I would like to thank ksv12 for the advice and my sister for telling me to add pancakes in there somewhere.
So even in a spark container with no really coherent thoughts, Sideswipe can still manage to guilt trip people. Also, comparing the Twins to bunnies? Really Shay?
Comfy. Warm. Nice. I did not want to move. When my eyes opened, I rolled over and looked to the curtain-covered window. It was still dark out. I didn't know when I went to bed last night and I didn't know what time it was now. But I was nice and toasty warm, and if the sun wasn't up then I didn't need to be up and that was final. With that determined, I felt a funny snickering feeling pass through me.
Odd. Why would I feel humor right now? Actually, now that I thought about it, last night was weird too. I'd dismissed the unexpected sensations because of exhaustion. Perhaps I should have paid more attention.
Laughter
Still curled around the glowing container, a stronger feeling of amusement bubbled through me. A response to my confusion. Shocked, I sat up and looked around. What the hell?
Laughter. Snickering.
Oh, so my surprise was funny was it?
"Alright, what's going on?" I asked aloud with a scratchy morning voice and felt a bit ridiculous. Nothing in the plain room. This was weird. It almost felt like someone was looking over my shoulder. Then I glanced down to see the cerulean orbs flickering brighter than they had before. One in particular twirled in spinning circles right up against the side closest to me. Hesitantly, I placed a palm to the glass and waited. Worry settled in my gut once more. It was too early for this.
Comfort. Don't worry. Snickering.
With a startled yelp, I jerked back and got tangled in the sheets. I overbalanced and fell off the bed with a thump. In a jumbled mess of emotions I got the idea that this thing didn't want to worry me, but thought my discomfort was funny. It was alive. Oh shit. Eying the container, I tried to get my hyperventilating lungs under control. I had been wrong about the container being a device or weapon. It was carrying something living. This was so not my day.
I sat up and peered suspiciously at it over the side of the bed. Slowly, I reached out to gently touch the metal cylinder again. My fingertips just barely brushed it. Then, another tumult of emotions hit, although not as pleasant as the first time.
Sad. Hurt. Gone?
"Hey, I'm not leaving." I spoke automatically as I would to a scared child, as the abandoned feeling echoed through me. Jerking back must have startled it. Two its, I mentally corrected myself, as there are two orbs. The one was bouncing around physically as well as tossing emotions at me, while the other sort of hung there with a wary feeling. Both were emitting hurt. Crap. I wasn't just carrying an object, I was carrying two living creatures. Whatever they were. This put a whole new level of importance on keeping this safe. Them safe. Argh.
Keeping a hand on it, I climbed back up and sat in front of the cylinder. A deep breath and I thought of sitting outside in the sun on a nice day. Relaxing and peaceful. I tried to send that feeling back to the spheres, but I wasn't quite sure how well it worked.
They must have felt it though, because the hurt emotions left, replaced by a hyper cheerfulness from the bouncy one and a slight irritation from the other, "Are you guys psychic or something? If you get in my head, I'm gonna be pissed." No answer, out loud or mentally. Maybe they couldn't really understand me besides the emotions?
"How come this didn't happen before when I was carrying you around?" Another question ignored. Cheerful one seemed to be doing something along the lines of poking and it got on Sullen one's nerves. Then they appeared to be playing a mental game of chase or tag. Honestly, it made my mind a bit dizzy at the odd feelings and they looked just to be swirling around like always. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around it once more and settled it in my lap, resting my head on top. Closing my eyes, I wished for another couple hours of sleep.
I absolutely had to get these guys to the Autobots. They had to be kept safe. Things just got a lot more complicated. The sun wasn't even up yet dangit.
Giving another reassurance and drawing away slowly (less I risk another guilt trip), I slipped into the bathroom to take a shower. It was obvious that I needed one and I was very thankful that I'd packed a bottle of shampoo and soap. With that out of the way, I packed everything while eating and put on my last pair of clean clothes. At least the jacket would keep the morning chill off.
Ready to leave, I put my hands on my hips and studied the orbs, "Okay you two. I'm taking you home. So any other surprises you have should be mentioned now." As expected, nothing happened. Who could have possibly guessed?
