The Human Prime

Chapter 28: Past

Ratchet pours Synthen into that Space Bridge's generator. In rumbled slightly, but in turn started up accordingly. He walked over to the control panel and found it to be up and running. He opened the bridge and round the portal to be sufficient. Now, all there was left to do was to recreate the feedback loop that caused this mess.

Optimus held the Star Saber in his hand. ShadowVolt held the heavy Omni Saber in his. They tried once, twice, three times, nothing. ShadowVolt was no Prime. He would not be able to access its power in order to create the feedback loop. Optimus could not hold both swords and collide them with the necessary force, another dead end.

"What if we use them separately?" Sam suggested.

"What do you mean?" Ratchet looked back at the human who was sitting on Wheeljack's shoulder.

"Like when you wanna make the perfect cup of coffee. You put in the milk and then the sugar, and then adjust. Maybe we can put in the energy from the Star Saber, then the energy from the Omni Sword, and then adjust them so their levels are equal. Maybe it'll work the same way."

Despite Ratchet's disbelief, they didn't have any other options. ShadowVolt and Bulkhead held up the opposing sword sideways in front of the portal while Optimus held the other sword offensively. Optimus hammered the sword against the other and as the energy got pulled into the Space Bridge, he paused then switched swords. Unbelievably, the space bridge began to react towards the energy.

"It's working. It's going hay wire again." Sam said over the loud noise of the Space Bridge.

"Okay, listen. ShadowVolt, when we enter the vortex, I need you to disconnect the power right away. That will keep it from burning up like the last time. We are not sure if we'll establish contact so open the bridge up again if we do not return within the hour. The bridge should record our destination." Ratchet said turning towards the others who began to gather around the open bridge.

"Wheeljack, Bumblebee, and I will stay behind in case the Decepticons return." ShadowVolt nodded then turned to Wheeljack. "You got my back Wrecker."

"I wanna go too!" Sam announced as she slid her way off Wheeljack's hand to run up to Optimus.

"Sam its way too dangerous." Arcee said standing in front of her.

"I have Artemis' E.P suit and everything. Please! You gotta let me come. She's like my sister." She paused seeing no change in their decision. "I'll follow you if you won't let me go."

Everyone knew that Wheeljack was too much of a push over to stop her from doing what she wanted. ShadowVolt saw no problem in Sam going with them. Bumblebee probably couldn't even stop Sam if he wanted to.

"Fine." Arcee huffed annoyingly.

"YES!" Sam ran over to Bulkhead and let him pick her up to put her on his shoulder.

"Bring Artemis back now, you hear?!" ShadowVolt held onto the wall as the vortex began to suck in the bots. The team walked in willingly and flinched as the vortex began to take them to their destination.

Autobot POV

Optimus groaned when he stirred from his unconsciousness. He looked around and found himself in a dessert. He deduced that it was still Nevada. He felt disappointed. It didn't work. He stood up and held his head. His whole body in fact hurt like something he's never felt before.

"You guys should look at yourselves." Sam said and he looked over at her cautiously. She was bigger than before. He didn't tower over her like normal, unless they got smaller. He looked around at his other Autobots. No, it was much more than that. They were all human.

"How did this happen?" Optimus asked his old friend. Ratchet looked at himself in disgust. They all looked like young adults at best. Drexel though looked a bit younger, around Sam's age. Still, it wasn't right.

"Could have been a malfunction in the control panel, regardless, we are not where we should be." Ratchet brushed the dust from his red and white jacket.

"I thought you guys would look older." Sam admitted, looking around at them.

"It would stand to reason that this dimension, along with turning us human, had turned back the clock in order to allow us to look particularly normal."

"I think I see a town nearby." Bulkhead said pointing over to the buildings in the distance.

"We need to inquire where we are." Optimus said as he moved his team towards the town. After further investigation, they found it was Nevada, but the odd buildings and construction suggested they were far in the past.

"Wait a second. I know that girl." Sam pointed over to a little blond girl who stood at the cross walk.

