Author's Notes:
Sweetyamiyugigirl, Happyfish, KisaraCrystal: Sorry this took longer than I thought it would. My muse got a lil stuck.
VeekaIzhanez: Maybe she is, maybe she isn't, maybe she's just emo. Hell, I'm the writer and I'm still not completely sure. (Joking)
Oh By The Way: Due to a huge revamp, forget everything I've ever said about where this story is going. All spoilers before now? Mostly gone. Not saying anymore, and I will not answer questions. You'll just have to read to find out.
Chapter 6: Webs
"How about this one?" Sari chirped.
Prowl looked it over. "It looks serviceable enough."
"So you like the futon?"
"Yes. It should go very well with the rest of my décor."
Sari looked up at the salesperson. "We'll take it." She looked back at Prowl. "I don't know why I never thought that you'd like Oriental style furnishings."
Prowl-Companion's lips quirked in one of his small grins. "I understand that ninja are associated with anything Oriental?"
Sari grinned in return as they walked out of the store. "Really only with the Japanese culture, but yeah, pretty much."
"I did some research on the Japanese. They are fascinating."
Sari had to repress the shiver that raced up her spine. Oh, he said that word very nicely. "I guess. I never really got into studying other cultures."
"No? Then where do your interests lie?" he asked politely as he walked toward his Handler.
"Mostly in robotics like my dad. I just don't tinker with them as much. I mostly like to fix ones that break down." she explained. "I know it sounds strange, but I like making robots work again."
Prowl handed her the extra helmet that he'd obtained once he learned of Detroit's helmet law. "That does not sound weird. It's actually admirable. You would make a good medic."
"You think?" she asked breathlessly.
"Very much so." he answered. His Companion straddled his Handler and he waited for her to get on. Prowl was trained to be observant, so he knew that Sari had a special infatuation with him. He couldn't say that he was displeased. Sari was a beautiful young woman, but the fact remained that she was still very young. That fact that she was human did not help, but Prowl thought that he could take the fact that she was of a different species. His master had once told him of his mate, a young female of the Nebulon species. They'd had no children, but neither had wanted any. The Nebulon woman believed herself tainted because of a past transgression and Yoketron had met her in the midst of the War. Yoketron had not wanted to leave an orphan behind and the Nebulon had not wanted to pass on her taint.
"My only regret was that she was not as long lived as I. She died even before I left my prime. That is my only warning about mating outside of our species young Prowl. You may love her, but can you watch her die?"
Prowl-Companion glanced back as Sari secured the helmet. She smiled at him through her visor. He leaned forward and felt her along his back as she locked her hands around his waist. Prowl-Companion shook his head. He would need to think about this turn of events. Maybe they could court each other, and see what came of it.
The questions would be what if they suited? What would he do then? He did not believe that he had it in him to watch another loved one die, especially one such as Sari. She'd saved his life and shown incredible courage. From what Prowl had seen in the last two weeks, the humans were still very nervous about the Handlers. Sure, they had quite a few fans that weren't afraid of the Handlers, but he'd seen some of Prime's fan girls shying away from Optimus-Handler. Sari had barely blinked at being handled by Bumblebee-Handler. According to him, she'd begged to come aboard after the battle. Prowl thanked the gods for that. Otherwise, he might be floating in the Well of All Sparks.
As he rode through traffic with her behind him, he wondered at the direction of his thoughts. So, he'd court her, but that didn't mean that he would mate her. They had just as much chance of breaking it off in a year or so. Still, this warranted some deep meditation.
Soundwave came online slowly. He ran the systems check and learned that his systems were fine. "I am online Master."
Megatron's face blinked onto the screen in front of the mech. "Good. Your first task to discover what Sari is doing out in the city everyday. She has been leaving my sight far too much lately."
"Of course sir." Soundwave said as he started to exit.
Back up in Sumdac's lab, Megatron smiled contentedly. He would soon know what she was doing and keep better tabs on her. She was a project sixteen years in the making, not long by Cybertronian time true, but still important. She was truly the first of her kind. If either she or her father really knew . . .
Isaac Sumdac had told his daughter that he had rebuilt her, but that was the farthest thing from the truth. Isaac had found the child yes, but Megatron had arranged for her to be left on Isaac's doorstep when he still lived in that old farmhouse outside of the city limits. The child's body was ravaged by the effects of Paradise and alcohol consumed by her pregnant mother. Isaac had brought her to Megatron, just as Megatron had planned, and Megatron told Isaac to let him take care of it.
Megatron-Companion shifted slightly. He had taken some of the undamaged circuitry from his hand and his own Companion DNA to rebuild Sari Sumdac. She was the perfect melding of bodies, a Companion who had her Handler within, a Companion that could possibly transform her own body.
