The Human Prime
Chapter 13: Sisterly Love
"Optimus, are you okay? You seem distracted." I sat in the passenger seat, having no interest in pretending to drive. I watched as he almost ran a stop sign, but managed to stop quickly enough.
"I apologize; I suppose I am a bit distracted." He paused at the stop sign, slowly slipping back into his deep thought.
"You can talk to me, we are partners, friends." I traced my fingers over my seat belt, feeling that it had locked on me.
"I am a bit troubled. While we are dwindling in numbers, Megatron has now acquired the means to create countless more warriors." He began to drive again, slowly and calmly.
"Mira's creations." He must have realized too that the metal worm we encountered in the Arctic was a beast made by my sister's hands. "Optimus, her beasts are no vehicons. They aren't without major defects. No matter the numbers we will fight them all, together. You shouldn't worry yourself so much."
"Artemis tha-"
"Optimus, I'm getting some abnormal readings here." I heard Ratchet over the radio which made my head perk up.
"I'm on my way."
At Base
"Optimus, no word yet from Bulkhead, but I am detecting some rather curious subterranean frequencies." Ratchet remained at his post on the computer as I began to suit up in my armor.
"Of Earthly origin?" Optimus was joined by his other warriors behind Ratchet.
"I do not yet know what they are, but I do know where." Ratchet brought up a map with the coordinated of the location of the frequencies.
"The coordinates at which we last encountered Megatron."
"And Airachnid." Arcee added to Optimus' statement with much anger.
"And Airachnid's Insecticon." Ratchet added almost as a warning to Arcee to calm herself. I watched them all debate until Optimus finally suggested that we would investigate with extreme caution. He also made sure Arcee knew that she was to exercise restraint. As much respect as I had to Arcee, I doubted that she would be able to hold herself back if Airachnid really was on site
"Artemis, while I know you are a highly capable warrior, I ask for you to remain here." I was about to argue when I sensed his paranoia and found it to be my own. He felt something else would happen while they were otherwise engaged. What I at first believed to be a serious misjudgment of my strength was actually an honoring task of guarding his base.
"As you wish." I unfolded my arms and activated the ground bridge for Ratchet. Optimus nodded at me then led his Autobots into the portal.
"Autobots, Roll Out."
Jungle
"I hate to ask, but what are we doing out here." The trooper asked with an annoyed voice. Although Lord Megatron had given the group direct orders to obey Mira's command, they were not happy about it one bit.
"I must find a way to capture my sister once again. Even if it takes all day, I will wear her down enough to capture her." Mira explained through her helmet's speakers. "Knockout, did you bring what we discussed about?"
"Yes, but are you sure that THIS will bring her out into the open?" Knockout put down the small disk so that Mira could use it.
"Of course, but remember, you are not to engage, only observe." Mira pressed on the center of the disk as it began to blink and send out a small beeping noise. "Go now, hide!"
At Base
Artemis saw the blinking on the screen before Ratchet, who was listening to Optimus about an invasion against Megatron's warship. She pointed it out to him and immediately he looked into it. Despite what he thought, it seemed to be an Autobot beacon. Ratchet complained about the rotten timing, but Artemis was more concerned of who may have sent it out.
"I don't think the person who is sending out that beacon is any ally of ours." Artemis, however, put on his visor and gathered her hover board.
"That may be so, but it is difficult to be certain. I must keep the com-link open for Optimus." He noticed Artemis opening the ground bridge already, prepared to make the journey there. "Be careful Artemis."
"Keep sick bay open, just in case." Artemis walked through the bridge and found herself in a thick jungle. "Whew, and I thought Jasper was hot." She put her hair up so that it wasn't so sweaty hot.
The jungle was eerily quiet and, despite instincts, she went further into the brush towards the beacon. When she finally got to its position, all she found was a blinking disc. Artemis picked it up and examined it just in case it was dropped after the signal was sent, but the Decepticon emblem on the back was proof that it was all a trap. She wasn't sure of the traps objective, but she knew she at least had to get out of the thick jungle.
"Ratchet, you there?" As she expected, the com-link was jammed. All she heard in return was static and rustling nearby. When she found no way of contacting base, Artemis took off away from the noises. However, when she could begin to see a break in the thicket, Mira tackled her, cause them both to fall into the greenery. "Not very subtle, are you Mira?"
"I get excited before a killing, can't you tell?" Mira stabbed at her, but only ended up hitting dirt.
"You're more twisted then I thought." Artemis slashed at her violently, but making sure it was simply a warning shot.
"I don't know what's slower, your attacks or your brain." Mira jabbed her knee into Artemis' stomach causing her to slam into a truck. She maneuvered around the tree and began running towards the open. Occasionally, her feet would get caught in the thick greenery underneath her which then she would have to duke it out with Mira in order to keep moving forward.
Finally breaking out of the jungle, Artemis could move more freely, but when she turned to face Mira, she scratched her face with the blade right on the cheek. She recoiled back and wiped the blood off the wound, soon returning her hands to a defensive position. Mira through her fists at her wildly, revealing no pattern or sign of exhausting.
