Hey, guys. I wanted to get this thing up in February but baby season for our farm starts to hit end of February and end of March, so February is fairly busy with preparations for the babies and I didn't always have the time to write that I wanted and thought I could get. But it's here now, right? I hope you enjoy.
"I'll fight! Fight! Fight or be taken out alive. Fight! Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide! Standing on the edge, am I better off dead? How could I forget that I'm better than this? I've come too far to fade tonight! Fight, or be taken out alive…." Icon for Hire; Fight
31
Pugna
(Fight)
"You know what they say, my love: If you keep your face in a certain position it's liable to stay that way."
Luna suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and took full notice of her reflection in the mirror before her. She was sat at her vanity, brushing her dark, red-brown locks to a smooth sheen as she always did before bed, but—unlike usual—her thoughts had been elsewhere as opposed to mentally counting down the strokes, and her face clearly showed it. The expression looking back out at her was a harsh, contemplative scowl and it most certainly didn't look fitting upon her face. The witch softened her expression. It may have been her imagination, but even then Luna swore she could see the very faint beginnings of wrinkles around her brows and mouth and eyes. She sighed heavily. This whole experience would leave her looking her true age if she wasn't careful.
Putting down her brush, Luna turned away from her mirror and gazed fondly over at her husband. "Would you love me any less if it did?" she teased.
Stretched out in their bed, arms folded beneath his head, Ray laughed. "Ha! You couldn't make me stop lovin' you the tiniest if you hit me with the world's strongest anti-love potion, Moonbeam!" he declared.
"Well, that's because you would have to drink or smell it, Dear," Luna remarked with a smirk. "Hitting you with one would be completely ineffective."
Ray laughed raucously again. "You always were a sassy one, Moonbeam," he stated, sitting up and looking at his wife.
"Hmm, yes," Luna agreed. She stood and made her way towards the bed, removing her dressing gown and laying it across a chair as she went. "And, most unfortunately, I seem to have passed it along to our granddaughter." The woman was pulling back the covers at her side of the bed now. Kicking off her slippers, she scooted in under the silken sheets and laid back against her pillows with a heavy sigh.
For a long time Luna laid there in silence, her mind once again on the situation—and more importantly, the girl—at hand. Yes, it was most definitely true that Hunter had inherited her sharp tongue. And her resolve. That was the problem.
"Ah-ah, the frown's back," Ray remarked. He scooted close to his mate, leaned in, and kissed her cheek before murmuring into her ear, "What's the problem, Moonbeam?" His voice was both soothing and concerned.
"I believe you already know," Luna muttered.
"Maybe I do," Ray purred, kissing the woman's neck, "and maybe I don't. Why don't you enlighten me?"
It spoke to Luna's distress that her husband's kisses did nothing to lift her from the funk she was in as they were always successful to do. "I've come to believe I've made a severe miscalculation," Luna admitted after a moment.
"Now, I'm sure that isn't true," Ray replied, pulling back to meet his wife face to face.
Luna smiled at him. "Believe me, Darling, one of these days even you will have to admit that even I am not perfect—near to it as I am—and am capable of making mistakes on occasion."
Ray smiled adoringly at her. "Never." He kissed her on the lips before pulling away and laying down on his side of the bed.
"The fact is, Ray," Luna continued, "I have made a mistake in underestimating our granddaughter. When I had Huntress brought back to us, I expected her to ascend to the Primus-state in order to free herself. She hasn't done so—not once. She's made two nearly successful escape attempts and hasn't utilized the Primus-state once in doing so."
"And?"
"And that means one of two things: either Huntress can't achieve the Primus-state of her own accord and it must be triggered; or she's perfectly capable but will only do so as a last resort. Either way we're going to have to find a way to force the girl's hand if we want this to work."
Ray looked at Luna once more. "… You're sure she's the only thing that can power it?" he asked softly. He was genuinely concerned—he hadn't seen Luna this worried since their attempted coup had been thwarted all those years ago. The man didn't like to see his mate upset and if there was the slightest chance some of her stress could be alleviated he would encourage her to take that route. Control over the Hybrid wasn't worth those creases on her face of the uncertainty in her eyes.
Luna sighed heavily. "The machine takes an unbelievable amount of cosmic power to function, Ray," she explained. "Huntress' Primus-state connects her to every bit of cosmic energy that exists in the universe—it flows through her then and only then. She is the only way we can guarantee having all the power we need when we need it."
"Doesn't do much good if she can't or won't get to that point," Ray muttered, folding his arms beneath his head again.
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Luna assured him, scooting to lay down for the night. "Huntress she is going to ascend to the Primus-state at my bidding, whether she can or wants to or not."
All at once with that proclamation the mansion shook violently and a number of charms and wards that warned against intruders sent up a caterwauling that could easily have woken the long dead.
Immediately Luna and Ray were flying from their bed towards one of their large windows. The moon gave off enough light that they could see the figures of hundreds of people rushing over the border of the estate towards the mansion. And above in the sky they could make out the silhouettes of aircraft. Lasers were already starting to fly, as well as numerous power trails.
"They finally found us," Luna stated, voice even but very dark and dangerous.
Ray looked at her. "The Council?"
Luna nodded. "And the Prime."
She was dreaming. She had to be dreaming! Or at least she was caught up in another one of Luna's traps and being tricked that he was there again. And yet her logic and instincts and common sense told her that she wasn't dreaming—that he was indeed here. Her sight and hearing and smell and touch all told her that he was indeed here, holding her, talking to her, kissing her. Best of all, her spark-link told her that—not only was he here—they were properly connected again for good and all! She knew that couldn't be a figment of some magical trick of Luna's; sorcery wouldn't be able to make her feel something so strong and pure as that love and joy and relief that was flowing into her spark right now, that had been flowing into her spark since the moment he'd touched her again after so long apart.
Optimus was here! Her spark-father was really and truly here!
Her whole world was him. Her whole universe was him. Hunter couldn't see, hear, smell, feel or think of anything but Optimus, and that was fine with her because he was all she wanted and needed. She monsooned him with kisses—kisses that he gladly returned. She didn't just hold on to him—she completely wrapped constrictor-like around him, refusing to ever let go. Nothing would ever make her let go; she would force herself to meld into his holoform before she let go of him again. "Daddy! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"
"I'm here, Hunter," Optimus assured her, embracing her in his own python-like grip. "I'm here, My Shooting Star—I have you. Daddy's here—Daddy has you. Oh, thank Primus!" Hunter was safe! She was safe and he was holding her again! Primus and every other deity that may or may not have existed be forever praised! His spark was hotly blazing not just with his love for her and his joy at finding her again, but with her love and joy as well as their spark-link flowed stronger than ever before. Honestly it was almost painful: The Prime felt he might burn up with the sensation or that his chest might implode, but he didn't care. It was the best pain he had ever felt and he would gladly experience it forever if it meant that he and his beloved Hunter would never be cut off from each other again.
