And on to the next part of the story! Whoo! This one took me a long time to pull together.
This chapter features a character borrowed from skellington girl at her request: Violet Woodlock. Just so you all know, I don't do that kind of thing usually, so it will only be for this story. Still, in the interest of fairness, if anyone else wants to cameo, let me know. (I don't really know why you'd want to cameo in this, but if you want to, I'll see what I can do).
The ship was huge: far larger than anything Miko had ever seen. She tapped the window of the cockpit in a fluttery, excited motion. The seatbelts restricted, then loosened ever-so-slightly in a vehicular mimicry of a hug.
June was waiting in the hangar bay with Knock Out when they landed.
"Oh, scrap." Starscream muttered.
"What? What's wrong?" Sierra asked nervously. Her rescuer sighed.
"The medics are here to meet us this time. They're getting smarter." He did not explain beyond this, and released the seat belts to let the girl climb out.
Soundwave had simply transformed around Miko, who was surprisingly not dizzy. The small girl beamed at everyone and everything.
"Mrs. Darby?!" Sierra exclaimed, "They grabbed you too?"
The woman laughed sweetly and hugged the nervous girl. "Oh no, bless you honey. I live here. Come on, let's make sure neither of you were injured."
She took Miko from a reluctant Soundwave and ran scans over them both. "Jack was worried sick about you," June remarked.
As if on cue, Jack appeared, walking next to Airachnid. "Starscream," he called, "Megatron said you can't leave the hangar until you've received the ok from Knock Out!"
The Seeker froze, wings twitching, from where he'd been trying to slip away. "And you're going to tattle to him if I do, aren't you?" he sighed.
Jack smirked and raised an eyebrow. "You got it. Come on, 'Scream. You don't want him dragging you to the med bay himself, like the Arctic Incident, right?"
Starscream's optics flared. "Who told you about that?!" he shrieked.
Knock Out grinned and waved two servos. That was when Jack noticed the extra humans.
"By the Allspark!" he cried, "Sierra! Miko! You're okay!" He jogged over to them and wrapped them in a bone-crushing hug. "I was afraid the 'Bots had gone after you!"
Sierra pushed him away with a scowl. "Jack, what on Earth is going on?! Who—or what—are these "Bots" or these guys for that matter?"
The spidery-looking robot next to Jack put her hands on her hips. "Why, Sierra! I'd have thought you'd have remembered me!"
"What the—Jack! That's your gramma's voice!" Sierra spluttered.
Miko read their lips and shrugged. Hi, Jack's gramma! She signed happily, Why are you a robot now?
Airachnid laughed and swept the child up into her arms. I was a robot to begin with, dear, she signed back, we just disguise ourselves as humans so as not to frighten you.
When Sierra finally found her voice again, she asked, "How many people we interact with are robots in disguise?"
Jack guided her into a sitting position on the hangar floor. "I know, this is a lot to take in," he said sympathetically, "And I promise, as soon as Lord Megatron comes back, he'll answer your questions."
The stress of the day began to catch up with Sierra, and she found herself blinking back tears. Seconds later, the Decepticons were all hovering over the girl, frantically trying to calm her.
"Come come," Knock Out teased, "Surely we're not that ugly?"
From the outside edge of the group, Starscream rolled his optics. "She's stressed doctor. She's been chased, shot at, almost stepped on, and flown through some pretty impressive aerial acrobatics—if I do say so myself."
Soundwave tapped his visor for a minute in thought, then seemed to brighten. On his visor, a pixel video of a cat with a breakfast pastry for a body began to fly to an inane repeated tune. The older Decepticons groaned when they realized who he was calling.
"O HAI HOOMANS!" Ravage bounded into the room and skidded to a halt in front of Sierra and Miko.
"It's a giant cat." the redhead said dully. "Of course."
Ravage tilted his head and blinked at them. "OH NOES! Y U HAZ TEH SADZ?"
For a giant metal cat, Ravage was oddly adorable and he knew it. The cassette pushed his nose up into the sad "hooman"'s face and purred. Despite herself, Sierra began to smile. She was still upset about, well, everything, but somehow this absurd robot made things a little better.
Miko was still balanced on Airachnid's hip as they made their way to the command center. Starscream complained the whole way as Knock Out attempted to patch a scorch mark on his wings.
The girls were amazed at the way that Jack seemed to fit right in among the giant metal people. He didn't seem to be worried about getting squished at all!
When another one of those huge green portal-things opened and a robot painted a familiar shade of blue stepped through, Sierra's mind jumped to the logical conclusion. "Is that your grandpa?" she asked.
The boy nodded. "Pop, you okay?" he called up to the titan.
"Hey, bud," Breakdown answered tiredly, "I got some good news and I got some bad news."
The portal flashed again and an impossibly tall mech, gleaming silver and white, appeared on the bridge. The Deceptions, Jack and June all saluted him. Following in their example, Miko offered a playful salute as well.
Megatron stopped in his tracks and looked down at the raven haired child in Airachnid's arms. "Juniper appears to have shrunk," he observed dryly.
