~*~ Chapter Thirty-Six~*~
One Year 2 Days
Vance led the other three around to the areas he had found during his time here. They found a place to eat and were more than happy to sit in a traditional atmosphere to have a regular meal.
Rex kept an eye on everything around them, trying to see if there was anything worth worrying about. So far, he had nothing to raise suspicion. Charlie was tense for much of the time, but the longer they talked, the more she smiled and joined in the conversation. She began to feel like she might be able to move past this, too. Rex enjoyed seeing Charlie loosen up. It was like a breath of fresh air.
Toward the end of the meal, Cade appeared and asked how they were settling.
"I think I'm okay," Charlie answered him. "I'm actually hoping to - thank Joyce for hanging onto my urn for me," She said awkwardly.
"He's actually not here," Cade confessed.
"Oh?" Several smart remarks came to Rex, but he kept them to himself.
"So does that make you the man in charge then?" Vance asked with a friendly smile.
Cade chuckled. "I wish. Joyce has a hierarchy. I guess I'm more of a liaison."
"So, where is he?" Charlie asked.
"He is cleaning up his mess in Beijing. China is holding his Decepticon-copies, or at least the pieces. Optimus and the others did a number on those machines," Cade practically crowed.
"Except the one that infected all of them," Charlie pointed out, a sour look on her face.
"So, I've heard that you invent; bet you've got big plans now that you have all this tech at your fingertips." Myra's tone was light, positive sounding, but had a definite undertone of warning to it.
"It's like a candy shop," Cade laughed, "but honestly I'm more fascinated by the Transformers."
Charlie giggled and had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing so loudly.
Cade gave her a confused look.
"That's not what they're called," Charlie took a few breaths to calm down. "They're Cybertronians."
"So they weren't actually built by anyone?" Cade said as if the thought had never crossed his mind.
"No...well, kind of?" Vance vaguely remembered hearing the story of when Silverdust came. "I guess their frames are built, right?" He looked at Rex and Charlie for verification.
Rex just shrugged. "Probably better off asking one of them about that."
Charlie nodded. "They can be repaired more easily than we can, but what makes them who they are isn't a sophisticated A.I. They're sentient, same as us."
Cade nodded knowingly. "So, where did their sparks come from?"
"That was Rachet's favorite story to tell," Charlie said softly.
Cade's gaze dropped, and his questions on the subject stopped.
The reminder of their lost friend sobered the group. It had been a long year with so many losses.
Another small group of people entered talking excitedly. It was the same group that had been helping with repairs earlier.
"But it was so little!" One woman said, "how could it be anything else?"
"You're kidding, right?" A young man scoffed. "They come in all different sizes; we've seen smaller ones, and they weren't babies."
"Well, true, but...the way those other two were acting..."
Rex tensed hearing the conversation. "They're talking about Silver," he said, concern lacing his tone.
Vance twisted in his seat to get a look at the group. "They're alive, so they clearly didn't get too close."
Cade watched the suddenly tense group he was sitting with curiously. "What's that about?"
Charlie's heart jumped into her throat. "It's- complicated."
"Can they really have babies?" The man's face shone brightly.
"I- it's not my place to-" Charlie stuttered, her face turning red. "It's not your business."
"It didn't mean to pry," he said apologetically.
"Probably something everyone is better off leaving alone anyway," Vance warned, "Illusory's somewhat of a ticking time bomb. Pretty sure that people poking around near her is asking for a major disaster."
"She's not that bad," Rex offered in defense. It was good to warn people away from her though. The femme had been anything but stable for a very long time.
"Please," Charlie said, "just give them space."
Cade nodded. "I'll talk to everyone. Family is important. If they want privacy, I'll do my best to help them out."
Charlie eyed him suspecting he knew what she had desperately tried to hide.
"That would be good. Thank you." Rex relaxed a little. He was sure someone was going to push the boundaries, make one step too far over the line, then where would they be? "They're good 'bots," he insisted, "just been through a lot."
"I get that," Cade promised.
