Chapter 120 – Bounty Acquired
Optimus P.O.V
''Come on, Optimus!'' Cade's voice is laced with both fear and encouragement as he glances out the driver's side window at the gaining black and grey truck that ruthlessly pursues us.
A moment later a missile explodes near my left rear tyre causing me to swerve violently to avoid being struck. Another one explodes to my right. A barrage of missiles is fired upon us. Dust is thrown into the air, billowing around us, clods of dirt rain down and I do my best to avoid hitting oncoming traffic as they too desperately try to navigate the deadly attack.
One of the missiles shoots past me and explodes with a car, flipping it forward and along the road, sliding towards us. Another missile explodes right beside my hood and in that moment, I know what is about to happen. ''JUMP!''I scream to my occupants. Cade and Shane, sensing what is about to happen, fling the cabin door open and leap out just as another missile explodes under my front right tyre. With a deep and guttural growl, of effort and rage, I initiate my transformation sequence moving instinctively into a forward roll as I do so.
The human female, Tessa, is cradled as carefully as possible in my left servo as I fly through the air, coming to slide along the ground on my back. However, the momentum of the blast and my transformation causes me to flip over into another roll. As I feel my servo slide along the ground, I release her, to roll along the ground under me. I land on my pedes and dig them into the ground along with my right servo as I try to gain enough purchase to slow my momentum. I manage to bring myself to a stop just before I crash into a car. For a moment I crouch there, helm down, looking under me to ensure Tessa is unharmed.
I hear her frantic panting and sobs of fear as she scurries back between my pedes and the apparent safety of the car and I feel a great sense of relief that she is safe – /for now/. I slowly raise my helm in the direction I tumbled from, my optics narrow in fury, my faceplates shift to express my utter disgust and irritation towards my foe and my battle mask slides shut over dermas clamped tightly together in determination.
I am vaguely aware of Cade's voice as he yells desperately to his daughter though I can no longer spare a thought as the KSI abomination descends upon me. I lunge forward and grab his arm as he tries to shoot, forcing his shot into the grassy field beside us. He lands a swift punch and kick to my helm and abdomen before I unsheathe my energon sword and shove him to the ground, landing roughly on top of him. He tries to produce a gun to shoot me and I shove his servo away, as he punches at me with his other servo causing me to stagger back and we break apart.
As I try to swing my blade at him, he lands a massive punch to my face, causing me to flip over and land on my front. I quickly spring to my pedes and grab at him, flipping him onto his back though as he lands, he lashes out at me with one of his pedes, striking me in the helm and chest and knocking me off balance.
As I fly through the air, I am aware of a blur of white as I make out the form of Tessa running into the field. She is desperately trying to escape. Landing heavily on my shoulder, I stab my sword into the ground in a bid to stop myself crashing into her. Immediately I get to my pedes as my attacker jumps towards me growling. He spins about and lands a savage kick to my chest. Once again, I falter as I am knocked off balance, though I quickly regain my footing, turning to square off against him.
A growl of outrage and disgust is torn from my dermas, ''You have no soul!'' The abomination grabs at my sword arm and plunges it into his gapping chest cavity, a sadistic smile on his dermas, his optics glowing red like fire. For a microsecond, the flame like appearance of his optics reminds me of Phoenix and the thought of her flashes through my processor. Almost immediately I banish it. I MUST focus, or I may never see her again, may never get to tell her I love her. /I WILL NOT leave her again if I can help it!/.
His glowing red optics pierce into mine, ''That is why I have no fear!'' /That voice! This presence; So familiar/. All at once he reaches out and grabs me by my helm, bodily lifting me and flinging me to the ground, ''You die!''
As my body hits the ground, I instinctively roll again and evade his clutches. I grab at his chest and manage to throw him onto his back on the road. Knowing this machine is a product of KSI and that Leadfoot was killed so it and Primus knows how many others could be created, infuriates me and a deep-seated anger takes hold of me. I pin it to the ground and begin to rain down blow after blow upon it. Each blow I land serves to quell some of the hatred that courses through me, but it is not enough.
''HELP ME!'' The sound of the young female Tessa momentarily distracts me as she desperately seeks shelter from the chaos around her. At the same time, my audials pick up the whistling sound of an incoming missile seconds before it slams into me. A searing pain tears through me as the missile finds its mark and torpedoes its way through me. The impact jolts me forward giving my quarry a reprieve from my onslaught.
