Lost & Found

End of an Alliance

Chapter 124: End of an Alliance
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Pulling my knees to my chest, I silently watched my father converse with the two bots in the cockpit, his face stern.

Though I could hear every word, my brain only held onto a few.

Was it true? Was this really it?

"Wha..." Shocked, I began swiping at the sudden tears running down my face. What was wrong with me? I'm a soldier, I don't cry.

I can't cry.

I'm not a little girl anymore. This shouldn't affect me, but..it does...

After receiving a nod of confirmation from both of his bots, my father turned and headed for another part of the ship. He paused in front of me for a brief moment, his optics carefully looking me over. I peered back at him in question, my eyes following his same movements until he continued.

Shifting to my larger form, I got to my feet and followed him.

He knew I was there. He knew I wanted to ask. He knew I wanted an answer. I wanted the truth even though I was nervous to face it. He slowed his stride, allowing me to make pace with him.

Our walk was silent, almost peaceful if it wasn't for the fact we were on a warship with imprisoned creatures staring at us from their cages.

I prefer the tall forests and the empty grasslands that I'm much more accustomed to.

A smile pulled on my lips at the faint memories of our peaceful walks. It became a habit for me and Dad to take walks whenever he wasn't too busy.

We would talk about anything and everything for hours without a care in the world. No bothersome humans. No needy governments. No Cons. Just us.

I remember holding his hand, marveling at the size difference between us. How could someone so big be...so gentle?

I always told him I would be bigger than him someday.

"We will see, youngling."

Yeah right. Even in my Cybertronian form I still had many ways to go to even reach his shoulders.

We continued our silent walk until he began to slow in front of an opening, his gaze focusing on the moving scenery below.

I stood beside him, my hands coming to rub at my arms as I released a nervous breath.

"Daddy?"

He made no noise of acknowledgment, but the slight tilt of his head and a flicker of his optics let me know he was listening.

"Is it true? Are we really leaving?"

There was a brief silence before his deep blue optics met mine, holding a firm gaze. "I refuse to risk any more of us to defend this planet. They do not see a difference in our causes, they only see us as machines."

The truth hurt. It wasn't anything new, but it hurt that some cruel humans saw my family, my father as a machine rather than a strong caring man. They treat us as if our only purpose of existence is to be an advancement of their technology.

My heart breaks knowing that someone is a man's machine.

I nodded sadly. "I know I said some things before. I just thought...it wouldn't actually follow through...I thought...I-I thought.."