Chapter 20 is already underway, so I'm posting chapter 16 now, had a lot of fun with this one and I hope you all enjoy.
Mikaela awoke suddenly, the side of her head throbbing and the sting of something across her neck causing her to panic for a moment before she realised where she was.
Not in the hands of that crazy alien, but within the cab of a truck, one that was driving down an empty highway.
Tentatively she turned to see the driver.
It took a moment, but relief flowed through her once she recognised the man, or really, holoform of one Optimus Prime, even in the low light those glowing blue eyes were impossible to miss.
His attention was on the road ahead.
Carefully she reached up to her neck, feeling the blood trails that had long since dried, she didn't want to probe her head though, not wanting to agitate the already painful throbbing.
Silence held for a few minutes before she managed to think of something to say. "What… what happened?"
She swore she felt the truck swerve for a moment as the holoform snapped out of whatever trance he'd been in, head snapping around, apparently surprised she was awake. "Ah Miss Barnes. I'm sorry, Ratchet thought you'd remain unconscious for a few more hours yet, do you need anything to drink? We picked up some supplies for you that Bumblebee suggested you would require?" Lifting one hand from the wheel for a moment he rustled the plastic bag she hadn't noticed sitting between them.
Slowly she reached over and pulled the plastic bag handles out of the way, revealing five water bottles, four packs of ham sandwiches and what looked like a packet of pain medication.
It was only as she looked over the food and water that she realised just how long she'd gone without, her stomach twisting into a vicious knot to prove that very point as she grasped one of the bottles of water, snapped the seal off and proceeded to chug down half the bottle, only stopping when she nearly inhaled some of it.
Coughing fit mercifully avoided she turned her attention to the painkillers, she recognised the brand, it was one she'd used before, so, popping two of the little white sugar coated tablets out of their tin foil and plastic packaging she tossed them back, followed by tearing the wrapping off one of the Ham sandwiches and taking as big a bite her mouth would allow.
The relief she felt was immense, she was fairly certain the last time she'd eaten was when Aria had appeared to make her a bit of lunch, a delicious soup from Vietnam she'd apparently picked up on her and her twins travels.
Once the sandwich had been demolished, her attention returned back to Optimus, questions were already kicking off in her head and she needed answers. "What happened?" She asked again.
Optimus glanced to her out of the corner of his eye for a moment before turning his attention back to the road and speaking. "The twins had snipers set up on the dam as a precaution, they were able to shoot through the limbs holding you. The twins then rushed your captor and managed to toss you out of immediate danger as they engaged in a brawl that Kia joined to 'send him packing'." He answered.
"Oh." She replied, looking back over herself, not really feeling much surprise seeing that her jacket, trousers and top were thoroughly shredded, the bare skin beneath rubbed red and raw and in places, even in the low light, she could tell the cuts were healing over.
How had she not noticed that sooner?
Really it didn't feel like she should worry about it, her own attention drifting the the rolling road ahead, barren desert stretched on for miles on either side, and there didn't seem to be a single soul sharing the road.
Well, except for the group she could see following them in the rear-view mirror, the other aliens then.
It... It was so strange, sitting there, in what she was pretty certain was an aliens body.
She'd seen the clip that the twins had sent her after all, she'd seen Kia, apparently, though that memory was hazy from her fainting immediately after. Her memory was too foggy from the time that psycho had had her.
She had a vague idea of what he actually looked like, towering, imposing, blue with red flames, and obviously, being made of metal.
Glancing to the holoform sitting in the driver's seat, she found that all but the blue with red flames and made of metal, fit the description of this projection just as well.
Aliens really did have some funky technology.
Or, counter thought, whatever strange parallel reality the Harpies were apparently from, was a lot more technologically advanced.
Either worked in enabling her to marvel at how the man next to her was even able to exist.
Feeling that the silence was creeping in again, she blurted out another question. "Did, did you find that thing you were looking for?"
He glanced to her again, and the look he gave her was difficult to decipher, but, he did answer. "The Allspark… one of the primary source of life and energon, the fuel and lifeblood of my kind… merged with the Harpy Kia, and fell dormant. On top of that, the Orichiono's decided to take it upon themselves to decapitate the frozen body of the Decepticon Tyrant and Warlord Megatron, and then melt his corpse to slag to prevent your government from discovering what our armour is weak… to… wait…" He paused, his gaze narrowing at the road as something seemed to dawn on him. "What did they do with his head?"
