Chapter 4
"The All-Spark? How is that possible? It was destroyed in the war years ago." Arcee spoke up.
"Indeed, but perhaps not all of it was destroyed…" Optimus mused, casting a glance over to the silent girl that was leaning against a wall with her head low.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back it up. You mean to say that the kid came into contact with THE All-Spark?" Cliffjumper demanded.
"It appears so. The mass of energy created by Primus with immense power, able to create life and hold many secrets of our race." Ratchet replied, "but it appears that this was only a minuet portion of it, most likely broken away when it was launched off of Cybertron and was trapped in a temporary solid form until it was able to find a new, more permanent host, be either inanimate, or…"
"A living being." Evee finished his thought, pushing herself off of the wall and approached the circle of Autobots.
"But why did you not tell us? You clearly have known for some time now." Arcee questioned suspiciously.
"Because I just wasn't sure if that was the wisest thing to do, I didn't know how…" Evee began but trailed off.
"You were afraid of how we would've reacted to such crucial information." Optimus assumed. Evee didn't reply but that was proof enough that the leader had hit the nail on the head.
"So the kid is now the host for one of the most important relics in Cybertron's history." Bulkhead summed up.
"Such a thing is not unheard of." The Prime mused.
"Yes. But human's lives are a mere blink of an eye for Cybertronians, so being infused with the energy has obviously done more than just relaying knowledge." Ratchet said.
"Since becoming the vessel, it is logical to assume that the essence of the All-Spark not only enhanced the capabilities of the bearer's mind and body alike, but would explain why Evelyn would have the ability to defend herself from anything that may pose a threat. Furthermore, being the vessel would also encompass a longer lifespan than average." Optimus deduced while looking at Evee, who was listening very carefully.
"That is why I am so young despite how long it's been since I uncovered the cube." She added after he had finished. She had since sat down on the staircase that led to the elevator that Agent Fowler had used before, the more this discussion had gone on, the more drained she looked, "And I assume that this slow aging process will eventually slow to the point of no aging at all, perhaps when I've reached full maturity."
"This is even more serious than I thought…" Ratchet said, turning back to his computer.
"I still wanna know why the All-Spark chose a human of all species to be its container." Arcee muttered,
"Maybe there is more to the kid than meets the eye." Cliffjumper mused.
The Autobots continued to discuss the new discovery of their human guest, growing increasingly concerned on what had to be done about it. Evee finally stood back up and headed to the elevator that would take her to the top of the base. The action however did not go unnoticed. Bumblebee started following but was halted when Optimus placed a hand on the scout's shoulder.
"She needs time with her thoughts…" he said.
Evee came out on top of the base and went to the edge of the rock formation where she sat down and pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on top of them. After that she simply gazed out to the vast desert and simply let her mind run. And when that happened, old, sometimes unwanted, memories would boil to the surface.
.::August 6th, Deportation of 70,000 Jews from Lodz Poland to Auschwitz begins…::.
"Dear, turn off that radio we're ready to go." Mrs. Peters called.
"Yes Darling." Her husband replied, "I swear this Nazi movement has gone too far..."
"I'm just glad your officers are allowing you one more week before you're needed back at Washington." Mrs. Peters replied and then called, "Hurry up children!". Three young children ran down the old staircase of their cabin, all three had similar features, brown hair, upturned noses and mischievous smiles.
The oldest, Evee herself, was nine years old as of two days ago. The younger two were twin brothers with wild, zany attitudes. They all made it to the bottom of the stairs, nearly plowing each other over as they skidded to a stop in front of their parents.
"Are you ready for our hike in the woods?" Mrs. Peters asked them with a smile.
"Golly, I can't wait ma!" one of the brothers exclaimed.
"I'll prove to Harry I can skip stones across a lake farther than he can!" the other one gloated and got nudged by his sister.
"You couldn't skip a jump rope, much less a rock." She teased. The boy stuck his tongue out at her.
"Let's go, follow me!" Mr. Peters announced. And with that, the family marched out the door.
"Evelyn, don't go off too far!" her mother called, but the nine year old kept running ahead.
"I see something down there!" she yelled back and ran until she fell into the crater, and in the middle of it was the cube.
Her hand made contact with its cold, uneven surface; a shock went through her body as she went rigid.
