Summary: Sam's cousin has always been different. Despite this, she and Sam had always been close. When the Autobots come into the picture, will she allow her beloved cousin to deal with the repercussions of their arrival, or shoulder the responsibility herself? Is she strong enough to? Also, what is the connection she shares with several Decepticons? As well as the Allspark?
Warnings: I've watched the Movies, I've seen most of the episodes of Beast Wars and Beast Machines, seen some episodes of Armada and read various online stuff. I do not know most of the storylines in Generation one, but I do know most of the characters and their personalities. This will be a mix-matched version of what I do know, and probably will only make sense to me and those who have an open mind. The movies are awesome in special effects, and as I know them best, I will be using them as the starting point, but with info from other areas, such as the Ark having been crashed on Earth for a long time. I will also be royally screwing some things on PURPOSE to suit how I felt some things could have gone. In my mind this is all in a sort of ANIME-STYLE not live-action characters. Some bots and cons will be Movie style in alt mode, others will be Gen One.
Also, some terms down below I made up, the time terms for the Cybertronians are relative from what I've read about. My Cybertronian Culture Notes are mine, my view of how the Fallen's disgrace had occurred, and the surviving Prime who returned to Cybertron after that betrayal. I do not approve of plagiarizing otherwise I would happily incorporate the awesome ideas of other authors such as the Carrying Holds, the Spike and Port Interface Array, and other misc. things.
I don't remember however if I had read in someone else's story about Budding. If I did I do apologize, however the explanations below took me a long time to figure out and put into words. If the Budding Process has been used, I'll simply change the name to something else since my explanation is my own.
Terms:
Bud Spark – an influx of energy formed during the action of Spark Interface, not necessarily during regular interface. This bud is highly sensitive to various conditions, dissipating if not properly contained or formed. Should all conditions be met, the bud will attach itself to the stronger Spark and form into a Semi Spark.
Semi Spark – a half-formed spark still in the stage of development. It is still sensitive but stronger than a Bud. Unless the Bearer Spark is weakened, or outright rejects the Young Spark, it will fully mature into a Sparkling after 10 orns.
Sparkling – Newborn. Refers to Unborn Sparks to Young Sparks roughly a single Vorn old.
Youngling – Child. Refers to Young Sparks roughly from 1 vorn to 10 vorns old. Also can be used by older Cybertronians when referring to those younger than them.
Mech Spark – a normal spark designed to power a frame. A mech spark has a 20% chance of forming a bud spark when paired with another mech spark. Should enough energy be stored and such a bud spark be formed, the bud spark will pick the Mech Spark more efficient or stronger to be it's Bearer. Mech Sparks are either blue or red.
Femme Spark- a rarely produced, stronger and more potent spark that utilizes energy more efficiently than a Mech Spark. A Femme Spark has a 40% chance of forming a bud spark when paired with another spark, mech or femme. Femme Sparks are white, or very rarely, gold.
Creator – a single Cybertronian who decides to apply for a sparkling from the Allspark OR had created a Sparkling via Budding with another Cybertronian.
Bearer – a single Cybertronian who underwent the Budding process and was chosen to carry the Semi Spark. Only if the Semi Spark fully forms into a Sparkling can the Mature Spark be considered a Bearer Spark.
Bearer Sparks – sparks that had undergone the Budding Process and produced living Sparklings. After the birthing of a Sparkling, the Mature Spark is considered a Bearer Spark. Bearer Sparks become highly receptive to Spark Energies, the percentage of becoming a Bearer again increases. Mech Sparks range from- 20% to 40%. Femme Sparks range from - 40% to 80%.
Spark Shields – equivalent of birth control, normally only used during unsettled times of war or, in Bearer cases, to prevent Spark Exhaustion.
Caretakers – Cybertronians who have undergone training and received Creator programming to look after another's Sparklings and Younglings OR Cybertronians who have activated programming due to being Creators themselves, either through the Allspark or Budding.
Cybertronian Culture Notes: Mech and Femme frames do not mean male frames and female frames. All frames are built with an Interfacing Array, including ports and cables. Interface without Sparks will not cause Budding, but will store energy influxes to increase chances of Budding when Spark Interface is initiated.
It is perfectly normal for mechs to pair together, as well as femmes to pair together. They do not believe in homosexuality or heterosexuality defining whether a mech or femme is good or not. Because of the ratio of mechs to femmes, it is perfectly normal for mechs to be with each other. In most cases, mechs actually are normal regular interface partners.
They also are not against polygamy. Regular Interface, depending on how far they go, range from showing deep friendship, to showing strong trust, as well as showing intimate connections. Spark Interface is the most intimate form of affection, it also synchronizes the Spark patterns, to allow them to connect deeper. If Sparks are compatible, if the Cybertronians so choose, they can establish a stronger link with one or two others. Linking with compatible Sparks, is as close yet deeper than human marriage customs. Due to different frames needing certain needs, it is entirely possible that two who are Linked, still have other regular interface partners that are not their Linked. Being Linked simply means that they are closer than any others, and would be the preferred partner in Spark Interfacing.
Mech Bearers are also often times referred to as Femmes, due to the higher Budding percentage, depending on a Mech's perception this may be taken as a compliment or insult. They are not true Femmes however, since their Sparks are not as energy efficient nor as strong as True Femme Sparks.
THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IN MECH AND FEMME FRAMES IS THEIR SPARKS! THEY HAVE NO GENDERS!
Spark coloration is varied. Mech Sparks are usually Blue or Red, whereas Femme Sparks are normally White, or very rarely Gold. Scientists have argued since the beginning of records as to why the Sparks are varied. Only the Allspark CORE Guardians know the answer but have refused to answer or ask the Allspark for its reasons.
Klik – roughly 1 Earth minute.
Breem – roughly 8 Earth minutes.
Joor - roughly 7 Earth hours.
Orn - roughly 13 Earth days.
Vorn - roughly 83 Earth years.
Disclaimer: Oops, I forgot to put this in. Obviously, I don't own Transformers, else I'd have the kiddie version, and the adult version. GO KINKY ROBOT SEX! LOL Plus I'd not be broke right now. XD
Chapter Terms:
Little Spark: term of endearment that portrays deep affection. Usually only used from a Creator to their own Sparklings and Younglings. However, can also be used between extremely close siblings, example: an older sibling to a younger sibling.
Darklings: a specifically odd term used for adopted Sparklings or very young Younglings. Darkling Sparks are extremely rare, they are far more sensitive to all energy waves. If a Sparkling or Youngling show signs of being a Darkling Spark, they are immediately taken in for testing. If they are simply Sensitive and do not display true Dark Sparks, they are returned to their Creators. However, if they are true Dark Sparks, they are trained by CORE Guardians to become Voices of the Allspark. Normally, the Voices and CORE will detect if a Darkling Spark is brought out of the Matrix, and will bring the Sparkling to a Guardian to be adopted and raised. If a Sparkling is created from Budding, then found to be a Darkling Spark, they will either be raised by their Creator with training from the Voices, or will be adopted by the Voices in case the Creator denies their Sparkling.
Darkling Sparks are seen as both infected abominations as well as blessed Primus-Sent. The reason for this is because their Sparks actually have visible dark spots. With training by the Voices, the Sparklings and Younglings can hide the spots from even the most well-trained medics, using their sensitivity for various purposes that other mechs or femmes cannot mimic. Very few admit if they are Dark Sparked, usually keeping the advantages to being so, kept secret.
- Until All Are One -
Title: A Change in Plans
Chapter Four: Sparklings and Mission City Part One
- Until All Are One -
Previously:
Mallory Blake Witwicky looked at her daughter, seeing the pain she'd caused and sighed. She beckoned them to follow. "Moving it might be difficult though," she led them into the hangar, nodding as they stared up at the massive surface of one side of the cube.
"Sage," Mikaela looked at her pleadingly. "Any ideas from your friends?"
- Until All Are One -
The girl twitched once she realized everyone had turned to look at her expectantly. She looked over to ShadowFlight, who was staring at the Cube and seemed to silently talk to it, since her mouth was moving. The humans, seeing she was ignoring them, started to try and plan their next moves. After several heated discussions over their various plans, Mikaela piped up.
"Can't we contact the Autobots?" she asked Sam. He shrugged.
"I don't exactly have their phone numbers, if they even have phone numbers." He replied.
"But they have the glasses, so wouldn't the coordinates bring them here?" she pressed. Sam blinked, scratching at the back of his head.
"Maybe,"
"Then they should be on their way here then," Mikaela noted. The agents and soldiers shared uncertain looks. Suddenly, the whole area shook. The lights flickered but remained on, as the scientists began shouting directions and orders.
"Gentlemen, they know the Cube is here," Keller spoke calmly. Banacheck ran over to a phone and began speaking into it.
"Do you have an arms room?" Captain Lennox demanded to Simmons. At the man's nod, they ran out of the hangar to the specified room. Sam and Mikaela didn't notice Sage had lagged behind. "Forty millimeter sabot rounds on that table!" the Captain ordered, helping sort through the various ammunitions. "That's good. Get all the ammo you got. Everything you can carry. Bring it." Sam went over to Simmons.
"Listen, we need to contact the Autobots, bring them here, they'll know what to do with the Cube!" Sam urged. Simmons snorted in disbelief, grabbing his own weapon.
"We do not know what will happen if we let those robots near that Cube!"
"You don't know,"
"Maybe you know, but I don't!" his raised voice caught everyone's attention.
"So you just wanna sit here and wait and see what happens?" Sam cried in disbelief.
"I have people's lives at stake here young man!" Simmons grabbed his shirt, yanking him forward. At that move, Captain Lennox pulled his gun, shoving Simmons back and pointing it at his chest.
"Listen to the kid, he seems to know a helluva lot more than you do right now!"
"Drop it!" several agents aimed their guns at him, his soldiers instantly raising their own in defense of their leader.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Banacheck yelped, trying to stop the inevitable gun fight.
"Drop your weapon, soldier." Simmons ordered. "There's an alien war going on and you're gonna shoot me?"
"You know, we didn't ask to be here." The Captain dug the gun deeper into his chest.
"I'm ordering you under S-Seven executive jurisdiction…"
"Seven don't exist!" Epps retorted. Sage blinked and grinned evilly, inching closer.
"Right, and we don't take orders form people who don't exist." Lennox nodded, inching closer.
"I'm gonna count to five. Okay." Simmons started, softly.
"Well, I'm gonna count to three." Lennox responded.
"Simmons?" Keller called.
