Best Laid Plans, Chapter Seven

[dfastback68]

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.



The sunrise had probably been amazing, Demolisher supposed, if he'd even noticed that it had happened. His attention was focused solely on tracking the progress of the Constructicons, each passing hour bringing them that much closer to Earth. Radio silence had been enforced by Scrapper, but Demolisher had only to be patient to hear from them again. He was vaguely aware of Barricade resuming his work on Scorponok, and at some point during the morning Sideways had returned to his side.

Demolisher ignored them all in favor of tracking his teammates. He had sent out an inquiry to Soundwave, though he had no idea where the Communications Officer was or if he would respond. It wasn't surprising that he didn't show up on radar, as Soundwave had a knack for hiding in plain sight. He tried not to let the thought of being spied on bother him, considering how little privacy he got among even his most trusted comrades.

The hours slid by and the sun climbed higher into the sky, passing its zenith not long before the Constructicons reached their destination. Without radio contact, Demolisher could only guess as to why they split into two groups at the last possible moment, one on target for Newfoundland, the other veering off to Iceland. Content that they had at least successfully made planetfall, he decided to check up on the other 'Cons loitering with him in the desert. A quick look told him not much had changed at all.

Sideways seemed to sense he had finally rejoined them, and shifted away from his wheel. He didn't make it far before Demolisher ran a scan on his vitals.

“How do you feel?” Demolisher asked. Sideways hesitated, but he bared the wound without any prodding or commands.

“I've felt better,” Sideways said glumly. It was healing nicely - most of the surface damage had repaired itself, but the more delicate circuitry still had a ways to go. The pain seemed to have lessened as well; at least, Demolisher had only a slight headache, and Sideways did not look overly stressed.

“You're supposed to say 'I've had worse,'” Demolisher said. “It makes you sound tougher.”

Sideways said nothing, shifting a bit as if debating whether or not Demolisher was joking. Finally, a small smile passed across his features, swiftly vanishing when Demolisher reached out to him.

“I imagine this will be fully healed within a few days,” he said, one large finger passing over the hole once. “Don't walk anywhere until your spinal structure is realigned. Understand?”

“Yeah,” said Sideways, nodding once. When Demolisher withdrew his hand, the silver 'Con wrapped one of his arms around his middle. It was a defensive position, Demolisher assumed, because it wasn't like he was holding anything in. Sideways looked past him, obviously still too embarrassed to maintain optic contact. “Hey, what's that?”

Demolisher turned his head in the direction Sideways was looking. Barricade stood apart from Scorponok, both of them looking up at the image being projected by the scorpion. It was difficult to make out what it was from their distance. Despite what he'd just agreed to, Sideways stood up, apparently intent on seeing for himself what was happening. Deciding to deal with any objections later, Demolisher scooped Sideways up in one hand, not wanting him to damage himself further. He rolled them both over to where Barricade and the drone were, stopping only a few yards away in case Scorponok wasn't entirely agreeable.

“What have you found?” Demolisher asked, letting Sideways slip out of his hand while he got a better look at the projection. The silver 'Con kept his mouth shut, and Demolisher hoped that meant he understood the mistake he'd just made by trying to walk. Sideways' feelings aside, he was more interested in the broken Cybertronian glyphs shimmering in the air above Scorponok. The drone looked entirely defeated, laying flat and docile on the sand.

“What Blackout was after,” Barricade said, gesturing to the glyphs. “These markings were discovered near the pyramids in Giza. He found even more of them during his time in the Middle East, and tracked some records to find a nearly complete set in Nag Hammadi.”

“Nearly complete?” Sideways asked, cocking his head up at the display.

“The humans foolishly believed carving things into stone meant they would last forever,” Barricade snorted. “Erosion has other ideas, so we're left with only the pieces. Scorponok came back to Egypt because it had orders to find the original location of this inscription. It found it, for all the good that does us.”

“Humans made these?” Demolisher said, and Barricade nodded. “That's weird.”

“Why was it supposed to find the original location?” Sideways asked.

“To make certain the written records were accurate,” said Barricade. “Blackout found only fragments of the complete inscription, but one file he retrieved indicated the Library of Nag Hammadi had a full copy. Obviously, the file was wrong. There are two additional glyphs, but it's not the whole thing.”

