Note for all you readers, this chapter is going to be heart-jerking. Takes place during Aria's ninteenth birthday. (She was a few months after her eighteenth birthday when she met the Autobots.)
Aria stepped through the Groundbridge, looking around at the small alley that Ratchet had bridged her to. She opened her phone and pressed a button, connecting her to the base. "I made it," she reported.
*Just make sure you stay safe, kid,* said Agent Fowler on the other end, *I don't think that M.E.C.H. is watching the cemetery, but be careful.*
"Can do," she said, "Over and out." She hung up and walked out of the alley, headed down the street.
She had come home to Richmond, Virginia. The place where her parents were buried.
About an hour later, she found herself entering the Richmond Cemetery. She glanced around, but didn't see anyone, even with her powers. She gave a small sigh and pulled up her hood, leaving the cloth-mask down.
It had only been a few weeks since she had returned from her adventure on Griffin Rock. Once she had gotten back, she realized that her nineteenth birthday would be coming up. Seeing her step-cousins had made her want to visit her parents graves. After some argument with Agent Fowler (and with Optimus Prime) the two of them finally relented.
So here she was, walking around a cemetery that was pretty much empty except for a few people in the distance. The Allspark was strangely quiet as well, although she suspected the guys were being respectful and giving her some privacy.
Finally, she found herself looking down at a pair of graves inscribed together; Tomas Leira and Abigail Leira. A loving Mother and Father. May they live on forever in our hearts.
She stood there for several seconds, staring down at the two graves. Her powers searched around the gravestone, searching for any hidden devices. When she didn't detect any, she gave a small frustrated sigh. Boy was she paranoid!
She suddenly found herself speaking to two people that couldn't hear her.
"Hey mom. Hi dad. Sorry I haven't been here to visit you. I've been busy, being on the run and all. I really wanted to visit, but Agent Fowler wouldn't let me. I had to plead my heart out to come here.
"Nothing much has been happening. Well, if you look at the six years ever since I changed my name. Besides getting powers and meeting dead alien robots, things have been pretty boring. The guys in the Allspark are pretty cool if you don't include the crazy training sessions and classes." She gave a dry chuckle. "The places I've been to have been pretty boring as well. There were two people in Chicago that I got along with- Issac and Reyna Daily. They were pretty fun to be with."
She gave a sad smile as she thought of her two Chicago friends. It had been two years since she had seen them. She had to wonder how they were doing.
Pushing those thoughts to the back-burner, she continued. "Then we get to the past year. Met the living version of the alien robots. Huge planetary war that caused the Autobots and Decepticons to leave Cybertron and come to earth. Met them after Jack decided to climb on Arcee and she jumped into the gully where Raf and I were. Miko just decided to peek around the corner of the alley the next day according to Jack." She chuckled, thinking about the spunky asian teen. As far as she knew, Miko and the others were prepping a birthday party for her.
"Been having a lot of adventures lately. Mostly helping the bots fit in and hide in humanity. Found MECH again. Really shocked me. But eh, the whole thing with MECH popping up again had to happen again sometime.
"I've been partnered up with Optimus Prime. He's the leader of the Autobots, and the last Prime. I sorta think he cares about me a bit. And to be honest, I really care about him too. I never really got to know you dad. But if I did, I'd say you'd probably be acting a lot like Optimus. His holoform even looks like you. The guys in the Allspark kinda agree too. But it would probably be a bit weird to call him 'dad'. Then again... it would be nice to call someone that too, even if it's a giant robot from outer space."
She stood there in silence for a few seconds, then said what she had been thinking about since Jack's mom had been kidnapped by MECH. "Mom, Dad, I know I'm going to be in front of Silas one day. I'm going to fight him. I know it's a one-in-a-million chance that it could happen, but if I do manage to knock him down and he's in a position for me to... end him? What do I do? Do I kill him? Make him pay for killing you and ruining my 'normal' life? ...Ah, what the heck, I was probably gonna become an 'Allspark Child' even if Silas didn't attack us. Huh, 'Allspark Child'. Where did that come from? Kinda catchy though."
Aria gave another sad sigh and said, "I really miss you. I wish I could spend some more time here, but I think I had better get back before someone who isn't on my side decides to show up and attack me. Besides, Optimus and the rest of the team are probably going to get worried about me if I don't report in soon." She kneeled down, pulling a waterproof paper rose out of her pocket. She placed it on top of the grave and stood up, standing in silence for a few brief moments. Then with a sad smile, she left the cemetery.
Sorry this chapter was short, but the next ones will be longer, I promise. See you all next time!