AN: I do not own Transformers nor Halo.
If this chapter gets out late, I apologize. I've been pretty well addicted to Super Mario Odyssey as of late even though I know I should probably take a break from it. (That game turns me into a freaking rage monster sometimes.)
While I was away though, I received a couple of reviews and figured I'd adress them here as usual.
In response to the first review, yes, I have realized that I use the word "which" too much, haha. I've been trying to lessen my usage of the word but I guess it's a difficult habit to break. I will continue to work on it.
I was also advised not to speak in "passive voice" as much. Honestly, as embarrassing as it is to say, I'm not sure I understand what that is. I had tried researching into what it was but was left none the wiser on the subject. This could be because everytime I tried to research it was before bed when my mind was fogged over with sleep, but I'm not entirely sure. However, I will continue to delve into the subject.
In response to the second review, yes, my OC's name was orginally Amara in my first adaptation of this story. As I explained in the first chapter's AN's, I slowly came to dislike the name and decided to change it. I prefer Storm/Tempest much, much more.
The tension within Storm's quarters were thick, her eyes locked on to the Autobot leader seated on the bed just before her in his holoform.
She could barely process the information he'd just given her. Storm had been correct and for once, she wished she hadn't been. General Morshower and his men had been attacked by the Decepticons in their attempts to prevent Megatron from being revived though they were un-successful.
The tyranical faction leader had been brought back from the Well of Sparks and despite the human military's best attempts, using all of their orbital satellites, audio monitoring facilities and endless cameras positioned around the planet, Megatron was nowhere to be found.
She felt to blame and the guilt was etched into her features, the many what-if's wracking her brain with torment. She could have stopped this. Had she taken the All-Spark shard to Requiem, none of this would have happened. The humans would be safe and the Decepticons all but a fleeting memory.
Optimus hadn't missed the change in the Forerunner woman's expression. He stood to approach her, hoping to reassure Storm in her obvious worries though he was stopped at her side by the abrupt sound of Jazz contacting him via his internal communication systems. Lennox was requesting both he and Storm, and he had news involving the Decepticon attack on the Laurentian Abyss.
The Autobot leader placed a hand onto Storm's armored shoulder as he spoke to her. "Lennox has requested our presence, Tempest. He has news regarding the Decepticon attack...Will you be alright?"
Storm nodded to Optimus in response. "Yeah...I'll be alright. Let's just get this over with."
The Autobot leader deactivated his holoform with a flourish a blue particles and Storm passed through them, taking in the faint tingling sensation upon the surface of her armor as she proceeded onward towards the door of her quarters.
She could hear the sounds of shifting metal just outside as she placed her armored hand onto her doorknob, opening it to reveal familiar red and blue flame decorated metal kneeled down onto one knee in the last stages of it's transformation.
She looked up, her eyes being met with deep blue optics that were already looking down at her as Optimus held out his hand to her. Storm contemplated the idea for a few moments before taking the Autobot leader up on his offer. She was tired, having barely gotten any sleep due to her own thoughts despite her efforts and she was sure that it showed.
Storm climbed into Optimus' open palm gently, sitting down on it's surface, knees pulled in toward her armored chest as she prepared mentally for her conversation with Lennox.
The flame decorated leader slowly stood, carrying Storm along with him towards the Autobot hangar in silence, soon walking inside it's large expanse. The Autobot hangar was just as quiet, the only thing to be heard being the sounds of Optimus' metal feet hitting the concrete ground as he made his way toward the metal platform in it's center where Lennox was standing.
Once at the metal platform, Optimus raised his free hand, using a large, metal finger to poke Lennox gently in the back to gather the man's attention away from his data pad.
As he turned around, Storm caught a small glimpse of the screen of his data pad. She immediately felt sick, her blood running cold. A portion of it had said "casualty report".
This is why Lennox had requested them, to give them the official report on how many had perished in battle with the Decepticons.
The NEST Major's eyes immediately locked on to Storm as he turned around, her expression blank as she spoke to him with a question; trying to supress the bile she felt rising in the back of her throat. "You requested us, Lennox?"
The man nodded to her. "I- uh...I have news for you. The both of you."
Storm's mouth went dry as Lennox said these words. She licked her lip, hoping to replace their moisture before she hesitantly responded to him. "...What is it?"
