HAPPY NEW YEARS, PEOPLE! I said I'd do it and I did it. Now you can start off 2020 right.
We are getting near the end now, people. As it stand I can count on two hands the number of chapters left. But it's most of both hands. So we're getting closer but still got a way to go. *flops down and dies* Why do I do this to myself?
REMEMBER, I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY OCS AND THE HYBRID PEOPLE.
"You can run... I will reach you. You can run… I will reach you. You can run…. Oh, when Darkness calls I escape... This dream has taken me so far away! I feel my pulse race as I come into you…. You can run… I will reach you. You can run… I will reach you. You can run…" Lacuna Coil; Dark Adrenaline
30
Operation: Bat out of Hell
One Week Later;
She was ready. Or, at least, she thought she was ready. In all reality, she wasn't sure that you could ever really be ready for anything like what they were gearing up to do, but she was ready as she figured she could be. As she stood in front of the mirror, dressing herself, Ally could only pray she'd figured right.
Her stomach was a butterfly sanctuary, except these butterflies were a lot more like angry wasps and hornets. Her stomach muscles were clenched so tight she had barely been able to eat anything the last couple of days, and the rest of her was just as tense and on edge. The girl hadn't slept much, but amazingly she didn't find herself that tired. In fact she'd never felt more awake and alert and aware in all her life. That had to be her nerves, and she was sure that they would all come brutally crashing in on her when it was all said and done, but she could worry about that then. Right now was what she had to focus on.
A week had passed since Optimus and the others had found the location of the Lunar Estate in Egypt. The time between then and now had been spent in several different ways in several different directions.
For one, a watch had been set up on the location of the Lunation to make sure that the cult hadn't caught on to them and didn't sneak out from under their noses. Then Optimus, Hunter's substitute mentor Atlas, the Hybrid Council President and Hybrid Defense Secretary, and Starscream had all come together and coordinated a raid strike. It was simple enough: a small stealth squad of Hybrid forces would strike first. This squad would teleport within the barrier and take down the shield, allowing clear access for everyone else. With the shield barrier down, the full barrage of the Hybrid forces would be let loose on the Lunar Estate, followed closely by air and ground attacks from the Decepticons coming in from the other direction. While the Decepticons and Hybrid military drew the attention of the Lunation's defenses, the main mission would be carried out.
And the main mission was what Ally had been involved in all week. While plans had been made and Hybrid forces attained and prepared, Ally had spent the week with Bumblebee, working on her apparating. From morning to dusk every day, they'd bridged out to the middle of nowhere somewhere on the planet and worked on teleporting from one place to the other. Ally had been relieved to find that, while her ability was quite rusty, she still had the feel for apparating and could manage to do it. It had taken a lot of time to work up the magical power to do it and had been rather tiring at first—and in all reality it was still fairly tiring now—but she had managed to do it. Once they'd found out she still could, they focused on teleporting distances.
They'd started out small of course; Bumblebee walking only a few yards away from Ally and she attempting to 'port that distance. That was easy enough, once she'd worked up the magic to apparate, though she grew quite tired after a while due to the new strain on her magic, and she never managed to teleport close to 'Bee; she always ended up a long ways off to the left or right of him. But they hadn't worried about that so much as they were more focused on getting her used to the distance. Once she'd successfully managed to apparate the distance of a football field without suffering from terrible magical strain, they tried working on her positioning.
That aspect was much harder, as Ally had never been good with it anyway. She just couldn't seem to get the exact spot she wanted to be fixed firmly enough in her mind as she teleported. She didn't know why: Maybe it was the jolt of magical energy that zapped through her mind for a brief second the moment she apparated that made all of her thoughts a bit dazed and dizzy. Whatever it was, she never was successful in teleporting directly from one spot to the other, so when she finally began fairly regularly popping up in a spot two to four feet off the intended destination point both Ally and 'Bee agreed that that was good enough. In fact that was probably going to be as good as it would ever get, at least for the limited amount of time they had to practice. Especially when they had other things to experiment and practice with: i.e. teleporting along with holoforms.
Ally had apparated by herself before; she had apparated with other people before, both as the passenger and the apparator; she had apparated with things that weren't human; she had never apparated with a hard light construct that was generated from the life-force of the main body of the being it was the avatar for. A holoform was all science-y and technical, and while most magic could work in tandem with such things—the Lunation itself was built off of the concepts of both science and magic—there were still some forms of it that didn't seem to want to get along with science. Apparating was typically one of those forms; something about the flow of the magic used in it seemed to cause a sort of shortage with most forms of technology that were taken along for the ride.
To be honest, Ally was a bit nervous to teleport with the Autobots themselves, let alone their holoforms, as they were all living machines and therefore essentially living technology. That was why she had Bumblebee side-along apparate normally first, just to make sure that could be done without unwanted consequences. Luckily it could. Ally surmised that because they were indeed living the magic must have recognized them as beings and not things, much as it did when a Hybrid apparated in their robotic form. Magic was very intuitive like that. She had just hoped it would be as intuitive with holoforms, considering they were, in all reality, made from the very life force that made Cybertronians living beings.
As it turned out, the magic was intuitive with holoforms as well. While there was a brief period of glitching and disorientation upon reappearing after a teleport, the holoform remained activated and perfectly functional. Now Ally's only hope was that she didn't choke when it came down to the wire.
"You're not gonna choke," Ally murmured to herself, giving herself a hard look in the mirror as she buttoned up. "You've been in plenty of intense performances before now and you've totally rocked them. This is just, like, an incredibly intense and high-stakes performance where you can finally use your powers. You're not gonna choke. You got this." Why did those wasps and hornets have to disagree so strongly with her?
Sighing heavily, Ally looked herself over in the mirror to see her complete look. The uniform she currently wore had been her mother's when she'd been in the cult. It was fashionable and elegant enough to match the status expected of the daughter of the Mistress, yet it was practical enough for its intended purpose: dueling and battling. Every part of the outfit from the sleek black, knee-high, heeled boots to the lacy mitts was enchanted to repel and protect against many spells and curses. It wasn't foolproof; the enchantments wouldn't completely protect her from the most powerful of magic, but they would certainly protect her from most hexes and jinxes she would have to worry about. Potions and powders and anything in the realm of science would be her main concern as the enchantments wouldn't stop any of that. She'd just have to be on the lookout.
The enchantments must have kept the outfit in peak condition as well, as it showed no signs of aging at all; even the leather of the pants remained as soft and supple as though they were just well broken in instead of being centuries old and unused for several of them. And the combined vest and jacket was as vividly blue and black as though it was new, the folds of the flared tail crisp and sharp.
"I know I'm not my mom," Ally said, smoothing her hands down the lapels before reaching up to make sure her braid was tight enough, "and I know you were made specifically for her. But I'm her daughter, and since you can't keep her safe anymore, I hope you can keep me safe instead." The teen reached down to adjust the belt at her hips and let her right hand trail over a leather loop at the side of it: a wand holster. Not for the first time did Ally feel a slight twinge of longing for the wand that she had not yet—and may never—receive.
