Disclaimer: See first chapter.
Wow… gee, thanks for the offer, but I think I should have known better with my tense usage. I am getting the hang of it, but not quite. And by the way, thanks for the reviews. Don't worry if I put chapters out slow. ;)
Faith in You[Ocean City Gateway Bridge]
This happens to be her tenth visit to the gigantic ocean-based Autobot city in a span of probably two months or more, and sitting in a car with a view to the ocean on both sides made her feel like she was dreaming… again. What concerns her the most was nothing but two major thoughts: The recent endangerment of human lives due to unknown attacks made by unidentified transformers, and… her mysterious images from the past. Both were sure to be spoken about with the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime.
Though… Alexis had doubts about her second discussion topic.
"I don't think he'd take me seriously that much, but it's worth a try." Alexis mentions to herself, looking out the left window to the midnight black car she is riding in as of now. It wouldn't be long, soon, before the car would stop to her destination as soon as possible.
Her meeting with the Autobots had to come first, since the attack alarmed the American government, and other governments like Australia and China. The base itself took damage, but the human civilians' safety became of high priority and the assembly's importance of reminder of innocents populating the area had to be done. Alexis didn't feel the same with the government's decision of a lecture, but she'll keep it short and sweet for them.
At the entrance stood a guard robot, well, Alexis knew him pretty well. He definitely has the Decepticon symbol with him, but unfortunately he seems to be arguing with another bot, preferably an Autobot that goes by the name of Ironhide. Looks like these two weren't getting along any better than the treaty with the Earth. The car stops slowly, as she opens the door to the quarreling transformers. She can hear them so loud and clear, it annoys her for a moment. Sort of reminds her of those times when Bradley and Carlos would argue over something very stupid.
"Well, maybe if you weren't such an idiot, then maybe I can start trusting you," Comments Demolishor.
"An idiot? Who're you calling an idiot, decepti-doofus?" Ironhide shot back, really getting the urgent feeling to go one on one with the tank decepticon.
"Ahem, gentlemen!"
"A-huh?" Startling their 'conversation' to a stop, both of the bots look directly over to an annoyed human woman. Especially if this woman happens to be the representative, and a very good friend of the Autobots as well from back then.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but it seems quite clearly you two can't get along."
"Alexis, ma'am. Good to see you today."
"Yes, Demolishor, but I wasn't referring to the introduction. You two need to calm down and stop fighting. There's no war today. There will probably never be one again. … Ironhide, right? You're the new recruit. Hmm. I was expecting you to be more like a self-controlled soldier rather than a fussy three-year old human child."
"Hey! I resent that!"
"Resent it all you like, but it's the truth. …Unless… you think you can behave for a while at the summit," Daring Ironhide to act like a competent robot, rather than a hot-headed child.
"You're on!"
"I wasn't really saying that I dare you, but whatever."
Alexis turns away, letting her driver know to pick her up later on during the day at a specified time. Huh, sometimes she thinks the Autobots and the Decepticons still can't get along, particularly if there had been recent attacks as well on other bases… the mars and moon base were attacked. There were a significant number of losses, mostly transformer but the Energon deposits were raided completely by the attackers. Why on earth would they want the Energon, anyway?
[Conference Meeting]
"As you know…," She introduced the statement. Alexis stands behind a monitor showing the earth and Autobot symbol, and a raised platform to which she could speak with everyone attending to the meeting at once.
"The governments around the world are wondering how you didn't evacuate the civilians before the attack began. On that note, there we numerous scientists and personnel within this very fortification. The fear for their lives had been indefinitely noticed immediately."
Hot Shot, who had been standing there while waiting for Alexis' statement to be over, was about to speak before a young man's voice shouts at her directly, sounding as if he wasn't just angry enough at what the governments were saying about this.
"Hey! You can't blame them for this, it's not their fault they didn't detect the incoming attack!" I did! I didn't warn everyone in time, though… Kicker thought to himself.
