ATE: This may have taken me awhile to write, but I'm glad with what I came up with here. I wanna thank SeekerLuna, Crystalmaiden62, Autobot-Bre, Bumblebeecamaro38, Sailor Shinzo, and Diamond White for their reviews of the last chapter, and for Crystalmaiden62 for the idea she gave me for this chapter. This chapter covers the events of Episode 43 (Puppet), and I actually found this chapter interesting to write for reasons you'll soon find out. Enjoy!
Declaimer: I don't own Transformers or Transformers Armada. I only own my OC Valerie.
Chapter 20: Puppet
"So my old friend Optimus Prime is alive once again. How interesting. Ha, ha, ha." Megatron stood outside the Decepticon ship, but the strange thing was that he was smiling, something that he rarely did except on a few rare occasions. "He's as stubborn as ever and he refuses to admit defeat. Hahahaha... Hahahaha!"
Cyclonus and Demolishor stood a good distance away from Megatron and they couldn't help feeling confused as they watched him laughing.
"Has Megatron blown a circuit?" Cyclonus asked, completely dumbfounded. "What's he so happyabout? Optimus Prime's alive again, right?"
"Yeah, he is." Demolishor answered. "But I'd rather see Megatron like this than screaming his head off at us, Cyclonus."
"Yeah, I guess you have a point there."
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I felt like I was dreaming as I stood outside the Axalon with my friends off to the side on Optimus' left. The rest of the Autobots stood in front of the newly resurrected Autobot leader. I still couldn't believe that Optimus was back. He was really back!
"Welcome back, Optimus Prime." Hot Shot said as he saluted his leader.
"Welcome back, sir!" All the Autobots said as they saluted.
"Thanks, men." Optimus said as he saluted in return. "At ease."
Optimus lowered his and one by one the Autobots lowered their hands as well.
"This is a real miracle. It's sure good to see you, sir. I never thought we'd see you standing in front of us again."
"Are you one of those mirages I've read about?" Fred asked as he looked up at Optimus.
"Yeah right, Fred." Alexis said dully, looking over at Fred with her hands on her hips. "I think you need glasses."
At this Optimus chuckled as he turned his gaze to Fred.
"Don't worry, Fred. It's the real me." Optimus told him reassuringly.
"The Mini-Con Spark restored you, Optimus-sir. That combined with your need for peace that was stored in the Matrix brought you back to us." Red Alert explained. "I believe that has to be it. After all, it was a miracle."
"Yes, the Mini-Cons..." Optimus sounded thoughtful as he turned to Red Alert. "Those mysterious lights - I remember now. They guided me here."
I looked up at the Mini-Cons that were flying around the ship, their green light reminding me of shooting stairs.
"If those lights are the Mini-Cons, they've been following our ship. And they must be coming from all over outer space." Rad concluded. "I guess they want to return to Cybertron too."
So that was why the Mini-Cons were following the Axalon. After thinking it through my head, I found that it made sense. I could hear Hot Shot gasp quietly in awe.
"Hot Shot." Optimus called, causing the yellow mech to look at him. "Was it your decision to bring the kids on this voyage?"
"Yes, sir. It was." Hot Shot answered.
"Optimus!" Rad said. "It's my fault. I convinced Hot Shot into letting us come to Cybertron."
Optimus turned to Rad.
"There's no need to apologize, Rad." Optimus told Rad before turning back to Hot Shot. "The Mini-Cons and the Autobots want you to stay safe. I would have made the same decision."
Alexis was about to say something, but then she must've noticed something.
"Hey, what's going on?" Alexis asked.
I turned to see what Alexis was looking at and I saw that the Mini-Cons were acting weird, as in the trail of green light they had was swerving in vertical serpentine style.
"The Mini-Cons are acting kind of funny." Carlos said.
"You're right." Hoist agreed. "Something's got them spooked out there."
I suddenly heard something weird like the sound of electricity and I turned to look to see what it was, only to have my eyes widened at what I saw!
"Whoa! What is that?!" Rad exclaimed.
I didn't know what it was, but it looked to be some sort of black hole, which happened to have electricity sparking like crazy.
"Everyone inside! Now!" Optimus ordered. We all started running for the doorway that led inside the Axalon as fast as we could. "Move it! Let's go!"
I yelped when I suddenly tripped as I tried to make my way for the doorway, but it didn't seem like anyone noticed. I looked over my shoulder to see that the hole was getting bigger, but despite my mind yelling at me to get up and run for it I could make myself get up at all. It was like I was rooted in place because of fear. That was when I saw that Carlos got caught by the electrical tendrils and it started slowly pull him towards the black hole.
"Oh no! It got him!" Red Alert yelled before running to Carlos. He managed to catch him in his hand before the blue mech fell to the floor as if the electrical tendrils were pinning him down. "Get outta here, Carlos."
"I'm gone!" Carlos yelled before making a run for it.
That was when the electrical tendrils started to pull Red Alert towards the black hole.
