You're Not Alone: Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Dark Retrieval Part 4

Saberblade’s hands reached out for both of her wingblades and she brought them out with fluid like movement. Holding both swords in each hand, she spread her legs apart as she emitted a growl from between her teeth. She knew that she was unskilled against one of the mightiest of the Decepticons because her training had been incomplete despite only having a thousand years of practising with Landmine and Exillion.

Exillion... the closet friend she’d ever known and who’d made her life worth a living besides Hot Shot, and who had admitted his love towards her. She dimmed her optics for a moment as she thought of him. It pained her greatly to think about him at a time like this, but the thought of him gave her the strength and courage that she needed to fight off a threat.

Turning her optics back online and looking at the Decepticon coldly, Saberblade stood up straight and eyed him as she tried to get in his details. She hadn’t seen him before, but she remembered the stories about his infamous blackmailing that he used to deceive those that were closet to him.

“Soundwave,” Blaster growled. “I should’ve known that you would have the slag to track us down. How did you find us?”

“Simple,” Soundwave answered as he stood up straight, his red optics piercing into his old rival’s own. “I got whiff of your friend’s plan when I sensed her need to rescue you and the other fools. Your minds are so easy to read when you fail to guard them.”

Saberblade frowned. Can Soundwave really read our minds, and how did he know that I was a femme? she thought to herself. She looked towards Blaster from the corner of her optics. And what’s with the attitude towards the other, and how do they know each other?

“And why didn’t you tell Shockwave about reading our friend’s mind?” Blaster asked as his hands clenched into fists.

“My loyalties do not lie with Shockwave. They lie with Megatron and Megatron alone. Considering how I could’ve told him while he was on Earth, he would’ve came running back here to deal with you himself, but I cannot since his mind is more focused on capturing all the Minicons and beating Optimus Prime to death, as well as make him beg like the dog he is,” Soundwave explained.

Saberblade growled angrily. No one talked about her adoptive father and got away with it! She was about to take a step forward when Ratchet gently grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. He leaned over her shoulder, and whispered, “Don’t let him get to you. No matter what he says, just act like you’re really not Prime’s adoptive kid. Got it?”

Saberblade nodded and refrained from attacking the Decepticons Communications Officer. The only thing she did was clench her fists to the point of making them bleed as her fingers dug deeply into her metallic skin. She had to keep her temper from flaring.

“So you’ve come here to capture us and take us back to our cages?” Blaster asked.

“No, I’m here to destroy you. I would be glad that Megatron would credit me for killing you instead of having Shockwave executing you when he had the chance.”

“Always wanting to be on top, huh, Soundwave?” Blaster asked coldly.

Soundwave ignored his eternal rival’s words. “Enough talk, let’s get this show on the road.”

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” said Blaster as he cracked his knuckles.

“All talk. No Shock.”

Blaster instantly leapt into action by pressing a button on top of his chest and a small window opened up to eject three cassettes that transformed into a rhino, a lion, and two transformed into robots. “You remember my old friends Ramhorn, Steeljaw, Raindance, and Grand Slam don’t you?” he asked.

“How were you able to get them to transform after being injected with the Transfixatron?” Soundwave hissed as he watched the cassettes transform to their supposed forms.

“It’s called a counter virus, you slag heap!” Saberblade spat, catching Soundwave’s attention. “While you were busy on a mission, I took the time to create a counter virus in a lab that was owned by you when Blaster told me that you used that Transfixatron to prevent his cassettes from transforming. So I did quick bit of research and used whatever possible skills to counter the effects of the device. I guess it turns out that it worked after all.”

Blaster laughed. “You’re the man, Saberblade,” he praised as the four little robots got into fighting stance. “Now let’s definitely get this show on the road. So let’s go for round fifteen, what do you say?”

Soundwave growled and pressed a button on his hips that brought out a panther, a bird, and two robots. “I believe you remember Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble and Frenzy, do you?” he asked.

“I remember like it was just yesterday.”

“Good,” Soundwave answered as he lifted a finger. “Cassettes attack!”

Blaster called the same action and the two arch rivals charged towards the other as the little robots collided one another. Neither Saberblade nor her group moved as Blaster threw a punch in Soundwave’s face plate, dislodging it from his face and it clattered to the ground, revealing no mouth except for some kind of speaker underneath his nose.

Soundwave turned his shoulder cannon on Blaster and released a blast. It was so closed ranged that they thought that Blaster was finished right away, but luckily, Blaster managed to dodge his head to the left and threw an uppercut into Soundwave’s chin, leaving a small dent in it.

Ravage and Steeljaw were wrapped up in a ball as the cats tried to bite a limb off. But the lion cassette’s mane prevented Ravage from getting a good grip on his neck because of its sheer bulkiness. Steeljaw swiped a paw across Ravage’s face that left deep claw marks on his right cheek. Snarling, Ravage leapt forward as his forepaws placed themselves on Steeljaw’s chest, pushing him onto his back, and he tried to go for the vulnerable oxygen circuit in his throat.

