CHAPTER EIGHT
"Are you seriously telling me that you didn't think this mission all the way through?"
Twin Twist winced as he narrowly dodged a rocket fired by a Decepticon heavy soldier. He returned fire by launching two drill-shaped missiles at the brute, effectively putting him out of commission.
"Well, sweetheart, since the original plan didn't go as well as we were hoping, we kinda had to improvise."
"'Sweetheart?'" Flareup punctuated her remark by shooting a Decepticon sniper point-blank in the face. "How cute."
"Get a room, you two!" Roadbuster snapped as he walked up between them, carrying a large Path Blaster. Aiming it at the floor beneath the Decepticons' feet, he fired and sent the enemy fighters flying through the air. He then brought out another cannon and aimed it at the far wall.
"If this thing backfires on me," Roadbuster muttered, "tell my Conjunx Endura that I love her."
"You don't have a Conjunx Endura," Twin Twist said.
"Glad you're still paying attention."
The Wrecker pulled the weapon's trigger and launched a spherical bomb. It then detonated, seeming to rip apart the fabric of time and space. It then stopped as soon as it started and the wall was no more.
Twin Twist regarded Roadbuster's weapon with a mix of shock and admiration. "Where did you get that fancy toy?"
"Brainstorm," the larger Wrecker replied. "He doesn't technically know that I have it, but I did leave behind fifty shanix in his workshop."
"How generous of you," Flareup said dryly. "Now let's get the Pit out of here."
The three converted into their alternate modes and followed the other Wreckers and escaped Autobot prisoners out of the fortress. Once they were outside, they were instantly greeted by an Autobot ship, though it was not the Xantium like some were expecting.
"Well, what do you know?" Impactor said as he looked up at the descending Steelhaven. "Guess Magnus pulled through after all."
Still hovering over the ground, the Steelhaven's boarding ramp lowered and a robust, red-armored Autobot appeared. Observing the several Autobots, as well as the Decepticons now pursuing them, he said, "Guess it's time to bash some heads."
With that, he jumped down from the ship- followed by other Elite Guardsmen- and converted into his tank mode, shooting wildly at the 'Cons. With the Elite Guard handling their pursuers, the Wreckers escorted the other Autobots onto the ship. However, just as most of the escapees were on board and the Wreckers were about to follow, a missile from a Decepticon's launcher hit Leadfoot in the leg, blasting it off.
"Autobot down! Autobot down!" Twin Twist cried.
The Wreckers' repair-bot, Fastfix, rushed to the fallen Autobot's side and ran a scanner over him. "He's still alive," the medic soon reported. "Roadbuster, carry him on board."
The green and brown Wrecker lifted up Leadfoot, slinging him over his shoulder, and hurried onto the Steelhaven. Not long after, the Elite Guardsmen were back on the ship as well and it was soon taking off from Darkmount.
With the wounded in the medbay and the others put to safety, Impactor went to the bridge, where Ultra Magnus was waiting for him.
"Damage report," the Elite Guard leader ordered.
"At least seven dead, including three of my Wreckers," Impactor replied. "Leadfoot is in the medbay and I believe Optronix has gone after Straxus."
Ultra Magnus frowned. "Then I'm afraid he's already dead."
Impactor's optics flared. "Are you that willing to abandon one of your own men?"
"Impactor, this ship has received enough damage as it is," Ultra Magnus said sharply. "If we linger any longer, the 'Cons might-"
"Uh, sir?" a communications officer on the bridge said. "We're getting a transmission from Darkmount."
After a moment's hesitation, Ultra Magnus said, "Play it, Cosmos."
On a video-screen near the viewport, the malevolent visage of Lord Straxus appeared.
"Ultra Magnus," the Decepticon warlord growled. "For once in my life, I shall be generous. Given that you now have what was never mine in the first place, I am going to let you leave in one piece."
"Hold it," Impactor snapped before Ultra Magnus could say anything. "Where's Optronix?"
Straxus smirked. "I wouldn't expect him coming aboard if I were you."
The Wrecker leader stepped back, refusing to let any amount of grief to show on his face. In turn, Ultra Magnus regarded Straxus coldly.
"So be it."
With that, he cut off the communication and ordered the Steelhaven's pilot Jazz to head back for Cybertron. With nothing left to be said, Impactor left the bridge. It was bitterly ironic, he thought, how despite them achieving something great- by freeing their fellow Autobots- they had failed to achieve their initial objective.
Funny how things work sometime. In a not-so-funny way.
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