CHAPTER FOUR
Making Plans – Two Kinds
***
-Ten minutes later-
Bumblebee: Hmm…they haven't come back yet? *Checks watch* Maybe I should go out and look for them… *Goes outside*
-Ten minutes later-
Optimus Prime: *Walks in* Where did everybody go?
***
Everything began to happen at once. The Autobots all seemed to move at once, as if they had been waiting for something like this to happen. Half of them transformed and left the vicinity, whilst the other half rushed inside…to do things. What, I didn't know. The third half (?) stayed outside. Of those there was me, my twins, Bee, Optimus, Bia, Prowl and Jazz.
"Mamma," Shooting Star looked up at me with big, scared, metallic green eyes. "How can Megatron be back?"
I picked her up and hugged her to me. "Don't worry – we won't let him have his way, Ryuusei." I said, not answering her question because I didn't know.
Shooting Star buried her face in my chest. Decepticons really do scare her. That's why she has nightmares about them.
Honey Bee, on the other hand, had a different train of thought. A very different one.
"Mamma?" She tugged on my jeans belt loop. "If Megatron is back…does that mean that my Daddy is back too?"
"No!" Bee said, a little too quickly.
I gave him a Look, and then looked at Honey Bee. "I really don't know, sweetie…maybe…"
It was Bee's turn to give me a Look. I returned it, and we had a staring contest.
The twins just watched us in awe.
Prowl, meanwhile, was talking to Jazz. "I take it that little red-eyed one is the daughter of the offline Decepticon, Starscream?" He asked softly.
Jazz nodded. "Yeah, Bee's the one…"
Prowl just looked at him.
"Oh, yeah," Jazz pointed to Honey Bee. "That's Honey Bee, and her sister," He pointed to the little girl in my arms. "Is Shooting Star."
"Hmm…a bit of an odd naming scheme?" Prowl mused.
Bee suddenly transformed into his robot mode, and picked up Honey Bee, making her shriek with laughter.
"Not really." Bia smiled.
Optimus was looking at me. "Emma…" He said.
I knew from the tone of his voice what he meant. I nodded. "Yes…perhaps we should…preparations…the Decepticons could attack at any given moment and, if I know Megatron like I think I do, he'll be back with a vengeance. We should…" And then I gasped. "No, we can't! It's the 23rd! In seven days…"
It was Bee's turn to gasp. "No! I didn't realise it was this weekend!" I glared at him. "I mean…uh…" He glanced at Optimus. "Help me out, boss-bot…"
Optimus couldn't save him from my angry glare now.
Prowl looked at Bia for an explanation.
"Em and Bumblebee are getting married." She explained simply.
Prowl looked mystified.
*
"I can't believe we're planning a wedding in the wake of such news!" Ratchet grumbled, as he watched us all rush around sorting out things.
I stopped to give him a death glare.
Ratchet actually cringed. "Uh…never mind…" And he continued talking to Arcee about catering, which plans needed to be finalized.
Prowl was watching from the doorway of the large room. "Amazing…he appears to be actually scared of her…"
I watched as Shooting Star made her way across the room, with Kyo in her arms. The black and white cat was nearly as big as she was.
I saw Bia nudge Elita1, and Elita1 got out the camera and took a picture of this.
Shooting Star reached Prowl, and said: "Are you a Cyber-Ninja like Jazz is?"
Prowl glanced down at her. She was looking up at him, tilting her head back so far that she nearly fell over. In a trice, Prowl had transformed into his holoform.
He knelt down on one knee so that they were eye-to-eye, and nodded. "Yes I am, little one."
"Meow." Said Kyo.
Shooting Star said: "This is Kyo. She is Leveret's wife. They have kittens named Sooty, Duchess, Inky and Sonny. Did you know that Leveret and Kyo are part robot, just like Mamma and Aunty Zikya?"
This was one of those times when Shooting Star wasn't going to shut up.
Luckily, Prowl seemed very interested to know about the cats, and about different animal on earth, and Shooting Star was only too happy to tell him.
I turned from this, and was sitting on the couch with Zikya. On our shoulders Duchess and Sooty. On our laps was a big book with wedding dresses in it. We both knew this lady who could whip up a dress in five days flat – and she'd do it for free if she could come to your wedding. So, of course we'd said yes!
Now, we were trying to decide on my dress. Plus Zikya's maid-of-honour dress, Bia's, Arcee's, Elita1's and Andy's bridesmaid dresses, and Shooting Star's and Honey Bee's flower girl dresses.
It was a hard decision.
"Don't you just wish you could get married twice!?" Zikya and I gushed in unison. Then, we both answered ourselves: "Oh, absolutely!"
"NO!!" Bee and Wheeljack yelled at the same time. They were sitting across the other side of the room, both wearing matching expressions that were pained.
Zikya and I exchanged a glance, and then we stood up. The cats jumped off our shoulders.
How could our spark mates be so insensitive?
"We're going," Zikya said.
"Rollerblading." I finished for her, and we marched out of the room together.
"We're coming too!" My twins suddenly cried in unison, and followed us outside.
*
"Are you worried, Zi?" I asked her, as we skated around on the road for awhile, with the twins zipping around us like twin fireflies.
Zikya shook her head, making her dyed hair fly out on either side of her. "No, because I know we can win this thing again – somehow, we'll win."
"That's what we said last time – and now Megatron's back online." I reminded her. In the back of my mind I remembered Honey Bee's question, filled with hope and longing: If Megatron is back…does that mean that my Daddy is back too?
Yes…would Star come back? Not necessarily to me…I mean, I had killed him with my own energy beams.
Still…I longed to see his face again, to hear his voice…it haunted some of my more pleasant dreams.
It was really sad. I was getting married to Bumblebee, and here I was thinking about another man…err, bot.
I had a lot of thinking to do.
***
Emma: Okay, since everyone seems to be going missing lately…I'll be doing the author's notes!
*Claps and cheers*
Emma: Thank you, thank you. *Bows* Now, for the most exciting news of all…I'M GETTING MARRIED!!!! The only problem is…MY GROOM IS ONE OF THE MISSING!!!!
Jazz: *Smirking* Prowl will fill in for the groom.
Prowl: *Growling* I will not.
Emma: T.T
Prowl: *Cringing* I didn't mean it like that… *Glares at Jazz*
Jazz: My work here is done. *Walks off*
Emma: Now I know why Meg didn't want to do the author's notes…hey, where is she anyway?
Optimus Prime: Wherever Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Ratchet, Bumblebee and Sentinel Prime are…
Emma: HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE MISSING!!??
Optimus Prime: Ah, well, technically they are not people…
Meg: (Not here!) I heard that!!
