Finally get this thing finished. I had some writer's block with this chapter, so it's not my greatest, and it does not go into what is happening with Artemis. We'll have more of that next chapter, but for now we'll take a break from my [currently unconscious] OC and focus on everyone else. Enjoy. :) Also, I reworded the prophecy just a tiny bit because it would work better, but other than that it's still pretty much the same.

Alice Gone Madd—She really is, is she not?

SunnySiders—*busts through door with paramedics* No, SunnySides! You're gonna live! *starts performing CPR on you* Live, damn it! LIVE!

WolfAssassin369—Won't be much longer now. :)

Sunstreaker's Squishy—*smirks and shrugs* What can I say? I'm evil like that.

Autobotlover56—Glad you enjoyed it. :)

Alienlover64—As I've mentioned to you before, yes. They do have a special connection. And since we're teaming up against Megatron… *grabs pitchfork and torch* ANGRY MOB, UNITE!

Gabby M—It really is, is it not? I mean those girls are supposed to be her friends. Would you leave a passed out friend behind in a situation like that? I don't think so!

Guest (whoever you are)—I know you told me to ignore your question, but I'll still answer it in case anyone else is wondering/has been wondering. Yes. Optimus still has his amazing, classic Optimus voice even if he looks like Gerard Butler.

I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS OR ANYTHING IN RELATION (unfortunately) I ONLY OWN MY OCS.

Steve Jablonsky; The All Spark

33

When It All Connects

The Brady Place;

Bryce and Reggie met up behind the old chicken coop, as per their plan. "You see anything?" Bryce asked his buddy, slightly panting due to the heat.

Reggie shook his head. "Nope," he replied, panting as well. "You?"

"Nope," Bryce shook his head. "Artemis was right when she said they'd go after her and leave the rest of us alone."

"So what now?"

"We need to get somewhere there's service so that I can make a call."

"To the police?"

"No. This is way bigger than them. I'm going straight to the big guns."

"You mean… you're gonna call that N.E.S.T. team Artemis was talking about?"

Bryce nodded. "They were created specifically to take down Decepticons—well, these are 'cons we're up against now, and they're after Artemis. N.E.S.T. will know what to do."

"All right then," Reggie agreed. "Let's go tell the girls it's safe and we'll all get moving." Both boys headed back to the Quonset where the girls were still hiding. "All right, ladies," Reggie announced as they came back inside the shed, "get ready to move…"

"Wait," Bryce suddenly cut him off, looking at the girls and then scanning the rest of the shed. "Where's Savannah?"

"Whoa, wait, Savannah's here?" Reggie questioned, looking confused.

"Well, she's supposed to be," Bryce replied, feeling a knot of anxiousness tighten in his stomach. "I thought I told you to get the girls out of the back, Reg."

"I did," Reggie insisted, "but I didn't see Savannah. I didn't even know she was in the back of the truck."

"How could you not know?" Bryce demanded, starting to freak out.

"Hey, man, all I know is that you and Arty jump into the cab, yelling for me to drive and I drive, and then the gunshots started comin' at us!" Reggie defended himself. "I was too busy trying to drive and stay alive to think about checking to see who all our passengers were! Besides, last time I saw Savannah, she was comin' outta the café while I was pullin' up to it and she wasn't with her friends. I didn't even know she was at the park!"

Bryce went pale. "But you helped them out of the back!"
"Hardly! They were already scrambling out when I got out of the truck!"
Bryce whipped around on the girls. "You mean, you didn't take Savannah with you?"

Shandra shrugged, looking surprisingly unconcerned. "We couldn't," she replied.

Bryce felt his face get red and anger boiled up through the horror. "What do you mean you couldn't?" he forced out through clenched teeth and jaw.

The girls exchanged a look and shrugged before looking back that the boys. "Savannah, like, fainted or something," Tatianna explained. "And she's, like, way too heavy for any of us to carry, so we couldn't get her out of the back of the truck." The girl's face twisted up in disgust. "Seriously, 'Vannah, like, really needs to go on a diet," she stated s if that was the real issue at the moment.

