All, so it's here, just as promised. I make no guarantees of when the next chapter will be up. I pray it won't take as long as it did getting these two up but this is me, and I do have things going on in my life, so you never know for sure. In the meantime enjoy!

Kind of an exposition heavy chapter, this, but most of Hunter's had stuff happening in them, so this felt about right.

REMEMBER, I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY OCS AND THE HYBRID PEOPLE.

Jeff Williams; Lessons Learned

26

Ω Confirmatio Ω

(Confirmation)

Present day;

It was the afternoon of the following day after the day Optimus had spoken with the Prescotts. The Prime was back in Denver Colorado, following his GPS through the streets of the city to Ruby Hill Park, the meeting point Ally had instructed him to come to. He was itching to get there and speak to the girl; so much so that he already had his holoform activated and ready. He was praying Ally could give him any sort of information, because he was in desperate need of something solid to grab onto. The previous day, while he had been investigating the Prescotts, his team had headed to South Dakota to the location Philips had given them. They'd found the warehouse, Philips car, and evidence that there had been a struggle there. They'd also reported that it looked as though Hunter had jetted off to take the fight elsewhere, but they hadn't found that trail yet, though they were returning to the scene to try another direction today. So something was still likely to turn up that way, yet. But if Optimus could get absolute proof from Ally about his theory—proof that this Luna and her cult were back and active on Earth—that would be the linchpin they needed to move to the next level; to finally focus on locating Hunter, instead of searching for the identity of her abductors. They would be that much closer to bringing her back home.

Optimus glanced over at his passenger seat to Atlas, who was currently looking through a large tome he'd pulled from the archives of the Hybrid Council. The Hybrid had been looking for information about Luna and the Lunation ever since Optimus had reported what he'd found out from the Prescotts, and had insisted upon coming today, as he had questions. Not to mention the fact that he was very curious to meet Hunter's family, as Greasy had apparently never mentioned any such thing to him.

Finally they found themselves coming upon the park, which appeared to be rather busy, as there were numerous vehicles parked there. Optimus wondered how exactly they were going to have a private conversation. The last thing he needed at the moment was Fowler coming to him, ranting about Denver locals spreading rumors about aliens that they'd overheard three people in the park discussing. He could practically hear the agent bellowing for him now.

After finding a parking space, Atlas and the Prime's holoform made their way to the entrance of the park. As they came closer, they spotted a pretty girl standing near the sign: light ginger hair with a single blonde streak, exotic eyes that were sapphire rimmed and raspberry centered—it was Ally.

"Good afternoon, Ally," Optimus greeted the girl with a soft smile that was returned to him.

"Good afternoon," Ally responded amiably.

"This is Dr. Atlas Bartholomew," Optimus introduced his companion. "He is one of Hunter's mentors, and desired to accompany me today."

"Greetings, Ms. Prescott," Atlas said, stretching out his hand to Ally. "A pleasure to meet you. I have some questions I hope you will be able to provide answers for today."

Ally looked a little intimidated by that statement, but she smiled all the same as she shook the man's hand. "I'll try my best, Dr. Bartholomew," she told him, "but I hope there aren't very many. I only have an hour before my lunch break is over; I work at the Sunny Side Diner just down the way, and my boss is, like, a real stickler about being on time."

"Oh, no, not many," Atlas assured her with a smile and wave of his hand. "You'll be back at work with time to spare, my girl—worry not."

"Thank you."

While Atlas and Ally made their exchange Optimus was looking warily around the park, taking in the sheer amount of civilians, many of whom looked to be parents with young children. "If you don't mind me asking, Ally," he said, looking back at the teen, "do you have a more… private place in mind for us to have this discussion."

"Don't worry, Mr. Prime, I've got it covered." With that statement, Ally carefully peaked around to see if anybody was paying attention and, when she discovered that no one was, she tread a small circle around the men, trailing a finger through the air as she went. A slight trail of sparkles streamed out of her fingertip as she did this, and there was the slightest change in the surrounding noise, as if it seemed a bit more muted: It was like something had come to rest over the top of them. Optimus and Atlas exchanged a look before gazing at Ally in inquiry. She just shrugged with a lopsided smile that looked rather like Hunter's—evidently it was a family trait. "Magic is one of my things," she stated. "I'm not that good with it, but I am a teen with over-protective parents, so I made myself master this one even though it's a harder spell: I call it "The Personal Bubble". We'll be able to talk about what we want this way, and everyone else around us will hear us talking about something completely different—in this case college opportunities. I am seventeen after all."

