Best Laid Plans, Chapter Three
Title: Best Laid Plans
Series: Pre-ROTF
Rating: T
Summary: Demolisher arrives on Earth too late, and Sideways brings with him more trouble than he's worth.
Akita, Japan
Autobot Ratchet had agreed to meet them both in a neutral location, chosen by the medic himself. He had responded so quickly that Demolisher did not doubt he had been waiting for a message from Sideways, though may be not someone else on his behalf. The medic had expressed some trepidation, going so far as to believe Sideways had perished upon making planetfall. The Constructicon assumed he would continue to be suspicious until he actually saw his patient, which would happen within the next few days.
The medic made arrangements with him so quickly that Demolisher thought he was either still in California, or on the same continent. If the latter were the case, the Autobots were probably trying to track Decepticons like themselves. Northern Japan had been the location hand picked by the medic, complete with coordinates for an exact rendezvous point. The worst part of the entire journey to Japan had not, surprisingly, been crossing the border from China into Russia. It was getting to Japan itself that proved ridiculously complicated.
He had had to waste an entire day hacking, tracking and waiting for information on a ship that could carry them across, no questions asked. The Constructicon knew they would have to leave Japan as soon as they could, as he was probably leaving a paper trail behind him the size of Trypticon. As if that hadn't been enough trouble, Sideways, having been silent and calm up until the ship voyage, did not like water in the least. Even wrapped up in the excavator, he knew they were on water, but could do nothing about it.
That was where the incomplete host/symbiote connection started to break apart, as Demolisher had no way to control Sideways' quickly mounting panic. The Constructicon had no idea what the issue was, until the little 'Cons systems tried to purge what little Energon he had. This development had been less than acceptable: Demolisher could not transform on a ship full of humans, nor could he allow Sideways to expel the Energon while he was inside of him. It took everything he knew about drones and about Sideways himself to placate him before the humans thought the excavator on their ship was haunted.
Of course, by the end of the trip, every Russian thought there was something the matter with the mining machine. Not only did it have a short that caused its shovel to bang into itself, it also rolled with its parking brake on, and the radio would play for hours despite their attempts to shut it off. Demolisher despised having humans in his cab, but he had to play the inanimate machine in order to make the voyage. While the Russian crew members scratched their heads over the strange vehicle, Demolisher calmed Sideways enough that they made it without too much suspicion.
The connection had held, even with Sideways trying to force his way past it and Demolisher abusing it by shoving him back. By the time they reached the shore, the Constructicon would have liked nothing more than to recharge for the next week. Sideways experienced another surge of fear when they left ship, not liking the noises in the shipyard or the creaking of docks and plunking of the buoys. It astounded Demolisher to no end that someone so jumpy and irrationally fearful enjoyed every horror film made by the human race. If the small 'Con survived, he'd definitely have to ask him about it.
Three days after Sideways had collapsed in China, Demolisher found himself waiting in an abandoned warehouse district for a medic that was technically the enemy. His scanners were on full alert, even though he did not think the medic would set him up, or even come with another Autobot. The medic himself was taking a considerable risk coming alone, or even at all, and the excavator wondered if he spoken with his superior about the situation. Part of Demolisher doubted it, as most true medics still alive would save any life, regardless of faction.
It was well past midnight before anything stirred in the empty district, tight hi-beams cutting through dark area. The excavator remained still and silent, waiting until a yellow search and rescue vehicle rolled into sight. Demolisher flicked on his foglights, and the medic stalled briefly before continuing in his direction. When he was about fifty yards away, he stopped and transformed, posture tense and defensive. The Autobot gave the excavator a once over, before his gaze shifted about, as if expecting an ambush. After a moment Demolisher realized he was looking for his supposed patient, not knowing he was tucked safely under the excavator's armor.
“He's with me,” the Constructicon rumbled, and the medic looked up at him sharply. Demolisher knew it was best that he stay in his alt mode for as long as possible, as that would make him less of a threat. The medic straightened up when the excavator's cab cracked open, hands curling defensively in case the Constructicon was transforming. Without much regard to Sideways' comfort, Demolisher began to disconnect the smaller 'Con, exposing his protoform to the medic.
“Easy,” Ratchet admonished, starting forward with a very rigid, cautious posture. Demolisher could see a saw, not unlike Sideways', spinning on his left arm, a careful reminder that the medic could hurt him. Sideways was completely disconnected by the time the Hummer was next to him, though he did not have the strength to pull himself free from Demolisher.
“I forced a host/symbiote program to keep him stable,” the Constructicon said as the Autobot brushed any loose wires out of his way. “It was the only way I could move him anyways.”
“Don't abort that program until I've sorted him out,” Ratchet commanded at once, stopping Demolisher before he did just that. He had been ready to kill it the second Sideways was out of him, wanting to rid himself of the ache it had caused on the ship. The medic carefully pulled the weak protoform free from his cache, tugging as Sideways tried to hang onto the Constructicon with one hand. “Let's be clear on one thing here: he told you so long as he's absorbing energy, it doesn't hurt?”
“That's what he said,” Demolisher replied, watching the medic delicately place the silver 'Con down on the concrete. The medic was no fool - he set the smaller 'Con between the two of them, and had never once turned his back on the Constructicon. He more than likely did not expect an attack from him now, but there was no sense in taking chances. “There's no excess collected in run off reservoirs, and it isn't burned off, exhausted, or expelled by his systems. It just vanishes.”
