Sparks
Official Disclaimer: The Transformers ain't mine.
Author's Note: This chapter had the unfortunate experience of having the entire first half be erased due to a sleepy error on my part. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the first draft was better, but then again, the re-write was done at work, and somehow sub-zero temperatures and the Hero soundtrack don't give off the same feel as one's own room and Save Me, Last Resort, We Shall Be Free, and the Transformers movie soundtrack. Oddly enough. Heh. I did manage to save a few memorable lines, though...Anyways. Thank you once again to all my wonderful reviewers - hope you enjoy this chapter, despite the less-than-spectacular rewrite.
- Chapter Fifteen: Angsty Optimus and Sparknapping -
Ratchet woke early from his recharge and left the dam, heading up the side of one of the mountains to watch the sunrise. It was a habit he'd developed during his stay at the dam - it had been a long time, if ever, since Cybertron had had sunrises like Earth, and he found them a relaxing way to start the day. This morning, however, he found someone in his usual spot. In the grey light of twilight, it was impossible to distinguish more than an outline of the other mech, but to someone who had spent their long, long life putting their comrades back together countless times, it was more than enough.
"You're in my spot." Ratchet teased lightly.
"Apologies." Optimus said rather roughly, and made as if to move, but Ratchet stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't. I think I can manage to share a sunrise." the medic said, purposefully keeping his voice light, though Optimus' tone worried him.
Optimus himself had been worrying Ratchet for some time, actually. After the Allspark had supposedly been destroyed in Mission City, and Megatron killed, Optimus had started to loosen up, become more like the young bot he'd been before he'd had to take on the Matrix of Leadership. It was understandable - two of the main reasons the war was being fought had just been destroyed, and the war was obviously keying down, becoming less brutal, less desperate, less bloody. Only one skirmish had been fought in over a year, for Primus' sake.
Ratchet, personally, had enjoyed the more relaxed Optimus, especially once he'd met up with Alexandra. The human woman had helped Optimus lose his tenseness, so even though he'd been relaxed before, after he'd met her, he'd laugh, he'd carry on pointless conversations, and he joked. Sunstreaker had actually stalled in the middle of a freeway, Bluestreak on a highway, and Sideswipe had woken Sergeant Epps' entire neighbourhood, and Bumblebee, Sam's, due to laughter after their leader had interrupted one of their chatter-sessions to make a rather unexpected comment about why exactly the four of them were always teasing each other. Before Earth, Ratchet couldn't even have imagined Optimus making such a comment - between coming to earth and meeting Alexandra, Ratchet could have imagined it, but thought it highly improbable.
Since Optimus' return from death, however...Ratchet hadn't even heard him laugh, had rarely seen him smile. It was like he'd returned to how he was before Mission City, only even more sober. He was holding his emotions in even more strongly, he was withdrawing from the others - and he was letting his officers make more and more decisions. Optimus usually liked to lead from the front, to take the brunt of attacks, be they blasts from Decepticons or verbal accusations from his fellow Autobots after a mistake was made - now he was sitting quietly just behind a new front line consisting of Prowl, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet himself. And while Ratchet appreciated giving the officers a chance to learn how to lead, it wasn't like Optimus. Not at all.
Watching the sky brighten, Ratchet mused that it was probably a good thing he'd found Optimus out here this morning. For all his worries about Optimus, he hadn't been able to corner the Autobot and talk to him. He was responsible for his charge's mental health as well as physical, after all, and it was clear that Optimus wasn't dealing well with either his death and return, the return of the war, and the loss of Alexandra. Watching the pastel colours spread across the sky, Ratchet contemplated how to start the conversation.
"It's so strange to be fighting again over something we thought was destroyed." Ratchet inwardly grimaced - not the best way to start, but he couldn't come up with any other.
"Just as long as Megatron doesn't come back, too." Optimus replied with black humour, and Ratchet glanced over at him worriedly.
"I made very sure he couldn't." Ratchet said, vividly remembering taking out several vital bits of Megatron's systems and either smashing them to bits or launching them into the sun with a re-programmed human missile. "I have to wonder, though, what will happen if the Allspark doesn't stop Alexandra's body from aging. Maybe all we have to do is play a waiting game, keep the Allspark out of Decepticon hands for sixty to eighty years, and then Alexandra and the Allspark can die naturally, and the war can die again." There was a grunt from Optimus, but nothing more. Ratchet paused, considering his next words carefully, then inwardly grimaced as he went on almost casually, "Beth told me she spoke to Alex, you know. It was while they were in their cell in the Decepticon base, right before they escaped. From what I gathered, they only had enough time to exchange a few words before the Allspark resurfaced, but Beth got the impression that she had no idea what was going on." Ratchet waited, and just as he gave up and was about to try again, Optimus spoke.