The gathered Decepticons chuckled and on the ground, Jack's tension melted away. If the warlord was up to making jokes, the situation wasn't as dire as he feared.
"What's the good news?" Knock Out asked, only half paying attention. The moment the Bridge had opened, Starscream had taken advantage of his momentary distraction and rocketed up to the ceiling, and now he refused to come down.
"The good news," Breakdown answered, coming over to pull the Seeker down by the foot, "Is that we found an energon deposit and managed to subspace six crystals before the Autobots showed up." He ignored Starscream's indignant protests and held the younger mech in place so that Knock Out could finish tending to his injuries. Starscream hated check-ups. "So...what's the bad news?" Sierra piped up, leaning on Ravage.
Megatron glanced down and nodded in greeting. "You are Sierra, I take it? Then this is Miko. We have heard much about you."
He turned his gaze to Jack with an expression that was one part pity and two parts concern. "The bad news, Pax, is that we encountered Autobots, and they asked about you. By name."
Sierra wrinkled her nose. "Autobots?"
Starscream answered petulantly from the corner. "The jokers who tried to fry us earlier."
Miko swiveled her head to look around at the concerned Deceptions and asked a question of her own. What are they doing here? she asked silently.
Airachnid translated the query out loud for the 'Cons who couldn't understand sign language. The big silver one looked so very sad that Miko almost wished she hadn't asked the question.
"The Autobots are in league with, and possibly controlling, several world governments," he answered, "I fear they are trying to conquer this world, as our own in no longer habitable." Anticipating the next question, he held up a hand. "Yes, we are from another world. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, rendered a barren wasteland after centuries of civil war. My name is Megatron, and you have already met several of our number." One by one, the Decepticons introduced themselves.
"I'm sorry," Sierra blushed when Breakdown and Airachnid spoke their names. "For the last two years, I've just called you Rani and Pop like Jack. I don't know if I can get my head around these other names."
Miko stared up at Megatron and squirmed down out of Airachnid's grasp. Why were you fighting a war? she asked.
The huge Decepticon knelt to be on eye-level with the children. "Foremost, over the caste system that had long been enforced over our people. There was no such thing as freedom on Cybertron when I was young. At the beginning, I fought alongside one I considered my brother."
His voice grew distant. "But in war, ideals can be corrupted, and the treachery of one may rule the fate of all. Thus it was that Orion Pax, through no fault of his own, was corrupted." There was a long silence, until suddenly a warning tone began to pulse.
"Ah, that'll be the proximity sensors," Airachnid sighed. "Come on kids, let's get you out of sight."
Sierra blinked. "What? Why?"
June made a face. "Because Agent Lockwood usually only comes when there have been...issues. It's probably best she doesn't find out we have unauthorized human visitors right now." Jack waited with the girls around the corner of a console.
"Please." Knock Out scoffed, "She's thirteen! I can handle things if she gets angry...again."
As the humans shuffled down the hall, Miko tugged on Jack's arm. How long have you known about these guys? Her brown eyes were slightly accusing.
"All my life," he answered softly, "From the time my mom was pregnant with me to right now, I've lived on the Nemesis." He grimaced. "I wanted to tell you guys, but I wasn't allowed to."
Exhausted, Sierra leaned on his shoulder. "Because of the Autobot guys?" she asked.
"Precisely!" June answered for Jack. She smiled at the younger female. "I, on the other hand, was adopted when I was a preschooler. I was either three or four, I don't remember which." She stopped walking as a spindly metallic figure dodged out in front of them. It was no bigger than Miko, with mandibles instead of a more humanlike mouth.
"Who dat?" it asked in a high-pitched voice, "Dat Aunt Joon?"
The woman's face softened. "Yes, Frenzy, it's Aunt June. What are you doing out of recharge?" The cassette shrugged and walked up to them in a drunken wobble.
"I no sleep. Gots moon-horses."
"Nightmares, Frenzy. They're called nightmares." Jack corrected, ruffling the shiny helm.
Sierra crouched down next to the cassette. "Hi there," she said quietly, "I'm Sierra."
If alien robots were going to be part of her life now, she might as well get started in getting to know them, she decided.
The little head swiveled to meet her gaze and she saw that one of its eyes was missing. The other was scuffed and dirty. "I Frenzy," the little Decepticon said shyly, "You Pax friend?"
June quickly explained, seeing Sierra's baffled expression. "Jack has two names. When he's around humans, we use his legal name, Jackson Darby. When he's at home, we use the name Lord Megatron gave him: Pax Minor."
Sierra shook her head wonderingly. She had a feeling that it was only going to get more complicated from here.
Miko tiptoed over to the half-blind mech and tilted her head to look into his eye. We're Pax's friends! Her fingers moved rapidly. I'm Miko. She frowned when he didn't respond.
June patted her shoulder comfortingly. "He can't see your hands, honey," she said gently, "He can hardly see at all."
