chiv-id: FINALLY, DONE. Sweet Jesus, this was a long-ass chapter, but we're at least on the second episode now! Again, you're definitely going to have to watch the series if you want to read this fic, because it relies heavily on you having seen it. Anywho, there's going to be a LOT said in this chapter, so I hope no one gets lost. And I absolutely LOVE the ending, so I hope you enjoy that part particularly for those of you who are DECEPTICON fans. See you at the ending!
A Fated Exchange
Chapter 5: Humbled and Honored
[AUTOBOT RECORDS]
"…Electro-pulse normal…Energon levels stable…" Ratchet leaned away from the computers and moved a hand to his forearm, grasping at the large metal edges in an effort to release some of the tense pressure there, "Looks like she'll pull through…" He glanced down to look at his most difficult case yet, the gunmetal gray pallor that Centennia was once almost was consumed by was now fading to show a luster that had been absent before. So close to joining the Well of Allsparks was she that Ratchet had little hope of recovery, until Optimus had suggested the use of the previously fought Decepticons' parts. Ratchet had set to work after his leader had quickly brought in two or three of the corpses and, omitting some of the various gruesome details, surgically removed most of the regulators, circuits, and operating units that she was in dire need of. The doctor likened it to filling in the missing pieces of a puzzle, either replacing the damaged pieces with that of the Decepticons' or just fitting it in because it was missing entirely.
"Hmph…" he huffed as he sat down for a minute, the entire operation having drained him as he had to operate on both living and dead Cybertronians, "You're lucky this time, but if you end up like this again, you're on your own, got it?" He didn't expect her to answer as he continued to watch the steady rising and falling of her chest, calmly taking in the air needed to cool various new systems that had been implanted before pushing on the hot compressed exhaust. Her body was not very aesthetically-pleasing, not by a long shot, he surmised, but that was mostly because of poor care and the fact that he just pieced her together from scrapped parts. What was that movie Bulkhead had referred to him as? Dr. Frankenstein? That was what he felt like he was at the moment, and Centennia was his monstrous creation, although Optimus would have surely put it into nicer and more appropriate terms. However, she did have a rather delicately set face, he observed: a pair of thin, classically-shaped eyebrow ridges curving over two closed optics that were ridged with frosty white rims, more on the top than the bottom, and spaced nicely. They were followed by a small mouth that was had a glossy icy-white finish, now parted slightly as she exchanged the cool air with warm. All of these features combined were set in a lovely curved chrome face plate, the luster that was emerging from her gradually increasing health showing the cold beauty that laid there. Ratchet shook his head to bring himself out of his reverie, instead focusing on the terrible condition the rest of her was in.
"Even sparklings know how to change their emission tanks properly," he noted as he stood up again, giving her a more thorough examination now that she wasn't in critical condition, "Tailpipe clogged, wheels caked with Primus knows what…" Then, he remembered what he wanted to investigate earlier: the intensely mangled mess of her cortical access point. Ratchet, as gently as he could with his comatose patient, rolled her onto her side before he brought his flashlight to look at it again. Clumsy or perhaps deliberate force had been applied with the patching cord as he noted the harsh piercing marks that dotted the outside of the access point, resulting from clasps improperly latched onto the back of her head. Then, there was the matter of the inside of it, which certainly did not come from a patching cord, more like a sharp implement that had been jammed in with vicious brutality to prevent anyone else from doing the same procedure. However, Ratchet was a very skilled medic, more so than most would give him credit for.
"If someone just wanted to offline you," Ratchet murmured as he clicked his flashlight off and brought his fingers to rub his chin, "They could have merely plucked your spark from your chest. Why go through the trouble of…?" He trailed off and bent down as he searched for a particular piece of equipment, his own cortical patching cord that he used when the repair chamber was…well, under repair, finding it necessary as a direct link would be more efficient in this case. He carefully repaired some of the inner lining of her access point and discarded any shards or unnecessary pieces of metal that would hamper him, eventually making her cortical access point accessible once more. With one last check, Ratchet hooked the cord to the newly-furbished area and the other end to the primitive computers that he was using, doing a diagnostic check as best he good with the basically-repaired area.
"…What's this?" he typed in a command for a search of data logs, but only came up with several Gigabytes of memory, which was strange for a bot as old as she was. He guessed that she was young, but older than Bumblebee at least, considering how experienced she seemed with battle at the concrete trench, as reported by Arcee, Bulkhead, and the scout.
"This can't be," Ratchet typed in various other commands, trying to find any other pieces of information such as basic auto-repair and the files of Cybertron's history, but none were found, "…A complete wiping of the processors?" He had heard of Cybertronians sometimes losing data banks once in a while, but never of complete and total destruction of one's personal memories and basic functions while they were still online. He checked the earliest entry that her processors logged and found all the evidence he needed: an algorithm of dastardly origins, the Decepticon frequency all over the Cortical Psychic Patch documentation, followed by a command for immediate disassembly afterwards.
