Back to Fan Fiction page

Raptrana

Part Nine: Harmony

I opened my eyes, and saw a sky full of white, fluffy clouds. Over to my left, I heard voices.
To my right, I saw the sun throwing its rays of light across the sky. Was it dawn? Or sunset?

As I was looking at my right, I felt someone lie down beside me. I looked over, and saw
Carlos there, in his beast mode. He sighed. “You’re ferocious. Even more so than me.”

“Gee, make me feel good about it,” I snapped, starting to get up.

He reached over, and pushed my shoulders back down with his massive paw. “I’m sorry. I
didn’t think–”

I snorted, pushed his paw away, and stood, walking away from him, and into the forest. I
dropped to my beast mode, and realized that it had been sunset, as the world grew darker. I didn’t
cry. I simply couldn’t. I walked deeper into the forest, recognizing that I was now going uphill.

Why did I have to kill him?

You said you would. He took your father and family away from you. You had to. It’s called
avenging your family’s honor.

I sighed. What is honor, exactly?

There are many definitions of the word, but in truth, it is who you are. It is what you believe
in. It is the rule in which you live your life by. It is your whole life, wether you know it or not. If
you’re good, then you have an excellent sense of honor. If you’re evil, of shifty, or even someone
who cares not one bit about anything, then you either have little honor, or none at all.

I shook my head, and looked up, seeing that I had reached the top of the hill. There, I saw
Optimus standing there, watching me. I walked up to him, and he put his hand on my shoulder. “You
were quite brave yesterday.”

“I don’t want to hear any of it,” I mumbled.

Optimus sighed, but gave a small chuckle, and led me back down the hill, only in the
direction I was heading in, not back to the house. “I remember when I first met you.”

I said nothing. He continued. “You were headstrong, and thought that you knew everything.
That is, everything, except when it came to your father. I even remember the promise you made to
Megatron that day. You kept it.”

“I said that I didn’t want to hear any of it,” I insisted.

“What do you remember about when you woke up in your beast mode, the very first time?”
he asked, listening to my request, and changing the subject.

“I saw Dad, then Rhinox, and you. I remember seeing Dad . . . tell me he wasn’t.”

“He was. I never thought that I’d see the day that he would, but Dinobot was indeed crying.”

I shook my head. “Who told Rhinox about my past?”

“He figured it out, just as I had.”

I bowed my head. “I miss him.”

“So do I.”

We walked on in silence, listening to the sounds of the birds singing “Good-night,” and the
animals settling down for the night. I heard laughter, and then saw the light of a bonfire through the
trees. I looked up to Optimus, who was smiling down at me. “Come on. Don’t be shy.”

I followed him, and as soon as we broke through the trees, my jaw dropped.

“SURPRISE!”

I shook my head, unable to take it all in. I Maximized, smiling. “What’s this for?”

“We dunno,” Chandler replied, jumping onto my back. I dislodged him easily, and tickled
him, careful of my taloned fingers. “Ah! Stoppit! Leggo! Hey!”

I let him up, and he ran off, laughing. I was caught by someone around my waist , and looked
over my shoulder to see Maelstrom there, smiling his apology. I accepted it with a nod, then flipped
him over my shoulder, and kneeled on his back. “That was almost too easy.”

“You’re right,” he grunted. “That hurt.”

I smiled, and let him up, only to be tackled by my father. I was pinned to the ground for a
moment, before I rolled over, and pinned him up against a tree. He managed to get a handhold, and
threw me at least ten feet. I landed easily, surprising everyone, who had gasped. We flung ourselves
at each other, and I, to my utter amazement, gained the upper hand, as Dad lay winded, and I was
sitting on a . . .
  “Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ooh. That was a root!”

Dad laughed, stood, then helped me up. “Good move.”

“Yeah, on your behalf!”

I heard feet running up behind me, and Dad got out of the way. As Cheetor was about to grab
me from behind and tumble, I ducked under his lunge, and grabbed his legs, flipping him over my
shoulder. I then pinned him in a full Nelson, and while he struggled, threatened him with different
torture plans. All in good humor, of course. He stopped, and grinned evilly, and suggested that I let
him up, so he could apply that to Rattrap. I agreed, then dropped to my beast mode, then changed
into my human form, and walked silently over to Rattrap.

