Author's Note
Sorry it's so late in the day. Life has gotten chaotic again, but I still managed to get this up on the promised day. Even if there aren't that many hours in this day left. Hopefully that won't matter soon, because I'm almost done writing this fic. I'm so close to the ending I can taste it. After that, and some final editing, I'll update more frequently until completion. Then I will take a break in order to work on some other stuff I've been wanting to do and to get my plot outlined for the next Move Along fic.
Anyway, this chapter! I took some liberties with it when it comes to the Age of Extinction and Last Knight movies. In the movies, Optimus and the Autobots seemed to know who the knights were. Which, honestly, makes no sense to me when it comes to Cybertronian history and how much they actually know of it. In the Rise of the Fallen movie, the Autobots had no idea about the Fallen and the original Primes (which I changed in my Move Along fic because the Primes are part of their creation story and I would think they would know that). For them to know about the Knights but not the Fallen and the Primes...it makes no sense! The knights were around during the time of the dinosaurs, while the Fallen and the Primes weren't downed until Egypt was in its glory days with the pyramids. Considering their lifespans, to know something far older but not know the younger just doesn't seem logical to me. So I changed things.
Which allows me to be all mysterious with how Last Knight will tie in. :)
Hopefully you guys like the changes I make. Which really feel like fixes to me. The Transformer movies are not big on consistency and looking at the bigger picture. Just look at the Bumblebee movie coming out this year. In the Last Knight, they showed an adult Bumblebee fighting in WWII. In the new movie, Bumblebee looks like he's in his teenage years and it's, what, the eighties?
Anyway, I'm ranting.
How about you just go onward and enjoy?
Facing the Truth
They catch up to the ship just as it finds an area clear enough to land, over near Lake Michigan. A helicopter flies into the ship's hanger—human, not Cybertronian—making Ari's eyes narrow.
Who is Lockdown meeting? And what for? It couldn't be just for a simple talk. They wouldn't need to meet in person for that. That leaves a hand-off.
But who is giving who what? And how bad is this going to be for the rest of them?
Whatever it is, it doesn't take long. The helicopter takes off just a few minutes later, the ship's engines powering up again just as the Autobots screech to a stop next to it.
Ari and the others exit the alt modes, the Autobots transforming around them. Sirens and screams fill the air, but all Ari cares about is the roar of those engines. They have precious little time.
They scramble aboard as it begins to rise in the air, heading towards the top of the ship. They find a gab in the hull big enough for the Autobots to fit through, scrambling down the slope of some sort of pillar into the belly of the ship.
This ship is not designed for human passengers. Or passengers who need any kind of life support at all. Gaps all over the place let in light from the setting sun, casting shadows every which way along all the dark metal.
"What's that noise?" Clint asks warily. Growls and howls belonging to strange creatures Ari can't even imagine bounce off the walls of the cavernous space, making Clint clutch his rifle tightly. He must be missing his usual gear, especially his bow.
Though, would a bow really help right now? Who knows what they're going to find in here.
"Let's just focus on finding Lina and Optimus," Ari hedges, raising a finger to her ear comm. "Tony, Sam, Thor? Any luck?"
::This place is massive,:: Sam replies. ::Seriously, it's like a small city in here.::
::Yeah, this isn't going to be fast,:: Stark adds, frustration coloring his voice. ::What is this place though? There are these…things, in cages. Really, really weird things that I don't really want to know the names of.::
"I don't think this used to be a prison," Ratchet murmurs thoughtfully, looking up and down the corridor. There are slots in some of the walls obstructed by bars that could definitely be prison cells. "It does look like it was retrofitted to be, but this place is old. Very old."
"Older than you?" Ari asks curiously. Besides Jetfire and maybe Wheeljack, Ratchet is the oldest bot she knows.
He nods. "I have no memory of a ship like this ever being built. It must be long before our time."
"That's fascinating and all," Sunstreaker growls, "but let's save the mystery for later."
