A/N: A new chapter! Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and alerts! They make me warm and fuzzy inside X3
I've returned from my holiday! It was awesome! I get to go to Universal Studio with my sister and ride Transformer the Ride! It was SO AWESOME! :D It gave me a few ideas for this chap ;P
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[Edit: This chap is already beta-ed! Special thanks to Second daughter of Eve for bata-ing this chapter ^^]
Chapter 50: Xantium
"Who's Silverstreak?"
Sideswipe's tongue clicked in anger as the pictures of Silverstreak came back into his processor. It was hard trying to keep the thoughts of the silver femme away. After the incident at Tyger Pax, the twins never could forgive the Decepticons for off-lining Silverstreak.
A deep sigh escape from Sideswipe's holoform. He ran his fingers through his hair before gripping the steering wheel and opening a private comm. link with his brother.
"Sunny… She knows…"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Wake up, child."
A strong, yet gentle voice said. I groaned loudly as I found out my whole body was aching, probably because from all that swimming lessons with Barricade and Mirage. I haven't felt like this since high school's fitness test. And let me tell you, it didn't end very well for me. The next day after the fitness test, I didn't attend school because my whole body felt numb, like now.
"Get up, human!" Another voice shouted, but this time it was a grumpy one.
I groaned once more as I tried to open my eyes. Slowly and I mean slowly, I open my eyes, only to close them again as the bright light went into my eyes. I flinched and furrowed my eyebrows down, trying to adjust to the bright light. My hand slowly reached up above my eyes. I cracked open an eyelid and slowly sat up. Yeah, I'm being slow today.
My other hand pushed up the weight of my upper body as I sat up straight. I blinked a few times as I hung my head low while rubbing my temples. My left hand felt like something was stinging it. I raised my left hand to my face and there was sand on my palm. Sand? I don't remember sleeping on sands. I know that we went to the waterpark and there were no sands there. Then I slept in Sideswipe's alt-mode and there's no sand in his interior either. The NEST's hanger doesn't have any sand and of course, my room can't be this bright or sandy. I scratched the back of my head, using my right hand. How did I end up in the desert anyway? Unless… Oh no, they didn't—
They left me in the middle of the desert!
"Would you get up already?!" The second grumpy voice demanded.
I gave a low growl at him—it sounded like a 'him'. I mean, I know some people can't be patience, but really? This guy is really pushing me. I heard him the first time, there's no need to tell me twice. I slowly stood up as my knees were shaking. Finally, I stood up after a minute or two. The sunlight was still very bright. I looked around, scanning my surroundings. Where am I?
"Finally! You humans really take your time in waking up!" The grumpy one shouted at me.
I turn to the source of the voice and glared at him. "It's not my fault that I just found out my friends left me in the middle of the desert." I grumbled underneath my breath.
"My dear, your friends did not leave you." The first gentle voice said.
That caught my attention. "They didn't?" I asked at the gentle voice. I rubbed my eyes and blinked a few times before my eyes widened in shock. I finally realize that I was surrounded by six large silhouettes. My mouth hung open a little as I slowly spun around, observing the six silhouettes. "A-Again? W-What do you really want with me?" I stuttered.
"Hah! You acted so tough a minute ago," The grumpy and mean Prime said as he laughed. "Humans are so pathetic." He commented.
I snorted after hearing his mean comment. "That is not nice." I pointed a finger at him. "Not all humans are pathetic you know…"
"So, are you saying that you are one of the pathetic ones?" He asked with a hint of amusement in his tone.
I blinked, realizing he was right. "Well—uh—yes—I mean no!" I answered, my face flushed red from embarrassment. "Can we just get to the point? Why did you summon me here again? And why did you give me those horrible dreams of your war? Is this the way how you punish someone after they interfere with your private conversation?" I questioned as I crossed my arms.
The grumpy one snorted, "Hah, humans like you and Samuel should be grateful about talking to us personally, not complaining," He said, crossing his arms over his chest plates. He kneeled down as I backed away a few steps, keeping my eyes on this Prime. He may be a Prime, but he sounds like trouble to me. "If it makes you feel better, then yes, it is like a punishment from us." He said in his gruff voice.
I glared at him before taking a deep breath, trying to calm down.
"At ease, Brother," The first Prime said, calming the grumpy Prime. I stared up at the first Prime, who spoke first and a lot nicer than the second Prime who insulted me. "Dear child, we did not mean for you to suffer because of those vision we gave you. We want to give you a little head start as you humans say." He said calmly.
I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck tiredly, "Why me? Why can't you just give these visions to Samuel? You trust him more right? I mean, the last time I'm here, I was being yelled at by him." I said as I directed my hand to the grumpy Prime.
The grumpy Prime scoffed.
"Yes, you are right, we do trust Samuel more," A new voice said—the third Prime to be exact. The second one was the grumpy one. I don't know their names and they didn't even bother to introduce themselves. "But he has finished the task we have given him. Now it is your turn." And there was the fourth one who continued for the third one.
I really have to get their names…
"There are plenty of humans on Earth you could use to be a messenger." I said, looking up to the first Prime. "Why do you need me for? I'm nothing but a normal pathetic human who wants to be a doctor." I turned away from him and from all of the Primes, looking down to the sand underneath me.
"We observed your early life since when you were only a mere offspring till now," The fifth Primes said slowly. My eyebrows furrowed down and I bit my bottom lip. "You have had a hard life, human. You did not give up on your family, even though they have hurt you both physically and mentally. Most younglings would give up hope, but you didn't. We respect you for that." The fifth one continues.
"Now tell us, why have not you given up on your family?" The last and sixth Prime asked.
I thought for a moment. Then, something hit me, not literally of course. They're right. The Primes are right. Why didn't I given up hope in my family? I mean, for eighteen years of my life, I haven't experience any love coming from my real family. They forgot about me, they never cared for me, they never pay any attention to my needs, and they never even read me a goodnight story. My birth parents never cares for me, they only cares about Emily. I began to wonder. What was making me forgive them?
A small smile curled up to my lips as I found my answer. "Well… I guess it's because… everybody deserves a second chance. Even the really bad ones deserve another chance to correct themselves…right?" I asked to the Primes.
"What about Megatron? Does he deserve a second chance as well?" The fourth Prime asked.
"Uh…" I began to think again. Does Megatron deserve another chance to correct himself? This is a really tough one. "That really depends on him if he wants to…" I answered unsurely.
"Wise choice of words to answer," The sixth Prime commented.
"Then you also deserve a second chance to prove you are not a pathetic human," The grumpy one said with his gruff voice. I hold the urge to roll my eyes at his grumpy behavior. Instead of rolling my eyes at him, my tongue clicked in respond, making a 'tsk' sound. The grumpy Prime scowled at me. "What was that, Human?" He spat.
I looked up at him, feeling a little brave because the other Primes wouldn't let him hurt me. "I didn't say anything to you," I responded. I turned back to the first Prime and stared at him before placing one hand on my hip. "So… what do you want me to do?" I curiously asked.
"Xantium." The first Prime answered shortly.
I blinked and my expression went from curious to a straight look. "Pardon? What was that? Xantium?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, Xantium," The first Prime repeated himself. "Deliver the word to the Autobots." He finishes the command.
A disbelief look came across my facial expression. I was expecting something else from the Primes. "Xantium? Is that all? You gave me visions—The Fall of Cybertron—for this? Only the word 'Xantium' and nothing else? I was actually expecting more… Like you would ask me to inveterate the Decepticons' base and kidnapped someone or finding a lost piece of the AllSpark or something…" I said, sounding confused and surprised.
"Those can be arranged," The grumpy one responded. I think he just smirked at me.
I gulped. "On second thought… I think I'll take the word 'Xantium' with me." I quickly responded as I cleared my throat nervously. It's not like I'm suggesting them to arrange that mission for me. I just thought they would give me more than just deliver one word. "So… I just tell them Xantium and they will understand?" I asked.