“Oh yeah, you an expert or something?” Wheelie demanded, and Sideways started, not realizing the blue drone had come up beside him. “What's it say?”

“I don't know,” Barricade growled. “Scorponok thinks it's incomplete because that's what Blackout told it. This is ancient Cybertronian - I can't even begin to translate it.”

“There's something about the dawn and... a sword, or a dagger,” Demolisher said, leaning down to see it better.

“How'd you know that?” Sideways boggled at him, but Demolisher only shrugged.

“Think for a moment, Sideways,” Barricade said, his tone surprisingly neutral. “Try to guess how old Demolisher is.”

“Um,” Sideways said, looking askance at Demolisher, who kept silent.

“Here's a hint: double your guess, and you're probably halfway there,” Barricade said, before leaving Sideways to figure out the math for himself. “Demolisher, can you translate it further?”

“It's the language of the Primes,” he said. “I don't read much of it, but I'm certain Scavenger could probably translate it properly. You're right about it being unfinished - what I can translate doesn't make any sense on it's own, and only half of that glyph is present. Otherwise it's just gibberish.”

“Well, from what I've gotten out of Scorponok, the humans wrote these glyphs over and over, leaving them all over the world,” said Barricade. “Of course, that doesn't mean they were writing them correctly, which explains why parts of it look like nonsense. The source is what we're after, but finding it has proven beyond difficult.”

“Wouldn't the source be the Allspark?” Sideways asked, looking hopeful. “I mean, it was here for a long time and -”

“Human history doesn't work that way,” Barricade cut him off, deflating his enthusiasm as well. “North America is where the Cube landed, and North America is where the trail of these inscriptions all but dries up. My - Blackout's best guess is that they originated in Egypt, and spread out from there.”

“How did Blackout figure all this stuff out?” Sideways asked, watching more human reports and pictures flash by on Scorponok's projection.

“He caught onto it while looking for the Allspark out here,” said Barricade. “Naturally, he kept what he found from Starscream, and every one else for that matter. The reports we're looking at now were extracted during his hack attempt in Qatar. He should have had plenty of time to retrieve what we needed about the Cube, but he got bogged down looking for other files. Specifically, top secret files concerning these markings.”

“So that's why Scorponok wants to stay in Egypt?” Demolisher asked, though it was mostly a rhetorical question. “That is quite a mystery Blackout uncovered. That message must have been written long before the Cube was ever jettisoned from Cybertron, considering the language that was used.”

“Scorponok returned to Egypt, specifically Nag Hammadi, in order to complete Blackout's last attempts at research,” said Barricade. “Every appearance of our language is tied to some religious tradition of this miserable species. Even if they didn't see who wrote the inscription, it clearly had a profound effect on their primitive minds.”

“What's in Nag Hammock that's so important?” Wheelie asked, receiving a sneer from Barricade.

“Nag Hammadi is home to a significant religious and historical finding, so far as the humans are concerned,” said Barricade. “A group of manuscripts were discovered out here, but given the organic materials humans use a means of recording, some of them were damaged or unreadable. Supposedly, at least one human burned several of them in fear of what they might contain, but it is far more likely that they were stolen or hidden by someone else. Those were written in no human language, and the cave where they were uncovered had a portion of the inscription carved into the wall.”

“It's probably to much to ask about where those manuscripts wound up,” Demolisher said, shaking his head.

“Oh, they're out there. However, Scorponok uncovered a file outlining the ridiculous reasons why none of the manuscripts or records of the markings were digitized,” Barricade growled. Even as he spoke, the projections changed to a series of government documents reflecting Barricade's words.

“So only the hard copies exist?” Demolisher asked, and Barricade nodded. “Then we need to find the hard copies. Does Scorponok have any leads?”

“The manuscripts, photos and files were all owned by Sector Seven, a government organization that hounded us for years,” Barricade said, his tone less than optimistic.

“'Were'?” Sideways frowned.

“Sector Seven was disbanded shortly after the battle in Mission City,” Barricade said, shoulders sagging. “All of their facilities were wiped clean and decommissioned. There is no paper trail detailing where any of their physical records wound up. The manuscripts, and any photos of the inscriptions, are almost completely out of reach by now.”

