Disclaimer: 'Transformers' belongs to Hasbro, Paramount and various other companies – characters from the film or any related merchandise do not belong to me and I am making no money out of this fiction from the characters or plot. Any original characters and ideas do belong to me and require permission to use elsewhere.
Rated T: Violence
"Spark"
Cool mountain air filled his lungs while a chilled wind played with his long brown tangled locks. He reached up, scratching his weather beaten cheek through the thick coarse hair of his beard before reaching down to pick up another log. Placing the log upright, he gripped the handle of the ax and with little effort raised it over his head before bringing it down with a mighty swing – splitting the log in two. This was the daily ritualof Charles Witwicky since escaping to his mountain hide-a-way.
His cabin was buried deep amongst the shelter of the giant fir trees that blanketed the mountainous region of the Cascade Range. The view was nothing short of spectacular when he found a rocky perch that he could use to peek out past the cover of the forest. Miles upon miles of forest spread out like a blanket of green beneath him. Still - hidden in this endless wilderness - he did not feel safe. His thoughts were of his two daughters, who had been so carefully guarded by Judy and James. Every step of their lives crafted to hide and protect them.
A year and a half ago that plan was threatened with footage captured from the Mars Rover. There was talk amongst his colleagues that alerted him to the impending alien arrival. He knew eventually all roads would lead to him and once they found him they'd find what they had sought. So he ran. He disappeared without telling anyone, including his daughters, Judy, and James. Anyone who knew of his plans would be a target.
He raised the ax again, splitting the log a second time. The crack of his ax hitting the log echoed through the forest. He reached down, picking up the split wood and tossing them into a small pile he had created.
Suddenly, in the distance he heard a familiar rumble. It faded almost as fast as it had come, before quickly returning with a thunderous roar. He looked to the sky trying to judge the distance and direction of the jet. From his years in the Air Force Charles had learned how to tell a fighter jet from other jets. A fighter jet had a way of sneaking up on a person before rattling their soul with an earth shaking rumble of its engines. He paused to listen, he heard the after burners kick on again and this time it was much louder.
Charles scrambled for his M16 that he had leaning up against a tree just a few feet away. Once there he turned, slamming his back up against its trunk, taking shelter under its branches, and holding the rifle ready.
Like the crack of thunder the silence was shattered by an F22 raptor flying low overhead. The tops of the trees swayed from the powerful force of a draft left in its wake.
He pressed harder against the tree, trying to remain as still as possible. But he was no match against the jets spotting capabilities and it banked hard once it crossed over the clearing. On its return, it hovered above the trees for a moment, and then with the scraping of steel and winding gears the F22 transformed before landing hard on his feet in the clearing where Charles hid. Charles knew it was futile to try and run.
The massive blue robot turned, scanning the parameter of where he landed, not stopping till he discovered the human hidden against the tree.
Charles watched as its red eyes found him. Bending down slightly, the robot approached him while a weapon appeared out of subspace in its arm. The robot then raised it – leveling it to take aim at his human prey.
Charles feared this day might come, his thoughts wondered to those of his daughters, and he realized he would never see them again. His hiding was his last attempt to protect them with the hopes of seeing them again but he failed.
"Do not move human and I will spare your life," threatened menacing blue robot.
But Charles knew capture would mean death, and not just to him. He reached slowly down to a small pistol he had hidden in the pocket of his jacket and pulled it out.
The robot's weapon whirred to life at the movement the human made. Charles refused to stop and raised the gun to his head placing it against his temple. He closed his eyes tight as he pulled back the hammer, bringing a bullet into the chamber.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Thundercracker didn't give his human captive time to think about it. Distracting the human with his words, Thundercracker fired his weapon in an attempt to knock the small gun free from the human's hands.
A light shot towards Charles, who pulled the trigger as the laser hit the gun, knocking it out of his hands. Although Charles had been quick, he wasn't quick enough and the bullet grazed his forehead, leaving a bloody gash.
