Chapter 10: Pizza and Holoforms
All Transformer characters belong to Hasbro. The halfa, Clockwork, and Ghost Zone idea belong to Butch Hartman. Any real life songs, food brands, etc. do NOT belong to me. I only own this fanfic ideas and my OCs. Don't like, don't read. Everyone else, enjoy.
At Sasha's House at noon: Third Person Perspective
"Do you think Agent Fowler will give you back your USB when he's done with it?" Zettabyte asked out of the blue.
"He might. Depends on if he downloads the information from it or chooses to leave it on and hold onto it a little while longer," Sasha replied. She was currently digging into a breakfast of hash browns, almond milk, grapefruit, and soy eggs. Midnight was curled up next to her feet, seeming to have forgotten about the previous day's events.
The raven-haired girl wore a brick red tank top with a bronze snake on it. With it, she wore a black jean jacket and pants. Her socks were black with white skulls and she wore black tennis shoes. Her hair was down and she wore currant red lip gloss.
"Do you…do you Nephilus and the others are alright?" Zettabyte asked with a concerned tone.
The Goth's reply was immediate, "Of course he is. Nephilus has been doing this long before we met. He's too pro to go down that easy."
This seemed to comfort the Cybertronian youth. After she put her empty plates in the kitchen, Sasha returned with her backpack and Midnight and got into her friend's vehicle form. As the mechling backed out of the garage, Sasha did the usual glance over at the Sanderson house to see if anyone had picked out. When she was satisfied, the nature-lover gave her guardian the word to continue. The moment the halfa was told it was alright, he speeded off into the desert.
Ten minutes later in the desert; Third Person Perspective
Letting his partner and the feline out, Zetta turned into his bipedal mode and took out his gauntlet, putting it on his wrist. However, before he could start twisting to the glyphs that would open the portal, a bright green vortex appeared before the three beings.
"Uh…I didn't do that," the neutral youth stated awkwardly.
Sasha stared at her guardian, "Then who-?"
She was abruptly interrupted by a flash of white zipping out of the portal. If it weren't for the familiar hooting, Zettabyte would have striked right there and then.
"Baylina!" the Cybertronian teen exclaimed with a grin as the avian came to perch on his shoulder plating, nuzzling the side of his faceplate. The mechling picked up the Goth and feline and brought them up to level with the owl.
Sasha grinned and petted the bird's silky smooth and soft snowy feathers. Baylina let out a chirp of content and leaned into the touch. Midnight rubbed against her feathered friend. Suddenly, Baylina ruffled her wings and took flight, circling above them and hooting before flying into the portal.
"I think she wants us to follow her," the raven-haired girl claimed.
"Then let's go," Zettabyte responded as he made his way through the portal as well.
What they saw on the other side was a shock.
Instead of the usual dark, quiet, and almost abstract view of the Ghost Zone, they found themselves in a sea of green. The green, to be exact, was in the form of plants and trees. Countless of them. Trees were covered in so many vines, mosses, and other epiphytes that it was hard to see the trunks of the towering perennial plants. Yet the trees themselves looked to be equally thriving as the fruit, flowers, and leaves looked to be fresh. Leaves, flower petals, and other fallen bits decorated the ground like a wild carpet. Some were recognizable while others looked to be some whole new species. Turquoise, Blush, Violet, Scarlet, Emerald, Amber, Gold; every color known to Earth was the color of the flowers and fruit. There were bushes and smaller plants scattered all around. Like the trees, the flowers, fruit, and leaves were healthy and vibrant. A few meters away, a lake with streams surrounding it had flowers and leavers floating on the surface like humble little boats.
Suddenly the tree branches and other flora around them began to quake. Slowly, the spying creatures came into view. There were the normal animals one would expect in an environment such as this like squirrels, turtles, deer, rabbits, and other forestry creatures. There also more out-of-place animals like big cats, lambs, small lizards, tropical birds, marsupials, and others. And finally there were the exotic animals that looked like they were pulled from books of ancient lore; tall colorful birds with strange beaks and wings, small serpentine creatures with horns and feathers, furry yet gorgeous quadrupeds that were sorted from large cervidae-like creatures to small rodent like specimens, fairy-like insects, and many others. A few seemed to be uncaring of the of the newcomers' unfamiliar presence while others seemed to gaze with curiosity at them.
