Hello! A late update, here! Haha! Sorry for that, I just have tons of things to do...
TheCasualReader: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!
Time to bring up the next character: our dear Elita-One!
Warning: English isn't my mother language, so there may be some grammar mistakes in here.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers franchise, nor its characters. It is a registered trademark of Hasbro.
Summary: After a casual medical check, Elita learns that bringing Optimus back from the Well of the AllSpark had a side effect that nobody foresaw…
Genres: Humor & Romance
-ELITA-
A Spark Slip Up…
Elita was at the base, taking a cold shower after driving under Nevada's unforgiving sun for over three hours. It's been two months since they stopped the Combiners, however, the team decided to remain on Earth and spend as much time as they could with the children. Sighing, she had to admit that she came to like them too… Even Miko. Sometimes, the kids were like a reminder of who she was eons ago, when the war didn't exist, and she was a worker at the spaceport's warehouses. Sometimes it surprised the pink femme to realize how much she changed since then… Back on her days as the two-wheeler designated with the name "Ariel", the femme was terribly outgoing, and loved to have a good time with her best friend Chromia. Of course that those strolls ended when the cerulean femme bonded Ironhide, but it didn't stop Ariel from finding some other companions to talk to… Well, now that she was thinking about it, Elita kind of felt bad for Optimus (Orion, back then), who had to endure her constant blabber for so many quartex…
Once the femme felt that her body temperature was back into normal, she stepped out of the shower, dried herself, and decided to go to the training room for a couple minutes. No way was she going back outside; it was like 50 ºC in the shadow! Well, now she knew why the children called it 'Sunny Jasper, Nevada'. The place was an oven…
Entering the automatized training room, Elita made some stretching exercises before activating a training program. The place filled with booby-traps and cannons that were shooting paintballs at her. However, it was nothing she couldn't handle… Until, after making a roll to avoid a pendulum that came out of one of the walls, the pink femme felt a pang of pain on her right arm, and ran to stop the program.
"Ugh… I must've twisted something." She thought out loud, while unmasking herself and massaging her limb.
Well, there was only one way to be sure of what happened: Ratchet, who was conveniently working at his lab/med-bay. Of course that, as soon as the pink femme entered the room in pain, he stopped whatever experiment he was doing, and went to scan her. Elita took seat on a nearby stretcher and waited to receive a diagnosis.
The medic made a quick scan, but it seemed that something wasn't right, since he soon made another, only to finally arch an eyebrow at the results. The femme cocked her head.
"Something's wrong?" She asked.
"Well… According to this, you don't have any traumatism or anything that explains your pain." He said, shrugging.
"Huh?" Ok, that was weird. Her arm definitely hurt! She wasn't faking it! "Are you sure?"
"I can make you a complete scan, if you want." Ratchet offered, shrugging and furrowing, not really knowing what else to say. "In case this thing is failing, or something…" He added, tapping his scanner with a finger.
Elita was about to agree when the med-bay's door opened behind her, and the old mech's eyes widened at the vision of the newcomer, making the femme feel curious and turn to look… Only to gasp in surprise when Optimus appeared, dirty and with some bumps all over his body. What on Earth happened to him?
The red and blue mech, who was holding his right arm by the shoulder, clearly in pain, asked Ratchet for some help. Apparently, he had a little accident when driving back to the base, and his shoulder junction slightly dislocated.
At the same time that the old medic gestured Optimus to take seat on the stretcher, Elita jumped off it, asking for some further explanation for the mech's state. The taller bot said that, as usual, he finished his round and was on his way back, when he got strangely distracted by his own thoughts; but, since he was in the open road, and in the middle of Nevada's desert, he didn't paid much attention to it… Until a small ball rolled all the way to the center of the road, followed by a dog and a small child… Since he didn't have time to come to a halt, Optimus tried to maneuver around the organic lifeforms; fortunately he, somehow, managed to avoid hitting them. That was the good part of the story; the bad part was that, when his wheels hit the dusty side of the road, he lost control and ended up spinning, until a rock stopped him.
