Author's note: Some swearing... it was necessary. :-)
Chapter 133 - Promise Kept
Phoenix P.O.V
Galvatron and his minions were swarming over the streets below, their number increasing by the second and their focus on the same building that captured my attention.
I shift agitatedly on my pedes. Though I was yet to see Joyce and ''The Seed'', I could not sit idly by any longer and allow these Decepticon filth to over run the city and put themselves in a position to capture ''The Seed''. The moment to act had arrived.
I gathered myself up and prepared to launch into a stealth attack, though before I did I noticed Galvatron hesitate and look skyward with concern and annoyance in equal measure. Attinger and Savoy also paused in their approach towards the building and looked skyward, their faces twisted in confusion and anger as they muttered something to each other. Following their line of sight, I noticed for the first time, a large alien looking ship approaching the rooftop of the building and I felt myself tense. /Is it Decepticon in nature? Has Lockdown returned?/.
I flicked my optics back towards Galvatron as he raised a servo and pointed towards the ship repeatedly. Though I could not make out what he is saying, judging by the angry sneer in his features he was not pleased to see this particular craft and his minions scrambled to carry out the order. I shifted on my pedes yet again and spread my flaming wings, preparing to take to the skies to either defend or attack when I saw the cargo bay door begin to open.
There was a flurry of movement as a flash of bright yellow paintwork that reminded me of the sun came into view. A robust black figure, like a walking tank, was soon accompanied by a larger, dark green portly figure hefting a machine gun and puffing on a metallic cigar. My spark filled with joy at the sight of my very dear and familiar friends as Hound, Ironhide and Bumblee come into sight.
Almost immediately the thought flashed through my processor, /OPTIMUS! He is likely aboard that ship!/. A split second later the sheer joy and elation I was feeling was swiftly extinguished at the sight of a certain pink and white femme who, along with some unknown humans, began to carefully make her way down the ramp as they attempted to reach - /JOYCE!/.
I gave a tremendous screech of annoyance at myself for having been so absorbed in maintaining a visual on Attinger, Savoy and Galvatron, that I allowed my primary quarry to evade my detection. At the sound of my angry and frustrated scream, Joyce, who had been trying to hand over 'The Seed'', faltered and the Seed slipped out of another human's grasp.
In the same moment, before I could do anything to warn them, two missiles snaked their way through the air and detonated in the rear of the ship. I gasped in horror and fear as the ship shuddered and lurched and the humans on board, Hound, Bumblee, Jazz, Arcee, Ironhide and Elita – all tumbled out onto the rooftop below.
/NO!/. I screeched again, this time in anger at myself for having distracted them at such a crucial time. I transformed and drew my energon blade preparing to leap to their aid when suddenly, I became frozen to the spot. My arm outstretched, straining to reach something that had been out of my grasp, unattainable, for over five years now.
For a moment in time, all thoughts leave my processor, all things cease to matter - save one. There, suspended above me, his bright azure optics fixed firmly on me, his servos pressed desperately against the glass window of the cockpit, the only barrier between us, stood the other half of my spark.
/OPTIMUS!/.
Before I could even say his name out loud, I watched in pain and torment as he was cruelly torn from my sight as the ship continued to spin out of control. Black smoke spewed from the damaged hull as it crashed towards the mountains, ploughing through the trees. I slowly sank to my knees in disbelief as I watched the flaming, groaning wreck disappear over the other side of the mountain.
The sight of those azure optics of his, his servos reaching for me through the glass, flashed through my processor again, haunting me and I felt paralysed as I stared at the trail of ruin left in the ship's wake. /No…no… no…/. I felt myself beginning to lose control as I knelt there feeling numb. /He was right THERE! I saw him/.
The sound of machine gun fire, explosions tearing apart concrete and the screams of terrified people snapped me out of my daze. Tearing my optics away from the deep gouge in the mountain side left by Prime's ship, I focused on the group of humans, Joyce among them, as they struggled to avoid being shot or blown up.
For a moment I am torn as I look between the drama unfolding on the rooftop and the smokey trail of ruin. My spark cries out for me to take to the skies and follow that trail in hope that it will lead me to him, but my processor beats its plaintive cries into submission. /You must help the humans. You MUST get the Seed. You MUST stop Savoy and Attinger. Stay the course!/.
I close my optics and feel a white-hot flash of anger and irritation sweep over me as I deny my own needs and wants, putting others before myself – just like a Prime should. /Just like Optimus would/. I feel some of the anger dissipate as I think back to all the times I watched, both as OC and then as Phoenix, as Optimus would sacrifice his own happiness and well-being for the greater good.
I open my optics, give a loud ''sigh'' of bitter resignation and slowly stand to my pedes. With a great deal of effort, I turn my back on the path that leads to Optimus. My chest rises and falls slowly as I cycle air through my intakes deeply. My servos retract and my energon blade and sai slide down with a loud metallic clank as my battle mask clamps into place.
As I approach the edge of the building, my optics scan the rooftops rapidly, trying to locate Joyce, ''The Seed'' and the other humans. Though I hear Hound shout to Bee to ''take the shot!'' and watch as Bumblebee leaps from one rooftop to another firing into the streets below, assisting the Autobots at the moment is of secondary importance. /They are more than capable of holding their own – at least for now/.
