A/N: Yep…it’s been awhile. Part of the delay is from my job once again, the other part is trying to make this story flow and get my ideas all organized. BUT ever since reading the 2nd graphic novel of All Hail Megatron I have been stoked to continue with this. At this point I’m still in book 1 of AHM but the second book has also affirmed my direction with this story. I will be giving credit to the AHM comic book for some of the lines spoken near the end. Normally I DETEST taking others words, but since I’m giving due credit and the plot of AHM is integrated into my story I will write it anyway.

A Human Friend

Chapter 4: “Running Away”

High in the sky…

“Beijing…dumb name for a city.” Skywarp mumbled as they flew. “Where do these humans come up with such lame names? New York, Chicago…they don’t make any sense.”

The blue jet flying beside him made no comment.

“Hey! You awake over there?”the black and purple jet snapped.

“Yeah…dumb names.” was TC’s noncommittal reply.

“Well if the internet is correct Beijing is packed with humans; tighter than wires in a sensory panel.” Skywarp commented, “One shot and BOOM! Ten thousand dead humans. This will be easy.”

The blue jet merely dipped its coned nose in acknowledgement.

“Uggh. Just sickens me we have to do it with those Insecto-freaks.”

“They’re Decepticons like us Warp.” Thundercracker reminded him.

The dark jet snorted, “Like us? Ha! They’re barely Cybertronian! Merged with some disgusting organic codes…I’ve splattered better things than them on my cockpit glass!”

Thundercracker honestly had no positive feelings for the Insecticons either, but they did make their contributions to the battles. That is, when they weren’t devouring everything in sight and torturing the minds of anyone they could get their claws on.

“Who knew it would be this easy?” Skywarp laughed, “Megatron’s plan is brilliant.”

Thundercracker barely heard his comrade as he was more focused on his secret passenger. For the past several minutes Lana had been trying to escape his cockpit and it was starting to make his circuits unsettled.

Little fists pounded aggressively against his radar screen, “Take me back down! NOW!”

Finally the blue jet angled downward and away from Skywarp.

“HEY! Where are you goin? Beijing is THAT way!”the teleporter protested.

“I’ll catch up. I uh…need some fuel.”

Skywarp sighed and if he were in robot mode he would’ve shrugged, “Whatever. Don’t take too long! I don’t wanna get stuck with those bugs the whole time!”

The two jets parted, the black one heading out over the ocean and the blue diving toward the mainland. It wasn’t long before Thundercracker swooped in low over the remains of Los Angeles, finding a quiet road near the outskirts to transform. His cockpit hissed open and Lana all but tumbled out into his hands.

“Put me down.” she snapped without looking at his face.

“Lana, I’m sorry.” Thundercracker said solemnly, “I didn’t want this to happen.”

“But it DID! You…you killed innocent people and destroyed my home.” she cried.

Thundercracker shook his head, “I didn’t have a choice.”

Lana laughed sardonically, “Oh and I’m supposed to believe that?”

The Decepticon’s voice rose, “I’m a soldier Lana. I either obey my orders or I get executed for treason. Saving you could be considered treason.”

“Save me? For what? So you can keep me as a pet again? To make you feel like you’re actually worth something?” she spat.

A hurt look creaked the plates on the Decepticon’s face but quickly turned to frustration.

He growled deeply, “I told you I didn’t WANT this to happen!”

“Well you sure didn’t DO anything to stop it did you?” the young woman gestured with globs of tears on her eyelashes. “You just…you just let them get killed.”

“What would you have me do? Huh?” his voice was loud, “Tell them to stop? Fight my entire faction to save a handful of humans who would’ve died anyway in the slave ranks?”

Lana stood up in his hands, her voice tight, “You know what? I don’t care what you do! Just put me down and go blow up the rest of the world!”

The Seeker frowned and then shook his head, “I can’t leave you here. It’s not safe.” he stated.

“DON’T YOU GET IT?!” Lana screamed, “I never want to see you again! Just let me go!”

Thundercracker gripped her possessively, “I won’t leave you here. If you’re caught out here you’ll be put in the slave ranks or shot on sight. I’m not going to let that happen.”

Lana sat down angrily in his hands. She didn’t want to look at him; she just couldn’t. She didn’t know if he was lying to her or telling the truth. At that moment she didn’t care. She just knew she wanted to get as far away from him and the others as possible.

“We have to get moving before Skywarp gets suspicious.”

She looked up at Thundercracker a moment, “I don’t suppose you’d let me go to the bathroom?”

“What? Now?” he inquired.

“Yes, now. I have to go.” the young woman insisted.

The Seeker expelled air through his turbines, “Fine. But make it quick.”

Lana pointed to a partially destroyed convenience store with a huge vodka billboard leaning haphazardly against it, “There’s probably a bathroom in there.”

Compliantly Thundercracker knelt down and allowed her to hop out of his hand, “Hurry.”

