Stormbreaker's P.O.V.
Instantly Bumblebee and Bulkhead began shooting at it, but it nimbly dodged them. Then when it was closest enough to Bumnebee it began tearing at his armor plating on his peds, he fell backwards and grabbed at the scraplet but it just crawled onto his arms and began making marks as it ate away at Bumblebee.
But the young bot swiped it and it flew forwards, I jumped down but then Rafael hand grabbed a crowbar and began hitting the evil cybertronian thing. Rafael continued hitting the scraplet but Jack held the crowbar before he could take one more strike "Easy there killer" Jack soothed, trying to crack a joke.
Miko held Rafael's shoulder hut the panting boy then gasped and ran over to Bumblebee "Woah I did not see that comin-" Miko began, but I was to crazed with fear that I raced forwards anyway and grabbed the already battered scraplet and ripped his head off with my bare hands.
Jack facepalmed and Miko gave me a deadpan look, I began to finally relax "Just making sure" I smiled weakly before backing away and running over to Bumblebee "Is he gonna be okay?" Rafael asked in a panicked tone, I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, still shaky from the scraplet.
"Only a mesh wound, he'll heal" My shoulders slumped in relief and I smiled at the medic "Thanks for the info doc" He raised his optic ridges in surprise but couldn't say anything as Bulkhead began his.... well.. you'll see.
"Now do you believe me? All scraplets do is dismantle machinary-" "And cybertronian shape shifting humans" I added, but he continued speaking "-and eat anything metal. Espacially living metal!" I nodded in agreement, I had seen what scraplets have done in the past.
"Well, uh, bug squashed, game over.. right?" Jack shrugged but I shook my head "No" I said "When its scraplets there's never one there's a whole beehive!" Ratchet gave me an annoyed look, like I just stole his words or something "And I fear I know how they got in here" Ratchet looked over his shoulder to the tunnels that lead all over the base.
A few minutes later we were in the supposedly enclosed area the pod was in, and it was ripped open, like somehting came out from the inside "It was a trap" Ratchet began "A scraplet trap"
"Uh.. an empty scraplet trap" Bulkhead added fearfully and I nodded, sitting ontop of his helm, just for a bit of extra protection for me.
"Most likely ejected from space eons ago" Ratchet lowered his hand that had transformed into a sort of torch "Only to wind up in the arctic with a temperture that kept them in stasis" I nodded again at his explanation, it would make sense "It was probably by the decepticons, only they use scraplets this dirty" I growled "Until we brought the thaw" Jack, Miko and Raf all had crowbars of some sorts.
"Now they're wide awake and ready to brunch" Miko snorted "So.. how many are we talking about?" Rafael asked "A thousand" Ratchet replied bluntly, retracting his tool and transforming it into his normal hand state.
"The power malfunctions and groundbridge damage" He looked up, as if searching for the very nightmares "Are sure signs that their infestations are well underway" He shook his head.
"But, they can't hurt Stormbreaker right?" Miko asked and I shook my head "I've got metal living inside of me, flesh outside, metal inside, I'm practically a hologram in other words. If I transform it'll only attract more due to my size in cybertronian forms" I shuddered "But hopefully with the right shapeshifting I can kill atleast a fraction of them"
"We're not sending Stormbreaker on a suicide mission!" Ratchet snapped, and he scooped me up in his servo, raising it to his shoulder where I gladly hopped onto, better than Bulkhead's helm, I think. I was confused though, why was he suddenly so protective all of a sudden?
Later~
"Ratchet to Optimus do you read me? We have a stituation" The screens that showed Arcee and Oprimus's insignia flickered.
"The scraplets have gone into the comm link system!" The medic banged his fist against the monitors in fustration, I sighed and pulled up my knees and wrapped my arms around them, pressing my head against my elbows before looking up again "Calm down Ratchet, getting angry and banging up the computers won't help" I tried to soothe the fustrated mech, but he ignore me.
"If we don't eradicate these creatures immedietely!" He turned to the rest of the remaining crew, I just hope Optimus and Arcee are doing alright "They will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap!" Bulkhead lowered his body a bit in terror, honestly with all the short time I've spent with them I've never seen the toughest bot shaking in such fear.
