chapter sixteen
Optimus was the first to come out of recharge. Wheeljack, Hound, and Bluestreak were leaning over him, running some sort of scan on him. He waited a moment before bringing his optics back online, making sure he wasn't going to fall over if he tried to get back up. His equilibrium was unstable, but not completely disrupted. He moved to stand, but Wheeljack quickly pressed his hand into Prime's shoulder. "Don't get up." he warned. "We're still not sure what happened."
"The bond took." It was the only thing Optimus was aware of at the moment, a comforting yet unfamiliar presence seated deep in his spark. He knew it was Sing, just as he knew the young man was currently seated just above his head where he couldn't quite see him. Sure enough, a small laugh came from that direction as Sing climbed up and sat on Prime's chest plates.
"It took." he said with a slight smile. "Geez, Optimus, you had me scared. I only woke up a few seconds ago, but at first I couldn't feel you or anything, and I thought something went wrong, and –"
Chuckling, Optimus raised a hand and gently placed his finger on the man's back. "I know." he assured him. "Sometimes the effects are not immediately apparent." Sing relaxed, and slowly Optimus lifted himself up enough to look around without dislodging the soldier from his delicate perch. The Twins were just starting to come around, Jones and O'Connell cradled gently in their hands. He wondered briefly how that had worked out. After all, the Twins were essentially the same spark; no one knew exactly how any kind of spark-bond would work for them. Ratchet was still in recharge, but for whatever reason Stringer was on the verge of waking up. Jazz and Epps were stirring.
"Where are Ironhide and Anna?" Optimus demanded, turning his focus to Wheeljack. It was Hound who answered him.
"Over there." he pointed. "Out of your line of sight like this. They're still in recharge though, so we figured it was best not to disturb them."
Optimus nodded. "And Cliffjumper?"
"Pouting." Bluestreak said with a grin. "Apparently Ironhide kept Lennox inside his chest cavity to keep her safe during the bonding but he didn't let her out before he passed out too so Cliffjumper's processor almost locked down and he wanted to pry her out but –"
"Bluestreak." Hound warned. Bluestreak shut up quickly with an embarrassed grin. Sing chuckled. He was glad to see that the shy Autobot was finally starting to open up around them, but he could also see why he didn't speak very much. Hound shot Sing a grin. "We love Bluestreak to death, but once he starts talking, he can't stop very easily."
"Drives us nuts sometimes." Wheeljack added affectionately.
"Kinda like your experiments, right?" Hound pointed out dryly.
"Wait." Optimus got their attention. "Ironhide put Anna inside his chest cavity?"
Wheeljack nodded. "Yes. We're not quite sure why, and I doubt he'd tell us if we asked him." He shrugged. "I'm sorry, Prime."
Optimus shook his head. "No need. I know why." At the others' looks, he elaborated, "Ironhide is a soldier above all else. Even if Anna is a fellow soldier, he's going to want to protect her. If he thought she might be in danger during the bonding, he'd put her where he felt she was the safest. Within him." He felt the sudden flash of understanding pass through Sing, and it was followed quickly by fierce approval. Sing glanced over at Optimus, knowing the Autobot felt the same.
"Looks like O'Connell and Sunny win that bet." he said.
"We do?"
Sing slid to the ground, allowing Optimus to sit up fully. Sunny and Sides were already sitting up now, Jones and O'Connell perched on their respective Autobots' shoulders. Jazz and Epps were quickly following suit, and Ratchet and Stringer were just starting to wake. Sunny tilted his head to the side and considered. "That feels strange." he observed. Sides nodded agreement.
"What does?" Wheeljack asked.
"I can feel O'Connell and Jones and Sunny." Sides said. "If that doesn't blow your processor, I don't know what will." Sunny muttered agreement, while Jones and O'Connell simply exchanged looks. The Autobots had tried to give them some idea of what they'd be getting into, but given the Twins' uniqueness, no one was quite sure what would happen to the two humans who bonded with them. The end result was not unpleasant, but not expected either.
