A/N: If you think it wasn't like Ani to reveal stuff like that last chapter, wait a few sentences. I just noticed I forgot the disclaimers. Oh no!
Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro and Michael Bay. My OCs belong to me.
Translation
Here's the link for 'Spin's visor glasses, just picture them autobot blue and a bit skinnier (take out the spaces): busyworkshop . wordpress 2008/05/
Dan choked on the food in his mouth and Henry was staring at me wide-eyed.
"What?" Wents asked. The thing is, I mumbled it just loud enough for Dan and Henry to hear, not the soldiers.
"It says Iacon Clan," I said.
"How would you know that?"
"Way too much free time and a guardian who likes to teach." The soldiers nodded in understanding. "What are the plans for today?"
"Telling our friends that," Dan pointed to the symbols, "new information."
"Which friends?"
"The four outside."
"Dang," I mumbled. Now I had to make sure we weren't driving when I broke the news or I would have more than my ribs to worry about. I finished my food and jumped from the barstool, walking into my room. I didn't have any extra clothes so that was on the agenda. I undressed and inspected my ribs before removing the bandages and taking a shower. The water hit my hair and I felt some strands slide down my back. Reaching behind I grabbed a handful of burnt hair and grumbled. By the time I was done with the shower my hair went from mid shoulder blade to just above my shoulders.
I made myself as dry as possible and redid the bandages. I then dressed and exited my room and caught Henry eyeing my shorter hair.
"Seems like the explosion was close enough to burn off some of my hair." He nodded and pushed off the counter.
"Everyone's ready. Let's go get some clothes." Before I could question him I was out the door and walking down the hall towards the elevator. We exited the building and walked towards the three racecars and the new white Ferrari Sports Car FSX Concept Four-Door Supercar Sedan. Of course it also had machine guns attached, but it also had two drillers.
"I know it's hard but we need to blend in. Lose the guns, drillers, and look a bit more normal please," I said to the four.
"They can do that?" I placed the voice as Cax.
"It's a bit hard to shrink the weapons but yeah, they can do it."
"I meant look normal." Everyone, including me, burst out laughing. All the cars revved their engines in annoyance but we didn't care.
"You better ride with one of us Cax. They might have a grudge."
"Might is an understatement." Leadfoot growled. The cars still complied and turned into more normal type cars. Leadfoot became a red 2011 Chevy Impala but kept the Target symbol and his white 42 number. Roadbuster became a green 2008 Impala with lighter green flames going down the side and his white NASCAR 88 number on the hood. As Dan walked over to his guardian he circled once to inspect the decals.
"Nice choice, 'Buster." The engine only revved in response. Twin Twist stayed mostly the same but did get rid of the guns and drills. I motioned for the three soldiers to ride with him, silently saying Cax could ride with me and 'Spin; turning towards him my jaw dropped along with Dan's. We were both car fanatics. He turned himself into a 1968 dark blue Impala Convertible, his number 46 on the hood in a lighter blue. I threw my hands in the air.
"Yes! I got a classic convertible!" I then ran towards him and jumped in the drivers side, running my hands along the beautiful leather and memorizing every little detail. Cax opened the door and stopped dead.
"How in the world did you become a perfect replica? Did you scan one as a backup?"
"We can use the internet if we find all the right data." 'Spins voice came from the stereo which seemed to be the most modern part.
"Do you still have a racing engine?" I asked as Cax sat down and buckled himself.
"I would never get rid of that." Cax smiled.
"Classic car and speed. Perfect combination." I felt the car rumble in a light chuckle before we took off down the street towards the city. Lennox purposely booked us a hotel on the outskirts of town. If he didn't, we would be riding with the holoforms in Dan, Henry, and I's alts. We wouldn't be the alts, but we would still feel it. Like holoforms almost.
"Why is your hair shorter Ani?" 'Spin's voice snapped me out of my weird daze.
"Too close to the plane when it exploded. Seemed to have burned my hair." The seatbelt tightened ever so slightly but I knew what it meant. "I'm fine 'Spin. I didn't feel anything." The belt didn't loosen though. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the wheel lightly since we in the city. Half an hour and a lot of grumbling over the comm later we were at the supermarket. I caught Cax's worried glance towards me and laughed.
