Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, just Kate.
Transmissions are in bold/italic.
Transmissions + speech are in "bold/italic."
Ch. 1: Nightmare or Real Life
"Please, my love. Wake up."
Kate's eyes blinked open. For a moment she forgot where she was, imagining the comfort of her bed at the Autobot base, Optimus waiting to wish her a good morning on the other side of the wall. But as her memories returned, a hollow feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. The bare walls of the motel room did remind her of her old bedroom, but everything else was a stranger. Forgotten in time, just like her.
Her only comfort was a canister sitting on the grimy window ledge, glinting in the sunlight: her most prized possession and the last thing her closest friend had given her.
"What is it?" she had asked, fingering the lid in a surprisingly calm manner.
"Hope. For you and Optimus." Ratchet had smiled down at her then, a welcome distraction to the chaos of the evacuating base. His large hand had folded over hers and she had to fight the tears from spilling over onto her cheeks; she had known in her heart that this would be the last time she saw him. "Use it when you find a safe haven."
The Autobot's sanctuary had been demolished the next day without warning, literally exploding as the military proclaimed: you're not welcome here anymore. The Cybertronians and their human "sympathizers" had already gone into hiding, thanks to the brave warning from Epps and Lennox. Kate, Optimus, and Ratchet had been the last to leave. It had all been a graphic display of humanity's fear and selfishness; an unforeseeable consequence to risking their lives in the Battle of Chicago as they stopped the collaboration of Megatron and Sentinel Prime.
Five years later here Kate was: a ghost sleeping in a Texas motel in a rundown town she couldn't remember the name of. Twenty-six, eyes worn, clothes dirty, and only a few bills left in her pocket that she had swiped from an unfortunate fellow looking the other way. No contacts; family and friends disappeared to the wind. And a constant anxiety that at any point, any time, her mother, Ratchet, Sam, Mikaela—they could all be dead or worse.
Worse yet: Optimus was in bad shape. He had taken a missile to the chest protecting Kate after they had wandered into a trap set by humans. It had been all he could do to drive them away under the cover of night, before he unwillingly went into stasis. It had been a miracle from Heaven when Kate stumbled across an Autobot sympathizer. In this tiny Texas town no less!
The old man had been generous in his help, feeling for the two battered souls; he had shown compassion when so many had shown fear. Becoming his friend had been such a relief: that first shower in months, a change of clothes, the warm meal—Kate had actually cried, feeling human for the first time after years of exile. Most touching was his gesture: allowing her to hide Optimus in his abandoned movie theater until she found a way to wake him. He had even given her a weekly allowance to help pay for room and board at the local motel.
That had been two years ago.
Kate tried to ignore that insistent frustration climbing up her spine, like it did every morning: she wasn't a mechanic, let alone a Cybertronian one. Optimus wouldn't be fixed. At least, not by her hand. Sure, there were experts like the Yaegar family, but there was a giant wrench in asking them to take a look at her Peterbilt: what if they discovered he was Cybertronian? Would they be sympathetic to their plight like the old man, or would they report Kate and Optimus, collecting the cash reward in the process? It was a small town, after all, and, surely, a large sum could make anyone's day.
No. She would continue just as she had: researching, asking questions that she hoped weren't too suspicious, and she would visit Optimus. Though he couldn't hear her voice—not even through the telepathy—she was determined to be with him every day. Even if she never heard him again, even if he never woke up, even if she became a strange old lady wandering the abandoned theater—a ghost, a rumor, a crazy loon. She would remain at his side. Always.
Determined, she entered the movie theater, not even pausing to greet the old man. She gave a casual wave and completely missed his grimace, failing to soak in the urgency of his gestures that tried to stop her. She made a beeline for the auditorium; the one with the old Peterbilt sitting in the darkened corner, hurting no one. Only when she opened the door did she understand as horror overshadowed her heart: Optimus was gone.
"Hey!" a nasally, lanky man with a cowboy hat perched on his head grabbed her arm, forcefully turning her to face him. "You're not supposed to be in here!"
Anger surged through her. She recognized the brat: he was the old man's grandson who had been trying to sell the theater for years. "Where is he?"
The man blinked, stunned at her lack of terror. "What?"
Kate gripped his wrist, pinching his pinky nail as she bent the extremity back towards his forearm. The reaction was immediate: he cried like a baby, begging her to release him.
She repeated, enunciating every word: "Where. Is. The. Truck?"
It was the old man who answered, placing his arm on Kate's, stopping her actions. Guilt overshadowed his features: "Cade Yaegar bought him. I'm sorry."
Kate's heart went out to the man who had been so determined to help him. Though her hands began to shake, scared at the thought of Optimus being discovered, she squeezed the owner's arm before turning away. "Thank you."
Someplace in the background of their exchange, the grandson whimpered: "Stupid old man."
Kate aimed a kick between his legs before leaving. A smile graced her lips at the man's crying—it wasn't even that hard of a kick, you wuss. Thanks to the man's greed, she found herself on a new mission: save Optimus before Yaegar discovered their secret. Though she worried for her sparkmate, she couldn't help but thrill at the new path she walked down. It may be half a day's walk before she got there, but she had a strange, positive feeling about this new situation.
I just hope I get to Optimus in time.
