Chapter Eleven:

Turn of the Age

Suddenly, Starscream was shot straight in the back with a gleaming red sword. He shouted in pain. When the blade was pulled out, he hunched over, like an old man. Taylor scrambled to her feet. A third party began to shoot in the Decepticons direction. Everyone was baffled as to who they were. Reinforcements? The FBI? But Taylor knew who it was, and it quickly became the happiest of her life. When Starscream stumbled away, Taylor could see a familiar figure. A Cybertronian emerged from the light, with the red sword and a bright yellow shield with the Autobot symbol etched on it. He was short, and, he had scratched yellow paint as his decal, with glowing red markings on him. Taylor gasped.

“Bumblebee!”

Bumblebee quickly put his sword away and his right hand changed into a blaster. He saw her and quickly ran in front of her, signaling her to stay back. Taylor froze, too stunned to react. “Agh! No! Impossible!” Starscream cried. Another Autobot weapon emerged from the light. A red energon battle axe. It swung at a Decepticon, who was going to attack from the side. It was Optimus Prime. “Bumblebee, protect the human at all costs!” He ordered in Autobot tongue. Bumblebee nodded. “How did he know I was human!?” Taylor thought. Pretty soon, every Autobot she had chosen: Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet appeared, and fought against the Decepticons with a vengeance. All the soldiers crept out of their hiding places in awe of them. Pretty soon, Starscream shrieked, “D*** you, Prime! D*** you! Decepticons, retreat!” All the Decepticons reluctantly obeyed and fell back. “Don’t count this as a victory Autobots! We’ll meet again very soon!” He warned. He lept into the air, transformed into his seeker mode, and took off.

“Taylor!”

Taylor turned to see Captain Lennox, a black soldier, Daniel, and Jacob Witwicky appeared and rushed to her aid. Daniel put his hands on her face. “Are you alright? Anything broken?” He asked. “I’m fine, Daniel. Just a few scrapes” Taylor assured him. “Um, Taylor…” said Jacob, nervously. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “One of them’s looking at you.” Taylor slowly turned around. Sure enough, from eighty feet above, Optimus Prime himself was looking down at her, calm and quiet, and his face plate hid his expression. She stepped forward. Her knees started buckling a little when they met eye-to-eye. “Sir” she told him in Autobot tongue, “Captain Knightingale, reporting for duty sir-” then, she sighed happily, “-It’s so good to see you.” She was fully expecting Optimus Prime to not understand not only that she was speaking his language, but she was also different since the last time they met. She bowed her head, nervously.

“Captain Knightingale, it’s been a long time, old friend.”

Taylor lifted her head, a huge weight coming off her shoulders. “You…Recognize me, sir?” Optimus Prime’s faceplate shifted back, and he smiled warmly. “Yes Captain, I do. I could hear your voice when I was in stasis.” Taylor cheeks became bright red. “He heard me…” Three others appeared into view. She could recognize them all instantly: Jazz, the sleek, Second Lieutenant, with a blast shield covering his optics like punkstar shades. Ironhide, the muscle, and Chief Weapons officer. Then, Ratchet, the coordinated, and firm Chief Medical Officer. “Knightingale? Could it really be…?” Ratchet asked. “Really? Her? Naw, that…thing is downright short!” Ironhide remarked, “Shorter than she already was!” “Hmm,” Jazz mumbled, observing the strange aliens around them, and the huge hangar that now had a huge, gaping hole on the roof. He loosened his shoulders. “This planet looks like a cool place to kick it.”

Then, Taylor saw someone else step from behind Optimus: Bumblebee. Optimus stepped back to give the two of them space. Taylor’s smile and blushing cheeks faded away. They stared at each other for a long moment as he slowly approached her. He bent down on one knee, looking into her eyes, as if looking for something inside her soul. Taylor was welling up in tears, until finally, they both exclaimed at once:

“Bumblebee!”

“Knightingale!”

The people watching them suddenly didn’t matter. Taylor jumped into his arms, just barely able to wrap her hands around his neck. She hid her face, silently sobbing with joy. Bumblebee didn’t care what she was, or even if she was really Knightingale. They just held each other close for a long time. “You’re alive!” He exclaimed, “I can’t believe you’re alive!” Taylor’s eyes widened. That voice…She looked back at him, then back at the wound in his neck, only to realize it wasn’t there anymore! It completely seemed up and looked as if it was never there.

“Bumblebee, your voice box!” She gasped.

Bumblebee looked confused. “What about it?”

Then, he caught himself and understood.

“My…My voice! Knightingale, I got my voice back!” He cried.

Taylor smiled. “You sure did!” She exclaimed, delightfully.

They embraced each other again and the two laughed ecstatically at his new pipes.

“But how is that possible?”

A white Autobot with a Red Cross on his shoulders approached. It was Ratchet, the Chief Medical Officer. “When the Matrix brought him back to life, it must’ve completely repaired his vocal processor” Taylor explained. “You used the Matrix?” All the autobots except Optimus gasped. Taylor nodded.

“Knightingale can explain momentarily,” Optimus Prime declared, “I believe, Captain, that you have someone to introduce to us.” Taylor turned around and saw General Morshower standing behind her, beside Lennox and the Witwickys. Bumblebee put her down and Taylor cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed.

“Erm, General Morshower, Captain Lennox, Daniel and Jacob Witwicky,” she said, politely, “This is the commander of the Autobots: Optimus Prime.”

Then, Optimus Prime responded, “General, you have my sincerest gratitude for protecting my Captain, and for helping us.”

