This one. We all have that one that just doesn't want to behave. I think this is the one. This one fought me every step of the way, I swear it. Not having a beta makes this much harder. I still don't know if it's right.
As the title says. Skywarp returns.
Still no word from Typhoon yet. She must be sleeping.
"Listen, Blacklight. Before you see her, there's something you need to know."
Prowl ushered Blacklight away from the crowd, glancing back to Soundwave and Devastator, hoping their movement didn't catch unwanted attention. They stood alone next to the side of a small building, away from onlookers and those that could overhear. It wasn't that any of it was a secret, he'd just considered that it would be easier for Blacklight to take the news from him alone.
Following Prowl, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what he had to tell him. It must have been bad if he was taking him away from the crowd. He didn't understand half of what was going on. He still had a lot to learn. He knew that. And he'd been through a lot that he still hadn't processed, fighting to keep it at bay. Too much was going on for inner reflection or understanding right now.
"Why?" Blacklight asked.
It was a simple question that had so much weight to it. Prowl seemed at a loss for words, constantly looking away. He wasn't sure how to explain what was happening. He wasn't even sure how much he should tell the Sparkling. It was his creators that were in the thick of this. "I know you have been through a lot recently."
"Why Barricade? Why Typhoon? Why Starscream?" he asked.
Why Typhoon? Because she was apparently the new Allspark. Why Starscream? Because he was the leader. Why Barricade? Because she was Starscream's mate. It was likely too complicated for Blacklight to understand everything. He couldn't tell him that because Starscream was the leader, that he was bound to fight Megatron for leadership of the Decepticons. Prowl didn't really have an answer that he thought Blacklight would understand. "It's hard to explain," he told him.
"Can't be that hard. You all understand what's going on."
"We do," Prowl admitted to him solemnly, "We do. It's just… hard to put into words for you."
"I'm old enough!" Blacklight nearly screeched, frustrated. Uncertainty and anger made his voice tight. "I'm Starscream's Sparkling! I'll understand!"
"Typhoon was special," Prowl told him. "She was taken because she was special."
Blacklight knew she was special. She was born into existence at the twins' births. He'd been told how she came to be. He also had heard references relating to her and the Allspark. He was aware she was being obsessed over by the medics from both Autobots and Decepticons. "What happened to her? Why haven't I seen her?"
Prowl couldn't bring himself to tell him. He didn't want to add to Blacklight's burden. He really didn't. He remained quiet, looking away so the hurt didn't show in his optics.
"Where is she!" Blacklight demanded.
Should he lie to him or tell him the harsh truth? If he lied, and Blacklight found out about it, he would be angry with him for such a thing. He could deal with Blacklight's anger when he found out the truth. "No one can find her," Prowl said as his optics rose to meet the Sparklings, afraid of what he would see in those new, innocent optics that had seen way too much, way too soon. "I'm sorry, little one,"
"Shockwave probably has her," Blacklight then said bitterly with as much hate as he could muster, surprising Prowl with the statement. Prowl frowned at the vehemence in Blacklight's voice. No Sparkling should hate that strongly.
"We don't know where she is," he told him gently. He was even more surprised when Blacklight had leapt at him, curling up against his neck on his chest. He was shaking. Softly putting a hand over him, he purred to him, reassuring him. "You're okay," he said softly. Blacklight made a chirping noise as he buried his face in Prowl's armor, as if trying to hide under it. It saddened his Spark to have to comfort the Sparkling in this way. He'd wished there was some way to protect him from all the bad things in the universe.
"What about Barricade?" Blacklight's muffled voice asked from in his neck.
"She is in stasis lock. When you go to see her, she will not wake for you. I don't know if she can feel your presence, so if you want to stay with her, you are welcome to as long as you do not get in the way of the medics."
"Why?" the little mech had asked in a whine, moving to be closer to his Spark. Why was this happening? Why couldn't they just be in peace and be happy?
"Something happened to her," Prowl said as he watched the Sparkling move, "We are not sure what."
Barricade was his everything! She had always been there when he looked for her. She had always given him the comfort he needed and wanted. She always gave him the attention he desired. And now, Prowl was telling him she wouldn't be there?
Jazz had seen Prowl's face and how he was holding Blacklight from a distance and frowned at him. When she started to approach, Prowl shook his head at her, telling her to stop. He didn't want the little mech to be overwhelmed more than he already was. "I'll explain later," he sent to her via spread-link.
Curling up with Prowl, he tried to calm himself. Nothing was going right, and everything was wrong. He knew what might happen to his mech creator. He wasn't disillusioned to think Starscream was going to survive if they didn't save him. "When will it be over?"
Prowl lightly, pet down Blacklight's back, comforting him as much as he could. "Soon we hope. Optimus Prime is working with everyone to get Starscream back. We also intend to send Megatron to the Pit. It shouldn't take much longer."
"Send Shockwave there too," the Sparkling growled bitterly.
"He's on that list."
"I want to see Barricade." Blacklight then said. He appreciated Prowl's attempts at explaining things, and he'd considered that Prowl wasn't telling him everything. He couldn't fault him for wanting to protect him. Jumping down, he ran off after his femme creator, giving an uninterested look in the direction of the gathering humans and mechs outside. He still wanted to see her and be near her.
Sixshot bristled dangerously, getting ready to move into a better position.
"No," Soundwave sent to him. "Don't move. I have him under control."
"You?" Sixshot asked in amazement, "You have Devastator under control?" He couldn't help but prick the femme. "Look at big, bad you taking on a combiner. You're either foolish or have a death wish."
A sharp, loud squeal replied to him, making him flinch from how loud it was. He growled through the line at her, letting her know his discomfort. "That was unnecessary."
She did it again just for good measure.
Although the situation was tense, the last thing she needed was for Devastator to be distracted by Sixshot, seeing him as a threat and really going after everyone. Devastator's dark optics stared down at her. Soundwave did not back down from the threat. She knew better. This mech could definitely crush her, but it was her stoic nature that came into play here. It was simple. The combiner didn't know he could crush her. He'd never tried, as he'd never threatened her before.
