Hey guys! Long time no update, I know... Things are so crazy these days, trying to pay the bills off faster and it's only causing me more trouble in the long run... Bleh... Anyway, I'll be getting an update to Soul Recon soon, I promise. I just don't have the time. Anyway, I didn't even run this update through the old spell checker, so be kind...
I'm going to start something new the next time I update Soul Recon, and this will be especially for you readers. But I want to thank all of you for reading both of my stories! I've gotten some real inspiration in the past few days, and I want to thank you guys properly, but on the Soul Recon story.
Thank you, and Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own transformers or any other trademarked item in this story. The only thing I own is Cat and Five!
--
"What do you mean they're leaving?!" Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Shh!" Cat went to her bedroom door and closed so that their conversation wouldn't be heard by Sam's sleeping parents.
"It's not for sure yet..." she walked back over to her bed and sat down, watching Sam as he was looking out of her window, making sure that Bumblebee was in his spot in the driveway, "But they only have a week to decide, and I think they're going to do it."
"But... I thought they were happy here?" Sam asked quietly.
Cat empathized with Sam. She didn't want the Autobots to leave either, "They're happy being around us, but they're cramped here. The one thing you don't have to worry about is Bee leaving, though."
Sam turned and looked to Cat with a hopeful stare, "Really?"
Cat smiled, "Yeah, he's already made it clear that he's staying with you and Mikaela," her smile faded quickly as she stood back up and walked over to the window and looked down at the yellow Camaro.
"There's one more thing..." Cat said.
"What's that?" Sam didn't like where this was going.
"Keller's asked me to join them..."
For a second, Sam didn't know what to think. But suddenly, he burst out laughing, causing Cat to give him a confused look.
"What's so funny about that?" she crossed her arms.
Sam stopped laughing, noticing the look at Cat's face that showed that she wasn't amused.
"Well it's just that... You'd never go back there in a million years!" he reasoned.
Cat sighed and looked out of her bedroom window up at the starry skies.
"You... You're not going back there... Are you, Cat?" Sam asked, feeling as if he suddenly didn't know how she felt about her old "home".
"I don't know Sam... I just don't know..." she couldn't look at him knowing that he would give her the "why?" look.
Sam merely shook his head and walked out of the room. But before he closed the door behind himself, he asked, "So what's your excuse?"
Cat looked up to her friend, once again confused.
"Excuse?" she asked.
"Well the Autobots are cramped, and they can't do much to be themselves. But you're human, even if you don't want to admit it, you're human. And you have a good home, and a family. So what's your excuse to want to leave us?" he closed the door.
Cat shook her head and walked over to the door, turning out the lights and slid into bed. She stared up at the ceiling with her hands behind her head as if she were staring into the depths of space itself.
"What is my excuse?"
--
Cat awoke the next morning, hearing no sounds coming from anywhere in the house. Her exceptional hearing told her that everyone was gone, and she remembered that the Witwicky's all had schedules to attend to. Judy was helping a friend move their business to a new office building, Ron was at work, and Sam and Mikaela had to spend a few hours at school attending to their new schedules and some class information. That meant that she was going to be alone for a few hours. She cozied herself in the warm comfort of her bed and rolled over onto her side, closing her eyes again so that she could fall back into deep sleep. The birds outside of her window were singing, a mild breeze whispered sweet nothings in Cat's ear, and tickled her exposed skin. She was extremely relaxed. Something that she wasn't used to. But of course, it couldn't last long.
Cat's eyes shot open when she heard a familiar sports car honking below her bedroom window. She rolled over and pulled the bed sheets over her head, hoping that if she ignored the noise, it would simply fade away. Nope.
The house phone rang along with the honking. Cat's sleepy eyes narrowed at the phone next to her bed just before she reached over and picked it up.
"Hello?" it was more of a growl than it was a greeting.
"Come on, lazy bones!" a myriad of songs played.
"Bumblebee, it's way to early..." Cat whined.
"You've got things to do today, and while Sam and Mikaela are at school, I have some time to help you get them done," Bumblebee's cheerful, british-sounding voice explained.
Cat settled on her back and sighed, "What things?"
"You said that you wanted to learn the rules of the road! What better way than a "car" to teach you?"
