JML Ranch: *walks into living room* Oy... So tired...
Optimus: Long day?
JML Ranch: Yep...
Optimus: Aw... come here.
JML Ranch: *walks over to couch*
Optimus: *reaches for me and pulls me onto couch*
JML Ranch: *ends up on Optimus' chest* Oh... well, isn't this nice... Think I'm gonna just conk out for the night right here.
Optimus: *looks down at me in amusement* She's fast asleep already. I believe that's a new record. *Looks back up* Anyways... while she's asleep, here's Chapter 2.
:Comm link:
Thoughts
"Talking"
"Primus talking"
Bond
"Hey, where's Hera?" Miko asked as she walked into the main room.
"Asleep. Not sure where she is though," Ketos answered.
"How do you know?"
"Sibling bond. For some reason, we share one. I tried to reach her, but all I got was the sense of being asleep. That's how I know."
"Sibling bond? When did you find out?" Ratchet inquired.
"Right after we went through the ground bridge to check on the signal."
"Huh," Ratchet muttered.
"Do you need her for a reason, Miko?" Ketos asked.
"Nah, it's okay, Ketos. She needs the rest anyways. She looked absolutely exhausted when she came back in."
"I need to talk to her, however," Optimus spoke up as he walked into the main room. "Would you find her?"
"Certainly," Ketos replied.
Hey, you awake? Ketos prodded the bond.
Urrrgh… I was having a nice nap… What is it now, Ketos? I grumbled, not happy about being roused out of my lovely nap.
Optimus needs to talk to you about something. I do not know what it is, however.
Tell him I will be there, but I am not happy about being woken up, I replied crossly, sending my annoyance and irritated feeling through the bond.
"She will be here, but beware. She's kind of ticked off now…" Ketos trailed off.
"May I ask why?" Optimus inquired.
"Because he woke me up. I was having a very nice nap…" I grumbled as I walked into the room, rubbing my eyes with my hands. "Sorry. I tend to be a bit cranky when I wake up. What is it?"
Optimus did not say anything, but gestured for me to follow him. I looked at Ketos, sending my confusion over the bond. He shrugged, sending me confusion back. I just shook my helm and started to follow Optimus. He walked along the hallways, not saying anything. I started to get a little bit uneasy.
"Optimus… Where are we going?" I asked, my voice wavering ever so slightly.
"No need to be nervous, Julia," Optimus reassured me.
"Uh…why did you call me Julia just now? That was my old name," I said, perplexed as to why he called me that. Optimus did not say anything but came to a door and opened it. I looked and saw that it led to the roof of the base. I stepped through into the moonlight, and walked out a little bit. Optimus walked to the edge and sat down. He patted the ground next to him, and I sat down next to him.
"I was not always a Prime. I was once known as Orion Pax. I used to work in the archives back on Cybertron. The Council chose me to be a Prime because they needed someone to lead the Council, and at the time the war was on the verge of breaking out. Megatron was a gladiator in the pits of Kaon, and he called himself Megatronous, after one of the Original 13 Primes. He became involved with politics, and became one of the best spokesperson in the political circles. That is, until he became corrupted. He wanted to rule with force, and I did not agree with him. We had many debates in front of the Council. The day they chose me to be the next Prime- Megatron decided to build up an army, and called themselves the Decepticons. Anyone who did not side with him were called Autobots. The Autobots chose me to be their leader. The war raged on for eons. Slowly, Cybertron was ruined. I went down into the core, where Primus lives. He is the one who gave Cybertron life. He gave me the Matrix of Leadership, and I took off to the stars, collecting any Autobots who had fled. The group I have now is all that I could find. I was lucky that Ratchet was already with me when I fled. Arcee, Bumblebee and a few others found Ratchet and me a few years later. Bulkhead left the Wreckers, which is like black ops in human terms. He joined us not too long before we arrived on Earth. I hope there are more coming this way."
"Wow. You had it much worse than me. I cannot imagine my world gone- nothing left," I said softly, putting a comforting hand on his servo. "I hope there are others headed this way too."
He smiled at me softly, and then looked out across the landscape. "What about yourself?"
"As you know, I was called Julia Lovett. I grew up in a small town, out on a small ranch. I had horses, dogs, and cats. I played sports just like any other kid would. However… I was deaf."
Optimus looked at me with shock. "You were deaf?" he whispered softly.
"I was. Not anymore now, ha. Thank goodness. Anyways, when I first came into this world, I had a very… traumatic beginning. I was born 6 weeks early, and I was extremely ill. I apologize for all the human terms I am about to use, but here goes. My liver was failing, and my lungs were not developed all the way. The doctors had to put me on several medications and high oxygen for some time. I spent about three weeks straight in the hospital. I couldn't consume food like a normal person would because if I tried to, the food just went into my lungs. So, I had to be fed through a tube until I was 18 months old. After that, I was pretty much normal. Well, besides the fact that I had to wear hearing aids for most of my childhood. When I turned 13 years old, I had cochlear implant surgery on my right ear. Basically, I received a 'upgrade' on my hearing," I said, laughing slightly as I said the last part. "Then a year later, I had the same procedure done on my left. And ever since then, I had been able to hear so much more. Now that I'm one of y'all, I no longer have to worry about my hearing or anything like that."
