14
Sarge turned at the sound of Skyhammer’s alarm and found himself facing a massive cannon.
“Son of a-”
The cannon fired with a roar and a deadly beam of light slammed into Sarge’s chest, blasting the Autobot several kilometres away from the rest of the group. Sarge got to his feet, groaning, and had barely glanced up before the second cannon fired, sending him further away. This time, upon landing, Sarge was wide awake.
“Is that the best you got?” he scoffed. “I’ve seen Decepticons the size of my toe fire shots that hurt more.”
A third cannon fired, this time actually denting Sarge’s chest armour as he flew further away, slamming into a wall that hadn’t been there before. The red Autobot collapsed from the impact, but was back on his feet within seconds.
“What was that? Was that it?! Seriously?!”
Sarge wasn’t prepared for what came next- a simple tap on his shoulder. He turned slowly, pulling his shotgun off from where it was clipped to his back and readying it.
“We require a... sacrifice.” The figure that had tapped him rumbled. “One Autobot, or everyone here dies.”
“Nice try, ya dirty Decepticon.” Sarge responded. “We came READY TO DIE!”
“Perhaps I did not explain myself clearly.” The figure coughed lightly. “We need one Autobot for a sacrifice, or else not only everyone here dies, every single worthless life down on that worthless planet dies too.”
“Huh.” Sarge was unimpressed. “Why am I not believing you?”
Before the figure could respond, Sarge fired a round point blank at his face. The figure howled, stumbling back as Sarge nodded with satisfaction. However, within seconds the Transformer’s unusual purple spark glowed brightly, and the Transformer righted himself with a sigh, pulling out a shotgun of his own (though rather different in design).
“What in the name of Notch was that?!” Sarge cried.
“You’ll see.” The Decepticon promised.
The Decepticon fired a round at Sarge’s head that the Autobot ducked, before running forward and kneeing Sarge in the face. Sarge retaliated by swinging his own shotgun into the Decepticon’s head, firing another shot point blank. The Decepticon screamed again, but once more he was mysteriously healed. Sarge growled with frustration as the Decepticon grabbed him and threw him to the ground, firing a round into his shoulder.
“Ooh, Autobot for a meal, eh?” a shrill voice cackled, landing behind Sarge with a small crunch.
Sarge rolled over and tackled the newly arrived Scourge, grabbing his neck and beginning to twist. However, the first Decepticon fired off several rounds into Sarge’s back and another newcomer slammed into his side, knocking him away.
“Hello there pretty!” Silverstreak grinned.
Sarge said nothing, firing several rounds off and running at the Seeker, leaping over the silver form and slamming into the first Decepticon, kneeing him to the ground and then lunging away into Scourge, grabbing a knife off of his utility belt and stabbing Scourge in the eye before hopping away.
“MY EYE! MY EYE!” Scourge screamed, scrambling to his feet and pulling the knife away to reveal a hole where his optic had been moments before. “I WILL KILL YOU!!”
“Not likely!” Sarge snorted, firing a round into Scourge’s chest, knocking the Decepticon back a foot.
“Little Autobot, look around you.” The first Decepticon interrupted, his rumbling voice carrying despite the low tone. “We have you surrounded. And your friends are helpless.”
Sarge looked- and saw that he was now surrounded by the first Decepticon (whom he designated as Blue), Silverstreak, Scourge, Toxin, and Shrapnel. Then he saw Skyhammer and the others, frozen in some sort of energy web.
“We require a sacrifice if we are to all survive.” Blue told him. “You can pick who.”
“I’ll never give in!” Sarge retorted. “You’ll have to tear me into shreds of metal.”
“Are the fates of billions not worth a single Autobot life?!” Blue yelled, fury now evident within his eyes.
“You’ll never stop at one!” Sarge responded. “I’LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!”
The Autobot leapt forward even as Blue screamed for the Decepticons to attack, pulling out another knife and jamming it into Shrapnel’s chest before kicking Scourge away and tackling Toxin, firing a round into the Decepticon’s chest and then throwing him at Silverstreak.