That wasn't something someone normally asks themselves.
She let his full explanation sink in for a bit.
The Allspark was apparently a pretty damn big thing, and it had… merged with Kia… did that mean it was attached to her? Or had it merged with her on an alternate plain of reality or something?
She didn't have the foggiest idea, so, she just spat out the first response that she could think of. "So… was you coming here… all for nothing? Are you gonna be leaving soon?"
He shook his head. "No, the Allspark has joined with Kia and fallen dormant, as a result, we struck a deal of sorts with the Harpies. They provide us the necessities of a place to rest and hide from human eyes, and we be within easy reach if the Decepticons were to attack, we cannot risk the Decepticons getting their servos on Kia and by proxy the Allspark. For if they find a way to re-active it, they will, and without hesitation turn every single machine on this planet into a Decepticon… they would have access to a near infinite source of soldiers if we fail… and we and all of humanity would fall."
That, that was not good. She didn't need a heart monitor to tell her her heart had just decided they were running a marathon at what his statement suggested.
Of course, he wasn't done with his warnings of doom and gloom.
"There is also the fact that it seems the twins and Ira are also possibly linked to ancient relics from our homeworld, suggesting they too may become vessels of relics with potentially even greater importance… though what those relics are they seem uncertain of. Which means that we must remain as vigilant as possible from here on out."
Ok, that was too much for her to handle after all the other bullshit she'd been through the last few days.
Deciding to try and change the conversation she asked. "So, where are we going now?"
"Mexico, the twins size and inability to transform means we cannot just drive over to a plane and board it, apparently we would not all fit with them in my trailer. So, we will be taking a privately chartered boat to Europe, our destination being a place called 'Monaco'." He answered.
Twins? Trailer? Inability to transform?
Looking behind her she realised that Optimus was in fact pulling a trailer the painted grey metal glinting in the highway lights.
Did he mean that Aria and Wren were in there?
Why?
"Why can't they fly themselves there?"
"Their pede, which was already damaged in a prior incident, was further damaged in the fight to free you from Fernando. Ratchet judged that they would not be able to safely land on the limb until he could properly repair all of the damage done, so, they are grounded and traveling with us."
So they got themselves hurt saving her when they'd already been hurt? The notion caused a knot to form in her gut, her next question was out before she even realised she was talking. "How did they get hurt in the first place?"
"From what I could gather, they landed in a human poaching trap in the Amazon, the iron rebar impaled and for lack of a better term, mangled their right pede, it is a gruesome injury. The initial deal between us and the Harpies was that Ratchet would see to the injury and do what he could to fix it, and then they would lead us to the Allspark, evidently however, plans have taken quite a dramatic shift in the past few hours."
So they'd been injured by humans, and then they'd risked their leg for her safety? A random teen?
No… she wasn't a random teen… she was a character in a film franchise… but Kia had said they'd do all they could to fix the 'plot'... what did that truly mean for her?
It had already cost Sam Wit… whatever his last name was and his families lives… how long until her and her dad's where on the chopping block?
She'd already almost died yesterday, a check of the clocked proved to her it was early morning, what was in store for her now that she was so tied up in this alien conflict?
"You're heart rate has increased, that is a sign of distress for your kind correct?"
Jolting at the sudden declaration she nearly snapped her neck as turned to face the holoform. "What?"
He didn't even take his eyes off the road. "Your heart rate, I can feel your pulse through the leather."
Oh…
Oh god she really was sitting in an alien.
And he could feel her fucking pulse?!
That was it, that was the last straw, she'd been through too much, her mind had been blown out of the water too many times.
Were it not so dark already, she would have noticed that she was blacking out.
Optimus picked up on the sudden drop in alertness and tried to rouse her, at first with words, then he took a hand off the wheel again and poked her, then lightly shook her shoulder, then a more violent shake until he gave up and sent a com to his Unit alerting them to the fact he needed them to pull off at the next junction.
They all sent back to confirmation, Ironhide grumbling at the end that the sire of Mrs Barnes was leaking oral fluid on his interior, but it went mostly ignored.
The next junction was in less than a mile, which he was more than thankful for.
