Chapter 18 - "What a Wonderful World"

by Louis Armstrong

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I stared down at the half filled page before me, head sandwiched between my hands to try and focus. C'mon, words. Words. Just, just write something. Anything is better than staring at it forever.

"Uh, Carmen? Are you okay?"

I lifted my head to gaze pitifully at Raf, his laptop held against his chest and a look of confusion on his face. I groaned and let my hands drop to my knees before gesturing at the paper on the coffee table. "I have this essay due tomorrow and I'm almost done but I just can't - get - the stupid - last - paragraph - done!" I complained, jabbing my pencil into it in frustration. At his concerned look, I sighed and tried to smile. "It's alright, I'll get there. Nothing for you to worry about. So, uh, whatcha up to?"

He seemed dubious but thankfully let it go and held up a red remote-controlled car. "Bee and I are gonna go test out my new racer. I was gonna ask if you wanted to come but you should probably keep trying to finish your essay in time."

"I'm sorry, Raf." I apologised at his expression. He was trying to joke about it but I could tell he was bummed. It was like kicking a puppy: it was just wrong to make the kid upset. My face brightened up. "Hey, why don't you show me tomorrow? That way, my essay will be all done and Jack and Miko'll be back from the concert." He too seemed to like that and, with a quick goodbye, he ran down the stairs where I could see Bee waiting for him. The high-powered engine roared to life and soon faded down the entrance tunnel, leaving nothing but the faint sound of computer systems running.

Okay. You can do this. I took a deep breath in... and grabbed up my notes.

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"And done! Finally." I shoved the good-for-nothing essay into my binder and chucked it on the table with a huff.

"Does it always take you humans so long to compile data into a report?"

I jumped and spun around at the sudden break of silence to see my guardian standing by the command console with a metal eyebrow raised. "When the heck did you get there?"

"I've been here for the past hour."

"...Oh." I must have been really focused to not have heard him walking around. Shaking my head, I peered up at him again. "So, what're you up to?"

"I'm going over some scans that Agent Fowler sent us to see if there are any energon deposits your scientists might have stumbled upon without realising."

My head bobbed up and down, "Right, of course." Of course he's doing important work, when isn't he? Things really hadn't let up for the Autobots recently; with the Darby's being targeted by MECH and the incident with the polarity gauntlet, tensions were high. So, over the past few days, I'd been trying to think of ways to ask Ratchet to go hang out together- y'know, relax and basically do anything other than work for once. Not that I didn't like spending time with him while he worked or anything like that! It's just… what we always did. And maybe it was that stupid worm of jealousy rearing its ugly little head again but I wanted to go somewhere with my guardian, do something like the others did. Only problem was that I just didn't know how to bring it up. The fact that he was always busy didn't make it any easier.

"Do you wish to join me?"

His palm lowered and I fought the usual tingling fear of being up so high. Once settled on his shoulder, he went back to tapping at the console, all kinds of readouts and diagrams flashing up on the screens. We stayed there, taking a moment to ourselves and it was... well, it was heartwarming: sitting there while he explained what he was doing and what the different symbols meant. The fact that Ratchet was offering to spend time with me more often now was just further proof that he didn't hate me anymore. Well, I probably still annoyed him half the time and he didn't get out much but he was my guardian and despite all his brusqueness, he cared. With everything that's happened so far, we'd actually grown closer. We'd actually become friends. My earlier thoughts came crawling back and I fidgeted, debating on whether or not to say something.

"Stop that." I did.

"Sorry."

...

"If you're uncomfortable, I can let you down, you know."

I shook my head, "No no, it's fine. For a metal shoulder it's actually not as bad as you'd think." I laughed nervously. He grunted and let it go but screw it, now's as good a time as any. "Uh, hey, Ratchet?" I got a disinterested 'hmm?' in response but I knew that he was listening. "I know you're busy going through these scans but would you maybe wanna... go for a drive?" His hands stopped. My face contorted. Ah shit. Not quite there yet. I stuttered, desperately trying to get the cogs in my mind to turn and explain and backtrack out of the situation I'd created. "If you want to that is! I mean, we don't have to-" His hand laid flat before me and I gingerly stepped on and was lowered back onto the platform. My eyes stared up into his large ones as I rubbed my arm. "I just- I thought it could be fun. Y'know, change of scenery and all that jazz."

