Prologue:
Once Upon a Timeline
After her quest is finished Kagome's life is pretty quiet for a while. Despite all her absences and having nobody to help her when she tried to study while in Feudal Japan she doesn't fail any of her classes. A series of emails and a conference later Kagome's mother even managed to clear up the problem of her absences with an explanation much more believable than the ones Kagome's grandfather gave and she was allowed to graduate junior high with her classmates. A series of one-on-one tutoring sessions at a cram school later and Kagome even managed to do well enough on entrance exams to have options for high school beyond cheap, low quality schools and schools practically ran by the local delinquents.
In short Kagome's luck had returned, even if only for the time being. Though the actual chunk of crystal remained the spirits that had powered the Jewel of Four Souls were well and truly gone, leaving nothing but echoes of spirit energy that seemed too little in quantity to be of any use to anyone. So if anything spiritual or demonic remained in the modern era it stayed far away from where it could threaten Kagome's high school career. She missed her friends, and wished the demonic ones were around but as long as they were happy that was enough. After the well closed Kagome's spiritual power went mostly dormant anyway, she supposes it was for the best. Nonetheless her spiritual senses remained intact, and thus Kagome noticed when power started returning to the well after she graduated high school. It's so tempting to take the chance to reunite with her friends, but Kagome exercises restraint. The power is so faint she's aware that it would probably be a one way trip, and it wasn't a decision to make lightly.
Kagome took a year off before starting college. There were plenty of career options she knew that would make her happy or that she would be good at. But she didn't know what she actually wanted to do with her life, and she wanted to take the time to figure it out. Kagome's family understood and her aunt even hired her at her café when she admitted she wanted to save up money until she could afford to be independent. When she finally started attending a local university part time the woman even agrees to work her hours around her class schedule so she doesn't have to be at the university at inconvenient hours. Kagome was starting to get lonely and bored, but things were going well and so she was optimistic about her future and persevered.
The first sign of things changing a news cast about a US military base in Qatar being attacked. Nobody knew who the culprit was, why the base was attacked or if there were any survivors. The US and many other countries, fearful of further attack and suspecting war was imminent immediately started preparing for the worst. Two or three days later phones and computers all over Japan start glitching or stop working for almost a day, it seemed to be a worldwide phenomenon. Everything starts working again by sunset. By the next day the news is reporting an incident in the US somewhere called Mission City. There's inconsistency but it seems generally agreed that it was a terrorist attack. Kagome herself doesn't know what to think, but the rumors of alien robots- or robotic aliens- and a government cover-up gives her pause. She had heard from an astronomy major attending her school that four meteors all landed in the same general area in the US the night before the supposed terrorist attack.
A couple years pass, and the internet becomes more and more full of rumors of vehicles acting strange. Kagome was on a trip with her family visiting relatives of her mother's in China. She was looking for a convenience store when she heard a pair of voices coming from an ice cream truck's speakers saying what seemed to be insults in English, but she couldn't understand their accents. The truck is strangely devoid of a menu, and she'd never known ice cream trucks ever came with windows that tinted. After she'd finally found the store and was making her way back to her relatives' home she passed a red corvette. Kagome heard some guy complaining in English about 'losing the others' and figured he was lost but when she turned to look and maybe try to give directions the vehicle was driving itself, and gone before she could react.
A week later Kagome was trying to figure out how to figure out what was going on when the alien theories were proven true once and for all- every electronic capable of playing videos was overtaken by a giant, menacing robotic figure with red eyes demanding some American boy be handed over to him. He and his companions are almost immediately declared the world's most wanted. A couple days after that the news blew up with word of the boy in question, one Sam Witwicky, his friends, a part of the US military called N.E.S.T and a group of blue eyed robotic aliens called Autobots saving the world from the menacing red eyed figure and his army of Decepticons. Along with the confirmation of life on other planets rumor spread of the United States' politicians placed in charge of handling the alien war that had spread to Earth giving the group out to protect humanity just as hard a time as humans had dealing with the Decepticons.