“Wassup, Rodent?”

“Nuttin’,” Rattrap replied, drawing in the soil. He realized that I was looking at it, but before
he wiped it out, I saw whose face he was drawing.

I shook my head, and whispered, “Do you torture everyone you plan to have a lasting
friendship with?”

“What’re ’ya talkin’ ’bout?” he asked defensively.

“You like Botanica!” I whispered in his ear. “And you were crying when Dad and me . . . left.
You know.”

He sighed, and nodded. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Cheetor came, and tossed Rattrap
to Nightscream, who then flew high above the trees, and dropped him into one of the tallest ones.
I groaned. “Guys! I was hoping that I could get some valuable information out of him. And I was so
close!”

“Uh . . . oops?” Cheetor asked.

I heard Rattrap screaming for help, and a new plan formed in my head. “Nevermind. I’ll be
down in a while.”

I changed to my beast mode, and heard Dad crashing through the underbrush. “Where’s that
infernal rodent?”

“Up.”

“Up where?”

“In a tree.”

Dad shook his head, and asked, “How did he get up there?”

“Nightscream did it.”

He chuckled, and I leaped onto the tree, digging into the bark with my claws. As soon as I
reached the first branch, I looked down and saw everyone looking up at me in a surprised fashion.
Cheetor shook his head, and I faintly heard him say, “I’m not gonna ask.”

I reached Rattrap after about five more minutes and pulled down on the ranch he was clinging
to. I then let it go, watching it bounce. “Yup. It’s sturdy.”

Rattrap screamed some pretty powerful words at me, but I ignored them, waiting it out.
“Yeah? And your point is? I wouldn’t let you fall.”

Rattrap took another beep breath, planning to scream more things at me, but released it.
“Yeah, you’re right. Listen, I don’ need nobody knowin’ ’bout me an’ Botanica. ’Ya listenin’?”

I made it seem as if I wasn’t paying attention. “Huh? What wazzat? Oh. Tell Botanica that
you love her? Yeah, sure. I can fit that in sometime in my schedule.”

Rattrap look shocked. I laughed. “Calm down, Rattrap. I wouldn’t do that, either. You should
know that.”

I brought Rattrap back down, saying nothing, but smiling. I had my assignment, and I’d keep
it. Every person I walked by, every comrade, smiled down at me, and said something that they
thought was uplifting. All I could do, was smile, nod, and say thank-you.

As soon as I thought was alone, I sighed, and rubbed the end of my snout with one hand.
“Why was I the one chosen?” I whispered up to the sky.

“Chosen? For what?” an accented voice asked.

I turned around, and saw Botanica. “Oh. I was looking for you.”

“What were you asking? Chosen? For what?”

I looked at the ground. “Do you know anything about my past?”

“Only that you were in the Beast Wars, you died for the human race, and now you’re here,
through Optimus’ intervention.”

I shook my head. “Before I was in the Beast Wars.”

“No, nothing.”

“I was human. That’s why I have a human mode, as well as a beast mode. When I entered
the Wars, I looked what I felt like, and that was a half-human, half-Cybertronian. When I was
human, I had a Spark, although I didn’t know that, until about a week and a half before the Wars.
Do you know what a Quantum Surge is?”

“Yes,” Botanica replied, giving me a quick review about it. I nodded, and she ended with,
“Did one occur during the Wars?”

I snorted. “I’d say so. That’s what gave me my Cybertronian form. This beast mode, and my
robot mode.”

She frowned, as I told her the effects of the surge. “One of that magnitude would have
terminated every Cybertronian on the planet. Never mind humans.”

“I was only half, truly, by then, remember?”

“Yes, of course. The combination probably made you stronger than most. Did they have a
shielding device?”

“Yeah, although it was scrapped for a week after.”

