My current work placement has whole days where I'm effectively doing fuck all, so I've been able to write quite a bit! So, here's chapter 65! Hope you all enjoy!
Monaco
Derrick did not want to be here.
It had been nearly two weeks since the incident, and now here he was, all dressed up, having to explain that his 'sister' couldn't make it to the party due to an issue with one of their properties that needed dealing with on short notice.
Which had led to a number of probing questions about the disaster that was the Cosmopolitan.
He merely stated that the investigation was still underway and they had no information to give.
In time those abated, and the attention turned fully onto his existence.
Kia had needed him to be the shiny new thing to prevent anyone from really looking into his claims about the twins not being present.
So here he was, at this massive Gala, trying to keep the bile down as he felt eyes drag over him.
He'd gone for something that felt right, a Sherwani based on his beast modes colours, his hair styled to lay flat.
He hid his hands in his sleeves, keeping his eyes flitting across the crowd, trying to reign in his disdain.
How his sisters held a straight face he never knew.
He'd already caught a number of comments about him being adopted flitted about in languages they likely believed he didn't understand.
The wonders of a built-in translator.
He remembered in his early years under the Orichiono's vaulted ceilings, wishing he had been adopted… that he didn't have his fathers blood.
But that was just a fleeting wish.
The vile man was long dead, and his family had never been controlled by the blood.
Sometimes he misses his mother… the mistress… but other times, he simply pitied her for her end.
She'd been a danger to his big sisters, she'd been a risk…
Right now though, surrounded by all these unknowns… What he wouldn't give to know that it was Wren's eye behind the scope keeping watch for any would be trouble.
Ana, one of Wren's snipers, had that job instead tonight.
He trusted Ana, she was an impeccable shot, but there was a distinct extra layer of safety he felt when it was Wren's finger on the trigger.
A heavy but familiar hand landed on his shoulder, he glanced over and up. "Yes Pax?" He asked.
Optimus was trying to keep his scowl neutral, his attire much more western, a full suit that they'd had to send to a tailor to get properly fitted, underneath the suit was something that Kia had insisted he wear, something about current fashions, a male corset, it synched his already toned waist into a fine hourglass. "Oil Tycoon." The Prime whispered to his ear.
"Hmm…" He responded, opting to turn, effectively snubbing the Tycoons' attempt to strike up a conversation with him.
His sisters had worked very hard to get the Orichiono name established in this new world, they'd been cut-throat, brutal and efficient.
He wouldn't be surprised if half the people here wanted to earn his ear, to get that bit closer than the rest of the competition.
His arrival at this event was the first time his existence had even been confirmed, his sisters had kept such a tight lid on his presence, on everyone who lived in the manor.
If Monaco's paparazzi population was unwilling to approach the manor, who was he to ask what had been done to steer their cameras elsewhere?
Optimus led him towards the buffet, away from the majority of the interactions, something he was very grateful for.
It was Aria's job to run social interactions, he was the bait. The eye candy.
His androgyny was an asset he regularly used to lower defences.
A man that looked close to a woman wasn't as quickly perceived as a threat, walls didn't go up so quickly.
It allowed him to get information a more traditionally male informant couldn't get at.
It was quieter by the buffet, there were waiters flitting about all over the place with trays that most were getting their nibbles from.
He took a bowl and began loading it up with a number of small bites, just enough to allow for pauses in conversation so he could take a bite and think over responses before giving them.
Optimus stayed right by his side, eyes never leaving the wider crowd. "This feels like one of those Shark documentaries." He commented quietly to the much younger holoform.
Derrick hummed again. "You aren't far off… at least seventeen we've been able to identify as predators… you see that lass, over there, in the red dress? We have an extraction team ready to get her out of here…" He whispered.
Optimus nodded, spotting the girl, she couldn't have been older than fifteen, dazzled by everything shiny around her, kept distracted by the one who'd brought her as a 'Plus 1'.
