Amaranthine (2/50)
Title: Amaranthine
Rating: T (subject to change)
Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to HasTak and whoever else has gotten in on it while I wasn't looking.
Summary: From their first meeting to not-quite the end, Skyfire and Silverbolt have never really been sure what to make of each other. But that was just a technicality in the grand scheme of things. (Alternatively: Growing pains are even worse when they come with explosions.)
//Silverbolt, Prowl wants you and your lot over to provide cover to Trailbreaker's unit- they can't move with his forcefields up like that.// Jazz's voice had that tense, forced 'carefree' note in it that told Silverbolt everything he needed to know- and confirmed his worst fears.
This battle was going very, very badly.
Forcing down the customary panic, he banked to the side, trying to stretch his sensors out far enough to track the seekers. Skywarp and Thundercracker had been almost harrying him into the ground the entire battle, probably to keep him away from his brothers (and Superion out of the fight) and unfortunately it was working. //Understood. I can try, but just staying in the air isn't going too well right now.//
And he wasn't the only one having issues- Skydive was keeping ahead of Thrust through sheer luck and skill, Fireflight was being... Fireflight, and leading Ramjet on a crazy chase that was genuinely terrifying to watch, Slingshot and Dirge were playing chicken, and Air Raid...
Starscream had been all over Air Raid since the time travel incident. Apparently something about his brother rubbed the seeker the wrong way. It scared him, a lot, even if Raid was the only one of them with the speed- and pure, stupid bravery- to keep Starscream really occupied.
The thought was cut short as Skywarp teleported into existence right in front of him, forcing him to pull upward so sharply his engines nearly stalled and giving the purple seeker ample time to slam several shots into his undercarriage.
Warnings flickered across his vision- ruptured lines, a few burnt out sensors, a lot of surface damage- but he ruthlessly quashed them, straining to get even higher without either of the seekers dogging him getting in more shots. If he could just get high enough...
His altimeter screamed in his peripheral vision, making him horrifying aware of how high he was off the ground, but right now he didn't have any choice but to push higher. Skywarp had pulled off but Thundercracker was still right there, and bearing down on him...
There!
His electrostatic battery hummed to life as he hit the cloud cover, making his plating almost hum from the charge. It was a simple enough command, funneling it across his body to his nosecone-
Seekers were fast, but not fast enough to dodge something moving at the speed of light. The lightning bolt slammed into Thundercracker as hard as any missile, sending him veering wildly off-course with a flurry of angry yells, and Silverbolt couldn't hide the flash of relief that flooded him.
Not that it lasted long. Almost as soon as Thundercracker was off his afterburners, Skydive reached through the gestalt bond, a cold spike of terror preceding his frantic yell. Raid! Skywarp!
Oh, frag.
He could only barely see them in the very periphery of his scanners, but sure enough, Starscream had fallen back just enough to give Air Raid some maneuvering room- and Skywarp room to teleport in right on his aft. The Eagle was fast, but not fast enough to avoid a point-blank shot.
Silverbolt was too far away to clearly tell what happened, but he was horrifyingly aware of the fact Air Raid was going down, right into the battlefield below them. Turning so quickly that his engines almost stalled, he very nearly went after him before Grapple pinged his comm.
//Silverbolt, Hoist and I are already there. Focus.// It was bizarre to hear the architect being so calm, and even more bizarre not to feel Air Raid there in the bond. But Hoist was there, and Hoist may not be Ratchet but he was still a good medic, so there was nothing he could do.
He pulled in a rush of air through his vents and scanned for the distinct energy of Trailbreaker's forcefield.
-------------------
The rest of the battle went by in a dizzying blur- something that cost him a few more (painful) injuries, though nothing severe enough to take him out of the air. But he'd managed to clear the ground around Trailbreaker's unit, which let several very upset frontliners tear into the very few ground forces Megatron had brought.
It went as badly for the Decepticons as could be expected, and things only went from bad to worse once Slingshot managed to catch an incredible shot on Starscream's canopy, completely shattering the glass. Silverbolt couldn't hear the Decepticon comm chatter, but he could hear Starscream's furious shrieks from well across the battlefield, and judging by how Ramjet had wobbled in his pursuit every Decepticon was hearing them loud and clear.
As soon as Megatron called for the retreat (screaming at Starscream all the while of course), Silverbolt felt a flood of relief go through him, through the entire gestalt bond, really. All of you, keep an aerial perimeter. He sent across the bond, which may have been cluttered with protests but was still clearer than the comm channels at the moment. If they come back for some last pot shots, someone needs to be in the air. I'm going to check on Air Raid.