"Mira, don't make me do this." Artemis, needing some relief, cocked her blaster and aimed it at her. "I don't want to do this."
"You don't have the guts!" Mira launched herself at her and found that Artemis did indeed have the guts. The blaster fire hit her right in the chest, her armor diffusing the shot throughout the rest of her, but the impact caused a dent in the center.
Mira found that it was time for a change of scenery. She took off quickly to where she knew of a rock plain that was perfect for a gun fight. The trees were large, but there was less ticket to get caught at her feet. A trooper, a fast one, came next to her when Artemis was far enough behind that she wouldn't be able to see.
"I told you to remain hidden!" Mira scolded him while keeping up her base. "Get out of here!"
"Knockout told me to tell you, he has gotten an emergency message from the Nemesis. There seems to be an intruder." The trooper almost ran into a tree for not paying attention, but then returned to Mira's side.
"An Autobot?"
"Starscream."
"The old S.I.C huh? Alright, alright, send half of my reinforcements back to the ship. K.O stays here." She watched the trooper nod at her then disappeared back where he wouldn't be seen. A shot sped by her ear making it ring. "Don't worry, I didn't forget about you dear sister."
Mira got to the rock plain and ducked behind a stone right before she could get blasted by Artemis. She waited for her sister to appear in front of her before tackling her violently into a rock. She tried to get a better edge on Artemis, by holding her arm to Artemis' neck while bringing her blaster to Artemis' head. However, Mira didn't expect her sister to jab her fist into her chest.
"You make it very hard to love you, you know that?" Artemis said with a heavy breath, trying to get air in her lungs.
"I'm not looking for my sister's love. I'M LOOKING FOR MY ENEMIES PAIN!" Mira didn't allow a second of rest; she swung her arm around only to hit the surface of the rock. Artemis had used the environment against her and went into hiding. "Come out and face me!"
Artemis POV
I stayed firmly pressed against the ground, using the rock in front of me as cover. I had a clear view of Mira from where I was hiding. I could see her turn violently trying to find a trace of where I was hiding. She looked so angry, so wild, that just her posture seemed to frighten me. I needed to get out of here or risk that dark energy being unleashed against me. As I shuffled my body backwards towards the brush on the edge of the rock plain, I heard small stones rustle against the ground.
"Scrap." I knew that it must have been me, because I saw Mira jolt her head towards my direction and begin trying to egg me out. After rustling, I went back against the rock to guarantee that she couldn't see me.
"Damn it, COME OUT!" I was about to start moving back toward the brush when the rock next to my own got blown to smithereens. The jagged shards of stone jumped up at me, ripping at my cloth face mask and scratching my armor.
Knowing my hiding spot would probably be next in her firing frenzy; I took to my feet as quickly as possible and took to the cover of the trees. As expected, Mira blasted right at my feet making it hard to get momentum. When I was finally safe in woods, I kept running not knowing where it would lead me. It didn't matter; I just needed to get as much distance as possible so that I could catch my breath.
Mira POV
I could smell her in the air as I followed her into the woods. She managed to get away from me in the stone plain, but the direction she was heading right now led straight to a cliff. I could smell her sweat as my own animalistic instincts drove me to run after her with full adrenaline.
I got closer and closer and finally managed to tackle her to the ground. The moist ground caked on out armor as I tried to punch at her cheeks. She kept me at bay which made me angry. I always felt angry towards Artemis' strength compared to my own. Even with the power of Unicron I couldn't totally overpower her. She pushed my off and I watched her run away from me again.
"Keep still!" I growled and chased after her.
At Base
Sam sat in the office chair, Wheeljack sitting next to her as she convinced him to stay a bit longer. Ratchet had mentioned that Artemis had left for the jungle earlier in response to a beacon. Sam heard him talking to Optimus, trying to get a hold of Bulkhead who had went missing earlier in the day, and tried to determine where Arcee went off to. Before long she began to get restless.
"Ratch, Shouldn't Artemis be back by now?" As soon as she said that, Ratchet stopped abruptly and looked at her. That look made Sam very worried as she stood up from the chair.
"Jackie, we gotta go find her." She looked up at him and Wheeljack only nodded and stood up, offering a hand to her. Ratchet became more worried when he found he just could not get Artemis' exact location.
"I can open up the original coordinates. I-I can't seem to locate her signal." Ratchet shook his head as he went to open up the ground bridge.
"I can track her down when we get there. Don't worry Doc, we'll find her and bring her home." Wheeljack left through the ground bridge.
Mira POV
I had lost her again, but not too much. I could see her back far ahead of me and I could see her stopping to take a breath ever so often, not enough to make a difference. I hated how she didn't even look back at me. How she didn't even look back to see how close or how far away I was from her. She was running for her life, but she didn't act like it. Was I the only one who thought she had something to be afraid of?
"Mira." The trooper from before came up to me again. I growled at him and sped up so he would understand I didn't want to talk to him. "Mira, there was another alert."
