A/N: Well, this one certainly took a long time to get out, huh? I hope at least some of you are still with me on this one. I apologize for taking so stinkin' long on it. I really have no excuse to give this time. I deeply apologize for the delay and I pray I can get back to my old writing pace or at least write some everyday again soon.
I also apologize for sucking at responding to reviews lately. I will try to keep better track of them.
Anyways, next on my agenda is YWOB and after that I intend to work on my novel until I get the first chapter done no matter how long it takes. It needs to be in my schedule just like the rest of my stories. I need to put a priority on it or it will never get done and that wouldn't be good. It's what I want to do and God has been telling me to write a novel for years. Now I have a plot and several characters and species mapped out. I need to work on it as well.
This means that it will be quite some time until I get another update for this story, but I will do my best to make that time as short as possible. I apologize ahead of time for the wait that is ahead of you for this particular story.
Anyways, enjoy this chapter. It's not quite as long as others, for that I apologize as well. I hope you enjoy it anyways.
Chapter 37: Testing
I poked at the device from the box curiously.
"I don't think that's gonna help you figure out what it is," Moonracer said, sounding amused as she watched me from her perch on the table behind me. We had just finished fixing a minor injury that I knew how to fix of hers.
"No, but I'm not allowed to do anything with it until Ratchet gets back," I said, sighing as I stood back. I crossed my arms and tilted my helm at the device. Next to it sat the data chip that had also been in the box.
It had been a week since we had been led to the device and so far we hadn't gotten any answers.
The data chip was heavily encrypted—even Jazz was thus far unable to break through the firewalls. There were layers upon layers of encryption and countermeasures to attacks on all of them. So far Jazz was able to get through two layers before being booted out of the system. This would be good progress if he could pick up where he left off when he tried again—the problem was that he couldn't.
Whenever the systems booted Jazz out, it immediately rebuilt the firewalls that had been successfully hacked through. It was like a video game that didn't have a save point—when you died you had to start completely over.
It was impossible to know what kind of information was on the chip. With it being so heavily encrypted, however, a few of the bots believed it could be information that would turn the tide of the war. Whether or not it was such a game changer would be determined when we managed to get through all the firewalls.
I was sure it would help though. The bot that had left it for me didn't seem to be a bad bot. In fact, they had to have some sort of bond with me in order to be able to lead me as they had—and to speak those words to me in the way they had. I had a theory that it might've been my femme creator, but there was no way to be certain yet.
The device from the box was another story in that we hadn't even tried to figure it out yet. Ratchet had so far been focused on the data chip and he didn't want me touching it without him supervising. Rather he didn't want me touching it at all until we knew what it did.
I frowned, doorwings twitching slightly as I looked at the device. I picked the device up and turned it over in my servos, inspecting it.
"Who do you think it was that led you to them?" Moonracer asked, walking up next to me.
"Whoever it was, I share a bond with them," I said. "Which means they have to be related somehow to either me or Vector."
"Do you think it could've been your femme creator?" Moonracer asked.
I paused, frowning. "That's a theory, but I have no way to be sure," I said. "Maybe I have a sibling Vector has yet to tell me about. Or maybe it's my femme creator's creator. Or an aunt. Or uncle. I won't know until they reveal themselves." My doorwings drooped. "If they do."
"I'm sure they will," Moonracer said, placing a servo on my shoulder. "I'm sure they had good reason not to reveal themselves to you at that time."
"Yeah," I said, looking at the device once more before putting it down.
Just as I placed the device back on the table the door to the medbay opened. I looked up to find Ratchet entering with Optimus following behind.
"Good morning mechs!" I said, smiling as Ratchet walked over.
My courted leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Morning," he said. "You weren't playing with that device, were you?" He eyed the device I had been holding.
"No, not at all," I said, grinning innocently.
Ratchet grunted before going over to join Optimus, who had gone over to the computer we were using to analyze the data chip. They started talking about what methods had been used so far and the results that had been achieved only to be thwarted. Optimus hadn't had a servo in figuring it out yet. He had been busy with missions and meetings ever since the incident where we came across it.
