Title: Sight, Sound, Fire and Pain
Author: Koi Lungfish
Disclaimer: Based on characters and situations from The Transformers (c) 1986 Hasbro, Ltd. Used without permission. Text (c) 2007, Koi Lung Fish Mark of Lung. All Rights Reserved.
Subject: Two minutes on the battlefield with Bluestreak.
Continuity: G1 cartoon.

"I guess you weren't expecting that," Bluestreak said, ducking down into the newly gouged crater as a salvo of Decepticon fire sheared overhead.

"I didn't think Thundercracker could turn that fast," Slingshot grumbled through a crackling vocaliser, looking down at the mangled remains of his tail-section with a detached expression. Hydraulic fluid was dripping from the long gash where his tailfins had been. "I can't transform the rest of the way. Where's my stabiliser?"

Bluestreak looked down at him and then around at the rest of the crater. They were in the shadow a huge boulder, a chunk of mountainside Omega Supreme had hurled at Devastator five minutes ago. Its impact-crater in which they were hiding was barely knee-deep. Before them was a scrubby mess of dirt and rubble, a little shelf of land beyond which was a scarp, below the line of which were at least three of the scattered Constructicons, taking pot-shots into the battle half a mile away on the other side of the boulder.

Slingshot's stabiliser was twenty paces away, sticking out of the tan dirt like a shiny white signpost.

"Umm ... over there," Bluestreak said, pointing. He caught glimpse of green on the line of the scarp, turned his shoulders slightly, fired a missile and threw himself facedown over Slingshot.

"What the -" the Aerialbot had time to exclaim before the missile exploded, a huge gout of fire and noise throwing them against the boulder, blackening the sky with clouds of dirt and showering them with dust and pebbles.

Bluestreak felt the dirt clattering on his back and doors, thought he heard a scream, hoped it was real, then heard the belligerent holler and the sound of pounding footsteps. "Slingshot, where's your gun?"

"What? Lost it on the way down," Slingshot said, grimacing as his tail-section shuddered. Hydraulic fluid and oil spurted from one of the great rents. He made a soft keening noise, rolling his head and gripping the air in pain.

Not good, not good, gotta get help, gotta get Ratchet! "Take mine," Bluestreak said, pushing his ion-charge disperser into the Aerialbot's hands.

"Swell," Slingshot hissed. "Now I can set myself on fire."

"Quick, here they co-"

Scavenger leapt on him.

The Constructicon's weight threw Bluestreak backwards, tripping over Slingshot's mangled tail-section, slamming him doors-down in the deep of the crater. Bluestreak tried to grab the Constructicon's wrists, tried to line up a missile with the red optic band even through at this range it would rip them all to shreds. Scavenger kneed him in the side, propped up on his tail in order to hammer Bluestreak with both knees.

"Shoot him!" Bluestreak shouted to Slingshot as Scavenger got a hand free and slammed his fist into Bluestreak's face. Bluestreak felt neck-tendons snap as his head was wrenched backwards, felt his face buckle, felt Scavenger drive a heavy knee into his midsection. The world went fuzzy, staticy, his vision filled with ghostly uprights that were trying to resolve into towers on fire -

"Hey, punk!" Slingshot yelled, voice crackling with pain. Scavenger yelped, Bluestreak felt him try to jump, then Slingshot fired and the air turned blue.

Sixty thousand volts shot through Scavenger's body and most of it went directly into Bluestreak. He arched and howled in pain, seeing sparks and stars and the phantoms of comets and feeling every other microcircuit in his body burn. Scavenger toppled off him, convulsing on the molten ground. Bluestreak felt him twitching in pain, struggled to sit up, to get away from the Constructicon.

He got his optics back online, kick-scrabbling backwards in the dirt, bashed a door on the boulder, scraped his feet through the hot dirt, collided with Slingshot. "Shoot him again!" he yelled, feeling Slingshot's hydraulic fluids and oils on his hands as he pushed himself back. Slingshot raised the gun and a shadow fell over them.

