... Wow, I'm bad at this.
So I lied on two things: one, this was not a fast update. Not even remotely. And two, this is not the last Crossfire part. But in my defense, the 'last' chapter ended up being nearly 20 pages and it still wasn't done. So I'm halving it and the last part will be Crossfire, Part 4.
If anyone wonders, no. I have not given up on this. I'm just rather lazy and too much of a perfectionist. No real way around it. Lambast me for the lack of speed of updates all you will. But still, I hope you enjoy.
Crossfire, Part 3
Cap'n's Catches
"Oh, this is a good sandwich. It's gonna sit heavy in my stomach for a while, but it's worth it!"
"Pace yourself, hun… but yes, this is delicious. I thought this was a fish joint."
Aiko watched quietly as Mr. and Mrs. Judge enjoyed their chicken sandwiches quite a lot. She thought over and over which questions she should ask, analyzing their behaviors and personalities as much as she could—all to understand one man-turned-Autobot a little better.
"Sorry… Miss Aiko, yes? We were just starved from the long drive. But we really wanted to know what our boy was working with," Jason said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
Aiko put a smile on and said, "No need to explain. I understand. This isn't something to be rushed. I simply want to answer a few of your questions, a few of mine, and maybe understand how to train my newest employee the right way."
Vivian put down her sandwich, saying, "Hmm, I understand. Say, how has our boy been working for you? Going from College to a job so quickly–Cybersecurity, no less–I imagine it must've been tough for him."
Aiko glanced down, recalling Jasper's initial reaction and panic.
"He was… struggling to adapt, yes. Still is, no less. Sure, he gets the job done, but he doesn't do it the way we expect it to. One day, it will backfire on him, but I hope to work through that. You two must know what I'm talking about, right?"
Strangely, Jason and Vivian glanced at each other hesitantly. Vivian was the first to speak up.
"Jasper… he's stubborn. Mind you, he much prefers to follow instructions than to figure it out, but… if he believes he can do it better than you, you're gonna have a tough time."
Jason quickly interjected, saying, "Uh, not to say that he'll just try and tell you to do your job or anything like that. But if he's on the sideline doing nothing and thinks he can help…. Well… safe to say, he hates keeping his hands idle."
Aiko glanced down, "Hmm… That's good to know. I've dealt with plenty of sol–employees like that, so I know what to do. Thanks for the insight."
Both Jason and Vivian gave a sigh of relief and chuckled at each other.
Jason then said, "To be honest, I was worried I may say something that might get him fired. My boy's a hard worker, but he's not that hard to work with. I told him this, and I told him over and over, 'Son, just work well with others, don't go military, and you'll do just fine'."
Aiko chuckled at that. She liked them. They're a little cheesy. A little nosy. But they do look out for the kid, and she liked that. It hit her right in her parenting heart–
… Wait.
"Hold on… 'don't go military'? What does that mean?" Aiko asked, suddenly curious.
"Right, I told him well throughout his life… 'Son, I'll be proud of you no matter what… but God, don't join the military'."
"And, uh, why is that?" Aiko raised her eyebrow at the couple.
Vivian was the first to answer, "Oh, miss, our family is vehemently anti-war."
… Wait… What?
In the desert…
Hollowpoint cried out in sudden shock and fear while flying hundreds of meters, crashing into mounds of blazing-hot orange-red sands. As he struggled to get on his two pedes on the loose surface, he also tried to piece together how he ended up half-buried.
Meanwhile, a Decepticon broke the sound barrier.
The Decepticon Seeker Thrust landed with a massive splash of sand on a higher mound, a smile wide on his faceplate. He felt at his own thrusters, still red-hot from the sheer speed they were sending him.
The combat module… it worked.
Thrust laughed at the realization while a transforming Thundercracker landed mere meters from him.
"Thrust! You found–"
"Oh, yes I did, Thundercracker! And before you, no less!" Thrust bragged much to Thundercracker's discontent.
While Thundercracker was groaning, a black truck zoomed for the recovering Hollowpoint before transforming to help him out of the sand.
"Jas–Hollowpoint! Are you alright!?" Ironhide asked as he looked around.
"My God, was that a combat module!? The man broke the sound barrier! How in the…!"