Clutching at my chest, I turn to see who it is that has attacked me. Out of the billowing smoke erupting from cars strewn along the side of the road, emerges a figure. A figure I know all too well and, up to this point, have managed to evade.
/Lockdown!/.
Almost immediately another missile is launched at me as Lockdown stalks towards me like a Cybertronic Hell Hound. I barely have time to process his arrival before another missile connects with deadly accuracy sending me sprawling to the ground. Toppled like a great metallic tower, I land heavily against the car Tessa cowers behind, groaning from the pain that wracks me. I try to move my legs, my arms but nothing seems to cooperate. /Damn it to the pits! How did I let this happen?/.
''Optimus! Optimus, get up, get up!'' Tessa's frantic voice cries out to me from inside the car.
Groaning again from the effort of trying to force immobile limbs to work and from the agonising waves of pain that wash over me and radiate through me, I rasp back to her, ''I can't. Get out of here.'' If Lockdown sees her, her life is over. I flick my optics back to face my enemy as he comes to stand triumphantly before me.
He sneers down at me, his green optics alight with – pity? ''I feel sorry for you, Prime. Your allegiance to these humans. The trouble with loyalty to a cause is that the cause will always betray you.''
I ignore his baiting comment. ''Who sent you here?
His tone of pity changes to one of annoyance and irritation. ''Where do you think you came from? You think you were born? No. You were built. And your creators want you back. We all work for someone.'' I narrow my optics at him in defiance as he turns and walks back to his small craft. As Lockdown climbs in and positions the craft above me, I feel helpless. I can NOT move; I cannot defend myself or Tessa as she cowers within the car. All I can do is wait. Wait for Lockdown to claim his bounty.
''No, no,'' I hear Tessa's frantic cries as she realises what is about to happen. In that moment the large net is dropped upon the car, ensnaring us both.
In the distance I can hear Cade scream out to his daughter, ''Tessa!''
Shane runs behind after him as they both come to her aid. ''No. It's got her! She's in the car! NO!''
As the net is lifted above the ground, I become aware of Cade clinging desperately to it, trying to reach his daughter. ''Tessa, get out! Get out! Tessa!'' Tessa scrambles down through the car into the boot.
''Help me, help me! Dad! Dad! Dad!'' The net is raised further from the ground as Lockdown hauls us towards his ship. ''Dad!''
I try to move my servos, try to do something – but it is to no avail. My body was already working to repair itself but the damage that last missile did effectively rendered me immobile. I hung there powerless to do anything, I cast my optics about looking for my Autobots. /Where are they? They must have gotten held up fighting that other KSI creation and…/.
''Just break it! Break the glass! Tess...'' The sound of Cade screaming wildly at Tessa interrupts my thoughts. ''I can't hold on.'' At that moment Cade's grip on the net fails and he falls to the ground.
''Cade, warn the Autobots!'' I bellow down to him.
As the net slowly swung around, out of the corner of my optics I saw them! /My Autobots!/. They were racing towards us and at the front - a sleek pink and white Dodge Viper GTS, the alt mode of a femme I had thought I may never see again /ELITA!/. My spark pulsed happily within my chest.
I strained once again, forcing myself to try and move, to try and break free of this cage. As one of the smaller cargo doors of Lockdown's ship opened wide and the net drew inexorably closer to its destination, I felt myself reluctantly accept our fate – /for now/. Seeing Elita, having Jazz and the others back safely with us, gave me renewed hope and strength to fight whatever lay in wait within this ship.
Hearing Tessa sobbing softly in the car below me as the cargo bay door slammed shut, I tried to comfort her. ''It will be okay Tessa. My Autobots, your father, your boyfriend, they will not give up on us. They will find a way to get to us.'' I slowly blinked my optics and felt a digit twitch on my right servo. /Slowly I was regaining movement/. ''Until then you must be strong, you must have hope.'' As I finished speaking, I reflected on my own words. /Who is it you hold out hope for that will rescue you both? Is it your Autobots, your human allies or is it both?/. After what I had witnessed today, what I had learned, my hope in humanity was in tatters.
I closed my optics and tried to centre myself even as the heavy metallic footsteps of our captor made their way to us. I knew with absolute certainty that my Autobots would come for me, hopefully, led by Elita and Jazz. /Please Primus, let what little hope I have left in humanity in the form of Cade and Shane not be misplaced. PLEASE!/.
