AN: I do not own Transformers nor Halo.
Guys, I am so, so sorry that this chapter was late. I normally upload on Monday but I was very busy with housework which I haven't been able to finish due to health issues here lately. Plus, you know, a really bad storm decided to hit my house and it knocked out my internet for two days which didn't really give me the opportunity to write.
Storm walked out of the hangar, reluctantly leaving Optimus behind. She turned the corner to follow the direction in which Lennox and Ironhide had left with the human recruits.
Once she reached the Autobot training hangar, she walked in, standing silently behind the group as she gazed up at Ironhide. The black mech was currently explaining to the humans what they would be doing in terms of their training.
She looked to the humans, their backs collectively turned to her. It seemed that they were un-aware of her presence. This was something she would need to bring up to Ironhide. While she knew that her footsteps were silent due to her years of training to be light on her feet, the recruits must always be alert, examining their surroundings constantly whilst keeping an open ear for anything even remotely out of the ordinary as the enemy they were being trained against were extremely cunning.
The Decepticons had rightfully earned their title and they would have no issues in using any mistakes on their part. All was considered to be fair in war and the group before her were ignorant if they thought for even one second that any enemy they faced would not cheat and use under-handed tactics to secure victory.
Storm continued to watch on, motionless and in silence until Ironhide spotted her. The black mech's expression indicated that he was surprised by her presence, even he failing to hear her arrival. She ignored this, holding a clawed index finger up to her mask in a hushing motion, a gesture for the weapon's specialist to continue on as if he hadn't spotted her. She wished to see how long it would take the human recruits to notice her presence.
Ironhide silently obliged the woman, continuing on in his explanation to the group that for now, they would observe how Cybertronians fought. The humans did as they were told, watching as Ironhide walked away and got into a battle-stance along with his spark-mate, Chromia.
The alien pair watched each other, gauging each other's body language and expressions before both rushed the other, each going after the other with deadly intent.
Storm was highly impressed as she watched the two, especially with Chromia. Despite the femme's small stature, she was incredibly proficient in holding her own against her spark-mate whom was twice her size. Thus, it was no surprise to Storm when Chromia managed to gain the upper-hand on Ironhide.
The blue Cybertronian had tripped the black mech causing him to fall to the ground heavily with an audible thud. This gave Chromia the opportunity to finish their sparring match, to which she did happily.
Storm chuckled to herself upon seeing the expression of defeat that was now plastered on Ironhide's face. The mech didn't take losing well, obviously. However, Storm was proud of Chromia for her display. The femme's small size had granted her an advangtage against the brutish mech. After all, it was much harder to fight something when it was smaller than you as well as more nimble.
Accepting his defeat, Ironhide stood up from his place of where he had previously been pinned to the ground by Chromia, explaining to the human recruits that what they had just seen was why they were being trained against the Decepticons. Cybertronians were highly agressive and messy fighters. If the humans wished to stand any chance, they would need to be trained extensively in order to be able to hold back a threat as well as evasive manuevers which would keep them alive in more dire circumstances.
They were being trained to assist them in holding back the Decepticons, not in getting themselves killed by fighting on their own.
Ironhide began to pace back and forth, his large hands held behind his back as he asked the recruits if any of them would volunteer themselves for training in order to be a learning example for the rest of the group.
Storm smirked to herself upon hearing this. This was her chance to once again prove to the recruits just as Chromia had that in battle, size did not matter so long as you were perceptive and cautious. She raised her clawed right hand in the air, keeping her left arm crossed over her chest as she spoke. "I volunteer."
Upon hearing her voice, the recruits turned to face her. Their expressions told her that they were obviously shocked, seemingly worried as to how long she had been standing behind them, especially Trent. The male appeared to be afraid of her now knowing her true identity though she did not take pride in this. In fact, she felt guilty.
While she did not care for the human male, she did not wish for him to be afraid of her and whether either of them liked it or not, they were a team now.
These thoughts soon led her to a question: why had Trent had chosen such a life path? She would have never pictured the military as a career for him.
Storm ignored these thoughts and questions, looking up to Ironhide as she waited for his answer. The black mech eventually nodded to her in approval of her volunteering. She smirked devilishly from underneath her mask before walking up to Ironhide's side, directing her attention to the humans in-front of her. She lowered her crossed arms from over her chest, attempting to look more approachable and relaxed for the recruits as she spoke. "Before we start, I would like to stress to you all the importance of always remaining vigilant when it comes to your surroundings. It is very apparent to me and as I'm sure Ironhide that the lot of you don't take enough caution within your surroundings. It could be said that you are safe on this base and have no need to and while that may be true, on the battlefield it will be a much needed habit which you should develop. The Decepticons will have no problem taking advantage of any momentary lapse of judgement you may have."
