Wow, I'm surprised that no one caught how Charlotte's mama is working with Timber Wolves...oh well.
Oh and just for the record, this story has the characters from the Bay-Universe, TFP, and TF Cybertron. All the autobots and d-cons from those universes are used, just so you readers have an idea who is in da story.
Chapter 11: The Hunter
It had been a year since Optimus had apologized to Charlotte. The year had proved to be a rather uneventful one. The only major events consisted of Charlotte starting high school, Tony getting a car, and Optimus getting weekly checkups from Charlotte and her friends. These 'checkups' comprised of unwanted car washes, robot mode included, and the teenagers constantly having Optimus rearrange his place so it was more comfortable. He had protested at first; but eventually gave in to the teenagers' peer pressure. Apart from those events, Charlotte's year as a fifteen-year-old was quiet, which was preferred by the Prime. He was able to stay off the military grid by sticking to familiar roads that hadn't caused trouble in the past. He even made sure to avoid popular government places, such as national parks and monuments. He thought it was a successful year, the only downer to him was the week before Charlotte had started high school. The family was on the annual camping trip again and Optimus was looking forward to hiking with Charlotte and investigating his crash site. He didn't get to do what he planned. Given Charlotte's history of getting lost and subsequently discovering an alien robot, her parents banned her from leaving their sight on that camping trip.
But all of that was in the past, and this year's camping trip was going to be way better than the previous year. Charlotte's parents would let her go hiking so long as Tony went with her. That didn't hinder Optimus' plan, being how Tony already knew about him, he could just come along with them.
"Alright guys, let's not make this hike too long. I'm not a nature freak like you guys."
"Ah, come on Tony! This'll be fun!" Charlotte giggled excitedly as she was being lifted up by Optimus. He put her on his shoulder. "Tony, come on up here!" Tony sighed an 'alright' and then he was also lifted by Optimus and put on his other shoulder.
Leo jumped out of Charlotte's backpack. "Okie dokie, let's get this party started!" Leo said after he had climbed to the top of Optimus's head.
The Prime huffed, thinking of how ridiculous he must look with a human on each shoulder and a little transformer dancing on his head. But he had learned to swallow his pride since his arrival on Earth. Optimus took off in the direction of his crash site from two years ago. On approach, he decided to send out an EMP; he didn't want to risk being detected if the government left any traps. The trip wasn't a quiet one with Tony and Charlotte having their sibling rivalries and Leo blasting music the entire time according to the mood of the conversation. So Optimus was more than relieved when they reached their destination and set them all on the ground. "How strange…" Optimus stated to no one in particular.
"Yeah it is," Charlotte agreed as she looked around. The crater that Optimus had made when he landed was totally filled in with dirt. The entire area looked as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever occurred there, "Weird…" As a safety precaution, Optimus did several scans of the area. His scans picked up two metal devices that had not been there the day he landed. He zoomed in on one, and saw that it was some type of machine. Judging by the antennas and little satellite dish, it was a detector of some sort. It was currently offline, most likely due to the EMP he sent out earlier. Optimus silently thanked his life experiences for making him so well prepared.
"Well I guess the Feds were here and cleaned up the mess. Oh well…" Tony wasn't at all bothered about the situation. He didn't see a reason to be worried, there really wasn't anything that could be done. He decided to change the wary atmosphere. "Hey shorty! I bet I could climb up Optimus faster than you!" Tony challenged.
Charlotte looked at Optimus for permission. He just shrugged, giving her the okay. "You're on!" She and her brother dashed for Optimus, but just as they got close enough to climb, he started walking backwards at a fast pace.
"I never said I was gonna make this easy for you two." He smirked as he continued to keep his distance.
"Leave it to you to make things difficult." Charlotte laughed. She picked up her pace and reached Optimus right before Tony did. Optimus stopped walking so his moving parts wouldn't hurt them as they climbed him. Tony's advantage was height, so his reach was greater than his sister's. He was covering a lot of ground. But since Charlotte was with Optimus more, she knew where all the little kinks were. She also forgot to mention to Tony that she was used to climbing Optimus, but normally she would climb him when he was walking. It just made things easier for her when Optimus stood still. She was soon at his shoulder, but didn't stop there. Tony barely got to Optimus's shoulder when he heard his sister's voice from above, "I win!" she cried mockingly, yet victoriously from her crisscrossed position on Optimus's head.
