Thank you very much for your reviews, Rob Lockster, AutobotGirl6, Yuro-Faita911, autobotgirl12328, Autobot traitor, Trickster91, ArmoredSoul,Mackinator, whitedino, Meirelle, shimmershadow30, Player3, Eerie Iri, X-RayDog, Yami-Yugi3, HorrorFan13, Frog1, and kimmay94! That's 18 for this chapter alone! XD
I am so very sorry for taking nearly a year to update this. Rest assured, I fully intend to complete this story. And now, after a brainstorm one day – in the shower, no less – I have direction and more plot! I already knew some of what I was going to do, but now I have something more concrete about where I'm going. Still not sure what the ending is going to be, but I'll figure it out! Well, now I've rambled, and it's on to the chapter-ly answers to your comments and questions.
Rob Lockster-- Yes, but I think Aniruddha, "unobstructed" or "ungovernable," would be more of a fit for him. Seeing as he's such an avid prankster. XD And Devdan, "gift of the gods" . . . That's a good fit for Sunstreaker. :-P
Yuro-Faita911-- Mostly it's just a name I picked at random that I thought sounded good for Sunstreaker. I didn't want something playful like Max seems, and I wanted it to begin with the same letter. From there, I remembered Micah, and settled on that. :-P
Autobot traitor-- We shall see. XD And that's not to say they will. :-P
Trickster91-- Something close to that, actually. I drew a little comic about it, and I hope I can make it work in word form! As for Prowl, yes, he will be making an appearance. I just have to figure out how to work him in! By the way, any suggestions for his police cruiser form? Not a Saleen Mustang! I want something more common, and not something that's confused with Barricade. I was going to, but then I decided, nah! It's overused, and I don't even know for certain if they actually use those for police cars. Doesn't really make sense. It's such a nice car! I sure wouldn't want to risk such an expensive model of car getting bullet holes and the like.
Mackinator-- I hope you didn't hurt yourself when you saw the notice this time!
X-RayDog-- I'm glad to hear that my OC is a strong character! I'm doing my best to make sure she's not a Mary-Sue, but we'll see how she turns out. :-P And no, she doesn't meet them in this chapter, but we do!
Yami-Yugi3-- Sometime, here! Read my response to Trickster91. I would appreciate suggestions!
Frog1-- Well, we have many chapters to go. I'm quite certain we will see a temper tantrum from good ol' Hatchet, yet. XD *cackle of malicious glee*
To All Readers-- I had lots of fun writing this chapter. Yes, I could have made it longer, but I settled for finishing it and getting it to you patient people, who have had to wait for too long for this update. Enjoy! Oh, and please read my response to Trickster91. Help would be much appreciated!
Oh, and I've just recently watched the first two episodes of Transformers G1. I cracked up, seeing Ironhide's form!
Chapter Nine – An Autobot's Ego
"That has to be the biggest television I've ever seen outside of a theater."
"And you haven't seen the amazing picture it has, or heard the surround sound system." Jack grinned down at her, a gesture she returned. "Though it's hardly necessary, you've been missing out."
"You know what would be awesome? Three-dimensional movies, where they happen around you." Kate moved to the DVD player to examine it, half her mind still on talking. "Or maybe that would just be better for games like Halo or something of the sort, like virtual reality. That would be so cool . . . and yet freaky at the same time."
"Freaky, eh? Yeah, I can see how that would be. Got friends in the army, an' accordin' to them, goin' soft on language, war is a nightmare."
At the mention of the word, Kate shivered. Jack noticed, and frowned. "Didn't sleep as well as you said?" he guessed.
"Not really. Uncle Hyde knows a bit about it 'cause he picked me up from my room, but no one else." Kate shrugged, stepping back from the DVD player and looking rather distant. "Apparently I'm making myself forget things, like nightmares. It was probably something to do with my captivity, but . . . I don't really want to know."
"That's okay, kiddo," her friend assured her. "No one's forcing you to."
