Chapter 23 – silent screams

London Bridge
By Fergie

Oh shit (oh shit, oh shit)
Oh shit (oh shit, oh shit)
Oh shit (oh shit, oh shit)
Oh shit (oh shit, oh shit)

When we stopped screaming, silence echoed around us. Then...

"Shit!"

"Fuck!"

"Slag!"

"Oh my God!"

"Holy Primus!"

"Motha-fragging slag!"

"Scrap metal!"

"No fragging way!"

"Oh frag!"

'I REALLY like this!'

Gore. Blood. Everywhere.

There were parts of bodies strewn all over the floor, pinned up against the walls and bound to the ceiling with delicate white thread. It was a huge web that covered all the surfaces of the room. Bumblebee had tripped over a pile of bloody flesh chunks. The windows were caked with dry blood. It had to be at least a few inches thick and no light got through at all. How many people died for the blood to get that thick? There weren't any complete bodies anywhere, just hundreds of bits and pieces.

In the very middle of the main room were the body parts of Lugnut and Blackarachnia, caught up in a web of the same delicate white thread, dripping and stained with their own energon. The body parts were arranged as if someone had ripped them all apart ruthlessly and tried to put them back together, but you could still tell the carcasses weren't whole.

There were several huge bundles of white thread, like cocoons of prey for whatever monster had done this, hanging low from the ceiling. I didn't think I even wanted to know what was in there.

Every single bone that was once part of the now dead humans and animals was up against the webs covering the walls, ceiling and floor like a giant cocoon. They formed the words 'you're next' over and over again.

It was the bones that chilled me to the core.

'Whoever did this has taste!'

I was the only one who heard Optimus' whisper of despair, as he was standing right behind me, "Elita..."

'Ha ha! This is hilarious!'

How could you be so evil? He just lost his femmefriend!

'I'm part of you, so you should know.'

I didn't respond.

I put a comforting arm around his shoulder. Not many knew that Blackarachnia used to be Elita One. But being the guru, I had to know.

Ratchet cast a worried look at me, which I returned. We were scared for each other. I didn't want to lose him and I could see that he didn't want to lose me either. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it gently and got one in return.

'You're worried about him? Pfft, whatever. You don't even want him, you want Prowl, remember?'

Shut up, dickhead. I love Ratchet. I love Prowl too, but as a brother, nothing more. Got it?

'You know I'm right.'

I felt Optimus start to go weak. "Optimus, stay strong for me," I murmured. I placed two fingers on the side of his neck. His pulse had stopped. His eyes were half closed. His knees were buckling. "Shit! Optimus, don't go anywhere!" I gripped both his shoulders and tried to keep him standing, but his strength was leaving him.

He looked right at me and I knew he saw someone else. He breathed, "She's gone..." before his strength gave way and he collapsed on me.

All the air was knocked out of me and I couldn't suck any back in. It wasn't so much his weight, it was more that he had landed right on top of me, and my gut was squished. I managed to rasp, "Can't... breathe..."

Echo rolled an unconscious Optimus off me and helped me to my feet. I said to Ratchet, "You gotta get him to a hospital. His pulse has stopped. Something's seriously wrong with his heart. It could be a heart attack. And for some crazy-ass reason, his real self won't wake up. I don't even know where it is."

Ratchet nodded, his eyes glowing. In a moment, his alt form parked just outside the doorway. He and I carried Optimus into the ambulance, bringing Echo and Grim along as well. The doors shut and the ambo sped down the street, headed towards the Red Cross hospital.

oOo

I waited outside Optimus' room. I heard someone say, "Are you Acheron Pitman?"

I looked up. A man stood before me, about in his early 30's, black skin and hair, his chocolate brown eyes gazing into my silver ones. Judging by his uniform, he was a doctor.

"Yes," I answered, "Who are you? And how do you know my name?"

He grinned, his eyes shining, "My name is Etrius Moore. My father was David Moore, and my mother was Amelia Pitman before she married—"

My eyes widened in astonishment. Amelia was two years older than me. "That's my half sister! Are you saying... you're my nephew?!"

He nodded, "Yes, I am."

I stood up abruptly, "Holy crap! How did this happen?"

"Sit down and I'll explain everything," He said, and then added, "if you explain why you look the exact same you did on the day you disappeared."

We sat down and he started talking, "I already told you who my parents were. Note, were. They were killed in a stickup when I was eight. My twin brother, Phoenix, and I had to go and live with your sister Rebecca. We took the deaths very differently. I wanted to help people so that no-one would have to go through that, so I later became a doctor. Phoenix, who already had anger management problems, wanted to get back at all the bad people in the world, so he joined the Air Force the moment he was old enough.

"The other day when I rescued you in the chopper, I thought I was dreaming. I didn't think it was possible. I have this locket," he pulled out a silver oval locket on a silver chain, opening it to reveal two pictures; one of me as I look now and one of Rebecca as I last remembered her, "It belonged to my mother. I received it in her will, which also asked for me to wear it always. So when I saw you, I recognized you instantly. I think... I think that she always knew you were still alive, however it was that you made it."

