Yay, another chapter! The bots are still stuck in the cold, and have to deal with each other.
I don't own Transformers, Hasbro does.
Hey, put down the ice ball and enjoy the show.
"Smokescreen, what in the world are you doing?" Arcee asked, arching an optic ridge at the mech lying on the floor. It was the next morning and the storm was still going strong. We'll be stuck in here for quite a while if it keeps going like this. And it's still freezing in here.
Arcee and I stood over Smokescreen as he lay sprawled out on the floor. He was just standing there and the next second Smokey was lying on the ground with the most pitiful look on his face.
"Smokescreen, what are you doing?" Arcee asked again, getting irritated. Smokey just reached towards her from the ground desperately.
"Help! I've fallen and I don't wanna get up!"
I had to laugh at that. Smokey's been watching too many commercials. I went over to him and nudged him with my pede. "Smokey, get up."
He just arched an optic ridge at me. "Did you not hear me? I don't wanna get up!" Arcee just shook her helm and walked away. I looked back at Smokescreen and crouched down next to him.
"How can you just lay there? The floor is freezing."
Smokey just shrugged. "You get used to it after a while." I heard Ratchet scoff from behind me. I turned halfway to look at him, refocusing my optics.
"I find it hard to believe that anyone can get used to this cold."
Optimus spoke up from his seat on the floor next to Ratchet. "On certain days of the vorn in Iacon, it became this cold." I nodded, agreeing with him. Iacon was on Cybertron's North Pole. I heard it was pretty uncommon for it to get cold like this, but I'm sure Iacon had its moments. Optimus must be doing a little better than the rest of us are.
"...Dude, I can see my exhales." Smokescreen commented, still on the floor. Ratchet stared at him.
"When did you figure that one out?" Ratchet asked sarcastically. Smokey shrugged again.
"I'm just stating the obvious."
"The annoyingly obvious." Ratchet grumbled. It got really quiet again in the warehouse. The wind was still howling outside and the snow just kept getting deeper. We didn't have to worry much about it getting dark since the snow outside made it a little brighter than it really was out there. I moved away from Smokey and leaned against the wall. The cloud cover moved over the building again making it pitch black it the ware house. All you could really see was everyone else's optics.
"You know what I haven't thought about in a while?" Smokescreen said in the dark over the wind from outside. I looked in his general direction.
"What, Smokey?"
"Monsters." I heard Ratchet scoff.
"The monsters I'm sure you are about to speak of don't exist."
"Says you. Slenderman's always watching."
Ratchet looked like he was going to argue, but probably realized that the argument would get him nowhere and just opted to glare. We quieted down and looked at each other, the boredom already slipping in. Optimus just decided to take a nap, even though it's the middle of the day, and Ratchet pulled some tools out of nowhere and started to clean them compulsively. Bulkhead was just staring out of the window, his chin resting on his servo. I noticed Smokey's right doorwing twitch. I vented and sat down on this icy floor.
Bored again.
"Hey, you wanna play a game?" I asked Smokey.
"Sure, why not?"
...
"Heeead, shoulders, knees and toes. Knees and toes!" I stood and played the little game with Smokey. Raf told me that he often played with his sister Pilar. We had absolutely nothing else better to do. Bulkhead smiled and shook his helm as the two of us made complete fools of ourselves. Both of us pointed to the given body part as we went along. I know we don't have toes, but we can at least stretch our imagination a bit.
Optimus was smiling slightly (he had woken up for a short while) and Ratchet was grumbling how idiotic we looked. The two of us just ignored Ratchet and kept playing our little game, doorwings bouncing in sync.
"Eyes and ears and mouth and... uh ..." Smokey looked at me and I looked back. Bulkhead laughed.
"You two know we don't have noses!"
…
"…Nooobody knooows the troubles I've seen… Nooobody knooows my sooorrooow…"
Smokescreen and I stared wide eyed at Ratchet. I have never heard him sing before and I didn't know what to expect. But I sure didn't see that one coming.
