(Transformers Prime) Her
Title: Her
Universe: Transformers Prime
Rating: T/PG
Warnings: zombie robots, non-graphic character deaths
Additional Content Advisory: living with zombie robots, violence
Characters: zombie Cliffjumper, Arcee, Jack Darby, Optimus Prime, Wheeljack, Ratchet
Prompt: 248. Transformers Prime -- Cliffjumper, any additional Autobots -- zombie Cliffjumper wasn't destroyed in that explosion at the mine. Now he's made his way back to his team, and none of them know how to handle it. (from the 2014 round)
Notes: As I do, I'm playing fast and loose with the canon here, and also ignoring a lot of what was presented in-series after "Darkness Rising" parts 1-5. This AU veers off right after Megatron's return in episode 2, and shambles merrily along on its own from there.
Notes 2.0: Pretty sure i jumped the shark on the prompt. Oops. But you know, I do really like where it ended up.
There was fuel nearby, he could smell it. There was also not-fuel. Not-fuel meant that he would have to fight for the fuel, and possibly have to hide in order to eat.
He didn't like that. He wanted the fuel.
He wanted. He hungered. He needed.
With a snarl, he lurched toward the fuel-smell, hunger and need overriding the desire to avoid a fight. Some of the not-fuel snarled in return and attempted to bite or claw at him. He responded in kind, fighting his way toward the fuel as the not-fuel fell down behind him.
When he touched the fuel, he knew with sudden and confusing clarity that he did not want to feed. This fuel was his, but not to consume. She--more confusion, what was 'she'? There was only fuel and not-fuel--was his to keep safe, to care for. She was fuel and not-fuel at the same time, and his confusion at this new concept overwhelmed his other thoughts.
He snarled, but did not feed.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Cliff?" Arcee's optics were wide with fear as the snarling creature stared at her. He had stopped trying to attack the moment he had touched her plating, but given how unpredictable Megatron's undead Legion was turning out to be--even for their supposed master--she wasn't sure what was going on or how she should react.
The zombie growled softly, a sound that seemed more passive than any she had ever heard from one of the Legion. He kept staring at her with those eerie violet optics and didn't release the grip he had on her arm.
Carefully, she reached out and touched his hand. "Cliff, I need you to let go."
The undead mech whined and tightened his grip for a moment before letting go as ordered. Arcee relaxed a fraction.
Then she shrieked as Cliffjumper lunged forward, shoving her to the ground and tearing into a Vehicon who had been trying to sneak up behind her. She watched in horror as he tore the Decepticon apart.
Once the unlucky Decepticon was in pieces--some on the ground and some inside whatever passed for Cliffjumper's fuel tank now--he turned back to her and settled in at her side in a creepy, energon coated parody of their previous life.
With a sigh, she lifted her hand to activate her comlink. "Optimus, I have a situation."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"I can't say that I like what the Dark Energon is doing to his internal processes," Ratchet said, staring at his scanner as Cliffjumper snarled at him from the table he was strapped to, "But this definitely is, or was, our Cliffjumper. Like certain other members of the Legion, he is displaying much more self-awareness than he should be, given his condition."
"So what does that mean?" Arcee looked away from the zombie and focused on the medic.
"He has more self-awareness, but he is still undead." Ratchet tucked his scanner away and turned away from the snarling form. "It would be kinder to terminate him now than to let him continue to deteriorate."
"I'm not killing him. Not again." The femme frowned. "You didn't see him out there, Ratchet. He knew me. He covered my back, just like he used to."
"I'm sorry, Arcee. Cliffjumper, the Cliffjumper we knew, is dead. That," The medic pointed at the snarling, struggling zombie, "Is a monster wearing his shell."
"I can't accept that. Not after what happened during that battle. He's still in there, Ratchet." Arcee's frown deepened and she took a step toward the table. Angrily, she slapped the button that released the restraints, allowing Cliffjumper to sit up. "If you want him terminated, you're going to have to do it over my offline frame."
Ratchet sighed as the red zombie flailed his way off the table and fell into a slightly off-balanced step at her side. "I sincerely hope that isn't the case."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He stared at the tiny not-food that had invaded his den. They confused him, more than his 'she' and her hoard confused him. The smelled like the hoard but they weren't like the hoard and he didn't know what to do with them. 'She' hadn't given him orders for how to behave with tiny not-food.
