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~~~~~~~~~~~~"Agent Fowler to Prime, do you copy?"…"I repeat, Agent Fowler to Optimus Prime, do you copy?""czzzt-rime here. How can I help you, Agent Fowler?""You need to let me in, Prime. Now. We have an issue."~~~~~~~~~~~~"So, Agent Fowler, to what do we owe-""No time for that, Prime!" Fowler exclaimed, barely missing an open conduit as he barrelled his way into Omega One, the leftover base recently given to the Autobots. He was breathing hard, his tie askew, and it looked like he hadn't slept in a week."Tell me right now," he said, glaring at Optimus as he crouched down to meet him more easily, "What sort of signals have you been sending out?"Optimus glanced over at Ratchet, who shook his head."None," Ratchet grumbled, "Unfortunately. We've had no luck in getting this Earth tech to transmit the way that we need it to.""Are you absolutely sure?" Fowler demanded."Agent Fowler… what exactly is going on?"Fowler slumped, and Optimus quickly reached out a hand to help him find a place to sit amongst the debris and repairs."Our long-distance scanners are working just fine." he said, quietly, "and they've picked something up. Here, take a look."Fowler reached into his suit pocket, pulled out a folded piece of photo paper, and handed it to Optimus with a shaky hand. Optimus' optics widened as he scanned the photo."Bill, what is the scale of this photograph?""I don't know. It's big. Each of of those dots, if they're not yours…""Arcee!" Optimus stood quickly, and turned to the Autobot who had been waiting close by, listening. "We need everyone here now, and Jazz and Prowl are on patrol. No coms.""I'm on it." Arcee sprinted away, changing to her motorcycle form as she vanished into the ground bridge.Moments later she reappeared, Prowl and Jazz close behind, and the other Autobots had filed in from wherever they had been working in Omega One.Optimus looked around, verifying that no one was missing."Friends, it looks like we do not have as much time as we would have liked to prepare for the Decepticon invasion." he paused, and looked down at the human who was sitting up a little straighter, clearly formulating plans, "Agent Fowler has brought evidence that a force of at least a thousand is on its way to Earth.""A thousand!?" Bulkhead exclaimed."What's the time frame?" asked Elita One, reaching for the photograph."If we're lucky?" Fowler replied, "Two weeks.""What???""There's no way…"[Two weeks??]"Optimus, how can we-"Optimus motioned for quiet, and waited a moment for the murmuring to die down."Starting now, we have a new objective. We cannot let the Decepticons take Earth, and most importantly we cannot let them exterminate the populations living here."He pulled up a map on the nearest computer."The humans must be made ready as much as possible, so we'll be sending liasons to help them prepare and then defend them when the fighting starts. Arcee, Cliffjumper, you have South America. Jazz and Prowl, you have Europe and the Middle East. Nautica, you have Australia and the Pacific Islands. Stop by Antarctica to pick up the scientists as well. Elita, Windblade, you have Africa. Ratchet, you and Bumblebee have North America. And Bulkhead and I have Asia. Agent Fowler-"Fowler stood up and dusted himself off. "I know what my job is, Prime. But it would be convenient to have a military liason too."Raising his hand, Bumblebee stepped forward. [I know someone.]Optimus nodded. "Good. Alright, there is no time to waste. This is what we will do…"~~~~~~~~~~~~~
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Headline:
Decepticon Attack Imminent
"Ch-charlie!" The newspaper dropped from Sally Watson's hands on to the kitchen table as she called out to her daughter. She could feel herself starting to shake, but she tamped it down as best she could. Charlie poked her head in from the garage where she had been tinkering since before dawn. Covered in grease and dust, she carefully opened the door and entered the kitchen. Sally turned, eyes wide. She flew to Charlie, wrapping her in a hug."Mom? Hey, mom, what's wrong?" Charlie asked, worry growing by the moment.Sally took a deep breath, released her, and motioned to the newspaper before snapping into preparation-mode. She pulled open the kitchen cabinets, already filling bags with food before Charlie had even processed the headline.The newspaper creased under Charlie's hands, her voice almost a growl as she read aloud."All citizens are encouraged to leave major cities and find somewhere remote to stay until further notice."She balled the paper up and threw it."Wow, sis." Otis dead-panned as he entered the room, school bag slung over his shoulder and heading for the fridge."Otis," Sally said, pausing in her preparations, "No school today. We've got to go; I need you to help me pack.""Swee-""No, not sweet." Charlie ground out.Finally sensing the mood in the room, Otis seemed to deflate."They're back, aren't they?"The lack of reply was enough."Well it's a good thing I'm here then!" he exclaimed, a little louder than necessary. "I'll pack the TP and stuff."As he ran from the room, Charlie smiled a little inspite of herself. There were only a few people she trusted during crisis situations, and she was lucky enough to be related to several of them.Moments later the phone rang, and Charlie quickly picked up."Ron?" she guessed."Not quite," Memo replied from the other end of the line, sounding a bit shaky."Memo! I take it you saw the paper…" Charlie said, relieved to hear her friend's voice. They kept in touch, but Memo was hard at work at university studying Astronomy, so they didn't get to spend as much time together as they'd like."I did. Everyone is freaking out at school and the traffic is going to be a mess, so I'm going to wait just a little while and then head home."Charlie nodded out of habit."Ok, good. Stay safe, alright? I think we're going to head to the lake.""You too, Charlie. Oh, hey… are you going to try and find Bumblebee?"…"Charlie?"Breathing out slowly, Charlie gripped the headset."Um, yeah. Yeah, I think I'd better."She murmured a goodbye before hanging up the phone. Behind her, Sally stood watching.Charlie could tell she knew. Before she could explain, her mom held up a hand."I'm not going to stop you from making contact with your friend, especially if that friend is better equipped to… deal with this situation than humans are."Charlie sagged with relief that they wouldn't part ways after arguing.Sally once again folded Charlie in her arms."You are brave and strong, Charlie, and I know you're going to do whatever you can to help. But try to come home to me before too long, alright?"Clearing her throat around the lump that seemed to be lodged there, Charlie nodded."Trust me, Mom, I'm definitely planning on coming back."~~~~~~~~~~~~~Charlie crept up to the perimeter fence of Sector 7. Inside, soldiers and scientists buzzed with activity, shouting at each other, carrying things back and forth, loading humvees with equipment. It looked like they were getting ready to leave."You better be here, Agent Burns." she muttered. She had left the Corvette a half-mile down the road, so she was really hoping that the day wouldn't end in her running from armed soldiers.
On the other hand, that is one way to get in there quickly…
Taking a deep breath and securing her backpack, Charlie quickly scaled the fence. She lept over, her boots making deep impressions in the loose dirt, and ran into the middle of the courtyard."Hey! Burns! Where are you?!" she shouted.Immediately several M16s were trained on her, and Charlie raised her hands up high above her head. She tuned out the cacophany of voices and repeated her question, looking around for any sign of the agent with whom she'd parted on relatively good terms.The door to what looked like one of those "temporary" school buildings opened, and a figure stalked out. "What the hell are you doing here, Watson?!" he called out, with some combination of annoyance and surprise. The soldiers in his way parted, and Burns came to a stop a few feet from Charlie.Charlie lowered her hands and looked up at him."Oh, same old, same old." she said softly, with as much of a smile as she could muster.Burns sighed."Get back to it!" he yelled at the gathered crowd, then quietly, "Come on, Watson."He led her to a small office in that temporary building, already piled high with boxes and motioned for her to sit down. There wasn't actually a place to sit, so Charlie leaned against one of the sturdier looking boxes."Before you ask," Burns began, "I don't know where they are.""What? That's impossible-" No!"Hold on, damn it." he said, before Charlie could get going, "I know where they were and I know what the mission is, but I don't know where they are at this moment. I've been a little busy, as you can see.""What's the mission?" Charlie demanded.Burns rolled his eyes. "Why? Are you going to fight the Decepticons?""I might!"Charlie glared at him for a long minute, frustration and understanding warring within her. Finally, she tore her eyes away and ran her hands over her face."I can't do nothing," she said, earnestly."No, you can't." Burns agreed, "None of us have that option."~~~~~~~~~~Charlie collapsed onto her cot, exhausted. She'd spent the whole day tuning and fixing jeeps and humvees, in exchange for being allowed to accompany Burns and his team on a mission to collect some Decepticon tech which had been left after their initial encounter. They were hoping to deconstruct it and maybe, hopefully, build a weapon that would give them a chance of fighting back.She glanced at her watch. 9pm. They were leaving at 6 in the morning."I have got to get some sleep…"Easier said than done.Turning this way and that, Charlie couldn't get her mind to shut down. She thought about what the newspaper had said, A large invasion force, on it's way to Earth in the next few weeks. She thought about the last time she'd seen a Decepticon up close, the hate, the fear, the grinding metal.And she thought about Bee, optics dimmed and lying still on the floor.Charlie buried her face in the pillow and tried to replace it with a different memory, the memory of wind in her hair, of warm sand, of Bee smiling at her with the sea behind him.~~~~~~~~~~The next day found Charlie hanging partly out of the window of a grey jeep as they rumbled down the road. Beside her, Agent Burns stared resolutely ahead."Our guys have been studying some of the pieces that were left over after this one blew up, but we thought most of the useable tech was confiscated by the other bots." he explained, as they approached the site."If the Autobots can use it, shouldn't we give this to them too?" Charlie asked, pointedly."You think we've got time for that now?""No, I guess not.""Besides," Burns added, "You're taking point on this, since you've had your hands on functioning bot tech."Charlie coughed loudly, some of the dust from the road having gotten into her throat."How long do we actually have?" she asked, cutting her eyes over at Burns, who stilled."Not as long as they'd like us to think."~~~~~~~~~~What they'd found was some sort of handled-device. It wasn't working, and two years of sitting in the overgrowth hadn't done it any favors, but they wrapped it up carefully, and secured it in the back of an armored van."Why Nevada?" Charlie asked, when she finally got Burns to divulge their ultimate destination.He wasn't telling her the whole truth, and she knew it, but she let him get away with his vague explanation that "It's been in the works for years. There's lots of room for a lab. Lots of places no one goes."A short flight on a C-130 later, Charlie found herself being ushered through a door recessed into a large stone in the middle of the desert. Down the stairs they went, more than one flight, until finally they reached another door flanked by several guards. Burns entered a code on a keypad to the side, and the door slid open to reveal a large room filled with scientists working on various projects. They worked quietly, but constantly murmured to each other, the sound building on itself until it sounded like the buzzing of a hive.Burns led Charlie and the soldiers carrying the device over to one of the side rooms. The walls were covered in tools, most of which Charlie recognized, but some she didn't. She whistled in appreciation."Stop gawking and get to work, Watson." Burns groused. "You've got one day to figure that thing out and how we can reproduce it."Charlie saluted messily as they left.With the door shut and the sound of the hive suddenly muted, Charlie was left with her own thoughts and the mangled piece of Decepticon tech on a table before her. She resisted the urge to stab it repeatedly with a screwdriver, and instead pulled up a chair and a set of precision tools.Over the next few hours she painstakingly dismantled it, labeling each piece and listing them in a notebook, with instructions on how to reassemble. Before too long she came to conclusion that it wasn't that the device was overly complicated, but that the power source must be ridiculously efficient compared to what the humans had readily available. She also wasn't sure how it activated, if it could even activate without being attached to a bot.Leaning back in the chair and stretching, Charlie let her head fall back.
