Wow...took me long enough to update again huh? SORRY! I have a brief explanation to my absence in my profile...but now that the boyfriend is gone for Army training for a couple months (sadness) I have a lot of spare time! College classes are only two days a week...until October, then they're three days a week. But...better than high school!
Chapter 25: Conversations
It was more than splendid to wake up pain-free and in the comfort of her love's arms. Lori sighed heavily as she snuggled closer to Megatron, trying to absorb his warmth. His optics came online easily, like a human opening its eyes, and he looked down at Lori and saw how she was attempting to move closer to him. Smiling tiredly, yet contently he loosened his embrace on her and allowed her to press herself tightly against him.
"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly, allowing his optics to go back offline as he held Lori tightly against him.
"Like normal," she answered just as softly, "Sorry I woke you up."
"It's alright," he said, "I need to get up soon anyway."
"Are we going to go back to the Autobots…I mean, we still have an alliance technically."
Megatron sighed heavily, "We're not going to have one forever."
"How long then?" Lori inquired, hoping that it would last long enough so that the Autobots and the Decepticons could work out their differences.
"A few more days if I feel like it. If not, well then, I'm sure you get the picture."
Lori sighed, that wasn't the answer she had wanted to hear. "What about…what about me then?"
"I am hoping that you decide to come with me, to make things less complicated. However, I am not going to force you to leave your friends and family behind."
Lori gasped suddenly and sat bolt upright on the recharge berth, breaking out of Megatron's embrace in the process. "My family!" she exclaimed as she climbed out of the berth and headed towards the door.
"Lori wait, where are you going?" Megatron asked as he quickly got up and followed after her.
The girl turned to him and said, "My family doesn't know where I've been! They're probably worried sick about me…I need to get home and let them know I'm okay."
"What are you going to tell them though? You can't tell them the truth."
Lori stopped in her tracks and looked at her love, "I can't keep lying to them…they're going to have to know what's really going on one of these days."
Megatron pursed his lips to the side, "Can't it wait a little longer? If I've noticed anything about you, Coby, and Bud it's that you're young and more accepting of impossibilities such as transformers being real. Your parents are going to be harder to convince and harder to keep quiet about this. There is absolutely no telling how they would react. And about what Rad did to you, that's going to hurt them as much as it hurt you…as much as it hurt me…" And he winced recalling the memory.
"The longer I wait the harder it's going to be for them. And there's no telling what is going to happen from now on with Rad still on the loose."
"Alright, but don't drag me into this."
"I can't believe you dragged me into this," Megatron remarked both stunned and annoyed at the same time.
Lori just smiled cleverly as she walked up to the door of her own house in her human form; Megatron was in his human form as well and standing right beside her. "I can get what I want sometimes," she stated as she knocked on the door, hoping her parents were home. She couldn't quite tell if they were or not.
The door swung open slowly as a black-haired male answered the door. He stood there for a moment trying to decide if what he was seeing was real or not. "Lori?!" he finally asked.
"Yeah papa, it's me."
"Honey, come here quick its Lori!" he shouted inside and then ran out and crushed his daughter in a hug, completely disregarding Megatron.
A blonde, slightly plump woman appeared in the doorway and as soon as she saw Lori, her eyes lit up and she joined in on the hug. "Oh Lori sweetie," she cooed, "Oh God where have you been?!"
"It's a long story…" Lori began, but was cut off when her father suddenly broke the embrace and looked to Megatron.
"Who are you?" he inquired skeptically as he studied the male carefully.
"Uh…" Megatron said, his mind drawing a blank as to what to say, "Just a passerby. I was out in the woods when I noticed your daughter. I had heard she had been missing and brought her back here. I think she was just out exploring the woods and she got lost."
Lori looked at him completely baffled, but Megatron was shocked when she said, "Yeah…but I know my way around now, sorry if I worried you."
"There's no need to apologize!" her mother stated, "Let's just get you inside so you can get some food and rest."
"I'll go let the authorities know that Lori is home safe and sound," her father said as he stepped back inside the house.
"Mama, can I talk to him alone?" Lori asked as she gestured to Megatron.
