Transformers: Cold Steel - Chapter 7
The Morning Star Cantina, Tarn.
Chromia didn't have to wait long for Grindstalker to come at her, with his axe swinging for her head. Ducking and causing him to miss, she shot back up to drive a fist into the Decepticon's lower torso, causing the charged energon knuckles to crackle on contact.
Grindstalker paused for a second when the pain lanced through his body. He hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did. Angry that the fembot had managed to harm him, Grindstalker twisted his body around and swung the axe back the way it came.
Chromia jumped back this time as the axe missed her neck by inches. She saw an opening and took advantage with two swift but powerful punches to his midsection. Grindstalker yelled in pain this time as he swung the axe again. Chromia dodged the strike but the Decepticon lunged again and slammed his shoulder against her.
Sliding across the floor until she slammed into the side of an energon storage tank, Chromia was stunned but saw the large Decepticons coming at her. She rolled out of the way when the axe came down, digging itself into the floor, just missing the energon tank. Thankful Grindstalker's not only missed her but the tank as well. If the axe had penetrated the tank on contact and produced a spark, the tank would explode and possibly the entire supply room. And perhaps the Morning Star as well.
Chromia rolled again as Grindstalker attacked once more, striking the floor with his weapon where the Autobot was a moment ago. Chromia moved to get up but felt something grab her leg. With the Autobot in his grasp, Grindstalker pulled Chromia closer, bringing his axe up to drive it through her body. Chromia sat up and punched Grindstalker's knee, causing him to curse but the axe still came crashing down.
She managed to twist out of the way of the devastating blow and wrap one arm around Grindstalker's arm while she shoved her other fist into his exposed elbow. The strike caused Grindstalker to drop his axe to the floor. Continuing her assault, Chromia threw another punch and struck the underside of Grindstalker's chin, snapping his head backwards. In a fit of anger, Grindstalker used his free hand, pulled Chromia off from him and threw her across the room.
Smashing through a row of glass cases used for brewing energon, Chromia came to a crashing stop as she bounced off the wall. The impact affected most of her body, lingering longer than Chromia would have liked. The sound of glass being crushed told her Grindstalker was approaching. Looking where she could go, Chromia saw more vats of energon and limped towards them, hoping for more time to recover.
"Where are you going?" said Grindstalker as he drew a heavy blaster from his weapon compartment and fired. The laser bolt flew over Chromia's head as she cursed Grindstalker's recklessness. One shot was all it took to ignite the energon stored here. It was clear to Chromia that she had pressed him over the edge and wanted some payback.
Before Chromia found cover, Grindstalker fired again and grazed her forearm. Grimacing in pain, Chromia disappeared among the various storage units of energon, using the darkness to her advantage. The shooting stopped but it was only a matter of time before Grindstalker found her.
With her back against a barrel, Chromia inspected her injuries. She looked at her forearm and saw her comlink was damaged. She didn't bother her, it wasn't like she was going to call Twin Twist or Whirl for help. They had been told to stay out of this from the beginning and to leave Grindstalker all to her. But since Grindstalker was using a firearm, she wouldn't mind if she found herself something to even the odds. Then again, she knew he was never going to play fair. Wasn't like she had any intention of doing so either.
"Autobot," said Grinstalker, tapping his axe repeatedly against the closet energon vat. "Are you coming out to play or did you curl up somewhere to hide?"
Grindstalker was losing his patience. Grindstalker needed this Autobot to die in the most painful manner possible, especially after what she had done to him and his squad. He refused to allow her to get the better of him anymore, she had humiliated him in every way imaginable and needed to find her. Seeing as locating Chromia wasn't happening fast enough, he decided to change tactics.
"I'm going to make you beg for your life the same way Moonracer did!" he yelled. "That's right, I know who she was. The Autobot sharpshooter was known to some of us Decepticons. Now she's known as a rusting carcass deteriorating into dust. But don't worry, you'll be joining her soon!"
Grindstalker never saw it coming. Attacking from behind, Chromia jumped on his back and struck the side of his head with an energon knuckle. "Keep her name out your mouth!" she yelled as she began hammering his head. Grindstalker raised his blaster to shoot Chromia off his back only to have it smashed apart with one punch. Out of options, Grindstalker purposely fell backward and slammed Chromia against the floor.
