//------------------------------// // Chapter 28-Band of Brothers // Story: Transformers: The Requiem // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// A little hummingbird poked its head in a brightly colored flower. After finding and enjoying a little food, the hummingbird flew off to the next flower it could find. It spotted one not too far off, hidden in the bushes, trying to hide. The little hummingbird prodded the insides of the flower, hunting for the nectar. A low hum caught the little hummingbird’s attention. It brought its head out and quickly scanned the dark forest. Only slivers of sunlight poured through the small openings in the treetops above, but it saw nothing. That is until a massive foot appeared above the bush. Terrified, the hummingbird sped off into the forest right before the object could crush it. The mighty metal foot came down on the dirt, sending dust scattering in the area. A heavy hum accompanied the machine as it tore through the forest, pushing over trees and smashing bushes. Five, seven, a total of twelve ponies, all stallions, marched through the forest. They all stood close to the mechanized beast, their eyes scanning the green foliage for any movement. The leader of the squad turned his head to the rest of his group and announced quietly, “Let’s keep movin’. They had to of run off deeper into the forest.” “I’m not so sure, sir. They’re probably long gone by now. Heck, they could probably have escaped the forest,” one of the stallions in the back of the group said, receiving a few nods. The pony with the bigger patch shook his head. “Until we’re told otherwise by command we keep hunting. We don’t let those aliens escape no matter what. Now keep moving.” On command, the Spider Tank raised one of its mighty legs forward and toppled over a tree. The metallic monster pushed its way through the dense forest, the muttering stallions following right behind it. Once the robotic monster was out of sight, two glowing blue orbs flashed on in a hidden bush. The blue orbs began to rise until another robotic being stood alone in the forest, its head facing the path of destruction the tank had created. It could hear nothing. It was safe for now. Jetfire turned towards the two robots sitting quietly behind him. “Alright, it’s clear. Those things are gone,” he told them, watching as the two stood on their own, though they appeared to be struggling, grunts of pain escaping their mouths. Jazz and Ironhide never looked so terrible. Both Autobots were rusted, their true colors only appearing to be faded. None of their lights worked, save for the flickering symbol each one had and their blue optics that continuously scanned the area. Jazz was limping while Ironhide appeared to be in perfect condition, despite his outward appearance. Jetfire almost shared their looks; despite more lights on his body apparently working fine and the two wings atop his back weren’t rusted at all. Once they were standing straight and staring at him, Jetfire nodded to the two and faced the direction of the opening ahead. He raised his foot over the bush, carefully entering the open area in front of him. The two bots behind him followed closely. Jetfire’s eyes stared down the path of fallen trees. No movement. No sounds. “We’re good...” he assured the two. “Let’s keep at it.” Together, the three Autobots went in the direction opposite to where the creatures before had traveled. Metal scratching and heavy footsteps were the sounds heard, followed by short whistles from the indigenous life forms in the area, though Jetfire doubted they were sentient. Except for those quiet noises, it was silent. Maybe it was time to ask those questions… “So,” Jetfire began, catching the attention of the two beings behind him. He turned his head around, but kept at his pace forward as he asked, “How exactly did you two meet again?” The little hummingbird landed on a branch above the three Autobots. Its head expanded and its wings stretched outwards, revealing it to be Discord in disguise. Shaking the feathers off, the miniature Discord groaned and rubbed a paw over his eye, a patch now covering his missing one. “Can’t get a decent meal around here without somepony… What’s this?” Discord mused, his head falling to the newest batch of Autobots directly underneath him. He smiled, clapping his hands together playfully. “What fun!” he whispered sharply, a pair of binoculars appearing out of thin air in his hand. He used the binoculars (well, half of it) to spy at the three below him. His ears caught their conversation. The big red one, Ironhide, gave a sad chuckle, his optics looking over to Jazz. “It was dumb luck,” he said. “I literally ran into this guy somewhere off into the forest. We didn’t have time to explain things to one another because we were both being chased by the same thing!” The smaller white one shook his head, an unamused expression seen on his features. “It was those weird creatures,” Jazz commented. Jetfire’s eyes bore feelings of sympathy and understanding as the white one continued. “They just upped and attacked us for no reason! Didn’t give an explanation, just bang bang bang…” he made a shooting motion with his pointing fingers, “shot at us.” Ironhide nodded. He stepped over a large boulder and continued with his answer. “After we both lost sight of those things, we hunkered down inside of a cave and explained things to one another. Turns out, we both can’t seem to remember anything about ourselves. I don’t even know my name!” “It’s like…we lost something,” Jazz breathed, his rusty hand gently rubbing his helmet. Jetfire nodded to the two. “That’s when I found the two of you,” he told them. “We just bumped into each other…” his eyes took the shade of sadness, a sigh