"Well, I'm going to go talk to Flare-up; she wants my advice on something," Moonracer told me as she headed toward the door. "I'll talk to you later, Shade'."
"Alright, Moon'," I answered, waving.
I watched Moonracer leave and then glanced back over at the two talking mechs. I frowned, feeling disappointed because Ratchet had said that we'd work on the device when he got back. It was clear he was too involved with the datachip, however, and he didn't tell me I couldn't figure it out myself once he was back.
I picked up the device and hummed thoughtfully as I looked at it. Sighing, I decided I would tell Ratchet my plans before actually going through with them.
Opening a com channel between him and myself so that I wouldn't disturb Optimus's work, I asked, "Would you mind if I found someone to help me figure out this device?"
"As long as you're careful," Ratchet replied. "Moonracer would probably help you. She's spent enough time with Wheeljack to know her way around odd devices."
"Ok, thanks," I replied through the comm. "I'll keep you posted. Love you, Ratch'."
"Love you too, Shade'," Ratchet replied.
Once that was settled, I picked up the device and headed out of medbay. As I walked, I studied the device. It was a rectangular cube shape that had a few buttons on it. Barely visible grooves along each surface made me think of something being folded into this shape, but gave no indication what it was when it was unfolded. The sides I dubbed as the top and bottom both had round holes covered with shutters similar to those I have seen on a camera's lens. One of the longer sides had two buttons and the other longer side had three buttons—one of which was labeled as self-destruct—and one of the shorter sides had two right next to each other along with a third underneath them. The other shorter side only had one button.
I imagined that one of the buttons would unfold the device, but I had to wonder what the rest of the buttons did. The self-destruct button was self-explanatory, but the rest had no labels to speak of.
"Hey, Shade'!" Sideswipe's voice calling out to me interrupted my contemplation of just pressing a button and seeing what happened. I had wondered quite a ways from medbay.
"Hey, 'Swipe!" I said, waving at the red mech. His brother was walking not too far behind. "Hey, Sunny!"
"Don't call me that," Sunstreaker growled irritably.
"But you have such a sunny disposition!" I said, grinning.
Sunstreaker glowered at me, proving the opposite was true.
I grinned as Sideswipe laughed. And laughed...and laughed.
"Ok, Sides' it wasn't that funny," I said, shaking my helm at the red twin.
"S-sorry! I've just never heard you mess with Sunny that much!" Sideswipe said, still laughing.
Sunstreaker growled and whacked his brother on the helm. "That's cause she knows not to push me," he said. "Though she seems to not care today."
"I'm in a semi-defiant mood," I said in answer to the unasked question. I held up the device. "Ratchet made me promise not to figure this out by myself, but I'm really tempted to just press a button whether someone is with me or not and see what happens."
"We can help you there!" Sideswipe said and held out a servo for the device.
I handed it over to him. "There's several buttons on there," I told him. "Just don't press the one labeled self-destruct—it's pretty clear what that does."
"Ok, we'll start with the one next to it then," Sideswipe said and pressed the button.
A blue beam shot from the top of the device while an orange one simultaneously shot from the bottom. The orange hit the ground beneath Sideswipe's pedes first, creating a round, oval shaped orange glowing thing beneath Sideswipe.
"Wha-?" Sideswipe started to ask, but didn't get to finish.
Just as Sideswipe opened his mouth, the blue beam hit the ceiling, creating an identical blue glowing oval on the ceiling directly above Sideswipe. Once that oval was there both seemed to open up and Sideswipe fell through the floor...and out of the ceiling. In an endless loop.
"What—is—hap—penn—ing—to—me?!" Sideswipe asked each time he exited the blue portal on the ceiling.
"It's like that game Portal," Sunstreaker said as we watched his brother move in an endless loop.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said. "Though this is quite entertaining."
"You are easily amused," Sunstreaker stated.
"Some—bo—dy—st—op—me!" Sideswipe called.
