(c) Hasbro/Takara
This is a long one, so have a snack ready. Preferably bacon.
"I... need to tell you something..." Allison finally sniffed, pulling her face away after realizing there were more pressing issues than her own emotional guilt. She rubbed her eyes awkwardly with a dirty sleeve and stepped back so that she could face Wheeljack again. He was looking at her, head tilted slightly, with what was possibly pity in his eyes, waiting for her to continue. "The Pendulum... It was that MP3 player we took from the storage room."
Wheeljack's expression turned grave, but he didn't say anything immediately.
"You gave it to Prime, yes."
"That's why I went to see Danny. I didn't understand what Arkeville was trying to say in his journal. There were equations... and numbers... well I would have asked you but..."
Wheeljack lifted his body so that he was simply kneeling on one knee. He was rubbing at his battle mask absently. If Wheeljack were to have a beard, Allison imagined he would most likely be stroking it. The mental picture was so silly, and so oddly human, Allison almost cracked a smile.
"I wasn't detecting anything unusual from it at the time," he mumbled. "No abnormal energy signatures, no apparent ghost data..." He seemed to be in thought, as if thinking back to the moment they'd pulled it out of the trashed box of Arkeville's belongings, to see something that he might have missed.
"What if it's just broken? It sure looked like it was." Allison offered, and Wheeljack cocked his head at that. "What if something has been done to it or it's simply old; out of batteries even..."
"Certainly a possibility, especially since the data is being stored on such antiquated human technology. It's possible there's enough line break with the core data fusion and the shell components that..." He paused, looking at Allison's exasperated expression. "It could be broken, yes. To fix it though, we'll need the right tools."
"And you know someone with the right tools, right?"
"Yes."
"And that person would be you, right?"
"Right again! But...ah... I don't have the right tools here. For that, we'll have to go take it to my lab. We need to talk to Prime anyway." Wheeljack stood with a massive groan of gears. "To think it was right under our olfactory sensors all this time..."
"I assume you mean right under our noses," Allison corrected politely, with a slight smile.
Wheeljack looked cheeky at this.
"I've heard it both ways."
"Ah, right." Allison clicked her tongue in dismissal. "But now that we have it, how are we going to get anything off of it?"
"It shouldn't be a problem when we get back to my lab." Wheeljack's expression brightened as he turned to walk back out into the clearing. For a moment she looked after him slightly dumbfounded, unsure of how she was supposed to react to this notion of returning to his lab with him. Wheeljack had gone on a tangent and there was no stopping him. "You'll be positively amazed, Allison. There's millennium's worth of science nailed to my walls that you'll get to witness. You'll also get to see my home!"
Allison nodded, managing a weak smile, but internally her stomach back flipped at Wheeljack's mention of home. That meant, back wherever he had come from; Detroit, where the other Autobots were. A place she likely had no place in. In the back of her mind, the reasonable part of her that thought there was the barest chance she's make it out of this alive, she'd always known that at some point Wheeljack would go back. She'd never actually considered her own fate, that possibly Wheeljack would stay here, or perhaps leave her to return to whatever it was that passed for his home. Every time the thought poked its nose up out of the under layers of her subconscious she'd never been able to think past the next day. She didn't know what she was going to do, and she was too afraid to bring it up to him. It had never seemed appropriate, but she was also afraid of admitting to herself that she didn't want Wheeljack to leave.
After spending that brief time alone and not avoiding death, she'd found that it had felt so mundane. The alternative was going with him, but that thought at the same time again was too terrifying to consider. However, he seemed to think it was the logical next step.
Allison's internal conflict was interrupted by Ratchet's voice slicing through her subconscious, knocking her back into the present. She hadn't even realized she'd been following Wheeljack back to the other Autobots, but she now found herself standing outside the massive circle in which they stood. She saw that Danny was standing off to the side behind Optimus Prime, trying to look as small and hidden as possible behind the Autobot leader. When Allison walked forward he nodded at her uncertainly, glancing back and forth between Wheeljack and the others. She noted that his gaze paused on Wheejack for a second longer than the others, perhaps in fear. Allison breathed a sigh of relief that Wheeljack didn't notice this.
"I can't believe you did that, of all the ridiculous-" Ratchet was in mid-complaint when they entered the circle, his scowl even more unbearable than usual. Considering Ratchet always complained it was hard to pinpoint what would have him appear so flabbergasted. What was even more surprising was that his anger appeared to be directed at Optimus Prime himself, making Allison wonder just how much superiority really mattered within the Autobot faction. They all seemed to scream and complain at Prime as if he was nothing more than another co-worker and not their fearless leader, but maybe that was the beauty of their relationship.
