space girl | bumblebee

xlii.

Abigail had tried calling Onyxia many more times after her abrupt hang-up. She had left sixty-four calls within five minutes and a total of a hundred and twenty-five within an hour. To avoid the constant vibrations of her phone, she blocked Abigail and settled down to watch a movie with Rat.

Rat watched the TV screen, intrigued by the small rat that appeared in the movie. He frequently tried to pounce at the screen, only to meow aggressively when he couldn't catch the rat in his paws. Onyxia smiled, enjoying watching him more than watching Ratatouille itself. It was his favourite movie. Or, at least, it was the movie that elicited the most responses from him.

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"If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff," played the TV. Onyxia was lying on the couch, barely conscious as she watched the rat cook. It was an exciting concept that she knew only humans could think of.

Rat suddenly hissed at the door, sprinting to it and pawing at the wood. Onyxia sat up and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Rat...?" she muttered, only for panic to seize her spark when she heard a knock. Her eyes met Rat's and he meowed. She could hear the sound of multiple engines outside. If it were one she would feel safe to open the door, but something was clearly wrong.

"Onyxia Pax?" called a voice. "We know you're here. Come out with your hands up or we will shoot."

Never in her wildest dreams did Onyxia imagine that she would be found by Cemetery Wind. She knew it was Abigail's doing. Taking her call was a mistake—a massive one.

Without another second, she leapt from her seat and ran to her room, gathering all her valuables and her money in a bag along with all of Rat's things. She then opened her back door just a smidge, finding men outside.

"We're coming in!" another voice called. Onyxia looked at Rat.

"We're gonna run to my car, okay?" she spoke softly, eliciting a meow from Rat, who stood ready at the back door. Then she slammed the door open and ran straight for her car, which was an Aston Martin Vantage she had stolen. She opened the door for Rat and then got in after him, wincing at the bullets hitting all sides of her precious car. She put her foot on the accelerator just as one of the cars, a black Lamborghini Aventador, transformed.

"Fuck, it's Lockdown," she said under her breath, trying to focus on the gravel road that her car's wheels could not grip onto well. The Cybertronian claimed he was a neutral party in the war between Autobots and Decepticons, but he was contributing to the extinction of the Autobots much more than the Decepticons.

Rat's tail was between his legs and his fur stood on end as a massive explosion occurred just beside the car. Onyxia had managed to make it onto a proper road, allowing her car to finally show its skills. Lockdown was still hot on her tail, having to run just to keep up with her. She knew that the bot had little to no patience, so she'd just need to lead him on long enough for him to give up. With that, she took a sharp turn onto a forest path and refused to look behind her as she drove, resting a hand on Rat to try and reassure him.

"We'll be alright, Rat. I know what I'm doing," she spoke under her breath, her reassurances for herself more than the terrified animal beside her. Lockdown transformed behind her, following her relentlessly. "Why isn't he stopping?" she snapped, her spark racing in her chest as she thought of all the possibilities, only to come up short.

She wasn't going to outrun him in her car when he could go nearly 100km/h more than her. The only hope she had was the uneven roads of the forest, which seemed to be doing nothing. Gradually, her confidence was dwindling. He had the advantage of being Cybertronian. She, on the other hand, did not.

"I think this is it," Onyxia spoke to no one in particular, taking another sharp turn and driving through a shallow river. Then, by some miracle, Lockdown swerved to a stop and drove away. Rat meowed victoriously as he watched his retreating form. The only reason he would have left at that moment was if there was something more important than her. And knowing Lockdown, being a bounty hunter meant there was another Autobot out there that had piqued his interest more. It made her energon run cold in her body. Without a word, she called the only person she knew.

"Onyxia!" Abigail's voice cried through the phone. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I didn't mean to hurt you-"

"I don't care, Abigail," Onyxia replied. "I was just chased through a forest by Lockdown because I answered your call. You owe me shelter after the shit I just went through. You know--why did you even call me in the first place? How are you alive?"

"I can answer that once we meet up with you."

"Fine...Wait, 'we'?"

"Onyxia," greeted the gruff voice of Ironhide. Onyxia, surprisingly, wasn't surprised. A great juxtaposition of emotions that she was no stranger to feeling.

"Hide," she breathed out, resting her forehead against the steering wheel in relief. "How are you after this half-decade?"

"Better now that I've finally heard your voice. I've been worried sick about everyone. Just glad I had Abigail with me."

"I can imagine."

"Bumblebee there with you?"

She knew it was coming, she just wasn't ready to hear it. She turned her head to glance at Rat, who gazed at her with soft eyes and meowed softly. It was then she felt the tears gathering in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Onyxia," Ironhide spoke, taking her silence as answer enough. "Truly. I can't imagine how you feel even after five years."

"Wound's still pretty fresh," Onyxia replied, her voice cracking with more emotion than she wanted to show.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, too, Nyx," Abigail said solemnly. "He was an amazing mech."

"It wasn't worth it for my life, but there's nothing I can change now. Where can we meet?"

"Home," Abigail responded simply, knowing exactly what Onyxia would interpret from that word. The Lennox's old home was abandoned long ago when both girls had disappeared. Onyxia could only imagine the pain that Will and Sarah were feeling after having lost both of them.

"I'll be there in a day's time. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone and be very careful. This voice call is traceable. Dispose of the phone and keep an eye out for any Decepticons or Lockdown's goons. Got it, you two?" Onyxia ordered.

"Yes, ma'am," Ironhide responded.

"You got it, Nyx," Abigail replied. "I can answer all your questions once we meet, okay? Promise."

Then, she hung up.

Onyxia turned to Rat, who blinked at her.

"We've got a long road trip ahead of us," she muttered, taking off for the Lennox's old home. Her old home.