Had really nasty writers block for 56, but finally managed to best it! Hope you all enjoy!
::Decepticons. This is your lord, Megatron! This is a message to all those who still stand under my brand… Stand down. I have come to the realisation that we cannot afford to lose anymore of our kind… the oppression we once fought to defeat has long since been purged from existence, our grudges and hatred have burned for too long. I have spoken with Prime. And we have agreed to a mutually beneficial end.::
::I understand this may come to you as a shock. For I have been out of commission for some time. But I have had time to step back, and see the truth of this war. We are not fighting for what we once did, we have been fighting only because we were too scared to stop, and face the wasteland we left behind. Well, I say, no more! The war is to end for you the moment this message reaches you! Prime is sending out similar to his own.::
::Put down your weapons soldier.::
::Cybertron is no more, but we have found a world that, for now, we can call home for our dwindled numbers.::
::Coordinates to this world are within the clauses of this message. Once you are within com-link distance, send a relay line, and we will provide you with landing coordinates and instructions.::
:The war is done, Cybertron will not reignite because we have offlined every Autobot, or they us.::
::Put down your weapons. Let your weary frames rest, we will get through this.::
::A final word. If I find out that you have continued to fight after this message, I will see to your punishment personally::
Somewhere out in Nevada nine months later
The midday sun was laying out it's brutal assault on the dry earth, the rare cactus and outcropping providing there rare piece of shade as two vehicles raced along the uneven ground at an almost breakneck speed.
Just as the sun hit it's Zenith, the two vehicles hit their brakes, coming to a somewhat forced stop as the dust clouds they had whipped up surrounded them for a few moments before settling.
Those two vehicles were Optimus and Prowl, the later of whom popped open his driver and passenger doors.
Annie slid out of the drivers seat while Rafeal hopped out of the passenger seat, still clutching his school bag as the ten year old looked up as both his Pa and Optimus transformed up to their full height.
Annie stepped around and put a hand on her son's shoulder, beaming up at her husband and Optimus. "So, middle of nowhere, just like Maria suggested." She remarked, glancing around at the truly barren expanse, not a soul for miles and miles lived here, no one had apparently even bothered to even attempt to settle the area.
Perfect for what would be happening soon.
Optimus nodded, pulling up the suggested coordinates to triple check once more that he'd stopped them in the right place. "Indeed, the Axiom should be breaking through the upper atmosphere soon…"
He pulled up his com's then and sent a message to Jazz. ::How is Ira handling things?:: He enquired.
::Well Prime, she just referred to something as a 'God forsaken half rotten reprobate son of a skinned rat' so Ah'm gonna guess that everything's going mostly alright. Hatchet is monitoring her vitals to make sure she don' overexert herself anymore than she already gotta.::
He nodded, not that Jazz would be able to see it. ::Thank you Jazz, make sure she's got a pot of coffee ready for when she's done.::
:Aye, aye Captain!::
Optimus mocked an optic roll, Maggie had gotten Jazz into watching Disney movies, Treasure Planet was his favourite.
Much like when he and his mechs had arrived on Earth, Ira was running a full bore offensive on the observational capabilities of a number of nations, including the one they were currently standing in, blacking out the mid day from their sensory arrays, even radar.
Optimus had to commend the femme, she'd be mentally and physically exhausted in the aftermath of doing this for them, and would likely sleep for the next week in that new bunker that was only finished being constructed a month ago.
The unmistakable sound of the sound barrier cracking high above had all the helms and heads present to snap up, the ship was coming in fast.
Suddenly Optimus felt his worries bloom.
Elita-1 was on that ship…
His spark was rattling around erratically at the thought.
He could only hope she would take what he needed to say to her well…
"Whoa…" Raf's awestruck voice brought him out of his worries, optics trailing down for a moment to take in Annie pulling herself and Raf behind Prowl's pede, a precaution.
Less than three minutes later the Axiom was leveling out, it's rear engines cutting as it's stabilising thrusters came online, leveling the large starship out before it's hydraulic based landing gear touched down on the uneven ground.
