Transformers - Beyond What Meets The Eye - A 1215 FanFiction

23

The next morning, Raf shook me awake. I woke with a start, gasping, and I almost shoved him away from me, but I held myself back when I saw his face.

"Sorry. Did I scare you?" He pulled his hands away from me and I grunted, sitting up.

"No. Well, maybe a little. But, I'm alright, Rafael."

His worried frown flipped to a small smile, "I've got good news! MECH and Nemesis Prime have been defeated!"

My eyes widened slightly, "Wait... you mean, really, really defeated?"

Jack stepped into view, smiling brightly. It was mesmerizing, "Well, as much as they can be right now. Couple guys were even arrested, actually. The entire MECH base is on military lockdown and the auto bots are in the clear. All thanks to Fowler."

I turned to see the others, all well and fine. Ratchet was patching up Optimus' side and Fowler was speaking on the phone.

"We sifted through the wreckage with a fine-tooth comb. And couldn't find any trace of Silas."

My expression fell and my eyebrows furrowed.

"That's... the only thing we're missing." Jack continued, "According to Optimus, he defeated Nemesis Prime right on top of the control system, and the roof broke in, sending the bot right on top of your dad. By the time the military troops actually got there, a few guys had gotten away behind Fowler's back, and then they couldn't find Silas. No one knows if he's dead or alive, or if MECH will be able to continue running."

I swallowed, turning from the auto bots to the yellow of the couch.

"How... how are you feeling?" Jack asked.

I took a deep breath. Empty. "I don't know."

It was quiet for a long time after that. It didn't feel so much like MECH was going to strike again soon like it did after Bee lost his t-cog, but something still felt off. Maybe it was just because I knew, somewhere, my father was on his deathbed, and I couldn't stop thinking about whether he was dreaming about mom, or me, or neither. Maybe if I knew what he was seeing in his dreams right now to bring him peace in his darkest hours, I could understand who he truly was.
I'd never see it, though. I could only see my own dreams, where decepticons cried human blood.

Fowler bought me some books. I read the first page of every one and then set them aside.

Raf played game after game and let me watch, teaching me some tips and tricks that he used. Then when he won for the third time against the computer, he would ask to see my notes on Cyberglyphics again.

Miko kept trying to show me music. I didn't like it. I told her to put on Mozart or something, and she was so disgusted she left me alone for good.

Jack didn't do anything. He just sat in the single cushion chair off to the side and watched me carefully as I stared at the ceiling, hands on my stomach as I laid there on the couch. For three solid days now, I've gone home to shower and slept, gone to school, rode to the base with Jack and then laid on this couch for hours, just thinking. I think I fell asleep on the second day, but now I can't remember. I can't even remember what I had for breakfast, even though I know I ate something.

Was this... grief? Was I mourning? Why would I mourn someone I didn't even know was dead or not? Why do I feel so conflicted, if this is just me saying goodbye? Shouldn't grieving be the process of officially letting something go?

When Raf jumped up from the coffee table to go say hello to Bee, who'd just gotten back from something, Jack finally spoke for the first time.

"This might sound weird," He began, "But... Do you know how you're feeling now?"

"Huh?" I mouthed, confused for a second. It clicked a second later, "Not really."

"You know, you can be honest with me. I won't... I won't laugh or anything."

I sighed, "I'm really not sure. I feel... indifferent. Lost. Like I'm missing something."

He was quiet for the next couple moments, and then, "That's okay." He decided aloud, standing from his seat, "Come on."

I rose a brow, not moving, "Come on... where?"

"Somewhere. You've been laying there for an hour already, plus the hours you've laid there the last two days. Let's do something fun."

I blinked as I sat up. Fun?

Jack led me down to the human control panel station where Miko and Raf had gathered to listen to Bulkhead's stories of the most recent missions events. Apparently he'd checked on an energon reading and ended up falling and knocking himself out, ending up on the decepticon warship, meeting Starscream, and then smashing the power core to bits, resulting in the ships down fall and his lucky escape, of course, after he saw the hoard of insecticons swarming Megatron.

"You trashed Megatron's ride like a rock star in a hotel room!" Miko grinned, holding up her hands in a 'lets rock' sign, and I just stared at her flabbergasted. What did any of that mean, exactly?

"We should hit the cons right now, while they're vulnerable." Arcee suggested.

"Megatron's warship may be grounded, but let's not forget that we remain vastly outnumbered. Especially since he's added the insecticon army to his ranks."

"Then maybe it's time for me to call in an airstrike." Fowler stepped up, getting their attention.

"Or for us to consider more extreme measures, Agent Fowler." Optimus replied.

I took a breath, Optimus' hardened eyes as the idea of taking drastic measures to further their progress in this war was a sight to behold. Now, though, everyone was walking on a thin line through every mission. I know they aren't the only auto bots left in the universe, but they're the only ones here, where Megatron is. So what exactly, did Optimus think he finally had the strength to do that he didn't want to do before?