Optimus Prime held up a hand calmly, and Ratchet fell silent with a massive shrug, turning to Wheeljack as he approached the circle. He frowned, but did not say anything right away. Wheeljack held up his hand and stopped.
"Well, the good news is, we apparently found what we needed after all," Wheeljack started, before turning around. He pointed at Allison dutifully, and she stepped back, flustered and not wanting to be put in the middle of their conversation. "Actually, Allison found it. She had it this entire time... fascinating, ain't it?" Wheeljack was far too frank about the whole afair, as if the idea that Allison had the thing in her pocket the whole time was some kind of relief. On the contrary, it made Allison feel rather stupid, especially when Ratchet looked at her with that unfaltering condescending expression she'd learned to hate so much.
"I didn't know…" Allison offered tentatively. "I didn't know I had it. I'd only realized what it was when Danny told me the pictures looked like an MP3 player. Forgotten I'd had it actually…" she added, seeing Optimus Prime's raised brow. "So… hooray?"
"Indeed." Optimus Prime said calmly, and Allison wondered if he was responding to her sarcasm or merely his own internal thoughts. He seemed to sigh, looking the small device that was still in his hand, turning it over before handing it dutifully to Wheejack, who took it with equal care. "Wheeljack, is there anything you can glean from this device? It's importance?"
Wheeljack shook his head hastily. "No. The only thing we do know is that the doc had apparently stumbled upon some Cybertronian frequency and had been talking to someone claiming to be an Autobot. He'd been using this… although at this point I'm not clear if it was meant as some type of receiver or some type of recording device. Either way, we think that this device holds the coordinates to Cybertron's location relative to Earth." He explained very quickly, so fast that Allison was surprised she caught all of it.
"Then it is prudent that we keep this knowledge out of Decepticon hands. A full-scale invasion on this planet would be disastrous, and I fear the Autobots would be destroyed in the process," Optimus Prime said grimly, summing it up in a surprisingly matter-of-fact way. Allison thought rather crudely that what he'd said had been already established ages ago, but she didn't offer that observation. Instead, she side-stepped over to where Danny was standing silently and frowned at him. His expression didn't waver.
"I would need to take it back to my lab for proper analysis. If we are able to triangulate Cybertron's location and finally contact what remains of the Council, we might be able to get the resources we need to take care of Megatron once and for all… but I can't do anything with it now…" Wheeljack faltered, and Allison could feel his eyes on her. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing as she was, and was rewarded as his next statement came as a confirmation. "And Allison is coming with me." Wheeljack blurted suddenly, as if he half-expected a refusal and wanted to get it over with quickly like ripping off a band-aid. Once again she could feel all the eyes in the area on her, including Danny's, and it was made more uncomfortable by the fact that she was standing so near him staring right back.
"Oh for God's sake stop staring at me. All of you," Allison scoffed. Optimus Prime was looking at her loftily, and she had no idea what to make of that type of expression. It left her out of sorts, and wondering if she should feel like she was being judged… but that didn't strike her as Optimus Prime's M.O. "But, I need a favor first." Allison hesitated, shaking the thought out of her mind. She saw Danny narrow his eyes in the corner of her vision. She scowled at him knowingly. "I want to get Danny out of here. He can't stay. I can't risk that…" she paused, thinking, knowing it was the right choice. She looked at him. "I'm sorry I got you into this mess, but I need to finish this, and you can't be a part of it…"
Danny looked to be in disbelief, and she was surprised that he didn't immediately protest, if only to get the chance to hang out with a bunch of walking, talking robots. That sort of techno stuff was his thing, but she hoped that in the back of his mind he knew it was too risky. He was frowning at her, but she could tell by his gaze that he understood. It was silent for a while, until Optimus Prime finally spoke.
"That is the wisest choice Allison, but you are not obligated to stay with us. You have played your part, and we are grateful, but you do not need to unnecessarily throw yourself into our conflict for our benefit," he rumbled, his voice seeming to come from the very trees around them. Allison turned and looked up at him.
"That's true, but… I know for a fact that Wheeljack wouldn't let me go anywhere." Unsurprisingly, Wheeljack looked rather proud of himself over this fact; his chest swelled outward making him look larger than usual. "And I think you probably want to keep your engineer." Allison half-smiled at this.
"If you are certain of this, then I will not stop you." Optimus Prime said flatly, but there was no less warmth in his voice. Allison was actually quite surprised that Optimus Prime wasn't outwardly trying to stop her by practically throwing her out the door, if only to keep her out of the warzone. But she supposed he was respecting her ability to choose her own fate, and for that she was grateful.
