Disclaimer : I don't own anything but some of my OCs.
(Two Days Later, Normal POV)
Wincing, Sam rubbed at the back of his head, where a headache seemed to have settled in, refusing to leave. "Look, I can't come back and you know that." He sighed, struggling to beat down the annoyance that kept threatening to creep up on him. "Mikeala-"
"Stop it, Sam! You're being ridiculous and you know it." Her voice was tense, but she sounded more fearful than angry. "Optimus isn't angry, but we're all terrified for you. Even if we found the priestess, how can she help you if you're not with us?"
He hesitated, seeing her point, but he could feel the corrupted energies in the six shards in his pants pocket, and he frowned. His eyes darted around to the clueless people on the street, even as he pressed himself into the corner of the phone booth. He'd opted out of using his cell phone, simply because he knew they'd be able to track it in less than thirty seconds.
"Mikeala..." Sighing heavily, Sam closed his eyes, struggling to ignore the heaviness in his heart. "I.... I'm nineteen and have all my paper work. I can get to Canada-"
"How?" She demanded harshly. "The Sec-Def pulled strings for us all to go together. How are you gonna afford a car and cross the border? You'll also need money to get into a hotel."
If I had Bumblebee, a car and hotel wouldn't be a problem. More irritation filled the teen boy's frame, and he felt himself stiffening up. On one hand, he knew she was right. He didn't have the money to have choices, but at the same time, he couldn't put Optimus in danger. He'd ask for Bee's help, but he knew that Bumblebee had no choice but to follow the orders of his leader.
If Optimus ordered Bee to turn Sam over, as much as he might not want to, Sam knew he'd be turned over.
"Look... Optimus wants to talk to you." Mikeala sighed, her voice getting quieter. "He's already admitted that if you're adamant about this, he won't try to take the shards back, but once you show signs of really changing and getting sick... He wants you to be safe." There was a moment of silence. "We all do."
His irritation kept rising, but at her words and tone, he felt it melt away. He still had that migraine, and felt heavy, but as he relaxed, he felt immensely better. They're bots of their word. If Optimus was still mad... "I'll only ride in Bee, and I won't even show the shards to the others."
There was a sound of a breath being released, and it sounded almost shaky. "ThankyouSam."
He blinked, startled at the force and speed of her words, but slowly, he relaxed once again, taking in the relief in her tone. He felt a shaky smile of his own trembling at the corners of his lips, as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and turned it on. "My cell's on. They can trace my signal."
"We'll be there soon, Bee and me in the lead."
Nodding a little, he felt like a little of that heavy weight in his heart had been lifted, and gave his first genuine smile since stealing the shards from Optimus. "I'll be here." As he hung up, he marvelled at everything that had happened.
Optimus had been a little reluctant to show the shards, at first, but Sam somehow -and he didn't really know how- managed to convince him. They sat there, dull and dark, almost looking as threatening as they felt, in the Autobot leader's 'glove compartment'. He'd startled himself with the hesitation, speaking to Optimus, before he made his move.
Flashback
"You know how important you are to us, right?" His tone was quiet, and it took everything he had to keep his voice from shaking. He felt...cold with dread and terror, even as his eyes remained glued on the six absolutely tiny pieces of metal, just...lying there. "I mean, we've barely known you for long, but you're... You're kinda like a father to us." There was really no other way he could see to explain the fatherly presence the bot had with them.
"Sam...?"
He heard the hesitation and confusion in the tone. As much as he wanted to, he still could not tear his eyes from the shards. "You saved our world. You risked everything... The future of your people, your world, your life to save us."
"You saved earth. Sam, I do not understand..."
The glove compartment door trembled slightly, and Sam realized that either Optimus was getting suspicious, or worried. Either way, his time was up. "You mean everything to us, but not only to us. To your own people, too. I'm sorry, Optimus. I'm so sorry." Reaching out quickly, he scooped up the shards, barely managing to believe such a quick, uncalculated move managed to get them all, and hopped out the open door, wincing as he landed painfully on his feet.
He could hear the door slam shut behind him, just a second too late, and casting one final glance at Mikeala by the hotel door, he took off at a dead run, shoving the shards in his pocket and ignoring the feeling of nausea and pain that rolled through him almost immediately.
End flashback
Opening his eyes, he glanced into the glass wall of the phone booth, focusing his eyes on the faint reflection and wincing. Even in the almost invisible reflection, he could make out that his eyes were darker. Not a good sign.
Still, he'd given his word, and as much as he regretted it, he'd keep it. After all, Mikeala was right. If they did find the priestess, she couldn't help him unless he was with them. With a final sigh, he pushed the door open and stepped out of the phone booth, his eyes scanning over the people walking around, clueless to the danger they were all in.