Most importantly, by repairing her genetic damage with his own DNA, she became his daughter in his eyes and optics.
Megatron was a lot of nasty things. He was a ruthless dictator that would do anything to achieve his goals. He had no sympathy for anyone, even himself, and he would be caught dead before he did one truly altruistic act. He did have one passably admirable trait: he protected his own. Sari was not just a possession, she was offspring. That made her far more important than quite a few of his soldiers and he would feel regret it if he ended up destroying her. That was why he had to know what she was doing. Paternal instincts as a rule did not flow strongly in any male Cybertronian's blood and energon, but Megatron had enough to actually sort of care about his offspring.
He had designed her education, her clothing, and everything else about her upbringing because he was aware that she was probably the one chance he would have to have children. He was not fond of young in general, but now that he had one, he found that he rather liked the thought. Young minds that he could meld into whatever form he wished, as if they were molten metal just waiting to be struck into weaponry . . .
Sometimes he'd wondered why he'd never thought of it before.
His one mistake, now that he thought about it, was not revealing himself earlier. He could have warned her to stay away from the Autobots. He could have brought her up to be the perfect Decepticon. But that was the past, and Megatron lived in the now. He needed to find his wayward daughter and bring her under his wing.
Only there would she be safe from Autobot corruption. Only there would his "little quartz doll" be groomed to rule with him. Megatron had little paternal instinct, but he did have the urge to give his child the world on a platter.
Optimus-Companion adjusted the baseball cap and thanked the gods that no one had realized who he was yet. He'd learned the hard way that it was best to try to be incognito when he was exploring the city. Sari had helped him choose a disguise that would hopefully keep his raving fan girls off of his back. It was hard to explore the human culture when you had a whole herd of females following you like dogs chasing a bone.
He glanced back at the street behind him. His Handler was following at a discreet distance, and all the attention was on the fire truck. Optimus-Companion sighed. It was frustrating having to do this, but Sari said that it was possible that in a few weeks the fascination would die down. He hoped she was right.
Optimus-Companion found the entrance to the park and walked a ways into the place. It reminded him of the Tagon Heights of his youth. Optimus was not a city born Autobot like Bumblebee or Prowl. His mother had raised him until he was a young sparkling out on the Heights. As he scented the trees and flowers of the park, he remembered vaguely his days running around the fields before his mother died. It was why the park was one of his favorite places in the city.
Someone ran into him, sending them both to the ground. He slowly rose up and twisted his body to glance at the woman who was still sprawled on his legs. She was a little thing - probably wouldn't touch his chin with the top of her head - with pale skin. In startling contrast her hair was a rich black. Optimus couldn't see her eyes from his vantage, but he was able to note that her skin was translucent enough for him to see the webbing of her veins. "I'm sorry." he said. "I didn't-"
He stopped abruptly when she raised her head. She was beautiful, but it was who she looked like that had him stopping cold. "Elita-1?" he breathed.
The woman stared for a moment before cocking an eyebrow. "Who?"
Optimus-Companion shook his head. She couldn't be Elita-1, especially with that voice. It was husky and without a hint of the Iacon accent that had flavored Elita's speech. Elita's voice had been slightly higher, smoother, and without the hint of a growl that made this woman's voice unique. The face must just be a coincidence. "I'm sorry, you look like someone I used to know." he answered, his voice sad and soft.
The woman cocked a brow. "Oh." She levered herself up and then stood by as Optimus stood. She smiled at him. "Sorry I ran into you, I wasn't watching where I was going."
Optimus-Companion noticed that her eyes were a pretty green. "It's alright."
She knelt and picked up his hat. One of his hands flew to his head when he realized that without it, his blue hair was shining like a beacon in the bright sunlight. She handed it to him. "I didn't want to say anything since I figured you had a good reason to be hiding."
He blushed, and she smiled brighter. "You are cute." she murmured.
"What?" he asked, his blue eyes registering his confusion.
She laughed. The sound was low and vaguely sexual. "I've heard all kinds of conversations from the girls at work about how cute they thought Optimus Prime-Companion was, but I'd never actually seen you up close to have an opinion." she explained.
He tentatively smiled at her. "Oh. Well I, uh, can't help that. But thanks."
She nodded. "So, who was Elita-1? I mean, if it's okay that I ask."
His smile died. "She was someone I used to know."
"Oh, what happened?"
His eyes turned back to the trees that lined the path. His face was expressionless, but the turmoil within was a hurricane. "She died."
The woman grimaced. "Sorry, I can be a bit nosy sometimes. I shouldn't have pushed."