"When I had to leave Elita on Cybertron, I thought I'd lost everything. She was - is - my spark-mate, but somehow we'd never managed to find the time to formalize our bonding, to fully pledge ourselves to each other." Optimus said softly. "So when I left, I was terrified - I knew that, because we hadn't bonded, once she was out of sight, out of communications range, I'd have no way to tell if she was alive or dead. How I envied those that were bonded - the pain of parting was so much harder for them, some of them even had to shut themselves down for awhile to handle it. But when it came down to it, they would know, wherever they were in the universe, whether or not their mate was alive or dead. I wouldn't have that." Optimus was silent for a moment.
"The humans have an expression about not knowing what you've got until you've lost it. I knew exactly what I had with Elita, and exactly what I was losing when I made the decision for the femmes to stay on Cybertron. Elita knew as well." Optimus bowed his head before continuing, and Ratchet was alarmed to see a tiny tremor go through his old friend. "The bond I had - have - with Alexandra is very different from what I would - did - have with Elita. And I didn't even realize that it was there, or that it meant so much to me, until I found myself held in the air, feeling myself being ripped apart, and saw Alexandra standing there on the highway." There was another pause.
"I remember everything from my death, Ratchet, right up until Starscream ripped my spark from me. I remember trying to tell her to turn away, that she didn't need to see this, but my communications system was one of the first things I lost. I remember watching her standing there, horror clear on her face, and I realized, somewhere in there, that she would never turn away, even had I been able to ask her to. And then I didn't want her to turn away, because I wanted her to somehow see in my optics what I couldn't tell her - that she was my friend...no, more than that. She was...I don't know what to call her. She means as much to me as Elita does, now." Optimus sighed.
"And then you came back and even though she was there, she was gone." Ratchet murmured, stunned at the depth of feeling his leader had developed for Alexandra. He'd had no idea - he'd thought maybe a close friendship, but this was something beyond that.
"Exactly." Optimus said. "I felt as if I'd been given a second chance and cheated out of half of what made it worth coming back for." Ratchet, unable to find the words to comfort his friend - not even sure if they existed - simply placed his hand on his friend's shoulder again, and together they finished watching the sunrise. Neither of them saw the small figure on the dam below them, and even if they had, they wouldn't have thought it could hear them.
---
Sideswipe was sitting outside the Hoover Dam, looking down the Colorado River. Inside the dam, the other Autobots were having an intensive planning session to determine the best way, and place, to protect the Allspark. When they'd started seriously throwing around the idea of a moon base, Sideswipe had decided to take a break. He figured he should probably go back in soon, though, before the others allowed Sunstreaker to volunteer him as bait or something - so, with a sigh, he took one last look down the river, then stood and turned to head back in, only to stop short as he almost stepped on a human. Grimacing, Sideswipe knelt to apologize - the humans got surprisingly offended at almost being stepped on (he didn't know why, personally he had preferred not to be noticed at all when a Supreme or gestalt almost stepped on him) - but stopped short when he realized the human was the Allspark, and it was looking straight at him.
"Come." it said, and Sideswipe knew only he had heard it's message. He watched dumbly for a moment as it set off to the dam, then followed quickly. He expected it to go inside, but instead, it went off to the side, then turned to him expectantly. Sideswipe stared at it for a moment, then realized what it was asking - a lift up. Wondering where this was going - and if he'd have to call in the others to catch an escaping Allspark - Sideswipe picked up the Allspark and climbed up to the top of the dam, where he set it down on the road. As soon as he'd done so, an unexpected shock went through him, and the next thing he knew, he was in his vehicle mode, and the Allspark was climbing into the driver's seat.
"Hold on, you can't go anywhere, the Decepticons are looking for you!" Sideswipe protested, locking his breaks and refusing to start up.
"If they find me, they will not harm me, nor you so long as I am near." the Allspark stated, and then took over Sideswipe's systems. Within moments, they were roaring off down the highway.