He didn't know what to make of Soundwave standing up to him, and perhaps it was that confusion that made the mech hesitate. It was that hesitation that Hook took advantage of, spiraling his Spark and thrusting its power to the combiner's Spark, gaining full control finally.
Considering the small Cybertronian before him, the combiner took a step back, shook his massive head and then lowered to the ground, a small growl coming from him, all the while still watching Soundwave.
"You belong to Commander Starscream," she said, unknowingly pushing Starscream's protocols onto Devastator. "Acknowledge."
"Acknowledged." the combiner replied.
Soundwave continued to watch the mech as he began to slowly rise up, staring down at her. The combiner's optics were unreadable. Soundwave didn't move and neither did he. "Disengage, Devastator," Soundwave ordered.
It took a heart-stopping moment before the combiner obeyed. Each of the Constructicons broke free from the giant and took on their bipedal mode. Scrapper, Mixmaster, Bonecrusher and Scavenger took on their bipedal forms, unmoving as Hook stood before them. "This is why," Hook looked back at them all, letting it sink in for a moment. The other four looked between each other, not one of them saying a word. Then, one by one, they nodded to Hook. They understood.
The telepath turned from the Constructicons, headed back for the building. Mission: Successful. Devastator was theirs.
"You really are insane," the teal mech jibed as Soundwave walked past him. He looked back to the Constructicons who were talking amongst themselves. That femme really was something else.
Silverbolt let a small smile play on his lips, watching the Constructicons from afar. He was relieved in a way that they may not have to fight head-to-head anymore. Starscream would see to it, he was sure of it. "He approached them cautiously, "I do hope we can still spar," he said to Hook.
The leader looked back to the other combiner leader and nodded to his rival. "We can see about that once all of this with Megatron is resolved." He turned to Bonecrusher, "You, with me, now."
Looking down at her, Blacklight didn't make much sense of any of this. And now, seeing his femme creator like this only made him sadder. She was colder than normal, and her Spark didn't respond to him like it normally would when he sent a tendril to her. His presence didn't stir her at all. Sonar and Radar, knowing he'd come, came in shortly, and he was abrupt with them, backing them off of her. It frightened them, and at the time, Blacklight didn't care. He wanted to be alone with her, even though they were insistent on joining him.
As he stood next to Barricade, he went over what Megatron had done to Starscream as well. It was worse than when he and Sunstorm fought… so much worse. At least with Sunstorm, he hadn't been suffering. The fight was quick, brutal, and he ended up being taken away. This thing with Megatron and Shockwave had him still aware, far after they'd hurt him. The fact he had to watch it happen made it worse. By the time he left, he knew Starscream wasn't going to escape on his own. He'd remembered what Barricade told him when the humans had them. To stay strong.
He would stay strong. He would be their 'Light.
The mech who had come in watched the two smaller Sparklings sitting next to the berth, looking up at Blacklight in fear. Rumble hummed to himself and looked up at Blacklight, who was muttering to himself.
"You really shouldn't take it out on them. It's not their fault."
Blacklight only huffed in reply, not looking from Barricade.
Choosing not to aggravate the Sparkling more, Rumble asked, "Did you see Frenzy?"
Blacklight's dim optics turned down at the intruder. He almost snapped at him, but refrained, remembering he was Frenzy's twin. Distracting himself from Barricade, he asked, "Does he have blue optics?"
Rumble beamed and nodded excitedly, "Yeah! Is he okay? Boss won't let me talk to him because she says they could pick it up."
Blacklight shrugged, "I think so. He got Megatron to bring me to Starscream and brought us Energon. I didn't see him after that." He then turned back for his femme creator, touching her chest gently, hoping for a reaction.
Rumble watched the little mech. He could sympathize with his loss, as he knew what it was like. But he also wasn't here to console the Sparkling – not entirely. He needed information, and Blacklight surely had it. Soundwave had told him what Blacklight had told the Autobots, and he figured he had more to tell. "Tell me what happened with Starscream."
"I already told Prowl."
"That was the extent of it?" It couldn't be. Just by knowing Megatron, that couldn't be everything.
"No," Blacklight responded hesitantly.
"Tell me everything. Even the stuff you told Prowl."
Blacklight touched the femme again, his claws softly raking over her chevron. He thought about what they'd done to Starscream and what they had said. He thought about Shockwave, and what he'd done. They'd broken him. Blacklight looked down, a frown forming on his features. He remained quiet except for soft whimpers emanating from him.
He knew it had to be difficult. "Just tell me, okay?" Rumble said gently, "Maybe Soundwave can help."
"How can she help?" Blacklight demanded angrily.
Rumble gave pause at the venomous tone. "It's important, okay?"
"No one has done anything! She should have if she could! Instead, Starscream…" his anger melted away to sobs, "How can she help, Rumble?"
"She can, I promise. But she'll need more information."
Blacklight thought about it. Even if there was a slim chance that Soundwave could do something, he wanted to hope. "They did something to him, Rumble…"
"What?"
"I-I don't know." He stammered, unsure how to explain what he'd witnessed. "Sunstorm was the one who merged with him. They said they were going to break him and Sunstorm was the only one who could do it because they're brothers."
"Because they're brothers?" Rumble asked with a little trepidation.
"Yes. The light from their Sparks was weird – it was red. I heard them telling him they were going to kill them both by separating them. How does that work?"
"They're Star-Mates. They're special."
Anger rose in his little Spark again. He had had enough of the reason things were being done to his family was because they were 'special'. "Why do they have to be Star-Mates? Why couldn't they be normal? I hate this." he growled.
He didn't have a proper answer to that. "Because that's the way it is," Rumble told him, frowning, wishing there was more he could do, "Anything else?"
"Megatron called them dangerous. Why are they dangerous?"
"Did he say in what way?"
"If he did, I didn't hear it," Blacklight replied, "There was so much going on." He was silent for a moment before continuing, "After that, Shockwave injected his Spark with something."
