Hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Transformers © to Disney and Square Enix!
My OCs © to me!
Chapter 12: Haunts
"I don't get it."
Nautica giggled as Silk turned to her, confusion readily apparent in her optics. "Neither do I. It's Kup and Ayal's thing."
"I told you guys, soap operas and telenovelas are just weird." Dante called from across the room.
Ayal turned around. "Weird!? They are television gold!"
"Exactly!" Kup huffed.
Elita rolled her optics. "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, so this arguing is pointless."
Silk stood up, smiling at the human and older bot. "Thank you for introducing me to your favorite shows. I don't think they're for me though."
"At least someone is nice about it!"
The youngling giggled, taking a few steps before halting.
"Elita!"
Silk stood in the middle of the base, face turned upwards as her optics glowed a bright white, her frame shuddering.
"An oracle!"
Silk found her vision sliding through hallways filled with many pictures, rocks, and even bones.
Flash.
She saw Patty run and grab Jan, hiding behind one of the skeletons.
Screaming.
Gunfire.
Another flash.
A human man stood, his back to her, wild hair sticking out from his head.
An explosion filled her vision.
"Gah!" She stumbled back, strong arms catching her.
"You ok?" Hound asked as he straightened her up.
"Wh-where are Jan and Patty!?"
Saber immediately stiffened. "On a field trip to a museum. Why?"
"They're going to be in an attack." The youngling looked up. "I don't think it's Decepticons. I saw a human."
Elita narrowed her optics. "Autobots! Get to the museum. Use holoforms to be either inside or outside, watching for any threats. Stay in covert mode. I'll inform the military upstairs."
"We'll handle the takedown." Ayal nodded. "Human on human combat is one of our many specialties."
As the bots began to move out, Saber laid a hand on Silk's shoulder. "Silk, thank you."
"You're welcome." She looked to Elita. "Can I come in my holoform? I want to help somehow."
"Absolutely. Though, you've already helped more than you know."
"Autobots, check in. Is everyone in position?" Elita, her holoform looking like a middle-aged woman with dirty blonde hair, sat on a bench about half a block from the museum, eyes darting around for any sign of suspicious activity.
In the coffee shop across the street, Titilayo sat with Nautica, who looked like a young woman with curly blonde hair with purple highlights. She brushed her ear, activating her comm. "Nautica and I are in position."
Hound drove around the block, watching all angles with the eyes of his holoform which looked like a skinny man with brown hair and glasses. Marissa sat in the shotgun seat, watching other locations nearby. "Patrolling now."
"In position." Moonracer, her holoform looking like a young woman with blonde hair dyed a soft teal, wandered around the gift shop of the museum with Dante.
Kup and Ayal stood by a nearby bus stop. Kup, looking like an older man with white hair, leaned against a pole. "Ready and waiting."
Inside the museum proper, Star Saber, looking like a man with black hair and a slightly graying beard, walked next to Silk. "Searching for the kids now."
"What should I do?" Silk looked up at him.
"Nothing yet."
"We apologize for the inconvenience," A voice came over the loudspeaker, "but the museum will be closing early due to a maintenance issue. Please make your way to the exit. Refunds or new tickets on another day will be given. Have a wonderful day."
Good.
After contacting the military about the threat, the museum was informed. Around them, Saber could see the security guards watching cautiously. He also noted a few military men in civilian clothes standing around, watching carefully. He made eye contact with one of them who gave him a nod.
People grumpily made their way toward the exits, and the two inside caught a glimpse of a large group of students making their way as well.
People moved out, including the students, who did not see Saber or Silk in their exit, and the crowds became thinner and thinner. Until only a few stragglers remained inside with security trying to usher them all out.
"Holy… I see the target! And you're not going to believe who it is!" Dante's voice whispered through the comms.
"Who?"
"Primus! Is that the doc!?"
"TAKE COVER INSIDE!"
"EVERYONE GET DOWN!" Saber yelled, amplifying his voice through the holoform.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Gunshots filled the air, followed by screams.
People ducked, hiding.
Some still continued to run.
Some security guards ushered the remaining people to safety as others approached the gunfire.
Saber turned to Silk. "Stay down!"
"Ok!"
She hid behind a pillar while he ran toward the fighting. "Who is it!?"
"ARKEVILLE!"
Slamming Hound's door open, Marissa charged across the street toward the old man who stood next to a van.
She and Hound just watched as three flying drones, armed with weapons, flew into the museum and just started blasting.
"Faireborn!? What are you doing here?" The old man snarled.
Her fist connected with his face. "Stopping you!"
"A little late then." He laughed, blood pouring from his nose. "I've already won. Prime, I know you can hear me." He yelled. "Stop sending the stooges. Let's have a conversation, and I'll call off the drones."
Elita hurried up, her face a mask of fury. "Optimus is no longer on this planet, human. Call off your drones."
"Liar!"
BANG BANG!