A now familiar booming sound came from outside, and Ally moved towards the open window of the bedroom and looked down into the yard to see the groundbridge portal there, waiting for her. "Time to go," she muttered to herself. Taking one last quick look in the mirror and making one last adjustment to the collar of her turtleneck, Ally finally turned and left the room.
She hurried down the stairs to see the Lennoxes and Epps standing out on the porch. As she opened the door, they all turned to look at her. Ally tried to smile back at them despite the wasps and hornets and despite the anxious and expectant looks in their eyes.
"Operation: Bat Outta Hell day, huh?" Epps asked her with a slightly teasing tone.
Ally half-smiled. "Yup. Off to storm the castle," she said, trying to sound chipper and jokey about it. It didn't quite work.
The adults tried to humor her.
"Well, go burn it to the ground then, Kiddo," Epps replied, giving her a thumbs up.
"Bring 'em hell," Lennox said at the same time.
Sarah came forward and wrapped Ally in a tight hug. "Good luck, honey," she murmured in her ear. "Stay safe and be careful."
Ally smiled at the woman who had become almost like a second mother in the week she'd stayed there. "I'll be okay," she declared. "I've got Optimus and his team with me." She tugged at a flared cuff of her jacket. "And this thing is just as good as, like, as suit of armor." She didn't mention the fact that it was only good for protecting against magic and not weapons.
Sarah gave a wary smile and nod.
Feeling a tug on the chain on her belt, Ally looked down to see Annabelle's sweet little face gazing up at her, looking as if she had something important to say. The teen smiled and bent over to meet the child face to face. "Yes, Annabelle?" she asked.
"You're gonna bring Hunter back home today, right?" Annabelle asked very seriously. She sounded expectant.
Ally paused for a brief moment, not quite sure how to answer. She could, after all, make no kinds of promises about bringing Hunter back home today or not—there were so many things that could go wrong. But at the same time, she didn't feel like she could tell Annabelle that she didn't know. In the week she'd stayed at the ranch she'd come to realize just how much her cousin was loved, not just by Optimus and his team, but by their human companions as well. Annabelle in particular seemed to be a hardcore fan of Hunter, and her sadness over her absence and desire to get her back reflected those affections.
"We're gonna try, Annabelle," Ally finally proclaimed, hoping that would be enough for the child to take heart in but also not too much that she'd put all of her hopes on it.
Annabelle made a firm nod of her head. "Good," she said, "'cuz I want Hunter home. I need her to teach me how to be a good big sister to the baby and I miss her."
"I know, sweetie," Ally replied. "I know you miss her—everybody misses her—and that's why we're gonna try and hard as we can to bring her home today."
"And when she comes back home I'm gonna give her the biggest hug and kiss in the whole wide world!" Annabelle declared.
Ally smiled. "I'm sure she'll love that," she chuckled. "I gotta go now. You just keep holding on to that faith that she's coming home, okay?"
"Okay," Annabelle agreed as Ally set her back down. "And I'll pray extra hard, too. I'm gonna go start right now!" With that the little blonde zipped back inside the house and up the stairs headed towards her bedroom.
"We'll all pray extra hard today," Will put in. He put a hand on Ally's shoulder and gently squeezed it in encouragement. "You better get goin', kid. Godspeed and good luck. Bring our girl home."
Ally thinly smiled and nodded before trotting off towards the porch, out of the yard, and into the groundbridge.
When she entered the Autobot base, Ally found everyone standing around the main computer gazing up at the screen. Her eyes rose to it as well. There looked to be some sort of schematic displayed on the screen. Raising an eyebrow, Ally quickly transformed to her Cybertronian form (it was well on the way to becoming second nature now) and moved towards the group. "Hey, guys," she greeted them all. She gave a friendly smile to 'Bee when he cheerfully greeted her. "What's up?" she asked. "What's this?"
"A map of the Lunar Estate," Optimus answered, not looking away from the screen.
Ally's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" she exclaimed in complete disbelief. "No way! How the hell did we manage to get something like that?"
"It was my idea, actually," Atlas spoke up. He turned away from the keyboard to meet Ally's gaze as he explained further: "I came to the conclusion that it would be prudent for us to have at least some idea of what we'll be teleporting into. Sergeant Briggs—one of the stealth team members—possesses the gift of seismic imaging, so I recruited him to create a map for us. It's quite rudimentary, of course, but it is better than nothing. And we have been able to decipher that these white splotches-" he motioned to the numerous white blobs on the map that varied in shape and size "-are members of the cult. Now as you can see, there are many areas with a high concentration of Acolytes on the upper levels of the mansion—that is to be expected as most of the members would undoubtedly live in those areas. However, once you get passed this level here they are few and far between. But then we come the one of the lower levels of the estate..." He turned back to the keyboard and pressed a few buttons, causing the map to shift and the angle they were viewing to change so that they were looking at the second to bottom level of the mansion. "All of a sudden there is a high concentration of Acolytes on this level, and particularly in this area here." He pointed to a corner of the lower level where there was indeed quite a cluster of the white blots.
Ally raised an eyebrow at that. She hadn't ever been to the Egyptian estate, but all the estates were designed relatively the same, so she had a good idea of what was on that level: containment units. She'd only ever been down to that type of floor once, long ago, when she and Steel had been bold and gone exploring the mansion a bit and even then it had just been to the entrance—she'd never ventured much farther than that. So she didn't know exactly what kind of containment units were down there; she just knew that they weren't the dungeon cells—those were the level below.
That's when it clicked.
"That's where they're keeping Hunter!" she exclaimed.
"What makes you so sure?" Arcee asked.
"Those two bottom levels are basically like the… what is it called in sci-fi type movies? The detention blocks. The dungeon cells are on the bottom level and there are containment units on the one above. Luna must have Hunter locked up in one of those things."
/I thought you said you saw Hunter in a cell in Steel's memory,\\ Bumblebee pointed out.
Ally nodded. "I did. But if Hunter managed to, like, find a way out of the cells and escape Luna probably moved her to the containment units and set up a guard to keep an eye on her."
"That does seem logical," Ratchet agreed. "But if that's the case, then we have a new problem. You'll all be going up against a guard of Hybrids and in only your holoforms with only two Hybrids in your own party."
There was a loud crash as Bulkhead punched his fists together, a fierce look on his face. "Doesn't matter," he rumbled. "Red's in there and she's countin' on us to bring her home. Just let 'em try to stop us—I'll show 'em all what it means to be a Wrecker!"
"Hold on to that determination and ferocity, Bulkhead," Atlas remarked. "I assure you that you will most definitely need it today."
"We'll all need it," Ally thought to herself as she continued to gaze at the map of the estate. Her cousin was there, and, come hell or high water, they were going in there and bringing her out. She would be teleporting them right smack into the middle of enemy territory with no guarantees of being able to successfully and safely get them there, never mind getting them out in one piece. If she'd eaten much of anything within the last twelve hours, it would have made a reappearance right about now.