The man sighed, looking down at the data pad held securely within his hands before answering her. "Well, I was just sent over the casualty report for yesterday from our higher-up's. It seems that luckily, only twelve people suffered fatally. A very small number when you take into account that there were several thousand people in that entire area."
The NEST Major paused, swiping on the screen of his data pad before turning it to show Storm an image of a damaged naval vessel on the screen and continuing to speak. "The area the Decepticons destroyed during their ascent from the ocean floor was for the most part vacant, thankfully, as it was a large stoarge area. A lot of nautical equipment was destroyed, but that can be replaced. Human lives can't."
Storm released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, feeling relieved that there had been so few human casualties. However, there was one person in specific she was concerned for. "What about General Morshower?...Is he...?"
Lennox smiled to Storm, happily responding to her question. "Dead? No. He's very much alive and well, thankfully. Due to your early warning, mostly everyone was able to survive the attack."
Lennox's words only furthered Storm's relief. Earlier, she had felt herself the reason for many people dying when in reality, she may have been the force that had saved them. It made the burden she was carrying lessen from her shoulders and though human lives had been lost, it had been far fewer than she had expected.
She looked to Lennox, a smile placing itself on her face for the first time in days as she spoke to him. "Thank you, Lennox. It brings me relief to know that the situation didn't end as bad as it possibly could have."
Lennox leaned over the railing towards Storm, patting her lightly on the arm in reasurrance. "We told you it wasn't your fault, Stormy. You're just too stubborn to take anyone's word for it."
Storm rubbed at the back of her neck as she chuckled lightly. "I can't help it. If I wasn't a pain in the ass all the time everyone would think there was something wrong with me."
Both Lennox and Optimus laughed at the Forerunner's statements. She was definitely right in what she'd said. If Storm were any different, she wouldn't be the person they'd all become so fond of and neither of them could imagine her any other way. They preferred her just as she was.
Once the Forerunner's body language had relaxed, The NEST Major dismissed the pair of alien leader's. He had an upcoming video call with General Morshower regarding their next course of action against the Decepticons. The attack had become a deeply personal matter for everyone on base.
Storm simply nodded to Lennox as did Optimus. Neither wished to interfere in the man's duties.
The Autobot leader turned away from the metal platform, walking out of the Autobot hangar as he looked down to the Forerunner female within his gentle grasp and spoke to her with a question; leaving Lennox to his prior obligations. "Are you feeling more at ease now, Tempest?"
Storm leaned her head back to look up at Optimus, giving him a soft smile. "Yes, actually. It makes me feel slightly more at ease knowing that my warning helped save many...However, I do feel sympathy for the families of those who perished."
The Autobot leader nodded sadly in agreement with Storm. Much like Cybertronians, humans bonded deeply with those in their family unit, often never recovering from the severing of a relationship so strong; even more so if their loved one's were taken forcefully by outside influence.
It was something they shared despite their biological differences. However, he knew that the humans would honor their fallen with utmost respect, just as his people would with one of their own.
As he walked, Optimus took note of Storm's silence. He looked down to her, taking notice of her distant gaze. It seemed that she was deep in thought, un-aware of his current gaze.
He spoke up to her with a question, pulling the woman out of her previously distracted state. "What would you like to do now, Tempest?"
Storm turned her attention up towards Optimus, her expression giving away her pondering of his question; her answer following several moments later. "How about we go to the rec-room? I've been wanting to see it after it was re-modeled a few weeks back. I haven't had the time to do so unfortunately with all of this Decepticon buisness going on."
Optimus nodded in agreement with Storm's decision, proceeding onward towards the other end of NEST where their destination was located and thankfully, it didn't take long given the Autobot leader's long strides.
Storm politely asked Optimus to place her down on the tarmac and he did so. The excitement quickly began to rush her through as she set off towards the entrance of the rec-room, soon stopping in her place with confusion upon noticing the absence of footsteps behind her.
She slowly turned around, finding that Optimus was still standing in his spot with his expression mimicking hers.
She raised an eyebrow to the metal leader, speaking to him in a mixture of confusion and curiousity. "Uh, Optimus?...Why are you still standing there?"