Optimus felt his spark catch for a few moments as he glanced up at the tinted windows of the ship, at the scorch marks made as the ship had breached the atmosphere.
It took less than a minute for the loading platform to start lowering, revealing a mass of different coloured pedes.
Prowl shifted next to him, the weariness in his optics telling.
The mech had insisted on coming along to act as the escort for the group, but it was quite obvious the amnesiac mech was still wary of these new commers.
The platform finished lowering, and the group of seven bots stepped off.
Of course, leading the group was Elita-1, she was smiling at him as she approached, but came up short when her attention shifted to Prowl.
The mech had returned to his Police car altmode, paint job included.
Prowl's doorwings drooped behind him, optics trained on the pink femme as she scruitinised him.
The mechs and one more femme flanking her seemed to equally pause.
Optimus stepped forwards, better to break the building tension first. "Elita-1, it is good to see you, and your crew healthy and hale."
Elita-1 looked to him as he spoke, optic ridges furrowing. "Optimus… as much as I am happy to see you… who is this mech?"
Prowl shrunk back a bit more.
Optimus smiled at her. "This Elita, is Prowl, we found him here on Earth."
Had there been a penny in the surrounding twenty miles from this spot, they might have heard it drop in the silence that followed.
The thing that broke the silence was a gasp of; "No… fragging way…"
Optimus glanced to the source, finding Sideswipe standing just behind Wheeljack, shoulder pauldron to shoulder pauldron with Sunstreaker.
Prowl gave an awkward chuckle and rubbed the back of his helm. "Yes way… sorry I don't know who any of you are…" He mumbled, shying back a bit from all the attention on him.
Elita-1's attention snapped back to Optimus. "He's alive?! He went missing during the… you know, the incident!" She hesitated for a moment before hissing out the last bit.
Optimus sighed and nodded. "We're well aware of that Elita, but Prowl has no way of telling us how he got here, his memory banks suffered a massive full system purge, he wasn't even aware what his species was until we located each other." He tried to explain, Prowl nodding along the whole way.
Optimus looked to Prowl and his small family. "Prowl, Annie, Rafeal, meet Elita-1, one of my top commanders, her second Arcee, chief scientist Wheeljack, frontliner twins Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, and finally Red Alert and Inferno, congratulations on your bonding by the way you two."
Red Alert and Inferno both bowed their helms to the Prime in thanks, but looks of confusion were going through the rest of the group.
Arcee spoke up. "Um… who's Annie and Raf?" She asked, looking around.
Raf stepped out from behind his dad's leg, followed swiftly by Annie, who was in her uniform. "That would be us, I'm Annie, and this is Raf." She introduced.
Sideswipe grinned and stepped forwards while his twin balked back.
Still not fond of Organics, Optimus considered.
The gold mech would have to get used to them now.
"Whoa, natives! They're so small!" Sideswipe remarked, getting too close too fast.
Prowl acted before he even had time to think, having the red mech by the throat and hoisted just off the ground as he snarled at the mech, fangs bared in a snarl. "Back. Off."
"Prowl…" Optimus warned, stepping in and prying the mechs grip loose and nudging Sideswipe back.
Prowl shook his helm, optics going wide as he processed what had just happened. "What I… Sir I don't know what just came over…"
"Praxian Sire coding ramps up in defensive aggression quickly." Prime explained for him quickly.
Wheeljack spoke up. "Sire coding? Prowl has a bitlet somewhere?"
Optimus smiled and gestured down to Raf. "Right here Wheeljack."
Raf looked up to Prowl, no fear in his gaze. "Hey dad, can you do the thing? My necks starting to hurt." The ten year old asked.
Prowl chuckled and nodded, bending down and offering his servo to both his wife and son. "Sure, hop on both of you."
They did so, and were soon deposited on his shoulder, Raf sitting in Annie's lap now able to look more directly at the new commers.
Expressions of dawning shock and surprise flitted across the group as they realised what that all meant.