"Evelyn, get away from that thing!" her father shouted. A firm pair of hands grabbed her shoulders; she could feel her parents behind her, along with her brothers.
"It…burns…" Evee hissed through her teeth. Suddenly a powerful wave burst out from the cubs like ripples in a pond sent her flying backwards. Four screams of agony came behind her. The girl's head felt so much pressure that she couldn't bear it anymore.
Everything went black; the last thing she heard was her mother screaming her name.
"Evee?" A voice brought her back to the real world. The girl looked up from her knees to see the last Autobot she'd expected to see her. Arcee.
"Arcee?" Evee asked.
"The others are wondering what you were up to, you've been up here for hours." The motorcycle replied and looked out at the desert rocks, "I often come up here to get away from it all." She mused mostly to herself.
"I can see why, it certainly is a breathtaking view. I just…" Evee mumbled, the memory still burning fresh in her mind. She felt tears stinging her eyes but she put all her effort in to hold them back.
"What is it?" Arcee asked. Evee took a deep breath, and then another, and then another. Soon she found herself almost hyperventilating as she tried so hard not to break down. She finally managed to pull herself together and look up at the blue Autobot.
"Arcee…you know how the All-Spark will enhance its container to protect itself from threats?" the girl asked. Arcee nodded slowly, not really sure what she was getting at.
"Back at the cube, when I had first found it. I wasn't alone." She said.
The Autobot was silent, trying to piece it together, but then it clicked. This feeling was all too familiar to her, from back in the war.
"The defenses…" she murmured. Evee could only nod. For the first time ever, Arcee felt a pang of sympathy for her. She did know the feeling, all too well.
"When I woke up, there was no one around, and the only thing left was my father's hiking stick." The child said quietly, "It was my fault that they died, why I live alone…" she sighed and tried to calm down once more. It was strange, she had said that like a fact, not like the way someone would whine about, expecting to get sympathy with the typical 'no, it's not your fault, don't say that!' and Arcee seemed to take that into account.
"I understand what you're going through…Evee." Arcee murmured in an equally quiet tone, "Back in the war…I lost a dear friend of mine. A partner."
Evee looked up at her, "You did?" she asked.
"Tailgate." Arcee said, "We were both captured by an old foe, and he was…terminated before me."
"That's awful." Evee shuddered, "That is most definitely a feeling we share, and one I'm sure we'd both give anything to live without."
"If it weren't for Cliffjumper, I don't know what would've happened…he helped me recover. But the grief will always be there. Because I was foolish to go off on my own, he was jumped with no back-up." The motorcycle said, "Evee, you need to understand, the loss of your family wasn't your fault, it was a tragic accident, but don't blame yourself. It doesn't accomplish anything."
Evee nodded her head slightly as she returned her gaze to the sunset that seemed to set the sky ablaze. The two sat in a comfortable silence for what seemed like the longest time, it was very peaceful up on the base in the middle of nowhere, a place where the Cybertronian refugees could really experience the wonders of earth's landscapes without fear of being caught by the odd lookey-loo human.
Finally the girl looked back up at the Femme.
"What's past is past…I remember my father once taught me a Latin word, Carpe Diem, 'seize the day.' Live every moment like it was your last. I guess I finally understand what that means. And that's exactly what we should all do." She said, Arcee almost cracked a smile. For an Autobot who didn't enjoy the company of humans, both she and Evee were quite surprised how at ease both of them were at sharing such dark pasts.
"You know, I've never told any of you when I found the cube." Evee said with almost mischievous glint in her eyes as if she had a dastardly secret, "I believed I've figured out all the math."
"Oh?" the two-wheeler said curiously.
"We had gone on that trip to Vermont in August of 1944, that was during the Second World War. I touched the All-Spark sixty-one years ago when I was nine, it's 2005…I'm seventy years old, but I've only aged once every fifteen years…so I really am physically thirteen, and if this slower aging keeps its regular course, by the time I am a mature eighteen year old, I'll have really lived roughly…"
"One-hundred and forty-five years…' Arcee finished, "pretty long for a human."
"Yep, unnatural and creepy in my opinion…" Evee muttered in a more child-like tone. That actually caused Arcee to chuckle a bit.