Roaring in pain, Chromia held on and wrapped an arm around Grindstalker's neck while grinding an energon knuckle into the side of his face. Fighting to free himself, Grindstalker rolled onto his side, pushed himself up to his feet and reached over his head. Grabbing one of Chromia's arms, Grindstalker pulled as hard as he could and threw her forward. Chromia collided with the wall of an energon silo, fell to the floor then lay there motionless, on the verge of falling into stasis lock.
Grindstalker took a moment as he saw Chromia wasn't going anywhere. As he closed in to deliver what would be the final blow, his inner systems delivered a damage report. Grindstalker was impressed with the amount of damage the smaller Autobot had managed to deliver. But he knew his superior armor would prevail in the end. "You're tough, I'll give you that," he said. "But you're not nearly strong enough to take me down."
Chromia focused her optics to correct her blurred vision. It wouldn't be long until Grindstalker was standing over her, ready to end her life with one fatal swing. She thought about the gun she had stored in her leg but it wasn't strong enough to break Grindstalker's armor, even in its weakened state. What she needed was something with more punch.
Looking at her hands, Chromia had an idea. As Grindstalker got closer, Chromia forced herself up, slipped off an energon knuckle into her hand and with all her remaining strength, hurled it past the Decepticon. Grindstalker thought the Autobot was making a desperate attempt to defend herself, watching her throw completely miss him. But with horrifying realization, Grindstalker froze in fear when he saw the knuckle hit an energon tank.
The tank exploded when the energized melee weapon perforated its surface, knocking Grindstalker off his feet, and slamming him into the next storage tank. Upon impact, the tank cracked open, releasing the volatile liquid inside, washing over Grindstalker where he lay. Before the Decepticon could get away, the escaping energon spread out across the floor and made contact with the fire caused by the first explosion.
As the second tank blew up, Chromia was crawling away to avoid the shrapnel that flew from the explosion. She looked for a way back to the bar but all she could see were more energon tanks. Chromia needed a way out as it was only a matter of time until the rest of the energon went up.
Then she saw it. At the back of the storage area was a security door. Pushing herself up, Chromia began limping her way out as the fire continued to spread, threatening to detonate the rest of the energon. Even with the distance she put between herself and the flames, she felt the room getting hotter. Reaching the door, Chromia's fears were confirmed when she discovered the doors were locked. Rather than trying to hack the controls, she punched the panel with her remaining energon knuckle, shorting the door's locking mechanism.
As Chromia pushed the doors to open, two more explosions went off behind her. Chromia slipped outside but she wasn't far enough when the storage area exploded. The force of the blast followed Chromia, knocking her off her feet and throwing her across the ground.
As the fire began to consume the building, the front door of the Morning Star opened up as the owner ran for his life. Under his arms were two heavy cases of shanix. Their weight threw his balance off as he made his escape. While concentrating on avoiding the dead bodies scattered about the ground, he ran face-first into something solid, causing him to fall backwards, dropping his cargo and spilling the contents of the cases across the ground.
Looking up, he saw the angry face of one of the Wreckers looking down at him.
Scampering away, the bar owner began to gather up the shanix he spilled when another Autobot, one with a single optic, leaned towards him. "Leave it."
With the need to preserve his life outweighing his greed, the owner transformed and took off. Twin Twist and Whirl let him go as they headed for the entrance of the Morning Star.
"Chromia!" yelled Twin Twist as he entered the bar. With most of its inventory ignited, the countertop was covered with flames with the fire swiftly moving across the rest of the sitting area. Whirl searched for Chromia amongst the dead bodies inside the bar, assuming he would find her but came up with nothing.
"She's not here," said Whirl. "Maybe she got out through the back, come on."
The two Wreckers hustled around the building, hoping to find their fellow Autobot. The situation had gotten completely out of hand. Twin Twist and Whirl agreed to back up Chromia if she needed the support and while they were happy to take down a squad of Decepticons, they didn't think things would escalate this badly. They hoped the fire didn't catch the attention of more Decepticons or even the Autobots.
As they arrived at the back of the building, the two Wreckers saw flames coming out the back exit. But then they spotted something moving on the ground. As they ran towards the robot struggling to move, they saw it had been badly burnt. Smoke rose from its body while parts of its limbs still burned. It was a miracle they were still alive but they needed medical attention. How Twin Twist and Whirl were going to explain this once they brought Chromia back to base was beyond them.
