I have a poll on my profile page asking a question I really want to have answered. I'm trying to get as many answers as I can, and very few people visit my profile. I've gotten literally one answer in a week, and that's sad. Please answer, and be honest about it.
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Final Revivals
breakfast
I step over to our usual table—mine and Mako's, from the past—with a gentle sigh. "Well?"
"Well what?"
I sigh heavily. "You didn't bring it up, Mako?"
"I thought you should. You are more dominant in the drift than I am."
I sigh. "Then I'm taking the right post after this." I sigh and lean forward. "Raleigh, do you remember when I mentioned Aid, the day you first drifted with Mako?" He nods while still looking confused out of his mind. "He's part of a gestalt. They're a team with the ability to combine, meaning their connection is just like being in the drift when they're connected, and like ghost drifts when they're apart. What no one but Gipsy knows…is that I was, and am, all but a part of Defensor. The only thing we lack, was the final link—the spark bond."
"You told me that—"
"When you pushed after I said not to, back when I was the only one who could understand you." She looks down. "I'm not mad, Gips." I sigh softly. "Fact of the matter is, I brought you all here…" I look around the group, starting with Mako and ending with Gipsy. "Because of our shared drifts. Because Mako drifted with Raleigh after you, Yancy, she is connected to both of you, and because I drift with Mako now, we are all connected, like a gestalt is. Same with Silva and Blue… Well…" I sigh heavily. "Hot Spot… He offered to make my connection full-on earlier this morning…said he'd always looked at me as a part of them—that's why I was so upset that day, Gips…because I didn't have them…anymore." I look down for a minute before looking up. "But, since we're all connected through the drift, I need to know how you would feel, about being part of a literal combiner team. It won't be much different than now, except they'll be…twelve of us, rather than two or three."
"I'm in."
"Raleigh…" Yancy sighs. "Guess I am, since Rals is."
"Gips?"
"Huh?"
"If you're out, we won't do it."
"I'm in." She smiles. "I'd actually be your sister, then, right?"
"And Silverwing's."
"Cool. I am definitely in."
I tap my comm. "Spot?"
"Yeah?"
"We're on."
"I'll meet you in the bays after you're done. Try to get them to come with? I know they're used to bonds like this, but still…they should at least get to know us, if we're going to be connected."
"Gipsy knows about you, but that's it."
"Excuse me?"
"I confided in her, before anyone else knew she was alive… It had been a really hard day, and we wound up talking about you guys… It was Raleigh and Mako's first drift together, and they're always the hardest…"
"I've heard it's not easy forming gestalts after the bots are framed, either. Thankfully, Wheeljack framed us after we were connected."
"Right. That was a good idea. Save the stress by combining them first." I pause. "I wonder if the triplets had as much trouble…because they're identical…" I shrug. "Whatever. Guys, you need human advice, see if they know anything because I'm just as new to this as the rest of you."
We step into the bays. Yancy, Raleigh, and Mako look nervous, while Gipsy is out-right excited. "Hey, Blades."
"You knew about us?"
"Blades, she pointed out you could be on Sigma when I wouldn't accept it. She's the whole reason I went to Griffin Rock to begin with."
"The drift…"
"It must have still been active when you ran in…"
"Yep. And she caught me at a bad moment, when I was trying to reign in the flashbacks and do my job, right after I had learned it was me, Bee, and Sigma-17—that we were all that was left of our race." I smile. "But because of her, we are all here now. Probably wouldn't have gone to Griffin Rock, probably wouldn't have found Blades, probably wouldn't have revived the rest of you…" I sigh heavily. "Probably… Probably wouldn't be here myself…because of broken bonds." I sigh. "It was really hard to see her go, Rals…"
"She's right here now, though." He nods. "And I know. I hated doing…what we were told to…back then…"
Hot Spot and I share a look. "You were already connected."
I smile. "That "connection" is the reason they're here, and they didn't have to build new jaegers, Spot." I sigh. "Yancy, this, is Hot Spot. He's the commander of the Protectobots and the torso of Defensor. Once we have this connection, I will literally be able to be a part of them, and we all will have instant, and permanent, telepathic links with each other. We will be able to communicate without the comms when we're facing the kaiju. They cannot take our communications down when we are linked through bonds."