"Yes, now leave child, deliver our message to the Autobots."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Beep…Beep…Beep
My eyes tightened as I heard beeping noises. I covered my ears with my pillow and ignored the beeping noises. That wasn't what I normally do, but I feeling very sore and tired from yesterday. And of course, the dream didn't help me to sleep peacefully. For three weeks, I've been haunted by the Primes and they just wanted to tell me to deliver the word 'Xantium' to the Autobots? I mean, they could've just given the word to me in day one. Looks like the Primes really do like torturing me.
Beep…Beep…Beep
"Alright, alright already… I heard you," I said to my alarm clock. I can't believe I just talked to my alarm clock. I reached my arm out to shut the alarm clock from beeping. I pushed the button on top of the digital clock and slumps back down to my pillow. I think I'm going insane. After a few seconds of silence, there was another beeping sound. I quickly reached my arm out again, smacking the alarm clock. It never did stop beeping. I groaned. "Why won't it turn off?" I mumbled in to my pillow.
"That's because you're smacking me," I heard a robotic voice said.
I quickly pushed myself up with my elbows, turning to the source. I rubbed my eyes to focus on the object. "What the…" I grabbed my black framed glasses and finally, my vision was focused. There was a huge metal bird perching on the edge of my bed. Its red optics glows brightly in my dark room. I almost screamed when I first saw it in front of my face, but cupped my mouth to hold the scream in my throat. "Laserbeak, you scared me…" I sighed in relief.
Laserbeak seemed to smirk at my reaction. "My apology, Jen… But Master wishes to speak with you personally." He said, stretching out his wings and it reached about two meters. Wow… Large wings.
I pushed the blanket off and tidied up my bed. "Why does he want to speak with me this early in the morning?" I asked as I glanced over to the digital clock. It reads three minutes past seven. "Is there something wrong?" I glanced over to the bird.
"No, nothing's wrong with Master," Laserbeak said as he perched on top of the mirror of my dresser. I crouched down to grab my clothes for today and looked straight at Laserbeak's optics. "But he wants to know what's wrong with you." He finished.
I raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong about me?" I repeated his question or more likely message from Soundwave. "Last time I've checked, smacking an alarm clock isn't wrong…" I stared at the metal bird.
"Smacking an alarm clock isn't wrong, but smacking me is wrong," Laserbeak retorted. Touché. He has a point there. I wouldn't have smacked him if he didn't make the same beeping noise like my alarm clock. "Sideswipe and Sunstreaker was acting strange when we arrive back at base. Sideswipe carried you to your quarters and left in a hurry. Usually when you fell in recharge somewhere other than your quarters, the twins will carry you back and stayed there, until one of us drags them out." He continues.
"Uh… What's wrong with that?" I asked.
"That was it, the twins left in a hurry. The twins will never leave in a hurry unless they pranked someone or they're mad." Laserbeak stated. I froze. I remember asking Sideswipe about who's Silverstreak. I think I might have upset them somehow. I turn around to stare at Laserbeak as he eyed me carefully from the top of my mirror. "Do you know what's wrong with those two glitch heads? And Master wants to know why you are acting strange for the pass three Earth weeks." He jumped down to the table of my dresser.
I coughed. "I think it's better if I answer Soundwave's questions in Prowl's office. I'll be there out in fifteen minutes, more or less. I just need to freshen up." I smiled nervously at Laserbeak as I went pass by him to go to the bathroom. I shut the bathroom door and let out a deep sigh. I placed my clothes on the hanger and do my daily bathroom routine. Shower, dry, put my clothes on, brush my teeth, dry my hair, brush my hair, and put my glasses on. I stepped out of the bathroom, looking a bit fresher than fifteen minutes ago. "Alright, Laserbeak, let's go to Prowl's office." I announced and he carefully perched on my shoulder.
Man… for a metal bird who could fly… he's heavy.
We walked towards Prowl's office—well, I was the one walking since Laserbeak perched on my shoulder. Finally, we've reached our destination and Soundwave was waiting for us in front of Prowl's office. He stared down at the two of us and raised his arm.
"Laserbeak: return." Soundwave commands and Laserbeak flew towards Soundwave and transformed. Laserbeak disappeared into Soundwave's bi-pedal mode. Okay, that sounded kind of wrong. Let's just say Laserbeak went back to his Master, okay? I looked up to Soundwave as he kneeled down and let me to climb on his servo. "Question: Why in Prowl's office?" he asked.
"Because he knows." I answered as Soundwave knocked on the double doors. The doors slide to the side, making a small hissing sound as it opened. The silver mech steps inside Prowl's office as Prowl glance up from his paperwork.
"Soundwave. Jen. Is there anything I can do for you two?" Prowl questioned, a stern look on his face plates.
"Answer: Yes, there is." Soundwave placed me down on Prowl's desk. The two Autobots stared down at me. How intimidating. I feel tiny under their stares now. Soundwave must have seen the discomfort I was showing under their stares. He turned his gaze to Prowl's blue optics. "Demand: Explanations." He stated as sternly as Prowl.
"What explanations would that be, Soundwave?" Prowl asked calmly.
"Explain: Misbehaving twins and Jennifer's condition." Soundwave demanded calmly.
Wow, they're both good at the stern and calm battle.
"Misbehaving twins and Jennifer's condition? I am fully aware of the twins' action for yesterday evening, but I am afraid there is nothing wrong with Jennifer's condition. She is perfectly fine as Ratchet says." Prowl stated, throwing me a glance.
"Prowl: Do not lie to me." Soundwave said in a threatening tone. "Soundwave: know something is off with her. Demands: answers." He continued.
Prowl vented heavily before glaring into Soundwave's optics. I gulped. This isn't going to end well. "Like I said Soundwave, nothing is wrong with the youngling. She is perfectly fine. Now if you will excuse me. I have some work to be done. You may leave, Soundwave." The Autobot SIC said, but it was more like an order.
Soundwave stared at Prowl for a few seconds, before replying. "Orders: disobeyed. Not leaving until get answers."
I gave a low whistle.
Prowl gave me a look, waiting for an approval and I just shrugged. I nodded with a small smile, meaning he can tell Soundwave what really is going on in my mind. The Autobot SIC vented heavily before turning to face Soundwave, who was right in front of his face. I sat down, knowing this will be a long explanation. Prowl is one of the Autobots who likes to give a big, long, and –no offence—boring lectures or explanations.
"Soundwave, what you are about to hear are top classified information. I am afraid that your cassettes cannot hear what we are about to discuss." Prowl said.
"Ravage, Laserbeak, Frenzy, Rumble: eject." The four cassettes did as told and jumped out from Soundwave. "Orders: Wait outside and do not listen in on our discussion." He firmly ordered.
"Aw, c'mon boss! 'Ya can't kick us out." Rumble complained.
"R-Rumble! W-We m-must fo-follow or-orders!" Frenzy stuttered, pulling Rumble away as he walked towards the large double door.
"See 'ya later sweetspark." Rumble winked at me. I waved at him along with Ravage, Laserbeak, and Frenzy a goodbye. "'Ya know where to find me! I'll be right outside!" He yelled before the doors closed.
Prowl rolled his optics as Soundwave stared at the door with a straight look. "Now, Soundwave," Prowl started and both Soundwave and I turned towards the SIC. "As I said before, what you are about to hear are top classified information, even Optimus himself does not know about this information. You are not permitted to discuss outside of this room. It is a secret between the three of us. If I ever hear your discuss about this outside, I will deal with your personally. Do I make myself clear?" He flashed Soundwave a glare.
I chuckled nervously. "Prowl… I think Soundwave is one of the best mechs around here who could keep a secret." I scratched the back of my head.
"Very well," Prowl took a deep breath before starting to explain. "Jennifer has been having visions about the Fall of Cybertron ever since we have return from Egypt. The cause of her seeing our war was because she interfere the conversation between the Primes and Samuel. She believes that she has been cursed because of that." He vented deeply as I grinned sheepishly at Soundwave.
"She has also been restless, waking up at the time from midnight to three in the morning. After I receive words from Ironhide, I talked to Jennifer and she told me the story. I have promised her that I would keep this as a secret between us, but now, it looks like you have to keep this as a secret as well, Soundwave." Prowl finishes with a heavy vent, his door-wings dropping.
