Alexis was in her 'new' quarters, resting from what had happened. After her little moment with Starscream, he had taken her up and showed her, her quarters. She was quite surprised that there was already one set up for her. She never knew Optimus had the quarters already for her. Starscream had told her that Optimus began working on the room, not long after hearing that she was turning into a Transformer.
As she tried to relax, she took a look around the room. There wasn't much to the room except for a metal slab, which would be used as her bed, a computer console with a desk and some compartments. On the desk, she discovered the picture of the Autobots the day of her birthday. She sadly smiled at the memory.
A chime at her door indicated that someone wanted to come in. "Come in," she said.
At first she figured it would have been one of the boys but it was Hotshot.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," she said back. The sadness in her voice was clearly heard.
"You look great. Any ideas of what you will scan for a design?"
"I was thinking about Starscream but now that I think of it, it would be better to be another type of jet. The day I fought Megatron, it felt cool to be able to fly in the sky."
"Well we could use another aerial bot. Are you planning to have a wing sword as well?"
She nodded.
"How do you like your quarters?"
"I don't know. This feels really weird. I can actually look at you face to face instead of craning my neck."
"I know what you mean. I'm so used to bending down and now...it's different. Everyone is going to have a hard time adjusting to this. You may want to pick a Mini-Con to power link with. Sureshock isn't designed for combat."
"In all out reality, non of the Mini-Cons is designed for combat. But Sureshock will be there when I am able to turn into a human. Whenever that will be."
"We are working as fast as we can to get the sample here. Optimus told me that you would be ready to train tomorrow. He wants me to help out."
"I have Scavenger, you and Starscream now."
"What is Starscream going to help you with?" He thought for a moment. "Oh. He's going to teach you to use a sword."
"How did you learn?"
"Back on Cybertron, sword training is part of basic training. Mind you Starscream must have done advanced classes, but most Transformers are only taught on the basics."
"Is that why you couldn't do any fancy tricks when you had the Star Saber."
Hotshot nodded. "Are you getting used to your systems?"
"Yeah. Starscream told me that for the first few hours I will need to concentrate but soon it will just become a second nature. Just like it is to automatically blink or breathe. Everything in the body is connected to the brain and it just comes naturally."
"Maybe sometime, I'll become human as well and see the world from a human's point of view."
Alexis smiled. "Well you will be able to after we get the sample."
"I know this is too soon to ask. But I was wondering if you put any thought into wanting to stay here or go to Cybertron?"
"I have given it some thought and honestly I don't know. I would like to go to Cybertron but I'm not sure I want to leave Earth. You guys would be going back for good."
"I wouldn't count on that. Some of the others are considering of traveling back and forth between the two planets."
"You can do that?"
"Sure. All we have to do is add a new component to the Warp Gate and re-program it. I know I'd miss this place too much."
"Hotshot, can I ask you a question? I know this is a little personal but it's nagging at my mind. I was wondering what you thought of me when I was human? I mean if you thought that I was pretty."
Hotshot gave a look of surprise. "Well..." Since she was being truthful he as might as well. "I will be honest with you. You are quite attracting now that you are a Transformer but that doesn't mean you weren't pretty before because you were. And I am proud to have known you as a human and though you are a Transformer now, I'll still consider you human."
Alexis walked over to Hotshot and hugged him. The embrace threw Hotshot off guard for a moment but he instantly wrapped his arms around her and relaxed his head against her shoulder. "It's ok. You're among friends who want to help. No one wanted this to happen but it did."
"I know. But I'm still scared. I'm not looking forward to seeing Megatron again. He was pretty angry with me the last time."
"We'll make sure nothing happens to you. From the many times before, you have watched our battles and you know his way of thinking. Use that to your advantage. Until he gets to know you, you have the ball."
Alexis pulled away. "Thanks Hotshot. I said to my mother that I consider you and Sideswipe like brothers and now those words can really be true."
"I agree. Now I can really consider you like a sister. Sis."
Alexis smiled and dimmed her optics at the name. "I haven't heard that name in a long time."
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't been completely honest with all of you," she said. Her optics came back on fully. "See I am not really an only child, like I said I was. But I am now. I had a twin brother but he was killed when we were six. I watched in horror as a car hit my brother. His broken body flew into a windshield of another car." Alexis's quivered on the last sentence and went quiet for a few moments before continuing. She did not feel like crying again.