::We shall split up,:: Thor offers, ::and let you know if we find either of them.::
"Alright," Ari sighs, looking up and down the corridor. Where do they even start? "We'll do the same. Look out for any traps."
::Come on, squirt,:: Stark says, full of smug confidence. ::You know me.::
"Exactly. That's why I worry."
A strange whirling builds in the air before he can reply, one that makes Ari's stomach twist.
"Okay, now what is that?" Clint says again.
"That would be the dark matter drive," Ironhide answers, arm transforming into a blaster. "The ship is preparing to warp into space."
Well, that's not good. Ari taps her fingers against her thigh, thinking quickly. "Right. New plan. Tony, I want you to meet up with Ironhide, John, Evie, and Natasha. Find a way to sabotage the dark matter drive. Do not let us leave Earth."
::You mean I get to explode something on purpose?::
Natasha rolls her eyes. "Not if we don't have to. We are still on this ship. Save the destruction until we leave."
Ironhide shrugs his shoulders, leading John, Evie, and Natasha down the corridor in the direction of the whirling. "Sabotage without blowing up. Can't be that hard."
"At least Wheeljack isn't here," Evie says helpfully. "It'd be impossible for him."
"Ratchet," Ari says next. "I want you to take Will, Rob, Bruce, Steve, and Bucky, meet up with Thor, and try to find Optimus. He's got to be in one of these cells somewhere, possibly hurt."
Rob snorts with a twisted grimace. "He's probably in whatever this place calls maximum security."
"That's why you get all the brawn. Bust down doors if you have to, but still try to stay out of sight. I'd rather get off this ship without Lockdown ever finding out we were here."
"That would be nice," Bruce sighs. "I'd rather not Hulk out, if you don't mind."
Bucky claps him on the shoulder. "We'll try not to let it come to that, doc. Come on. Let's get going."
After they walk off in the opposite direction of the others, Ari turns to the rest of the group, consisting of Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Clint, and Loki. "And the rest of us get to go after Lina. Hopefully Lockdown didn't notice she got taken along for the ride and is roaming around somewhere."
They wonder around the different cells, peeking inside every so often just in case Lina was discovered when she got aboard. All the prisoners are aliens, several different species from all over the galaxy, according to the AllSpark.
Why would Lockdown be collecting all of these aliens? Is he some kind of collector? Although, he did say that the "creators" wanted their creations back.
If that was the case, then why did he leave Earth before taking all the Decepticons as well? That would have been nice.
A heavy thump echoes from somewhere, the ship coming to a jerking halt.
"Tony?" Ari says with a warning edge.
::I didn't blow anything up, I swear,:: he answers hastily. ::Although I may have, possibly, pulled something out at random.::
::He caused the ship to deploy its anchors,:: Ironhide clarifies. ::It's now moored to a skyscraper. We won't be going anywhere until they can get them detached.::
"That's nice," Loki drawls, "but it'll draw attention."
"So much for staying low," Ari mutters, picking up the pace through this labyrinth. "Ironhide, I want you guys to meet up with the others and help find Optimus. We need to hurry."
But Loki's right. They don't make it very far before voices drift down the hallway towards them, followed by growling.
"Other way, other way!" Ari hisses, pushing Clint and Loki down a different corridor. They move silently, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker right behind them covering the rear. They stop in the shadows when the voices get right on top of them and they hold their breaths.
"Alright," Sideswipe says after a moment, shoulders slumping in relief, "they're moving on."
"What is this?" Loki asks, voice tinged with a strange awe as he continues further down the hallway.
It empties into a crossroads, several different hallways converging on this one area laid out in a circle. In the center is a pedestal, filled with swords. Large swords, reminding Ari of the one Optimus uses.
Around the outside, in between the branching corridors, stands six Cybertronians. No, she realizes upon closer inspection. Not actual Cybertronians. More like statues. Metal statues of Cybertronians that are long since dead, each holding a sword of their own.
Like knights, guarding the round table.
She turns back to the pedestal, oddly drawn towards it, and hops on top. It's ringed with swords—each plunged into the metal base like Excalibur embedded into the stone—with a larger sword standing in the middle slightly slanted.