Yes. They would all definitely need to screw their courage to the sticking place today.
Ally's spark was thrumming in her ears and was beating so fast it felt like it would explode from her chest, and there was nothing she could do to try and calm it down. She, Atlas, the Autobots, and Starscream were concealed behind a dune just beyond the force-field shield that concealed the Lunar Estate. The Purebreds were all sitting in their alternate modes, but they already had their holoforms activated and tightly linked hand in hand with the seventeen-year-old so that they would be ready to go when their time came. And it would come at any moment. The stealth team had infiltrated the estate just a few minutes ago and the shield could come down at any moment. Once it did there were several hundred Hybrid soldier who were also waiting behind dunes, tense, on edge, and ready to storm the ground the moment that shield went down. And far away in Chile, in their downed battle ship, Starscream's Decepticons were waiting for the go ahead to surge through their own groundbridge and attack as well.
That all gave Ally a little time to pull herself together, as she'd have to wait a few minutes while the military and 'cons drew most of the Acolytes out into battle, but it wasn't nearly enough time. At least not in her opinion. Her mind was already racing, going through the countless number of ways this could all go wrong:
What if she couldn't apparate all of them inside? What if she couldn't apparate them directly down to the right floor of the mansion? What if she couldn't apparate at all—what if her magic failed her in that way? What would happen when they got inside and met the guard they suspected was watching Hunter? While most of the Acolytes came out to battle, they surely wouldn't: Luna would have ordered them to watch Hunter and guard her at all costs. How would they get by them? What if they couldn't? What if they all got caught and taken captive as well—what would happen then? She couldn't go back to that sort of life!
And what about the Autobots? Luna would turn them into her play things if they became her prisoners; she wouldn't grant any of them a merciful end. Team Prime had found a very special place in Ally's spark since she'd come to stay with them, and the girl couldn't bear to imagine any of them suffering unspeakable horrors at the hands of her ruthless grandmother. Especially not Optimus and Bumblebee. Optimus had truly taken up the roll of beloved Uncle to Ally, and Bumblebee… he was her first real friend. Her first real best friend when it came to it; someone she knew she could trust and count on for and with anything. Ally didn't want to think of how Luna would treat 'Bee if she ever came to find that out. She didn't want to, but she couldn't seem to stop from thinking about it anyway.
Hand squeezed around one of her own and Ally came out of her harried thoughts to look over and see Bumblebee's holoform gazing at her. He smiled reassuringly and nodded, almost as if he could sense her worry and fear. Ally managed to smile back and actually did find herself feeling a bit better with his reassurance. But just a bit.
There was suddenly a brief crackle of static from over their comm-links and then a voice was calling out: "Shield is down. I repeat, shield is down."
The floodgates had been opened—a storm unleashed—the dogs of war released: All at once there was a great uproar as hundreds of Hybrid soldiers converged on the Lunar Estate, ready to tear into anything that wasn't on their side that got in their way. Not too long after came the roar of aircraft, and when Ally looked up she could see jets soaring around overhead, firing off missiles. This was it then: The raid had started and there was no turning back now, if there ever had been in the first place.
"Wait a moment," Optimus said from where he held her hand opposite Bumblebee. Despite his order, the Prime was ready to go—tense to the point it seemed he could absolutely explode off the spot.
Ally could sense his urgency to plunge headlong into enemy territory and tear through anything that stood between him and bringing his spark-daughter back to safety and was utterly amazed that he could have such self-restraint in such a situation as this. If she had been in his place, the girl didn't think she'd be able to have such control: In fact she knew she wouldn't have been able to. Maybe control like that only came into play when you were a Supreme Commander of something.
They waited there in their hiding spot a few minutes more, all of them on edge and fixing to burst with tension and Starscream griping about what was taking so long and demanding that they move now. Then Optimus finally squeezed hard onto Ally's hand. "Now, Alchemy!" he barked.
Startled a bit by the sudden, sharp command, Ally froze for a second, her mind going blank of what she was supposed to do. But, to her credit, she quickly snapped far enough out of it to do what she had to. "Uh, right!" she returned. Closing her eyes, she concentrated hard on where she wanted to go, trying to bring up the memory of the entrance of the detention block she'd seen so long ago to the forefront of her mind. Then she focused on her magic, feeling it surging through her body from her very core to the tips of her fingers and toes becoming stronger and stronger as the seconds ticked by. "Please take me there," she silently pleaded, fixing the image of her destination in her mind. "I need to go here—please take me there." The magic swelling and swirling inside her reached the point where it was almost painful and then suddenly Ally felt she was corkscrewing through the air, wind roaring around her and steeling her breath away. As quickly as the sensation had started, it stopped, and Ally opened her eyes to see herself standing in a pristinely white and gray hallway that looked familiar.
For a moment the girl was shocked. "I did it?" she breathed to herself. Then absolute relief and joy and pride rushed through her much as the magic she'd just used had and she couldn't help but throw her hands up in the air and leap in triumph. "I did it!" she half laughed, half squealed. "I actually did it!"
But then Ally quickly froze as a thought occurred to her. The 'bots' holoforms and Atlas! Whipping around, Ally looked frantically about her to see if everyone else had made the journey with her or if she'd just made the jump all by her lonesome. Again relief flooded her as she saw everyone was accounted for: Bumblebee, Optimus, Arcee, Bulkhead, Starscream, Atlas—they were all there. The holoforms were glitching a little bit and looking a little dazed, but just as Bumblebee's had when they'd practiced, they were looking normal after a moment or two.
"Well… that was… different," Arcee commented dazedly, shaking her holoform head.
"Does anybody else feel like their vibrating?" Bulkhead asked at the same time, scratching his arms a bit.
"Fascinating!" Atlas was exclaiming. "Absolutely fascinating! I've never experienced such a thing before!"
"I never want to experience it again," Starscream mumbled, looking the most shaken of everyone.
Bumblebee was smiling and giving Ally a thumbs up.
Optimus came forward and clasped her shoulder. "Well done, Ally," he praised her, though his face was still serious. "I knew you could do it."
"Well, I'm glad you did, 'cuz I sure didn't," Ally admitted, blushing a bit.
Optimus nodded and then turned away, activating his comm-link. "Ratchet, we have infiltrated the mansion," he reported.
/I hear you, Optimus,/ Ratchet's voice returned over the link. /I am on standby./
Turning back to face everyone again, Optimus ordered, "Autobots, roll out!" With that he took off at a sprint down the long hallway that stretched before them. Everyone else quickly followed.
However, before they managed to get very far, a large wall of smoke appeared in front of them. For a moment they were blinded. When the smoke cleared they saw a semi-circle of familiarly armored and masked men and women before them, effectively cutting off their route. The team all drew closer together.