"Injected his Spa-." Rumble suddenly quieted, looking away, going into thought about what Blacklight had just said. He looked back at the Sparkling. He'd recounted Spark injections and wondered if Starscream had been Spark poisoned. Different colors meant different things. "What color was it?"
"Purple."
"Purple?" Rumble asked, never hearing of the color purple ever being used to inject a Spark with.
Blacklight looked away again, remembering his sire's shock and fear as his Energon lines started to turn purple after he was injected. He gave an uncomfortable look to Rumble. "It turned his Energon purple. His optics even turned purple for a moment."
"Purple…" Rumble said to himself in question. What was purple that could be injected into a Spark?
"He-he said… that it was the only thing that could defeat Star-Mates." Blacklight stammered as he remembered what Shockwave had said that the purple injection could do.
What the what? Rumble was roused out of his thought by Blacklight's words. Defeat them? That was probably the most important thing Blacklight could have told him.
Not seeing Rumble in depth of thought, he then said, "I know I do not understand everything yet. You and your siblings might be able to understand it better." His claws twitched as he remembered being in that cell with Starscream, quietly listening as Shockwave revealed information that he was sure no one else should have. He looked over at Rumble, his optics squinting as he contemplated what he should tell him. He would tell him everything. Even the secrets. "How much do you know about Star-Mates?"
"As much as Soundwave," Rumble explained, "Which, unfortunately isn't a lot."
Blacklight looked down, thinking about another bit of information Rumble might be able to make sense of, "He said whatever that purple stuff was, that he wouldn't let them be together…"
"He? You mean Shockwave?"
"No. He said 'he' as in someone else."
Rumble was shocked by that. Someone else? The more Blacklight told him, the more he felt some kind of unidentified fear, as if this information would bring to light something that should have remained in the dark. He wanted to run to Soundwave now, but curiosity had him wanting to know more. He dared to ask, "Who?"
Blacklight shrugged, having no idea. He moved, curling up closer to Barricade's side. Even though she did not touch him, he still felt more comfortable being as close to her as he could, as if his closeness would wake her. "He said he knew everything about Star-Mates."
"He did?"
"Yes. He said he hunts them."
Rumble's optics went wider and wider the more Blacklight revealed to him. He didn't know there were those that actively hunted Star-Mates. "He hunts them?" The young mech considered that for a moment.
"He told Starscream he'd captured them before. He kept them prisoner and… did experiments on them." His only memory of experiments was when he had been captured by the humans, and that was unpleasant. The mech got a dark look to his optics, his face contorting in antipathy, remembering. He couldn't imagine what Shockwave could do. Blacklight said, his optics dimming, "He said that's how he knew the separation wouldn't kill them."
Blacklight was more informative than he likely thought himself to be. Knowing that Shockwave knew so much, Soundwave would be able to get answers from him. Rumble nodded to Blacklight, "Thank you for telling me all this. I'm going to report to Soundwave immediately."
Blacklight's attention went back to the femme before him. This time, his siblings were allowed with him. He reached for them as they made their way to him. "Don't let them die, Rumble."
Rumble's mind whirled with what Blacklight was telling him. This was news that could change everything. It could likely make or break the Star-Mates. "They won't let them die," Rumble reassured. Although deep down, he didn't believe his own words after Blacklight's revelations.
He hesitated, watching the Sparkling. He frowned, knowing he was unable to help him. He actually felt a little guilty leaving the three. "You keep her company, okay? I'm going to find Soundwave."
Rumble turned for the door to the med bay. He honestly didn't want to leave the Sparkling. On the way to find Soundwave, he considered the ramifications of what he'd been told. What Blacklight said was disturbing and it still rattled him deeply. He started to wonder how deep this really went.
"Boss," he said as he found Soundwave shortly. He stopped her as she headed for a quiet room, "I have information for you. Blacklight has told me some things. I'm not sure what they mean. But it's really important that you know."
"Continue," the femme said as she entered the room and the door shut, only the two of them being in there.
Rumble wondered where to start. What part was the most important? Come to think of it, what part wasn't important? He frowned in thought, trying to decide what to tell her first. "He told me that Sunstorm merged with Starscream." Rumble then looked down in sadness, "That's how they broke them."
Soundwave considered that. She'd heard Blacklight explain that to the Autobots. She was still lost in thought about it, to be honest. It was distracting her a lot more than it should. The Star-Mates were supposedly unbreakable once bonded, but somehow, using Starscream's brother, it worked. It also didn't kill them, as suspected. She wondered how Shockwave knew enough to know that one, a sibling, could break them, and two, that they would survive.
"By what Blacklight told me, Shockwave knows a lot more about Star-Mates than we do." Rumble then said as if he was reading her mind.
"One has to wonder what he knows."
"Boss, you're not going to like what he told me. It's a lot and it's scary."
"Scary?" Soundwave asked. She knew that things could be scary, but Rumble was the braver of the bunch. If it scared him, it must be really bad.
"Yes," Rumble admitted. "He told me that Shockwave hunts Star-Mates. That he captured the last pair and that's why no one knew about them. He also told me that Shockwave gave Starscream a shot or something. Told me it was purple and injected into his Spark an-."
Soundwave's thoughts went to what Rumble had said. Purple? Injected into the Spark? She didn't know of anything purple that was injected directly into… suddenly, her Spark itself cried 'extreme danger' at the thought. Primus, no.
"-worst part…" Rumble looked up at Soundwave when she didn't say anything. "He said that the purple is the only way to defeat Star-Mates. That 'he' won't let them be together again." Rumble considered how that sounded. "He, as in someone else. Not Shockwave."
Soundwave's visor flashed and she glanced down at Rumble. He even looked scared. Reaching for him, she picked him up, holding him close to her chest to comfort him. He hadn't been this scared since Frenzy was killed. Who was this 'he' character? Again, her spark jolted, crying, 'extreme danger'.
"Someone needs to get him away from Shockwave before he does kill him. How much longer will all of this take?"
