CHAPTER 11
Alex jostled himself awake, his body feeling slightly uneasy that morning. As though a bit ancy to wake up for one reason or another. Calmly nestling into Sunstreaker's seats. The darkness of the night quickly caused him to realize it wasn't morning, it was still evening. Looking at the clock, which was linked up to Sunstreaker, and therefore still worked, it read eleven o'clock. He hadn't even slept two hours, he realized. He quickly realized how weak he felt, and tired, he felt really tired too. Alex knew what was wrong, but he didn't want to believe it, he was not getting sick, he told himself, he couldn't be. "Alex?" Sunstreaker questioned "What are you doing up kid? Your bedtime passed an hour ago." He noted.
"Sunstreaker, I don't feel so good." Alex moaned a bit, he rubbed his throat calmly, thankful he didn't have to puke "My throats burning and I'm..." He rested his head against the pillow, unsure of what else to say.
Sunstreaker was quick to open his subspace, retracting the medicines Sparkplug had given him. They'd predicted that with it being winter, there was a chance, however small, that Alex might get sick. Luckily, the medics at the village had started to create herbal medicines that apparently worked. His hologram appeared moments later, resting a hand upon his forehead, Alex's fever wasn't bad, but his forehead was pretty warm. "You've got a fever, but my internal systems... They're saying it's not too bad, luckily." He noted, taking a small capsule labeled 'Cold', he turned to Alex "Sparkplug's a lifesaver for giving me some of the herbal medicines. Or we'd be in deep slag right now." He muttered.
"You should be focusing on driving." Alex said with a quiet cough.
"Alexander Daniel Streaker." Sunstreaker stated, Alex tilted his head a bit "Yeah, I gave you a full name. Figured you were overdue for one." He began with a shrug to which Alex smirked "But more to the point, I AM the car Alex. I can drive and take care of you at the same time." He carefully moved a second blanket they had over his body "You're freezing too, should have told me. It's the dead of fragging winter." He carefully took the capsule and uncapped it "Two drops, he said it'll taste like crap, but it helps." He told Alex calmly as the boy opened his mouth.
The taste that entered Alex's mouth nearly made him vomit. But he managed to hold it in, for fear of what Sunstreaker would do to him if he had. Sunsteaker carefully capped the capsule, and stared down at Alex, who coughed lightly. He could only frown, concerned more then any other emotion. He'd never dealt with a sick human, and now he had to take care of his son, while on the road, for the first time in his long life, he wished that Ratchet was around. "Relax Alex, you need to at least TRY and relax your body. You're just gonna get worse otherwise." He noted, shifting the blankets further over him "That warm enough?" Alex nodded his head "Good. Now, does anything else hurt?" Sunstreaker questioned.
Carefully lowering the sleeve of Alex's shirt a moment, he checked the earlier wound. It appeared to have started healing with no signs of immediate infection. Sunstreaker sighed a bit, nodding, and leaning back. "Alright, so you clearly contracted it by some other means." Sunstreaker took a deep breath, and stroked his cheek calmly "Take it easy little man. You're gonna be fine, but you're going to need to take it easy." He explained, disappearing calmly "Go to sleep Alex, the medicine should help. But you need to get your rest." He added "If you need anything tell me, alright?" He questioned.
Alex nodded a bit, and forced his body to fall asleep. As difficult as it was, he finally managed to relax his body enough to where it allowed him to sleep. He could feel an odd sensation as he slept, a gently caress along his head. Whether he had imagined it or Sunstreaker really had been comforting him, he didn't know, but he none-the-less relaxed, and carefully snuggled into the seats, comfortable, calmed, and in his own way, comforted. Hopefully by the time he woke up, he'd feel much better, but he wasn't about to get his hopes up after all. Sunstreaker on the other hand, leaned back and sighed. It was not exactly going to be the easiest job in the world, but he'd hopefully get used to it.
"Tell me again why I want to be a parent." Sunstreaker whispered to himself with a small groan.
As usual, the answer never came, but Sunstreaker was glad it didn't. The fact of the matter was, he was now a Father, and for whatever bizarre reason, he didn't want that to change. Though at this point, he was wishing he hadn't come to love him as a son, but by some miracle of Primus, he had been doing a good job so far. Yet, he now had to deal with a sick kid, a sickkid of all things. It was as if Primus's odd sense of humor had apparently hit an all time level of annoying. Sighing, he continued on through the drive, feeling good to know he'd soon be home and no longer taking care of Alex on his own.
He just hoped he wouldn't screw up royally before that.
...
Jazz couldn't help but utter a sigh of complete relief when Jason finally woke up feeling better. He'd not minded taking care of Jason, even stopping by an old toy shop on a patrol when he couldn't get someone to cover his turn, and getting him a Get Well Soon Teddy Bear. Of course, he had had to clean it off as it wasn't in the best shape, but it hadn't been too bad, to him at least. Now that he was feeling better, it was easier to get bonding time in, something he knew they had to work on. "Now this, my little buddy, is a basketball." Jazz told Alex as he grinned from receptor to receptor, and spun the round orange ball on his finger "Which is what this sport is named for." He noted.
