"The darkest nights have the brightest stars."
★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
What in the pits is that?! It's certainly annoying. Maybe a hospital machine?
Oh, scrap. Everything's numb. Or, no. Everything hurts. Which of the two she's feeling, Toby doesn't know. So, naturally, she does the only thing any sane person would do. Complain.
"Man, I feel worse than a truck laid to rust in a farmer's field," she groans, eyes fluttering open.
"Toby!" Someone shouts, their voice ringing endlessly in the woman's ears.
"Ow. Could you lower the volume a bit?" She winces, scrunching her eyes shut in an attempt to calm her now raging headache.
"Sorry," they chuckle awkwardly.
"That's better. Now, can someone please tell me how I'm not dead?" She remembers the warm embrace of darkness and a fleeting flash of her mother's face.
"Always the comedian, aren't you, Tobbes?" Her eyes snap open, a blinding array of colours assaulting her corneas. It takes a few moments for her to adjust, everything going from a blurry outline to a crisp image.
Every inch of the room is either pure white, or a gentle baby blue. Plastic-y sheets cover her very sore form, and some sort of barrier type thing rests on either side of the hospital bed to keep her from falling out. An IV line remains snug in her left arm, why not her right one she does not understand. And while she can wiggle her left toes, she cannot for her right.
A dark figure stands by her head, tears in their eyes and a broad smile on their lips. They wear a military uniform and it looks like they have spent almost all their waking hours in the room.
"When am I not?" Toby smiles weakly at her uncle, feeling slightly doped up on painkillers.
"I'm glad you're okay, Toby."
"Okay? I freaking took on the almighty Decepticon warlord single handedly and got crushed like a bug! I assure you, I am anything but okay!"
"So you're awesome, then."
"Dang straight," she nods the best she can. A cough looses itself from her lungs, scraping her throat of whatever moisture it has.
"Easy, Tobbes, you took a massive beating," her uncle adjusts her pillow to elevate her position.
"Uh huh," the woman croaks, struggling to take a breath.
"I'm just going to grab one of the doctors, okay?"
"R—" she heaves, her coughing fit triggering her gag reflex, "Rat-atch—"
"It's alright. You're alright," Epps soothes, softly rubbing circles on the back of her hand.
"Ratch-et," she wheezes, tears now rolling down her cheeks.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," her uncle apologises, earning a confused glare from the woman. "We're not where they are."
She shakes her head furiously, coughing violently. "I w-ant Ra-tch-et."
"No can do, kiddo," he ruffles her hair playfully. "He's quite a ways from here."
Toby shoots him her famous death-glare, finally recovering from her coughing fit. She moves her right arm to move her hair behind her ear, but freezes in shock at what she sees.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Toby, but there was nothing that could be done," his voice goes unheard as the woman examines her appendage.
Her arm stops at what once was her elbow, but graphic scars ripple through the flesh, a longer stretch of heavily damaged skin reaching up towards her shoulder. Fresh tears spring to her eyes as she realises what this means for her. No more mechanics. No more inventing. No more anything.
Then the numbness in her right leg feels more foreign, less real. Before her uncle can stop her, the covers are ripped off and the sight becomes more than she can bear. Nothing of her right leg exists any more, nothing but a useless stump that can't do anything more than shuffle.
She chokes on a sob, hiding her face in her hand. Her whole world is gone, the only thing that kept her going is now stripped from her. The tears keep coming, falling down her face and splashing on her hospital gown. Her hair plasters to her wet cheeks, often getting in her mouth as she sobs brokenly.
"Shh, shh. It's alright," Epps rubs her back, soothing her the best he can.
"No!" Toby screams at him, allowing herself to take out her anger on him. "Nothing's alright! I want Ratchet! I want Ironhide! I want Optimus! I want the Autobots! I want my family," she mutters the last bit, not really wanting her uncle to hear it.
"Look, I can't bring them in, but I can bring your dad," he tries to bargain.
"For Primus' sake! I don't want him! I left him! Just let me see my Autobots!" Toby collapses onto the hospital bed, her body shaking with sobs.
"Shh, just calm down. I'm sure we can work something out," her uncle pulls a chair closer, no longer intent on finding a doctor.
The woman sighs, sniffling slightly. "What happened to me?"
"Well, you know that you fought Megatron but we're assuming that during your fight with him, he got the upper hand and managed to cut off your arm and leg," Robert starts slowly, being careful not to cause a panic attack or something of the like. "You were practically dead by the time we got medics to you; Ratchet was on the verge of a breakdown, he was trying so desperately to help but he may have actually made your condition worse."
Toby stiffens, searching the man's eyes for any sign of a lie, though she knows he would never do such a thing. "What do you mean?"