Positive regard for the Autobots was full of mixed opinions. Some were just as scared of them as the Decepticons but grateful, some were intrigued, some saw them as tools or superheroes, and some just thought the Autobots were amazing. A few years later a meteor crashed in Japan right in the forest behind the shrine. It was an escape pod holding a red and white Decepticon who seemed to be trying to save the life of an Autobot with a bright neon yellow paint job. As it turned out it was a former Decepticion. After everything that happened during the war he wasn't about to put his neck or his paint job on the line for a bunch of back stabbers that weren't even interested in helping him find his best friend. The yellow Autobot was called Sunstreaker and looking for his twin. Sunstreaker was arrogant, switched between taking nothing seriously and being slightly cold at the drop of a hat, more obsessed with his looks than Knockout and a prankster. After two days passed with no word from N.E.S.T and the Autobots or any sign of their arrival Kagome got a bad feeling. Trusting the native's judgement, Knockout left to go into hiding. Sunstreaker on the other hand deemed Kagome an appropriate guide to Earth and source of information and decided to stick around until he found his twin Sideswipe or got a hold of Optimus Prime.
Three days after the pair's arrival the US launched a rocket unannounced and it exploded before it even left the atmosphere. A few days later word came that there had been complete radio from the United States since the day of the explosion, not a single government could get a hold of the US. Otherwise everything seemed normal but politically not a peep. The internet was full of rumor of a rise in Decepticon attacks, and that none of them were handled by N.E.S.T or the Autobots Optimus Prime assigned to the task force that cooperated with said military organization. Only the Autobots who liked to wander or refused to leave specific areas unless called for responded to the threats. After the strange radio silence had been going on for a week there was suddenly an explosion of information. An explosion of social media statuses and Youtube videos placed on some sort of blockade were undone, and a series of news reports of varying opinions were released.
A mech the Autobots thought they could trust was found alive in the wreckage of an Autobot ship on the moon, but he turned out to be working with Megatron. There discovery of the betrayal resulted in a fight in Washington DC that resulted in the death of one of Optimus' more well known Autobots, Ironhide. The US government gave into the traitor's and Megatron's demands to banish the Autobots from Earth without protest or an attempt to fight or defend the Cybertronians who had done nothing but help humanity. As soon as the rocket exploded and everyone thought the Autobots were dead the traitor and the Decepticons launched a massive attack on Chicago. They tried to open a space bridge to bring Cybertron to Earth- or an army of Decepticons waiting on Cybertron to Earth- and enslave humanity. When things looked bleakest it turned out the Autobots only pretended to leave to prove a point- that the Decepticons wouldn't leave humanity and Earth alone just because the Autobots were out of the picture. The Autobots, and the loyal members of N.E.S.T just barely pulled off saving the world. Rumor had it the Autobots' infamous ally American civilian Sam Witwicky died playing an integral roll in saving the world from the Decepticons a third and final time.
Kagome's family thought that meant Sunstreaker could finally reunite with his twin but Kagome and the alien himself had a bad feeling, and waited. The news and social media was blowing up. A man called Simmons and various others spoke up in defense of the Autobots over official news channels and on every social media they had a voice on. The Autobots were heroes, without them humanity would be rendered extinct or enslaved. According to the few facts the US government didn't guard jealously or that got released to the world wide web before they could be hidden, by the time Optimus Prime and the team he'd had upon his initial arrival on Earth the Decepticons had been on Earth for centuries even disregarding their leader Megatron. Earth and Cybertron's histories were intrinsically intertwined far deeper than most could fathom. There was too much evidence that Earth would be conquered or lost without the Autobots.
Nobody with any actual pull with the United States government would listen. The US declared all Cybertronians regardless of faction a threat, and the Autobots and neutrals were rendered criminals as if they were just like the Decepticons. When Kagome heard the news she swore her heart dropped. Sunstreaker refused to wait anymore. He was more desperate to find his twin than ever. So Kagome made plans to move to the United States to help the yellow bot find his twin. In secret, they used every bit of information they could find on Autobot sightings to look for some bot in hopes of finding someone who could give them a lead on Sideswipe or someone who would know how to find him. A couple years passed with no luck. Then they finally got some leads, but the Autobot they managed to contact disappeared. Another few months passed, and Kagome and Sunstreaker had figured out that the Autobots' human allies who wouldn't betray or abandon them had been silenced or chased off. Not long after Optimus sent a transmission to all Autobots on Earth ordering complete radio silence and to stay hidden. The darker corners of the internet spoke of yet a government cover-up and Autobots disappearing. Sunstreaker and Kagome didn't need to be geniuses to guess that Optimus knew or guessed something about it and had been investigating.
