22: The Adventures of Little Riley!
Chapter 22 - Who Is Riley
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers Prime or the franchise. All characters (except Riley) belong to Hasbro.
This chapter we are with Jack, Miko, and Raf. So let's get in with it and have fun! :D
After Darkness Rising Part 5
It's also after when Miko and Raf find the file 'Riley Autobot Pax'
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Miko and Raf stared at the screen for what felt like forever till Miko snapped out of it.
"Why do the bots have a picture of some little girl?" Miko questioned. Raf shrugged his shoulders glancing up at Miko. "Jack I know you said your out but you need to see this." Miko said to Jack who was sitting on the couch. He sighed as he got up and stared at the pic. His face showed he was clearly confused as the other two.
"I know right?" Miko mentioned after the look on his face. "Who is that?" He asked. "Her name is-" Raf stopped, looking around the room. The bots were busy with their own things so he proceeded but quieter. "-Riley."
"I say we learn more about this Riley." Miko said as an idea brewed inside her. Jack and Raf looked unsure but Miko pressured them.
Raf looked more into the file with the other two. There were a few more pictures of her, some documents about her, and all were labeled with dates. They barley found anything out. No origins and nothing about what happened.
"It says she lived in Buffalo but even that says last known location" Raf pointed out. "Does it say the date?" Jack asked. Raf looked and nodded his head. "January 2002" he replied. "That was only 3 years ago. Perfect." Miko said determined. Jack and Raf shared puzzled looks so Miko continued.
"It was only 3 years ago, that's still pretty recent. Plus we know she didn't die, maybe missing. But maybe we can help the bots find her." Miko explained. "But we don't know why she left or what happened to her. Or whether they was actually liked her." Jack quickly added. Miko felt defeated until Raf said something.
"Well if she stayed here, obviously she would have needed a place to sleep and the couch wasn't here forever." Raf pointed out. "This is why your the smart one Raf" Miko complimented. "Well shouldn't we go look for it? Her room?" Jack asked. Miko and Raf nodded their head as the spunky girl grabbed them and dragged them away.
Once they were in the hall with all the berthrooms, they began to look closely. All of the doors were closed but unlocked. It wasn't until they turned a corner and saw a berthroom with a human door with steps leading up.
They all shared excited glances before running to it, eager for answers. They went up the stairs before trying the door. Locked.
"Of course" Jack said disappointed. "You boys keep an eye out, I've got this!" Miko exclaimed pulling out a hair pin from her pocket. "Do you just carry that all the time?" Raf asked suspiciously. "Raf, I'm a girl. Don't know when you need one of these." She mentioned holding up the pin. Raf nodded to her statement and did his job. Lookout.
Miko fumbled with the lock for a bit before hearing the click. She got up satisfied as she opened the door. "Ta da" she slyly said, swaying her arms for the boys to enter first. Once all three were inside, they were taken back.
The room was, in fact, a little girl's room. There was a toy chest, desk, bed, T.V, toys, and bean bags. They wandered around the room for a bit. Each taking in something that could lead to further explanations of who she was.
Raf looked at the toys and movies for the T.V, Jack went to the washroom and bookshelf, and Miko explored the desk area.
"There's a lot of genre of films and there's a lot of stuffies." Raf concluded. "Washroom and the books here are a mixture of Cybertron stuff and children's books." Jack added. He also pointed to the washroom. "Lots of weird symbols on paper here and some pretty good drawings." Miko finished. "Hey look at that." Jack said pointing beside Miko. The three looked at the big picture hanging on the wall.
It was Team Prime plus Cliffjumper and the girl. They all stood or kneeled, smiling at the camera. The little girl just stood there innocently, her cyan eyes practically staring in your soul.
The three kids looked at it with a lot of interest. Miko backed up, pulled out her phone, and snapped a picture. After she saved it to her phone, the three agreed to continue the investigation. They decided to leave her room before the bots came or noticed their absence.
The three sat down as they tried to think about the given situation. Miko and Jack corresponded with each other while Raf continued searching through files. That is until he found something.
"Guys, look!" He quickly said getting their attention. Miko and Jack sat either side of him as Raf pulled up a video. The video began to play, the kids watching and listening carefully.
