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Chapter 30. The Lost and the Lonely.

Dreadwing felt his breathing grow more rapid with each empty corridor he passed, feeling the frustration well up inside him as his own processor was swimming with the prospect of danger on the horizon.
’Where is everyone?’ the halls were empty, filled only with the sound of the roaring fuel lines above his helm, he couldn’t stop for more than a moment before the alien sound of Nemesis’ vibrations made him feel uneasy.
Dreadwing felt afraid for the first time since he could remember, he didn’t want to be alone, not now- not when the Nemesis should be buzzing with activity; the drones should be checking the vitals and mechanics, the fighters should be training and he, as Megatron’s second in command, should know what he was doing.
The last resort came into his helm, he locate Megatron and express his concerns, he had been ignored long enough. Dreadwing didn’t know what to do, he wasn’t made to be second in command and he wasn’t the kind of mech made to experience fear either, and yet both had been thrown upon his now brittle shoulders.
Dreadwing turned when he was stopped in his tracks by the sound of someone else approaching the adjoining corridor, relief momentarily washed over him, a sigh of released tension escaped his throat before he caught it just in time to remain unnoticed. The slow and familiar stalking of another’s footsteps soon made it apparent that Soundwave was the prowl, Dreadwing held his breath and took a moment to consider everything that had caused this frightful turn of events.
Megatron had sent him in to be the one to finish Soundwave, when the task could have been done without his aid, when Soundwave was at his most vulnerable, lying there on spark-support as his energon slowly drained from his body. Did Megatron know Soundwave would fight back? Perhaps… but if that was the case, then why was Megatron so afraid of the drone’s abilities?
Dreadwing pressed himself against the nearest wall, hoping Soundwave had not detected his presence. The drone’s shadow grew, looming over the corridor, giving Dreadwing the final push to make his rash decision… He was going to do what Megatron ordered him to do a long time ago, put Soundwave out of his ‘suffering’ and finish him before he got the chance to intimidate him further.
Soundwave stopped walking and Dreadwing knew that the drone was aware of him around the next corridor, knowing Soundwave was prepared for his one-mech ambush, he emerged from the shadows and decided to look straight into Soundwaves visor, look past the cracks and into the processor of what was left of his former comrade.
“Soundwave, I don’t know if you’re still in there, but you had better give me a reason not to put your spark out right here, right now.” Dreadwing clenched his fists, squeezing until his servos felt numb.
A light flickered between the cracks of Soundwaves visor, followed by a slow and eerie nod.
Confused and angered, Dreadwing realised the drone was not processor damaged, he had merely been preparing for something, and whatever he had done below in the ships engine, would surely be the demise of them all… Dreadwing would ask why, but he had always been aware that Megatron had been the cause of Soundwave’s near-death experience, and that kind of event would be enough to make anyone resort to bring down the one that caused it- even if that someone had been in his shadow every waking moment of the war.
“Alright then, I’m ready,” Dreadwing narrowed his optics, but before he could play out the valiant scene he conjured up in his processor- his judgement was blinded by the unexpected first move from Soundwave that had him immediately pinned to the wall he had previously used to conceal himself, and the drone didn’t even have to move. Soundwave had Dreadwing cornered, pinned to the wall by his shoulders and legs using all four of his extended limbs to hold him in place while he slowly approached.
Dreadwing struggled as he watched the shadow of his demise swallow him, each step echoing louder with every pulse of his spark. Not wanting his final thoughts to be so horrific- he thought of his brother and how he only hoped Primus would take pity and allow them to be reunited once more…

“Skywarp,” Magpies tone had grown softer now she was no longer in the presence of Optimus, it was hard to keep up the act of being in command when she knew she could never fill the position of her spark-mate, which is why she was so determined to get him back.
“You know the plan?” Skywarp stood immediately, although he would never admit it, he was waiting in raw anticipation to retrieve Starscream, even if that meant siding with the Autobots until his return.
“You and I are going in first, that’s all I know now…”
“So we’re their bullet-absorbers…” Skywarp announced as he slumped back down on the berth moodily, “I should have known, trust Autobots to devise a plan to surely get someone scrapped…”
“You and I both know there would be no gain if that was Optimus’ real purpose,” Magpie spoke with no confidence, ever since Ratchet had accidentally let slip they were going on board the Nemesis, she had been rattling her processor to figure out why.
“I’m not going to die, Magpie, you know that, don’t you?” Skywarp looked up with stony optics and a flat line in place of his mouth.
Magpie looked back, knowing full well what he meant, her optics fell to the floor briefly.
“We need Channel to remove the lock on your warping abilities…”
“No we don’t, so long as I’m nowhere near that Autobot-scum, the lock is automatically released… Why did you think he kept me chained to him the whole time?” Skywarp smiled triumphantly.
“So you would just leave at the first sign of danger?” Magpie pressed her back against the wall, losing the small shred of hope she had thinking she could rescue Starscream.
Skywarp rose from the berth and approached her, placing a digit under her chin and slowly rising her optics back to his level, “it’s what we do, Magpie, we run, and I plan on taking you with me unless you decide to try and be a heroine…”