Optimus looked down at her, the tone of his voice mimicking his current expression. "I...do not understand how I am supposed to get inside. I'm afraid I am far too large."
Storm continued to stare up at Optimus after hearing his response, one eyebrow remaining raised. Was Optimus joking with her?
She waited for the punchline, waiting for the shift in his metal features that would indicate that he was pulling her leg. However, nothing changed. The Autobot leader remained as he was, his expression still one of complete perplexion.
Storm bursted out in un-restrained laughter though she quickly composed herself, looking up to Optimus as she rested her hands on her armored hips with amusement. "What do you mean you don't know how you're going to get in there? You haven't already forgotten about your holoform, have you?"
Optimus chuckled to himself lightly. It seemed that he had indeed forgotten about his holoform. However, it made sense to Storm as to why he had forgotten about the device. After all, she had always stressed to him that she preferred him in his bi-pedal form as he truly was.
She watched as the Autobot leader transformed down to his alt-mode, activating his holoform within his truck cab before emerging onto the tarmac.
Storm quickly ran over to him, grabbing his holoform by the hand before leading him with her hastily towards the rec-room, throwing the door open with reckless abandon. She let out an excited squeal of joy at what she saw, causing Optimus to chuckle.
There were a myriad of arcade machines around her as well as every video game console one could ask for. It was every she could hope for and more.
Storm ran over to one of the many arcade machines, feeling thankful that there was virtually no one in the rec room with her. She wouldn't have to share and she could only think to herself in that moment that this would be one of the only perks to her waking up early every morning.
Optimus followed after the eager Forerunner with amusement. He stopped just behind her, watching intently as she controlled a small, yellow sprite on screen, seemingly devouring the round, white objects in her path.
It was a confusing concept to him, this confusion only being furthered as he watched the formerly multi-colored sprites on screen that were chasing after her begin shifting between blue and white, causing him to speak out in question of her as to the objective of what she was doing. "Why did those digital sprites begin flashing?"
Optimus' sudden question had suprised Storm, causing her to lose her focus and die on the game. She cursed under her breath in her native, alien language as that had been her last life. She had never been good at the game, but it was the first she'd been introduced to after arriving on Earth and it held a special place in her heart.
Once she had finished expressing her anger, Storm tunred to face Optimus, one eyebrow raised to him questioningly. "Because they're supposed to do that, Optimus. Have you never hear of Pac-Man before?"
Optimus simply shook his head to Storm and she was astonished by his response to say the least. She walked around Optimus, pushing him forward towards the arcade machine with her armored hands as she spoke. She was going to educate the Autobot leader on her favorite hobby. "Time for a lesson in video games, Prime."
She attempted to direct the Autobot leader on how to play though he had no idea what he was doing and it showed. Storm walked up directly behind Optimus, the armored front of her body pressed closely against his back as she grabbed his hands from around his body. She guided his hands towards the buttons and joy-stick of the machine, her much smaller hands placed over his for her to guide him.
She pressed the button on the machine to start a game as she peaked around Optimus' much larger form. It probably looked ridiculous to the few humans that were within the rec-room alongside them though Storm ignored this thought. She really didn't care.
She began to guide the Autobot through the motions, explaining to him how to play as he watched the screen. It was hard for him to pay attention, however, as all Optimus could focus on were the fast pulsations of his racing spark due to Storm's close proximity.
Her armor was warm and she had never been so close to his holoform as she was now, the rough Forerunner metal covering her chest pressed firmly into him.
Their bodies were touching in a way they never before had and it was highly distracting. Storm took no notice, however, thankfully too enamored with the game the small Forerunner was attempting to show him to pay attention to change in his body language.
When that round was over, Storm backed away from Optimus, allowing him to try it for himself this time. He humored her, ignoring the protests of his spark due to her lack of physical contact with him to play the game she had so graciously taken the time to teach him.
As Storm watched him play, she was filled with surprise. Optimus was rather good at the game, most definitely better than her at it in every way. It was almost enough to make her envious as he continued on, only ruining his winning streak once she had rested her armored hand onto his right shoulder. Her touch had obviously distracted him.
Storm laughed lightly at the Autobot leader, gently taking his hand and leading him over to a couch that was stationed in front of the many gaming consoles she had seen earlier and a rather large television.