"Why of course sweetie, but don't be too long now," her mother replied before going back inside the house and closing the door.
Lori took one look at Megatron and he knew he was in trouble. "What was that about?" she asked as she turned to him, shoving her index finger into his chest.
"Calm down, it's not fair of you to unload the whole truth on them right now."
"And why not?" she snapped.
"Because they just got their daughter back. They're so happy that you're alright, we can't hurt them by saying anything yet."
Lori growled loudly and turned away from him, "We can't keep them happy forever Megatron!"
"But do you really want to hurt them?"
"Megatron I need to tell them," she exclaimed as she turned back to him, "That way I can stay with you…because it's too dangerous for me to stay here anymore."
Megatron sighed heavily and walked over to Lori and hugged her tightly, "Then we'll tell them, but maybe we should have Optimus with us, he always seems to know what to say."
"Maybe it would be easier to just bring them to the Autobot base…" Lori mused and then shook her head, "No, I don't want them going there and risk getting hurt by being involved."
"We'll talk this over with Optimus, come on, let's go. When we come back, we'll tell them the truth."
"I hate to runaway like this."
"We'll come back. Let's go, before they come back out here."
Lori sighed heavily and took Megatron's hand. He opened a dimension gate and together the two of them stepped inside and warped away.
Optimus felt a smile tug on the corners of his lips when the dimension gate opened and Lori and Megatron stepped through, both in their robot forms. He decided not to play parent because he knew Megatron wouldn't like that. Instead he said, "Welcome back."
Lori smiled and remarked, "Hey Optimus. I've got a question."
"Yes?"
"Can you help Megatron and me tell my parents the truth about what is going on?"
"Lori we had you, Coby, and Bud promise that you wouldn't ever tell anyone about our existence."
"I know, but I feel this is necessary…after all the circumstances have changed, and it's going to be a lot harder for me to go home."
Optimus sighed heavily, "Alright, but if we're going to tell your parents, we have to tell Bud and Coby's too since it's only fair if we do it that way."
"Okay…but can we do it soon, like sometime today?"
"I suppose, since there is nothing else going on at the moment. We do have to resume our search for the last two Cyber Planet keys soon."
Lori nodded, "Thank you Optimus, and I understand."
"It's not a problem Lori."
"Well," Megatron finally spoke up, "We'll be going now."
"Alright, stay out of trouble."
Megatron glanced at him before he escorted Lori out of the room. They headed down a hallway together, not going in any particular direction, at least that's what it seemed like to Lori until Starscream and Alexis appeared in front of them. She watched as a smile grew on Megatron's face and he said, "Starscream, may I have a word with you in private?"
"I don't like it when you say things like that, it only means something bad is coming," the former second in command responded warily.
That only made the Decepticon leader's grin broaden, "Ah trust me Starscream, this time you will."
Starscream glanced down at Alexis who was unsure, but he figured having a small discussion with his former leader couldn't hurt anything. He sighed heavily before saying, "Alright, but make this quick."
"I'll try not to keep you waiting," Megatron remarked quietly as he led Starscream around a corner and out of earshot of Alexis and Lori.
"Alright, what do you want?" Starscream asked as he and Megatron came to a stop.
"I'll cut to the chase," admitted the Decepticon leader, "I want you to rejoin my side."
Starscream glared, not amused. "Why?" he hissed, "After all the things that you have done to me…"
"I know you still have a lot of pride for the Decepticons," Megatron explained, "And things are different now…Rejoin my side and we will be able to conquer the universe together effectively. You and I don't like the Autobots, we can make this happen. Think about it, you and Alexis living the best lives you can possibly live together and ruling a portion of the universe. Your future sparklings will be safe and have the best opportunities."
"Why don't you just stay in the alliance with Optimus, then everyone can be happy. Once you break it, you're going to break Lori's spark."
"Starscream I am willing to share my command with you."
"You're not listening to me."
"Yes I am Starscream. Things are different now. I understand your feelings for Alexis and I believe that we can work together to—
"What's going to make things any different from the last time you kicked me out of the Decepticons twenty years ago? I came back and you just made me and expendable piece of trash."