Back on the towering mound, Thundercracker noticed the two Autobots making noise at each other down below.
"It's that triple-changer that blew up the mine! If you could do this to him, capturing him for Starscream will be nothing! Quick, let's go!"
"Ohoho, absolutely not. Not without a little boost."
Before Thundercracker could glare at the speedy Seeker with a questioning look, Thrust held something out in his servo: a combat module. Thundercracker reached out to the treasure in front of him… only for Thrust to retract his offer.
"I wanna hear you say it. Who's the better Seeker?" Thrust grinned widely.
Thundercracker scoffed, "Absolutely not. You got lucky. You wanna prove you're the better Seeker? Whoever captures the new Autobot first, gets promoted to Seeker leader. I'm sure you won't find that too scary of a challenge, right?"
Thundercracker's goading earned a scoff, but Thrust eventually relented and released his grip on the module. Thundercracker immediately swiped as he opened his chest cavity to reveal a wired, glowing metal cavity.
"You know I'll just speed down there and capture them, right?" Thrust informed.
Thundercracker said nothing for a second as he felt a wave of energy flow through him. It was… strange. He felt something more, but it was not merely power. It was more… function. Like a piece of his body was revealed to himself and rumbled from stasis. And that piece… was loud.
"Well, before you try that… I should brush off the rust and get with the program."
Thundercracker then braced himself by digging his pedes into the sand and facing the Autobots.
Far away, back at the main site, the Decepticons were still digging for potential weapons. And not one noticed two uninvited spectators: Optimus and Bumblebee, inching closer and closer to get a better look at the site.
Optimus whispered, "Bumblebee, wait for my signal."
Bumblebee beeped in confirmation.
Meanwhile, Starscream was anxious. With all the talk he was giving to his men about the weapons' stache, he was annoyed to not find anything… yet. The main lead was mostly sand that kept filling back up, his Seekers were not sounding anything off on the second lead; he saw that the effort was digging away at his miners' patience more than at the ground. And all he could do was rub his ocular ridge.
He sighed in annoyance. Was this a dead end, and nothing more? He refused it. He would not have his own men doubt him. Doubt his abilities to lead. Doubt that he is a perfect replacement–nay, an improvement–to the comatose scrap heap that was Megatron.
"Starscream, we may have turned up something," Brawl said, again disregarding his leader's title as he pointed at the sand.
And Starscream was having none of it.
"For the last time, it is Lord–"
The air cracked with devastation. A sound like thunder resonated from far away until it shocked Starscream, his Decepticons, and his surprise visitors. Such a devastating wave of noise that caught him so off-guard, that he barely noticed that it came from the direction of his Seekers.
Optimus and Bumblebee stared at each other. Just what was that?
"Lord Starscream, the sonic burst was detected from the same site as the stolen weapons crate," Soundwave deduced quickly.
"What!?" Starscream shouted as he activated his comms, "Thrust, Thundercracker, we heard an explosion from your direction! What is going on over there!?"
For both the Prime and Bumblebee, they could hear nothing on the other side, but they could see Starscream's grin getting wider and wider.
"Excellent. Use those modules and take down the Autobots. And bring back the one they call Hollowpoint!"
Optimus's optics went wide as he heard Jasper's code name. Was he under threat? Against Seekers with combat modules? He had to help him at once.
At least that was what he intended. But one little flying Decepticon gave off one little synthetic 'caw' and fired off a laser at the Prime. And the Decepticons took notice.
"It's the Prime!" Brawl shouted as he readied his many weapons at the Autobots.
Quickly, Optimus and Bumblebee found themselves in a firefight against the shocked Decepticons, and the Prime gritted his dentas through his battlemask. If he wanted to save Jasper, he would have to deal with these Decepticons first.
Thundercracker laughed at the news, "You heard him! I'll be gifting Hollowpoint right to Starscream!"
Thrust was not laughing, however.
"You'll be gifting him? I gave you that module, remember!?"
"Sounds like you should have thought better than to give it to me. Hahahaha!"
