A/N: I DID IT. I'm on a time crunch rn so no time for words but you know the dealio leave me nice words pls (or mean words or whatever just reviews in general lol).
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
History Revealed
"Aren't you just tired, just fed up to the hilt with regret and remorse, shame and guilt? Forget redemption, that's off the shelf, but how in the hell do you live with yourself?" –Sudeep Pagedar
The world was on fire. Some world. A different one. It definitely wasn't Alabama, and he was pretty positive it also wasn't Earth. Granted, he hadn't been to many places before, but he would reckon not many places on Earth were made of various twisting metals and pools of metallic lava of sorts.
David Bradshaw hated being here. He hated the sounds of screeching metal and gurgling moans. He hated the smell of sulfur and blood and something tangy and sharp that hung in the air like the humid of a late summer night. He hated, more than anything, the way this world made him feel. Like he was small. Like he was lost.
Like he had lost.
But lost what? He never knew. He never understood, but the gut-wrenching pain of defeat filled every bone in his body. It was like the hellish world around him was somehow burning because of him.
David found himself here every single night. It didn't matter how the day went or what had gone on, the moment he closed his eyes he would be here again. It would've driven him to madness already if it wasn't for her.
For her.
She didn't belong amongst the scenery. Her porcelain skin was a contrast to the dark shades of gray, red, and black. Her dirty blonde hair was too soft as it fell down her back in loose curls. She had her arms wrapped tightly around herself, holding herself together, as she watched the world around her burn with those hypnotizing blue eyes. The blue eyes he had fallen head over heels in love with from the moment he saw them.
"Elizabeth…" He whispered softly. Painfully. It hurt to have the name fall from his lips. It was only in this God-awful wasteland of a dream did he even attempt it. Watching her wither away in that hospital bed had changed him for the worse. It had destroyed him entirely. Annihilated every piece of him leaving nothing but a hollow shell of who he used to be. Their happy ever after wasn't supposed to end this way. They were supposed to grow old on a front porch with grandbabies around them and laughter in the air. Their future had been snatched from them. David spoke again, this time his voice more of a broken sob, "Elizabeth."
She suddenly turned to face him, and it felt like he had been struck by an eighteen-wheeler. Never, never, had he been blessed enough for this to happen. Usually he just had to stand here and suffer. Only steps away from his lost soulmate and unable to move his body towards her. Elizabeth never heard his cries and pleas to look in his direction.
"David." Elizabeth's voice sounded different. Her voice had always been light, like a ringing bell, but there was something otherworldly about it now. Everything about her seemed otherworldly. It was as if she was glowing and it wasn't just the fires behind her. It was coming from her. "They're coming for the girls."
David sucked in a sharp breath.
"They're coming for our girls and you have to stop them. Primus and Unicron—" The unfamiliar words meant nothing to him. "I tried to kill the line, but I didn't know you were…I thought I left this life behind…" Elizabeth had tears streaming down her face. David didn't understand what was happening. What life had she left behind? He always told her she had a troubled childhood, but never spoke about it otherwise. And what about their girls? "I am so sorry. I am so sorry. You have to save them, David. It isn't fair for me to ask this of you, you never signed up for this, but you have to save them. David—"
"Tell me how." David said firmly. He forced himself forward, it took every ounce of his energy, but for the first time he was able to make forward motion. "I'll do anything."
David woke with a start. The memory of his unusual dream mingling with the pounding pain of his morning hangover. It had been different this time. He had woken up before answers were found, but it had been different. He remembered that.
Slowly, he forced himself to sit up and glanced around the small kitchen. Without Elizabeth it looked dreary and blue. It used to overflow with love and warmth. She'd breeze in and out singing songs, dancing with her girls, and bringing life to the entire home. Now it was a painful reminder of what was gone. Of what he had lost.
David's eyes glanced at the clock at the wall and realized the morning light was much too bright. He should've been up earlier. He shouldn't have fallen asleep at the kitchen table. Before he could push himself to a standing position a small frame stepped into the room.
His eyes landed on his youngest daughter. Her brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, her clear skin marred with only a few freckles, and her much too familiar eyes burned into him. She was beautiful, but all he could see right now was sadness and disappointment. The fire in her was dim.
"Dad, did you just wake up?" Aimee asked. Her hand tightened around the duffel bag strap that hung off her shoulder. She was dressed for school.
He cleared his throat and tried not to cringe at the volume of her voice or the too bright morning light, "I did. You girls ready for school?"
David pushed himself up and turned his back to her to move toward the sink. Quickly, he turned it on and splashed the ice-cold water onto his face. As he turned back around, he caught sight of Aimee scooping up the empty bottles of liquor. Her eyes darted out the door, worried, and she managed to get all the bottles into the trash before his eldest daughter breezed into the room.
"Morning, Dad!" Aubrey chirped and moved toward the pantry. "Have you had breakfast yet?"
Aimee answered for him, "We don't have time, Aubs. We gotta head out now." Her eyes darted to him and she bit down on her lower lip nervously. "You're coming to my game after school today, right? I'm starting."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Ace." He chirped with a smile and felt relief when Aimee's face broke into a wide, excited grin. David didn't know what he was doing these days. He felt like his entire world was spiraling into an unescapable crash, and he knew the ones to suffer most from his inevitable breakdown would be his daughters. David just didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to protect his daughters from himself, but he could damn well protect them from the world.
Apparently, my son of a bitch father knew how to reset a broken nose. I was kind of hoping he'd have to go through this entire meeting with a crooked, bleeding nose and nasally voice. It's the little victories, after all. That hope had been dashed when he stepped back into my line of sight and fixed it on his own without even flinching. Still, his t-shirt was stained with blood and despite wiping it best he could the smears remained on his face. I'd have to settle for that I supposed.
The conference room door swung open loudly and I could've sworn I heard Optimus' holoform sigh in defeat. Ratchet's holoform was the one to enter and he had his glare centered straight on me.
"I leave the medbay for a klick and find you gone?" He barked.
I pointed across the table to Peter, whose eyes widened as he stiffened in his seat, "He snuck me out."
Peter held his hands up in mock surrender, but Ratchet didn't even bat an eye toward him. He huffed at me instead, "And yet somehow I still feel you are the mastermind behind the escape." I offered him a tight-lipped grin. My eyes darted back to my father—no, David. He was David. He lost the right to be called my father a long, long time ago. David stared at the scene in confusion. Ratchet stepped forward, "Prime is this truly necessary now? Injuries still needed to be tended to, the aftermath needs to be dealt with, and Aj has not slept in 24 hours."
"Sleep is for the weak." I countered with the blatant lie. Ratchet wasn't wrong. I needed to sleep. An hour ago, I had been tired, but now I was jittery and anxious. Slap-happy was the correct term. My brain had checked out hours ago, giving the rest of my still awake body the metaphorical middle finger, and left me to try and navigate the day without it. I lifted my finger to point at Ratchet, "I run on pure spite and—and—something snarky. I can't think of anything right now, but something goes there."
So, I guess my brain did do things for me.