Soon enough he was pulling into a truck stop packed full with Semi models similar to his own, only the vast majority looked a lot… boxier than his own.
He wasn't sure he was using the correct term there but his translator program was already struggling to keep up at times.
The 'English Language' Had so many breaks in it's own rules and other such nonsense it was causing his spark and processor to become aggravated.
He almost chuckled, always a Data clerk at Spark...
Snapping back to attention he realised he'd somehow known to slow down at one of the few empty truck parking spots.
It was a tight squeeze given the one on the left was slightly over the dividing line, but he had enough turning radius to line up perfectly.
Wasting no more time he popped open his driver side door and had his holoform drop out.
Turning he nearly jolted his whole frame forwards as he found himself face to face with Aria's holoform.
"She passed out, move." They demanded, not waiting for him to do what they wanted and instead shoving him out of the way before clambering up onto his driver seat.
Well… a former human would hopefully know how best to treat a fellow human… right?
A flash of white and red drew his attention to Ratchet, who, large shoulder bag at his side, was speed walking up to him, and proceeded to shove him out of the way as well.
Then came Bumblebee, the poor mech had been worried sick for his charge after Fernando grabbed her at the Cosmopolitan, he held the scout back however, yes he understood that the young mech was desperate to see how his charge was, but right now they had to give Ratchet space to work.
"No, no, no! What are you doing? Don't lie her down like that! We have to put her in the recovery… recovery position! Oh for the love of, get out of my way!"
He couldn't see inside his cabin at the moment persee, but he felt his CMO's holoform get shoved out of the way as the white themed twin placed Mrs Barnes into the 'recovery position'.
Before he knew it said twin had pushed herself back over Ratchet and was snapping her fingers to get his attention. "Smelling salts, they might sell them inside the store over there, here." They tossed a odd thin plastic rectangle at him, he managed to catch the projectile and looked over the piece in curiosity.
"Just slide the card's black strip through the card reader and it'll deal with paying for the salts if you find them, if not, get her a cup of coffee… actually, get me and Wren some too, I'll have an extra black latte and she'll have a mocha latte with cream, get Mikaela something you think sounds nice... a Macchiato or something."
He wasn't sure if he was supposed to know what those words meant, or if it was better just to nod and hope he got this request right.
He decided on the later.
He caught sight of Ironhide, Jazz and Mrs Madsen standing together a ways away in the normal parking area, Jazz seemed to be holding the woman up somewhat in their own journey to the brightly lit store that seemed like such a drastic contradiction to the endless darkness and hundreds of thousands of stars above it felt unnerving.
He still remembered in his own sparkling vorns, when he marveled at the mere sight of a picture of an alien species.
And now here he was, walking into a 'Seven Eleven' on a planet so excessively alien yet strangely similar to the Cybertron he knew in his younglinghood.
The man behind the counter looked disheveled, and only half alert, not even reacting to the chime of the bell as the sliding doors opened and he entered, Ironhide, Jazz and Mrs Madsen were already up one of the Isles, the lady picking up a number of small packages.
Turning his attention back to the man behind the counter he asked. "Excuse me good sir, do you sell smelling salts?" What even were those? To his understanding the mineral humans called 'salt' did not have an odour.
The man shook his head slowly.
Option two then. "Then do you sell Coffee?"
The man nodded and pointed to a machine just of to the side from the counter. "Ah I see, thank you."
Stepping over he felt an odd sense of dread fill him.
The screen lit up. 'What would you like to drink?'
He didn't want to drink anything himself, but he assumed the message wasn't exactly aimed at an Alien like him, so he pressed the button labeled 'Latte'.
Then he was asked if he wanted 'milk' a quick search revealed it was… the lactations of a 'bovine' sweet Primus humans actually drank that? And put it in their food and drinks?
Organics truly baffled him.
A tap on his shoulder jolted him once more from his musings.
Turning he found Bumblebee again, the scouts gaze was focused with pinpoint accuracy at the tiled floor.
Before he could speak, a single written message came over their shared com-link, and all Optimus could do was utter out. "You have a what in your back seat?"
Las Vegas
The Cosmopolitan proceeded to blaze into the early morning, the heat so unbearable the entire strip was practically desolate, save those trying to get a better picture of the blazing husk on their mobile phones.