"I'm not like most girls. We're just going in and out for the essentials. I don't know if we're gonna stop at other stores just 'cause though." I exited 'Spin and shut the door meeting up with the others before leading our merry little band towards the entrance.
2 Hours Later
"You think their worrying?"
"Yep."
"Definitely."
"No doubt."
"Zhùkǒu!" "Shut up!"
"Nǐ bì zuǐ!" "You shut up!"
"Wǒ jiànyì nǐ bǎochí ānjìng, chúfēi nǐ xiǎng zài nǐ de tóu shàng yī kē zǐdàn." "I suggest you be quiet unless you want a bullet in your head."
"Xiàng yòu zǒu qiántou. Rúguǒ nǐ zhèyàng zuò... Hǎo, wǒ jiù ràng nǐ néng xiǎngxiàng huì fāshēng shénme." "Go right on ahead. If you do... well, I'll let you imagine what'll happen.
"Ani, can you stop with the Chinese!"
"Well sorry, but I'm a little cranky right now."
"Chénmò!" "Silence!" I grudgingly obliged. At the moment, our group was in the back of a van being driven through the backstreets of Shanghai. As soon as we set off for the food court we were jumped by these three Chinese speaking goons. Luckily I'm fluent in almost every language. How? Access to the internet, devotion, and again, way too much free time.
Our positions weren't the most comfortable. The four soldiers were on the floor gagged and hands tied behind their backs. Baker and Gantole were unconscious so they didn't have the gags in their mouth. I was in between two of the goons on a bench with Dan and Henry facing me. Gantole was actually recently unconscious because he was within reach and spoke. Dan and Henry weren't as easily reached and I think these guys still had some chivalry.
"Prosequitur possunt?" "Are they able to follow us?" Henry asked. They may not have been good with languages, but Latin was easy.
"Yeah. Sciunt nostrum energon subscriptionibus et nolui non inferes illud praeteritum illos posuit semita fabrica super saltem unus ex nobis," "Yeah. They know our energon signatures and I wouldn't put it past them to have put a tracking device on at least one of us," I replied. In the dim light I saw the confused expressions on our captors faces.
"Shénme yǔyán nǐ shuō?" "What language are you three speaking?"
"Lādīng." "Latin."
"Méiyǒu rén néng shuō lādīng yǔ. Zhè shì yīgè sǐ de yǔyán." "No one can speak Latin. It's a dead language."
"Nàme xiǎnrán bùshì, rúguǒ wǒmen zài shuō shénme." "Well apparently not if we're speaking it." The goon who was speaking scoffed.
"Hēi. Wǒ rènwéi wǒmen dédàole yīgè wěiba," "Hey. I think we got a tail," the driver said.
"A tail?" My eyes widened when the person spoke and I whipped my head towards the goon on my right.
"So you can speak English? Why were you speaking Chinese the whole time then?" I exclaimed.
"We didn't want anyone listening but apparently you're fluent in our language."
"You aren't gonna believe this," the driver again spoke.
"Try me."
"Four cars."
"We have a tail of four cars?" As the conversation continued Dan, Henry, and I shared a smirk. What are the chances that four cars are tailing this very van.
"Speed up. Try to shake them." As the driver sped up I was having more trouble trying to stay on the bench. My feet had to stay under the seat or I would have been stepping on Baker. The goon on my left- who I named Goon 1 -grabbed my arm before I flew face first into Cax and anchored me down. Him touching me made me feel like squirming but I didn't know why.
"I can't shake them!" Goon 1 waited for the goon on my right- or Goon 2 -to grab me before grabbing the now conscious Baker by the collar and dragging him to the back of the van. He opened the door and the midday sun streamed in, temporarily blinding the occupants. Everyone knew what was coming. Henry shot his leg out and snuck it under the excess of Baker's jacket. The Sergeant was trying his best to wriggle out of his binds but Goon 1 was ready. I saw the bit of blue and willed 'Spin to catch Baker as I tried in vain to wriggle out of Goon 2's grasp.
Goon 1 growled and stomped on Henry's leg. Henry grunted and pulled it towards him, glaring at the man. He just smirked then did it. Threw Baker.