Optimus picked up a few unnecessarily small sandwiches from one of the platters. "What is this event about?" He asked quietly.
"The Oil Tycoons are the ones throwing this, there's a number of Russian Oligarchs that wanted to show off their wealth. My sisters refused the offer to have this party at one of their hotels here… so they invited my sisters here to this party in one of their competitors' hotels."
He hummed this time. "An insult?"
"A challenge."
"Ah…" He nodded. "But they couldn't come."
"So I'm here instead, and they're trying to grease me up like a damn pig."
Optimus glanced around again, his height giving him the advantage of keeping track of where eyes were going.
"Is this… normal?"
"That I'm being looked at like a fresh out of the oven roast, yes. That's the point, I'm the bait." Derrick answered in a whisper, taking a moment to actively sway his hips, letting the train of peacock feathers sway behind him.
He knew the light caught them, felt the eyes follow the feathers up to the tapered waist he knew he was flaunting.
"I'm surprised your brother did not join us."
"Oh he's here, he's the emergency getaway if we need to beat a hasty exit. If he was down here, he'd be gouging eyes out. That's a bit too much drama for this event. After the party, maybe."
Optimus hummed in understanding for a few moments, before pausing, and looking at Derrick in horror. "Derrick… Have… you ever seen him drive a car?"
"Who said the getaway was a car? We have a helicopter parked on the roof. And how would we have even gotten a car on the roof? Besides the impracticality of one being up there."
"When did you get a helicopter?"
"We've always had one, apparently Wren bought it with that Private Jet they have sitting over at the Airport."
"I forgot you had that."
"Yeah it doesn't get much mileage." He agreed. "Maybe we should use that to fly Annie and the family here and back? Wait, why haven't we been doing that?"
Optimus simply shrugged. "I suppose it hadn't come to mind for anyone."
The music would be starting soon in earnest, he could already see a number of Tycoons telling their arm candy who to rope into a dance or five.
The alcohol was already flowing free from champagne flutes, he eagerly looked forward to seeing who would fall on their face first.
Sometimes it was a good thing that the holoforms could have their 'status effects' turned off.
He opted to ignore the hands that gestured either at himself or Optimus.
Apparently the latter had ended up joining Lena in her salsa classes as her partner. Purely platonic, but apparently the mech was really good at flinging the smaller woman around like a sack of potatoes.
He was also looking forward to seeing that for himself.
"So… Are you going to dance?" Derrick had to ask.
Optimus hummed, glancing around. "I… haven't danced in such a formal setting in… a very long time." He admitted softly.
Derrick nodded. "I see, you've downloaded how to waltz, yes? Ira set up a number of packets that you can use to follow." He reminded the Prime quietly.
"They're already in my quick access system… I should be alright."
The much, much younger man gave the Prime a shove to the shoulder, which didn't budge at all. "Well then, get on out there! I'll be fine!" He tried to assure the Prime.
Optimus hesitated. "You're sure?"
He snorted. "Pax, I'll be fine, they know you're protecting me. You look like you chew through rocks when you're bored, they won't try anything." He offered.
Optimus hummed once, he raised his hand to enunciate a comment, which was promptly grabbed by an eager young lady and the Prime was very nearly yanked clean off his feet with a surprised noise.
The music that flowed from the live band was just as lively and peppy and Derrick chuckled to himself as he found a nice bit of wall to lean against, enjoying his choice of snacks as he saw the shimmer of blue in black hair bobbing above the vast majority of the crowd.
He winced internally at some of the high heels he spotted.
He'd only seen Kia use heels that high before, and that was because she'd decided her target deserved being done in with the business end of a murder stiletto.
In the mass of flowing bodies, Optimus was deeply grateful for the dance programs he'd downloaded.
Human bodies were so much more flexible than he was used to being, but the programs running took up the significant snag, and his impromptu dance partners didn't seem to mind.
In fact, they seemed to be… very clingy.
