Monica Lawrence was sitting happily on her couch, watching a movie. Her parents were out of town, and she had the house to herself for a whole week. She was planning on spending it just lounging around, and catching up on sleep. Her long dirty-blonde hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, and strands fell into her eyes.
Monica's mother always wanted her daughter to look perfect, to be the daughter she'd always wanted. But Monica was different. She loved the outside, and, although she hung out with the popular crowd, preferred to be off by herself, writing stories or drawing scenery. Her mother wanted her to spend as much time as possible with friends, and away from her notebooks.
The teen was startled out of her thoughts by a crash outside her window. She attributed it to the geeky boy she was stuck with as a neighbor, Sam Witwicky. She'd always been waiting for something to happen over there.
Monica's ideas were immediately put to rest when the power flickered. She shot up, and ran to the window. Outside, a huge shape was rising from beneath a sparking power line. She thought she heard someone say, "Wow, that was tingly!" She grabbed a sweater, and threw it on as she ran out.
The air was much colder than inside Monica's house, and her shorts didn't help the cause. She pulled the sweater tighter, hoping to preserve what warmth she had left.
Monica slipped into the boy's backyard, fully intending to throw a rock at his window, when she caught sight of five huge robots standing around. She nearly screamed, but clapped a hand over her mouth. A tiny noise escaped her, and the smallest robot noticed her. It walked closer, putting a finger to its 'lips.'
"I-I," Monica stammered, unsuccessfully trying to express her shock without a scream.
"Shh. Ya shouldn't be here," he warned her.
"I…I think I realize that now. Who-who are you?" she asked.
The robot glanced back at his comrades before replying. "Jazz."
"I'm Monica."
"Well, Monica, you should-" Jazz was cut off by a sudden yell from the front. He swiped Monica up in one swift movement, and placed her inside him as he transformed. He followed the other four robots-who had also transformed into cars-onto the road.
"What happened?" Monica asked nervously.
"Dunno. Better ask Optimus," Jazz answered shortly. Monica sat back in the seat, forcing herself to stay calm. Right now, it was very hard, considering she was inside of a giant robot, and had no idea if he was friendly or not. She looked out the window, watching as they got on a highway.
Jazz suddenly stopped, and his door swung open. Monica got out, and yelped when she saw four huge robots staring down at her. She heard the sound of Jazz transforming behind her, and backed into his leg.
"Who's this runt?" a big black one asked.
A smaller yellow one bent down, and offered a finger. Smiling gently, Monica shook his proffered finger.
"I'm Monica," she said quietly. At a slight motion from the largest robot, Jazz moved to talk to him. The noises that came from them scared the young woman, but she kept it hidden.
"Monica?" The booming voice made her jump.
"Y-yes?"
"You can stay with us for the time being. Right now, we need to go," he told her. With that, he transformed into a huge red-with-blue-flames Peterbilt truck. The black robot transformed into a GMC Topkick 6500, and sped off after the Peterbilt. The green one transformed into a Hummer H2, and followed the others. With a little wave, the yellow bot transformed into a Chevy Camaro, and sped of, quickly overtaking the Hummer. Jazz honked his horn, and Monica jumped into the Pontiac Solstice.
The odd assortment of cars continued on, and Monica let herself drift off into sleep. She awoke when a loud crash was heard. She jolted up, banging her head on the roof.
"Monica, I need you to get out," Jazz said, voice dark. She climbed out, and he lifted her to his shoulder.
"Autobots, relieve them of their weapons," the tallest one ordered. Jazz slipped off the bridge they were on, and moved up to flank the other three. The black one held up two menacing cannons, brandishing them at the men in black suits.
A roofless car sat immobile in front of the tallest robot. The men inside were getting out, hands up. What surprised Monica was her friend Mikaela Banes helping Sam Witwicky out of a pair of handcuffs. She ducked down, not wanting her friends to see her riding their friend's shoulder.