"Who is it?" Bulkhead looked over and saw some puzzling similarities.

"That's ME!" Sam ran across the street even though Optimus suggested otherwise. She walked right up to herself and bent down to her level. "Where you headed?" The little girl didn't respond, only stared. Sam realized why and coughed as a signal to start again. "I'm Sam."

"Hey, my name is Sam too!" Her younger self said excitingly.

"So where you headed?"

"To the library, I'm supposed to meet my mom there." The others finally caught up to Sam and stood behind her.

"Who your mom?"

"Oh, she's not really my mom, but she told me if anyone asked that I say that she's my mom." Sam chuckled at her younger self. She didn't realize how dim witted she was as a kid.

"Can we take you to her?" Sam offered without permission. Ratchet was about to protest, but the younger Sam already nodded in agreement.

"Who are they?"

"Well, um. This is Bulk, Arcee, Drexel, Ratchet, and Optimus." Sam said while pointing out each one.

"Hehe, you have funny names." The younger Sam laughed before taking her older self's hand. They walked in silence for a while making things a bit awkward, but finally Ratchet leaned close to Sam's ear to whisper.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"If anyone can help us get out of this mess, Artemis can. Present or Past. Besides, don't you wanna see what Artemis looked like when she was younger?" The thought hadn't occurred to them. In fact, they did want to see what Artemis was like as a kid.

When they got to the library, they stood in the lobby for a while. It took longer than expected for Minnie too tell them where Artemis was. After she did however, they made their way to the back rooms where she said she'd be. The back room was large and riddled with broken machinery and boxes of unsorted books. The younger Sam stepped forward and called out Artemis' name. They heard the sound of crashing metal then a yelp.

"Ow." The young Artemis emerged from behind a stack of machines. She looked utterly exhausted. Her cheek bearing a black smudge and her hands looked riddled with paper cuts. "You're here early."

"I didn't get lost this time." The young Sam ran over and hugged Artemis at her middle.

"Who are your friends Sam?" Artemis looked weary and stern. They could almost feel the coldness radiating off her.

"They helped me get hear. That's Sam, Bulk, Ratchet, Arcee, Optimus, and Drexel." She pointed out effortlessly. "Can they stay Artemis?"

"I guess so, just as long as you guys don't mind working." Artemis hinted in which they all smiled. Good old Artemis putting them to work.

They sat in silence for a while. Artemis gave them piles of books to mark, except for Ratchet. She gave him a fan to fix. They all sat and did work as instructed, too frightened to bring up anything. Finally, Sam spoke.

"What you do hear?" She asked even though she knew the answer.

"I catalog the books, repair broken machinery people bring in, and I home school Sam." Artemis answered, pausing her work on a microwave.

"Must be hard," Ratchet said suddenly. "Doing all this by yourself."

"Not as much as you'd think. I like to do it. It's like…my gift." She said not knowing that they knew exactly what she meant. She put her screwdriver down and began stacking books to bring out to the shelves.

"Let me help you." Optimus offered as he picked up the bulk of the books and headed out with her.

"You didn't have to take so many." She said as she took some off the pile he was caring and put them on the shelf accordingly. "But thank you." She finally said, looking away from him.

"You must read a lot." He said not knowing what else he could possibly say.

"Not much to do, but read." She looked at the book in her hand before putting it on the shelf. "It's just the way our world was made. The weak suffer through, the strong get it easy."

"You're not suggesting-"

"That our government is totally screwed up? That's exactly what I'm suggesting." Artemis slammed a book into its place on the shelf so hard that books around it fell to the floor. "The best the government could think of doing for people like Sam and I is put is in some lowly children's home. They would have called them work houses if the title wasn't illegal."

Artemis sighed when she realized what she did to the books. She bent down and started picking them up. Optimus soon helped her and replaced the books on the shelf. She looked at him for a long time then looked down.

"Sorry, I shouldn't be venting this to you." Artemis took the last book from the pile and went down the aisle.