Sunstreaker reached out a servo and pulled Sideswipe away from his fall into the orange portal. Sideswipe's built up momentum sent both twins crashing to the floor and the device rolled about half to the end of the hallway. The sound from the crash was loud enough that I was sure anybot in their quarters at the moment would've heard it.
"What's going on out here?" Chromia asked as she poked her helm out of her and Ironhide's quarters.
"You guys are making a lot of ruckus," Ironhide said as he walked out of their quarters to look around. He saw the portals on the ground and ceiling and raised an optic ridge. "What's this?"
"It's magic!" Sideswipe declared, putting a hand in the air, digits spread.
"It's a portal, watch," I said, pulling a wrench from my subspace and dropping it in the orange portal so that it came out the blue. It began the same endless cycle Sideswipe had been stuck in. "Sides' had gotten stuck in it when we discovered what one of the buttons did on the device we found. The sound was he and Sunstreaker crashing to the ground when Sunny pulled him out of the endless loop of portaling."
Chromia looked curious and went over to fetch the device that had fallen from Sideswipe's servo. As she did that, I walked around the portal to join Ironhide in helping the twins off the ground.
"Kinda reminds me of one of Wheeljack's inventions," Ironhide said, looking at the portals and the wrench going through an endless loop.
"That would explain the self-destruct button," Chromia said, pointing the button we had already seen out.
"Really? I wonder why 'Jackie never let us test it out," Sideswipe said.
"Because you're an idiot," Sunstreaker told his brother.
"But he always has us test his inventions," Sideswipe whined.
"Maybe you weren't around when he invented it," I suggested, accepting the device from Chromia. "I wonder if pressing it again will dissipate the portals or just spout new ones."
"Point it toward the ceiling!" Sideswipe said.
I looked at him. "No," I said flatly.
"But it was fun!" he said.
"Still no," I said and turned the device so that it would have the portals in the walls if it spat new portals out.
When I pressed the button, it didn't exactly retract the portals, more like it moved them. They disappeared from where they had been and appeared on the walls on either side of me. The wrench had just been going through the orange portal when I had pressed the button and its built up momentum sent it flying right into my left shoulder.
I looked at the wrench when it fell to the ground. "I have been hit by my own wrench," I said. "It's a traitor wrench."
Sideswipe burst into laughter, getting my joke easily. Sunstreaker just rolled his optics as Ironhide and Chromia shared slightly confused looks.
"I played Halo once with the twins and blew myself up...the game said I was betrayed," I explained for the two older bots.
"Ah," Ironhide said, amusement entering his optics.
Chromia chuckled and shook her helm. "Well, that moved the portals to where no one will accidentally step into them, but not how to retract the portals," she said.
"We haven't tried this button yet," I said, pressing a button on the opposite side of the device.
There was a pause after I pressed the button. After a few moments many different colored lights flashed from the device and moved along the hallway accompanied by disco-like music.
"Disco party!" Sideswipe exclaimed and started dancing.
I couldn't help but laugh. "Of all the useless things to put in a device," I laughed, doorwings fluttering with my immense amusement.
"Come on guys! It's a disco party! Dance!" Sideswipe said before pulling me over and dancing with my servos.
I shrugged and started dancing with him. It wasn't really dancing with him, cause he soon let go of my servos once he had got me dancing. I saw Chromia coax Ironhide into dancing as well and even Sunstreaker started.
"What is going on here?" Prowl's voice made us all freeze.
"Disco party?" I offered. I fumbled with the device. "What button turns it off…." I trailed off as the portals completely disappeared when I pressed one of the buttons we hadn't tried yet. "Well there's that button. This one?" I pressed the button next to the disco party button and the lights went off and the music stopped.
As soon as I got the disco party stopped, I looked at Prowl, who didn't look too happy. "We were figuring out what this does," I explained. "There's a disco party button…" I pointed to the button.
Prowl sighed heavily and he looked like he was stressed. "And you're trying to figure it out in the hallway of the quarters section?" he asked.
My doorwings drooped as I realized it wasn't the greatest place. "I apologize, I should've found a different spot," I said.
