Shattered: Chapter 14

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"I am the punishment of God…If you had not committed great sins; God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."

-Genghis Khan

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Author's Note: I want to apologize profusely for the time it has taken me to put out an update for this story. Life has been insane and it's been incredibly difficult for me to simply find the time to write. I have tons of ideas and no free time. It sucks! Anyway, enough about my issues, lol. Let's get on with it, shall we? Thanks so much to all of you who have taken the time to read my stories. I truly do enjoy sharing them with you. Extra special thanks to those who took the time to leave a review for the last chapter: Lady Syndra, carmeleissle5cullen, LunaPrimeStar, Elven Silver Power Ranger, Jen, WhiteCougarMatrix117, icesong180, Fallen Angel 1243, and Spirit Kiss. Your kind words and encouragement mean the world to me. And to Jen, thanks so much for the pointers. I hope you do see some of your ideas at play in this story as it progresses. I hope everyone who reads enjoys this chapter. This one should speed up the story line a bit, I think. We're getting close to a family reunion. I don't think it's going to be pretty.

Disclaimer: The only thing I claim is my story line and my original characters. Everything else…not mine!

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Cantua Creek, CA: 12.5 Miles Southwest of Tranquility. 1030 Hours

Ironhide wasn't absolutely crazy about Earth. Firstly, it obviously wasn't very mech friendly. Either Cybertronians were freakishly large or humans were abnormally small. Regardless, it made any chance of ever living a comfortable, normal life on the planet slim but that was the least of his gripes. The human authorities could be a pain in the aft most of the time. It seemed to him that the more they gave them the more they wanted. It was beyond frustrating at times and he didn't know how Prime could stand to put up with them the way he did on a daily basis. He supposed that skill came with the mantel of leadership.

Still, he had a great deal of respect for the humans he worked with on a daily basis and whom fought courageously by their side against the Decepticon onslaught, especially Major William Lennox. He admired the man; his dedication to his family and country, his honesty, his integrity, and his advocacy for their cause. He would be hard-pressed to admit it but he had grown to consider the human soldier and his family amongst his closest friends. It was for that reason that he found the current situation highly uncomfortable. Ironhide didn't like lying to his friends.

The soldier in question sat rigidly in the driver's seat, seeming oblivious to the fact that the steering wheel of the GMC Topkick moved of its own accord as it navigated the winding road. "Ironhide, I need to know what's going on. What are we dealing with here? What am I supposed to tell my superiors? How am I supposed to explain to them that Optimus and Ratchet ran off in pursuit of some rogue Cybertronian without so much as even a brief on the situation?"

"I know who we're dealing with," Ironhide's rough voice crackled through the speakers, "and she isn't a rogue."

"Wait…what?" William Lennox swiveled in the seat to stare straight through the windshield. "You know what's going on and you're not telling me? What the hell, Ironhide? We're supposed to be partners in this thing!"

"It's personal, Will. It isn't my place." The mech seemed to trail off in his thoughts for a moment. "It was so long ago…"

"Hide, will you please talk to me?" The Major was beginning to become exasperated with the situation; his duty and responsibility weighing heavily on him. "I can't help you guys if I don't know what's happening."

"You and Sarah love Annabelle, don't you?"

The question seemed to come out of nowhere, startling the Major. "What? Yes! She's our little girl. Of course we do. What does that have to do with anything?"

The mech ignored the soldier's question, instead asking another of his own, "You'd do anything to make sure she was safe? Protected?"

"Absolutely, I would. You know that." The Major shook his head, "I'm not real sure I understand where you're going with this, Hide."

"Outward appearances aside, our species aren't that different, Will." Hide paused in his thoughts, choosing his next words carefully. Emotional speeches weren't his strong suite but he wanted Will to understand. He knew that it was sometimes hard for the humans to see beyond the mechanical appearance of his people. It was easy for the humans, even open-minded ones like William Lennox, to forget that they weren't just machines but living, feeling beings. Cybertronian emotions ran deep, deeper even perhaps than those of the human race. Perhaps if Lennox understood Optimus' frame of mind he would be more inclined to help or at the very least, give the mech space to do what needed to be done. "How would you feel if you just woke up one morning and Annabelle was gone and you believed that you had no chance of ever seeing her again?"