Curious, he bent down and snarled at the tiny not-food.
The smallest not-food emitted fear-smell and hid behind the biggest. The other not-food stomped up to him and slapped him.
"Bad zombie!"
He didn't understand the not-food's sounds, but he understood that the not-food would fight back.
"Cliff, no!" Her voice was firm, and a little angry. "You leave the kids alone!"
He ducked his head and turned toward 'her' at the order. He hissed softly.
"Come here."
He shuffled over to her side and rumbled happily when she put her hand on his back.
"The kids are team. Don't hurt them."
'Team' was sounds he understood. 'Team' was the sounds 'she' used when she meant her hoard. He looked at 'her' and growled in understanding of 'her' orders.
"Wait," The not-food who had attacked him stepped closer. "Does this mean we have a pet zombie? That's so cool!"
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Optimus Prime watched as the zombie made its way through the base's main room. Its progress was slow, ponderous in a way most members of the Legion never were, and it seemed content to simply walk.
The Prime spent long hours worrying that the zombie would finally prove Arcee wrong and attack one of them, but Cliffjumper seemed as content inside the base now as he ever had while he alive.
The large mech shifted, attracting the zombie's attention. Cliffjumper started at him for a long moment, then hissed and continued on its way. Optimus wasn't certain if the undead was accepting him or telling him off.
Either way, he worried.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He did not like 'Prime'. 'Prime' was large and strong, able to fight Cliffjumper when he was at his hungriest, and he burned when he got too close. 'Prime' made Cliffjumper feel wrong after they had been together too long, and he didn't like that feeling.
'She' would take care of him after he had spent too much time with 'Prime', but it didn't help. Not even when 'she' gave him fresh fuel or took him out to hunt.
He hissed at 'Prime' whenever he saw 'Prime' and backed down to keep 'Prime' from attacking him. 'She' would take care of him later, when 'Prime' was not asserting his command over their hoard.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Look, Arcee, I know he was your partner before but that's--"
"Don't, Jack." She cut the human off before he could continue. "I've heard it before, and you don't have any idea."
"I have a pretty good idea of how dangerous he is!" Jack stomped one foot in irritation. "He chases Raf and Miko around for fun, sure, but he doesn't have a clue about how to keep from hurting them. What happens when he stumbles and steps on one of them? And what happens when whatever control you have over him isn't enough and he decides that you look like a really nice snack?"
"Cliff would never hurt me!"
"And that's not Cliffjumper in there! Cliffjumper is dead!"
The teenager's declaration hung heavily in the air for several moment, then Arcee dropped down into her alternate mode and backed out of the garage. She sped away from him quickly once she was on the street, driving like she was being chased by Vehicons.
Jack watched her go with a frown, then stomped into the house. At the rate she was going, Arcee was going to be snack food before she realized that Jack--and the rest of the team--was right.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He growled softly when he found 'her' hiding from the rest of their hoard. 'She' was not supposed to hide. 'She' was strong and fast and none of the not-food could hurt her, even when he wasn't with her. He felt wrong when 'she' hid and he didn't like it.
Careful not to hurt 'her' or to seem like he was attacking, he crouched down next to her. If 'she' needed to hide, then he would protect 'her' until 'she' didn't have to anymore.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"I'm not telling you what to do with your pet zombie," Wheeljack said seriously, "But a) he's creepy and b) it's really creepy that you're keeping him here like he's some kind of tamed cybercat. Also, maybe you shouldn't keep him cooped up inside."
"I thought you liked Cliffjumper." Arcee frowned at the Wrecker.
"I do like Cliffjumper. That doesn't make him less creepy. Or safer to have around the kids." The white mech sighed. "I know you saw him take a swipe at Jack yesterday. No matter what Miko says, he's not really a pet and he's not alive either."
"So, what? You want me to just toss him outside where Megatron can come by and blow him to scrap because Cliff won't listen to his orders like a good member of the Legion? No chance."
"Cee, something has to give here. If you keep going like this, if Cliff keeps going like this, someone is going to get hurt."
The femme frowned. "You, of all bots are lecturing me on safety."
