So who do those beady red eyes belong to? Read on to find out! :D
DISCLAIMER: Transformers belong to Hasbro. HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY IT?
Chapter Seven – The Small Things
A small pair of crimson eyes watched Starscream exit the hangar bay, leaving the human girl alone in her prison. The small creature that the optics belonged to snickered quietly and an evil, accented voice muttered, "Won't Megatron be pleased?" Then it scurried away through the rain and disappeared.
Jade had only been asleep for a couple of hours - having taken two hours just to fall asleep from being too anxious for the morning to come when she may or may not be released - when a loud crash woke her with a start. It was nearly pitch-black in her room, save for the small bit of light coming in from under the door, created by the Decepticons' lights. She hurried out of her tube and slowly stood up in the darkness. Much to her relief, her aching body had begun to make quick repairs on itself now that it had been rejuvenated with water. Still, her chest pained her with every breath. After all, a broken rib wasn't going to heal overnight.
The crashing continued beyond Jade's door and she hastily made her way over to it, pressing her ear against the partially rusted metal.
"Did you think I was a fool? Did you honestly believe I would let you be here alone while I was gone?" screamed Megatron as another crash issued from the other side.
A panicked, frightened voice sounded and Jade frowned. Starscream was in deep shit.
"Ah, my Lord. Won't you please let me, uh, explain?"
"Explain? Oh, I don't think that's necessary. I've heard quite enough."
Jade cringed when she heard metal grinding against metal. Then the floor rumbled as something large hit it. She assumed it was Starscream. Damn it, she wanted to know what the hell was going on and what Megatron was so unhappy about. Had he figured out her plans with the Seeker? A shudder ran down her spine at the thought. She nervously looked down at her feet, not knowing what exactly she should focus on, and remembered that the door was raised a couple of inches off the ground, just enough space to see underneath it. Jade dropped to her stomach and was not surprised to see Starscream's crumpled form laying prone on the concrete at the other end of the building. Alongside him was Megatron. Something tiny was also beside the Air Commander. It skittered like a spider in the shadows around the fallen Decepticon who, at this point, was barely moving.
"You disappoint me, Starscream," uttered Megatron, giving his lieutenant one final kick to the side.
Starcream groaned.
"Always so weak. Unlike the Doctor who serves me endlessly." The Decepticon commander turned his back to Starscream and looked towards Jade's door.
She gasped as he began to make his way over to her.
"Scalpel, join me and watch as I rip this disgusting insect apart, piece by piece."
The snitching little slag chortled. "My pleasure, Master."
Terrified tears dribbled down Jade's cheeks. Her tear ducts had obviously replenished themselves, but tears were useless in a situation like this one. They only showed weakness and they certainly weren't going to save the girl's skin, which was about to be peeled off her very bones.
She stumbled in the dark back to her hiding space in the tubes and trembled. Her only hope of escaping was lying out there in the main hangar, probably half-dead. So this was it. She was going to die and she'd never even gotten the chance to say good-bye to her friends. She never even said bye to her young feline companion, Kiba. A part of her wanted to fight, to try and do something about her current predicament, but another part wanted Jade to just be at peace and wait for the end to come.
That was when she decided that laying down and giving in was not how she was going to leave this world. With sudden liveliness, Jade left the comforting confines of her tube just as Megatron whipped open the door, flooding the room with dim light.
For a moment, Jade remained strong, but as time slowly ticked by with the massive mech just watching her cruelly, Jade's knees began to shake. The little spidery creature beside Megatron didn't help her wavering strength in the least.
It eyed her sickeningly as it approached, its multiple slender legs carrying its small body, just as a venomous spider would.
"Scalpel!" shouted Megatron assertively. "I will do the honors of first blood." Then he strode towards the terrified human, each step drawing her closer to death.
Strength fled her then. Maybe she'd run and try to escape out of the hangar, or maybe she'd stay put. Either way, this really was the end. Her breaths became calm and even. Her heart quieted its incessantly loud beating. She thought of her friends and how lucky she was to have had them. They had saved her and they didn't even know it. Saved her from her boring high school life that had used to be filled with abusive name-calling and bullying towards her, but was now filled with people who cared and would never hurt her, who never let her hurt herself again. That was enough to keep Jade happy in her final moments.
But she still wished she could have had one last ride on Ratchet's tall shoulder, to watch and learn from him as he repaired other Autobots. She wished she could have had one last laugh with Sam as they cracked jokes about each other's parents. And damnit, she really wanted to lay with her cat for a final time, feel the brown, spotted feline purr against her. And what would her mother think?
Tears spilled then. Life was short and Jade was about to figure that out the hard way. But she'd hold on for as long as she could so that way she could look into Megatron's optics and prove to him that he would never win. She'd show him the strength in her, the fire, that all humans and Autobots have. Decepticons would never be the better faction. Never.
Megatron growled happily as he drew back his terrifying claws, which were ready to descend upon the weak fleshling below.
Jade figured her instincts and reflexes would get her the hell out of the way of those sharp talons, but before she could even flinched, a noise outside boomed.
