Transformers Prime: Eclipse

Chapter 20: Unleash the Horde

"You don't have to be so rough you know! I'm more than capable of walking on my own!"

"And let you have a chance to run away again? Not a chance, Starscream."

The Autobot known as Bulkhead shoved his mace into my back once more to push me forward. Not enough to cause any permanent damage, but it still stung, nonetheless. After that rookie, Smokescreen, had managed to cook up a half-baked plan to rid me of the Apex Armor that somehow ended up working, I had hoped to at least destroy the Red Energon before my escape, leaving the Autobots with no spoils.

Instead, the former human pet turned Predacon beast had snagged my rocket just as it had barely left my wrist mount and inspected it as if it were some sort of toy.  With nothing but her servo! The shock I felt froze me in that moment, and I couldn't help but feel relieved that the beast finally decided to release the rocket before it exploded in our faces.

But alas, my indecision in that moment cost me my precious freedom. The beast was too exhausted to catch me, forcefully entering stasis after her numerous injuries piled up against her. However, Optimus Prime had yet to leave through the Autobot groundbridge, and it wasn't difficult for him to seize me. If I still had my T-Cog, perhaps things would have ended differently, but there's no point in dwelling on what could have been.

Entering the Autobots' base, I was surprised to find three Decepticons standing among the Autobot ranks. Breakdown and Knockout were odd enough, especially with Knockout being the Decepticon medic. But the two clearly had chemistry together, so it was reasonable enough to assume that wherever one went, the other would follow.

The real source of my confusion and more importantly fear, was the presence of Dreadwing. The last time we'd seen one another, I was protected behind an invincible shield. Now that I was exposed, I was worried that the seeker commander would tear me apart for my previous remarks about his late twin, Skyquake. 

When our optics locked, there was a sense of distaste present in his gaze, but surprisingly Dreadwing remained mostly stoic and calm despite it all. The same could be said for the other former Decepticons. Each of them didn't spare me more than a fleeting glance of shame. Most of them were choosing to focus on Eclipse in that moment, with Dreadwing moving to help Optimus carry the beast bot towards sickbay while Ratchet and Knockout got to work.

Breakdown smirked slightly as he approached Bulkhead and I, and I had to fight to keep my wings from visibly drooping. There was clearly still a lot of tension between old rivals, but right now they had a common goal to focus on, and I didn't like the fact that it was me.

"Quite odd, seeing you all here, hehe. I know Lord Megatron holds great distaste for me specifically, but surely, he wouldn't have exiled his entire squadron of commanding officers, would he?"

"Exiled? You got the wrong idea, Screamy. We chose to leave the Decepticons on our own."

"What?! Why in the name of Primus would you CHOOSE to abandon the Decepticon cause?!"

A shove from Bulkhead kept me walking towards the barracks, presumably to somewhere that I would be held in confinement. The Autobot base didn't look particularly expansive, and although the sudden increase in their numbers was worrying, it also meant that they were tight on space. Not that I expected luxury from them either way, I was their prisoner after all. I should be counting myself lucky that Arcee hadn't offlined me on sight.

"Because we realized that what we were doing was wrong, plain and simple. It's just disgusting that it took Shockwave experimenting on that human girl for us to see it."

"Well . . . I, suppose that is . . . somewhat reasonable."

Breakdown and Bulkhead shared a look, one brimming with a bit of smug satisfaction as if to say, 'I told you so', the other looking extremely exasperated. I didn't understand why my former comrades cared so much about the fate of a single human insect. They were beneath our kind after all, barely worthy of notice. Although, my encounter with Silas had taught me not to underestimate their cunning and resourcefulness.