-Look at first chapter for disclaimer.
Chapter 7: Transmutate
My eyes sleepily opened. Both my body and mind content because they were supplied with a healthy ration of sleep. That and I had officially saved a beast warrior from his fated doom a while back. I yawned loudly. Even the stress from missing my home and family seemed to dwindle slightly…I was in a freakishly good mood that day.
"Yawn any louder and Cybertron will hear ya" Trailblazer knocked on the wall beside the rooms' open door –which was open to circulate cold air from the rest of the ship (my room was so damn stuffy). I ignored the transmetal horses' morning greeting and hopped off of my bed and proceeded to stretch. All while I had a blissful smile on my face.
"You know you're kinda creeping me out with that smile, Cheshire girl…"
I still said nothing. Earning a nervous cough from the Transmetal horse "Your shift doesn't start in a half hour…" he prompted seriously. He must have thought my sanity finally vanished.
"I know-" I slipped my boots on "-I just don't see why I should try to fall back asleep"
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Absolutely"
He exhaled loudly and popped a few of his joints "…it's just that-" he coughed again "-you've been waking up earlier and earlier lately…" he waltzed over to where I kept my utility belt and handed it over, I nodded appreciatively "should I be worried?".
"Nope. You want to walk to the command center with me?"
"…sure, but first I gotta get some energon? Sustenance and all, I kinda need that" I snorted at his smart remark.
We walked through the empty and delightfully quiet hallways of the Axalon, the trip to the refueling room being a short one since we were both fast-paced. After he got his respected amount of the blue liquid energy and I got a pear, we both then made ourselves comfortable at a small table. We ate/drank (yes Trailblazer had a mouth) silently. It was pleasant up until he brought up a very interesting conversation piece: "So you have a crush on Rampage or what?"
I choked on a piece of pear, where did this come from?! I felt my blood rush to my face, he can't be seri- I paused when I saw Trailblazers' shoulders oscillating rapidly. In other words, he was laughing his shiny metal ass off, "PFFFT HAHAHAHA! Your face-" he started choking on his energon "-oh I'd never trade that face in for anything in the whole universe! Hahahahahahaha!"
"ehehe" my blood resumed its' normal circulation through my body. I kicked Trailblazer hard in his leg, but I chuckled myself "good one…seemed a little sudden though"
"Yeah, I didn't expect to get such a reaction, you hardly know the guy…and for good reason" he swished the remaining energon in his cup, deep in thought, and then shivered "Say, you never explained how you survived the marsh"
"I told you once we got back: I got shot at by Blackarachnia and tossed around by the storm"
"You were also in Crabby's clutches"
I pursed my lip "I was…guess I didn't tell you the whole tale did I?". And so I explained everything that happened on that day. Trailblazer listened intently, his cobalt optics widened once or twice in shock with the more intriguing parts.
"That is weird…I thought he killed anything and anyone without prejudice. Huh, you are one lucky little lady…"
I snorted "That or maybe you had the right idea; only he has a crush on me" in your wildest dreams sister. Trailblazers' optics narrowed with a smile.
"Okay little miss smooth operator, just don't go putting the moves on him on the battlefield okay-?"
He quieted down as soon as a brown and tan saurian waltzed into the room. Icy-blue eyes studied us briefly before they set back on the energon dispenser. As soon as he got his ration, Dinobot wandered over to our table and shifted to bot form, and then perched himself snugly next to myself.
"…good morning…" I was surprised; the raptor would always sit by himself or finish his energon and leave the room just as anyone else would get their ration.
"Lookin' pretty good for a dead guy-"
I kicked Trailblazer. We were both aware how long Dinobot was in the CR chamber, and the warrior may have gotten a little testy on such a topic. However, the ex-Predacon only snorted, "I have made quite the recovery…" he took a swig of his ration "...however…I don't believe I would have been given that chance if it was not for you two getting involved with my…original plans"
Holy shit is he…?
"And for that, I am grateful"
"Wait, did you really just thank us?" Trailblazers' optics went as round as perfect spheres.
Dinobot 'rolled' his optics "That was the intention".
I placed a hand behind my head, "I almost got both of you guys snuffed though" Dinobot placed a servo on my shoulder.
"Your bravery surpassed your foolishness"
I deflated a little, but smiled "Thanks Dinobot"
"You're welcome"
"We also gotta thank whoever fired that mystery rocket" there was a suggestive glint in one of Trailblazers' optics as they briefly locked onto me, "You got any ideas as to who that might be pal?" and then onto Dinobot. The raptor merely shrugged.