Ouzel and Starscream had been crawling like animals through what they hoped was the air-duct of the Nemesis, Ouzel had gone first as he had the larger frame, if he could squeeze his shoulders through the tiny shaft then Starscream would have no problem keeping up.
“What was that?” Ouzel tried to look back over his shoulder but he grazed his cheek on one of his contorted stabiliser wings, “argh,” he hissed from the pain, unable to bring a servo up to numb his face.
“Nothing, keep moving, we don’t know when Dreadwing will come back,” Starscream hissed, as he tried to contort his own wings into a bearable agony.
Ouzel gritted his denta and swallowed back his ever growing fear of this tiny space, “right, I would like to see Dreadwing try and fit into one of these…”
Starscream chuckled, “we have that in our favour, but let’s not give him much of a reason to follow. The sooner we get above a corridor, we’re out of here.”
Ouzel stopped moving, “I thought this would take us outside?”
Starscream sighed, “I believe we’re in the wrong vent,” he kept his voice level and narrowed his optics, trying not to think about the consequences.
Ouzels optics widened, “you mean… this pipe could be flowing with energon at any moment?”
Starscream didn’t answer, he just tapped Ouzels leg with his free servo and the mech soon began shuffling again.
Their armour scraped along the walls, occasionally they would pause to listen to any sounds up ahead, hoping they wouldn’t hear the rushing sound of flowing energon, freshly heated from the engine and ready to singe their armour to a crisp.
A hollow groan echoed through the tubes, Ouzel heard it clearly coming from up ahead and he stopped.
Starscream hadn’t realised Ouzel had stopped moving and his helm knocked into Ouzels leg. “Ouzel, what are you playing at?” he hissed, wishing he could reach a servo up to where his helm had made contact with his sparkling’s sharp armour.
“Didn’t you hear that?” Ouzel whispered.
“No I…”
“Shh!”
The sound echoed once again, a haunting moan that had a familiar tone to it, but surely it couldn’t be who they thought it was.
“Megatron… it sounds like he’s in pain,” Starscream whispered, “but why?”
Feeling curious and brave, Ouzel began shuffling ahead, “I don’t know,” he frowned, part of his mind wondering if this were a decoy, but nobody knew of their presence in the energon line, so why? And How?

Magpie and Skywarp had been sent on their way with nothing more than co-ordinates telling them the location of the Nemesis. They had travelled in silence knowing that their commination link was being monitored back at the Autobot base while the others awaited their cue.
“Up ahead,” Skywarp announced, seeing individuals based at the edges of the canyon
”What do you see” Optimus calmly asked back through their communication links.
“Eradicons, maybe forty of them, all lined up in defence.” Skywarp wanted to spit out the distaste of answering to an Autobot leader, but he swallowed the bitterness and continued flying.
”Okay,” replied Optimus, then the communication link when flat.
“What?” Skywarp snapped, “that’s it? Us against the whole Decepticon defence line? That’s just great.”
Magpie was startled; she lowered her speed and height, almost hitting the rocky terrain on her way down. “What now?” she asked.
Skywarp laughed, “you’re second in command, you tell me.”
Magpie felt her tanks turn at the snide remark, “land,” she said before she alt-formed mid-air and landed on her feet, knocking up sand around her.
Skywarp turned and travelled back towards Magpie and elegantly hit the floor on two feet, “so we just walk right up to them?” he folded his arms and smiled in mock amusement.
Magpie felt her spark rise at the brilliant idea, “exactly,” raising her arms in the air, she slowly began to approach the line of awaiting Eradicons.
“Excuse me?” Skywarp looked utterly offended.
Magpie shrugged as she looked back over her shoulder, “the Autobots are on their way, and unlike you I trust Optimus to get us out of here.”
Skywarp frowned, “well unlike you, I can warp, so if you don’t mind…” Skywarp stood in place before he slowly flickered out of existence.
Magpie looked around, hoping the cocky mech had been joking, but all she saw was a light dusting of sand falling to the floor. Her spark sank, but before she was left to panic, she heard his voice ahead.
“Magpie, get over here,” Skywarp called.
Magpie raised a single optic ridge as she heard Skywarps voice coming from behind the line of Eradicons.
“Skywarp?” her voice had turned to a child-like whimper.
“Get over here!” Skywarp beckoned her over before disappearing behind the crater where the Nemesis had been laying for some time.
Magpie slowly approached, sceptical and confused, she stepped carefully as if the ground would collapse below her feet.
Before long she was a mere few feet away from an Eradicon laying in the sand with a gun turret pointing right at her, but he didn’t move or shoot.
None of the Eradicons moved, they all just lay with their helms in the sand.
Magpie reached out to touch one but Skywarp grabbed her wrist, her small voice whimpered a few inaudible words before Skywarp placed a hand over her lips.
“Look,” he said, his optics burning into the Eradicon nearest to them, on close inspection there were the light sparks of draining life dancing within the Eradicon’s frame.
Magpie gasped and pulled her servo out of Skywarps grasp and smacked it to her mouth. It took a moment for her optics to realise how many lifeless bodies laid here and then the memories came flooding back, the last time there were casualties like this the cause of it had been… “Where did anyone get an EMP that would do this?”
Skywarp narrowed his optics, “it’s Decepticon technology, it had to come from the Nemesis.”
Magpie felt a ray of hope as her spark skipped a beat, “you mean Starscream could have…”
“Shh,” Skywarp cut her off as he looked into the canyon where the Nemesis was, he could hear it’s engine idling as if it were ready to rise up, “I thought you said they had no power?” he questioned.
Magpie also approached the edge of the crater, “I did… it didn’t…”
Skywarp and Magpie exchanged a glance that expressed their curiosity and fear all at once as their processors tried hard to make sense of what they were seeing.
“Can you contact the base?” Skywarp interrupted the morbid silence.
Magpie tried latching onto her communication link, but no connection could be made, “No… We’re alone…”