Grunting, the Autobot leader soon realized that there was a whole family at the other side of the road, having a picnic. Considering the luggage, they were tourists stretching their legs after a couple hours of driving… and the father was coming his way to check on the driver. Knowing that it would be harder to explain why there's a truck that has no driver, than to say that a truck suffered an accident and kept driving, Optimus simply restarted his engine and drove off, hoping the family didn't call 911 or something…
At least, the child and the pet were safe.
"Besides the shoulder, you don't seem to have any other serious injury." Ratchet stated after running a scan on the Prime. Then, he proceeded to grab the mech by the right arm. "I'm going to put it back on place, ok? It's going to hurt a little."
Nodding, Optimus let go from his limb to allow the medic to do his job. However, he couldn't help the groan that came out of his throat when Ratchet touched the wounded area. Strangely, Elita also snarled and gripped her right shoulder, closing her eyes.
Both mechs looked at her with curiosity.
"Are you alright?" The blue and red mech asked.
"Yeah… I think I twisted something at the training room." She said, massaging her limb.
"Did you remember to stretch?" Optimus asked, arching an eyebrow.
Elita nodded.
While both leaders talked, Ratchet prepared to accommodate the taller mech's shoulder; noticing that both, Optimus and Elita, grunted in pain at the same time when he performed the technique. As a medic, and a scientist, the white and orange bot arched an eyebrow, and dedicated a look to both of his friends, starting to see a pattern there. In fact, he started to hum, considering his hypothesis. But… It was ridiculous. After all, they weren't… Well, the evidence was telling him otherwise, yet…
"Um… Elita, did your pain desist?" Ratchet suddenly asked at the femme.
The pink bot blinked a couple times in surprise, before notice that her arm was fine now.
Suddenly, the medic closed the med-bay's door, and ran a scan over his two friends, who exchanged a quizzical look. Could it be that Ratchet believed that they were sick or something? Both of them were sure that their health was fine, so, after spare a quick glance towards the older mech, they looked at each other again, both shrugging in confusion.
"Is something the matter, old friend?" Optimus finally asked.
The medic seemed to double check the scan results while silently mutter a 'By the AllSpark' under his breath. Elita's optics widened in worry. Was there something wrong? Were they sick after all? "Perhaps…" The memory of the prototype that Shockwave installed inside of her made the femme grip her chassis, fearing that some side effect was taking place within her spark or something. The mere thought made her shiver, alarming Optimus who gently placed a servo on her shoulder, quietly asking if she was alright. She quickly shook her helm and said that it was nothing, not really wanting to start some panic wave; it was enough to know that the red and blue mech, next to Ironhide and Chromia, shot the Decepticons' chief scientist in the face when he damaged the regulator's prototype under her chassis, almost terminating her.
A deep sigh from Ratchet made both bots come out of their pondering, only to notice a very troubled medic. He seemed to be doubting how to share the news with them. It couldn't be good…
"So… What's the verdict?" Elita tried to joke, as if to lift up the spirits a little bit.
The old mech massaged his neck, still struggling to find words. He wasn't sure of how to aboard this matter, because they obviously weren't aware of it… "Well, the truth is always the best policy, but… Oh, Primus…" He thought, before sigh again while looking at the screen next to him. Maybe… No. He had to tell them about this.
"It appears that… and, trust me, it isn't easier for me to tell this as it's for you to hear it, but…" He bit his lip, and faced his friends whose worries were sky high right now. "Elita, the pain you were feeling wasn't… yours." Ratchet hinted.
The femme knitted her optic-ridges and grimaced in confusion. How comes it wasn't her pain? It was ridiculous! The only way for a Cybertronian to share someone else's feelings was through… a…
Falling into realization, her optics widened once more, and her mouth opened a little bit, while her spark-beat and vents became erratic. Shocked for what the medic was suggesting, the pink bot shook her head in denial, saying that it was impossible.