I really wish I knew where you were.
She stood and opened the door. Out in the main room, it looked like many of the scientists were taking a break, or maybe getting a few hours of sleep given the hour. Stepping out, Charlie realized that the soldiers who had carried the device were also standing guard. As soon as she cleared the doorway they locked the door behind her."At least you didn't have to lock me in with it, right?" she said, making finger guns."As far as you know." the one on the right said, cracking a bit of a smile."Ha ha…ha… ok, well, I'm going to see if I can find something to eat. Want anything?" Charlie offered as she backed away."We'll be relieved soon." the other said, with a shake of their head.Nodding, Charlie spun around and headed towards the back of the room where it looked like supplies were being collected. Agent Burns stood there, speaking with a middle-aged man in a suit with a G-man badge."Burns, what is there to eat around here?" she called out as she approached.Burns rolled his eyes, again, and the other man turned to glance at her. He reached out his hand for her to shake."You must be Charlie Watson. Good to finally meet you."Surprised, Charlie grasped his hand for a moment. It was warm, a strong handshake."Has Burns been talking about me?" she asked, with a quick stare at the agent who seemed thoroughly annoyed by the whole situation."Nope." the man replied, "I'm Agent William Fowler, and I recognized you from the photograph."Charlie frowned, trying to remember if there had been a picture of her relating to recent events. Not that they're not keeping files on everyone anyway, I'm sure.Fowler watched her with a curious expression. "Bumblebee carries a photo of the two of you, keeps it tucked under his hood."Charlie's eyes widened. Agent Burns looked like he wanted to deploy immediately."He showed everyone, probably would have kept showing people if we hadn't pointed out that it's a security risk."For some reason, Charlie's legs felt a little wobbly, and she folded her arms to try to steady herself."O-oh, really?" she mumbled."Thought you ought to know," Fowler said, kindly, "Just in case."
That's…
Suddenly Charlie noticed an MRE was being held in front of her face. When she finally snapped to, Burns dropped it into her hands.
"Go eat somewhere." he said, "Somewhere not here. And then sleep."
"Wait," Charlie tried, "Agent Fowler-"
"I know what you're going to ask, and I can't tell you. I'm sorry."
For what it was worth, it seemed like he meant it. Charlie shuffled off to a corner where some other people were eating and talking quietly, and tucked in. Her appetite had lessened somewhat, but she forced herself to eat as much as she could.
Won't be any help if I'm tired and hungry…
…
This is gross.
~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie carefully tilted her head to the side to try and dislodge the unique sort of crick in her neck that she was quickly associating with sleeping on cots. After downing some instant oatmeal that she had left over from dinner and some truly peanut-inspired coffee, she headed back to her work room to pick up where she'd left off. To her surprise, there was no one standing guard anymore. To her further surprise, when she opened the door, there was no sign of the device at all.
Did I get the wrong room?
Looking briefly into the rooms on either side, Charlie deduced that her workspace had indeed been cleared out. She looked around, and then motioned to one of the scientists working nearby.
"Hey, sorry, do you know where the stuff in that room went?" she asked.
The scientist turned her head quickly, her ponytail almost hitting Charlie in the face.
"No, sorry, I just got here." she replied. She looked a bit stressed, so Charlie didn't press her.
Instead she headed towards the offices in the back, to hopefully find someone in charge. At the back right corner was a narrow hallway that Charlie hadn't noticed before; the way that it turned, there was no way to see what lay beyond it from the main room. Of course, Charlie went right for it.
Feet from it, Agent Burns seemed to appear out of nowhere, causing Charlie to almost jump out of her skin.
"Burns, what the heck?!" she cried, hands already at parry.
Burns sighed.
"Don't wander around." he said, steering her back the way she came.
"The thing is gone, the weapon-"
"It's not gone, Watson. You're just done with it."
Charlie narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean, 'I'm done with it,' I wasn't even close to figuring out how it worked? And you said I had a day."
"That doesn't mean you just get to mess with it," Burns replied, as they neared the front of the room. "And you were further along than you thought. The specialists have taken over, and they're already making good progress thanks to your efforts."
Charlie stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"What is it even for? How is it going to help us?" she asked.
Burns looked away, then shook his head. "I can't give you the details, and it might not even work…"
"But?"
"We might be able to disable several Decepticons at once, if we're right about what this tech does."
"That's awesome!" Charlie exclaimed, then quieted at Burns' glare, "I won't say a word. I just, really want us to win this."
"Obviously." Burns huffed lightly in amusement. "There's something else you can do too, Watson."
"Tell me!"
"We're trying to stay off radio as much as possible, so we'll need people manually delivering messages, especially once it gets closer to the time we can deploy this weapon. There's a staging area a couple of miles from here; I need you to familiarize yourself with the route."
Burns pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and tossed them over. Charlie caught them easily.
"You're letting me take some slick blacked out cruiser or something?" she asked, eyes glinting.
"Not quite."
~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie stared down at a W-L which looked like it had been on the wrong side of a bomb shelter, and was making a sound to match.
"Thanks. Really."
"Look kid, you'd stand out too much in something fancy. Besides, all of the good stuff is headed to- elsewhere."
She held out her hand. "Got a map?"
"Nope, no maps. Too risky. Here-" Burns pointed to a large rock. "Drive to that rock, take a left, then drive to another rock that looks like two rocks stacked on top of each other, take a right, then keep going until someone stops you."
Charlie climbed onto the bike with a melodramatic sigh. "Alright, I'm leaving, don't wait up for me because I'll probably get lost forever."
"That's the spirit."
~~~~~~~~~~
A few minutes later, Charlie was starting to worry that she had actually gotten lost. She'd followed the directions, such as they were, and had been heading in a straight line for five minutes without seeing anything that looked like a building.
She was about to turn back, when in the distance she saw a person waving. They kept waving for a few seconds, and then vanished through a door in the rock. Huh. Charlie reached the cliff-face and skidded to a stop, glancing around before opening the door and dragging her bike inside.
Once her eyes adjusted to the low lighting, she looked around. A figure stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by computers.
"Charlie Watson, welcome to Omega One.
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~~~~~~~~~~Chapter title from the Goblin OST - The First Snow~~~~~~~~~~Step one was to apprise the governments of the world."I wish there was more concrete advice we could give," Jazz said with a sigh as he looked out over the gathered Middle Eastern representatives.The mood of the room had grown more and more subdued as Jazz explained what was likely to happen and by what timeframe. He almost preferred it at the beginning when they were yelling; at least then it seemed like the humans had the energy to fight back.As they filed from the room, one of the representatives approched Jazz. She smiled grimly, and fell in step with him on his way out of the square."We appreciate your coming to warn us, but is there really nothing else we can do?" she asked, a bit of hope coloring her tone.Jazz looked up at the sky, imagining that he could see the approaching army, imagining the clouds vaporizing from the force of their weapons."Representative Nair, We're going to do whatever we can, with the help of your militaries." he replied, quietly. "But civilians should just get someplace safe, someplace hidden.""I see…"They walked for a few minutes in silence.When the Autobots first arrived on Earth, and Bumblebee told him that there was a good chance of a peaceful alliance with the humans, Jazz had been excited. He immediately requested the Ambassadorship if it ever got to the point that they could live openly amongst their unsuspecting hosts. Optimus had agreed, well acquainted with Jazz's adaptablility, love of different cultures, and skill with language.Jazz had gotten his wish, but not at all in the way he'd hoped."You know," Nair said, as they stopped by a fountain which had been turned off to conserve water, "There are those who consider your sudden appearance suspicious."