"Great. The Allspark is using me to sparknap itself." Sideswipe muttered. "I don't suppose you'd let me call for help?" Sideswipe tried to access his communications, but found them completely shut down. "Figures. So where are we going, oh Allspark?" The Allspark, to his surprise, gained an amused look, and then motioned out the windshield vaguely. If he could've, Sideswipe would have blinked. "And the Allspark mysteriously develops a sense of humour. This is just slagging wonderful. Why couldn't you have sparknapped Optimus? Prowl wouldn't kill him..."
"The only one who could catch you would stay behind if you ask him to." Sideswipe hadn't expected a response to his question, and remained silent for a few minutes out of shock.
"So you specifically picked me, not just because I was the one outside when you decided to leave, but because I'm so fast only Sunny can keep up?" Sideswipe managed to ask finally.
"I am not blind to what goes on around me. I may not have been aware of this war before, but I understand now how each side would desire power over me." the Allspark replied.
"The Decepticons want power over you, we just want to protect you." Sideswipe protested.
"And in protecting me, you would deny the Decepticons access to me for fear of what they might use me for." the Allspark replied, and Sideswipe paused.
"Well, yes." he said with a sigh. "So why are you riding around in me, then, if you want to get away from both sides?"
"I require some...information." the Allspark said, sounding thoughtful. Then Sideswipe felt it dig deeper into his systems, his communications protocols coming back online, and the next thing he knew, data from the human's World Wide Web was streaming through him. He frowned to himself - why would the Allspark want human information? A question to ask it later. For now, he stayed silent as the Allspark continued driving and searching through the web, literally speeding towards the nearest city.
It had been the middle of the afternoon when they'd left the dam, and by the time they reached the city, it was evening. The Allspark withdrew from the web as they entered the city, but didn't turn off the communications protocols again. Sideswipe considered sneaking out a message, but so far as they knew, the Decepticons were still up in Alaska, licking their wounds, and besides...the red Lamborghini was curious now.
The Allspark drove Sideswipe around the city for awhile, watching the people around it, then pulled over and stopped in front of a bar on the seedy side of the city. Sideswipe instinctively locked his doors as he saw the type of people hanging out front and saw the Allspark reaching for the door handle. The Allspark arched an eyebrow.
"You don't want to get out here." Sideswipe murmured, then tentatively started his engine. The Allspark leaned back in the seat, and Sideswipe took it as permission, so he headed off for the safer areas of the city. He found a late-night java cafe that had a fair number of people in it, and - most importantly - had glass windows along the entire front, allowing him to see inside. He stopped, unlocking his doors, and the Allspark got out without a word and headed inside. Sideswipe could detect a slight drop in the sound levels inside as the patrons took note of what type of car their newcomer drove.
The Allspark ignored the attention, instead taking a seat in the far corner and watching the people around it with interest. Several of the customers were unnerved by it's gaze, but a few girls seemed to take it into their heads to talk to this stranger, and sat down next to it. They spoke at first as if expecting a response, but the Allspark, surprisingly, shook it's head and made a few motions with it's hands. Sideswipe was amused - the Allspark had learned sign language from the internet. He wondered why it hadn't just learned English, and filed the question away for when the Allspark returned. For now, he just sat, watching, as the girls apparently expressed their sympathy over the Allspark's plight, but continued chattering to it - apparently one of them knew sign language, and translated the Allspark's few short comments for the others.
"Sideswipe, come in." Prowl's irritated voice caught Sideswipe's attention just as a few boys joined the Allspark's table, and he turned his attention from watching to reply.
"Sideswipe here." he replied. "What's up, Prowler?"
"Where are you?" the Autobot tactician sounded even more irritated at the nickname.
"In the city." Sideswipe replied. "Like Sunshine probably told you." He and his twin always knew where the other was.
"Get back to the dam. The Allspark is missing." Prowl snapped.
"No it's not." Sideswipe replied without thinking. There was a deadly silence on the other side of the line.
"What do you mean, 'no it's not'?" Prowl asked perfectly calmly, and Sideswipe winced, not even wanting to imagine what Prowl was going to do to him when he got back...but, then again, this wasn't even his fault. He couldn't have stopped the Allspark if he'd tried.
"The Allspark, uh, kind of used me to sparknap itself." Sideswipe admitted. More silence. "Prowl?"