Allison took a deep breath and turned back to Danny, trying her best to look positive for him, but she had to assume that he was thinking the worst: That Allison was being a moron, was getting herself killed over nothing, and was refusing to let him be a part of something so awesome. Allison didn't even want to bring the subject up for fear of opening up the proverbial floodgates. She didn't want to argue with him, and just wanted to make sure he was safe.
"I guess you won't ever forget this, huh?" She mumbled quietly, trying to inject some warmth into the stale air between them, but he only continued to frown. She'd never realized that Danny could be quite so subdued, being so used to his overactive imagination and frivolous nature when they had worked together. Now he seemed like a silent shell, just watching her as if waiting for her to crack. Allison cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I guess we should go…" she whispered, gesturing for him to follow her back through the brush and onto the road.
She was surprised to hear much larger footsteps follow them, and turning on the beaten path to look in the sunlight she saw that Wheeljack and Ratchet were behind them. Optimus Prime and Arcee remained in the clearing, perhaps debriefing, or whatever it was they might do. Arcee was a new-arrival after all, and she assumed that Optimus wanted to exchange information.
"I have something for you," Ratchet grunted, coming forward when the two humans stopped and turned to see what was going on. Concerned, Allison looked at him, mutely wondering if his grim expression meant he had some kind of suppository for her. Thankfully that wasn't the case, and Ratchet knelt down slowly, only to pull a beaten metallic disc from somewhere behind him. She'd never quite figured out where they managed to store things without pockets. That thought was immediately pushed aside as she realized what the metal disc actually was.
"Oh...my god! How did you-" Allison stuttered, willing her brain to believe that her eyes were actually seeing the silent, compacted form of Bean. The dented and scuffed metal drone was packed within itself tightly, the same form as when Wheeljack first gave it to her, presumably some kind of storage-ready function. Either way Allison was flabbergasted, and extremely touched at the same time. "Did you actually-"
Ratchet dropped the inert bundle into her arms. "It was safe enough…" he muttered, turning his eyes away. "Try not to lose it, because I'm not going after it again…" he trailed off, grunting to a stand. Allison blinked at him, and looked at Wheeljack for guidance, but his eyes were nothing but glittering globules of subdued pleasure. He was clearly trying to hold back some kind of clever remark, perhaps at Ratchet's expense, but all Allison could feel was surprised gratitude. Ratchet was being evasive, but it was obvious that he'd gone back to Wheeljack's now destroyed temporary lab and had rescued the little drone; For her.
"I don't know what to say…" she muttered, holding Bean tenderly as if she was carrying a baby. The little drone didn't move, and she looked Bean over carefully with concern. "Thank you."
"Considering how much trouble I went through chasing that crazy thing down so I could put it into stasis, I'd say that'll do for now." Ratchet waved his hand at her. "Just don't release the pipes, okay?"
"Okay," Allison choked, half laughing. "I… I can't believe you did this for-" Allison was about to finish, but was cut off.
"Yeah yeah, now get going" Ratchet shrugged, waving her off with a massive hand before retreating back to the clearing where the others were still communicating, effectively ending the conversation. Allison smiled after him, surprisingly not concerned about his ability to effectively remove himself from such a tender moment, but she knew that the gesture was enough. She turned back to Wheeljack, momentarily forgetting that Danny was still standing near her and was likely hopelessly confused.
"Best put it away for now…" Wheeljack said, his speech panels flashing brightly. Allison only noticed now that the flashing on his damaged panel seemed to be delayed, and the burst of light was fragmented down the crack. It was like one side took an extra fraction of a second to catch up with the other, akin to three different lights blinking at her rather than two. She just knew that was going to be distracting until he got it properly fixed.
Before she could comment on it to him, Wheeljack was already on the road and transforming before Allison had time to realize that this was the first time Danny was seeing the robot go back into car mode. Not expecting the robot in front of him to suddenly collapse and reshape itself in the near blink of an eye, he jerked back roughly with a shout, startling Allison as well. "Sorry… I should have…"
"Do they all do that so fast?" He asked wistfully, and she wondered if he was trying to figure out for himself how it all worked. His brow was tightened in concentration.
"Ratchet is kind of slow, but he's just old…" Allison smirked, and she thought she heard Ratchet grunt in response from the clearing. She bit her lip to suppress a laugh, thinking that either Wheeljack had just chuckled, or made some kind of gagging noise. She wanted to imagine it was the former, and not some subtle reminder to her of his distaste for present company.
"Seriously though, what are you doing?" Allison directed this inquiry at Wheeljack, who by now had shuffled up next to them in order to be obvious.
