there's a million&one ways
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A/N: i haven't forgotten about the story. e.e life has been hectic lately -- especially with school beginning to wind down. hopefully the chapter will make up for my absence.
replies:
dixiegurl13,, you'll be seeing more. ;3 && they'll be more, i promise.
tlcoopi7,, i'm glad you did.:] i was so worried that i would fail there in that last chapter.
autobot alythia,, -nods in agreement- RUN!! -hides in fortress-
pairings: starscreamxannabelle vs. ironhidexannabelle; what a twisted little triangle of love.
disclaimer: i do not own transformers or any of them; they are rightfully copy-writed to their respectful owners.
"this is com-link, or whatever the heck it is called these days."
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She sighed as her blue eyes stared over the picture. She took in every detail as if they were the last pieces of gold on earth. Sarah stared at the picture of her three year-old daughter hugging a german shepherd lab mix puppy. Her thumb traced the outline of her daughter's smile. It was so - so - so genuinely innocent. A smile slipped onto her face. Luke (also known as Lulu to Annabelle) was in her daughter's arms growling at the camera man. Even at such a young age, the six-month old puppy would have gladly given his life to protect his master. She placed the picture down as her eyes looked at another picture a year from then. Her blue eyes looked at the pre-school picture of Annabelle. She was still so happy. Sarah's eyes continued to at Annabelle's pre-school pictures. She silently thanked the retired friend and teacher for taking so many pictures of her students; which the teacher would use later on for the students to make a scrapbook of their first year of school. For every event that they visited, or any craft they made, their old friend had taken extra pictures so that Sarah could send them to Will.
Sarah's eyes immediately stopped as she stared at a picture of her daughter with the puppy Lulu again. Annabelle and Lulu were surrounded by other kids from her who decided to bring their dogs to the park as well -- it was their last field trip in pre-school. Lulu, of course, was standing protectively next to Annabelle and barking at the teacher for taking a picture of his master. Annabelle sat next to him, hugging him around the neck. She smiled, but it wasn't like the other pictures. It was a forced smile.
She glanced at the picture next to that one. Annabelle stood in front of the infamous, almost beastly looking black truck. She stood in front of the truck beaming with happiness. Sarah could still remember how giggly and demanding she had been in order to get a picture of her with the truck.
Sarah looked at the other pictures that followed. It was the first time she had noticed a pattern among the photographs. Any picture that didn't involve having a camaro, black truck, pontiac solstice, yellow emergency vehicle, or a semi-truck with a red and blue color scheme would lack the genuineness of a happy child. But any picture that did have one of those special cars would be showered in happiness. Sarah looked out at the dawning sun through the living room window. A few stars still glittered in the deep purple and blue sky. 'Starlight Star bright --the first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might -- have the wish I wish tonight,' she thought to herself.
She whipped her head around at the sound of Ironhide's engine. Sarah glanced at the clock. 6:58 a.m. Her face immediately drained of all color. Any time Ironhide showed up to their house at odd hours meant something horrible had happened to Anna. She grabbed her robe and walked out to the front door. The absent sound of country playing made her stomach do a back flip. Ironhide was always playing country music. Always.
Sarah hesitantly opened the screen door, and regretfully stepped onto the porch. Ironhide remained stationary in his vehicular disguise. "Isn't it a bit early to be driving?" she asked a little too jokingly.
"Not when you've been up all night talking with the government," Ironhide replied bluntly.
As if her stomach wanted to do an encore, it did another flip. "Is Will -- "
"Will's fine," the truck said shortly.
"Then what's -- "
"It's Annabelle," he answered. "Simmons is trying to try her for treason."
Sarah grabbed the white railing that trimmed the porch. Her stomach began to plummet and twist itself. She tried to catch her breath, but lungs refused to move. "Treason? Annabelle?" she spoke aloud, trying to put the two together.
"I'll explain on the way," he said. Before he could open the passenger door, Sarah was already in the seat buckling herself in safely.
