Of a Human and Many Robots
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What happens when you buy a car and it turns out to be a giant robot? A whole lot, let me tell you. I should know. It happened to me. I'm Cael, and this is the story of how I first came into contact with the Transformers.
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I walked onto the car lot with some misgivings. I needed a new car, since my last car had died a few weeks prior. Since I'd majored in Engineering three and a half years ago, I could afford a nicer car. And a nicer car I was getting. A Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV had caught my eye, but I wasn't sure if I could afford it. Yes, my job paid well. And I'd been saving since I'd gotten the job in the first place. But the car cost thirty-five thousand dollars! Thank goodness I'd gotten a raise almost as soon as I started working for my company. And thank goodness my parents had made me put half of all my earnings into a savings account especially for a car. I would only have to take out a two thousand dollar loan to afford it.
I stopped by the car, taking in its red paint job. Obviously someone had taken very good care of it. It looked almost brand new, except for a long scrape in the paint. This was near the bottom, though, and only noticeable if you got close and looked for it.
"May I help you, miss?" a car salesman asked, stopping by me. "I see you have your eye on this one. A surprising choice. Countach's aren't very popular these days, especially for a female driver." Then he looked at it strangely, as if he'd never seen it before.
I nodded. "I'd noticed. But I like it."
"Would you like to take it for a drive?" the salesman asked.
"Oh, I don't know if I can afford it," I replied. Still, my hands nearly trembled at the thought of driving such a car.
The salesman put on his "I'll sell you this car if it's the last thing I do" face, then smiled in what he probably thought was a sincere way. It made my teeth hurt. "Just taking it for a drive doesn't mean you have to buy it," he reasoned.
I looked longingly at the car, then agreed. "All right. Just a short trip around the block, though."
We both got in. Since the door opened up, rather than out, I had to reach up to close it again. I put my hands on the wheel and turned the car on. Ooh, it felt good! Carefully, I backed that almost forty-thousand dollar car out of its parking space and got onto the road. I drove one lap around the block, driving more carefully than I had since I'd first gotten my license. I did not want to damage the very expensive car. As I turned the third corner of the block, I turned myself not to get committed. But I wanted that car so bad!
When I'd pulled into the lot again and gotten out, the car salesman made his move. "I saw how much you enjoyed driving the Lambo, and I'm willing to drop my price to thirty-three thousand."
"Thirty," I said immediately. "There's a scratch on the side and the transmission sticks a bit."
The salesman looked pained. "Thirty-one," he countered.
"Thirty thousand, five hundred," I replied. "Final offer. Take it or leave it."
He took it. Looks like I wouldn't need that two-thousand dollar loan after all. After signing much paperwork and paying enough money to make my head hurt, I was given the keys and the title. I drove off that lot with a feeling of satisfaction. The expensive, uber-nice car was mine. I almost crowed in triumph.
Then the wheel twisted. Without me actually moving it. And the radio turned on. Also without me touching it. "I'm taking over," then "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." I pulled my hands back, looking between the steering wheel and the radio in absolute shock.
"I'm being kidnapped !" I whispered to myself. "What do I do? Can't call the police, they'll just think I'm crazy. What do I do?" I asked again. The radio did not respond. Carefully, I reached down and switched the station to something else. Music gently floated out of the speakers, and I felt myself relaxing, despite the fact that I was being carjacked by my own car.
Until, of course, I heard tired squealing behind me. I turned to see a Tesla Roadster gaining rapidly on me and the car, which was driving itself. "Sit tight, it's going to be a bumpy ride!" the radio said, taking a clip from yet another radio show. I hastily grabbed for something to hold onto, and ended up clutching the door handle in a death grip. As if it knew I was hanging on to something, the Lamborghini's engine revved and I saw the speedometer creeping up.
"Good grief," I muttered once it hit ninety-five. "I'll get a ticket for sure!" I had never in my whole life gotten a speeding ticket, a fact I was proud of, but who knows how long that would last? I turned around again to scrutinize the man driving the Tesla. As I watched, he flickered. "Oh my gosh, he's a hologram!" I said, shocked again. "A robot is following us!" I used the word 'us' without really thinking, since the radio had been talking to me.
"A Decepticon," the radio said in a much different voice. It was lower and more smooth, more metallic sounding.
"Are you a Decepticon, too?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.
"NO!" the car said vehemently. "I'm no Decepticon." It didn't say anything else, and I assumed it was too busy driving to talk. We slid around a corner and shot off down a side street. The Tesla's brakes sounded behind us, and I saw it turn off to go somewhere else.
My Lamborghini drove on for a few minutes, then stopped in an old junkyard. The door opened, and I nearly fell out of the car in my hurry to exit. I stepped out and turned, expecting to see my new red car sitting there docilely. Instead I saw it twisting and turning, getting bigger all the time. My eyes widened, and I took a step backward. Finally it seemed to be done. A thirty-five foot plus robot stared down at me. My mouth fell open. The blue energy eyes looked amused, and it crouched down to talk to me. "Don't worry," it said in the same low, metallic voice it had used earlier. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"That's what you say," I muttered, and I was surprised to see the robot smile.
"Ah, here come the others," it said, rising again.
"Others?" I squeaked and, turning again, saw four more cars coming into the junkyard. A semi was in the lead, followed by a yellow Camaro, a weird greenish-yellowish ambulance-type-thing, and a huge black pickup truck. "Gas guzzler," I muttered to the pickup. The Semi stopped in front of me and started changing, just like my car had. The Camaro's doors opened, and two people got out. Then it started changing as well. Everywhere I looked, cars were changing into huge robots. I took two steps backward and bumped into my own car-gone-freakish-robot's legs. Closing my eyes, I whimpered.
The Semi finished turning into a robot, then walked over to my Lambo. "Hot Shot," it said. "Glad you could make it."
"Almost didn't, Optimus," my car reported. Apparently its name was Hot Shot. "A new Decepticon chased us nearly all the way here."
The Semi, Optimus, looked severely at the smaller robot. "You took good care of her, I presume?"
I put my hands on my hips. "Hello up there! My name is Cael, not 'her'. Kindly use it!"
Optimus looked startled, while Hot Shot just smiled slightly. "Spunky, isn't she?" I growled at it. It took no notice. The conversation changed, and so did the language. Since I couldn't understand what the robots were saying, I decided to hide behind Hot Shot. I ducked behind its legs and tried not to faint. Giant robots were so not my thing. Although they were an engineering marvel, I just didn't trust them. Still, they didn't seem about to kill me, so I started to relax a little.
"This must be your first time," a male voice said behind me. I whirled to see a young man, a few years younger than me, and a woman, about the same age as him. The man smiled. "I'm Sam, and this is my wife, Mikaela." he stuck out his hand, which I politely shook.
"Your car didn't kidnap you, did it?" I asked suspiciously. "Because my car just up and abducted me. Didn't even say why, just took over the driving and did some weird stuff with the radio."
