AN: Mikaela comes in, finally! A lot in this chapter is rather anti-climactic, but then again when it comes to Sam I think that fits perfectly. Realizing that his car is in fact a giant robot who just fought, possibly to the death, another giant robot? Oh, let's get inside him! I want five reviews for the next chapter, and any suggestions on the first Decepticons I should bring in, besides Barry, would be appreciated!
Reviews: Thanks to those who reviewed! (annabellelennox, Mikaela the Cat, mizukikage, LdyGossamer)
Chapter Seven
Anti-climactic
William Lennox, Robert Epps, and Jorge Figueroa were soldiers, and as soldiers they naturally had to stay at the top of their game. Even if they could become lazy since the Autobots would do everything for them. Ratchet had started to prepare weekly exercise regimes for them to help. The Medbot stuck with the FITT principle of exercise; frequency, intensity, time, and type. The only thing that Ratchet didn't change up was that every morning before breakfast, the soldiers would go for a jog. Usually it consisted of circling the base a few times, because even with what little it had circling once was about just over a mile, but two random days out of the week they'd chose a direction and just run that way for about an hour.
And that was what Epps and Fig were currently doing, circling the base as they jogged side by side. Will had been taken home to spend the night with his wife and daughter, so their Captain wasn't with them. They alternated between trying to overcome one another and making playful comments back and forth to make the jog more interesting, or just talking about what the day would hold.
"How much do you wanna bet that Mikaela is going to kick Sam's shiny new ass?" Epps asked on the start of their fifth circle.
Fig shot his comrade a sour look, "Making bets with you is muy malo, amigo. We always lose somehow."
"Oh, come on!" Epps grinned, speeding up. "She's either gonna cry or try to kill him, which do you think it will be?"
Fig never got a chance to respond, the two coming to a stop when they say Frequency coming out of the barracks. The tiny mech was looking around with wide optics, and Fig thought he rather looked cutely confused. Epps just thought it was about time the tiny 'bot got up seeing as he'd slept for over a full day. Both men jogged over to the mech.
"G'morning, Frequency." Fig greeted cheerfully.
Epps was much more interested in things besides pleasantries, "You look confused, lil' 'bot."
Frequency turned gold optics to the two human soldiers, seeming to study them. Without knowing it, both started to think why Miles went along with the tiny 'bot so easily. He just seemed to exude this aura that was hard to describe. Something ancient, even more so than Ratchet and Ironhide.
"I-it goes slow, the progress being made, being made." The tiny 'bot commented, looking annoyed. The soldiers weren't quite sure if it was with the slow progress, or the fact that the mech couldn't seem to handle fluent speech.
"Well, you can't expect much right away, amigo." Fig replied, "They've been enemies for longer than our world has been around."
Frequency hissed, "Change to bring them apart comes fast, fast, fast. Change to end the war comes fast. Change to bring together comes slow. Why? The need for change to come fast is today!"
Epps and Fig shared a look, before Fig shrugged.
"What exactly do you want done?" Epps asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Transformed organic and Barricade civil." Frequency chirped pleasantly.
Fig snorted, and Epps elbowed him in the ribs. As if it would be as easy as those five little words made it sound. But there was just something about how wide Frequency's optics was, and how he was tilting his head, making him seem more innocent than could be possible. It'd be like refusing a starving puppy. One made out of metal with amazing capabilities, but a starving puppy none the less. It made them want to at least try to help, and they had nothing better to do.
That was when Epps caught sight of Miles, the teen looking like he was still half asleep if his messy hair and the way he only saw the ground was anything to go by.
"MILES!"
Miles appeared startled, looking at the trio a ways in front of him. The teen hadn't bothered to check if Frequency was awake and about or not, and he regretted that now. Two nights of being bossed around by the little 'bot and he'd thought he'd had enough of the mech to last him a life time. Didn't look like it would be that easy to escape him, though. He debated whether or not to just make a break for it, but trudged over to join the three as Epps waved him over.
"What?" Miles asked, yawning and looking them all over cautiously.
"Frequency wants Sam and Barricade to be friends," Fig answered, grinning. "He doesn't like your plan 'cuz it's taking too long."
Miles blinked slowly, and the three could practically see the teen processing these words. Then he looked thoughtful.
"I can get them having breakfast together but after that I'm out."
Miles received three incredulous looks, even from the mech who wanted the two being friends in the first place. The teen merely yawned again, trudged his way over to Bumblebee's and Sam's recharge hangar, and poked his head in.
"Oy, Sam, go get us a table! Then I'll give you a wash and you can go see 'Kaela!"