"Yeah Jazz, I got that." Jason chuckled a little at his adoptive Father's statement of the painfully obvious.
"I guess that was a little too obvious, eh?" Jazz chuckled as well, and shook his head "Come on though, kiddo, it'll be fun." He carefully passed the ball to Jason who managed to catch it "Alright, now, crouch, and flex yourself, then just... Shoot." He noted.
Jason stared at Jazz for a moment, then around them. They had found the hoop off base, at a barely standing court in the town it was located in. As such he wondered, quietly, what would happen if he missed the hoop and they lost the ball. Taking a deep breath, he slowly shot for the hoop, it flew for a few seconds before dropping. Bouncing for a moment before stopping. "Not bad, not bad, you almost had that one." Jazz noted as he kicked it back over to Jason "Just put a little more force into it." He explained.
Jason tried yet again, this time, Jazz watched with his mouth opened slightly as it went in with a quiet swish of the net. Jazz caught the ball before it landed on the ground, and stared at it, then at Jason. "Way to go little dude!" Jazz smiled brightly and tossed it back to Jason "Think you can do that again?" Jason gave an eager nod, the same result, and catch by Jazz "Primus, you're a natural kid. This is a full-size hoop!" He grinned proudly.
Jason's cheeks flushed as Jazz said this, feeling slightly embarrassed by the praise. Jazz simply grinned however, about to toss the ball back when he suddenly dropped it. "Jason, run!" He hollared.
Jason didn't know what was happening, not until the loud screech sounded. Jason turned his head quickly to see the yellow Decepticon Eagle known as Buzzsaw arming his guns, blasting at Jason's feet. It tripped Jason onto his back, to which the child screamed with fear, and crawled back quickly. It was him, the same Decepticon that had taken his brother, he was back. From the side, he also heard, and therefore saw the approaching form of a red version of the same bird, Laserbeak. Jazz's blaster was out rather quickly, taking aim, he managed to clip Buzzsaw in the side as he was poising to snatch Jason off the ground.
"Get away from my son you fragging pit-spawn!" Jazz snarled.
Buzzsaw attempted to straighten himself, but Jason had already gotten to his feet and bolted for Jazz at top speed. Lazerbeak however, was too fast for Jazz to even notice as he swooped down, claws outstretched. Jason let out a startled and terrified scream of horror as the claws dug into his shoulders, and lifted him right off of the ground. Jazz knew this hadn't been a random snatch job either, because only one would go after a human at a time. Someone had tipped neighboring Decepticons off about Jason, and he knew it. "LET HIM GO!" Jazz shouted, aiming and firing at Laserbeak.
But he had already taken to the air too far for any blasts to hit him. Leaving the clipped and downed Buzzsaw on the ground. Jazz stormed towards the yellow Decepticon in a blind furry. "WHO SENT YOU!" Jazz lifted him by the neck, knowing it had not been Soundwave, or he would have been present.
Buzzsaw didn't speak, only glared daggers at Jazz, who couldn't help but want to rip him in half. Jazz's thoughts quickly turned to the Decepticon base deeper in the city. Where they kept Autobot prisoners, where they'd once kept Oliver the one time he'd been abducted. He watched Laserbeak's movements carefully, and could tell that was exactly where the bird was headed. Whether Soundwave was temporarily stationed there, or he had been working for someone else, he didn't know or care. All he knew was that the Decepticons were going to get a few unwanted visitors on their doorstep.
...
Laserbeak tightened his grip on Jason considerably as the ten year old kicked and squirmed. Taking kids was easy, getting them to the base was the hard part. When they were capturing them for sale, also known as 'Collecting' it was easy, they usually netted them or had someone else do so. But this boy was a prisoner, and as such he had to simply carry him by his bare claws, and keep him in-line. He'd gone looking to take the human, Oliver, but someone as young as Jason had seemed to be the easier prey.
He descended upon the Decepticon base calmly, the hatch of what was known as the Nemesis carefully opened, and he slowly flew through it. He dropped Jason unceremoniously onto the ground as he did so. The boy got up, and made an attempt to run away, only to find his path blocked by the snarling form of Ravage. The blue form of Soundwave, who had been stationed at the Nemesis for a few days, stepped from the shadows. "Well done Lazerbeak." He said, his voice showing no emotion as per usual "Ravage, objective: Situate our prisoner." He ordered calmly.
Ravage let out a low growl that almost sounded like a chuckle, and nudged Jason roughly towards where the prisoners were kept. Jason could only wonder what the Decepticons wanted, if not to sell him, then what? His body trembled from fear, and tears filled his eyes. But it got him no sympathy, he was a prisoner to the Decepticons, and as a result, he was at their complete and utter mercy.