The force of the laser from the alien robot and the shock of the bullet piercing his forehead brought him to his knees. Charles felt the robots hand roughly grab him from above and lifting him off the ground.
"That was a very stupid move human. You should know better than to disobey a Decepticon," Thundercracker hissed.
The rumble of another jet filled Charles ears. He tried to look around to get a visual on the other jet but blood obscured his vision. Skywarp approached Thundercracker's location; hovering, he opened his cockpit as Thundercracker carelessly tossed Charles into the seat
"Sit properly human so I can secure you for the flight," grumbled Skywarp.
Charles struggled to right himself but not to sit still. The jet's cockpit hatch was still open. Taking advantage of this, Charles pushed with his legs trying to lift himself out. But the jet could feel what his was trying to do and tilted quickly in the opposite direction. Charles flipped back hitting his head on the edge of the cockpit before falling limp into the seat.
"Finally, these humans can be so stubborn!" Skywarp closed his hatch and secured the human in place the best he could.
"You're loosing your touch Skywarp," Thundercracker teased, as he transformed and flew off towards their hidden base. Skywarp followed, hot on Thundercrackers tail.
---
Harley's senses began to slowly return. She moved her arm but pain shot though it and up to her shoulder. Her face was pressed against a cold, hard stone floor. Cautiously, she lifted her head, opening her eyes while she struggled to move, before realizing her entire body ached. Her vision was cloudy but she was still able to see. The place was strange and unfamiliar. Carefully, she pushed herself up into a seated position and glanced around the barren grey room. It looked like she was in a prison cell for giants. There was, what appeared to be, a large seat attached to the back wall of the cell that she could only assume was a bench for a giant. It was up far too high for her to climb on. Her muscles screamed in protest as she brought herself to a standing position. Who ever had put her in this cell knew they'd have to block the lower half of the bars with additional wire to prevent her from walking between them.
'Where am I?" she wondered. She felt calm, but only because she couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was like she was in a dream. Nothing looked familiar and nothing made sense. The last thing she could remember was taking out the trash, so how she ended up here was a mystery.
She pinched her arm and blinked her eyes. "Wake up!" she whispered to herself.
A movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Calm was quickly replaced with fear; the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. She felt exposed and there was no blanket within reach to hide under.
She turned her head in the direction of the movement and was met with a red glowing visor of a giant dark blue robot standing against a large computer at the far end of the room. "Wake up!" She yelled louder to herself, her eyes locked onto the robot that stood staring at her.
"I am awake." the robot said in a monochromatic and mechanical tone.
Her heart beat violently against her chest. She tried to scream but nothing came out.
The massive blue robot brought its arm up as a small object popped up out of it. "Starscream, the human is online. Would you like me to get her ready?" he asked.
A screechy voice came across the radio, "No. Skywarp is bringing in another human. We will leave them together first before trying to extract any information."
Starscream opened up a private com link to Soundwave, so Harley couldn't hear their conversation. "After Skywarp brings in the other human I want you to leave the room. I would like to observe them first to see what sort of information we can get. Then we will move on to other methods," Starscream said calmly.
"Affirmative." Soundwave turned back to the computer and waited for Skywarp.
It didn't take long for Skywarp to arrive, carrying his limp human cargo. Soundwave looked down at Charles, who lay motionless and bloody in Skywarp's hand.
"Starscream said not to harm the humans. We need them to be alive and working in order to retrieve the data," he said accusingly.
"He is alive, Soundwave. He's just a little damaged. Don't worry you will still be able to get the information you need," Skywarp shot back defensively.
Soundwave did a quick scan of the human and found that his vitals still showed he was alive. "Starscream wants you to put him in the cell with the femme for now. We will proceed as planned at a later time."
"No problem, besides I'm tired of dealing with this disgusting, messy human." Skywarp walked over to the cell and pulled the door open. He decided against tossing the human into the cell fearing he might damage him further. He wasn't in the mood to deal with an angry Starscream more than he would have to already, so he lowered his hand close to the floor before dumping him out of his palm.