Gunfire, and lots of it, rang out from inside the museum. But not the sounds of the drones.
Other gunfire.
Drone systems fatally damaged.
Elita, glancing into the slightly open back of the van, watched as security guards, aided by Saber and the plain-clothes soldiers, shot at the drones before the camera feed died.
Not even drones could stand that much gunfire.
"Looks like the drones are gone now. Any casualties?" She called into her comlink.
"A few injured, but nothing serious."
Marissa looked up at Elita. "Well then, this was easier than expected." Cuffing the old man, she grinned. "I didn't like you from the beginning, you know."
Whack!
With one more punch, she knocked the old man unconscious.
Seventeen Years Ago
"Welcome to Operation Anthill." A man in a suit stood at the end of a long table.
Various agents and government pencil pushers sat near to him. On the other end sat five figures.
Marissa looked around at the two men close to her age. They seemed interesting. She read their files: Ayal the hacker and Dante the spy. The woman nearby seemed interesting as well: Titilayo the technician. Then there was the old man: Dr. Henri Arkeville a robotics expert.
He looked like a more boring version of Doc Brown.
"So, what's this whole thing about?" Dante sighed. "We got the 'talk about this and no one will remember you' speech. And come on, we're all professionals here, we know the drill. But this smells of serious Top Secret stuff."
"You have no idea." Marissa snickered to herself, drawing attention.
Titilayo raised an eyebrow. "Care to share the joke?"
"Forgive Captain Faireborn, she just has some… well far more knowledge than probably even we do on this subject, which is one of the many reasons she was asked to join this team." The agent sighed. "Well, to start off the first of many surprises, officially we are not alone in the universe."
…
"Aliens?" Ayal raised an eyebrow.
Dr. Arkeville leaned in closer. "I knew it. I just knew it."
The old guy's eyes glinted. Marissa wondered if he was one of those conspiracy guys with the tin foil hats.
She could see it.
"Yes." He held up some files. "We have had contact with a group of extra-terrestrial beings from a planet known as Cybertron."
Taking a file, Titilayo asked, "How long has contact been established?"
"At this point for nearly 13 years. Though they have admitted to being on our planet for longer."
"Interesting." Arkeville opened the file, his eyes shimmering even more as he read the documents. "They are living robotic beings?"
"Yes, and they have the ability to transform their physical forms into vehicles. On their own planet, they use this for quick traversal, but here it works well as a disguise."
"You're telling me," Dante leaned forward, "that any car I passed on the street could be one of these aliens?"
"Or it could be that random jet that passes over." Marissa offered off-handedly.
She couldn't take her eyes of the old man at the table. He was practically drooling into the file. I mean, as a robotics expert this probably seemed like a dream come true. But he seemed a bit too excited about this.
She'd have to keep an eye on him.
"That wasn't too hard." Nautica's holoform grinned as a military truck came and took away the old doctor. "But I can't believe you knew this guy, and that he went bonkers."
"I can." Marissa snarled.
"I can too." Kup nodded.
Elita looked around her. The four humans wore different variations of disgust and frustration on their faces, as did the Autobots who were from the original team here.
"I saw a few mentions of this doctor, but I don't know if I truly understood the full story about him."
"We'll explain at base."
A man in a business suit approached. "Elita One?"
"Me."
He blinked for a moment, remembering that holoforms existed after a moment. "We went through the files in the van. It appears he'd been planning to attack the museum when there was a maximum number of guests, and there was a secondary drone that was going to fly in after a few minutes and explode. He was planning to bring the building down."
Saber's eyes narrowed. "Any particular targets?"
"If you're referring to your children, yes. He did choose a day they were there. Seems like he'd been planning this thing for months."
"But why?" Moon huffed. "What would he stand to gain from this?"
The agent crossed his arms. "From what we could find, it was revenge on some of you." His eyes glanced to Saber. "And he wanted to draw out the Autobots for some reason. We found recorded messages that probably would have been sent out after the deed was done. Come take a look."
Leading them over to the van, he pulled a tablet off a small table. Inside the van, computers and other robots flickered with power as the military team inside started their job of cataloging and shutting down everything.
"Here."
Elita took the tablet, turning it on.
Arkeville's face appeared on the screen. "Greetings, I am Dr. Henri Arkeville. And if you're watching this, Optimus Prime, know that I am the one responsible for the attack on the museum. I want you to know that I was right… And if you Autobots do not turn yourselves over to me, I will continue to attack other locations like this. You will not know where I will strike next. The attacks will continue until my demands are met."
"Psycho." Kup snarled.
Silk's holoform came walking up, followed by a military officer who knew what the Autobot's holoforms looked like. "Is everyone ok?"
All eyes turned to her. Elita, despite the message she just saw, smiled. "Yes, there were minimal injuries, thanks to you."
"Injuries?" Silk looked at the officer next to her.
