I totally forgot today was Monday... do we even keep track of days anymore? Is that still a thing?
[Finn]
Smokescreen groaned, finally starting to wake up.
"Easy there," I said from my spot next to his med-bed. "You've been out for a bit."
He sat up despite my warning, rubbing his head and looking around, confusion on his features. "What- what happened? Weren't we in some field?" Then his eyes went wide. "Finn, Amanda- she was-"
My frown returned, and the dread within me grew again. "I know. Ultra Magnus gave us the debrief."
I'd almost been unable to hear the whole thing, but I knew I had to. Amanda was completely gone, according to the Autobots, replaced by Valilorna entirely. The only good thing to come out of this was the fact that she was unharmed, which put a bit of my anxiety at ease. Still, considering how much it had piled up, that little bit of anxiety was nothing compared to the whole.
I should have noticed. It all made sense after the fact, that Valilorna had been invading my girlfriend's mind, but I was too stupid to see it as it happened. I thought it was just her, that it was just Amanda getting excited about being out in the field. I should have seen it turn downwards, should have seen when that excitement turned into anger, should have-
"So what's our next play?" Bulkhead asked, causing me to turn my attention to the main group, who were huddled in the middle of the base. They'd all been beaten and bruised by the fight with Amanda, but luckily she hadn't dealt any deadly blows. Part of me hoped that was because Amanda wouldn't let Valilorna gravely injure anyone, but at this point, I didn't know what to think.
"She took us out pretty easily," Wheeljack nodded to Bulkhead's comment. "We never had the chance to even fight her before she knocked us out."
Arcee stepped forward, frowning. "My question is, why did she hold back?"
"Maybe A is still in there," Miko piped up, and I appreciated her words. "I mean, she could have turned you lot into pancakes, but totally didn't. That's A fighting the evil lady."
"While it makes sense," Ultra Magnus said. "We can't let our guard down because of that. Amanda is a dangerous individual to be controlled by Valilorna. Next time, we need to be more prepared."
"If there is a next time," Bumblebee said, making us all fall silent.
Then a thought came to mind. "What were they doing out there anyways?"
"There was a small village a few miles away," Raf answered. "We think Amanda had to stop there to get supplies."
Ratchet nodded. "Valilorna wouldn't be accustomed to these sorts of limitations, which explains why she wasn't as able to slip by our detection."
"At least we know our tracking system works," Arcee said. "It let us know where she was even before she visited that village."
I perked up. "So she didn't end up getting her supplies?"
Raf and Ratchet exchanged a look before Raf shook his head. "There's no evidence that she did make it to the stores over there."
"So she still needs things," I said, slight excitement coursing through me. "And she'll have to try another place to get them. Keep an extra close eye on those city cameras, if her attempt to get to a small village didn't work, she'll try to hide in a big city."
Smokescreen gave me a sideways glance. "You're sure?"
I nodded firmly. "If I know anything about my girlfriend, it's her tactics. She'll try to slip under the radar in one of two ways; Find a place without many cameras, or a place with enough people for her to disappear through. The first one didn't work out, so she'll go for the second."
"Or she'll get stuff delivered?" Miko suggested.
"Yeah, that'll cut out the entire possibility of her being spotted." Jack added.
I looked over at Raf. "Start monitoring those lines. Chances are they'll be around Poland, since that's where we last spotted her, but open up the search radius as much as you can. She's got to turn up again sometime."
I hope.
[Amanda]
Everything hurt. My body ached, and I didn't want to open my eyes to see where I was out of pure fear. I could feel her everywhere... Primus, she was everywhere and I couldn't- I wasn't-
"I was wondering when you would be lucid again, darling," Valilorna's voice was like honey, coaxing me in and forcing me still once I was in her reach. I slowly opened my eyes, not seeing anything for a long moment before my sight adjusted. It was dark around me, the only light coming from Valilorna's golden glow. She was wearing a simple golden summer dress and had bangles of gold bracelets on her wrists. I gave her a sharp glare.
"You rotten piece of-"
She laughed, cutting me off. "Look at you. Wrapped in chains and still trying to fight me."
I tugged against the chains around my body, tying me to some invisible wall of more darkness. I couldn't see the chains, not really, but sensed them and felt them digging into my skin as I writhed. It didn't help that I was wearing a dress similar to Valilorna's, only mine was tattered and dirty.
"Get out of my head," I growled, refusing to back down.
"And why would I do that?" I blinked, and then I was staring back at my own face. But those weren't my eyes... my eyes weren't solid gold like that, the entire socket full of the swirling color.
Valilorna brushed a hand through her-my hair, flicking it over her shoulder in a taunting manner. "You were a good choice, darling. I am glad to witness this turn of events."
"You didn't win," I snapped. "This isn't over. The second I get out of here, I'll-"
"You will what? I already have control over your body, there is no way for you to fight that. Your mind will crumble completely soon too, and then there will be no Amanda Beckett left."
Her words echoed off the walls of my mind, and I slumped forward, my hair falling in front of my face. She couldn't be right, this couldn't be it-
But who was I kidding? She was right. I wasn't in control of my own body, with my mind soon to follow. Even now, behind the darkness, I could feel my mind's walls crumble under Valilorna's powers. And here I was, tied up, battered and bruised, and unable to do a single thing about it. All I could do was watch as she controlled me, doing whatever she wanted with me like I was some sort of a puppet on a string.
She'd hurt the Autobots using me, and the only reason she didn't outright kill them was because of the ruckus I'd made. I threw her off, and while she made me pay for that, they'd gotten away.
What about next time?
I was cold all over again, Valilorna having faded off to go back to the real world and leaving me behind. The light was gone, leaving me in even more emptiness. How long would I be able to last like this? Did Valilorna know anything about humans to know how to keep one alive?
Okay, enough. You are Amanda freaking Beckett. Act like it.
Does that even make a difference?
It damn well does. You know it, the Autobots know it, and every person you've ever met knows it. Quiet moping around and act.
My head lifted, causing my hair to part as I looked up into the emptiness. I wouldn't let her control me forever. I wouldn't let her take over my mind. I wouldn't let her hurt my team. Even if that meant taking myself out in the process.