I had made sure I was awake before the Bots, mostly to check in with the Sheriff. And tell him what happened to his squad car since Cade doesn't have the balls to do it.

After that, I just wandered around like I always have. I found out that Slug (big Slug) recharge-walks. That wasn't easy to handle.

Now, it's at least 0630, and I'm laying in the road. Well, the dirt path in the junkyard. I call them roads since there's so many of them.

The sun was starting to come up, but I like the colors are dawn and dusk, how all the stars were scattered everywhere like glitter. I always tried to see if I could find my father in the mess.

I don't know why I bother. I can never find him.

"Another boring day," I heard Crosshairs say. "Another glorious, boring day."

And they're awake. He's the first of many.

"You get used to it," I mutter to myself in response.

I pushed myself up off the ground and brushed off the back of my pants. The sun was barely above the junkyard wall when I could hear Jimmy J and Cade yelling back and forth at each other four rows over.

"It's like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Jimmy J!" Cade shouted at him.

It was at that point I was making my way in between the stacks of cars to get over to their aisle. When those two argue, it can get pretty intense pretty quick.

"You hired me from a want ad in the Dakota Penny Ledger!" Jimmy yelled back. "You think that comes with a superpower? That is a dinosaur! An alien dinosaur! That was not in the ad!"

I finally squeezed myself through the last row of vehicles. "I didn't know you were so salty about aliens, Jimmy."

He simply started into the garage. "That damn thing tried to eat me yesterday."

Cade just huffed and dropped his bag on the table. "You wanna go to federal prison?"

Jimmy was quick to reply. "No, no, I don't want to go to any prison."

'Here we go again,'

"Well, that's where you're gonna go, okay? 'Cause you're aiding and abetting. I'm a fugitive, alright? Ya-Ya's on a wanted terrorist list for three different agencies." Cade motioned to me before rummaging through his bag. "I'm the big boss, you're my little crimey."

"When you leave-- especially after she ran off --it becomes the Wild Kingdom out here. I don't know what to do."

"I already told you, Jimmy J." I sat myself on the table and began to fiddle with metal plating on my bangle. "This is a junkyard. The big boys blend in with other junk. Plain and simple." I looked to Cade, holding my serv-- hand out. He knew what I was asking, and he put the precision screwdrivers in my palm.

The look on Jimmy's face was confusing. He shook his head and turned back to Cade. "You hired me to be senior vice president of worldwide operations."

I couldn't help but bust out laughing.

"Did I tell you that?" Cade asked.

"Yes, that's what you said." Jimmy replied.

"Oh, I made that shit up."

"Do not take this title away from me, Cade."

"Nobody's taking anything away from you." I closed the case and stored it and the bangle in my pocket. "Maybe your dignity, but you barely had that when you got here."

Jimmy simply deadpanned me before turning around to argue again.

"This is not a startup, okay? I don't do this shit for the money." We both followed Cade outside. "It's for the higher cause."

"You don't do this shit for the money? What's wrong with you? How you gonna eat?"

Cade simply ignored him. "What's he doing here?"

We looked at the end of the center road to see an overloaded garbage truck pulling in.

As much as I love all Bots in the faction, this guy's the last one I want to see right now.

"Daytrader's here." Crosshairs announced in the most unenthusiastical way possible.

Hound was quick to add. "Here comes the most irritating, annoying Transformer on Earth. Should I frag him?"

I rolled my eyes as a sat myself on the hood of one of the broken down cars. "Cade, why is he coming in here when you said 'he's never coming in here unless he's wounded'?"

He immediately looked to Jimmy. "What did he give you to get past the gate?"

"Nothing!" Jimmy's voice got really high.

"Hey, Cade. He gave him this." Wheelie kicked a small Protono-Missile gun forward.

'Oh, for fuck's sake.'

"I've never seen that before in my life." I knew Jimmy J was lying.

"Come on, say it! You wanted the alien baster. You said, 'a big gun makes a big man.'"

"Hey, you know human beings loose their temper, right?" Jimmy dropped his homework on the table and I scrambed off the hood to best him to Wheelie, which inevitably failed when he grabbed him by his back. Cade rushed over and took Wheelie out of his hands. "Stop it, stop!"

"Yeah, you're real tough! What, you been working out?" Wheelie kept yelling the fighting words as Cade walked away with him.

I went up to Jimmy and stomped down on his foot. Hard. "Don't you ever touch one of my Bots again." I glared at him for a second then stomped off towards the front.