The subject didn't come up again, but Charlie kept glancing at the other table warily. Rex and Vance kept up a conversation with Cade, catching up on world news and what had been happening while they were all in hiding. Myra slipped off to chat with some other people.
Rex noted Charlie's wary glances. "Do you want to go?" He asked quietly.
Charlie pulled her attention back and forced a smile. "No, I'm okay."
"Okay," he took her hand in his, "just let me know."
Charlie nodded and began playing with his thumb, tugging on it, squeezing it, or just rubbing her thumb along his.
"I think I'm going to go check on Myra, make sure she's not bullying anyone," Vance announced after a while.
"I want to go lie down," Charlie said.
"That sounds like a great idea," Rex stood beside Charlie.
"I'll show you where you can stay," Cade said, standing up.
He led them to the elevator and pressed a button for a few floors up. Many of the panels that Charlie had seen during her last visit were off. Probably at Bumblebee's insistence she thought. As they walked, Charlie held Rex's hand. She didn't feel that fear from before. She expected to feel nervous and to be honest she was, but she wasn't afraid. Rex just looked around as they went. The place was nice, Joyce clearly had money to spare.
Cade opened a door that revealed a living space joined by a small kitchenette. Another door closed, sat toward the back of the room. "There are other rooms for Vance and Myra. I've got one down the hall."
"Thank you," Rex went in, feeling a little awkward in an actual room for the first time in too long. The cabin had been nice, but this was much better.
Charlie recognized the room and grew tense. Nervousness flitted through her, but her mood didn't dampen.
Cade left the couple to get settled.
"You okay?" Rex asked when he looked at Charlie.
"Yes," Charlie said as positively as she could muster. "I'm-" she took a cleansing breath, "I stayed here."
"Here? As in this room, here?" He looked around as if there might be a sign. "We can ask for something else...or go somewhere else if you want."
Charlie shook her head with a deep breath. "I'm okay, it's not like it was torture or anything," she said, her voice shaking. "I finally had a real bed in here."
Rex still looked unsure but accepted the answer. Instead, he drew her against him and held her. "Let's get some sleep," he suggested.
Charlie wrapped her arms around him. "Okay."
It was strange to Rex how comfortable the bed was. He lay with Charlie in his arms but found sleep hard to find. After everything that had happened, here they were coming back into the real world, and it felt completely odd. Charlie lay awake staring off into space. The strangeness of their plight didn't escape her. Her mind was spinning between nervousness and anticipation. The thought of bringing back so many of their friends was tantalizing. She wanted to get downstairs and help, even if she didn't know where to begin, but her musings were interrupted by memories she would have loved to forget.
"Can't sleep?" Rex asked after they had laid there for what seemed like hours.
"No," she said her voice small. "I can't relax. I'm too - wired. I really want to believe it's going to work."
"Yeah, me too." He sighed. "Maybe we can go see the others. See how they're doing. Might help."
Charlie turned over, resting her left arm on his chest. "Not just yet," she said, a craving for solitude itching at her. She pushed up further with her feet and kissed him.
He kissed her back and tried to settle himself. He wanted badly just to feel relaxed and comfortable, but tension kept creeping up his spine as if he expected an ambush at any moment. He realized with a start that was exactly what he was expecting. He sighed again. "I am happy to be with you, whatever you want." He would focus on Charlie and the happiness he felt with her.
Charlie smiled at him, a warm upturn on her lips. "We'll go down in a few minutes." Her smile dropped as another thought came to her. "We should check on Lu and Blade. See how they're doing."
Rex cringed a little. "Yeah," he agreed. His imagination was all too eager to show him too many bad things that might have happened. "Hope Cade followed through with that warning. Who knows what either of those two might do if anyone looked at Silver wrong."
Charlie nodded. Being a human shield was the last thing on her mind right now, but helping Illusory was a priority over her own discomforts.
A knock sounded at the door. Charlie froze and clutched Rex's arm. Rex rubbed her back for a bit before getting up to answer the door. A sandy blonde woman with brown eyes and a sour look on her face stood outside. She wore a dark gray pantsuit; jacket unbuttoned revealing a gray blue button down shirt.