And while the two Seekers were bantering at each other, all Hollowpoint could hear was… ringing. He practically felt deaf as he struggled to find his balance on the soft sands below him. For a second, he was beyond scared that he went deaf until the ringing was replaced with the groaning sounds of Ironhide, who was right next to him with his servos rubbing his headpiece.
"Ironhide… Ironhide!" Hollowpoint said as he got the heavily-armed Autobot's attention.
"Jasp… Hollowpoint?... Oh, my head gasket…"
While Ironhide gathered his bearings, Hollowpoint noticed something on the Autobot's chestpiece: a small spider-web cracking in the black metal surface. That shock wave that Decepticon shot at them from so far did that much? If so, they were in big trouble.
"Ironhide, we have to get out, now!" Hollowpoint yelled at Ironhide as he tried to drag him off.
"God, they're gonna kill me for this…" Hollowpoint muttered before activating his comms, "Ratchet, we're in big trouble! Those 'Cons got their modules and messed us up! We need a groundbridge, quick!"
Ratchet, sounding surprised, shouted, "They got what!? And what are you doing fighting Decepticons!?"
"You can kill me later! Just get us out of here!"
Shortly after, a groundbridge spawned far in front of the Autobots. Hollowpoint did his best to drag a nearly-recovered Ironhide to safety.
"Hollowpoint… What are you doing?" Ironhide groaned.
"Getting us out of here!"
Hollowpoint barely listened past his declaration as he trudged in the desert sands. But Ironhide thought otherwise.
"No… wait…"
"I'm not taking any chances, Ironhide. Those guys will mess us up."
"That's the problem…"
Hollowpoint was confused, only to trip over as Ironhide swept his legs and sent him to the sands.
"Wait, wha–!"
Ironhide interrupted Hollowpoint by diving down next to him. A zooming Thrust flew over them, angry that he missed as he tried to turn back only to crash into the reddish sands.
"Ratchet, deactivate the groundbridge!" Ironhide demanded.
Without another word, the groundbridge powered down and disappeared, leaving the Autobots with the two powered-up and highly dangerous Decepticons.
"Nowhere to go, Autobots."
Hollowpoint turned back from the now-gone groundbridge to the advancing Thundercracker, who seemed to be priming his new attack with a dreadful booming noise that only got deeper as the seconds went by.
"Oh, scrap," Ironhide muttered.
But just before Thundercracker could let out his devastating sonic assault, Thrust climbed out of the sand trap he was in, realized what was happening, and could only shield himself in futility.
Thundercracker saw his fellow Seeker and, in a split-second, turned his body upward…
Where the powerful sound waves practically cracked the air as they bore a hole in the thin clouds above, the recoil practically burying Thundercracker's legs into the sand.
Hollowpoint was still shaking after that attack. If that attack didn't change direction… he had no clue if he even could live through that.
"Idiot!" Thrust shouted as he flew towards Thundercracker, who was trying to get out of his sandy tomb.
Thrust saw his partner's struggle and simply slapped him across the faceplate.
"Are you trying to snuff my spark with that!?" Thrust angrily shouted at him.
Thundercracker took one of his legs out of the sand, looking back at his partner in annoyance.
"Hey, it wasn't my fault you were in the way! If you just stayed down, you would have been fine, and those Autobots would have been scrap!"
"You really want to blame this one on me!? I swear, I'm ready to turn you into–"
"Wait… Where did they go?"
Both Decepticons turned to the two Autobots running for the solid road, transforming into their alt-modes, and flooring it away from them.
"Scrap! Let's get them!"
Thundercracker nodded as he transformed into his jet mode and flew for the fleeing Autobot, while Thrust matched his speed with his regular form.
And the hunt began.
"We have a problem."
Ratchet worked tirelessly on multiple keyboards and monitors as he overlooked the situations of both Autobot duos. Optimus and Bumblebee were facing the main force while Ironhide and Hollowpoint were retreating from two combat-moduled Seekers. Both had the odds against them, and both had no backup.
"Ironhide, report! Can you escape the Seekers?"
"Those two are on our exhaust pipes, and Thrust is gaining on us!"
"Must be the combat module affecting him. Past battles with modules say that everyone is affected differently. In Thrust's case, it had to affect his speed. And as for Thundercracker–"
"He's taking his namesake very seriously!" Hollowpoint screamed out as he joined the comms, "The maniac's cracking the damn air like he's Soundwave!"