Next to her, Optimus seemed to understand the implied diagnosis too, since he froze on the spot. Was it possible? Elita was feeling… his pain? But, the only way for such thing to ever happen would mean that their sparks created a…
"Bond…" Both commanders muttered, placing a hand over their chests.
Ratchet nodded.
"And it seems to be strengthening. In fact…" The medic said, while going back to his equipment. "Your sparks are starting to get in synch, which explains why you're starting to feel what the other does."
"B-but… How?!" The pink femme managed to say, struggling with her vocalizer. "None of us was conscious of it, so we…! I mean…" She faced Optimus, hoping that he would be able to speak clearly for both of them.
"Is there any way for us to have created a spark-bond unaware?" The Prime wondered, while patting the femme's back, trying to calm her. Bonded or not, he would be able to feel her tension, even if he was in the Moon.
"I… can't say that I've seen such thing before." Ratchet admitted. "Although…" Suddenly frowning, he eyed his friends, suddenly getting an idea. "May I be curious and ask: how did you bring him back?"
Elita's spark missed many beats as the answer appeared clear in front of her optics: she pulled Optimus's spark back… by revealing her own spark. That must have been how the bond was created without their knowing. It… it was an accident… She bonded their sparks by mere accident. Guilt started to build inside her spirit, as she started to apologize to her friend, saying that she didn't know, that it wasn't her intention to force him into something like that.
Even when Optimus kept repeating that he wasn't mad about it, the pink femme simply kept apologizing, and, finally, left the room in clear distress, saying that she was going for a drive. The Prime followed her with his optics as she left the base.
"I can tell by that look that you still feel the same way…" Ratchet commented to Optimus, with his arms crossed. His lone answer was a confirmative sigh; indeed, not even with a war and a Matrix in between, Orion stopped loving Ariel. Regardless of their new designations. "Aren't you going after her?" He asked, pointing the door with his head.
"She needs time to think about this matter." The taller mech said, not looking at his friend.
"But you're still going, don't you?" The medic retorted, slyly smirking.
And, then, the unexpected: Optimus ―behaving like his old self, Orion― rolled his optics and grunted, while crossing his arms, only to end up glaring at his old good friend. Ratchet couldn't help but chuckle.
… … …
Elita didn't know how long she drove, nor where she was right now, only that it was already sunset, and that the team might be wondering what happened to her. She was ―probably― still near from Jasper; however, her mood wasn't yet good enough to return, so the femme decided to get off the road and stretch her legs. "Wait, I can't. I'll be seen if I do that…" The warrior remembered, reason why she simply turned off her engine and stood where she was… until the tall silhouette of a rock structure met her gaze. Getting an idea, she drove up to it.
By the time the sun finally disappeared in the horizon, she was sitting atop the rock, just zooming out, lost in thoughts. She really hoped that their sparks weren't so in synch that Optimus would be receiving her depression at the moment… It wasn't like she didn't want to be with him; the problem was that… it… It has been so long!
"Ariel? Are you ok?"
The pink two-wheeler suddenly got her face-plates off the datapads she was holding, and looked at her companion with wide optics, almost begging him to repeat the question. As answer, the tall red and blue clerk who was sitting next to her sighed and asked what she was reading. After blinking a few more times, she passed the writings over to him. He clearly didn't expect the contains of the pad to be a bunch of financial accounts…
"Since when you're in charge of the warehouses' accounts?" He wondered, arching an eyebrow.
"Since the guy who was supposed to do it decided to take a cycle off due to, and I quote, 'stress'." She growled. Then, after look at the datapads for half klik, she sighed, put them down and looked back to her sparkmate. "I'm sorry, Orion… We were supposed to be enjoying ourselves; instead, I'm doing my coworker's job." She apologized, only to, almost immediately, growl again and cross her arms, averting her angered optics. "Now I know my boss hates me…"
The clerk couldn't help but chuckle at the petite femme's complains, kind of amused; although, he was kind of pissed too… After all, it was true; they both asked for a day off on their jobs, so they could spend that afternoon together and have some quality time. Thanks to their employments they didn't have much time to spare and do couple things. Actually, this was their first date in months!
