Chapter Text
Kira hated Ground Bridging.
It felt wrong, one’s entire being reducing to tiny atoms as they are hurled through space and time. It’s dark, and cold, and as someone who was claustrophobic, it was nauseating. And as it happens, you have just enough time to wonder if this is what death feels like before gravity takes hold once again and you slam back into the Earth.
And she did, her body reforming and the swirling yellow vortex spitting her out three feet above ground.
She bellyflopped on the rough asphalt with a thud and a grunt, having only about a nanosecond to realize she was out of the Bridge before lights blinded her and a horn blasted to her right.
Kira turned, seeing a semi-truck barreling toward her, no chance of stopping before colliding with her unprotected body.
She was going to die.
Curling into a ball on reflex alone, she waited for the impact. Instead, she was greeted with the sound of metal shifting, gliding together and sliding apart to take a new form. And then the crunch of someone taking a tumble, someone large rolling as momentum kept them in motion.
Sitting up, she came nearly face to face with the vehicle turned robot, sighing in relief when his blue optics widened as they locked in on her, his red and blue frame recognizable in the little light his headlights provided in this otherwise dark desert.
“Optimus, thank Primus. Next time you agree to let us test Wheeljack’s Ground Bridge replica, please don’t involve me.”
The titan moved to sit, as the human had done, looking down at her with unblinking optics. When he didn’t say anything in reply, she frowned up at him, her eyes roaming his frame to check for damage.
Given the poor light, she couldn’t see much. But from what she could tell, he looked different, somehow. He was back to a more boxy design, his arms far more red than before. Had he changed an alt mode since they’d gone through the bridge? It had only been a second at best.
“Why do you look like that?”
And why was he staring at her like that? Like she was some new little organism he’d never laid optics on before? They’d been talking moments ago before getting sucked into the Ground Bridge.
“Do I know you?” he asked, in English.
“Dude, I’m too tired to deal with jokes. Can you just figure out where we are and contact the others? I want to knock of few bolts loose in Wheeljack’s aft.” she replied, in Universal.
Standing, Kira dusted herself off and turned to him, waiting for him to do the same. Only, he continued to just stare at her, optics wide as he tracked her movements. “What?”
“I am certain I have never met you before.”
He was still on with this? His attempts had practical humor had been improving, but this was by far is worst skit Kira had witnessed.
There had been a time this had been real, his memories altered, but his wasn’t showing the signs he had last time. Though, with the way he was acting, and the increasingly obvious alt form change, the woman was starting to think he’d hit his processor and was in the process of a reboot?
Fine, she could play this stupid little game. “I’m Kira. For seventeen years I’ve been saving your aft, letting you drag me all around the world on missions and stuff. We’re friends.” When his frown only deepened, she began to suspect this wasn’t a game. “Are you okay? Do we need to call Ratchet?”
“You know Ratchet?”
“Of course I know Rach- you know what, we don’t have time for this. You’ve clearly hit your helm and are going through some processor damage. And seriously, what is up with that alt change?” Taking a couple steps away from him and turning around, she brought out her comm link and keyed it. “Kira to Ratchet, come in?”
The earpiece in her ear buzzed, static.
That’s not right. Hound modified it so that it’d be on the right signal anywhere on Earth and Cybertron. It shouldn’t be static. Maybe she’d accidentally bumped it in the fall, tuning it out of frequency? Checking the dial, it was on the right signal. “Kira to Ratchet, do you copy? Does anyone copy?”
“How do you know Universal?” Optimus spoke up behind her, still sitting in the middle of the damn road.
“You taught it to me.” she answered.
Kira was quickly accepting that he’d somehow messed up his memory unit, all stored data on who she was misplaced. Once she found Ratchet, he could help reboot his systems. If she could find Ratchet.
If only storing memories as data files was the human way. Instead, she had to rely on patchy memories of how Hound had walked her through recalibrating this thing.
“No. I did not.” the metal titan spoke, finally standing.
