Disclaimer : I don't own it.
Dear Diary,
When I got home, I'll admit I didn't so much as offer one word to the Ferrari, for his reluctant and whiny help. I got out when his door swung open with a gusto, and stalked back to my apartment. It didn't even hit me until I looked through my purse that I'd lost my keys. And that's about when I thought I would lose my mind.
Then I spotted them hanging off the door knob, covered in rain droplets.
It was a little freaky they were there, but maybe the Autobots were doing me a hint of a favor. If my keys were here, I could go inside and relax.
Then it hit me, so could they.
I admit I shook like a leaf, terror running through me again. I saw the keys, and all I could think about was the fact they probably bugged every inch of my house. Then another thought hit me; I didn't even have my cell, so how was Sunstreaker supposed to contact me? If I went to get another one, they'd just trace that number, hacking into the call.
And yeah, as selfish as it seemed, I didn't want Sunstreaker to know they were so close just yet. I felt bad, guilty, like I was stealing his home from him, but honestly... I was afraid. I was afraid he'd leave, and I'm pretty sure we all know he'd zoom out of here at the speed of light, and I'd be vulnerable to the Decepticons, or the Autobots who wanted to lock me up.
More than anything, I feared being locked away in a cage, like an animal, for knowing what I knew, and both sides had made their intent all too clear. Sunstreaker was a safe neutral, and as long as we didn't run into any bots, I knew he'd keep his end of the bargain. I just... I just knew it!
And with that courage, I finally entered my home. The first thing I did was check in every possible knook and cranny, despite my pain, for bugs. Nothing seemed out of place, but I'd have to watch myself. I got cleaned up, actually having to bite a wash cloth -yes, a clean one- as I disinfected my injuries. Then I showered and bandaged my injuries, taking some advil for the pain.
I didn't even know if I was going to get to sleep tonight. Not after all this. But I was going to try and see.
-Bella
(Next Day)
To say I was surprised would be an understatement. When I woke up late the next morning, ignoring my ringing home phone -they didn't need to know I was home just yet- the first thing I found myself doing, almost out of some new instinct, was looking outside. I was fairly certain I'd see nothing out of the ordinary out there.
Some part of my mind still struggled to believe all of this was some crazy dream. The agony I was in was testament on it's own that something was horribly wrong. It almost felt worse today. My head spun badly enough that I could barely stand up straight, and I leaned against the window. I knew it wasn't a dream, but I desperately wanted to believe it was. Autobots just didn't suddenly burst into existence. They didn't go from fictional to way beyond real.
So right now, for more reasons than I cared to count, I should not have been looking at a Sunny -Ironic, isn't it?- yellow Ferrari parked in the same spot as I could only guess he took last night. His car form still had the occasional droplet of rain, and holographic, as I assumed that human form of his was, Sunny was crouched next to his hood, examining the rain droplets intently.
I shouldn't have been surprised. Rain was probably one of few things that wouldn't bother him. It'd clean pretty much anything off his alt mode, saving him the trouble later on. But what really got me was that he was still there! He could have gone anywhere.
Once again, the guilt hit. He was keeping up his end of the bargain because he wanted the information that badly. He wanted to find his people, his new home that badly. He wanted to find Sideswipe that badly. If I felt bad before, I felt lower than Screamer's intelligence level now. My plan to borrow Sunstreaker for my own purposes, though I was only just now figuring out that plan for what it really was, fled my mind.
Even as I watched, holographic Sunstreaker put a hand over his heart, a pained expression crossing his features. Then he stood, spinning towards me, eyes narrowing and a frighteningly hostile look in his eyes, before he made a dramatic show of opening the driver side door and climbing in, probably vanishing from view. I couldn't tell behing the tinted glass.
I startled, gasping. My heart pounded even harder than it already was through the pain. I kept watching though, expecting the car to suddenly take off and ditch me, but once again, it didn't.