Rumble and Frenzy, were not fairing all that well against Raindance and Grand Slam. The Decepticon cassette pair picked an opponent and tried to take them out on their own, but they both failed and tried to use their ability to create small shockwaves, causing Raindance and Grand Slam to fall on their skid-plates. Growling, the Autobot cassette pair then combined to form Slamdance and tackled the two without a second’s hesitation, determined to get the upper hand right away.

Ramhorn was doing poorly against Laserbeak due to his poor optic sight. In his frustration on not getting the bird-brain, the rhino cassette let off a furious bellow and charged blindly whenever he could, which didn’t make the situation any better than it already was. Laserbeak’s claws grabbed the rhino by the tail and lifted him in the air, his hoofed feet clawing helplessly in mid-air.

Blaster was thrown a good distance away as Soundwave picked him up and threw him like a ragdoll. Blaster landed on his side and took out his gun in a swift movement before pulling the trigger and releasing a powerful red blast that headed straight for the Decepticon. But Soundwave counterattacked with a blast of his own that resulted in an explosion, kicking up dust and rocks and causing the Autobots to shield their optics from the blast.

“What just happened?” Saberblade asked as she tried to see through the dust, but it was no use. The dust was too much for her sensitive optics to handle and she felt tears of Energon that threatened to take them out. She noticed that no one had answered her question, and realised that the blast had created too much sounds for her to be heard over.

Ratchet and the others did not seem to be affected by the sound, and it confused Saberblade. Lifting an optic ridge, she tried to read their facial expressions, but the dust was picking up so much that she had trouble seeing what they were thinking. Sighing, she returned her attention back onto the fight as the dusk cleared and her optics widened in shock.

Both Soundwave and Blaster were locked together in a deadly grip. Soundwave’s wrist knife (that had appeared out of nowhere) was extremely close to Blaster’s throat while the Autobot Communications Officer was kneeling on the ground with his back being pushed backwards as his right arm was raised up with the knife sticking right through it, causing sparks of red electricity to spark dangerously. The knife’s point was just touching his throat that had caused a slight bleed in his neck armour.

All eight of the cassette bots were lying on the ground unconscious. They didn’t appear to be harmed, except they were covered in bruises and dents from their scuffle with each other.

The only main concern was the struggle between the two Communications Officers, and so far, none of them were about to give up until the other backed down or died.

Blaster was having a hard time trying to prevent Soundwave’s knife from slicing his throat out. The more he struggled on trying to remove the knife from his stinging arm, the harder it became for him to keep on standing against the deadly assault.

“Come on, Blaster!” Hound called from afar. “You can kick that Decepticon’s aft! We’re right behind you!”

Saberblade decided to add her words of encouragement. “Give that Soundwave a piece of your mind! Show him what kind of Autobot you’re made of!”

Grimlock, Ratchet, and Mirage then also added their own words that seemed to give Blaster some strength. The more they cried, the stronger he felt to overpower Soundwave. Adding sheer power to his back, Blaster began to move upwards as he tried to muster up the strength to throw a punch with his left fist, but his arm surged with pain and he realised that, during the severe dust kick up, some debris had gotten lodged in the joint that prevented it from moving.

Growling, Blaster began to push himself upwards as his legs strained underneath him painfully. He would not be beaten like this! He would rather die standing up than just fall at the feet of this merciless Decepticon. Still pushing himself upwards, Blaster then pulled his head back and moved forward so fast that Soundwave did not get the chance to dodge it. Blaster’s head connected with Soundwave’s forehead and the Decepticon stumbled backwards as he struggled to regain himself, but this was the moment Blaster needed.

Struggling hard, Blaster finally removed his wrist from Soundwave’s wrist knife and lashed out with his injured wrist and punched Soundwave in the chest, winding the Decepticon as he coughed up Energon from his mouth. Blaster then stood up and lashed out with his left calf that connected with Soundwave’s side and he was sent flying into a few rusted buildings that collapsed on top of him.

Saberblade and the other Autobots cheered as Blaster stumbled towards Soundwave, clutching his injured shoulder that bled like hell. As he stood in front of the rubble, Blaster breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to his friends, smiling his appreciation.

But a groan from behind him caught his attention and he turned back to the big pile of rubble. To his surprise, Soundwave’s fist burst out from the debris and he slowly crawled out like the worm he was. Crawling on his hands and knees, he looked up at Blaster and aimed his broken shoulder cannon at him, but only smoke escaped from its dented muzzle and he chucked it away in frustration. He stood up, but he staggered and Blaster grabbed his neck armour, holding him close to his face, despite his injured wrist.

“Consider this rivalry at an end,” Blaster whispered harshly as he threw Soundwave a good distance away. The Decepticon landed face first in the dirt and came to an abrupt halt. The halt came so fast that Soundwave’s head twisted in an odd way when his neck broke.

