Chapter four of this little thing... -this-, btw, is for comm, since this site eats all the OTHER markers I try to use for it. Anyway, we don't own Transformers. Xobit played Sam this time, Kd Zeal played Shadowsinger, and Lokiwaterdrac played Loki.
Shadowsinger waited, not really nervous... no, helping someone get over Decepticon treatment was old news for him, really. Helping his mate's killer, well, that was fairly new. It didn't matter. Starscream had hurt Sam, hurt him badly, and the human needed help, and it really was as easy as that. So now he was waiting for Bumblebee to bring his ward up, bring him and leave him, because Bumblebee was still needed on earth, and was going to have to trust the small mech to actually help Sam.
Everything still hurt, he was on pain meds and he was sure that a lot of it was just in his own mind, but the worst of the pain had nothing to do with his wounded body. Starscream had been right about everything, he was better off dead, less of a burden, less a liability. Bumblebee didn't understand, nobody understood!
Bumblebee was worried about Sam, it was clear in the way he moved, guiding the human off the shuttle and watching Shadowsinger carefully. Shadowsinger didn't pay very much attention to the yellow scout, just accepting Sam from him. The human now, the small mech paid quite a lot of attention to him. "You're lookin' better than last time I saw you. Gonna be able t'walk, or y'rather me carry ya like I do Wei?"
Eyeing the cream and purple mech, he idly wondered if it was worth it to be angry at him for 'saving' him… no. To be angry was pointless, just like breathing was. "Sure, whatever…" Looking away from both mechs, Sam stared vacantly at a white wall.
Well... he wasn't asking to be killed or left behind. Strictly speaking, that was an improvement. He decided to carry Sam, finally, remembering how Sam had been concerned about Loki... had been... "You know, I already told you Screamer's a fragging liar. Hum... betcha Loki'd love t'get ya set of his wings... she gave me a set, wanna see 'em?" At the moment, what he really wanted was an expression of will, but that might be too much to ask yet.
"… Whatever…" He should probably try and be nice or something, but he really didn't care what Shadowsinger thought of him. He didn't want to listen to him either, feeling more like lying down and ignoring the world until it ignored him in return…
"Y'know, part a' th'reason I suggested y'come up here, 'steada me goin' down, 'cause no-one here's really gonna be 'spectin' anything from ya. Well... we gonna make sure y'stay fed and hydrated, and I'm gonna be buggin' ya t'talk, or at least listen..." The thought occurred to Shadowsinger, Sam felt useless, Starscream had tried to convince him of that... so perhaps giving him something to do... "Cuz I could always use someone t'listen to me, even if I'm only just thinking aloud. An' if ya want, we could find some duties for ya..." It was meant to be more or less harmless prattle, giving options... possibly too many.
Sam was already off in his own world again, staring at the white walls going by and not listening to the mech carrying him beyond the fact that he registered the accent… but he didn't even have the energy to try and place it. That was how his world had been lately, he woke and yet kept on dreaming, or maybe it was that he had finally woken and wanted to go back to the dream? Bleh… it did not matter! "Mm…"
"A' thought ya' was gonna wait fo' meh, Shadow'…" Reprimanding her friend lightly, Loki came up behind him and the small human in his arms. They'd wanted to wait for Sam's arrival together but she was late, it was her fault she knew, but she had to tease him… "Yo', Sam?" she said cheerfully, forcing away the urge to go shred a set of Starscream's wings and then send them to the seeker in a box… no, first the dinobot had to protect Sam with her brother, and THEN she'd enjoy ripping a new set from the seeker.
"Well it's not my fault you were late," Shadowsinger responded, unconsciously tightening his hold on Sam just a little. "Sam, you remember I told you about Loki?" He hoped to Primus that there was SOME reaction... if the human didn't respond to his sister, things were worse than he'd thought, might be beyond his skill.
Big… much too big, too many sharp spikes and teeth and… Eyes widening with terror, Sam finally reacted to something for the first time in days. He screamed at the top of his lungs before his eyes rolled up in his head and he fainted dead away. It wasn't really because of the giant metal dinosaur, it was the spikes and the teeth, the memories they brought out in him. Pain and suffering, a cruel voice telling lies that weren't really lies because they held truth and that truth hurt, the lies becoming believable until they too were truth…
Whimpering, Loki backed away, tail pulled near. Even though he was traumatized did he HAVE to scream so horribly? "Maybe A' shoul' jus' stand back… o' go away?..." Even though she wanted to be near the human, if Sam were that terrified it would do him no good, and, unless she disliked the person, she didn't like scaring them.
Good thing he was already holding the boy, falling in his state wouldn't have helped his injuries any... "Nah, sis, you're fine. To be truthful, it's good to know that he will react, though I could have survived just fine without him being quite so... loud..." Glad that Wei had been understanding and willing to stay with Loki while Sam was using his room, the small mech took Sam there. "Oh, sis? D'ya think you could go through and find possible duties for Sam? I'm not gonna give him any unless he asks, but it'll be good if I have a whole list when he does."
Turning over onto his side, Sam fought waking up, there was only pain in the real world and for once his sleep seemed to have been free of nightmares, at least he could not remember having had one. What had he been doing anyway? Nothing important, that was for sure… he never did anything important. Blinking, he realized that the light was on and that the air smelled wrong, like the air of a greenhouse or something… his room did not smell like that!
"Aye… o' he's wakin', ya' want me out?" Loki asked, backing away and trying to keep out of the human's vision, as well as back enough that he wouldn't scream in fear again…. That wouldn't be good at all! She wanted to hug Sam, not scare him!