Huh… looks like I'm wrong. It only took him about five minutes to explain everything to Soundwave. I'm surprised he didn't go wide and long with words, he must have been frustrated lately…
Soundwave was quiet. He seemed to be processing everything at the moment. "Question: Why have you not told Optimus?" he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, "Well… I tend to keep my dream as a secret, but I bumped into Prowl. So I had to tell him my story." I smiled.
"I'm honored." Prowl replied sarcastically and I giggled.
"No offence, Prowl." I smiled.
"None is taken, youngling." He replied calmly. "Soundwave, do you agree to keep this as a secret between the three of us? No other Autobots or humans are permitted to know, not even Optimus or Major Lennox." He raised an optic ridge at Soundwave.
"Conclude: you have my word." Soundwave bowed down his helm and a servo was placed on his chest.
Hmmm… code of honor.
Prowl nodded his helm, "Now, is that all?" he questioned.
I shook my head, no.
"What is wrong, Jennifer?" Prowl asked concernedly.
I took a deep breath before looking up to his blue optics. "Well… you see… It involves the twins. Last night, I've had another dream about Cybertron. I've seen the battle between the twins, Ironhide, and Silverstreak against the Decepticons. I know how it ends for Silverstreak… I'm sorry for the loss… and I've kind of asked Sideswipe 'who's Silverstreak?'… Again, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make the twins upset or anything…" I apologize as I hung my head low.
"Do not apologize, youngling. You did not know." Prowl carefully patted my head with one finger. "Sideswipe and Sunstreaker will get over it. Give them some time." he smiled.
"Thank you…" I whispered.
"Now run along now, Bumblebee comm. linked me that Mikaela and Yvonne are looking for you." Prowl said before Soundwave offered a servo.
I climb up his servo and he brought me down to the floor. Oh sweet, sweet floor.
As I walked towards the doors, I just remembered something. "Oh! Prowl! Before I forget… I've had another dream about the Primes… They told me to give you this word to have a head start or something." I turned around to face Soundwave and Prowl.
"What is the word?" Prowl asked.
"Xantium." I said bluntly, straight to the point. "They only gave me one word to deliver. Do you know what the meaning is?" I questioned.
Prowl stared at me for a moment before nodding his helm.
"I think I do."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
I stood in front of Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's room. The soldiers who passed by were giving me looks because I've been standing here for about ten minutes now and I'm not moving anytime soon. I decided to go and see the twins before going to the rec. room. I was worried that something might have happened to them while they're alone. I have to get in there, but I'm too shy to go inside their room. Even though we've been friends for years and I've never been inside their room before.
"Pedes stuck on the floor?" A gruff voice asked from beside me as a large shadow was seen.
I turned around to see that the gruff voice belongs to Ironhide, my family's guardian. "Yes… Kind of," I said, but I quickly realize he might take me seriously. Remember last time when Breakaway told him I have a headache? I'm not going back to med bay only to get scanned for nothing. "Not literally of course… It's just that I'm nervous." I continued.
"Nervous? Of what?" Ironhide asked as he kneels down.
"Going in there," I pointed to the twins' room. I saw Ironhide raised an optic ridge as he placed a confused look. "You see… Laserbeak said that they both have been acting strange since yesterday and I want to apologize to them." I sighed.
"Why should you apologize if you didn't do something wrong to them?" Ironhide asked as he stared at me.
I made a half-half look. "Well… I might have offended them with a word or two…" my hand began to do the half-half sign.
"The twins? Offended? Hah! That's a first." Ironhide laughed loudly. I stayed quiet. I didn't find it quite funny. After the Weapon Specialist stopped laughing, he looked down to me again. "What word did you use? Frag? Slag? Or Glitch?" he smirked.
"Neither," I stared at him in disbelief. There is no way I'll use the foul words. It would be a bad example for little Annabelle. "I use something else… something that shouldn't have been questioned." I rubbed my thumbs against each other.
"Well? Spit it out already!" Ironhide ordered.
"'Who's Silverstreak?'" I said and Ironhide cringed. There was a cold look on Ironhide's face plates as he turned his helm slightly to the right, avoiding my gaze. I studied his expression. Looks like Silverstreak is also an important Autobot to Ironhide because I'm beginning to think the name Silverstreak is sensitive to everyone! "Sorry… I didn't mean to offend you too, Ironhide." I apologized.
"No… you didn't," Ironhide snapped out from his thoughts. "You just brought back some… memories." He forced a smile.
"Sorry…" I apologize again, rubbing the back of my night.
"Why do you keep apologizing? It's not your fault." Ironhide said gruffly. I stared down at his pede as Ironhide vented heavily, hissing air out from his 'nose'. I felt the warm air. I know, one word comes in your mind, "Ew.".
I inhaled a deep breath. "I don't mean to offend you again, Ironhide… but I want to ask you who exactly is Silverstreak." I examine his expression. A frown appeared on his metal lips as he stared down at the floor. I can also see that he was a bit nervous. I decided to continue, "She seems really important and really sensitive to you guys."
Ironhide seemed to think for a moment before answering. "She is, youngling, she is… Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are close to Silverstreak. The three of them are a great team until one day… tragedy happened to her." I stared up at him. I know how the story continues, but I can't let Ironhide know about 'the dreams'. "She was off-lined by a Decepticon and since then, the twins haven't been acting the same like the used too. They were more… brutal." I flinched.
B-Brutal?
"So from that day on, the twins swore to kill every Decepticon in sight without thinking twice. For many years, they have been hiding the pain inside their Sparks. It was almost like a part of their Spark was broken. I was the only one who notices their change of behavior." Ironhide paused as he glanced up to the twins' room before turning back to face me. "Do NOT tell them this, but… I, myself have always been worried about them. They isolated themselves in their room every time they returned from a mission. They never do stop asking for missions, especially the execution ones." He continues.
I stared at him in disbelief.
"I would do the same too if Chromia was taken away from me." I nodded in response. He's right. I would do the same too if someone important is taken away from me. "Even though they do pranks to try and fill the emptiness in their Sparks, I never did see the same old twins."
So that's why they like pranking the Autobots and other people…
"I kept my optics keen on them because I was afraid they might off-line themselves because of Silverstreak's death." Ironhide said and my eyes widened. What? Kill themselves? "Yes, there are many of cases in Cybertron where mechs and even femmes, off-line themselves because the loss of their sparkmate. Now, I'm not saying that those two glitch-heads are bonded, but Silverstreak was close to them." he explained.
Off-line? They would kill themselves?! Oh gosh… I hope the twins didn't do that!
"You know what? I think they've changed when you came." Ironhide chuckled lightly and I gave him a confused look.
"What do you mean?" I asked curiously. They twins couldn't have change because of me… right?
Ironhide let out another chuckle, "But of course! They've done less pranking that's for sure." He smiled. I shook my head with a small smile and I rolled my eyes at Ironhide's statement. That can't be true. "Most importantly, I think you've filled that hollowness in their Spark." He suddenly continued.
"What I'm telling you is the truth." Ironhide said as he stood to his full height. "Now, I believe you have to enter that room." he waved me off as he headed towards the shooting range.
I pursed my lips in and took a deep breath. Is that all true?
I stared at the doors once more before gathering all of the courage I have. I walked a few steps forward and hesitated to knock on the doors. As I was about the knock, the double door suddenly opened.
"Sideswipe?" I asked aloud.
Sideswipe glanced down and kneeled down to my level. "Jen? What are you doing here? I could've squished you!" he scolded.
I smiled sheepishly. "C-Can I come inside? I want to talk to you about something…" I asked as I looked up to him.
Sideswipe was seemed to be taken back, but he smiled. "Of course! Come in!" He shouted happily. I stepped inside his and Sunstreaker's room. It was huge! There's a twin berth and a few other twin-like furniture. I bet Sunstreaker's half is the one filled with his drawings and Sideswipe's half is full of empty Energon cubes. I carefully stepped into the middle of their room, trying not to step on either of Sideswipe's Energon mess and Sunstreaker's paintings. "Sunny! We have a visitor!" Sideswipe sang happily.
"Don't call me that," Sunstreaker spat at Sideswipe before turning to face me. "Yes, Jen? What is it?" He asked.