"Field Acolytes!" Ally exclaimed, her anxious gaze darting around the group before them. Hearing the doors behind them whoosh open, the girl glanced back over her shoulder to see more Acolytes filing in through the entrance and fanning out behind them. They were surrounded now!
"Field Acolytes aren't very powerful magically, but they're, like, first class warriors," Ally warned, mostly directing the information at Optimus though everyone would benefit from it.
"Yes, I am aware," Optimus snarled, glaring down the large male Acolyte standing directly in front of him like he would smite him. If he'd had the power, Ally wouldn't have been the least bit surprised if he did.
"You're trespassing," the male Optimus was scowling at stated as he drew his blade. "The Lunation doesn't take kindly to trespassers. Surrender now and we'll make your deaths painless."
"Oh, well, that's very big of you," Starscream remarked drily.
"I am Optimus Prime," Optimus stated, his deep voice hard and vicious.
"We know who you are, Purebred," the Acolyte replied, spitting the word 'Purebred' as if it were the greatest of insults.
"Then you know why I am here."
"Of course we do. But the Fuser is no longer your concern. She's back where she belongs now—in the hands of the Mistress; and it is the Mistress who will keep her to do with as she sees fit."
A thunderous growl rumbled out of Optimus' holoform. Evidently he did not like that claim at all. "Over my sparkless husk," he seethed. He took a step forward, positively dark with the waves of lividness rushing off him.
The Acolyte did the same, not seeming to be the least bit afraid of the thundercloud coming towards him. "That can be arranged," he assured the Autobot. "I'll take care of your illusion first and then I'll go for your true form." He snickered. "It'll be fun killing you twice."
"You would do better to go to my true form now while my primary consciousness resides in this form," Optimus informed him.
"And where would be the fun in that?" the Acolyte quipped. He raised his blade a bit, as if to deter the Prime.
But Optimus was not deterred by the threat of the blade. In fact it only seemed to fuel his rage. "You are in my way, filth," Optimus spat. "Get. Out."
Ally felt a shiver go down her spine at the tone of his voice. Never had she heard Optimus sound so murderous! Really he sounded almost primal! And, god, did he ever look scary; she was sure to have nightmares about him like this for weeks!
The Acolyte didn't move. He didn't even flinch. "Move me yourself, old man," he taunted.
That did it.
With a savage roar, Optimus' holoform lunged forward. The Acolyte raised his blade. There was a roar of rage and a battle cry and then a sickening sound of ripping and tearing flesh and metal. And then silence. Utter silence.
Everyone stared in shocked horror.
The red blade of the Acolyte was still suspended in the air at a perfect position to strike the Prime a blow that certainly would have disabled his holoform. But it didn't come down and strike. In fact it would never come down and strike, for in his rage Optimus had plunged his fist straight through the Acolytes abdomen, below the armored chest, reached up, and taken hold of his spark-chamber. The Acolyte was frozen in shock and pain, blankly staring out from his goggles into the burning blue eyes of the Prime's holoform.
"That can be arranged," Optimus returned the assurance he had been previously given. With that he wrenched the Hybrid's spark-chamber completely from his body, and the Acolyte dropped limp and lifeless to the floor. The Prime dropped the energon soaked chamber to the floor beside its former shell and mercilessly crushed it beneath his holoform foot. He then slowly turned and glowered around the ring of Acolytes, the dead Hybrid's energon dripping from his fist. "Who is next?" he challenged.
And like that it all exploded. With battle cries the Field Acolytes all surged in on the group, half a dozen targeting Optimus specifically.
Ally stood frozen at the center of it all, having no idea what to do or what was going on. The image of Optimus ripping the spark-chamber clean out of the chest of an Acolyte that was almost as big as his holoform repeating over and over again in her head. God… if he could do that with his holoform, what was he capable of in his true body?
The girl had little time to ponder on that as an arm suddenly snaked around her chest, wrenched her up off her feet, and painfully crushed her back against an armored chest. "Ack!"
"Nice to see you again, Alchemy," a rough female voice hissed in her ear. "Your grandmother will be very happy to see you again. Tell me, what's it like to live life as a traitorous wretch?!" She crushed the teen more tightly against her and wrapped a hand around her throat.
Ally groaned and choked in response, wildly kicking her feet to try and get away and scrambling with slender fingers at the powerful hand strangling her. "A lot… freer than… livin' like a brainwashed… puppet!" she managed to rasp back. She was punished for that comment by the hold around her throat tightening.
"I'd watch my mouth if I were you," the Acolyte warned. "You might be wearing your mama's uniform but I can assure you it won't keep you safe from me!" She pulled out a dagger and held it threateningly in front of Ally's face.
Frantic but trying to keep from panicking too badly, Ally reached down to her waist and groped around at her belt. It was there! It had to be there somewhere! She'd made sure she'd put it in the holster! Finally, the girl's fingers brushed against what she was looking: the cool, metal handle of her mother's little dagger. Clenching her hand around it, Ally ripped the knife from its holder and stabbed it as hard as she could into the Acolytes bare arm. "Rah!"
The Acolyte screamed in pain and loosened her hold, but didn't let go completely.
Ally slammed her head back against her captor's face. A sharp ache settled at the back of her skull from the impact against the goggles and hard face of the Acolyte, but the teen was also rewarded with the crunch of both the goggles and what had to be a nose. Then she kicked back and ground the hard heel of her boot into the woman's knee. Finally, the Acolyte let the girl fall, groaning and moaning in pain, and Ally seized hold of the arm that was still loosely draped around her shoulders and flipped the woman over onto the floor with a hard thud! She then smashed her foot down into the Acolyte's face, effectively breaking more bones as well as knocking her out. Ally stumbled away from the prone woman, her head and body buzzing. Whoa! So this was what an adrenaline rush felt like! … She wasn't sure she liked it.
"Alchemy!"
Ally whipped around to see Optimus hefting several Acolytes that were trying to pin and hold him down up off the floor and struggling against chain whips wrapped around his arms, legs, and neck. His burning, sky blue holoform eyes were fixed on her.
"You have to go on, Ally!" the Prime bellowed. "Take Bumblebee and go find Hunter!" With a cry Optimus fell to a knee on the floor. For a moment Ally thought he was going to be taken down to the floor, but the Autobot simply refused to go down!
"What?!" Ally yelped. "No, I can't! I-"
"There is no time to argue, Alchemy!" Optimus barked with a glare. "You must go!"
"But I-"
"That is an order! We will hold these off, but you and Bumblebee go! Go!"
Ally's stomach plummeted straight through the floor and she felt she would be violently ill, but she made no further attempt to make excuses. "O-okay! Okay!" She looked around the hall, trying to spot Bumblebee. "'Bee?!" Once she did spot him she found he was already making his way towards her, an Acolyte lying bleeding and writhing in agony at his feet and her dripping sword in his grip. There were lots of lines on his body that were shimmering with a blue-white light and Ally realized that these must have been cuts and scrapes and stabs and otherwise damage done to his holoform while he fought. She began running towards him, ducking and diving and dodging out of the way of other Acolytes and her teammates as they battled. "Bumblebee!"