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Annabelle had always loved being daddy's little girl. She loved seeing him when he would return from his duties for those few short weeks. She went as far as to plan her schedule around the time he would be home. But this time, Annabelle didn't welcome him home with a bear hug. Instead she stood next to Jetfire -- whom might as well had been a cold ghost. She averted her gaze -- she didn't want to see the disappointment on her father's face as he approched. Anna ran her tongue over her braces, counting each piece of metal in her mouth. It was a poor distraction that didn't ease her mind. The sound of her father's boots echoing off the walls made the girl cringe. His footsteps weren't alone. The sound of Prime and Ratchet's followed closely behind. Four against one. Never good odds.
Will himself couldn't believe he was in this position. Ever since he had gotten the word five hours ago, he had been stunned. No matter how many times Optimus has repeated the story, he couldn't wrap his mind around it. Annabelle was his daughter, and doing something like this was (in his world) equivalent to someone getting attacked by a butterfly It just didn't happen.
His brown eyes looked his daughter. She'd look like she hadn't slept in hours, nor looked like she had never seen the sun before in her life. A couple bruises were on her arms; which he concluded were from playing with the twins at some place where they shouldn't have been in the first place. Annabelle looked like the only thing she had done to clean herself up was put on a fresh pair of jeans and a tattered brown hoodie.
Major Lennox let out a deep breath. He was still on duty, but the general protocol to unleash his fury on a traitor clashed with his feelings as a father. By all means if she were someone else, Annabelle would've been taken immediately to a high security facility. It was only because she was daughter -- his perfect li'l daughter -- that she was able to stay here.
He let out a deep breath. Lennox looked at his daughter, trying to figure out what would have pushed her over the edge to lead her to do something so - so horrible. His natural reaction would have been to protect her like any parent would. At the same time, he saw a traitor stand before him. It was a torn and awkward moment for Will because he didn't know how approach his daughter. He cleared his throat and looked towards Optimus. "Where's Simmons?" he asked in a hollow voice.
"Present and accounted for," replied Reggie. He strutted towards the group with his signature scowl planted across his face. He looked towards the major with an unpleased look. "They only sent you?" he asked bitterly. "Isn't that being a bit easy on our traitor?"
He glared towards the agent, and held back the urge to punch him out. How dare he talk like that in front of his daughter. "She can hear you," he spat. Will had no respect for someone he considered an egotistical asshole.
"Just saying," he retorted.
"Perhaps we should have Annabelle speak first," Optimus said more as a command than a suggestion. His blue optics flashed towards the hunched over Annabelle.
Jetfire looked down at the human. He, like Annabelle's father, was stunned himself to be in this situation. He had known Annabelle since she was six years, but now he felt as if he had just met her. The stillness of her silence was what made him stare at Annabelle. "You're suppose to speak now," he said a little too bluntly.
"Why speak when I've done nothing wrong?" Anna said calmly.
"Done nothing wrong?" asked a hysterical Simmons. His brown eyes narrowed down on the girl. "You can't be serious."
"I am," she stated. She slowly lifted her head, but did not look at any of them. Anna focused on the door at the far end of the hall. She could imagine the warm weather that lay behind the door. The thought of the warm weather was the happiest thought in her head at the moment.
"Annabelle," Will spoke in a stern and disappointed voice. His blue eyes fixed on his daughter. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words would not come out. The Major closed his mouth.
She looked towards Will with a new fierce look on her face. "Are you really that speechless, Dad?" Anna asked rhetorically. The teenager folded her arms across her chest. "And since when do you call me Annabelle?"
Will had always loved his daughter for her fierce attitude -- it reminded her of him -- but at other times he hated it. "Don't you dare talk to me like that," he warned.
"Like what? Are you hear as my dad, or as a major?" she snapped.
"It doesn't what I'm here as," he stated through clenched teeth. "You don't disrespect someone like that."
"Oh yes it does," she replied. "If you're hear as my dad, then I can at least BS my way out of trouble."
