Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, only Kate.
Transmissions are in bold/italic.
Transmissions + speech are in "bold/italic."
Chapter 5: Faith
Well, this is a fine kettle of fish.
Yet again, the plan had gone awry. The original scheme? The Autobot ship would slightly detour, letting Kate safely hide in the hills until the battle was done.
That was until she had sensed Galvatron already in the city.
Optimus had put up a fight; concerned for her and the possible new life growing within. "I want you safe."
Kate had scoffed, rolling her eyes: "So you'd dump me in the jungle? Come on, OP. That's more dangerous than any Decepticon."
Now she was wondering if she had been mistaken.
Optimus, Crosshairs, and Drift were the ones lost in the jungle, far away from Hong Kong and entirely unable to protect any of them. Worse yet: she, Cade, Shane, Tessa, Hound, and Bumblebee were cornered in a completely vulnerable location with nowhere to escape. Glass shattered all around them, wood and stone splintered. Every explosion—every rapid-fire bullet—seemed to destroy another spot where they could shelter from the onslaught of the attack by Galvatron and his minions.
"—running out of guns and ammo!"
And it surely didn't help that Hound was running out of defense.
"I can't do this—" Kate huddled in a corner of the complex; arms wound around her knees and her empty gun cast aside a few feet away. "I can't do this without Optimus—" she murmured into her lap. Her mind felt thick, her reaction time slowed by the blackness overtaking her sanity. Her eyes wide as her chest heaved; she felt like she couldn't keep air in her lungs. This is how I die. "I need him—I can't" Not now. Not when we have just planned for—
Another explosion stole the breath from her lungs. Chaos reigned around them, so vicious and unyielding that she hardly had the time to take a calming breath, let alone try to use her ability to find Optimus.
In the fog of her mind, she barely registered Cade crawling over to her.
"Cade!" she gasped; her voice hoarse. Her hands reached out to him of their own accord, seeking out something that would ground her to the moment and take the panic away. Something—someone—that would give her the hope she so badly needed.
"It's bad, I know," he gasped, his fingers enfolding hers. "But, Kate, we'll get through this. I know Optimus is still out there. He'll find us—save us. We just have to hold out."
She shook her head, feeling the clouds overwhelm her. She couldn't get free: they were doomed. "Cade, I don't know how we can."
"You have to hold out. For that baby of yours."
"How do you—"
"Optimus told me."
Tears sprung to her eyes, unbidden. He made a plan, just in case something happened. "He asked you to keep me safe."
Cade shook his head, a smile forming on his lips. "Nah, you're capable of that by yourself. He asked me to make sure you weren't alone."
"Attack!"
Kate jumped, her heart leaping, as the deep, booming voice of Optimus Prime reached her ears. He was safe. They were safe. The sudden realization overwhelmed her, clearing the clouds of her panic attack in such a breakneck speed that she felt slightly lightheaded. We're saved. Sure enough, Drift, Crosshairs, and Optimus raced into view, shooting, dodging, and body slamming Galvatron's minions from their triumphant place on the mountaintop of victory, right down into the bowels of destruction and death. Kate couldn't believe her eyes as she took in what they were riding—are those dinosaurs?
After they had cleared the way, Optimus instructed Cade, Tessa, Shane, Joshua, and Darcy to climb into an abandoned vehicle and drive towards the hills. They did as instructed, but took too long for Kate's liking; she impatiently waited for her sparkmate to turn his attention to her.
"You too, Kate."
She shook her head, firmly planting her feet, and peered up at the mech. A mischievous grin spread across her lips. "Are you seriously going to deny me my one and only time of riding a t-rex?"
Optimus mirrored her expression, chuckling as he held out his hand. "His name is Grimlock."
He swiftly pulled her up, letting her lock her legs under his shoulder guard. Grimlock lurched forward, quickly making up the distance between them and the others. If she had been in any other situation Kate would've been laughing like a schoolgirl, giddy at the wind rushing through her hair, the height with which they towered over unsuspecting buildings and people running in the streets. It was something that she never dreamed of happening.
Yet the dream was dashed as soon as Lockdown's ship appeared over the city, revealing a giant magnet sucking metal into the air, only to let random objects and bystanders crash back down to Earth in an unceremonious slump. How many dead? How many injured? The bounty hunter was looking for Optimus, of that they were sure. And someplace in that mess were the Autobots, Cade, Shane, Tessa, Joshua, and Darcy.
