CHAPTER 25 - POV Rylee

It was a dream. She realized at least that much. And she only knew that because her father was there.

And so was Jack, Miko, Raf, Smokescreen and Knockout. All smiling at her, beyond an invisible barrier.

'What's going on? Why are you smiling? And why am I not smiling back?' were questions she'd ask herself. Until slowly the dream took action. With a sad wave, her father - whose features she could barely distinguish - stepped back. And with that step, he slowly faded away.

'No!' she'd yell, but the rest just kept on smiling. And her protests did not stop the others from doing the same. First Jack stepped back, then Miko, Raf, Smokescreen and finally Knockout. 'No', she cried. 'Not you too. You promised me.' But Knockout didn't listen. He stepped back and turned to mist with the rest of them. Rylee, tormented, fell to her knees as the mist swirled around her - intangible. 'Bring them back. Bring them back. Please,' she'd say.

But from the edges of the mist came a shape. Red eyes. Knockout? No. Rylee crawled back in terror. Thundercracker? No quite. Not enough blue. There was too much… too much red .

She jumped awake in a cold sweat, her brain a fire of alarms. What woke me?

She fully opened her eyes, looking up. Oh. There was her answer.

Standing right above her in the lightless obscurity was Thundercracker, his glowing red optics piercing the darkness. She barely had time to panic - instead, she was trying to process if she was truly awake or not, since this was exactly the stuff of her nightmares. It's real.

Rylee looked around her. Jack and Smokescreen were both asleep and out of arm's reach. Of course they are. Rylee cautiously extended her arm towards Smokescreen, but was promptly interrupted.

"I'm not here to hurt you," Thundercracker said quietly, like a whisper. "But you must come with me, and stay completely silent. Trust me, it's for your own good ." Thundercracker bent down a bit, the moonlight now illuminating his face. Rylee retracted her arm, hugging her own body instead. "I can't afford you waking the others. If you won't stay quiet, I'll make you stay quiet."

Rylee bit her lip and nodded up at him, and then looked back down at Jack with desperation. If only staring at you could wake you up.

Thundercracker nodded and slowly headed toward the hangar door, eyes locked on Rylee's to make sure she was following. At last they were both outside, rain pouring down on them both. Thundercracker silently closed the hangar door behind them, and Rylee shivered. No going back, no running for help. This is it. And I sure hope he's as benevolent as he claims he is.

He walked a few more steps before transforming into a jet, the cockpit popping open. "Get in."

Rylee hesitated, inching her way over as slowly as she could. A dog then jumped up on the seat, rain starting to soak her amber coat. But despite that, she wagged her tail happily and looked over at Rylee.

"And hurry," Thundercracker continued. "Buster's getting wet and I don't want her catching pneumonia."

Rylee cautiously stepped up and entered the jet, the glass hood closing down over her. She had never been in a jet before, and this definitely wasn't how she imagined her first time. Her soggy clothes soaked the seat, and Buster stood on Rylee's lap and started licking her face. Despite her terror, she smiled at Buster. If it weren't for her, she probably would've lost her mind already.

The console then lit up, and Thundercracker took off the ground startlingly fast. In seconds they were miles in air, and Rylee grew pale looking at the distance between her and the Earth. She took a deep breath, slightly shaking.

"It's called 'pneumonia', right?" Thundercracker asked absentmindedly. "I'm trying to learn the different organic diseases to keep her healthy. You guys have so much! How do you not worry all the time about getting sick or hurt? I suppose we do have Cybercrosis, but…" he trailed off, then went silent. "Are you alright?"

Did he really just asked me if I was alright? He just kidnapped me. Of course I'm not. "Where are we going?" Rylee shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, that!" Thundercracker said. "Yes, um, well… you're going to see some people. I don't know if they want me to tell you until you get there."

"Am I going to die?" Rylee asked, voice slightly wavering.

"Die?!" Thundercracker dropped a few feet, presumably out of shock, but quickly caught himself. "Oh, I just realized you look absolutely terrified and that I really haven't explained much. Sorry for seeming so scary! I'm trying out effective threatening dialogue options for my new screenplay." Rylee noticed papers littered around the cockpit as well - newly printed to be small enough for Miko to read. "Trust me, you're not going to die. I work for the government and my job is to keep you safe, so the last thing you're going to do is die . I'm actually here to help you." He then quietly added, "And please don't die while I'm watching you or I'm going to feel guilty and Marissa's never going to stop yelling at me."

"This is for my own good?" Rylee asked nervously, petting Buster. She felt more relieved than before, but she was still apprehensive as to where they were going and why . "Am I ever going to see Knockout again?"

"Of course! Tomorrow! But only if you want to after what we show you."

"What… are you showing me?"
Thundercracker sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this yet, but you're finally going to learn about the war. You deserve to know, especially if you're in close contact with an ex-Decepticon. Then decide if you actually want to go back to him. And, I suppose… let us know if he's actually changed."

"Okay," Rylee breathed, petting Buster. She dug her head in Buster's neck. Relax. Relax. Don't freak out. "How did you end up with a pet dog?" Rylee asked, attempting to distract herself.

"Oh, she was a gift from Marissa!" Thundercracker said excitedly. "At the beginning of my… what should I call it… tenure on Earth, I watched a lot of TV while I was confined underground by the EDC. I had no contact with the outside world - and to be honest, I still don't really - and I absolutely adored the dogs in every single show I'd watch. I thought dogs were CGI, because I mean there's no way something that cute could exist! And then-!" He paused for a moment, overcome with excitement. "Marissa noticed how much I loved dogs, and gifted me Buster. She was a little puppy back then. They watched me to make sure I was treating the dog right… I think it was another one of their tests… but I guess I passed! They were so scared I would step on her within the first day. I would never . Buster is number one priority and because of her I've learned to be very, very cautious."

