Chapter 29 - POV Knockout
That day had been quite a long one, and it was about to get much longer. Somehow, Knockout got the feeling that the rest of the week would be like this as well.
He and Rylee arrived back at the hangar after their chat, just in time to get ready for their pre-championship race. Although they wouldn't admit it, it seems the kids weren't actually expecting Rylee to come back with him - given the look of surprise on all their faces when she set foot outside the car door. After a quick gathering and catching-up on everything that had transpired, they soon had to rush to get prepared for the race. It also seemed that none of them had expected to actually race that day either, after everything that had happened. He could tell because Smokescreen and Miko didn't go to the dry cleaner's to prepare their uniforms like they had promised they would. Their lack of faith irked him… but he understood. He was surprised Rylee came back with him as well.
After rushing to put on dirty uniforms and prepare the pit crew, they were ready with 30 minutes to kill. Miko, Jack and Raf were busy setting up appearances - Knockout never once stopped for a pit stop, but if they didn't have a presentable crew, then it would look suspicious. Smokescreen was out scouting Phoenix Ark for signs of Thundercracker. Rylee and Knockout were still at the hangar, but not for long. Currently, she was putting some last minute polishes on Knockout, but soon he and Rylee would have to go out there and do their regular photo shoot - pose for a few photos, say a few things, promote the brand. Which Rylee wasn't particularly keen on.
"It's bad enough I have to put on a show for the reporters and pose like a doll for the cameras," Rylee grumbled, grabbing a rag and polisher from a shelf. "But the fact that I have to lie about Bigham? Lying about… well… you is okay for me. Not really hurting anyone. But I hate creating false confidence and rallying support behind something that is hurting people."
"Uhh," Knockout said, as Rylee poured polisher on the rag. "You'll have to enlighten me. You've complained about it before, but what exactly has Bigham done?"
"It's what they have and haven't been doing. They're an oil company." Rylee frowned and started polishing Knockout's hood, the bright 84 shining back up at her. "They support an unsustainable energy source that's killing our planet, and lobby the government to pass laws in favor of their profits rather than the wellbeing of everyone."
"I… suppose that's bad," Knockout said. "I never had that problem on Cybertron, so it's harder to put it into perspective. You talk like you have something personal against them, though…?"
"Well, yeah. Snakesworth alone makes me want to throw the company in the trash can. But really, it's what he has me say on the cameras. I'm out there basically working PR for them, lying to the public about their charities and covering up their scandals."
"What's 'PR'?"
"Public relations," Rylee sighed, polishing the roof of the car. "Remember last week, when I had to make a huge point about Bigham cutting emissions by 45% this year? That was a big fat lie. I did the research. They increased emissions by 22% - they only cut emissions by that amount in one city - this city. I suppose, legally, Bingham Oil Co can claim I was talking to the people of this city, and that it was only a coincidence my words were aired nationally. Or if there was actually a lawsuit, they could try to throw me under the bus." Rylee clenched her hands. "I just hate the loopholes and the… I just feel like I'm the the right hand of the devil and it's exhausting . Can you imagine if we actually win the entire thing? Can you imagine the kind of undeserved money and recognition the company will get? It's like feeding a monster."
"That's an interesting take on the situation," Knockout hummed. "And I agree with you." He actually now had an idea, but was going to keep it a secret for now. He'd have to talk with the kids and see if they were on board as well - and if it was a good idea. Knockout didn't know much about the human legal system, but even he knew there was bound to be some consequences. He looked back at Rylee, who was furiously scrubbing grime off his wheels. Knockout got the feeling she would agree with his idea, though, even if she couldn't work up the courage to do it herself. "What would happen if you just… stopped representing them? Why do you even have to anymore? I mean you're in the race, they've paid all the fees already"
"Legal things. I'm not sure," she grumbled. "When I signed on with them I agreed to represent them the whole time. If I stopped now, after they already invested in me, they'd for sure take some sort of action against me and probably make me pay some exorbitant fee. While I hate this, I'm not about to make our quest a billion times more difficult." Knockout hummed in recognition, and they were both silent for a bit.