(~Video~)
"Ok recording!" Riley said happily, holding a thumb out in front of the camera.
The scene showed Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, and Arcee all lined up on the road.
"3...2...1...Go!" Riley shouted as the three sped off. She turned the camera so it caught everything. Bulkheads cheering could be heard in the background.
The video cut to them being back in base.
"I won fair and square 'Cee" Cliffjumper said innocently. Arcee sighed shaking her head. "Sure you did." Arcee said before walking with Bee into the halls of the base. Bumblebee waved at Riley who waved back. You could tell by the cameras slight shaking after he waved.
Then the camera pointed at Ratchet as Riley started to commentate.
"That's Ratchet the Hatchet. He says he hates me but he actually loves me so if he says otherwise, it's not true. Those two were Arcee and Bumblebee. You could say their my brother and sister. Oh and that's Cliffjumper! He's the comedic relief and Ratchets worst nightmare! And who can forget Bulkhead, the sweetest but most awesome wrecker ever!"
Riley pointed to each corresponding bot, explaining them a bit.
"Cliff and Bulk are like my brothers too. I've known them since before I can remember! Ratchet is obviously the grumpy uncle. Their family and I wouldn't have it any other way! I will never ever consider them not my family! One day I'll help them, fight with them, and go on missions."
That's when she turned the camera around so it faced the bright, energetic girl. She smiled as she spoke again.
"Did you know Ratchet named me? I'll never let him live it down. I remind him everytime he does." Riley said as if whispering it to someone. Raising her hand to cover one side of her face. "My middle name is obviously because I'm one of them! My last name is because-" she suddenly got cut off by Optimus' voice.
She looked up before greeting him. She looked at the camera and gave an "Oh!" look before turning it around.
"This is Optimus Prime! My daddy~" Riley said as she showed the towering mech. He smiled kindly at her before saying something else.
"Riley, have you done your homework for the night?" He asked. Riley didn't talk back annoyed by his question like any other kid would. She just nodded her head happily. Again you could tell by the slight movement of the camera.
"Have you eaten your dinner yet?" He asked like a parent, checking everything off the list.
"Noooo..." Riley said trailing off.
"Sweetspark, you better have it now ok? I love you." He said as he disappeared from the cameras view. His pedsteps could be heard, becoming more and more distant.
"Love you too daddy!" Riley shouted before the camera feed cut out completely.
(~End of Video~)
"Awwwwww" Miko cooed. "That's actually the sweetest thing ever" Jack added. "Well now we know more thanks to her" Raf also added. "I hope she's doing ok now" Miko mentioned sadly. Jack did some mental math before concluding her age. "Well if she was born on April 1st and 1998 was her last birthday..." he mumbled to himself. "She'd be 15 now." He said out loud.
"Ok so Ratchet named this girl, Optimus was basically her dad while the other bots were like siblings. They looked like they did lots of racing." Miko pointed out. "She's lived here with them till she was 8." Raf also mentioned. "I say we get the bots to tell us. We are going to be sticking around, might as well know right?" Jack wondered. The three kids made a plan to get the bots to tell them instead of them asking.
They acted like normal till they were ready. Once they were, they went to Arcee.
"Hold up, I got this." Miko said confidently raising her hand up to stop the two behind her. They motioned that she had the floor with this one. Miko walked up to Arcee, smiling innocently.
"Hey Miko, Jack, Raf" she greeted. "I have a bunch of questions for you Arcee, better answer them quick!" Miko said challengingly. "Ok sure, go ahead" Arcee said, not at all suspicious about their plan.
"How long have you been an Autobot?"
"Since the beginning of the war."
"Why did you choose a motorcycle?"
"Smaller and faster, plus it's cool."
"Did you win every race Riley set you up on?"
"Most of them yeah-"
Arcee suddenly felt confused and in shock. Like what she said wasn't supposed to be said. "Ah Ha!" Miko exclaimed like a mad scientist. Her plan had worked! Arcee looked completely off guard. "H-How do you know..." Arcee stuttered.
"So who is she? We overheard you guys talking about her coming back soon. Plus one of you may have slipped the name and races once or twice." Jack asked Arcee who was still flustered. "Who?" She asked angrily. "Not saying until you give us answers." Miko said teasingly, crossing her arms. This was all apart of the plan and so far it worked.
