Hello all! Here's chapter 10, more things will be explained in the chapters to come! Is Delyia dead, or is this new 'bot her new form? I guess we willl find out when the time is right huh? :) Review, Follow, Favorite, do what you wish! All of your feedback means the world to me !
Enjoy ~
The beginnings and ends of shadow lie between the light and darkness and may be infinitely diminished and infinitely increased. Shadow is the means by which bodies display their form. The forms of bodies could not be understood in detail but for shadow. – Leonardo da Vinci.
"Sir, he has arrived with her."
"Excellent, good doctor, let us get to work." Crimson eyes gleamed against the blank darkness of the room.
With a gasp, I felt my eyes open wide and my mouth form an 'o'. W-what's happening? I thought to myself as I whipped my head around, trying to figure out where I was. That's when I spotted him, Sam – and he was on the floor, crying. Well, more like wailing and he was lying over what seemed like a body.
"Sam, who is that?" I asked, but he didn't respond.
Mildly confused, I looked about and saw Optimus, Bee, and Jazz. Bee was holding Jazz back as he flailed around, bellowing something I couldn't understand. I was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of something being terrible wrong. What did I miss, I wondered as I walked up to Optimus, slightly pushing my hand against him.
"Optimus, why's everyone crying? Who died?" I half-joked, and met with the same response – or lack there of – as Sam.
My brow furrowed in bewilderment, Why is everyone ignoring me?
"I guess I'll have to find out on my own." I half-shrugged, pissed about being ignored.
Stomping up to Sam, I knelt next to him and moved my head around to see who it was. When my eyes, brain, and mouth all came to the same conclusion, a bloody scream ripped through the air. Horror took over me as I fell backward onto my ass, scooting as far away from the body as I could, hitting the metal bars behind me from the bridge. Th-THAT'S ME! I screamed in my head as my mouth let loose another terrified screech. I turned over and vomited, or at least tried to - seeing as nothing was coming out. I couldn't even cry, but I could still feel the same emotions as before. My eyes wildly searched for some form of answer, but found none. Am I dead? I wondered, not really wanting to know the answer to that question I shakily stood and sluggishly walked a few feet away. Is this what being deceased feels like? I questioned to no one as I watched everyone's anguish being expressed in front of me. I was dying – no pun intended – to give some comfort to them, to let them know I was still here – but I guess that's what dying does to you.
All of a sudden my eyes caught sight of something wriggling away from everyone else, and heading straight for me. To my horror, I realized it was the watch and it had transformed into some centipede look – alike Decepticon.
"No, no no! You get away from me!" I half yelled as I backed away.
But the little creature was too fast for me, and in a flash it jumped through me. However, once it was passed me, I felt drawn into it as a moth would to a flame. It felt as though my heart, my mind, my very essence being sucked into the eye of the 'con. My breath hitched, and my eyes tried to find Optimus's once more however I was only greeted with darkness.
"My lord Megatron, the process is nearly complete." The doctor giddily scurried up to the Decepticon leader.
"Everything is going according to plan?" Megatron asked, his claws clanking against his leg.
"Of course sir, she will be very compliant upon her awakening – whether she wants to be or not." The doctor snickered before tinkering off again.
Sentinel turned to his partner, "What are you doing to that human girl? Has she not already left this life?"
Megatron cackled, patting Sentinel on his shoulder.
"That is where you're wrong, follow me Sentinel."
Megatron stood and stalked out of the room, a curious Sentinel walking after him. They strode side by side down dank hallways, barely lit by blinking vermillion lights.
"Where are we going, Megatron?"
"You shall see soon enough, Sentinel."
The rest of their walk remained in a stoic silence, Sentinel knowing better than to say another word. After making a few turns, twisting down a few hallways, Megatron stepped through a door less arch, and what Sentinel saw puzzled him.
Before the two 'Cons laid a shell of a figure – it almost looked Cybertronian. It was a femme, that much the Prime could tell, her waist tucking in and widening at the appropriate angles, her body seemed strong and able to withstand an extreme amount of damage. Though, Sentinel noticed, she was rather small making her a reliable scout. Sentinel turned to Megatron after noticing her eyes were not lit with a brilliant red, but flickering from a cerulean to a lighter shade of rouge.