The Decepticon prepared to strike, but held his attack off momentarily upon hearing something beyond the hangar building.
With muscles tensed, Jade remained silent and still. Something moved beyond Megatron and her blue eyes found Starscream attempting to stand up.
"Ah," said Megatron, figuring out what his human captive was eyeing. "Is the weakling Seeker awake?" He turned back to confirm it.
Jade eyed Starscream, but her mind was focused on the sound outside. It was so familiar, but she couldn't figure out why!
Then it hit her like a brick to the face. She heard it back in Egypt, when the massive transport plane was approaching the ancient ruins to drop off NEST soldiers and the body of Optimus Prime. Jade remembered the sound of the plane clearly. And what she was hearing now was definitely the same thing.
Since the chances of such an aircraft taking a leisurely fly around the Nevada desert were very slim, it could only mean one thing—help was coming.
Starscream, Jade thought. He had signaled them somehow and alerted them to their presence. She knew it. This was his way of getting back at old Megatron. It was the small things, after all.
"Starscream!" she shouted, causing Megatron to glare down at her angrily.
"Silence, fleshling!" The large bot whipped his claws at the human, but was too slow, for she ducked and rolled away from him.
Jade was back on her feet in an instant as the noise outside drew closer. "It's the small things, remember?" Her scratchy voice eased up a little bit to allow the girl's words to flow more strongly. "Remember?" She had to react more quickly this time to avoid another swat from an extremely impatient Megatron.
Even the small insect-like Decepticon was trying to bring her down, swiping at her ankles and chasing her around like a horny chiwawa.
"Get the fuck off!" Jade yelled and kicked it away from her. It landed with a thunk against the nearest wall. Sparks flew, meaning she had damaged or even killed it. Now the adrenaline was pumping as she dodged yet another blow from Megatron as she weaved in between his legs.
He tried stepping on her, but failed again. He roared impatiently. "Maggot!"
Jade made her way towards Starscream, who was now back on his feet. She didn't make it passed the door, for a tight grip laced itself around her midsection.
"I can't wait to tear you apart," declared Megatron. "Piece by-"
An explosion went off right beside Jade as a missile impacted Megatron's shoulder. He grunted and released her unwillingly.
The fall would have injured Jade substantially had Megatron's leg not been there to break it. Jade latched onto it like a spider money and held on as the older Decepticon stumbled back. Her grip slipped, however, and she dropped to the floor, but this time it was from a much lower height of a few feet. Once she hit the ground, she scrambled out of the way as the two mechs began to duel, her ears ringing painfully.
Another missile went off, but missed Megatron, exploding into the wall behind him and causing a couple of metal pipes to roll off the pile. A breeze suddenly entered the room and Jade looked around, confused, as she pressed herself against a wall. The source was close and it was a short time later that Jade realized it was coming from behind the stacked tubes. They were strategically placed, probably by Megatron, to prevent the human from finding the vent that led to the outside world.
However, there were still several massive metal pipes remaining, blocking most of the shaft. But Jade's frame was slim and she crawled up and over the last metallic tubes and squeezed through the uncovered vent between the wall and the highest pipe. She wasn't yet out of the woods, though.
While Starscream had been too busy to see Jade disappear into the vent, Megatron was not. With one hand firing upon his unruly subordinate, he sent a cannon blast her way. The blue energy splashed across the pipes in a brilliant, flashing explosion that lit the room, as well as Jade's path through the dark tunnel.
Jade could feel her back growing hotter as the projected energy blast entered the vent. The heat was damn near unbearable and Jade feared that she might not make it out in time. After all, she was clueless about where she was going. It had become dark in the tunnel again once Megatron's explosion dissipated, but the heat was still very much there.
A very dim light up ahead made Jade's crawling quicken as she drew closer to the coolness outside. Finally and with a nervous laugh, Jade reached the vent covering that separated her from the dark desert beyond. Luckily, the heat from the explosion was cooled when pitted against the desert temperatures beyond and Jade quickly went to work on the metal grate.
It was rusted and old and while it was still made out of steel, Jade kicked out most of the screws holding it in, allowing her to bend the metal enough to escape.
She came out head first and landed uncomfortably upon the dusty, cracked ground of Nevada. But once she was on her feet, she didn't hesitate to get the hell out of there. Jade ran speedily towards the light, which grew brighter and brighter with every passing second.
"Please, please, please," she huffed pleadingly, praying for the miracle that was the Autobots. "Let it be them."
Behind her, she could still hear the Decepticons battling it out, but that quickly changed when Jade heard windows shattering. Taking a quick glance over her shoulder, she watched a jet burst out of the building and disappear up into the black clouds above. Another, more alien jet, followed it out but flew off in another direction.
In the end, Starscream would come back begging for mercy from Megatron, who, knowing full well how helpful it could be to have a Seeker in his midst, would just barely welcome him back. A few good head smacks and some aft-whoopings would set the Air Commander in his place, of course.
Jade's pupils constricted as the lights closed in on her position. If they were Autobots, then her life would be saved. But if they were Decepticons…