"Yeah," Sam said. "It freaked me out at first, too. They communicate through radio when they're Transformed into their car modes. Bumblebee had to use the radio full time since his voice box thing was broken during a fight." I noticed Mikaela looking at the yellow Camaro with obvious fondness. I looked at them skeptically; they were both whack-jobs, I was sure of it.
"So Bumblebee is a he," I said speculatively. "Is mine a he as well?" Mikaela nodded, smiling. "What are the others named?" I asked. "I know my Lambo's Hot Shot and the Semi is Optimus and the Camaro is Bumblebee, but the other two...?"
Mikaela was all to happy to go through the introductions. "The black one's Ironhide, the weapon's specialist, and the greenish-yellow one is Ratchet, their resident doctor. There used to be a third, Jazz, but he died trying to stop Megatron from taking over the world."
Immediately, I was debriefed on what had happened four years earlier. Megatron was, apparently, a giant robot that had crash-landed on earth thousands of years ago, and he was after The Cube. This Cube was essentially what had created the Transformers. The good guys were Autobots, the bad guys were Decepticons. "Decepticons, deception, makes sense," I said, nodding. "Go on," I added.
"Bumblebee had to guard Sam from the Decepticons, since he was the descendant of Archibald Witwicky, the man who found Megatron frozen in ice. The Decepticons were after him for Archibald's glasses, which had the location of the Cube encoded in them." The rest was kind of confusing, but I managed to catch that Sam had destroyed Megatron, and The Cube, by sticking The Cube into Megatron's chest. "But now there's a new batch of Decepticons on earth. The Tesla you saw on the way here proves that," Mikaela finished. "Right now the Autobots are searching for the other All Spark. I'm not quite sure what it looks like, only that it's blue."
I felt my eyes narrow. "Blue?" I turned to the Autobots and slammed my palm against Hot Shot's "calf" to get his attention. "What does this All Spark look like?" I asked.
"Blue, made out the same stuff our Sparks are made of. Sort of like a multi-faceted hexagon."
"Is it about the size of one of those toy ride-in cars that kids use?" When Hot Shot looked confused, I held my arms out. "About yea big?" Hot Shot nodded. I smiled. "Oh, I know where that is."
"Really?" Optimus asked, crouching down to talk me me more easily. "Where?"
I smirked. "It's in my basement. It was there when I moved into my house and I never bothered moving it. Of course, I had no clue what it was." Suddenly, a thought occurred to me. "It's too big to fit out the door. How are you going to get it out?"
Optimus frowned. "We'll think of something. Don't worry." I shivered, suddenly cold, and Optimus rose. "It's a little chilly for the humans. I believe it's time to get them home."
Hot Shot looked at me. "I'll take her home. I took her in the first place, it's only right for me to return her." I nodded my agreement, but smiled. Maybe these Autobots weren't so bad. "Plus, I'm to be her guardian, correct?" Optimus nodded. I decided not to ask. Hot Shot Transformed, and the door to the drivers side opened. I climbed in and buckled up. (Safety first, you know.) I rested my hands on the steering wheel, so passerby wouldn't freak out when a car drove past with nobody driving it. As we drove out of the junkyard, Hot Shot asked, "Where is your home, Cael?"
I frowned, thinking. "Well, I'm not usually on this side of town, but if you can get us to Main Street, I can take over from there." Hot Shot drove to the main street of downtown, and then I started giving directions. "Right on the next road, then an immediate stop," I finished. "My house is the first one on the left."
Hot Shot pulled into the driveway, and I got out. Opening the gate, I beckoned him into the backyard. "You can turn into a robot back here. It's surrounded by woods and a six foot tall fence. No one should notice you."
Still in Lamborghini form, Hot Shot drove carefully into the backyard, where he Transformed. I looked up at him. Way up. Considering he was small, for an Autobot, I had to crane my neck a surprising amount to even see his face when he stood. He sat down, for my benefit? I didn't know.
"My guardian?" I finally asked.
Hot Shot nodded. "Yes, I'm supposed to protect you from the Decepticons. If they ever find out what you have in your basement..." his voice trailed off. "It wouldn't be good, let's put it that way."
I shuddered. "What would they do to me?"
"I'm not sure what they'd do to a Human, but I do know that they put Autobots in some type of harness and channel electricity through their Sparks. It's excruciatingly painful, but not life-threatening. It's their way of breaking you." He stopped talking, looking lost in thought.
I climbed a tree and sat down on a sturdy branch, so I could look at him without getting a crick in my neck. "It sounds like you have first-hand experience."
Hot Shot shook his head. "No, but that's what they did to my family before we came here."
I gasped. "And they didn't catch you?"
"No, my Father managed to hide me before the Decepticons burst into our home. When I came out, the house was trashed. Optimus took me under his wing from that point on." Hot Shot got a sad look on his face when he spoke of his family. "They eventually just killed my family because they wouldn't talk."
A pang of sadness for the Autobot shot through my heart. "You must miss them a lot, huh?"
"Yes."
I felt the need to change the subject. "What, exactly, is a Spark?" I asked. "I've been wondering about that for a long time, actually. Well, I mean, two or so hours," I added.
Hot Shot laughed. "A Spark to a Transformer is like a heart to a Human," he said, tapping one very large finger against my chest. "It keeps us alive and lets us feel emotions and pain. You might even call it a soul."
"Can I see it? Or is it hidden away, like in a Human body?"
Hot Shot stretched out his hand, which I carefully stepped onto. I held onto his first finger for balance while he brought me close to his chest. A little panel opened, and I saw blue energy pulsing. It was about the size of my head. I looked up at the Transformer's face. He smiled slightly. "That's it," he told me.
"Cool," I said. It was the first thing to come to mind. The panel closed again and I carefully sat down on his hand, holding onto his little finger so I didn't fall off. "It looks a lot like the All Spark," I remarked.
That seemed to remind Hot Shot of the key to saving his planet. The one that was hidden in my basement under three different blankets. "You say the Allspark is in your basement?" I nodded. "Please, make sure nothing happens to it," he asked, obviously worried about it.
I smiled. "Of course I'll make sure it stays safe. Do you honestly think I'd let something that important to your race get stolen?" I put a hand to my heart. "You wound me deeply, indeed," I said, wiping away a non-existent tear. I sniffed in mock-sadness.
"I didn't mean to offend you," Hot Shot said quickly, obviously alarmed. He relaxed when I broke out in a grin. "Of course, you were only...what's the word...joking, right?" I nodded. "How old are you, Cael?" he asked. "You seem to be very young for a Human."
I shrugged. "I'm twenty-seven," I said. "That's about nine years of being an adult. I'm almost middle-aged, but not quite. How old are you?" I had to ask, curious once more.
"Around six hundred," he said nonchalantly. I almost fell off his hand. "It's actually pretty young for a Transformer. Optimus Prime is nearly 1,800 years old."
"Wow, you are long-lived," I said. Then I yawned. "I'm tired," I added. "Could you put me down now, please? It's two hours later than I usually get in bed." Hot Shot smiled, lowering his hand almost to the ground to allow me to step off. I stood, yawned again, then turned. "Good night," I whispered, walking towards the house.