Hunter pulled away from the Prime just enough to meet him face-to-face. "H-how?" she squeaked, reaching up to wipe at her wet eyes before holding his face in her hands. A part of her still couldn't quite believe that this was happening—that he was really there. "H-how did you find me?"
Optimus chuckled wearily, gazing with all the adoration in the world up into those beautiful sapphire eyes he loved with all his spark. "Endless searching," he answered, reaching up to brush a tangled lock from her face, "and with more help from everyone that we know than I will ever be able to repay." He kissed and nuzzled the teen's wet, tear-stained cheek. "I will explain more later—right now let us go home."
That instantly brought a new wave of tears flooding into Hunter's excessively wet eyes. Her face split in a grin so large it was an ugly grimace and she sobbed as she buried her face back into her spark-father's holoform's neck. Home! She was finally going home! That sounded more wonderful than anything had ever sounded!
"If we wanna get going, we better go now," Arcee broke in, coming to stand beside the pair. "The longer we stay here the more chance we have of more lackeys showing up."
"And the worse chance Hunter has of gettin' back through the bridge without trouble," Bulkhead added.
"Yes," Optimus stated, becoming all business and Prime-like again even as he continued to hold his little girl as though she were the most precious thing in the universe. "We must move. Ally, prepare to apparate again."
"Yes, sir!" Ally replied. She reached out and took hold of the hand Optimus just dared to take off Hunter then reached with the other for Bumblebee.
Bumblebee quickly snatched up her hand and reached out for Bulkhead who reached out for Arcee who—most unfortunately—was the one who had to take a hold of Starscream's holoform (though she grabbed his neck and dug her holoform nails roughly into the back of it as opposed to taking his hand). In a matter of seconds they were all linked up.
"Is everybody ready?" Ally called out. Once she received affirming answers from everyone, the girl once again summoned up her magic and apparated out.
Again they were spiraling through the air before they were slamming back into a stationary world. Unlike their first reapparation entrance, this one was much rougher and they all went tumbling down hard, stone steps.
"Sorry!" Ally panted from where she had crumpled to the stone. "My magic… I'm not used to having to, like… channel it through this many bodies in one go lots of times. And my nerves don't really help."
"It's all right, Ally," Optimus assured her with a groan. He was starting to sit up at the bottom of the stairs, having fallen the farthest of everyone. "You have done your best."
"No more magical teleportation!" Starscream pathetically begged from where he lay. He didn't even attempt to rise. "Please, no more magical teleportation! I can't take much more!"
"Ya know," Bulkhead panted from where he was slowly rolling up to sit on a step, "no offense or nothin', Ally, but I-I'd be okay with not havin' to do that again, too. There's only so much of that my nerves can take—my whole body feels like it's janglin'."
"I second that," Arcee agreed. She was trying to rise to her holoform feet, but was making slow progress of it as she kept falling back down to sit on her step.
"Ugh… as if the world wasn't spinning outta control before…" Hunter moaned. She tried to get up but quickly sank back down on her side to the step she'd landed on, holding both her cranium and middle. "Ooohhhh, my head! My stomach! I'd puke if I had anything in there!" As if to prove her point, the sixteen-year-old's stomach lurched violently and she dry-heaved before lying motionless on the stone. She let go a sustained groan of misery. "Ugh, I never wanna be put under and the have to apparate again…."
All at once a soothing wave of comfort came washing in to Hunter's spark, causing the pain and discomfort to dull a good deal. A similar physical warmth enveloped her soon after and a massive hand touched her shoulder, gently shifting her over onto her back. Hunter opened her eyes and blearily looked up to see her spark-father's compassionate, sky-blue holoform eyes gazing down at her as he braced himself protectively over her while he rode out the glitching side-effects of the apparation. Between those eyes and the comfort flowing through their bond and the feeling of his touch again, the redhead found herself feeling a good deal less miserable.
Mouth curling into a slight smile, Hunter reached an arm up to grab the Prime's shoulder and used him as leverage to help pull herself up. "Dad…" she murmured, wrapping her other arm around his neck and embracing him again.
"I've got you, Sweet-spark" Optimus purred back, hugging the girl to him. He slowly rose to his feet, cradling her to his chest. "I've got you." The Autobot kissed the Hybrid's forehead.
Hunter closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. She sighed heavily, finally allowing herself to relax a bit as she felt safer and more comfortable in that moment than she had in ages. Still in Egypt yet or not, still near the Lunar Estate and the cult and her grandmother yet or not, Optimus was here. Her Dad was here—and there could be no safer place anywhere in the universe than with him.
"Uh… guys?" Bulkhead's voice suddenly drew everyone's attention. He was standing now—much like everyone else was (save Starscream)—and was rubbing at his head. "This doesn't look like where we need to be."
"Ya think?" Arcee replied, looking around them in annoyance. She motioned to the large set of doors at the top of the stairs they were currently on. "Looks like we're on the very doorstep of this place."
"Oh, no!"
The sudden exclamation caused everyone to look at Ally, who was now on her feet as well, being braced by Bumblebee as she tried to get her breath and strength back.
"Luna's already put up a barrier around the mansion," the seventeen-year-old ginger quickly explained. "That's why we reapparated here instead of where we were supposed to—or at least close to where we were supposed to: the barrier prevents anyone from teleporting in or out of the immediate vicinity of the manor."
"Are you saying we're trapped here?" Starscream demanded, looking panicky.
"Yes, you could say that you are," an unexpected female voice rang out around them, echoing like thunder. "And yet, you could say that you are not."
Ally quivered and yelped in fear, grabbing on tightly to 'Bee. Everyone looked at her in alarm.
"What is it?" Starscream asked suspiciously.
"Ally?" Optimus called to her. "Ally, what is it?"
"Sh-She knows!" Ally trembled, burying her face in Bee's shoulder. "She's coming!"
"Who's coming?" Bulkhead asked.
"Luna," Hunter rasped. Her voice was weary, but the hatred laced in her tone was unmistakable.