"Oh, Zazu, do lighten up." The two of us turned to look at Arcee. I can't believe she's playing along with that. Smokey looked back at Ratchet, who just stared back.
"You really are hopeless."
…
All of us were bored. Again. The storm had let up, but we were completely snowed in. It was even colder than ever in the warehouse and we all were shivering our plating off. Smokey's denta were chattering. My doorwings were quivering as I looked around the warehouse at my teammates. Everyone just looked plain cold. Well, everyone except Optimus, who had went back to sleep a little while ago. Arcee got this frustrated look on her face and stood up.
"It is too fragging cold in here. I'm going out to get some firewood." Ratchet nodded.
"Please do."
I turned to look at Arcee. "How are you gonna get out of here? We're snowed in."
Arcee just stood up and pointed towards the ceiling. I followed where she was pointing and saw the thick glass skylight. It was about forty feet up, but I know 'Cee will have no problem getting up there. Soon she was up on the rafters and pushing at the glass. I watched her as she opened it and a pile of snow fell through into the warehouse.
"Hey, thanks for the warning!" Ratchet growled sarcastically as he shook the snow off his frame. I snickered under my ventilations as Arcee left out through the window. I doubt she'll be gone long since there's a forest not far away.
"Bumblebee, I want to tell you something." Smokey moved around to face me. I looked back at him. Primus only knows what he wants to say.
"If you're gonna pick a vehicle mode to run from the police in, pick a big rig." Bulkhead, Ratchet and I looked at Smokey like he had lost his processor. Optimus was still sleeping, but he somehow looked like he heard what Smokey said. What was doing thinking about running from the police? Did he do anything back on Cybertron? He told me that he was from Praxus, where Prowl's from. Smokey told me that the city was police central. I wouldn't be surprised if he had done anything to get him in trouble with the police.
"Really, Smokey?" Bulkhead said. The white and blue mech nodded.
"Yeah. I mean, if you get cornered by them or stuff's blocking your way, you can just ram it out of the way."
"But big rigs are kinda easy to roll over. It's nearly impossible to make a sharp turn without falling over." Bulkhead said. Smokey reluctantly nodded, agreeing with him.
"Plus, you're in a lot of trouble if you stab the alt-mode's fuel tank. You risk blowing yourself up." I added, joining in on the conversation. "It'll be better to pick a car. Like a muscle car or a sports car."
"Yeah, you could just weave in and out of traffic." Bulkhead agreed. Suddenly, Smokey's faceplates lit up.
"Or, you can pick an ambulance! Just cut on the lights and sirens and everybody gets outta your way!"
Ratchet shook his helm as we debated on which vehicle mode would be the best for getting away from the cops. "All of you are idiots."
We all turned to him and said in unison, "But we're your idiots!"
Ratchet just rolled his optics and said he was taking a nap till Arcee gets back with the firewood. We stared at him as he lay down near Optimus (who was still out cold) and shuttered his optics.
"You know, Optimus sounds like a kitten when he snores," Bulkhead commented. Smokey and I snorted as we sat on the freezing cold floor.
"I can hear every word you are saying." Well, that shut us up. All of us, except Smokey, of course.
"No disrespect, sir, but what are you, a dolphin? Sleep with half your brain awake?" All Optimus did was open one optic as he lay on his side, curled up to take up less floor space.
"Yes, Smokescreen, my processor is capable of resting in such a manner. You can never be too prepared for danger."
Ratchet's head suddenly lifted, looking up. "Arcee is back with the firewood."
...
Blaster fire is a really good fire starter. Wheeljack found that out the hard way. Right now, we all kinda just sat around the fire Arcee started. She had carried in a lot of wood; I'm surprised she was able to carry all of that. From across the fire, I could see Ratchet rub his forehelm.
"I'm too old for this."
"What's else is new?" Smokey responded sarcastically. Before Ratchet could give him permanent CPU damage, I decided to cut in.
"Hey, now that we've got fire, what can we do?" I said, using a long pipe I found to poke at the flames. I watched the fire crackle with vague interest.