The mech sighed and looked back at his sparkmate.
"Economy isn't my specialty, but… I know a clerk at the Hall who may be able to help you." He offered, and couldn't help but smile when Ariel's optics brightened up at the idea. "He owes me a favor." He quickly added…
And the femme jumped up in joy.
"You don't know how much I love you right now!" She cheered, kneeling on the bench they were sitting on, so she could throw her arms around his neck and peck him on the cheek.
Thanks to Orion's gesture, the femme was finally able to enjoy the date, which wasn't anything too big, just a nice stroll through the crystal gardens to escape Iacon's constant noise. And, as usual, the amount of couples wandering around the place was overwhelming… Wherever she glanced to, there were two bots holding hands, or acting all lovely-dovely. "Please tell me we don't look like that…" The pink two-wheeler thought, when her optics landed on two Cybertronians who were probably the cheesiest couple ever.
Orion seemed to notice and chuckled.
"Don't worry. We don't look like that." He assured her, gently stroking her back.
The femme sighed.
"Thanks, I needed to hear it…" She admitted, a servo on her chassis. Although she enjoyed the little, sweet, romantic gestures that the clerk usually showed towards her, Ariel was very conscious of their age. They were no sparklings; they were both fully adults, wanting a serious and long-termed relationship with each other. For so the idea of them looking like a pair of love-struck younglings was a little terrifying… Besides, it would be an indication of some maturity problem within their processors.
And, speaking of a more serious and long-termed relationship… Orion suddenly started to talk about their time together; only to, finally, ask her if she would complete the ceremony to become his Conjux Endura.
Ariel felt her spark miss a few beats, before her head could actually understand what he just asked her… But the moment the question fell in place inside of her processor, the two-wheeler accepted right away.
Only one problem: the war broke out before they could fulfill the fourth step; plus, she ended in a stretcher, with Alpha Trion and Ratchet doing the impossible to keep her alive, while Orion received the Matrix and became Optimus Prime…
So far for their plans to become one…
Elita wasn't sure of when she dozed off, only that, when she woke up due to a gently hand on her shoulder, the sky was already dark; and, standing next to her, Optimus was trying to wake her up.
"I was just resting my optics…" She said (yawned), rubbing her face.
"We worried when you didn't return to base." The mech told her, while taking seat next to the pink commander.
At first, he truly believed that she just wanted to be alone; later, that Elita was yet trying to understand the situation they were currently in… But, after seven hours? His spark was completely restless, and, fearing the worst, he locked the ground-bridge on her coordinates and decided to check on the femme. Optimus's relief when he realized that the reason why she never reported was that she simply fell into recharge couldn't be described…
"Sorry; it wasn't my intention." Elita apologized, lowering her optics and dangling her legs off the rock's edge.
Then, they remained there, in silence; thing that the pink femme appreciated deeply. She wasn't yet completely comfortable with the idea of being bonded with her old sparkmate. After all, they haven't have the time to actually sit down and talk about their previous situation, nor about their future… "Maybe, we could do that now?" She thought, looking at her companion through her eye's corner. Optimus was simply sitting cross-legged, not even two feet away, gazing the horizon and absently watching the cars' headlights in the nearby road. "He hasn't changed a bit…" Elita realized, smirking a little, remembering that, in one occasion, they stood the same; they sat at the warehouses' roof and silently gazed the stars for joors, just because she had a really bad day, and needed to cool down somehow.
If she could only go back to those days… Life seemed so much easier back then.
Not really knowing what to say, the femme simply looked up, noticing a line of three shinning stars which she recognized, thanks to the kids who were doing their homework at base.
"Orion." She mumbled… and accidentally gained Optimus's attention. "Wha-? N-no! I meant…" Quickly, noticing that the mech's optics were now looking at her wit curiosity, she pointed up. "The constellation! Orion, the Hunter." If her species were capable of it, Elita knew that her face would be bright red at that moment. Instead, she was fighting her engines from overheating.
The Prime took a brief glance of the stars, and, then arched an eyebrow at his companion.