"It's my fault, Prowl," Sideswipe said, stepping up. "We came across Shade' heading from medbay and I decided to help her out with the device. I started pressing buttons first and then we got caught up in it."
"I still should've moved us to a different place, especially after we disturbed Ironhide and Chromia," I said, indicating the two older bots.
"We let our curiosity get in the way of our duty," Chromia said. "It's as much our fault as theirs. We should've shooed them along."
Prowl sighed and rubbed the crest on his forehead as if rubbing away a helmache. "I don't care who's fault it is," he said. "Either you move this to the Safe or I will put you all in the brig."
Just looking at Prowl, I could tell he had had a stressful day. Normally I would ask someone who had a stressful day if they wanted a hug, but Prowl didn't like hugs. He needed peace, quiet and time alone when he was stressed. He needed us to toy with the device in the place meant for it instead of in the middle of a hallway.
"Of course, Prowl," I said.
Without waiting to see if the others were following, I headed down the hallway toward the elevator. I was joined by the twins, but Ironhide and Chromia must've gone to do something else. We walked in silence to the elevator, none of us wanting to disturb anyone who might be busy.
"Prowl looked stressed," I said, breaking the silence once we were in the elevator.
"It's been a long week," Sideswipe said.
"Liaisons have been coming and going a lot," Sunstreaker grumbled.
"But Agent Fowler's not stress-inducing," I said, frowning. The man made me feel reassured that he was our liaison.
"Other liaisons," Sunstreaker clarified.
"We have other liaisons?" I asked.
"It's a fairly new thing," Sideswipe said. "The government has decided that we need to vouch for ourselves more. I think they want to work their way into making our presence known to the public."
"Oh," I said, frowning in thought. "What other liaisons do we have?"
"Well, there's one for the budget," Sideswipe said holding up a digit. "There's also one that's been hounding us all week for use of our weapons to study."
Sunstreaker glowered. "As if Optimus would go for that," he growled.
"There's also one for our supplies that we require for repairs of the base and our persons," Sideswipe said. "And there's another that's negotiating the possibility of having a sociologist or something like that to come and learn about us."
"I'm assuming that's the one that makes you think they want to make us public knowledge," I said, not entirely sure if the idea was a good one.
Sideswipe nodded. "It could go many different ways," he said.
"On top of the new liaisons, we've been working with Agent Fowler to locate MECH," Sunstreaker said. "They caused a lot of uproar last week. Prowl's had a full schedule everyday, just like the Prime." He paused. "The other Prime."
I sighed. "The Prime," I said. "I'm not Prime material."
"That's part of your problem," Sideswipe said. "You don't believe in yourself. You don't believe that you are a Prime, so you don't act like you are one. But you are a Prime, Shade'. Vector Prime called you one. You don't argue with one of the Thirteen. Him calling Optimus a Prime was what made him truly believe he was Prime."
I frowned, looking at the device. "So what if he called me a Prime?" I asked. "I haven't done anything deserving of the title. I feel like I just inherited the title. It's supposed to be earned."
"So then earn it," Sunstreaker said, looking down at me seriously. "You are a Prime and if you feel you need to earn it then do so."
I frowned and then nodded. "Would you two be willing to help me learn how to fight better?" I asked. "If I'm a Prime I should be more useful."
"Of course!" Sideswipe said, grinning. He placed an arm around my shoulders. "You'll be learning from the best!"
"Thanks, you guys are the best," I said and pulled both of them into a hug.
"Gah! My paint!" Sunstreaker yelped.
"Stop whining you big baby, I didn't harm your paint," I said, letting them go.
Sunstreaker huffed.
I smiled and made a mental note to ask Optimus if he could teach me a thing or two about being a Prime when he has the time. I should've done so a long time ago.
We made our way the rest of the way to the Safe to find it occupied with Jazz. The saboteur was running the obstacle course on the other side of the room so we didn't disturb him. We huddled around the device on the side where weapons were tested.
