My Big Sister the Spider
An AU-TF:A Fic, starring Sari, Blackarachina and the Decepticons
Summery: Sari's life is not what it could have been. Her father has died and the company has collapsed due to bad management, leaving Sari with nothing but a life on the streets. Can anything save Sari from a cold lonely death on the streets, and help her discover what she really is?
A/N: A small chapter, to tide you over while we work on the bigger one. But even if this might count as filler, we made sure it was high quality. Got lots of things for you to gnash your teeth on, and a few things that might answer your questions and also leave you with more. Enjoy, and plz R&R.
Chapter 11: Me, Myself, and I
Abandoned Factory, Dream World
Sari had decided.
This place was messed up and no way was she going to stay here any longer then she had too.
Problem was there was no way out.
The entire place looked like it was made out of circuit boards and black metal, and then there was the fact that there was no apparent law of gravity to keep her on the ground. That is, if there was any ground for her to stand on, not that she could see any. All that she could do was float along in the dark confines of the chamber, and stare at the distant walls.
Not that she was alone, but then again she was trying to pretend the other two didn't exist.
But then again the both of them staring at her were not making it easy, so she was trying to find something remarkable in the walls' design to focus on. But all that there was to focus on was the endless patterns of glowing circuits, and shiny black metal. Nothing else, and staring too long gave her headaches. So she really did not have any choice but to turn her head and look at the other two that floated along with her.
Now normally she wouldn't have minded some company, and in this place that was reinforced. But the fact was that the only other two people here creeped her out to the point that it was almost scary, and if it was not scary then it was just plain creepy to the point of being weird.
This was because the only people here - counting herself - were her, herself, and she.
To put it bluntly, having what looked to be mirror images of herself, only looking like teenagers and not eight-year olds, just float there in place and stare was what made it so creepy.
That and the fact that they looked so alike and yet different was really not helping. Sari could maybe understand being trapped in some weird room with two people that just happened to look exactly like her except older, but then again that would make things too easy wouldn't it? But noooo, they just had to make it even harder.
Both looked like what she figured she would most likely look like when she became a teen (if she lived that long), but beyond that they were completely different. Teen-Sari on the right was wearing a yellow-ish/orange dress-like thing, like the one she used to wear all the time before Powell sent her life into a tailspin, and had her red hair up into a small set of ponytails. But there were a few things different about it, which had not been on the original.
For one thing, the stockings or whatever they were that covered Teen-Sari's legs had not been a part of the original dress, nor had been the sleeves that extended all the way to being fingerless gloves. The glowing blue "crest" in the middle of the chest was pretty new to her as well, and the almost mechanical-looking seams where the joints in the arms and legs were almost gave her the look of some sort of fancy robot. But what really captured her attention were the teen's eyes...
They were the lightest blue she had ever seen, and they seemed to glow with an inner light. No, scratch that, they did glow with an inner light. In the semi-dark of the strange chamber they were a warm source of light.
The other Teen-Sari though, was different yet the same. Where the one on the right was dressed in warm, inviting colors and seemed to radiate friendliness, this one was dressed in just the opposite. A stark yet strangely fitting jumpsuit hugged the blossoming curves on this version of her older self, and was decked out in dark colors like deep purples, reds and blacks. Where the other Sari had pinned her hair up and into ponytails, this one had her hair short and loose, and it seemed to almost flow with even the slightest movement. While the other Sari had a blank yet friendly expression, this one had a gleaming smile on her lips.
But then Sari looked at her eyes.
The smile stopped long before it halfway reached the glowing, blood red eyes. Where she knew only her pupils and such were that strange bloody red, this version's eyes were completely red, and glowed with a fierce and almost evil inner light. Sari had to strain her eyes, just to make out this version's pupils against the red glow. Not that she stared into them long, before she retreated her gaze elsewhere from discomfort.
Both elder versions did not seem to mind the stares and looks, if anything they seemed to encourage them. They stood a bit straighter, and they seemed to float a bit closer so she could get to see them better. Deciding that she wanted some answers, she turned to look at them both at the same time, and pinned them both with a glare.
Even if she did not get a response, the action helped build her confidence to talk to them, and she turned her attention to the darker looking Sari on the left and asked the grinning teenager a question, even if it came out more like a demand.
"Who are you?"
The grin grew slightly, and the darkly dressed teen let out a chuckle that sent a chill down Sari's spine.
"I was wondering when you were going to ask that," she said in a voice that was eerily similar to Sari's; the only real difference was that there was an echoing effect that distorted the voice. "For a minute there I actually thought you were just going to stare at us like an idiot the whole time."
Sari glared at her older copy, while the Teen-Sari on the right crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head at the one on the left.
"You technically just insulted yourself, you know that right?" she asked. Like Left Teen-Sari, Right Teen-Sari spoke in a slightly echoing, distorted voice. However, while the other one's voice had a harsh edge to it, hers had more of a softer tone.
"Bite me, you pansy" Left snapped.
Sari cleared her throat, attempting to get the two copies' attention. When they both looked at her again, she irritably said, "You still haven't answered my question."
The two copies shared a look, before Right spoke up. "Well, to put it simply, we're you. To be more specific, we're different parts of your personality."
Sari blinked. "Huh?"
Right sighed and looked over at Left for some help; however, the red-eyed teen merely smirked and gave her a look that clearly said 'Oh no, you're on your own.'
Right sighed again and scratched her head in thought. Then she snapped her fingers as a thought hit her. "Let me put it this way," she said, "You know how in those old cartoons characters had those little angel and devil figures on their shoulders? Think of us as being like them."
Sari raised an eyebrow at this. "Let me see if I get this straight – you two are the little voices that tell me whether to do things or not. Is that about right?"