"And you didn't tell me she was in the back so that I could get her out?!" Reggie bellowed, voice echoing deafeningly in the metal shed.

"Well, excuse us for all being kinda, like, really freaked out at the time!" Briana shot back.

Bryce was already pacing back and forth, running his hands nervously through his hair. This was bad. This was really bad! Savannah was still with Artemis, the Decepticons were after them—who knew what could happen! This wouldn't turn out good at all!

"I don't get what the big deal is," Shandra remarked with a shrug. "I mean, so what if Savannah isn't here with the rest of us. Artemis said, like, she was the one these guys wanted. So Savannah should still be safe right?"

Bryce whipped around on the girls and glared at them, unsure now if he was more panicked than angry or more angry than panicked. "No!" he bellowed. "Don't you idiots get it?! Artemis may be the one they really want, but it doesn't matter! They'll take anyone else they find with her, and Savannah is with her! Savannah's probably in even more danger than Artemis is! Artemis they generally want for something—whatever it is—so she might live, at least for a while. But Savannah… she's basically just collateral damage to them. They will kill her! Do you understand now?! Savannah could die!"

The girl's, all wide-eyed and shocked now, exchanged a look before turning back to the boy again. "What do you mean "die"?"

Bryce rolled his eyes and groaned, facepalming as he did so. There couldn't seriously be human beings on the planet that were this stupid right? Otherwise, they were all in trouble!

"He means die," Reggie laid it out. "Die as in 'dead and gone', funeral procession, casket, buried, six-feet-under, cemetary—DEAD!" It was harsh and it was cold, but it was the factual truth and these girls had to realize that.

Now the girls looked scared. "Dead?" Brianna squeaked. "But that's like…"
"Forever!" all the girls exclaimed at once.

"UGH!" the boys groaned in unison, throwing back their heads and scowling in exasperation.

The Savage Household;

Once again Shannon threw herself against the basement door, trying to force it open, but just like the many times before when she'd tried, the door wouldn't budge. It was once seriously thick and solid piece of timber. Not to mention those men had barricaded it with something—probably the damn refrigerator just from the way the door refused to move. Groaning, the woman rubbed at her sore shoulder and retreated back down the stairs to where her sister was waiting and watching. She shook her head. "It's no good," she sighed, sinking to sit on the second to last step, helplessly holding her head in her hands. "I can't get it to move."

"If only I wasn't stuck in this damn wheelchair with this busted leg!" Clara growled in frustration. "If only I wasn't then I could help you!"

"It wouldn't matter anyway, Clara," Shannon consoled her. "Unless we were Amazons, I don't think either of us could budge that door." Silence fell over the sisters for a moment, before Shannon buried her face in her hands and released a sob. "Artemis!"

Clara reached out and put her good hand on her sister's shoulder. "She'll be all right, Shannon," she tried to assure her. "Artemis is a smart and brave girl—she'll be all right."

Not looking up, Shannon shook her head. "There were so many of those men, Clara," she squeaked. "So many of them, and they all had guns! And they were after my daughter. They are after my daughter. Artemis can't outrun them forever, Clara—she just can't! And without our phones there's no way to get a message to her. Not that it probably matters now—they've probably already found her and… oh, Clara, what have I done?!"

"Nothing," Clara stated simply. "You haven't done anything." That's when something suddenly clicked in the woman's head. For a moment there was the euphoric sense of finally understanding a great mystery that one has been trying to figure out for a long time. But then there was an anger and rage such as none Clara had ever felt before. She scowled and snarled. "In fact, I believe I know exactly who to blame for this."

Shannon lifted her head from her hands and eyed her sister cautiously. She knew that look. Clara was on the hunt… so to speak. "Clara?" she asked carefully. "What are you talking about."

"Several weeks ago I discovered something about the man who was watching your daughters, Shannon," Clara explained. "Something very interesting."

"Tobias? What about him?"

"Well, first of all, I don't believe his name is really 'Tobias Pierce'."

"What makes you say that?"

