Chapter 002: Down the Rabbit Hole
Mikaela
It was nearly one in the morning on a Saturday when Mikaela was dragged from sleep by her cell phone's ringing. She reluctantly opened her eyes, but still had to feel around on the night stand because of the complete darkness of her room. She finally grasped the phone and flipped it open. "Hello?" she asked, her normally low voice further deepened by sleep.
"Mikaela, this is Mrs. Judy."
The girl sat completely upright in bed. "Mrs. Judy? What's wrong?"
Sam's mother sobbed once before she answered. "Sam's in the hospital. He was attacked earlier tonight. He's in the Intensive Care Unit."
"Do you need me?" she whispered. Mikaela had become almost apart of the Witwicky family, and she knew that Mrs. Judy and Mr. Ron were in utter agony. Sam was their only child. "I can be at the hospital really quickly."
"No, no. I don't want you out on the streets. The police say Sam was probably mugged. I do not want you out on the streets. I just wanted to call you because I know that you would want to be told." Mrs. Judy explained quickly.
"Alright. Thanks Mrs. Judy. I'll be praying for him." Mikaela replied. "Get some rest Mrs. Judy and call me if anything changes."
"I will dear." she said before hanging up.
Mikaela replaced the phone on her night stand just before she heard the knock on her door. "Sweetie, who was that?"
"Mrs. Judy, Dad. Sam's in the hospital." she answered softly.
Her father walked into the room. "You okay sweetie? I know Sam's your best friend."
"I'm worried. How bad could a mugging be to land him in the Intensive Care Unit?" Cal Banes never liked discussing his past on the streets, but here he felt that she needed to know the truth. "Honey, people have been killed for less than what Sam must carry in cash."
Mikaela felt her eyes watering. "Sam doesn't deserve that. No one deserves that."
Cal sat down beside his daughter and hugged her tight. "I know sweetheart. I know."
Mikaela had gone to visit Sam in the hospital, but she had found herself unable to stay long. Sam was so beat up that it broke her heart. The doctors were sure that he would live, but they were sure that he would never walk again either.
It was all so unfair.
Mikaela was wandering down around the lake in the community park as she brooded on Sam's plight. She didn't notice that she wasn't alone until it was too late. "A pretty young lady like you shouldn't be out alone."
She froze. On the surface the voice sounded friendly and welcoming, but she detected a faint hint of malice underneath the veneer of friendliness. She slowly turned to face the man who had spoken. He was a pleasant-faced young man, but his eyes made her stop.
They were blood red.
"Who are you?" she breathed, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.
"Are you the sweet little girl that that naughty little Sammy gave his grandfather's glasses to?" the man asked, stepping out from the shadow of a tree to let sunlight fall on his pale skin and black hair. His face was marked with black and yellow stripes.
"How do you know Sam?" she cried.
"We need the glasses girl."
Mikaela whirled around at the sound of the newcomer's voice. This one was a large, black man with the same freaky eyes. His face was covered in jagged tattoos that made her think of fangs. "What glasses?" she croaked, fear choking her.
"Don't play dumb." the black man snarled.
Mikaela finally managed to make her legs move. She darted into the trees, sprinting for all she was worth. She heard the curses of the men as they began to give chase, but she merely made herself run faster. She heard them crashing behind her, but Mikaela did not give into the temptation to look back. She had to use every advantage that she had, and one of those was that she knew the terrain. She loved running around in the forest around here.
She could see the trees growing thinner as she was almost out to the other side. She would be coming out at the highway, and that was the perfect place to get help. She didn't slow, and that only made the arm that snaked around her waist hurt more. Her forward momentum caused her to hit the ground with him beside her. She screamed bloody murder, but the voice that growled into her ear did not share the malicious cadence of the other two.
"It's alright little one. I'm a friend." She stared up at his face as he rose to his feet. The only resemblence she could see between this man and the other two were the strange tattoos covering his face. His also reminded her of fangs, but somehow, on his face they didn't seem so terrifying. Before she could speak or move, he scooped her up into his arms and began to run. She heard her two pursuers cry out in anger behind them.
The man paid no heed as he barreled the last few yards to the highway. The door of his black and white car was open, and Mikaela only just managed to recognize the paint job before he shoved her into the front seat. He slid across the hood and swung into the driver's seat. Just as he closed the door, the two men who were chasing them burst from the forest. The man burned rubber, and Mikaela turned to watch them grow smaller as her savior sped away.
She turned back towards the front and then buckled up. She glanced over at the man. "You're a cop."
The man smiled. "Not on this planet."
The woman stared down at the men with a sneer on her face. "How could you fail?! It was just one human girl!"
The black man lifted his head. The silver robot beside him moved the same. "Our ability to move was compromised by the forest. Before we could recover our lost ground, the Autobot Barricade managed to snag her."
The other man and his yellow robot lifted his head. "We were able to get a bead on what alternate mode Barricade-Handler is using. The particular automobile is distinctive."
The woman laughed meanly. "And that is supposed to placate me? You two have failed to obtain your target. You have failed me, Killerbee, Jazz."
Killerbee's eye and optic twitched. "What are your orders now?"
"We will find the girl before Barricade can get her to the rest of the Autobots. From Ratchet's intel, they're all still trying to guard the human instillation in Qatar. We should have at least a day to retrieve her. When we find her, we will get the glasses, and this time, make sure she's dead. The boy is still alive." she snarled.
"Yes my lady." Killerbee said.
"And the Autobot, Lady Arcee?" Jazz inquired.
Her Companion smiled cruelly. "What do we usually do with Autobot traitors? Kill him."
