Twist

Chapter 59: Hysterical

She pressed her servo in deeper, touching the once sacred spark and the matrix of leadership within him. He gasped and leaned in closer as the light shone out of him, followed by drops of energon.

"And I love you," he told her, pressing his lips to hers as his optics went dark.

The purple hue in Temptest's optics faded into a deep blue. The kiss barely lasted for a moment before the Prime lost consciousness. Her servo slipped out of his damaged chassis as Optimus fell down to the ground, his own optics dark.

She stared, her mind running slow, as if it had been emerged in a thick liquid. Something in her spark trembled, feeling empty, alone. She'd done something wrong.

Temptest's optics widened. What had she done?

There was no time to answer that question. A blaster went off to her right, hitting Temptest in the side of the helm. She cried out and tripped back, landing on her side. Temptest's optics flared purple again and she whipped her helm up, catching sight of (SH) Optimus aiming his blaster at her from above.

"Don't move," he growled. "I will shoot."

"You can take it," Unicron murmured. "You have the power to destroy that which is evil."

Temptest stood. "You're right. I do."

"Unicron?" Optimus guessed, taking a step back and knowing full well that Temptest wasn't done fighting. Even without Unicron helping her, she'd never known when to give up. Especially when it meant defying him. "I've had him in my helm before too, but I never imagined you would stoop so low. Aren't you supposed to be a Primus enthusiastic?"

"Supporting the will of Primus never stopped you," Temptest walked forward. "It just made me weaker. Once you're gone, I'll never need him again."

"Ha!" Optimus laughed. "You're just as foolish as you've always been. Once you get even the smallest taste of dark energon, it never leaves you. Unicron could take your mind at any moment he pleased."

"And your mind?" Temptest questioned. "How have you managed to remain free?"

Optimus smirked. "Secret of the Primes."

"You aren't a Prime."

"He's stalling," Unicron shifted restlessly. "Kill him before you lose the chance. You don't want to let this monster free, do you?"

"What difference does it make?" Optimus asked. "You always look down on me for being impure, but you went ahead and killed the real Prime. You'd want me dead either way."

"He's not dead," Temptest looked at Optimus quickly. Energon flowed freely from his wounds. It was a dangerous amount. His frame was offline. If he was dead, she couldn't tell.

Optimus shot her again, while she was distracted. The powerful ball of energy slammed into her helm, throwing it back and snapping her neck painfully. She sucked in a few deep breathes hurriedy and recovered. Optimus took his chance to approach her and placed his blaster against her helm, the cool metal resting in the spot between her optics.

"You're strong, but you aren't strong enough," Optimus posited. "You can't kill me, but I'll kill you if I must."

Faster than he could react, Temptest wrapped her servo around his arm, her digits barely touching the area where his frame transformed into the blaster he had pointed at her. Optimus tensed, but surprisingly enough, Temptest didn't move it. She just pulled in closer and looked into his optics, her purple gaze slicing through him.

"I don't want to kill you," Temptest told him. "I want to make you fear me, the way I've always had to fear you."

"Darling, you never had to fear me," Optimus smirked. "I made threats, but you were always the one running into danger. Your pain isn't my fault. It's your anger coming back to get you."