"Optimus," the medical officer pressed his fingers to his comm-link, optics glowing as he looked at his computer screens, "Centennia's condition is no longer critical. However, there is clear evidence that she underwent a serious purging of her memory core via a Cortical Psychic Patch, and I'm confident the Decepticons were behind it, not to mention that she was scheduled for becoming spare parts following the operation." He paused as he scrolled to check the memory logs between the command and the entry for her crash-landing on Earth, but it only showed various tracking positions between Cybertron and Earth. Whatever had happened after the Cortical Psychic Patch, 'Centennia' had found a way to escape the deadly fate that awaited her and made her way to Earth, battered and with processors wiped, unaware of her past. Ratchet searched through the rest of her data banks when he came across a portion of inaccessible data packs, encrypted in some frequency and Cybertronian electro-lock that he could not yet decipher.
"There are also some encrypted data packs here, but not large enough to be back-up files for her memories," Ratchet continued as he scanned them for later decrypting, "However, they may give us clues as to who she might really be. Her family may have some important information, as well. And if I find anything else, I'll be sure to report. Ratchet, out." He lifted his fingers and stared down at Centennia's prone form, her optics still closed and unseeing.
"At least we solved one question," Ratchet sighed as sat down again, tired, "Only to find several more taking its place…" He was quiet as he monitored her readings, resting until he had the strength to resume his duties, making short work of the Decepticon dead as he wheeled their corpses to a different part of his medical bay before taking Centennia to the control room, pushing her large metal gurney with ease. He still had to watch over the control room, imperative in case the other Autobots needed a quick ground-bridge out of a dangerous position, and at the same time keep an eye on the recovering femm. Ratchet, for all his grump and gripe, was a hard worker and took his job seriously.
"Ratchet, the Lavenders are requesting to see their guardian," Optimus suddenly called in via comm-link and the medic lifted his head up from the control room's computers, "However, she is not in the sick bay."
"She's here in the control room with me, Optimus," Ratchet reported, glancing down at Centennia and was about to return his attention back to the screens when he froze, optics wide before he slowly turned his head back. Centennia's optics were open and staring at him…for how long he didn't know, but those pair of white optics, though dimly lit and opened only slightly, were watching him now…
[Centennia Logs]
'…What…?' Centennia had awakened from her sleep only a few moments before when she heard someone talking near her, a male voice that she'd never heard before emanating somewhere above her. The white femm that was now interspersed with purple and black Decepticon parts turned her optics on, feeling both terrible and surprisingly fresher all at the same time. The walls of a large room blearily came into focus as she blinked, though her vision wavered every now and then.
'…Marleen…' was the second thought that came to mind, 'Max…Ally…' She forced herself to become more aware of her surroundings as she kept them within her focus, now noticing another robot that was working at some sort of machinery, most likely the owner of the voice from before. He was red and white, with a compact and stocky build, noting that he had large aqua-blue optics when he turned around to look down at her. When he did, he seemed to be surprised as he suddenly stopped whatever it was he was doing to glance back at her slowly.
"Tcchhaaazzzz-" Centennia's voice came in like static from a broken radio, causing her to pause before she closed her mouth to figure out what was wrong, "…Aazzkkkttttt…maaakkkk…" Well, wasn't this just great? She lost her ability to speak, she thought with some disdain before she tried to think about how to communicate.
"…It seems like you've yet to get used to your new voice processor," he shed some light on the situation as he came over to her, "That will come with time. For now, you should rest." Her optics glowed a bit brighter as she studied his face, her hand twitching as she tried to move it, but found that there was something heavy weighing down on it. Centennia's foggy mind tried to process the image as she saw a tube latched onto her wrist joint before seeing that there were quite a number of tubes that were attached on other places of her body, causing her optics to go wide slightly. What had happened after that battle? And where were Marleen and the twins?
"Calm down," the foreign male bot brought his hands up as he noticed her trying to get up, pressing his hands on her shoulders, "You can't move yet, not so soon after the surgery."
…Surgery? What surgery? What had happened?
"I said, don't move!" he forced her back on the table as she suddenly rocketed up, causing her to buzz in pain, "I'm sorry, but you can't move around without a few more hours of rest!" Centennia, ignoring the white and red automaton, continued to struggle, the male bot having to hold her down as he tried to reach the controls of the machine she was hooked up to. However, she threw him off with a gigantic swat of her arm, smacking him to the side as she started to rise from the table. Suddenly, an explosion of pain blossomed from the back of her head as a sharp bang was heard, Centennia falling back to the table as she reached her hands to grasp her metal cranium. Then, she felt herself lulling into another long slumber, weakly trying to fight the oncoming darkness that seeped into the edges of her vision as the tubes started pumping something strange into her.