The plans they had come up with thus far proved to be more dangerous to Starscream should they be attempted. They couldn't get close enough without Megatron killing their leader. "There is no definitive plan to get Starscream without alerting Megatron of our presence. Megatron will not allow Starscream to be alone if we were to coax him away from the base. Probability is very high than if anyone attempts to rescue him, they will kill him."
"I wish I could communicate with Frenzy. He'd be able to help, I'm sure of it. 'Screamer's not gonna last in there."
Soundwave was about to reply when something pinged in her HUD. She brought it forward. It was a communication ping. It was faint, barely there and distorted as if it had been scrambled. "A moment," the telepath said, turning to go outside, seeing if she could get a better reading. When she stepped out, she looked around, watching the skies. Someone was coming.
"What is it?" Jazz saw the telepath wandering seemingly aimlessly outside. She approached, curious as ever, "Tryin' ta find that mind of yours that ya lost eons ago?"
"Someone is coming," Soundwave answered, ignoring the dig. "Ping: received."
"A ping?" Jazz asked, looking out where Soundwave was looking, "Where from?"
"Unknown at this time."
"Good or bad?"
"Again, unknown."
There it was again. Still incredibly distorted, but it was closer. Soundwave nodded to the north. "That direction," she said to Jazz, turning. Whoever it was had just entered her protective field.
"Who?"
"Skywarp," Soundwave then stated, not looking away from the north. "He is on his way here."
"Wait, what?" Jazz asked, surprised. "Skywarp? Are ya sure?"
Relief wormed its way into her Spark. Her leader wouldn't be without his trine.
At the same time, in the quarters the blue Seeker stole, her Spark lurched, and it was actually painful. She put her hand to her chest, looking around, wondering what would cause it. She sat quietly, and then it happened. The trine-bond shook and suddenly another presence was there. Skywarp. She thought it was a shadow, something that happened before after he'd been killed, but his presence was getting stronger and stronger. Holy Primus down below.
It was him!
Putting her Sparkling in a hold, she jumped up and almost tumbled, catching herself on the door jamb where she stopped in shock. Others turned to look at her.
"It's him!" Thundercracker cried. "He's alive!"
Meanwhile, swearing they were going around Mach 90, Jess sat quietly. He barely moved, even going so far as to slouch so when the Seeker banked, he didn't move with him, trying to be as small as possible. He only wanted this trip to be over with. His arm and shoulder hurt badly, and he idly wondered if it'd been dislocated. When he'd gone to right himself after Skywarp had thrown him, white, hot pain shot down his arm. Though, the pain was the least of his worries right now. He knew they were not going to the safety of the Autobots or Decepticons. They were headed for the belly of the beast. Skywarp couldn't kill him, but Megatron surely would.
The fact Skywarp had deliberately hurt him made him even more wary than he already was, flinching every time he heard a sound other than Skywarp's thrusters burning. He constantly checked his safety straps to make sure they were still tight, afraid the Seeker would throw him again. This guy was someone completely different from the Skywarp he knew. It scared him. The Seeker hadn't said a word since they'd shot down those two pilots.
Skywarp's alerions, rudders, flaps and elevators suddenly all twitched at the same time, sending him into an uncontrolled spin. Jess instinctively reached for the canopy with both arms to stabilize himself, expecting to be thrown.
Forcing himself to correct his wild spin, suddenly Skywarp said to Jess, "I don't understand what is going on,"
Jess tentatively pulled his arms back to himself when the Seeker corrected his flight. "What now?" he asked, thoroughly annoyed.
The jet made a series of clicks. "I… Primus, I shot those jets!" he then exclaimed. It was as if a switch had been flipped. Skywarp's voice was becoming warmer and familiar. "I hope they're okay!" There was another series of clicks and then he said, "And… I hurt you. I'm sorry," his voice was stricken with sadness.
Why was he suddenly sorry? He wasn't sorry when he did it. The coldness in his voice was evidence of that. "What are you talking about?" Jess asked cautiously, afraid this was some trick. He wouldn't let his guard down, even if Skywarp was acting differently than when they'd left the crash site.
"Somehow 'Screamer's protocols are re-downloading now," Skywarp said, his voice sounding both relieved and confused.
"What?" Jess sat straight up, his attention going to the controls on the cockpit, which had flickered between Cybertronian and English and then fully to English.
"How is that possible?" Skywarp's voice then became excited, "Unless he's alive! 'Screamer's alive!" His thrusters heated as he put more power to them.
"Really?"
"My ping has been detected."
"By who?" Hopefully it was the good guys.
"I think I know who," Skywarp then said. Only one other would pick up his distorted ping and understand it for what it was – especially because he got a return. "Soundwave."
"What does that even mean?"
"I didn't explain this to you before, but we sound out pings. This is especially important if our comms are out like mine. Audio enhanced others can pick it up."
"And you couldn't do that before why?"
"My like … everything was scrambled by the warp. And by the time it was repaired, I was receiving Megatron's information. I mean, things are still scrambled, but I could send somewhat of a ping. But I'm not sure what is going on,"
"What makes you say that?"
"Soundwave is at the Autobot's base." Skywarp was puzzled but headed in that direction. Someone would have answers as to why the confusion.
"Why would she be there?" asked Jess, sitting up a little more, allowing himself to let his guard down slightly. He still wasn't convinced this wasn't some trick.
"How about we find out?"
Before they knew it, Skywarp started banking, turning to where he saw the Autobot base. Soundwave was standing outside, looking directly at him. Others began appearing, some Autobot, some Decepticon. The more that appeared, the more he wondered why they were here.
The Seeker landed at the end of the runway and rolled to a stop. His canopy rose as a ladder appeared on his side for his pilot. Skywarp transformed when his human was safely away, calling, "Now in 3D! It's like I'm really here!"
"Skywarp!" Multiple people called. Mechs and humans alike ran to greet the black Seeker. Jazz had told them all that Skywarp was on his way in, but seeing was believing as he was thought to be dead or gone.
"How are you still alive!" Acid called. "How did you live through that warp?"
"Oh Primus, it was the wildest teleport, ever!" Skywarp exclaimed, smiling as others approached to greet him. There were a lot of them. "Full of thrills, chills and twisted plotlines!"
