A New Dawn - Transformers Prime (4)

Chapter Thirty-One

  "True power my-" I began, but never got to finish as she flung me aside. My head smacked against the metal wall, and my vision faded to black. At the same time, a voice rung out.

  "Hey!"

[Finn]

  I faced Amanda, whose eyes were rimmed with gold, just like her fingertips. Her face was void of any emotions, except for slight amusement, which made my heart pull. Still, I knew my girlfriend was in there, being smothered by Valilorna. That was the only explanation for the others to still be alive, to only be unconscious around me and not dead. She could have easily killed us, but she didn't.

  "Step aside," She said like she was talking to a child. "And you will be spared the pain these two experienced."

  "No," I took a step forward, my hand wrapped around my stun gun. "Amanda, I know you're still in there. I need you to fight her. I need you to get control again."

  Her lips twisted into a cruel smirk. "You humans really do have too much faith in your friends. It is cute. And weak."

  "Wrong," I kept moving forward slowly. "It strengthens us. Believe me, the only reason I haven't run for the hills and called in an air strike is because I need my girlfriend back, which means standing against someone who will probably hand my ass to me."

  She laughed humourlessly. "Quite amusing, human. But I am tired of it. Get out of my way. Final warning."

  I dropped into a fighting stance. "You said it, Valilorna. Final warning."

  Truthfully, I hadn't seen her move until her fist connected with my jaw, sending me stumbling back, but I didn't spend most of my life in the military to be beaten so quickly. I regained my focus almost immediately, sending a quick kick to her chest, and she side stepped out of the way, allowing me to land and slam my elbow into her stomach. She let out a grunt but retaliated by shoving her knee into my gut. I saw the move coming though, allowing me to block it and connect my fist with her chest, trying to knock the wind out of her. Amanda's eyes were furious as they met mine, and before I knew it, her foot was flying towards my head.

  I barely ducked the hit that probably would've knocked me right out, and swept my leg out, knocking hers out from under her. She hit the ground with a hard thud, and I stepped back, hoping that she'd stay down. I knew not to take it easy on her, that my girlfriend really wasn't feeling the hits (I hoped) and that Valilorna was the one I was fighting, but still her cry of pain made my heart constrict. The feeling didn't last long though.

  Amanda-Valilorna's eyes blazed as she whipped her head up, fury written across her features as she spoke, "Enough of this."

  She put her hands down against the ground, coating it with gold, and I barely leaped back to avoid the spike of metal that flew towards me. More and more metal stakes followed me though, and I managed to dodge them until one caught my calf, digging into the muscle right as I tried to dodge another, causing me to fall to the ground. I yanked the metal stake out, glad that it hadn't gone too deep, but my calf was spurting blood as Amanda-Valilorna rose to her feet, a satisfied smirk on her lips.

  "I told you," She smiled. "Final warning. Should have called in that air strike while you still could."

  A nearby metal stake leapt to her palm, and she aimed the spike at my chest. I didn't bother moving this time, knowing that my calf wound wouldn't let me get very far.

  "Go ahead," I challenged, matching her gaze. "Finish it."

  Her smile widened and she pushed the stake forward, making me wince as it pierced the skin, but within a second, it was gone. Confused, I looked up to see Amanda-Valilorna clutching her head, stumbling back.

  "No," That was the voice I knew, full of fear, but there. "You won't hurt him."

  Then her head jerked to the side. "Enough of your foolish sentiment."

  She jerked back again. "You won't hurt him!"

  The stake fell to the ground, clattering against the floor as Amanda dug her hands into her hair and fell to her knees.

  "You won't hurt him!" She shrieked, eyes squeezed shut as her upper body jerked. "You've ruined enough!"

  Her hand made its way to the stake, but the action looked difficult, as though Amanda wasn't letting Valilorna get to it. Just as her gold-coated fingers brushed it, the jerked back, before snapping forward right onto the spike, slicing her hand open. The pain seemed to work in Amanda's advantage though, because the gold retreated from her bleeding hand as she let out another shriek.

  But I couldn't have her hurt herself just to fight Valilorna. I crawled towards her, stopping only when I was right in front of her. I took her hands in mine, which was easier said than done because of the tension in her body, but I managed to do it after a moment.

  "Amanda, you can do it," I said, voice low. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but her head tilted towards me. "I'm right here with you. I need you back, A. We all need you back."

  "She's too strong," Amanda's voice was shaking and it broke at the end as her hands shook.

  "No she isn't. You are the strongest person I know. You're the daughter of Optimus Prime. You are the daughter of Ingrid Beckett. You're the leader of Team Prime. You're the Champion of Cleona. You're my girlfriend. Amanda, you are the single strongest force to be reckoned with. Show that to Valilorna and you can get her out."

  She let out a pain filled cry, gripped my hands deathly tight, and curled into herself, almost shielding herself from her own mind. It lasted for a long second before she gasped, her eyes flying open, not a single trace of gold to be seen. Instead, there were tears as silver rimmed her iris.

  "Finn," She let out a sob and I pulled her in, holding her tightly against my chest. "I'm sorry. Finn, I'm so so so sorry."

  "Shh," I wrapped my arms around her, murmuring into her hair. "It's over. It's over, A, and you won."

  I wasn't sure how long we sat there, Amanda holding me just as tightly and crying into my shirt as I tried to soothe her, both of us bleeding from our wounds and aching from our fight. Still, we sat there, and nothing but relief filled me as I held her close, never wanting to let go again.