"What do you think I'm doing? Did you think you were going to walk?" he rumbled, not unpleasantly.
"Ah... No… but," Allison actually hadn't even thought about how they were going to get to his parents' house, but she'd been certain that Wheeljack would not be so kind as to let Danny ride inside him. But on the contrary, he had opened his door and was clearly waiting for them to move. Allison wrinkled her nose at Wheeljack in silent disgust as she noted that he'd opened his back door instead of the front; a clever attempt at being subtly disrespectful to their guest. Even though she knew Danny wouldn't understand that he'd been mildly insulted by Wheeljack, it was still very juvenile.
"Who made it?" Danny was looking Wheeljack over, clearly in awe, but also showing obvious signs of hesitation. As soon as he said it, Allison cringed, knowing that Danny wasn't exactly giving Wheeljack any reasons to like him.
"Nobody made me, boy. I am 100% Cybertronian born perfection, long before you were even conceived in the mire of galactic star-dust." Wheeljack snorted with a grumble of internal machinery, obviously annoyed, but she knew him too well to be fooled. Wheeljack wasn't truly annoyed, and in fact was probably enjoying the attention born out of the other human's disbelief and mild terror. Danny however, had paled and taken three steps in the opposite direction in fear of his life. "And I am not an it." He added with flourish. Allison sighed, but remained quiet, curiosity compelling her to let them continue, if only for the opportunity to watch Wheeljack interact with her friend.
"If he's from space, then why does he sound like he's from Jersey?" Danny was pointing at Wheeljack, but he was looking at Allison. She returned his stare blankly, truthfully having no real answer for him. She'd never taken Wheeljack's unique method of speech into consideration before. It had just always seemed natural to her.
"I... don't know?" Honestly, Allison herself was no curious. They were on the opposite coast after all. Wheeljack was silently for a moment, something Allison took to mean that they were about to get an answer that wasn't exactly serious.
"Lots of planets have a Jersey."
"They do not." Allison puffed air heavily, giving up on a real answer. "Just get in Danny, I'll sit in the front," she said, pulling open the driver's side door. Finally settling down in the seat, she paused, realizing just now how much she had actually missed sitting there. She let her hands slide over the wheel affectionately and exhaled, feeling grateful that she was with Wheeljack again, and knowing how close she had come to actually losing him. "It feels like it's been forever…" she murmured, even though it had really only been a few days. Allison was content enough just knowing that Wheeljack's hearing was good enough to catch it. His subtle rumble, rattling his frame just slightly was enough of a response for her to notice. It was too small and seemingly insignificant to mean anything for Danny, who had by now finally clamored into the backseat.
Allison smiled to herself, feeling floaty as Wheeljack closed the doors on his own power. Danny edged away from the door next to him, clearly uncomfortable with the fact that it had closed without him touching it. Allison could sympathize with him, forgetting how used to it all she had become in such a short time and understanding that he'd really only come to know this bizarre reality for less than a day. She turned to look at him. "I forgot where it is."
Danny looked at her, some color returning to his face. His brow rose. "What are you smiling about?"
Allison got very warm, very fast and thought she was caught, before realizing that he probably thought she was amused at his expense. Frankly, she preferred to have him think that as opposed to the alternative, which was admitting that she was getting warm fuzzies over sitting inside what to him was nothing more than a giant sassy robot.
"Nothing, just tell him where to go," Allison said hastily, trying to change the subject. "He isn't going to digest you, so just tell him the address and shut up."
Danny leaned forward, looking uncertain, and almost fearful. It wasn't long before she realized he was trying to figure out if there was something he should speak into, like a microphone or a speaker. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, Allison stopped him. "He can hear you if you just talk… you don't speak into anything…" Allison was surprised that Wheeljack wasn't milking Danny's discomfort for all that it was worth, but was thankful that he was at least staying quiet for the time being. She assumed that internally he was having a riot.
Then Allison had a thought.
"'Jack… can you go back to his house please? I think he'd appreciate it if he could gather a few things…" she said, and thankfully Wheeljack didn't argue. He actually didn't say a word as he lurched forward. He wasn't exactly going fast, but Allison could tell that Danny was trying to find something to hold onto as if fearing that Wheeljack was going to open the door and throw him out. Allison faintly feared that he would do just that, but she knew that with her also inside, Wheeljack was not tempted to be reckless and drive like a maniac.
Once they arrived, Danny seemed to want nothing more than to get out as quickly as possible, so without any instruction from Allison or Wheeljack, he put his hand on the door. Immediately he pulled back as if burned, startled.
"Why does the door have a pulse?" he blurted turning to Allison who had craned her neck around to look at him once she heard him gasp. She was about to open her mouth when out of nowhere Wheeljack answered for her.