"Sleep well," I heard Hot Shot murmur as I stepped inside. I got ready for bed and collapsed onto the mattress. I slept better than I had in a long time, probably due to the fact that there was a thirty-seven foot tall robot guarding me outside. The next morning, I woke to my alarm clock buzzing urgently.
"All right already," I said, forgetting that my alarm clock was not alive, as my car was. "I'm up, I'm up." I sat up and turned the blasted thing off, then got dressed and went downstairs. I fixed myself an English muffin, then grabbed my purse and headed outside. My Lamborghini sat in the driveway, as if waiting for me. I smiled, then got in.
"Where to, madam?" Hot Shot asked in an uncharacteristically deep voice.
I grinned, recognizing his attempt to sound like a chauffeur or something. "Work, please, kind sir," I replied. I knew my amusement was audible in my voice, because Hot Shot chuckled and we drove to work. After parking, I got out. People looked at the car appreciatively, and I put my hand on the warm hood. "You can go somewhere, if you like," I whispered. "It's going to be boring just sitting here."
I went inside and stopped in my cubicle, sighing. Someone poked their head in my door. "Cael, your car is being stolen!" Steve said urgently.
I shook my head. "No, I'm letting my brother borrow it for a while," I reassured my co-worker. I nearly flinched while saying 'it,' since Hot Shot was a 'he' not an 'it', but I managed to refrain myself. "He'll bring it back before it's time to go home."
Work that day dragged past. I loved my job, but sitting at a computer designing buildings and such is agonizing when the key to another race's survival is sitting in your basement, just asking to be stolen. Finally, the clock hit three. I practically ran out the door, stopping just short of the exit to clock out. I walked calmly outside and got into the car, which was waiting for me.
"Home?" Hot Shot asked quietly. I nodded, then shook my head. Like he could hear my brains rattling.
"Yes, home," I said. "Please." We drove home in silence. I had a headache, something that I frequently got, and Hot Shot obviously wasn't in the mood to talk. I didn't mind. I had some things to think over. The previous night I had had disturbing dreams about Hot Shot and another black Transformer fighting. I hoped that they weren't going to come true or anything.
"You're quiet this afternoon," Hot Shot observed when we got home. "Is something wrong?"
"I had a dream," I burst out. "You were fighting with this black Transformer. I think he was a Decepticon. You ended up dying," I finished softly. That was the part that had alarmed me most. If he died, there would be no one to protect me from the Decepticons.
Nearly a month passed, and nothing happened. No black Decepticons attacked Hot Shot, or the other way around, and everything was quiet.
On the twenty-eighth day, as I walked home from taking a walk, I saw a yellow Camaro sitting in the driveway. Hot Shot was parked next to it, and they seemed to be talking in low voices. Sam and Mikaela were sitting on the porch, talking as well. "Oh, I'm sorry!" I said, hastening my steps and unlocking the door. "I didn't know you were coming, or I wouldn't have left." I flipped on a light and pressed the button on the coffeemaker. It started doing its job.
"It's all right," Mikaela reassured me. "We weren't planning on it, either, but we were driving past and decided to drop in. We should have called first," she added. "You couldn't have known."
We made small talk until the coffee was ready. Then, sitting down at the counter (which was thankfully clean), I asked the hard question: "Why are you here?"
Sam answered. "I thought we'd check up on the All Spark. Apparently this is the backup that appears if The Cube is destroyed. Although how it got into your basement is beyond me."
I shrugged. "Me, too. As I said, it was already here when I moved in. The previous renters had disappeared, so the people who owned the house had no choice but to nullify the contract and put it back up on the market. I bought it from them because they were tired of renters and selling it for not much money."
Sam looked speculative. "Hmm. Interesting. I don't suppose I could see this All Spark?"
I nodded. "Of course. Follow me, please," I added over my shoulder. I led them to the basement and down the stairs. "It's a little messy," I apologized. "You might want to watch your step. It's in the crate over there, you'll have to pry off some of the wood with the crowbar on top of it."
Sam took a couple boards off, gasping when he saw the blue light emanating from the hole he'd made. The color was very close to the color of Hot Shot's eyes, but the All Spark itself was much, much bigger. Sam reached out to touch it, then jerked his hand back when he felt the aura of the thing. "Wow," he breathed. He touched it again, hesitantly this time. "It's almost soothing."
My eyes narrowed. "Careful, it might be addictive."
Sam glanced at me, then smiled. "Not really, it starts to hurt if you don't take your hand away," he said, pulling his hand off the All Spark. "I doubt it's addictive."
I shrugged. "Still, better safe than sorry, eh?" I shifted. "I'd like to go back upstairs now. There's no telling who might see us down here." Sam nodded, then put the boards back on the crate and we went back upstairs. There, Sam and Mikaela took their leave. I watched them go, then sighed. "My goodness, it's stressful to have people over," I muttered. "Can't say I enjoy it, at least not honestly."
Opening the door to the backyard, I went outside to sit on my deck. I had a root beer float in one hand, a book in the other, and carried my sunglasses clenched between my teeth. Sinking onto a lounge chair, I stuck my sunglasses on my face and pushed them up to the bridge of my nose, then sipped my float and opened my book. I was pulled in at once. The storyline was a gripping tale about a girl transported to an alien world and how she had to get home through one of fourteen gates.
Suddenly, I heard a commotion out front. I put down my finished root beer float and book, then went through the house to the front door. Hot Shot was nowhere to be seen. Feeling panicked, I opened the door and stepped outside. Immediately, I was yanked into the air and the world started flying past. I looked up to see a large, black robot carrying me. The world started whirling as well. I was being kidnapped by a giant, black Transformer with no-doubt-dubious intentions. Wonderful. I blacked out.
When I woke again, I was in a room. Not just any room, mind you, but a state of the art room with modern décor and a green paisley print carpet. I raised my eyebrow at the odd floor covering. The door opened, and a middle-aged woman entered. She smiled, put something on a low table, and left again. I walked over to whatever it was she'd put down, and looked at it closely. It was a plate of food. Crouching down, I scrutinized the food from every angle. I sniffed it, then tasted a little bit. It seemed all right, but you never knew. I decided not to eat it. Better safe than sorry, after all. Hopefully one of the Autobots would find me soon.
But not soon enough, it seemed. The same middle-aged woman came in again an hour or so later, this time with a pair of handcuffs. "Sorry, dear," she said, then clapped them on me. I was led, grumbling, through the door and into a meeting hall. A very large meeting hall. It looked like it was inside an aircraft hanger. A large, black Transformer sat in the middle of the floor, the purple sign on its shoulder giving away its allegiance. This Transformer was a Decepticon. "The girl, m'lord," the woman said, bowing.
I was left alone with the robot. Deciding that to show fear was to sign my death warrant, I planted my hands on my hips and glared at the thing. "So now you're controlling Humans in your search for the All Spark?" I asked.
"Impudent fool," the Decepticon hissed. "Where is it?"
I tossed my hair over my shoulder nonchalantly. "I don't know," I said, trying not to sound like I was lying. Which, of course, was very hard to do because I was. Lying. Then, hoping to sound ignorant, I added, "What does it look like?"