"Maybe the medic is right." David spoke slowly. "We could—"
I slammed my hand down on the table making everyone jump. My eyes slowly dragged back to him. For a moment we just stared at each other. Finally, I spoke, "You're going to give us the information we want now and then you're going to go away." I gave him a cruel smirk, "You're good at that."
"Aj—" Peter tried to speak up.
I turned in my seat to stare at David who still stood across from me. He slowly walked down the length of the table and scooped up one of the heavy chairs with one arm. David carried it back, not dropping his gaze from mine, and set it down on the other side of the table beside Optimus Prime.
"What do you already know?"
I twisted my lips in thought before nodding once, "A group of mechs landed in our actual universe. Then when we planned to leave, I couldn't go through the portal. While I was stuck, two…people? Creatures? Deities? I don't fucking know. They came to talk to me. I know now one of them was Primus and one of them was Unicron. I made a deal with Unicron— which, in hindsight, maybe I should have asked him a few more details on what I was signing up for exactly…"
"You did what?" David snapped.
I narrowed my gaze at him, "You really aren't in the position to question any of the decisions I make, David, considering—" A warm hand softly clamped down on my shoulder and squeezed. I glanced up to see Ratchet had come to stand behind me. He looked down at me, not with pity, but with concern. More than anything I hated making Ratchet worry about me. I sighed and turned back to David. "That's the gist of what I know."
David's eyes glanced from my shoulder, to Ratchet's eyes, and then back to me. He cleared his throat, "The Defenders are exactly what they sound like. As far back as we know, maybe the beginning of time, there has always been at least two people watching over the universes. Making sure everything stayed balanced and that the universes didn't begin to merge into one another." He used his hands to explain, "Imagine that a single universe was contained in a box. Now, imagine that box pressed tightly to a thousand other boxes, all surrounding it. The Defenders were the only ones who could pass through these barriers between the universes and maintain order."
"Mom was a Defender?" Aubrey asked softly, but by her tone she already knew the answer.
David swallowed, "Yeah. She was one of the best. There are other Defenders out there, of all species, but in this corner of reality the Defender was your mother and she had a knight."
"Explain more about the role of these Knights." Prowl cut in.
"The Defender was your mother and it was her job to watch the universes and care for them, but her Knight's job was to care for her." David's eyes darted to Cade who shifted in his seat, "There are lots of people in the universes with the potential to be a Knight, but not all of 'em rise up to the challenge. It's a lot to ask of a person. Taxing."
Cade leaned his arms against the table, "And you're the Knight that worked with their mom."
"Not exactly." David shook his head, "Eliza—" He choked on the name briefly, "Your mother's first Knight was someone else. They worked together for thousands of years, and I only took up the role after she… passed."
I lifted a hand, "Hold up, thousands of years? Mom was 36 when she died."
"Do I look like I've aged a day since you last saw me?"
"You look like a—" Ratchet squeezed my shoulder and I abandoned my next jab, "Continue."
"People tend to think of themselves as a pillar. Unmoving and set in place. They think time is something that flows around them as it passes. The future comes to them. In reality, it's the opposite. Time is set, and only a select few", He motioned to himself than us, "Can pass through it in any direction they want. When you're bouncing around time, it can't touch you. In those moment's you are ageless." David shook his head again, "It's also why neither one of you were hurt going from one universe to another."
Aubrey spoke up, "But my kids were."
"Wes wasn't a knight. The kids don't have the potential to be Defenders." I answered before David could. This I knew from the conversation I had with Primus ages ago. "They had your genes though which must have kept them from suffering like Wes did when he came through."
"That's right." David seemed surprised that I knew this.
Optimus cut in, "We were not harmed when we landed in your universe or when we came back to ours."
David turned to face Prime and I liked that a lot more than him staring me down across the table. I felt my body relax into the chair and Ratchet gave me another comforting squeeze. David held a finger up, a motion I was familiar with, he used to do it anytime he wanted to make a point, "You were changed though, weren't you? A 'toy' version of yourself sort of."
"How do you know this shit? How long were you spying on us?" I scoffed.
He ignored me and continued, "The force brought you into our universe, and you changed. Being there for an extended period of time, you started adjusting and adapting, becoming more of your usual selves, and as for coming back to this universe? This is where you belong. The barrier would never hurt you for coming home."
"This force us that brought us to your universe initially." Optimus nodded, "We're still unclear on why we fell through the barrier in the first place."
"That's tricky, and I only got a theory for it." David sighed, "The barrier between our universes is warped. It isn't as strong as it needs to be and there are spots where the barrier has thinned out. I think you got pushed through one of those holes." He turned to Aubrey. "And the reason why I think one of those holes was right in your house was because you lived there. Aubrey, you're giving off the Defender energy and the barrier must have reacted to that causing the thinning there."
Aubrey sat back at his words and Lennox tangled his hand with hers. They shared an unspoken look, and I drew the attention back to me with a small cough, "The mechs didn't come through until after she left."
"The timing was a coincidence. They were in the right time, right place. Plus, as a potential Defender yourself Aimee you're giving off some of the energy too."
I shook my head, "I don't buy that. All this bullshit going on and you're gonna tell me it was a coincidence that they fell through? The Autobots and Decepticons specifically. Optimus Prime and Megatron? There's no way that shit just happens."
"Maybe you're right." David shrugged. "I don't have an answer for that."
Simmons, who somehow had miraculously stayed quiet this entire time, finally asked a question of his own, "Ok, Mr. Aj's Dad," I shot him the nastiest glare I could muster with my limited energy, but it didn't faze him. "Explain this: Why is the barrier between our universes so weak?"
The table was quiet for a moment as we all realized it was actually a good question. As eyes drifted back to David, I noticed a stiffness in his figure. There was a sadness in his eyes that I could recognize with ease. It was the same, faraway look he'd get anytime he thought about mom.
"She didn't mean to." He whispered in pain.
Nobody spoke, they just let his confession wash over them. Aubrey glanced over at me and I weakly nodded back at her. He was talking about mom. Whatever she had done, it had been the spark to cause all of this.
I forced myself to be the one to ask, "What did mom do?"
David couldn't bring himself to speak for a moment, lost in thoughts, but when he finally settled, he pulled his gaze to meet mine, "Your mother was good at her job. She did it for thousands of years, but then something happened… she lost her Knight. She kept working, never going to find another Knight, and the weight of her job was beginning to just be too much. She was stretched too thin." He shook his head, "One day, a woman came to her while she worked on a universe. This universe. When a Defender is working you never know what they are unless they tell you, and while on other worlds they take the shape of whatever blends in best in whatever universe they're working in. Your mother was shocked that a woman could approach her and just know, but she had been alone for hundreds of years at this point. Seeing someone like her, powerful and not quite mortal, was jarring enough to catch her attention."
He hadn't said a name, but I already knew, and it put a pit in my stomach.
"She called herself Primus and she pleaded for help." David said and all the mechs at the table stiffened. "Primus claimed to be the goddess of this universe and that an upcoming war was threatening to collapse the world in on itself. She was terrified that she would lose it all and begged for your mother to intervene." He laced his fingers together on the table, tight enough that his knuckles went white, "It isn't the Defenders role to interfere with a universe. They watch and they only act if something has gone off the rails. So far, this universe looked fine, but… Primus was convincing."
