A/N; Just wanted to give a WARNING there is nudity in this chapter but not really. Basically Amanda is taking a shower and nothing is really described but just wanted that out there.
Just a Hallucination
"Papa!" Amanda called entering the gym. There was only silence to answer her. She sighed and dropped her duffle bag. Kicking the door shut behind her Amanda stretched and headed for the stairs; she had to check on her father before anything else. Ascending the steps she never spotted her duffle bag move.
The bag jerked across the floor a few feet as something in it moved. The zipper slowly came back opening the bag and a small clawed silver hand pushed down the side of the duffle. Pale blue optics stared out of the dark into the dimly lit room. They shuttered and a small mech climbed cautiously out of the bag.
He tipped his head this way and that examining his surroundings. Flicking a sock off his shoulder the little mech looked at the door. A few clicks and trills erupted form his vocal processor as he realized that he couldn't reach the knob. The small mech turned back to the rest of the room. Nothing was small enough for him to move.
Growling the mech warily proceeded further away from the safety of the duffle bag. He approached the worn boxing ring and caught a piece of the canvas. Pulling himself up he stood of the red and blue material. He could properly survey the whole room from this point.
Littered about were several different types of training equipment and put against the wall near the front door was an old soda machine. It's lights flickered slightly. Directly across from the front door was another next to the stairs it may be another way out. Footsteps echoed from above and blue optics turned up following the steps.
Amanda came down the steps she had fresh clothes and a towel in her hands. The mech backed up to hide behind one of the corner posts and watched as she went through the door near the stairs. The little mech leapt off the ring and fumbled hitting the ground. He dashed forward reaching the door just in time to slip by it.
This room was full of lockers and benches. The little mech continued to follow Amanda as she walked further back. She hung the towel up on a peg outside another room that was open. Placing her new clothes on the bench closest to the room she stripped out of her dirty clothes throwing them to a corner.
The mech shuttered his optics and tilted his head. He didn't understand why she was taking off her armor. She went back into the different room. He made his way closer to her armor and grabbed one. It was soft and would cover her upper body but was far too thin to protect from damage. Maybe she had a stronger protoform? White smoke was coming from the other room and he peered around the corner. Water was flowing over her. He made a soft questioning trill. Wasn't she worried about rusting?
Her protofrom was scared over where her spark chamber was. It was also different from his; it looked softer. Then why was her armor so thin? The small bot carefully stepped forward until he was with in touching distance. He looked up at her as she hummed and scrubbed at her helm. Reaching out the little mech touched her leg. She was soft, squishy almost.
Amanda froze when something touched her leg. Glancing down she almost twitched with fear. It was a small mech similar to the ones she saw yesterday. It was touching her leg almost examining it. It's claws were gently pushing on her skin. It seemed transfixed.
'What should I do?' Amanda mused to herself; that's when the feeling returned. It felt like someone was leaning over her shoulder with an incredibly wide smile.
:Say hi ta 'im: The voice whispered.
Had she answered herself? She shook her head. That wasn't her voice in her head. Amanda blinked.
'Him? The mech at my feet is a him? Wait, did mech mean male?' She received no answer to her questions swirling in her mind, just the same feeling and she rolled her eyes. "Great I'm expecting answers from a hallucination." She grumbled.
The little mech stopped touching her and looked up. Amanda looked down a half smile on her face. "Um…Hello?" She said waving slightly. He made a surprised trill and took off running.
"Wait!" Amanda bellowed rushing after him her hair still full of suds. Grabbing her towel she wrapped it around herself as she continued after him. She made it out of the locker-room in time to see the little thing take a flying dive into her duffle bag. Walking closer she tightened the towel around her and glowered down at the bag. The duffle was still wide open and she could see two piercing blue lights staring out at her. They jittered around slightly like the owner was afraid.
"You can't hide in my bag, come out." She demanded holding the towel close to herself. The mech didn't move. Sighing she lifted a hand to her hair and met soap. Pulling her hand back she grunted and flicked her hand sending soap across the floor.
:Make yourself small.:
"What?" She snapped at the voice in her head and caught sight of the lights moving back away from her. "I'm scaring you aren't I?" She asked to the little mech. There was an answer of trills and clicks that she assumed was either yes or I'm not afraid. Amanda sighed shaking her head. "If this is really happening then you need to explain some shit, Mr. Voice-In-My-Head."
:Sure but let's get 'im out of your dirty underwear first.:
Amanda snorted a small laugh before sitting down on the ground. She flinched slightly at the cold concrete that touched her bare skin. Settling so she was covered properly Amanda watched the bag. The little mech still didn't move.
"Made myself smaller now what?"
:Give 'im a minute. Didn't you ever try to catch a stray petodog?:
"A what dog?"
:Just wait.:
So she did. Amanda sat watching the bag for several minutes. She could feel the entity; for lack of better words; almost twitching as they waited. Before long the small mech lifted his head out of the bag and flickered it's optics at her then it slipped out of the bag onto the floor. She finally could get a good look at it. Him; she corrected.
