Music: Atlas Plug – Infiltrate This
'You sure we can't leave explosives by the doors?'
'As much as that could aid the others for a raid later, there is little place to hide the incendiary devices.' A clipped reply from Mirage as the once-noble answered Bumblebee. Unfortunately, it was the truth. With the carved tunnel smoothed from wall to floor to ceiling, anything bigger then a penny lying around would be noticed.
Their commanding officer broke in, 'Sorry tah be ah downer but OP said recon only fer now.' Muttering and sighs traveled down the comm link. Crouched farther back in the more natural part of the cave, Jazz smirked at his team's enthusiasm for sabotage. In the secluded shadows of the stalagmites and without light from his visor, the special operations mech was just as invisible as Mirage was by the doors of the Constructicon's lab. Letting a serious frown overtake his features in the dark, Jazz spoke once more.
'ETA on second entrance?'
The yellow and black minibot outside continued to investigate the mountainside with Blaster on his heels. While the tall red and yellow cassette carrier wasn't exactly special ops material, he was very useful for keeping Soundwave out of their communication lines and therefore necessary until they found out if the con officer was here or not. 'Unknown sir. I don't see anything out of the ordinary.'
'Keep looking. They prolly disguised it as somethin' else.'
'If there is one.' Mirage tacked on.
Jazz got an affirmative from Bee before staring down the main tunnel. Five hundred yards was as near as he could get without being detected by scanners and cameras. But the bot wasn't comfortable sending one of his infiltrators alone to the proverbial lion's den without an escape plan or backup. So the Porsche settled for crouching as close as possible and waiting. 'Raj?'
'The keypad has a hundred digit code password.' Studying the lit up keys on a small screen, the invisible blue and white racer answered, 'An identification analyzer as well. I can try to hack in.'
Very dark cobalt servos hovered over the glass keypad but pulled back as Jazz cut in quickly, 'Incoming Scavenger!'
Closer to the outside entrance, the black and white spy pulled all his limbs into a somewhat tight but still easily maneuverable position and pressed himself against a rock column. Low engine rumbles echoed through the pillared space before a pair of dim lights set one end of the tunnel aglow. By the second, the light grew brighter and brighter until yellow headlights rounded the corner and a green excavator drove past towards the more structured and clear part of the chamber. The con kicked up quite a bit of dust in his wake but didn't see the special ops only a few feet to his left.
Silence as Jazz waited. Finally, Mirage sent a quick message, 'I'll follow him through.' Sending an affirmative, the spymaster relaxed in his hunkered down position and prepared to be there awhile.
By the large entrance doors, the Constructicon rolled into the invisible bot's view and transformed. Lasers on top of the door frame shifted and pointed at Scavenger, following his every move. Humming something under his facemask, the heavily armored mech typed in the code and was scanned for identification. A confirmatory green light flashed on the glass panel and the lasers returned to their position facing the tunnel.
Not wasting any time as the access doors parted, the spy silently stalked behind the Decepticon. Scavenger would have been completely unprepared, muttering to himself about useful materials and such. The opportunity was there, but Mirage didn't stab or shoot. Leaving bodies was a big clue that someone was in your base after all. Instead, the Ligier racer entered the room that held the secondary doorway.
One second to see the entrance only several yards away and notice the large amount of space on either side.
Another second to gaze in horror at the two huge barrels pointed at his direction. And the unaware con of course, but that was unimportant to the Autobot. If memory served right, pulse cannons tended to have heat detectors added onto their target systems. Unnecessary for a weapon meant to punch holes through fortress walls, but irrevocably nasty for finding targets hidden in city ruins. Or guarding entrances.
The third second passed with the gigantic cannons nearly twice his size starting up. Charge crackled along the cylinders as the oversized guns whined and shifted to get a better fix on him. Mirage made a snap decision and lunged backward. He barely made it out as the first entrance way slammed shut. It nearly severed his left foot. With a graceful catch, the spy landed in a crouch and stood to brush
himself off. The comm link crackled to life.
'Raj, status?'
Giving a snarl of disgust to the door, the bot answered with a thick noble accent to show just how frustrated he was, 'Out. They have pulse cannons on the other side.'
'Are you kidding me?!' Blaster huffed in disbelief. An unseen sneer answered him in a polite tone as chilly as icicles. 'I am afraid not.' Bumblebee muttered something the others didn't catch while Jazz winced.
'Guess Prowler was right. They do got somethin' nasty.'
The tape deck outside was not amused in the least, 'When the frag did they get pulse cannons?! And how?! Their space bridge has been totaled for months and I haven't heard a thing about it being fixed.'
