Prime looked at the jet, "What's wrong."
"Nothing." the jet replied.
"...Okay." Prime nodded.
"Have you tried turning human?" Ratchet suggested.
"...no." the jet looked at the floor, unsure if she would be able to or not.
"Could you try?" Prime said, looking at her.
The jet shut her eyes and concentrated...
Hammertread stomped to the rec. room, having been given temporarily energon-dispenser privelages. Provided he stayed on good behavior. He ignored everybody else in the room, and pressed a button on the dispenser.
Both Alph and Omega looked at looked at Hammertread. They blinked.
Kit hugged her mom's leg.
HT noticed Alpha, and company. "What." he said flatly. He snatched up his cube and walked out. "If anyone wants to talk to me, they'll follow." he thought.
Alpha and Omega looked at each other. they played rock paper sissors and Alpha lost.
"Frag." She cursed, but followed the mech. "HT, ya okay?" She asked, looking at him.
Omega snickered.
"You cheated." Kit said, looking at him.
"Yep."
"I'm fine." the tank kept walking.
the jet-ghost onlined her optics. nothing had happened.
"I'll Try again." she said.
Prime nodded. "Alright."
Jade tried to find Alpha and the others who were linked to the device. Everything started fading to white... "Oh no.." the jet gasped, and dissapeared.
"What's wrong?" Prime asked, but then gasped when Jade disappeared, "Jade?"
"Yeah, I'm sure." Alpha deadpanned. "You've been acting...weird lately...don't make me go into that weird little mind of yours and find out what's exactly wrong..."
HT shrugged. "Whatever." he headed for his temporary quarters.
Alpha sighed, "You're grumpy...why?" She asked, "Oh screw it, I ain't gonna get nothin' out of you, ya stubborn tank..." She muttered before gently and slowly dipping into his mind.
...He hadn't meant to hit her that night. But, well... yeah, actually, he had. She had made him mad. She deserved it.
"It's over between us." Driveby yelled, stomping towards the door.
"You can't leave me!" the tank yelled back. "You need me!"
when she didn't reply, he realized she really was leaving.
Before she could reach the door, he caught up to her and pulled back.
"You ungrateful little Glitch! after all I've done for you!"
He wasn't even really listening to what she said next. Before he knew it, he had backhanded her.
How could she do this!? After giving her his love, his heart, his attention All she cared about was her precious teammates, her cause.
He wanted to be with her more. And all he got was the cold shoulder.
The tank smacked the doorlock. "You're not going anywhere." he said in a low voice, walking over to the femme on the ground...
He hadn't meant to scare her away. Maybe... he could have done something different..
No! he pushed the thought aside. she was the one who never had time for him. she was the one who cared what her teammates thought more than what he did.
He quelled his anger and concentrated on the moment.
Alpha swallowed upon seeing what he was thinking about. She wanted to leave, but couldn't. Her mind forced her to continue to watch.
He remembered how happy they had been, holding hands and laughing. She was the only one he'd ever allowed to make physical contact with him, in any way. It was funny how he'd been about that. But he remembered how her laugh would echo around the room.
The last thign he remembered before the security team came running through the door was looking down at her. She had fought back, whick only made him angrier. In the background, someone was shouting for him to put his hands in the air and step away.
"what did I do?" he thought
The tank shook his head again, and glanced at Alpha.
"I'm fine." he said.
But really his thoughts were twisting with emotions. Regret, betrayal. How could she leave? Why would she leave? after all he'd given her, practically a part of his own spark, even though they were yet unbonded. He had wanted to take that step with her. They had even discussed it. She had been unsure, but he embraced the idea. She would be the only one he would ever let get that close to her...
The joy instantly switched to sorrow. She had broken his heart. Coldly leaving him with nothing.
Not even her company.
and now, she was back again.
and still acting like she didn't care.
What did he ever do to deserve this kind of punishment!?