Ratchet looked bewildered at the Autobot leader, stood stern and commanding, just how a leader should look, and yet he had hoped Optimus would pass on this news with a little more empathy. “Static? Optimus what are you talking about?” Optimus had just delivered the news that both Magpie and Skywarp had managed to fall off their radar since entering the spot they had since dubbed ‘The Warzone’.
Ratchets spark sank, he had despised the idea to send Magpie and Skywarp in first, but had been too obedient to debate, and now she was gone…

Description
Chapter 30. The Lost and the Lonely.

Dreadwing felt his breathing grow more rapid with each empty corridor he passed, feeling the frustration well up inside him as his own processor was swimming with the prospect of danger on the horizon.
’Where is everyone?’ the halls were empty, filled only with the sound of the roaring fuel lines above his helm, he couldn’t stop for more than a moment before the alien sound of Nemesis’ vibrations made him feel uneasy.
Dreadwing felt afraid for the first time since he could remember, he didn’t want to be alone, not now- not when the Nemesis should be buzzing with activity; the drones should be checking the vitals and mechanics, the fighters should be training and he, as Megatron’s second in command, should know what he was doing.
The last resort came into his helm, he locate Megatron and express his concerns, he had been ignored long enough. Dreadwing didn’t know what to do, he wasn’t made to be second in command and he wasn’t the kind of mech made to experience fear either, and yet both had been thrown upon his now brittle shoulders.
Dreadwing turned when he was stopped in his tracks by the sound of someone else approaching the adjoining corridor, relief momentarily washed over him, a sigh of released tension escaped his throat before he caught it just in time to remain unnoticed. The slow and familiar stalking of another’s footsteps soon made it apparent that Soundwave was the prowl, Dreadwing held his breath and took a moment to consider everything that had caused this frightful turn of events.
Megatron had sent him in to be the one to finish Soundwave, when the task could have been done without his aid, when Soundwave was at his most vulnerable, lying there on spark-support as his energon slowly drained from his body. Did Megatron know Soundwave would fight back? Perhaps… but if that was the case, then why was Megatron so afraid of the drone’s abilities?
Dreadwing pressed himself against the nearest wall, hoping Soundwave had not detected his presence. The drone’s shadow grew, looming over the corridor, giving Dreadwing the final push to make his rash decision… He was going to do what Megatron ordered him to do a long time ago, put Soundwave out of his ‘suffering’ and finish him before he got the chance to intimidate him further.
Soundwave stopped walking and Dreadwing knew that the drone was aware of him around the next corridor, knowing Soundwave was prepared for his one-mech ambush, he emerged from the shadows and decided to look straight into Soundwaves visor, look past the cracks and into the processor of what was left of his former comrade.
“Soundwave, I don’t know if you’re still in there, but you had better give me a reason not to put your spark out right here, right now.” Dreadwing clenched his fists, squeezing until his servos felt numb.
A light flickered between the cracks of Soundwaves visor, followed by a slow and eerie nod.
Confused and angered, Dreadwing realised the drone was not processor damaged, he had merely been preparing for something, and whatever he had done below in the ships engine, would surely be the demise of them all… Dreadwing would ask why, but he had always been aware that Megatron had been the cause of Soundwave’s near-death experience, and that kind of event would be enough to make anyone resort to bring down the one that caused it- even if that someone had been in his shadow every waking moment of the war.
“Alright then, I’m ready,” Dreadwing narrowed his optics, but before he could play out the valiant scene he conjured up in his processor- his judgement was blinded by the unexpected first move from Soundwave that had him immediately pinned to the wall he had previously used to conceal himself, and the drone didn’t even have to move. Soundwave had Dreadwing cornered, pinned to the wall by his shoulders and legs using all four of his extended limbs to hold him in place while he slowly approached.
Dreadwing struggled as he watched the shadow of his demise swallow him, each step echoing louder with every pulse of his spark. Not wanting his final thoughts to be so horrific- he thought of his brother and how he only hoped Primus would take pity and allow them to be reunited once more…