"Idiot. It's blue."
"Blue, blue," I said, frowning and pretending like I was thinking hard. "I've seen lots of blue things. What shape?"
The Decepticon sighed. "I can see this is going to take a long time unless I do something." He launched himself at me, pinning me down with a very large hand. "It's blue, like a 3-D hexagon. Where is it?"
I shrugged, feeling terrified and letting my face show it. "I'm blonde, I don't know!" I insisted.
"That's no excuse. Now, where is the All Spark?" The Decepticon said between his teeth. "I don't want to hurt any Humans if I don't have to. I'm not like Megatron. Just tell me where it is, and I promise I won't harm you."
"What good is the word of a Decepticon?" I asked haughtily. "Not very good," I finished, answering my own question. "You're a lying cheat and I hate you."
"No one talks to Razorquake like that," the Decepticon said. He picked me up between two fingers, which hurt a lot, and carried me over to a giant, metal table with little poles sticking up every few feet or so. I gulped. Whatever was going to happen to me, it wasn't going to be pleasant. "I will take it out of you dead or alive, young miss," he said, sighing. I was strapped down, and then Razorquake went over to a lever and pulled it. A jolt ran through me, pain following close behind. It only lasted a split second, then Razorquake pushed the lever back to its original position. "Next time it will be more painful. Where is the All Spark?"
"I don't know!" I yelled, gasping as the pain returned, for longer as promised. "I promise, I don't know!" I had to scream as I was jolted with electricity a third time, for almost ten seconds this round. I couldn't take much more of that. It obviously wasn't enough to stop my heart, but it was excruciatingly painful and I wasn't sure I could hold out for much longer.
Then the wall exploded inwards, and a familiar red car shot into the room. Transforming while still in motion, Hot Shot hit into Razorquake and knocked the larger robot over. Thankfully the electricity had been off, so it wasn't hurting me at the moment. I mentally slapped myself for being selfish and thinking of myself at a time like this, then strained to see the battle. Hot Shot had rolled to his feet, crouching close to the floor to make himself a smaller target and lower his center of gravity. Razorquake launched himself at Hot Shot, almost bowling him over. Hot Shot retaliated with a short burst of power from his arm cannon. I shielded my eyes. This was uncomfortably like my earlier dreams, and I didn't want Hot Shot to be killed.
Instead of watching the fight, I decided to concentrate on getting myself free. Twisting my body awkwardly, I managed to move my hand just enough to slip it out of the strap holding me down. I pulled it free, relaxing as some of the tension left my body. The other side was much easier, since I had a free hand to help me. Sitting up, I got to work on my feet. These were tied down in a complicated looking knot, and I snorted angrily at it. I was never much good at knots. A sigh of resignation escaped me, and I bent to the agonizing task of un-working the knot. Various crashes, grunts and booms were in the background, and I winced whenever I heard something particularly painful, but I didn't look up.
Finally, I got the knot undone and swung my legs off the table. A large metal hand scooped me up at once, and I almost screamed until I recognized the red paint. "Hot Shot!" I said happily. "What kept you?" I saw a hunk of black metal in the corner, and I looked up at my guardian's face. "Wow, you really got him."
Hot Shot smiled, then stepped outside. There, he set me on the ground and Transformed, opening the door for me. I got in, relaxing into the comfortable seat. "Sorry it took me so long, but I had to deal with Omega." I made a questioning noise. "She's a new Decepticon. I'm guessing it was her job to distract me while Razorquake took you."
"Probably," I said, nodding. "So is Razorquake dead?"
"I don't think so." Hot Shot gave an angry snort. "Sadly." He dropped me off at home, then continued on to "meet with Optimus. I have to discuss something with him."
That caught my attention. Climbing onto my bike, I managed to keep the Lambo in sight until he reached a low suspension bridge. No one was there, so he Transformed and swung down to sit on a girder next to Optimus. I parked my bike a few hundred feet away and crept up in time to hear Optimus say, "Well, enough with the pleasantries. You wanted to talk to me about something?"
Hot Shot nodded, letting one leg dangle from the bridge. "Yes, sir, it's about this city."
Optimus looked surprised. "Really? I thought you enjoyed it here."
"I do," Hot Shot said, nodding. "I like it a lot. But I have a major weakness and that could jeopardize the All Spark's safety. I need to find a different city or just leave this one."
Optimus shook his head. "We need you here, Hot Shot. What is this weakness you're speaking of?"
"Cael."
A pang of hurt and surprise ran through me. I was a weakness? Because I'd been captured? How did that make me a weakness? Optimus seemed as surprised as me. "But I was under the impression that you liked her."
Hot Shot looked away. "That's the reason I have to go, sir. I think I'm in love with her, Optimus." He paused, and I blinked. "I realized that this afternoon when Razorquake kidnapped her to try to find the whereabouts of the All Spark. I was so angry that I didn't hold back. I think I seriously damaged him."
Optimus nodded. "I understand how you feel. If any low-down Decepticon had tried to kidnap Overdrive, I think I'd probably seriously damage him or her as well. But you do realize the danger of feeling that way about a Human?"
Hot Shot nodded, looking like he was about to cry. Of course he couldn't, lacking tear ducts and all that, but it was the same expression. "Of course. We could never be together, not really, even if she did feel the same way. But I love her anyway, sir, and that's why I have to leave."
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that," Optimus replied firmly. "Hot Shot, I know that you feel like you're a danger to us all, but if you leave, who will protect Cael and the All Spark? We're busy trying to figure out what the Decepticons are up to, we don't have the time or the means to protect her. We'll make sure that the Decepticons know that if they try to hurt her in any way, they'll have five very angry robots after them. Just take good care of her."
Hot Shot nodded, obviously relieved, and I let my head fall back against the tree I was leaning against. He wanted to leave because he was in love with me. I was kind of flattered. With a jolt, I realized that I felt the same way about him. He was a robot, but his personality was so like a person's that I'd fallen for him anyway. I snuck back to my bike and hurried home, so that when Hot Shot came back he wouldn't suspect that I'd followed him. I went to sleep happy that night, only waking up when Hot Shot returned an hour later.
The next day, I glanced around outside before opening the door to sit on the deck. It was Saturday, and my day off. I relaxed on the lounge chair and watched the clouds going past from behind my sunglasses. Sipping my lemonade, I opened my book and began to read. I heard someone enter the backyard, but I was so engrossed in my book that I didn't pay attention. Only Hot Shot came back there anyway, so I really didn't have anything to worry about. It was only as I finished the last sentence and closed the book that I realized my mistake. I looked up at a giant robot, this one with hot pink paint. I felt my shoulders sag. "Not again," I muttered. "And what's with the pink?" I glared up at the female robot.
"I will crush you under my heel like so much dirt," the female robot declared in a more feminine voice than the other Transformers used, although it was still deeper than the average persons.
"Aw, man!" I mentally kicked myself before making a break for the gate. If I could just get to Hot Shot...then I remembered: Hot Shot wasn't there. He'd told me that he was going to make sure the area was secure and he'd left about a minute after I'd started my book! I stopped, crestfallen.
