Raptrana
Part Eight: Death
Our swords clashed together, and we grunted
with the exertion, as we each strived for the
upper hand. I whirled out of the way, causing Carlos to tumble onto his back. He
stared up the length
of my broadsword, and sighed.
“Damn your agility.”
“Get used to it, amigo,” I replied sweetly. I drew my sword away, and
held out my hand for
him to take. He did, and I pulled him up.
“Too strong as well.”
We laughed, and I saw two crimson optics watching us from the woods. I whispered
into
Carlos’ ear, “Dad’s watching us again. Don’t react.”
He nodded, and tackled me unexpectedly. I kicked him off, laughing, and we joked
around.
Suddenly, though, Dad was there in front of us. “You’re late, daughter.”
I felt my eyebrows shoot up. “You’re kidding me. It’s only about
eight-o’clock!”
“Negative. Eight-twenty-five.”
“Aw, man. And Mom’s worried, right?”
“Surprisingly, no.”
“Dad–” He shrugged, and I shook my head. “Okay, I’m going back. And
I’m not leaving you
to scare Carlos. I’m not leaving, until you do.”
He sighed, looking at me as if to say, “You’re the most impossible child
I’ve had to deal with
in ages!”
I chuckled, as we all dropped to our beast modes, then walked back to the house.
Carlos made
a face at the back of my father’s head, and I looked away, ashamed. Carlos
ducked his head, to see
my face. I shook my head, indicating the face he made at my father. His
shoulders slumped, and he
nodded, understanding that I held my father with the highest respect. When we
arrived at the house,
Carlos went in, but not before smiling apologetically over his shoulder. He was
instantly tackled by
Chandler and Brannon, and the three were instantly scolded by Mom, and sent
upstairs. She came
out the door, and started on my being late. I agreed to her punishment (no
leaving the yard for two
days) and apologized all throughout the scolding.
As I was bedding down for the night, I thought about Carlos and myself. Dad was
already
asleep at my back, snoring softly. While Carlos Maelstrom opted for sleeping
indoors, I preferred
outdoors, where I had space, and could actually breathe. I felt that when
I was indoors, and in either
in my beast or robot mode, I was trapped. Maybe it was because I was so tall, or
because I was used
to higher ceilings in perspective to my Cybertronian forms. Carlos, on the other
hand, had grown up
all his life in smaller areas, while having a Cybertronian form. I was afraid
that I’d knock something
over with my tail, or something like that. Not that I was afraid afraid,
but just . . . apprehensive. I
shook my head, and settled into a more comfortable sleeping position. However,
just as I was doing
that, I heard a rustling in the bushes to my right. I let my eyes open a crack,
but saw nothing, until
the creature, or whatever it was, moved.
I laughed quietly at my own paranoia, and called, “Good boy, Noble.” He
whined, and lay
down on my other side. I savored the warmth, and let my eyes drift slowly closed
. . .
I awoke to whispering, and shook Dad awake. He opened his eyes, and I knew that
he, too,
heard the whisperings for Megatron to his minions. In a faint light, I saw
Rattrap and Botanica,
bound and gagged together. Dad and I ran silently into the house, and I woke up
Mom.
“Get down into the basement,” I whispered, picking up Katyana, and handing
her to Mom.
She shook her head. “That’s where they found us last time.”
“Then the attic. I’ll open the windows for ventilation.”
I nodded, and went to help Dad to wake up the kids. He turned at the sound of my
foot-fall,
and I indicated to ceiling, meaning the attic. Everyone followed us up there,
and stayed up there,
except for Carlos.
“No matter what you say,” he said, dropping to his beast mode, “it isn’t
just your fight. I’m
as involved in it as you are.”
I looked to Dinobot, and he nodded, letting Carlos Maelstrom follow us. He
looked out a
window, and shook his head. The rest of the Maximals were captured.
We crept down the stairs, and into the mud-room. There, we transformed, and drew
our
weapons.
Now, I wasn’t Abigail anymore.
I was Raptrana.
Carlos was Maelstrom.
Dad was another warrior, as focused upon killing his enemy as any of us.
I grinned to them.
“Let’s do it.”
We crept out of the mud-room, and into the shadows of the night. From there, we
destroyed
as many drones as we could. Which, by the way, was the majority. On average,
each general had
about three left. Megatron was getting edgy.
All at once, there were no more drones left.
We stepped out of the shadows, probably looking evil as sin.
Megatron yelled, and ran at us. At me. I took a deep breath, calming my
heart, which was
pounding. Finally, though, I ran to greet his attack. This time, I was ready for
it.
As he shot at me with his flame-thrower, I rolled under it, and came into too
close of range,
causing him to stop shooting. I swiped at him, but he leaped out of the way,
trying to do the same
tricks as before. So, I ran at him, and slashed at him, gouging a furrow from
shoulder-to-hip, and at
least an inch deep. He yelled, and I noticed that Dad was fighting one of the
generals, while
Maelstrom was fighting two. Cheetor had apparently broken free, as he was
running to help
Maelstrom. I returning my attention to the cringing Megatron, just as he was
running at me, to try
to knock me over, as I had done to him those few months ago. Needless to say, he
didn’t succeed,
as I flipped over him, and stabbed at his back.
Fifteen minutes later, he was weakening. I was still strong. In his eyes, I saw
Evil, but I also
saw Fear, which sparks Evil. So, he feared me. Should I be honored, or afraid of
what I had become?
I didn’t have time to answer my own question, as he stumbled at me. Dad,
Maelstrom, and Cheetor
had long since finished off their opponents, and had released the other
Maximals. None interfered,
knowing that his was my fight.
As my final move, as Megatron was running straight at me, I only held my sword
straight out,
and he ran into it. I twisted it, and pulled it free as I did so, knowing that I
had sliced open the casing
around his Spark. And, right before his eyes, I did what I had vowed to, those
first days I was in the
Beast Wars.
My face was the last one he saw, before I extinguished his Spark.
Then in revulsion, I back off of his body, and seven feet away, I lay back,
catching my breath.
Dad’s form appeared in my line of sight, and he picked me up. He cradled me
against him, as I
shuddered at what I had just done. He didn’t say, “You’re okay.” He
didn’t say that everything would
be all right. He didn’t compare what I had just done to anything that he had
done. Instead, he said,
“Sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”
And, so I did.
And I dreamed of Death.
The death of Megatron . . .