"What!?" Tony was clearly shocked and out of breath. "Why do I get the feeling that you played me, shorty?" Tony was shaking his head.
"Maybe," Charlotte replied guiltily. She slid down and helped Tony onto the giant, red shoulder.
Leo didn't help. He laughed, "Ha ha! You got beat by a girl!"
Optimus did what looked like an 'eye roll'. He has picked up a lot of human habits since his arrival to earth. Leo had yet to take Optimus's 'growing up' advice. "Alright alright, let's get you kids back before your parents start to get worried." He looked at Charlotte, "Or before we find any unexpected visitors from the sky." He started walking away from his crash site.
"Hey now, that was awesome!" she argued. She and Tony were now sitting on the edge, letting their legs swing. "Besides if we do find another Cybertronian, maybe he or she could be Tony's protector. That would be cool…"
"I don't need protecting," exclaimed Tony. He thought for a second about what Charlotte had just said and replied, "Wait, you protect her? From what?"
"Not from anything, really," Optimus said matter-of-factly as he maneuvered between two trees. "When I first got here, I decided to take Charlotte as my charge. Since she has helped me adjust to this planet, I wanted to protect her in turn."
"Though I'm never really in danger. I'm not an 'alien bad news' magnet y'know." Charlotte winked at her older brother. He just half heartedly shoved her with his shoulder.
Cybertron
Well actually, it's more like one of Cybertron's moons, for that was the new Autobot headquarters. The past two years had taken a heavy toll on the small autobot army. Year one: they lost their leader to the stars and had to adjust to a new chain of command. Year two: the autobots lost Iacon to the decepticons thanks to the spy that Ironhide had yet to sniff out. The attack happened right at the changing of shifts, so it was no mere coincidence. And the autobot leader did not believe in coincidence, so the attack proved that his spy theory was correct. During the brutal attack, he decided to retreat to one of the planet's moons, that way he could keep a better optic on everyone. The only one allowed to leave was Bumblebee. Ironhide would send the scout to Cybertron to try and find a better place to call HQ.
Jetfire was hesitant to send the young scout. "Are ya sura tha traita isn't 'em?" His question earned him one of Ironhide's intimidating 'are you serious' looks, making the air commander feel stupid for even asking.
"You honestly think Bee is the spy?" Ironhide's stare was unwavering. "Come on, Jetfire, the kid got his voice box ripped out by Megatron himself."
Jazz walked in to hear the last part of the conversation. He saw how Jetfire looked down in the gutters and decided to help him out. "Yo, take it easy. The mech is just being cautious."
Ironhide looked at Jazz, just to see a big cheesy smile on his face. "I guess you're right." He turned to the green mech, "Sorry Jetfire" Ironhide didn't see the lit up expression on the flier's face, for it was hidden behind his mask. But Jetfire excused himself, and left the command center. Ironhide looked back to Jazz, "So…why you here?" He never bothered to be formal with Jazz; they were too close of friends and it would be downright weird.
"Oh, I'm just here ta update the spy list. All I got are more definite autobots for ya. "
"Well shoot, let's hear 'em. And don't forget the reasoning for each."
"Okay, well we already know you, Chromia, Ratch, Jet, and I are the good guys, just to make that clear. From the sounds of it, Bumblebee was added to that list with the whole voice box thing. I'm adding Prowl being how he was supposed to be second in command, but his ninja training got in the way. We both know he is on our side."
"True, and he was always one for justice. I mean he was a cop before the war." Ironhide added.
"Yep, I also want to add Hotshot and Sideswipe. Bee and I race them all the time, so we talk a lot. They've never given us any doubt about them being autobots. They're just bots who wanna kick the decepticon's afts!"
"That's not enough to put them on the list. Hotshot doesn't always think things through and is impulsive. His body works faster than his mind, not all that trust worthy." Ironhide growled.
