Shine Once More

"Damn it!"

Seeing the Death Star turn its attention toward him, Starscream immediately shuddered. Fighting was out of the question. He was air force—how could he engage in close combat? It was far too beneath his status. Besides, the AllSpark had granted him unmatched flying speed. Wasn’t that clearly telling him there were other options besides fighting?

Starscream believed he had many virtues, but his greatest one was respecting the AllSpark!

"You bastards, what are you three doing?"

Seeing his three companions terrified by Russell and hesitating in place, Starscream immediately roared, "We are the fearless Decepticons! How can we show fear before the enemy? Charge with me and take down that traitor!"

"Yes, Lord Starscream."

Hearing this, the three Decepticons rallied and charged under Starscream’s lead. Hot-blooded… ahem, scorching engine oil flowed through their bodies as they shouted their faith in the Decepticons, feeling as if they had become much faster.

Why, Starscream had even been left behind!

Wait!

(—`—) x3

That wasn’t right. No matter how fast they were, they couldn’t possibly be faster than Starscream!

The instant the question arose in their minds, Russell rushed before them. His double-bladed spear tore through the wind with a furious howl, slicing off all three of their back thrusters as he passed. He then turned back, cut off the arms bearing their integrated weapons with two slashes each, and kicked them viciously from the sky to the ground.

Below was the Autobots’ encirclement. Those three Decepticons were as good as dead.

Russell searched for Starscream, only to discover that in just a few seconds, that guy had already fled, leaving behind nothing but the rippling shockwave clouds in the sky.

"Hmph! He sure ran fast…"

Russell snorted, transformed into a Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft, and pursued Starscream.

The Blackbird was the first practical jet aircraft to successfully break through the heat barrier, a long-range, high-altitude, high-speed strategic reconnaissance jet. In its combat record, not a single one had ever been shot down by enemy aircraft or anti-air missiles.

It wasn’t because the Blackbird’s stealth technology was particularly good. On the contrary, even with extensive stealth measures, it could be tracked from hundreds of nautical miles away. It was simply too conspicuous, producing enormous infrared signatures and deafening noise while flying.

Blackbird: Attention, anti-air missiles, get ready. I’m going stealth!

A reconnaissance aircraft that openly carried out covert infiltration missions, the Blackbird had mocked every hostile nation yet never been shot down even once. It relied on nothing but its godlike speed.

Of course, human industry was utterly incomparable to the Transformers, and with their different core energy sources, the Blackbird Russell had become was only faster.

Even so, he still couldn’t catch Starscream. The latter truly deserved his title as the number one Transformer with MAX survival skills. His flight speed was so fast that even the younger Skyfire could only stare after him in the dust.

Russell saw that he couldn’t catch up, but he was unwilling to give up the fat prize already in his mouth. He immediately transformed into robot form and held his fingers loosely toward the ground.

Blue Electric Arc crawled across his body. Locking onto Starscream’s figure, he activated Space Transfer. Because it took a long time to activate, the skill was unsuitable for battle, but for locking onto and teleporting after a fleeing enemy, it was practically divine.

After a hum, only a cluster of Electric Arc remained where he had stood. Russell vanished.

Far ahead, seeing that he had shaken off Skyfire, Starscream couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Another successful strategic relocation. He really was outstanding.

"This isn’t running away. I’m doing it for the future of the Decepticons!"

As the Decepticons’ next leader—and a great leader destined to surpass Megatron—Starscream felt ashamed of his actions. But he had no choice. He bore the heavy responsibility of ensuring his race’s prosperity. Even if he had to survive in disgrace, he had to live.

"How should I explain this to Megatron? That jealous bastard fears that Starscream’s talents will threaten his rule. He definitely won’t let this chance to eliminate me pass." Starscream began considering how to explain himself after returning. At the thought of Megatron’s furious expression, he immediately became dispirited. "No choice. I can only grovel before him one more time."

A true man could bend and stretch!

Though Starscream didn’t know that saying, he understood the general idea very well. Groveling was all it was. He could endure it and it would pass. Besides, it wasn’t his first time.

Crackle!

Electric Arc flashed, and Russell appeared directly ahead of Starscream. Caught off guard, the latter had no time to turn and slammed headfirst into him.

Bang!

They were both knocked backward. Without another word, Starscream transformed into robot form and fired missiles from his arm weapons, striking the shield around Russell.

The enemy had Teleportation. Starscream knew that no matter how fast he flew, it would be useless. He fought as he retreated, his red electronic eyes sweeping everywhere while he frantically sent distress signals to Megatron.

Boom! Boom! Boom!!

Russell’s position was engulfed in flames. Starscream’s firepower was among the best in the Decepticons, but no matter how powerful it was, it couldn’t break a leader-class shield. Against Russell equipped with Skyfire’s Character Card, it was essentially like fighting Megatron one-on-one. It looked spectacular, but it hadn’t even scratched him.

Bang!

Russell swept his spear and broke through the barrage, his gaze locked tightly on Starscream. Seeing the terror on his face, he bared a mouthful of sharp fangs in a savage grin.

"Starscream, your time has come!"

Starscream was terrified out of his wits. Seeing death approach, he steeled himself and erupted with unprecedented courage. He lunged forward, raised the circular saw of his arm weapon, and slashed it toward Russell’s neck.

With the aid of his back thrusters, Starscream was incomparably fast. But Russell knew exactly how much strength he possessed and where his limit lay. His counterattack was doomed to be futile.

Russell shifted slightly and caught Starscream’s arm with lightning speed. Gripping the chilling double-bladed spear, he brought it down in a fierce slash.

