Beyond What You Know

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers

Note: This is based on the Cybertron series and NOT on the Japanese Galaxy Force.

Guess who's back! Once again, I'm really, really sorry about all the flaws in chapter 3. The fact is, there will be flaws in this story, no doubt about that. So I'll understand if you leave the story now and never look at it again, because I feel like a retarded idiot for flawing Transformers.

Yami Bakura: Oh Ra, you can't even write a fanfic about a simple TV show not many people even know about.

WP: Bakura?! What in the name of conjunctions are you doing here? This is a Transformers fanfic. It has nothing to do with Yu-Gi-Oh.

Yami Bakura: Humph. If it was Ryou instead of me, you wouldn't be complaining.

WP: That's… uhm… not… uh… true…

Yami Bakura: You lie as well as you write.

WP: Well I'm sorry, but someone who eats raw steak the way you do has a good reason for being high on my caution list.

Yami Bakura: Just write the bloody washed-out fic and stop drawing out the torture.

WP: Yeah, you're right… I should be writing a fic…

Brace for impact!

The harsh light of the sun didn't reach the form who stood, shrouded in darkness, a little off from Earth. The same, cold eyes that had watched the Autobots's ship watched the Earth, a small smile on his face.

"Sir… They're all alright. And… They found one of the humans. I told the Captain not to let them find him but he…"

"Silence."

The Transformer fell silent, a slightly apprehensive look on his face as he eyed his leader.

"You have much to learn about revenge. For now, the best thing we can do is let those fools reunite with their humans friends. It will mean we don't have to hunt them down when the time comes."

"Yes sir."

Silence once again fell over the two. The leader continued to watch the Earth, a smile threatening to cross his face. Mercy was not known to him, and he also had almost no knowledge of impatience. When the Autobots fell at his hands, he would have plenty of time to make them suffer. But for now, he had to make himself unknown. And, if everything went according to his plan… Well then not even Primus himself would be able to help the fools.

"The boy. His condition is the same as it was the last time I asked?"

The messenger hesitated, and his caution increased. The first time he had seen his master truly angry was the day the one they had sent to Earth disobeyed and tried to take matters into his own hands. But he had said yesterday that it was now to their advantage…

"Yes sir… exactly the same."

The smile came now, as cold and dark as his entire being.

"Perfect. They will be ours sooner than they realize what is happening."

The caution vanished and a hunger took its place on the messenger Decepticon's face.

000

"You can't just burst in there, for the fifteenth time! There are too many other humans there. We can't risk it."

Landmine sighed loudly and retreated from the door again. Ever since, ten minutes ago, they had found Coby all they wanted to do was rush to greet him. But common sense told them it would be plain stupid. Common sense didn't make it any easier to wait even longer, however. And this time Landmine was the one who was the most impatient, which was rare for the usually levelheaded Autobot. Gerald had gone back inside after they had told him that they would speak to the mechanic after hours. Gerald had assured them that Necro-Fix closed in twenty minutes, but that Coby stayed after hours most times. Twenty minutes was stretching forever, and they were all afraid that Coby would chose today not to stay longer.

"Look! They're starting to leave!"

A jolt ran through all of them. Finally, finally they would talk to Coby again. Any minute now… Then Jolt brought up a thought of his that made them less sure.

"Will he really want to see us?"

All of them turned and looked in surprise at the Mini-Con.

"Well… They didn't come to see us for a year… Maybe they… I mean… How do we know they still want anything to do with us?"

The answer to that was that they couldn't know if Coby, Lori and Bud still wanted to talk to them, to be part of their team… The mood, which had risen at the sight of Coby, dampened very quickly. No one said anything; they just continued to stare at uninteresting things like the ground or the building wall. Gerald was the one who broke their silence.

"Hello again. Don't worry; they'll all be gone in a while. And I chatted to Coby; he is staying later today. I'll open the back doors so you can go in when you want to."