Optimus couldn't help but smile in amusement at this information. "Very clever," he praised the child.

"Fascinating!" Atlas marveled at the same time.

Ally blushed and smiled sheepishly. Then she cleared her throat and asked, "Should we go then?" The seventeen-year-old motioned towards the actual entrance of the park. "I think we'll look more inconspicuous if we walk."

"Excellent idea," Atlas agreed. He bowed in a gentlemanly way. "Please, after you, Ms. Prescott."

"You can call me 'Ally', and thank you."

With that the three began walking. They finally entered the park and began trekking the main sidewalk of the park.

"I was right," Ally stated, looking up at Optimus as she walked between the two men. "Luna is back on Earth."

"You are certain?" Optimus asked, doing his best to not gaze around to make sure nobody was paying attention to them. He trusted Ally's confidence in her spell, but still, it was unnerving all the same to be talking openly about such a thing in broad daylight in the middle of a crowd of people.

"Positive. Steel's back on Earth, and that means the witch is too."

"Steel?" Optimus snagged onto the name.

"My brother," the girl explained, sounding a little sad as she said this.

Ah, yes. Eve had mentioned that her mother had brainwashed and abducted their son. Optimus felt sympathy over this information before, but now that he knew the boy's name, as well as how his situation affected Ally, he felt it again tenfold. He'd only been separated from Hunter with no idea of where she was for a week—he couldn't even begin to imagine what years of that ache would feel like. Primus willing, he'd never have to experience it.

Atlas spoke up; "If you don't mind my asking, Ally, how exactly do you know this to be true?"

"Like I said, Steel is back on Earth, and considering he, like, hardly ever leaves dear Grandmama's side, she has to be here too. And I know that because, along with my magic, I kinda have the ability to, like… dream-walk, I guess you could call it. That means I can, like, go into people's dreams and see them and even talk to them when I'm there, but I don't do it a lot and usually just with people I know when I do. Steel and I can both do it, and when he was here we used to go into each other's dreams a lot. But then he left with Luna and I couldn't connect with him on the dreamscape anymore; I think it's because he was too far away. Then a few weeks ago I thought I caught, like, a glimpse of him there, but it vanished so quickly I wasn't sure. I've been trying to prove my suspicions since then, but my brother knows a lot about and is really good at mental barriers, so if he wanted to keep me out he could."

A slight smirk curled Ally's glossy, pink lips as she went on to say; "But Steel's always been a little sloppy with mental barriers when it comes to his little sister, and I've been practicing my dream-walking while he's been away. And I'm sure he hasn't been practicing his barriers for it. It took me a little time, but last night I was finally able to find him. I only stepped into his dream for, like, a minute—just long enough to know for sure that it was him: I'd only be able to do that if he was back on Earth again. And if Steel's here, Luna's here, and if dear Grandmama is back, then that means the whole Lunation is back into swing again, and that can't be good, especially now that they've got the Fuser." Ally looked back up to Optimus as this point inquiringly and asked; "I remember you said to my parents something about a symbol?"

"Yes," Optimus nodded and turned to Atlas.

Quickly digging into one of the many inner pockes of his suit jacket, the Hybrid man retrieved a folded piece of paper and handed it to the ginger girl. "This is the symbol each of Hunter's attackers wore when they first ambushed her at Olympus High," he stated. "And, from what we could gather when Hunter communicated with us during her abduction, her assailants then bore the same symbol."

Optimus watched carefully as Ally stared at the piece of paper in her hands. She was taking a long time in responding, but the Prime could tell it wasn't that she was having difficulty identifying the symbol—she was having difficulty just looking at it. Ally had pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and was chewing on it nervously, while her fingers tightened around the edges of the paper and trembled ever so slightly. A pained look had come to her two-toned eyes. At the moment, the mech truly had no idea what to feel; sympathy for the girl for having to relive memories that she'd obviously rather not, or to feel all the more horrified about what Hunter must be suffering at the hands of a cult whose symbol could bring such dread and pain from the mere sight of it.

"Yeah," Ally whispered after a moment. Her voice was meek and anxious, and she didn't look up at the men. "Yeah, that's it. That's the Lunation."

Atlas and Optimus exchanged a look and Atlas reached out to take the paper back, gently pulling it from Ally's grasp. "Thank you, Ally," he murmured softly. He folded the paper and slipped it back in his pocket so that it was at least out of sight, if it couldn't be out of mind for the girl. "Thank you very much."

