How did I get this done so fast? I'll be updating this story possibly twice a week because I've been having very good ideas with it and currently, I'm writing chapter 15. Thanks for the alerts/faves/comments as usual too! This chapter was a little difficult to write in my opinion but I think it turned out alright. Enjoy!
Transcendental Mysteries
Chapter 9 Trust Amidst Evil
(…)
"Oh, God… My spine!"
Cynthia painfully came back to the world of the living. Her whole body was wracked with aches and discomfort. She wanted to open up her eyes but her strength was sapped. Her fingers twitched to life steadily. With a wheezing cough, she shuddered and curled up a little.
"Oh, no…" she thought. "I went off the road. I lost control! I'm in the ditch!"
However, as her senses came back to her slowly but surely, she could tell she wasn't slumped over in the driver's seat. Instead, Cyndi was lying on her stomach. Judging by the surface she was recumbent on, it was hard and chilly. The frigid nip stole her breath away and she coughed again. This arctic revelation started to scare her.
At last, her eyes opened. She could see she was lying on a piece of gray metal. With effort, she forced herself to sit up on her butt. She rubbed her head. Her vision was still blurry but her eyes quickly adjusted after a few moments.
When they adjusted, she could observe her surroundings. Cynthia had to repress a scream. Her hands immediately went over her mouth.
As it turned out, she was lying on a giant nightstand that was set up next to an even bigger bed. Only a few feet away from her on that same nightstand, was her car which was totaled brutally. Lying in the bare, metal bed was Blitzwing. He was lying on his back with his head turned away from her direction.
"This is an unholy nightmare…" she whispered. "This isn't real! I gotta get outta here!"
Carefully, she crept over to the edge of the nightstand. Cyndi was about fifteen feet off the ground. It was almost triple her own height but at this point, she had no qualms about taking a brave chance and jumping. She was ready to try anything to escape if this was indeed reality.
"My cell!"
Cyndi fished through her back pocket for her cell phone. Luckily, it didn't take her long to locate it. She considered herself blessed when she saw it was intact and not ruined from the impact of the crash. With trembling fingers, she flipped the phone open.
"Oh my God…"
There were approximately twenty three missed calls from Amanda. There were also an additional twenty three calls from Darien too, making a grand total of forty six missed calls. Upon further investigation, she discovered the exact date and time of the current day: January 9th, 1:57 am. She had been unconscious for over twenty four hours. Her eyes widened, disbelieving that this actually was the case. For a moment, she briefly wondered if she was trapped within some disturbing reverie.
"They're looking for me!"
She immediately dialed Mandy's cell phone. Cyndi stood up and paced around frantically. There was no dial tone or ringing at all.
"No, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening! Don't do this to me!"
When she realized there was virtually no reception and thus no hope of a redeeming phone call, she threw her device down in frustration. Her eyes began to moisten and her heart felt like it was being constricted. Accepting her rotten luck, Cyndi leaned up against the remains of her destroyed vehicle. She buried her hands into her face and cried.
"What did I do to deserve this?" she bemoaned. "This all has to be some crazy, warped dream! I'm in a hospital, not in Blitzwing's…" Cynthia gulped and shuddered. "Bedroom… Awkward."
"Hey, turn zat frown upside down!" Random said cheerily.
Cyndi's sorrow was promptly replaced by blind fury and rage once more. Her hands retreated away from her face.
"Oh, zat's a scary face, Cynzhia!" he commented.
"I demand you to tell me what the Hell is going on now!" she commanded. "And you better give me the truth too!"
"Jou should be grateful but of course, jou're not," said Hothead. "I saved jou again."
"How? I'm in your bedroom! I have forty six missed calls from my siblings and I bet they called the police about my disappearance! My life was perfect before I had the greatest misfortune to meet you! I had very little issues with my existence and now all this crap is happening! I didn't ask a thirty foot talk robot space Nazi with three faces to ruin my life!"
"Vhat's zat one Human phrase?" Icy pondered. "'Shit happens'?"
"Yeah, I might as well change my middle name to that!"
"Jou're velcome…"
"I'd be better off in that ditch where I crashed into!"
"I agree," Hothead said bitterly, "ungrateful organic."
"I happened upon jour vehicle by chance," the blue face explained. "I vas on my vay back to my home but I got sidetracked vhen I saw tire tracks in ze road. I vas following zhose tire tracks and I noticed zhey veered off ze road abruptly. I looked into zis ditch and saw a car vith a Human woman in ze driver's seat, knocked unconscious. Ze snow vas coming down heavily and jou vere being covered very quickly. Jour vindshield vas shattered and jou vere knocked unconscious from ze crash. Frankly, I believed jou vere at ze complete mercy of ze elements and luck. I took pity on jou and brought jou and jour car back here for safe keeping. I zhink jou vould be frozen and quite dead if no action vas taken."