"Yes, sir?"
"I'd do what he says. Losing is really not an option for these guys."
"All right. Okay." He grumbled, putting his hands up. The soldiers slowly lowered their weapons, Lennox being last. "Hey, you want to lay the fate of the world on the kid's robot buddies? That's cool." As the Captain stepped away, Sage stepped forward.
"Yo Simmons," the man looked up, just in time to feel her knee connect between his legs, and her left fist to connect with his face. He flew back, smacked his head against the vehicle, and crumpled. "I took on one of those bad-ass Decepticons when he went after Sam, and won. Don't think I won't beat the crap out of you. By the way, that was for threatening Mikaela's dad." She walked away, not seeing the look of sympathy on Lennox's face.
"I don't know what you did to piss her off, but you probably deserved it." He spoke up after a second. Simmons just groaned. They all trooped back to the main hangar, to see Sage sitting cross-legged underneath the Cube, leaning back on her hands to stare up at it. She was making some odd humming sounds. To everyone's surprise, the Cube seemed to be reacting to her humming. Flickers of power danced across the surface, dancing down the long wires that were clipped to it.
"By the way, what did you mean by its energy?" Epps spoke up warily, seeing what appeared to be lightning gathering on the large surface.
"Well, we don't really have time for a demonstration," Simmons piped up, staring in awe. Everyone ignored the higher pitch he was speaking at. Suddenly, seemingly in response to what they'd said, two forks of the lightning shot out and connected with two pieces of machinery. An ominous hum echoed around the hangar as the energy was absorbed, then the familiar music to the teens began. Sage shot up, heading over as the two finished transforming, revealing dark red eyes and charging up their weapons.
"Shh, it's alright," she soothed, moving slowly over to them. The two, seemingly twins, paused, looking at her curiously. A string of clicks, coos, warbling, and whirls sounded between them, directed at her. She hummed softly, which caused them to blink then power down their weapons completely. Instead they stepped forward and began poking and examining her hair and clothes. She petted their armor absently, eyes widening briefly at their size. Since they had both been created out of two of the matching large computer consoles in the hangar, both were larger than the humans. Roughly about nine feet tall, they were slender but well-armored, with disjointed legs like a bird, and the armor panellings emerging from their shoulders to form what appeared to be winglets, similar to an insect's wing covers. They both had two thin arms that ended in delicate claws, three claws and one thumb on each hand. They were mostly silvery-white, with black under their armor.
"Holy shit," the two jerked, looking up at the other humans. At seeing the soldiers with weaponry, they immediately bristled, their armor fluffing up, and crouching, hissing. One of the two stepped forward, side-stepping to block Sage from view, powering his weapons up threateningly.
"Bree! Bree! Calm him down please!" Sam yelped. His cousin darted out from behind her protector, twirling away nimbly from the other one who had reached out to stop her, and stood in front of the two. She reached out and gently pushed the cannons down to face the ground, stepping up to hug the agitated twin.
"It's okay, they're not going to hurt you," she murmured soothingly. The two hesitated, eying them, then reluctantly slid their cannons away again. Instead, the one she was hugging, abruptly lifted her up, earning a surprised yelp, and set her on his shoulders, moving with surprising grace and fluidity over to the platform the Cube was on. His twin followed, stepping up and warbling to the Cube, reaching up to try and touch the artifact. They were too short, even after extending their legs up to reach twelve feet. Annoyed, the two chattered to each other before the second twin darted up to the catwalks, frightening several humans, and used it to jump up and latch onto the Cube's surface. The two hummed in unison, speaking their tongue, and almost singing. To the humans, the song was eerily beautiful and alien.
"Whoa, they doing something!" Epps yelped, stepping back. It was true, the Cube appeared to start glowing, then folded down. "They doing something ai'ight." The one who was touching the Cube leaped down, rolling to avoid damage, and straightened a few feet from his twin. His twin, who still had Sage perched on his shoulders, warbled softly as the Cube descended. Sage reached up, catching the Cube as it fell. She hissed softly at some shock, but cradled the Cube carefully to her chest, not letting it touch the helm in front of her. The twins, their task complete, turned expectantly to the group, moving cautiously forward. Lennox seemed to read their faces, since he stepped forward.
"Alright, we stay here, we're screwed with Megatron in the other hangar." He started, turning to Keller. "Mission City is twenty-two miles away. We're gonna sneal that Cube out of here, and we're gonna hide it somewhere in the city."
"Good! Right." Keller agreed, rubbing his hands.
"But we cannot make a stand without the Air Force." Lennox continued. "This place must have some kind of radio link!"
"Yes, Shortwave, CB." Keller motioned to Simmons. The agent was nodding rapidly.
"Right, yes."
"Sir, you got to figure out some way to get word out to them. Let's move!" Lennox got his men moving.
"In the alien archive, sir!" Simmons blurted out.
"The alien…"
"There's an old Army radio console."
"Will it work?"
"Anything's possible! Did you see that…" Simmons gestured widely to the Cube and the twins, who were watching his gestures interestedly.
"Alright, Sam," Lennox patted the teen's shoulder. "Get that Cube into one of our cars…Mr. Secretary! Get our birds in the air! When we get to the city, we're gonna find a radio, and I'll have Epps vector them in, okay?"
"Affirmative!" the chorus of soldiers sounded.
