I don't own transformers. I own Ariel, Lightning, and the plot. If you don't like mush; don't read this chapter. Eh, if Katie's reading this, sorry for what I said. I was thinking of the betrayers and was in a bad mood. Any-hoo; I had milk chocolate and was in a melty mood when I wrote this. Ahh… the heaven that is chocolate… eh… ; anyway, enjoy!
Not who you think I am
A new kind of Spark
"Okay guys; let's get ready for bed!" Alexis chirped, and then glanced down at the couch where Ariel was curled up; already long gone in the land of dreams, using Red Alert as a pillow. He wasn't pleased about it; but knew it was probably best to let her sleep. Alexis snickered, "Maybe you can move without waking her up?" She suggested.
He slowly slipped away from her, gently laying her on the couch. She moved into a new position as soon as he let go of her; he was amazed how quickly she'd gotten used to in the least sleeping in a human body. She mumbled something incoherent, and was quiet. Alexis put a blanket over her, and then turned to the others, showing the boys where to put their sleeping bags, and giving Red Alert and Hotshot blankets and pillows.
—
Rad woke to the smell of a good breakfast. Bacon, pancakes, eggs, so on and so forth. He looked around and saw the other boys waking to the smell as well. He glanced at the couch and saw Ariel still curled up on it, blanket still around her. Red Alert and Hotshot were also still sound asleep, though Red didn't appear to have moved at all in the night whereas Hotshot was sprawled in an odd position about three or four feet away from where he had started the night before. None of the human-bots appeared to be anywhere's near waking.
Rad stumbled into the kitchen to see Alexis cooking their breakfast. He raised an eyebrow, "You trying to poison us Alexis?" Fred, Billy, and Carlos were at his heels, laughing at his joke.
She gave them all a dirty look as they sat down at the table, "Don't even think about eating until those guys wake up. So somebody get them up."
Rad and Carlos groaned and stalked back to the living room. Rad nudged Red Alert for a few moments until he woke. Hotshot was another story entirely; they had to kick him several times before stirring him in the least. While they were attacking the sleeping Hotshot; Red Alert woke Ariel by shaking her ever so slightly, not that she woke swiftly.
"Go away. Just a little longer… then I'll wake up."
"Ariel; Alexis made breakfast, wake up before it gets cold." Red Alert groaned, his own stomach grumbling.
"I'm up. I'm up."
"OW!"
"Alexis! We finally got Hotshot up!"
"Thanks guys! Bring him in. Time to eat!"
—
"Calm down Optimus. I know that Red'll find a cure to this thing; then it'll all be alright." Scavenger hadn't seen Optimus Prime so frazzled in what seemed like an eternity.
"I know; I'm just worried… What if Red Alert can't reverse it?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."
—
"Okay; let's go."
"Go where Alexis?" Ariel was honestly hoping she meant back to base.
"You guys can't go around in those cloths; we need to get you new ones. You'll fit in my mom's cloths well enough; and so will Red for my dad's cloths, and my cousin left some cloths that should work for Hotshot; but that'll only work for today. Plus I think we need to give you guys some fake names so people won't get suspicious."
"… But I kinda like my name Alexis…" Ariel said in confusion.
"Well… we can say Ariel's short for Ariella. Does that sound okay?"
"Yeah… Thanks."
"Okay… how does Hogan sound Hotshot?"
"Uh… it'll work for now…"
"How does Read sound Red Alert?" Alexis was now confident in her name picking skills.
Red Alert shook his head, "I should be back at the base trying to find an antidote; not around humans! I don't need a fake name." he sounded a bit grumpy.
Ariel laughed; "You're just grumpy 'cause Hot-… Hogan kept waking you up by hitting you in your sleep!" She continued to giggle; finding amusement in Red Alert's suffering.
"And how exactly did you know that?"
"I woke up nearly every time someone made a loud noise; and you kept groaning when hit. And I don't think that Read is really a good name for Red. Got anything else Alexis?"
"Possibly something that translates into grouchy?" Hotshot implied, earning him a glare from Red.
"Um… Redmond? That way we can still call him Red!"
"Fine! Fine!" Red Alert- Redmond surrendered.
"Okey-dokey! Let's help these guys get changed-" At seeing the looks on the boy's faces Alexis frowned, "You four help those two; I'll help Ariel."
—
"You're taking them where?" Optimus asked over the com-link.
"Just downtown Optimus. Is there a problem?"
Lightning spoke up grumpily, "Yeah there's a problem Alexis! This transformation was clearly part of one of the Decepticon's crazy schemes! If you take them out in public they could find them and complete whatever plan they have!"
Ariel glared at him after taking the link from Alexis, "I hate to admit it; but Sunshine over there has a point. If the Decepticons somehow recognize us…"
Rad snatched it this time, "But they do need to get stuff since even if Red find's a cure it'll probably take a long time! So what're we suppose to do!"