With their incredibly reluctant agreement, he veered off to land in one of the less cratered parts of the battlefield, transforming at the last second to land on his feet. Which... Wasn't the best idea, off how his knee-joints protested, but he had bigger problems. A quick sensor sweep to locate Hoist, and he started in that direction, trying to keep calm as much as possible. It would be fine, Raid would be fine, he had to be...
It felt like an eternity before he reached the makeshift 'medical' area Ratchet and Hoist had set up, and while he couldn't see Air Raid, he could feel him nearby. Before he could go looking, however, Grapple had grabbed his arm, leading him out of the chaos with surprising patience given his normal demeanor. “He's stable. Ratchet's taking him back with the first group as soon as Skyfire gets here.”
There was absolutely no question who Grapple was talking about, but in spite of the reassurance Silverbolt couldn't relax. He spent the next few minutes moving along the outskirts of the temporary camp, helping where he could and fending off increasingly nervous questions from his brothers about Air Raid's condition.
The sound of Skyfire's engines- very, very different from anything he'd heard on Earth- was an incredible relief, and he was so distracted by it he almost missed Prowl's approach and subsequent command. Something he probably would have regretted, judging by the look on Prowl's faceplace right now. “Silverbolt. Return to the air. Your team will accompany Skyfire and the wounded back to the Ark.”
Silverbolt firmly quashed the urge to thank Prowl, given that sending all of them back already wasn't exactly necessary, but instead just gave the other mech a sharp salute. Getting back in the air was tricky, given how little space he had to work with, and for a worrying second he thought he was going to hit a tree. Somehow he managed to clear it, and joined his brothers at a higher altitude, forcing down the panic with only a minor struggle.
Almost as soon as he was up, the others settled in formation (if one was willing to loosen up the definition of formation to include any pattern that didn't involve running into each other; apparently they still needed to work on that) around him, close enough that for any other flier it would have been nearly claustrophobic. All three of them- well, primarily Fireflight- hurled questions at him and he struggled to keep up, and inform them of their new duty, before they were totally drowned out by Skyfire dipping down past them toward the battlefield.
The shuttle's engines were infinitely louder this close, and Silverbolt was fairly sure his audios would take a good while to recover, but that line of processing was cut off as Skyfire approached for his landing. His own alt mode wasn't exactly small, but Skyfire's still dwarfed him easily, yet the other mech somehow managed to find enough space to bring himself down with almost no difficulty. Not for the first time since he'd come online, Silverbolt found himself wondering why in the pit Prime had made him the leader of the Autobot's air forces.
Then Skyfire pinged his comm, and he sent the command to open the channel, shoving the whirlwind of emotions out of his processor to be examined later. //Ratchet said you were going to be escorting us back to the Ark?// In spite of the situation, Skyfire's voice was calm and even as ever, and Silverbolt found himself clinging to it like a lifeline.
//Yeah- I mean, affirmative.// He confirmed, mentally smacking himself for the slip. Could he be any more unprofessional? //We're going to be flanking you, two on each side. And, um...// Well, it wasn't exactly nice of him to say about his brothers, but it was true. //Slingshot and Fireflight may be a little... Erratic. Air Raid is one of the wounded, so...//
Down below, the last of the passengers were being loaded- nobody was critically injured, thankfully, so Skyfire would only be carrying those with difficulty getting back to base on their own. Like Air Raid, who was still in stasis, judging by how muted he felt in the bond...
Skyfire pulled him back out of those thoughts. //Yes, I was told. If the 'Cons haven't come back by now, it's unlikely they will at all, but it's good to know I'll have back-up if they do.// There was a long pause, like the other mech wasn't certain whether the conversation should end there. //Silverbolt?//
The shuttle gunned his engines, and even from this height Silverbolt could see the unprepared jump or clap their hands over their audios from the sound. //Yes?//
//He'll be fine. I have my scanners on him now. I'll tell you if anything changes.//
Silverbolt dipped a little at the response as they moved to position (Fireflight with more bobbing than was good for his sanity), admittedly surprised Skyfire would be willing to go to that length for them, but beyond grateful. Somehow, that assurance felt more solid than Grapple's. //...Thank you.// And he meant it, trying to push his gratitude into his voice.