Checking my phone I found it to be just at six a.m. And I was already starting to get a headache. Putting everything in the truck, I turned off my phone again when it started ringing. Not bothering to see the number, I shoved it back into my bag. No doubt it was Dad, or my boss, or who knew who else, all wondering where the hell I was and what I was doing. And at the moment, ignoring it all in favor of this situation seemed to be the best solution. Thinking about all that stuff would just distract me from my goal. I dropped off the keys and started out again, this time with the container right next to me in the passenger seat.
With the miles rolling by it was almost peaceful. We passed huge acres of farmland and through small towns. Large churches, graveyards, country stores and sometimes small cities were all interesting, as I stared out my windows. Some of these places looked similar to home, but they weren't the same at all. Staring up at brick monstrosities in awe and sighing when I had to go through beautiful woodlands, I wished I could stop and spend some time.
Occasionally, when I was at a stoplight or such, I'd reach out to touch the glass once more. Usually Cheerful (renamed Mischief) would send a tickle feeling that seemed to be a greeting. Sullen didn't seem to care that much except for sometimes giving off a questioning emotion to brush against my insides, as if he weren't quite sure what to make of me. That's okay bud, I don't know what to make of you two either. When I wasn't watching the miles go by, I wondered about a lot of things. Mainly planning out everything that I could think of to get to the Autobots. But by noon, we'd gotten to the end of Nebraska. The ground had gotten noticeably less flat in the last three hours but it wasn't anywhere near being hilly yet. As long as I didn't have to drive through mountains I would be okay.
I stopped for lunch at a pancake joint and got gas. Once again warm food won out against leftovers, and said supplies seemed to be getting low. The cooler was only so big and I had packed enough food for a for a few days at most. But pancakes were always good. And as it was day, I didn't have to worry about feral animals. Sitting in the passenger seat and trying to keep syrup off my fingers, I balanced the paper plate and talked to the orbs. I wouldn't touch the glass with messy fingers. I felt a bit bad too, that they were stuck in there and not talking to them was like ignoring them, right? And besides, if they couldn't talk back then the conversations didn't grate on my nerves. In one sided talks you could stop talking whenever you wanted and no one would hold you responsible to continue your conversation.
"I'm not sure what you are, but if you guys can't eat pancakes then you're missing out." I mused out loud and thought about it. There were things better than pancakes. Like homemade pizza pockets.
"And oranges. Oranges have this really sweet flavor. Chocolate is good too, but anyone could tell you that. I wonder...what do you eat? It better not be humans. Seriously." Scowling, I looked down at them. The glowing lights still spun in circles as if they didn't have a care in the world. Yeah, yeah, you look cute. Continue floating around like you're innocent little bunnies or something. That act won't work on me.
"You better not eat humans." Another grumble.
Moving on, the temperature got higher and I kept the windows down. Let me tell you something. Driving with wind in your face means you're hair comes back to whack you if it's longer than a few inches. That is why mine is usually up. And the wind felt like flying. Not nearly as good as standing up on a high place, but still nice. When darkness fell the stars came out, and I turned on my headlights. While looking for a place to settle, distant music filtered through the air.
Interesting. What was that? I slowed a bit and the air rushing through the open window quieted. The music became more distinct and a sweet smell, like sugar, hung in the air. Rounding a curve in the road and coming down a hill, I spotted the neon lights of a carnival.
"Well, would you look at that." murmuring to myself, I drove past and turned to park up on a hill overlooking the ground. Being far enough away that I wouldn't be spotted settled my slight paranoia and I could still watch the activity below. I sat on the dry grass with the cylinder on my lap. It was warm enough to take off my blue jacket but I didn't want to invite mosquitoes. With my chin resting on top, I relaxed. The music made me feel wistful. Not that I would ever admit it to anyone, had they been there.
Curiosity. Question?
It seemed both of them were curious this time, "You know, I've never been to a carnival at night," I spoke while listening to the distant shrieks of joy and laughter.
"Smaller fairs, yes. But never one this large or at night. It's pretty." The neon lights flashed and gave the darkened world a festive quality and for a moment I wished I could go down there. What would it be like, to walk under those orange, yellow, red, and violet lights and see the world through rose tinted glasses, if only for a few hours? To smell the cotton candy and popcorn and experience all the joy that seemed to thrive in that place? Humming along to the music I let myself wish, for just a few moments. I didn't let myself do this often. Wishing all the time never leads to happiness and never gets one anywhere. I couldn't go down there. I wanted to, but couldn't. This came first.
