Act III
…
Golden dust swirled around her, picked up by the wind, glittering in the air.
Swirling. Swaying. Blowing away.
No matter where she looked, there was no trace of him. All that was left was dust.
Pooling around her, covering her.
But…he had just been there. Just standing. Just talking to her.
He—it couldn't be. This wasn't real.
The ever-present hum in her chest. The warmth…
It faded.
Faded into nothing.
And she was cold. Empty. Dead.
Nothing but her own hollow heartbeat remained.
Hands grabbed at her. The explosions had ended. She was being pulled.
Pulled away from him.
"NO!" she screamed, twisting out of their grip. "Don't touch me!"
They were talking to her. But whatever they said didn't matter.
Ironhide was gone.
After she told him to be safe.
The hands came at her again. This time more forceful. She screamed at them to let go.
Screamed at Sentinel for doing this. Screamed at Ironhide for leaving her.
Screamed until she had no strength left and was dragged away.
In one hand, her bow, in the other, dust.
The hangar was filled with injured people. The Autobots were sitting. Ratchet was looking over Bee. No one spoke.
The only sounds were the groans of injured soldiers and her own gasping breaths.
The hands were still on her. Rubbing her back.
"Hey, where's Optimus?" Came Will's loud voice from right behind her.
"Two minutes!" A man yelled in return from somewhere in the base.
"And Mearing?"
"Arriving now!"
If Optimus had been there in time, would things have gone differently?
She only sobbed louder.
Will pulled her into his arms. The sounds that escaped her throat muffled in his bulletproof vest.
Was it true? Would Ironhide never hold her like this again?
No. No…
Why? Why him?
How could Sentinel?
Voices picked up around her.
"Which one was it?" Mearing asked from somewhere above.
Ratchet was the one to answer. "It was Ironhide."
He sounded so…so sad.
She only cried harder.
"Get her to Dr. Harlow."
"It's Saturday, Director, she's not here."
"Then. Get. Her. Here."
Will pulled her up, keeping her close and guiding her through the hangar.
She looked up at the Autobots as they passed them. Each of them had a similar look on their face. Defeated. Betrayed.
The back of the base was badly damaged. The smell of smoke overcame her senses. The vault where the pillars were stored was ripped open and emptied.
Flickering lights illuminated the dark hallway. Will led her to the familiar hospital bed she'd sat on time and time again to get her blood taken.
The bed shifted as Will sat down beside her. A hand once again rubbed her back.
"I don't know what to say," his voice was weak. "I didn't think Sentinel would…"
Aria only cried harder. She spoke the only words she could formulate.
"Why? Why Ironhide?"
He sat quietly with her for what felt like hours. Ironhide has been his friend too.
And now he was gone forever.
Dust.
She squeezed her hand.
"Aria is that your bow?"
Her eyes dropped to the bow at her side.
"How do you have that?"
"Wheelie," she said between sobs.
Will nodded. "Do you have all your arrows?"
She shook her head.
"I'll get them for you. Stay here and wait for the doctor." He stood and left.
As soon as the door shut, she turned her hand over and relaxed her fingers.
Gold dust glittered.
It was that gun, wasn't it? The one Wheeljack fixed.
She squeezed her hand shut again.
Time passed. Her mind circled.
Ironhide's blue eyes looking at her, the flash of light, his gasps of pain as his body disintegrated.
A smaller, softer hand rubbed her bare arm. "Hey, Aria." Dr. Harlow said softly.
She hadn't heard the door open.
Dr. Martinez was there too, a disconcerted look on her face.
"Can you get me a cloth? She's covered in dust." Dr. Harlow said to her.
Dr. Martinez began wiping her skin with a warm cloth as Dr. Harlow began her physical.
Aria's wet skin prickled. It felt cold and clammy. She didn't want to look. What if her skin was blue?
Her body was hollow. There was no more warmth.
"Everything looks normal. Aria, could you stand up for one second?"
Normal? Nothing was normal.
"Aria? I just need you to stand now." Dr. Harlow repeated. "Lennox said you weren't injured, are you?"
When Aria still didn't move, Dr. Martinez got Harlow's attention.
"She just watched him die, Evalyn, could you be a bit more sensitive?"
"Yes I'm aware they were probably friends, but we need to get this over with."
"Probably friends?" Dr. Martinez moved closer to Dr. Harlow so her voice could barely be heard. "They loved each other!"
This only brought another wave of tears. Her throat already ached and stung.
She did love him. Why did he have to die?
Why?
Why?
She never did stand up. Even when the door shut and the room went quiet. The clock on the wall ticked relentlessly as time moved forward without him.
The door opened again, squealing on the hinges. The boots belonged to Lennox, coming towards her with hollow thuds against the laminate.
"I know it's hard, Aria." His hand reached down to hers resting on the bed.
She didn't move. Her body felt like lead.
"But we gotta get you home." He took her hand and pulled her up.
He led her out of the room with an arm around her shoulders. She walked on autopilot, her legs taking her toward a different exit.