"And with Blades' bond to Heatwave, we would have immediate response if we were ever in danger."
"Which we wouldn't be, if we were together."
"Blades…"
I laugh softly. "Cocky as ever." I sigh. "How you feeling?"
"Better, for now. Ratch gave me something."
"Good." I pat his leg. "Don't get cocky, Big Guy. It was "cocky" that caused Yance here to get killed by Knifehead."
He looks down, and sighs. "Yeah…been there before."
I facepalm. "Blades, you didn't make the Alpha crash. Hot Spot—"
"I got cocky, and the ship…"
"Crashed. We know. Engine malfunction that wasn't your fault, Blades." I point to Yancy and Raleigh. "Kaiju attack that wasn't their fault. Things happen, Big Guy." I turn to Hot Spot. "Let's do this, Spot. We've all got a busy day ahead of us, and we need to do this before Blades completely breaks down."
"Some of us busier than others, and we'll have him, Star."
"Come on."
I step into the medbay with a soft sigh, and rest a hand over my chest. "Hey, Star."
"Hey Aid. Where's Ratch?"
"Training room downstairs. He's checking on Heatwave."
"What happened?"
"Heatwave said sparring accident, Bee says he barely touched him."
"Bee's not a liar, Aid." I sigh heavily. "Let's get started."
"Wait." I turn to him. "You really did tell Gipsy about us."
"She saw my memories, Aid. Her drift sequence was still active when I ran in to help Mako, and I was talking about you to Raleigh, not even realizing I was inside her conn pod at the time." I sigh heavily. "I'd just learned that Bee and I, with the exception of Sigma, were the last Autobots, then I got called into service because I was the only medic here." I sigh as I turn to start reviving the mechs on the floor around us—my last collection from the now-empty Laurentian Abyss. "Aid…I'd been trying, so hard, not to cry over it all, and I almost did because she got me talking…she got me to let some of my pain out…the pain over losing the four of you…and believing that Blades had died—Aid, she restored my faith that he could have survived! She's the whole reason I went to see Sigma—I could have stayed here in the shatterdome as a medic and not gone back, and still managed to not be a blood knight anymore. She's the reason I went. I had to see that Blades…"
"But then he sounded like me…"
"And I had a breakdown in the bunker, and Wave all but told me he was that Blades—our Blades! Aid!" I sigh heavily. "Aid…"
He steps over and puts an arm around my shoulders. "You can let it out now. We're back, and we won't judge."
"Oh, Aid!" I lay my head on his shoulder. "It's still so fresh…"
"You never were one to let yourself grieve, Little Sister. Not even when you lost your family…not even when we lost Prowl…or…when Optimus fell."
"I didn't want anyone to hurt for me…" There. The real secret I've always kept is out.
"It hurts us more when you hold it back, Star. I had to learn that the hard way…"
"Watching me?"
"Still had to see Hot Spot crying for me to realize I was hurting them by holding back."
"Aid…"
"I know, I should have let him have his time alone, but…he needed me, Star…" He sighs gently. "And now you do. You shouldn't wait until you're alone to let it out. Again, I'm one to talk, but I've gotten better. I run to them."
' This world keeps spinning faster, into a new disaster, so— ' I smile. Back when I was little, the was one bot I'd run to when I got upset. "I run to you."
"You did, and you can do it again. I'm here. Just let it out. Work can wait."
"But—"
"And so can a kaiju. When you're a commander, your needs have to go before the rest of us. We've separated because of emotions before—mine after Motormaster—so trust me, there is a weakness, but there's also a strength."
"Too much emotion screws up a drift, too."
"See?" He leans me back to give me a warm smile. "Yours may be organic—"
"Mine?"
"Raleigh, Mako, and Yancy are organic, are they not?" I nod. "And you are all connected?" I nod again. "Then you're a gestalt, Little Sis, and you're the one they turn to because of your rank—we saw that this morning." He sighs. "Yours may be organic, Star, but it's still a form of gestalt, and trust me, you need to let this out. Besides not being good for the others, it's not good for the sparklet." I finally break down crying at that, and fall into his waiting arms. "Hot Spot?"
"I'm right outside."
