Slipstream cut through the air as she dodged any chances of one good crash. Danger was the name of the game, one wrong move and both she or Starscream would be scrap metal, maybe both at the rate of their speed.
If there were any woodland critters around, they would have been rendered homeless by now with the amount of destruction that Slipstream made.
It was a surprise that there were no casualties of any sort, perhaps maybe a few insects, but no animals were harmed. Though, a Decepticon could care less.
What mattered the most to Slipstream as of now, was ripping Starscream's head out of his torso.
"If you had earned the title of Air Commander, then I may have been impressed, sadly you only got that rank because of Thundercracker!"
"Quiet!"
Starscream shifted to his bot mode and fired back at her, his null ray struck her square on the nose of her jet, he smirked as she was paralyzed for a few seconds, enough time for a wing to slam into a tree.
Starscream laughed triumphantly. "You are as foolish as ever you treacherous snake!"
But sadly, he had underestimated her fury. A hand latched onto his ankle and he was pulled into the same tree Slipstream had that broke her flight. Both seekers fell to the ground with an echoing thud.
Both writhe in pain as they rested against the dirt, they both took a short break to catch their breath. Starscream couldn't help but notice how the greenery above him was like the stars, the light that peered through the thicket was somewhat beautiful, even in the afternoon.
It would seem the whole chase had left these two winded and tired, and if anything, Slipstream was out of ammunition by now with all that shooting. Both simultaneously sat up and glared at each other, Slipstream even bared her rows of jagged teeth.
"I will end you!" She made her claim.
"Many had said the same, but here I am."
Slowly, the two rose back to their feet. Slipstream brandished her claws while Starscream, his sword. Step by step, the two walked away from the tree without breaking away from each other's glare.
Starscream drew his sword against the ground, it screeched a horrid tone.
None spoke a word, nature itself was dead silent. The trees were still and the wind was motionless.
Finally, the silence was shattered as both roared with fury. The seekers charged at each other with the intent to kill, when they clashed once more, the earth shook under the combination of their titan-like strength.
Slipstream caught Starscream's full strength with her claws, but she knew she was in trouble with the difference between unarmed and armed. He had more reach over her, one wrong move and she would be cut in two.
They broke off each other, Slipstream delivered a flurry of swipes in hope of leaving a fatal wound, but the seeker before her had proven himself with his sword skills.
This was a surprise to her for it was the first time she witnessed Starscream with a sword. What she did not know was that Starscream had a trick over her, he knew her better than she does herself. He did teach her everything he knew.
Starscream kept his eye on her form and stance, he watched her joints with careful thought and waited for an opening. As much as he wanted to goad it over her, Starscream knew it would be unwise to point out her flaws, for it would only take away his advantage.
They clashed, sword against claws, their steel echoed through the forest. Slipstream snarled as her frustration grew, while Starscream only fueled the fire in her chest with a simple grin.
Victory was just an arms reach away, and he would have gotten it if it weren't for...
"Starscream!" Brawl dropped out from above and connected his fist against Starscream's mouth.
The femme recoiled back as she understood what had just happened.
Starscream had only a moment to even realize the situation before another Decepticon entered the scene, Starscream only saw a flash of blue before he was sent to the ground.
"Dropkick to Shatter, we have Starscream in our possession."
Starscream stared wide-eyed upon the two larger 'Cons, he had run out of time. He was once again outnumbered, worst, he was disarmed. His sword had fallen out of his hand when Brawl first struck.
"Been a while, Brawl." Starscream smiled sheepishly.
The tank strode over to the seeker and grabbed him by his neck. "Yes indeed, all hail Starscream." Brawl said mockingly before he struck him again.
Starscream was left heaving in pain on the ground.
Dropkick quickly pressed his foot against Starscream's back to keep him down, Slipstream could only stare as the two placed cuffs on Starscream.
After all that trouble, they finally caught him, the one Decepticon the DJD despised the most. All it took was one good distraction and two dangerous mechs.
Brawl pulled the seeker up to his feet. "I've been waiting so long for this. Of all the prisons you sent me to, it had to be Grindcore."