"Then you won't get any. You don't need to know anything about her" Arcee snapped. She turned and walked away, leaving the kids defeated. That's when Jack completely realized something.
"Raf, pull up the picture again." Jack asked quickly. Raf looked confused, as did Miko. "Now now now, come on!" Jack hurried. Raf sat down, pulling his laptop out and typing at his keys. He turned the device once her image was back on screen.
"How did I not notice!" Jack said angrily at himself, using his hand to facepalm. "What? Speak up Jack!" Miko urged as Jack realized something. "I think I know her. Back in fourth grade there was a kid named Riley as well. She was in grade 2 and she was actually my friend. She looks exactly like that too!" Miko and Raf stood there dumbfounded. "You knew her?!" Miko screeched, her arms flying up in the air.
"Well what happened?" Raf asked. "One day she just, left. She didn't come back to school in April. Ever since then she hasn't been seen. She was my friend and also Vince, Sierra, and Nickys." Jack explained. Miko looked absolutely shocked at the new information.
"She was friends with Vince?! The Vince?!" Miko exclaimed loudly. Jack just nodded like it was obvious. "I found something that might relate to this." Raf chimed in.
Jack and Miko sat beside the 12 year old as he pulled up a separate file. This one was labeled 'The Pod'. Inside were images and documents from the sighting and search.
"It says the pod is here in base." Raf said scrolling through. "What's that?" Miko asked pointing to an image. Raf clicked on it and a blue crystal with a black string popped up. Beside the picture was a document explaining it.
"Ok well I'm not into reading so you have fun Raf. It's time to go anyways." Miko said as she got up and walked towards Bulkhead. Raf nodded as he closed his laptop and joined Jack as they went to their respective guardians.
"Hey Arcee, uh I'm sorry about earlier" Jack said once him and Arcee were out of base. "It's fine I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have snapped like that." Arcee said. "You had every right to Arcee. Curiosity killed the cat I guess." "What?" Arcee asked now confused and worried. "It's just a saying" Jack quickly said laughing. The two rode to Jack's home, laughing and joking for the rest of the ride.
(~The Next Day~)
Once the kids got picked up at school and were at base, they talked to Raf about the files he read.
"I think the pod and Riley are connected somehow. It says the Crystal is now in Riley's possession. It also mentions a being inside the pod, it could be her."
Miko and Jack thought in Aw. "If that's true, then that's so cool!" Miko shrieked. Jack quickly shushed her, noticing Ratchet get annoyed.
"Keep it down or Ratchet will listen into our conversations. We already invaded the bots personal life, don't need him to expose us." Jack told Miko in a stern tone. The Japanese girl rolled her eyes as she left and headed down the halls. "Where are you going now!" Jack yelled but in a whisper.
"Checking Optimus' room. If Riley was his kid, surely he'll have something about her." Miko said quietly. She turned headed down the hall. Smirking when she heard two pairs of footsteps follow her.
When the three kids were in his room, they voted for Raf to be on lookout. "I feel like this is too far" Jack whispered worriedly. Miko scoffed as she did some parkour to reach the high metal desk. Once she got on, she saw a small box sitting on the far left corner. Practically touching the corner of the room. She went up and opened it, pulling out two things.
"What did you find?" Jack whispered loudly. "These!" Miko whispered back, peeking over and waving the two things.
She found a human sized book and a folded photo. She looked at the book, opening it to see an entry. "It's a diary!" Miko exclaimed. It was fun seeing other people's diaries but why would Optimus have a diary? A human sized diary? Couldn't be his.
"Optimus has a diary?" Jack asked confused. "Read my mind Jack. Hold on-" she said as she scanned the pages, looking for a name. That's when she gasped. "It's Riley's!" She said. Now both teens were shocked.
"Why does he have her diary?" Jack asked for both of them. "Maybe she gave it to him before leaving?" Miko suggested. Then she looked at the photo. It was the same photo Soundwave left for Optimus years ago. The one with his sparkmate and sparkling. Miko laid the photo out and took a quick snap.
She folded the photo and put it back exactly how it was before. Then she skimmed across the pages of the diary, trying to look for anything important. It was all just writing that filled every page.