The three of them stood in silence for a moment, the men allowing the teen to gather herself before continuing on. Finally, Ally managed to pull herself together and looked back up at them as she asked, "How long has Hunter been missing?"

"A week now," Optimus answered. By the Allspark. He knew how tired and distraught he felt, but did his voice really sound that tired and distraught too? Or was that just his imagination?

Apparently it wasn't just him, as Ally gave him a sympathetic look. "Well," the girl said after a moment, with an attempt of a smile, "the good news is that the world hasn't started to, like, crash down around us since then, so Luna probably isn't quite ready to use Hunter for… whatever yet. So we still have some time."

"But how much time?" Optimus wondered to himself.

"Speaking of that," Atlas interjected, "you wouldn't, by chance, have any sort of idea what your grandmother's plans could be?"

Ally became quiet for a moment. She averted her gaze from the men and began to run the long, blonde stripe of her hair through her fingers. "The Lunation has this… oath," she said softly after a moment. "The Lunation's mission is holy—it follows the vision of the Mistress. The Mistress is the true savior of our people, and the Fuser is the vessel through which she will accomplish our salvation. The Mistress shall restore honor upon the Hybrid people. These are the truths of the universe as deemed by Primus himself." A visible quiver went through the teen's body and she took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. She looked back at the men. "I don't know why Luna thinks like she does, but I know she believes these "truths" and so does everyone who's in the cult—they're brainwashed with it. I also know that Luna thinks the only way to accomplish this is to completely change everything"

"By "completely change everything"," Atlas murmured, "you mean-"

"The world. The universe. The power structure. Everything."

Optimus and Atlas glanced anxiously at each other. "Is this why she was banished?" the Prime questioned, turning attention back to the girl.

Ally nodded seriously. "She tried to do it—tried to overthrow the Council and the King. She thought she could use the power to take control of the Hybrids on Earth and, like, rally them under her so they could move on into the universe to find others. Then she was planning on returning us all to Cybertron, and we would take it over in the name of our kind. "Hybrid honor will be restored when we sit at the height of power"—that's what she always said."

"You were there," Atlas mused. It wasn't a question. "You were there when she made her attempt."

"I was a kid," Ally murmured softly. "My powers came in when I was ten, and Luna had already taken Steel two years earlier when he got his to teach him, so, since I got magic too, it just made sense. She had a deal with Mom and Dad; just teach us how to control it so we wouldn't go around and, like, accidentally blow stuff up or, like, summon or levitate stuff or, like, put people to sleep or change them into animals. Mom and Dad didn't want us living like Hybrids—they always say being one only ever causes trouble. So Luna wasn't supposed to teach us how to actively use our magic. But she did. She'd been teaching Steel and stated with me too, but I was too afraid to try to do anything else besides what Mom and Dad wanted me to learn. But she didn't stop there; she indoctrinated us. Steel loved it all, but it always scared me—everything she talked about was so dark. I tried to get Steel to see that, but he was too caught up in it all and wouldn't listen. He passed the initiation tests with flying colors, and it wasn't long after that dear Grandmama tried to take over."

"Do you remember why she tried?" Atlas pressed. "Why, after all that time she finally decided to make an attempt? Was there some sort of spell she had? Some sort of weapon?"

"I don't really remember. I wasn't technically part of the cult then, and I think Luna could sense that I wasn't really… into it, so she didn't trust me and I didn't get told a lot of the details. I don't think she had a weapon or anything like that—I think I'd remember something like that. But Steel's magical abilities are, like, basically equal to our grandmother's—maybe even stronger. Even when he was a kid he was really strong; I mean his first power surge with his magic was transforming his stuffed tiger into a living one—mine was just levitating one of my dolls. Maybe Luna thought that with her power and his combined along with the entire cult they could succeed. I mean, even before that the Lunation was already a force to be reckoned with, so maybe she thought they could do it. I don't know; like I said, Luna didn't tell me a lot—I was kinda just… there. It was only when I managed to find out some of her attack plans and contact the Council to warn them and ask for help that I got out of there. The Lunation was taken down pretty quickly after that and banished." That pained look came into Ally's entrancing eyes again and she looked down sadly, hugging herself. "And my brother went with them."