"Vor says I have to remember soon. If I don't willingly, I might not recover."
She heard him sigh, and looked up at Jack to see him staring at the ceiling, a contemplative look on his face. When he caught her looking, he gave her a small smile. "Sorry, Katie-girl. I can't help you with this. It's something you're going to have to work through on your own. But . . . if you ever need an ear, well, you can come to me anytime."
She smiled back, feeling a sense of peace for the first time in a long time. "Thanks, Jack," she whispered, but ruined the moment by yawning.
Jack chuckled. "Come on, this was the last place. I'll take you back to your room so you can take a nap."
"Thank you," the girl answered, following the black man. "I'm still tired. Must be because I woke up in the middle of the night and it took me a bit to go back to sleep."
"As good a theory as any, I say." A couple minutes later, Jack stopped at her door and ruffled her hair slightly. "I'll be back in thirty minutes, at . . ." He checked the time. "Eleven-hundred hours. There anything you need?"
"Make it an hour at eleven-thirty. I feel exhausted . . ." She grinned at him as she smoothed her brown ponytail, not all that annoyed at his playful action. "Thanks for the tour, Jack."
His smile turned soft and caring. "Least I could do, Kate. See you in an hour or so."
She nodded in return, hiding her confusion about the look in his eyes. Once inside her room, she lay down and stared at the ceiling, letting her mind wander back to that expression. However, before she could think about it anymore . . .
She fell asleep.
........
Jazz heaved a sigh as he entered Wheeljack's lab – not without a little trepidation – and wondered what in space he was supposed to do next. He would have to tell Kate their secret soon – his guilty conscience wouldn't let him do otherwise – but when, and how? The longer he put it off, he knew, the worse things might be when he told her. How mad would she be when she found out that he had been hiding this from her? Her life was messed up enough; she didn't need this, too.
Wheeljack looked up from his work, eyeing the saboteur carefully. "You shouldn't beat yourself up about this, Jazz."
Jazz blinked, caught off guard. "How'd you know?" he grumped. Wheeljack's human holoform put down his tools, smiling slightly.
"Your body language is rather easy to read, even in that form. An expulsion of air to that degree is a good indicator that your mind is on something else, and the tenseness you carry yourself with betrays your self-guilt."
Jazz had to shake his head at that. "When'd you become a psychiatrist, 'Jack?"
"It's a temporary gig. Don't tell Ratchet."
"To Pit with Ratchet. Let's not tell Prime. He'd have you psych evaluating the mechs after every battle."
Wheeljack shuddered, making a face at that. "Primus, I hope not."
Jazz released a chuckle, then turned to the shard Wheeljack was tinkering with. "Easier to work on it at this size, huh?"
Wheeljack nodded, frowning. "There's not much to work with. Whatever it did when it shocked Kate, it used up the rest of its energy to do so."
"And the bigger shard?"
"The one this broke off of, and the one that was used to revive you? Drained. Somehow, all the energy left after you were brought back must have transferred to this splinter."
"So basically . . . the All Spark's gone."
Wheeljack nodded grimly. "I'm not sure whether to be optimistic or pessimistic about this fact. But I still don't know what it did to Kate."
"You tell Prime yet?"
"I'll wait until he returns with my guinea pigs. Can't risk the Decepticons picking up on this yet."
Jazz let his lips twitch into an amused smile. "Hatchet will go insane with the three of you around again. With your explosions and the twin's pranking, he could probably use your psychiatric help."
Wheeljack smirked. "Why do you think I don't want you to tell Ratchet? And hey, tell him it could be worse."
"Yeah, how so?"
The smirk turned to a positively evil grin. "Bluestreak could have come with them."
Picturing that, without any more level-headed Bots around to balance out the insanity, Jazz shuddered.
"You, my friend, have a point."
........
"Aw, fraggit, I can't find anything!"
"What about that Mustang that passed ten minutes ago?"
"No."