Just then the realization dawned upon me that I would never get to see my parents again. My entire frame stiffened up as my mind/processor struggled to process the fact. Optimus must have either felt me stiffen up or saw my expression, because he reached out with his other hand and touched me gently on my servo.
"Are you all right?" he asked softly.
I swallowed hard, trying not to cry. "N-no. I-I just realized t-that I will n-never see my p-parents again…" I managed to squeak out, my voice cracking. I couldn't say anything more after that because I buried my face in my hands. I felt a set of servos wrap around me, and then was pulled into Optimus' chest. I hesitantly wrapped my own servos around him. He merely just pulled me in closer, running a hand up and down my back. We sat there for a few minutes, not saying anything. Finally, I quit crying, and was overcome with tiredness. I rested my helm against his chest, listening to a soft thrumming sound that was emitting from his chest. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as I tried to figure out what that sound was.
"You look like you're trying to figure something out. What is it?" Optimus asked, slightly amused by my expression.
"I hear a soft thrumming sound from here," I replied, tapping on his chest gently. "Sounds like some sort of heartbeat?"
"You are pretty close. That is my spark. It's like the human heart, except it is a little bit more… complicated."
"How so?"
"It's the soul of all Cybertronians, so to speak. If a spark goes out, it's gone forever. The human heart can be restarted several minutes after death, but you only have a minute or two after a spark goes out to restart it. After that, there is nothing you can do to revive them."
"Ah," I murmured. "I've noticed something rather interesting about Cybertronians and humans."
"What?"
"Cybertronians are basically the gigantic metal version of humans," I looked up at him, smiling.
"Is that so?" he raised an eyebrow at me.
"Yep. Funny, isn't it?" I grinned even bigger.
"Well then, humans are the minuscule organic version of Cybertronians," he smirked.
"You're right," I said while laughing. "Never thought that two totally different species could be so similar to each other."
"I'll agree with you on that one. Humans and Cybertronians are so similar; it's almost creepy to me," he snickered.
I yawned widely. "Excuuuse me…"
"Someone's tired," he commented. Then he yawned.
"Make that two," I quipped. He burst out laughing. His laughter sent shivers through my frame. That laugh is adorable. What the slag? Get that outta here! Urgh… You like him don't ya? Doubt it that he likes you back. What the- Are you that dense, ya aft? He likes you obviously! Otherwise he wouldn't have asked ya to follow him to the roof of the base. Maybe he's just being a good friend. I'll just deal with ya later, you fragging processor! I thought to myself, silently scolding myself. Sighing, I rested my helm back on his chest, listening to the soft, deep thrumming of his spark. I closed my eyelids half way, feeling very drowsy. Optimus rested his chin on top of my helm, and let out a soft sigh. It wasn't long before I fell into a deep sleep.
My internal alarm went off with a loud, annoying blare. I shut it off and rubbed my eyes sleepily with my hand. Then I was aware of two servos around my midsection, and that I was curled up to none other than Optimus. My eyes widened in alarm when I realized that we were still on the roof, and that we had slept there overnight. Apparently he had picked me up and carried me to our current spot, which was against a cliff face. I looked up and saw that he was still asleep. His alarm must have not gone off yet, which means I very well could be the first one up, I thought to myself. Oh well. Back to sleep, then. I closed my eyes again and was about to drift back into a deep sleep when I heard his alarm go off. He grumbled something incoherent, and then the alarm was silent. I opened one eye and saw that he had gone back to sleep. I smirked to myself internally, because he reminded me of myself. I would do the very same thing many times when I was a human. Then I felt a pang of sadness. I knew that I would probably never get to see my parents again, because they were civilians and they would not be allowed to see me or the other Autobots. Another alarm burst into my thoughts, and Optimus shifted again.
"Ugh… Another day. Time ta git up. Wha… Oh! Mornin' Julia," he spoke, his morning accent obvious. "How long were ya up?"
"Not long. Oh and by the way, you have an adorable morning accent," I said, smiling.
"Thanks. Didn't realize I had one," he smiled, his speech clearing up. "Let us not speak of this in front of the others. I fear what may happen if they start to get suspicious."
"Agreed. And don't call me Julia in front of the others either."
"Very well. You can call me Orion if you wish, just not in front of the others."
"That's fine with me. Shall we head in, Orion?" I rose to my pedes, offering my hand to him. He took my hand and I pulled him up with no effort. I grinned when he looked at me in surprise.
"I did not realize you were that strong, Julia. Even Bulkhead has a hard time pulling me up," he said, shaking his helm in disbelief.
"I may be smaller, but I am stronger than I look. Never underestimate anyone," I said lightly. I then heard a beep from a comm link.
:Where are you two pit-spawned fraggers!? Get your afts down here now!: Ratchet roared through the comm link.
:Ratchet. Please keep it down. And watch your mouth.: Orion grumbled.
:Besides, why do you need us right this moment?: I asked.
