Chapter 219 – The sWitching Hour
(SePOV)
"Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening," Sentinel rumbled patiently, smiling around himself as the sparks of the humans flashed out of the mindspace.
"They really are an interesting species," Barricade commented beside him. Sentinel glanced at the Enforcer and nodded patiently, ensuring the little sparks were all safely within their own bodies before returning to his own processors.
"You make an excellent second, Barricade," Sentinel rumbled aloud, looking at the mech as the smaller carefully rose and stretched.
"It's like supervising the younglings at the academy all over again," Barricade chuckled, sitting back down and watching as the humans meandered out of the amphitheatre. "I never thought I would miss that," he added, glancing up at Sentinel.
"You're forgetting the irascible nature of our own younglings," Sentinel chuckled and looked at the sole femme striding toward him with a smile.
"True, the humans are far more well-behaved," Barricade laughed.
"Mala," Sentinel rumbled formally, nodding to the femme before offering his hand to her.
"Sentinel," she replied coolly, settling herself comfortably in his palm.
"Have you eaten?" Sentinel asked patiently.
"No," Mala stated idly, flicking her optics toward the door before looking at Barricade. Sentinel glanced at the door and noted a human watching them. "Shall we return?"
"Allow me to take you to dinner?" Sentinel asked hopefully. Mala looked him over for a long moment before nodding her outwardly reluctant acceptance. "Is there any particular cultural cuisine which you would wish to sample this eve… morning?" he asked curiously.
"You know? I believe I could go for some Italian tonight," Mala stated after a moment's thought, gracing him with a mildly approving smile. In an instant Sentinel was comparing the human's reviews of every Italian restaurant within driving distance.
"Are you going to eat the local Italian or take the bridge?" Barricade asked with a grin.
Slag, there were thousands of eateries available if that were the case…
"Just locally," Mala stated with an artful look of distaste on her face. "I don't think that bridge and I are terribly compatible."
Which was a bare faced and Machiavellian fallacy: Mala had taken to the ground bridge with great alacrity, regularly returning to her 'flat' in London to both deposit and collect various of her personal effects. Sentinel resolutely kept his faceplates in their grave cast as the stranger human continued to watch them.
"It's easier on you humans if you ride with one of us through the bridge," Barricade stated in a tempting tone. "You'll be able to get the early-evening specials fresh in the right time zone…"
"Thank you, no," Mala stated in a cool tone.
"Fair enough," Barricade shrugged, rising again. "I'm going back to base, no-bot's answering my hails."
Sentinel jumped and looked at the Enforcer curiously.
"What do you mean no-bot's answering?" he asked sternly. ::. Optimus, what is base status?.::
Silence.
"I'll comm you if something's genuinely wrong," Barricade informed him gravely, glancing at Mala. Sentinel nodded.
"I should like to get cleaned up before we dine," Mala commented in his hand. Sentinel nodded again and rose, carrying the femme out of his lecture hall, shutting the systems down and locking up properly as the Enforcer rapidly transformed and made tracks for their base.
Sentinel transformed around Mala and took off behind Barricade at a much more modest pace.
"I have noted five restaurants in particular which might best suit you," Sentinel commented with a smile, looking at the femme sitting relaxed in his passenger's seat.
"We'll try the semi-formal one," Mala stated in a gently amused tone, glancing at him. Sentinel chuckled and selected the restaurant in earnest, depositing the data into his forward memories.
"Sentinel Prime to Optimus Prime," Sentinel rumbled aloud, reaching for his young friend. Nothing.
"Is there something wrong?" Mala asked worriedly.
"I will not know until Barricade has made his report," Sentinel replied gravely.
"He should have made it back by now," Mala commented with a frown of her own.
"Indeed, Sentinel Prime to Enforcer Barricade," Sentinel rumbled with a frown.
Silence.
"Perhaps Wheeljack has blacked out communications once more…?" Sentinel rumbled unsurely, pulling up toward their base. He parked outside of the entrance bay doors for an indecisive moment: There were no humans guarding the entrance as was the norm… "Mala…" he began with a frown.