“Skywarp,” Magpies tone had grown softer now she was no longer in the presence of Optimus, it was hard to keep up the act of being in command when she knew she could never fill the position of her spark-mate, which is why she was so determined to get him back.
“You know the plan?” Skywarp stood immediately, although he would never admit it, he was waiting in raw anticipation to retrieve Starscream, even if that meant siding with the Autobots until his return.
“You and I are going in first, that’s all I know now…”
“So we’re their bullet-absorbers…” Skywarp announced as he slumped back down on the berth moodily, “I should have known, trust Autobots to devise a plan to surely get someone scrapped…”
“You and I both know there would be no gain if that was Optimus’ real purpose,” Magpie spoke with no confidence, ever since Ratchet had accidentally let slip they were going on board the Nemesis, she had been rattling her processor to figure out why.
“I’m not going to die, Magpie, you know that, don’t you?” Skywarp looked up with stony optics and a flat line in place of his mouth.
Magpie looked back, knowing full well what he meant, her optics fell to the floor briefly.
“We need Channel to remove the lock on your warping abilities…”
“No we don’t, so long as I’m nowhere near that Autobot-scum, the lock is automatically released… Why did you think he kept me chained to him the whole time?” Skywarp smiled triumphantly.
“So you would just leave at the first sign of danger?” Magpie pressed her back against the wall, losing the small shred of hope she had thinking she could rescue Starscream.
Skywarp rose from the berth and approached her, placing a digit under her chin and slowly rising her optics back to his level, “it’s what we do, Magpie, we run, and I plan on taking you with me unless you decide to try and be a heroine…”

Ouzel and Starscream had been crawling like animals through what they hoped was the air-duct of the Nemesis, Ouzel had gone first as he had the larger frame, if he could squeeze his shoulders through the tiny shaft then Starscream would have no problem keeping up.
“What was that?” Ouzel tried to look back over his shoulder but he grazed his cheek on one of his contorted stabiliser wings, “argh,” he hissed from the pain, unable to bring a servo up to numb his face.
“Nothing, keep moving, we don’t know when Dreadwing will come back,” Starscream hissed, as he tried to contort his own wings into a bearable agony.
Ouzel gritted his denta and swallowed back his ever growing fear of this tiny space, “right, I would like to see Dreadwing try and fit into one of these…”
Starscream chuckled, “we have that in our favour, but let’s not give him much of a reason to follow. The sooner we get above a corridor, we’re out of here.”
Ouzel stopped moving, “I thought this would take us outside?”
Starscream sighed, “I believe we’re in the wrong vent,” he kept his voice level and narrowed his optics, trying not to think about the consequences.
Ouzels optics widened, “you mean… this pipe could be flowing with energon at any moment?”
Starscream didn’t answer, he just tapped Ouzels leg with his free servo and the mech soon began shuffling again.
Their armour scraped along the walls, occasionally they would pause to listen to any sounds up ahead, hoping they wouldn’t hear the rushing sound of flowing energon, freshly heated from the engine and ready to singe their armour to a crisp.
A hollow groan echoed through the tubes, Ouzel heard it clearly coming from up ahead and he stopped.
Starscream hadn’t realised Ouzel had stopped moving and his helm knocked into Ouzels leg. “Ouzel, what are you playing at?” he hissed, wishing he could reach a servo up to where his helm had made contact with his sparkling’s sharp armour.
“Didn’t you hear that?” Ouzel whispered.
“No I…”
“Shh!”
The sound echoed once again, a haunting moan that had a familiar tone to it, but surely it couldn’t be who they thought it was.
“Megatron… it sounds like he’s in pain,” Starscream whispered, “but why?”
Feeling curious and brave, Ouzel began shuffling ahead, “I don’t know,” he frowned, part of his mind wondering if this were a decoy, but nobody knew of their presence in the energon line, so why? And How?