"Where are we?" the mechling asked, still in awe as he gazed at their surroundings.
"I don't know but it's beautiful and lush," the nature-lover breathed. Neither youth minded the fact that Midnight had climbed onto a tree and was pawing at a small plant growing on one of the branches.
"I think this is some part of the Ghost Zone but why did we end up here?" the halfa questioned, both himself and his companion.
"Because I made it so," a familiar voice said from somewhere amongst the foliage. A familiar apple green, white, sky blue, and tan frame appeared before them.
"Lady Terrana, hello! I should have figured out this was your domain," Zettabyte smiled enthusiastically. "Only the Spirit of Earth would have a vast and green territory like this."
"Yes, welcome to the Ever Emerald Gardens, home to countless plants and animals, spirits or not," the Earth spirit said humbly with a soft smile. "I see your little feline friend is getting comfy with my wild Nepeta Cataria."
Both Sasha and Zetta's head/helm snapped to see that Midnight was now rolling in a small bundle of leaves with pale lilac flowers, purring.
"Midnight!" the two teens have scolded half laughed.
"Oh, it's quite alright. All creatures are welcomed in my garden. Come, I'll show you more around," the nature femme said as she started to make her way through the foliage, gesturing for them to follow. Feeling safe to leave their cat friend where she was, they followed.
As they walked with Terrana, other creatures, plants, and objects. Pillars carved of different types of rock stood tall with flowery vines decorating them like colorful garland with countless gemstones poking out of the sediments like ornaments. Similar statues of different creatures like wolves, bears, pegasi, large birds, nymphs, selkies, angel-like beings, and even some elegant Grecian-like people were scattered about. There were bodies of water of different shapes and sizes in every open expanse of grass. The water was clear, showing the fish, seashells, lily pads and other extraordinary marine flora and fauna. The air became rich with the clean smell of ripe fruit, wet soil, and fragrant flowers as they walked further in.
Suddenly, they arrived at a rather large fountain. It looked to be made of marble and had golden glyphs of an unknown language all over it like golden vines. Quartz gems and diamonds dotted the rims of the fountain base. There was a circle of jade stones near said base as well. Bushels of flowers clung to the upper parts of the structure. However, unlike the other fountains they had seen, this one was burbling with Power Nectar.
"What a gorgeous fountain. It suits this lovely place very well," the Cybertronian youth complimented kindly.
"Why thank you. I crafted this beauty myself. It's my own personal touch to my territory," the Earth spirit proclaimed proudly.
"Do the other spirits have their own Nectar source?" the raven-haired girl asked with interest.
"Yes but that is not to say that we're the only ones with access to the Nectar. There are some special caverns on Earth and in the Ghost Zone that have Nectar in both liquid and crystal form, not unlike the Energon that Cybertronians need," the nature femme's faceplates suddenly turned dour. "I do NOT appreciate the way they ruin the soil, knock over plants, frighten animals, and burn the Earth just to get it."
"I assure you my Lady, I am NOT at all happy with the harm my kind are placing upon this planet either," the neutral youth reassured firmly. His human charge rubbed his neck gently from where she sat on his shoulder plating.
"No need for the "my Lady." And I believe you Zettabyte. You're one of the good ones. You've always have been," Terrana reassured with kind smile. She then proceeded to pluck a blue fruit from a tall tree. It was a bright azure and the size of large grapefruit. Dipping it in the Nectar, she then held it to the mechling's mouth, a gesture that meant she wanted him to try it.
Not wanting to be rude and finding the offer rather appetizing, Zettabyte opened his mouth to accept the sample. The Earth spirit dropped it into his waiting jaws and watched as he chewed. Indigo and magenta juices dripped down his chin. The taste was amazing! It reminded the young mechling of the floral scented, sweet Energon caramelized Cybon-bons with spiced gel his Amma would buy after she picked him up after his classes.
