Hey hey! Sorry it's been so long. There's this stupid thing called LIFE... XD
Also, sorry that Stacie's part is WAY shorter than Aspen's... I got lazy, is the only explanation I have. I'll TRY SUPER DUPER HARD to make her part longer next time.
Hope you enjoy!
"Uh, so... no sex then? Is that what I'm supposed to be getting?"
Ratchet made a noise that for one of these guys was probably the equivalent of an amused snort. "Is that what you believe? Honestly. Perhaps you're not quite as bright as I initially thought."
"Heyyy!" I cracked my wrench lightly against his shoulder, pouting at him. I could tell he was joking, from that sparkle in his optics, but I was simply playing along. "You're confusing me, Ratchet. It's not my fault, I swear you talk in riddles or something."
He chuckled, running one giant finger down the length of my hair. "Oh, young one, I was being facetious."
"I was also kidding around!"
Waaait... did we just have a moment of very clear communication? Score one for the Autobot side! I bet Megs didn't communicate with humans this well. Of course, he hated us all, but seriously. I felt pretty badass to be on the same page with an advanced alien race.
Somehow we'd managed to pop his hip back into place. He was right, it definitely was a lot of pain... at least, from what I could determine of that look on his face and that awful, agony-filled yell.
Everyone but Bee (who was still sound asleep, engine purring peacefully) had looked over at us, surprised. Optimus didn't really say anything, though I heard Mike mumble something under his breath, something like "Hey hey, eyes on the prize, Big Guy, need you to concentrate" beacause he was staring at us. The Wreckers blinked at us, optics wide, before continuing to play poker. Wheelie and Brains, who'd been just talking, looked startled and didn't really take their eyes off us for a minute. Skids and Mudflap (affectionately called the Twins, because hey, they were except for color) just started arguing... as I figured out they did all the freakin' time. For kicks. Brotherly love, let me tell you.
He was in pain for a few minutes, actually. It wasn't over just like a snap of your fingers. He didn't cry or anything, and I thought these guys must have some freakishly high pain tolerance. I'd had my shoulder dislocated and popped back into place before, and I was a blubbering mess for close to fifteen minutes. I had to give the guy credit that he wasn't crying.
I didn't take my eyes off him until all that pain was over. I held my polishing rag over his hip, because it was kind of warm and I thought that might help. I talked him through it, telling him in just a minute it'd be okay. I guess he really did appreciate it.
After that I made some little repairs on him - a finger plate that needed reattached, a few small cuts that had as of late been leaking Energon. Not life-threatening, just tiny nuisances that needed to be fixed. And as I did that, he began giving me a course in Cybertronian culture and anatomy and stuff. He'd been trying to get me to wrap my mind around their whole reproduction process, but I wasn't getting it. He'd said young ones were called hatchlings, and that they were created by two Cybertronians mixing their Energon to give a new being life. It apparently wasn't considered as any kind of sexual act, and could be done between any two Cybertronians. Yet there were still two variations: the mechs, or males, and femmes, or females. So, what I got from that was... no sex, ever.
And obviously, I was wrong YET AGAIN.
I leaned against his shoulder. "So, um, if that's not right... I, uh, I don't get it. Can you explain to me why it is that even though your reproduction doesn't involve sex, you guys can still have sex?"
Ratchet laughed. "Ah, well, you certainly have an interesting way of phrasing that question. Here, perhaps a demonstration will help."
"I don't need that! I've been through sex ed! I can only imagine what it would be Cybertronian style! Gaaah!"
"Oh, hush. That's not what I meant, you know it, and here." He lifted his hand, and a miniature laser-beam screen... thing... showed up. It showed a Cybertronian and some other kind of freaky looking thing that wasn't a Cybertronian holding their hands out toward each other. The Cybertronian's hands were shooting out a reddish purplish beam - but not even quite a beam, more like a kind of burst - and the other thing's hands were shooting out a greenish burst/beam/glow thing.
"Whoaaaaa. Dude." My eyes widened. "What in the hell is happening?"
"A Cybertronian and another alien being called a Kezoid - they are creating a hatchling. I suppose it would be close to mating for these two, I believe they are some of the few who share a bond."
"So, it's like really rare for you guys to actually do this out of love? Is that it?"
He sighed, blinking, and the image flickered slightly. "It is rare for Decepticons to produce hatchlings out of their feelings for one another. They are usually created for an army then, and left on their own after they have hatched. Autobots - now, we protect our hatchlings, our sparklings. Rarely do we procreate for the sake of it, but it is common for the Decepticons. We have... different views on the matter."
"I get it." I returned my attention to the little video. "So, you guys can do this with other species?"
"Yes. We can force Energon out of our bodies to create a hatchling, but it's not so easy for other beings. This Kezoid, she is being helped by the Cybertronian. The Energon is able to somewhat coax out the other's energy source. The resulting hatchling is closer to Cybertronian than Kezoid, for a reason that's not completely understood, but the sparkling will eventually develop some traits of its mother as well. It will be called a Cyberzoid, a blended name of its heritage."