I paused, glancing at Jack. He was staring right back at me, and then quickly looked away, pretending like I didn't just catch him eyeing me.

I cleared my throat and turned towards him, putting my hands on my hips, "What exactly was that 'fun' that you had planned, again?"

He smirked, which I didn't expect, "I meant your idea of fun. You know, getting involved with the auto bots missions, getting to think about this instead of... Whatever other depressing things you were thinking about."

I just stood there, and then as I let his words sink in, I turned back around to look at Arcee and Bee as they discussed battle maneuvers. My face was hot, most definitely red, all because somehow Jack figured this would magically get my mind off of my father. And, even though it was a total long shot, it worked, and in an odd way it was kind of sweet. Letting me sit in on the missions, instead of leaving me to my thoughts like Fowler might have preferred.

Dammit. I'm never going to get over these feelings.

"Optimus," Ratchet called out, walking up to his computer, "I'm detecting a massive energy spike at the Decepticon crash site. It appears to be dark energon."

"Autobots! Transform and rollout!"

They didn't last long. Fowler went with them to see the ship for himself and bear witness to the plan of action the auto bots had- to use the spark extractor to at least take out the insecticon hive, but when Fowler called for an emergency ground bridge, Ratchet had to carry every single frozen auto bot back into the base.

"I've never encountered this level of stasis lock." Ratchet mumbled, hand on his chin as he looked over the scans he'd done.

"The cons are crossing the Atlantic! Making a bee-line for North America!"

"Wait, we can track them?" Jack asked.

"Why aren't they cloaked like usual?" Raf added.

Fowler had nothing, "None of this makes a lick of sense. They had us in the crosshair but the cons just took off."

"They even bailed on that spark extractor thingy!"

I hummed, narrowing my eyes as we took a moment to think, then I snapped my fingers, "Well if the ship isn't cloaked, maybe the communications relay is open."

"Are you suggesting that we just call Megatron and ask him what's happening up there?"

"Precisely." I replied.

Everyone else held up their hands in a shrug, because it's not like it was really that bad of an idea. Clearly if their behavior was this unpredictable, then they must be struggling with something on their ship as well. It's possible that we were the only ones left to help them.

"Auto bot outpost Omega-1, to the Decepticon warship. Megatron, please respond."

We waited for about thirty seconds. I was glaring at the screen, almost begging him to respond.

Nothing.

"Megatron!" Ratchet called again.

"Megatron has been relieved of his command."

I gaped, and Jack and I shared a worried look.

"Who is this?" Ratchet asked calmly.

"Who is this?" He fired back, which just made things more confusing. How would it not know who it's talking to? Unless it wasn't an auto bot and neither a decepticon.

"Have you taken control of the decepticon vessel?"

"I am the vessel! Any Cybertronian who interferes with my mission will be neutralized!"

Across the screen, the 'vessel' sent three images, a frozen picture of Soundwave, and several other working cons. They had been put into a stasis lock just like the auto bots.

"What mission?"

"Priority one. Decrypt iacon database and recover decepticon technology."

"For what purpose?"

The link cut off in the next second, and Miko gasped dramatically, slamming her hands on the railing, "It hung up on us?! Rude!"

"Rude?! There's a giant spaceship flying around, collecting weapons of mass destruction!" Fowler snapped, probably stressed out of his own wits.

I kept looking at the screen, watching the slow movement of the warship as it moved across the map Ratchet had pulled up.

"A giant spaceship filled with neutralized decepticons!" Jack began.

Fowler scoffed, "Point?"

"This could be our only chance to slip aboard and download the iacon database."

"So Optimus can decode it!" Raf finished, a light glinting in his voice, and his eyes were probably glowing with excitement. But I wasn't looking.

Any Cybertronian who interferes with my mission will be neutralized!

"Ingenious." Ratchet began, "I will infiltrate the decepticon warship!"

"Not ingenious." Jack quickly said, cringing slightly, "You saw what it did to the decepticons."

"Probably Megatron too." Raf said.

I stepped back, standing straighter, "Only humans can complete this mission." I spoke, all heads turning my way, "Because the vessel cannot recognize us, it cannot neutralize us. A native life form outside the Cybertronian biological coding is out of its understanding."

"That tub had me dead to rights. And I'm still breathing." Fowler seconded, confirming that what I said was true. The ship was blind to humans.

"Very well." Ratchet sighed, "But at the first sign of trouble, I am bridging you back!" The doctor turned back to his computer, and then handed Fowler a Cybertronian device, "In order to download the database, you will need a compatible transfer drive."

"He'll also need tech support." Raf quickly said, smirking.

"And backup." Miko smirked.

This time, I'm headed to the front lines with my team, and nothing can stop me.