When Miko awoke several hours later, she felt stiff and sore; Orion's seats were not as comfortable as Bulkhead's. Sitting up she stretched, yawning widely and blinking in the bloodied sunrise. Shaking her head, clearing the cobwebs of sleep from her, she patted Orion's steering wheel, savoring the warmth of the smooth leather; he had heated his seats for her she realized, so that she would be more comfortable, and so that the chill of the night wouldn't have bothered her. Such quiet consideration that was so Optimus like bolstered her spirits.
"Morning, Orion!" She chirped, "Rise and shine!"
There was gentle amusement in his voice, "Good morning, Miko…how are you feeling? I hope that you rested well?"
"Yup, yup…thanks for the heated seats by the way." Her voice was light, but her body was tense as she peered out of his windows, looking for whom she feared most: Megatron. But, as she squinted in the light of the red dawn, she didn't find the Decepticon Lord looming, couldn't see him at all in fact, not a whisper or trace of him anywhere. Gathering the shreds of her courage around her, Miko reached for his door, popping it open with a soft click.
"Where are we?" She looked out towards the horizon as a wall of desert heat hit her, dry rocks and bits of hardened earth crunching beneath her tennis shoes as she walked into the hot air. She didn't recognize her surroundings, not one mesa, or rolling hill; she was surprised, hadn't expected Orion to drive so far in just one night. She heard the melodic click and clank as he transformed, felt his shadow drape over her, cooling the air around her pleasantly.
"So, where's your buddy 'Con?" She asked as she turned to face him, "He off to find us breakfast—" A gasp devoured the rest of her sentence, and blindly Miko stumbled backward, away from the being who moved to kneel before her. His open expression of greeting sank into one of concern at her sudden efforts to distance herself from him. Fearful he reached an arm out to her, an arm that was so dark, too dark.
"No, no, no, no…" She moaned, shaking her head, refusing to accept the sight before her. She pointed an accusing finger at him, "What did he do to you?!"
"Miko," There was pain, hurt within his tone, "Miko, please…what is the matter? Speak to me, what is wrong?"
"You!" She spat. Where was the power of that deep red, of the solidity of the blues that normally tinted his frame? Gone, all gone, smothered beneath a monstrosity of darker shades; black had devoured all that was once red, purples tainting what was once blue. It made the Decepticon symbol upon his shoulder all the more vivid.
"That monster!" She deliriously babbled on, "Look what he did to you! What he's made you become!" Tears burned her eyes, "Oh no…please, please, please no…"
He didn't understand her reaction, how she could look upon him now with such rejection in her eyes. Tenderly he leaned forward, reaching with his fingertips toward her. Miko timidly stepped forward, moving to wrap her arms around his wrist, closing her eyes to block out the sight of a panel as black as night at its deepest hour, a panel that should have been red. She rested her enflamed check against that cool metal, metal that had yet to grow warm with the rising sun.
"Orion, please…please…"
His spark contracted with pain at the note of begging in her voice, he wanted to help her, to ease her suffering; her emotions berated him, buffeting him in a tempest he neither anticipated nor knew how to counter.
"Miko…" He scooped her up in his palms, held her close to his spark wanting so very much to soothe her, to comfort her when she was so obviously distressed, "Tell me, what is it? What can I do?"
"Go back…change back…" Through streams of silver tears she returned his gaze, "These colors…it's all wrong, it isn't you…it isn't who you're supposed to be…"
There it was again; that expectation, that unshakable certainty that he was someone else, that he was more than what he was.
"Miko, I am not your Prime." His voice was deep, bone rattling and under its sudden bruising force, she hunched her shoulders, cowering away from the hardness in his tone, "This is who I am."
Her gaze fell away from his then, as she sniffled, feeling so empty, so weary.
"You must believe me when I say that I am sorry that you lost your Prime, but you must understand, you must accept that I am not him…that is not my path, nor is it one that I would ever willingly or lightly choose."
