TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED
Re:Animated
Rewrite of 'Grey Matter, Silver Lining'. At the same time as Megatron reawakens, a woman falls to earth and Sari manages to convince her father to let her become her nanny. Emma doesn't talk much, and certainly isn't saying she knows them from a cartoon! But when the All-Spark shatters, it makes her question everything . . .
~Parental Warning~
This chapter contains the following, which may not be suitable for young people:
. Low-level adult themes
Reader discretion is advised.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Prime Time
This dream will come true,
Because I believe in you,
Say goodbye to those who try to keep you from flying,
Travel high beyond this life where music will lie in hiding,
We need to keep on rising . . .
— Ado
Miko and Flora had been absolutely shocked to learn what had happened right before their plane took off, and asked for all of the details from their friends.
Despite how hard it was to talk about it, they gave them the information, because the girls deserved to know what had happened.
Emma, with the exception of speaking to Miko and Flora, was staying off of social media … and her phone … in fact, she was not really having anything to do with the outside world at all.
Not since the newspaper had published an article about the fact that she was the golden bird Transformer. People had started to form their own opinions, and expressed them via the comments section of the newspaper.
Emma didn't want to know about it.
At all.
High Rise and Rapid 99 were back out on the road, hunting down more Vampires - although, they had stayed for a few days. This was before Emma had moved from Sumdac Tower back to the base.
She, Sari, Bumblebee, and Honeybee had played a few epic rounds of Pyrameow Racers with Rapid 99 on Sari's big screen TV, and Rapid 99 had taken Sari out for a ride one afternoon (Sari's battle armour helmet had doubled as her motorbike helmet although, thankfully, she hadn't needed it; Rapid 99 was just as careful as Prowl was, perhaps even more so, given her history).
And, Soundwave was … wherever Soundwave was. Emma had no way to tell him how sorry she was for his loss. How did one even say something like that?
At least now she knew the reason why he hated the Vampires so much.
And, she didn't blame him.
Emma was spending most of her time with Prowl, and the other Autobots … but, mostly Prowl.
And, during the few times that she was alone, she wondered how she was going to save him if the cartoon was right about what was to come.
She had a feeling that she could … but, she needed to talk to somebody else about it … somebody who knew . . .
"Master Yoketron had it pegged - you're the real deal, Prowl." Jazz complimented on the morning of February 28th, as Prowl used processor-over-matter to levitate some oil drums. "So, how come you never wrapped up your cyber-ninja training?" He wanted to know.
Emma, who was sitting on a nearby crate, as Sari sat nearby and cleaned Pira's armour for her, traded a significant look with Capi.
Just then, they all heard Bumblebee's horn, and the yellow speedster cried out: "Guys! Guys! Big news!"
Prowl's concentration suddenly broken, and the oil barrel fell. Its contents spilled out over the floor (one could almost hear Mix and Scrapper groaning) and Bumblebee and Bulkhead both lost control as they drove in.
Jazz and Prowl jumped out of the way, and Bulkhead and Bumblebee crashed into a wall.
Emma, Sari, Capi, and Pira just stared.
"That's two reasons right there." Prowl told Jazz as he landed beside him, pointing to Bumblebee and Bulkhead, who transformed.
A moment later, Honeybee and Sky Dancer walked in; they glanced at the mess of oil and barrels on the floor, but didn't comment on it.
"I just picked up Omega Supreme's energy signature!" Bulkhead explained. "And — "
"He's on the moon!" Bumblebee stated.
"Earth's moon!" Honeybee added.
"He was there a couple of weeks ago, just after you," Sky Dancer looked at Emma. "And the others came back from Cybertron."
"But," Sari spoke up. "He left before we could get a proper reading on it . . . "
Capi and Pira glanced at each other.
"The fact that he - along with his Decepticon hijackers - is back," Emma said slowly. "And, staying in one location so close to us … makes me think that Megatron is getting ready to mobilise."
"How can you be sure?" Bumblebee asked, in a way that suggested he was hoping she was wrong.
Prowl saw Emma's gaze drift over the spilled oil. "There are signs . . . " She said quietly.
"You sound like a murder documentary!" Sari told her.
Emma jumped. "Huh?"
On the moon, Shockwave was now busily trying to access the top-secret data in Arcee's memory. It was not doing a shred of good for her processor.
Shockwave's wrist was still hurting him where Flora had stabbed him a few weeks back, but he would have rather gone offline than admit that to the other Decepticons.