After a moment, the sound of helicopter blades reached their ears, and Monica whirled around as best she could. There were several black helicopters coming along the river at an alarming speed.
Jazz transformed, placing her inside as he did. He sped off, going to the bridge. Monica got out, despite his protestations, and stood at the side. Below her, she watched as the biggest robot climbed up under the bridge with Sam and Mikaela riding his shoulder. A helicopter passed beneath them, and she heard Mikaela scream. She peered down, and saw, to her horror, Mikaela and Sam falling. She let out a scream, and leaned too far, trying to see if anyone would help them.
Monica screamed again as she toppled over the edge. Jazz reached for her, but it wasn't enough. She fell down, only to be caught by the small yellow robot. Sam and Mikaela were in his other hand.
As the helicopters drew nearer, he set the three teens down, and stood up. One helicopter fired some sort of rope at him, and Monica heard Sam start yelling at them, telling them he wouldn't hurt them. Mikaela grabbed Monica's arm, and the two girls watched as black SUVs started pulling up, and more men in black suits appeared.
Monica screamed as a man grabbed her from behind, and tried to put handcuffs around her wrists. She kicked backwards, landing a lucky shot in the man's stomach. She twisted free, and ran after Sam. He grabbed what looked like a leaf blower, and started using it on the man he had taken it from. Following his lead, Monica grabbed another man's, and started spraying him with it. The cold air assaulted her, and she realized what they were doing.
They were freezing the yellow bot.
She fought back harder, but once Sam was grabbed, it was easy task to grab her. Monica was dragged backwards, and shoved in a backseat with Sam and Mikaela. Sam was looking terrible, and Mikaela didn't look any better.
Sam was staring out a window, looking blank. Monica gently tapped his shoulder, and said, "Hey, Sam? You ok?" She got no response. Mikaela glanced at her, and shook her head sadly.
The ride was possibly the worst time of Monica's life. She wanted to be back with Jazz, wanted the yellow robot to be ok, and wished she'd never gotten off the sofa. She wanted Sam to respond, and wanted this whole thing to be over.
The car stopped, and Monica took a look out the window. They had stopped at a helipad, where a black helicopter was waiting. Mikaela got out first, and Sam scooted out. Monica got out as well, avoiding the nasty-looking men in suits outside. She hurried after Sam and Mikaela, slowing beside the other girl.
"Mikaela, do you know what's going on here?" she asked nervously.
"These guys are from some secret government agency called 'Sector 7.' They basically are trying to help, but hurting us in the process. They've already made their ways known when they kidnapped Bumblebee," she said harshly.
"Bumblebee?" Monica asked, confused.
"Jazz didn't explain everything? Well, Bumblebee is the yellow Autobot-"
"Autobot?"
Mikaela sighed. "Yes, Autobot. The good guys in this big war that's going on. It's between the Autobots and the Decepticons, two sides of one race. They come from the planet Cybertron…their war has been brought here by this huge cube, called the Allspark. The Decepticons want to use it to control the universe, and the Autobots are trying to stop them. The Allspark is somewhere here on Earth.
"The Autobots' leader is Optimus Prime, the big red-and-blue-flamed truck. The black GMC is Ironhide, the weapons' specialist, the green one is Ratchet, the Autobots' CMO, and the smaller yellow one is Bumblebee, Sam's guardian. You know Jazz.
"The Decepticons' leader is Megatron. He basically is a ruthless killer, who will stop at nothing to get the Allspark. He's somewhere on Earth, most likely…but we don't know where."
By then, the teens had made it to the helicopter. When they got inside, they noticed an older blonde woman, and a large African-American man next to her. Nobody made any effort to introduce themselves, so Monica intervened.
"Um…hi. I'm Monica Lawrence," she said.
"I'm Maggie Madsen, and this is Glenn Whitman," the blonde introduced. Monica realized she was Australian by her accent. Glenn gave a little wave.
"I'm Mikaela Banes," Mikaela said.
"And I'm Sam Witwicky."