Kate heaved a sigh, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead in frustration. "For once, can't we succeed without something getting in our way?"
Optimus nodded, glaring up at the ship. "I have to stop him."
Kate groaned at the all-too-familiar sensation of a rock settling in the pit of her stomach. She tasted bile in her mouth. "What if he takes you again? What if he kills you?"
"As long as I kill him first, it doesn't matter."
She felt like screaming, knuckles turning white as she clenched her fingers around his shoulder guard. "It matters to me!" Grimlock slowed and Optimus dismounted, reaching for Kate. She knew what he was doing: he was going to put her on the ground and ride off, leaving her there where she would be safe. He'd confront Lockdown. "No!" she screeched, avoiding his grip as he tried to dislodge her. "No!" she gripped his hand when he finally succeeded in removing her. She didn't care if she was acting like a child; she couldn't stand for another fight where Optimus had a very good chance of dying.
Yet, her feet still found the ground. "No!" she shouted a third time, following Optimus as he lumbered away. "Optimus Prime, I don't care about saving the world—I don't care if you leave and I never see you again—"
The mech stopped and turned, his expression full of confusion and shock.
She continued: "—What I care about is knowing you are safe! That you're out there, someplace in the stars, continuing on."
He knelt, letting her come to him.
Her throat felt like it was closing up as her chest heaved and streams of tears poured from her eyes; she could barely get the words out. "Run. Get away," she choked out as his finger brushed her cheek. She closed her eyes, committing the sensation of his touch and the warm, solid strength of him standing before her to memory. She opened her mouth to say more but found the words wouldn't come.
"Oh, Kate," he murmured, looking down at her fondly. "You know that is not who I am."
She nodded, despite herself.
He took a breath. "I was wrong before. I let my emotions get the best of me and, for that, I am sorry." His eyes took in Lockdown's chaos and carnage, the screams of the humans in need. "Cade told me something on the ship, before all this transpired: 'Look at all the junk and see the treasure… Have faith, Prime, in who we can be.'" He looked down, locking eyes with Kate in a surety that told her fighting Lockdown was the right thing to do.
She sighed, kissing his hand before letting it go. "Just please try to win."
He mounted Grimlock and winked. "I always do."
But Kate never promised to stay back. She stood on that hill overlooking the city, listening to the screams of humans, Dinobots, Autobots—and, especially, the commands of her beloved mech—as Lockdown's magnet rained holy hell below. Closing her eyes, she placed her hand over her lower abdomen. It had been less than a day, they had no way of knowing if Ratchet's serum had taken or if it had been a complete failure. Still, something stirred in her heart: faith. Faith that it had been successful. That there was a little human growing within her. Faith that she could still help Optimus and keep this little one safe, one last time. Stay with me, little one, she prayed, we need to help your father.
So she took a deep breath, prayed to whatever God may be out there to watch over her family, opened her eyes, and started running.
"Cade, get out of here! This is my fight!"
When Kate reached the plant where Lockdown and Optimus had been skirmishing, she had to bite back a scream. Sure, the chaos of Lockdown's ship had ceased; it was now hovering over the bay, awaiting its master's orders. Yet, here at the plant, Optimus was pinned to one of the towers by his own sword, Cade and Bumblebee doing their best to fight Lockdown themselves until, hopefully, the weapon was dislodged. The Autobot leader was struggling, though: not even his strength could free him. It was obvious that to get the sword out of Optimus, it would take great effort—and teamwork.
Thank God he's still moving. Kate observed: the sword had been a tool to delay Optimus, not kill him. Probably Lockdown wanted to make his bounty suffer up close and personal before he was either captured or destroyed. It made her want to punch the hunter in the face—and dislocate his knees before he died an excruciating death.
Speaking of, Kate spied the tow truck speeding in between Optimus and Lockdown, its cable entwining itself so it caused Lockdown to fall disgracefully to the ground. He fumed—"it's my fight and you're all gonna die!"—as he struggled to regain his footing.
Now's our chance.
Kate waved her arms at the truck's driver: Shane, with Tessa in the passenger seat. Thankfully they saw her almost immediately, meeting her at the side of the skirmish and away from danger, for the moment.