Atlas, who had been flipping through that large book of his since Ally had started her explanation, was now staring at one of the pages and shaking his head, looking completely confused. "Are you certain that's it?" he asked, not looking up from the page. "Are you certain there isn't anything else you're leaving out or forgetting?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"What is it, Atlas?" Optimus questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Atlas made a quiet groaning sound as he read the page over and over a few more times before finally answering. "It just doesn't seem to make sense to me. Everything you've just said is recorded in this book just as it should be but… it just doesn't add up. It feels like something is missing or… just plainly wrong about it all—as if it isn't really the truth. And I don't know why, because it's all here and you—a perfect eyewitness—have just said it all as well, but it still doesn't feel right."

"Well, that's the story," Ally said simply with a shrug. "I'm not lying about any of it or keeping anything from you."

"I've no doubt you aren't, my dear girl," Atlas replied absently as he continued to study the page in the tome. "I've no doubt you aren't." He became quiet again as he dived deeper into the book.

"Ally," Optimus said, drawing the teen's attention to him, "do you have any idea of where your grandmother and her cult might be stationed?"

Ally tapped her chin for a moment as she thought deeply over the question. It was a question with many possible answers, as Luna could literally have been anywhere in the world. She had estates in practically every country—she could be at any of them! She could even be stationed on her ship somewhere in the Earth's upper atmosphere. "The only places I know they can't be are the Lunar Estates here in the U.S. and Canada," she stated after a minute of pondering. "Both of those were destroyed by the Hybrid military under orders of the Council and King. But I have no idea where they might actually be. I might be able to find out if I go walking into Steel's dreams again, but there's a chance he might catch me and find out what I'm doing, and he could potentially let Luna know." That melancholic shadow appeared on her face again. "I love my brother, but he's, like, loyal to a fault with our grandmother—I wouldn't trust him with anything where she's concerned. But I can try if you want me to."

"No," Optimus turned down her offer with a wave of his hand. "No. If it is that risky, do not attempt it. We will find another way of discerning their location."

"Optimus."

Both girl and Prime turned their attention back to Atlas, who was now looking at them rather than his book, though he still seemed quite distracted.

"If you wouldn't mind I think I'm going to take my leave," Atlas declared. "I don't know if it will turn up anything but I would like to do some more research on this."

"Of course," Optimus replied with a nod.

And with that Atlas turned to leave, his nose still very much in his book. He passed through the barrier of Ally's spell, breaking it, and slowly made his way back in the way they'd come.

Ally and Optimus watched after him before turning back to each other. "I suppose you'll be leaving, too?" Ally asked.

"I should," Optimus stated, turning to look in the direction of where his vehicular mode was parked. "We must find Hunter as soon as possible, and my team is at the site of her abduction as we speak, searching for any evidence—I should go and join…" Optimus trailed off as he caught sight of Ally's slight disappointed expression. His spark quivered. It was almost like when Hunter looked like that, except—somehow—it was even worse. There was just something about Ally that seemed so downtrodden and gloomy, despite her outwardly colorful and peppy appearance. The Prime sighed and smiled softly. "But, I suppose I do have some time to spare," he conceded, spark lifting a bit as he watched Ally's beautiful eyes light up. "After all, I should come to know you a bit—being Hunter's spark-father, you are essentially my niece."

"Great!" Ally piped up. This was the most excited she'd looked since the Prime had met her. "I still have some time to kill and I'm totally dying for a snow cone." She jutted her thumb over her shoulder towards a little stand sitting just up the way where there was a small line of adults and children.

"So… holoforms can actually eat organic food?" Ally asked. She and Optimus were seated in the shade of a tree sort of out of the way of the main crowd of people enjoying their refreshing snow cones. It was strange enough for Ally to see the absolutely huge man-shaped holoform seated on the ground (seriously, if the guy's holoform was this big—what was his actual form like?), so to see that same holoform eating a snow cone on top of everything else was truly bizarre.

"They can," Optimus formed as he eyed the yellow-orangey confection in his grasp. He'd opted for the mango flavored snow cone, as it was Hunter's favorite flavor. He'd never tasted it as of yet, but if his spark-daughter loved it, he could probably trust it. Maybe. "Our holoforms are created of hard light constructs—essentially super-charged light particles that hold together in a solid form—which feed off of the energy of our life force to sustain themselves when in use. When our holoforms ingest a substance they are capable of breaking that substance down in order to use that as the energy source to sustain them rather than our life force. It is actually a much more efficient method, especially if we are using our holoforms for an extended period of time."

