(A/N) Okay, this is the next chapter and I'd really like to see more reviews this time! Please and thank you! So far, I love all of my reviews, they have given me great characters to work with and they are merely awesome to even read this story.
Anyways, please enjoy this next chapter of 'It Runs in the Family'
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
It's been two months since I bought Switchblade and when I ran into one of my future comrades, Jude Heath. And over those eight weeks, I haven't told anybody about my car being an alien robot and I haven't seen hide or hair of Jude. But, Dunley, Duchess, Penny figured out Switchblade's secret on her first night.
I walked out into our massive garage and noticed that all four of our family's' cars were here.
"Lacey!" Penny shouted and flung her doors open and close with excitement. She was my brothers' car and she was always overly excited about everything. She was a bright orange ABT Audi R8- yeah, kind of a coincidence since I have an Audi R8 (creepy).
Dunley, Father's truck, was a red Chevy Truck. He was mean and nasty usually, but had his occasional sweet moments. He really didn't speak unless necessary. And don't tell my brother of sister, but he likes me better!
Duchess was the calm, relaxed silver, Vauxhall Zafira that belonged to my mother, Catherine. She loved the whole family and was always the one to brighten spirits of others, even Dunley. She was just like Mother.
I smiled at Penny's greeting and patted her hood while walking over to say my own greetings to every car in the garage. I then walked to the farthest car and sat on the trunk of it. It was Switchblade and I knew she wouldn't mind being my seat for the meantime.
"So, what have you guys been doing?" I asked my only friends, vehicles.
"Oh, we've been talking and telling jokes and stuff!" Penny nearly shouted and jumped on her tires once.
"Calm down, Sweetheart. We don't need you busting another tire- you remember what Dane did to you last time." Duchess stated. It was true; Dane did grow terribly mad at her for busting a tire while getting excited.
The orange ABT Audi calmed down right away and I started to talk to Switchblade. She was free to talk around the other cars, now that they figured out that she was one of them. They found out because she was trying to hard to not be like them. I find that kind of funny, if you ask me.
"Hey, Switchblade, do you have any other information about this Jude person?" I asked out of nowhere. I know I told her not to worry, but I'm just a curious person.
"His name is Jude Alexander Heath and he is the second destined for this mission, with you being the first, Dane being third, and Daisy being fourth." I mentally laughed at my sister being the last. "He has always admired the Autobots and he secretly wishes to have one of his own."
"Anything that I can use?" I urged.
"Well, according to my data base, he's been known to hang out around the lake most days, but Viper hasn't seen him." She sighed.
Everything was quiet for a moment while I thought. Maybe he doesn't go during the day… he could go there during sunset or something. Maybe they've been looking at the wrong times…
Okay, I have no idea what I'm even talking about. I mentally slapped myself- man; I've been doing that a lot.
"Hey, Switch!" Penny called out in a hushed tone and used my Autobots nickname. "Daisy's home, don't say anything."
Switchblade's headlights blinked once and went out. She was now a normal car.
"LACEY!" Shouted that very annoying voice that I had to deal with everyday. It was my little eight-year-old sister, Daisy.
"What do you want?"
She skipped into the garage with her brunette pigtails bouncing around her head and her pale green eyes (a lot lighter than my neon green ones) glancing cheerfully towards all the Autobots. Her pink dress swayed along with her graceful movements as she approached me.
"Oh, I just wanted to say 'hi' and to see what you were doing!" Daisy ran to me and flung herself over the hood of my poor Audi.
"Hey, watch it! If you make a dent, you're paying for it, Brat." I threatened her when I heard a very tiny grunt from the car.
"Yeah, yeah." She waved me off. "I really do wish that your car was an Autobot too. It would be so much fun and there's been new stories to hear!" She squealed.
Just then, as if it was a 'sibling meeting', our older brother came into the garage as well.
Dane was tall and lean. His shaggy brown hair covering most of his brown eyes that he shared with father. He wore regular blue jeans and a black t-shirt.
"Hey, Dane!" Penny jumped up again and opened her doors to greet him.
"Penny, calm." Mother's car sighed.
Dane smiled at his cars' energy and waved to the others. "What are you brats up to now?" He asked Daisy and I.