"Artemis called him by the name 'Optimus'…."

The Park;

"Well," Officer Monroe sighed as he got out of the car and looked around, "I don't see anyone here." He turned to look at his partner as he exited the vehicle as well. "You sure that call came in right, Jim?"

Looking around as well and closing the door as he did, Officer Jim nodded. "Yup," he answered. "Someone called in a car chase and gunshots down town. Said it started here in the park I guess—that's when the first shot was heard."

"Well, then, let's get to searchin' while the other officers are taking statements from everyone else in town."

Jim nodded and both he and his partner ventured into the park, ready for anything that might come at them. Half-an-hour of searching turned up nothing—the park did seem to be all but completely deserted—and the two cops met at the main entrance once again.

"Find anything?" Monroe questioned.

Jim shook his head. "You section?"

"Nada," Monroe answered. "Try the trails?" He motioned towards the woods.

Jim nodded and once again the two men headed out again. All at once, out of the corner of Jim's eye, he caught a flash of something. Pausing, the man turned in the direction and knelt down in the grass, picking up a black phone. It was still on. Pressing the sequence to unlock the phone, Jim started when the saw the home screen of the device. "This is Artemis' phone," he muttered to himself. His stomach sank as he began to realize what happened. Artemis was here—probably when the shooter had been—why else would she have just dropped her phone and left it? But where was she now? Was she in the woods? Was she somewhere else it town? Had she made it home? What if she was injured? What if…

"Jim!" Monroe's yell brought the man out of his thoughts.

Still holding the phone, Jim rose to his feet and rushed into the woods to where Monroe was just off the trail. He was kneeling beside something furry. As he came closer, Jim realized that it was a dog—a rather familiar looking dog. "Tempest!" he gasped once he'd recognized the animal. He knelt down beside the prone dog, taking in all of the blood that marked her coat and stained the ground. She barely even looked like she was breathing and Jim expected her to be dead, but when he stroked the pup's head and she let loose a weak whimper and slightly thumped her tail on the ground he was greatly surprised as well as pleased. "She's alive!" he quietly marveled.

"Barely," Monroe stated. "Poor, pup. She's lost a lot of blood." He carefully examined the canine, trying to see where the bullet hole was (it was obvious she'd been shot). He located it. "Looks like we got an entry wound right here," he said, gently parting some of the bloody, matted fur as much as he could to show a seeping wound in the dogs chest, "right at the front of the shoulder and then…" he did some more exploration, "… looks like an exit would right here," he motioned to the spot just behind the elbow.

"We need to get her to the vet," Jim said. "Run up to the car and get a blanket."

"Jim," Monroe sighed, "I don't like this situation any more than you do, but face facts. Vet or no vet, it's not likely this pup'll make it either way. It would be the most merciful thing to do and just put her down right here…"

"No!" Jim snapped, glaring up at his partner. "We're not putting her down—not even if there's the slightest chance she could make it. You don't understand, Monroe. This pup… she belongs to Artemis—Shannon's daughter. That girl found this dog left to die in a garbage sack in a ditch and nursed her back to health. Artemis loves this mutt. She just lost her sister, and I will not let her loose her dog too. That girl needs this dog, and if anything happened to her and I didn't try my hardest to save her… I would never forgive myself."

Monroe was quiet, staring at his partner with wide eyes. He had no idea.

"Now run and get me that blanket, stat!"

The Savage Household;

Jim practically slammed on the brakes and drifted to park beside the curb in front of the Savage's house. Throwing the car in park but leaving it running, the man jumped out and made a mad dash towards the house. First Artemis' phone lying on the ground in the park and then Tempest on one of the trails shot (they'd already left the pooch at the vet's telling him to do whatever he could to save her) but the girl herself nowhere to be found? Jim didn't like how this situation seemed to be turning out. If Artemis wasn't here at home, then maybe at least he could try to get some answers from Shannon and Clara.

"Jim!" Monroe called after him. "What are you doing?"