He used that pain to drive him forwards.
Further probing had opened up an older data file, which revealed that Arcee had once been a school teacher.
"Good morning, boys and girls. My name is Teaching Unit RC-687-040, but you may call me Arcee."
"Hence why Ember called her 'Miss. Arcee' . . . " Shockwave murmured. He sensed Starscream's optics on him, and tried to ignore this. He knew that Starscream still disagreed with anything they did that made his spark partner upset - but, he also knew that Starscream had no alternative suggestions for how to proceed.
So, their campaign soldiered on.
The Decepticons weren't sure how a school teacher had gone to being an intelligence agent gathering information from deep behind enemy lines, but it didn't matter - they needed those access codes, to gain complete control over Omega Supreme!
"If anybot can access them," Megatron said, gazing at Shockwave with a calm smile. "It is you, my ever loyal Shockwave."
Shockwave's optic glowed. Praise like that was rare from Megatron . . .
"Uh-oh," Starscream's head said, looking at Lugnut, who was watching what was going on. "Looks like Megatron has a new favourite."
Lugnut narrowed his optic, and turned to him.
"And I'll give you a hint - it ain't you!" Starscream did so love stirring up trouble . . .
Lugnut stomped forwards and shoved Shockwave out of the way. "What about me, Master?!" He demanded to know. "Have I not served you loyally?!"
"That's a very good question, young bot." Arcee said. "Only the All-Spark knows for sure."
Shockwave got up and said, quite witheringly, to Lugnut: "While you were fawning at Megatron's feet, I risked spark and servo as a double agent on Cybertron!" He rubbed at that spot on his wrist. Who would have thought that an organic could strike so hard (armed with a cyber ninja weapon or not)!
"Cybertron is our home planet." Arcee explained. "We must protect it from the growing Decepticon menace, as there is no greater threat . . . "
Megatron sighed. It seemed that even the teachers had been brainwashed into believing that. "Can't you shut her up?" He asked no one in particular. "She makes Blitzwing sound like he's got his head screwed on straight."
Starscream smirked at Lugnut. "Ya see?" He asked quietly. "Now he even likes Blitzwing better than you. Hmm . . . "
Lugnut responded by knocking Shockwave out of the way again. "Iam Megatron's most faithful servant!"
"Have you blown a diode?!" Shockwave was finally starting to lose his temper. "I'm trying to work here!"
He and Lugnut began to scuffle.
"Oh, for spark's sake." Megatron closed his optics and placed a servo to his forehead. Where was Ember when you needed her? She was just about the only one that had any real control over these other mechs, aside from Megatron himself, of course. They actually listened to her ... plus, Starscream hadn't been half as annoying when his spark partner was around!
"I did nothing but serve faithfully — !" Lugnut began, right before Shockwave punched him.
Megatron was briefly caught up in a memory of the old days where, for a short while, it was like he had had a competent second-in-command - although, Ember had stated that she was not a Decepticon. Either way, the Decepticons had listened to her when she (and Starscream) had been training them on how to take out Vampires. It was … such a shame, really, that she wasn't on their side. Yet . . .
"Liar, lying liar!" Shockwave was telling Lugnut, as the two continued to scuffle.
They were all distracted, and so none of them really noticed when Starscream's head jumped off the bench and rolled out the door, with Emma's scarf still tied around the only part of his neck that was still there.
Starscream had a plan!
(And, he really did like stirring up trouble.)
Back on Earth, Optimus had called the Autobots together.
Emma, Capi, and Pira were not there (however, considering Emma's unwillingness to leave the base lately, they knew that she hadn't gone far), but everybody else was.
Optimus said: "The energy signal hasn't moved." He was checking the scanners, and Sky Dancer confirmed this assessment.
"That just confirms Megatron's got control of Omega Supreme." Ratchet said. "I say we go rescue him and Arcee!" There was a bond that he had with Arcee. It was different from a spark partner bond. This one was more like a father and daughter bond, and he had felt it from the moment that he had come across her on the battlefield, so long ago. That feeling had never really gone away, anymore than Ultra Magnus's connection to Ember / Emma had. "We need to use the Magnus Hammer." He told Optimus, holding said hammer out to him.
Optimus just looked at him, and everybody got the sense that he was involved in a deeply painful memory . . .
If painful could be called losing his spark partner and his best friend, being expelled from the academy for something that wasn't (entirely) his fault, and being told that he would never amount to anything great than, indeed, it was painful beyond comparison . . .