"Yeah, 'Twisted plotlines' is a God damned understatement," Jess grumbled and stepped to greet the other humans, "Don't ever do that to me again," The Seeker looked guiltily down to his retreating friend, knowing what he was talking about.
"I need to talk to Secretary Keller," Jess said with the fakest smile he could muster, shaking Will and Rob's hands in greeting. His eyes told them it wasn't a going to be a friendly conversation.
"Why? What happened?" Rob asked.
"Complications," Jess admitted, his fingers typing frantically on his phone.
"Complications?" Will asked, "What kind of complications?"
Probably ones they wouldn't want to know. He wasn't about to tell them that Skywarp went off the deep end for a time. Putting his phone to his ear, Jess put up a finger to them and walked away for a private conversation. He needed to tell the Secretary what had happened in Canada and get the government to give some kind of apology.
"How are you alive?" Acid enunciated more pointedly this time. Everyone wanted to know that damned answer. Skywarp was, by all accounts, dead.
"You know, I have no idea," Skywarp answered, looking around. "We somehow came out of the grid in Canada. I guess we got very lucky. Someone tell me what is going on with 'Screamer?" the Seeker asked, looking around. "Where's he at? Why can't I sense him? I struggled between Megatron's code and his. I don't understand?" Worry was rising in his Spark.
"Something's happened, 'Warp. It's bad. They've been separated-"
"-Separated?" Skywarp interrupted, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Megatron managed to break their link as Star-Mates,"
"Wouldn't that kill them?" Skywarp asked, "I – I mean I can still download from 'Screamer, so what's the deal? Is he Schrödinger's Cat? The Pit is going on?"
"Hold on, hold on, slow down." Dirge stopped him, "Somehow, they didn't die. We think 'Screamer is still alive. Blacklight told us–"
"-Think? What about Barricade?" Skywarp interrupted. "Is she okay?"
"We don't know." Ramjet answered. "We are doing all we can,"
"Doing all you can?" That caught the teleporter off guard. "What do you mean? What's wrong with her?"
"She's got the gaze, 'Warp."
"Is she still awake?"
Ramjet answered with sadness in his optics, "Afraid not. And since Starscream is alive, we are convinced that the gaze has taken her." Although, he wasn't entirely sure that was the whole picture. It was just the picture they could paint for now. Her Spark was weird, and even though the Vornsworn could bring one under, she wasn't exactly showing all the symptoms. Ratchet had hypothesized that it was some kind of hybrid thing going on between the Vornsworn and the fact she and Starscream had been separated.
"Oh, no…" Skywarp said apologetically. Needing a win, he asked, "What about TC? She's okay, right?" He knew he felt her, but the way things were not coming together, he wasn't going to assume anything at this point.
"She's hiding from everyone," Ramjet flicked his optics in the direction she had run off to. "Careful though, she's not in a very receiving mood."
His optics followed Ramjet's look, and he brightened. He needed to see the femme he would have as his mate. He needed to see that the Sparkling she was carrying wasn't hurt. "She wouldn't do that to me," he told the pseudo-medic.
Thundercracker smiled down at her chest as she felt Skywarp's approach. "Wait 'til 'Warp gets a load of you," she said with a smile and turned back for the room. She preferred to see him in private, and knew he was coming.
Skywarp hadn't even had time to close the door behind him before he was tackled by Thundercracker, "You're alive! But how?"
"Long story," he told her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug, "You're okay? Our Sparkling is okay?"
He heard Thundercracker purring as she backed from him. She shouldn't be purring like that yet, and he wondered why. "Why are you making so much noise?"
She looked down at her chest with a smile. "Look," she said as a hold began opening.
He followed her gaze. A tiny red something peeked its head out and then looked up at him. What was that! Was it…? Was that what he thought it was?
"Our little miracle," the femme whispered to him as if answering his thoughts.
"What?" Skywarp watched what he now recognized as a tiny Seeker. She looked right up at him and smiled, knowing her mech creator immediately. He was stunned, unsure what to say, how to feel. Emotions ran through him like roller coasters.
"I call her Runway," The femme said gently, reaching for the Sparkling so she wouldn't fall.
The teleporter shook his head, realizing he'd been staring. "TC…" Skywarp was awe-stricken. Thundercracker had given birth? When? How? He watched as Runway, eager to meet him, began crawling out of Thundercracker's hold, reaching for him.
The mech held his hand out for her and she crawled to him. He gazed at her, taking in all of her details. He smiled at her. She began beeping and twittering to him, telling him all about her new life! He responded enthusiastically, hearing the sounds of his Sparkling. His Sparkling!
"But how, TC? I thought it was too early?" he asked, looking at the red over Runway's tiny form. In fact, he knew it was too early. Way too early.
"It was." Thundercracker thought about it herself. "After you disappeared, it sent my Spark into shock and… well, I went into a failed Spark expulsion."
Even though he was holding Runway, his Spark sank heavy with the words. A failed Spark expulsion. Those devastating words he would never ever want to hear from her. From anyone.
"TC…" he said, not quite wrapping his mind around the fact they were alive. He'd nearly lost them both and he hadn't even known it. The black Seeker looked back down at Runway, who was chirping happily. How was he holding his Sparkling, then? He knew an expulsion was a one-hundred percent loss of a Sparkling and almost the same percentage loss of the femme. He put a hand up to caress Thundercracker's cheek in wonder, "How – how did either of you survive?"
"Soundwave," Thundercracker said with a small shrug, holding his hand to her cheek.
"Soundwave?" he asked in bewilderment. What had happened? How was Soundwave involved? How could she have done anything?
"She…" Thundercracker hesitated, unsure what to say about it. "She saved us both,"
"How?"
"I don't know," Thundercracker answered, watching the two bond.
Skywarp was still watching Runway. He couldn't stop smiling. "She's beautiful," he said softly. "We did good."
Thundercracker listened to the two communicate. It was music to her. She never thought she would hear that. "I think she likes you."