Looking up, my eyes studied the distant stars, picking out patterns and searching for the Big Dipper. I only knew three constellations off the top of my head and could usually find them on clear nights. The Big Dipper, sometimes the Little Dipper, and Orion. It always took me a minute to find him because Orion's Belt was easy to spot but for some reason Orion himself always looked upside down to me. Tonight I found all three.
Rubbing my hand up and down the glass, I listened to the night noise and carnival sounds. The world and sky seemed to bleed into each other, starlight gracing it all. I studied the pitch skies and wondered what was out there in the distant galaxies.
"That's were you're from, isn't it?" I whispered and got no answer.
"Hey Optimus." The young man spoke quietly, watching his friend. The Prime had been working almost as much as Prowl lately but now he sat outside on the mountain, watching the sun sink down. The last rays glinted on the red and blue of his frame, highlighting the metal. His helm turned down to the human.
"Hello Spike. How are you?" A quiet deep rumble of a baritone.
Rubbing his brown hair, Spike Witwicky frowned, "I think you should be asking that of everyone else first. Or I should be asking you. How are you doing Optimus Prime?" Cybertronians didn't show the same signs as humans when they were upset. They didn't have bloodshot eyes or circles underneath, frazzled hair or anything else humans tended to have. But the young man had been around the Autobots long enough to know what to look for.
With Prime's optics duller than usual and the tired body language, it was easy to tell he wasn't having the lightest of thoughts. His legs were drawn up slightly, arms loosely wrapped around them and shoulders drawn in. Someone could have said that wasn't the right image a Prime should give off. But in light of recent events, no one with even half a spark would mention it to him. Leaning against the rock wall, he didn't give off the usual presence that normally was very hard to ignore. When he spoke you listened. When he watched you or asked a question you did you're best to earn his respect. Now he almost seemed smaller.
A deep sigh, air from his intakes blowing out to join the deep evening scents of pine and rock, "I am alright. Only tired. Tell me, have you spoken to the others besides Bumblebee?" Dim sky optics glanced to his friend. Spike situated himself on a boulder next to the titan.
"Bee told me yesterday and I got here as soon as I could." He paused as they watched a group of bats fly overhead on their nightly hunt for bugs and moths.
"Blue's barely saying a word, so we're worried about him. I went to see Prowl but he's hiding himself in datapads and reports. Wheeljack can't get Ratchet out of the medbay, so he's concerned about him too. We couldn't even get in there. Doc won't let anyone through the doors unless they're hurt. Jazz is blasting music at top volume in his room." Optimus had already known how his crew was, but he'd still had the hope that perhaps a familiar face would make it better and lighten someone's mood. It had been a foolish hope. The day's light slipped away even more but still graced the land and sky in red's and oranges.
"It is a good thing his walls are soundproof." The Prime put in blandly.
Spike quirked the corner of his mouth up, but there was not enough there to be a smile, "Yeah. Bee and I went to see if the Dinobots would come out. We figured, if we can cheer someone up...maybe everyone would feel a bit better." Sadness tinged his words.
The Autobot leader turned away, back to the surrounding forest and mountainous rock, "Grief is not something that easily lets go. And many times, we do not want to let go of it either." Silence met this statement over the evening birds giving their last songs and the crickets waking up. Their chirps filled the air in the background, barely discernible.
"What did you tell the Dinobots, to persuade them to leave their room?" He finally continued.
"I asked them to play Jungle Natives with us. We even had some new patterned cloth for bribery. After that, we kinda gave up. There's just... I dunno what to do to help. And I miss the Twins too. Even for all the trouble they caused. Like that time I accidentally set off that trap meant for Gears. Couldn't get that silly string out of my hair for days." A brief chuckle broke through before fading, mahogany eyes tightening a little. The sky darkened a little more while the clouds became edged with fiery light.
The giant beside him sat quietly before lamenting, "This war has gone on for far too long. I fear that it will only be over when there is none of us left." He finished in a whisper. The human frowned, hearing the Prime's fear. But he couldn't give any consoling thoughts because he was afraid of that as well. He too, worried that the war would only end when there was no longer any Cybertronians, and no longer anyone left to fight.
"Primus willing that doesn't happen." Spike murmured to his friend as they watched the last light of day fade into dusk.