"When your physician says don't move, he means it!" came the distorted and frustrated voice of the stranger, her optics dimming as she glanced back at him, "You'll thank me later…" With that, she drifted back into the dreamless slumber that she had once returned from, a whirring whine escaping from her before she quieted.
[Marleen's Diary]
"Oh my God…what's happened to her?" Marleen asked in a quiet and disturbed voice, seeing her friend now looking like a distorted art piece with purple and black pieces dotting her entire body along with numerous tubes placed here and there, "What did you do?" She and her children were riding on Optimus' shoulder as they traveled to see Centennia, Marleen horrified when they finally got to see her, putting her hands over her children's eyes. Max pushed at her hand forcibly before gazing on his guardian, similarly pushed into a quiet state of surprise.
"Only what was necessary," Ratchet answered, cleaning his hands with a large rag before taking a device of some kind and examining it, Marleen noting that it was slightly dented and bent, "She hasn't had a proper maintenance check in some time. Many of her parts were damaged beyond repair and needed to be replaced. Others were simply missing." Optimus walked closer and put Marleen and the twins next to Centennia's prone body.
"Replaced with what? Are you color-blind?" Marleen asked vehemently as Max and Ally started examining their guardian's state, Ratchet's optics widened before narrowing at her in an offended manner, "You look like you just went to the 99 cent store and got some spray paint!"
"Cybertronian parts are rare here on Earth," Optimus calmed the situation before it got any worse, Ratchet and Marleen already almost at blows, "Ratchet is a fine medical officer who saved her life. And though she may not look like the guardian you once knew, she is still your 'Centennia'." Marleen continued to stare down (or up, in her case) at Ratchet for a few more moments until she sighed and looked back at Centennia, Max and Ally laughing as they slid down a new section of her torso. If they weren't too disturbed by the transformation, then perhaps she shouldn't worry so much.
"…Thank you, doctor," Marleen admitted as she looked back at the white and red ambulance, his expression somewhat blank and unbelieving as he watched her, "I'm sorry, I was just…I didn't think you'd change her appearance so much…"
"Don't worry," Ratchet decidedly mentioned as he turned away, not accepting the apology with words but with a nod of his head, "Once her body accepts the new grafts, she'll be able to choose a new vehicular form. I had to reset her functions when I was taking out this." He motioned to the primitive solar array technology that was once lodged in her chest, now sitting off to the side next to the controls for the ground-bridge.
"Where did you get these parts, though? They look like…" Marleen's voice got softer as she approached the shiny purple replacement part on Centennia's chest when she noticed a small insignia, one that made her eyes widen as she recognized it, "…Are you insane? This is-"
"We know what it is, Marleen," Ratchet replied, tiredly looking to her as he checked the hose attached to Centennia's chest, "Like Optimus said, parts are rare enough. We must take what we can…" Marleen quieted as she saw the futility in arguing the point: had Centennia not had the parts, she would not have survived and then where would they be? She gritted her teeth as she raised a fist as if to slam it into the armor, but instead just lightly pounded it in frustration. She hated them…not just dislike or fear, but hated those Decepticons with everything she had in her. They had taken away her husband, her parents, and nothing anyone could do or say would make her change her mind.
"…When will she wake up?" she asked, changing the topic as her children were starting to stare at her with worry again before they traveled to Centennia's mouth and started playing with the corners of them, "And Max, Ally, that's disrespectful."
"She's…already awakened before," Ratchet looked away as if guilty and Marleen raised an eyebrow before the twins looked up in surprise and hope, smiling widely as they traveled to his side of the table, "However, she needed more rest and I had to…sedate her, immediately. She won't be waking for a few more hours." The twins' smiles dropped from their faces as they pouted, crossing their arms as they walked back to play with Centennia's face again. They then circled to change places, but noticed a sizable dent in her head and they looked back at Ratchet.
"Weren't you gonna fix her?" Max asked, Ally pointing at the dent with him, "How come she's got a big-"
"Ah ba-ba-baa!" Ratchet came over and tried to shoo them away from there, Optimus raising an eyebrow ridge, "She just…recently…got that."
"She didn't have that before!" Ally argued, being a bit of a brat before Ratchet gave a sigh and held up the previously damaged equipment he was examining.
"She put up a bit of a fight when she woke up and…she was being stubborn," Ratchet looked away as he tried to explain himself without making himself the 'bad guy'. This…didn't work at all.
"You…HIT her?" the twins echoed in shock, backing away as they hugged each other. Ratchet face-palmed and gave another long drawn-out sigh as Optimus gave a somewhat disapproving look. Marleen, on the other hand, had her mouth opened as she tried to comprehend what a 'doctor' did to his 'patient'.
