A/N:Part 4 of this series! I'm so angry at myself for not checking properly before upload the previous one! I kinda spoiled it for a few of you... X( sorry!
Anyhow, enjoy the chapter!
---
We went off after dropping the cookies to Albert. Mark was holding onto my hands like a small child, looking around warily as we passed by the streets of Jasper, Nevada.
"Hey, wanna grab some burger before we head home? It's getting late and I'm lazy to cook." I said, nudging at the fast-food restaurant on my left. Mark narrowed his eyes for a moment before nodding. He tugged onto his hoodie, trying to hide his audial fins.
"It's okay, no one can see it." I said, holding his hand tightly and made our way to KO Burger. Mark was still on guard, glaring around and making sure that no one suspicious was following us.
'Well Mark... I don't mean to hurt your feelings but if anyone's suspicious, it's you.'
Finding a place to sit, I made Mark stayed put while I ordered but he wouldn't budge, wanting to follow wherever I go. After receiving our food, the two of us sat quietly at a cubicle on the far side, peacefully eating. Mark was happily chowing down on his burger, smiling widely.
"Thish ish delichous!" he said, mouth still full. I laughed and slapped his arms lightly.
"Mark! Don't talk with your mouth full!" I said, handing him a napkin. Gulping down his food, the big buffoon sent me a sheepish smile before attacking the chips; my chips to be exact.
"Mark!" I exclaimed as we both fought for the fries.
Unbeknownst to us, a group of teen kids sat just opposite us, silently discussing about their plans on saving Optimus.
~~~
"Alright, here's the thing." Jack said, dumping his bag full of paper onto the table. Miko had a notepad and was ready to jot down important notes while Raf had his laptop on, typing something.
"We will try to narrow down the MECHS' base with the help of Soundwave and Agent Fowler's crew. Later on, Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead will fan out to the possible locations to search but they can't engage, we don't want those people to be notified." Jack continued on, telling the dos and don'ts. Raf nodded along while Miko gave back some ideas, the trio sharing and exchanging info.
"Hey, do you think Megatron would...I don't know? Double cross us?" Raf asked, still hesitant on asking help from the Decepticons. Jack sighed, shaking his head.
"To be honest, I'm surprised that he actually agreed. But I know one thing for sure; Megatron wants to be the one to offline Optimus, not anybody else. Not even his own crew. Something like how it went with the Cybonic Plague." Jack said, though the teen was having doubts too.
Miko sensed his troubled expressions and slapped his back, bringing him out of his thoughts. Ever since Optimus went missing, Jack took up the acting position as Optimus and it was starting to take a toll on him.
Though they must admit, Jack does play a good role as a leader.
"Come on! Let's figure out more plans and backup plans! Can't just hope on one now, can we?"
~~~
(Y/N) and Mark were finally done eating, the latter smiling like an idiot as he was successful in stealing almost all of your fries.
"Damn it. We're getting a bigger set next time." I grumbled, pinching Mark's face tenderly. He chuckled and nodded, still having his victorious smirk.
"Your face is cute when you're mad." He blurted out, tilting his head and looking at me innocently.
"If anyone's cute, it's you my dear." I said, sighing in defeat while rolling my eyes at him. Standing up, the both of us got ready to leave the place.
We passed by a group of teen kids discussing, probably about their school project when the oldest of them looked up. I made eye contact with him for a brief moment before the boy shifted his gaze on Mark, who was shielding behind me.
Nodding at the boy, the both of us quickly left the restaurant.
~~~
"Guys, the man behind the lady..." Jack said, eyes still following the two strange couple. Miko rolled her eyes and snapped her finger, forcing Jack to look back at her.
"Focus! We need to think about Optimus, not some lady you're having a crush on!" Miko huffed. Jack sputtered, immediately denying the Japanese girl's accusation.
"W-What!? No! I was saying the man! The man behind- never mind. Let's just continue this back at base." Jack said, calling Arcee to pick them up.
~~~
Optimus set his eyes upon the boy for a brief moment, but his mind rang wild.
"IT'S JACK! CALL HIM! TALKTOHIMTALKTOHIM-"
'SHUT UP! MOVE ON MARK, YOU DON'T KNOW HIM!'
'YOUR NAME IS NOT MARK FOR PRIMUS'S SAKE! STOP LYING TO HIM!'
Optimus winced a little as the sound in his head was getting louder, making him instinctively coming close to (Y/N), the only person in the world he trusted and loved. The two couple then walked away, but the feeling of déjà vu was somewhere in the back of Optimus's mind, hoping that the Prime would realise something was off.