Optimus could see the questions about to erupt out of them and raised his servo for quiet. "Prowl having a human mate and son is something that can be discussed at a later date." He sent a data packet to each member of the group. "Select an altmode from the ones provided in this data pack, the schematics have been acquired graciously by our hosts, and will be required for you to travel this world without raising the suspicions of the wider native population of Humans."
The group of seven seemed to accept the change of conversation.
The kibble of their frames shifted and warped as they selected their new ult modes, the group moving to looks themselves over.
Inferno spoke up. "Um sir… I don't see any emergency vehicles here…"
Red Alert nodded. "None in mine either."
Optimus nodded. "I apologise, but it would raise suspicion if such emergency vehicles of this continent, were seen in transit to the home continent, and vice versa."
Helms knocked to the side.
Elita spoke up. "Home continent? Optimus, what do you mean?"
Optimus took a moment to take in a vent before answering her. "The home continent, Europe, has a much higher population density of natives, and the landscape there is not best for landing a ship such as the Axiom without notice, so we had you land here in the North American Continent." He pulled up a map of the world on his holoprojector, highlighting each respective continent as he spoke.
Elita-1 looked worriedly at the massive body of water that was the Atlantic that separated the two, and the land mass to cross. "Optimus… you've had us land on practically the other side of this planet."
He nodded. "Yes, I am aware of that." He glanced to Annie. "The plan is to travel to the East Coast of this nation, there are two ships that will be waiting to take us to the home continent of Europe." He stated. "I figured you'd all appreciate a nice drive after being on the Axiom for so long."
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were nodding along.
Wheeljack spoke up again, his blue finals lighting up and flickering with his speech pattern. "Um Prime? Are we going to have to use these 'holoforms'?"
Optimus, Annie and Prowl all nodded.
The white, red and green mech nodded and transformed down into his new alt mode, revealing it to be a Lancia 037 rally car.
Raf made another sound of approval from his mothers lap, watching in awe as the rest of the small group followed suit.
Inferno became a Peterbuilt Wrecker, Red Alert a tow truck, Elita-1 a Porsche Targa 4S, the terror twins took the same alt mode a Lamborghini Gallardo, and finally Arcee took on the form of a Lotus Elise.
Optimus nodded at the amassed vehicles and looked to the Axiom. "Does it have cloaking features correct?" He enquired.
To answer him, the ship's hull shimmered for a few moments, before seemingly vanishing from the spot.
Raf and Annie both let out a sound of awe at that, noting that even the shadow of the ship wasn't on the ground.
Truly an impressive display.
Optimus nodded then. "Prowl will be leading the convoy back to the nearest road, those who wish to race ahead understand that there is a speed limit and Prowl will put a clamp on you if you exceed it."
Prowl nodded, pulling one such clamp from his subspace and waved it about.
The suspensions on the new race cars all slumped a bit in understanding.
Raf called out. "There's a place in Germany called the Autobahn, there's no speed limit there!"
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's engines turned over excitedly at that.
Optimus had a distinct feeling that once they were all settled in, the terror twins likely wouldn't be seen all too often.
Prowl set his wife and son back down, and following Optimus, transformed back down into his vehicle mode.
Prowl gunned his engine and raced ahead, thankful that his altmode had drastically above model shock absorbers installed for traversing such landscapes.
The newcomers fell in behind Optimus, Elita-1 pulling a close second to the large big rig, Inferno behind her followed by Red Alert, the terror twins, Arcee then Wheeljack.
It took half an hour of off road terrain before they hit an actual road, an empty stretch of dirt road that cut across the landscape.
Prowl turned harshly onto it, barely losing any speed before pushing on.
Optimus felt his rear tires skid for a few moments before they dug back in enough to propel him along the new angle.
Wheeljack ended up drifting a bit too far before he corrected himself at the end of the convoy.
The scientist would be fine, one more of the many reasons he'd agreed to setting the middle of the Nevada dessert to be the Axiom's landing spot, was this was as safe a place for them to test out their new alt modes as possible.