"Because I am imbued with the essence of all the fleshy little organic males I have eaten… You can feel their collective little heartbeats…"
Allison nearly burst out laughing, because she knew by his tone that Wheeljack was clearly joking and was just trying to scare him. That was until she realized that Danny wouldn't know this, and he looked then like he was about to throw up. Allison's eyes widened.
"He's joking." She turned back to the dashboard, what she had instinctively begun to associate as his "face" to talk to. "You're joking. Stop being a jerk."
Allison turned back to Danny whose expression had changed from one of horror to something closer to annoyance. That was partially a good sign. It meant that he was reading into Wheeljack's attitude as something other than malcontent and wasn't necessarily afraid. Danny didn't say anything however, and turning his gaze onto Allison he pushed the door open with new-found bravery and stepped outside. Allison thought that it probably was a good idea to go in there with him. After all, she'd gotten fairly competent at recognizing the signs of a lurking Decepticon. With Wheeljack outside, Danny probably needed the company now more than ever.
They locked up what they could, but Danny was quiet as he moved about, putting necessities together and stuffing them into a travel bag. Allison tried to find words to explain, or to apologize for what she'd done and what was happening, but they didn't come. This was her fault.
This made the journey uncomfortably quiet, but surprisingly short. Allison was grateful for that, because she didn't think she could stand the silence any longer. She'd tried to make conversation with Danny a few times, but he didn't reciprocate, answering in short stilted sentences before falling silent again. Allison was having a hard time deciphering if he was just angry or scared. And if he was angry, she didn't know if it was because she'd kept this from him or because he was now being displaced because of her. Either way he didn't complain. It wasn't until they'd arrived when he finally spoke. Wheeljack had stopped just outside the small cabin-looking structure and had opened his doors to let them out. Allison got out quickly, smelling the cold air.
She hadn't ever been here, so it was a new and exciting place to see. It was very open and quiet, surrounded by trees and the sound of early birdsong. The air was thick with the musky scent of fall and the crisp sharpness of lake water, interrupted only by the sting of fire smoke. It was isolated, the house at the end of a long winding dirt path through trees, with a covered trail that led down to the water. The home was covered enough that she was sufficiently satisfied with the level of safety it hopefully provided, but once she left she could only pray that Danny was left alone. It was also clearly empty, which gave Wheeljack a chance to transform, something Allison was no longer surprised with.
Danny only looked mildly startled by this, now jaded from the experience of earlier. Wheeljack was looking around dutifully with an air of careful observation, either using this chance of peace to take in the scenery or scouting for any danger. Allison left him alone, eager to get a closer look at the house with the immediate danger passed. Danny handed her the key when she held her hand out expectantly, and she ran towards the front door of the house and up the weathered, wooden steps onto the porch. The porch itself was devoid of any décor, save for the lone hanging porch-swing on one of the far sides. It was just as worn and aged as the rest of the house, the white paint cracking with rustic charm. Yet despite this it was probably well cared for, still standing after all, despite its obvious age.
Allison slid the key into the lock and turned, surprised at the stiffness of the door as the handle finally gave under her palm. The door creaked, but once it was free of its frame it swung open easily without needing too much strength. She had just stepped through the threshold when she finally heard Danny speak, and was surprised to hear his call directed at someone other than herself.
"Hey robot." His tone was closer to his usual demeanor, snarky, but carefully controlled. Even though Danny knew his name perfectly well, he was choosing to play at Wheeljack's stupid testosterone-driven game of supremacy. Of course she could only assume this, but she remembered feeling weird addressing Wheeljack by his actual name when they first met. It was awkward using an automotive tool as a form of address, but it had become second nature for her quickly. Of course, she hadn't had much of a choice.
Allison paused inside the doorway and leaned against the adjacent wall, stilling her breathe to hear better. She stayed out of sight, but she could hear Wheeljack shift, possibly taking a step forward. She didn't hear further movement, and assumed that Wheeljack was remaining at his full height to retain some sort of dominance. Allison rolled her eyes to herself, but curiosity compelled her to stay and listen. Murmuring could be heard from outside, mostly Danny's voice as Wheeljack was presumably listening to him speak, but she couldn't make out what was being said until she finally heard the end of their conversation.
"… Take care of her."
There was no response to this, but Allison was floored enough to not have heard it. It was then that she realized how utterly stupid she'd been. She'd practically used Danny, and was now throwing him out like a towel. But what were her other options? She couldn't put him in anymore unnecessary danger and this was the best way to do it, but she was now asking him to forget about her and to simply trust her judgment. It probably wasn't fair, especially after everything he's seen today. But still, the sentiment was sweet, and she couldn't help but smile to herself.