"..." Alpha blinked. "You're lying to me, HT..." She said softly, "You know you are and now...I know for sure that you are..." She looked at him and then sighed, shaking her head.
HT snorted. "Don't pretend like you care!" he sped up. All you females are the same! he thought. Take his heart one minute, and when you're done, just throw it away like nothing ever happened.
Meanwhile, said femmebot was lounging in Jade's quarters, listening to some classical music, while Cable, Beacon, and Cap, talked loudly over their Mario Cart game.
"Hah! take that!" Cable crowed, throwing a bannanna peel onto the racetrack, making Cap lose control and do a spinout.
Beacon whizzed by, intent on catching up.
Gunlock looked up from where he was cleaning his rifle at the table. Peices of the barrel and firing cartrige were strewn around, the scope laying carefully on a rag on one corner.
Terra popped her head into the room. She looked at the stuff and blinked. "What y'all up to?"
Cap looked up. "Hey! we were just playin a videogame. Tons of fun. There's room for one more if you wanna join in." he gave her his most affable grin.
Alpha ran over to him, "HT, we're not all the same, okay? I do care! I don't like seeing any of my friends like this!" She stood in front of him, "Don't think that all of us are going to rip your heart out at the first chance we get because we're not!" She said, folding her arms. She wasn't going to move until he calmed down.
"Uh huh. Get out of my head." he started to go around her, trying not to step on Kit as he did so.
Alpha simply moved in front of him. She picked up Kit. "No." She said simply. Not until you calm down.
Kit blinked. "Mommy, why's unlce HT so...mad?"
Alpha simply shook her head and didn't answer.
HT sighed, then stood still for a second. "There. I'm calm." he moved the opposite direction as before to go around her.
Kit rolled her optics. "He's not good at lying, is he, mommy?" She asked, sighing.
"Nope." Alpha muttered, but moved out of Hammertread's way.
"KIMCHEE!!" Kit grinned, glomping Hammertread's neck. She held on and grinned, hugging him.
Alpha busted out laughing.
Hammertread blinked. He finally said. "You're lucky I like you, kid. Or you'd be flat on your ass on the floor." He didn't smile, but there was one in his voice.
Kit giggled and snuggled into his neck. "I know." She said, smiling at him. Her emerald optics sparkled.
Alpha chuckled, shaking her head. "You know how to cheer a grumpy tank up, ya know that, Kit?"
"Yes mommy." Kit nodded.
HT tried to pry the sparkling from around his neck.
Alpha snickered.
Kit held on tighter and hugged him.
Alpha put her hands on her hips and watched, holding in her laughter.
Terra looked around at the others and then nodded slowly. "Uh...sure...but I have to..."
"Go on, sis." Cyberfin nodded. He smiled at her.
"...Okay..." Terra nodded, flying over to Cap. She landed and then raked her golden talons against the ground.
Cap plugged in the other controller, and showed Terra how to move the car. "It's a little hard at first, but you'll get the hang of it." he smiled.
Terra nodded. She took it and then flapped her wings a bit.
Cap glanced over at Terra's screen on the tv, which had been devided into 4 smaller screens. Go that way." Cap pointed right.
"There he is!" the tank crowed, launching a red shell at Cable, who was playing Princess Daisy (he had last pick). the car eeped as the vehicle-seeking bomb hit his car on the game.
"Oh, I see how it is. Ganging up on me, huh?" he chuckled. "Hey Beacon, let's show these two!" He caught up to the jet, who was playing as Bowser.
Terra nodded and turned right. She then grinned and took third place, passing one of the mechs.
"Now, the oblject of the game, is to get rid of everyone else on the board. But you have to blow them up or whatever, like, four times,. So you go around and run through those boxes in the corner." Cap pointed to one.
Terra nodded.
HT growled softly and let go, do the sparkling was dangling from him. Down the hall, a couple mechs walked past and snickered something. Frowning, the tank abruptly transformed, leaving the white tiger hugging his top-hatch of his tank form.