“Foolish Autobot!” Blue snorted. “There can be no victory for you.”
Sarge responded by firing a round into Blue’s face once again, kneeing him to the ground while he was distracted and flipping another knife out, stabbing it into Blue’s spark. The Decepticon howled with pain and rage, swinging his own shotgun around and firing it point blank into Sarge’s face. The Autobot was blasted away, bits of his visor scattering across the surface of the battlefield. The Autobot had no time to recover as Blue was upon him, one hand on his throat and the other back, ready in a fist.
“Any last words, Autobot?”
“Pah. Y’know these aren’t my last words.”
Sarge kicked Blue’s fist before it could connect, using it as leverage to fling himself away from the Decepticon, flipping backwards into Silverstreak. The Autobot kicked the Seeker in the head and they both fell to the ground- before Silverstreak could react, Sarge had retrieved his fallen shotgun and fired a round into the Seeker’s head, leaving a sizeable crater.
“You just got Sarged.”
Silverstreak mumbled something unintelligible as Sarge leapt away into Shrapnel, using the Decepticon as a shield from a wave of bullets and rockets from Toxin and the half-blind Scourge. Once a sizeable portion of Shrapnel had been blown to pieces, Sarge threw the unconscious Decepticon at Silverstreak and threw a sticky grenade at the two; as it exploded, Silverstreak snarled and took off in a hasty retreat.
“One down!” Sarge taunted, swinging his shotgun around and firing into Blue once more, grabbing the Decepticon and slamming him into the ground.
“None can best me, Autobot!” Blue snarled, grabbing Sarge by the leg and whipping him into Scourge, whom Sarge latched onto via a knife to the throat.
Scourge screamed –or tried to, as it was difficult to make any sound with a knife in his throat- and shoved Sarge away, firing a round of rockets blindly at the Autobot, all exploding in the vicinity of their target. Sarge shook his head to clear it once the explosions subsided and then leapt into the fray again, grabbing Blue by the chin and slamming him into Scourge, pumping every round he had loaded into Blue’s back. Then Toxin had grabbed him from behind, scrabbling at Sarge’s armour and chipping pieces away.
“Oh no you don’t.” Sarge grunted, reaching behind and grabbing Toxin, slamming him to the ground before him. “If y’all need a sacrifice so bad, then have one!”
Toxin realized what was about to happen a split second too late as Sarge grabbed two grooves in his face and used them as handholds as he ripped the Decepticon’s face in two. Toxin shoved Sarge back, despite his injury, and leapt to his feet, only to receive a shotgun blast to the face. The headless body slumped to the ground, lifeless, and then Blue and Scourge were upon Sarge once again.
“He just got Sarged too.” Sarge grunted as Blue slammed down on top of him. “Hey now, get off me.”
Sarge heaved Blue away and then whipped out his final knife, flinging it at Scourge and nailing the Seeker in the mouth. Scourge coughed and wrenched the knife out, dropping it to the ground with a clatter and then, deciding he’d had enough, transformed and flew away.
“Just you and me.” Sarge said as he and Blue stood to their feet.
“No, there is only ME!” Blue bellowed, running forward and grabbing onto Sarge, who had done the same.
The two grappled for a moment before Blue’s superior strength won out and his spark flashed purple once more. Sarge, having landed face down, almost groaned when he stood and saw that every single wound or bit of damage he’d managed to inflict was gone. In comparison, there was a jagged hole on the left side of Sarge’s helmet visor, and there wasn’t a bit of his armour that wasn’t cracked, dented, scratched, or simply missing altogether.
“Had enough, Autobot?”
“I’ve never had enough, ya dirty blue.”
Sarge fired off two rounds and then ran behind Blue before turning and leaping, grabbing the back of Blue’s head and actually beginning to rip it out as his momentum carried him further before Blue wrenched him away with a snarl.
“I am finished with this. My master loses patience.” Blue spat.
A cannon was ejected from the ground and Blue caught it, swinging it around and firing it full force into Sarge’s chest. The Autobot crashed into the energy web holding Skyhammer and the others in place and it shut down, freeing the rest of the team.