Cat mumbled some incoherant words before finally saying, "Give me a few minutes," and hanging up the phone.
--
A yawning Cat closed and locked the back door behind her as she stretched and walked over to Bumblebee. The driver's side door opened as she approached and she sat down in the leather seat, the door closing and the seat belt locking her into place. Bumblebee's engine roared to life... and suddenly Cat noticed that they were going nowhere.
"So... what's the big plan?" Cat decided to find out what her friend was doing.
"Since you're the one driving, it's all up to you really," Cat could hear a bit of a chuckle from the mech.
"I'm driving?" Cat asked, obviously this wasn't the game plan that she had in mind.
"You need your license, correct? Then you're going to need to drive. And I'd like to know what your capabilities are for driving before I tell the others that you're going to be getting a specialized vehicle to-"
"Stop right there!" Cat halted the Autobot in mid-speech.
"What is it?" Bumblebee asked.
"I never told you to tell the others what I'm planning just yet! I haven't even told Sam's parents about the motorcycle! Just keep it under wraps until I actually get it, okay?" Cat decided.
"Why don't you want the other Autobots to know about your motorcycle?" Bee asked.
"Are you kidding? I can already hear Ratchet rattling off the statistics of deaths on a motorcycle, or what kind of long term effects can happen when there's an accident on one. No, I think it'd be better if we just did this in secret if you don't mind," Cat insisted as she put the transmission in drive and pulled out of the driveway, "Besides, all I need is to go to the License branch and pick up some of their rule books. Like I told Sam and them, I already know how to drive, I just need to know what the rules of the road are."
"That'll save me some time, then," Bumblebee said thoughtfully.
Cat glanced down at the radio and asked, "Save you some time for what?"
Silence.
"Bee... What exactly did you mean when you said that I had "things" to do today?" Cat's eyes of suspicion were dead set on the center console.
"It's really not that big of a deal Cat," he tried to brush the subject off.
"If it's not that big of a deal, then why won't you tell me?" the girl bordered on mild irritation.
"...I suppose it won't hurt to say anything now. I was asked to bring you to Ratchet for a full check-over..."
Cat's eyes widened, "You tricked me! I can't believe you, of all of them, tricked me!"
"I promise that it won't be long. Just a few minutes and we'll be on our way again," Bee calmly explained.
"... I'd have prefered staying in bed... I knew I should have ignored you..." Cat groaned.
--
The two arrived at the lookout where all but Ratchet were in their alternate forms. Bumblebee came to a stop and Cat, begrudgingly, got out and looked around.
"Why's everyone so quiet?" she asked.
"They're still in recharge," Ratchet replied.
Cat turned and glared at the yellow Camaro and said, "At least someone's still sleeping..."
The ground feeling as though it was shifting beneath her, Cat turned back around and saw a neon yellow hand laid out before her, it's intent obvious.
"You know, it's not very nice to trick people into going to the doctor..." Cat grumbled as she stepped into the medics' palm.
Ratchet raised her to his torso level, his optics flickering as he began a once-over of Cat.
"You wouldn't have come otherwise," Cat could tell that he was bordering on snickering.
Cat huffed and crossed her arms, "Well let's get this over with then... I'm sure Bumblebee will need to pick up the kids soon."
Ratchet seemed focused for just a moment more before putting his hand back down to the ground, letting the girl walk off onto the grassy earth, "I'm pleased with your progress. Your muscles are beginning to build up their strength, and you've gained thirteen pounds. It shouldn't be too long before you're at the recommended weight class for your age and height."
"What am I? Livestock?" Cat growled.
Ratchet smirked, "I'm sure any human medical professional would say the same thing. Perhaps we should schedule you an appointment with one so that you can-"
"That won't be neccesary... If you're satisfied and you're leaving me be, then I'm satisfied..." Cat cut Ratchet off before he could actually do something silly like call for a human doctor for her.
"Very well then," he smiled.
Cat turned to Bumblebee and was about to go to him when she stopped, as though she were in mid thought, and turned back towards Ratchet.
"So... Have you guys decided on anything yet?" she asked carefully.
Ratchet crossed his arms and made a sound as though he were sighing, "I'm afraid we haven't come to any decision as of yet... How about you?"