Sighing, she closed the box and got down with the diary at hand. Jack started to freak out. "Why are you taking it?!" "Chill dude, I'm just going to read it tonight and then put it back tomorrow. I'll jot down all the important stuff" Miko tried to reassure Jack. "Thought reading wasn't your thing." He asked smugly. Miko just looked at Jack like he was saying something stupid.
"Not when it's a diary!" She said waving the book in front of his face. The two stepped outside the room, the door shutting behind them. "Did you find anything?" Raf asked as the three walked back to the main part.
"A nice secret diary. Oh! And this." Miko said flipping her phone out and showing the boys the pic. "Optimus had a family before?" Raf asked scratching his head. "Looks like it. Wondered what happened?" Jack asked out loud. "You think it's connected?" Miko also asked.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked. Miko shrugged her shoulder before Raf thought of a theory. His face lit up, having the attention of his older friends. "Dude! What is it?" Miko asked shaking the younger boy.
"Riley said she's known the bots since before, meaning they raised her. If her and the pod are connected then she might be from Cybertron. The bots may or may not know too." Raf spitted out. "Maybe her and the kid in the pic are the same person!" Miko shouted. Jack and Raf shushed her. Miko gave an apologetic look.
"Wait then why did she appear human? Bots can't turn into humans." Jack just thought and said aloud. The kids thought about it for a moment before sighing.
"There goes that cool idea." Miko said very disappointed, Raf sharing her pain. "The crystal?" He asked hopeful but Jack just shook his head. "That's too much voodoo and magical to actually be real." He concluded, squashing that idea. The three kids returned back to the human area, sighing with defeat. The only thing that can bring more answers was the diary. But luck had its way around.
"Miko, just so you know, Bulkhead had gotten damaged earlier in battle before picking you up. I put him in stasis for the time being while I do repairs." Ratchet mentioned once he saw Miko. She just gave a thumbs up, hiding the diary behind her.
Ratchet looked at her suspiciously but didn't ponder it. He could care less what Miko was up to, but maybe he should. It's Miko we're talking about.
"He also may be a bit loopy when he awakes. I had to induce pain meds into his systems." Ratchet added before going over to Bulkhead with his equipment.
"Ok Ratch'" Miko replied heading to the couch. She looked at the diary for a few seconds, pondering whether she should read it now or later. Then she thought of an idea. When she did, she jumped up gasping excitingly.
"Uh oh, Miko has an idea. So is it a good or bad one Miko?" Jack joked looking at the now ecstatic girl. She shushed him before calling for Ratchet.
"How long will it take?" She asked. "Half an hour at the earliest." Ratchet replied as he opened Bulkheads chassis. Miko grinned evilly, turning back to Jack and Raf. She then sat down and explained her plan.
"When Bulkheads all doped up, we ask him about Riley. The big lug probably won't notice or pay attention. He is easy to crack so loopy him should provide info no problemo." Jack and Raf stared at eachother before nodding in agreement.
Once Bulkhead was up again, the kids waited for Ratchet to return to the monitors. That way he couldn't interfere. Miko nodded to the boys as she made her way down to Bulkheads still form.
"Hey Bulk? You awake?" Miko asked climbing on to the berth and on top of Bulkhead. His optics opened slightly as he gave off a goofy grin. "Ok good, I wanna ask you a few things" Miko said noticing he was awake.
"Don't DO iT raPid FirE" he said lousily. Miko shushed him causing him to shush her back. "Did you know I did this once with her?" Bulkhead said whispering. Miko didn't even ask and he was already spilling the beans.
"Is 'her' Riley? I heard she's great." Miko said playing along. As long as Bulkhead didn't become too aware, they would be fine. Jack and Raf watched from the railings, holding back their snickers. Seeing Bulkhead act a bit more goofy then usual was pretty funny.
"Yeah she's amazing! I miss her so much Miko. It's too bad Optimus sent her away. I remember being so mad at him. Arcee was worse." He said laughing at the memory.
"Why? Why was she sent away?" Miko asked curiously. "Something to do with Decepticons being too quiet. Optimus was just worried for her. She would have been safer here but can't change bossbot's mind when it's made up." He started to laugh a lot more. Miko shushed him, laughing herself.
They way he said his words were hilarious. Miko could see Jack and Raf dying, from where they stood, from the corner of her eye.