Kit yelped and held onto to him. "Aww...HT cheated!"
Said tank snickered and waved his turret back and forth, sparkling still attached.
Kit yelped and held on tighter.
"Ht..." Alpha said, folding her arms. She sighed.
HT quit waving his turret. "Fine." he said, and jolted forward, speeding down the hallway.
"Guess you'll have to tag along then." He said.
Alpha blinked. "HT!"
Kit yelped and held on tighter. She laughed.
Alpha sighed. "Mechs..."
"Hey Caaa-aaap." Beacon singsonged.
The tank slammed on his brakes, and Beacon (the turtle-thing, Bowser or whatever his name was) sped past. He lauched a green shell, which bounced around the corridors, completely missing it's target.
"Drat." he grinned.
Terra blinked. She snickered.
"You doing okay?" Cap glanced at Terra.
Terra nodded. "Yeah...I think so..."
Meanwhile, Cable had circled around one way, and Beacon was following behind the femme.
Cable pressed the firing button...
Terra yelped and moved out of the way. She fired her red turtle shell.
HT bounced on his treads, sending the small tiger up and down. He chuckled silently at Alpha, who was running after him with a concerned look on his face.
He turned a corner and came to a screeching halt, almost hitting the person standing there.
Kit giggled as she bounced. She then yelped and almost fell off of Hammertread.
"Ow..."
The mech raised an optic ridge. "What's going on?"
Kit sat down on HT. "Nothing, Uncle Cliffjumper." She said, looking at him.
HT paused, knowing this Autobot had tried to start a fight, and might now. The tank transformed, carefully trying to loosen the sparkling for around his neck, just in case.
Cliffjumper looked at the two. "Seems that Kit's trying to kill you." He chuckled a bit.
Kit grinned. "KIMCHEE!" She said, latching herself onto Ht even tighter.
"He was grumpy so I made him feel better!"
HT barely held back a snarl. He did not want to look weak in front of anyone, especially this little punk of an Autobot.
"what's a kim-chi?" HT asked evenly.
"It's a Japaness human food. It's a spicy pickle that goes with salads and stuff like that." Kit giggled, hugging his neck.
Cliffjumper snickered, "Even I knew that." He nodded, "Seems that that's the sparkling's battle cry."
"Hug cry!" Kit nodded.
"I am not a spicy pickle." Hammertread replied deadpan.
Cable's shell missed Terra completely, hitting Beacon instead. And Terra's shell hit him in the back end.
"aargh!" he yelled/laughed. "I'm gonna get you for that!" he did a u-turn, but Terra and Cap had allready rounded a corner, and were speeding away.
Terra grinned. She smiled at Cap.
Cap grinned back and rounded a corner... just in time to hit a bananna peel. "AACK!"
Terra grinned. She moved out of the way of one.
The green shell bounced back and forth down the roadway, and Cable turned left to avoid it.
Kit giggled and hugged him. "Not you, silly. That's just what I say."
"She watches a bit too much Scary Godmother."
"Can't help it. The monsters are funny and cute."
HT gabbed Kit around the waist gently. "You can get down now." he said.
Kit looked at Hammertread. "But I don't wanna." She said simply.
Cliffjumper snickered, trying not to bust out laughing.
HT grumbled something under his breath. "Alpha, could you please retrieve your child?" the tank said.
Alpha snickered. She walked over. "Come on, Kit."
Kit's ears drooped, "But mommy..."
"Now..." Alpha said, smiling, "You've cheered HT up a little too much."
"awww..." Kit said, but jumped into her mother's arms after kissing HT's cheek.
HT gave a small glare to Kit when she gave him the peck on the cheeckplate, but glanced at Alpha. "I have places to go." he tirned and went down the corridor away from Cliffjumper and the others.
Terra yelped as it hit hers. "Frag!"