She was silent for a while, but then quietly came out with, “What was it like . . . forget it.”

“What was what like?”

“I shouldn’t have asked. Please, forget I even started asking you.” Her face was one full of
regret. I ducked my head, gaining her eye contact, and she sighed. “They are right.”

“‘They’? ‘They’ who?”

“Once you achieve eye contact with either you or your father, you’re unable to break it.”

I smiled, shaking my head. “Rattrap, huh?” Botanica nodded, smiling hesitantly. “What were
you asking? I really do want to know.”

The smile faded instantly. “It wasn’t a wise move for me to make. Please, trust me.”

“Are you afraid that I’d not answer, or do something rash?”

“I have seen you in battle.”

“Thanks. You’re pretty ferocious yourself. So don’t be sorry. You should know that you can
ask me about anything.”

She sighed, and asked in a low whisper, “What was it like, the moment you knew that you
were going to die?”

My head bowed, and I closed my eyes. “I’m not going to say that I don’t remember, because
I do. I felt . . . complete. I knew that I had done my best, and that there was nothing for me to do. I
hurt like hell, sure, but . . .” I looked into her eyes. “I was complete.”

She sighed. “I was a captain of a scientific exploration journey, such as Optimus was. I was
the only survivor. Even then, I couldn’t say who I truly was. The species we were sent to study were
ferocious, blood-thirsty for someone new to fight and defeat. We had tried fitting in, posing as their
own, but it didn’t work. My troops had all died, each one fighting for me, to protect me. There was
nothing I would have done, to not be in my position. They all asked for me to be the last face they
saw.”

I sighed. “If you think that was distressing, think about what your face looked like. You were
probably crying, as any normal Cybertronian would be. Slaggit. When we were in the valley, you
don’t want to know what our comrades looked like.”

“Do I?”

“Rattrap was in tears. He and Dad have this love-hate relationship, but both refuse to even
acknowledge it. He seems to have that kind of relationship with the people he cares the most about.”
I said that gently, hoping she’d catch the drift that the fiendish rat had sent, using me as the
messenger. She took a moment, then looked at me slowly. “He’s said so himself.”

“You’re serious.”

“As always.”

“I’ve seen your lighter side.”

“When Megs wasn’t around.” As soon as I said that, all the memories returned. I hid my
watering eyes behind my hands. An arm placed itself around my shoulders, and two more hands took
mine away from my eyes. I was looking into a pair of kind eyes that were sad-looking, but kind.

“’Ya did what ’ya had ta, Kiddo.”

I nodded, letting a small smile seep past my lips. Whoever thought that I’d be accepting
comfort from Rattrap, of all people. He smiled, and dropped to his beast mode, them scrambled onto
my back. Botanica floated next to us. Rattrap started chuckling, and said, “Remembuh when we first
met?”

I laughed, surprising myself. “Yeah. But when? Before or after the surge? Oh, and she says
that we all shoulda died during it.”

“Really? Dat’s what I’ve been sayin’ all along. An’ aftuh the surge is what I meant.”

“‘Cutie?’ ‘Kitten?’ Sheesh. What were you on?”

“Well?”

“Definitely not.”

Botanica asked what had happened, and as we walked/floated back to the bonfire site, Rattrap
and I explained it to her. She thought that it was hilarious, although she only chuckled. As soon as
we arrived, Rattrap slid off of my back, and I saw Optimus and the rest standing there. “There you
are.”

“Uh . . . yeah. Why?”

He only laughed, and explained what was going to happen.

“We’re going to . . . to Cybertron?” I asked.

Optimus nodded. “We have unfinished business there.”

“Could you say that any more enthusiastically?”

He shook his head. “Don’t you worry about what has to happen. The Oracle has contacted
me, and you and Dinobot are to come as well.”

“What about the rest of my family?”

“Only Carlos Maelstrom.”

“But what about Mom?” I insisted.

He shook his head. “I asked, but the Oracle said to wait for further instruction.”