"We can sing!" Smokey, of course. Before anyone would say anything about why we should sing, he just started.
"Let's gather 'round the campfire and sing our campfire song. Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song," Smokey sang. Bulkhead, Arcee and I couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous he looked singing that song. Ratchet looked this close to sticking a wrench up something Smokey really won't like, and I think Smokey knows. But he kept singing for some reason. Before long, I found myself singing along with Smokey.
"Uh, Smokescreen, why don't we do something other than singing," Arcee tapped him irritably, making him stop. He got this dramatic pout as Arcee suggested we tell stories. Yeah, that seems like a good idea. Optimus looked interested. Even with the fire going strong, I could still see Ratchet's faceplates lit up and a creepy smile spread across his faceplates.
Suddenly I don't want to hear a story anymore...
"I've got one. It's a human story I had found while wandering on the Internet. I think it will be rather interesting." The rest of us quieted down as Ratchet spoke. I brought my legs up to my chassis and wrapped my arms around them, refocusing my optics as I looked at Ratchet sitting next to Arcee. The blue femme had a sarcastic look on her face, like the story wouldn't affect her. Smokey had the same Arcee did. Bulkhead was all for this; he loved a good story. Ratchet let the fire crackle once more before starting his story.
"There was a young boy – let's call him Johnny – that was asked one day by his mother to get some liver from the store. They needed it for the soup his mother was making for dinner."
"Ugh, humans are disgusting! Eating organs!" Smokescreen muttered and got a sharp elbow in the side from me. Ratchet continued like he didn't hear us, the orange light of the fire casting ominous shadows around us.
"He took the money his mother gave him to pay for the meat and head off for the store. Johnny didn't want to go buy the liver and wanted the money for himself. Between the boy's house and the store was an old cemetery. Johnny saw a fresh corpse in a coffin, ready to be buried. Remembering that he wanted the money for himself, he went and carved out the corpse's liver with the knife he kept in his pocket. "
Optimus got this horrified look on his face as he listened to Ratchet's story. What kind of kid robs a grave for dinner?! Everyone was silent, hanging onto Ratchet's every word. Smokey's usually high doorwings started to lower. Ratchet looked around at us, apparently pleased with the way we looked.
"He brought the liver home and presented it to his mother. She didn't notice that it was large for a normal animal organ and chopped it up for the soup. Soon, Johnny and his mother were enjoying the liver soup, unaware of the danger heading their way.
"Later that night, Johnny was awake watching TV while his mother slept in her room upstairs. Suddenly there was a knocking on the door. It was late and he rarely received visitors. But something told him not to open the door. He had a very bad feeling about the knocking on the door. He tried to ignore the knocking and keep watching TV. Soon, though, he heard a voice from the other room inside the house."
The fire popped eerily and we all forgot about the wind howling outside. Arcee didn't have that sarcastic look on her face. She looked really uneasy as Ratchet got a distant look in his optics and whispered. "Johnny, Johnny, where's my liver?"
"Johnny froze, wondering who that was. The voice came again, closer this time. The boy, now frightened, jumped up and ran upstairs into his room. He locked his door and pressed against it as someone took a loud step on the creaky wood of the bottom of the staircase."
The spiderweb-like voice Ratchet did before returned, making me even more nervous. "Johnny, Johnny, I'm on the first step. Where's my liver?"
"The boy stayed there leaning against the door, paralyzed as to what to do. And all the while the steps grew louder and louder. The voice grew closer and closer.
"Johnny, Johnny, I'm on the second step. Where's my liver? ...Johnny, Johnny, I'm on the third step. Where's my liver?"
Ratchet switched back to normal, though is 'normal' had turned creepy. He looked all of us in the optics as he kept telling his story. "The boy jumped into his bed, terrified out of his mind. He didn't know why this strange voice was coming after him. He kept saying 'where's my liver'. Suddenly, Johnny remembered the liver he ate in the soup for dinner."
"Johnny, Johnny, I'm on the fifth step. Where's my liver? ...Johnny, Johnny, I'm on the last step. Where's my liver?"
