Is it weird to say that, while I dreaded writing this chapter, I also looked forward to writing it as well? Yeah, it's weird.

So here we go, peeps! A major turning point in the story—it's gonna be pretty dark and intense from here on out. Be prepared for Optimus to go a bit rogue. I'll try to keep him true to character but still, all things considered in this story, and with as protective as he is of Hunter, I can't help but imagine him going and bit off the deep end. So just be ready.

WolfAssassin369—Good. That means I'm doin' my job right. With any luck you'll hate me even more after this one.

Alice Gone Madd—*throws party*

AllSpark Princess—I know! I don't get that either—why is the foster/justice system like that? It's not fair! I mean, I can get them deciding for a really young kid who they get to live with, but for a child as old as Hunter, completely able and competent to decide who they want to live with? Not only is that unfair, it's just plain unjust and insulting!

redlinevcr—Um… you're welcome?

I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.

"It doesn't matter what I want. It doesn't matter what I need. Doesn't matter if I cry… don't matter if I bleed! You've been on a road… don't know where it goes or where it leads…." Alison Krauss & Union Station; It Doesn't Matter

15

Ω Partibus Longus Ave Ω

(The Long Goodbye)

Hunter stood in the center of her berthroom, slowly turning her head as she took everything in one last time. Her berth, the catwalk where she had a dresser, a small vanity, and human bed should she ever have friends stay over or simply fall asleep in human form before she could make it to bed—it would be the last time she saw it all. It would be the last time the place she thought of as home would actually be her home. After today, she wouldn't be at the base, she wouldn't be at the Lennoxes', she wouldn't even been in Nevada anymore! This was it. This was the final goodbye. As of today she would be starting another new chapter of her life, only… this was one chapter she didn't want. Or at least not written in this way; where she had to be taken away from everyone she loved—her family, her father. The teen didn't want any of this. And what made it hurt even worse was the fact that there was nothing neither she nor anybody else could do to change it. This was happening, whether she went along quietly or being dragged by the hair kicking and screaming. For everyone's sake, Hunter had chosen the former. Didn't mean she wouldn't be crying though.

A gentle hand was suddenly laid on Hunter's shoulder and she looked up to see Optimus standing there, gazing sadly down at her. "Hunter," he murmured, "it is time to go, Sweet-spark." The Hybrid's gaze shifted down and she silently nodded. The Prime bowed his head and placed a gentle, lingering kiss above her optic-ridge before slowly turning and exiting the room. The sixteen-year-old followed after him and turned to grab the double doors. Pausing, she took one last look around the room before releasing a long, quivering sigh and closing the doors to leave it all behind. She couldn't help but leave one final pat to the doors before trudging down the hall.

Optimus was standing and talking and Ratchet by the time Hunter got to the main room. Both mechs stopped what they were doing when she came in, turning to face her, sympathetic looks on their faceplates. Hunter looked down. She knew those looks couldn't be helped but she still didn't want to see them. She didn't want to feel like she was being pitied. After all she wasn't the only one who was being hurt here—Optimus was, her friends, pretty much everyone she was close to. "Please don't look at me like that," she mumbled. "I know you can't really help it, but please don't." Optimus and Ratchet nodded before looking down at the floor.

Sighing, Hunter came across the room and went up to Ratchet. She met his optics. "Ratch," she addressed him, "you really not gonna come out to the ranch with everyone else?"

The medic sighed and cleared his throat. "I would like to Hunter," he assured the teen, "believe me, but I do feel it's best to stay at the base. Someone must keep an optic out for Decepticon activity and be ready to run the bridge."
Hunter nodded. She could understand that. But she could also read between the lines: Ratchet wasn't the best with emotions (who was?) and today was going to be about as emotional as anything could get. "All right then," she sighed, a corner of her mouth curling into a slight smile. "I guess this is goodbye then." For a moment she stood there motionless, but then the teen opened her arms and wrapped the medic in a warm embrace, resting her head on his shoulder.

For a moment Ratchet was caught completely off guard—it wasn't an everyday thing for Hunter to hug him—but then he slowly closed his arms around her. Lightly resting his cheekplate against her helm, the white and amber medic patted her backplate. "Shh," the hush automatically left his mouth. "There, there."

Hunter blinked at the sensation of tears. "I'm gonna miss you, Ratchet," she sniffed.

"Yeah, yeah," Ratchet replied quickly. "I'm… um…" he cleared his throat, "… going to miss you too." The mech lifted a digit and quickly wiped away a single tear right as it left his optic. He continued to hold the Hybrid a moment longer before letting her go. "All right," he said, gently shooing her away. "Go on now."

Optimus reached out and put a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "Let's go, Hunter," he whispered. "Come on." They moved away from Ratchet and across the room.

Ratchet watched on as the two of them transformed and drove off. He couldn't believe it. This was the last time he was probably ever going to see Hunter again. A shaky sigh escaped him before he could stop it. "Goodbye, Hunter."

Optimus cab had never been so quiet. He could have been driving all alone, with no passenger at all, and there would have been more noise in the cab than there was now. The radio wasn't even going, and Hunter almost always had him play it whether they were going for a five hour drive or a five minute one. The silence was so heavy it was smothering. Neither knew what to say to the other and the hard truth was, neither really had any desire to talk, because talking could only bring more pain and it was already hard enough to keep the current pain from summoning tears. Nothing so inevitable had hurt so much.