Cat looked to the three Autobots in recharge. The lookout was quiet and peaceful for a summer morning. She sighed, herself, and replied, "No... I told Sam about it last night. Of course he was a bit surprised and upset, but I suppose he understands about you guys needing your space... He was pretty upset at the idea of me going though."
"I'm sure he was. I'm also sure that his parents, as well as Mikaela, won't be too happy with the idea of this either. But we must do things, sometimes, that are the best for us," the medic explained.
Cat looked up to Ratchet with a look of dismay, "Yeah, maybe it's best for you, but I'm not like you guys... Sam made that point last night..."
"Perhaps your physical needs are addressed with shelter and nourishment, but you could certainly learn quite a bit from us, I'm sure," Ratchet commented, "Being the prodigy that you are, you could actually benefit from some of our teachings."
"Yeah... I've thought about that as well... But I can't really justify going back... there..." Cat gritted the last word through her teeth.
Neither of the two conscious Autobots knew what to say, exactly. Battle worn, they were, they weren't sure how Cat would react when reintroduced back to the place where she was tortured and trained as a warrior.
"It's all up to you, Catherine. No one can force you to do anything that you don't wish to do anymore, not even Sector Seven," the medic reasoned.
Cat visibly winced at that name, but nodded in agreement.
"I have to get going. Bee's going to need to pick up the kids at school here soon and I still have to get to the license branch to pick up one of their little booklets. I'll see you later Ratch," Cat waved the medic off and sat back down in the driver's seat of the Camaro.
Bumblebee turned around on the grassy knolls of the Lookout and was on his way into the park, heading towards the BMV.
Ratchet shook his head with another sound like a sigh.
"One day, Catherine. One day you'll learn to overcome what lies in your past..."
--
Cat walked into the license branch and walked up to the counter.
"Ma'am?" she leaned over the counter as several people behind it strode around as if they were in a panic. A woman stopped what she was doing and looked at Cat from several feet behind the counter.
"You'll have to take a number. I'm afraid we're too busy to accomodate everyone as they walk through the door," she said as she buried herself in a filing cabinet of paperwork.
"That's okay. I just need a driver's manual. Do you have any?" Cat asked.
The woman stopped shuffling through her paperwork and looked around behind the counter. She spotted a pile of booklets and went to them, roughly grabbing one and handing it over the counter to Cat, immediately going back to what she was doing before.
"...Thanks..." Cat grouched as she turned to leave.
"Oh! Cat, was it?" a girl's voice called, bringing Cat's face up from looking over the small book.
The girl was familiar... Like she had seen her somewhere before...
"My name's Charlotte. I was talking with Mikaela in the department store yesterday while you were trying some clothes on," the girl reminded. She wasn't alone this time. She had three other girls her own size with her, and they had all stopped what they were doing to overlook Cat, which annoyed her.
"Oh right..." Cat intended to just walk off, but she was halted in her tracks by Charlotte getting in her way.
"So Mikaela tells me that you're staying with the Witinky family?" Charlotte continued.
"...Witwicky... And not that it's any of your business, but yes..."
"I see..." Charlotte looked a bit taken back by Cat's less than happy nature, "Are you family?"
Cat rolled her eyes. She didn't have time for questioning!
"No, I'm not related to them... I'm just a friend of the family's... Wait a minute. Don't you go to the same school as Sam and Mikaela?" Cat realized.
Charlotte smiled as if she were making a new friend, "Yeah!"
"Aren't you supposed to be there to plan for next school year's classes?" Cat asked.
"The school has all of us there in shifts. I was there early, and those two were there later. Aren't they here with you?" she asked, looking around.
"No, I'm supposed to pick them up at noon. Which is just a few minutes from now, so I should be going," Cat once again tried to end the conversation but it came with no success.
"Are you going to be going to school with us this next year?" Charlotte persisted.
Cat merely laughed, "Not at all. The schooling that I had, had me at high school levels at the age of eight!"
"Oh, neat! So you're like, a genius or something?" one of the girls in the group asked.
"Something like that... Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go," Cat insisted.
She shoved her way past the group and left.