"Oh, but it had such good reviews!" Starscream teased.
"Where are the other Combaticons?"
"Wouldn't you like to know? Come on Brawl, we go way back! Without me, you and the others wouldn't even be the Combaticons that you are today!"
Slipstream sneered. "Shut it, seeker."
"I will not be silenced! We real Decepticons are believers of free speech!"
Dropkick sighed. "When is that damn Bridge opening!?"
"Hold it right there, busters!"
All heads turned towards a small little creature that stood on the roots of a large tree. She was small, and to say that she was human was a bit inaccurate. For she had the wrong pair of ears and wings.
"That's right, I'm here to save your butt, Starscream!"
"Ew," Dropkick said.
"The heck is that!?" Brawl nearly shot Dash right then and there, but his disgust was stronger than his thirst for blood.
"Ugh," Starscream was honestly disappointed to have Dash there with him. "Is the others coming? I'd rather be saved by the smart one, well at least you brought Shockwave or Smokescreen right?"
"Well, about Shockwave... I kinda left him in the dust to get here." She told him.
"Rainbow Dash, you better save me!" He snapped at her.
"Rainbow Dash?" Slipstream stared.
The Decepticons were not ready for the amazing powers of Rainbow Dash.
Her speed was unmatched, no optics in the universe could see her with how fast she was going. Brawl was the first to feel the brunt of Dash's wrath, he tumbled over his feet as something impacted against his cheek.
Dropkick had no idea what happened, all he knew was that something took down Brawl with one swift move. Dash appeared on top of Slipstream's head with a prideful smile, one that said "Yes, I did kick a tank!"
But sadly, her foot suffered for her actions. "Gah, bad idea to go around kicking giant robots."
She dodged in time before the seeker could catch her. "Wait, hold still!" Slipstream pleaded.
"Blast it!" Dropkick took aim, Slipstream stood in his way and prevented him from firing. "Move Slipstream!"
"Don't shoot!"
Starscream took this chance and made a run for it. The two Decepticons all snapped towards the seeker on the run, when they attempted to give chase, one hero stood in their way.
"Final warning before I kick your butt, get lost!"
"What is that thing?"
"Don't shoot, that's an order!" Dropkick would be wise to follow Slipstream's demand. "He called you Rainbow Dash..."
"Yeah?"
"The resemblance is uncanny." She leaned forward to examine Dash further. "Your colors match... Do you know who I am?"
Dash stared at the seeker, there was a moment of silence among the three. It was awkward to say the least, Dropkick was confused and disgusted. Brawl still laid on the ground, he was conscious but was too overwhelmed by the fact that he was attacked by something small as a damn scraplet.
Slipstream waited for Dash to answer, Dropkick had better things to do so he went after Starscream who was top priority. Dash tried to stop him, but she only opened herself to Slipstream's attack.
Rainbow Dash felt a giant fist tighten around her, she came face to face with a titan. "What is my name?" She asked Dash once more.
Though she struggled, Dash had taken a few seconds to make a guess, but then she rendered something earlier. "Slipstream?" That was it, the seeker's name, Dash remembered from Rarity's trading card, the one she cherished the most in her deck.
"It is you..." Slipstream seemed to misunderstand, that was merely a guess on Dash's part, but somehow this only solidified what Starscream had told Dash before. "Did Shockwave do this to you? Are you able to transform? I... I think we can work around this."
"W-what?"
"I can't believe it, you were here the whole time." Slipstream almost collapsed, her knees felt so weak as she stared at Dash with an empty gaze.
"Hold on now, I think you got things wrong!"
Slipstream did not listen, she said something in Vosian to her comms. This was bad, she was trapped right after Starscream had escaped, but with Dropkick on his tail.
If she doesn't think of a way out of her predicament, then she'd either face imprisonment or worse, be experimented on. Who knows what they'll do to her, especially when she's being confused as another Rainbow Dash.
"Release the mon'keigh, Slipstream."
"Shockwave," She hissed. "What did you do to my trinemate!?"