Something tells her to reach out to it, some voice calling from a distant memory. A memory she didn't know she had. It somehow sounds like her great grandfather, even though she never met the great Archibald Witwicky. But the same familial attachment, the same familiarity, beats in her chest with the instinct to trust it.
Sideswipe steps towards her cautiously. "Are you sure you should be doing-"
Ari touches the sword, shoving it to stand completely straight with a large clunk as something is set into motion.
"…that."
The walls behind the statues begin to fold away, the statues themselves folding down as well, to reveal dozens of weapons on display.
Swords. Swords that have not been wielded by Cybertronian hands in a long time. She doesn't know how she knows that, she just does.
"It's some sort of weapon's vault," Clint mutters, inspecting the different blades with an appreciative eye.
"But for who?" Loki asks. "Lockdown obviously does not use this space. Who did all this belong to before him?"
"How did you know to do that?" Sideswipe asks, looking at Ari with a mixture of curiosity and worry. It's a common expression whenever the AllSpark gets her to do stuff.
The thing is, it wasn't the AllSpark this time.
"I…I don't know," she stammers, staring down at her hands as if they aren't her own. That...that instinct to touch the sword, it didn't come from one of the doors. It felt like it came from inside herself. Inside her own mind. A memory buried deep down in a place long forgotten.
But she's never seen a sword like that, has never known anyone who would have known what to do. So who was that voice? Where did that memory come from?
How did she know what to do?
Voices echo down one of the corridors again, real ones this time, steadily getting closer.
"We'll worry about that later," Ari deflects, stalking over to one of the racks of weapons and pointing at a sword near the middle above her head. "Sides, grab me that. It may come in handy."
Sideswipe plucks the sword off the wall, about the size of a knife in his hands but the perfect sword size for Ari. She grips the hilt tightly with both hands, the weight and length of the blade similar to a broadsword.
She grins. Yeah. She can do some damage with this.
Clint's hands clutch at his rifle tightly, spasming, just itching for his usual bow and quiver. She tilts her head up towards the remaining weapons. "You guys want one?"
Clint snorts. "Just because my bow is considered medieval, that doesn't mean I want to swing a sword around. You should grab one for Thor though. He might get a kick out of it."
"I do not think so," Loki chuckles. With a flick of his wrists, he materializes a knife in each hand with his magic, smirking confidently. "He is rather fond of his hammer."
Something mechanical whirls down a hallway and they scramble to find cover, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker tucking themselves into the shadows of a different corridor. Ari presses herself against the wall, arms shaking from the effort of holding the sword up, waiting.
Her arms falter, falling slightly, and she grits her teeth.
Okay, this thing isn't as easy to use as she thought it'd be.
That same feeling from before overtakes her, a half-forgotten memory telling her what to do. She moves the sword around in her arms—the blade goes in her left hand, hilt of the sword up against her shoulder, one cross-guard held in her right hand with the other sticking straight up. Her fingers feel for something in the cross-guard, like muscle memory, not even jumping when the sword suddenly transforms with the blade splitting down the middle.
Into a gun.
"What the frag?" Clint breathes out before Loki shushes him.
Some kind of round bot rolls into the room, no bigger than a dog, like some oversized basketball. It comes to a stop just inside, a red light shining out of it to scan the room, looking for trespassers.
Ari shoots it before it can spot her, the sword going off like a Cybertronian blaster to shoot up the bot and explode it in a shower of sparks.
Two Pretenders charge into the room, shouting angrily in Cybertronian that she doesn't bother to interpret. She shoots one square in the chassis, Loki coming out of the shadows behind the other and using his knife to sever the energon tubes in his neck. Both go down like sacks of junkyard parts.
"Ari?" Sideswipe calls out, rolling towards her hesitantly. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she says breathlessly, looking down at the sword-gun in her hands.
How the frag did she know how to do that?
"Ari, you're kinda freaking me out here."
