Chapter Twenty-One
The Blood Price
Primus... what a pitiful scene.
Barricade eyed the miserable humans and equally gloomy Autobots warily as they began to be grouped into pairs by Ironhide, who appeared to have declared himself Supreme Ruler of the Universe in Prime's absence and was ordering everyone around as if he was back on Cybertron with a team of sparklings. Skyfire, the obnoxiously nice Air Commander, was hardly helping matters - he was chivvying the humans along, chivvying the Autobots along, and generally grating on Barricade's fuel passages.
"Right," the cannon-wielding buffoon announced ostentatiously. "We're splittin' up into groups of two - and no more than two. One human per Autobot. You're all going to be with your secondary guardians, not primary - Prime's last orders, so no arguments."
Secondary guardians?
A deep, angry frown distorted Barricade's features, all four of his crimson optics narrowing suspiciously as he picked his charge out among the group of humans. What did the imbecile of a weapons specialist mean by that? Why would the humans had to travel with their secondary guardians - Rose was riding with him. This was the perfect opportunity to slate the medic's name to her and try and wheedle her into giving her half-spark to him; to have this opportunity stolen would be disastrous for his plans.
Rose, who appeared to be oblivious to his fury, raised her eyebrows; her eyes, he noticed, were still rimmed red from her tears over her stepsister's departure. "What do you mean, secondary guardians?" she asked perplexedly. "I only just got a primary guardian, mate."
He knew he was supposed to be trying to frag this human at some point, but her accent was infuriating.
... And why did she insist on calling everyone 'mate'? What did it mean to humans - it couldn't possibly mean the same as what it meant to Cybertronians, or she would be spark mate to just about every male Autobot and human amongst the group. It was absolutely absurd. Rose Connelly in general was absolutely absurd.
"Yeah, kid, secondary guardians." Ironhide motioned towards Ratchet with one of his cannons, which were activated for no apparent reason that Barricade could see. "There's yours - go on."
Barricade's expression twisted into an angry scowl when he saw it.
Had he just said that the medic was the girl's secondary guardian?
Anger began to wind its shadowy coils around Barricade's glacial spark as Rose turned around inquisitively, her lips parting to some extent when she saw who Ironhide was talking about. He didn't miss the slight rise in her adrenaline levels, and was immediately suspicious of it - what had that slagger been telling her?! She quickly closed her mouth and tried to look casually interested, but he could tell that she was affected by the news in some way. He would be damned to the Pit if she was going to Mission City with him...
"... Oh," Rose said quietly, and he grew even more livid when he saw her smile at him. "Alright."
And Ratchet smiled back.
Oh, you devious slagger, Barricade thought wrathfully, his fists tightening as he glared at the Autobot with absolute disgust. Rage was boiling up in his spark and burning the inside of its casing with fury, and he snarled softly to himself. So much for your Autobot lies about fighting with honour... no one pulls a sly move like that on me, Autoscum...
It was glaringly obvious what had happened, and Barricade cursed himself for not considering the threat earlier. He knew that the humans had each been appointed secondary guardians - some quite unknowingly - but had never paused to think about the fact that Rose had still been in need of one. Of course, leaving an opportunity open like that had been foolish, and he had paid the price for it when Ratchet had seized it... but it wouldn't happen again. You did not cross Barricade and live.
Fine.
If the medic wanted to play dirty, then so would he.
Trying to resist smirking, he began to scan the World Wide Web for a human image that a female would find overpoweringly attractive. The hologram he was currently using was a moustached, middle-aged police officer that he had chosen for its simplicity and ordinary appearance... that would not do. He needed something... irresistible.
Slowly but surely, he pieced his new image together. As the humans began to move towards the Autobots that they would be travelling with, Barricade was downloading the required information that he would need to project a hologram of a tall, arresting and powerfully built man of an indeterminable age, with jet-black hair and the scarlet eyes that he would be forced, by his Decepticon heritage, to keep. Accessing several websites that dealt with clothing, he selected a simple black-and-white attire and, on a whim, a number of ear and lip piercings.
An additional thought occurred to him when he spotted Robert Connelly talking to Ratchet - presumably about his daughter. He let his self-satisfied half-smile show on his face as, with a mental flourish, he added his customised police officer's badge on the suit's pocket.