The female robot caught up to me. "Where is the All Spark?" She demanded. I sighed, shrugging resignedly. "Where is it?" I just glared at her and folded my arms. The Transformer picked me up, none to gently, and dangled me in front of her face. "Where is it, Human!?"
"I won't tell you," I said in a snippish voice. "I'm tired of being threatened, so you may as well just kill me."
The Transformer shrugged. "Easy enough." She brought her other hand up to my waist as she moved her first hand to my shoulders. Then she started to bring her hands together, bending my back in a most painful way. I gasped. "Tell me where the All Spark is and I won't break your back," she said in a reasonable tone.
Good thing she didn't know it was about twenty feet from her! "Break it," I said between clenched teeth. It hurt a lot, and I figured the faster she severed my spinal cord and the nerve endings, the sooner the pain would end. And there was absolutely no way I was going to tell her where the Allspark was. "Break it, you nameless freak!" I screamed. Before I break down and reveal the location!
"Omega," the female Transformer replied. "And I'm not a freak." With that, she did the deed. I felt the crack of my spine, and then I couldn't feel her second hand anymore. The pain very quickly went away down there, while it intensified on top.
"Ow," I murmured, then fainted. When I woke up, Omega was gone and I was on the pavement in front of my house, waiting to be found. I wasn't dead, which was good, but I noticed a red pool around one wrist and saw, as I raised my hand, that my wrist had been slit. "I'm dead," I muttered. I closed my eyes again, wishing that I'd been able to tell Hot Shot that I loved him.
Tired squealed against the blacktop and I heard the sound of a Transformer Transforming. Then I was picked up and cradled in a very large, metal hand. I couldn't feel my legs, which I knew were dangling from the side of Hot Shot's hand by the weight. Every time I moved, it hurt something awful. "No," Hot Shot murmured softly, "not her. Not now." I heard his feet pounding against the ground and the sensation of moving very quickly hit my nearly numb body. The best I could come up with to explain the numbness was that I was starting to die. I must have passed out for a second, because the next thing I knew, Ratchet was talking.
"Wow, what happened to her?"
Hot Shot sounded panicked. "I don't know, I was just making sure there were no Decepticons around her and when I came back, she was like this!" I felt his cold finger brush against my face. "Is she dead?"
Ratchet did something. "No, just very close. Her spinal cord is broken and she's paralyzed from the waist down, not to mention that her wrist is slit and she has a major concussion. She was probably dropped. It's only a matter of time until she bleeds to death." Well, yeah, hello? Do something about it? "I can stop the bleeding, but there's nothing I can do about her being paralyzed and the concussion might kill her anyway. I think she has brain hemorrhage."
If I could have cried, I would have. But I couldn't talk and I couldn't get any of my muscles to move. Ratchet made good on his promise to stop the bleeding, but I could barely feel whatever it was he did to my wrist to staunch the bloodflow.
"Ratchet, you have to do something!" Hot Shot's voice sounded desperate. "She's dying!"
I think Ratchet shook his head. "I'm sorry, Hot Shot, there's nothing I can do. Listen, I know you love her, but I think you're going to have to let her go."
I felt a large finger touch my hand. "I don't know if I can do that," Hot Shot replied in a soft voice. "There has to be a way to save her."
"Well, there is one theory...but it's never been tested!" Ratchet didn't sound sure at all.
I felt coldness on my face as the same finger stroked my cheek. "Please, Ratchet," Hot Shot asked brokenly. "Just try."
Ratchet made a resigned noise. "Very well, but the process might kill her."
"She'll die anyway, won't she?" Hot Shot said in desperation.
"Yes," Ratchet admitted. "But you'll have to leave. I have to be all alone." I heard noises, so Hot Shot must have complied. "Okay, little lady," Ratchet said softly. "Let's see what I can do. It might hurt, and it might kill you."
I forced my lips to move. "Plee..." Please.
Ratchet chuckled. "Very well." More noises, scraping and banging, crashing and clanging. "Ah! Here it is," Ratchet muttered. He turned, speaking in what must have been his natural language.
I felt myself being lifted. Well, my upper body at least. The pain was gone, and my mind felt fuzzy. Suddenly, a pain so great that it put all other pain to shame shot through every inch of me. Including my legs. Interesting, I thought I was paralyzed from the waist down. I tried to scream, but was unable to make my mouth or vocal chords cooperate. A strange sensation started in my middle, then spread down my legs and arms and through my head. Then I was free, all the pain leaving my body. I relaxed, then realized that I couldn't feel anything. That scared me. I couldn't move anything, not even a finger. Then another realization hit me: that was because I didn't have any body to move, not even a finger. That scared me even more. Reality slammed back into place, and I could feel again. Everything was strange, though, my body felt hard and I didn't seem to have any nerve endings. I felt stiff and tired. I left my eyes closed and slept.
I was woken again who-knows-how-long later by two voices whispering nearby. "Is that her?"
"It must be, there are no others beside her."
Others? What were they talking about?
"Leave her alone," a familiar voice admonished the other two lightly. Hot Shot. I opened my eyes to see his familiar face looking down at me. "Cael? You okay?"
"Yeah," I said, the movement of my lips feeling strange. "What on earth happened to me?"
Hot Shot paused, obviously thinking about how best to answer. "Well, a whole lot, actually," he said slowly. "Here, let me help you up and you can take a look at yourself." He stood and offered a hand, which I took. As I stood, I realized that either he was a whole lot smaller, or I was a whole lot bigger. I looked at my hand, which I hadn't bothered to look at before, and gasped. It wasn't my hand. Or, rather, it was my hand, but it wasn't flesh and bone. It was metal. A dark, dull metal. My eyes shot to Hot Shot's face. "Yes, I know it's a shock, but it was the only way to save you."
I whirled and gasped again. There, reflected back at me in the window of some weird building, stood a dull gray Transformer. A female Transformer. Me. When I blinked, so did the brown energy eyes of the Transformer. "Good grief, it is me," I murmured. I turned to Hot Shot, who was looking at me sympathetically. "Why am I all dull?"
"You haven't chosen a Transformation yet," Hot Shot explained.
I glanced at myself in the window again. "So I'm a Transformer now," I said.
"Yes, and you seem to be taking it very well," Ratchet's voice said behind me. I whirled to see him standing a few yards away. "Sorry, it must be a shock to you. But I'm glad to see you alive and well, kiddo," he added. "You're going to have all the boys after you. There aren't many females, y'know. If I wasn't more than twice your age, I'd probably be after you, too. Although they're going to have to go through him first," Ratchet cocked a thumb at Hot Shot.
I turned. "Why?" I asked impishly.
Hot Shot shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, no real reason," he said vaguely.
I grinned. "I followed you, you know. Who's Overdrive?"
Hot Shot groaned. "I thought I noticed someone on a bicycle who looked a lot like you. Overdrive is Optimus' wife. One of the only other female Transformers. The only other known one is Omega, and she's a Decepticon. No one wants her. Except maybe Starscream."