She sat down onto the plush surface of the furniture, patting the open space beside her as she propped up her amored legs. Optimus obliged, sitting beside the female as she turned on a gaming console and began browsing it's large selection of games.
She soon decided on her game of choice, starting it up wth Optimus watching intently as it loaded, only tearing his eyes away as he saw Storm looking at him from his peripheral.
She wiggled her eyebrows to him playfully as she spoke. "And now I get to impress you with how far video game graphics have come."
Optimus chuckled to the Forerunner beside him as he turned his attention back towards the large screen before him. He was indeed impressed, the graphics being starkly different compared to the game he had played moments ago with Storm.
He quickly became enamored with the story, finding irony in the game Storm had chosen to play. It detailed the story of a human developing friendship with a sentient war machine they'd been granted under unfortunate circumstances.
Though Optimus' situation was different, he was, by human classification, a sentient machine. Similarly, he had met Storm under unfortunate circumstances, having developed a bond with her in the same fashion. Through war and sacrifice.
However, the relationship of the characters playing out before him was purely platanonic, and Optimus desired more...He wanted Storm as his mate and it seemed that his spark shared in it's approval of this thought.
His holoform began to emit a high-pitched grinding noise, one that was far out of the hearing range of any human but unfortunately, not Storm's.
She appearead visibly startled by the noise, looking over at Optimus in a mixture of shock and worry as she spoke. "...Are you okay, Optimus?"
He nodded to her with a smile of reassurance, hoping to avoid the noise he'd just emitted and the topic all together. "Yes. I am fine."
Storm didn't believe what the Autobot leader had said for even a second. This was the second time she had heard his holoform making abnormal noises and she knew there was something going on that he wasn't telling her. "Are you sure? Because that noise didn't sound fine to me and I haven't heard any of the other Autobots holoform making noises like that."
Optimus once again denied anything being wrong, assuring Storm that he was fine though he could see it in Storm's eyes that she didn't believe him. She was suspicious. However, she accepted Optimus' answer, not wanting to pressure him into giving her an answer.
Instead, she stood from her place, shutting off the gaming console and television before taking Optimus by the hand once again.
She led him over to a dart board that was across the rec-room, letting go of his hand in search of the darts that belonged to it.
She found them in a container resting on a table close by and grabbed all of them, walking back towards Optimus and handing him half of them. He looked down to them in confusion causing Storm to chuckle.
She took one from his hand, placing it into his empty one before potining to the wall where the dart board rested, directing the Autobot leader's attention there.
"Alright. For this game, you're supposed to throw these darts-" Storm said, gesturing to her full hand that held her share of darts and then to the wall. "-And then throw them as close as you can to that red dot in the center of the board. Pretty simple, right?"
Optimus shook his head in agreement with Storm despite him being un-sure. Storm had noticed this. She took one of her own darts, throwing it towards the board as an example. It landed close to the red dot she'd told him to aim for.
Believing he understood the concept now, Optimus raised the lone dart Storm had placed in his free hand, copying her movements and how she'd held her dart before throwing it. His throw had not been as graceful as her's, however, as he had thrown his dart straight through the wall to the left of the board.
Storm belted out in girlish laughter. "Oh my God, Optimus! You threw it straight through the wall!"
The Autobot leader felt embarrasment over his accidental blunder as Storm layed a clawed hand on his shoulder whilst speaking. It was an emotion that wasn't familiar to him. "I hate to say it, big guy, but I don't think darts is a game that's made for you."
The Autobot leader apologized, stating that he didn't know his own strength when it came to his holoform and that was understandable. Optimus was like a newborn child in his holoform, having to learn everything he already knew once again though with a different, more complicated body and perspective.
Storm continued to laugh, trying to reassure Optimus that the damage could be easily fixed when she was interuptted by the sensation of someone tapping her lightly on her armored shoulder to grab her attention.
She turned around, finding that it was a human soldier holding a rather familiar cellphone in hand, the screen lit up indicating that their was an active call...Wasn't that Lennox's cellphone?
The man held out the phone to Storm as he spoke to her. "Sorry for the interupption, Ma'am, but you're being requested on the phone. There's a woman on the other end speaking frantically about someone named Sam."