Her braid was snagged and she was jerked backward. "Where do you think you're goin', traitor?!"
"Ahhh!" Ally half-turned and blindly stabbed her dagger back at whoever had caught her. She felt the knife sink into flesh. There was a pained yell and she was free again. She sprint towards 'Bee who was a good deal closer now, but fighting another Acolyte. She stretched out her free hand towards him. "'Bee! Grab my hand!"
'Bee took down his opponent and barreled in her direction, reaching out for her as well.
Ally felt more than heard the presence running up behind her. She had no idea who was behind, but she wasn't about to turn around and see. Instead she pushed herself to go faster towards Bumblebee and focused on bringing up her magic to apparate again. It wouldn't be far this time, just down the hall past all of this chaos—that was all the farther she needed to take them. "Grab my hand!" she yelled again. She and 'Bee were just a few more lunges away.
The presence behind her kept gaining ground.
Three more lunges! "Come on, 'Bee!"
Whoever was behind her was practically clipping at her heels.
"Come on! Grab my hand!" Two more!
She could feel the heat of whoever it was on her back—catch a glimpse of a dark figure out of her peripheral.
"Now!" One more!
There was definitely someone almost beside her.
Her hand locked tight around Bumblebee's hand. A hand locked tight around her upper arm. All at once they were all corkscrewing through the air and wind, Ally feeling breathless for a brief moment before they were all hitting the floor again with such force they went stumbling and sprawling.
Panting heavily, Ally looked up to see Bumblebee laying against the wall across from her, again slightly glitching and looking dazed. Then she caught movement further down the hall from them and looked to see who else had hitched a ride with them. She recoiled in anger and disgust. "Starscream?!"
The Decepticon's holoform was lying in a heap on the floor just a few feet away, looking rather worse for wear then Bumblebee did. "Ugh… is it over?" he muttered, voice slurring. "Are we done teleporting? I can't tell—everything is spinning."
"Yeah, we're done," Ally snarled.
"Oh, thank Primus," 'Scream wheezed. "I-I don't know how much more of that I can take. What an utterly horrid way to travel!"
Ally wanted to point out that he wouldn't have had to take it more than he already had to because he wasn't supposed to have tagged along on this last trip in the first place, but they didn't have that kind of time. So she settled for berating him in her head as she got to her feet. She moved across the hall to Bumblebee. Used to apparating by now and evidently much more resilient than Starscream, Bumblebee didn't need much help in getting up, and they were soon both moving. "If you wanna come, Starscream, get up!" Ally snapped as they ran by the 'con who was just getting to his knees. She heard him quickly scramble to his feet and stagger after them
They all bounded down the hall away from the battle behind them. Coming to a 'T' junction at the end of the hall, Ally bared right towards the section of this level where the Acolytes had been clustered on the map. This was the way—she was sure of it! Hunter had to be down this way, because why else would those Acolytes have been there? Speaking of Acolytes….
"Okay, so, if there were a whole bunch of Acolytes stationed down here to guard Hunter," Ally puffed as she ran, directing the conversation to Bumblebee, "is that all the guard back there that we just ran into? Or are we gonna have to deal with some more before we get to Hunter?" She glanced over to see Bumblebee looking at her with uncertain, worried eyes.
"I think you're going to get your answer!" Starscream exclaimed from behind them. "Look!"
Ally and Bumblebee both looked forward again to see a double-layered line of Acolytes blocking their path. "Crap!" Ally yelped, skidding to a stop.
"Stand down!" one of the Acolytes barked, blade drawn.
Bumblebee moved to put himself between Ally and the Acolytes.
Ally glanced around desperately. What were they going to do now? There were three of them and ten Acolytes, and Bumblebee seemed to be the only one of them who could really fight in holoform mode. (As far as Ally could remember, she hadn't seen Starscream fighting much back there with the group.) In theory, her magic was more powerful than the Acolytes' and she could cast some sort of spell or curse or hex to get them out of the way, but not only had she not mastered any sort of things like that, she didn't know any magic like that! She'd never studied magic in a way that she'd always have one on hand whenever a situation it might be useful for came up. She'd only ever studied the spells she needed in order to survive the lifestyle at home! None of them covered something like this! Oh, if only she was more like Steel! In only Steel were here and on their side!
It was as though her thoughts had summoned him. All at once, soundless and smokeless, Steel appeared before them directly in the space between them and the Acolytes.
Ally froze and stared, her spark hammering in her chest for a completely different reason other than adrenaline now. A hurricane of emotions was whirling around inside of her: happiness, shock, fear, anger, excitement—it was dizzying. She couldn't believe this…. This couldn't be happening. There was no way this could be happening! "St-Steel?" she stammered.
'Bee quickly glanced back between the siblings, as if questioning if this was really Ally's brother. Evidently the look on Ally's face was all the answer he needed.
"Who, in Primus' name, is Steel?" Starscream inquired.
Ally wasn't listening. "Steel…" she murmured softly, unable to take her eyes off her brother.
The young man before them nodded his blond head. "Hello, Little Sister," he greeted the girl. His face and eyes remained impassive—almost carefully so—and he made no movement towards her.
Gently pushing Bumblebee out of the way a bit, Ally took a step forward, not entirely sure that he wasn't some mirage that would disappear the closer she came to it. "I… but… what… why are you here?" she finally managed to get out.
"Well, the sudden raid above seemed to suggest something was up," Steel answered coolly. "And, considering we've kept our return well hidden from the Hybrid government, and you were, in fact, the only person outside of the Lunation to know we'd come back, it wasn't hard to figure out who'd alerted them to our presence. And it wasn't hard to figure why they would decide to raid us, considering I know that you've met Optimus Prime. When I was alerted that there were trespassers on the detention level—well—it all made sense then." He paused and looked his little sister over for a moment. "However," he went on, "I'll admit I wasn't counting on you being here."
Ally couldn't help but smirk a bit at that, a tiny surge of pride sparking through her. "Nice to know I can still surprise you, Big Bro," she teased lightly. For the briefest moment Steel's lips twitched as if he were about to smirk or smile, but they were so soon stilled that Ally almost thought she'd imagined it.
Ally became serious again, too. "We're here for Hunter, Steel," she stated as firmly as she could. She wished her voice didn't sound so pathetic to her own ears. "We're here to free her and take her back home, and we won't let anything stop us." She drew herself up straight and stepped forward again. "I won't let you stop us."
That time Steel's lips did curl into a little smirk. "No," he agreed. "I wouldn't expect you to."
"Master Steel, what are you doing?" one of the Acolytes demanded. "Stop them! Wipe them out!"
Ally's gaze warily darted from the Acolyte back to her brother. "Please don't," she silently pleaded. "Please, Steel, don't." Her brother made no move, no warning that he had any intentions of doing just what the Acolyte had asked.
