*hides behind Obi-Wan and Loki as many projectiles such as shoes, mousepads, keyboards and empty cans are thrown at me*

I am SO sorry. It's been far too long for this fic, and I know lots of you adore it, so to make up for that fact, I have made this extra long.

Ugh, seriously, I've wanted to update it for so long, but no matter how hard I tried I had no inspiration for it. :'( I'm sure all my fellow writers know exactly what I'm talking about. I guess that's why I have so many different fics; I just seemingly can't focus on a singular one at any time. Incidentally, does anyone else have this problem? Or is it just me?

Also, two words. Doctor Who. I think that's pretty self-explanatory. (Peter Capaldi FTW!)

Note; A few of you may recognise the name of the town Tanya lives in from the famous cheese it produces. That's right, Wensleydale cheese, the favourite snack of Wallace and Gromit! History lovers may recognise it because of Bolton Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned for a while. There you go, if you didn't know that, then you've learned two new things today! At least nobody can say fanfiction isn't educational, right? :)

Anyhoo, I hope this meets your expectations. Enjoy!

Chapter Three

Requiem for the Eventide

There were ominous clouds traveling over the snow-capped hilltops of the valley. Tanya gave a long sigh as she watched them drift slowly closer from her kitchen window, their stormy grey hue seemingly reflecting her current mood. She was just so angry at the actions of the people she was supposed to look up to, to rely on for protection, to believe the assurances of a good future, a better world.

She hoped they all choked on their false promises.

Placing her hands on the windowsill and letting her head fall forwards, she closed her eyes and attempted to push down her anger for the moment. No matter how despicable she found the actions of world governments, there was nothing she could do about it. The deeds were long since done, the people hurt and the trust already shattered. The only thing she could do now was help her little survivor in any way she could, even if the task seemed impossible.

Tanya pushed off from the ledge and walked back into her sitting room. A smile, gentle and caring, found its way onto her features as she saw Optimus lying asleep on the couch, the blanket she'd tucked around him still in place. He'd fallen back into slumber just after he'd finished telling her about how he came to be stranded in the middle of the moors, and answering her questions about this 'Allspark' and the war. What was reported as an explosion was actually the world, heck, the entire 'effing universe being saved by a rag-tag team of aliens and a couple of humans. It hardly seemed fair that nobody else would ever know the full story.

For a while she'd been worried about Optimus' constant need to sleep. But then she reasoned with herself, it wasn't surprising he was sleeping so much. From what she could gather he'd been walking a long time and the mercilessly bitter temperatures had quickly weakened him. Quietly as possible, she crept across the room to the fireplace and put a few more logs on the fire, the soft crackling of the flames kicking up a notch.

Poor guy, she thought with a glance back over at her sleeping charge, you're so sweet, so kind and gentle…and yet, so sad, so tired of fighting. Any fool would see it in those eyes of yours.

Tanya carefully sat down on the other sofa, just opposite the one which was currently occupied by a sleeping alien. Brushing a few strands of hair out of her face, she picked up her copy of The Secret Garden from the table. She'd always loved that story, constantly begged her mother to read it for her at bedtime, eventually falling asleep to the wonderful words and dreaming of a beautiful garden surrounded by high walls, ivy blanketing the stone, all hidden away from the world by a small, locked door. Tanya stroked the cover, thinking of her late mother. She missed her dearly sometimes.

I bet you'd know what to do mum. She thought sadly. You always knew. Didn't matter how many obstacles hindered you, you would always find a way to help. I wish you were here, I really do.

Tanya sighed once more, putting the book back on the tabletop. She yawned and stretched, hearing one of her shoulders crack. She hadn't gotten any sleep barring a few hours last night, she'd been far too busy chasing away whatever horrors haunted Optimus' sleeping mind. At the time, she had wondered just what could have caused such nightmares, but after hearing his story, she understood his torment a little better.

For a moment, there was no sound barring the slow dance of the fire over the wood that fuelled it, and the soft howl of the bitter wind outside. Tanya tucked her legs up on the couch and rubbed her tired eyes, wondering silently on her situation.