"Danger Will Robinson! Danger! Danger!" the quote suddenly blasted out. Everyone turned to the twins, who were fidgeting.
"Oh God, we're gonna die! We're gonna DI-I-I-IE!"
"Ever seen Okay Corral? Lotta people died!" they chirped worriedly, bobbing their heads.
"They're right," Sage spoke up, not questioning how they managed to hack the Internet. "There's gonna be a lot of people getting caught in the crossfire, can't we warn the police to try and evacuate?" Lennox nodded, thoughtfully.
"We can try, but no one's got a working radio right…now…" he trailed off as the free twin pounced on a computer console, tearing it apart. Despite protests from several scientists and agents, he quickly disassembled then reassembled several of the componenets. He chirped a question, his twin replied by heading over to another console, digging around until he found a telephone. The free twin scanned the device, then began reconfiguring several different pieces. The other moved over and tapped one of the handheld radios one of the soldiers had. Getting the go ahead from his captain, the soldier handed over the radio to the twin, who brought it over to the other. Chirping, warbling, and a few curse-sounding hisses later, they twin held up a slightly bulky radio with a very long antennae. Handing it over to Lennox, it chirped and chattered as it adjusted several dials. Instantly the radio began emitting static sounds, to the cheer of the soldiers.
"That's awesome," Lennox patted the twin, and was surprised when it patted him back gently, though on his head. "Listen, can you stay and help Mr. Secretary? He needs a radio too." An affirmative chirp before he quickly followed the group towards the alien archives. "Alright, Sage, I need you, Sam, and Mikaela in one of the trucks." He was surprised at the whining coming from the remaining twin, who was grabbing her legs protectively. The determination in his optics made the Captain sigh. "I don't know how we can transport you, maybe you should stay…" the growling that interrupted him made him step back. "Fine, fine, but we need to go, now!" Sage glanced back to wave to her mom, who waved back, silently watching them leave.
- Until All Are One -
Once Mallory Blake watched the soldiers take her daughter and nephew to relative safety, she headed to her personal console. Backing up all the data and research, she put it all on several portable USB drives, then slid all of them into a shipping envelope. Scrawling the address to Sam's house, she put the stamps on, then sent it down a chute to the mailing room. She watched as the cryostasis failed, and stood defiantly as Megatron burst into the hangar. As the other scientists ran screaming, she glared up at the terrible titan. Megatron, spotting her, grinned maliciously.
"Because of your connection to my Little Spark," he purred, leaning down, his claws moving to surround her, "I shall kill you swiftly!" his claws shot out, slicing into her frail organic body. She was dead before her limbs and torso hit the floor. He moved out of the hangar, stepping on as many humans as he could, taking great pleasure in doing so. He heard more than saw Starscream land beside him.
"I live to serve you, Lord Megatron."
"Where is the Cube?"
"The humans have taken it."
"You fail me yet again, Starscream." He growled, then paused, feeling the connection he had to the young femme flare. Feeling her sense of relief and safety, he knew that she had met up with his brother. "The small human femme that radiates with Allspark energy, she is NOT to be harmed." He growled out, then leaped and transformed, flying away from his quivering Air Commander. Starscream snarled in defiance, following.
- Until All Are One -
Sam, Mikaela, and Sage were squished once again into a black SUV, Sage in the middle holding onto the Cube for dear life. A tingling in her chest caused her to look up, just in time to see a convoy of strange vehicles about to pass them by. Launching herself across the seat, over Sam's lap, she stuck most of her upper torso out the window, despite several protests and the curse from the driver.
"BUMBLEBEE!" she screamed, waving the Cube. Immediately, the convoy sped up, shooting past them to perform stunning U-turns. As Prime passed, she shivered as a sense of safety and calm swept throughout her. Sam yanked her back in, cursing, as they hit the expressway. As the Camaro sped up to drive beside them, Sam looked behind them.
"Oh no!"
"What?"
"It's the same cop! Block them, block them, block them." Sam chanted, as the familiar cop and an unfamiliar military vehicle slammed onto the expressway. They watched as the Autobots attempted to block the two, then the military vehicle transformed. The monstrous Decepticon began skating along the highway. They all were thankful that Lennox had managed to call ahead, and got the highway mostly cleared, since the few cars that were there, immediately pulled out of the way at that thing coming at them. After going under a bridge, Prime transformed too, hurling himself and tackling the Con over the edge.
"Oh no! Prime!" Sage cried. The radio crackled on suddenly, the deep voice of Ironhide filtering through.
"Prime can handle a single Con just fine, now keep moving!" the weapon specialist ordered, pulling up faster and nudging the SUV. "He'll catch up! Now GO!" the driver floored it, keeping his composure despite the talking radio. Thankfully, as they exited towards Mission City, Lennox seemed to have been able to evacuate most people from the vicinity. They all pulled to a stop in front of a small store called Rhonda's Pawn Shop, the soldiers getting out and forming a temporary perimeter. Lennox disappeared into the store briefly, then came back out with some more radios. Sam, Mikaela, and Sage crawled out and ran over to Bumblebee, who warbled happily, blinking his lights. Ironhide pulled up behind them, while Jazz pulled up behind the other two Autobots, forming a triangle with them in the center.
"Thank goodness you're all alright," Sage shifted the Cube to her hip.