Rylee then slapped the hood of the car. "Done. You can stretch for a bit before the race if you want, we've got ten minutes still."
Knockout transformed and sat on the floor. "You know, I'm just as comfortable in vehicle mode as in robot mode. If I had to 'stretch' after being in vehicle mode for half an hour, I'd have terrible cramps after a race or a night resting as a vehicle."
Rylee shrugged and put the items away. "Hey, just trying to help."
Knockout looked over his own coat - he was now so shiny he almost blinded himself. It was… amazing .
"I don't think I say it enough, but thank you for this. I look wonderful . I'd have it no other way showing up to Earth's championships, but I'm glad you're here to help me."
"Thanks," Rylee laughed. "I don't have the time or money to buy makeup for myself, so I'll have to settle for just making you look good." Knockout smiled and nodded, trying to look at himself through the small mirror they had. He couldn't wait to show off this look to the world.
"Should we get going soon?" Knockout asked, still absorbed with his own reflection.
"I… actually wanted to talk to you about something," Rylee said from the back of the hangar, shakily. Fear gripped his spark. Knockout sat up straight, afraid to look back at her - until he finally did. She was gripping her elbow… she looked nervous. Knockout felt nervous as well. Did she change her mind? Was she leaving? Did she decide she hated him?
"What about?" Knockout tried to say cooly, but it was obvious he was apprehensive.
"It's about my dad, actually," Rylee sat down on a crate, looking at her hands. "I know what happened to him." A wave of relief washed over Knockout. "Earlier didn't seem the right time to bring it up, but since you're the only one here I've talked to about him… well…"
"Of course," Knockout chirped. "You can always tell me. I'm here." He took one last look at his own reflection, and was now absorbed by Rylee's story.
"That's good to know," Rylee said somberly. "But before I get started I just wanted you to know… I don't blame you for anything. Well… maybe I do, but I've forgiven you. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here with you in the first place."
Knockout's anxiety was back again. He nervously laughed. "Blame me… for what exactly?"
Rylee smiled sadly. "It turns out, my father wasn't a racer. He was an agent for the EDC. And yes, apparently they were around back then. The war on Earth hadn't quite started yet, but the Autobots had been on Earth for quite a while - so by extension, the EDC was as well." She fumbled with her hands. "I always wondered why he'd frequently fix up strange looking cars, suddenly disappear on trips and never allow me in the garage. In fact, I modeled my own car after the ones I'd find in his garage back in the day. I even thought I heard voices in there sometimes…" she grabbed her own head. "He told my mother, but he never told me. I was too young, I guess. He was a respected agent, used as both a middleman and a repairman. He wasn't supposed to be in danger but…. but…"
Rylee sat there for a moment with her eyes closed. "No. I won't cry. Where was I?" She folded her hands on her lap and continued. "He was sent out suddenly for suspicious activity - some unknown 'bots had set up a camp of some kind on a hill." She met Knockout's eyes. "Thundercracker never told us where his little face off with Skywarp took place, did he?"
Knockout felt a chill run across him. He had an idea of where this was going, and he dreaded it. He shook his head.
"It was here. In South Carolina." she said softly. "Same city my father visited. Same city he died in."
"Does that mean…" Knockout trailed off.
"Yes," Rylee somberly nodded. "It wasn't a car accident that killed him. In trying to spy on the two seekers, he was killed in the same explosion that took Skywarp's life and almost took Thundercracker's as well." She gripped the crate. "I'm… just glad his death wasn't in vain. I always thought he died chasing an unlived dream, living out his life as an unsuccessful racer. That he was a nobody that was taken before he could become a somebody . But no… he lived a good life. He was one of their best. He died doing his job. And if he wasn't there to warn the EDC, they wouldn't have been there on time to save Thundercracker after the explosion, or quick enough to hide the whole ordeal from the public."