Taking his holoform eyes off the road, Optimus glanced over at Hunter. She was just sitting there in his passenger seat, stone-faced, chin in her hand and elbow propped up on the door and she stared out the window at the passing landscape. The only movement she made was the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed and the occasional blink. Once she scratched her leg, but that was about as big as it got. The redhead didn't look over, didn't talk, didn't do anything but sit and stare blankly.

Softly sighing, Optimus looked back at the road. Even if Hunter wasn't showing it, he could feel through their link the utter sparkbreak and anger swimming around inside her. He felt much the same way. The mech wasn't sure what he was angry at: the fact that Hunter was being taken away from him as if the whole year and expectant adoption hadn't meant anything at all or the idea that he should have filed sooner. He shouldn't have waited so long! He should have filed for adoption the very moment he realized just how much he loved the girl. If he had done that this wouldn't be happening right now. If he had done that Hunter wouldn't be leaving. If he had done that they would be a happy family that no one could separate! If, if, if, if….

"It's not your fault, Dad," Hunter suddenly said. Evidently she felt his guilt and self-contempt through their bond and had guessed what he was thinking. "It's not your fault. None of it is." And that was all that was said.

Optimus knew that Hunter was probably right. It was no use placing blame when there was no blame to be placed; these sorts of things were out of anybody's control. But he still couldn't help but feel guilt-ridden.

Finally they turned off the main road and pulled into the Lennoxes' driveway. What seemed like hours but was only a minute or two later passed and then they were pulling up and parking in the ranch yard. Trent Jacobs was already there with his car, packed with Hunter's things. Everyone else—the team, Lennoxes, Epps, and the kids—were all already there was well, gathered between them and Jacobs' car waiting to say goodbye. Sarah looked like she'd already been crying and Annabelle was crying. Miko herself looked on the verge of tears. Actually almost everybody did, though they were trying their hardest to fight them back for Hunter's sake. This was going to be hard enough without them.

Hunter averted her eyes from them all as she slipped on her backpack and exited her spark-father's cab. For the last time. She let her hand linger on the door for a moment until the Prime's holoform came around the corner of his alternate mode and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, then they made their way towards the group. The teen kept her eyes down the entire time. She knew if she looked up and saw them she was going to start crying and she really didn't want to cry again. She'd been crying since they'd gotten the news yesterday—her nerves couldn't take much more of it. But when Annabelle suddenly came darting forward and tackled her with a desperate hug, Hunter realized she wasn't about to get off that easy. Tears already pricking at her eyes again, the sixteen-year-old knelt down and wrapped the little girl in a tight hug. "Aw, Annabelle," she crooned, trying to smile and laugh. "You're gonna make me cry."

"Don't go," Annabelle whimpered, burying her head in the teen's chest. "Hunter, please don't go. Pretty please?"

Hunter chuckled sadly. "I have to, 'Belle," she murmured.

Annabelle pulled away and looked up to meet her gaze. "But why?" she demanded meekly, baby-blue eyes red and shining with hot tears. "Why do you have to go?"

Sighing, Hunter brushed some of the child's golden locks behind her ear. "Because I have a family in another state that want me to be with them, and…" she swallowed hard, trying to fight back her own tears as she watched Annabelle's fall. "Well, I have to go to them."

"Do you even want to go?" Annabelle inquired.

Hunter couldn't lie, even if she'd wanted to. Silently she shook her head and just managed to mouth 'no'.

"Then why do you have to go?"

"Because, Annabelle, sometimes… sometimes—even when we want something really really bad—we don't always get what we want."

"That's not fair!"

"No. No, it's not fair. It's not fair at all and it sucks… but it is what it is. We can't change it, Annabelle; it's just the way it has to be." Hunter closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to gain control of herself, then she opened her eyes again and forced a smile. "Now, you be good, okay, Blondie?" she teased, playfully tugging Annabelle's curls. "Help your mommy, make sure your daddy stays out of trouble, and make sure you take good care of that baby when it comes, okay?"

A look of fear suddenly came over Annabelle's face. "Hunter, how am I gonna learn how to be a good big sister when you're not here to teach me?!" she exclaimed.

The teen couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry," she assured the little girl. "I'll be sure to write up a whole book about how to be one, okay? Complete with pictures."

"You promise?"

Hunter winked. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Hey, that's Pinkie Pie's thing!"

"Well, I'm borrowing it."

More tears suddenly welled up in the seven-year-old's eyes and she dove back in to hug Hunter again, holding her even more tightly this time. "I'm gonna miss you, Hunter," she sniffled.

The tears, which has somewhat receded from Hunter's eyes, suddenly came surging back, forcing her to screw her eyes shut in an attempt to contain them. She wrapped her arms around Annabelle and held her close. "Yeah," she agreed, voice cracking. She cleared her throat. "I-I'm gonna miss you too, Kiddo."

"I love you, Hunter."

Hunter swore her spark—which was already broken—was breaking again. "I love you too, Annabelle." She kissed the girl's head before slowly letting go of her and peeling herself out of the seven-year-old's grip. Then she stood. Her eyes immediately went to Will and Sarah's and she tried to smile, but it wouldn't hold. "I, um," she began, sniffing and wiping her nose, "I know that I was gonna get adopted by Optimus… but you guys are the best foster parents a kid could ever ask for. I mean that. And…" a lump came to her throat as the tears grew hotter. "And I…" she tried to swallow, "… I love you guys. So much." The redhead melted into their embrace when the couple reached out and grabbed for her, burying her face in their shoulders.