"Yeah, that be true, but his spark is in the right place." Jazz did know Hotshot had a record of disobeying orders, but his reasons were always understandable. Well…for the most part anyways, Jazz thought to himself. "What about Sideswipe?"
Ironhide felt bad for the skilled, silver mech. Ever since his twin brother heroically perished in battle, he had been working harder. Trying to make himself better, faster, stronger so that no other autobot had to die. The Iacon attack really hadn't helped. The decepticons had sprayed him, Prowl, and Wheeljack with some liquid. Nothing happened at first, but the Cons were able to drop the temperature so low that it was dangerous for Cybertronians to be out in it for long. The three autobots hit with the liquid instantly froze and they were helpless. Ironhide had called a retreat after he saw them freeze, not knowing what was wrong with them. The autobots retrieved their comrades, and retreated to one of Cybertron's moons. When they had all defrosted, Wheeljack had said he would go all wrecker on the cons and give them hell. Prowl thought he was overreacting, but he was pretty shaken up for a guy who always kept his cool. Sideswipe was just as furious as Wheeljack, but he handled his problem by constantly moving to stay warm. "I'll talk to Jetfire about those two. They both have interesting cases. Who's next?"
"Oh right, I'm pretty sure Landmine is one of us. He is one of the older bots that we've always gone to when we aren't sure what to do. Plus, he trained more than half our army to be excellent fighters. Heck, he probably raised half our army!" Jazz laughed.
Ironhide shared the laugh with him. Everything he said was true, Landmine was one of them. "Alright, that it?" he asked. It was getting late and he was anxious to catch some recharge with Chromia; he hadn't seen her all day now that he thought about it…
"Nope, one more. Bulkhead should be on the list. Yeah, he's not the most graceful mech but-"
Ironhide cut Jazz off. "No! He and Wheeljack are high on the suspect list. They were both wreckers; definitely not the trustworthy type. Some of them even went con after a while. It's not happening Jazz, he is not going on the list." Ironhide stated aggressively.
"Well alrighty then!" a little surprised by his friend's outbreak, "somebody gots trust issues." Jazz received one of Ironhide's irritated looks. "Okay okay, calm down, but yeah…that was it for now. All the other bots have itsy-bitsy question marks next to their names. But hey, since we know Prowl is definitely with us, he can use his awesome police skillz and help us out. Uh huh, yeah!" Jazz was stoked that his buddy was no longer a suspect.
"Just make sure we don't tip the spy off that we are on to him." Ironhide commanded.
"Or her! We don't really know if it's a mech or femme. For all we know, we got a bad girl on our hands!" Jazz chuckled. That would be fun! He thought.
"Get out…"
Jazz started heading for the exit. "For all we know, it's your girl that's the bad girl!" Jazz booked it out the command center as he heard Ironhide's cannons power up. "I'm out!"
Ironhide sat back down, shuttering his optics while rubbing his forehead, rather frustrated. His hunt for the traitor was taking a heavy toll on him. He didn't hear the light footsteps approaching him from behind. He was about to hit the bot in the gut and flip him over when he felt it touch him, but relaxed when he realized the touch was soft. He let baby blue, silver arms snake around his neck and upper chest from behind. A playful "gotcha" was whispered into his audio receptor. Ironhide growled playfully back and pulled his assailant onto his lap. "Now I gotcha." He purred.
"So Jazz thinks I'm a bad girl. Lets go to our private quarters and prove him right." Chromia was quite playful at the moment.
Ironhide was happy to oblige. He was about to reply when they heard someone clear their throat loudly. The couple looked towards the doorway to see the two youngest bots, Moonshadow and Bumblebee standing there. Bumblebee was looking down, blushing. Moonshadow had a slightly disgusted look on his face, which was interesting being how he was one of those bots who always had a poker face on and never let his emotions get in the way of things. He was the one that cleared his throat, and he was the one who broke the awkward silence. "Um…commanders…get a room."
Bumblebee tried to stifle a laugh, which wasn't all that successful. Moonshadow had guts of steel to speak to his superiors like that! And not just any superiors, but the toughest autobots of all time!
