A/N: It's back guys! I have been so excited to continue this series and I am glad to finally be able to post a chapter! I have been planning this sequel/prequel since I watched Age of Extinction. I have thought of many ideas of how to place Rachel in the action without following the movie too closely and still have some room to delve into her past. Also, in the time since I wrote the fic for DotM I have watched the entire animated G1 Transformers series, so if you have watched it as well you may see a few nods to that here and there. Anyway, enjoy!
Dark Past, Bright Future: Darkest Before Dawn
Chapter One:
The room is dark, it seems to have been years since the the light of day touched the walls, but it has only been a few hours at the most. The room is lucky to have seen light even that long ago, for me it feels like centuries since the last time I saw a glimmer of light. At first I held out hope that someone would come for me; that was probably a month and a half ago, though I can't exactly tell how long because here I have no sense of time. Now I honestly believe no one is coming, that they've stopped searching for me, and I've lost all hope that they'll ever come. If they are still looking for me I hope that they find me soon because I don't know how much longer I can stay useful to my captors.
False information can only get me so far, and I certainly am not going to give them correct information, that would endanger my friends. Maybe I should, maybe leading my captors straight to the Autobots will be the key to this cell. Once my friends know who is holding me they will not relent in their efforts to save me until they get me back safely, of that I have no doubt. My absence is definitely not going unnoticed and I know it would not be by their choice that my friends would stop looking for me. There are no leads to follow, there never were, by this time it wouldn't matter if there were, it has been far too long. I shift in the uncomfortable chair as I think of all of these things, my arms are bound to the chair with scratchy rope. The ropes slide on my wrists just slightly when I move, I figure with a good amount of time I might just be able to work them free. Somewhere in the darkness a hinge squeaks and suddenly I am blinded as the room is flooded with outside light. I blink repeatedly, my eyes trying to adjust to the sudden change. A figure, shadowed by the light in the doorway, walks toward me and I know immediately it is one of my captors by the way she walks. As far as I know, my captors are a woman and a man, not particularly bigger or stronger than me,but well-organized. If I could only catch them unawares, I could easily escape. Escape, the very thought amuses me.
The woman approaches me and I stop trying to wriggle my arms free as her eyes fall on me, the element of surprise is all I have.
"How are we today?" she chimes.
"Go to hell," I say in a fake, cheery tone, trying to mock her chiming.
"Feeling feisty, aren't we?"
"Take these ropes off of me and you'll see how 'feisty' I can get," I retort.
Without missing a beat, she picks something up from the ground and cracks it across my left arm, just above my wrist. Pain shoots through my arm, pain so intense I can barely keep myself from crying out. She holds what I know see is a black, metal rod aloft in her hand, begging me to challenge her again. My arm throbs and I shift in the chair again, trying to take my mind off of the pain.
"Your Autobot friends clearly do not care about you and since you still refuse to give us their location my partner doesn't think you will be of much use to us anymore, I think otherwise," she says.
She has an accent that is clearly from some part of Eastern Europe, but she is very fluent in English. Biting the inside of my lip is the only thing keeping me from tearing up at the pain in my arm, it's more than likely fractured or broken, a bruise has already started to form. I look around the room while her back is turned to me, trying to figure out any leverage I could use against this woman. The room is simple, high, metal walls enclose it just like the rest of the building; there's a single, large window about twenty feet off the ground, too high to reach if I got free.
"I don't know," I start, trying to keep her suspicion low, "they could have moved a dozen times since I was with them last, but even if I knew where they were, I would never tell you."
"Shame," she says.
She swiftly turns, kicking the leg of the chair and sending it crashing to the floor. My head slams into the damp, concrete floor, black spots dancing in front of my eyes. A small groan escapes my lips as terrible pain shoots up my arm as it too collides with the floor.
"You should have answered me, now he'll be angry," her tone is worried, which worries me.
I hear the door open again, this time I hear the click of a light switch and the whole room lights up. I watch as a man walks over towards me and stands next to my head.
Something warm slides down the side of my face, it takes me a few moments to realize it's blood, my own blood. Clearly I have lost a few minutes of memory because I am sitting upright in the chair again and my face feels hot and sore. The skin covering my cheekbone feels like it has been split open, presumably the source of the blood running down my face. I don't remember how any of this happened, which frightens me until I see him. My mind is fuzzy, but I can tell it's the male captor. He has short, black hair and sharp features, he can't be but a few inches taller than me.
"You just don't know when to give in, do you? Of course you think it's courage, but you must realize now that it is ignorance?" his voice has an accent just like the woman's, but he is less fluent in English.
I smile defiantly, narrowing my eyes at him before replying.
"No, I don't. Nothing you do will make me give my friends up."
"Friends," he scoffs. "I'll bet they don't even know who you are."
Sure, keep telling yourself that, I think.