"We love you too, Hunter," Will murmured as he rest a cheek on her head. He spoke for both himself and Sarah, as his wife was crying too hard to say anything. "You are an amazing young woman, and we consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have been your foster parents."

The group pulled apart and Sarah took Hunter's face in her hands and pulled the girl down her height for a kiss on the forehead. She rubbed it in with her thumb as she met the teen's eyes. "We're still your family," the woman assured her, "and we will always be here for you, no matter what. Okay?" She hugged the girl one last time before letting her go.

Hunter barely had time to catch her breath before she was piled into another group hug by Jack, Miko, and Raf. She couldn't help but laugh as she hugged back. "You guys…."

"I can't believe it," Miko sniffled, looking up with tear filled golden-brown eyes to meet Hunter's sapphire ones. "Here I convince Fowler to go to all this trouble of making it so I can come back for another school year to hang out with all my best buds and now you have to leave! You didn't even get to go dune bashing with me and Bulk!"

Hunter sniffled and laughed. "You guys'll just have to bash some extra ones for me, then," she replied. She looked over her friends' heads towards the ex-Wrecker's massive holoform. "Ya got that, Bulk?"

Blinking back tears, the mech nodded. "You got it, Red," he assured her, clearing his throat as it slightly cracked. "We'll bash a whole bunch for ya."

Hunter nodded her thanks and turned back to focusing on hugging her pals before letting them go and moving on. Epps was her next target. Not so much because she went to him but more he pulled her to him and caught her up in a huge hug before she knew what was happening. She made no complaints.

"You be safe now, ya here?" Epps told her. "Don't let those Denver kids get the better of ya—they give you any trouble you show 'em what for."

Hunter chuckled. "I will," she replied.

"And if that don't work, you just give us a ring and we'll be there to back you up."

"Thanks, Epps."

"Oh, and—just a thought—make some progress on the boyfriend front, all right?"

The Hybrid rolled her eyes at the teasing but couldn't help but smile at the same time. Epps wouldn't be Epps without some comment like that. That was just how their relationship worked. "Sure thing," she replied, patting his back and pulling away to meet his gaze. "As long as you get a girlfriend."

Epps glared playfully at her. "Ah-ha-ha-ha," he laughed sarcastically. "Get outta here," he put his hand in her face and shoved her away good-naturedly.

Hunter laughed and brushed her hair out of her face before turning to face Arcee's holoform. She smiled awkwardly. Even though they were friends the femmling and Arcee had never been as close to each other as with everyone else. The two-wheeler always managed to keep an arm's length away—that was just who she was. "Well…" Hunter began, "… I guess this is good-bye. Looks like you're the only girl on the team again, 'Cee."

"Yeah," the femme replied with a slight smile. "Looks like."

"Hey!" Miko exclaimed, a bit offended. "What about me?" The two Cybertronians ignored her.

Arcee sighed and scratched the back of her head. "You know I'm not really one for the whole "mushy" stuff," she began, "but I think this situation calls for something more than a handshake, so…" without saying another word, Arcee stepped forward and—rather inelegantly—put her arms around Hunter in a loose and uncertain sort of hug. It was easy to tell she wasn't used to this kind of interaction.

And Hunter wasn't used to receiving it from her. For a moment or two the teenager froze in utter shock, unsure of what to do or think. Arcee was hugging her. Yes it was a very awkward hug, but it was a hug nonetheless, and she very rarely—if ever—gave those out. When her bewilderment had finally worn off, Hunter carefully hugged Arcee back. It was for only a few seconds before the femme finally decided that the embrace had gone on long enough and pulled away, but even so it was nice. Both females exchanged a smile and a nod before Hunter moved on. She gave Bulkhead a quick hug before finally coming to Bumblebee. The sixteen-year-old bit her lip at the sight of her brother-figure's holoform standing there, looking like he was on the very verge of tears. She shook her head. "Don't, 'Bee," she whispered, feeling her tears coming back to haunt her again. "Please don't. Please don't cry, please." The pair threw their arms around each other and stood there for a long time with their faces buried in each other's shoulders as they both tried to keep themselves from crying.

After a minute 'Bee pulled back and gave Hunter a despairing look, his electric blue eyes beseeching. Shaking his head, he opened his mouth as if to speak, but of course he couldn't. (The damage to his vocalizer was so bad that it transferred over to his holoform.) But it was all right. Hunter could understand him pretty well even without the speech and in this instance just about anyone would have been able to decipher what he was trying to say.

Sniffling, Hunter combed her fingers through his light brown holoform hair and nodded. "I know," she responded with a nod. "I'm gonna miss you, too, Brother." A few tears started trickling down her cheeks. "I love you." The two of them kissed each other's cheeks before squeezing one another into a hug again. Finally, they released and backed away. That's when Hunter turned to face her final and most challenging goodbye: Optimus. Sniffling and trying to wipe away the tears, the teen slowly began to walk towards him, desperately try to keep control of herself. This was already a nightmare—if she started crying it would only make this whole thing harder for her spark-father and she didn't want that. She wanted to be strong for him, just as he had been countless times for her in the past: just as he had been last night when she'd spent hours crying herself to sleep in his arms. She needed to be strong for Optimus. She owed it to him. Finally she was standing in front of the mech's holoform, well within arm's length, gazing up into his electric, sky-blue eyes—eyes that looked to be just as broken and pained as her probably looked.