"When you became unconscious, he was trembling. I don't know exactly what he did, but you were losing blood a lot faster than you were before, and our medics had to scream at him to let them take you.The only place we could go to at that time was Hoover Dam—it has like a serious Men in Black kinda thing there, labs and everything—and they had to clear out one of the medbay rooms to keep you alive."
The woman nods slowly, her shoulders shaking as she restrains herself from bursting into tears. Her uncle takes notice, calmly rubbing the back of her hand in a comforting motion.
"You woke up during surgery, and—if we're being honest—they don't know how you woke up," she tilts her head at the man in confusion. "You were on some serious sedatives that should have kept you under, but you still came to."
"I don't understand."
"Neither do I, Tobbes, but it happened," Robert clears his throat, returning to his story. "Ratchet refused to leave your side during the procedure, and even tried to convince the doctors to let him help."
"How?" Toby catches the confusion of the man, explaining her question further. "How was he trying to help?"
"I don't know, but he was pretty desperate about it," he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck slightly.
"What's the date today?"
"Twenty-first of June; you were out for roughly a month," he checks the digital watch on his wrist.
"And out for my first two weeks of being nineteen," she remarks with a sigh.
"Oh, shoot! What day?"
The ex-mechanic gives him a deadpan expression, her exasperation shown clearly in her posture. "That's sad, uncle. You forgot your favourite niece—actually, scratch that—your only niece's birthday."
"I'm sorry! I was a bit busy trying to sort out an alliance between two species!" Robert whines, feeling genuine guilt.
"The sixth of June."
"Happy belated birthday?" He looks at his feet under the intimidating glare of the woman.
"I better get some cake out of that," she huffs, leaning further into her hospital bed.
"At some point," her uncle shrugs, still feeling immensely guilty.
They sit in a comfortable silence for several minutes before Toby's eyes widen, the heart monitor increasing its pace.
"Scrap!" She swears loudly, groaning as her head begins to pound.
"What's that?"
"I missed my exams!" The soldier chuckles at the woman's panic and misfortune.
"Have fun with that, kiddo," he laughs, quickly moving out of the way to avoid getting whacked.
A crackle erupts from his radio, static fizzing erratically. "~Lennox to Epps, your assistance is required~"
The soldier groans, shooting the woman an apologetic look. "I swear, if Ironhide and Ratchet are fighting again."
"I might be able to help out," Toby tries to bargain.
"Sorry, but technically you're not allowed to interact or communicate with them until this whole thing is sorted out," he unhooks his radio from his belt. "Epps to Lennox, message received. Will be there ASAP."
"Tell him that I say 'hi'," the woman says with a smile. "And to relay that to the Autobots."
Robert chuckles, shaking his head at his niece's way around small issues. "Toby says 'hi'."
There's a short pause before a spurt of static reappears. "~How's she doing?~"
"She's good overall; she woke up today. Toby?" He offers the radio to the young woman.
"Hullo!" She says cheerfully. "Pass that onto the boys for me If you could!"
A crackling chuckle speaks from the radio, making the woman smile slightly. "~I'll be sure to do that~"
"Thanks," Toby coughs, wincing at the sudden flush of pain it causes.
Robert stands from his seat, taking back his radio. "Sorry, Tobbes, I've gotta go now."
"I know," she smiles somewhat sadly. "Could you bring some form of entertainment next time you visit?"
"Yeah, I'll do that," he ruffles her hair playfully, making his way to the door. "Rest well. I'll see you as soon as I can."
"Bye, uncle."
The door clicks shut, leaving the young woman to wallow in her carefully hidden self pity and despair. Memories of darkness swim in her mind, and swallows her in a blanket of deceitful comfort.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★
In a near empty hospital room, a young woman rests in bed with a book in her only hand, completely oblivious to the commotion outside her room. The heart monitor beeps at a steady pace, its sound remaining ignored by the reading woman.
Toby sighs, flipping the page with some difficulty. It's been five days since her uncle last visited, and eight since she woke up. At least he brought her a stack of books.
A click causes the woman to look up, brows furrowed by the unannounced visitor. Though her brows shoot up as a very armoured and heavy duty bodyguard walks into the room, followed by two others.
Toby eyes them carefully, trying to figure out the reason for them being there. One last figure walks in, looking very formal in his suit and tie. The woman slowly puts down her copy of 'Jurassic Park' and raises a single brow at the man.
"Secretary of Defense, John Keller," Toby hums cautiously. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Keller shuffles on his feet, looking very humbled as he stands in the woman's presence. "I wanted to give you a formal 'thank you' for what you did in the Battle of Mission City, Toby Williams."
"And what else?" She studies him carefully, knowing not to stretch the respect she is being given. "I know that there's a little more to this unexpected visit than a simple 'thank you'."
