A nice mushy chapter for you guys :) The plot's going to move a bit at a time, Frenzy's past should be the chap after this, probably combined with some Mirage conflict :) Thanks for all the great reviews!!! Xoxox
We hadn't been on the road long when Bee's radio crackled to get our attention. "Hot Rod's blowing his engine trying to get back to base before we do," he said with a chuckle. "Should I tell him you're on the brink of death, Bravura, or will we leave him with his sanity?"
I giggled, adrenaline still working its way out of my system. "Ah, don't tease him. We wouldn't want to cry wolf."
"What does it mean to cry wolf?"
Sam stared sullenly out the window, deep in thought, as I told Bee the story and its moral.
"Hot Rod's the kind of guy who'd forgive you every time, if you could make him smile about it. If he's your friend, he's a friend for life," Bee claimed confidently.
"You really think that about him? He said he didn't know you that well."
Bee's voice indicated an invisible smile. "There are a lot of stories about Hot Rod, both in service and on his own. Ask anyone."
"He's like a celebrity?"
"More of a war hero, probably."
"You'd think he'd have an ego problem…"
Bee verbally shook his head. "Nooope. He's kind of a punk, but he's also one of the most selfless guys in service."
I looked at Bee's steering wheel suspiciously. "Why are you playing him up like this?"
There was an uncomfortable silence. "Just telling it like it is."
"No, there's a compliment and then there's brown nosing. Why?"
"Well… I mean, he's great in the field, one of the best for a last minute solo mission, but there haven't been any femmes in our time. He's not much older than me. So, we don't always know how to act around girls. I've had a chance to get to know Mikaela, but… He wants you to like him."
"What do you mean like him?"
Bee was silent.
"What do you mean, Bee?!"
"Just ask him yourself. I've said way too much."
Sam looked at me, smiling blandly. I gave him a fake, toothy smile and whipped my head around to stare out the window, scratching absently at my cast. It itched and kind of hurt and I wanted my pain pills.
The drive couldn't have seemed longer. When I saw the little mesa that formed the entrance to Autobot City, my heart skipped a beat. I didn't bother to ask myself why I was so excited; I already knew.
Bee drove up the long ramp to the top, built long before the Autobots. It was a rarely visited tourist spot. About halfway up, rather than following the wide curve around the mesa, he turned sharply into the rock wall.
I caught my breath and closed my eyes, never having been conscious for my entrance. When I didn't feel an impact and Bee drove along like normal, I slowly opened my lids to see the long tunnel leading deep down into the earth, the site of Autobot City.
It took a little less than five minutes to reach the main gate into the city. Sam and I got out of Bee's interior and pulled the bags from his trunk, watching as he transformed and punched a ridiculously complex code into the keypad beside the door.
It slid open and a blur of red nearly crushed me. Sam made an almost effeminate yelp of surprise, but he was safely out of range of the overanxious Autobot that was Hot Rod.
He scooped me up and stared at me, checking me for fatal injuries. "Bravura…" He murmured. Suddenly he looked at Sam, Bee, and Mirage, all watching with varying measures of discomfort. Mirage seemed to be suffering the most, and Bee was definitely the least. He almost seemed to be smiling.
Hot Rod transferred me to his shoulder and shuffled a little uncomfortably. "Um… Come on in, guys." He backed into the base and moved out of the way, letting the two Autobots and Sam in.
"Looking good, Rod," Mirage said casually. "Got parts to match the leg that got blown off, I see."
"Yeah, I got it fixed a long time ago." I could hear the slightest tension in his voice. We reached a crossroads in the maze of the base and Bumblebee gestured for Mirage to follow him to the left. Mirage, looking right at me, flicked an optic on and off, like a wink, and followed Bee.
As soon as they were out of earshot Hot Rod growled and I looked at him questioningly. "What's wrong?"
"Mirage."
I waited for an elaboration, but he left it at that. It wasn't long before we'd made it back to his… our quarters. He set me down on his slide out bed and sat down on the floor next to it, making us a little more level. He gave me a stern glare.
"I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
"Nothing happened, Hot Rod. Skywarp was a fluke… He won't find me again. You don't have to feel like that."