"Oh no! Red Alert!" Hot Shot yelled.
I watched as Hot Shot ran past me and tried to grab a hold of Red Alert's hand in order to pull him back. That was when the yellow mech ended up getting caught as well as they were now being pulled closer to the black hole. I tried to get up and make a run for the doorway, but I was suddenly caught by those electrical tendrils and being pulled towards the black hole. I cried out in fear since I knew there was nothing I could do to stop myself from being dragged closer.
"Valerie?!" I heard Hot Shot cry out.
Before I knew it two metallic hands grabbed me and I found myself trapped inside them before they moved close to something.
"Brooo!" Sideswipe heard yelled.
"No, Sideswipe!" Optimus yelled.
"Bro! Come back!"
I didn't know what was going on and I felt fearful since I didn't know whose hands I was in. I couldn't see what was going on and that only fueled the anxiety I felt. Even if I couldn't see anything, I could still hear the sparking sound getting louder and louder as we got closer to the black hole.
'Jetfire!' I thought desperately before everything went dark.
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Consciousness started returning to me and I found myself lying in an uncomfortable position, but seeing that I was still trapped inside the metallic hands there wasn't exactly a way around this. I slowly started to sit up as I tried to gain my bearings to see that the inside of the hand seemed to be on its side. What happened to us? I couldn't see anything since the hands around me were blocking the outside world from me. I suddenly had a bad feeling, but I dismissed it as my fear of the unknown. Whoever's hold I was in wasn't doing anything, so I started banging my fists against the inside of their metallic hands.
"Let me out!" I yelled, still pounding my fists despite the fact they were starting to feel sore. "Come one, please let me out!"
I don't know how long I kept this up, but eventually I felt whoever holding me start moving. I heard them groan quietly as the hands I was trapped in seemed to move away from something before the hands suddenly opened up and the sudden light that appeared caused me to shut my eyes since it was bright.
"Valerie?" I heard a familiar voice ask.
After a few seconds my eyes started adjusting to the light and my eyes widened when I saw who was talking to me.
"Hot Shot?" I asked, surprised to see that I had been in the yellow mech's hands this whole time.
"Are you okay?" He asked me, looking concerned.
I felt a little confused at first, but then my mind seemed to register what his question.
"…I'm fine." I told him honestly.
I realized that Hot Shot must've had me trapped in his hands in order to protect me, and see as he was lying on his left side on the ground (and I happened to be sitting upright in his hands at the moment) he must've held me close to his chest in order to reinforce that protection. So that's why I felt his hands move earlier. I was about to ask if he was alright when I was interrupted.
"Hot Shot!" Both Hot Shot and I turned to where the voice came from to see Red Alert running towards us. "You alright?"
Red Alert stopped and seemed to somewhat tired.
"How are you?" Hot Shot asked, carefully getting up with me in his hands before walking over to Red Alert.
"I got kinda banged up." Red Alert replied, looking at his left arm. "And it looks like I sustained some collateral damage."
I looked around at our surroundings to see that we in what appeared to be a wasteland with what looked to be dead trees.
"So what is this place?" That was the same question that happened to be in my mind.
"It's a distant planet, but I don't know which one it is. We must have been blasted to the other side of the universe when we went through that wormhole."
"Do you think Megatron's behind this?"
"I doubt the Decepticons could pull something like this off. Let's set up here. We need to get a beacon going stat." Red Alert bent down a bit. "Hopefully, this'll help them find us."
It was at this that Red Alert pressed a button that was located on his body and I could hear the beeping sound that it left off. I assumed that this was the beacon he mentioned just now.
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Jetfire could faintly hear a beeping sound going off as he slowly activated his optics. It was then he realized that the beeping was coming from the navigation monitor and that it was indicating that a beacon was going off. That meant Hot Shot and Red Alert were okay.
'That's good.' He thought.
He looked around to see that everyone else was in stasis except for Optimus, who was struggling to get up, but in the end he couldn't. He also saw that the kids were in the same state as well, but it was then that he noticed something. Where was Valerie? Jetfire frantically searched the room again, but he still couldn't find her at all. His gold optics widened as realized what happened to her. She was with Hot Shot and Red Alert!
'Valerie!' Jetfire decided to try to communicate with her to see if she was alright. 'Valerie, can you hear me?'
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Hot Shot knelt down and lowered his hand so I could get off before he stood up again. I lifted my left hand to the button on the collar of my spacesuit so that I could take my helmet off.
"Don't do that, Valerie." Red Alert told me.
I jerked my hand away from the button and turn to face Red Alert, confused as to why he didn't want me to take my helmet off.
"Why?" I asked.
"We don't know if the atmosphere of this planet is safe enough for you to take your helmet off. Despite the fact that there are trees, they look too dead to produce the oxygen you need to breathe. It would be safer for you to keep your helmet on for now."
"But what if I run out of oxygen while wearing this spacesuit?"
"You won't. The spacesuits you and the your friends wear were designed to take the carbon dioxide you exhale and recycle it in order to create the oxygen you're breathing at the moment."