Her finger finds that spot on the cross-guard again, transforming the gun back into a sword. "You're not the only one."
::Guys, I've got Lina!:: Sam suddenly shouts over the comms. ::I've got Lina! Transmitting our coordinates now.::
"Is she okay?" Sunstreaker asks, skating down a corridor at top speed towards the coordinates. They might not even be the ones closest to them but, apparently, Sunny doesn't care. They're going now and he's waiting for no one.
Ari swears under her breath, grabbing a length of tattered cloth lying in a corner and chasing after him, the others right behind her.
::She's got a few bumps and bruises, but other than that, yeah. She's fine.::
"We're on our way, Sam," Ari says, using the cloth to fashion a strap so she can sling the gun across her shoulders on her back. "Meet us halfway?"
::If I told you no, I'd be risking my health,:: Sam chuckles. ::Lina's already told me where we're going. Loudly.::
The comm picks up Lina's muffled reply. ::You better watch it, birdbrain,:: she threatens, ::or else I'm going to ask Sunny to squash you like a mosquito.::
Yeah, Lina sounds fine.
They make it to the end of the corridor of cells, the hallway opening up into a wide-open area where the floor just stops at a balcony. Down below, even bigger cells hold even bigger prisoners, but the only prisoner they care about is the one being carried to them in Sam's arms.
Sam drops to the ground a couple yards away, wings folding back into the pack as he lowers Lina to her feet who then takes off running. There's a desperation to her feet as they propel her forward, like they can't move fast enough. It's never fast enough. Not until she's in Sunstreaker's arms.
He holds her as tight as he dares without breaking her, Lina holding on just as tightly with her arms wrapped around his neck. They stay like that for a few moments, just soaking each other in, reassuring each other that they're together again and they're safe.
Ari remembers that feeling. She knows that feeling well. It's not something she ever wanted Lina to experience, but maybe it's just the nudge they need.
"Lina…," Sunstreaker chokes out, but Lina doesn't give him the chance. She pulls back just far enough to cover his lips with hers. He stands stunned for all of two seconds before happily getting on board, cupping the back of Lina's head with his hand.
Looks like they're both done ignoring what's right in front of them.
Lina pulls back, panting, body wound tight and overwhelmed with wide-eyes staring up at Sunstreaker. She touches her fingertips to her lips, murmuring, "Sunny, was that…are we…?"
He nods shakily. "Yeah, Lina, we are. I don't know how, but we're sparkmates. Just like Ari and Sides. You were feeling me along the potential bond."
Lina takes in a shuddering breath, letting it out slowly. "Oh, boy."
"As disgustingly touching as this all is," Loki drawls, breaking them out of their staring contest, "we really must be going."
"Right," Lina agrees breathlessly, like she's on autopilot. "Yeah. We'll deal with that bombshell later, after my head stops fritzing out and we're off this flying deathtrap. Where's everyone else?"
"Looking for Optimus," Ari says, leading the way towards the center of the ship. "Hopefully they find him soon and we can get out of here. Before Lockdown finds any of us."
"That the Cybertronian dude? Lockdown?"
"Yep, and we have no idea what he's up to."
"I might," Lina says, still perched in Sunstreaker's arms as they sneak down the halls and making no effort to make him put her down. Yeah, Ari knows that feeling, too.
"What do you mean?" Clint asks.
"I saw a helicopter come in before the ship took off again. Galloway was in it and met with the Lockdown guy. They said Lockdown was only working with Hydra so that he could get to Optimus. That's what he wanted. If Hydra helped Lockdown get Optimus, then they'd get this weird metal thing."
"What weird metal thing?"
"How the frag am I supposed to know what it is? I just know they called it a seed."
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both stop in their tracks, staring at Lina in horror. "The seed?" Sunstreaker repeats. "That's what they said?"
Lina nods slowly, all of them getting the sense that something has seriously gone wrong. Again. "Yeah. That's what they said."
"You're sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," Lina snaps, throwing up her hands. "You mind telling us what frag a metal seed does?"