"I'm reckless, not stupid. I just want you to figure something out before someone gets hurt, because it'll probably be you first and I actually like you." Wheeljack shrugged and stood up. "I'd hate to have to blow you up later."
"Thanks, I think." The frown didn't leave Arcee's face as the Wrecker walked away. It was beginning to make her angry that everyone thought they could tell her how to handle Cliffjumper.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He was glad that she kept him with her while she and the rest of the hoard rested. When he was alone, it was harder to ignore the persistent orders he could hear--come, serve, attack, obey! but he couldn’t give in if he couldn’t leave her side.
He did not want to obey those orders. He did not want to follow the food-that-smelled like hoard. He wanted to be with his hoard, hidden in their territory. They were strange and confusing, but they were his now and he wanted to stay with them forever.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Haha! All right, bring it back over, Cliff!”
Miko stared for a long minute at Bulkhead and Cliffjumper as the zombie slowly nudged the green mech’s lob ball back over to him. Bulk picked it up once the undead mech had brought it to him, and then he tossed it across the room. Cliff watched with a hiss that sounded almost happy before taking off after the ball.
“Bulk, are you really playing fetch with the zombie?”
The former Wrecker looked down at the human with a sheepish expression. “Well, kind of. But I think he thinks we’re playing lob. He’s tried to throw it a couple of times, but he doesn’t have the coordination.”
“Maybe it would work better if you had a smaller ball? I mean, sure, he’s clumsy for a Bot, but he’s got good reflexes for a zombie.” She climbed into his hand when he lowered it to her and let Bulkhead lift her to his shoulder. “I bet he could learn again, if the ball was small enough for him to hold. Arcee’s taught him lots of stuff.”
“Maybe,” The green mech agreed as Cliffjumper snarled and pounced the ball. “But he seems pretty happy doing this.”
“Yeah, but if we have a smaller ball, I can play too.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
”Optimus, Cliffjumper is tearing through the Legion and headed your way. If you can extract yourself from the Vehicons, it might be a good idea.”
“Acknowledged, Arcee.” The Prime pulled his attention from the Decepticons surrounding him for a moment, and spotted Cliffjumper charging toward them, as Arcee had warned. He was coming to accept that the zombie wouldn’t hurt him deliberately, but there was still a chance of accidental damage and exposure to the dark energon that kept his former soldier alive.
None of them wanted to think about what that might mean for the last Prime. It was why he took on more of the living Decepticons and left the Legion for his troops, despite the danger to them.
One of the Vehicons followed his gaze, going still for a moment as he spotted Cliffjumper. Then he transformed and sped away, with an unhappy “Frag this!” Optimus let him go, more worried about extracting himself from the opponents remaining in front of him.
When Cliffjumper arrived a moment later, the zombie didn’t even take the time to hiss at Optimus as he usually did. He simply tore into a Vehicon and began to feast. The Prime looked away from the grisly sight and dispatched another Vehicon with a more merciful blaster shot to the head.
Five minutes later, the knot of Vehicons was gone and Cliffjumper was moving on toward other prey. Covered in bright splashes of energon, Optimus counted himself lucky this time, and did the same.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The orders were harder for him to ignore in combat. The fuel-that-smelled-like-hoard repeated the orders constantly--destroy, obey, distory, obey, destroy, obey or be destroyed--and it confused him. Sometimes it was harder to do what 'she' wanted him to than it should have been.
And then, suddenly, all he could hear was Her voice.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Die Autobot!” Megatron swung his sword at the blue femme, enraged by her repeated and irritating attacks.
Arcee dodged away, her superior speed giving her an advantage over his melee skill. The Seeker who was creeping up behind her was unexpected, though, and she and Starscream went down in an tangle of wings and limbs.
She screamed as something pierced her chest plates as they tumbled across the countryside. Starscream shrieked with distress. Megatron snarled with rage.
The femme felt ill as the dark energon spread through her lines and into her spark.
”Arcee, no!” Optimus Prime’s cry was the last thing she heard before purging violently onto Starscream’s plating.
Still shrieking, more in disgust now that he was covered in half-processed energon, the Seeker backed away quickly.
“Starscream, you idiot!” Megatron did not give the shrieking mech time to fly away before powering up his fusion cannon. Arcee tried to duck as he fired and took the Seeker’s head off, managing to get out of the weapon’s range by millimeters.