"Why couldn't you drop me off at the city limits where there's a greater population of people? Someone would've found me and called an ambulance."
"I didn't feel like risking an encounter vith zhose Autobots," Hothead told. "Plus, I couldn't transform into one of my vehicle modes vhile I vas holding jour car vith jou in it. So, I did it ze easy vay and came straight here."
"So… You saved me. Again…"
"Yeah, pretty much. Jou don't seem happy about it."
"I…" She sighed and shook her head in disappointment. Cynthia felt shame overcome her. "Once again, I'm indebted to you it seems. This is the second time I've been saved." The woman felt disgusted. "Well, I have to apologize again and thank you for saving my pathetic butt. However, I think I need to die more than ever now considering our most recent fight too."
Blitzwing's faces swapped. Icy scowled at her a little and it seemed he didn't know whether to accept her apology again or brush her off. True, she did accurately pluck at his iron nerves when they conversed in the woods a night ago. To a certain extent, he liked it because no Human had ever done that and got away with it. Yet, he let her get away with it. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, all three of his personas began to develop a respect for her because of her bravery. He also liked to watch her overact at every little thing too and that was always a good laugh. Now that he thought about it, she was the only organic he truly liked to a certain extent.
"Vhatever," he said shortly, "I forgive jou. Jou are cowardly, ungrateful, too judging and paranoid."
"Ouch," said Cynthia. "But I know you're right."
"However…" His austere expression softened a little. "Jou're not completely loazhly."
"I guess that's good to hear." She looked around the area nervously. "So this is your bedroom?"
"Yes," Random said excitedly. "Do jou like it?"
"It's nice, big and… rocky."
"Zhanks! I live here vith Lugnut, Starscream and my master, Megatron!"
Cynthia's face turned deathly pale. Never in her whole life did she suspect a great misfortune such as this would come about. She was in the Decepticon base, cut off from the rest of the friendly world. Worst of all, she was stuck with Blitzwing as her roommate. Then she considered herself lucky since it was the triple changer she bunked with instead of the other three. Also, she had no clue what they were like. At least she knew Blitzwing.
"I'm in a nest of Decepticons?" she lost her composure.
"Duh!" said Hothead, accentuating her daftness. "Now shut up before zhey hear jou!"
"But on second zhought, zhey are all in recharge," said Random. "But ve still have to be quiet so zhey don't kill jou!"
"Asleep you mean?" asked Cyndi.
"Yes," Icy nodded, "now listen, Cynzhia, because zhis is very important. It's obvious and vise to see jou cannot stay here any longer. Jou are finally avake and now is ze time for action. Jour family is undoubtedly seeking jou out due to jour disappearance and I'm sure jou're more zhan ready to go home. Now, I'm sure jou can imagine zhat jour presence is unvelcome here at best. I vould undoubtedly be severely punished for sheltering jou."
"Are you proposing an escape plan of some sort? If so, I'm in."
"Yes, but zhere's more zhan zhat. In order for our plan to succed, ve have to establish somezhing."
"What? Let me hear it."
"Trust."
"Trust?" Cynthia wrinkled her nose. "That's it?"
"If ve don't trust each ozher, zhen ve fail," Hothead said simply. "Ve'll probably both die. I'm not ready to die yet!"
"Ve're much too young to die, Cynzhia!" Random complained.
"But do jou understand vhat I'm saying?" Icy returned.
"Yeah, I do," Cynthia understood clearly. "So we need a sense of mutual trust?"
"Absolutely. Do jou trust me to get jou out of here safely? Can I trust jou to do vhat I say to make zhis vork?"
"Well, you did save me twice and you're planning on doing a third time…"
"I need an answer now," the gruffer side said. "Are ve going to save ourselves or not?"
"Hey, I'm in!"
"I do have a sliver of honesty and honor in my hide," said Icy. "I do see ze gravity of ze situation if zhere is no mutual trust and cooperation. I know my vay around here naturally and vhat everyone's schedules are like."
"What do you plan on when we get out?"
"I vill take jou to jour home. It's as simple as zhat, Cynzhia."
She nodded her head.
"I trust you, Blitzwing," she said seriously. "You scratch my back and I scratch yours."
"Vonderful!" Random rejoiced. "But ve have one tiny problem."
"What's that?"
"Jour car. I'm surprised I didn't get caught bringing it in last night. I got really lucky! But ve can't take chances now! I have an idea!"