"I hope so." Skywarp moved to the berth and sat down with his newborn. He was astonished at the sight of her.
"That's just because she doesn't know how weird and random you are yet. Give her time," Thundercracker smiled at them both.
Skywarp looked up at Thundercracker, reaching a hand to her. "I've missed you, so much,"
Thundercracker took his hand and let him pull her to him. She never thought she would touch him again – yet here he was. She placed a hand on his wing, petting it affectionately. "I never thought I would see you again, 'Warp."
Skywarp smiled up at her. "I was only in Canada."
"How did you survive or not get lost?"
"I'm not sure, to be honest. I thought we had warped to a different dimension. Jess told me he managed to crash land us both and he worked on me overnight to repair what he could. I was hoping to come back to find our Youngling as well,"
"He's hanging on, 'Warp."
"He needs to keep hanging on."
"He managed to get both Barricade and Blacklight out. Optimus is planning with everyone to get him."
Meanwhile, in another part of the base, Jazz spied Hot Rod sitting off to the side by his aggravated self. She squinted her optics in anger, "Hide stuff from me, will ya…" Time for him to learn a thing or two. "I don't think so." The saboteur smirked and turned for Blaster, who liked to have fun when the moment called for it – and this moment called for it.
"Hey," jazz whispered, nodding the Communications Specialist to her. "Wanna have some fun?"
"I always want to have fun," Blaster said. He was bored out of his mind.
"Good, come 'ere," she said to him. "This is what I want ya to do."
Blaster smirked. He was all for what Jazz told him she needed him to do. Wondering what Hot Rod had done, he sent out over the Autobot Spread-link:
"Emergency Protocols initiated: Security breach! Hot Rod, you are the security breach. Get your aft to the main room, on the double! You are in some ser-i-ous trouble!"
Blaster then looked down at Jazz who was smirking and gave a grin of his own, "What did he do?"
"We're gonna find out," Jazz told him.
Hot Rod looked up in surprise when he heard Blaster. What had he done now? Idly, he wondered if it was because he may have been seen talking to Sixshot. That was probably it. He hit the ground with his fist in frustration and stood up.
Jazz was standing close by, giving him a predatory grin. He saw that grin, knowing what that grin meant. So, she had Blaster call that? Stomping by the small silver femme, he pointedly looked at her as she watched him.
"Your creators teach ya nothin' 'bout me?" the femme asked as he walked by. "Do not piss off the Jazzmeister!" She slowly followed; happy he was sufficiently pissed off.
Soundwave, who was always listening, even though they didn't think she was, had picked up Blaster's comms. Being in such close proximity to him, she got a pretty good idea as to what was said. Curiosity got the better of her. Walking toward the area they were gathering, she said to Sixshot, who wasn't far away, "Come." She wasn't sure what the breach was about or how it involved Hot Rod.
When they both approached, Ironhide, Optimus and Jazz were standing around looking down at Hot Rod, along with many others, encircling the mech. Jazz was doing her best not to snicker and trying to keep the angry look she had. It was real hard when she saw Hot Rod's death glare aimed at her.
"What is the meaning of this, Jazz?" Optimus asked, folding his arms. "Why have you singled out Hot Rod?" He idly glanced to Soundwave, wondering why she and Sixshot had come.
Jazz announced to everyone, her visor fixing on him, "Hot Rod's been withholdin' information an' I think he needs ta share. Ain't that right, Roddy?"
Hot Rod glared at Jazz. She had no idea what she was doing. "Really, Jazz? Now?"
"Pit yeah, now." Jazz folded her arms defiantly, "Shouldn't be talkin' too loud to yaself. And I saw you talkin' wit Sixshot earlier."
Ironhide asked, now looking pointedly at Hot Rod, "Oh, really?" And how was Sixshot involved?
Optimus glanced at Jazz then to Sixshot. It was unlikely that they were collaborating to get Hot Rod in trouble, and Sixshot – well, he didn't know enough about Sixshot – but he didn't think he was known to delve into things unless they were important. He nodded to them both then looked at Hot Rod, "Is this true, Hot Rod?"
Hot Rod looked to Jazz then to Optimus. He knew he wasn't leaving without giving answers and he deflated, "Yes, sir. Jazz is right."
Optimus' optics furrowed. Betrayal made itself known in his features. "While you may have a good reason, I don't have to like it. Explain yourself." Optimus said sternly.
Jazz scowled at Hot Rod, all kidding aside. "Ya seem ta know exactly what Shockwave is up to. Wouldn't ya find that just a little suspicious?"
At that, Soundwave's visor pinned on Hot Rod. Would he possibly know what Shockwave knew? If he knew more about Shockwave, why hadn't he come forward? Why hadn't he warned them? "Information on Shockwave: REQUIRED." The words were stronger than her normal tone. Something that barely ever happened.
"I – I can explain," Hot Rod tried to defend.
Why was he not surprised. "Ah, so the plot thickens…" Sixshot folded his arms and leaned back on the wall, annoyance building in his Energon. He kicked his leg around the other, prepared to listen to what Hot Rod had to say. "This better be good, punk." He too was wondering what he was going to do to him if he had been withholding information.
"Does your sister work for Shockwave?" Jazz asked the gunner accusingly.
Hot Rod grew immediately angry at the accusation. "My sister is not working for that slagging maniac!" he yelled in protest.
"You have a sister?" questioned Prowl offhandedly.
"What do you know about Shockwave?" Soundwave asked, approaching Hot Rod. "Information: vital on saving Starscream." Had he been keeping such vital information from everyone? She'd hoped not, because after she got any information he had, she'd kill him where he stood. "Refusal to answer: Cybertronian traitor," Soundwave then growled.
All optics turned on Hot Rod at Soundwave's statement.
"WHAT! I am not!" Hot Rod defended.
In his defense against Soundwave, he blinked more harshly than normal. When he did, Soundwave caught a glimpse of something off about his optics. A hint of gold, so barely noticeable, no one would have picked it up unless they were looking for something so small.
"Show your optics," she demanded without tone.