As the warlord turned his rage-filled gaze on her, Arcee realized that she could feel the zombies on the battlefield like an extension of her own thoughts. She wanted to panic at the knowledge, but she forced the fear down. She could panic later, when they were safely away from the battlefield.
Autobots, she commanded silently, Help me.
Half the zombies on the field--Cliffjumper included, she knew-- turned to look at her. Then they began advancing on Megatron’s position.
The Decepticon leader’s face twisted further, dismay warring with rage and resignation as he realized what she had done. “You will not have time to relish your power, Autobot.”
“Oh, I think I will,” she replied. with a smirk, Arcee turned her attention to the members of the Legion she had not yet touched. Two of Megatron’s undead Decepticons were very nearby. Destroy him, she commanded.
The zombies lurched toward him, and Megatron bellowed with rage. “This is not over!”
They lunged as he leaped into the air and transformed. Their rusting fingers scraped across his plating, but they did no damage.
The zombies moaned in distress at being unable to follow her orders.
“Stand down,” Arcee told them, staggering to her feet. The dark energon was making her dizzy and she thought she might purge again. “We’ll get him next time.”
“Arcee!” Optimus Prime slowed from his reckless charge and stopped at her side, offering a hand to help her stead herself. The femme took it gratefully. “What happened?”
“I got in the middle of one of Starscream’s power plays.” She rubbed the spot where the shard of dark energon had pierced her chest plates, and wondered at how impossible it was that the hole had healed already. “The dark energon… changed me.”
“Changed you? How?” Even with his mask up, she could tell the Prime was frowning.
Before Arcee could reply, Cliffjumper lumbered past Optimus and wrapped his arms around her in a clumsy embrace. Her optics went wide at the gesture and she froze, not sure how to react.
“Ma… sssster…” Cliffjumper hissed happily. The other members of the Legion snarled or groaned in agreement.
“By the Allspark!” Optimus swore.
Hesitantly, Arcee hugged Cliffjumper back. “Master” wasn’t a role she wanted, but if it kept the Legion out of Megatron’s claws--if it kept even a fraction of the Legion away from the madmech--she would take it on.
Universe: Transformers Prime
Rating: T/PG
Warnings: zombie robots, non-graphic character deaths
Additional Content Advisory: living with zombie robots, violence
Characters: zombie Cliffjumper, Arcee, Jack Darby, Optimus Prime, Wheeljack, Ratchet
Prompt: 248. Transformers Prime -- Cliffjumper, any additional Autobots -- zombie Cliffjumper wasn't destroyed in that explosion at the mine. Now he's made his way back to his team, and none of them know how to handle it. (from the 2014 round)
Notes: As I do, I'm playing fast and loose with the canon here, and also ignoring a lot of what was presented in-series after "Darkness Rising" parts 1-5. This AU veers off right after Megatron's return in episode 2, and shambles merrily along on its own from there.
Notes 2.0: Pretty sure i jumped the shark on the prompt. Oops. But you know, I do really like where it ended up.
There was fuel nearby, he could smell it. There was also not-fuel. Not-fuel meant that he would have to fight for the fuel, and possibly have to hide in order to eat.
He didn't like that. He wanted the fuel.
He wanted. He hungered. He needed.
With a snarl, he lurched toward the fuel-smell, hunger and need overriding the desire to avoid a fight. Some of the not-fuel snarled in return and attempted to bite or claw at him. He responded in kind, fighting his way toward the fuel as the not-fuel fell down behind him.
When he touched the fuel, he knew with sudden and confusing clarity that he did not want to feed. This fuel was his, but not to consume. She--more confusion, what was 'she'? There was only fuel and not-fuel--was his to keep safe, to care for. She was fuel and not-fuel at the same time, and his confusion at this new concept overwhelmed his other thoughts.
He snarled, but did not feed.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Cliff?" Arcee's optics were wide with fear as the snarling creature stared at her. He had stopped trying to attack the moment he had touched her plating, but given how unpredictable Megatron's undead Legion was turning out to be--even for their supposed master--she wasn't sure what was going on or how she should react.
The zombie growled softly, a sound that seemed more passive than any she had ever heard from one of the Legion. He kept staring at her with those eerie violet optics and didn't release the grip he had on her arm.
