Taylor had stayed and talked with Ironhide for a while. Ratchet had taken them both home, and apologized for being in such a horrible mood while they were there. Izzy, being only 11, 521 years old, had accepted rather quickly. Taylor, at 19, 999 but had known them for so long, had also forgiven him. She did joke that he should watch his temper.
The following morning, she told the top messenger that she would have to take the day off. When he agreed, she ran off to meet with Mrs. Winston.
Mrs. Winston was sitting at the table when Taylor knocked. She smiled as Taylor walked in. "My dear, you must stay quiet. You'll startle him if you make noise," she said to Taylor. The younger girl gave a nod. About ten minutes later, there was another knock. "Come in! I'm in the kitchen." Taylor heard heavy metal footsteps make their way towards them. Her eyes went wide when she saw who had joined them. Just like his bright optics widened. "Taylor, meet Optimus Prime. Or, O.P. as he signed the message with."
"I was right!" Taylor cried out making Optimus wince. "You are still on Cybertron! And alive!" Optimus seemed to glare at Mrs. Winston before moving around the delighted Taylor to sit beside Mrs. Winston.
"I am," he replied. He watched as she moved closer with her eyes still wide.
"I know you. I mean, I already know you," she mumbled. He nodded. "You're the one that saved me from that man!"
"Yes. I am. You caught my attention by saying my name. Do you know the reason people call my name when they're in trouble?"
"No."
"It's because when someone calls my name I respond. When I find that a person is in trouble and they call my name, I jump to help," Optimus said. His voice sounded defeated. Something was wrong.
"Optimus Prime, sir. Why did you go into hiding in the first place?" Taylor asked. Once again Optimus winced, but stood to his full height and towered over her.
"You want to know why I went into hiding? Because I'm tired of leading. Of the duties I have to fufill. Of being called sir. I figured that the amount of time I've done it would be enough. I want to be able to avoid the spotlight. To be normal. But unless I completely change my frame, I can't. I rid Cybertron of the Decepticons for a long time. I'm a hero. And I hate it. I've always known that one day the pressure would get to me. Which is why I went into hiding in the first place. I've done what I promised. Autobots and humans alike are safe. I grew frustrated with being in the spotlight for so long. Never able to get time away from it all. With help, I came up with the perfect way to stop being the hero. To stop existing. I hid away while all the attention was on the ship. This is my secret. Now it's yours. I know who you are Taylor Daniels. I've watched you. I do care about you. There's your answer. Mary, I have to go. I hope to see you again soon," Optimus said. He moved around Taylor, only to stop when he felt a metal hand grab the metal of his wrist. He stopped and turned.
"Optimus, please don't go. I asked you both here. Young Captain Taylor has been trying to find out about you for years. I thought you might like having some one to talk to," Mrs. Winston begged. Looking at her, Optimus couldn't say no or stay angry at her. His shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Alright," Optimus responded. He cast a glance to Taylor. "Let's go somewhere else. I'm sorry, but there isn't much room here." He was right. The houses were built for the humans. Even though they were much bigger, Optimus was one of the tallest Autobots on Cybertron. They left the house. Mrs. Winston had a wheelchair that she used since walking wasn't easy for her anymore. Taylor noticed that Optimus had taken the cloak off at the door and put it back on before he left the room.
"How do you know each other?" Taylor asked. Optimus looked to Mrs. Winston for a sign of who would talk.
"We fought together. Why don't you tell her?" Mrs. Winston asked. Optimus sighed.
"After Megatron's death, there were still more than enough Decepticons to keep us fighting. We fought for years. It got to the point where more humans had to volunteer to help. Mary Winston was one of them. She joined and proved her skills quickly. After several battles, she earned the right to chose what battles she wanted to fight. During the last one, I'd gotten caught under one of the crashed Decepticon ships. Mary had been the only one to see or notice that fact. In her attempt to help me get free, she was seen by a Decepticon that welded any openings in the ship closed so she wouldn't be able to get out. Rather than letting that bother her, she went to my rescue and fixed some of the Energon tubes that were cut inside of me closed. The Energon ate away the skin of her hands, forcing the medics that found us later the replace them with cybertronian metal. I owe her my life, Ms. Daniels," Optimus replied. His bright blue optics bore into her very soul it seemed. For a while it was silent. Though, the amount of people walking around might have had something to do with it. Optimus had his helm hung low to avoid anyone recognizing him.