"I Just gotta make sure of something!" the man called back over his shoulder just before disappearing into the house. "Shannon?" he called out once he was inside. "Shannon? Clara? Artemis? Is anybody home?"

"Jim?" the muffled voice sounded like Shannon's.

"Shan?" Jim called back.

"Jim!" the voice was definitely Shannon's.

"Babe, where are you?"

"The basement, Jim! Clara and I are trapped down here!"

Jim went running towards the basement door. "Hold on, I'm comin'!" The mman stopped and paused for a moment when he saw the refrigerator (yes, the 'cons really had moved it) in front of the door and then surged forward. Putting his shoulder in it, the man pushed and strained, trying to push the hulking appliance out of the way. At first the thing wouldn't budge, then, slowly, centimeter by centimeter the 'fridge started to move until suddenly—with one push just a bit too hard—it completely fell over. Jim stood there for a moment just staring at it. "That works too." He turned to the door and grasped the handle to turn and open it but he soon found the door to be locked. Not knowing where the key was, Jim simply took out his gun and cocked it. "Shannon!" he called through the door. "Take Clara and get as far away from the door as you can." He waited a minute or two to give them time and then raised his gun, aimed at the lock, and fired. Then he opened the door and started making his way down the steps. The officer was only halfway down when Shannon came running at him, tackling him and nearly knocking him to the floor. He embraced her back tightly.

"Thank God you came!" Shannon exclaimed, a few tears pricking at her eyes.

Jim pulled away from her and held her at arm's length for a moment. "Shannon, where's Artemis?"

Shannon shook her head, her face hardening, becoming angry. "I don't know," she replied, "but I intend to find out." With that, she pushed past him and stormed up the stairs and grabbed the phone dialing the number with vindication.

In the air over Montana;

Optimus knew that they would be landing at Malmstrom Air Force base within the next hour—they'd just announced the development—but an hour still seemed too long to wait. Megatron had Artemis in his grasp already—he just knew it! And if Megatron had her in his grasp already then they needed to be there right now if they had any hope of saving her! But they still had an hour to wait. By the time they finally landed and got off the plane—not even to mention arriving in Eddyville—the Decepticons would be long gone and Artemis with them! And what they would do to her or… the Prime hated to even think of the possibilities. However, he still wasn't completely sold on the idea of Megatron kidnapping Artemis just to make him suffer. In fact the more he thought about it, the less likely that scenario seemed and the more likely the scenario of Megatron legitimately wanting to accomplish something big with Artemis seemed. But what? Artemis was just a normal human child. What could Megatron possibly hope to accomplish with her beyond making him suffer? The answer seemed to be right on the tip of Prime's tongue, but still so, so far away.

Optimus was so deep in thought that when his phone suddenly buzzed against his leg he nearly jumped a mile out of his seat with a cry of alarm. This earned him a snicker from most of the other passengers, particularly Skids and Mudflap. Ignoring them, Prime reached into his pocket and dug out his phone. "Hello?"

/WHERE IS SHE?!/ the enraged scream was so loud that Optimus winced and held the phone far away from his ear. All heads turned towards him as everyone else could hear it as well.

"Shannon?" Optimus questioned, bringing the phone back close enough he could talk into it, but not close enough that his eardrums would get blasted out again, should she yell.

/Where is she, Tobias?/ Shannon repeated, her voice a venomous hiss. /Or should I call you 'Optimus'?/

The Prime froze. How in Primus' name did she…?

/That is your real name, is it not? Clara told me she heard Artemis call you that, so it must be true!/

Sighing, Optimus hung his head. "Yes," he murmured. "It is true."

/What other secrets have you kept from me?/ the woman demanded. /And did my children know anything about them?/

"Yes. Or at least Artemis was aware. It was a secret the two of us shared and kept to ourselves in order to keep the rest of your family safe."

/Well, evidently it didn't keep Artemis safe! Or was that your plan from the beginning? Share your secret with her, get her to trust you and let you in, and you would take off right before you sent in some of your friends to come and take her away?!/

As if it wasn't cold enough already, Optimus' blood seemed to turn to ice in his veins. "What do you mean, Shannon?"