He looked at his daughter. He couldn't believe what she just said. Had she always been this defiant? Will's clenched his right hand as anger surged through his body. The Major no longer saw a helpless child. Through his brown eyes he saw another criminal; but unlike other criminals, she came from a perfectly normal family. "Annabelle Leann Lennox - "
"You are under arrest," Simmons finished. He felt the eyes as the others looked at him. He took out a pair of handcuffs, and looked at Annabelle with a smug look. His shoes made a light squeaking noise as he walked towards her. "You have the right to remain silent." He grabbed her left arm and pulled it towards him. "Anything you say can and wi - "
CRRRRRACK!!!
Everyone watched with wide eyes as Simmons stumbled backwards holding both hands over his nose. Blood dribbled down his face and onto the spotless floor. His brown eyes hatefully flashed towards Annabelle -- who stood proudly.
"Annabelle!?" exclaimed Jetfire.
Ratchet, who had felt more comfortable remaining silent, rushed towards Simmons. "Here," he said, offering help.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" Reggie shouted. Painfully, he took his hand away from his nose and glowered at the girl.
"Mikaela taught me that one," she replied smugly. Bending down, the girl picked up the handcuffs and twirled them from her index finger.
Will looked disgustingly towards his daughter, but inside a small little piece of him was proud of her. She had done what he had always wanted to do to Simmons.
"You!" Reggie raised his bloodied hand. "You little bitch! Oh! You're gonna get it now! I'll make sure of it!" The agent looked towards Will. "Arrest her Major!"
"I'm not going anywhere until you have a warrant for my arrest," Anna replied sternly.
"ARREST HER!" the older man yelled again.
Lennox didn't argued with Simmons this time. He walked towards his daughter, who stood strangely still, and yanked the handcuffs out of her hand. Will roughly put his daughter's limp arms behind her. The sound of handcuffs clicking mad him flinch.
"Will!"
He raised his head at the sound of his name being shouted. He watched as Sarah ran down the hallway in the fuzzy blue bath robe he had bought her on their honeymoon. He couldn't believe she still kept it. "Sarah? What are you - "
"What's going - " she began to asked. Her steel blue eyes darted towards her daughter. From her angle, the panicked mother could see the handcuffs on her daughter. "Oh Annabelle!" she exclaimed. Sarah moved in between Will and Annabelle. Her arms moved protectively over her daughter. "What are you doing!?" she shouted angrily at him.
"He's following orders, Mrs. Lennox," Simmons said sourly.
"Following orders!" she retorted. "You call these orders!" Her eyes looked down at her daughter. "She's a kid for god sake's! Not some murderer like O.J."
"Maybe you haven't been briefed - "
"Oh, I've been briefed, Simmons," Sarah spat. "And I know for a fact that there is no way Anna could've revived him."
She tried to wiggle herself free from Sarah, but her mother's grip only tightened. "Mom!" protested Anna.
"It's okay Anna," Sarah reassured. "Your father and I won't let anything happen to you. Right Will?" She looked towards Will, but he didn't reassuringly look back at her. "Will?!"
"Sarah," he explained. "Annabelle was the only one in the room. She's the only one who could've done it."
Her right eye began to lightly twitched as her husband spoke. "She's your daughter for god sake!" she shouted.
"And she also committed an act of treason," Reggie justified.
"I don't want to hear a thing from you!" Sarah lashed. "You and your agency would kill your own if ordered to. Besides, how could Anna have revived him?" Her deadly gaze suddenly turned to Jetfire. "More likely he did it! He did have a connection to him!"
The autobots looked at Jetfire. Each of them knew about he and Starscream's history with each other. Even though Jetfire had been on their side for the past thousand years, there was still skepticism among many of them. Optimus Prime found himself wondering if Jetfire would do it in hopes of paying back Starscream for reviving him.
She went wide eyed as her mother accused Jetfire of treachery. Anger at her mother's accusation gave her enough strength to break away from Sarah's grip. "Mom!" shouted Annabelle. "Jetfire didn't do it!"
"Honey, it's okay," Sarah said. "You don't need to be taking the blame for a traitor."
"You aren't saying anything Jetfire. Most would be defending themselves," Optimus stated. "Why aren't you?"
