EARLIER, PET SHOP
Optimus couldn't help but feel that it was his fault. He had upset me, and I still hadn't come back yet. It had been hours since I had run off. He wouldn't stop pacing around the pet shop. Donovan told him several times that I was okay and I was probably on my way back and walk through the doors at any minute, but Optimus could tell he was worried too.
"Who was the boy that upset her before?" Optimus finally spoke.
"That was Ethan. He was the only guy that she dated, and it only lasted for a little over a month. Something happened, and it changed her. She became shy and secluded. She isolated herself from other people. Other guys asked her out after that, but she always declined immediately. It was like she couldn't trust anyone anymore."
"She asked to sleep in my quarters once," Optimus said lowly.
"She did?" Donovan asked, shocked. Optimus nodded.
"She must trust you a lot if she did that," Donovan told him. Optimus had come to the same conclusion, but the fact that Donovan had said it out loud made it believable.
"What happened between Ethan and Mika?" he asked.
"No one knows. The only people who could possibly know are Nathan and Ryan, their dad."
"Ryan is not their dad," Optimus told him. "They're parents and their siblings were murdered by the Decepticons for information." Optimus had told Donovan what Mika had been doing for the past two months.
Donovan's face turned red. "Of all the things she's gone through…" he growled.
"I do not think she knows about it. She was only three when it happened," Optimus explained.
Donovan was still angry about it, but he was also relieved.
Then he remembered Nathan, and his fiery temper returned.
"I hate 'cons," he snarled, then became silent but still furious.
And then, without warning, a scream pierced through the night. Donovan paled immediately.
Optimus and Donovan looked at each other and seemed to share an unspoken thought.
Optimus let his holoform flicker away, and he swerved out of the parking lot and onto the road, his tires squealing. He raced towards where he had heard the scream.
When he reached the woods, he drove off the road and sped between the trees. He heard a metallic whine and he drove even faster. He recognized the sound and knew it was only a matter of time.
What made his spark stop was when Lazerbeak started to fire.
Optimus changed into his bipedal form, his servos already changing into energon blasters.
He heard an enormous roar, deafening to humans anywhere near, just as he crashed through the last of the trees and came into a small clearing.
Lazerbeak was still firing, and Optimus took the moment to aim and fire at Lazerbeak. The blast hit one of its wings, and plummeted. It disappeared through a groundbridge before hitting the ground.
Optimus ran to where Lazerbeak had been firing. The ground was blackened from the energon blasts.
Optimus just stood there, trying not to believe it.
I was gone.
Then, something moved.
At the center of the blackened area, something slowly crawled to the side, exposing what lay underneath.
Me.
-flashback-
I slammed into something, and my body exploded in pain, but it wasn't the ground.
After I realized I wasn't dead, I opened one eye, then the other.
Whatever I had landed on wiggled out from underneath me. I cried out as my leg erupted in pain.
The thing that hit me started to fire at me, and the thing underneath me put itself between me and the blasts, protecting me, until Optimus came and shot it.
-flashback ends-
Optimus knelt down, which shook the ground, and I whimpered at the pain. My eyes were squeezed shut and my hands clamped over my ears. I felt the cool air flow over me, and I opened my eyes and pulled my hands away from my ears.
"Optimus?" I asked hoarsely, not believing my eyes.
He nodded, then looked at what had saved me from Lazerbeak.
Or, rather, who.
It was a huge Cybertronian cat. Its back was smoking from all the blasts it had taken. The metal plates had melted, and now they were starting to harden into one giant metal plate on its back. It heaved a ragged sigh and looked at me with pained green optics.
-Optimus to base, I need a groundbridge and Medbay prepared- Optimus said over the comm link.
He received no answer.
-Optimus to base- he repeated.
Still no answer. He came to the conclusion that either no one was at base or the comm link was down. Neither of which was a good thing.
"Can you walk?" he asked the Cybertronian.
"I believe so," it said in a female voice. She heaved herself up with a groan.
"There is a pet store nearby, and the man there will not mind if you stay and rest there. We will be there soon," he told her. She nodded and limped off.
Optimus looked back at me. "Can you walk?"
I sat up, clenching my teeth against the pain, and slowly stood up, using Optimus' servo to help keep my balance. I took a deep breath and stepped.
I cried out in pain, and I fell, but Optimus caught me. My ankle was swollen twice the size it was supposed to be.
Optimus sat me gently on the ground and changed into his semi form. His holoform appeared beside me. He gently picked me up, bridal style.
"What are you doing?" I asked, shocked.
"You are in no condition to walk, Mika," he said. With that, he carried me to the cab and gently set me into the passenger seat. Despite the pain, I blushed.
His holoform flickered away, then reappeared inside the cab. I saw he was trying to hide so many different feelings, which made me remember how I had treated him and the fact that my brother was murdered.
I held back my tears as long as I could, but I didn't last forever.
We got to Donovan's pet store, and Optimus carried me inside. The Cybertronian cat was lying on the floor on her side, her intakes deep and ragged.
My entire body hurt, but it was my ankle that was throbbing painfully and my eyes misted, but all I could think about was how I treated Optimus when he first got here.
"I need to tell you something-" I hiccupped, but Optimus interrupted me.
"Not now. First we need to take care of your ankle. Then you can tell me," he said. He set me on a chair, and Donovan pulled up a chair and laid my leg on it. He grabbed a roll of something and started to wrap my ankle tightly.
I squeezed the armrests of the chair so hard my knuckles were white, my nails digging into the fabric.
As Donovan worked on my ankle, Optimus talked with the Cybertronian cat. I couldn't really pay much attention to their conversation.
Thankfully, Donovan worked quickly, and I was finally able to let go of the armrests. My hands were stiff but I rubbed them until the feeling went away.
"Okay," Donovan said. "That should do it."
"Thank you," I replied, giving him a grateful nod.
"You're like family. Family takes care of each other," he told me with a smile, and walked off to go find something.
Optimus walked over and sat down in the chair opposite to me. "What did you want to tell me, Mika?" I looked away, still ashamed I had treated him like that.
"I… I wanted to apologize for earlier. I'm sorry that I treated you like that," I said. I looked at him. His eyes were soft.
"It is alright. I am just glad that you are okay," he told me. I gave him a small smile.
Then, I had an idea, but it made me blush a little.
Could you help me up?" I asked, for once able to control my stuttering without sounding weird.
Optimus got up and held his hand out. I grasped it, and he pulled me up gently, one hand holding mine, the other on my elbow. I winced at the pain, but it wasn't unbearable.
"Lean your weight on me," he instructed, placing my arm around his shoulders. I blushed even more.
I hesitated. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Okay," I said, unsure, but I leaned on him a little.
"Don't be afraid to put your weight on me," he encouraged. "I can support your weight easily."
"Gee, thanks for the confidence booster," I said, smiling, thinking it was somewhat funny. I hesitated at first, but I finally put most of my weight on him, using him as support, and we slowly walked to the Cybertronian cat.
I sat down on the floor next to her, against Optimus' protests otherwise.
"What is your name?" I asked softly.
"…Shadestar…" she sighed.
Do you think you are doing to be alright?" Her great helm slowly nodded.
"…..probably….."
You should recharge until the comm link is fixed, Shadestar. Then we can have Ratchet repair you," Optimus told her.
She raised her helm a little off the ground.
"Who are you? The minute I saw you, I knew you were someone of importance, but other than that, I have no clue," she said, her optic ridges forming into a frown.
"I am Optimus Prime."