I didn't even know the spacesuit could even do that. It sounded so unreal, yet the whole concept was very convenient. Red Alert went over to a dead tree that happened to be nearby and seemed to start examining it. I happened to be standing to Hot Shot's right as he knelt down and scrapped up a bit of the ground.
"Huh?" Hot Shot brought up the piece of ground he dug up close to his face. He then looked up in realization. "Hey, it's salt."
"And this isn't a tree either." Red Alert told us. "I think it's a mechanical device of some kind."
Hot Shot turned to face my direction.
"So we got salty earth and mechanical trees." Hot Shot concluded, wiping the salt off his metallic hands. "I wonder what could live here."
Red Alert turned to Hot Shot.
"Nothing, as far as I can tell, Hot Shot."
"You mean nothing you'd want to run into, right?"
I suddenly started having that bad feeling I had earlier and it just…put me on edge. It was like warning signs were going off in my head and I wrapped my arms around me in order to comfort myself.
'I wish Jetfire was here.' I thought.
"What's wrong, Valerie?" Hot Shot asked.
"I don't like this place." I said, turning to look at the yellow mech. "I feel like something bad is going to happen."
"What makes you say that?" Red Alert asked.
"I don't know. I can't stop feeling like this."
I could see the worried looks on their faces (except for Red Alert, since he seemed to be good at hiding it).
"You must have one wacky sixth sense if you're feeling that way." Hot Shot suddenly said.
Red Alert carefully picked me up in his hand before he and Hot Shot started walking in a random direction. I felt a presence brushing up against my mind in the lightest of touches.
{…C'mon, Valerie! Answer me...!}
My eyes widened in surprise when I heard the familiar voice in my mind.
'Jetfire?' I said, trying desperately to hold onto the presence in my mind. 'Is that you?'
{…Course it's me. I've been trying to get a hold of you for awhile now…}
I noticed how Jetfire's voice sounded distant. And my connection to him didn't feel as strong as it usually did. Was it because this strange planet I was on was far away from the Axalon?
{…Don't worry about that...} Jetfire told me, knowing what I was thinking. {…Are you with Hot Shot and Red Alert…?}
'Yes, I am.' I answered. 'I'm scared, Jetfire. This place gives me the same feeling I get whenever Sideways appears in my mind.'
I know Jetfire tried to comfort me through our connection, but I could barely feel it. It made me realize just how alone I felt despite the fact that Hot Shot and Red Alert were with me. I was so far away from Earth, from home and anything that was familiar to me. I felt like I was a small child who had gotten lost in the worlds biggest Wal-Mart and was unable to find their parents. I was so scared that I wanted nothing more than to be back in the safety of Jetfire's arms and listen to him hum the Cybertronian Lullaby to me. I wish I hadn't tripped when I was running to get back inside the Axalon. I wouldn't be in this situation feeling the way I did if I hadn't been such a klutz.
{…Listen to me, Skydancer! Everything's gonna be okay. We're on our way to get you three off that planet you're on as we speak. For now I need you to stick close to Hot Shot and Red Alert. They'll keep you safe. I know you're scared, but I need you to be strong for me…}
'But Jetfire! I'm not strong! I've never been as strong as you or any of the others! I'm just a scared girl who's so far from home.'
{…You are strong. You just haven't realized it yet. Just be strong for me until we finally arrive. I know you can at least do that much…}
'…I'll try, Jetfire. I love you.'
{…I love…}
Jetfire's voice faded before he could finish what he was saying to me and I knew that whatever communication we had through our connection had disappeared for now. I felt like crying, but then I remembered that Jetfire wanted me to be strong for him. I had to be strong. If he believed I could be strong, then I was most likely capable of being strong. I just happened to be in this situation that's left me feeling a bit disconnected from my sparkmate temporarily, and I had to try to handle it until he and the others arrived to get us.
"This is just like a forest!" Hot Shot said as we continued making our way through the forest of metallic trees. "It kinda makes me miss the Earth." As I was looking around I thought I saw something, but when I blinked it was gone. "Hmm?"
I noticed Hot Shot had stopped walking and Red Alert stopped as well. Hot Shot seemed to be looking at something to his right.
"What's wrong?" Red Alert asked as he looked over at the yellow mech.
"I thought I saw something."
So I wasn't the only one imagining things? This…wasn't good. That bad feeling I've been having only seemed to get worse now.
"Hmm. I don't see anything."
"I'll go look." It was then that Hot Shot started walking off.
"You be careful!" Red Alert warned.
"Yeah, yeah... I know." Hot Shot said dismissively. He didn't get far when suddenly red blasts were being fired at us! Both Autobots dodged the attacks (Red Alert happened to cover me protectively with his hands) before hiding behind a tree. "Who's out there?!" Hot Shot looked around the tree, being careful just in case he got shot at again. "Come on and show yourself!" Suddenly a loud banging sound was heard the yellow mech looked up. "Huh?!"