I stomped in frustration, but said nothing more. I knew that everything was up to destiny now.
Optimus had seen his own, as Dad had, in the valley. Noble ambled up to me, and rubbed his head
under my hand. My shoulders slumped as I sighed, and I nodded. “I understand.”

Optimus nodded, smiling. “We’re leaving as soon as we can.”

“I can find transportation.”

“You’re still considered famous.”

I looked into the fire, biting my lip. A scheme suddenly outlined itself in my head, and I
grinned to Optimus. “Not for long. Believe me.”

He bowed his head to the side, thinking. “Do I even want to know?”

I shook my head, looking at my father. “They’ll leave us alone after a while.” I grinned evilly,
my father sensing what I was thinking, returning it with as evil a grin. “Trust me . . .”


Dad lunged at me. I rolled out of the way, but tripped on my heel, and went flying. Maelstrom
caught me, laughing, then set me back on my feet. Optimus was watching from under the oak, dozing
off every so often. As Dad and I circled again, I heard a stampede of feet, but I ignored it. Everything
was on schedule. The media have arrived. Maelstrom quietly got out of sight.

There was a wild rush of questions, but soon, everything was dead silent, as Dad and I
battled. We broke the circle, and our swords crossed. We each tried to gain the upper hand, but to
no avail. We chuckled, letting up on the pressure.

“You’re stronger then before,” Dad said. “But are you as fast?”

He lunged suddenly at me, but I leaped over him, then tripped him, pressing my sword to the
base of his skull. He froze, and I smiled. “You were saying?”

I let him up, and he retrieved his sword. “Indeed. Any more tricks, daughter?”

I grinned, bowed, and flipped up into the air, causing gasps from all throughout the crowd.
I came down, seeing Dad raise his sword, but I grinned at him, and went into a diving position. I
landed, but not as most people would think, as on my feet. Well, at first. I used my momentum to
force Dad down upon one knee, as I pushed down on his sword. Then, I pushed off of him, and did
a back-flip, over to my sword, and picked it up, holding ready.

Dad panted, shaking his head. “Too . . . slagging . . . fast.”

“That’s what Maelstrom said.”

I sheathed my sword, and helped Dinobot up. He looked down at me, then sheathed his own
sword, and backed off. I looked into the crowd. “Any takers?”

“Me,” a voice said. I knew perfectly well who it was.

“Show yourself, human.” Did I like playing this part? Hell, yeah. Did the media know who
I was . . . yet? Nope. Not a chance.

Carlos walked out of the crowd, and drew a katana. He had snuck over there as quietly as he
could, to behind the media, then gone to his human form. “Bring it on.”

“That would be too easy,” I snarled, crossing my arms over my chest. “You’ve seen me beat
my father. You’d be three times as, say, undemanding?”

Carlos grinned, and leaped up into the air, changing as he did. He landed in his robot mode,
and grinned. “Would this be too easy?”

“Oh-ho. So you’re an imposter as well as a challenger.” I walked closer to him, until our
noses  were almost touching. “You’re as good as I am. Be careful.” I turned, and walked off, to the
opposite side of the ring, then drew my sword, and turned to face Maelstrom. He grinned, and we
ran at each other, our swords locking at the hilt, causing us to strive for the upper hand. That was
kinda hard, considering that Carlos was as tall as my father. Finally though, I linked my leg through
his, and tripped him. He fell to the ground, and rolled to his left, while I tripped to my own left. We
had practiced this all day yesterday, and we knew what was going to happen. But slaggit, I didn’t
expect him to be so damned real!

He lunged at me, faster that I ever remembered him to be, and I felt a pain shoot straight up
my left arm. I drew back, holding my shoulder, my sword dropped at my feet, although at easy reach.
He looked down at me, and held his back straight, as every victor should do, when First Blood was
drawn.

“You said that I’d be no challenge.”

“You aren’t.”

“Then why did I win?”

“You didn’t.”

“So you say.”

“Of course!” I yelled, snatching my sword, and running at him. We truly fought, as
adversaries, not as friends. Dad and I did this, letting ourselves as rough as we could be, although
not really trying to kill the other. I can bet almost anything that it didn’t look that way from an
audience member’s point of view.

