Title: Shade of Life ~ Reaching You ~: Chapter 4
Genre: Romance, Drama, Humor, and Action.
Pairings: Optimus x Adelia (Main), _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ x _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Main. Will be revealed later on as the story progress.), Barricade x Melanie (Supportive), Sideswipe x Annalisa (Supportive)
Summary: Reaching You is the second part of the Shades of Life trilogy. Sequel to Meeting You, prequel to Holding You, and acts as a main focus of the three. The story involves around Adelia Campbell and her two best friends, Melanie Lee and Annalisa Snow. Their lives were changed forever the night five meteors fell from the sky, and then six giant alien robots showed up on Adelia's neighbor backyard. Somehow, three years later, they found her, claimed she's the All Spark, and told her she's the most important thing for their planet's, and Earth's, survival. She just had to stay away, and alive, from the Decepticons. Easy thing to do, right?
Warnings:
1) This story will be tied in with Dark of the Moon. So SPOILERS ALERT!
2) I'm LugiaTsuyu. I was from Thailand. So English is not my first language. That's why you will probably find a lot of grammar mistakes and not so smooth writing (such as repeated words and so on). And any comments, criticisms, corrections, and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
3) I am writing this as I go, so yeah. LOL
4) Also, you will probably find a lot of OOCness because I've never watch the Transformers cartoon before, just the three films, so I will apologize about that in advance. So please bear with me and I hope you will like my story. (Even though I am turning an action-packed franchise into romantic drama one.)
Disclaimers: I do not own Transformers, just my original characters, as it belongs to Hasbro, Marvel, and Paramount.
Credit to: I have to give these authors credits. As they were the ones who inspired me to write this story. First to orphan mia, for her incredible 'Strange Creature/. Then to Elexies, for her awesome 'Gateway of the Mind' story. And last but not least, to Ray of Starlight, for her amazing 'The Ties that Bind' series. I really thank you all for giving me the courage to finally written down my imaginations for others to see.
~o~
~o~
Chapter 4:
Autobots x His Smile
~o~
With Annalisa's face hovered a few inches above hers, Adelia sighed and closed her eyes again. "Here I am, still hoping that the first person I'll see when I open my eyes is Optimus. But what did I get? Your gorgeously ugly face almost kissing mine. It's sad, Anna. Really sad."
Annalisa's response was to pinch Adelia's forearm. "Shut up. You almost gave me a heart attack when you fainted." With that, she twisted her friend's flesh even harder.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch." Adelia, eyes shot open, bolted right up from the emergency bed. "That really hurts! Are you trying to rip my skin apart?"
"I will if it's going to keep you away from them!"
Adelia—probably out of instinct—turned to Optimus, who was kneeling right next to the bed but on the opposite side of Anna, and tried to reach for him.
Beginning to understand this particular gesture from her, the large Autobot carefully and gently nudged the young blonde out of his way before scooping Adelia into his hands. He heard her let out a relief huff of breath as he straighten himself to his thirty-feet height .
"That's not fair! Come down here, Dee!" Anna shouted from the ground.
If looks could kill, Adelia was pretty sure she'd be dead by now. As she made herself more comfortable by sitting cross-legged on Optimus's palm, she slightly wrinkled her nose at her friend."No can do. I know that look, Anna. You are going to use force to drag me back with you. And if you go rough on me, I'll have no choice but to do the same. It's not going to end pretty with all Mr. Soldiers standing here." She tilted her head backward to take a look at the Autobot Leader. "And I think Optimus doesn't like violent, right?"
When he nodded, Adelia grinned, then shifted her eyes to Annalisa again. "See? So I have to be a good girl and don't get into any fights."
The sound of the blonde's snort was edged with sarcasm. "Right! Doesn't like violent. Yet he's the one who gave you that hideous scars on your back."
A sharp inhale from behind her made Adelia's brain snapped. And if she was a machine—although she suspected she's turning into one—she might have exploded right then. But her voice was cool and calm when she spoke, "You weren't there, Anna. You don't know what happened. So don't talk like you know everything. If it wasn't for Optimus, Mel and I wouldn't be here right now."