"I'ts okay, you still have three left." Cable said, looking at Cap with a glint in his eye. Cap grinned back and ran over another box. So did Beacon. A golden star appeared, and the jet hit the button, going into 'super speed/invincibility' mode.
Terra winced. "Wha'?" She asked, but shook her head and continued to play.
"Your vehicle can get blown up four times before you're out of the game." Beacon explained.
Gunlock rolled his eyes and carefully peiced his rifle back together, making sure it was done right.
"That's not...oh never mind..." Terra deadpanned.
the gold-power wore off as quickly as he got it, and Beacon slowed down, right in time to run into terra. It didn't hurt either of the game characters. But Beacon quickly sped up and tried to get away.
Terra yelped. She glared at beacon and then shot a turtle shell at him.
Alpha sighed. "Fine. Whatever." She muttered, shaking her head.
Kit looked at Alpha. "What did I do?"
"Nothing, kit. HT's just a grumpy pants today."
"Oh...Like Cliffjumper when I got him wet."
"Exaclty."
"Hey!" Cliffjumper growled.
HT snickered as he walked away.
Beacon tried to swerve, but it was too late.
The game ended a while later, and Cap set down the controller. "So, anyone wanna go for round two?" Cable asked.
Beacon shrugged. Cap turned to terra. "So, you're a...bat?" he said conversationally, trying not to offend her.
"I'm going to the shooting range. Anyone want to tag along?" Gunlock said.
"I'll go." Ty said. the two walked out, chatting as they went.
Terra nodded. She flapped her purple velvet bat wings and smiled, showing him her vampire like fangs.
"Yes. I can smell and sense energon nearby. Raw, energon deposits...mechs and femmes as long as they're alive..." She said, looking at him. The bat flexed her golden talons.
Cap blinked. "You're a vampire?" then after a second quickly added "bat?"
Terra blinked. She tapped her fangs together. "Well...you could call me a vampire, if you wanted, but I don't exactly feed off others..." She murmered, looking at him.
Cap blinked again. "Don't... exactly..." he trailed off, then shook his head. "So, do you wanna start another game?"
Kit looked at him. "He's grumpy."
"not really. He just acts like it." Alpha grinned.
Kit shrugged. "Okay."
HT rounded another corner, wondering if Alpha was following him.
Alpha wondered if she should.
the tank considered dropping by Driveby and the team's quarters, but decided against it. He reached his door, and typed in the code.
"Don't exactly what?" Terra blinked. She looked at him and then at the game.
"...Not yet..." She said, flapping her velvet wings nervously. A scent of energon hit her nose. She wiggled her bat nose a bit. "energon..."
"nothing." Cap shrugged. "Don't feed off others...not exactly." was what she said, but he didn't want to mention it. The thought of a vampire kinda freaked him out a little. He remembered when Cable convinced him to watch a Dracula movie with him... he shivered at the thought.
Terra looked at the ground. "I don't unless I'm forced to..." She said sadly.
"Oh." Cap said softly. "...sorry. I didn't mean to say that out loud."
He glanced at Beacon. "So, can you fly?" he asked, trying to smile.
"It's okay, you didn't know." Terra said, looking at him. She glanced at the other bot and nodded.
"Yeah...what? you think that this velvet wings are good for nothin'?" She asked, flying into the air. She smiled a bit.
Cap shrugged. "I was just wonderin'." Beacon gave him a funny look.
Terra smiled.
Alpha poked her head into HT's mind as she followed him.
Kit tagged along, but stayed hidden from her mother, who didn't know she had followed.
HT flopped down on his recharge berth and turned on the t.v. After flipping channels for a minute, he got up and went over to a cabinet. He pulled two energon cubes from subspace, and put them in the cabinet with the ever growin pile. "Almost enough." he said. Then went back to watching tv.
What was he up to? Alpha was detirmed to find out. She dipped into his mind and searched to find out.