I gulped and suddenly I did a ninety degree bow. "I apologize! I didn't mean to offend you two last night. I really didn't! I'm very sorry I brought that topic back up!" I apologize quickly.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker must have blinked a few times because I heard a few clicking noises. I felt them kneeling in front of me. "Oh Jen… You don't need to apologize. It's okay. We got over it." Sideswipe smiled.
"Yeah…" Sunstreaker said, nodding his helm. "And besides… We heard what old Ironaft said about us… instant blackmail!" He smirked.
"And, we have you now." Sideswipe smiled, patting my head with one large finger.
I gave a short laugh before smiling at them. I moved forward and gave them each a quick hug on their pede and I try not to get rolled over since their pedes are actually wheels.
"Thanks guys…" I whispered.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"EW! I stepped on something!" Yvonne cried.
Mikaela snickered. "Who wear heels on a camping trip in the forest anyway?" she mocked as Yvonne glared at her.
"It's not my fault that I don't have anything else than heels and wedges!" Yvonne argued.
"You're rich… BUY ONE!" Mikaela spat bitterly as she turn to face Yvonne.
"I would, IF there IS a mall here, smartass!" Yvonne shouted loudly as a group of bird flew above us.
"Could you girls please stop arguing?" Leo whined as he ducked down a tree branch. "I'm trying to enjoy the beauty of nature here!" He shouted quietly.
Mikaela turned around to smile a little too sweetly at him, walking a few steps closer. "Well… Are you watching the beauty of nature or are you just watching our asses?" She asked.
"Well—uh—both?" Leo answered unsurely.
"Ugh… My goodness… Whose idea was this? And who has my bug spray?!" Samuel shouted loudly as he smacks a mosquito on his arm.
I face-palmed. Do you guys want to know how we got caught up in this mess? Well, I'll tell you in the shortest explanation.
It was after I got out of Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's room. I went to the rec. room to see what Yvonne and Mikaela were calling me for.
"Jen! I'm glad you're here!" Yvonne ran up to me and gave a tight hug.
"What's wrong, Yvonne?" I asked as she released the tight hug. I observed her expressions. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy as trails of black mascara were stained on her cheeks. It looks like she was crying for a while now. She sniffles as she wiped her nose with a handkerchief. From the corner of my eye I saw Mikaela rolling her eyes and Samuel gave a nervous chuckle. "What's going on here? And why's Yvonne crying?" I asked curiously.
"She isn't crying. It's fake." Mikaela scoffed as she glared at Yvonne.
Yvonne suddenly stopped crying and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh boo-hoo! You just had to ruin the fun! I was testing if she knows acting!" she pouted.
"Acting? You were acting?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Yvonne nodded happily, wiping the mascara off her cheeks. "Yup! I'm good right? I fooled you and the other Autobots! Well… TC didn't get fooled though…" She taps her chin a few times before fixing her mascara.
Thundercracker crossed his arms over his chest plates as he rolled his optics. "Maybe it's because I've been your guardian for the past Earth year, Yvonne." He retorted.
Yvonne thought for a moment before shrugging.
"Speaking of year and earth…" Dad smiled as he walked up the stairs. He patted my shoulder as he stood next to me. "We're going camping!" he exclaimed happily.
"Camping?" Samuel, Mikaela, Yvonne, and I repeated confusedly in unison.
Robert suddenly joined in the conversation, grinning at Dad. "Yup! It's like a Lennox and Epps tradition to go camping every year to test our survival skills, nothing but men versus nature…" He placed his arm around Dad's shoulder, giving a man hug. "And you kids need to improve your survival skills." He continued.
"So why do you need us for? It's a Will and Epps thing right?" Samuel asked, glancing back and forth from Dad to me. He placed a questioning look and I just shrug to answer him. "Besides… Nature hates me…" He murmured.
"Ditto," I raised my hand in agreement remembering the mosquito attack when I was ten. Ugh. Those little buzzing blood suckers are nothing, but trouble. I got red spots all over my body the next day. Maybe I should've checked the bug repellent before using it. It could be glucose water. "I'm not much of an outdoor person since… the incident." I shuddered.
"Another incident?" Barricade vented heavily as he ran a servo down his face plates. "Just how many incidents did you have when you're a sparkling?" he asked.
"Oh… You mean that incident…" Samuel nodded his head, thinking back at the memories when we were playing at the playground. "The one where the mosquitoes suddenly attack you after you used that bug repellent?" he asked, leaning forward.
I sighed but nodded at the painful memory. "Yes… that's the one." I rubbed my lower arm as I shuddered once more.
"Maybe it wasn't bug repellent after all… I mean, Emily's the one who gave it to you after all…" Samuel scratched the back of his head, leaning back against the couch. "I think that she gave you glucose water instead of the repellent…" he concluded.
I sighed again, placing my hand on my forehead. "I didn't know that back then, Samuel. I was only ten." I defended.
Dad gave a low whistle. "Uh-huh… Okay then… We promise you two won't get attacked by bugs or anything, besides think of this as a… survival test." He smiled, but more like a mischievous one.
"I don't know…" Samuel began nervously.
"Oh come on, Sam." Mikaela sat on his lap. I looked away, blushing a little at the stunt. I never knew Mikaela is an outdoor person. I always think she was much more like Yvonne, the shopping and girly type—no offence even though I didn't say it aloud. "It'll be fun! Think of all the things we can do when we go camping with Will and Epps." she rested her head on Samuel's chest.
Samuel looked up to the sky and shakes his head. "All I can imagine is those two living under a big leaf for a few days wearing Tarzan boxers while eating nothing but fish and grubs… defiantly a 'no' for me. I ain't eating grubs…" He smiled and Mikaela frowned at him.
"I don't accept 'no' for an answer, Sam." Mikaela pointed a finger at him. "You are going camping with us and that's final!"
Samuel raised both his hands up in surrender. "Okay… as long as you keep the bugs away from me and I refuse to eat grubs and I also refuse to wear drapes." He said.
I snickered a little.
Mikaela turned to me and I quickly stopped snickering. "How about you Jen? Do you want to go camping?" She asked.
"Well…"
"C'mon Jen! Hurry up! You're going to get left behind!" I heard Yvonne shouted from afar, snapping me out of my flashback.
Okay… I guess my story was a bit too long. Sorry about that folks. Let's just say Yvonne continues to annoy me with words that I don't like and I told her if she be quiet, I'll go. So she shut her mouth and now here we are, walking through the forest with backpacks on our back.
I jogged towards the group and began to slowly walk again as I caught up with them.
Leo panted heavily as he sticks his tongue out while sweat went pouring down his face. "How much further?" he asked Dad and Robert.
Robert looked over to the compass and grinned. "Not far!" He cheered happily.
"That's what you said thirty minutes ago…" Samuel sighed as he pushes a large leaf out of his way and releases it, only for it to Leo smack in the face. I made and 'ouch' face as Leo began to squirm and glared at Samuel. "Can we take a break? My legs are killing me!" Samuel sat down on a rock.
"I'm the one who's supposed to be complaining! My legs are killing me!" Yvonne shouted as she also sat down on a rock, after she covered the rock with her large handkerchief.
"You two?!" Leo shouted in disbelief. "I'm the one who's hurt here!" He whined.
"Oh will you all quit acting like whiny babies?" Mikaela crossed her arms as she leaned against a tree. "Jen isn't complaining!" She points to me.
"That's because she's too busy smacking mosquitoes and she's wearing that mask." Leo deadpanned.
That is true. I kept on smacking mosquitoes as I shooed them away. He was also right, I am also wearing a mask—the military mask. Dad lends me the mask so my face wouldn't get 'attacked' by insects.
"Where are the Autobots, anyway?" Yvonne asked. "I wanna ride in TC's alt-mode… it has ACs in there!" She whined.
"Yeah… The thing is, Autobots and forests don't mix," Dad turned to Yvonne, opening his map. "They'll be using the roads and meet us at the campsite." He said.
Leo's mouth hung open. "What?! You let them go through the easy way?! Why do you guys hate me?!" He practically screamed.
"Now… it wouldn't be fun if we take the easy way right?" Robert smirked.