Annalisa's face fell. And if she wasn't imagining it, Adelia thought she saw tears gathering in the corners of the blonde's beautiful blue eyes.
She wasn't a quick-tempered person. Far from it. If she had to count, she would say she get mad about five times a year tops. And three out of five she would be annoyed at herself for something she did. However, she had zero tolerance if someone wrongly insulted or accused her precious ones. Even if that 'someone' was her own best friend.
Annalisa knew it, knew it well. She knew how fair Adelia could be. And how biased as well. "You have only met him for a couple of hours and now you're already choosing his side"
Adelia, finding Anna's statement to be more than true, decided right then that she had had enough of this. But fire against fire wouldn't solve anything, so she settled for a kind smile. "I know you're trying to keep the three of us together. And let me assure you, nothing can separate us. Nothing. But Mel found her happiness with Cade. I found a place where I want to belong. It's time for you to find yours, too."
She would not cry in front of them, Anna told herself. "My happiness, a place where I belong, is with the two of you."
Adelia felt her own eyes sting, but she threw her hands up in the air and said jokingly. "Whoa, I'm not sure I enjoy threesome. Or females, for that matter."
Annalisa choke out a laughter. "Smart-ass bitch."
"Ditto."
Just like that, to everyone's surprise, the intense air around them seemed to have vanished.
She had to admit that was one of the many reasons why she'd always acted out around Adelia. Why they were able to be friends. With Melanie, the Asian girl had an infinite patience and control, forcing her to behave. With Adelia? The brunette could find humor in anything, it didn't really matter where or when, even in the girl's rare pissed-off mood. And that helped cooling down Annalisa's own temper as well .
So she surrendered, for now. "I'll let you do whatever you want. But it doesn't mean I accept or like them, understand?" Annalisa pointed her properly manicured finger up at her friend's face.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Anna," Adelia waited until the blonde raised her eyebrow, "if you ever pull that reporters stunt and offend any of the Autobots again, I might find it unavoidable to cook for you."
For the first time, the onlookers saw the blonde went pale. Flustered. "Um...yeah. I, uh, well. I'm gonna go now."
"Oh, Anna," Adelia searched for her phone, found it tugged inside her shirt's pocket— Anna must have put it there—then she tossed it down, "take this with you."
Annalisa missed it by at least a foot. The small device, a lot stronger than it looked, landed on the concrete floor and slid to a stop right in front of Sideswipe's wheeled feet.
Adelia laughed. "You suck at this, Anna."
"Shut the hell up." The blonde's cheeks flushed red.
Before Adelia could tell Optimus to lower her to the ground, Annalisa already strode over and picked up the little mobile.
To the blonde's annoyance, when she stood, the silver alien robot was staring at her. His gaze gave her a funny, awkward feeling. "Is there a problem, Alien?"
"Have we met before?" He thought that she was oddly familiar since the moment he saw her stormed inside the base.
"What?" Annalisa made a face at him. "This kind of pick-up line from an alien is just damn gross."
A loud laughter burst from Adelia. "Ouch, Sides. Just ouch."
A bit irritated, Sideswipe scowled at the blonde, who had her hands—along with the tiny, blue communication device— on her hips, but he replied to the brunette. "I'm not trying to...pick up anything. I saw her at..." he accessed his memory bank, found what he was looking for, "a facility called Angel Guardian Orphanage in Chicago thirty-two earth months ago."
Annalisa flinched, blushed, and let out a yelp. "Shut up! Why did you-"
"Aw, Anna. That's so sweet of you" Adelia placed her hand between her chest. "I knew you couldn't forget that place"
It seemed impossible, but the blonde's face became even redder. "Whatever. I'm gonna go. You better call me when you get a new phone"
"As long as it's GPSproof."
Annalisa smirked. She turned and was half way across the hangar when Adelia realized something and called out. "How did you get here?"
The blonde glanced over her shoulder and shrugged. "I parked my car a few blocks from here and walked."
"You sure no one followed you?"
Annalisa rolled her eyes. "I'm not dumb, Dee. I know this place is off-limits. Classified. Top secret." Again, the sarcasm was there.