Clearly these two idiots only had a name and minimal information that said I only know about the Autobots when they decided to abduct me. Of course my NEST files would be classified, no one is supposed to know I work for them, especially after Chicago. I won't tell him of my position because, while it might frighten them, their ignorance may be the only thing keeping me alive.
"Natalie!" the man shouts.
It is only now that I realize the woman had left. Seconds later she shuffles into the room from the same door at the end of the room. Only one door then, only one plausible way to get out if I so happen to get free of the ropes.
"Victor, are you done beating the poor girl? I couldn't bare to watch another second of your violence," she mutters.
Her psychosis is now apparent to me, they aren't just brutal, they're insane.
"Oh pull yourself together, woman! She's not 'poor', she's a gold mine if only she will speak," the man, Victor, says, shoving the woman towards me.
Natalie leans toward me, placing her hands on my arms, pain once again shoots up my left arm, making me wince.
"Come on, you must tell him," she pleads. "You...you must, you don't know what he is planning- I like you, I do. I don't want to see you hurt, but- but he will hurt you."
No shit, I think angrily. So will you.
I look past her, at Victor, and glare.
"Then hurt me all you want, I'm not telling you a single thing," I say, setting my jaw despite the pain.
"Natalie, tomorrow she dies, I'm done risking my neck without a single piece of useful information. She-"
"Victor, you can't!" Natalie cries, standing defensively in front of me. "She can tell us! She can! Come on, I know you can."
"Natalie!" Victor snaps. "Don't you see? She will never tell us where they are! And even if she did, it would be another lie!"
I let out an amused chuckle.
"That's the smartest thing you've said the whole time I've been here," I comment with a crooked smile.
Victor turns to me and my smile dissipates as I see his expression. He knocks Natalie to the floor and the last thing I remember is his fist coming at me.
Again I am alone in the dark room, as far as I can tell anyway, still tied to the same chair. I cast my eyes around in the darkness trying to determine if my psychotic captors are still present, they aren't. I sigh, starting to once again wriggle my arms beneath the ropes which have now loosened a considerable amount. Considering what Victor said, it's do or die; either I free myself from these bonds or he shoots me tomorrow. For the first time since I met my captors, I break down. Mostly I long for the protection of the Autobots, but then I glance down at my left hand. My whole lower left arm is swollen and bruised, however my hand remains untouched besides the ligature marks on my wrist. Even though being in the dark for so long has made my skin paler than normal, I can still make out the faint tan line around my ring finger. My heart aches as I realize all the pain I've been through must pale in comparison to the pain felt by those who love me. Part of me believes the reason the Autobots and my friends have stopped looking is because they think I'm dead, the other part knows they are still looking. By tomorrow it might not matter, tomorrow I might be dead. It seems like hours before I find myself dozing off as I still try to loosen the ropes. My body is exhausted, but the adrenaline pumping through me prevents me from sleeping, so I spend the whole night trying to free myself.
Morning comes, or at least I think it does, again I can't tell, and I'm still alive. The ropes do not appear loose, but when I pull my arms back my hands can almost slide straight through them. Now I just have to wait for an opportunity. I position my arms so they look almost exactly like they did before I moved and in such a way the horrible, bruising ligature marks around my wrists are covered. Almost an hour or so passes before I hear the door slam open and see the lights suddenly flicker on, illuminating the dull room. I watch as my two captors walk in, Victor first, Natalie dragging behind him.
"I beg you, Victor, please, don't!" Natalie weeps.
"Shut up!" Victor snaps.
She stops her whining and follows silently behind her partner. While appearing to be watching my captors, I am actually trying to analyze every inch of that door they walked through. The first thing I notice is that the door doesn't seem to have any kind of locking mechanism, they don't even have the slightest thought of me escaping my bonds, a huge mistake on their part. Of course that may not be the only door I would have to get through to leave the building, but at least I have some sort of chance. My eyes focus back on the two figures who now stand in front of me, one jittery, one solid as a rock.
"If only you had told me one piece of useful, true information you might have lived past the day," Victor says.
"You know, I was thinking, you asked me all these questions, but I never got to ask you any," I say satirically. "Why do you want to know where the Autobots are? I mean, what is it to you? If you knew anything about them you would know you wouldn't be able to do shit against them."
A cruel, cold smile curls at the corners of Victor's mouth.
"Of course I wouldn't, but my employer might. In fact, he can, he would be able to kill every last one of them, like he should."
His words create a chill that creeps through my body.
"Why?" I demand. "Why should they die?"
"Do you even remember Chicago? The Autobots caused that, they made it happen, and many people, innocent people died as a result. Don't tell me they deserve to live, they're aliens. It is people like you who sicken me, people who would rather join them than the human race."