"Oh, so you take basically just the 'Cyber' and then the end of whatever the other race is?"
"Typically, yes."
"What do you think it would be if it happened between one of you and a human? Like, Cyber-man or something?" Even as I said it I was trying not to bust up laughing.
For some reason Ratchet failed to see the funny. "Hmm. I'm not exactly sure that such a thing has ever happened between a Cybertronian and a human. But I believe it would be named a Cyberling... Cybertronian and an Earthling."
"Oh. I guess that sounds better than mine. So then... it's possible for you guys to still have sex?"
"Yes. I know it may seem bewildering to you, but we are just like any other species. We experience these feelings, and such an act can easily occur between a mech and a femme. It is simply more of a recreational activity for us, not a way to procreate."
"So sex is fun," I murmured. "Like I don't get that." I looked up at him again; thankfully he'd either not heard those comments, or had heard them and decided to ignore the annoying little Earth female. "But... it has to be the same species, right? Both Cybertronian?"
"Oh look," he smirked sarcastically, "she's finally got a good grip on it."
I snarled and grabbed my toolbox. "You know what! We done here. Mm-hmm, that's right." I slid down the ladder and tossed my hair. "I'm gonna go do repairs on Mudflap and Skids. By the way, you're welcome. I didn't hear a thank you."
"Perhaps that's because I didn't emit one through my vocal processor."
"But hey, you love me, right?"
If there was a Cybertronian equivalent of someone rolling their eyes, that was what Ratchet did. "What kind of a question is that, Aspen? Everyone loves you."
"Yeah, that's what I thought." I sashayed off to where the twins were. "Yo boys, who needs worked on?"
"Me, me, me, me, me!" they both shouted at once, scrambling to get in front of me.
"You's?" Mudflap scoffed, shoving his brother back. "Man, you's ain't got nothin' but a couple broke plates!" He got down on his knees in front of me. "Come on, baby, they dinged my poor l'il rim! You's don't feel bad fo' me?"
"Hey, she doin' me first!" Skids rushed his brother, knocking him down and having a mini wrestling match. "Oooh, you's gonna get yo' ass kicked for dat, man!"
I sighed and hung my head, then looked over at my brother. "Yo! Optimus! How you doin' over there?"
"I do believe we are nearly done. I trust that you have not caused injury?"
I growled and looked at the twins before looking back at Optimus. "May not stay that way for long," I muttered just loud enough so he could hear me, putting my hands on the back of my hips.
Optimus chuckled. "You must tame them, Aspen. Do not allow them to believe you will tolerate their nonsense."
"Right." I pushed my proverbial sleeves up, and steeled myself to head into the middle of an Autobot sibling scrap. "A'ight, boys, you two maniacs asked for it!" I ran in and somehow got a hand on each of their hips, trying to shove them apart and managing to at least keep them from doing anything but swatting at each other. "What is wrong with you two! Argument's dead and buried, leave it in the grave!"
"You's can't tell us what ta do!" Skids protested.
"Oh yeah, she can't tell us ta do nothin'!" Mudflap agreed. "She can't tell us nothin'!"
I gave both of them a hard shove. "I'll kill you both!" I threatened. "You two don't calm down, I'll shove my wrenches somewhere they shouldn't ever be, so you guys gonna just SIT!" With that I gave one last push.
To my surprise they both fell, flat on their asses and then some. They fumbled a minute before looking at me, a mix between teasing and mild shock on their robotic faces.
"Yo! Did you's see dat?"
"See dat! I felt dat, you dumbass!"
"Who you's callin' a dumbass, dumbass?"
"You's want some? Come on, I'll kick yo' behind!"
"BOYS!" I yelled. "No more fighting. I'm gonna tell you how it is, you get me? Don't forget I got more than one wrench. How many orifices you guys got?"
They huddled together, looking scared and shaking. "Listen to her! Listen to her!"
I smirked, lifting the lid on my toolbox and slipping my clear, protective glasses on. "And ain't neither of you gonna say I look funny with these, got it?" I shook out my ponytail and pointed at Skids. "You first, you got actual damage." I switched my finger to point at Mudflap. "You. 'Gettin' yo' rims dinged' ain't as big a deal, that's fixed a hella lot easier. Wait ya turn."
As I bent down to get my own welding torch, I heard them talking about me.
"Man oh man, Skids, she sparkin' up ovah dere."
"I know, man. Hey, ain't we need a name to call her?"
"Yeah yeah, but whatchu talkin' about?"
"You's said she sparkin' up. We call her Sparky!"
"Yeah! Good one, Skids, dat be ballin' right dere."
"I have a name," I called. "It's Aspen, and I refuse to be called-"
"Yeah I know, dat's why I'm da smart twin."
"You's da smart twin! Get real, you glitchin'."
"No I ain't! You's just jealous, man, why you be hatin' on yo' own bro?"
"Jealous o' you's, yeah right! You's just jealous o' me 'cause I got da brains and da looks."
"You's got da looks, we twins, ya glitch!"