"Stay outside and let you check it out?" Mala asked him in an amused tone.
"Just to be sure that I am not placing you in unnecessary danger," Sentinel nodded.
"I'd argue but for the fact that said danger is far more likely to be your size, not mine," Mala chuckled, patiently climbing down from his cabin. Sentinel transformed the second his femme was free and brought a cannon online, his blades readying themselves to be drawn at a moment's notice. He signalled the door to open and cautiously made his way through, Mala's soft footsteps behind him. Sentinel looked around the entrance bay for a long moment and lightly adjusted his weaponry, scrutinizing the weapons master critically.
Something was certainly wrong. Once more, Ironhide was pink, but his expression was not yet irritated, he was smirking! More worrisome, Barricade was standing near the mech, a deeply amused expression frozen on his faceplates. Sentinel strode across the corridor into the med-bay and gave a hoarse bark of surprise. Ratchet had seemingly developed an extraordinarily severe case of creeping salt-rot in the short period of time that Sentinel had been absent.
"Sentinel," Optimus rumbled behind him. "I had assumed you would take Mala to dinner before returning to base."
"That had been my intent, Mala wished to repair her armour prior to dining," Sentinel rumbled with a frown, turning to look at his young friend. "Optimus, what is… precisely where is your armour?" he demanded with a scowl.
"Oh god now Barricade's frozen too!?" Lena's voice shouted in a distressed tone. Sentinel turned automatically to look at the femme curiously for a long moment before his processors finally made the connection.
"Switch has been busy," Sentinel commented calmly, turning back toward the medic and scanning him for a moment. Ah yes, paint and sand: harmless. He patiently disengaged his cannons and allowed his Primax to re-lock more securely. "How long has the base been frozen?"
"A few breem short of a joor," Optimus shrugged casually.
"Mala what are you doing outside? Where are the guards!?" Lena shrieked.
Sentinel felt himself begin to freeze and straightened himself fully. He was a Prime, and aged as he might very well be, he did not freeze at the cry of Switch's messengers: he raised his hand to greet them.
"Prime didn't freeze! Abort! ABORT!" young Wingnut's voice hissed in a terrified tone. Sentinel shook his helm in amusement, he simply couldn't help it. He strode to the portal and poked his helm around the doorframe to observe young Bumblebee and Longbolt accompanying the femmeling; all three of whom had varying expressions of terror and guilt as they each bore armloads of another's armour.
That would simply not do.
"Good orn to you, young emissaries of Switch," he stated formally, nodding his helm to them as he strode toward Lena.
"You didn't freeze! Why is everyone else frozen!?" Lena shrieked at him.
Sentinel felt himself begin to freeze and straightened himself fully.
"I am a Prime!" He announced with the utmost dignity and pride that he could muster. "Aged though I might very well be, I do not freeze at the hail of Switch's messengers but raise my hand in greeting to you, young ∂Banshee-hawk∂"
"That's so cool!" young Wingnut shouted behind him. Sentinel smiled and turned to look at the femmeling.
"I suppose the youth of Optimus' mate prevented you from seeing him do that?" he asked in amusement.
"I knew it!" Bumblebee shouted with a bright grin, turning tail and running for the central with Longbolt hot on his bumper.
"Has everybot gone mad!?" Lena shrieked, Sentinel looked at the femme worriedly and felt himself begin to freeze. He straightened automatically and raised his hand in greeting to the femme.
"Why are you doing that!?" Lena demanded, her tone fully panicked. Sentinel felt his protective circuits kick online in response to that tone; he took the final two steps to close the distance between them and knelt down, automatically reaching out and cupping the femme's shoulders. "Stop it! Stop doing that! You and Optimus both!" Lena shouted. "We're undermanned! Undefended and the guards aren't even at their posts!"
Sentinel jerked back, stunned; in the space of a short joor the young femme had descended long past the simple words that he might offer in his capacity as a Prime, she needed the company of a flier sister.
