Ultra Magnus's POV
I watched quietly as Alias suffered through Ratchet's continuous poking and prodding. Or should I say, as Ratchet suffering through Alias's continuous complaining.
Most of the Autobots had left hours ago to get back to Cybertron. They had work to do in their various positions. New Iacon was nearly done being rebuilt.
Optimus had almost convinced me to go back to Cybertron and settle down like the rest of them. I had been the second in command of the Autobots. I was a legend.
But I had to find Alias.
And now she was here.
I'd noticed a few things. Alias had been so... annoying and loud mouthed before. Now she was quieter. More distant.
Something horrible happened to her, that much was evident. Alias was tough and broken. I wanted to help her, but she was being a little too tough. A little too broken.
I looked away as the doors opened and two adults stepped through.
"I'm back, baby!" Miko grinned, pulling Jack further into the base.
"Ugh, Ratchet, let me down." Alias smacked the medic's hand and tried to look at them. "My peeps are here!"
Ratchet rolled his eyes and picked her up before lowering the girl to the floor and setting her in a wheelchair.
"Bro! You're alive!" Miko exclaimed.
"Better believe it." Alias smirked. "Hey Jack."
"Hey." He smiled. "You're looking... terrible actually."
She rolled her eyes as Miko smacked him. "Gee, thanks."
"So where is Raf?" Alias questioned.
Both of the humans deflated and Miko looked away.
"Raf..." Jack sighed. "He was killed."
"What?" Alias's eyes went wide. "What happened!?"
"He took jobs for the military, hacking and all. But one day, the mission went wrong and Raf got caught." Jack looked down. "He died a hero."
Alias closed her eyes. "Wasn't he just a little kid yesterday?"
Miko smiled and sniffed. "Seems like it."
Ratchet cleared his throat, trying to change the subject. "Alias, I need to check your blood for another three hours."
She whipped her head around in horror before looking at Miko. "Help!"
Miko nodded and grabbed the wheelchair. "Here we go!"
"Wait, hold on!" Jack exclaimed. "Ratchet is a doctor! He knows what he's doing!"
Ratchet smirked as Miko and Alias sped out of the room, Jack on their tail. I walked over and raised an eyeridge.
"You're just letting her go?"
"Oh please, I don't need to check her blood, much less for three hours. They needed a distraction." He chuckled.
I shook my head and turned away.
"Hey, Magnus." Ratchet put his hand on my shoulder. "You did good."
"I know." I replied, walking away to my berthroom.
I closed my eyes and sat down. After a moment, my body shut down.
"Magnus, where are you!?" Vine demanded, her voice making the house shake.
"Behind you." I smirked, stepping closer.
She whirled around. "Magnus, you idiot. I told you to comm me when you got back from school."
"I was going to." I told her. "But I wanted to surprise you."
"Sire?"
I looked past Vine as two small figures appeared in the hallway.
"Hey!" I grinned as they ran forward and jumped on me.
"You're back!" Strongarm grinned.
"Yay!" Thinwheel exclaimed. "Tell us about all your cool missions!"
"I would, but you know your mom. She always wants to break up the fun." I laughed.
Vine smacked me. "I do not!"
"Do you want to have alone time or not?" I whispered.
She glared before turning to the kids. "Okay, troublemakers, off to your room. Ah! No pouty face or I'll have you shipped off to Uncle Ratchet's."
"He's cooler than you!" Thinwheel shouted as he and Strongarm ran off.
I turned back to Vine and winked. "I'm your hero, right?"
She smacked me again. "In your dreams, Cadet Magnus."
I woke back up slowly, the empty space on the berth beside me becoming more deserted. I stood up and sighed before making my way out.
Alias was sitting on her wheelchair, watching as Ratchet worked on his computer.
"Permission to take my charge on a drive, sir?" I requested.
He glanced over. "Yes, fine. Don't do anything stupid."
I nodded and grabbed her wheelchair. Alias sent me a grateful smile.
"So where did the other humans go?" I asked.
"They had to get back to work." She sighed. "Downfalls of being military agents, I guess."