We, or rather I, spent the remainder of my free time in the cozy room before I had to report to the command center; Trailblazer and Dinobot went off to go spar some time before that (I didn't get on Trailblazers' ass for not walking with me to the command center). I skipped through the halls without the slightest worry of verbal spats, and smiled as I arrived in the command center. The rest of the Maximal crew greeted me as I did so.
"Ready for another excitin' day o' monitor duty?" Rattrap grinned.
"Of course, someone needs to keep an eye on you kids" I hustled over to my designated seat next to Rhinox. The rhino swiftly noted my mood.
"Sleep well?"
"Absolutely"
I felt a poke, "How's Dinobot?" Cheetor asked eagerly, he was the most concerned for the raptors' well being.
"I think we both know the answer to that" I cracked my knuckles and looked over to Optimus "so I see just about everyone is here…"
"Silverbolt, Rattrap, and Cheetor are preparing for a routine patrol"
"Okey doke…" I looked over to the assembled Maximals as they prepared to leave. I presumed they just finished up the briefing shortly before I entered the room "Silverbolt, Cheetor, you guys stay safe. Rattrap-" I grinned like the Cheshire cat as the rat maximal raised an eye ridge "Try not to get blown up"
"Heh, sure" and with that, all three entered the lift.
Later on, half-way through my shift to be precise, an alarm pinged on both our monitors. Curious, me and Rhinox pulled up the trigger. A simple diagram of Earths' layers was displayed, showing the routing of magma. My eyes narrowed in on a particular point sending out tremors. An…earthquake? My eyes widened as I saw the epicenter.
"More tremors…and they're building in intensity"
And its' close proximity to my friends, I also discovered I couldn't contact them. This episode…so that means… I got my determined face on; I wonder if I can save her.
"Our team's close to the epicenter! And with Megatron jamming us-!" Rhinoxs' faceplates were of sheer panic.
"I'm going after them" Optimus made a beeline for the lift. Once he left, I slouched in my seat, they'll be okay, they'll get kicked around but otherwise okay. A large green servo patted my back gently.
"They'll be fine"
I nodded slowly.
I had to wait. And wait. And keep waiting. And because I was racked with anxiety, time seemed to be -figuratively speaking- slowed to the pace of a snail. Well, that was until I heard the lift come up. And with no delay, I sprinted over and hugged the first person that stepped out:
"Gee, she actually missed me" Rattrap patted my back. Probably thought I was the sappiest being in existence. And that was something I would not argue as I launched myself at Cheetor.
"What happened out there?" Rhinox inquired with a firm (but concerned) tone.
"The earthquake…it uh, uncovered a stasis pod"
"Stasis pod?" I eyed Cheetor with a raised brow "Where's the Maximal?"
"Yeeeeah sorry sista, but that thing was no Maximal"
What the fu- "They came from a stasis pod, which was then ejected from the Axalon in order to save whoever was in there before you guys crash landed…just like all the other stasis pods, they came from your crew". I should have expected it, but I was still hurt and disappointed by Rattraps' judgment. I was relieved to vent that on the actual guy, something a screen didn't allow me to do.
After a few moments of stunned silence, the rat Maximal scratched the back of his head, "Eehhh, sorry 'bout dat…"
"We don't know who it was" Cheetor defended (like a champ) "They were so…deformed"
Rhinox hummed, "Where are Optimus and Silverbolt?"
"They went after it"
I glared at Rattrap, but kept my mouth shut. She's not an it…
Oh my… were the first two words to pop into my head once Optimus and Silverbolt returned hours later, she's a lot taller in person. Silverbolt was carried by Transmutate to the nearest CR chamber. Shortly after that Rhinox instructed her to stand on the strategy hub so the system's scanning rings could run along her frame. I waved as she underwent examination and she returned it with a friendly smile. Once the scanning ended, Rhinox spun around, a look of unease on his faceplates "That will do…for now". The rhino moved his worried gaze over to Optimus, and with a moment of silent discussion, he shook his head.
Don't worry I got your back girl! I found that my hand had grasped the deformed Maximal's hand. Her face morphed from confused to delighted, "…frieeeeend…?"
"Eeehhh, I wonder what fearless leader found out about the tire plug-YOW!"
