[Dead-End sat outside of McAdams Oil House, not interested in what was going on inside. The door opened, briefly letting the music, chatter, and noise of the bar shatter the peace of night, before closing again. Dead-End sighed, knowing exactly whose heavy ped-steps were coming towards him.]
Dead-End: What do you want, Clobber? [He asked, annoyed.]
Clobber: I wanted to know why you left the Oil House, the Energon is great! [Clobber replied happily, sitting on the step, next to Dead-End.]
Dead-End: Because I didn't want to come here in the first place? [He crossed his arms, turning away from Clobber.]
[Her smile faltered, but returned.]
Clobber: Ah, c'mon Dead-End, there must be something you can do. How about karaoke? [She suggested.]
Dead-End: I don't sing. [He replied.]
Clobber: What about dancing?
Dead-End: Nope.
Clobber: Play games?
Dead-End: No.
Clobber: Hang out with friends?
Dead-End:... I don't have friends.
[Clobber blinked in surprise.]
Clobber: What do you mean? I'm your friend, and so are Hot Rod, Perceptor, and Whirl. [Clobber pointed out, confused.]
Dead-End: Not anymore you are. As far as I'm concerned, you four are total strangers to me. [He replied flatly.]
Clobber: What!? After everything we've been through? How can you say that? [Shock was evident in her voice.]
Dead-End: What happened in the past is irrelevant. [He briefly glanced at Clobber, then turned away again.]
Clobber: B-But, you helped us stop the Quintessons— you fought alongside us when Tarn and the Perfect Decepticons showed up! [Clobber argued, getting frustrated.]
Dead-End: That was then, this is now.
[The reply was simple. Too simple. And cold. Clobber wasn't happy.]
Clobber: What's this all about? Have you fried your circuits? You keep ignoring us, pushing us away! Ever since Tarn was destroyed—
[She stopped abruptly. Wait, he started acting weird ever since Tarn died...]
Clobber: That's it, isn't it? Something happened during or after the fight. [She stated.]
Dead-End:... No. [He replied, releasing his crossed arms in favor of gripping the stairs.]
[Clobbers detected an emotion in his voice, one she never heard from him before. Pain.]
Clobber: Dead-End, what's this all about? [She asked gently.]
Dead-End: Nothing, absolutely nothing. [Dead-End said, but his voice failed to conceal his distress.]
Clobber: We both know you're lying. What's wrong, Dead-End? Why are you upset? [Clobber asked.]
Dead-End:... Reasons. [He replied after a pause.]
Clobber: Ok, what are they? [Seeing Dead-End hesitate, she added.] I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about.
Dead-End:... Although Tarn's attack wasn't appreciated, it was the memories and aftermath that upset me. [He told sadly, putting his servos on his lap.]
[Clobber motioned Dead-End to continue. He sighed.]
Dead-End: When Megatron-X came and killed our leader, it hurt. When we thought defeating Megatron-X was the end of our struggles, Astrotrain fell from the sky, dying. We couldn't save him...
- Then Tarn and the Perfect Decepticons came, and they began fighting, I thought our universe would end up like Astrotrains. Then Soundwave defeated Tarn, at the cost of his life. I may not have liked any of them, but I didn't want that to happen. I didn't want a repeat...
Clobber: A repeat of what?
[Dead-End stiffened, he didn't want to talk about that. He didn't want to relive memories. The horror of what he saw, he couldn't take it. But whenever he tried to block the memories, they kept coming back.]
Dead-End: Nothing. [He shook his head.]
Clobber: Dead-End, you can't keep avoiding this. I'm not Rung, but even I know that keeping it in will only hurt you, and others. Please, tell someone, if not me, then one of our friends, or a professional. [Clobber suggested in earnest.]
[There was a long pause. Several minutes went by, and Clobber thought he wouldn't answer, until...]
Dead-End: It happened in Megatron-X' universe. [He began slowly, turning to Clobber.]
[Dead-End was traversing the cracked grounds of Cybertron, bodies everywhere. Megatron sent him to look for survivors of the carnage that took place.]
[He looked at all the Bots and Cons on the ground, fighting the urge to purge as he walked by Clobber, her helm decapitated, next to Lockdown, his chest ripped open with his optics and mouth wide. He stepped over Perceptors battered body, staring at it sadly, then continued walking, averting his gaze from Whirl's crashed form, still smoking.]
[He shivered at the sight of Optimus' body and limbs scattered across the streets and gagged when he saw Hot Rod's frame being eaten by scraplets in an alleyway. He found Soundwave impaled through the spark chamber. He was in a protective position, shielding someone. Looking closer, he saw Lazerbeak underneath him, dead. The sword hit him too.]
[Were there any survivors at all? Was this a waste of time? Were they next?]
[A pained yell echoed through the empty streets, Dead-End froze for only a moment, then transformed and drove as fast as he could. He recognized that shout.]