Optimus all but completely crushed Hunter to his chest at the mention of that name. He snarled up the stairs towards the mansion. So, he was about to meet the woman that had taken his daughter from him; the witch that had violently inserted herself into their lives and smashed every little bit of happiness they'd managed to create together. Well, then, for her sake she had better remain out of his sight, because the way he was feeling—it didn't matter that she was a great Hybrid sorceress and he a Purebred—he would tear the glitch limb from limb!
"You've taken something from me," the voice that they now knew to be Luna's returned. Once again the tone was silvery and mellifluous, but there was an underlying threat in it that kept it from being enchanting—a biting frigidity. However, despite her voice being everywhere around them, the witch had yet to show herself.
"Taken somethin' back you mean!" Bulkhead bellowed out, raising a fist at the mansion.
"Do not tell me what I mean, you stupid fool," Luna's voice echoed bitingly.
"Who you callin' "stupid", lady?!" Bulkhead shot back.
"Bulkhead!" Arcee snapped at him. "Back-talking an all-powerful Hybrid witch might not be the best idea right now."
"Listen to your friend, Bulkhead," Luna's voice responded. "I assure you I am very much the last person you want to anger, especially since you have already greatly annoyed me."
"I ain't afraid-a you," Bulkhead rumbled.
"Be silent," Luna hissed.
Bulkhead opened his mouth to retort yet again, but this time no words came out. In fact no noise came out. Bulkhead's holoform eyes bugged out wide and he grabbed at his throat and pressed his lips firmly together. Everyone else stared at him in shock.
"That's it," Starscream quipped nervously. "I did not sign up for this part. Good-bye, Autobots—I'll leave it to you now." And like that his holoform was gone.
"As I said," Luna's voice rang out again, sounding louder and colder and more threatening than ever, "you have taken something from me, Optimus Prime."
"Don't you say his name," Hunter growled, scowling towards the mansion. She tightened her grip on her spark-father.
"I could say the same of you, Luna," Optimus fired back at the witch, wherever she may have been.
"I only took back what was mine," the woman assured him.
"I. Am not. Yours," Hunter hissed out with as much vim and vigor as she could muster in her state.
"Really, Huntress, must you always be so difficult?" Luna sighed, sounding utterly exasperated. "Am I never to be free of your deplorable manners?"
"Take it and shove it, ya miserable old hag."
"You would do well to stand down, Luna," Optimus broke back into the conversation. "I came here to retrieve Hunter, and I have no intentions of leaving here without her."
"Well, I have to say that is quite unfortunate, Prime, for I have no intentions of allowing you to take Huntress anywhere; and seeing as how she is rightfully my granddaughter, I have every right to take affirmative action against you and those that would stand with you in order to prevent such a thing from happening."
"I am more than ready and willing to decimate your forces should you stand in my way," Optimus snarled.
Luna chuckled. "How quaint. That would be very amusing to watch but rather unnecessary, for, as I've stated, nobody other than I will be taking Huntress anywhere—least of all you, Optimus Prime."
Optimus chest rumbled in a thunderous growl as he hugged the teenager in his arms ever more protectively. If this witch thought she had an easy battle ahead of her in taking Hunter back, she had another thing coming. The Prime was not about to let go of his spark-daughter again for anything! Luna would have to snuff him before he let Hunter go, and even then he still wouldn't! And from the way she was latched around him, it seemed like Hunter was having the exact same ideas. "Watch me."
"I appreciate the bond you have with my granddaughter as well as the affection you have for her, Optimus Prime," Luna declared. Her voice sounded darker and angrier with every exchange, and there was a great sense of foreboding tension in the very air. "And in many ways I am very grateful to you for the care you have given to Huntress—it is quite clear she has gained much strength and confidence from you, and she will need both in spades to accomplish what I have planned for her. But the fact remains: Huntress is my granddaughter—she is of my blood—and you have no legal or even biological right to her whatsoever."
"Hunter may be of your blood," Optimus conceded, "but she is of my spark. It was my spark that ignited hers; my spark that is eternally bonded to hers; my spark soars when she soars, aches when she aches. Hunter is my daughter far more than she is your granddaughter—biology be damned!"
"A most touching sentiment," Luna acknowledged. "I am unaware how matters of this nature were handled on Cybertron, my dear Prime, but—unfortunately for you—here on Earth, blood reigns supreme: Huntress is my granddaughter, and therefore my right to her supersedes yours, however close you may be."
"Hunter has chosen me as her guardian!" Optimus protested. "She has chosen my team as her family!"
"That is of no concern to me. Now, you will surrender the Fuser into my care and leave in peace, or you will suffer the wrath that is Luna Eventide James—Mistress of the Lunation."
Optimus and Hunter held each other tighter as the rest of Team Prime, plus Ally (though she didn't seem quite as unmoving as the rest of them), moved in around them. Soon they were all standing as a determinedly united front on the steps of the mansion.
"If you want her, Luna-" Optimus began.
"-Come and claim me," Hunter finished.
There was a moment of tense silence. And then—
"Fine. Have it your way."
The massive doors of the mansion before them suddenly exploded outward with a bone-quivering BANG! and a gust of wind that had the strength of both a tornado and a hurricane blasted out of the mansion. It slammed the little group with such force that it blew them off the stairs and bashed them down into the stone courtyard at the bottom of the steps.
Her headache from early starting to creep back in, Hunter groaned and pushed herself up off her face. She squinted around. Everyone was scattered around the courtyard and the 'bots' holoforms were beginning to glitch a little. The strain of everything was draining the holoforms of the energy they needed to remain functional.
Hearing a moan, Hunter looked to her left to see Optimus starting to rise just a bit over an arm's length away from her. "Dad!" she wheezed, reaching out towards him.
The Prime looked at her and reached as well. He grabbed her hand and held it in a crushing grip. He'd promised he wasn't going to let her go, and Optimus Prime always kept his promises.
That's when things got worse.
All at once the wind, without lessening in intensity, was blowing back towards the mansion, as though it was being sucked back into the doors. The air wasn't the only thing being sucked back: much to the team's horror, they all found themselves slowly being pulled along back towards the mansion from the suction as well. Everyone hunkered down as best they could, trying to work fingers and feet into the cracks, crevices, and edges of the cobblestones beneath them for grip.
With great difficulty, Hunter crabbed-crawled in her spark-father's direction as he pulled her along by the hand towards him. "She's trying to suck me back in!" the teen yelled over the screech of the wind. It was an effort to get the words out—the wind seemed to snatch her breath away the moment she opened her mouth.