He'd rather not have to explain to a shaken Sunstreaker why a quadrupede just exploded across his windshield, as was the higher risk of hitting a deer or goat while traversing Europe's roads at night.
Better to get them used to the planet one bit at a time.
An hour later they hit actual tarmac, just outside a deserted town, on the way to the landing spot Prowl had made a comment about people moving to big cities and the elders staying until they all died out.
A blare of his horn got Sunstreaker back in line, he'd spotted the frontliner looking for a chance to test out his speed potential.
Another hour later and they were on a highway, the sun was still relatively high in the sky, but low enough that Prowl sent a com-link to him, asking him to let the rest of the convoy know they were going to be pulling off to stop at a diner.
He did as such, earning a few confused questions back from the rest of the group, he opted to simply reply curtly that it was easier to experience it, than to be told.
They pulled off at the next junction, Prowl leading the way into a McDonalds parking lot.
It took fifteen minutes for them all to find places to park, Optimus, Inferno and Red Alert having the comparatively easier tasks of being able to park in the truck only section instead of the regular parking spots that had Sunstreaker and Sideswipe alike complaining about how cramped they felt between inert vehicles.
It took less than two for there to be a crowd forming, a few of the other patrons of the McDonalds having come out and noticed the array of high end sports cars parked near to or next to their own.
There was even a couple camera flashes aimed around.
Optimus had to let himself chuckle at that as he had his holoform jump down from the drivers side door, re-adjusting the red and blue tartan patterned shirt he had on a bit as he watched Inferno, completely new to having a holoform, coaxing Red Alert's holoform out of the cab with a chaste kiss to the forehead.
Once Red Alert was down on the ground, they turned and nodded to the Prime, having the sense not to salute him in front of natives. "Sir, it's good to see you well, I hear from my creators that this world has kept you, and I am quoting my sire here 'slagging busy'."
Optimus chuckled at that, he'd realised a while ago his sense of humour was definitely on the mend since arriving on Earth. "Indeed Red, now come, Raf and Annie require food before we continue this journey, and I thought it a good idea for you all to get some of the basics down in a place where the… well humans are less likely to judge odd behaviour." He explained, leading the way towards where the rest of the holoforms were amassing around Prowl and his small family.
Evidently the new arrivals had realised that their holoforms meant they could get much more up close and personal with the long missing TIC and his family.
Prowl had already picked Raf up and was holding the now ten year old, Optimus took a moment to remember the sheer over the top extravagance Annie had let the Harpies create for his birthday a month ago.
Wheeljack was poking himself in the arm and muttering under his breath, likely marveling at the complexity of the holoforms accuracy to actual human form, while also representing their actual forms attributes.
No he didn't have flashing lights on the side of his head, but the salt and pepper hair was being held somewhat in place by a bright blue cap. He was also thankfully not wearing a lab coat, nor was any of his clothing on fire. Instead he looked rather generic, a t-shirt with the words E=MC2 over a picture of Albert Einstein, trousers with extra pockets for all the tools sticking out of them, miss matched socks, one neon green with pink polka dots, and the other purple and orange stripes.
Arcee and Elita-1 were talking to Annie, trying to get as much information out of the woman as possible, which she tried her best to explain as well as translate internally some of the Cybertronian jargon that was being thrown at her.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were posing for a group of ladies who were taking pictures of them next to their alt modes.
He was, so, so glad that Ira and Jazz were the ones they'd be going to once they got to Europe.
Prowl took that moment to wave for everyone to follow him inside, from there he gestured for Optimus to go find them a group of tables big enough for everyone to fit together with while he Annie and Raf went up to the counter to place orders for everyone.
Thankfully they'd arrived just as those humans who came out to see the amassed sports cars were leaving, meaning it was now just them, the staff, and a singular man on the other side of the restaurant who was eating heartily while having a news paper open next to him on the table.