Optimus was silent for a moment then turned to Lightning, "Lightning; I want you to be their guard alright? If the Decepticons get within a quadric of them; get them back to base. Got it?"
"Yes sir. I'm already gone."
—
Alexis was amazed at how calm the 'bot-humans were walking into a crowd of humans for the first time. They had taken Red's visor since it made him stand out too much… and at discovering that his eyes were an unnatural Red color; they gave him sunglasses. But she noticed how close all three were staying both together and with the kids. They were probably trying to do everything in their power to remain calm.
After several stores and several hours; they finally had everything the hu-bot's would need for the base. From clothes, to blankets, to toothbrushes; they had everything the kids thought they would need. And then they saw him. A rather tall guy, about eighteen or so, walked over and messed Alexis' hair.
"Hey, little step-cuz. I see you've increased your number of weirdo-friends. And why hello! Who's the hot girl you're with Alexis?"
Alexis steamed: she really hated this guy, "Back off Dean. She's my friend; and I don't want you corrupting my friends."
Ariel was simply dumbstruck. She understood that, in this creep's own strange way was complimenting her, but she still didn't like it.
Neither did Red Alert. He didn't know why, but he felt like this guy was a threat to her, and he feared for her safety. And he could even cause them more problems if he pursued liking her. He felt the hot bubble in his stomach absolutely boil when he grabbed Ariel's hand and kissed it, folding a little piece of paper into her hands, "Whatever Alexis; here Doll, give me a call sometime."
"…Doll!" Ariel huffed, "My name's Ariel! And what do you mean by "Doll"!"
"I mean you're a doll; ya know; a cute plaything?"
"Do I look plastic to you!" she snapped, pulling away from him.
"No, but you do look like a pleasurable plaything…"
"Excuse me!"
"Leave her alone Dean!" Alexis snapped; though he paid no heed.
"Wanna ditch these losers and spend a few hours in my bed-" Ariel slapped him as hard as she could; cutting him off. "Ow! What was that for you little-?"
Red Alert grabbed Ariel's hand, it was red from the impact on Dean's face, but he had the distinct feeling they had to get away from him; stat. he looked to Alexis and Rad to lead the way away from him. It only took a minute to get physically away, but several to calm Ariel down.
"I can't believe that guy's nerve! You should've let me hit him Red! Why'd you-"
"Ariel, I agree he was out of line, but you know we can't draw attention to ourselves!"
"Yeah Ariel, do you want to completely ruin our cover?" Hotshot jumped in.
Her face turned bright red with embarrassment and shame, "I-I didn't mean to… I-it just kinda slipped out because of the way he was talking to me…"
"Just don't let it happen again." Red warned. He couldn't get passed that hot feeling, and wondered if he was ill. Or perhaps it was some way of the human body to tell you when something was going wrong.
Lightning drove up to them, "Is everything okay? I saw what happened back there; are you okay Ariel?" That boiling feeling hit Red Alert full on again, and now he truly didn't understand.
"I'm okay; it wasn't anything you need to tell Demority." Ariel blurted out.
"Demority?" Hotshot teased.
"What or who is Demority?" Billy asked.
Ariel's cheeks flushed red again, so Red Alert answered, "It's kind of like saying "Daddy" for humans." Even Red was smirking at Ariel, glad for a lightening of tone.
"It's not funny!" Ariel snapped, face even redder than before, since now that the kids understood they were laughing away as well.
Alexis smiled, pointing to their bags, "We should get this stuff back to the base."
"Yeah. We should go."
—
One thing Red Alert could get used to about this new human body was that he had a left hand again. However it wasn't flesh like everyone else's. It was just as mobile as his other hand; but it was a robotic hand covered in plastic. It looked real enough though, unless you touched it or got to close and could see the plastic (to fix that they had him wear "gloves", and have some story about a car accident if someone did find out). Though he couldn't figure out why his hand was that way. Wasn't the serum supposed to turn everything in their systems into organic compositions? No. It was to reconfigure their molecules. What it was reconfigured into seems to have depended on what it originally was.
It all ran through his mind as he analyzed the serum; making it easier for Ariel to sneak up on him. "Boo!" she chirped, poking him in the side.
He was a little startled but just shook his head, "I'm trying to analyze here! Will you either go away or hand me that tool?" he snapped; pointing to a tool on another desk.
She obediently handed it to him, as his hand brushed hers she couldn't help but blush; she didn't know what it was, but being near him in this human form seemed rather embarrassing. She also had a nearly uncontrollable urge to tell him about Destiny like she had with Alexis, but knew better than to risk it. It was then and only then that she realized that neither of them had moved their hand away from the contact. She swiftly pulled away, face even redder than before, what was wrong with her? "S-sorry Reddy. I-I'd better go…"
"Ariel…" She was already out the door. Red Alert was just as embarrassed as she was, but he couldn't figure out why.