Ah, there you are, guilt.
"They're not wrong." Jazz said, kneeling down so they could speak more easily. "This wouldn't have happened if we had chosen to flee to a different planet." He found it difficult to meet Nair's eyes, but he knew she was watching him carefully."But please believe me," he continued, "We didn't want this to happen. We thought that maybe they'd take our home planet as the prize and not bother with the few of us that are left.""After years of war you still thought your enemies were capable of mercy," she suggested.
Hm.
"Or maybe somehow, after years of war, we couldn't believe they were that far gone."Nair sat down on the edge of the fountain. She considered Jazz for long moments before asking, "How long has it been going on?"Jazz couldn't fully muffle the sound that escaped him then, and he didn't stop Nair from reaching carefully for his shaking hands.~~~~~~~~~~Step two was to get the information out to as many people as possible without using radio, telephone, or television. Every bot with a jet form spent a week picking up bundles of leaflets, strafing the countryside, then stopping only to pick up more. Newspapers and word of mouth could reach the vast majority of people, but they didn't want to take any chances that anyone would be caught unawares when the fighting started."Why are we pretending that they don't know!?" Windblade screamed as the tool she was using to repair Elita's shoulder slipped again. "If the humans were able to pick up the Decepticons' signal, then the Decepticons were long able to pick up the humans' in return. They'll know we're planning something."Elita said nothing as she picked up the tool and handed it back to her frustrated colleague. She saw the slump in Windblade's shoulders and the flicker in her tired optics."Don't do that." Windblade mumbled as she returned to work. "You and he…always scan us like that.""Windblade.""What!?""Our options are limited, but what we can do, we do.""I know."Windblade made the final adjustment to Elita's shoulder joint and started to move away but the other bot stilled her with a hand on her arm."The Network says they saw Nautica escorting the last of the scientists this morning. She'll take up her post in Australia soon, so if you wanted to-""Are you leaving for India too then?" Windblade interrupted, searching Elita's optics.When no answer was forthcoming she shook her head with a low chuckle."Scrap, if she doesn't know how I feel about her after all these years..."For the first time in a week Elita giggled, which set off her companion, and soon they were collapsed against each other, laughing loudly enough that it almost drowned out the sound of the human jets testing their systems.After a few minutes, they quieted down and Windblade leaned companionably against Elita's shoulder."She does know, right?" Windblade murmured, almost inaudible.Elita's thoughts strayed to a sunset long in the past, when a young bot stood on a particular dock on a particular planet, and held his hand out to her."They know."~~~~~~~~~~"Hey, Arcee, how come we never dated?""Let me count the reasons.""Ouch, friend."Cliffjumper and Arcee lifted the last blocks onto the shelter they were building for a small town in Peru. While many humans had disappeared into the environment per the official recommendation, some preferred to stay near their homes. Around them, the residents of the town were gathering supplies and stacking them in the shelter."Besides," Arcee said, brushing the dust from her hands, "I hear having a crush on a human is all the rage right now."Cliffjumper laughed. "Heh, seems so. Wait, you have a crush on a human?"How Arcee had mastered the Look of Incredulity, Cliffjumper couldn't figure out. Might have had something to do with being partnered with him, if he was honest with himself about it."I'm not the one with the crush on a human, buddy." she said finally, narrowing her eyes at him.Raising his hands in a defensive position, Cliffjumper sputtered, "H-hey, I don't know what you're talking about, pal."He avoided Arcee's knowing stare as long as he could."Look, ok, fine, it's the tiniest crush you've ever seen. I haven't even met the guy.""I'm aware of that."~~~Ever since Bumblebee's initial mission concluded, he'd insisted on keeping tabs on the humans he'd met. He insisted there was nothing weird about it; he just wanted to make sure they were safe and that no Decepticons had somehow gotten past their sensors. Optimus, pure soul that he is, agreed wholeheartedly.So, every now and then Bee donned a disguise and drove through Charlie's neighborhood.One particular day, Cliffjumper was about to bounce off the walls from boredom, so he asked to tag along. Bee reluctantly agreed, and they made their way to the little Californian town on an unspectacular Sunday. The trip was actually fun; Bee was an easy one to talk to, and they rarely partnered up on missions, so the novel companionship was nice.When they turned the last corner onto Charlie's street, Bee's radio made a soft noise. Cliffjumper looked ahead to see a small (well, all humans were small) human with brown hair and some sort of strange outfit covered in stains. She'd been working, presumably. She sat on the grass in the front yard, speaking animatedly with another human who was…really…"…cute."[Yeah…]"What's his name?"[Wait, what?]Cliffjumper cleared his throat. "The guy with Charlie, what's his name?"Bee was silent for a long moment, and then a series of bright, disjointed sounds came from his radio, in what they had all come to understand was a laugh.[That's Memo. He's one of Charlie's best friends, and he was a big help back then.]Cliffjumper watched as Memo stood, smiling widely, and pulled Charlie up. They embraced briefly before disappearing into their own houses."You don't think they're…"[I really hope not.]"Mind if I join you again, sometime? Not next time or anything, but, ya know. Sometime?"He regretted asking when it became clear that he had basically given Bee permission to tease him the whole way home.~~~"I think you should introduce yourself, after all this is over." Arcee suggested, breaking Cliffjumper from his reverie."You know what," he said, with a smile, "I think I will."~~~~~~~~~~All of his millions of years had prepared Optimus Prime for situations such as these, when absolute stillness was of the utmost importance. He could obtain an almost meditative-
thunk
"Are you alright, little one?" he asked, as one of the dozens of children playing around him tried unsuccessfully to climb up onto his foot.The girl, maybe five years old (it was hard to tell with humans), simply shrieked happily and made ready to try again. A competition of "Who can reach the highest point on the giant robot's foot in a single jump" spontaneously began. On the other side of the yard, Bulkhead laughed loudly as a group of young teens regailed him with gossip and stories of their daring, no doubt exaggerated. Eventually the younger children started to grow tired, and their teachers gathered them up to take a nap despite their protests.Mr. Lal, headmaster of the orphanage, waited until the children had been led inside before approaching."Well," he began, "We've moved as much as we can down to the basement. The children will be a little frightened at first, but…""It is infinitely preferable to having the children stay out in the open." Optimus concluded.Lal sat on an empty supply box, carefully arranging his cane as he did so. He followed Optimus' gaze to the orphanage, and then up into the clear sky."Protecting children," he said, voice light, "is the best and worst part of the job. Isn't that right?"
What happens to sparklings when they are taken by war? Do they return to the AllSpark? Are they reborn on distant, more peaceful worlds?
"I find I must agree with you." Optimus replied.
Is the punishment for war the knowledge that we will never meet them again?
After a while, he stood and inclined his head in farewell. "Mr. Lal, I leave them in your capable care."~~~~~~~~~~True to form, Prowl had the humans organized and everything on a strict schedule by the end of the third day.The dawn of the the 12th saw the last civilian groups vanishing into the Alps, into Bialoweiza and the Schwarzwald.Prowl joined the military which had mobilized in central France.And he waited.~~~~~~~~~~
Beautiful…
Nautica drifted slowly, propulsion turned off, as hundreds of Moon Jellies floated around her. The translucent almost-spheres bumped lightly against her plating, already having gotten used to her presence in the deep water. She'd read in the database that this particular species of jelly loved man-made structures, so she'd gone out to test if that included bots.Happily, it did.She stayed as long as she thought she could get away with only a few minutes, have to stay on schedule, and then carefully headed back towards the surface. Mildly alarmed, the jellies bobbed away from her as she went.Back on the surface, the humans who had previously lived in Indonesia were crowded onto passenger ships headed for Australia. They'd need to make several trips, and Nautica had been escorting them, just in case… things… moved quicker than they expected. In Australia, the cities had been abandoned, and humans were taking their chances with the Outback rather than stay easy targets for the Decepticons.When Nautica crested the surface, several of the humans waved to her, and she waved back, a little nervous. She wasn't a natural conversationalist like Jazz or Cliffjumper, and she didn't feel like she had a calming aura like Elita or Optimus, so she wasn't exactly sure how to approach the humans. However, they seemed to like her well enough, and had few issues with the plan she'd devised. The last transport was scheduled for 11 am the next morning, after which she'd continue gathering supplies before finally assuming guard duty.Guard duty?It was a funny thing, islands, even large ones. The humans felt they'd be safe, that the vast waters would protect them from intruders like they had on so many occasions past. Nautica decided not to remind them that the danger was coming from the sky, and that the sky has no boundaries.So no, guard duty wasn't an accurate description.Her job was to be something the humans could focus on instead of the fear. Her job, was to be there until the end.~~~~~~~~~~Bumblebee carefully unfolded the note that a human courier had given him while he waited for Ratchet to conclude their meeting with local law enforcement in New York City.
Got it taken care of. She's going to kill you. -Burns.
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~~~~~~~~~~Chapter title from the Goblin OST - And I'm Here~~~~~~~~~~
Impressive hair.
