Published December 28th, 2013
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Prelude to Darkness
As Skybreaker flew along behind Firefall, he thought back to Dark Lance's reaction to what she had said. The commander had concealed it well, and Skybreaker wasn't sure that even Bunker had noticed it, but Firefall's comment had made Dark Lance slump ever so slightly. Skybreaker already knew what the problem was, but orders were orders, and he wasn't going to make the situation worse by leaving Firefall by herself when the Decepticons could very well show up at any time. It was already getting dark, and an ambush now would be lethal. He accelerated a bit, catching up to his teammate.
"Firefall! We need to get back soon! We can't be out here at night, it's too dangerous! There's too many things that can go wrong!" Firefall stopped and turned to face him, both of them hovering in place.
"Oh really? Did Dark Lance teach you all about that? Or did he just tell you once not to do it and you never questioned him?" Her optics narrowed, obviously still upset by Lance's apparent lapse in judgement. Skybreaker's narrowed to match, and he moved forward a bit to emphasize his point.
"I learned it the hard way." Firefall obviously wasn't expecting that, but quickly regained her posture. Before she could open her mouth, though, Skybreaker cut her off again. "I learned it by almost losing my arm to an organic alien life form that only hunted at night. The only reason I didn't lose it entirely is because Lance and Torque were there to get me back to the ship. In fact, that's probably the only reason I'm still online. Now will you please just come back? For all we know, one of the Decepticons could already be getting an ambush ready." Firefall glared a moment longer, then sighed.
"Fine. But don't think for even a nanoclick that I'm apologizing. I meant every word of what I said, and I'm not taking it back." Skybreaker gave his best impression of a shrug as he turned around to head back.
"No one said you had to. Lance prefers that everyone be honest about their opinions, anyway. Keeps everyone from getting ignored." The two continued flying back over the forest for a few moment, before Skybreaker picked up a small sound coming from the trees below. He quickly halted himself, and turned to find Firefall do the same. "You heard that, too?" A simple nod was all the confirmation he needed.
"It sounded like a cry for help, almost. But who would be out in the forest this late?" Skybreaker scoured his memory banks for anyone he knew that might risk such an expedition, and could only come up with three possibilities.
"Oh, no." He quickly backtracked to where he heard the cry, and dashed below the trees. He zipped around, his sensors maxed out and his head turning constantly to find the source of the noise. He quickly heard the distinct sound of crying, and homed in on it faster than a heat-seeking missile. As he feared, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were sitting next to a fallen tree, with the latter openly sobbing. Applebloom was pinned underneath the mighty trunk, a small dip in the ground the only cause of survival.
"Girls, ya have ta get out of here! If ya don't-"
"No one is getting left behind today." They all turned their attention to Skybreaker as he landed next to them. "What happened? And what are you three doing this far into the forest this late?" Scootaloo sniffled slightly to try and look like she wasn't crying, and turned to face him properly.
"We were trying to get back to the place we found those gems we had when we met you, but when we couldn't find them, we got lost, and we were walking back when this tree fell. Applebloom pushed us out of the way, but now she's stuck, and we can't get her out!" The filly was obviously at her wit's end, as Firefall landed next to Skybreaker.
"You hear all of that?" She nodded. "Then let's get them home. Help me lift this." They both transformed, and Skybreaker vaulted over the trunk so it wouldn't roll when they moved it. "On three. Ready? One, two, THREE!" The two Autobots heaved at the fallen timber, while Scootaloo and Sweetie helped their friend get out from under it. Once they were clear, the trunk was unceremoniously dropped with a heavy thunk. Skybreaker was about to vault back over, when something caught his eye at the base of the tree, and Firefall did a quick check on the fillies as he moved to investigate. As he approached, he quickly realized what was wrong with it. It had been chopped. It was haphazard, almost lazy, chopping, which made it look like a natural break, but Skybreaker could see the small chunks of wood that had been cut out. Only a blade could leave that kind of mark. Looking back at the rest of the tree, he also noticed that it was healthy. It wasn't twisted and gnarled, didn't have any holes in it, and the leaves on the branches were still bright green.
This tree was purposefully weakened. Possibly to do just this. He quickly made his way back to the others
"We need to leave. Now." Firefall looked up and shook her head.
"We won't be going very fast, then. She's got multiple fractures, though they look to be fairly minor, considering she can stand up. There's no way the two of us will be able to carry them back, though."
"Did you try contacting the ship?"
"Yes, but I couldn't get through. I don't know why." Confused, Skybreaker activated his own comm link, attempting to establish a link with the Star Runner. After several seconds of getting nothing but static, he gave up.
