there's a million&one ways
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A/N: i haven't forgotten about the story! it's just that about everything that could happen, happened in the past -counts fingers- six days! And I mean both the good and bad; but on the upside, i past all my exams! :DDDDDD -dances-
&& omg! time to celebrate! we hit our first double-digit chapter! -breaks out party gear-
replies:
tlcoopi7,, oh yeah. especially since ratchet is about like ironhide and knows all the major decepticon players in some shape or form.
dixiegurl13,, congratz! hope you had fun at the graduation ceremony! && i love it too. they don't have the traditional fluffy relationship at all. -pats them proudly- && don't be giving Ironhide (or the twins) ideas!
ever free,, thanks for the encouragement! i tried to get it out as soon as possible. hopefully the next few chapters will be worth the wait. ;3
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-cybertronian-and-it-s-a-pain-to-type"
"this is com-link, or whatever the heck it is called these days."
centurion = 100 cybertronian years
cybertronian year = 932 earth days
orbital cycle = thirteen cybertronian hours
cybertronian hour = eight and a third earth hours
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Sunstreaker knew he was known for his vanity, and was quite proud of himself for becoming infamous among his friends. He enjoyed acting like an asshole and ticking anyone off just to pass the time. In many ways, he was just like a human adolescent -- rebellious and "invincible". And like his commander Ironhide, Sunstreaker kept his worries and emotions to himself. The mech didn't like appearing weak or imperfect in front of his peers, especially his brother.
His regal paint glittered in the sunlight. Pale blue optics scanned for a sign of his red twin. The autobot crept through the shallow woods like a deadly leopard. His sole focus on finding his prey -- Thundercracker. Unlike the other times on Cybertron when he tracked a seeker, he hadn't put his spark into it. Sunstreaker couldn't stand the thought of his brother in their clutches, and was determined to get his brother back to the base alive. He'd blow up half the Earth if he'd had too. "Will you stop being so noisy?" he hissed through the intercom to Ironhide. "I can hear you all the way over here!"
There was an impatient huff. "Not all of us are sixteen foot ferraris that weigh under a ton," Ironhide growled.
"I've heard bulls in a china shops that are quieter than you!" he retorted.
"Will you two shut up!" Ratchet commented. "Bickering won't find Swipe any faster."
"Well if Ironhide didn't keep scaring away the seeker," Sunstreaker explained coldly. "Then maybe we would be back at the base."
"How do you put up with all this noise Ratchet?" inquired Jetfire.
Sunstreaker glanced upwards to see Jetfire flying high above the clouds. The black jet seemed to be a tiny dot amongst the vast blueness of the sky. "You're late," he huffed.
"Sorry, I was --" the jet replied. "taking care of Annabelle."
"Enough blabbing," Ironhide stated. "Jetfire, can you see Thundercracker?"
"Negative."
"Dammit," Sunstreaker cursed. His free hand turned into a tight fist. He ground his teeth together in frustration. His optics became slits as he scoured for a sign of the seeker. He could feel his circuits surge with anger. Every ounce of knowledge about Seekers told him that they couldn't be this good at hiding -- especially when there were hardly any hiding places large enough to cover a seeker's wings! Sunstreaker moved the tawny branches out of his way and emerged into the five o'clock sunlight. The mech looked around all three-hundred and sixty degrees without a single clue as to where the seeker went.
"Perhaps you three should turn in," Jetfire suggested cautiously. "Your energy levels must be getting low."
"But Swipe - "
"It won't do us any good if you won't have enough energy to bring him back to the base, Ratchet," the scientist justified.
"I'm not gonna turn in," Sunstreaker retorted. 'Not while he's out there in that bastard's hands,' he added to himself.
"Like hell I'm gonna turn in," Ironhide huffed.
"I was just suggesting," Jetfire commented. "Because with Beeman and Jazz coming, I was thinking you two could hold down the fort."
"You think we're told old to fight don't you, Jetfire?" the old soldier remarked bitterly.
"I never said - "
"But you're thinking about it," he accused.
Sunstreaker, against his better judgement, tuned out of the autobot frequency. He couldn't understand how the others could bicker with his brother missing in action. It was times like this he wondered how they could be so hypocritical of he and his brother. Despite all the trouble they caused at the base, both he and his twin knew how to focus on their mission; and often completed their missions with flying colors. Together they almost had a sixth sense for catching seekers. Combined their specially designed armor, they could take down some of the more exotic seekers -- such as Acid Storm and his rainmakers. Yet he still felt helpless with his brother out there.
The yellow autobot transformed into his earth disguise before zooming down a dirt road. Every joule of energy in his spark told the young autobot that Thundercracker couldn't have carried his brother very far -- it would take too much energy. Above all, Thundercracker would stick out like a sore thumb if any aerial craft saw him. Both of those moves were contrary to the Seekers' guerrilla warfare tactics. He revved his engine angrily. Napping birds suddenly took to the sky at the sound of his snarling engine. Sunstreaker watched as the flock of crows filled the sky together in unison.