“Yes, you did.” Kira’s attention remained on the device in her hands. “You and Jazz, technically. Though, between you and me, you were a much better teacher.” She wiggled the dial out of frequency and then back in, keying it once again. “Does anyone copy? Can you hear me, over?”
“Who are you?” Optimus asked.
Okay, so she had a messed up radio and a bot who was suffering from memory loss. If she could just get this thing working, she could get into contact with anyone and they’d be able to-
The ground shook as Optimus took a step forward. Not a step, a stomp.
A warning, in his own gentle giant way, that demonstrating he demanded her attention while not laying a digit on her smaller frame. “Who are you?” Optimus spoke again, his voice like thunder as it rung with an icy threat. “Jazz died on Cybertron, never making it to Earth. How do you know his name?”
Jazz wasn’t dead. He was screwing around with Bee moments before they’d heard Wheeljack’s warning of the Bridge malfunctioning and they were all sucked into the vortex.
She turned, craning her neck back to glare up at the Cybertronian above her, and was met with three facts.
Fact one, Optimus had grown taller. Not by much, not noticeable to most. But when you spend seventeen years with someone, you noticed when your eyes don’t lock on their optics at the right height they used to.
Fact two, he had definitely changed not only an alt mode, but the colors of his exo-armor. Gone were the flames designs but rather red arms and blue legs.
Fact three, his body had changed entirely. His chassis wasn’t smooth, but his faceplates were rather plain and flat instead of the almost human semblance they used to have. And he now sported a third horn protruding from the center of his forehead.
Just as Ratchet and Wheeljack had taught her, Kira took the facts provided, the evidence, and formulated a theory.
She was dead. Or, she’d been the one to hit her head.
Or, when your family is a group of aliens escaping from a war that has lasted longer than the human race, capable of creating technology that allows you to be sent through time and space, you expand your knowledge past human technological capabilities.
“I don’t think I’m on the right Earth.”
And it dawned on her that she was in the middle of the goddamn desert, not a street light or distant glow of a town in sight. Alone, except for the twenty-foot metal titan from another planet.
She had a weapon, a project that a variety of Autobots had worked on, giving her a blend of Cybertronian technology and human sizes. She could shoot him in the optic and run for it.
Hell, that was what she did the first time she saw Megatron. Jazz was helping shield some humans, the gray afthole grabbed him, she snagged a gun off an unconscious soldier and fired. It’s what had gotten her into N.E.S.T to begin with, Optimus having witnessed her moment of brave stupidity and seeking her out after the dust cleared. It was pure luck she was already signed up to join the Army, awaiting her bus to boot camp.
She could pull out her gun, shoot him hopefully in both optics, she’d take one, and book it as far and fast as she could until she found cover. Someone had to know she was here, or would be close by and hear the commotion and come get her.
The Prime tilted his head, almost as if he could see her mind formulating the plan and let his optics roam her tiny body. It would be effortless for him to take a step forward and squish her.
She knew she was small compared to Optimus, never mind the Dinobots, but he was bigger than than Optimus. And even if he shared a name, a voice, an identity, he wasn’t her Optimus. This mech wasn’t her friend, her guardian. He was just another Cybertronain far from home. Someone Kira did not know and did not know if she could trust.
As much as she liked to hold Cybertronians to a higher standard than humans, they weren’t that much different from the organics. Their violence, their hate, the capability to enact great violence. And she was alone with one in the middle of the desert.
She fought hard not to flinch as he moved, kneeling down and bracing a large hand beside her, lowering himself so they were almost eye level. her hands clenched, the hard metal of her useless comm digging into her one palm as her nails bit into the other.
His blue optics, optics of someone she had spent so many hours with, ran up and down her body again, a deep hum emanating from his chassis. “I believe you may be correct. You have markings of interdimensional residue on your clothes.”
Finally, he was speaking Universal. The whole English thing was weird. Which is strange because she was so used to hearing it from him, from her Optimus. But since teaching her the universal language of the entire galaxy, created so that all beings of different planets, regardless of their vocal capacities, would be able to communicate, it was the only form of communication they had used, the only way to be sure humans could not understand them.