"Baker!" the three non gagged people yelled. Goon 1 just laughed and went to shut the door. Before he did his eyes widened and his expression turned from smug to surprised. Before he could shut the door Baker came flying through.
"Woah!" He flew through the door and landed on Goon 1. Before he could, move Baker landed a well aimed punch and knocked him out. I felt Goon 2's grip tighten before he kicked the second door open and pushed himself towards the front. I could now clearly see the four cars chasing us. 'Spin was leading followed by 'Buster, Leadfoot, and Twin Twist. When we reached the front Goon 2 turned towards the driver.
"Dànchū!" "Eject them!" My eyes widened and I went to warn the others but 2 was faster. He clamped his hand over my mouth so I couldn't warn my friends. The driver did a massive fishtail that caused Dan, Henry, Baker, Cax, and the unconscious goon to fly out. Gantole was finally awake and was trying to keep himself and Wents from falling out of the van but a massive bump caused them to both fall out. I was wriggling like mad to try and escape but 2's grip was firm. He got up and quickly shut the doors before flinging me to the ground. My head smacked against the bench and I gasped from the pain my ribs caused.
"Nǐ de péngyǒu shì zěnme zhǎodào wǒmen de?!" "How did your friends find us?!"He screamed. I groaned before replying.
"I don't know." My head was pounding too hard for me to switch to Chinese.
"Gēnzōng zhuāngzhì zài nǎlǐ?!" "Where is the tracking device?!"
"I don't have one." The man kicked my stomach making me curl up.
"Gēnzōng zhuāngzhì zài nǎlǐ?! Gàosu wǒ!" "Where is the tracking device?! Tell me!"When I shook my head he kicked me again. I cringed more as he relentlessly beat me, bruising my face and probably giving me a black eye. When he took a breather I felt a slight sting on my face meaning I had a cut. My head was pounding, my face, legs, and stomach pulsed with my heartbeat, and my ribs were sore. Lucky for me he didn't punch or kick my chest. He leaned down near me and clamped a hand on my hip and on the opposite shoulder to make sure I stayed down.
"Yīkuài fèihuà guówài de qíngrén," "Piece of crap alien lover," he whispered in my ear before standing. He opened the doors again then grabbed the bench and nodded to the driver. One more fishtail, and I was out of the van. My head hit the concrete and I rolled a little, all my injuries more pronounced. The tell tale sound of racecar engines neared from behind me as I struggled out of the binds. They were loose enough for me to escape them. I curled into the fetal position and waited for my friends and comrades, breathing as even as possible.
The engines stopped a few feet away and boots hit the cement running. Someone slid to a halt behind me and tried rolling me over. I didn't comply.
"Ani c'mon roll over." My eyes were clamped shut from the pain. I shook my head and continued to try and keep myself in this frame of mind. I could enter my other, and that's not good. For anyone.
"Ani please. We can't help you like this." taking a deep breath I spoke.
"I can't." It was only a whisper, but whoever it was still heard it.
"Why not?"
"Might become other self."
"Other self? No Ani, we won't let you go there if you don't want to." They grabbed my hand and I recognised the tough skin. Dan. He squeezed my hand reassuringly and helped me turn on my back slowly. I uncurled and stretched out but still kept my eyes closed. Another set of hands checked over all my injuries and patched up any bleeding injuries. Then one of the two picked me up and set me in a comfortable leather seat that conformed to my aching body.
No one else entered as the engine started with a more furious tone then normal. I curled up on the seat and drew on the leather for myself and 'Spin. The growl of the engine died down but it didn't leave completely.
"I'm not gonna lie for your sake, because I know you hate that, but I don't want you to be angry."
"Don't want me to be angry! Ani look at yourself!" I eased my eyes open and looked down at my body. my clothes were torn or shredded in places, my hands had scrapes everywhere, and when I looked in the rearview mirror I saw I was developing a shiner and had a broken lip and a small cut above my eye.
"It's not that bad."
"Not that bad! Ani, I'm supposed to guard you and I can't even do that." 'Spin ended on a sad note that spoke of previous failures. I looked straight in the mirror where I knew his hidden optics resided.