Shaking my head, I turned and walked shakily into the bathroom. I felt horrible. Like slag and then some. I took a small handful of pain pills, too distracted to really think about what I was doing, and then brushed my teeth. I had no appetite this morning, and it only just really hit me I hadn't eaten for a few days.
Still, I shook my head, promising to eat later. First, I had something to take care of.
I brushed out my hair, before putting it up in a high ponytail. I grabbed my shoes and slipped them on, and mindful of my cuts and bruises, headed outside. I didn't see anyone outside or around the apartment building, but I know that didn't mean much. Walking over to the Ferrari, I sat on a block of cement near his front tire, inspecting the cursive of his name on his side.
"I... Thank you." The car remained silent. "I know this is next to impossible. Everything about me disgusts you." I looked away, a pain lancing through my chest. I hated that it bothered me that he hated humans, even though I knew to expect it. When he was just a story, it was easier to handle, because you could imagine him however you wanted. Now that he was real... Wow, he was really real!
It made me wonder what the others thought and felt. Were we 'slimy' and 'oily' to them too? Disgusting? Weak? "Sideswipe isn't on Earth yet." The car seemed to jolt ever so slightly, before the driver side door opened and Sunstreaker's holo made a show of stepping out, sitting on the hood, not facing me.
"Where is he?" The voice was quieter, masculine, but no less cold.
"Right at this moment? I don't know. Listen, Sunstreaker..." I looked up at him and fell silent. For a moment, I really just admired his profile from the side. He was tall, easily six feet, with shaggy blonde hair and electric blue eyes that just drew you to them, despite the harshness of them. He was also lean, muscular, but almost still boyish in his looks. "There's a lot you need to know. Some of it you might consider important. The rest, probably not so much, but it will help fill in some of the blanks."
He shot me a look and raised an eyebrow pointedly. He didn't like me. Enough said.
Confession time. Oh slag. Where's a Decepticon when you really need one? I mentally crossed my fingers, hoping I didn't just jinx us with that thought, before taking a deep breath. "I..." I froze then. I was accosted by an image of him leaving me, then being captured, and I shivered as fear pressed through me, cold and fierce.
"What has you so bothered now?"
I glanced up at him and saw his eyes narrowed. "Fear." I offered a shaky smile, but it deflated as he narrowed his eyes even more, something he seemed to like to do. He wasn't impressed, and he wasn't sympathetic. "Not of you." His look turned to a glower and I rolled my eyes. "I could fear you. If I didn't know everything I did, I'd probably run around around batshit crazy right about now. Trust me, I've fallen temptingly close more than once." His glower turned to a look of confusion. "I'm afraid of being locked up."
He grunted. He grunted, not his holo. "I thought you said you knew of us. Then you would know the Autobots would never allow harm to come to any human. They're disturbingly fond of your weak, patheticly fragile race."
"But they might still lock me up." His gaze turned my way again, confused. "I know things." He gave me a 'so what?' look, and I sighed. "Sunstreaker, do you even know how I know things? I've only ever met two bots. One was a Decepticon, probably hell bent on torturing me for all my information on the Autobots." His eyes narrowed slightly. "The other was an Autobot who spoke about me being suspicious. They'll want to lock me up, they might even hand me over to the human government who is more than capable of things that would...quite possibly make Megatron look like a saint."
He snorted back a small, rough laugh, but seemed to pause when he realized just how serious I was. "Humans are a destructive race."
"Not all of us. Not the ones out there who recycle and carpool to help prolongue our existence on Earth. Not those who fight to protect endangered species, or fight for help for rape and murder victims." I paused, as a thought hit me. "Not those who create art." I watched as his head tilted, and his gaze almost turned distant. "We're not all bad. Just like we're not all strong fighters. We're not so different from the Cybertronians in that respect." His head swivelled to me. "If we were ever in a war like yours, I'd be an Autobot, for sure."
"You're human."