"Yeah, she's a real peach." I mumbled under my breath.
David continued, his words falling out in a rush, "Primus asked for one thing. For your mother to sabotage the weapons system of Helex." Suddenly, I could feel every mech at the table stiffen and the air itself seemed to have chilled. "There was a peaceful rally occurring in the streets so your mother assumed that by sabotaging the weapons it would protect the protestors. She thought that was the plan."
"I haven't heard of Helex." I said softly.
Prime shook his head, "It was the seat of Megatron's empire. The first city to fall under Decepticon rule."
"It was the start of this fragging war." Ironhide roared. "They attacked and Helex was left defenseless! Good mechs and femmes offlined that day!"
David sighed, "She didn't know. She thought— Primus possessed a mech in the crowd. Overcame him entirely. Shoved the core of his thoughts deep into his mind and corrupted every ideal he held dear. She played on his darkest fears and twisted his desires. Primus had him fire the first shot and it all fell like dominos after that. From there on, Primus used the mech to ravage Cybertron and—"
Ironhide slammed a hand down on the table making me and the others jump in surprise. Prime didn't seem to flinch, but there was something unreadable on his features, "Wait a fragging minute, are you tryin' to imply that—"
"Megatron was being controlled by Primus." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I told OP and Jazz that. Didn't they tell—"
"Oh, we told 'im." Jazz said. It was the first time he had spoken to me since our fight.
Ironhide slammed his hand on the table again distracting me from Jazz, "He's a fragging liar and manipulator. Of course, he told you that! He'd tell you anything to save his hide!"
An argument rose at the table, one that Lennox and Epps tried to calm. I glanced over at Optimus who sat in his seat, stock still, with his chin resting in the palm of his holoform's hand. His eyes were staring at a point on the table in front of him, but his mind was a million miles away. Slowly, they drifted up to all of us, "Enough."
With one word, spoken no louder than his usual tone, the room grew quiet. Prime turned to David and nodded at him once. David took this opportunity to continue, "She wondered why Primus, this supposed goddess of the universe, would wreak havoc on her own world. Her own children… She got her answer when another one appeared. A guy this time."
"Unicron." I offered remembering the devil in detail.
"He is her brother. Another deity of Cybertron. He was pissed because your mother had tipped the scales in his sister's favor. All of this, it's just been one long game of chess for them." David scoffed, "They're taking turns, making moves, and all of us are just pieces on their board." The thought of just being someone else's pawn made my jaw clench. It seemed like I'd never fully escape this feeling. I'd just bounce from one owner to the next. "Unicron demanded your mother offer him help as well, but she said no. They fought. It didn't go well. She fled to the closest universe", His eyes darted from me to Aubrey, "Ours. She used the last of her strength to warp the barricade and keep Unicron out."
Aubrey was half leaning forward with her hands still wrapped around her husband's, "I thought you said the barrier was weakened."
"Your mother warped it to keep him out, so she could build up her strength again, and she thought it'd be enough. Her plan was to regain her strength and then gather other Defenders—declare an emergency, to end Primus and Unicron, but… she met me." A soft smile flickered across his features. "She never told me any of this. I didn't find out until—until after. Your mother wanted to end what she had caused. She felt guilt for what had happened to Cybertron and this universe, but she was tired. She wanted a real life. She thought with what she had done to the barrier, they'd be restricted to their own universe, as usual, and the only sacrifice of her choice would be… would be the loss of whatever happened here."
David's words had not gone over well. Prowl stiffened in his seat, Jazz's hands clenched his armrests though his face showed nothing, and Ratchet's hand tightened around my shoulder. Ironhide mumbled a string of curses before his holoform dissipated altogether. I didn't blame them. My mom had essentially kicked off a civil war, the very civil war they were still forced to fight, and then abandoned them to deal with her mess. For a supposed good Defender, that was a pretty shitty thing to do.
"A while after we had you girls, she started getting dreams. Nightmares. Unicron was haunting her. Threatening to come to her and get what he deserved, what he was owed." David sighed. "Her strength hadn't fully restored yet, but she used what she had to look at the barrier and saw it was weakening. Bending against whatever Unicron was throwing at it. She knew it'd only be a matter of time before he broke through and came to her.
"This was when she…" His voice trailed off. "Your mother's death—"
"Mom got sick. Primus told me she used the very last of her energy as a last-ditch effort to strengthen the barrier. It didn't work and because of that…she was dying." I interrupted and began to lie. David looked at me in confusion, but I continued. "Mom thought after she had passed, we would be safe at least. That when she was gone, the Defenders line would end with her. She didn't know dad—David was a Knight."
Aubrey nodded. The reminder of our mom dying, even after hearing her life's sins, still hurt. I glared at David who didn't tear his confused look from me. Primus tainted my memory of mom by telling me she had killed herself, but I wasn't about to let him do the same to Aubrey. David must have figured this out because he didn't contradict me.
"A while after she passed, I started having nightmares of my own. A world on fire, Cybertron on fire, with your mom standing there watching it burn. Eventually she told me all of this and told me what I was and what I had to do."
"Abandon us?"
"Protect you." David snapped at my comment. "The moment I left I was thrust into a world I didn't fully understand. This entire time I've had to balance all the tasks a Defender would do and I'm only a Knight. I've done my best but…"
"The talisman." Cade said, motioning to his arm, "And the staff everyone keeps talking about. What the hell are those about?"
Eyes darted back to David, "They're tools of the trade. The talisman is a part of the Knight's arsenal. It's our weapon." He stripped out of his jacket, and under the sleeve of his jacket was a talisman just like the one Cade wore. "The staff was a Defender tool, but it was what…" He steeled himself, "It was what Elizabeth used to help Primus. Some of Primus' energy lingers on it now." He glanced at me, "That's why I had to take it from you. Primus' energy was affecting you in some way. There wasn't enough for it to control you, but just enough to taint your thoughts."
"Why would the drones and MECH and this Morgan fella want the staff?" Simmons demanded. "They leveled half of Vegas apparently looking for it. Thinking Cade had it."
"The staff has the power to open barriers. I don't know how they know that or what their plans are, but if a group like them got the power to walk through barriers it'd be the end of everything. They could take over universes like that." He snapped his fingers. "At all costs, it has to be kept from them. That's why I couldn't give it to that man, Aj."
"You're gonna wanna avoid talking about that incident to me." I growled.
David flinched and the sadness in his eyes only seemed to grow. I didn't care. He could feel sad. He deserved it. As if Aubrey could feel my rage slowly starting to build, she reached over with the hand not holding Lennox's and grabbed mine tightly. I glanced over at her and she offered me a soft smile. My short-circuiting brain took comfort in the kind look. If Aubrey could sit here and not foam at the mouth like a rabid animal, I could do the same. It'd be embarrassing if I lost my shit and attacked David twice in one day in front of Prime.
"MECH is—" Simmons began, and I could tell it was going to be a long ass rant by the way he sucked in a breath, but he was interrupted by the conference room door swinging open. The heavy door slammed into the wall and my eyes widened at Izabella who stood there with wild, worried eyes.