"Ironhide, I…"

"Answer the question, Major." The mech was trying to reach passed the soldier to get to the father inside of the man. "What would it do to you to know that you would never get to see the child you and your wife created together ever again so long as you lived?"

"I'd- I'd be devastated," Will shifted uncomfortably in his seat; the thought alone enough to make him wish to be home with his family. "I don't know that I'd be able to go on if anything happened to Annie."

"Our species forms incredibly close bonds, Will. Familial bonds, between mates or between creators and their creations, are especially strong as they consist of both the emotional and the physical." Speaking of bonds made the mech's spark twinge with pain as he thought of his own mate out there in the Universe somewhere but still he continued, "The loss of a connection of that magnitude can be devastating for a mech. Primus…I sound like Ratchet…"

Will shook his head, "I'm not real sure I'm following. What does any of this have to do with the situation?"

"Optimus may be a Prime and our leader but he once had a family much like your own; a mate and a sparkling. He and his mate lost their sparkling early in the war when the Decepticons assaulted one of our outposts. She was crushed beneath a bunker that was struck by a Decepticon missile. He's always blamed himself for causing her death. The experience took a great toll on Prime mentally and emotionally. For a time, we weren't sure that he would survive the loss. It nearly destroyed him. He may not show it but he still struggles constantly with the guilt."

"Hide, that's- that's terrible," Major Lennox thought of his own daughter and couldn't imagine ever having to live without her. The thought alone hurt his heart. As much as he interacted with the Prime on a daily basis he would have never guessed that the stoic, ever-patient mech harbored any painful secrets of such magnitude. Then again, he realized not without some embarrassment, he knew very little about his alien friends on a personal level. That, he decided, would have to change. "I had no idea…"

"It gets worse." Ironhide sighed, "Ratchet's scans from the impact site this morning pulled up a match to Sway's spark signature. It would appear that Prime has spent all these vorns mourning a daughter who is very much alive."

"His…sparkling…is alive? That's…that's good! Right?" The reality of the situation crashed down on Lennox suddenly. A pretty clear picture of what had transpired during the morning hours forming in his mind. "But, if she's been alive all this time that means…"

"It means that we've believed her dead when the reality may have been much, much worse."

"Jesus," Lennox ran a hand through his hair. "What do you need me to do?"

"I simply ask you to put yourself in Optimus' position. He's thinking with his spark right now, not his processor. If Sway is here, Prime will not stop until he finds her and brings her home. Primus help anyone who gets in his way." Hide slowed only slightly as he came to a crossroads before picking up speed once again. "I suggest giving him the space he needs to do what he feels he needs to do. I also suggest that you encourage your superiors to do the same."

"Yeah…yeah," Lennox nodded absently, still processing the magnitude of what Ironhide had just told him. "I'll see what I can do."

Witwicky Household, 1100 Hours

Airbrakes screamed as the Peterbilt came to an abrupt stop in front of the home of Samuel James Witwicky, a Rescue Hummer close behind. The trip to Sam's house had been an anxious one for Prime. Ratchet's words repeated through his processor on a loop. Even though every fiber of his being screamed for it not to be so, deep in his spark, he realized that his Chief Medical Officer was probably right. There was no way his little femme had made it this far on her own. As agonizing as it was to even think about, he knew that if she wasn't with the Autobots it only left one alternative. He had seen firsthand the extreme cruelty that Megatron and the Decepticons were capable of where femmes and sparklings were concerned and thinking of the bright, bubbly sparking he and his mate had been blessed with, he didn't even want to imagine what she had been through at their hands.

: They aren't here, Optimus:

Optimus was startled out of his dark thoughts at the sound of Ratchet's voice crackling over the comm link. He, too, had noticed the absence of both his scout and their human friend. He could feel the first inklings of panic welling up inside of him, a side effect of his recently reactivated subroutines. Not just for his daughter but for Bee and Sam as well. It made him feel completely out of control of the situation, a dangerous thing, and he struggled to tamp down the impulses that demanded immediate and drastic action to rectify the situation. After a moment, he answered his CMO.