For a long time neither spoke and simply continued to stare at each other. Finally Optimus broke the quiet. "Say it," he murmured. "Say the word, and I will contact Agent Fowler and begin making a case for me to adopt you."

Hunter pressed her lips into a firm line and hung her head. "Dad…" she sighed heavily.

"We can win, Hunter!" the Prime insisted, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her closer. "It may take some time, but I know I can gain custody of you!" Tears were starting to come to his holoform eyes, making his daughter's face swim in his vision. "Please, say the word, Hunter. Please say it! Please, please, please…." Optimus' voice cracked off, and he pulled Hunter into a crushing embrace, as if he was trying to push her right into his holoform body and make her a part of it. He screwed his eyes shut.

The teen held onto his just as tightly, digging her face into his chest as she tried to contain her own tears. She still didn't understand it. Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why did it always have to go down like this? Why was it her spark that had to get broken all the time—couldn't somebody else take a fall for once? Maybe it was selfish to think that way, but so what?! It wasn't fair! Why did she have to be the one to lose everything that made her feel happy and loved and worthwhile? Other people got happy endings. Where the hell was hers? "I can't," she croaked. "I want to more than anything, Daddy—believe me I do—but I can't."

Optimus pulled away and met Hunter's gaze as he moved his hands to lovingly hold her face between them. He gazed deeply and sincerely into her eyes. "I would fight until the last beat of my spark for you, My Shooting Star. I would fight to the ends of the universe—known and unknown—for you."

"I know," his spark-daughter replied with a quivering, sad smile. She lifted a hand and cupped his cheek as she gave a soft chuckle and sniffled. "I know you would, Daddy, and I love you even more for it. But I can't let you fight for me this time—I cannot risk losing you forever." Hunter bit her lip and blinked rapidly to try and ward of the burning tears that were as desperate to be let free as she was to stay with Optimus. "My spark's already broken because of this, Dad," she whispered, "and that's bad enough. If I lost you… if I could never, ever see you again… that's it for me: I'm dead and I'm too spark-broken to come back—I know it." A tear trickling down her cheek, Hunter shook her head, a suppressed sob breaking away from her. "Don't do that to me," she squeaked. "Please, please, Daddy, don't do that to me—I can't take it. Please, don't. Please."

Optimus shook his head. "I won't," he conceded, though it was clear as day in his face to see that the agreement killed him. "I promise you, I won't."

Hunter nodded, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "Thank you. I'm so sorry, Dad, but thank you."

Prime couldn't stop the smile that curved his lips. "Anything for my little girl," he chuckled, tapping her nose with a finger. His smile widened when she smiled. "Hunter," he began after a moment, "I realize that the life we both hoped would happen for us is nothing but a distant memory now, but what I said the other night—the promise I made to you—still stands." Optimus looked down for a moment and sighed heavily before meeting the teen's sapphire blues again. "It's just… not quite in the way we both thought I meant," he amended. "I promised you that I would not allow anyone to take you away from me, did I not?" Hunter nodded. "And to that promise," Optimus continued, "I hold. They can never take you away from me—not truly. Here or in Denver I am your father and you are my daughter, nothing can ever change that. We will still remain a part of each other's lives, whether your aunt and uncle like it or not." The Prime's spark was lifted as that last part of the statement caused Hunter to giggle. It was always a joy to hear her laugh, even if the laugh was teary and broken as it was now. Optimus kissed her hair before pressing his forehead to hers, both of them closing their eyes as they tried to soak up every last bit of the togetherness they had left. It wasn't much. "This will not be the last we see of each other," the Autobot commander whispered. "I promise."

Hunter sniffled. "I don't wanna go," she confessed, softly.

"I know," Optimus replied.

"I wanna stay here with you."

"I know."

"You're my dad."
"I know," Optimus murmured. "And you are my little femme." He kissed her on the bridge of her nose and pulled her into another hug. "My little femme."

After a moment, Hunter pushed back a bit and reached into one of the pockets of her vest. She pulled out her phone and pressed a few buttons. The teen looked up at her father again and held up her phone in front of him. "Daddy?" she whimpered. "Would you sing to me? On-One last time?" It was getting harder and harder to keep herself under control. "Please?"

Now despite the fact he sang Hunter to sleep nearly every night, and sang along with her to the radio whenever they were alone, not once had Optimus ever sung to her in front of anybody else. Not even in front of Annabelle, who was such like a niece to him. Oh, it was a safe bet that everyone else could guess that he did, but they never questioned him and he never confessed. It wasn't that he was ashamed or embarrassed by it (he could handle the ribbing that would come with it if it ever got out), it was just that it was for Hunter. Only for Hunter. Things meant only for Hunter were incredibly special and not meant to be shared with anyone else… unless she asked. And now she was asking. The Prime could not say 'no', not ever, much less now. Not now when she was standing there in front of him, tears running down her face even as she tried her hardest to fight them back for his sake, begging him to give her one last thing to hold onto of him and the bond they shared. Not now. Not now….