"You know about Earth's constellations?" He asked. It was the first time that Elita ever showed to know something about the planet they were currently in; and, given the short amount of time since their awakening, he thought that she and his other two friends were yet learning.
"Not really. The kids taught me when I surprised the little one doing some research for her school…" The femme explained, shrugging a little. "I guess that I learnt this particular one because of its name. I mean, what were the possibilities, right?" She added with an amused smile.
Against all chances, Optimus chuckled at the explanation, and admitted that he found it funny too; after all, they were galaxies away from home, yet they seemed to have something in common with humankind. Especially considering that the stars were named after a mythological character…
Truth be said, she did find that funny too.
"There isn't one called Ariel, is it? Because that would be weird." Elita joked, fighting back a laugh at the mere idea of such thing happening.
"Not as far as I know. However, my knowledge about Earth's astral figures is limited." He said with a bright and warm smile that made him look more like his old self ―the shy and gentle clerk, Orion Pax―, rather than a Prime.
"A former archivist accepting that his knowledge is incomplete… Wow, I wish I would've had a camera." The femme laughed, smiling deviously, while rising one of her knee junctions, just enough for her to hug her leg.
Optimus rolled his optics and softly shook his helm, his shoulders shaking a little in amusement. An emergency upgrade, a civil war, and a stasis of over half million years… and, yet, Elita proved to him, one more time, that she was, and she would always be, Ariel… His beloved Ariel. The sudden realization hit the red and blue mech really hard in the spark. Sure, they both changed since the last time they saw each other before the Ark was launched, but… In moments like this one, he could still see that they were still… they.
He still loved this femme, regardless of her new designation or frame design; there was no doubt within his spark. The question was: does she loves him back? Even after all the things that happened in between?
If there was one thing that both of them hated was to be waving in the indecision; so, it wasn't exactly a surprise that, since both of them wanted to be sure of each other's mind about their recently discovered bond, the two commanders suddenly turned to talk at the same time.
"Optimus, I…"
"Elita…"
Both of them stopped immediately, and tried to make their companion to take the word first… unsuccessfully. In the end, they kept trying to talk at the same time over and over… Until them both burst out in laughs.
It wasn't the first time this happened to these two bots either. The commanders could yet remember when they tried to confess their feelings for the first time… The poor love-struck Cybertronians thanked to Heavens that none of their friends was anywhere near to see the silliness they showed, when stumbling upon each other's voice every time they opened their mouths.
"Alright… If this doesn't prove that we're still the same two idiots, I don't know what does!" Elita finally commented, chortling and thrusting her servos up in the air in a desperate manner.
"At least this time we didn't stumble upon a table…" Optimus actually joked, remembering his own fail: he was so flustered the first time he tried to confess, that he didn't see they were walking in front of a café… and he kind of walked into a ―fortunately― empty table.
"Hey! That was you, not me!" She retorted, playfully smacking the Prime's shoulder.
It was at that moment when both Cybertronians felt something warm within their spark-chambers, and both of them reached for their chassis. It took them a minute or two to identify the strange feeling, and realize that it was their sparks reacting to each other's presence; thing that made them stare at their companion's optics, knowing that the existence of the bond was undeniable now. Elita was the first one in look away, still unsure of what to do about it… A spark-bond was unbreakable. It tied two souls for life, and the loss of one of the halves meant that the surviving mate would endure an emotional suffering like any other; meaning that, if something happened to her, it would rebound on Optimus's spark… hurting him. "And I did this to us… unknowingly…" She thought, sighing.
Even when their connection wasn't yet strong enough to willingly share feelings and memories, Prime didn't need it to feel bad due to her depressed looks. Not knowing whether he was going to rub more salt on the wound, or actually give her some comfort, the mech decided to take this chance to speak his mind about their recently discovered bond:
"Elita, does your feelings for me… remain?" He asked, not looking at her.