"She can try all she likes!" Optimus bellowed back, "she won't succeed!"
"She wants me!"
"Well, that is simply too bad for her because I want you too! And I'd say I want you a good deal more than she does!"
Once she was beside him, Optimus shoved his daughter down to the ground and lay down atop her, protecting and anchoring her down with his own holoform body. Just stay down and hold on, Hunter," he ordered, murmuring right into her ear. "Hold on, Sparkling."
Hunter didn't need to be told twice. She quickly found a couple good crevices with her toes to brace against and a couple more to get her fingers around. Then she squeezed her eyes tight shut and hugged the ground, gripping the stones like her very life depended upon it. She was not going back into that mansion. She was not going back into that mansion!
With Hunter secured beneath him, Optimus just dared to look up a squint around the courtyard to see where everyone else was. Bumblebee and Ally weren't too far away—just a bit on ahead of them. They were in much the same position as he and Hunter were; Bumblebee half-draped over the top of Ally hanging on for dear life, and Ally beneath him, gripping the hilt of her dagger with both hands as she jammed it down into a crack in the stone as far as it would go. Bulkhead and Arcee were across the way from them. Arcee had managed to get behind the statue of a sphinx and was currently trying to help Bulkhead get behind it as well. Both of their holoforms were flickering and glitching like mad from the strain. As it was, so was Bumblebee's. Even Optimus' was starting to waver a bit.
Optimus silently cursed as he hunkered down over Hunter. They weren't going to be able to go on like this for much longer—they needed to bring this to an end now! But how? The simplest solution would be to deactivate the holoforms of course, but that was not an option. Hunter needed him with her here and now. He wasn't about to leave her!
"We're all gonna be Hoovered up if we don't get outta here!" Hunter shouted. She was starting to struggle with keeping hold of her hand and foot holds, and she could see that her father was too.
"The barrier!" Ally shrieked above the wind. "We need to go through the barrier!"
Optimus' gaze drifted ahead to the other side of the courtyard where the perimeter of the mansion lay. From where he and Hunter lay, it was about twenty- twenty-five yards away. That was a long way to go, crawling and fighting the whole way while being low on energy. But he would do it. He had to do it—for Hunter.
Of course that didn't mean everyone else had to fight that battle as well. He was forced to stay, and he had a strong suspicion Bumblebee would stay as well for Ally. But Arcee and Bulkhead—they could easily escape.
"Arcee! Bulkhead!" the Prime bellowed. "Deactivate your holoforms! There is no sense in the two of you remaining here!"
"You're not serious!" Bulkhead shouted back. He was now safely behind the statue with Arcee.
"We're not leaving you!" Arcee declared at the same time.
"That was not a suggestion!" Optimus roared. "The two of you go! Someone must inform Ratchet that we are on the way and make sure that the way to the ground-bridge is clear! Your holoforms' energies are almost gone already—go!"
Bulkhead and Arcee remained where they were, looking extremely unsure and uncomfortable.
"I gave you an order! Go! Now!"
Arcee and Bulkhead hesitated before exchanging a look. Then they turned back to their commander and grimly nodded before disappearing.
Optimus sighed. Well, that was two less people he had to worry about being in this predicament. The Prime lowered his gaze and found himself locking eyes with first Bumblebee and Ally as they looked at him in anticipation.
"Dad?"
Optimus looked away from the pair down to Hunter huddled under him. "Now we move," he said. The Prime looked to 'Bee and Ally again and nodded, telling them to begin moving. He watched as they returned the gesture and then slowly began the long, grueling crawl before turning to his daughter again. "Come on, Sweet-spark," he grunted, shifting a bit to give the girl room to move. "You first."
Grunting, Hunter shimmied her way out from under her spark-father. It was hard to move forward while trying to keep a grip on the cobblestones and stay as low to the ground as possible, all the while battling against torrential winds that threatened to rip you off the ground and suck you backwards into a living hell. Having only recently woken up from anesthesia certainly didn't help matters either. True, all the adrenaline pumping through her had definitely helped to burn off a lot of the drug in her system, but even so Hunter did not feel like herself yet. She still felt considerably weak and exhausted, even more so now with the current situation.
Once she was mostly free of Optimus' weight, the sixteen-year-old extracted her knuckle blades and drove them hard down into the stone as deep as she could. There. That would make things a little easier than fumbling around trying to find handholds.
Hunter looked back over her shoulder to make sure Optimus was still behind her. She was greeted with a slight smile.
"I am right behind you, My Shooting Star," the Autobot assured her. "Keep going."
With that, Hunter began the slow trek. Painstaking inch by painstaking inch she moved forward: finding a foothold, shoving off the foot hold, stabbing one set of razors down, ripping the other up onto the stab them down again a few inches away and then rip the other one up again. Giant Galapagos Tortoises moved faster than this! It was like one of those dreams where you were trying to run but you could never seem to move or get anyway despite your efforts. Despite the disheartening circumstances, Hunter pressed on. She was going home!
Optimus and Hunter had covered almost half the distance to the barrier when something horrible happened.
Without warning, Hunter felt something clamp down around her right ankle. Then she was harshly jerked off her feet and dragged backwards. The teen instinctively drove her razors down into the stone, but the action was useless, as she was dragged along anyway, her blades leaving deep scores in the stone. Sheer panic flooded through her and Hunter shrieked, "DAD! SHE'S GOT ME!"
Optimus whipped his head around to see Hunter being pulled away, a magical chain manacled to her ankle. The chain was linked into the mansion—right through the manor doors. It was drawing Hunter in. The Prime knew that if his spark-daughter disappeared through those doors again she would be lost to him forever, and he couldn't let that happen. No matter the cost he couldn't allow Luna to take Hunter back! "HUNTER!"
Chest swelling with sheer determination and fierce protective drive, Optimus lunged back towards Hunter. She was being pulled swiftly away from him, but the speed of the chain was nothing compared to that of a Prime in "protective parent mode", especially when he had the aid of magical, torrential gales to pull him along. He dove and snagged her hands, and their fingers entwined around each other's wrists, locking into place. As he was dragged along with her, Optimus shifted and swung around so that his legs were under him and tried bracing his feet against the cobblestones. The attempt was far from successful, but it did give him enough leverage to pull Hunter up close enough that they could wrap their arms around each other's torsos. "I've got you!" the Purebred panted. "I've got you, Sweet-spark! Just hold on!"