Mentioning Mikaela seemed to do the trick, because Sam was out of his hangar in a minute and making a beeline for the cafeteria. To say the human turned mech was nervous about seeing Mikaela was an understatement, and he'd been fretting about her reaction since Miles had mentioned the promise the day before.
Then Miles was shuffling his way over to the garage Barricade had claimed, and banging on the garage door.
"Oy, big black growly one! Get your ass out here so we can have breakfast!"
Epps and Fig looked on, torn between horror and amazement as Barricade slammed the garage door up with a loud bang and glared down at the organic that had the audacity to speak to him in such a way. Frequency just watched on in curiosity, noting that Miles was much more pliant and useful when he was half asleep and willing to do stuff just to be left alone. Or the part of his brain that stopped him from second guessing himself just wasn't awake yet.
When Bumblebee entered the cafeteria, the first thing he noticed was his Prime, Ratchet, Ironhide, two soldiers, and Frequency. That wasn't too surprising; it was the cafeteria and breakfast time after all, even if he had never seen Frequency inside of it before. What was unusual was the fact that all of them were pressed together in one corner, trying to make themselves invisible. The Scout would have laughed at the thought if he hadn't started worrying for their sanity instead. But he was waved over by Ironhide, so he went, careful not to tread too close to the soldiers or the little at their feet.
"Wha-"
He was shushed by Ratchet, the Medic pointing over his shoulder and making Bumblebee turn around. Barricade and Sam were sat at the same table, the human turned mech attempting to kill Barricade with a look. Miles sat at the table, too, but the teen seemed oblivious to the tension between the two. It was obvious that Miles was trying to ignore it, and hoping that by doing that he wouldn't have to put up with it.
Sam and Barricade knew they were being watched by literally everyone on base, but the two were much more intent on watching each other.
"What are you looking at?" Sam finally snapped, growling at the Decepticon in front of him.
Barricade sneered, "Your new paint scheme. It is so similar to the Insect's I almost want to purge my tanks."
"Are you making fun of me, or Bee?" Sam demanded, standing up and slamming his servos down on the table in an attempt to loom over Barricade.
If Miles hadn't shot a look over his shoulder, Bumblebee would have been over there in a millisecond and getting the Decepticon away from his Charge. But as it was, Optimus placed a servo on his shoulder, squeezing gently to calm the worried Scout down and to keep him in place.
Sam was angry. Angry at the fact that Barricade had the gall to just plop down right in front of him, angry because it would have been Miles who invited the Decepticon, and angry that he felt so powerless whenever he was near the mech. He knew that Miles was stuck on base because of a bond with Barricade that Frequency had created, and that his best human friend was counting on Sam to help get rid of that, but that made Sam angry too. Barricade just kept staring at him, looking amused, and that made Sam even angrier.
Sam's looming didn't work, because soon the Decepticon was standing up to match Sam's new height. The two glared at each other, both leaning in closer because neither was willing to back away. That would mean backing down, and even as they got so close that their faceplates were only inches apart, neither were willing to do that. Something had to give, but both sides were too stubborn. The air was so thick with tension that it made Miles shift uncomfortably, worrying for a moment that things wouldn't turn out okay.
If Sam had been so angry in his normal body, with a human, he would have pushed them, and he was close to falling back to that response with the Decepticon. That was when Sam realized he wasn't helpless around Barricade. In his new form, albeit needing training, he could be an even match for the Decepticon. He wasn't something the mech could squash with a step of his ped, he could push and shove Barricade, punch him. More importantly he could defend himself, he wasn't a tiny and weak little organic anymore.
Maybe that was what made Sam relax, or the following realization that Barricade already knew this, could see it in the mech's optics, and even if he had been an organic still he always had Bumblebee there for him. But even without that, Barricade wasn't a threat. The mech was just as interested as surviving as anyone else he knew, and even threatening him wasn't a way to do that.
It helped that Barricade relaxed when Sam did, and Sam realized that the Decepticon had only become tense after he did. The Decepticon had only been responding to Sam's reactions, ready to fight because he was.
"Both." Barricade said finally, and if there was any weariness in it that was only because he was testing to see if the turned mech would overreact again or not.
Sam glared, but this time halfheartedly. "Better than your tramp stamp 'To Punish and Enslave'."
"If that was meant to be an insult, the fact that I do not know the meaning makes it lose its effectiveness." Barricade pointed out dryly.
"Not my fault you're ignorant about the planet you're living on." Sam responded, sitting down.
"No, it's your Medic's fault for turning off the one source I had to find out quickly." Barricade agreed, taking his seat again as well.
"Ratch, you really should give him his internet back." Sam said, glancing over at the surprised Medbot. "It is a bit unfair leaving him to just use an IPod."
Sam was stared at with optics wide in disbelief, and not just from the Medic in question.