I transformed and started driving out of base. "Anywhere you want to go? I've got a holoform now."
"Mm, Burger King." Alias decided. "I need some junk food in my life again."
"Right." I stated. "Humans like to poison themselves."
"Yup." She grinned. "Not all of them though. You just had the luck of landing in the U.S."
I sped up. "Right."
Alias looked out the window. "I noticed your hand is fixed."
"Yeah, you'd be surprised what a rebuilt omega lock can do." I told her. "It took Ratchet some time, but once more Autobot engineers arrived on Earth and Cybertron, we were able to get a lot accomplished."
"Omega lock as in the omega lock?" Alias asked in surprise. "Is Cybertron...?"
"It's been revived."
She smiled lightly. "I bet you're happy to have your home back."
"Optimus tells me that there is much left to do on Cybertron before it can be restored to it's former glory, but I wouldn't know. I haven't been there yet."
"What?" Alias frowned. "Why not?"
"I've been looking for you."
She looked down. "Oh."
There was a moment of silence.
"Magnus, I'm so sorry. I really did try to get out." She told me.
"It's okay. I'm just glad you're back. Glad that I didn't lose another charge." I told her quietly.
"Another?"
I slowed down. "Ratchet interrupted us earlier. You never got the chance to finish telling me what happened."
"Did you just change the subject?"
"Did you?" I retaliated. "We've been edging away from this topic since you woke up. I need to know what happened."
"It doesn't matter anymore." Alias told me. "I've taken care of it."
"It doesn't matter?" I demanded. "Alias, you were almost dead when I found you. It looked like you were tortured! What happened out there? I saw you disappear! Right in front of me!"
"The past is past, Magnus. There's nothing to do anymore." Alias looked away.
I scoffed. "You don't understand how important this is. If the people who did this to you get away with-"
"THEY DIDN'T GET AWAY!" Alias exploded, whipping around and glaring at me. "I KILLED THEM! I KILLED ALL OF THEM!"
My tires screeched to a stop and she jerked forward slightly, my seatbelt stopping her before she could injure herself further.
Alias breathed out a long, shaky breath before looking out the front of my windshield, her next words cold and dark in a way that sent shivers through my alternative mode.
"There's nothing left."
I waited a moment, trying to find something to say, but I couldn't find a single thing to tell her.
So I turned my tires and headed back to base. The ride back was long and quiet until I drove up to her wheelchair near Ratchet and opened the door.
Alias didn't immediately move, until she put her hand on my dashboard with a small sigh. "I'm sorry, Magnus. I'm not the same person you once knew."
"You're still you." I told her quietly.
Alias shook her head and stepped out. "Not anymore."
I wanted to say something else, but Ratchet, completely oblivious, picked up Alias and set her back on the table. I transformed, sending her a quick glance before I made my way to the berthrooms.
I saw Optimus in the hallway.
"Optimus?" I asked, stepping toward him. "If I may ask, what are you doing here, sir?"
Optimus looked at me. "I came to see how you and Alias were doing. Things have been quiet on Cybertron and the team has been wondering."
"Oh." I looked to the side. "That is a good question. One I might not be able to answer as of this moment."
Optimus frowned. "What is wrong?"
"Alias is... she's so different." I sighed.
He nodded. "Five years is a long time in human terms."
"No." I told him. "No, she really changed. I don't think she'll ever be the same again."
Optimus knitted his brows and let out a long breath. "Perhaps. So Alias may not be the girl we once knew, but she is still here. We must never lose sight of our faith even when the being in which it was placed in has changed."
"Like Megatron?" I scoffed. "He changed from a good politician into an evil warlord."
Optimus raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised at my change in tone. But he answered me anyway.
"Exactly like Megatron." Optimus replied. "I had many chances to kill him that I did not take. Sometimes I blamed my hesitance on honor, other times on strategy. But deep down, I still have faith in the bot he was before the war and I could never purge that faith."
Optimus placed his hand on my shoulder. "So no matter who Alias may be now, you must never forsake her. She still needs you. And you need her."