"Starscream we worked together to get Lori and Alexis back from Rad…we can work together to finally get rid of him."
"And then what, turn our backs on the Autobots after all the help they've given us?"
"They've also hurt us a lot too Starscream."
"Just as much as you've hurt them. I can't believe you haven't changed at all. Has Lori had no influence on you?"
"What sort of influence is she supposed to have? Just because I've fallen in love doesn't mean I've lost my ambition like you have. I haven't forgotten my duty to the Decepticons, I haven't forgotten the Decepticon pride, anything…but you're so willingly to walk away after all we've been through."
"I've really come to hate you Megatron, the war has changed you so much. We used to be the best of friends, but now we're the worst of enemies."
"I still want the best for you Starscream!"
Starscream looked Megatron square in the optic and knew that his former leader was telling the truth. The former second in command had a sudden feeling that Megatron always had the best intentions for him, but Megatron had just grown incapable of showing it. The war had changed him after all; it had changed both of them drastically. And Starscream had a feeling that he had grown incapable of recognizing the friendship and respect that they still had.
"I…I need to think about it," Starscream finally spoke, "But I can't guarantee you I am going to give you the answer you want to hear."
Megatron shrugged, "It's your choice Starscream." And he walked away.
Starscream sighed heavily; he knew Alexis wasn't going to like this. He stayed put, wanting to think things through before he confronted Alexis again and she asked him what Megatron had said. He didn't want to lie to her. And before his love had a chance to find him, he turned and headed for the exit of the base. Luckily he didn't pass anyone on his way out and as soon as he was free from the base, he transformed and flew away. This was something he had to decide on his own…nobody else could help him. Not even the one he loved the most.
Alexis saw Megatron walk back, but Starscream wasn't with him. She tensed a little and the next look that crossed the elder femme's face wasn't as pleasant as it even caused the Decepticon leader to cringe a little. "What did you tell him?" Alexis demanded.
"Nothing that would interest you," Megatron replied in a bit of a snarky tone.
"All of his affairs concern me, that's what happens when you give your spark to another person," she remarked raising her voice.
The Decepticon leader crossed his arms, "Why don't you ask him?"
"Why can't you tell her?" Lori asked as she placed her hands on her hips and shot him a threatening glare.
"Why in the pit are you on her side?" Megatron inquired, slightly flabbergasted.
"Just answer her question…"
The Decepticon leader turned Lori so that her back was to him and placed his hands on her shoulders. She was just about to question his motives when he looked to Alexis and spoke, "You'll find out soon enough, now if you excuse us, we'll be going." And he pushed Lori forward and out of sight of Alexis.
The elder femme growled and headed down the hallway in search of Starscream, but when she got to the area where he and Megatron had been talking, she only discovered that he wasn't there. She glanced around and decided she could look around the base for him, but she had a feeling that she wasn't going to find him any time soon.
Lori shrugged Megatron's hands off her shoulders and stopped walking. Megatron walked on ahead a little bit before stopping and looking back at her. "What?" he asked.
"Why couldn't you tell her?"
"Because it's a private issue between me and Starscream…she doesn't have to know unless Starscream tells her, it's not my responsibility to for this matter."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Well why didn't you tell her that?"
"Because femmes are difficult to deal with."
Lori laughed, "Let's go see if Optimus is in the command center. Maybe we can go explain things to my parents now."
"…Joy."
Lori merely shook her head, took his hand, and started leading him towards the command center.
Optimus has just finished filing a report when Megatron and Lori waltzed back into the command center. He glanced at them before asking, "Megatron…don't you ever have paperwork to do?"
"Uh…" Megatron remarked caught off guard by the question, "Yeah…but I don't usually rush to do it…"
Lori blinked and then said, "Are you free right now Optimus?"
"I suppose. Did you want to tell your parents now?"
"As soon as possible," she answered.
"Okay," Optimus said as he turned away from them and looked inwards at the command center, "Coby, Bud!"
They responded promptly and Bud was the one to ask, "What's up Optimus?"
"Lori believes it's necessary for her parents to know what is going on with us…and I agree. However, I think it would only be fair if we told your parents too."