Sideswipe's mouth presses into a thin line. "It turns organic matter into Cybertronian metal."
Ari's blood runs cold. "All organic matter?"
"Yeah. Plants, animals. People. And its blast radius is huge."
"That sounds an awful lot like a bomb," Loki points out warily.
"Essentially, it is. It's also not supposed to be used on inhabited planets because it's so destructive. Hydra doesn't know what they're messing with."
A puzzle piece clicks into place. "They want to use the seed," Ari realizes, stomach turning sour. "Hydra wants to use the seed. To make more Cybertronian metal. They called it Transformium, remember? They said they needed more in order to make more Transformers."
"So that's why they were working together?" Clint asks. "Lockdown wanted Optimus and Hydra wanted the seed?"
"Looks like. Although, I get the feeling this seed is going to turn out like the sun harvester."
Massive destruction and death on a global scale.
::I have found him!:: Thor declares proudly over the comms. ::I have found Optimus. He is being held in a cell near the back of the ship.::
Ari presses her finger to her ear comm, taking off into a run towards the back of the ship. Sneaking is no longer an option. Not with a clock ticking down in the back of her head. "Alright, awesome. Everyone regroup on Thor. We need to get out of here ASAP."
They run into resistance, of course, and when they do Sides and Sunny take the lead with their blades, forging a path for the rest of them to follow. It's mostly Pretenders and the little round bots, no real heavy-hitters, and no sign of Lockdown.
But it's only a matter of time.
They reach the cellblock where Optimus is being kept right behind Ironhide and the others, all of them filing into the small, circular room filled with large cells. Thor bangs at one with his hammer, popping off the hinges with ease.
"Could you not find the controls?" Loki asks with a long sigh. "Really, brother, brute force isn't always the answer."
"Maybe not, but it works," Thor replies with a self-satisfied smile, the doors opening with a hiss, "and my way works faster."
"Enough, boys," Ari interrupts before the typical squabble can begin, stepping between them to get to the cell. Optimus hangs upside down in the small cell, the walls lined with spikes to keep him from moving from his precarious position. "How you doing, big guy?"
"I'd be better once everything is right side up again," he grunts, holding his arms carefully away from the spikes. "Ironhide, this part of the ship is its own detachable craft. Take us out of here."
"On it," Ironhide nods, glancing around before making a beeline for a chair in what must be the ship's cockpit. He flicks a couple switches, powering it to life.
"Try to stay still," Sideswipe tells Optimus, engaging one of his blades. "Sunny, give me a hand."
Together, Sides and Sunny get Optimus out of the cell, Sides taking out the clamp holding Optimus up with Sunny grabbing hold of Optimus's legs to control his descent out the door and away from the spikes.
Optimus rolls to his feet just as Ironhide detaches them from the rest of the ship, flying into the air and away as quickly as possible. They all stand in silence, just waiting for the ship to shake, for a blast to hit them as they're found escaping, but nothing happens. A couple tense moments later, Ironhide calls out an all-clear.
"They didn't notice us leaving," he says, barking out a giddy laugh. "They just made an interstellar launch. Lockdown is miles from Earth now."
"Well, thank frag for that," Evie plops down on the floor with a heavy sigh, leaning back on her hands with her legs spread out. "Now what do we do?"
They all look exhausted, dirt and sweat sticking to days old clothes. Even Tony looks haggard once he steps out of the Ironman suit. But this fight is far from done and there's too much to do still to allow them rest now.
"We need to get the Seed back," Ari says, throwing more energy into her voice than what she truly feels. "We need to stop Hydra before they can use it and make more Transformers."
"They've gotta be building an army," Bucky pitches in. "One big enough to put the rest of the world under their thumb. Once they get those Transformers, it's all over. They'll launch an attack to take out anyone in their way."
"I believe it is more complicated than that," Optimus says, staring at Ari with such foreboding that she feels the need to plop right down next to Evie. Instead, she reaches out for Sideswipe, pressing herself against the side of his leg.
"What is it?"