"Any kind of substance?"

"Theoretically. It is much more effective when the substance is, in fact, edible, however."

"And you can taste?"

"Oh, yes."

"Huh. Cool." A slightly disgusted and embarrassed look came over Ally's face as another question about the whole process came to mind. "Um… y-you don't… I mean… uh… does your holoform ever hafta, like… use the little robots' room?" she asked. Her cheeks were just ever so flushed in awkwardness.

Optimus smiled in sheer amusement at the child's attempt to bring up the subject in the most delicate way possible. "No," he chuckled. "Everything the holoform consumes is broken down into energy; nothing is wasted."

Ally was incredibly relieved by this information. Oh, thank Primus! She really didn't want to think about holoforms going… yeah. The ginger took another bite of her cherry snow cone in small victory for not having to discuss such an unpleasant topic. She glanced over at the Prime to see him finally try a bite of his snow cone. "What'd'ya think?"

Optimus was silent for a moment as he allowed the ice to melt and flavor of the syrup to permeate his holoform tongue. It was most definitely refreshing on such a warm day. It was also quite sweet: Not too sweet, but sweet enough that he was certain is holoform would have plenty of energy to run off of for a bit without drawing on his life force. He made a mental note to limit Hunter's snow cones from now on. "I wouldn't make a habit with them," he stated, "but I cannot say I don't enjoy it."

"You really can't go wrong if you pick mango anything," Ally commented with that lopsided smile. She was glad he was enjoying his treat.

"It is Hunter's favorite flavor of snow cone," Optimus stated taking another bite.

Silence fell over the two of them for a moment as they whittled away at their frozen treats and watched the families around them play together.

Finally, Ally spoke again. "What's my cousin like?" she asked. She felt a little sheepish asking this question and she didn't know why—maybe it was the fact that she realized talking about her cousin could be a bit painful for the Purebred at the moment—but she wanted to know. One day she didn't have any other family apart from her parents, brother, and grandparents, and the next she was actually a cousin to someone. It was completely mind-boggling.

Optimus, whose mind had drifted off to his team and Hunter and wondering about what was happening in both scenarios, suddenly snapped back to the current situation he was in with that question. He looked over at Ally to see her gazing curiously at him. The Prime couldn't help the slight smile that curled his holoform lips as he caught the ghost of Hunter in that inquiring gaze. Ally was so very different to his daughter, and yet so much like her at the same time. "Hunter is a year younger than you," he stated. "She has long, red hair like yours, but it is not quite so light, and sapphire eyes. She is also a good deal taller than you." Optimus looked away from Ally as his thoughts drifted to his spark-daughter yet again. His spark ached terribly for her, and yet he relished the opportunity to talk and think about her for a moment; the things she had done, all she was, how important she was to him. It was a bittersweet blessing. "Hunter is clever and intelligent—more so than she gives herself credit for, I believe, but then again, I am her spark-father, so I am biased. She is full of determination and spirit, and is a fierce warrior with a temper to match and a tongue to match the temper." Optimus chuckled warmly as he elaborated, "In fact, I would say that is what gets her into the most trouble; she simply doesn't know when to—what is the phrase you Earthlings have?—"zip her lip"."

"She sounds like a handful," Ally giggled. She was glad to see the Prime was happy talking about her cousin instead of sad like she feared he would be And it was just as nice to hear a little bit about what her cousin was like.

"That she is," Optimus agreed with a sigh, "however, she's not one I mind having. For all her fire and sass and impishness, Hunter is a kind-hearted person—though she is quite adept in hiding it when she wants to—and cares a good deal for the wellbeing of others, often to her own detriment."

"Hmm. Well, it's pretty easy to understand why she was picked to be the Fuser then," Ally remarked, sipping on the melted, syrupy remains of her snow cone. She was quiet for a minute, as she wondered what it would be like to be her cousin. What was it like to be picked by a god himself to be the savior for an entire race of people? What was it like to share a spark with that very same god? What was it like to be able to live sixteen times? What was it like to have to face death sixteen times before you could finally move on? What was it like to die? What was it like to come back from death? Was it scary? Peaceful? Painful? "Has Hunter died yet?" Ally immediately slapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't just asked that! She couldn't have actually just asked that! Why on Earth would she even ask something like that, especially with the current situation the Prime was facing?! She was so stupid and insensitive! With wide, horrified eyes, the teen began to stumble and stutter out a frantic apology: "Oh, god, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean—I shouldn't have said that!" She smacked herself in the forehead as she chanted, "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Smiling softly, Optimus reached out and patted the girl's shoulder calmingly. "It is fine, Ally," he reassured her. "I realize you are merely curious and meant no harm with the question. And to answer it, yes, Hunter has indeed perished once; that is how we discovered her identity. I will not go into further details than that at this time."