"There are four buttons left unpushed," I said. "Not counting the self-destruct."
"Should we press them all at once?" Sideswipe asked.
Sunstreaker promptly slapped his brother in the back of the head. "No, you idiot," he said. "That would probably overload the circuits."
"I'll try these three first," I said, pressing one of the buttons on the short side with three buttons.
There was a pause after I pressed it during which nothing happened.
"Nothing happened," Sideswipe said.
"Thank you captain obvious," Sunstreaker said.
"What about this one?" Sideswipe asked and pressed the button next to it.
Another pause for a few moments as we waited.
"Still nothing," I said.
"Gimme that," Sunstreaker said grumpily and pressed the third and final button on that side.
A sound came from the device, but otherwise nothing happened.
"One last button," I pointed out.
"I want to press it!" Sideswipe declared and took the device from his brother despite his protest.
"You have pressed most of the buttons!" Sunstreaker said. "I've only pressed one!"
"Sunstreaker did only get to press one button so far," I pointed out. "It would be fair to allow him to press the last one."
"Aww, ok," Sideswipe sulked, but handed the device back to his yellow twin.
Sunstreaker smirked triumphantly and pressed the button that was on a side by itself.
The reaction to the button being pressed took a moment to begin, but it happened. The whirl and clinks of a transformation came from the device and it began unfolding itself. Pieces of the device turned and twisted, folded and unfolded to hide some of the button and expand the size of the device. When it was finished transforming, the rectangular box was gone, replaced by a gun of some kind.
The gun itself looked reminiscent of a Path Blaster. It was double-barrelled, presumably one barrel for each color of portal if it still shot portals in this form. It had a grip on the bottom to hold the gun with, but no trigger. The three buttons that had done nothing were on a pad at the butt of the gun.
With its transformation it also opened a holographic display above the gun that said, "Congratulations. You have activated the Portal Gun. Press the right button to fire the blue portal and the left to fire the orange portal. Pressing a button again will make the first portal of that color disappear and appear where you have the gun aimed. The third button makes all portals disappear. This gun is equipped to be able to be attached to your servo for better handling. Don't press the self-destruct! Love, Wheeljack." The message was written in Cybertronian characters.
"Well, Ironhide was right about it being Wheeljack's," I said when the display disappeared.
"Let's see what it can do," Sideswipe grinned.
We walked over to the shooting range, Sunstreaker keeping possession of the gun. After a moment, the yellow twin fired the blue portal on a side wall next to one of the targets and the orange portal on the ground in front of us. Sideswipe took over and shot his blaster into the portal. The shot came out of the portal on the wall and hit the target on the outermost ring.
"Hold on, I got an idea," I said, holding my servo out for the gun.
Sunstreaker handed it to me and I fired the blue portal above an old worn down tank we were given for target practice. I then pulled a grenade from subspace, pulled the pin and dropped it into the orange portal at our feet. The grenade fell through the portal and landed on top of the tank, blowing up on contact.
"Oh! I got one!" Sideswipe said, taking the gun.
We took turns for several hours, each of us coming up with ideas to utilize the portal gun in a gunfight. We didn't go through nearly all of the ideas I had in my helm for it, but most of mine wouldn't be able to be tested outside of battle or the simulator. At this point we were just having fun shooting things and after awhile we stopped playing with the portal gun in favor of the twins teaching me some tricks for the battlefield. Jazz even came over to help out at some point.
Night came around faster than I expected and we were heading away from the Safe. Jazz had left long before the twins and I, but I had wanted to work on my skills more.
"So, who should get dibs on the portal gun?" Sideswipe asked as we walked toward the quarters.
"What kind of question is that?" Sunstreaker asked. "It's Shade's! She found it and I think she'll put it to good use."
"I agree," Sideswipe said, grinning down at me. "It'll give you a tool to help with your fighting. To create your own, unique style."
I smiled uncertainly. "I suppose so," I said, looking at the gun we had returned to box form. "I already have some ideas for that."
Sideswipe grinned. "We'll have to test them out in the simulator tomorrow," he said.