For a split second he missed the naivety. The peace and monotony of a normal life.
Then he thought about Bumblebee... The first transformation, the unusual way Bee spoke, the eager, happy look in his eyes-err 'optics' when Sam said 'yes' to staying with the bots. He thought about Mikeala's words...
No matter what happens... I don't regret getting into the car with you.
The look in her eyes, the feel of her resting against him, kissing him, and the happy look in her eyes...
Peace flowed through him, almost feeling alien since he first ran away two days earlier. Even the headache seemed to fade, along with the longing of a normal life, and he smiled as he stood on that step. I can't regret it either, 'Keala. He thought happily, hearing a horn honking and turning towards it. He saw the familiar forms of his friends, and even though he still felt sick, it wasn't foremost in his mind. I can't regret it either.
(Kendra's POV)
A shiver ran through me, and I sighed, turning sideways and curling up even more, trying to ignore the faint restraining feel of something across me, and the fact that I wasn't very comfortable. My chest ached badly, and my head wasn't too far behind, but I kept my eyes closed, reaching out and feeling for my blanket.
It took a moment of patting around, before my fingers brushed against cloth and I grasped at it. I curled my fingers around it, already feeling warmth and pulled it towards me, only to groan when it only came so far before stopping. "Damn it..." I muttered quietly. "C'mon..."
"Kendra?"
A wave of pain ran through me, and I gasped, clutching at my chest when my heart stalled again. A white-hot pain washed back and forth, like waves of an ocean, and my vision spun.
"Kendra?"
That was a different voice, Rana. Memories came to me, of laying in Prowl's passenger seat, Rana in the back. The third piece of the 'allspark' hanging around my neck. Well so much about that idea. I suppose I'm going to keep getting sick every time I find one of those damn shards. I shuddered a little gasping. The pain only seemed to get worse, but it suddenly rushed to the back of my mind when I realized something.
I expected my heart to skip a few beats, and then pound harshly. I expected the feeling of heat racing through me, my body vibrating from the sheer force of my heart beat.
That's not what I got.
My eyes flew open and I gasped, suddenly having trouble breathing. I felt warmth on my arms, but it didn't register. I could see Prowl's holographic form looking down at me, his eyes bright with concern, and Rana leaning over me, terrified and wary, holding an arrow in one hand, her other hand on my shoulder. "My heart!" I gasped again, my chest constricting.
I could breathe, but it didn't feel right. It felt like I wasn't breathing enough. I couldn't get enough air into my lungs. I gasped again and again, feeling my body screaming.
"What wrong with your heart?!"
Her voice seemed abnormally loud to my ears, and I closed my eyes again.
"Kendra??"
Start. I thought, my fingers almost digging into flesh as I focused. Please, oh my God! Something's horribly wrong! My eyes opened again, as I felt arms wrapping around me. It was like the world was fading and sharpening all in one. Things were happening, but I was only half aware of it, but those things I was aware of were sharp and precise. This isn't right!
"Kendra Morgan, focus. Fight the darkness."
I blinked and looked up at Prowl, who was lifting me closer to him. "It's not..." I kept panting. "It's not darkness." No, it wasn't darkness at all. I had no urge to harm anyone. I didn't feel like a monster of any kind. I just felt...different. Not human. It was...a shock, and agonizing.
Suddenly, the grip I was being held in stiffened. I felt all too keenly as Prowl gasped harshly.
"What?! What is it?! What's going on?!"
"This...cannot be. It's simply.... It's not logical." The grip shuddered a little and loosened. Then I heard a solid 'thwack!' and felt it tighten again. Even in my terrified state, I wanted to laugh, realizing Rana -who knew about as much about his logic glitch as me- had hit him, realizing he was about to pass out. "The allspark radiation must have... But this doesn't make sense at all. Nothing like this has ever-"
"Would you shut up and explain what the hell is happening?!"
The scream made me wince, before I curled up, my lungs feeling like they were working overtime to keep me breathing. The pain was beginning to fade, but... "My heart... My heart's not beating." I pressed my hand against my chest, feeling a warmth and a faint hum, but no steady pulse. "My heart isn't beating!!" But somehow I was still alive, atill awake and breathing. That didn't make sense!
"Scans show that your heart and lungs have transformed into Cybertronian equivalents, a 'spark' and 'oxygen tanks'." A tingle ran through me. "And that the transformation is slowly spreading. This has never... But I suppose we never truly realized just what the allspark was capable of. It is possible the energy was only harming your body, so in order to protect it, it's transforming you."
"She's...becoming like those things....?"