Once everyone was seated, Optimus dropped his voice down to be a bit quieter and spoke. "Prowl is going to get some food for all of us, the holoforms are able to ingest them , I believe it wise to get into the habit of consuming human food, one of our hosts is an avid cook and personally I am already wishing I could of taken part in the dinner she made for this day… Ironhide sent me a picture." He pulled out the flip phone his holoform came with to show his com-link and showed them the picture of a massive beef brisket surrounded by crunchy roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, a modest pond worth of gravy and a mountain of assorted vegetables.
Sunstreaker grimaced and spoke up. "It looks… eugh…"
Optimus shrugged. "Don't look up Haggis then, I made the mistake of doing that after Derrick mentioned having to eat it when he and his sisters were growing up."
Apparently Red Alert did not take his warning to head, their cheeks ballooning out a bit as the holoform experienced the urge to retch.
Given no one else had that reaction after seeing Red Alerts, he could safely assume the rest followed his suggestion.
Inferno ended up patting his mate on the back.
Wheeljack spoke up this time. "So… we saw the message from Me-"
"From Megatronus yes, what he said in the message was the truth, I understand that that message likely came as quite a shock Jack."
Wheeljack blinked at him a couple times, as did the rest of the table until it seemed to click that there were code names involved.
Elita-1 spoke up next. "Optimus, could I… speak with you, in private?"
And suddenly he remembered why he was dreading today.
He tried his best not to show it as he answered. "Of course Elita, come, we can step back outside, everyone, behave." He sent a cursory look to all of them.
They all nodded and he and Elita-1's holoforms stepped back out, and then out towards his alt mode where they weren't likely to be overheard.
Elita-1 hip checked the side of his cabin and followed that by setting her shoulder against it, arms folded. "So… Are we calling it off?"
He felt the adams apple of his holoform jump as he swallowed. "I… um… well… yes. Yes I'd like to call it off… I'm sorry Elita, I tired to hold onto it, but as the time drew on… I did think less and less of you, and for that, I am deeply sorry…"
Elita-1 regarded him for a few long moments before giving him a tired but genuine smile. "It's okay, I never expected us to last forever Optimus. If anything I'm happy for you."
He paused before any reply could come tumbling out of him, taking a few moments to take in what she said before he tried to speak. "I… Why?"
She pushed off his actual form, stepped up to his holoform, and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him a bit down to hug him against her. "Because it means you're finally healing, and you're spark doesn't need me to distract you from the pain… You've been addressing it."
He wasn't going to lie, he was shocked, and remained so even as he wrapped her up in his own arms and gave her a squeezing hug back, only letting go when she pulled back to instead cup the sides of his face so they she could look into his eyes.
"I knew I wasn't seeing things, there's a spark in your optics… One I feared would never come back…" She smiled up at him, Optimus noted her holoform was about a head and a half shorter than him.
He let the stress that had been forming inside him at the prospect of reuniting with Elita fall away from him, and he returned the smile, leaning into the affection of her touch. "Thank you Elita… Thank you for understanding."
Her expression softened into a knowing one. "You were beating yourself up over this thinking I'd get upset?"
He was caught, she knew him so well after all the time they'd spent together, as friends, lovers, commander and general… "Yes… I was… I felt so guilty about it…"
She patted the sides of his face, taking a moment to marvel at the give and squish the holoform had. "Well, I'm not upset, I'm happy for you, the whole reason we started was so to help your spark move on by giving it something else to focus on, but… that wasn't really the healthiest option… but you weren't ready back then, you weren't ready to accept they were gone."
He slowly nodded. "Yes… but… since coming to Earth, I've been somewhat forced to address these issues…"
Elita's expression became one of concern. "Wait… forced? Optimus what do you-" She was interrupted by an orchestral piece suddenly playing from the back pocket of his jeans, causing both of them to jump for a moment before Optimus pulled out the flip phone his holoform came with, flipping it open he checked the called - ID and smiled.
"One second Elita, I need to take this."
She nodded and watched as he pressed the green call button and put it up to his ear. "You're supposed to be asleep." He said.
::Hush, you know I'm a night owl.:: Wren's voice answered, though the yawn that followed said otherwise to her statement.
He chuckled with a shake of his head. "I'm assuming you wanted to check in before you turned in properly for the night?"
