Cage's Ally

Chapter 3

"Alright, now lift your arm to block my next punch, but be careful not to shatter your arm in the process," Aaron directs as I lift my elbow.

I block her punch which she does slowly on purpose, and then I slide to my left to avoid a kick to my side. I swipe at her face with my metal arm, but luckily she steps back in an instant. She has pretty good instincts and moves as swift as a cat. Of course, I would never admit that to her.

"Now do an uppercut punch to hit the jaw." The woman instructs me how to.

Lifting my fist to crash with her jaw, I stop before doing so. Then, we switch off and I block her again. We do this over and over again.

I am good with a gun which I am reminded of over and over again, but I need work on my hand-to-hand combat. Aaron is worried I wouldn't last in a fight with a street guy. I'm a strong woman, though she might be right.  She apparently went on a paid 'vacation' to train with a martial artist. Nest does whatever they can to be the best of the best.

"So what do you think of Ravage being here?" Aaron catches me off guard.

I scowl. "He's a nuisance and a waste of Nest's time."

"How do you know he hasn't truly changed? Wheelie did."

"Wheelie is a moron; we shouldn't compare him to anyone." I chuckle to myself.

Wheelie was once a Decepticon spy until the Autobots captured him. It doesn't surprise me that he would switch his symbol, anything to save his life. He's a weakling if you cannot guess. Somehow he still makes me laugh.

"You never know," 

Aaron bends over dramatically, wiping the sweat from her forehead and shaking it at me. I jump back in disgust. Ewww!

"What's wrong with you?"

"It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm fighting an alien war I don't belong in."

"I see you feel the same way."

"No, it's not the same. You are apart of this war just as much as the Autobots are. Look at your metal arm, Phoneix. You've become one of them."

I look at my arm, moving my digits around as I stare at the Autobot symbol. I see nothing wrong with it. To me, it proves I am strong and can move on despite everything that has happened to me. I have allied with these aliens, and they are my friends... and my family. I will not abandon them during their darkest times.

But am I really apart of this war now?

"I'm human, just like you," I reply, balling my fist.

"You don't even have a normal heart," Aaron adds, a frown evident on her face.

"That doesn't make me any less human than you. I was born into a human family, lived with them, and I dream like anyone else. I don't-don't understand what you mean-mean."

"You are going to live for hundreds, maybe thousands of years! If I'm lucky I will hit 80!"

We stare into each other's eye. I swear a tear is forming in hers. Aaron turns her head to the side, scratching at her neck and twisting her hair. I only watch.

"Phoneix, I am leaving Nest. I should have told you earlier, but I didn't know how." 

I furrow my brows. "But we need you; you can't do that...,"

"I already have."

I take a few steps forward, reaching for her shoulder. I pull back my cybertronian arm and change it to my human one.