"How was it?" Sasha asked with anticipation.
"Oh my Primus, this is so good!" the Cybertronian teen said excitedly as he wiped his mouth.
"I'm glad you liked it," Terrana laughed gently. "Another fact about Nectar; if you consume it with an organic piece, it will be similar to what you usually eat and it won't hurt your systems."
"Really?" Zettabyte asked, astounded when the nature femme nodded. He placed the Goth on the ground. Almost immediately, she strode over to a bush that had orange pear-like fruits. Plucking one, she took it over to the fountain and dipped it in before taking a bite.
"Mmmm!" Sasha moaned as the fruit's natural tartness and crispness mixed with the Nectar. The ruby and sapphire mechling smiled until he realized something.
"Lady Terrana, where is Nephilus?" he questioned carefully.
"He's recovering from yesterday's Spite Mite issue. He wasn't hurt too badly but the little parasites did get a good few swipes in before he subdued them," Terrana explained. "He's with Riversong. Knowing those too, they're taking advantage of his time off."
The halfa took note of the snort in the Earth spirit's voice and, without thinking, asked, "I've been meaning to ask but are Nephilus and Riversong….you know…"
The nature femme smiled and answered, "Yes, they are together, in the romantic sense. What brought this question on?"
"Well it's just that Nephilus always has his cloak crinkled and he has this odor on him…" the neutral youth trailed off in embarrassment.
Terrana shook her helm as she said, "Those two and their libidos."
Sasha laughed whilst she gave half of her treat to a small serpentine creature.
Four hours later in the Jasper desert; Third Person Perspective
"Bye Lady Terrana! Thank you!" the two teens called in unison as they exited the portal.
"Rowr!" Midnight meowed loudly as if say the same thing which she probably was.
They heard a faint goodbye as the portal closed. They had spent a good deal of the past four hours relaxing in the garden, playing with the animals, and having a good time in general. Sasha's hair and under clothes were a bit soaked from when she dived into one of the lakes. Midnight was covered in small bits of dirt and flower petals from when she chased some of the garden animals playfully. Zettabyte's mouth was smudged with juices, almost as if he had been hit in the mouth by every color of paint on an artist's palette.
"Well we better get home and get cleaned up," the nature-lover commented as her partner transformed into his vehicle mode and allowed her inside.
"Hey Sasha, would it be okay if I go hang out on the Nemesis?" the Cybertronian teen asked.
"Of course. You don't need my permission. And don't let what Bulk-for-brains said yesterday get to you," the Goth said firmly. "You have a will and life of your own and he has no right judging you for it."
"You know what? You're right," the neutral youth said as he took off towards Sasha's house.
Why do I even care what he thinks? the halfa thought to himself, the little doubt hanging stubbornly like an aggravating metal flake stuck in his armor.
One hour later at Sasha's house: Sasha's Perspective
After a warm shower for herself and Midnight and giving Zetta a large wet towel to clean his mouth with, she had gotten dressed, fed the female feline, and bid her friend goodbye. She was currently observing herself in the mirror whilst her cat friend was sleeping in her homemade bed.
She had her hair in a fishtail braid and wore berry purple lipstick. She painted her fingernails a wine color with black and white stripes. She wore a mulberry off-the-shoulder blouse with a sangria tank top beneath and a boysenberry skirt with plum colored socks and eggplant purple high tops. She smiled at her reflection and took a deep breath before turning to the door. Not a moment after locking the door behind her, did a familiar vehicle pull up.
"Hey Sasha!" the soccer-player called from where he sat in the driver's seat, waving at her with a smile. As she got in, the Goth noted that he was wearing a dark orange shirt over a pale blue lone-sleeve shirt, white khakis, and gray sneakers.
"Hey Sawyer!" Sasha greeted with a smile as she buckled up.
"Hey I hope you don't mind but I was thinking we could watch a movie at my house. I just thought that it was better because I don't think any good movies are out. It's cool if you don't feel like it," Sawyer said, rubbing the back of his head as they drove.