Chromia laughed at how Ironhide was so embarrassed. "Right, we'll be going. Night boys." She grabbed her mate's hand and led them to their room for the start of an already interesting night.
Charlotte's second year of high school was harder than the first, mainly due to the heavier homework load. She made sure to balance her time well so she could be active in sports, keep a high GPA, and still have a social life. She had great stamina and was a fast runner, so her coaches always had her in a sport. She kept her GPA so high mainly due to her tutor. Whenever she didn't quite understand something, he would automatically know what needed to be worked on. He constantly kept her on her toes. He was also a great study partner. Her private tutor knew everything due to his endless accessibility to, well, everything. His advance alien technology was quite helpful, but Optimus never gave her the answers. He made sure she understood it inside and out.
"I got the best tutor in the world!" Charlotte hugged Optimus's hand that was resting beside her. "It makes so much more sense now! Like, I understand most of what the teacher is saying, but we could've gone into more detail in class so we wouldn't be as confused." Charlotte turned and leaned on the giant blue hand that she had just hugged, and looked up at Optimus. "Thanks!"
"It is always a pleasure to help you grow in your learning." Optimus was sitting at his stone table, with Charlotte sitting in front of him, his arms surrounding her. After school they would drop Leo off at the house, since he was a major distraction, while Charlotte grabbed a snack. Then they would go to Optimus' place and Charlotte would work on her homework while Optimus worked on a project of his own. She would work cross-legged on the table top. If she needed help, Optimus would come over behind her and look over her shoulder to see what was wrong. Charlotte would explain what she was working on and why she needed help. Optimus would pull up a stone chair and work out the problem with her.
Optimus was very smart when it came to math and science. The only subjects he had to research were History and English, those subjects had very little in common with what he already knew. He found Earth's history fascinating, and absolutely loved to help Charlotte out when it came to that subject. Charlotte thought it was funny how Optimus liked to know how nations won wars, but he completely hated Shakespeare.
"I barely understand how humans talk today with all this sarcasm. And then there's this guy who's just like 'frag it, ima confuse y'all more' unbelievable."
Charlotte could never hide a smile when she heard Optimus talk so freely. She noticed he rarely ever showed his true colors. He always put up a military commander front, only letting tiny bits out here and there. Charlotte also noticed how he was only this way when they were alone. When he was around Leo or Tony he acted like a protective big brother who would take a joke, but not make one back. Around her friends, he acted like a watchful babysitter. He was always polite, but seemed like he would rather be somewhere else. Probably up in space, Charlotte thought. Wait! Space! She jumped up, remembering something her science teacher told the class.
"Hey Optimus! I just remembered something really cool! Wanna know what it is?"
"Since it looks like you're dying to tell me," Optimus was only sarcastic with Charlotte. "What is it?" he asked.
"There's gonna be a meteor shower tonight! It's supposed to be in this area around the hours of one to three. I really, really want to see it!"
The news intrigued the Prime. "Then you should. Just let your parents know and I'm sure they'll let you go on the roof of your house and watch it." He was thinking about watching it himself. He never had time on Cybertron to just stop, and look up at the stars.
"Yeah I'm sure they would let me, but I wanna watch it with you." She said sweetly.
"Why?"
"Well you're from space, I thought it would be cool to watch a meteor shower with my alien friend. Plus, I'm pretty sure you wanna watch it too so why not together." She smiled.
Optimus let a small smile form. "Okay then, I'll pick you up at 12:50."
"Sweet! I'll bring snacks!" She yelled as jumped up with a fist in the air. "Well I'll see ya later, bye!" She went home and told Leo what she and Optimus had talked about and invited him to come too.
"Nah, I'll pass. I don't wanna wake up at that time; I need my beauty sleep." Leo declined from Charlotte's lap top that was currently in the kitchen. He was looking at the new IPods for a possible upgrade he could scan.
"Alright drama queen, what about you Tony?" She asked her brother who was looking for something to eat in the fridge.
"No, I'm gonna pass on this one too. I have to get up early since Ima help dad out tomorrow. Maybe next time," he never bothered to pull his head out of the fridge as he answered.