"Hold on, I think Optimus will want to hear this." Prowl said, voice flat. There was another pause.
"What's going on, Sideswipe?" Optimus did not sound pleased. At all. Sideswipe figured that might have something to do with the fact that the body the Allspark was in belonged to someone who was almost as close to Optimus as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were to each other. Might.
"Oh, well, it's actually a funny story. See, I was just sitting outside when the Allspark up and sparknapped me in order to sparknap itself. It headed for the city and startled rifling through the human World Wide Web. Then it tried to visit a bar, but I suggested it might want to go elsewhere to mingle with humanity, so now I'm sitting outside a java cafe while the Allspark is inside chatting up the locals. Apparently it's learned sign language." Sideswipe explained in a rush.
"I don't suppose you could convince it to return?" Prowl asked with annoyance.
"No, and considering it outright told me that it picked me specifically because I could outrun the rest of you - well, except for Sunny, but as it also pointed out, he'd stay behind if I asked him to - I wouldn't risk coming after us. It would probably just sparknap me again and lead you on a merry chase across the country." Sideswipe said.
"We can't exactly leave it out there unguarded." Prowl snapped in reply.
"I don't think you've got much choice in the matter, just like I haven't got any choice in being it's ride." Sideswipe said with a sigh.
"Do you -"
"Prowl, enough. Sideswipe is right. Besides that, the Decepticons are likely still recovering, and the Allspark has proven it can defend itself if it wants to." Optimus cut off his second-in-command. There was frustration in his voice, and Sideswipe knew that his leader, at least, realized that there was no way for them to control the situation.
"If you say so, Prime." Prowl said stiffly, and Sideswipe winced sympathetically at the use of Optimus' title.
"I do. Sideswipe, stay with the Allspark, and keep your scanners going. I want to know immediately if you detect a Decepticon in the area, or if the Allspark does anything unusual." Optimus ordered.
"Of course, sir." Sideswipe replied promptly, and the other two Autobots signed off, leaving Sideswipe to return his attention to the cafe. The Allspark still had the same table companions, but even as the red Lamborghini watched, the employees behind the cafe's counter started swatting people with towels, and the laughing customers - obviously all regulars - filed out, the Allspark among them.
"That is one sweet car." one of the boys from the Allspark's table said, shaking his head, as he and the other girls came out with the Allspark. The Allspark nodded, looking at Sideswipe with amusement as he preened at the compliment. He wasn't as vain as his brother, but he'd take a compliment. Waving to her new friends, the Allspark came around to the driver's side and got in. The other humans waved or called goodbyes, then watched with no little amount of envy as Sideswipe peeled out of the parking lot.
"Where to now, oh great Allspark?" Sideswipe quipped. A set of geographical co-ordinates was transmitted to him, and Sideswipe took a moment to match them to a location. "Montana?! You've got to be kidding me!" In response, Sideswipe felt a probing push at the systems required to drive, and he hastily began plotting a route. "No no, I'll drive!" he assured the Allspark, and it smiled in amusement as it closed it's eyes and settled back in the seat. Sideswipe decided to wait before asking it why it had learned sign language, instead driving in silence as he turned on his internal radio and listened to music.
Distracted as he was, it wasn't until they were nearing the border between Nevada and Idaho that Sideswipe realized, to his great concern, that the Allspark had fallen asleep in his driver's seat, and was now snoring softly. He debated for a few minutes as to whether this counted as the Allspark doing something unusual, and in the end, decided to contact Ratchet.
"Yo, Ratchet, you there?" Sideswipe sent to the medic.
"Sideswipe?" the drawn-out response of a only half-activated vocal processor indicated that the medic had been recharging.
"Yeah, hey, did Optimus and Prowl share with the group?" Sideswipe asked.
"If you mean did they tell us that you're prancing around the city with the Allspark, yes." the medic was his usual grumpy self now.
"Good. Though we're not in the city anymore." Sideswipe said.
"What? Where are you?" Ratchet snapped.
"Nearing the border with Idaho. The Allspark apparently wants to go to Montana - Primus only knows why." Sideswipe said with a sigh.
"Hold on, I'll get Optimus -" Ratchet started, but Sideswipe quickly sent a negative tone over the line.
"Don't bother, that's not why I contacted you. They still wouldn't be able to do anything." Sideswipe elaborated once he was sure the medic wasn't going to get Optimus.