Cycling his vents, Shadowsinger frowned a little at the dinobot, thinking. Sam was going to have to get used to Loki, he was staying here for a while, but... "Stay... yeah, stay back for now. I know you don't want t'scare him... let's just... y'know, see?" He felt bad for Loki, she liked humans, liked them a lot... but hey, Wei was staying with her, so it wasn't like Sam was the only one around for her to cuddle. "Sam?" he asked softly, turning his attention back to the injured human.
"Mm'me!" It was futile to protest awakening, to try and ignore the soft non-human voice speaking to him… "Why can't you just leave me be? I just want to sleep and never wake up!" Sitting up fast was a bad idea, his ribs complaining right through the haze of pain meds. He fell back down with a wheezing, sickly sounding cough, arms protectively curling over his chest and stomach.
Almost instantly Loki stepped forward… only to step right back. She shot her friend a concerned look before focusing on Sam… his words were so spark-breaking… and they also pissed her off as well. How could he just give up!? How could he, Megatron's killer, just give up completely? Didn't he have ANY will to live left?
Shadowsinger met Loki's worried look with one of his own, reaching for Sam and carefully touching his shoulder. "I know that's what you want. What I don't understand is why you're willing to let Screamer win. You know he's just mad because you did what he failed for vorns to do?" Of course... Sam had felt pretty bad about doing that, too, and didn't fully see why it was such a big deal. Remind him again why he had agreed, had volunteered, to help Sam recover?
He was ready to yell some more, until Shadowsinger brought up the one thing he had done that he both felt pride in and hated with a passion. Flinching, Sam tried to twist away, only to start coughing again, pain slicing through his chest and lungs. "Just… leave me… alone!"
Oh, that was it! Ignoring the twinges of guilt she felt, the dinobot stalked over, forcing back a low growl. "No. No, we won' leave ya' 'lone! We won' 'cause we CARE." As she spoke, Loki's voice softened, seeing Sam cringe and remembering when her fin was ripped off… "Screamer's got 'lotta rage, like Shadow said he's jealous o' ya' fo' killin' his worst enemy 'fore he could! Trust meh, A' know what he does when he goes off 'is rocker…"
"You know... I think all of us here have suffered from Starscream's rage personally directed at us," Shadowsinger commented. It really was more of an idle observation than anything. "And please, Sam, can you stop twisting about so much? Wish' is gonna have t'look at you eventually, but he's kinda snarky when it's your own actions that landed you in his med-bay."
The sight of the large… enormous, spiked metal dinosaur scared Sam stiff, unwittingly making him follow the smaller mech's suggestion. Oh yeah, Shadowsinger had told him about this Loki, but telling and seeing were two very different things, especially when the dino seemed to seethe with anger.
Well at least he wasn't screaming this time… Loki sighed and looked at Shadowsinger hesitantly before reaching out, gently touching Sam's shoulder in what was supposed to be a soothing matter. She wasn't going to hurt him, that was obvious, so why was he so fragging scared!?
The fear... sadly, was fully expected. At least Sam wasn't moving... yet... "Told ya she was big. She's just torqued at Screamer... You know he took her fin once?" Okay, yeah, he didn't really want to talk about that... "Loki likes humans, though. She's really glad to meet you." The pale mech put his hand on Loki's wrist, not trying to stop her, just... well, demonstrating to Sam that she was safe.
"Spikes…" Really intelligent, but it was all Sam could squeeze out of his dry mouth, tone raspy with terror. Before Starscream, he had been eager to meet the infamous dinobot femme… to meet the femmes of this ship and the human living with them now… Eagerness was a thing of the past, just like happiness, all that was left was depression and fear.
Confused, Loki pulled away, what did he… oh. The dinobot was so used to being in her alt form around friends she had forgotten about how… terrifying her spikes and claws could be, not to mention her fangs… Pulling further away, she transformed. Her claws stayed, fangs and some spikes too, but it wasn't as scary… well, she hopped it wasn't.
"Yes, Sam, she's got spikes..." Watching as Loki returned to her root mode, Shadowsinger revved his engine appreciatively before looking back at Sam. "They're actually quite sensitive, you wouldn't believe how nicely she can mewl when you hit 'em just right." This fear wasn't good for Sam, but asking Loki to leave wouldn't help, not really, just because she was around so much. She WAS second in command, after all, and so Sam was just going to have to adjust. Though maybe talking about the noises she made while interfacing wasn't quite the way to go about helping the human adjust...
That… helped a little, the transforming thing, but she still had claws... on the other hand, it was now very obvious that she was a 'she', and certainly a LOT prettier then Starscream! Maybe it was the fear that allowed him to react to what Shadowsinger had just stated… Sam turned his head to the cream colored mech, eyes so wide they looked ready to pop out of his head. "What?" it was a half shriek, he could not believe that the mech had just told him… said that. It just… you didn't just tell things like that to others!
"Shadow!" Ducking her head, Loki covered her face with a hand, rubbing at her visor. "Not that A' care, but he's scared o' meh enough, ya' gonna tell 'im 'bout the time ya' crawled inside mah armor an' drove meh nuts messin' with mah wires too?!" Instantly she dropped her head, hitting herself, not meaning to add on to what would make Sam uncomfortable.
"Well, I may have, but y'just went and did so... very nicely, too, sis." Shadowsinger grinned wider, flickering an optic in a wink at Sam. "'Course, what she ain't tellin' ya is that I was just as nuts... Or that I regularly hide in her now." By Primus, it was a reaction, and not a thoroughly negative reaction either! Shock and confusion now, with a good dose of embarrassment... it was something.
