Chapter 130 - Sparring
(OPOV)
Optimus watched calmly as his Kae attacked the two smaller bots, training them to take her down. It was with a small smile that he noted them doing so well. His Kae was finally forced back, dropping automatically into her defensive stance.
This was the part that made his spark ache, watching his unit having to attack. But instead he watched the golden frontliner drop into a matching stance:
"You are outnumbered and outmatched," Sunny snarled. "Disengage your weapons and surrender."
Optimus straightened with absolute pride alongside Ratchet, Ironhide and his Kae. Sideswipe looked at his twin with a broad grin, rightfully catching him in a hug. Mikaela walked forward and caught the both of them in an enormous embrace.
"I. Am so proud of you!" she choked.
"Dude, that was awesome!" Skids called out.
"Wicked awesome," Mudflap agreed seriously.
"That's what makes an auto-bot," Jolt stated seriously.
"That's my brother," Sideswipe stated proudly, planting a firm kiss to his forehead.
Sunstreaker looked down with embarrassment in his optics.
"I mean..." he started shyly.
"No, that's precisely correct youngling," Ironhide rumbled approvingly, walking forward and patting Sunny's shoulder. "That's what makes us not Decepticon, we give 'em the option to live peaceful."
Sunstreaker stared at the weapons master in shock. Ironhide grinned at him and turned to Optimus.
"This," he stated seriously. "Is a unit to be proud of."
Optimus smiled and nodded his agreement, watching the younger bots straighten with their own pride.
"You have Sunstreaker and Sideswipe fighting far more efficiently together," Optimus rumbled with a smile. "Now what do you mean by my defences being down?"
Mikaela laughed gently and dropped into a defensive stance, her deflectors back online around her joints. Curiously, Optimus copied her before charging. Watching his Kae was one thing, battling her new body an entirely different story. He was astonished just how many times her fists, in truth her every field resounded against him.
And to think he was the elite fighter.
Primus.
Although, the more they fought, he realized it was her recovery speed more than anything else that was tripping him up. She would strike and turn, deflect him and strike again before he could even recover his stance.
Fascinating.
"You're relying on your strength too much," she informed him after she'd got him again. "Control love, control, you don't have to run your sword through them entirely, a stab does just as much damage as an impalement. Less drama, more effect."
Optimus stopped and looked at his Kae curiously. In fact, most of his unit was watching her with surprise.
"Punch at me," she smiled at him.
He sent a light punch at her.
"No," she snorted, lightly batting it away. "Real punch, show off that 'arm going through chest' roundhouse of yours."
Optimus shrugged and threw the punch, throwing his full weight and strength behind it.
But Kae simply whacked his wrist and lightly kicked his leg.
He was lying on the ground looking at her incredulously the next moment.
"The fist, the upper form, using your weight behind the punch, that's fine," she smiled. "But you're throwing so much forward you aren't controlling your own strength."
The bots stared at him.
"Okay normally when bots see that punch coming they're running the other way," Mudflap piped up in a confused tone.
"True," Mikaela snorted, hauling him back to his feet. "But you aren't controlling your punch, my beloved. What happens if you throw that punch and Megatron decides to use one of us as a shield? You aren't controlling it."
Optimus stared at his mate in horror. That hadn't even occurred to him.
She smiled at him and gracefully spun to stand behind him, gently stroking his back and arms.
"You use the strength of your front and arms, but you have a great deal of strength across your back," she told him gently, massaging him, that felt incredible. Her arms wound around him, lightly gripping his forearms.
Her legs tangled with his, pulling him into one of her own stances.
"Control is the ability to punch with force, and far more importantly, the ability to redirect that force and abort a strike." She stated calmly, and Optimus almost gasped in surprise as she began directing his punches, never actually completing them. The control of the strike felt incredible. Safer, and yet more devastating.
He would punch and pull back, only to bring another strike from the other side. She gently released him and stood in front again.
"This is what it looks like," she shrugged. She brought one of his own punches out, he made to deflect it only for the hand to recede, her left catching him hard in the side.
The damage counters promptly told him that if the field hadn't deflected the force, he'd be breaching.
In one punch.
"That is one pit of a critical hit," Ratchet commented cheerfully, reading the scans. "You'd be breaching, and your right torsional control is severely compromised."
"Which makes it ridiculously easy for me to do this," Mikaela added, lightly tapping his helm with her fist. Torsional controls reacting to the 'damage' information, he couldn't defend himself. That was a hard lesson.
But his Kae's spark was there, beside his own. Soothing his hurt pride.
"Reset," she commanded calmly. "We try again."
Optimus nodded and reset the damage counters, charging his Kae. They began sparring, and he made to throw a punch at her.
