Chapter 13
It was amazing. Laurent himself was impressed if only a little intimidated. In front of him stood...himself. It was a holographic simulation Ironhide had created for Lilith to train against...and if all of the people who witnessed the creation hadn't in fact done so, not a single soul would have been able to tell the two apart.
When Lilith came back, she had squeaked out of sheer confusion, hiding behind Sam because of a reason none could fathom. "Hey," Sam coaxed, "it's alright; nothing to be afraid of."
"I'm not afraid," Lilith whispered, stepping out from behind Sam, "it...was a reflex." Slowly, she walked up to the two Laurents and began to circle them, studying them.
"It's a holographic simulation preprogrammed to be as lifelike as possible." Ironhide explained to her, "Ratchet sent me the composition and dimensions of Laurent's body as well as other data that will help you teach you to control your strength."
"Control my strength?" she questioned, poking each Laurent. Both Laurent watched her, looking both amused and slightly uncomfortable. One of them surely had to be the simulation, but whichever one was felt, from skin warmth to clothing texture, exactly like the other.
"Yes." Ironhide nodded, playing with his left cannon out of habit, "If you punch it in the nose hard enough, it will bleed. If you kick it between the legs it will stagger around for a few seconds and silently wheeze. If you break its neck it will die."
Lilith froze; her insides feeling cold, understanding his words. It would be abnormally easy for her to accidentally kill a human, and that thought urged her to ask Ironhide to change the hologram to someone else—someone she didn't know, but stayed silent, knowing this way she would learn to control her strength much better.
"Hmmm." Sam pondered to himself, and grinned, "Lilith, I'll give you a shiny quarter if you can tell me which one's the real Laurent."
She folded her arms and studied them some more. At last she picked one, walking up close to him on her tiptoes, staring into his face, watching his reaction. His eyes darted around before landing for a split second on her lips—his face began to turn a shade of pink. She moved closer to him...then stepped back and walked over to the other one and did the exact same thing. She received the exact same response, before pointing at the first one she had inspected.
"That one is Laurent. The detail is extraordinary though." She turned to Sam, "Give me shiny?"
Sam tossed her a quarter, "How'd you know?"
She inspected the quarter in the sun, loving how bright and hypnotic it was to her. She smiled happily as she tucked it away in her pocket, "I smelled them. Laurent's scent is unique and...him. It smells good. Ironhide's scent is...fainter, more different than anything this planet has to offer, I think, but...with just a hint of Earth in it."
"Let's get started, kid." Ironhide suggested. Lilith nodded and stood, ready to learn.
Three days passed. At "Base Camp", as most of them began to refer to it, the house was coming along so nicely Laurent, and Lilith (when she wasn't in a lesson) had taken over completely. All that was left was the interior, so even if they requested Autobot help, there was little they could do—besides, they had their own construction to work on: the half-demolished barn that sat on the property. Not exactly "roomy" for the four Autobots...but it would provide some shelter.
Though things seemed to be normal, everyone was painfully aware of the tension in the air. There was still no word from Optimus, and Sam and Bumblebee weren't having much luck either. Sam wasn't taking it very well; he wanted his family back, he wanted to at least know they were really, and truly safe and not dead or dying somewhere and he wanted to hear it from them, preferably in person.
"Sam," Bumblebee said, interrupting one of the many imaginative, gruesome scenarios his charge had come up with, "calm down. Take deep breaths. I know you're worried but...you know very well their brains aren't in jars and I doubt their bodies have been enhanced with bionic prototype parts modeled after Megatron, and in no way are they going to kidnap you in your sleep and force you to watch them as they remove your brain. We will continue our search, as we've been doing, okay?"
Sam tried to slow his breathing, as his friend ordered, and after a moment succeeded. He thought it'd be easier to let go of his anxiety for the safety of his loved ones as the days passed, but it'd be the opposite. As the days went his stress went up and his sleep patterns became irregular, and thus his moods varied between pessimistic and frantic.
"Okay. Let's try going back to my house—see? It's dark. Maybe we can find clues or—" He was cut off when a police siren chirped on from behind them. Instinctively, and after many nightmares of the Decepticon police car, Sam swiveled around in his seat, looking out. There was no satanic Mustang—only a regular police car.
Sam sighed in irritation and relief as he clasped his face in his hands, eyes closed. "'Bee, you're not speeding are you?"
"No...not yet."
Sam moaned, "What's that mean?"
"I'm scanning their radio frequency. They've identified me as the car that helped Lilith escape a week ago."
Sam mentally slapped himself as the Camaro slowed and pulled over to the side of the road. 'I can't believe I forgot to mention that!' He winced and began to explain, "Yeah, umm...you know that girl we're hoping is going to find us?"
"Yes...?" came Bumblebee's reply. The police woman in the car behind them stepped out of her cruiser, hand resting lightly on her firearm.
"Well...she kind of," he cleared his throat, shifting in his seat, "mentioned your plate was recorded that day."
There was a lengthy silence. Sam shifted. The woman got closer to the car.
Then it felt as if someone had pushed Sam back against the seat. The car's tires spun, leaving long, black marks on the pavement as they streaked across the street. The silence inside was not comforting.
"'Bee...I—"
"It's okay." Bumblebee's voice sounded a little on the tense side, but not in the slightest bit mad. "You had a lot on your mind; I understand. Though, this does prove to be problematic." By the end of the sentence Bumblebee's voice had taken almost a playful tone, not at all bothered by Sam's slipup.
