Transformers: Prime: Smokescreen's Destiny

Chapter 4: Runaway

One night, Smokescreen was in his room, feeling guilty about what had happened that led Optimus to be wounded by Megatron. If he hadn't challenged his leader to a street race, then they wouldn't have been ambushed and captured by the Decepticons in the canyon.

"This is all my fault; Because of me, Megatron had almost killed Optimus Prime to have the Matrix of Leadership all to himself by ripping it out of his chest." Smokescreen told himself. "Some Autobot I turned out to be. But what good is there at being an Autobot anyway?" He asked himself.

That night, it started to rain in Jasper and Smokescreen went outside the Autobot base to mope in the rain. He didn't want Team Prime to hear their latest rookie cry because they were trying to recharge. Smokescreen let out his sadness as tears dropped down from his blue optics. The young Autobot rookie cried until he thought to himself, "What is my purpose in life?! Who are my parents!?! I never knew my parents! I didn't even think I actually had a sire and carrier of my own. I don't even believe that Cybertronians could reproduce! All I know was that I was never adopted as an orphan sparkling until I grew up, left the orphanage at Iacon, and went into training with the Elite Guard, so why did Megatron even claimed to have given me to an Autobot couple to adopt me as a baby after my carrier died giving life to me??! This doesn't make any sense! How is it that Megatron—the very evil and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons would claim to have helped my mother give birth to me, and then later gave me a name at a nursery as a newborn sparkling when she died?! It can't be true, can it?! This has to be a joke!" Smokescreen was upset for a moment until he remembered the words that Megatron told him that make him feel uneasy.

"Only you can help put an end to this war." Megatron's voice echoed in Smokescreen's head.

"No! This is all just a trick! I would never, in a million years, join the Decepticons to be Megatron's ward!" Smokescreen told himself. "He's extinguished the sparks of so many bots that he is incapable of love and compassion! Unless...unless it's true that he used to be good as Optimus said to me that he was...then maybe there might be a way to change his mind about the war and then put a stop to this madness. If I am truly destined for greatness, then maybe...I could try to redeem Megatron." the young Autobot then shook his head. "No, what am I talking about?! That's crazy talk. No one has ever tried to reform Megatron and live! Clearly, he was only trying to get inside my head and take advantage of my fear and confusion!" Smokescreen told himself. "But there has to be a solution to all of this."

Once he had calmed down, Smokescreen decided to go back inside of the Autobots secret base to avoid the rain. After he went back inside, he was dripping wet and he returned to his room to dry off. Optimus Prime was laying on his berth, still recovering with Ratchet checking on him now and then. The next day, it was noon when Smokescreen decided to visit Optimus Prime. He could see that Ratchet was still taking care of him while mending the wounds he'd gotten from Megatron.

"How is he, Ratchet?" Smokescreen asked the medic. Ratchet looked at the young Autobot rookie and replied, "Well, from what I can tell, Megatron did a bad number on Optimus when he ripped the Matrix of Leadership out of his chest. But he'll be alright. I promise."

"Ratchet..." Optimus weakly said to his medic and friend. "Easy, Optimus. You still need time to recover. Knowing that I previously had to learn that the hard way with the Synthetic Energon incident." Ratchet told his leader. "Ratchet...I wish to speak to Smokescreen." Optimus Prime told the medic. Smokescreen walked over to Optimus' side while the wounded Prime still laid on his berth. "Yes?" Smokescreen asked. "You were very brave...getting the Matrix back from Megatron. I was worried that he would extinguish your spark. But I'm just glad you're safe and unharmed." Optimus told Smokescreen. "Optimus? I'm so sorry that I got you into this." Smokescreen apologized. "It wasn't your fault, Smokescreen. You just wanted to spend time with me." Optimus told the young Autobot. "Though I'm surprised you managed to get the Matrix of Leadership back from Megatron and that you were able to use it's power to defeat him because it found your spark pure." Smokescreen was surprised to hear that from Optimus Prime, whom he idolized since the very beginning. But then he asked, "Optimus?...I'm glad you're still alive. But what if Megatron would come looking for me so he could kill me for revenge?" Smokescreen said, feeling afraid.