"Do you know where she is?" Miko asked after regaining herself.
"Don't know, 3 years ago Megatron went quiet. He went into space for that dark energon stuff so we thought it would be perfect for Riley to return. But when Fowler went to go see her, apparently she moved without him knowing. We've been searching ever since but I think everyone's lost hope. But not determination."
Miko was satisfied with the answers. She asked if the boys had any but they were dying too much. Miko then thought of one she asked Arcee earlier.
"Bulkhead, did you ever win those races with Arcee and Cliff?"
"Nah, I liked to watch. Bumblebee and Arcee were always winning. Cliffjumper won too sometimes but honestly, he lost a lot more. Though in videogame form, he always won. Riley was always the loser against them." Again he laughed at the memory. Miko hopped off, wishing him a good rest as she joined the other two.
"Got all the answers. Now we know who this 'Riley' is. Should we ask the others?" She asked. Jack and Raf's faces flushed at that. They weren't laughing anymore. Raf looked panicked while Jack just immediately dismissed the idea, panicked.
"Nu-Uh. Unless you wanna get kicked out or anger them, then don't." Jack's tone showed he was dead serious. "Ok sheesh, just an idea" Miko said waving him off as she walked away. "But we could back them into a corner and make them tell us." She said glancing over her shoulder. Her face had trouble and mischief written all over it.
Jack sighed. "Go ahead, why not." "What do we have to lose?" Raf asked nervously.
A few hours later, Bulkhead was back to normal and everyone was present. Showtime.
"Ok let's approach this ca-" Jack began but was interrupted by Miko jumping ahead.
"Hey Raf! Have you heard about Riley? Jack's old friend?" Miko yelled very loud and obvious. Jack face palmed, sighing. "So much for that."
Miko and Raf slightly looked around to see every bot somewhat listening. Miko smirked as Raf did his part, unsure of the plan going on.
"No I have not Miko. Who is Riley?" Raf copied Miko's tone and volume, replying to her 'question'.
"You know, the girl with black hair and cyan eyes. Last time Jack saw her is when she was 8, right Jack?" Miko said a bit more loud. You could hear slight mischief in her tone as well.
Jack looked up at Miko who was staring intensely. Arcee knew what Miko was doing but every other bot was confused. They could tell something was up due to the horrible acting. But they were intrigued by what they were hearing. They remembered Riley mentioning a Jack as one of her friends. Could this be him?
"That is right Miko. Perhaps the bots should know about my friend." Jack said looking at the others. They all quickly looked for something to do, like a child getting caught.
"We know you were listening guys." Miko said eyeing each of them, even Optimus.
"We would love to Miko but look at the time haha." Bulkhead suddenly piped in. "Bulkhead. It's only 6pm." Miko replied crossing her arms. Bulkhead groaned in defeat, and also cause he didn't think that through.
None of the bots wanted to talk about this but the kids decided to activate their next phase of the plan. Guilt.
"I wish I could've met her." Raf said gloomy but loud. "Me too. She sounds so nice and cool." Miko added sadly. The bots felt like they were getting jabbed at each word they used to describe their suspicions of Riley.
"She was really sweet. Always there for you, could beat you in any game, heck she was there for me when my dad left." Jack said truthfully. Now the act was actually turning into a conversation but not on Miko's watch.
"I bet she would have loved it here! I wonder who her guardian could have been? Maybe Optimus?" Miko's lip curved a bit, slightly glancing at Optimus. He flinched when he heard his name being used in that sentence. Miko carried on, happy that it was working.
"She's almost like him. They could be like a father and daughter duo! You know? Not literally of course but they would be that close. On another note, I can totally see her beating Bee at video games." Miko added. Jack and Raf looked at Optimus and Bee who showed slight panic.
"Alright you three, that's enough. Your...uh...chit chatter is getting annoying!" Ratchet chimed in. The kids noticed him trying to make up an excuse. They also saw every bot visibly relax when Ratchet stepped in.
"Why? Don't like hearing about Riley? Wait her full name was Riley Pax right?" Miko questioned putting a finger on her chin. "Oh sorry Riley Autobot Pax, weird huh Jack and Raf." Miko hissed the name and accusingly looked at the Autobots. The bots looked at each other nervously.
