The base was filled with a silence, so eerie and tense, even the toughest bots would be tempted to break it. While Knockout and Nightstreak were in the medical bay, deep in recharge with the energon fluids, the rest of the team was trying to wrap their helms around what had just happened.
"It's impossible, she offlined eons ago, there is no way that is the real Nightstreak." Ratchet hissed.
"It certainly does seem impossible, but we must not wule out the possibility that she never twuly became one with the All Spark." Optimus said, standing on top of the computer as to gain height.
"But how weird is it that she shows up right as a team member goes missing? It's too much of a coincidence." Arcee countered. "I, for one, don't trust her."
"Knockout obviously does. You didn't see the way he defended her, I did. Those two obviously have something going on. The way she looked at him, it's clear they are more than friends." Bumblebee added.
"Wow, Bee! I didn't know you had a romantic side!" Smokescreen joked, and Bumblebee crossed his arms.
"Have you seen Knockout? Gashes and scratches covering his amour, dents and energon stains, and a chunk missing from his arms, she clearly did something to him." Arcee growled.
"They fell from a cliff, into a river, Arcee. Don't you think maybe that would scratch or two?" Bumblebee snapped back, annoyed at Arcee's impatience.
"And how did they fall off? It was clearly her fault! Knockout wouldn't just jump off a cliff, especially not with a random femme. She clearly wanted to harm him! She's a fake, a con! Knockout isn't capable of love, especially not to a femme like her! They are both JUST LYING DECEPTICON FREAKS! THEY DON'T..."
"ARCEE, ENOUGH!" Optimus' small but mighty voice sliced through the femme's speech, and she glowered at him, then everybody else in the group.
"I...need...some...time..." She growled darkly, before storming off to her berthroom.
~~~
Everybody thought Nightstreak was asleep. No one knew, she was listening. Yes, she had heard the entire conversation, and her optics filled with tears. It felt as if yet another hole was shot through her spark. Such a short time ago, she had been so happy, and now look at her: a pathetic young femme madly in love who's issues destroy her from the inside out. Her energon tank clenched, churning faster and faster. The entire world spun, her head was a carousel, she could feel herself swaying back and forth. No, she couldn't go through this again. She glanced at Knockout, and remembered his words:
"Don't you ever try to kill yourself again, do you hear me?"
She replayed the words over and over in her head, listening for any signal, any sign that would stop her. Nothing. Then, the words filled the room, unmistakable, clear as day.
"THEY ARE BOTH JUST LYING DECEPTICON FREAKS!" She froze, letting the words sink in. Both? She was clearly talking about her and Knockout. Which meant...
She glanced at Knockout, and her tank churned even more. Now she knew, why he had looked so familiar, why she had been so afraid of him the first time they had met. Now she knew why she recognized him.
"Knockout, the Decepticon medic." She muttered to herself, just barely choking it out through all the tears that lodged inside of her. The fire, that inferno that had been trapped inside of her for so long, suppressed by any feelings she had left, was finally set free, consuming her body. She could feel her frame shake, and anger start to flood as she glanced at the cherry mech.
"You..." She glowered, letting the fire take over her without so much as a fight. "You are the reason...the reason my carriers gone..." Growling, she transformed her servo into a canon, and aimed it straight at Knockout's spark.
"You lied..." The words came out so deep, so dark, they could've been mistaken as those of Megatron's. "You lied to me.. You don't love me, you don't even care a frag about me. You used me..." Her spark started pounding faster and faster, pumping the hatred through her veins.
"You...are no different then the sire that ruined my life so long ago." Her servo clenched into a fist, digging her fingers into her plating. She could feel the transformation, it was almost complete.
"You will pay for it all." She warmed up the canon, and pressed it up against Knockout's plating. His optics twitched, his body stirring from the heat pressed up against his spark. His optics opened, as he stared at Nightstreak with confused optics.
"Nightstreak.."
"Silence." She growled. Her voice was no longer cheery, happy. It was dark, had a sort of echo to it, one that could strike fear into anyone. Knockout's optics widened, as he realized what was going on.