"I only recall ever interacting with Thunderblast." He said blankly. "Her triple-changer T-cog was an improvement, I doubt you would say otherwise."
"I'm not talking about Thunderblast!" She whipped around and slammed her face against Shockwave's hand cannon fearlessly. "What did you do to Rainbow Dash!?"
For a moment, Shockwave stared at them both, he did not like being confused. It was not logical for him to be, and it made him furious. "Autobot seeker Rainbow Dash was terminated eons ago, cause of death: Executed by Starscream for treason."
"He did what?" Slipstream shook.
"The one in your hand is not the seeker, but a human." His cannon started to power up. "Now release her and tell me where Starscream is located."
"I don't believe you." She stated. "She's right here, and I will make you turn her back!"
"Illogical." Shockwave decked her across the face, Dash got loose from Slipstream's clutch and soon enough made some distance between her and the giant robots.
"Alright, Shock! Now let's find Starscream before the blue guy finds him first!"
"And what of Brawl?" Shockwave asked as he made sure that Slipstream was out of the picture, no point in killing her now if it only wastes his time.
"You lot go ahead..." Brawl mumbled. "But next time I see any of you, you're all scrapped!"
"Remain disposed." Was all Shockwave said to the Combaticon. "Lead the way, human."
"Ha, I bet Starscream is crying like a little baby without us!"
Starscream felt like he had done this before, he ran with his wrists cuffed, and some lunatics were after him.
Though he wondered what Dash was doing not out of worry, but because he liked the idea of a red smear on the forest floor. That would make an awesome wallpaper for him.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the awful sound of one of the worst alt modes there is, well second. "Dropkick, at least your partner Shatter is a bot of good taste."
"I heard that!" Dropkick crashed down right in front of Starscream, guns already loaded. "Both of us were grounders, you know?"
"Ah yes, but you were given a chance to be... better."
"Give it up, you have no way to escape!"
"But I'm not alone, am I?" He smirked. "Any second now before my reinforcements arrive! Then you'll be sorry!"
"Yeah right, last time I saw that bug, Slipstream got a hand on her." Dropkick claimed.
"Oh," He frowned. "that just means she's alive."
Before Dropkick could even question, he was pulled away by a larger 'Con who was none other than Shockwave. Starscream beamed up at the sight of his ally, he cheered loudly even as Shockwave pummeled Dropkick with his only fist.
The triple-changer couldn't get a footing as the cyclops continued his assault. The earth quaked as metal hit metal, Shockwave was relentless and poured out his frustrations on Dropkick.
"Yeah, tear him apart!" Dash cheered from Starscream's shoulder.
"Oh, you are here." Starscream sighed. "I would have thought Slipstream took you back to their base."
"As if, she couldn't handle me!"
He arched a brow, the two continued their conversation as Shockwave continued his punishment. "Doubt there was even a fight, Slipstream would be too overwhelmed by your name alone."
"She was-"
She stopped herself, there was no point in explaining if Starscream already knew the outcome of their encounter, it would seem he understood it better than most.
"Hey, what's a trine?"
Dropkick gasped as he was slammed into a tree. Shockwave did not allow him to even breathe for a moment, only pain.
"Something we seekers have close to a family, to her, she must have seen a long-lost relative."
Dash paused for a moment. "Did you kill her?" It was obvious who she had in mind.
Starscream avoided her gaze, he silently watched the fight instead and left no answer, as if he was filled with some regrets. Though he was unreadable, there was a small bit of pride on his face.
Dash chose not to pursue her curiosity in fear of losing bits of sanity, this was a war criminal she was with, there's no telling how many skeletons there are in his closet.
Took a few more minutes before Shockwave was satisfied. Though it was a primitive outburst, somehow he felt a little lighter. Dropkick was left broken, but still alive it would seem. If anything, Brawl dodged a beating. Finally having the stress relief he deserved, Shockwave called for Smokescreen and told the Autobot his current location.