Is what first went through Charlie's mind as the person nodded to her, and then resumed their work, hands flying over the keys. She made her way up, climbing over wires and up short ladders, until she reached the platform."Am I supposed to know who you are too?" she asked, slightly wary.He turned his head slightly in her direction with a brief, wry smile, though his eyes never left the screens."No, I'd be surprised if you did. I'm Rafael Esquivel and," here he sighed, "you might as well call me Raf."Charlie stuck her hand out."Well, it's nice to meet you, Raf."Raf blinked, a little surprised, but returned the handshake."So, I'm your new courier, I guess." Charlie said, smiling, "Mind if I familiarize myself with the place?"Raf's hands stuttered over the keys, just for a moment."Courier. Right, yes, of course. That's a good idea." he replied, clearing his throat.Charlie laughed. "Don't worry, I won't go through your stuff if I find your room."He seemed to relax a little, and Charlie noticed how young he was, somewhere close to her own age. Burns really meant it when he said everyone would have to help out…"Not much of a room to look through, but thanks."With a messy salute, Charlie began her exploration.As it turned out, the base was surprisingly large, but also empty. Various rooms were filled with piles of parts (some of which Charlie really wanted to mess with), servers, and storage boxes, but the only room that seemed inhabited was, indeed, Raf's room which was labeled with a tiny plate. As promised, Charlie steered clear. She whistled as she made her way back to the center of the building."Exciting place you've got here, Raf." she commented, once he was in hearing distance.Raf huffed lightly, "Yeah, not much to it these days, I'm afraid. But, it suits the purpose.""So what are you doing here, anyway?" Charlie asked, jumping up to sit on a railing.Raf hit a couple of keys and the screens changed to maps, a view of space, and a few other things Charlie couldn't immediately idenfify."Basically, I watch, and monitor communications." Raf replied, motioning vaguely upwards. This is an old Cold War silo, pretty cutting edge for it's time. We gave it to the Autobots to use as-"Charlie startled and almost slipped from her perch. "Wait, the Autobots are here??""No, not anymore. Not since they left to… you know, deal with things.""Oh."Even though she hadn't been expecting to randomly run into Bee, Charlie felt like she kept reaching places where he'd "just been" or meeting people who'd "just seen" him. The roller coaster was wearing on her, and combined with the reality of upcoming war that she was trying not to focus on, she felt restless and unsettled. She gripped the railing tightly."Raf?""Hm?""I don't feel like riding back yet. Is there anyhing I can help with around here?"Raf considered it for a moment."Yeah, definitely." He gestured to a room towards the north-east. "There's a massive cooling system going through this place, and there's some condensation that's been building up. Engineering's not my strong suit, so…"
Anything to not think about…stuff.
"I'm on it!" Charlie exclaimed, hopping down. She smiled. "We've just met, but you trust me not to mess anything up?"Raf shrugged. "Bu-Burns said you're good at what you do.""Damn straight."~~~~~It took the better part of the afternoon and evening to figure out what was going on with the cooling system. As night approached, Charlie acknowledged that she'd need to take a break."Raf," she called out, punctuated by a yawn, "I think I'll need a little more time on this tomorrow."It looked like Raf was a little worn out too, his hair sticking up even more from the number of times he'd absently run his hand through it."Hm?" he asked, bleary."Mind if I come back tomorrow?" Charlie asked, grinning at the state of him, "I'll be able to finish up then.""Tomorrow? What time is it?" He glanced at the computer. "Damn, it's after seven…look, Burns said it would be fine if you stayed here to help out. They won't need anything couriered for a few days."Charlie blinked. Something seemed off in what Raf was saying, but it didn't seem like he was being dishonest, not really.
Maybe he feels awkward having someone else stay here.
"You sure you don't mind?" she prodded, "I don't want to get in the way."Raf shook his head. "Nope, it's no problem." He bent to one side, and then the other, back cracking in the process, and then climbed down off the platform."I'll show you where you can stay, and then we can get something to eat."Charlie followed Raf back towards the hall where she'd seen his room. He stopped at a door two down from his, and punched in a code. It slid open."Here," he said, indicating the keypad, "You can put whatever code you want, I won't look."Thinking for a moment, Charlie put in some numbers, and the light flashed green to accept it.After staying to make sure it worked consistantly, Raf turned back to the main area. "I'll grab some MREs," he said, "Do you want some privacy while you eat, or…?""No no no, absolutely not. I've had enough of eating MREs alone in corners." Charlie grinned. "At least we can suffer together."Not really looking too closely at her assigned room, she tossed her bag inside, and followed Raf back.~~~~~"Ugh.""The worst."They set their mostly finished food aside. Charlie leaned back against the wall, her legs outstretched."It's a bit…anti-climactic, right?" she said, absently looking at the ceiling of the silo, far above.Raf tilted his head. "What is?""The war. I mean, I know it hasn't really started yet." Charlie felt silly for bringing it up, but she pressed on. "But it's so quiet, here. It feels like a world apart, and it's sort of messing with my head.""Hm…""It almost feels like we could miss the whole thing and not know." she continued.She realized Raf was watching her closely then, eyes slightly narrowed."Would that be so bad?" he asked, quietly. "The battlefield isn't the only place where wars are won."
Arg, I'm insulting him.
"No!" Charlie blurted, "That's not what I mean, I just-" she paused, and took a breath. "I know that all of the work is important, but thought Bee and I, I thought we were…a team.""Ah."After a few moments, Raf opened his mouth to speak, closed it, thought, and then opened it again. "I know what it's like to misunderstand a relationship, so for what it's worth, I don't think that's what's going on."He stood, brushed some crumbs off of his clothes, and grabbed the food wrappers."Get some sleep, Charlie." he said, and disappeared towards his room.Charlie sighed loudly."First casualty of war, Charlie Watson, died of foot in mouth."
It's really not funny though.
Dragging herself to her room, she didn't even bother to turn on the lights, just collapsed onto the sleeping bag that Raf had given her. Thankfully, her exhaustion managed to drown out her overthinking, and she was asleep within minutes.~~~~~It was a testament to how used to sleeping in random places Charlie had gotten over the past couple of weeks that she didn't jump up in surprise when she awoke in a strange new room.What did cause her to jolt out of the sleeping bag though was the realization of which room exactly she was in. It was almost bare, not overly large, with a raised slab upon which she had slept. Behind her were electrical ports, and to the right was a little makeshift shelf.On the shelf were a few items; a feather, some brightly colored rocks that looked like they were from the area around the silo, a couple of are those… cassette tapes, and one polaroid.With a shaking hand, Charlie reached for the photograph.It was a little blurry. They'd been driving down the road way too fast, she shouting happily and Bee playing some upbeat song on the radio. She'd hung halfway out of the window, trying to get as much of the two of them in the photo as she could, and then was surprised into pressing the button early by Bee suddenly slowing down."Don't do that!" she'd scolded him, though she hadn't stopped smiling. Bright static, like laughter, burst forth from Bee's speakers.Charlie had taken other, better, photos, so she'd thrown this one away. Or so she'd thought.Unbidden, Charlie's eyes started to water.
No, nope, nope, don't have time for crying. Charlie, get it together!"
She slapped her face gently to staunch the flow, and then tucked the photo into her pocket. Standing up quickly, she grabbed her tools and marched outside.As she'd suspected, Raf was already at the computers when she stomped into the room. He glanced over and smiled."Sleep well?""Don't even start, Raf." Charlie said, trying to keep an answering smile from her face. "I'm going to fix those pipes, then I'm going to fix whatever else needs fixing, and then I'm going to go find Bee!"She headed to the north-east room without another word, missing the look of panic that briefly flitted over Raf's face.~~~~~True to her word, Charlie worked.Every loose bolt was tightened, every piece of equipment was cleaned and sorted for later use, and she completely refurbished one of the main security doors. The evening of the third day, Charlie was completely worn out. She groggily ate dinner with Raf, and then waved to him as she staggered off to bed.Not three hours later, Charlie was forced awake by the sound of alarms blaring and red lights flashing. Untangling her legs from her sleeping bag, she grabbed her jacket and bag and ran out into the hall. She glanced into Raf's room, but he wasn't there.
Probably already at his station
Indeed he was there, hands gripping the sides of one of the keyboards, eyes wild with shock and lack of sleep."What's going on, Raf?!" Charlie called, as she ran over to the platform and started climbing."They're already here. I thought we'd have another day…"Charlie's heart plummeted. Even knowing ahead of time that it would happen, she had held out hope that maybe they would just, go back to Cybertron or something. On the screens, the mass of dots they had been tracking on their journey through space were now right on top of them; less than 750 miles from Earth's surface."What's the plan now?" she asked, nudging Raf insistantly.Raf snapped out of his daze."The Autobots developed a code that is always changing." he explained, "At certain times during the day, they'll send brief transmissions that print out here as a picture. I've got to decrypt them, then send the messages to the recipients using a different code, hidden in other, human, transmissions."Charlie listened with wide eyes.
I'm glad Raf's on our team.