Sam remained silent and prepared himself for Bumblebee's usual flashy getaway schemes. He couldn't help but wonder what they would do to get away? Crash through some glass again? The stack of hay was out of the question, given the environment, but surely they could find something else insane to do. How about some high speed jumps?—Dukes of Hazard style!
He filed the thought away in his brain, saved for a more recreational time, when Miles and Mikaela could be there to enjoy it with him.
It took only a few minutes before more cars joined in on the chase, and, much to Sam's surprise, Bumblebee didn't take them through any solid objects and only led the chase on for no more than five or six minutes before sharply turning into a park. Abruptly, in the middle of the park, they came to a stop and the driver's side door popped open. Sam got out, looking around.
They park they were in was noted for the artistic pieces set up around the tree-covered landscape. They had stopped between a huge model of the solar system made up of various metal objects and a gargantuan dragon constructed of the same metal parts. In the dark, it was spooky, like a scene straight from a horror movie—the hair on Sam's arms was prickling up. So engrossed in their surroundings Sam hadn't even noticed the transformation his guardian had gone through and barely contained a scream when large hands gently picked Sam up from behind.
Frantically Sam looked at Bumblebee hissing, "What are you doing?"
"Shh. Get comfortable." Came the quick reply as the 'bot carefully placed the boy high up in a pine tree, before stepping away. After a second, Bumblebee struck a pose, his hands on his hips, feet spread, and chest out—a proud stance. Sam caught on when Bumblebee's bright optics dimmed; his battle mask dropped down in front of his face, and at his feet appeared a plaque that mimicked the ones in front of the solar system and the dragon.
'This brings 'hiding in plain sight' a new meaning...' Sam thought as he tucked himself close to the tree, trying to remain still and concealed.
Flashing lights were circling around the park's perimeter at regular intervals, waiting for the renegade Camaro to reveal itself, while dozens others combed the streets. The lone car that had ventured inside the park drove by much too slowly for Sam's taste, the car's spotlight illuminating the shadows beneath his feet. For a long time the bright light lingered on Bumblebee, but not once did the police car change speed.
Soon, the car passed them by completely, moving on to search the rest of the park. Sam gave a great sigh before settling down on the branch beneath his feet. "Was that considered 'clever' or 'incredibly reckless'?"
'Bee was silent for a moment then moved, his head turning towards Sam ever so slightly, "I'd consider it 'incredibly clever'. We sit tight until they're certain we're not in here."
Sam nodded, and Bumblebee returned to the pose he had chosen. He took this opportunity to contact the others and inform them of what had happened and his current status. The new orders were: return back to regroup with the others as soon as possible.
"Possible" didn't happen until nearly two hours later, once the lights had disappeared. There were a few police officers stationed around the park, but for the most part they had decided the suspected Camaro had somehow escaped. Bumblebee deemed it safe enough. Optics brightened once more, the plaque fizzled away into nothingness and his battle mask returned to the crown of his head. When he turned to retrieve Sam he found the boy sleeping. His initial reaction had been, at first, surprise, but he soon remembered his ward had been abnormally low on sleep—it really wasn't a surprise he'd fallen asleep in the tree.
"Sam." Bumblebee kept the volume of his voice low. He hated waking the human, but found it necessary. Sam merely grumbled and turned his head, to get comfortable. With the skill one could not imagine from a robot warrior, he reached up with both arms and gently removed the figure from the tree and held him in both hands. "Sam, wake up, please."
At last Sam's eyes fluttered open, before he sat up, rubbing his face, "I was resting my eyes." He stammered, his words slurring together.
The Autobot smiled softly and set him on the grass, "Whatever you say, Sam. But...I did not know your eyes had the ability to snore so...loudly."
Sam gave a mild, sleepy glare, as the mech reverted into his Camaro form, "Was sooo not snoring."
"Was so," the Camaro insisted as the door opened, "I thought they were going to hear you from the perimeter."
Sam shook his head, but smiled softly as he climbed into the back, where he laid, his eyes already beginning to close on their own accord. "'Ey...'Bee...thank you."
The Camaro took off slowly across the grass, "For what?"
Sam thought, his eyes closed—he'd already given up hope of opening them without a nap. He replied to the 'bot in his mind, and only when they went off the curb consequentially causing him to open his eyes for a split second did he realize he needed to answer him verbally.
"...Everythin'. Miles 'n' Mikaela's gone, 'n' so are my parents...you're keepin' me together, good buddy." In seconds, Sam was fast asleep. Bumblebee wished he was in his bipedal form—and that Sam had remained awake long enough to receive his smile.
They were more than just charge and guardian: they were friends...and sometimes it was nice to be reminded of that, though the bond they shared went past words. In that moment, however, Bumblebee thought of a few that expressed more than anything he could have come up without Sam.
Whispered words glided through the cab.
"I won't leave you."
Lovins go out to: Razorgaze, and hermonine
Omg I love that scene. So cute. Next chapter will be Laurent-centric...and end in a cliffy. Just thought I'd prepare you. XP! Wow, so I'm not feeling that chatty today so we get away with a short A/N! Yay!
hermonine – Thank you very much. n.n
Razorgaze – I loved chapter two n.n! So freakin adorable. And I'm curious--were you right with how Laurent would be able to help? (It was kind of predictable...XD)