My eyes narrowed. "Omega," I muttered. I clenched my fists. "I have a bone to pick with her. She's the one who made the operation necessary, you know," I told both Ratchet and Hot Shot. "I don't blame you, since you were just trying to make sure the perimeter was clear," I added to Hot Shot, "but I must admit I wish you'd have been there."
Hot Shot nodded. "Come on, I'll take you to go pick your Transformation. Ratchet," he said, bowing politely to the older Autobot. We walked away, leaving a chuckling Ratchet behind. Hot Shot led me into what looked to be a rural area, and we staked out the highway. "Now don't choose a car unless you really like it, 'cause you're stuck with it for the rest of your life," Hot Shot advised.
I nodded, watching a pair of headlights drive past. A rusty Pontiac. Nope, not nice enough. I waited patiently for the next car. A semi. There was already a semi in the Autobot ranks, no need to add a second. I let that one pass, too. A Lotus Elise was next. Third time's a charm, I guess. I immediately chose that one. Without really thinking, I scanned the thing and felt myself Transforming. Wow, what an interesting sensation that was! Finally, I seemed to be done. Hot Shot smiled down at me, and I self-consciously Transformed back.
"A very feminine car," he observed. "Very you. Especially the metallic dark blue color. We're going to have to change your name, and you're going to have to sell your house, probably. We'll have it put up for auction. Sam and Micayla would probably be more than happy to do that for us."
I had a sudden thought. "How about I just give it to them? Aren't they renting an apartment right now?" Hot Shot nodded. "Would you tell Bumblebee to tell them it's theirs?" Hot Shot nodded again, his smile broadening. The walk back to the base was pleasant. Although I was very curious, I didn't mention Hot Shot's talk with Optimus. He'd talk to me about it when he was ready. Stopping just outside the base, I turned to my ex-guardian. "You say I need a new name? What's wrong with my old one?"
Hot Shot shrugged. "Nothing. It's just that if the Decepticons know you're still alive, they'll just try to kill you again. I'll have the computers randomly generate a name for you." He took my hand. "You're upset?"
I shook my head helplessly. "Not upset, exactly, just unsure. You'd be, too, if you'd woken up in a strange body. The world looks so different now, and everything feels weird. I don't know if I can live like this, Hot Shot," I finished. Another thought occurred to me. "Can Transformers even die?"
Hot Shot snorted. "Of course they can. Nothing lives forever, except the Creator. The average lifespan of a Transformer is much longer than a Human's, but we still die just like everyone, and everything, else."
I nodded, showing that I understood. "Scatterwarp," I said.
"What?" Hot Shot sounded confused.
"Scatterwarp. That's the name I want." I smiled up at him. "You don't like it?"
Hot Shot smiled back. "It's fine. To my knowledge, there are no Scatterwarps in the Autobot ranks, or the Decepticon ranks for that matter. It's not similar to Cael in any way, so you're safe. We'll just alert Optimus of your new designation and you'll be good!"
Then something else popped into my brain. Or whatever it was Transformers used to think. "When are you going to get the All Spark?"
"Soon."
"What are you going to do once you get it?" I had to ask.
A shrug greeted my question. "I don't know. Re-create our planet, most likely."
Another question popped into my head. "How do you know that it even can re-create a planet? It's the backup, isn't it? Maybe it's different than the first one." I cocked my head at the larger robot. "If it can't, do you have a plan?"
"Ask Optimus," Hot Shot said. "Although not right now, because Overdrive just arrived on Earth and they're busy, erm, reuniting." I nodded to show that I got the implied meaning of his words. "Anyway, we should get back before they miss us."
I smiled. "All right," I agreed. "But you'll have to lead the way. I get lost in my own backyard." Hot Shot laughed, then led me down the various twisting halls of the Autobot base. I did my best to remember them, but found myself hopelessly confused. If Hot Shot hadn't been with me, I would have been very lost.
Suddenly, an alarm began blaring. I looked around, scared. "What's happening?" I asked over the noise of the alarm. "Are we under attack?"
"No," Hot Shot said, his voice excited. "Other Transformers have arrived. We need to go bring them here. You can help me, if you wish. I'm on welcome patrol today."
I thought about it for all of two seconds. "Okay," I agreed at once.
He led the way back outside and we Transformed, following the homing beacon all Transformers have. This led us to a medium sized crater about ten miles from the base, having just been formed in the middle of a field by a newly arrived Transformer. The robot itself was just standing up. I Transformed, following Hot Shot's example, and smiled at it. Then I gasped. She was another female. She said something in the language that everyone seemed to know but me, and Hot Shot replied before putting a hand on her forehead and zapping her with something.
She got a funny look on her dull gray face before smiling. "Hello," she said.
I raised my eyebrows. "She knows English now?"
Hot Shot nodded. "Yes, I just gave her the knowledge. Your World Wide Web is very handy for learning languages."
I had to smile at that. Turning to the female Transformer, I asked, "Do you have a name?"
She nodded. "It's Steelfrost. I'm an Autobot," she added hesitantly when she noticed the sign on Hot Shot's shoulder. "Are you?" she asked me.
I glanced at Hot Shot. "It's not obvious?"
Hot Shot shook his head. "You haven't chosen your allegiance yet. The sign hasn't appeared on you because of it."
I turned back to Steelfrost. "Yes, I'm an Autobot. I've had a lot of terrible experiences with Decepticons and I would never, ever, join them. The insignia will appear just as soon as I figure out how to make it appear."
Steelfrost grinned. "All right. Now, if you will take me to your highway, I will choose my Transformation." we led the way, and she promptly chose a Z44 Corvette Coupe and Transformed into it. I looked at the color with interest. It was a kind of orange-salmon fusion. Not my favorite shade, but sort of pretty even if I didn't like pink.
Hot Shot led the way back to the base and all three of us went inside. Steelfrost was nice and we became fast friends on the way home. As soon as we got into the base, however, several of the younger Autobots pounced on her. Not literally, but they introduced themselves in honeyed voices and offered to do favors for her. Steelfrost looked amused at the attention and had to ask why they didn't bother me.
"Oh, no real reason," I said offhand with a glance at Hot Shot. He was striding along in front of us and didn't appear to have heard Steelfrost's question.
Steelfrost followed my gaze. "Ah," she said in a knowing tone. "That's why, is it?" I nodded, unable to blush but feeling like it. "Does he kn-"
"No," I said hurriedly. "He doesn't know. But the others know that he likes me and that he'd happily kill them if they tried anything on me." I stifled a laugh. "Plus I'd pull their limbs off even if he wouldn't."
Steelfrost grinned at me, then turned around as something made a sound behind us. Sam and Mikaela were running up to us, and I crouched down to talk to them better.
"Hi," Mikaela said, since she got her breath back faster than Sam did. "We heard about what happened. How is it so far?"
I shrugged, privately thinking how tiny they looked to me now that I was huge. "Not so bad. I miss my old body, though."