Slash!!

The blade left an afterimage in the air, a dazzling white crescent. With nowhere to dodge, Starscream ruthlessly chose to sacrifice his arm, raising it before himself as a shield.

Clang!

The blade sliced through Starscream’s arm as easily as a knife through tofu. The metal cut was smooth, and red aviation kerosene sprayed everywhere. He screamed, rammed Russell with the help of his back thrusters, and sent him staggering while he himself plunged rapidly from the sky.

With part of his body missing, Starscream lost his ability to transform. The small amount of courage he had finally gathered vanished in an instant.

"Master Megatron!!"

Starscream cried out at the top of his lungs, but the distant sky remained calm. Megatron did not appear.

It was a familiar scene, but Megatron had another reason for not showing up. The Fallen would not allow it. Compared with the Energy Matrix that concerned the race’s survival, Starscream was worthless.

Russell shook his spear, flicking the engine oil from its blades, then looked down at Starscream. Seeing that he was still searching for a chance to escape, he hurled the spear.

A flash of cold light streaked past. With a tearing sound of metal being pierced, the spear struck Starscream squarely in the chest, passed through him, destroyed his back thrusters, and pinned his falling body firmly to the rocky mountain below.

Russell dropped to the ground and walked toward the screaming Starscream. To prevent him from playing tricks, he directly fired five missiles and shattered his shield.

"Lord Skyfire, I am willing to surrender. I will serve you as master, defeat Megatron, and make you the new Decepticon leader." Seeing Russell approach, Starscream hurriedly begged for mercy. He truly didn’t want to die.

"I’m afraid even Megatron wouldn’t believe that." Russell spat disdainfully. If someone else had said it, it might have carried some credibility. But Starscream…

It was enough to listen, since even Starscream himself didn’t believe it.

Russell raised a hand, gripped the spear, and pulled it free with a clang. He pressed it against Starscream’s chest, piercing the armor and stopping at his Spark. "Remember this: Skyfire’s glory will never fade!"

"No, don’t kill me…" Death had never felt so close. Starscream desperately begged, "Believe me, I am willing to swear it upon my Spark!"

"Hmph, since you put it that way, hand your Spark over to me!"

Riiip!!

Russell drove his arm downward. Starscream’s Spark went out amid crackling electricity. The glow in his red electronic eyes dimmed, and his head lolled to one side, never to move again.

World Quest: Personally end Cybertronian mechanical lifeforms 8/20

Besides Starscream, he had accidentally killed two Decepticons earlier. The quest was about to be half complete, and Russell felt deeply troubled. Why was he so powerful?

His back thrusters activated, and Russell shot into the air, preparing to return to where Optimus Prime’s body lay. He glanced at the corpse below and fired missile after missile, blasting Starscream into fragments before flashing away.

After witnessing cases of resurrection, Russell wouldn’t give Starscream even the slightest chance to come back to life!

At the rocky mountain where Optimus Prime’s body lay, the Decepticons’ ground forces had gathered one after another because of Starscream’s message. In addition, there were seven or eight Cybertronian jet fighters. Altogether, their numbers exceeded fifty.

It was an extremely terrifying force. Their firepower alone was enough to wipe out a leader-class Transformer in an instant.

Their location had been exposed. Ironhide and the other Autobots could only retreat to the rocky mountain and use the terrain to hold the Decepticons at bay. Everyone understood that a prolonged defense would inevitably fail. Worse still, the AllSpark Key remained a handful of fine sand, unable to revive Optimus Prime.

Boom! Boom! Boom—

The shriek of missiles tore through the sky, blasting the rocky mountain until it was on the verge of collapse. Several parts of the mountain caved in, and this position was about to be destroyed.

By the time Russell arrived, every Autobot had been wounded. The three Arcee sisters, the smallest among them, had already collapsed, and Ratchet was urgently treating them. Nearby, Ironhide fired wildly, roaring as he drove back the Decepticon charge. One look at his bloodshot state was enough to show that the ambiguous relationship between him and Chromia was far more than a mere rumor.

Slash!!

Russell arrived on the battlefield and fired a cannon shot, breaking a Cybertronian jet fighter’s shield. He then swept it from the sky with his spear. With his extreme speed, he was unstoppable in the aerial battle, brutally beating the Decepticons until he dominated the entire sky in no time.

He did not stop there. His red electronic eyes swept across the battlefield as he dove from above, continuously bombarding the ground.

With this lifeline appearing, the Autobots’ pressure dropped sharply, and they finally had a chance to catch their breath. They used ranged weapons to fire precise shots at the Decepticons whose shields Russell had broken, gradually evening out their numerical disadvantage.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Russell dropped to the ground and fired three consecutive cannon blasts at a tall Decepticon ahead. After blowing apart the enemy’s shield, he swept down with his spear, reducing him to a metal rod.

The next second, Russell dodged a sneak attack from the side, twisted through the air, pierced the attacker’s chest with his spear, and fired a missile directly into his face.

Boom!!!

The shield vanished instantly. Russell swung his spear and flung him into the air, where the unlucky Decepticon was torn to pieces by his own comrades’ firepower.

At that moment, an exhilarating cheer suddenly rose from the Autobot position. Russell looked over and saw a massive figure more than ten meters tall slowly rise to its feet.

Red-and-blue paint, external black armor, and engines covering both shoulders like two immensely powerful cannons.

Optimus Prime had been revived, and he had received Skyfire’s gift!

Russell fell silent, then said with a trace of sadness, "Skyfire’s glory will never fade. I’ll help you shine once more!"