Will had finished his shower on auto pilot. His body was clean and his face was calm, but his mind was bombarded with images of Warrior Star's agonized optics as she crawled to her off lining brother's side. Those strange optics, one blood red, one cobalt blue, were swarming with the emotions of the two separate femmes as they fought together, fought as one, for the first time since Shockwave had implanted the virus in Warrior Star's processor. Will had known, looking into her optics, that she, no…they knew that Shadowfang was off lining. And deep in their shared processor and shared spark, it had agonized them both. Two femmes, fighting as one, separate and alone but together…a ferocious killing machine. They fought as one, shed energon as one, and grieved as one. Their brother was gone, and they wept for him.
Shaking his head slightly to clear his mind, Will got dressed, walking outside and looking up at the sun where it sat high in the sky. Closing his eyes, he stood quietly, feeling the breeze playing gently through his hair as the sun warmed his face. The soft growl of a normally loud engine caught his attention, and Will opened his eyes to see a black GMC Topkick idling in the street. Instinctively, he knew that the mech's attention was focused on the golden brown Nissan Titan in his driveway, and he grumbled deep in his chest before approaching the black Topkick and speaking softly.
"What is it, Ironhide?" The Autobot stayed in his alternate mode but Will could sense that the mech was still zeroed in on Moonflight as he answered the human distractedly.
"I came to…apologize. For…everything that has happened these past weeks. You were right…you were right. About Warrior Star, her brothers. And even this mech…we were wrong about him. She knew. The bronze femme knew he was no threat to us…we just…couldn't find it in ourselves to leave the past in the past. I just wanted to tell you that I was sorry. Please forgive me, if you can…" With that, Ironhide speedily but quietly drove away, leaving a rather astounded Lennox staring after him as Moonflight stirred slightly before dropping deeper into recharge.
Before he could recover from his shock, a familiar gold Tacoma turned onto his street, pulling up to the curb in front of him before idling quietly.
"Lennox." Swiftpaw greeted as he studied the recharging Decepticon a mere fifteen feet away. Managing to gather his scattered thoughts, Will cleared his throat and nodded briskly to the mech.
"Swiftpaw. What brings you here?" This day is getting stranger by the second… He pondered silently as the mech sat in contemplative silence for several seconds before he replied.
"The armor has been stripped from Warrior Star's frame and returned to Ironhide for repair. Her injuries were worse than we thought. Ratchet and Jolt are working to restore proper energon flow to her processor and spark…they are concerned that she lost too much energon and that she may be…what's the word? Brain-dead. That's the human term for it." The mech spoke with a detached formality to his tone, but Will could hear the agony that the youngest of the four wolves was trying so desperately to hide.
"So…" Will managed to get out one word before his throat closed up, making him swallow painfully as Swiftpaw vented before picking up where the human had halted.
"So…the Warrior Star we know…may never wake up." Will saw the tremor go through the gold mech's frame, and he reached out without thinking. The moment his hand touched Swiftpaw's passenger side door, the tremors ceased, but Will could hear the muffled whimpers echoing from the mech's cab.
She may never wake up…and the last thing she remembered about me…was that I was screaming at her and telling her I never wanted to see her again. Oh God… Will leaned against Swiftpaw as his mind stuttered, numbly trying to process everything that had happened that day. Man and mech grieved in silence as around them, the world endlessly turned.
Some time had passed before Swiftpaw gave a little shake, rousing Will from his stupor before the mech spoke softly.
"I must go…Keystone needs me. I will be back when I have further news on Warrior Star." Once Will straightened and stepped away, the gold mech slowly rolled forward before proceeding down the street and around a corner, vanishing before the human could blink.
Will turned, jerking in surprise when he saw the angle of the sun in the sky. He couldn't help but wonder where the time had gone as he headed back inside, his stomach rudely reminding him that he needed sustenance as Moonflight recharged peacefully in the driveway. He was on autopilot as he dug through the cupboards, pulling out ingredients for a simple stir fry and rice and a loaf of bread. Working quickly but with unerring confidence, he had his stir fry and rice started and his bread in the oven before he went to the refrigerator to grab something to drink.