There are a million things I want to respond with, a million things I should say to defend my friends, but I am quiet. At least I know now what I have been ignorant of the entire time; the Autobots are in danger. Not from this unorganized, arrogant pair, but the certainty with which Victor spoke about his "employer" makes me believe whoever it is might be a legitimate threat.
All of my concerns are replaced with sheer terror as Victor draws a gun from behind his back and points the tip of the barrel at my forehead. Beside him the mentally unstable Natalie stifles sobs, probably because deep down she is the one who wants to do it. I have had guns pointed at me before, usually large, alien guns, but this sleek, black handgun sends more dread through me than any Decepticon gun. I don't know why, perhaps it is the hand that holds the gun, but I've had an insane, psychopathic maniac point a gun at me before, it's nothing new. Despite the gun being only a few inches from my head I still have hope that I can escape, so I start pulling my arms free of the ropes. They are still tight enough to prevent me from slipping my hands through for at least the first try. I find myself tugging at the ropes, pain spiking through my injured arm. Victor chuckles menacingly at my attempt.
"That won't help you know, not even your Autobot friends will help you now," he mocks, clicking the bullet in the chamber.
"Says who?"
The voice seems to come from nowhere, but sounds so familiar to me. Victor whips around to face the origin of the voice, somewhere behind him. I take the distraction to immediately pull back from the ropes with all my strength, my hands finally slipping through the bonds. There is a loud crash of breaking metal and glass as the wall furthest from us crumbles beneath a great weight. Victor still has the gun pointed at me, but it is no longer level with my head. His stance is so pathetic that I easily force his arm toward with mine, grabbing the gun before it can fall. At the same instant I swing my leg toward his, sweeping his legs out from under him, forcing him to his knees. I point the gun at him, looking around in search of Natalie. She must have scurried off at the first sign of trouble because I don't see her anywhere. In fact, all I really see is the dust and debris from the broken wall. When the dust finally settles I can see what caused the distraction that saved my life, or rather who.
I stare up at the towering forms of two Autobots, one of which I recognize, the other I don't, not at first.
"Man, I can't believe we found you," Sideswipe says. "Just in time too, looks like we saved your ass."
"Really? 'Cause I think it looks to me like I saved my own ass," I reply, gesturing to my previous captor with the gun I have pointed at him. "And you really could have been faster with the rescue mission."
"Do you hear that, Mirage, she sounds ungrateful," Sideswipe comments to the other Autobot.
"Mirage? I hardly recognize you!" I exclaim in shock.
"I scanned a new vehicle, it's nice, isn't it?" Mirage says, his old accent gone along with his color scheme.
The once cherry-red Autobot is now colored white with some patches of dark blue. Sideswipe is a slightly darker silver, but everything else about him is the same as before, including the attitude.
"Where did you even come from?" I ask.
"Well, I came through that wall, Mirage here was eavesdropping on your little showdown, making sure things didn't get too out-of-hand," Sideswipe replies with his usual sarcasm.
"So, what, you're invisible now?" I ask Mirage.
"Precisely."
Inside I am welling up with pure joy, relief, comfort, emotions I haven't felt in a very long time. In my state of complete euphoria I turn back to Victor, who is still on his knees beneath the gun.
"I guess you were wrong; the Autobots do care about me and they do know me. I don't think I ever introduced myself, formally: my name is Agent Rachel Hallows of NEST, and, to say the least, you're under arrest," I say to him without wavering one word.
"NEST!?" Victor says, completely horrified.
"Guess your employer forgot to mention that. You better have a damn good lawyer...and doctor."
"Why would I need a do-?"
Before he can finish I slam the gun into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.
"Damn," Sideswipe mutters.
Finally, this endless nightmare is over, I am back under the protection of the Autobots. The thought then leads me to then speculate where one particular Autobot is, one I expected to be in that building before any other.
"Alright, where is he?" I ask skeptically.
"See, I knew you were gonna ask that," Sideswipe says.
"He went around to catch the other one, she was trying to escape," Mirage says before Sideswipe can decide whether he wants to tell me.
"I'm sure it won't be long before-"
In the middle of Sideswipe's sentence the other wall, the one with the door in it, is blasted apart. A wide smile spreads across my face as the all too familiar black Topkick drives through the new hole in the wall. My broad smile soon disappears as I realize I'm about to get chewed out in monumental proportions. Then again, I don't care, I'd rather be yelled at than never see that black Topkick again.
Warm air from the truck blows my hair back from my bloodied face as the Topkick stops only inches from me. It has been a long time since I have been able to watch in awe as an Autobot transforms. I watch the black Topkick now as its parts separate and move into new, specific places until the over-protective Autobot stands in front of, or rather towers over, me. Normally seeing him would provoke me to greet him with some sarcastic remark, but I cannot find the words; I am too relieved to see him.
"Hi," I manage, a weak attempt that will no doubt illicit teasing.
