13-The Journal, part 1

Type: One-shot + deleted epilogue

Timeline: End of EoMe 1

Summary: June and Jack read the notebook left by Eric. Part 1 focuses on June's thoughts

June sighed heavily as she sat down on the couch at the Autobot base. Her hands, now clean of blood, throbbed from how hard she scrubbed them and they shook with tremors. It had been a long time since her hands shook after a hard time. Thankfully, the base was quiet, the kids having been taken out to protect them form the sight of all the gore that littered the floor of the catwalk.

Gonna have to have Brother help me clean that up, June thought distantly as she leaned back and sank into the cushions. Her eyes shut and for brief few minutes, June enjoyed sweet oblivion…..

Until her eyes flew open and realized that Brother wasn't anywhere to be seen. June didn't want to get up and look for him, but she didn't want Jack or any other kids to help her. With a heavy sigh, June stood and shuffled to the backroom where Brother and Sister had been staying in. Her soft footsteps were the only sound that could be heard throughout the entire, silent base. It was strange being by herself in the secret hideout. It felt more like a tomb than a hideaway for alien robots that could transform into cars or planes.

June bit back a frustrated curse when she saw that the room was empty. There was no sign or indication that anyone had slept there. The beds were neatly made with nary a wrinkle in sight. The floors were swept and June could barely see any dust. But from the room, June could see that Brother's things were missing from the room.

And after a moment of thought, June realized that she didn't see his motorcycle in the base's 'carport' area.

Great, June thought as she plopped on the bed. He just left. Skedaddled! What am I….to….do now?

Her thoughts trailed off when she, from her vantage point on the bed, saw a very familiar duffle bag stuffed in the vary far corner. June stood to her feet, and with continual shaking hands, reached for the bag and opened it.

Clothes…. that she recognized as belonging to Maya were all that she could see. The young woman's skull tank top was at the very top.

Fear for her niece rose.

What did Brother do to Maya? What about Eric? Were they alright? Did she need to go and alert Agent Fowler and Optimus? Or did she need to alert the police?

June stopped. She remembered Brother said that he and Sister worked for an organization that was unknown to many people so if she went to the local authorities, they would probably think her insane.

So….Agent Fowler and Optimus were her only hope.

June stood and made to walk out of the room only to stop when something glinting caught her gaze. She strode over to it, only to stop when she saw a wedding ring, resting on top of a journal. The nurse didn't recognize the ring, but the journal….oh good Lord, that was Maya's. June had seen her niece write in it several times, but had respected her privacy.

Her fingers shook a little bit as she opened the journal. Her eyes went wide at the words scrawled on the rough, unlined paper.

This Journal belongs to Maya Abigail Everton Hasting

Oh Maya….

She flipped to a random page; her fingers stroke the date that was scrawled in the left corner.

March fourteenth…. a year or so ago….June's eyes, despite the little voice that warned her not to, started to read the words.

The mission to find a Piece of Eden was ultimately a failure as it was a trap. But it did lead to some interesting information being found. The Templars have captured Desmond Miles, estranged son to Mentor William. According to sources, the Templars are renewing their search for the Apples and Codex. The Assassins MUST renew their search as well if they are to win this war.

June felt sick to her stomach. Maya…. Maya was a part of the Assassins.

Maya was Sister. And Sister just-

The nurse dropped the journal as her stomach tightened, darting to the sink that was in the corner. June heaved what little was in her stomach out in the sink, leaning against the white porcelain when she finished. Heart racing and tears prickling her eyes, June reached out for the journal, forcing herself to read the secrets Maya had committed to paper.

As she thumbed through the pages, and scanned the words, June couldn't' believe the truths that were coming to light.

Julia was involved with these people, was a part of the war. And it wasn't a drive-by shooting that took her sister away, but a raid by the Templar Order. June's family had been apart of the Assassins, according to Maya, since the sixteen-hundreds, and had been involved with such major events like the War for Independence and the Civil War.

Maya was married to an Assassin hacker, and had a daughter named Evangeline hidden away somewhere.

She and Eric both were involved with this group and knew that Jack and June were involved in their own hidden conflict.

The last entry, written the day before "Sister" had disappeared, had June struggling to keep in the sob that had been bubbling up.

To Eric, Jack and Aunt June, if you are reading this, know that I love you with every fiber of my being. Know that I sacrificed my life to keep you safe. To keep the last remaining of our family alive to carry on the family torch and to tell our story.

June couldn't read the rest; the tears were blinding her. She wiped them away so the water wouldn't smudge the words. They didn't tell her, or Jack, about their involvement for the same reason that she didn't tell Maya and Eric about their involvement with the Autobots.

Well, at least in the beginning before Brother and Sister showed up at the base.

June glanced down at the post-script, her heart tightening still at the words.

May the eagle soar ever higher on wings of peace. Nothing is true; everything is permitted

Unable to take the increased heartache and grief, June threw the book across the room. It hit the wall, falling to the floor

That's where it stayed while June curled up in the corner, letting the world know her pain, grief and anguish.