His derogatory tone had me pausing, and I looked at the ground. It hit me then, I was not only off topic, I was trying to get him to see the good in humans. A pretty big waste of time when it came to Sunstreaker. "Let me tell you the story of how I know everything I know about your kind, and see if you think I deserve to be locked up and tortured for it." I honestly didn't know anymore, but it sure didn't lessen the fear I felt at the thought.
It took me several moments to gather my thoughts, before I took a deep breath. It was warm out, and I was beginning to sweat, but luckily, the pain was beginning to lessen also. "I'm not from this world." Once again, his head shot to me, eyes narrowing, but now they filled with suspicion. "Or rather, I am, but I'm from another dimension, or something." The small bitter laugh that escaped me wasn't a surprise.
"Where I come from, Cybertron never existed. Neither did Autobots or Deceoticons. They were a make believe concept thought up by a human's imagination."
There was a scoff. "Humans can't possibly be that creative."
Frowning, I stared at him. He seemed oblivious to the annoyed look for the longest moment. Then he glanced over, and blinked in surprise, before nearly growling, sliding off the hood to crouch and lean against the side of his alt mode. I took that as an indication to continue.
"You'd really be surprised. Anyways... Where I come from, you never existed. You were a movie. A cartoon series. A comic book. Your stories, your wars, they were just something to read and watch for enjoyment. I know of all of you because I used to enjoy watching those stories. There's even sites out on the worldwide web, where fans who enjoyed the show-" I gave him the explanation of the 'fans' I was talking about, before continuing.
"They'd write stories made up in their own minds. They'd borrow the caracters from the Transformers series and write their own stories. I'd read a lot of them, too, but now, along with the rest of the fandom, they're gone, and I'm the only human who seems to remember it. Suddenly, you're all real."
"I don't yet see why you'd feel fear over being 'locked up' over this." I didn't know if he was just 'putting up' with listening to me, or if he was really interested in the story.
I sighed. "I know about the war on Cybertron. I know about Megatron ordering the destruction of all the femmes and sparklings. Or at least the rumors about it. I know about the bond you and Sideswipe share, and just how close you are." Then I paused, making a face. "Actually, that last one's not entirely true. I know you're close, but stories generally varied on just how...intimately close you might be." I didn't elaborate, even at his confused look.
His frown suddenly turned into an enlightened smirk anyways, and he smirked at me evilly. "I'll leave that for you to ponder, human. Continue your ridiculous story." He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Me, a fictional character? I bet I was damn good looking!"
"You were known for it." He looked honestly surprised, before covering it with his usual cold facade. "You were also known to be cocky, arrogant, rude, vain, a prankster particularly to some of the older bots like say...Ratchet and Ironhide?" He smirked briefly, eyes flashing. "And you and Sideswipe were known as the best at Jet Judo."
I could practically see his ego inflating, so I sighed and turned away, fiddling with the hem of my jeans. It was really too hot today for jeans, but I felt oddly cool, so I wore them anyways. "My world, we're not really taught to believe in all this other universe thing. Anyways, my point is-" I ignored his muttered comment of 'finally'. "I know things. I know the rough location of the Autobot base, or rather...where it will be in oh, I'd say a year's time." That should give them time to talk and get everything sorted and move to Diego Garcia. "I also know what bots should be arriving. I know their alternate forms, some of their weaknesses. I know their human allies and their weaknesses." If you counted family as weaknesses, and in which case, I knew Decepticons would.
He paused then, eyes flashing again, and I noted a little nervously, was suddenly paying all too much attention to me.
"The Decepticons see me as a way to get to the Autobots, in ways they've never done so before. A way to hurt them, get back at them, and quite possibly defeat them for good." Some of the 'Cons were frightfully stupid. Others...not so much. And it was the 'others' that worried me. "At least, that's what I'm guessing. I can't figure out any other reason why they'd come after me. They said it was for my necklace, but I told them it's just a fake. And it is!" I grasped at the metal slightly.
His entire body tensed.