I looked up to see what Hot Shot was looking at and my eyes widened when a dark figure, giving off a war cry, fell from the sky and landed in front of the yellow mech. If it were possible for my eyes to get any wider than they were, they must've been as wide as saucers when I saw who the dark figure looked like.
"Wow, Optimus?!" Hot Shot gasped in surprise.
"Get back!" Red Alert yelled, but suddenly the dark looking Optimus growled and tackled Hot Shot to the ground. "Hot Shot!" Red Alert placed me on the ground behind the tree before running over to help the yellow mech, but he stopped when dark Optimus noticed him. Even from where I stood looking out from behind the tree, I felt fear flow through me when I saw dark Optimus' red optics land on Red Alert after having turned to the medic bot. He growled as those red optics started to close ominously. "Who are you? Some kind of Optimus Prime clone?"
Suddenly dark Optimus clasped his fists together—and I saw Red Alert step back in fear as he recognized the familiar attack—before he pushed them forward and causing a blast to be sent forth and hit Red Alert. I cried out in fright when the trees were destroyed by the blast and I barely managed to get away from getting hit…thanks to my clumsiness, surprisingly.
"Hot Shot! You alright?" Red Alert called out. "Where are you?!"
I looked up to see that a bunch of trees had fallen over and I started to get up. The particles of the salty ground (that the trees had caused to fly everywhere as soon as they landed on the ground) started to clear up and I could see Red Alert was crouching. That was when dark Optimus landed in front of him before he started charging at the medic bot.
"Look out!" Hot Shot cried out.
Despite Hot Shot's warning dark Optimus still rammed into Red Alert, but the Autobot managed to recover quickly enough in the air just as dark Optimus turned around to see him land on his feet behind him.
"Transform!" Red Alert transformed into his vehicle mode. "Let's get outta here, Hot Shot!" It was with that that Red Alert started driving off.
I knew at that moment that Hot Shot was my only option to get away from the dark Optimus that was attacking us. I started running as fast as I could over to where the yellow mech was, but suddenly dark Optimus noticed me and I found myself frozen in place under the gaze of those red optics of his. Despite the fact that my mind was desperately yelling for me to run, I was unable to move at all as I watched dark Optimus charge at me. It was as if this dark transformer was something out of a nightmare and I couldn't help but be reminded of all the times Sideways had always appeared before me in my mind; the fear I felt was the same as the one I got from last time I saw that mech.
Suddenly a metallic hand snatched me up from where I had been standing and before I knew it I found myself sitting inside the interior of a car with the seatbelt fastened across my chest protectively. What…just happened?
"Are you okay, Valerie?"
I looked at the dashboard of the car and I realized that I was inside of Hot Shot. So he was the one that grabbed me.
"I-I think so…" I answered quietly, my body still shaking in fear from what happened.
I turned around to look out the back window just in time to see the dark Optimus transform into a dark version of the truck Optimus usually changed into. And it was driving after us!
"That thing can transform?" Hot Shot cried.
Suddenly dark Optimus started shooting at us and cried out in fright with my eyes shut tightly as Hot Shot swerved slightly to avoid getting hit. I could feel the seatbelt tighten slightly to keep me from moving around too much and hurting myself. I didn't want to be here! I know Jetfire told me to be strong, but it seemed impossible now due to the situation I was currently in.
"You know what? I find it disturbing how that sixth sense of yours was right! Remind me to never doubt you when start having those bad feelings again!"
"I don't exactly like it, either!" I said, opening my eyes. "For once, I wish I had been wrong!"
I found myself shutting my eyes again as I tried to think of some happy thoughts to distract me. I thought of all the times Jetfire held me while using his holoform and the safety that came with it. But thinking about Jetfire made me realize how much I needed him right now and it didn't help that I could barely feel him through the connection. It was like it wasn't there at all and I started feeling scared. The last time I couldn't feel the connection was when Jetfire rejected me because of my secret admirer, and because of it I ended up losing my emotions. Was I going to lose my emotions again like last time? Was I going to end up being a living doll, unable to feel anything from the simplest of warmth to my emotions?
'I don't want to lose my emotions again!' I thought fearfully. 'I don't want to end up like that!'
"He may be a fake Optimus, but he's as strong as the real one!" Hot Shot said. "What are we gonna do, Red?"
"I'm not sure. Just keep moving, Hot Shot." Red Alert said.
Suddenly I heard the sound of a familiar voice laughing.
"After them! Run them into the ground!"
My eyes shot open and I turned around to look at what was behind us, only to have them widen when I saw who else was behind us!
"It's Megatron!"
Not only was it Megatron, but Demolishor and Starscream as well, who all happened to be driving/flying behind dark Optimus. Hot Shot and Red Alert suddenly stopped and before I knew it I found myself being held in the yellow mech's hand.
"I am Nemesis PRIME!" The dark Optimus yelled as he transformed. That monster was called Nemesis Prime?
"So, Megatron is behind this." Hot Shot said.