Eyes screwed tightly shut and teeth gritted to the breaking point, Hunter did just that as she cemented her arms around her spark-father. She wasn't about to let go for anything! There was no way in pit she was going back inside that hellhole—no way!
The pair continued to be pulled along the courtyard towards the mansion as Optimus was unable to find any sort of significant purchase to put up a fight against the force dragging them. But he saw that the stairs were quickly approaching, and he knew that that was where he would make his stand. He repositioned his feet so that they would be ready to catch on the steps. "Get ready to pull, Hunter!" he told the girl.
Three, two, one!
They came to the stairs and Optimus firmly braced his heels against the bottom step. As the force drew him and Hunter up, he began pulling against the chain, leaning back against the tension with as much strength as he could supply. He knew his holoform's energy had to be dangerously low and this stress would rapidly burn more of it off, but the Prime also knew that, low energy or not, he was not about to let his holoform deactivate. If it deactivated, that was it—Hunter would be sucked back into the clutches of that Witch faster than he would have time to come running for her in his true form, and that was not happening! Even if it took a hundred years to break her free of this pull, he would keep his holoform activated through sheer force of will! He wasn't letting her go again, not even for a second—he'd promised!
"Pull, Hunter!" Optimus grunted as he strained backwards. "Pull hard!"
Tightening her hold on the Autobot (if that were possible) Hunter began retracting the leg that the chain was clamped around. Or at least she tried too. There was such a force coming from the other end of it and so much tension between it and them that it was all but completely impossible. However, bit by bit, Hunter managed to pull her leg in, giving her father enough slack to pull all of her back even farther. The teen groaned in pain as her eyes began to water. "I'll never be able to look at tug-of-war the same way again!" she hissed.
Straining, Optimus slowly began backing up from the stairs and turning so that they were facing the direction of the barrier again. Shoving off the step at last, the Prime threw himself face-down flat upon the ground. He heard his daughter cry in pain—and it certainly didn't feel all that nice for him either—but he need to be down on the ground now. He was going to have to crawl again—use both hands and feet for traction; that was the only way he'd be able to fight the pull of the chain and wind. "Hunter," he panted as he slowly pushed himself up and found hand and foot holds, "I'm going to need you to hang on yourself as I will need both my hands free."
"Yes, Sir," Hunter confirmed with a grunt. It was at this point she hitched up her free leg and wrapped it around him as well.
"And keep pulling," Optimus added.
"Yes, Sir."
"All right. Hold on, now." With that, Optimus began to slowly crawl cross the courtyard again.
It was even slower progress than the first time. Battling the wind had been hard enough, but now the added weight and hindrance of Hunter hanging off of him, as well as the opposing pull of the chain, made it nearly impossible to do anything but hold his ground. It almost made that impossible too: Every inch the Prime made forward, he was dragged two feet back. But it didn't matter. Optimus kept going—kept trying. Despite the pain and exhaustion in his holoform limbs, despite the pain in his torso as Hunter crushed him in order to anchor herself, despite how what progress he made seemed nil, he had to keep going and fighting. He had to.
So Optimus kept crawling and pulling, and Hunter kept hanging on and pulling, and together they battled the forces working against them. Either they succeeded or they both got pulled into Hell—they were together again, and it was going to stay that way. Of course, it would be better if it stayed that way back home far from this place and Luna.
The chain around Hunter's leg seemed to tighten, biting into the flesh of her ankle and lower calf. She bit her lip and shoved her face into her spark-father's chest, groaning against the bite of it. Why did Luna's magic always seem to have that extra sting to it? Despite the discomfort, Hunter kept pulling at her leg, hoping beyond hope she could pull hard enough to break free of the grip. Of course, since this was a magic chain, it wouldn't break, and it wouldn't disappear until Luna ended the spell. And that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.
Once it had tightened, the chain drew even tauter than before and began to reel in with far more force than ever before.
It was at this point that Hunter felt her father's holoform begin to slowly slip from her arms. Or, more accurately, she was slipping off of him. "Dad, I'm slipping!" the girl screeched. She frantically clawed and grabbed at Optimus, trying to regain a better hold. "I'm slipping!"
Optimus immediately snapped an arm around to wrap around her. "Don't you let go!" he yelled. "Don't you ever let go! I am not letting you go—don't you dare let me go!"
Hunter managed to quickly snake an arm up over one of the Prime's shoulder and the other under the opposite and tightly twine her fingers together behind his back. Just to have another hold on him, she bit down on the shoulder of his holoform jacket.
"Good girl," Optimus praised her. "Good girl—don't let go. We are not done fighting yet, My Shooting Star—don't let go." Even as he said this—claimed that they weren't finished fighting—both the Prime and girl were steadily being drawn back towards the mansion again, despite Optimus' efforts to brace against and fight the pull. It wasn't long until his heels came into contact with the bottom stair step again. And then slowly but surely they were pulled up the stairs. Optimus whirled around to stand up both arms constricted tightly around Hunter again, and braced his feet against the steps, fighting every step of the way. It didn't seem to matter; he could only make a valiant stand for a few seconds each time before they were pulled another step or two more.
Hunter groaned and whimpered, sinking her teeth into Optimus' jacket as she bit back the pain of the chain around her leg. She didn't dare pull her face from the Prime's holoform chest to see how badly the chain was cutting in to her flesh or to see just how close she was to being pulled back into Hell. All she did was hold on tighter and pull her leg harder, regardless of the pain. She couldn't go back into that place! She wouldn't go back into that place! If she had to cut off her own leg in order to keep that from happening you bet your ass she'd do just that! She could get a new leg—in fact she might grow an entirely new one. Maybe. Hunter wasn't sure, as her healing factor hadn't had to contend with a wound quite like that yet. Whatever the ultimate outcome for losing her leg would be, it would be worth it if it meant she could get away from Luna!
As opposed to his daughter, Optimus couldn't help but watch in desperation and dismay as the doors of the mansion drew ever closer and closer. He couldn't stop it. Nothing he had done or was currently doing could stop Hunter from being sucked back into that horrible place! She would disappear through those doors again, and that would be it; there wouldn't ever be another chance to rescue her.
"I can sense your emotions, Optimus Prime," Luna's voice was suddenly purring in the Prime's head, wrapping around his brain stem and delving deep into his thoughts to ensnare and freeze them. "I can sense your frustration, your desperation… your fear." The witch could almost sound like she was trying to comfort the Autobot if it weren't for the slight bite of bitter coldness that just barely sneaked into her tone. "I understand. Huntress is your spark-daughter whom you love very much, and you only wish to protect her and do what is best for her. I can assure you that I am what is best for her, Optimus. Who could possibly be better for the child than someone who is not only of the same blood, but who is also equal to her in strength and power and can teach and train her to her greatest potential?