"I'm gonna frag him." Hound pulled a small fragment grenade out of his pack and pulled the pin. Drift had nodded in agreement, "Definitely frag him."

"No, no, no, nobody's fragging anybody!" The words barely left my mouth before hound threw the grenade behind Daytrader.

"I heard that, Hound." He stood up right and was trying to fix the stuff on his back when the grenade went off, making him teeter and totter. He was barely able to hold his balance. "You always resort to violence right off the bat."

"I love violence."

Cade sat Wheelie down on the table. "Daytrader! What the hell you doing here?"

"You find that spaceship yet?" I asked, standing next to Drift.

"Yeah, I'm tired of hanging around here, waiting to catch a bullet." Hound says.

"Carbon monoxide, and perhaps a small gasoline drinking problem are gonna kill you long before a bullet, my corpulent comrade." Daytrader went to put a hand on Hound's shoulder, only to have him push him back.
"Get out of my face."

Daytrader fought to hold his balance again. "How about you try carrying all this stuff, huh?" A barrel, a wheel and axel piece and pen fell from his pack as he turned to face Cade. "Look what I found in Buffalo. Starscream's head, ladies and gentlemen." He dropped it in front of him.

Cade pushed it away and I kicked Starscream's former denta, a few metal fangs falling out.

"I got a new voicebox for Bee." He held it out for Cade and he took it, carefully looking it over.

"Is it gonna work this time?"

"I got only the good stuff, Cade. Come on."

"You here that, Bee? You're gonna start talking, buddy!"

Bee started playing music and doing his own little victory dance, earning some hollers from Hound.

Cade, however, seemed pleased with Daytrader's surprise visit. I was too, surprisingly.

"What else you got?" Case asked.

Daytrader gave a hum before reaching back behind him for a second. "I think Tiny Prime's gonna love this." He rummaged some more than gave an, "Ah-ha! There it is." He pulled out a small brown box of sorts. "Look what I found on the Chicago borders." He held it out right me and I took it from him, gently turning it in my hands. "Open it up."

I looked at him for a second before setting it down on the desk and looking at the clasp. "It needs a key, hotshot."

"Oh, right, hang on..." He started to rummage again, turning himself in circles. "I had it right here... There it is." Daytrader turned back and dropped a small chain in my hand, a smaller key hanging off it. "That should do the trick."

I unlocked the box and opened the lid. It was filled with these old pieces of folded paper. I picked up on and opened it. It was covered with Cybertronian writing, my full name at the very top of it.

I didn't read it out loud.

Ryanahanae Starluminious Prime,

There is beauty in every race, even if we hadn't known for some time. Should the moment come when I am no longer able to speak these words to you, I ask you to come to these. I know you can survive any turmoil, any fight, any battle, and any war.

I will always be watching over you

It immediately clicked in my processor. These were all notes.

Notes from my father.

I swallowed hard and carefully folded it up, closing it back in the box. "Thank you, Daytrader. These mean a lot to me."

He gave a slight nod, but then gave a small scoff. "Where'd you get that piece of junk? The Knights of Iacon Talisman? Nah, that's not real. Is it?" He squinted to look at it. "No, definitely not. Hey, give it to me, I'll take it off you."

Cade picked it up off the table. "You think I don't know what the hell this is? How valuable?" He held it up. "I know it's something, because it's got you licking your chops, you skank."

I fought back a laugh.

"Words hurt, Cade. There are exactly seven-- Count them. Seven signs of the apocalypse. And that Talisman showing up is numero uno. If that fancy pancake was real, I'd grab a spaceship and blow this dirtball planet." He gave a huff and stretched. "Alright. I'm gonna go slather myself in oil. Turn your back, Drift, if it offends your sensibilities."

Drift blinked then made an unpleasant face. "Now, that is something you cannot unsee."

I gagged. He's right. That's not an image I wanted in my head, ever. I'm pretty sure my father would slap him upside the helm.
... Okay, now the image just got worse.

"I barely understand what's coming out of your mouth." He turned and changed back to his Alt before pulling out of the junkyard.

I shook my head. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

Crosshairs gave me a look. "A shower?"

"A cold one."

1,753 words

I'd just like to point out, we're about 45 minutes into this movie. ... Yeah this is gonna take a while.

Now that The Last Knight is available on Amazon Prime (ironic) this should get a bit easier, though. Stay tuned.