It wasn't a police uniform, but the badge made it look him look just a little more like a guardian than Ratchet did.
Watch me be the victor, medic.
Barricade's true form locked down into impermanent holo-stasis as he transferred his consciousness to the hologram, shaking himself off and grimacing in disgust. Being a hologram was absolutely hideous - he had only done it once or twice so as not to attract unnecessary attention to his driverless vehicular form, and each time had been a short nightmare.
He gritted his faintly pointed teeth for a moment, clenching his fists and waiting for his body and mind to adjust to the new form. Then his bloody eyes narrowed and he stormed over towards where Rose was turning to say her goodbyes to her father.
Robert Connelly spotted him first, and cocked an eyebrow. "Who's this, Rose?" he asked sharply.
"Who?" Rose questioned irritably, turning around - and then the hologram's striking appearance took its toll.
At once, her eyes grew wide; her heart rate jumped from sixty-six to one hundred and nine beats per minute; her breath caught and her temperature began to rise as colour flushed into her cheeks. Barricade smirked as he approached her, delighted with the effect the masculine image was clearly having - the crooked smile only served to make her heart rate increase by a couple more beats. He quirked a pierced eyebrow at her and she swallowed, putting a hand against Ratchet's leg to steady herself.
That, he reasoned, could be interpreted as being good or bad.
Rose's father looked between the two of them, looking annoyed. "Well?" he demanded, and Barricade cursed his bad luck for having a British spark partner. These accents... "Would anyone like to inform me, or shall I just -"
"Greetings, Agent Connelly," Barricade interrupted shortly. "I am Barricade."
For a moment, he dimly wished that he didn't have the deep, discordant voice of the interrogator that he was. In hologram form, the Cybertronian voices remained distinctly mechanical and exactly the same as they were before - which made the human image look strange in comparison - and Robert Connelly stared at him in shock. "Y-you're who?" he stammered.
"Barricade, Dad," Rose explained, her own voice wavering a little as she gaped at him. "M-my guardian, you know... the one that turns into a police car..."
Bingo, Barricade thought victoriously as the human male's entire expression changed from one of suspicion to one of something close to delight. Ratchet seemed to catch on to what he was doing and glared at him coldly as he continued to smirk to himself from the medic's shin level.
"A police car? Well, that's marvellous," the man raved optimistically, patting Rose on the shoulder. "I didn't notice before... I suppose I was concentrating on the fact that he was a giant alien robot... but that's wonderful, love. I couldn't have chosen a better guardian myself. He's even got a police badge!" he commented approvingly, clearly missing the Decepticon mask. "Why don't you ride with him to Mission City, Rose?"
Oh, you foolish, naïve human. You are too trusting...
"Yes," Barricade agreed pointedly, glancing at Ratchet with a wicked grin. "Your paternal unit is correct. It would be better for you."
Rose frowned, looking uncertain and rather torn. "But - but Ironhide said that we had to travel with our secondary guardians," she protested hesitantly, shrinking back against Ratchet and pressing a palm to his neon-yellow armour. "I don't think I'd be able to, Dad... I have to go with Ratchet. That's what Optimus wanted..."
Barricade folded his arms over his massive, muscular chest and narrowed his eyes infinitesimally, glaring into hers with the authority and force that he was determined to exercise over his obstinately mutinous charge. She was his - she belonged to him, whether she liked it or not. She was clinging to the medic like a space barnacle, and he didn't like it one bit... in fact, he was starting to lose his patience with the insubordinate little adolescent. And with the insufferable slagger that had her touching him...
"I am your guardian," he snarled through clenched teeth, resisting the temptation to grab her and give her a shake. "You're coming with me."
She gave him an angry, confused look in response, but Ratchet intervened before she could speak again.
"Rose will be travelling to Mission City with her secondary guardian, just like the other humans," he said coolly, directing his words both at Barricade and Rose's father. "My apologies if either of you have any concerns about the matter - I suggest, if you do, that you take them up with Ironhide."
"What authority has he to deem whom she travels with?" Barricade spat. "He is not the commander."