"I'm not a brat!" Daisy shouted and jumped off of Switchblade, causing me to sigh in relief- I didn't like her to be around my Autobot, she was always harming cars and such.
I hopped down also and headed towards the drivers side. "Hey, tell mom and dad that I'm going out for a while. I'll be back for dinner." I shouted to Dane.
"Yeah, have fun with your Autobot." He snickered as I gasped.
How did he figure out?!
Then, I saw Penny trying to hide behind Dunley. So, it was she who told Dane! Well, at least I know whom to prank now.
Daisy, at first, didn't have any emotion showing on her face. Then, she squealed and clapped her hands in delight.
"Yeah, don't tell Father, though. Switchblade doesn't want him to know yet." I nodded towards my Audi.
"Switchblade?" Daisy cocked her head to one side. "Ooh, that's a pretty name!"
I sighed a 'whatever' and climbed into the drivers seat and told Switch to take off towards the lake. She complied and I waved 'bye' to my siblings and the other Autobots in the garage.
I watched the scenery go by as we drove by houses and trees of all sorts. I sighed and leaned my head against the window. It would be weird for somebody to see this; mostly because there were tons of Autobots out there in the world. But, the biggest part is that quite a few people had an Autobot- most of them weren't the fighting type, though. They were just surviving Cybertron citizens that wanted to be loved.
We were nearing the lake and I straightened up from my slouching position and began to look around the streets that led to the water. Nothing but some couples and a few kids playing hopscotch.
"Lacey, have you come here to search?"
I looked around one last time before I opened the door. "Yeah, I have a feeling that he might be around here today."
"I should come with you."
"NO! I mean, that would be too obvious with a giant robot behind me and all." I waved my hands at her. "I think I'm going to lay it on him slowly. Maybe get to know him better, not all at once, ya know?"
I could hear her stutter, but she blinked her headlights once (which meant 'okay') and I was free to walk around alone.
It was the middle of summer and around the lake were cherry trees. These trees came from Japan when we signed the treaty to be allies. All of the trees were covered in pink and white flowers and it smelt absolutely beautiful along with the slight breeze. There were tiny boats out on the lake where couple and friends can go to talk and have a good time together.
The wind picked up and it made my short blue-jean skirt and yellow top billow. I laughed to myself and I held back my long, brown hair out of my face and kicked my flip-flops off to carry them. I could now feel the green grass between my toes and it felt absolutely amazing.
I can't remember the last time I felt like a kid. I used to do this every day when I was young, but I grew out of that stage…
The wind died down and I continued on my way, around the lake. Seeing only random people that I've never seen before, I was starting to think that I wouldn't be able to see him today.
I need to find Jude today.
Something about the atmosphere in the garage told me that something might happen soon, so I needed to talk to him. Just in case. I didn't want something bad to happen and it be all my fault for not being able to find Jude in time.
Jude was obviously a big part in the whole 'destined' thing, so he must do something that I can't. Something that any of my siblings can't do.
Beginning to lose faith, I sat down on the grass near the water and dipped my toes into the warm liquid. It was… renewing?
Then, I heard somebody walking behind me as I lay down to look at the clouds.
"Is this seat taken?" The male voice asked.
"Naw," I smiled with my eyes closed. "Just waiting for you, of course."
I heard him sit down and he sighed. "So, you've been waiting for somebody who you barely know? You only know my name."
"As do you." I reminded him.
It was quiet for a few minutes and I opened my eyes to look at the white cloud passing by.
"Lacey, right?"
I turned towards him to see his blue eyes staring at me. "Yup. And you're Jude."
He smiled.
I felt as if we were connected; yet we only met a few months ago when we bumped into each other- and since then, we never saw each other again. It was only a few minutes of knowing each other if you get technical.
"Hey, that's my ring!" He shouted as he noticed the ring I picked up that night we ran into each other. I placed it on the chain so that I didn't lose it.
"Yeah, I found it and thought it might be yours. So, I saved it just in case we ran into each other again." I smiled and sat up. I was beginning to take it off when he shook his head not to.
"You can hold onto it for a while, if you want." He said. "I know we'll be seeing each other a lot from now on." He then looked down and sighed.
Did he know about the destined?