"That's cute," Rylee allowed a small smile. Buster happily jumped onto her lap, and Rylee scratched behind her ears. "I was also wondering… how did you join the EDC in the first place? And leave the Decepticons?"

Thundercracker was silent for a moment. "I suppose I can tell you now. Even if you don't know much about the war." Rylee could sense his sudden mood change from merry to forlorn.

"During the war, I had two of what you'd call 'brothers'. They were my trine-mates, and we were the Seekers - an elite flying squad. It was me, Starscream and Skywarp. Skywarp's always mean and grouchy and Starscream overly ambitious and sly, but I loved them nonetheless. Well, one day the Nemesis - the main Decepticon ship - took a pit stop on Earth long before our war started here, looking for energon. You know what energon is, right?"

Rylee nodded, and Thundercracker continued. "Skywarp and I were tasked by Megatron to scout the area, and we tracked a large cache underneath one of your cities. It didn't look so big to me, but apparently it's one of your most heavily populated cities. I don't know what it's called, but I guess I'm glad I didn't blow it up."

"Blow it up?" Rylee emphasized, disbelieving.

"Yes! Haha, about that," Thundercracker began. "Standard Decepticon procedure for energon retrieval trapped under large structures is to destroy the structures above it - regardless of whether or not organic life inhabited it. I really think their procedure is in need of a drastic overhaul."

Rylee's jaw had dropped, but she quickly closed it and tried her hardest at maintaining a poker face. This is the Decepticons? This is what Knockout was part of?

"Yes, well, Skywarp and I were sent down there to do that. We were perched on the hill, overlooking the city, setting up the city-rending cannon. I just remember looking at the cars passing by and the unique architecture and the humans laughting together and walking their dogs and wondering… how could I just destroy all this beauty in happiness? I couldn't do it. I have too much of a conscience, I suppose. Starscream always called that a weakness of mine. But is it really?" Thundercracker was silent for a moment. "I suppose it doesn't matter anymore."

"We were there together, and after Skywarp set up the cannon he laid back and waited for me to pull the trigger. I couldn't. He asked again and again and over and over I said I couldn't… I wouldn't… and he got mad." Thundercracker sighed. "He finally went to press the trigger himself and I wouldn't let him, and that's when he finally snapped. He started to fight me - which isn't much of a fight at all when you're outclassed at close combat. I was critically injured by him. I'd live, but he was disappointed in me, and ashamed. He'd threatened to report my 'betrayal' to Megatron… and for that? I would've been harshly punished. So at this point… I really didn't have much more to lose."

Thundercracker's tone had lowered exponentially throughout this ride alone. While at one point he sounded overly optimistic and joyful, he was now gravely solemn. If she were able to see his face, she was sure it would've held the same weight.

"That's when I fired," Thundercracker finally said. "Not at Skywarp… it would've been just a scratch, and they could've just sent someone else to finish the work he started. No, I fired at the cannon. The highly explosive cannon. The aftermath? The city was safe, but there was now a large crater in the hill, where Skywarp and the cannon used to be. I suppose I was far away to survive the blast, since the EDC found me not longer after, healed me and rehabilitated me. Skywarp? He was dust."

Thundercracker went quiet, and Rylee laid her hand on the console sympathetically. "I'm sorry. But thank you," she said softly.

"That's ok. I'm happier here on Earth than I ever was with the Decepticons. And Skywarp… let's just hope his loss was for the good of the universe. I couldn't bear it otherwise." Rylee noticed they had been circling in the air for a while now, but I seemed Thundercracker was finally reaching his destination. It looked like forests… Phoenix Ark? "You know, I don't think the Decepticons ever figured out what happened that day. And they couldn't use a mnemosurgeon to figure it out either because there were no dead bodies for them to steal memories from in the first place. We were both just… gone ."

Rylee hugged Buster and nodded somberly, and even Buster had laid her head down. Thundercracker then made a noise that sounded almost like clearing his throat. "Sorry about that, it's a lot. Knockout didn't want me spilling all the beans on day one and you know what? I can kinda see why! It's a little intense! Alright not as intense as the stories dealing with Overlord , but…" Thundercracker gave a small chuckle. "Sorry. Trailing off again. We're here."

Rylee put he face to the glass and Thundercracker descended, and she could see a small fire in the middle of the midnight forest. And all around the campfire were people she didn't know, and a Cybertronian. She froze. Another one ?

As Thundercracker landed the cockpit popped open, and Buster jumped up and ran towards the unfamiliar brunette woman in a jumpsuit and started licking her. She, in turn, knelt down to pet Buster.

Rylee hopped out and landed in the dew-filled grass and Thundercracker transformed back to robot mode.

"Long time no see, Marissa," Thundercracker smiled, seemingly have shaken off his gloom. "Seems like Buster's missed you."

"Thundercracker, I saw you less than two weeks ago," the brunette - Marissa - laughed, still petting Buster.

"That's a long time for me!" Thundercracker said defensively yet facetiously.

As she drew closer, the bonfire illuminated the scene before her. Next to Marissa was a large container and a data chip, labelled "Rewind's War Archive".

Rylee looked up at the new Cybertronian. He was white and orange, and grumpily crossing his arms. Was that -?

Rylee's train of thought was interrupted by a voice.

"Rylee."

She turned toward her, and as her eyes adjusted, she realized the recognized the speaker. She'd met her once before. It was Jack's mother, and she looked very stern.

"Hello, Rylee. I think there's a history lesson in order."

Author's Note

Here's a late Christmas gift, everyone! I genuinely planned to have the next chapter out yesterday, but unfortunately I ran out of time and didn't want to put out an unfinished chapter. I'm so grateful for all of you reading and commenting, and thank you! :)