"I ... we can't use that!" Optimus told them. He was eyeing the Magnus Hammer, somewhat warily. Now I understand what Ultra Magnus meant when he asked Em if it was still too heavy for her, and she said in more ways than one … she didn't just mean literally . . .
"So, how're we supposed to take on Megatron?" Bulkhead wanted to know.
"We gotta even the odds somehow." Jazz added.
"We will." Optimus agreed. "But not with this." He motioned to the Magnus Hammer, which was giving off a faint glow just then for some reason or other. "What I had in mind was an upgrade, some kind of rocket-booster so I can keep up with Megatron."
Ratchet understood immediately what he meant. "Are you out of your motherboard and mind?!" He asked him. "Autobots don't fly!"
"What about Jetfire and Jetstorm?" Bulkhead said.
"And Prowl's rocket-powered, side-car ... thingie?" Bumblebee added.
"Heck, even I've got a jet pack." Sari reminded them.
"As do I." Sky Dancer added.
"You can take my armor and study its boosters." Prowl offered, removing the appropriate parts. He then glanced up.
"And I know my dad'll wanna help." Sari said proudly. "He's a whiz at reverse engineering."
"It's true." Emma agreed, from where she was perched, in her robot mode, up on the rafters.
"She says," Capi added, as he and Pira made themselves visible nearby, and Emma came down to join them all. "Before she slowly descends from the ceiling, having just flown in."
"I oughta have my processor examined." Ratchet shook his head.
"Meanwhile, we'll need to find out what Megatron's up to." Optimus went on.
"I'll Transwarp to the moon and spy on him." Prowl volunteered straight away.
"No!" Emma said, just as quickly, and they all glanced at her. "Uh … no." She said, a little less hastily. "Just … uh . . . " She glanced at Jazz.
He nodded, and put a hand on Prowl's shoulder. "And take five on your cyber-ninja training, Prowl? No dice."
Emma sighed. "Although … Jazz, I hate to say it, but you're starting to sound just like Sentinel . . . "
"In a weird, sort of urban-rapper kind of way." Sari added.
She and Emma exchanged a grin.
Jazz shrugged. "Either way, Prowl's close to a real breakthrough. And, I've got a vibe says we're gonna need every fighting advantage we can get our servos on."
Optimus nodded. "Agreed. We'll send someone else."
"Who'd be crazy enough to volunteer for that mission?" Bumblebee wondered.
"It's gotta be someone small . . . " Sari said thoughtfully.
"But not too small!" Honeybee said quickly.
Sari smiled. "Right, right … also, it's gotta be somebody fast, and … well . . . " She glanced at Emma. "Hey, what colour did you say the surface of the moon was?"
"You should know from your schoolwork," Emma reminded her. "But, it's greyish-brown … so, it wouldn't hurt if whoever went was . . . "
"Yellow, for camouflage purposes." Sari finished up, looking at Bumblebee.
Bumblebee was pointing at Emma, until he realised that she - along with everybody else - was looking at him.
"Why's everyone looking at me?" Bumblebee complained. "Why's everyone always looking at me?" He gave Emma a helpless look.
"Don't you enjoy being in the spotlight?" Pira asked him.
He glanced at her, and then back at Emma, who sighed.
"I would go — " She began.
"But she's gonna help Optimus learn to fly!" Capi said cheerfully.
Emma looked at Optimus, as Ratchet handed the Magnus Hammer to her.
"Anything I should know?" Optimus asked her, trying to smile.
"Yup!" She replied, with fake enthusiasm, as the Magnus Hammer glowed slightly. "The first rule about flying is that takeoff is optional, but landing is mandatory."
Optimus was about to respond to this, when he noticed something.
Emma's grip on the Magnus Hammer was so tight that, had she been in her human mode, her knuckles would have been turning white by now.
Starscream's day went from good to bad; he succeeded in creating a new body for himself out of a clone and a protoform … however, Megatron showed up and destroyed all of the other clones, before turning his weapon towards Starscream.
Starscream immediately begged for mercy (furious that this was the very first thing that he was doing with his brand new body) but, as it transpired, Megatron had a lot more things on his mind than reminding Starscream of his place.
He wasn't going to clone himself … or, even Lugnut . . .
Starscream then glanced outside, and that was when he realised who Megatron meant … Omega Supreme.