'Please just listen to me...'
~~~
Mark and I finally reached home, our gift from Mr.Albert still in hand as we trudge into our humble abode.
"I'm soooo tired." I dragged my words, walking sluggishly and tumbled onto the sofa. Mark sighed, poking my head slightly.
"Are you...dead?" he asked tentatively, still prodding on my scalp. Swatting his hands away, I gave him a small pouty glare before setting down my box on the table.
"Yeah, absolutely dead."
"Hmm...Rest in peace, little lady." He replied, bowing down to me. I laughed loudly and the man followed suit, his deep voice echoing around my living room.
Turning to my right side, I went and took out the other journal Mr. Albert gave me a few days ago from the drawer. I didn't have the time to read it earlier, so I'm guessing now's the time.
"Come on! Let's open them together!" I said, clapping my hands. Mark sat down by my side, chuckling and set his package on the table too before opening it. Mark teared opened the brown packaging only to reveal a book.
"(Y/N), this book I've gotten...it's very interesting." He said, nudging me a little. I chuckled and glossed over the title.
"Constellations and Stars? Neat." I said, turning back to open mine when something hits me.
"Project...Constellation." I mumbled; eyes wide.
'"When the time is right, I'll guide you and...Mark to the right path."'
Albert's clairvoyance never went wrong.
NEVER.
Opening my box, I found a small stack of cards in it. Taking one and turning it over, I read through the first questions.
'What is the name of a constellation that starts with the letter 'O'?'
Eyes widening, I dropped the card onto the table. Mark heard my words and picked up the cards, frowning deeply.
"...Constellation...Project...Constellation..." he mumbled, gripping his head for a moment.
'fINdOutFiNdOutFiNdOut-'
'ShUT uP!'
"Shut up!" Mark yelled, gripping his head. I snapped my head towards him and took his hands, pleading him to look at me.
"Mark! Sweety, listen to me! The voice in your head, the Matrix! I need you to focus alright! Now I know all three of you can hear me, and I need all of you to cooperate, alright?" I said, looking into Mark's eyes. They were flashing blue and red, flickering back and forth. Mark went silent for a moment before nodding, though the poor man still had a pained expression in his eyes.
"I'll try..." he said. Cupping his face, I placed a kiss on his forehead before starting my search on the riddle.
"Constellation that starts with the letter 'O'...the book!" I said, pointing towards Mark's gift. The man flipped through the pages as he scanned for the letter 'O'. Finally, they stopped at a page.
Orion's Belt.
"Orion...it sounds familiar...The Matrix agrees with me..." Mark said, furrowing his eyebrows. I nodded, taking a piece of scrap paper and wrote down the detail. I placed the card down on one side and took another one, reading out the second riddle carefully.
'How many letters are there in the English Alphabets?'
"26!" I said out loud. The question didn't make sense, what does it mean by that? Growling, I set the card in front of me, facing up as I took the third riddle.
'What is your real name?'
This was a direct question to Mark.
"My real name...I have no name...only Mark." Mark said, tilting his head in confusion.
"No...i-it's...it's your code!" I had an eureka moment.
"Code...1516..." Mark mumbled, looking down on his lap. The man was having a tough time holding it in. He wanted to find out who he truly was, but at the same time... he's afraid of knowing the truth.
"1516! That's it! 26 letters... so A. E.A.F? Huh?" I said, writing the alphabets down. Somehow, it doesn't make sense. Is it an abbreviation?
"15...16...?" Mark suggested, giving me a confused look.
"Okay so...fifteenth and sixteenth alphabet... O.P!" I said. That got a reaction from Mark. He growled, bending forward as his migraine got worse.
"M-Mark! Are you-"
"SHUT UP! HE'S NOT OPTIMUS!" Nemesis suddenly shifted, tackling me down. I was trying my very best to pull away from him, but he held a death grip on me.
I was choking!
"Nghhhh! M-Mark..." I cried out, afraid of losing conscious. Nemesis lost control and Mark came back, immediately releasing his grip on me.
"No! (Y/N)! I'm so sorry!" he rushed to my aid, helping me back up as he hugged me tightly, crying and mumbling apologies. I comforted the man, knowing that he was having a hard time with the voices.
"It's okay..."
"No...I hurt you...I'm so sorry..." Mark said, grasping my shirt tightly. I furrowed my eyes as I ponder on a few peculiar thoughts.
'Why was Nemesis trying so hard to hide away Mark's true identity? Who is this Optimus?'
