Hello! Here's another chapter, just for all you guys! I've just finished the end of Revenge of the Fallen and ooooooh boy. It is so hard to find a good spot to split up those chapters. Anyway! This chapter is beginning to reveal my favorite part of this whole series. It isn't fully out there, but it's hinted at.
Anyway, hope you all enjoy!
Kay had been at the base for a month now. She would mess around with Jazz, KiKi following like a lost kitten at her heels. Alpha would go off on her own to find scenic views she enjoyed to calm herself down. Optimus continued to work with the government and Ironhide began to steal Kay away to teach her about self-defense and weapons. Right now, she was in one of Ironhide's self-defense classes.
"Oof!" she gasped as her back rammed into the ground.
"You can do better," Ironhide stated as he stood back up. Kay laid there, regaining her breath.
"How am I supposed to take down a guy your size?" she groaned, sitting up. Ironhide only shrugged, waiting patiently. Kay pushed herself to her feet and took some deep breaths before digging into whatever new information had been shoved into her body since the last mission. Her eyes flashed as fighting techniques and information raced into her mind, imprinting themselves. She then chose a style and entered that stance.
Ironhide raised an eyebrow but otherwise went into his own stance, readying himself. After a few moments of studying each other Ironhide ran forward. With enhanced reflexes, Kay jumped to the side and used Ironhide's momentum to send him stumbling. He recovered quickly and returned to his normal stance, smirking.
"There's the skill." Kay shrugged then ran forward herself this time. She grabbed Ironhide's shoulders and used her momentum as much as she could to bring him down, even as he grabbed onto her exposed sides. The two went crashing down, Ironhide on his back and Kay ducking into a roll so she could recover. Ironhide continued his fall with his legs, pushing off the ground and bending in half to jump back onto his feet. Kay sighed.
"This isn't going to be easy, is it?" she asked. Ironhide shook his head with a smile.
"When is it ever?" Kay grumbled and went through the same technique, this time preparing her strength as she did so. When Ironhide crashed to the ground and she rolled out of the way Kay waved a hand and four restraints appeared, two on his wrists and two on his ankles. Even with the holoform's increased power, Ironhide couldn't break out. Kay smiled in triumph, collapsing onto her butt with a sigh of relief.
"Great, you won," Ironhide stated. "Now let me out." Kay's eyes flashed behind her glasses as they reformed into normal glasses, having been extended around her entire head so they would stay on, while she smirked.
"No," she stated innocently.
"Oh come on, Kay. Let him out." Kay gasped and leapt to her feet, looking towards the door to see five forms entering the room, one large and robotic. The one that spoke was Sam.
"Smammy!" she exclaimed as she vaulted over the ring's ropes. When she left the confine of the arena the binds trapping Ironhide to the floor disappeared, allowing the mech to disperse in a cloud of sparks and his real form to sit up and reanimate.
Kay jumped onto Sam, hugging him tightly. The boy laughed and hugged Kay back with one hand, the other behind his back. Quickly Kay continued on, hugging Mikaela, Judy, and Ron before running forward and glomping Bee's leg.
"Bee!" The Bot whirred in happiness, his doorwings perking up as telltale faint static signified he activated his vocal processor.
"Happy birthday, Kay!" the whole group said at the same time. Kay blushed and let go of Bee's leg, standing upright. Sam walked forward and brought a wrapped gift out from behind his back.
"Aw, you shouldn't have!" she stated. Judy waved a hand and huffed.
"Of course we had to, sweetheart! No one else would've gotten you a present." Kay didn't falter at the cold fact. It was true, anyway. She was an only child, both of her parents were only children, she never met her grandparents on her father's side, her grandmother was the only one alive on her mother's side, and her mother certainly wouldn't give her a present. Kay reached out and grabbed the box, testing it to try and guess first. When nothing rattled she frowned.
"You guys cheated." The four chuckled while Bee and Ironhide stood off to the side, the two talking in quiet tones about something. Kay pulled the red bow off the box and opened it carefully, freezing when she saw what was inside. Her family waited patiently, eager to see her reaction.
Reaching inside Kay pulled out an iPhone and another box with a well known 'b' cut out of a red circle. She set the box on the ground and stared at the two items.