"When I fought that Transformer, Galvatron…when I looked into his optics, I did not see the emptiness of a machine. I sensed Megatron in him."
Ice cold water douses Ari's spine, making her knees go weak with dread. "But-but how? He's dead! Sideswipe and I offlined him! Sure, Galvatron kind of looks like him, but…but it can't be."
"I know. But his presence was unmistakable."
"Can you check?" Ratchet asks curiously. "You have a direct connection to the Well of Sparks because you absorbed the Matrix. Can you see if his spark resides there as it should be?"
Ari nods hesitantly, knowing she can do it, but afraid of what she'll find. She closes her eyes anyway, allowing herself to get pulled into the hall of doors. It's easy, effortless, like the AllSpark was just waiting for her to look.
She can feel the heat of the door before she actually reaches it. The door to the Well of Sparks is massive, much larger than any of the other doors, and the power barely contained inside seeps through the cracks to soak into her skin. With a simple touch to the handle, it bursts open, like water breaking free from the dam at the smallest pressure.
It pulls her in, surrounding her in a sea of life. A sea of sparks, of souls.
There are so many of them, more than could ever be counted. Some she recognizes, Decepticons she's seen fall in battle, or Autobots she's seen in dreams of Cybertron. Jetfire's spark comes up to her in greeting, light and happy, and she caresses her hand against him in hello as she passes.
She looks all around the Well, in every nook and cranny. But there is no sign of Megatron.
Suddenly, she's yanked out of the Well, finding herself floating outside a city. It's like the vision she had of Shanghai just before everything leading to Egypt started. She's there, yet not there, an observing specter. Familiar skyscrapers stand in the distance, and she recognizes the city as Chicago.
Galvatron slinks on the outskirts, humans surrounding him in order to prepare him for transport. Hydra's taking him somewhere. But he's only allowing himself to be taken.
Red optics gleam above a pointed, toothy grin.
It leaves no doubt in Ari's mind. This Transformer is no empty shell, despite what the gaping hole where his spark chamber should be would suggest. It was all a ruse. A persona. To trick them and Hydra both.
So he could have a new body, and a new army to command.
Ari lets out a gasp as she's pulled back to consciousness, thankfully already finding herself in Sideswipe's arms, because she doesn't think she can stand right now.
"It's true," she breathes, shaking as she presses herself to Sideswipe's chassis, "Megatron never offlined. Galvatron is Megatron."
"How?" Sideswipe growls, drawing her closer protectively. "We offlined him. You cut through his main energon tube and his optics went dead."
"Either he was faking it or he wasn't quite dead enough." Angry tears prick at the backs of her eyes and she bangs her head against Sideswipe's chassis, ignoring the pain as the clang echoes in her ears. "How could I be so stupid?"
She bangs her head again and again before Sideswipe stops her with a hand cupping her face. "Hey, hey, don't do that."
"But I deserve it," she bites out bitterly, trying to pull away but he won't let her. The tears spill over even though she tries hard not to let them, and that just makes her even angrier. "All of this is my fault! I was so busy looking for Unicron and Primus, that I missed the threat right here! I could have known ages ago, before any of this ever started. I felt the AllSpark all ready and waiting to show me, but I just never looked."
"Honey, you can't blame yourself for that," Will consoles softly. "If the AllSpark really wanted you to know sooner, it would have forced you to look, right? There must have been a reason it didn't."
"Yeah, because it was some test Primus set up, one I epically failed." She tries to pull away from Sideswipe again, but still he won't let her go. Red-rimmed eyes glare up at him. "Let me down, Sides."
Concern and confusion flicker across the bond, and in his optics. "Ari, I-"
"Now, Sides!" Her tongue lashes out, sharper than intended, and she reigns the anger in. Anger that has nothing to do with him. This is all on her. She tries again, softly, "Please. Let me down."
He obviously doesn't want to but he does it anyway, setting her back on her feet. She sends him her gratitude along the bond and then pulls back, both through the bond and away from everyone else, finding a little corner of the ship where she can be alone.