The fact that he barely reached the medic's knee was starting to really infuriate him now, and he folded his arms irritably. It was bad enough that even in his true form he wasn't as tall as the accursed Autobot - Ratchet was almost eight feet taller than him, exasperating as it was - but being a criminally undersized human was just humiliating for a Decepticon hunter.
"He is the best we have at the moment, and I believe that he will do excellently," was Ratchet's sharp comeback to his statement, and Barricade sneered at him before he could stop himself. "I suggest, Barricade, that you go and report to him directly for your orders."
Wrath was filling Barricade to the very brim, boiling over like the molten metals mined from Cybertron as he clenched his massive fist and snarled at the disgusting piece of Autoscum, angry beyond belief. The nerve of it... Robert Connelly took a tentative step backwards when he saw his infuriated glare, joining his daughter in cowering behind the medic like frightened animals.
Pathetic. All of them were pathetic.
In an instant, he snapped back to his true form, the hologram fading out of existence as he stood up as a Cybertronian again.
/You will pay for that, you conniving son-of-a-glitch/ he threatened over a private link, and Ratchet looked unimpressed. /You may have won this battle... but you will not win the war. The girl will be mine - enjoy your time with her. Soon you will be watching me steal her away from you./
/I will, Barricade/ Ratchet assured him in a maddeningly unruffled tone. /I treasure her for who she is... not for the power that she holds for me. Unlike you./
/Get slagged, Autoscum/ he hissed with vitriol, giving him one last glare for good measure before he turned and began making his way over to Ironhide, shaking with rage. /I will not be defeated by you, you useless old scrap heap!/
/Don't get your tailpipe in a twist, Barricade.../
It was extremely lucky, in Barricade's opinion, that what was happening on the other side of the parking lot was at least dimly interesting to him - else the pathetic son-of-a-glitch would have found his own tailpipe rammed up his aft and his head on the other side of the universe in a Junkion scrap heap.
"That ain't fair!" Seraphim was shouting at Ironhide, her hands on her hips as she stood in front of her charge protectively. "He's my charge!"
"And your alternate form is not suitable for this trip, kid!" Ironhide argued back, jabbing a thick finger at the tiny femme. "Carlos is ridin' with Sunstreaker - Prime's orders to Skyfire directly. No arguments!" he snapped when she opened her mouth again. "D'you want him to get so exhausted that he falls off you and smashes his skull open?"
Arcee looked shocked at his brutal description. "Ironhide!"
So this was another 'secondary guardians' case. Barricade was sorely tempted to join in with the verbal assault on Ironhide - he was just as irate with the decision as the diminutive femme was - but he didn't want to appear desperate for this human. The only reason he needed the little glitch was to complete his spark and reach his full power potential... he didn't share the medic's charming opinion of 'treasuring her for who she is, not for the power that she holds'. Ridiculous Autobot niceties.
Seraphim turned around, folding her arms and clenching her jaw. She looked as if she might leak from the optics if she didn't control herself, but managed to hold it back. "I'm a good guardian," she muttered.
Starscream suddenly laughed scornfully from where he was preparing to transform; the sound was incongruous and sour, and made his angular face twist into a bitter grimace. "You're about as much good as a guardian as Megatron would be," he sneered at the small, proud drone. "Remember when you tried to defend your friend against me and I held you up like a rag doll when you tried to free her? You're pathetic."
And, for a moment, Seraphim looked truly hurt.
Barricade couldn't help but be surprised, even in his blistering anger with the medic; Starscream had sounded even more heartless than he had in his Decepticon days. And back in those days... Starscream had been empty. Certainly he had wondered, in the past, whether or not he had a spark... but Starscream... he certainly hadn't had one. Or he had done a spectacular job of hiding it, if it had ever existed. The murder... the slaughter... no spark could have survived that carnage.
Yet there must have been a spark there... for that human girl, Alexis, had awakened it.
Skyfire's charge, Jade Rivers, let out an insulted gasp and clenched her small fists from where she was standing at Ironhide's feet. "Seraphim is not pathetic!" she shouted at Starscream, reddening in fury. "You take that back right now, Starscream!"
But the femme's face had already contorted into a indignant scowl. Ignoring Jade, she narrowed her cobalt optics at the massive jet. "I may be a shitty guardian, you fraghead," she spat poisonously, "But at least my charge ain't fuckin' dead!"