"She's ready…to really let us in…"
"Okay." He steps inside and lays a hand on my doorwings. "Hey, hey…" He pulls me into his arms, and I rest my head against his chest. "It's all right. We got you now."
I sigh and take a cloth from Aid before wiping my face off. "Spot…"
"I got you." He sighs softly when I look up to him. "What took you so long?"
"I don't like people to see me cry, Spot…I just feel… Weak…when it happens. Everyone back home would judge me for crying, and I'd feel…broken…worthless…"
"You're not worthless, Star. You're not. You're our princess, our commander…" He sighs, and lifts my chin to where I'm looking at him. "You're just what we needed—what Defensor needed. I want you to remember that for me—we needed you. We'd wanted to ask you after you got back from China, but…the Alpha crashed."
"You were gone… I was lost…but…without a bond…they didn't care…that I hurt."
"But you wouldn't cry for us, either."
"They needed me strong…I had to fill some pretty big shoes, Spot…and Ratchet couldn't have me breaking down…"
"From what I heard, you filled the void quite well—I'd say it's true, from what you're doing right now."
"What I'm supposed to be doing."
"There's no patients, and the revivals can wait a few more minutes." He sighs. "You did what you had to do, and you stood strong for them then, but you are still a femme, and you still have emotions—even I need to cry sometimes, Star."
"Spot…"
"It's all right—it's not wrong to cry, Star."
"But they told me…"
"Them. Your old family?" I nod. "Well, they were wrong, Sweetspark. It's okay to cry."
Hot Spot sighs heavily when First Aid turns to him. "Do you need me to leave?" Aid shakes his head. "Then I'm staying right here."
I sigh and turn toward the work at hand. "I'll revive, you scan, Spot gives the introduction to where we are and what we're doing here."
"That'll work."
"All right." I start with Mirage, then get Crosshairs, Drift, and Hound before bringing the five Aerialbots back, then bring Brains and Wheelie back. While First Aid and Hot Spot reunite with their friends, I turn to Drift, who had hung back while the others left. "Drift…"
He turns to me. "Yes?"
"Why…why did you lead Lockdown?"
"I was a different mech back then, Starlight. I had been homeless, and Megatron lured me in with promises that never came to be. I left them…" He turns away. "But it seems my past has followed me…"
"Drift…" I sigh. "Drift!" He turns to me. "I'm mad at Lockdown, not at you. I don't know your story. I just wanted to know why. He…He killed my bond-carrier…and I just got him back six weeks ago… Drift…please!"
"He killed my best friend…and he tried to kill my sensei. He never was a friend of mine."
"Oh, Drift… I-I'm sorry…"
"You're forgiven." He sighs. "Like you said, you didn't know."
"Thank you…" I smile. "And if it's any consolation…I forgive you, for what happened before. You didn't know what you were doing…"
"Sadly…I did." He smiles slightly. "But thank you for understanding."
I turn to find Slingshot and Air Raid about to leave. "Hold up." They turn to me.
"Aid just cleared us!"
"We know where the room is!"
"You two pick a fight with Blades, and Jazz has my permission to lock you all in a room together. I'm the commander now, and I won't tolerate infighting."
"Got it."
"And guys?" They glance back, having just turned to leave. "I don't hate you. I've had the same problems the others get onto you about—I've acted without thinking, and I've gotten angry for nothing, so…I'll be a good boss, but you have to listen to me."
"We will."
"Good. Dismissed. Silverbolt?"
"Yes?"
"We may need your team in the kaiju war. We've already drafted Defensor—actually, the five of them are now connected with Star Warrior and Gipsy Danger."
"Who?"
"Jaegers are giant, now sentient, man-made robots that have two pilots linked through the drift. This is like a spark bond, and the pilots have a muted form when separate—called a ghost drift. I am one of the pilots, and the newest Protectobot as of…only an hour ago. I operate Star Warrior with Mako Mori, and we have a very close connection—like twins. She used to drift in Gipsy Danger with Raleigh Becket, who used to, and currently drifts with Yancy Becket. I am connected to all of the humans, and both jaegers. Aid said I made my own gestalt because they were gone. We also have Bluestreak because Star—Silverwing—got my techno-organic abilities through the drift. She is 8. Gipsy is 15. They are the youngest. Rals is cocky, Yance is more subdued, but still cocky. Gips is cocky and determined—the reason Rals survived what killed Yance the first time around. They are both traumatized. Mako lost her family in the kaiju attack that led her here. She is traumatized. You know mine and Blue's stories." I sigh heavily. "That's the last several years in a nutshell. Welcome back."
