Raptrana
Part Five: Reconciled
From Darkness, I saw a pinpoint of Light. I
headed toward it. I couldn’t feel my father’s
presence anywhere around me. For the first time, I was really and truly scared.
I heard my name being called, and I went toward the sound of it. I reached the
light, and felt
myself being lifted, to look into a pair of eyes, wise and gentle. I could feel
my fingers tingling.
Fingers?
“Do you remember me?” a voice asked. It seemed more familiar now, although I
didn’t know
why.
I smiled. “You’re that guardian angel.”
“Mm-hm.”
“Well, now that I’m dead, you mind telling me who you are?”
“That was quite blunt.”
“Well?”
“Where’s your father?”
“I . . . I lost him. I . . . You! You know where he is, don’t you?”
“True. I do happen to know where he is. Turn around.”
I did, and ran over to my father, who was coming out of Darkness. He smiled as
soon as he
saw me, and we embraced. I could only whisper “Dad,” over and over again. He
held me out at
arm’s-length, and I smiled.
He looked over my shoulder, and asked, “Who are you?”
“You remember your daughter telling you about that ‘guardian angel’?”
“You’re him?”
“Yes. Now. You two are not to reside in the Matrix.”
My father’s face registered shock and disbelief, as mine probably did.
“Nor are you to reside within the Pit. You’re chosen to go to Earth, on a
mission.”
“Where on Earth? You should know that it’s a relatively large planet.” I
asked.
“Around the city in which you were born.”
I nodded. I knew where that was. It was halfway across the continent from where
my mother
lived. “What are we to do?”
“You’ll see when you get there. You’ll be provided with new bodies, exact
replicas of your
previous ones. Except you, Abigail Raptrana. You will have one other mode. An
extra, if you will.
That is what you looked like when you first were told about your father. As you
age, so will it. It will
always be with you, no matter what might happen to you. The Oracle has given me
these
instructions, and I will follow them.”
“The Oracle?!” My father whispered hoarsely. “That . . . I was
always taught that it was a
myth!”
The guardian angel chuckled. The sound of it rang a bell of familiarity through
my mind
again, but I still couldn’t place it. “It has been proven otherwise
since.”
I sighed, and closed my eyes, feeling myself being re-arranged, and given true
life. I breathed
in a waft of fresh air, and I sighed, rocking on my feet, feeling the fresh,
soft grass beneath them. I
felt a warm breeze ripple across my skin. The sun shone, warming the scales on
my back. I opened
my eyes, and saw a cavalcade of colors dance before them. I looked to my right,
and Dad was there,
also looking at the scenery. We were standing on a ledge, overlooking a mountain
range. In a small
clearing, I saw a group of people. Then, I realized that they were in fact not
humans, but some other
race.
“Dad, you see that?”
“Yes . . . What are they?”
“No clue. You think that we should find out?”
“Absolutely, daughter. Come on.”
I followed his lead, and we walked down to the valley. I heard one voice saying,
“Why do
we have to be here? For cryin’ out loud . . . we’re lost again, aren’t we?
Admit it.”
I saw a larger one look to the child complaining, and then directly at me. I
glanced to my
father, and we walked into the clearing. I took a sharp breath. The large one
was the guardian angel.
He smiled. “We’ve been expecting you.”
“You’re a slaggin’ liar! Primal, I oughta kill you. Well, then after that,
I’ll raise one hell of
a memorial, and . . . I dunno. Good to see you again, though.”
He chuckled, shaking his head, and a shorter one looked at me. “Raptrana? Dat
really you?”
“Rattrap had to live? I despise fate,” my father grumbled. Rattrap
immediately tackled him.
I felt myself also be tackled, only by Cheetor. We traded insults, and I ended
up sitting on
him. “I’m not letting you up.”
“Wanna bet?” He sat up, and held me upside-down, by my ankles.
“I hate you, you slag-sucker.”
He laughed, and let me down slowly. A giant condor walked over, and said,
“Welcome
back.”
“Hi, Silverbolt. What’s going on?”
