A/N: Primus! What is wrong with me? So I'm just talking to this fellow fanfic writer about betaing his work and out of nowhere a plot bunny decides to latch onto me while we were talking about our computers eating words and sometimes whole sentences! Actually, I had two latch onto me, but this one bit first so I must write it first.
This is sort of a side story to The Real Reason Behind the Lack of Updates.
Summary: So we, as authors, sometimes notice that when we save or upload our typed stories we lose some word(s) in the process and have to go back and fix or trust our readers can fill in the blank. But what happens to those words? Where do they go when our computers eat them? The answer is simple, they go to that empty space often referred to as the traveling black hole. The same black hole that eats our real life stuff we lose to never find again. And what is in that black hole? Well, this is the story of when the black hole ate something it wasn't meant to and we find out.
Where Do the Missing Words Go?
Peace. It was so relevant. I was enjoying my day of peace while Terra took all of the bots on a trip to see a friend of hers she believed could help. I was left behind, because her friend apparently would shoot me on sight before she could explain. Lovely thought. But I wasn't left without a task.
I cracked my knuckles as I stared at the computer, deep in thought. I had to write a story for a friend, telling them where the missing words in a few of my chapters were. Inquiring minds wanted to know. And I did as well. The only problem was; I didn't know the answer. How does one answer a question without knowing the answer? The easy answer would be to find someone who did and ask them instead. But no. I was not given that option. My friend gave me strict orders to find this answer on my own.
But how was I supposed to find out? It's not like I will magically be wisped away to the words' location. Though, admittedly that would be kinda cool. Exciting really. About the only exciting thing I would have happen to me that never happened to anyone else. How many people can say they've been to the Black Hole? Or whatever other place existed that contained all the eaten words and sentences? I doubted anyone could. And if I did end up there and came back, who would believe me?
"Ugh," I said, letting my head drop onto my desk as I covered it with my arms. "This is stupid! I can't write a story explaining something I don't know the first thing about!"
It was at that point when I realized something was wrong. I felt as if time and space were distorting around me. My senses were momentarily going whacko, feeding me what only could've been false messages. After all, why would the world be upside down and right side up at the same time? When the odd sensation was over, I found myself standing in what appeared to nothing but black. While, there were some things that were not black. Such as the glowing orbs of light that speckled the black, that appeared to be stars. Below me, however, was nothing but black and I could not see what it was I stood on.
"Wow," I said. "This reminds me of the description of Vector Prime's little pocket dimension in Exiles." I paused, looking around. "But how did I get here? And why am I here?"
Up.
I stared. A word just floated right in front of my face. A WORD! Words aren't supposed to float! Even three dimensional words don't float! What the frag is wrong with this place?
I sighed, accepting that I was not about to understand the ins and outs of this place when I just got here. I looked around and noticed that there were more words floating around. Varied in length and some were even grouped with other words in what appeared to be full sentences. I didn't take the time to read any of the sentences or words as I started walking in a randomly chosen direction.
"Where am I?" I wondered out loud, not that anyone could hear me.
I took in more of my surroundings and noticed that at one spot, a whole bunch of words were together in something bigger than a sentence. It was a whole paragraph! From the words I picked out as it floated by it was from a Transformers fanfic. Or, who knows, it could even be something one of the authors of the novels wrote and lost during the process. It was hard to tell. I also came across a whole chapter of a story I recognized. It was the first version of a chapter of one of my own fanfics. I knew this because of the fact I remembered losing a whole chapter once when my computer glitched, and it contained more or less what happened in that chapter and my OC sparkling, Icefire.
"Dear Primus," I said, gaping at the chapter floating by. "I found where the missing words go!"
I stood there, gaping at this revelation for what felt like a very long time. I was somehow magically transported to this…alternate dimension where words that disappeared from stories written by writers around the world. Perhaps even the whole universe! I did, after all, seem some Cybertronian words floating around. Or, at least, they looked like Cybertronian words by the symbols that looked very much like it.