/Some men came barging into my house! They were all wearing ski-masks and toting guns and were demanding to know where my daughter was! THEY PUT A GUN TO MY SISTER'S HEAD, OPTIMUS! Then they shut both of us up in the basement and took off to hunt for her! Where is she, Optimus?! I demand to know!/

"I don't know, Shannon!" the Prime exclaimed, both annoyed by the accusation and panicked my this new turn of events. If the 'cons had been at the Savage house that meant they not only knew about Artemis, but her entire family as well! "Believe me when I say that I don't know. All I can tell you is that I never intended for this to happen, Shannon. I love Artemis as my own daughter and I would never, ever want her hurt—this is the exact reason I left in the first place."

There was a long silence. /What do you mean?/

"Shannon, listen to me carefully. The men that came to your house—they're not normal men. They are called 'Decepticons' and their leader goes by 'Megatron'. They are vile, cruel, and evil beings whom my team and I have fought for countless centuries. And, for whatever reason, they have come to set their sights on Artemis."

Another long, long silence. /What. The hell. Are you talking about?/

Optimus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. This was going to be very hard to explain over the phone. "Shannon, listen, I am on a flight due to land at the Malmstrom Air Force Base in an hour. I suggest that you and Clara drive there to meet me as soon as possible—it is a four hour drive so I suggest you leave this very moment. It will be much easier for me to explain it to you that way."

/All right,/ came the hesitant reply. /Clara, Jim, and I will all be there./

Optimus nodded. "Fair enough," he agreed. "And, Shannon, I know you have no reason to, but please believe me when I say that I truly had no idea this would happen."

Once more there was a pause, and then suddenly: /I believe you. I have no idea why, but I believe you, Optimus./

"It is, like, so freaking hot!" Brianna whined, fanning herself with her hand, much like her friends were.

Bryce and Reggie themselves had already sweated clean through their shirts and weren't much better off than the girls. Damn! When the weather man had said it was going to be a scorcher today he hadn't been kidding! It had to be over 100 degrees at least! Finally they all pulled up underneath a tree for a breather. If it hadn't been for the humidity, it probably would have been much cooler in the shade than out in the baking sun, but the humidity was stifling, making it hard to breathe. They were all just happy they were travelling back to town along the main road instead of the back roads. That would save them a lot of time.

Panting, Bryce decided it was time to make the call. The boy dug into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and turned it on only to find it wouldn't even turn on. "You gotta be kidding me!" Bryce yelled at the tech. "Dead battery? Seriously?! I have you for three years and you haven't gone dead on me once, and now—when that I need to use you for an emergency—you die on me?! Are you fucking kidding me?!" It took all his will power not to chuck the thing against the tree trunk. Growling and slipping the phone back into his pocket, Bryce turned to Reggie and held out his hand. "I'll have to use yours, Reg."

Reggie shook his head. "Sorry, bro," he apologized. "Baby sister took it and flushed it about two days ago."

Bryce stared at him in disbelief for a moment before turning to the girls. He held out his hand again and made a 'gimme' motion. "Cough it up, one of you."

"Mine's dead," Brianna replied with a shrug.

"Daddy took my last night," Shandra stated.

"Forgot mine at home," Tatiana said.

"Ugh! Come on!" Bryce fumed. "You gotta be kidding me!" Here he was, needing to make an emergency call and no one had a phone he could use?! What, was the universe against him or something?!

All at once there was the sound of an engine getting closer and closer. The teens all looked down the road to see a car speeding in their direction. Maybe they could hitch a ride back to town! As one they all ran out to the side of the road and started waving their arms around in the air, trying to flag the oncoming vehicle down. Much to their relief it did slow down and pull off to the their side of the road before parking. The driver's window of the truck rolled down to reveal Officer Jim. The policeman gave all of the kids a strange look as he questioned, "What the hell are you kids all doing out here?"

"We were with Artemis," Bryce explained.

"Were with?"