"One word, and I'll make this painful for you. You are a liar, a cheat, a fraud. You don't deserve to live. You don't deserve my love." She growled. As Knockout stared into her optics, he noticed the sky blue beautiful optics which he had so fallen in love with fade away, and be taken over by a blood red.
"No..." He gasped.
"That's it. Say Goodbye." She readied the canon to be fired. Knockout shut his optics, awaiting the shot, and scream that would be his last words.
But, it never came.
As he opened his optics again, and stared into hers, he noticed, a glimmer of blue, just a hint of it, glow for a second, before disappearing. Nightstreak was shaking violently, her face twisted, breaths uneven.
"Come on, stupid, shoot!" She scolded herself. She started shaking harder, and a low growl escaped from within her. "What is wrong with me?!" Tears started pouring down her cheeks, as she clenched her teeth together. The fire started to burn. All the memories the happy ones she had made in the past few days, were being destroyed, turned into ashes, and blow away, to be forgotten completely.
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGG!" She screamed an ear splitting scream. She just couldn't shoot him. She gave him one last look, turned around, and ran. The team, including Arcee, jerked their helms up at the scream, and had gone running in the direction. Nightstreak rounded the corner, and they froze, while she continued charging. She jumped, and slammed her fist into Bulkhead's face, knocking him against the wall. Immediately, she spun and roundhouse kicked Smokescreen in the chest, knocking him back too. Bumblebee went running to him to check if he was ok. Ratchet lunged at her with his blades unsheathed, and managed to slice nasty gash through the strange symbol on her arm. She cried out in pain, then brought her fist under his face, and punched upwards. She heard small ped steps echoing through the hall, and transformed her canon. As soon as Arcee rounded the corner, she was shot in the arm. It didn't knock it off, but it did disorient her enough to knock her to the ground.
"No!" Cried Bee, as he lunged for the femme. Nightstreak chuckled, and stepped aside, completely dodging the lunge. She shot at the back of the scout, making him cry in pain as he was thrown against the wall. As she stared at the downed team, she felt what seemed to be tiny balls being flung at her arm. She whirled and smiled darkly, at the tiny charging prime, who was currently shooting at her.
"I will not let you harm any more of my team!"
"Who else is there to harm except you?" Nightstreak smirked as the prime yelled in anger, and lunged at her.
"Pfft, not only has your strength and size shrunk, but sure did your intelligence." She sneered, and kicked the prime, sending him flying into the air. He smashed against the wall next to Arcee, and fell to the ground, unconscious.
"No!" Nightstreak whirled to see the cherry red mech who had so recently crushed her spark, the one she so dispised.
"Well, look who it is. The liar."
"Nightstreak, please, this isn't you." Knockout pleaded.
"There is NO such thing as Nightstreak anymore. For now on, I will be called by only one name, and one name only. Darkshade."
"No, you are not Darkshade. Please, Nightstreak, fight whatever is making you do this!"
"There is nothing to fight. I am doing this on my own." She laughed darkly. "And I must say, I am enjoying this. And it's coming out quite well, don't you think?" She gestured to the downed team, and Knockout's fist clenched in anger.
"Don't make me fight you." He growled.
"Oh, but you must! It simply wouldn't be a knockout if not everyone it out, now would it?"
"I don't want to fight you."
"Well, you should've thought about that before you crushed my spark by lying straight to my face, you fragging Decepticon liar!"
"The only one acting like a Decepticon here is you!" As soon as the words came out of Knockout's mouth, he immediately regretted it, and wanted to silence them as if nothing had happened But, in the heat of the moment, some things that we regret will be said, and some things just can't be taken back. Any remaining part of Nightstreak's pure spark was shattered upon hearing the words, she gave in completely into the darkness.
"You used to capture my spark." She growled, refusing to look him in the optics. "I used to think it belonged to you. Well, NEVER AGAIN! Never again will my spark belong to anybody. The Nightstreak you knew is now gone! You will never see her again!" The remaining memories, any last reminder, thought, or picture of the Knockout she loved was destroyed, and blown away into nothingness. They were gone. Darkshade smirked darkly as she lost any feeling or emotion towards the mech, and lunged at him, unsheathing her arm blades, and slashing at his body.
