After that day, Fowler assigned a Private to me and she stood in as my mother, to visit and tour the school. We went early in the morning and walked around while the others were in class, the principal spoke gently and excitedly with us, talking up the school like he'd rehearsed this many times. Rehearsed a piece written when the school was built, anyway, which was extremely outdated.
There's really so many questions I could ask here to ruin him. What are the suicide rates? How many students graduate with honors? Do the school's art programs lack budgeting, or does the board care about students' creative outlets? Assuming the sports team is the best funded, do they bring home medals, or is it more of a 'fun' team sport to play after school?
Wouldn't matter if I did ask, though, I already knew the answers to most of those.
"So, what do you think, Miss Elaine? You'll be the one attending in due time."
"It's nice." I replied simply, "The small build of the school should make it easier for me to make friends."
His eyes lit up and I refrained from sighing, "Of course! What a lovely observation. I can tell you're a very smart girl, and Jasper's public high school looks forward to having you!"
Great. I thought.
Even though I hate this idea, maybe once I'm enrolled Jack will finally lay off a bit. I can't believe he thinks I'm a spy that's fooled everyone but him. Then again, I can't blame him for holding a grudge.
-
You left us here to die.
I didn't mean to.
My mouth moved but no sound followed, and it felt hard to breathe. I tried running, but my body wouldn't move as fast as I wanted it to, and it was like I was pulling against tar, stuck to my arms and feet.
You let my mother die!
No, I never wanted this!
I'll never trust you! I'll make you pay for what you did!
Just listen to me!
My motorcycle's engine burst and I was thrown to the concrete. My shoulder smacked off the ground and my left arm burned, my knees were scraped and I struggled to push myself back up. As I pressed up on my hands and knees, I looked up through the dark to my father, who stood above me with a disgusted look. All of his other men in masks stood behind him, slowly moving to surround me, guns held tight to their chests and pointed right to my head.
After all I've given you... you betray me. You betray MECH.
You never cared about me, so don't start pretending like you do now!
You are ungrateful. You are weak, and I never should have let you join me.
There was nothing to reply with. I sat there and just watched, listening as my father chuckled down at me, calling me pathetic, and the screams and curses of Breakdown over the whir of the drills started building up more and more in the back of my mind. Louder, louder, like it was coming for me next.
Slowly, I turned around. Jack was yelling at me, calling me a monster, but I couldn't see him. Where was Fowler?
I'm sorry. I whispered, but I couldn't hear my own voice.
Breakdown was coming right for me, limping, his eye socket empty and his chest hanging open and his arm falling off, and he looked alot worse than I remember him looking. His canon was loaded, shooting rapidly around me and missing me even though I wasn't moving.
I said I was sorry!
The firing continued, explosions echoed and my ears started to ring. The sounds of the drills blared and Breakdown was still yelling. I raised my hands to cover my ears, trying to talk to myself, trying to hear myself think. Everything was spinning. The same anxiety I felt those nights leading up to the moment I burned down my own house was rushing through me.
Stop
Maybe if I screamed, someone would help me. Someone would hear me, and get me out of this.
I took in a deep breath and screamed, and the sound woke me up.
I flinched, my eyes burned from opening them so quickly and I quickly turned on my side, pulling my hands to my face and rubbing my eyes. I was out of breath, and sweating, and I struggled to sit up.
Did I... actually scream out loud?
I jumped as the door flew open, Fowler ran into the room and took a look around before jogging up to me, "What happened?!"
"N-nothing. I just-"
"Is there someone outside? Is-"
"No! Stop!" I shouted over him, shocking him into silence, "It was just some-some stupid dream."
I took a deep breath, relaxing myself. I looked at my hands in my lap and Fowler scratched the back of his neck, "A stupid dream, that had you screaming?"
"I only... it wasn't that bad."
He eyed me, and I turned to glare at the window so I didn't have to see his face.
He sighed, deciding not to push anymore, and walked back towards the door, "Try to get back to sleep. If you need anything, don't hesitate to speak up."
"Yes, I know."