"What kind of doctor are you?" she asked in a high-pitched tone, coming over to take her twins and look at the mark Ratchet had left, "I don't know about you, but here on Earth, people don't hit their patients over the head with a…club!"
"It's a flashlight!" Ratchet argued in a rushed and irritated tone, shaking it at them before Optimus came to Ratchet's side and put his hand on the bot's shoulder.
"Easy Ratchet," the large automaton warned, Ratchet calming at his request, "Marleen, I apologize, but if Ratchet needed to subdue Centennia, then I trust that his judgment on the matter was sound. Although exercising the use of his 'flashlight' may have been a poor means to his ends." Ratchet looked back at Optimus after his last words, his mouth moving silently in grumbles and justifications before re-checking the monitors of her condition.
"Can we stay here with her until she wakes up?" Marleen asked, now highly suspicious of Ratchet and his supposed intent to subdue her.
"Of course," Optimus nodded, much to Ratchet's reluctance, "I will be investigating a small matter in the meantime, so Ratchet will be your overseer for a small time." Marleen and Ratchet looked at each other, then away in mutual disagreement, Optimus and the twins looking at each other in turn before the leader of the Autobots took his leave. For the next few hours, the twins would run around Centennia while Marleen kept an eye on Ratchet, the white and red automaton doing the same while he ran his diagnostic procedures. Eventually, as the ambulance moved his hands to again check the hose attached to one of her hips while Marleen looked on with some suspicion, Ratchet's comm-link suddenly started to buzz...
[AUTOBOT RECORDS]
"Ratchet, we've got the humans," Arcee's less-than-pleased voice rang out in his audio receptors, Ratchet touching his fingers to his comm-link, "Heading homebound."
"Understood. I'll contact the others and open the doors," he replied, walking to the control panel before he linked his comm-link to Bulkhead and Optimus, "Bulkhead, Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee have retrieved the two boys."
"Got it, heading in," Bulkhead responded before he cut out.
"I'll be there shortly," Optimus similarly replied, and Ratchet turned to look at Marleen and the twins, sighing.
"What is it?" Marleen asked, the twins looking up from their small art project on one of Centennia's forearms.
"Apparently, it's 'bring your human to work' day," he told her dryly, turning away to open the doors for Bulkhead first, "Two more boys are coming to the base." Max and Ally perked up before they rose and ran over to Ratchet's side again on the table.
"Cool, so there's more people that know about you guys, like us?" they asked in unison, Ratchet cringing inwardly as he continued monitoring his teammates' life signals returning to base.
"Yes…" he mumbled before focusing on his work, "They'll be here shortly." He heard the twins whispering excitedly amongst themselves before Marleen's voice rang in again, already a grating pain in his-
"Isn't it dangerous for children to be here?" asked Marleen, but Ratchet silenced her with a single, irritated look.
"And what of your children?" he rebutted, Marleen narrowing her eyes.
"I'm watching over them," she returned fire, going over and hugging them protectively, "And as long as Centennia is here, we'll be staying." He scoffed and continued his work again, finally pressing a button and opening the outside door for Bulkhead.
"Whoa," the green Autobot commented, coming to look at Centennia's body. Ratchet cursed mentally as he turned to look at Bulkhead who was looking back with some questions in his optics.
"These parts…they're Decepticon parts, right?" he asked, Ratchet nodding tiredly as he came over to the table again, "…Looks like she was in pretty bad shape if you had to use 'em…"
"Critical condition," Ratchet confirmed, placing his hands on the table and leaning slightly, "And any other questions about our new 'guest' can wait until the others get back." He preferred not suffering through the pains of explaining it individually to them over and over again, already having had a long hard day with the Marleen-monster figuratively looking over his shoulder every time he touched Centennia.
"What's got your bearings in a bunch?" Bulkhead raised an eyebrow ridge at Ratchet who seemed even grumpier than normal, the medical officer giving a side-glance at Marleen before turning to watch Arcee and Bumblebee's signals exit the city. The twins were hiding behind Centennia's body while Ratchet and Bulkhead were talking, but once they were done, they came out to look up at Bulkhead, the green automaton blinking at them.
"…Hi," they waved and talked at the same time, Bulkhead waving and greeting them in like, awkwardly, when Bumblebee and Arcee soon came into the control room. A small bespectacled boy stepped out of Bumblebee while a girl and a boy got off of Arcee, both Autobots transforming as soon as the humans had gotten away from them. Ratchet particularly paid attention to the new female human, already having enough pains with the older one as it is.
"I thought there were two," Ratchet queried as he stepped towards the children and kept Centennia's body behind him as he stood near Bulkhead.
"Haven't you heard? Humans multiply," Arcee replied, explaining her foul mood to some extent. Ratchet looked down at the three children, blinking before he felt a tap on his lower back and looked behind him, Marleen and the twins looking at him expectantly. He rolled his optics as he sighed and put his hand next to the table, letting them get on before lowering them to the ground slowly.