Ratchet then corrected, "No, it's worse. Thundercracker's whole frame is now dedicated to sonic attacks. They'll be more powerful than what Soundwave could do."
"So we're even more screwed than I thought! Great!"
Ratchet then heard the sounds of screeching tires and blaster fire through the comms, and his concern practically skyrocketed.
"Just keep driving and keep a safe distance," Ratchet quickly switched to another monitor, and urged, "Optimus, the Seekers have acquired their modules. Ironhide and Hollowpoint are on the evasive."
"I understand."
Optimus poked out of cover to quickly shoot three Vehicons down as the army shot sheets of lasers and blasts at him from below.
"Can you rendezvous with them?" Ratchet said over the comms.
Optimus was forced to duck to cover as the cliffside he was on was barraged by three tank rounds fired by a transformed Brawl.
"Come on, Prime! Is that the best you've got!?"
"We are currently engaged. Ironhide must ensure Hollowpoint reaches safety," Optimus answered as more tank rounds were fired.
Ratchet complied and the comms were cut, leaving Optimus to gesture to Bumblebee.
"Take down the Prime in my name!" Starscream screamed out as he blasted the Prime's cover.
Though the numbers were, as usual, in the Decepticons' favor, the Prime and muscle car 'Bot was making them work for it. Even the aerial support of Laserbeak was not deterring them.
Aerial support…
Starscream quickly flew upwards, his jet-pedes firing up as he rose in the air to get a better view of the Prime.
Starscream gave a wide grin, "Fall, Autobots!"
He readied his arm-blasters and fired with fervor, peppering them and the ground with a frenzy of lasers. Starscream could not help but laugh as the 'Bots took damage when his shots connected.
What better way to destroy the doubt of his rule than to bring down a Prime!?
A good thought by the new Lord interrupted when both Autobots quickly retaliated with heavy blasts that came too close. Starscream gave a short scream as he bobbed and weaved mid-air, losing his balance and falling to the ground next to Brawl's tank form.
"Careful, Starscream!" Brawl shouted.
Starscream quickly got up and brushed himself off, growling as he did so.
"Those Autobots are dug in! We need more firepower!"
"I am right here, you know!" Brawl responded.
"More than that!" Starscream scanned the battlefield, seeing drone after drone firing back at the enemy, yet unable to do damage.
And then he saw something poke out of the sand. Something metal and… familiar.
Starcream gave a wide grin as he pounded on Brawl's tank form.
"Brawl! Find Soundwave and get this thing up and running!"
As for the 'Bots, they nodded at each other, their strategy made. Optimus and Bumblebee split up, transforming into their alt-modes and speeding to opposite sides of the valley. They evaded blaster fire while splitting the attention of the Decepticons, their cover even more exposed than before. Optimus transformed again to take advantage of their exposure, downing multiple Vehicons in the way of him and Starscream, who was more focused on watching Brawl and Soundwave scrounge about through the sand.
But within Optimus, was the feeling. The feeling of giving one chance.
Optimus raised his blaster, loudly saying, "Starscream! You must cease your search for weapons of mass destruction! For the sake of the Earth and its people, you must not go down this path!"
"Lord Starscream, the systems have been repaired," Soundwave said, retracting his data tentacles from the ground.
Starscream simply grinned and stared off at the Prime.
"If you wish to preserve life so much, then surrender! Surrender, and I won't use these weapons on you!"
Optimus heard Starscream's answer, and he simply responded by powering up his blaster and pointing it right at the Decepticon leader.
Starscream's response was to dig his servos into the sand below, gripping tightly…
And pulling up a large, mounted minigun, now fully armed and dangerous with an unsettlingly deep yet rising droning sound. And he set his sights on the Prime.
"You want my weapons!? Then come and get me!"
A hailstorm of energy blasted from the mounted gun, barraging the pillars of red sandstone and creating a smokescreen of red dust.
Starscream scoffed in disbelief before giving a short laugh.
"What do you say to that, Prime!?"
Starscream stared at the dust cloud as it cleared, and found… nothing. The Prime was still alive… for now.