Despite the small sensation of a blush on her cheeks, Sasha replied, "That sounds alright. I don't mind."
"Oh good. And I told my grandma that you're vegetarian and love eating healthy so she bought some organic produce including cauliflower so we can make a cauliflower crust pizza," the African American teen said.
"Oh my gosh, I haven't had cauliflower crust pizza since the beginning of the June!" the nature-lover grinned excitedly. "I didn't know you liked it too."
"Are you kidding me? I love it! My parents use to make it whenever they went on their diets. It's one of the greatest things they ever made to get me to eat more veggies and it worked!" Sawyer grinned back.
Minutes later they arrived at his house which was two-story. It was colored a modest pale yellow with a dark brown tile roof. A short pebble path led to the front porch which had a rocking chair right beside it. A neat flower bed lay near the side of the house just near a lovely antique-looking bird bath. A large tree stood just a few feet away from the path. The house itself had no fence but it did have an impressive lawn and a neat little pale yellow garage attached to it. Parked in front of the house was a dark blue minivan and standing beside it were two people.
One of them was an African American woman, who looked to be in her late sixties or early seventies, dressed in neat ruffle lilac blouse with a navy blue skirt and creamy low-heel shoes. Her hair was in an elegant bun and she wore wine colored lipstick. A much younger woman stood next to her. She looked to be of Indian heritage and wore a light red dress suit with dark-colored low-heel shoes. Her hair was down and she wore maroon lipstick. Both women smiled gently and politely as Sawyer pulled up.
"Hey Grandma. Hey Abhijita," Sawyer greeted with a grin as he and Sasha got out and walked towards them. "This is Sasha. Sasha, this is my grandmother, Jennifer Storm and Abhijita Anand. She's the granddaughter of one her friends."
"It's nice to meet you Sasha," Jennifer said with a smile as she took Sasha's hand shook it gently.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too Ms. Storm," Sasha replied kindly. "And you as well Ms. Anand."
"Call me Abhijita," Abhijita said kindly in a respectful accented voice.
"I wish we could stay but Abhijita is taking some olds friends of mind and myself to her grandmother's home for a small potluck and I think we're already a little bit late. But I hope we can get together and talk a bit more sometime soon," the older Storm matriarch said with a genuine smile.
"I'd like that very much," the raven-haired girl said with sincere smile of her own. The older women then hugged Sawyer and gave him a kiss on the cheek before Abhijita helped her get into the minivan.
"Have a great time at the potluck Grandma!" Sawyer called out as the minivan began pulling away.
"I will hon. You just make sure Sasha gets comfortable. And lock the door!" Jennifer called out before the vehicle finally gained some speed and drove off as the two teens made their way to the house.
On the Nemesis; Zettabyte's Perspective
Zettabyte smiled brightly and waved to the Vehicons as best as he could as he made his way towards his room. In his arms were different parts and tools that he was going to need for the tinkering he would be doing.
"Hello Airachnid," the mechling said politely to the femme as he passed her. She gave no response. Brushing off the spider femme's still cold demeanor towards him, the Cybertronian teen made it to his temporary quarters. Dropping his materials on the desk, he was about to sit down when he heard a knock at the door.
"Hey Zetta, it's Breakdown," the gruff voice of the ex-Wrecker came.
Opening the door Zettabyte smiled at his rescuer, "Hello Breakdown what's up?"
"Just came to give you some Energon if you got hungry. With all the stuff I saw you bring in, I assume that you're gonna pull some all-night, am I right?" the blue mech joked with smile.
"You caught me. I have some ideas and hopefully, if I get the prototypes running, then I can show them around. Thank you for the Energon Breakdown," the halfa said kindly as he took the cube.
"Not a problem. And I'm sure your prototypes are gonna be great. I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I heard Megatron tell Soundwave that he has high hopes for you," the brawler said encouragingly.
"Megatron said THAT about me?" the neutral youth asked in shock. No one but his Amma and a few of his teachers had said that about him.
"Cross my spark. So I gotta get back to work so I'll see you later kid," Breakdown then departed.
