A/N its good thing this is just fiction ;)
Scrapheap – Arctic Exploration gone wrong.
I was in my room checking over all the stuff I'd need. I was super hyped about today, being able to see the Arctic, all my stuff had just arrived a few days ago obviously they didn't come here even though that would've been hilarious, I went to pick it up. I had my thermal long underwear, a wool shirt, polar fleece jumper, my blue gore-tex waterproofs, windproof gloves, mukluk boots with extra insulation, my wooly hat and a scarf. That's a lot of clothing but it suits the purpose, even if i do end up looking like a marshmallow.
Ratchet said the blizzard should be over when Bulkhead and Bumblebee return so I can go out for at least an hour, it was originally supposed to be Dad and Bulkhead but Bee really does love the snow. I got changed and put some goggles on just in case, i also got these instant coffee packs that you don't need water for even though i hate coffee but I'll use them if i have to. I then went to the main room, bulkhead and bumblebee were back.
"Did you find anything?" i asked Bulkhead.
"Just a big metal pod." He said pointing to the computer screen.
"Weird..." wonder what it contains, i just hope nothing suddenly bursts out of my chest bearing teeth and shrieking because of it. "Did you freeze your afts off out there?" I asked once again.
"Nah, you couldn't even call it a blizzard." He bragged.
"Ellen, are you ready? we will be departing in less then an hour" Dad said.
"Yep." i said straightening out my coat, "do i look cool or what?" I asked Arcee as i spun around gloating.
"Well...you look...prepared." she said lightly tapping her helm.
"Ha, ha, ha i look ridiculous don't i?" i said forcing a stupid smile.
"Well let's just say when we're out there your outfit is going to distract me." she jested.
it was about forty five minutes in and i was acting as if i belonged in an insane asylum, i sat on the sofa swaying back and forth my teeth chattering, my legs shaking and twiddling my fingers, "come on lets go already" i said Anxiously throwing my head back to look at the others.
Ratchet groaned loudly as he looked to Dad, "If your sure you are ready?" he said, i gave about ten nods in seconds as Dad flashed his vision to Ratchet giving him a subtle order as he opened the groundbridge.
"Arcee and i will search for any clue which might explain the origin of our Arctic find" Dad said to Ratchet.
"Only until your sensors sound, remember, once your core temperature drops into the blue zone, system failures aren't likely... there eminent" ratchet stated as both Arcee and Dad's Autobot insignias started flashing blue to demonstrate what will signal them when there temperatures are in the blue zone.
"What, you're not gonna include me." I said jogging downstairs.
"You are there to simply observe." Dad told me.
"That's the only reason?" i said.
"And to spend some much needed time with you." he said without argument.
"Thank, y-ou." i said.
"Though i am concerned with your behavior, Humans who are in need of this much social interaction must need medical attention." he said as a serious jest.
"Well that's you, you used to mollycoddle so you kind of get used to that lifestyle so me and my psychiatrist can blame it all on you." i jested back.
Before he could retaliate there were the sounds of engines as Bulkhead and Bumblebee drove up, with Jack and Raf stepping out of Bumblebee and Miko jumping out of Bulkhead.
"Miss us Doc bot?" Miko said.
Ratchet groaned, "Shouldn't they be in school?"
"I love it when you pretend i don't exist." I said rolling my eyes.
"On Saturday?" Miko said. "We have the whole weekend off! To spend with you."
Ratchet shook his head in disbelief.
"I wasn't expecting the car pool, what gives Arcee?" Jack then asked walking up to his guardian.
"Tag team Jack, it's my turn for exploration duty" Arcee replied.
"too bad, It's a beautiful day for a ride would hate for you to feel guilty for leaving me indoors…" Jack said slyly.
"Arctic exploration duty" Arcee replied.
"Indoors where it's warm" Jack quickly said walking away.
"The Arctic, I've always wanted to see snow" Raf said.
"I would invite you to join Rafael, but the conditions are much too extreme even for we Autobots." Dad replied.
"yeah I'm going but only because I've got the required clothing, plus I'm not going out for long." I explained.
