Sparkling Troubles

Chapter 8

Megatron was in the main room of his supership, the Nemesis. He was awaiting the successful arrival of his communications officer and two Autobots. Several drones had been wandering in and out continuously for a few hours now, and he was becoming impatient. Had it been any other one of his officers (like Shockwave, Knockout, and especially Starscream) he would have been waiting for a few more hours at least.

But Soundwave never took this long.

The Dark Lord began to wonder if anything had gone wrong. Sure, the odds were stacked heavily against Soundwave, but Megatron believed it a simple task for a mech like his trusted officer.

The silence of the room was very suddenly broken as a green-blue swirling Ground Bridge appeared not ten feet away from his form. Megatron tried to hide the fact that he had startled and jumped by shooting deadly glares at the drones whom had seen. They scurried away while they still could.

Soundwave walked through the portal with an air of superiority, mystery, and dignity. Megaton had his back to the portal, so he simply stretched his left arm to the side, palm outstretched. He felt a small weight gently fall onto his hand, and only then did he turn to face his highly ranked officer.

In his palm lay two crying sparklings.

"Thank you, Soundwave, for your more than successful mission," Megatron praised. He did not usually thank his officers for anything, but this was an exception.

Soundwave nodded and walked to his beloved monitor, where he would likely remain for the next 8 or 9 Earth hours.

Megatron slowly strode to Shockwave's lab. The sparklings were no longer crying, he realized, as he walked through the giant lab doors. The two were quietly sitting, holding onto his fingers for life. They'd be more than surprised that, if they were stronger, the action may have been enough to save their lives.

Shockwave looked up from his work and greeted his master.

"Lord Megatron. The Lock is at these coordinates-"

Shockwave began to relay their exact position to Megatron. He was not worried that the word would get out to the Autobots. The sparklings were too stupid to even know what he was talking about.

He could not begin to imagine how wrong he was.

Smokescreen sent a message through the Autobot comm. link while Bumblebee sent through the exact coordinates that Shockwave had just revealed. Both messages were obviously saying one thing- HELP US NOW.

But when Megatron commanded Shockwave, "Activate it. Now," they knew that no one would be there in time.

The floor slid back to reveal the Earth's surface, but there was something wrong with the picture. There was a huge structure hanging from the underside of the ship, pointing directly toward the small town of Jasper, Nevada.

Soundwave had gotten the coordinates for the base's location.

Bumblebee made a small, heartbroken whirr. Raf. He may have been a sparkling, but he still remembered his best friend.

Smokescreen and Bumblebee waited helplessly as the device filled with SynthEn. They waited for the telltale earsplitting noise that would come with the shot, but it never happened.

A door slammed open on the other side of the Lock.

"Ratchet!" Smokescreen cried, as Bumblebee beeped and whirred in relief.

"Megatron, set the sparklings down NOW." Optimus's deep commanding voice traveled across the hole with ease.

"Ah, Optimus. I didn't think you would be joining us today," Megatron sneered, but everyone could hear the hint of fear in his tone.

The rest of the Autobots streamed through the door. All together, they looked powerful.

Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Arcee, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus all stood at the ready, waiting for the fight that would inevitably come.

Soon enough, Starscream, his armada, and his soldiers began to pile into the room, adjusting to the battle scene before them.

"Attack!" Starscream ordered the troops.

A battle clashed around the abyss that would surely offline anyone who fell into it. The Autobots were obviously struggling with keeping a lead on the absurd amount of Decepticon drones.

Optimus tore his way through the armada, slicing through some and stabbing others.

"Decepticons! Attack Optim-" Megatron's command was interrupted as Optimus's massive updated frame slammed into his form.

Every single bot was watching as the sparklings seemed to fall from Megatron's iron fist in slow motion. No one made a move. Except Megatron.

From underneath Optimus's massive frame, he could see the very expressions on their faces. Horrified. Confused. He raised the arm with the dark fusion cannon and shot at them.

The shot hit Bumblebee.

Smokescreen had been directly behind Bumblebee from Megatron's point of view. As Bumblebee's small frame was rocketed backward from the force of the hit, Smokescreen had been pushed away from Megatron and landed on a side of the Lock.

The second shot.

Bumblebee's chest was now on fire. His optics showed a mixture of terror and extreme pain. He had no idea what was happening.

The last.

It hit with such force that Bumblebee's chassis was torn apart, barely holding itself together. Every optic wide, every mouth gaping, as Bumblebee's optics flickered, then went out.

He fell into the Lock. His light form rested on the surface of the blue-green liquid for several moments before slowly sinking underneath.

And everyone watched as their last hope disappeared under the surface of the Omega Lock.