Ariel bumped into Alexis in the hall, and at seeing her confused, beat-red face, Alexis insisted that they talk alone in her room. Though once in the room they agreed to let Destiny in on the conversation by pulling out a small mirror Alexis had gotten for her to brush her teeth.
"Okay Ariel, what happened?" Alexis asked once they got situated.
"Nothing happened okay! I-I just…"
"She has a crush on Red Alert." The smooth voice from the mirror accused.
"I do not Destiny!" Ariel snapped.
"You like Red? Why don't you tell him?" Alexis asked.
Ariel looked to the ground. "Because I don't! Besides, even if I did, which I don't, he wouldn't feel the same."
"Don't be silly Ariel. You should've seen the look on his face when Dean was flirting with you! But I don't think he knows he likes you… and I don't think you realize how much you like him."
Ariel looked at her skeptically. "And how would you know about this kind of thing?"
She smiled, "Call it the natural intuition of women to know when someone has a crush on someone else."
"Uh-huh…"
"Trust me. Oh no! is that the real time! I've gotta go home; unless… do you want to stay over again? My house can be kinda creepy alone… or… maybe I could stay with you tonight?"
Ariel smiled, it'd be nice to have Alexis around to explain things to her. "Sure… thanks Alexis."
—
After changing into night cloths; Ariel had insisted that Alexis sleep on the side of Ariel's recharge berth that was to the wall; she didn't want Alexis to fall off the "bed" and hurt herself. If only she was so worried about herself. At close to midnight she fell of the berth, hitting the ground with a loud thud. "OW!" she yelped, for about a minute unable to move.
Alexis slept soundly, but someone else had heard her down the hall. The door opened and Red Alert ran in, "Ariel! Are you okay? I heard you yell…" he knelt at her side, concern written all over his face.
"I-I think so…" she rubbed the back of her head and lower back. "Other than a few bruises and my aft I think I'm fine." She smiled at him sweetly, despite her slip of the tongue, and desperately wishing that Alexis was awake.
Red shook his head, "Are you absolutely sure you're alright? Human bodies are a lot more frail-…"
She waved her hand and suddenly wondered if Alexis was faking being asleep. "I'm fine Red. Just a little shaken up is all."
He gave her a skeptical look, "Let's see if we can get you on your feet." He held out his hand to her, and when she finally took it put his other hand under her other arm, pulling her to her feet, but she awkwardly stumbled foreword, falling into his arms.
For a moment they both froze, but then she jumped onto her feet. She blushed deeply, and stuttered, "I-I… Um…"
"M-maybe I should go…" he mumbled uncomfortably, slinking toward the door.
"No- I-I mean wait a sec…" Red stopped in his tracks, Ariel moved close to him, timid smile on her face, "Heh… ya know Alexis said something kinda silly earlier…" he raised an eyebrow, "… Heh… she- well… she said that I have a crush on you. And that you have a crush on me, and that neither of us even knew it. Silly huh?" her face had reddened with what she said. She absently wondered if all humans blushed this much.
"Uh… I suppose so..." He mentally slapped himself for good measure, he liked her yes, more than he probably should, yes, but he knew that it was never going to happen, it was a bad idea. She gave him a rather strange look, and a different kind of bubbling feeling rose in his stomach, and he swallowed hard, trying to force the feeling away, "Um… I should go. G-good night Ariel." Before he could turn to leave she kissed his cheek, causing both of them to blush. Red Alert stood still for a moment, wondering what had come over her.
And they were both surprised when she moved in to do it again and their lips brushed, making both of them tremble. Their first thought each was to pull away, but neither did. Then Ariel leaned in closer, the kiss may've been an accident, but Ariel didn't want to move away. And Red Alert didn't want her to. It had created a type of… spark. When they finally did the silence was unbearable. Ariel cleared her throat, "Um… I… Are we… did we just… Red I-"
"Ariel; I'm going to need to do a lot to get us back to normal… I've got to make an antidote and that's just about all I'll probably have time to do most of the time-."
"Maybe I can help you! You can't do it all by yourself! Couldn't you use a helper? Huh?"
He smiled, "Yeah, I suppose I could. Thanks Ariel."
"Um… you really should go back to your room. I'm fine. So… see you in the morning?"
He nodded, heading for the door, "See you in the morning."
To be continued…
Whew! That was a long chapter compared to what I usually write! Anyway, now you people know what chocolate does to my stories. I had some green spice jelly beans too. I bet they added to it… All well. RnR if you please! By the way; next few chapters are going to be just as mushy as this one; sorry!