"Well?" Judy prodded.
"I-I don't know what to say," Kay whispered. Her earlier earbuds had been destroyed in the battle and she had no idea what happened to her crappy Tracfone. "Thank you so much." Judy waved a hand again and leaned forward, hugging Kay close.
"No problem, sweetie. You have unlimited talk, text, and data all to yourself. The plan is a small part of your present from the Autobots." Kay glanced up at the two forms in surprise.
"You guys got me a present?" Bee's doorwings perked up and he stepped forward, holding out a hand. Kay, after setting the phone in her pocket and clutching the box with her new Beats headphones close, stepped onto his palm. The Bot carefully stood then started off towards the main hangar, Ironhide transforming and allowing the Witwickys and Mikaela to ride with him.
When Bee stepped into the hangar Jazz looked up from where he and Ratchet were working on something with their holoforms and smiled.
"Happy birthday, lil lady!" he called up. Kay smiled and waved at him.
"Thanks, Jazz!" Bee stopped and knelt again, letting Kay off before her transformed and activated his holoform beside her. He smiled at Kay when she glanced at him.
"Come here, Kaytlen," Ratchet called, out, finishing something up on a computer before looking up. Kay carefully walked over, handing her Beats to Bee when Ratchet told her to. "Close your eyes and hold your right hand out." Kay did so and felt a cold, metal object slide onto her wrist. The object contracted and loosened before settling on a comfortable size perfect for her wrist. "Now open them." Kay opened her eyes and inspected the metal bracelet with a small Autobot insignia that rested on her wrist.
"What is it?" she asked, looking up. Ratchet seemed anxious about something.
"It is a piece of our transformation and subspace technology, to help protect you." Kay's eyes widened.
"Really?" Alpha came padding into the room, KiKi resting on her back. The two had become close friends when they met, Alpha enjoying the other animalistic company and vice versa.
"Stand back and picture a weapon, whether it be a gun or melee weapon." Kay took a step back then pictured a sharp katana. Immediately the bracelet expanded into a gauntlet and from that gauntlet grew a shining black katana. The now adult stared in surprise at the weapon before spinning it around slowly, adjusting to it.
"This is so cool!" She pictured the gauntlet returning to normal, which it did, before leaping forward and hugging the three holoforms in front of her. Her family watched with smiles while Kay ran to Alpha and hugged her before marching over to Ironhide, the only Bot besides Optimus she hadn't hugged yet; and that was only because Optimus was busy these past few weeks.
"Ironhide, holoform in front of me right now, please," she demanded kindly. The Bot raised an eyebrow but otherwise slackened, his rough holoform appearing in front of Kay. Ironhide's holoform was pretty much a walking brick wall with a black short sleeve t-shirt, dark blue jeans, black military boots, shaggy black hair, dog tags with the Autobot symbol on them, and a light scar over his left eye.
"Yes?" he rumbled. Kay stood there a moment with a stern look before smiling lightly and jumping up, hugging Ironhide around the neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. The weapons specialist stumbled back in surprise, not knowing what to do. His facial expression was hilarious, a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, causing the Bots and humans present to laugh. Kay continued to hold tightly to the burly form, not making any motion to suggest she would let go.
"Hug her back, Hide!" Jazz called over his howling laughter. Tentatively the mech wrapped his arms around Kay, hugging her back. The girl smiled then finally let go, placing her hands on her hips.
"Four down, one to go." The sound of a large engine began to echo throughout the hangar, causing Kay to smirk mischievously. Optimus pulled up and activated his own holoform, a man in his mid to late thirties with dark blue hair, country trucker outfit, and Autobot dog tags. His plaid shirt was buttoned up and it itself was covered by a leather jacket that matched his alt form's paint job.
"Optimus!" Kay cheered. She ran forward and jumped on him as well. "Thanks, all you guys for the presents!" she called from her position around the Autobot leader's neck. Optimus had stumbled back before smiling lightly and hugging Kay.
"Happy birthday, Kaytlen." Kay smiled and let go, falling to the ground.
"I have now hugged every Bot! My objective is complete!" Ratchet glanced up at his leader.
"Do you have news on our living arrangements?" he asked expectantly. The rest of the Bots perked up as well.