"I, understand" Raf said with a slight bit of sadness in his voice but there would always be next time. As we proceeded towards the groundbridge, Dad suddenly stopped and turned to face Raf once more.
"But, I will bring you back a snowball" he said.
"d'aww! He's adorable!" i said playfully whilst nudging him in the leg.
"That would be awesome!" Raf said excitedly.
Yet again we proceeded towards the groundbridge, and on the other side was the Arctic and boy did the temperature hit me. The blizzard had passed but going from a room temperature to instant freezing damn that's cold, oh well I'll get over it and the place itself was enough to distract me, the plain lay white it made the place look so clean; i stood in awe at the site.
"No time for site seeing I am afraid, let us continue our search." Dad said.
Dad took the lead as i stayed close to him and with Arcee bringing up the rear, at the moment i felt snug when i had gotten used to it but all that could change i suppose. The place was so quiet; all i could hear was the footsteps of Arcee and Dad. I know we're on a job here but i thought i would break the silence, i held back to let Arcee get in front, then i rolled a ball of snow in my hands.
"Hey Arcee." I said as she turned her head i threw the snowball right between her optics. I laughed my ass off to her dumbfounded expression.
"You just signed your own death warrant." She said as a playful threat, she then rolled up a ball of snow 3 times the size of mine. I barrel rolled out of the way dodging it I'm not getting a mouthful of snow.
"One of Optimus Primes finest warriors my ass! That snowball was the size of my head and you still missed me!" i teased.
She grinned evilly as she rolled up another snowball. "This time i've made it as big as your ego." she retaliated, oh come on, that snowballs as big as Dad's head.
"Arcee, Ellen. Remember we are not here for that purpose." Dad said firmly.
Arcee dropped her snowball in and instant and wiped her hands of the snow. i puffed a sigh as we continued walking, i looked around at the view as i watched Arcee look around also, but she was on the task at hand, it was about fifteen minutes in and every so often Dad would glance back to check on me, so i would pull a face at his interruption to our snowball fight. Then as he turned his head back to the front he stopped suddenly.
"Hmm." he said looking straight ahead of him, "look." He said in a slight whisper.
I looked out from behind his foot out to where he was pointing; i couldn't see anything, so i walked out in front of him and cupped my hand over my eyes, still nothing. "i don't see anything." I said.
"I do." Arcee said now i really was getting impatient.
"It's camouflaged so you will have to watch that area with more detail." He told me.
So i watched, not even blinking despite that urge to blink... then i saw movement like a wisp...there was something it was ghost like...and then that slight movement moved quickly to the one side, it was much more clearer to identify it when it had turned its body. It was all white and bushy, with a bushy tail and pointy ears.
"It's an Arctic fox." I said "he's so...bushy." i said biting my lip.
"i guess this planet can be, okay sometimes." Arcee declared.
Dad said nothing just continued to watch the fox, with his battle mask on it was hard to tell if he was smiling or not but his optics glowed brightly and that was all the confirmation i needed. "Let us continue." He simply said.
Well they hadn't found anything yet but i was seeing a lot of wildlife and that was worth it alone, Dad tilted his head up as he declared, "an hour has passed, I will contact Ratchet to open the ground bridge from our current co-ordinates."
"But i haven't even felt the cold yet." I protested "how about as soon as i feel the cold seep in then you can bridge me back?"
Dad just stared at me with a look of doubt, "It wouldn't hurt for her to tag along a little longer, she can't spend most of the day at base, if it was me it would drive me insane." Arcee said in my defence, wow that's a first.
"Very well" he said though he still had doubt in his tone, "Arcee, scout ahead in that direction and I will cover the ground here, we will contact each other as soon as our sensors alert us of our core temperature drop."
"With the temperature being how it is now we could be out here for a while still." Arcee said before leaving.
The weather here isn't as bad as i thought it would be. Yet another hour had passed and there was no change i felt, nothing. Dad at the moment was scaling up a snowy Cliffside and told me to wait below. I started jogging in circles just in case it did start to get colder. And i must have jinxed it because the wind started to pick up a bit and it started to lightly snow, i continued to jog around in circles.