Sure, the Autobots spoke Cybertronian to one another, and she understood them perfectly, but humans were not able to mimic the sounds needed for the Cybertronian language. And so the aliens spoke Cybertronian and the human replied in Universal and if other humans were around, depending on who they were to the Bots, sometimes English was used.
Kira cleared her throat, hoping to keep the tremble from her voice. “That explains why this doesn’t work.” she gestured to my comm device, pocketing it. If she was on a different Earth, the frequencies here would not match the ones they’d used on her planet.
The action had a dual purpose. While her hand was near her hip, she could rest it against her concealed gun without making it obvious to big guy up there.
And he was big. Bigger than her Optimus. Unbreakable, metal, towering. And she was tiny, organic, fragile. And though she did try, she couldn’t fight the flashbacks of when her Optimus had been a stranger to her, his mind owned by another as he’d enacted her will.
But Kira would not go down without a fight. She had not survived every monster from Cybertron on her world just to get smushed on this one.
She was about to react, to finally end this stale mate of waiting for death, when she noticed the telltale signs of Optimus receiving a transmission from someone, the raising of his body and optic shift as he listened. And then he turned his focus back to her. “It appears you are not the only one from your world who is here. Ratchet has picked up multiple interdimensional surges throughout the planet.”
So she wasn’t the only one. That was perfect, except she had no way of knowing where they were. Or anyway to warn them if this guy was going to go on a warpath to hunt them down.
“I’m guessing they are my Autobots.” She tried to sound brave, sure of herself, maybe make him pause a little with the plural use of the word. All that came out was a whispered warning that held no bark.
And it was becoming hard to keep her eyes locked on his optics, her body taking a step back when he leaned over her once again even though she told it to hold her ground.
Even if she did manage to blind him in one optic, she wouldn’t make it far. Without vision, they had other sensors, ones she still did not truly understand. All she’d do is sign up for a more drawn-out death.
She jolted when he spoke again, feeling like a fool. Why would she be scared if she was claiming she spent so much time with them?
“I think it best you accompany me to my base. From there, we will be able to reconnect you with your team.”
His base? He was going to let her, a human who he has known for less than five minutes, go to his base? That wasn’t smart, or safe. How could he so blindly trust her? Because I knew a few names?
This mech was weird, and absolutely nothing like her Optimus.
But she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He was offering her a chance to get back to her Bots and she was going to take it.
“Yeah. Sure. Let’s go.”
With a silent nod, he stood and transformed, opening his passenger door for her. Hauling herself into his cab, he shut the door and didn’t go anywhere.
“Uhh… Optimus?”
“Seatbelt.”
Kira couldn’t help but huff a laugh, the request so mundane. It wasn’t like she really needed one. If he was driving, she’d be fine. But she honored the request, pulling the belt across her chest and clicking it in.
Looking out his window as he started moving, she finally noticed the stars. With Cybertron and Earth colliding to create the grotesque reminder of why their planets should have never crossed paths, one or the other constantly blocked out the night sky. Out here, away from the human lights, the inky black sky bloomed with thousands of distant planets and suns, the Milky Way painting a path across the sky. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed it.
Maybe there was some good to come from this unexpected planet hopping.
---
“So, you don’t drive?”
Optimus did not know what to make of this organic femme.
Her story was true, the residue on her being matching her story, and her casual demeanor when interacting with him telling him she spent plenty of time around a mech similar to him.
But when she had realized he was not the Bot she knew, she’d seemed frightened. Not the fear most humans greeted him with, there wasn’t that surprise and dislike of the unknown. She was scared of him, terrified of what he could do to her.
And she’d reached for her weapon concealed at her side. It’d hadn’t been a reflex motion when facing a new threat. She knew she had to move cautiously around him, carefully concealing her actions until the last second.
She had been hurt by a Cybertronian before.