"I do. With the assistance of Major Lennox, the government has decided to create a team to fight against any remaining Decepticons and are calling it NEST." Kay blinked in surprise.
"Major? Did he get promoted?" Optimus glanced at Kay and nodded before continuing.
"We are being moved to an abandoned air base in the British Indian Ocean Territory named Diego Garcia." Kay slackened in surprise.
"Indian Ocean?" Optimus looked back at Kay and smiled sadly.
"I'm sorry, Kaytlen, but you'll have to move back to your own house." After a few seconds, Kay shrugged.
"Alright. It's going to be hard getting used to 'normal life', but I guess I can do it." She smiled brightly even though she knew she would miss seeing the team and Alpha every day. She began to walk around and give each member a more somber hug, trying to calm Alpha when she reached the wolf.
I am not leaving you alone, the wolf growled over what Kay now knew was a bond due to their shared 'abilities'.
I'll be fine, Alpha. Bee will be able to watch me. Alpha snorted a blast of hot air. You can watch KiKi for me. Alpha reluctantly calmed, glancing back at the black cat sleeping peacefully on her back.
Fine. But if that Bumblebot lets anything happen to you I'll claw the remains of his vocal processor out. Kay frowned at the appearance of Alpha's darker side.
Please don't. Kay suddenly smirked. He's too cute. Alpha snorted again before Kay reached around and hugged her leg. The wolf lowered her muzzle over Kay for a second before they separated. Kay went over to the refusing Ratchet but only laughed and still hugged him. Then Jazz. Finally Bee held out the headphones for her, smiling sadly. Kay looked down at them for a moment before she set them against her hip and started for her room. Bee followed.
The Bot looked around her room, the walls still bare and desk untouched. He helped Kay pack in silence, only being a friend and helper rather than an intruder. When they finished Kay looked over the room once more.
"I'm gonna miss seeing these guys every day," she said quietly. Bee glanced at her and she turned to him as well. She smiled. "But I will get to see you guys every day."
Kay sat in her living room, eyes closed as she listened to music with one leg hanging over the side of the couch. The world was quiet and peaceful, and that was what she needed. Soon, she fell asleep.
"Daddy, come play with me." She looked around but saw nothing. The little girl's voice began to repeat 'Daddy', over and over, increasing in despair and volume. Soon, the child was screaming.
"Make it stop!" Kay shouted, covering her ears. Silence reigned, pressing heavily against her. When she opened her eyes she saw what could've only been Cybertron from the descriptions she got from Bee. Scenes flew around everywhere, mashed together snippets of different parts of Cybertron's history, going farther and farther back. They sped by, giving Kay a headache until they stopped on one image.
Two large Cybertronians standing, one casting a shadow of light and one of darkness. They were staring at the civilization below them, watching the images rushing past with intense fascination.
"How do you feel?" A deep voice asked. Kay jumped and spun around, seeing the light form now suddenly standing behind her. Kay hissed and grabbed her head.
"My head hurts," she groaned. The mech gave her a sympathetic frown.
"I guess there is still some time to go." The headache increased until Kay collapsed to the ground, waking in the real world.
0_0
Kay gasped and jerked up, refocusing on the world. She pushed up and found she was on the ground and the ray of light streaming in was from the moon. She sighed and sat up, rubbing her head and pushing her glasses out of the way.
Her eyes caught the date on the calendar. Tomorrow was the day. Slowly she stood, grabbing her phone and plugging it in before exiting her house. The summer air was the perfect temperature. At a leisurely pace, she made her way to the Witwicky's, walking up to Bee carefully.
"Bee?" The driver's side door opened in response and Kay quickly got in.
"What's the matter, Kay?" Bee asked, his holoform popping to life. Kay blinked as it emitted light too bright for her eyes. "Sorry," he said quickly, making it dimmer. "Forgot to turn auto back on."
"It's fine," she said quietly. Her feet went up onto the seat, sock and shoeless, and she hugged her ankles. Bee gained a concerned look and turned towards her.
"Kay?"
"I had a bad dream, is all," she quickly said. "And now that I'm awake I can't go back to sleep. Tomorrow being what it is and all." Bee glanced at Kay then the backseat. He crawled over the dashboard then freaked Kay out be getting a grip around her shoulders and knees then making the seat shrink down. The holoform barely shifted at the weight.