: My orders were for Bumblebee to remain here so as to keep Samuel safe. It isn't like him to disobey. If it is Sway. If she's already found Sam…:

: I'm trying to raise Bumblebee on the comm link as we speak. I'm sure that he and Sam are fine, Prime. Let's not jump to conclusions. Bee is an excellent guardian and would let no harm befall the boy:

Yes, Optimus knew that Bumblebee was a more than competent soldier. He was also young, not much older than Sway, and the Prime would be lying if he said it didn't bother him to place a youngling in such a position. He felt apprehension and worry each time he was forced to send the scout out into the field. He had harbored such high hopes for the both of them when they were sparklings. He had envisioned a quick end to the conflict on his planet and a bright future full of infinite possibilities. Now what did he have? A daughter, possibly lost to the enemy, a youngling soldier who would never know what it was like to experience a normal life, and an uneasy agreement with an alien planet who feared his people more than they trusted them. A lesser mech, one who couldn't see passed his own misfortunes, would have already buckled under the strain.

: That youngling will be the death of me, I swear:, Ratchet's voice again invaded Prime's thoughts. : He and Sam are fine. He has taken the boy out to be with Mikaela. Apparently they are celebrating some sort of relationship milestone. They are nearly finished with lunch and then he is going to drop them off at the movies:

: Understood:, Prime acknowledged. : After he has safely transported Sam and Mikaela to the theater, have Bumblebee meet us in the underground parking garage near the mall. He will need to be briefed on the situation. Have Ironhide meet us there, as well: Prime didn't wait for a response as he rolled away from Sam's house and toward downtown.

Meanwhile…Downtown Tranquility, CA, 1100 Hours

Sway continued her pursuit of the Autobot scout who was apparently, much to her utter amusement, employed as some sort of chauffeur for the human she had every intention of terminating at the first opportunity. Observant as she was, she had decided that her first impression of Witwicky was pretty dead on. The boy was quite mundane. In fact, given the clumsy bumbling he seemed prone to, he seemed quite harmless in the big scheme of things. If she had not seen the video stream Starscream had transmitted, she would have scoffed at even the thought that the gangly, adolescent human would be capable of bringing down the Lord High Protector of Cybertron. Once or twice she had actually found herself wondering whether or not it was even worth her time to pursue him. She had to stop and remind herself that is was no longer just about her and her need for vengeance against the Creator who had abandoned her to die. She had her uncle to avenge as well. She would stay the course.

The femme had stealthily followed as the pair had made a quick stop at a flower shop where the boy had gone inside and purchased what appeared to Sway to be a bundle of dead vegetation. That had been followed by a somewhat awkward rendezvous with a human female to whom the Witwicky boy proudly presented his handful of wilting grass. Judging from the female's enthusiastic reaction to the fistful of weeds and the physical display of affection that followed, Sway supposed the entire strange scenario was some sort of bizarre human courting ritual. Intriguing, indeed.

Not that Sway knew much about courting, human or otherwise. An absolutely horrifying chance encounter with a member of Megatron's elite Decepticon Infiltrator Unit, an ill-mannered mech by the name of Crankcase, had convinced her early in her life that she wanted nothing to do with mech-femme relations. While the incident itself had been both profoundly degrading and deeply traumatizing for the maturing femme, Megatron's response had been equally hurtful at the time. Her uncle had offered no sympathy or words of comfort to his tearful niece. He had simply sent the other Decepticon on his way before he gathered her up from where she had crumpled into the floor and had taken her to Hook's surgical suite. He had left her in the surgical engineer's care with directions to repair any damage the forceful mech had caused her and to ensure such an incident couldn't be repeated in the future. It was best to forget the entire thing had happened, Megatron had advised her before he quickly left the room to get back to commanding his army. Sway supposed he had been right, though she had struggled to follow his advice.

Shuddering slightly on her tires, Sway pushed aside those dark memories and watched as Witwicky and his female companion both climbed back into the Autobot's alt form. From there they had proceeded into downtown and made another stop at something called a bistro which Google informed her was a small restaurant where human food was served. Sway remained parked down the street, just close enough to maintain visual contact with the yellow Camaro that sat at the curb in front of the restaurant and contemplated on her status.