"So," she reasoned, "You've got to stay here to make sure all of the messages get through alright."Raf nodded."Well then, Raf, it's been nice getting to know you. I'll see you when we win!""Charlie-"But before Raf could finish, Charlie had vaulted off of the platform and was running down the hall to the exit.Raf waited.And then-"Raf! Why won't the door open?!" Charlie called as she ran back into the room.Raf sighed, "I need to explain something to you, Charlie."She froze, eyes narrowing. "Yeah, I think you'd better.""It's imperative that this silo remain functional, for the reasons I just told you." Raf began."Yes, and?""And…part of that is putting the whole building in lockdown, for safety."Charlie's hands on her bag straps tightened. "And the reason you didn't tell me about this sooner?""That wasn't my idea." Raf ducked his head."Fowler?" Charlie asked, suspicion growing."No.""Burns?""He helped.""Then-" Oh is that how you think it's going to be? Well, sorry, Bee, it's not going to work out like that. "Can you open it, Raf?!""I don't know, maybe, but it's really not-"Without another word, Charlie unzipped her tool bag and made her way back to the outer door. She examined it. She knew she could take it apart, no problem, but putting it back together from the outside without compromising the security of the silo was another thing.As she felt along the seams of the door she startled when it suddenly slid open, just slightly.Raf's voice called from the main room, "Just tell them you left right before!"Not wasting any time, Charlie slipped out, pulling her bike with her.
Thanks, Raf. I won't tell anyone.
Raf watched until the figure on the bike disappeared from the camera's view. He slumped back into a chair, intending to get some more sleep before the first scheduled message.No sooner had he settled in, when a different sort of beeping started up.Raf peered at the screens. It looked like while most of the Decepticons were hovering well above the atmosphere, a hundred or so were heading quickly towards Earth. But they looked…different."What is that?" he murmured.There was no way to access remote cameras on lock down, so he couldn't get a closer look. He could only hope that the others were paying close attention.~~~~~Agent Fowler watched the screen, eyes widening.He raced to the nearest phone, uncaring that a bit of his suit caught and tore on the box he'd been using as a chair. When the person on the other end picked up-"Tell me you've already got GMD running!" he yelled, without preamble.… "We might not be able to get them all, call everyone-"… "Secure channel, my ass! We don't have time!"With that, Fowler slammed down the receiver, and turned back to the monitors. A timer reading 4 minutes and 32 seconds was now displayed on the screen. Around him, agents murmured to each other, voices growing more worried as the timer counted down.3 minutes 50 seconds.Fowler fought against the urge to pick up the phone again and just start yelling at anyone who would listen.3 minutes 12 seconds.They'd thought that something like this could happen, so all available missile defense systems had been At Ready for the past two weeks. But there was always lag time, always the moments it took to realize what was going on, and that could make a huge difference in how many they managed to stop. Plus, their ammo wasn't unlimited. 2 minutes 40 seconds.Finally, one of the dots on the screen disappeared, indicating that a missle had been destroyed. Then another, then another.The mood in the room changed, people held their breath hopefully; it seemed that the GRM system was working as designed.2 minutes.Several more missiles were taken out.1 minute 11 seconds.Again and again the dots on the screen went out, until there were only a few remaining.25 seconds."Come on, there are only seven left!" someone called out, as if to encourage the system.One more taken out. And then-Silence in the room as the last six missiles reached the surface of the Earth and detonated. Greece. Laos. Washington state. Zimbabwe. Brazil. Kazakhstan.~~~~~"Huh, too bad only a few hit." Knock Out said tauntingly, cutting his eyes at Starscream who was standing at the control panel tapping his fingers. "I thought you said you could steer a nuke."Starscream sighed loudly. "I should have known you wouldn't understand." He leaned against the panel, gesturing vaguely at the screen. "Actually hitting some human cities was a bonus. The real goal was to get them to use up all of their ground-to-air defenses. Now," he said with a flourish, "We'll have a much easier time once we get down to the surface.Knock Out shrugged. "Fair enough. When will that be, by the way, or hasn't Megatron told you?""He's told me, of course!" Starscream replied, with a scoff. "It'll be tonight."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The air felt strangely hot as Windblade raced south towards Zimbabwe. As soon as she'd seen the strange dots on her radar, she knew they couldn't be good, and she ignored Elita's protest as she flew from their makeshift base. It seemed that the human defense system had taken care of most of the attack, but one missle had gotten through. There was no way she'd be able to intercept it, but-
Primus save them…it was a nuclear bomb.
Windblade stuttered to a stop, changing from her jet form, and landing as gently as she could amongst the screaming figures. Her presence did nothing to soothe them."I'm here to help!" she explained, as the humans either shouted angrily at her or hid their children behind themselves. "Please, I-"A woman, tall with deep brown skin, hands clenched at her sides, approached Windblade carefully."I recognise you." the woman said, "From the informational bulletin sent out earlier."Windblade nodded, but tried not to move more than necessary."Yes, Elita and I are assigned here." she replied.After a long moment, the woman sighed."You look strong," she said, "We need someone to go nearer the city to check for survivors. Will you do that?""Yes ma'am, of course." Windblade stood up, but before she could fly off, the woman held up a hand."They will most likely think you are a threat."Aren't we? "I understand."~~~~~Elita watched until Windblade was a speck in the sky, and then went quickly to the computer. According to her internal chronometer, there were only a couple of minutes until her alloted transmission time.She turned it on.{Told as many as we could. Lights in the sky. Other investigating. Holding ground for now.}And then,{Stay safe.}~~~~~"I don't like it." Bulkhead murmured as he scanned the sky. "That was way too close.""Indeed.""Don't like that tone either, Optimus, but I can guess what it means."Optimus rested a hand on Bulkhead's shoulder."Apologies, friend, but you're correct. I fear the attack is imminent."~~~~~[Wish we could just use my radio.] Bumbleebee groused as Ratchet struggled with the tiny controls on the one they'd borrowed."Do you want to be traced?" Ratchet snapped, frustrated. "I sure don't!"(Luckily a few moments later they were saved by a Canadian construction worker who helped them set the dial.)A low bit of static, like a sigh, came from Bee as he crouched next to the radio. He and Ratchet waited silently through commercials for various human products and restaurants. Soon there was a jingle, a beep, and then a popular song began to play. Ratchet immediately started recording. At the end of the song, there was another beep, indicating the end of the message. They turned off the radio, and Ratchet ran the song through a little computer that he and Raf had designed.It read:
Hits confirmed. Unknown damage to West Coast. Prepare for attack.
"Alright then, phase two." Ratchet said, about to switch off the computer, but the message continued.
C escaped.
"C? Who is C? I didn't get any intel about…wait." Ratchet's optics narrowed as he turned to Bee, who was scanning a map he had projected out in front of him, whose optics were wide with worry, and who was pointedly ignoring him."Bumblebee."Nothing."127!"Bee startled and looked up from the map.[Doc, I have to-]Ratchet was about to launch into a speech about sticking to the plan and the importance of duty, but the strange crackly quality to Bee's radio gave him pause.Bee mistook his silence for anger.[I'm sorry! I just-]"Kid…"[I'll try not to be gone too long!]Holding up a hand to keep him from going on, Ratchet sighed. Who knew what would happen in the next few days; far be it from him to try and stop the kid from being with someone important to him."Just be careful." he said finally, "And be prepared. You might not find her. Or…you might."[She's alive, Doc.]"Ok, ok. Get going. Because we're off comms, we won't be able to make contact or get to you, do you understand?"[Got it.]Bee transformed, and was racing down the road without another word.A few hours later found him speeding down I-80 W, maneuvering around honking cars full of people trying to make their way to safety at the last minute.
I can make it in a day and a half if I don't slow down.
Unfortunately, the moment the thought crossed his mind, the traffic around him slowed and eventually came to a stop. As he considered the quickest way to get around it, Bee realized some children in the other car were looking at him strangely. Scrap, that's right. He'd been so focused on getting on the road, that he forgot to put a holoform driver up. He quickly put a vague human shape in the driver's seat as the traffic started moving again.The sun was setting, and the crowds on the road started to thin out as people peeled off to stop for the night. Bee kept driving.A long, repetitive stretch of road unfolded infront of him, and Bee's mind wandered. He thought about home, he thought about stars wizzing by the cramped pod he'd escaped in, and how that was the furthest from Cybertron he'd ever gone. He thought about the others, scattered over the planet. And he thought about Charlie.The first thing that always popped into his mind was the way she smiled with her whole body.The second thing was the way her hand felt against his face. Soft and warm, and with just the slightest electrical current under her skin.He'd spoken about it with Ratchet and Nautica at length, the similarities between them and humans. They'd come to the conclusion that any differences were aesthetic, that humans probably had a spark like theirs, that they enjoyed the same sorts of social connections, and that they too looked for purpose in their lives.It had made him feel closer to Charlie, to know that they were the same except for the materials.
…oh.
Bee's pondering had caused the holoform driver to take the shape of her, as she was when she last saw him, looking over a red bridge and telling him goodbye. The holo of her settled back against his seat, and he imagined he could feel her comforting weight press against him.He wondered what she'd look like if she decorated herself like bots did on Cybertron, with metallic paints and little twinkling lights. Would they run off of her electric current? Would they shine brighter when someone she liked was nearby?Bee kept driving.~~~~~Just past midnight, the sky lit up.The humans had done their best, but it was impossible to hide all military operations from an enemy who had the ability to scan the entire planet. Within an hour, beam cannons from the Decepticon ships had vaporized most military installations. And then, they attacked.The next twenty-four hours were chaos. Combiner Teams landed hard and immediately began destroying anything they could reach. Micromasters' smaller sizes meant they could get into hiding places, get in the forests, hide amongst city buildings to pick off humans who had stayed.And all the while, Seekers strafed the terrain, broadcasting orders and taunting the Earth for its lack of defense, lack of defenders.~~~~~Bee heard them before he saw them. Jets. He briefly wondered if they'd overlook him with his signal turned off, but the sound of scraping metal told him otherwise. He squealed to a stop on the neverending road and managed to get in one shot before everything went dark.~~~~~From the moment Charlie left Omega One, she'd been looking for any sign of Bee or one of the other Autobots. She'd driven the length of Navada already, hoping someone would have seen something, but the lack of communication was truly cutting people off from getting up to date info.She was considering her next course of action when three bright streaks flew by overhead. She didn't recognize any of the designs, which meant-"Oh no…" she breathed, following the trails they made across the sky, right to a certain desert location.Jumping back on her bike, she sped after them.She couldn't match them for speed, but she knew the area better than they did, and Charlie thanked whoever was listening that the bike was rugged enough to go off road.