Coby and Bud exchanged wary glances before Coby finally sighed, "Mom and dad aren't going to like this."
"You're telling me," Bud remarked.
"Let's just get this over with," Lori stated as she resumed her human form.
Megatron lifted her up and set her on his shoulder and he headed out of the command center, Optimus, Coby, and Bud following him.
Starscream sighed heavily as he transformed and landed in a clearing not too far away from the Autobot base. He sat down on the grassy earth and looked up towards the heavens trying to figure things out. He couldn't decide if Megatron was lying or not…and he couldn't believe how history was repeating itself. It was just like twenty years ago.
Megatron probably just wanted to use him as an expendable puppet again. He always had in the past. More than anything, he still wanted to kill the Decepticon leader, but with Lori in the way it would be so much harder now…it was almost like he couldn't. And he certainly didn't want to see what happened to Alexis twenty years ago happen to Lori. The poor teenager had already been through enough.
And he really wanted to join the Decepticons again. Being a Decepticon was in Starscream's blood, he knew that, there was no denying that. He could rejoin with Megatron for a little while, until he figured out what he wanted to do. He could have Alexis come with him, but he doubted she would follow him…
"Didn't I learn from my past mistakes?"
Starscream sighed heavily. As tempting as the offer was, he knew he couldn't side with Megatron again and his reason not to was Alexis. He cared about her more than anything else and he knew he would have to talk to her about this. He growled. If only Megatron were more like Optimus. If only he respected his troops instead of beat them just as harshly as he did his Autobot enemies…
Megatron had only given him a sugarcoated lie…and Starscream didn't have a sweet tooth. He got up, opened a dimension gate, and left.
Alexis sighed heavily as she opened the door to her and Starscream's quarters and looked inside only to find the room empty. She listened as the door closed and she glumly took a few steps inside only to hear the door hiss open and closed behind her. Confused, she went to turn around and look to see who had come in, but stopped when familiar arms encircled her waist and a familiar chin rested against her neck.
"Miss me?" asked a soft, raspy voice.
Alexis turned in Starscream's arms and rested her head against his chest, "Where've you been?"
"I went for a little flight to calm down."
"What'd Megatron want?"
"He wanted me to rejoin his side."
Alexis looked up into his amethyst optics, "What?! Don't tell me you're going to."
He shook his head and smiled, "You and me both know what happened when I rejoined the Decepticons twenty years ago."
"Things were a lot different between you and me twenty years ago too. You didn't want to hurt me then…and you felt it was necessary," Alexis explained, "Do you want to go back?"
"Yes…but I want to be with you a lot more. I know you wouldn't follow me back to the Decepticons, I don't want you to."
"Just what would you accomplish by going back to Megatron?"
"Nothing, I'm better off sticking it out with the Autobots until the end of the war. It hasn't been that bad so far…besides you're pretty good at smoothing things over between me and them."
Alexis laughed, "It's not as easy as it looks."
"I can imagine."
"What happens after the war though?"
"You and I…Alexis I really want kids."
She smiled, "You do?"
He beamed, "Of course. Think about how it would terrorize Megatron. Little Starscream and Starscreamette's running around…think about how much fun it would be to have our own family."
Her grin broadened, "I really like that idea, except I'm not so sure about calling any daughter of mine Starscreamette."
"Well, we'd think of something else then," he purred as he started to lead her towards the recharge berth, "How about you and I take a nap, I'm kind of tired."
"Sounds like a plan to me," she responded as she laid down on the recharge berth and made room for her mate.
Starscream laid down next to her and took her in his arms where they both fell into a peaceful recharge.
"What is the meaning of this?" Coby and Bud's father bellowed as he stood on the front step of Lori's home, accompanied by her parents and his wife.
The kids exchanged nervous glances before Lori finally spoke, "We haven't been telling the truth of where we've been going."
Lori's father crossed his arms, "What do you mean young lady?"
"What she means is…" Coby spoke up nervously, "Is that we haven't been camping and we haven't been hanging out at each other's houses."
"Then where have you been?" asked Lori's mother.