Ratchet's mouth pursed up, switching his gaze back to the monitors briefly before meeting my gaze again. He sighed, mumbled something under his breath, and looked to the ceiling in an attempt to hide the soft look that had crossed his face. "I suppose a little drive would be alright." I gasped, my smile stretching wide. He saw it and wagged a finger at me. "Not for too long though! I have work to finish." I tried to smother my excitement but dammit, I couldn't help it! The other kids were always spending time outside of base with their guardians and now I was finally - finally! - getting to do the same with mine. And while I did enjoy taking inventory and doing things with him at base, there was only so much you could do there. I wanted to show him Earth. I grabbed my bag off the table and bounded down the staircase whilst Ratchet transformed. Sliding inside, the seatbelt made its way over me and clicked into place. "Where to?"

"How about we go look at one of the areas those scans were taken at? That way you can examine it for yourself and won't have as much work to do back at base?" The sound of the ground bridge starting up accompanied his rumbling engine and with a shift of the gears beside me we were off.

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The tops of the trees barely reached above Ratchet's head as he ambled through with his scanner; its faint ping… ping… ping… filling the quiet. I sputtered as Ratchet turned and I caught a face full of leaves. "Pleh! Eugh, that went in my mouth." I gagged and waved my hands around to push the branch away.

"You're fine, they can't hurt you. Besides, I thought you humans consumed different plant species- in fact, I've read they are the healthier alternative to what you manufacture and sell in stores."

I gave him a lopsided grin. "That's vegetables. Humans don't eat leaves. I mean, there are some leaves out there you can eat, but in general, we don't eat them."

"Ah, I see." He chimed, moving to the left as the scanner pinged more frequently. He made a soft noise as we emerged into a small clearing, his scanner blaring a long tone as it hovered over the lake making up its center. Sunlight glistened over the water as it rippled in the breeze and I gaped at the thousands of reflections sparkling below the surface.

"Wow…" As Ratchet bent down, he offered me his hand and lowered me onto the forest floor. I sat on the edge of the grass and stared into the water below, marveling at the mass of crystals scattered across the bottom. "Are those energon crystals? I didn't realise they could be so small."

Ratchet reached into the lake and cut off a chunk of one of the larger crystals deeper down. He raised it in front of me. "Normally no but we did not have water on Cybertron, or many other elements found here on Earth, which seem to cause these variations." Blue washed over me as the sun hit the crystal and I was mesmerised by the patterns dancing across it. When I realised I had been reaching out for it, I jerked my hand back cautiously. "It is intriguing though;" he continued "the sheer volume of compositional and genetic diversity on your planet is unlike any other organic world I've heard of. Why it needs to be so complex is confounding."

With a shrug, I swirled my fingers through the water. "It's just how the world is I guess - I think it's incredible that there are so many different animals and species. The peace of getting away from the world we've created and to see all the different forms life can take…" I pointed to a spot a little ways in front of me. "Seeing how nature adapts to different environments over time. I mean, look at those frogs! You'd think with all that energon in there it wouldn't be possible for anything to survive but they're still there… I mean, what if they're a whole new species!" I chirped. "Oh that'd be so cool." Grinning up at Ratchet, he was looking thoughtfully at the spawn of green and blue frogs weaving between the shards and perching upon them. "What should we call them?"

The mech gave me a skeptic glance. "Whatever would we name them for?"

"Well, whenever someone discovers something, they get to name it."

"And how do you know this species hasn't been discovered elsewhere and named yet, hmm?"

My arms stretched out to rest behind me, "I don't. I mean, I doubt this is the only place in the world where energon grows underwater but it's just a bit of fun. How about Cyber-frogs?" He grimaced. "No? Too cheesy? It'd have to be something related to Cybertron. Ooh, what about 'the Blue-Spotted Medic Frog'? See, cause its spots almost look like little plus signs hospitals use? That way you get a claim to the name instead." Ratchet just shook his head but it wasn't mean-spirited. He actually seemed somewhat amused and I took it as a win. "See? Naming things is fun. What about Cybertron though? You don't have, like, robo-animals or anything?"

