Disclaimer (aka Author's place to babble): This is a fanfic, I do not own any of the Beast Wars/Beasties characters. Perhaps the only one I created is the TimeKeeper, Trini/Tristar. This was one of the weirdest story I worked on, the beginning and end bits were all figured out first, I just had to put stuffing in the middle hehe =) I swear this looks so much prettier in .doc but too bad I can only show you the .txt version... tried my best to keep it pretty during convertion, oh well, have fun reading ^_^
Chapter 1: The Keeper of Time
Darkness. Sweet, peaceful, serene darkness.
And then voices pierced through it like thunderbolts.
"Where'd you think it came from, Bigbot?" asked a voice somewhere in the distance.
"I'm wondering the same thing, Cheetor," Bigbot replied.
"Mmm..." grunted a low voice in deep thought. "Long range scanners didn't pick up any stasis pods today."
"Hey, guys?" piped yet another. "I don't get what da deal is on where it came from an' all.... I mean, am I the only sane one here who's wonderin' whether it's on our side or theirs...?"
"I still think this is one of Megatron's plans to destroy us all!" insisted a new gruff voice. "I say we slag this... this thing, before we all regret it later."
"For once, I have ta agree with Chopperface here," came the piping voice again.
"But what if it's on our side...?" speculated the first voice, the one named Cheetor.
"And what if it's not?" Chopperface snarled in response. "Why would Megatron leave something as valuable as a protoform outside our base, if not to trick us?!"
Sudden consciousness flooded her mind and on reflex, began to stir. 'It'... Who's 'it'? Are they talking about me?
"Dinobot's got a point, but--" started Bigbot, when a female voice interrupted excitedly.
"Optimus look! I think it's coming to."
Dammit! She really wanted to hear more of what they had to say. It at least gave her more ground on whether they were friend or foe. Sighing inwardly, she decided it was time to drop the act and face reality once again.
Reality, she thought curiously. How long has it been since--?
Chopperface's voice seared through her thoughts like a two-edged blade. "Well? Are you one of Megatron's creations?"
"Dinobot..." warned Bigbot--or was it Optimus? Her mind was definitely in a mess.
Slowly, she opened her eyes to the bright ceiling of a domed structure. Seven faces peered down at her curiously. Make that, seven animals! A hawk, a mouse, a velociraptor, a cheetah, a white tiger, a rhinoceros, and lastly, a monkey
"Wha--?!" Reality was startling; she was too stunned to move. Animals talking? Where was she? Who were they? Heck, who was she?
The velociraptor transformed into a robot even before her first word was out of her mouth. He snarled and then with narrowed eyes, studied her, as if seeing her for the first time.
She controlled her breathing and told herself not to panic; it wasn't clear to her if their intent was to harm her or not. Don't show the enemy what he wants to see. Someone told her that once, but she couldn't remember...
What was with her memory loss? She tried to think of anything... anything that might lead to some clue to who she was. She could've sworn they would all hear the pumping of her frantic heart by now... though it was strange--it didn't feel as if she even had a heart. She had never felt so dead and alive at the same time.
Compelled more by necessity than curiosity, she raised her hands to a point where she could inspect them carefully. No.... This can't be! How is it that I'm one of them? I'm a robot! Why can't I remember anything that happened to me before? Why do I feel I was someone else before?
"She looks..." a female voice-the hawk-began, searching for the right word, "...lost."
"She?" repeated the mouse, sarcastically. "Eh, what makes you think it's a she?"
"That's because I am." Her own soft voice surprised her.
"Oh... heh heh," he chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry."
The velociraptor-bot smiled thinly. "Ignore the vermin."
She glanced around studying the animals curiously. They made a weird team, if they even were a team.
"You are all... different, somehow..." she murmured stating the obvious.
The monkey walked up to her. "Yes, we are the Maximals, Autobots from Cybertron. We had to take on the features of the animals of this world to avoid energon interference."
That wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was an answer. Still, it led to more questions.
