Tracy's POV
I finally stopped crying even though I was still mad at Matias, his brother, his wife and my mom. I know they still wanted to talk to me about why Matias and Mary just let his brother and Addison, his wife, raise me instead of having them visit since I was their kid, not his brother's. Also, I'm not in the mood to head back to the base, so my next move is figuring out how to turn on the computer to locate the Con's ship. I walk over to the arm and climb onto it. I'm about to jump off it, over to the driver's seat, since it's closer to the monitor. I get halfway into the air when I feel someone grab me.
"Wheeljack, put me down," I snap as I try to break free from his hold.
"I will, but you have to promise me not to do anything crazy after we find the Nemesis," Wheeljack says.
"Sorry, Wheeljack, but I can't do that," I reply.
"Fine, then I'll have to do this instead," Wheeljack says, as he opens up a compartment on his chest and places me inside.
"You know I can climb out," I say.
"Not with your bad knee," Wheeljack smirks.
"You think you've planned everything out, haven't you?" I ask.
"Yeah," Wheeljack says.
I smirk as I jump into the air taking off on my left knee, which felt odd, but I didn't have a choice. I manage to find a handhold but struggle to pull myself up. Since I forgot being a fast runner isn't the only skill I lack, I also have terrible upper body strength. I hope that I don't pop my stitches again as I place my right hand next to my left and let out a few frustrated grunts and pull myself up after my fourth attempt.
Wheeljack looks over at me and sees that I'm sitting on his shoulder.
"Okay, when you are determined, you do find your inner strength," Wheeljack says.
"Whatever, so have you found the ship?" I reply.
"Not yet. I had to run a new scan since the computer couldn't store the information from the last one I did when I was searching for energon," Wheeljack says.
I look at the screen and let out a small gasp as I'm able to read the Cybertronian text and code like it's written in English.
"What's wrong?" Wheeljack asks.
"I'm not sure Wheeljack, but somehow I'm able to read all the Cybertronian on the screen," I say.
"How is that possible?" Wheeljack asks.
"I have no idea," I say.
Ivan's POV
Optimus explains what his holoform program is, what the human form will look like, and the name Orion. After he turned it on and the 'human' appeared in the driver's seat, I couldn't help but feel that we should turn back around since something kept telling me to go back to Tracy. My heart begins to flutter.
"Mr. Ivan, are you okay?" Malachi asks.
"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask young Prince?" I reply.
"Because you are acting funny," Malachi says.
"He isn't acting funny, Malachi. Mommy said that grown-ups or even teenagers could act like that when they are thinking about someone they like," Isabella says.
"Do you like sissy, Mr. Ivan?" Malachi asks.
"Yes, I do, Malachi, but I haven't told her," I say.
"Why not?" the twins ask.
"Tracy did just break up with her boyfriend and I'm sure she isn't ready to date again," I reply.
"Why did CiCi do that?" Isabella asks.
"I don't know," I reply.
"Do you think sissy is pretty?" Malachi asks.
"Yes, Tracy is very pretty," I reply.
"When you see CiCi, you need to tell her that because she thinks she isn't," Isabella says.
"Why would Tracy think that?"
"Because she told mommy once that all the other girls in her class told her that she is ugly and the only way to get boys to even look at her was to wear make-up," Isabella says.
"What did your mother tell her?" Orion asks.
"That she was pretty without it and that she'd need to be patient. One day a cute boy would think she is pretty because she is pretty on the inside," Isabella says.
"How can someone be pretty on the inside? Aren't our organs gross looking?" Malachi says.
"Malachi, young prince, what your mother meant was that Tracy is pretty because of the good quality she has as a person, and that she'll shine bright no matter how hard she tries to hide them,"
"Like how she is kind to animals and helps them when they are hurt," Isabella says.
"or, like how she treats everyone like how she wants them to treat her," Malachi adds.
"Mommy said she treats everyone with respect, and she is super honest too," Isabella says.
"How so?"
"CiCi said that the first place she won at the dance competition she went to last year didn't count to her since she only got it because the girl who beat her got disqantfied because her dance teacher entered her in the wrong age group," Isabella says.
"I believe you meant to say the other girl was disqualified, young one," Orion says, correcting Isabella.