"You have done admirably in my absence, Optimus Prime—I cannot deny that. But I am here now, and it is time for me to take Huntress back so that she may achieve her destiny. It is time for you to allow me to take her back, Optimus Prime. Let go."
Optimus had felt a strange, trance-like numbness the moment Luna's voice had begun rattling around in his head. Everything—the world around him, the roaring gale, his emotions and thoughts, his very being, Hunter—seemed galaxies away. It wasn't really a hopeless sort of sensation, just a sense that everything was much too far away to care or think anything about—that there was no point in worrying. He was only vaguely aware of the fact that he was now standing on the topmost step of the stairs, at the very threshold of the doors. He wasn't even fighting anymore and was just barely planting his feet against the stone as he allowed both he and Hunter to be pulled along. It was only primal instinct that kept his arms locked around the girl rather than releasing her.
"Let go," Luna's voice implored again. "Let her go, Prime. I can help her. I can keep her safe. Let Hunter go."
The chain around Hunter's leg gave a sudden, violent jerk, successfully jarring the girl enough to break her grip on the Prime. Terror struck through her spark like a dagger. "DADDY!" she shrieked, scrabbling around to get a hold on him again.
Slammed back into reality with the jolt and Hunter's scream, Optimus broke out of his trance. For a moment he was dazed by how clear everything suddenly seemed, because he felt as though he'd been living in a haze for ages, but then he was in the moment and taking action. With a defiant snarl, the Prime planted his feet against the stone and dared to let one hand go from his spark-daughter for a brief moment as he reached down and grabbed her leg, right above the chain. "No," Optimus growled savagely, "I will not let go. Nothing will ever force me to let Hunter go—especially not you, Luna!
"Pull, Hunter!" Optimus barked at the teen. As the girl pulled against the chain, he too pulled at her leg and together they were successful in drawing her leg back
Hunter hissed against the pain as the chain cut deeper. Shifting around in her father's grip she reached down to wrap an arm around the back of her thigh and hooked it up under her knee to draw it up to her chest and anchor it there. There—they had more leverage this way. And if the time came where she needed to sever her leg, she'd be in a good position for it.
Following her cue, Optimus brought his massive holoform arms up under both of Hunter's knees and bear-hugged her to him. The girl was doubled over between his arms and chest, and it was hardly a comfortable position for her but it was the most secure, and that was all that mattered at this point. "Keep fighting, Sweet-spark!" the Prime grunted as he strained both to hold her and fight the gale that continuously sucked at them as the chain pulled. "Don't ever stop!"
Optimus holding her legs firmly in place, Hunter reached down with both hands and seized hold of the chain. The thing stung and bit and burned her palms as she held it, but she never let go. Her father wasn't letting go, and she wouldn't let go either!
"You are cruel!" Optimus spat, addressing Luna once more as the struggled to back away from the doors. "You are foul!" If only he could get his feet down on that first step so that he'd have a ledge to brace against…. "You are corrupt and evil—incapable of loving anything or anyone! You rival Megatron in your malice! And you, Luna, are most certainly not what is best for Hunter!" The Prime managed to sidle over a little ways until he could brace a foot against one of the pillars that was holding the overhang of the entryway up. It worked only mildly well. Still, it was far better than having nothing but flat stone to brace against. "You have no intention of helping Hunter! You have no desire to help her achieve her destiny in the way in which she is meant to! I do not know what you have planned for Hunter, but I do know that I cannot and will not allow it to happen! She is of your blood, Luna, but Huntress Starstreaker James is my daughter! She is my daughter and so long as my spark is one with my body I will never allow you to have or take her!"
"You are a fool to believe that you can stop me!" Luna's voice rang aloud once again.
"I am no fool," Optimus replied, "for I know that I can."
"We shall see."
Hunter suddenly released a god-awful, blood-curdling, agonized screech as the chain sank deep into her flesh. Her hands flew away from the thing and she held them trembling in front of her, glaring down at them through watery eyes. Her palms were bloody, raw, and shredded with cuts. "Frag!" the teen hissed bitterly. "Ahhhhh!" Another scream was torn from Hunter's throat as she was suddenly jerked by the chain again.
"No!" Optimus roared as his feeble grip on the pillar was broken and he was pulled back into the open on the smooth stone again. The pull on the chain was too much to fight against now, and the wind tore at them more furiously than it ever had before, sucking them easily towards the doors. Still the Prime fought. With everything he had—with every bit of energy he had left in his holoform body—he fought, but it was no use. They were almost already within the doors now!
"I'm not letting go!" Optimus shouted. Whether he was reassuring Luna or Hunter or himself even the Prime wasn't sure. "I am not letting go!" The Prime crushed the girl in his arms closer as he buried his face into her shoulder and swirling hair. Maybe he didn't know who he was speaking to, but he did sure as hell know that he meant what he said.
All at once something slammed into the Prime with incredible force before he was suddenly locked into a vice-like grip. Optimus just dared to crack a holoform eye open and try to look down through the strands of Hunter's hair to see what had him. He was sure his spark stopped. "Alchemy?!" he bellowed. "What are you doing here?!"
Ally had her arms wrapped around both Optimus and Hunter as she stood before them, bracing her feet against the stone and pushing back on them with every last bit of strength that she had. "I just helped get Hunter out of there!" the girl screamed above the wind. "I can't let her get sucked back in already! And I can't let you go into that hellhole again either!" With that, the seventeen-year-old gave a mighty heave against them. For a moment nothing happened, except that they had ceased being sucked forward into the mansion. And then, slowly but surely, Optimus felt his feet sliding backwards along the stone of the entryway.
The Prime felt his spark skip a beat in utter elation. "Keep going, Ally!" he praised the girl. "Keep pushing! Hunter! Pull, Sweet-spark! Pull again!"
Tears brought on by the wind and desperation as well as the agony streaming down her face, Hunter voiced a groaning sob at the idea of have to pull against the chain again. It was torture already! Still she did as she was told and, reaching down to grasp the chain in protesting hands again, she began to pull at the shackle once more.
"Good girl," Optimus murmured into her ear. He could sense her torment through their bond and he tried to send her as much comfort as he could through it. "Good girl. We must keep fighting, My Shooting Star. We must keep fighting."