"You...are...the...reason...my...life...is...like...this!" She yelled with each slash. Her blades started getting stained with energon.
"I never intended...to hurt you!"
"Liar!" She screamed, and punched him in the face, knocking him back. "I don't even know you anymore!"
"Please, believe me!" Darkshade lifted her canon, and aimed at Knockout. He held up an arm to block the shot.
The arm with the hole in it.
As Darkshade stared at the hole, the fire started to die. Her optics flickered from red to blue, to red again. She lowered the canon, taking deep shaky sob-filled breaths. Knockout noticed her reluctance.
"See? In your arm." Not taking her optics off Knockout, she reached into her arm, found the secret pocket, and pulled out the red piece of armor that fit in the hole. She held it up, and noticed the same shape. Her optics were now almost completely rid of the red. She took a shaky step forward, reaching for Knockouts arm, and gently sliding the piece into place, flinching at the touch.
"K...Knockout?" She looked up at him, confused and lost.
"Yes, I'm here." The atmosphere lightened up, growing brighter. As the members of the team started awakening, and noticing the femme, they prepared their weapons, but paused when they noticed she wasn't attacking.
"I'm...I'm...ARG!" She yelled out in pain as a shot rattled against her back. Immediately, her optics turned to red, and the darkness returned as she glared at Arcee, who held her canon up towards her. She pried the piece out of Knockout's arm, who cried in pain.
"We might've been close before, but not anymore. Goodbye, Knockout." She threw the piece onto the ground, transformed, and drove into the main room, followed by Arcee, who had also transformed.
"Arcee, wait!" Knockout yelled, who transformed and went after them. Darkshade drove out of the base, and out into the desolate desert, followed by the raging femme, and a worried Knockout. The rest of Team Prime followed close behind, Optimus hitching a ride on Bumblebee as not to slow them down. As Arcee started gaining up on Darkshade, a large blue-green portal showed up in front of her, as she gasped and transformed. Out stepped the familiar silver mech, the one bot they had been fearing for weeks.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Megatron cried as he stared at the unfamiliar femme, who he oddly recognized. "Ah, Nightstreak. The femme presumably dead."
"I..am...not...Nightstreak! My name is Darkshade!" She yelled, and lunged for the mech. Arcee, who had also transformed at the appearance of the warlord, didn't know what to do but stare. Megatron so easily dodged the lunge, and punched Darkshade in the back as she passed. She cried out and was thrown to the floor. Megatron approached her, with his canon fired and ready.
"Such easy prey, I'm surprised Optimus let you on the team." He sneered. Knockout transformed next to Arcee and yelled "No!"
Megatron turned to look at him, not taking the canon off of Darkshade.
"Knockout! You traitor! Siding with the Autobots! Of all the mechs, I expected Starscream, not you!" He sneered. "What next? You're going to tell me you bonded with this Autobot."
"I...am not...an Autobot!" She yelled, and shot Megatron in the face before he had time to react. He yelled, and grasped his face, now charred from the blast. He growled, then blindly lunged for her with his blade. She dodged it easily, and kicked him in the back. He stumbled forward, and growled. Finally able to see again, he eyed the new bot with anger, but also a brilliant plan bubbling. He silently sent Soundwave a message.
Nightstade lunged for Megatron again, but was jerked back by something. Long electrical tentacles coming from out of the portal wrapped around her body, slamming her against the ground. One of them struck her in the chest plate, and sent a wave of electricity through her, knocking her unconscious. They dragged her in, just as Knockout yelled "No!" and charged towards Megatron against Arcee's protests. Megatron smiled darkly, and stepped through the portal, which disappeared into nothingness. Knockout's spark was ripped in 2, as he collapsed onto the desert sand, and cried out Nightstreak's name, before erupting into sobs.
"NOOOOOOO!"
~~~
Whew! A lot happened in that.
Incase you're confused, Darkshade Is Nightstreak, but that's her name when she turns dark.
I hope you enjoyed.
-Star-