Finally, after many more scratches from each other, he “won.” Rather, he really did. He did
this funky move with his sword, that seemed to pull my own sword out of my hand. My shoulders
slumped, but I kept eye contact. The fire of battle left his eyes, and he realized what he had done.

“So. You won. What now?”

He indicated the house. “Clean up.”

I nodded, and walked inside, followed by my father, and Maelstrom. Needless to say, Dad
didn’t look too happy. As soon as the door was closed, he started the yelling. Quietly, because
Katyana was asleep. For now. Mom came down, saw me and Maelstrom trying to not to grin, and
Dad having a fit. She walked between us, and took my hand, shaking it. “Good job, Abby.”

Dad was close to blowing up, as he insisted that both of us had done a sloppy job, and that
we deserved absolutely no praise. I’m cleaning up his speech, as you should have guessed already.
Mom only chuckled, and replied, “Come on, you old warrior. I’ll explain to you what I saw.”

She literally dragged him out of the room, and Maelstrom and I looked at each other. “Wow.”

“Mom certainly does have a way with him, huh?”

“She sure does.”

Carlos tenderly touched my arm, my injured one, and I looked up at him. “You had to make
it that real?”

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, stroking my face. I nodded, and let him hold me momentarily,
before I pulled away, and dropped to my beast mode. He did so as well, but we didn’t change to our
human forms. Instead, we simply cuddled on the couch, until Mom came back in. As it is, I didn’t
know that she was watching us, until she cleared her throat. I had closed my eyes, enjoying the
moment, but they snapped open as soon as I heard her.

We jumped up, and I stuttered, “I . . . uh . . . I mean . . . I, uhm . . .”

Mom laughed, and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. You’re wanted outside.”

I nodded, and went outside with Carlos. Dinobot was standing there with Optimus. He glared
at me, with the message that said, “We’re talking later. Don’t try anything.” But, of course, I will.
He knew that, too, and that made everything worthwhile.

Optimus came over to us, with Dad in tow. A brave reporter walked up, and was about to ask
questions, when Dad glared daggers at him. He promptly scrambled back to the crowd. Dad was
shocked, and I started chuckling. Carlos Maelstrom was doing the same. Mom smiled, and heard
Katyana crying, as well as Kerry screaming, “MOM! KELLY’S BEING A JERK AGAIN!”

Mom shook her head, and walked back into the house, saying, “Don’t be too hard on her,
Dinobot. You understand that?”

Dinobot nodded, still glaring at me. I smiled back, and as soon as Mom was inside, I said,
“Dad, We’ve hit each other harder, and you know it. Please stop looking at me like that.”

Dad snarled, but before he could reply, Optimus said, “Dinobot, enough. She did well
enough. Abby, the Oracle talked to me. It said–”

I held up one finger, and leaped over his head, landing in front of another reporter. He gave
a small smile, and scrambled back to the crowd, dropping his camera. I looked to Optimus, and he
nodded. I changed to my human form, and picked up the camera, then walked over to him, and held
it out. “Good thing you weren’t against my Dad. He’d’ve ripped this thing to shreds in no time at all.
Behave, willya?”

I walked back to Optimus, and shook my head. “Idiots. You were saying?”

Mom came back to the group, and handed me Katyana. The infant gurgled, and I tapped her
nose with one finger. Optimus started talking again. “The Oracle said that your family is to
accompany us as well. I don’t want you, your father, or Carlos Maelstrom to fight. It isn’t your battle,
and you’re to protect your family. If I find out that you’ve been fighting, I don’t know what I’ll do
just yet, but I’m pretty sure that you’ll listen to me. You’re a creature of honor, and you’ll respect
my wishes, I’m sure of it.”

I nodded. “If someone’s looking for a fight, or bullying my family, though, I can’t say I’ll
uphold that.”

“Nor do I expect you to do so,” Optimus said, smiling. “Lynne? You might want to get your
family ready.”

Mom nodded. “I’ll only be a moment. Abby? You sure you can find transportation?”

