Chapter Twenty-Four

                                    

                                          
[Amanda]
                          
  All we could do was stare in horror as Megatron walked by us, only glancing at us once to give the Cons an order.
                          
  "Finish these pests." He demanded. "I have my own extermination to perform."
                          
  The Cons unsheathed their guns and took aim. Ratchet scooped me and Raf up before ducking behind a work table. Bumblebee, being himself again, returned a few shots and then joined us behind the table. The Cons closed in-
                          
  BOOM
                          
  A massive explosion rocked the ship, caused us to jolt around. Bumblebee recovered first, using the opportunity to stand against the Cons. Ratchet followed, slicing whoever got in his way. I grabbed Raf's hand, tugging him forward to race through the gap the Bots made and soon we were all running. Bumblebee transformed and Raf jumped inside, while I hopped into the driver's side of Ratchet's ambulance vehicle mode. Just as the Decepticon warship began moving away, we found an exit and drove right off of it to land on a nearby glacier. I got out of the ambulance, allowing Ratchet to transform, and watched as the warship flew away, a cloud of smoke pluming off the top of it.
                          
  "C-Cold-" Raf shivered as he got out of Bumblebee, who also transformed. I gave the younger boy a half smile.
                          
  "Yeah, but look," I bent down and took a handful of the snow around us. "Snow."
                          
  Raf smiled and I spotted Ratchet do so too. We walked a bit towards the edge of the glacier just as Optimus' voice could be heard.
                          
  "Ratchet, we need a bridge," He said, probably over the comms, but we were right behind the group.
                          
  "You are not the only ones." Ratchet said and the group turned to see us. Optimus' eyes went from me, to the others, then back to me, worry and confusion on his face. I gave him a half smile and a shrug, making him relax, before I looked back at Raf and Bumblebee. They seemed to be getting reacquainted and the look on Raf's face made me shift my gaze back to Optimus, who I noticed seemed a little beat up. I walked forward, only stopping when I was in front of him. He lowered his hand, allowing me to step on, and then raised it so that I could climb on his shoulder. The others were all chatting with Raf, Bee, and Ratchet, so they weren't paying much attention to us.
                          
  "Whoa," I said, sitting on the Prime's shoulder and surveying the area. "You can see a lot from up here." Then I lowered my voice. "You look tired."
                          
  "I'm fine," He said immediately and I crossed my arms.
                          
  "That may work on the others, but I can completely see through that, Optimus."
                          
  He glanced away. "I- just need some rest."
                          
  "Then let's go home."
                          
~~
                          
  That night, after making sure Bumblebee was completely okay, Optimus had driven me home, where he parked in his usual spot on my driveway. I started to head for the door when something made me stop and turn back.
                          
  "Optimus?" The Prime transformed and looked down at me.
                          
  "Yes, Amanda?"
                          
  "I- I guess I just wanted to thank you," I dropped my eyes. "For being here, I mean. I've- I haven't had anyone there for me in a while and there really wasn't anyone to listen to me when I needed to talk before we met. So thanks."
                          
  Wow, you sure sound like an idiot.
                          
  I started to walk to my house when the Prime spoke up.
                          
  "Amanda," he said, making me whirl around. "You're welcome. I will always be here."
                          
  That made me smile. "G' night, Optimus."
                          
  "Good night."
                          
  I headed inside and was about to head up to my room when my phone buzzes with a notification. Frowning, I hurry downstairs instead.
                          
  "Voice recognition. Keyword, anemone." The basement media room lit up and I rocked back on my heels. "What do you have for me, Cam?"
                          
  "Good evening, Miss Beckett," Cam said, her voice surrounding me. "I found some information you might want to know about Silas and MECH."
                          
  I sat down in a nearby office chair. "Hit me with it."
                          
  "You described Silas as having two scars running down his face, one going across his nose and the other running down the left side of his face, correct?"
                          
  "Yes."
                          
  "Well, I searched through a few government files and found several men matching this description."
                          
  I sat up. "Run them by me."
                          
  "Emory Robinson, Samuel Atkins, Ajax O'Connell, Clement Bailey, and Zackariah Bourne. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of these men, as they were completely wiped from the internet. The only way I learned they had the scars was through military documents."
                          
  "Dammit," I muttered, frustration slipping into me. "There's no way to find these men?"
                          
  "I'm afraid not, miss."
                          
  Angrily, I stood up and made my way to the stairs. "Cam, keep digging. There has to be something."
                          
  "Yes, miss. Shall I go dark?"
                          
  "Yeah." I headed upstairs when the lights behind me switched off and managed to contain my anger until I got to the hall, where I punched a hole in the wall. By accident. All I could hear was my heavy breathing and the blood rushing. I was so close. So damn close to finding the bastard who killed my mother and the thing that was stopping me now was the fact that we couldn't find a fragging picture.
                          
  "Anger will not help you feel better, child."
                          
  My head whipped up, my senses snapping to attention. That voice... it was the same one I heard two days ago when I was by Optimus' side while he had the cybonic plague. I thought I had imagined it but this was no hallucination. Something was going on, something that made me very uneasy.
                          


                          
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Just had to post the rest of that episode before I forget (^-^)