Harley stood hovering against the back wall, trying to make her self as small as possible while Skywarp dumped the human on the floor. He only briefly glanced at the frightened girl in the back before standing up to his full height and walking away, slamming the iron cell door behind him.
The room was quiet once the two robots left. Harley sat there for a while, shivering from fear and cold. She still had her skirt on, and a light sweater, but not much else that would protect her from the chill in the air.
The human on the floor appeared to be a man. She wasn't sure if he was dead or not, but he looked to be in bad shape. She could see blood pooling out around his head. The sight made her stomach churn. She slowly stood and stepped closer to get a better look at the man who lay with his back to her. Walking around him at a distance she came to his front. There was something familiar about him but it was hard to tell who he was under all that blood. He had a beard and long hair. She didn't know anyone like that. But still something was tugging at her mind. She came closer bending down till she was close enough to touch his face.
The recognition hit her like a ton of bricks and she came down hard on her knees. "Dad!" she screamed tears spilling down her cheeks as she reached out to grab him.
"Dad!" she screamed again and she felt around his chest for any signs of life. She grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse. It was faint but she was able to get a pulse through his warm skin.
"Dad, wake up. Please!" she begged pushing him over on to his back and gently shaking him. He moaned in pain.
Harley quickly took off her sweater and started to wipe away the blood around his eyes. It was at that moment that she noticed his wound and the severity of it. She cried harder while she worked to stop the bleeding.
"Dad, are you ok? Please say something. Please." She sobbed uncontrollably. Her body shook with the force of her sadness.
Charles heard his daughter's cries and forced his eyes open. Harley looked down at him with wet cheeks as he spoke to her, "Don't say anything. They are watching us." He found it hard to talk as he faded in and out of dizzying consciousness.
"Harley, listen to me. Don't say anything else……no names….or they will go after them too." His mind swirled.
"Dad what are you talking about? What's going on?" she was desperate for answers and wanted so desperately for this nightmare to end.
"Harley, I love you. I want you to know that no matter what happens I love you. I did everything for you and the other you," he said. He wanted so badly to say he loved Devon too, but knew he couldn't say it.
Harley knew what he meant and she kept quiet. She was confused but she listened to Charles. Just from his appearance she knew she was in danger.
"Don't speak anymore," She whispered, moving closer to her father and laying down next to him. She held onto him tightly while she closed her eyes, listening to his erratic breathing, and praying that someone would help them.
---
A loud clang of steel bars jarred her from her restless sleep. Heavy footsteps shook the ground beneath her; she turned and looked up at the faceless giant blue robot she had seen before. He reached down and grabbed her father from her arms.
"No! Please leave him alone!" she screamed, frantically grabbing at his arms as he was lifted out of her reach. "Please don't hurt him. Please!"
But her pleas fell on deaf ears; the robot turned and walked off, closing the heavy cell door behind him.
Harley watched them depart, leaving her alone. Her heavy breathing and sobs echoed throughout the room. "No..." she whisper weakly, sitting down heavily on the floor in defeat.
---
Charles held tight to the hand that held him. He closed his eyes in an attempt to block the pain of seeing Harley so desperately trying to hold on to him - the agonizing vision forever seared into his thoughts.
He heard the swoosh of a door and a few moments later felt his body hit cold hard metal as he was dropped onto a large table. He lay back on the table, weak from his injuries, and opened his eyes.
"Skywarp, I thought I told you to bring the human back in working condition!" said a red and blue robot standing on the opposite side of the table, his red optics glaring down at Charles. The robot had a whiny voice that grated on his every nerve. Its eyes exuded evil intent.
"He isn't damaged. Soundwave checked him out. His systems are still working properly," responded Skywarp in a tone of retaliation.
"Soundwave, are you going to be able to get the information we need then?" asked the red and blue robot.
"Yes." Spoke the dark blue, masked robot that Charles now knew as Soundwave. He was trying to identify the names with the robots, just in case he survived.
"Fine, let's get on with this." Charles heard the red and blue robot say.