''HEY! You want me!'' the dark-haired older man that had been with the Autobots screams across the rooftops to a grey-haired man in a black coat. A man whose face holds a familiar malicious and hate-filled look as he repeatedly fires upon his target.
/SAVOY!/. Every cable and wire, every gear and piston in my body goes taught with a deep-seated rage. I begin to stalk along the edge of the rooftop breaking into a run, gaining momentum as I prepare to leap across to the other building and circle around to take that piece of shit by surprise. Retracting my weapons at the last second. I leap.
/He may want YOU but he's gonna get ME!/ I think to myself with some satisfaction as I fly through the air and land on the rooftop of the adjacent building. Rolling as I connect with the ground; I spring to my pedes in one fluid movement and continue to circle around, making my final leap onto the rooftop of the same building. Stalking as quietly as possible for a 24-foot-tall transformer, I edge towards the sound of yelling, grunting and shattering glass as it drifts up from a few floors down.
''That's a LONG way down,'' a threatening voice laced with evil satisfaction floated up to my audials as I crouched above, taking in the scene below. I could have reached down, grabbed the despicable shit, hauled him up to me and then flung him off the building, but for a split second I was filled with doubt and not a little shame. /You are a PRIME! Such vengeful, violent thoughts should not be entertained by you. Where is your sense of control, your sense of morality?/. I felt my battle mask retract and I crouched there, frozen in indecision.
The sound of banging snapped me out of my inaction as I watched Savoy try to dislodge an air conditioning unit above the Autobot's human ally. I took in the sight of the man Savoy was clearly trying to kill. His face showed fear and disbelief as he hung helplessly from another unit he had scrambled to grab hold of. ''You gotta be kidding me!'' he muttered as he stared up at his attacker. I recalled a young woman on the ramp of that ship with him. /His daughter? He is trying to protect his daughter – his family!/.
In that moment, as the air conditioner unit was wrenched from the wall and plummeted towards this man, I knew what I had to do. As the man fell heavily upon a clothesline below and Savoy leaped down after him, intent on ending his life, I had made my decision.
''I'm coming for you!'' I heard Savoy yell determinedly towards the man as he stood precariously on the edge of the building.
Placing one servo on the rooftop edge in a kind of handstand, I flipped out and over the side of the building, coming to land right in front of him in a shower of glass and concrete. My pedes dug into the walls below me, supporting me, and I punched one servo into a wall as I clung to the side of the building. My other servo hovered near the piece of shit in a clenched fist. ''NO! I'M COMING FOR YOU!'' I growled at him, my optics narrowed dangerously, and my dermas curled back in a snarl.
Savoy had cowered back against the wall his arms raised over his face for a moment as he sought to protect himself. Slowly, he removed his arms and focused on me. His own eyes, initially wide with shock, now narrowed in a reflection of my own disdain and anger. Realisation sunk in as to who it was who addressed him. His own lips twisted in a taunting sneer, ''Well, what do we have here?'' He cast his eyes about as if searching. ''Optimus Prime and that pussy Lennox don't appear to be here to protect you this time do they – OC - you fucking freak.'' He spat out as his smile sent a cold feeling shuddering over my frame.
At the mention of Prime's name to me, I noticed out of the corner of my optic, the man Savoy had been chasing flinched and a look of dawning comprehension flashed across his features. ''Hey! Dipshit! Leave her alone, it's me you want!'' The same man bravely, but somewhat foolishly, tried to intervene though I ignored him.
I felt a small, wry laugh shake my frame as I slammed my curled fist into the wall on the other side of Savoy's body. He flinched and took a step back as shards of glass and concrete fell to the street below, though his eyes never left mine. I leaned in towards him, my voice low and threatening. ''Do I LOOK like I need protecting from the likes of YOU?'' My face lost all emotion as I spoke once again. ''I was not scared of you then Savoy and I sure as shit am not scared of you now, piece of shit that you are.'' At my words I noted his breathing shallowed, his pulse rate picked up and the adrenaline coursing through his body was off the charts. /Fight or flight/.
He stood forward away from the wall, fixed me with his best attempt at an intimidating stare, his eyes filled with utter hatred and contempt. ''I had hoped our paths would cross again one day; you see I made a promise that day…'' In one swift movement Savoy reached for his back pocket and withdrew a concealed gun.
In the same moment, my left servo snaked out, grabbed hold of him and threw him off the building. The look of shock on his face and the sound of his scream brought both a strange and unsettling feeling of satisfaction in one spark beat, and a feeling of shame in another.
I spared a quick glance at the ground below. ''I made a promise too Savoy. Difference is, I kept mine – arsehole!''
Having temporarily forgotten about the man who had tried to help me, I turned my helm back towards him. He was staring at me in a mixture of shock and appreciation. I raised a servo in supplication to reassure him I meant no harm. ''I am sorry you had to see that. We had – some unfinished business.'' I shuttered my optics. ''I mean YOU no harm. What is your name?''
The man stared at me for a spark beat further before he seemed to register that I had addressed him. ''Ahh yeah sure. My name is Cade Yeager.'' A small knowing smile spread across his lips and he gave a chuckle. ''And YOU must be Phoenix.''