Elita-One
Elita looked over her handy-work with a little bit of pride. The glyphs were perfectly carved and looked just like all the holograms they had on the cube. It was only too bad that this cube was not the real deal. "What do you think will become of us now Elita? The cube is done." Grindcore asked quietly.
"I imagine that we'll find out what Starscream is up to." she answered. "Wiether it will be for our own good or ill, well, that it is the final question."
The two watched Starscream make his way towards them. His Companion had a satisfied smirk on his face while Starscream-Handler looked ready to crow like a laser-beak who had made off with a petro-rabbit. "Finally, the work is complete." he said.
The leader of the Decepticons stopped before the two Autobots. "What do you think of your work Mistress Elita-One?"
Elita didn't let it show how much his mocking use of a formal title irked her. "I believe I did a very good job."
Starscream-Companion's smug expression grew even more mocking. She had stopped baiting him long ago, and he liked this much more cautious Elita. "And you did. I cannot see a difference between this cube and the original."
"Now, since our service to Cybertron is over," she asked, trying hard not to let any sarcasm creep into her voice, "May we leave?"
Warpath and Signal Flare moved closer, hoping beyond hope that it was finally time to leave this place. They wanted to be well away before Starscream's sacreligious act could be played to its end.
"I am afraid that your service is not yet over." Starscream said lightly. "We still need the four of you."
Dreadwing-Companion cleared his throat, and Dreadwing-Handler whirred. "Lord Starscream, we still need one more subject."
Elita-One looked between the two mechs, suddenly on high alert. Starscream nodded. "Grab one of the prisoners from the brig. Better yet, get that annoying pile of slag Crankcase."
Dreadwing nodded. "As you wish."
Starscream turned back to Elita. "Also, gather everyone in Trypticon into the main square. It's time."
"Time for what?" Elita asked.
"Guards, chain the subjects." Starscream ordered.
Several of the drone units that had been guarding the site grabbed Elita-One, Signal Flare, Warpath, and Grindcore. All four struggled against their captors. "What is the meaning of this?" Elita cried.
Starscream grasped her chin in his hand. "The Neo Allspark will need the power of five sparks to bring it to life. Once it is alive, it will begin producing the Energon again."
Elita-Companion was already paler than usual from exhaustion and stress. Starscream watched her skin bleach even more, and he took no pleasure in it. It looked like he was grasping a corpse. Then, her pale cheeks suffused with violent red as the blood rushed back through the veins in her face. "You fool!" she hissed. "This is unnecessary! There are other ways to make fuel! We have not relied on the Allspark for that function in vorns!"
Starscream shook his head. "We need it, not just for fuel Elita. The common people need it. The Allspark is a symbol unlike any other. Without it, they've lost all hope of ever seeing the end of war. They need it."
Elita finally saw beneath it all. Starscream wasn't talking about anyone but himself here. He was the one who needed an Allspark, not just to consolidate power, but also to remind himself why the war began in the first place. Starscream was completely insane - that she would agree with anyone on - but he was not evil, not in the all consuming sense that her fellows might think. In a twisted way, he cared about Cybertron, it was just buried underneath all his vanity and greed. "I understand, but it is not worth killing over. You can find another symbol for them to unite under. By the Pit, they weren't even united under the first Allspark."
He let go of her chin. "Chain her."
Elita didn't say a word as the drones chained first her Handler and then her Companion to the cube. She watched the main square where the cube now sat fill with Cybertronians. Most wore the Decepticon sigil, but almost as many were simple civilians, trying to eke out a living under which ever faction ruled their city-state. Numerous red, orange, blue, and yellow eyes and optics watched the five strapped to the cube, wondering what in the world was going on.
Elita did not listen as Starscream made his speech. She watched the Cybertronians who were milling all around, and she felt a deep well of regret. The war was not over, of that she was sure, and she would no longer be able to protect these people. Her death would ultimately be meaningless, as she was sure deep within herself that this cube would fail. "Please Starscream," she cried as he moved towards the switch, "This will not work! You're insane to even try!"
He shook his head without looking at her, and threw the switch.
The generators hummed a moment before Elita felt thousands of volts of electricity streaming through both of her bodies. She smelled the burning of her own Companion's flesh and felt the sparks flying from her Handler's body. Then, mercifully, the world went black.
"Where am I?" a voice asked.
"I don't know . . . Grindcore. I - I can't feel anything." another voice answered.
"We . . . We must be in the Well of All Sparks." a third masculine voice added.
"I don't think so." a fourth masculine voice stated. "I still have both of me."
Elita finally looked beyond the infinite white that she saw before her. Her Handler's head angled down, and her Companion's angled up until she was looking herself in the eye. "He's right. I still have two halves. All has not become one. We are still alive."
"But how?"
"Where?"
"Why?"
"How long?"
Elita turned to face her four comrades on this strange new quest. "And for what purpose?"
The solid material beneath her feet began to dissolve, and the five Cybertronians fell into another abyss.
Elita-One slammed into the ground with a jarring thud. She groaned, remembering how this was how it all began.
"Damn." she muttered underneath her breath. She felt a precense looming over her, and opened her eyes and onlined her optics cautiously. She looked up into the eyes and optics of a very familiar femme.
"Arcee? Arcee!" she cried, a smile wreathing her Companion's face. She had no idea how she had come to be in the same place as her best friend, but she was happy just the same.
Arcee stared down at Elita with a look of complete shock. Then, her face contorted into a mask of rage. It was then that Elita-One realized something was really, really wrong with her friend.
Arcee's eyes and optics were merciless crimson.