--
It was later that night that Cat was going through the booklet for the first time. Several hundred pages of signs, stopping lengths, tips and all kinds of things that Cat hadn't expected to need to learn.
"Why does there need to be so many damn rules?! I know how to drive, so what's the point of needing to know all of this crap?!" She threw her hands up in frustration, then went back to studying the manual.
"Cat?" Sam poked his head into her room.
"Oh, I'm sorry Sam. I didn't mean to yell..." she apologized.
Sam slowly shuffled his way in the door and asked, "What's the yelling about anyway?"
"I guess I'm just upset that they have all of these rules just for driving... It's not like I don't know how to drive..." she repeated.
"Why don't you just get Keller or someone to give you your license?" Sam asked.
Cat swung her head up as if the thought had never occurred to her, "You think that would work?"
"It's worth giving a shot isn't it?" Sam smiled.
"...But then I actually have to call someone... I'd probably have to call Keller directly..." She realized.
"I think it'd be worth it if you could bypass the drivers test," Sam pointed out.
"What's the drivers test all about anyway?" Cat asked. She hadn't found any of that information yet and was curious.
"Well you have the written test, and then you have to have a certified drivers instructor with you to drive to prove that you actually can drive," he explained.
"I suppose it doesn't sound too bad... But still..." she thought aloud.
"Didn't Five drive Optimus?" Sam suddenly asked.
Cat looked to Sam with a troubled look indeed, "I suppose she did."
"Well? It's obvious that you guys were trained to drive already, why not just ask to get your license?" He reasoned.
"I'll try it," she smiled and closed the booklet.
Sam sat down on Cats bed, a look that proved that he had something on his mind.
"Something the matter?" Cat asked.
"Well it's just... I told Mikaela..." his voice trailed off.
"Told her what?" Cat asked, just before Sam looked at her with that special 'you know what' look, "Oh right... that... And what did she say?"
"Well she was upset, of course. She'd really miss the Autobots, " and then he looked up at her again with a hard stare, "But she'd really miss you too. That part really upset her..."
Cat sighed and looked away, "Oh Sam... Of course you guys are upset, it's a totally new change to your already new change... And, of course, I've grown attached to you guys too, but..." she stopped.
"But what?" Sam asked.
Cat looked back to Sam with the same hard stare, her eyes meeting his in the 'look, you're going to have to understand' look.
"I have two families now Sam. They're a big part of me, just like how they're a big part of you. And I can learn a lot from them. Ratchet suggested that I could even learn how to repair them when it's needed. I could be helpful to them during this time of war."
"War? But the war ended! Megatron's dead!" Sam tried to make sense of things.
"And where's Starscream?" Cat growled, "Or Barricade? How many other Decepticons are out there waiting to strike back?"
"Why would they do that?! The Allspark's gone! There's nothing left for them to come back here for!" Sam's voice grew louder as his anger built up.
"They'll come back for the Autobots!" Cat stood up over Sam to put her foot down on the matter, "They're not going to give up on them just because the thing that they were fighting for is out of the picture! You saw how ruthless they fought in Mission City, and in Bullhead city! The Autobots are forever going to be watching their backs just because they never know when their enemies are going to band up and come back for a little revenge!"
"...You really think that their in danger?" Sam asked in a small voice.
Cat calmed herself and sat back down in the chair of her desk, "Yes, Sam. I do. And they think so too. They worry that being here is going to cause the Earth to be targeted, but they know that it's already targeted."
"It is?" Sam asked, looking confused.
Cat smiled, "Are you kidding? You, yourself are probably an interstellar celebrity!"
Sam smiled back and laughed, "Yeah, I guess I am."
"You know, it was great that you did that. The problem now is that we have to be ready for when they come back to take their revenge. And I want to be standing with the Autobots when that happens," Cat said with a nod, affirming her statement.
"But you don't have to fight..." Sam pointed out.
"Yes... I do..." she frowned, "Starscream will remember me as the one who took his head off and controlled him when he was brought back to existance... He'll be looking for me just like he'll be hunting down the Autobots."
"So... Does that mean you're going?" Sam asked, knowing the answer, but hoping that it wasn't true.
Cat smiled warmly down at her friend, "Yeah... I think it does."