Through Ash and Dust (ROTB)

Chapter 59

Mirage groaned as he held his chassis in pain from the damage done to his body by Scourge. He had almost just faced the same fate as Bumblebee, but he managed to escape and angered Scourge for kicking the mask from his face. He was even uglier than he was now without the mask. But while he was down for a moment, his mind went to Saphira. Seeing her back torn with cuts that were still bleeding, and she appeared to have an injury somewhere else, it hurt his spark. Mirage had hoped that it would not be the case, but Scourge was merciless, even when it came to something far smaller and weaker than himself. He was fuelled by Unicron, nothing more.

Mirage sat up and looked at Scourge as he had picked up the piece of his mask, holding it with anger and growling lightly. "No body will remember this pathetic planet." Mirage narrowed his optics at Scourge's comment, and moved to try and stand up. He widened his optics when Scourge turned to look in Saphira's direction. Mirage glanced at Saphira, and he saw she must have found a space under the console, and she was hiding there. And she looked terrified. Mirage glared at Scourge when he laughed upon seeing where she was hiding. "Well, well...this is much more fitting for someone like you." Mirage groaned as getting back onto his feet was harder than he thought, but watching Scourge kneel down and lean, seemingly mocking the girl, and hearing Saphira's fearful whimpers made Mirage angrier. He was on his own against Scourge, that was true, but he needed to fight against him to ensure Saphira could shut the portal down. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that the pain will pass soon. As soon as I am done tearing the rest of the pain from your body after I tear Prime to pieces." Mirage groaned as he moved his legs to stand, ignoring the pain in his frame, and charged his canon, aiming it at Scourge's back. "The fact you thought you could even do this alone is pathetic. Noble, but pathetic..."

Mirage fired his canon at Scourge, holding his stomach from the pain he could feel from his own injuries and the energon that was spilling from them. Scourge turned to glare at as Mirage finally stood on his feet. "I told you not to mess with my little sister!"

Scourge narrowed his optics, seemingly amused at Mirage's response. "You still call her that?" Mirage did not respond and Scourge smirked at him before he looked back at Saphira. "Very well."

Mirage gasped as he saw Scourge reaching for the girl and he shot at her again, and began to approach him. "Leave her alone!" His spark tugged painfully as he heard Saphira's screams of fear and pain, watching Scourge stand up as he definitely had grabbed the girl. "Let her..." Mirage gasped as Scourge began to turn, and he watched the terrorcon hold his arm out over the side of the bridge where the lava was right beneath. Saphira was clearly terrified as she saw what was beneath her, and what Scourge was threatening to do, and Mirage would have wanted her to use the gauntlet, but it was dangerous now. He narrowed his optics as Scourge was smug right now. "Not cool!"

Scourge chuckled in amusement while Saphira was whimpering in fear as she was glancing around, looking at the lava below her. "Of course, it is not cool as we stand over the fire of this volcano's lava. One move and I will drop this precious human to the fate of this mountain." Mirage glanced at Saphira and saw her grimacing and crying out in pain, and he realized that Scourge was squeezing her. The tears from her eyes were from pain, and he really felt like he was at a loss of what to do. He wanted to save Saphira, but trying to do that would do the opposite. He could only keep his canon ready if there was a moment that he could use to shoot at Scourge. "You know she is the only one who knows the code of the Transwarp, and that will die with her." That wasn't fully true, as Scourge had not destroyed the book with the symbols in it, but he wasn't about to tell Scourge that. Mirage glanced up as the Transwarp was building more energy, and it pulsed loudly as the energy prepared to unleash. "Ah, right on time."

Mirage watched as the energy pulsed upward, and he grits his teeth as he knew that energy was likely to widen the portal for Unicron. However, the energy that surged from the pulse was intense. Mirage's whole frame shuddered and tickled from the energy, and he saw that even Saphira had felt it. Her hair was responding to it like it was static, but it was a lot stronger than static. It rivalled energon, if he was honest.