"Glad to be back."
"Star?" I turn around to see Mako. "Mako Mori, Silverbolt. Silver, this my partner and recently-titled sister, Mako." I sigh. "What did you need?"
"If you are done, the Marshal needs to speak with you about what has happened."
"Curious, or mad?"
"Confused."
"Ah. I'll be there in ten. Got to settle in the Gipsy and Star-sized gestalt, then I'll be there."
"Excuse me?"
"Superion—Silver's commander—is around 260, where Defensor is only around 200 to 230."
"Smaller than Tacit Ronin."
"Yep." I pop the 'P'. "Tell Stacker I'll be there as soon as I'm done here. Commander duties."
"I will." She sighs. "Will you be open for dinner with us?"
I glance back to the Aerials. "I should, but I may be a couple minutes late. Don't worry, though." I glance up to Silverbolt. "Welp, no rest for the wicked. Spot'll handle orientation, meeting room after supper for other duties. Brig time will be administered if you act out in front of the human teams. I won't stand for human injuries. I'm their medic too—and the gestalt kid and teens. Warn the others. I need to find Stacker before I'm late. Compatibility training will be taught to the five of you by Striker, Chuck and Herc in an hour, because they expect the gestalts to do it as well. I've been doing it since I was 23, with Raleigh and Mako. It's not hard, just…strange."
"Who are they?"
"Striker Eureka is the first and last of the Mark 5's. Herc and Chuck are his pilots—a father-son team. Striker's like another son to Herc—and he's SiC to Stacker. Stacker took over when they came back."
"Stacker?"
"Am I to assume you were late because you were actively working?"
"I was updating and semi-lecturing the leader of our recently revived Aerialbots, because they are kind of insubordinate—still, they work well together when they're not fighting, and they are our first combiner team. I told them about compatibility training and left them to Hot Spot."
"What is this about an "organic gestalt" I have been hearing?"
"Gestalt bonds are similar to the drift—very similar, Stacker—and because of the connections formed because of Raleigh drifting with Yancy then Mako, and me drifting with Mako… We've all got each other's memories, Sir, and Hot Spot has started referring to us as that. Since I have recently been added to Defensor, along with Bluestreak, they are officially organic components in Defensor, as well as Gipsy and Silverwing."
"Should I consider this a benefit or a risk?"
"A benefit, Sir. Gestalts are stronger together, and they have been known—the Protectobots for a fact—to be able to keep each other alive when one is ailing."
He looks down, revealing a little weakness around a fellow commander. "Maybe we should add Coyote to one…"
"Stacker, he's doing better, it's just slow going. Give him a couple more weeks and he'll be out there with the others—you and Tamsin with him."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Sir. His medical report shows a steady recovery, however slow it has been." I sigh heavily. "I know he's eager to be out with the others, but he needs to wait a few more weeks." I smirk. "Tell my little brother he'll be out there in no time."
"Little Brother?"
I shrug. "Mako."
"She looks at him as a brother."
"Yes, Sir."
He smiles. "He'll be glad to hear all you have said. Dismissed."
"Thank you, Sir."
I step into the cafeteria and head over to the table that is surrounded by all 10 members of both gestalts, while the human members are sitting around the table with their trays. "Hey, guys!"
"That did not take too long."
"Formality." I shrug. "Confused about the "organic gestalt" thing he'd heard around, and worried about Coyote."
"Star…how is he?"
"He's fine. He'll be out with you guys within the week." I lay a hand on Gipsy's as I turn to the Aerialbots. "The jaegers themselves are as close as gestalts. I overheard back before I brought the Rescue Bots here that Gips here is their key to survival. If she dies, they die too—painful deaths from their cores—the nuclear ones—Gips, my Silvy, Cherno, and Coyote—with radiation sickness, the digital ones—Crimson and Striker—from electric shock."
"So they're like gestalts too."
"Yeah. I've been the medic to them since they first got here. It's actually really intriguing."
