Me: I would like to introduce the newest member of my collection; Universe Wind Razor! He's even easier to transform than Hotshot!
Wind Razor toy: Why do you keep saying my legs move like a ballerina!
Me: 'Cause they do.
Wind Razor: Why me?
Me: Eh-hem… Okay; to clarify something for "spiritprime", Lightning is not Ariel's biological brother, he is, or was, her best friend who acted like a nice and protective brother.
Hotshot toy: Okay, sorry to interrupt, but why am I on the ceiling fan!
Override toy: Because you insulted the owner lady.
Thunder Blast toy: Can we knock you off the fan and smash you?
Me: NO! Hotshot is no longer sold on the Transformers web site! They're sold out of him! He can't be replaced! None of you can be replaced! You are all mine!
Red Alert toy: How do you humans deal with migraines?
Hotshot: Who was that girl you showed me to at school who was drooling over me?
Me: Arcea Shot. She dreams of kidnapping every genre Hotshot and... Let's just leave it at that. She's the butt of many jokes. And I don't want to know what she does with the RID Hotshot toy I gave her for Christmas a few years ago.
Blurr toy: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Ewewewewewewewew-ewewewewewewewewewewewew! Eewwwwwww!
Me: I didn't mean-!
Optimus Prime toy: Why won't you let me out of the box! I want out! I've been in here on this shelf since Christmas two years ago!
Me: For the last time! You're expensive! And a collectable!
Thunder Blast: MajesticBurn doesn't own Transformers. She just owns her characters, and DeathScythe119 owns DeathScythe.
Optimus Prime: Let me out of the box Damn it!
Not who you think I am
Bondings
"Ariel? Ariel come out! Ariel Pax!" Optimus Prime pounded on the door of his upset sparkling, an energon in hand. Ariel hadn't left her quarters since Lightning's spark went out a week before, and hadn't drunk any energon since becoming an Autobot again. "Ariel please, intake some energon before I have to get Red Alert to force it into your systems."
The door opened, and he saw how dark and dimmed her optics were; and she was looking toward the ground, avoiding optic contact. "It should've been me. He shouldn't have died. No one in this war should have to go out like that. Not even Decepticons should die that way. Not anyone. No."
"Ariel..." He didn't know what to do, he had never seen her so sad.
Spit-Fire (Ariel's Minicon that kinda hates her so only hangs around with the Minicons, so hasn't been mentioned since chapter 1 of my Ariel Pax story) glanced up from the floor, even she had to feel sorry for her; losing her best friend so suddenly... She tapped her on the leg, in Minicon-code whispering, "I'm sorry, but you shouldn't punish yourself."
Ariel took the cup of energon Optimus was offering her. She spun the cup, watching the energon spin in the cup, not even sipping it. Optimus put his hand on her shoulder, "Ariel, drink the energon before you go into stasis."
"I'm fine Optimus. Really, I'm fine, promise." She mumbled, tripping over her own feet and crashing to the ground.
"Ariel! Are you alright sweet-heart?" Optimus shouted, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet.
"I-I'm fine, just lost my balance is all."
"You're not fine Ariel." Red Alert hadn't tried to talk to her since the incident, he felt guilty for losing Lighting, but knew he had to step in to help her, "You're clearly suffering from an energon deficiency. Come to medbay. Now."
Once they got her into medbay, Red Alert moved to remove the armor on her left arm and inject some extra energon directly into her systems, she pulled away, optics dimming warningly, "Not that arm." She hissed.
Both Optimus and Red Alert were taken aback, but Red Alert knew something was wrong. She seemed to have an even larger deficiency of energon than she should have, and her lashing out seemed to prove she had something on her arm to hide, "Sir, help me put the restraints on her."
"No! Let go! I'm fine! Just let go!"
Optimus froze, she was trying to hide something, and it worried him. "Ariel, just let us help."
Ariel looked at Optimus, "Fine. But you get out!"
Optimus looked hurt, "But sweet-heart..."
Red Alert waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry sir. If there is something you need to know about I'll tell you." Optimus reluctantly left, leaving Red Alert alone with Ariel. He grabbed her arm and forced her to look him in the visor. "Ariel, as your medic, I'm concerned about you physically... as your friend, I'm concerned about you mentally... as a 'bot that's in love with you I'm worried about you. Please let me see your arm and get some energon in your system."
She didn't move for a moment, but then held out her arm to him. He removed the blue fore-arm armor, and couldn't help but freeze. He knew her arm had multiple scars and last he checked a single cut, but her arm had several gashes clearly done by an energon knife. Before he could even ask she whispered, "It's the only way to keep my body from upgrading and my spark from... well... I told you already what happens then."