“That doesn't mean giving up,” said Demolisher. “We've still got part of the message, which I can send to Scavenger for a complete translation, and -”

“That's why Blackout called you here,” Barricade said suddenly, head snapping up.

“What?”

“He knew you might be able to decipher it,” Barricade went on. “And even if you couldn't, you knew who could. Summoning you wouldn't look odd because you're strong on the battlefield, which was what we needed at the time. If he'd asked for Scavenger, Scrapper would have questioned it -”

“Slow down,” Demolisher snapped. “You think Blackout ordered me here to help him decipher Cybertronian glyphs, under the cover of providing backup for the fight against the Autobots?”

“...that kinda makes sense,” Sideways said after a moment. Demolisher had to agree; it had seemed so strange for only one Constructicon to be called, even if he was the usual loner. Calling Scavenger would have been out of place, and Scrapper would have never agreed to let him go alone.

“So let's get this straight,” said Demolisher, hoping most of the puzzle pieces would start fitting together now. “Supposedly, at least one Cybertronian visited this planet and left a message, which was copied and perpetuated by the human's religious sects. Then, by sheer cosmic coincidence, the Cube lands here, leading more Cybertronians back to this planet. While looking for the Cube, Blackout finds out about the message, but most of it has been lost with time. He summons me here to try to further his research, but the discovery of Megatron and the Allspark cut that short, leaving Scorponok to continue by itself. Correct?”

“I'd say that's about the long and short of it,” said Barricade. Scorponok chirred once, rolling over in the sand as the projections vanished.

“Explain one last thing to me,” said Demolisher, and Barricade nodded, waiting for the question. “Why did Scorponok attack us, specifically Sideways?”

Barricade said nothing for a moment, optics flicking between Demolisher and Sideways. He had obviously not expected being called out on that, and was struggling to come up with a quick answer.

“I told you,” he finally said. “Scorponok saw us as a threat because Blackout ordered it to keep what he'd found a secret. It took me half the night to convince it that Blackout probably only meant Starscream, or anyone loyal to him. Sideways is fine, is he not?”

“That's beside the point,” Demolisher rumbled, noticing Sideways trying to make himself as small as possible at the mention of his injury. “It could have killed him.”

“If Scorponok had wanted to kill him, he would already be dead,” Barricade snapped. “Let it go.”

“No,” said Demolisher. “It targeted us, not you. That much was obvious, Barricade. I can only imagine what else that drone has told you that you'll never repeat to us -”

“And with good reason!” Barricade hollered. “I've told you what you need to know, so let it go.”

“Alright,” said Demolisher, though he had no intention of doing just that. “I'll accept our presence threatened it given it's orders. I'll even accept that what we've learned about the glyphs is more than enough. What I will not accept is your lack of answer concerning why you were not directly attacked.”

Demolisher could practically see steam rising from Barricade as he seethed, jaw grinding in agitation. Demolisher's curiosity was born out of pure selfishness, simply because he had a vague idea as to the reason behind Scorponok's behavior. Barricade had only to confirm it, and Demolisher might have an answer, or at least a clue, to his own troubles.

“Scorponok would not knowingly inflict harm or damage on me,” Barricade began, his tone even, though rage brewed just beneath the surface. “We share a ghost symbiosis.”

“Ghost - what's that?” Sideways asked, much to Demolisher's surprise. Demolisher himself seized onto the word, instantly searching his databanks for a match.

“I'll explain it in practical terms,” said Barricade, obviously unhappy with having to talk about it at all. “A drone has one master host, but it has the ability to connect to secondary hosts. Blackout... asked me to take on Scorponok in case anything, well, happened to him. It is not a true symbiosis, as it is physically impossible for me to support a drone as large as Scorponok, but it's still there. Satisfied?”

Demolisher was not, but he forced himself to nod anyways. Everything Barricade has said was recorded, bundled, and sent directly to Scrapper. His own data banks were blank when it came to the ghost symbiosis, and he considered the possibility that it had been invented on the spot. Demolisher doubted it; Barricade seemed begrudging to give that up, and he could apply it to his situation with ease.