"Yeah," I said. "Anyways, I am going to go check in with Ratchet, let him know I didn't blow myself up testing this."
Sideswipe laughed. "Alright, we'll meet you at the simulator tomorrow afternoon," he said.
"Okey dokey," I said, grinning.
We parted there with me heading toward the medbay and the twins continuing on to the quarters.
When I reached the medbay, I entered to find Optimus still at work on the datachip and Ratchet working on something else. I smiled when Ratchet looked up and walked over, placing the box on the table.
"How'd it go?" Ratchet asked.
"Oh come on, no hug first?" I asked, holding out my arms.
Ratchet chuckled and then pulled me into a hug. He pulled back as Optimus walked over to join us.
"Have you discovered the purpose of the device?" Optimus asked.
"I have," I said, smiling. "The twins helped as well. It's a portal gun and apparently an invention of Wheeljack's."
"Wheeljack? What's one of his inventions doing on Earth?" Ratchet wondered aloud.
I shrugged. "Presumably he thought it would be useful and sent it with whoever brought the datachip," I said. My doorwings twitched slightly.
"But why not deliver it himself in that case?" Ratchet asked, pacing slightly. "Is he in trouble?"
"Calm yourself, old friend," Optimus said, placing a servo on my courted's shoulder, stopping his pacing. "Perhaps he is merely needed elsewhere at this time."
"If it helps, the bot who left them didn't feel worry for anyone," I put in.
"That worries me too!" Ratchet said, pulling away from Optimus and pacing again. "Somebot shows up out of nowhere, drops these items into our servos and disappears. And they just happen to have some kind of connection to Shade'?! It doesn't sit right."
I blinked at the mech and shared a look with Optimus before bursting into laughter.
"What?" Ratchet asked, pausing in his pacing to look at me in confusion. "What's so funny?"
"Are you...are you jealous, Ratchet?" I asked between laughs. I stopped long enough to look at him with immense amusement.
Ratchet shifted. "I am not," he said.
"Ratchet, whoever it was was most likely related to me," I said. "It very well could be my mother. There's no reason to be jealous over my mother having a bond with me."
"I'm not jealous," Ratchet reaffirmed, looking at me and Optimus as we looked at him worriedly. "It's that they appeared and disappeared just like that. If it is your femme creator, then why didn't she say anything to you?"
"That is a question for her when she does reveal herself," I answered. "No point in getting upset over it. And if it's not her, then that just means I have a sibling out there I have yet been told about." I tilted my helm. "That is question for Vector when I see him next."
Ratchet sighed, rubbing his temple. "Alright, sorry," he said. "It's been on my mind all day."
"It is alright, old friend," Optimus said and I nodded my agreement.
"Anyways, any progress with the datachip?" I asked, turning to the elder Prime.
Optimus sighed and shook his helm. "It is as reported, the security is hard to hack completely through," he said. "I am getting close, however. I am certain it won't be long before we have access to the information inside."
"Well, that's good news," I said, smiling. I paused and shifted slightly, wondering how to ask him for some lessons and if now was the right time to even ask.
"What is it, Shadebreaker?" Optimus asked, seeing my need to speak clearly.
"Well, I was wondering if you would give me some lessons in how to be a Prime?" I asked, looking up at him hopefully. "Since I am a Prime and all, I should learn how to be one."
Optimus placed a servo on my shoulder. "I would be honored to be your teacher," he said. "But the path you take as a Prime is up to you."
I nodded. "I understand," I answered. "But some guidance never hurts." I smiled up at him.
He nodded, giving me a small smile before returning to the computer.
"Alright, well, I'm going to get some recharge," I said, walking over to Ratchet. I leaned up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Try not to worry too much. And make sure you and him get rest." I indicated Optimus with my helm.
"I will try," Ratchet said, wrapping his arms around me. "Recharge well, my femme." He captured my lips in another kiss, holding it for several moments before releasing me. "I love you."
"I love you too," I said, smiling.
With that, I headed back to my quarters and some much needed recharge.