Nature, nurture heaven and home
It'll take a lot more than words and guns
(Sum of all, and by them, driven)
A whole lot more than riches and muscle
(To conquer every mountain shown)
The hands of the many must join as one
oR dIvIdEd wE'lL dRoWn In ThE rIvEr
"Italic" - Thought or communications
"Underline" - Bumblebee speech.
4th November 2012.
Outskirts of Edmonton. Canada.
"No!"
Optimus and the Autobots transformed and rolled towards the exploding, falling ship. The burning Jackhammer crashed on the plains. Optimus looked at it in despair. Had he just failed another Autobot and one of the children he had swore to protect?
"Optimus," spoke Ratchet through the comms "Wheeljack's life signal is still online. He still lives."
"Optimus." Arcee pointed outwards. Megatron was present, armed with the Dark Star Saber. The Deception tyrant locked eyes with his newly-arrived sworn enemy. He smirked maliciously, inciting a challenge.
With new resolve, Optimus gave the commands. "Smokescreen, return to base and bring the Star Saber. Bumblebee, go assist Wheeljack and Miko. Arcee, with me." he just hoped Wheeljack had managed to protect Bulkhead's ward from harm.
Site Cradle.
"Ratchet…" Smokescreen rushed back into base
"Coming up." Ratchet already has the Star Saber in hand. While he worked to reopen the groundbridge, Jack and Raf shared a look and nodded, as both had the same dangerous idea. When the vortex opened, neither Autobot was aware of both boys sprinting through it. Smokescreen carried the massive Star Saber so he never noticed them.
"I can't believe we just pulled a Miko."
"Well, it's for her we're doing this." Jack pointed to the smoldering wreckage of the Jackhammer and they ran towards it.
In there, Bumblebee was helping the two fortunate survivors out of it. "Thank the AllSpark you're both alive!"
In spite of the pain, Wheeljack grinned. "Nope. Thank Miko. She wrapped me real tight and tanked the explosion all around us. Like a true Wrecker."
The girl was still encased in the Apex Armor, knocked out but breathing. The back of the suite was scorched, but still holding. She was out of harm's way. With their immediate well being assured, Bumblebee narrowed his large optics on the Wrecker. "What were you scrap-for-brain thinking by bringing her along!? Again!"
Wheeljack, to his credit, did not try to defend himself. "I was thinking of giving Screamer his just desserts. Miko had every right to give him as much."
Bumblebee would have retorted with harsher words but the boys made their presence known.
"Miko!" Jack and Rafael came running.
Bumblebee resisted the urge to facepalm. "Oh, come on, Raf! This isn't the time."
"I don't care! You okay, Miko?"
The girl's head wobbled, eyes unfocused and voice drowsy. "Uh…yeehaw!" and she promptly fell back into unconsciousness.
"Come on, help me carry her." Bumblebee carried her by the left while Wheeljack took her by the right.
Megatron was growing weary of this. Even armed with the mighty weapon that destroyed the Star Saber of legend, he still found difficulty in vanquishing his hated nemesis. Because Optimus Prime and the wretched two-wheeler were not battling him face-to-face. But rather they kept mobile, shooting at him and immediately avoiding his blows in vehicular mode. He was considering destroying all around him with a swipe of his blade when he spotted the newest recruit returning. With the Star Saber in hand.
"No!" He would have unleashed an energy blast to cut the young Autobot down hadn't Arcee fired at his back, distracting him.
"Optimus!" Smokescreen tossed the enormous sword and Optimus caught it. Smokescreen and Arcee stood side-by-side with their leader.
Megatron gritted his shark-like teeth in growing frustration. So be it; he would fight Optimus as he had countless times before. But for the Autobots, he had a little surprise planned just in case. "Soundwave, send in my new weapon."
"Can't we take off the armor? She could be hurt." growing up, Jack Darby's mother had told him stories of people being terribly injured. Some of the worst were the ones in which the malady wasn't visible or unreachable. Not being able to discern the ailment of a patient was often worse than knowing it was bad. The only solace was that Miko still breathed, judging by the fogging on the visor.
