Spoken truth

There are no secrets that time does not reveal. ~ Jean Racine

"Hey, think we could go to the theme park today?" Russell asked, peaking over the couch at Amoretta. Because of yesterday's events and a lack of a phone call, he'd slept over, him taking her bed while she got the extremely uncomfortable couch. She had found herself halfway asleep when he'd started to talk about how he'd been aching to go to the park ever since he got to Crown City.

"C'mon squirt, I'm barely awake." She yawned. "Can I get just a few more seconds?"

"You got a phone call, I thought it was my Dad."

"Was it?" She sighed, closing her eyes for a second.

"No, I haven't memorized his number yet, so I, err," He scratched back of his neck. "Kind've answered it. It wasn't my dad, some guy named Larry, said he had some questionnaire for you."

She perked up at the information. Sitting up, despite the quick acting vertigo, she forced herself to her feet and looked at Russell. "What did you do?" Her voice bordered worry and anger.

Russell slightly backed up and shrugged. "I said you were still asleep and I'd take a message."

She gulped. "And?"

"He hung up."

Her shoulders dropped, her lung letting out a deep sigh. "Alright, thank you. Why don't I get breakfast ready for us." She dragged her way to the kitchen and began preparing a light meal of eggs and bacon. But she was barely there, her thoughts, nothing but a vortex wondering what Larry had to say to her that was so important. They had their code words, she just wished that Russell misheard the man.

"Well, this has been fun, Squirt, but it's time for me to return you." Ami stood up, picking up the dishes. She'd finished her chat with Larry and to say the least she was feeling worse than death itself.

"But my dad hasn't called." Russell pointed, following her into the kitchen. "They still might be fighting, err, taking care of the malfunction."

Amoretta smiled. "I guess, but it's almost seven. . . In the morning. I'm sure they've got everything under control there. Maybe your father just got caught up and forgot to call."

"Ya right, how could someone forget something as important as a kid." He huffed.

Amoretta gripped the bowl she'd been washing and smashed it against the sink. It shattered under her grip and she threw her arms back at the sound. Russell went to speak and she lifted up her hand. "No," She barked. "I said I'm bringing you back, and that's final." Her heart sped up, feeling as if she were standing before a charging group of drones. Pressing her palms to the edge of the sink she rocked herself back and forth until her system calmed. "Please get ready to go."

"Sorry, I-"

She pointed to the living room and lightly growled. "Please." She listened as he walked out of the kitchen and she finally let herself relax. Looking out the window she watched as the cars below flew by. She was supressing the memory as best she could, but it refused to go away until it slipped through her bricked up wall. Sucking in a deep breath, she hit the sink and hit her head against her fist. As of now it was far harder to keep everything under control, and she wanted to scream. She cursed the man for calling her.

"Amoretta?" Russell's strained voice broke her concentration. "I'm ready."

"Alright," She moved from the sink. "Let's go then." Their trek to her car was thick with silence and awkward glances. She felt bad for snapping at him, honestly she did, but she couldn't think of the right thing to say to him. Clearing her throat he looked up to her and she peered away; his expression held his own guilt, as if he'd done something wrong to her. "Look, Russell, I'm sorry. You don't have to feel bad for me, or guilty at all. Some bad memories happened to come back to me, and I didn't know how to react. It was nothing toward you."

"It's okay, I didn't mean to make that joke, I see how it affects you now." His head dropped.

"Hey, Russ," She pressed her hand to his shoulder. "Don't go silent on me. I told you it wasn't you, it was me. My stupid brain has some freakishly big things to sort out and right now," Her fingers swirled her ear. "I'm kind of a mental mess. Anything like that is totally my fault." She smiled through the feelings that were barging her.

"You don't have to blame yourself," He smiled up at her. "I understand. When I first showed up to my dad's yard, I had some things to work out too. Mom said that she was going to work for the summer, but with how excited she was, I kind of got the impression that she was going to be over there a lot longer than three months."

"Did the confusion sort itself out?" She tried to make her tone light, but she could hear the hope behind her voice.

Russell shrugged. "Ya, after a while I got used to it all. I mean, my mom will come back, she always keeps her word. I guess she just can get caught up too much in something and then, next thing I know she's forgotten everything. That's why my parents, err, split," He scratched the back of his head. "They were too much alike and neither could make it work." He shut his mouth and frowned. "I think I gave you too much information."

"At least you have parents," Ami blurt out. She pursed her lips, but the look Russell gave her told her it was too late to back out. "They died when I was five. The only thing I had was a picture of them with me on my fifth birthday."

"Had?"

She really hated digging up old bones, but how could she escape now? "It burned in a fire, just the corner of our houses clock was left." She clenched her eyes shut, tears streaking her face. For her, the time on the clock was a forever reminder that she hated birthdays, especially at that time, three'fifteen, on her own birthday. Taking in a deep breath she smiled down at him. "Just remember that you're lucky to have both parents. Even if they are split, you have to know that they still love you."

"I do. I'm sorry though, about your own parents."

She waved him off. "It was a long, long time ago, Squirt, I barely remember it." She was lying through her teeth. Even though she didn't want to admit it, she remembered every little detail of her fifth birthday. From when her friends showed up, where her mother cut her cake for her, when her friends left, and when HE barged into their house and murdered her parents, only sparing her for a reason she had yet to understand. When she came to, she realized that they were driving across the bridge. One or two people passed by her on the opposite side, the morning sun lighting them up, making her squint until they passed by. She watched tiredly as the forest drew closer and closer until her car was underneath the hanging branches.