My eyes darted up, zeroing in on the arrow poised over my head, ready to come down and strike. My vision was clearing, even as my breathing -which still felt very wrong- was slowly starting to steady. "What's going on?" My chest felt heavier.
"I believe you are...slowly transforming into a Cybertronian."
Those words sent my head spinning once again. Leaning in against Prowl's chest, I barely managed to bite back a grimace. The grip...wasn't as comfortable as he probably meant it to be. It didn't help that every one of my senses suddenly seemed to be kicked into high gear. I could smell motor oil and musk from Prowl, almost metallic. Rana smelled faintly of perfume, but blood seemed to cover that, and at that I did wince.
Ugh. Blood. I could feel my nose wrinkle, realizing I, myself, stank of blood and sweat. It didn't help I worked up a decent layer of sweat running from that Corvette.
That Corvette...
"Prowl?" I breathed heavily, pulling from his embrace and leaning into the seat, noticing vaguely that Rana still held the arrow, but it was no longer poised to plunge into my heart. I wasn't hurt by her actions. I knew she feared me following the footsteps of her father, and all those other humans. Even though my immediate panic was fading, I was by no means relaxed and comfortable. "What happened with the Corvette?" My eyes darted about, and I did a double take at how clear and sharp everything was, even things at a distance.
I watched an elderly woman walk across the street in the bright sunlight, some distance ahead of me, and squinting, I felt a tension in my eyes and the image seemed to...blow up. It was like I was looking through a camera lense, and I just zoomed in, now seeing her clearly as if I was only a few feet away. What the...?
"The Corvette... I was unable to track it. Shortly after you joined with me, it masked it's signal. What make and model was the vehicle? Year?"
I frowned. Closing my eyes, I took in all the information swirling around in my head, almost literally too, and...seemed to be...organizing itself. I had to blink a few times to clear my mind, able to pull up an image, and jumping at just how much it was like googling the image on the internet. Oh God... "Um... 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Concept." I babbled a few other details that meant all of jack squat to me, before falling silent. "This is...terrifying." That's putting it lightly.
"Are you still...Kendra?"
Turning, I looked over my shoulder at Rana, and found the smile easy to form, even in the growing state of shock. "Yeah. I mean... I'm not...me, but I'm still..." I frowned. "Uh, I'm not human... I don't feel human, but I'm still me. I still only wanna help people." That's not a very calming thought, though, considering I'm changing into a freaking robot.
There was a loud groan, and I turned, watching as Prowl let his head fall back against the headrest of the driver seat. "Primus, save our sparks." He shook his head. "That's all we needed."
"What?" I bit my lip to keep from giggling when the question was asked by both Rana and myself, in sync. I was feeling a bit hysterical at the moment. No so much terrified as shocked, confused, overwhelmed, incredulous, and a little pissed that the powers that be didn't think I could handle this as a human.
"He's an ally." There was a hiss, and his holo-eyes flashed angrily, before it passed. "An ally, but sometimes far more annoying than the Decepticons." For a moment, his eyes darted around, then he shook his head before turning to me. "Are you well?"
The question caught me off guard, but when I thought about it, I had to shake my head. "I don't...really know. I still feel like me on the inside, but everything else is changing. Breathing feels different..." I put a hand to my heart. "My heart still isn't beating. My senses are super sharp, and it's almost...easier to remember things." It was difficult to explain, though. At least the pain was fading, and I was finding it easier to focus on things around me.
He nodded. "You will adjust with time." Another scan, and I narrowed my eyes at him. "You are still transforming, but I believe the most difficult part has come and gone. We need to move, I'm picking up a faint Cybertronian signature, and I'd like to check it out."
I really wasn't happy with all this, but to be honest I didn't know of anything I could do to stop it. If it was radiation, and my heart and lungs had already transformed, removing the shards might only kill me. I shook my head and struggled to focus. "If it's a Decepticon?"
"I will eject you and engage."
Frowning, I sat back. I was so confused and worried, but I knew that no matter what I said, Prowl woul follow whatever directives he had. Closing my eyes, I faced forward, tapping my fingers on the seatbelt until it tightened. Then watching as Prowl placed his hands over the steering wheel, using the pretenses of driving in order to bypass any curious stares.
We still got our fair share of stares, two girls who'd obviously seen better days getting a ride in a cruiser from another city, but it was no where near bad. Or, it was no where near as bas as it could have been.
As he 'drove', I allowed myself time to mentally wander, taking in all the changes and trying to make sense of them, while all the while more than aware that I was still changing on the inside. Part of me wondered what was happening, but the larger part... The larger part knew exactly what was happening.
Whatever the shards had done to me, it was getting worse.
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Thank you
Tenshi