“We were transported here by some strange anomaly. You wouldn’t happen to
know where
we are, would you?”
“Yes,” I replied, dusting myself off, “I would. We’re right outside the
city I was born in. Hey,
Optimus! Would you mind telling me what’s next?”
“To tell the truth, I don’t know what’s going to happen. This is as far as
the Oracle told me,”
he replied.
“Oh, perfect. I had always relied upon you for information, and now
you have no idea what’s
going on. How lovely.”
A bat and some sort of creature came over. “I’m Nightscream, and this is
Botanica. How do
you know these guys?”
“We served under Optimus in the Beast Wars,” I replied. “Don’t worry
about it. Everything
will become clear in time.” Dad walked over, with Rattrap clinging onto his
neck, apparently trying
to break it. I shook my head, and transformed, then picked Rattrap up off my
father’s back, and
holding him by the scruff of his neck. “Behave, Rodent.”
“Wanna make me, Kissuhface?”
“Garbage-eating glutton.”
“Roadkill-breath.”
“Supercilious jackass.”
“Ha- uh. Slaggit. I ain’t goin’ through that again. Truce?”
“Agreed.” I dropped Rattrap on his rear end, and rolled my eyes to Optimus.
“Don’t tell me
he has nobody to argue with. He’s getting rusty.”
Optimus chuckled. “You’ll find out.”
“You’ve said that how many times now? And when did I find
out?”
Optimus shrugged, and indicated Botanica. I nodded. “Ah. Okay. Anyway, My
name’s
Abigail Raptrana.”
“Speakin’ of which,” Rattrap said slowly, “In da valley, was what ’ya
said true?”
Both me and my father nodded. Rattrap fainted dead away. I burst out laughing,
despite
myself, and leaned over Rattrap, gently slapping his face, to wake him up. He
did so, and as soon
as he was able to talk normally again, he said, “Prove it.”
Optimus looked at me, and I smiled back. “Sure.” I went to my beast mode,
then thought, and
asked, “Wait a moment, Optimus . . .”
He nodded, smiling. “The Oracle took care of everything.”
“Good. That could become embarrassing.”
He chuckled, and I felt myself transforming, only not the way that I did, when I
went from
beast mode, to robot mode. It was more like I was being melted down, and poured
into a new mold.
I opened my eyes, and sighed.
Rattrap sat. “You really are Abigail, aren’t you?”
I chuckled, and stretched my arms over my head. “Too bad I can’t use my
sword in this form.
Ooh, I’m sore.”
“Yes you can,” Optimus said. “You still have a subspace pocket.”
“Really?” I reached seemingly behind me, and felt the hilt of my sword. I
drew it, and looked
it over. “Holy slag. Perfect condition.”
Optimus chuckled, as well as my father. I replaced the sword, and smiled.
“Shut up. It isn’t
funny.”
Cheetor shrugged. “To you, maybe not. But to us . . .”
“Yes, Cheetor, I hate you, too.”
We started walking toward the city. I was sitting astride my father’s back,
laying my head on
his shoulders. “I missed being here.”
“Me, as well, Abigail. I wonder where Rhinox is?”
“Yeah. The group seems a little empty, without him around.”
Cheetor looked forlornly up to me. He was in his beast mode now. “He chose to
side with
Megatron.”
“What?! What do you mean?” I asked, sitting bolt upright. Cheetor told us
the story of what
had happened after we left the Beast Wars. Rattrap and Silverbolt joined him. I
looked around the
small group, and noticed someone. I bit my lip, and then shook my head. I jumped
off Dinobot’s
back, and walked over to her, shifting to my beast mode, then transforming to my
robot mode as I
did so. “You’re Blackarachnia, aren’t you?” I accused.
She nodded, not saying anything. I walked in front of her, causing her to stop
short. “Before
you say anything, Spider, listen to me. I can tell you right now, that you’re
not the Pred I knew back
then. You’ve changed, I think, for the better. I can’t hold a grudge against
you for something that you
did, when you didn’t know any better.”
“You don’t hate me?” She lowered her voice, as Nightscream turned around
for a second.