Storm visibly perked up upon hearing this. She gently took the phone, placing it up to her ear. "Hello?"
The person on the other end of the phone responded to Storm, sounding slightly out of breath. "Storm? Oh, thank God! I've been trying to get ahold of you for the past hour! I had to get Lennox's private number from Sam just to speak to you because everyone I talked to denied knowing you!"
It would seem the person requesting her was Mikaela. Storm turned to look at Optimus, taking note of his concerned expression as she responded to the onyx-haired female. "Sorry, Mikaela. They probably did that for security reasons. What's going on?"
The female on the other end of the phone replied frantically. "I need you to get to Sam's college...Like, right now. I'm on my way there as we speak."
The urgency in Mikaela's voice set Storm on edge, panic rushing through her. She hastily began making her way towards the exit of the rec-room, Optimus following just behind her as she responded to the Mikaela with seriousness. "What's wrong, Mikaela? Is it a Decepticon?"
As Mikaela responded to her, Storm could hear muffled, high-pitched shouting on the other end of the phone as well as clanging metal. "Storm, Sam didn't tell anyone that he's been having seizures ever since he- well...you know what I'm talking about. You were there."
Storm knew exactly what Mikaela was talking about. She was referring to when Sam had found the All-Spark shard in the clothing he'd worn during the battle in Mission City. "I know exactly what you're talking about Mikaela so don't say another word as this isn't a secure line. I'm on my way now."
Storm hastily hung up the phone, turning around and pushing it into Optimus hands as she willed on her protective mask before walking away from him leaving the Autobot leader to chase after her.
Her strides were confident and deadly as threw open the doors to the rec-room with Optimus stuggling to keep up with her pace as he spoke, his voice filled with concern and urgency. "Has there been a Decepticon sighting, Tempest?"
Storm shook her head in denial as she walked, anger lacing her voice. "No. Sam found a shard of the All-Spark hidden within his clothing from Mission City and has been having seizures ever since touching it without telling anyone. I'm going to inform The Warden of what's happening and then I'm leaving to meet Mikaela."
The Autobot leader was shocked hearing this as he'd thought his shard all that remained of his people's relic. He grabbed Storm by the arm to stop her, hoping to keep her from making any hasty decisions. "I'm coming with you, Tempest. We will secure Sam and bring him back here for Ratchet to assess."
Storm removed Optimus' hand from her arm, her voice taking on a soft tone as she placed a clawed hand on the cheek of his holoform. "You can't, Optimus...You'll draw too much attention."
She could see it in the Autobot leader's eyes that he was fearful for her. However, she woud never rely on anyone for her safety. Storm was no princess from human fairytale's of old that needed saving from the all-consuming dragon.
Storm kept her hand where it was as she continued to speak, relishing in the sensation as Optimus place the hand of his holoform atop her armored one. "I'll be fine, Optimus. I promise. I'll send word through The Warden once I have Sam for our retrieval."
Storm proceeded to press her armored forehead to Optimus' seemingly human one, taking in the sensation for several moments before reluctantly pulling back, leaving the Autobot leader void of her previous warmth.
He wished to stop her, but he would never control the Forerunner nor would she have listened. She was far too stubborn for that.
He simply watched her as she walked away from him with haste towards her shared hangar with The Warden and once she was out of sight, he turned away towards the Autobot hangar. Something wasn't right and his spark could sense it.
He wasn't going to let Storm go un-protected, even if it meant his own safety being put at risk.
And he knew his fellow Autobots would feel the same.
Alright, I know I said at the beginning of this chapter that it'd probably end up getting out later than usual because of my new found addiction to Super Mario Odyssey but life decided to throw a wrench in my plans.
Over time, I've kept all the rough drafts of my chapters during my first attempt at this story to give me a sort of starting point that I could just build on and improve but when I went open the rough draft for this chapter, half of it was a bunch of garbled letters and symbols. So, I pretty much had to start from scratch on this one.
I don't know if it was corrupted somehow when I pulled it from my other computer and put it on an SD card for use on my new one or what, but I was pretty mad. It didn't keep me down, though.
Despite the weird setback, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always, thank you for reading.
(P.S : Brownie points for anyone who can guess the game Optimus was watching Storm play before his holoform seized out. It's one of my favorites.)