October
Author's Note: This is a little sequel I came up with for Neverland. I thought about it shortly after seeing Age of Extinction, but now I have a bit of a plot worked out. It'll take place before and after. This will feature the two children of Shockwave and Red Alert. We know you do have a choice and thank you for choosing Crackships Air. If you look to your right, you should see smut in the distance.
"The marks humans leave are too often scars."
- John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
"Sometimes when you pick up your child you can feel the map of your own bones beneath your hands, or smell the scent of your skin in the nape of his neck. This is the most extraordinary thing about motherhood - finding a piece of yourself separate and apart that all the same you could not live without."
- Jodi Picoult, Perfect Match
By: VampireQueenAkasha
~O~
One
"Solus, stop."
The younger femme rolled her optics at her brother's warning as they made their way through an Earth forest. Jhiaxus had chosen a Hennessey Venom GT for his alternative mode where she decided to take what the humans called an Aston Martin Vanquish. The name itself was perfect for her.
"Come on, Wimpy Wheels." she taunted. "Scared of them?"
Jhiaxus revved his engine with dismay. "No. But mother would be furious if she knew we were here. We need to go back."
Solus exhaled through her intakes. "Just a little closer, okay?"
"Fine. But then we get back to the ship."
Solus revved her engine, creeping slowly through the forest until she spotted a human park where children were playing and having fun. She was curious, but in the wrong way.
"Why do we hide from them?" she asked.
"Because mother says it's for the best," Jhiaxus argued. "And father tells us the humans are far more formidable than you think."
"I do not fear them." Solus argued. "We could take their little planet for our own, can't we?"
Jhiaxus revved his engine and bumped her. "You've heard the stories, Solus."
"But where they failed, we could win, can't we?"
"Solus, you know that's wrong," Jhiaxus argued. "Now let's get home."
He turned and transformed. She did the same.
Of the siblings, Jhiaxus was taller than his sister and possessed two red optics. He had a thin, wiry frame and the same rib-like chest as his father. His armor plating was violet and possessed red striping and he had little mandibles along the sides of his mouth and sharp teeth. He also had the same ear finials as Shockwave. According to his mother, he had been named after the finest Decepticon Scientist in the universe.
When he spoke, his vocals occasionally hissed out words, much like that of his father. In a sense, he wasn't what most would consider attractive, but he was perfectly fine with his appearance and had no flaw in his self-worth the way his father believed he would.
Solus was different in that regard, though.
She was smaller in build, but possessed thin, deadly horns on her helm. She had a mixture of red and blue optics - an abnormal trait among most of her kind, and strong, feminine features. Unlike her brother, she was a striking image of beauty and deadliness that made her a bit of a concern for her mother. She had been named after one of the Thirteen Original Primes; a factor that her father didn't particularly like, but didn't argue after her mother had found a way to persuade him.
When she spoke, her vocals flowed like the finest Energon. She was confident, but also more curious about things than her brother was. But she had an morbid curiosity that made her a concern in some ways. She had stepped on a human once during their trips and found it humorous the way the body had burst so easily.
Jhiaxus had been bothered by that, but no one had known that she accidentally killed a human. Since then, she had been more curious about them.
"First one to the ship changes the oil in the engines!" Solus teased.
Jhiaxus laughed. "You're on!"
The siblings raced to their cloaked, drop ship and Solus was the first inside. She laughed and teasingly shoved her brother.
"Hope you like rust, Wimpy Wheels!" she taunted.
"Stop calling me that!" he protested.
Solus laughed cheerfully. "Can't help it if it's true, baby brother!"
"I'm older than you!"
"You're still a baby!"
O
The two returned to their home - their warship stationed on Titan, a moon that orbited Saturn. They made their way into the ship and were greeted by Red Alert.
"Where have my children been?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.
Solus and Jhiaxus looked at each other. "We were..." Jhiaxus tried.
"Just investigating the other moons," Solus lied. "We saw some interesting sediments that I think - "
Red Alert gave her a stern frown. "Solus, you realize that I'm your mother and therefore bonded to you through our link." she argued, interrupting her. "I know you went to Earth. I can see fragments of your trip all over your armor and helm."
Solus cringed, anticipating the worst.
"Solus, we discussed this," Red Alert said, sternly, "It's dangerous. You dragged your brother - once again! - to Earth when I explicitly told you not to. I will be speaking with your father about this."
Solus frowned in protest. "But mother - "
"But nothing." Red Alert interrupted. "Now get cleaned up and ready for nourishment."
She walked away and left the younger femme fuming there. Jhiaxus watched their mother depart before smiling weakly and clasping his hands together.
"Well then..." he said. "That went well."
Solus gave him a skeptical glare.
While they departed for their rooms, Red Alert found Shockwave working in his laboratory, tending to Grindor by cleaning his sides with a large, bristled brush. The Driller whirred excitedly when she entered. Red Alert smiled wearily and patted the creature's massive side before turning to her mate.
"Something troubles you." Shockwave rumbled.
Red Alert sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to do with that child."
"Has Jhiaxus blown up another lab again?"
"No. It's Solus."
"What has she done this time?" Shockwave set the brush down.