"Can they sit with us too?"
"They're sitting with their families, Flight, just like we've got Gips and Silvy."
"Mama?" I turn to Silverwing with a smile. "Why don't they sit with us? Don't they like me?"
"They love you, Star, but they also love their families—you know, Cherno likes to sit with his "parents"—"
"Parents?"
"Sasha and Aleksis Kaidonovsky. His pilots." I smile. "He's a big softie—Mark 1." I nod to Gipsy.
"Coyote sits with his parents—"
"Stacker Pentecost and Tamsin Sevier. They raised Mako too."
"Crimson sits with his brothers—"
"Identical triplets. The guy has a metal arm in addition to his organic ones in human form." I smile. "They saved me from a kaiju the day we met. I'm pretty close to them, even though we speak different languages. They don't even talk when they play basketball now because of the drift."
"And Striker actually does sit with us sometimes, because we sometimes sit with Herc and Chuck."
"There's…five of them?"
"Yes, Dive. Cherno and Coyote are Mark 1's, Gipsy is a Mark 3, Crimson is a Mark 4, and Striker is a Mark 5." I smile. "Star, or Silverwing because she's a part-Cybertronian jaeger, makes 6, but she was made out of older ones—Romeo Blue and Irish Brawler." Gipsy looks down out of respect for her former fellow jaegers, then looks up to Silverbolt. "Coyote and I were the closest to sentience, but I was the first to reach it…when we lost Yancy…"
I reach across the table to her as Yancy walks around to sit beside her. "It's okay. He's back now." I sigh softly. "It'll be all right, Gips. I know how you feel, because I feel the same way sometimes, but—" I wave around me, to where everyone—the group now including Ratchet and Wheeljack, as well as Heatwave, Chase, and Boulder. "They're back, Sweetheart, and while we still have the residual trauma, they're not going anywhere anytime soon—that much, I promise you." I hold up a hand covered in the blue inferno. "I fixed Rals' arm, Gips, and I can do so much more. They're—" I wave to the bots again with the non-flaming hand. "Alive because of this fire." I motion to the flaming hand with a smile. "I won't let them fall, and no one in this group, or connected to this group, will ever go alone. I promise."
"But… What if there's nothing you can do?"
"I. Promise." '"What if we never…never…get…him…" Groove…and then Hot Spot… "We will. We. Will."' I look up to Hot Spot. "We. Will."
"How did you—when did you—"
I close my eyes for a moment. "First Aid told me on Diego Garcia, when you guys weren't around—he told me all the stories while we were down, or when I couldn't sleep at night…he'd tell me of your pasts…of his time with the Stunticons, and how nice Breakdown was to him, and what Motormaster did to him." I scowl at the memory. "He had all your memories of it, too, because of the bond, so it was impressive. I loved our story nights…before it all went south…" I turn to Gipsy. "I. Will. Save your pilots, or the others', no matter what happens to them. Gipsy…" I smile, and reach back to take Ratchet's hand in my left, and Aid's hand in my right. "We will. I promise."
I won't let you down
No, I won't let you fall
A person's a person
No matter how small
A person's a person
No matter how small
"So, what are the Aerials like?"
"Hmmm…" I look up to Silverbolt, who is giving me a nervous look. "As a group, they're a lot more…feisty…than the Protectobots. They fight more amongst themselves for a start. Silver shares my fear of heights and we have the same refusal to let it affect us. He's brave, determined, mature, and responsible. He's their commander. Air Raid is next oldest—Silver's the oldest—he's reckless, rash, and fearless—kind of cocky, but…he enjoys himself."
"Like Raleigh and Yancy, before Knifehead."
"Actually…" I glance to the two. "Yeah."
"If I may?" Everyone turns to Silverbolt. "What happened, back then?"
Raleigh sighs heavily. "We were called out at 2 in the morning to take down Knifehead. We climbed into Gipsy's conn pod, and, since it was separated from the jaeger—she wasn't like she is now—and went through the "drop". Then we set out for the shallow shelf, where the kaiju was about to attack a fishing boat. We wanted to save them, Stacker didn't want us to. We saved it anyway, and attacked Knifehead, but…"
"We got cocky. We thought he was down, and he wasn't."
