This story is a sequel to Silence is Gilded
Jack Darby opened the door, and entered the garage. While he no longer lived with her, for a short time he was staying with his mother, June Darby.
"So, what are you doing with them, Jack?" June asked, following him into the open space that connected to her house. "You haven't really told me the bigger details."
"Like I said, it's just a little get-together," he replied with a smile, hopping onto the red bike he possessed as the garage door began to open in front of him. "I haven't seen Arcee, Bee, Smokescreen, Wheeljack, or Bulkhead for almost six years. It's going to be great to see them all again and spend the week with them."
"And talk about all the goings on that happened from then till now? That does sound like quite the event," June agreed as she saw the bike start up; its engine letting out a vibrant purr. Another thought came to her mind upon seeing him activate his vehicle. "Say, have you ever thought about racing Arcee with that?"
"Yep, I've been thinking about it," he chuckled, as he put his black-colored helmet on over his head, muffling his voice slightly. "...But I've noticed that 'Cee goes way faster than this thing. That doesn't mean I won't try it anyway!"
He began to let the motorcycle drift forward from the garage, toward the road, making sure to look back before he entered it. "See ya, Mom!" he said a last time with a wave.
"Stay safe, dear. Oh, and say hi to Ratchet and Arcee for me!" she bid farewell back, before watching him speed off. His bike let out a quick roar as it went onto the asphalt, soon disappearing from sight. June would have gone with him, but being a nurse, she had work to attend to in just an hour. Sighing, she returned back inside, letting the garage door slide shut behind her.
It was a few minutes before Jack exited the cozy town of New Jasper, and entered the stretch of highway that would eventually lead to the military base containing Hangar E; the Autobot's secret base on earth. Before he left, he had himself another good look at the rebuilt town, once devastated by the Decepticon fortress of Darkmount shortly before the Autobot-Decepticon war ended. The morning sun showed fully overhead, illuminating the wide, empty, sandy landscape in its warm, yellow glow.
Suddenly feeling a thick vibrating sensation that overtook the one of his vehicle, Jack stopped his bike with a screech of the wheels. The very ground below him seemed to be shaking softly as he registered what was happening. Then, just a few seconds after it had started, the tremors ceased, and all went still.
"An earthquake?" Jack said to himself. "Haven't felt one of those in a while. Weird." Activating the accelerator and revving the engine again, he sped forth once more, continuing his journey unhindered.
Pulling down on the lever, Ratchet looked up as the machine began to whir to life. With a green flash, the groundbridge came online, displaying a vaguely circular formation of energy. Waiting patiently nearby were the much smaller shapes of the humans Miko Nakadai, and Raf Esquivel. Neither of them could hide their smiles as the three shapes of Bulkhead, Smokescreen, and Wheeljack sauntered through the portal. Miko was the first to run up and greet them, head-on.
"Bulkhead!" she shouted with a natural vigor in her voice.
"Miko!" the burly wrecker shouted back, kneeling over and putting his closed hand out to her, allowing the human to fist bump it. "How've ya been?"
"Great!" she replied. "How's life on Cybertron been treating you?"
"Can't complain," he chuckled. "Everything is like how it was before the war, except with less tension between everyone."
"You've really got to take me there so I can see the sights one day, Bulk," she said again. "For now, let's go make up for lost time!"
"Wait, don't you think you'll want to stick around and greet Arcee and Bumblebee when they get here?" Raf asked.
"Pff... we're not going to be gone long. We can say hi later," she said to him, before looking to her considerably taller companion. "Bulkhead and I have a lot of catching up to do!"
"That we do, Miko," he agreed with a nod of the head. "Wanna go do some off-roading?"
As Miko let out a cheer of assent and the two walked to the exit of the hangar, Wheeljack began to speak up.
"Hey, kid. You've grown since we last saw you," he said, noticing the fact after walking toward Rafael. "I can't wait to see the look on Bumblebee's face when Doc opens a portal up for him and Optimus."
"I know! I've grown over- wait... who did you just say was coming with Bumblebee?" Raf asked, shifting his glasses to a better spot. Wheeljack glanced back over to him with a smirk.
"Optimus," he said again. "It's as much of a surprise to you as it is for us."
"But... I thought you said he sacrificed himself to restore the AllSpark to Cybertron," Raf spoke again, excited, but confused.
"He did," Ratchet continued, as he typed a set of keys in front of the computer; working to fix on a certain location. "But Bumblebee has told us in one of his more recent messages that Optimus trained in the Realm of the Primes with the other Primes, and they eventually forged a new body for him to use in the physical world. Among other things, of course."
"Wow," he gasped in awe. "So he's... really back?"
"You betcha," Smokescreen answered. "I haven't seen him yet myself, but judging from what Bee said, he's just like what he was before."
"Alright, everyone stand back. I'm calibrating Arcee's coordinates now," the aged medic said from where he stood, before placing his servo on a lever again.
Arcee was looking to the distance, watching as the city of Iacon resumed its quiet, tranquil peace.
As more time went by, Cybertron's reformed government had become much more stable than it was in its first year of running. More bots that left for the stars after the Great Exodus had returned home to the once-more inhabitable planet, the police force was now fully online and operational, and the need for random bots and hired bounty hunters looking to keep the peace had been rendered null.
With the familiar, electrical noise she knew well, the femme turned around and faced the green glow of the forming groundbridge she previously asked Ratchet to create at this location, in one of Iacon's parks.
"Well, here we go," she sighed, giving a cheerful look to Laserbeak, who hovered nearby, emitting his usual, constant, shrill drone. The loyal mini-con had been given to her as a parting gift by Soundwave almost five years previously, after the reformed Decepticon communications officer had decided to leave her side in order to settle his past elsewhere. As far as she knew, Ratchet back on earth was the only one to be aware of just how close of a relationship the two shared before he ultimately left.
Putting her head forward she began to walk into the portal, followed closely by Laserbeak, who flew by her side.