"I don't mind." Optimus called after her. "You can't discuss such topics with me if that's what you want." She stared at him again then waved the book.

"Do you read a lot too?"

Back Room

"I still can't believe Artemis could do complicated engineering at such a young age." Sam held a red wire to her face and stared at it, not knowing where it would go.

"She has probably had many conversations with Primus which allowed her to do so." Ratchet flinched when he burnt his hand. "Curse this sensitive flesh!"

"Are you going to come home with us?" The younger Sam made them all jump. They forgot she was there. "Do you have a place to go?"

"No." Sam was the first to admit.

"Then you can come with us." The young Sam smiled and went back to her reading.

"Cute." Arcee said with a chuckle. Sam couldn't help, but blush.

"Shuuutt uuppp!" Sam groaned and stuck her face in a book.

"We still don't know how we're going to get out of here." Ratchet sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Well we don't have to hurry, do we?" Bulkhead frowned as he put down a toaster.

"You like being like this?"

"Well it's not great, but yeah. I kinda like being able to walk around. I just wish Miko was around." Bulkhead frowned thinking how great it would have been to hang out with his partner as a human.

Drexel, who was incapable of speak, used hand signs to tell them that he to liked being human. It must have been better for him. At least he had a face, even if he couldn't speak. He sat rather close to Arcee, enjoying the time away from the meddling ShadowVolt.

"Okay Sam, let's go home." Artemis said when she walked into the room.

"They can come too right? They don't have a place to stay." The younger Sam looked up at the group sitting at the table next to her.

"If they don't have a place to stay," She paused and looked at them all. "Then they are welcome to stay with us."

"Yay!"

Airplane Hanger

"I remember this place being a lot bigger." Sam said as she did a circle around the hanger.

"I remember this place being a lot smaller." Bulkhead said doing the same.

"I only have one mattress, but you're free to all the bean bags, blankets, pillows, and crates." Artemis put down the younger Sam from where she was on her shoulders.

"What's for dinner?" The younger Sam mentions and with those words, Artemis' face turned dark. In all honesty, she hadn't thought about it. They didn't have much and she just invited more people to stay with them. Though, she wouldn't allow any of them to know that.

"Bread and canned soup." Artemis smiled as she looked over at the shelf of canned products. She'd have enough to feed a group of eight. "I'll go start it. Why don't you make our guests comfortable, Sam?"

The young Sam pulled Optimus and Arcee towards the circle of chairs. There were old used books stacked next to a rocking chair which looked like it could go any second. Bulkhead and Sam shared a large beanbag, Drexel found a crated to sit Indian style on, Arcee sat in a smaller bean bag with delight on how comfortable it was, and both Ratchet and Optimus found sturdy chairs to sit in.

The young Sam cuddled behind Arcee surprisingly. Arcee struggled with the position. She seemed to take a liking to her. She began to play with Arcee's hair, putting it in sideways pig tails. Everyone giggled at her, even Ratchet, at how candy sweet it was. Optimus was busy watching Artemis cook. He seemed very worried.

"So, Sam, how old are you?" Arcee said in between yanks of her hair.

"Six n a half." The younger Sam finished with Arcee's hair and cuddled in Bulkhead's lap.

"How old is Artemis?"

"She's going to be nine tomorrow. Though, she doesn't like to celebrate her birthday." When she heard her younger self say those words, Sam snapped. She looked over at Artemis and then at the younger Sam. She couldn't remember ever celebrating Artemis' birthday. In fact, she couldn't remember ever thanking Artemis for anything she did for her.

"Dinner's ready." Artemis placed a soup pot in the middle of the group and put bowls down on the table. They each took bowls from as she served them and then each took a small slice of bread. Sam ate in silence. The soup was terrible, she remembered it. Though, she also remembered that it was one of the only things they could afford.

"Artemis! Artemis! Look!" The younger Sam gulped down her soup as quickly as possible. "New record!" Everyone laughed that the younger Sam, Artemis taking the most amusement from it.