Back in Cap'n's Catches…
Aiko was still racking her brain at what she just heard. Jason and Vivian Judge are… anti-war? No. No, she must have heard them wrong.
"Uh, forgive me, I have to ask. You're anti-war?" Aiko said, hiding her shock.
"That's correct… Kind of," said Vivian.
"Kind of? What does that mean?"
Jason interjected, "Oh Vivi. That's a big oversimplification."
"Right. Sorry, hun."
"No, no. Go back and explain. Because I can't understand it," urged Aiko.
Jason sighed, "Very well. Vivi?"
With a struggle, Vivian pulled a card out of her purse and gave it to Aiko. On the bone-color card were their names, their number, and a plainly stylized title 'Soldier's Respite' right next to a seated veteran. Underneath that was a subtitle: Veteran's Therapy Center.
"We have a program for veterans to recover and heal after their experiences abroad. We started it quite a while ago. About thirty years, if I got it right."
"That's right, Vivi. It's actually how we met. We treated many poor veterans together until we created our own practice."
This… made even less sense to Aiko.
"I just… I'm confused. How can you be anti-war when… when your son…"
Aiko trailed off, silencing her last words.
Jason cleared his throat as though to ready himself.
"Okay, I'll say the same thing I've said to all the fresh faces we see. We're against the war, not the soldier. They did their duty and they served their country… But then you must ask yourself: what for, and now what?"
Aiko answered with, "They serve to defend. And for that, they get sent home."
Vivian jumped in, saying, "Yes, but it's never as simple as that, is it? A long time ago, we had a world war to save freedom and democracy. But now? Wars happen, more likely than not, to get resources and sell weapons for the private military industry. Nothing really honorable, nothing to really defend, it's just… a war over money."
"So those soldiers… what? Wasted their lives? Their service? Are you telling me no war is ever justified?"
Jason raised his hands and said, "Hold on, Miss, it's not that. Soldiers do what they do, hopefully, to protect. To defend. Be it our fellow Americans, or even the civilians of the country they're in. The problem is that the direction of the war could change because someone shelved out enough money as an investment. Innocents can become targets if they're in the way of something valuable. And a war that could save thousands upon thousands can end if it's just not profitable enough. And how should a soldier feel about that afterwards? That all their effort was turned around? Wasted? Betrayed?"
Aiko had no words for that. Because she knew of some who felt the very same way. Who fought tooth and nail. Who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into a fight. And then it turned into nothing?
She turned her attention once again to the card in her hand.
If his parents were like this, then why did Jasper?…
"I think I understand now…"
Aiko got up and pocketed the card while pulling out her wallet.
"Thank you kindly for meeting up with me. It's been a very enlightening lunch, and I think I know how to help out Jasper. But unfortunately, I have to cut it short. I'm expected soon. Here's for the lunch."
Aiko dropped two twenties on the table and waved a short goodbye to the couple, who eventually shrugged off the awkward departure to continue eating their sandwiches.
In the desert…
"Keep driving!"
"Aaaaaaaahhh!"
That was most of the exchange between Ironhide and Hollowpoint as they drove down the path while avoiding blaster fire. Thundercracker was flying above them, while Thrust was darting from side to side trying to swipe them.
"What do we do, Ironhide!?"
This time, Ironhide was silent. He was focused. He was struggling to think up a plan to both fight the amped-up Seekers and protect Hollowpoint.
Until it came upon the horizon: a labyrinth of sandstone walls three times taller than Ironhide himself. A few openings revealed many more tight, sharp paths that would be dangerous for any foolish humans looking to speed through them in an off-roader.
"Over there! Follow me!"
Ironhide drove off, and Hollowpoint urgently sped up to follow.
"Don't you dare!"
Thrust screamed out as he turned his body back, getting ready for another sweep-in. He blasted forward, servos out and ready to grab. His path was clear, with Hollowpoint soon to be in his clutches.
Ironhide was quick: he transformed and jumped with his barely-formed legs to blast his arm cannon at Thrust. It never hit its target, but it forced the Seeker to dodge and miss a Hollowpoint who almost spun out of control.
"Stay low, Hollowpoint!" Ironhide said just as they both got in.