Whirl reached the body first and realized it was too big to be Chromia. Before either Wrecker could react, Grindstalker pushed himself off the ground, lashing out for the Autobots with his axe still in hand.
Twin Twist and Whirl leapt back and raised their guns as Grindstalker's attempted strike missed, causing him to lose balance and fall back to the ground. The Decepticon struggled to get up again but his injuries were too intense. His armor, blackened from the fire, had saved him from the explosion, but the heat damaged most of his inner circuitry. He was in a storm of pain and moving was torture. The Wreckers looked at each other and without a word, decided to put the Decepticon out of his misery.
"He's mine!" Twin Twist and Whirl lowered their firearms and saw Chromia approaching.
Chromia, struggling to walk, read the damage report sent from her internal system as it flashed across her optics. With injuries across her body, a massive loss of energon and her self-repair systems not knowing where to start, she knew she was in bad shape. But it didn't matter. Chromia's only thought was to finish off Grindstalker, who moments ago almost ended her life.
With rage carrying her better than the energon she had left, each step Chromia took sent pain through her legs but it was nothing compared to the pain within her spark. From her leg compartment, Chromia removed the high-powered battle pistol as she got closer to Grindstalker, who was dragging his damaged body across the coarse ground, trying to escape.
Raising a foot, Chromia drove her heel into the Decepticon's back, flattening his body against the ground. Unable to move, Grindstalker was at Chromia's mercy as she pressed the barrel of the pistol against his back.
With energon dripping from the smile on his face, Grindstalker almost laughed. "This is not the way Autobots do things," he taunted. "What of your code? Your honor? Would you have me believe your superiors would approve of your actions?"
"You have only yourself to blame," said Chromia, fighting the urge to squeeze the trigger for just a few more moments. "This is no mission. I am not here as an Autobot. I am here because you murdered my friend!"
"Ah, yes. The sharpshooter," spat Grindstalker. "They said she never missed. I don't believe that. No one is that good and look at where she is now!"
Refusing the bait, Chromia leaned down closer to Grindstalker, so she could whisper something only he could hear. "My friend told me a secret once, That she's only missed 7 times. But you know what? I bet those shots were intended for someone else."
Forcing the gun's barrel into one of Grindstalker's wounds on his back, Chromia pulled the trigger. Grindstalker's screamed as his body jerked in pain. As Grindsatlker tried to force himself up, Chromia aimed at another wound and fired at point-blank range. Grindstalker, completely at Chromia's mercy, dropped his axe as his body shook violently.
Chromia fired again and again, piercing the Decepticon's armor each time she found a weak spot. As she looked for another opening, Chromia spotted one on the back of Grindstalker's head. It was the one she caused before the battle began. When she had snuck up behind Grindstalker and shot him in the back of the head with her heavy blaster. Seeing as this night had to come to an end, Chromia pressed the barrel against the back of Grindstalker's head and fired for the seventh and last time.
A strange mix of fatigue and pain overtook Chromia, more emotional rather than physical. She felt lost as she looked ahead, weighed down by a heavy spark that moments ago was full of rage. She had ended Grindstalker's life but now her own continued to sting with each thought of Moonracer. The emptiness of her absent friend remained and avenging her didn't help. She thought perhaps she'd gain some satisfaction, taking the edge off her anger. But instead, her anger disappeared as it made way for the rush of sadness that consumed her. She felt as if happiness had never existed before in her life and would avoid her for the rest of her days. Chromia wanted to disappear, to be forgotten and to forget. As the grief began anew, she wondered if she would ever be free from it.
She looked at the pistol in her hand. It had belonged to Moonracer. Chromia had managed to grab it when Pipes pulled her to safety after Grindstalker had thrown it after ending Moonracer's life. It was all Chromia had left of her old friend. Believing Moonracer would want her to put it to good use, Chromia made good on the promise she had made to herself.
As she opened up her weapon compartment to put the pistol away, Chromia saw red clouds off in the distance. An acid rain storm was coming, meaning it was time to head home. The pistol was stashed away before Chromia addressed Twin Twist and Whirl. "Ok, get me as close as you can to HQ. I'll be able to get myself the rest of the way."
"Are you sure you don't want us to take you in?" asked Whirl. "We can make up a story…"
"Thanks but no. After you drop me off I'll need some time to myself."