"Well I say we bug outta here and let 'em keep it!" He exclaimed and I snorted "We're not going anywhere you little sparkling!" I growled and Bulkhead raised his servos in surrender "Well Stormbreaker can stay here but I'm not!" Bumblebee nodded in agreement and I shot him a glare.
"Stormbreaker is right, evacuation is not an option, if we don't get the groundbridge back online stat" I began dreading what I knew was coming next "Optimus and Arcee will perish" I wasn't letting those two die just because we can't handle a thousand scraplets.
Heh, that sounds ironic.
"They. will?" Jack asked, his words coming out in a short stutter. Miko then puffed and marched over to her guardian with hands on her hips "Bulkhead" She said sternly, if I wasn't in the situation we were in now, I would have laughed at the unusually serious fourteen or sixteen year old.
I can never honestly tell how old she is.
"You never run!" Wow she sounds like a decepticon commander, in my opinion, I've heard that line thousands of times before "Miko, you haven't seen a swarm of these things devour a bot! I. Have. They pick you apart from the inside and out, going for the small, juicy bits first (ha I love how horrifyingly descriptive he is rn) fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit, till there's nothing left! And I mean nothing!" He averted his gaze "Not even your optics"
That's when I grew fed up "And I had to watch an entire armada get perished Bulkhead!" I snapped angrily "I've been ripped in half by them only to remain barely alive! I felt like my spark was ripped out of me! I watched a good friend die! It doesn't matter if he was a decepticon, autobot or even a pred! He was the only thing that kept me sane in that warship madhouse!"
No one said anything, they all stared down at me, I felt my body tremble slightly at the rushing memories.
"Eat my dust!"
"Go cry to your caretakers when I turn you to scrap with my claws!" I shot back, racing down the canyon with a sleek black and purple car in toe "I'm so frightened! What'dya gonna do, bark up the nearest tree?" He laughed, I could only imagine what his pale face and blue eyes would look like, optics glimmering with mischief, faceplates pulled up in a smile-
I shook my head of the memories, I hadn't realize Jack and the other two humans began talking.
"You have to let us help!" Jack said "We're not made of metal" Rafael reasoned "Yeah! The scraplets can't hurt us!" Miko pointed at herself and I scoffed.
"Typically I find your fleshiness to be your least engaging quality" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and I couldn't help but giggle, oh my primus, that was a hilarious, an insult. But hilarious.
Ratchet spread his arms out "But it would appear to be your greatest advantage to these extremes" Jack nodded before answering "Okay good, so we pair off! One bot one human" I raised an eyebrow "I'll watch your back while you repair the groundbridge"
"While we go for a bug hunt" Miko smirked and I laughed at Bulkhead and Bumblebee's expressions of pure terror, Bulkhead looked at Bumblebee who's body shook and made repeating vibrating shuddering sounds.
"I'm staying with Jack and Ratchet, you'll need an extra servo" I grinned and Bulkhead growled "Why can't Stormbreaker go?" I raised a brow "Not human, remember?" Bulkhead snorted and pointed at Jack as he began to speak, but Ratchet beat him to it "It would be wise for her to stay with us, I will need Jack as much as she does and we cannot simply split him in half!"
"Now that was a sadistic medic talking" I exclaimed.
No one laughed.
Aw. Dang it
Third Person's P.O.V.
Miko and Bulkhead
"I can't believe it! I get to be your bodyguard for once! How cool is that?" Miko exclaimed excitedly, holding the crowbar in both hands while Bulkhead stayed behind her with his cannons raised and constantly pointing at different places; the walls, the floor, the corners.
"Raf I'm the first one here. Right-?" Bulkhead retorted
.Suddenly the lights went out and all you could see were a pare of light turquise optics and a shrill scream coming from a rather bulky bot. "AAAAAAAAAAH!" Bulkhead screamed.
The lights turned on and Miko turned around "Did you just scream like a little girl?" She asked and Bulkhead shook his head "No!" He snapped, then turned his head aways "Maybe" Then he looked at Miko again with an irritated expression while she was smirking "Can we talk about this later?" He asked with a growl "okay" She shrugged with a permanant grin that suggested she was laughing on the inside as they continued.