Charles closed his eyes once again while he lay there, his heart pounding, not sure what to expect. 'Why didn't they try and question me?' He thought to himself. They made no attempt to even ask who he was nor did they explain why they wanted him. 'Maybe they don't know what they are looking for.'
Suddenly, Charles was distracted from his thoughts by two giant fingers applying pressure on each side of his head. His eyes shot back open as he inhaled sharply. Staring down at him, and closer than he felt comfortable with, was the red visor of Soundwave.
"Hold still." Soundwave said in his mechanical voice.
Without warning a pain shot through his head, forcing him to reach up and grab at the giant fingers that held his head still.
Skywarp saw Charles struggle and reached down, grabbing his arms and pinning them close to his body, holding him still.
Charles moaned in agony and he now realized why they hadn't questioned him. They had other more effective means – reading his mind. He tried desperately to fight the mental invasion but the harder he fought the more severe the pain became.
"The more you fight, human, the more pain you will feel." Soundwave stated with irritation.
"You-can't-have-it." Charles sputtered out while struggling to control his thoughts. A battle of minds ensued but Soundwave was too strong and he snapped Charles's will like a twig. The images flowed freely through Charles mind and he was forced to watch his life move quickly in reverse. Suddenly the images stopped, pausing for a moment at a particular time in his life, before resuming in a normal forward motion. The scene played out including all he felt at that moment, as if he was re-living that day all over again.
---Forced Flashback---
The room was quiet except for the repetitive ticking of the clock on the night stand next to the bed. Clothes were strewn about the floor in a pattern that indicated its occupants had left in a hurry.
Charles had just arrived back from the hospital. He stood at the foot of his bed, looking around the room in a daze, his face wrought with pain and loss. It had been five days since his wife, Sarah, had died giving birth to their daughter and the thought of her being gone forever still had not sunk in. He felt so detached, like he was outside his body looking in on someone else.
He looked over towards the bed where he had placed his baby girl. There she lay, peacefully sleeping, unaware of her loss. He thought of Sarah and the moments before they had left this room. Her contractions where closer and more painful, yet still she was excited for the impending birth. He knew she couldn't wait to hold her baby in her arms. How sad it was to know she'd never get that chance - that they would never get that chance together.
Prying his eyes away from his daughter, he focused on the pictures that were scattered about the room. Quickly, as if spurred on by a burst of energy, he moved around the room, gathering up all the pictures off the walls and dresser. He set them all down in a pile on the floor. Then he went about gathering the towel on the floor in the bathroom and Sarah's robe off the bed, laying them on top of the photos, but still this did not help ease the loss he felt.
He turned slowly, glancing around. Across from the foot of his bed was a single closet door. It was the coat closet where they stored not only coats but other miscellaneous items, including boxes full of photos.
He walked over to the door and opened it. He reached up and pulled the string that was attached to the light above, turning it on. He could see the shoes boxes up on the shelf above. Carefully he reached up for one of the shoe boxes but as he slid it off the shelf a smaller box, that he had not seen, slid forward. He quickly leveled the shoe box to prevent the smaller box from flying off and hitting him in the head, before continuing to gingerly lift them down together – one balance precariously on the other.
He remembered the strange box. It was made of some sort of unusual material with odd symbols carved into it.. It was from his grandfather, Archibald. Charles's father had given it to him as a reminder of his grandfather and all the amazing things he had done before going insane. As he recalled there was a smaller box inside this larger one.
Balancing the two boxes, he turned to head out of the closet. Just as he stepped outside, his back foot caught on a shoe causing him to tip forward, sending the top box flying. It hit the floor with a loud shatter, sending its contents sliding and clattering along the wood floor next to the bed. A white oval shaped ball that had been encased in a smaller glass box within the larger box, rolled several inches before coming to rest next to the bed.