"I'm Raf," said the brown spiky-haired boy with glasses, holding out his hand to the new female, but was promptly ignored as the girl ran to Bulkhead.
"I'm Miko!" she started before she stopped in front of him, "Who're you?" She had a bubbly personality, bubbly enough to match the small streaks of pink as well as that hair-do.
"Bulkhead," the green Autobot replied warily, his arms rising slightly in surprise as she immediately veered toward him. While the pink and black-haired girl talked Bulkhead into silence, the twins came over to the black-haired teen and Raf.
"I'm Max," the red-headed boy raised his hand, smiling widely at them.
"I'm Ally!" she hugged her older twin and made a peace sign, "We're twins!"
"Noticed," the older black-haired male smiled as he looked at Max, "And I remember you! You're that kid that was with the white robot. Where is she?" Max pointed up at the table, but before the new teen could investigate, Marleen stepped forward.
"And I'm Marleen, their mother," she bowed her head to look down at him and Raf, being slightly taller.
"Oh…I'm Jackson Darby, but everyone calls me Jack," he moved his eyes back to the table, "And…is that your robot?"
"She's our guardian, yes," Marleen corrected, watching Max and Ally as they started conversing with Raf, "And she's…she's not up for talking at the moment." Jack seemed to notice the quiet and subtle look Marleen gave to Centennia and backed off of the subject, getting the hint that something was wrong.
"So, if you guys are robots, who made you?" Raf asked innocently to change the topic, Max and Ally turning to look at Ratchet and Bulkhead expectantly with him.
"Ugghhfff…puh-leeeze…" the medic uttered with sarcasm and rolling his optics again, insulted by the question before he looked up to see Optimus making his grand entrance. And as the humans became enamored with his leader, as most usually were when first meeting him, Ratchet turned around to check Centennia again, depressurizing a hose that was too tightly wound from long use. He did not feel the need to mingle with the humans as Optimus seemed to encourage, that much was evident with the death of Cliffjumper not too long ago and the battle of wills between himself and Marleen that he honestly did not have the Energon to spare for. He was sure that Arcee felt the same way, from her disposition when she returned from Jasper. Bulkhead was more or less neutral on the matter, though he did display wariness around the Miko girl, and Bumblebee obviously liked the brown-haired one with glasses, letting him ride in his cab.
"…Kkkk…" came a small static noise that caught his attention, Ratchet's optics that were darkly lit during his reverie now glowing at full power as he looked down at his patient, "…Kkkkkkkk…" Centennia's optics flashed a couple of times before dimly turning back on, refocusing on Ratchet's face. Primus, just when he'd gotten her asleep a few hours ago…
"…Hhh…wwwhh…" her voice was still immensely soft, so much that he had to turn up his audio sensitivity to hear her as he bent down lower to hear her, "…Marleeennn…" Ratchet scoffed and raised his torso as he crossed his arms, optics stern, but before he could give an answer, a suggestion from Optimus caused him to focus his attention elsewhere.
"It is best that you three remain under our watch," Optimus told them, "At least until we can determine our enemies' intentions." Ratchet had to put a hand on Centennia's chest to keep her down, hoping that she didn't start causing a motion as he turned and started to argue his case.
"Optimus, with all due respect, the human children are in as much danger here as anywhere," Ratchet disagreed, hearing one protest about their age-specific category of 'children', "They have no protective shell. If they get underfoot, they will go…" The medical officer really didn't have any way to put it, though he knew that Marleen would most definitely get on his case about his word usage.
"…Squish," he finished, making a small step towards them that caused all of the humans to flinch, Marleen pulling her now somewhat scared twins into her arms, the older woman glaring at Ratchet for saying such a terrible thing.
"Then for the time being, Ratchet," Optimus put his hands on his metal hips, bringing a hand to gesture towards them as he glanced down once, "We must watch where we step." A warning alarm sounded just as he finished, Ratchet looking to the screens and pulling up the security footage as he checked the proximity sensors. Once he ascertained what the threat was, Ratchet resumed his pressure on Centennia's chest, noticing that she was trying to move again.
"It's Agent Fowler," Ratchet informed Optimus, looking back at the white and purple femm that he was keeping still.
"I-I thought we were the only humans who knew about you guys?" Jack asked, his hands gesturing to himself, the other two kids who had accompanied him, and the Lavenders.
"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world," Optimus answered, turning to look at the children and Lavenders again, "As he tends to visit only when there are issues, it may be best if you do not meet him at this time." They understood and quickly headed for the nearest wall they could hide behind, Ratchet mentally cursing as he forgot to bring something to cover Centennia with. Fowler was a stickler for a lot of peace and little paperwork, so having a mystery Cybertronian who was now decorated in Decepticon armor was most definitely not going to result in a shorter visit. Ratchet motioned to Bulkhead and he came over to guard Centennia, the doctor using a nearby adjusting tuner to latch over her mouth and prevent her from speaking anymore. Needless to say, the femm wasn't happy and began to awaken with a clear mind and a rather annoyed disposition, her levels indicating the stages of her rising.
