patch over your optic to protect it while it heals."
Predaking let his hand fall. He slurred, "How long?"
"Return in ten solar cycles and I will examine your injury again. If you feel any extraordinary pain however, come sooner."
Skylynx and Darksteel hung in the room, now nearly absent of Autobots save for Ratchet and the tiny blue one. Even the tall Autobot and the berth he had occupied had vanished. Predaking's brethren seemed impatient, but neither more so than the blue Autobot and Ratchet, who hastily departed without putting any tools away.
Predaking rose and wobbled. "What is happening?"
Skylynx muttered, "They made us lift that tall Autobot outside. Their boss is making an announcement out there that they all have to hear."
Predaking stumbled out of the room and followed the Autobots outside, though made sure that the other Predacons were trailing him. Dawn broke the long night, washing the silver fields with pink and orange light. Beside the warship at the Well of All Sparks, the Autobots and Knockout were gathered in front of Optimus Prime. While the last two Autobots hurried to join the group, the Predacons remained behind at a distance.
The Prime faced them all and explained that he now carried the Allspark within himself. Predaking leaned forward in interest and confusion. No one had ever explained to him what these concepts meant, yet somehow, he found himself understanding as easily as he understood the Cybertronian language. He gaped while the Autobots jolted. Once the Prime revealed that he would have to sacrifice himself for the planet to birth life again, his Autobots immediately broke into protests. They faltered after their leader insisted that his loss was for the greater good.
With a quickening pulse, Predaking tilted back his head as Optimus Prime blasted into the air. The leader of the Autobots turned, before shooting down into the Well of All Sparks and disappearing. After a long period of tense silence, a rush of colourful light exploded from the Well. A rainbow storm plumed upward then broke apart into countless fizzing lights. Some of them zipped away as far as the horizon while most others spun loops in the clear sky above them. The sight froze Predaking and for a moment, it was as though his own spark was watching with him.
A few twinkling lights floated down, passing Predaking's cheek and brushing his metal with trails of warmth. He let out a shuddering exhale. Memories of all the darkness in his life rushed at Predaking. How he had hunted, hurt, and hated others, and how he had suffered Starscream's abuse and the loss of his Predacon army. Within every bot was, however, the same life source. Predaking could not tell which or if any of these sparks were of his deceased brethren or of the Vehicons he had killed. The variety of their colours revealed nothing.
It was a humbling experience, though Predaking wondered if Skylynx and Darksteel were having the same revelations as him. When he turned from the show of colours, however, he found no one behind him. Starting in alarm, Predaking now heard their wing flaps and caught a glimpse of their silhouettes vanishing into the sky full of sparks.
They have gone after Starscream!
Fury consumed his previous emotions of awe. Quaking, Predaking wondered why they just could not shake their desire for violence. Starscream was gone. He no longer had power over them. Predaking did not care about Starscream in particular, yet something about harming him felt wrong. He could let Skylynx and Darksteel kill him, let them be satisfied, and let the three Predacons quarrel no longer. Yet that felt immoral as well. If he did not stop them either, they would never respect his command again.
I do not want to fight them. I shall warn Starscream instead of their approach.
Predaking transformed and spread his great wings that would easily outfly his brethren. Then, he concentrated on Starscream's location, only to discover his shocking proximity.