Her reverie was broken when Danny stepped into the building. He ran a hand through his hair as he walked into the foyer, noticing her foppish grin.
"Uh, you didn't hear any of that did you?" he asked, looking a little embarrassed.
"What, me? No, not a thing. I was just here admiring your…stairs." Despite her best efforts to appear unreadable, she knew her smirk was obvious.
"Yeah, they're old stairs alright." He cracked a guilty smile. "You heard everything didn't you? It's OK though, I meant it. I want… ah, Wheeljack to make sure he keeps you safe, that's all."
Allison stiffened, standing. "I'm alright," she said stonily, perhaps with a little more edge then she had intended. She softened, stepping up to Danny. "This is for the best… I ah…" she looked around, glancing out the door only to notice that Wheeljack appeared to be doing a terrible job of pretending that he wasn't monitoring their conversation. Boys, she thought to herself with an internal sigh of frustration. Whatever Danny didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "I'll be fine," She offered. It would have to do. Danny didn't respond immediately, but only watched her carefully, perhaps for some sign that she was about to change her mind. Allison moved quickly. "Well… can't leave their glorious leader waiting." She hesitated. "I'll call you when it's over…"
"You're running away with that thing, aren't you?" It was hard to miss the subtle tone of resentment in his voice. Allison felt herself bristle at such casual disrespect, only for a moment, before she responded.
"Running away isn't the wording I would chose, Danny. What they're doing is very noble. And regardless of how I feel about it, I'm part of it now."
"Even though it could get you killed." He said tonelessly.
"Yes. But it would be selfish of me to back out just because I was selfish enough to put myself before the safety of the Earth." She shook her head and laughed. "I make it sound like I'm important, but really I'm not. And I'm fine with that. But what I'm doing is important. I mean, it's really quite small really. I just helped them find something. You helped."
"Please," Danny said interrupting with a raised hand. "It's fine. If you're fine with that, then I am too. I just want you to be careful, is all. You may not feel important, but you are. I mean, you're life is. I mean… just…" Danny waved both his hands in exasperation. "Just be careful." She thought that maybe he was blushing, but he was being careful to keep his eyes away from her.
Allison nodded, not wanting to drag this on any longer. She looked around awkwardly, before messily throwing her arms around him in a hug. It must have startled him too, as he took a step back, but after a brief moment of hesitation he reciprocated. Allison pulled away and gave an awkward nod as she turned around and headed to the door. She didn't bother looking up as she left the house, not wanting to linger. Danny did not call after her, but she'd never expected him to.
Looking around outside in the muted sunlight under the trees, Allison mildly panicked when there was no Wheeljack to be found. Just as she was about to call out to him he emerged from the tree line looking ecstatic.
"Birds," he said brightly as Allison approached. For a moment Allison was baffled.
"Yes, we have them. What about them?"
"I heard them chattering over on the other side of the lake. Wonderful…" He trailed off, looking at her hopefully as if the thought of running off to frolic with birds was crossing his mind. Instead, he straightened after a moment of Allison staring at him in puzzlement. "Now… we best be going…" he said with new-found seriousness. "They are waiting for us, and it's best we get out of the city limits and to the rendezvous point as soon as possible." With a loud mechanized sound that was now familiar to Allison, Wheeljack transformed into his vehicle form, the driver's side door swinging open. Allison paused for a moment to finally look back at the house. It was dark and silent, which was probably for the best. She climbed inside without another word, and the door shut behind her. With a silence that was oddly comforting, the two drove away from the cabin.
After a while when it became clear that Allison had no idea where they were going, she decided to finally break the silence. She wasn't sure why Wheeljack was being so quiet, but she sensed discomfort in him. A mundane question seemed the most appropriate.
"So where is the rendezvous anyway?" Allison asked. "I'm assuming you know and you're not just driving around in circles." Wheeljack made a rumbling noise, perhaps a chuckle.
"I am not driving in circles as a matter of fact. It's a location not far outside of Sealth. Optimus sent me the coordinates while you were still inside." Wheeljack paused, as if thinking hard on something. "I believe you call it Four Pillars Entertainment Pavilion. Rather an extravagant name for a patch of dirt…"
"Four Pillars? But that's a fair ground. And it's not a patch of dirt. It's a large fairground, filled with magical wonders and terrible food. Not the most secretive of places for giant alien robots to congregate. Especially since it's the middle of the day."
"It's not occupied right now, and currently in off-season. Do you honestly think that Optimus Prime would choose a crowded location to hold an Autobot pow-pow?" He chortled, and Allison got the distinct impression that he was making fun of her. She rolled her eyes at him and looked back out onto the road.