The recruits shared looks of shame with each other as Storm held out her hands in-front of her, continuing to speak. "The Decepticons earned their title for a reason. They are masters of deception and it worries me slightly that none of you noticed my presence when I have been standing behind you the whole time. If I had been an enemy, you would have already lost your life. Any foe you face, no matter who they are, will not pass you over simply because you are un-aware in that moment. They will not be forgiving nor kind."
Ironhide agreeded with Storm's statements, stressing these points to the recruits with seriousness as everything she had told them was true and could be the determining factor between life and death. It was simply the cruel reality of war, one the humans would soon learn upon completion of their training.
Once Storm had concluded her speech, she turned to face Ironhide and spoke. Despite his inability to see her face due to her protective mask, he could easily hear the smirk she currently wore in her voice. "You sure you're ready to do this? I'm not going to take it easy on you, Iron-aft."
The black mech barked out a laugh as he walked over to the designated sparring area, Storm following just behind him as he spoke. "I am always ready, Storm. Now, the rules for this sparring session are as follows: you are not allowed to use weapons and you are not allowed to use the advanced abilities of your Ancilla. That means no invisibility, femme."
Storm shrugged her shoulders to Ironhide, ignoring the strange looks she was now receiving from the recruits upon hearing the mech reference her cloaking device. "Obviously. It's un-fair and humans don't naturally possess those abilities. Besides, I'm not here to impress them, just to show them that size doesn't matter when taking down your opponent."
Ironhide tilted his head to Storm ever so slightly, a smirk plastered on his metal face as he got into a battle stance. "You are very confident in your abilities, Storm. What makes you think I'll go down so easily?"
Storm once again shrugged her shoulders to the black mech with non-chalance before getting into a battle stance herself, soon after answering his question. "I mean, if Chromia can do it then so can I. We aren't that much different in size and besides, I managed to take Barricade down by myself. You can't be much worse."
The Autobot weapon's specialist snorted air through his vents with amusement over Storm and her confident attitude though he admired her bravado. A good warrior was always confident in their abilites. "Time to test your skills, Storm. Give me all you've got and don't hold back."
Storm smirked once again from underneath her mask as she crouched down on her haunches. "It would be my pleasure."
Storm lunged forward without speaking another word, using her in-human speed to propel herself forward. Ironhide attempted to grab her mid-run but to no avail. She slid in-between his legs and turned around with haste, latching onto a lone piece of armor that was jutting out from his metal calf with her armored hands tightly.
Storm pushed with all the force she could muster, knocking Ironhide off balance and pushing him forward onto all fours. She leapt onto his back quickly before running up to his head. Without hesitation, Storm dug the clawed fingertips of her right hand into the sensitive protoform that lay just beneath his armor causing him to growl out in pain.
She did not wish to hurt Ironhide but if this were a real battle, she would not hold back. Storm had to prove to the humans watching how serious of a matter fighting a Cybertronian could truly be.
Storm had not expected what would happen next. A large black hand came up to reach for her, ripping her from off of him before throwing her in the opposite direction. The action reminded her of her fight with Barricade as he had done something similar to her.
As she soared through the air, Storm began to panic. She attempted to activate her gravitational manipulator in order to slow her descent but she simply wasn't fast enough.
Storm crashed into the concrete ground hard. It was very much painful. However, she recovered fast, leaping up to her feet. She began to monitor Ironhide's movements just as he was her's. They stayed in that stalemate for several moments. Not attacking, only observing each other intently.
To the humans, it may look as if the pair were simply waiting for the right moment to strike at each other. However, this was not the case. Storm was attempting to play it smart, using her knowledge of the Autobot weapon's specialist against him. She had learned in the closely approaching two years that the black mech did not possess patience, something he and Sideswipe both shared, surprisingly. It was one of his biggest flaws.
Storm smiled to herself from underneath her mask as Ironhide came charging towards her, completely un-aware that he had fell into her trap. She prepared herself to evade his attack and once Ironhide was close in proximity to her, she ran forward, once again sliding underneath the open gap in his legs as he attempted to crush her underneath his ped.
Storm used her momentum to propel herself up onto the mech's back much like she had with Barricade years ago before wrapping her arms around his neck to the best of her ability, digging in her clawed fingertips for leverage.
Storm shifted her weight backwards, using all of her momentum to bring Ironhide back with her along with minor help from her gravitational manipulator. He had told her she couldn't use the advanced abilities of her Ancilla and she wouldnt. He didn't say anything about the devices she had invented, however.