Sam nodded. "I know I would. I mean, waking up and finding yourself in a Transformer's body has got to be a shock, right?" I nodded, and Sam continued hesitantly. "I'm not sure if this is true or not, but Optimus Prime told us that we could have your house."
I nodded. "I suggested it. I have no use for it now that I can't even get a foot inside it. Enjoy. It's all paid off and everything."
Mikaela started. "Your eyes aren't blue," she remarked offhand. "They're brown. I've never seen a brown-eyed Transformer before. Of course, I've only seen like five, but still. It's cool."
Steelfrost looked at me curiously. "New body? Brown eyes?"
I explained, finishing with, "and then I woke up and was like this. Anyway, this is Sam and Mikaela. They've been protected by Bumblebee for about four years now, right?" Sam nodded. "This is Steelfrost," I said for the Humans benefit. "She's the newest arrival." The couple politely excused themselves to go talk to Optimus, leaving Steelfrost and me to talk.
A few days passed with nothing really happening. A few other Transformers arrived, but they were always gone by the time we got to their landing sites. We assumed that the Decepticons had gotten there first, which saddened Optimus.
Then something happened that began the beginning of the end. I was sitting in the room I shared with Steelfrost, discussing fighting techniques, when Hot Shot threw open the door. "Come quick," he said, excited. "It's time."
"Time for what?" I asked, rising. Metal scraped against metal as Steelfrost got to her feet as well.
Hot Shot beckoned us to follow him. "I'll explain on the way," he assured me. He led us down the hall at a run, shouting back what had happened. He went really fast and I missed a lot of it, but I managed to catch that a Decepticon had returned to Earth and was gathering his army. "Starscream has been waiting quietly for this moment for four years," Hot Shot finished as we arrived in a large briefing room. Six or seven others were there, which brought the Autobot total to ten. Besides Optimus, Overdrive, Hot Shot, Ironhide, Ratchet, Steelfrost and myself, there were Wildburst, Blitzblade and Metalshadow. All three were male and very taken with Steelfrost.
"We're ready for war," Optimus said without preamble. "Starscream has returned and is starting to search for the Matrix."
"The Matrix?" I had to ask, hoping that I didn't sound too stupid or get in trouble for interrupting the leader of the Autobots.
"The Allspark in what was previously your basement," Optimus explained. "The Matrix is, thankfully, cloaked by the cement it's surrounded by. However, if Starscream gets close enough, the radiation will alert him to its presence. We must stop him from finding it. Therefore, one of you will infiltrate the Decepticon ranks and try to lead him elsewhere while we decide what to do with it."
"I'll do it," I volunteered. Everyone turned to stare at me. "Well, I'm the logical choice," I said self-consciously. "I don't have any insignias on me, so it should be easy for me to sneak in, right?"
Optimus looked at me in his most serious fashion. "Are you sure, Scatterwarp? It will be dangerous. You might be asked to do things that you wouldn't normally do."
I nodded, feeling a little nervous but resolved to help in whatever way I could. Having no insignia gave me the advantage of not having to hide one. "I'm sure," I said, and it was final. I was going.
Two weeks later, I was in the Decepticon ranks and a trusted member of Starscream's forces. It helped that I was a female and that Starscream had a weakness for the gentler gender. Omega and I didn't see quite eye-to-eye, but the female Transformer was surprisingly nice and felt guilty about killing me.
A couple of weeks of intense physical training followed my joining their ranks, and I was usually paired up against a young male Transformer named Wildburst. The first time we'd trained together, he'd looked at me meaningfully and carefully peeled back the corner of the purple insignia on his shoulder to reveal the red one beneath it. I'd nodded to show I understood and we managed to talk while training.
Wildburst was one of the youngest Transformers, but a valuable member of the Autobots, although he was an undercover agent at the moment, because he was a triple changer. His color was olive drab, and he could change from his robot transformation to two other ones; an M1 Abrams and a A-10 Thunderbolt II(most commonly known as a Warthog).
He was surprised to learn that I hadn't originally been a Transformer. "A human?"
I nodded, looking around to make sure no one could hear us. "Yep. I had to have my consciousness transferred to this body because Omega nearly killed my human one. She feels guilty enough about that and I'm beginning to think she might be converted."
Wildburst shook his head emphatically. "I wouldn't try. She's Starscream's eyes and ears for the ranks he can't be with and she's very devoted. If I were you, I'd go for Hammerblast. She's the dark red one over there. Even Starscream gets fed up with her because she's too moral for the Decepticons."
Razorquake had survived his encounter with Hot Shot, and he was weapons expert for the Decepticons. Training was starting to ease off and I found myself wondering when Starscream was going to start looking for the Matrix. My answer came a month into my undercover work in the Decepticon ranks.
"The Search starts tomorrow," Starscream announced one evening. "We'll fan out in transformed mode and look for the Matrix's energy signature." He turned and disappeared into his quarters.
I smiled to myself. "Excellent," I murmured.
"What's excellent?" A female voice said from beside me. I turned in surprise to see Hammerblast standing next to me. She looked at me in confusion. "Why is it excellent?"
I shrugged. "So we can finally get it."
Hammerblast smiled suddenly. "You're Scatterwarp, aren't you?"
I nodded. "That would be me. You're Hammerblast?"
She nodded as well. "The one and only. We've been paired up for the search tomorrow, just so you know. I hope you can keep up!"
I snorted. "I'll keep up, don't you worry," I said, batting my eyes innocently. "A Lotus Elise is pretty fast, is it not?"
Hammerblast raised one metallic eyebrow. "As fast as a Cadillac Cien?"
I smiled. "We'll soon see."
The next day, Hammerblast and I set out to find the Matrix. We cruised the streets of my old neighborhood, but I managed to keep us away from my old street. "So why did you join the Decepticons, anyway?" I asked as carefully as I could.
"I don't know," Hammerblast answered, unable to do any gestures because she was in car form. "I guess they just got to my landing site first, and I had no clue what to do in a world filled with carbon-based life forms." She sighed. "I don't like it, though. The idea of killing innocent humans makes me sick."
I took a deep breath. "You could join the Autobots."
Hammerblast screeched to a halt on the blacktop, and I nearly rammed into her. "You know where they are?"
"Maybe," I said cautiously.
Hammerblast didn't say anything for a moment. "You aren't going to tell me, are you." I didn't reply. She sighed. "Of course not. I wouldn't. You have no way of knowing whether or not you can trust me."
"No," I agreed.
"Well, let's keep the Decepticons from finding the Matrix. That'll be a start."
I smiled, although no one could see it, and quietly rejoiced. I liked Hammerblast and I had hoped she'd be open to the idea. "Very well."
All that day, we distracted Starscream with various leads to non-existent Matrix's. We made sure that all the energy signatures were fairly close to the kind the Matrix emitted, but located far away from the real one.
Wildburst helped, flying high above in his A-10 Thunderbolt II form. He'd locate the signature and we'd relay it to Starscream. Eventually he got fed up with us and told us to return back to base, muttering about incompetent females. Omega looked at us strangely, but said nothing. I hoped she hadn't realized what we were up to.