"You two… are insane!" Leo accused as he opened his mouth widely.
"Close your mouth. You don't want any mosquitoes fly in, now do you?" I said as I began to spray the repellent around.
"Would you kids stop arguing? We're almost to the campsite." Dad said closing his map.
"We're not lost now, are we Dad?" I asked, but I'm sure it came out a bit muffled.
"Lost? Psssh! You're underestimating your pops, Jen." Dad grinned as he tucked the map into the pocket of his pants. We walked for another ten minutes and there was a clearing right in front of us. Samuel, Leo, and Yvonne screamed in joy as Mikaela smirked while I just stared at the clearing behind the military mask. I began to smack the air, trying to get rid of the mosquitoes. "There it is! C'mon kids how about we have a little race, huh? You in Epps?" he smirked as he stretched his arms.
Robert also smirked preparing for a sprint run. "I ain't backing down from you, Will." He replied, kneeling down to the ground.
"I'm in," Mikaela also got into position.
Yvonne quickly joined in, not giving up. "I'm gonna show you guys how running in heels are just as good as running with sneakers!" She grinned.
"I'm not losing to a bunch of girls!" Leo also joined in the little race.
Samuel and I sighed in unison. "I'll skip this one out guys… I'm tired." Samuel said sheepishly.
"I'm with him… I kind of lost my touch in sprint running." I agreed on Samuel's words.
"Suit yourself," Dad smiled before turning towards the clearing. "You guys ready? On three… One, two, three!" And they all sprinted away.
Samuel and I were left in the dust. Samuel began to cough as I stood still. Good thing I had this mask on.
"So… Should we go?" Samuel asked, scratching the back of his head.
I nodded my head, "Yeah… We should. I can't wait to take this mask off…" I sighed as the both of us began to walk towards the clearing.
"Hey, can I borrow that spray? The mosquitoes are bugging me. Get it? Bugging me!" Samuel slapped his knee as he laughed loudly.
"Ha ha," I laughed dryly as I tossed the can to Samuel. "Very funny, Samuel, very funny…"
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Who won?" Samuel asked the Autobots as we both arrive at the clearing. The two of us saw Dad, Robert, Leo, Mikaela, and Yvonne were out of breaths and lying on the ground, breathing heavily. I took off my mask and stared at them confusedly. I raised an eyebrow at the Autobots. They were not in alt-mode or in holoform-mode, but in their bi-pedal mode. I don't know about them, but I think they will be seen by some campers!
Ironhide kneeled down. "Major Lennox did," He answered, an amused smirk appeared on his metal lips. "And might I say… for humans, you five sure do run fast, especially you Yvonne. I didn't think running in what you humans call 'heels' are possible." He commented.
Yvonne's lips twitched, "Heh, thanks you big aft." She smirked as she got up, dusting the dirt off her pants.
I scratched the back of my head, Dad and the others are not worried the secret will be found out by some campers? I cleared my throat. "Uh… guys? Not to be rude or anything, but… Why are you guys in your bi-pedal modes and not in your alt-modes or holoforms? It's dangerous out here! You guys might get caught." I whispered.
The Autobots, along with Dad, Robert, Leo, Samuel, Mikaela, and Yvonne laughed at my statement. I blinked a few times. They're not worried or anything?
"Oh Jen, Jen, Jen…" Sideswipe shakes his helm as he wiggled his finger at me. "We're in the wilderness, surrounded by many tall trees. There's no squishies around here except for you all." He said.
Oh… so that's why.
I grinned sheepishly at them all before putting my bag down on the ground. Dad and Robert began to pull out our camping tents and any other things we've packed in Ironhide—he had to transform into his alt-mode first before we can pull anything out. I'm glad that the Autobots gets to be in their bi-pedal mode and not cramped in their alt-modes, but I'm still paranoid that some random camper might jump out of a bush and see the Autobots. So every minute, I would glance back to the bush we came out from before continuing to set up camp.
"Would you stop being paranoid, youngling?" Ratchet asked as he stares down at me. I looked up at him as I crossed my arms over my chest. I'm not that paranoid, right? There was a rustling noise coming from the bush. I glanced back to the bush and saw it was only a squirrel. Okay, maybe I am a bit paranoid. I saw Ratchet roll his optics at me. "You're doing it again! I said stop—LEO! Don't touch that! It could be poison ivy!" he yelled at Leo loudly.
I smirked, "Who's being paranoid now?" I teased, before I stake down one of the corners of the tent. Ratchet scoffed at me before turning his attention to Leo, who might have touched the poison ivy. And he says that too paranoid. There was a bunch of tent poles dropped next to me and I saw Samuel smiling brightly. I raised an eyebrow at him. "What's with the bright smile? I thought you hate camping." I questioned with an amused smirk.
Samuel chuckled before kneeling down, helping me stake down the rest of the tent's corners. "Yeah… Actually, nature's not that bad… Not a single thing attacked me, not that I'm wishing something will attack me, but it's just… you know what? Let's forget everything I say and continue with our work before something bad happens." He smiled and grabbed the nails.
"Hey amigos!" Leo suddenly appeared between us and wrapped his arms around our shoulders. Samuel and I turn to face him before removing his arm off of our shoulders. I placed the large nail on place as Samuel hammered it down to hold the tent's place. "So? What are you guys doing?" He asked.
"Isn't it obvious, Leo? We're setting up the tent." Samuel said, irritated. We were finished with step one now for putting up the tent poles. Samuel grabbed a few and we stepped inside, with our shoes off, of course. "I thought you were being scolded by Ratchet for touching poison ivy." He hid his laugh.
"It wasn't poison ivy… it was just some leaves." Leo replied from the outside.
"Uh-huh," Samuel responded as he and I set up the tent poles. "That's great Leo. Look, why don't you help Mikaela and Yvonne set up their tents? I'm sure they need your help." He suggested.
"Nope, they both didn't need my help." Leo said. "The chicas are having a contest on who's faster at setting up tents." He continued.
"Uh-huh… right," Samuel said, but I'm sure he didn't hear anything what Leo had said. I giggled before placing up the last tent pole. "DONE! Finally done!" he cheered happily.
"Wow! You two did—," Leo started to scream frantically. "RABID RACOONS ON MY FACE! ON MY FACE!" He continued to yell very loudly.
"Oh shit!" Samuel cried loudly as were knocked over. The tent fall down on us and the two of us sighed heavily as we have to start again. "Oh man… we didn't even get to see our work from the outside…" he shakes his head.
I struggled to raise my hand up, but finally did. "Cheer up, Samuel," I said as I patted his shoulder. "At least it's not completely flat… you know, with us in it. Get it?" I joked a little.
"Not funny," Samuel said with a playful glare. "Bee! A little help here?" he shouted.
The tent on top of us was lifted up and we quickly set up the tent poles once more, but this time we were a bit faster because of Bumblebee's help. Quickly, we went outside. We wanted to see our tent before Leo knocks it over again. It was perfect. We both did a high-five as Bumblebee danced a little.
"We did it! We did it! We did it!" A childish voice was heard from his speakers as the yellow Autobot clapped happily.
Samuel and I laughed loudly, "Did you just quote Dora the Explorer?" Samuel asked between laughs.
Bumblebee looked sheepish before nodding his helm. Sideswipe snorted before strolling over towards us carefully. Bumblebee made a gasping noise. "Swiper no swiping ! Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping!" He chants with his servo held in front of him.
I heard laughter coming from the Autobots. Dad and the others also laughed.
"What the frag?" Sunstreaker responded as he crossed his arms over his chest plates. "Where the pit did you quoted that?" He asked grumpily.
"DUDE! You guys are laughing when I'm suffering?! Help me get rid of this stupid raccoon!" Leo screamed as he ran around in circles.
"Leo," Dad began as he stopped Leo from running around. "It's fake, the raccoon is fake. You don't need to wake the entire ecosystem." Dad shoved the raccoon doll to Leo's chest before he continued to set up camp.
Leo stared at the doll and threw it away. "I knew that."
"Yo! Did 'ya see that? He's a wuss!" Mudflap pointed a finger at Leo as he laughed.
