Shadowfire

Chapter 43

"You have to contain them!"
"It's no use! Ahh-"
Distant screams rent the air, distorted and indistinct. Humans scrambling for cover like pests fleeing a righteous exterminator. It was finally time, in the intervening month since we had discovered the existence of Annabelle she had come to love her father, and truce with me, having become quite close with both Tess and Cogar. It was she who had called in the shareholder of KSI, determined set to her chin and eyes blazing, anger burning within her for the father she had only just come to know. She had chosen a side, and her loyalty was with us.

Cybertronians descended on the factory, toppling walls, setting off explosions, chasing down the humans fleeing in their cars, the regular vehicles no match for the speed and precision of enraged alt forms.

Cement walls tore like paper, blocks crumpling as we rained hell down upon this moral cesspit. The facility exploded behind us, its destruction complete as we chased the humans out into the vacant land and field surrounds, having picked this site for the final battle purposefully. As much as we wanted to annihilate the KSI, civilian casualties were to be limited as much as possible.

They were retreating in shambles, our side having suffered no losses, nothing they could do to prevent our victory. The part of me not consumed with the fight worried over it, sparing as much processor space as possible. They had to know we'd be coming, where was their support? The government was backing them, where was the airstrikes? The soldiers? The-

And then it all fell apart. The ground rupturing as huge towers erupted from beneath the grass. What-

And then I felt it. Something inescapable, pulling me forwards, towards the centre of the ring of towers. My limbs moved without my permission, solid invisible intangible bands wrapped around my torso, dragging me forward.

"It's a magnet!" I don't know who shouted but the realisation struck me to my core. All around were cybertronians being dragged, servos gouging deep into the ground in an effort to halt their progress. We were all on death row now.

The screams of twisting and tearing metal drowned out my audio receptors. Somewhere nearby I knew our allies were scrambling to right themselves, to save us, but would they be too late?

We had used most of our explosives on the factory, if they could somehow manage to take out the pillars controlling the magnet– I felt myself slip, sliding further towards the towers. A fresh wave of fear flooded my circuits, synthetic adrenaline powering my processors faster, burning through information. I lost my grip again, and skidded further along the ground, my canons catching against the turned soil.

My canons, of course.

::Use your canons. Fire on the pillars!:: I broadcast, instinctively aware of the message reaching all cybertronians within range, regardless of their allegiance ::Ready, on my command:: I flipped myself, levering up off the ground just enough to land on my back with a frame jarring thud. I readied my canons, now unable to slow my progress I picked up speed as I hurtled towards the magnet ::Fire!:: on my command, all over the field, cybertronians loosed their weapons, firing with abandon even as control of their bodies was taken from them.

Everything passed by me in a blur, disjointed images flashing through my processor. I collided with one of the pillars, servos instinctively scrabbling for a hold on the weakened base, riddled through with damage caused by the barrage it had suffered. I held myself there, fighting the overwhelming pull of the magnet, support struts caving underneath my grip. A small explosion rocked the world on its side. Human voices, close now, so close. I tried to focus, too late realising my grip had weakened, metal frame losing the battle against the overwhelming pull of the supermagnet.

With a devastated cry I impacted against the bodies of my comrades, an outer layer of the ball of cybertronian metal flesh slowly being compacted. I grunted, writing against the bonds holding my limbs in place, fighting the magnetic attraction gluing me to my nearest neighbour. The sound of failing metal, I offline my optics, unable to watch as we were crushed into one. Easy recycling for those human monsters dissecting us. Fluid leaked down the superheated metal of my frame, bending and giving way under the strain, coolant sluggish and unresponsive. I was going to die like this. The ends of my servos twitched, unable to give into the urge to clutch at the place where Ironhide's spark had been nestled next to mine. Jazz had been right, I had gone mad. Driven insane by grief and the impossibility of containing two sparks- what I had done was unforgivable. I would never see my sparkmate again, if Ironhide was even still my bonded half. If anything could sever a sparkbond it was what I had done, the strain I had subjected both myself and the bond to in order to bring him back from death. It was impossible for a reason.

I breathed in, the cycling air spluttered as I struggled to cool myself, to keep me from overheating, intakes dented and half useless. My spark thrummed, too hot, too much, too slow. The sounds of the lingering battle and the screams of the dammed faded. I deserved this. If this was to be my punishment, my retribution, to die this way and face Primus with unabsolved guilt then so be it, I was ready.

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With a final, insignificant explosion, the world collapsed. Falling in on itself the tangle of limbs and frames the ever tightening ball living of cybertronian matter collapsed, freeing us all. My optics sparked online with an inaudible click and I lay there for a moment, metaphorically catching my breath as it were, gathering my thoughts. I was not going to die today, the fight had to go on, I was needed. I stumbled to my feet, struggling to keep my balance. The dust had yet to settle, the terrified mobs of human almost-victors fleeing as our allies routed them, surviving cybertronians collapsed where they were, retching, spewing energon onto the grass and dirt. Not everyone made it, and I was so nearly one of them.

I needed to rest, to heal, needed to take some time to come to terms with everything. The blows had kept coming non stop since I had prevented Hide's natural death, still unable to deal with the grief of my sire being rendered offline I had stored it away, let it eat at me from the inside like corrosive acid. I needed time to deal, to accept all this, to catch a break.

"Leah!"
"Shadowfire!"
"Leah!" I startled, forcing my heavy helm to look at the humans running towards me. It was Cade, Epps beside him. The Yager spoke first, barreling over the older man.
"They took them! They took my little girl!"
"Sam too. They're gone, taken hostage" I swore, somehow managing to keep my feet. I was too tired for this, when would Primus give us a break? A victory, the end? No more fighting, no more struggle, time to rest.
"What about Annabelle?"
"Your sister's safe" oh thank Primus!
"Where would they have taken them? Can anyone run a trace? Any hint of a location? Trackers, anything?" I forced my leaden legs to move, striding across the still smoking battlefield. It was clear that the humans had toppled the pillars, managing to find some way to disable them. I didn't ask how, it was unimportant at this moment. We had to mount a rescue party, and quickly "get Annabelle out here, cuff her if you have to. She said she had an in with the CIA? Use it, use her. Do whatever you have to do"

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Mikaela arrived at my side without complication. I didn't acknowledge her, and we sat in silence until I spoke.
"One would think" I said, eyes remaining firmly fixed away "that you'd be clamouring to get out there looking for Sam, that you wouldn't trust me to be coordinating our efforts"
"I can't" and Primus she sounded wrecked, I turned to face her. There were tears in her eyes and her expression was close to begging as she said "I'm pregnant"

My world rocked on its axis. Mikaela- my best friend, Sam- neither of them had told me. If I had been raised Cybertronian maybe I would have noticed, been running scans, but I hadn't and they hadn't told me. They hadn't trusted me, it hurt more than I thought possible. When-
"Shad I'm sorry-"
"Don't" I cut her off, unable to hear it, overcome "just don't. I'll get him back okay? I swear to you, let Primus bear witness I swear to you, I will get him back. But you have made it abundantly clear that you owe no allegiance to me"