Barricade snorted, "Finally, someone on my side who isn't the Fleshling."
"I have a name!" Miles huffed, giving the Decepticon an irritated look. "Keep it up and I'll never use yours, either."
"Big black growly one isn't that bad. Oh, and it's aft, not ass. If you're going to be hanging around us you should learn our terminology." Barricade corrected the teen for his earlier mistake, looking smug all the while.
Sam snorted, and Miles just let his face slam against the table top with a groan, refusing to look up again. Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide, and Bumblebee all shared equally confused looks at how easily the situation had diffused, and Epps and Fig just looked at Frequency. The little 'bot looked entirely too happy at this new development.
Barricade wasn't stupid. Far from it, in fact. He knew when being closed off was a good thing, like how it had been on the Nemesis. There were few he could trust or be open around in the Decepticon ranks, even Frenzy, the mech who was supposed to have his back. Here on the Autobot base being closed off would be seen as bad, if he kept hidden away he could be seen as plotting. That didn't mean he had to go and pour out his Spark and befriend every last little pathetic Autobot, but it did mean he wasn't too rough with the organics, and even allowed LadiesMan217 to get over his fear of him.
Yes, he knew Sam had a problem with him, that much had been ridiculously clear. Even if Frequency hadn't made sure to show Miles that he meant his friend no harm, Barricade would have only assumed Sam would fear him. It was logical. However, in his new body, Barricade realized that given time Sam could easily become his equal, though he'd never say such a thing allowed. It would be easier to assuage the human turned mech's irrational fears then be humiliated in such a way later on.
It also helped that if he could get on with the turned mech, he was a step closer to getting rid of his 'leash'. It hadn't taken Barricade long to realize that a bond really had been created between himself and the organic, though whether everyone and mech else actually believed Frequency could do such a thing or not wasn't his problem.
The Fleshling unnerved him, and Barricade didn't like that feeling. After he left the cafeteria the night before he had heard the Fleshling's response to Sam, explaining that if he befriended Barricade then Sam would eventually be led to do the same, and he could get rid of the connection quicker. That Barricade could understand, and quite easily at that, since he was attempting to do the same thing. But there was more to it than that.
The Fleshling was extremely intelligent, extremely observant, good at guessing, or a mixture of all three. What unnerved the Decepticon is he didn't know which or what combination. Out of everyone on base, the Fleshling was the one he knew the least about, and that was even with knowing him from researching Samuel James Witwicky. Barricade did not like that. It bothered him that the organic would even bother to think that he might be bored, and he knew without a doubt it was before he realized that helping Barricade not be bored would be a step closer to getting rid of the bond, which meant the teen just did it on his own without any outside motivation. And how the Fleshling had goaded him into using his IPod in such a way that Barricade actually fell for it, and then didn't see the sense in telling him off. Then there was this morning, when the teen had the audacity to not only call Barricade in such a demeaning manner, but to be demanding about it too. He wasn't quite sure what to think about the Fleshling, and he was thankful that he had managed to avoid much contact with the organic soldiers.
Until now, that is. The Fleshling had agreed to wash Barricade instead of Sam, while Bumblebee washed Sam in his stead, so Barricade was sitting outside, waiting for them. It seemed that as soon as Sam became accepting of his presence, the two organic soldiers on base were ready to do the same, and had come over to join him, sharing a look. A look Barricade didn't like.
"Since Ratch hasn't turned on your internet yet, we'd be willing to help you figure out anything you needed to know about Earth, amigo." Fig said pleasantly, coming to a stop a safe distance away from the 'con.
Barricade eyed the two, wondering just what amigo meant. He was unwilling to ask.
Epps grinned, "No objections? Then we'll start with the basics. How to tell between femmes and mechs of the human species."
"I know full well how to tell the difference," Barricade replied dryly, sounding bored.
"Really?" Epps asked, "Then how?"
"A femme's chest is fatter," The soldiers snorted, and Barricade tried not to growl in irritation. He hadn't come to Earth to learn about the local wildlife and how to tell the sexes apart. He tried to make his point, "LadiesMan217 used to be an organic mech, you're both mechs, the Fleshling is a mech, and the 'Mikaela' mentioned is a femme. Her chest is fatter."
"Some femmes can have flat chests; some mechs can have fatter chests."
"I hardly see how me knowing the difference is useful," Barricade growled.
"Weeeeell," Epps drawled, "The Fleshling is a femme."
"The Fleshling is a mech."
"Femme."
"Mech."
Fig grinned, "Who's gonna know better? Us, or you, amigo?"
Barricade glowered at the two organics, unsure to take their words at face value or not. He didn't see why they would lie to him, they had no reason to. The Decepticon was irritated, he'd not known much about the genders, but he'd at least assumed the one's he thought were a certain gender were correct assumptions. Why did organics have to be so difficult?