"You guys are lame." Charlotte packed some candy in a backpack, and put a blanket in it too, along with a small radio she could plug her phone into. She went to bed early that night just so she wouldn't be so tired later on.
Right at 12:50 a.m., Charlotte heard a tapping on her window. Well isn't he very punctual, she thought sleepily. She slowly sat up, stretched, and yawned. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw her room was lit up with a faint yellow light. She knew the light source was Optimus's optics. Charlotte quickly went to the bathroom to wash the sleep out of her eyes and rinse out her mouth in case she had bad breath. She then picked up the backpack that had the goods, her phone, and went to open the window. She climbed into Optimus's waiting hand, and they headed off into a part of the forest that had enough space for Optimus to lay down. It didn't take them long, and before Charlotte knew it, they were in an open grass clearing.
"I calculated that this area will give us an excellent view. And it just happens to be a very comfortable spot." Optimus said as he put Charlotte on the ground.
"Okie dokie, you go ahead and get comfortable. Ima set up," She pulled the little radio out of the backpack and plugged her phone into it. She went to her music, and put the 'Zoned Out' playlist on shuffle. Soon, a calm melody started playing. "Boo yeah!" She heard Optimus chuckle. She looked around and saw the autobot leader lying flat on his back. He had one leg propped up and one of his hands was behind his head, while the other resting at his side. He looked comfortable. "Hey, scooch over."
Optimus breathed out, "right," but didn't move. Charlotte climbed up his side, and in no time, was standing on top his chest. She walked over the blue glass on his chest and stopped in the middle. She laid down and mimicked Optimus's position.
"This is comfortable." Charlotte admitted. She was looking up, waiting to see a shooting star and listening to the music.
"Yes…it is," Optimus agreed. He was finally starting to relax when he heard a howl off in the distance. He knew there was nothing to worry about, but as a safety precaution for Charlotte, he laid the hand that wasn't behind his head over Charlotte in a protective manner.
Charlotte laughed at his security, "Don't worry, the big bad wolf won't get us." But she did appreciate his actions. His hand blocked out the wind and kept her warm. She even held onto one of his fingers, just so he would know she wanted him to keep his hand there. "What time is it?" she asked since they still hadn't seen anything in the sky.
Optimus check his internal clock. "It is 1:10."
"Aw, come on," Charlotte complained.
"Be patient, little one." Optimus thought of something to help pass the time. "Are you familiar with constellations, Charlotte?"
"Only a couple," she sighed. But she welcomed the distraction to help pass the time. She looked around the night sky. "Oh! See that one there?" She pointed up, and Optimus tried his best to see what she was pointing at from his angle. "That's the Big Dipper, the little one gots ta be around here somewhere…"
"Is that it?"
Charlotte twisted around so she could see where he was pointing, only, he wasn't pointing at all. He was just looking up. "It might help if you pointed it out oh smart one." She turned back around and when she looked up, she saw the Little Dipper. "Oh, found it!" She looked around some more, and saw another familiar constellation. "Hey, that one right there, that's Orion."
"What!?" Optimus asked surprised. If he translated 'Orion' into his language it…was…his…
"Orion the Great Hunter, it's a constellation. Why do you sound so surprised?" Charlotte asked, curious by his outburst.
"It's nothing," Optimus replied, the shock wearing off.
"Nah, come on. I've never seen you so shocked before. 'Orion' hit a nerve." Charlotte was lying on her stomach, looking up at Optimus, trying to read his expressions.
"I don't want to talk about it." Optimus replied dryly, his expression stern.
"You never wanna talk about these things." Charlotte sat up fully now, Optimus's hand falling to his side again. "Whenever the subject turns to you and your personal stuff, you change it instantly. It's always either about my life and my problems, or the war on Cybertron. You barely talk about your friends, and when you do, they're one word answers. Are you like this with them?"
Optimus was looking down at her. He saw the frustration in her eyes. "Yes, I am always like this, around everybody."
"But why? It's not healthy. Don't you let anyone in?" Charlotte was trying to figure out why he acted the way he did. From the sounds of it, even around his so called 'friends' he acts very professional, pretty much the way he acts with her friends.
