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‘Home… Home team…'
Mirage was struggling.
Noah could tell by the look in his optics, how they flickered down at him, meeting his eyes.
Every shot that Scourge fired felt like a game of dancing with death. Noah was pinned helplessly underneath Mirage who was trying his hardest to protect him.
Despite his cries and his pleas for him to get up and fight, Mirage didn’t budge.
Noah could hear his own heart beating in his ears, how they grew hot at the tips from the adrenaline rush throughout his whole body.
He felt the urge to get up and run, but in this state Noah knew that it was impossible.
Noah could feel the blood trickling down his temple, staining his curled hair.
“Home team…” Noah had answered, his voice wavering. There were tears pricking at his eyes, threatening to fall.
And oh, that face…
The look Mirage gave him, one that looked so despairing but so comforting at the same time.
He smiled, only slightly, but he smiled.
Both of them could hear the way Scourge’s weapon whirred just in front of them.
This was it.
There was nothing they could do.
Noah had taken note that Mirage’s leg had been blown off in the process, left to kneel there awkwardly, trying his hardest to stay on what was left of his knees.
Noah felt his body tremble weakly under his.
The moment Scourge fired the final shot, neither of them had the time to react.
All Noah could do was scream at the impact of Mirage’s body tumbling down onto his, squeezing his eyes shut as it all went black.
Mirage had powered down the moment he was shot, it was too much for his system, he had burned up to the point of going off-line completely.
His optics were dull and lifeless.
His landing was awkward, he had tried so hard to land in a position that wouldn’t have put Noah’s life in danger.
His plan was futile.
The moment Noah could open his eyes, he felt the struggle to breathe.
There was a weight on his chest, one that was pressing down, like he was put inside of a vice that was squeezing down on him slowly.
Noah gasped out, trying to catch his breath.
Out of panic, he tried lifting his left arm out from his side, but it was trapped there. A few more tugs would prove that.
Looking down, Noah noticed that Mirage’s forearm had landed awkwardly on the impact, draped over his left arm and over his chest.
What was worse, Noah could feel blood trickling down from under his shirt where his abdomen was.
His right arm that was thankfully free, reached down to touch there.
The spring from underneath Mirage’s bicep had pierced through his stomach, lodged inside from the pressure of Mirage’s arm over Noah’s chest.
“M… M’rage…” Noah choked out, bringing his arm back up and using it to bang against his lifeless chassis. “Get up… Please…” He gasped after every word, feeling the pressure on his torso getting heavier.
“Mirage!” Noah cried out, the tears running down his face now and onto the floor. From the waist down Noah could feel himself going paralyzed almost, his feet were numb.
Every move he tried to make was fruitless. The mighty weight of Mirage’s metal arm had him pinned down underneath the unresponsive bot, pressing harder and harder on his chest.
“I can…. Can’t…. Breathe.” Noah sobbed quietly, his right arm shaking as he reached up to grab the side of Mirage’s lifeless face. He tried hitting it a few times with his fist.
Noah’s ears were ringing, and he could still hear the rush of adrenaline from his open wounds. He felt the need to run but there was nowhere to go.
Noah took one last gasp until he couldn’t anymore, feeling his eyes glossing over with tears again. Mirage was dead, and he was dying.
He held it for as long as he could.
Noah felt his left arm go numb, losing all feeling like it wasn’t even there anymore. From the waist down he could feel nothing.
“I love you..” Noah’s voice strained at the release of his final breath, until he started to hyperventilate from the shock and the lack of oxygen, the harder Mirage’s arm pressed down.
Noah’s chest rose and fell rapidly for a few seconds until it gradually slowed to a stop, his head falling back against the concrete pooled with his own blood, staining his hair.
Noah’s pupils slowly dilated, his eyes remained open, and so did his mouth. Barely, but enough to try and catch a final breath.
His body finally relaxed.
Noah’s right hand had fallen to his side, latched around Mirage’s thumb and gripped it with the last ounce of strength he had left.
“Sonic?” A tiny voice spoke from Mirage’s arm that was sparking. It was Kris on the other end, who was watching the clouds coming over New York, the sky going dark.
No one answered him.
His voice echoed a few times between the lifeless bodies of his brother and Mirage, bouncing between them but there was no response back.
Kris called a few more times before he helplessly gave up, hoping that they were in the middle of dealing with the issue and switched off the radio for the last time.
There was a singular beam of light through the gaps of Mirage’s body, highlighting Noah’s face that went pale.