Ratchet scoffed, "They are not called 'robo-animals'." I hunched forward sheepishly but couldn't get the cheeky smile to go away. He 'hmf'ed. "There are very few creatures that inhabit Cybertron. Scraplets, as you recall, are vermin, along with Insecticons. Then you have your symbiotes like Laserbeak who have designs akin to organic species but they are not animals. The closest you would get would be Energon Eaters or Predacons." As Ratchet went on to describe the alien creatures, all I could do was watch on, riveted as he talked and gestured in turn. "Energon Eaters were enormous techno-organic monstrosities of serpentine descent that hid out in the vastness of space in areas Cybertonians frequented - ambushing ships and draining anything or anyone with energon - whilst Predacons were actually sparked from the Well of Allsparks. The largest and most ferocious of Cybertronians, they had but one form. Horned, often winged beasts with talons on their feet. Some had spikes and others tails. But they, along with the Energon Eaters, went extinct eons ago." My mouth hung open as I tried to picture them and barely registered Ratchet talking about Cybertronians who had animal features. "Take Airachnid, for example."

"Wait, hang on, back up a second." I waved my hands about. "Those Predacon things you mentioned, you said they had, like, wings and claws and stuff?" Ratchet made a noise in confirmation and I leant forward in earnest. "Like-... like a dragon?" I stage-whispered.

Ratchet stared quizzically at me. "...Dragon? I cannot say I am familiar with that animal."

Scrambling to bring out my phone, I babbled away as I searched for images to show him. "It's not just a regular old animal; dragons are mythological creatures with big wings and claws and were ferocious and could breathe fire! They're depicted across all different cultures around the world." Facing the screen to show him, he knelt down to peer closer with an analytical humm. He leant back.

"Perhaps. We do not have many depictions of what they actually looked like, only a few records describing them and the odd interpretation, but there is a resemblance."

"Could you show me? I mean, do you have any records I could look at?...Please? Cybertron and its history is so fascinating." Ratchet was humming decisively as he rubbed his chin.

"I suppose I could try to arrange that." he grumbled but I knew it was nothing more than bluster. He knew how much I loved learning about Cybertron from him and the others and it was obvious he enjoyed sharing his knowledge- no matter how much he pretended it annoyed him. Regardless:

"Promise?" he dead-panned at me. I pretended to pout but couldn't stop my lips ticking up at the corners. "Don't make me make it a pinky promise." I threatened. His look turned confused.

"A what?"

"A pinky promise." I held up my right pinky. "They're like- like extra special promises that you absolutely cannot break. It stems from the idea that a normal promise doesn't always mean much to some people so you have to make a special one." His brows only furrowed deeper and I nervously babbled on. "It's something only kids do, really, but that makes it a bit more fun and lighthearted." He was skeptical, and I didn't blame him. I mean, what was I even thinking? But nevertheless he stuck out his pinky and held it in front of my face.

"This seems an odd way of promising something-"

"-It's not done yet." I went to wrap my pinky around his and faltered. "Okay, so, normally you wrap your pinkies like this," I demonstrated with my own, "but I didn't really think this through." His faceplates didn't move but I saw the cockiness in his optics. Well, I couldn't have this defeating me. I perked up. "I got it." Forming a fist, I guestered for him to do the same and tapped my knuckles against his. "There. Fist bump! Works just as well, I reckon." Ratchet sighed heavily and looked up at the sky pleadingly.

"Primus…"

Putting the possibility of ancient-giant-robot-alien-dragons to the side for now, I merely simpered at him. Shimmying parallel to the waterline, I laid down with my arms under my head and closed my eyes. "You know, it's crazy how much our world's have in common, considering how far away they are and, you know, being organic versus mechanical." I didn't hear Ratchet respond but it didn't really need a response. I stretched languidly, sliding my arms out along the grass beside me and snuggling into it. Blades of grass brushed between my fingers as I spread them open and closed, basking in the sun's warmth.