Carefully, she reached out and touched his hand. "Cliff, I need you to let go."
The undead mech whined and tightened his grip for a moment before letting go as ordered. Arcee relaxed a fraction.
Then she shrieked as Cliffjumper lunged forward, shoving her to the ground and tearing into a Vehicon who had been trying to sneak up behind her. She watched in horror as he tore the Decepticon apart.
Once the unlucky Decepticon was in pieces--some on the ground and some inside whatever passed for Cliffjumper's fuel tank now--he turned back to her and settled in at her side in a creepy, energon coated parody of their previous life.
With a sigh, she lifted her hand to activate her comlink. "Optimus, I have a situation."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"I can't say that I like what the Dark Energon is doing to his internal processes," Ratchet said, staring at his scanner as Cliffjumper snarled at him from the table he was strapped to, "But this definitely is, or was, our Cliffjumper. Like certain other members of the Legion, he is displaying much more self-awareness than he should be, given his condition."
"So what does that mean?" Arcee looked away from the zombie and focused on the medic.
"He has more self-awareness, but he is still undead." Ratchet tucked his scanner away and turned away from the snarling form. "It would be kinder to terminate him now than to let him continue to deteriorate."
"I'm not killing him. Not again." The femme frowned. "You didn't see him out there, Ratchet. He knew me. He covered my back, just like he used to."
"I'm sorry, Arcee. Cliffjumper, the Cliffjumper we knew, is dead. That," The medic pointed at the snarling, struggling zombie, "Is a monster wearing his shell."
"I can't accept that. Not after what happened during that battle. He's still in there, Ratchet." Arcee's frown deepened and she took a step toward the table. Angrily, she slapped the button that released the restraints, allowing Cliffjumper to sit up. "If you want him terminated, you're going to have to do it over my offline frame."
Ratchet sighed as the red zombie flailed his way off the table and fell into a slightly off-balanced step at her side. "I sincerely hope that isn't the case."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He stared at the tiny not-food that had invaded his den. They confused him, more than his 'she' and her hoard confused him. The smelled like the hoard but they weren't like the hoard and he didn't know what to do with them. 'She' hadn't given him orders for how to behave with tiny not-food.
Curious, he bent down and snarled at the tiny not-food.
The smallest not-food emitted fear-smell and hid behind the biggest. The other not-food stomped up to him and slapped him.
"Bad zombie!"
He didn't understand the not-food's sounds, but he understood that the not-food would fight back.
"Cliff, no!" Her voice was firm, and a little angry. "You leave the kids alone!"
He ducked his head and turned toward 'her' at the order. He hissed softly.
"Come here."
He shuffled over to her side and rumbled happily when she put her hand on his back.
"The kids are team. Don't hurt them."
'Team' was sounds he understood. 'Team' was the sounds 'she' used when she meant her hoard. He looked at 'her' and growled in understanding of 'her' orders.
"Wait," The not-food who had attacked him stepped closer. "Does this mean we have a pet zombie? That's so cool!"
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Optimus Prime watched as the zombie made its way through the base's main room. Its progress was slow, ponderous in a way most members of the Legion never were, and it seemed content to simply walk.
The Prime spent long hours worrying that the zombie would finally prove Arcee wrong and attack one of them, but Cliffjumper seemed as content inside the base now as he ever had while he alive.
The large mech shifted, attracting the zombie's attention. Cliffjumper started at him for a long moment, then hissed and continued on its way. Optimus wasn't certain if the undead was accepting him or telling him off.
Either way, he worried.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He did not like 'Prime'. 'Prime' was large and strong, able to fight Cliffjumper when he was at his hungriest, and he burned when he got too close. 'Prime' made Cliffjumper feel wrong after they had been together too long, and he didn't like that feeling.
'She' would take care of him after he had spent too much time with 'Prime', but it didn't help. Not even when 'she' gave him fresh fuel or took him out to hunt.
He hissed at 'Prime' whenever he saw 'Prime' and backed down to keep 'Prime' from attacking him. 'She' would take care of him later, when 'Prime' was not asserting his command over their hoard.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"Look, Arcee, I know he was your partner before but that's--"
"Don't, Jack." She cut the human off before he could continue. "I've heard it before, and you don't have any idea."