“I helped kill you, and you don’t hate me?”
I shook my head, and held out my hand. “Comrades?”
She took it, and replied, “Comrades.”
We walked all through the afternoon, and started into the darkness, when we
finally decided
to make camp. I sighed, and watched to stars. I thought of my mother, and
wondered where she was,
and how she was doing. I thought of Carlos, and if he would ever forgive
me.
“Deep thoughts, daughter.”
“Huh? Oh. Sorry Dad.”
“He’s your father?!” I heard a youthful voice cry out.
Cheetor was sitting next to me. He chuckled, and shook his head. “Don’t
remind me of that
issue.”
I looked over my shoulder at an incredulous Nightscream. “Yeah. Something
wrong with
that?”
“But . . . but . . . aw, I give up.” He walked away, toward Primal.
Apparently, he hadn’t given
up, as I saw him indicate me. Primal caught my eyes, and I shrugged, and nodded,
giving him
permission to tell Nightscream about my past.
Optimus called Cheetor over, and me and my father were left alone. He sighed.
“What were
you thinking about?”
“Everything. Mom, Carlos, Brannon, Chandler . . . those three bratty
half-sisters of mine.”
“Who’s Brannon and Chandler?”
“They were my step-father’s sons, before he married Mom.”
“You like them?”
“Yeah. Cheetor actually reminds me of Chandler. He’d always ask me if I was
okay, when
I really needed it.”
“Why?”
“Jack, my step-father, would always yell at me for one thing or another. He
never liked me,
and had once planned for me to go to a boarding school, just so I’d be out of
the picture. He thought
that I was the result of Mom sleeping around, or something. Brannon and Chandler
are twins, and
they’re always hanging around each other. Me and Carlos were that close.”
Dad put his arm around my shoulders, and said, “I’ve been thinking, even
since the valley.”
“Wow. That’s a major accomplishment, don’tcha think?”
“Whelp,” my father grumbled playfully. “And I didn’t mean it that way. I
was thinking about
how long it was, from when I last saw you as a . . . child, I suppose . . . to
when I saw first saw you
in the Beast Wars.”
I sighed, and leaned into him. I was in my human mode, so I could feel more
comfortable for
the moment. He continued. “I can’t really see anything between the two
stages. Your mother raised
you, and I saw nothing. We couldn’t even keep contact. It was forbidden.
Primus, child. I miss her
so much.”
I closed my eyes, and sighed, getting that weightless feeling that you get when
you start
falling asleep. “She misses you, too.”
“Tell me, daughter.”
“She didn’t want to tell me who you were, you know, to keep from reliving
painful times.”
My father growled an affirmation, and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
“Raptrana, wake up!” someone hissed. I opened my eyes, and saw that Cheetor
was right in
front my face. “There’s two guys here, who say they know you.”
I sat up, and saw that I had apparently gone to my beast mode during the night,
without
meaning to. Dad was still sleeping. “What time is it?”
“Around six.”
“Still way too early.”
“You think?”
I chuckled, and stretched, then followed Cheetor to where Optimus and Silverbolt
were
standing. “Hmm?”
“They say they know you,” Silverbolt said.
I looked over to where he was indicating, and saw not two, but three kids
standing there. I
laughed, and changed into my human form, than ran to greet Chandler, Brannon,
and . . .
“Carlos,” I breathed. I couldn’t meet his eyes. “I really didn’t mean
what I said, you know.
I needed time with my Dad, and I couldn’t find a way that would convince you
to let me. I’m so sorry
about what I said. So, so sorry.”
I felt a hand lift my chin up, and I looked reluctantly into Carlos’ eyes. He
smiled, and
embraced me. “I realized that I was wrong to try to tear you away from your
father. You were the
right one. For once.”
I smiled, and looked up into his face. “I can argue that statement.” We let
each other go, and
I was immediately tackled by Chandler and Brannon. We laughed, and traded
friendly insults. When
we finally separated, I asked, “What are you guys all doing here?”
Chandler snorted. “You heard about Jack?”