Hot Rod eyed Soundwave for a moment in consideration. "You can see them, can't you?"
"Traitor: Show your optics."
He gave the Decepticon SiC a pissy glare for her words, "Why should I, Decepticon?"
Keeping such things from her was not wise, as it was information she needed and she would get from him whether he liked it or not. "Suggestion: comply," the Decepticon SiC's voice warned evenly.
"Why don't you?" Hot Rod stared defiantly at Soundwave. "You must have something to hide to always be wearing that visor."
Another Decepticon approached after watching Hot Rod try to stand up to the telepath, "I'd do what she says," Thrust half-laughed, wondering how brave Hot Rod really was. "You've heard her stories. I don't think you want her to do it herself. You might lose your optics."
Hot Rod's glare turned onto the Grounding Seeker, and then went back to Soundwave as he considered what Soundwave would really do. He had heard stories about the Psion. Anyone who hadn't was obviously deaf and blind. He backed down from her mirrored gaze and reached for his face, removing external lenses. Hot Rod stared at her with his natural golden optics. Looking up and around so everyone could see.
Everyone stared in shock until finally Jazz protested, "Your optics are strange!" she pointed. "What the Pit are ya?"
Golden optics. He was not Cybertronian. Cybertronian usually ranged from blues and greens to reds and oranges. Never gold. What else had Hot Rod been deceiving them about?
"I… am not from Cybertron. I am from Ioton," Hot Rod informed them all.
Optimus looked into those golden optics. He'd seen them before on Cybertron, although it was fairly rare. Hot Rod's race was no stranger to him.
"That's impossible! Iotonians don't exist," Jazz replied with a wrinkled nose.
"Oh, Iotonians exist alright. Shockwave isn't Cybertronian either and he's not an Iotonian, he's a Teacon."
"Teacon? The Pit is that?" Jazz asked.
Optimus Prime was quiet while he listened to what they all had to say. So Hot Rod, nor Shockwave were from Cybertron? That was news to him, however, it was not the first time he had come across aliens on Cybertron. He'd worked with Iotonians a time or two if Hot Rod's optics were anything to go by. Normally, other races didn't hide themselves. Why Had Hot Rod been hiding from them?
He decided it would be best to have Hot Rod explain this in the presence of a smaller crowd. "Let us take this to the conference room; I have the feeling this may take a while." When they got there, the smaller crowd was a welcome sight to the younger Autobot. Hot Rod sat down and looked at everyone. They wanted a story; he would give them a story.
It nagged at the Prime as to why Hot Rod felt the need to hide. "Why were you in hiding, Hot Rod? Iotonians aren't unheard of on Cybertron."
The mech looked directly at Optimus and gave a half chuff at why they were now in hiding. It was because his kind had been decimated. "First of all, my designation is not Hot Rod. It is Rodimus. And I am aware you have worked with my kind before. We were in hiding to protect what few of us were left.
"Shockwave attacked our planet. Very few were able to get away from the initial wave and since he wasn't successful at killing us all using the alien technology he had, or the will of Unicron, he placed the entire planet of Ioton in a mega ice age instead. Only Kup, Mirage, Arona, and I managed to escape."
Soundwave's Spark seemed to go cold at the mention of the god.
"Hold up… Mirage and Kup are in on this too?" Jazz asked. She glanced at the cloaker then back to Hot Rod. She had to admit she was now annoyed with all the secrets going on.
"Yes," Hot Rod answered, and then continued, "Since then, we have been in hiding, helping the Autobots when we can as they seemed to be the only hope until Starscream and Barricade came along. As you know, Iotonians protect the circle of life, fight evil, just as you do. Teacons devoted their lives to the exact opposite of everything we stand for – like Decepticons – with the added bonus of seeking sparks to enslave to their dark god – the one known as Unicron. In doing so, Unicron gives them power. They have been trying to free him for as long as I can remember.
"There is an old saying on my planet that goes: 'Primus' Will hides in the pair of blue. This is the secret of the very few. Together, harmony will remain true'."
The pair of blue. And that dream. Unicron. But how did the Star-Mates correlate with what she saw in that dream? "The blue power," Soundwave suddenly said, a growl heard those spoken words.
Hearing that, Hot Rod turned to the telepath. The pair of blue were referred to as the blue power, but no one on Cybertron would have even known it to be called such as far as he knew. It was something Arona had told him that Unicron had said. "How do you know about the blue power?" Hot Rod asked slowly, suspiciously.
"The blue power. The Star-Mates. They are one in the same, are they not?"
"They are,"
"Tell us everything you know." Soundwave said. The fact Unicron had now been brought up bade of even worse news to come. There had to be some correlation between the Star-Mates and the dark god.
Hot Rod sat back. He could tell them what his people knew. He no longer had to hide as the simple gunner everyone thought he was. He could be open about how much he really knew. He could be Rodimus, Regent of Ioton.
"Well, the Star-Mates are of particular interest to Unicron," he began, "his agents find him Sparks to make him powerful enough to break free. He doesn't have the means to free himself because he has nothing to feed on. Sparks are powerful enough that they can sustain him longer than any planet can." His voice was icy when mentioning how the god sustained himself.
"The blue Sparks are a special kind of power when united that not only can he not fight against it, but if he were to devour them, he would have more than ample power to get free. We haven't had extensive studies to understand what exactly makes their Sparks so powerful. Shockwave managed to separate them. You know what this means don't you…"
"No. What does it mean?"
"If he successfully captures Starscream's Spark, he'll have half of what he needs to get free."
"Captures? What do you mean?"
"Being the agent that he is, he can capture a Spark as a mech or femme dies. I'm not sure on how he accomplishes this, I just know he does." Hot Rod frowned, remembering a time when he saw Shockwave do just that. It was sickening and he could still remember the Spark screaming – or what they called screaming.
"So, he's going to be after Barricade as well," Optimus reasoned.
"So, Starscream is screwed?" Sixshot asked in annoyance.
Hot Rod sighed as he wearily replied, "I wouldn't call it that."
"Can they be reunited?"