:Fowler's here. And he wants to talk to Optimus.:
:Tell Fowler I will be there in a few minutes.: Orion replied then cut the comm link. I cut mine off before Ratchet could say anything.
"I just hope he doesn't have a wrench waiting for us…" I muttered, silently cursing to myself.
"I'm pretty sure he does." Orion replied tersely. I groaned, and started to walk towards the door leading into the base.
"What took you so long?" Fowler demanded as Orion walked in the main room. I walked in silently behind him and leaned against the wall, crossing my servos in front of me.
"I had matters I needed to take care. I did not know you would be here so early," Orion replied calmly. I glanced over at Ratchet and he was holding a wrench in both hands, a murderous look on his face. I let out a small eep as I slowly moved along the wall, heading to a box that I could duck behind. Just then, Ratchet threw both wrenches at Orion and me. I yelped as I dove behind the box, barely avoiding the Wrench 'O Doom. Orion was rubbing the newly made dent on the side of his helm. I saw that the Wrench 'O Doom was lying near me. Silently, I grabbed the wrench.
"Well, I have some good and bad news for you guys," Fowler said, glancing at Ratchet with a wary expression. I peeked over the edge of the box, my antennas pinned back low against my helm.
"What's the good news?" I squeaked.
Fowler looked my way. "Who are you?"
"I'm Hera Prime. Newest addition to the Autobots."
"Why are you behind that box?"
"Trying to avoid Ratchet the Hatchet over there."
"WHY MUST THAT PITSPAWNED NAME FOLLOW ME EVERYWHERE?!" Ratchet lamented. He unsubspaced another wrench and threw it at me. I ducked down again, the wrench whizzing past me harmlessly. I quickly threw the wrench I had in my hand. A loud CLANG proclaimed that I had hit the mark, which was Ratchet's helm. He looked at me warily, worried that I would pull out another wrench and hit him again.
"Anyways… The good news is, there is another team of Autobots," Fowler announced.
"Who is in this team?" Orion asked, shocked. I quickly perked my antennas up, curious as to the names.
"There's 16 on this team- Ironhide, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Mudflap, Skidz, Jazz, Jolt, Jetfire, Wheeljack, Mirage, Ultra Magnus, Red Alert, Prowl, First Aid, Elita-One and Chromia," Fowler listed off.
"Holy moly! That's a big group. That will be a nice addition to our ranks," I replied, shocked at the size of the group.
"Ha-ha! The Wreckers are back together again!" Bulkhead exclaimed.
"Which ones are the Wreckers?" I asked, confused.
"Jackie, Magnus, and ol' Ironhide. We served together back on Cybertron. Ol' Ironhide is the Weapons Specialist, along with his bondmate Chromia. Jackie is the explosion expert, Magnus and I are the ones who smash things," Bulkhead said proudly.
"I'll get to see my sisters again!" Arcee happily said.
"I get my medic assistants back," Ratchet muttered happily.
"Sounds like y'all have known each other for many years," I said, grinning at everyone. "What's the bad news Fowler?"
Fowler let out a sigh. "You guys will have to relocate, and I will not be your liaison agent anymore."
The entire room went silent. I wished that I could have gotten to know Agent Fowler better; he seemed like a good man.
"Why?" Ketos asked softly.
"Government slag. Nothing I can do about it. However, they created a new section of military called NEST. That is where you guys will be going."
The room broke out in chatter, everyone asking questions about various things. My processor started to spin from all the questions, and I had enough.
"HEY! That's enough! Let Fowler explain what is going to happen!" I snapped, my antennas twitching with slight annoyance. Everyone shut up right away. Fowler looked at me with a grateful expression. I nodded, indicating he could continue with what he was going to say.
"Anyways, Ratchet, you can bring your medical supplies with you. The rest of you guys, you can bring all your personal belongings with you. Miko, Jack, Raf- you three are going to join them."
"Where is this new base?" I asked curiously.
"A few miles away from here. They have been there for about three years now."
"What? How come they never came up on our scanners?" Ratchet interjected, surprised. "We have been here for the last 5 years!"
"I have no idea, Ratchet. Our government finally figured out that there were two groups of Autobots hiding within a few miles of each other. They will be here tomorrow sometime to collect your stuff."
"Oh joy… I hate packing," I grumped. Orion looked at me with an amused expression. I looked back at him, trying to look ticked. He only smirked at me. I scoffed, trying to stop the smile that was creeping its way on my face. Finally, I chuckled, shaking my helm. He walked over to me, then stopped next to me.
"You're one crazy femme, Julia," he whispered in my ear/audio dials.
"Crazy is my middle name. That's just in my nature, Orion Pax," I whispered back in a serious tone.
"Oh, so Crazy is your middle name?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"No. It's actually Bonkers," I said with the straightest face I could muster.
"A little birdie told me it was Megan, right?" he smirked. I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to be mad but failing miserably. My face just broke out in a wide grin.
"And I thought I was the crazy one. You're crazy yourself, Orion. Let's go get our slag packed up so we can move out of this dusty old silo," I replied, snickering slightly. Orion just rolled his eyes at me and headed off to his room. I ran off to my room that I shared with Aniketos.