“I assure you, it's going somewhere,” Ratchet said tartly, already beginning preliminary medical scans. “When did this start?”
“Since before I ran into him,” Demolisher said evasively, and the medic spared him a quick glare.
“I need some type of time frame, Decepticon,” Ratchet said, switching to more fine tuned frequencies on his scanners. There were things being displayed that Demolisher had never seen before, and he would likely never understand. “We already know you're not the only 'Cons planetside, so there's no reason to cover your tracks.”
“A few Earth months,” Demolisher replied, still keeping it vague. He didn't care what the medic said; there was no reason for him to spill every last detail when it wasn't necessary. The excavator was curious about his confidence concerning other Decepticons; did he mean Barricade, or was he digging for information? Whatever it was, Demolisher was not stupid enough to acknowledge his assertion. “Three days ago he went catatonic, and still felt the pain even when he was getting a direct line from my fuel cells.”
“How much Energon did you supply to him?” Ratchet asked, optics darting between Demolisher and his scans of Sideways.
“The first time? Enough to fill his tanks before they starting crashing again. After that, just enough to keep him functioning,” Demolisher replied. “Felt like he would have taken everything if I didn't monitor it.”
“Hm,” Ratchet turned his full attention to Sideways, who lay deathly still on the pavement. Demolisher had probably been too aggressive with his commands through the connection, but the medic didn't seem upset about a quiet patient. “That's the benefit of a symbiotic relationship - you can control the give and take. The rules still apply even if it's not a true symbiosis. Parasites, on the other hand...”
With a flick of one hand, he released the armor on the 'Cons chest, and Sideways' chassis snapped open, exposing his spark and the surrounding inner circuitry. The same saw Demolisher had seen earlier came to life with a biting whine, coming down and making one quick pass just under the spark chamber. The saw quickly retracted as Ratchet's hand dove in under the incision, and Demolisher wondered how potentially fatal any of that was. Interrupting him to ask would probably make it one hundred percent fatal, so he merely observed and waited.
Ratchet's digging about ended with a wet squelching sound, followed by a minute squeal. The second sound had not come from Sideways, who was still entirely unaware of what was happening to him. Instead -
“I'd like to know where your friend was hanging out to pick this prize up,” Ratchet said, a look of disdain on his facial plates. He pulled his arm back, and Demolisher could see his hand had been replaced with a pair of forceps. Pinched between the tongs was a writhing, wormlike thing coated in bright blue Energon. Ratchet continued to pull it out, and Demolisher guessed that the metallic wormthing was nearly six feet long before the end of it snapped out of Sideways' chassis. Energon splattered across Sideways and the medic, who did not appear to care.
“It's a parasite?” Demolisher asked, thinking he ought to clarify that detail.
“Yes,” Ratchet said, bringing it up closer to his scanners. The thing wriggled and gurgled in Ratchet's grasp, at least a dozen spindly legs undulating as it tried to move out his grasp. “A healthy one at that, though I've never seen one this big before. They typically remain small and relatively undetected, siphoning Energon from their host as discreetly as possible. Something about your friend made it greedy for more, I would guess, and its size got out of control. Eventually its mass would start pushing against his circuitry, causing continuous pain.”
The medic pulled it away from his body when he felt the thing's tail trying to anchor onto his armor.
“Under normal circumstances I would like to quarantine it for further study,” Ratchet said, and Demolisher knew he was recording everything he could on the creature before it met its end. “However, circumstances are not, well... normal. Incineration is its fate. Would you mind?”
The medic held the dripping parasite out in his direction, and Demolisher did not waste any time in transforming. He saw the medic tense again, saw blade spinning on its own accord, but he did not back away.
“It's too small for me to hold,” Demolisher said, leaning down but keeping his distance from the medic.
“I'm not asking you to be its friend,” Ratchet quipped. “Kill it however you please, but no fireworks. I need to make certain nothing else is leeching off of Sideways' fuel pump. Parasites clones themselves as a manner of propagation, and I would prefer not to have to schedule a follow up appointment.”
Without much warning, Ratchet chucked the parasite in Demolisher's direction, were it landed with a splat on the pavement. Lifting one hand, the Construction brought it down on the wormthing, sharp shovel-fingers splitting it into three segments. It died with a low keen, though its tail continued to thrash for a few more minutes. Firing any one of this weapons would be like a signal flare for trouble, so he did nothing else.
“I'll dispose of its remains,” Ratchet said, not looking up from his study of Sideways' protoform. It took only a moment for him to complete what he wanted, all scanners and tools instantly retracting under his armor. “Continue monitoring his Energon intake for at least twenty-four hours. If he's capable of supporting himself by then, get him an alt mode as soon as possible and sever the symbiotic connection. Unless some unforeseen complication arises, which I highly doubt, I don't want to hear from either of you ever again.”
“Fair enough,” said Demolisher, already snapping down into his alt mode. The medic lifted Sideways once again, taking him over to the Constructicon to fit him back into his cache. “I'm sure he'd be thanking you right about now.”
“And what about you?” Ratchet asked, obviously not expecting a thanks from the Constructicon as he backed away. It was mere curiosity, considering Demolisher had gone through all the trouble to bring him here in the first place.