"What is happening to her, what have you done Megatron?"
"Well, Sentinel, the good Doctor has found a way – in simple terms – to extract the soul of a human being and combine it's life energy with a spark. Thus, eliminating the purpose of that infernal matrix of leadership Prime guards so well. And what better way to test the doctor's theory than on the one human that Optimus Prime holds so close?" Megatron snickered, "I almost wish it doesn't work so that I can see Prime crumble into a pile of ancient rust."
Sentinel took a step back, appalled by the actions of his partner.
"This is - I have no words Megatron. A feat like this has never been done before. How are you sure this will even work?"
"WE don't know yet, but the Doctor is the smartest 'Con I know – if anybot is able to pull this off, it would be him."
Sentinel remained silent once more, taking in the words of his partner. Is this ethical? His processor wondered as he looked upon the shell of a 'bot.
The light clinking of metal on metal drew Sentinel's attention to the floor, seeing a smaller 'con crawl across and up to the Doctor. It waited for the Doctor to turn and grasp it, inspecting its parts and pieces.
"Incredible, it worked – it actually worked." The Doctor murmured to himself.
"When will we be able to being the process?" Megatron asked.
The Doctors eyes gleamed with a slight madness, "We can begin now."
~*~ Lennox ~*~
"Are you ready to go?" Lennox came in to Sam's room, dressed in his formal uniform.
Sam suited himself up in an ink black suit and tie, his hair finally combed and pushed back. Lennox could see that Sam had been crying all morning, his eyes puffy and tinted rouge. Lennox knew better than to ask, they all were feeling the same way. Delyia was gone, and they didn't even have a body – or a single piece – to put in a casket to bury. Lennox, Epps, Simmons, even Mearing were caught off guard when Megatron had swooped in. Delyia's body had disintegrated so fast, no one had time to do anything – if there was anything to be done. Delyia's last look haunted Lennox, and he knew Sam wouldn't stop seeing her face for a long time; this was a death that many wouldn't get over quickly.
Thankfully, the Autobots' send-off had been put off until this evening, giving them time to attend their friend's funeral. Understandably, the Autobots hadn't spoken much since Delyia's death, however Optimus had not uttered a word. He remained in his vehicle form, unmoving, silent, not responding to anything anyone had to say. It seemed as though, to Lennox, that Optimus leaving earth would actually be good for him, so that he could get away from Delyia's memory. If Lennox would get caught up in some vision of Delyia running through the halls, or some other memory of the two of them laughing, he was sure that Optimus was caught up as well.
"I guess, Lennox I don't know if I can do this." Sam's voice broke towards the end.
Lennox clapped a hand on his shoulder, "Be strong Sam, it's only a small ceremony, then it'll be done so we can move on and get those Decepticon bastards. I know it isn't the same for me compared to you, but I loved Delyia just like I love my own daughter. To see her go like that was just – awful. But we have to plow through and move on, not right away, but sometime. She wouldn't want us to hang on to her memory and let it cripple us forever." He consoled the teen, tears threatening to spill over his own eyes.
Sam nodded, not saying anything else, and they walked out together. As they approached the hangar, they saw all of the Autobots lined up, ready to lead Delyia's funeral line. Lennox, and Epps jumped in Ironhide, but surprisingly Optimus's door flew open as Sam passed,
"Sam, if you would like to you may ride along with me." His voice rumbled.
Sam nodded to himself, and jumped in Optimus's bay, closing the door behind him. As soon as everyone was ready, the military cars started first, and the Autobots followed close behind. The ride between Sam and Optimus remained still, with Sam mindlessly staring out the passenger window. As they approached the funeral site, Optimus could feel Sam's body tensing and begin to shiver.
"Sam," Optimus spoke for the first time in days, "Let me offer my deepest condolences, I cannot fathom the amount of pain you are experiencing at this moment."
Optimus paused, allowing Sam to pretend he was not crying.
"That being said, if you at some point begin to feel that this is too much for you to handle, you are more than welcome to come back here and wait until it is over." Optimus rumbled, his holoform appearing.