Suddenly, above the roar of the gale there came a familiar, thunderous sound of massive, running feet. Then there were large metal hands wrapping around them and holding them in firm, unrelenting grips.
"We got'cha!" Bulkhead's voice shouted, accompanied by an agreeing buzz from Bumblebee.
"All right!" Arcee's voice came. "Everybody pull!"
As one unit everyone heaved as they pulled (or—in Ally's case—pushed), Optimus and Hunter's hands both on the chain. Steadily they gained ground together, but it was no easy feat—whatever magic Luna had at play here was no joke. The Autobots had their feet on the steps and Ally had taken up pulling at the chain as well when their progress suddenly stopped as another magical chain shot out from the mansion and caught Hunter's other leg. Immediately after it was secured it began reeling in as well.
"She won't let me go!" Hunter cried, pure hopelessness washing over her. "She's not ever gonna let me go!"
/We're not letting you go either, Sis!\\ Bumblebee declared.
"I promised you," Optimus told her. "I promised you that I would never let you be taken from me, and I won't."
Hunter tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Her dad. Her sweet, loving, devoted, beautifully wonderful and amazing dad. She couldn't bear the thought of being separated from him again, and here she was about to have that very thing happen again! "Daddy…."
"I will never let that happen, Sparkling," Optimus stated. He stretched his hand a bit further down and placed it over one of hers on the chain, squeezing it determinedly.
All at once something like a shockwave rippled out through the air. The wind suddenly stopped, the taut chains around Hunter's legs suddenly snapped and disappeared, and like that everyone was flying through the air.
Hunter hit stone and rebounded off of it before going rolling. When she finally came to a stop she was very dazed, very dizzy, and very winded. Her ears were ringing as her spark pounded heavily in them, and the world was spinning around her in a fuzzy blur. She thought she vaguely heard sounds of war going on around her as well as voices, but any sound beyond the ringing, the beat of her spark, and her own breathing was nearly impossible to make out or confirm. The only thing she was acutely aware of was the dull ache in her right leg and the sharp pain in her left down close to her ankle.
"Hunter?" a familiar female voice called her name. A moment later a disheveled looking girl with ginger hair straggling out of what must have been a neat braid once was crouched over Hunter. She gazed with concern into her face. "Hunter," she called her again, "are you okay?"
For a moment Hunter was still too bemused to answer, but after a moment her head became clear enough to comprehend what had happened, what was going on, and who exactly was kneeling over her and speaking. With a weak smile, the sixteen-year-old slowly reached a trembling hand up towards the face above her. She just barely brushed the other girl's cheek with her fingertips. "Ally…" she murmured affectionately.
Ally's two-toned eyes went from concerned to confused and she pulled back from Hunter's feather-light touch. "You… you know who I am?" she breathed.
"Ally!" Arcee's commanding bark broke the moment and caused Ally to whip around and give attention to the blue femme. "The ground-bridge is open! We'll help clear the way for you, but it's up to you to get Hunter through it!"
Ally's gaze shifted from the two-wheeler to the direction she was pointing. All the way across the estate grounds she could see the now familiar kaleidoscopic portal, swirling in wait for them. The seventeen-year-old's stomach twisted uncomfortably. That was a long way to go and a lot of battleground/enemy territory to traverse along the way; and since she had yet to regain enough magical strength to apparate that far, she and her cousin would be on foot. Any number of things could go wrong. Still, it had to be done. And, luckily and helpfully, her Hybrid-self came with built in superspeed. Ally just wished she'd practiced using it a little bit more than she had over the years; she'd never used it with someone in tow, and she'd certainly never used it under enemy fire.
Ally looked back at Arcee who was watching her expectantly and nodded affirmatively. "Right," she said. "I'm on it." She turned her attention back to her cousin, who was starting to get into a position where she could try and rise. The seventeen-year-old put a hand on the younger girl's shoulder and met her bleary gaze. "Is there, like, any chance that you can be on your feet?" she asked.
Panting heavily, Hunter looked at Ally and then down to the deep wound sliced around her left leg. "Prob'ly not real well," she commented.
Looking at the injury as well, Ally nodded, drawing her lips into a thin line. "Right, I'll just have to carry you then," she remarked.
Hunter smirked up at her. "Thank Primus for superstrength, huh?"
Ally couldn't help but snort and smirk back. Then she got to work at helping her cousin shift her weight up and over her shoulders. Once Hunter was situated securely, Ally slowly rose to her feet and stood there for a moment, getting used to the extra weight on her shoulders and figuring how to balance it. Then she moved out, breaking into a trot first, then a jog, and slowly working up into a run. With the extra weight and balancing act, it was going to take a little bit longer to break into hyperspeed. "Hold on, Hunter," Ally puffed as she worked up through her paces. "We'll get you home."
"I can hardly wait to taste Sarah's cooking again," Hunter remarked.
"Ya know, I think she was gonna, like, make some cookies for you. Something with molasses?"
"Oatmeal molasses cookies—I love that woman."
Ally snickered and was about to ask if Sarah, by chance, made gingerbread cookies too, when all at once they were flying through the air. Well, they weren't so much flying as they were really just floating in place in midair. And then the girls were being pulled back down to the ground again with such force that Hunter went flying from Ally's grip. Ally tried to move, but the very moment she tried she felt an incredible force upon her, pulling—in fact very nearly sucking—her down to the ground. It was so powerful she couldn't move. "Gravity magic!" the seventeen-year-old thought. She couldn't see the magic circle, but Ally was sure that if she pulled back the turf, it would be there beneath.
Hearing a groan, Ally shifted her gaze up as much as she could manage to look at Hunter, who was laying a few feet away. "Hunter!" she called. "Are you okay?" It was hard to talk with any sort of substantial volume, as the force of gravity seemed to push the very air from her lungs with every breath with every syllable of every word.
"What…" Hunter wheezed as she moved into a rising position again, "… the hell… was that?"
As if in answer to that question, there was a sudden plume of purple smoke appeared between the girls. If the gravity already hadn't plummeted her stomach into hell, Ally was sure this turn of events most certainly did the trick. With wide, horror filled eyes she watched as her long-estranged grandmother stepped from the smoke. "No…."
The witch turned towards Ally and looked down at her with a sickly, sweet smile. "Hello, Alchemy," she purred. "It's so lovely to see you again, My Darling. My, how you've grown! How old are we now? Seventeen? My, my, you're practically a full-grown woman now—how time does fly."