"Flock," he muttered to himself. He came to a sudden and screechy halt. Seekers always worked in flocks of at least three, if not a few more. With a sudden realization, the tiny, fictional light bulb inside his head turned on. "Jetfire!" he shouted loudly over the autobot frequency. "Has Jazz been running any radiation or frequency scans?"
"I imagine so," Jetfire replied. "Why?"
"Because where there is one Seeker, there is another one close by," Sunstreaker explained. "And I will bet my spark that Skywarp is with that crack head."
"And if he is, then we can track Skywarp by the radiation and matter his teleportation displaces," Ironhide finished happily. "For once you had a good idea, junior."
"I'll go relay the news directly to Optimus," Jetfire offered.
"Have them also bring up charts of the nearest military bases -- both closed and open," Sunstreaker ordered. "Along with wind charts."
"Okay," the scientist responded.
"I'll come with you Jetfire," Ratchet commented. "That way you have some body covering you from the ground."
"Sounds like a plan," Ironhide stated. "Relay any information you find to us, and we'll get on it."
"Yes, Sir," Jetfire replied.
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Annabelle hated how boredom lingered in her mind. Not only did boredom make the hormonal female agitated, but it left her feeling left out and alone. She laid sprawled out on the top of the shelf with no form of technology to chase away the fleeting feelings of her insecurity. She wasn't worried about herself so much as she was worried about the others -- particularly Jetfire. Anna had never seen him so upset. The usually calm and content autobot was acting anything but calm. Like their captive, she too saw the subtle aggression in his strides. And it scared her. This entirely new attitude that he was displaying had left her to wonder if she really knew him as well as she believed she had.
Anna wouldn't admit it aloud while the other autobots were around, but Jetfire had been her favorite of the entire make-shift family. His relaxed temper and easy-to-please nature had made him the best adopted brother she could think of. Jetfire, for the most part, was the perfect representation of what the autobots to her. She often thought if Optimus was the good citizen, then Jetfire the supreme super hero come to save the day. At least he had always been her super hero -- always there to bail she and the twins out of trouble.
At the same time, he was still rejected. She had seen it herself over the years how he was always the last one to be included. Ironhide, as much as she loved him, was still an asshole towards Jetfire and often reminded the scientist about his past mistakes. The twins also helped Ironhide in this past-time. Anna had always been shocked by how well Jetfire had taken it all these years.
'Maybe he thought he deserved it,' Annabelle pondered. 'He always did feel guilty about what he did as a decepticon.'
She rolled her head towards the sound of the doors opening. From behind the steel doors entered a rather pleasant-looking Bumblebee. His always optimistic and friendly optics met her own set of eyes. Annabelle managed a small smile just for the sake of their old friendship. "Hey Beeman," she said.
"Hello Annie," he replied in his chipper voice. "How are you doing?"
"Could be better," she admitted. Anna lifted herself onto her feet as the autobot offered his hand to her. She casually walked onto his hand. Never had she been so relieved to get away from Jetfire's shelf. "Yourself?"
"Good," Bumblebee replied. "Sam and Mini got back together."
"Again?" she asked.
The mech nodded.
She rolled her eyes and let out a deep breath. "Those two are the worst couple in world," she stated. "One minute they love each other, the next they hate each other." Anna crossed her arms. "That's what happens when you love a whore."
"But Mikaela isn't a whore," Bumblebee defended.
"Right," Anna said sarcastically. "And I'm not a blonde."
"Can you please not be so negative?" Bumblebee asked. "She really is a good person."
She turned her head and looked at the autobot. "For you Beeman, I will shut my mouth up for today," she promised. 'After all, I've already pissed everyone else off -- no need to piss any else off.' "So," she asked. "Why are you here?"
"I'm to take you back to your house, and then regroup with Jazz to help find Swipe," the yellow camaro explained.
Annabelle's eyes enlarged and looked at the mech with a bewildered and worried expression. "What happened to Swipe?" she asked hesitantly.
"He's not reporting back to the others," he informed. "He probably went a-wall for a while. He'll turned up when he wants too." He gave a confident smile, and acted as if Sideswipe did this all the time. "You need anything from your room?"
Anna nodded. "I need to grab my cellphone and my dirty clothes," she returned. The sunflower yellow mech nodded. The human loved how attentive the lieutenant always acted. Unlike Jazz who was just plain cool, Bumblebee was more of a normal kid who enjoyed life. He was the type of bot who you could just talk to about anything from how pretty the stars were shinning to whether brown eggs were better than white eggs. He was lively, but not overbearing. He even carried her with an extra gentleness that the others (including Jetfire) lacked.