"I really am sorry," Ally insisted quietly. "I know it's probably really hard to talk about."

Optimus said nothing in response to this and silence fell over them once again.

After a moment or two, Ally pulled out her phone and checked the time. "I better go," she announced. She stood up and stretched. "My break's just about over and my boss will make sure I feel guilty for being, like, even a minute late."

"I will escort you," Optimus offered, also standing. A group of small children running past at the moment all stopped in their tracks and stared in wide-eyed, slack-jawed amazement at the sheer size of the man before them. Optimus merely smiled and waved a hand at them, which sent them running again, all the while glancing back over their shoulders at him.

"You don't have to," Ally said, smiling in amusement at the kids. She knew how they felt—she'd thought Optimus was giant too the first time she saw his holoform. "I can walk there on my own—it's not far. Besides, you should be going to join your team, right?"

"They will not have returned yet—I still have time to go out to join in their search." Here he smirked at the child. "I have yet to truly get to know you. You have taken up so much of our time asking questions about Hunter, and I haven't been able to ask anything about you."

Ally's face flushed red. "Sorry," she squeaked with an awkward smile. "I tend to talk a lot, especially when I'm curious. You kinda just need to, like, tell me to shut up sometimes if you wanna get a word in."

Optimus chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind." With that he bent his arm and offered it to the seventeen-year-old. "Shall we?" He smiled as Ally smiled back at him and slipped her arm through the loop of his elbow. "Have no fear," he murmured as they began to walk off towards the exit of the park, "I shall get you there in time."

"Good," Ally replied. "Because, if you don't, I'm gonna make sure my boss knows that you're the one to blame so she can chew you out instead of me."

The pair exited the park arm-in-arm, depositing their empty snow cone cups in the trash receptacle as they went. Ally indicated the correct direction to go and they walked on.

"Please let me know if I'm prying where I shouldn't," Optimus began, glancing down at the girl beside him. (If he felt towering when he stood next to his spark-daughter, the Prime most definitely felt like a giant now with Ally beside him.) "When I visited your home, I noticed that you were the only one in the house wearing a Hybrid medallion, though it is obvious that your creators are Hybrid as well; and this afternoon you mentioned how your creators did not wish for you and your brother to live as Hybrids. What does that mean?" The Prime watched the ginger girl carefully for any sort of clues that he'd overstepped his bounds. So far she gave none; she simply looked… sad.

Ally sighed heavily. She didn't really want to talk about this—it wasn't a comfortable topic to get into for her—but, to be fair, she had flat out asked Optimus if his spark-daughter had in fact died and he had handled that with grace despite how uncomfortable it must have been for him. She could at least return the gesture and outline the basic details of her situation for him. She could at least try. "My parents both grew up in the cult," she stated. The girl looked straight in front of her now, finding herself unable to keep the Prime's eye contact. "Mom, of course, was Luna and Ray's eldest, and then my dad joined the Lunation when his powers manifested. They stayed in the cult a long time before finally deciding they had to get away from it before they were too far gone, so they saw a lot of what the cult is really about and did a lot of things they're not proud of. They didn't just blame the cult for this, they blamed the fact that they're Hybrids on this because, like… if they weren't Hybrids to begin with they wouldn't have powers that allowed them to do the things they did, I guess? Mom also blamed being a Hybrid on why her family split apart, because my uncle married a human and my grandparents disowned him; Mom was never comfortable with that. So they stopped wearing their medallions, stopped using their powers, and started to live like humans.

"Then Steel and I came along and they raised us with that ideology. They told us what we actually were and everything so we wouldn't get our powers later on and, like, totally freak out, ya know, but in every other way we were raised to be humans. We didn't even get our medallions until we went to our grandmother to learn to control our powers—most Hybrids get them, like, the day they're born. And ever since the whole thing with Luna trying to take over the world and Steel joining the cult, it's been…" Ally trailed off, not entirely sure how to explain her life at the moment. "I love my parents," she declared after a moment. "They're amazing and the best parents anyone could ask for; they love me and take care of me and make sure I have everything I need. But… they're, like, super over-protective of me. You saw how they wouldn't let me stay in the room when you came to talk to them, yesterday. I'm seventeen—I'm almost a legal adult, and they still treat me like I'm seven!" The girl could hear the fury in her voice, but she didn't care. She was getting all of this off her chest and out in the open, and if felt good.

