S

  Her hair stood straight up, rippling in wind I couldn't feel.

  Her eyes were violet.

"I am sorry I have to contact you like this."

  Mother Moon.

  I feel my eyes widen. This couldn't be possible.

  Nightshade snaps his neck to her.  He knows something is wrong.

  I walk in front of her, Nightshade following. We both bow.

  I can't beleive I'm acutally in front of her.

   "Please, I don't have enough strength to go through customs."

  I never thought the Mother Moon would talk directly to me.

  I side-step, following her orders.

  "Half Moon needs to watch over that boy. My sister wants him. She will do everything she can to get her way."

  Anti.

  "She has the spirit of a mother, and I'm sure you can all see that."

  She does. She loves that boy more than she could ever love me.

  "Protect her. And the boy. She is worth so much more than she realizes."

  I will. I promise I will protect her and Anti with my life.

  I promise you, Mother Moon.

  She drops, landing on her hands and knees.

  I bolt to her, landing on my knee.

  She is gripping her stomach, wincing.

  "It hurts....." I whines, clutching her stomach harder.

  "What hurts?" I ask, looking at her face.

  Her eyes are blue again, but full of pain and fear.

  Her eyes go violet again.

  I won't leave her side.

  "Stay away from my son....." She whispers.

  She doesn't have a-

  Anti.

  "Don't hurt him.....  Please....." She pleads, her back arched.

  She gasps in pain and shock, her hand over the pulsing blue light in her chest.

  She falls to the side.

  "No......  Leave him alone......." She whispers, clutching her heart.

  "Leave who alone?" I asked.

  I already knew the answer.  I just needed to be sure.

  I grip her hand.

  "Where is my son?"

  Come on....  Just confirm my suspicions.....

  "Where is Anti?"

  I am in shock.  She wanted the boy. She wanted her son.

  But he wasn't hers. He was Cosmic's.

  "Get the boy." Optimus ordered, looking down at me, worried.

  I didn't need convincing.

  I transform into a shadow, going back to my house.

  Anti doesn't live too far away from me.

  I run and run and run, keeping my speed to a pace where I don't pass out.

  I have to get that boy.

  I see their house.

  I put my finger to the pad, and it overrides, opening up.

  Cosmic is on the floor, facedown with a bottle of red potion in his hands.

  The contents of the bottle is spilled all over the floor.

  Anti is huddled over his body, shaking him with all his might.

"Daddy....  Wake up....  Daddy.... Please wake up...."

  It hits me like a freight train.

  Cosmic is dead.

  "Anti." I say, and he turns his head.

I kneel, and he rams into my legs, his little arms wrapped around them.

  "Momma.....  Daddy...." He cries.

  "Come on.  Don't look at him anymore. Im taking you to see Auntie. Is that okay?" I say as nicely as I could, and I see his eyes redden.

He nods, sniffling.

  I hand him my hankerchief, and he wipes his eyes and blows his runny nose.

  A child his age shouldn't have to find his father dead.

  No one of any age should.

  "Is it at base?"  He sniffles.

  I nod.  "Everyone is there."

  He sniffles again, rubbing his eyes. "Okay."

  He makes the portal himself, and he walks through.

  I have to finish something first.

  I walk to Cosmic, placing my hand on his back.

  "Rest in peace, my friend." He disappears in a plume of white mist.

  When it clears, he is gone.

  I pick up the bottle and smell it.

  Unauthorized Fire Flame Potion.  It smelled smokey, aged way under the minumum limit.

  He was poisined.

  This won't be easy news to break.

  I walk through the portal, my head hanging in sadness.

  What will Moon think?  She just lost one more of the people she cared about.

  She lost one more member of her family.

  One more person she loved.

  Gone.

  I see how they are huddled together, crying into one another.

  She looks up at me.

  I mouth the words

  Cosmic is dead.

  Her face slackens.

  Her eyes spill more tears rapidly.

  She looks at Anti.

  "Oh my god...." She grips him tight, her wings around him.

  She rocks him back and forth as they clutch each other.

  I see wing armor on the floor.

  The kind that snaps on.

  They were folded open, and I pick them up.

  They were heavy-duty.  Made to be beat up.

  They fold closed as I lift them off the ground, shrinking to a golden charm.

  The charm was a silver crescent moon hugging a golden sun.

  I tuck it in my pocket. I'll give it to her when this calms down.

  Everyone gets busy doing other things, deciding not to watch them cry and clutch each other for dear life.

  Except me.

  I stay next to them, on my knees.

  Moon wraps her wing around me, then her arm.

  I hug them close.

  "Auntie....  My back hurts."  Anti said, wincing.

  "Turn around." She says, and she feels around his spine.

She stops when she finds something.

  In between his shoulder blades.

  She gives me the signal to come close.  I do, and she whispers me something.

  "He has his Gliders."

  "Already?" I say, a little too loud.

  He should have them at ten, not seven.

  She shushes me, and then nods in worry.

  This got Arcee's attention.

  She walked over, kneeling.

  "What's "Already"?" She asked, intrigued.

  Moon gave me a glare.

  I smile sheepishly.

  Anti holds out his arms to me.

  I take him, holding him in my arms.

  "Wanna go play a game?" I ask, nodding to the couch.

  He nods.  He stopped crying, but his face was still a little red.

  He rushes up the stairs, happy to see Raf, Miko and Jack.

  He needed them right now.

  I see Moon walking down the hallway, talking to Arcee quietly.

  I distract myself with the kids.

  I needed to be distracted right now.

  Moon

  I walk down the hallway with Arcee.

  "Okay, little Moon Angel biology here for a minute."  I say when we get out of earshot.

  "Alright." She says, leaning up against a wall.

  "Before we get our wings, we get gliders.  They are essentially featherless wings, but you can only glide on them."

  "Okay. Then why is it such a bad thing that Anti has them now?"

  "He is too young. He should be at least ten till he gets them. He's seven."

  "Oh." She says, a little surprised.

  I hear shuffling.

  "Someone's been eavesdropping on us." I smile.

  Arcee smiles, too.

  I put my finger to my lips, and she nods.

  I listen again.  Smokescreen.

  "Oh, Smokescreen is such a hero." I wink at her.

  She looks confused, the nods.

  "Oh, yes. He has such style."

  "But not as good as Bee."

  "No, not at all."

  "Hey!  Im right here, you know!" Smokscreen said, jumping out from behind his hiding spot.

  He notices we were laughing, and he shrugs innocently.

  "Come on, Screeny. Just a little bit of fun." I say, and we all smile.

   "How long were you there?" Arcee asked.

  He chuckles sheepishly, replying softly.  "Whole time."

  We both laugh.

  "Nice job on being stealthy, though." I point out, and he beams with pride.

  "Yeah. I did pretty good, didn't I?"

  "Don't push it." Arcee said, walking out of the hallway.

  I snicker, following.

  Anti was playing the video game with Jack, both of them gently nudging each other, trying to get the other off balance.

  Bee and Bulk were behind them, cheering them on.

  "Arcee." I becon her down to the ground.

  "What is it?"

  I point at Anti's back.  "Pay attention to his shoulderblades for the next few days. You'll see his Gliders come in."

  She nods, standing back up.

  I go up to the kids, and Anti won.

  Jack huffed, annoyed.

  I sit on the floor next to S, Nightshade's head on his lap.

  I was glad I was with my family.

  I was glad I was with my son.

  I was glad I was sitting next to my new love.