“Now we can get started.” Sarge chuckled.
“Son of a-”
The cannon fired with a roar and a deadly beam of light slammed into Sarge’s chest, blasting the Autobot several kilometres away from the rest of the group. Sarge got to his feet, groaning, and had barely glanced up before the second cannon fired, sending him further away. This time, upon landing, Sarge was wide awake.
“Is that the best you got?” he scoffed. “I’ve seen Decepticons the size of my toe fire shots that hurt more.”
A third cannon fired, this time actually denting Sarge’s chest armour as he flew further away, slamming into a wall that hadn’t been there before. The red Autobot collapsed from the impact, but was back on his feet within seconds.
“What was that? Was that it?! Seriously?!”
Sarge wasn’t prepared for what came next- a simple tap on his shoulder. He turned slowly, pulling his shotgun off from where it was clipped to his back and readying it.
“We require a... sacrifice.” The figure that had tapped him rumbled. “One Autobot, or everyone here dies.”
“Nice try, ya dirty Decepticon.” Sarge responded. “We came READY TO DIE!”
“Perhaps I did not explain myself clearly.” The figure coughed lightly. “We need one Autobot for a sacrifice, or else not only everyone here dies, every single worthless life down on that worthless planet dies too.”
“Huh.” Sarge was unimpressed. “Why am I not believing you?”
Before the figure could respond, Sarge fired a round point blank at his face. The figure howled, stumbling back as Sarge nodded with satisfaction. However, within seconds the Transformer’s unusual purple spark glowed brightly, and the Transformer righted himself with a sigh, pulling out a shotgun of his own (though rather different in design).
“What in the name of Notch was that?!” Sarge cried.
“You’ll see.” The Decepticon promised.
The Decepticon fired a round at Sarge’s head that the Autobot ducked, before running forward and kneeing Sarge in the face. Sarge retaliated by swinging his own shotgun into the Decepticon’s head, firing another shot point blank. The Decepticon screamed again, but once more he was mysteriously healed. Sarge growled with frustration as the Decepticon grabbed him and threw him to the ground, firing a round into his shoulder.
“Ooh, Autobot for a meal, eh?” a shrill voice cackled, landing behind Sarge with a small crunch.
Sarge rolled over and tackled the newly arrived Scourge, grabbing his neck and beginning to twist. However, the first Decepticon fired off several rounds into Sarge’s back and another newcomer slammed into his side, knocking him away.
“Hello there pretty!” Silverstreak grinned.
Sarge said nothing, firing several rounds off and running at the Seeker, leaping over the silver form and slamming into the first Decepticon, kneeing him to the ground and then lunging away into Scourge, grabbing a knife off of his utility belt and stabbing Scourge in the eye before hopping away.
“MY EYE! MY EYE!” Scourge screamed, scrambling to his feet and pulling the knife away to reveal a hole where his optic had been moments before. “I WILL KILL YOU!!”
“Not likely!” Sarge snorted, firing a round into Scourge’s chest, knocking the Decepticon back a foot.
“Little Autobot, look around you.” The first Decepticon interrupted, his rumbling voice carrying despite the low tone. “We have you surrounded. And your friends are helpless.”
Sarge looked- and saw that he was now surrounded by the first Decepticon (whom he designated as Blue), Silverstreak, Scourge, Toxin, and Shrapnel. Then he saw Skyhammer and the others, frozen in some sort of energy web.
“We require a sacrifice if we are to all survive.” Blue told him. “You can pick who.”
“I’ll never give in!” Sarge retorted. “You’ll have to tear me into shreds of metal.”
“Are the fates of billions not worth a single Autobot life?!” Blue yelled, fury now evident within his eyes.
“You’ll never stop at one!” Sarge responded. “I’LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!”
The Autobot leapt forward even as Blue screamed for the Decepticons to attack, pulling out another knife and jamming it into Shrapnel’s chest before kicking Scourge away and tackling Toxin, firing a round into the Decepticon’s chest and then throwing him at Silverstreak.
“Foolish Autobot!” Blue snorted. “There can be no victory for you.”