"After his death, I decided to make people think I was an only child as it helped ease the pain. But after watching Hoist, those memories came back and it's been hard not to say anything."
Hotshot looked at Alexis with sorrow. "I'm sorry."
"Not long after that, my father started a new job. Mom and Dad starting arguing but then my father got a transfer and he took it. Leaving my mother and me. He did offer us to go with him but Mom declined."
"So that is how their marriage ended."
"Yeah. Not to push you out or anything. But I would like to get some rest. Starscream wants to start showing me how to use the sword in the morning. Plus I have to make some time for Scavenger. I suppose you will probably show me how to aim."
"You betcha. If you want I can get Sideswipe to help out as well. Since he's still in the learning stage."
"I'd like that."
"Well goodnight Alexis." Hotshot released the female Transformer and left her quarters.
-
Early the next morning, Alexis was woken to her human friends and mother as well as Optimus. Optimus stayed a distance away from the humans. She looked to Sandy who was comforting her mother and the boys who stood off to the side. Rad smiled at she looked at him.
"You look great Alexis," Rad answered.
"Thanks Rad," Alexis said. "Mom are you ok?"
"No," she said sadly. "This feels like the day we lost your brother."
"Brother?" Carlos questioned. He looked at his former human friend. "What's she talking about?"
"I don't want to get into it Carlos. Let Sandy fill you in later. What brings you all here at seven in the morning?" She had looked over at the computer console to see the time.
"Your mother wants to leave and she wanted to come to see you before leaving," Sandy said.
"Alexis," her mother said. "I still love you and I want you know that I will visit and maybe after this all sinks in, I may stay like your friends."
"Be careful Mom."
"I will."
Alexis, after watching so many times the Autobots doing it, laid her hand out flat. Her mother took the invitation and hugged her thumb. She then climbed off and hurried out of the room. Sandy wasn't long following.
"I'll make sure she gets home all right," Rad said.
"Guys for the next couple days, please keep a close watch over her."
"We will," Billy answered. He looked sleepy.
The three boys jumped down from Alexis's bed and left the room. Alexis looked up to Optimus. "I'm sorry for lying."
"Why did you?" He walked over to her and offered to sit. She sat up, allowing him to sit.
"It was too painful to talk about it, more so since Hoist was damaged. As I said to Hotshot, telling everyone that I was an only child seemed to ease the pain. It wasn't the most honorable thing to do but it was the only thing I could..."
"I know. Hotshot already told me that a car hit your brother and you watched. You remember when I told you about Elita-One?"
"Yes. You said that Megatron had captured her and that he doesn't know that she still alive."
"That's right. When I went to rescue her, Megatron blew up the compound she was in. Luckily I got her out of there in the nick of time."
"And he didn't see you come out with her."
"No. In fact he thought I was gone too. But a few days later he knew I wasn't gone. Can you do me a favor? Is there any other secrets that you never told anyone before?"
"Not that I can think of. Why?"
"Keeping painful memories deep within is not healthy for any person, human or Transformer alike. If there's anything that you never told us, I would like to know. Anyway I'll let you get some more sleep. In a few hours I'll get someone to check on you."
Alexis nodded silently and watched Optimus stood. He gave her a quick look before leaving the room. She laid back down and cried herself to sleep. Talking about her brother became too painful. She was later woken up with someone trying to shake her awake.
"Go away," she moaned and waved her hand to brush the hand that was holding her shoulder.
"Not if I am to train you," a raspy voice said as he caught her hand.
Taking note of who the voice belonged to, Alexis turned around. "What time is it?"
"Time for you to get up."
"That's not the answer I'm looking for." She looked over at the computer console for the time. Her optics widened as she seen it was nine.
Starscream released her hand as she sat up. He decided to sit beside her. "I've just been informed that you lied to us about saying you were an only child. You had a brother who died from a car accident."
Alexis nodded as she looked away. "I'm sorry for not telling you. It's been hard for me to accept my brother's death and then when..."
Starscream quickly placed his fingers around her chin and turned her face to face him. "You don't need to say anything to me."
"You're not mad at me for deceiving you?"
"No. You have your reasons for not telling anyone and now I know why. There are still things you don't know about me and I'm not sure I would like you to know what they are."
