I opened my eyes slowly, the heavy weight from before finally lifting. I took a deep breath, trying to regain full consciousness. My vision was still trembling, but gradually sharpening to reveal the figure before me.
"Airachnid… what the hell happened?" My voice came out hoarse, laced with a mix of relief and irritation as I stared at her. She ripped off the mask covering her face, revealing purple eyes that glowed with an almost supernatural intensity.
"I got a bit carried away while tearing apart the guys tailing us," she replied, her voice dripping with casual nonchalance. With a firm tug, she yanked one of the restraints free, tossing it behind her without a glance. The metal soared through the air with a sharp whistle, striking the head of an unsuspecting soldier. The impact was so brutal that a grotesque crack echoed through the room.
Airachnid's careless gesture didn't go unnoticed. Silas's goons, previously occupied with their tasks, turned toward us, and then: the alarm blared.
"Being discreet really isn't your strong suit, huh?" I said, sarcasm dripping from every word as a bullet whizzed so close to my face it nearly grazed me. Airachnid dodged another shot with an almost insulting grace, her movements fluid like the predator she was.
"What am I supposed to do? Stand by and watch you fend for yourself?" she shot back, stepping back as a hail of bullets sliced through the air around us. "Fine, get out on your own then."
"I was kidding, you idiot," I growled, ignoring the clang of metal on metal as a bullet ricocheted off the restraints still clinging to parts of my body.
"That's what I thought," she fired back, a wicked smile curling her lips. "Too stupid to manage without me."
Before I could respond, she leapt, and in the blink of an eye, her human form gave way to her true Cybertronian self. The transformation was a spectacle of mechanical elegance: black armor plates with golden accents shifted into place, forming a towering, six-meter-tall figure, imposing and lethal. Even Silas's soldiers hesitated, some stumbling back at the sight of her gleaming silhouette, which, by human standards, was undeniably… magnetic.
The gunfire intensified, a chorus of cracks and explosions as bullets tried, futilely, to pierce her armor. Airachnid, however, seemed almost bored. With a fluid sweep of one of her arachnid legs, she sliced through the air, the razor-sharp tip cutting into the metal restraints around me. In an instant, I was free, finally able to break out of this prison.
"Finally…" I muttered, stretching my arms and feeling my muscles protest after being immobilized for so long. A bullet struck my metallic arm, the impact ringing like a bell. "These guys are terrorists."
"And that makes a difference?" Airachnid asked, tilting her head to fix me with those purple eyes that seemed to see right through me. "Does that term mean something important on this planet?"
"It means you can kill them in the most creative and absurd ways without me chewing you out," I replied, wincing as a shot grazed my face. The pain was brief; my skin regenerated almost instantly.
Her voice faltered for a moment, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Then her body language shifted, the rigid posture giving way to an almost childlike excitement.
"I can kill them all?" she asked, her voice thrumming with eagerness.
"Go for it," I said, my monotone voice contrasting with the chaos around us. "Have fun with their screams of despair."
Airachnid shifted into her battle form, her golden accents now flames. Her red armour retained the golden accents that burned like flames. Her combat mask lent her an even more intimidating air. Her arachnid legs, now tipped with razor-sharp golden blades, rose into the air.
In a motion so swift I could barely follow, one of her claws sliced through the air, cleaving four soldiers in half. The impact sent a gust of wind that scattered the mutilated pieces through the air, spreading chaos and blood.
"I'm going to check their computer," I shouted, dodging another gunshot as I made my way toward a nearby terminal. "Try taking your… fun somewhere else."
The terminal was unlocked, a careless oversight I couldn't let slip. My fingers flew across the keyboard, searching for that project Silas had flaunted to stroke his ego.
"Okay… let's see… Project Chimera," I muttered, my eyes scanning lines of text and detailed schematics. "This thing is an exact replica of a Cybertronian."
A soldier collapsed beside me, his body torn in two, blood pooling on the floor. I ignored the scene, focusing on the screen instead. Silas had boasted about this project, and now I knew why. It was a weapon, an abomination designed to rival the Cybertronians themselves. I couldn't leave it in his hands.
"I've got to find this thing and destroy it," I muttered. Although I was still a little exhausted, I was so angry about this that it would take me a few more minutes to reach full mental capacity. "It's somewhere in the United States… and from what I saw in the schematics, I doubt it can move far. Maybe it's got a remote range."
Before I could continue, an explosion rocked the room, a guttural roar that made the floor tremble beneath my feet. The computer in front of me shut off with an electronic hiss, the screen plunging into darkness.