"The boy through the sheets over his head and shivered in fear as he prayed, begging for someone to make the voice go away. Only it didn't. He heard the wood creak outside of his closed door. Then, he heard a knock on his door, paralyzing him."
"Johnny, Johnny, I'm in front of your door. Where's my liver?"
I was shaking by now. Smokey had the tips of his digits up to his mouth, but he doesn't have any nails to bite. This is getting really creepy. Even Optimus had an uneasy expression on his face as Ratchet told the story.
"Johnny heard the door creak open, even though he had locked it. He shivered and quaked under the sheets of his bed, wishing he had never taken that liver. Now there was no giving it back. He could almost see this strange person through the sheets, their long, slender shadow cast over his frightened form in the bed. He saw a hand raise, hand reaching."
"Johnny, Johnny, I'm at the foot of your bed. Where's my liver?"
"The boy couldn't shut his eyes. He couldn't call for help. He couldn't scream. All he could do was sit as the figure reached slowly, drawing closer and closer, reaching with its long, slender fingers..."
Suddenly there was a knock coming from the outside of the warehouse. I automatically screamed, along with the others, and half crawled half ran away from where the sound came from. Smokescreen scrambled to get away from the sound, since he was sitting closest to it. Bulkhead screamed like a femme and jumped clear over the fire, faster than I ever thought he could move. There was just chaos. Bots were screaming, yelling, onlining weapons, scrambling out of the way, holding onto each other. My doorwings flattened against my back in fear. What in the Pit was that?!
"I told you guys. Slenderman's always watching!" Smokescreen said, voice cracking. He was practically holding onto Ratchet, who had a spooked look on his face. "He's gonna get us ALL!"
"No, he is not." Optimus said. Before he could move to get up and see what it was, the door of the warehouse opened, sending in a cold rush and nearly blowing out the fire.
"Hey, the least you Bots could've done was open the- ...Why is Bumblebee in Prime's arms?" We sighed in relief. It wasn't Slenderman.
"Agent Fowler, it is good to see you once more." Optimus said, still holding me firm. We all just stood there, probably looking like the biggest idiots on the planet. Agent Fowler had on a thick parka with a furry hood over his head. Snow coated his sturdy boots as he stood with his hands in his coat pockets.
"I brought you Bots some raw energon the military had found. We've got no idea how to refine the stuff but we know you do. I can't stay long, but I'll send the crystals in."
...
Ratchet had a very small, but fast acting energon refiner and soon we all sat in front of the fire trying to warm our pedes and energon cubes. I'm surprised Agent Fowler managed to get the raw energon to us, with the storm and all. He said that he would be regularly checking up on us, but couldn't stick around longer than a few minutes. Arcee had tossed more wood in to keep the fire going.
"I wasn't scared!" Smokey glared at Arcee, who just looked back at him sarcastically.
"If that wasn't fear, I don't know what is."
Before this could become an argument, Optimus interrupted by asking Smokey a question.
"Who is Slenderman?"
Sheesh, bad question to ask, Optimus! Oh well, too late now...
Anyway, that story that Ratchet told is one my girl scout leader told us on a camping trip almost a decade ago. It's called 'Johnny, I Want My Liver Back'. She was right at the part where the strange man was knocking on Johnny's bedroom door when someone actually knocked on the cabin door outside! We all screamed like the little girls we were and ran to the other side of the cabin. Thankfully, it was just another girl scout leader and no one lost a liver that night. One of the scariest moments in my childhood. And awesomest.
When Smokey was lying on the floor saying he didn't want to get up, I was refering to a parody of the Life Alert commercials a friend of mine did. The song Ratchet was singing was from the Lion King when Zazu was being held hostage in a bone cage my Scar. That song was so hopeless...
I want to thank all of you who waited for an update and who review the last chapter! :D
If you have questions, comments, or ideas, just drop a review! :)
Until the next chap, see ya!
P.S. I have developed a very unhealthy interest in Slenderman. Hopefully, he's not interested in me. I like living.