Loyalty is but a flower (Bayverse Drift x OC love story)

How can I fall [for you] ?

Listening intently to Cade's plan to infiltrate KSI headquarters Penelope watched as Bumblebee print her and Cade's pictures onto a pair of ID tags the inventor had stolen earlier. "Ok very good Bee." Praised the inventor. "That'll get us in!"

"I still don't like the idea of sending you inside Penelope." Admitted Optimus.

Glancing up at her protective uncle figure Penelope gave him what she hoped to be a soft, reassuring smile. "Uncle Optimus if this means we can take down Attinger and Cemetery Wind for good, then I'll do whatever it takes to insure their downfall once and for all!"

"About that—" began Cade curiously glancing over at Penelope. "Penelope there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Yes?" She inquired clipping her fake ID tag into her shirt.

"Just how old are you really?"

Of all the questions Penelope had been expecting him to ask, this was hardly one of them. "22; why do you ask?"

"22?" Cade's forehead creased as he did a simple math calculation before his eyes widened in horror and disbelief. "That's means you were only 17 when— sh*** you were practically Tessa's age!!!!"

Exhaling a deep breath Penelope steadily met Cade's horrified expression with her own steely gaze. "You would be correct Mr. Yeager."

"But you— oh my gosh— you were only a kid!!! What are they insane?!?!"

Penelope sighed. "To anyone woven under their spell of illusion Cemetery Wind are viewed as heroes, to those butchers themselves they believe that they are titans; but to people like me their monstrous psychopaths who desire nothing more than to watch the whole world burn to ashes! Underage or not it doesn't matter to them, not when they play the roles of judge, jury and executioner! Cemetery Wind didn't see me as a scared kid any more than they saw my father as a good, innocent cybertronian. They killed him just like they tried to kill me! And what's more is that they can easily manipulate the scenes of their 'grand hunt' to make it seem like nothing more than a tragic accident."

"But if we do nail them we all get our lives back right?" Asked a pale Tessa looking at Penelope expectantly.

For the first time since they'd met Penelope's stony facade crumbled into a look of sympathy as she met the frightened eyes of the teenage girl. "I'm sorry Tessa, but truth be told regardless of the outcome I'm afraid that the lives of you, your father and your Shane will never be the same again. Once you get involved in something like this, then there's no hope of things ever going back to the way they were. Even if you did attempt to recreate a new life for yourselves, all those scars both physically—" here she pointed over her heart to where Tessa said the bullet scar was located. "And mentally." Then pointing to her mind Penelope concluded by stating. "They'll stay with you forever."

If possible Tessa paled even further with fear and despair as Penelope's words resonated with her. Penelope felt bad for scaring Tessa, but she of all people knew that sometimes it's better to be honest about the situation than to offer any false hopes.

"Hey!" Cade interjected. "Everything is going to work out just fine! Look as long as we have each other's back we can protect ourselves. If all goes according to plan Cemetery Wind, KSI, Lockdown, none of them will be able to hurt anyone ever again!"