"She visited Earth after I've told her not to," Red Alert told him. "Those two have even begun to pick up the human linguistics. Primus knows I have no idea what they're talking about half of the time. I was only on Earth for a short time."
"Enough to educate me on their music, as I recall."
Red Alert managed to smile. "Yeah, that's true."
Shockwave straightened, flexing his shoulders a bit. "I will speak with her regarding her reckless behavior." he said. "She must learn her place while living in this ship."
Red Alert wasn't entirely thrilled with Shockwave's methods of persuasion when it came to their children, but Solus did listen to him more than she did her, so perhaps it would prove to work out.
Shockwave could hear her thoughts and clicked his mandibles.
"I have never heard a complaint about my methods in the past." he rumbled.
Red Alert's optics went up and she smirked. "Okay, you have me there."
"Later, I will."
Red Alert grinned and sauntered away.
O
Solus was lying in her berth and dug scratches into her wall with her sword.
Jhiaxus entered the room and let out a sigh of dismay, folding his arms across his chest. He shook his head and she glanced up at the sound before scowling at him.
Jhiaxus chuckled. "You really glitched out there, sister."
"Oh, I glitched out?" Solus snapped, sitting up. "You glitched out! You didn't do anything to cover me, fragging Judas."
"You dragged me out there," Jhiaxus shot back, "I'm not going to cover you in front of mother just because you've got a weird obsession with humans."
Solus glared at him. Her optic shutters clicked as she blinked furiously. "I'm not obsessed with them!"
"Oh really?" Jhiaxus made his vocals higher, waving his hands in a feminine manner, "'Hey there, Jhiaxus; I just want to get a good look at them! They're so small and squishy! Why did our father ever lose to them! I could pop them under my wheels'!"
Solus snorted through her intakes. "I don't sound like that!" But she smiled, amused. "You sound like a horrible engine that won't turn over!"
"It's better than little princess!"
Solus scowled at his laugh. "Frag you, baby engine!"
She produced a dagger from her leg and stabbed him in the shoulder. Jhiaxus yowled in pain and Solus laughed mockingly.
"Serves you right, fragger." she sneered.
"You mother - " Jhiaxus snarled.
The two started fighting in the room, wrestling and clawing at each other. Their fighting sent items, shelves and various other objects to the floor. Shockwave entered the room and his optic narrowed.
He uttered a thunderous command in Decepticon that stopped them immediately. They quickly straightened up and Jhiaxus removed the dagger embedded in his shoulder. Shockwave looked from him to Solus before he gestured to the younger femme.
"Solus, come with me," he ordered.
Jhiaxus smirked at her. "Ooh, busted!"
"Shut up." Solus snapped.
She followed Shockwave out of the room. They passed several drones who did not look up. Shockwave uttered a Decepticon command to one of them and he turned attention to his daughter.
"I have heard you ventured to Earth again." he said.
Solus nodded. "I did."
"Has your mother repeatedly said not to?"
"...Yes."
"Then why must you continue to do so?"
Solus frowned, looking up at her father. "I don't understand why we hide from them, father." she protested. "They're weak. Nothing but parasites wriggling on its surface. We could have that planet."
"It was attempted before." Shockwave replied. "By an Autobot fool who nearly had us all killed. I will not die at the hands of those maggots."
"So you fear them?"
Shockwave's optic narrowed and his mandibles spread in a hiss. "Do not. EVER. Suggest such a thing." he warned, turning and glaring at her now.
Solus watched as he turned his back to her.
"You will not return to Earth." Shockwave said. "And that is my final decision."
Solus let out a groan of protest and kicked the wall beside her. It dented and she winced with a groan of pain, holding it with a furious curse. A drone watched her and she glared at him.
"What are you looking at?" she snapped.
O
Red Alert wasn't happy when she tended to Jhiaxus' shoulder.
"I am going to confiscate your weapons. Both of you," she said, dabbing his wound gently. "You two do more fighting than I can keep up with."
Jhiaxus rolled his optics.
"Young bot, don't roll those optics," Red Alert scolded, slapping his other shoulder lightly in reprimand. "You know I don't like that."
"Mother, I love my sister." Jhiaxus said. "But I'm worried about her."
Red Alert frowned thoughtfully. "Why do you say that?"
"She's got this...eerie fascination with the humans," he said. "I'm worried she's going to try something stupid. I try to talk to her, but she won't listen."
Red Alert looked troubled. Her brow knotted and she cleaned Jhiaxus' wound with a cloth. "I know. Solus' violent tendencies concern me."
"At least she listens to father."
"Yes. Hopefully Shockwave's words got through to her."
"With Solus, it's hard to believe."
In her room, Solus was throwing a temper tantrum; she furiously punched the walls and kicked her things everywhere. She howled with rage and clawed her own face.
"It's not FAIR!" she screamed, practically slavering like a wild animal. "I HATE HIDING LIKE THIS! I HATE IT!"
She threw an empty cage against the wall and it crashed to the floor.
Solus collapsed in her berth, screaming again into the sheets.
O
Note - Well? What do you think so far? Some of Solus' and Jhiaxus' antics are inspired by being the oldest of four other young siblings. So yes, we did fight a lot. LOL.