Hey, Tulip here, and yes, I do need to stop posting new fics and focus on the ones I'm already doing, otherwise I'll overload, but this idea just wouldn't stop bugging me! I need to get it out! This is based before Optimus looses his memories, cause I think that kind of sucks.
Optimus makes a better Optimus than an Orion. Please enjoy, review with constructive criticism, but please, no flames.
Tulip out.
Mieko stood on her tiptoes and fastened the small paper bat to the highest part of the wall she could reach, and Bulkhead stared at her curiously.
"Mieko, what are you doing?" He asked her and she sighed.
"It's the 31st of October Bulk! Halloween!" She exclaimed and turned to face the decorations she had hung in the corner, and admired them.
"Oh right! Uh…what's Halloween?" Bulk asked and Mieko turned with another sigh, with Jack chuckling from his seat and Raf was smiling as he tapped away on his laptop.
"Halloween, or, all hallows eve, as it's better known is a tradition, children dress up as monsters and ghouls and go out trick or treating, to get candy from people" Raf explained, pulling up a picture on his screen as some children dressed up in costumes with pumpkin bags full of sweets.
Bumblebee clicked and whirred and Raf laughed.
"No Bee, they aren't real monsters, monsters don't exist" Raf told him and Bee clicked a few more times in understanding.
"Why do humans celebrate Halloween?" Arcee asked looking down at Jack who smiled.
"For fun, they say that at midnight on Halloween, the human planes are closest to the deathly planes, but that's just a story told to scare kids" Jack told her and she nodded, but still looked confused.
"And you tell spooky stories!" Mieko cried out grinning and looking at the bots who merely frowned.
"Didn't you guys have scary stories on Cybertron?" She asked and Ratchet shook his head.
"Only myths and legends" He told them and Raf looked up curiously.
"What kinds of myths and legends?" He asked, intrigued.
Ratchet turned and gave him a curious look, before turning to Optimus.
"There is one that may interest you, the tale of the white ones" Ratchet told them and the three children sat on chairs, listening intently to the story.
"The white ones, were three beings that had no colour, only white, there were three of them, and sparklings used to see them in their sleep, they'd wake, kicking and screaming, begging for mercy" Ratchet began and Jack got a very horrible sinking feeling in his stomach, this was starting to sound way to familiar for his liking.
"They'd go into recharge, but they'd never wake up and-" Ratchet went but Jack had heard enough, he stood, and walked away.
"Jack?" Arcee asked concerned and Mieko laughed.
"Jack's scared!" She teased, she was only joking, messing around, but Jack just kept walking until he was standing outside in the cold night air.
"What's his problem?" Mieko asked and Arcee went to go see what was wrong.
"Anyway, what were you saying Ratchet?" Mieko turned but Ratchet didn't continue.
"I think, that is enough story telling for tonight" Optimus told her and she groaned.
"Ohh…I was listening to that!" She complained but she dropped the subject, and went back to explaining the joys of trick or treating to Bulkhead.
Jack stood staring out at the desert that surrounded the Autobot base and sighed, he was beginning to regret coming here on Halloween, but he didn't want to spend it at home, not Halloween. It wasn't that his mother did or didn't celebrate it, it was because Halloween to them, it wasn't a day of trick or treating, it was a day of mourning, and he figured, that if he came to the base, he'd be able to forget about it, just for a while, otherwise he'd get stressed out and his mother would worry about him.
"Jack?" Arcee asked walking out of the base, she looked down and saw him standing with his back to her, facing the desert, she crouched down behind him and tapped him on the shoulder, he turned, looking slightly bewildered and smiled a big fake smile up at her.
"Oh…hey Arcee"
"Jack, are you alright?" She asked him with a concerned face.
There you go again Jack, making people worry about you…
"I'm fine Arcee, just wanted some fresh air, that's all" He lied smoothly, something he had become very good at doing over the years, but Arcee didn't look fooled.
"You sure?" She asked, trying to press him a subtly as possible, she didn't want to force him into anything, but she wanted to make sure he was alright, he was, in a way, her ward. She was his guardian, therefore he was her ward, she had become a sort of, older sister to him, if not something similar to a mother.
Though she'd never tell June that.
"I'm fine Arcee, just needed to get some fresh air, nothing to worry about" He told her, placing a hand behind his head awkwardly, something he did when he was either embarrassed, or lying.
"Alright…but we can't be out here too long, you'll catch a cold" Arcee told him, reluctantly dropping the subject.
"We?" He asked smiling, regaining his old humour and Arcee smiled down at him.
"Yes, we"
Optimus was relieved when Arcee and Jack came walking back inside the base a few minutes later, both looking happy, though why Jack had walked out like that puzzled him, but the young boy was not the best at dealing with certain situations as Optimus had learnt, as he had observed all the humans characteristics during his stay on Earth, and, picked up a few of their habits.
"Hey Jack! Come over here for a sec!" Mieko called and Jack wandered over to where Mieko and Raff were standing.
"Yeah? What is it?" He asked calmly and Mieko sniggered, he frowned at her and Raf sighed and turned to Mieko.
"Don't be mean Mieko"
"He was scared! Of a ghost story" She laughed, unable to hold it in any longer and Jack glared at her, wishing he had stayed outside just a bit longer.
"Ghost stories? What kinds of ghost stories?"
Jack inwardly groaned, trust his mother to turn up at that exact minute, she was wearing casual appearing clothes, I say appearing, black sensible trousers and a comfortable black T-shirt, black, like a funeral, Jack though was also wearing black, though it may have been a subconscious thing.
"A Cybertronian legend that Ratchet told us about" Raf told her, ever the good, innocent child that did as he was told.
"And Jack got scared!" Mieko laughed and a small smile came to June's face.
"It wasn't even scary! It was some legend about 'the white ones'" Mieko continued still laughing. June's smile vanished.
"White ones?" She asked uncertain she wanted to hear the answer.
"It was nothing mom, nothing" Jack told her sternly, standing in front of his mother with a stern look on his face, June knew that face.
"Jack…" She started but he walked past her.
"I'm going home, Arcee, you coming?" Jack asked and Arcee looked down at Mieko, who shrugged her shoulder, Arcee followed, ready to drive Jack home.
When they were out of earshot June sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, something Ratchet noticed.
"Do you have a headache?" He asked her and she looked up, and shook her head.
"No, I'm fine" She told him, but it was obvious that no-one in the room believed her.
"There is something troubling both you and Jack, we, as your friends want to help, would you tell us?" Optimus asked her in a gentle voice and she sighed but nodded.
"Guess I don't really have much choice, your right, you are our friends, it's only right you know" She muttered, standing in front of the huge mechs.
"You may or may not have figured this out by now, but Jack's father, my husband-" She took a slow breath.
"-Is dead"