"Kicker. I am saying this on the behalf of the worldwide governments. Don't go blaming me for it as if I were complaining myself," Alexis retorted with a calm tone, showing she was not going to tolerate an interruption.
"Neither was I finished. The President wants to know who this attacking force is. Where did they come from? Why are they here?"
"They're after the Energon."
Optimus Prime stands where he had arrived, nearly missing out on everything due to some technical problems, Jetfire overlooked it for him while he had rushed to the meeting. It wasn't like him, but there's always a first for things like that.
"Well, I had initially thought of that reason, Optimus, as it was reported with the Mars and Moon base."
"Yes, who these attackers are, they are definitely transformers. On whose side they're on, I'm not sure. They didn't carry the Decepticon or Autobot insignia. However, I will take the responsibility, along with my men, to make sure that before an attack occurs again, we will evacuate the civilians off of the premises."
"I'll file the report immediately, and thank you for the time being…" She finishes. Everyone, including Kicker, left immediately. He wasn't as angry as he was before, but he was still a little pissed. Ironhide didn't bother to show up. When the platform she stands on lowers to the ground completely, Alexis steps off of the stand.
Oh… I almost forgot…"Optimus?"
"Hmm? Yes, Alexis?"
"I need a moment with you. There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." She has a bit of an urgent tone of voice, though he did recognize it right away.
"Is something bothering you?"
She sat down for a moment in a steel-based chair nearby, forcing herself to compose herself for a semi-lengthy discussion. Whether or not he'd take her seriously would be up to Optimus.
"Yes, …lately, I've been having these …weird dreams."
Alexis looks a little upset…
"I'll try to understand what you're saying, Alexis, so don't worry about it."
"Thanks, but anyway, I meant to say I had visions, actually. Of the past, it was a short while after the Autobots left the Earth. My mother said I had been sickly back then after they left. My fever had been really high. One day, I went to go visit Carlos and Rad, and I overheard them talking about my depression problem and me. I scolded them for it after eavesdropping on accident, but I forgave them anyway. It was after that when the oddest thing happens. I'm using my computer, trying to wipe out a virus that had been on my old laptop. I couldn't find it at first, but it came to me instead,"
"Sideways? …"
"No, it wasn't Sideways,"
"Ah, I see then, go on."
"But then, the virus started up a chat box. I can barely remember the screen name, but I think it was Xyrodawn. I hadn't any clue, but that person wanted me to flee from a danger. And even trust in a female transformer… are there really female transformers?"
"Um… Yes, but only a few. They're on Cybertron, though. Nobody's seen one since the war ended, though."
"Oh… well, the individual wanted me to trust this female who would willingly protect me… still I wasn't sure why I should trust that bit of information. I directly noticed I could 'talk' to the computer screen, and it would know it. All this time, the puzzle was being put together… that was… Starscream, on my computer, as some ghastly free-floating ghost trying to contact me."
"…Starscream?" Optimus did look very surprised for a while. How could he have been alive back then as a ghost? Starscream disintegrated while trying to give everything he got at Unicron with his null ray cannons. Maybe… there was a reason he became a ghost. Though, Alexis did say she had been sick with a fever.
"Yes, my mother thought I was hallucinating when she was standing there, watching me do everything for a moment. I felt pretty embarrassed. Sometimes I wonder if it was real, or just a figment of my imagination."
"I don't think it was an imagination, you've shown to have cared a lot for him back then. I've seen it," He starts to make a evaluation of what she's told him so far.
"This isn't normal, Alexis. We've had the report of your friend, Sureshock, falling many times in the past ten years. Red Alert said he wasn't functioning right, and the minicon mentioned your name several times."
"Sureshock? Is he alright?"
"Yes, he's fine. In fact, he's in the base somewhere with Kicker on occasions. I am not sure where he is right now, but I will see if I can bring him to you for a little while."
"That would be great… when you guys came back, I felt so happy seeing my friend again. Maybe a little time with my old friend won't hurt me."
"I agree."
"Thank you for hearing me out, Optimus. I thought you would've got the notion that I was pretty much crazy or something."