But suddenly Mudflap was in her hands, the struggling youngling right in the way of his punch. Optimus pulled back sharply, how dare she use another for a shield! it made bringing another punch around and catching her hard in the side quite easy.
Mikaela was half laying on the ground.
Alone.
She'd twisted, absorbing his blow somewhat.
But she was alone.
Confused, Optimus looked at her hands, then at the group of bots staring at him. Mudflap was beside his twin, as though he hadn't moved.
Optimus pointed to him in shock.
"Holoform," Mikaela snorted, laying back down and laughing. "Ow."
In horror, Optimus knelt down beside his mate, laying a hand over the minor breach in her side. A breach that he had caused.
"Oh stop that," Kae chided him with a laugh, she winced. "Stop making me laugh, that hurts. I'll be fine in a minute." she batted him off gently and twisted to look at her own side, reaching around and tweaking her plates back into their proper place.
"Mikaela I-" Optimus started.
"I told you to stop that," she commanded sternly, glaring at him. "Need I remind you that in the name of training, I am not simply saying 'okay try this' I am encouraging it to sync with your programming, hitting your soft spots, pushing your buttons, getting you angry. Knowing how to do something doesn't mean you will when the time comes, now is the time to learn and integrate it."
Optimus stared at his mate. She sat up and cupped his face in gentle hands then grimaced as her energon smeared his cheek.
"Sorry," she grimaced, calling a cloth into being from subspace and delicately wiping his face before he could stop her. Optimus glared at his mate.
"I allowed you to distract me enough that I did not maintain my deflection fields!" he rumbled angrily.
"Uh huh, and?" Mikaela stated placidly.
"And I caused harm to my beloved mate!" Optimus shouted, well and truly getting upset.
Mikaela raised her optics to the sky for a moment and reached forward, cuffing him upside the helm.
"Reason it out beloved, you're intelligent," she told him flatly. "I'm your spark-bonded, I know you absolutely, remember? I know all of you, I know your buttons, your soft spots. I know how to raise your ire. That's not the important part, do you realize what you actually did?"
Frozen, Optimus sat down and stared at her.
Mikaela snorted and onlined a holoform in front of him. Him. Throwing a punch toward himself. Mudflap was between him and his own punch the next moment, he saw his own optics flatten in rage.
He pointed to himself in shock as holo-Optimus' movements suddenly went from a heavy punch to a fluid, graceful dance, shifting and swinging the other fist around.
The same movement his Kae used with such devastating effect on him.
The only difference? Kae never stopped dancing. The holo winked out and Optimus looked at his Kae.
She of course, was smugly grinning down at him. That she'd gotten to her feet without him even noticing was a bit of a shock. Kae reached down and hauled him back to his own feet.
"See the difference?" she asked sweetly.
Mutely, Optimus nodded.
"Good," she lilted cheerfully, she backed up and dropped into half-stance. "Again."
"Mikaela I-" Optimus started. He'd already hurt her once, he didn't want to do it again.
"Optimus," Mikaela interrupted him sternly. Warning tone. Optimus straightened and glared at his mate.
"I do not wish to cause you harm," he rumbled firmly.
"Which is nice, dear, but you're forgetting something," Mikaela began, her tone and faceplates austere.
"And that is?" he rumbled angrily.
"I don't use shields," Mikaela snarled, dropping into a full, threatening, Cybertronian Predator's stance. "And with that being the case, I let you hit me. Orion."
(RPOV)
Optimus and Kae were fighting, she kept catching him. Barely hitting him though, 'love taps' Ratchet thought with a snort.
"No, oh here it comes," Ironhide rumbled suddenly. Optimus had wound up that punch.
But Mudflap was in Kae's hands the next second, holding the struggling youngling in the way of Optimus' punch, there was flat rage in Optimus' optics the next second.
Wait she what!? Ratchet whipped to where he could have sworn Mudflap had been.
He was.
The next moment Kae was on the ground, empty handed.
Ratchet crossed his arms with a snort, shaking his head.
"Nice," Ironhide snorted.
"I don't know what's worse," Ratchet grumbled, rubbing his face.
"What? That she knows him that well, or that the twins are gonna be practicing it on each other?" Ironhide asked innocently.
"I. Am going to lose so many wrenches," he grumbled softly.
"More like you're going to lose the bet," Ironhide rumbled softly.
"No, I'm still betting Kae's gonna win." Ratchet stated.
"Final takers?" Ironhide rumbled softly.
"Mikaela I-" Optimus started.
"Optimus," Mikaela interrupted him. Ratchet raised his eyebrows, Kae was hurt, not badly of course, but he needed to know something.
"I still don't know what's worse!" Ratchet snorted.
"Hmn?" Ironhide murmured.