A police cruiser rolled to a stop just outside the quarantine zone, it's engine cutting out as the driver stepped out, their greying black hair pulled back into a loose ponytail under their cap, which they knocked up higher on their head with the flick of a finger as they let off a low whistle at the mangled, melted husk of what was one of the most high end hotels on the strip. "Droga… you think they all got out in time partner?" The officer remarked, glancing over to said partner who was busy sliding out of the passenger side door.
The man who rose from the patrol car turned his attention to his long time partner, his tone monotone as ever as he replied. "Highly unlikely, early reports suggest that the building was hit repeatedly by high explosives, and that the building caught alight quickly, likely significant damage was done to the internal sprinkler system, other reports are suggesting that there is a worryingly high body count in what they can seen of the lobby alone, apparently there was a stampede to get out."
The female officer hissed under her breath, their partner glanced to her for a moment before turning his attention back on the building. "The local fire department have deemed the building too unstable to look for possible survivors, so attention is focused on surviving witnesses and the helicopter that crashed on the Eastern side of the building." He rattled off, looking around them before his attention focused on where the remains of the grounded helicopter could be seen.
His partner nodded along to his statements before reaching up to pat him on the shoulder. "Well, the chief sent us to help, better see what we can do…"
Her partner nodded, and the two set forwards.
It was half an hour before they found a credible witness.
A number of people who'd apparently come out to see what was going on had apparently seen a 'demon' in the smoke not long after the chopper had reportedly gone down.
Her partner thanked them, and then once they were out of earshot made note of their intoxication
The german woman's English wasn't the best, but she was able to get across what she had seen and heard.
She'd heard a high pitched whistle, had looked up to see the source, and from a mile away from the Hotel, had watched something large strike one of the top floors and detonate, blowing out a large chunk of the building and causing flaming material to rain down on the city street below.
"Something with an explosive payload then… those floors were normal hotel rooms, many of which were booked out to tourist families at the time…" Her partner muttered, jotting down what the woman had told them before she'd gone off, apparently after seeing the initial strike she'd gone back inside the casino she had left to call the police about what had happened, and had only a few minutes before finally coming back out of the casino.
Over the next few hours they worked alongside the local police department and a good chunk of fellow drafts from across the state to get as many witness testimonies as possible.
Then something changed.
Black vans began appearing on the surrounding streets, their blackout windows obscuring those inside.
She felt her partner tense before he nudged her. "FBI has arrived, they're taking over the investigation."
That was their cue to step back, she was able to get the local chief's attention, passing their collected data over, before both slowly made their way back to their police car.
As she let the engine come back on, she glanced over to where the helicopter was cordoned off, taking the initiative she steered them past it.
Her partner, picking up on what she was doing, did his thing, before giving his partner a slow nod.
It wasn't until they'd left the city behind that her partner's form flickered out of existence that she spoke. "So… what'd you find?"
"It… it was one of my kind… I think… there was no evidence of someone having been in the cockpit when it crashed... it was piloting itself... " The radio replied, she felt her seat lower a bit.
Pursing her lips she let go of the wheel with one hand to pat the now empty passenger seat. "Well… at least we know you're not the only one on Earth…"
"Yes… but… is… if that was one of my kind… does that mean… I was like them? If… If I had my memories… would I have…"
"Hey, hey, none of that, I know you better than my own wardrobe. I know you wouldn't of done such a horrid thing. Let's focus on the positives, they're dead now."
"Which means that something else killed them… something that left these." The centre of the dashboard split apart, revealing a screen behind.
She glanced at it, and watched as the 3D model of the downed chopper materialised, the back rotor and the underside highlighted and then enlarged, showing the deep gouges left in both parts.
"Those look like…"
"Claw marks? Just like the ones left on the underside of Air Force One not even a week ago."
"Which you think means…"
"Whatever attacked Air Force One, slaughtered the helicopter attacking the hotel, and reportedly also damaged a military jet that had been flying between the buildings and has not been seen since..."
"But why the hotel? Why kill so many?"
"Annie, if I had the answers to all of this I would tell you… but it's evident this was no mere 'terrorist attack' like the news is already reporting. This is something else."
"Something you want to get to the bottom of?"
"..."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't want you to get hurt…"
"Prowl…."
"Please, listen to me before you try and argue… you saw what they did… I… I don't want to lose the one of the very, very few people I can trust on this planet."