“Don't walk in front of my sights on the battlefield.”
That was closest Ratchet was going to get from a Decepticon promising not to shoot him. He had not expected anything more than that.
Two days later, a bright silver Audi R8 was driving in circles around a dusty red excavator.
“You're really milking this, aren't you?” Demolisher grumbled. “I'm giving you another five minutes. If you're not done by then -”
“Relax,” Sideways interrupted, doing perhaps the fiftieth powerslide. Demolisher had stopped counting after three, already irritated. “I'm just getting the kinks out.”
“How many kinks do you have?” Demolisher demanded. He had to admit that the Audi seemed to fit him better than the Mercedes had, but he hadn't had a lot of choice in Germany. The moment Sideways was strong enough, Demolisher had tracked down the nearest international car show and let him have his pick. “May be hyper activity is a side effect, and you'll die if you don't stop.”
“Nice try,” Sideways quipped, through he stopped doing circles in favor of transforming for the may be the millionth time, flexing his saws. “I haven't felt this good since -”
“-you picked up some sort of horrible parasite,” Demolisher cut him off. “Where exactly would you have picked that thing up, anyways?”
“I don't know,” Sideways said so quickly Demolisher imagined it made even the Audi suspicious of himself. He spent about five seconds looking abashed before brightening again, realizing he no longer had to mess up his alt mode with extra solar panels.
“Whatever,” Demolisher snarled. “So long as you're fit to travel, I want to keep moving in case the medic does decide to rat us out.”
“Where are we going?” Sideways asked, folding down into his alt mode without missing a beat.
“South,” Demolisher replied. “Near Tokyo. Considering Barricade is leaving us high and dry, we might as well enjoy the downtime while-”
“Demolisher.”
“Speak of the devil,” Demolisher grumbled, and Sideways even stopped his gyrating to listen. “Barricade, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Are you still in Asia?” There was an unfamiliar undertone in the hunter's vocalizer, one that the Constructicon had not heard before. It was tense, almost hurried, and definitely concerned.
“Japan, actually,” the excavator replied, biting back a scathing comment. No matter how badly he wanted to lay into the other 'Con, he had the sinking suspicion that something was wrong.
“Good, that's close. Can you meet me in Khabarovsk?” Barricade asked. “Soon?”
“Russia,” Demolisher knew where it was in an instant, just north of their current position. “Why?”
“I can't explain it over a comm line,” Barricade's tone became even more harried, his obvious unease making Demolisher uneasy. But the hunter was not one to fool around, despite his habit of lying.
“We'll be there by tomorrow,” the Constructicon responded, and the connection went dead on the other end.
“What was that about downtime?” Sideways quipped, ducking back as Demolisher took a swing at him with his shovel. “I wanted to see Tokyo.”
“Well now you're going to see Russia,” Demolisher shot back, turning himself about to head north, instead of south. Sideways zipped after him, engine purring with its new found health and energy. “He sounded worried. Starscream probably blew up Cybertron or something.”
“Don't even joke about that!”
There was a dense forest just south of Khabarovsk, providing enough cover to conceal Demolisher and Sideways as they waited for Barricade. The hunter showed himself not long after they arrived, black and white paint job splattered with mud. His markings had changed to match that of the local police force, but he had not given up his all-too-American Mustang alt mode. The interceptor transformed once he was right in front of them, not wasting any time with greetings.
“Soundwave is coming to Earth,” he announced, wincing as a small drone ejected itself from his chassis. Demolisher paid it no mind, but Sideways looked down to study the blue mech, curious. “Under orders from the Fallen.”
“Sounds like a party,” Sideways said, getting an odd look from Barricade. The last part of the interceptor's statement appeared to sink in, and the Audi jerked in surprise. “Wait, the Fallen?”
“Yeah the Fallen!” the drone burst out. “You got your audial receptors crossed or something?”
This time Demolisher did look down at the smaller 'Con, but it was Sideways who noticed the look on Barricade's face when the drone spoke. It was a look he associated with someone who'd been given the worst assignment on the roster, and was absolutely furious about it.
“Soundwave dispatched Wheelie to replace Frenzy,” Barricade explained, disgust apparent in his tone. “He is less than adequate.”
“Hey, you're no charmer yourself, copper!” Wheelie shot back. Barricade's left leg twitched, as if he had been considering kicking the drone. Successfully repressing the urge, the interceptor went on as if they hadn't been interrupted.
“When he heard about Megatron's death and Starscream's crazed attempt at rebuilding the Cube, the Fallen made his presence known,” Barricade continued. “I don't know what's going on, but Soundwave's bringing more Decepticons with him, and they've got big plans.”
“Plans like... what plans?” Sideways asked, obviously enthralled by everything Barricade said. Demolisher kept to himself, wondering how much of the truth they were actually getting from the hunter.
“Why don't you-” Wheelie started, but Barricade made one quick motion towards him and the drone dove for cover. No blow came, but Wheelie's reaction told the others that this was not the first time the interceptor had silenced him like that.
“I know there's at least one fragment of the Allspark that survived its destruction, so they're coming for that,” Barricade said, posture relaxing again while Wheelie crawled off to get out of range. “What they're going to do with it is beyond me.”
“Theoretically,” Demolisher spoke up. “You could use it to revive the dead. Like Megatron.”