Regularly there was an unspoken cue, and a new woman would be passed into his hold while the previous practically spun into another.
It was the fourth one that ended up being all the more… forward.
It took a not so small amount of his experience as a hardened soldier to stop him from jumping out of his own suit when he suddenly found the woman grinding her not insignificant rear against his hips.
He reached down, grabbing the sides of her hips, trying to get her to stop as he turned a vibrant cherry red in the cheeks.
To his horror, the action only spurred the woman on more, looking over her shoulder to him, flashing him a grin that he realised a smidge too late was supposed to be a flirt.
An invitation for more.
The flexibility of the programs fought against how rigid his processor tried to make him as a significant portion of it stalled out, flinging up almost angry responses.
This was not something he wanted.
This was…
The partners changed.
His hands were suddenly being held, the previous woman staggering away, thrown off by a shove to the shoulder she'd barely caught herself from.
He barely noticed the motion of a bouncing curl of soft blue dyed hair drawing him to meet eyes that… weren't quite…
The face of the woman in front of him flickered, his memory banks, he realised too late.
They'd left him alone for a while… He should have been more alert, more cautious.
The world fell away, and suddenly he was in a very different place.
Iacon - Golden Age
Orion Pax kept himself close to the wall, clutching the cube in his servo a bit too tight.
He couldn't relax his grip. His optics flickering across the amassment of bots who he utterly despised.
He felt like a youngling again, surrounded by feral predators in the wastes.
He wasn't far off.
His gaze flickered lower, scanning the overzealously decorated limbs, the flowing cloaks and shawls. Trying to spot the familiar colours of his dear friends.
He couldn't spy either, he was half tempted to just chug the cube in his servo, free himself of it so that he could grab the side of his own cloak, tug and wring the exotic fabric out.
Exotic…
The word alone made him feel sick to his tanks, spoiling what diminutive appetite he had for the contents of the cube he was holding.
Something gently tugged at the cape, just enough to put pressure on his shoulder for him to notice.
His gaze slid down, and relief filled his stressed spark.
Soft optics met his, expressing all their owners could as they flicked their gaze over to the exit to the grand hall.
An invitation as much as it was a plea.
He could get her out of here…
But where was her twin?
Where was Solarstorm?
There was another tug, not on the cloak, on the actual metal of his leg, more insistent, more loud in the inherent plea.
That was his answer.
She didn't want to be grabbed too.
So, he knelt down, offering his crooked arm to her.
She hopped up, she barely weighed a thing as he rose back to his full height, letting her move to his shoulder, then to his back, hanging her legs down to find points in his armour to place her claws, as her arms lightly wrapped around his neck.
No one cared that they left, he'd been there long enough that it was socially accepted that he left with one of the twins…
Considering Sol had already been snatched away to some Senators' overly stuffed berth.
He tried, he tried so hard not to think about it as his spark flared and raged.
He couldn't act on his urges, his wants and desires to go find Sol and rip the helm of the Senator no doubt hurting her.
They had to keep the ruse, just a bit longer.
Just a few more orns.
They had to move slowly.
Anything too fast and the Senators would notice, they would scatter like glitch mice when caught in light.
He knew Megatronus was practically at the point of chewing on the walls of the Pits, imagining the hard metal was the soft protoform of the mechs that Orion had to keep the company of.
"Orion!"
His joints locked up as Neb's grip around his neck minutely tightened, her helm already pressed into the flaring of his left shoulder strut.
Sentinel Prime, ruler of Cybertron, strode over to him, sloshing the energon in his own cube, no doubt it was pure high grade, the mech needed much more than what a gladiator would to even feel a buzz anymore.
"Yes, Sentinel Prime, Sir?" Orion asked, holding steady.
Sentinel's gaze flicked to where the top of Nebularburst's helm could be spotted. "Already making off with the entertainment? Don't keep it too long to yourself, there's only the two of them~" He purred, making a show of thrusting his bright red painted hips.