Thrust was quick to follow. But the maze of sandstone made for tight and irregular paths. At every corner, he would speed up only to find another divot in the path. He was finding himself just following the dust clouds thrown up by the Autobots' wheels. On one large red dust cloud, Thrust flew right through it as fast as possible… only to find a not-so-spacious hub with multiple forks in the path. He brought himself to a hard stop, still hitting his headpiece into one of many walls. Prying himself from the course wall, he found no tracks, no dust clouds, no roar of an engine… nothing.
Where did they go?
"Thrust!?"
Thrust shook his head as Thundercracker screamed at him through the comms.
"I lost them."
"Don't let them get away! We must capture the new one for Starscream!"
"I know! Listen, they're stuck in here now! Keep circling until they come out!"
"I don't take orders from you, Thrust!"
Thrust snarled at the response, yet witnessed Thundercracker flying by in a circular pattern around the desert maze.
"But I'll be sure to find them first!" Thundercracker continued.
He won't follow, but he'll sure as Primus take the idea?
Thrust gave off a growl as he rose from the ground, and bolted down the most likely path. He'll be sure to leave Thundercracker in the dust without a doubt.
And so Thrust left the maze hub alone… which was perfect for the Autobot pair, who were hiding in a lowly cave opening and watching from below. Ironhide was brushing sand off his chassis, while Hollowpoint was dead still.
"We lost them… for now. It won't be long until they turn this entire maze over and find us," Ironhide said with an echo just before he coughed hard, holding his cracked chestpiece.
"Ironhide!"
Hollowpoint snapped out of his stillness to look over Ironhide. While his outside damage seemed superficial, his coughing told otherwise about his insides.
Ironhide held up a servo, saying, "I'm fine. The problem is getting you out of here functioning."
"And you."
Ironhide scoffed, "Yeah, kid. And me… I shouldn't have let you join in on the firefight."
"Wh… What? Ironhide, I know you're good, but I don't know if you alone could have stopped them from finding those modules. If I weren't there, I don't know if… if…"
Hollowpoint's optics were drawn back to Ironhide's chestpiece damage, and his spark sank as he felt rather… responsible.
"Hey, hey, it's not your fault, kid. Okay? Stuff like this happens, and we Autobots always get through it."
"... Okay… Okay, then. How will we get out of this one, then?"
"Well, hiding is already out of the question. The light from the ground bridge would bring them down on us faster than rust on aft metal. And getting into a fight with them? It would be one-sided."
"Not that one-sided, right? We're still kicking."
"Perhaps… Wait… They're still getting used to their combat modules. Thrust can't bank to save his spark, and Thundercracker–"
"His sonic attack has massive recoil. He nearly buried himself just from using it once. And if he shoots it wrong, he could hit Thrust instead. If we could–"
"Not a chance. You're staying safe here. I'll draw them away, and do what I do best."
Ironhide flourished his arm cannons as a point, only to grab the rough cave wall to balance himself, his other servo at his chestpiece. Hollowpoint could not see it any other way: Ironhide would lose if he fought them alone. He needed his help. But how could he convince him?
"Ironhide… let me help you. I don't want you to lose to those amped-up maniacs. So let me–"
"Absolutely not, kid. I've got my orders, and you have yours."
"I will not follow orders if it means you sacrifice yourself for me!... I won't allow it. Either we both get out of here, or not. No other way about it."
The Autobots stood there in silence. Internally, Hollowpoint was on edge. Did he go too far? Did he step out of line? Every second without an answer was another where he questioned if he said the right thing.
But eventually, Ironhide broke the silence with a sigh. Then a chuckle.
"Quite the savior you are, aren't you? Optimus is not going to like this… Fine. But if you get offlined, I will scrap you."
As Ironhide lifted a closed servo, Hollowpoint couldn't help but laugh nervously. He fist-bumped his fellow Autobot in agreement, and they both turned to the cave opening.
"Alright, kid. I have an idea."
Autobot Hideout - Missile Silo
"Optimus, stay on the evasive—hold them off!"
While Ratchet was shouting over the comms as he searched through some computer records, the ground bridge opened for Major Aiko to run right through. She may have heard that something went wrong, but she didn't know by how much.