"I have a pretty good idea of how dangerous he is!" Jack stomped one foot in irritation. "He chases Raf and Miko around for fun, sure, but he doesn't have a clue about how to keep from hurting them. What happens when he stumbles and steps on one of them? And what happens when whatever control you have over him isn't enough and he decides that you look like a really nice snack?"
"Cliff would never hurt me!"
"And that's not Cliffjumper in there! Cliffjumper is dead!"
The teenager's declaration hung heavily in the air for several moment, then Arcee dropped down into her alternate mode and backed out of the garage. She sped away from him quickly once she was on the street, driving like she was being chased by Vehicons.
Jack watched her go with a frown, then stomped into the house. At the rate she was going, Arcee was going to be snack food before she realized that Jack--and the rest of the team--was right.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He growled softly when he found 'her' hiding from the rest of their hoard. 'She' was not supposed to hide. 'She' was strong and fast and none of the not-food could hurt her, even when he wasn't with her. He felt wrong when 'she' hid and he didn't like it.
Careful not to hurt 'her' or to seem like he was attacking, he crouched down next to her. If 'she' needed to hide, then he would protect 'her' until 'she' didn't have to anymore.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"I'm not telling you what to do with your pet zombie," Wheeljack said seriously, "But a) he's creepy and b) it's really creepy that you're keeping him here like he's some kind of tamed cybercat. Also, maybe you shouldn't keep him cooped up inside."
"I thought you liked Cliffjumper." Arcee frowned at the Wrecker.
"I do like Cliffjumper. That doesn't make him less creepy. Or safer to have around the kids." The white mech sighed. "I know you saw him take a swipe at Jack yesterday. No matter what Miko says, he's not really a pet and he's not alive either."
"So, what? You want me to just toss him outside where Megatron can come by and blow him to scrap because Cliff won't listen to his orders like a good member of the Legion? No chance."
"Cee, something has to give here. If you keep going like this, if Cliff keeps going like this, someone is going to get hurt."
The femme frowned. "You, of all bots are lecturing me on safety."
"I'm reckless, not stupid. I just want you to figure something out before someone gets hurt, because it'll probably be you first and I actually like you." Wheeljack shrugged and stood up. "I'd hate to have to blow you up later."
"Thanks, I think." The frown didn't leave Arcee's face as the Wrecker walked away. It was beginning to make her angry that everyone thought they could tell her how to handle Cliffjumper.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
He was glad that she kept him with her while she and the rest of the hoard rested. When he was alone, it was harder to ignore the persistent orders he could hear--come, serve, attack, obey! but he couldn’t give in if he couldn’t leave her side.
He did not want to obey those orders. He did not want to follow the food-that-smelled like hoard. He wanted to be with his hoard, hidden in their territory. They were strange and confusing, but they were his now and he wanted to stay with them forever.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Haha! All right, bring it back over, Cliff!”
Miko stared for a long minute at Bulkhead and Cliffjumper as the zombie slowly nudged the green mech’s lob ball back over to him. Bulk picked it up once the undead mech had brought it to him, and then he tossed it across the room. Cliff watched with a hiss that sounded almost happy before taking off after the ball.
“Bulk, are you really playing fetch with the zombie?”
The former Wrecker looked down at the human with a sheepish expression. “Well, kind of. But I think he thinks we’re playing lob. He’s tried to throw it a couple of times, but he doesn’t have the coordination.”
“Maybe it would work better if you had a smaller ball? I mean, sure, he’s clumsy for a Bot, but he’s got good reflexes for a zombie.” She climbed into his hand when he lowered it to her and let Bulkhead lift her to his shoulder. “I bet he could learn again, if the ball was small enough for him to hold. Arcee’s taught him lots of stuff.”
“Maybe,” The green mech agreed as Cliffjumper snarled and pounced the ball. “But he seems pretty happy doing this.”
“Yeah, but if we have a smaller ball, I can play too.”
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
”Optimus, Cliffjumper is tearing through the Legion and headed your way. If you can extract yourself from the Vehicons, it might be a good idea.”
“Acknowledged, Arcee.” The Prime pulled his attention from the Decepticons surrounding him for a moment, and spotted Cliffjumper charging toward them, as Arcee had warned. He was coming to accept that the zombie wouldn’t hurt him deliberately, but there was still a chance of accidental damage and exposure to the dark energon that kept his former soldier alive.