He sighs, looking her in the eyes. "Our 'foreign friends' have been requesting that they contact you, and they're getting quite impatient. I also would like to hear of your history with Sector Seven."
Toby stiffens at the mention of the government group, sitting up straighter in discomfort. She glances at the Secretary warily before gesturing to the empty seat by her bed. "You may want to sit down for the story, but I would like to discuss the situation with our 'foreign friends' before I get started."
Keller smiles humbly, sitting down next to her and placing his elbows on his knees. "Right, well, they've become very fidgety as of late, particularly the medic, and have started making demands to see you. I hope you understand when I say that until we've sorted out a treaty, I cannot allow you to do that."
"I understand, Mr Secretary," the woman nods slowly. "Though I will ask if it's possible to speak with them, as I'm sure there are many things that they wish to say, just as I have many questions for them."
"Please, no formalities," the man waves a dismissive hand, making the ex-mechanic smirk. "But I will see what I can do as far as communication goes. Now, I've heard from our friends that you have quite the tale to tell about Sector Seven, could you tell me?"
Toby's smirk disappears instantly, her gaze turning to look out the window at the rain falling outside. A somber mood fills the room, further deepened by the unsettling silence.
"I personally know two Sector Seven agents, John," the woman sighs, misty eyes distant. "Seymour Simmons and my dad, Arthur Williams. My mother was an intelligent woman; she was an inventor and a theorist. At one point in my life, about ten years ago now, Simmons started giving my father more work than necessary and as a result, he stayed away for longer periods of time. Then he decided that my mom's work was a threat to security and confiscated everything she had ever created."
Keller sits up straight, his eyes full of displeasure and anger. He sticks a hand in his pocket, feeling for the charm his own mother gave him, and plays with it absently. Movement catches his eye, drawing his attention momentarily to watch the woman play with a silver coloured ring. He hums quietly in understanding, knowing only that the piece of jewelry holds some importance to her.
"Mom got sick due to the sudden stress, to the point that she became bedridden. She died when I was eleven," Toby takes a deep breath, shutting her eyes to ease the sorrow.
"I'm sorry," the young woman glances at the older man in mild surprise. "I'm sorry that you lost her that way. What was her name?"
"Margret Hills," she doesn't miss the way Keller freezes at the name. "Afterwards, my father came home to 'care for me'. He drowned himself in his misery and refused to look at me because of my resemblance to mom. I had to learn very quickly how to take care of myself; getting a job and buying my own food. Somewhere along the line, my father started blaming me for mom's death and saw it fit to tell me as such. In all honesty, I'm not completely sure, but I believe that many of the things he said could be considered verbal abuse. I lived an awful life for years, John."
Toby looks away from the man as she sees the pity and sympathy in his expression, feeling sick from the thought of receiving it.
"But when I met our 'friends', everything felt as though it was flipped on its head. I had been working late as usual, and happened upon their meeting by pure chance. I knew immediately that I was going to help them with whatever they needed, having believed in life 'beyond' since my mom explained the stars to me as a child. Everything felt right," the ex-mechanic smiles, feeling the strong emotions that come with the recollection. "Everything just kinda slotted into place, as though my whole world had become perfect."
Keller lets his lips twitch upward at the sight of the woman, her eyes still distant, but no longer misty with saddening remembrance.
"When Sector Seven arrested Sam and Mikaela, I ended up with our 'friends'. We took a detour by my house as there were a few things I thought could be handy in my room," Toby grins to herself at the memory. "I left my father that night, just took my stuff and ran. I stood up for myself and put him in his place for the first time. When the battle came, I fought alongside them because they had given me so much, and it was my duty," she looks the Secretary dead in the eyes. "It was as much as my duty to protect them as it is your duty to protect this country, John. They have become important to me."
They sit in a comfortable silence as Keller takes in the story, a hardened look in his eyes as he thinks.
"You've been through a lot, Toby," he says sympathetically, earning him a frustrated huff. "And you've lost a lot too."
"I have lost everything, and yet, I have gained everything too," Toby replies with a twinkle in her eye, smiling lightly.
"I'm sor—" the woman cuts him off with a rudely dismissive wave.
"Don't," she scowls, sick of feeling pathetic. "Don't pity me. I knew the risks."
Keller coughs uncomfortably, bringing his hands together as he thinks. "What—" the Secretary clears his throat, questioning one of the major things that stuck in his head, " —what do you want to ask 'our friends'?"
"It's more of a statement really," the woman smirks to herself.
"And what is that statement?" Keller prods, tilting his head in question.
"I want to become an Autobot."
★☆★☆★☆★☆★
Hope you enjoyed the rewritten chapter even if the second half is basically a summary of Toby's experience with Sector Seven.
But guys!!!!
Only two chapters left!
And maybe an epilogue.
We'll see.
Drag0nRider out!