Strange Creatures : The Beginning of the End
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you guys like this chapter better, so without further ado, the continuation of Strange Creatures! Read and Review please!
I
Watching soccer was similar to witnessing tribes perform tests of adulthood. At least, varsity soccer was. Each girl was in tune with their mission: Score a goal. But watching Annabelle was a completely different experience. She was a Gladiator, a perfect specimen of physical grace. Her tactics were unique and fresh... each one soaring above the heads of the other team.
"Go, 'Belle, go!"
Sarah and Will cheered as their daughter passed the ball to the Captain. The ball hit the back of the goal, and cheers rose up on the sides of the grass field. Two years had passed and Annabelle was a tall freshman. The only freshman on varsity soccer.
Ironhide remained in his Topkick form. He knew about the primal game, but he was not interested in the aspects of the game. His optics scrutinized Annabelle's movements. Each kick, dive, and slide was perfect. Ironhide felt like smiling grimly.
She was mimicking his combat moves. Until now, Ironhide had not realize just how closely his sparkling had been watching him. From him sparring with Bumblebee and Ratchet to him projecting holograms to Major Lennox, his sparkling had always been there.
The game was over. Will, Sarah, and Randy rushed the team as they celebrated their victory. Ironhide revved his engine as he watched her smile at her teammates, hug Randy, and talk to her parents.
Will and Sarah quickly got into the truck while Annabelle and Randy jumped in the back. Ironhide hit the gas, rumbling out of the school and towards Randy's house. He felt 'Belle's head hit the back, her lungs slowing."
"Good game, Little Lennox."
"Thanks, Randy."
It was good time. After the "Starscream incident", everyone had been tense. Annabelle would always be looking over her shoulder on the street and making sure to know where the emergency exits were at restaurants. But those days were over.
Deep down in his inner Spark, Ironhide knew that he shouldn't be so relaxed. He knew that Decepticons don't get swept under the rug and are expected to just lie. No. They keep on coming. Like locusts.
But... for now... Ironhide would take the turns a little too fast so that Randy would catch Annabelle, both of their hearts fluttering. For now... Ironhide decided to live in a small delusion. He knew that Annabelle still left her clock-radio on. Just in case. He knew that Randy kept close to his sparkling so the could try and understand why he lost sleep at night and got the feeling that there was something bigger at stake.
Ironhide knew these things.
Yet... as the sun shined on his black paint and the wind blew over him, he realized that at that moment, he didn't give a damn. Annabelle smiled, giggling as Randy shouted, throwing his hands up in the air.
At that moment, all was good.
II
"Could you open your chest plate, please?" Dr. Wells frowned, her green eyes glued to her clipboard. She made a clicking noise with her tongue before she stepped forward on her steel platform. "I... I need you to..." Barricade narrowed his red optics. "Open the chamber that guards your Spark." Her heart betrayed her calm face. With every passing second she became increasingly nervous. "Please."
Ripping his pride to shreds, Barricade obeyed the doctor. He ignored her wide eyes and flashing glasses. Instead of observing her and trying to be intimidating, the Decepticon retreated into his own mind.
Why am I doing this?
He was sitting in a darkened room. Just him and Dr. Wells. He was showing this woman his Spark. His very source of life and power. He was doing this because Starscream told him to. That... and they wanted to be more advanced. Not only were they going to capture Ironhide... but they were going to have to avoid the mysterious Annabelle Lennox.
"Why do you need to see my Spark?"
The scientist had been frantically scribbling down notes, but she broke her pencil at the low rumbling of his voice.
"Nothing important. Just procedure." She was lying. She was lying and Barricade couldn't do anything about it. "Can I... can I get a... closer look?"
She didn't have to ask. Barricade had to comply to her every whim. Her fingers reached forward, lightly touching the tiny wires on the outside of his Spark's chamber. With that slight touch, Barricade saw stars.
His legs twitched and it took every scrap of metal in his body to not rip the human off of him. He just rolled his head to the side and prayed that it would all be over soon.
III
Annabelle rolled over in her bed. Her eyes kept staring at her closet. She knew every splinter in the blasted door. It haunted every minute of her day.
Why?
