It had been a couple of weeks since Paige had last seen the Autobots. She couldn't remember the exact order of the episodes, but she knew that Wheeljack and Airachnid would make an appearance soon and that Megatron would return. She didn't have a way to contact the base so she couldn't warn them about any of it. She wasn't sure she should interfere anyway considering the final outcome of the series. She also still hadn't received her white board and markers, but figured that since she hadn't seen anyone it was pointless anyway as there was no one to talk to. She was acutely aware that she was shrinking, but it wasn't at that fast a rate. Her bag still fit snuggly across the mouth of the cave, but she noticed that it now took her a little longer to reach the ocean. She had maybe two weeks of food left before she became desperate. When that happened, she would have to leave the area and start looking for food. She could only wish that she had a way to contact Fowler, but no matter how great the need for food, she wouldn't allow herself to go to the Autobot's base. That would immediately compromise their position and there was no way she'd voluntarily put them in danger.
xxxxxx
"And it was written in the covenant of Prime, that when the 47 spheres aligned, a perpetual conflict will culminate on a world forged from chaos and the weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness," read Optimus.
"No sky raining fire?" asked Arcee.
"Goes without saying, it is a doom prophecy," said Ratchet.
"Sounds like a load of hooey," interjected Bulkhead.
"I always assumed that the ancients were referring to our home planet, but being that Cybertron's been dark for eons," said Ratchet.
"And considering what has befallen this planet since Megatron's arrival here," said Optimus.
"We've known about these superstitions for ages and never given them a second thought," said Cliffjumper.
"Why now?" added Bulkhead.
"Because the planetary alignment to which the prophecy refers is nearly upon us and it would seem its end point is Earth," said Optimus.
"How long we talking?" asked Arcee.
"A few days at most," replied Ratchet.
"However unsettling, I'm more concerned about those who might believe that the prophecy speaks to them alone," said Optimus.
xxxxxx
Paige was out far earlier than normal. Darkness had not yet fallen and she was headed back from collecting fresh water. She enjoyed the feeling of the warmth from the setting sun on her skin. Overhead she heard the sound of a jet and looked up to see the familiar alien form of Megatron in the distance. She grimaced and moved closer to the plateaus, but he hadn't seen her yet for he was focused on something on the nearby road. Her eyes scanned the road when she caught sight of a familiar yellow car. Oh no you don't, thought Paige starting to run.
Ratchet had just commed Bumblebee for backup.
"It's okay Bee," said Raf holding his remote control car. "We can race some other time."
Megatron's jet form roared above and he began to fire. Bumblebee swerved trying to avoid the shots. Megatron fired again, but the shots were intercepted by a large metal water bottle. The resulting surge rippled over the bottle zapping the hand that held it. Paige yelped, dropping the bottle, but catching it with her other hand. Her left hand had the sensation of pins and needles and it immediately started to ache. Megatron growled in anger. This giant fleshy had gotten in his way once again. He fired off a few more shots, which Paige barely managed to avoid and flew off. He had more important business to attend to.
Paige glanced at Bumblebee who had transformed with Raf in his hands. Raf was unconscious. Paige hissed in exasperation. A shot must have gotten through. Sorry buddy, I tried, she thought. She went to her knees and carefully picked them up so they were level with her face. In a soft quiet voice she said, "Tell Ratchet that only regular energon can counteract dark energon, but watch the dose because energon is toxic to humans. Understand?"
Bumblebee beeped.
"Hold on," said Paige cradling them. She used her injured hand to block the wind as she began to run in the direction Megatron had gone. They soon arrived at the military base where the Autobots were fighting off the Decepticons. She carefully set Bumblebee down and he went to join the others. She purposely stepped on a few of the Cons that looked like they might get back up. The groundbridge opened behind the Autobots and all but Bulkhead and Optimus went through. The Nemesis arrived hovering over Megatron and Paige wandered closer purposely- distracting Megatron from the Autobots for a moment. When he turned back, the groundbridge portal had closed and the Autobots had retreated or so he thought. Paige retreated quickly as Megatron returned to his ship. She could see Optimus and Bulkhead clinging to the side of the Nemesis and she knew what came next. She turned and headed away from the base cradling her left hand with her right. Three of the five fingers on her left hand were numb and unresponsive. She was sincerely hoping that she could fight off the effects of the small amount of dark energon that she'd absorbed because she wasn't small enough to fit in the Autobot's base for treatment. She was depressed that she'd gotten the injury while still failing to protect Raf. If she could have saved him, then at least it would have been worth it. She was nearly to the cave when a wave of nausea hit her. She threw up twice, but there was nothing in her stomach but water right now. Shakily she wiped the sweat that had formed on her brow and sat down for a while to regain some strength. Tonight was going to be a long night.
xxxxxx
June Darby was driving Raf home after he'd recovered from the dark energon exposure.