Wheeljack replied. "The armor can only be manually removed by the wearer. Here, let me…"
"Like when you let her tag along on this revenge escapade!" Jack spoke with more venom than he meant.
In spite of the human's diminutive size, the veteran Wrecker was taken aback a little. That and the condemning look from the scout only cemented the fact that he had really messed up today.
"We are taking her to Ratchet, at once." Bumblebee left no room for arguement.
"I can help the Doc."
"You've helped enough, today."
"Look, I know I scrapped up big time, already! But the last thing I want is for Miko to kick it before me. So how about letting the guy who knows his way around weapons and armament help out?"
Jack and Raf shared a look but it was Bee who made the call. "You can assist Ratchet if he allows you to. I'm calling for a bridge, now."
A groundbridge portal manifested before them. Jack's first instinct was to go through, but Bee said something that Raf immediately translated. "That's not one of ours."
Wheeljack pounded one fist into his other palm. He was eager to take out his frustration on something. "Let's see what Buckethead can dish out, now?"
Heavy steps sounded out of the vortex and a hulking frame became visible. The two Autobots put themselves between the in-coming enemy and the children, guns hot and ready. The figure became not only discernible but also very familiar; a rotund form with short stubby legs and a single, thick arm, the right one.
Wheeljack grin fell, Bumblebee reeled back and the boys were stunned when the enemy fully stepped out of the portal.
The white Wrecker was paralyzed where he stood by all sorts of emotions coursing through him. "Bulkhead?"
The enemy that resembled their departed comrade was marred with severe injuries. One arm was missing. Its optics were unexpressive, powered by a sickly glow of purple. The undead Bulkhead roared like a beast and struck.
The shriek of the undead lured the attention of the others. Optimus, Arcee and Smokescreen all displayed the same level of horror. Their so-recently fallen comrade, turned into a travesty of a living being to serve as a mindless slave to the villain. In Arcee, old memories she tried her best to keep buried reared its ugly head; her team coming to Cliffjumper's rescue only to find him already dead and turned into an undead puppet, sliced in half, like the subject of a failed experiment. Smokescreen felt his spark tighten, seeing the old Wrecker he had come to know as a sort of mentor. But Optimus Prime was beyond furious. Livid, he turned to his hated foe, whose optics were a sickly purple as he sent mental commands to his slave. Megatron turned to him, the sick smile he showed when enjoyed the suffering he caused onto others.
"MEGATRON!" with a roar that drowned all other noises, he launched an arc of energy. Megatron defended himself with the dark counterpart, slicing the energy attack in two.
"Such fury, Optimus. You should thank me instead; I gave you one final chance to share the battlefield with your fallen soldier before he begins to rust." the villain mocked him with a faux offended expression.
"Arcee, Smokescreen, assist the others."
"Opt…"
"That is an order!" the Prime gave them a look of hot rage that screamed it wasn't up for argument. It was a rarity to see their leader display emotion. To see him express such an intense wrath was a first for both. As they raced to join the others, Optimus turned back to Megatron.
"I will destroy you." the rage was all still there, but now the tone was ice cold, controlled. It was a vow he swore he would fulfill on that same day.
Wheeljack couldn't be blamed for panicking when what passed for his oldest friend slammed into him. The deranged creature didn't pause for breath as it wailed on him with its remaining arm. Wheeljack activated his battle mask and shielded himself with his arms.
"Bulk, stop! It's me, Jackie!"
The undead continued his mindless onslaught, unmoved. Not even Bumblebee shooting at its back made it stop; the creature was fixated only on Wheeljack. It was until Smokescreen and Arcee joined in that Bee had an idea; he had the other four-wheeler join him in vehicular mode and, together, they rammed into the Terrorcon, throwing it off Wheeljack. The Wrecker got back on its feet, sore from the pounding he just took.