They turned round to a darkened hall, something scuttled past one one of the pipes and automatically (more like Bulkhead's fear instincts) pointed his blasters at that area.
"Take her easy Bulkhead" Miko said, holding the crowbar "Just stay calm. Everything's gonna be-" Something scuttled again, causing Bulkhead to start shooting at the walls then the ceiling- which caused the cables to fall down on him.
He began girlishly screaming as he waved his blaster mode arms around frantically in fear. Miko turned around and deapanned "Alright" She muttered, talking to her crowbar "Wish i had never seen that" Then looked up again and began shouting at the suddenly girlish mech bot "Bulkhead! You're fine! It's just a bunch of cables!"
He was in mid scream when he realized she was right, and he looked up and held one of the giant black cables "Wha-? Oh, right Cables" He tugged at the one in his giant servo, which fell of and caused-
At least thirty scraplets to fall on him.
Bumblebee and Rafael
They turned around a corner, and Bumblebee stood in a battle ready stance, one knee pressed to the ground with his scout cannon. He began beeping and whirring to Raf, who was holding a blue crowbar "Don't these things ever stop eating?" Rafael muttered.
Rafael walked down the corrider with Bmblebee in toe, who stopped and looked over his shoulder before continuing to an area where it looked as if it was mucnhed apart. The yellow and black but gently nudged Rafael aside before pointing with his blaster at the vent and kicking it away, Rafael pounced at his secure hiding spot with a- sort of battle cry?
But it was empty, nothing there. Then something came from a hole not very far off, and both exchanged worried looks, before scraplets jumped out with their razor sharp metal-eating teeth.
That's when they jumped onto Bumblebee who was hopelessy shooting.
Stormbreaker's P.O.V.
With worry I paced back and forth, one eye on Ratchet and Jack while I listened to faint scuttling in one of the halls. I think they were talking about something. But I ignored them as the scuttling became louder, one of the hallways that nobody had gone through.
I crept down it, wandering away from the human and mech. The scuttling became louder and I gritted my teeth from giving out little screams. I was going to prove myself. My body tensed as I heard something crash behind me, the lights flickered in and out, and I spun around.
Empty?
Then the lights went out, and something bit my arm. Everything I felt was pain and I roared, I turned around and threw the scraplets off, my eyes adjusting to the dark as I began to tear them apart, heads flying everywhere.
Something warm trickled down my cheeks, adreline once again rushed through me. I knew it was time to let the beast out, and I felt my skin ripping apart- transforming into the monster under the flesh.I barely had time to look down into which form I had become before more scraplets covered my torso, legs and tail. I crushed them in my jaws, and began picking off one by one the scraplets, my eyes flicking back and forth as they tried to aim at my spark chamber.
An ungodly roar escaped my throat, the ground shook and my eyes gave an other worldly glow, red tinted my vision as I twisted and turned, snapped and clawed. I was barely aware of the fact I was bleeding, or that there were almost no scraplets left.
When I stopped, panting realization came over me at the empty hallway, and the lights flickered to life again.
Pools of energon surrounded me, torn up scraplets not even alive. I looked down at my clawed peds before I felt myself shrink, my eyes turned into a darker, more stark energon color and I limped up past the hallway, towards Ratchet and Jack.
Third Person's P.O.V.
Ratchet and Jack
"How's it going over there" Jack asked, and Ratchet gave a pant "I repaired the damage conducters and rewounded the central cond wounds but the groundbridge still won't still won't recieve power!" Ratchet punched the area beside the circuits and conducters, the stone ground shaking.
Neither of them didn't notice Stormbreaker had gone, as when Jack turned around to one of the vents, a swarm of Scarplets surrounded it. They're 'innocent looking' large lilac optics landed on Jack, before spotting Ratchet.
Living metal.
They opened their mouths, drilling noises beginning to pierce through Jack's ears "Woah!" The boy screamed as they jumped from the wall and began flying towards Ratchet.
"They fly?! You never said they could fly!" Jack screamed, the swarm instantly hit poor Ratchet, the medic fell backwards and screaming as he tried to tear them off of him.
"Ratchet!" Jack yelled and ran towards the mech with his crowbar raised high.