"Auto-bots? Cybertron?" she asked curiously. She'd heard of them somewhere, but she couldn't remember.
The white tiger sighed. "Her memory circuits must have been damaged."
The monkey transformed into a robot; her attention was shifted to him. "We are transformers... robots... just like you." He gestured for her to take a look for herself, but when she remained lying weak on the table, he decided to continue. "Cybertron is a planet far from here, in space and time. We came here pursuing Megatron--a Predacon--who wants to alter history so that the Decepticons win the war. And like I said before, we had to take on the shape of animals to escape the energon interference."
"Energon..." she said weakly, then furrowed her brows in thought. "Ah, yes... element 315: exists in blue electric crystallize form in room temperature; highly unstable unless purified into molten state; interferes with any scanning device, communications device..." She recited from memory. But where had she learnt it?
The rhinoceros and the monkey exchanged glances.
"What was the last thing you remember, young one?" asked the monkey-bot slowly.
"I... I don't remember... anything," she admitted softly. "Nothing at all...."
An intense silence fell. They, contemplating whether she was their enemy or friend; and she, contemplating--
"So, uh... you gotta name?" the mouse-bot asked curiously.
--Who she was. She closed her eyes tightly, concentrating deeply. Now if only they would give her some peace, then maybe she could give them some answers. Name. That's where I should at least start. Opening her mind, she cleared a way to her memories-void memories, yet something existed there... something that contained who she was... no, who she is.
And then it came to her.
"Trini," she murmured so softly that the others could not catch it. "I am the Keeper of Time...."
"Huh?" interrupted the mouse-bot rudely. "Whatzat? You're the...?"
The velociraptor growled irritably at the mouse. "Shut up, fur-ball!"
Trini sat up from the table, which they had placed her on for examination, strength suddenly renewed. She remembered bits and pieces of herself now, and it made her furious that she could not remember it all. Gazing around at the robots, looking at them as if for the first time, realizing that they were more than just machines.
Her gaze met the monkey and a sad expression flickered briefly across his face. He knew who she was, Trini was sure of it. And she knew that he knew she did not belong with them--maybe not in this moment, but another. And in one blink everything around her dissolved into darkness.
Chapter 1: The Keeper of Time
Darkness. Sweet, peaceful, serene darkness.
And then voices pierced through it like thunderbolts.
"Where'd you think it came from, Bigbot?" asked a voice somewhere in the distance.
"I'm wondering the same thing, Cheetor," Bigbot replied.
"Mmm..." grunted a low voice in deep thought. "Long range scanners didn't pick up any stasis pods today."
"Hey, guys?" piped yet another. "I don't get what da deal is on where it came from an' all.... I mean, am I the only sane one here who's wonderin' whether it's on our side or theirs...?"
"I still think this is one of Megatron's plans to destroy us all!" insisted a new gruff voice. "I say we slag this... this thing, before we all regret it later."
"For once, I have ta agree with Chopperface here," came the piping voice again.
"But what if it's on our side...?" speculated the first voice, the one named Cheetor.
"And what if it's not?" Chopperface snarled in response. "Why would Megatron leave something as valuable as a protoform outside our base, if not to trick us?!"
Sudden consciousness flooded her mind and on reflex, began to stir. 'It'... Who's 'it'? Are they talking about me?
"Dinobot's got a point, but--" started Bigbot, when a female voice interrupted excitedly.
"Optimus look! I think it's coming to."
Dammit! She really wanted to hear more of what they had to say. It at least gave her more ground on whether they were friend or foe. Sighing inwardly, she decided it was time to drop the act and face reality once again.
Reality, she thought curiously. How long has it been since--?
Chopperface's voice seared through her thoughts like a two-edged blade. "Well? Are you one of Megatron's creations?"
"Dinobot..." warned Bigbot--or was it Optimus? Her mind was definitely in a mess.
