Subi: Oo Long chapters huh? D Okay, Have a long chapter...
Shiori: I don't care if they're long or short, JUST UPDATE ALREADY!
Spiritprime: (runs past, chasing optimus) GET BACK HERE!
Optimus Prime: Not on my life! >> I know what you and Subi want, and I don't like it! I WON'T HELP YOU KIDNAP REVIEWERS!
Spiritprime: O.o Say what? GET BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN THAT STATEMENT!
Shiori: VV; UPDATE, SUBI!
Subi: oO Now why would I do that if you're going to push at me?
Shiori: CAUSE I'LL SET ALL OF THOSE OTHER REVIEWERS ON YOU!
Subi: X-X good enough of a reason... (posts chapter)
5. Voices
Cheryl... His youngest sister's name floated through his mind. Cheryl... Optimus paused his pacing in the Autobot Command Center. It'd been twenty-eight million years since he'd thought of her. Why am I thinking of her now? Cheryl... His vision was fading... What is going on? Cheryl... You must find her... Why? Why do I have to find her? You must find the Seer... She knows something you need to know... Primus! Optimus realized. Find the Seer, and find the last two sword-holders... Find the prophecy... Find the Seer... Find Cheryl... Cheryl... Cheryl...
"Cheryl..." He whispered. Without warning, all of his energy drained out of him, and he felt his legs start to give way. Then everything went dark...
Elita turned away from her conversation with Override, and towards the main computer room. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah... It sounded like something big fell down," Override said uncertianly, starting toward the room. Elita rushed past her to the door of the room.
"Optimus?" She called, knocking on the door lightly. There wasn't an answer. "Optimus?" She called louder, before reaching out and entering the code to open the door. Override stepped through the doorway as it opened, and stopped short. They both stared in shock at the sight. Optimus was stretched out on the ground, lying on his side and his optics a dark grey-black that said he was offline.
"OPTIMUS!" They both cried, and ran over to him. Elita did a quick scan and found nothing wrong with his systems. She slid her arm underneath him, around his shoulders, and turned him so that he was facing up.
"Override, go get Red Alert," She ordered.
"You got it," the pink, white, and gold femmebot answered, racing out the door, transforming as she went. Elita looked down at Optimus's face.
"What happened...?" She whispered, and with tears spilling down her face, laid her head on his chest. After a while, she realized that his arm was around her shoulders. Startled, she pulled away from him slightly, turning her head to look at his face. His gold optics glowed weakly, but they were online nevertheless, and he pulled himself up onto his elbows.
"What happened?" He asked, his optics turning to hers, puzzled.
"Optimus..." She choked out, and with a sob, flung her arms around his neck. He blinked at her for a moment in surprise, before hugging her with one arm. When she pulled away again, he looked into her optics and repeated his question. "What happened?"
"I don't know what happened... We heard you fall down and came to see if you were alright..."
"Oh..."
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, or at least, I feel fine..."
"Can you stand?"
"Should be able to," He answered, and with her help got to his feet. They waited for Red Alert to come and check Optimus's systems. The medic didn't find anything wrong with him, other than an apparent lack of energy. He gave Optimus as much of a lecture he could before sending him off with Elita to get some rest, and radioed Jetfire to come and take over temporary command...
Elita was sitting at the table in her's and Optimus's house, folding and unfolding her hands as she listened to Shiori and Starscream. Alexis was sitting next to her with a small frown, twisting around parts of a cube-puzzle, trying to solve it. Starscream was telling them about what had happened after he'd been captured by the Generation Decepticons. Shiori was listening intently to him, occassionally taking a sip of an Energon-1 drink. Elita only half-paid attention, keeping an optic out for her bondmate to make sure Optimus didn't try to sneak out of the house. She glanced at Alexis as the small seeker slipped off the chair to go show Optimus that she'd completed the puzzle. Shiori turned her head and called after Alexis softly.
"If he's asleep, then leave him alone, Alexis."
"I know," the small blue, red and silver seeker answered, and quietly headed down the hallway to the room where Optimus was resting. Starscream chuckled quietly.
"Persistent, isn't she?"
"Very," Shiori sighed, leaning against him. "Reminds me of you."
"Thanks, I think... oof," He wheezed as Alexis rushed down the hallway and leapt into his lap. She looked at Elita with a amused smile.
"Does he usually talk when he's offline?"
"What?" Elita asked sharply, her head snapping up to look at the small seeker. Alexis giggled.