Did they find the lab? Or did they find Omega One?
The dust flew out behind her as Charlie raced back to the base.
Maybe it's nothing, maybe it's a coincidence they're going this way…
That's wishful thinking, C.
10 minutes out, explosions shook the ground and huge plumes of smoke billowed out from behind the rocks. Charlie struggled to keep her balance. She slowed down as she approached, rolling her bike behind a large rock and peeking around it. One of the Decepticons had already transformed back into jet mode. The second was waving impatiently and the remaining one was laughing at a hole in the ground.
Wait…
The third Decepticon shot once more into the hole, and then the three of them flew off.
The lab!!
Charlie rushed up as soon as the area was clear, but it was too late. The entrance to the lab was completely caved in, the damage inside indeterminable."I've got to check on Raf."~~~~~~System rebooting~
~Error~
~System rebooting~
~Power insufficient~Bee struggled to sit up, but his limbs wouldn't respond. He tried to turn his head to see what was going on, but gave up when he realized his optics weren't functioning either.
Well, I can still hear, and I don't hear any cons, so that's something. Maybe a friendly will find me?
He sighed.
C, I'm sorry…please be ok.
Bee shuffled through his music database until he found a song that wasn't corrupted.~Who knows what tomorrow brings
In a world few hearts survive…~~~~~~Charlie crept up to the door to Omega One, glancing around to make sure no one was looking. She lifted her hand to knock, but before her hand hit the metal, it cracked open, and Charlie hurried inside.She ran down the hall to the main room, which seemed to be brighter and louder than usual."Watson!?" a familiar voice exclaimed as she entered."Burns, you're-guh!" Charlie choked on the last word as she found herself being hugged quite fiercely. Just as suddenly as it began, it ended, and Burns was stalking away towards the main computer.Charlie blinked. "What…""He's glad you're alright."Charlie turned to see Raf and one of the scientists from the lab fiddling with some control panel on the wall."Raf!" she cried, "What happened?""Well, they had some warning before the cons attacked, so most of them were able to make their way here."
Thank goodness.
"Only most?" she asked, carefully.Raf shrugged."Raf!" Burns shouted from the platform, "Get over here!"Raf thanked the scientist quietly and made his way over. Charlie followed.Burns was looking at a diagram of earth, with several shapes moving in orbit. Raf took his place at the computer."What's that?" Charlie asked. "Not more cons, right?""No."After a long moment of silence."Are you going to tell me what it is?"Burns stared at her."The weapon we developed will be ready in a couple of hours. We're going to deploy it, hopefully stop more people from being killed.""That's great!"Raf's fingers stumbled mid type and he swore quietly. Charlie turned to him, but he looked pointedly at the keyboard."Raf…"He sighed. "Burns, you might as well tell her.""Yes, I think you'd better." Charlie glared at Burns, who had crossed his arms and had a complicated look on his face."Fine." he said, "Those things in orbit?""Yeah?""They're satelites, regular old human satelites that we've had turned off for the past couple of weeks so the cons wouldn't pay attention to them. We've been secretly reprograming them.""Ok…?""That tech you helped us process? It was some sort of energy blade that disrupts mechanical systems.""It disrupts them indiscriminately, and cuts off their power source." Raf cut in, with a tone to his voice that Charlie hadn't heard before.
No…
Charlie's hands fisted at her sides. She rounded on Burns. "Tell me it's a temporary disruption.""Kid-""They're on our side!" she shouted, eyes burning."I know! I know. We don't have any choice.""No!!! It's not fair, after all they've-"Raf tuned them out as he watched the screens. Omega One was always listening, always scanning different frequencies for messages, and it was programmed to pay close attention to repeating patterns. He isolated the one that the system had just picked up, and increased the volume.~Life's you and I
Alive today~Charlie and Burns cut themselves off mid argument."Do we really have time for this?" Burns demanded right before Charlie flung a hand over his mouth."Raf." she asked, shakily, "Why are you playing this?"Raf motioned to the screen."Not going to get in to the technicals, but this song has been playing on repeat for the last 10 minutes."Burns shook Charlie off. "The radio stations are going haywire, some of them were just left on and abandoned.""No." Charlie said, hope and worry building within her in equal measure. "It's Bee.""What-""Raf, can you tell where it's coming from?"He pulled up a map, and pointed to a spot about 90 miles east. "You can make it, but Charlie…we can't put this off.""I know, I know, I'll think of something."She hugged Raf gratefully, jumped off the platform, and ran quicker than she'd ever run in her life.~~~~~~The road is long
There are mountains in our way~~~~~~
Where are you, Bee?
Charlie tried to tune out the sound of the bike and the wind in her ears in order to hear Bee's radio.
Help me find you!
She stopped, turned the engine off, and closed her eyes.……~-out here to find~"Bee!"She whipped her head to the right, and in the distance, in the dimming light, a vague figure could be seen.~~~~~Suddenly Bee heard frantic footsteps. Human? Definitely too light to be a bot."Bee!!"
!!!
[Ch-lie?]He felt small arms fly around his neck, and a familiar electrical hum settled against his plating.[C, are you real?]"I'm here, Bee."Bee felt light points of pressure on his face plate, on his helmet, on his hood."We've got to get you up, Bee, can you stand?"There was a frantic quality to Charlie's voice. Were cons on the way?[I d-n't think I can. You have to lea-.]She let out a sob."Bee, there's-"~~~~~Charlie didn't know what it would be like when they turned on the weapon and, absently, uselessly, she wished she'd thought to ask.Bee's frame arched up. There was a sickening grind of metal as something under his chest plates started shifting. His radio let out a burst of discordant sounds; he was screaming."No!!!" Charlie watched as Bee's plates opened up, and a bright light started to rise up from inside."Bee, please, don't- please stay with me…"He collapsed.The light, a blue-white pulsing thing, slowly, reluctantly, pulled itsef from his body. And somehow, Charlie knew.
That's not just Bee's power source.
That's him.
The last thing Charlie knew, she was reaching for it with both hands.And all over the Earth, the humans watched as bright lights flew back into the stars.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
~~~~~~~~~~|Show me what you remember about your friend B-127.|Charlie scoffed."His name is Bumblebee."|Apologies, but the question stands.|
Wait, where am I?
|Focus.|"Right. Sorry. I remember the first time-"|Don't tell me, show me.|Charlie huffed, starting to get annoyed at the unknown voice, but she closed her eyes, strangely compeled to do what it said.She thought back to the first time she'd met Bee. Not the first time she saw him, covered in dust and an old tarp, mind you, but the first time they'd actually met. He'd been afraid. Afraid of her! Even though he was many times her size and there was no way she would actually harm him.|What else do you remember?|It was a little thing, but having someone who was happy to see her who wasn't her family, helped Charlie in ways she didn't realize she'd needed. When Bee had waved to her from the trunk when she chased him and her mom down the road, it was silly, and risky, and absolutely endearing.|Is that all?|"Absolutely not!"Charlie squeezed her eyes tighter, as if the action could make her thoughts more convincing.She remembered the beach, the long drives, the forest where Bee sat happily amongst the twigs.And then-It wasn't a memory she liked to recall, but it was important. She saw Bee on the floor after those 'con bastards had tortured him, his frame somehow small and fragile, his optics dark. She remembered the desperation with which she'd tried over and over again to restart his system, how it seemed like all of the light that had been building up over the last couple of weeks was fading.|There.|"I thought I'd lost him."|But you didn't.|"No, I didn't, but…" Charlie stopped. What was she doing here? Where was-Her eyes flew open, and she found herself in an empty space, a dim space with no beginning and no end. She flailed about, but she wasn't standing on anything, couldn't touch anything.
Am I dead?! I can't be! I have to get back to him!
|You are not dead, Charlie Watson.|"Then where am I? And who are you? And where is Bee!?"|There is no use in trying to explain who I am. But now that I'm sure of who you are, I can tell you what is going on.|As Charlie watched, the dim space opened up, and she saw the Earth as if she were standing in the middle of it looking out. She saw the Decepticon attack, the destruction, and the activation of the Weapon. The satellites of Earth suddenly came on line, and a flash enveloped the planet, disabling all mechanical devices. Autobots and Decepticons alike fell convulsing to the ground as their plating opened up and little lights were yanked from them; the only lights left on the planet. They rose up, up, into the sky."It's not right." Charlie ground out, her face heating with unshed tears.|What are you going to do about it?|"What am I going to-"She looked down. In her hands was Bee's light. It pulsed blue and white like his optics, seemed to have settled in the lines of her cupped hands, and was so very warm. She wanted nothing more than to hold it close and curl around it.|Will you take responsibility for them?|"I'll do anything."|Even the Decepticons?|Charlie couldn't help the revulsion that jolted through her gut, but there was no other answer."I can't let them go extinct. But…" she paused, unsure how the voice would take her request. "They're too dangerous right now. Is there anything…?"|There is.|Relief."Then I'll do it."|Very well, Charlie Watson of Earth, I will bind the Cybertronians to your planet. In this way they will survive, and heal.|She did cry then, big rolling tears that fell from her skin into the unknowable space."Thank you. Whoever you are, thank you."~~~~~[Charlie!][Come on, C, wake up!]Charlie blinked her eyes against the mid-day sun. She felt stiff, like she'd been laying in an uncomfortable position for way too long. Which she had, since it had been night when she found Bee. Sitting up gingerly, she felt a large hand move behind her back to support her, and when her eyes finally adjusted-Bright, beauiful, blue optics wide and trained on her.The memories of the Unknowable Space flooded back to her, and she gasped at hot, dry air.[Woah, C, you're ok. I've got you.]Bee rubbed comforting circles on her back as she slowly regained equillibirum.
