With some supervision Trion allowed me to buy some jackets and mittens. Snow was falling down like light rain. Trion transformed again from the sports car to his normal self once we were out of the city. I was too cold to scream for Crosshairs or the Hound.
"Why are you keeping me? You could have left me at Moscow." I shivered with the wind that bit my face. I covered my mouth and nose with my gloved hands.
"Bargaining. Why should I waste my energy getting in the middle of the war between Galvatron and Prime when I can sit back and watch the show and when Prime gets the book I can use his human pet as a hostage."
"Why am I suddenly a pet? I am not a pet!" I spat at him. This only made him laugh with amusement.
He walked on a little longer before setting me in the snow. "Time to find the Hall of Records." He mused.
"What do you want with the book?"
"It belonged to me before my brothers stole it. They believed I was misusing it but you can't misuse something you own." He started to look around. Over in the distance, further north, I thought I saw a strange space in the mountains. I started walking over to it.
"Where are you going?" He demanded.
"I'm hoping that space in the mountains is the Hall so that I can crawl in there and stop freezing!"
Trion peered in the distance and scooped me up and we headed over. It took only several minutes, where it would have taken me hours, and we arrived in front of a huge rocky doorway. The door was a sore disappointment. There were no drawings on the stone and nothing to tell its story. The Quill glowed a brighter golden color, it reacted to the door, and it opened for us.
"Thanks for opening the door, lovely," Crosshair's voice and cock of the gun sounded behind us. "But, We'll be taking our lovely girl there and her pen."
Trion turned and in front of the door the Hound dropped from the cliff of the mountain. Had I been on the ground I would have lost my footing. I smiled and stood. "Man I am glad to see you two!" Almost immediately Trion tightened his fingers into a fist around me.
"I don't think so." I wasn't sure what happened. The world tumbled around me and I shut my eyes and covered my head with my hands. Sometimes Trion jerked forward.
"Get the Quill!" I heard Crosshairs order Hound.
"No!" Trion screamed and growled. He didn't want to use his only hostage for a Quill. It was useless, though, and I knew that.
As soon as his gripped loosened I prayed to gods and guardians for wings to fly and I wiggled down past his fingers but before I could get far his grip tightened. I saw then that one of his hands turned into blaster type of gun.
He pointed it directly in my face. "If you shoot so do I!" Trion threatened. Hound had the Quill in his hands. All guns were pointed at him. There was snow above us that moved fast and steady.
"Um…guys!"
"Shush!" Trion growled.
The snow rumbled and moved.
"No, you three will really wanna hear-!"
"I said shut up!" Trion said again.
"Hand her over, Trion." Hound growled.
"Not until I have the Quill and the Covenant."
"Is that human life really all that important as two items?" Crosshairs laughed but I only watched the snow as it gained speed.
"It is for you!"
"Guys!" This time I was screaming and I didn't stop to catch my breath. I pointed, "Avalanche!" Now everyone listened. It occurred to me then that humans weren't the only one who ran from hundreds of pounds of snow.
"Get in the Hall of Records!" Crosshairs announced and took off running inside. Hound and Trion followed shortly thereafter. We barely made it inside when the snow covered the entrance. I panted even though I wasn't the one running. A shot and a scream from Trion later I dropped into Crosshair's palm. He held me as if I were a precious gem.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah…yeah I think so." I stood but I became dizzy so I sat again. It was a little bit warmer inside the Hall of Records. It looked more like an old library with writing all along the walls and books that belonged to the world of Cybertron.
"This is incredible!" I forced out the words. The Hound returned the Quill to me, which reconstructed itself to fit my tiny palm. Crosshairs walked me around while Hound stayed to guard Trion. We came across a ton of alien weapons, which we both helped ourselves to. I took anything that was small enough for me to carry and Crosshairs took only the finest of guns.
We walked back to the entrance and Hound tried to call Prime. "No signal," he concluded.
"That's okay," I looked up. "This thing goes higher. It's almost like there's spires."
"It's built into the mountain," Trion informed in a defeated tone.
"Crosshairs, see if you can get a better signal up there. I'll stay with Hound."
A smile played on his lips. When I asked he answered, "Our little girl is just growing up to be such a great leader." He faked tears and pretended to wipe his eyes. If I could I would have pushed him but I only laughed.
"It's true, you know." Hound finally said when Crosshairs wasn't around. "When we met you, you were nothing more than a cry baby and now you have the gall to order us around. Maybe things are turning around for you yet."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Hound." I climbed to sit on his shoulder. It seemed to be my favorite place. "I'm still…I'm still of no help." I coughed a bit.
"You look redder than a tomato," Hound observed.
I shivered in response.
"Humans can't live in the cold like you and I can," Trion told him. "She'll die if she doesn't get warmth from a fire." He stood and his action was met with hostility. He held up his hands. "There's a fireplace that we can set ablaze for her."
"It's okay, Hound. Just watch him carefully." I ordered as I looked at the Quill. My teeth were chattering by the time they got the fire going. Crosshairs eventually found us and was careful to sit next to me with his back against the fire instead of on me.
"Prime is too far away and the entrance is too covered with snow. The windows don't seem to open either and it looks like there's a blizzard on its way."
"We'll figure it out after the…the um…" Everything became dark and when I woke again I saw the Hound's face. "What?" I asked.
"You passed out," he informed.
"Did I?" The fire was out now. "How long?"
"A few hours," Crosshairs said.
"Get the fire going again, please? I'm cold…" I thought I closed my eyes for a second but when I woke again I saw Trion and Crosshairs battling for freedom. I closed my eyes and opened them again in time to see Prime with human soldiers. I allowed the darkness to surround me, to take me in its claws, and lull me to a deep sleep.