"Optimus, you know me. You and the rest know I would never do such a thing," Jetfire reassured. "It's scientifically, logically, and morally impossible for me to bring him back. There is no reason why I would do it."
"Not even one?" Will inquired.
"Not one," Jetfire reassured.
"Liar!" spat Simmons. "I know you and she were both on it!"
Sarah's eyes looked down at her daughter. "Anna, are you okay?" she asked. Her eyes watched as her daughter leaned against the wall.
Annabelle shook her head. "I think I'm gonna be sick," she muttered.
"I'd better take her to the Med bay," Ratchet said calmly. He looked down at Simmons. "Do you want to come? I can fix your nose."
"I'm fine!" Reggie snapped bitterly. "It's just a li'l bloody nose."
"But my - "
"I don't care what they indicate. I'm fine," he retorted.
Ratchet fought back the urge to glare at him. He gently lifted Anna into his hand. Already he was curious why she would be feeling ill. She had no physical signs of being ill. But perhaps the problem lay with one of her emotions. From what he had learned, emotions could cause humans to feel ill.
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Starscream reluctantly laid on his backside. His red optics stared blankly up at the white ceiling. Over the course of around seven earth hours, he had come to hate the color white. He knew that white was suppose to stand for neutrality and a sense of stability, but it didn't help to calm him. All the seeker saw was a bland color that annoyed him. If anything, he wanted to go crazy and paint it all thirteen colors of the visible spectrum. The thought of such a childish act reminded him of Skywarp. A small smile crept onto his face. Skywarp, for all the trouble he caused, did help relieve the stress and tension he felt when he had worked.
The smile on his face quickly vanished. The last time Starscream had seen Skywarp, ended with him yelling at Skywarp for being a childish slag who would accomplish nothing in his life. The Seeker let out a deep breath. What if he never saw Skywarp again? Would Skywarp remember him for what he last said to him? Starscream decided if he could, he would go back in time and change that. Suddenly, he felt a sharp thud against his arm. He looked down and saw a wretch (which hadn't been there before) on the floor.
"Will you stop your murmuring!?" shouted an annoyed Sideswipe. "It's annoying and creepy."
The Seeker rolled his head towards the twins. He immediately met their gaze with his own glare. Starscream didn't know he was murmuring. "I'll stop murmuring when you two leave," he breathed hatefully.
The red autobot huffed before turning to his brother. "Can we just kill him already?" he begged. "It's not like anyone will notice that he's gone."
"The problem isn't that we can't kill him," Sunstreaker corrected. "It's if we may kill him."
"Oh shut up. I don't need an english lesson," Sideswipe sneered.
"If you're english was as perfect as mine, then maybe I wouldn't have to correct you," the yellow retorted.
Starscream turned his head away from the twins as they continued to bicker about who's english was better. He really didn't care since he considered the language inferior, and in the broad scheme of things, irrelevant. The only reason he even decided to learn it was to blend into the human society.
His mind drifted back to what Sideswipe had said. Had anyone noticed that he was gone? Surely Barricade or that stupid pet of Blackout's would have noticed he was gone. They both should've received his message that he was returning to earth and going to meet them. They would, or better, should've noticed his absence. After all, both of those two slags knew Starscream was big on being punctual. 'But if they were truly loyal to you, like they had been to Megatron, then they would have found you by now,' Starscream thought. He clenched his working hand into a fist. 'And Scorponok is loyal to Blackout, and Blackout is loyal to Megatron. So he might not have searched for me, but surely Barricade.' His hope that Barricade was searching for him at this very moment was extinguished. Barricade was a loner. The only reason Barricade had joined the decepticon cause was because no body probed into his past. Everyone left him alone. 'Primus, every body leaves every body alone. No one goes out of their way to make allies just for the - 'His thoughts were cut off at the sound of the door opening. Curiously, the Seeker turned to watch the medical officer walk in with the li'l brat in his hand.
"What's wrong with Anna?" both of the twins asked in unison.
"And what's with the cuffs?" Sideswipe added dumbly.
His blue optics glared at them for asking dumb, insensitive questions. "You two out," Ratchet barked. He had no patience for them; and knowing them, they probably had made a mess out of his medical bay.