"Damn it…" My gaze shifted to Airachnid, who, just a few meters away, was turning destruction into a sadistic spectacle.
She tore apart an armored vehicle like it was made of paper, the twisted metal plates screaming under her claws. The soldiers, terrified, retreated, their voices muffled by helmets as she taunted them with a cruel smile, toying with their fear like a predator with its prey.
"Airachnid, I need you to…" I started, but my voice was cut off by a wet, grotesque snap. She split the last soldier in half, his organs spilling across the floor in a scene straight out of a horror movie she'd recently watched. "…leave one alive for questioning."
She turned to me, her purple eyes wide with an expression that blended surprise and a hint of amusement.
"Not my fault," she said, her voice laced with feigned innocence. "He was… kind of already splitting in half."
"Sure… he split himself in half, right?" I shot back, sarcasm dripping from every word as I surveyed the trail of destruction she'd left. Dismembered bodies and pools of blood painted the floor like a grotesque mural.
"Curious, isn't it? The human race always surprises me," she replied, maintaining her pretense without a shred of remorse. Then, with a grace that contrasted sharply with the violence of moments before, she crouched, bringing her massive, gleaming face closer to mine. "So, did you miss me?"
"First things first, where the hell are we?" I asked, ignoring her taunt as I moved to leave the claustrophobic warehouse. But before I could take another step, Airachnid extended a finger and, with a flick, knocked me to the ground. The impact forced the air from my lungs.
"That's how you treat me after I save your ass?" she said, feigning a hurt tone, her eyes glinting with a mix of amusement and arrogance.
"Okay…" I sighed, still sprawled out. "Thanks for saving my neck."
"See? Being polite isn't that hard," she retorted, her voice brimming with satisfaction as she rose.
I got up, ignoring the stab of pain in my back, and headed toward the exit. The air shifted the moment I stepped outside. A cold breeze, laced with the salt of the ocean, hit my face, and the sound of waves crashing against metal echoed in the distance. My eyes widened as the truth dawned on me.
"We're at sea," I murmured, stunned, staring at the vast blue expanse stretching beyond the edge of the deck. I'd been held captive on a ship this whole time, the subtle rocking beneath my feet now making sense.
"These humans really love to overdo it," Airachnid said, placing a hand on her hip in her Cybertronian form, the pose almost comical given her imposing stature.
"So tell me," I began, turning to her with an accusatory glare, "why the hell didn't you rescue me on solid ground?"
She looked away.
"I… thought it'd be fun," she admitted, her voice taking on a rare, almost shy tone. "Blending in, pretending I was on their side, just to show off a bit."
"Forget it…" I grumbled, giving up on trying to scold her. My mind was already on another problem. "Did you see a guy with scars all over his face? Looked like he walked straight out of an action flick, the typical villain?"
"Oh, is he important?" Airachnid asked, her voice tinged with an almost childlike curiosity. "Was I supposed to kill him?"
"No, try to grab him with his head still attached," I replied firmly. "He's trouble, but I need answers from him."
Without warning, she scooped me up with her left hand, the cold metal of her fingers wrapping around my body before setting me on her shoulder.
"Then hold on tight!" she exclaimed, and before I could protest, she leapt, her arachnid legs moving with terrifying precision, scaling the ship's structures like a giant spider.
Gunfire rained down on us, bullets whizzing through the air like furious wasps. The soldiers, clearly part of Silas's organization, didn't hesitate to open fire, but Airachnid was a blur of motion, her claws slicing through throats with brutal efficiency. Bodies fell, the sound of metal against flesh echoing across the deck.
She climbed to the highest point of the ship, the sea wind whipping at my face as I struggled to hold on.
"There!" I shouted, pointing to a group of soldiers forming a defensive barrier, clearly protecting someone or something.
We were almost headed in the wrong direction, but Airachnid corrected course with a nimble leap, landing between the containers with a crash that shook the ground.
Before the shooting resumed, I slid down her back, using her leg as a shield as bullets ricocheted around us. Within seconds, most of the soldiers were dead, their bodies strewn across the deck like wreckage. Airachnid, with a fluid motion, tore off the metal door blocking our path.
"Ladies first," I said, gesturing toward the entrance with a sarcastic flourish.
She smirked, a provocative glint in her eyes, and in an instant, reverted to her human form, her Cybertronian armor giving way to her signature gothic look: dark clothes, jet-black hair with a faint purple tint, and an air of someone who knew exactly how intimidating she was.
"Such a gentleman," she said, stepping forward, her body absorbing the shots fired from the darkness as if they were mere annoyances. I, of course, used her as a bulletproof vest.