"Well, that's all very well and good," came a voice from behind them, and they both turned, to see Clear Air Turbulence, who had just made herself visible. She had her arms crossed, and she didn't look particularly happy about being there. "But, why have you summoned me, Lord Megatron?" I will play along … for now . . .
Megatron turned to her, and she hoped that he hadn't learned how to read minds during the last few months.
Somehow, she wasn't really at all surprised to hear what he wanted her to do.
"What if she doesn't have it?" She asked at one point. "What if it's the other intel. bot, Cliffjumper?"
"Then we shall cross that bridge when we come to it." Megatron replied evenly. "You want to learn the truth about your best friend, don't you? To keep her safe . . . "
They had come back into the room of Omega Supreme, where the others were, and they all looked as Megatron and Clear Air Turbulence entered.
Clear Air Turbulance stopped. Her gaze immediately zeroed in on Shockwave.
He was looking back at her. His expression was unreadable, but she made sure to focus as much anger into her gaze.
However, her voice was calm and steady when she said: "I will protect the only friend I have left, even if I go offline doing it."
Bumblebee had managed to make it onto Omega Supreme, although the transmitter that he had brought was destroyed when he had to avoid some construction work being done by Shockwave and Lugnut.
Upon arriving in the cockpit, he came across . . .
Okay, that had to be Arcee! There was no other way to explain why a pink femme bot with blue optics and the Autobots insignia on her chestplate was sitting there … something was wrong, though … she was clearly not functioning right.
"We better get you out of here . . . " Bumblebee decided, reaching towards her … and, he felt somebody grab his arm and half pull him back but, when he turned around, there was nobody there! Turning back, he then took note of the wires that were connected to Arcee's head, and realised: "Which would be a bad idea if those wires are what's keeping you online." He thought for a moment. "But … maybe you can help us listen in on Megatron!" He carefully reached up, aware that whatever had held him back before was still holding on to his wrist, but he wasn't entirely sure what it was. He activated her communicator, and then stepped back. "We'll be back for you. I promise." He said, and then took out the plasma dynamic thruster and Transwarped back to Earth … with a hitchhiker.
They weren't aware of this at first.
Not until Bumblebee said to Bulkhead, Honeybee, and Sky Dancer, who were waiting for him, that he had opened up Arcee's com. link. He quickly patched the computer into it, and they heard Megatron mentioning something about building … something.
They deduced that, whatever it was, it was gonna be big.
"Hmm . . . " Sky Dancer said thoughtfully, as she turned back around … and, then, her optics flashed green. "You!" She gasped, which made the others turn around.
Clear Air Turbulence made herself visible. "Thanks for the ride, short mech." She said to Bumblebee.
"Wait a minute . . . " Bumblebee said slowly, trying to overlook what she'd just called him. "It was you … you stopped me from pulling out those wires!"
Clear Air Turbulence looked aside. "It's a very … very delicate process what they're doing to her … thanks for caring enough to stop, though. Along with Master Yoketron … Miss. Arcee was … the best teacher ever. Em's no doubt told you that." She added. "I don't want anything to happen to either of them."
"Why are you here?" Asked Sky Dancer, who hadn't let down her guard one bit.
Clear Aur Turbulence faced her. "I think you know." She said. "It's either you or Cliffjumper who's got that last piece of information about Em — "
"What, so you can just hand over the information to Megatron?!" Sky Dancer asked her in disbelief. "After what Shockwave did to Blurr — !"
"I am never going to forgive him for that!" Clear Air Turbulence cried. "Do you not realise?! After everything the Decepticons have put me through, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't for sure that it's the right thing to do!"
"Says you." Sky Dancer remarked, somewhat flatly.
"You know, I used to be exactly like you," Clear Air Turbulance told her, narrowing her optics. "I was so sure that the universe was so black and white. But, at one time, Shockwave was working on a cure for Vampirification - millions of stellar cycles later, the Autobot scientists were experimenting on prisoners! So, you tell me who's right and who's wrong!"
"I — " Sky Dancer began, but Bulkhead cut her off.
"Wait," he said, looking more closely at Clear Air Turbulence now. "How do you know about that . . . ?"
She looked back at him, and then she just shook her head. "I can't say. But, it seems like I'm not going to be able to get what I came here for." And, she turned to go.
"Wait!" Honeybee suddenly called to her. "Umm … in regards to the Vampires, though … did you know that … Em got attacked?"