"1, 1000, 2, 1000," said Raf.
"Are you okay back there?" asked June glancing in the rearview mirror.
"I saw lightning. I'm counting until." Suddenly thunder rumbled cutting him off.
"Looks like a storm," said June. "My garden will love it."
Suddenly lightning struck the road in front of them and June swerved trying to avoid it and stay on the road. She came to a stop breathing heavily. "Raf, are you okay?" asked June.
"I'm okay," he replied.
Up ahead, June could see a massive tornado in the distance. She quickly turned the car in the opposite direction, but the pull of the vortex was too strong. To her horror the car started to lift when suddenly Bumblebee appeared and grabbed the car as it went airborne. The pull was still too great and he gripped a nearby power pole for leverage. He beeped a messaged.
"He wants us to get into his hand," said Raf climbing out the window. June followed suit.
The power pole Bumblebee was gripping was suddenly sucked up by the tornado. Bumblebee started to get dragged forward with the car. Suddenly a hand gripped him around his waist anchoring him. Bumblebee didn't have to turn around to see who it was. He had Raf secured, but June was still on the hood when the rest of the car ripped free. Bumblebee and Raf thought they had lost her for a moment until she appeared gripping on the underside of the hood. Once he had a hold of her, Bumblebee transformed letting them inside while Paige knelt to block the wind. Bumblebee noticed that Paige's hair whipped wildly around her pale face and she was cradling her left arm close to her chest. She quickly picked his vehicle form up and moved them further away from the tornado. After placing them back on the ground, she nodded her head for them to take off.
"Thank you," said June to Bumblebee and he beeped in reply.
"He says you're welcome," said Raf.
"Bee, who was that?" asked Raf looking out the back window at the giant disappearing into the storm.
Bumblebee beeped his reply.
"A friend. She's human and her name is Paige," Raf repeated for the benefit of June.
"She's human," said June. "How can that be?"
Raf just shrugged.
xxxxxx
The wind felt good to Paige as she headed toward the ocean. With the weather as bad as it was no one would be out to see her. She had a high fever. It was her bodies way of fighting off the dark energon in her system and she knew that going into the cold ocean water might be a good way to lower it. She knew she had no place in the fight against Unicron. Only Optimus and the Matrix could take him down with unfortunately the assistance of Megatron. It wasn't ideal for her to be out right now. With her height, she was risking becoming a lightning rod, but she didn't want to remain in the cave in case Unicron tried to get rid of the parasites that lived on what he considered his planet. Paige was nearing the ocean when she heard rumbling from the nearby ground. Up out of the ground rose an avatar of Unicron. Why, she thought and then she glanced at her numb hand. She realized with a sickening feeling that he might be able to sense her because of the dark energon she was contaminated with. The avatar was only half her size so Paige brought it down quickly with a kick. "I may have been born from chaos, but it was not your chaos," she yelled. "Go back to the pit you came from!"
Several more avatars formed and they were bigger than the last. Lethal looking pike weapons were in their hands. Paige glanced around quickly spotting a shipping container yard. She started to run. She was definitely in need of a weapon.
Hours later the last of the avatars crumbled. Broken shipping containers lay scattered on the ground and Paige sat down sighing in relief. Optimus must have come through. She had avoided any severe injuries, but she had a few small cuts and a ton of bruises. The cartoon had made it look effortless, but she had to remember that the Autobots were made of metal and covered in armor even if they were smaller. Even the avatar that had been bigger than her had been relatively easy to beat. She was faster and more flexible so throwing it off balance wasn't hard. What was hard was trying to break a being made of earth and stone. That had resulted in most of her injuries. Paige sighed in exhaustion. She still felt sick and man did she hate Unicron right now. He was the singular cause of all her current problems. She pushed herself to her feet and retrieved her dented water bottle. At least it wasn't broken and it had come in handy again. She looked toward the ocean. First she needed a bath and then she'd have to face the long hike back to the cave. She felt fleeting sympathy for what the Autobots were enduring now, but her own worries overshadowed it. She swore as she waded into the water her cuts burning from the salt.
xxxxxx
Back with the Autobots, Jack restored Optimus' memories and Optimus returned to his rightful place as leader. In all the commotion Paige's presence was forgotten.