Bluestreak looked up just in time to see Bonecrusher bring both fists down on Slingshot's face, smashing the Aerialbot backwards, making his body bend up like a sprung board. Bluestreak screamed. Slingshot's howl of pain was muffled by Bonecrusher's fist in his face. He let go of the gun and Bluestreak grabbed for it, fingers wet with oil.

He caught a glimpse of movement in his left optic, half-turned to see Scavenger sitting up, hull singed, his own gun raised. He heard Slingshot cry out in pain, felt the jolt as Bonecrusher punched the Aerialbot hard enough to bounce his body off the ground, felt Slingshot clawing helplessly at his back, felt the cold trembling of fear starting inside him.

We're gonna die, they're going to kill us! Bluestreak reached for his gun, felt his slick fingers close on the handle as Scavenger fired and blew the missile launcher off his left shoulder.

There was a second of pain and blackness, then Bluestreak saw his missile launcher dangling by a few cables, felt it banging against his side.

"Hey, watch it!" Bonecrusher yelled over his shoulder. Scavenger didn't reply, lowering his hand from recoil, aiming for a second time

"Oh no, no!" Bluestreak dragged the slippery-handled gun up, felt Scavenger's second shot rip through his left door, jammed the muzzle up into Bonecrusher's abdomen and fired.

Bonecrusher vanished backwards in a flash of blue. Bluestreak heard him yell, heard him land some distance away, heard Slingshot groan in pain.

"Bonecrusher!" Scavenger cried. "Autobot, die!"

The third shot clipped past Bluestreak's chevron as he dodged. The pool of hydraulic fluid under him was spreading. Bluestreak could feel it all along his thigh, see it flowing towards Scavenger.

The Constructicon threw himself sideways to avoid Bluestreak's own shot, scrambling out of the crater and out of sight behind the curve of the boulder. Bluestreak took a shot at his foot, heard him yelp, then heard Scavenger shriek in fright. The Constructicon fell backwards into the crater, kicking at something, at something that was shaking the ground with its footsteps and splashing a huge shadow across the ground.

"Dumb 'con stay still!" Grimlock's blunt muzzle shoved into sight around the boulder, teeth shearing air as he snapped at Scavenger. The Constructicon tried to wriggle backwards, yelling wordlessly, jammed his shovel-tail in the dirt and was stuck. Grimlock lunged again, slamming his jaws shut around Scavenger's leg. Bluestreak heard the crunch of struts crushing, the scream of treads shearing, the twang of tensors snapping, the shriek of Decepticon pain.

Bluestreak watched aghast as the Dinobot lifted Scavenger in the air, shook him from side to side like Ravage with a Minibot's arm, and smashed the Constructicon against the boulder. Scavenger wailed in pain, flopping in Grimlock's jaws, leg half-severed, treads clattering loosely.

"Saved by the nick of teeth!" Bluestreak exclaimed to Slingshot. "We're saved! Rescued by Grimlock!"

The Aerialbot was unconscious, his face and chest caved in. Bluestreak felt the pool of internal fluids around him suddenly deepen, and looked down to see energon gushing out of Slingshot's body. He looked up, opening his mouth to call to Grimlock for help and saw Bonecrusher charging in again.

"Look out!" That's okay, he thought for a moment, Grimlock can handle them.

Bonecrusher leapt on the Dinobot, grabbing his jaws and trying to force them open. Grimlock roared, trying to club Bonecrusher with his comrade and stomp on him with a huge foot at the same time. Bonecrusher got a grip between Grimlock's teeth and, with a yell, pulled hard.

"Let go, you obsolete obstruction!"

"Me Grimlock not let go!"

Grimlock's mouth opened a slow fraction.

Bluestreak raised his gun to shoot Bonecrusher, remember he was covered in oil and energon, felt his finger slip on the trigger, felt the lurch of the inevitable, saw Scavenger shake his head in horror, saw Bonecrusher let go of Grimlock to brace himself as the oil caught the fire, saw Grimlock rear back with Scavenger dangling from his jaws.

Then everything was fire, and darkness.

Author's notes & addenda:
Feedback always welcomed.