Clear Air Turbulance froze. "No," she said slowly, turning around again. "I didn't know that … is she . . . ?"
"She's okay," Bumblebee told her. "Now … I mean … she went offline at one point — "
Clear Air Turbulence gasped, despite herself.
"But, the All-Spark brought her back." Bulkhead said quickly.
"Well," Clear Air Turbulence said, with the air of one trying to process a great amount of information at once. "I'm certainly glad to hear that … thank you, for telling me . . . " And, she turned to go again.
"Wait!" Honeybee called again.
Clear Air Turbulence sighed, and half turned. "What . . . ?"
"Because we gave you that information," Honeybee said quickly. "Can you tell us — ?"
"What Megatron's planning?!" Bumblebee said. Honeybee nudged him. "Please?" He added.
Clear Air Turbulence raised an optic ridge. "Guys, this isn't one for one." She informed them.
"No, it's just potentially the fate of an entire city!" Sky Dancer said.
"Look, I only caught the end of Megatron and Starscream's conversation about it," Clear Air Turbulence stated. "Plus, you didn't tell me exactly what I wanted to know, so, I won't be telling you everything, either." She shrugged, like this was a very simple, very appropriate response. "But," she went on, as she made herself invisible all of a sudden. "At the rate Shockwave's working, it'll probably be ready by tomorrow morning."
Meanwhile, back at the Autobots' base, Emma was talking Optimus through some of the do's and don'ts of flying.
"I mean, what you did in space was one thing," she nodded. "But, here on Earth? It's only … gravity . . . " She shrugged. "Then again, there are some who laugh at gravity all the time — "
Capi had flown in just in time to hear that last part. "Heh heh. Gravity." He chuckled, and continued on, over to where Pira was watching Ratchet working on the rocket booster for Optimus.
Sari and Isaac were also there, and now Sari was saying: "No, you're off by two millimetres."
"Don't tell me where to weld!" Ratchet said gruffly.
"Don't argue with her." Isaac told Ratchet quickly. "Trust me."
"I'm not gonna argue," Ratchet replied. "'Cause I know this thing will never fly!"
Sari was just smiling patiently, as she leaned over and closed her eyes. Placing her hand on the rocket booster, she waited, and a soft blue glow emitted from her palm.
She opened her eyes and leaned back, saying: "You're right. We need to add a micro aerator to the fuel line."
Ratchet gave her a disbelieving look. "And I suppose the rocket booster just told you that?"
"Kinda." Sari shrugged.
"At least she's being honest about it." Capi whispered to Pira.
Ratchet just rolled his optics, and opened up a hatch on the rocket booster. "That's the most ridiculous thing I — " He paused. "Wait … I've got it! We'll add a micro aerator to the fuel line!"
Pira giggled. "Hey Sari, why didn't you think of that?" She called out.
"Hmm, why didn't I?" Sari grinned.
"Okay, Prime," Ratchet said, as Optimus finished adjusting the rocket booster to feel comfortable. "Let's test these boosters. But take it easy. Start at five percent power."
"You got it." Optimus nodded, and activated the boosters.
He shot straight up into the air, unable to control the rocket booster at all, as everybody else was thrown back, except for Emma, Capi, and Pira, because they'd had the forethought to grab onto something.
Optimus was sent careening outside, and they all raced outside after him.
"Maybe the throttle needs adjusting?" Ratchet mused.
Optimus could only yell out: "Raaaatcheeeet — !" As he was tossed about like he was riding The Claw Machine at the amusement park.
And, what followed for him was a whirlwind tour of one side of Detroit, from the Autobots' base to Sumdac Tower, twice around the invisible but shocked Clear Air Turbulence, and then back to the base, where he crashed into the ground.
"Oh gravity, though art a heartless glitch." Capi remarked.
"Stabilisers?" Sari asked Ratchet.
"Stabilisers." He confirmed.
"You know," Optimus said, fifteen minutes later, as he got ready for the second test flight. "Maybe Autobots weren't meant to fly after all?"
"Hey, what could possibly go wrong?!" Called Sari, from where she, Isaac, and Ratchet were watching from a safe distance away. "I mean … besides the obvious painful crashing and burning stuff?"
"Sari, we don't use the 'cr' word!" Emma called to her, from where she was sitting with Capi and Pira on the rooftop.
Sari sighed. "Fine! The obvious painful air incident stuff!" She corrected herself, as Ratchet nodded.