"He could have killed you!" His voice was pleading. "Don't leave base again without me, please. I'll never forgive myself if I'm not there to protect you."
I smiled, touched by his caring nature. "Ok. I won't leave without you. But you can't follow me everywhere, you know."
"Yes I can."
"If I go overseas?"
"I'm waterproof."
I laughed softly at the image of Hot Rod trying to swim the Pacific, but just as quickly I thought of the rainy night in Skywarp's cockpit, and my expression must have darkened because Hot Rod gently slipped his hand behind my back. I snuggled back against him, and he rested his head on the bed next to me.
"You're thinking about them. The Decepticons."
"Yeah… I don't want to, but… They make up a big chunk of my memory."
His eyes brightened. "That reminds me, when you're ready Ratchet wants to talk to you. He said it was about your memories." I jerked up straight so fast that Hot Rod twitched just a little. He slowly stood up, saying, "I guess you want to go see him now?"
"Yeah, if that's ok."
"Sure is. Hop aboard." He held his palm down for me, and from there I ended up back on his shoulder. We walked to Ratchet's sickbay, not encountering anyone else on the way. Hot Rod tapped a short code into the door and we went in. Ratchet was hunched over a shapeless gray machine, a bright blue glow shooting from one of his fingers. He quickly saw us or sensed us and put out the torch, straightening to look at us.
"Ah, Bravura. I've been hoping to speak with you soon. I haven't been able to find a definite cure for your condition, but I may be able to relieve some of your curiosity. Hot Rod, could we have some privacy?"
Hot Rod hesitated, then turned sharply on his heel and marched out of the sickbay, the door sliding shut behind him.
Ratchet offered me his hand and lifted me up to an empty 'hospital' bed. "What I'm about to tell you is… significant. You may want to sit down."
I obediently sat down on the edge of the metal platform and waited.
"As of now, you don't know your original name, you're parents' names, or your place of birth, correct?"
"Right."
"Would you prefer to remember it naturally, or would you like me to tell you-"
"Tell me, please." I barely let him finish.
He looked me over for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright. You were born in Saint Francis Hospital in Charleston, West Virginia. Your parents' names were Jonathon and Sandra Phillips. Your father was the owner of several successful manufacturing companies and your mother was a doctor."
He trailed off, and I looked up from my lap. "Who am I, Ratchet?"
"You were given the name Camilla Phillips at birth."
I stared at him. "Camilla?"
"Yes. I triple checked your records."
I was dumbfounded. I absolutely detested the name. "It sounds so weak, girly. Like a flower."
"What's in a name?" Ratchet asked philosophically. I didn't know robots read Shakespeare. "You have a place here with us, and you always will. If you don't like it, you might keep your newer title."
I sighed. Skywarp had given me my name, but it was the symbol of my life changing. I had been given the name the same day I'd met Hot Rod.
"I think I'm going to be Bravura from now on. Thank you, Ratchet. It means a lot."
Ratchet nodded, helped me back down and walked me to the door of the sickbay. "If you ever need anything, just let me know. We should have maps and markings on the walls soon."
I smiled and waved to him as I left the sickbay. Hot Rod straightened up from leaning on the wall and looked at me expectantly. "Well?"
"Well… I was born in West Virginia, and my parents were Jonathon and Sandra Phillips."
"What about your name?"
"Camilla."
He picked me up and settled me on his shoulder. "Camilla? Really? Huh."
I patted his shoulder affectionately. "I know. That's why I'm going to stick with Bravura."
He looked at me expressionlessly, and then back down the hall.
"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.
"He gave you that name. It's a pet name."
I drew myself up a little straighter. "No, it's a name that represents why he didn't kill me when he first met me. He thought I had skill. I impressed him, and it's why I'm with you now. It's a symbol of my new independence. I won't change it."
"Whoa, calm down. I didn't mean to put it down, I just thought… Never mind. Do you fell better knowing?"
I shrugged. "It's… nice, I guess. I don't have my memories back, but at least I know who they were."
We walked along the halls for a while, just being with each other, when my stomach rumbled. Hot Rod looked at me and smiled. "Kitchen?"
I leaned against his head. "You got it, big guy."
Edited March 19th, 2010