I delicately took the pendant in my fingers, staring at my sister's face. I had to blink back tears. It had been so long since I had last seen her, and she had been going through a rough time.

"How's Rebecca?" I asked, releasing the pendant, which he tucked back under his shirt.

"She's alright," he responded, "she's happy, got a job as a teacher, and a nice husband named Phillip. They have two sons, Jackson, who's 28, and Gus, who's 33. When I told her about you, she couldn't believe it at first. But when she saw the truth in my eyes, when she knew I wasn't lying, she started crying. She asked to see you when it was confirmed you are you."

I nodded, happy for my sister. I knew she would get through her troubles, as nothing lasts forever, and was glad her life had turned out so well so far.

"So what about you?" he asked, "What's your story?"

"I'm not sure if you'll believe this," I began, "but every word is true, I swear by Kid World law." He nodded, understanding the rules of Kid World, "me and a few friends were having a sleepover at Spectre's place. It was the morning after the sleepover. When we were ready and about to pack our bags, we went into Spectre's room, where we had slept, and it glowed like everything was made of silver and put under a spotlight..." and I told him everything.

No-one really paid attention, either walking by or too caught up in other conversations to care. But Etrius listened intently, and I saw a look of recognition and realisation, like a puzzle had finally and neatly fallen into place after years of nothing clicking. I could tell he had been told bits and pieces, all of which made no sense until I told him.

When I was done, there was a silence. He stared at the floor, and I could see the gears turning in his head. After a moment, he let out a sigh and looked at me, smiling.

"Thank you for telling me that," he said, "When I tell my family, they will be very relieved and really want to meet you."

I nodded, "I can't wait to meet them."

A doctor came out of Optimus' room and said, "He's stable and awake now. You can see him, but only for a short while." We nodded and went into the room.

Optimus looked so much different. He looked tired, weak and nothing like the hero I had known long before I had even met him. He smiled at us and we returned it. I sat down on the chair beside his bed and questioned, "How are you feeling?"

"A bit tired, but otherwise fine," he answered.

"So you're Oliver Acidiacono," Etrius stated, reading the clipboard on the end of Optimus' bed. Oliver Acidiacono was his human name. Etrius continued as he sat down on a chair on the opposite side to Opty's bed as me, "I'm Dr. Etrius Moore. So... how'd you come to know Ash?"

Opty cast a glance at me. I don't think Etrius was ready to know he was a TF. So I lied, "we met in a supermarket. He was behind me in line and I didn't have enough money to buy the stuff, so he gave the guy some of his money." I shrugged, "He's a nice guy, said he worked in a nearby bookshop. I went there a lot, it's a great little place, and I met a few of his friends. Time passed, now he's like a big brother."

Etrius nodded slowly, "Yeah, and I met you when you were cut up into a million pieces five minutes ago. I see through lies like a perfectly clean window. The truth, please, no matter how crazy it might sound."

Opty and I exchanged glances again. I responded, "He's Optimus Prime. He jumped through one of my friend's TV and ended up being 30 centimetres tall. He and all the local celeb giant alien robots you've seen running around lately followed him, and then followed us as we skipped 50 years and half the world. I talked to an unidentified entity that I know only as The Guy and he told me of a technology called Cyborg Droids before I came back from the dead. Long story short, you're looking at Opty's one. That good enough for you, Doc?"

He smirked, "Now that's what I like to hear. Plain old truth. Better than any fancy lie." He turned his attention to Opty, "So you're Optimus Prime, eh? Nice. Honour to meet you." He stuck out his hand and Optimus shook it, albeit weakly. He took note of that and said, "We should leave you to rest."

We both stood up to leave, and I waved goodbye to Opty. We left the room, closing the door behind us. I went outside, Etrius following me, and leaned against a tree, my back to the world, facing the brick wall of the hospital.

I pressed a finger to a temple and pressed a hidden button, activating the comm. link to everyone, "Everyone, come to the Red Cross Hospital ASAP. Don't stay at the warehouse. Optimus is fine now, but he had just had a heart attack. Oh, and I found my nephew, so hopefully we can stay with him the night." I looked at him and he nodded, "yeah, we can stay with him."

By the time everyone got to Opty's room, he was awake and they were all giving me WTF looks when I introduced them to Etrius.

Grim was the first to ask, "How the hell is your nephew old enough to be your dad? Mind you, your boyfriend is." Etrius looked from Ratchet to me, his eyes widened, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

"I have sisters," I replied, "You know Amelia? She had twins and she and her husband died in a stickup when Etrius here and his twin Phoenix were eight. They moved in with my other sister, Rebecca. We skipped 50 years, you know. Stuff happens in that amount of time."

That satisfied them. We headed over to Etrius' place and stayed the night. His brother, Phoenix, came around and we met him too. He was cool. As I lay on the fold-out couch beside Ratchet, unable to sleep, I realized something.

I knew why we had come here. I knew what we had to do. Before sleep eventually got me, I swear I saw a white figure whispering to me:

"You have to kill all the Cybertonians."

oOo

No-one's POV

The monster hadn't been killed by the space bridge explosion.

It was indestructible, after all.