That… they just weren't, and in front, and… no! Hiding his blushing face with his hands, Sam groaned out loud, "I don't want to know that! I don't… you mean Bumblebee does…" Oh god, no, please! That was the 'TMI' of the century, he did not want nor need to know that his car had kinky sex with other cars…
"Wha'? 's not that bad, is it?" Loki asked, stepping closer again to look Sam over. Wei wasn't always around and the human sitting there was so cute… she reached out and touched his head carefully, giggling from the feel of his blush under her fingers, warm. Hopefully he wouldn't be afraid… hopefully…
Rubbing circles against Sam's shoulder, Shadowsinger kept grinning as he answered Sam's question. "Well... I very much doubt he goes into anyone, he's almost twice my size, and while there are some bigger than Loki, well..." He trailed off with a shrug. "You'll find we're very open about such things, here especially... I might as well warn you right now, walking into the rec room can be a very... interesting experience. I'll have to get Wei t'tell ya some of the stories..."
Oh… god… Primus, WHOEVER! He was on a ship full of perverts! It wasn't that Bumblebee hadn't told him about the, well, lack of taboos in the Cybertronian society. Please! They were both young males, and yeah, well, he was a young male and since… since, before Starscream, he and the yellow scout had become rather close…
"I… really don't think I wanted to know that…"
Purring again, Loki sat, finding it annoying to have to lean down almost to the floor. She kept a hand on Sam's head though, petting him while thanking Primus and every earth deity she could think of. He hadn't screamed in terror and that was MORE than enough to make her grateful.
"It's okay. You can pretend I didn't say it, and we'll try not to reference your guardian's interface-life any more, okay? But I can't make promises about mentioning our own..." Actually, Shadowsinger COULD make a promise regarding it... he could promise they were going to mention their own quite a lot, it didn't matter if Sam was around or not. After all, that's how they were around Wei.
It was weird how the dino… dinobot? Kept touching him, but it worked, the control she showed demonstrated her obvious reluctance towards hurting him. It was so different from Starscream's control, which had been used only to ensure that Sam wasn't killed. Starscream… the mech was nothing like the Autobots, the fraction he came from build on deceit and hate. Sam's musings turned inwards and he fell back into the sullen depressive state, even if the cause was different now…
-Wha' do A' do, bro?- Loki asked over her comm., moving so that Sam could lean back onto her hand if he wanted. "Actually ya'll probably get ta' see us mess 'round if ya' stay with us fo' 'while… we kinda go back and forth on messin' with each other…"
-You're doing just fine. We got some reactions from him, that's great,- Shadowsinger soothed, noticing Sam falling back to the depression. Well, that was perfectly fine, and expected. "Sam... talk to me? You already know I won't judge, I can tell ya that m'sis won't either."
Did they do anything but have… sex on this shi… sis?! How the hell could they be siblings, they looked nothing alike! Completely disregarding the rest Sam stared at the cream mech, and then hesitantly up at the large spiky-but-gentle femme. No way in hell they were related… and how could you call someone sis just after having told that you regularly crawled around and had… slapping his hands over his face he groaned. "Just let me sleep a little…?!"
"Jus' a lil', 'k?" Loki said, leaning her hand back so the human could lay down again and pressing herself against the one wall that had no plants covering it. "But A'm stayin' ta' watch ya' whether ya' like it o' nawt'."
Shadowsinger laughed a little, actually tucking Sam in. "Don't even try arguing, Dinobots are fragging stubborn when they make up their minds. When you wake up, we can take you to get some food... ooh, and I can show you my office!" It was meant to be just chatter, something to lull Sam to sleep.
It should have made him unable to sleep, having a giant dinosaur and a motorcycle in a room full of … plants? No wonder it smelled so earthy. But for some reason the things they had said had shaken Sam up, made him think, and that made him tired… not depression tired, but really tired for the first time since coming back from hell. "Sure, whatev…" there was no rancor in the words, only a slight amusement that he wasn't even aware of feeling.
Watching Sam sleep was… peaceful, the way he breathed in and out, chest moving with each breath. Loki enjoyed watching him, reaching over and petting his hair when he turned in his sleep… he was just so cute!
Shadowsinger crawled up Loki to give her a kiss before leaping down and leaving the room. The spinosaurus would let him know when Sam woke up, and the pale mech badly needed to get away for a little while. Do some reports, if nothing else, at least he already had some good news to pass along. Sam had been sleeping for quite a few hours before Loki messaged that he was waking up.
It was actually the smell, or rather scent, that woke him, the damp earthiness simply was so foreign that he could not ignore it like he usually did Mojo or his mom. The beige colored wall clued him in further and Sam tried to figure out why he was here… wherever here was, and why he could not remember any nightmares. Turning over he met the big… like really, really big, blue optics of a transformer…
"Mornin' Sam, did ya' have a good nap?" Loki asked, smiling at the sleepy human and petting him one last time before looking at the door. She expected Shadowsinger to show up any time and rather didn't want to be left alone with a non-sleeping Sam… it just scared her a little bit, not knowing what to do should a problem arise.
He probably SHOULD wait politely outside the door until Sam told him he could come in. Probably, but he didn't. Loki had kinda invited him in, anyway, hadn't she? Shadowsinger could wait politely after Sam was able to be left alone safely, and that time would come, seemed likely to come soon. He hoped it did, they didn't want to make Sam feel like a prisoner in any way. With such thoughts, Shadowsinger ducked into the room, grinned apologetically.