Megatron, Demolishor, and Starscream transformed back into their robot forms and, as if out of nowhere, Tidal Wave appeared and Powerlinked with the Decepticon leader. The Decepticons ended up standing with Nemesis Prime.
"Yessss... It's so good to see you again, Optimus Prime." Megatron said. It was then that he took noticed of Nemesis. "You've changed."
I felt the blood drain from my face when I saw Nemesis Prime's red optics start to glow and suddenly he grabbed Megatron my his throat with one hand before holding him up in the air. But what had my eyes wide was the fact that Nemesis' arm literally stretched out like a rubber band!
"What's this?" Hot Shot asked in surprise.
"Stop! What - what are you doing?!" Megatron asked while struggling to get free.
Starscream pulled out his wing sword and charged at Nemesis Prime before slashing his arm off to free Megatron; the Decepticon leader landed on the ground. Starscream turned around to face Nemesis in time to see his arm regenerate and look as if it was never cut off in the first place. The sight horrified me and I knew this was bad…really bad.
"...Wha?" Hot Shot said dumbfounded.
"What is that thing?" Red Alert asked.
"Come get me." Starscream challenged, holding his sword with both hands. "I'm ready."
Starscream tried to attack Nemesis Prime, but then his sword was knocked out of his hands and I saw the fearful look on the Decepticon's face now that he was defenseless.
"Nemesis Prime will...DESTROY!" Nemesis yelled, punching Starscream to the ground. Starscream lands on the ground. "Heh, heh, heh, heh…"
Fear gripped me when I heard Nemesis Prime's dark laugh. It…it was the same laugh Sideways had, the same one I've heard some many times and dreaded hearing. Hot Shot suddenly knelt down and lowered the hand he held me in so that he could place me on the ground.
"You need to get to safety." Hot Shot told me. "If there's one thing I know for certain, it's that Jetfire will kill me if something were to happen to you."
I didn't question Hot Shot at all and tried to get to a safe distance from where the transformers were fighting.
"Hey!" Hot Shot yelled
"Huh?!" Nemesis Prime quickly turned to see the yellow mech charging at him.
"You're nothing but a big phony! I'll take you on! Graaaahh!"
Hot Shot managed to punch Nemesis Prime, but the monster recovered quickly and turned to look at him. The yellow mech tried to punch him again, but Nemesis ended up catching his fist easily before flinging Hot Shot to the ground.
"Hot Shot…" Red Alert yelled before running over to the yellow mech.
"Uh, I'll blast him." I spotted Megatron lifting up the Requiem Blaster and aiming it at Nemesis Prime. "I'll give you a personal demonstration of the Requiem Blaster. Good riddance!"
"No, don't!" Starscream suddenly yelled.
"Fry!" Megatron yelled before firing the Requiem Blaster at Nemesis Prime.
Nemesis Prime was caught in the blast that came from the Requiem Blaster, but my eyes widened in horror when I saw Hot Shot and Red Alert ended up getting hit as well. When the bright light from the blast faded I could see that all that remained of Nemesis Prime were multiple pieces on the ground. Demolishor went over to the remains and picked up a piece to examine it, only to yelp and drop the piece when the wired started moving.
Megatron laughed and lifted the Requiem Blaster up a bit.
"That was a good shot! With the Requiem Blaster, I never miss a target." Megatron said. "Especially the ones that look like Autobots."
I looked over to where Hot Shot and Red Alert were and gasped when I saw how damaged they were!
"Hot Shot! Red Alert!" I cried out.
I started running over to where the two Autobots were and as I got closer I could hear their conversation.
"C'mon... Get up, Hot Shot!" Red Alert said, and I could see Hot Shot struggling to get up. "Hot Shot!"
"I hear ya, Red Alert..." Hot Shot said, looking up at Red Alert. "But I - I don't think I can move my legs."
I almost made it over to where Hot Shot and Red Alert were when a metallic hand suddenly grabbed me. I started screaming in fear and tried to get free, but it was no use. I turned my head to see who my capture was and my eyes widened when I saw that it was Starscream. The expression on his face was unreadable, yet I could see the faint hint of conflicting emotions in his orange red optics. I suddenly heard Megatron laugh and turned to see him aiming the Requiem Blaster at Hot Shot and Red Alert.
"I know it's not much of a challenge, but I'll blast them anyway." Megatron said.
"Wait, Megatron!" Starscream suddenly said, causing the Decepticon Leader to turn to him. "Why don't we take them both hostage?"
"Hostage?" Megatron seemed to be curious.
"We can use them as bait to lure the other Autobots to the planet." Starscream turned to look at Hot Shot and Red Alert. "Look at these two... They're in no condition to put up much of a fight."
"And the human femme?"
"We can use her against the Autobot Vice Commander and take advantage of the fact that he's her guardian."