"Izzy?" I straightened in my seat. Her eyes locked onto to mine and she sprinted toward me. I spun the chair around just in time for her to engulf me in a hug. She was too big to curl into me the way Taylor used to do as a kid, so half of her hung off the chair awkwardly, but it didn't deter her at all. "Hey, are you ok?"
"I was so worried!" She cried, Izabella pulled back and I saw the fire that I recognized in her, "Why did you go to Vegas!? You were supposed to stay here! You were supposed to—"
I could feel the young girl shaking in my arms and guilt engulfed me. Quickly, I ran a hand through her hair as comfortingly as I could, "I'm so sorry, Izzy. My friends needed me, but I didn't think…" Izabella had lost her entire family in a battle against drones. This had to have been a difficult time for her knowing her new family was out picking a fight with them. It hadn't even crossed my mind until now. "I'm sorry."
She buried her head into my shoulder and took steadying breaths. I glanced up again to look at Aubrey, but my eyes caught sight of Tyler who slowly walked into the room. His shoulders were stiff, and his eyes were hard. I didn't often see my Tyler in combat mode, but here he was in the conference room ready to go to battle. Tyler's glare burned into David, but it pulled away to his mother and I.
"Couldn't keep her away. Sorry."
I shook my head, "Yeah, it must be hard for you to wrestle a 14-year girl away from this area."
"She's real slippery like that." Tyler's lips twitched in a smirk but fell down. His eyes softened as he glanced at Aubrey then back to me in question. He was checking on his mother. I gave him a small nod and his shoulders relaxed a little.
"I was just leaving. You can take my seat." I began to stand, and Izabella took a step back to give me room. Her eyes widened at the brace around my leg like she had just noticed it, but I gave her a reassuring smile. Ratchet grabbed my crutches and helped me move away from the table.
David spoke up and I realized he had been staring with wide eyes this entire time, "Aimee, who is—"
"None of your damned business." I snapped and pain flittered across his features. "You don't talk to her, you don't even look in her direction."
"Aimee—"
"Ratchet, I wanna leave." I said firmly and it was all that needed to be said. Ratchet gave Prime a look before helping me out of the room. Tyler slid into my seat, no hesitation, and it made me feel marginally better. If I couldn't be there for Aubrey, then the next best thing was Tyler. I knew Peter was there and I loved the kid, but out of the two of them Tyler was the only one I knew would straight up end David's life if it was needed.
Izabella and Ratchet walked me all the way back to my apartment, and when I limped in I was surprised to see Moonracer's holoform sitting on my couch. She stood and began to move items out of the way so my path to the couch was clear.
"You should go to bed." Ratchet grunted.
I shook my head lightly and gave him a look that tried to convey my thoughts. I was tired. It was hitting me now. My entire being was exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally. There was nothing left in me to keep going. My tanks were empty, and it was time to pass out, but Izabella's hands were still shaking, and I wasn't going to leave it like that. Ratchet seemed to understand.
"Let's watch a movie, Izzy."
"Really?"
"Yeah, you pick." I threw the crutches over the couch and settled in.
Izabella put something on, I didn't even know what, and then came back to sit right beside me. She curled into my side and leaned against my shoulder as the movie began to play. Moonracer sat on Izabella's other side with a comforting hand on the girl's back. I glanced over at Ratchet who seemed torn and patted the seat beside me. Ratchet hit the lights then came over to sit where I had motioned. He put his arm on the back of the couch around me, and I could feel the weight of it when I leaned my head back.
The movie played, lighting the dark room with flickers of color, but I don't think any of us were actually paying attention. We just sat and soaked in each other's presence. We were all safe and we were all ok. That was all that mattered right now.
It didn't take long, enveloped in comforting warmth, for me to pass out.
Simmons groaned loudly and Lennox resisted the urge to reach over and throttle the guy. Everyone was working late trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Vegas was still in shambles, every news outlet in the world was losing their minds, and now his father-in-law was on the scene talking about Primus and Unicron and the end of the damn world.
"Groan one more time, Simmons." Epps threatened. He tossed a file onto the messy table in front of them. "One more damn time."
"I am expressing myself!" He scoffed. "This is a form of expression!"
Lennox was 80% sure he was about to watch his best friend murder the Human Liaison and then that would be one more thing on his to-do list to handle. He turned his eyes back down to the papers in front of him. So far, nothing was turning up. MECH was an enigma, but worse they were a dangerous enigma.
They worked in silence for a few moments before his step son breezed into the room without even looking at them. Curiously, they all watched as Tyler went straight to the boxes of old Sector 7 data and began roughly digging through them. He was on a mission.
"Tyler?" Lennox called out, but the man didn't turn around. "Tyler!"
Still, nothing.
Epps glanced at him in worry, and Lennox walked over to him. When he reached Tyler's peripherals the younger man turned to look at him. He looked tired. There were bags under his eyes and Lennox knew it had to be from his Grandfather showing up out of the blue yesterday. Aubrey had voiced her concerns to him.
"I found something. In the system." Tyler spoke too loudly. Lennox glanced at his ears and noticed his hearing aids weren't in. Usually, Tyler was still good about knowing what volume to speak at, but he was slipping up today.
"Where are your aids?" Lennox said clearly, he tried to sign the words at the same time, but he had never been very good at ASL.
Tyler shook his head, "I forgot them—they're in my room."
"What did you find in the system?" Simmons shouted, but Tyler had his back to him and didn't catch anything. He just kept digging through the boxes. "Ask the boy what he found, I'm at my seat's edge."
Lennox sighed and waved his hand into Tyler's line of sight. Tyler turned to him, and he asked, "What did you find, Tyler?"
"Right." Tyler nodded, he carried a handful of papers to the table, set them down, and then pulled a folded-up sheet of paper out of his back pocket. He unfurled it and rubbed it against the table so it would stay open. "Take a look at all these drone attacks. They were happening months apart for a while there, but then after Aj got here they picked up in pace. Doing weird shit." He pointed to the paper he brought. "I figured there had to be a correlation because MECH is working with the drones now. So, I looked into it and during every drone attack there was a major piece of equipment or supplies stolen from laboratories all over the world. Nobody connected them and no one was ever caught."
Simmons stood up from his seat, "What are they stealing?"
Tyler didn't hear him, "We are the only people who can respond to drone attacks. So, if the drones are out…"
Lennox's eyes widened as Tyler looked to him, "We respond to them."
"Leaving MECH to take whatever the hell they want." Tyler slammed his hand against the table. Simmons shoved his hands into Tyler's face and Tyler, who was already on a razor's edge, whipped around ready to fight, "Dude, what the fuck?"
Simmons enunciated each word in a way that would've gotten him punched if everyone in the room wasn't already aware of how the man was, "What. Did. They. Steal?"
"I don't know." Tyler pulled another paper out of his pocket, "This stuff. I'm sure it means something but hell if I know."
Simmons looked the list over with furrowed brow muttering under his breath. He turned and left the room thinking the puzzle over. Lennox sighed and clapped Tyler on the shoulder with one hand. He made sure the man was looking before he spoke, "Good work, Williams."
Tyler smile, but the weariness on his face remained.
This was hardly over. It was just beginning.