Another hour had past and in that amount of time the wind and snow got worse, both Dad and Arcees sensors both went off as the blizzard started to pick up, Dad then tried to contact Ratchet to bridge us back...no one answered...and i was starting to feel the cold...
I tucked myself in like a penguin and kept my head low as Dad scaled back down the Cliffside. "Ellen, can you walk?" he asked throwing his voice through the loud blizzard.
"Yes." I replied
"Then lets keep moving we have to find shelter, and I will continue to try and contact base." He said.
Arcee had caught up with us quickly as she expected a groundbridge to be there for pick up. "What's wrong?" she asked Dad well she more or less shouted it.
"No one at base is responding, we have to keep moving or the blizzard will cause us to freeze." He said.
"Hopefully it's just some minor fault!" I yelled. i really do, i never realised how fast the cold can affect you.
We continued walking through the harshness of the blizzard Dad had told me to stay very close behind so he could shield some of the wind from me. "Optimus to base do you read?" Dad said still trying to reach someone, but all that came was a lot of static. and It seems the cold effects cybertronians as fast as it does to humans because already Arcee fell to her knees.
Dad went straight to her aid and helped her on her feet as he knelt down beside her, "Are you sure a nice long drive won't help? I hear Miami is beautiful this time of year." She said the cold had started to make her sound very tired.
"The nearest temperate climate is too distant Arcee. Attempting to reach it would expend too much energy and hasten the freezing process." Dad explained. "Until Ratchet sends for us" he then looked at me "and he will, our best option would be to seek shelter and insulate ourselves." He finished.
As Dad stood up again I suddenly felt very tired, even just standing for a few seconds, and i just wanted to go to bed, oh my bed, in the winter i would put two blankets on the bottom and would have at least three pillows, with a flask on my bed side full of mint flavored hot chocolate, it would make me sleep better too...sleep, I'm so tired...I'll just have, a little dream...
"Ellen, wake up." i heard Dads raised voice over the storm as i felt him prod me with a finger.
I forced my eyes open, "hmm, w-what?" i said half asleep as both Mech and Femme looked at me as if we were at a funeral.
the two then looked at each other, "We best find shelter soon." Arcee said in a worried tone, as Arcee mustered me along in the direction we were going she would lightly push me now and then to encourage me to carry on, good thing too because I'm starting to lose sense of direction.
As time pressed on we eventually found shelter it wasn't much but it shielded the wind from us. I was in-between Dad and Arcee, we began to talk of memories past to keep ourselves awake but the cold was too much for me and at a point i started mumbling to myself.
"Why...an ostrich?...of all things...here comes the matrix...how... tall are...you? i...didn't know they stacked shit that high." At least it was a way to see if i was still awake.
Arcee hadn't spoken for awhile either and Dad saw why. "Arcee wake up." he said, again loud enough for her to hear.
Arcee jolted awake and rubbed her optics. "Just resting my eyes." She said.
"The longer we remain alert, the longer we remain alive." Dad stated.
"What do you suggest? Wait, how about a game. Let's play who screwed things up back at base!" Arcee said bitterly.
"It was Mr. Pink i saw him." I rambled.
"Our predicament could be the result of a simple malfunction." Dad said.
"Caused by Bulkhead, let's see no comm link maybe even no power. The big lug probably tripped over a cord. He's never been too graceful, remember when we first arrived on earth and Bulkhead walked into those power lines." She lightly laughed. "Who knew he could dance like that."
"Bulkhead maybe...too large for this world. But his inner strength is without bounds." He then looked at me. "One should not be measured by size alone." He finished.
I looked at him dumbfounded "Que pasa?"
As time marched on i felt sick, Dad and Arcee had no more energy left to keep themselves up...its hard to say this but...i think we're going to, die here... and there was so much more i wanted to do, with Dad with everyone.
"You know the worst part...after battling cons all these years, smack down, shot at, blown up... this is how our lights go out?" Arcee said.