“How'd you know that?” the silver Audi asked, but Demolisher ignored him.
“Except we don't know what the humans did with his corpse, or where the shard is,” Barricade shook his head. “I've been trying for weeks to get Scorponok to come back to me, but it insists it has work to do in Egypt. I'm - we're going to need its help once Soundwave arrives.”
“Hold on,” Sideways said, lifting his hands. “What was that about Starscream rebuilding the Cube?”
“He took Frenzy's body from the humans,” Barricade said, razor sharp dentals grinding together in agitation. Wheelie grumbled something at their feet, but no one paid him any mind. “Since Frenzy had managed to steal every file the humans had on the Cube, Starscream thought he could recreate it by using those as blueprints. Of course, it didn't work, and he managed to destroy Trypticon in the process.”
“I told you he'd have blown something up,” Demolisher growled, though he was thankful it hadn't actually been Cybertron. Losing their capital city was probably the final straw for the Fallen, who spent most of his time in the background.
“So, what? We just wait for Soundwave to show up and start barking orders at us?” Sideways asked, and even Barricade looked unsure of that.
“We'll help you retrieve Scorponok from Egypt,” Demolisher decided after a long silence. “Since we're all here, we might as well stay together. As far as I'm concerned, we can do whatever we want until Soundwave starts buzzing around our heads.”
It sounded far more irresponsible than it really was, but Demolisher was sick of being left in the dark. Until someone gave him solid orders, he was using his time as he saw fit.
“Blackout called me here for a reason,” Demolisher continued. “I'll probably never know what it was, but the least I can do for him is look after his drone.”
“How charitable of you,” Barricade said, but it lacked the edge it should have had. The interceptor was not disagreeing with him, but opted to withhold how he truly felt about that statement. Sideways said nothing, but knew the Constructicon meant what he said. He had, after all, looked after him without receiving any sort of personal gain from it. Then again, he supposed the excavator could hold a life debt over his head, but Sideways doubted it.
“I got just one problem!” Wheelie yelled up to three of them. Barricade pointedly looked away from it, unwilling to acknowledge or cater to the drones needs. “Me and Scorponok ain't exactly what you'd call friends-”
“And no one will stop it from skewering you!” Barricade barked, the sudden outburst causing not only Wheelie to recoil, but Sideways as well.
“The easiest route to Egypt from here will probably be the shipping lanes,” Demolisher said loudly, ignoring how Sideways had crawled closer to him. Barricade wasn't that terrifying, was he? “Driving all the way back through that many countries will take forever, and I want to be as cohesive as possible once Soundwave arrives.”
“Oh,” Sideways said quietly. “More boats.”
Demolisher ignored him again, at least relieved that they had made it back to mainland Russia without too much of a problem. Being more in control of himself the second time around, Sideways had been less panicky, though still uneasy. “Have you heard who Soundwave intends to bring with him?”
“No,” Barricade shook his head. “I'm lucky I got as much out of him as I did.”
“Why can't someone with a cargo plane alt mode show up?” Sideways asked, more to himself than anyone else. “We really have to go all the way back to Egypt?”
“You're right,” Barricade said, in a tone that made even Sideways look hopeful that they wouldn't have to make the trip. “All this time, I haven't been asking Scorponok nicely enough. I'll just call him up, say please, and he'll come running.”
Sideways slunk back into himself as Barricade's words became sharper and overflowed with hateful sarcasm. Demolisher could hear Wheelie snickering, obviously trying to keep himself quiet.
“We can cross land when we need to if it makes things go faster,” Demolisher said, attempting to rein the smaller 'Cons back in. Wheelie had remained silent thus far, but he had continued to mutter to himself, glaring up at all of them. “Did Soundwave mention when he might arrive?”
“'Pending',” Barricade snorted, and Demolisher suddenly knew who Scrapper had been parroting when he'd asked for orders so many months ago.
“Then we need to move,” the excavator said. “We know Scorponok was not malfunctioning, but Soundwave will be less forgiving if it continues to shun us. There are a lot of American military outposts between here and Egypt, which will give us a chance to do some digging in the meantime.”
Barricade did not dispute him, and Sideways would probably agree to anything the Constructicon said anyways. No matter how standoffish the interceptor had been, he was at least agreeable now, if not stewing over his new drone. It was not going to be fun, or easy, to keep this group from ripping itself apart, but that's why his size came in handy. He could rip them apart before anything got out of control, a little discipline where it was needed.
Out of all the Constructicons, Scrapper gave him the most autonomy. It wasn't that he didn't fit in with the others, he just had a knack for assuming leadership outside of their group. He would not be surprised if Barricade tried to take control, or manipulate him towards his own goals, but Demolisher could handle that. He'd received as many orders as he'd given over his long existence, though the interceptor might have his own agenda.
Demolisher watched his companions transform to their alt modes, Wheelie nearly getting run over by Barricade before the interceptor let him in. For once, the Constructicon felt hopeful towards the future. If Megatron could be revived, and the Fallen remained active in their ranks, they stood more than a fighting chance against the Autobots. It was that consolation that would make the miles between here and Egypt feel like nothing, literal and metaphorical waves easy to weather. Of course, all he had to do was keep a coward, a liar and a loud-mouthed drone together. Life, he supposed, wasn't much of anything without a challenge.