"You're not going to believe us when we say this…but we found giant alien robots that we have been hanging out with," Bud exclaimed. He read the dumbfounded looks on the adults' faces and started to rant, "You've got to believe me when I say this! Coby and Lori are on my side too! They evacuated here to Earth since their planet was on the verge of being swallowed by a giant black hole and now they're on a mission to find the Cyber Planet keys and the Omega Lock and save the universe."
"Bud, you've been watching too much television," his mother spoke, mortified that her son would come up with such an explanation.
"No mom, Bud is telling the truth! They're called transformers, and they're from the planet Cybertron. We've been helping them out."
Lori nodded in defense of Coby and Bud. "You've got to believe us. I wasn't lost in the woods these last few days that I've been missing…I was with them," Lori explained, leaving out the part of her kidnapping.
"Hija, if you expect us to believe that old wives tale, then you've got another thing coming to you."
"Dad!" Lori shouted suddenly, "You study the stars yourself, you always believed that there may be aliens out there, and now when I am telling you I found some you won't believe me! You also taught me not to lie, and I'm not lying now."
"You kids have been doing drugs, haven't you?" Coby and Bud's father questioned.
"What? No dad, come on! We're telling the truth," Coby argued
"Mom, dad, you know that man I was with earlier today? He was one of them. I was going to tell you the truth right then and there, but he made up the story about me being lost in the woods because he didn't want to give away his real identity."
"Lori are you sure you didn't hit your head anywhere?" her mother asked.
"Yes mom," she growled in reply.
Optimus sighed heavily from within the forest where he and Megatron were hiding in their vehicle forms, Optimus as a fire engine, Megatron as a car. "This isn't going well," the Autobot leader mused, "I was hoping we wouldn't have to reveal ourselves, but it looks like we're going to have to."
"Do you have a holoform?" Megatron asked.
"Yes…why?"
"Maybe we could go out in our human forms and try to help them out. I don't think Lori really wants to reveal herself."
"I don't blame her. The less her parents know about what happened to her, the better."
"Come on, let's go."
"Alright, just don't get mad."
"I'll try not to," Megatron said as he assumed his human form and started towards Lori's house.
Optimus let another heavy sigh pass his lips before he projected his holoform and followed after the Decepticon leader.
"What seems to be the problem here?" a man asked as he approached the house.
The kids looked and smiles broke out on their faces. "Dad, dad, that's Optimus Prime!" Bud exclaimed as he pointed and tugged on his father's sleeve, "And the other guy, that's Megatron."
"They look human to me," Lori's dad huffed.
"The names are…awkward though," his wife commented.
"We met earlier," Megatron explained once he reached the group, "But I didn't properly introduce myself. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons."
"And I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."
"You must be the guys giving our children drugs," Coby and Bud's dad remarked.
"Mr. Hanson," Lori sighed, "We're not on drugs."
"Well then if you're not, I want proof that these two men are actually giant robots."
Megatron and Optimus exchanged glances, as if deciding who was going to give up their real identity first. Finally, at the same time Megatron said transform and Optimus deactivated his holoform. Within moments, two giant robots were standing before Lori, Coby, Bud, and their parents.
"Dios mio…" Lori's father exclaimed, "You…weren't lying…"
"No apologies needed," Bud stated smugly, "We had a feeling you guys wouldn't believe us, so we bought them along for proof."
"Well, I still want an explanation," Mr. Hanson remarked.
"We will provide you with an explanation, so long as you don't make any mention of our existence to anyone else," Optimus responded.
The parents agreed and Optimus nodded and continued, "Coby, Bud, and Lori mentioned earlier that we are from the planet Cybertron and a giant black hole has swallowed our home planet Cybertron. We are only here on Earth temporarily until we can stop the black hole from consuming the entire universe and rescue Cybertron."
"I don't see how this involves our kids."
"When we first landed here, we accidentally stumbled upon them and allowed them to help us out. They've been a great help so far and we would appreciate their continued efforts in our struggle. We only figured that it was fair to let you, as their parents know what was going on."
"Well, are they safe?"
"Yes, we protect them with our lives."