"Care explaining you guys?" Jack asked getting up, going to the railing, and crossing his arms. Miko joined him in the same posture while Raf just gripped the railing.
The Autobots continued to look at each other, almost seeming like they were telling one another to speak up. Then they all looked at Optimus because he always had answers. But he didn't know. He tried but he just couldn't think of any.
He sighed, realizing they had to say the truth. He gave a glance at Ratchet who just gave the look 'do whatever'.
"I suppose you three are owed an answer." Optimus began looking at the children. They all nodded their heads, waiting for him to proceed.
"We did have another human here before you three. Long ago...she was much younger and we had accepted her as family. One day, I made a decision to send her away for her safety. I deeply regret that now, as we haven't been able to locate her since."
The three looked as Optimus hung his helm low, trying to keep his emotions in check. Now they felt guilty and sympathy. The guilty part wasn't part of the plan but at least they are getting answers.
"I have two questions." Raf spoke up softly. "Speak your mind Rafael" Ratchet said. "One, where did she come from, like where's her parents and stuff. And two, do you want us to help you find her?"
"To answer the first question we..." Arcee trailed off, looking at her leader for confirmation to continue. He nodded his helm, letting Arcee proceed.
"We found her in a forest in a pod. We don't know how or why but I guess we never questioned it ourselves. Her DNA didn't match anyone on Earth, at least that's what Fowler said." Arcee explained to the intrigued kids.
"And after an unfair vote, we let her stay. We raised her from 1 to 8 before we did what we did." Ratchet spoke up.
::I wish we didn't...:: Bee beeped. Raf translated for the other two.
"If we didn't let her go, she could've been here. Arcee and I were right Optimus. She was much safer here." Bulkhead said feeling an old anger boiling back. Arcee started to feel the same.
"Bulkhead, we don't know if she's actually in any danger. She's just missing." Ratchet calmly said back, sticking up for his leader. Bumblebee sensed a fight incoming and stepped in between the wrecker and medic.
"Autobots, we mustn't start a fight about this." Optimus spoke up but no bot listened. "Optimus, we're sorry. We never should have brought it up." Jack said, speaking for himself, Miko, and Raf. Optimus gave a small smile before turning his attention to the sound of transforming.
'Were they actually planning to fight now?' The kids thought. Apparently because Bulkhead had his blaster out. Arcee had her blades, Ratchet the same. Bumblebee was still standing in between, keeping his arms out to separate them. Optimus quickly intervened to stop Ratchet from lunging at Bulkhead. Bee did the same with Bulk and Arcee.
"Don't be sorry Jack, we never got to properly face this. We haven't gotten over it. Perhaps we should now." Arcee threatened. Optimus felt like a father trying to tame his kids.
"Autobots. There is no need for violence over this. Riley is fine. Decisions were made and I regret it deeply. We mustn't dwell on the past when we could have used this time to search." Optimus tried to explain reasonably.
After a while, every bot simmered down. Bumblebee and Optimus thanking Primus that it was over. Jack, Miko, and Raf awkwardly stood there.
"Well regardless what they have to answer for my second question, I'm helping them." Raf spoke up to his friends. "WE will help them." Miko corrected gesturing to themselves.
They looked at the bots to see them all smiling at the three. They smiled back, assuring that everything was fine. Bumblebee let out a laugh that was soon joined in by everyone.
"We nearly killed each other because of something dumb!" Bulkhead laughed out. Bumblebee nodded his helm, wiping lubricant from his optics. ::You guys scared me!:: He beeped. "Sorry Bee, guess we really need to just talk about it so we can get over it." Arcee said regained herself.
"Perhaps the kids should join us, see our true colours and personalities. Plus they'll get to learn more." Ratchet added smiling. Everyone agreed as they all went back to doing their own thing.
Raf and Bumblebee played videogames. Bulkhead and Miko went dune bashing in the night. Jack and Arcee went out for a drive under the stars. Optimus read over his datapads and Ratchet worked in his medbay.
Miko returned the diary the next day, not letting them know she snuck it out in the first place. Now they were all determined to find Riley. Jack wanted a reuniting while Miko and Raf wanted to desperately meet her.
After Bumblebee killed Skyquake, Team Prime got an unexpected guest...
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