He stood up and helped me to my feet. "Do you want to take a boat ride? We can get to know each other and I'll tell you how I know about us… seeing each other more."
I toke a moment to think and I nodded. We paid the boat fee (which he insisted on paying) and we pedaled our way out to the middle of the blue water.
"So… do you want me to begin with myself? Or… just with what I know about the Autbots and what might happen in the… future?" He asked; I still couldn't see his face, he was facing the other way.
"Umm, lets get to know each other first!" I smiled, trying to cheer him up from his gloomy state. "What's you're favorite color?"
He finally turned to me and smiled. "Blue. Yours?"
"Green. But, it's more of a poison green for me, I hate forest green." I laughed.
We went on like that. I learned that he liked macaroni and cheese and that he used to love 'Blues Clues' as a kid. He learned things about me also, but nothing I want to get too much into now.
Then… he told me about how he knew…
"I met an Autobot this morning… her name was Viper." He started.
So, Viper met him this morning. Well, Switchblade hadn't talked to the purple Robot since last night, so it was no wonder why she didn't know we had contact with him yet.
"She told me about your family history and about the 'destined ones' that have special roles to play. I guess that I'm a second destined this time, right?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm a first destined. Along with my other siblings being the third and fourth."
Jude nodded also and continued. "Well, supposedly, there's this 'Key' on Earth that they don't know where it's located and that we're supposed to keep it hidden from the Decepticons or something about mankind will be destroyed." He leaned against his arm and sighed. "But, how are we going to protect this Key when we don't know where it is or what it looks like? We're just kids, for cryin' out loud!"
I had to agree on that one. We were just kids. And he did have a point about where this Key was and what it looked like.
How? How are we going to do all of this?
I glanced up at the sun and winced at the intensity. I turned my attention to another boat that was further away from us. Now, I was just daydreaming about random things that I usually do. I'm such a child. I thought about how wonderful it would be to have actual friends that I could hang out with. Or maybe even a boyfriend…
I'm such a child, thinking about those things.
I came back to reality to see the Jude was staring at some fish that were swimming around in the water.
"I think I have to get back to Switchblade soon…"
"Switchblade?" Jude asked, confused.
"My Autobot guardian…" I said and he nodded. "Viper told me that she was your guardian…" I added.
"I kind of figured as much…" He smiled and we started to peddle our way back to shore.
Once we made it back… Switchblade had drove to where we were.
"Lacey… we need to go back now. Viper is requesting our presence." She said. She then noticed Jude and she blinked her headlights, obviously knowing that this was the destined we've been looking for. "And Jude… you have to come along, also."
I walked to the drivers seat and waited for Jude to join me in the passenger seat.
We started driving towards an old construction site that was unknown to me. I've never actually been around this side of town. But, I've heard rumors about gangs that are known to roam around the area.
The ride was silent. An absolute silent and very uncomfortable ride.
But, it gave me time to think. I've noticed that Jude is absolutely fine with the Autobots and about everything that Viper has told him so far. If I wasn't around Autobots everyday, I'd been freaked out and scared to death. And about the Key and all this destined crap? Well, I would have ran away and told everybody I had a different name. I'd probably go insane.
But… I'm not normal.
Nobody around me is normal. And now, Jude's been sucked into my little, un-normal world. And he doesn't even seem to care!
I feel guilty.
Bringing my hands up to clutch my head, I sighed and found new interest in my sandals…
"Lacey…" Switchblade was probably streaming through my head a few moments ago. "It's not weird to be having those thoughts. But… nothing is your fault. You shouldn't feel guilty."
Jude gave me a weird look. "She can read my mind." I simply stated. "So… when's this whole… 'battle' or something going to take place?" I asked the moving car.
"We aren't too sure on that yet. It could be in the near future, or it could be years from now. We wont know until the Decepticons are approaching Earth."
"What if the Decepticons are already here? Maybe we just don't know yet." Jude stated. It was true though; we wont know until something actually happens.
But, that something that happens may be the end to us.
"How are we going to defend ourselves?" I asked, without thinking.
"What do you mean my that, Lacey?" Switchblade asked.
I sighed and leaned against the door. "I mean, you and Viper are going to be fighting, so you guys cant protect us. What are we going to do if we get in a jam?"