Yes, I slapped Rattrap upside the head. No, I was not sorry. "Seriously?"
"Ehehe, sorry…"
"You forgot I was right here didn't you?"
He down-casted his optics, unaware that Transmutate leaned in to get a closer look of the situation in front of her, "yeAHH!" or maybe she just wanted to scare the daylights out of rat-face. I was happy with the outcome either way.
"What do the tests show?" Silverbolt asked, fully recovered.
"Well, its data tracks are scrambled beyond recovery, its structure is a nightmare-"
I frowned, but it went unnoticed.
"-and its logic circuits are barely at the level of a drone…coupled with its' sheer power it's a danger to itself and everyone around it"
This is hard to listen to-
"Best thing for us would be to put it in stasis lock…immediately"
I grasped Transmutates' hand tighter, only with two hands. I was too baffled by the amount of bullshit that accumulated in the room to voice my displeasure with such an idea. My mouth too fixed with a frown that also factored into my inability to speak. Fortunately though, someone else was able to speak for me:
"Are we Predacons now? Do we destroy whatever does not fit our definition of perfection?!"
At that point my tall friend slowly eased out of my grip, her attention on something else as she left the room…or maybe she was repulsed by the nonsense. Whichever one, I let her leave the room –with the decision that it would have been best to rescue her with Silverbolt than try to fly out with her and take on Rampage by myself. "I agree with Silverbolt-" the other door opened to reveal Trailblazer, but I was too focused on OP and Rhinox to say hello "-are we really going to turn our backs on someone just because they're 'different'? For all we know she might need our help-!"
"-Hey what's goin-"
"-and yet you want to decommission her? May I ask which one of you will do so? Primal? Rhinox?"
:WARNING! Hull Breach in Section 7!:
"Whelp, looks like the nutty erectus is going for a walk-"
"Shut up Rattrap!" I spat, not missing a beat.
"You're all fools!" Silverbolt stormed off, and I followed close behind so I wouldn't have strangled a certain Maximal rat. I had to jog just to keep up with the fuzor though, he was in a hurry, for obvious reasons.
"Silverbolt wait! I want to help her!" the wolf-eagle thankfully paused long enough for me to hop onto his beast mode.
"You're not supposed to-" he shook his head "-very well, off we go!".
By the time we found Transmutate the sun had almost completely set. And neither of us were really relieved to see whom was in her company. "I'll distract Rampage; you try to persuade our friend to return to base"
"Consider it done" I had the jitters.
With the speed, silence, and grace of an avian –well, half avian anyway, Silverbolt touched down behind a cluster of boulders. As soon as I hopped off, he switched to bipedal mode and went on to carry out our plan: "Stop! This one is not for you!"
"It is only for me!" Rampages' voice was close. Okay Cassie you can do this, what's the worst that can happen? I peeked around to see Silverbolt do a (sweet) somersault –and I took that time to run past Rampage and straight to Transmutate. He then attempted to deliver a flying kick –and by attempted, the transmetal crab easily blocked and countered it as he threw him onto the ground and kicked him like a soccer ball. I cringed, but focused on Transmutate as I tugged on her hand and held my index finger to my lips to shush her. It worked, thank Primus, and I almost had her behind a good-sized chunk of rock. But alas, I had to look over my shoulder to see that Silverbolt was barely fending off Rampages' crushing foot. That hesitation drew Silverbolt's attention on our progress, and thus drew CrabCakes' attention.
Uh oh, a pair of green optics shot over in my direction, nopenopenopenopenopenope! With a swift kick, Silverbolt was sent over the cliff. "You again? This is a surprise"
NOPE!
"And you're trying to steal my friend from me…I'm hurt" Rampages' heavy footsteps stomped closer and closer. I yanked on Transmutates' arm with gentle urgency.
"Fly Transmutate!"
The mutated maximals' red optics beamed with delight "…fly…?". I glanced at a rapidly approaching Rampage who was (no shit) right there. "Eep!" I leapt out of the crabs' reach in favor of being in Transmutates' protective arms, which only seemed to deter him for a brief moment before he tried again. But before Rampage could grab me, Transmutate flew upwards, all too happily shouting "Fly!" as she levitated away from the transmetal crab. We stopped ascending, instead hovering a safe distance away from the crab. Rampage looked…amused, not at all what I expected.
"You know her favorite word…" green optics glistened with a tad of jealousy "May I ask how?"