"You know Grandmother won't let you take Hunter," Steel murmured, coming closer. "You know she won't let you leave the estate with her."
Ally's face hardened. "Then it's a good thing I'm not asking her permission, isn't it?" she shot back.
Steel's face darkened. "Alchemy Solaris-"
"It's not right what she's doing, Steel," Ally insisted. "Whatever Luna's planning, it's not right. And it's not right that she's keeping Hunter away from her family. You know that. I know you know that."
"We're her family too, Ally."
"But we're not the ones she needs, Steel. Don't you think being with the people she loves and trusts and who care for her is what she needs?"
There was a long silence as the siblings stared at each other, electric blue eyes staring into sapphire-rimmed raspberry. Ally watched her brother's face carefully, expectantly. She prayed he would see her point.
Finally Steel's eyes fell away from hers. "I'm so sorry, Ally," he murmured.
Ally's spark plunged into her gut. She took a step back, tears springing to her eyes. He was continuing to stand beside Luna, just as he had always done—just as he would always do. "No," she rapsed. "No, Steel, no please." She gasped as her brother pulled out a wand from his back pocket: a foot long marbled black and white with a simply but prettily curved handle. So he'd finally gotten his wand then: Was he preparing for the trails to become a master sorcerer or had he passed them already? She wouldn't have been surprised if he had.
Ally watched on in horror as Steel raised his wand, sparks flickering out of the end of it. She vaguely felt Bumblebee's hand on her shoulder as he tried to push her around behind him. "Please, no, Steel," she whispered, a tear trickling down her cheek.
The tip of Steel's wand glowed bright with purplish-white light as he held it aloft. The young man fixed his eyes on the girl and held there for a moment. Then he flicked his wand back over his shoulder in the direction of the Acolytes. A shimmering glow enveloped them all for a moment before they all fell to the floor, unconscious. Steel turned to gaze at his handiwork.
Ally stared, her mouth slightly agape. What had just…? Her eyes darted from her brother to his wand to the Acolytes and back several times, trying to comprehend what had happened. Her brother… hadn't actually just… helped them… had he? "Steel?" she croaked.
"Those should have been the last to stand in your way," Steel declared, turning back to them. "Go. Get Hunter and get outta here as fast as you can. Keep going down this hall, take the first turn on your left and it's the door at the end of that hall."
Bumblebee and Starscream did not need to be told twice. No sooner had they got the information and the go ahead and they were sprinting off again, leaping over the heap of Acolytes.
Ally however, remained standing in place, staring at her brother in disbelief. "You're… you're helping us?" she asked softly.
Steel let his gaze fall from hers as he hung his head. "Yeah," he said. "I guess I am."
"… Why?"
Steel only just dared to raise his head enough so that he could peek up to meet Ally's gaze again. "Let's just say… I'm making up for past mistakes. Though I'm not sure I'll ever really be able to make up for them. You better get going now, if you want a chance of getting Hunter outta here."
Ally nodded before her gaze shifted to the Acolytes again. "Will you get in trouble for this?" she asked, worrying for her brother's safety. What he had just done—what he was allowing to happen—was highly treasonous.
Steel followed her gaze. "I'll alter their memories," he stated. "Although that'll be more for your sake than mine. I'll tell grandmother I wasn't able to get down her fast enough in time to stop you from taking Hunter."
Ally looked at him anxiously. "Yeah, but… you'll still get punished though."
"Yeah," Steel agreed, his voice indifferent. "Yeah, I will."
"… What if… what if you… came with us?"
Steel turned back to look at her with a slight smirk. "Leave the Lunation?" he snorted. "I know that's what you want me to do, Little Sister, but I don't think I'm ready to make that leap just yet. Or if I'll ever be."
Ally smiled sadly. He hadn't completely denied her suggestion yet, at the same time, he hadn't given it much thought either. In some ways that was better than it had been in the past, but it still wasn't enough for her. She wondered if he ever would react to that suggestion in a way that was enough for her. "Well, if you ever change your mind, you know who to call."
Steel's smirk turned into a genuine smile, a soft look coming into his eyes. "Yeah. I do. Now you better get going. 7734-6533 is the access code."
Ally nodded and began to trot off down the hall after Bumblebee and Starscream, but then she stopped. Turning back around, she lunged for her brother and caught him in a tight hug.
"Wha-hey!" Steel exclaimed in surprise, freezing up.
"Thanks, Steel," Ally murmured, snuggling into his chest and breathing in his scent. "We couldn't've done this without you."
Steel remained silent and unmoving, neither returning her hug nor pulling away from it.
"I… I love you, Big Brother," Ally choked out, tears starting to trickle down her cheeks.
It was at this point that Steel, ever so slowly, put his arms around the girl and hugged her back. "I love you too, Little Sister," he returned.
They held each other for a moment before Ally finally pulled away and sprinted off down the hall after her teammates, a quivering but happy smile on her face.
Ally quickly caught up to Starscream and Bumblebee and soon enough they all came to a stop before the door of the room that Hunter was said to be in. Ally typed in the code that Steel had provided her and the doors whooshed open. They all tensed in readiness for a retaliatory force to spring out at them, but none came. The room was completely deserted; not even a technician could be seen. In fact the only thing in the room that boasted life was a tall, elevated, illuminated glass tube in the center of the room that was filled with liquid. And in the liquid a redheaded girl was floating.
"Hunter!" Starscream wailed. He rushed into the room towards the tube. "Oh, Hunter, my love, what have they done to you?!"
Ally wrinkled her nose in disgust at the Decepticon's display. This. This is why he shouldn't have come along with her and 'Bee and why he should have stayed back to battle Acolytes with the others!
Then Ally noticed Bumblebee. He was slowly ambling into the room as if in a trance, a look of despondency and shock and anger clouding his holoform face. Slowly he approached the tube. Once he was close enough, the Autobot reached a hand up high enough so that when he placed it trembling on the glass it was on level with Hunter's hand—like he was trying to take her hand. Despite the fact that he was effectively facing away from her, Ally was certain she saw a tear run down the side of 'Bee's cheek.
Ally felt her spark clench at that. They had to get Hunter out of here now!
Turning her attention to the console across the way from which a steady beeping seemed to be emanating, the teen moved towards it. She studied the monitors on it for a moment. A few of them she didn't know what they were or meant, but she did recognize the heart/spark-monitor and thought another looked to be like it monitored brainwaves. "She's okay," she called out. "She's just sedated. She probably broke out of the dungeons, like I thought, and when Luna caught her she musta decided to keep her in here, asleep and under surveillance."
"I don't care about how she came to be in here," Starscream snapped, "I only care about how we get her out!"
Ally scowled at him, but bit her tongue and looked at the console again. There were so many buttons and slides and dials. She didn't know what meant what and was too nervous to try anything. "I don't know how to get the tank open from here," she confessed after a moment. "I think we'll have to break her out."