"He came back up and attacked us. Yancy told me through our link—we were connected by that point—that Gipsy was alive because of our drifts—we brought her to life, Silverbolt." He puts an arm around Gipsy, who looks close to tears, and clings to Yancy's hand under the table. "Then…then he was gone… my left arm was dead—Knifehead had ripped Gipsy's off—but Gipsy came alive, and we took down Knifehead together—we were fueled by rage at that point—then I managed to get her to shore. All I could think was that he was gone…I was hurt, Gip here was in pieces—but…but he was gone… I left the jaeger program and started helping with the Coastal Wall in Alaska—that's where we're from—and Gipsy was sent to oblivion bay."
I sigh softly. "A life among the dead."
Mako smiles. "We pulled her out, and repaired her, about four years later, but she rejected anyone but Raleigh, so the Marshal went after him, with Sheyenne."
I look up to Silver, feeling the same way I had that day—hurting, but determined. "He didn't want anyone else in his head—something similar to what Blades told me weeks later, after we got Ratchet back. I had to push him, even after Stacker said "Where would you rather die". Well, he came back with us, and he did wind up with someone else in his head—but she was tapping into both their memories, and they both went out of phase—and I learned I was compatible too."
Mako smiles slightly. "We faced…five together, but we jockeyed together twice. The first was a double event, the second a triple, and both were right after our failed test drift. My trauma made me a "liability", but we did it. The three of us—we saved the world, Silverbolt."
"Then they all came back, the kaiju came back, and…and here we are."
"And…Defensor? They were gone before us. How did they come back?"
I look down. "I was having a breakdown on Charlie in front of Star Warrior—I'd been drifting for only two weeks, and my drifts were still unstable because—"
"You can only reign in your memories during combat."
"Yep." I smile. "You remembered."
"You came to me with your superhero idea, silly. Of course I would."
"You knew she could fly?"
"I knew she could fly. Go on, Starlight."
I sigh softly. "Well, he'd reminded me of the jaegers, so we all went down into the Laurentian Abyss after them. We've done…three other trips since with them together, but Silva and I went alone after Red. I brought them back that same night—on the plane in fact—because we were actively loosing Blades, and I couldn't lose him again… I'd only had him back for a month, and…and nothing's louder than the silence…not even my music…"
"That much, I know for a fact." Raleigh reaches over the table to lay a hand on mine before looking up to Silverbolt with a sigh. "She'd told Gips and I, after a kaiju attack went bad—she chased the RABIT—"
"RABIT?"
"Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers—memories. Anyway, she'd chased it, and she'd gotten hurt. I sent Yance to bed and went with her, but Star wasn't in the medbay."
"He snapped me out of feeling sorry for myself again."
"Yeah. She showed us Ratchet, and…I think that's when Gipsy fully understood, that she really knew what we'd been through."
"And now we're a part of them, literally." I sigh. "Anyway, who was I on?"
"You got Silver and Raid."
"Thanks, Streets." I smile. "So, Silver's mature and responsible, Raid's rash and fearless…" I sigh. "Flight's in the middle. He's childlike, with a sense of wonder and the soul of a daydreamer, which has the others mad at him a lot. He's so innocent, but he's also…kind of a menace in the air because he's kinda spacy—sorry, Flight, but I'm a menace on the roads sometimes, so…" I sigh. "Then there's Skydive. He's a bookworm, and would rather read about combat than do it, but most of us don't have problems with him. Last is Slingshot. He's…well, he's like Chuck."
"Loud, bragging jerk."
"Yep." I pop the 'P' as I smile up at him. "But he's really a good guy once you get to know him." I huff. "Sometimes, though, I wish Striker got more of Herc and less of Chuck, because we have WAY too many of those people here anymore." I sigh. "Heatwave, Kade, Chuck, Striker…Slings…Blades sometimes…" I huff. "Seriously, people…"
"So…where are they located?"
"Silver's the torso, Air Raid and Skydive are the legs, Flight and Slings are the arms. Slings is left, Flight is right."
Fireflight giggles. "That rhymed."
"Hey, it did!" I giggle for a moment. "Anyway, emotional conversation over?" They nod, eyes laughing and mouths full of food. "Then let's find something not sad to talk about."