"He's talking in his sleep!" She chortled, before letting out a sqeak as Shiori poked her in a ticklish spot. Elita stood up and started down the hallway.
"I've never heard him talking in his sleep... I don't know why he would be now..." Elita muttered. Starscream glanced uneasily down the hallway. Talking in his sleep? The only time I do that is when I'm having a vision, and that doesn't happen very oft-
"BY THE ALLSPARK! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" Optimus's voice roared suddenly, followed by a yelp. Shiori looked down the hallway in alarm. Starscream stared in the same direction, and Alexis went incredibly silent in shock.
"IT'S JUST ME! WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU LATELY?.!" There was a furious response, although at a much softer level. After a short, heated argument, Elita came back and sat down at the table. Shiori looked at her questioningly.
"It's going to be a looong week," Elita sighed, shaking her head...
-- Blast! How am I supposed to find Cheryl in this blazing inferno? Curse the Deceptions that blew up the place! It'll be a wonder if she survived... Wait, what was that?
"Cheryl?" Optimus shouted, dodging around a steel beam that crashed down in front of him, and moving over to where he thought he saw a shadow move. "Cheryl?.! ... Slag... Now where did she go? CHERYL!" He pulled at some melting metal, feeling a spark inside a bubble of air in it. "Cheryl?" He asked, kneeling down and peering carefully through the opening he'd made. Nope, not Cheryl... Hold on, who is that? His gold optics picked up on the small form of a yellow sparkling. He sighed, and standing up, drenched the whole area with water.
"If I'm going to look like a firetruck, I might as well act like one..." He muttered, putting out enough of the fire so that the steam given off cooled his own systems. Optimus pulled apart the metal that had been threatening to melt the small sparkling. He smiled gently at the yellow bot, and held out his hand out to the bot.
"Need a rescue, small friend?" he asked softly. The sparkling nodded, and took his hand, and the small bot's blue eyes looked up at him with great respect. "Come on," Optimus sighed, gathering the yellow bot into his arms. "Let's get you someplace safe and away from this place..."
Leaping into the air, he fired his boosters to fly above the blaze, hunting for a search team and keeping an optic out for his sister. He found the search team first. He circled around so that he was in front of them, and landed roughly a few meters ahead of them. They stopped and stared at him, amazed by the fact that he could withstand the heat, and the fact that he towered over most of them. He held out the small sparkling to the tallest Autobot of the group.
"I found this one half of a sector away. I'll bring any others if I find them," He told the Autobot. The other mech nodded, and took the small, yellow bot.
"Thank you, friend."
"Dont worry about it... By the way, have you- or any other group you've managed to contact- found Cheryl Pax?"
"... No, I don't think we have..." The Autobot frowned. Optimus swore.
"I need to find her!" He cried, and turning around sharply, only to have the other bot catch his arm.
"It's getting too hot! You'll melt in there!" The other Autobot told him, but Optimus threw his hand off.
"I MUST find her! She's the only chance another dimension has!" He cried again, and rushed back into the flames.
"Come back! You'll die before you can find her!" The other mech cried trying to catch Optimus again, but had to draw further way, as the flames leapt back around the temporary path made by Optimus's sheer speed. "Come back!"... --
Optimus woke up sharply, his gold optics flashing with the echoes of the fire he'd just been running through in his vision. That was not a pleasant situation to have to go through, even as a vision or dream... He thought. And yet, I know I have to go through it when I go to find her... He lay on the recharge bed, listening to Elita breathe as she slept soundly beside him. I wonder if I could get away with sneaking away now, Optimus pondered. Well, these visions that I'm getting won't go away until I find out what I'm supposed to... He slid off the bed, careful not to disturb Elita, and silently left the room...
Subi: I should probably tell you what level of energon is what, shouldn't I? Oo
Shiori: That might be helpful...
Subi: Well, don't get all bent out of shape about it... Alright, here: Energon-1: water; Energon-2: juice; Energon-3: milk; Energon-4: soda; Energon-5: wine; Energon-6: beer; Energon-7: champagne; Energon-8: sake; Energon-9: flare; Energon-x: raw. Happy now?
Shiori: Possibly... Oo that's more levels than I thought there were...
Subi: What! You worked in a energon mine for 16 years, how could you not know that?.!
Shiori: I dunno... ; I didn't work in the refinery...
Subi: V.V; why me? ...
Shiori: Oo good question... why you?
Subi: ... >>