Charles struggled to regain his balance before gently bending down and setting the shoe box of photos on the floor. Standing up slowly, he walked around the side of the bed to get a better look at the shattered boxes and its contents. There were several items that looked like silver disks. His eyes, however, were drawn to the white ball. As he moved in closer to inspect it, he noticed it seemed to be glowing. And not just glowing but pulsating, getting brighter and brighter – till it was a brilliant glowing ball light.
He glanced over at his daughter who lay quietly on the bed, judging his distance to his daughter verses the ball of light. He started towards his daughter but instead found he was unable to move. It felt like he was incased in cement, unable to even move his fingers. His heart raced and he started to panic from being confined by this unknown force. He was so caught up in his struggling to get free he didn't notice that the glowing ball now hovered a foot above his bed. For a moment he stopped his struggles and looked on in horror, fearful of what it was going to do next.
Slowly the floating ball of light drifted over toward the sleeping baby, not stopping till it was directly above her. Charles yelled but found his voice was silenced.
Pulsating stronger, the glowing ball omitted a blue beam of light that looked similar to a light from a scan gun. It seemed to be scanning his daughter. From her head to her toe the beam of blue light moved - over her body - before abruptly disappearing.
Charles held his breath unsure of what was to follow. Then without warning his eyes were filled with a blinding light that cut off all vision of everything around him. There were no sounds just silence, as the light flashed and then vanished. The room was once again quiet except for the ticking clock.
Unexpectedly release from his invisible prison, Charles stumbled, falling forwarded onto the floor. Breathing heavily, he lifted himself back up using the side of the bed for support. As he peered above the edge of the bed his daughter came into view. She was peacefully sleeping like nothing had happened. He stood up further and stumbled over to her but stopped paralyzed in disbelief. His mouth hung open in shock.
There on the bed cooing and wiggling contently was another baby identical to his daughter. Her big blue eyes looked up at him innocently. He reached down and gently covered the new baby with a blanket while he touched his own daughter to see if she was breathing and without injury. She seemed unfazed by all that happened and blissfully slept. Suddenly there was a slam of a door downstairs and a woman yelling for him. "Charles, are you here?" the woman yelled.
---End Flashback---
Charles fought to bring himself back to reality with a painful snap. He couldn't let Soundwave find out anymore. He had to fight to the end. Struggling against Skywarps hand he forced his thoughts to Sarah and their life together before her pregnancy. The pain wracked his brain. But thoughts of his wife seemed to bring him renewed strength and power.
His vision once again began to fade from reality and white light engulfed his mind. Within seconds his pain faded and he stood in front of Sarah. She was more beautiful than he remembered and all the sadness he felt from her loss was replaced with love – pure love.
Sarah reached out with her hand, "Charles, come with me."
Charles needed very little convincing and reached out to touch his true love's hand, embracing her delicate fingers as they intertwined with his. She gently pulled him close, embracing him, his being, and his existence.
"What's going on?" Starscream yelled impatiently.
"The human has shutdown." Soundwave said nervously.
"Well, did you get what you needed?" Starscream questioned.
"Yes, it is one of the females; unfortunately I was not able to determine which one." He said trying to hide his nervousness he felt in having to break the news to Starscream.
"There was a box and it contained data discs. They might also contain information we need," he said calmly. Soundwave hated Starscream and was frustrated that he had to obey him like this. The first chance he had he was getting Megatron back.
Starscream turned to Soundwave, "Well, we better hope Barricade chose the right one or else he will have more than me to deal with."
Their conversation was interrupted by a com link initiated by Thundercracker, "Starscream, we've picked up another Autobot ship in the outer atmosphere of earth. Would you like me to go check it out?"
"No. I need you here. We can't afford to separate the group." Starscream shot back only slightly concerned. He was sure the Autobots wouldn't be able to find their location. However, if he sent someone out it could possibly compromise their location. Instead he decided to proceed as planned.
"Soundwave, Ready the female." he snapped before he turned and left the room.
Authors Notes: Sorry this chapter is short. I had hoped to add more but didn't want to take part of the next chapter and add it to this one. Thanks for all the positive reviews. R & R. Thanks.