Series: Pre-ROTF
Rating: T
Summary: Demolisher arrives on Earth too late, and Sideways brings with him more trouble than he's worth.
Akita, Japan
Autobot Ratchet had agreed to meet them both in a neutral location, chosen by the medic himself. He had responded so quickly that Demolisher did not doubt he had been waiting for a message from Sideways, though may be not someone else on his behalf. The medic had expressed some trepidation, going so far as to believe Sideways had perished upon making planetfall. The Constructicon assumed he would continue to be suspicious until he actually saw his patient, which would happen within the next few days.
The medic made arrangements with him so quickly that Demolisher thought he was either still in California, or on the same continent. If the latter were the case, the Autobots were probably trying to track Decepticons like themselves. Northern Japan had been the location hand picked by the medic, complete with coordinates for an exact rendezvous point. The worst part of the entire journey to Japan had not, surprisingly, been crossing the border from China into Russia. It was getting to Japan itself that proved ridiculously complicated.
He had had to waste an entire day hacking, tracking and waiting for information on a ship that could carry them across, no questions asked. The Constructicon knew they would have to leave Japan as soon as they could, as he was probably leaving a paper trail behind him the size of Trypticon. As if that hadn't been enough trouble, Sideways, having been silent and calm up until the ship voyage, did not like water in the least. Even wrapped up in the excavator, he knew they were on water, but could do nothing about it.
That was where the incomplete host/symbiote connection started to break apart, as Demolisher had no way to control Sideways' quickly mounting panic. The Constructicon had no idea what the issue was, until the little 'Cons systems tried to purge what little Energon he had. This development had been less than acceptable: Demolisher could not transform on a ship full of humans, nor could he allow Sideways to expel the Energon while he was inside of him. It took everything he knew about drones and about Sideways himself to placate him before the humans thought the excavator on their ship was haunted.
Of course, by the end of the trip, every Russian thought there was something the matter with the mining machine. Not only did it have a short that caused its shovel to bang into itself, it also rolled with its parking brake on, and the radio would play for hours despite their attempts to shut it off. Demolisher despised having humans in his cab, but he had to play the inanimate machine in order to make the voyage. While the Russian crew members scratched their heads over the strange vehicle, Demolisher calmed Sideways enough that they made it without too much suspicion.
The connection had held, even with Sideways trying to force his way past it and Demolisher abusing it by shoving him back. By the time they reached the shore, the Constructicon would have liked nothing more than to recharge for the next week. Sideways experienced another surge of fear when they left ship, not liking the noises in the shipyard or the creaking of docks and plunking of the buoys. It astounded Demolisher to no end that someone so jumpy and irrationally fearful enjoyed every horror film made by the human race. If the small 'Con survived, he'd definitely have to ask him about it.
Three days after Sideways had collapsed in China, Demolisher found himself waiting in an abandoned warehouse district for a medic that was technically the enemy. His scanners were on full alert, even though he did not think the medic would set him up, or even come with another Autobot. The medic himself was taking a considerable risk coming alone, or even at all, and the excavator wondered if he spoken with his superior about the situation. Part of Demolisher doubted it, as most true medics still alive would save any life, regardless of faction.
It was well past midnight before anything stirred in the empty district, tight hi-beams cutting through dark area. The excavator remained still and silent, waiting until a yellow search and rescue vehicle rolled into sight. Demolisher flicked on his foglights, and the medic stalled briefly before continuing in his direction. When he was about fifty yards away, he stopped and transformed, posture tense and defensive. The Autobot gave the excavator a once over, before his gaze shifted about, as if expecting an ambush. After a moment Demolisher realized he was looking for his supposed patient, not knowing he was tucked safely under the excavator's armor.
“He's with me,” the Constructicon rumbled, and the medic looked up at him sharply. Demolisher knew it was best that he stay in his alt mode for as long as possible, as that would make him less of a threat. The medic straightened up when the excavator's cab cracked open, hands curling defensively in case the Constructicon was transforming. Without much regard to Sideways' comfort, Demolisher began to disconnect the smaller 'Con, exposing his protoform to the medic.
“Easy,” Ratchet admonished, starting forward with a very rigid, cautious posture. Demolisher could see a saw, not unlike Sideways', spinning on his left arm, a careful reminder that the medic could hurt him. Sideways was completely disconnected by the time the Hummer was next to him, though he did not have the strength to pull himself free from Demolisher.
“I forced a host/symbiote program to keep him stable,” the Constructicon said as the Autobot brushed any loose wires out of his way. “It was the only way I could move him anyways.”
“Don't abort that program until I've sorted him out,” Ratchet commanded at once, stopping Demolisher before he did just that. He had been ready to kill it the second Sideways was out of him, wanting to rid himself of the ache it had caused on the ship. The medic carefully pulled the weak protoform free from his cache, tugging as Sideways tried to hang onto the Constructicon with one hand. “Let's be clear on one thing here: he told you so long as he's absorbing energy, it doesn't hurt?”
“That's what he said,” Demolisher replied, watching the medic delicately place the silver 'Con down on the concrete. The medic was no fool - he set the smaller 'Con between the two of them, and had never once turned his back on the Constructicon. He more than likely did not expect an attack from him now, but there was no sense in taking chances. “There's no excess collected in run off reservoirs, and it isn't burned off, exhausted, or expelled by his systems. It just vanishes.”