Well, I guess the first order of business is making sure Optimus is okay. He didn't look too good before, so I'll see how he fares today and if I'm still not convinced he's okay then….well…then what do I do? Tanya put her head in her hands. The sudden morbid thoughts refused to leave her head. Oh god, what if he really goes downhill? I don't know what the hell I'm doing here! I can barely get my oven to work properly; I can't treat a being made completely out of machinery! Let's see, do I know a mechanic that can keep their mouth shut? Nope, so that's that option out straight away. Um…do I know anyone trustworthy who's also good with computers and crap? Yes, but she lives all the way in London. I guess I could make the journey, but I don't know about Optimus.

Tanya's head snapped up and out of her thoughts when she heard the subject of her worry speak, his voice fittingly quiet and sombre.

"Are you well, Miss Willows?"

He was sitting on the edge of the couch again, looking a tad worried. She smiled at his concerned expression, noting that he had gone back to calling her 'miss'. Actually, she corrected herself; he never stopped calling her that.

"M'fine. Just a bit tired." Tanya sat forwards, resting her arms on her legs. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix. How're you feeling?"

Tired sapphires met her own honey brown gaze across the room. He didn't even have to say anything really; those eyes could tell whole stories by themselves.

"That bad huh?" Tanya commented softly.

"I am fatigued and sore, but that is something I have become indeed accustomed to over the many millennia of conflict we have endured." Optimus replied with, surprisingly, a dose of humour in his tone. "I believe humans would say 'nothing new under the sun', a rather odd statement, but an appropriate one nevertheless."

"Oh," Was all Tanya could think to respond.

"However, my systems have been badly damaged by the cold temperatures. They will take a while to repair without the aid of Ratchet."

"And this Ratchet is…?"

"He is my chief medical officer."

"Your medic?" Tanya asked, tilting her head in confusion. "Like, a personal doctor or something?"

"No," Optimus shook his head, "I am the commander of the Autobots. I am in charge of all military, diplomatic and leadership affairs, and Ratchet is in charge of any medicinal situations that will undoubtedly arise."

"Oh! Oh I see!" Tanya exclaimed, "Sorry, I was a bit confused there for a second."

Optimus simply inclined his head politely.

"Do you know if he escaped or not?" Tanya inquired.

If he was anywhere nearby, they could just go and get him, presuming the poor guy hadn't frozen to death. There she was again, thinking bad thoughts. Optimus considered the question for a while then shook his head.

"Until my internal communications are back online, I have no indication as to who managed to transmat successfully." He replied with that same solemn air. "A transmat is rather like teleportation, but far more unreliable and more prone to problems." He added, seeing her bewildered expression.

Tanya's interest had piqued at the unfamiliar term.

"Would you mind explaining it for me? It'll help me understand how you got to be from who-knows where in America all the way to Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales."

"Of course," Optimus said, "A mass transmat is a tricky business, though effective. Unlike teleportation, which actually requires special machinery rather than a simple program, the process is not immediate and is rather flawed. It also requires the subject to be stationary, as movement will disrupt the targeting systems and stop the automatic program. A tansmat is never to be too relied upon for getting somewhere specific either, the others may have ended up scattered around the globe or they could all be nearby. It may take up to ten Earth seconds for the command to take effect, and if the subject of the transmat is disturbed during that time, then the transmat must be restarted, which can mean having to take down the security firewalls to gain access and then re-running the program completely. That in itself can take about five Earth days. This means that the others may have been in the process of escaping, but they were disturbed, perhaps to get out of a firing line, or hide from approaching enemies. Is this explanation of the process sufficient?"

Tanya nodded. "I follow you so far. Seems like a useful thing, that transmat, for emergencies at least. But if it takes about five days to restart the program, then that means…that means your friends will be at the mercy of the government for that time period! Oh my god!" Her hands flew to her mouth in horror.