Silence.
Barricade couldn't help but be impressed by Seraphim's bravado, suicidal as it was. She had always been far smaller than the others - even when she had been a Decepticon fighter drone, she had been smaller than her fellow drones - but even then, she had been gutsy. As a Decepticon, she had attacked Starscream quite fearlessly; later, as an Autobot, he had seen her battling Soundwave at the base, despite how tiny she was in comparison to the Communications Officer. Strangely, he found that he vaguely admired it.
Vaguely.
Starscream's resentful expression twitched immediately, the antagonism giving way to a pain that Barricade had never seen from him before. He knew that the once Air Commander had suffered under Megatron on Cybertron, but he had never shown weakness in front of his subordinates. It just wasn't done among Decepticons.
"You're right," he finally snarled. "Evidently, your guardianship is superior to mine. Thanks for the reminder."
With that, he transformed into a jet and blasted into the sky, pursued at a slightly more tranquil pace by Skyfire and two human Raptor aircraft. Barricade spied Jade looking miserable as she watched the Spirit bomber take to the air, and tried to repress a feeling of irritation. It was pitiable how humans and Autobots became so dependent on each other.
Or humans and Decepticons, as was so blindingly evident with Starscream's reaction to Seraphim's taunt.
"Sera... he didn't mean it," Jade said gently, putting a hand on the drone's metallic arm. "And you didn't really mean that, did you?"
Although her arms remained folded stubbornly over her chest, Seraphim's stiff look slackened and she cast her optics downwards. "No," she admitted, her voice wavering slightly. "That was pretty out of order of me..." She glanced at the human female. "I'm okay, Jadie... you go with 'Hide. Stay safe, yeah? And you, Carlos."
Her charge nodded, pressing his fist against hers for some unknown, but undoubtedly ludicrous reason. "You're the best freakin' guardian ever, Sera," he told her in a stern voice, and she nodded almost tiredly as he patted her on the back. "Don't you let that hijo de puta tell you different, vale? You rock." He wrapped an arm around her in a brief half-hug and she looked slightly comforted, but still troubled.
The head buffoon interrupted their sentimental farewells at that moment.
"Right. Autobots, Decepticons, humans - transform and get going," the Autobot weapons specialist announced dryly before transforming into a hefty pickup truck and allowing Jade to climb in on the passenger's side.
Barricade smirked sadistically as he followed suite and folded back down into the Mustang police car, his siren whining to life as he started his engine and roared past Ratchet within five seconds of doing so.
Ironhide obviously couldn't bring himself to say transform and roll out.
Carlos glared out of Sunstreaker's open window from behind his dark sunglasses and puffed on his cigarette determinedly as they sped down the freeway.
This absolutely sucked. He really liked Sunstreaker, and he was glad that he had such an awesome secondary guardian, but it would have been so much more fun if he'd been riding to Mission City with Seraphim. She was his best friend, apart from Rad and Jade, and it would have been great to try and race the others on the Vespa - 'try' being the operative word. That was the kind of pointless fun that they usually had together, and he loved it - hanging out with her had always been great.
He felt sorry for her, too. It had been really cruel of Starscream to say that to her - sure, he had just lost his novia, but he didn't have to take it out on a little 'bot like Seraphim. Mind you, she had been pretty harsh in return... she was small, all right, but she had the mouth of someone at least three times Skyfire's size.
Sighing heavily, he took another drag from his heaven-sent cigarrillo and leant his chin against the window's edge.
He wasn't technically meant to be smoking - he had been trying, after Jade had begged him, to give them up - but he couldn't be bothered now. Dio, he was in the middle of an alien war; he was about to fight alongside his padre and the Ejército del Aire; and, just to top it all off, Jade still wasn't really talking to him properly. He was way too pissed with her to listen to her about not smoking now - he needed a freaking break!
But he wasn't pissed with her.
He couldn't be pissed with Jadie. His Jadie.
"Hey, Carlos... you okay?" Sunstreaker's voice suddenly came through the speakers, interrupting the feel-good tune that had previously been playing on the radio. "I mean... I wasn't going to say anything... but you look like you're about to kill somebody. And you should probably put that deathstick out before the Hatchet self-destructs."
