Tibaksi &The Traitor

Chapter 11

I ran after Aura, leaving the other mechs behind.
Bee had taken a stolen fighter ship with Sam to rescue Carly. Now, it was up to me, the others, and the humans to take out the control pillar.
A group of teenagers, slightly younger than Sam when I first met him, sprinted out the shadows of a building, screaming.
I yanked Blue Moon and Aura Dae into a nearby building as Epps led the other men into another to hide.
A fighter ship targeted the teens and fired a shock-blast. Apparently, humans cannot withstand that type of blast, which merely knocks out a young Cybertronian. They were pulverized into ash and bones as the blast destroyed their flesh.
I clapped a servo over my mouth to keep from hurling. It was a sickening sight. I glanced at Blue Moon and noticed she had the same expression. Aura's was passive. She had seen much much more death than us from her experience in the field. She was no longer horrified by it, or if she was, she kept it hidden from our sight.
The ship flew away and I dared to let out a sigh of relief.
We snuck to the building, but were nearly crashed into by a fighter ship careening over our helms! If we hadn't ducked, the cannons would have decapitated us.
I looked up and saw Sam fighting Laserbeak, Soundwave's second pet. I had killed Ravage a long time ago. And Sam wasn't really fighting the metal bird, it was more like beating at it with his hands and screaming at the top of his lungs.
I pulled out my bow and easily knocked Laserbeak's helm off with an arrow.
"That's the second of Soundy's pets you've offlined now," Aura snickered,"I'm thinking he really hates you now."
I smiled, but then the ship Sam was on skidded to a jarring stop on the pavement.
I ran over to see if the boy was okay.
"Sam?" I asked.
Sam got up and helped Carly out of the ship. Likewise, I helped Bumblebee out of the pilot's seat.
"Look! Look!" Epps exclaimed,"It's a camera!"
I turned to see Epps kneeling by a large drone.
"It's from NEST," I said.
"Maybe, it's still working," Epos said with hope in his voice. He rubbed the small screen and began talking desperately to it.
After almost a minute, the drone's camera moved a little and Sam told the people watching everything he knew. Carly piped in as well, revealing the control pillar's location.
"Are you done?" I asked once they stepped away.
Epps nodded,"We need a clear shot at that pillar, now!"
I pointed out a good location and we ran towards it.
Blue Moon and I ushered the humans inside before reverting to smaller versions of ourselves to fit inside.
Aura Dae didn't have that upgrade yet, so she had to make do with lurking about, scouting with Bee.
We followed Epps and his team up really high. Blue Moon and I had good stamina, but Carly and Sam...eh, not so much.
Eventually, Blue Moon and I resigned to carrying the two humans the last two flights.
Epps was getting everybody into positions, when a loud crash was heard from below.
I set Carly down and peered over the side...and swore.
"It's Shockwave's worm," I hissed.
The giant cyber-worm was slowly tunneling it's way through the building we were in. The vibrations from its many drilling tentacles caused the building to tremble and groan.
The man with the rocket launcher was also trembling.
"This is a bad idea," he said, trying to sound tough, but I knew deep down he wanted to run home and cry.
Sam gave the man a quick pep-talk and he seemed to gather some courage.
"Might as well," he said, taking aim,"I'm gonna die anyway."
Before he could fire however, the cyber-worm began constricting itself, crushing the bottom of the building so it shook violently, causing most of us to fall over.
"Stupid worm," I growled, then sent a silent prayer to Primus to help us.
"Everybody hide!" Epps hissed suddenly, ducking behind a desk.
I pulled Blue Moon under a desk as well and we all hid ourselves as a Decepticon fighter ship came to hover outside.
A Decepticon jumped inside, shattering the windows as he did so, and made a quick scan of the room.
I saw Epps preparing his gun and made frantic signs at him to stop.
The man with the rocket launcher shoved a chair past the Deception, catching it's attention. Then every man in that room opened fire.
The ship was preparing its cannons, so I raced past the other 'con's peds and leapt onto the ship, growing back to my full size as I landed.
The ship veered as the pilot yanked on the controls in a panic. Only my claws held me on as he swerved around buildings.
The pilot finally decided suicide would be the best answer to his current problems and dove towards the ground.
I leapt off a split second later and spread my wings out. I pulled up away from the ground as the ship, and pilot, crashed beneath me.
The cyber-worm noticed me and lashed out one of its tentacles.