Because that was where she kept her clock-radio. Every night she would lay awake for hours, waiting for it to go off. With a weary old sigh, Annabelle kicked off the covers, shuffling out of her room and down the stairs.
Ironhide heard the front door open. He rolled the truck forward, craning to see Annabelle. She was silent, merely gesturing with a nod of her head to follow her out into the fields of wheat.
When she stopped, Ironhide transformed, stretching. Annabelle laid down in the tall waves of amber, her body disappearing from sight.
"I couldn't sleep." Her Guardian joined her on the ground, thought his body was hardly hidden. "Sorry if I woke you up."
"I wasn't on stand-by."
There was no moon that night. The stars practically glowed in the chilled night sky. Annabelle had her hands behind her head as she watched her breath puff out in white clouds.
"They're coming. They've wanted to for a while now."
"I know."
"But you can't hear them, 'Hide." She rolled over so that was leaning up against his warm metal. Ironhide felt her lips press against him as she tried to bury herself inside of him. "I can... I can hear their Sparks, 'Hide, and it scares me." Tears smudged on his black paint. Ironhide brought his arm up, sheltering her body from the cold. "What's wrong with me, 'Hide? Why can I hear them? Why can I understand my cell phone and radio?"
Ironhide felt like he was in the icy depths of space. His self-hatred for imprinting his Spark on her had faded, but it came back with a burning vengeance at her tear-filled questions. For his entire life, Ironhide had never put innocent beings at danger, let alone grow close to them. But then... Annabelle... he had never intended to be more than just a Guardian... nothing more than a mere acquaintance.
Then she became a friend... and slowly... his sparkling.
"Nothing is wrong. You'll be fine." She was wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. The human girl raised up her hand, a movement that she had utilized since she was small. Ironhide responded appropriately by pressing his large hand against hers. "I won't let anything happen to you, 'Belle."
He lifted her up so that she was able to lock eyes with his optics. She kissed his finger.
"I won't let anything to happen to you either."
IV
Starscream stared at his comrade, Barricade. He hadn't spoken in hours. They were currently on an aircraft carrier, slowly puttering towards America. Barricade never looked at him, his optics glued on the horizon. It made Starscream wonder what the fleshbags did to him.
"It's going to be a big day tomorrow." No response. "Two years was all I could buy." Still nothing. "We're so advanced, those scrap-piles won't know what hit them."
Silence ate away at the wires around Starscream's Spark. Barricade knew his leader was uneasy. However, it was nothing compared to what was tearing him apart. Icy fingers gripped his circuitry, slowly tearing wires. Snip. Snip.
(30 minutes earlier)
"Okay. You're all done." Dr. Wells moved back, allowing Barricade to hiss with relief as he quickly closed the camber and his chest plate. She took off her slightly fogged glasses, wiping them with her white lab coat. Her grey-green eyes locked with Barricade's optics. "Be careful, Barricade."
The Decepticon, still recovering from the agonizing pain and pleasure of her pokes and prods, glowed softly.
"What are you talking about?"
Her legs were trembling. She kept on trying to vanish in her clipboard.
"We... we need that Spark... you see... we won't need gasoline, electricity, or oil. Britain will be the first nation with a clean and completely green energy system." Her words rushed with excitement but was also filled with desperation. "Your Spark will be able to power Britain for five centuries." She stepped down the stairs slowly, not looking at him. "Make sure that his Spark is not weaker or dimmer than yours."
(Present)
Though Dr. Wells hadn't said why she was crying or why her knuckles were ivory white, Barricade understood the warning she had left him. If Ironhide's Spark, for some reason, was dim, Barricade's Spark would be the replacement. He would become a battery. A generator.
In the distance, Barricade could see the first sliver of land. America. The land of the free, brave, Autobots, and Annabelle Lennox.
V
Ironhide walked back to the house with Annabelle on his shoulder. Her legs dangled and she sighed as he stopped at her window.
"'Hide?"
"Yes?"
"When will I be able to get the Autobot insignia?" Her fingers brushed against the symbol that had been gracefully inscribed into his metal. "I want to be helpful..."
"Annabelle... I'm not sure if you truly understand—"
"I've never wanted anything as much as I wan to be with a force that does good."