"I just hope it's Energon interference doing this. I do not want to be here right now if it's Decepticons." He glanced at the Crusaders for a moment, then back to Firefall, before returning his gaze to his feet. He quickly formulated a plan, and although he didn't like it, he didn't have a choice right now. "Alright. Firefall, get back to base as fast as possible. If the 'Cons are out here, I want some more firepower. I'll start moving back to town with these three, try to get them back sooner, if possible. I'l see you then." Firefall quickly opened her mouth to argue. "No. You don't have enough combat experience yet, and your weapons aren't made for close combat like we would have here. Just get back as fast as you can. Bring, um..." Skybreaker once more searched his memory to see who would be best suited as he transformed. "Well, might as well bring Wingshift, if he isn't already doing anything. Move fast, I don't want to be out here any longer than necessary." Firefall snorted in exasperation, but nodded and transformed before taking off and disappearing over the trees. Skybreaker watched her go, then returned his attention to the three fillies. It was already dark out, and he had no intention of keeping them out here. He crouched down next to Applebloom, and motioned for her to climb up. She did so with some help from her friends, and they all set off towards Ponyville.
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At the Star Runner, Bunker had just completed his tour of the ship, and returned to the bridge, where Wingshift was going through one of the simulations on the gun controls. The screen suddenly went red, and the word 'FAILED' appeared. Wingshift let out a growl of frustration.
"How can someone who isn't even equipped with a blaster be so good at these?"
"Simple," Bunker answered, prompting the mutant to turn around with a questioning look. "Lots and lots of practice." Any rebuttal Wingshift had was cut off as the door opened, allowing Firefall to rush inside.
"Guys, we have a problem! Skybreaker and I just found three fillies out in the forest. One of them is hurt. He said to bring you, Wingshift." The other two Autobots shared a quick glance before Wingshift moved to the door, transforming as he did. Bunker, meanwhile, turned to go back into the ship's interior.
"I'll inform Lance. He'll want to know." And with that, the two fliers took off towards Skybreaker and his three charges. They found them quickly, thankfully unharmed, and landed nearby. Skybreaker looked up at the sound of their approaching wings, and waved as they came down.
"Finally. This place is creepy as all get-out, and the other two are just about falling asleep on their feet. You two mind carrying them? Applebloom already fell asleep on me." His two comrades nodded, and Wingshift crouched down next to Scootaloo while Firefall lowered herself next to Sweetie Belle, allowing the fillies to clamber onto their backs. With all three securely in place, they resumed walking to the town. For several minutes, there was nothing but silence between them. Firefall hadn't been around long enough to really understand how to start a conversation, Skybreaker was too nervous to try and start one, and Wingshift was comfortable enough in the dark forest that he didn't feel the need to stave off any feelings of discomfort or anxiety. Suddenly, Skybreaker's comm link beeped, making both him and Firefall jump in surprise, while Wingshift snapped his head towards the unexpected noise. Fumbling with his hooves a moment, he quickly turned it on, eager to hear a friendly voice. Unsurprisingly, Dark Lance was on the other end.
"Skybreaker, -*zzzkt*- s your position? Barel -*zzzzzt*- ix on your signal. *zzzkt*- do you read?" The lead scout quickly keyed the transmitter.
"Yeah, I read you, Lance. It's patchy, though. Something's screwing with the signal. We're heading towards town now, no problems yet. What did you need?"
"Firefall, unfort -*zzzzkt*- just picked up the last stasi -*zzzkt*- er to go check it out. You copy?" Skybreaker grimaced. Yeah, the stasis pod was high priority, and it was entirely possible that it hadn't been corrupted by the Decepticons yet, but he was loathe to have her go alone, especially since that meant he would be one 'Bot shorter than he already was.
"Sir, are you certain she should go by herself? And what about the fillies?"
"Bunker, Crackshot and Det -*zzzkt*- ready en route. Decep -*zzzzkt*- ouldn't be a problem right now, after just escap -*zzzzkt*- As long as you don't anger any wildlife, you'll be fine." Once more, Skybreaker found himself without a logical argument.
"Understood, sir. Wingshift and I will take care of these three. Skybreaker out." He waited for confirmation, and cut the feed before turning to Firefall. "Looks like you're needed elsewhere. Wingshift, think you can carry two at once?" Wingshift scoffed.
"Of course." Firefall frowned again as she relinquished the unicorn sleeping on her back.
"What does he need me for? He's already got three others, right?"
"Yeah," Skybreaker answered as he helped adjust Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to lay on Wingshift's back, "but none of them can fly. And since he needs to be at the comms to coordinate everyone, he can't go himself. Just try not to worry about it too much. We should be fine." Firefall didn't seem entirely convinced, but she nodded and took off, anyway. Skybreaker and Wingshift resumed their walking, and soon found themselves walking along the bottom of a cliff wall, pockmarked with caves. After a few more minutes of walking, Skybreaker slowly began to notice a fearful sensation in his spark. He came to a stop, and whispered to Wingshift.