Eventually they came down back into the base, Evee wasn't acting so much like a hardened soldier after being able to connect with Arcee, she seemed lighter in spirits when she came off of the lift.
"Don't mind me, senior Citizen coming through." she announced and headed up to the platform and sat down on the couch to continue maintenance on her claws. All of the Autobots just stared blankly at Arcee for answers.
"I'll explain later." She said casually over her shoulder as she sauntered down the far hall.
Miles away, the Nemesis, Starscream was beyond fuming. He threw Barricade into a far wall and snarled.
"This is what I get for giving you a second chance? A blithering buffoon missing an appendage!"
"Forgive me Lord Starscream, but the human possesses the hidden strength of a wrecker!" Barricade defended desperately, only to get an empty Energon box thrown at his head.
"The thing that astounds me is that you had the bearings to show your face here again!" the second in command roared and stormed out of the interrogation cell they were currently in, muttering under his breath.
"Honestly, if you want something done in this pit-forsaken army, I suppose you have to do it yourself…" he growled.
"And what pray tell, would that be Starscream?" a voice hissed behind him. The flyer let out a squeak, and slowly turned around to see, much to his dismay, Lord Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons himself, standing a few feet behind him.
"Oh, uh, I was just uh…" Starscream stuttered but trailed off by the cold, calculating look in Megatron's crimson optics.
"Did you really think I wouldn't find out? That you could just keep this feeble 'secret mission' undisclosed for sixty-one Earth years?" the leader demanded through his sharp teeth. The first lieutenant could practically hear the air quotations, as well as the repressed rage beneath the words, "just how big of a fool do you take me for?"
Starscream wisely didn't answer that but did look behind the warlord's enormous form to see Soundwave, Megatron's most trusted analyst and communications chief.
Soundwave was the eyes and ears of the Nemesis, and he told his master of anything even remotely suspicious within the lower ranks. Being the leader of the Decepticons was something entirely different than being the leader of the Autobots; your underlings only respected you out of fear, not loyalty and the possibility of being overthrown by another thirsting for power–like a certain SIC–was not uncommon. The communications chief was probably the one to thank for fleshing out any hidden plots there might have been; he was incredibly loyal to Megatron, and never failed him.
"Nothing happens on this ship without me knowing about it." The leader said in a very threatening tone. Starscream stumbled to find the right response.
"Well sir, this is all just a misunderstanding! You see, I intended to find the vermin and have the weapons as a surprise to you, one true master!" he claimed.
"Because you know how much I enjoy surprises…" Megatron said scathingly.
"Well, it was just a thought." Starscream chuckled nervously.
"Soundwave, care to playback just how thoughtful Starscream's gesture truly was?" the leader requested. The Faceless Decepticon obliged without hesitation and started playing an exact recording of the SIC's previous speeches.
For once I will have the advantage! I will have the superior weapons! With the energy extracted from the vermin I will have vast Cybertronian knowledge to bring that worn out old bucket head to his knees! The playback of Starscream shouted; the real Starscream shuddered, knowing that every word from that recording was another nail into his proverbial casket.
"Well…I was just having a very difficult day, and sometimes I say things that are a little out of line to release my frustration…" he began, but as soon as those words were out it appeared that the loyal Soundwave was not quite done with the playback just yet.
Old bucket head to his knees! Old bucket head! Bucket head! Bucket head! He repeated like a broken record. It appeared that just when the First lieutenant thought he had dug himself deep enough, someone would throw him another shovel…
"ALRIGHT ENOUGH!" Starscream snarled at the Decepticon behind the fuming leader, "No need to be immature Soundwave, perhaps it was very out of line…"
Just because Soundwave didn't have a face didn't mean Starscream couldn't see the smugness emitting from him. Everyone was silent for an hour-long minute until Megatron finally vented hot air and turned his back on the cowering lieutenant.
"I will take this little escapade from here, and until I retrieve the fleshling it would be wise of you to stay out of my way. You are as those pathetic humans say; 'hanging by a very thin thread.'" The Decepticon leader said and stormed down the halls of the war ship with Soundwave on his heels.
"As you wish…master." Starscream muttered under his breath once he was alone again, making the word 'master' sound as if it was the foulest word he could ever utter.