“Then I guess our next goal is to uncover the source and meaning of these glyphs,” said Demolisher. He was still anxious to hear from the other Constructicons, and several of them might be interested in what they'd found. Once Soundwave actually paid them any attention, he would be certain to pass it along to him as well. It was still unclear to them what the Fallen intended, aside from finding an Allspark fragment and reviving Megatron. The enigma of the glyphs only added another layer of confusion to the already mangled state of affairs on Earth.

“You do what you want with your Constructicons,” Barricade said, barely keeping the malice out of his tone. “I can handle it -”

Barricade stopped when Scorponok suddenly stiffened, picking it head up and looking due north. A moment later, a tiny blip appeared on their radar, speeding directly towards them.

“Predator,” Barricade said, instantly recognizing the human signals coming from the approaching aircraft. “If it sees us, we'll be found out, and if we shoot it down, they'll know we're here. Either way...”

“So what do we do?” Sideways asked, already shrinking closer to Demolisher. The Predator would seem a lot less threatening, Demolisher thought, if he saw how small it actually was. Barricade did not seem surprised one was out here, so Demolisher assumed it was halfway normal for spy drones to be sent out across the desert.

“Shoot it,” Demolisher said. “We need to leave this area anyways, and I'd rather not let our enemies get a picture of us. Barricade?”

“I can shoot it down before it even sees us,” he said, looking up at Demolisher. “I'm going to need some height, though.”

Demolisher nodded, holding out one hand for the interceptor. Barricade scaled his frame in no time at all, hauling himself up to the very top of the Constructicon's wheel. Below, Sideways craned his neck to see where he was, but it was impossible from his position. Bracing himself to remain still, Demolisher felt Barricade flatten himself across his wheel, using his elbows to balance his rifle.

Sideways gave up trying to see Barricade and looked out across the desert, trying to catch a glimpse of the Predator. It was still a ways off on their radar, but headed directly south. In perhaps only ten minutes it would be able to take an image of them, but Barricade could shoot it down before then. The technology stolen from Megatron was proof of human ingenuity - but it still failed to compare to the original source.

The drone flew closer and closer. The only motion Demolisher could sense from Barricade was his finger tightening on the trigger, his entire frame tense. As soon as it was shot down, they were going to have to run. Demolisher was already plotting the best route for them to take once they reached the city, hoping Sideways was in good enough shape to transform. Barricade shifted only minutely, the Predator coming into range on his scope, long before it would ever see them. It took only nanoseconds for Barricade to take aim, lock on and -

The Predator suddenly veered off, making a sharp turn to the west before doubling back the way it had come. Demolisher felt the muzzle of Barricade's rifle tap his wheel, as the interceptor had lowered it in surprise. They waited for it to turn around again, but after only a few moments, even their long distance radar couldn't detect it.

“Hey, how lucky can you get?” Wheelie grinned, looking up at Sideways, who only shook his head.

“May be... it was low on fuel?” he speculated, jumping slightly when Barricade landed on the ground next to him. Wheelie coughed dramatically as the resulting cloud of sand hit him, but no one paid him any mind.

“It was flying in a straight line,” said Barricade, swinging his rifle up over his shoulder. “Either it was recalled, or -”

“Decepticons, acknowledge.”

“Soundwave,” Demolisher said, instantly recognizing the voice that echoed across their radios. “He could hack it and make it go anywhere without raising any flags. Although I'm surprised he didn't use it to check up on us. According to Scavenger, he arrived here not too long ago, but hasn't contacted anyone.”

“What!?” Barricade was less than happy with that news. “He's been spying on us?”

“Decepticons, acknowledge.”

“We hear you, Soundwave,” Demolisher finally replied over the radio, knowing it wasn't a good idea to keep the Communications Officer hanging. “Awaiting orders.”

“Acknowledged,” Soundwave answered at once. “Your orders are pending.”