"Seven wrecks? Thirty four fender-benders? A three-hour traffic jam?" Special Agent William "Bill" Fowler had finally arrived and was already dishing out the damage done that was caused by the previous battle with a steely attitude that showed no mercy or fear for the Autobots, "And on a particular note, numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make. And a black and yellow custom-muscle car." Arcee and Bumblebee both seemed unfazed by his accusations, shrugging even though they knew that it was them the reports were referring to.
"So, anything you care to get off your tin chest, Prime?" Fowler asked in a snappish tone, Optimus coming to look the angry African-American agent in the eyes. Ratchet almost sighed in relief, the large Autobot leader blocking most of Fowler's vision, but he continued to keep Bulkhead in front of Centennia for precaution.
"We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler," Prime tried to reassure the man, but his eyes were hard and unyielding in light of his immense size and words.
"They're back, aren't they?" Fowler asked seriously and in a quiet voice. Bulkhead was already getting irritated by the snooping agent, but Ratchet held him back, not wanting to let Centennia be seen until Fowler was good and gone from the base.
"If you are referring to the Decepticons, I have doubts that they ever left," Optimus returned and narrowed his optics, "Your planet is much too valuable." Ratchet glanced down at Centennia as she was trying to free herself from the tuner's clawed grip, though the fact that he had a tight grip on her hands made it hard to do so.
"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon," the agent replied with seriousness laced in his tone, his expression drawn and tight.
"Hear me, Agent Fowler," Prime leaned in closer to make the man listen to him clearly, "We are your best – possibly your only defense against the Decepticon threat." Fowler met his argument head-on, obviously fighting with Prime every step of the way on this issue.
"Says you," Fowler clashed with Optimus, but before the Autobot leader could respond, Bulkhead spoke up, unable to keep quiet anymore.
"Hey, fleshie, did anyone get splattered on that freeway?" he ground out angrily, driven to grab the adjusting tuner that Ratchet was using to keep Centennia quiet unwittingly, "Team Prime knows when to use force…and how much to use." With a quick squeeze, Bulkhead made short work of the tuner, Ratchet's optics going wide at the destruction of his tool.
"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Ratchet exclaimed before he heard the static noise, realizing the consequences as Bulkhead had moved in order to take the adjusting tuner from Centennia's mouth, not to mention he had just released Centennia's wrists to deal with the over-sized Autobot. He and the others turned to stare at a now completely awake Centennia, her optics narrowed at Ratchet in particular…
[Centennia Logs]
"…Kkkkhhh…" the static of her voice got louder before suddenly a pop and whirr was heard, Centennia stretching her mouth before it formed a thin formidable line as she looked to white and red automaton before in particular, "…Where is…my family?" She grasped one of the tubes to her chest tightly and detached it with ease, the hissing noise of the hose as well as the sudden vapor that arose making her seem almost sinister as the lights glinted off of her new Decepticon armor.
"You brought a Decepticon into your base?" the African-American human seemed to look around for something before bringing up a walkie-talkie, but the red, blue, and chrome automaton put a hand up.
"She is not a Decepticon," he replied before turning to face her, "Centennia." When he addressed her, the white femm had already taken several hoses and was standing, everyone giving her a wide berth as her single-minded purpose gave her a bit of a dangerous atmosphere. Centennia looked to him, head held high, unafraid of him despite being quite larger than her. She felt that she was justified in being just a tad livid, what with having the knowledge of her family's whereabouts and being knocked out with a blow to the back of her head shortly after waking the first time.
"Your family is safe," he told her first, though she didn't quite believe him initially until he gestured to the wall where everyone was hiding, "You need not worry any longer." Centennia kneeled down as Max and Ally ran to her instinctively, forgoing any precaution to hide themselves as they did so. Marleen came soon after, all of them crowding around her as they cried tears of joy and telling her that they were glad she was all right. She smiled at them and picked them up, letting them get on her shoulders as she continued to remove the hoses from her body, despite the noisy protests of the white and red one that had hit her on the head. With her family safe, Centennia wasn't particularly feeling hostile towards them, seeing that they could have killed her and her charges already while she had been defenseless and decidedly gave them a brief chance. She then noticed that there were other humans hiding and was about to wave her hand at them when they shook their heads, Centennia focusing on the odd picture of automaton and human conversing at their request.
"Centennia is a rogue Cybertronian we found and tended to," the large leader explained to the other human, gesturing to her, "And these are her human charges."
