Yeager Chronicles: After Extinction

2: Cade

It has been four and a half years since Optimus Prime flew off from Earth to hide the Seed. But only because it was a few years ago doesn't me it isn't still fresh in the minds of the Yeager family - and Shane.

Cade won't admit it openly, but he misses the giant alien robot. He was a giant robot that Cade could marvel at in not only in an inventor's point of view, but as a person. Anyone could say that he was a very well built mechanism. No one could ever deny it!

But he would. So, Cade's way of hiding that he missed the mech were to drown in the thralls of invention! It worked for a time, but every good plan must had a bad part now and then. 

Just recently he found that he just didn't have anything he wanted to create. There was nothing that just jumped out of the junk pile that screamed 'build me'! It was like all his wanting to invent were throw away and forgotten, and with Tessa off at university and Shane out 'driving for a living' with Redbull, that left Cade nearly alone humanity wise.

Crosshairs, Drift, and Hound were still there with Cade at his newly rebuilt home and barn, but the three really didn't care for human interactions. The three were only good for an occasional wave and an almost eternal Hell on Cade's fence line. (They – mostly being Drift and Hound going at it the most – would just throw each other and just spar along the fence line.) Bumblebee was with Tessa, that's why he isn't with the rest of the Autobots.

With that, Bumblebee would hold open a Comm for Cade – usually going through Hounds Comm system – every other day. She would ask what she normally would, "are you eating your dinner?", "have you done anything since I left?", and Cade's personal favorite, "are you ever going to do something other than try to invent?" She never really said it, but she was sad for her dad. He still missed his diseased wife, one thing is for sure, and she didn't know he missed Optimus to almost the same extent. And would never tell her. 

He didn't think it would matter all that much if he told her, so he never did over these past four and a half years. It's not it would matter all that much anyway, saying that he misses the mech won't bring him back from his space exploration to hide the Seed.

Sometimes Cade wondered why he didn't just set the Seed off in the Artic like where the other Transformium was found. That way, they could just mine what is made and make more Autobots and not let Galvatron get his nasty, grubby hands on the stuff to continue his ever large army. Now with mindless drones! But the Autobots number are down by the few, it would make sense to try and get more soldiers. It could have worked, and all without him leaving the planet.

But that damn Prime, that damn Optimus fucking Prime! He has to be so self-sacrificing, always! He couldn't stand to allow harm to come to the Yeager family, but now he's floating around space, God knows where, finding a safe place to hide that Seed. It doesn't mean that Cade doesn't appreciate the actions taken by him for protecting his family. Not only Cade's family, but what's left of the Autobots, what's left of his family.

All of these thoughts soon left Cade's head as he pushed himself off his workbench. He was asleep-ish at a weird angle so his back was kind of thrown out. When he leaned back only a few knots in his back popped and cleared themselves away, but the action left a dull irritation where the pressure was released.

Walking out of the barn, just to see if it was morning or evening, found that it was morning. And it was early at that, the sun was barely above the horizon. He just stood there, looking back and forth from the grass that had become visible from the light of the dawning sun, his old Chevy truck, and ultimately landing his vision on two Autobots that were still there. Hound and Drift, Crosshairs went for a drive down the road and back a few times and one to town, just to get away from these two.

They were sparing, but anyone who was only an onlooker, such as Cade, would think that the ex-Decepticon and the Wrecker hated each other. Not that far from the truth, but they only fought each other viciously. They were usually descent to each other when it came to making small talk or just normal conversation.

Just as his eye grazed over to the two who sparred, Drift was thrown and rolled through what once was a barbwire fence. Cade let out a groan. Another fence to fix, fucking fabulous. The two mecha didn't even bother to notice that Cade was then walking over there.

"Guys, how many times do I have to say this? Don't spar on the fence line, it's already a pain in my ass when miss purple people eater comes here unannounced trying to sell the house." He groaned, running his hands through his hair. Drift, who rolled through the fence, got back to his pedes and looked down at Cade. "My apologies," He then glanced back towards Hound, "I won't speak for this buffoon, however."

"Oh, you wanna play that way, you little glitch-head?" Hound glared at the mech, Drift rose up a little more, giving the ex-wrecker a sidelong look, not answering. "Either way guys, go somewhere else. Just not on the fence!" Cade threw down his hands and pointed at the messed up barbwire. The glare was shifted to just a lax frown "Aye Cade." Said Hound, while turning around and waving his servos in the air as he walked off. Sighing, Cade took his leave but was stopped.

"Cade," The blue and black mecha samurai looked down at him, "I sense something is troubling you." Returning to his stance of look up at the mecha, he blinked. "What gave you that idea now?" The azure optics of the mecha dimmed, as if in thought.

"You seem to be as humans could call, 'grumpy'." Drift said at first, only narrowing his optics, "Forgive me for being blunt, but when you walked out of the barn with just a look that could kill. You just looked infuriated."

Cade couldn't help but shake his head with a small chuckle. "Wouldn't you be a little upset if your stuff was getting broken?" He then rested his hands on his hips, the mecha shook his head. "I would, but that was not the point. Your very essence was different." Cade found himself tilting his head like a child, but didn't bother changing his stance. "I'm not sure I follow. But, I can say I'm fine, man! I'm okay." Waving a dismissive hand, Cade nearly turned to leave – again – but was stopped again.  

"Bumblebee tells me that he and Tessa and Shane will be coming soon for a visit." A small smile came to Cade's face. He hadn't seen either of the three for a good four months. It was nice idea to have them over, even Shane. "Soon. How soon is soon?" The samurai mecha only gives a shrug in reply. "He never specified." He sighed.

"Alright. Alright, well, I'm going to fix a few things up then." The mecha nodded. "That would be most wise." He then turning and leaving to return to his sparing with Hound. Cade disappeared into the house for a bit first to get some breakfast and pick up a few things. There were only a few items that were littered around, he hadn't really been in the house.

It was a few hours later into the day when he came back out again. This time he was showered and was now heading back to the barn to grab some fencing. After he grabbed what he needed to repair the fence, he got to work.

He cut away the broken part of the barbwire but wasn't as careful as he should have been. A loose few barbs dragged across his skin on his shoulder, he winced. Cade wasn't expecting it so he never braced for it. Nope, the fence could wait another time.

He grabbed what he could with his good arm and hauled it over to the house. Then, just dropping said items down and got into the house to wash his now stinging long stretching wound along his other arm. Calmly walking to the bathroom, he opened the cabinet, grabbing some hydrogen peroxide and poured rather liberally from the bottle down his arm.

The blood that was once dried with the air was now being eaten away by the liquid, gross redish-pink bubbles formed around the areas of blood. I light tingle and the bubbles faded. Cade washed off the remains and grabbed some cream to put on his wound. And he returned outside.

When he made his way back out, from the porch he noticed that Crosshairs was back from his town drive. And now he was just maintaining 'calm' conversation between the other two mecha. What he was saying was just out of ear shot of Cade, but he could almost make out faint would syllables. And now, Cade finished the fence and went back to the barn when he was done. Attempting to tinker with other things all the while wondering, "where is he out there?"