***Okay everyone, before we get into chapter nine, I have a couple things I'd like to say in response to the individual emails I have been getting from some of you people. First off, I know it's "Starscream," instead of Starscreen- I screwed it up on purpose. I do that with all my stories and I figured since he's a bad guy and already sucks, lets make his name suck too (Bad guys don't deserve cool names, in my opinion.) Secondly, I know Smoke Screen has a Mini-Con named Liptor or however you spell it. Hey, I'm sure he's a cool Mini-Con and all, but I wanted to give Smoke Screen a Mini-Con that was rather unbelievable. I mean really- A crossbow that shoots dynamite/ laser arrows? That's as believable as motor vehicles that turn into Giant Robots! (lol). Third: SARAH AND HOT SHOT ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP! Contrary to popular belief, I am not that crazy. And finally, thanks again to Criterion for giving my some more cool ideas. I just wish I could help you with your problem! L8a and enjoy chapter 9***
"Sarah look out!" cried Carlos. "He's right behind you!" I looked over my shoulder to see Starscreen heading right towards me.
"Stellar!" I yelled. "Criterion, Shockstopper! Transform!" With that, the Armory transformed and assembled into my suit of armor. I took hold of my Stellar sword and Shock stopping shield and stood my ground.
"You plan to stop me with that tiny thing?!" laughed Starscreen. "There's no way!" I grinned.
"Wanna bet?" With that, I pushed the little red button and leapt into the air. I soared towards him, with my sword raised high into the air. As soon as I was close enough, I drove my sword straight at his chest, making direct contact with the area his main circuit board would be. Suddenly, he disappeared.
Okay, it was about a week after our last brush with the Decepticons and the whole thing that just occurred between Starscreen and I had been a training exercise, with the Mighty Starscreen as a holographic target. After the program shut down, the Autobots and my human friends walked into the room. Hot Shot was smiling like there was no tomorrow.
"That was some pretty stellar work there, Sarah-girl," he said, excitedly. "The real Starscreen wouldn't have stood a chance!" I smiled back.
"Thanks, big brother!" I said. "That means a lot coming from you!"
What's with the 'big brother' crack? Well, after introducing the Armory to everyone, I asked the Autobots if there anything about the Dedicanvelope Prophecy they neglected to tell me. That was when Optimus told me the part about me sharing a soul/ CPU with one of the Autobots. I smiled and looked over Hot Shot.
"And I'm guessing you're my CPU mate of sorts?" He nodded.
"Considering you're a bigger hotshot than I am," he said. "I'm sure that's a safe bet." I chuckled and held out my hand. As carefully as possible, Hot Shot took his index finger and tapped it on my hand. Then he turned his finger over and I slapped my hand down on it- our version of giving each other a 'five.'
"Do you think that sword could really do that to Starscreen?" asked Carlos, back in the present. I had been wondering the same thing- that had been just a training exercise, so things could have been exaggerated a wee bit.
"Yes I do," said Optimus. "Our training system is designed to be one hundred percent accurate- if a hologram is destroyed, than the real thing would be destroyed as well." He looked over at me. "Your Stellar Sword might be just as powerful as the Star Saber." I was about to thank him for his confidence, when the alarm sounded- another Mini-Con had been activated.
Meanwhile, at the Great Wall of China, the Decepticons were setting up a surprise for the Autobots. They hadn't made a peep for the past week for one reason and one reason alone- they were plotting. And they had finally came up with a solid plan to get what they wanted, which included messing with the Autobot radar, making the good guys believe that there was a new Mini-Con waiting to be found at a predetermined location, but, according to Demolisher, there was one problem.
"Megatron, sir," said Demolisher. "Why are we moving our base to Earth?" Megatron rolled his eyes.
"Because, imbecile!" he shouted in reply. "The girl can't breathe on the moon! There's no oxygen and she's no good to us dead!" Demolisher fumbled with words to apologize, when Megatron continued. "Just make sure her cage is ready."
The Autobots, my fellow humans and I arrived at the Great Wall a short time later. I had suited up with the Armory back at the base for reasons I didn't even clearly understand. A bad feeling I guess, but I had learned to trust those bad feelings long ago- the night my parents died. And as I rode with Hot Shot along side the magnificent wall, the memories of that night came back.
"Mommy, Daddy, don't go!" My parents turned around to see their four-year-old daughter, in her yellow sun dress, bare feet and long black hair pulled up into two pig tails run towards them. My eyes were red and my cheeks were streaked with tears- I really did not want them to go.
"Sarah," my dad said as he lifted me into his arms. "What has gotten into you, sweetheart? You mother and I won't be gone long." I buried my head into his chest.
"Don't go at all!" I cried. "You won't come back, I know it!" My mother smoothed down my hair.
"Is this about the dream you had last night?" she asked. I nodded, with my face still pressed up against my father. "Honey, it was just a dream. Your father and I aren't going to die in a car crash." She put her hand under my chin and turned my face towards her. "You've got to let us go, now- we're going to be late." With that, they were gone and I was left staring at them out the window. They waved at me as they drove away, but I wouldn't wave back.
I remained at that window all night, despite the request of my babysitter who pleaded with me to go to bed. I never left that window until early the next morning, when a police car pulled up and two officers informed me my parents were dead- died in a car accident. I instantly fell to the floor and began to cry, yelling "I told them not to go," over and over again.