"Alright, why did you contact me, then?" Ratchet asked warily.
"The Allspark is currently asleep in my front seat." Sideswipe replied.
"And?" Ratchet said after a moment of blank silence. The medic had evidently not gotten all his processors going yet.
"The Allspark is asleep, Ratchet." Sideswipe repeated with emphasis.
"Wait - it doesn't need to sleep." Ratchet finally caught on.
"Exactly. So why is it?" Sideswipe asked.
"I don't know. You're the one with it in your front seat. Do some scans." Ratchet replied crankily.
"Primus, did you do a complete shut-down before going into recharge? You know I have minimal medical scanners, none of which are aimed inwards when in vehicle mode." Sideswipe said crankily.
"Stop and transform then." Ratchet replied.
"It's asleep. I'd have to wake it and get it to climb out in order to transform, and I can tell you right now that it would take over my systems and drive itself before it let me do that." Sideswipe shot back, getting irritated with Ratchet's denseness.
"Well what do you want me to do about it?!" Ratchet sounded ready to explode, and Sideswipe made a mental note that Ratchet was even easier to get angry in the morning.
"You're pretty fast. I'll slow down a bit so you can catch up to us, then run a few scans. If you come alone and I don't stop entirely, the Allspark shouldn't have anything to complain about if it wakes up." Sideswipe replied patiently. There was a long pause on the other side, then a sigh.
"I'm on my way." Ratchet said, then cut the link. Sideswipe slowed his speed bit by bit over the next little while, until finally he was only speeding a little bit. Thank Primus that Earth's police radar was so easy to jam. The Allspark started to stir just as the sun started rising, but it didn't actually wake until they were halfway through Idaho, just as Ratchet became visible in Sideswipe's rear view mirrors. The Allspark frowned when it saw the Autobot coming up on them, and Sideswipe decided it was probably best to explain before it took over his systems.
"You fell asleep, and you never do that, so since I don't have any medical scanners, I called him." he said quickly. The Allspark shook it's head, but took no action as Ratchet caught up and began scanning. Even from several hundred meters ahead of him, Sideswipe could hear the medic swearing as the scans started to return data - it was a good thing the highway was mostly deserted. The humans might wonder about a search and rescue Hummer driving itself and swearing up a storm loud enough to be heard clearly over the engines of passing vehicles.
"Ratchet? What is it?" Sideswipe finally asked after spending several minutes appreciating the medic's vocabulary and creativity.
"The tumors the Allspark healed after it's escape from the Decepticons are starting to re-grow. If something isn't done, I estimate that Alexandra's body will die within a few days." Ratchet replied grimly. "Sideswipe, I need you to turn around and bring the Allspark back to the dam." The Allspark was apparently listening in, however, because as soon as Ratchet said that, it took over Sideswipe's systems and hit the gas, sending him rocketing to his top speed and leaving Ratchet far behind.
"SIDESWIPE!" Ratchet roared over the comm. line.
"I'd stop if I could!" Sideswipe replied even as the other Autobots came on the line, apparently having heard Ratchet, and demanded to know what was going on. Sideswipe let Ratchet have the floor as he admired the Allspark's steering capabilities while going at over 200 miles per hour. It wove in and out of highway traffic before the traffic even knew it was there. Sideswipe picked up a few police transmissions, but they were along the lines of: 'A red blur just passed me...should I even bother?' '...No.' Actually, once he started ignoring the communications chatter, Sideswipe found that he was enjoying himself. And, with the Allspark awake and alert in his front seat, he decided now was as good a time as any to see if he could get any answers from it.
"So why didn't you just learn English, instead of sign language?" Sideswipe asked as they neared the Montana border.
"Less chance to make cultural mistakes, and required less input on my part." the Allspark replied.
"Yeah, speaking of that, why did we stop at that cafe before this little road trip, anyways? And what was with the internet surfing?" Sideswipe asked curiously.
"...surfing?"
"That's what humans call it when they look around on their internet." Sideswipe explained.
"Ah."
"So?"
"I was...finding my muse." the Allspark said cryptically.
"What the slag does that mean?" Sideswipe asked in confusion.
"You'll see." it said with amusement. "You'll see." Then it leaned back and closed it's eyes, signalling the end of the conversation. And even though he really wanted to know, Sideswipe didn't ask it how it was driving without being able to see the road.