She felt her heart twist at his admission, the fear in his tone was painful, but she knew she had to reassure him. "Prowl, I may be passed my prime, but, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna stand by your side every step of the way. We've been in enough shoot-outs over the years to surely have proved that to you, right?"
"Yes but this is something different! Kevlar can stop bullets, but incendiary missiles?!"
"Prowl." Her tone was warning, but he wasn't done.
"Don't, we both know you're not immortal Annie, I don't want to say goodbye to you because of my stupid search…"
"Prowl!" She snapped, he went silent. "Trying to reunite with your kind isn't stupid. Wanting to know who you are isn't stupid. And of course I know you'll outlive me, likely by thousands if not millions of years, but please, don't try and stop me from helping you. You know that's a fight you won't win."
Her partner fell silent for a few moments before the seat belt pulled across her chest tightened a bit the only hug he dared give her with his actual form.
She felt her stress ease, knowing he had conceded, she knew he'd try and convince her again to step out of harm's way, but he'd been trying the same tune since as long as she'd known him as sentient.
So far, she'd stubbornly not moved an inch.
But, she could tell it was different now.
She wasn't young anymore, and this, this attack, it changed the game entirely.
They'd report in with their own chief back in Jasper, hopefully Sheriff Rodriguez would let them have the day off.
After all, nothing ever happened in Jasper Nevada.
Miles away, a different police cruiser was racing down a separate highway, engine roaring as he shot down the empty stretch.
Anger churned his tank, replacing the energon that should of been there, had he had access to Energon.
Nestled within was his charge, the little minicon was tucked away in his back seat, the shake of his servo had spread, now the entire limb shock without the minicons control.
That damn freak had abandoned them, vanished after the first strike and not been seen since.
His anger wasn't the only thing racing around inside him, making it hard to focus on the road ahead.
There was also an unhealthy level of fear.
Whatever that… that thing had been… it had been able to take out Blackout in a single strike.
Starscream, the fragging coward he was, was still online, but online was a debatable term given the condition he'd last seen the second in command in.
At first everything seemed to of gone so well.
The plan had been simple, fire bomb the human hotel the freak had claimed would be the other freaks hiding spot, and wait for the Autobots to engage them, wipe out the mechs in their confusion, and then head for the Allspark.
Only no Autobots showed up, other than Bumblebee, the damn scout had rushed out of the building's underground parking, but hadn't stuck around, racing away in the chaos.
He'd been ordered by Starscream to make chase.
He'd barely gotten a block after the Autobot Scout when something else arrived.
He'd heard it first over the shared com-link.
That shrill cry that rattled the glass of his cab even at the distance he was at.
He didn't dare turn back, but the distraction was enough for him to lose the scout in the mass chaos erupting around the building as flaming debris had rained down over everything, every explosion that landed sending molten shrapnel in every direction.
Blackout was struck first, by whatever that creature had been.
The mech was doomed the moment that thing got his rear rotor.
He'd not been stupid enough to stick around after that, racing as fast as he could down the first road that wasn't jammed full of humans try to do the same.
He hadn't survived the war this long by fighting unwinnable fights.
And so, here he was, racing as fast as he could to put as much distance as possible between himself and whatever had attacked his comrades.
He was in such a panic he didn't realise he was being followed.
It was only when Frenzy muttered they were being followed that he thought to check his scanners.
Sure enough, two airborne hostiles, one ahead of the other, were heading directly towards him at a cruising altitude of only a few hundred metres off the ground.
He felt Frenzy huddle even tighter into himself in terror as he tried to put on more speed, at this rate he'd burn through his reserves before they caught him.
He'd have to slow to conserve fuel, but that would mean they would catch up, and he was in no condition to fight off two when only one offlined Blackout and sent Starscream packing.
He had to stop now.
"Frenzy, stay close."
The minicon didn't have time to respond before he applied his brakes and cut out his engine, his tires squealed as his momentum propelled him further along the highway, the rubber of his tires burning up into a thick cloud of smoke.
Eventually though, he managed to come to a full stop, and slowly transformed, the empty highway giving him no cover from the forms continuing their approach, sporadically blocking out the dwindling stars and approaching glow of the planets star.
There was no denying they were heading right for him now.
