Erased Memories (TFP)

#43

ENTRY:5/10/2021
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“G-Guys…” Ioa sighed, pinching the in between of her olfactory sensors for the umpteenth time. “Primus didn’t give much of a hint but we DO know that we’ll have to take the fight TO them; not the other way around.” She explained, folding both of her servos in front of her.

…The crew were still bickering.

“Um…what?” Agent Fowler stared at her blankly, still not up to date with the current situation. “What in Sam Hill’s name are y’all getting on about?”

“War.” Ioa deadpanned.

“A little more context please?” The Autobot liaison muttered, shaking his head at the white and gold femme’s answer.

The lady medic paused for a moment before snapping her digits, thinking up a brief and simple conclusion to get everyone in with the latest news.

“In short, me and Shadow had our alternate self murdered and we’re now at the peak point of time. We’re going to have to end this mess and probably go back to Cybertron.” She replied.
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“I think you made it worse, Ioa.” Smokescreen coughed out, playing with his digits.

The African-American man was giving the team a dumbfounded look, totally annoyed that THESE much stuffs had happened during his absence.

“AND HOW EXACTLY, did you KILL your mirror self?!” Agent Fowler seethed.

“U-Uh…Shadow was forced to go up on the Nemesis?”

“SHE WHAT!?”

“Hmm…” Lightblade mused. “It seems like no one had actually informed you about everything.”

“NO SHIT SHERLOCK!” William Fowler roared, scratching his head in frustration. “WHAT WERE YOU BOTS THINKING!?”

“We weren’t exactly given the luxury of thinking, Agent Fowler.” Ratchet sassed back, scoffing at the flustered mech.

“Let’s just…tell him everything?” Bulkhead suggested. Optimus nodded and went to a side, enduring the load yells and chiding from a tiny human as he patiently told the whole truth.

“Welp, now I feel bad for Optimus.” Arcee snorted at the femme medic’s comment.

“Don’t bother; Agent Fowler has a tendency to be a slag at times.” She snickered.

“So…you guys are going to fight?” Raf softly spoke, pushing his glasses up.

:-Yeah!-: Bumblebee warbled, holding a thumbs up at the kid.

“W-Will you…come back alive?”
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Shit just went dark from there. The whole team sucked in a harsh breath at that statement, unable to give the kid an assuring reply; not even Ioa.

“W-We…”

“I don’t think…I mean- we…”

Miko, Jack and Raf gulped down their words, dipping their heads to the floor.

“Kids…you know we’ll come back, right?” Ioa comforted, turning her holoform on. “The mission is dangerous, yes…but we’ll be safe; we’ll try our best.” That was the best answer Ioa could ever think off.

She wanted to promise the team’s lives but right now? She wasn’t sure about it either.

“When you guys come back, you’ll just pack your stuff and…go?” Miko questioned, glancing at her partner with glassy eyes. Bulkhead grunted in alarm, sticking his servos out to comfort the near-crying girl.

“I-It’s not- hey! D-Don’t cry!” he panicked, juggling the girl in his palms as he too was close to bawling. “If you start crying I will too!”

  “Don’t worry, we…won’t leave without saying goodbye; and this ISN’T the end guys. I assure you; this dusty, organic planet is our home too and we’ll ALWAYS come back.” Arcee chuckled, but her voice cracked too.

“Promise?” the trio said, holding up their pinkies at their charges. Their partners smiled and gave them their tiniest digits too, forming a bond.

“Promise.”
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“Alright, I think we’ve got a plan…roughly.” Shadowglyde took over, crossing her legs onto one another. “But first, let’s deal with the main situation.”

“Which is the main one again?” The olive green mech scratched his helm.

“I think it’s about the spacebridge.”

:-Nope! I believe it’s kicking Megabucket’s aft.-:

“Bah, it’s definitely about sending the AU Decepticons home!”

Huffing out an exasperated breath, Ratchet banged his wrench on the table, daring anyone to butt in one more time. “I swear to Primus, let the femme finish!!”

“Thanks Ratchet.” The dark alter ego nodded in gratitude before turning back to the team. “As I was saying, we’re going to settle the first problem that’s been bugging us for a while now.”

She stood up and extended her servos at the Prime, who gave her a blink in reply.

“Star Saber.”

“Oh.” He swiftly handed her the broken sword.

Smirking, she took over with grace and took a few steps back. Shadowglyde then swung the legendary sword above her helm like it weighted nothing before slamming it into the floor.