Swallowing hard, Optimus nodded. "Of course," he replied. "Come here, my little one." He pulled her back in close. Resting his head atop hers, the Prime took a deep, quavering breath and closed his eyes as he prayed to Primus to give him the strength to do this. A single tear dripped off his holoform eyelashes and onto Hunter's hair. Clearing his throat, the Autobot commander started the song.

"Hush, my little one, no need to weep,

I am right here, guarding your sleep.

Close your eyes, sweet-spark, in my arms I will rock…

You, beautiful sweet-spark, you I will rock.

"No need to cry, little one of mine.

No need to fear.

My love will be with you.

My love will be near.

I'll be near.

"Sleep now, my dear one, all will be well

I will protect you, and protect you I shall.

Slip away, small one, slip off to dream

Tomorrow is far closer at hand than it seems…

Than it seems."

By now Hunter was in complete tears, her shoulders shaking in muffled cries as she bit on her fist and buried her face into Prime's chest to keep them from coming out. She didn't want that recorded. She only wanted the sound of her father's beautiful voice to hold onto forever.

"No need to cry, little one of mine

No need to fear.

My love will be with you.

My love will be near.

I'll be near.

"Dream peaceful things, dream only good

And I will keep out the nightmares, as my love only could.

Dream of the sun, and of peaceful rains falling

Rise to the sun's calling.

"No need to cry…

No need to fear…

My love will be near…

I'll… be… near.

"I'll always love you, my little one

And will do so, till my passing's come.

I love you more than Cybertron.

Drift off, my child, drift off and dream

Worry not of tomorrow or the dark.

I will guide you and not leave 'til morning light.

"I love you, My Shooting Star."

With that Hunter pressed the button to stop recording and let go an agonized sob as she now clutched onto her spark-father with both hands, even with her phone still in her grip. She couldn't hold back anymore. The wails came so painfully fast and hard that her knees buckled and she would have hit the ground had Optimus not been holding her. For a long time that was all she could do was cry and wail and border-line scream. She didn't care that everyone else saw: she didn't care what everyone else thought: she didn't care about anything anymore except the fact that her spark was totally shattered and she wasn't going to be with friends anymore. That she wasn't going to be with Optimus anymore. Even if they did have regular visits, even if they did get to see each other again it was never going to be the same. She wouldn't get to see him every day, feel his hugs and kisses every day, just get to be with him whenever she wanted. He would be there… but he wouldn't be there. It just… it just wasn't how this was supposed to be.

Optimus remained silently, just cradling his little girl close as she sobbed her spark out into his broad chest, unable to even voice the smallest form of verbal comfort. It was growing harder and harder to hold back his own tears. Several were already creeping down his cheeks, dripping off his chin to the ground. He sighed shakily.

"I don't care," Hunter suddenly stated, voice cracking. She pulled away a bit and met her Prime's eyes once again, shaking her head ever so slightly. "I don't care if they're my relatives or not—they'll never be my family. They had my entire life to come for me, but they didn't—you did. You found me and came for me, just like you always do. I'll sign the papers, I'll take their last name if they want me to, I'll live in their house and follow their rules, but I'll never think of them as my family. You and the team and everyone here are my family—not them. You are my dad. You will always be my dad." Her voice broke throughout the last statement as the tears kept falling, staining her cheeks and reddening her eyes all the more.

Optimus swallowed hard. Taking one of Hunter's hands in his, he placed over the space his spark-chamber would have been located in Cybertronian form and pressed it flatly and firmly there. "And you," he returned, looking deep into her eyes, "will always be in my spark. Always."

Biting her lip as the tears turned hot again, Hunter dove back into her father's arms.

"Um, Ms. James?" Trent Jacobs, all but completely forgotten in the background, piped up. "I'm terribly sorry, but we do have to leaving shortly."

The sixteen-year-old held onto Optimus for a moment longer before finally, hesitantly pulling away. She wiped her eyes. "Tell Ratch, even though we've already said goodbye, that I missed him here," she sniffled after a moment. She kept her eyes on the ground, knowing that if she looking up and meeting the Prime's eyes again would only bring on another sob session.

Optimus nodded. "I will," he assured her. "Contact us when you arrive, and when you are settled in."

Hunter nodded back and was quiet for a moment before sighing and slipping off her backpack. Opening it, she reached inside and pulled out one of her most beloved possessions: her stuffed wolf Blue. The girl set her bag down and held the little wolf in her hands, gazing and smiling lovingly at it. This thing had been through a lot with her—a lot of adventures. "You've always been there for me, Blue," she murmured to the little wolf, chuckling a bit as she sniffed and wiped her nose, "making sure I'm okay, keeping an eye on me, making me feel safe. And now I've got a very important mission for you, little buddy." Turning the little animal around so that it was facing away from her, Hunter held it up to her father. "I need you to look after my dad," she squeaked through a single sob. "Okay? Make sure he stays safe." That's when Hunter called up all her courage and looked up at Optimus once more.

For a long moment Optimus stared at the fuzzy little stuffed critter in utter shock before ever so slowly reaching out and taking it into his hands. Bringing it closer her gazed into the unblinking, somehow soulful little button eyes. He couldn't believe it. Hunter was… giving him Blue—the one friend that had been with her through all the ups and down as far back as she could remember? "Hunter…" he croaked out, swallowing hard, "… I-I cannot accept him." He looked at his daughter and shook his head. "Sweet-spark, I cannot take Blue away from you—not now."