"Arcee...this may not be the finish that we had planned. But if this is indeed the end, if we are to become one with the Allspark." He said as Arcee lay her hand in his.
"It's been an honour serving with you, Optimus Prime." she said.
"D-Dad..." i started weakly as i attempted to sit up, "t-the worst part f-for me is, that when y-you guys are one with the Allspark, I'll be somewhere...else" i choked and managed to form a tear. "i couldn't really c-call it...Heaven, w-without you..." i managed to get out.
"Do not be afraid Ellen. if fate is kind to us, we will be reunited." he said lovingly.
"Maybe if God and Primus are kind to us... they'll merge the two together." Arcee told me in a heart warming tone, i then creaked my hand over to hers as she took hold of my hand knowing my intention, she gripped my hand, i saw this but i couldn't feel it, she then smiled at me reassuringly.
"That... w-would be..." i started before...that white environment started to darken, "Nice...", finally the environment turned like the night and all i could see were the outlines of...snowy banks and cliff sides, i heard...vague muffled voices...
3rd person Pov
Both Optimus and Arcee started calling Ellen's name, she wasn't waking up, Arcee put all her energy into lifting herself up to lightly shake Ellen just to postpone the inevitable, at least let them go out before she did, As she did Optimus lifted his head up as he saw the groundbridge opened up before them, he heaved himself up.
Arcee heaved Ellen up as she held her in one arm and they both pushed themselves to reach the Ground bridge. As they did a running Bulkhead came through it with tiny metal ball like creatures chasing him.
"Down, down!" Bulkhead ordered.
As thousand of them came flying towards Arcee and Optimus. Optimus put himself between Arcee, Ellen and the tiny metal piranhas. As they got close they all suddenly froze. Then they all fell upon Optimus as mere hard metal balls, once the downfall had ceased they both acknowledged Bulkhead who lay on his front in the snow.
"I'd invite you in, but the place is a mess." he said.
Ellen's POV
I can hear voices there soft but i can still hear them, why do i feel so stiff? u-rgh and my head kills among other things. I tried to open my eyes...so sore; i managed to open them a tiny bit like squinting. I could see blurry outlines, i could identify the Autobots by colour, and they were all there, Dad, Ratchet, Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead. I think i could see Jack, Miko and Raf but i could only identify them by voice, they were dull outlines.
"Ellen?" it was pretty muffled.
"Can you hear us?!" i definitely heard that. And i defiantly knew who it was as she pushed her whole face into my view.
"M-miko?" i managed to force out.
"She heard me! I told you I'd get her to wake!" she started triumphantly.
"Miko keep your voice down." Jack said my vision was improving as i looked around though i was blown away by the light, like a newborn kitten. We were in my room, i had an IV hooked up to me, i must have had about 3 blankets on me.
"h-how long have i been like this?" i asked in no particular direction.
"2 weeks." Raf said.
"S-ay w-what!" i managed to croak.
"You got hypothermia like the really bad..." Miko started.
"Okay Miko" i said trying to get her to stop.
"Body shuts down..." she continued.
"Miko, M-Miko." i said franticly.
"Practically nearly dead." She finished quite contently might i add.
"Wow, thanks Miko it nice to know what could have happened." I added sarcastically. Then i looked at Arcee and Dad, "what about you two?" i asked.
"There was no permanent damage to our systems, luckily. And it was also lucky that you survived." Arcee said sounding very solemn.
"There's a question, how was i able to get medical treatment? After all Ratchet isn't an expert in human biology." I asked as Ratchet actually averted his gaze at that point and made himself fall into the background.
"Agent Fowler knew of some good medics within his government, he pulled a few strings and they were over in minutes via the groundbridge that's how serious your condition was." Arcee explained with a slight tinge of guilt in her voice. as well as Arcee I then noticed everyone looked at me with guilt and pity and i hated that.
"Well I'm fine now, so let's move on." i said as i force threw my legs out of bed. I cringed. My body was so sore and stiff. "That...hurt...like hell." but i won't be seen as some frail being.
"Ellen, you still need a few weeks to recover, your bodies still healing." Dad said as everyone moved an inch forward in response to my sudden action.