"We need to get the Allspark away from here," Ironhide spoke uneasily.
"Most of the humans are away, thank Primus, guess those soldiers know what they're doing." Jazz added, scanning around.
"Hopefully they'll get most of the city evacuated before any Cons show up," Mikaela squeezed Sam's hand.
"Here! I got shortwave radios!" Lennox's call grabbed their attention. He handed them to Epps, who looked at them blankly.
"Wait. What am I supposed to do with these?" he asked bemusedly.
"Well, use them! It's all we got!" his Captain seemed a bit too cheerful for the moment.
"This is like RadioShack dinosaur radios or something, man." He complained, turning them over in his hands. "I'm only gonna get 20 or 30 miles out of these things." he warned, figuring them out. Before anyone could reply, a jet screamed overhead. "Are there any aircraft orbiting the city?" Epps called, speaking into the radio. They waited a moment, then one soldier called out lookout.
"F-22 at 12:00!" a sense of dread filled Sage and she stepped back, closer to the Topkick, who was slightly growling.
"Alright, I want planes for air cover and get Black Hawks on station to extract that Cube. You got it?" Lennox ordered. "Air Force has arrived! Pop smoke!" Lennox called out after several moments.
Epps ordered. "Raptor, Raptor, do you copy? We have your visual. Green smoke is the mark. Provide air cover and vector Black Hawks for extraction." He provided the orders, as another popped the green flare. As they watched the jet turn, flying too close to buildings, his stomach clenched in dread. The next shout heard only confirmed it. Most soldiers turned at the louder musical tone as Ironhide transformed, carefully around the teens.
"It's Starscream!" he warned, moving forward. The other Autobots began moving, startling the soldiers.
"Please tell me you copy." Epps pleaded into the radio, watching as the jet headed for them.
"Back up! Take cover! Bumblebee!" Ironhide wasted no time, the soldiers doing what he said as he moved to a truck. The scout helped him move and lift the truck up to use as a shield, just as the jet let loose several missiles.
"No, no, no, no, no! Move!" Lennox grabbed the teens, yanking them back.
"Back up! Back UP! Retreat! Fall back!" he bellowed, hefting the truck up higher. "INCOMING!" Ironhide bellowed, trying to give enough warning to the humans to dive to the ground. The missiles collided with the truck, sending both Autobots flying back. The shockwaves from both the collision of missiles, the explosion, and the falling Autobots, caused most humans to fly back even if they were already on the ground. Sam and Mikaela looked up slowly, reaching out to each other, as shouts from the recovering soldiers rang throughout the air.
"Anybody hurt? Everyone okay?"
"Clear the area!"
"Oh my God." Part of a wall crumbled, revealing Bumblebee whining and attempting to crawl forward, his legs below the knees completely gone. "Bumblebee? No. Your legs!" Sam tottered over to his guardian, staring at the leaking stumps. "Your legs." He pushed against Jazz, who had crept forward. "Here. Here, back, back, back, back! You all right? Please get up. Bumblebee? Get up!" Sam pleaded hysterically. Bee whined softly, crawling closer. "Ratchet!" he screamed. Mikaela covered her mouth, eyes beginning to tear up from seeing the sweet Autobot so injured. Sage, slowly moving over towards them, couldn't tear her eyes away from the damaged lines and tubing. She felt the Cube slowly warm up in her hands, the glyphs shining briefly.
"What the hell was that?" Lennox demanded.
"What are you talking about?"
"What do you mean, what am I talking about? They shot at us!"
"F-22 pilots would never fly below buildings. That's alien. That ain't friendly!" Epps snarled at his CO.
"You've got to get up. You're okay. You're okay. Come on!" Sam coaxed.
"Army Black Hawk inbound to your location. Over." The radio sizzled in Epps's ear.
"Alpha 273 degrees, 10 miles. November Victor, 1.2 clicks north." Suddenly another shot was heard, this time from down the street. Everyone turned to see a tank rolling down the street, crushing parked cars without a care. As the soldiers attempted to get a visual, Jazz and Ratchet barreled down the street, nimbly dodging debris and cars in their way.
"Move out! Let's go!" Lennox ordered, patting Epps's shoulder. As the military vehicles began to move, Mikaela looked around wildly for something to help. She spotted a tow truck but before she could move to it, the twin who had insisted on coming, managed to climb out of the truck he'd climbed in, moving over to her. He chattered worriedly, looking around, his cannons deployed.
"We've got to help Bumblebee!" she stated, pointing over to the tow truck. He bobbed his head, guarding her as they made their way over.
"Let's go! Move!" a soldier shouted. Sam shook his head, staring at Bumblebee.
"I'm not going to leave you." He whispered, reaching out to touch his guardian's hand. Bumblebee whined softly, looking over to see the others racing over to fight Demolisher. Ironhide had reverted back to his truck mode, moving with unbelievable speed and transforming in motion with skill, to dodge several missiles with a somersault. Jazz sped up, also transforming in motion, to neatly spin-flip up on top, damaging the main turret.
"Come on, Decepticon punk!" He nimbly leaped up as the Con started transforming, twisting, then kicking off the missile launcher on his shoulder, before being grabbed and thrown off into a building. Ironhide rolled, firing his cannons in mid-air, his shots taking most of the armor off of the Con's chest. Jazz shot out in front, expertly avoiding the blasts to shoot at the already damaged area. Ratchet roared out from a side-street, transforming in mid leap as he activated his saw blades, jumping over the Con and slicing one arm off completely, landing on his feet perfectly.