"What are you doing?"

I opened one eye at his perturbed question. "Relaxing."

"Relaxing? Puh, never heard of it."

A snort left me and I instinctively covered my mouth and gazed wide-eyed up at him. "Was that sarcasm I hear?" I laughed. "The Ratchet is cracking jokes with me?" Said mech had a smug coyness span across his features as he looked at the lake like it was the most riveting thing he'd ever seen. I couldn't help it. Laughs slowly bubbled out and started to rise in volume until Ratchet started chuckling too and soon our laughs echoed loudly through the clearing as I doubled over. It wasn't even that funny. But laughter is contagious and I'd never heard Ratchet laugh like this before. He deserved to have fun and be more carefree. Our laughter shortly died down and I resumed my position staring up at the sky. My eyes flicked to my guardian. A thought, like a flash of light, entered my brain, and I acted before I even registered what it was. "Hey." I called, and patted the ground beside me once I had his attention. He furrowed his brows and I rolled my eyes with false-bravado. "Seriously. Lay down. Relax. It's nice."

I didn't think he'd actually do it but to my surprise, after a brief hesitation he lumbered over and grunted as he lowered himself to the grassy floor. His movements were so stilted as he practically levered himself down next to me. He huffed a 'Now what?' and I replied "Now we relax. Take in the world around you… You know, I don't think I've ever seen grass this green before." I realised. "Certainly not in Jasper. I haven't really been to many places outside of Nevada which is... pretty much all desert. Haha, probably why I like history so much: getting to learn about different places and cultures…" I shook my head. "But uh, yeah. Nice, soft, green grass is a rarity for me." I faced away from Ratchet's curious optics to face the sky again and let my eyelids fall shut. "I don't get to do this often because of that but when I can it's nice to just… immerse yourself in it. Feeling each individual blade press between your fingers, feeling yourself sink in 'cause it's so soft. Feeling the earth below you and the sun up above… when you stop like this, you can hear the world around you, you know? Really actually take it in. Listen," My tone was reverent as I felt all the noises and sensations pass over me. In the quiet, the birdsong was heightened and I could hear the frogs croak along their own little melodies. The wind rustled through the leaves and made ripples ring across the water. "Can you hear all that? All the sounds of the world."

We lay there in the not-quite-silence. Unfortunately, it wasn't long until I started to grow anxious. Was this too weird for him? He thinks I'm weird now, doesn't he? Well, weird-er at any rate. Oh, estúpida, Carmen, estúpida estúpida estúpida! ¿Podrías hacer el ridículo más grande de ti mismo? Braving a look, my body sagged in solace. His optics were closed and his face serene. As I tilted my head back once more, a pleasant warmth filled me knowing this, right here, was going to be a fond memory.

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Chairs scraped across the hardwood as I stood to gather all the empty plates and packed them in the dishwasher. "Thanks for dinner, Dad." Lily echoed the sentiment from back at the table, disgustingly muffled from the final bread roll she'd stuffed her face with. I rolled my eyes and walked back to the dining table while Dad chastised her.

"Oh, Carm," Dad cut himself off as I went to pass them towards the hallway, "d'you mind sitting back down for a quick minute? Please? I have something I need to talk to you both about." I sat down with an "of course" and he gave me a smile in thanks, cleared his throat, and clasped his hands on the table. I fiddled with the beads on the bracelet Lily had given me this afternoon: she'd made matching ones for me and Dad in school that said 'i' '3' 'u' as gifts. That was what had her so determined after our talk the other day apparently - she knew they'd be making bracelets in art class and decided she'd make them for us. It made for a good fidget tool as Dad gazed from me to Lily to the ceiling and finally back to us with a nod. "There's… there's something very important that I need to get your thoughts on."

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Spanish Translations:

Estúpida = Stupid (feminine)

¿Podrías hacer el ridículo más grande de ti mismo? = Could you make a bigger fool out of yourself?

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Hi everyone, I'm so sorry that it's been about a month since my last update! But I really hope you enjoyed some nice fluff with our main mech Ratchet this chapter. Thanks again as always for the support! Have a wonderful day