Their eyes met for a moment, silently acknowledging the emotions that ran through both of their hearts. Sam nodded; his eyes still ringed with red, and stepped out of the truck. Optimus felt relieved that Sam wasn't angry enough with him to shut him out completely, he didn't know if he could handle loosing another friend.
"How much longer will the process take, Doctor?" Megatron sneered, his claws running greedily along the femme's servos.
"Not much longer my liege. I am still trying to merge the hollow spark with her energy, it is quite complicated."
"Will it not work?" Megatron asked, a heated stare coming to his optics.
The Doctor shook his head, "No I will be able to finish this. It is just a matter of time."
"Very well, take your time Doctor, I do not want any mistakes. Everything must go according to plan."
"At this rate I should be done with the hard-wiring, and melding within the next hour or so." The Doctor cackled as he continued to work, sparks and streams of light shooting out from beneath his claws.
"Delyia," Sam paused, looking out at the small crowd of people before him: his parents sat in the front row – neither of them could stop crying – holding each others hands, Lennox and the rest of N.E.S.T. filled rows behind them, the Autobots sat in the further row to the back, each of their heads hung low.
Surprisingly enough, not one person seemed to notice that Mikaela had been missing.
Clearing his throat Sam began again,
"Delyia came to live with me and my parents when she was only twelve, her own family was taken from her by another driver. We sought out to make sure she always felt loved, and felt apart of our family. She, from the moment she stepped into our home, became the glue that kept the four of us together. She always planned out birthday celebrations, parties, family events, and loved to spend time with us – which she made us do, constantly. Delyia quickly became the sister I had always wanted, what made it better is as we grew, we grew to be similar individuals. We had the same tastes, the same humor, and – " Sam paused again as his eyes welled with tears, " Delyia filled the name of Witwicky better than I ever could. She was intelligent, kind, caring, generous, a perfect friend, the most dependable person you would ever meet, she spoke her mind, never really filtering anything out so you always knew where you stood with her. She was a divine person, from the inside out. I know right now her spirit is here with us, watching us, coming around and hugging each of us, letting us all know that it's okay that she's gone. It's okay that she's not physically here with us anymore. It's okay that we can't talk to her face to face, or call her on her cell to come over. It's okay. She would say that she's always here with us, spiritually. Her soul is within each of us because she gave all of us her unwavering love, her unwavering friendship, and her ever lasting affection. And as we bury her b-body in the earth today, she would want us to know that this isn't the end of her. She lives through each of us every day, through every kind action we perform, Delyia is there with us. When you feel the wind suddenly pick up, and gently breeze across your cheeks – that's her letting you know that she's still with you. I love you Delyia, I will never forget you for as long as I live, and I cannot wait to be reunited with you when my time comes." Sam wiped a few stray tears away and stepped off the stage.
The funeral home manager then stood up to the stand, looking around at each person, " Is there anyone else who would like to say a few words?"
"Almost done Megatron! I just need to finish melding the spark with this essence and it shall be complete!" The Doctor announced, his hands deep in the chest of a femme Cybertronian body.
Megatron felt his spark hum with delight, "It shall not be long now."
As each person came up and said there peace, one could feel the tension in the room increase. Optimus sat in the back of the small space, mindlessly watching, however his processor was not there. He was lost, wandering around the area where Delyia had perished. It wasn't until someone had nudged him that he realized that he had drifted off. He turned to see Bumblebee looking at him expectantly, as if to say go say something.
Optimus merely shook his head, "I cannot, it is too soon."
No later did those words come out did a wave of electricity shoot through the air, the oxygen becoming alive, electrified.
Everyone looked around in confusion, no one understanding what exactly was going on.
"It is done! It is finished! She is alive! Alive!" The Doctor screamed as the Cybertonian whirred to life.
Her red eyes slowly clicked as she took in her surroundings. First her optics searched the room, then her head began to turn, and finally she lifted one arm slightly, then the other.
"W-Where am I?" Her vocal processor squeaked from it laying dormant for so long.
Her eyes found Megatron's, and she looked at him with shock.
"You."
"Optimus what was that?" Ironhide asked.
Optimus looked to Ratchet, but the Medbot just shrugged.
"I do not know. It was strange however, very strange indeed."
They all stood, returning back to their cars so they could go to the burial site, and leave Delyia in the dirt forever.