::Pretty much yeah. How did the arrival go?::
"Everyone arrived safely, I have Elita here with me if you'd like to say hello?"
::Hmm, sure, put her on.::
He nodded and offered the flip phone to Elita, who after a moment of looking it over, accepted the device and mimicked him, holding it up to her ear. "Hello?" She asked, curious to hear who this individual was, she had the guess it was one of the hosts.
::Hello Elita-1, my name is Wren Orichiono, it's a pleasure to put a voice to the name, Optimus has spoken highly of you on occasion.:: The black themed twin introduced, her tired voice more heavily accented than usual.
Elita-1 jumped a bit before replying. "Ok um, thank you. Am I correct in assuming you are one of the hosts that are giving us safe haven on your world?"
::I wouldn't put it in such grandiose terms, but yes, the Orichiono Manor is one of four havens. The manor currently hosts Optimus, Ironhide, Megatronus, myself, my twin sister Aria, and our younger half brother Derrick, oh and on the occasion when they visit we also host Prowl and his family.::
Elita-1 paused when one name in particular was mentioned. "Wait… Megatron… is living with you and Optimus?!"
::Ah, you haven't been filled in on the events that led to that yet, Optimus is a far better orator than myself, I suggest you ask him about it… Could you put Optimus back on? There's something I still need to discuss with him."
She gave a nod, not that Wren could see, and passed the flip phone back.
Optimus gave her a small nod of thanks along with a timid smile, before putting his attention back on the phone.
Elita-1 didn't miss the fact his smile grew when he started to speak again. "I'm back Wren, I'm assuming there's something else you need to discuss with me?"
Elita-1 wasn't privy to the discussion, but the smile that had formed on his features quickly fell back away into a concerned frown. "Ah, I see, transfer the data file to me and I'll see what I can do to help…. No no, don't apologise, you're tired, don't be mad at yourself for feeling like you're missing something… Oh hello Aria, we woke you up I'm guessing? … Yes, yes, I know it's hard for you to sleep when it's just the two of you, but please try, I'd rather you two maintain your sleep schedule over trying to chat with me as much as I appreciate company, yes, okay, I'm going to end the call now, goodnight both of you." He ended the call and looked to Elita-1 with a small smile. "Wren was having trouble with a document, but she was too tired to actually find what was bugging her."
"Hmm, alright… how about we head back inside? I feel good having cleared this all up." Elita-1 suggested, gesturing her holoforms head towards the McDonalds diner.
He nodded, and made a hand gesture for her to lead the way back as he put the flip phone back in his rear pocket.
They'd barely reached where Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were parked when they realised something was up.
Shouting could be heard from inside.
They exchanged a quick worried look before both broke into a quick jog to get to the automatic doors faster.
It was the trucker, now with a rather nasty black eye, Prowl was standing behind him hand cuffing the man while Annie stood between them and the amassed holoforms.
Red Alert was hiding behind Inferno, a nasty red mark on his cheek that looked like a hand print.
Inferno had a hand keeping Red Alert behind him, and the other still balled up in a fist an expression of murderous intent still on his features.
Raf was with Sideswipe, who was holding the boy in a hug.
"-If you resist arrest further that will be added to your charges, do you understand."
The trucker scowled. "Like hell! Why are you arresting me when it's those fa- OW! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Prowl had clamped the cuffs down tighter, an unpleasant expression on his features a he cut the man off.
"Insulting an officer of the law, add that to his charges partner." Prowl stated.
Annie nodded, a flip book open and already scribbling that down with her pen.
Prowl seemed to decide to take the trucker out now, hauling him out backwards before coming to a stop right before Optimus and Elita. "Sorry Optimus, I'm going to have to take him to the nearest station, it's about a mile away, can you take Annie and Raf with you? I'll meet back up with you at the next stop. Processing will take a few hours."
Optimus just nodded and stepped out of the way. "Of course Prowl, take care."
The Police deputy nodded and kept on going, the trucker still grumbling and complaining about how tight the cuffs were as Prowl led him to his alt mode and got the back door open.
