I can't believe it's a month-and-a-half shy of a year since I posted the first part. I had to scrap my original ending entirely because I couldn't figure out a clever enough backstory, and then I had to change the setting because someone took my beautiful landscape view in the interim. And then I had to change the interactions three times because I would lose myself in shippiness and even now I'm doubt they're entirely neutral. I'm not saying a ship between them is bad (OTP!), but there's a fine balance to walk between ship fulfillment and behavior unbecoming of the characters.

Also, I went back and made some slight changes to wording in the previous chapter. Nothing big, I just noticed my writing style now had some subtle differences to what I wrote a year ago, and wanted to smooth the writing out.

She woke up screaming, startling herself out of vehicle mode.

"ARCEE!" She heard Jack shout, and she was ready to fight before she realized he was shouting because of her, not for her. She heard the sound of running footfalls and a second later the garage door was slammed open. There in the doorway stood Jack, clad in sweatpants and a worn-through shirt, wielding a baseball bat.

"Did I wake your mother?!" Arcee demanded, panicked. Jack lowered the bat.

"She hasn't come home yet. It's only been a couple hours."

Arcee calmed down as this sank in. Jack calmed down too, though his heart still raced.

"Sorry," Arcee said after a moment.

"Bad dream?" he asked softly. Arcee nodded, looking away. "It's okay, everyone gets them."

Arcee gave him a strange smile. "I know, don't worry about it."

"Do you..." He stepped out of the doorway, almost hesitantly. "Do you want me to stay here tonight?"

Arcee stared at him, touched. But after a moment, she shook her head. "You wouldn't be very comfortable, and your mom will wonder why you're sleeping in the garage instead of your room."

Jack could argue the former point, but not the latter. He nodded. "Well, if you want to talk, I'm always here for you."

"I know."

Uncertain, he turned around and started to head inside, until Arcee's voice—gently teasing—called him back.

"Uh, Jack? Were you planning on fighting Airachnid with a baseball bat?"

He mock-glared at the Autobot. "Hey, we know fire works. Worst comes to worst, I can always light the bat." Arcee chuckled and Jack hoisted the bat onto his shoulder like a soldier and his rifle. "Goodnight!" he called, as he marched out the door.

The laughter left her as soon as the door closed. She settled down into vehicle mode once more, but didn't power down for the rest of the night. She couldn't risk screaming again.

The next morning, Jack had to work. Arcee was content to wait for him in the KO Burger parking lot, but he convinced her to go back to base and get looked overt by Ratchet. Miko was dune bashing with Bulkhead, and Bumblebee was on patrol with Optimus, which just left young Rafael typing away on his laptop as Ratchet repaired the injuries Arcee had received the day before.

When he finished, Ratchet had looked as though he wanted to say something, but one weary look from her made him decide it was wise to back off for now. If Arcee had to say
"I know" one more time, she was going to break something important.

As Ratchet walked out of the hangar to do whatever it was he did when he wasn't fixing something, Arcee stationed herself at the main computer, setting a search for terms such as "mysterious disappearance", "dismemberment", "decapitation", "spider", and "monster" mentioned in the vicinity of the crash site. The search turned up nothing useful, even after she widened the parameters. She let out a frustrated growl, and became acutely aware that the tiny typing from the platform had stopped. Raf was watching her, even if he was too shy to say anything. She tried to ignore it, but she couldn't stand to be pitied by a twelve-year-old human, and was only saved from snapping at an innocent kid by the return of Bumblebee and Optimus. She focused on her self-assigned task as Bee engaged his charge in conversation that had nothing to do with her.

She heard, and felt, Optimus approach her, and she bristled—she knew he was reading the monitor. She turned around and looked up at him almost defiantly, daring him to tell her she shouldn't be doing this. Her glare was met with kindness, and a head inclined towards the exit. She sighed, nodded, and followed him. They both transformed and rolled out, but Arcee couldn't ignore what she saw in her side mirrors—young Rafael looking after her, concern and worry on his face.

Arcee didn't return to base with Optimus after their drive. She instead headed towards town to pick up her partner. She then proceeded to just drive around Jasper, asking Jack about his day and enjoying the freedom of the streets until the mosquitoes came out. June was home by then, so the two silently bade each other goodnight as Jack went into the house. Arcee focused on their sounds—Jack's apology for being late again, his mother's slight exasperation, the grating sound of metal on ceramic as they ate, the chatter from the living room and the din from the television, normal and comforting sounds—until they were each safely in bed.

Arcee still wouldn't sleep that night.

"Arcee, you're drifting."

"Wha-? Oh."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just..."

"Distracted?"

"Yeah."

Jack said nothing more as he was driven to school. But in between calculus and art history, he texted Ratchet.

But Ratchet was defragging the accursed human software and wouldn't see the message until the next day, right after he had sent Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead out to investigate another Energon signal.

Arcee had no idea what was wrong as another shot missed Breakdown. It wasn't until Bumblebee pushed her down and the rock behind where her head had been was blasted to bits that she was able to get her mind into the fight.

The day after found Arcee parked in front of the school, fighting to stay alert as the day wore on. It didn't work, and she nearly jumped into a fighting stance as Optimus pulled up and spoke to her.

"We need to talk."

"Now?" she snapped.

"Yes."