The two kept quiet the whole way to the yard, their silence almost a conversation on its own. Parking before the gate of the yard, she grinned over to Russell. "Remember, Squirt, we had no fun yesterday."

"It was the most boring day of my whole summer."

"You better be a good liar." She snarked.

"Trust me, I could make the President believe that the sky was purple." They laughed and waved goodbye.

She watched him punch in the code, only driving off until the gate was closed and she was sure he was safe inside. Taking a deep breath she drove away from the yard, ready to get some rest from the unorthodox morning. Lights flashed in front of her and she screeched, stomping on her breaks. A Lamborghini pulled out in front of her, its mostly black exterior blended in with the forests looming darkness. It sat still for a while, her eyes widening as the metal began to grate and bend until the car was gone and a robot stood before her. Her heart stopped, her chest kept still, and then in an instant she was screaming with all that she had.

The bot's hand came down on her car, crashed through her window and pulled her from her seat. His red optics glared back at her with malice and she squirmed under his grip, never ceasing her screams. Electricity pulsed through his other hand and before she could react he shocked her throat, her screams ceased. She tried yelling, but her voice was gone.

He rolled his neck - at least she was sure it was a he if they had genders. "Finally, you humans and your impulsive noises. It grates a mechs audio receptors." He stopped, locking his optics on hers. "Now why am I here?" He snapped his fingers. "Ah, yes, I am here to request your services."

That voice, she knew it, she'd heard it before. "Dart." Her voice squeezed out of her throat, only loud enough that they could hear it.

"So you do recognize me? I do think I'm more handsome in my Cybertronian form, but I guess my human form is okay, too. . ." He examined his fingertips. Glaring back at her he made a dissatisfied noise. "Either way, it doesn't matter. I'm going to have to temporarily work for me, and you have no choice."

"Not gonna happen." She barked, her voice pitchier than that of a chihuahua's bark.

He chuckled. "Well I'm sorry, did I not make 'you have no choice' loud enough? Because I hate repeating myself." He paused. "Oh, and once you are done with my request, I have someone else who may need your services."

She punched his hand, squirming harder as he gripped her tighter. Her eyes squeezed shut, her mid-section begging for her to stop so that he would loosen his grip. "I won't help!" She jammed her foot into one of his fingers and pushed. He let out a painful yelp and she let out a victorious cry when he let her go. But the victory was short lived when she realized that she was falling toward the ground. She flailed her extremities, as if it would somehow save her. The mech swooped her from the air and this time held her body in a way that she couldn't struggle.

"That was extremly stupid!" He held her closer to his face and she gulped. The light from his optics forced her to sheild her eyes, but that wasn't the worst part, what was more terrible was that she could hear the movements and turning of cogs and gears inside of him and it scared her.

"Go hire someone else."

He growled. "I would, but you're the only one I can use." He shot his arm away, her neck thrown back and forth at a quick force. "I mean I could grab that stupid kid and use him as leverage, but I don't like my chances against those stupid Autobots."

"Autobots?"

He snarled and she pursed her lips. "Guess they're too shy to show themselves to you. . . You probably saw them today during their fight with my brother. You know, the yellow one, red one, enforcer one, strict one, oh, and the mini one." He raised his brows at her confused expression. Shaking his head she rolled his eyes. "They ended up capturing that bumbling bafoon, and now I'm enlisting you to release him from their cryopods. I won't let them keep him," He brought her close again. "Am I understood?"

"So that's what that was?" She whispered to herself.

The mech shook her and she let out a painful yelp. "Am I understood!?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand whiner." She tried to cross her arms, but his fingers were overlapping them.

"Don't test me, fleshbag." He seethed.

She squinted her eyes. "Do I look like a teacher to you?"

He squeezed her harder and she let out a short, loud squeak. "I will squeeze you until your insides spill out. And I'm not one for getting my servo's dirty."

"Go ahead, tall, dark, and scary; I mean, I am the only one who can get your brother back." She snarked.

He began to clench harder and she could feel her body reacting to the shock. After a few seconds he loosened and sighed. "I knew at first sight you'd be a hard case."

She smirked. "I just know how to work people. . . Or, err, things."

"Since you have decided to throw off my offer, I'll tell you like it is. I know a close old friend of yours, tall, old, mad, extremely smart when it comes to human manipulation. . ." He let his words sink in.

No. . .

"Well, I think you know that he has someone in his custody that you lost when you disappeared to prison. So here's the deal, you do this, he'll be very sparing. If you don't do this, well, he's been needed a new test subject." He pressed a sharp finger to her chin and smirked.

Her heart began to race. Clenching her jaw she began fighting back. "You don't even know what you're talking about!"

"No? I guess that the 'drones' I believe you said they were, are nothing more than a figment of my imagination. Of course he's been slow at releasing them out to society, trying to perfect his algorithm, and plus he doesn't want another run in with someone like you. Or in this case, a run in with you," He paused. "I think I know well who you're talking about."

She squirmed under his grasp and he began gripping harder. She kept back the tears no matter how hard it hurt her to, she couldn't let him see her weakness. "Alright!" She finally screeched. "Alright. . ." She squared him dead in the optics. Taking in a deep breath she was slow to release it. "How do I get your brother?"

He grinned. "I'm so glad you asked."

On time, sort of. . . Finally I've introduced Amoretta to the Cybertronians, though it be an unpleasent surprise and meeting. She shall be introduced to the Autobots soon, though secrets shall still be thought to be secret while they are truly known.