"Witwicky? I've heard something about your grandfather," Maggie commented. "Project Ice Man, or something…" Monica got the feeling that she wasn't talking to them anymore.
Maggie brought herself back to reality when Sam talked again. "Um…so…"
"What'd they get you for?" the Australian woman asked.
"Uh, I bought a car, turned out to be an alien robot. Who knew?" Sam explained, shrugging. Glenn mouthed 'wow,' and the helicopter descended into an uneasy silence.
When they landed, the five were very surprised to see the Hoover Dam. Sam, Mikaela, and Monica all went to the edge to look over. Sam hit the side to hear an echo, and Mikaela rolled her eyes.
Monica let her mind wander. She wished Jazz were here; she was very scared, although she'd never admit it. She wanted to be safely on his shoulder, or simply in his presence. She didn't know why she was only thinking of him, but she was. She wondered what he might think of the drop, if it would even bother him.
So distracted by her thoughts, Monica failed to notice a shiny metal head go sliding down the side of the dam.
The odd group made their way inside, joined by a few soldiers. One shot Monica a smile, and she sheepishly returned it.
"Now, you've all had direct contact with the N.B.E.s," a man in a black uniform said loudly.
"N.B.E.s?" one of the soldiers asked.
"Non-Biological Extraterrestrial. Try and keep up with the acronyms," he said haughtily.
Monica lost focus as they entered a huge room. Centered in the room was a huge, frozen figure. Its face was contorted in anguish and in anger, and its entire body was menacing. Even frozen, it made her feel afraid. She looked around the room, hoping to see some sign of Bumblebee, but there were none.
Monica followed the group inside a heavily-guarded room, and moved up to a glass window. They were overlooking a huge cube, with ancient runes decorating it. A staircase wound around it, and men walked around on it, studying the cube.
"The Allspark," she whispered reverently. Staring at it, she felt an eerie calm settle over her. Monica pressed her fingertips to the glass, not realizing everyone had left. She stayed there for at leave five more minutes before she realized she was alone. The teen looked around, and nearly went to find the others.
Then an idea popped into her head. Monica slipped out, and followed a group of workers, trying to look as though she belonged. She followed her intuition, and found herself in the same chamber as the Allspark. A little spidery head was crawling closer to it, and she walked closer to it.
The little thing looked up at the Allspark, and suddenly bolts of energy shot down from the immense cube. Monica's instincts told her this was a bad thing, so she did the first thing that came to mind. She ran to the little bot, and grabbed onto him.
The bright blue energy flowed into her, and Monica let out a scream. Through burning eyes, she saw the little bot, now fully regenerated, cackling madly. He stuck out a metal tongue, and scampered away. Monica lay on the ground, writhing in pain. She could hear screams from around her, felt feet pounding on the ground, but she ignored it. The pain was all-consuming.
Monica thought she was going to die, the pain was so intense. She clutched desperately upwards, and, by some miracle, the pain stopped. She looked down at herself, and nearly screamed again.
Her body was decorated in the runes from the Allspark. Beneath the dark blue symbols, she was a bright white color. Her body appeared to be metal, and the theory was confirmed when Monica stood up, and she heard the sound of gears. She looked around, barely noting the size difference. All that mattered was that she get to the others, try and explain what had happened.
At the other end of the room, Sam, Mikaela, Bumblebee, and the others all entered. Bumblebee's battle mask slid down over his face, and his blaster charged.
"No, stop! It's me!" Monica cried desperately.
Mikaela walked closer. "Monica?" she asked.
"Yes!"
The man in the black suit glared at her, and motioned for some other men to move up. Monica sensed them, and quickly went over to Bumblebee. She was just in time to avoid being frozen. Bumblebee clicked angrily at the Sector 7 agents, glaring sternly.
"'Bee's right, you don't have any right to hurt her!" Mikaela exclaimed.