"I'm fine." I stated coldly. Then i forced myself out of bed, i stood up straight and endured the pain. "Now if you don't mind, i need to get changed, i've wasted two weeks."
"Ellen please." Dad said in a concerned tone.
"I need to get changed." I told him again.
And so all the males left the room, Dad was the last to leave "Arcee." he said to her.
"i know, I'll be here." she replied, the subtle hints between the two made me slightly annoyed, it was basically saying if I'm struggling be sure to lend me your aid.
"I'll be out in a moment you don't have to stay." I told Arcee and Miko.
"We're staying to make sure you're able." Arcee said.
"Did you think i was rambling when i said I'm fine!" i raised my voice. Miko slightly stiffened to my change in tone. "I'll meet you in the main room." I said in my normal speaking voice.
"Despite your stubbornness, if you need me just say so." Arcee said before leaving with Miko who surprisingly didn't say anything more.
I finished changing and tidied myself up, i then started to make my way to the main room, i staggered sometimes and this made me frustrated i hated looking...frail and fragile, because I'm not. i won't be, I'm not going to end up dead, all my life i've had to prove myself to many people and many times have i failed at that, and even now, I'll look out for you but don't look out for me that's just how i am, i don't...i don't want to lose anyone else, that's why i need to make myself better then the hostile threat, maybe not with strength but...with my wits and i want the Decepticons to know that i can hold my own, not for being known as Optimus Primes pet, pet squishy or that human that is seen with the Autobots...i think the only Decepticon to know me by name is Megatron, though naturally he doesn't address me as such, but he knows my name, i know he does.
so i entered the main room as i brushed myself down and took a long breath before i made my way to the couch, casually. i felt eyes and optics on me but i simply shook them off as i jumped into my seat, Raf was pretty shocked by my abrupt entrance so i put on a cheerful face.
"Hey Raf." I said he was playing a video game before my entrance.
"Ellen, y-you're walking already?" he asked.
"Yep, feeling fine." I replied as i stretched my arms behind my head but in doing so i winced involuntary again "y-yep, its all g-good." but i don't think I'll be going to the Arctic for a while though we nearly died from... "what happened here anyway." i said to anyone in the room.
all i got as a reply was, Raf, Jack, Miko, Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Ratchet scattering off in different directions mumbling something about something they all need to be doing right now...at, the same time, o-kay?
leaving Arcee, Dad and me in the room, "don't worry its not you." Arcee said approaching the railings, "believe me, you don't want to know." she added.
"Let me guess." is said putting a finger under my chin, "um, Ratchet went on a killing spree right? i mean those guys were looking pre-tty rough." i jested.
"close enough." Arcee said.
"i still think that you should be resting." Dad then came into the conversation.
"I'm fine, even when i have the flu, with the whole achy joints and what not, you know i can't stay in bed for long..." i then made a 'hmm' sound.
"is something wrong?" he asked.
"we...really could've died today." i said, its not the whole dying thing that surprises me...well it does but the thing that has got me thinking the most is that where we go when we die, okay we have our beliefs and they have theirs, but to think that our souls would be separated after death...i would merely wander. "what would've come after that?" i asked.
"Ellen, you know what i believe?" Arcee said.
"What?"
"The well of Allsparks, Heaven, The pit, Hell, i think in a way no matter what its called, that they are all connected in someway, many believe that there is another life after death, many races believe that, but whatever the outcome i hope that it is universal." she said.
i slightly perked up to that idea, "i have often thought about that, and i hope your not offended but i've often thought about if Cliffjumper has met my parents." i said lightly.
Arcee laughed lightly, "he'll probably open up with a joke." she jested.
i puffed a laugh as i looked over the railing, "Dad?" i then said in a tired tone.
"hmm?"
"Next time can we explore Vegas?" i said leaning my face into the railing.
A/N yeah i was cutting it a bit too fine with the whole surviving a blizzard thing... well lets not try to figure out the logic and stick to the story in general :D and i have to admit while writing this one i got a tiny bit teary...yeah I'm a wuss :')