Skyfire chuckled quietly over the comm even as he rose to meet them. //Not a problem at all.//
Rating: T (subject to change)
Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to HasTak and whoever else has gotten in on it while I wasn't looking.
Summary: From their first meeting to not-quite the end, Skyfire and Silverbolt have never really been sure what to make of each other. But that was just a technicality in the grand scheme of things. (Alternatively: Growing pains are even worse when they come with explosions.)
//Silverbolt, Prowl wants you and your lot over to provide cover to Trailbreaker's unit- they can't move with his forcefields up like that.// Jazz's voice had that tense, forced 'carefree' note in it that told Silverbolt everything he needed to know- and confirmed his worst fears.
This battle was going very, very badly.
Forcing down the customary panic, he banked to the side, trying to stretch his sensors out far enough to track the seekers. Skywarp and Thundercracker had been almost harrying him into the ground the entire battle, probably to keep him away from his brothers (and Superion out of the fight) and unfortunately it was working. //Understood. I can try, but just staying in the air isn't going too well right now.//
And he wasn't the only one having issues- Skydive was keeping ahead of Thrust through sheer luck and skill, Fireflight was being... Fireflight, and leading Ramjet on a crazy chase that was genuinely terrifying to watch, Slingshot and Dirge were playing chicken, and Air Raid...
Starscream had been all over Air Raid since the time travel incident. Apparently something about his brother rubbed the seeker the wrong way. It scared him, a lot, even if Raid was the only one of them with the speed- and pure, stupid bravery- to keep Starscream really occupied.
The thought was cut short as Skywarp teleported into existence right in front of him, forcing him to pull upward so sharply his engines nearly stalled and giving the purple seeker ample time to slam several shots into his undercarriage.
Warnings flickered across his vision- ruptured lines, a few burnt out sensors, a lot of surface damage- but he ruthlessly quashed them, straining to get even higher without either of the seekers dogging him getting in more shots. If he could just get high enough...
His altimeter screamed in his peripheral vision, making him horrifying aware of how high he was off the ground, but right now he didn't have any choice but to push higher. Skywarp had pulled off but Thundercracker was still right there, and bearing down on him...
There!
His electrostatic battery hummed to life as he hit the cloud cover, making his plating almost hum from the charge. It was a simple enough command, funneling it across his body to his nosecone-
Seekers were fast, but not fast enough to dodge something moving at the speed of light. The lightning bolt slammed into Thundercracker as hard as any missile, sending him veering wildly off-course with a flurry of angry yells, and Silverbolt couldn't hide the flash of relief that flooded him.
Not that it lasted long. Almost as soon as Thundercracker was off his afterburners, Skydive reached through the gestalt bond, a cold spike of terror preceding his frantic yell. Raid! Skywarp!
Oh, frag.
He could only barely see them in the very periphery of his scanners, but sure enough, Starscream had fallen back just enough to give Air Raid some maneuvering room- and Skywarp room to teleport in right on his aft. The Eagle was fast, but not fast enough to avoid a point-blank shot.
Silverbolt was too far away to clearly tell what happened, but he was horrifyingly aware of the fact Air Raid was going down, right into the battlefield below them. Turning so quickly that his engines almost stalled, he very nearly went after him before Grapple pinged his comm.
//Silverbolt, Hoist and I are already there. Focus.// It was bizarre to hear the architect being so calm, and even more bizarre not to feel Air Raid there in the bond. But Hoist was there, and Hoist may not be Ratchet but he was still a good medic, so there was nothing he could do.
He pulled in a rush of air through his vents and scanned for the distinct energy of Trailbreaker's forcefield.
-------------------
The rest of the battle went by in a dizzying blur- something that cost him a few more (painful) injuries, though nothing severe enough to take him out of the air. But he'd managed to clear the ground around Trailbreaker's unit, which let several very upset frontliners tear into the very few ground forces Megatron had brought.
It went as badly for the Decepticons as could be expected, and things only went from bad to worse once Slingshot managed to catch an incredible shot on Starscream's canopy, completely shattering the glass. Silverbolt couldn't hear the Decepticon comm chatter, but he could hear Starscream's furious shrieks from well across the battlefield, and judging by how Ramjet had wobbled in his pursuit every Decepticon was hearing them loud and clear.
As soon as Megatron called for the retreat (screaming at Starscream all the while of course), Silverbolt felt a flood of relief go through him, through the entire gestalt bond, really. All of you, keep an aerial perimeter. He sent across the bond, which may have been cluttered with protests but was still clearer than the comm channels at the moment. If they come back for some last pot shots, someone needs to be in the air. I'm going to check on Air Raid.
