THIS SONG.
It literally pulled this entire story together. Ever hear something and all of a sudden you realize what has to happen in the story? That was this song for me. It honestly saved the story, believe me.
Anyways, enough of my chit chat. I know I haven't been posting as often, and that's because I've run out of pre-written chapters and have to actually write, which is a struggle on its own. Not to mention I've been called back to work (it's crazy), so your patience is much appreciated! Now, enjoy lovelies! :)
[Finn]
Nurse Darby began to tend everyone's injuries the moment we stepped through the ground bridge. She had ushered us up to the living area, forcing us to sit down as she cleaned us up. Miko and Jack both got solid bruises and bumps on their heads, but nothing that would cause serious damage and would take longer than a couple weeks max to heal. I was a little worse for wear, with that calf wound and a fractured rib, but I'd survived worse. Amanda had flat out denied all of Nurse Darby's attempts to bandage her hand, and Nurse Darby didn't push, not after I shook my head. Truthfully, I didn't think I'd even had to give her the sign. Amanda hadn't said a word since the others had joined us and we went through the ground bridge, following us only to curl up on the couch, her knees tight against her chest. Her hazel eyes were glassy as she got lost in her thoughts.
The Autobots had fought hard against the Chaos Fernontas on the scene, but more and more continued to arrive to the point that retreat was inevitable. Still, once we reported that we had Amanda, Ultra Magnus was completely willing to pull everyone back to the base. Now everyone was gathered in the main area, all lost in their own thoughts.
"So now what?" Miko said, the first one to break the long silence.
Jack looked over at her. "What do you mean?"
"We have our head honcho back, but we don't know what Valilorna was planning with Tempest," She explained. "Technically we're back to square one, chasing after whatever crumbs they leave behind."
"She's not wrong," Arcee agreed. "We need to gather intel on what they've been raiding all those facilities for."
Ultra Magnus looked over at Ratchet and Raf. "Were you able to locate any patterns in the heists or the items stolen?"
Ratchet shook his head. "No, everything still appears to be completely random. If we had an idea of what we're looking at, maybe a pattern would appear, but otherwise there isn't much to see but a grocery list."
"Fantastic," Smokescreen muttered. "If anything, we were set back by shifting our focus."
I sucked in a breath, the others all doing the same, but that wasn't before Amanda visibly flinched. Smokescreen realized his mistake, eyes widening slightly.
"I mean- not that it was a bad set back- but-" He stuttered, and Bumblebee cut him off.
"It doesn't matter what happened," He said, tone not leaving any room for argument. "We should be looking at our next move, not what's already happened and what can't be changed."
Bulkhead nodded. "Maybe we can try to track down Tempest's hide out?"
"We've tried," Raf spoke up. "But not only do they have Decepticon tech on their side, but there's also the Valilorna factor. We have nothing to grasp on to try to find them."
"So we're stuck," Arcee concluded.
"No," We all spun around when Amanda's voice filled the air. It wasn't the strong, leader voice that we all had grown accustomed to. She was quieter and almost emotionless. "Tempest was carrying out what had to be done for Valilorna's Uprising."
I frowned, but Jack beat me to the question, "What's an uprising?"
"Valilorna was trapped in the Zaren Pits again by Cleona at the end of the war on Cybertron, without the power to free herself. That was eons ago, and powers grow overtime, but the main source of her power surge was the planetary alignment. Unicron's brief waking spiked her powers, and she only needs a little boost to be fully free. Tempest was gathering the materials needed to give Valilorna that boost and release her."
"If Valilorna were to return, in her own body and with her full capabilities," Ultra Magnus said somberly. "She easily could cause another war on the same scale as the last. Perhaps even worse now that she is on a world where Unicron's influence is greater than Primus'."
We all fell silent before Ratchet spoke.
"But now we know what she's building," He said, turning towards his computer and starting to type things up. "I'll be able to pinpoint exactly what's left that she needs and where in the world she can get them. Rafael, help me here?"
Raf got up, scurrying to do so with his laptop already in hand.
"Meanwhile, we'll increase our patrols," Ultra Magnus said to the Autobots. "Any trace of the Chaos Fernontas can work to our advantage. Roll out."
The Autobots each transformed and disembarked on their scouting routes, leaving the base emptier. I turned towards Miko and Jack, who were both looking at Amanda.
"Why don't you two head out with Mrs. Darby to grab some supplies to stock up the back rooms," I suggested, but made it sound more like an order. "We'll be staying here for a little bit, since we need to be on standby the moment Tempest acts."
They both glanced at Amanda, then exchanged a look. Nurse Darby got the hint though and ushered the pair with her, leaving the base within moments. I carefully got up, trying not to agitate my wound, and moved to sit next to my silent girlfriend.
"Would you let me clean out your cut?" I said softly. "We don't know what kind of diseases could have entered your system by now, and an infection is a nasty thing."
She didn't move, as if she didn't hear me.
"Amanda?"
"How could I?" She asked suddenly, voice shaking. "How could I lose control like that? I was supposed to be the strongest champion, and I fell so hard. I was supposed to be the leader of this team, and I ended up beating them up." Her eyes met mine, tears welling in them again. "Finn, I could have killed you. I wanted to so badly, just to get you out of the way, and it hurt so much, but I still wanted it."
"No," My tone was firm. "You didn't want to do any of that. Valilorna did. You were fighting her."
"Finn-"
"Amanda, you saved my life," I continued. "Valilorna wouldn't have thought twice about killing me, she would have just done it on the spot, but you fought her enough to have her fist fight me and the others. You bought me and yourself enough time to get through."
She shook her head slightly. "I still let her in."
"No, you didn't. You fought her every step of the way. It's not your fault that she's an ancient goddess who's been wreaking havoc for eons, but you still managed to hold her off. If that isn't being the strongest Champion of Cleona, then I don't know what is."
She didn't reply, frozen for a long moment before sighing and leaning over to rest her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her closer, and felt her muscles relax as I ran my hand through her hair.
"Remember when Optimus lost his memories and worked with the Cons, way back when?" I said, feeling her nod before I continued. "He was a Prime, and he was still manipulated into helping them decode the Iacon coordinates. But, in the end, he broke through and fought against Megatron. Even the strongest people can trip and fall, but they always stand right back up again and keep fighting."
She huffed a laugh against my chest. "I guess you're right-"
"I'm always right."
That earned me a look before she continued, a small smile on her face. "I can't mope around forever. I'll apologize to the team, and then we get right back into tracking Tempest. Now we know her plans, and with Ratchet and Raf already on trying to see she still needs, we may be able to stay one step ahead of her."
I smiled. "That's my girl. What else you got?"
"We'll have to be fast. Let's get security clearance from Fowler to tap into the satellites that are all over the world. If we patch Cam through to each location of whatever parts the Fernontas need, she'll be able to get us the info on Tempest's movements faster. It may overload my system though, so we'll have to borrow some databases from BeckIT, but that shouldn't be an issue, my R&D departments are always looking for test subjects for their new equipment." She looked up at me, eyes glowing in anticipation. "We'll cut Tempest off at every place she tries to hit, and then take the fight to her and that rotten goddess."
"Sounds good to me."