He felt the claws of Nebularburst's pedes dig into his back that bit more. "Of course Sir… Unless I get carried away~" He responded with as much the same tone, as much as it made everything that made him revolt at it.
Sentinel grinned, slapping the shoulder Nebularburst's helm was behind.
It took a moment too long for him to realise he'd done it on purpose, when he felt more than heard the pained whine of a tiny engine against his back, as Sentinel's digits squeezed around Nebularburst's helm.
"Make sure my heir has a good time pet." He growled to Nebularburst.
Somehow Orion managed to get his glossa to work. "Sir, I prefer her intact."
Sentinel Prime let go, rolling his shoulders as he stepped back. "Ahh, good idea, rough her up a bit, I hear there's a few who want to test just how those sturdy sparks work~"
He knew what that meant.
She knew what that meant.
"Of course… Sir."
And he turned, and it took all his strength not to run.
Not to bolt.
He had to keep up the ruse he was at least, to a degree, one of them.
It was the only way to get access to them if they were locked down.
They'd lock down with him.
He was the chosen Heir of their Prime.
He was too valuable to leave out to the predators they feared lurked among the masses.
He didn't reach around to try and take Nebularburst's servo.
Not yet, not until they were somewhere without cameras, where they'd expect him to go, want to see him go if they checked the cameras that lined every hall.
They'd established the ruse that the twins had grown to like him… intimately.
It was how he managed to get at least one of them out of those events, if only for a time.
The door to his room was too slow, but the blessed silence that surrounded them when it closed, it was the signal.
Nebularburst swung under his arm, and he caught her into a hug, being oh so careful not to dent her thin armour as he hugged her. "You're safe… I have you, I have you…" He whispered as she shook.
He tried to look at her helm, easily spotting the digit shaped dents, Dust would have to fix those later.
A delicate servo cupped his cheek, tugging him to meet her optics.
They were so soft, so understanding…
So caring.
So… human?
::I know… You'll always be safe.::
He pulled a sharp gasp into his holoform, his hands gripping onto the stone railing of one of the many balconies that lined the ballroom.
The woman's hand was rubbing circles into his back, trying to soothe him. "-re we go… keep breathing, that's it… Oh you poor thing… you're paler than I am…"
He felt weak, crumpling down until he was pressing his forehead into the cool hard stone.
Breathing… he needed to focus on breathing.
In… Out… In… Out… Repeat.
Finally he seemed to get his wild spark under control.
He rose his head up, and after a moment of hesitation, looked up to meet the woman's eyes.
He hadn't been imagining it…
They were so… blue…
And… familiar…
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Do… do I know you?"
The woman smiled, standing up fully, letting him take a moment to take in the soft blues of her dress, of the stained pearls hanging from her neck, of her age. "Depends, are you that man from the bar?" She responded, looking him over too.
It clicked.
He'd met her around the time they found Prowl.
He stood up a bit straighter, and offered his hand out to her. "I remember now… allow me to introduce myself better… I'm Orion Pax."
Eons of war had long trained his senses to catch minute tells.
He didn't miss the sudden pain that flicked through her gaze in the space of a blink, before it was replaced with a soft smile.
Everything about this woman seemed to be soft.
She took his hand and shook. "Narisa Vorun. A pleasure to meet you, Orion Pax."
He took a moment to glance out at the bay before speaking again. "You… pulled me out of there?"
She hummed softly, turning to face the waters as well. "I saw you lock up… It was quite apparent you were taken off guard by her intentions…" Her face pulled into a scowl. "Humans never change… lust clouds judgement as much as greed does."
The term of phrase caught his attention. "Do… you know a woman named Sophia?"
She smiled. "Russian? Ginger cat? Of course. We went to University together in Nevada."
He tracked the timeline that Annie and Prowl had given them.
He lent in a bit closer. "You know Annie and her Husband then?"
