Shadowfire

Chapter 12

I lay on my berth, feeling too wired to slip into recharge. I decided to try contact Screamer again, I'd been trying to make a connection with him for months now yet something always seemed to block the commlink. I offlined my optics, focusing my energy solely on reaching Starscream.

::Shadowfire to Starscream, do you read me?::
::Shadow?:: the reply was staticky, and I could barely understand it but I was ecstatic that I had actually managed to contact him.
::Shadow if you can hear me this is very dangerous for you, you cannot contact me, someone could discover it and report to The Fallen::
::Who's The Fallen? Screamer what's going on?::
::Your sire has lost command, Soundwave reports directly to The Fallen, he ousted Megatron, moved us off Earth, left your sire behind, stranded and now we rust on the hollowed remnants of some Primus-forsaken planet that we long ago stripped clean of resources::
::Who is The Fallen?::
::The original Decepticon. Now stop interrupting and just listen:: he implored me ::I don't have much time. Your sire is returning, I can sense his proximity, he must play a role, regain The Fallen's trust, don't think it's real-:: the commlink cut off suddenly but the transmission remained open, Starscream projecting the images his optics picked up to me, I didn't know this type of connection was possible- or how to shut it off. My sire had arrived, he landed in front of Screamer and immediately attacked him.
"You left me to die on that pathetic insect planet" Megatron hissed at Starscream.
"Only to help spawn our new army" Starscream said. That explained all the new Decepticons, I realised, The Fallen mustn't trust those loyal to Megatron "The Fallen decrees it. After all, in your absence someone must take command"
Despite their hostile actions I could tell it was just for show, they had a commlink open and Starscream was explaining everything that had happened to my sire.
"Even in death there is no command but mine" Megatron growled, flinging his loyal friend to one side and stalking away. Starscream picked himself up and followed at a distance, allowing me to learn more. Starscream hid at the entrance to a new chamber and I watched as my sire entered.

"My master" Megatron grovelled, bending at the knee "I failed you on Earth. The AllSpark is destroyed, without it our race will perish" 
"You have much to learn my disciple, the Cube is merely a vessel, it's power, it's knowledge can never be destroyed" a raspy voice said, I recoiled from the sight of what could only be The Fallen- weak, recovering from old wounds that haven't healed, the ancient and original Decepticon lounged amid the wreckage of an ancient structure.
"How is that possible?"
"It has been absorbed by the human child, they key to saving our race now lies within his mind"
"Well then let me strip the very flesh from his body" Megatron and my skin crawled, this was not the Megatron I knew, my loving sire was harsh yes but not evil. The 'Con I saw now however was an apprentice worthy of The Fallen.
"And you will my apprentice, in time. For millennia I have dreamed of my return to that wretched planet where I too was once betrayed by the Primes I called my brothers. Only a Prime can defeat me, and now, only one remains"
"Optimus. He protects the boy"
"Then the boy will lead us to him and revenge will be ours"

As Starscream withdrew he activated the commlink again and I lost the visual feed.
::So you see? Your sire is as much controlled as the rest of us::
::What am I to do?::
::Warn the Autobots, Optimus must kill The Fallen. Do not contact me, it is unsafe around so many untrustworthy Decepticons, those agents of The Fallen. I will warn you when they decide on a plan:: he cut the link and I returned to myself.

Now I was defiantly to awake to recharge, I got up off my berth and paced the room. There was no way I could tell Optimus what I knew, not without telling him how I knew it. I had to rely on Screamer telling me when they planned to strike and giving a last minute warning, hopefully everyone would be too caught up in the attack to think to ask where I got the information. I knew it was a long shot and there was no way it would work but it was the best plan I had.

I left my berth, wandering around the base until I came across Jazz and 'Hide. They looked up as I entered.
"Shouldn't you be in recharge?" Hide said, smirking slightly "you have to babysit Sam tomorrow after all" I scowled at him.
"For Primus' sake, what's the fraggin' point of him having a guardian if I have to drive around cleaning up his messes? Where is Bee anyway?"
"With Sam, where else?"
"You're just slagged that you have to spend more time in your holoform" Jazz announced
"By Primus I am" I agreed, I spotted some high grade energon beside Ironhide and grinned.
"Now that's more like it, what were you mechs having a party and didn't think to invite me?"
"We were gonna..." Jazz began but Hide cut him off
"But we didn't want to" he laughed, clearly joking, and tossed the energon to me.

The rest of the night passed in a blur, the high grade corrupting my memory data banks, the few things I was certain of are that we enjoyed ourselves, and that 'Bots can't hold their liquor as well as Decepticons.