"Concentrate your fire!" Lennox ordered, as they lined up behind cover, aiming their weapons. They let off a volley that sent the Con flipping backwards, falling into a storefront.
The twin and Mikaela got to the tow truck with little difficulty, the twin breaking the handle and helping her in. "Come on. Come on!" Mikaela urged, trying to hotwire the tow truck. She didn't see the twin suddenly stiffen, turning abruptly to look at Sage.
The older girl had been silent since Starscream's attack, no one had realized, being too busy, that her eyes had also clouded over completely. She had slowly moved over to the crippled scout, scraped up hands clutching the Cube tightly. She was so completely lost in her trance she didn't feel the various cuts that bled all over her body, one over her left eye was bleeding particularly badly, trailing blood down her face to drip steadily off of her chin. She couldn't hear anything happening outside, only the chorus voice of the Allspark.
'The Youngling is hurt, because of us. So many of our Children are Lost because of us. So many have joined the Matrix before their time.'
'Can you help him?' her voice was so small, so young in comparison to the others, but her words quieted them. 'He's hurt, he's in so much pain, please help him!'
'Many are hurt, many are in pain. We cannot heal all of them.' The sorrow was apparent.
'But you can help him, he's right here, I'll do anything!' she cried, watching her cousin try to comfort the scout, watching as Mikaela tried to help out as well. She vaguely felt the alarm and worry coming from her present twin, could see him approaching her. She could also feel the confusion, the second-hand worry, from her other twin, who could sense both his brother and her.
"Anything, Little Spark?" the chorus whispered, alarmed. "Would you truly give anything to help our children? Even though because of them, you have suffered so much. The loss of your innocence, when we called you to us, to see the Little Spark we had grown in an organic femme? The loss of your Mech Creator, who died bravely, protecting a village from Starscream? What about the loss of your Femme Creator, who was slain by Megatron because of her actions against him?'
'My mom's dead?' her voice became softer, pain burning throughout her chest at the thought.
'He gave her a painless death, because she created you. He has claimed you for his own, Little Spark.' More sorrow, but also anger, anger at the disregard for life that he had shown.
'I'll do anything for them,' Sage answered after a moment, 'I can feel Prime, we're connected to each other, and he makes me feel safe. Something I haven't felt since my dad died. I love Bumblebee, he's so sweet and adorable, like a brother. I don't know the others very well, but I care for them too. They've suffered so much, if I can help them in someway, I'd do so in a heartbeat. They've become part of my family.'
'And what about your human family? Samuel and his Creators? Will you abandon them for the Autobots?' the chorus pressed.
'Never, but they don't need me, they love me, and I love them, but they also want an ordinary life. Something I can't accept. I want to be involved in something special, I want to stay with the Autobots.'
'What about your humanity?'
'What do you mean?' she felt dread at that question.
'Ratchet can still stop your Cybertronian growth, but if you attempt to use our power, it will become irreversible. You can still live a human life. It will take several vorns for you to shed your organic shell, if you use our power, it may speed up the process, transforming you into one of us within a single vorn. Will you give up your last chance of humanity? To heal the Youngling?'
'Will all of them survive, if I don't?' her question silenced the chorus, who seemed to be debating or checking something.
'You wish to save their lives,' it wasn't a question, 'Tell us, will you save only Autobots?' Sage blinked and thought heavily on the seemingly innocent question.
'No, I would save Decepticons too, if I could,' she replied, knowing it was the right answer, but also knowing that she would.
'Why?' Such a simple question, yet such a difficult one to answer. Something she had heard all her life, suddenly came to her mind. She didn't know who had told it to her, she didn't know why they had said it, but she knew it to be an absolute truth.
'Freedom is the right of all sentient life. That includes the freedom of life. Unless someone is trying to kill someone I care about, even then, I don't think I could ever condone killing. Incapacitating them, yes, killing no.'
'Such wisdom from one so young. You will make a fine Guardian,' she suddenly found herself kneeling beside Bumblebee, Sam looking at her curiously. 'It is your choice, and yours alone. Sacrifice your humanity to save the five Autobots or choose an ordinary human life. But we know you will try to save the smallest one from Megatron's wrath. You alone, have that power over the once High Protector. What is your choice?'
"Bree? What are you doing? What's with your eyes?" Sam's panicked voice was muffled. She looked up at her cousin, her eyes clearing, but glowing gold.
"No sacrifice, no victory, right Sam?" she smiled painfully, watching his eyes go wide, then closed her eyes and made her choice. The Cube lit up, a corona of white light surrounding her.
- Until All Are One -
"Megatron!" The dark figure descended, landing in an alleyway. His dark red optics filled with bloodlust.
"It's Megatron! Retreat! Move! Fall back!" Ratchet ordered, waving the soldiers back as he ducked back. Jazz stood his ground, firing at the titan to give the soldiers time to move.
"Fall back!" Lennox screamed, seeing the silver titan himself. He could only watch as Jazz flew back after Megatron shot his own cannon, having delayed long enough for the humans to move. He groaned as he hit the ground, moving away from the titan and transforming to get out of his way and reach. "Get our guys out of the way! Get out of here! GO! Get them out of the buggy! Move out!" several soldiers grabbed injured, carrying them away from the leader of the Decepticons.