---
Location: Autobot's base.
"I swear! I feel like I know that guy!" Jack insisted, waving his hands in the air as he paced back and forth.
"Hey Jack, maybe you're just stress-"
"NO! I KNOW HIM!" Jack snapped, slamming his hands on his lap. Everyone went silent as they saw the boy unleashed his temper. Wheeljack came back to base after knowing about Optimus's incident, wanting to help the team too.
"He had his face covered, but his eyes were glowing a familiar blue hue...wait-" Jack turned and scrunched his face up as he looked towards the bots, scanning them one by one before turning back to Arcee.
"Arcee! Your holoform! Does it include a real human under the helmet?" Jack asked, pacing around. His mind was running wild and he needed to know the truth.
"Yeah...why?"
"Activate it."
"Huh?"
"Just do as I say!" Jack groaned, not wanting to waste anymore time. Ratchet was observing the young boy, intrigued with the teen's idea. Arcee made her holoform appeared and took off her helmet. Jack gasped and landed on his butt, scooting back as he started to hyperventilate. Miss June came around, helping her son to calm down but he was already screaming for joy.
"That's it! That's it!" Jack screamed, jumping up and down like a mad man.
"What!? I don't get it!" Arcee snapped, furrowing her eyes at her charge.
"Ratchet! Can you confirm my hypothesis? Does your holoform maintain the same eye colour as your optics!?" Jack demanded. Raf gasped up in shock, putting the puzzle together.
"Yes...where are you heading-"
"THE MAN!" Raf and Jack said in the same time. Miko paused for a moment before squealing, eyes nearly bulging out as she too linked the pieces together.
"OH FRAG! NO FRAGGING WAY!" Miko yelled. Jack and Raf nodded grimly, turning serious. Ratchet snapped, demanding to know what on Primus's name were they mumbling about.
"CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON!?" He yelled, slamming his hands on the table. Jack took a deep breath and explained the situation.
"We were at the restaurant, figuring out plans and stuff when we saw a couple. I made eye contact with a man but hear me out! He had an expression like he knew me and his eyes-optics- whatever flickered! FLICKERED! Normal humans don't do that...not unless-"
"He's in his holoform." Ratchet finished the boy's sentence; optics widened with shock.
"But if Optimus's is in his holoform, why can't we trace him!?" Bulkhead asked, scratching his helm. Jack shook his head, not entirely sure either.
"I... I'm not exactly certain, but the man had a hoodie covering his face... like he's hiding something..." Jack said. Agent Fowler stepped forward, a look of seriousness on his face.
"Kid, we can't just jump to conclusions." He said, setting a hand on the boy's shoulder. Jack shrugged him off, annoyed at how hard it takes to convince the team. He was about to blow his top again when the computer beeped.
"It's a message...from Soundwave." Ratchet said, accepting the file. It displayed the road security cameras and Jack's eyes widened.
It was the couple.
Various picture popped up, but one stood out. It was a picture of the man trying to hide his face...but his hoodie was off, showing a clear pic of the man's ears. It wasn't human at all. It resembled the Cybertronians' audial fins.
More specifically, it resembled Optimus's.
"By the Allspark..." Ratchet gasped, taking a step back. Turning around, he bent down and looked at Jack.
"Do you know them!? Do you know where they are now!?" he asked eagerly, immediately on board with the boy's theory. Jack sighed and shook his head no.
"Wait... I think I know that lady!" Raf spoke up, immediately getting everyone's attention. The boy pushed up his glasses as he continued. "I don't know her name...but I've seen her working at the library! I remembered because I just went there recently!" Raf said.
"Jasper only has one library; we'll try to get hold of the owner tomorrow." Agent Fowler said, typing something onto his cell phone. Raf paid no attention to them as he typed something before calling the team's attention.
"I GOT IT!" the boy announced, turning behind him and connecting the laptop to the main frame. The large Cybertronian computers showed the whole details of (Y/N).
'(Y/N) (L/N). Age 28. Female. Status: Jasper's librarian.'
"Can you find the owner's address?"
"On it!"
Raf frantically typed something onto the laptop, but all it came up was 'error, entry not found!'.
"UGH! There's a firewall blocking it and I can't get through! She's hiding something. More like, the library's own website was hiding something!" Raf groaned. Ratchet went to the computer, hoping to decrypt the code. He was typing something halfway when an unknown message popped up.
"What the-" Ratchet tried to delete it but it opened by itself.
'Find out tomorrow. -A.T.'
"WHAT THE FRAG!?"