"Go get Kae," Mala commanded him flatly, as though hearing his process. Sentinel nodded automatically and jerked to his feet, striding down the corridors.
(MPOV)
I lazily stretched out on our berth and started somewhat before my processors brought up the vague memory of my mate depositing me here and whispering a sweetly compelling lullaby in my audios. I blinked a bit of haziness out of my optics, idly reviewing the myriad of spark-wanderings I'd dreamt and rolled to my feet, lazily summoning my armour. In an instant, my preservation circuits snapped online; my armour was AWOL, and my guardian was not present.
The doors to our quarters opened and I crouched down automatically, decreasing my targetable size and whipping the spare cannon Ironhide had given me out of subspace.
"Whoa!" Wingnut shouted, a portion of my armour flying out of her servos at the continued beckoning of my systems.
"Prime? Somebot!? Help!" Wingnut squeaked out, not a twitch of movement crossing the femmeling's frame.
"Calm yourself young femme," Sentinel's voice rumbled tolerantly out of optic range.
I struggled against my preservation circuitry for a moment, one third of my armour had returned to me; chest-plates and a wing. A wing against which I was now desperately struggling to keep from refashioning itself automatically into a blade.
ΩArchangel Prime! Stand down!Ω Sentinel snapped at me with the voice of command. In an instant my blade formed, a single motion drawing it from its standby position into an automatic defensive pattern. I had to let it go, I was too busy trying to choke down the feral snarl of defiance revving up through my systems.
"No!" my mate's voice bellowed from the direction of med-bay, Sentinel took a step toward me and Wingnut bolted. I lunged at the aggressor, only to witness my mate shove him aside and take his place.
~Please~ his spark whispered to mine. ~Stop~
I froze, my blade a breath away from the unguarded spark of my mate. Slowly, delicately, my Optimus gently nudged my blade to the side and stepped closer, wrapping me in a protective hug.
~Stand down~ his spark whispered to mine ~We are safe here~
I gasped as my preservation protocols snapped offline and dropped my blade, clinging to my beloved.
"I could have killed you!" I choked out.
"You could have, but you would not," my mate murmured gently, nuzzling at my helm. I shuddered and buried my faceplates into his neck for a long moment before drawing back and scanning him; making absolutely certain he was uninjured.
"Your presence is needed, Archangel," Sentinel rumbled quietly behind my mate. "You have my apologies, of course."
"What's gone wrong?" I immediately demanded. "Where's my armour?" I added, calling my wing back to it's proper place. Sentinel froze, and stared at my wing. "What?" I demanded with a frown.
"I do not recognize it, do you?" Sentinel asked curiously, looking at my mate.
Optimus stepped back and looked curiously at my wing.
"Nevada?" Optimus asked curiously. "Hey Wingnut!" he called out cheerfully.
"Optimus?" Wingnut's voice called back shyly.
"Nevada?" Optimus called out with a grin.
"You said you wouldn't tell!" Wingnut shouted back in an indignant tone.
"You then asked me to tell my Kae in private," Optimus called back in amusement.
"Oh riiiight…" Wingnut stated in a musing tone.
~What's going on?~ I asked silently.
~Lena~ my mate murmured quietly, bringing me fully up to date. I shook my helm dazedly, that was a helluva dejavu… wait…
"Why didn't you rouse me sooner?" I demanded with a frown.
§Because it is necessary§ Mico whispered softly. I flinched, I couldn't help it.
~Is now the best time?~ I asked worriedly, reaching up and gently stroking my mate's faceplates as he looked at me curiously.
§Now is the time when a flier will either soar or fall§
~There is no more important time~ I murmured softly before looking at my mate, the brief flash of confusion in his spark and optics put to rest as he looked into mine.
"The rest?" I asked curiously.
"Is almost here," Optimus rumbled innocently. I looked at him wryly for a moment before making for the corridor.
"Is that such…" Sentinel began in a wary tone.