The battle… had finally come to an end.

Saberblade and the other Autobots rushed towards their injured friend as Ratchet reached him first and supported the Communications Officer on his shoulder. Blaster’s breathing was laboured as his legs gave way underneath him.

Hound sent Blaster’s cassette bots back into cassette form and placed them back into his chest cavity. Blaster nodded his thanks.

Saberblade looked over her shoulder and noticed that the cargo train was about to leave. They had wasted enough time trying to get Soundwave out of the way. “We have to go now. The cargo train is about to leave, so we don’t have much time. We’ll tend to Blaster’s wounds when we’re on board.” she said, catching their attention.

They nodded and the group stumbled towards the cargo train as it prepared to leave. As Ratchet threw Blaster into an empty trailer, the others climbed in after him, while Saberblade climbed in last because she had to keep an optic out for any approaching Decepticons.

No one noticed the faint glow of Soundwave’s red optics as someone with pink optics clouded his vision and he knew no more.

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As the cargo train trudged along down the deadly path, Ratchet tendered to Blaster’s injuries, despite him not having much of his medical tools. Grimlock and Mirage sat on their own deep in their thoughts while Hound and Saberblade talked about their plans. Saberblade told Hound that Skyfire was coming to pick them up and what the signal was going to be when he came.

Hound nodded when she finished. “So you think he’ll know where the cargo train is?” he asked as he looked at Blaster as he gave a cry of pain when Ratchet removed another shred from his arm.

“I’m sure he will,” Saberblade answered as she placed a hand over her optics and removed the red paint that First Aid had put on. She then removed the stickers of the Decepticon symbols and brushed some of the black paint off to reveal her Autobot symbols, as well as some of her blue and purple armour. “We just have to have a little faith and pray to Primus that Skyfire will find us in time before this train gets to its next destination.”

Hound nodded as Saberblade rubbed her optics tiredly. She was exhausted from this whole mission of rescuing her comrades and collecting the data that Jetfire needed. As good as it felt to be out of that horrible place, Saberblade swore to herself that she would never take another suicidal mission, even if Jetfire ordered it. Leaning back against the wall, she closed her optics for a moment while keeping her audio receptors alert in case Skyfire’s engines would come from the distance.

Suddenly her audio receptors reacted when the sound of a jet engine reached her. Standing up, she looked down at the other Autobots and saw that they were resting their optics. She looked outside and spotted a huge Cybertronian jet that was silver with red stripes on its wings and sides. Taking out a wingblade, Saberblade then rushed towards the outside of the trailer and lifted the blade towards any light that may reflect its side. Come on Skyfire, spot this! she thought.

The Cybertronian jet had and it swooped down towards them before turning sideways and its right wing sliced at the connecter, cutting the trailer off from the rest of the train. The trailer came to an abrupt halt and the other Autobots woke up with a start.

Saberblade turned to them, a warm smile on her silver lips. “Come on, let’s go home,” she said as she hopped out of the trailer and stood beside it. They all nodded as Hound and Ratchet supported Blaster and carefully climbed out while Grimlock and Mirage followed in suit.

“Good to see you again, Saberblade,” Skyfire greeted as the group of Autobots climbed inside and Saberblade stood in front of the jet. “Jetfire was getting a little worried you know?”

Saberblade nodded. “Well, you can tell Jetfire that my mission was a success with the information being stole right under their noses. Soundwave found us out, but Blaster beat him into slag,” she explained as she climbed inside Skyfire.

“Tell me about it along the way, would you?” Skyfire asked as he prepared for take off. Saberblade nodded as Ratchet and Sound placed Blaster on a medical bed while Grimlock and Mirage strapped themselves in their seats, along with Saberblade.

Once they were strapped in, Skyfire released his thrusters and shot into the sky as fast as he could go.

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Saberblade remembered very little of the trip back home to Iacon City. She remembered flashes of Blaster being wheeled into the Med-Bay with Ratchet, Hound, Grimlock and Mirage following since their injuries had to be treated as well. She also remembered handing the disk to Jetfire and telling him about the mission, as well as the storage of the files in her CPU in case the Decepticons destroyed the disk. She even remembered being taken into the medical room and being examined by First Aid, the paint being removed, and being sent away to get a good recharge.

So much had happened during those flashes, but the last thing she remembered was falling on her recharge berth and having a dreamless sleep. Her head spun a little, but it was a minor headache. Sometimes she came in and out of sleep, but she always drifted back into sleep mode. Remembering so little of what happened, but if she remembered correctly, Jetfire advised that she take the time off for a month by taking it easy. She had agreed to it and she knew that.

Sighing, sleep came over quicker than she realised. But she couldn’t help but think about Thundercracker and Skywarp, especially when they were her cousins, besides Starscream’s.