"Pretty much," Left said, "You know all those times you felt bad about doing things you had to in order to survive, like steal? Well, that was little Ms. Goody Two-Shoes over here." She gestured at Right, who glared at her. But before the blue-eyed teen could retort, Left continued.
"I, on the other hand, am the more practical side of your mind. I was the one who told you that working with Blackarachnia and Lor… and Megatron was the best way for you to get even with Powell."
Sari noticed the little slip of the tongue, but before she could ask whom else Left was about to mention, Right spoke up.
"Yeah, that was a real smart move," she said sarcastically, "These guys have the word 'Deception' in their name – how trustworthy are they? Besides, getting revenge on Powell isn't going to bring her father back, and it definitely isn't going to improve her life any."
"Oh, so she should go back to your plan then?" Left snapped, "Slowly rot to death on the streets, feeling guilty about getting her hands on enough food to live past the current day… I don't know, it seems a little counter-productive to me."
Before the argument could continue any further, Sari whistled sharply to once again get their attention – something that was getting really old, really fast. When both of the teenaged duplicates were looking at her again, she said, "Look, can we just get to the part where you two tell me why I'm here? And where exactly here is?"
Left and Right glared at each other some more, then Left said, "Well, to answer your second question first, this is your mind. Or at least, a representation of it that allows us to speak to each other."
Sari blinked and took another look around. "If this is my mind, why does it look like the inside of a computer?"
"That's not important right now," Right said a bit too quickly for Sari's liking, "What is important is why we've brought you here. The reason for that is that your life is nearing an important turning point. And when that moment comes, you'll have to make a choice – to either follow the path of self-destruction your negative impulses," she paused to gesture at Left, "have begun you upon, or to listen to reason and follow the destiny you were meant to have." At this last part she pointed to herself.
Sari just stared at the teen, a skeptical look on her face and pointed at Left. "Really now? So your saying that messed up me over there is going to get me killed if I listen to her," Sari then pointed at Right "and that if I listen to you I going to have to follow some weird destiny to who knows what?"
Right just nodded her head, while Left just looked disgusted for some reason. The reason was clear enough a moment later when Left made her opinion known with a snarl. "Don't bother listening to her kid, she's got this idea in her head that the so-called 'destiny' that you could have had if your dad had lived still applies to your current situation. She thinks that you should be the goody two-shoes she is and just lay down and take what Powell did with no complaints, and that everything will work out just like some happy-sappy fairy tale, shining knight and all that junk and that karma is going to come around and take care of Powell for us."
But before Left could continue, Right burst into the conversation with a snarl of her own and her blue eyes blazing. She was apparently not exactly pleased with Left's take on things. "Oh really?! In case you've forgotten, it still does! Sari is not meant to take the path that she is following now and it's going to lead her, us, and everyone else to an early grave at worst and a misery-filled life at best! And I have no intention to just let her suffer at Powell's hands, but there is little alternative!"
Left snarled back, her own eyes blazing in all their bloody ruby-red glory. It was becoming apparent to Sari that these two hated each other with a passion, and that while getting her in here to meet with them was a group effort, it was quickly deteriorating into a fight. "So she should just sit back and rot?! Well I say she keeps going like she is and takes the chance at Powell she is getting! If we do things your way then we are not going to live long enough to worry about any of that EVER happening! And while she's at it, she can also take some time with Fanzone and everyone else that put her here in the first place!"
At this point, Sari knew that she was not going to be able to get any more answers out of the pair. She was more worried about not getting caught in the crossfire when the two started fighting, and with the way she could see them eying each other that was not really going to take long to come about. But just as Left and Right lashed out at each other, the inner realm of her mind fell apart to be replaced by sunlight and a blurry bunch of glowing lights.
When she could see clearly, the lights turned out to be one set of optics that seemed to shift colors endlessly and two sets of red optics that belonged to a trio of bots.
She found it strange that there were so many optics staring down at her in worry, but her mind cleared soon enough for her to realize what was happening, just in time for her to hear the voices that went with the optics of the three bots. "Boss, youz ok? Youz was outs pretty hard dere, had us, uh, almost worried youz knows. Not dat we were, buts stillz...."
After this strangely accented voice finished, the other two joined in. One sounded exactly like the first and repeated the question in roughly the same words, but the last one was much different. This one was feminine and strong, unlike the other two that were definitely male.
"Stop pestering her you slag-heads, let her wake up, and go do something useful for a change. Like jump in a compactor or something, and free the rest from your stupidity before it has a chance to become contagious. How the two of you can be so utterly incompetent after being alive for such a short amount of time amazes me; one would think you actually were putting an effort into it. I still wish our last member did not have the talents he did, or else he might be here to help spare me from the two of you."
Sari was starting to get tired of all the bickering she was apparently being forced to endure, both in and out of her dreams. Not that she really remembered the dream; it was already starting to fade away into her memory. She was trying to hold on to it, but it was proving difficult and the arguing trio above her was not making it any easier. So she decided to shut them up, and jumped up suddenly and shouted at them.
"Will you all be quiet?! You're giving me a headache!"
The three bots immediately fell quiet and gave her apologetic looks. Sighing, Sari rubbed the side of her head to ward off the migraine that was forming behind her eyes.
"Look, just get me something to eat, okay? And some of that Aspirin I took from that pharmacy last week. My head is killing me."
The two nearly-identically mechs nodded and wandered off to the part of the factory where Sari stored her supplies. The femme stayed behind for a moment and gave her a concerned look.
"You sure you're alright?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sari muttered, waving her hand dismissively, "Now come on. We've got a big day ahead of us."
The femme nodded and walked off after the two mechs. Sari stayed where she was and fingered the key around her neck, while somewhere in the back of her mind a voice eerily similar to hers chuckled sinisterly.
"A big day indeed."