David Bradshaw showing back up in our lives might have been the greatest thing to ever happen to Ratchet. At least that's what I would assume. Because of him being on base, roaming around my usual spots, I had restricted myself to my apartment and refused to go out, so I didn't accidentally run into him. So that was 3 days of me just sitting on my couch or bed doing nothing. Three days of accidental bedrest. Ratchet was calling it a "miracle".
The only thing keeping me sane at this point were my visitors. Tyler would swing by to rant about how shitty this was, Taylor would come to gush about what I told her Sideswipe had said to me, and Peter would come to show me pictures of Amy in a successful attempt to calm the burning rage in my gut. Sideswipe came by once via holoform to supposedly distract me, but he ended up just leaning against me while we quietly pretended to watch something on TV. I think he just couldn't stand sitting next to a comatose Sunstreaker any longer. Cade had been here a few times, but something about him seemed off and I couldn't tell if it was him or just me. Even Joey came by once with Bear to cheer me up and spending the hour mocking him relentlessly had put me in a pretty good mood.
Surprisingly, Aubrey hadn't come by, but something told me that was because she was tied up with David. In an effort to keep our secret hidden we had limited David to mostly the Cybertronian parts of base. I don't think anyone other than the people who did know the truth had even seen him yet, and every one else all assumed he was a much older man and Aubrey's brother-in-law. I wondered how long this would last. It was looking more and more like we needed to expand the circle of people who knew the truth. Still, I was glad Aubrey didn't bring him by with her to visit. It was wise on her part because if push came to shove, I would destroy my knee again in an attempt to maim him. Zero hesitation.
Izabella would come and go and after the first 24 hours had passed after the battle, she seemed to have settled a little. Enough so that she could leave my side and hang out with Annabelle, Lex, and Eli. That's where she had gone today which left me alone on the couch flipping through channels absentmindedly.
A knock at my front door cut through the stagnant boredom. "Oh, thank God." I mumbled and threw the remote onto the coffee table before calling out, "Come in!"
I had expected Wheeljack, who had texted me earlier with news that he was going to stop by soon, but instead Hemi walked in. She wasn't currently in uniform. Instead she had on dark skinny jeans, a long sleeve loose white blouse with a deep V-neck and slits up the sleeves that still showed her tattoos, and dark brown wedges. Her reddish black, short hair was curled up at the ends lightly. This might've been the first time I've ever seen her dressed up.
"Damn, Hemi, looking good. You didn't have to get all dressed up just for me." I joked.
She smirked, "You would be so lucky." Hemi motioned to the single seat couch beside where I sat, and I nodded. She sat down, crossing her legs, and spoke, "I'm going out today for something and thought I'd stop by to see you."
"That's real sweet of you. Do y'all have a schedule of who comes to see the cripple hung up somewhere?"
"Yes." Hemi nodded. "It's in the break room, this is my hour."
I chuckled, "So not that I don't appreciate this, but is there something you specifically wanted to talk about?"
It wasn't that I didn't like Hemi coming to see me it was just unusual. I would consider her a good friend, no doubt, but I had never pegged her as the 'come to comfort someone with kind words' type. We were similar in that sense.
Hemi shrugged, "Peter sent me to talk to you."
I blinked in surprise, "Uh, why?"
"I used to hate my dad too."
It took a lot of strength to resist the urge to roll my eyes. I did let a groan of annoyance slip out though. I wasn't perfect after all, "Got it. So, you're here to tell me I should give the jackass another chance?"
"Absolutely not. That's your decision entirely."
"Um. I—I don't think that's the stance Peter would've wanted you to take."
Hemi chuckled and crossed her arms, "I told you about how I came out to my family and they all shunned me, right?" I sheepishly nodded, remembering the story well. She had mentioned it to me when I lied and told her about my shitty "mother" who was technically other universe me. "In Korea, and most of the other eastern cultures, family and community comes above the individual. In their eyes, me admitting that I liked girls was selfish. They had the usual ignorant sentiments of disagreeing with the LGBTQ community, but it was more than that. They thought I was trying to put a spotlight on myself and separate myself from the family and to them that was embarrassing. They were ashamed of me and I know that because they told me that as they kicked me out of the house."
"Hemi, you don't have to go through all this again by telling me."
"It's ok. I've grown a lot since then and… so did they. Sort of." Hemi let out a dry laugh and a shake of her head, "Years passed before I heard from them. I was in college at the time, studying at a coffee shop, and my mom came in. She just sat down in front of me and cried. She said she was sorry, and that she missed me, and that it had been a huge mistake to act the way they did." Hemi glanced at me, "I reacted about the same way you did when you saw your dad, I hear. Kind of caused a scene. I left and thought that would be the end, but then my dad showed up at my door with the same speech. This happened over and over and over. When I told them I didn't want to see them they started sending letters."
I twisted my lips, "Is that when you forgave them?"
"No." Hemi said firmly, "And some days I don't think I can ever truly forgive them for what they said and did to me, but I've grown enough to try and start a new relationship with them." She sighed. "What made me give them a chance was that they weren't just offering me empty promises. They sent their letters for a year and a half. The last letter I got from them had pictures of them at a pride parade." She laughed, but this time it was in amusement. "Seeing these two old, strict Koreans in their business clothes at a pride parade of all places was the funniest thing I had seen in a while. I offered to meet them after that.
"It was awkward and tense and there was so much bad blood between us I wasn't sure if this would even really work. A part of me kept waiting for the shoe to drop, for them to slip back into who they were but… they didn't. It was a slow progress and we're still working on it, but they keep trying." Hemi shifted in her seat to pull out her phone. She flipped through a few apps before turning it around to show me a picture of her parents, her, and a woman I didn't recognize. "That was them meeting one of my past girlfriends. I'm not seeing her anymore, but if you had told me my parents would one day meet one of my girlfriends, buy us dinner, and have a fun evening with us… damn, I think kid me would have just sobbed."
I gave her a warm smile, "So even today… everything is good with them?"
Hemi shrugged with a small smile, "It's better. Like I said though, I couldn't ever re-start the relationship we had before. What we have now? It's new. We had to start over—and they keep trying to this day. After they kicked me out, that era me would never admit it, but I had missed them." Hemi shook her head firmly. "I was lucky though. I know not all stories look like mine and sometimes the people we love hurt us and they never repent for those sins. Sometimes they just become the monsters that haunt us." Her face hardened. "I have an uncle who tried to come back in my life, but he hadn't changed. He said the right things, but his actions said otherwise. I cut him out with no remorse, and so did my dad actually. His own brother. That was another little thing that told me to just try and give them a chance."
I leaned back in my seat and let her words roll around in my head. She was silent and let me lull it all over. Slowly, I looked back over to her, "Which type is my dad?"
Hemi gave me a sad smile, "I can't answer that for you. Neither can Peter or your Aunt Aubrey or any Autobot. You have to decide that yourself." She stuck her phone back in her pocket. "You have to ask yourself how much you're willing to look past and if looking past those issues and trauma would even be worth it."
Was he worth it?
My front door swung open, but I was the only one of the two of us to jump in surprise. Arcee's holoform stepped in nonchalantly. Her wavy, dark hair billowing around her glowing, bored features. She was dressed similarly to Hemi in the sense that this was the first time I had seen her holoform not in a uniform or training gear. She wore light, high waisted skinny jeans with a dark gray v-neck tank top tucked into them. A green flannel was tied around her waist.