“I assure you, it's going somewhere,” Ratchet said tartly, already beginning preliminary medical scans. “When did this start?”
“Since before I ran into him,” Demolisher said evasively, and the medic spared him a quick glare.
“I need some type of time frame, Decepticon,” Ratchet said, switching to more fine tuned frequencies on his scanners. There were things being displayed that Demolisher had never seen before, and he would likely never understand. “We already know you're not the only 'Cons planetside, so there's no reason to cover your tracks.”
“A few Earth months,” Demolisher replied, still keeping it vague. He didn't care what the medic said; there was no reason for him to spill every last detail when it wasn't necessary. The excavator was curious about his confidence concerning other Decepticons; did he mean Barricade, or was he digging for information? Whatever it was, Demolisher was not stupid enough to acknowledge his assertion. “Three days ago he went catatonic, and still felt the pain even when he was getting a direct line from my fuel cells.”
“How much Energon did you supply to him?” Ratchet asked, optics darting between Demolisher and his scans of Sideways.
“The first time? Enough to fill his tanks before they starting crashing again. After that, just enough to keep him functioning,” Demolisher replied. “Felt like he would have taken everything if I didn't monitor it.”
“Hm,” Ratchet turned his full attention to Sideways, who lay deathly still on the pavement. Demolisher had probably been too aggressive with his commands through the connection, but the medic didn't seem upset about a quiet patient. “That's the benefit of a symbiotic relationship - you can control the give and take. The rules still apply even if it's not a true symbiosis. Parasites, on the other hand...”
With a flick of one hand, he released the armor on the 'Cons chest, and Sideways' chassis snapped open, exposing his spark and the surrounding inner circuitry. The same saw Demolisher had seen earlier came to life with a biting whine, coming down and making one quick pass just under the spark chamber. The saw quickly retracted as Ratchet's hand dove in under the incision, and Demolisher wondered how potentially fatal any of that was. Interrupting him to ask would probably make it one hundred percent fatal, so he merely observed and waited.
Ratchet's digging about ended with a wet squelching sound, followed by a minute squeal. The second sound had not come from Sideways, who was still entirely unaware of what was happening to him. Instead -
“I'd like to know where your friend was hanging out to pick this prize up,” Ratchet said, a look of disdain on his facial plates. He pulled his arm back, and Demolisher could see his hand had been replaced with a pair of forceps. Pinched between the tongs was a writhing, wormlike thing coated in bright blue Energon. Ratchet continued to pull it out, and Demolisher guessed that the metallic wormthing was nearly six feet long before the end of it snapped out of Sideways' chassis. Energon splattered across Sideways and the medic, who did not appear to care.
“It's a parasite?” Demolisher asked, thinking he ought to clarify that detail.
“Yes,” Ratchet said, bringing it up closer to his scanners. The thing wriggled and gurgled in Ratchet's grasp, at least a dozen spindly legs undulating as it tried to move out his grasp. “A healthy one at that, though I've never seen one this big before. They typically remain small and relatively undetected, siphoning Energon from their host as discreetly as possible. Something about your friend made it greedy for more, I would guess, and its size got out of control. Eventually its mass would start pushing against his circuitry, causing continuous pain.”
The medic pulled it away from his body when he felt the thing's tail trying to anchor onto his armor.
“Under normal circumstances I would like to quarantine it for further study,” Ratchet said, and Demolisher knew he was recording everything he could on the creature before it met its end. “However, circumstances are not, well... normal. Incineration is its fate. Would you mind?”
The medic held the dripping parasite out in his direction, and Demolisher did not waste any time in transforming. He saw the medic tense again, saw blade spinning on its own accord, but he did not back away.
“It's too small for me to hold,” Demolisher said, leaning down but keeping his distance from the medic.
“I'm not asking you to be its friend,” Ratchet quipped. “Kill it however you please, but no fireworks. I need to make certain nothing else is leeching off of Sideways' fuel pump. Parasites clones themselves as a manner of propagation, and I would prefer not to have to schedule a follow up appointment.”
Without much warning, Ratchet chucked the parasite in Demolisher's direction, were it landed with a splat on the pavement. Lifting one hand, the Construction brought it down on the wormthing, sharp shovel-fingers splitting it into three segments. It died with a low keen, though its tail continued to thrash for a few more minutes. Firing any one of this weapons would be like a signal flare for trouble, so he did nothing else.
“I'll dispose of its remains,” Ratchet said, not looking up from his study of Sideways' protoform. It took only a moment for him to complete what he wanted, all scanners and tools instantly retracting under his armor. “Continue monitoring his Energon intake for at least twenty-four hours. If he's capable of supporting himself by then, get him an alt mode as soon as possible and sever the symbiotic connection. Unless some unforeseen complication arises, which I highly doubt, I don't want to hear from either of you ever again.”
“Fair enough,” said Demolisher, already snapping down into his alt mode. The medic lifted Sideways once again, taking him over to the Constructicon to fit him back into his cache. “I'm sure he'd be thanking you right about now.”
“And what about you?” Ratchet asked, obviously not expecting a thanks from the Constructicon as he backed away. It was mere curiosity, considering Demolisher had gone through all the trouble to bring him here in the first place.