Lana casually weaved around the piles of food and junk strewn out in front of the store before stepping through the broken door. The place was pretty much totaled with its wares littering the tile floor and various syrupy liquids attracting all manners of insects. Lana pulled a disgusted face but kept moving. When she came to a massive hole in the store roof she peered up to see Thundercracker towering above, scouring the area. The young woman moved away from that hole quickly and made it to the bathroom.

She didn’t have to go, she just needed an excuse to sneak away from the Decepticon. Lana opened the door to see that the far wall where the sink would be was completely gone. But it was sheltered by the huge vodka billboard. Carefully, Lana ducked under the wood and metal advertisement to see what lay beyond. There were several buildings as well as piles of destroyed vehicles in her line of sight. A perfect series of hiding places. If she was very quiet and kept out of view she could slip away before Thundercracker even realized she was leaving.

Like a mouse sneaking through a kitchen, Lana crept under the billboard. She moved quickly but carefully to avoid making any kind of sound that would foil her escape. When she neared the last edge of the billboard she noticed an overturned car just a foot away. She peeked through a tear in the plywood advertisement to see Thundercracker still standing nearby, but thankfully he wasn’t looking in her direction. Lana skittered to her next hiding spot behind the car and waited. Another car awaited her. Scurrying and ducking she moved further from the Decepticon until she made it to a ransacked clothes shop further down the street.

…

“Are you done yet?” Thundercracker grumbled.

No answer.

The Decepticon sighed. She was still angry with him. Yes, he had participated in the conquering of her world, the destruction of the cities, and the enslavement of her species, but he saved her from all that. She was spared the death and suffering the others would experience.

Didn’t that count for something?

Two more minutes dragged by before Thundercracker repeated himself, “Lana, we have to get moving.”

No answer.

Though he knew it would inevitably make her madder he decided to check up on her “progress”.

He gingerly lifted the roof of the convenience store, “Come on Lana it can’t take that long to…”

He was looking down into the half-demolished bathroom but there was no sign of the young woman. The Seeker yanked the roof higher, optics darting.

“Lana?”

She was gone.

Using both hands, Thundercracker ripped the rest of the roof from the building and chucked it out of the way.

“Lana!?”

With furious movements of his hands the Seeker grabbed the vodka billboard and tossed it aside. No Lana. Feverishly he began sifting through every car and vehicle nearby. Cars flew like soda cans as he pitched them over his wings. Worry and anger flooded the red optics as his frantic search yielded no reward. He stood and spun in a slow circle.

“LANA!” he thundered, “WHERE ARE YOU? COME BACK!”

…

Almost two blocks away Lana ducked behind a dumpster gasping for breath. She’d sprinted the whole way without detection. Her lungs burned and a nasty pinch in her side halted her escape as she paused for a rest.

Then she heard Thundercracker’s booming shout not too far away. He sounded desperate and probably angry. The young woman closed her eyes. She wouldn’t answer him…never. As far as she was concerned she never wanted to see another robot as long as she lived.

“LANA!” the Seeker’s voice echoed through the empty streets. “COME BACK! PLEASE!”

Holding her cramping side, Lana got up and jogged down the alley and further into the city ruins. She ignored his shouts, letting them bounce off her mistrusting ears.

…

Thundercracker paced up the street calling for Lana. He kicked vehicles out of his way and scanned with desperation. He tried to pinpoint her heat signature but the buildings and smoldering debris were making it nearly impossible to detect anything. Surely she couldn’t have gotten far?

“Thundercracker, explain your deviation from course.” Soundwave’s voice broke through his communicator.

The Seeker frowned deeply and summoned an answer, “I needed to refuel before crossing the ocean.”

“Resume previous orders immediately.” the monotonic voice commanded.

“Acknowledged. Thundercracker out.” he replied shortly.

Thundercracker looked around him with a sadness in his optics. The stacks of debris and the countless hiding places left little hope of him finding his tiny friend. She was gone and he didn’t have time to find her. He scanned again, hoping to uncover her on a lucky sweep.

Nothing.

It became clear to him that whatever friendship they had started to form was just like the city before him; crumbling and demolished. And he was the cause of its fall. Cities could be rebuilt with time, but Thundercracker doubted any amount of time would rebuild their “friendship”.

The Seeker kicked a bus, sending it rolling down the street. He had blown it. Lana would never forgive him and she would run from him just like all the other humans.

“I’m sorry Lana.” he said aloud before he took off, “Be safe.”

…

Beijing hours later…

By the time Thundercracker arrived over China he could see the path of destruction carved out by Skywarp and the Insecticons. It wasn’t hard to tell who caused what kind of damage. The Insecticons, true to their organic codes, cut through the tightly gathered buildings mowing down wide paths with their metal jaws and insatiable appetites like locusts through a corn field. Skywarp’s destruction signature was far more random. Yet each was a burning and crumbling wound gouged from the city as far as the eye could see.

Smoke and sirens filled the sky. Glowing fires raged like infection in the city veins. Thundercracker hated to look upon it. It was the same as all the other human cities they’d bombed and destroyed. Skywarp was right about one thing: the human casualties were devastating. Already the Seeker could detect the scent molecules of burning flesh in vast clouds over Beijing. He didn’t have an accurate death count, but he knew it must be appalling to produce such an odor.