"That's pow-wow."
"I've heard it both ways."
"You have not. I have never heard it called a pow-pow before, ever-"
"I should probably tell you there's going to be others there," Wheeljack said, interrupting her.
"By others you mean Autobots, I'm guessing." She responded calmly, unsure of how she was supposed to react to this.
"Right. Optimus did not come alone."
"Reinforcements," Allison mumbled to herself, nodding slightly. "Frankly I'm not sure if that makes me feel safer or more nervous." Allison felt her stomach lurch at that moment as she tried to process her uncertainty. This meant new robots; new insane, highly dangerous robots carrying very large weapons. Which, of course, she was OK with, so long as they weren't Decepticons and aiming those weapons at her. But there was no denying the intimidating presence that 30 foot robots with weapons of destruction managed to convey with little to no effort. Ratchet had tried to explain to her once their original nature of servitude: an almost working class group of every day Joes from space. And yet that apparent pacifist, approachable nature just didn't translate very well to a small, comparably frail human.
It had taken her a long time to get used to just one of them. The addition of Ratchet and Arcee was pushing it. To be surrounded by even more, at one time, in a much more volatile and dangerous situation, put her on edge.
"They are called Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Perhaps Optimus felt that speed was a necessary asset, but they are reliable warriors, and will be valuable help." Wheeljack said. He sounded somewhat hesitant as if he possibly didn't believe it himself. Or perhaps he was just afraid of Allison's reaction. She decided to keep her uncertainty to herself, not wanting to give Wheeljack another reason to fuss over her. She was an adult, and God willing had already been through hell and somehow managed to come out of it. She'd simply have to trust that Wheeljack would not intentionally put her in harm's way.
Allison suddenly remembered something that perhaps Wheeljack wasn't even aware that she knew. "I think I remember Ratchet mentioning them actually… back when he told me -" She stopped, realizing what she was about to say. "Ah, Ratchet mentioned that they were twins in passing. That would explain why he was so irritated…" Her half-hearted attempt at changing the subject was not a good bluff.
"This didn't happen to be the same conversation where Ratchet blurted out the entirety of my secret, would it?" Surprisingly Wheeljack did not seem annoyed.
"It might have been…" Allison said sheepishly. "Look, he brought it up not me…" As she briefly wondered what the twins could possibly look like with such vibrant names, the neurotic fear that she'd have to learn how to tell them apart nagged at her brain and kept her from looking forward to it as much as she could have. She couldn't remember if Ratchet had said they were identical twins, but to be honest she had a hard time imagining it possible for a robot to have something like a twin and NOT be identical. It wasn't like they split from the same zygote, but she did know they were Spark Bonded, and therefore very close to one another. Based on Ratchet's brief, glowing description of their maturity levels she expected that they would probably tease Wheeljack for the very same thing. For some reason she got the impression that Wheeljack was the target of many jokes.
Thinking of Wheeljack as some kind of target caused a memory to flood back to her, so clear and precise that she nearly reacted physically to the new sensation of forgotten alarm. It suddenly felt very important and she wasn't sure why; Something about Starscream. Allison started to fidget, rubbing at her neck nervously where Starscream had touched her. She could still feel it, where his sharp, bony finger had slid against her skin and down her neck. The very same goose bumps that she had felt then in her moment of defiant terror rose from her skin making her hair stand on end.
"Allison, why am I detecting a sudden increase in your heart rate? Are you nervous?" The inquiry seemed innocent enough, almost tender, if not intrusive that he could read her vital signs so intimately. It almost made her squirm even more, and make every effort to appear interested with the scenery outside. "I can assure you that you won't have a problem with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Well, they might have an issue with you, but that's only because they're both unusually… fickle. But you should be fine with them." This did not reassure Alison completely, mostly because it was not the source of her distress.
"What? No… I'm not nervous. I… want to tell you something. I'm not really sure why…" she hesitated, choosing her words carefully. She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt guilty, as if she had been the one doing something wrong. It was a hard, confusing feeling to place. "Wheeljack… I think you should be careful. I think Starscream wants to hurt you… I mean I guess that's a give-in, but I'm talking about really hurting you; singling you out." Allison paused, thinking that Wheeljack was going to say something based on the timbre of his systems, but the stone silence was jarring. Awkwardly Allison continued. "I think he knows how you feel, and he um… or, he guessed it. I don't know… but he seemed rather keen on making a show of it. Maybe he was just trying to intimidate me, but I think he would be mad enough to kill for the sake of fun. He did blow up an entire building of people and destroy an airplane after all…" Allison trailed off, waiting again for some kind of response from Wheeljack. He was quiet for a moment, and Allison thought that perhaps the air inside his cabin had stilled. She wasn't sure how to interpret that.