Ally remained quiet, unable to find the courage or will to make any sort of comment or noise in response to that. She felt utterly petrified with shock and terror. Luna…. She was at Luna's feet again. At Luna's mercy again! She had to get away! She had to get away!
"Luna!" Hunter's hoarse, weary voice cried out.
The terrifying sweet smile of Luna's quickly disappeared and changed into an (if it was possible) even more terrifying scowl and she turned away from Ally to face Hunter.
Hunter was now half-sitting up, glaring up at the sorceress. "Leave her alone," the sixteen-year-old snarled. "I'm the one you want."
Luna's painted lips twitched into a sneer. "That's a bit arrogant of you, isn't it?" she taunted. "Assuming I only want you. What makes you think I wouldn't want both of you? You're both my granddaughters after all."
"You power and you want talent and natural ability," Hunter replied, "and you got Steel and me for that—Ally's worthless to you."
"Hey!" Ally protested indignantly. "It's not like I don't have anything to offer!"
"Not now, Ally!" Hunter snapped in a meaningful tone.
Catching the drift, Ally quickly zipped her lips. Right! She wasn't supposed to give Luna reasons to want her too!
Luna snorted in an amused way. "Still the protector," she mused. "Even now, when you're so weak and pathetic you can hardly sit up you're still being the protector."
"Yeah, well, not all of us can be sadistic, evil bitches," Hunter spat. "What's even the point in tryin' when you're the queen of 'em?"
Ally stared in gobsmacked disbelief at her fiery haired cousin. Had Hunter really just said that? How the hell did she have the gall to say that? She remembered Optimus telling her that Hunter had a mouth on her, but this was just insane!
Luna's sneer slid away from her face and for several long seconds she glared at the sixteen-year-old at her feet. Then she reeled a hand back and threw it forward in a raking motion.
A sharp slicing pain struck Hunter in the face and she cried out and grabbed at her face, falling to the ground again. Luna hadn't physically touched her—she was a good few feet away—but Hunter could feel the energon trickling down her face regardless—could feel several scratch marks that matched Luna's nails cutting across her face. Luna didn't need to touch her physically when magic could do the job. How annoying! How frustrating! How unfair! And how absolutely fragging hilarious!
Despite the situation, Hunter found herself giggling, and then she found herself unable to stop. Soon the sixteen-year-old was laying there crumpled on the ground, holding her face, and shaking in utterly uproarious, maniacal, cackling laughter!
"Oh, my god—she's snapped," Ally muttered. And really, after everything she'd probably gone through, she couldn't blame Hunter for it. But did it really have to happen right now? This wasn't exactly the time or place for a mental breakdown!
After a minute or so, Hunter finally started to gain control of herself again. "Wh-what's the matter, Granny?" she panted between her giggles. The teen brushed at the tears in her eyes. "Too scared to get close enough to hit me yourself now? Gotta use the magic to do it? Afraid I might still do some damage even when I'm too "weak and pathetic to hardly sit up"?" And just like that, Hunter was set off again into another fit of laughter.
Luna looked utterly thunderous. Storming the last few feet between them, she seized the child by her tangled, ratty hair and drew her up so that they were eye to eye. "I am not playing games, Huntress!" she roared. "Ahhh!" Without warning, Luna was struck a heavy, painful blow across the face by the girl in her grip. Immediately she dropped Hunter and cowered away, clutching at her face. She felt energon oozing down her face between her hands.
Hunter, no longer laughing, laid where she'd fallen, panting heavily and glowering up through hair, energon, and scratch marks at the pained witch. "Neither am I, glitch," she seethed. She retracted her right set of blades, her grandmother's energon shedding off on her knuckles.
Luna whipped back around to send an enraged glare the sixteen-year-old's way. With her face bleeding from the slashes Hunter had put there with her razors and her hair slightly disheveled from the blow of the strike (thus some strands plastering to her face with the energon), the raging fire in the sorceress's eyes caused her to look utterly insane. She'd been injured! She had actually been injured—her weakened granddaughter had been the one to injure her! This would not stand! Being disgraced was one thing, but being hurt—and in a very visibly obvious way—was another matter entirely! Seeing red and going tunnel-vision, Luna rounded on the girl. "You wretch!" she spat, storming towards the girl. "You will pay dearly for that!"
SMASH!
Hunter watched in bewilderment as a large, blue stabilizing servo suddenly slammed into her grandmother, sending her flying away from her. Wide-eyed she looked up to see her thirty-six foot tall spark-father, towering protectively over her.
"Get away from my daughter," the Autobot Commander rumbled dangerously as he glared after the witch.
That brought a smirk to Hunter's lips. "Well," she called up to him after a moment, "this is familiar."
Optimus spared a quick, meaningful glance in her direction before turning his attention to Ally, whom was starting to get back onto her feet again. "Ally," he addressed the girl, all Commander again, "take Hunter home."
"Right!" Ally panted, finishing brushing herself off. She ran between the Prime's legs over to Hunter and crouched down beside her yet again. Hunter crawled up over her cousin's shoulders and Ally stood and soon they were off running again. Luckily this time, nothing interfered and before long Ally burst into hyperspeed, flashed across the estate grounds and disappeared into the waiting ground-bridge.
Optimus watched after the girls until they'd disappeared. As soon as he saw the two flashes of red disappear into the ground-bridge, an immediate wave of relief rushed over the Prime. Hunter was safe. She was home now, and she was safe.
"Optimus Prime!"
Optimus whipped around at the shout of his name. Before him stood a femme about Hunter's size; her armor was deep raspberry colored with dusty lavender offsets; she bore a massive headset with a familiar crescent moon headpiece; and a long, flowing cape that almost seemed like liquid metal cascaded down off her shoulders. Luna. The Sorceress was beautiful and terrible at the same time, and radiate pure power. She also radiated fury. And Optimus could sense that all of that fury and power was coming right for him.
Luna snarled at the Prime, her raspberry optics blazing in a deadly way. Her fists were aflame with magenta fire. "You will pay dearly for that," she repeated her previous threat.
Squaring up the fuming Hybrid, Optimus extracted one of his blades and primed one of his cannons. He met Luna's eye unwaveringly, matching her deathly stare. "I am not afraid of you, Witch," he declared fearlessly. His tone was laced with savagery.
"Well now, I can see where Huntress gets it from," Luna remarked a bit snidely. "Let us hope for your sake that you're far more intelligent than she is." With that the Sorceress put on her battle-mask and lunged, flames flying.
With a roar, Optimus charged to meet her head on.