The blue jet was snapped out of his melancholic observations when he located the signature of his wingman on the far side of the metropolis. As he angled in he also picked up the Insecticons in close proximity.

“Great.” the blue Seeker thought. “A whole city and they can’t stay out of each other’s way?”

Thundercracker cut his engines to glide in and not betray his presence, just in case Warp was in a precarious position. As he transformed and landed a short distance away, his assumptions were correct. Skywarp was having a “discussion” with Bombshell, the Insecticon’s leader. He was probably the most sadistic of the three Insecticons, but Bombshell wasn’t merely cruel, he was downright dangerous. The cerebro-shells he launched from his shoulder gun had the power to control any mech’s mind and the Insecticon leader wasn’t afraid to use his nasty little mind controllers. In fact he relished the opportunity to control other’s minds and make them do his bidding. Even Soundwave, with the most disciplined of minds, had fallen victim to the shells at one time. Why Skywarp had chosen to start an argument with him was beyond logical reasoning.

From Skywarp’s belligerent tones and gestures, Thundercracker knew he was caught in the middle of one of Bombshell’s psychological battles. The Insecticon could almost make anyone fly off the handle merely by speaking; worming his way into the minds of his opponents even without using his special shells.

Finally Bombshell pushed Warp too far and the Seeker delivered a blast to the Insecticon’s midsection. Bombshell fell hard, smoking from a hole in his abdomen, but it didn’t stop his cerebro-shell launcher from aiming at Skywarp. Thundercracker quickly moved in to assist.

Warp noticed his wing mate first and smirked smugly at Bombshell, “Do it.”

The Insecticon froze upon noticing Thundercracker’s cannon aimed point-blank to the side of his helmet.

Thundercracker narrowed his optics dangerously, “You take on one Seeker, you take on us all. I won’t hold back like he did.” (AHM)

“You take on one, you take on us all” a rasping high-pitched voice parroted from behind him. (AHM)

Thundercracker turned to see Kickback and Shrapnel aiming their own weapons at him. They were snickering in that strange repetitive whine the Insecticons emitted when excited. However, TC wasn’t worried. On cue Skywarp teleported behind the surprised Insecticons, placing his cannons to the backs of their heads.

“Teleportation.” he grinned malevolently, “Morons.” (AHM)

There was a tense silence as the standoff suddenly shifted to the Seekers. With a curt insect-like chirp, Bombshell transformed and quickly flew away with his two teammates following his lead. Skywarp laughed, nodding smugly.

“Yeah! That’s right! RUN!” he shouted, “That—yeah! That felt good.” He smirked at his wingman and slugged his shoulder, “I hate those things.” (AHM)

Skywarp’s revelry was lost on TC. Any other time defending his wingman in times of trouble gave a gratifying sense of teamwork. But, Thundercracker couldn’t find anything honorable in it with all the dishonor surrounding them. All that filled his processor was the notion that though he’d “saved” one of his friends he’d lost another; one he would never get back.

The grim frown on TC’s face made Skywarp shake his head with disbelief, “What?”

“Nothing.”

“NOT nothing! Come on TC! That was—that was like old times!” Skywarp interjected with a fierce gesture to the retreating Insecticons. “It got you going didn’t it?”

Thundercracker didn’t respond.

Skywarp’s optics flashed, “Where were you?”

“I told you…I needed fuel.”

“Well you’re late.” The black and purple Seeker gestured to the destruction, “Look! I’ve done all this by myself. Where’s the fun in doing this by myself?” (AHM)

Thundercracker still remained quiet.

Skywarp stared at his comrade harshly, “Geez, TC. You’ve blown up what, three buildings and a few dozen jets since we’ve started all this? I’ve only seen you use your sonic boom twice and that was in New York against the Air Force.”

“So?”

“SO? So what’s your problem? All you do is walk around acting all somber.” the black and purple Seeker accused.

Thundercracker fixed his mouth in a frown and turned his head. Even Skywarp noticed his attitude in all this. To his credit he hadn’t said anything to the others about it, but if he mentioned it then TC knew he was thinking about it. He’d never admit what was eating at his Spark since they’d began this conquering. He would never tell Warp he didn’t like killing humans because they were not worthy opponents. He would never tell Warp he thought Megatron’s plan was falling away from the Decepticon’s true purpose and that everything they’d done in this conquering had soiled their Decepticon honor. He would never tell Warp about the guilt he felt for destroying Lana’s city and the friendship they had once shared. And…he would never tell Warp how much he hated himself for all of it.

No. He couldn’t tell Warp any of that.

After getting no answer, Skywarp snorted and flicked a frustrated hand at him.

He began to transform and just as he took off commented, “You know, between you being all—like this—and Starscream hardly ever showing up…I’m starting to feel all alone out here.” (AHM)

Thundercracker felt the sting in his spark as he thought, “You’re not the only one Warp.”