Slowly, she opened her eyes to the bright ceiling of a domed structure. Seven faces peered down at her curiously. Make that, seven animals! A hawk, a mouse, a velociraptor, a cheetah, a white tiger, a rhinoceros, and lastly, a monkey
"Wha--?!" Reality was startling; she was too stunned to move. Animals talking? Where was she? Who were they? Heck, who was she?
The velociraptor transformed into a robot even before her first word was out of her mouth. He snarled and then with narrowed eyes, studied her, as if seeing her for the first time.
She controlled her breathing and told herself not to panic; it wasn't clear to her if their intent was to harm her or not. Don't show the enemy what he wants to see. Someone told her that once, but she couldn't remember...
What was with her memory loss? She tried to think of anything... anything that might lead to some clue to who she was. She could've sworn they would all hear the pumping of her frantic heart by now... though it was strange--it didn't feel as if she even had a heart. She had never felt so dead and alive at the same time.
Compelled more by necessity than curiosity, she raised her hands to a point where she could inspect them carefully. No.... This can't be! How is it that I'm one of them? I'm a robot! Why can't I remember anything that happened to me before? Why do I feel I was someone else before?
"She looks..." a female voice-the hawk-began, searching for the right word, "...lost."
"She?" repeated the mouse, sarcastically. "Eh, what makes you think it's a she?"
"That's because I am." Her own soft voice surprised her.
"Oh... heh heh," he chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry."
The velociraptor-bot smiled thinly. "Ignore the vermin."
She glanced around studying the animals curiously. They made a weird team, if they even were a team.
"You are all... different, somehow..." she murmured stating the obvious.
The monkey walked up to her. "Yes, we are the Maximals, Autobots from Cybertron. We had to take on the features of the animals of this world to avoid energon interference."
That wasn't the answer she was looking for, but it was an answer. Still, it led to more questions.
"Auto-bots? Cybertron?" she asked curiously. She'd heard of them somewhere, but she couldn't remember.
The white tiger sighed. "Her memory circuits must have been damaged."
The monkey transformed into a robot; her attention was shifted to him. "We are transformers... robots... just like you." He gestured for her to take a look for herself, but when she remained lying weak on the table, he decided to continue. "Cybertron is a planet far from here, in space and time. We came here pursuing Megatron--a Predacon--who wants to alter history so that the Decepticons win the war. And like I said before, we had to take on the shape of animals to escape the energon interference."
"Energon..." she said weakly, then furrowed her brows in thought. "Ah, yes... element 315: exists in blue electric crystallize form in room temperature; highly unstable unless purified into molten state; interferes with any scanning device, communications device..." She recited from memory. But where had she learnt it?
The rhinoceros and the monkey exchanged glances.
"What was the last thing you remember, young one?" asked the monkey-bot slowly.
"I... I don't remember... anything," she admitted softly. "Nothing at all...."
An intense silence fell. They, contemplating whether she was their enemy or friend; and she, contemplating--
"So, uh... you gotta name?" the mouse-bot asked curiously.
--Who she was. She closed her eyes tightly, concentrating deeply. Now if only they would give her some peace, then maybe she could give them some answers. Name. That's where I should at least start. Opening her mind, she cleared a way to her memories-void memories, yet something existed there... something that contained who she was... no, who she is.
And then it came to her.
"Trini," she murmured so softly that the others could not catch it. "I am the Keeper of Time...."
"Huh?" interrupted the mouse-bot rudely. "Whatzat? You're the...?"
The velociraptor growled irritably at the mouse. "Shut up, fur-ball!"
Trini sat up from the table, which they had placed her on for examination, strength suddenly renewed. She remembered bits and pieces of herself now, and it made her furious that she could not remember it all. Gazing around at the robots, looking at them as if for the first time, realizing that they were more than just machines.
Her gaze met the monkey and a sad expression flickered briefly across his face. He knew who she was, Trini was sure of it. And she knew that he knew she did not belong with them--maybe not in this moment, but another. And in one blink everything around her dissolved into darkness.