Chapter 111 – Calling all Autobots!
Prime P.O.V
/You took a hell of a hit you know. That missile just missed your power source/. The words of Cade Yaeger flash through my processor before stifled sounds of sobbing from the young femme, Tessa, bring my thoughts back to the present.
We had narrowly escaped with our lives, /well most of us/, following an attack by a secret Government agency and Lockdown, the Cybertronian bounty hunter when they had come to Cade's farm in search of me. The Yaeger's, and Tessa's boyfriend, had lost everything, including their friend, in the swift and vicious attack.
''Lucas. We just left him,'' I could feel the sadness and disbelief in her voice, radiating from her. The struggle to comprehend how one moment, someone you love and know is with you and the next – they are gone – clearly beset her and it tore at my spark that this young one must confront these feelings at such a young age. /She should not have to be dealing with a war - Our War!/. The angry thought flared to life and a shudder ran through my frame.
''He's gone,'' although it held some warmth, Cade's response had a certain harsh finality to it that would seem out of place coming from a comforting father figure. Though I have only known Cade for little more than an earth day, I feel that he has experienced great sadness and loss in his life. /And yet he offered to help you, tried to protect you when he could have turned you over to that Government Agency that threatened his family/. The energon in my lines boiled in indignant rage for a moment as I recalled the sounds of the young femme pleading for her life, the sound of guns being cocked ready to fire at innocent targets – for what? /Why do they hunt me so relentlessly, endangering innocent lives so callously like that in a bid to capture me?/.
I feel myself internally groan, not just from the aches and pains my battered, bruised and barely functioning form feels, but from the deep sense of responsibility that weighs upon my spark. Cade and his family are just another casualty of this Primus forsaken war that we, that I, have brought to this planet.
Spying an abandoned petrol station off to the side of the road, I pull over to allow my human companions to disembark while I carry out patrol. As I complete my transformation sequence the strength of my guilt and anger is channelled into my fist as I slam it into the ground. ''My deepest sympathies for the loss of your friend. Stay here until I am sure we weren't followed. We are all targets now.'' It was true. Though it deeply grieved me, we all had a price on our heads now.
As I drive off, kicking dust and dirt up behind me, I can hear arguing between the humans carried away by the hot desert wind. /I am sorry Cade Yaeger. For everything/.
The following morning, after a brief stop near a service station to try and obtain funds and necessities, we are once again back on the road as it is abundantly clear we are fugitives. Cade's account is locked down and the police show up en masse in a bid to apprehend us. We are truly alone.
Or are we?
As we race along the seemingly endless stretch of road, the blistering sun beating down on us and the sound of my chassis creaking, groaning and rattling, my reply to Cade's comment on my power source comes unbidden to my mind. /We call it a spark. It contains our life force and - our memories/. Images of my Autobot friends, Rachet, Jazz, Bumblebee, Ironhide and the others, of Elita and my Phoenix, flood my processor and I feel my spark pulse in happiness and longing. I have missed my dear friends, my family - those I love. It has been too long – far too long.
Without another thought, I make a decision. ''Calling all Autobots, calling all Autobots.'' As I send the greeting, invitation, and coordinates to any surviving Autobot, a large, white Western Star truck approaches. /Time for an upgrade Optimus/. Initiating my scanner, I feel my body shift and change to accommodate the larger, bulkier truck design.
''Whoa! Oh my God!'' Shane, the femme's seemingly illegal partner, cries out in shock and I feel a smirk form on my hidden dermas. Rusted and damaged parts are transformed and replaced by shining, strong chrome and steel. The old, faded paint flakes off and is replaced with brilliant reds and blues – the old flame decals once again proudly adorning my frame. /Sorry Phoenix, looks like they are here to stay/. I fight back the sudden wave of loss that threatens to engulf me with the knowledge my Phoenix is no longer with me and possibly, no longer loves me. /Five years/. Though that is nothing in the lifespan of a transformer, to me, five years without Phoenix by my side might as well have been five eons.
''That was insane! It was awesome, but it was insane right?'' Shane's incredulous voice once again elicits a smile on my dermas. /Yes, yes, it is my young human friend/.
As we continue to roll towards a familiar place hidden in the ancient rock formations of Monument Valley, I feel a renewed sense of purpose, hope and longing burn through me. I feel a strength and a need flow through me, through every fibre of my being as the miles disappear and I draw ever nearer.
/I am coming my friends, my family. I am back!/.
In the depths of my processor, a faint, wild hope flickers that maybe, just maybe amongst the faces that received my message and are waiting to greet me will be the one face I long to see with all my spark. The one face that has both haunted and captivated me and my dreams. The other half of my spark – my soul.
My Phoenix.