"Rachel," he says, my name tinged with bitterness as it escapes his mouth.
The bitterness with which he says my name makes me cringe, I have never heard him sound so disgusted with me before. I put it aside, thinking it is only my imagination.
"Ironhide," I find myself saying almost mockingly, something normal. "Ironhide?"
I would feel better if he were chastising me, angry at me for being away for so long. The silence is tearing into me and making me uneasy as I stare up at his large form. I think that this has been it, I've finally gone and done something that made him so afraid for my life, not that he would ever admit it, that he is actually angry at me. The silence is killing me, so I do what I always do when the silence becomes deafening, I start rambling.
"Didn't think I'd be able to handle myself did you?"
Nope, that wasn't it.
"Come on, this wasn't anyone's fault but my own. I let my guard down for one second on a busy street and they grabbed me. Ironhide...I'm sorry."
Okay, rambling probably wasn't my best idea. I am desperate, at this point I want him to yell at me because his silence is much louder than any shout. A few feet away Sideswipe and Mirage are looking on our one-sided exchange, I know Sideswipe has to be feeling uncomfortable, he always does in these situations.
It is a while before Ironhide says anything to me, I feel like he has been staring at me for an hour. However, when he speaks, his words are so cold they take me by surprise.
"You're 'sorry'?" he says bitterly. "You were gone for ten months and that's what you have to say?"
I can't believe what I am hearing, my stomach sinks when I can finally process Ironhide's words. Sideswipe and Mirage look around, Sideswipe rolls his eyes.
"Well so much for breaking it to her slowly," Sideswipe says.
"Ten months?"
"And you're 'sorry'. We thought you were dead, Rachel."
His words cut into me and I find myself shrinking back. I watch out of the corner of my eye as Sideswipe and Mirage leave, probably knowing it is best to leave the two of us alone to settle this. Once they are gone I can't stop myself from breaking down.
"You think I wanted to be abducted? You don't think I hoped, begged, prayed that someone would find me!? That I didn't miss the protection I'm used to? That every time they wanted to know something I didn't resist until I couldn't anymore, until they broke me? That I didn't fear every, single day they would find out I was feeding them false information and kill me? That after months I didn't fear my usefulness was up? Every day I woke up expecting it to be my last. And the worst part, I was afraid that none of you would know what happened to me. Being strong and reserved in front of them was just a facade, underneath I was just as scared as anyone else would be."
By my last sentence I can barely understand myself through my own sobbing, I don't know when I started to cry. I can tell voicing the pain I have been through in the past ten months has changed Ironhide's attitude toward me.
"Rachel...I'm sorry, I didn't-" he starts.
"You're 'sorry'," I mock with a smile, wiping the tears from my eyes.
"Shut up," he jokes back.
Now I feel like things are normal between us again, which lifts a massive load from my shoulders. Ironhide then takes notice to Victor, who is now starting to wake up. I know he has seen the cuts and bruises all over my body, which means this is not going to end well for Victor.
"Ironhide, don't-" I start to say.
I stop because Ironhide already has one of his cannons thrust in front of Victor's half-asleep face. Victor jumps back in terror upon seeing the gun, but he can't escape because I am standing behind him.
"You really picked the wrong Autobot to piss off," I say.
"I didn't do anything to him," Victor says nervously.
"No, not to him, but you did hurt me. You see, he has this over-protective thing with me-"
"I do not!"
"And he gets really angry when someone even touches me in the wrong way."
In the middle of tormenting Victor I hear footsteps approaching me. I turn around, half-expecting another attack, but I stop short when I see who it is.
"Will?" I say in shock.
I did not expect to see my former commanding officer of NEST, William Lennox, in this rescue party. Then again, I guess I should have.
"So we're letting Ironhide take care of the criminals now, that doesn't seem like a very good idea," Lennox says.
Will finally sees my face and his whole tone changes.
"Oh, God, are you okay?" he asks, looking at the cuts on my face and the way I am cradling my left arm.
"Not really, but I'll live," I answer honestly.
"I'm getting Ratchet," Ironhide says, lumbering off.
"Ironhide, I'm fine!" I shout after him, but he is already gone.
I sigh, I guess it's back to fruitless arguing from now on. I turn to Lennox, unsure of what to do with Victor.
"Don't worry, I've got this one," Lennox says, pulling handcuffs from one of the pockets on his cargo pants.
He handcuffs Victor and pulls him to his feet, the three of us start to walk out of the building.
"Wait, what about the woman?" I ask.
"Already taken care of," Lennox replies.
I continue to walk out of the building, not looking back, I never want to see that building again. Outside I can see the Autobots in the distance. I am finally going home, the nightmare is over. Yet, while one nightmare has ended, I am completely oblivious to a new nightmare that is fast approaching, threatening not only me, but my friends and family as well.
A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed that, there's more to come as soon as I can write them :)