“Give me a credit for every time I hear that...” Demolisher growled, ire rising. Well, if he pushed some buttons, may be could goad Soundwave into giving them something to do. “Soundwave, we've found evidence of Cybertronian presence on this planet, long before the Cube-”

“Acknowledged,” Soundwave cut him off. The word 'acknowledged' was getting about as irritating as constantly hearing 'orders pending'. “The Fallen is aware of a message left behind by last Primes. Cybertronian ancestors constructed Solar Harvester on Earth prior to discovery of human race. Location of Solar Harvester: Giza, Egypt. Matrix of Leadership required to activate Solar Harvester. Location of Matrix: unknown.”

“Well, is that all?” Barricade snorted, keeping off the radio. “I thought all the Harvesters were destroyed, or at least abandoned on dead planets.”

“I suppose -” Demolisher began, only to be interrupted by Soundwave once again.

“Barricade, upload all data concerning Cybertronian glyphs discovered by Blackout,” Soundwave commanded, and Demolisher could see Barricade bristling. He did not disobey, but it couldn't have been any more obvious that Soundwave had been spying on them. The worst part, as far as Demolisher was concerned, was that they couldn't exactly complain to anyone about it. “More data required. Matrix must be found. Generating course of action.”

While Barricade seethed over giving up what he'd fought so hard to uncover, Demolisher felt a distinct uneasiness about Soundwave's snooping. How long had he been up there, looking down on them and watching their every move? Did he know about their meeting with Ratchet, or even the truth behind Sideways' presence on Earth? And, of course, there was the legitimate concern he'd heard the conversation between himself and the Constructicons, especially the bit about symbiotic connections. Soundwave was the last mech he would trust with personal information like that.

Personal matters aside, Soundwave had cleared up half of the mystery concerning the glyphs in less than five sentences. Not only had the Primes been here, but this was the planet that the Matrix had been lost on? The Cube must have been attracted to its cousin power source during its flight through the vacuum - that went above and beyond a mere coincidence.

“How long's it take to generate a fraggin' course of action?” Wheelie grumbled.

“However long it takes him to sort out all the information he's gained by snooping on us,” Barricade growled, though for once his anger was not aimed at the blue drone.

“Glyphs contain coordinates to whereabouts of Matrix of Leadership,” Soundwave said, at least acting oblivious about their conversation. “Decepticons will be deployed to discover full message. Decepticons will be assigned as follows:

“Scorponok is to remain in Egypt; mission: guard Solar Harvester. Wheelie is reassigned to North America; mission: collect information on Autobot allies via espionage. Barricade is assigned to Mecca; search mission: uncover possible glyphs. Demolisher is assigned to India; search mission: uncover possible glyphs.”

There was a short pause that made irrational panic well up in Demolisher's spark. He couldn't get separated from Sideways. Not now, with this damned glitching symbiotic link, ghost or not. Not with his injuries, not with-

“Sideways will accompany Demolisher. Further details will be uploaded directly.”

The tension drained out of Demolisher, at least until he realized they would backtracking once again to reach their mission destination. He would have never left Sri Lanka if he'd known Soundwave was ten steps ahead of them about everything.

“Espionage, baby!” Wheelie cheered, more to himself than anyone else. “I'm gonna be a spy!”

“Mecca,” Barricade snarled the word, claws flexing. “Egypt is where we should keep our focus, but because Soundwave is -”

“Don't be so resentful, Barricade,” Demolisher cut him off. Whatever his opinion of Soundwave, it was probably best that Soundwave himself didn't hear it. “What Blackout found can be used to further our cause. We've got a head start, and as far as we know, the Autobots are oblivious to the existence of the Harvester. Think, Barricade. We will have the means to revive Megatron, reclaim one of our most powerful relics, and harvest Energon while destroying this miserable planet. In the end, isn't that what Blackout would have wanted to happen?”

“...yes,” Barricade said, Demolisher's words having sobered his attitude some. Demolisher did not like to think what Barricade would have done with Blackout's findings if he hadn't told anyone.

“So, all we have to do is find the Allspark shard, and a full set of glyphs that contain the location of the Matrix?” Sideways asked, thankfully redirecting them back on topic.

“Put simply, yes,” Demolisher nodded. Before he suggested they all get on with their individual missions, Soundwave cut in again.

“Repairs required?” Soundwave asked. Even though he was annoyed by the constant interruptions, Demolisher nearly answered yes, they could use a medic, until the other 'Con continued: “Scalpel available.”