"You better take good care of yourself now." After all, you are not a normal human anymore, Annalisa thought, trying really hard to cope with that bitter fact. The knowing smile told her that the brunette understood her hidden meaning well enough.
"m'kay. I'll call you and text Mel when I feel like it." Adelia waved her a goodbye.
After a final glimpse at the silver 'bot, the blonde marched away without looking back.
Watching her friend's retreating back, Adelia exhaled slowly, and wiped away imaginary sweat on her forehead. "Whew. It's like a hurricane just passed."
Optimus was still quite astounded with the girls' interaction. One earth minute it appeared as if their companionship was coming to an end, but the next he could sense the powerful bond between them strengthen. All because of Adelia's rather humorous...comment. Optimus had, for the second time, almost laugh. He then came to a conclusion that their little AllSpark was full of surprises.
But what the blonde had said had bothered him greatly. He tighten his hold on her protectively, unconsciously. "Are you feeling all right, Dee?"
The question was not only referring to her fainting incident, but also about the scars Annalisa had mentioned. Adelia turned herself around to face him, sighing a little in her mind. She knew he would ask, knew he would be blaming himself and their war. "I feel wonderful, Optimus." She tried to ease the tension by smiling at him, eyes sparkling. "It would have been better, though, if your face was the first thing I see when I woke up."
Light bulb in many soldiers' heads strongly lit up. They had ideas, bizarre ideas, since the first time they saw her looking at the Autobot Leader. There was no mistaking it now. The girl's proclamation was as clear as a day. And it didn't seem like she wanted to hide it at all.
And they were totally flummoxed by it.
But, judging from his indifferent reaction to her words, it was without a doubt that Optimus himself didn't have a clue. Ratchet might, so did Bumblebee and Sideswipe. Ironhide and Dino wouldn't care. And Que was...Que, so the old Autobot probably didn't notice, either.
Things just kept getting weirder and weirder.
"What happened, kid?" The weapon specialist, in his usual arms-crossed stance a few feet from Optimus, asked.
Before Adelia could reply, Ratchet stepped out and waved Ironhide's question away. "We will discuss that later. I must examine your body."
"I'm fine. Really. There's no need for examination." Even as she said that, Ratchet was trailing the blue, triangular beams flashing out from his optics all over her, scanning her internal body functions.
"How is she, Ratchet?" Optimus inquired.
The medic sighed. "Her bones are now fifty point three three seven percent metal, but at least the progression has stopped. However, her organs are beginning to show signs of alteration. I imagine they are trying to adjust to the enormous amount of energy from the AllSpark." It was so like Ratchet to talk of body parts as if they have individuality.
"It's incredible, Prime. She will soon going to be able to survive without any human food or water. Energon is to be her primary source of sustenance. But as the AllSpark, she has the ability to produce it herself." He let out a shaky breath, the expression on his metallic face could only be described as enthralled.
Optimus, on the other hand, was deeply troubled by this. He looked at Adelia, who was blinking repeatedly at Ratchet, and was about to apologize to her when she suddenly turned her eyes on him. Her gaze and smile were directed at him knowingly. "You used up your limit already, Optimus. I think you better wait for next week."
The Autobot Leader might not be aware of it, but the others and Adelia did. He was smiling.
Adelia's heart skipped a beat. His smile was a little awkward, as if he had forgotten how to do it. But mainly because of that, it made her eyes glassy. On one hand, she was more than delighted that she could make him smile. But on the other, she was sad. It broke her heart to realize what the war had cost him.
"I understand, Dee. I will not apologize. But allow me to say I hope you will forgive us for defiling your way of life. "
Heart still aching for him, she puffed her cheeks. "You're sneaky, Optimus. That's almost like an apology."
This time, his grin was more natural. "Not at all"
No one dared to interrupt the two, as they could feel the large Autobot and the teenage girl having a little 'moment'. None but the weapon specialist, of course. "You don't seem surprise to hear all that from Ratchet."
"Come on, Hide. If giant, awesome, alien robots like you guys could exist, nothing is more surprising than that." She paused for a beat, deciding whether to tell them now or later, she guessed now would be better. "And I kind of already heard it from the AllSpark herself."
A, "WHAT?", escaped from all the Autobots but Optimus.