He looked back at her. He shook his head. "No, it is alright. It was a long time ago."
She looked around and then pasted another big smile on her face. "Well, I just realized that I've been prying into your private life without at least introducing myself first. My name is Jezebel. Jezebel Delilah Arnold."
"Greetings, Ms. Arnold. I am Optimus Prime." he said shyly. "Although you must have already guessed."
Jezebel's smile became genuine. "It's hard to miss. Your face has been plastered on the evening news for weeks."
Optimus-Companion colored under her gaze. He realized that for the first time in years he was interested in a member of the opposite sex. Jezebel was beautiful, but he had been around beautiful femmes before. As he studied her face, he worried that he was only interested because of her resemblance to Elita-1. He hoped that wasn't it, because that would be highly insulting to Jezebel.
Jezebel glanced toward the park gates. "I guess that's your Handler out there hunh?"
Optimus-Companion looked over and nodded. "It's going to be heck for me to get out of here with all of those people surrounding me."
Jezebel nodded. "Want some help?"
He turned to look at her, and she winked up at him. She took back his hat and then walked over to a young man who was walking through the park. She spoke to him for a moment, and then Optimus realized that she was trading the young man his hat for Optimus'. She smiled, and walked back over to him. "Put this on."
Optimus-Companion put on the hat while he watched her walk over to the groupies that surrounded his Handler. She said something to them, and then pointed to the young man who was walking away from them. The group, nearly as one, screamed and ran towards the young man. Jezebel ran over to Optimus-Companion and took his arm. "Come on! You've only got a few seconds before they realize he ain't you!"
Optimus-Companion jogged along with her, his stride eating up two of hers. He made it to his Handler before the groupies realized that the boy wasn't him. "Hey," he said, "Do you come to this park often?"
Jezebel smiled brightly. "This is how I get home from work."
"Would you meet me here tomorrow?"
She looked surprised by his request. "Sure. Same time?"
He gave her one of his brightest smiles. "Yeah."
"Then it's a date." she said. Jezebel glanced up and then grimaced. "You better go!"
He smiled and then dived into his cab.
Skywarp had observed the scene in the park with some glee. His Companion had been near enough to hear the conversation that had occurred between the human femme and the Autobot leader. If they met here often, if they created a routine, they could factor it into the plans as they were.
Skywarp nodded to himself, and allowed a moment of satisfaction to come through. He hoped that Starscream would be pleased. "Hello."
Skywarp whirled to find himself facing someone whom he had been told about, but had never thought to meet. "Blackarachnia?"
The spider hissed. "So, you do know me, but I don't know you. I know you can't be Starscream, his colors are different."
Skywarp retreated a bit from the trees. "I am Skywarp, one of Starscream's clones."
"Clones? So the fragger got that thing to work?" she asked, her bored tone hiding her astonishment.
"Ye-yes." Skywarp stammered, sensing the femme's anger. "What do you want with me?"
"Want with you? Nothing. As long as you don't get in my way, I won't hurt you." she hissed.
Skywarp nodded vigorously. "I won't get in your way, I promise."
"Sure you do. If Starscream created you, then you're just as much a liar as he is." she snarled.
He backed up a step. "I promise I won't do anything to get in your way!"
Blackarachnia-Handler transformed, and Skywarp immediately lost his train of thought. He'd always thought that Slipstream was the most beautiful femme he'd ever seen, but he was wrong. The spider robot was simply stunning, as beautiful as she was strong. He knew from the way that Starscream ranted about her that she had dared to defy him on many occasions. "You are beautiful."
Blackarachnia hissed angrily. "Do not mock me!"
Skywarp cringed away. "No! No! I do not mock you, beautiful one! I speak the truth; you are the most beautiful Handler I've ever seen! Where is your Companion so that I may gaze upon her as well?"
His outmoded language definitely meant that he spent a lot of time around Starscream. "Behind you."
He whirled and gasped. "All of you is beautiful."
Blackarachnia-Companion cocked a dark brow. "Is that so?"
"Yes, you are the most beautiful Cybertronian I've ever seen. Even Slipstream pales in comparison." he whispered, completely taken by her beauty and her strength. Both were equally strong aphrodisiacs to his cowardly soul.
"Slipstream?" she prompted. "Who is that?"
"Another clone. Starscream's partner." he answered.
Blackarachnia realized that she had a gold mine here. The dupe really thought that she was beautiful, and he was tripping over himself in her presence. "Well, I always did wonder what Starscream was up to lately." She smiled at him. "I haven't seen him in so long. Come; tell me all about Starscream and his clones."
Said the spider to the fly-boy.