I smiled, shrugging. “Who, me? Of course I can. Where did those dratted Vehicons get to?”

Noble and Nightscream walked over, and the bat said, “We’ve got them penned up over
behind the house. Don’t worry, they’re not going anywhere.”

I nodded. “Okay. We’re taking them with us. You probably can bet that everyone wants them
offa this planet by now.”

Nightscream nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, I’ve got to tell Silverbolt that it’s my turn for watch.
Noble, stay here.”

The blue creature whimpered, but I scratched him behind his ears, and he curled up at my
feet. I sat on his back, and patted his shoulders. “Good boy.” My gaze shifted to the media, and I
said, “You guys really don’t want those drones to vaporize the area, do you?”

They shook their heads, just as Silverbolt appeared around the corner of the house. I smiled,
and said, “You see him? He’s stronger than three of them put together.” I shook my head. “Listen,
we need transportation to Cybertron. I’m sure that you can help us.”

Someone by the rear of the crowd pushed her way forward, surrounded by a crowd of men
in suits. I recognized her, after a moment of confusion. She was the President’s daughter, and her
mother confided in her greatly, as there was no First Man to take care of the side jobs.

I stood, and inclined my head slightly. She smiled, and did the same. “Really, miss, you’re
not the one who should be bowing to me. You’re one of the most famous people world-wide.”

I shook my head. “I’m only fifteen. I don’t deserve the fame. Mom does, Dad does, even
Optimus, but not me.”

The President’s daughter smiled, then said, “Off-world transportation is the least of your
troubles, Miss Abigail. Your flight will be from Washington D.C., as soon as it can be arranged.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

She shook her head, chuckling, and leaning forward. “No, thank you. If I had your freedom,
I’d be blessed.”

The First Daughter stood, nodded to me, my parents, and Optimus, then left. Noble shifted
beneath me, and I sighed, looking down at Katyana, starting to fall asleep in my arms. I handed her
back to Mom again, and Noble stood. I hung around his neck for a moment, before clambering up
onto his shoulders. He looked up to me, and I rubbed at his ears. He whined, and I slid off, shifting
to my beast mode, and looking to the crowd of media. They were becoming slightly more bold, as
their cameras started rolling again. I smiled, and shook my head, looking to Carlos, whose eyes held
a mischievous glint in them. I sighed, and as he ran at me in his beast mode, I vaulted over his head,
and landed backwards on his back, then flipped forwards, holding onto his shoulders.

He took off.

We flew out of range of the cameras, then landed. I changed to my beast mode, and rubbed
his muzzle with mine. He sighed. “Alone, finally.”

I smiled. “Yeah. I’m . . . I don’t know. Relieved, maybe?”

Maelstrom sighed, and we shifted to our human forms. Hand-in-hand, we walked slowly back
to the house, which was about a mile-and-a-half away. After five more minutes of comforting
silence, Carlos stopped, and smiled. “Do you know what today is?”

I shook my head, as Carlos smiled. “It’s June first. Happy Birthday.”

He kissed me, and I wrapped my arms around him, not wanting to let go. He broke away,
breathless, and I leaned my head against his chest, saying, “Dad will come after us soon.”

“I know,” Carlos replied.

“I guess we’ll have to wait a little longer, huh?”

“Cybertronians can marry as young as sixteen, you know.”

“But are they really ready?”

Carlos smiled, shaking his head. “Not in either your or my parents’ opinion.”

“Primus willing, their Sparks have joined the Matrix,” I said softly. “I’m not gonna pity you,
but you know that grieving is normal.”

Carlos nodded, and I stood on tip-toe, kissing his lips, and smiling. “I’m always here for you,
you must understand.”

“I do understand,” Carlos replied. “And you’d better believe that I’ll never leave your side,
no matter the cost.”

After a few more minutes of cuddling, we broke apart, and started walking back to the house
again. I looked up at Carlos’ face, and he smiled down at me.

Life was in order again.

Life was bearable again.

Live was worth living again.

And I owe it all to Dinobot . . . and my Carlos . . .