The little mech was just over a foot tall and mostly black. Save for the few spots of silver on his hands and near his neck. On his right arm was some kind of on button that had a green 'x' eliminated in it. While down his spine looked like there was a cd slot. Amanda blinked tipping her head to the side.
"The X-box?" She questioned softly as the mech approached her. He tipped his head and trilled up at her almost seeming confused before he reached out and touched her ankle. It was different for the first time. Now a pain pulsed in her chest near her heart and something pulled at it. She made a slight grunt before closing her eyes. In the cold darkness that she used to push pain away there was clearly two bright warm light flickering. She felt someone standing on her lap and cracked open her eyes to see the small mech's own eyes looking at her. Small clawed hands pushed on her chest over her heart easing the pain.
"What the hell was that?"
:Sorry, my fault.: Worry laced the voice. :I was trying to connect wit' the little guy. Ya alright?:
"Yeah but that hurt." She grumbled watching the little mech continue to touch the flesh near her neck. "What are you doing?" She asked and he chirped and clicked at her. Amanda blinked as he pulled back to sit on her lap. "Um yeah can it get a translation?" She asked.
:He was askin why your protoform was so soft?:
"My what now?" Amanda shook her head. "wait, never mind that. I'm having a conversation with a voice in my head."
:It would seem you are.:
"So then I'm crazy. You're just a hallucination?"
:Nope.: The voice came back almost sounding happy.
"Somehow that doesn't seem any better." Amanda lifted a hand and aimlessly began to stroke the little mech's head. "Do…do you…" She sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to ask this but…do you have a name?"
:Jazz, formerly second in command of the Autobot, at your service.:
"Jazz? Like the music?" She had the sensation of someone nodding quickly. "But I hate jazz music. Couldn't a voice in my head be named something I like?"
:There is nothing wrong with jazz music and I'm not a figment of your cracked physe.: She could feel him pouting and resisted the urge to laugh. :I can prove I'm here.:
"Yeah how?" Amanda challenged wanting this to stop. She knew he wasn't really that she had finally tipped over the edge of sanity. That was the only reason she could stay pretty much calm. She was just hearing voices and the mech curled up on her lap was actually a cat that had followed her home. A damn big cat but a cat none the less.
:Put your hand over your heart.: Amanda did and could feel her heart pounding wildly in her chest; proof that she was terrified about the idea of being insane. :Now listen closer.:
"How can I…?"
:Just listen.:
Amanda sighed and did as she was told but pressed harder on her chest. Closing her eyes she could feel almost hear a low humming and a back pulsing to her own heartbeat. That wasn't normal. "It's like a second heartbeat."
:That would be my spark.: Jazz was grinning she could feel it.
Amanda's eyes snapped open. "No." She growled shaking her head. "You're not real!"
:Yes I am. My spark leapt from my body to yours when I died because we resonate the same.:
Amanda jerked to her feet flipping the resting mech to the ground. "I don't resonate! I'm a human. Humans don't resonate!" She bellowed gripping at her hair. The little mech scurried away back to her duffle back and watched Amanda fume.
:Yes they do, all humans do. It's not as strong as a Cybertroians but they still do. Look you scared the little guy away.:
Amanda paused in her utter denial of the situation and looked at the little mech. He was peering over the edge of the duffle bag at her, eyes wide watching her carefully. She sighed and looked away. Running a hand through her soapy hair she pulled it back and looked at it. "I'm finishing my shower and going to bed. None of this is real. It's just a hallucination."
:Can I get your name?:
She thought it over for a moment but could feel the look coming in from around her; that sad wide eyed look with a slightly trembling lower lip. "Amanda Callahan." She ground out and headed back to the locker-room.
A/N: Hi guys so I thought I would answer some of the questions (well question) I got in the reviews before my thanks.
Pikahopp wanted to know about if I was regularly going to start updating?
Xantall: Well I'm going to try to update once a week but with my other stories that I'm trying to get working again (They are fight me tooth and nail. I currently hate Emma.) it would be more reasonable to say that it would be once a month. If I have a chapter done that I like I will add it before then but look for an updated chapter every month for sure. So that is the only question I can actually answer without giving anything away but if anyone has any questions or are confused about something just PM me or ask in your review and I will make sure to answer it if it doesn't mess up the story.
Thanks to the following reviews;
MarshallAlexandraAnderson
Guest
ViciousViper15
Autobot Princess Arcee (I try not to abandon stories but sometimes *cough* What we Never Knew *cough* it just can't be helped.)
Jimmy 144
2211Nighthawk
Bliss123
RogueReaper
Steel Autobot
.Singer (Yeah I have the idea that her and Hide might get along pretty well.)
Dark Cat Food Lover
Bee4ever
Pikahopp
Xantall: Thanks again guys for everyone that is reading this and to everyone that has reviewed. This is actually doing a lot better than what I thought. I really am over joyed to see that people are enjoying this story. Good Reading!