[Finn]
Amanda and I parted ways afterwards, her heading to her room to wash up while I walked back into the main area of her mansion. Jack and Raf had moved inside and were playing a car racing game while Miko sat upside down on a single seat couch, watching them play.
"Hey Finn!" She said when she saw me. "Want to verse me in the next round?"
"Sure thing," I sat down next to Raf. "If you're ready to lose."
Her eyes glinted with the challenge. "Bring it on."
Raf ended up beating Jack by a lot, then the pair surrendered their remotes to me and Miko. As we played, I enjoyed the laid back, relaxed atmosphere. At the military barracks, everyone was always racing around to get things done and it was impossible to drop the serious attitude at all. My assignment with the Autobots turned out to be better than I ever could have imagined, even if it meant I was always getting beat at these video games, but that was probably because I was always thinking about something else.
I still couldn't believe I had told Amanda all those things while we were in the gym. People only ever knew I was in the Young Cadets Program if they read my military file, and they never asked any questions about it. Everyone knew what had happened to us and knew not to bring it up, and I liked that. I didn't need to be reminded of the closest friends I had- used to have. Still, I told her everything just because she asked. I didn't usually do that... but I didn't feel bad about it either.
"Ha!" Miko exclaimed, jumping off the couch when her car crossed the finish line first. My mind snapped back to the present and I groaned.
"I never win these games," I frowned, handing Raf the remote control. Just as I did, Amanda burst into the living room with panic written all over her face.
"What's wrong?" I asked, standing up. Her hazel eyes went to me, and I could see the slightest bit of fear in them.
"We aren't-" She started to say when an alarm went off. At this point, Jack, Miko, and Raf had abandoned the video game and their own fear was setting in.
"Blair, shut that off and give me a status report!" Amanda exclaimed, talking to her artificial... housemaid?
"Sector B-8 has been breached, Miss Beckett," Blair reported, her voice seeming to come from everywhere but nowhere all at once. "Intruder is 22 feet tall and is not human."
"No shit," Miko commented. "No human is 22 feet tall." No one paid attention to her, though.
"Blair, initiate the defense system," Amanda said as she rushed to the back door. A two second beep came from Blair in reply. "Keyword kaffir blossom. User Amanda Beckett. Initiate defense protocol 01."
"Acknowledged." Said a different voice, one that I still recognized. Cam, Amanda's secret artificial intelligence collector.
I thought Cam stayed in the basement media room....
"Who's that?" Jack asked worriedly. "That didn't sound like Blair."
"Cam," Amanda said absent mindedly as she peered outside. "Blair's in charge of maintaining the grounds, Cam deals with things like this."
I hurried to stand next to her, feeling my military protocol training kick in. "Where's sector B-8?"
She pointed to the north-east section of the grounds. "North-east corner. It's a blind side because of that hill in the way, but it's also heavily protected." She turned inwards slightly. "Cam, activate defenses in sector B-8 and get me a feed of what's over there!"
"Acknowledged. Activating defenses in sector B-8. Activating security feed."
The tv in the living room switched from the video game to the camera feed. Most of the image was dusty, which explained the growing dust plume that came from behind the hill. I could make out several defense weapons, like a high charge electric fence and four different gun looking weapons. There was a large figure in the dust, but it was too hard to see who or what it was.
"Raf, I need you to get to the media room in the basement," Amanda barked strictly. "It's the door in the exact middle of the left side of the main hall. You'll be able to control the defenses and machinery around the mansion. Cam, voice recognition. Keyword anemone. Give Rafael Esquivel full access to defense."
Raf nodded, looking unsure, but took his orders seriously and started to head to the media room before Jack grabbed his shoulder.
"Wait," He said. "How will we stay in touch?"
"There are cameras all over the place," Amanda's voice was getting more rapid, revealing her anxiety. "We can talk to Raf through them and he can to the same from the media room. Now go!"
Raf hurried off and Amanda returned her gaze to the growing dust cloud. The sounds of gunshots and metal scraping got louder by the second, and I knew we only had a few moments left before we had to face that thing. Amanda seemed too preoccupied, her fear and worry evident from her body language, so I stepped in.
"Miko, go with Raf," I said. "Contact the Autobots, and tell them it's an emergency. Once you do that, you have to help Raf man the defenses. Jack, you're backup for both of them."