"Uh, hi?" I greeted in confusion.
Arcee stepped forward with a plastic bag in her hand. She set it in front of me, "Ratchet told me to bring you food." She glanced over at Hemi, "You ready to go?"
Hemi stood up, "Think about what I said."
"Yeah, ok, thanks, Hemi." I replied sincerely, then glanced at the two of them, "Where are y'all going?"
"I already told you. Out." Hemi replied with a smirk.
"That's…" I tilted my head, "Vague."
Arcee raised an eyebrow at me, "We're going to wreak havoc on society and bathe in the blood of our enemies."
I jutted out my lower lip in a pout and whined, "I wanna come."
"Ratchet says no." Hemi replied and looped and arm through Arcee's.
They both left without another word and I reached for the bag of food she brought me with a sigh. It looked like it came from the cafeteria, but when I opened the to-go box the only food in it was just piles and piles of green beans. Ratchet told Arcee to feed the human and she had done exactly that but with only whatever side the cafeteria was serving today.
"This is just green beans!" I yelled loudly, knowing Arcee could still probably hear but hoping they both would. With a huff, I closed the box and tossed it back onto the table continuing to pout like the grown ass adult I was, "I never get to have any fun."
"Will you require First Aid?" Prowl questioned. When he wasn't immediately answered, he glanced up to see Ratchet staring out his office door to where Sunstreaker still remained in stasis with his red twin recharging with his helm on the yellow chassis. "Ratchet?"
The medic's helm swiveled around to look at him. It took a moment for the question to register with him before he denied it, "No. I will have Wheeljack and Preceptor assisting me. Moonracer will be the backup in case I need extra servos, but if I need extra servos at that point then…"
Everyone on base had nothing but confidence in the experienced CMO. If anyone in any universe was going to be able to fix this disaster it would be Ratchet. Seeing doubt and worry cloud his friend's optics was nearly unnerving. Prowl had seen Ratchet charge into battle with only his determination and medical tools to save comrades whose chances at survival were slim to none, and he had seen Ratchet bring them back from the brink of the Well. Prowl was not the kind of mech who put much credits to the idea of miracles, but there was something about Ratchet who could make an unbelieving mech have faith.
Yet, here he was. Nervous.
"You are more than capable of this operation, Ratchet. Sunstreaker and—and Sideswipe are in the best care possible." Prowl tried to comfort the medic the best he knew how. Halfway through the statement though he realized how much weight this one operation carried. This was about more than just physically curing the twins. This was about restoring a blocked bond. Something that even for the medic was unfamiliar territory. Plus, if the bond couldn't be restored there was no telling the toll it would take on the frontliners who relied on it so heavily.
Prowl was more than convinced that if Sunstreaker awoke from stasis without the bond it would send both twins back into their berserker programming. Over and over. Each spark desperately searching for its other half and then falling to madness when it couldn't find it.
"Will Taylor be assisting you?" Prowl tried to keep focused.
"No." Ratchet vented air, "With everything going on she'll be too distracted. Besides, with this… there isn't much she could do. She isn't experienced with spark care and we don't have the time to teach her."
"Any tools or materials not here that I can gather?" Prowl filled out more of the data pad in his hand. This was going to be a difficult time as is. The least he could do as SIC was make sure his team had every possible tool at their disposable. Ratchet shook his helm again, and Prowl put in a request for Simmons to siphon more human money and resources into gathering raw medical supplies just in case. "Where is Wheeljack? I thought he would be here as well I have questions for him too."
"He's working on Aj's brace." Ratchet answered, though his processors were leagues away. "He should be done with it today. She still needs bedrest but convincing her of that… we're lucky she heals so extraordinarily well for a human. Though I suppose now we know that has more to do with…"
Ratchet's voice and thoughts trailed away, and Prowl wondered if the medic even noticed that he hadn't finished his sentence. He tore his optics away from the red and white mech to look out into the medbay. Sunstreaker's finish was impeccable. While they prepared for the task at hand Ratchet had kept himself busy with the simple fixes. Joints, gashes, and dents. Prowl had a sneaking suspicion that Sideswipe, when active, kept himself busy by making sure his brother looked as perfect as the mech usually strived for.
Cybertronians were not like humans in the way that they didn't typically show their exhaustion on their faceplates. After a long day at work, Prowl could see the lines of exhaustion on Peter's face. The tired optics and weariness. If they worked to late into the night, he would come back in the morning with dark circles under his optics and a smile that didn't fill his face. Humans showed it all. Cybertronians typically did not. One could feel it in the energy they give off, but never was it physically seen.
Maybe it was the time they spent here, but it felt like that had changed.
Staring at Sideswipe now, even without reaching out to feel the jagged lines and sharp edges of his frayed energy, he could see the pain. He could see how worn out the red mech was. Even in recharge his faceplates were drawn tightly as if in physical pain even now.
He tried to empathize. Prowl placed Smokescreen or Bluestreak on the berth and himself in Sideswipe's pedes. His spark briefly ached, and he brushed the thoughts aside. Losing his brothers wasn't something he often thought about. In the situation they lived in, it did no good to ponder on the fear of losing someone so important to your very being.
Somehow though, the twins seemed to find themselves in this position too often to count. Perhaps it was just one of the dangers of being frontliners. They were so good at what they did, so strong and efficient, that Prowl often forgot how vulnerable they really were. They were still so young in comparison, around Smokescreen's age, and the Autobot chain of command relied on them so heavily. So much responsibility fell on their shoulders and they had bared it so well that no one batted an optic. No one had time to question it. The chain of command had just been so grateful for their skillset and sudden dedication.
"They're so young. We forget that." Ratchet said suddenly, cutting the silence, and Prowl was startled at how similar Ratchet's line of thought had been. "Their lives forced them to age quickly. They've been better since joining us. I've seen them relax and interact how brothers their age are supposed to, but that doesn't mean… Do we ask too much of them, Prowl?"
The answer was a resounding yes, but just as Prowl knew that he also knew that the twins wouldn't have it any other way. They took the role as frontliners because they were fighters, warriors, and they knew they could thrive there. More than that though, they took that role because the twins couldn't fathom anyone else there. Sunstreaker wouldn't let Ironhide go into the battle first. Sideswipe wouldn't let Bluestreak set up a perch until he had cleared the area. It's just who they were.
"Everything will be fine, Ratchet."
"So why aren't I allowed in the cafeteria?"
Aubrey offered her father a small smile, "Not everyone knows the truth about us, and your presence would be really hard to explain. It's better if we just keep you hidden for now. Sorry."
He shook his head, his face calm and at ease, "I have no complaints. I'd go anywhere with you, Aubs."
Spending days hearing her father use that nickname with ease was odd. He was where the nickname had started, but for so long she had only associated it with Aj. She had taken the name 'Aubs' and made it her own. So now hearing it from her father's mouth felt almost… wrong.
"So, tell me more about the kids!" Her father gushed. They sat across from each other eating lunch in an area that Optimus and Lennox had restricted from anyone on base without specific clearance. "I think we left off on Peter and Amy? I can't believe I'm a great-grandfather."