Later that day, Hammerblast and I were training on the grounds when Wildburst approached. "Think we're even fooling him?" he asked.
Hammerblast shrugged. "I honestly can't say. He's hard to read."
I nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. "He's strange. He was second-in-command to Megatron, right? But he seems a much more capable leader than Megatron was. His method of searching is much more systematic."
Wildburst threw up his hands. "Let's not give him too much credit." He looked at me. "Why don't you have an insignia?"
I shook my head. "I'm not allowed to reveal the reason."
Wildburst squinted at me. "You're worried about her?" he asked, jerking his head at Hammerblast. She looked offended, and he hurriedly amended his statement. "I think she's trustworthy."
"How do you know?" I asked. "Can you read minds or motives?"
Wildburst shook his head. "You'll just have to trust me. And her."
I looked at Hammerblast, who was still looking vaguely hurt. I thought about her actions that day and her statements. She didn't seem like a Decepticon, but she could be deceiving me. I didn't want to believe that, however, and finally I just decided to go ahead and tell them. "All right," I started, "I don't have an insignia because I wasn't originally a Transformer."
Hammerblast looked amazed. "You aren't really a Transformer?"
I shook my head. "I was human less than a month and a half ago."
Wildburst smirked. "Ratchet did a good job."
I looked at him sharply. "How did you know it was Ratchet?"
His smirk widened to a smile. "He's the only one capable of even doing something close to what he did for you." I rolled my eyes at him, and he continued with "Time to contact Optimus and see what he plans to do with the other All Spark."
Hammerblast looked at me and squinted. "So your name isn't really Scatterwarp?"
"No," I said with a shrug. "It's Cael."
Wildburst had turned away and was speaking quietly into his communication mike. "Optimus, we're ready," he said softly. "What do we do?"
"Go to the All Spark," Optimus' voice replied. "Wait for us there."
"Finally," I whispered, than Transformed and led the way to the All Spark. Halfway there, I noticed a good number of the Decepticon force following us. I immediately sped up, Hammerblast and Wildburst following my lead. The Decepticons caught up on my old street, and I skidded to a halt on the blacktop. Transforming back to my robot form, I stood and waited for them.
Optimus Prime sent an order through my earpiece. "Get to the All Spark! Sam and Mikaela are bringing it outside right now!"
I wheeled right and sprinted towards my house. From the corner of my eye I saw Autobots and Decepticons clashing in my street and privately wondered how the neighbors were taking it. Pushing the thought out of my head, I directed all my attention to the blue glow coming from my old backyard. In front of me I noticed Starscream loom up, and before I could even think I'd brought up my hand cannon and blasted him with energy. He fell to the ground, decapitated, and I dropped to my knees beside the All Spark. "What do I do with it?" I asked Optimus.
He looked up from fighting in front. "Pick it up and say-" and he said something in his language that I didn't understand.
I grabbed the All Spark and said the words as best I could, and blue light sprayed from between my fingers. I opened them and watched as the All Spark grew brighter. My world started to blur, but before everything went dark I saw a dark form materialize in front of me and drop to the ground. Then I fell unconscious.
When I woke up, I felt different. Holding up a hand, I barely contained a gasp of joy as I saw that it was flesh covered bone and muscle. Somehow, the All Spark had turned us all into humans. And clothed us. Very kind of it to make us decent, I thought to myself, then I sat up. Looking to my right, I saw a lot of other people just beginning to stir.
Curious about the dark form I barely remembered, I directed my attention to where it had fallen.
A man lay on the ground, unconscious but beginning to wake up. He was tan, with close-cropped black hair. As I watched, he opened his eyes and I saw that they were a bright, clear blue.
Someone pushed themselves to their feet, and the movement caught my attention. A silver-haired man stood on shaky legs. "Autobots, report!" he said and I recognized Optimus' voice.
"Cael," I supplied.
Someone stirred behind me. "Hot Shot," they said. I turned to see a tall, red-haired young man sitting up. His eyes, too, were a bright, clear blue.
"Steelfrost," my friend said, sitting up as well. She was also tall, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She turned to shake the young woman next to her.
"Hammerblast," the second young woman muttered woozily. Her hair was brown, and I knew her eyes would be blue. She was also tall, although not as tall as Steelfrost.
"Ironhide," the man supplied. He had black hair and blue eyes.
"Ratchet." He had blonde hair and a beard.
"Bumblebee," the younger man shook his head, trying to clear it. His blonde hair was long, with a black streak in it that hung in one eye.
"Wildburst," the final Autobot said. He was the tallest, with dark brown hair and blue eyes.
A young African-American woman stirred. "Omega," she said woozily. She had long black hair braided in cornrows, and her eyes were blue. The contrast was startling.
Then the tanned man spoke, surprising everybody. "Jazz."
"Jazz?" Optimus asked in a choked voice. "Is it really you?" the two men went for the manly hug thing, and a mist of tears blurred my vision as the old friends were reunited.
Someone stood beside me, and I turned to see the red-haired young man that Hot Shot had turned into. A single black streak ran through his hair. "Do you know what happened?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "Not really. I said those words and then this happened. Are the Decepticons...?"
"No. They're human, too. It feels weird, but I like it, being human." Hot Shot turned as an older woman stumbled past us, running into Optimus' arms. I smiled slightly as husband and wife kissed. Jazz just looked up with a smile on his face, but I noticed his gaze stealing toward Steelfrost. She didn't notice, as she was busy getting acquainted with Hammerblast. I could already tell that they were going to be good friends.
I turned to Hot Shot, nodding to my blond friend. "She's going to be popular."
"Why's that?" Hot Shot asked in his smooth voice. It almost made me shiver.
"Because she's very social. All the guys are going to want to date her."
"Would you like to?" For a second I misunderstood and thought he meant did I want to date her. I started to answer no, that would be gross, but then his real meaning dawned on me and my mouth closed again.
"Do what?" I asked impishly, although I knew exactly what Hot Shot was talking about. I just wanted to hear him say it.
"Date," Hot Shot said quietly, looking away. I noticed red creeping up his neck and mentally noted that he was sensitive and not to tease him too much in the future.
I smiled up at him. "I'd love to," I told him.
Now, two years later, we all live in the same neighborhood. Strangely enough, it's the same one I'd lived in before being a Transformer for a month or so. Wildburst, now named Stephen, seems to have disappeared. I have the feeling that he's probably joined the military or something like that.
Steelfrost, now named Jennifer, has married Jazz, now named Jaron. They're living in a double house with Opal and Bryant, formerly Omega and Bumblebee, who have also married. Opal just gave birth to their first child and right now they're on cloud nine.
Natasha (Hammerblast) has started dating Ian (Ironhide) and they're going strong. He's pretty serious about the whole thing.
Harlan (Hot Shot) and I have been married three months, and so far we haven't fought even once. This is largely due to the fact that he's very sweet and never gives me anything to fight over. We're living in the house next to my old one, which Sam and Mikaela still occupy.
Robert (Ratchet), the only bachelor in the group besides Stephen, is in Peru working on developing giant robots. Go figure.
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