"Do you feel that?" The larger 'Bot nodded.
"Yes. We are being hunted." Skybreaker turned to face the forest, and cycled through his vision modes, although he didn't pick up anything.
"Any idea by what?" Wingshift shook his head, also staring out into the foliage. As they stared, they became aware of a shifting sound, moving slowly through the brush.
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhsssssssssssssssssssss
Both fighters took defensive stances as they backed up, heading into one of the lower caves. Wingshift stopped, allowing Skybreaker to rouse the ponies sleeping on his back. He quickly shushed them, setting them back a bit so Wingshift could transform without them getting in the way. Once he was in his robot mode, they waited for another sign of their hunter. Silence reigned for several tense seconds, before Wingshift relaxed his combat stance. He took a few steps back, and half-turned to face the others, obviously still on guard.
"Looks like whatever it was left."
"Don't be sssso sssssure." All attention was instantly focused on the cave opening once more at the sound of a feminine voice. "I don't mind ssssstaying up all night. I've got nothing better to do." Wingshift moved back to the mouth of the cave, and flipped through his secondary vision modes. Once again, he saw nothing but brush.
"Come out and fight, coward!" A hissing laugh replied to his challenge.
"And why ssshould I do that? Esssspeccially when I can do... THIS!" A green arm suddenly swung down from above the cave entrance, plunging the knife it held deep into Wingshift's right shoulder. He cried out in pain, and stumbled back a few steps. He risked a glance back, and saw that the cave continued downward, into the ground. And possibly led out to another exit somewhere else. He turned back just in time to see a green form drop down from the wall above the cave. It was obviously a Cybertronian, and obviously a femme. She had a smooth head, with a small flare on either side, reminiscent of a hood of some sort. The knife she was holding slipped back into her forearm, and she smiled confidently at the injured mutant. "What now, tough guy?" Wingshift matched her grin as his shoulder plates flipped up, his machine guns moving into position.
"This." He opened fire, and the femme dove behind the edge of the opening. He stopped just long enough to turn back to Skybreaker. "RUN!" Skybreaker decided to take his advice, and quickly got the other Crusaders moving down the tunnel, away from the unknown Cybertronian. Once he was satisfied they had gone a large enough distance, Wingshift shot a portion of the ceiling to seal the entrance, then ceased his attack and followed them at a brisk jog. He turned on what weak lights he had when he caught up, allowing the fillies to see him and Skybreaker more easily. They didn't illuminate much else, though, having not been a particularly important part of regular Insecticon anatomy, and not being needed or used for centuries. His joints began feeling stiff, but he ignored it, chalking the feeling up to fatigue. As the group moved further down the tunnel, it twisted and turned, sometimes going up, sometimes going down, and occasionally forking off into other tunnels. Eventually, though, they came to a slightly nicer-made fork, with what appeared to be a very old cave-in just a few dozen meters past it.
"Well," Skybreaker said, "looks like we have to turn here. Not going any further this way."
"Not going any further at all." They all spun around at the voice echoing down the tunnel as it laughed at them. "Looksssss like I get to feassssssst tonight." Skybreaker motioned towards the fork next to them, and followed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as Wingshift watched the passage. They only went a few meters, though, before they came across an opening that led to several other tunnels. Wingshift looked around, and made a decision, checking his internal compass to make sure the others would be able to make it out again. Pointing at one of the tunnels on the left, he took charge.
"Go that way. It should take you back toward Ponyville." Skybreaker looked at him worriedly.
"What are you doing?"
"My duty. I'll keep her from following you, just get them to safety." He then reactivated his guns, systematically blasting the entrances to the other tunnels to prevent any other exit from being used. Skybreaker already knew where this was going, and knew there wasn't anything he could say to change Wingshift's mind. That didn't mean he wouldn't try, though.
"Wingshift. What are you talking about? Just take out the entrance once we go through. Problem solved." Wingshift shook his head after collapsing another tunnel.
"No. She'll just find another way around, and she doesn't have any hurt allies to carry around. You need a distraction, and I'm a more powerful combatant. Now go, before she gets here." The mutated Insecticon shooed them all into the tunnel, and waited for them to get in far enough that they couldn't get back out before collapsing that tunnel, as well. He turned around, and saw a huge snake slither into the room. The snake reared up, and transformed into the femme that had attacked him.
"Oh, how very noble of you, letting your friends get away while you sacrifice yourself." She drew her first knife, then a second, from her forearms, and assumed a fighting stance. Wingshift spread his claws wide, and assumed his own combat stance.
"I'm not sacrificing anything. I just don't want the young ones to see what I'm about to do to you."