"Sheesh, no reason to be all pissy," Sunstreaker remarked sourly. He obediently left the room with his brother following behind him wearily.
The medic immediately shut the door behind them. Turning his attention back to Annabelle, he gently placed her on the nearest table. "What's wrong Anna?" he asked suspiciously.
Almost instantly, she snapped out of her sick state. She looked up at Ratchet with scared and saddened face. "Please don't be mad at me," she spoke softly. "But Jetfire didn't do it."
"Anna, what are you talking about?" Ratchet asked.
"I should've given it to Ironhide when I found it," she explained. "But I didn't."
"Give what?" the old bot asked impatiently.
Annabelle bit her lip nervously. "I found a piece of the Allspark," she confessed.
Ratchet's optics grew large. "What!!! Where?"
"In the warehouse that I found Scream in," Anna said. "There was a li'l pile there and I found a piece. I put it in my pocket. Then I used it to revive him." She pointed towards the Seeker.
"You went through my pieces?!" asked an wrathful Starscream. "Where's the piece you stole now?!"
The medical officer ignored the decepticon's overreaction. "Yes, Anna. Where is it?" Ratchet asked in a calmer voice.
"I dropped it," she said innocently.
"Where?" Ratchet and Starscream asked in unison.
"Well you have his spark chamber exposed, so I held out the piece. Some crazy lightening thingy came from it, and it scared me," Anna informed. "So I dropped it next to his spark chamber, and ran away before his cockpit could squish me."
"And this is the truth Anna?" Ratchet asked sternly like a parent.
She nodded.
"Oh my Primus, Annabelle," Ratchet said astonished. He pressed his hand to his temples before dragging his hand down his face. The medic closed his eyes briefly before sighing.
"Please don't be mad," she asked again.
Ratchet looked down at her. He didn't see a traitor as Simmons and Will saw, nor did he see her as a small child like Sarah did. The medic saw something else -- something good -- but how to describe it, he didn't know how. "I'm not mad," he said bluntly. "I'm just -- stunned." The neon-yellow 'bot turned around and began to head towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Anna asked.
"Just stay here," the medic said firmly. "And don't do anything."
Starscream watched as Ratchet left the room. His eyes quickly turned to the human. There was a small sliver of satisfaction when he saw her hands in handcuffs. He quickly stopped staring when she began to stare back at him.
"How's the leg?" Anna asked harmlessly.
"What?" he asked.
"You're leg." She pointed with her head to his left leg. "Is it better."
"Yeah I guess," Starscream said blankly. He looked down at his injured leg. The little contractions she had put in, really did eliminate the pain. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he was grateful that she had put them in.
"You're welcome," she replied.
The Seeker looked at her with a confused expression. He hadn't said thanks, but yet she replied with good manners.
"You're not that hard to figure out," Annabelle answered. "You're kind've like Ironhide -- too proud to admit something was good for you."
"You don't know that," he retorted.
The human rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."
There was an awkward silence that followed. It wasn't even the awkward silence the Seeker was used to. His optics constantly wandered around the room, searching for something to concentrate on, but he couldn't find anything to focus his mind on. He could feel the beginning signs of nervousness begin to build up in his circuits. Finally, his optics once again rested on the human. Starscream watched as she stared blankly at the floor. To him, she seemed distant. "So," he began. He thought small talk could possibly help ease the nervousness he felt. "Have they asked you why you did it?"
Anna raised her head as the Seeker made small talk. "Not really," she replied. "Even if they did, it's not like I would tell them."
"Why not?" he asked for the sake of being curious.
The girl looked the Seeker in the eye. "Because why speak when no one will listen?" she asked a little too bluntly.
Starscream stared back at her. He was surprised by her answer. Turning his head away from her, he looked back up at the ceiling. "I know how that is," he replied softly.
"You do?" she asked astonished.
He nodded.
She kept her blue eyes focused on him. A soft smile tugged at her lips. It felt like she saw sunlight for the first time -- more like a sense of security. "Then would you be willing to listen?" Anna inquired.