None of them wanted to think about what that might mean for the last Prime. It was why he took on more of the living Decepticons and left the Legion for his troops, despite the danger to them.
One of the Vehicons followed his gaze, going still for a moment as he spotted Cliffjumper. Then he transformed and sped away, with an unhappy “Frag this!” Optimus let him go, more worried about extracting himself from the opponents remaining in front of him.
When Cliffjumper arrived a moment later, the zombie didn’t even take the time to hiss at Optimus as he usually did. He simply tore into a Vehicon and began to feast. The Prime looked away from the grisly sight and dispatched another Vehicon with a more merciful blaster shot to the head.
Five minutes later, the knot of Vehicons was gone and Cliffjumper was moving on toward other prey. Covered in bright splashes of energon, Optimus counted himself lucky this time, and did the same.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
The orders were harder for him to ignore in combat. The fuel-that-smelled-like-hoard repeated the orders constantly--destroy, obey, distory, obey, destroy, obey or be destroyed--and it confused him. Sometimes it was harder to do what 'she' wanted him to than it should have been.
And then, suddenly, all he could hear was Her voice.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
“Die Autobot!” Megatron swung his sword at the blue femme, enraged by her repeated and irritating attacks.
Arcee dodged away, her superior speed giving her an advantage over his melee skill. The Seeker who was creeping up behind her was unexpected, though, and she and Starscream went down in an tangle of wings and limbs.
She screamed as something pierced her chest plates as they tumbled across the countryside. Starscream shrieked with distress. Megatron snarled with rage.
The femme felt ill as the dark energon spread through her lines and into her spark.
”Arcee, no!” Optimus Prime’s cry was the last thing she heard before purging violently onto Starscream’s plating.
Still shrieking, more in disgust now that he was covered in half-processed energon, the Seeker backed away quickly.
“Starscream, you idiot!” Megatron did not give the shrieking mech time to fly away before powering up his fusion cannon. Arcee tried to duck as he fired and took the Seeker’s head off, managing to get out of the weapon’s range by millimeters.
As the warlord turned his rage-filled gaze on her, Arcee realized that she could feel the zombies on the battlefield like an extension of her own thoughts. She wanted to panic at the knowledge, but she forced the fear down. She could panic later, when they were safely away from the battlefield.
Autobots, she commanded silently, Help me.
Half the zombies on the field--Cliffjumper included, she knew-- turned to look at her. Then they began advancing on Megatron’s position.
The Decepticon leader’s face twisted further, dismay warring with rage and resignation as he realized what she had done. “You will not have time to relish your power, Autobot.”
“Oh, I think I will,” she replied. with a smirk, Arcee turned her attention to the members of the Legion she had not yet touched. Two of Megatron’s undead Decepticons were very nearby. Destroy him, she commanded.
The zombies lurched toward him, and Megatron bellowed with rage. “This is not over!”
They lunged as he leaped into the air and transformed. Their rusting fingers scraped across his plating, but they did no damage.
The zombies moaned in distress at being unable to follow her orders.
“Stand down,” Arcee told them, staggering to her feet. The dark energon was making her dizzy and she thought she might purge again. “We’ll get him next time.”
“Arcee!” Optimus Prime slowed from his reckless charge and stopped at her side, offering a hand to help her stead herself. The femme took it gratefully. “What happened?”
“I got in the middle of one of Starscream’s power plays.” She rubbed the spot where the shard of dark energon had pierced her chest plates, and wondered at how impossible it was that the hole had healed already. “The dark energon… changed me.”
“Changed you? How?” Even with his mask up, she could tell the Prime was frowning.
Before Arcee could reply, Cliffjumper lumbered past Optimus and wrapped his arms around her in a clumsy embrace. Her optics went wide at the gesture and she froze, not sure how to react.
“Ma… sssster…” Cliffjumper hissed happily. The other members of the Legion snarled or groaned in agreement.
“By the Allspark!” Optimus swore.
Hesitantly, Arcee hugged Cliffjumper back. “Master” wasn’t a role she wanted, but if it kept the Legion out of Megatron’s claws--if it kept even a fraction of the Legion away from the madmech--she would take it on.