It worked…the voice was telling the truth.
Charlie raised shaking hands to rest on Bee's chest plate. She could feel the faint hum, the gentle pulsing of the light inside. She pressed her fingers lightly, imagining that she could send tendrils of warmth to it: Safety. Acceptance. Affection.Bee's grip tightened on her, and Charlie felt a tentative answering pulse from the light, a little wave that echoed through her nervous system. Surprise. Happiness. Longing.[C, how did you…] Bee's radio sounded a little rough, like he was clearing his throat. His optics glanced over her nervously.Holding Bee's gaze, Charlie considered explaining everything that had happened with the disembodied voice, but there would be plenty of time for that later, and besides, it wasn't the real reason. The real reason, the bone-deep motivation for her actions over the last couple of weeks, was: "You're the love of my life, Bee."~~~~~Once Earth's mechanical systems came back online, and the computers rebooted, Raf and Burns stood staring at the screen, unbelieving.Reports were flooding in that the Decepticons had been disabled and were in pods of some sort, and the Autobots were somehow just fine."Did someone tweak the weapon without us knowing?" Raf asked, scrolling through the information.After a few moments, Burns picked his jaw up off of the floor and shook his head."No way. There's just no way."Just then, a cloud of dust filled one of the perimeter cameras. "What now?" Raf mumbled. Burns jumped off of the platform and ran to the door. What he found on the other side was a bright yellow Camero that had come to a dramatic stop, and Charlie hanging out of the window laughing and coughing."Bee!" More laughing, "You have got to roll up the window before you do that!"[Heh, sorry, C.]"No way." Burns said again.As Charlie exited the car, he could tell when she noticed him because her face took on a completely different expression. Burns braced himself as she approached.Good thing too, because she punched him pretty solidly on the shoulder as soon as she was within reach. Bee whistled in the background, the jerk.And then, for some odd reason, Charlie hugged him."I'm still mad at you, Burns." she said, "But it all worked out."Burns huffed."Not sure how that happened, but I'm sure we'll be briefed about it, and I haven't slept in two days, so I'm happy the leave the need-to-know until someone decides I actually need to know."[That's the spirit!]"Hey, where are you going now?" Burns asked, as Charlie turned back to Bee.Charlie shrugged. "Road trip!"Some pop song Burns didn't recognize started playing on Bee's radio as Charlie jumped back into the driver's seat. "Crank it, Bee!" she cried happily, and the song increased in volume as they pealed off in another cloud of dust.Burns stood there, staring at the space where they'd been until the dust settled, and went back inside.Raf looked up as he reentered Omega One."Didn't know you could smile, Burns." he commented, dryly.Burns clapped him on the back and said nothing.~~~~~Bee hummed as he drove down the highway, Charlie fast asleep in the backseat. They'd spent all day and much of the night talking, but eventually Charlie's tiredness had claimed her, and she'd crawled to the back and almost immediately started snoring lightly. Every hour so or she'd shift around, and occasionally mutter something too quiet for Bee to hear.Bee, on the other hand, felt like he wouldn't have to recharge for a week. His family was safe, the Earth was no longer under attack, and the girl he loved was curled up inside him. Since coms were useable again, he'd told Cliffjumper that he'd meet back up with them soon, but that he had something he wanted to do first."Hang on now-" Cliff had started, presumably not wanting to explain things to the Boss."I'll introduce you to Memo." Bee cut in."Run. I'll cover you."Cliff was the best.Bee found the exit he was looking for, and pulled off the highway.Charlie stirred and sat up, rubbing her eyes with the pads of her hands."Where are we? What time is it?" she murmured, sleep still coating her words.[It's mid-morning. Just headed to a spot I wanted to show you. How'd you sleep?]"Great!" Charlie said with a smile.[I'm just that comfortable, huh?]She hugged his driver's seat from behind. "Exactly."Bee felt his engine warm slightly.A few minutes later, they were pulling onto a dirt road covered in potholes.[I think we'd better walk the rest of the way.]Charlie agreed, "I need to stretch my legs anyway."She hopped out, and after Bee transformed, she wrapped her hand around one of his fingers and pulled him forward."Come on! I want to see this mysterious place!"They walked for about 20 minutes, the last five minutes of which was an increasing incline. [You alright there, C?] Bee asked, face plates tilted in what Charlie swore was a smirk."Just fine!" she huffed, "Haven't hiked in a while is all!"Bright static tumbling from his radio, Bee scooped her up and put her on his shoulder. Charlie scrambled for a moment and then rested her hands on his head for support."Didn't have to do that." she mumbled.[It'll be easier for you to see this way, it's a little awkward to stand at the top.]Indeed, the top of the incline had a unique shape Charlie hadn't really seen in landscapes before. It was sharp, like a-"A crater…"[Not just any crater!] Bee explained excitedly. [This crater was created millions of years ago when the war first came to this planet.]"Wait, what?!"[I'll explain later! The point is, there's energon here, and we're going to build on it!]Charlie looked over the crater which must have been five miles across and could see evidence that the land was being flattened and rearranged."What are you going to build?" she asked, hand shielding her eyes from the sun as she scanned the area.Bee was practically vibrating with excitement.[A city! We had just gotten permission when we realized the Decepticons were going to attack.]"You mean-"[We're going to live on Earth! We're going to have a home again…]Charlie squealed and threw her arms around Bee's head, narrowly avoiding poking herself in the face with his antenna. Knowing that they had been planning on staying loosened something in Charlie that had been worrying her since she agreed that they should be linked to the Earth."That's awesome, Bee!"[I know!]Bee did a little dance, and Charlie laughed as she tried not to fall off of him.For a few minutes they stood, enjoying the breeze, the view, and the company. Eventually, Bee shifted. He pulled Charlie off of his shoulder and moved her around so that he could face her. Charlie smiled and pressed her forehead against Bee's.[Hey, C?] he asked, softly."Hm?"[Stay with me?]"Always."~~~~~Charlie couldn't resist."So Bee, until the city is built, are we sharing your room back at Omega One, cause I've got to say-"[You saw my room?!]"One tiny shelf with a blurry picture and some rocks?"[I'm going to kill Raf.]~~~~~They got back to Omega One late on the third day, and arrived to find a much livelier place than they'd left. Soliders and scientists and even a couple of reporters had set up camp outside and were milling about, doing their jobs. Bee stopped a distance away.[Want to sneak in?] he asked, a playful tone to his voice."Sneak in?" Charlie peered at the crowds. "How are we going to manage that?"[Watch this.]There was a bit of static, and then, [Bumblebee reporting. Can I get a ground bridge back to HQ?]Nothing.Bee tried again. [Anyone there?]Nothing.And then, what sounded like snickering over the radio.[Hey! Windblade, I know that's you, come on, open the bridge!]"Why should I do that?" said a warm voice.Charlie grinned and leaned in close to the radio. "I think he's trying to show off." she stage-whispered."Ahh… of course. I should have known. Well, far be it from me to interrupt the mat-"Bee shut the radio off.Charlie was still laughing when the ground bridge appeared and they made their way into Omega One.Her laughter did fade, however, when she realized just how many giant robots were crowded into the main room."Wow…"Bee made the introductions, and Charlie was sure she spent the entire time with her eyes wide and jaw hanging open in a very uncool way. Of all things, she wondered what Otis would think when he met them. Afterwards, Charlie found a place to sit to the side while Bee caught up with his family.She leaned against the wall and relaxed, letting her eyes drift closed while she processed everything that had happened."Pardon me." a deep voice surprised Charlie from her reverie, and she almost jumped five feet in the air when she saw who it was.Optimus Prime was kneeling on the floor next to her."Op- I mean, sir, uh, Boss, uh-""My apologies, I didn't mean to startle you."When her heart stopped racing, Charlie shook her head. "No, it's fine, I just…"
I should tell him what happened.