"Ratchet, what's happened!?"
Ratchet seemed too enamored and focused to even register what she said. But before she could repeat her question, she saw Jackson hurriedly listening to his radio and Ralph rampantly typing on his laptop.
"You two, report! What is going on!?"
Ralph was the first to answer with, "It's bad, Ma'am. The Decepticons found two different weapons stashes, and are attracting way too much attention. I'm spinning a story about a gas leak exploding out in the desert right now."
Jackson put his hand over his radio, saying, "No chatter so far. But with how much noise there is in each fight, someone's bound to go looking, and we'll have a big problem."
"We have a big problem no matter what."
All the humans turned to Ratchet, who was staring at a monitor with proper concern. More particularly, he was concerned about what was on the monitor.
Aiko asked, "What is that?"
"A heavy fusion repeater."
On the monitor was a 3D image of a mounted minigun-looking weapon, with a large triple-barrelled cluster at the end and a rather large body compared to the rest of its design. It looked like a strange enough design, made more dread-inducing when they saw its scale next to a 'Bot whose headpiece barely inched over the minigun's height.
"A devastating mounted weapon: high rate of fire and high firepower. I've seen one of these completely reduce platoons of Autobots down to aluminum flakes for well over a solar cycle. They were made to erase anything in their path. And the Decepticons found one."
"Oh, God…" Aiko said, before demanding, "We need to get them out of there. Can you ground bridge them out now?"
"They wouldn't have the time to go through a ground bridge without getting shredded by that gun. And even then, we can't let the Decepticons have that weapon."
"One gun cannot be enough to turn the tide of this war."
"I have high doubts it's just one, Major. Decepticon weapon's crates are large enough to arm their armies. It's not a stretch to say they can find even more of those guns... or worse."
"So we have to destroy them? Can the three 'Bots handle that?"
"It's only Optimus and Bumblebee dealing with the guns. Ironhide is dealing with Hollowpoint."
Aiko gritted her teeth at the mention of Hollowpoint.
"Jasper is still out there?"
"I'm afraid so, Major. And he and Ironhide are dealing with the Seekers powered up by combat modules."
"That little… And why is he engaging with Seekers?"
Ratchet scoffed with frustration and said, "I don't know! He was ordered to come back after he found the weapons, but he hasn't! Now let me focus on this."
"I swear, that boy is going to be the death of me," Aiko muttered with a sigh.
Jackson turned off his radio as he palmed his forehead in thought.
"Ma'am, now is not the time to focus on Hollowpoint. Ironhide is there to protect him, and they're off the radar."
"Meanwhile, Optimus is getting peppered with hot Energon… If we want to help Jasper, we need to free up some people… What can you tell me about these mounted guns, Ratchet? Any weaknesses?"
Ratchet was broken from his focus and brought up the weapon's schematics again.
"Well… They were powerful for a reason. They have a large Energon power cell that can last for eons. But they usually never did due to their 'combustible nature'."
"So they break easy?"
"Hit it with enough force, and it would explode."
Aiko gave the answer some thought, and smacked her hands together.
"Soldiers, follow me to the Armory right now! Ratchet, tell Optimus that support is on the way. Let's bury those guns back in the desert."
In the Sandstone Labyrinth…
Thrust scowled as he dashed back and forward above the sandstone maze, furiously searching for the two Autobots. How can two massive land-locked alt modes be this hard to find!?
Thrust's comms suddenly fired up, and he growled as he heard Thundercracker's voice.
"Thrust! We've gotta wrap this up fast! Starscream's already dealing with the other Autobots! If we don't finish this up–"
"I know! Just shut up and keep searching for the–"
Thrust then heard it: the roar of a truck engine. Quickly, he found a familiar black truck driving down a tight corridor. He could not stop a grin from spreading across his faceplate.
"Thundercracker, I found Ironhide! Now pursuing!"
"I'll keep an optic out for the other one!"