Jack gave me a look. "What about you two?"
I glanced at Amanda, but she wasn't paying attention. "I have military training and she has her powers. We'll try to stall until the Autobots get here."
He nodded, clapped a hand on my shoulder before grabbing Miko's hand and they both took off after Raf. I went back to Amanda's side and tugged her wrist.
"You have to give Jack and Miko access to the media room." I said, unsure if she was even listening.
"Cam, voice recognition. Keyword anemone," She said, though her tone was absent. "Give Jackson Darby and Miko Nakadai full access to defense."
"Acknowledged."
I nodded. "Now, I need a weapon. Have anything?"
That got her eyes off the dust cloud that nearly covered the entire north-east quadrant of the grounds. Amanda moved away from the back door, heading to the fireplace underneath the tv. She placed her palm down on one stone and a green light shone from that stone. I watched in amazement as the fireplace slid away to reveal at least four different guns and a few of the other weapons Amanda had when we went to face MECH. She grabbed something that looked similar to her pocket-sized staff, then gestured towards the collection.
"Take your pick," She said, and I rushed over, grabbing an AK-74 and a spare magazine which I shoved into my back pocket. Then we both headed back to the back door and Amanda reached out to open the door.
"Raf, are you guys in position?" She called out.
"We're all here," Raf's voice was like Blair's- from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Miko's contacting the Autobots right now. Jack and I are watching the cameras, but we can't get a clear view of what's out there."
She chewed her lip, which I noticed she did when she got nervous. "I don't like going in there blind."
"Agreed." I said. "Raf, when we're a mile out, I need you to pause the defense system in sector B-8 and then give us a visual."
"Got it." The younger boy replied, and I nodded at Amanda, who opened the back door. We crept out and began running towards the dust cloud, but not too fast so we wouldn't burn out too quickly. Just like I said, Raf paused the defense systems once we reached the top of the hill, allowing us to see what was down there. I knew it'd be a Cybertronian, that was a given, but I still wasn't prepared.
It was a male, that was for sure. His build was bulky, not like Bulkhead because he was also tall. His paint was almost all black, except for the red accents on him, and he was even taller than Ratchet, but not as tall as Optimus. He held a battle axe that was smoking from defense against the defense system, and there was writing all over him in that red, which I couldn't recognize so I assumed it was Cybertronian. His eyes were the same red color, and they were locked on Amanda.
"Finally, the little goddess has decided to grace me with her presence," The attacker said, his voice low and menacing, the kind that sent chills down your spine, making me tighten my grip on my gun. "You do not look as imposing as Cleona did when I faced her."
"Who are you?" Amanda demanded, her voice confident and strong, only I could see her hands shake a bit.
"Who am I?" The Cybertronian chuckled. "I am Typhoon the Destructor."
"Is 'the Destructor' part of your name?" I asked, feeling the urge to get his attention off Amanda. "Are there hyphens or something?"
Typhoon's lips curled into a sneer. "Your lack of intelligence is disturbing. Little goddess, why do you surround yourself with such idiocy?"
"That was uncalled for," I said. "It was just a question."
Beside me, Amanda took a deep breath, taking the opportunity to calm down before regarding the Cybertronian. "Typhoon, why are you here? Why now?"
"Because you are," he replied as though it was a stupid question. "Cleona has chosen you as her champion, little goddess. You may have her powers, but you also have her enemies now. I escaped my bonds on Cybertron during the planetary alignment, like many of my brethren."
"Brethren?" I asked. "How many are there of you?"
He grinned slowly. "Very many. We are all bonded with our hate for the goddess of truth and justice. She has wronged many of us and we want revenge."
"That's pointless," Amanda said. "Cleona is dead. I have no quarrel with you- with any of you at that. This is your chance to walk away."
Typhoon laughed. "You sound much like Cleona, little goddess. I will have my revenge, we all will. We do not care who it is unleashed upon, but you happen to be the closest being to the goddess herself, so it will be you who feels our wrath." He hefted his battle axe. "But I can see that you are stalling. There is nowhere for you to run. This is your end, little goddess, and your allies will fall with you!"
With that, Typhoon charged towards us, axe high and ready to chop us to nothing.