"Sarah?" asked Hot Shot. "You okay, kid?" I snapped to attention and wiped a teardrop from my eye.
"Yeah, big brother," I replied. "I'm fine."
"Well, I had my doubts. I've said about five times that it was time to get out and you never said a word." I gave a light chuckle and opened my door.
"Sorry about that." Hot Shot transformed into robot mode, just as Carlos, Rad and Alexis pulled up.
"Hey guys," said Rad. "Hot Shot, Optimus and the other need your help. The Decepticons showed up again." Hot Shot nodded.
"All right," he said. "You guys split up and find the Mini-Con." With that he was gone. I looked at my companions- three humans and three Mini-Cons. For the first time since we met, Jazz and I weren't in the same general area. He had stayed back at the base with some of the other Mini-Cons to work on a better radar system. He didn't want me to go either, saying that they would need my help, but you know me- wild horses couldn't keep me away.
Suddenly, I noticed a shadow had covered myself, Rad, Carlos and Alexis. I turned around and saw Megatron standing over us. I turned around and looked at the fear stricken faces around me. I took a deep breath.
"In accordance with the famous KISS theorem," I said. "I suggest we run." With that, we began to juice it out of there. My first idea was to run far and fast, when Carlos came along side me, helped me onto his skateboard and sped off.
"So," he said. "What exactly is the KISS theorem?" I chuckled.
"It stands for 'Keep It Simple, Stupid.'"
As Carlos laughed along with me, something rather unexpected happened- Grindor hit a stone and sent us flying. We picked ourselves up off the ground and rushed over to Grindor. Before we got there, I knew we were in trouble- two of his wheels were busted. I shook my head.
"Can you carry him?" I asked Carlos.
"Yeah, no problem," he replied.
"Good- grab him and start running. Megatron can't follow both of us if we spilt up, and I know he'll follow me." Carlos shook his head.
"Sarah, I can't le..." I grabbed his head, pulled it towards my own and gave him a kiss. Carlos didn't know what hit him. After a second, I looked at him and smiled.
"You haven't got a choice- move it." Carlos nodded, grabbed Grindor and ran off. As he did so, one thought crossed his mind: "What was that for?"
I stayed behind a little bit longer, just to make sure that Megatron saw me and which way I was going to go. Other than a different direction than Carlos, I wasn't really sure where I was going. But when he got close enough to see me, I began to run. Megatron saw me and chuckled.
"So, she thinks I'm going to follow her, eh?" he asked himself. "Stupid girl."
I couldn't believe it- I had been running for about ten minutes and managed to corner myself between the bad guys and the Great wall. That meant there was nothing left to do, but stand and fight... until I remembered that my armor was equipped with wings and rockets. I could just fly out of there with the push of a button.
"Hello there, Sarah." I turned around to see Megatron standing behind me. He was smiling and had one hand behind his back. I raised my hand up to the button as Megatron pulled his hand out from behind his back. "I don't think you want to do that, Sarah," he continued as his fingers opened. "Especially after you see what I have here." Carlos was lying in his palm, beaten; barely conscious; looking at me as if to say he was sorry.
Carlos felt more than a little guilty. He had stopped for a moment to catch his breath, when Megatron had captured him... well a little more than capture. He had come up behind him and slapped him as hard as he could. Carlos went flying and landed about fifty yards away, after slamming into a tree and hitting every branch on the way down. Now, he was nothing more than bait for his friend... a girl he loved more than anything.
Meanwhile, I closed my eyes, bit the inside of my lip and said: "Don't hurt him, Megatron- leave him out of this." Megatron's smile widened.
"I won't harm a hair on his head, my dear," he said. "As long as you do exactly what I say."
"And what would that be?"
"Take off your armor and come with me. If you don't, I'll crush your friend until there isn't even dust left." I looked down at the ground. "So what's it going to be?" I sighed.
"You've got a deal." Carlos looked at me and began to shake his head.
"No," he cried, to the best of his ability- his voice was so horse, I could just barely hear it. "Sarah, you can't do this!" I looked up at him, a single tear rolling down my cheek.
"For you, I will. Stellar, Criterion, Shockstopper- disarm." My armor removed itself and transformed to robot mode. "Stand down guys," I continued. "I made a deal and I won't go back on it." I looked up at Megatron. "Set the boy down and I'll come quietly."
Megatron set Carlos down all right- he threw him right at me! Carlos slammed into me, I went flying and slammed into the Great Wall, almost leaving an impression. By the time I hit the ground, I was barely conscious. Through narrowly opened eyes, I watched Megatron scoop me into his hand and give an evil smile.
"Decepticons!" he yelled. "Retreat! We've got what we came for!" As he disappeared with me in his hand, another thought crossed Carlos' mind, just before he passed out.
"So that's what that was all about- she loves me too."
When Demolisher heard Megatron's command, he threw his head back and began to laugh.
"Do you hear that, Hot Shot?" he asked. "We came for the girl and we've got her!" Hot Shot had been fighting Starscreen, again, but froze when he heard Demolisher's words. Once again, his spark skipped a jolt and he thought it was going to stop. He looked in the direction he had seen me start to run and headed that way. When he arrived, he saw only the wall, and Carlos with the Armory trying to revive him. Hot Shot became overcome with an emotion he couldn't describe, let alone handle. He fell to his knees.
"SARAH! NO!"