"Yes, sir. We led them on a chase out to the old Brady place and tried to hide out in the Quonset there. When that didn't work, Artemis made us all leave and hide so that she could go on alone and lead them away from us."

"How long ago was that?"

Bryce and Reggie and the girls all exchanged a look before turning back to the man. "It must have been… at least an hour ago."

"Shit!" Officer Jim mumbled, looking away and slamming the heel of his fist against the steering wheel. An hour ago? That didn't bode well at all. Anything could have happened to the girl in that time! He turned back to the kids and jerked his head back towards the direction of town. "Well, you kids get on back to town and cool off. We already got one girl who's probably abducted by now, we don't need a group of other keeling over from heat stroke. We gotta get going." The man began to put the vehicle back in drive again when he was stopped by Bryce reaching into the cab and grabbing hold of the wheel.

"Officer Jim," the boy said, "may I ask where you're going?"

"Malmstrom Air Force Base."
"To meet Toby right?"

Jim narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Yes," he answered carefully. "Shannon called him and he asked that we go meet him there. How did you know?"

"Eh, call it a hunch," Bryce replied, deciding not to get into the details of the entire story here. "Was trying to get a hold of him, too, but I don't have a phone that works."

Jim nodded, deciding to leave it at that. "Well, we better get going."

"Officer Jim, I was just wondering… could I go along with you? I mean, I was there with Artemis throughout most of this, so I have more information on the situation than you do—information that they might want."

Jim thought this over for a moment weighing the pros and cons. If the boy really could help them figure out what was going on here…. "All right," he conceded with a sigh. "Hop in." He looked past the seventeen-year-old to the other teenagers behind him and looked them over carefully. "What about the rest of you?" he asked. "I mean, you were all there, too, so you feel like riding along?"

All of the girls immediately recoiled. "Like, ew!" Tatiana grimaced. "A military base? I am so not going there." Crossing her arms, she turned her back to the pickup, nose in the air.

"Me either," Brianna agreed. "Like, I don't do camo."

"Or military green," Shandra chimed in.

Reggie rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, shoulders slumping in disappointment and defeat. "Looks like I'm stuck seeing the girls back home then," he grumbled. Bryce gave his pal a sorrowful look, but Reg just waved it off. "Don't worry about it, dude," he assured his buddy. "You go on with 'em. We'll be okay."

"You're sure?" Bryce questioned, not really wanting to leave his best friend behind, especially if said best friend was going to be alone with those girls.

Reggie smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I am. Go save your girlfriend, bro."

Bryce smiled and nodded his thanks. Then he went to the rear door on the driver's side, hauled himself up into the cab to sit beside Clara, and slammed the door shut. With that they were off.

Malmstrom Air Force Base (4 Hrs. Later);

"Do you think he's sat still the entire ride here?" Sideswipe whispered into Ratchet's ear. About two hours ago they had landed at the Air Force base, and for the last two hours they had been stationed in a "conference" room in one of the main buildings waiting for their guests to arrive.

"Kid, I don't think he's sat still ever since he got that voicemail," Ratchet whispered back.

All of the 'bots as well as Lennox and Epps were seated in the conference room, watching as Optimus paced anxiously back and forth. They all wanted to say something to try and calm the big guy down… but they just weren't really sure what to say or do. Nothing they did would probably work anyway.

Along with his nervous pacing, Optimus was still trying to figure out what was going on—why this was happening. His suspicions were even stronger now… but he just couldn't quite put his finger on what they were. There had to be some reason other than just making him suffer but what? What was that reason? No matter how hard he tried to find the answer, it always seemed to elude the Prime.

Suddenly the door opened and in stepped one of the N.E.S.T. soldiers. "Sirs," she said, addressing both Lennox and Epps as well as Optimus himself, "they're here."

"Thank you, Garcia," Lennox thanked the woman.

Optimus said nothing but quickly ceased his passing and made a beeline for the door, almost shoving Garcia out of the way to get past her. He all but sprinted down the hall to the front door where he exited the building. The Prime didn't waste a step and continued to surge across the parking lot to where he saw, Shannon, Jim, and—unexpectedly, but not surprisingly—Bryce getting out of Jim's truck. "Shannon!" he called.