Aubrey had spent the past 4 days catching her father up on all that he had missed. At first, she was worried that going over it all would make her bitter. Remind her of what had happened and how much he really had missed, but she actually found it pleasant. It was nice to walk down memory lane talking about the kids. Gushing about how Peter, Taylor, Tyler, Annabelle, and Lucas were all so special and unique in their own way. Seeing her father's eyes light up with each story meant a lot to her as well. Slowly, it had turned into him and her also sharing memories from the past.
"—the entire floor is just covered in a layer of soap and water and the two of you are just standing there with the most angelic looks on your faces, as if you were gonna convince your mom and me that you weren't connected to the incident at all."
She laughed alongside her father at the old memory. Aj had convinced her that washing their toys in the dishwasher was the most brilliant idea in the world and they had been very liberal with the amount of dish soap they put in.
"Your mom and I kept trying to scold y'all, but we couldn't even keep straight faces." He chuckled with a shake of his head. It was one of the first times he could even mention her mother without choking up.
"I miss her every day still." Aubrey said softly.
"Me too, kiddo." He sighed. "She would be so proud of you girls."
"I hope so."
There was a lull of silence and then her father sighed again. This time it was in disappointment. He shook his head, "This has been fun, but… I need to see Aimee. I need to talk to you girls together. Cade too."
"And Will and the other members of command, right?"
He cleared his throat, "I don't know if that's wise."
"They'll want to be involved. I think they should be." Aubrey said firmly. "They're all a part of this as much as we are now."
Her father looked like he wanted to argue further, but gave in, "Do you think your sister will come see us today?"
"Not today." Aubrey shook her head, "That's a bad idea. Ratchet is working on Sunstreaker's spark today, last I heard, and she'll be really…tense, and considering the situation with the twins..."
"You mean, the fact that she blames me for what happened to them."
"Yes, I was referring to that."
He sighed again and gave her a firm smile, "Tomorrow then."
I stood in Sideswipe's hand leaning against his warm chest. He was seated on a berth leaning against his one free hand casually. Sideswipe was at ease, and that should've put me at ease, but I still felt a pit in the middle of my stomach.
"Ratchet did it, babe." Sideswipe said softly. "He's in stasis, but I feel him." The mech vented air in content, "I can feel him again."
I nodded, "I know, and I'm so happy, but I don't think I'll stop being jittery until…"
Sunstreaker needed to be awake. When I saw the light lilac of his eyes then I would feel better. Not a moment before then. Right now, with him lying on the same berth Ratchet had originally put him on, motionless and unresponsive he looked like he had beforehand and beforehand he had not been ok.
"How's the knee holding up?"
At Sideswipe's questions, I lifted up my bad leg and bent it a few times as if on display. Wheeljack had brought by my new brace this morning and it was holding up very well. A part of me figured Ratchet had allowed this because he knew I was going to show up in the medbay today with or without a brace protecting my knee. So, he picked the lesser of two evils and let me wear my brace.
"When do you think he'll wake up?"
"Not for a while." Ratchet barked and walked out of his office, "I want his spark to rest in stasis for a while longer before I wake him up." I huffed in annoyance and felt Sideswipe chuckle from behind me. "Sideswipe, are you not checking your comm unit?"
Sideswipe shook his head, "No, I am. I'm just ignoring them."
Ratchet sighed irritably, "Prowl is comming me now and I'm sick of it."
"Ratchet—"
"I know but—"
"Hey!" I called out and both looked to me. I pushed off Sideswipe's chest to turn so I could face them both, "What's going on?"
They glanced at each other in a mix of annoyance and slight defeat. My already frayed nerves bristled. Sideswipe groaned, "Prowl and them want to see you."
"What's so wrong with that?" I questioned. It was silent for a beat and I made the logical leap to what came next. David. This had something to do with David. After talking to Hemi 2 days ago, I had thought more on it, but I still hadn't come to a full decision yet. I was on the fence. "Well, let's go see him."
Sideswipe's face hardened, "Are you sure? You don't have to."
"I know." I gave him the best smile I could, "But they're definitely not gonna leave us alone if I don't."
"Want me to come with?"
Ratchet scoffed, "It's an Officer's only meeting."
Sideswipe shook his head once, his resolve not shaking, "Do you want me to come, babe?"
I chuckled and rubbed his chest with my hand, "Stay here with Sunny. It'll make me feel better knowing he isn't in here alone."
The red mech didn't seem overly happy with this plan, but he nodded once and shifted me over to Ratchet who set me on his shoulder. I gave Sideswipe one last smile before letting my eyes drift over to Sunstreaker in worry. My gaze didn't linger long since Ratchet was already on the move. He moved smoothly so I wouldn't stumble, but I kept one hand on the side of Ratchet's head just in case. Although, jumping to my death sounded like more fun than this meeting. The only thing stopping me was the fact that this fall definitely wouldn't kill me and then I'd have to go anyways.
I thought we'd be going to a conference room, but Ratchet was heading to the main hanger. Once we entered, I saw that they had cleared out the entire hanger of the soldiers that usually milled about working. Standing in their bipedal mode was all the officers. Optimus Prime, Prowl, Jazz, Wheeljack, and now Ratchet.
Standing on the metal walkway were the usual. Peter, Tyler, Taylor, and Aubrey stood in one corner with Lennox and Epps not far from them. Sam Witwicky and Simmons were discussing something over a thick manila folder near the computer board. What surprised me was the fact that Joey and Hemi were also standing on the walkway.
I narrowed my eyes in confusion as Ratchet moved me to the walkway, "Joey? Hemi?"
"We just told them—"
"You're from another universe." Joey blurted. "What the fuck?" Hemi nudged him with her elbow and he grunted in pain. "I mean, er, we still love you despite the lies and general weirdness. In fact, I have actuallyhave always had a thing for older women so—"
Hemi shoved him toward the railing, "Ok, you're done talking."
I shot a curious glance at Lennox who stepped forward, "With everything going on, it only made sense that we bring Joey and Hemi into the fold. We trust them and we need all the allies we can get."
It made sense. In fact, I was glad they finally knew. It was a relief that now I could talk them freely without worrying about letting something weird slip out on accident. I opened my mouth to voice all these opinions, but before I could I heard steps on the walkway.
I turned just in time to see David walking toward us, wearing his full suit minus the helmet, with Cade beside him. Cade looked pale and shaken. I could only assume this was somehow David's fault. Joey's poorly hushed whisper could be heard, "Oh shit, that's her time traveling dad isn't it?"
"What did I say about not talking?" Hemi whispered back.
Cade glanced at me, offering a small smile, before moving toward Simmons and Sam. I couldn't hear him from here, but he was asking them about something it seemed. David cleared his throat and I turned back to him with a glare. I hadn't made my decision on him yet, and maybe that was partly because every time I saw him, I was filled with just pure anger. The only thing that filled my mind was rage and there was no thinking clearly through this kind of wrath.
I rolled my shoulders and took a step toward him, "I'm going to hit you again."
"Excuse me?" David blinked in surprise.