Optimus also sighed. "Okay, let's try this again . . . "
He activated the rocket booster, and found that they worked like a breeze!
"This feels fantastic!" He said, as he was able to control his tour of the city this time.
Ratchet warned him to be careful, although he didn't try and stop Optimus from really seeing what the rocket booster could do.
Sari was thrilled, although she then noticed that Emma had stood up, and was staring into the sky.
There was a small blue glow on her chestplate … and, then, her optics widened.
"Optimus!" She cried, and immediately took flight.
And, that was when they all saw a second figure flying towards Optimus, and he was suddenly shot down out of the sky.
"That was Slipstream!" Capi exclaimed.
They all watched as Emma headed towards the place where Optimus had disappeared, and then Slipstream flew off all of a sudden.
"She probably mistook him for somebody else." Pira commented, as she and Capi flew over to where Sari was. "That's why she's leaving all of a sudden."
"Yeah . . . " Sari said slowly. "But, at least seeing Prime in trouble got Em to leave the base again. She didn't even go with Prowl and Jazz to do … well, whatever it is that their training thing is . . . " She suddenly realised that Capi and Pira had gone very still. "Hey, guys . . . ? What's wrong?"
"Another All-Spark fragment . . . " Capi whispered.
"That's good though, right?" Sari said, and then she looked more closely at the two tapirs. "Unless … the memory was bad?"
"Not entirely . . . " Pira said softly. "Just — " She broke off abruptly, when Ratchet received a call through his com. link.
It was bad news.
Shockwave had succeeded in getting the activation code from Arcee.
Ratchet told Optimus that they were out of time, and had to rescue Omega Supreme and Arcee now.
"How am I supposed to take on Megatron if I can't even beat that two-bit Starscream wannabe?" Optimus wanted to know, as Emma dragged him out of the canal.
He glanced at, and saw that her optics were unfocused.
And, judging by the blueish glow on her forehead, it could only be because of another All-Spark fragment.
But . . .
"That memory … wasn't mine . . . " He heard her whisper.
Around Fifty-Two Years Ago . . .
Ultra Magnus walked through the square of Iacon, which had been rebuilt after the tide-turning battle there so long ago.
He walked past the monuments and statues that had been built to honor the pilots of the Omega Sentinels and the Commanders of the Thirteen Battalions, whether they were online still or not.
All of them … either had or would have gladly given their lives for Cybertron during that war with the Decepticons.
But, only one had given her life to stop a war before it had began … a secret battle . . .
He stopped walking when he reached Ember Prime's, and looked up at it.
Blurr had been at his absolute bossiest when Ember's statue had been constructed, and probably would have just built the whole thing himself, if only he'd had the programming and training to do so!
He thought about how, one thousand three hundred and fifty years ago, he had spoken with a young femme here … a cadet at the academy. She had been called Elita-1, but Ultra Magnus had known all along that she was Ariel, the sparkling that Ember and Black Ice had rescued during the final mission of Operation Shine.
He had spoken to her, and told her the truth about herself … he had seen it in her optics, that the connection between her and Ember was inspiring her to go further, to be somebody great.
And then … she had been lost.
Because of the actions of one of her team mates … whom Ultra Magnus had also had high hopes for, although as it turned out he was now left with the third member of that team … and, that third member was clearly doing everything that he could to be worthy.
Still … it pained Ultra Magnus's spark to know that great talent like Elita-1 and Optimus had been lost … what would Ember say if she was here?
To know what had happened to the sparkling that she had once saved, and who Black Ice had given his life for . . .
"Honestly, what do you think I'm going to say?!"
Ultra Magnus was absolutely glad that nobody else happened to be around at that moment, because when he saw Ember's ghost he actually dropped the Magnus Hammer in shock.
Somehow, Ember's ghost was able to catch it, but she didn't seem particularly happy to be holding it, as she handed it back to him.
"Still too heavy?" He suddenly found himself saying.
"In more ways than one." She responded, her voice sounding as far away as one would expect a ghost's to. Was this even actually happening?! "But, that's not why I'm here." She put her hands on her hips. "You want to know how I feel about this thing with those three?" She asked him, her optics flashing so much that Ultra Magnus suddenly wasn't so sure he did. "Okay, well then … here goes … I either blame both of them equally, or neither of them at all!"
Ultra Magnus just stared at her.