Then the worst happened- Sunstreaker felt betrayal and immense pain from Sideswipe's end of their connection, then his twin's presence was just gone and the bond shattered. Sunstreaker all but shut down, and almost as if of its own accord his holoform activated. Kagome held the false body as it silently shed the tears Sunstreaker was too numb and broken to shed in his actual form. He decided to stay with Kagome, and when or if she returned to Japan so would he. Their friendship was all Sunstreaker had on Earth and the Optimus Prime the yellow bot knew of would have wanted to place Autobots at various posts so that should a Decepticon attack there was someone close enough to respond quickly no matter where the threat was located.
Eventually, Kagome's actual job took them to a town in Texas. For the first year, she rented an apartment. During that time Kagome befriended a local widower named Cade Yaeger. He was older than her, but a great friend and the most decent company in the area. He was overprotective of his daughter, but Kagome adored how much he cared for Tessa. Tessa herself was nice enough and incredibly well adjusted considering how smothered she felt, but she had a number of Kagome's old school friends more frustrating qualities and Sunstreaker found her obnoxious. (As a result he liked to spook her as subtly as he could while still maintaining his cover and not implicating Kagome.) Unfortunately, Cade's habit of caring more about his projects than making a profit and letting his friend and sole employee get away with messing up or losing money hurt his business. So Kagome offered to rent the guest room. That way the father and daughter could at least keep their utilities and eat. Kagome wanted to do more, but she couldn't afford it and even if she could Cade wouldn't have let her.
Then one day one Sunstreaker was tweaking with some radio equipment Cade had actually fixed instead of leaving lying around or scrapping it for parts. Then the unexpected happened- completely on accident Sunstreaker managed to tune into the frequency of some sort of special ops group. They had word of a Cybertronian's location and judging by the sound of the chatter it wasn't a Decepticon and the ops group- called 'Cemetery Wind' wasn't even trying to curb the threat that was the remaining Decepticons. They investigated and true to their suspicions the target was an Autobot- Ratchet. Sunstreaker worked with Ratchet to put his skills as an artist to use, and when Cemetery Wind caught Ratchet Kagome and Sunstreaker managed to cause enough confusion to switch out the nearly downed medic with a replica that took the blow that would've been rendered Ratchet unable to escape death.
Ratchet was shocked and confused by what had almost happened to him, Sunstreaker's presence, and Kagome's involvement but grateful. Once they had room to breath they got to work making sure Ratchet would live. Then after having Ratchet scan a new alt mode- part disguise part keep Sunstreaker from being a headache over how the paint job didn't suit the medic- they returned to Texas. But when they got back to Cade's home the barn Cade had repurposed as a lab was destroyed and the house was a wreck. A bunch of suspicious vehicles were going in two different directions after two different vehicles- a car Sunstreaker had reported came around whenever Tessa had the impression Cade was gone or asleep and a semi in terrible condition.
Ratchet recognized it as Optimus, and both bots could read a signal. It was faint, giving away how bad off their leader was but strong. They were farther behind than most would like, but that gave them the advantage of surprise. Still, the three did what they could. Sunstreaker went after the humans being chased to help them as subtly as possible while Ratchet went to help Optimus. Soon enough Kagome and Sunstreaker caught up to Cade and the others just as Optimus and Ratchet did. The humans made a break for Optimus and safety, but it was almost too late. The mysterious neutral bot Ratchet and Optimus later revealed was a mercenary called Lockdown threw a bomb that wrecked the car, the building behind it, and killed Cade's friend and employee Lucas- who it was revealed were the reason Cemetery Wind even found Optimus.
Once they lost their pursuers they took refuge at an abandoned gas station. After making sure Cemetery Wind was really gone for the moment Kagome and Sunstreaker revealed the yellow bot's presence. As the bots reunited and Ratchet repaired Optimus Kagome and Sunstreaker explained their end of things briefly and compared notes on what little information there was with the older bots. None of them knew anything about Cemetery Wind. Not what their goal was, if Cemetery Wind was an official government operation, or even if they were the only threat in play. The only thing clear was that for some reason, the Autobots were being hunted. That night Cade didn't get any sleep, he'd stolen a drone and was using his expertise to find some answers.