Will started to pull out a beer but decided against it, grabbing a sports drink instead as the smell of stir fry filled the kitchen, making his stomach growl even louder. Cracking the seal on the bottle, he took a drink, only realizing how thirsty he was when the liquid soothed his parched throat and dry mouth. As he lowered the bottle, a slight thump caught his attention, and he leaned over the kitchen counter to see what had made the sound.
Finding himself staring into a single dark red optic through his front window, Will jumped, letting out a yell of surprise as the mech staring at him jerked as well. The human fell back against the counter, his heart racing as his mind filled with horrifying images of the mech tearing through the roof to pluck him up and crush him, then a familiar voice made him freeze in surprise.
"Are you alright, Will Lennox?" Getting his hysteria under control, Will cautiously peeked over the counter again. Instantly he relaxed, having recognized the mech's voice and face, since said mech had pulled his head back far enough for Will to get a good look at him.
"Damn, Moonflight! You startled me! I thought you were still in recharge." The human turned his attention back to his food as the Predacon moved around the house so that he was looking in the kitchen window instead.
"I was, but the smell of whatever food you are preparing pulled me out of recharge. I do not know why. What are you cooking?" Moonflight's curiosity was hard to ignore, so Will answered over his shoulder as he put the finishing touches on the stir fry and pulled the bread from the oven.
"Just a simple stir fry and rice and bread. I would offer you some but you guys can't eat human food anyway. There should be some energon in a barrel in the garage though…I usually keep some for Ironhide. I doubt he'll mind if you take some." At the mention of energon, the Predacon perked up before disappearing around the house again.
Will filled up a plate and sat down at the table, eating quietly as the sound of Moonflight rummaging around echoed through the house. He could tell when the mech had found the energon because silence fell for a few seconds, then Moonflight reappeared at the kitchen window, settling down to enjoy his energon as human and Cybertronian both ate in silence.
"What news of Warrior Star? I smelled Swiftpaw's scent near the road…he paid a visit while I was recharging, didn't he?" The mech's voice broke the silence, and Will sat uneasily for a few seconds before sighing softly and replying.
"Her injuries are worse than the medics originally thought. There's a chance she won't wake up." It grew quiet again for several seconds, then Will went stiff with shock when a quiet chuckle rippled through the air before Moonflight replied.
"She'll wake up. If there is one thing I know about that femme, it's that she never gives up. Injuries or not, Warrior Star doesn't know how to just lay down and die. She'll wake up. Trust me, Lennox. She'll wake up."
A/N: I'm sure this seems like a rather strange chapter, but Will has to eat sometime. That and I felt like having Moonflight scare him for some reason...guess I'm just demented like that.
t0mbr1d: Thanks! I've been trying to figure out my 'Mists' scenes in my head...that one just seemed a fun way to go. Interesting idea for the femmes though, I will certainly consider it!
Miss MayD2: I got the creepy crawlies just writing it. And thanks for the critique, I'll certainly work on that in the more tense chapters. :)
Flamingfoxviper: Yeah, Shockwave's evil had far-reaching effects. They'll beat it, though. :)
mayalewis16: Thanks for the review! :)
Xepher06: I was wondering where you had been! Nice to see you back! Thanks for the reviews!
Cairi, I laughed at your review. Loudly. Pretty sure my neighbors hate me. Thanks for the review! *hugs*
sweettea1: I know, right? Makes you want to check your closet with a shotgun and a flashlight, doesn't it? And don't worry, I hate leaving readers to hang in suspense for too long. I'll try not to drag the search out for much longer. Thanks for the review!
And I think I picked up a troll...oh well. LOL
To my readers, reviewers, favoriters, and followers, thank you all so very much! Nearly 3,000 story views and over 600 visitors! You guys rock!
As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.
Until we meet again...
Kani