"So how is school going Annie?" he inquired.
"Ugh," she groaned. "Still have three weeks of hell."
"It can't possible be that bad," Bumblebee replied.
"You aren't the one going to school," Anna pointed out.
He chuckled lightly. His optics watched curiously as Anna pulled out a small pinky ring. The mech instantly recognized it as Jetfire's handy work. "You still have that ring?"
"Why wouldn't I?" Anna retorted in a soft voice. She held the ring in her palm, examining the detailed work. It was simple band with a simple design. Half of the band was filled with the uniquely red soil from Mars. In the middle of the semi-circle was a perfectly round circle filled with loose soil from the moon. The other half of the band was just the opposite -- the moon soil surrounded a spot of dirt from Mars. The band was coated with a shiny but clear substance from Cybertron. Every bit of the ring was from alien world; which made it all the more special to Annabelle. She carefully slipped it onto her left pinky finger and smiled down at it. It was the one artifact that she would die with -- she was sure of it.
"I thought you would've out grown it, or stopped wearing it," Bumblebee answered.
Anna looked up at him with a surprised face. "That's like saying I'll out grow you guys," she informed. "And I'll never out grow you guys."
"I hope not Annie," he replied. "I don't know what we'd do without you at the base."
"Apparently Prime has some ideas," Anna muttered.
"I heard," the mech said in a sad voice.
"Yeah," muttered back sarcastically. "This'll be a fun summer." Annabelle stepped off Bumblebee as he let her down. She casually slid into her room, and began to gather her items.
"Don't be so negative. It's not good for human health or wrinkles," he insisted. "Besides, as soon as the problem is resolved, Optimus will let you come back."
"Always so optimistic, Beeman."
"Well," he suggested. "If worst comes to worst, you could come visit us down in Nevada."
She peeked around the corner of her door, and stared at him as if he were insane. "Thanks, but I'll decline," she replied bluntly.
He shrugged. "I was just offering," he muttered.
Anna sighed as she collected a Walmart bag full of her dirty clothes. She quickly shoved her phone into her right pocket. "I know. I know and I appreciate the offer," the human replied in a gentler tone. She shut the door behind her, and quickly hopped onto the mech's hand "But Sam and I don't mix well -- he's too much of a push-over."
"Not everyone has to be as feisty as you, Annie," Bumblebee replied.
She gave him a skeptic look. "Hell yeah they do," Annabelle corrected.
"Just wait, Annie," the autobot said. "One of these days you'll find a push-over that loves you, and you'll love him back. And then you'll marry a push-over."
"No," she stated firmly. "I will not marry a push-over."
"It's the nature of humans. You need someone of the opposite of you to balance you out."
"Beeman," Anna reinforced. "You are missing on crucial piece of information. You see I need someone just as hard-headed and as much of a stubborn ass to keep me in line. That way the hard-headed forces we create will cancel each other out."
"I guess you would know best," he responded.
"So, Beeman, are we taking my mom home?"
He shook his head in denial. "Jazz is taking her home as we speak," he informed. "I'm to meet him at your house."
"Good," Anna breathed.
"Why?"
"You know why," she replied in a monotone voice.
"Sorry," he whispered.
"Me too," Annabelle agreed.
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Jetfire flew a mile above Ratchet as they headed towards the base. The sky became progressively cooler and cloudier as they traveled. Cumulus clouds had begun to build on the horizon. Their dark composition indicated the search for Sideswipe would be harder. The heavy clouds would provide Thundercracker with the perfect cover. It would give Jetfire the perfect cover as well Ratchet thought. The medic tried to through his recent thought out of his memory chip, but the mech couldn't get over what Barricade had said. Jetfire a decepticon? Still? Ratchet had his doubts about over what Barricade had said, but he equally had his doubts in Jetfire. He had shown up exceptionally late; which was unusual for someone of Jetfire's standards.
But Jetfire was a good guy he told himself. Of all the autobots, he seemed the most kind hearted -- not even wanting to hurt a fly if it could be helped. He took exceptional care of Annabelle, and always took the blame for her when she would get into trouble. Over the years he had sacrificed chances to move up the totem pole of respect in the autobot society to play with Annabelle. The mech always seemed to think of others before himself, and acted a door matt so to say. As Ironhide had said, he was almost too kind. Maybe he had been too kind Ratchet pondered.
"Jetfire?" Ratchet asked.
"Yes, Ratchet?" he answered in usual calm voice.
He hesitated. 'What am I doing?' Ratchet thought to himself. 'I'm accusing one of my friends of being a traitor. Barricade probably said all of that to confuse me -- to build doubt within the team.'
"Ratchet?" Jetfire inquired.
"Nothing," the medic said. "I forgot what I was going to say."