Even though they were enjoying themselves, the team ate their food in guilt. They knew she didn't have much and they ate it willfully. Artemis, such a kind heart, gave them a roof and food even though she barely had enough to support Sam and herself. Midway through eating, they realized that while they continued to eat, she sat content. Her bowl empty and her stomach growling, yet she never reached for seconds.

"I'm full." The younger Sam smiled as she sat on the same bean bag as Bulkhead and the older Sam and sprawled out across them. Artemis looked at the watch on her wrist.

"Good cause its bed time." Artemis rocked in her chair, allowing it to sooth her.

"Story first."

"I doubt that these guys want to hear a bed time story."

"Pleaaasseee!"

"Go on Artemis." Sam said before Artemis could decline. "We'd all like to hear one. Right guys?" The others nodded, following her lead.

"Well…okay." Artemis rocked in the chair for a second, thinking of a good story. "What do you wanna hear about?"

"Do the one about the general."

"Haha, but that's my favorite one." Artemis could see the younger Sam was being kind, allowing her to tell one of her favorite stories. "Alright." She paused for only a moment before beginning the story. "Far away, on a planet called Cybertron," As she began, the others began to become intensely interested. How would she tell their history? "A war waged between the forces of good and evil."

"The Autobots and the Decepticons!" The younger Sam screamed excitingly.

"The Autobots had a courageous leader, whose soul was purer than anyone else's." Artemis waited for the Younger Sam to finish her sentence.

"Optimus Prime."

"He wanted nothing more than to have peace in his home world again and there was only one thing standing in his way."

"The evil Decepticon leader, Megatron!"

"Optimus Prime and Megatron had many battles, each one shifting the balance of power. Until one day, their paths collided once again."

"The last battle which would decide the fate of Cybertron!"

"They fought like no bot had fought before, each one not letting up; not wanting to give up until the other fell for the last time."

"And Optimus Prime won, right Artemis?" Artemis' face was saddened. She looked at the eager young Sam and then smiled again.

"Yeah, he won." She watched her jumped up in victory and turn towards the others.

"You should hear the one about the Wreckers. They were so cool!"

"Bedtime." Artemis repeated.

"But-"

"I gave you a bedtime story, now bed." Artemis said again. The young Sam scowled, but then nodded. She gave each of them a hug then waved them good night.

"Why do you look so sad?" Sam looked at Artemis face.

"I just wish." Artemis paused then looked down. "I just wish that the ending of that story wasn't a lie."

Outside

Optimus stood outside long after his team fell fast asleep. He wished the same as Artemis. He wished that the final battle of Cybertron had turned in his favor. Now, who knows if Cybertron would be inhabitable again. He heard footsteps and looked over his shoulder. Sam walked out to him with a sad face.

"Optimus, can you come with me somewhere?" She paused slightly. "I wanna do something for Artemis. For her birthday."

Airplane Hanger

Artemis woke up abruptly, hearing the younger Sam screaming about something. She walked out slowly, rubbing her eyes. What she saw was amazing. Food, tons of it, piled on the table. Sam was chewing on a breakfast muffin next to her older self. Artemis' mouth was wide open as she walked closer to it. They all turned toward her and smiled. Sam walked over to her and brought her into a hug.

"Happy Birthday Artemis." Sam said almost tearfully. "Thank you, for everything." Artemis didn't say anything at first, and then talked softly.

"It was only soup." She said and could feel Sam laugh slightly. They all sat down and enjoyed the morning together.

"Guys, come here." Bulkhead said with a whisper. They all went outside and found a large portal waiting for them.

"We better go." Ratchet admitted, looking back at Artemis and the younger Sam.

"At least, I got a chance to thank her." Sam said as she cleared away her tears. They all filed into the portal, Optimus going through last.

"I'll see you around, Optimus Prime." Optimus turned to see Artemis leaning against the hanger, smiling at him. She knew the whole time. The portal soon engulfed him, but not before she could see the light smile on his face.