Monica, feeling that the conflict was at a stalemate, walked over to the Allspark. She looked up at it, and reached her hands upwards. Blue tendrils of energy flowed out of the Allspark, and into her hands.
"Oh-ok, she's doin' something," a soldier commented.
As the beams of light grew more intense, the onlookers noticed a change in the Allspark. It slowly was folding in on itself, shrinking faster and faster until it was a size that a human could easily handle. Monica caught it before it fell, then looked down at everyone else. She handed the much smaller cube to Sam, and looked at Bumblebee. He pointed at her, then transformed.
"I...I don't know how," Monica said quietly. Bumblebee transformed back, and pointed out the visible parts of his Camaro. Monica nodded, and focused on a type of car. She gasped as her body folded in on itself, condensing and changing into a Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet. Bumblebee clicked happily, and transformed into his Camaro.
Monica followed him quickly, trying to learn to control herself on the go. Sam and Mikaela were inside him, as well as the Allspark, leaving her to her thoughts. She wondered what Jazz would think of her, and smiled when she realized this meant she could be with him. She had already admitted to herself that, in the short time she's known him, she had developed a deep attraction to the silver bot.
They made it out onto the road, driving quickly with their military escort. Monica's heart-or spark-jumped when she saw Jazz. He waved his side mirror to her, and she waved back. The other Autobots drifted, turning around to follow the military vehicles.
A voice crackled on Monica's radio.
"Monica? That you?" Jazz asked.
"Jazz! How did you know?" Monica asked, not bothering to keep the happiness out of her voice.
"Easy. I didn't see you with Sam 'r Mikaela, so I figured you were here. I realize now something's different," he commented.
"Yes... I got caught in some energy from the Allspark and, well...you can see the result."
"Well, maybe it's for the better."
"What will my parents say?" Monica asked nervously. "I can't be a human anymore...what can I say to them?" Her voice was terribly sad.
"Aw, don't worry. I'll help ya tell 'em," Jazz consoled her.
"Thanks, Jazz," she said, almost in a whisper.
"It's no problem," he replied.
Monica saw Optimus slam his brakes on, and transform. "What's going on?" she cried.
"Bonecrusher."
She watched as the Decepticon knocked Optimus off the highway, gasping. "Will Optimus be ok?"
"He'll be fine…Bonecrusher isn't gonna beat him," Jazz said, almost reassuring himself as well.
The odd assortment of vehicles drove into Mission City, drawing stares. Monica suddenly felt like blushing, felt like taking off and hiding somewhere. She ignored the human soldiers talking, focusing instead on keeping calm. She had a terrible feeling that something bad was going to happen.
"It's Starscream!" Ironhide cried out. He transformed, and started yelling orders. Monica transformed as well, and looked nervously around. Jazz appeared at her side, and took her hand gently. She leaned into him, looking over at Ironhide and Bumblebee struggling with a large truck.
Without a second thought, Monica went over to help them. With her help, the three moved the truck in front of the humans. A missile streaked towards them, and Monica had a sudden cold feeling in her stomach. She looked at the missile, and saw its angle.
It was headed straight towards Bumblebee.
Monica screamed for him to move, but it didn't do any good. The missile was going too quickly for the scout to get away. All three were blasted backwards, but Monica caught sight of Bumblebee's legs flying away from his body. She quickly shut her optics.
When she opened her optics, humans all around were screaming and running. She caught sight of Sam and Mikaela by Bumblebee, and made herself go over.
"God…Bee…" Monica hugged her friend, who made a weak sound. "Bee…no…"
She was startled by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned around, and saw Jazz smiling kindly at her. She buried her face in his shoulder, not noticing when he pulled her away. "C'mon, Monica. He'll be fine…loosing a limb isn't the same for us as it is for humans."
At that moment, a tank rolled up, and started firing. Jazz nodded to Monica, and transformed. She transformed as well, and followed him towards the tank. Jazz reached it first, and transformed, jumping on top of it. The tank transformed, and Monica attacked it from the side.
