space girl | bumblebee

xli.

The moment Bumblebee had sacrificed himself for Onyxia's escape was a moment seared into the femme's mind for all eternity. She had witnessed the humans gather around her beloved sparkmate and shoot him to the ground. She had left before she could witness the life drain from his optics, refusing to accept that he was truly dead until the moment their bond disappeared. It was a feeling of loneliness unlike any other and it broke her spark in two. She blamed his death and the misery that it inflicted on her spark for the rapid decline in her health, having been reduced to a wheelchair within a mere two years when she was supposed to be immobile within her last year of life.

The moment she left her family behind, she drove a stolen car as far as it could go before running out of gas after three refills. That car had taken her as far as Lytton, Quebec, Canada. While only around thirteen hours away from Chicago, it was as far as she could go without draining through all her remaining money along with avoiding public transport. She managed to find a home in an abandoned shack on the outskirts of the town. One of the benefits of the shack was its location, which was right beside a lake. She had built a makeshift farm beside its waters and fended for herself, planning on living the remaining years of her life in solitude.

That was until she found a grey cat in her trash can, which she had fittingly called Rat due to his breed, an American Curl, having uniquely shaped ears. She didn't know if Cybertronians were supposed to have an affinity with animals, but Rat had taken an immediate liking towards her, having run into her home after being chased out of the trash and refusing to leave from that moment forward.

Maybe Rat's mere existence was to piss Onyxia off, but some days, during the five years after exile, she convinced herself otherwise when the cat had curled up beside her during her worst days when her spark ached for Bumblebee and her father. She would never admit it to the little devil, but she appreciated his company for it helped keep her surprisingly sane. Although, the complete opposite could be said when he woke her in the morning by sitting on her face.

"Rat!" Onyxia shrieked, practically dry-heaving as her cat sat and moved down her front to sit on her abdomen after having been screamed at to get off her face. She couldn't believe the little devil sat on her face. "You're disgusting!" she added, glaring at Rat relentlessly as he stared back calmly.

She hated how he never feared her.

"I don't know how many times I have to keep telling you to stop sitting on my fragging face, you little rat!" she snapped at the cat as she got out of her bed, completely disregarding the cat that was sat on her stomach before. He let out a meow as he leapt off the bed, gracefully landing on all fours and prancing out the door. She followed the cat into the kitchen, where he was waiting for her with his tail snaked around his body.

Onyxia stood in front of Rat with a blank face as he meowed in front of his empty food bowl, staring into her soul with wide, pleading eyes. "You'll be the size of a bowling ball if you continue begging for food, you demon," she grumbled, opening a cupboard where she kept his treats and handing him a disgusting fish-flavoured one. "Then I'll have to lug you around everywhere and I'm already incapable of standing for long periods of time," she finished. As if her body wanted to punish her early in the morning, she could feel her legs start to give out already. With a soft meow, Rat rubbed his body against her legs before standing in front of her wheelchair. She sighed, plonking herself down on the prepped wheelchair before wheeling herself back into the kitchen to cook herself breakfast. She had tried avoiding the wheelchair, but her body would quite literally shut down most of its appendages just to support the pathetic internal remains of her body. It ended with her collapsing on the ground and having to crawl to the wheelchair. Rat had watched, mercilessly judging her and her patheticness. She never wanted that to happen again.

Onyxia reached into a drawer and pulled out her kitchen TV's remote, turning the device on and paying attention to any news about the Autobots or Decepticons, either one was welcome when she was without contact from any Cybertronian for five years now. As usual, there was nothing. So, she settled on blasting music from a speaker that she could hear as she travelled onto her front deck. With a soft sigh, she watched the lake before her with a dazed look in her eyes.

Wise men say,
Only fools rush in

"But I can't help," Onyxia sang quietly, patting her lap for Rat to climb onto. He listened without a second of hesitation and curled up comfortably. "Falling in love with you," she finished, choosing to listen to the music in silence as she stroked Rat's soft fur.

"I wonder if Optimus is still alive," she spoke softly, eliciting a meow from Rat. "Yeah, I'm sure he's fine." While she had not heard any news about her father's whereabouts, she knew he was strong enough to hold his own. Or, at least, she hoped. Rat, sensing her growing distress, meowed once more and began licking her clothed leg, which she watched with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

"I see why humans love you animals so much," she mused. "You're like a cuter child, although more idiotic and rude. I still haven't forgiven you for sitting on my face this morning." Rat let out a long meow, which brought a smile to Onyxia's face. Just then, her phone rang, causing her to furrow her eyebrows and pull the phone out of her pocket. The contact name on the screen caused her body to freeze.

Abigail <3

Abigail was supposed to have died. While she had not heard of the poor girl's death, it was what she had assumed when the ill girl had told her that she was given a life expectancy of six weeks. And that was five years ago. Onyxia had spent five years of her life mourning those that she had lost in or after Chicago, which included Abigail and Bumblebee. Had she mourned Abigail all for nothing? Was the girl truly in perfect health and chose to avoid Onyxia because she was a wanted fugitive?

"Why call now?" she spoke shakily, answering the call and bringing the phone up to her ear.

"Hi...Is this Onyxia?" It was definitely the voice of Abigail. While aged, Onyxia had lived with her long enough to memorise its sound.

"Yes," Onyxia said after a long pause. She was tense, which seemed to be making Rat uncomfortable as he began to adjust his position on her lap.

"Oh, my Primus...how are you? I'm so glad you're okay!" Abigail spoke excitedly, only for Onyxia to hang up. Her eyes were wide and she shakily ran her fingers through Rat's fur in an attempt to calm her racing spark. It was like talking to a ghost with Abigail, she couldn't cope, not when the girl acted as if nothing had happened. While she had many questions bouncing around in her mind, one stood out the most among them:

How was she still alive?