Frenzy hid within his armour as the avian femmes landed, their talons gouging into the asphalt as their wings whipped up torrents of air to stabilise them on the ground.
They shook for a moment, the larger of the two recovering first, the smaller bending over, hacking out a cloud of smoke and ash that was swiftly blown away on the breeze.
The smaller ones frame was singed, the metal warped by incomprehensible heat, the black visor that obscured her optics cracked, a piece even then falling to the asphalt, revealing a screwed up optic beneath that flickered open to reveal a seemingly fluctuating optic, it's colours dancing across the spectrum.
The one from the hotel.
The smallest one had taken out Blackout…
The larger one stood between him and their ailed comrade, they had a few dents here and there, a single minor energon line seemed to of torn open underneath the femmes chassis plating, leaving a slow trickle of faintly glowing purple tinted fluid to leak out.
It was the larger one who spoke. "Barricade, correct?" Their tone was cold, their expression neutral.
He simply nodded, keeping his weapon systems on idle.
Only with his nod did their expression break into a smirk. "Excellent. We have a proposition for you."
He went to shut down anything that they were going to say, but the smaller of the two fell into another coughing fit, the joints in their pedes buckling and sending them down to one knee joint.
The only reaction from the larger was to spread out one of their wide wings to obscure their comrade from view.
Once the coughing fit seemed to subside he replied. "You must be fragged in the helm if you think I'd side with an Autobot."
A pained laugh came from the smaller hidden femme, followed swiftly by an equally pained groan.
Again they went ignored by the larger femme. "We are not Autobots. My request, if you accept, is simple. Monitor my brother, Fernando, and report everything directly to me. Oh and if he does something stupid, do try and at least keep him alive. As much as I'd love to see him buried six feet under, I'm not in a situation where that would be desirable yet."
Ah, so this one was the older sister, and apparently she wanted her brother offlined too.
He snorted. "What's in it for me?"
Their smirk widened at his remark, their faceplates were a strange red colour, but far away was he from insulting the femme who from his previous experience, likely had an advantage over him. "Ira deactivates the virus she put in that little bot you have with you, and when we get around to purging the Decepticons from this planet, we'll spare the both of you."
That forced him to pause.
He felt Frenzy continue to rattle within the gap in his plating.
He didn't deny they likely could perform such a slaughter, if the one behind this one was able to nearly take out Starscream and offline Blackout in such quick succession… From what he could see, the only damage to them had been caused by the heat, not his fellow Decepticon, save a few nicks where smaller bullets seemed to of pinged off the the armour.
And yet. "You want me to become a traitor to the Decepticon cause?"
The larger femme huffed. "After tonight, it's in quiet the pathetic shamble really. All things considered." She remarked. "Siding with us is your best option in the long run. So long as you prove both useful, and, loyal." The last word was pressed, the femme seeming to rise up somehow even higher.
He tried not to show that the small method of intimidation was effective, it was unnerving enough to have this femme outright tower over him by nearly twice his height.
He glanced around them, he could transform, could gun it down the highway and get away.
But they would likely follow, dog him until he ran out of fuel and had no other option than to let them drag him off… or worse, offline him then and there for proving to be not worth their time.
The femme nodded. "Oh! Where are our manners." They stretched out their wing. "Kia De La Estrada, and this is my comrade, Ira Halloran." Their other wing finally shifted again away from their downed companion. "Taking a page out of Icarus' book, she flew too close to the flames and got herself badly burned. Any other day of the year she'd not be caught dead like this until she's crashed at least six bars."
"...Fu...ck… you…" The downed red, white and orange femme groaned from where she was, whatever bite in her tone there likely normally was, was significantly lacking.
Barricade held himself silent for a few moments, pondering his options.
Perhaps there was a third option? He'd have to test the Energon though first. "I want to have a period of deliberation with myself before I agree to this, am I able to request that?"
He watched as the slight tilt of the larger femmes helm, shifted further to the side as they somehow managed to rise up higher on their pedes, as if pondering his suggestion herself.
"Hmmmm, and you'd tell us your decision?" There was humour in her tone, hopefully that meant she was at least humouring his request.
He nodded. "If you give me a rendezvous point to meet at in… five cycles… and I show up, I will accept… if not, then consider that me turning you down."
"And if you use that rendezvous point to stage a trap with what's left of the Decepticons?" Kia shot back.