He was really too sleepy still to react, even to the close proximity of the giant face, and the optics were blue, that helped a lot. The voice was actually nice, and the attention was quickly moved from him to the door? The reason came in a few seconds later as Shadowsinger came in… did no one knock… this was like his mother all over again! "Why is everyone in here? No matter what Mom says, I am capable of getting up on my own…"
"Cause we wanna be… an' we do it ta' Wei all th' time…" Loki said before looking at Shadow, "A' see ya' paperwork didn' kill ya'… A'm surprised." The dinobot giggled and without warning pulled her brother into her lap, cuddling him like one would a teddy bear. "A'm glad cause A' need ya' ta' help meh… A'm lost on these lil' thingys on the net 'bout cooking… A' don' wanna set notin' on fire…"
Shadowsinger squeaked as Loki engaged in one of her favorite pastimes. "Let Wei cook, he knows how!" That was actually up for debate, but eh. "It's an off-shoot our earlier conversation... but we'll see 'bout leavin' ya alone next time ya need t'sleep, k? Now c'mon, wanna show you around! Hehe... wanna ride on sis? Lotta fun, view like you wouldn't believe!"
"I can cook for myself, but I am not really hu…" And they were not really listening. It was mildly funny to see a transformer be cuddled as Bumblebee usually cuddled him… used to cuddle him, that is. For the first time since his return, Sam actually thought about the chasm he had created between himself and his guardian. The offer broke through his thoughts and he looked up, startled. "Ah… I don't… know? I'm really not fond of … spikes." Inane and probably rude, but he didn't know what to say really, wanted to be allowed to think… just think…
Laughing to hide her sadness at Sam's statement, the dinobot put Shadowsinger down, though not before taking a quick nip at his wheel wings. "A' understand, lotsa people are scared o' mah spikes… an' everythin' actually… dinobots ain't liked an' tha's why." Shrugging, Loki left the room to wait outside the door, calling back in after a second. "Oh, an' ya' better eat somethin' o' A'm gonna form a holo-thingy an' force ya'. A' won' allow ya' ta' neglect ya' self."
Giving a soft purr at the nip, Shadowsinger watched his sister sadly for a second. When he turned to Sam with hand outstretched, he wore a soft, understanding smile. "It's okay, a little walking is healthy anyway. C'mon, we'll take you to the common room and get some food in you, or Loki really WILL try to feed you. Then I can show you around really quick, stop off at med-bay to get you more painkillers, and bring you back here and let you do whatever, k?" He could tell the human wanted to be left alone, but there were things that needed to be done before that could be allowed.
Looking after the dinobot, Sam wasn't sure what to do. He had the distinct unpleasant feeling that she was more unhappy then she played at, Shadowsinger did not help with dispelling that feeling at all. "I didn't mean it that way… I just… I don't think I can deal with metal spikes for a while yet, and I mean it's not her fault that Starscream likes them so much!" He wasn't even aware that he had broken through some of his depression, putting the guilt onto the deserving party instead of groveling and asking to be killed for the 'transgression'. "Sure... sure… walking healthy…" still preoccupied he got out of the bed, groaning dispiritedly when his whole body still proved to feel like one big bruise.
Hearing her friend's comm. about how Sam didn't mean what he said, Loki comm.ed him back with a sigh. -A' know A' know… A' jus' hope no gold-bitch clones are gonna be poppin' out, cause if they do… tha's why A' said what A' said… well, ya' know…- She felt rather stupid and poked her head back into the room, wincing when Sam stood painfully from the bed and walked over.
"I'm sorry, I should have remembered that," Shadowsinger sympathized directly, drawing back a little to let Sam stand on his own, since that was what he seemed to want. He knew from experience how infuriating it could be, to be treated like glass, and that was something he was NOT wanting to do to Sam. -I've no clue why they would; it's just the crew on the ship, far as I know.- "Come on, this way. I'll carry ya if ya get too tired."
"I can walk…" 'I hope' was added quietly in his own mind, his body felt uncomfortably heavy, stiff, very stiff. Just wonderful, Sam hated being a cripple, hated being a burden… trying to push the thoughts back he hobbled to the giant door, eying it dubiously. "How do I get in and out when I'm alone? I couldn't reach the lock plate even on a good day!" It was high above his head, he knew from experience on the earth base that doors didn't always use motion sensors. It had been funny really, since the Autobots actually 'forgot' that humans had nothing resembling an inbuilt transponder and so didn't plan accordingly. He still felt sorry for the poor soldier who had run smack dab into one of the giant metal doors. The mechs and femmes simply went at it and it opened… if it was locked it sent them a signal and they simply activated the 'doorbell' or went another way.
"We'll get ya' a um… um… like a garage door opener thingy-ma-bober? Tha's what Wei has… right bro?" Loki said, looking at her adopted brother for help since he WAS the CSO and should know what to do… "A' dunno, A' ain't th' 'ne in charge o' that… luckily."
Nodding, Shadowsinger agreed with Loki, "Yeah, a remote, that's part ah' why we gotta give y'a'tour. They're in my office. Oh, and the doors f'common areas, rec room an' th'like, are motion sensitive, and yes, they will read you." He let the human walk, joints did stiffen for humans and Cybertrionians alike, and showing independence would, he hoped, be beneficial to Sam. Even slowed as they were, it didn't take that long to reach the common room.
"Okay, that's nice… or something…" Everything build by the Autobots was big… heck he could barely wrap his mind around the fact that he was in a space ship, the pictures from the space programs shuttles showed these tiny tin can-like conditions. Yet here he walked, in a corridor that a sixty-foot dinosaur traversed with plenty of head space. "It's really hard to believe that I'm in space…" Muttering under his breath Sam stopped short when the doors to the rec room opened and revealed an area that could have been used for an Olympic opening ceremony… spectators included. "Oh, that's… big..."