And yet, she’d trusted him enough to climb into his cab and let him drive her back to his base. She had begun to engage in casual conversation, her body tense but not uncomfortable as he rolled along the dark desert road.
She’d schooled her gaze when he’d lowered himself to her level, her eyes determined, ready should he try to injure her. But they had also been tired. Not in a physical sense. He had seen that on the children before.
This was something he saw emanating from her spark, her human soul. She was drained, worn down by the world she had escaped. And with crumped coverings dirtied from her fall through the Bridge barely a few strides away from him, Optimus felt a surge of protectiveness toward her.
He had made a vow to protect all living beings, and a promise to protect the people of Earth. And he would honor that with this young femme.
It was obvious his kind had taken much from her already.
“Our Ground Bridge is stable enough to use across the planet. Most of the time.”
“Most?”
One failed Bridging attempt had already stranded her on another planet. He did not need her knowing how likely it was she would end up stranded again.
Optimus almost hummed in reply. He had found that humans grew uncomfortable in drawn out silences and had found a simple sound indicating he was thinking would soothe them. However, she didn’t seem to even notice his lack of response, continuing to gaze out his passenger window as the landscape passed in a dark blur.
Perhaps the version of him she knew from her planet was not so different to who he was here. He supposed he would be meeting his doppelganger soon enough, if Ratchet had truly picked up on the energy signatures of the others from her planet.
“Okay, so we obviously have some differences between your world and mine, starting with my Optimus looking a lot different. What else do we not have in common?”
He was rather eager to find out as well. “I would not know, if you do not tell me what your world is like.”
The femme smiled, rolling her optics just so. Jack had told him it was a sign of huma exasperation. “Well, you’re both smartafts.” she mumbled.
It was strange to see a human using Universal. He hadn’t ever thought to teach his young human allies the language, and here she was having a fluent conversation in it. It was refreshing, in a way. A small link back to the world he’d left behind. Or rather, it felt like his world wasn’t left behind, a piece of Cybertron blooming on Earth, his culture shared with those close to the Bots.
“What’s that?” she asked, sitting a little straighter in his seat.
Glancing to the town to the east of the old road they traversed, Optimus wondered if he should make a stop for her to acquire some human fuel. She did not seem to have any pack or provisions. “Jasper. Nevada. A small town but it has all the humans need. I am sure you will become quite familiar with it during your stay.”
She did not reply, silently watching the town pass. She hadn’t requested to stop, or made any indication she was interested in the place more than the curiosity of the place. And so he kept on going.
“I know one difference.” she started, Optimus knowing now was the time to hum to indicate his attention was on her while he body could not. “Cybertron isn’t here.”
The Prime knew slamming on his brakes would only harm the femme, and the unexpected action would cause her alarm. Instead, he applied the brakes gently, sure he had not heard her right. “Here?”
“Quintessa used my Optimus, after brainwashing him into her servitude, to bring Cybertron to Earth. She planned on using a conduit, one given to humans for protection and guarded by the Twelve Knights of Iacon, to absorb the energy from Earth and use that as a power source to rebuild Cybertron.”
This time he did jolt to a stop, her head jerking forward before flopping back against his seat. She did not make any indication the action had been a discomfort. “What?”
“Yeah. She almost succeeded, but Bee knocked my you out of her control and alongside the Twelve Knights you managed to stop her. Interestingly, it’s not the first time someone has tried to use Earth like that. Though Sentinel wanted to use humans as slaves, not absorb the planet’s energy so it’s a little different.”
If he was not so certain she was from another dimension, he would think this was all some grand tale, like the stories Miko made up. But she was from another world, one he did not know. And her body carried the weight of exhaustion a life like that would bring.
“Sentinel Prime?” he asked, clarifying it was he the thought she meant. While the old Prime had become corrupt in his last days as a Prime, he never imagined someone coming up with a plan that cruel. Megatron perhaps, but a Prime?