Carlos almost choked on his cigarette. "... 'Deathstick'? Man, where the heck did you hear that?" he snorted, grinning in spite of himself.
"Ah, I dunno... maybe from Rose?" was the impish response. "Her British talk cracks me up - she's great. But seriously, kid, why are you puffing on that Pit-spawned thing? I'm no medic, but I can tell that the chemicals aren't exactly human friendly. And they're making me stink like a slag mine."
"Sorry, hombre."
He guessed that Sunstreaker was right - he hadn't sounded annoyed, but it was kind of selfish to smoke in a sentient car. He flicked the offending cigarette out of the window, and winced when he saw it connect with the windscreen of Agent Simmons's SUV. The man gave him an infuriated glare and shook his fist out of the window, and Carlos grinned guiltily at him through Sunstreaker's back windshield, giving him a sloppy salute before twisting back around in his seat and praying that he would have forgotten by the time they got to the city.
Sunstreaker sounded satisfied when he spoke again. "Hey, good man. That'll save me a beating from Hatchet."
Carlos chuckled. "No hay problema, buddy. What's your action plan for Mission City?" he questioned inquisitively when the thought occurred to him. "You're gonna be with Sideswipe, right?"
"Oh, yeah. My bro and I stick together wherever we go, battle or not," Sunstreaker assured him proudly. "It's always been that way, since we were sparked a few hundred million years back. It's pretty rare to get twins on Cybertron, but the All Spark created us at the exact same time... it's never happened again since us, either. The universe can only cope with one dose of us. You got any brothers, Carlos?" he added curiously, sounding genuinely interested.
A sense of cold, unfamiliar homesickness suddenly washed through Carlos and he folded his arms, clenching his jaw.
He didn't often think about home now that he had his new life in America, but when he did... he always wished that he hadn't. Remembering his former life with his mother and younger sister in his hometown, Morelia, always cut him up inside. It had all been so simple back then... true, he loved his Californian lifestyle, but he missed that exotic taste of home from time to time.
"No," he admitted slowly in answer to his secondary guardian's question, rubbing the back of his head. "But... I got a sister."
"Oh yeah? What's she like?"
The young Hispanic man leant back in the upholstered seat, almost putting his mucky, booted feet up on the dashboard before he remembered himself and kept them where they were. "Her name's Leiana, but we call her Lala," he remembered affectionately, smiling to himself at the memory of his spunky little sister. "She's such a tomboy... I swear, man, she would actually beat up guys in her high school. One of 'em had a bruise the size of Mexico City on his ass once she was done with him... you don't mess with her."
Sunstreaker whistled. "Sounds like a chick to contend with, my friend. "
"She is, dude," Carlos grinned, shaking his head. "But I love her to bits. I miss her a lot... but y'know. This is too big for a kid like her."
"It's too big for any of you kids," Sunstreaker reminded him in a jokingly stern tone, but he didn't sound serious. Sunstreaker never sounded serious, Carlos reflected with an amused smile. "Ah well. It's too late for you punk-aft teenagers now - we're stuck with you, slag the lot of you."
He laughed incredulously. "Whatever, man - you love us!" he pointed out almost accusingly, knowing without a doubt that he was right.
"What, you blame me? I haven't got anything else to love - I remain, to this day, stubbornly mateless." He sounded quite annoyed, and Carlos couldn't help but grin behind his hand - he could just sense that this was the beginning of a three-hour long rant about Sunstreaker, as told by Sunstreaker. "I mean, what's not to love about me? Back on Cybertron, femmes were fawning over my paintjob - seriously. It was hotter than it was here on Earth - no offence, but your paint here sucks tailpipe."
"Uh... none taken, man..."
"I mean, Arcee's taken by Bumblebee, and Seraphim... well, I like her and all, but she's kind of weird sometimes. And I swear she likes you."
Carlos snorted with laughter. He had already been over this a thousand times with pretty much everyone on the team: Seraphim was his best friend, but she would never be more than that, for reasons that he swiftly voiced to the narcissistic Autobot. "Sorry, buddy... I don't quite dig the alien robots. Unlike some," he added sullenly, narrowing his eyes and squinting out of the window again as he reclined in his seat.