"'Spin I'm fine. At least I'll be able to connect better with people who have been kidnapped. And in my whole life this isn't the first time. The first time I was actually sold."
"Who did that?"
"Sentinel. But now he's dead. 'Spin, I need to be able to connect with people. If I can't I'll fail at my title."
"Title?" I sighed and leaned against the seat.
"Activate your holoform please."
"Ani I-"
"- 'Spin I know you activate it every night. Activate it now." 'Spin sighed as electricity started to fill the cabin. The familiar sizzling sound happened before 'Spin's holoform appeared. The holoform probably stood at about 6' and had as tan skin as me. It had dark black hair that reached just past the bottom of its face and he wore visor glasses that were the same color as his visor. He had on a short sleeve dark blue shirt and lighter blue jeans, his NASCAR number on the shirt. He also had dark blue combat boots that looked almost black. His dog tags had his Autobot insignia and his Wrecker insignia. After studying the 'stranger' that came by me every night I looked out the front window and pulled my hair back.
"Ani, why-" He froze when he saw the symbols. "Ani."
"They say Anima Prime of the Iacon Clan."
"Prime? Ani, you're a Prime?" I looked towards him and nodded.
"I didn't want to but Primus finished my training and branded me. He said I would be able to connect with everyone that I need to because of my life. 'Spin, I don't want all this responsibility so soon. I haven't had to decide any deaths, but Primus might give that back to Twin Twist so I can focus on this." I looked down at my knees as my mental state began to break down. "I can't do this," I whispered. Finally my mental barriers broke down and I cried. I cried out all my anger, frustration, sadness, everything.
'Spin moved to my side and grabbed me, setting me in his lap. As I cried into his chest he rocked back and forth and drove. When I finished his shirt was soaked.
"Sorry," I croaked.
"It's fine. I don't care." 'Spin laid his cheek on my head rubbing his own designs on my skin.
"Where are we going?" I noticed we weren't headed towards the hotel.
"I told Prime. He's having Lennox send the plane today so we can leave."
"So you're not gonna be a convertible anymore?" 'Spin chuckled and I smiled.
"Sadly no." Closing my eyes I snuggled deeper into my guardian.
"How'd you find us?" I mumbled into his chest.
"Energon signature." 'Spin moved to position me better on his lap and pressed on the same hip Goon 2 pushed on. I gasped lightly making 'Spin lift my shirt the slightest bit and notice a thumb shaped bruise. Very carefully he set his thumb over the bruise and followed the possible shape; the same position 2's hand was in. He stared at it impassively before checking my other hip. When he found nothing he moved to my shoulder and saw the hand shaped bruise.
Topspin POV:
My Spark flared angrily at the sight of the two bruises. Ways to kill the people who dare touch my Ani flared through my processor. Wait. Did I just call her my Ani? Thinking it over my Spark hummed in content. I smirked lightly before I remembered what they did. The smirk disappeared and I tightened my grip on Ani.
"They didn't..." I looked towards the bruises. Ani shook her head.
"No. Before they opened the door to fling me out the one who beat me leaned down and made sure I didn't move while he whispered in my ear."
"What did he say." It wasn't a question, it was a command.
"Piece of crap alien lover," she whispered. My 'eyes' widened behind the visor. I pressed my forehead to hers and closed my eyes, effectively making the visor a dark blue.
"So it's my fault." Ani jerked under me.
"What? No! 'Spin it's not your fault. I know we have the NEST uniforms but they shouldn't have known that we worked with you guys. It's not your fault a don't you dare say otherwise." I opened my eyes and looked straight at her.
"It's my fault." Ani sat up and looked me straight in the eye.
"Listen to me. It is not. Your. Fault." I sighed and pressed her against my body, never wanting to let go. I set my head into the crook of her neck.
"Why do you sleep with me every night?" I shrugged against her form.
"I've always felt more content around you. My Spark started calling for you so I snuck into your room every night."
"Well, thanks. It was hard to sleep that first night because you weren't there. It was so much easier when you appeared out of nowhere." I smiled as my Spark hummed with contentment and with Ani's proximity. Lifting my head and letting hers rest on my shoulder I watched the road pass by. Before she fell asleep I bent my head and whispered in her ear.
"Mine."