"I see it bro! I see it! Did 'ya like the surprise we gave 'ya?" Skids joined in the laughter.
Leo gave an irritated look, "So it was you guys," He grabbed the doll back and threw it to the younger twins. "Yeah… see if you like a raccoon on your face!" he shakes his fist up to them.
I rolled my eyes before jogging over to Dad. "So… What do we do next?" I asked as I kneeled down next to Dad as he placed some rocks in a circle. "What are you doing Dad?" I asked again.
"You've never gone camping before?" Dad asked and I shook my head. "Well, I'm building a nest so when we start the fire the other grounds wouldn't catch on fire except for the one in the circle. Epps and Jazz are gathering some branches now."
"I thought you said Autobots and forest don't mix?" I asked confusedly.
Dad clapped his hands together as he stood up. "I did, but Jazz insisted he would go help Epps with his holoform. I didn't say holoforms and forests don't mix." He smiled and patted my shoulder.
I shake my head. Well, he has a point.
"Hey Jen! Over here!" Yvonne waved her hand up in the air.
I turned around and jogged towards her and Mikaela.
"So? What do you think? Which one it better? Mine? Or hers?" Mikaela smiled at me, but she crossed her arms with a frown and a glare when she mentioned 'hers'.
I glanced at both of the tents. "Well… it looks amazing? You two did a good job?" I complimented as I raised a thumb up.
Yvonne sighed, "You know what? Never mind. At least I know that I won." She puffed her chest out proudly.
"You won?" Mikaela scoffed. "I won! I was the first one to finish!" she argued.
Oh boy… here it goes again…
"Okay!" I clapped my hands together with a nervous laugh. "You know what? I think I'll help Robert and Jazz collect some wood." I jabbed my thumb to the forest and quickly ran off.
I breathed heavily as I stopped. I leaned against a tree as I tried to catch my breath. It feels like my lungs were burning. Sweat was streaming down my face like waterfalls as I closed my eyes tightly. The last time I run that fast was when I was being chased by Decepticons. As my breathing was becoming steady, I groaned loudly. I should work out more. I'm really out of shape.
"Alright Robert, Jazz—," I took a deep breath and turned around. Nobody was behind me. I paled. Ups. I forgot I didn't ask Dad which direction Jazz and Robert took. I face-palmed. First day of camping and I'm already lost. I glanced up, hoping to find Optimus or Ultra Magnus, but sadly, the tree were too tall. Well, there goes my hope of finding camp. "What am I going to do now?" I asked to myself.
There were rustling coming from a bush in front of me. My shoulder went tensed as I tried backing away further into the tree as much as I can. I closed my eyes tightly as the rustling continues. Who knows what could be hiding behind the shrub.
"Jen? Wat are 'ya doin' 'ere?" A gangster voice asked.
I looked up to see the Autobot's TIC. "Jazz? Thank goodness it's you! I thought you were something!" I sighed in relief.
"Wow! There lil' lady! Wat's ta matter?" Jazz questioned and grinned soon after.
"I thought I was lost! I can't find Optimus or Ultra Magnus' helms." I admitted. The two of us turned our attention to the bush to see it shaking again. "What was that?!" I asked frantically as I hid behind Jazz, who raised an eyebrow.
"Chill lil' lady, it's only Epps!" Jazz laughed as an African-American man popped out of the bush.
Robert grinned as he was carrying sticks in his arms. "Hey Jen! You come here to help us?" he asked.
I sighed in relief as I nodded my head, "Yeah, how much more do you need?" I asked as I began to pick up some sticks, scattered on the ground.
"Not much," Robert answered as he gave me some of his sticks. "Here, hold these while I pick up some more." He said and bends down to pick up more sticks.
I tried not to cringe because of how much sticks I'm holding.
"'Ere let me help 'ya with tat." Jazz said as he grabbed half of the sticks in my arms.
"Thanks Jazz." I smiled a little at him.
"No prob, lil' lady." Jazz grinned.
I watched as Robert has a handful of sticks when he turned to us. "Alright! I think we have enough to last for the night. Let's go back to base!" he cheered happily, referring the campsite as base.
He seems to be excited to be out of NEST's base.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
As Jazz, Robert, and I arrived back at 'base camp', things were pretty much normal—if you count giant robots lurking around freely. We stacked the sticks neatly beside the stones as Dad approached us.
"Good work!" Dad slapped Robert's back loudly and a thud was heard clearly.
Robert cringed a little and rubbed his back. "Dude! Don't slap too hard!" Robert complained to Dad as Dad just gave a look at him while his arms were crossed. Robert looked back at Ratchet, who was lecturing the younger twins about something. "If Hatchet hears about something goes 'thud', 'crack', and 'pop'. He'll come after you in a split second!" He hissed out quietly.
Dad nodded, "Ah…The Attack of the Medic. I get 'cha Epps." He clicked his tongue and made a pistol hand sign to Robert.
"Hey Will!" Leo called out loudly, running to Dad quickly. "Where's the bathroom? I have to go, like right now." he whispered, but it didn't sound like a whisper, more likely, he was quietly screaming.
Dad sighs before bending down to grab something from his backpack. "Here," He hands Leo a roll of tissue.
Leo stared at it weirdly before turning to Dad, "What am I supposed to do with this?" He asked and he bit his bottom lip. "Just give me the direction already! I really have to go!" he jogged in place.
"Use it after you're done." Dad said before pointing to the forest. "The toilets everywhere when you're in the forest, not at base camp of course." He shrugged.
Leo hung his mouth wide open, "What? Are you saying that when we have to do our business, we have to go there?" He asked, a disbelief look on his face.
Dad nodded with a smile. "Yup, just don't forget to dig a hole before you go." he shoved a shovel to Leo. "You don't want other people stepping on your… boom-boom now right?" he grinned.
"Boom-boom?" I repeated.
"Yeah… it's… you know…" Robert made a few disgusted expressions.
I nodded my head with wide eyes and a disgusted look. "Oh… I get it now… Ew…" I muttered to myself and shuddered at the thought.
"On second thought… I don't think I have to go now…" Leo gave back the tissue roll and the shovel to Dad. He suddenly cringed and grabbed the items from Dad's hands. "And now I have to!" he yelled as he ran into the forest.
Robert shakes his head. "I swear… something is wrong with that boy." he said while standing up.
I did the same and stared at the direction where Leo sprinted off to. "I normally don't agree on things like this, but I agree with you Robert." I nodded my head slowly.
"So…. Will?" Samuel began as he approached Dad. "What's for dinner?" he asked.
Dad and Robert grinned in unison. They threw us fishing rods and pointed to a bucked full of worms. I paled at the sight of the slimy, long, and pink earthworms. I quickly backed away as Mikaela kneeled down beside the bucket while Yvonne made a disgusted look.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! WAIT! We're not eating those now are we?" Samuel questioned in a frightful tone.
"Why not? It's healthy." Ratchet says.
I almost gagged and Samuel began to make gagging noises. Yvonne almost fainted while Mikaela stared at the three of us with a look on her face as if it was saying what-are-you-guys-so-afraid-of-it's-just-worms.
"You gotta be kidding me…" Samuel gulped.
"You Earthlings eat that?" Breakaway asked and we shook our heads. "Huh… funny on how much it looks like your Earth candies." He commented.
"You mean, Gummy Worms? That's the only worm that I like." Samuel said and I nodded my head in agreement.
Dad laughed, "C'mon Kids. We're not eating worms for dinner. We're catching our dinner out in the river!" he shouted.
"R-River?" I stuttered, the fear of drowning was coming back to me.
"Yeah, river!" Robert said as he lifted up the bucket full of worms. "Don't worry, it's only a feet deep when you're in the river bank." He said and I sighed in relief.
"If it makes you feel better… Optimus, the Stingray twins, and Ironhide will tag along." Dad said as he stared up to Optimus and the Autobots. The Autobot leader nodded his helm before smiling at me, reassuring it was safe.
"I'll-come-with-ya-humans! I-wanna-catch-some-fish-too!" Blurr said quickly.
"Uh… Translation?" Samuel raised his hand up.
Hot Rod grinned, "He said he'll come with you guys. He want to catch some fish too." he translated.