Sarge responded by firing a round into Blue’s face once again, kneeing him to the ground while he was distracted and flipping another knife out, stabbing it into Blue’s spark. The Decepticon howled with pain and rage, swinging his own shotgun around and firing it point blank into Sarge’s face. The Autobot was blasted away, bits of his visor scattering across the surface of the battlefield. The Autobot had no time to recover as Blue was upon him, one hand on his throat and the other back, ready in a fist.
“Any last words, Autobot?”
“Pah. Y’know these aren’t my last words.”
Sarge kicked Blue’s fist before it could connect, using it as leverage to fling himself away from the Decepticon, flipping backwards into Silverstreak. The Autobot kicked the Seeker in the head and they both fell to the ground- before Silverstreak could react, Sarge had retrieved his fallen shotgun and fired a round into the Seeker’s head, leaving a sizeable crater.
“You just got Sarged.”
Silverstreak mumbled something unintelligible as Sarge leapt away into Shrapnel, using the Decepticon as a shield from a wave of bullets and rockets from Toxin and the half-blind Scourge. Once a sizeable portion of Shrapnel had been blown to pieces, Sarge threw the unconscious Decepticon at Silverstreak and threw a sticky grenade at the two; as it exploded, Silverstreak snarled and took off in a hasty retreat.
“One down!” Sarge taunted, swinging his shotgun around and firing into Blue once more, grabbing the Decepticon and slamming him into the ground.
“None can best me, Autobot!” Blue snarled, grabbing Sarge by the leg and whipping him into Scourge, whom Sarge latched onto via a knife to the throat.
Scourge screamed –or tried to, as it was difficult to make any sound with a knife in his throat- and shoved Sarge away, firing a round of rockets blindly at the Autobot, all exploding in the vicinity of their target. Sarge shook his head to clear it once the explosions subsided and then leapt into the fray again, grabbing Blue by the chin and slamming him into Scourge, pumping every round he had loaded into Blue’s back. Then Toxin had grabbed him from behind, scrabbling at Sarge’s armour and chipping pieces away.
“Oh no you don’t.” Sarge grunted, reaching behind and grabbing Toxin, slamming him to the ground before him. “If y’all need a sacrifice so bad, then have one!”
Toxin realized what was about to happen a split second too late as Sarge grabbed two grooves in his face and used them as handholds as he ripped the Decepticon’s face in two. Toxin shoved Sarge back, despite his injury, and leapt to his feet, only to receive a shotgun blast to the face. The headless body slumped to the ground, lifeless, and then Blue and Scourge were upon Sarge once again.
“He just got Sarged too.” Sarge grunted as Blue slammed down on top of him. “Hey now, get off me.”
Sarge heaved Blue away and then whipped out his final knife, flinging it at Scourge and nailing the Seeker in the mouth. Scourge coughed and wrenched the knife out, dropping it to the ground with a clatter and then, deciding he’d had enough, transformed and flew away.
“Just you and me.” Sarge said as he and Blue stood to their feet.
“No, there is only ME!” Blue bellowed, running forward and grabbing onto Sarge, who had done the same.
The two grappled for a moment before Blue’s superior strength won out and his spark flashed purple once more. Sarge, having landed face down, almost groaned when he stood and saw that every single wound or bit of damage he’d managed to inflict was gone. In comparison, there was a jagged hole on the left side of Sarge’s helmet visor, and there wasn’t a bit of his armour that wasn’t cracked, dented, scratched, or simply missing altogether.
“Had enough, Autobot?”
“I’ve never had enough, ya dirty blue.”
Sarge fired off two rounds and then ran behind Blue before turning and leaping, grabbing the back of Blue’s head and actually beginning to rip it out as his momentum carried him further before Blue wrenched him away with a snarl.
“I am finished with this. My master loses patience.” Blue spat.
A cannon was ejected from the ground and Blue caught it, swinging it around and firing it full force into Sarge’s chest. The Autobot crashed into the energy web holding Skyhammer and the others in place and it shut down, freeing the rest of the team.
“Now we can get started.” Sarge chuckled.
