Transformers Prime: Shrouded Truth (#4) [Completed]

Chapter 12

I sat in Wheeljack, thinking over the encounter with Derek.

"That bad, huh?" He asked as he drove down the traffic-less road.

"Yeah. Just looking at him..." I suppressed a shiver, turning to look out of the window.

"Well, that should be the last you ever see of him."

"I hope so." I never wanted to see him again. Anytime would be too soon. "Thankfully all he wanted was for Fowler to put in a good word for him when he's put on trial."

Wheeljack chuckled. "I seriously doubt Fowler is going to put in that much a 'good word'. It's probably just going to be that was a model prisoner or something."

"That's what happens when you don't read the fine print," I sighed. "Do you mind dropping me off here?"

"We're not at Jack's place yet; we're still a block away." Wheeljack regardless of the confusion in his voice, the wrecker is still pulled over, parking against the sidewalk.

"I just need to clear my head. I can make it from here."

"I'm not supposed to leave you," Wheeljack reminded me.

"No disrespect, but I can take care of myself; I can thank you for that. Plus, I have Alpha Trion with me at all times. I'll be fine."

Wheeljack let out a defeated sigh. "Fine." The car door opened, and I climbed out, thanking the wrecker for the ride before he pulled away, merging back into the non-existent traffic.

I was alone.

I started walking towards the Darby's place, knowing the route like the back of my hand from all of my childhood visits.

My mind raged as I walked, my memories of Derek and MECH surfacing once more. I didn't stop them, but let me think them over. Soon, I found myself jogging, letting the memories course through me. The sidewalk under my feet was comforting in a way I never would have imagined, and the feeling of running, for some reason, didn't seem like the task it had been for school. It was enjoyable.

I was left to my thoughts, and they poured out, raw and unfiltered. I didn't suppress them like I always had. I let myself think them over, muse at the possibly of this and that.

Sooner than I would have like, I stood at the foot of the Darby's driveway. Despite not wanting to stop running, I went inside.

"There you are! You had me worried. You took forever." Instantly June was on me, worrying over me. I hadn't even shut the door yet.

"I didn't mean to worry you, I just needed to clear my head," I assured her, pushing the door shut. I pulled off my runner as I apologized. "Sorry."

"Why are you out of breath?" She noted. Her eyes went to my flushed face.

"I was running," I simply said, unsure of what to add. June didn't seem to need much more.

She took in a calming breath and ran her hands through her hair. "It's all good." She gave me a smile. "So, Wheeljack told me how it went, when he was telling me you would walking home. Are you good?"

"I am now," I said. June motioned for me to come with her over to the couch. We sat down, Jack's mom facing me. Her eyes were soft as she observed my face. I couldn't remember my mother, nor had I grown up with one, but June, she was what I would have imagined for my mother. Carrying, gentle, not pushy.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her words were carefully chosen, as if she was cautious not to set anything off. I didn't tell her that she didn't need to be careful around me. I was good now. Actually, I was better than I had been in a while.

"Not really." I reconsidered that statement as soon as I said it. "As soon as Derek mentioned all those things about Smokescreen... I hated how he talked about him. I couldn't stand it, and I couldn't control what I did. I don't know why, but I don't really regret what I did."

"Smokescreen was family to you, no one would be able to withstand someone talking down to someone they loved." June placed a hand on my knee. She gave me another smile. "It's all good, don't worry about it."

"I'm not."

"Between you and me, he deserved it."

I chuckled a little at June's tone.

My phone started to ring, and I quickly apologized to June when I pulled it out.

"So, Ratchet's algorithm worked," Arcee's said as soon as I picked up. I got up from the couch, moving to the kitchen to talk with Jack's guardian.

"Did you find the other Dinobot?" I asked, excitement boiling up.

"Well, that's the thing, nothing was there." And like that, my excitement fell. "There's no math error, or any error for that matter. Either the pod never left Cybertron, someone else found it, or it was destroyed."

I couldn't help the sigh.

"We'll find out what happened, this isn't the end of the line," Arcee said, her voice desperately trying to assure me.

"How are the other Dinobots at the news?"

"They're pretty good. None of them are too concerned, Grimlock is confident we'll find it yet."

"He never seems to lose hope."

"That's what makes him a great leader." We fell into a silence. "Well, I'll let you go. You coming again tomorrow?"

"For sure."

"See you then."

I hung up. June was looking at me from the couch. She didn't need to ask for me to tell her what happened.

"How does that work with your vision?" June asked as I finished.

I shrugged. "I'm not quite sure. At this point, I'm wondering if it was a symbolic way of showing that the pod it gone."

"Than why show it in the first place?"

"Once again, I have no idea."

"Alpha Trion?" Hopefully he had something, an answer or explanation of some sort. Anything would do.

"The convent of Primus works in weird ways. It never explains what it shows."

Great, another dead end.