Blitzwing's hand reached out over her head. Cynthia flinched, half expecting him to smash her with it. Instead, he grabbed her car and drew his hand back to his body. Her eyes widened when she saw his mouth open up. She grabbed her hair with both her fists.
"No!" she begged. "Don't eat my car!"
It was too late. The already damaged car was further destroyed when the triple changer bit it in half. Cynthia watched in agony as he chewed up the glass, metal, plastic and other components that made up the automobile.
"Did jou say somezhing Cyndi?" he asked. Bits of metal and other crunched debris flew out of his mouth. "Do jou vant a bite?"
"I could've had it fixed!" Cyndi complained. "You're devouring my sole mode of transportation!" She saw it was a lost cause though. "It's doomed now… You can eat it. Maybe I'll tell my insurance agent a giant robot ate my car and I'll be compensated with a new one."
Unhappily, she watched as he finished up his late night snack. Cynthia cringed when she saw him shove the other half into his maw and pulverize it with his jagged teeth. She almost felt physically ill when she was almost certain she could hear it crash into the robotic equivalent of a stomach.
"Zat vas delicious!" he savored.
"My car…" the Human whimpered.
"Now I must apologize," said Icy. "I cannot alvays restrain ze ozher two."
"Well, karma's a bitch. I had it coming I suppose. Let's just focus on getting out of here."
"Here is vhere ze trust comes in," said Hothead.
Cyndi didn't dare to display any signs of uneasiness and doubt. Truthfully, she did believe in him but his words made her feel uneasy.
"I'm ready for it," she said.
"I von't be able to hold jou in my servos or have jou sit on my shoulder," he informed her. "Zat's stupid and reckless."
"So, I zhought zat jou'll have to hide inside me!" Random revealed.
"WHAT?" She was hoping she heard him wrong. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"
"Yes, vell, zat's vhy I needed jour trust," Icy said matter-of-factly. "It's a bit risky but as long as jou remain calm, it'll vork."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Cynthia was incredulous and terrified. "What do you mean by in you?" Her eyes grew larger. "Oh my God, am I going to see my car one last time? No, it can't end this way!"
"By ze Allspark, no!" He looked visibly disgusted and sounded like it too. "I vouldn't do zat to myself! Zat's deplorable!"
"Well, how?"
"I vill turn into a jet and jou vill remain in ze pilot's seat. Zhen I vill assume my robot mode."
"That doesn't sound so bad at all really."
"Zhere's ze possibility jou may be crushed."
"Right… However, I was at the risk of being crushed every single time I've been with you. But I'm still alive."
He smirked at her.
"It's good to see jou haven't overacted over zat," said Blitzwing. "Zat's a surprise."
"I'm just used to you I guess, I don't know," Cynthia threw her hands up into the air. "What more can I do anyway? My car is gone and I'm in unfamiliar and extremely hostile territory. Right now, you're my savior."
"I'm just glad jou're not in one of jour scaredy-cat moments," Hothead grumbled. "It's good to see jou're not freaking out over zhis."
"I can't afford to be afraid if my life is on the line."
"Good sport," Icy nodded. "Now vhen I turn into zhis form, jou should be hidden beneath ze tinted glass of ze cockpit vindow, completely unharmed. I vill transform slowly to make sure jou vill be alright. If jou remain quiet and unmoving beneath ze vindow, no one vill be able to see jou or even believe jou're zhere."
Warily, she looked at the darkened glass. The thought of being squished like an insect by all the shifting metal and gears made her blood curdle. Yet Cyndi wanted to escape alive and he had won her trust.
"Okay, let's go for it," she set aside her fears.
"Good, because zat's ze only plan I could come up vith anyvay," said Hothead.
"Here ve go!" Random said optimistically. "Just relax, Cyndi!"
She swallowed hard. Her eyes shut and she put her life into his servos. Cynthia was more than aware he could easily kill her if he wanted to reverse their pact. But at this point, she somehow didn't believe he'd go back on his word.
While her eyes were still closed, she could feel his fingers encircle her form. Cynthia steeled herself and didn't flinch at his touch. She just prayed all would go along swimmingly.
Phase one of their plot began. He transformed into his aerial vehicle mode. There were no issues at all and it ended with her in the pilot's seat as he predicted. Her bluish gray eyes opened up, seeing that all was well. Lightly, she grasped the arm rests.
"Okay, I'm not dead," she said.
"Zat's good," said Icy. "Now remain calm. Don't panic."
"I'm trusting you like you wanted me to, Blitzwing. Now let's help each other out."