Bumblebee watched them as they acquainted themselves with the bond, and wondered if he and Sam had made the wrong choice. Bumblebee had wanted Sam to have his own life. Sam hadn't wanted to hurt Mikaela. In the end, they both chose Mikaela over each other. Now he wondered if they wouldn't have been happier if they had bonded. Mikaela might have understood, if they had been willing to take the risk.
Suddenly Jazz spoke up. "Where's Lennox and Ironhide? Epps is about to blow a fuse or something worryin' about them." Epps shot him a dirty look, but it lost its sting when Jazz just laughed at him. "What? It's the truth, bro – you ain't hiding that from me." Epps simply rolled his eyes and turned his focus on Ironhide, who was finally starting to wake.
"Anyone know how long we were out?" he asked no one in particular.
"The soldiers have already started their morning routines." Wheeljack informed them. "Bale came in here once last night, but if he thought anything was strange, he didn't comment on it."
"I have the feeling Bale is on our side." Hound said. "But Optimus – a new soldier has shown up. The others call him Grisko."
"He's not new." Ironhide struggled to sit up, and Bumblebee quickly went to help him. There wasn't much the smaller mech could do, but the effort was appreciated. Ironhide flashed him a grateful smile as he finally straightened up before turning his attention back to Hound. "Little glitch is supposed to be in the brig. He attacked Anna." he spat out.
Hound and Bluestreak exchanged looks. "Why let Grisko return then?" Hound murmured.
Bluestreak shrugged. "Beats me I guess he's a valuable soldier or something but then again I don't know how valuable he can be if he keeps hurting other soldiers –"
"Blue, don't make me hurt you." Ironhide grumbled. His voice lacked any real malice, but it was enough to remind the Autobot to be silent. Bluestreak shot Ironhide a grin. The weapons specialist simply shook his head as he turned his attention to his precious cargo. He slid his chest plates open and gently scooped a still-sleeping Anna out into his palm. As the plates closed, Anna slowly began to wake. Ironhide turned his attention to Optimus. "Sorry to worry you, but she wasn't ready to wake up yet." he said quietly. Optimus nodded. As Ironhide returned his focus to Anna, Stringer spoke up.
"Uh, 'Hide – just to let you know, Lennox isn't what you call a graceful riser." she warned him.
Ratchet looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"I went to wake her one day during basic, and she slugged me." Stringer laughed. "It was an accident – she felt really bad about it afterwards – but still, I know better than to wake her now." Ratchet simply chuckled at that. Anna slowly sat up in Ironhide's hand, blinking slightly before coming awake rather abruptly to the feel of Ironhide inside her soul. Eyes wide, she twisted around to stare up at the mech.
It felt so strange, knowing exactly what Ironhide was feeling. He was a warm spot inside her chest, too intense to ignore but not enough to hurt. "You know," she said, surprised at how calm her voice sounded when she felt anything but, "knowing what's going to happen and experiencing it are two totally different things."
Wheeljack smiled. "Did I do it justice?"
Anna grinned. "Not even close."
"I'll have to try again."
Optimus hesitated, the mech equivalent of a deep breath. Sing could feel him steeling himself, and he knew bad news was on the way. It was time to announce what the Autobots had realized when they first knew the humans would turn against them.
"We need to leave." Optimus watched as all of them turned their focus on him. "The humans are no longer allies. If we stay on base and the Decepticons attack, we will be in no position to fight them. Jetfire will be here in three weeks with the Ark. Hopefully then we can draw the battle into space and away from Earth."
Bumblebee spoke up. "We will retrieve Sam, correct?"
"The Witwicky family will come with us." Optimus assured him. Anna opened her mouth, but Prime interrupted, "And we will retrieve Will as well. We will not leave the family of our family behind."
"When do we leave?" Cliffjumper asked, his voice dark but resigned. Apparently he was grudgingly deciding to tolerate the new humans after all. Optimus turned his focus to him.
"Tonight."
/----/
AN: Sorry about the lack of action in this chapter, but I wanted to establish some of what the spark-bond was like, and it sort of took over. (grins) Next up – battle scenes, some fluff between Sam and Bumblebee, and as the story progresses, so will information about the spark-bonds. Hang in there, and thanks for the reviews! You guys rock!