Shadowfire

Chapter 54

Pain exploded, everywhere along her body and inside her mind. The Matrix screamed, cyclonic explosion centred beneath her heart. There was screaming, she couldn't tell if it was outside her mind or trapped reverberating within her skull as she writhed. The Matrix exploded surplus energy outwards, the pulse it had drawn in from the base, triggering the discs attached to her body.

Sparks danced in front of her eyes, she had half the presence of mind to hope that Lennox had gotten clear, this much voltage would kill a human.

The pain doubled, all thoughts of Lennox driven from her mind. Consciousness swam in front of her, the world spinning. Earth, Cybertron, Autobot, Decepticon, Prime, pain. Pain. Pain! Everything paled in the face of such overwhelming Primus sanctioned agony, stripping away the bones of her brain, shredding her consciousness raw.

Shadis Prime's optics bled a pure white.

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Unknowns surrounded her. A huge war frame was setting a human man on the ground, having just yanked him swiftly out of the blast radius of the bomb they'd detonated at the Prime. Her battle mask descended. She didn't think, there was no time to think, she was hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched, if she stopped to think they would have the upper hand. She attacked.

Canon at maximum power, fire on the assembled group of mechs streaming out of the hangar. There were dozens of them, firing again she saw some go down. Her attention snapped back to the foreground, evading the running advance of the silver war frame, striking out with her sword, aiming to wedge the blade between the plates of his armour, aiming to injure. Putting some distance between herself and the mech. Threat. Punching dings into the hides of cybertronians as they faced her, crushing casings and damaging plating. The open road ahead of her. The war build getting in her way, anger burning in his optics. Engaging in combat. The mech held his own, surprising, a match for a Prime. But he was aiming for non vital areas, mouth moving rapidly. She wasn't similarly encumbered, her strikes capable of delivering death, audio receptors disengaged. They must've been attempting to disassemble her when she had woken up and made her escape. Sword embedded beneath the mech's shoulder plating, tearing through cables and sinewy struts. His arm collapsed limply by his side. She took off, taking advantage of the pause in the mech's attack to make good her escape.

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When she got back she was immediately enveloped by her protective detail, a defensive perimeter established as the distraught mechs hurried her back to safety. She followed them gladly, relieved as the overbearing mantle of Primus' full attention slipped away, neon colour slowly seeping back into her optics. Safe.

She froze, frame seizing up, the aches and pains of her imprisonment and fight to escape suddenly being detected tenfold. She had been betrayed by her own kind, who else here wished her disassembly? No, she decided, firmly pushing the paranoia aside. She ruled here, she was obeyed without question.

And then she saw Crosshairs, his presence clear defiance of her orders, undercutting her own insistence. She had been disobeyed.

For a moment her spark fluttered, and then the feeling was shut down, hard, as the mech approached.

"I should never have let you go on your own! I should've been there I–"

But Shadis wasn't listening, distracted, optics narrowing as she studied the mech, her supposedly loyal second in command. Just what had she seen in him? Primus' chosen Warrior needed no mate, and there was something else, some deep seated instinct that said the mech should have a darker metallic colouration than the green Crosshairs was sporting. But that was ridiculous, she ignored the impulse.

"You abandoned your post" the Prime snapped, blue optics glowing icy white in anger "you should've stayed on Cybertron!"
"But you were captured! I-"
"I was captured so you should have stayed to defend my planet! It was the perfect time for an attack, for all you know that could have been their plan"
"I left Cybertron defended" he protested, she glared.
"You were its protector! I chose you because I trusted you! But you let your personal feelings compromise your service to Cybertron and I will not condone that. Effective immediately you are demoted, ranked below your brothers. Drift and Hound have served me better than you, self professed servant of the ancient way. You should be ashamed of yourself" the mech sagged in on himself, looking ashen. She was right, she was always right, but when he had been told what had happened– he couldn't keep himself away.

"Lieutenants" Shadis snapped "with me". Crosshairs wilted further, looking hollow as his brothers followed his Prime, his enchanting leader, without him.

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They evacuated to Cybertron. Shadis never should have come here, she knew Earth was dangerous, but she hadn't expected to be attacked by Cybertronian rebels working with the human threat. Now she would get them out, take her people home where she could ensure their safety, and plan her next move. An attack on a justly chosen Prime couldn't stand, the offence would be avenged, energon would be spilt, lives claimed in recommence.

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They arrayed themselves around the round table, things so different and yet wholly unchanged since the last time they had stood here. Her lieutenants stood by the Prime's side, captains of the Knights further down the table, Crosshairs with them.
"It is time to reestablish order. Crosshairs you have been demoted to border guard, do not fail me again. Drift you set the Knights to patrolling the streets, make sure a contingent is always on hand to guard the bridge to Earth, it is not to be activated under any circumstances"
"Yes Prime" the mech bowed his head, helm deferentially lowered as his leader continued speaking.
"I do not know who the first traitor was, who the rogues had contact with back on Cybertron to arrange their attack, but I have my suspicions. Drift and Hound you will accompany me, Jazz has had his secrets for too long"

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Her Knights shadowed the suspected traitor for cycles, a well trained, well oiled rotation, determined to catch the threat to their world. They had survived the war, evaded and dodged to end up back here, their planet alive again; they would not let anyone threaten that, they followed their Prime to the death. She had returned their planet from extinction, their society, their life, peace– they owed everything to Primus' chosen saviour. If she said this mech was a traitor then he would be caught.

Three solar cycles in they had something to report, the fifth finding the Prime herself and her two Lieutenants spying on the traitor conversing with an unknown mech, no citizen of Cybertron. 

"You need to get out of here. I can't have you– look, I know you want to be repaired and we probably have the technology now but you need to go, for the greater good. I can't have you messing with anything, we've got a good thing going here, a Prime–" but the other mech wasn't having any of it.
"No. Just no. You have no idea what I've suffered, what its like to exist in the wrong frame, to be disgusted by your very self. So no, I don't care about the greater good or whatever Unicron slag you're spouting–"
"She can't see you! She can't, it'll ruin everything!"
"Who is she?" But Shadis had heard enough, had enough of Jazz's secrets and plots. She entered the room, self righteous visage spelling the end of Jazz's betrayal–
and stopped dead, every single component of her systems grinding to a halt for a single moment. Vocaliser activating before her processor caught up.
"Ironhide?"

And then the Prime collapsed, frame convulsing, superheated steam beginning to drift from her circuits as her processor broke down. Sparks danced amongst wiring, flitting into brief existence before they were snuffed. Reds and blues, purples and white playing across her metal skin.

Her lieutenants rushed to her side, recoiling as they laid their servos on the unconscious femme, the supercharged frame burning them. The unfamiliar mech their Prime had addressed reached out without thought, taking the weight when the others faltered, hating themselves, unable to heft their Prime in their suffering, grateful for the unknown Cybertronian that felt no pain.