“Don't walk in front of my sights on the battlefield.”
That was closest Ratchet was going to get from a Decepticon promising not to shoot him. He had not expected anything more than that.
Two days later, a bright silver Audi R8 was driving in circles around a dusty red excavator.
“You're really milking this, aren't you?” Demolisher grumbled. “I'm giving you another five minutes. If you're not done by then -”
“Relax,” Sideways interrupted, doing perhaps the fiftieth powerslide. Demolisher had stopped counting after three, already irritated. “I'm just getting the kinks out.”
“How many kinks do you have?” Demolisher demanded. He had to admit that the Audi seemed to fit him better than the Mercedes had, but he hadn't had a lot of choice in Germany. The moment Sideways was strong enough, Demolisher had tracked down the nearest international car show and let him have his pick. “May be hyper activity is a side effect, and you'll die if you don't stop.”
“Nice try,” Sideways quipped, through he stopped doing circles in favor of transforming for the may be the millionth time, flexing his saws. “I haven't felt this good since -”
“-you picked up some sort of horrible parasite,” Demolisher cut him off. “Where exactly would you have picked that thing up, anyways?”
“I don't know,” Sideways said so quickly Demolisher imagined it made even the Audi suspicious of himself. He spent about five seconds looking abashed before brightening again, realizing he no longer had to mess up his alt mode with extra solar panels.
“Whatever,” Demolisher snarled. “So long as you're fit to travel, I want to keep moving in case the medic does decide to rat us out.”
“Where are we going?” Sideways asked, folding down into his alt mode without missing a beat.
“South,” Demolisher replied. “Near Tokyo. Considering Barricade is leaving us high and dry, we might as well enjoy the downtime while-”
“Demolisher.”
“Speak of the devil,” Demolisher grumbled, and Sideways even stopped his gyrating to listen. “Barricade, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“Are you still in Asia?” There was an unfamiliar undertone in the hunter's vocalizer, one that the Constructicon had not heard before. It was tense, almost hurried, and definitely concerned.
“Japan, actually,” the excavator replied, biting back a scathing comment. No matter how badly he wanted to lay into the other 'Con, he had the sinking suspicion that something was wrong.
“Good, that's close. Can you meet me in Khabarovsk?” Barricade asked. “Soon?”
“Russia,” Demolisher knew where it was in an instant, just north of their current position. “Why?”
“I can't explain it over a comm line,” Barricade's tone became even more harried, his obvious unease making Demolisher uneasy. But the hunter was not one to fool around, despite his habit of lying.
“We'll be there by tomorrow,” the Constructicon responded, and the connection went dead on the other end.
“What was that about downtime?” Sideways quipped, ducking back as Demolisher took a swing at him with his shovel. “I wanted to see Tokyo.”
“Well now you're going to see Russia,” Demolisher shot back, turning himself about to head north, instead of south. Sideways zipped after him, engine purring with its new found health and energy. “He sounded worried. Starscream probably blew up Cybertron or something.”
“Don't even joke about that!”
There was a dense forest just south of Khabarovsk, providing enough cover to conceal Demolisher and Sideways as they waited for Barricade. The hunter showed himself not long after they arrived, black and white paint job splattered with mud. His markings had changed to match that of the local police force, but he had not given up his all-too-American Mustang alt mode. The interceptor transformed once he was right in front of them, not wasting any time with greetings.
“Soundwave is coming to Earth,” he announced, wincing as a small drone ejected itself from his chassis. Demolisher paid it no mind, but Sideways looked down to study the blue mech, curious. “Under orders from the Fallen.”
“Sounds like a party,” Sideways said, getting an odd look from Barricade. The last part of the interceptor's statement appeared to sink in, and the Audi jerked in surprise. “Wait, the Fallen?”
“Yeah the Fallen!” the drone burst out. “You got your audial receptors crossed or something?”
This time Demolisher did look down at the smaller 'Con, but it was Sideways who noticed the look on Barricade's face when the drone spoke. It was a look he associated with someone who'd been given the worst assignment on the roster, and was absolutely furious about it.
“Soundwave dispatched Wheelie to replace Frenzy,” Barricade explained, disgust apparent in his tone. “He is less than adequate.”
“Hey, you're no charmer yourself, copper!” Wheelie shot back. Barricade's left leg twitched, as if he had been considering kicking the drone. Successfully repressing the urge, the interceptor went on as if they hadn't been interrupted.
“When he heard about Megatron's death and Starscream's crazed attempt at rebuilding the Cube, the Fallen made his presence known,” Barricade continued. “I don't know what's going on, but Soundwave's bringing more Decepticons with him, and they've got big plans.”
“Plans like... what plans?” Sideways asked, obviously enthralled by everything Barricade said. Demolisher kept to himself, wondering how much of the truth they were actually getting from the hunter.
“Why don't you-” Wheelie started, but Barricade made one quick motion towards him and the drone dove for cover. No blow came, but Wheelie's reaction told the others that this was not the first time the interceptor had silenced him like that.
“I know there's at least one fragment of the Allspark that survived its destruction, so they're coming for that,” Barricade said, posture relaxing again while Wheelie crawled off to get out of range. “What they're going to do with it is beyond me.”
“Theoretically,” Demolisher spoke up. “You could use it to revive the dead. Like Megatron.”