"There's only one sure fire way to tell between a mech and femme with us," Fig said placatingly, "Check between the legs. Mechs have something you'll feel right away and femmes don't."
"You organics go around feeling each other between the legs?" Barricade asked before he could stop himself, curious.
"Oh, yeah, man!" Epps grinned, "We do it all the time. Like how you guys do those sensor thingamabobs."
Barricade stared at the two soldiers silently, and the others finally decided to show up. Sam drove up, already in his alt mode for his washing. Bumblebee walked up in bipedal mode, holoform out and beside Miles, helping the teen to carry some buckets full of water, soap, and sponges. Sam still had trouble using his holoform and main body at the same time, so he wasn't helping.
"Hey," Sam greeted cheerfully, "What're you guys talking about?"
"We're just schoolin' Barricade here on the ways of Earth," Epps replied, both of the soldiers keeping their faces neutral.
Miles snorted, "'Bout time he learns. Can you get it so he stops calling me Fleshling all the time?"
"No." Barricade vented, getting out his own holoform.
The Decepticon, in holoform, moved over to the teen. Miles assumed he was coming to grab a bucket full of water so he could wash himself, but he was wrong. Barricade ignored the bucket that was proffered to him completely, getting into Miles' personal space instead, and reaching down between his legs.
The sound Miles made could only be defined as a squawk, going from a low pitch to an extremely surprised sounding high pitch. Fig's hand flew to his mouth in horror, eyes wide as Epps was desperately trying not to laugh at his side. Sam and Bumblebee were floored, but neither were as surprised as Miles.
"I told you he wasn't a femme," Barricade growled, turning to glare at a horrified Fig and a thoroughly amused Epps.
"Ah, dios mío! Lo siento, Miles!" Fig said quickly, waving his hands. The Spanish speaking soldier explained everything as quickly as he could, "We didn't think he'd do it! It was meant to be a 'welcome to base!' joke! We said the only sure fire way to tell the gender was feel between the legs, and Epps said you weren't a man because we didn't expect Barricade to believe us, but he did, and lo siento!"
Epps couldn't help it, the look on Miles' face combined with the pure look of irritation on Barricade's at having been duped was too much, and he started laughing. Up until Miles recovered enough to get angry, splashing both the soldiers with the water in his bucket, and then taking aim at Epps with it. Epps just barely managed to duck to avoid being hit in the face.
"Let's see you get manhandled and then laugh about it!" Miles hissed, glaring at the two soldiers.
Fig looked apologetic, but Epps looked far from it, once again trying to hold in his snickers. Barricade was just content that he wasn't receiving any of the blame for whatever was going on, though he didn't much see what was wrong. He still had a lot to learn.
Sam was at the area in Tranquility designated as the Look Out, where Optimus had sent his first message into space while he and Mikaela had made out on Bumblebee's hood. The human turned mech idled there, enjoying the feel of the sun and trying not to freak out too badly. Bumblebee had driven with him, but had opted out of his meeting with Mikaela, saying he was going to get Miles' homework so the teen had something to do besides try to strangle Epps and Fig. More so Epps, because Fig had been sincerely apologetic.
By the time Mikaela pulled up on her moped, Sam had entered a light recharge. He woke up quickly when he heard the moped turn off, activating his holoform almost immediately. He'd grown used to the way his processor worked for the most part by now, activating his holoform almost as easily as he would consciously stopping breathing so he could hold his breath. He still had a bit to go on transforming between bipedal and alt mode, but even that was getting easier.
"I'm breaking up with you, Sam." Mikaela said sternly, but her eyes were soft. "You've been gone for how long and haven't called me once. I had to rely on Miles for information."
Sam couldn't help it, he laughed in relief. Count on Mikaela to find a way to break up with him so it wouldn't be because of… recent developments. He knew she had been playing peace keeper with his parents to keep them from overreacting, because they only knew the bare minimum of what had happened yet.
"You're amazing, 'Kaela." Sam said in awe.
Mikaela grinned, flipping some of her hair back behind her shoulder. "Tell me something I don't know, Sammie. Now pop the hood, I want to take a good long look at you."
"Yes ma'am."
It wasn't what Sam had been expecting at all, but then again Mikaela never was. Everything today had been rather anti-climactic, like the realization with Barricade, and now this meeting with Mikaela that surprised him so. Countless times before the girl had surprised him, and it looked like she would continue to do so. He dissolved his holoform, popping his hood like he had been ordered. But without noticing, he tensed up.
"Relax, it's only my first time inside of you." Mikaela smirked, the insinuation in her voice more than obvious. Sam revved his engine in laughter.