In the back of his mind, Starscream had the feeling that he would some day tell her all the things that he was holding back. Most of them were when he was young and first became a Decepticon. But at the moment she didn't need to know his struggled past before meeting Kiaudica. Kiaudica was the one who made him a better bot.
"If were to tell me, you'll do it in your own time," she said. "I hope I'm ready to face training."
"We all know that you will need a lot of practice and we'll all be here for you."
"I know and I'm glad. Earlier Rad and the others stopped in. Mom wanted to leave and she wanted to see me. It's so hard for her. After going through the loss of her son and now practically loosing a daughter."
"But she hasn't lost a daughter. You are still alive and she will be able to see you. It's almost like me. I was a born a Decepticon but here I am an Autobot and the symbols to prove it."
"Yeah and they do look nice on you. Red is your color...well considering you are mostly red to begin with."
"The point is, I changed and now you have changed but you can switch. I can't. I have to be one or the other, not both."
"Sometimes I'm not sure why I placed a lot trust in you but I am glad I did."
"If it weren't for your trust, I would not be an Autobot right now or sitting here beside you as your friend, giving you a shoulder to cry on. I am not a very compassionate bot."
"You seemed to be doing a good job at it," Alexis giggled.
Hearing her giggle brought a smile to Starscream. "Why don't we post pone sword training and go and see if Scavenger has anything set up for you."
"When do you consume energon?" Alexis asked.
"Just as often as humans consume food." Starscream stood and walked over to a storage compartment. In it was a couple cubes of energon. "Take a small portion of this. Too much energon works like a drug or what humans call alcohol."
Alexis stood and walked over to Starscream. She noticed that he had a cup in his hand. She didn't know Transformers had the usage of cups. She figured out what the reason for it was.
Starscream noticed that she was looking at the cup. He raised his hand, handing her the cup. He watched her dip the cup into the energon.
Alexis raised the cup to her lips and just before the liquid touched her lips, she concentrated to see if she had any smelling senses. When she found that Transformers could smell, she took a sniff at the liquid, checking to see if it smelled. When she found no smell, she took a small sip.
She could feel the liquid go down her throat with a tingling sensation. It almost felt like drinking wine or Champaign. There had been one time when she had the pleasure of drinking both. Once she was at a restaurant and she was able to take a sip of her mother's wine and the other was having Champaign at a wedding.
"This is like drinking wine or something," she said as she took another sip.
When the energon was gone, Starscream took the cup from her and placed it on the desk. "Now let's see what Scavenger has in mind for you." He grabbed her hand and walked out and to the training the room, where Scavenger waited patiently.
"I thought you were going to show her some techniques?" Scavenger said.
"I thought maybe I could show her later," Starscream answered. He turned to Alexis, releasing her hand. "I'll leave you with Scavenger."
He turned and walked out.
"I'm not sure I can do this," Alexis said to herself as she watched her friend leave.
"You can do anything, when you put your mind to it," Scavenger said as he came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You have a lot of pain. And for that I'm sorry. Until you get the hang of training, I'll go easy."
Alexis turned to her trainer. "I watched you with Hotshot when you first arrived. And I'm glad I have someone like you training me. I'm just not looking forward to facing the Decepticons."
"You were the one who said that you would help."
"Yeah I know. Scavenger, when you trained Optimus, was he a beginner or did he have some fighting skills like Hotshot?"
"He was more like Sideswipe, very unsure of what he wanted in life. But he became a good fighter and a leader. Are you ready to begin?"
Alexis nodded. "What are we going to start with?"
Scavenger smiled at her determination. Although she didn't want to do this, she knew it was important and would do anything to the help the Autobots. Her willpower reminded him of some of the female Autobots in which he had the pleasure of training. They were just as dedicated in wanting to know how to fight.
He marveled her strength. She had just spoken out about her brother's death and that she watched in horror of how he died. Him and most of the Autobots were able to sympathize. Each of them, except for maybe Sideswipe, had lost a real close friend at one time or another to a horrifying death. Alexis had a long way to go but just releasing the pain that she had been holding all these years was the first step.
Scavenger felt a tingle of jealousy, as he knew that she was getting comfort from Starscream. But he knew that he would be nothing more than a friend to her and he was happy just being friends. He had a feeling all the Autobots felt the same way as he did but were happy enough to have her as their friend. There was only Transformer that may win her heart and he was the one Transformer who stayed with the Autobots because of her. He had the feeling Starscream liked her more than any of the others.