"That I actually believed it was Mudflap, or that I missed seeing the punch." Ratchet murmured, rubbing his face.
"I do not wish to cause you harm!" Optimus rumbled firmly.
"You missed it!?" Bumblebee demanded incredulously. He immediately sent the video clip. Optimus never once hit holo-mudflap. Kae twisted away from the blow. Not a bad hit.
"Which is nice, dear, but you're forgetting something," Mikaela began, they were standing now, her tone and faceplates austere.
Ratchet smirked.
"I'm going to win the bet," he stated with a small smirk.
"No you're not," Ironhide smirked right back.
"And that is?" Optimus rumbled angrily.
"I don't use shields," Mikaela snarled, dropping into a full, threatening, Cybertronian Predator's stance. "And with that being the case, I let you hit me. Orion."
"Whooooaaaaa," Ironhide rumbled, Ratchet smirked.
Optimus stared at his mate helplessly.
"I love you too, dear, now come at me," Mikaela stated with a smug little smirk. Optimus rolled his optics and vented a deep sigh. Mikaela waited in her stance.
"Autobots stop when someone gets hurt," he rumbled in a resigned tone.
"In battle you can't stop, you have to get up, flush some power to your systems and keep going," Mikaela shot back at him firmly. "Now come at me my mate, I thought you were going to help me decide on my fighting style?"
"That was negated the moment you begin teaching us," Optimus rumbled with a snort.
"No, that was me trying out human style, testing to see how well it integrates," Kae lilted innocently. "One for one, I didn't bond a piker bot!"
Optimus grinned.
"I win," Ratchet murmured with a snort as Optimus charged his Kae.
They began sparring again, using the styles Optimus was far more accustomed to. They looked completely alien to Kae.
"Of course, technically they are completely alien to her," Ironhide murmured thoughtfully. Ratchet snorted softly.
"Doing well for all that it's alien," he replied cheerfully as Kae finally got Optimus on his back, a flat hand on his chest. She leaned down and kissed him.
Really kissed him.
Optimus' processors clicked out.
"Did she just...?" Ironhide rumbled with a snort.
"She did," Ratchet laughed as Kae patiently began tapping her bot's helm.
"Really?" Optimus rumbled with a snort, bringing himself back online fully.
"You thought I could resist that?" Mikaela laughed at him. Optimus dragged her down onto his chest and kissed her.
"Oi! In the middle of battle you're not gonna have time to interface each other! Even if the two of you look gorgeous when you're fightin'!" Ironhide shouted at them with a laugh.
"Exactly Uncle," Mikaela called out cheerfully, sitting on her bot and grinning as he laughed at her. "Gotta take the opportunity when I have it!"
Ratchet burst out laughing, leaning down and scooping Arcee into his arms, cuddling her for a moment until the training day got back on track.
He stood back for most of the day, until the earth began turning away from the sun.
"Alright old bot, you've always got my back," Ironhide rumbled with a grin. "Let's make sure them rusty pistons of yours ain't spreadin' to your processors."
"My pistons haven't had rust on them for orns!" Ratchet protested with a snort.
"Mm, true, so now you don't have an excuse," Ironhide shot back at him with a grin.
"Oh, very true," Ratchet nodded musingly. He charged Ironhide, catching the bot by surprise. But if the Weapons Master was good at anything, it was getting over his surprise and fighting back. It wasn't too terribly long that Ironhide had him down on the ground, but he was doing better than he usually did. Ironhide grinned down at him.
"You're right, pistons ain't rusty, processors are runnin' just fine," Ironhide stated fondly.
"Your shoulder is doing better, that punch did more damage than it usually does," Ratchet stated cheerfully, lightly shoving the formerly offending shoulder. The two of them rose and viewed the cheerfully combatting unit.
Ratchet glanced up at the larger bot as an arm wound around his shoulders.
"It's bin a long time, old bot," Ironhide rumbled softly. "Long enough that you can actually call me old bot now."
Ratchet laughed gently, winding an arm around his oldest friend's waist.
"Never thought you'd last this long, old friend," he stated gently.
"Hah, neither did I," Ironhide snorted. "What is it with these Primes we keep hangin' out with? It's almost like they want us to die of old age!"
The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing as the sky lit up with the brilliant colours of light going through the heavy atmosphere.
The younglings turned to stare at them.
"The earth has turned from the sun," Optimus rumbled with a smile. "Telling her children it is the time for rest. We should return to headquarters, and perhaps nudge Ratchet and Ironhide into telling the story of how they met."
Ironhide looked down at Ratchet at the same time that Ratchet turned to look at the gruff, rough and ready Weapons Master.
The two of them burst out laughing, transforming and driving back toward headquarters. It was going to be a good night.