Hunter slightly smiled and shook her head. "You're not," she assured him. "I'm giving him to you." She chuckled. "After all, someone's gotta make sure you stay outta trouble, Dad, and since I'm not gonna be here… well… I trust Blue." The teenager took a quivering breath as she added, "Besides, you need something to remember me by."

Optimus smiled at her. "Huntress Starstreaker James," he crooned gently, "there is nothing in this universe that could ever cause me to forget you. Nothing."

Hunter started to smile, but it quivered away as the tears—which had never really stopped—came back anew. "I love you, Daddy." She lunged and wrapped her arms around the Prime's neck, nuzzling into the crook of his shoulder.

"And I love you," Optimus returned, squeezing her tight. "More than anything."

For the longest time the two held onto each other tightly, as if they never, ever wanted to let one another go. Truly they didn't. They knew that if they did, that would be it—that would be the last time they held each other for a long time, and the last time they did as a true family. Neither wanted that to happen. Neither wanted to let each other or everything they had together go. But they didn't have a choice. This was the reality they lived in and they had to face it, no matter how much it broke them to or how unfair it seemed. Finally they let go.

Hunter reached down, picked up her bag, and slipped it on her shoulders, all the while keeping one hand on Optimus' arm and her eyes locked on his. Slowly she began to back away, still not letting him go. Optimus, in return, refused to let her go as well. Hunter took a deep breath and shakily released it. "I love you," she said one last time, voice hardly above a croaking whisper.

"I love you," Optimus repeated with a slight nod, more tears trickling down his cheeks. He loosely gripped onto her arm, letting it slide through his hand, until finally their hands were together and he squeezed tighter, the last rebellious remnants of his longing to have her stay here refusing to let him let go. Hunter seemed to be thinking the same thing as she tightly gripped his hand back. But in the end they both knew what had to happen. Finally they let go and their hands slowly slipped out of each other's, lingering as long as they could, even to the very tips of their fingers. And then it was gone. They were separated… forever.

Hunter back-stepped a few more feet, never taking her eyes away from those of her spark-father before finally having to slowly turn and trudge towards the vehicle Jacobs was standing beside. She stopped before the door the service worker held open for her and turned one last time to look at Optimus. When he gave her a small smile she tried to do the same, but it was as plastic as a Barbie doll. There was no point in being fake—no point in trying to make it seem like this was all going to be okay, even just on face-level. It wasn't going to be okay. It was never going to be okay again. Turning away again, Hunter slipped into the back of the car, Jacobs closing the door behind her before walking around the car to the driver's side. The redhead kept her eyes down, hanging her head so that her long hair hid her face until she felt herself cast in shadow. She looked up to see Optimus standing there, gazing sadly down at her. Biting her lip, Hunter reached out with a shaking hand and pressed her palm against the window, watching as he did the same. The Hybrid didn't think she had anymore tears left to cry by then, but apparently she was wrong because more came like a waterfall down her face. They were almost starting to hurt.

"Daddy…."

"Hunter…."

Optimus continued to stand there, gazing into his spark-daughter's eyes and touching her palm through the glass until the car started to move and pull away. Even then he let his hand slide along until the vehicle was out from underneath of it. He watched as it drove off, taking Hunter away with it. In his entire life, the Prime could think of only one thing that he had be forced to do that was harder and hurt worse than this, and that had been watching Hunter die for the first time in his arms. In some ways, this was harder and hurt even worse. Unable to stop himself, the Autobot took a few steps as if he were about ready to chase after the car before he finally forced himself to stop. He reached out one last time. "Please do not take her away from me," he just barely whispered. "Please…." It was no use.

On her knees in the back of the car, gazing out the back window, Hunter watched as her father and family grew slowly smaller. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she pressed her palm against the window as she watched Optimus reach out for her. "Fight for me," the words that Optimus had begged her to say, the words that had been festering up and pushed back before suddenly fell quietly from her tongue. Too little, too late. There was no going back now. "Dad…."

They all watched on as the car drove off down the driveway before turning onto the road and disappearing from sight around the bend. An uncomfortable silence settled over everything. All heads finally turned to a motionless Optimus holoform, still standing in the same spot he had forced himself to stop. Everyone remained quiet, unsure of what to say. Jack was the one brave enough to dare breaking it. "Uh… Optimus?"

The Prime slowly hung his head. "I…" he began, almost too quiet to hear, "… would like some time to be alone."

"Yeah, sure," the kids replied at once.

"Of course, Optimus," Arcee said at the same time.

"Whatever you want, Boss 'Bot," Bulkhead responded.

The agreements when on and on.

Optimus nodded. "Thank you." And with that his holoform made its way back towards his alternate mode, opened the door, carefully set Blue inside on the seat, and disappeared. A second later the engine of his alt. form rumbled to life and the semi slowly began to back away before turning and puttering dejectedly off down the road.

The others all watched empathetically after him. If seeing a spark-broken Hunter was hard, seeing an utterly spark-broken Prime was even harder. Epps shook his head. "This ain't right, man," he murmured. "I'm tellin' ya, it just ain't right! Relatives of Hunter's or not, these people got no right to be bustin' up these two like this—Prime and Hunt are family! It ain't right!"

"I know, Epps," Lennox agreed. "But what're ya gonna do? The law's the law, brother. It sucks but that's just the way it is—we can't change it."

"I still don't like it," Epps insisted.

"None of us do," Sarah commented. "But we have to live with it."