She remained still, kneeling quietly in his hand, till at last, as the minutes began to lengthen she inched forward, leaning to stroke the glossy paint of his wrist with her palm. Onyx black, glassy, silky smooth and yet cold, so cold; in the light of the rising sun it grew first dull, then rosy in the pink light of the dawn. She wanted to pound her fist against that panel, hit it, rail against it, will it to lighten, to match the reflection of the morning glow, to move it from black to red.
"Orion…is this really who you are?" Her voice was small, timid, "Is this who you want to be? Or is this who Megatron would have you be?"
"Miko—"
"—Because if this is who you really are, who you're meant to be, who you want to be…then…I'll have to accept it." She shook her head, the pink tips of her twin pony tails bobbing solemnly, "But…but I don't think it is…"
Carefully he watched her, watched her as she watched him, "Because I look at you…I look into your eyes…and I see someone who is too gentle to be a Decepticon…" I look into those eyes and see a Prime, her thoughts whispered, but did not dare speak aloud, "I see someone who doesn't match such dark colors…"
"It is just paint…nothing more, Miko."
"Yeah, I know…" But it felt so wrong. It took her aback at how much she was unnerved with the color change, of how much it bothered her. She sniffled again, not wanting to accept or face the fact that Optimus might truly be lost to them and that Megatron might have finally won. She didn't know what to say, what to do, could only sit mute, drumming her fingertips against his black and purple trimmed forearm. Jack would know what to say, what to do, the thought popped into her head unbidden. But Jack wasn't here…was out of reach…
Miko perked up as she remembered the obvious, remembered her cell phone. Maybe Jack wasn't so far away after all. But what could she say? Hey Jack, sorry I ran off with Orion, sorry I helped him trash the base and escape…oh and by the way he's black and purple now…yeah, that wasn't a conversation that even she wanted to have. She didn't have tact, didn't have a knack for words like Jack did.
…But she did have a camera, could take pictures…where words failed her, perhaps an image wouldn't.
Latching on to an idea, to a spark of hope that help may not be far away, Miko changed tactics. She had to let Orion know that she still trusted him, still wanted to be there, after all she couldn't leave him now, not when he would be at Megatron's mercy. She would have to stick with him, to serve as his last remaining connection to the Autobots, to who he was supposed to be.
"So…"She tried for an even, calm tone, "Where is Megatron?"
She didn't like the distance in his optics, didn't like the stiffness in his reply, "Megatronus offered to scout ahead. Since his alternate mode allows him to fly above human detection, we both thought such would be the best course of action…"
"If King 'Con is scouting, what are we supposed to do?"
"There is a human settlement not far from us," He did not look at her, but rather outwards, towards the horizon, "I am going to return you there…you will be safer among your own kind."
"Like slag you are!" Miko jumped to her feet, "I'm not leaving you!"
"Miko, you will be safer—"
"No—"
"—This is for the best—"
"—Is that what he told you, or what you thought up all by yourself!"
"Enough!"
"NO!"
In that moment it didn't matter to her if it was Optimus Prime, or this black and purple Orion or not. Either way, Miko would not stand for this, "You trusted me before, trust me now. Let me stay…I can help you." She was tired of being overlooked, of being dismissed, "You need me…you just don't know it yet."
His reply was long in coming, "Miko…I have no means of caring for you out here…it will be harder to protect you…" She heard it then, heard it in the reluctance of his answer: he wanted her to remain, he still trusted her, but he was afraid for her, afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep her safe from harm.
"Don't worry, I got that handled. I can call up some friends—some human friends—"She was quick to clarify when a look of suspicion had crept into his expression, "and they can bring me food and water and stuff." When he did not speak, she pressed him further, "What town is that ahead?"
"Megatronus, informed me that it is called, Jasper."