The tank mentally took stock of his posessions. Almost thirty energon cubes. A few more and he'd be able to go back to his ship. He'd be able to support himself from there. He didn't want to get a reputation for being soft, by sticking around the Autobots too long. Also, a computer, he decided he'd take the t.v., too. If just for something to watch. He didn't have one. Sure, the Bots had provided it, but they wouldn't mind? now would they?
oh well, even if they did...
Alpha blinked. He was going to leave? That's not right...he should at least tell someone...
He really should tell someone...
Alpha didn't realize HT had heard her thoughts until it was too late. She yelped and quickly yanked herself out of his mind. "Oh frag..." She muttered, slowly edging herself away from his room.
Hammertread's head snapped up. He eyed the door through narrowed optics. He stomped over to it.
Alpha eeped and quickly ran to the corner. She hid on the other side, flat against the wall. "Oh I'm dead...I'm dead..."
Hammertread opened the door and stomped out, glaring at Alpha. He walked up with steady, even steps.
Alpha swallowed.
"Oh dear..." She muttered, taking a step back. She ran into the wall. "Oh crap..."
Hammertread grabbed her by both arms, lifting the femme off the ground and carrying her back to his quarters.
"Hammertread, let me go!" Alpha whimpered, kicking weakly. She looked at him and then around. "Come on, HT...please..."
The tank reached his quarters, and hit the doorlock with hie elbow. He set her down roughly, with a shove, still glaring.
Alpha looked up at him nervously, optics showing worry. She looked at the locked door and then at him. "What...?" She asked, taking a step back. He was scaring her a bit.
"I'm leaving. You can't tell anyone, or I won't get the energy I need to last me a while." he growled. "And no. You're not coming with me, so don't even think about mentioning it! Got It!?" he grated.
"And you can't convince me to stay." he advanced on her. "I'm sick of all you weak-hearted soft-bellied Autobots. Always playing "nicey nicey" (he did a finger-quote motion as he said that.)
He took two more steps, so he was overshadowing her. "If you tell anyone, I'll rip out your fuel lines and choke you to death with them." he narrowed his optic slightly. "Understand?"
Alpha looked up at him. She grabbed his arm gently, "But, HT..." She tried, but sighed, "You can't stop me...I'm not afraid of you..." She said, looking him in the optics.
"And...I don't think you should leave...what happens once the energon you do have runs out?" the femme asked, "What then? You can't come back here...not after you stole all this stuff from them..."
HT snorted and shoved her arm away. "All this stuff is mine. Except the tv. And what makes you think you can stop me? I can fend for myself out there. It's none of your business anyway."
He started to walk away, but as an afterthought, turned around and grabbed her, shoving her against the wall so hard he felt her windshield rattle.
"I. Don't. care. You won't stop me. the others won;t stop me. And if you follow me..." he leaned in. "I' won't hesitste to scrap you." he shoved her against the wall and stepped away. "Now get out!" he yelled, pointing at the door. he slammed his fist into the lock, unlocking it.
Alpha cried out when she hit the wall. She hadn't been expecting that. The femme didn't cower visably, but she was frightened of him right then. She bit her lip and then looked at the ground. "Scrap me all you want, HT...but like I told ya before...my friends are my friends and I'll do anything for them..." She said before heading to the door.
The tank glared and loudly thought of all the different ways he could rip her to shreds.
when I leave. he thought.
"And another thing." he said aloud. "Stay out of my head."
Alpha looked at him and blinked. "I'll try..." She said before turning away, "And another thing, don't think that you can tear me to shreds even if you wanted to." She huffed, walking out of the room.
"Grrr."
He had to physically restraing himself from assaulting her. I have to have enough energy first. he thought.
He mentally calculated how long he could last with what he had. It would be only a few more cubes before he could leave, anyway. Then he realized he had to put all his stuff into subspace, and quickly thought of how long it would take to do so.
no. he thought.
I'd have to make a quick getaway. Can't stay for long after... he grinned at the mental picture he was sending her.