Optimus drove off the road towards the mesa and through the hidden door when it opened before him. Slowly idling down the passage he came to the large main room of the base at the end and braked to a complete stop before transforming. He began to walk towards the hallway.

"Optimus," Ratchet's voice suddenly stopped him.

Head already hanging, the Prime didn't lift it or turn around when he responded. "She is gone, Ratchet," he stated, voice breaking ever so slightly. "Hunter is gone." And with that, the Autobot commander left the room and plodded down the hall towards his berthroom, disappearing inside and locking the door behind him. Bracing a hand against the door, Optimus shuddered with a small sob. He sniffled and slowly turned towards the door that separated his room from Hunter's. He went to it. Opening it, he stepped inside the opposing room just enough to lean up against the doorframe and let his gaze wander. The room seemed so incredibly bare. It had always had a bit of a minimalist feel since they'd cleared out the storage in order for it to be Hunter's berthroom (something they had been planning to remedy when she officially moved in) but at least with the teenager in the room it had had some life to it, some lightness and happiness. Now there was just… nothing. It was just dark and cold and lonely… just like how Optimus' spark felt.

Blinking back tears, the Prime suddenly looked down to his loosely fisted hand and held it up. He slowly opened it. There, lying in the middle of his palm, was Blue, looking so lonely and abandoned without his owner. That did it. The tears Optimus was trying so hard to fight back suddenly broke loose as did the sobs that accompanied them. Screwing his optics tightly shut and gritting his denta in unbelievable emotional agony, the mountainous, seemingly unbreakable mech broke down sobbing. He slid down the wall until he was seated on the floor and put his hand over his eyes in an attempt to hide the tears. Gently closing his hand around the stuffed wolf again, Optimus brought it close and held it to his spark. He could feel nothing, but utter pain. He could see nothing but a huge, yawning, empty chasm in his life where Hunter had once been. He could think of nothing except the fact that his life was changed—for the worse—forever. Hunter was gone. And, even if they managed to work out a visitation schedule—as Fowler had assured him they probably could when the news of Hunter's new adoption arrangement had been relayed to him—she was never coming back again. "My little femme," Optimus quietly wailed. "Hunter… I am so sorry, Hunter. I am so sorry…. My little femme…."

That Evening (I-70);

For the thousandth time since they'd left the sight of the Lennoxes' ranch, Hunter pressed the button on her phone to replay the song Optimus had sung for her. And for the thousandth time it started playing. Staring out the window, head resting on the back of the seat, the sixteen-year-old listened to closely to every syllable, every note change, every breath, break, rest, everything. She never wanted to forget her father's voice. She wanted to memory to be so strong that it was almost like he was right there with her, even when he wasn't. Even when he couldn't be. She never wanted to forget.

Up in the front seat, Trent Jacobs couldn't help but sigh in aggravation and roll his eyes. He was getting tired to hearing it. "Hey, kid," he called, looking at her in the rearview. When she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, he asked, "Mind putting that thing away?"

Still glaring at him, Hunter pressed the button to stop it. But once he'd thanked her and looked away from her she immediately pressed it again to start playing the recording.

Jacobs quietly groaned. "Hey!" he exclaimed. "I thought I asked you to shut that off."

Sighing, and lifting her head up, Hunter replied snarkily, "Yeah, well, I thought I was going to get adopted by my father and not some random relatives I just found out existed. So it looks like neither one of us is gonna get what we want."

Jacobs rolled his eyes. "Hey, sweetheart, don't blame me for this, all right?" he tried to clear himself. "I'm not the bad guy here. I'm just doin' my job—that's it. I don't make the decisions."

"Don't care," Hunter snapped. "Still don't like you."

"Okay, well, if it means anything, I'm sorry."

Hunter pursed her lips and did some quick inner-searching. "You're right—it doesn't mean anything." She went back to focusing on her songs.

"You got a real attitude problem, kid," the social worker informed her. "Ya know that?"

"I've only got an attitude problem when my BS reader is going off," Hunter countered. "And right now you're makin' it go off the charts, so don't expect it to get better anytime soon, pal."

Jacobs snorted and shook his head, smirking slightly. Annoying as she was, this girl had fire and mouth to match—he'd give her that. "With an attitude like that," he commented, "I can't help but wonder why your relatives would wanna adopt you in the first place, much less that other guy." He slyly looked into the mirror. "What's his story anyway?"

"Who?"

"The guy who was gonna adopt you back there."

"Optimus?"

"Yeah."

"No story," Hunter lied. Obviously there was a major story there!

"Aw, come on, kiddo, don't give me that," Jacobs chuckled a bit to patronizingly. "A middle-aged single guy wanting to adopt a sixteen-year-old foster girl isn't exactly the norm. There's gotta be some reason behind it." He looked in the mirror. "He ever do anything to you?"

Hunter stopped the recording, utterly shocked by what she thought she was hearing. Slowly she looked up. "Ex… excuse me?" she gasped incredulously.

"You heard me," Jacobs replied looking away.

"You better hope I'm hearing you wrong!"

"Now, there's nothing to be ashamed of, Hunter. You wouldn't be the first foster kid to be preyed upon—you can't help it. Some people are just sick and get their kicks off going after loved-starved kids."