"The Autobots see me was a way to get information on the Decepticons, though I don't know that much really. The stories focused on the Autobots and their human allies more than anything. They'd see me as an invaluable asset, but at the same time, they'll probably realize the Decepticons will know this and come after me."
"How does this come to you believing they will lock you up?" Was it scary this was as close to a civilized conversation as we've had, yet?
"Prime can't afford to be lenient with humans who know too much. They've already lost Jazz, and almost lost Bumblebee." He winced. "Ironhide is paranoid, and I'm pretty sure he sees me as some sort of Decepticon spy, and Will, his uh human ally, looked at me the same way. The human government, if they find out how I got here, will want to probably experiment on me and torture me for more information. Not to mention, I have very basic information on Cybertronian weapons, only the tiniest bit really, but some humans might see that worth abducting me for."
"So you're a liability as long as you remain free."
I froze. The casual way he spoke about it made me realize just how true it was, and... It made me realize just how big a mistake I might have just made, saying anything to anyone. Now he probably wanted to turn me in to them as well! Great! Standing, I turned towards my house, my mind frantically making plans for escape, even as the raw terror nearly paralysed me on the spot.
"I need to go in. I have some...things I need to attend to." Then I paused, realizing I was about to break my word with Sunstreaker. Then I shook my head. I already told him all I know. Sideswipe isn't on Earth yet, and I don't know where he is now. I've told him I've seen an Autobot in the area, and I think I even mentioned Ironhide, so he'll know to look in the area. I...told him enough. I took a step forward, intending to walk inside, when a grasp on my arm caused me to jump and gasp, spinning in place.
Sunstreaker was staring at me surprisingly thoughtfully. "And all you want is your freedom. Is that why I am here? Your way of escape? Of freedom?" He cocked his head to the side, and somehow...I just knew he wasn't asking in hopes of an answer. "Very well. I agreed to your terms." His grip then tightened to borderline pain. "And I will fulfill them. I will protect you from Decepticon and Autobot alike, until you are ready to leave. Then you will tell me everything you know, and we will part ways. You will have your freedom, and I will have rid myself of a pesky, slimy squishy." He grimaced and pulled his hand back. "Without damaging my honor." He grimaced at his hand, like he'd just dug through a dumpster full of used diapers, before wiping it on his shirt.
For a long moment, all I could do was stare at him in shock. His action passed right over my head, I was so distracted. I couldn't believe he'd agreed to protect me, but I quickly nodded before he could take the words back. "I promise, I'll make our...physical contact as little as possible."
"Do." His tone was solid ice, and I shivered, suddenly feeling chilled. Almost immediately, his eyes flashed and I felt an odd tingling run through my body. "I have run a very basic medical scan." His frown seemed to deepen. "And your body is showing a lower internal temperature than what the worldwide web deems acceptable. Yet you are dressed, as information reads, rather warmly."
I shook my head. "I'm injured, and probably sick, too. It just means I'm chilled. I probably got sick from my injuries, or all the stress on my body lately. I'll be fine in a week or two, probably, but I should be good to leave Tranquility in maybe...three days?" I vaguely wondered if my family was still even mine in any respect, or if they'd changed to. Either way, I couldn't take my issues to them.
I shifted a little, rubbing at my neck, and Sunstreaker's eyes flashed brightly. They landed on the shard thoughtfully, narrowing, and I felt another odd tingling, and his eyes widened in recognition. "Is that... That is a shard of the Allspark!" The shock and disbelief in his voice was immediately evident.
Is that not what I just said? "No!" I waved my hands, backing away quickly. "No, Sunn-streaker, it's a fake, from my world." I pulled my collar to the side, and hesitantly showed him my tattoo.
"That is why I followed you, initially. I believed you to be an Autobot supporter. It seems I made an error." He sneered, eyes flashing back to the shard. "Are you so certain it's fake? Perhaps it is what brought you here?" There was a grudging curiosity in his tone. He wanted to end the conversation, that was clear, but at the same time he couldn't help but ask.
"That's not possible."