The ship's corridor stretched out like a metal maze. Every footstep echoed on the steel floor, and the silence in between was almost dramatic. I kept my eyes peeled, prepared for an ambush or a trap, or at least the sound of enemy boots approaching again. But there was nothing.
Almost instinctively, my gaze shifted to Airachnid, who was walking in front of me. After everything that had happened between us, I found myself looking at her butt, and that was fine. But I noticed something unusual: a slight tremor in her shoulders. She was obviously cold; I was surprised she hadn't complained before.
Without a word, I conjured a pair of thermal coats with built-in heaters, one gray for me, and one black as night for her, with details that matched her gothic aesthetic. I handed hers over with a quick motion, draping it over her torso before she could protest.
For a moment, her purple eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly slipped on the coat, the fabric hugging her form as she adjusted her shoulders with an almost theatrical grace.
"How sweet, being nice to me," she said, shooting me a teasing look, her voice laced with a mocking tone that masked any genuine gratitude.
"Stop being a pain," I shot back, pulling my own coat over my shoulders.
Before she could respond, a metallic boom cut through the air. Our eyes met, the playful banter forgotten, and we quickened our pace.
"There's no way they can escape this ship, right?" Airachnid asked, her voice now thick with curiosity as we kept up the pace.
"Only if they're using lifeboats," I replied. "But that'd be stupid. We're in the middle of the ocean. No one in their right mind would do that."
She surged ahead, her long legs covering the corridor with frustrating ease. I tried to keep up, but her robotic form, even disguised, gave her an advantage I couldn't match.
Suddenly, she stopped, kicking the final door in the corridor with such force that the metal screamed. The door flew forward, crumpled like paper, and crashed with a thud that echoed through the space. But Airachnid froze, her eyes fixed on what lay beyond.
I caught up, panting, and then saw what had silenced her. The corridor opened onto a platform overlooking the sea.
The vast expanse of blue stretched to the horizon, the salty wind whipping at our faces. But it was the absence of any sign of escape that really caught my attention, except for one possibility I hadn't considered.
"Or… they escaped by submarine," I murmured, the realization hitting me like a wave. This terrorist organization was craftier than I wanted to admit.
Airachnid crossed her arms, irritation evident in her stance.
"I'm not going in the water," she declared, her voice firm but tinged with petulance. "I'm not in the mood to become a frozen popsicle."
"These guys are a major problem," I said, feeling an old frustration flare up. "We've got to find their base in the United States. If we let these idiots run loose, they'll cause a disaster sooner or later." I sighed, exasperated. "Let's get off this floating tub. I'm sick of it."
"Everything went smoothly, nothing to worry about," Airachnid said, her voice light, almost teasing. But before I could reply, the ship shuddered violently, the floor beneath our feet vibrating as if something colossal had awakened. A deafening explosion roared from somewhere below, the sound accompanied by the acrid smell of smoke and molten metal.
I looked at her, and she looked at me, her eyes wide with a mix of surprise and caution.
"I love explosions," she said, raising her hands in an exaggerated gesture of innocence, "but this time, it wasn't me."
"Yeah, right," I grumbled, but there was no time for arguments. We ran in the opposite direction, the corridor now lit by orange flashes coming from the deck. When we reached the outside, chaos engulfed us.
Half the ship was in flames, fire licking the night sky as the metal groaned and cracked. The deck beneath our feet began to buckle, tilting at a dangerous angle. It was obvious what had happened: the organization had set a final trap, a self-destruct mechanism to erase any trace of their operation. And we were caught in the middle of it.
"Airachnid! Transform and prep the teleport now!" I shouted as cracks began to spiderweb across the deck, the metal splitting with thunderous snaps.
She didn't hesitate. In an instant, her human form gave way to her towering Cybertronian figure, her black armor gleaming under the firelight. With almost impossible agility, she grabbed me, her metallic fingers wrapping around my body with firm precision. A blinding flash of light enveloped us, and the world dissolved into a blur.
When reality reformed, we were falling, the air whistling in my ears. I landed with a bone-rattling impact, Airachnid's weight crushing me against the ground.
"Ow, can you get off me?" I groaned, trying to crawl out from under her. "You're way too heavy."
She stood, but not before giving my leg a light kick, clearly annoyed.
"Calling me heavy?" she retorted, her voice dripping with mock indignation. "Where are we?" she asked, swiveling her head to scan our surroundings.
I got up, brushing the dust from my clothes as I tried to get my bearings. The terrain was arid, the air dry and hot, even at night, thick with the scent of scorched earth. The horizon was a dark line, dotted with rocky formations.