Magpie and Skywarp had been sent on their way with nothing more than co-ordinates telling them the location of the Nemesis. They had travelled in silence knowing that their commination link was being monitored back at the Autobot base while the others awaited their cue.
“Up ahead,” Skywarp announced, seeing individuals based at the edges of the canyon
”What do you see” Optimus calmly asked back through their communication links.
“Eradicons, maybe forty of them, all lined up in defence.” Skywarp wanted to spit out the distaste of answering to an Autobot leader, but he swallowed the bitterness and continued flying.
”Okay,” replied Optimus, then the communication link when flat.
“What?” Skywarp snapped, “that’s it? Us against the whole Decepticon defence line? That’s just great.”
Magpie was startled; she lowered her speed and height, almost hitting the rocky terrain on her way down. “What now?” she asked.
Skywarp laughed, “you’re second in command, you tell me.”
Magpie felt her tanks turn at the snide remark, “land,” she said before she alt-formed mid-air and landed on her feet, knocking up sand around her.
Skywarp turned and travelled back towards Magpie and elegantly hit the floor on two feet, “so we just walk right up to them?” he folded his arms and smiled in mock amusement.
Magpie felt her spark rise at the brilliant idea, “exactly,” raising her arms in the air, she slowly began to approach the line of awaiting Eradicons.
“Excuse me?” Skywarp looked utterly offended.
Magpie shrugged as she looked back over her shoulder, “the Autobots are on their way, and unlike you I trust Optimus to get us out of here.”
Skywarp frowned, “well unlike you, I can warp, so if you don’t mind…” Skywarp stood in place before he slowly flickered out of existence.
Magpie looked around, hoping the cocky mech had been joking, but all she saw was a light dusting of sand falling to the floor. Her spark sank, but before she was left to panic, she heard his voice ahead.
“Magpie, get over here,” Skywarp called.
Magpie raised a single optic ridge as she heard Skywarps voice coming from behind the line of Eradicons.
“Skywarp?” her voice had turned to a child-like whimper.
“Get over here!” Skywarp beckoned her over before disappearing behind the crater where the Nemesis had been laying for some time.
Magpie slowly approached, sceptical and confused, she stepped carefully as if the ground would collapse below her feet.
Before long she was a mere few feet away from an Eradicon laying in the sand with a gun turret pointing right at her, but he didn’t move or shoot.
None of the Eradicons moved, they all just lay with their helms in the sand.
Magpie reached out to touch one but Skywarp grabbed her wrist, her small voice whimpered a few inaudible words before Skywarp placed a hand over her lips.
“Look,” he said, his optics burning into the Eradicon nearest to them, on close inspection there were the light sparks of draining life dancing within the Eradicon’s frame.
Magpie gasped and pulled her servo out of Skywarps grasp and smacked it to her mouth. It took a moment for her optics to realise how many lifeless bodies laid here and then the memories came flooding back, the last time there were casualties like this the cause of it had been… “Where did anyone get an EMP that would do this?”
Skywarp narrowed his optics, “it’s Decepticon technology, it had to come from the Nemesis.”
Magpie felt a ray of hope as her spark skipped a beat, “you mean Starscream could have…”
“Shh,” Skywarp cut her off as he looked into the canyon where the Nemesis was, he could hear it’s engine idling as if it were ready to rise up, “I thought you said they had no power?” he questioned.
Magpie also approached the edge of the crater, “I did… it didn’t…”
Skywarp and Magpie exchanged a glance that expressed their curiosity and fear all at once as their processors tried hard to make sense of what they were seeing.
“Can you contact the base?” Skywarp interrupted the morbid silence.
Magpie tried latching onto her communication link, but no connection could be made, “No… We’re alone…”

Ratchet looked bewildered at the Autobot leader, stood stern and commanding, just how a leader should look, and yet he had hoped Optimus would pass on this news with a little more empathy. “Static? Optimus what are you talking about?” Optimus had just delivered the news that both Magpie and Skywarp had managed to fall off their radar since entering the spot they had since dubbed ‘The Warzone’.
Ratchets spark sank, he had despised the idea to send Magpie and Skywarp in first, but had been too obedient to debate, and now she was gone…