"Bee!" Kay exclaimed, clamping onto the holoform. He smirked as he sat back, the driver side seat returning to its original position. When he was laying comfortably with Kay in his lap Kay tried to move off of him, but he kept his grip. "Uh, Bee?" The holoform just smirked and tightened his grip, nuzzling into Kay's neck. Kay let out a squeak of surprise while Bee laughed, before huffing and laying back into the mech's holoform. "Fine."
A light shot of pain went through her head at the thought of the term 'mech' but she ignored it as her mind and thoughts began to calm. As she fell into light sleep, Bee smirked in triumph and laid his head lightly against Kay's.
Both beings jerked awake when Kay's dying phone went off. Kay jerked upwards then grumbled, reaching into her pocket and turning the alarm off. She then noticed Bee's grip around her, protective and tight yet not squeezing. She glanced at the holoform's arms then turned seeing Bee slowly returning to the real world. It wasn't fast enough for her, so she leaned back and pecked the man's cheek. His eyes widened and his arms slackened, allowing Kay to crawl away.
"Hey!" Bee exclaimed, crawling out behind her. Kay looked behind then ran, laughing as she did so. Her feet slammed against the pavement but it was a short distance, and her neighbor's grass was soft so she didn't worry. She reached her house and pushed the door open, slamming it in Bee's face. Running up the steps she jumped into the first room she chose and leapt into its closet, holding her breath.
A box poked into her back, but she had no time to look at it as Bee entered the room. He glanced around then stood there smirking.
"You do remember I'm an advanced alien robot, right?" he stated before looking straight at the closet. Kay held her breath then jumped out before Bee opened the doors, making both fall backwards onto her bed. Bee let out a strange mix between a laugh and a yelp, making Kay burst into her own laughter as she lay on his chest.
"Yeah, I remember," she said after she calmed, resting her chin atop her hands and her hands atop his chest. Bee leaned upwards and pressed his forehead to hers. After a moment Kay pushed off and sat up, jumping off the bed, turning back to the closet and looking towards the back. "You're keeping an eye on the others, right?" she asked as she looked for the box.
"Of course," Bee replied, sitting up. Kay found the box and pulled it out, seeing faded green cardboard. With protest the lid came off, displacing a thick layer of dust, before revealing a perfectly folded, small black dress. Bee watched as Kay stared at it, stiffening slightly.
"Well look at you!" Young Kay's grandmother exclaimed, crouching down. Kay whined and crossed her arms.
"I don't wanna wear it," she said. The grandma smiled at Kay then gestured at the living room.
"Wanna go talk with Grandpa?" Kay perked up and speed shuffled to the room, worrying about tripping in her dress.
"Grandpa!" she exclaimed as she entered the room. The old man looked up and smiled.
"Ah, my little Kay! How are we today?" he asked, kneeling down. Kay frowned as she stood in front of her grandfather.
"Grumpy. I don't want to wear this dress," she informed. Her grandfather smiled and poked her stomach.
"Why not? You look like an invincible ninja." Kay's eyes widened.
"An invisible ninja?" she asked. Her grandfather laughed.
"No, an invincible ninja. It means you can't be hurt." Kay cheered and hugged her grandfather who hugged back. She breathed in deeply the scent of the man before her parents and grandmother entered the room.
"Kay?" Kay blinked back into reality, staring at a small wet spot on the dress. "Are you alright?" Quickly she wiped away her tears and stood up, nodding.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Kay carefully put the dress back in the box then put the box on her bed. She turned back to Bee, mischievousness returning to her eyes. "Now you stay here and don't walk in on me changing." She left the surprised Bot behind as she walked across the hall and into her mother's room, opening the closet. Standing out amongst all the bright colors was the dress she was looking for.
Kay grabbed it and began to change, slipping into the dress. She paused for a moment when she saw her stomach, the scar standing out against her tan skin. A sigh escaped as she continued pulling the dress up. The silk-like cloth conformed to her body before settling into place.
She stared at her exposed arms for a moment. Muscles galore had formed from the rigorous training Ironhide insisted he put her through. Internally she was kept quite healthy by Ratchet, and her powers had increased ten-fold with training from Alpha.
