Chapter Text
Elita stood in the middle of a battlefield, on the surface of Cybertron. Her silver face was dirty, smeared with dried energon and blackened with soot from the smoke. Her pink plating, once bright and clean, now dull with the same debris. It was like being in the mines again, minus all the destruction of the once ever-changing plates, now smashed into rubble, and the broken bodies of fallen comrades and enemies underneath her pedes. Quintesson, Autobot, and Decepticon.
The Quintessons had returned, not too long after the events of the uprising, and with their arrival came an offer. The same offer that was extended to Sentinel Prime all those cycles ago: energon in exchange for power over the populace. The invaders were disappointed that their former pawn had been exposed so soon, but that didn't matter to them. Pawns were easy to find and even easier to tempt with power. Everyone wanted power.
Except Optimus Prime. They did not anticipate his refusal, and it enraged them.
So they attacked, showing no mercy to Iacon City or any life that lived on the surface. The Decepticons became involved, initially attempting to stop the threat themselves, only to be hindered by Megatron's toxic pride. They were outnumbered and overwhelmed. Both sides came to a truce, and their former personal disagreements were set aside in favor of working together against the common threat.
There was one thing Optimus and Megatron agreed on: they had just won their freedom after cycles of living underground in squalor, looked down on by their larger, cogged peers and those of higher status. They were not going to be slaves again.
The battle is gruesome, unlike anything she's seen. Elita has witnessed some awful accidents in the mines before, but watching bots get torn apart so gruesomely by their alien invaders made even her strong tanks waver.
She slides next to a pile of rubble for cover, keeping her helm low to avoid the crossfire. She sees Megatron not too far away; he's alone and holding his own, but even she can tell it won't last long. However, the one she was worried about most was nowhere to be seen.
Where was Optimus?
She dares to peek over the rock outcropping, bright hues desperate and searching for the Prime. It seemed that this had been their ploy all along, to get him alone. One would think his bright blue and red plating would make the mech stick out like a sore thumb.
That idiot. She thought, a fierce wave of protectiveness tightening her spark. He's always pulling scrap like this.
Megatron seemed to have noticed her now, his helm turning to follow her gaze across the battlefield. He knew exactly who she was looking for. He beckoned her over, but she was hesitant. It's too dangerous. The wide-open was a deathtrap, but he gives her a firm look and a nod that says, 'I'll cover you.'
This conflict had brought them together again, a haunting reminder of old times, just like the very adventure that led to their freedom, before steering D16, now Megatron, down the dark path of revenge and hatred. She was still getting used to the harsh red optics, but one thing was for certain. She trusted him, even after everything. They were friends once.
Well, frag it.
Elita takes a leap of faith, springing forward quickly as her legs pump behind her. The ground exploded, dust and debris showering her with soot and grime. Megatron rises and, with a bellowing cry, releases a barrage of cannonfire into the enemy to draw their attention. She marvels at his strength; not just his resolve, but armor plating as well. The smaller, jagged pieces of shrapnel ricochet off silver like harmless bullets. She slides next to him just in time, and he brings her in, brows furrowing and huffing in irritation.
“That was close. You are lucky I was here. You would have been stranded behind that boulder otherwise.”
He's scolding her, but his anger is like oil on water. She's used to it.
“Where's Optimus?” She demands, scowling as Megatron rolls his optics.
“You're welcome, by the way.”
“Sorry, thanks for covering my six. Where's Optimus? We got separated.” Her optics scan the horizon again, now that the threat was temporarily neutralized.
Megatron nods towards the opposite direction. “ I saw him to the east, by the mining depots. Bumblebee and Jazz are with him.”
She vents a sigh of relief, thankful that he was not alone. “Okay, good. I'll go that way, unless you need help here?”
“No.” He shakes his helm, “I'm fine. I called for Starscream and Soundwave as backup. They'll be here shortly.”
Elita nods, taking the risk and standing once again. They were in the clear, as the enemy was scrambling to regain their composure from the Decepticon leader's assault, leaving her path clear. She took that chance to run and gave him a final, grateful smile. “Thanks. Be careful.”
“You too.” He replied. Megatron didn't smile back, but the temptation was there as the corner of his mouth quirked ever so slightly. She took it as a win.
Once again, she was running across the field towards the eastern mining depots. They were recently refurbished, not long after the uprising, to process the fresh energon that flowed from the core after the Matrix had been restored. Now? They were ruins once more, no thanks to the Quintessons. It was part of their campaign to destroy the Autobots and Decepticons' source of fuel and resources, and it was working.
The reminder made her burn, anger simmering deep within her core that this could happen so soon after everything. Why couldn't they have a break? Why couldn't they live and be happy? They all fought so hard for their freedom. Orion, now Optimus, even died for it. He was forever changed and restored by the Primes. It was the principle of it, the bitter fact that they now, once again, had to fight for their survival and for their freedom.
The loud commotion of another battle pulls the femme from her thoughts. In the distance and through the haze, she could finally see him! The familiar red and blue are like a light in a dark room. A massive wave of relief floods Elita as she drew closer. Just as Megatron said, Optimus wasn't alone. Jazz and Bee were right beside him, holding the line with a squad of Autobot forces.
Elita puts more energy into her sprint, racing towards him, her spark hammering frantically against pink plates.