Smiling brightly, Zettabyte retreated back into his quarters, closed the door, and sat back at his desk. As he began sorting the tools and parts, he came across something peculiar. A dark green visor, not unlike the black one that Megatron took, was mixed with the parts. He wondered how it got there when he remembered that he had gotten most of his materials from a scrap pile in the lower parts of the ship. They must have been a part of the scraps and he must have picked up by mistake. While he wasn't sure he would ever find a use for it, the mechling was never one to just throw something away immediately.
Setting it aside, he continued organizing his materials. When one of the wrenches fell, he reached down to grab it when yet another knock interrupted him.
"Hey kid, it's me. Open up please," came the smooth voice of the Decepticon CMO.
"Coming!" the mechling stated as he got up from his seat and opened the doors yet again. He was met with the cool faceplates of the vain mech. "Yes Doctor?"
"Please, call me Knock Out. I got word from Breakdown that you might be pulling an all-nighter so I'm just here to tell you to take it easy. Don't push yourself too hard," the ruby Decepticon said with an air of softness that was new to the ruby and sapphire mechling. The tone somehow created a warm and relaxed feeling within Zettabyte's spark.
"I promise I won't. Thank you for your concern Do-Knock Out," the Cybertronian teen corrected himself with a smile.
"Anytime Zetta," Knock Out said, his soft features reverting back to friendly nonchalance. "Oh, and if you ever need my help, just ask. Project, check up, a little friendly racing, a holoform input, anything really."
"Hold on, holoform input? What is that?" the neutral youth with a look of confusion and interest.
The medic looked at Zettabyte with an equally confused look before his optics widened in realization as he laughed, "Of course! You're still new and you were a sheltered student! Sorry, allow me to explain. A holoform is a form of solid matter that we use to create a human disguise. It's a simple chip you can design and hook up to your CPU with no dangers. As you may already know, moving vehicles without fleshies in them causes alarm among the other fleshies."
Trying not to cringe at the crude name the older Cybertronian had given the planet's natives, he asked, "So, what can you do with the holoform?"
"Well besides using it as a way to avoid suspicion, you can mingle among the fleshies, mess with them, get up close and personal with human places and activities, and even purchase human goods. However, the holoform can't consume human fuel and the holoform can malfunction due to any injuries or viruses you may have. It's more or less like having a second body and you can switch consciousness between that and your real body. But you can customize it. And if you're really into trends, you can change any physical trait you want," the vain mech said with smirk. "Observe."
The halfa watched curiously as Knock Out transformed into his vehicle mode and remained still for a moment. Zettabyte leaned down closer when he saw something flicker within the Aston Martin's dark tinted windshield. He nearly fell on his rear when a human stepped out from the driver's side door. The human was male and looked to be in his mid or late thirties. He had a lithe but muscular build that went well with his pale but attractive skin. He had dark red hair that seemed to be tamed yet wild at the same time and dark, slim eyebrows. He had violet eyes that had circles of red around the pupil. He wore a dark ruby red jacket over a black and white muscle shirt and dark slacks and shoes. The last noticeable detail was the black Decepticon insignia tattoo just barely peeking out from the neck of the shirt.
"Not too shabby right kid," the holoform said with Knock Out's voice, smirking quite cockily.
"I-incredible!" the mechling exclaimed in low breath as he reached down and gently rested the tip of his digit on the holoform's shoulder. "It even feels warm!"
"We've made a few upgrades as best as we can to try to make it as realistic as possible," the Decepticon CMO said modestly. "You can activate it in your alt mode or bipedal mode. Either way, it works and looks rather stunning if I do say so myself."
Zettabyte stood straight as the holoform fizzled out and the vain mech transformed back into his bipedal mode. To say the halfa was impressed would be an understatement. He was astounded by the technology and wanted nothing more than to take part in it.
"Can I come into the medbay tomorrow to have it installed?" the neutral youth asked with a shining optics.
"Of course. Just pop in whenever you're available," Knock Out confirmed with a smile and a pat on Zetta's shoulder plating. "Well I better get going. Got some patients and reports to tend to. See ya kid."