I shook my head and looked in confusion at the floating words, sentences, paragraphs and larger pieces of text. The alien symbols all intermixed with the words I could recognize. It was dizzying if I tried to decipher any of it for too long.
Words weren't the only thing floating about either, as I discovered when I moved further along. There also appeared to be random objects floating around. Nearby I saw some yarn and a few baby toys. I also caught sight of a Ratchet toy. I wondered what poor soul was missing their Ratchet and was glad my Ratchet figure was safe in my room with my other Transformers figures. There were old teddy bears, worn out and clearly had been used before they disappeared.
I reached up and grabbed an object out of the space and pulled it in front of my face. The object was a plush toy, a very familiar plush toy of a Digimon known as Gatomon. The white was no longer white, but a dirty white, from simply being old.
"Hey," I said, recognizing easily my initials on the tag. "It's my Gatomon plushy that disappeared ages ago." I held the old plush to my chest as I looked around at all the stuff floating around, including someone's keys. "This must be where all the stuff that the traveling black hole eats goes as well. This must be the place known as The Great Unknown that everyone says they lose their stuff in."
I grinned. Ha! I'm the first person to ever see this place! I doubt anybody else can say they got their lost goods back by going through the traveling black hole. Then I became confused.
"But how do I get back?" I wondered. "I hope I don't simply become another lost item here."
"Oh, don't worry about that."
The new voice, that sounded strangely metallic and loud in comparison to most voices I heard, had me turning around. And looking up. I decided that you knew you were a complete and total Transfan, when you looked up at Vector Prime and knew exactly who he was without him having to introduce himself.
"Dude, you're Vector Prime," I said, staring up at him in amazement and awe.
Vector Prime chuckled slightly. "You have heard of me," he noted.
"I'd ask who hasn't, but there are likely some of those kind of people," I said, still staring in awe. "But….I thought you were fictional. Then again, I thought that of all Cybertronians and yet I have several staying with me. Quite an odd predicament that."
"Perhaps, in your dimension we all are known as ficticous beings," Vector Prime said, kneeling down to more my level. I still had to look up at him though. "But we do, in fact, exist."
"Clearly," I said, trying to pull myself out of my awed state enough to hold an intelligible conversation with the ancient and renowned bot.
Vector Prime chuckled again. "Do not be ashamed, I am aware of my status as a 'Transformers' legend in your dimension," he said. He held his hand out and I stared at it. "I do believe you must want to return to it."
I nodded slowly, a little surprised that the Prime was offering his hand for me to climb into. Me! I didn't think I was worthy to stand on that hand. I mean, he is one of the Thirteen! And me? I'm just a normal, everyday human.
Vector Prime chuckled. "I think you will agree with me that you are far from normal," he said as if he read my mind. Perhaps he did. "What other human in your dimension can say they know Optimus Prime and Vector Prime personally?"
"Well, Terra can say she knows Optimus," I said. "But you are right there."
I stepped into his waiting hand and held onto his thumb as he stood up straight once more. He started walking in the same direction I had been walking.
"Oh! Did you know you have words and objects floating around in this little pocket dimension of yours?" I asked, holding tightly to my long lost Gatomon plushy.
"I do," Vector Prime said. "I am sorry about that, but I cannot control my dimension. I only created it."
"Oh," I said, nodding a little. "I think I understand. Sorta."
"You do?" Vector Prime asked, a small grin on his face plates.
"Yeah," I said. "But only sorta."
Vector Prime chuckled again.
I couldn't help but smile too, even as I felt time and space distort around me again. When I found myself back sitting at my desk, I grinned.
I met Vector Prime! Terra and the others were never gonna believe this! Then again, I looked down at my newly found Gatomon plush, I do have proof that I found where the traveling black hole leads. But it's not really proof that I met Vector Prime. Not that I felt I needed to prove it. I could just write my experience and no one would be the wiser.
I grinned again and started typing.