Honestly, why did Primus make her the AllSpark at all if she can't do anything right?
Ari sequesters herself in between two machines twice her size, staring into nothing. She has no idea what they do, just knows that this ship is cold and these machines give off a good deal of heat. Guess Cybertronians don't bother with heating or cooling systems for their crafts since the heat and cold don't bother them. But, so long as nothing blows up from her leaning on it, she's as comfortable as she can be sitting on the floor.
Where they're heading right now, she has no clue. She felt them land earlier—presumably to pick up Jazz, Phil, Jane, and Darcy—and then they took off again.
Are they going after Hydra? Galvatron? Or Megatron, as she should get used to calling him. That still grinds at her, that Megatron is still alive. She thought they were finally rid of him. Things were relatively peaceful on the Decepticon front. They were even, perhaps, nearing an end to the Cybertronian War.
What a fool she's been.
Why did she ever think she could do this? Why did she ever think she could handle a power like this—be responsible for it? If someone else had been given the AllSpark, they would have caught everything. They would have been able to stop Hydra and Galvatron and rescue Bucky a long time ago.
Why did Primus ever choose her for this? What was he thinking, because he obviously chose wrong.
"How long you plan on pouting over here?" someone asks. She expected Sideswipe or maybe Will to come after her, but when she looks up it's Bucky towering over her. With his arms crossed in front of his chest, he looks like her high school coach, waiting for her to get up already and run the mile.
Well, she did that already. And she failed spectacularly.
"What, you saying I'm not allowed to pout?" she asks, drawing her legs closer to her chest and dropping her gaze to her bent knees.
"Never said that." He gets down on the floor, leaning his back against the wall across from her with his legs spread out. It's a narrow space, leaving the bottoms of his feet just inches from her toes. "It's just not really a good time for it, that's all. The team needs you."
"No, they don't."
"Sure they do. You're the one who got us this far."
"A lot of that was Steve and Optimus and Loki and everyone else. You'll get through the rest of this just fine without me mucking everything up."
"No, doll. You're the one we need. Darcy explained all the AllSpark stuff to me. Pretty sure we don't stand a chance without you."
A part of her fumes at Darcy for explaining that secret without her approval, but only for a second. Really, after what she did and how she left, it's probably better that someone explained it to him. And it's not like she wanted to keep it from him. So instead, she says, "If you know about the AllSpark, then you know how royally I messed up."
He folds his legs together so he can shift closer to her, but she still doesn't look up. "Not seeing the bigger picture sooner isn't a mistake. All your S.H.I.E.L.D. buddies aren't sulking in corners because they didn't see Hydra coming."
"But I should have," she growls in frustration, finally glancing up to level him with a glare. "I should have seen it coming. With the AllSpark, the answers were right there in front of me. Megatron, too. I just failed to actually use it."
"Nothing ever gave you reason to believe things were anything other than fine." He reaches out slowly, gently placing his flesh hand on her forearm. "If you really needed to know, the AllSpark would have showed you, right? There must be a reason it didn't."
"Yeah," she snorts, yanking her arm back, "I was getting tested. Again. I was supposed to put the pieces together, I was supposed to see this coming and do something long before things got this bad."
But she was too busy worried about a problem that's not even here yet, while this one has been festering all this time just beneath the surface.
"You ever think maybe things were supposed to happen this way?'
She arches her brow at him, looking pointedly down at his metal arm. "You really think that?"
"I don't know." He stares down at his metal hand, watching the plates shift as he moves his fingers. "I mean, what would have happened if this hadn't happened to me, huh? Steve still would have had to crash that plane in the Arctic in order to stop Hydra all those years ago."
"But you would have been able to live out your life like you were supposed to. A long, happy life without all the pain you've endured."
"No pain and brainwashing would have been nice," he agrees, ice blue eyes pinning hers in place. "I killed a lot of people that might be alive today, too. But, knowing Hydra, they would have found some other way to take them out. They would have died either way. So that really leaves only one very important thing."