It was silent for a moment. "We can teach you a few basics. But, other than that, your minds are the only tools that you'll need." My car said and sped up a little bit. "You have to be smart to win this battle."
I turned to Jude and he said, "Hey, don't look at me. I have all A's and B's."
Then, all of a sudden, my heart felt as if it was being squeezed. It wasn't a continuous squeeze, though. Each squeeze was equally spaced apart from each other. But, it wasn't in tune with my heartbeat.
I grabbed my chest and winced at the growing pain. Something was happening inside of me whenever I was thinking about the battle. I noticed it after a few days of owning Switchblade. I was just thinking in bed about the possibilities of the outcome, and something squeezed my heart, as if telling me something… something that would either help me or destroy me…
And, something weird happened to me… I discovered-
"Lacey!" I snapped out of my thoughts to Jude shaking my shoulders. "Lacey! Hey, are you okay? You've been spaced for some time now, and you looked like you were in pain."
I could now feel the sweat forming on my neck. "Yeah, I… just, uhh… haven't eaten today." I spat out the first thing that came to my head. "I'm just hungry." They could probably tell I was lying just by my stupid grin.
"Umm, okay then. Maybe I could take ya to Burger King or something later." Jude smiled and turned his stare to the windshield.
After a few more moments of driving, Switchblade came to a halt and told us to step out. Once we were safely on the ground, she turned into her original form as the giant, midnight blue, robot.
"Swee-eet." Jude grinned and pocketed his hands.
"Lacey, Jude, follow me, please." Switchblade said and started to walk to the other side of the abandoned construction site. We didn't talk all during this walk; we just… walked.
"LACEY!!!"
Omygoshthisisnthappening!
"Lacey, yay! You're finally here!" Squealed the tiny, annoying, immature voice across the site.
Jude gave me a weird look. "That's obviously my little sister, Daisy." I stated and he nodded. "Why is she here? And why is he here?!" I asked while pointing to Daisy and Dane.
Penny, Viper, and… some other Autobot was there, also. They were all in the robot form and once we were right in front of them, they seemed like gods. They knelt down to our level and spoke to each other.
Penny was still bright, flamboyant orange and that hyper atmosphere didn't disappear. It wasn't everyday you see Penny in her Robot form either; so this was a sight to be seen. Viper was the same as she always was; mysterious purple and still the cautious type. This… other Autobot was… similar?
This new one was WAY smaller than the others and less intimating. It was a frosty blue color and it seemed to have… glitter paint? Some rust was forming on some of the side of this new Autobot, as well.
"Lacey!" I was tackled by Daisy and she almost sent me tumbling to the ground.
"What do you want, brat?" I asked as I tried to pry her arms off of me.
"Nothin', I'm just happy to see you, of course!" She giggled and twirled in her dress. Then, she noticed Jude. "OH! Lacey has a boyfriend?"
I choked on my own spit.
"Oh, no. I'm just Jude. Nice to meet you, Daisy." Jude smiled and bent down to her level to shake her hand.
They talked amongst themselves as I tried to figure who the hell this mysterious Autobot was. To me, she seemed kind of familiar… maybe a dream? I don't remember Switchblade or Viper talking about this one…
"That's Frost." Dane stated. I turned to see him, crossed armed and trying to look cool. His shaggy hair had been blown out of his eyes and I could tell that he was… worried? "She's… Daisy's Autobot."
A moment of silence.
"WHAT?!?!"
(A/N) Hey, I've actually made it to another Author's Note! Yay! I've lasted this long, lets hope I can keep going! You know, after seeing that 30 second commercial for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, I've regained a lot of inspiration for this story! I thought it was a lost cause until I saw the AWESOME trailer! Wow, my mom was right, inspiration comes from all sorts of places.
Anyways, as always, Autobot's and Decepticons are needed! I have all the Guardians I need, but I STILL need OTHERS! Decepticons are also needed very much! I have… NO Decepticons so far! C'mon people, send in applications! I've accepted all the applications so far, so I'm pretty sure you can have a spot in this story as well.
Well, not that my little rambling streak is over, I'm going to end this chapter before I find something else to start nagging about.
Thanks for reading, and REVIEW!
~Until Next Time~