He'd already thought of that.
Hopefully Frenzy wouldn't loathe him too much for what he was about to do.
Before the minicon could escape, he reached inside and in the minicons surprise and current limited ability, what with the virus coursing through him, he offered the hissing minicon out. "Soundwave would personally have my helm removed if Frenzy was offlined… if I stage a trap, which I wouldn't, you'll be morally justified in offlining Frenzy, and sealing my fate at the servos of Soundwave if you don't offline me yourself."
He heard the one designated Ira mutter something in a different human language, but he hadn't the care to translate it as the more pressingly capable femme let off another sound of contemplation as she regarded the minicon thrashing in his servo like a trapped scraplet.
Then, after a few moments of pause, the femme smirked and their wing stretched out, not to take the minicon, not that they likely could with the massive wings that replaced their arms, but to instead bump against the servo hanging to his side.
"Keep the minicon, Ira will tend to his virus once she's recovered, and you've joined us. The rendezvous will be… oooh…. Where to rendezvous… ah! We're on Route 93 at the moment, follow this highway to Kingman, then take the 40 East through Arizona, head South at Albuquerque onto Route 25, until you get to San Antonio, from there take the 380 East, then head for the 208 and…"
"Fah fuck's sake Kia! Just tell him where tah go! Yah ain' ah bloomin' satnav!" Ira snapped, before breaking out into a whole new coughing fit.
Kia just huffed at this, but apparently took their companions advice. "Grape Creek, just outside of San Angelo. Be there in five days at midnight with the intention of joining, or don't show up at all. There, happy Ira?"
Their companion had nothing else to say, so Kia turned back to him, and nudged his servo with her wing again. "Are we going to shake on that? Or not?"
Snapping back to the present he gave a dull nod and carefully wrapped his digits around the strut, it was oddly textured, grooves and ridges running across the wide conical strut. After a moment, the motion of shaking servos was performed and he let go.
The femme stepped back, and without seemingly a single care, delivered a minor kick to the side of their companion with the back of their odd pede. "You've had your rest, get up."
A rolling hiss came from the downed femme as she used her own wing struts to push off the ground, forcing her back fully up onto her hind pedes.
It's the first time he actually gets a chance to look over this one.
Covered in armour that curved and flared like sharp ridges, built light from what he could see, only one layer of platting, leaving a good chunk of the protoform beneath exposed, the other femme seemed to have less of their protoform exposed in comparison.
Overall they looked just as unnatural as that Fernando mech.
Which in a way made sense since Kia was apparently his older sibling.
Frenzy continued to thrash in his grip as the avian built femmes stepped back further before each one unfurled their wings.
In a few powerful beats, that whipped up a cloud of dust that billowed out around them, they were airborne, and soon enough, disappearing into the horizon.
Leaving him to stand there for a while longer, Frenzy even stilled after a time, allowing him to carefully tuck the minicon back inside as he shifted back into his vehicle and continued on his way down the highway.
He waited for the minicon to explode at him, to lash out to tear into his interior.
But the little mech just curled up in the back seat, servo gripping their other still shaking arm, it had spread farther, already causing a rattle in his chassis.
He had five days to make it to Grape Creek…
If he didn't accept… he didn't want to think of what would happen to Frenzy.
They'd boxed him into this… yes he knew it was his best shot at making it off this planet online… but what was gonna be the long term cost? Was there going to be one?
Or was he going to be found out and slagged by his own side?
He jolted slightly when he heard the little minicon stutter out something.
He heard what he said, but didn't reply.
How was he supposed to reply to the mech calling out for a bot long gone.
The utter brought up painful memories for himself as well.
After a while, Frenzy stuttered out the old designation again, it was only after hearing it again that he spoke. "She's not coming Frenzy… we both know that. Nor is Soundwave..."
There was something unspoken then, something they both knew.
Something neither of them were either willing to accept, or move on from.
The high way ahead of them remained empty, the human population having likely shut down and stored themselves away in their residences given what he was leaving behind.
Even from this distance, he could see a glow in the distance, where darkness still clung to the Horizon.
It had all gone wrong so quickly, and now…
Now it was a whole new game.
Woo! Things are gonna get interesting from here on out! So many ideas I'm really looking forwards to writing!
Hope you all enjoyed this latest edition, until next time!
Moon