"Oh? No," Optimus laughs for a little bit. Alexis joins in for a bit, too.
I was so silly to think he'd think I was crazy, she thinks to herself.
[Ocean City – Base interior]
"Sureshock!"
Alexis hugs her old minicon for the second time in the past five months, but Sureshock didn't say anything until he just… stared at her. This gives her the idea that maybe he isn't feeling too well again.
"Alexis. I am so happy to see you, again. The others say you are busy working for the American Government, yes?" He speaks in his binary language; she can understand it completely, even though she forgets what he's saying sometimes.
"Yeah. It's so nerve-wracking these days. I hear you're with Kicker now… that's good to hear. Anyway… I'm going to express a concern, though…"
Sureshock tilts his head as if he was going to ask a question.
"I've heard you've been… fainting, if I am not mistaken? If this is true, then why? What's been happening lately?"
"Something is coming, that I know for sure… my fellow minicon brethren can feel the invasive dark force approaching Earth and Cybertron. Who it is, we cannot tell."
"…A dark force? What sort of dark force are we talking about here?"
"A massive one. One that will cloak everything in the universe."
Unbeknownst to the talking duo, someone is watching them from a distance. One pair of yellow optics just stare at them and at the same time interpret what they're saying to each other. Who this is, doesn't look like it's going to stay there for long, until the figure fidgets a little bit.
Alarmed by the eyes, Sureshock points directly at them. Behind Alexis, which surely made her stay very still for a second or two before looking behind her to see these eyes, yet she backs away as if this were a real threat.
"Aahhhh! Who's there? Show yourself!"
"Hey, hey! Calm down, it's just me, sheesh. Ya don't have to be so alarmed and all…" That annoying voice, the same yellow colored optics from earlier at the gate…
"Ironhide!! Don't frighten me like that again!"
"Hey, I'm sorry! I couldn't help but overhear what you and you're friend are talkin' about. Sheesh!"
"And you do know it's rude to eavesdrop on someone's conversation, especially if it doesn't involve nosy bots?"
"Nosy bots? Why…"
Sureshock got in between Alexis and Ironhide, by raising his hands plus arms and waving them around wildly, trying to get them to stop arguing before it starts.
"Please, not now…" He begs.
"Ugh, you're lucky I can tolerate you, Ironhide. Kicker is just the same, too."
"Hey, grr… that's my partner by default. It's not my fault I have to be pit with him."
"Alright… I understand, but," Alexis calms down, since being frightened by someone she knows, she thought it had been a prank and decided to be angry about it.
"You just can't listen in on someone's private discussion."
"I told you, I'm sorry."
"I know you are, but you're forgiven."
"Okay, uh, thanks? Uh, sorry about overhearing something and all… what were you two talking about, anyway?"
"Stuff… it was just something between me and Sureshock."
"Oh, okay then. Heheh… uh, I better… um… go find Kicker. Yeah, I'll go find Kicker! Later!" Ironhide, embarrassed by his performance and lack of manners, zips out of sight.
"I wonder if he understood what I said. He's been standing there for about five terran minutes before I pointed him out."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Sorry Alexis. I didn't mean to not say a thing."
"That's fine, as long as he didn't understand what you were saying to me."
[Unicron's Head]
"Bah! This isn't enough Energon. We need more! You dumb Terrorcons can't even fend yourselves without being blasted to pieces by those confounded Autobrats," Alpha-Q sneers at the damaged Terrorcons limping about the lair. Many of them succeeded in the first two raids, but the last one went so dismal, it just could not be tolerated. Alpha needed to do something, and quick before those sniveling Autobots try to figure out it was coming from somewhere else…
"Just the idea I need… heheh… hahahaha! Why not? Make it look like the Decepticons are coming back with a vengeance!? HAHA!"
Something moves around the lair's junk… it resembles a bulldozer with the claws, and a towing truck end with the tail…
"Scorponok will disillusion those pathetic Autobots into a lie!"
"Ooh, start a new war with them? I never thought you were clever enough."
Alpha-Q snickered, along with the other heads.