Slowly, one of his eyebrows rose. "As impossible as giant alien robots, originally created by squishy minds-" He snorted again, still clearly refusing to believe it. "-suddenly becoming real?"
Pausing, I took another step back. "I have plans to go see my best friend today. Her name's Rika. She, and my step-brother, Jeff are the only ones I want anywhere near me, and only because neither of them know about or believe in giant alien robots." He nodded. "I'll probably be gone for a while."
He seemed to think, eyeing the street longingly, glowering at the parking lot, and returning to me with an expression of reluctance. "I will follow you at a distance." He shrugged, like it was no big deal, but I knew better. This was his way of fulfilling his duty. "Simply let me know when you decide to leave." The tone was indifferent. Neither friendly or hostile. It just was. He was going, and he didn't seem to care about it either way. Or maybe he was secretly seething and just chose to hide the thought.
"You don't have to."
"In order to 'protect you, I will. I have also scanned and found no celular devices in your home." Again, his eyebrow raised. "How exactly did you plan to have me 'call' and warn you?"
Shit. Trust him to call it like it is. "You can't. I lost my phone running from Willian Lennox and Ironhide. I just...forgot about it."
Now both his eyebrows shot up. "You outran an Autobot." His derogatory, incredulous tone made me want to roll my eyes, but I barely resisted.
"Not really. I outran a human, who incidentally slowed the Autobot down." Shrugging a little, I glanced away. "I ran to a small rocky outcrop and scrambled through the rocks is more like it. Will followed, so Ironhide couldn't to protect him." I coughed, nervously. "Not that I'd really thought about that at the time."
"Hmm... And if what you say is true, they will be watching for your general number, both landline and cell phone." It was amazing how quick he was picking up on things and adapting his speech to reflect it. It just went to show just how superior their minds were. Turning away, the Ferrari door opened and he leaned in. I was about to turn and walk away when he emerged again, with something in his hand.
His eyes narrowed in displeasure and he hissed, before rigidly holding out his hand. "I cannot protect you if I cannot contact you. Do not lose this, let any other squishies touch it, and I want it back when I leave!"
I nearly reared back at the venom in his voice, but agreed and quickly took the cell phone. It was small, yellow, and looked like any other cell phone out there, but when I flipped it open, the screen showed an Autobot insignia. I couldn't help but smile. Despite everything, this was all really rather...cool! "Thanks, Sunny!" I grimaced then and looked up, as his expression clouded over. His eyes flashed red, and I took a step back at the low snarl.
He glowered at me, and the Ferrari behind him actually trembled darkly. I actually feared for my safety, seeing him glare at me through inhumanly red eyes, but he snarled lowly and inhaled, holding his breath. He turned away, and seemed to focus a moment, before his eyes cleared.
"You have no right to use that designation, squish-bag." He hissed darkly, with a tight, controlled tone, his entire body rigid and shaking. He growled, then grimaced. "Now leave, before I change my mind about the 'cell phone'." Turning, he stalked back to the car and got in, before the door slammed shut all on it's own.
Standing there a long moment, I could only offer a small, sincere 'sorry' before turning and heading into the house. The day was just beginning, and I was already dreading what was to come.
Dear Diary,
Ever get the feeling you're being watched?
On my way across town, I stopped more than once and looked around. I had the overwhelming feeling like something was wrong, like I was being watched. I knew Sunstreaker was watching my every move like a hawk. I caught flashes of yellow, but amazingly, he stayed well out of sight.
Which of course helped him stay well out of mind, as well.
At least, as long as I could distract myself from anything remotely Cybertronian. Which wasn't long, all things considered.
By the time I got to Rika's house, I was starting to feel paranoid. Sunny parked down the street a ways, but I had the feeling like I was being watched from another direction, if that made any sense. More than once I tried to shake off the feeling, but it simply refused to fade.
Note to self: Reconsider contacting a psychiatrist.
-Bella
Written : July 28, 2010
Hope you like it.
R+R Please
Thank you
Tenshi