"What?' she whispers.
"I would have been without my best friend, and I would have left Stevie all alone in this century. That's something I would have regretted for the rest of my life."
Ari lets go of her arms, crossing her legs to lean towards him curiously. "What, so you think things happened like they did so you'd be here for Steve?"
"I don't know." He shrugs helplessly with a little half-smile. "Maybe. Not really sure I believe in fate or destiny or whatever, but this Primus of yours seems to know what he's doing. He picked you for the AllSpark for a reason and the AllSpark didn't show you everything from the start for a reason."
"But the doors are locked when I'm not allowed to see something yet," she points out. "These doors have been unlocked, waiting for me. Like I could have looked sooner."
"Maybe there wasn't a point in locking them because he knew you wouldn't look."
"But how do you know that?'
"I don't. And you probably won't ever find out either. But the AllSpark is still yours and we still need you if we're going to win this thing."
She chews her bottom lip between her teeth, twisting her fingers together in her lap. "But what if I really did mess up? And what if I mess up again?"
He looks down, silence stretching between them for so long that she starts to think he's not going to answer, that there is no answer. But then he lifts his gaze again. "You know, I've been remembering a lot of things from before lately. Before the War. Like my sister, Rachael, and my Ma."
"That's great," she replies, unsure if this is a complete subject change or what, but happy for him all the same. "I'm glad some of the happier moments are coming back to you."
"Well, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows," he chuckles, eyes dancing with mirth as the memories play out in front of him. "I got into a lot of trouble when I was a kid. Got into a lot of scrapes. A big chunk of that was because of Stevie, because he'd jump right into a fight if it meant protecting someone, no matter how much bigger the other guy was. And then I'd have to jump in after him before he got seriously hurt."
Ari lets out a chuckle, just imaging a Steve a quarter of his current size, trying to stand up to someone ten times taller than him. Bucky joins in and Ari grins because it's the first full laugh she's heard from him since he woke up and it's a good sound.
"But anyway," he continues, wiping at his jaw in embarrassment, "some of those fights were because of me as well, doing something stupid. Ma would always get such a disappointed look on her face. I swear, Steve learned that same look from her, and it always makes me feel like crap, like I've torn up her favorite dress to ribbons and tied my sister up with it."
Ari's nose wrinkles up, easily picturing the same look on Steve's face, when he caught her, Sides, and Sunny trying to prank Tony again. "I know what you mean."
"It ain't fun, is it? But my Ma'd forgive me, just like she always did, and you know what she'd say?'
"What?" she asks, the answer feeling very important all of a sudden.
"The same thing she told me when I fell off my bike." He rises to his feet, holding out a hand to her. "What do you do when you fall?'
She looks up at him for a moment, letting his words sink in. Yes, she messed up. Bad. It's gotten people hurt—and worse—but there's nothing she can do to make it better. She can't undo it, any more than Bucky could undo falling off his bike. All he could do was live with the scrapes and try not to fall next time.
All she can do is keep fighting. Because there's no one else to fight. It's just them.
There's no one else to be the AllSpark. They're stuck with her, and she's going to try her hardest to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. That she doesn't slip so far ever again.
A small smile creeps on her face as she slowly slips her hand into Bucky's.
"You get back up and move along."
Author's Note
I'm rather fond of that last scene with Ari and Bucky. It just...sits right in my chest and makes me feel all fuzzy.
Anyway, we've got Lina back all safe and sound. She knows about the sparkmate situation, but that's a can of worms that's going to have to wait until they're, you know, not fighting for their lives.
They know about Megatron being Galvatron. And Ari's all blaming herself. But she's starting to ask the right questions.
How'd you like the mysteriousness with the swords? That instinct didn't come from the AllSpark. That was all Ari. And it'll be coming up again as we head into Last Knight.
That movie gave me so many plot bunnies. Seriously.
Next chapter will be posted August 31. We're getting closer and closer to the final battle. You ready for it?
Hope you enjoyed, PLEASE REVIEW, and see you all next time!