"You mean, she's not on either side?" the man seemed to be unnerved and untrusting of Centennia, the white femm not taking much offense as she knew that these times were dangerous enough as they were, "And they're going to have to be taken into custody." She put a hand protectively over Marleen and the kids, using body language to aggressively tell him to 'back off', to which he held up his hands in response.
"No, but we believe that she shares the same ideals," the red, blue, and chrome automaton turned to her and for the first time, Centennia found herself in a strange sense of awe in front of him. He walked so that he was directly in front of her, but the white femm stood her ground as she faced him, watching his every move. A chance she would give, but not her guard.
"Centennia," he gestured to the rest of his team, her white optics analyzing them, "My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Despite the neutral stance you have taken on our war, I would like to formally invite you to join us in our struggle against the Decepticon threat." The corner of her mouth twitched as she tried to understand what was being said to her, not aware that there had been a war in the first place. Autobots? Decepticons? And what 'neutral'? She'd been actively hiding and fighting those 'Decepticons' for nearly the entire century she had lived on Earth.
"Whoa, whoa, wait!" the African-American man waved his arms to get their attention, "You're just going to 'invite' her? Do you know anything about her? What if she's a real Decepticon in disguise? Though…that's one really bad disguise…" Centennia glanced at herself and noticed the extreme make-over she received, putting her hands on her body to see if she could pry off the purple armor that was starting to make her feel almost sick. A large part of her chest was now part Decepticon, along with her right shoulder ridge, right arm, left hip, knee-joints, and her entire left leg from the knee down. And that was only what she could see currently, Centennia thought, noting that the sharp and jagged angles of the black and purple Decepticon armor clashing with her sleek design.
"Agent Fowler," Optimus turned to the man to address him once more, "We…lost a comrade the day before." The man known as Fowler blinked and looked at the five Autobots that were in the cavern before slowly turning to focus on Optimus, seeming to understand.
"There were six of you, weren't there?"
"Indeed. Our numbers are vastly outnumbered by the Decepticons, Agent Fowler. Every casualty costs us dearly, so it is within Earth's best interest as well as ours that we accept help from where we can, even if it comes from the most unlikely of places."
"Hmph…if you were as good as you say, then – "
"Hey, Cliffjumper was one of the best," Arcee angrily interrupted the middle of their argument, narrowing her optics at Fowler, "He was my partner. And he died, protecting your planet. So - if you could manage it - he deserves a little respect!" Everyone was quiet after that, even the special agent, until a few moments later when he huffed and turned his back to them.
"Fine, then do us both a favor and handle this Prime, under the radar," Fowler walked back towards the elevator, having enough of dealing with the Autobots as he made sure to direct his voice to Prime, and only Prime, "Or I will." With that, he went back up to the top of the base, leaving them to their duties. Once he was gone, the rest of the humans shuffled out awkwardly from their hiding place and Centennia glanced back to Optimus after watching the agent rise back to the top.
"Pretty big bearings…for a human," the large green automaton commented before Optimus turned to him.
"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world, Bulkhead," Prime reminded him, "As he should be." The leader of the Autobots turned to face Centennia who had been watching quietly, but was in fact making sure that there was a clear way to exit the base if fighting was necessary.
"What say you, Centennia? Would you aid us in our struggle?" he asked, Centennia looked at the larger automaton and glanced down to Marleen on her shoulder.
"…I cannot," she stated simply, closing her optics before looking back at Optimus.
"Why? You kicked Decepticon aft back there!" Bulkhead pumped his fist and Centennia looked to him.
"My 'protection' is different from your 'protection'," she spoke cryptically before she explained after the perplexed looks she got, "I protect these three here. And these three only. A selfish and exclusive protection is what I give, something that cannot hold a light to your claims to defending an entire planet from a destructive faction of your own race." They quieted at her admission, staring at her.
"We fight collectively for all of humankind," Optimus began, but Marleen stood up on Centennia's shoulder and rapped on Centennia's metal chrome face plate, causing the femm to flinch before looking at her. Clearly, this was a 'family matter', that was what was being projected by Marleen's stance.
"…Centennia," Marleen put a hand on the plating she just ran her knuckles on, "Don't put up a front. You want to stay here, we all know you do." The white femm remained emotionless, but her optics did contract at her statement before looking at the twins who nodded with their mother.
"They said we could stay here, too!" Max smiled before turning to look at the other humans, "And look, now we've got someone else to play with, so you don't have to worry about us all the time!" Centennia was quiet for a moment before a quiet amused chuckle emanated from her.
"…I will always worry about you. And Ally, and your mother," she sighed as she eased her posture and placed a hand on her hip, "You're all right with staying here, then?" Marleen and the twins looked at each other before rolling their eyes.
"Yes!" they all shouted in unison, exasperated by Centennia's fretting. The humans below them all laughed, Centennia smiling fondly at her red-headed companions.