"They are your creators, Ally," Optimus replied gently. "I cannot say I agree with their methods of raising you and your brother, but what they do, they do because they love you and wish to protect you."

"Yeah, I know," Ally murmured. "But the thing is, what they think is protecting is actually hurting me. I'm totally confused about everything, Optimus. My parents tell me I shouldn't act like a Hybrid because it only causes pain, but trying to not act like one causes me pain, 'cuz I don't feel like I'm being who I should be.

"That's why I want to wear my medallion because it makes me feel like I'm not totally denying who I really am. Plus, like, it's mine, so I should be able to, right? And it's not even like I show it off or anything; I hide it under my clothes or something when I'm out in public, just so nobody sees it and asks questions. It took literally months of arguing before Mom and Dad finally agreed to let me wear it, and they still don't like it that I do! Even when I go out of my way to not put it out there! And don't even get me started on how they react when I attempt to do anything with my powers, and I'm not just talking about my magic. Last week dad and I were in the garage—I was helping him with something on the car—and he dropped something and it rolled underneath the car far enough he couldn't reach, so he asked me to get it. First of all, the garage floor was totally messy and I was in my new yoga pants that I bought myself—I'm not kneeling down in the dirt and mud and oil and filth in those, okay? Second—I'm a Hybrid! I have superstrength; I can lift things really easy. So I'm gonna go with, like, the easiest options, right? You'd've thought I stole the car and totaled it, instead of just lifted it up and gently set it back down after I picked up whatever Dad wanted me to get from under it with the way my parents reacted. I was amazed they didn't ground me! They've done that before, too. I mean, it's been a while, but they've done it."

Optimus furrowed his brows at this information. He tried never to be someone who questioned the judgement and rules parents implemented in their child rearing, because every family situation was different. Primus, even just the situation from child to child was different—raising Hunter was turning out to be very different than raising Bumblebee had been. But there were some things Optimus believed were universal, and encouraging your child to be who they were and helping them to find that person rather than trying to force them into a role of your choosing was one of those things. Whether you were trying your best to protect them or not, your child was their own person and deserved to be treated as such. It didn't seem as though Eve and Cyrus felt this way. The Prime realized they probably didn't think they were doing anything other than helping their daughter and protecting her, but still, it was difficult to hear Ally speak about such things.

"I'm totally confused about it all," Ally continued on. "I don't know what I want to be or what I should be or what is and isn't okay to be and I just… I don't know, like… anything. I just know I'm not happy, and it's not just because of my brother."

"Perhaps you should talk with them," Optimus suggested. "Tell them how you feel and what you want."

Ally shot him an annoyed look. "You honestly think I haven't tried?" she scoffed. "They don't listen to me! They never listen to me when it comes to anything Hybrid related—they just expect me to follow the rules and live like a human. And, like, okay—I get that what they went through sucked; I got a glimpse of what it woulda been like for them. But I don't think being a Hybrid was part of the problem—I think it was just Luna. I don't really think there's anything wrong with being a Hybrid at all. I mean, we basically have superpowers—how could that be anything but amazing? And, yeah, some Hybrids are bad and use their powers to do bad things, but that's because that's who they are, not because they're Hybrids. Just like how some humans are bad because they're just that way, right?" After this little rant, the ginger became quiet as she began to ponder, for the millionth time, about what being a Hybrid could possibly mean and what living as one could possibly entail.

By the time she spoke again, they were coming upon the diner. "I know I've asked a lot about her already," she said, looking up at the Prime once more, "but can I ask one more thing about Hunter?"

"Of course."

Quickly peeking round to make sure nobody else was within earshot, Ally quietly asked, "What does Hunter think about being a Hybrid?"

Optimus was, admittedly, a bit caught off guard by this question. That was truly something he'd never thought anyone would ask of him, mostly because he wasn't the one it should have been directed at. Only Hunter herself could truly answer that question. But Hunter wasn't here right now, he was. And Ally needed an answer—that much was plain to see. "Hunter has only known of her identity for almost a year," he stated, "and in that time her experiences regarding it have greatly varied. Near the beginning of her discovery it was not easy for her. I assume you are aware of the history of your people, and, knowing that information, it probably would not surprise you that there are many Purebreds who view the Hybrids as enemies and traitors and discriminate against them for it."