She was a perfect fighting machine.
A knock stirred her from her thoughts. She stood and opened the door for Bee, turning her back to sit at her mom's vanity table and begin brushing her hair. Kay let it out of the purposeful braid she had it in and smiled when it came out perfectly curled. With a few brushes, it was smooth. Kay turned back to see Bee staring at her and smirked.
"Need something?" The Bot jerked out of his thoughts and ended up blushing lightly.
"N-no. I'm good." Kay leaned across to the outside of the closet and went to grab the flat bottom sandals she was going to wear when Bee suddenly appeared, kneeling and grabbing the sandals. Kay tentatively sat back while Bee grabbed one of her feet and slipped it into the sandal. His hands were gentle as he tightened the straps then went to Kay's other foot, silent the entire time. When he finished Kay turned to him.
"Why'd you do that?" she asked quietly. Bee smiled, helping her up. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, causing Kay to blush furiously.
"Because I could," he replied as he pulled back. When he saw Kay's red cheeks he laughed, sending goosebumps through the woman. "And because it got me my revenge." Kay huffed and pushed Bee back, causing him to laugh harder.
"Shut up," she muttered half-heartedly as she walked past him and down the steps. She glanced at the bracelet from the Bots and wondered if it could change colors. Picturing it, she smiled as the bracelet grew to a size where it would dangle lightly and turned black. "Thank you, Ratchet," she said aloud, continuing down the steps.
As she went to the island to grab her piano book Bee came down the steps and waited for her. He held an arm out for Kay with a smile, the woman placing her own in his. Together they left the house and went back to the Witwickys who were just filing out of their own house. Judy looked up and gushed.
"Oh, Kay, you look beautiful!" she exclaimed. Kay blushed while Bee smirked, his holoform disappearing and alt purring to life. Both doors swung open and Ron and Judy got in first, followed by Sam and Kay. As they began towards the cemetery Kay glanced at Sam.
"Is Mikaela coming?" Sam shook his head.
"Her dad gets out on parole today." Kay nodded and rested her head against the window, smiling lightly as Bee tightened the seatbelt comfortingly.
The drive took ten minutes. Kay stepped out of the passenger seat and pushed it forward for the Witwicky adults. After they climbed out Bee made his holoform appear, this time in a black suit with black dress shoes and a small black rose. Kay glanced at the flower.
"How'd you make that?" she asked. Bee smiled and reached into a pocket on the suit, bringing out a slightly static charged corsage made of black roses, slipping it onto Kay's left wrist.
"We can make almost anything with these generators," he said. Kay looked down at it and petted the petals lightly before she heard her grandmother's voice.
"There is my little Kay!" she said. Kay turned and smiled, walking over to her grandmother who was sitting in a wheelchair being pushed by someone on her grandfather's side.
"Hi, Grandma," Kay said happily, leaning down and hugging the woman. Her grandmother noticed the people behind her.
"Who are your friends?" Kay smiled and gestured towards the family first.
"These are the Witwickys, Grandma. Judy is the one who finally called the police." The three introduced themselves while the elderly woman grasped Judy's hand.
"Thank you for saving my granddaughter," she said. Judy smiled.
"Of course. She's the daughter we never had, and the sister Sammy never got." Kay smiled at the comment then pulled Bee to her grandmother's attention.
"This is Ben, Grandma. He's a friend we met at the end of the school year. Though we may call him Bee on accident," she explained. Bee easily shook the old woman's hand.
"Nice to meet you, Bee." Kay smiled at her grandmother's humor. "Kay, dear, are you ready? After the eulogies, we are going out to your grandfather's resting place. Some of your cousins set up a piano there." Kay nodded.
"Of course."
Kay finished the song with a flourish and continued to play the chords as one of her second cousins or something motioned for her to do so. Her grandfather was lowered into the ground and a couple more of Kay's distant relatives began to cover his coffin. When they finished so did Kay, rising to her feet and walking over to her grandmother. She carefully knelt and gave the woman a hug before heading over to the Witwickys.
"Are you ready to go, Kay?" Judy asked quietly, her make up smudged very slightly from her tears. Kay looked back towards her grandfather one last time before turning to the group and nodding.
"Yeah. I'm ready."