"Oh please, I'm awake now," I stated in wry amusement, brushing past him. "Nevada?" I asked curiously, striding toward Wingnut.
"When… when your…" Wing began shyly, looking down at her pedes.
Automatically, I sat down in front of the femmeling and leaned forward, working to get low enough to catch Wing's optics.
"Sorry Wing," I murmured softly.
"I didn't mean to…" Wingnut whispered.
"Bring my armour back a breem after I'd summoned it?" I finished for her in amusement, tilting my helm to the side somewhat.
"Those were your preservation protocols!?" Wingnut shouted at me, I jumped slightly and pulled back to look her in the face properly.
"Sorry about that," I murmured embarrassedly.
"How am I still alive!?" Wingnut demanded in an awed tone.
I blinked.
"Practice?" I hazarded, turning to look at my mate.
"Training," my Optimus rumbled calmly. I frowned, my training had been the precise opposite…
"What training?" Sentinel asked with a frown. "She is not even a vorn old-"
"The ricin," Optimus rumbled quietly, holding my optics. Automatically, I reached to touch my right forearm; the spark of my mate pressing gently against mine at the memory of my sister.
"What training could possibly counteract one's full preservation protocols?" Sentinel demanded behind me.
"And how do we do it?" Wingnut asked with wide optics.
"Kill, and join thine enemy in death," I stated with quiet finality, rising and looking at Longbolt and my little brother.
"Your armour, Prime," Longbolt stated shyly, offering up his own bundle of plate metals.
"Did you make me pretty?" I asked sweetly, lightly summoning my armour from their arms. I shrugged into it with a bit of relief, resettling my wings as my little brother grinned.
"Nevada?" I asked again, looking at Wingnut.
"When your wing is extended," Wing murmured shyly. I looked back at my furled wing curiously, noting the new colours dotting the scales. I glanced around, striding toward the entrance bay.
I needed some room.
The moment I cleared the entrance bay doors I stretched my wings to their fullest extent and smiled. On my left the rich red, gold and umbers of the sun drenched Nevada desert danced in a scene across the breadth of my wing; on my right, the cool violet and blues of a moonlit beach. I looked around and scowled.
None of the human soldiers were at their posts.
"Where are the guards?" I asked sternly.
"They're frozen! They've all frozen!" Lena shrieked hysterically, I looked down and noted Mala standing frozen with her hands extended toward the femme.
Lena had begun affecting even the humans; the femme herself was erratically pacing, her every motion an agitated, bating twitch.
§She is growing strong indeed§ Mico whispered approvingly in my spark, gazing around ourselves with my optics.
"Kill and join thine enemy in death?" Longbolt asked curiously behind me. "What does that mean?"
"I dunno," Wingnut shrugged.
"Well that's helpful, now how do we figure it out?"
"Now we ask Bee," Wingnut stated gravely. I rolled my optics.
- Make sure they don't hurt themselves?- I tentatively sent to my little brother across our sibling bond.
- I have your back, big-sister- Bee sent back with gentle amusement, I made a personal note to spoil him rotten before taking a final glance around.
"Optimus, Sentinel, see to the home-guard," I stated sternly, straightening and looking at the male Primes moving to flank me. I signalled the skyris to open and strode toward Lena. "We have a femmeling in need of instruction," I added in a menacing tone, Mico guiding my voice and motions as we snatched the now cowering femmeling from her perch and all but dragged her first to the skyris, then up into the atmosphere.
"Kae what are you doing!?" Lena shrieked at me, momentarily slowing my reflexes as my boosters continued to drive us higher above the planet which had borne us both.
"Your shriek has grown to the power of that of maturity," Mico stated sternly with my vocals. "You are grown and mated little banshee-hawk, and as it has been from the orn of the first flier whom I bore into our skies: now comes the time that you will determine your fate."
I flinched as a snap of power from the spark beside my own reached out for full control of my frame, releasing a sobbing and terrified Lena back toward the earth. In an instant I made to dive after her, only to freeze once more.