Freckles that looked like the stars finally found their way back home.
Mirage’s body was beaten and smoking.
He was sparking all over, trying his hardest in his unconsciousness to try and cool his systems down that made him unresponsive in the first place.
It took forever, and Mirage thought it would never work.
But he finally found the strength to power himself back on, his spark filling with the familiar bioluminescent glow and his optics slowly came back online.
Everything was a blur at first, he couldn’t see anything but an outline of somebody underneath him. “Noah…” Mirage said softly, unknowing.
He waited until his optics could focus and looked down at Noah, who’s eyes were open. “Noah..” Mirage called again quietly, his voice box hoarse. “Noah?” Mirage thought he was awake, looking at his open eyes.
Noah remained unresponsive.
“Noah…” Mirage called again, a little louder this time.
Mirage slowly tried to move his body, using his left arm that was resting on Noah’s right to elevate himself slowly.
His left arm felt stuck for some reason.
Mirage looked down and saw how his arm was laying on top of Noah’s chest.
He felt the life drain from his optics for the second time that hour.
Mirage pulled his arm off Noah quickly, and with it he could hear a sickening squelch as his left arm pulled away and left the sight of Noah’s body laying underneath him.
His optics landed on the open wound that was in his stomach, and how the spring underneath his bicep pulled out of it.
Mirage hurt Noah.
He could see how his white t-shirt was now stained with his own blood, left ripped open.
The further Mirage’s optics went, he noticed that the center of Noah’s chest was beginning to stain his shirt. One of the last spots that weren’t his arms that was white, now soaking in blood.
“No…” Mirage mumbled softly. “Noah… Noah, can you hear me?” He was desperate now, stiffly using his left servo to hold his face, gently pinching his cold cheeks between his index and thumb, trying to move his head around.
Noah was unresponsive.
“Noah!” Mirage cried louder this time, pulling himself up from where he was towered over the small human and got to his knees.
Noah didn’t mimic his movements.
He never got up.
“Nononononoo–” Mirage cried to himself softly as his servos reached down to slide underneath Noah’s blood-ridden curls and his stone-cold legs.
He raised Noah off the ground, feeling the human’s head lolling back against his thumb. He was significantly lighter than he could remember, and a lot colder.
“Answer me!” Mirage shook him gentle enough not to hurt him, but hard enough to startle a human out of sleep.
The reality began to set in slowly.
Noah’s unresponsive state told Mirage that his spark had died.
He was cold to the touch, and his body was limp.
“Noah…” Mirage sobbed quietly, beautiful blue optics were now pale and full of tears that were running down his faceplates. “Noah, please.”
Mirage cradled his cold body against his chassis, rocking Noah like you would rock a child to sleep almost.
Mirage’s guttural cry was loud enough that Prime scaled the side of the bridge to see what was happening.
He saw Mirage knelt there in the middle of the bridge, crying down to Noah’s body sheltered in his arms.
Scourge was turning around at the sound of his scream, and as much as Optimus wanted to run over and comfort Mirage, he knew he had to go.
“Go, Mirage!” Optimus yelled as he ran past him to protect them. He used his shield to block Scourge’s gunfire that was meant to kill Mirage.
There were no second thoughts.
Mirage got up, holding Noah’s body against his chassis and ran while Optimus was distracting Scourge, and ran down the bridge holding him close.
Mirage ran as far as he could until the sound of war was distant and muffled.
He took one look of Noah’s gray face lolling over his arm and he fell to the ground on his knees, screaming out his cries of agony at the thought of Noah being gone forever.
He never said goodbye.
Mirage held onto his body tighter, his cheek gently pressing against Noah’s cold head before he laid him down on the ground, careful to place his head down on the soft grass as his digits slipped from under him. Even if he was dead, Mirage hoped he was comfortable.
Mirage stared at his own bloodied knuckles, his servos shaking in a way that he didn’t know was possible.
There was blood smeared all over his chassis, bathing the color of his spark in blood.
His palms were coated with the blood of a lover.
His lover.
“I’m so sorry Noah.” Mirage weeped loudly down to him, shaking servos placed on his thighs as he hung his head, tears dripping onto the dead grass underneath them. "I'm so sorry..."
Mirage never knew it was possible, but his spark started to ache from the pain.
It felt like it was about to shatter in his chest.
The same way Noah’s did.
All because of him.
He couldn’t save him.
"Don't leave me behind."