“So it’s just ‘Jack’? Not ‘Dad’?”
“We saw our birth certificates, and we weren’t Jack’s kids. He adopted us,
though. Mom had
us out of wedlock, or something like that.”
I pulled the both of them into an embrace, and asked, “Do you know who your
father really
is?”
They nodded, and Brannon said, “He was in the Air Force, but was killed in a
freak plane
crash.”
I held then tighter, then let them go. “Well, I found my dad.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “Yeah. The thing is, is that you have to–”
“ABIGAIL RAPTRANA!”
“–keep an open mind. Yeah?”
“Come HERE!”
I grumbled under my breath, then said, “You sure?”
“Abigail!”
I shrugged, and said to my step-brothers and Carlos, “Just wait and see what
happens. And
don’t be afraid. Stuff like this happens all the time to me.” I stepped away
from them, and changed
into my beast mode, not looking at them, then transformed to my robot mode. “I
ain’t goin’ over to
you, so you’d better get you lardy rear up off the ground, and waddle over
here!”
Dad walked out of the bushes with a drawn sword. Then, he saw my friends and
brothers.
I looked over my shoulder, and saw Carlos smiling, and the boys surprised.
“Well, Dad? You
wussin’ out?”
He grinned at me, and I drew my own sword. We circled, but instead of letting
him break the
circle first, as usual, I charged at him. Our swords never crossed. Instead,
there were two other
sword, identical, holding them apart. I grinned, and backed away, shouldering my
sword. “Gee,
thanks. I was actually enjoying almost beating my father, Cheets.”
He grinned at that remark, just as Dad shook his head. “You can only wish.”
I turned to face Chandler, Brannon, and Carlos. “Guys, meet my Dad, Dinobot.
Dad, This
is Brannon, Chandler, and Carlos. You already know him.”
My father nodded, and Chandler and Brannon, nodded to him. Chandler, the
loudmouth, said,
“I guess I really didn’t expect him to look like this.”
I snorted, and rolled my eyes. “Save your wise-arse comments for later. First,
though,” I said,
dropping to my beast mode, “what are you three doing here? I remember Mom
living on the coast.”
“We moved here, after Jack died.”
I couldn’t say anything. All I could do, was shake my head. Brannon asked,
“Are you all
right?”
I smiled, and said after a considerable pause, “Yeah. Now I am. Where around
here do you
live?”
“On the outskirts of the city. Remember the summer home that we always went
to? That’s
where we’re living now. Lynne sold the other one.”
I smiled, and sighed. “Go home. I have to take care of some business, then . .
. Who knows?
Maybe I’ll see you later.”
Chandler and Brannon grinned, at first at each other, then at me. “Nah,”
Chandler said. “Not
maybe. Knowing you, it’s a definitely. Later, sis.”
Carlos didn’t leave, but he only looked at me. I nodded, understanding, then
turned to Dad.
“Do you think I can talk to him for a moment? Alone? And no spying, Dad.
I’ll be fine.”
Cheetor chuckled, and led an apprehensive Dinobot back toward the camp. I looked
to
Carlos, and changed into my human mode. He looked into my eyes again, and we
embraced.
Surprisingly, I wasn’t the one sobbing. He was.
“Carlos, what’s wrong?” I whispered.
He took a few deep breaths, and said quietly, “My parents were on the other
end of that car
accident that eventually killed Jack. He was driving drunk, after talking with
the cops about your
disappearance. They were . . . killed . . .” He started sobbing again. I bit
my lip, and let him sob into
my shoulder. I was bushes moving, and then two white cat’s-eyes looking at me.
I glared at them,
and they widened. Dad quickly left after that.
I sat Carlos down on a rock, and sat next to him, letting him lean his head on
my shoulder.
“Carlos, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
“I . . . I didn’t want to tell you,” he breathed. “I thought that
you’d end up pitying me, and I
don’t like it when people pity me.”
I sighed again, and felt, rather than thought about, my arm weave through his,
and settle
around his waist. His went around mine, and we leaned into each other.
That was a day I’d never forget, no matter how long I lived . . .