§No daughter§ Mico whispered in my mind.
"But-" I began worriedly, rapidly working to re-sync my systems as we slowly descended amidst the wan, predawn light.
§Do not cheapen our daughter's baptism by catching her before she can test herself§ Mico whispered firmly.
::. Kaaaeee!.:: Lena's voice wailed on the Primary.
"Don't halt me for so long that I don't have time to reach her!" I shouted in a full panic; Lena hadn't yet transformed into her flier frame, screaming her panicked way toward the ground. I felt my systems returned to me and dove, blasting my engines as hard as they could go chasing after my sister human-turned-bot.
I wasn't close enough: not without reaching a speed which would kill us both.
"You're a flier Lena! Now fly!" I shouted helplessly, scrambling to reach her. A scant handful of units from the ground Lena finally transformed, stretching her wings and catching the air. I transformed with her, heaving a sob of relief as she swooped back up into the atmosphere. My spark soared as her tone switched from terror to victorious freedom, I screamed with her as she circled, catching the thermals thrown from the earth by our sun.
::. Why would you do that to me!?.:: Lena bellowed furiously as I circled around her.
::. It is your initiation into the ranks of flier kind.:: Silverwing's voice stated in unmistakably imperial pride. I started somewhat and glanced around, beaming the next moment at the veritable flock of fliers dropping to assume a wide formation around us ::. You are a flier child confirmed! Baptized by fire and numbered as one among us.::
I dove at the intention-signal of the dominant femme of the flock, landing beside her amidst the broad circle of fliers as was my right of status. Lena stayed in the air for a few moments more, scanning the area before landing in front of me in the centre of the circle.
"Why would you do that!?" Lena demanded incredulously.
"Why do you ask a question twice?" Silverwing asked sternly, I flicked my optics from Lena's toward the femme and back, telling her to pay attention. I smiled as she caught the message, looking at Silverwing properly.
"Because I received the wrong translation," Lena snapped irritably before looking back at me.
Or maybe not.
"Only partially," I murmured in amusement.
"Why would you take me up without knowing whether or not you'd be able to stay up yourself!?" Lena shouted at me.
"Because the only way for a banshee-hawk to learn their freedom cry is first to fall, then to soar under the power of their own wings," Slashfyre shrugged.
"My point stands! You froze and you fell!" Lena shouted at me.
"Granted we usually just chuck 'em off the highest tower to keep that from happening," Stormchaser commented cheerfully.
Lena pointed at Stormchaser, glowering at me.
"I'm only going to ask you one more time," Lena stated menacingly. "Why. Did you take. Such a risk!?"
"Because we don't have any precipices high enough to chuck you off of, and technically, I'm younger that you," I stated seriously, crossing my arms as the fliers around us laughed.
"So are half of the newbies on base and they froze!" Lena shrieked at me. "You froze and you fell!"
"You weren't the one to freeze me Lena," I stated patiently, glancing at the fliers standing frozen in the circle around us.
"What!?" Lena demanded.
"Mico did - to keep me from diving after you too soon," I shrugged. "I wasn't falling, I was trying to catch you."
"You were trying to catch me!?" Lena demanded incredulously. "I might borrow a lift up into the air from time to time but I can fly Kae!"
"You weren't transforming into your flight frame," I stated defensively. "I figured you were panicked enough to have forgotten."
"I could have dropped another twenty feet and recovered!" Lena snapped incandescently. "What precisely was I supposed to tell Optimus? Huh? That you dragged me into the air and I froze you to death!?"
"Only a dominant slated for death by Switch himself will freeze," Silverwing stated sternly, her wings flicking irritably. "Now please release my trine."
"What?" Lena demanded irritably, looking at the femme before glancing around and covering her mouth in shock.
"This one does not learn quickly," Silverwing commented to me with a scowl.