"As a Prime I cannot let anyone in." Optimus pulled Charlotte out of her thoughts. "It is my duty to lead my people to the best of my ability. Without any personal attachments, I can fulfill that duty without additional problems." Charlotte looked down, surprised, she never thought about it that way, but Optimus continued. "I dare not get close to any of my troops. It hurts enough as it is when they perish in battle, but if I had a strong connection to them and they die, I would be too distracted by their death. I need to lead with a clear head." Charlotte looked back up when she heard him stop talking. She saw how sad he looked. "But…I am not perfect. I do have close friends in my army. And I know that if they were to die, I would be unfit for duty…" Optimus trailed off.
With the silence, Charlotte could hear a new song begin to play. She heard the soft strumming of a guitar. "You know," she started; wanting to help her friend, "on Earth, you're technically not on duty. If you ever wanted to talk," she stopped. She saw a shooting star reflect off Optimus's optic.
"Look Charlotte," Optimus picked her up and laid her back on her back. She held his finger so his hand would stay where it was. They both were silent as they watched the meteor shower. Charlotte watched, and listened to the lyrics of the music.
Is your favorite color blue?
Do you always tell the truth?
Do you believe in outer-space?
Now I'm learning you
Is your skin as tanned as mine?
Does your hair flow sideways?
Did someone take a portion of your heart?
Now I'm learning you
And if you don't mind
Can you tell me
All your hopes and fears
And everything that you believe in
Would you make a difference in the world
I'd love for you to take me to a deeper conversation
Only you can make me
I've let my guard down for you
And in time you will too
And if you don't mind
Can you tell me
All your hopes and fears
And everything that you believe in
Would you make a difference in the world
I'd love for you to take me to a deeper conversation
Only you can make me
The song soon ended, replaced by some piano song. But Charlotte wanted to have a deeper conversation with the Prime. "Optimus…what does Orion really mean to you?" she quietly questioned.
Optimus wanted to open up, so badly, but he had not shared his story with anyone; not even his mentor Alpha Trion. "I can't Charlotte. But please, try to enjoy the meteor shower. And forget I told you anything."
"Easier said than done." Charlotte mumbled. The sky was being lit up beautifully. Optimus had chosen a nice spot, if he would only open up…another song caught her attention.
Game after game we play
Our twisted snakes and ladders
Time for the rules to change
You're in my arteries
You're bolting through my body
I'll never be the same
So why won't you
Talk to me?
Why won't you just talk to me?
There's a universe inside your head
Constellations of the things you left unsaid
Talk to me
Or watch me leave
Charlotte was tempted to just get up and leave. Things had gotten weird between her and Optimus.
Wave after wave of your meaningless conversation
Changing the subject again
Are you ever gonna wake up?
Are you ever gonna wake up?
Or are you gonna let me just walk away?
All you need to do is talk to me
Why won't you just talk to me?
There's a universe inside your head
Constellations of the things you left unsaid
Talk to me
You will bite your tongue until it bleeds
Hanging by the skin of your own teeth
Silence is your loudest scream
I don't know why you're hiding
You will bite your tongue until it bleeds
Hanging by the skin of your own teeth
Silence is your loudest scream
I don't know why you're hiding
She didn't know why Optimus was hiding. She also couldn't wrap her head around the thought of never talking about anything personal to anyone. It can't be healthy to bottle up all your feelings; eventually it explodes. Charlotte heard the chorus play a few more times, but then the last part of the song played. Optimus was also listening.
Game after game we play
Our twisted snakes and ladders
Time for the rules to change
Charlotte was a little surprised when she was suddenly picked up and brought to Optimus's face. "Charlotte," she looked at him and saw the determination on his face. "Orion…is my true name. It is a name I have not been called since my childhood, since the night of my brother's death…"
The songs used are "Deeper Conversation" by Yuna and "Talk to Me" by Lauren Aquilina. Next chapie gonna have Optimus's troubled past revealed! yea! And thanks to everyone that is reading this story and leaving awesome reviews! Thanks guys!