Her eye flicked to him, mirth filling them. "Of course, they were the lovebirds of the town. The Young Deputy, and her partner."
He nodded. "You're one of the caretakers…" He stated cautiously.
She smiled, crows feet becoming evident around her eyes. "Yes. I am."
It was like a weight dropped off his shoulders he didn't know he was carrying.
But it also opened up so many more questions.
One slipped out before he could stop it. "You're immortal too… in the sense of reincarnation…"
She nodded solemnly, reaching up to point at the gash on the side of her face, the one he'd noticed the first time they met. "Sometimes the wounds that killed us before, carry over… This was a bayonet… stabbed into my face when I was trying to flee an SS brigade…" A shudder went through her as she gripped the stone railing, masking the shaking in her hands that had swiftly developed. "My sisters were cut down before me…"
He hung his head for a moment. "I have… heard of the war… I have done research… it horrifies me… I admit, I struggle to… to borrow a phrase, stomach it."
One of the hands left the railing, rubbing small circles against his shoulder blade. "War is a monster few can claim to be prepared for. Even those who've been through many, many battles and massacres."
He let out a breath of a laugh. "I am… well aware… I assume you know who I really am…"
"Of course, you're Orion Pax. Anointed Prime by the bastards that be." She responded with a surprising amount of venom filtering it.
He stood up a bit straighter, looking at her in surprise. "How… Do you know that?"
She wasn't looking at him, staring out ahead with wide eyes.
His concern built. "Narisa?"
"By Primus' rusted over axles… I… I could say that…?" She rasped out.
His alarm spiked higher. "Narisa?" He asked again.
She spun on him. "Screw Narisa! Pax! It's me!" She exclaimed, gesturing to herself. "Neb! Your old friend! Please! You have to believe me!"
She didn't give him a chance to process what she'd just announced, beginning to pace. "No, no, that's not right… I… I'm not all of Nebular… I'm only a bit… one of the pieces… but I know who I am damnit! Eons of being stuck in this fleshy body be damned!"
She ran a hand through her well styled hair, letting out a bark of a laugh that sent a lance of familiarity through Optimus' spark. "I could say that! I can talk! I can tell you everything!" She exclaimed, spinning back on him, and then, froze.
He was equally frozen, expression locked in dawning shock and surprise, his jaw hanging.
She faltered, taking a step back. "Too… too much? Oh Paxie… I-I'm sorry I… I should have eased you into that…"
It took a few tries for him to swallow, before trying to speak, trying to hold back tears, a valiant effort, but he knew full well he wouldn't hold them off long. "N-Neb… How… I… I saw… Wheeljack said there wasn't… any way you… could survive…"
Her gaze turned down to the stone at her feet. "We… didn't… But they weren't done with us… when our physical frames were destroyed they 'saved' the… non-corporal pieces of us… I… I'm the processor of Neb… given flesh to puppet…" She bit her lip, her hands coming together to fidget just how he remembered she did.
The implications had his spark dropping like a lead weight through air. "When… we met… at that bar…"
"I… I wanted so badly to tell you then… But they kept muting me whenever I tried… until I said something different… something that wouldn't give it away…" She tried to explain, still she was twitchy. "Can… are you okay if I… touch you? Like Physical contact?"
His spark felt like it was trying to tie itself into a knot as he rasped out a response. "Please… Pl-" He was cut off with the elderly lady crashing into him, arms wrapping around his torso, manicured nails digging into his shoulder blades, like she was terrified he'd vanish on her.
The noise that came from her as she pressed into him, a shaky sigh of bone deep relief, was mimicked by his own as his arms trapped her tightly against him in turn, as he began to gently sway the both of them.
The rest of the world could keep moving around him for all he cared, he needed this moment to last for as long as possible.
A sniffle came from her, and he nudged the top of her head with his chin, trying to get her to look up at him.
She did, and what he saw seemed to break his spark completely.
Those soft blues were wet with overflowing tears, as she tried to blink them away with a squeak leaving her closed mouth.