"Why not? Come on, we're meeting Prime and Ironhide in an hour. We can't just stay as this! I feel . . . naked!" The mech speaking – for he was a mech – gestured to his silver protoform body. Without scanning an altmode, and having just landed half an hour ago, he felt akin to what he supposed would be a human caught in just their underwear.
"As do I," his twin brother answered, growling, "but that Mustang was clearly inferior. Besides, its left door was dented."
Sideswipe paused, considering that. "You're right," he admitted finally, clearly not happy with the idea of a dented door on his altmode. Although, he wasn't sure if it would be there on himself when the car was scanned.
"Of course I'm right," Sunstreaker griped. Suddenly, he perked up, focusing on something just over the ridge. As the vehicle on the road drew closer, he grew visibly more excited, his frame quivering slightly before he suppressed the action. Sideswipe looked, and let out an appreciative whistle. "Now that's what I'm talking about."
The Lamborghini Reventón shot on past, its driver clearly enjoying the straight, flat road stretching as far as the eye could see. Sides and Sunny scanned it as it passed, each making a certain alteration to the sleek beauty they had chosen.
Moments later, two cars, bright red and golden yellow shiny new Lamborghinis respectively, pulled onto the highway.
........
"Where are those two cretins? They should have been here by now."
Optimus shook his head, a placating hand on Ironhide's shoulder. "Give them time. They may not be so fortunate to locate an altmode as quickly as we were."
"Especially with Sunstreaker's narcissism. That mech is so stuck up, he- Holy Primus."
As Ironhide's words degenerated into an awed silence, Optimus turned his gaze to take in the sight of the two Lamborghini Reventóns pulling up. Although as vain as these two could be, especially Sunstreaker, he had to hand it to them . . . They sure knew how to pick a good one.
The red and yellow luxury sports cars unfolded into two mechs of the same color, smug grins on each of their faceplates. "Like it?" Sideswipe asked, still giddy from finding such an awesome form. "We were lucky it was passing by at that moment."
Ironhide was still staring. "What color was that car?"
"Silver."
"And yet, how did you . . .?"
Sunstreaker snorted. "It's simple, 'Uncle Hyde.' We just scanned it and altered the paint scheme before applying it to ourselves."
At Ironhide's horrified look upon hearing the nickname, the twins burst out laughing. "Jazz-man told us," Sideswipe snickered. "An' don't worry, on our drive over here, we figured out our holograms' forms."
"Good work." Optimus stepped forward, giving them long, considering looks. After a moment, he nodded to himself. "You two will have to hide your true bodies from our guest until we tell her who we are. Having such a rare vehicle as your altmode will attract attention, and may make her suspicious."
Sideswipe bounced from one foot to the other in his excitement. "Ooh! Do we we get to meet her?"
"Yes, but remain cautious. You must not reveal that you are an Autobot, or anything along those lines. It is for Jazz to tell her."
Sunstreaker nodded, acknowledging the command. "Yes, sir. Shall we go?"
Sideswipe blinked. "Why so eager?"
"I want to get some space between us and 'Uncle Hyde.' Plus, I want Jazz to be in range of his rage."
The red mech took one look at the trembling black bot, then nodded sharply. "Permission to move out, Boss-man?"
Optimus chuckled. "Permission granted. Autobots, roll out."
"Great. Get your gears in line, Sunny! Race ya there!"
As rubber squealed on pavement, carrying the two hot rods away, Ironhide's rage broke free, and he let out a bellow. "SIDESWIPE, SUNSTREAKER, JAZZ!!! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"
The only answer was rapidly disappearing taillights.
........
Back at the base, Jazz winced to hear Ironhide's angry broadcast. He wasn't sure he was looking forward to seeing the older mech's expression when he returned, since Sideswipe had no doubt revealed that he had been the one to tell the twins that nickname.
Yes, perhaps it would be best to steer clear of Ironhide. Just for a little while.
I wonder if Optimus will let me take a vacation for a couple months . . .
Edited 4-21-10