She wasn't finished yet. "Also, isn't it the mark of a true leader to take all of the blame on a team mission? And, you know … I wonder if there would have been more than one loss if they had've gone back? Well, regardless, all three of them knew the dangers, and nobody held a gun to any of their heads and made them go! Those two mechs … are gonna have to live with this for the rest of their lives, and I can tell you that any punishment that you gave out is nothing compared to the pain of losing their friend. But … if you can still see something in the one who was the team leader, then … you know what you have to do . . . " She looked at him, and then turned as if to go.
And Ultra Magnus, who had just been staring at her, exclaimed: "Ember, wait — !"
But, she was already gone.
"Did that … really just happen?" Ultra Magnus muttered, as he stared around at the now empty area. "Was it a dream — ?"
"No dream!" Ember's voice snapped from right next to him, and he jumped and dropped the Magnus Hammer again. She was floating beside him, even less transparent than before, as she said: "Now, go and do something about it!" She then grabbed the Magnus Hammer, and thrust it into his hands before she hugged him, and then she was gone.
As Ratchet fixed up the injuries that Optimus had sustained by his fall from the sky, the others considered what they were going to do.
"Clear Air Turbulence said that whatever it was would be ready by tomorrow morning." Bumblebee said.
"Whether that means the darkness before the dawn, or one minute before midday, who knows?" Honeybee added.
"We need to be ready before they get here." Emma said quietly.
"They?" Sky Dancer repeated.
"You know," Emma said, not looking at anybody. "The Decepticons … and, uh . . . " She noticed that Prowl was looking at her, and then he indicated to her that he wanted to talk to her elsewhere. Emma nodded but, before she left, and glanced at the Magnus Hammer, that was sitting on a nearby table.
Ratchet saw her looking at it, and he said to Optimus: "Like I told you, we need the Magnus Hammer."
Optimus sighed. "I-I just don't feel that … using it is in my programming . . . " He explained.
"Sometimes fate makes its own programming." Prowl told him.
Optimus glanced over at him and Emma.
They were standing by the doorway, and now Emma added: "I could go on about how the Magnus Hammer was used to forge the protective casing around the All-Spark and how you went offline once to protect the All-Spark too, or about how it doesn't actually matter if it shines for you or not, but … all I'm gonna say is that there is a reason why you are here, right now, in the exact situation that you are in. I have always believed in you. And there is not a single thing that you can do that will make me stop believing in you."
"There . . . " Emma said quietly, a few hours later, early on the fateful morning of February 29th, as she placed the folder onto her bed at Sumdac Tower. "That's all of it . . . "
Capi and Pira watched her silently from the desk, where she had just spent the last two hours writing.
The three of them all knew by now what had happened up there on the moon. How the Decepticons had gotten the activation codes from Arcee, and now the Lugnut Supremes were almost ready to attack.
Megatron would test them out on Detroit, and then . . .
Emma sighed, and turned, to see Clear Air Turbulence's holoform standing in her doorway.
She jumped. "H-how did you get in here?!" She cried.
Clear Air Turbulence crossed the room quickly, and took Emma's hands in her own. She looked panicky. "Never mind that! Em, it's Miss. Arcee!"
Emma froze. "What about her … .C.A.T., what are the Decepticons doing?!" She exclaimed.
"They've cloned Omega Supreme, but they're more like Lugnut Supremes." Clear Air Turbulence was talking very quickly. Emma could see how stressed she was. "Starscream was only able to tell me a little bit, something about how the clones imprinted on Lugnut and so now they are as loyal to Megatron as the original Lugnut but of course they're Omega Supreme size, but then Miss. Arcee got hurt and now that she's served her purpose — !"
".C.A.T., calm down!" Emma said suddenly. "Come with me to see the other Autobots, and we will all do something about this!"
"I can't go and see them — !"
Emma reached over, and grabbed the second necklace that Clear Air Turbulence was wearing beneath her dress. The Autobot pendant shone in the dim light of morning. "Tell me why not . . . " She said.