"Aye, ain't it though?" Loki chuckled at the small human's response to their rec room, "A've been in bigger… but then, tha' was a huge bar an' Prime 'in A' destroyed a small part o' it… her an' mah sis' was what ya' humans would call shit-faced drunk, an' A' jus' didn' put up with bein' attacked…" Gigging at the memory of Xobit letting loose on the idiots who messed with them, Loki leaned down to look at Sam better, "A'll take ya' ta' meet 'er later… 'Bit's amazin' fo' puttin' up with us…"
Wei wasn't around, which wasn't really surprising, but was a little depressing. He should go hunt his ward down later... "And we can take ya t'the bridge, beautiful view of the stars and earth from there... Loki, mind gettin' me a cube? I'm gonna show Sam where the human food is..."
"The bridge?" That sounded interesting, even if everything would be oversized there too. "I'd like to see the earth from space…"
It looked so out of place, the human equipment… but Sam was strangely glad to see it. There was milk and cornflakes, a fact that made Sam happy, since he did not feel like actually making food as such. Eating quickly, he wondered how Shadowsinger and Loki had gotten him out of bed… Not even his mother had been able to get through his depression, yet these two largely unknown persons had managed to do it in the space of hours… Wait! "Did you just tell me that you met your Prime while she was drunk and trashing a bar?"
Handing Shadowsinger a energon cube, the dinobot shook her head, grinning widely. "Actually… she wasn' trashin' th' bar 'til A' started it, A' think? A' dun' 'member that well… though A' did drag 'er back ta' my place an' made 'er sleep it off… She hated that, but A' didn' want 'er ta' walk after we hit that second bar an' the good high-grade was brought out… oh, an' when mah friends hit on 'er, tha' wasn' cool, A' believe ya'd think o' them as man-whores, droolin' over what they couldn' have."
Giggling over the story, the mech nodded his thanks at Loki and drank the cube. He'd heard the story before in better detail, but there was just something about the way the dinobot recounted it... "Which is a much more amusing story than mine." Shadowsinger didn't mind telling his own story, but it would be much better to give Sam a moment to adjust to the ... "Oooh... that's right... you've got to know OPTIMUS Prime... Xobit's a different story entirely... as I'm sure you're figuring."
Head whirling with images of a giant drunken robot brawl and mechs drooling over femmes, not all that difficult to imagine since he had seen the twins drooling over the Ark's CSO plenty of times, Sam mechanically shoved cornflakes in his mouth. It was hard to adjust to the sexual openness of the Cybertronian race. The Ark 'bots knew that humans were more taboo beleaguered, and since they worked closely with them they curtailed their 'playfulness' until the humans were gone again… For the most part that was. The twins, as an example of the opposite, had a tendency to corner Red Alert whenever and wherever they could. Perversely, Sam's mind tried putting Optimus through the story the dinobot told, and failed utterly. He simply could not imagine the noble Autobot leader drunk… A brawl, sure, but more like a 'battle' brawl, not a 'drunk' brawl. "I think I can't imagine how a Prime could do something like that… Shadowsinger? What happened when you met her then… was she drunk then too, or something worse?" For a human, a thirty foot tall, pissed off, drunk metal lady was scary enough, but now he just had to know what had happened to the smaller mech… this Xobit sounded 'mildly' scary… kinda like his mother when you knew her…
Giggling at Sam's reactions the dinobot sipped her own cube of energon carefully, drinking it while waiting for her brothers answer. The human was so surprised it was priceless, and his showing emotion and questioning was great, much better then the depression he'd been in!
"Oh, no, I met her... oh, probably a few thousand years later. Not that she'd really calmed down any..." the mech grinned. "My CO sent me to report here, and I didn't know I was being considered for a promotion until Xobit told me it was an interview for CSO. She got pretty torqued at Steelspark for that trick... and I got a new crew." He smiled again from the memories. They had been too late finding Megatron, and he had lost Havok to the military shuffle, but Shadowsinger had been, and still was, happy here.
...Only a few thousand years later, right, way to make his mind shut down on him. The time spans that the Cybertronians worked with were simply mind numbing. Sergeant Epps had actually just been sitting for almost four hours trying to cope with the fact that Ironhide was at least one billion earth years old, possibly older. It had been fun until Ratchet had threatened to drag him to the med bay for dissection, a joke, unless he moved. "Umm… she sounds scary… does she like humans? Because you know, I don't want to annoy anyone… or be in the way for important stuff…"
"She loves humans! An' she ain't scary at all, jus'… hmmm, ya' could say she's full o' tough love, but she really ain't gonna hurt ya', A' swear," Loki said, frowning at the last part of Sam's words before reaching out and petting his head gently. "Ya' ain't gonna annoy her, if she can put up with me then mah Prime can put up with anyone, an' really, A' mean it, don't worry 'bout notin'."
"She is protective, though. Since you're on her ship, you're under her protection, and she takes that seriously. Hey! I bet we could even teach you some melee fighting, the size between you and most 'cons isn't that much different than I face..." Why Shadowsinger thought of that, he really wasn't sure... "Anyway, if you're done fuel... eating, could take ya on the tour and get that remote, if y'want?"
That… was just confusing, all of it! Yes, including the dinobot's perchance for touching him all the time… "Okay, she loves humans, is protective, likes bar fights and she's not going to step on me?" Putting his bowl into the sink he turned to Shadowsinger, not quite managing to hide his wince of pain. "Yeah, I'm ready to go on tour now…"
"Aye, ya' got it!" Even though she knew that Sam wasn't comfortable with her touches, the dinobot couldn't help it. He was just so cute! So adorable when confused! -Wish's first A' think bro, he's hurtin' an' A' don' like it,- Loki added over the comm., subtle frown directed at Shadowsinger.