Leaving the boys to help get Clara out of the pickup, Shannon ran to meet Optimus halfway. "You better have one hell of a good story, buster!" she warned him, stabbing him hard in the chest with a rigid forefinger. "Because I really don't think you wanna see my mama-bear come out!"

Jim, Shannon, and Clara all sat and stared in stunned silence, their jaws dropped at the story that had just been told to them. This wasn't real right? I mean, alien robots somehow turned human? That was just crazy talk! Right?

"So let me get this straight," Clara said slowly after a moment. "For the past two months, my nieces—and me really—have been living in the same house with a man who isn't really a man but is actually a giant, self-aware robot from a distant planet?"

"That's about right, ma'am," Epps responded with a nod.

"And… the rest of you…" Jim motioned a hand towards everyone else in the room, "… you're all alien robots too?"

"Well, everyone except for Epps and me," Lennox answered with a gesture to his pal.

"These… Decepticons…" Shannon finally spoke slowly, still trying to process everything, "… they're the same thing?"

"In general, yes," Optimus answered with a nod.

"'Ceptin' we're the good guys and the Decepti-creeps are the bad guys," Ironhide clarified.

Chromia elbowed her mate in the ribs and shushed him. "It's already hard enough for them to process without the distinctions—shh!" she scolded.

'Hide just shrugged. "I'm just clarifyin', love."

Shannon took a deep breath and leaned forward in her chair, elbows propped on her knees. Closing her eyes, the woman touched the tips of her fingers together and pressed her forefingers against her lips, letting all of this new and shocking information sink in before she said anything further. After a long moment, without opening her eyes, she inquired, "Was Artemis aware of this?"

"Yes," Optimus quickly answered, wanting to get it all out in the open. The sooner it was and with the less hesitation the better. "She knew of my secret ever since that night I first rescued her from the Decepticons."

"And Gemma," Shannon went on, still not looking up, "did she know as well?"

"No," Prime shook his head, "she was not. Artemis and I decided that—for her safety—we wouldn't tell her. It was a secret we kept just between the two of us until…" he eyes shifted over to Bryce who in turn met his gaze, "… we had to expand loop."

When he had hesitated, Shannon had opened her eyes and looked up at the Prime to see him exchanging glances with Bryce. Now she sat up and turned to the boy. "You knew about this too?"

Bryce smiled sheepishly and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I haven't known about it for that long," he answered, "but yeah, I knew it, too. They explained it all to me after Artemis kissed me and we had a memory transfer…"

"Artemis what?!" Shannon screeched, not really appalled by the information (even though—technically—Artemis wasn't allowed to date yet) but just more taken aback.

Bryce blushed crimson and looked down. "Yeah…" he murmured. "Maybe now wasn't the best time to tell you that…."

"And what exactly is a memory transfer?" Jim asked, snagging onto the road.

"What is sounds like, essentially," Optimus answered, scratching the back of his head, " an exchange of memories between people. I am unsure if that is the technical term, but it was what Artemis called it. It was how she first discovered my secret and then the reason why we had to let Bryce know about the secret as well."

"How does it happen?" Clara asked.

"Well…" Optimus wracked his brain for an answer, "… it seems to respond through bodily contact—so far in the form of kissing."

Shannon paled a bit. "You kissed my daughter?" her voice was hardly above a horrified whisper as she stared at the man.

Optimus blushed slightly. "It was on the forehead, Shannon," he reassured the woman, "and it was on inexplicable impulse. I would never take advantage of Artemis, I assure you. Our relationship isn't like that. If Artemis were here now she would tell you the same thing."

Shannon nodded, relieved to hear that. So far—other than the fact that he had kept a huge secret from her (and even she could understand why if it was meant to protect him and his team… and maybe even her daughter—she really didn't have a reason not to trust him. He'd taken care of her children, helped save Artemis several times and comforted her when she needed it; he'd done what he'd said he would do and then some. Still she was a bit dazed by that news.