The Cybertronian titan fell and Storm flipped herself around quickly to Ironhide's face so as to avoid being crushed from his excessive weight. Before he had even hit the ground, Storm had dropped herself down to his chest, digging in the clawed fingertips of her left hand directly above where she knew his spark chamber resided.
Ironhide froze in response, not daring to move from his current position for fear that the sharpened tips of Storm's armored fingers would puncture his spark. He had been defeated.
Upon hearing the weapon's specialist surrender, Storm willed back her protective mask. She was grinning from ear to ear, exposing her elongated canines to him in full. She was obviously proud of herself for defeating him. This was even more evident once she spoke, her voice taking on a prideful inflection to match her current expression. "I win, Iron-aft."
The group of recruits stared on at Storm in a mixture of fear and awe, all of them taking a mental not to put themselves on the bad side of the Forerunner woman. She was a force to be reckoned with despite her small stature.
Storm ignored the humans in their emotion filled gaze, jumping down from Ironhide's chest to stand at Chromia's side. The femme began to congratulate Storm on her well deserved victory, remarking over her skills and she was sure in that moment that if her skin was more pale in complexion, the blue Autobot would be able to see her current blush which she felt all throughout her body.
The Forerunner turned her gaze towards the recruits who were standing in complete silence, crossing her arms over chest as she spoke to them. "As I have shown, size doesn't matter in bringing down your opponent. What matters is how attentive you are. You must assess your enemy and their weaknesses in order to use it against them as they will surely be doing the same to you."
Storm paused momentarily, removing an arm from over her chest before gesturing behind her to Ironhide with a thumb whilst continuing to speak. "Ironhide is very strong. However, he can be highly impatient on occasion. I used this flaw against him, waiting until he approached me before launching my attack. Let this be an example for you to follow."
Ironhide copied Storm's current stance, scoffing to her as he puffed out his chest. "I am not impatient."
Chromia took that moment to chime in with her own thoughts, agreeing with Storm's statements. She began to accuse Ironhide of having these impatient tendencies which Storm had exploited. The Autobot weapon's specialist instantly deflated upon hearing the words of his spark-mate and Storm snortled. The femme had Ironhide wrapped around her tiny, metal fingers.
Storm shifted her weight onto her other leg as she watched the pair argue with amusement, hissing out in pain. This did not go un-heard by Chromia and Ironhide. They immediately stopped with their joking bickering, both of them now concerned for her. Ironhide came up to Storm's side, kneeling down over her as he spoke, his inflection taking on the concern his expression currently betrayed. "Are you injured, Storm?"
Storm chuckled softly, rubbing at the back of her neck from underneath the hood attached to her armor nervously as she answered him. "It appears that way, yes. I guess you threw me a little too hard."
An expression of guilt immediately passed over Ironhide's metal features upon hearing this. He had not meant to harm Storm to the extent he obviously had. He began apologizing to her profusely though Storm simply waved him off, smiing to him happily as she attempted to reasure him. "It's alright, Ironhide. That was the whole point. It was a sparring match and was meant to be treated as a real battle. No holding back and no holds barred."
Storm's reassurance did not allow Ironhide to feel an less guilty though she refused to accept his apology. She had fully understood what she was getting herself into when she had volunteered to spar with him. Injury's were a possibility she had accepted and the way she saw it, if nothing was broken and nothing vital was damaged, then this was the best possibile outcome.
The Autobot weapon's specialist seemed to relax once his spark-mate joined in, aiding Storm in her reassurance of him that she was fine. The black mech turned to Storm, telling her that since he had injured her he was relieving her of her duties in assisting him with training the recruits, stressing his desire for her to rest her battered body to which Storm did not have to be told twice. She proceeded to say her good-bye's to both Ironhide and Chromia before walking away towards the entrance of the hangar.
On her way out, Storm said good-bye to all of the recruits as well, wishing them luck in their training. It would be a hard road, but in the end, it would be one that was worth it.
The group seemed genuinely surprised by Storm's kindness, some of them even returning her good-bye before wishing her a quick recovery. This made her smile, her body filled with warmth.
She had been worried at first that the recruits would be fearful of her, but their actions just now proved otherwise. In terms of her relationship with the new recruits, everything was off to a fairly good start.
Alright, this is going to be another one of those chapters where the original was far too long to be one chapter so I'm going to be splitting it up into two parts. The next chapter may be a little bit short in response to this though so I hope you all don't mind too much. I'll try my best to get the next chapter out before the end of this week but I can't exactly promise anything as of yet.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always, thank you for reading.