-I know, I was going to see if he was going to ask about it... I know that I hate painkil...er, right, Wish's first.- "This way, then. And remember, either of us are happy t'carry ya. I know how scary it can be, bein' small with so many big 'bots around, and you're even smaller 'en'I." Moving slowly, Shadowsinger began going to the door, stopping to quickly put his empty cube away.
"Yeah, okay… but I kinda need to walk around myself a little or it'll never stop hurting..." Sighing a bit, Sam resigned himself to weeks of pained hobbling along while he healed. It was how it had been after Mission City, and then he hadn't been nearly as hurt as he still was now. He so often felt like a curious exotic pet when he was with the Cybertronians, being carried around and petted and… it made him feel worthless to be honest, not before, no, before he had just taken it as a good thing. It meant he had less distance to travel and made it easier to talk to his giant friends, but after Starscream… "I am capable of existing without help!" he couldn't help snapping and felt miserable the instant the words left his mouth.
Sending a look at Shadowsinger, the dinobot spoke, voice in the commanding tone that she hated using so very much. "We never said ya' weren', but ya' know ya' ain't the first ta' have injuries o' be annoyed by 'em! Ask Shadow' how many times A' wouldn' let him walk when he had a scratch o' A' yelled at him fo' not lettin' me help him! Point is, don' ya' get mad cause we're treatin' ya' like glass, we're doin' it cause we care!"
"What we mean is, you're fully capable of existin' without help. Wouldn't doubt that. But, y'know... ya really shouldn't... and sis is gettin' ready ta hit me, ain't she?" He wouldn't blame her if she was, after all, he was saying to Sam exactly what Loki had spent so long saying to HIM.
"Sorry…" He didn't exactly give with good grace, but he knew he had been out of line. That he knew why didn't help at all. "Can we just go? I'm not sure how much I will be up to, carried or walking." Not looking at either one of them, he took a hesitant step forward.
-He needs a fragging hug an' a wake up call.- Loki growled to Shadowsinger, thoroughly fed up with the attitude the human had. She was starting to wonder if it had been a good idea to offer to join her brother in taking care of Sam… the dinobot didn't have any patience for uncaring attitudes, and Sam's was one of the worst she'd ever seen.
-He is still young by human terms, and Screamer messed him up badly! He's not had even half an ORN to recover!- Shadowsinger snapped back. Almost immediately, he added, in a softer tone, -I do appreciate your help, but I don't expect you to stay around for all of it. You can beg off to do work, or recharge, or whatever.- "Never apologize..." the mech muttered, mostly to himself. "We can do more of a tour later, or never, or whatever. Yeah, let's just get ya t'Wish, follow the silver stripe on your right there, k?"
Color? Oh, that was useful, he still had trouble if he was alone at the Ark. "Who's idea was color coding? I assume the other colors show the way to other places?" It was so much easier to talk about non-personal things; it didn't make Sam feel so small, helpless and inadequate. "And… why is the Ark all orange anyways? I know that anyone can just download the ship's layout, but, yeah… I mean, I know that your people had other organic allies, and, well, all the soldiers get lost at Autobot city and the Ark…"
"Um… Long' made 'em an' installed 'em, A' dunno what fo' though, A' left that ta' Shadow'…" Loki said out loud while eyeing her friend.-A'm sorry, okay?! It jus' burns meh up fo' him ta' act so fraggin'… grrrrrr!- Growling into the comm. the dinobot wished she could flip her tail in annoyance. -A'm gonna kill Starscream!-
"Sis... I wasn't even on the ship when Long' made her suggestion. I'm not even sure I was an Autobot at that point! But yeah, Sam, the slate is the rec room, the official orange is the bridge, Loki's office is that pretty light blue..." Shadowsinger trailed off, he couldn't expect the human to get all the colors so fast. "It... well, we're not the most formal of crews, don't always follow all the regulations, so that's why it's more colorful here. I agree, it's quite a help." -...I know. I don't like it either... I, shouldn't have snapped... can I help with the killing?-
"Who is Long'? I thought everyone were born… uh, created? Either 'bot or 'con…" Sam had never thought to ask and felt immensely stupid, why had he never asked? If he had asked more questions, he would maybe not be so useless, or at least have found out before Starscream's kidnapping…
"Sorry…that was a stupiAH!" Tripping jolted his entire body, even as he managed to keep standing, leaning heavily on the wall.
-Of cours-- Not finishing Loki knelt, hand wrapped around the human for him to lean on. "Bro?" she asked, optics worried and anger forgotten. Using her other hand, the dinobot scooped Sam up before he could argue and, keeping down low, held him out to Shadowsinger to take. Normally she wouldn't mind carrying him, but… well, he was injured, emotionally unstable, and scared of her… that deterred her from keeping her hold.
He accepted Sam from Loki's hand, holding him in what was called 'bridal style', honestly cuddling the boy... but only for a moment. Sam had to know he was welcome and accepted, but also that they saw him as self-capable. "Longshot is a sniper, a femme seeker with a Harrier alt, you're not that likely to come across her. And while I'm thinking about it, I should likely warn you that Wishmaster's a triple-changer who keeps his wings out in root-mode. And no, we're sparked neutral. Ideally, there would be no 'bots or 'cons, but the war has made sides... But more than one of our crew has either considered or actually used to be 'con." Shadowsinger answered politely and friendly, and tried to forget again just who he held.