Starscream for a moment watched as the larger bot walked away from the defeated Dropkick as if it was just a small inconvenience. He was reminded why Shockwave was one of Megatron's lieutenants, not only was the cyclops smart, but he was a force not to be reckoned with.
"He's still alive," Starscream pointed out.
"We don't need to kill him!" Dash argued.
But for Shockwave, he already decided. "Dropkick is one of my creations, before, he was a simple Decepticon foot soldier, but through my genius, he is a triple-changer. I cannot, in good health, simply destroy my creations, unless needed to."
"They are not your sparklings, Shockwave, they are the enemy." Starscream scoffed.
"That's just weird, tbh." Dash said.
The Bridge opened in front of them, quickly, the three rushed through in fear of another wave of enemies. But once they were on the other side, Arcee came out of nowhere to slam her fist into Starscream's face.
"You scrap head! Why did you turn off your comms when we are being chased by a group of lunatics!?"
While the seeker suffered Arcee's wrath, Dash had problems on her own side, her friends were at her throat for pulling a stunt like that. Even worse, Sunset only glared at Dash without saying a word. One thing was for sure, the girls were worried to death. Pinkie Pie even prepared a speech just in case, which did not help at all during their wait.
"I'm just glad you're alright, 'Scream." Smokescreen said.
"Please, as if some nobodies could defeat the great and powerful Starscream!"
"You were caught, twice." Shockwave said as he went back to his work.
"You were lucky that Shockwave even went after you," Smokescreen teased the seeker. "You had no idea how thin our numbers are!"
"Just get these cuffs off me, Autobot! If I had it my way, then those pathetic excuses of Decepticons would be- Why is Steve here?"
Dash and the others turned to look over to the vehicon who was busy with the consoles. Steve gave Starscream a wave before he glued his visor back on the screens.
"Starscream!"
"Oh no..." He groaned loudly as he heard one of the most horrid voices in the galaxy. "Please tell me that was you, Arcee."
"Lord Starscream!" Thunderblast barreled through the other bots to tackle Starscream with all her might, he dodged in time just as she was about to wrap her arms around him.
"What is that idiot doing here!?"
"I tracked a Decepticon signal which I had thought was yours because of similar build types, but instead found these two. Though I injured Thunderblast and require a long rest, I will not apologize."
"Great, useless and stupid, my favorite combo."
Thunblast sprung up and locked Starscream in a tight hold. "But lord Starscream, I can provide anything that could be of help! I can even do the commanding for you!"
"Is it too late to toss her out?" Starscream questioned.
"Who is she?" Dash asked her friends.
"You're not off the hook yet!" Applejack scolded. "But to answer yer question, her name is Thunderblast."
"Weird girl, honestly." Rarity commented. "First thing she did was ask who was in charge, but when the boys said it was Arcee, she asked who was the 'male' leader, to which the two shrugged and agreed on Starscream. Seeing as he is the acclaimed leader of the Decepticons."
"And she's all buttered up on him?" Dash wondered.
"No clue," Rarity answered.
"Get off me woman!"
"Aw come on, you can't say no to me!"
Arcee leaned over to the humans and whispered. "We will speak later, and Dash, you better have a good excuse."
Steve merely focused on his task, he cared not about the others, only to make sure that the base was maintained.
"Really went ham on him," Brawl commented on Dropkick's fate.
"This is Slipstream, we have two injured on the field and are in need of that Bridge ASAP!"
"Negative, we are sending a shuttle to your location." A drone answered.
"What, why can't we have a Bridge!?"
"We are experiencing unknown malfunctions as of now, the Bridge will be fixed soon enough but Knockout advised us to send a shuttle instead."
"Unicron be damned!"
"Scrap," Dropkick managed to curse. "I don't want Shatter to see me like this..."
"I knew it was smart not to fight Shockwave," Brawl sighed. "this would have been me."
"You're lucky... but that doesn't change the fact you got hit by an ant." Dropkick shot back.
"That ant was Rainbow Dash," Slipstream corrected. "And I won't be having you bad-mouthing her when I'm around."
"Guh, whatever... where is that damn shuttle?"