"May I come in?" She asked flatly.
Charlie's eyes widened when she saw the woman. "What are you-?"
"I'm on assignment from the President. I've replaced Attinger, and I'm only here to debrief you," she said, resting bitch-face in full force.
Rex stood mostly in front of Charlie, shoulders square and a grim look on his face. "Why?" He asked, his tone clearly not impressed with her presence.
The woman tilted her head and glared up at him. "Because, when people find out your group has ex-Decepticons, they're not gonna care about the 'ex' part. The government may have ended your truce, but we don't want to give the good guys reason to start shooting again. I'm technically the cleanup crew." She seemed absolutely thrilled to be there. She turned to Charlie. "I need you to know that I'm just working. There was never anything personal."
Charlie stared at her, jaw in a hard line.
"It might be a little difficult not to take it personally, considering everything the government has done for us recently." Rex was tempted to tell her to get out and slam the door in her face.
She nodded to him. "I get that." She sighed through her nose and held out her hand. "Tanya Parks. I'm here to get the truth. That's all."
Rex considered her hand for a moment before taking it and giving one firm shake. "Rex," he answered, not bothering to offer more. He glanced at Charlie, wanting to know how she felt about this. He wouldn't let the woman past him if Charlie was uncomfortable.
"I'm just supposed to believe that you were abusive because it was your job description?" The redhead's face was confused and doubtful.
"No. I don't expect anything. I'm here to ensure that none of your group is hostile."
"They aren't," Charlie said quickly, shortly.
"As I said, I'm here to find out."
"How do you intend to do that?" A deep sense of foreboding washed over Rex. None of the 'bots meant to be hostile, but he knew many had short triggers and an unknown human poking around sure wouldn't have to go far to push some of them.
"You've been with them for far longer than anyone here. Your insight would be invaluable."
Charlie snorted. "Now, you want to ask questions."
Rex gave a heavy sigh. It was a step in the right direction, even if he didn't trust the woman. "Fine," he agreed, "come in and ask your questions." He moved, keeping Charlie behind him and waved the woman in. He felt like he was getting ready for tactical training; his mind spinning around all the things they would want kept secret while thinking of what would be substantial for people to know if they were ever going to have a hope of fixing all this mess.
Tanya nodded and sat on the sofa. "I would like to build a file. Temperament, allegiance, a brief history. Basically a short profile."
"You should already have that information. You have NEST's files." Charlie said sharply.
Rex glared disapprovingly at the woman. Allegiance? They would single out the Decepticons as high risk for sure regardless of temperament. "They're loyal to each other, they're tired and jumpy from being attacked every time they have been seen, and they've all been hiding," Rex stated, covering all requests in a very general way.
Tanya fixed Rex with a tired look but spoke to Charlie. "You can imagine that acquiring the files was easy enough. Keeping them proved problematic. Many of them became corrupted soon after we accessed them. Some kind of sleeper program." She took a deep breath. "This is just as much to keep them safe as it is to keep you safe."
"Sure," Rex's tone was disbelieving, but he couldn't help smiling at the mention of a sleeper virus. It felt like a hit for their side.
Tanya pursed her lips. "How many Decepticons do you have?"
"None," Rex stated firmly. After all, they had said there were no sides anymore, just survivors.
"The red eyes are hard to miss," Tanya said sharply.
"People have all kinds of colors. Lu's are yellow; Blindside's are purple. So what if someones are red?" Charlie said.
"Their eyes don't define who they are."
"Those nasty little faces they wear are helpful, too." Tanya pulled out her phone and flipped through a few screens. Then she turned it to them, the Decepticon emblem stared back at them. "I'm trying to keep everyone safe," she said.
"Then leave them alone. None of those 'bots are out to hurt anyone," Rex spoke soft but firm.
"Their leader is alive. What's to stop them from turning back to him? We couldn't get rid of prejudices in two hundred years, and they've been fighting for four million."
"How do you know that?" Charlie asked.
"It's my job."
"And what would tell you that they would go back?"