"What the scrap did Buckethead do to him?"
"Dark energon. Since he returned, Megatron got into necromancy. You should watch the news." Arcee took command of the battle.
'Bulkhead' got back on its feet and roared. It was four against one but that wouldn't deter a mindless puppet from charging. Arcee fired on it, Bumblebee and Smokescreen followed suit. The Terrorcon stumbled but didn't stop and continued to plow through the barrage.
"How do we help him?" Wheeljack asked.
"That's not Bulkhead anymore. The only thing we can do is put him back to rest. If we can extract the dark energon from him."
'Bulkhead' finally reached them but all scattered. Except Smokescreen who activated the phase-shifter and stayed put. The undead passed right through him. In the process, the young soldier got a look inside the revived corpse.
"Hey! There's a piece of that nasty dark stuff on his spark chamber!"
Arcee nodded. "We have to pull it out. That's the best we can do for Bulk."
It was much easier said than done. The Terrorcon was tough but sluggish and easy enough to stay clear of. Immobilizing it to remove the dark energy was another matter.
Megatron gained just some breathing room to see the Autobots struggling against his new slave. He scoffed; he never expected a single Terrorcon to be able to crush all of his enemies. Those four should be able to quickly dispatch it. No, the whole point of reviving the Wrecker as his soldier was to hurt and demoralize his enemies. And it appeared to be working; it was plain to see they were holding back. By fear, horror or remains of affection for their list comrade, Megatron didn't care either way.
In the corner of his optic, he noticed the Apex Armor lying down away from the battle. The other two humans were fussing over it. That could only mean the girl was still inside, possibly dead or in stasis. That aggravating girl had twice caused him trouble. It was high time to remedy that.
"My minion, your new target is the human inside the armor. Leave no trace of her!" he sent the command through the telepathic link.
The Autobots were confused that the Terrorcon suddenly disengaged and ran as much as it could somewhere else. Confusion gave place to horror when they saw it was headed for the children.
"Stop him!" Arcee cried out.
The children were terrified when the zombie monster was upon them. However, Wheeljack was fast enough to ram into it and push it away.
"That tears it, you scrapheap!" He turned to the kids and pointed at Miko, still out cold. "You kids make sure she doesn't see this."
He faced the Terrorcon alone, urging the other 'Bots not to interfere. Both swords out, Wheeljack went on the offensive. The Terrorcon had a mountain of brute strength but zero brain or strategy. With a fluid movement, Wheeljack sliced off the undead's only arm, rendering it unable to fight. Still, the armless monster launched itself at him, intending to smash with its body weight alone. Wheeljack saw that coming a mile away and instead of dodging, he prepared one of his grenades. When close enough, he tossed it and landed right where he intended: the opened maw of the Terrorcon. The zombie swallowed it whole without a thought.
Wheeljack gave the undead a cold glare and muttered the old Wrecker mantra. "Wreck and rule, Bulk."
The zombie chest burst open when the swallowed grenade exploded. Because Wheeljack set the potency to minimum, the body was still intact and twitching. The point was not to destroy it, but to damage the interior enough so Wheeljack could pry open its spark chamber. He wasted no time pulling the devilish substance out. That sickly purple hue in the undead's optics turned off. The corpse's expression became neutral, peaceful, almost thankful for Wheeljack's act.
The rest of Team Prime approached in respectful silence. The remains of their comrade were finally at well-deserved rest.
Without warning, the silent mourning was cut short when an explosion of purple and blue light was triggered where Optimus and Megatron were battling. The Autobots and humans saw their noble leader being hurled outwards by the blast.
You can finally R.I.P, Bulkhead. You lovable lugnut, you.
This chapter was initially going to be long like the other (about 14 pages on microsoft doc), but I split it in half so I could post this sooner. Making the long chapters is frustratingly slow work. So if you like them better short, I will strive to make them not so long henceforth.
The second part will be the battle between Optimus and Megatron that happened while the 'Bots fought 'Bulkhead'