“How'd you know that?” the silver Audi asked, but Demolisher ignored him.
“Except we don't know what the humans did with his corpse, or where the shard is,” Barricade shook his head. “I've been trying for weeks to get Scorponok to come back to me, but it insists it has work to do in Egypt. I'm - we're going to need its help once Soundwave arrives.”
“Hold on,” Sideways said, lifting his hands. “What was that about Starscream rebuilding the Cube?”
“He took Frenzy's body from the humans,” Barricade said, razor sharp dentals grinding together in agitation. Wheelie grumbled something at their feet, but no one paid him any mind. “Since Frenzy had managed to steal every file the humans had on the Cube, Starscream thought he could recreate it by using those as blueprints. Of course, it didn't work, and he managed to destroy Trypticon in the process.”
“I told you he'd have blown something up,” Demolisher growled, though he was thankful it hadn't actually been Cybertron. Losing their capital city was probably the final straw for the Fallen, who spent most of his time in the background.
“So, what? We just wait for Soundwave to show up and start barking orders at us?” Sideways asked, and even Barricade looked unsure of that.
“We'll help you retrieve Scorponok from Egypt,” Demolisher decided after a long silence. “Since we're all here, we might as well stay together. As far as I'm concerned, we can do whatever we want until Soundwave starts buzzing around our heads.”
It sounded far more irresponsible than it really was, but Demolisher was sick of being left in the dark. Until someone gave him solid orders, he was using his time as he saw fit.
“Blackout called me here for a reason,” Demolisher continued. “I'll probably never know what it was, but the least I can do for him is look after his drone.”
“How charitable of you,” Barricade said, but it lacked the edge it should have had. The interceptor was not disagreeing with him, but opted to withhold how he truly felt about that statement. Sideways said nothing, but knew the Constructicon meant what he said. He had, after all, looked after him without receiving any sort of personal gain from it. Then again, he supposed the excavator could hold a life debt over his head, but Sideways doubted it.
“I got just one problem!” Wheelie yelled up to three of them. Barricade pointedly looked away from it, unwilling to acknowledge or cater to the drones needs. “Me and Scorponok ain't exactly what you'd call friends-”
“And no one will stop it from skewering you!” Barricade barked, the sudden outburst causing not only Wheelie to recoil, but Sideways as well.
“The easiest route to Egypt from here will probably be the shipping lanes,” Demolisher said loudly, ignoring how Sideways had crawled closer to him. Barricade wasn't that terrifying, was he? “Driving all the way back through that many countries will take forever, and I want to be as cohesive as possible once Soundwave arrives.”
“Oh,” Sideways said quietly. “More boats.”
Demolisher ignored him again, at least relieved that they had made it back to mainland Russia without too much of a problem. Being more in control of himself the second time around, Sideways had been less panicky, though still uneasy. “Have you heard who Soundwave intends to bring with him?”
“No,” Barricade shook his head. “I'm lucky I got as much out of him as I did.”
“Why can't someone with a cargo plane alt mode show up?” Sideways asked, more to himself than anyone else. “We really have to go all the way back to Egypt?”
“You're right,” Barricade said, in a tone that made even Sideways look hopeful that they wouldn't have to make the trip. “All this time, I haven't been asking Scorponok nicely enough. I'll just call him up, say please, and he'll come running.”
Sideways slunk back into himself as Barricade's words became sharper and overflowed with hateful sarcasm. Demolisher could hear Wheelie snickering, obviously trying to keep himself quiet.
“We can cross land when we need to if it makes things go faster,” Demolisher said, attempting to rein the smaller 'Cons back in. Wheelie had remained silent thus far, but he had continued to mutter to himself, glaring up at all of them. “Did Soundwave mention when he might arrive?”
“'Pending',” Barricade snorted, and Demolisher suddenly knew who Scrapper had been parroting when he'd asked for orders so many months ago.
“Then we need to move,” the excavator said. “We know Scorponok was not malfunctioning, but Soundwave will be less forgiving if it continues to shun us. There are a lot of American military outposts between here and Egypt, which will give us a chance to do some digging in the meantime.”
Barricade did not dispute him, and Sideways would probably agree to anything the Constructicon said anyways. No matter how standoffish the interceptor had been, he was at least agreeable now, if not stewing over his new drone. It was not going to be fun, or easy, to keep this group from ripping itself apart, but that's why his size came in handy. He could rip them apart before anything got out of control, a little discipline where it was needed.
Out of all the Constructicons, Scrapper gave him the most autonomy. It wasn't that he didn't fit in with the others, he just had a knack for assuming leadership outside of their group. He would not be surprised if Barricade tried to take control, or manipulate him towards his own goals, but Demolisher could handle that. He'd received as many orders as he'd given over his long existence, though the interceptor might have his own agenda.
Demolisher watched his companions transform to their alt modes, Wheelie nearly getting run over by Barricade before the interceptor let him in. For once, the Constructicon felt hopeful towards the future. If Megatron could be revived, and the Fallen remained active in their ranks, they stood more than a fighting chance against the Autobots. It was that consolation that would make the miles between here and Egypt feel like nothing, literal and metaphorical waves easy to weather. Of course, all he had to do was keep a coward, a liar and a loud-mouthed drone together. Life, he supposed, wasn't much of anything without a challenge.