And it was over.
Even with our combined might and the power of the Vok at our fingertips, we could not stop the Nemesis. The end was swift, and yet it seemed to take decacycles.
I was falling now; falling through a pitch-black pit. But despite the darkness I could still somehow see her, falling right beside me.
We called out each other's names and reached, willing the distance between us to decrease. Somehow, it worked, for our hands met.
As our fingers interlocked, the walls of the pit were bathed in light, as images from our lives played out before us.
"In that case, the lady shall ride a tiger."
"It wouldn't hurt to visit us now and then, would it?"
"Wherever we go, my spark will find yours!"
"And mine yours!"
We were such fools back then. We let our own fears and insecurities prevent us from embracing the most beautiful thing we had ever known until it was almost too late. But none of that mattered now.
As suddenly as the images had begun, they ended, and the pit once again became dark.
She pulled me in close. Hawks were not meant for the night.
"No matter what happens, we will remain together," I assured her.
She was about to respond when something caught her optic below us. "Look," she pointed.
Below us, at the bottom of what had seemed to be an endless shaft, was a light. And it was rapidly growing larger as we fell towards it. It quickly became blinding.
Suddenly, we were no longer falling, but standing. Everything around us was white. I looked to Airazor. She was less uneasy than she was before, but I could still feel her worry as if it were my own. Indeed, my fears did mirror her own.
"Are these the ones?" came a booming voice. Airazor and I both looked around feverishly, our optics darting this way and that, searching for the source of the voice. We found only white. Indeed, the voice appeared to be coming from all around us.
"Yes. These are the heroes," came a slippery, almost Predacon-like voice. Two small missiles sprouted from Airazor's forearm, and my fingers inched towards the gun at my side.
As if sensing our discomfort, there came a gentle female voice. "Do not be afraid."
"We are not your enemy," a poorly-synthesized mechanical voice interjected.
"No one will harm you now," a high-pitched male voice assured us.
"We welcome you…" a charming and polite male voice said, "…To eternity."
I don't remember what happened after that. The next thing I knew, I awoke in a forest meadow in beast mode. Something stirred against my chest, and when I looked I discovered a familiar hawk nestled comfortably against me. I smiled and held her close to me with my paws. It had been so long since I had the chance to do this.
I tried to enjoy the moment and scenery for as long as I could, but soon my thoughts were taken over by the events that had transpired. We had died. We should have been sent to the Matrix. Was this the Matrix? It was so unlike everything I had imagined. And who were those voices? I had to know.
I gently nudged Airazor with my nose. She stirred and opened her optics.
"Tigatron?"
"Yes, I'm here."
She surveyed her surroundings. "What is this place?"
"I don't know," I replied. "I awoke here too. I don't remember what happened after those voices."
She smiled as well as a hawk beak could manage. "Then that makes two of us."
I stood up and maximized. "Come." I held out my hand to her. "I detect no energon here."
She held out her wing and I carefully helped her up. She maximized, and the two of us set off through the forested landscape.
I don't know how long we walked. We had no idea where we were going. We were driven on by our curiosity, and sustained by the beauty around us. Soon her hand found mine, and I found myself no longer caring whether or not we reached our destination (wherever that was). I would not have minded if the two of us walked together like that forever.
"…Say, Tigatron?" Airazor asked uncertainly.
"Yes?" I replied.
"Does this place seem…familiar to you?"
I nodded. It was a thought that had been building at the back of my mind for some time now. This place was familiar. Why was that? Had I been here before? Why couldn't I place it?
And then I saw it. On a tree mere feet from us was a symbol I could never forget.
She saw it at the same time I did and gasped. There was no time for thought. No time for plans. There was only time for action.
I charged at Airazor and jumped as far as I could, knocking her off her feet. As we hit the ground a distance away, I covered Airazor with my body, trying to protect her from the trap I knew was about to activate.
It never did.
After a tense moment of silence, I opened my optics to find her staring at me with fear in hers. I was nearly overcome by a sudden desire to kiss her, but I squelched it. This was no time for that.
"Tigatron…" she whispered as our optics met.
"We should move, while we still can," I said as I stood, helping her up as I did so. "It is still dangerous here."
She nodded and began retreating from the area. I followed closely, but made sure to keep myself between her and the tree in question at all times. I was still not convinced that the trap would not spring.
When we were far enough away for safety, we stopped to collect our wits.
"Are you damaged?" I asked, worried that I had hurt her when I jumped into her.
She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thank you. But why didn't the trap activate?"
"And why are those symbols here?" I added.
"This place is just like the floating island."
My optics widened. "No…This place isn't like the floating island…It is the floating island!"