Sam supposed it would serve no purpose to try and walk, he had, after all,just demonstrated that he couldn't. Relaxing ever so slightly, his chest rising and falling with a heavy sigh, he resigned himself to being carried. "I guess that human assumptions about robots can't really be applied to Cybertronians… It's just so easy to try and explain you with terms like programming and such! 'Bee once told me that your 'computer'-like components aren't really who you are, that the spark can, in time, change any forced reprogramming of the processor…" Speaking softly, he focused on one moment in time, a moment where he had been so close to a spark, had stared into it, before turning his head away…
"Do you think, if he had had the time… that Megatron would have been… become like an Autobot? That all that he did actually had a purpose, but just got out of hand?" he wasn't sure if he wanted a no or a yes to that, on one hand he wanted to believe in redemption, on the other he wanted to be reassured that he was not a monster for what he had done. It was their first conversation all over again, just worded differently and spoken of for a different reason.
"A' hate ta' say it, but A' dunno… A'm a lil' slow, can' ya' tell? Though A' would like ta' believe that he coulda had some good in him at th' begginin'… Shadow' lived 'round there 'fore the war started an' knows mo' then meh… he should know." Loki could have purred at the sight of Shadowsinger cuddling the small human, but didn't, not wanting to scare him… but it was so cute and she ended up smiling, despite the seriousness of the question and discussion.
"He did. He very much had a reason for leading a revolt against the current corrupt Autobot regime. As time passed, the reasons for the war did get obscured... But it was really Starscream who made things... well, then again, it was Optimus' idea to launch the cube..." Shadowsinger trailed away, he didn't really want to shatter Sam's perception too badly. "But been like an Autobot... what do you mean by that?"
"I meant… peaceful. Aside from troublemakers like the twins and, well, Ironhide, most of the Autobots are peaceful in their off time. And even the twins long for peace… Ironhide too." It was the best Sam could do, to describe what he meant with 'like an Autobot'. He didn't really have any other base of comparison. "If he had a reason other than wanting to rule the universe, why didn't he just stop? I mean…" taking a deep breath Sam tried to collect his thoughts. "You speak as if that government? doesn't exist anymore, why keep fighting? Why continue a war that the Autobots wanted stopped and which had no purpose anymore… did Optimus rule that government or what? Was it because Megatron hated Optimus?" It was perverse to want to know all of this, he was torturing himself! But Sam need to know, it was so easy to make monsters out of everyone on the Decepticon side, just as easy as it was to make other humans into monsters, even thought true monsters rarely existed.
"'Cause some o' the 'cons don' wanna give up, either they don' know their leader is dead… o' they don' care. Peace is a fine thin' ta' want, but gettinin' it… well it's not so easy. Trust meh, it won' come 'til the 'cons admit defeat… an', well, the chances o' that are slim ta' none!" Fidgeting, Loki shrugged, still unsure of how to answer the questions that Sam was asking… mostly since they had never been asked… well, no one had ever asked HER at least… "That's why when theres any times o' peace ya' gotta make th' best o' it, an' boy do we make that best as much as we can!"
"'Bots could surrender to... though not to Screamer," Shadowsinger commented quietly. "Optimus was Sentinel Prime's successor, I believe... It's hard to say how much of that government remains. And now you've got mechs thinkin' that the Allspark's loss really has doomed our race, and 'cons ARE a violent bunch, in general." Whoops. That might not have been the best thing to say, though he had in no way intended that as a complaint over Sam's actions.
"What do you mean, doomed without the Allspark?" Sam blink up at the mech thoroughly confused… dreadfully confused, getting worse by the second actually… "What do you mean...? Did I somehow kill the Cybertronian race by stik… by doing what I did…" fear, he did his best to battle it, but he needed! Needed for Shadowsinger to tell him it wasn't so. Tell him he had not doomed his l… his best friend's entire race.
Before her brother could speak Loki shook her head and almost laughed. "Not hardly! Sam, ya' didn' doom us, in fact, in mah opinion ya' did somethin' good." She may not know much about other things, but sparklings… that was one thing she did know about. "We have- had two ways ta' make sparklin's, aka new sparklin' mechs 'n femmes Sam. One way was the Allspark, a quick an'… well… loveless way, th' other way was bondin', with both parters wantin' a sparklin' SO much that as they interface a new spark is born. Am A' makin' any sense?" As she asked the question Loki comm.ed Shadowsinger, -Sorry bro, 'cept ya', ya' full o' love, lots 'n lots o' it.-
-Am now, 'twasn't at the time,- Shadowsinger comm.ed back, glad that Loki that taken the trouble to reassure him. "Exactly as Loki said. But many have forgotten about merge-sparking... Actually, most probably never knew. So no, Sam. All you've done is ensure that every sparkling from now on will be wanted and loved." The small mech was actually surprised that Loki knew so much about sparklings, she... well, it wasn't expected. "And, we're almost to medbay."
"But… I don't understand. If I didn't doom everyone by destroying the Allspark, then why does everyone think I did? And what do you mean with bonding? Why would you have to do that to have a spark… um, sparkling, if it's a femme thing, is that why it went out of use, because 'Bee told me that almost all of the femmes were lost early on in the war." Sam needed reassurance and he needed to know. Why, he wasn't sure, well, the first made perfect sense, but the second? There was just… Starscream had… no, it really had nothing to do with the seeker, more with the fact that he now knew how little he really understood about his friend. He wanted to know more for his own sake and for Bumblebee's sake.