"What about you? Are you coming?" Yvonne asked.
"Me? No way! I would rather stay here with the Hatchet than go to catch slimy organics!" Hot Rod complained.
"What was that?" Ratchet asked growled as he held his wrench in a threatening way.
"Nothing!" Hot Rod replied quickly.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
"Are you crazy?! I'm not touching that!" Yvonne whined as Dad shoved a worm to her face.
"Hey, do you want to eat?" Dad asked as he placed the worm back into the bucket. Yvonne nodded her head. "Then stick this on your hook. Look, Mikaela's not even whining." He said as he turned to Mikaela.
Mikaela was doing pretty well with her fishing. She's better as this than Samuel, Leo, Yvonne, and I combined. In just ten minutes, she caught two fishes and I caught none. I looked over to Mikaela and she waved her hand at me, her stick bends a little as it caught something on the hook. Yet again, Mikaela caught another fish.
"What the matter Yvonne? Cat got your fish?" Mikaela teased.
Yvonne huffed at Mikaela before she mumbled something underneath her breath. She quickly grabbed the worm and hooked it on. She cast her fishing line and smirked at Mikaela. Suddenly, her line was pulled. She quickly reeled in and gave a victory smile as she caught her fish.
"Whose cat got the fish now?" Yvonne drew out her manicured nails at Mikaela, hissing like a cat.
Mikaela rolled her eyes at Yvonne. "Blurr! Stop catching fish like that! You'll scare them away!" she scolded.
Blurr was catching fishes with his bare holoform hands and he's quite good at that. "Don't-worry-'Kayla-I-ain't-scarin'-any-of-yar-fis h!" Blurr said as he quickly zoomed towards the river bank with a fish in hand.
Great, now everyone has their fish except Leo and I.
"Yes! I caught one!" Leo cheered happily as he did a victory dance.
Scratch that, only I was left without a fish.
"Jen! Your caught something!" Dad warns.
"Huh? Oh!" I snapped out of my thoughts and began to reel in the fish I just caught. It was hard. I never thought fishing would be this hard. Mikaela and the others make it look so easy! I can't hold the reel anymore and I just released it, dragging me into the water. "Help! I can't swim!" I shouted, but none of the helped me.
"Jen… stand up, it's only a feet deep." Ironhide vented heavily as I quickly stood up with an embarrassing blush. "I have got to teach you how to float…" He mumbled loudly.
I gave a nervous grin before Blurr pulled me out of the water. "Don't-worry-Jenny! You'll-get-that-hang-of-it-one-day!" He grinned.
I nodded slowly before I grabbed my knitted hat and squeezed the water out. "Thanks Blurr…" I said before sitting on the ground. "You know what? I think I'll skip the fishing part and continue on watching you guys catch our dinner." I suggested, seeing that my fishing rod was floating away.
"Awww don't feel left out because you didn't catch that slimy insect." Sideswipe said, sitting down on a huge rock. Now, Sunstreaker was the only one standing since Optimus, Ironhide, and Blurr were now seated.
"It's not an insect, Sides," Mikaela replied as she cast off her line. "It's a fish. There's a difference between a fish and an insect." She said, not taking her eyes off her line.
Yvonne scoffed. "Oh so now she's being smart," She said, a hint mockery was in her tone. "Everyone knows there's a big difference between fishes and insects, dumbass!"
"Well… Sides don't know!" Mikaela spat.
"Heh, I love it when you humans have a verbal fight." Sunstreaker chuckled before getting nudge at the knee by Sideswipe. "What? I'm just saying what's true. They amuse me." he said.
"Humans are not your personal entertainment, Sunstreaker." Optimus said as he stared at Dad, Robert, Blurr's holoform, Samuel, Leo, Mikaela, and Yvonne, but they all didn't know we were having this talk. "They are sentient beings much like us, who does not like being toyed around." he said wisely at the golden mech.
"Yeah, yeah, I get you, Boss." Sunstreaker waved Optimus off with his servo.
"These insects are bothering me," Ironhide said as a lot of mosquitoes were flying around his face. "Can I terminate them?" He asks, his cannons began to hum as it lids up.
"You can't terminate them using your cannons, Ironhide." I said, sighing as I reached for my bag. I grabbed the bug repellent spray and shake it up and down. "You'll terminate yourself if you do that. Here, use this—wait…you guys don't need these." I said, putting back the can inside my bag.
"Why not?" Ironhide asked in his gruff voice.
"You're Autonomous Robotic Organisms who has Energon for blood. Mosquitoes don't drink your type of blood. They drink human's or animal's blood. The female mosquitoes anyway because they need protein to—," I was cut off by something as it hits my face, followed by a loud 'slap'. I grabbed the thing off my face and took a deep breath before throwing it to the ground. "Nice one Leo, nice one." I commented dryly. "I'm going to smell like fish for a few days…" I mumbled before wiping my face with a wet napkin I brought out from my bag.
I heard the Autobots chuckle, even Optimus finds it funny.
"Okay, I think we've caught enough fish for tonight!" Dad exclaimed happily, bringing back the bucket full of fish they just caught.
I stood up and dusted the dirt off my pants. I grabbed my backpack and swung it over my shoulder. My wet converse shoes made squirting sounds as we walked our way back to the campsite. Everybot and everyone gave me a look before I smiled sheepishly at them. I really want to get out of these wet clothes.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Dinner was rather eventful…
Let's just say Samuel and I was trying to make a fire from rubbing two sticks against each other. At the end, we both didn't make the fire, but Ironhide did and also a huge mess. On the bright side, Ironhide did cook up a pretty good dish with his cannons.
So now, I was trying to go to sleep, but Leo's snoring could be heard all the way to my tent. I groaned as I tried to block away the sound by zipping up the sleeping bag fully. It didn't and I was also running out of air inside. I unzip the sleeping bag as I sat up tiredly. I glanced to my left and right, at least Mikaela and Yvonne are sleeping peacefully. They both didn't seem to be bothered by Leo's snoring. I wonder how Samuel is sleeping when Leo's inside his tent. Dad and Robert shared a tent while the Autobots slept outside.
I decided to go out and get some fresh air, since I won't probably sleep peacefully for tonight. I grabbed my jacket and my other knitted hat. The fire was out so I had to take the flashlight. It was almost pitch black outside, but luckily tonight's a full moon and the stars were twinkling above us. I just love to see this kind of sight. Usually I can't see this in the city because of the light pollution. I guess going camping is a great idea after all.
I saw something moving and I flashed my flashlight to it. "Dad? What are you doing out this late?" I asked as I approached my Dad.
Dad turned around and laughed. "I would the same thing." He said and patted to the seat next to him. "Come here and sit down." he smiled.
I nodded and sat down next to him. "So…"
"Can you make the fire? I'm freezing out here!" Dad shivered as he rubbed his arms.
"Uh… You saw what happened a few hours ago right?" I asked and Dad nodded. He gave me a continuous look, trying to intimidate me under his stare. I began to feel uncomfortable, so I sighed before grabbing a pair of stick. I rubbed it against each other a bit faster than last time. It created some smoke, but it quickly went out because of the sudden gush of wind. "See? It doesn't work… Do you have a lighter?" I asked.
"What's the fun in camping if you already bring a lighter?" Dad asked with a chuckle. He grabbed a pair of rocks as he kneeled down. He struck the rocks on each other, creating sparks of fire into the nest. There was a smolder and Dad began to blow it gently until it created a small fire. Dad added some more sticks into the nest, making the fire bigger. I hung my mouth open, now that's amazing. "What? Never seen a fire made from two rocks before?" Dad asked with an amused grin.
"How did you do that with only using ordinary rocks?" I asked as the fire began to warm me up.
Dad chuckled. "It's not just an ordinary rock, Jen," Dad began as he showed me the two rocks. "It's flint. The type we use to make fire from." He continued.
"How did you get lucky to find a couple of flints without mistaken it for another rock?" I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Heh, I'm the survival expert," Dad puffed his chest out proudly, but I didn't believe him. I gave him a look. "Okay… I might have left it here since last year, but that isn't the point! The point is that we don't need a lighter or matches to create a fire." He smiled at me before looking at the fire.