"Really?" Relief flushed through her, help wouldn't be so hard to come by after all, wasn't worlds away, "Ok, lets get to it then, I'll text my friends and we can swing by and pick up supplies for me…and then, then we'll go search for Arcee."
"Miko, this is not a wise course of action—"
"Yeah, maybe not, but Arcee is my friend too, and I want to do whatever I can to help her." Miko felt a small bubble of pride swell within her because she knew it was logic that he couldn't refuse, that he would have to respect such reasoning. Optimus or Orion, she knew that her sentiment would appeal to his unshakable sense of honor, of respect and just as she had hoped, he yielded.
"I understand now your determination…it was foolish of me to not realize that you must care for Arcee greatly, that she is your friend as well." Carefully he placed her on the ground, stepping back so as to allow himself the room to transform. Just before he did so, when his attention was clearly elsewhere, Miko whipped out her phone, taking a clean and quick picture. It wasn't her best work, but it would serve its purpose well. Centered precisely within the small screen, was Orion. The sun, having risen properly, was bright, revealing as it was reflected, mirror-like, from a frame that was shaded in black and purple paint. It was Orion the Decepticon, more than this, it was a fallen Optimus, an Optimus turned away from the Autobots.
Yes, this image would be enough, would speak volumes of what she wanted Jack to see, to understand: they were losing Optimus. And if they wanted to salvage any hope of bringing him back they would have to act sooner rather than later, because their time was running thin.
Orion had completed his transition by the time Miko had saved the photo, and opened his driver side door to her. "Come, Miko." His deep voice issued forth from the cab, "You can contact your friends on the way." The black semi-truck loomed impossibly over her, casting more than just a shadow over her face, but over her heart as she approached. Settling herself in his seat as he shut the door with a gentle click, she closed her eyes unable to cope with dichotomy of what was and was not Optimus.
His engine growled to life, reassuring in its vibrations as he turned towards Jasper. In a very un-Optimus like manner, Orion was conversational, asking her questions about what she knew about the town ahead, about her home, where she was from, who sparked her, clearly wanting to get to know her, to understand who she was as an individual. Miko, to her credit, answered fairly well as she drew out her phone, her attention divided between Orion's questions and what she had to do. Intending to text Jack she certainly wasn't prepared for the stacked messages that had amassed over the last few hours: Jack, Bulkhead, Raf, even Ratchet, all demanding answers, to know where she was, what she was doing. All wavered between asking if she was safe, if she was all right and chastising her for her rash actions of the previous night. Ignoring Ratchet and Raf, and unable to handle Bulkhead's messages at the moment, she flipped to Jack's texts.
'C'mon Miko! Where r u!?'
She felt she had to preface the picture somehow, like she couldn't just sent it to him without some sort of warning. So instead of sending the image immediately she answered simply, 'I'm ok & safe as I can b' Scarcely had she hit send before her phone jumped to life with a response.
'MIKO! WHERE R U?'
'U gotta listen 2 me, stuff has changed'
'Ratchet is tracking your cell phone signal, Bulk, Ratch and Bee r on the way'
'NO!'
'What do u mean?! We're coming 2 rescue u.'
'No! U can't! Things r more complicated'
'No time for this, don't argue'
Tired of not being heard, Miko clicked over to the photo of Orion and hit send without remorse. This time it was many long minutes before Jack replied.
'Primus no…'
'Yeah, shut up & listen 2 me now. Tell the bots 2 stick it in park.'
Another handful of silent minutes elapsed before her phone hummed with a new message. Miko assumed it was because he had done precisely what she asked, and had told the bots to stay put.
'Tell us wat u need, wats ur plan?'
For once, now she was in the driver's seat.
'I have an idea…"
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A/N: Just wanted to take a brief moment to pause and to say thank you to all of our readers. It is for you, dear readers, that we enjoy writing so much. So thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your encouragement and for all of your wonderful reviews which inspire us to keep this story going. You're all so amazing!
~~~Epsilon Pax & Bumbee