Entry would have been a problem if the doors weren't almost as big as the wall itself, but now it would be very easy. The news that they could now see and hear Coby through natural means and without having to look through small windows would have created even more excitement before. But now it just increased their doubt. After some hesitation they all moved forwards a bit so they could see through the door, but not too far that they would immediately be seen if someone looked that way. Coby was sitting, cross-legged, on the floor, his full attention on an object in his hands. He had a screwdriver tucked behind his ear and one of the object's wires in his mouth. The scene was so familiar that it caused a slight pang among the Autobots.

"Hey Coby! You're going to get electrocuted if you keep putting wires in your mouth."

The speaker was a young man with dark hair and a devilish grin on his face. He had obviously been on his way home because he had his bag slung around his shoulder. Coby made mumbling noises, but when the man raised his eyebrows he removed the wire so he could talk.

"I'll only get shocked if it's on, Harry. Besides, I need it elevated slightly."

Coby's voice was deeper than it had been, but not much. It sounded smooth and natural now. Harry grinned and sat next to him.

"I'd offer to hold it, but I'm not touching your gob."

Coby, now with the wire back in his mouth, mumbled something that sounded along the lines of "Gee, thanks."

"Has your brother called you again?"

Harry's eyes were on Coby's top pocket where they could see his cellphone sticking out a bit. Coby shook his head, then took out the wire, which no longer needed to be elevated.

"Nah. I think I got it through to him that the spool he needed was on top of the refrigerator after he called me the sixth time."

Harry laughed, clapped Coby on the shoulder and got up to join the group that had formed near the door. They started making plans for the next day, but Coby didn't seem to want to join in. Two minutes later, when he was obviously nearly done with his repairs, one of the guys at the door yelled at him.

"Hey Coby, your mini-me is here!"

Coby ignored the leering voice and continued to work. A person entered, his head held high, also ignoring the remark that had been flung at him. He looked about in his early teens, with longish blond hair that was covered with a beanie. His eyes were fixed on Coby and he walked very quickly. Only when he was next to the working boy did Coby look up and smile a greeting.

"Hey Bud."

Bud grinned slightly and sat next to his brother. He had a bag with him that looked quite heavy, but he was more interested on what Coby was doing.

"Oh! Did you finish your movie?"

Coby looked at the bag in Bud's hands, but Bud shook his head.

"Nah."

His voice had also deepened at bit and, like his brother's, he sounded better because of it. Coby had abandoned his work and he looked at Bud in surprise.

"Why not? I thought your aim was to finish it today."

"It was! I'm really bummed I didn't get to. Now it won't be finished before next week."

He sighed, causing his hair to flutter a bit.

"Well why didn't you finish it?"

"I forgot where the spool is."

Everyone at the door cracked up, and the Autobots had to fight to keep themselves from laughing too, which became harder as they saw the look on Coby's face.

"Oh Bud. I told you it was on the fridge, like, seven times."

Comprehension dawned on Bud's face; a look the Autobots had seen lots before, but made no difference to its comical appearance.

"Oh yeah… you did tell me that…"

Coby sighed in exasperation and grabbed Bud, giving him a noogie.

"You dolt. You'd lose your head if it wasn't stuck to your shoulders."

Bud complained at the position he was being held in, but they could see that Coby wasn't hurting him in the slightest. As Bud, now free, leapt playfully at his brother, the others at the door hollered their goodbyes and left. Finally, the Autobots were alone with both Bud and Coby. Optimus Prime had never shied from anything that had to be done because it could be uncomfortable, and this time was no different. He stepped into the building, with most of the Autobots following behind him. None of them said anything; they just continued to watch the pair before them softly scuffling with each other. Finally Coby threw Bud off of him gently, claiming he had to finish his work before they could go. Bud grinned and picked up his bag, then turned towards the back doors, thinking he'd be able to shoot a nature shot or something in the meantime. However, he froze completely as his eyes fell upon the Autobots. His arms fell lamely to his sides and his eyes widened. He stood there for a few seconds and then, not turning around, tapped his brother on the shoulder.