Suddenly, the world around her erupted.
The hidden energon mine detonates, triggering a chain reaction of other massive explosions. She is thrown violently into the air by the shockwave before finally slamming hard across the jagged, rocky terrain. Her vision darkened, swallowed by dust instantly. She couldn't see or hear a damn thing.
“Frag…! Frag!” She choked out, trying to ignore the ringing in her audials as smoke filled her mouth and the screams of fallen soldiers echoed from all sides, both injured and dying.
She stumbled to her feet, legs shaking as Elita took in the scenery. The dust is starting to clear, and she can see a vibrant blue glow in the distance. It was Optimus, and he was unharmed! Thank Primus. The Matrix had activated, creating a protective shield around the Prime, Jazz, and Bee. He was forever their friend and protector.
“Optimus!” She choked out to him, “OPTIMUS!”
He didn't seem to hear her amid the chaos. Elita saw him turning towards the other two. She could see he looked worried, but she didn't know why. It made her sick to her tanks as a feeling of dread she could not explain washed over her.
There was more commotion, though Elita couldn't quite tell what was going on amid the chaos and smoke. Blinded by frustration, she started forward only to stumble, her systems reeling from the fresh shrapnel wounds caused by the blast. Energon dribbled down her marred frame, but she'll be damned. She was going to make it to him, she had to!
The veil of dust cleared, and a new threat emerged as Quintesson soldiers came into view. She couldn't fully make it out yet, but suddenly everything made sense why Optimus and the others had been fighting so hard here.
There was a device. Was it a weapon? Elita wasn't sure. It was hard for her to put the pieces together at first until the smoke lifted, revealing groups of bots and Quintessons locked in a brutal conflict. One side was fighting desperately to protect the machine: The Quintessons, while the others were throwing everything they had into destroying it: The joined forces of the Autobots and Decepticons. The explosion had caused a major distraction, and then it hit her. That had been the purpose of the blast: To remove chunks of the opposition and clear the board, but why?
As she stumbled across the uneven field, Elita had optics on both Optimus and the device, which was attached to a strange half-mechanical half cephalopod-like-creature. Her tanks sank, and her ventilations quickened. They were pointing it at Optimus, and he was distracted.
Oh. Oh no...
She started to run, but something in her leg hurt like the pit. She grimaced at the pain, pushing past it to struggle towards Optimus. She had to warn him. She had to stop it. Something, anything! Her processor was in protective mode; as his second-in-command and friend, she had to protect him. The memory of watching him fall into the abyss flashed in her mind, bringing up the absolute guilt she felt being unable to protect him in that moment.
She choked out his name again, her intake clogged from the dust and grime, but he couldn't hear her. Everyone was fighting like the pit, and her auditory receptors are finally recovering from earlier. She could hear the screams of the dead and dying, the chaos of war, and the Decepticon fliers overhead. It was utter madness!
“DESTROY IT! WE NEED TO DESTROY THAT DEVICE! PROTECT THE ENERGON DEPOTS!”
Elita can hear him now, bellowing to Decepticon and Autobot troops alike. She had never heard him sound so loud and desperate before. But that wasn't what scared her.
It was the blue-green glow that the device started to emit, and the green laser that trained directly on Optimus.
Oh, Primus, she feels sick to her tanks.
This whole time, everyone in this sector thought it was the depot that the Quintessons were after, when in fact, it was the biggest threat that the Quintessons have had to face since squaring off against the Original Thirteen Primes fifty-two cycles ago.
Optimus Prime.
And no one knew, no one but her.
It took every bit of strength Elita had to charge forward, ignoring the sharp pain in her leg to run as fast as she could. There was a high-pitched whine as the device came to life, and the chaos ensued.
Everything happened in slow motion. As Elita finally screamed out his name, Optimus turned towards her, optics wide, his handsome features starting to smile, so relieved to see her, before it was replaced by total horror as he was shoved so hard and violently across the dirt.
Yeah, handsome. So sue her.
The beam of light hits her instead, and she screams, but it is silent, as though her voice had been stolen away. A strange sort of membrane enveloped her, and Elita felt as though she was burning from the inside out and being torn apart.
Damn, is this what dying felt like?
She could see him staring at her, screaming and horrified as he was held back by the others despite his desperate attempts to reach for her. It was a familiar scene, reminding her of the time she had almost jumped into the well after him before Bee stopped her. But it's too late, just like back then.
She was numb now, and Elita managed to offer a last sad smile and mouthed 'I'm sorry' to him before everything turned to infinite white...then blue....then green....and white again.
Suddenly, there was a tunnel, and she was hurling through it violently and rapidly, those same colors swirling in a technicolor rainbow around her. Elita cried out as she was tossed around roughly in the swirling vortex like scrap metal in a storm on the surface. She desperately reached out, trying to grab onto something, anything! But there was nothing but color and energy as it snapped and crackled, causing massive malfunctions in her systems.
What the frag had the Quintessons created!? What sort of weapon was this?!
Then, just as quickly, she was spat out, her body landing hard on the ground. She screams out in pain as her HUD flashes, so many alarms and warnings blinking across her vision as her equilibrium and systems try to recover from whatever the frag that had been. It's all too much for her, because Elita is barely able to take in her surroundings before the sheer pain and shock to her took hold, and she's forced into emergency stasis.