She was easing herself down onto his palm, never wavering as he lifted her to the windowsill.
"I know, 'Belle."
Annabelle found that, in life, she rarely stopped to truly admire the beauty of an object or people. She was too busy dissecting and putting technology back together. But as she stared into Ironhide's blue optics she felt her heart glow with an emotion that was too beautiful and painful to name. He may be a cybernetic organism, but she believed that he loved and cared for her like a father. She believed it with all the particles in her very being.
"I..." It was at this moment that, for some reason, the entire world shone brightly. All the insecurities and doubts that Annabelle ever had were gone. Poof. Her body felt so light and her eyes began to water at how good everything was. "I just want to say that... I love you, Ironhide." She sat on the sill, still smiling as tears began to well behind her eyes. "I thought that... if I say it to my parents... then I would be a hypocrite if I never said it to you. I love you."
Her weapon specialist, her Guardian, her Friend touched her cheek with his finger. He opened his mouth, but English words did not come out.
The wounds were too breathtaking to be a human language. It was a symphony of beats, pulses, and a low, warm rumble that tickled Annabelle's spine. It was his language. The language from Cybertron.
Though Annabelle could not understand him, she knew that his words were full of promise and devotion. It was those warm thoughts that lulled her to sleep.
She didn't even check her clock-radio.
VI
Randy woke to his mother smoking a cigarette as she stared out the window. The junior rubbed his eyes as he yawned, scratching himself as he got out of bed.
"What is it, Ma?"
A long painted fingernail touched the glass as her other hand pulled out a dusty pair of binoculars. She held them to her eyes, slowly adjusting the focus.
"I think there's a boat out on the ocean." Before her son could sarcastically reply, 'What a surprise,' she continued. "It's definitely military."
She handed Randy the advanced bifocals and let him see for himself.
Randy squinted, adjusted the focus, and then squinted some more The morning fog was rolling in, but he did see it. It wasn't a boat, it was a ship. Randy felt his body leaning forward until the lenses touched the window pane. With his narrowed eyes, he saw a red, white, and blue flag standing proudly form its mast. It was blurry and covered by the fog, but it was enough to make Randy put down the binoculars, relaxing.
"It's just an American naval ship, mom. They're probably just running drills or something."
VII
"Have a good day at school, 'Belle."
"I will, mom."
Sarah smiled as she began to hand her daughter her things. Will crammed a piece of toast in his mouth, rushing to say goodbye to Annabelle. To avoid choking, he merely ruffled her long blonde hair locks warmly.
Ironhide waited outside, opening his door when he saw her emerge from the house adorned in a long, flowing brown skirt (it was her favorite), sandals, and a white tank-top. She tossed her bag in the backseat before she pulled herself up into the passengers seat.
"It's chilly this morning. And would you check out this wicked fog? Awesome."
Ironhide closed the door, rolling out of the driveway.
"It's just a mild cover. I'll have no problem navigating though it."
Annabelle grinned, patting his leather interior.
"Of course you won't, 'Hide."
VIII
Starscream turned to Barricade as they became increasingly closer to American soil.
"Don't make a move until I give the order."
Barricade said nothing, so his leader transformed, roaring away into the early morning sky. Starscream knew Barricade would get over whatever twisted his screws too tight. He'd have to. If they were going to apprehend Ironhide... all of their Spark must be into the fight.
Starscream swept across the sky, the fog covering him. He shot inland, following a highway. His red optics locked on the sleek black truck driving down the long strip of asphalt.
There was only one passenger, and it only took a few readings to unveil that it was Annabelle Lennox. Starscream flew low, high enough for cover from the fog and low enough to get a clear-blue shot at the Autobot.
He activated the virus needed to block all radio waves of communication. Now Ironhide would be unable to call for back up.
Locking on to target.
The weapon specialist would never be missed.
Locked on target.
We would just disappear into the fog. The only thing left behind would be the Lennox child. Dead or alive.
Fire.
IX
A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you like this chapter. I tried to make it emotional and suspenseful, but hey, I'm only 17. I will take all kinds of criticism and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. If not, tell me why. If you did, tell me why. I love reviews and I love this story so... woot!
-mia