"I know this place," I murmured, the memory trickling back slowly. "I passed through here a few months ago. I think we're in Nevada. If we're lucky, near Las Vegas." I stretched my spine, feeling it crack with relief, but I couldn't resist one last jab. "And seriously, Airachnid, you've put on weight since the last time you crushed me."
She shot me a withering glare but didn't respond, her eyes already scanning the desert for our next move. After a quick glance around, Airachnid began disdainfully brushing off a layer of dust clinging to the exposed gears of her Cybertronian form.
"So, what's the plan now, huh? What's the grand strategy, oh great wise one who loves getting kidnapped?" she said, her voice dripping with the familiar mockery as she rubbed at an invisible smudge on her armor.
"Let me think for a second," I shot back, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle into my shoulders. "I hate not having an immediate plan." I sank onto the cold sand, my eyes roaming the surroundings more carefully. I tried to orient myself, searching for some familiar pattern in the jagged lines against the sky, but my mind was still foggy from the teleport and the adrenaline.
Airachnid, on the other hand, seemed more preoccupied with personal matters.
"Look, I want to go back to Brazil," she declared, crossing her arms with an expression that blended stubbornness and menace. "I have things there that are mine. Personal things. And I don't want anyone touching them without my permission." There was an almost human attachment in her words, a possessiveness that caught me off guard. I tried to imagine what a Cybertronian like her would consider "personal," but her tone left no room for negotiation, not even a bribe involving food would sway her.
I sighed, the air escaping my lungs with a weight that carried all the day's frustration. Arguing with Airachnid was like trying to convince a storm to change course. If I tried to deny her, I'd probably end up with a kick that'd hurl me into one of those rocks, and I wasn't keen on spending the rest of the day rebuilding my spine just to appease her tantrum.
"Fine," I muttered, giving in. "We'll figure it out."
Before I could sketch out a plan, a sound pierced the desert's silence, a low, growing roar, like the rumble of an engine approaching at high speed. My instincts sharpened, and I lifted my head, eyes narrowing against the darkness.
"Did you hear that?" I asked, glancing at Airachnid, who also seemed to have noticed something. Her posture shifted, her purple eyes glinting with a mix of curiosity and caution.
"Could the teleport's energy have drawn human attention?" she suggested, her voice now stripped of its mocking edge. It was a plausible theory, but something in my mind disagreed.
"That fast?" I countered, frowning. "Humans wouldn't react to an instantaneous teleport like yours so quickly. Especially not so randomly."
I scanned the sky, searching for any sign of what was approaching. Then I saw it: a bright red dot cutting through the darkness and moving so fast that it made the air hum.
Before I could say anything, the object dove toward us, breaking the sound barrier with a boom that shook the ground. The impact was immediate and brutal, the force hurling Airachnid into the nearest mountain, the sound of metal crashing against rock echoing like thunder.
I was thrown backwards like a rag doll, as in the way movies simulate a person being thrown.
"What the hell was that this time?" I grumbled, my voice hoarse with irritation as I stood, brushing sand from my arms. "Don't tell me this day can get any longer." My eyes tracked the object, which now climbed back into the sky, tracing an elegant arc before transforming.
With a familiar metallic sound, the fighter jet morphed into a humanoid figure, landing gracefully before me. It was a Cybertronian, her armor a vivid red with silver accents gleaming under the moonlight. Sleek wings protruded from her back, adorned with an insignia I recognized immediately, though I hadn't seen it officially in eons.
"Hello, Mr. Lux," she said, her voice smooth but carrying a weight that demanded attention. "Or should I say… Allspark? It's an honor to meet you in person." Her appearance bore subtle traces of Asian influences, particularly in the delicate contours of her metallic face, but what truly captivated me was the energy she radiated. It was unmistakable, a primal, sacred pulse I hadn't felt in nearly ten million years. The energy of Primus.
I froze, surprise mingling with instinctive caution.
"I don't know who you are," I murmured, my eyes locked on hers, "but I can tell you're not my enemy."
She knelt, resting one knee on the ground, her four-meter frame still imposing even in that position. Her bright, inquisitive eyes met mine as she leaned forward slightly, one metallic hand touching the earth with care.
"My name is Windblade," she said, a faint smile curving her lips. "I was sent by Primus to find and protect you."
The mention of Primus echoed in my mind, carrying a weight I hadn't anticipated. "Protect me?" I thought, surprise blending with a growing sense of urgency.
"I'm certain Primus wouldn't do this unless the situation was dire," I muttered to myself, my eyes still fixed on Windblade.