Cynthia kept her eyes shut again, preferring not to see anything. All around her, she could hear gears shift and metal creak. She could feel his body change. It was such an eerie and strange feeling and experience to feel and hear the transition. The position of the cockpit shifted and she felt herself beginning to slip out of the pilot's seat.
Before she could yell out his name to warn him of her predicament, the seatbelts came to life. They quickly caught her and fastened her into the seat.
"Thank you," she said softly.
He didn't reply.
Another few moments went by and his metamorphosis from jet to robot was complete. Cynthia had lived and everything went according to plan.
"Oh, thank God for that," Cyndi exhaled.
"See, zat vasn't so bad," said Random.
"Now give me a few minutes and ve vill both be out of zis base and safely from ze ozhers," said Icy.
"I'll be as quiet as a mouse," she asserted. "Just don't forget about me."
Cyndi sighed and tilted her head back. She relaxed herself and allowed Blitzwing to take care of everything. As she relaxed, her aches and pains she sustained from the wreck returned to her. Then she remembered she hadn't looked at herself in the mirror in over twenty four hours. She could only imagine what she looked like currently.
However, she couldn't be at ease for long.
As she listened closely to nothing but silence, Cynthia heard a pulsating, crackling throb. Intrigued, she placed the side of her head against the seat's headrest. Little did she know that she was literally right on top of his spark chamber. Faintly, she could hear the fizzling of the electricity that consisted of his spark.
Oddly enough, it was soothing. It was deep and slow. In a way, it was like music. More than anything else, she was reminded of a Human heartbeat. She thought it was a bit startling yet fascinating to discover that the two different types of hearts actually sounded so familiar despite their obvious contrasting traits.
"His heart," she thought to herself. She smiled, disbelieving she got close enough to hear the sparkbeat of a Decepticon. "Amazing."
"Blitzwing!"
Cynthia nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the abrasive voice. Blitzwing himself seemed just as startled because he stalled. She held her breath, daring not to even move. Right away, she assumed the worst about who the owner of the voice might be.
"Yes, Starscream?" Icy asked.
She exhaled in relief. From what she remembered about Darien's Google search, Megatron was the leader. When she saw this was Starscream, she was happy to see this wasn't the head honcho. The brunette squinted her eyes in an attempt to see through the glass. However, since the lair was already a bit dim, it was difficult for her to detect Starscream. All she could make out of him was a large dark silhouette.
"What're you doing up out of your berth at this hour?" he asked.
"Nozhing, I vas just taking a stroll," Blitzwing answered. "I zhink I have gotten enough recharge vhere I've become a little restless."
"Really?" Starscream sounded a little skeptical. "Are you sure that's it?"
"Yes," Hothead said curtly. "How about jou?"
"That sounded vaguely like a challenge. Must you be reminded of your place? There's a reason why I'm your superior."
"Ja, ja, ja, I know!" Icy sounded annoyed. "I vas just minding my own business."
"I didn't see you come in last night. As a matter of fact, Lugnut or Megatron didn't see you either. For a few moments, we thought you disappeared off the face of this scrubby planet… Are you sure there's nothing going on?"
"Of course not!" said Random. "I don't keep secrets very vell anyvay so jou'd know!"
"Don't screw this up, please!" Cynthia pleaded inwardly. "I will come back and haunt you if you get me killed!"
"I'm just merely curious, that's all," Starscream chuckled. "No need to be so defensive, Blitzwing. I can't recharge in peace either. I'm happy just to wander around or maybe fly off into the night to kill some time like you do at times." He paused. "Say, I have a brilliant idea."
"Vhat?" the pumpkin face scratched his helm.
"Why don't we both head out for a little flight? It'll be bot to bot quality time."
"No, I'm fine," Icy cut in. "I just vant to go out alone."
"What happened to the good old days before the Great War, Blitzy?"
Cyndi was massively interested by their dialogue. She listened in very closely. Even though she had no clue of what was going on really, she could feel in her marrow this was getting juicy. The woman felt fortunate that while the glass obscured her vision, she could hear their voices clearly enough.
"Zhey're gone, Star," Blitzwing said hollowly. "And don't call me, 'Blitzy'. Vould jou prefer me to call jou by ze name of 'Star' instead of 'Starscream'?"
"Ah, but they live on vividly and happily in my memory cores," Starscream said, sounding a bit nostalgic. The seeker had a tiny grin on his faceplate. "Frankly, I can call you whatever the Pit I want." He sighed. "You may go. Just don't get into any trouble, will you?"
Without saying another word, Blitzwing turned around and left Starscream alone. Just by the way he was moving, Cyndi could feel he was pretty miffed. To save her own skin, she made a mental note to herself to pretend as if she never even heard their conversation.