They stopped inside a little store. The shop keeper seemed familiar to Taylor, though she had no idea who he was. "Heya Mary! How are ya?" The cheery yellow mech asked. Mrs. Winston brightened at his words.
"Little Bumblebee! How I've missed you," she replied. Taylor glanced to Optimus who had dropped back and was watching the scene with dimmed optics.
"What's wrong?" Taylor asked him as she walked over to him. He glanced at her before his optics fell to the floor.
"You know enough about me, so I guess talking to you about it wouldn't hurt anything. The shopkeeper is named Bumblebee. He was one of the Autobots I had with me when we first crashed on Earth. He knows that I'm still alive, but I haven't seen him in quite a while. Ignore me. It's... hard to explain," Optimus replied. He took a seat in one of the booths Bumblebee had set up so his customers could have a quick bite to eat or some Energon. That was when Bumblebee caught sight of Optimus.
"I never expected you to come around! I thought you forgot about me," Bumblebee greeted. Optimus didn't look up.
"I don't think I could ever forget about the Autobots that I worked with," Optimus responded. Bumblebee sat down beside him, and the girls decided to either watch or listen.
"Prime, I never thought you'd let something get you down. Primus, you can handle Ironhide and Ratchet's bickerin', so why let this get you? What's changed?"
"A lot, Bumblebee. A lot. Nothing I do seems right any more," Optimus replied. Bumblebee gave his past leader a side hug. He then grabbed Optimus jaw and forced the larger to look at him.
"Don't talk like that. You have been the best leader on Cybertron for as long as I can remember," Bumblebee said. Optimus' optics closed in an attempt to avoid looking at Bumblebee who sighed. "You really need help Prime."
"Mrs. Winston, can I can by again sometime soon? I have to go, but I want to talk to you and Optimus again," Taylor asked Mrs. Winston quietly. The old woman laughed.
"Of course! I'll talk to you later my dear."
"Thank you!" Taylor said as she left the room. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her to Ironhide and Ratchet's house.
She knocked on the door. Like normal, she felt dwarfed and tiny when compared to it. There was clanging, different from footsteps before the door was opened. Ironhide smiled at her and motioned for her to enter. "Hey there squirt. What're doing here?"
"I want to talk to you and Ratchet," Taylor replied. Ironhide nodded and called for Ratchet who came out of his own room a moment after.
"What about?" Ironhide asked.
"Optimus Prime. Now I know for a fact that he is still here on Cybertron. I saw him. Actually talked to him," she said. Ironhide nodded while Ratchet sighed. "You guys knew. Didn't you?"
"You're right," Ratchet replied. A hurt look came across Taylor's face.
"You didn't tell me."
"It wasn't ours to tell. If you met him, you can only talk about it with those who know already. If Optimus Prime wants to stay hidden, then we can't stop him. If you want things to change, you have to get Optimus to change his mind. Reveal him, and you'll only get him angry," Ratchet warned. Taylor nodded. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"
"I took the day off. I'm actually suprised that you're home," Taylor answered. Ratchet sighed.
"Our 'leader' made it so I can't work. I'm starting to think that mech hates Autobots. I'm not the first one that was forced to stop working. A human male has my job now. Another has Ironhide's job. That's why we're home," Ratchet informed. The growl in his voice was impossible to miss. She hadn't known about that information. It wasn't fair to force healthy mechs out of jobs. She wanted more information.
"Did they tell you why? They had to have a reason."
"They said we are too old. That's not true," Ironhide replied. Both seemed upset.
"That's not right. They shouldn't be allowed to do that," she said. Her mind was made up. She was going to find out what had gone wrong. Wrong enough that it had Optimus Prime in hiding, Mrs. Winston and Bumblebee keeping secrets, and Ironhide and Ratchet so shaken.
The mech Ratchet is talking about is NOT Optimus. They refer to him by name, not as their leader. Please review!