My eyes widened and I turned to Starscream to see if he really meant what he said, but upon seeing the serious look on his face I knew he meant it every weird. How could he do this to us? He knew that I was the only one he told about Alexis being his sparkmate, the one he trusted enough with that secret since he knew about my relationship with Jetfire. Didn't he realize how much Alexis was still hurting even after all this time? I felt betrayed that he would do something like this, but I had to be grateful that he only said that Jetfire was my guardian instead of my sparkmate. I knew that Megatron already knew this, but Hot Shot and Red Alert didn't need to know that, along with Demolishor.
"Yes, you're right. But they could prove to be more trouble than they're worth." Megatron said before aiming the Requiem Blaster at Hot Shot and Red Alert again. I was fearfully that he was really going to shoot them, but suddenly he smirked. "Ha." He then lowered the Requiem Blaster. "Still, we might be able to use them as decoys when we make our way back to Cybertron. Oh, Demolishor... Take them back to the ship."
With that Megatron started walking away.
"Uh, yessir." Demolishor replied before going over to Hot Shot. "On your feet, now!" Hot Shot looked up at Demolishor. "Hey, I told you to get up!"
Hot Shot looked down and started growling quietly. "Erggh, why you lousy - !" Hot Shot started getting up to try and attack Demolishor.
"No, Hot Shot! Don't do it!" Red Alert yelled.
Demolishor took a few steps back as Hot Shot approached him, but the yellow mech fell to the ground and I knew he was weak.
"Ah... I'll get you!"
I turned to Starscream and I felt so intimidated at the moment since he was no longer on the Autobots' side.
"Starscream." I said quietly, causing him to look at me. "Don't do this. I know there's some good in you even if you betrayed us. Think of how Alexis would feel if she saw you."
Starscream didn't say anything and turned away from me before going over to stand next to Demolishor. Hot Shot looked up at Starscream as the Decepticon seeker gazed down at him. The yellow mech's blue optics narrowed into a glare.
"You know what you are, Starscream?" Hot Shot asked as Starscream started reaching out his free hand as if he was about to grab the yellow mech. "You're a no-good low-down…deserter!"
"I'm a Decepticon!" Starscream said, his orange red optics narrowed.
"Uh? What - what's happening here?" Megatron suddenly said, causing Starscream to turn to face the Decepticon leader. I could see Megatron standing where he was while looking at the remains of Nemesis Prime and I could make out the wires moving on their own as if they were snakes. "What? What is this Nemesis Prime?"
To my horror a cloud of flurries suddenly came out of nowhere and started to form into a shape, or better yet into the form of Nemesis Prime. Nemesis stood up and I gasped when I saw how badly damaged his face was with the only thing still intact being his right red optic, which was starting to glow before the rest of his face was restored completely. Nemesis suddenly lunged at Megatron and the Decepticon fired the Requiem Blaster at him, but the monster easily moved out of the way; he charged at Megatron and swatted the Requiem Blaster out of his hold before pinning him down to the ground.
"No! Let me go!" Megatron yelled.
Nemesis Prime grabbed a hold of Megatron's hip blaster and easily tore it off before tossing it away and standing up. He then grabbed Megatron's head with his right hand.
"Get off of him right now!" Demolishor yelled before firing at Nemesis and hitting him in the back.
Nemesis Prime growled as he turned to face Demolishor and I knew the Decepticon was scared since he started running away just as the monster gave chase, running in a fashion that reminded me of a gorilla. Suddenly a black version of what looked to be the Star Saber formed in his hand and Nemesis caught up with Demolishor and pinned him down. He laughed darkly before slashing Demolishor's shoulder blasters off in a clean cut. It was then that Nemesis Prime turned to where Starscream and I were.
"Hey!" Starscream yelled.
Nemesis Prime merely laughed before charging at us, grabbed Starscream, and cut his right wing off. I screamed out in fear as Starscream started falling to the ground, but suddenly I found myself being held uncomfortably in the monster's free hand. I started screaming again and struggled.
"Let me go!" I cried out fearfully, thinking he was going to kill me.
But to my surprise he didn't do anything at all except keep me in that tight grip of his. That still didn't get rid of my fears and I was still shaking in response. Nemesis then turned around to Hot Shot and Red Alert where they were still lying on the ground injured.
"Hey, Red Alert." I heard Hot Shot say. "I think we've been spotted."
Suddenly Nemesis Prime started charging at Hot Shot and Red Alert, bearing the dark looking Star Saber. I saw the horrified looks on my friends' faces as Nemesis leaped into the air and I heard him laugh darkly, as if he enjoyed the fact that he was going to kill them. Just as he was coming down to attack the two injured Autobots something happened that sent me flying out of Nemesis' hand and I screamed as I saw the ground approaching. Oh god, I was going to die! If not I was either going to be in a lot of pain or end up breaking something! I hope I didn't break my spine or something! As I got closer to the ground I shut my eyes tightly as I anticipated the pain that would come.
I hit the ground, but the pain I felt wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Sure the landing knocked the air out of my lungs, but aside from that the pain was nothing more than what you'd get for running into a door and falling to the ground. …A normal person would be in a lot of pain right now (or dead), so how come I wasn't in as much pain or dead? I suddenly noticed in the sky and looked up to see a pillar of green light before five Mini-Cons appeared out of nowhere, all of them being inside bubbles that happened to be multicolored.