"However, there is one thing we should probably mention," Megatron suddenly spoke up, causing Optimus to glance at him warily.
"And what's that?"
"Lori will be coming with us when our stay on Earth is over."
"What?! Why?" demanded Ernesto, her father.
Lori sighed heavily, "I'm not sure how it happened…we're still trying to figure it out but somehow, I became one of them."
"What…do you mean?"
Lori assumed her robotic form. "This is what I mean," she answered quietly, "But please don't freak out; I'm still the same person…just a different body." And she quickly went back to her human form.
Her parents looked at her dumbfounded and Lori could tell that they were going to need some time to let this sink in. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson saw the distressed looks on Lori's parents' faces and Mrs. Hanson suggested, "Maybe we should go."
Mr. Hanson nodded and said, "Come home soon too boys."
"We will," Coby and Bud replied in unison and watched as their parents walked away.
Lori sighed heavily, not sure what else to say. She glanced at her parents who were silent, exchanging glances from her to Optimus and Megatron. Finally, she broke the uneasy silence and said, "I really hope that this doesn't change anything between us, but I need to go."
Her father simply nodded as her mother clutched onto him. The girl gave a small smile and promised she would visit before she walked over to Optimus and Megatron and they started walking away, Coby and Bud following.
What was done was done; there was no going back now, only forward.
Megatron transformed into his car mode and offered to give the kids a ride back to the base. They agreed and Coby and Bud climbed in the back while Lori rode shotgun. Optimus watched them drive away and sighed as he transformed into his fire engine form and went to follow after them. As he drove along though, something caught his optic in the forest. He stopped and activated his holoform and peered into the woods, but he didn't see anything. Still suspicious though, he got out and walked into the woods where he noticed some fresh footprints. Curious, he followed them until they stopped at a bush. He heard the bush rustle and he asked, "Who's there?"
The bush stopped rustling all of a sudden and Optimus took a cautious step towards it. And then suddenly a small voice stated, "Don't come any closer."
"I don't mean you any harm," Optimus remarked, taking a step closer.
"How do I know that?" the person asked.
"My name is Orion; I'm only here to help. It doesn't make sense that a young woman like you would be out in a forest by herself hiding at such a late hour."
And she slowly, hesitantly, and reluctantly emerged from within the bush, but she wouldn't approach Optimus. "I can't trust you," she whispered.
"Yes you can, what's your name?"
She hesitated, "Jessamine."
"Alright, how come you're out here?"
"I don't have to tell you why."
"No you don't, but I'm concerned. You can trust me Jessamine; I'm not going to hurt you."
She pursed her lips to the side, crossed her arms, and looked away from him for a moment or two before she sighed and said, "I ran away from home and I'm not going to let you take me back there."
"I won't take you back if you don't want to go."
"You're not going to seduce me, murder me, rape me or do anything like that are you?"
Optimus shook his head, "Do you need a place to stay?"
"Where would you take me?"
"A…military base. There are two medical officers on hand and a few females that would be happy to help you out if you don't feel comfortable staying around a bunch of men."
"I would appreciate that…it'd only be for a night though right?"
"As long as you need until you figure out what you're going to do next."
"How long is the ride?"
"A few minutes."
"Maybe we can talk more along the way."
"If you would like to…follow me." And Optimus started walking back towards his vehicle form, not sure how Jessamine would react to seeing the transformers, but he didn't want her to be stuck out in the forest with a bunch of wild animals. She would just end up a new edition to the team…it would be alright, or so he hoped.
Optimus opened the door to the fire engine for her and helped her inside before he got inside himself. Once he started driving, Jessamine started talking again. "You're probably wondering why I ran away, right?"
He nodded, "Yeah I'm a bit curious."
"It was because of issues back at home."
"What kind of issues?"
"They mostly revolved around an ex-boyfriend of mine."
"What was his name?"
"Bradley White."
Heehee I haven't forgotten my cliffies. I know you guys all missed those. XD Anyways, I apologize sincerely for such the long wait in the next update to this...I've just been through a lot the past few weeks. The SOB story is on my profile if you care to read it. Please review!