"Fine."

"Come with me."

"I can't, I'm waiting for Jack."

"Jack told Ratchet you haven't been sleeping well."

Arcee's Energon ran cold at that. She thought...

"And Bumblebee told me what happened in yesterday's battle."

It didn't matter what she thought. "Busted."

Optimus didn't respond to that, patiently waiting for her.

Arcee angled her mirror towards the school, to see Miko frantically waving at the two of them from the window. From the slight hmm Optimus uttered, she knew he saw the girl, too. They watched for a while, amused, until Miko suddenly flinched and looked chagrined, hurriedly turning her attention away. By the time her teacher looked out the window to see what the fuss was about, the truck and motorcycle were well on their way.

Arcee was surprised when the first thing Optimus did upon returning to base was program something into the Groundbridge controls. As the green vortex swirled to life, he gestured for Arcee to go in first. Shooting him a confused—and somewhat annoyed—look, she complied.

The first thing she realized upon emergence was that there was sand beneath her feet. It wasn't the dry, loose sands of the Nevada desert, but instead it compacted beneath her. It was wet.

The second thing noticed was the sound. A loud, rough, yet somehow gentle woosh.

The third thing she noticed was that it was night.

She looked back at Optimus quizzically. They stood at the edge of an ocean, no light around them save for the moon, the stars, and their own shining optics. Optimus did not return her Look, instead he stared up at stars above them.

She walked forward, letting the tips of her peds be caressed by what remained of the wave. The salt in the water almost tickled her metal plating. She reached down for a handful of wet sand and seaweed. She turned over her hand and let the formed ball drop back down with an unsatisfying plop. She turned her back to the endless, dark waters and glared at her leader.

"What ar—"

"Humans do not inhabit this part of the Earth, Arcee," Optimus interrupted, bending on one knee and fixing his gaze on her. She continued to stare at him.

"You need not fear your nightmares will be heard."

Arcee gaped at him. "You brought me halfway around the world to sleep?" she demanded.

"To sleep. Or, to simply rest your mind in a safe place."

"I don't believe this," she growled, throwing her arms up in irritation. As they fell back down to her sides, they clenched into fists and then unclenched. She was annoyed with him, annoyed with Jack and Bumblebee for ratting her out, and mostly annoyed with herself for thinking she could fool them all.

Optimus eyed her outburst without comment. He simply leaned back and lay himself down upon the sand, staring in wonder at the sky.

She took notice and followed his gaze. Her fists stilled. She hadn't seen so many stars since she made Earth-fall. It wasn't just stars, it was entire galaxies above her, gas clouds and nebulae and the entire universe. The stars themselves were so dense it was as though someone had taken Miko's favorite glitter and suspended it in an ink-and-blue solution. The only light pollution came from the reflection of the moon.

"Has Raf ever told you about Earth's constellations?" Prime's gentle voice tore her from her awe. She looked back at him, blinked, and shook her head. Optimus smiled and motioned for her to join him. Mutely, she sat down beside him. She craned her neck to stare up once more as he explained the legends of Ancient Greece who had been honored and placed among the stars. He spoke of Mother and Child bear, of gods and demigods, serpents and monsters, and even of a hunter called Orion. She never even realized she had laid her head down just inches from his until she turned her face to look as he pointed up and explained that, while he had no knowledge of any mythological importance of the bright North Star, its historical role of guiding slaves to freedom was fascinating to him.

Optimus seemed to have taken no notice that she sat up abruptly and was staring down at him—or if he did he paid it no mind and continued his explanations. She glared at him as her vision dimmed and blurred, annoyed that she had fallen victim to his trap.

But only slightly.

Optimus didn't trail off from the story of the Pegasus and Bellerophon when he felt her hand upon his, but he did turn his head to her as she lay back down. They watched each other as he spoke, until Arcee's eyes closed and she fell into recharge. Her hand remained enveloped in his as he stared up in the direction of Cybertron.

Only once was Arcee's peace disturbed during these hours, and his mantra of whispered names eased her back into sleep. Both remained still before the water, the stars a fantastic canopy as the Earth moved around its orbital path. The Prime himself stayed awake throughout the night, mindful of his surroundings, ever-watchful for human planes, overgrown spiders, or Laserbeak.

It was only as rays of early morning sun reflected off the waters and hit her did she wake to the pinks and blues of the sky, and the slow and even venting of Optimus Prime.

"Hey," Arcee whispered. She rose to her feet before he could greet her good morning.

He got to his knees and his eyes searched hers. "How are you feeling?"

She looked away, towards the ocean. In the glow of the stars and moon, it seemed as if everything around them ceased to exist past the waves. In the light of the dawn, she could trick herself into thinking the ocean was endless. She looked back at Optimus.

"Better."

She meant it.

He smiled and rose to his feet. Arcee stretched and took one last look at the ocean and sky and the land behind her—virtually untouched by humans and now a memory for aliens—as Optimus called for a Groundbridge. As she walked towards the sea she wondered how much time had passed. She reached her hands to the water and wondered who drove Jack home from school and the water spilled from her between her digits. She looked toward the sun and wondered what would happen to Airachnid now she was trapped on Earth, and what would happen to her. Finally, she turned away and walked back toward the Prime and the swirling vortex waiting to take them home

THE END