"We need to get the sword out of OP," she instructed, pointing up at the truck's cable system. "Think that can handle the job?"
Shane cranked his head, peering up at the pulley system. A triumphant grin spread across his lips. "Oh, yeah. I can do that."
"Great. Tessa, can you help me?" She hated to ask but, in her mind, it was better safe than sorry. Especially if there was a little one at stake.
The teenager nodded, giving Shane a peck on the cheek before dismounting the truck. The lovebirds shared a familiar look—one that Kate and Optimus had given each other time and time again: be careful. Then, the women were off. They stood at a distance, waiting for Shane to get into position. Once he was, Kate raced to the cable, unraveling it and handing it to Tessa.
"Get out of here!"
By this time Optimus had noticed the two women and was shouting orders at them to leave, all while continuing to try to dislodge himself from the sword. Kate climbed onto a trailer next to him, pointing at it, showing Tessa the way to get the cable around the sword: she would have to jump. The teenager took a running start, latching the wire to the sword in one go.
"Great job, Tessa!" she praised the teen.
The blonde smiled back at her, nodding. "Ready?"
"Let's get to a safe distance."
But before Kate could turn away, Optimus cried: "Kate, why don't you listen?"
She put her hands on her hips, looking up at the mech with a grin. "You never made me promise to stay back."
That almost made Optimus chuckle. He couldn't hide the momentary grin that spread across his lips. "Humans. So stubborn."
"Damn straight."
"Drive!" Tessa shouted to Shane.
The tow truck's gears shifted, skidding the tires on the loose gravel before it sped as fast as it could. Kate took it as her cue to run; if the sword was pulled out while she stood there, it might kill her. She jumped off the trailer, racing to one of the barrels behind Optimus, just as the cable twanged itself tight. Please let this work, she prayed, watching as the sword struggled between the truck and Optimus's pushing. Then, in a fluid motion, the weapon finally dislodged itself, flying into the air, free from the Autobot leader's chest and the cable.
Optimus caught it, not missing a beat as he stabbed Lockdown through the chest, pulling it upward and splitting the bounty hunter straight up the spine, saving Cade from a gruesome death in the process. "Honor to the end," he murmured, looking down at the Cybertronian corpse.
Kate, Shane, and Tessa practically jumped for joy: their plan had worked! However, the delight was short-lived as the commotion had attracted the attention of the last of Galvatron's minions. They climbed up walls, crawled over debris, all in an attempt to get to the humans and Optimus.
"OP?" Kate groaned, feeling a chill run down her spine.
"I've got it—armed one of Lockdown's bombs."
She knew what that meant: the entire area was about to be obliterated. She, Shane, Tessa, and Cade all raced to Optimus, letting him grab hold of the four humans as his flight gear revealed itself. "Hold on!" he instructed before they launched high into the air.
Tessa giggled, Cade laughed, and Shane hid his face in the metal of Optimus's arm. He murmured something about not liking heights—"this is why I prefer cars." It made Kate roar with laughter. But, more than that, she laughed because it was finally over: Galvatron's minions, Lockdown, KSI and the government coming after them—all gone. We're free.
They landed on a dock across the bay from the city. Humans embraced one another, Autotbots high fived each other, Dinobots roared in triumph. Kate turned to Optimus, he stroked her cheeks once again and she kissed his hand. Suddenly, looking into his eyes, she had the feeling that their own personal triumph was short-lived.
"Next time I'm making you promise to stay put." The mech teased.
She didn't hesitate, understanding the sadness in the depth of his eyes: the Creators were still out there. "I kind of have to now. Can't follow you into space."
The Autobot leader nodded, letting his finger linger. "I promise you this: I will return."
"I know."
A hand sliding onto Kate's shoulder made the couple turn; Cade smiled at them both. "Don't worry, Prime. We'll take good care of them." The mech nodded, gratitude flowing from him: the human's promise to keep his sparkmate—and, hopefully, child—safe still stood.
"Thank you, Cade." Kate whispered, squeezing his hand.
He returned the nod before addressing Tessa: "Let's go home to graduation, huh?"
The teen frowned, hugging her father. "We don't have a home, Dad. It blew up."
Joshua smiled genuinely, looking at the blended family—Kate included. "I might be able to help you with that."