Wedged into the base’s ground was a brand-new shiny Star Saber, ready for action.

“HOLY SHIT! HOW’D YA DO THAT!?” Miko gasped, taking out her phone to snap a few pictures.

“Magic and Primus's will.” Shadow coughed out, scratching her cheeks in embarrassment. “Okay, so now that’s done-”

“You can upgrade our groundbridge?!” Ratchet exclaimed, somehow guessing the answer from the femme.

“Smart mech, I’ll give you that. Yes, we’re going to use the element of surprise and meet those bastards at the Omega Lock.”

“Yes- WAIT-AT THE OMEGA LOCK!?” The team chorused. Even Optimus had to do a double take, finding the alter ego’s words a tad hard to swallow.

“Indeed. The Cons know that the set of Keys aren’t that simple but they haven’t exactly got the idea about it. Thus, I propose that we should do the revival act first, leaving them no choice but to surrender.” Shadow laid the details out.

“Besides, we’ve got a certain seeker to thank for the extra gift.” She chuckled, dangling the fourth key up coyly.

‘Shadow, your dark side is showing…’

“Oh, whatever.” The femme strategist shrugged, ignoring her counterpart’s statement. “Any questions?”

“WE HAVE LOTS OF IT!!” Ratchet growled. “How, IN THE FIRST PLACE, are we even SURE that Megatron wasn’t clear about the Keys?!”

“Because he hadn’t made it in time to understand the hidden meaning of it. Besides, this secret was only revealed to us via Optimus, who had a talk with Alpha Trion, remember?”

“Ugh…fair enough. And AFTER we get the lock started, what then?”

“We’ll send the AU ones back to their world. Without AU Ioa, they will NEVER be able to come back again.”

“And OUR Cons?” Arcee asked.

“We’ll give them hell.” Shadowglyde smirked.

“Is it necessary for war?” Optimus asked, blue optics contrasting with Shadow’s indigo ones.

“Even if we didn’t declare the final showdown Optimus, the Cons would start it first. AND, since we’ve got the kids back at base, I feel much optimistic about this.” Shadow stated vaguely.

“What?” the team gave her a confused look.

“There was a... glimpse of the branching realities…where we ACTUALLY had the plan to our favour, only to have it thwarted when the Cons had captured the kids and threatened to expose them in Cybertron’s toxic air…it wasn’t pretty.” Shadowgylde stated grimly.
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“G-Good thing to have them inside then.” Smokescreen mustered out, voicing his opinions for the team.

Sighing, the alter ego leaned back and raised an optic ridge, gleaming at the rookie.

“Yeah, I guess you can say that.” She said, checking her nails.

   “Very well then. Thank you for your input, Shadow. It is heavily appreciated.” Optimus spoke up after a long period of silence.

“Autobots, I sit before the team and speak of this in a firm tone; know that your choice of joining this war with me is absolutely up to you. I will neither judge nor condemn your decision for this.”

“I’ve waited eons for this! I’m so joining in this mission!” Smokescreen immediately sprung up.

“I’ve got not much to protect; only Jack and this planet. I don’t mind adding Cybertron to the list.” Arcee chuckled, winking at her partner.

“I’m doing this just so that Miko can catch a glimpse of my home’s beauty…besides the scraplets part.” Bulkhead grinned at the girl, who gave a beaming smile in reply.

:-Raf can go to Cybertron once this is over! I am absolutely joining this mission!-: Bumblebee beeped, punching his fist together.

“I’d be fragged in the processors to not help you in this, old friend.” Ratchet remarked, scoffing at the Prime. “Of course I’ll help! I’ve got you covered, Optimus.”

“Thank you, old friend.” Optimus nodded, turning towards Ioa with hesitancy and concern in his optics.

“If you go down that path again, Li won’t talk you again, EVER.” Shadow warned.

“Understood.” Optimus replied, averting his gaze away swiftly. Standing up, he guided the team to the relics’ room.

“Team, this is a mission that calls for desperate measures. Take a weapon of your choice and gear up, we shall get ready for the final war.”

A/N: DSNGDFGNDFJDNGDNGFDJLG- A NEW CHAPTER SDFNSKNSJK
IOA PLS DON’T KILL ME I SWEAR THIS ISN’T MY FAULT-
CLANG
*faints*
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“Annoyance to society…”
“Thank you readers for enjoying this book. Take care and stay safe. Now excuse me, I have a writer to murder.”