Thrust flared his engines hard, his form almost a blur as he left a flaming trail behind him. It was five nanocycles before Ironhide was in front of him, and all he would need was one more to grab him and bring him down. Finally, he would prove himself the better Seeker. The better leader. The better–
But something went wrong. Just as he would have tackled the truck, Ironhide transformed and leaped out of the way with Thrust's servos barely grazing his paint job. Thrust couldn't even look back in shock as he braced himself to crash into the sandstone wall. His body took some damage, but not as much as his pride. He shook away his double vision in anger. Ironhide could run, but not for–
Thrust turned back to the heavy clanking of metal and his optics went wide. Ironhide barrelled into him, his shoulderpad forcing the Decepticon into the wall once again.
He was on the attack!? The idiot!
Thrust swung back at a blocking Ironhide, then immediately jump-started his engines to fly back up. But he couldn't: because Ironhide grabbed his pede and weighed him down.
"Get! Off! My! Leg!"
"Make me!"
Thrust couldn't help it: he tumbled back to the ground due to lack of balance, with the Autobot still attached to him. Ironhide wasted no time beating his chestpiece with his servos, and the shocked Thrust could only stay on the defensive.
"Looks like you need some help, Thrust."
Confused, Thrust noticed Thundercracker's jet mode smugly hovering well above them.
"I can very much handle this one Auto–"
Thrust was interrupted as Ironhide's fist clocked his faceplate.
"Yes! Fine! I need help! Fire off a shock wave!"
Thundercracker transformed mid-air and hovered, amused at the sight of the big Ironhide pummeling his partner. But still, he could not just allow the Autobot to go untouched.
"Okay. This will sting a bit."
Thundercracker powered up his shock wave generator, his chestpiece surging in power as a droning noise grew deeper. Once he brought down Ironhide, he and only he will get the other one.
And a shot rang off, but not from Thundercracker. He had no time to think as a tank round hit his backside. He howled in pain as his balance was shot, and his shock wave attack shot upward and sent him to the hard ground. What just happened!?
Thundercracker barely had time to get up as he saw a tank flooring it in his direction. It transformed and a terrified Hollowpoint screamed a battle cry as he launched himself at the Decepticon. Hollowpoint then wrapped his arms around the Decepticon from behind, his shock wave generator pointed away from him.
"I got him! Now what, Ironhide!?" Hollowpoint asked desperately.
"Keep holding him! I'll deal with the modules!"
Thundercracker couldn't believe it: two Autobots had the upper hand on them? On him!? Despite his combat module!? This shouldn't have been an even fight, this should have been pest control! And yet his power was about to be taken from him like that!?
He couldn't allow that. He wouldn't allow that.
In a struggle, Thundercracker used all his strength to turn his body. Though Hollowpoint had a death grip, he couldn't stop all of the Decepticon's movement. And so the two kept turning, bit by bit, until Thundercracker faced Thrust and Ironhide.
And then he powered up his shock wave generator.
"What are you… Hey, stop! Stop!" Hollowpoint urged his prisoner.
"Brace yourself, Thrust! This will hurt!"
"Thundercracker, what are you doing!?"
"You'll survive, Thrust… But you…" Thundercracker stared dead-on at Ironhide, his tone doubtful.
The droning sound of the shock wave generator was close to its peak. It was ready to fire.
"No!"
Hollowpoint screamed out as he suddenly jolted the Decepticon to the side. The shock wave fired out to shatter one wall, while he and Thundercracker were sent flying to the other wall hard. Hollowpoint felt the non-existent breath be knocked out of him as he was used as a cushion between the hard rock and the enemy Seeker. His grip loosened by consequence.
"Hollowpoint, look out!"
Ironhide's warning was too late. Thundercracker immediately swung behind and struck Hollowpoint's headpiece hard and knocked him back. Before he could recover, an arm blaster was pointing right at him. In the next second, Ironhide pointed his own arm cannon at the Seeker in his grasp.
And like that, they were facing each other in a stand-off: Ironhide holding Thrust at gunpoint, and Thundercracker doing the same with a scared Hollowpoint.
"Well, it seems we're at an impasse. How about that?" Thundercracker said mockingly.
"Put it down, Thundercracker. Or I'll put him down," Ironhide primed his arm cannon, its chamber powering up soundly.
Hollowpoint was too scared to even move. He didn't know what to do. In this one moment, his hopes rested on Ironhide's shoulders.