It wanted revenge of all those who had tried to kill it. It rose from its place under the lake, walking towards the hills, where its enemies resided. It crushed cars, people and homes beneath its feet, but it didn't care at all. All that mattered was the task at hand.

It came to the place, the dead volcano where it had last seen them. It was devoid of life. The monster growled. It closed its silver eyes and concentrated, seeking out the hatred and evil that they were.

When it opened its eyes, it found itself somewhere very different. It was inside a large metal room, but it had no idea where it actually was. There were sirens shrieking and red lights flashing, which irritated the monster's sensitive ears.

A purple and grey robot rushed into the room, firing ice. The creature bared its freakish fangs in a cruel grin as it lashed out, tearing it in half.

The being wasn't satisfied; it knew that there were still enemies around. Letting its feet guide it, it walked through room after room. When it saw a white robot it didn't recognize, staring at it, a mottled red and black one and a human standing beside it, the being just moved on. They had never done anything to it, so it had no reason to kill them.

It found a familiar silver one and roared. The robot looked at the thing with fearful red eyes, before it raised its arm-mounted weapon. Another roar erupted from the monster as acid spewed from its jaws. All that was left of the robot was a puddle of molten slag.

A pink and grey one entered the room, and was crushed underfoot by the creature. It smirked evilly. Its job here was done, but it still had work to do.

oOo

Acheron's POV

A voice, deep, powerful and un-Earthly, spoke to me, and I knew it was from that unknown presence, "You are more than I told you. They're not coming back."

I realized who was with me in the darkness. The Guy.

"Yeah, and thanks to you, I'll just keep on coming back," I snapped, "I've learnt from others that immortality sucks and blows."

"You know the deal: you complete the mission and you'll be able to rest in peace next time someone tries to kill you."

"Oh joy. You haven't even told me what this 'mission' is! How the hell am I supposed to complete it?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

I rolled my optics. I didn't even know this guy's name and he was always acting like he was God and talking really unnaturally. I asked, "You gonna tell me who you are?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm about to show you your new form. The one that attacked the Cybertronians a while ago."

"Yayz."

An image of a monster appeared before me. It looked like some sort of dragon... a cyborg dragon. Instead of the typical 'bat' wings, it had Nighthawk wings and tail fins. It had four mechanical legs, very powerful looking ones, with nasty claws. It had gleaming purple scales. It had three rows of spikes along its neck, the centre row was blood red, while the outer two rows were black. It had the nastiest looking harpoon-head tail blade I had seen in a long time. It had the most horrible, spark-less silver eyes I had ever seen, the right pupil was slit, while the left was round.

It was freaky. And pretty blood ugly.

"Eww..." was my first reaction. My second was, "you just had to make me a complete freak of nature, now didn't you?"

"You were one since before you were born, you know that."

That cut deep. Real deep. I had been called 'freak', 'bitch', 'weirdo', and many other names my entire life by everyone I had ever known, so I had gotten used to it and become the... thing I was now, but coming from him made it hurt really bad inside. Especially since he was a god. Or something.

I bit my bottom lip and fought back the tears.

The jerk seemed to realize that I was hurting and said, "I'm sorry, but it's true. It's common knowledge."

"Piss off, asshole," I growled, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"Well, you're pathetically weak."

That's when I snapped. "JUST BECAUSE I'M NOT YOU DOESN'T MEAN I'M A WEAKLING! NOT EVERYONE IS A GOD, YOU KNOW! YOU SON OF A BITCH! LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

"Armageddon—"

"I SAID PISS OFF!!!"

There was silence. I felt completely alone. I knew he had gone.

When I began to drift towards consciousness, I could tell something was wrong. There was something cold beside me. What was that? Wasn't Ratchet sleeping beside me?

I opened my eyes and saw the protoform for the Cyborg Droid. The featureless face, the white hair, the grey skin. That could only mean one thing...

I leapt out of the bed and looked around. Grim and Echo had been sleeping on the floor, and they still were, completely untouched. I rushed into the guest room, where Bulkhead, Bee and Prowl had spent the night. I only saw the protoforms.

I tried to contact Optimus, but there was only static.

Oh good God.

'Oh, this is just too good!'

The front door banged open and I went into the living room. Jumpy, Skullzy and Fyromaniac stood there, eyes wide, fear and confusion written all over their faces.

"How'd you find us?" I asked.

"We tracked down your energy signatures," Fyromaniac replied breathlessly.

"But that's not what we're here to tell you," Skullzy said.

Jumpy gripped my shoulders, tears forming in her eyes, "The Decepticons! They all dead! Even... even Blitzwing..."

Holy crap. He was like a brother to her!

"The Autobots are dead too!" I exclaimed, "All of them!"

"Wuz goin' on?" Grim asked sleepily as she and Echo woke up.

I tried to say, 'all the Cybertronians are dead', but my voice was drowned out by the drone of an alarm clock. I slapped the snooze button. But even as my mind was clearing, I knew two things:

1. There were voices and light above the blanket and

2. There was something boxy and very uncomfortable under the mattress.

I opened my eyes...

A/N: Just one more chapter, then a sequel. It's getting more and more serious, not to mention crazy. Review!