Hope's Return

Grief Released

Night had fallen and the five friends found themselves reminiscing about the past decade. Hope had missed out on so much during her absence.  They talked about the final days at the old base before everyone went their separate ways.

It was inevitable that the subject of Optimus would be brought up and she tried to find peace in the good memories of his leadership.

It was easy to hide the pain of his loss in the low light but emotions ran rampant in her spark. Watching Megatron and Starscream, their servos intertwined and helms together built the spark fire to almost overwhelming.

At the moment of breaking, she stood up with a smile and remarked casually that she was heading out for some air. The rest watched with concern as she walked out the door. Breakdown was the first to break the silence.

"Was it something we said?"

******************

Hope walked a short distance from the bunker and gazed up at the starry sky. Her spark throbbing inside her chest plate glowed softly in the dark. As she stood there, her emotions rolled through her. She thought of Optimus and all they had shared during their time together.

A tear rolled down her face plate, the glow of her spark growing to a fiery blaze while tendrils flowed into the night sky. Merging and flowing together, they formed an incandescent figure among the stars. Following their path with her optics, Hope found herself staring at the image of Optimus.

As she stood there in shock, the emotional dam broke and she shattered. She collapsed,  weeping into her servo's while the image of Optimus gazed sadly down upon her.

The grounds rumbled and cracked around her in response to the power she sent into it. She screamed in agony as her grief ripped through her. All around her, the earth shook in response to her emotional state until she finally exhausted herself.

She remained there, knees tucked up to her chin and arms resting on them. As she huddled there in the shadows, she felt a large servo rest on her shoulder. Startled, she glanced up to see Megatron taking in the image of Optimus with a somber look of understanding.

They stayed there without words until he offered his other servo to her. Helping her to her peds, he tucked her up against his chest plate in a side embrace and just held her there.

They were soon joined by Knockout who wrapped his arm around her waist and placed his helm on her shoulder. Breakdown and Starscream soon joined the group and offered silent comfort with their presence.  No words were exchanged,  just the sense of support was given.

Hope looked up in the sky to see the image slowly disappear.  Though she still grieved, her spark was lighter. Surrounded by family who loved her, she found contentment in repose. Acknowledging them with a tired smile, she allowed herself to be lead back to the bunker. Tomorrow was another day but for now her grief had eased a little.

*****************

A week had passed at the Decepticons bunker and Hope was growing restless. It felt as if she needed to be somewhere but where she didn't know. The others could see her distracted state but were unable to help her relax. Finally she came to the realization that staying there wasn't  going to solve her issue. Leaving was the only option.

The morning found Hope preparing for her next journey. Knockout had given her a clean bill of health and helped stock her subspace with portable energon.

"I wish I knew where the new Autobots base was."

"I don't know if that's where my spark is leading me Knockout."

"At least let one of us go with you. What if you get hurt, or lost, or your paint job gets scratched up?"

Hope merely lifted an eyebrow before transforming into her dragon form and looking down at him.

"Oh, well yes, I suppose you could just do that too."

Megatron chuckled at his medic as he walked up to Hope. She lowered her helm to nudge against his and heaved a loud sigh. Responding with a laugh, he patted her jaw and looked into her large optics.

"Be careful out there femme. Don't make me come track you down."

Throwing a fiery bolt towards the sky, Hope smirked back at him.

"I think they would do better to beware of me, thank you very much."

Laughing louder now, he slapped her scaly shoulder and joined the rest of the group come to bid her farewell.

Closing her optics, she delved deep into her spark and searched for a direction. Opening them, she found herself facing to the east. Her direction found, she turned once more to her friends and bowed her head in goodbye before launching herself in the air.

Hovering for a brief moment, she caught the tailwind and soared away leaving her little family behind.