"Patience Silverwing, she's a scant third of a vorn old and has a steep learning curve to surmount," I stated in the best regal tone I could manage - nothing less would be accepted by the femme. "We both began as humans, but Lena does not have the benefit of the All-spark reading her thoughts and offering an explanation the moment a data conflict comes up," I continued, lightly tapping my helm. I knelt down somewhat and caught hold of Lena's shoulders. "Lena your shriek is empowered by emotion: If you freeze people with a scream of rage, you free them with…" I trailed off, smiling at her as two and two clicked in her optics.
"With the scream of joy you can't hold back when your wings catapult you into the air…" Lena murmured softly, looking around at the frozen fliers. "That's what Optimus meant!" she exclaimed the next second, grinning at me.
"My mate is smarter than he looks, shall we try again?" I asked cheerfully, rising and offering my hands to Lena.
Lena grinned at me and straightened, looking at the frozen fliers around us as she seemingly processed something. Then she screamed, the same scream of victorious freedom she had the second her wings had opened. I beamed as the fliers around us unfroze, looking around at each other in amusement.
"What'd we forget?" Stormchaser asked curiously, sidling up to his dominant trine-member and tucking himself under her wing.
"I did it!" Lena shrieked excitedly, launching herself at me. I laughed and caught her, hugging the little femme soundly.
"Naught but the supplementary translations required by the human-born hatchlings," Silverwing purred, lovingly winding the gentler of her trine-mates a bit more tightly into her side with her wing.
I made a note of it in a back processor, something to mimic later.
"How much supplementary?" Slashfyre asked suspiciously.
"Merely a cultural update, as though she were accidentally raised by grounders," Silverwing stated idly.
"Shall we go release the base?" I asked in amusement.
"Uh… can we do it from the air?" Lena asked with a frown.
"I suppose, don't you want to make sure the base can hear you?" I asked curiously.
"Only where Ironhide can't find me," Lena stated definitively.
"Ironhide's not going to hurt you Lena," I stated in amusement.
"You're sure about that?" Lena asked sceptically. "You did see his new paint job… didn't you?"
"No grounder would dare fire upon a banshee-hawk," Silverwing stated imperiously.
"Nor fliers either," Thrust added cheerfully. I nodded to the flier with a small smile and received a cheerful grin.
"What?" Lena asked curiously.
"Bad luck to offer harm to a banshee hawk," Thrust explained with a bright smile, stepping forward and kneeling down in front of Lena, cupping her shoulders.
"What is it with everybot grabbing hold of me like this?" Lena asked warily.
"Paying obeisance to a grounded banshee-hawk and returning them to the sky should they ask? Best way to change your luck," Thrust grinned at her. "Since the hawk fledgeling we carried to the top of the high towers as younglings found Camber's trine mates for him I can only project how lucky kissing a fully sentient banshee-hawk femmeling is!"
I covered my vocals to cut off the bark of laughter as Thrust swooped in to kiss Lena's cheeks as she squeaked.
::. Kae what's going on?.:: Lena demanded over a private frequency.
::. Nothing untoward, and nothing you don't want to do.:: I replied gently. ::. Fliers are just incredibly touchy-feely once you're one of them. Try to think of them as a conspiracy of ravens, they have extraordinarily tight family bonds and a complex pecking order.::
::. They freak you out when they stare down at you from the power lines, but groom each other out of the way of prying eyes.:: Lena returned thoughtfully.
"Can we go back to the sky now?" Thrust asked with bright-opticed innocence. "Wanna come back up into the sky?"
::. You're a high ranking new member of the flock Lena, a young female with her choice of mates; they're gonna flirt, but they're not going to risk crossing you.:: I murmured calmly.
"Yes we can go back into the sky," Lena stated in amusement. "Just no mid-air collision hugs! The lot of you! I'm not that good at this yet."
"How could you be? You're not even a vorn old yet!" Thrust chirped cheerily. "But we'll make sure you're super-high-quick-fast so you have plenty of altitude to correct!" he added before blasting the pair of them straight into the atmosphere. I rolled my optics and shot an amused glance at Silverwing before following them into the air myself.