"I am not love-starved!" Hunter asserted, sitting forward in her seat and death-glaring at the man. How dare he make these insinuations against her spark-father! Optimus wasn't like that! He could never be like that! "Or at least I wasn't until you and the friggin' agency came in and ripped me out of my home! And do you honestly think I would let some creep do something to me?! I've been there before, buddy, and I threw the ass under an oncoming train—nobody is touching me without my say so! And don't you dare talk about Optimus like that! Don't you dare! He isn't like that! He has never touched me or looked at me wrong or made me feel uncomfortable in any way! He loves me and I love him—he's my dad! You understand me?! My dad!" A sorrowful look came over Hunter's face. "The only thing he ever did wrong was think he could adopt me and we could be a family and he wasn't the only one in the wrong there." The anger came over her face again. "So unless you got a death wish, Jacobs, I suggest you shut your mouth about Optimus, got it?"

The man held up a hand in surrender. "Okay," he conceded. "Okay." Man, this kid could get intense! And something told him that the threat wasn't idle either; this girl meant serious business. So he'd do as she asked. For now.

A suddenly glint caught the man's eyes and he looked up, relief flooding through him. There is was! The dedicated mile marker, and the convenience station not much farther beyond. Passing the marker, he started counting down. "Three… two… one." There was the sudden pop sound and the vehicle was jarred and veered.

"What the heck?" Hunter called out in surprise.

"Ah, crap," Jacobs commented. "Sounds like we blew a friggin' tire. Damn it! I'll have to change it up here at the station." He sighed heavily. "So much for keeping with the schedule." Pulling off at the exit, the man pulled into the station and parked. He got out and quickly glanced around, Nobody was here. Perfect! Walking around the car, Jacobs opened up Hunter's door and asked, "Hey, you know how to change a tire?"

Hunter looked him up and down a bit suspiciously before answering slowly, "Yeees."

"Great. Get out here and help me then. We'll get on the road faster."

The teen rolled her eyes and let her head fall back in exasperation. "Fine. Whatever." She got out of the car.

"Thank you," Trent replied. "And try to keep the attitude to a minimum."

"Don't press your luck, bub."

Jacobs brought her around to the back of the vehicle and opened the trunk. "Okay," he sighed, reaching inside. "I got the jack and you got the tire, okay?"

"Whatever." The teen waited until he'd pulled out the jack and jack handle before bending down and reaching for the tire. Wow, it was really pushed into the back there!

Standing off to the side, Jacobs watched intently as the girl reached back into the trunk for the tire. He nervously fidgeted with the loose jack handle, waiting for the perfect moment. When he was sure he had it, it grasped the handle as tightly as he could in both hands, swung up up and cracked down as hard as he could across the teen's back.

"Oof!" Completely caught off guard, Hunter was knocked off her feet, driving her down against the side of the trunk. It knocked the wind out of her. But unfortunately for Jacobs, that was all it did. "What the hell?!" Hunter was up on her feet and wheeling on the social worker—who was just staring in disbelief at the bent jack handle—in the blink of an eye. She bared her teeth in a savage growl. "Dude!" she exclaimed, coming at him. The redhead knocked the handle out of his grip and seized him by the front of the suit before jerking him right off his feet and up into the air. "The hell is your problem, man?!"

Completely horrified by this girl's freakish strength as well as her reaction, Jacobs began fumbling around in his pockets. Where was it?! Where had he put it?! What pocket was it in?! If he didn't find it right now he was going to be a dead man—he was sure of it! Finally his hand brushed the hard lump in his pocket and he quickly dove in to grab it.

"Seriously, man!" Hunter raged, shaking him. "What is your damage?!"

Jacobs fumbled with the cork on the vial before finally yanking it out, but when it was, he quickly poured the contents of it into the girl's face. "How 'bout you just chill, bitch?!"

Hunter was blinded as some sort of powered was thrown into her face. Squeezing her eyes shut, she dropped Jacobs and quickly backed away, coughing and sneezed and rubbing at her eyes. What in the world?! "Jacobs!" she screeched, coming at him again when she'd recovered. "I've just about had it with yo… you… y-you…." All at once the redhead felt incredibly tired. Everything around her began to spin and go dark and she took a few stumbling steps before falling forward into Jacobs' arms, fast asleep.

"Holy!" Jacobs exclaimed as he caught the girl, surprised by her weight. "You sure are a big girl, ain't ya?" Grunting, the man hefted the unconscious teen up into his arms bridal style and carried her to the trunk. He carefully propped her up against the car as he retrieved the spare tire from the back and then he picked her up again and hefted her into the trunk. Then he grabbed the chains near the back and began to loop them as quickly as he could around the teen. He didn't want to be caught if anybody else came pulling into the station. Finally he padlocked the chains and slammed the trunk shut.

Confession #39:

I had two songs picked out for this chapter: 1) It Doesn't Matter by Alison Krauss & Union Station: and 2) Hurts Like Hell by Fleurie. I couldn't pick which one to go with so I flipped a coin and It Doesn't Matter won. But I highly suggest you go listen to the other if you haven't heard it already. It's sooo amazing! I actually listened to that song for the duration of writing this chapter. It put me in the mood in a way I can't explain.

Confession #40:

There is nothing special about Blue beyond the fact that he's Hunter's special stuffed animal that she got from Greasy when she was just a baby.

Or maybe he comes to life like the toys in Toy Story when nobody's around.

WHO KNOWS?!

I dunno!

You dunno!

NOBODY KNOW!

REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!