The tank grabbed her, and threw her down the street. She raised her head, managing to get up. The tank was busy with the soldiers, and Jazz had been tossed away as well. Monica ran over to him, and knelt down. "You alright?" she asked worriedly.
"You want a straight answer, or one that makes ya feel better?" he muttered.
Monica frowned. "Come on, Jazz we'd better got away before anything else bad happens," she said, quickly taking his hand to help him up.
There was a terrible crash, and Monica was knocked to the ground. The two bots looked up straight into the face of Megatron. His face was contorted in a vicious, evil sneer as he reached for Monica. Jazz lunged between them, and was grabbed instead. Megatron snarled, and threw him aside.
He came towards Monica again, and she scrambled backwards, only stopping when she hit a building. Megatron's hands came towards her again, the sneer still on his face. His hand reached her throat, and she screamed.
"Monica!" Jazz roared, attacking Megatron with renewed strength. The Decepticon leader grabbed him, and flew off. Monica screamed, "Jazz!" She transformed, and drove off after him. Megatron was standing atop a building, Jazz beneath his feet.
Monica stood on the ground beneath the building, staring up at the spectacle with morbid fascination. She knew there was nothing she could do to help, but she couldn't just stand there.
A blaster formed in her hand, and she aimed it at the Decepticon leader. Monica fired one shot, and it impacted on Megatron's chest. He was distracted for a moment, long enough for Jazz to free himself.
Unfortunately, Megatron wasn't distracted for long. He grabbed Jazz back, and held him out with one hand, fully intending to drop him. Jazz fired at him in anger, and he was lifted back up.
Monica turned away, knowing what came next. She buried her face in her hands, and let tears fall from her optics. She composed herself, then turned to look up at the great silver Decepticon. "I will kill you, Megatron, I swear it!" she screamed.
Megatron laughed at her, and flew down. He grabbed her arms, and threw her backwards. Monica groaned, and lifted her head. Optimus was standing in front of her, facing Megatron.
"Prime," he snarled. He lunged at his rival, and Monica rolled out of the way. She kept her attention away from the two fighting behind her, and looked off down the street. Her mind was made up: she would find Jazz.
Monica picked her way down the torn street, looking for what she knew might very well break her spark. When she came upon his broken body, her knees completely gave out. Her entire body was limp, no energy to even cry running through her thin frame.
Monica couldn't bear to even move. She sat there for who-knows-how-long, staring at what was left of Jazz. She only was brought back to reality when someone put their hand on her shoulder. She turned around, surprised to find the normally gruff weapons specialist behind her.
Ratchet knelt beside Jazz, hands a blur as he desperately tried to save his comrade. Monica forced back a sob, and shook her head. "It's…it's no use, Ratchet," she said, voice shaking. He stopped working, and rested back on his heels.
"Monica…I'm sorry," he said gently.
There was a grating cry from behind them, and Monica whirled around in time to see Megatron fall. He scrabbled desperately at a gaping, burning hole in his chest. Sam looked up at the huge Decepticon falling towards him, frozen in fear.
Monica transformed, and drove to him. She transformed back, copying Bumblebee's move beneath the bridge when he saved her, Sam, and Mikaela. Megatron fell where her friend had been only a split second ago.
"Th-thanks, Monica," he said shakily, climbing out of her hand.
"No problem." Monica stood up, and looked to the other Autobots. Optimus placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, and nodded.
Ironhide and Ratchet came up then, with Ironhide holding Jazz. His optics were absorbed in grief, as were Ratchet's. "Prime…we couldn't save him," he said, voice devastated. Ratchet shook his head, staring at the lifeless body of his comrade and friend.
Optimus looked at them, equally grief-stricken. "Jazz," he said softly, taking his first lieutenant from the weapons specialist. "We lost a great comrade today." He addressed the group of Sector 7 agents and soldiers. "But gained new ones. Thank you; all of you. You honor us with your bravery." His optics settled on each person in turn, showing his immense gratitude behind grief.