"But you haven't explained one thing yet," Clara pointed out accusingly. "Why did you come to Eddyville in the first place?"

Optimus sighed heavily. "As I have already stated," he explained, "before we became human we were… very different beings to say the least. What turned us human was—what we all strongly believe to be—a blast from the AllSpark."

"The AllSpark, now what is that?" Jim questioned.

"It's what brought life to our planet and to us," Ratchet tried to explain as simply as possible.

"How did it get on Earth?" Jim asked.

Ratchet shook his head and sighed. "That, son, is a story for another day."

"Now this AllSpark blast," Optimus went on with explanation now out of the way, "took place at the park in Eddyville three days prior to Artemis first abduction."

"Artemis was at the park that day," Shannon mumbled, thinking more out loud that making a statement.

"Yes, she was," Optimus confirmed. "She also confirmed that she found the shard that day and came into contact with it and…" the Prime dropped off, something finally clicking in his head. Artemis touched the shard, the shard shocked her, causing the streaks in her hair, and then there was a worldwide blast that turned him and his team as well as Megatron and his human. Then there was the sensation he had felt—the feeling that the AllSpark was still intact even when Artemis had reported it had been destroyed. But the AllSpark couldn't be destroyed; it was energy. The Cube had merely been the vessel for that energy, but it hadn't been the AllSpark itself, and even if that vessel had been destroyed the AllSpark energy couldn't have been, it would have just be lost. But it hadn't been lost. Somehow the AllSpark had concentrated all of itself into one small piece of the Cube and had been sent to Eddyville on the day Artemis was there. It had been sent for her. She had been meant to find and come into contact with it, and once she had the AllSpark energy had all transferred into her because energy cannot be destroyed only transformed. And that transformation had taken shape in the form of Artemis! It all made sense! Why had he not seen it before?! The energy was inside her—the AllSpark was inside her!

With that final thought the prophecy that he had been told long ago but had long since forgotten came surging to the forefront of Optimus' mind. "Since the beginning of time," he began to softly recite aloud, though he was more talking to himself than anyone else, "there has always been a continuous struggle for power between the two forces of good and evil. On Cybertron, there was only one object that could truly tip the balance between good and evil. This was the AllSpark. But in a battle between these two forces, it was destroyed; its knowledge and power thought to have been lost forever. The battle between good and evil continues.

"However, though it has been destroyed, the Cube's knowledge and power still endures. A single shard of the AllSpark remains, and within it, all that had been the Cube. It lies in waiting, ever watchful as it seeks for a host who is capable of hosting its knowledge and power. One who has been chosen by the Primes.

"And then, as surely as it is prophesied, there will come a day when the Cube shall find the chosen one. This host shall be found in the form of a young girl. A lost daughter. A mere child reborn through fire and baring the mark of the Primes. She is a diamond in the rough. The Cube shall choose her and mark her, and, once she has proven herself truly worthy, will open its power and knowledge to her, so that she shall become the Living AllSpark. She is a true treasure and both sides seek her out to tip the balance between good and evil in the perpetual war."

Everyone gave him a confused look, not really sure what he was saying, much less what he was talking about. "Prime?" they all questioned.

Sighing heavily, Optimus leaned forward in his chair and buried his face in his hands for a moment before filling his cheeks full of air and slowly releasing it as he ran his hands through his hair. "I know why Megatron wants Artemis," he replied gravely. "I know why he has captured her."

Everyone almost jumped out of their seats, all eager and anxious to hear why.

"Megatron has discovered something that I have so foolishly forgotten and allowed myself to be blind to."

"Well," 'Hide prodded impatiently, "come on, Prime! Tell us what it is!"

Raising his eyes, Optimus met Shannon's anxious, expectant, and fearful gaze. For a moment, he held it in silence before finally announcing in a very sure and adamant tone, "Artemis is the AllSpark."

Be honest with me here people, how many of you saw this coming from a mile away? I mean seriously, it's pretty obvious! Prime, why you so slow on the uptake?!