"Well then what are we waiting for?" Starscream demanded. Backing away from the chamber, the Decepticon raised a leg and kicked out with a boot-clad holoform foot at the glass. "Hah!" All he succeeded in was falling over backwards as his foot rebounded harshly off the glass; the glass didn't even scuff much less break. "How in pit do you expect us to break through that?!" Starscream squawked as he tried to right himself, his face exceptionally red.
Ally rolled her eyes but said nothing as she moved towards the chamber. She paused in front of it for a moment and gazed up at her cousin, limply floating inside the tank, the lower half of her face hidden by the breathing mask. Wearing nothing but a black sports-bra and a pair of small, black shorts, Ally could clearly see that her cousin was well-muscled, and couldn't help but compare her to what she assumed an Amazon must look like; but even so Hunter seemed so… vulnerable. Maybe it was the current state she was in, or the way she simply floated listlessly in the liquid surrounding her; but whatever it was, Ally thought her cousin looked so helpless and frail.
Ally's eyes caught and lingered on scars that she recognized as whiplash marks on Hunter's legs, sides, stomach, and chest; then she stared at what appeared to be teeth marks halfway up both of Hunter's thighs. The seventeen-year-old's stomach rolled. Ratchet had told her that Hunter had a strong healing factor: So how bad had these wounds had to have been to leave marks behind? And if they didn't get Hunter out of here, how many more scars would she end up with from how many more beatings?
Ally shook her head as if to clear it of those thoughts. No. No, Hunter wouldn't be getting more scars from more beatings because they were going to get her out of here! They were going to get her out and take her home. "Everybody stand back!" Ally shouted, backing up a ways from the stasis chamber. "Can you give me a boost, 'Bee?"
Evidently picking up on what she was doing, 'Bee moved away from the chamber before crouching down halfway between Ally and the tank. Lacing his fingers together, he held his hands close to the ground. He looked up at the girl expectantly.
Ally nodded to him before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath as she readied herself. Then she broke into a run, eyes locked on the stasis tank. She planted a foot into the stirrup of 'Bee's hands. Bumblebee rocketed to his feet and threw his hands skyward at the same time as Ally pushed off his fingers, launching her up to the ceiling.
For a brief moment Ally was weightless and then she was falling again. Angling herself for the tank, Ally kicked a foot out, straight and rigid. "Hhhaaaahhhh!" Her foot connected with the tube, all of her strength and bodyweight behind it smashing into the glass. There was a sharp crack! And then Ally was falling unceremoniously to the floor and landing hard on her back as she bounced off the glass. Her head cracked on the floor a bit. "Oof!"
Shaking and rubbing her head, Ally slowly began to sit back up. She felt Bumblebee's hands come to rest on her shoulders as he came to her aid. "That… went totally different in my head," she admitted with a hiss and a grimace.
Bumblebee made an amused snorting sound and rubbed her shoulders in praise.
All at once there was series of crackling sounds. All three parties looked up at the chamber to see that Ally had indeed been successful in breaking the glass, even if she hadn't smashed through it completely. There was a large, spider-web of damage fanning out where the girl had planted her foot. What's more, the tendrils of the web were spreading out farther across the face of the tank, creating more cracks and fissures as they stretched out. The cracking and snapping and popping sound continued until it finally stopped.
Bumblebee yanked Ally to her feet and ran away from the chamber, pulling her with him. Starscream sprinted back, too. All just in time as the tube suddenly ruptured in an explosive shatter, and glass and anesthetic smelling fluid flew and gushed everywhere. The force of the liquid pulled Hunter from her breathing mask and carried her in a wave across the room where she lay in a lifeless heap on the floor.
Letting go of Ally, Bumblebee bounded across the room to Hunter. He fell to his knees with a splash beside her, scooped the redhead up into his arms, and hugged her soaked and dripping limp form to him for dear life.
Starscream wasn't far behind him. "Hunter!" he cried. "Hunter, my love!" He made to stoop down and pull the girl away from the Autobot.
Before 'Scream could lay a finger on Hunter, however, Bumblebee backhanded the Decepticon hard across the face, sending him sprawling in the wet. The scout stood, snarling savagely down at Starscream as he clutched Hunter protectively to him. He didn't need to be able to speak to make his intentions clear: "Touch her—come near her—and you're dead!"
Starscream glowered back at the scout. "If it wasn't for me you never would have found her, Autobot scum!" he hissed, rising to his feet. He stalked back towards Bumblebee. "I have earned the right to be near her far more than yo-oof!" He fell back again as 'Bee planted kick square in his chest.
Ally moved to stand between the squabbling males and turned her attention to Hunter. She peeled some of her cousin's fiery hair back from where it was plastered to her lips. "We need to go," she stated, looking up at 'Bee. "We got her, now we need to get her outta here."
'Bee nodded and quickly shifted Hunter up and over his shoulders so that she was hanging limply across them. Then he began running back to the doors, being sure to bump Starscream as he was trying to get up and knock him back over in the process.
Ally was hot on his heels, yanking Starscream up on his feet, because even the idea of leaving The Creeper behind in a place like Luna's didn't sit well with her. "Come on if you're comin' then," she grumbled.
They bounded back down the hall towards where they had left Steel. Steel was long gone now, but the pile of sleeping Acolytes was still there. Bumblebee leapt over them. Unfortunately as he did, Hunter—who was still rather wet and slick because of it—slipped from his grasp and into the heap of Acolytes.
"Ugh!"
Everyone stopped and froze. It was the first noise they'd heard Hunter make! They all rushed towards the sixteen-year-old and pulled her from the pile, Bumblebee crouching down on the floor and holding her close.
Ally knelt beside them, making sure there wasn't enough space for Starscream to get to close. "She's waking up!" she exclaimed, watching as her cousin's face began to twitch ever so slightly.
As if to prove her point, Hunter became slightly more vocal, emitting quiet groans and moans.
Ally grinned up at Bumblebee to find that he was grinning from ear-to-ear as well. Then they were up and running again.
By the time they reached the 'T' junction, Hunter was far more vocal, muttering and mumbling and slurring nonsensical things. Most of the time they couldn't understand a word she was saying, but sometimes they managed to make something out; like when she'd slipped one more time from 'Bee's shoulders to the floor and had tried to sit up, passionately declaring that two plus two equaled fish. Well, at least she wasn't totally freaking out thinking she was in danger and had to fight while coming out of anesthesia.
As the skidded around the corner back towards the entrance the three all had to stop and stare. Optimus and the others had certainly taken care of the other Acolytes; there were bodies and body parts littered down the hall and energon splattered everywhere! The team themselves definitely looked worse for wear, and it was evident to see that their holoforms had taken extensive damage, but they were all still there and still standing. Well, figuratively, anyway—Bulkhead was actually seated on the ground while a very disheveled and torn up but nonetheless fascinated Atlas studied a large, glowing gash in the ex-Wrecker's holoform's shoulder.
Ally, 'Bee, and Starscream moved on down the hall. The others noticed them and came towards them as well so that they met in the middle.