A man was waiting there. He opened the door of a waiting SUV and Will helped her inside. Finally, he passed her a military-grade backpack, giving her a significant look as he did so.
Just before he closed the door, she spoke.
"You're going to get him, right?"
"Oh yeah, we're going to get'em alright."
…
The man parked in front of her house and opened her door. Mustering what little strength she had left, she got out of the SUV and up the stairs to her front door. Her bag and keys were long gone, at least she forgot to lock it.
She closed the door behind her and fell back against it before sliding down to the floor and curling up.
Light from the windows faded into darkness. And then darkness to light.
Was she asleep or awake? Was it all a dream? A nightmare?
But her dress was still torn and dirty. Cuts still etched her arms and legs. Dust still fell from her body onto the floor.
Glimmering gold in the light.
Her hand went to her chest where the last piece of Ironhide remained. Cold.
"Normal," Dr. Harlow had said.
"The Energon in her body must be maintaining the spark now. It's a fully enclosed loop."
"I'll tell the director."
"Should we?"
"This is your project, Anna. Do you want the funding or not?"
"I don't know anymore."
She dragged her feet up the stairs and into the bathroom. There she sat in the shower until the water ran cold down her skin and ragged dress.
And then she lay in bed. Soaked.
How could Sentinel do such a thing? How could he do that to Ironhide? Ironhide who trusted him, who respected him, who revered him?
And he shot him in the back.
The room darkened once again.
The next day she went downstairs. It was like she was just there moments ago. It was sunny and Ironhide was kissing her. Teasing her. Holding her.
Why did Sentinel kill him?
How could he?
She sat in the chair Ironhide always did and ate whatever she could bring herself to. Then she ran to the bathroom to vomit it up again.
Once again, the sun began to wane. But this time there was a noise.
A knock.
Aria stood so abruptly that the chair toppled over. Only one person ever knocked.
But…It wasn't him. She went to pick up the chair.
Whoever it was knocked again, louder this time. They called her name through the door.
The voice was—
"Aria!" Sam called as he opened the door. "You here?"
Before she knew it, he was giving her a tight hug.
She would have cried again…but there was nothing left.
"Look, Aria, the Decepticons have Carly. They have Chicago locked down and NEST won't let me do anything. I've got a group of guys coming with me and Wheelie said you might want to come along. He said you have a secret weapon. Do you?" He had his hands on her forearms, a hopeful expression on his face.
"Wha—Why do they have Carly? Is she okay?"
"Because her boss is a creep and used her to get to me. Now she's in Chicago and I'm going to need all the help I can get to get her back."
"She told me you were up to something," Aria breathed and looked into his eyes. "You knew what was going on and—" A fire ignited in her chest. "YOU! You did this! If it wasn't for you meddling with the Decepticons, Sentinel wouldn't have killed Ironhide!"
She put her hands on his chest and shoved him. He fell like a sack of potatoes, landing on the floor with a thud. She marched up to him, grabbing his shirt and lifting his torso off the floor.
"Now you're asking for my help after I watched him die? Because you couldn't keep your nose out of other people's business and stay out of danger for their sake? No. You couldn't, could you?"
Sam held his hands up in front of his face. "I'm sorry, okay! I didn't think Sentinel was one of them! I never thought he would—"
"He would what? Shoot Ironhide when he had his back turned? He was going to kill me too, Sam!" Her throat tightened and her eyes stung. "The way he looked at us before. I should have seen it coming. I should have known I put a target on his back."
She backed away from Sam, falling against the wall. Crying. Sobbing. "Why him?"
Sam was next to her. "I'm so sorry. And I'm sorry for coming here. I'll go now."
She took a breath. "To Chicago?"
"Yeah."
"Is Sentinel there?"
"Yeah."
She took another breath. Deeper. "I'll go."
…
After changing into cargo pants and a shirt, she went back downstairs to pack the backpack Will had given her with basic supplies like water and granola bars.
Wheelie had told Sam to find her for a reason, and it wasn't to save Carly.
There was no reason to keep herself safe anymore.
She followed Sam to the door. Two vehicles were waiting there, a car and a truck, both full of men.
She looked at Sam. "Where are the Autobots?"
"They're, uh, gone."
What was left of her heart plummeted lower. "What do you mean gone?"
Sam turned his gaze towards the floor. Sadness was etched on his face too now that she looked. "Sentinel demanded they leave the planet."
For a moment it looked like he wanted to say more but didn't.
"So, they're all gone now." Aria took a step out the door and looked up at the sky as if she'd be able to see them. "I hope they find a better planet than here."
"Hey, Sam! We're not bringing a girl to Chicago."
"No, she's got super strength or something. She's coming." Sam said, following her out of the house.
"Yeah well, it's going to take more than Ms. Captain America here to take on a city full of Decepticons."
Aria pulled out the small rod from the side pocket of her backpack and held it up for them to see. With the squeeze of her hand, the ends extended into the intimidating Cybertronian bow. The symbols etched through it glowed even in the evening sunlight.
"Well, shit," exclaimed one of the men.
…