She had been following the Autobot and his charge for one and a half hours and was beginning to grow both irritated and impatient, mostly with herself. The entire rear end of her alt form ached painfully. She had been forced to override her maintenance routines in order to banish the annoying damage warnings that had been flashing relentlessly across her field of vision and making it difficult for her to concentrate on her task. Perhaps, she mused, she had reinjured her damaged limb worse than she originally believed. Cramming herself into an alt form hadn't helped any, she realized, and getting out of her current configuration was going to hurt when the time came. Had she the time and the opportunity, she would prefer to see to her own maintenance before embroiling herself in any kind of altercation. She knew, however, that by this time the encamped Autobots were most likely out looking for whomever had made landfall and so time was of the essence.

Strategically, it would be preferable to terminate the boy now and have him out of the way since he was the easiest target and minimally guarded. In the chaos that would follow the boy's death, she could then fall back and recuperate prior to engaging Prime for whom she knew she would need all of her strength. Bumblebee, she knew, could present a slight problem with her plan. She had thought of him fondly, once, all those vorns ago. They had been friends and playmates, nearly inseparable from the time they had first met. She accessed those old memories, ones she had not given much thought to since she had given up on her previous life all that time ago, and sifted through them to find anything that might give her the advantage against the scout.

Certainly, she read all of the battle and casualty reports that filtered down through the Decepticon ranks. Her once friend had grown to be quite the impressive soldier. Skilled in both intelligence gathering and combat, Bumblebee had managed to offline his fair share of her brothers in arms. Sway, herself, was not without her own gifts, however. Though she wasn't as enthusiastic about battle as her comrades, instead preferring to gather information and devise strategy, she, too, had been the end of a number of Autobot rebels though it wasn't an accomplishment she was particularly proud of. The taking of any life unsettled her, not a desirable trait in a member of the Decepticon army. Her uncle had always been quick to reprimand her anytime her overactive conscience had gotten the better of her. This situation was different, though. This was personal.

She poured through what she knew of the yellow mech, ignoring the pang of sorrow in her spark for all that she had lost in her life. She focused on the task at hand, analyzing. She had known him well and that could very well be the key to her success given her current physical state. He had been a sturdy sparkling, heavier and more ruggedly built than she who had taken after her mother in both looks and build. Roughhousing as youngsters had given her insight into some of his weaker points. She knew that the junction between his neck and shoulder was quite sensitive and that tweaking the wires there just right could send him into shuddering fits of giggles, manipulating the deeper ones, however, had the potential to cause extreme discomfort and even temporary paralysis on that side of the body. That had been a lesson learned the hard way and had earned the yellow sparkling a trip to see Prime's Chief Medical Officer and the two of them a stern lecture from both of her Creators about the dangers of rough play. She knew that digging her fingers into the joints of his hips also had the potential to either tease or torment and she could recall many instances when she had straddled the young mech's knees, him thrashing beneath her, begging her through ragged intakes of air and bellowing laughter to stop tickling him, while she plucked at his struts and wires. His doorwings were another sensitive area, especially where they hinged to his body and any injury to that area could be excruciating. Of course, she couldn't forget that he knew much about her as well.

Caution here was the key but if something was going to happen it needed to happen soon. The longer she waited, the greater the opportunity for the Prime and his Autobots to track her down. Mixed emotions swirled within her and she wanted nothing more than for her business on the Primus-forsaken, dust ball of a planet to be done so that she could, perhaps, for the first time in her short life have some peace. As the time ticked by she grew more anxious, more steadfast in in her resolve to do what she came to do and then disappear back into the stars.

It was at that moment the two humans chose to make a hurried exit from the bistro and pile back into Bumblebee. From down the block she could hear the scout start his engine and her own rumbled to life in response. She could sense the urgency in the Autobot as he pulled away from the curb and into the flow of traffic. A feeling of dark satisfaction flitted about the edges of her consciousness. Prime knew. She could feel it. It wouldn't be long now.

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End of Chapter 14

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