Optimus turned his attention back to the amassed group. "What happened?"
Red Alert ducked further behind Inferno as they answered. "I'm sorry sir… I just wanted to kiss Inferno and that one just… stormed over and slapped me! Inferno punched him and everyone just started shouting until Prowl intervened." The shaken medic tried to explain.
Inferno seemed to finally calm down as Red Alert spoke, turning around to pull Red Alert into a tight and comforting hug.
Optimus nodded and glanced to Elita, who's expression was one of worry, but then he put his attention back on the couple. "I'm sorry, some people are not as accepting as others to the idea of individuals who they assume are off the same gender… being intimate, Derrick has tried to explain it to me but honestly once we arrive home, this won't be an issue in the same way it was here."
Everyone present seemed to accept that, Annie piping up as she took Raf back from Sideswipe. "I can probably help clear up any questions you have." She glanced to the staff who seemed to have gone back to their jobs once the trucker was hauled out by her husband.
That earned a round of nods from the amassed holoforms, causing Annie to smile. "Alright, let's get back to digging in before this all gets cold now shall we?" She suggested, pointing to the impressive pile of barely touched food on the table.
Optimus quickly gravitated back to his own seat, grabbing up the burger wrapper closest and unwrapping it, triple stacked beef burger with extra bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato… it was a high stacked feast that had his holoforms mouth salivating.
The others not counting Annie and Raf were now all watching with rapt attention as he opened his mouth as wide as it could go and took a bite out of it, letting out a small delighted groan.
It wasn't Aria's cooking, but he could certainly see why this type of food was so addictive.
The amassed holoforms seemed to follow his lead.
Soon enough though, it was quite obvious they'd been won over, even Sunstreaker was sampling one of the boxes of fries while Sideswipe made a mess of his face with the burger he was trying to eat.
He took a moment away from his meal to take in the scene in front of him.
Annie and Raf were already deep in discussion with Elita-1 and Wheeljack respectively, Red Alert had moved to sit sideways in Inferno's lap, nibbling away at a small pile of chicken nuggets, Inferno wasn't eating, his attention on Prowl's form, glaring daggers into the back tinted window where the trucker's silhouette could be just about made out as the Deputy pulled out of the car park.
Arcee was also observing the amased group, her holoforms hair he noted, while strawberry blonde, had pink accented tips to it, it suited her he thought.
He was about to get back to his burger when Sideswipe reached over and tapped his shoulder, getting his attention.
He looked over to the red twin and nodded in assent that he could ask him the question he seemed to have.
"So Sir… care to tell us how you managed to knock some sense into Megatron?" Sideswipe asked, glancing to everyone else who were suddenly not eating and focused on him solely.
Arcee nodded. "We're all rather curious to say the least, after eons of fighting… what changed?"
He set down his burger with a small chuckle. "Well, I can say for starters, I had little to no impact in changing Megatronus' back to the mech some of us remember… The change came alongside a number of startling revelations…" He looked to Elita-1, Wheeljack and Red Alert in particular as he said that, he'd have to tell them at a later date when they're more settled into Earth. "Those revelations came about as a result of our hosts actually… Hmm… how do I even start this…"
Inferno spoke up. "Maybe from the beginning?"
Optimus nodded, then paused. "Hmm… but there's more than one beginning… should I start with the hosts… or with mine and my unit arriving on Earth…"
Sunstreaker answered. "Start with your arrival."
He nodded, and began the rather convoluted tale, keeping an eye on the staff to make sure they weren't listening in.
Turns out Prowl didn't have to catch up with them, even once he had returned from the nearest precinct, Optimus' was still going, allowing the Deputy to sit with his family and listen along to the tale, interjecting a few times with his own notes on events.
By the time they hit the road once more, questions and talk flowed freely across a mass com-link, and Optimus honestly couldn't be happier, something that those around him certainly noticed and replicated.
The new arrivals have made it! This could only go well... right?
I jest, until next time!
Moon