Five days. She didn't even want to imagine the damage and pain that could be inflicted upon Optimus' friends in five whole days. This whole situation was sick. Humans wait and wonder about life beyond their home planet for decades, they send out probes in the hope of gaining a reply, when suddenly aliens with the simple intention of peace arrive, even offering their scientists and technology to help people around the world. And what do humans do? They decide to ignore the inch and take the yard that was never actually offered. They pray on them while they're weak, wait for them to let their guard down, then pounce. And in an instant, all trust and friendship is thrown out the window, as if it were nothing.

Humans loved to think of themselves as so evolved, so clever and superior. But the reality of it was they were no better than their Neanderthal ancestors, except this time they had deadlier weapons and bigger egos.

Tanya stood up and walked over to Optimus, who was staring forlornly at the floor, but raised his head as she approached. Kneeling down beside him, she took one of his warm metal hands in hers.

"I promise you, I'll do whatever it takes to keep you and your friends safe." She said, a determination previously unknown flooding through her. "I don't care what the risks are, nobody deserves to be experimented on, and I'll be damned if I'm going to stand by and let it happen to the very people who practically saved the lives of every person, creature and plant on this planet."

Optimus looked at her for a few long moments, his gaze seemingly piercing directly into her head, before he smiled softly and placed his free hand on top of hers.

"Thank you Miss Willows. It is heartening to know there are still humans with good intentions towards us in the world. These past few days have almost broken my trust of your species, though I still believe there is hope, no matter how small it may be." He said, his voice as quiet and sad as ever, before he took on an air of cool professionalism. "However, in regard to your helping in this situation, there is little more we can do other than wait for my systems to finish their self-repair. Once we are past that little step, we will have to make contact with the rest of my group. That should not be a problem. What will be a problem is finding a safe place for us to reside while we consider our options and re-evaluate our battle plans."

Tanya quickly protested. "You can stay here, I don't mind. There's just me and my sister usually, but she'll be in London until June. If you're worried about me getting into trouble or anything, it's fine, really!"

Optimus shook his head. "While your suggestion is a valiant one Miss Willows, it is also impractical."

"How? Surely you're safer here than anywhere else right now!"

"I quite agree, but I fail to see how eighteen Autobots with very different and often clashing personalities would be able to stay in one house and not accidently reveal themselves to the outside world. It was hard enough with a full military base."

Tanya froze in the middle of another protest. It took a moment for the words to fully process in her brain. Eighteen. There were eighteen of them. Ah, that could be a problem indeed. Her house wasn't exactly massive; it only just fit her and Martha in. Having eighteen alien mechanical beings, even mini ones, running about probably wouldn't escape the notice of the neighbours.

"What d'you mean 'clashing personalities'?" The question blurted out of Tanya's mouth before she had chance to stop it.

"I believe the best way to describe us would be that we are one big, usually happy, if more than slightly dysfunctional family, complete with many squabbling siblings and weary parents."

Tanya laughed, "Sounds nice."

A fond smile settled on Optimus' features. Tanya knew he cared for the rest of his group, and he'd never forgive herself if anything happened to them. The risk of that was far greater if she insisted on them staying in her house. Perhaps it would be best if they met up and took their own path. They seemed to know what they were doing, and honestly, she knew she'd only be a hindrance to whatever plan they came up with. But still, she felt compelled to help as much as she could. Even if it wasn't much, her conscious would be more settled with the knowledge that she'd at least done something.

With this in mind, she spoke, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

"Do you need anything? Do you need to eat or…?"

"No, no." Optimus replied. "I have enough reserve energon to last several Earth weeks, you may rest your worries with that side of things."

"Oh, okay."

Tanya hadn't the foggiest idea what energon was, but she supposed it must be something they ran on, like petrol in cars. She pushed the questions that had raised themselves to the back of her mind for now and smiled at the tiny mechanical alien.

"Well then, since we've gotten the basics of the plan down, any ideas of what we do in the meantime?"

I'm sorry; I didn't know how to end it. I'm horrible at endings, I really am. :D I may end up going back and changing it slightly so that it flows better at the end, but right now I can't think of anything good.

Oodles of toodles, and don't forget to review!