"He won't come after you, Smokescreen. Not on our watch." Ratchet promised. "But what if he does! I'm the one who unleashed the Matrix's power and defeated the dark lord himself! You guys don't remember what I told you after we had just escaped from the Nemesis? Megatron asked me to join him. When he went after me and I went into hiding with the Matrix, he...he claimed to have met my carrier and how he saved me as a baby after she died giving life to me before I've been put up for adoption." Smokescreen said. "That's just ridiculous! I think that Megatron was only trying to deceive you with such lies so that he can get the Matrix of Leadership and kill you. I maybe a medic, but I am no psychiatrist! It's quite baffling that he would claim such a thing!" Ratchet replied.

"I know, right? I didn't believe Megatron with what he told me when I rejected his offer to join him." Smokescreen said. "But still, I worry that he and his Decepticons would win and all hope would be lost." He made a worried expression on his face.

"Why don't you recharge to reduce your stress for the night?" Ratchet suggested. Smokescreen nodded, "Goodnight." He said to Ratchet and Optimus Prime before going to recharge in his room.

One hour later, Smokescreen was fast asleep and he seemed to be less stressed out about Megatron and the Decepticons for a few minutes until he started to toss and turn in his sleep. Smokescreen was starting to have a nightmare where Earth was being taken over by a legion of Decepticons, where Optimus Prime and the Autobots were being killed off by Megatron and his troops. Smokescreen was horrified by what he was seeing in his head as he saw human skulls, burning cities, and people running away in terror.

"No! No!! This can't be happening! Please make it stop!" Smokescreen cried.

When the young Autobot rookie saw Megatron and his Decepticons laughing maniacally, Smokescreen starts to panic at the sight of the mangled dead bodies of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack. Smokescreen was now the last Autobot standing in front of Megatron as the evil warlord himself walked up to him in heavy footfalls and he stretched out his hand servo for Smokescreen to take it.

"Join me. Become one of us." Megatron said.

"NEVER!!! I'll never join you!" Smokescreen shouted as he rejected the evil mech's offer.

"Don't you wish to find out about your parents?" Megatron asked. "I have all the answers you seek."

"Stop it! Get out of my head!" Smokescreen yelled at him.

"Don't you wish to change the future? Of what may happen in time of my army and I have won the Great War? If you denounce the Autobots, think of the glory of becoming a Decepticon." Megatron said to Smokescreen.

"No! I refuse to become one!" Smokescreen replied. "I would never betray my friends!"

"Friends? What friends? What have these Autobots ever done to be your friends? They don't understand that you have great potential. That you are special; Think about how much they have doubted you and never treated you with respect." Megatron said before he added, "You will never be a Prime like Optimus, Smokescreen...unless you accept my offer and become one of us. It is your destiny."

That last part was enough to make Smokescreen upset before he woke up from his nightmare with a scream and he panted several times before he calmed himself down for a bit. Smokescreen eventually realized that if what Megatron said to him back on the Nemesis was true, then he would have to find out more about his parents by doing the most foolish thing he could think of: he would have to sneak out of the Autobot secret base to find the Decepticons so he can allow himself to be captured by them and then be brought up to Megatron himself and accept his offer without telling a spark or soul of what he's doing and where he's going.

Smokescreen made sure that every bot was recharging before he quietly snuck outside the Autobot base before he transformed into his vehicle mode and drove off into the road at night. Optimus Prime himself was still recharging and so was Ratchet, Arcee, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead. Smokescreen wanted to find out for sure if what Megatron said to him back at the Nemesis was true. That he indeed named him 'Smokescreen' after bringing him to the sparkling nursery as an orphan after losing his carrier. Not only that, but Smokescreen wishes to find out about his parents and to try to reform Megatron in the hopes that he would end this brutal civil war between Autobots and Decepticons. Could he be destined to end the Great War? But still, Smokescreen had to make his own decision to run away from the Autobot base at night without permission to do so by his team which he left behind.