"We need air cover down here now!" Epps screamed into the radio. They all started to group back at the original street, when a bright white column of light erupted, reaching over fifty feet into the air. It swirled with golden glyphs appearing in concentric circles.
- Until All Are One -
Mikaela drove the tow truck over, stepping out just as she heard Sage's words, the corona bursting around her kneeling form. The twin warbled in fear, reaching out to try and touch her, but was knocked back by the swirl of energy as it formed a column, shooting up into the sky. Golden glyphs appeared, forming concentric circles, but various other markings flowed along between the lines of glyphs. Slowly, it folded back in, morphing into what appeared to be a delicate golden filigree orb around the petite human inside. It was constantly moving, but moved with her, as she reached out to rest a shaking hand against Bumblebee's leg. The golden strands flowed around her, sliding around his torn off legs, blue lightning sparking as his legs slowly reformed. Despite seeing her literally, but slowly, healing Bumblebee; none of them missed seeing how she curled up in agony around the Cube, one arm wrapped around the blindingly glowing artifact, black toxic-looking lines appearing on the hand that rested on the scout's leg.
"SLAGGING FEMME!" the roar stunned them as Ratchet burst off a side street, diving towards them. Behind him, they could see the soldiers covering the rear, Jazz and Ironhide seconds behind the medic. A tall silver form also appeared, moving slowly and deliberately towards them. "Slagging, moronic…" he trailed off into Cybertronian expletives as he attempted to touch her. Just like with the twin, however, his hand was shocked, forcing him to pull back. "Ironhide! Jazz!" he snapped out orders in their native language, that caused them to immediately crouch on either side of him. They yanked open panels on their wrists, pulling free a delicate cord that had a plug on it. The two plugged their cords into ports on the medic's neck, trembling as they established the connection. Then they both laid their free hand against Bumblebee. As soon as the circuit was completed, Ratchet drove both his hands into the dome. It held briefly, then allowed him to scoop the girl up in his palms. Instantly, the glow faded from gold to white, then turned back to blue, enveloping all the Autobots in a soft light. Sam and Mikaela could see how stressed the four bots were, the power rushing through their systems. As soon as the others had connected to the power however, Bumblebee's legs instantly were repaired, the power being focused by the medic. Surprisingly, many of the faded scarring on the others was also repaired, Ironhide's optic and knee in particular. Yet the energy flow wasn't stopping, causing looks of pain to appear on the bots' faces, until the twin began humming and singing. The power arched, slamming into the tow truck, before fading away from the Autobot soldiers. Sage blinked her eyes several times; they were still gold but not glowing anymore, before she smiled at the tow truck as it began transforming. She leaned back against Ratchet's palms, spotting the translucent shielding surrounding the four bots before it became invisible. She shakily handed Sam the Cube, looking smaller and younger than she ever did.
"Bree, you okay?" her sweet adorable cousin asked, clutching the Cube to his chest. Bumblebee slowly stood up, the new transformer helping him.
"Oh, that hurt," she whispered, before collapsing limply into his palms. She was still conscious, but barely. The roar of rage quickly snapped the Autobots out of their disbelief, unhooking themselves as they turned to see Megatron approaching, his optics focused only on the tiny femme.
- Until All Are One -
Lennox wasn't certain where the Autobots were, but he was certain they were distracting Megatron and dealing with that alien light. Something about that light however, was making him alarmed. He was about to continue the fall back when Donelly grabbed his arm.
"Sir! That tank thing's getting back up." Lennox looked over in disbelief.
"Oh, these things just don't die." He groaned. Hearing something behind, he whipped around, eyes spotting a familiar figure landing on a nearby building. "Oh, we're so dead." He got his men moving back, spotting the Autobots just as Jazz and Ironhide split to deal with an approaching Megatron. He quickly noted that Sam and Mikaela were standing beside each other, Sage was unconscious in the medic Autobot's hands, and Bumblebee was standing? Right beside a new alien he didn't recognize. "Sam!" he called as they ran over. "Where's the Cube?"
"Right here,"
"Okay." He ran past, moving between the new alien's legs, looking around. "Epps, get those Black Hawks here!" he called over his shoulder, then spotted what he wanted. "That building," he ran back over to the teens. "Okay."
"What?"
"Alright, I can't leave my guys back there, so here," he yanked out a metal tube labeled with a stripe of orange, "take this flare. Okay there's a tall, white building with statues on top. Go to the roof. Set the flare."
"No." Sam shook his head in disbelief as the Captain shoved the flare into his hand.
"Signal the chopper and set the flare." He continued, ignoring Sam's protest.
"No, no. I can't do this!" He grabbed Sam's shirt, yanking him down.
"Listen to me! You're a soldier now! Alright? I need you to take this Cube." He shoved the Cube into his hands, ignoring how warm it was, "Get it into military hands while we hold them off, or a lot of people are gonna die." He turned to Mikaela. "You got to go. You got to go." he started struggling with her.
"No, I'm not leaving."
"You need to go. Go."
"No, I'm not leaving without Sage," she protested. He paused, looking at her determined face. Ratchet stepped in then, he clicked something, which caused the twin and the tow truck to immediately scamper forward. The tow truck folded back down, opening his door. The twin gently lifted Sage into his arm, carrying her over to the passenger seat. He chirped to Mikaela, motioning with his head for her to get in.