One of his hands went up, cupping the back of her head, fingers carding deep into her hair to hold her as he coaxed her to go back to resting against his chest. "I have you… I have you."
It was only him actively locking his legs in place that stopped him from dropping to his knees.
The nails in his shoulders flexed as she responded. "I know… I know you do…"
The music of the party inside fell away as he focused on Nebularburst. "I… I have so many questions…"
She hummed, pressing into him somehow even more. "So do I… Have you been well? We only know what Prowl and Annie think to pass along…" She admitted.
He paused. "You… you were looking after Prowl…" He realised, eyes going wide as he took her in.
She nodded. "We did… when we found out about him, we couldn't believe it! But… but he had no memory! None! Everything was gone!" She exclaimed, having pulled away to look up at him properly once more.
He nodded. "You did well… He speaks fondly of you… all… Sophia… Sophia is at the manor… is she?"
She let out a quiet laugh. "Smart mech… we're all the processors… but we're not the sparks…" She took a moment, eyes darting about before looking back to him and smiling. "You've already been taking good care of them."
Luckily for the Prime, Nebularburst had the patience to wait for his processor to finish defragging, rerunning her statement six times over, having to refresh between each and try again before he could even begin to consider an appropriate response to the bomb she just dropped on him.
A gentle tug on his hand stopped his response though, as she offered him an apologetic smile. "Not here… not with these people around, they're starting to get curious."
He glanced back inside, spotting the glances out of the side of peripheries aimed at them. "Then we need to find Derrick."
She nodded, letting go of his hand. "Lead the way then, Mr Pax."
He knew exactly where to lead her. "Where is… your sister?" He asked, carefully.
"Oh, Selena? Oh she decided to stay home… didn't think this gala was important enough to come… oh the surprise she'll get when we tell her."
"The bond…?"
"Processors don't get to have that."
"Oh."
It wasn't hard finding Derrick, his bright green and blue hair standing out among the crowd.
Lightly tapping his shoulder with the back of his hand, Optimus' got his attention. "Pax? What's going on?"
He gestured with his eyes to Nebularburst. "We need to get to the roof. Now."
The man paled considerably. "What did you see? Poison, daggers? A gun?" He hissed in a quiet whisper.
He shook his head. "No. No danger, but we need to get to the helicopter on the roof." He stated, imploring the youngest Harpy to understand.
Derrick's expression became confused concern, but he nodded. "Alright, let's go. Screw these people." He added with a snap, sending a venomous glare around the hall. "Fucking Vultures."
The young Harpy led them through and up the building, when they got to an empty corridor on the fourth floor he stopped before turning around, expression furious.
Optimus and Nebularburst stopped as well, looking at the young heir in confusion.
"Who. The fuck. Is she?" He snapped, pointing at Nebularburst. "What importance does she suddenly have?! First Ira, now you?!"
Both recoiled in surprise. "Derrick… please…" Optimus started. "She's one of the caretakers. One of the ones who looked after Prowl." He implored. "And so much more."
The young Heir growled, rubbing his temples, hard enough the holoform flickered slightly. "I want to trust you. But for fucks sake, we can't keep bringing more unknowns in! … We have a giant tiger sleeping in a bed! Wren is going to have a fucking heart attack when she sees just that!" He exclaimed.
"Derrick, please." Nebularburst pleaded. "There is so much I need to say, but I don't know how long I'll be able to say it… my name is Nebularburst, I was Megatronus' second in command before the war."
It took Derrick a few moments of having his jaw dropped before he managed a response. "पूर्वज मुझे शक्ति देते हैं।"
She offered him an apologetic smile before responding. "मुझे माफ कर दो छोटू। मैं जानता हूँ कि तुम परेशान हो। लेकिन समय सीमित है।"
His shoulders dropped as he shook his head and turned back down the corridor. "If Tronus decides you're telling the truth, I'll believe it then."
She nodded. "Thank you."