"If my C.O. suddenly came back from the grave, my morale would jump." Tanya looked like she could use some morale.
"I seriously doubt these are similar situations." Rex fought back the anger he felt, knowing that would do little but turn this into a shouting match. He felt that this woman wanted to single out the Decepticons for easy blame. Knockout had saved their lives repeatedly; Blindside had risked himself for Illusory, Scatterblade, and Silverdust. Sidestep was nothing if not fiercely loyal to protecting the sparkling. He was sure they wouldn't jump to be back under Megatron's rule.
Tanya titled her chin up and sighed again. "If your group became public knowledge, you'd be under fire again."
"Don't threaten them." Charlie's face pinked. "They're family. I w-"
"You'd write off your parents, your siblings, so quickly?" Tanya raised a brow.
"Family is more than blood." Her hands started to curl into fists.
The agent fixed her with inquisitive eyes. "Do they even know you're still alive?"
Rex took one of her hands into his own. "I think we're done here," he all but growled.
Tanya shot him a look. "Just make some profiles so I can get to work."
Charlie's hands started to shake; she was glad Rex had at least one of them. "Please, leave," she said, her breathing labored. She resisted the urge to lash out at the agent.
Rex stood, willing the woman to do the same. "Goodnight, Ms. Parks."
Tanya lifted from the chair and walked to the door. He watched her go, anger boiling inside him.
Charlie let out a long sigh. "We need to warn them," she said quickly.
"Yeah," he agreed quickly. "Let's get down there before she gets a chance to cause too much damage."
Charlie hurried to the door. The hall was clear, and the elevator ride was agonizingly slow. When they reached the bay with the cross sections of the ship, Charlie was practically dragging Rex behind her.
"Knockout. Have you seen Prowl?" She asked out of breath.
Blindside looked up from where he'd been working, hearing the stress in her tone.
"Last I knew he was with the others. Is something wrong?" He was both worried and weary. Of course something was wrong; things were looking up for them, something had to go wrong.
Charlie tried to calm down. Panicking wasn't helping. "They're a woman who's going to be snooping around, asking questions. If you have to answer, it's bare minimum, got it?" She took another breath to steady her hammering heart.
"Yes, ma'am," Blindside said, part lightening the mood part confused and concerned.
Knockout smirked. "Wouldn't have it any other way," he assured them, turning back to his work.
Rex tugged her on gently; they had to tell the others quickly. Charlie followed him, heart still racing.
When they reached the main hall, Charlie was relieved to see their three 'bots in a corner by themselves. Scatterblade was playing with Silverdust, a distant look about him punctuated with bright optics at the sparkling's game. Illusory sat with her face turned toward Silverdust, but none could claim she was watching. Her expression was void of anything, optics dim. Sidestep laid sprawled across the floor near a wall not too far away watching everything with casual interest, though he tensed at Rex and Charlie's arrival, relaxing once he recognized them. Prowl was talking with Mirage, Bumblebee, and Jazz on the far side of the room.
"Guys," Charlie called softly.
Scatterblade looked up. "Hey," then he saw her panic. "What's going on?"
"Can you get them to come over?" She asked.
The mech nodded and pinged to the others. They all turned, spotting Charlie and Rex and came over immediately. Illusory barely moved, just enough to look more in their direction, but still not actually seeing anything. Rex felt disturbed by the femme's apathy.
Charlie was distracted by the femme and a pit hardened in her stomach. "You need to be careful talking about us around new people. We've already got nosy ones that are curious about Silver. Now we've got someone who wants to register you." She said, softly, in a rush of air.
Sidestep growled angrily at the news. "If they know what is best, they will stay away."
Bumblebee made a sound between soothing and discouraged. He didn't want anyone to overreact to the humans' natural curiosity, but he also knew from personal experience how harmful their curiosity could be. ::We will keep them from Silverdust,:: he promised over the open comm.