"I…"He watched her patiently.Charlie took a deep breath."Something happened, right after the weapon was used. I went somewhere that wasn't anywhere."Optimus' optics focused. "Oh?""There was a voice, and it told me there was a way to fix everything, but…I had to make a choice." she ducked her head."What sort of choice?" he asked, gently.Charlie forced herself to look back up at Optimus, and she clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking."The sort that isn't really a choice.""I see." he said, "And did it work out the way you'd hoped?"Charlie looked over at Bee and the other bots, laughing and joking and leaning on each other."It did."Optimus followed her line of sight and, after a while, nodded. "I'm glad."They sat in companionable silence."I have a question." Charlie said, finally, "But I don't know if it's rude to ask it."With what may have been a chuckle, Optimus turned to her. "I'm millions of years old. There is nothing a young person could ask me that I haven't been asked a hundred times already.""Oh, ok then…" Charlie put a hand up to her sternum. "There's something here, inside, I mean. In Bee and, in you and the others too, right?""You are correct. It is our Spark, and it is what you might call a soul.""And when you're close to one, you can hear it, right? Or maybe, feel it is a better word?"~~~~Optimus stared at the human girl in surprise. He looked over at Bee who was poking Cliffjumper repeatedly in the head with one of Ratchet's tools, and then back at Charlie, who looked supremely nervous and like she wanted to bolt at any moment.
How should I broach this topic, I wonder.
"That is-""That would be-"Charlie was looking more uncomfortable by the moment."Child, there is nothing wrong or offensive in what you've asked," Optimus said, at long last, "but I recommend discussing it with your sparkmate.""My spark…" He watched as she pondered the word, and then came to the right conclusion. Her face flushed."Right." Charlie choked out, "I will, thank you.""Anytime. Now," Optimus gently prodded her from her seat. "Go, get to know everyone."Smiling, Charlie nodded, and then quickly made her way over to them. Bee immediately held his hand out to her and ushered her into the fold.Optimus contented himself to sit, and watch, and not think about war, for just a little while.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Memo shifted his bag higher on his shoulder and fished in his pocket for his mailbox keys.
Not that there's ever anything in here other than junk mail and student loan scam offers.
Sure enough, he pulled a bright stack of assorted leaflets from his university-assigned letter box and went promptly over to the recycling to throw them in. The papers had just about left his hand when he felt something of a different texture than the usual, stuck somewhere in the middle."A card?"To be specific, a light blue envelope with no return address, and his name on the front in typewriter.He carefully tore open the envelope and opened the card. It read:
Guillermo Gutierrez,
You are formally invited to…
"The official breaking-ground ceremony of Autobot City? What?"Memo blinked, and read the card again. Then he carefully stashed the card in his bag, and went to the nearest phone.{ring ring}{ring ring}"Hello? Watson residence.""Hey, Mrs. Watson." Memo greeted."Memo!" she replied, happily, "It's been so long since I've heard from you! How is everything, is school going well?""Oh, school is good. Um," Wait, what if this is a secret squirrel invitation… "I just wanted to check in, you know.""Aw, that is very sweet of you."There was the sound of a dog barking, and Sally shooing it away, and then she returned to the phone."Oh, Memo, are you going to the breaking-ground thing?"
Oh.
"Yes, I mean, I think so. Exams will be finished by then, so it should be fine. Are you going?"She laughed, "Charlie didn't give me much of a choice, she's just so excited."Memo caught the unspoken, I'm glad she's excited about things again."Well, Mrs. Watson," he said, after a moment, "Should we go together?""That's a good idea!"They agreed on a time and place to meet up, and said their goodbyes.Memo commended himself on remaining calm until he got back to his dorm room and collapsed onto the bed.~~~~~And that is how Memo found himself in the back of the Watsons' rented car next to Otis, who still had absolutely zero chill."I'm gonna do it." he insisted, as he fiddled with the buttons on his suit.Memo could see Sally rolling her eyes in the rearview mirror."No, you are not. You're going to be polite, and respectful, and not interrupt important conversations."Ron shrugged lightly, "I dunno, Sal, sometimes a man just wants to make an impression, you know?"Otis pointed at Ron. "He gets it."Sally turned around in the passenger seat and looked at Memo."Memo, you agree with me, right?"Crap. "Uh, yes, I mean, uh…""See?"They bickered lightly for most of the drive to the crater, but honestly, Memo was glad to hear it. He was glad they were alright after everything.~~~~~A/N: Please put on your favorite party music now!~~~~~"Wow." Otis breathed as they approached the gathering area. The crater was still practically an empty space, but they'd put up a platform with a ceremonial shovel displayed. There were a dozen tents decorated with lights, tables full of snacks and drinks, and some poppy music playing in the background.That's not what Otis was impressed by, of course. The Autobots were scattered amongst the humans, even the smallest of them towering over their guests.He exited the car as if in a daze, brushing past his family and-"Otis!"Otis started at the sound of Charlie's voice and found himself being spun into a hug."Missed you, punk!" she said, cheerfully."Huh? But…" Otis blinked. "Why do you have lights in your hair?"Charlie flushed. "Well-""I think you look wonderful, Charlie." Sally said, beaming at her daughter as she pulled her close, "You look happy, and healthy, and I am so glad for it.""Thanks Mom…"After a few moments Ron tapped her on the shoulder with an expectant expression, and Charlie laughed as she hugged him too.Finally, she cut her eyes over at Memo, grinning mischeviously."Oh no, what's that look for?" he asked, taking a half step backwards."You're wearing a suit." Charlie pointed out.Memo squared his shoulders. "So? A gentleman knows how to dress for a formal event, Watson."Finally, Otis had had enough. He marched over to the one he knew must be Optimus Prime from Charlie's description and the brief news reports he'd seen, and waited until he was finished with his conversation."Excuse me, Mr. P-Prime!" he called out, voice cracking just a little bit.Optimus turned and, noticing Otis standing there ramrod straight, kneeled down carefully."Hello, young one."Otis fought the urge to turn and run. "Mr. Prime, I, um…""Yes?""I want to join the Autobots!"He knew the crowds hadn't actually gone silent, heck, they probably didn't even notice what was going on, but Otis couldn't hear anything over his pounding heart.As the moment stretched on, he grew more nervous under Optimus's gaze.Finally, the Autobot leader spoke."What is your name?""Otis. Otis Watson, sir."Recognition."Of course. Otis Watson, I would not recruit you. Indeed, as I hope we do not have to fight for a very long time, I have no need for more soldiers.""But-" To his embarrasment, Otis felt a lump growing in his throat."What we do need, however, is family. And since we already count Charlie as one of our own, that means you are as well."
I'm…family?
Charlie chose that moment to jog up, and tapped Otis lightly on the head."Sorry, Boss. I knew he'd-" she stopped as she saw her brother's eyes brimming with tears."Otis? Are you ok? Boss, what'd you say to him??"Optimus shifted. "Ah. Well, I-"~~~~~Bee laughed as he watched Charlie standing with her hands on her hips, saying something to a sheepish Optimus, and then both of them being surprised by Otis suddenly hugging Optimus's leg.But his laughter trailed off when a shadow crept over him."I'm gonna need you to uphold your end of the bargain, friend." a voice came from the shadow.[Why are you skulking around?]"I'm not."[Sure.]Cliffjumper nudged Bee in the arm. "Come on, man."[Alright, alright.] Bee agreed, [Let's go.]~~~~~They made their way over to a tent where Memo was sipping a glass of champagne and watching the goings-on of the guests. He stood casually, one hand in his pocket, and the lights over head reflected in-"Nope. Can't do it."[What???]"Look at him, Bee…"[You've been wanting to talk to him for over a year!]"I know, but-[Screw this.] Bee waved. [Hey Memo!]"No!"Memo turned, and then smiled when he saw who it was. He placed his glass on the table and came over to join them."Hey, Bee!" he said, "Wondered when you'd show up."[Yeah, sorry, OP needed me to take care of some stuff.] Bee motioned to Cliffjumper who had not moved a circuit in the last minute. [Memo, this is Cliffjumper. Cliff, this is Memo.]"Nice to meet you, Cliffjumper." Memo held out his hand.…… [I'm sorry, he hasn't learned anything about Earth culture in two years. Cliff!] Bee elbowed him hard. [Handshake!]Cliff's optics refocused, and finally he shook Memo's hand."So," Memo started, "Uh, enjoying the party?"Cliff shrugged. "Parties aren't really my thing."Memo seemed to relax at this. "Mine neither." He said with a smile.Mission accomplished, Bee backed away slowly, and as he left he heard Cliff haltingly say, "So, I hear you like space."~~~~~After a blessedly short ceremony where-in Optimus had to stick a very tiny shovel into the ground to the cheers of the crowd, the dancing started in earnest.~~~~~A/N: Now put on your favorite slow song~~~~~~Bee found Charlie sitting on an abandoned table, her heels kicked off in the dirt. Her forehead was slightly damp, her hair messy from dancing, and the lights had slipped down on to her shoulders. She smiled as he made his way over to her and sat down.[Hey, beautiful.]Charlie stuck her tongue out, but her eyes crinkled with happiness."How many times are you going to say that tonight?" she asked.[I'll stop when you stop blushing.]"Really?"[Nope.]"Pfft."Charlie looked out over the crowd, to a clearing on the other side, where Windblade and Nautica were dancing slowly; the sort of dancing that doesn't have any particular moves, but is just an excuse to press your cheek to ther other person's and hold them close."They're so elegant…" she sighed.[Hey, we could be elegant too!]"You asking me to dance, Mr. Bee?"[I am, Miss Watson.]Standing, Bee bowed and held his hand out. Charlie took care not to get her feet tangled up in her silver dress as she stood on the table. With the added height they were almost on the same level, and she took Bee's hand after an exaggerated curtsy."So how does dancing work anyw-aah!" Charlie squealed as Bee scooped her up and began turning them in a lazy circle. [Dunno, but this is nice.] Charlie relaxed against him, draping her arms around his neck."Yes it is."And they stayed like that until long after the music changed.