The little girl pouted. She had become accustomed to people understanding her, and meeting someone who couldn't "speak" back bothered her.
Jack tried to explain the Cassette's role to Sierra. "He's a deployer. Soundwave keeps him in a chamber in his chest, and when they're out spying, he sends Frenzy to scout out places he's too big to fit in." He sent the Cassette a sympathetic look. "That's how he lost his optic. They were spying out a potential Autobot base and someone wasn't watching out for unstable rocks in the tunnels."
Frenzy scowled and scuffed his pedes. "Big Bro already yell, Pax no yell too!" he grumbled.
"Can't you fix him?" Sierra asked innocently. The human Decepticons sighed in concert.
"It takes a long time to fix an eye," June said. "We're doing our best, but his vision is going to be impaired for a while."
Suddenly, they heard a racket from the end of the hall. There was an explosion of French and the sound of something hitting the wall with a clatter.
"Ah, scrap." Jack muttered. June shot him a sharp look.
"Language, Pax. You want your mouth washed out again?"
As Starscream, Pax, and all young Decepticons had learned, Megatron did not tolerate swearing aboard the Nemesis. "There is a wealth of better-suited words to describe your sentiments!" he always said, "Why settle for vulgarity?"
Not that this prevented Starscream from cursing when he thought Megatron couldn't hear him.
The sound of running feet drew their attention to a slim figure pelting down the corridor towards them.
Behind her, Knock Out swiftly followed, shouting, "Get back here and sit down for your check up!"
The newcomer slid on the slippery floors and changed direction at the last moment. The medic was not so lucky and slammed into the wall. "Blasted sawbones! I'm fine!" the young woman snarled.
"Impossible girl! Your prosthetic is out of alignment in three places!" Knock Out hissed back, grabbing for her.
"Non! You'll never take me alive!" Agent Woodlock dodged his hand and plowed straight into Jack, starting a chain reaction that ended in a pile of arms and legs. Green eyes narrowed upon seeing two surplus humans.
"Medic..." she said in a quiet, dangerous voice, "Would you like to explain to me who these people are and what they're doing on this ship?"
The representative from M.E.C.H. had been informed that there were a woman and a boy living with the Deceptions, and that said 'Cons would only give them up over their cold, sparkless husks. She had not been informed that they had seemingly snatched two more humans for the sheer heck of it.
Violet drew herself up to her full height—which was only up to Jack's shoulder—and crossed her arms. "Humans are not strays, Decepticon. You can not just bring them home as you please and think no more of it than that!" she snapped her fingers as an emphasis. "Silas is going to hear about this!"
June quickly took charge of the situation. "These young ladies were in danger, Agent Woodlock. Lord Megatron had them brought here for their own protection."
Sierra raised an eyebrow as she watched the younger girl debate with Jack's mother. She couldn't have been more than fourteen, yet she argued and behaved like someone a fair bit older. She caught Jack's eyes, but he mouthed Don't ask.
The agent had her hands on her hips now, and seemed not to notice that Knock Out was realigning her cybernetic arm. "Protection?! It's the 'Bots, isn't it? They're back, aren't they?!"
The floor shook beneath their feet as a deep, raspy voice interrupted. "If you are referring to the Autobots, I have my doubts that they ever left."
Agent Woodlock glared up at Megatron. "Then it's time to wake up the rest of M.E.C.H."
The ex-gladiator raised a hand in warning. "Hear me, Agent Woodlock. I must ask you to allow the Decepticons to handle this for now. Involvement of the human militia will only end in disaster. Perhaps you can condone human casualties," the hidden challenge stung the girl, "But I cannot."
Violet clenched her fists, but nodded. "Fine. Just...just fine." She stormed away to the bridge, stepping into the lift that would take her back to the hangar bay.
"Mind you, Megatron," she said as she left, "You had better do something about those 'Bots...or I will." The doors swished shut.
Well isn't she cheerful? Miko signed sarcastically.
"Agent Woodlock is concerned for her world, Mikoto," Megatron said slowly, "As she should be." He turned and paced towards his quarters, deep in thought.
A piece of scrap metal struck the back of Cliffjumper's helm with a resounding clang.
"Who threw that?!" he screeched, outraged.
The drones stifled their snickering and pretended to look busy. Impassively, Goldbug watched them. As always, his battle mask remained over his faceplate. Silently, he marched up to the Autobot SIC and held up a small monitor displaying a spark signature.
He pointed at the Space Bridge controls meaningfully.
Cliffjumper scowled. "Those transmissions are coming from deep space!" he growled, "I would hate to waste the energon, unless you are absolutely certain!"
Goldbug took a step closer, saying nothing. With a hiss of frustration, the horned mech turned his back on the spy.
"Very well," he relented, "Lock on transmission coordinates and activate the Space Bridge."
The Bridge was activated remotely, and in the depths of the ocean a lone Autobot drifts through the portal from the other side of the galaxy. Cruel red optics gleam in the murky water and a thunderous voice proclaims:
"Autobots! I have returned!"
...To be continued.