With a sigh the dinobot looked down, "A femme isn' needed ta' make a sparklin' Sam, but fo' th' 'ol' fashioned' way, as ya' humans call it, WANT is needed, ta' get a sparklin' both need to want it without a doubt, an' both need ta' care fo' it. An' it's not known ta' most like Shadow said, the Allspark's been used fo' so long that ya' don't have ta' WANT a sparklin' ta' get one." She paused so the human could let it sink in. "They think ya' doomed our race cause they don' know, an' it'd be… different… fo' them ta' have ta' go ta' such lengths ta' get a sparklin' instead a' jus' makin' a body an' takin' in ta' get a spark… am A' confusin' ya' still?"
"Sis misspoke slightly, in actuality. Mergin' is what is needed, that is, two sparks touching. Could show you sometime. Bonding is separate, and not needed for sparking. She got everything else, though." Shadowsinger grinned, mildly embarrassed as he realized they likely were confusing poor Sam.
"I don't understand… and… did you just offer to have sex in front of me?!" He wasn't sure if he should be amused or offended at that idea. Sam was, however, very sure that he had understood about zero of the sparkling explanation. "How can wanting a sparkling help with getting one? It's like you're saying a girl could only have a child if she wanted it…"
"Not quite Sam… what we're sayin' is like… a girl couldn' get pregnant unless both her an' who she had sex with wanted it too. An' not jus' want, but REALLY want, like… no questions asked, no hesitation… none at all… oh, an' yes he did, an' A'll offer it too." Loki winked at the flabbergasted human, reaching down to run a claw across her friend's back and wheel wings in a way that Sam could see.
Shadowsinger gave a low moan, and he was pretty sure that Sam could feel the light tremor that went through him. "Sis... Loki, I never thought I'd say this, but not now! We need t'least wait for Sam's answer, and he needs to get to medbay for pain meds anyway. But, well... once those are dealt with..." Sam was going to leave here unable to look at any Cybertronian without blushing, at this rate!
"I think… I think I'll have to pass on that…" Swallowing dryly, Sam tried very hard to get the images of the two Cybertronians making love out of his head, not really easy now that he had a very physical demonstration to work with. The medic was beginning to sound like a really good idea, even if he didn't want any more drugs.
"A' know, but A' love teasin' ya'… an' are ya' sure, Sam? A' can assure ya' it's not like what ya' thinkin'… A' mean, look at a' size differences, ya' think it'd work if it was?" Primus bless human porn, it allowed them to find out about human mating… as well as other things that were so fun… "Ya'd learn a few thin's 'bout us too ya' know, maybe what Bumblebee would like…" Winking at the human again, Loki giggled as Sam blushed bright red. It was probably pushing too far but… it was just too good to pass up.
"You know what Wish' will do t'us if ya send Sam inta the human version of processor lock? My frame has never been modified from what I was sparked with, and I'd really like to keep it that way, you know!" Shadowsinger scolded, moving to 'hide' the youth in his arms from the dinobot. "Honestly though, Sam, the offer's open for... well, basically as long as you might want, so ya don't gotta feel pressured, k? And speaking of Wish', here's medbay."
"What 'Bee would… oh… um… I really don't think I need to know. I mean, it's sweet and all, but no, just no!" it wasn't that Sam didn't want to know, exactly, he just wasn't sure that he wanted to learn like this. Besides, just because he really lo… liked his guardian, no one said that Bumblebee liked him back. "Oh, good, the med bay!" he couldn't help sounding really relived, and incidentally rather silly, as if the med bay was the eighth wonder of the world or something similarly awe inspiring.
"Awww, ya' no fun…" Despite her teasing, they sped through the visit to Wishmaster and his med bay, even when the medic had to stop and attack Loki for making a smart comment about his love of wrenches in between Sam's painkillers being given and his check up. "So, ya' change 'ur mind yet?" Loki asked absently on the way out, ignoring Shadowsinger's exasperated look.
Since he HAD been given painkillers, and since those seemed to affect the human body with lack of balance, among other things, Shadowsinger was still carrying Sam, ready to put him down the moment he was asked. "Almost done. Just need to stop by m'office an' get ya that remote, and then we'll take you back to your room, okay?"
"No! And that sounds fine Shadowsinger… I'm a little tired, actually." Being tired actually did come as a surprise. Sam was feeling really tired, not just 'grey', he actually wanted sleep for a reason other than forgetting.
Pouting, Loki vowed to never stop bugging about getting Sam to watch her molest her brother, but she did give up for the night… The human did look kind of sleepy, cute sleepy, but still sleepy, and he did need rest while still injured.
Giving the second in command a skeptical look, Shadowsinger decided not to worry about whatever she was planning. It would come to light soon enough, and he trusted Loki not to push things TOO far. "I told you, Sam, you can call me Shadow', most do. An' th'blue-green stripe's mine." This would go SO much faster if he could ride Loki, but walking didn't make the trip THAT much longer.
"Shadow'… blue-green? Oh right, yeah, that fine…" To be honest, it was almost impossible to keep his eyes open. "What did the Ratc' clone give me? I'm so… mm…" curling up a little, Sam could feel his mind slipping into sleep, the soft motion of Shadowsinger's steps only serving to speed the effects of the drug.
As she resisted the urge to pet the human again, Loki giggled at the term 'Ratc' clone' since oh, was it true… reminding herself to tease Wishmaster about that too next time she was in his med-bay. "Think we aughta' pass on th' remote an' jus' bring it to 'im later?" she asked Shadowsinger with a small shrug, "He's pretty much asleep…"
Again he cuddled Sam marginally closer, vents cycling softly. "Yeah... Guess we should, at that." Shifting his route slightly, Shadowsinger took him back to Wei's room and tucked him back in before shooing Loki out of the room. They could check on him often, but he needed to be left alone for a while.
Hope you enjoyed. Poor Sam...