Megatronus had been sitting on the step of the helicopter when the doors to the roof opened, causing him to swiftly stab out the cigarette he'd been puffing away at, before tossing it away.
Wren and Aria would have his helm if they knew he'd picked up the habit, sure it didn't hurt their holoforms, but he knew they wouldn't like it.
He decided he made a good call when he saw Derrick step out, he loved the kid, but he knew full well he'd tell.
Then Optimus followed, holding his hand just behind him, a much older, frailer hand clutching his.
That wasn't right, it was only supposed to be the two…
Any further thought that might have come, vanished as he recognised the soft blues of the elderly woman Optimus helped up the final step.
Primus it was like someone had punted the former warlord millenia back in time.
He didn't even realise he'd stood up, when he met the woman's soft blue gaze.
In that instant, he wasn't entirely sure how, but that timid smile, showing just a few teeth on one side, he knew.
The voice wasn't quite right, but coming from an organic body would explain it. "Hey there big brother… long time… no see… Are you… okay?"
Megatronus, scourge of Kaon, former leader of the Decepticons, hardened warlord, felt something in his spark, a broken, jagged piece, softened for the first time since it cracked.
The vent he pulled in was sharper than he wanted, as he fought back so many different urges.
After nearly swallowing his tongue, he spoke. "You're… alive…?" He croaked out, not daring to take a step closer.
Hand in hand with Optimus, Nebularburst took the lead, striding over with an air of caution. "It's complicated, but, yes… I am…" She let out a soft laugh. "And look! You don't have to complain about breaking your neck every time you try to look at me!" She let out a quick laugh, reaching out her free hand to him. "Please… I'm not a ghost, you need not be afraid of me vanishing… or something else… not now. We can have this moment."
What followed was a blur of motion that even Derrick, couldn't quite catch.
Nebularburst was pulled into a near crushing hug as the former warlord grappled for the best way to hold his little sister.
His little sister was alive.
His shoulders began to shake as her arms wriggled free to wrap around his neck. "Shh, shh… it's okay. I've got you… C'mon, how about you get me to a phone so I can call Sol, hmm? It's probably a good thing she's the one who stayed home… if I was the one to get the call I'm going to give her, I'd break every road law between here and Switzerland!"
He tried to laugh, but it came out pained. "You've been… so close…"
An equally painful keen left her as her nails dug in. "I know… it's been tortuous… I didn't know you'd be here… for only the second time… nothing stopped me from coming here… But this time… nothing stopped me from… reaching out."
He snarled, but his sudden surge in anger wasn't for her. "You're… still being controlled?"
She nodded into his chest.
Optimus stepped closer, gently pressing a hand to Megatronus's shoulder. "Get her to the manor, quickly."
He nodded, as Derrick and Optimus' holoforms flickered out, the latter with a last, forlorn look.
He practically carried her into the co-pilots seat, earning a small huff. "I can walk mister…"
"I don't care." He gruffed, making sure she was safely buckled in. "Somehow you've become even more fragile."
She let out a mock affronted gasp. "How dare you! I'll have you know I've perfected every fighting technique these humans have ever come up with!"
He chuckled softly as he clambered into the pilot seat. "Of course you have… maybe you might be the one to finally pin down Aria, she's got an unbeaten boxing streak against Ironhide."
She chuckled. "Oh I don't plan to fight my spark. We'll do much better working as a team."
It was a good thing he hadn't gotten the helicopter started yet.
Considering he just stalled.
She laughed. "Oh goodness I can't wait to see the look on Shrike's face when she realises we can really talk to you! She might just faint!"
His head snapped around. "SHRIKE?!"
She blinked at him a few times. "Wait, you hadn't figured that out yet? Oh you poor thing, I'll explain on the way."
Jazz hands TA-DA! Plot has happened! rubs hands with glee.
Op: You scare us at times... stop grinning like that, please.
That's all for now! Until next time!
Moon