"That would be the best route," Prowl studied Illusory, her lack of response confused him. He had come to predict certain outbursts from her, but those were now lacking, and this case in particular, he was highly surprised. "As far as questions, I believe that all future questions should be handled by Jazz." He turned to the mech. "You're knack for speaking without saying anything will suit this situation well until we can determine what course of action to take."
"Ya flatter meh," Jazz grinned. He wasn't looking forward to dealing with more human politics, but he was interested in the game of redirection.
Mirage looked a bit relieved not to have to speak with the humans, it was easier for him not to have to discern what was too much and what was acceptable. He would rather not say anything at all.
Charlie nodded, worry now shifted to Illusory. "Blade, what's wrong?"
The front-liner cringed his optics flicking to the "audience." He shook his head. "I don't know."
"I'm going back downstairs," Charlie murmured to Rex, before giving a small wave to the others as her exit.
Rex followed, not yet ready to leave Charlie alone in this place, even with the 'bots nearby.
"I've - I've never seen her like this," she said, her voice catching.
"It's been really hard for her," he tried, "not that it's been easy for any of us, but...well, she was having a hard time coping." He felt awful saying it like that; like she was beyond help, but he had seen soldiers snap before. Sometimes they went off the deep end, other times they just...stopped. He didn't know if it was the same for their mechanical friends, but he suspected it was. "Maybe it's just another type of glitch she can recover from with time."
Charlie shook her head. "It's almost like when she lost- almost lost -Blade. There has to be something we can do." She felt stubborn, and she liked it. Stubborn was a fuel source. She could burn it until she found out what was happening and how to fix it.
When they reached the bay again, Charlie called out to Knockout.
The medic looked at her, curious why she was coming back so soon. "More warnings?" He asked sarcastically, covering concern.
Blindside put down his tools and joined the three, optics alert.
Charlie glared at the red mech but quickly shook it off. "Something's wrong with Lu."
"What kind of something?" Blindside asked, crouching down to her level.
"She's- I don't know. She's distant, not freaking out about anything, not happy or sad or anything." Charlie's voice kept breaking and her eyes stung with tears. She wrapped her arms around herself to keep them from shaking.
Rex stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her for support. His heart hurt to hear how much it was affecting her.
Knockout vented softly. He had noticed the femme's declining state but wasn't sure what to do for her. "We have better equipment here; maybe I can do a full exam and see if I can find something." He didn't seem very hopeful.
Charlie felt tears slip down her cheeks. "We really need Ratchet," she wept.
He hated to admit it, but Knockout agreed. "Working on it," he said finally.
Charlie looked up at them. "Is there anything I can do?" She asked eagerly.
"Just be with her," Blindside said. "Primus knows, she needs it."
"We just need time, I hope." Knockout agreed, looking to all the spark cages lined up neatly waiting for the next stage. "Hopefully the frames won't take long, and hopefully the sparks take to them." He didn't seem too sure about that either, like he knew there was something missing but not entirely sure what.
"It could reject them?" Panic sparked in her belly. "Has this ever worked before?" It finally occurred to her that should have been her first question.
"Frame transfers? Yes. Recently? No. Outside of a proper facility? Absolutely not." He started scanning the cages again. "Rejection is always a possibility."
Charlie felt her knees waver and she leaned back on Rex.
"Go get some rest," Blindside encouraged, "you look like death."
"Come on," Rex led her back towards the elevator.
"But," she stammered. She didn't have her argument ready. "I-"
"Sleep first, worry later." He insisted.
Charlie caved and walked with him to the elevator. Rex took her back to their room, thinking that he should check on Myra and Vance, give them a heads up about Tanya. He didn't want to leave Charlie though, so decided they could wait until morning. Charlie walked in a daze. When she realized they had stopped, they were back in the room, and that was when she broke. Tired and distraught, she just cried. Rex held onto her, guiding her to the bed where he let her lean on him and let everything go. He couldn't tell her everything would be alright, he couldn't promise that, and anything else just sounded cheap, so he stayed quiet. Charlie cried until she physically couldn't, trembling until she drifted to sleep. Rex lay holding her, feeling lost as to what to do for any of them. His mind turned for a few hours before he finally fell asleep as well.