Ally pursed her glossy lips in irritation. "That's unfair," she grumbled. "That was, like—what?—ages ago—no Hybrid alive right now was alive then."

"I agree," Optimus conceded evenly, "but, the fact remains, that is the mindset of many Purebreds, and in the beginning, Hunter faced it. And it certainly did not help matters that her cyberform bears a remarkable resemblance to that of your great-great-grandsire's."

Ally eyes widened in sheer horror. "Oh, god…. Are you serious? The poor thing!"

Optimus continued on: "However, Hunter never lost hope, and was determined to hold her ground, so that is exactly what she did. She fought and she struggled, and, in the end, she changed the minds of my team and earned her place beside them. I know she wished for things to be easier—even different—but the only time I can ever recall Hunter possibly wishing to be anything other than a Hybrid was after we discovered she was the Fuser, and even then I believe that had more to do with being the Fuser rather than being a Hybrid. In truth, I believe that from the moment she discovered it, Hunter was proud of being a Hybrid, and she has only continued to feel in such a way sense." Optimus chuckled and smiled for a moment as he remembered Hunter testing out her powers for the first time. "And I know for certain she found the entire situation quite "cool" at the beginning," he stated.

Noticing the uncertain look on Ally's face, Optimus sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. He met her gaze. "Alchemy, I am no Hybrid, and as such, I cannot give you the advice you seek," he admitted. "I can only tell you what I have witnessed in other Hybrids, and that is the fact that they all seem to be extremely proud and happy in what they are. I have never met a Hybrid that regrets their race and wishes to be something different. I have never met a Hybrid that blamed their troubles and pain on the fact that they are a Hybrid. And, yes, there are evil Hybrids, but there are also evil Purebreds and evil humans—species and race has nothing to do with it.

"I will not pass judgement on your creators, for I have no idea what they have gone through. If they feel renouncing their breed is the only way they can make peace with their past, then I am not one to say otherwise. But I can and will say this: you are neither your mother, nor your father, Alchemy—you are only you. And you are coming to an age where you will have to start making your own choices and decide who you want to be. Only you can decide who that is."

Ally blinked in quiet contemplation for a moment. "So… you're saying… I should live as a Hybrid," she surmised, her voice a bit hopeful.

Knowing she was trying to twist it around in some way so that he would be telling her what to do rather than deciding for herself, Optimus replied very carefully: "I'm not saying that. What I am saying is that you are a Hybrid, Alchemy Prescott. You have always been a Hybrid, and you will forever be a Hybrid—this can never change, no matter how you or anyone else may want it to. You can never stop being this, and you can never run from it—you must simply find a way to live with it. Your creators have told you there nothing wrong with not living as a Hybrid. Now I am telling you that there is nothing wrong with living as a Hybrid. And that is all I am going to say."

Ally's exotic eyes narrowed at this and she looked the Prime up and down, as if trying to see if that was really all he was going to say or if he was going to say something else. Apparently that was it, because he wasn't talking anymore. Growling in annoyance, Ally pulled away from the Prime's grasp and crossed her arms tightly over her chest, giving him the stink-eye as she did so. "You're literally no help at all," she muttered sourly.

Optimus raised an eyebrow as he smirked cheekily at the seventeen-year-old. "I don't believe I ever said I was going to be helpful either," he remarked.

"Ugh!" Ally groaned and rolled her eyes and she turned away, heading back into her job. As she made her way to the back to clock back into her shift, the girl couldn't help but think on Optimus words. Did he have a point? All that stuff he'd said about her being a Hybrid and always going to be a Hybrid was true—nothing could ever change her biology. Even if she turned herself into a cat, she would still be a Hybrid; she would just be a Hybrid that was a cat. Even if she got her powers taken away, she would still be a Hybrid; she would just be a Hybrid with no powers. And even if she chose to renounce her Hybridness like her parents, she would still be a Hybrid; she would just be a Hybrid that didn't to acknowledge it. What was the point in that? What was the point in trying not to be something when it was something you were always going to be regardless? What was the point in fighting it when it was something that wouldn't hurt anybody? "I'm a Hybrid," Ally thought to herself, absently fingering her medallion through her work blouse. "I'm always gonna be a Hybrid. There's nothing wrong with being a Hybrid."