“Yes.” Her voice held an edge to it, like it did as she prepared to unholster her weapon. There were bad memories with that name. Had he been the one to hurt her? “Is he alive on Earth?”
“No.” Optimus replied instantly, desperate to calm the fear in her eyes as he slid his engine into drive and rolled forward slowly once more. “He perished on Cybertron.”
He saw her exhale, her shoulder struts dropping as she relaxed further into his seat, a little more at ease. Had Sentinel caused her harm?
Optimus decided to take a different approach. Outright asking might put her defenses up. “This Quintessa you spoke of,” spoke gently, turning his rearview mirrors towards her as she gazed out his passenger window, “she must have been trying to access Unicron’s spark while he remained in stasis.”
The femme frowned, looking toward his rearview. “Unicron?”
She had not heard of his name before. It a appeared the differences between their two realities was rather significant. “The cosmic opposite to Primus. Earth formed around his stasis form after the Thirteen Primes defeated him.”
She took a moment to process his words, her eyes darting about as her mind worked. He wondered if it was a habit she had picked up from her version of himself. “There’ a Cybertronian inside Earth? Surely we would have found him by now, with all the mining and everything? And why wouldn’t he have done something during the Cyber-forming Sentinel tried to do years ago? Or felt when Quintessa was trying to drain his spark?”
“Perhaps he is still in stasis. We did not know of him either until the planetary alliance awakened him from stasis. Has that not occurred?”
“Guess not. We don’t have a planet sized primordial running around.” It seemed as though she was going to say more, but decided against it. After a breath, she asked “Thirteen Primes?”
Did she not know of the Primes. She knew so much about Cybertronian culture, why would that be something she didn’t. But the cadence of her question seemed to place emphasis on the number, not the name. “Yes, thirteen.” he confirmed.
She hummed, a surprised sound as she turned her eyes back to the desert. “We only have seven.”
How could they have an entirely different number of Primes? Or a different forming of Earth? The differences could not be that vast, could they?
“But you have twelve knights?”
Kira shrugged, turning her attention to face forward as Optimus left the asphalt road and barreled towards the base hidden in the butte. “They don’t have any link to Primus. Just regular mechs. We didn’t really know much about them until we met them. Their existence was as much a mystery as the Primes themselves.”
Optimus watched as she shifted, obviously concerned, but did not panic. The level of faith she had in him, even if he wasn’t her Optimus, was another mystery. He had been with human liaisons for years, and the children a couple months, and they did not have this level of trust.
“Surely your Optimus would have gained some insight into their existence when he earned the Matrix of Leadership?”
She snorted, which he did not know if he should take as a sign of offense or not. “Optimus didn’t earn the Matrix.”
Did not earn the Matrix? “Then how did he become a Prime?”
Pulling in the open space that served as the control room for his base, Optimus rolled to a stop and opened his passenger door. Unbuckling, the femme jumped from his cab in an action that was well practiced and took a step away as he transformed. The Prime noticed, again, that her eyes naturally settled below his optics. Her slight scowl to herself as she corrected herself was rather amusing, not that he drew attention to it.
“Sentinel chose Optimus from creation to be his successor and raised him to be the next Prime, as Nova Prime chose Sentinel.” she explained.
Optimus blinked, taking her words into consideration. That was… hard to understand. He had been chosen by the council to approach Primus and seek out his worthiness to become the next Prime, earning the Matrix and with it the knowledge of the Primes before him.
Her Optimus had simply been taught, granted the title at creation? How did he connect to the previous holders of the title? What, other than the previous Prime’s guidance, granted him the right take on such a role?
Hearing a small chuckle, he focused on her once again and found a small smile on her face. For a moment, she didn’t seem as weary as she had. “I guess it didn’t work that way for you?”
He silently shook his head in reply.
“Noted. Well, once we’ve got everyone together, we’ve got to go over all the differences. This is interesting.”
“Another human!”
Optimus jolted, the slow spread of dread starting in his chassis and travelling up to form a helm ache.
He’d forgotten about Ratchet.