"No one has seen Star-Mates in a very long time. So, we just don't know." Hot Rod added. "We never got those kind of answers. I only tell you what I know from historical data kept on Ioton."
"Shockwave found them previously." Soundwave informed.
Hot Rod's head whipped to her, "What?"
"Shockwave: Star-Mate hunter-killer," Soundwave said, repeating what she had learned from Rumble.
Hot Rod looked up at Soundwave. This was information even he didn't have. "What do you mean?"
"Blacklight told Rumble that he hunts them. That the reason we haven't seen another pair before them is because Shockwave got to them first."
"Dammit!" Hot Rod growled and looked back to the others.
Soundwave figured since he had so much information on Star-Mates, Unicron and Shockwave, that perhaps he would have more information on the plague currently living in her processor. "Note: He's injected Starscream's Spark with something purple."
At that, Hod Rod's face fell in fear. "Purple?" he asked. He'd heard stories, never coming across a purple Spark himself.
"Yes, do you know what it means?" Soundwave asked. Perhaps this could answer the 'he' question.
"Only one thing can be purple and injected directly into a Spark. It is made up of Dark Energon and…" his voice trailed off. This could not be happening. What has Shockwave done? Of all the things he could have imagined, this was the worst. "…Unicron's essence."
And there it was. Unicron's essence. Behind her visor, Soundwave's optic ridges hit her helm. This was incredible, and not in a good way. "The only thing that can defeat Star-Mates." She said, her voice cold and even, so as not to give away any emotion she might be feeling.
Hot Rod glanced at Soundwave. He wasn't sure if he wanted to nod or run at this point. It was as if she was radiating aggression. "Where did you hear that?"
"Blacklight told us. Shockwave knows much more than you think he does."
"Please, tell me that's a metaphor for somethin' else?" Jazz asked worriedly. "I'm hearing this right? Shockwave injected 'Screamer's Spark wit' Dark Energon and Unicron's essence?"
"No metaphor. I don't know how it works. It rarely ever happened before, and no one on Ioton could study it without becoming infected themselves, so those that were found to have the purple Spark were immediately executed."
"He's contagious?"
Sixshot unfolded his arms and stepped off the wall, aiming toward Hot Rod. He'd heard enough. "So, you've known about Barricade and Starscream all this time?"
Hot Rod glanced at Sixshot for his words, then back to Optimus, explaining, "After Ratchet told us, yes. They were safe until – you know – they weren't. I couldn't actively identify them before that. Only their protector can do that."
"The -Star-Mates have a protector?" Optimus then asked. "Where would they be?"
He considered that for a moment with a soft hum to himself. "Seeing as they've managed to be the target of Shockwave, their protector must had been killed."
Sixshot bristled at Hot Rod. This mech had been withholding this much information? Why? "Fan-fucking-tastic," he growled. "Did you not think it would help to warn us? Didn't it cross your fragging processors that Starscream and Barricade might be in danger? Of course not. You were too worried about yourself, hiding away from everyone." The anger radiating from him was felt by everyone. His voice became cold and low, "I should have killed you instead of bringing you to our base."
"Calm yourself," Soundwave sent to the assassin. She could see it in his stance and his optic, he was ready for murder. They didn't need that kind of trouble. He could kill him later.
Jazz' optics flitted to Sixshot, then went back to Hot Rod. Right now, she wanted to know more. "Why wasn't he interested in 'Cade and 'Screamer before? I figure he would have wanted to do somethin' bout 'em soon as he learned of their existence."
"I'm not sure. He was probably side-tracked. I think he was more interested in getting Megatron back after he was told about Typhoon. He needed backup. If he had gone after them alone, he would have been overwhelmed. I think deep down he knew that Megatron would have challenged Starscream. Everyone knew it was a one-sided fight. He was probably using Megatron to weaken Starscream although I think that took on a life of its own. The fact that Starscream got Barricade away hindered his plans. He probably wanted to experiment on them and Starscream foiled his plans. Starscream and Barricade weren't going anywhere, so he could take his time."
Starscream was in more danger than they originally thought. Things needed to move fast to get him out. "Enough talk. All of us better come up with something quick." Sixshot's optics then fell on Hot Rod. "And you… Don't come anywhere near me," he growled.
"Is that a threat?" Hot Rod asked bravely. Somehow thinking that being in the presence of the Prime would make Sixshot stand down.
"You're damned right it is. You were on our base! You knew Shockwave was coming with reinforcements and yet you said nothing." Sixshot growled lowly.
Soundwave looked over at the Six-changer, seeing his stance change and hearing his aggression. She sent him a warning tone.
The assassin looked up at her and left before he lost control of his temper more than he already had.
"Of all the slaggin' mechs to piss off… Ya had to pick that one. Ya jus' painted a huge target on your head, ya know that, right? I'd watch your back. He's gonna kill ya if he catches ya alone." Jazz shook her head. This is not how she planned for this to go. She then took a moment to think, distracting herself of Hot Rod's impending doom. "Speakin' of Kup, didn't ya say he would be comin' real soon?"
"Yup, within the next day or so." The Autobot CO replied.
Ironhide reached out and slapped Hot Rod upside the head, "It woulda been a whole lot better if we had known all this before Shockwave showed up!" he yelled, "You're coming to help with this disaster that possibly could have been avoided!"
"I didn't know he was even coming here before Starscream mentioned it!" Hot Rod spat back in defense, "If you want to blame someone for this 'disaster', blame him! He's the one who gave Shockwave an open invitation to land on the planet!"
Soundwave, angry as she was at Hot Rod, kept her composure. That was more important than wanting to crush the young mech's Spark chamber for what he allowed to happen. She watched between all of them, then turned to Optimus Prime, "Starscream's rescue: Priority."
Optimus nodded to her, "We will work until we have a solution." His optics raised up to the door as he thought about the one mech who's sudden appearance may have saved Starscream.
Man, I still don't know if it's right...
And so, the plot thickens… With Hot Rod.
Things are gonna start moving pretty quickly soon. I wasn't expecting this part to take so long.