"So," Jetfire said. "Are we going to keep this away from Annabelle?"
"What?" Ratchet asked.
"We aren't going to tell Annabelle about what happened to Swipe, yes?" he repeated.
"Wait," he stated. Ratchet came to a halt and transformed. He looked up to see Jetfire transforming as well. "We're going to keep this a secret?"
The scientist landed with thud. Unsettled topsoil created a small plum of dust clouds. The foggy clouds engulfed his feet momentarily before settling back down onto the earth's crust. "You wish not too?" he questioned.
Ratchet looked at him with bewildered expression. This wasn't like Jetfire at all. The medic had never been a fan of secrets. All they did was create chaos and stir up more trouble; and more often than not, he had seen trust broken by secrets. "I don't understand why we would do it in the first place," the medic stated.
"To protect Annabelle of course," Jetfire explained.
"Annabelle is strong, Jetfire," the medic reminded. "She's old enough to handle bad news."
"But don't you think she's been through enough?" the scientist asked in a protective tone. "She's already dealing with family problems, and with this last stunt . . . " He lost his voice and went quiet. He looked in the direction of the base with a solemn expression hardwired onto his face. He could only imagine what she was doing right now -- young hormonal humans were so hard to understand. "I just . . . "Jetfire sighed and turned his sight back onto Ratchet. "I don't want to put her through any more stress than she has to be put through," he said. "And for all we know Swipe may be back by tonight."
"And if he isn't?" the autobot inquired.
"Then we could tell her sometime when things are less hectic," he added. "But for now, don't you think we should give her time to adjust?"
"Why are you so concerned about keeping this a secret, Jetfire?" Ratchet asked genuinely. "Do you not trust Annabelle?"
"I trust Annabelle," he answered quickly. "I'm just -- just concerned that she may do something else."
"She's just a child, Jetfire," the medic comforted. "She still can't fully comprehend the consequences that follow her actions." His words appeared to have little effect on Jetfire, and the medic gave a nervous smile. "If you're worried that Annabelle revived Starscream out of pure hatred, I think you'd be wrong. She probably revived him to rebel against Optimus and show him that not every plan goes accordingly." Ratchet sighed as Jetfire's gaze once again dropped to the ground. "Nothing bad is going to happen to her, Jetfire," he stated. "She's in the best care in this whole galaxy."
"That's what they said to Chromia too," Jetfire muttered. "And look what happened to her."
"That's different," the medic informed. "She was betrayed by Starscream."
"I know," he said indifferently.
"Then why -- "
"She was talking to him," Jetfire interrupted.
"What?" Ratchet asked in an astonished voice.
"I went looking for Annabelle, and I couldn't find her," he informed. "So I asked Sunstreaker, and he said she was busy retrieving the ring I made her from Starscream. I went to find her, and I heard them." The mech looked at Ratchet with a painful stare. "She was talking to him like he was one of us."
"Are you sure of this?" Ratchet inquired.
He nodded. "I could hear it in her voice. She wasn't scared of him at all. If anything, she was more open to him than any of us. She joked to him about Sunny's personality. And he went along with it."
"We're talking about Starscream here, yes?"
"Yes," Jetfire answered.
The mech ran his hand over his face. "Why would he go along with something like that?" Ratchet asked. "He's a decepticon. They're trained to shoot first and ask questions later. Maybe it's because he was once a scientist."
"I doubt that," Jetfire stated. "Even as a scientist, he told me he would much rather examine something dead rather than alive."
"Why dead?"
"Because then you can learn about the body's systems and what the body is weak against."
"I didn't realize he was that malicious back then," Ratchet replied. "I knew he was a little rough around the edges, but I thought . . . "
"You just thought what everyone else thought, Ratchet," Jetfire commented. "There's no shame in that."
"Then if you knew he was like that, why did you join him when he reactivated you?" Ratchet asked. "If you already disagreed with him, it wouldn't make sense to side with him."
Jetfire let out a nervous sigh. "We might have disagreed on things, Ratchet," he explained. "But he was my best mate. He had his flaws, but so does everyone. Even Optimus has his flaws, but we still accept him, yes . . . ?" The scientist's voice trailed to silence. He could still remember the days when Starscream was easier going and much more tolerable. Sure he still had a serious attitude, but at least he smiled a bit more and was happier. The old Starscream (the one Jetfire had grown to love as a brother) knew so much more about life than this new one. "It's like what you tried to say earlier, Ratchet," Jetfire spoke. "He used to be much nobler."
"You miss him don't you?" the medic returned.
"I miss my old friend," he corrected. "Not that murderer that's lying in one of our prison cells."
The mech nodded. "He did used to be a good 'bot," he stated. "I just wonder what happened to him to change him so much."
"The same thing that happened to us -- war."