"Yeah, but is that the only reason why she didn't accept the award?" Orion asks.
"CiCi said that even though the girl got disqualified, the judges scored her dance and placed second. That was the award she was going to keep," Isabella says.
"But the people in charge of the competition made her take the first place one," Malachi adds.
"I know, but CiCi told her teacher to keep it at the school since she felt deep down inside that she did deserve it. She would accept it once a judge at the next competition truly thought her dance was good enough," Isabella says.
"Wow, she is a very honorable person," I say, and couldn't help but smile.
"Sissy always keeps her promises, too," Malachi says.
"Yeah, even though she's a really good dancer, how come she never shows off or brags, isn't it okay if someone tells you that your good at something?" Isabella asks.
"It's okay to be proud that someone acknowledges your skills, but Tracy shows a great level of humility by recognizing she is skilled but always striving to get better and not bragging that she is skilled," I say.
"Ivan, does sissy have the qualities of Knight?" Malachi asks.
"What are the qualities of Knight?" Orion adds.
"I wouldn't call them qualities per se, but Knights of time did have a code of conduct that included: mercy, humility, honor, sacrifice, faithfulness, courage, utmost graciousness and courtesy toward women."
"What's graciousness?" Malachi asks.
"I'll explain later, we are here,"
We head inside the museum to the café to grab a snack.
"Ivan, why are those kids with you, and who's your friend?" Tyler asks.
"His name is Orion. The children are Tracy's cousin Malachi and Isabella,"
"So, where is Tracy?" Bobby asks.
"She is at Orion's house, talking with mommy, daddy and Uncle Matias," Isabella says.
"Yeah, Sissy didn't want us to hear her say some grown-up words she might say since they are telling her and Ricky about why they never got to be a family," Malachi adds.
Tracy's POV
I still have no idea why I can read Cybertronian, but I need to stay focused on getting my energem back from the cons. Wheeljack locates my energems signal again. Then he sets me down on the floor.
"Can I trust you to stay put? Wheeljack says.
"Come on, Wheeljack, I'm not a teenager, so stop confusing me with Miko. I'm a responsible adult," I reply.
"Okay," Wheeljack says.
I wait until I'm sure that Wheeljack is far enough away, then I climb up on the driver's seat to take a picture of the screen with my phone. I pray that goggle maps will be able to lead me to the ship and hope it's not in the sky. I take a notepad I normally use as a mini journal to write down what triggers my anxiety to leave a note for everyone instead.
Dear Everyone,
I know leaving the base in my current state isn't safe, but I need to get back what the Decepticons stole from me. Tell Bumblebee I'm sorry for not listening to him when he wanted to call for backup instead of having him help Ricky. If anyone of you will tell me I just made a mistake. Then I'm doing what I think is right, fixing things on my own and going to Decepticon warship myself.
Tracy
PS: I'm not acting like a teenager since they wouldn't leave a note. They would just runoff. If there is any punishment for my actions, I'll take it is when I return.
I set the note on the seat and climbed back down. Then I sneaked out as fast as I could on my bad knee. I waited until the map download before I put my phone on airplane mode to stop anyone from tracking me. Then I figured out how to turn off my communicator so none of the Rangers could contact me. I'd hate myself even more if Ivan got hurt because of me.
Normal POV
Back inside the base, Wheeljack walks into the main room to see Matias, Mace and Addison get into Bumblebee, and he drives away.
"Where are they going?" Wheeljack asks.
"To the museum," Ricky says.
"Did you find Tracy?" Snowdrift asks.
"Yes, she was on the Jackhammer," Wheeljack says.
"Why was she there?" Ratchet asks.
"She wanted to use the Jackhammer's scanner to find the Nemesis," Wheeljack says.
"Did you help her?" Bulkhead asks.
"Yes," Wheeljack says.
"You don't think she'd go there on her own?" Arcee asks.
"No, she isn't like Miko," Bulkhead says.
"I trust her, but here is something that shocked us," Wheeljack says.
"What's that?" Ratchet asks.
"Tracy was able to read Cybertronian," Wheeljack says.
"How is that possible?" Ratchet asks.
"I think I might know," Snowdrift says.