"She's my friend too" and because I was out of harms reach, I took the liberty to sound bold. Rampage chuckled.
"My dear, you've only known her for what? An hour? Maybe less?"
I felt myself heat up "The same can be said for you! You've just met her hours ago". He may have been one of my favorite transformers but by the Matrix he tested my patience.
Rampage stiffened "How did you know that?". Uh oh… and because he tested my patience I had slipped.
"…we did just get her pod's signal today…" luckily, it could be covered up with the other truth "and I've been told who got to her first" at least I didn't slip on how much he 'relates' to her...
Green optics regarded me with suspicion. I wriggled my nose and gently patted Transmutate.
"Find Silverbolt"
She flew me toward the cliff, and I would have had a panic attack if I hadn't known whom she was flying me toward. Once I had my feet firmly planted on the ground, I rushed over to Silverbolt, "You okay bird-dog?"
He grunted: "Yes, I will live"
The ground shook and all three of us focused on the large imposing figure of Mr. Immortality as he sauntered toward us,"I can understand the girl, but why do you protect him?". My new friend moved over Silverbolts' body, a stance of protection.
"…friend…don't…hurt…"
It seems we're past THAT part, thank Primus "He's-" I pointed to Silverbolt "also her friend. And…" and looked up into ruby optics "…you don't want your friends to fight now do you?" but now I've landed myself into another kind of trouble…
I got a nod.
A. Frickin'. Nod. "…friends…" she placed a three-digit hand on my head. I crossed my arms and forced myself to look into Rampages' green optics –which I found very alluring, maybe I really am crushin' on the guy. What is wrong with me?! "You're her friend too right?"
He looked at me like I had the knack of missing obvious details "Of course I am".
"Then don't kill Silverbolt"
"…not like I can when he's guarded by the two of you" he mumbled.
He could easily stomp over, swat me away and literally pull Silverbolt from under Transmutates' nose and then kill the guy…hmmm… and I wasn't the only one who thought so. Silverbolt looked dumbfounded by the crabs' behavior.
"You both do realize Transmutate has no place amongst the Maximals"
"Me and Silverbolt could look after her…and Trailblazer too!" it seemed like a reasonable solution, up until when Rampages' optics went dark.
"Oh my sweet, I didn't peg you as the naïve type…" he advanced a step "…are you not aware how many of the maximals will disagree with you-?"
I heard grunting from behind me as Silverbolt stood on his feet, "Quiet you, Transmutate is coming with us and that is final!"
"Oh really? Do you wish to bet your life on it Mutt?" a murderous glint shone in one of the two green orbs as the crab took slow and aggressive steps toward Silverbolt.
I placed myself in the middle.
"Will she be safe with you? In the Predacon base?"
He stopped. "I suppose not"
I groaned and rubbed my temples "Do you have somewhere to keep her then? A cave maybe?"
"Cassandra you can't-"
"I have a few locations in mind" Rampage looked taken aback by my submission. And quite frankly, I was too.
I can't believe I'm reconsidering our options…it's kinda like a custody battle "and you can promise that Megatron won't find out about her?"
"Cassan-" I shot a glance at Silverbolt.
"With my very spark" ha, that's funny because he's immortal- I mentally berated myself, knock that shit off
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and that same hand spun me around "You honestly trust him-?!"
"Optimus and Rhinox were considering putting her-" I grasped Transmutates' hand and started gently pulling her toward Rampage "-into stasis lock. At least he-" I jerked my head "presented an alternative" it's funny how I trust a mass murderer who I barely know. Silverbolt stood like a statue as I closed the gap and stood a mere foot in front of CrabCakes.
"Congratulations, you just won the custody battle…" my eyes wondered over to a defeated fuzor to silently apologize, and then shot right back up "now get her out of here before Optimus shows up"
"How sweet of you-"
"Let me rephrase that: get her out of here before I kick your ass before Optimus shows up"
With an offended expression, Rampage beckoned for Transmutate to follow him. The deformed Maximal was hesitant at first, but then I gave her the go ahead "It's okay". With a sad glance toward Silverbolt, Transmutate waved and smiled goodbye.
I wasn't sure how much time passed before Optimus and Cheetor had finally arrived. Once they did, Silverbolt filled them in but omitted the touchy details that would have likely got me thrown in the brig. Poor guy still seemed torn though as he offered a ride back home, and not wanting to hurt him anymore than I already had, I accepted.
And as one would guess; it was a very awkward ride back home.