I whirled around with my torch lit. "YOU TWO WANNA PIECE'A THIS IN THE WRONG PLACE, HUH?"
They both squealed and backed up. "Don't hurt us! We's too young ta die, Sparky!"
"And stop calling me that or y'all gonna be a coupla marshmallows!" I flicked the torch off and cocked my head to the left. "Mudflap. You get goin' till I call you." I then held out my hand to Skids, curling my fingers toward myself. "Skids. You come with me, we're gonna get you all fixed up."
Thanks to Megatron's glare, I now got the sense that I was slacking off, so I grabbed the makeshift servo and quickly began working again. I didn't have a torch, so it was a little difficult to combine parts of different metals, but I could use my wrenches and screwdrivers to take things apart; from there, it was just figuring out how to get them together with different parts. Not quite as hard as it sounds, but not a walk in the park by definition.
But as I worked, I was still talking to Starscream. Their planet was fascinating, and it occurred to me that he probably found Earth just as interesting as I found Cybertron. Moment of bonding? Maybe... maybe not. "So you guys were saved? By who? I mean... Megatron, you're in the same age bracket as Starscream, aren't you?"
Megatron just sighed. "I would have been very young myself when he first became a sparkling, so no, I wouldn't have been able to care for anyone else. I was not the one who rescued him."
"So you're about the same age..." I turned my head away from him and back up at Starscream. "Who saved you, then?"
"The same person who was a mentor to my master," he replied, and I noticed that he did not look over at Megatron. "The one who taught him, allied with him, and then betrayed us. Sentinel Prime."
... Yup, there it was. Megatron growled, softly, but definitely audible. "If you know what won't get you killed," he hissed, "you'll tune your vocal processor out to any further mention of that old rust-bucket."
Ouch. Even I winced, and for once I wasn't the one in trouble. Poor Starscream.
Speaking of him, he was busy scooting as far away from Megatron as possible, closer to me as if I of all people/sentient beings could protect him. Yeah, ummm... as if. "I-I am sorry, Lord Megatron, I was simply informing the girl-"
A biting look from the Decepticon overlord was enough to scare my budding friend into silence. He probably would have literally buried himself in the ground if he could have done so without... you know, the obvious problems.
Megatron closed his optics, and when he opened them again he was looking away from us. "That's what I thought."
I inched closer to Starscream, slicking my hand against his leg. "Umm, so he's not going to be listening to us anymore, right?"
Starscream shrugged. "I... have no idea."
I shuddered, even though it was a pretty warm day, and tried to get closer to the heat that he had.
He chuckled a little. "You are cold, human?" He reached down and ran his claw over the top of my head. It felt... weird... but it wasn't unpleasant. "My sensors indicate that this would be an ideal temperature for humans. And yet you are cold?"
I grinned weakly, grasping the metal of his leg with both hands. "I'm always cold for some reason. I have no idea why. But you're warm." I laid my cheek against him as well. "Yeah... uh-huh..."
Starscream shook his head a little, but other than that he seemed fine with the sudden contact. "Fine, you may stay, but are you not supposed to be working on Lord Megatron's-"
"Oh yeah!" I sucked in a breath, trying to absorb all the heat I could, and raced over to grab my things before quickly returning back to the warmth. I sat down, keeping my back against him as I got back to work. "S-Sorry, Lord Megatron," I commented just loud enough for him to hear me. "I, um, I should be done with this servo by tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll weld it all together."
He grunted. "And when are you going to begin the process of actually rebuilding me?"
I think my whole face probably turned red. "I, uh, I, um," I stammered. "S-Soon, my lord... I, uh - soon."
I could tell he wasn't really satisfied with my answer, but he accepted it for now, shutting his optics again. "It had better be soon, femme."
I clunked my head against Starscream's leg, pouting. I wished he would just use my freaking name. We have names for a reason; after all, he didn't refer to Starscream as "that idiot who keeps getting on what's left of that last, nearly dead nerve". Why wouldn't he give me that same respect? Just because I was a human femme or whatever? "Don't worry, I... I'll start soon. I promise."
He proceeded to ignore me, probably going into stasis or something.
I turned away and pouted up at Starscream. "Okay, that's it, Starscream." I nestled as best as I could into his armor. "Whenever I come here, you're so going to be my blanket." I smiled and closed my eyes, pointing my head down. "Maybe... Maybe I should just sleep here tonight. Get my stuff in the morning." I shifted position. "I'm tired... it seems like everything's changing."
I felt his claw against my hair, just barely, tracing down to the ends. "It is, is it not? One day you are living life as you are accustomed to it... then we show up and completely alter your schedule. Perhaps everything is changing."
"For me at least," I mumbled, yawning. "It's getting late, Starscream, you should probably... go into stasis or... something... get some rest..."
As I fell away into the black, I heard him chuckle. "You too, little human."
Well! I enjoyed writing that, and I hope you enjoy reading it. As always, reviews are welcomed and cherished. XD
Thanks for reading!
Oh yeah, and Merry Christmas! (Or Happy Hanukah/Happy Kwanzaa!) Have fun with the holidays! ^^