With their incredibly reluctant agreement, he veered off to land in one of the less cratered parts of the battlefield, transforming at the last second to land on his feet. Which... Wasn't the best idea, off how his knee-joints protested, but he had bigger problems. A quick sensor sweep to locate Hoist, and he started in that direction, trying to keep calm as much as possible. It would be fine, Raid would be fine, he had to be...
It felt like an eternity before he reached the makeshift 'medical' area Ratchet and Hoist had set up, and while he couldn't see Air Raid, he could feel him nearby. Before he could go looking, however, Grapple had grabbed his arm, leading him out of the chaos with surprising patience given his normal demeanor. “He's stable. Ratchet's taking him back with the first group as soon as Skyfire gets here.”
There was absolutely no question who Grapple was talking about, but in spite of the reassurance Silverbolt couldn't relax. He spent the next few minutes moving along the outskirts of the temporary camp, helping where he could and fending off increasingly nervous questions from his brothers about Air Raid's condition.
The sound of Skyfire's engines- very, very different from anything he'd heard on Earth- was an incredible relief, and he was so distracted by it he almost missed Prowl's approach and subsequent command. Something he probably would have regretted, judging by the look on Prowl's faceplace right now. “Silverbolt. Return to the air. Your team will accompany Skyfire and the wounded back to the Ark.”
Silverbolt firmly quashed the urge to thank Prowl, given that sending all of them back already wasn't exactly necessary, but instead just gave the other mech a sharp salute. Getting back in the air was tricky, given how little space he had to work with, and for a worrying second he thought he was going to hit a tree. Somehow he managed to clear it, and joined his brothers at a higher altitude, forcing down the panic with only a minor struggle.
Almost as soon as he was up, the others settled in formation (if one was willing to loosen up the definition of formation to include any pattern that didn't involve running into each other; apparently they still needed to work on that) around him, close enough that for any other flier it would have been nearly claustrophobic. All three of them- well, primarily Fireflight- hurled questions at him and he struggled to keep up, and inform them of their new duty, before they were totally drowned out by Skyfire dipping down past them toward the battlefield.
The shuttle's engines were infinitely louder this close, and Silverbolt was fairly sure his audios would take a good while to recover, but that line of processing was cut off as Skyfire approached for his landing. His own alt mode wasn't exactly small, but Skyfire's still dwarfed him easily, yet the other mech somehow managed to find enough space to bring himself down with almost no difficulty. Not for the first time since he'd come online, Silverbolt found himself wondering why in the pit Prime had made him the leader of the Autobot's air forces.
Then Skyfire pinged his comm, and he sent the command to open the channel, shoving the whirlwind of emotions out of his processor to be examined later. //Ratchet said you were going to be escorting us back to the Ark?// In spite of the situation, Skyfire's voice was calm and even as ever, and Silverbolt found himself clinging to it like a lifeline.
//Yeah- I mean, affirmative.// He confirmed, mentally smacking himself for the slip. Could he be any more unprofessional? //We're going to be flanking you, two on each side. And, um...// Well, it wasn't exactly nice of him to say about his brothers, but it was true. //Slingshot and Fireflight may be a little... Erratic. Air Raid is one of the wounded, so...//
Down below, the last of the passengers were being loaded- nobody was critically injured, thankfully, so Skyfire would only be carrying those with difficulty getting back to base on their own. Like Air Raid, who was still in stasis, judging by how muted he felt in the bond...
Skyfire pulled him back out of those thoughts. //Yes, I was told. If the 'Cons haven't come back by now, it's unlikely they will at all, but it's good to know I'll have back-up if they do.// There was a long pause, like the other mech wasn't certain whether the conversation should end there. //Silverbolt?//
The shuttle gunned his engines, and even from this height Silverbolt could see the unprepared jump or clap their hands over their audios from the sound. //Yes?//
//He'll be fine. I have my scanners on him now. I'll tell you if anything changes.//
Silverbolt dipped a little at the response as they moved to position (Fireflight with more bobbing than was good for his sanity), admittedly surprised Skyfire would be willing to go to that length for them, but beyond grateful. Somehow, that assurance felt more solid than Grapple's. //...Thank you.// And he meant it, trying to push his gratitude into his voice.
Skyfire chuckled quietly over the comm even as he rose to meet them. //Not a problem at all.//