Enter Dante, The Rev-9: Book 1: Rogue

Chapter 5: Darkness Rising Part 5

3rd Person POV

Autobot Base

Dante leaned against the wall of the base as Ratchet looked over the data that he had derived from the equation on Miko's phone.

Elita had already left to convince Jack to return to base, so Dante had a feeling that they would be seeing him pretty soon. Ratchet had already scanned his body and was surprised to find that Dante was almost fully recovered.

Dante knew that most humans did not recover as fast as he did, so to sway suspicions, he told everyone that it might be a side effect of the Energon, which they all accepted as a viable explanation.

When Dante glanced around the room of Autobots and humans alike, as they listened to Ratchet explain about the location of the Spacebridge, he noticed Arcee standing over by the entrance to the corridor that led deeper into the base, with an expression on her face that he knew all too well.

Pushing himself off the wall, Dante walked over to Arcee. "Hey, Cee, you alright?"

She gave a small start before fixing her face into a friendly smile. "What? Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Dante raised an eyebrow. "You and I both know you're lying. What's wrong?"

Arcee glanced at him, and after seeing that he wasn't going to give up, sighed and said, "It's just... I've already lost one partner this week, and when I saw you hanging there...." she trailed off and sat down against the wall, gritting her teeth.

Dante walked over and gently placed a hand on her side. "Hey," he whispered gently. "It's alright. I know what it's like to lose people. Trust me," he said softly. "I know."

She looked over at him. "It's not just that. I almost lost you within three days of having you as a partner." She looked down in shame. "What kind of Autobot am I if I can't even protect my own partners?"

"Look, Arcee," he said forcefully. "It's not your fault that your other partners died. Believe me, I blame myself every day for a death that I could have prevented, but I failed as well. Over time, I learned that the best way to honor those who have died is to keep moving forward, and to keep their memories with you, so that they never truly die."

Arcee stared at him, shocked, then smiled. "I guess there's more to you than meets the eye, huh?" he smiled slightly. Believe me, Arcee, you have no idea how right you are, he thought.

"I guess so. And besides," he continued, "don't you have that cold warrior mystique to worry about?"

She laughed. "You're right. Thanks, Dante."

He smiled at her. "Anytime, partner."

Their moment was broken, however, by the familiar sound of a car engine. Everyone turned to find Elita pulling in, Jack in the driver's seat.

Jack climbed out as soon as Elita came to a stop. "Guess who's back?" he asked sheepishly.

"Called it," Dante announced.

Arcee gently wacked him over the head, being careful since he was still recovering from torture (or so she thought).

"Autobots, prepare for departure," Optimus ordered.

Arcee and Dante exchanged looks. "Where to?" Elita asked.

"The final frontier," Miko said dramatically.

"Space?" Jack asked in surprise. "I thought they didn't have any way to get there."

"They don't, well, not really," Raf answered as Bumblebee lowered him to the floor.