-
I didn't end up getting much sleep after that. It was so hard to calm down to fall back asleep enough to really feel like I slept, but I didn't want Fowler to pester anymore, so I told him everything was fine and I headed off to the base while he went off to work on some other important business that a child like myself shouldn't have to worry about. Him saying things like that to me still baffled me, considering my father would almost never have said the same.
When I got to the base, Jack and Miko were already there with Arcee and Bulkhead, who were discussing something with Ratchet.
"Alyona, how nice of you to join us." Ratchet called out, alerting everyone of my arrival. Jack groaned lightly in the background, and Miko cheered,
"Hey Alyona, you gotta come with us!"
I walked over to the stairs to meet her, "Where to?"
"Only to experience the greatest night of all time!"
I breathed a laugh as she ran up to me, grabbing my wrist, I gasped as she yanked me along faster, "Aren't you excited?!" She pestered, "This is going to be fun! The best day ever!"
"Uh-huh... you seem happier than usual today?"
"One of Miko's favorite bands has a concert
tonight." Bulkhead answered my indirect question simply, like he'd been hearing about this for weeks, if not months,
"But before we can go to the concert, there's something Arcee and I have to look into."
Miko came to a full stop, like she'd shut down, and turned slowly to look at her beloved robot partner, "What do you mean, something you have to look into first?!"
"An old energon mine. Nothing too dangerous, and it shouldn't take long."
"Yes, yes, nothing too dangerous. Well then, it shouldn't be a problem if you take the humans along with you!" Ratchet's eyes lit up at his own suggestion, and then he quickly moved to the ground bridge controls,
"Yup, a rare opportunity for the humans to join their robot friends on a safe mission. Go on now, all of you."
I blinked, both Jack and Miko were unimpressed but for obviously different reasons.
"If you don't mind, I'd love to join you."
"I do mind." Jack grumbled under his breath, but Arcee ignored him.
"Sure thing, Alyona. Stick close, alright?"
"Yes ma'am."
She giggled lightly, "You can just call me Arcee."
Nodding, I followed her and Bulkhead through the ground bridge with the others. Coming out the other side, I blinked away black spots out of the corners of my eyes. The ground bridge jump gave off a very odd feeling, like going through an elevator that moved way too fast.
"What? Can't even handle a ground bridge jump?" Jack spouted, and I frowned as I turned to look at him.
"I'm fine, thank you very much. I'm quick to adapt."
"I can see that, considering how quick you were to change sides when it was best convenient for you." He walked off without giving me room to reply, and I took a breath before following him and Miko.
Whether he liked it or not, Ratchet kicked all of us out, so I was stuck with him now.
We waited outside as Arcee and Bulkhead walked into the dark of the cave, and I sat a good distance away from Jack and Miko, having climbed slightly above them to get a better view of what was around us. There was mostly just dirt, but a couple hundred yards out was a large forest. I never got the chance to really just admire things like this. It was nice.
"We're supposed to be at a rock concert." Miko whined, "But all I see is... rock."
Jack yawned, "Relax Miko. The show doesn't start for two hours."
"Do you know how long I've waited to see Slash Monkey?" Miko asked, and Jack rose a finger, "FOREVER! And it's their only U.S. date!"
"There's a shock. I mean, who doesn't love obscure Bulgarian shreek metal."
Is that what it was that she showed me last week?
"I'm sure you'll get to see the band, Miko." I assured, giving her a half smile as she looked up at me, "Bulkhead knows how much you want to see them. He'll get you there in time."
"Yeah, I know, I know, but still!"
Before she could complain anymore, the sounds of Bulkheads and Arcee's footsteps rumbled the pebbles on the ground and they emerged from the cave with nothing.
"By all appearances the mine's been stripped." Arcee began.
Bulk hummed, holding up a detecting device, "But I'm getting a signal. It's faint, but it's definitely energon."
Miko seemed to, immediately, forget about her very special once in a life time concert opportunity at Bulkheads words, and quickly slid off the rocks as Arcee and Bulkhead continued to converse.