General Morshower was a bit surprised by the sudden English this alien robot was speaking. “You’re welcome, Optimus Prime. On behalf of Earth, I welcome you.”

“Thank you, General Morshower.”

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

“-And that’s all she wrote” Taylor said, sighing. She had explained to Ratchet and Optimus Prime what happened when she arrived on planet Earth, and how in some way, a group of scientists managed to make her human. “It’s was a little hard trying to get by” said Taylor, “I knew how everything worked on this planet, but it didn’t make it any less foreign. But, with the help of my good friend, Daniel Witwicky-” she looked over at Daniel, who was standing over to the side, and watching his son, who was on the phone, and smiled, “-I was able to support myself. I probably wouldn’t be alive today if it wasn’t for him.”

          “Incredible!” Ratchet exclaimed, “Humans: having the access to put a cybertronian conscious in a human body. They appear to be very young in their mental development.”

“They’re a little slow, I will admit. But not any less primitive. Actually, they’re more like us than you may think…” Taylor drifted into space as she glanced lazily over in a different directions, “I will admit though, I am rather curious how it happened…How some humans were able to do it, but have never done it again…”

“I still can’t believe it,” Ironhide exclaimed, “Out of all the Autobots, you were the one it happened to…”

Taylor raised an eyebrow. “Hey, what’s that suppose to mean?” she asked, a bit offended.

          “When did the Decepticons get reactivated?” Optimus interrupted.

Taylor looked back at Optimus Prime. “When I arrived, General Morshower informed me that an alien robot had attacked one of their stations in Iraq. Since most of the Autobots here were accounted for (at least, all the ones who made it), I assumed it was the Decepticons. But now, I definitely know it was them. Pieces of scrap!” Taylor spat, then continued in a more professional tone, “I knew the humans had no way to defend themselves, at least, not in a way that wouldn’t cost them thousands of lives. So, that’s how using the Matrix came into play.”

“I still can’t figure out how you were able to do it,” Ratchet remarked, “No one is able to communicate with the Matrix, let alone order it to do something! Unless…”

“I don’t know…” Taylor shrugged, and glanced at Optimus Prime, whom she could see faint glow still in his chassis. “I’m just glad I was able too it.”

“Megatron won’t be able to return to Cybertron, if what you say about our energy supply is correct,” said Prime, almost eager to change the subject, “We need to figure out what he plans on achieving. This planet is rich with resources, but I’m not entirely certain that he will make any use of it.”

“Knowing Megatron, with that sick, twisted brain of his, he’ll figure out something” Ironhide muttered.

 

“I’m sorry for interrupting, Knightingale, Optimus Prime..” someone spoke. Taylor looked up at Morshower, who was standing at the top of scaffold. “There have been multiple sightings of unidentified military aircraft in the United States. They seem to be heading towards Chicago, Illinois”

“Mmm, they’re probably Decepticons,” said Taylor, “Prime?”

“Are their any power stations in that location?” Optimus Prime asked.

“Yes. Many. Are you suggesting they’re going to attack the power plants? In broad daylight?”

“General, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Cybertronians are quite large compared to humans. Megatron would have no casualties trying to steal power from the city” said Jazz.

“We need to evacuate Chicago. The Decepticons could easily squash a lot of civilians just by walking!” Taylor exclaimed.

“I’ve sent my men to evacuate Chicago as we speak, Knightingale. But I’m questioning whether or not your friends should interfere.”

Taylor something snapped inside her at that moment. “Are you serious? Thousands of civilians lives are at risk, and you’re not questioning whether or not they should help!?”

“Captain…” Prime scolded.

“It’s quite alright, Prime. We know each other well. I’m not offended.”

Bumblebee glanced over at Taylor’s direction, making a weird, confused face.

Taylor didn’t like that look. Her cheeks got slightly pink and shook her head at him defensively.

“Regardless of whether or not we interfere, the Decepticons would alert the rest of the human race the presence of our kind. Military weapons will be ineffective. If we don’t fight the Decepticons, and stand by, it will have a great cost” said Optimus.

“To be fair Prime, we don’t exactly have an obligation to these humans” Ironhide muttered.

“They saved our sparks. Isn’t that enough?” Prime asked.

Ironhide said nothing for a moment. “Point taken” he said.

Optimus Prime turned to the other Autobots. “Autobots, we must rendezvous with the rest of the military and keep the Decepticons away from civilians. Let’s roll!” General Morshower looked at them for a moment before nodding and slowly coming down the stairs of the scaffold.

“Captain” Taylor stopped at the stairs and turned to Optimus Prime.

“I want you to stay here, with the rest of the monitors” he ordered.

Taylor’s eyes widened in surprise. “What? Why? I may be smaller than I used to, but I can still help!” she exclaimed.

“That’s the point. You could easily be injured. Until we find a solution to change you back, I don’t want you on the battlefield.”

“With all due respect sir, I’m not helpless; and I’ve been living among humans for over twenty years. I know about humans more than you do. I need to be there!”

Optimus thought for a moment. Taylor was a bit unnerved. Optimus Prime never looked nervous, especially when it involved orders. But now.. Then, Bumblebee stepped forward. “Sir, I’ll protect her” he volunteered. Taylor looked at Bumblebee, a bit surprised, then smiled, flattered. Finally, Optimus said, “Very well. Knightingale, you will be an overseer on this mission. Bumblebee, make sure she stays safe.”

Bumblebee grinned. “Yes sir!”

Taylor looked back at the Autobots. “Well boys, let’s get moving! It’s time to go to war.”