He gave her a sad look, scared of losing her, he half-heartedly whispered, "You'll be alright. I'll inject you, and you're going to be alright. And I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"I was unable to save him. I know that you can't help everyone, you can't fix everyone, you can't save everyone..." He looked to the ground, moving away from her to prepare the energon.
She put his hand on her shoulder, "At least you tried. You always try; no matter how far the odds are stacked in deaths favor. If you didn't try so hard I'd have never made it." She hugged him awkwardly from the side, "And I love you so much for that... and then some."
He chuckled, "Don't worry Ariel. It'll all be okay. Besides, I have a completed... surprise for you tonight."
"Are you torturing me with this surprise Reddy?"
He chuckled again, placing a tender hand on her face, "Perhaps, but I promise as soon as you let me repair you-"
"Okay." She sat on the table, holding out her arm.
He started to repair her and inject energon, he suddenly whispered, "After your surprise, we've got to tell Optimus. It's not an option not to tell him."
"Why? What's the surprise! Common Reddy..."
"No Ariel. Not yet. Be patient my love."
Red Alert sat quietly on his recharge berth, occasionally checking his sub-space pocket to make sure it was there. He knew it was silly to worry, it was in Ariel's hands the moment she walked through the door. It was too late to go back on his word, she was expecting a surprise; and he couldn't do a thing to tell her otherwise; he couldn't tell lie to her, this was it. It was all going to happen now.
A tender knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts, "Reddy? Can I come in Reddy?"
"Yes. Come in Ariel." She entered and moved toward him, he shook his head, "Shut the door. We need to talk." She shut the door, a little bewildered at his actions; he motioned for her to sit next to him. "Sit."
She obeyed, sitting next to him. Looking him sadly in the visor, "What's wrong Reddy? What did I do to hurt you?"
"Nothing! Nothing..." He grabbed her right hand, looking at her with more certainty than ever before. "I love you Ariel, and that's why I've asked you to come here. I have your surprise... And that is why I needed to speak with you so privately."
She raised an optic-ridge as he moved his hand into his sub-space, pulling out two curling fixtures, one blue one pink that had small rises on the tops; like something went inside of them. Ariel's mouth dropped, and her optics welled, "Reddy... does this mean-... what I think it means?"
He nodded, grabbing her wrist again, "Yes; but Ariel you know that if we do something could go terribly wrong with our sparks if we-."
She kissed him tenderly, but hard enough to shut him up. She looked into his visor, and murmured, "There are three typed of bonding; the kind that arises naturally between family members, the kind that creates bonds of friendship, both of those are safe, and can't harm anyone… and then there is this kind of bonding… the kind that has to be dangerous so that no one takes it lightly; unlike with the other kinds of bonding in which disbonding is safe and common; and disbonding is life-threatening… but if it's true… and the sparks are compatible… then it is the most powerful kind of bond… And I think you're amazing to be so considerate about it. I love you Reddy, and I accept. I will bond with you Red Alert."
Ariel looked at him for a moment, wondering if he had gone unconscious sitting up; she saw his visor dim along with his optics beneath them, and he pulled her into a quick hug, using his "tool-hand" to touch her chin, a small smile on the corner of his "lips", "Thank you Ariel. I love you so much… Ariel Pax… we'll need to be cautious when we touch our sparks and put the excess energy into the bracelets so that the link will remain."
She chuckled, "You know a lot about bonding don't you?"
"I'm a medic. I've seen many 'bots that had… problems because they didn't bond correctly." He again pulled her close, "And I don't want anything to happen to you."
She smiled tenderly, "Oh Reddy… Thank you for taking this as serious as I do… So how do we… you know… touch our sparks?" He smiled nervously, they'd need to open their spark cases to do it, what made it so dangerous to bond. But most 'bots thought that it was worth it. Love was worth it. And Red Alert agreed.
To be continued…
Me: Ta-da! All done! Not very long but certainly to the point!
Override: Interesting take on Cybertronian customs… most people just have everything exactly like earth customs.
Thunder Blast: Yeah… but I'm not agreeing with an Autobot.
Blurr: Butyoujustdiddiddid!
Hotshot: Can you take me off the fan yet?
Red Alert: Aspirin please!
Wind Razor: Why are you complaining! Our owner just bonded you in her story!
Me: And in another story someday Hotshot and Override will too…
Hotshot and Override: WHAT!
Me: I knew that'd get them.
Optimus Prime: For the last Slaggin time! Let me out! I'm claustrophobic! LET ME OUT OF THIS PRIMUS FORSAKEN BOX!
Me: Uh… Yeah… RnR if you please…