"What?" She rose her face and stared at her companion in disbelief. Was he doubting her? Even after this long? "Of course!" The femme answered, kind of pissed for being doubted. "Look at my optics, Optimus." She ordered, and he did so. "If you have any questions about my fidelity, then speak them up clearly." The pink bot demanded, leaning in until her furrowed eyes were inches away from her companion's widened ones.
Deny that the red and blue mech was kind of taken aback by the anger in the femme's voice would be a lie… Optimus knew very well how much damage Elita could make when pissed off; and his question seemed to have done just that… In fact, a part of his processor was considering the idea of back off from the cliff's border, just in case…
Better explain himself quickly, for his aft's ―and his spark's― welfare.
"I would never doubt you, Elita. All I want to know is if you would agree to become my Conjux Endura."
And, like a charm, her frown disappeared and a surprised stare took over the femme's factions, as she backed up, returning Optimus some of his personal space.
"You… still want to?" She asked, arching an eyebrow and sitting over her calves, so they could be face to face.
"I never stopped." He admitted. "In fact, when I entered the Well of the AllSpark I…" He averted his face. "I hoped to reunite with you… since I thought that you were terminated by the explosions…" The red and blue mech closed his optics at the memory. It was yet too painful to remember the way in which the launch platform gave in under Elita, Chromia and Ironhide, swallowing them, making the three of them disappear in a cloud of smoke and fire.
A sudden and tender peck on his cheek made the Prime open his eyes, only to notice that the pink femme was leaning towards him once more, but, this time, with peaceful intentions.
"You know I don't break that easy." She said to calm him down, smiling. It seemed to work, since his lips curved up too, and a soft chuckle was followed by a nod.
For a moment there, Elita didn't see the great Optimus Prime, but her beloved Orion Pax. And, then, she understood why he wanted to fulfill the ceremony they started over four million years ago: because he understood that, deep down, they were still the same two people from back then. Sure, they changed; but that's the thing with being alive, isn't it? After all, even if they would've performed the rictus beforehand, they would've changed anyway… only that together.
"We're just missing the Act of Devotion…" She, then, said, remembering how far they got.
"Maybe not." Optimus commented, looking straight into Elita's face with decision. She, on the other hand, seemed confused by his statement. "Even though the war kept us away for eons, we've never stopped loving each other, nor have we broke our vow of fidelity." He explained, and, with every word, the mech could see the realization sinking deeper into the femme's mind. "If that doesn't prove our diligence and devotion to each other, I don't know what will." He finished, while gently placing one hand on Elita's left cheek, caressing it carefully, as if she were made of glass.
Leaning into the touch, the pink bot smiled, realizing that he was right. And so, as she lain her forehead against Optimus's, the femme, gladly, accepted to become his Conjux.
Smiling, both leaders were about to kiss… only to be rudely interrupted by the Prime's commlink, which pinged in the worst time.
"Yes, Ratchet?" He picked up, not really wanting the medic to send a rescue team for him.
«Did you find Elita? It's almost midnight, already, and the team…! »
"She's with me, old friend. All is fine." As he said this, a sigh came through the line.
«What a relief… I'll open a ground-bridge at your- » This time, it was the femme's turn to interrupt the white and orange mech.
"No need, Ratch. Orion and I have a lot of catch up to do, and we're not far anyway." She said, activating her commlink, while winking at her mate at the 'catch up' part. Needless to say that Optimus's fans almost kicked in at that moment…
«Uh… Alright… Call if you need anything. » With that, the medic hung up and the call was over.
Suddenly, since there were no more interruptions, Elita wrapped her arms around her mate's neck.
"Where were we?" She asked playfully, leaning her forehead against the mech's one.
Smirking, the red and blue bot passed his arms around the femme's waist and pulled her closer; then, she closed the distance between their mouths. Both of them enjoying their reunion… and without any rush to go back to base…
Man, I missed write pure and cheesy romance...
The scene of Optimus suddenly reminded me that I haven't yet finished the one-shot where the holoforms are introduced... I really need to finish it, so I can create even crazier things for the bots XD
Oh, well... In case I don't finish it soon, the next bot in line will be Bumblebee!
Tell me what you think!
See ya!