"The warship has many more warriors to deal with whatever is going on. I'm sure whatever big emergency there is that they don't need four troopers and a beauty medic!" I felt his presence still and growled back at him. "What is it?! What is so important?"
"The warship is being attacked." I stopped suddenly, knowing if I tried hard enough I could catch up to my sister.
"By what?" I faced the grunt and waited for an explanation.
"Insecticons."
"What? That doesn't make any sense what so ever. You must have faulty Intel. Just ignore it." I was about to continue after Artemis, but the trooper didn't go away which suggested that he wasn't satisfied. "If it makes you feel better, three troopers off. I only needed one of you clones anyways."
He nodded and went back to where he was hiding, most likely with the others. I went after my sister as quickly as possible. Who knew if she was resting and regaining energy I worked so hard to diminish. When I finally caught up to her, I found her gasping, completely out of breath. Seems I wasn't too late to grind her down for what I lost.
Sam POV
I stood high up on Wheeljack's head, trying to find some sign of Artemis' whereabouts. Before I could figure it out, Wheeljack began to walk again. I held on tight and hung my head over so I could see his face.
"Did you find something Jackie?"
"No, but I figured it would be better to actually look around then standing in one place."
"The trees are too tall Jackie, I can't see anything." I frowned and slowly got down to his shoulder. "You think she's okay?"
"I think she's tough and the Decepticon's will have their hands full." Wheeljack knew exactly how to make me feel better.
"Alright, full steam ahead Wheeljack! We got an Autobot to find!"
Artemis POV
I skidded toward the edge of the cliff. It was a long jump to make it to the other side, impossible. I wondered if maybe I could at least jump and latch myself on the cliff side on the other side, but I doubted that would help me get away from Mira.
I wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but today she seemed to not want to let me be. I knew at this point she was trying to wear me down, but I was still unsure why. She had paused from chasing me further back which made me believe she got contact from Megatron. I only had a few moments to think it over, but I was going to try and make to the other side.
"Don't you dare!" Mira tackled me onto the ground before I could even attempt a jump. She gripped my hair and shoved my face into the dusty ground. I tried to get her off, but I found it to be difficult. "Tired sister?"
"Get off!" I kept pushing up on the ground until I could finally turn and elbow her in the head. "Why are you doing this?"
"I've told you-" I got on top of her and held my forearm against her chest so she couldn't get back up easily.
"You're twisted, you hate me, that's why are you attacking me. Why are you doing it now? Here. There is no gain for jumping me now. If anything you're only setting yourself back!" She hit me against my temple making me a little disoriented, enough for her to push me off and begin blasting at me again.
"You're just asking me because you don't know. And if you don't know that means I'm more twisted that you thought." I managed to grab her arms before she could blast my head off. "You can't fix me. There's nothing to fix. Stop avoiding it and hate me already!"
She smacked me across the face and just waited. I hated to admit it, but she was right. I tried to figure her out only to find that she was too twisted to. I didn't want to think that she would just be attacking me because she wanted me dead or wanted to toy with me.
She was my sister, but how much did she have to do before it would be grounds for hating her. She resented me most of our childhood, didn't hate her. She killed our parents, still no hatred. Two attempts to end me and her attempt to kill me now and I still could not hate her. I keep trying to fix her instead of trying to hate her.
In a way, it was almost cowardly. Instead of hating my own flesh and blood, I chose to blame some dead evil that had manifested itself in an object that just so happened to be in her arm. She chose the Spark of Unicron. She took it as a blessing and used it as the power she needed to end our family.
Mira kept hitting me against the head over and over again. I could feel my head getting wet and I knew I must have been bleeding. I noticed a crack in the ground. It was large which made me suggest that it went deep into the ground. It was a way out, but it was insane.
"Getting dizzy?!" She swung again, but before her fist made contact, I blasted the crack at least two times. The ground beneath us began shaking, breaking just underneath our feet. I tried to dash to safety, but Mira grabbed me by my ankle as she began tumbling down with the rocks.
Rock Plain
Wheeljack observed the cracks in the rocks and found them to be blaster fire. Sam pretended to do the same, but didn't get any information from the experience. A distance rumbling caused them both to raise their heads. They shared a confused look then began running in that direction.
The ripped up cliff side suggested that Artemis was here. They both looked down and found a human standing parallel to two Decepticons. Normally, Wheeljack would jump straight down and smashed the cons engine blocks, but with Samantha on his shoulder, he had to be careful. He began inching down the cliff side, being careful not to slip and cause them to fall.
By the time they got down there, the Decepticons were gone. One among them, Knockout, began zooming away as fast as his wheels could carry him. The last one, the trooper, paused. Long enough to see a human hand on the side of his cradled arms, both of them assumed it was Mira who was injured from the fight. The trooper transformed and took off before Wheeljack could even fire a round.
"Sam, what took you so long?" Artemis turned and smiled at Sam and Wheeljack. Her smile was almost eerie, out of place, but she smile was large and soft. Her armor was missing except for a damaged gauntlet on her right arm. Her skin was drenched in sweat and small dabs of dried blood on her face.
"Traffic."