"Where is she going?" I asked.
"Hell if I know." He retorted, "Uh- guys?" Jack called to the two, and they snapped their eyes down to see Miko running into the dark, yelling out so her voice would echo.
"She went in." Arcee scoffed, "Unbelievable."
"Really?" Jack asked in retort as I met him down on the ground by the entrance to the cave, "Have you met Miko?"
Bulkhead ran in after her and I placed a hand on my hip, watching him call after her like she was a stray dog he took in somewhere that would never properly learn how to listen because he never took the time to train it. Either way though, there's no fixing this part of Miko, which definitely makes her... Miko.
"It would be kind of interesting to see." Jack shrugged up at Arcee, "You know if it were-"
"Safe?" She finished for him, "A striped mine can be structurally unstable."
The boy quickly held his hands up, "I promise to step lightly."
She sighed and let him lead the way, and for a second I just stood there. Miko had Bulkhead, Jack had Arcee. But if something went wrong in there I'd be the odd one out. I didn't need to be another burden on them when I was trying to be the one to help them.
"Coming, Alyona? Or are you too scared?"
My face morphed into a scowl, and I quickly jogged in to catch up.
Deeper into the mine, my eyes adjusted to the dark just enough to see what was close to me. Without Arcee's glowing eye lights, I would have probably fallen into a ditch somewhere at this point. Maybe I should have stolen one of my fathers night vision goggles before I came here after all.
Jack was quiet, and I was thankful that we weren't arguing, probably no more than Arcee was though. Bulkhead called in through the comps and we stopped on our walk, Arcee pressing her mic to copy back to him.
"Bulkhead? Bulkhead?" She repeated, raising a spike of worry in me, she just frowned, "Scrap. The mineral composition down here is causing interference."
"Shall we keep walking in hopes we run into them?" I wondered aloud, "Or leave and rendezvous outside instead?"
"Why would we leave them here? What if something happens?"
"If something happens, at least we'll be safe on the outside to make a proper plan of rescue." I replied simply, "I'm just trying to think of what's best for-"
"For yourself." He interrupted, making my chest burn, "Yeah, I'm not surprised."
Jack continued walking and Arcee followed without anything to say. I sighed and brushed it off, continuing to follow them down the mined hallway. The farther we went, the better I started to be able to see. Eventually there was an obvious light source coming from a hole in one of the walls, and Jack headed over to it to check it out.
I followed right behind him, freezing up at the sight. A huge cybertronian I'd never seen before stood before a kneeling, quivering thin one, cannon pointed to his head. The canon alone was ginormous, and Arcee recoiled when she walked right into the opening and laid eyes upon him.
"Who... is that?" I asked in a whisper.
"Megatron." Jack whispered in reply, swallowing harshly.
Megatron...
I tensed as Megatron lifted his cannon towards us, sprinting out of the way as Arcee grabbed Jack and lept to the side, hiding behind a large pillar of rock as dust flooded the space from the impact. But if that cannon was as strong as it looked, he'd tear right through it in no time at all.
"Stay down!" Arcee ordered, and I knelt to the ground as Jack did behind the pillar.
"Please tell me exactly who Megatron is?!" I yelled over the noise.
"How do you not know?!"
"Just tell me!"
He groaned, "He's the leader of the decepticons. A really, really powerful, and a really, really bad guy! Arcee won't stand a chance fighting him alone!"
"Then what do we do?" I winced as the ground shook, he was yelling at someone other than Arcee, probably the smaller bot he was threatening before.
Arcee fired when he wasn't looking and I moved to watch past Jack's shoulder, a flood of dread filling me when I realized what was happening.
"She's bringing it down."
"What?"
"She's- she's directing fire to the weakened structure of the mine." I explained, "She's trying to bring it down on top of him to buy us time! But-"
A chunk of the ceiling fell right on top of Megatron as planned, but the pressure of the boulder and Megatron slamming into the ground was enough to make the entire plant tremble, cracking in on itself.
We couldn't run fast enough, and fell in with the crater we'd created.