~Knocked-Out~

Determination

"What do you mean, you never bonded?! It's impossible to get Sparkinice without a bond." Ratchet cried, clearly unconvinced.

"Well, it's true. We never got that far." Knockout froze, looking of into space, clearly sad. His spark started aching again.

"Ratchet, do you know of any possible circumstance where 2 could contract Sparkinice without being bonded?" All optics turned to Ratchet, who was typing madly away at the computer.

"I've never hear of such a thing." He muttered. "But, if it is the case, then it could be an interesting case for studying!" Everybody stared at him with disbelief, and he stuttered, his cheeks growing blue with embarrassment.
"Um, I mean....uh...just leave me alone to do my research!" No one really left, they just distracted themselves with mindless activities. Optimus turned to another computer, pretending to decode some not real coordinates, when he was really waiting for Ratchet to discover some inevitable new. Bumbleee half-sparkedly watched some tv, not truly paying attention. Smokescreen and Bullkhead tossed a lobbing ball around, throwing it so gently as if it were a delicate artifact. Arcee gave Starscream a tour of the main room, whispering to each other as if they were sparklings. Knockout just stared at Ratchet typing away, not really looking. Dazed and dizzy, he replayed the memory, of the day he had first met Nightstreak. She had been so stubborn, refusing to believe anything he said. He laughed slightly as her flushed embarrassed face came up, when he had tripped onto her. It was one of the happiest, funniest, and best memories of her, her mouth half open, cheeks flushed a bright shade of blue, and optics as wide as cybertronianly possible. Her expression brought a slight smile creeping across his face, one that slid off as quickly as it had come, when he realized,
He might never see that beautiful glowing face again.

"By the Allspark!" Ratchet's sudden exclamation startled him, breaking him out of his dream-like trance. Everybody came running, as if they had been waiting for his sudden cry. Ratchet turned to Optimus, his face shaken and optics sad.

"Optimus. There has been another case recorded like this, with 2 who were not bonded. Speedstinger and Skylight. They never truly bonded, when a family issue drove them apart. The next ay, they both fell into Sparkinice. Speedstinger had the better side of the illlness." Ratchet took a deep breath, then continued, his voice shaking. "Skylight perished 2 days after Speedstinger awoke" An echo of gasps flooded the base. "It wasn't a painless either. Even in his spark-broken statement Speedstinger said he felt everything. He mentioned, and I quote, "It was like a living spark-mare. My spark burned, as if it were submerged in lava. It was unbearable, I didn't recharge for months, a living death,""
In the silence that followed, soft raspy shaking breaths escaped Knockout.

"So, we have 48 hours to save...her." He choked out.

"Less. 36 hours, at the most. I believe that..." His explanation was cut off baby a rapid beeping coming from the computer. On the radar, a rather large luster of purple signals were moving rapidly across a field.

"What? That must be the entire Decepticon army!" Ratchet exclaimed. Optimus glanced at the cluster, then ordered Ratchet to conjure a portal to the coordinates.

"Autobots, this may be the largest fight we've ever faced. Let's show Megatron the true power of the Autobots. Autobots, roll out!" Arcee, Smokescreen, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee transformed and drove into the portal. Knockout was about to follow, but Optimus stopped him, placing a serving on his shoulder.

"You are still recovering from Sparkinice, it'd be best if you stayed here, along with Starscream.'

"Optimus, with all due respect, I don't feel weak or tired at all. I feel perfectly fine. You said it yourself, this is the largest fight you've ever faced, you need me." Optimus nodded, reluctantly, then turned to Ratchet.

"Stay with Starascream." Without another word, he transformed and drove though the portal, Knockout following close behind. Once the portal closed, Ratchet turned to face Starscream, who was fiddling with a metal tube-like instrument.
"Hey!" Ratchet snapped, causing Starscream to yelp and jump, dropping the instrument, which exploded out in a multitude of sparks.
"Starscream! I needed that!"
~~~
"Megatron, is it not illogical to bring most of the army? If we were to fail..."

"We aren't going to fail." Megatron snapped at the scientist, then held his servo out, freezing the large army in it's tracks. He listened to the wind, and the faint rustling of leaves on the nearby trees.

"Ah, the enemy is near. Hold your guard." The army shifted, as the uncomfortable silence stretched on. Then, a portal opened up just a few hundred feet away from them, and then Arcee jumped out, followed by her teammates and...

"Ah, Optimus! Quite a coincidence, meeting you here. He eyed the red medic, and scowled as the mech gave him a look.

"Megatron, stand down. We both have similar goals, let us work together so an innocent femme does not lose her life." Megatron noticed Knockout's face twitched with sadness, and smiled. Every mech had his weakness.
Except himself, of course.

"Maybe we do, but that won't keep me from destroying my greatest enemy, Decepticons, attack!!!"
The cluster of purple and dark blue started to spread out in the direction of the Autobots
~~~
Knockout POV
As the large mob of Decepticons approached us, I felt something in my spark, not something new, something I had felt before.
Then, the world around me went black.

3rd person POV

He had promised not to let her go, and he planned on keeping that promise. His lips connected to hers was their connection, their bond, the one thing that compelled him the most to hold on. It wasn't until they had crashed into the water that the force had been strong enough to pry them apart.

"No" He thought. She was being taken away. Again. The fire inside of him burned harder than it ever had. He felt is energon pumping, his spark fill with determination.

"No, I will not lose her again, I will not." Right before her servo slipped away from him, he grasped it, squeezing it as hard as he could. The force of the water sent them tumbling all over the place. He locked optics with her, and noticed fear and pleading in them. That did it. Mustering all the strength he had hidden away, he pulled her to him, locking his arm around her waist, and the other around her back. He would not let her be taken away.

He would not let his Nightstreak be taken away.

His Nightstreak.

His.

She was his, and no one else's.

Back
"What?" The world around Knockout spun for a second, then settled. What was that? He recognized it as the moment after their very first kiss, when they had hit the water at the bottom of the waterfall, when he had been so scared of loosing Nightstreak.

My Nightstreak.

She was mine, and no one else's.

Suddenly, his spark was flooded with determination, so much that it had flooded into his arms, his limbs, his helm.

My Nightstreak

The world went mute, not a sound was heard, an everything slowed down.  The bots around him started running towards the mob of Decepticons, Knockout felt as his peds carried him with them. Looking out ahead, he locked optics with a trooper, who ran towards him. He felt as his own peds carried him faster, and his servo raised. Suddenly, he was up in the air, and slamming his balled-up servo into the soft metal of a faceplate. The world around him resumed to normal speed and volumes as the trooper collapsed, completely knocked out.
Knockout smirked then looked around.

Let's see wh0 else want's to get Knocked Out.