"You got her!" Bulkhead whooped.
"Thank Primus," Arcee sighed.
"Excellent!" Atlas exclaimed.
"Is she all right?" Optimus inquired, watching with concern as Bumblebee slipped a still slack and loopy Hunter from his shoulder and down into his arms. He reached out to take her from his scout.
"They had her in stasis," Starscream answered, watching longingly. "She is starting to come out of it, however."
"She's still, like, really out of it though," Ally stated with a bit of amusement.
Optimus didn't appear to be listening. He was too busy staring at Hunter the greatest look of both relief and disbelief on his face, as though he couldn't quite believe that Hunter was here. As though he couldn't believe that he was actually holding his daughter again. There were tears in his holoform eyes that he didn't even try to hide. "Hunter?" he murmured, voice hardly above a whisper. He brushed some of her drying hair out of her face. "Sweet-spark?"
Hunter's cheek twitched under his touch and her brows furrowed for a moment as she moaned. Her eyes slowly opened to slits. For a moment they slowly rolled around, as if she was taking her surroundings in, but then they finally landed on Optimus' face and stayed there.
Optimus smiled down at her. "Hunter," he repeated.
"… Dad?" Hunter rasped, her voice toneless.
If it was at all possible, Optimus smile grew even bigger. "Yes, Sparkling," he sniffled, "it's me. It's me."
All at once an utterly distressed look came over Hunter's face. "No," she moaned pitifully. "No, no, no!" She squirmed and pushed and shoved away from Optimus to fall ungracefully to the floor. "No, no, no, not again!" she wailed, sounding completely desperate. She scooted as quickly as she could away from them all. "Not again, please!"
Optimus stared at her in alarm. "My Shooting Star?"
"No, not again," Hunter sniffled, drunkenly staggering to her feet. "Not again, please…."
Optimus moved towards her, hands outstretched. "Hunter, Sparkling…"
Hunter looked up, saw him coming towards her, and panicked. "No!" she screamed. She tried to move away from him and only tripped over a dead Acolyte in the process. "No! Get away! Stay away from me!" She half-crawled half-scooted across the hall and cowered into the wall, gazing up at Optimus in fear the whole time. "Don't come closer!" she pleaded, trying to back up through the wall as Prime took another step. "Please!"
The Autobot Commander looked confused and hurt at the same time. "Hunter," he murmured, "Sweet-spark, it's me—it's Dad."
Hunter was a panicky mess. "No!" she bawled. "No, you're not him—you can't be him! Just another trick—not real! Not real!" With that, Hunter screwed her eyes shut and lowered her head as she pressed her hands tight over her ears. "Not real, not real, not real," she whispered through her sobs. "Not real. Not Dad—not real. Not real, not real, not real." She sounded utterly pathetic and spark-broken.
"I don't get it," Arcee said. "What's wrong with her?"
"Why doesn't she recognize Optimus?" Bulkhead asked.
"It's not that she doesn't recognize Optimus," Atlas stated, gazing sorrowfully at Hunter, "as she very clearly does recognize him. It's believing that it's truly him I think."
"Luna probably used some spells against Hunter to, like, make her think that he was here when he wasn't," Ally explained sadly. "She's sadistic like that. Now it's probably hard for Hunter to believe anything she sees 'cuz she's been tricked before."
As they spoke, Ally watched with bated breath as Optimus slowly approached Hunter. She almost couldn't believe that the savage, murderous brute that ripped sparks out of people's chests with his bare hands and this gentle, benevolent giant that looked at a frightened teenaged girl with all the care in the world could possibly be the same 'bot. It was a complete one-eighty difference! What was the phrase her dad liked to use—"one-trick pony"? Well, Optimus certainly wasn't one of those.
The Prime sank down on his knees in front of the confused girl. "Hunter," he said, voice steady but gentle, "you have nothing to fear now. It's me, Sparkling—it's Dad—it's Dad. I'm here to take you back home." He reached out and touched her knee.
Hunter shrieked and flinched away, proceeding to resume her chanting of "not real" in a louder voice than before.
Optimus was not to be put off by this. Reaching out with both hands this time, he wrapped them around each of Hunter's wrists and pulled her hands away from her ears. "Hunter-"
Hunter screamed, not opening her eyes. "No, no, no, no, no!" she screeched. "You won't trick me again—I won't fall for it again! Go away! Please! Not real! Not real, not real, not real! She frantically tried to pull her hands away.
Optimus held them fast, refusing to let go. He pulled her closer to him at the same time he shuffled towards her and, with some effort, opened her right fists and brought that hand up to press against the center of his chest. "Hunter," he said, loud enough to be heard above her screams, "listen to me. I am not a trick—I am not a hallucination or illusion—I am here with you. If you cannot believe your eyes and ears, then believe your spark because I know that you can feel me now just as I can feel you."
Hunter didn't stop trying to get away, but her cries did decrease in volume a great deal. She also dared to open her eyes, though she wasn't looking at Optimus yet.
"That's it, My Shooting Star," Optimus murmured encouragingly, voice softer now. "Reach out to me—feel for me in your spark. I feel you, Hunter. I feel you. I'm here."
"Daddy?" Hunter whimpered, just daring to peek up at him now.
Optimus smiled gently. "Yes, My Shooting Star," he answered, voice quivering slightly. "It's me. I'm here, Hunter. I'm here."
Slowly raising her head, Hunter looked at the Prime more directly. She stared at him unblinkingly for a moment before gently pulling her left hand from his grip and reached to touch his face. The tips of her trembling fingers just barely brushed his cheek before she pulled them back again, as if afraid to touch him for very long before being pulled into some other spell. But then she went back a second later and pressed her fingers more firmly to his face. She stroked his cheek and traced around Optimus' holoform's eyes, nose, jaw, lips, and finally ran her fingers through his hair and mustache before cupping his cheek. A look of realization came over her. "Daddy," she whimpered. It wasn't a question this time.
Optimus nodded, drawing his lips into a thin line to try and keep them from trembling. "Yes, Hunter," he whispered, tears welling in his eyes.
Hunter's chin trembled, tears starting to flow down her face as she tried to hold back her sobs. "You… You're here," she stuttered. "You're here… y-you found me."
"Of course I found you," Optimus rasped, taking her face in his hands and futilely trying to wipe her tears away. "I promised you that I would—that I always would. Always."
With that Hunter lunged forward and threw her arms around the Prime. "Daddy!" she cried. "Daddy!" She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed.
Optimus, too, hid his face in Hunter's shoulder and hair as he pulled her tight against him, like he was never letting her go. "Hunter," he wept. "Oh, Hunter, I'm here, Sparkling—I'm here. I have you. Daddy's here—he has you." He rose to his feet, pulling Hunter up off the floor, and swayed her to and fro. "Daddy has you and he'll never let you go again. I'll never let you be taken from me again, My Shooting Star. I promise—never, never again."