"Coby."

Coby didn't respond; he was once again caught up in fixing whatever it was that was before him.

"Coby!"

"What now?"

Coby was sounding irritated, but his gaze still didn't waver from the object in front of him.

"Coby, am I hallucinating?"

Finally Coby looked up, following his brother's gaze. If he had been sitting on a chair, he would have fallen off it in shock. As it was, he was already on the ground, and so he had to settle for wearing a look that resembled his brother's immensely.

"If you are… then I am too."

At this, Bud gave a yell of joy and shot forwards. Soon all of the Autobots and the two humans were greeting each other the way they had thought before the doubts had come. Landmine was overjoyed to see Coby, and the boy returned the joy with gusto. Bud was like they remembered; a happy, hyperactive smile that was attached to a face and body. Coby and Bud were so happy to see them that the Autobots felt ashamed that they had thought the two humans would abandon them. After the exited greeting subsided, Coby, still grinning, turned to Optimus.

"When did you guys get here? And how on Earth did you find us?"

It was Optimus who explained everything, from the attack to how they had followed Coby's career wishes to him. He left out their doubts and fears that it was Coby who had been hurt; the kids didn't need to know that. However, Coby looked puzzled after the explanation.

"You mean you guys have been out there for nearly half an hour? Why didn't you just come straight in?"

The Autobots looked guiltily at each other; why had they thought a ridiculous thing like they had? But they owed it to Coby and Bud to tell them the truth.

"We… Well we were scared you wanted nothing more to do with us."

Bud opened his mouth in surprise; obviously he had never even thought of hating the Autobots. Coby looked the same way, which made them feel even more embarrassed. It was Jolt who tried to clear up the misunderstanding.

"Well you see, you three just suddenly stopped coming to see us; Lori was even moved out of town, so we thought maybe…"

Instead of looking hurt or laughing loudly at that, Coby and But exchanged a look, and to their surprise they saw Coby's guard going up slightly.

"So… You have no idea why we never came back?"

Jolt shook his head, as surprised at Coby's reaction as everyone else.

"Colonel Franklin said nothing to you?"

At the second no, Coby and Bud relaxed completely.

"Oh well, it wasn't because we didn't want to go back. You see, there was an accident and there is some evidence it was caused by a Transformer. Colonel Franklin came to the three of us, wondering if we had more information on the subject. Once our parents heard about the damage… Well they freaked and all of us were banned from ever seeing you guys again."

While the others looked even happier and explained to Coby that they knew about the accident, Optimus stayed silent. There was something in Coby's story that didn't quite gel. Why had Colonel Franklin involved the kids' parents? Why had they 'freaked out' more this time than before? And why, if the Colonel wanted information, had the Earth team been left in the dark? But he had always been able to tell when one of the kids lied, and Coby was telling the truth this time, so Optimus let it slide.

"Well, Coby. I think the base, not to mention our ship, may need a bit of repairs done. Are you up for the job?"

All of the Autobots stared at their leader. Optimus had always stuck to the rules and respected the children's parents' wishes, but now here he stood offering Coby a job when he was not even supposed to be with them. Coby grinned.

"Is water wet?"

Optimus smiled.

"Alright then. And Bud, I haven't forgotten about you. You can come too. Just please, if your parents reinforce the rule that you can't be with us, you must obey."

Ah, some of the old Optimus was showing through again. Bud whooped happily and both him and Coby promised they would heed their parents should they make the law again. But for now, the Autobots team was complete, par one member, and the atmosphere was again electrically happy.

Chapter four done! Sorry about the ranting on top; my anime addiction spans many shows. Once again, I'll apologize for flawing Transformers and hope I don't die in my sleep because of Karma. Until next week when my torture continues.