Clear Air Turbulence hesitated, and then she said: "Megatron … wanted me to get the information about your past that Sky Dancer has … you see … you accidentally transferred a lot of your memories to the sparklings that you saved. Thinking that it would be important, once the Autobots became aware of this they - from what Shockwave found out during his time as Longarm - carefully extracted the data and then shared it amongst, well, Longarm, and also Blurr and Cliffjumper. But, there were two sparklings that weren't checked - one was Ariel, and the other was … the sparkling that you wanted to name Butterfly or Dragonfly … the one that you and Blurr rescued from the airship." She smiled slightly. "That's Sky Dancer. She was the last one brought back online. Shockwave … happened to mention that after Ultra Magnus had a vision about you … you know, an intel. bot who's actually a double agent will find stuff out … anyway, after that vision, that's when Ultra Magnus made Sky Dancer - and Honeybee - members of the Elite Guard. Okay, I've gotten off track, I'm just nervous, that's all … okay, so there's something about your past that Megatron thinks is connected to the Vampires … the reason why they're so intent on finding you . . . "
"But, destroying the city comes first . . . " Pira said wryly, as she and Capi came over to them. "Come on, .C.A.T., they welcomed me with open arms."
"You weren't Megatron's loyal servant for Primus knows how many stellar cycles, Pira." Clear Air Turbulence told her wryly.
"And, neither were you." Emma reminded her firmly. ".C.A.T. … there's something that you should know — " She was cut off suddenly by her phone ringing. "What the — ? Hello?" She said when she'd answered it.
"Em!" Sari's voice came through, loud and clear. "We just picked up three energy signatures on the moon, that are heading towards Earth!"
"The Lugnut Supremes!" Emma, Clear Air Turbulence, Capi, and Pira all gasped in unison.
And, before Sari could ask anything, a new voice said from the doorway: "And, if you think that's bad, you're gonna love what's coming next!"
And, Slipstream's holoform strode into the room.
"Umm, Slipstream, was it?" Sari's voice said faintly from over the phone. "How'd you get in my house?"
"Never mind that," Slipstream echoed Clear Air Turbulence. She stopped when she was standing next to the other two women and the two tapirs, and said: "Just listen up, because I'm only doing this as a way to say sorry that your leader's so bad at flying, alright?"
They heard Optimus groaning in the background.
"Starscream's just told me that you'll be contending with not only three super-sized Lugnut clones, but also Megatron! Lugnut and Shockwave will still be up there." Slipstream informed them.
"Oh, wow . . . " Bumblebee's voice came over the line. "Wait … what about Starscream himself?"
"He got blown to bits." Slipstream responded. "Which is very … upsetting."
"You don't sound very upset." Honeybee pointed out.
"Hey, it is what it is," Slipstream shrugged. "Mind you, he was still telling me all this after the fact."
"Why?" Sky Dancer's voice came over the other end of the line now, sounding incredibly suspicious, but it was Clear Air Turbulence who responded.
"Because, irrespective of the fact that Em is now with Prowl, Starscream still loves her, and wants her to be informed about what's to come." She said flatly. "And, the only way for him to do that was to contact one of his clones, who shares a similar connection that's hard to explain."
"Right," Slipstream said, rolling her eyes. "Not that I care or anything, but, now that you know, what will you do?"
"I'm going to go and liaise with my fellow Autobots." Emma said firmly.
"I - I'm going too!" Clear Air Turbulence added, looking both nervous and ready.
"Great." Slipstream said, as she turned around. "I'm going to Oxford." They stared at her, and she seemed to sense this. "You think I'm sticking around for this? I've done my part, so now it's all on you lot." She waltzed out of the room. "Good luck."
"Good luck, she says . . . " Pira sighed.
"There's no need for luck." Emma said suddenly, her eyes seemingly burning. "Sari, everyone, we'll be there! And, this is succeed — "
"Or succeed!" Clear Air Turbulence suddenly chimed in. Her violet eyes shone.
"Those are our only two options!" The two of them said together, before Emma hung up, and put her phone in her pocket.
Capi and Pira then used their powers to phase through solid objects to allow the two girls to leap through the glass window without breaking it. Emma and Clear Air Turbulence then both transformed into their robot modes, and then their alt. modes.
On the street down below, Slipstream glanced up, and watched the two femme bots fly off.
"I wonder if I should have told them about what Starscream's planning?" She mused to herself. "What if she's here when it happens?" She then shrugged, and transformed into her robot mode and then her alt. mode. "Well, I'm sure Starscream's already thought ahead on that . . . " She decided, as she took off.
"Miss. Arcee! Miss. Arcee!"
"Yes?"
"What IS the final rule of Femme Code?!"
"We don't care if it's a taboo, we just want to know what it is!"
"When you have a spark partner that you want to protect … then … you will know. You don't need to know until then. And, like I said … hopefully you will never need to use it . . . "
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
Emma sings a line of Gravity, by The Super Jesus.