The others around us tensed and I could see them shift toward us out of the corner of my eye. I lifted my hand, not tearing my eyes away from David, "I gotta work out the anger. It's what I do. So, I'm going to hit you and I'm only telling you this to give you a fair shot."
David chuckled and shook his head, "I'm not gonna fight you, Ace."
That was all it took.
I lunged forward with a right hook that he ducked under with wide eyes. He tried to say something, plead maybe, but I didn't stop. I threw punch after punch that he either ducked from or blocked. David backstepped with each forward advance I made and suddenly instead of being on the main portion of the walkway we were on the narrower portion leading out. Someone called out to us, but I ignored it.
"Aimee, please—" David snapped just as I set my hands on the railings and swung myself forward with a kick. He put his arms up in an 'X' to block the kick, but the force of my foot hitting the dead center still sent him sliding back a good five or six feet.
David grunted, his face steeling in annoyance, and this time when I threw my next punch, he caught it and yanked me toward him. My back slammed into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me tightly trying to hold me in place.
"Bitch ass move." I growled and threw my head back into his face. David let out a pained cry and his arms loosened around me. I hooked my lower right leg around his then yanked it forward while throwing my weight back. David, who was already thrown off balance, fell back with me on top of him. His arms fell away from me and I rolled backwards off my shoulder to land back on my feet.
Panting, I stood up to my full height and watched as he rolled over onto his elbow. David spat out a wad of blood, his lower lip still bleeding, and his teeth stained red. He looked up at me, "Are you done?"
"Yeah, the urge to murder you has dulled a little." I said between breaths.
"Well, if you're both done can we move on?!" Ratchet snapped.
David pushed himself up entirely and I shoulder checked him on my way back to where I had been. Ratchet glanced me over and I had a feeling he was scanning me for injuries. I gave him a smirk that he grumbled more at.
"I know we agreed to talk about this as a group, but I would really like a minute to just talk to my daughters alone. It's important." David said. "Plus, I think my girls would be more comfortable hearing this without an audience."
Optimus hummed, "I am more than ok with this arrangement, but I leave the decision to Aubrey and Aj. I will not force either of them to do anything they are not comfortable with."
"You don't owe 'im anythin', sweetspark." Jazz said softly and it threw me off entirely. I glanced over at him to see him staring at me with kind eyes. Neither of us had spoken to one another since before the battle. As much as I wanted to, I didn't want to make it worse. It seemed like Jazz was working through something and as much as I missed him, I didn't deserve his friendship after the shit I said.
I shook my head, "It's fine. Thanks, guys."
Aubrey pulled herself away from her kids. Taylor rubbed her back one last time and Tyler leaned against the railing with his arms crossed in a disgruntled look that I could only compare to a pout. I followed after my older sister as David led us out of the hanger via the walkway.
"So, what's up, dude?" I crossed my arms and came to a stop. This was usually a busy hallway we were in, but with all the soldiers being restricted it was abandoned. "What's the dramatic news we need to hear?"
David sighed, "I've been keeping everything I can at bay for as long as I could, but I'm tired. I've been doing this too long and I am not a Defender. I am just a knight. It's time you step into your destiny." His tone was nervous and only halfway through the spiel did I notice he was looking at Aubrey the entire time. "You need to accept your role as a Defender, Aubs. It's the only way we can stop Primus and Unicron."
"Uhhhh, absolutely fucking not." I snapped.
David narrowed his eyes at me, and Aubrey sighed. She turned to me, "Aimee…"
"Aubrey is not gonna do that. Hell no."
"It's always the eldest. She doesn't have a choice."
"Yes, she does, and her answer is no!"
"Aimee Jane!" Aubrey yelled and it caught me off guard. I turned to her in surprise and she crossed her arms tightly over her chest. She closed her eyes briefly, took in a steadying breath, then met my gaze again. "I can do this."
I turned away from David entirely so now all I could see was my sister, "Aubrey, I don't care what he says… this isn't required for you."
"You didn't even ask me what I wanted." Aubrey argued. "Maybe I want to?"
I considered that view, but despite her strong words I could see the fear in her eyes. I knew that the only reason she had even crossed her arms was so I wouldn't see her hands shaking. Aubrey didn't want this. Not really.
I sighed, "Aubs, you don't want this. Not really. You think it's your responsibility, but it isn't. It's—"
"How isn't it?" Aubrey scoffed, "Aimee, it's my role, my—my fate—"
"No. Your role is to be the pillar. Aubs, you keep all of us here grounded. You're the glue, the commonality, that keeps us all together. You tie the past to the future." I shook my head and took a step toward her, "I'm the one who lays on the wire. It's my role to bite the bullet and protect us from all this bullshit."
Aubrey shook her head back and forth, her light hair dancing around her, "No. No! It isn't! I'm the older sister. I'm the one who's supposed to protect and sacrifice, but I messed it up." She threw one shaky hand out to me. "I messed it up so badly that you had to take over and you never let me try again. Aimee, I am sothankful for you and for everything you've done for me… but you don't have to do this too. I'm not that weak little girl who abandoned you."
I set my hands on her arms and gave her a smile, "Aubs, I know that. I never meant that you were, but… if you look at this logically—take out the emotions, I am the better choice."
"Oh, don't play the Prowl card on me!"
I chuckled, "He makes very good points when I'm not zoning him out." She didn't crack a smile at my joke. Her eyes watered with unshed tears. I sighed, "This is your skills versus mine. I can fight. It's what I was born to do. Even before I was in the ring cracking skulls, I was always fighting something. It's who I am. You? You're the caretaker. You do what I can't do."
"What is that?" Aubrey whispered.
"You keep us soft in this very, very sharp and hard world." I swallowed the lump in my throat, "And right now, we need that more than ever."
Aubrey took in a shaky breath, "I wish I could fight. I wish I could do this like you can."
"Fighting is easy, Aubs. What you do is the difficult job." I pulled her into a hug, and she wrapped her arms around me tightly. Aubrey leaned her head against mine and I squeezed her comfortingly.
"I love you, little sister." Aubrey whispered.
"Yeah, yeah, I love you too." I pulled away from her with a grin. She nodded once and I turned back around to see David standing stiffly. His eyes soft and worried. My jaw clenched and I stepped back toward him, "I'm taking the role."
David shook his head, "Once you do, you can't take it back."
"We have to stop those fake deity dicks." I shrugged. "Tell me how to do it." He took his armor's right glove and forearm off leaving his skin bare. He offered me his hand. I blew out a huff of air, "Of course."
I slapped my hand onto his wrist, grabbing it, and he did the same to mine. There was a sudden light glow between our hands, a flash of white, gone as quick as it had come. David pulled his hand away and I glanced over my shoulder at a nervous Aubrey then back to David who looked relieved for some reason.
"Uh, did it work?" I questioned. He nodded once. "I don't feel any different. Everything feels the same."
David stiffened, "It isn't. Everything is different now."
There was a foreboding vibe hanging in the air around us and something about what he said rang so true. It reminded me of when I made the deal with Unicron. The sinking feeling that I had sealed my fate with the devil. I felt it again now. I didn't know what had changed, but right now it felt a lot like I had just sealed all our fates with something far worse than the devil.