Fire was burning all around me in the Hall of Records. When I turned a corner, however, I was in the house I used to live in. Mother pushed Alisha into my arms. "Go! Your father is pinned under the fire!"
"No!" I grabbed her hand. "Don't leave me again!"
"I will be right behind you." She promised but I knew she wouldn't be. I stepped through the front door but firefighters weren't outside and Alisha had disappeared, replaced by the Covenant of Primus. Prime was fighting against Galvatron and he was losing the battle.
"Prime!" I screamed.
Prime was replaced with my grandfather. My eyes widened. "Do not use the book." He reached over and took it from me. I was lifted in the air and I fell and was caught by Trion. He laughed an evil laugh.
I started punching wildly for him to let go. I didn't hit anything. I only hit the air between us.
"Elsa stop!" I looked up at Trion. "Stop! It's just a dream. Elsa!"
My own scream woke me. I was in a hospital in a military base. A nurse was holding me down. She was panting and sweating. How long had she been fighting me. "I'm sorry," I apologized while she took my temperature and ran some tests.
"It's okay. It happens to everyone. They say even Sam and Kade were plagued with nightmares."
"I wonder what that means," I tried to laugh.
"It means that whoever is unfortunate enough to get involved with the war is cursed."
"Are you telling the poor girl stories?" The voice sounded cocky but it was anything but boyish. It was a voice I'd only heard on TV interviews and Dr. Phil. Sam Witwicky stood by the door in the nicest suit imaginable. He waited till the nurse was finished and exited to approach me. He looked tired and middle aged. His nice hair was turning grey. "So you are the famous jinx girl."
"Jinx?" I furrowed my brow while he laughed.
"Yeah. Your story is pretty sad. Grandfather died of cancer. Both parents died two years after and while you got to be a government recognized adult at 16 your little sister stayed in foster care. You tried a few weeks ago to adopt her but you were denied and in that same day your roommate kicked you out of the apartment. You just got your GED, which is a plus, and you kind of got Bee for free and now you're on the run from Galvatron with a stupid pen. Am I missing anything?"
"Yeah, the part where my boyfriend broke up with me and then kidnapped me and then his car kidnapped me. Oh and Alisha's foster home was destroyed and now I'm never going to be her legal guardian, which is okay because this group is…well they're fun. I wouldn't trade my luck with anyone."
"Not for the world?" Sam asked inquisitively.
"Not for the entire universe."
"Good answer. That's what I like to hear. Bee is in good hands with you, Elsa Fisher."
"I'm glad you approve, Mr. Witwicky."
"Oh, no, just Sam." We shook hands. "Your handshake is firm…that's good. It shows confidence. Elsa, you are now entrusted with the fate of the world. It's a burden and it's a challenging one but I will be walking with you every step of the way."
Bee poked his head in making a depressed sound. Sam ran out. "Hey, hey, Bee! No! You'll destroy the building that way just stay out here." After another sad noise Sam answered, "She needs rest, Bee!"
Slowly I got up and changed from the patient's outfit to a sweater and pants that were laid out for me and I walked outside. Sam tried to get me back in bed but I wouldn't hear it. I kept on walking until I was in the middle of the circle of autobots with Sam.
The snow littered the ground in a thin sheet of white and grey and ice lay just underneath that but the lowest of soldiers shoveled snow out and did everything to get the ice from forming too big. Bee carefully handed me my backpack but the Quill was not inside.
"You should be resting," Prime said after Sam explained I hadn't been discharged.
"I'm fine, Prime. I need some blanks filled. Where's James?"
"Still in the US of A, awaiting a trial." Crosshairs said in an almost stiff, soldier like voice but I suspect it was more playful.
"And Trion?"
"Uh he kinda got away." Bee said.
"What about the Quill? It isn't in my backpack." The Hound and Crosshairs looked disappointed in themselves when I mentioned it.
"Trion has it…" They admitted finally with their heads bowed.
"And the Covenant?"
Sam answered that one, "Galvatron still has it. With the Hall sealed off with snow it's unlikely he'll head there."
"Sam, you knew Megatron, so you know Galvatron better than I do. What would he do next if he can't get his hands on the Quill and he has nobody following him?"
"He would build himself an army. He probably isn't even here anymore." Sam and Prime said almost in unison.
I sighed. "So Trion will be the one we'll worry about."
"Who's Trion?" Sam asked as he shoved his hands into his pocket.
"One of the original thirteen…" I answered.
"One who didn't do his job," Prime added. "Long ago before your earth was even formed Trion was in charge of the Covenant of Primus and it's Quill. When used together you can change the future but some things are only temporary and others you simply cannot change the outcome. Trion used it for his own purposes and so his brothers stole it and, along with the other Thirteen Artifacts, hid it in random worlds that were still new like this one."
Sam still had a puzzled look about him. "My grandfather, Joshua Fisher, found them in an expedition to the Congo. When he realized what the future might hold he entrusted me and my sister with it." Sam nodded so I continued. "We need to stop Trion from getting the book."
"Our original plan was to hide both the book and the Quill away in the Hall of Records and seal it but it seems that it will not work now." Prime sounded disappointed.
"What if we just break it?" Sam said.
"That's what I told him!"
"We may not have a choice." Prime sighed under his breath.
Sam looked at me. "Elsa, it's your call now. I'll lead the troops whenever you're ready."
"You might want to take these," Crosshairs handed me the alien gun I picked out and handed Sam one that closely resembled a sword.
"I'm ready whenever anybody else is!" I told Sam.
The wind kicked up the snow and scattered it. The falling snow had finally stopped leaving only the grey sky that tried to clear away. A muffled shot sound went off followed by my hands jerking upward and I realized it was my gun that went off. I blushed and looked down at the gun in my hands. "How did I do that?"