There was a frustrated look on Dad's face. I turn my stare to the fire. "What's with the frustrated look, Dad? Is something wrong?" I asked concernedly.
Dad looked to me, "Nah… Nothing. There's nothing wrong. Don't worry about it, Jen." He smiled, ruffling my hair a bit. "Do you want to go for a midnight stroll?" he suggested, standing up.
"But you just started the fire." I stated and he quickly puts it out.
"Nah, we can always easily make another one." Dad said smugly before grabbing a flashlight. "C'mon. Let's go!" He shouted quietly as I stood up to follow him.
As soon as we were in the woods, the sounds of the crickets and our footsteps were the only things we could hear. The snoring and rumbling sounds were gone. It was a peaceful night, nothing but peace and quiet. Dad seems to enjoy strolling around the forest at midnight. His expression tells me all. The smile of enjoyment and the glint of peacefulness in his eyes were seen. I couldn't help but smile. Dad always been so frustrated around Director Galloway, I've never seen him this calm before.
Something came up to my mind. "Dad? I wanna ask you something…"
"Hmmm?" Dad hummed. "What is it?"
"Do you love me as your daughter?" I suddenly asked. I know it was sudden, but I've been thinking about it for some time now. Did William and Sarah Lennox adopt me because they pity me? Or was it because they love me? Dad began to choke on his own saliva before turning to me with a disbelief look. I shrugged. "Well… You adopted me when I was eighteen. Do you pity me because of my family?" I asked.
"Oh no Jen! Don't think like that!" Dad answered quickly as he waved his hands. "Of course I love you as a Dad! Even though you're adopted, Sarah and I still love you. No matter what happens, you're my daughter now, a Lennox." He gave a tight hug.
I hugged him back as I buried my face into his shoulder.
"Thanks Dad…" I muffled out.
Dad laughed before patting my back. "Now let's go back and get some sleep before Leo started to snore loudly again." he joked and I laughed.
I saw a star twinkled. "Hey, Dad. Look, a shooting star." I said with a goofy smile.
Dad also stared up to the night sky. "That's not a shooting star," He said as he grabbed my hand and began to drag me away. "It's headed this way! Hit the deck!" he shouted as he pushed me down.
We both lay on the ground as it zoomed above us.
"What the hell was that?" Dad asked as we both stared up to see where the UFO landed. To tell you the truth, I was excited at the same time scared. "Wanna check it out?" he asked.
I nodded my head. "But what about the Autobots? I think they should know about this too." I said as we both began to run towards the crash-site.
Dad reached something in his pockets. "I have this," He said as he waved the walkie-talkie around. "I think it's this way." He said, pointing to a way.
We reached to where the UFO landed. It was huge! Slowly, Dad and I slide down the giant hole as we kept our eyes on the UFO. It looks like a spaceship, a Cybertronian one at that. The weird symbols gave it away.
"My goodness…" I whispered. "This is scary at the same time cool…" I said.
"Yeah," Dad nodded his head. He pressed the walkie-talkie, never did a second he take his eyes off the spaceship. "Optimus, this is Will reporting from a midnight stroll… I think we have ourselves a Cybertronian ship." He said.
"Major Lennox, where are you now?" Optimus' voice could be heard from the other line.
"We're about six miles from base camp. You can't miss this ship… it's huge." Dad said in amazement.
"We?" Optimus questioned.
"Yes, Jen and I." Dad answered him.
"Copy that, we shall be there in ten minutes. I'm sending Sideswipe and Sunstreaker in first. Optimus out." Dad placed the walkie-talkie away from his mouth back into his pocket.
"What do we do now?" I asked.
"We wait and hope that this doesn't belong to a Decepticon." Dad said.
I nodded my head. There were sounds of twisting gears and metal coming from the door of the spaceship. Dad put his arm in front of me as he pushed me back gently. We both stared at the door as it opens. From here, we can see a few Cybertronians inside. We stared up to their eyes and sighed in relief as they were pure electric blue. Dad flashed his flashlight to the new Autobots.
"Hey! You guys are Autobots right?" Dad asked aloud, directing his flashlight to their faces.
The feminine looking one stared at us before nodded her head. "Woh did ouy wonk?" She seemed to ask us a question in Cybertronian.
"Uh… Sorry… we don't speak Cybertronian." Dad apologized, scratching the back of his head.
The taller female looks familiar though…
"Tahw ni Primus' eman si taht?" A much shorter Autobot next to the taller female one, asked, I think she asked.
"I kniht esoht era eht scinagro ohw era gnitibahni siht tenalp." One of the tall mech said.
"Tahw egaugnal era yeht gnikaeps?" The beer-gut one ask or something. I don't know. I don't understand a single thing.
"I eveileb yeht era gnikaeps hsilgne." The small female one said. Their optics dimmed for a moment before lighting back up. The female stared down at Dad and I. "Hi little humans! My designation is Stormbreaker! What's kicking?" she asked.
"She sounded more like Jazz, but minus the b-word." I whispered to Dad.
"Yeah…" Dad responded.
"Well, hi there Stormbreaker. My name's William Lennox, call me Will or Major Lennox. This is my daughter, Jen. It's nice to meet you all." Dad introduced.
"Wow… puny humans are nice." Stormbreaker grinned before patting my head.
"Stormbreaker! Do not treat them like that!" The taller female scolded. She turned to face us. "You don't seem to be afraid of us, why?" She asked.
I'm pretty sure that I've heard her voice from somewhere…
"Well… We're the Autobots' teammates. We fight Decepticons in a team called NEST." Dad explained.
"Is Optimus a part of your team?" The tall one asked with a Scottish accent.
"Yeah, leader of the Autobots." Dad answered again. "Pardon me, but what are your names? We know she's Stormbreaker." He directed his hand to the small Autobot.
"Ah my apologizes!" The other tall one exclaimed. "The name's Topspin! That one over there is Roadbuster and that fat mech over there is Leadfoot! This pretty femme over here is Silverstreak." Topspin gave a grin.
Silverstreak?
"Hello," Silverstreak greeted with a smile.
I stared at the femme. Wow, she's tall…
"Silverstreak?" I heard Sideswipe asked from behind. "Y-You're alive?" He asked.
Silverstreak smiled. "Hi Siders! Where's Streaker? He is around here right?" She asked curiously.
"Silver! Oh I miss you so much!" Sideswipe quickly hugged Silverstreak tightly and spun her around.
Topspin, Leadfoot, Roadbuster, Stormbreaker, and Dad laughed at the reunion.
I smiled, but somehow, my heart feels kind of heavy… It's not a sickening feeling, like a heart-attack is coming. No… it's something else.
What is this feeling?
A/N: Now that was a very long one… :D
Stormbreaker belongs to Litening-strike-prime
TRANSLATION:
Woh did ouy wonk?: How did you know?
Tahw ni Primus' eman si taht?: What in Primus' name is that?
I kniht esoht era eht scinagro ohw era gnitibahni siht tenalp.: I think those are the organics who are inhabiting this planet.
Tahw egaugnal era yeht gnikaeps?: What language are they speaking?
I eveileb yeht era gnikaeps hsilgne: I believe they are speaking English.
(if you look closely, the words are just spelled backwards ^^)
(note that they don't know the words are spelled in backwards, they just know it's not their language because this isn't the original Cybertronian language ^^")
Special thanks to:
Hiniko, movielover123456, Schattenkind105, BreakMe, TFlov, Angel of Randomosity, Cloud-Dancer103, kgoodrich12, and HDC 123
for adding this story to their favs!
Special thanks to:
movielover123456, Schattenkind105, Wolfenden, ninja-of-twilight, BreakMe, TFlov, Angel of Randomosity, KneelingAngel, and HDC 123
for adding this story to their alerts!
Here are the poll result :D
Sides/Jen: 59
Sunny/Jen: 59
Bee/Jen: 18
Jazz/RC: 16
Sam/Mikaela: 13
others: 12
Chris/Jen: 0 (I'm surprised with this one :O you guys really don't like this one, huh? :D )
As always,
Reviews are very appreciated, and please no flames ^^
R&R please ^^