If Optimus hadn't sliced it off, I might've lost my wings again. Still, it startled me so much I lost control and plummeted towards the ground.
Optimus quickly caught me and set me atop a nearby building.
He looked me over quickly and I knew he was concerned I had been hurt.
I paated his shoulder-plate,"I'm fine, Optimus."
We ducked out the way of another tentacle slamming down beside us.
"Are you sure?" Optimus asked.
I sighed and nodded, then rolled away from another tentacle,"I'm sure. Now let's take ugly out shall we?"
I thought I saw Optimus' blue optics twinkle behind his battle-mask in amusement, before he fired up his jetpack and zoomed off to attack the worm.
I was about to join him, when I was suddenly grabbed from behind in a choke-hold and my arms were pinned back.
I didn't manage a scream before something hit me hard on the back of my helm and I slumped...unconscious.
******************************
When I woke again, I was lying on hard pavement, and there were voices everywhere.
"Get off me!" said a voice that made my optics shoot wide open.
Ratchet?!
I sat up quickly and received an abrupt slap across the face-plates.
"Nothing is done around here without permission," the Decepticon who had slapped me snarled,"not unless Soundwave says so."
Soundwave. The name echoed in my helm eerily. The most calm, level-helmed, ruthless Decepticon on Cybertron. It actually sounded like a cheap rip-off from Shockwave's name.
I looked around me, ignoring the Decepticon, to see not only Ratchet, but Bumblebee, Aura, Sideswipe, Dino, and Wheeljack had been captured as well.
"Prisoners?" asked a seedy-looking man in a shredded business-suit,"You're keeping prisoners?"
"Yees," Soundwave hissed.
"You've gotta teach them respect," the man said.
Soundwave laughed,"Understood. No prisoners, only trophies."
"Bee," Wheeljack said, trembling,"I think they're going to...kill us."
"You," Soundwave snarled, grabbing Wheeljack,"You're time is up."
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Wheeljack pleaded as he was dragged over to a pile of cars,"Can't we talk this over? Being a bunch of good chaps you know?"
Soundwave didn't listen to the old inventor's pleas, he only shot the poor mech's helm off and walked away laughing.
I gaped in horror at my friend's mutilated chassis, then felt rage creep over me.
"What did he ever do to you?!" I shouted at Soundwave, not caring anymore," Of all the Autobots who have fought you, Wheeljack wasn't one of them! What is your PROBLEM?!?!"
The Decepticon from before slapped me again, this time harder, making me fall over.
Soundwave grabbed Bumblebee and forced the yellow and black scout over to Wheeljack's dead chassis.
"Turn around!" he ordered, shoving Bee so the mech's back-plate was to him. Then he charged up his gun.
I roared, which earned me another slap, but that triggered the rage and I caught the Decepticon's wrist in mid-air.
Everything froze.
I could feel my energon rushing through my veins as I felt myself transform. Not into a vehicle, but into a giant cat. A panther.
I roared again and ripped the Decepticon's arm off with one swipe of my paw, then leaped on him and bit down on his neck-cables. Energon gushed into my mouth and I could feel bones cracking under the pressure.
The Decepticon screamed and screamed, each breath making me bite harder. Until he finally lay still...dead.
I got off the 'con's body and placed one paw on his chest-plate. I lifted my helm to the sky and roared victoriously.
A large fighter ship carrier swung over us, giving the Autobots more time to retaliate.
Bee went up against Soundwave and effectively killed him.
Me, I swung my paws left and right, claws cutting through cabling and armor. I pounced and my teeth found their mark in the unfortunate 'con's neck-cables.
I transformed back into bi-ped mode and smacked them with my staff, or just clawed them some more.
"Sweet mode, Orchid," Aura called from the Decepticon she easily dispatched.
I smiled,"Makes me feel more connected to my Tibaksi half."
"You're a full Tibaksi, Orchid," Sideswipe laughed.
I tutted as I cracked my staff into another 'con's helm,"I'm also part Predacon, remember?"
"Oohh! Right," the silver mech said.
"Senorita! On your left!" Dino cried.
I punched to the left and my fist connected with a charging Decepticon's mid-section.
"Thanks, Dino!" I called back to the red Autobot and dispatched the 'con.
I had never felt so powerful. I felt like I could do anything!
Suddenly, a sharp cold spread in my chassis that extended to my servos and peds.
I could feel another power coming on as I swiftly upgraded.

Author's Note: Okay, so Orchid's getting another power, because she's half Predacon. So, I'm going to let my readers decide what her new power will be.
You get to choose one out of three...
Lightening (like Thor from "Thor Ragnarok")
Ice (like Elsa from "Frozen")
Metal (like Magneto from "X-Men")