"This fighting must end…" One of the Mini-Cons said in a very deep voice.
"T-the Mini-Cons?" Red Alert said weakly in awe.
The green pillar of light disappeared and the bubbles the Mini-Cons were inside started to glow brightly before five green beams of light appeared and expanded to make a dome around Hot Shot, Red Alert, Megatron, Demolishor, and Starscream. My eyes widened as I watched the colorations on each Autobot and Decepticon change, along with them being repaired in the processes, before the dome and the Mini-Cons disappeared.
"Huh?" I heard Megatron say as he turned to look up at the sky.
"I look like...Thundercracker." Starscream said, sitting up as he looked down at his right hand.
Hot Shot stood up and looked down at his left hand in awe.
"The Mini-Cons reformatted and fused our armor - to save us all." Red Alert said before looking up at the sky.
I looked up at the sky as well and my eyes widened in surprise when I saw the Axalon appear. I felt so relieved to see the Autobot ship that I felt tears form in my eyes.
"Oh no! It's the Autobot ship!" The Decepticon leader picked up the Requiem Blaster that was on the ground next to him. "As Galvatron…" He started, and I was shocked when he aimed the Requiem Blaster at the Axalon. "I have even more power."
Just as I thought Megatron – of Galvatron, as he was now calling himself – seemed like he was about to fire at the Axalon I noticed something falling out of the sky and as it got closer to the ground I gasped when I saw who it was. Optimus transformed from his vehicle mode to his robotic form before landing on the ground in front of us.
"Optimus!" Hot Shot yelled in surprise.
"It's really him!" Demolishor said, pointing at the Autobot leader.
"Not for long." Galvatron growled, now aiming the Requiem Blaster at Optimus.
"Hold on, Megatron!" Optimus ordered, holding out his hand.
"Why?"
I yelped when the ground suddenly started shaking.
"What's going on?" I asked out loud.
"It's coming!" Optimus said.
That was when the ground erupted and out came a giant version of Nemesis Prime, his voice booming as he roared in anger. Optimus changed into his super mode and the red machine (that I just noticed) that came with him started changing until it was mounted on Optimus as shoulder cannons. I could hear Nemesis growling quietly at Optimus.
"Let's do it. Overload, fire!" It was then that Optimus fired at Nemesis Prime, and the blast that hit the dark Optimus looked as if it was electrocuting him. The Autobot leader then turned to Galvatron. "Megatron! Blast him with the Requiem Blaster!"
"Galvatron to you." The Decepticon leader corrected before laughing. He then aimed the Requiem Blaster at Nemesis Prime. I looked at Nemesis and I just felt fear upon seeing how badly damaged his face was. "Take that."
Galvatron then fired the Requiem Blaster at Nemesis Prime and a white light engulfed him, making it hard for me to see what was happening to him.
"Look! It's melting!" Starscream exclaimed. Were the transformers able to see what was going on?
"What?" Galvatron asked, looking at Starscream.
The white light from the Requiem Blaster hitting Nemesis disappeared, but my eyes widened when I saw what looked to be a hologram of Sideways in place of the dark Optimus. He grunted in pain before suddenly disappearing.
"A hologram of Sideways?" Hot Shot asked.
My body started shaking in fear as I realized why Nemesis Prime had been after me. Sideways had told me that my time was coming soon. This had to be what he meant. This whole time he was using Nemesis to retrieve me! Sideways was now after me. But he failed doing so. Oh, no… he was going to be angry about this. What if he saw incident as me trying to run away from the deal I made with him? If he did then that meant he would go after the people I cared about. Even though I didn't want him to hurt anyone, I didn't want him to take me away from Jetfire. I didn't want to end up being a catalyst that would bring about the end of the universe. This couldn't be my fate.
Suddenly the ground started shaking and breaking up, almost as if it were a result of Nemesis Prime being destroyed.
"Galvatron, let's get outta here!" Demolishor said after approaching his leader.
Galvatron lifted the Requiem Blaster up to his face.
"Yes, as soon as I finish them off!" Galvatron said.
I gasped as I realized what Galvatron meant and Optimus must've realized this too since he turned to Galvatron.
"Megatron! No!" Optimus yelled.
But it was too late. Galvatron aimed the Requiem Blaster at the Axalon and fired at it.
"No!" I cried out.
'Jetfire!' I thought, knowing that he was with the others inside the Autobot ship.
Due to being hit by the blast the Axalon was forced to land on the ground. Galvatron laughed, a smirk on his face.
"Isn't that too bad..." Galvatron said. "Looks like they won't be going to Cybertron now. But we will be."
Galvatron laughed as he, Demolishor, and Starscream warped off the planet and I assumed that they went back to their ship.
"Ah, they're gettin' away!" Hot Shot yelled.