"He threatened you, then?" The inquiry was abrupt.
"Well.. of course he threatened me…" she was still rubbing at her neck until she realized that such a neurotic activity was only drawing attention to herself. She was about to continue to hopefully try and change the subject, knowing that Starscream had become a rather sore topic for the Autobot. Wheeljack got his word in first.
"I take it that your fidgeting and sudden interest in your skin symbolizes that his hands were on you?" He was blunt. Too blunt.
"Seriously when you say it like that it sounds terrible. Yes he touched me, but I think he was just trying to scare me. Unfortunately he did a good job. Look, I'm sorry I brought it up, I didn't mean to upset you. I just, wanted to tell you…" After it was silent for a few moments following her pause, she added, feeling too smothered. "It seemed wrong to keep it from you. I don't know why. Look, it's nothing. I'm fine." She added, hoping to convince Wheeljack that it was a mistake bringing it up. He was not easily convinced. After a few more agonizing moments of choking quiet, he spoke mutely.
"I believe it is more important now than ever that you stay where I can see you and not run off." He said, and his insinuation was not lost on her. It sounded like an order. Allison thought it was best not to argue at this point, whether she liked him dictating her around or not. She knew what was at stake for him, so she bit her tongue, hoping that she hadn't completely ruined the drive that was to come.
"Allison." Wheeljack finally offered after a few minutes, his voice decidedly softer and devoid of its previous acidity. "I believe that Starscream will try and hurt you to get to me; Strike at the Spark and all that… As I have said before, I fear that Starscream may now be acting of his own volition. He's always been selfishly ambitious, even before our research days, and its no secret that he's been dissatisfied with Megatron's current path as of late. I believe he's gone rogue, as you humans say. If I am correct, then he is no longer following Megatron's orders, which is bad for all of us."
"Isn't Megatron a tyrant, though? Wouldn't being away from his command be a good thing? Surely he's weaker on his own."
"Megatron is a monster in all sense of the word, yes. But it was Starscream's patience and intent to take over that kept him tethered to Megatron's word. He's a loose canon now, which makes him unpredictable, and that makes him far more dangerous. He may be intending to use the Pendulum for his own glory in the Decepticon ranks. He is very good at hunting what he wants, and manipulating it to suit whatever he feels like."
"I somehow doubt this is about the Pendulum..." Allison said with some sarcasm.
"Maybe not, but we will still want to keep it to ourselves, no matter what." Wheeljack seemed to read on her sarcasm but his reply was no less serious.
"Are you going to finally tell me why he seems to have such a vendetta against you?" It was as good a time as any to pop the question since they were on that subject, but she highly doubted that Wheeljack was ready to share the more intimate details of that bit of his past yet. She didn't know when he ever would be, but she was certainly ready to learn why exactly Wheeljack had such a target painted across his chest. Since she was indirectly involved, she kind of wanted to know, but she doubted that he would simply volunteer that information on his own regardless of it being fair or not. If she wanted to know she'd have to keep subtly bringing it up, but he'd always been sensitive about the topic and what had happened to his face. She still wanted to see what was really beneath that mask.
As the scenery slid by next to them Wheeljack was silent, perhaps thinking of a response.
Allison continued,
"I mean, you mentioned before that Starscream was involved. Was it an argument? Did...did he do this to you?"
After a brief pause, Wheeljack replied, "Another time, perhaps."
"Of course. Sore subject. Sorry. It was rude of me." She felt a little embarrassed that she was unable to hide her disappointment. Part of her felt somewhat curious as to her own persistent desire to learn more about something that was obviously an extremely painful subject for Wheeljack.
"Allison, Starscream and I have a long history. It goes back longer than I care to remember. A lot of time's passed between then. A lot of time for Starscream to fester over his twisted problems."
"But he always looks so... happy. He has that horrible smirk and that self-righteous arrogance about him. That he's the Omega, supreme and perfect."
"Starscream's got his head too far up his own afterburners. He has a few million years of burning hatred boiling away. It's enough for his loathing to feed on." Wheeljack was silent again for a short time after, before seeming to perk up. "We're almost there. Just 10 more minutes. You may as well get some rest."
"Rest? At a time like this?" She sat back in her chair and sighed. "It seems like all I do is sleep these days. When I'm not getting shot at or hunted down by rampaging Decepticons."
"Welcome to my world," Wheeljack chuckled.
Allison smiled a little, and closed her eyes.