There she was. Jade, leaning out of Ironhide's window.
Her long, dark hair was blowing about in the wind as she looked ahead, the strands barely held in place by the blue kerchief she always wore. She had a slightly worried expression on her sweet, softly featured face, and the force of the air rushing past was making her cheeks glow a rosy, fresh shade of pink as she scanned the fiery sky, chewing on her lip tentatively. Carlos eyed her grouchily, a mixture of annoyance and adoration pushing its way through his veins and making his vision turn red in frustration.
Looking for the big bastardo, no doubt.
Sunstreaker paused, clearly trying to work out what he meant, before he let out an astounded cry and veered slightly to the right, prompting Carlos to seize the edges of the seat to keep his ass from sliding off of it. "You like Jade?" he exclaimed, ignoring Carlos's exhausted shushing motions. "But - Carlos, seriously, man -"
"I know, I know!" Carlos complained, aggravation surging up in his chest before he could stop it. "'Spark partner' and all that mierda."
Cristo, even Sunstreaker was getting all pissy about his crush on Jade. He'd hoped that the Twins, at least, might be okay with the whole thing - that they might not flare up like freaking flamethrowers at the mere mention of his outlawed attraction to his closest female friend - but his hopes, once again, were dashed.
¿Mi vida es muy mal en este momento, no? he mourned blackly, resting his tanned cheek against his hand.
"Well... I don't want to be a killjoy, buddy, but it's true," Sunstreaker admitted, sounding a bit winded by the mere suggestion. "I mean, I get why you like her - she's good-looking for a meatbag, I guess -" Carlos raised an eyebrow. "But you don't want to mess with the spark bond. Back on Cybertron they used to execute 'bots that looked the wrong way at another mech's femme... we never got told how they did it exactly, but a couple of friends of mine were arrested by the Elite Guard for that. Never saw 'em again."
Jeez! Were these guys savages, or something?
Carlos grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. "Estupendo. I'm doomed," he muttered, sliding down in his seat.
Oh, this planet.
This innocent, glittering jewel in the depths of space... just waiting for obliteration.
Sideways allowed himself a pitiless smirk as he scanned the planet Earth once again, his mauve optics mere slits of callous satisfaction as he took the planet's sheer exquisiteness in. Even as it was choked by smoke, this world was a beautiful one - it was true, sickening as it was to admit - but beauty meant bounty. Organic bounty: fresh fossil fuel for the taking, and life for his master to draw into himself and become even stronger.
And six billion insignificant human lives to extinguish in the process.
In a way, he supposed that it was a pity. The humans would have made rather an admirable workforce - there were enough of them to make them relatively useful, and some of them were adequate when it came to strength - but Unicron had no interest in recruiting slaves. His purpose was to consume every last one of these trivial worlds; to suck every breath of life that they hid from the outside; to destroy, to obliterate, to achieve his goal of ultimate peace in the universe.
His master's aspirations were good.
His methods... were less so.
Turning back to the solitary, hellfire-crimson optic that was looming behind him, he swept his upper body into a deep bow of absolute adulation. His master was so... powerful. He deserved only the greatest reverence from mere subordinates such as himself... "My Lord," he said softly, keeping his optics lowered as he spoke out of respect. "The troops are ready for battle. Should I give the command?"
Behind him, there came the soft, delicious hum of Unicron's battle drones as they waited impatiently for the moment to come. The moment that Unicron would give His assent and they could fall upon the Earth in a hailstorm of protoforms; the moment that they could fly down and tear their claws into the hides of Autobots, Decepticons and humans alike. There would be no mercy... not for any of them. They were all pathetic and inadequate. Their war was worthless. They had no place in Unicron's perfect, idyllic universe.
The metallic ground rumbled beneath his feet as Unicron spoke, and the drones shrieked excitedly at hearing their master's voice. "They have sent Prime and the All Spark..." Unicron seethed, the colossal optic burning so red-hot that Sideways could feel it scorching on his armour like the Sun. "PRIME!"
The drones screeched louder, basking in His rage. Baying for blood.