"Hot Shot! Get to the ship, now!" Red Alert yelled.
Before I knew it I was suddenly scooped up off the ground and I found myself being held in Optimus' hand and he, Hot Shot, and Red Alert started running toward the Axalon. My thoughts returned to my fearful revelation concerning what I just went through on this planet that was breaking apart that I didn't noticed that we finally boarded the Axalon or the fact that we entered the bridge of the ship. I was able to pick up Sideswipe telling Optimus that the warp engine had been hit, so that meant that we couldn't warp away from the planet; we would have to get away the old fashion way by flying as far away as we could.
Eventually we managed to get away from the planet in time before it crumbled to pieces, but I was unable to forget the hologram of Sideways or Nemesis Prime. Alexis, Rad, Carlos, Billy, and Fred gathered around me asking if I was okay, but I couldn't seem to answer their question.
"He's after me…" I suddenly found myself saying.
Everyone seemed to go quiet as they turned to look at me with confused looks from what I said. They didn't know what I was talking about; I saw the look in Jetfire's optics and was fully aware that he knew what I was talking about.
"Valerie?" Optimus asked, sounding confused.
Everything seemed like a blur to me because the next thing I knew I found myself running down a hallway. I realized that me feet were taking me to Jetfire's quarters since I ran inside and went underneath his berth to hide. I ended up lying on the floor curled up in a fetal position as I tried desperately to escape the fears that plagued my mind, but I couldn't get rid of them. They kept coming back again and again and I ended up shaking because of it. I suddenly heard the door hiss open, followed by the sound of large footsteps walking into the room. From where I was I could see Jetfire's feet as he approached the berth I was hiding under.
"I know you're under there, Valerie." Jetfire said quietly, his voice sounding calm.
I watched as Jetfire bent down and I found him gazing at me as soon as he looked under the berth, his gold optics glowing color due to the dimness of my hiding place. In the end Jetfire ended up laying on the floor on his stomach while sticking his head underneath his berth so he was close to me. He brought one of his hands close to me so that he could caress me, and after he made sure that I calmed down a bit Jetfire gently wrapped his fingers around my body before carefully pulling himself out from underneath the berth. He soon stood up and placed me on top of the nightstand where my bed and stuff was before his holoform materialized in front of me. I know I surprised him when I suddenly clung to him, my arms wrapped around his waist and didn't dare to let go of him. That was when I started crying from both fear and relief. Fear because of what I went through, and relief because I was back with Jetfire. He ended up wrapping his arms around me in order to comfort me.
"He's after me, Jetfire." I said quietly, unable to hide the fear in my voice. "He's coming for me."
I could feel Jetfire's shock through the connection before it was replaced my anger, but it wasn't aimed at me; it was aimed at Sideways. His hold around me tightened protectively in response to what I said.
"He can't have you!" Jetfire declared, sounding very determined. "I won't let him take you away from me. I promised to protect you, remember? I wouldn't give you up if it meant my mother would be brought back from the Well of All Sparks. I'll continue to protect you even if it costs me my spark."
"No!" I shook my head in protest as I was suddenly reminded of the vision Sideways showed me of Jetfire being killed and seeing his spark being extinguished before my eyes. I didn't want to see that happen again, even if it had only been a vision the first time. "I don't want you throwing your life away just to protect me! I don't want Sideways to kill you like he did in that vision I had!"
"And you think I want to lose you to that virus?" I knew Jetfire remembered the vision I told him about that day I tried to commit suicide the first time. "I don't care what happens to me, all that matters is that you're safe."
"But Jetfire-!"
I didn't get to finish since Jetfire captured my lips with his and kissing me. Through our connection I could feel how strong his determination to protect me was to keep me away from Sideways. I knew that no matter what I said to try and convince him otherwise, his mind was made up and he would remain steadfast and stubborn. He was proving to me just how much he wanted to protect me and I felt a few stray tears leave my eyes. Jetfire eventually pulled away before holding my close and tucking my head under his chin.
"I'll always protect you. Don't try to convince me otherwise." He said as if it were final. "Besides, I indirectly promised your parents that I'd keep you safe, remember?"
I smiled a small smile before shaking my head.
"You can be so stubborn sometimes." I told him.
"If it means keeping you safe then I'll continue being the stubborn mech that I am." He laughed quietly.
Jetfire decided that I should go to bed early and had me get changed into my Pjs. He joined me as soon as I got under the covers and I ended up falling asleep in his arms, feeling safe and warm.
ATE: That's it for now. I wanted to get this chapter done so badly that I ended up staying up late to finish it. Luckily I don't have classes tomorrow (or today, if you want to be technical). I find it funny how I had Valerie's clumsiness - the very thing that got her into trouble - be the very thing that saved her from getting hurt at one point in this chapter. It's very ironic if you think about it. I could've done better with the last part at the end, but I couldn't really think of anything I could do to make it better. I guess I'll be going to bed now after I post this chapter.
Please remember to review and oyasumi (goodnight)! ;D