"See ya," the Cybertronian teen replied as the older mech left and he shut the door before once again returning to his seat at his desk with the intent to get started on his blue prints. And maybe something else.
Four and a half hours later at Sawyer's house: Sasha's Perspective
"Ugly dead creep on your right!" Sasha exclaimed to Sawyer as she rapidly pressed the buttons on her own controller.
"I see him!" Sawyer said as his character burned the opponent.
Not long after the two entered the house did they start making the best of their night. Following the recipe that Jennifer Storm had graciously left out for her grandson and his friend, the Goth and soccer player has cooked the cauliflower, minced it in the food processor, added the ingredients that would make it more dough like, shaped it, poured the sauce, cheese, and toppings on it, and popped it in the oven. The elderly Storm matriarch had even gotten a recipe for them to make their own pizza sauce. And Sawyer, being the considerate teen he was, had opted to put only peppers, olives, and mushrooms on it.
When the pizza was cooked and cooled, the two teens happily dug in. Just as the nature-lover remembered, the crust was just as appetizing as any regular bread crust. They chased it down with 7-Up while they watched Titan AE, Cars, and Wishmaster. Once the movie was finished and the pizza was gone, they proceeded to play one of the Resident Evil games Sawyer owned with the treats Adalia and Colette had supplied them with; Black Forest Cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting and lemon butter cookies dipped in a vanilla glaze.
"Yes! Got the sucker right in the head!" Sawyer grinned encouragingly as his character defeated the zombie.
"These suckers need to get a grave," the Sasha growled as her character was almost overwhelmed. The raven-haired girl pressed hard on the buttons before landing the killing blow on the last one.
After a few more minutes of playing, they decided to save the game until next time. The African-American teen got up to stretch and looked at the wall clock.
"Huh, it's already nine thirty. Do you want me to take you home now?" he asked his female friend.
"I think you should. I don't want the Sandersons to come over and worry," Sasha said as she got up and dusted herself off. "Or worse, find Midnight in my bedroom."
"Good point. C'mon, we better hurry before my grandma gets back while I'm out. She worries when I'm out driving when she's not home," Sawyer said as he grabbed his car keys which had a rubber soccer key chain, a Saints' medal keychain, and a reddish orange wolf keychain attached to them.
As they headed out the Goth spoke up, "Hey Sawyer?"
"Yeah Sasha?" the soccer player questioned.
"Thanks for having me over," she said with a soft smile.
Sawyer grinned as he responded, "You're welcome."
Back on the Nemesis: Zettabyte's Perspective
Zettabyte sighed as he put down his wrench and rubbed his optics. Almost five Earth hours had gone by and he had managed to scrawl down a few blue prints and had finished the first parts of two of his prototypes. While it did help that the scraps were functional, he still lacked a few tools and materials that would have helped him finished them already. This was not to say that he was ungrateful for the resources and provisions of the Decepticons. In fact, they allowed him to do more than what his peers and teachers would let him do.
The cube that Breakdown had provided him with was now empty due to the neutral youth's constant sips during his blue print process. He played with the empty cube a little. He needed more materials but he was certain that the supplier Vehicons were already in recharge to prepare for the next day when they scavenged for parts that the rest of the Decepticons. However, the mechling was too awake to stop. Then he remembered something.
The Cybertronian teen looked around the room as if he expected to find someone. It was a habit he developed when he shared a room with the more feisty and energetic peers who had a habit of playing the Cybertronian version of the human game "Hide and Seek", playing pranks on each other, or hiding from irate teachers. When he was satisfied he sat down and took out some pieces that were meant for something that was not-so Cybertronian invention related. Setting them down, he began to gingerly start tinkering with the human-sized components.
"I hope she likes these," he said to himself as his focus was now on his private project.
Here's chapter 10! Sorry if it seems a bit rushed or not as exciting. This chapter and the next one is kind of the calm before the storm/tension build up. Sorry for the wait. Haters will be ignored and flamers will be flamed.
Everyone else, Happy Reading!