“No,” Demolisher said at once. From the look on Barricade's face, his decision wouldn't be disputed. “We're fine.”

Sideways looked a bit put off by that; obviously he wasn't aware of what a nightmare it would be to have Scalpel as their medic. He was certainly capable, but Demolisher hadn't gotten over what the medic had done, or nearly done, to Scavenger. He would rather contact Ratchet again if Sideways suffered any more.

When he was certain Soundwave was done, Demolisher said: “Barricade, you can come with us. We'll probably head north and cross-”

“No,” said Barricade. “I'm not going that far out of my way. I'll book a passage across the Red Sea and head straight to Mecca from there. Have fun in India.”

Much to Demolisher's surprise, Barricade transformed, tires spitting up dust as they dug into the sand. Then the Mustang was off, engine roaring as they were left in his wake. Scorponok turned to watch him go, tail wilting in disappointment.

“Now there's an idea,” Wheelie suddenly said. “See you losers later!”

It was almost comical watching Wheelie pull the same stunt as Barricade, his tiny engine making nowhere near as much noise as the powerful Mustang. He was off in the opposite direction, and Demolisher assumed he would find a way to North America across the Atlantic ocean. As if expecting what was coming next, he looked down at Scorponok, who was already backing away from them. One of it's claws was still injured, but it still spun, preparing to take it into the sand. It shot Sideways a somewhat apologetic look, and then it was gone, nothing but the disturbed sand to indicate it had been there at all.

“Geez,” said Sideways, watching Barricade's rapidly shrinking alt mode crest a dune and then vanish. “That was fast.”

“It's for the best,” said Demolisher, once again scooping up the smaller 'Con. Before he had a chance to protest, Demolisher raised him up to his shoulders, where Sideways could sit comfortably. As carefully as possible, Sideways clambered onto his cab, gripping the railing as Demolisher rolled forward.

“Have you heard from the other Constructicons?” Sideways asked.

“Not yet,” said Demolisher, even though he had just received a message from Scrapper, indicating he'd received the symbiote files. He said nothing else, but the acknowledgment eased Demolisher's concern about their arrival. “They made planetfall not too long ago, though, so it shouldn't be too much longer.”

“This is pretty weird,” Sideways said. When Demolisher didn't answer, he clarified: “I mean, the stuff about the language of the Primes and the Matrix and all that.”

“Oh, yes, it is,” Demolisher said, a bit dismissively. His thoughts were already turning back to what Barricade had said about the ghost symbiosis program, and what it might mean for himself and Sideways. Since it wasn't a complete host/drone system, may be it was possible for it to occur between two hardwired hosts. He would have to wait until he heard from Scrapper, knowing that speculating about it would drive him insane.

He felt Sideways shift about on his shoulder, keeping a death grip on the railing.

“You can let go,” Demolisher said, casting a glance at the fidgeting Audi.

“What?” Sideways clung even tighter, as if Demolisher had told him hold on, and not the other way around.

“I said you can let go,” he repeated. “You're not going to fall.”

“Oh,” said Sideways, and his grip loosened somewhat. After a few moments, he mustered up the courage to release the railing completely, though he pressed his back against Demolisher. It didn't take long, however, for him to realize that he was safe, and actually started to relax.

“Until we're certain you can transform, I'm steering clear of the cities,” said Demolisher. “You can rest if you like. It'll speed up your healing.”

“Okay,” the silver 'Con said, his tone telling Demolisher he was halfway into recharge already. The injury took a lot out of him, and Demolisher didn't mind carrying him so long as it meant a speedy recovery.

Without any of the other 'Cons around, the Constructicon felt an odd peace, as if all of the stress in his life had just driven away. It wouldn't take long before he started fretting over other things, or the reality of their new mission caught up to him, but for now he was going to enjoy his optimistic attitude while it lasted. Sideways was already dozing off, and Demolisher minded that his path was a smooth as possible to keep him comfortable.

If they got close enough to a major city, he'd try to find a Wi-Fi hot spot and download The Mummy Returns. He doubted it would be any better than the first movie, but Sideways would probably still like it.

The little things, Demolisher thought, and the wonders they did for peace of mind.