Bumblebee looked up from his position on the ground, wing panels twitching up slightly. A burst of static came from his vocal processors. Then a voice broke through. "Permission to speak, sir," he said. Monica's bright-white optics widened, and she smiled at the yellow bot.
Optimus's voice was warm as he spoke. "Permission granted, old friend."
Ironhide clapped the younger bot on the shoulder, a rough smile crossing his features.
"I-I wish to stay here, with Sam," he said hesitantly.
The Autobot leader looked to Sam, whose eyes were wide. He looked between Bumblebee and Optimus, making strangled sounds.
"If that is his choice," Optimus said calmly.
Sam smiled up at his guardian. "Yes," he said, too quietly for any Sector 7 agents to hear.
As Ratchet immediately knelt beside Bumblebee, and started repairs, Monica walked over to Optimus. "Optimus…" she began softly.
"Yes, Monica?"
"What's going to happen to me now?" she asked.
"Whatever you wish. We would be glad to have you with us," he offered, meaning the Autobots, "Or you could return to your parents."
Monica looked at Sam and Mikaela resting together on Bumblebee's hand, Ratchet working diligently on the reconnaissance officer's legs, and Ironhide fiddling with his cannons, and wisecracking at the medicalbot as he worked. She looked at the torn up streets of Mission City, and the lifeless corpse of Megatron. There was something protruding from his chest, and she bend over, trying desperately to ignore the contorted looks of shock and pain on his face. She reached a hand in delicately, and pulled out a small shard of the Allspark. Its runes were untouched there, still somehow managing to look like the cube it once was, every bit as breathtaking.
"Optimus…here. This is rightfully yours to have," Monica said, presenting the shard to him. Optimus looked very shocked, but nodded, and carefully stored the shard.
"I've made my decision. I couldn't even leave the Autobots if I wanted to," she continued, a weak smile growing on her face.
"I'll be glad to have you around," he said gently. His optics twitched back to Jazz once, then he walked over to the others. Monica understood immediately: he knew she wanted to be with him. She sat next to him, fighting back tears.
His face looked…oddly peaceful. His optics were hidden behind his battle visor, though, so Monica gently took it off. Even his optics were peaceful. Tears came to her optics as she realized he wasn't in pain. She knew exactly what Megatron had done, and knew he would've been in so much pain…so much pain, unbearable pain. She wouldn't have wanted that for him.
On impulse, Monica put the visor up to her optics. It fit perfectly, and she found she could engage and disengage it if she wanted. She let if cover her saddened optics, and turned back to the others.
The Autobots-as well as Sam and Mikaela-looked very surprised to see her with Jazz's visor. She regarded them with no distaste, or anger, merely went over to them. Bumblebee placed a hand on her arm, and she smiled. The smile didn't reach her optics, and she was suddenly very glad for the visor.
Later, Monica sat at the lookout, staring out at the sunset. Optimus was sending a message to any other Autobots that were hiding, taking refuge from the Decepticons. They would have a home now, a place where they could all be together again. Except Jazz, she thought sadly. She managed to keep the Energon tears in her optics though, hidden behind Jazz's battle visor, now hers to wear.
"Monica?" Optimus's voice startled her out of her thoughts.
She turned to him, and said softly, "There is no Monica. I am Melody."
Optimus blinked, before nodding. "Melody, we will be leaving soon. The government is going to show us a few places our base might be. Are you…ready to come back yet?" he asked.
Melody looked out at the horizon, watching as the sun sank. I may never see you again until I pass away… You are my melody, Jazz. I will always love you. She stood up, and looked at Optimus. "Yes, I'm ready." Ready for whatever life throws at me… She touched the corner of Jazz's visor. I will always have my melody.
This is an idea that I have had for some time...and it's also here because it's taking me far too long to get new chapters out. Tell me if I should continue it...because I have an idea for it, but I wanted to test it out as a oneshot first. R&R.