escaping his jaw. “And it turns out…I can’t remember a blasted thing as well…or my name.” The big one and the small one looked at each other, intrigued expressions all around. “Wait a minute,” Ironhide said, causing Jetfire to stop in his tracks. Jetfire listened carefully for what Ironhide had to say. It had to be important for him to make them stop while they were currently being hunted. Ironhide pointed a heavy finger at Jetfire and said, “You mean to tell us that you have no memory of who you are, what you are, or where you’re at?” Jetfire nodded. Jazz shook his head, planting his hands on his sides. “Well, that’s slightly coincidental, don’t you think? I mean, all three of us have no idea who we are or what are our names are… What does that tell ya?” The slicker, well-toned one took a step forward. “Maybe some things just happen for a reason,” Jetfire answered, receiving admitting nods from the two in front of him. He turned around and continued on the path they were heading. “Come on now… If we get to safety then maybe we could find others like u-” The tree directly next to Jetfire exploded, forcing each Autobot to jump back simply out of reaction. Ironhide fell on his back, while Jetfire brought up his hands to protect his face from flying wooden shrapnel. As Jazz stared at the burning tree with wide eyes, a scream erupted deep within the forest. “WE FOUND THE TARGETS! OPEN FIRE! OPEN FIRE!” Jetfire turned to face the direction of the scream. “Oh no…” he muttered, his terrified glance shifting to Jazz and Ironhide. “Run…RUN!” Another blast shook the forest, prompting the two to finally act. Jetfire sprinted down the long, dusty path ahead, Jazz and Ironhide following close behind him. Ignoring the painful feeling tearing in his leg, Jazz pushed forward, shouts and loud bangs not too far behind him. All around him, Jazz could see trees being ripped to shreds by several blue beams of energy colliding against them. Large chunks of dirt flew up as bullets rang past his head and impacted the dirt ahead. Jazz kept running, Ironhide and Jetfire having a large lead in front of him. Ironhide shielded the back of his head when multiple blue bullets hit the dirt in and around his feet. It was total anarchy. “I see an opening! Keep running!” Jetfire screamed. Jazz squinted, spotting the slivers of light hidden by a bundle of trees up ahead. He pushed even harder than he did before, a goal now seen, an escape worth getting to. Jetfire and Ironhide shouldered the trees aside, a massive glare from the sun impacting their vision. Jazz tripped over the vines and landed into the backs of the two bots in front of him, bringing all three of them to the ground. Slightly dazed but far from giving in, Jazz got back up, only to stare in absolute shock at what was ahead of them. The edge of a cliff. A massive chasm hung below the edge, but no other means of escape were found. Jetfire and Ironhide had recently gotten back to their feet, only to share the same expression Jazz held. They were trapped. “No!” Jetfire shouted, his feet edging to the end of the cliff. His eyes stared downwards towards the small river running through the canyon below, all looks of fear flashing past his optics. That’s when they heard the crash. All three Autobots spun around, complete terror filling their insides when the mechanized beast returned. It stood perfectly fifteen feet tall, a tannish color represented on its armor. The machine had six massive legs, three on each. It all looked very clunky. Wiring could be seen sticking out where there was no armor, though the machine looked capable of walking fine. Pipes stuck out from the top of the beast with black smoke escaping it. However, its most horrifying feature was the long barrel jutting outwards from the center of the machine. The barrel was pointed right at the three. The end glowed bright blue… …and the next thing they knew they were falling. The robotic monster shot a powerful blast at them, missing them completely and hitting their feet. While they thought it was a close call, they realized its true intentions. The ground beneath them began to shatter, the entire cliffside came tumbling down. It was over. They were all headed for a horrible demise and they couldn’t save themselves. Whatever it is those creatures wanted…they succeeded. The three Autobots fell to the chasm below, screaming the entire way. That is until a bright light reached their eyes. _______________ Jazz landed softly on grass. Grass? He looked up from his position and noticed the two others lying on their chests. Ironhide and Jetfire both stared at each other, confused and relieved expressions seen on their faces. He seemed to share their looks of surprise. As Jazz and the others slowly got back up to their feet, the white one couldn’t clearly understand what exactly happened. Jetfire and Ironhide seemed to have the same feeling. What happened? A second ago, they were close to death, falling to the sharp rocks at the bottom of the mountain. There was a bright flash of light, and the next thing they knew…they were safe…and in a different part of the forest. None of them could understand the situation they were in. That is why none of them said a word for nearly a minute. They just stared at each other, blinking and moving their heads back and forth. A polite cough came from above. Taken by surprise, all three Autobots brought their heads up to the sound of the cough. What they saw lying on a tree branch was clearly part of their imagination and couldn’t be real. Whatever it was, it was obviously enjoying the view, a half smile on its face. The day just kept getting weirder. It spoke to them. “Gentlemen, I think I might have the answer to all your problems,” Discord said with a smile.