"It sounds like your father is someone you should be proud of. I guess you got your affinity for Cybertronians from him," Knockout said shakily, and both were quiet for a moment. Knockout was antsy, tapping his foot against the floor. He finally sighed, "Rylee. There's something you should know. The city-leveling cannon that Thundercracker and Skywarp were using? The thing that exploded and killed your dad? I -"
"Created it. I know," Rylee smiled, cutting him off. "I'm not going to blame you for my dad's death. He was the one that went out there himself, and Thundercracker was the one who exploded it. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame Thundercracker either! I mean, he saved a whole city that day. It's just…" Rylee looked up at him. "Your creation didn't level the city, so I can forgive you for that. But I can only imagine how many other civilizations were destroyed by it." Knockout looked down in shame. It was true. That weapon of his had caused so much death and destruction that he had never intended. Megatron had instructed him to make that object as "mining instrument" - he never told him it'd be used to destroy a living civilization as well.
Not that he cared much, he realized. In the beginning he was completely apathetic to the deaths - they were organic , after all. And when his one and only prototype of the weapon was destroyed, he was annoyed at the inconvenience. He never built another, however. Looking back, though, its destruction was a blessing in disguise.
"I'm proud of you, Knockout."
Knockout blinked, looking at the somber yet blissful Rylee. "What?"
"The reason I brought all of this up… well yes, I wanted to talk to someone about my dad. But I also wanted to know if I could trust you." She hopped down from the crate and slightly pulled open the hangar door. "And I can. That was a very risky thing to admit, and 'old Knockout' would've never. But I'm glad you told me, because now I know I can trust you to not hide things from me - especially important things."
Knockout nodded and allowed himself a smile. "I'm… glad you trust me. I really didn't want to tell you but with something so personal, you deserved to know." Rylee nodded back, and grabbed her helmet and transformed into vehicle mode, popping open the door. "Ready to go?"
"One last thing…" Rylee put the helmet over her head. "At the whole… 'intervention' of sorts. The people there were Ratchet, Ms. Darby, Marissa Faireborne, Thundercracker, and… my mom ."
"Your mom?" Knockout asked surprisedly. "Did she… know about all this Cybertronian stuff all along? She knew who I was and left you in a garage with me anyways?"
"I mean I wouldn't blame her, she'd probably be going out to get help. But no, she didn't exactly know. I mean she knew things because of my father, but she wasn't part of the EDC. She actually was visiting my aunt, like she said, until she came home and found me missing. And I guess since they had her marked down as an affiliate of the EDC, they weren't afraid to tell her what was actually going on." She grabbed the top of her helmet. "Man, my mom had a lot to say. And she was really not a fan of me going off and doing all this… but she couldn't blame me. She said that's what my dad would've done."
"I was right then," Knockout mused, as Rylee hopped into the front seat. "Your family really does have an affinity for Cybertronians. You see an alien robot and go wild ."
Rylee giggled. " Maybe ." She then gripped the steering wheel. "Alright. You ready to go win a race?"
"Of course!" Knockout exclaimed as he exited the hangar into the cool dusk air. There were blinding lights all over, and the press area was already completely surrounded by masses of photographers and reporters. "I wouldn't have it any other way. We can actually… win though, right? No 'second place' nonsense?"
"Yes," she smiled, with a mischievous glimmer in her eye. "It's first or nothing. Let's show them what we can really do."
Author's Note
Sorry for taking so long to update (school, but also video games are getting in the way), but thank you for sticking with me! We're almost at the end! I've actually written the next chapter and am halfway through writing the one after that, so I'll definitely have more out soon. I also just wanted to say, I'm really really thankful for all the reviews I've received, and I never expected to get this much feedback on this fic of mine. Reading them made me cry with joy and I just wanted to say: THANK YOU! And thank you to everyone reading!
Continuity/Edit notes: I changed the past chapter "Bring to Light" to have Rylee's mother present as well.