"Then I retract my answer," she before extending a hand to Optimus, "I am honored and humbled to join your ranks." The older bot returned the smile in his own way, quiet and full of wisdom, before shaking the offered hand, everyone but Ratchet and Arcee excitedly buzzing about their newest member of the Autobots…
[DECEPTICON ARCHIVES]
"Starscream, do you have anything else you have to offer me…or are Energon-gathering and the death of one – single – Autobot the only tasks you have to report completed during my three-year-absence?" Megatron's displeased gravelly voice coupled with the swift flick of his blade to remove the Energon-blood from it made the commander back away slowly, bowing as he did so. While he was meagerly satisfied with Starscream's work, Megatron felt that the flying Decepticon needed to be reminded of his place after his three long years away, punishment for the earlier attempt at 'lording' whilst in Megatron's presence.
"No, my lord," Starscream told him, sweeping his arms out as he frantically searched his data banks for something – anything – he could provide, "Of course not! We…we have been tracking that renegade Cybertronian since your departure! We know that she resides in Jasper, Nevada now, but the Autobots now know of her presence and may be trying to…sway her."
"Hmm…" he rumbled, he turned back to look down the mining shaft, his hands crossing behind his back, "Her…" Megatron, so busy with his current plans for Earth's take-over, had nearly forgotten about the mysterious femm, his interests in her far from just being plain curious.
"Yes…if I may, Lord Megatron," Starscream's groveling form did not please Megatron as the worm came around the side to look at him, "What is your…fascination with this femm that you have?" There was a subtle hint as to what Starscream believed the reason for his fancy and Megatron's optics narrowed before he aimed his blade at his second-in-command's neck, causing the Seeker to lean back to the point where he fell on his wings, arms held up in a pitiful defense.
"You dare question my motives, Starscream?" he asked in quiet, but deadly voice before Starscream gave a whimpering and pathetic mechanical noise, "…What business I have with that one is none of your concern, Starscream. You'd do well to remember that…" He removed his blade from Starscream's direction and the Decepticon breathed a bit easier, putting a hand to his neck as Megatron's blade disappeared back into his arm.
"…Ahhgghh…yes, Lord Megatron," the master of the Decepticons turned to look down at the sliced corpse of Cliffjumper while the 'Con got back up, "I shall remember that well…"
"Have Soundwave keep a close watch on her," he ordered, straightening his back as he looked at a passing cart of Energon returning to the ship, "That much you can do, correct, Starscream?" The second-in-command bowed as Megatron turned his head to glare at him from the corner of his optics, Starscream going to tell the surveillance Decepticon in person to escape Megatron's current foul mood towards him. With a shifting of his shoulder plates, the Lord of Decepticons continued to monitor the drones' work.
"The three of us together again, at last…" he uttered enigmatically, a haunting and evil grin crossing his face, "…Just like old times…"
chiv-id: Megatron...why is your character so awesome to write about rather than Optimus'? WHY? And just FYI, I'm an Autobot-fan all the way, but Megatron and Starscream do have a fun dynamic when you write the interactions between these two. PHEW, SO I'M GLAD YOU GUYS GOT THROUGH THIS SEMI-LONG CHAPTER. It was so much fun to write, but at the same time I got stuck on a lot of levels. AND FOWLER, YAY! Surprisingly, I think Fowler might be my favorite human in the series besides Raf, just 'cuz he's funny and bad-ass all at the same time. AH-HEM, SO! I've got some people to address at the end of this (literally had to write a note to remember):
forestreject, Sailor Shinzo: Thank you guys for reviewing and sticking through reading the fic, as well as your compliments because they really made me happy! It's always about getting the readers excited and seeing that they're enjoying it, you know?
L for Love: Your constructive feedback is really awesome, and though a lot of people don't do it, I appreciate you taking the time to seriously read and analyze my work! Thanks a million-and here's some virtual cookies! *showers* Oh...and sorry about the lack of romance FIVE CHAPTERS IN, but we're going to get there, I promise you! I'm mostly holding off because I'm waiting for the polls to tally up (which, by the way, OPTIMUS PRIME IS WINNING!).
galita: Yes, Ratchet did chew her out...and slapped her on the head with the flashlight to the point where she blanked out. LULZ!
OKAY, SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE TIME FOR, SEE YOU NEXT TIME! AND DON'T FORGET: THERE'S A POLL ON MY PROFILE ON WHO SHOULD BE THE MAIN ROMANCE OPTION-OPTIMUS PRIME OR RATCHET. GO VOTE IF YOU HAVE THE TIME BECAUSE RIGHT NOW OPTIMUS IS WINNING! RATCHET FANS, IF YOU WANT HIM TO BE THE STAR OF THIS FIC, GO VOTE, SAME TO THE OPTIMUS PRIME FANS!