The woman nodded. "A few people were injured, but the security guards were on alert and they took the brunt of it, not to mention there were soldiers in civilian clothes joined in to help. Ten people were injured, six were security guards, but no casualties. I've been told they should all make a full recovery.
The government official nodded. "Good job, Autobots in catching this terrorist act."
"Thank the kid." Kup gestured to Silk. "She warned us in time."
The officer and agent both knew of Silk's abilities from their reports, and they both looked at her with a smile. "We're fortunate to have your help, Silk. You saved a lot of lives today."
"I'm glad." The youngling felt her spark flutter.
Once again, she'd used the oracle to save… not to hurt.
"Well, let's clean up here and then we'll give the rest of you the full story back at base about Arkeville."
Silk blinked. "The man who did this? You knew him?"
"Oh yeah."
Ten Years Ago
"Arkeville you've gone too far!"
The old man turned around, rolling his eyes. "Oh, come now, Optimus. I'm doing this for the good of all. And we're at war, so we need every advantage we can get. And I think I can repurpose this corpse into something useful, and possibly more powerful."
Optimus felt the fury inside of him grow as he beheld a Decepticon laid out on a table, fully dissected with some parts having been modified or changed. He recognized the mech's face, even as disfigured as it was: a K-Class bot named Fulcrum. "We may be at war, but this is a-."
"Oh, don't say 'war crime'." The old man laughed. "This will give us the advantage we need." He looked around at the other Autobots, and the humans on his team, all who looked at him with horrific disgust. "I will win this war for everyone, just you watch!"
"That is enough!" Optimus leaned down, his optics hard. "Doctor, I have warned you about letting your experiments go too far before, but this is the last time. I will have you removed from this team, today."
"You can't do that!"
"Yes, I can." Optimus turned to Star Saber. "Make sure that Fulcrum's body is given a proper burial."
"Yes sir."
The human watched, unable to do much as the massive robots removed his experiment.
Anger growing behind his eyes. "You will regret this."
"What we regret," Marissa walked over, jamming a finger into his chest, "is every bringing you into this team, doc."
"Shut up, you muscle-brained bi-"
Crack!
A punch from the woman sent him to the floor.
"Just shut up and pack your stuff, doc. You're out of here."
"Optimus and the rest of the team left about a year and a half after that, and we never saw Arkeville again until today." Kup leaned against the wall.
Velocity shuddered. "He sounds like a human version of Vos."
"Not far off." Dante sighed. "We got into some of his research after he left. The guy was twisted."
"Well, I'm glad he's locked up now. We let him off too easy last time."
"Why!?" Moonracer snarled. "Why didn't you lock him away for what he did before?"
Saber looked at the younger bot. "Optimus didn't want that. He said that this war wasn't the humans' to begin with and Arkeville was doing what he thought was the best option for his race, so we just had him removed from the team."
"He got discredited too." Ayal added. "After he was removed, he tried to spill secrets about the bots publicly. We all signed an agreement that if we ever did that, we'd be fully discredited publicly to cover up this operation. Guess he wanted to do experiments on you guys out of revenge."
"Guess so."
"Sometimes I forget humans can be just as bad as Cons… but then I get reminded." Hound sighed. "But at least he's gone and dealt with."
"Yeah."
Silk watched Kup turn and walk away. He went to the bay doors and out onto the beach area connected to the base.
She followed.
"Kup?"
"Oh, hey kid." He walked around a bend on the little beach. Silk hadn't gone this way before.
And she saw a piece of metal sticking out of the ground away from the water.
"What's this?"
"This is where we buried the Decepticon that Arkeville dissected. He was our prisoner, and we promised we'd keep him alive. One day, we were all on a mission, and the doctor took advantage of that." The older bot knelt down by the grave. "I wish we had returned sooner to save him. No one should have to go like that, even a Decepticon." He patted the piece of metal gently. "But at least the doctor is in prison. I never agreed with Optimus's decision to let him go, but I understood his reasoning. I'm just happy justice will be served now." He turned back to her. "I'm going to talk to the council about this myself and make sure whatever charges he is given include murder for what he did."
Silk looked at the grave before turning away. "Well, I'm glad I stopped Arkeville from taking more lives."
"So am I, and I bet Fulcrum is too."
"I told you bringing him in was risky."
"But at least we now know for certain that Prime is gone, and a smaller team is present currently."
"Are we going to retrieve the doctor?"
"Why? We have all of his research here. We don't need him. Not to mention a prison break will draw more attention than we need."
"I'm still curious, how did they know of his plans ahead of time?"
"That is a good question, one we can find the answer to."
"Exactly. This isn't over…"
…
Four humans sat around a table.
Talking.
Planning.
In the middle of the table, four letters shimmered in the dim light.
D.U.S.K.
VAs:
Dr. Henri Arkeville- Matthew Lillard (Shaggy Rogers, Dr. Jason Burr, Eko Hoshunin)