Adelia almost laugh. Today seemed to be their 'WHAT?' day. "The AllSpark. I had a really...interesting talk with her while I was unconscious."
"You had a talk with the AllSpark?" Dino was almost gaping.
"Uh-hah."
"And it's a she?"
"Yup."
"What was the conversation about?" Ratchet, his fascination with her temporary gone, asked in an uneasy voice. He didn't expect his foolish thought to be correct.
"Basically, it was about how she became inside of me. You know, my parents not only used to work at the dam but for Sector Seven?" As she didn't really want an answer, Adelia continued, "I guess my mom was in the AllSpark research team or something. And she was pregnant with me, too. So the AllSpark told me she transferred some of her power to me then, you know? When I was still a fetus. She also said she didn't really want to drag me into this, just like you, Optimus." Her lips curved. "Now I know where you all got this apologizing habit from."
"What is next?" Ironhide pushed.
"Well, she said because the last pieces of her old self were destroyed, she had no choice left but me. That's basically it." She then clapped her hands together. "Oh, and she told me about things I can do. I'm still not sure how they work, but I'm supposed to be able to reflect and shield myself from danger—though I have no idea what kind of danger."
"We gotta dance...practice...work it out" Bumblebee suggested through his radio.
"That's what I think, too. But I'm beat today." She glance down at the NEST commander, who had been quiet all this time. "Do you and your friends mind teaching me a few things about self-defense starting tomorrow, Mr. Lennox?"
"No problem, girl. But we start our day at five a.m. You sure a teenage girl like you are up for it?" The tall soldier teased.
"Hey! I'm not asking to join the military. There's no need to me to force my eyes open before the rooster does." She didn't bother to deny her inability to wake up that early. "How about you guys teach me when you have spare time?"
"Don't be lazy, girl!" One of the soldier shouted out goodheartedly.
Adelia laughed. "Just so you know, I'm the laziest person on the planet!"
"Do not worry, Dee. We will keep you out of harm's way." Optimus said firmly. But, admittedly, he would be more at ease if she could defend herself, too.
Adelia touched her heated cheeks with her palms. "Aw, thank you, Optimus. That's so sweet!" Then her face grew serious. "But I don't want to rely on you guys all the time. If I have the power to protect myself, I should."
"You have to keep in mind that we can't have the Decepticons know about you. So I don't think we want you to use your power and risk exposing you to them." Sideswipe informed her.
"The way she is now is exposing enough." Ironhide injected. "I couldn't sense it before, but now the energy from her is overflowing."
Optimus nodded. "You are right, Ironhide." He turned to Que. "I believe we need an equipment to conceal it."
The scientist 'bot's face simply lit up. "It'll be my honor, Optimus!"
Adelia had to smile. It still felt unreal. Her sitting here, being part of such an amazing group of extraterrestrial beings. And loving every second of it.
But, deep down in the corner of her mind, she knew peaceful day like this would not last. Sooner or later, she would've to witness the cruelty of their war...And deaths. Many, many deaths.
She just hoped Optimus, and the rest of the Autobots she was beginning to care for, would not be one of them.
~o~
~o~
Author's Note: Are you guys bored of my complaints yet? Please don't be. 'Cause this chapter sucks! (Although I have to admit I like Optimus and Adelia interaction here). This chapter is really, really, really short! I'm very sorry about that. And my grammar and vocabulary? As horrible as always! But, again, bear with me. I will keep trying my best to improve it.
So, how's this chapter? Do you guys like Adelia more or beginning to hate her? (I assure you, Adelia may seems like a Mary Sue now, all understanding and nice, but you'll see in later chapters that she's as ordinary as we are...Just a bit weirder...Okay! A LOT weirder!) What about Annalisa? Is she still getting on your nerves? What about the Autobots and Optimus? Are they too OCC? I really hope not.
I promise the next chapter will be longer!
And thank you for all your comments and encouragements! You guys are the best!
To kelliviolinthebest: How's Anna x Sides scene in this chapter? I hope you find it okay. (And I did tell you they will interact very little in the beginning of the story. And how short is it? LOL)
Again, thank you! See you all next chapter!