Chapter 92 – Unexpected Intrusion
Phoenix P.O.V
''Phoenix? Ca.. hear me? This is …chet. I just wan… know you…kay. We.. orried about you. Phoenix, ca… hear me? Acknow.., ease.'' I nearly screamed out loud at the sudden intrusion into my light recharge. I bolted upright and my servo automatically flew to activate my comm and reply to that familiar and dear voice but at the last moment I stilled my servo.
Again, through some static I heard Rachet's faint voice, ''Phoenix? This is… chet. If you ca… me.. and you a…on energon head… Kamchatka Penin…. You will be….use your empty….cubes to store energon….atural resources found….. Please, be sa…., all worried ab….you and w…all here for you… when….ou are ready….chet out.''
''Rachet.'' I whispered his name fondly to the silence around me. I lowered my servo down to my lap and brought both my arms about my waist, hugging myself tightly as I fought back loud sobs of pain and regret. Rocking myself backwards and forwards, I tried to process how I felt and what I should do. /Should I reply?/. He seemed genuinely concerned for me. Replaying his message in my processor, a sudden thought struck me, ''How did he know I had not had any…'' a flash of realisation tore through me, ''he told him!'' I clutched at my mid-section even tighter willing myself to hold everything in. ''I bet he was standing there with him as he spoke to me! I bet he made him do it knowing full well I did not want to speak with him.''
I felt waves of anger and love alternately as they both swirled about my conflicted spark, both trying to stake a claim on it. I wanted so badly to speak with him. I wanted to pick myself up, hurl myself off the cliff and fly straight back into his arms right now, begging forgiveness for my actions. At the same time, within the same spark beat I wanted to never see him again, I did not want to hear that voice and I wanted to scream my pain and hurt accusingly at him.
I closed my optics as I struggled to work my way through this sudden and unexpected intrusion into my solitude. /Really? Unexpected? You did not honestly think one of them would not try and contact you/. I shook my helm to try and rid myself of the mocking thoughts even though I knew them to be true. ''I would have done the same thing if the situation was reversed and it was him who had fled,'' I started to reason with myself out loud. ''He is just concerned for you and wants to make sure you are alright. He does still love..'' /NO!/ I shook my helm violently to derail that train of thought. ''That is why you are here Phoenix. He was never yours to love in the first place. His spark belonged to her and now she is back to claim it,'' I felt a cold shudder sweep over my frame, ''they deserve a chance to rekindle that love or at the very least see if it is still there.'' A tiny flame of hope flickered selfishly inside my spark at the last thought that perhaps it no longer was. That perhaps time and distance had taken its toll and what was once there, could not be rekindled because it had faded or withered away.
All at once a wave of shame washed over me and the sharp stabbing pain of self-recrimination and loathing assaulted my spark at my own selfishness and jealousy. I hung my helm in disgust at my own thoughts. ''Elita 1 does not deserve this. You have only ever heard of her, never met her, and from what he has told you about her, she is an amazing femme – kind, loyal, intelligent, determined and loving. She does not deserve such petty thoughts from you!''
I rose slowly to my pedes. It was about midday /which means it is about 6am back there/. I exhaled deeply; an old human habit I had found hard to let go. I stepped towards the edge of the cliff and cast my gaze out over the churning waters below. Small chunks of ice drifted on the ocean currents. Being this far north almost guaranteed year-round ice floes.
As I stood there observing the cold, watery scene before me, I replayed Rachet's message in my processor. /If you ca… me.. and you a…on energon head… Kamchatka Penin…. You will be….use your empty….cubes to store energon….atural resources found/. Being this far north was obviously having an impact on the clarity of the signal. I furrowed my optical ridge in concentration as I thought about his message. ''Clearly, he is trying to direct me to a source of energon as, thanks to him, he knows I am rather low on it. He mentioned Kamchatka Penin which I assume,'' I quickly accessed the internet, and searched the name, ''means Kamchatka Peninsula, which is south west of here about 1,900 kilometres away. It has over 29 active volcanoes as well as the Valley of the Geysers which is littered with small and large geysers and mud pots.''
I brought a servo up to rest under my chin thoughtfully. ''Luckily, it is an area that is relatively sparsely populated''. I paced about on the edge of the cliff as I considered my options. ''I could approach the island via the Bering Strait and over the Bering Sea, making landfall within the large National Park on the Eastern coast. This would perhaps give me the greatest cover and avoid detection from unwanted eyes and optics. However, it is going to be a much longer journey than flying directly to the peninsula over land from here and I am not sure I have the energon reserves to make it.''
I stopped pacing and folded my arms over my chest as I quietly contemplated what I should do. /Should I play it safe or just go for it?/. ''Fuck it! Transformers are no longer a secret. Hell, after the battle of Chicago even ''The Phoenix'' is no longer a secret! That area of Russia is not overly populated, I can try to navigate my way through the least populated areas and fly low to avoid detection by radar. And, if by some chance a Decepticon manages to identify me then,'' I paused for a moment. /What would I do? I have no backup, low energon reserves and even if I did call for help, it would not arrive in time/. I was well and truly on my own.
I sighed out loud. ''Well, just don't get caught and if you do. You are ''The Phoenix'' and a Prime, apparently. You won't go down without a fight!'' My mind was made up, I was heading off in search of energon reserves now. I would not wait any longer, wallowing in self-pity.
I began the transformation process, unfolding my huge metallic, fiery wings and stood there, perched like a massive, metallic bird of prey. /Perhaps if I can successfully retrieve enough energon to ensure my continued survival, I will contact Rachet to let him know I am okay and to not worry/. ''Afterall, it is not his fault and no doubt he will tell him what I say so, in essence, I will be speaking to him without necessarily ''speaking'' to him.''
I nodded my helm to myself, feeling somewhat at peace with my decisions. Without another word I launched myself off my bastion of isolation and, beating my wings, sped across the ocean towards my destination.