Sideways wheeled around, his own optics darkening as he scanned what little of the planet he could see through the smoke and flames that surrounded His glorious form. "What do you mean, my Lord?" he questioned, shaking his head.
Then he saw it.
From the thick, black smog that was slowly spreading through Earth's atmosphere, there was a small, dazzlingly white light. It was like a pearl in the deepest part of the ocean; its sparkling illumination looked out of place and unfamiliar in the hot, filthy conflagration that cloaked his master, and he snarled softly when he focused with his binocular vision and tried to recognise the winged, aerodynamic shape that was slowly approaching from the continent of America.
... a ship?
Then, with a wrenching jolt of horror, he realised.
"The Axalon!" he cried out in outrage, frenzied ire pulsing in his spark as he clenched his fists and let out a roar of recognition. "SKYFIRE!"
He remembered the stupid oaf of an Autobot telling him about his plans for a ship in the brief period that he had been with the Autobots. During that time, none of them had been particularly inclined to associate with him - for perfectly good reasons, he supposed - but Skyfire had always been far too trusting. He had indulged a little information about his plans for an exploration vessel, but Sideways had never suspected that it might come to anything. Now, it seemed... it posed the only possible threat to his master.
How... infuriating.
"SILENCE!"
The drones cowered and whined before Unicron as His vast optic narrowed and blazed in fury, and Sideways felt a slight twinge of fear when he saw how infuriated He truly was. He was more than aware of His power, and had no wish to be at the receiving end of it.
The tremors slowly subsided.
"Sideways..." Unicron growled, and he swiftly dropped into a second bow. "I will deal with this ship. Even the Matrix and the All Spark have no power against me." He paused. "The humans and the Autobots are gathering an aerial and ground-based resistance force in the place called Mission City in North America. You will lead the troops there and destroy everything you find. Leave none alive... but bring the seeker, Starscream, to me. I want to see his face before he dies."
"Ah, yes," Sideways purred in concurrence, smirking beneath his battle mask. "Starscream."
The dawn of that pitiable coward's death was finally breaking on this blood-red horizon. Sideways remembered all too well how Megatron had treated Starscream in the past... and now, on this glorious day, it would happen again. Every layer of protection that Starscream had built up would be stripped away... every ounce of hope would be gone when Unicron destroyed him. Sideways could only sigh sorrowfully at the fact that he wouldn't be there to see that burning, over-confident light finally fade from Starscream's optics.
"He will be the last to die," Unicron rumbled. "I will tear his mate to shreds before his very optics..."
"An excellent plan, my liege," he congratulated wholeheartedly in response, admiring Unicron's wonderfully evil genius. He truly was a master of planning, even if he was a little excessive in his determination to obliterate the entire universe to achieve peace. "Alexis Paxton will die today."
Unicron chuckled darkly. "They all will, my loyal Sideways. Each and every one of them will be gone... as if they never were."
Sideways narrowed his optics victoriously, his mouth twisting into a cold smirk beneath his ever-present battle mask. They deserved to die, slag them all. Their war had torn entire galaxies apart, and now Unicron would annihilate them as a punishment. And, although he wasn't absolutely certain that a universe of nothingness would be pleasurable to exist as a part of... at least it would be at peace.
Which was right.
Suddenly, Unicron's patience seemed to disappear, and the surface of the planet-sized Lord of Darkness began to shudder alarmingly beneath Sideways's feet. "GO, my minions!" He bellowed, the sound reverberating through his metallic form as Sideways leapt up into the air obediently, transforming into his protoform and propelling himself forward - away from his master, and towards the organic planet that he had hoped never to step foot on again after the battle with the Autobots. "RISE for your master!"
"TO EARTH!" Sideways screamed, and the drones immediately transformed into their metallic pod forms and followed him, screeching. "TO VICTORY!"
They would pay. Each and every human would pay for battling with each other so violently and ending so many innocent lives of their own kind; the Autobots would pay for every Decepticon they had killed, and the Decepticons would pay for every Autobot they had killed. They had all succumbed to chaos and combat, and had tried to be greater and darker than Unicron... and now He would make them pay for disturbing the peace of his slumber.
And Ratchet would pay for what he did to Thunderblast.
He would pay with blood.