[As he steered past bodies, avoiding Perfect Decepticons as he passed war zones, and endured bumps and cracks on the road, he could hear the sounds of battle, swords clashing, blasters firing, and screams of pain.]
Please, don't let me be too late...
[Dead-End finally made it out of the city and screeched to a stop. Perfect Decepticons were ripping five Cons apart, and the screams of agony stopped. They lay motionless on the ground, parts everywhere, Energon everywhere.]
No, no no no no—
[Dead-End transformed and took out his blaster, shooting at the purple and black Cons, taking them by surprise. They quickly teleported away, either having better things to do or were spooked because they were seeing double.]
[Dead-End didn't care. He put away his blaster and ran to his comrades, hoping– praying they weren't dead. But it was in vain.]
[Drag Strip. he was covered in blaster holes, legs twisted unnaturally, spark chamber exposed, and empty. Breakdown. his head, arms, and legs were ripped off his body, which was covered in sword gashes, leaking. He had a horrified expression on his face, with an optic missing.]
[Wildrider. he was torn in half, Energon everywhere. Next to him was his counterpart, he was sliced vertically, whereas Wildrider was ripped horizontally.]
[Dead-End shook at the sickening sight. His team... His friends... They were dead. All of them.]
[Coughing caught his attention. He turned to see Motormaster further away on his back. He still functioned.]
Dead-End: Motormaster! [He ran to his side in a spark beat, examining his wounds.]
[His spark was exposed, and shrinking. Both his leader's optics were blown out, an arm was missing, and his legs were gone. He was fading, fast.]
Motormaster: Dead... End? I-I thought... [He coughed up Energon before he could finish.]
Dead-End: The Dead-End you know is dead, I'm a different Dead-End from another universe. Megatron– Not Megatron-X, just Megatron– is looking for survivors to help us with something—but that can wait. We need to get you out of here before those creeps come back and—
Motormaster: I'm already dead... Dead-End... [He rasped, wheezing painfully.]
This can't be happening. Not again.
Dead-End: Don't talk like that! Your Motormaster, leader of the Stunticons– my boss! We combine into Menasor, we're unstoppable—you're unstoppable! [He couldn't tell if he was making a statement or a plea.]
[Motormaster slowly shook his head, a small, weak smile on his face.]
Motormaster: Not this time... [His intakes were labored, his spark was almost out.]
Dead-End: Hold on, please! I just need to contact Megatron, surely he can do something! [He begged as he watched his leader sorrowfully.]
Motormaster: Too... Late...
Dead-End: There must be something I can do– anything! Please, tell me what to do! [He cried desperately.]
Motormaster:... Be there... [He slowly lifted his only servo.]
[Dead-End took it in his servo and held it gently, yet firmly. They stayed that way in silence, as other battles echoed from the city. And as the sun began to rise, Dead-End sobbed, holding the servo of his dead leader, and friend.]
Dead-End: I couldn't save them. I failed them again! I should have tried contacting Megatron sooner– or patched them up myself or-or something! [Dead-End cried.]
Clobber: It's not your fault, Dead-End. Megatron wouldn't have made it in time, and you're not a medic. [Clobber reassured, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.]
Dead-End:... I could have gotten there in time if I was only faster... [He sniffled, wanting to kick himself.]
Clobber: You were going as fast as you could, you did everything possible.
Dead-End:... But what about the others after that? I failed them too. [He looked at Clobber, coolant in his optics.]
Clobber: You didn't fail them. You followed Megatron until the end, you didn't know the Perfect Decepticons would come and kill Astrotrain, and no one thought Soundwave would die. None of that was your fault. [She said, bringing him into a hug. surprisingly, he didn't resist.] Is that why you were trying to avoid us?
[Dead-End nodded slowly.]
Dead-End: It hurt. Seeing all my friends dead, watching my team die again, and witnessing our leader die at the servos of his monster of a counterpart, and then Astrotrain and Soundwave... I didn't want to experience it again. [He whimpered, hugging tighter.]
[This surprised Clobber, but she hugged back as he began to cry again.]
Clobber: And you won't, I promise. I'll help you through the trauma in any way I can. Hot Rod, Perceptor, and Whirl can help too if you're willing to tell them. [Clobber said, pulling away until she saw Dead-End's face.]
Dead-End: I... Thank you, Clobber. ... Sorry for trying to push you guys away, I thought it would help with the pain. Not having friends means I won't risk another loss, but it doesn't work that way. [He wiped away a few stray tears.]
Clobber: It's ok, just know we'll always be there, no matter what. [She gave his shoulders a light squeeze.]
[Dead-End gave a rare smile, Clobber returning it. The two sat together in comfortable silence for a while, watching the stars shine.]
❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣~❣
Hey guys, hope you all enjoyed the story! This is my first (and probably last) Cyberverse story. I had fun writing this, all the emotions were interesting and a little tricky at times, but it went smoothly overall. Until next time!❣