"They will protect the both of you," Ratchet assured, "they will do anything to protect their Creator, especially since she is in such a defenseless state right now." She nodded after a moment, climbing into the driver's seat. The twin clambered onto the back, wiggling on securely.
"Immediate evac for civilian boy with precious cargo. Headed to rooftop marked by flare." Epps radioed in.
"Sam, we will protect you," Ratchet stood, Bumblebee nodding in agreement.
"Okay,"
"Epps, where are those planes?"
"Sam!" Mikaela jumped out, running over to him. "No matter what happens, I'm really glad I got in that car with you." She whispered, holding him tightly.
"Sam! Let's go! Move!" Ratchet ordered.
"Decepticons, attack!" Megatron roared.
"Hit it!" Donelly shouted, firing at Demolisher. He let loose a barrage of shots, making the soldiers duck down.
"Cover fire! Move to cover!" Ratchet ordered. Sam took off running, glancing back to see Bumblebee, his cannon deployed and battle-mask down. Turning back to face forward, he yelped as he saw Blackout land in front of him. "Watch out!" Ratchet warned, just before Bumblebee dove in front, blasting apart the car that Blackout had thrown at them. He turned back forward just to get slammed as Blackout lunged after the attack, sending him flying back. Sam continued running, despite his worry for his guardian.
"Girl, get going!"
"I'm going! I'm going!" Mikaela hollered back, diving into the seat as the transformer pulled up beside her.
"Get out of here now!" Lennox bellowed, as the tank continued firing. They all sighed in relief when they saw the familiar semi come barreling down an alleyway. As the Autobot leader transformed, Jazz and Ironhide moved away from the titan, heavily damaged but functioning.
"Megatron!" Prime yelled. His brother turned, growling, to face him. Leaping up, he transformed, flying towards his younger brother. The Prime crouched, then leaped, grabbing onto his wings and ended up going for a ride. Despite going through a, thankfully empty, building, the Prime didn't release his brother until they crashed to the ground. Brawling on the ground, Megatron got the upper hand.
"Humans don't deserve to live." He whispered seductively.
"They deserve to choose for themselves!" Optimus retorted, ignoring the charismatic appeal of his brother. The two struggled, pushing away.
"Then you will die with them!" his voice shifted from seductive to enraged, throwing the Prime away and crouching. "Join them in extinction!" he braced himself, transforming his arms as he brought them together to form his cannon. Before he could fire however, Optimus stood, shooting his own cannon and interrupting his shot. However, he twisted around, using his momentum to bear him around and swiftly fired, knocking his younger brother back into a building. The Prime fell to the ground, groaning for a moment or two.
- Until All Are One -
"Keep moving Sam!" Sam kept running, no need to tell him again. "Don't stop!" Sam glanced up at the sound ahead of him, then ducked and rolled as Starscream flew down and transformed. Sam barely rolled behind a car to avoid several flying ones, sheltered partly by the one he rested behind. He clutched on to Cube as Ratchet and Bee faced off against the Seeker. The Seeker flew off, allowing Sam to peek out. "Sam, get to the building," Ratchet ordered as he and Bee collapsed, heavily damaged. Nodding, he took off again, dodging between cars. Unfortunately, it became obvious that this part of the city hadn't been evacuated, since people began screaming and traffic was still moving. Megatron flew from overhead, landing on the street and tearing cars out of his way.
"Give me that Cube, boy!" he roared. Sam ducked into oncoming traffic, praying he wasn't going to die. Unfortunately he dodged right in front of an Escalade being driven by a total snob. She stopped with a screech of brakes, but he accidentally hit the Cube against the hood. He then proceeded to tumble and trip, smacking the artifact against the ground. A wave of energy passed from the Cube, relatively weak, but activated a packaged X-box, the Escalade he just smacked into, as well as a Mountain Dew vending machine. He jumped to his feet running to the building, hoping the new bots weren't Decepticons.
"Did that jerk just dent my car?" the snob demanded, then screamed as the steering wheel deployed malicious-looking hooks. She and her friend ran from the car screaming, allowing it to transform. The Escalade, looking similar to Ironhide but with a more human-like face, scooped up the chattering X-box, and headed over to the vending machine, who was gleefully shooting passing humans with Mountian Dew cans, though gently. Scooping the other bot up, the largest proceeded to run down the road. Suddenly, a tow truck squealed in front, the twin standing upright and chattering quickly. The new Sparklings immediately began following, as Mikaela drove them out of harm's way.
- Until All Are One -
Sam breathed a sigh of relief, or attempted to since he was panting, once he spotted the building. Racing forward, he ran in through the open gate, dashing into the large hall. Briefly he thought how much Sage would enjoy looking around, before he spotted the stairs and began struggling up them. "You're not gonna get me. You're not gonna get me!" he whispered hysterically, glancing back every now and again. He reached the other side of the building in time to hear Megatron leap through the stained-glass window, roaring.
"I smell you, boy!" the titan stepped in, listening. Hearing the footsteps, he growled and burst through the ceiling behind the running teen. Growling at the yelp, but not catching him, he snarled. "Maggot!" Sam groaned, looking up the several flights of stairs, then started up them.
- Until All Are One -
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