The next day Cade pulled one of his tricks using the drone. Amidst the distraction the group snuck away, Optimus scanning a new alt mode. The paint job itself and new, fancy model weren't exactly inconspicuous but it helped the last of the damage and wear and Cemetery Wind were looking for a semi that looked like it could barely run. Finally they regrouped with the four other surviving Autobots who were alive and in the US to respond to Optimus' call to arms. Hound and Drift were nice when you didn't piss them off, but Bumblebee was Kagome's favorite. He seemed a little fiercer and angrier but he was a cheerful bot and a sweetheart. Kagome liked him. The quartet didn't know any more than Optimus and Ratchet did.
Luckily for them Cade had some hacking skills to go with the skills he put to use with his inventing company. Some feed from the drone and research revealed that Cemetery Wind pulled their victims apart and trucks from a company called KSI collected the corpses. KSI clearly had deals with the military- probably under the table. Kagome let the bots know that based on her knowledge of the US government, the CIA was probably involved and not necessarily on an official basis. If it was official there was a chance the president either knew very little or kept it a secret from every part of the government not involved. As Cade formed a plan of infiltration Kagome got the bots to help her save the video to her tablet. She had her own plan, she wouldn't see this end with the government not getting punished for its crimes against the Autobots.
The infiltration of KSI headquarters in Chicago was almost a disaster, but they managed to save a bot named Que and discovered that the Autobots were being melted down to use their metal to build knock offs. Sunstreaker and Bumblebee were so enraged they almost gave the whole thing away. Kagome filmed the entire operation with her phone and got footage of the deaths of all the other bots used- not single Decepticon in any of the footage. Then the CEO confronted them, and Optimus' words went in one ear and out the other until Kagome stated point blank that what he'd done to the Autobots was as bad as the Nazis and Ku Klux Klan. That seemed to strike a cord in him, though the man ignored iti. The escape went far worse- the knock-off bots were sent after them. And the one with a semi for an alt mode had an eerily familiar bot mode- Megatron. Kagome could guess where that was going.
Then Lockdown captured Optimus and in the process Tessa and everyone had to perform a rescue. Once that was done a new piece of the puzzle was revealed- Lockdown's trade to the human trash was a tool for cyberforming called a Seed. And Que confirmed that Galvatron true to Kagome's suspicions really was Megatron resurrected. The Decepticon leader's spirit had lingered with the pice of his corpse KSI used for their experiments and played the CEO like a fiddle. Though the Autobots were hesitant to risk their lives to save the humans a fourth time after everything they'd gone through in the end they couldn't just let the apocalypse happen and off to China it was. It was a close call but in the end the bots and decent humans won and the KSI CEO played a part in saving the day when Cade finally made the man admit what he'd secretly suspected all along.
It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, though. Optimus was told some strange, almost disturbing things by Lockdown and left to search for answers. Then there was the fact Cade and Tessa still had no home and how the Autobots were still in a dire situation. Kagome posted her videos and true to plan they were going viral too fast for the US to hide its dirty little secret. She kept the KSI CEO out of it since he'd learned his lesson though and only threw Savoy, Attinger, and the US government under the bus. It couldn't do anything about what they'd already been through, but maybe until Megatron and the Decepticons stirred up more trouble they could have peace. As the bots recovered and the CEO helped the Yaegers with their more domestic troubles they all laid low at Kagome's childhood home on the shrine in Tokyo.
Maybe it was the sparks or energon from all of the bots nearby. Maybe it was just the passage of time. But one day it happened- the Bone Eater's Well had more power and the remants of the jewel's power were acting up. Kagome had one last chance- she could return to the Feudal Era to tie up loose ends, and maybe manage to come back for the last time. But the remnants of the jewel's spirit energy were changed some- perhaps from all the time Kagome spent with Sunstreaker- and she realized that just maybe she had another option. So, sitting on the edge of the well with her legs dangling inside Kagome grasped the jewel in one hand. Then she channeled her own spirit energy for the last time- into the jewel and the well simultaneously. And she made a wish.
"I wish I had a chance to make things right."
Kagome shoved herself off the side and into the well one last time. And then suddenly she was eighteen again, freshly angry over injustice people had suffered. Vague semblances of memories that were yet weren't hers flashed through her head. And Kagome knew- she had to hold onto this determination and channel it into forging her path. She wasn't sure how or when, but the future depended on it.
End of Chapter