'Sir?' Mirage queried, still by the doors. The commanding officer sighed and bid the race car to retreat to his position. Jazz stretched slightly in the dim cavern before speaking to everyone, 'Now now, let's not grumble. We still got cards to play. Bee, Voice?' The invisible bot came around the corner and slowly decloaked now that he was out of view of the cameras. Jazz lowered the rifle aimed at the mech but didn't turn his visor away from the ceiling. He hadn't even looked over when he'd aimed at his subordinate.
'Steeljaw's found another entrance, if it's an entrance at all. Looks a little small. I think it's an exhaust system actually...' Blaster's voice took on a slightly smug overlay at his cassette's accomplishment.
A good natured complaint followed, 'I would have found it in a minute. Was going to check their next.'
'Not doubting you Buzzer.' The tall mech replied with a chuckle.
Inside the mountain, Jazz continued to study the small lights inter spaced here and there in the rocky ceiling. It was extremely dim and the tiny glowing yellow strips only really started near the big tunnel. But there were still a few just out of the camera's reach. Mirage watched carefully as Jazz stood and dug his servos into the rock. Sharp metal tines popped out of his palms and feet, allowing the smaller bot to steadily scale the wall until he was upside down and clinging to stalagmites. With a quiet order for his companion to keep lookout, the CO started to pull wires out of a light fixture and play with them. 'How small we talkin' mechs?'
'Blaster can't fit, but I think the rest of us can. Not sure about you Mirage. You might be too tall.' Out on the tree and rock covered slope, the horned minibot carefully examined the hole hidden in an alcove. It was nearly invisible under a little overhang and set so low on the ground.
Giving a curt reply, Mirage sighed, 'It is a good thing I am not claustrophobic.'
Whatever Jazz was doing was nearly finished. Briefly, the Porsche hooked the wires up to a small device in his palm before giving a wonderfully amused smile and putting everything back into place. The blue and white bot did not ask what he was doing as the Commander climbed down. When it came to special ops, you could never have too many options and Jazz was undoubtedly just putting a few more things in their favor.
'Alright mah mechs. Gimme a few an' we'll be joinin' yah outside. We're goin' in.'
Shay immediately knew something was wrong. Many a bot, including Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, had been called away several hours ago when reports of Decepticons raiding solar power stations in the Sahara had come through Teletran-1. As soon as Skyfire came into range carrying the bots, painful twinges started to run all over the woman's body. A persisting ache in her left arm had Shay gritting her teeth as she fled her room and raced through the halls, sneakers sliding with a squeal on the flat polished metal.
A ruckus ahead drew her and turning the corner showed several Autobots either limping or holding servos over their wounds as they entered the repair center. Shay hissed suddenly and clutched her arm as fire raced up it. Ignoring the sting, she edged around the tromping feet and into the room.
The full force of sound and frenzied activity bore down on her like a lion lunging at it's prey. Heavy acrid scents of scorched metal and burning things bloomed inside. Sand and grit showered off the giant's armor to crunch underfoot and turn to a fine dust that stuck to everything in a pale brown layer. Loud chatter and complaints flew overhead as people settled themselves on berths or on the floor by the walls. For a moment, it was entirely overwhelming. Sound faded in and out like a bad radio connection and her mind blanked. Shaking herself back to the loud chaotic mess of reality, Shay quickly moved out the way. A few bots noticed the human as she jumped around them and dodged people, blue optics watching sharp and curious in the quickly filling space.
Pain. Caution.
There near the back were her twins. Sunstreaker sat on a medberth and pressed himself flush against the wall. In his lap lay his nearly severed left arm while angry optics continually flickered around the room. He was a mess of scratches and dents, energon splashed here and there on crumpled armor. Only a few strong bits of wire and tubing connected the arm to the gaping shoulder. Minus the heavily damaged limb, Sideswipe was not much better off but at least he was standing. In front of his brother in fact. From her position across the room and lower down, Shay thought it seemed like the red bot was guarding his twin.
While the other injured settled themselves, she tried to get farther across the room. It was impossible to hear what Sideswipe was saying over the din but he didn't look happy as he spoke with First Aid. Running around a few shorter bots she didn't know the names of, Shay scrambled to the Twin's table just in time to hear the young medic arguing.
"But you're in pain! At least let me turn off the sensory receptors! Ratchet will be here soon." The shorter red and white bot protested gently, backing up a step when Sunstreaker's lip curled up over his denta and his brother's glare intensified.
NO.
Not even noticed on the ground, Shay stared in confusion as she felt the strong negative. What was going on?
"MOVE YOUR AFTS! Light damage by the walls. Critical on the berths! You KNOW the drill!" Bellowing from the main door caused the talk to die down. Ratchet pushed into the room supporting Trailbreaker. He set the big black mech on a table and pulled out a welder to rapidly close a sluggishly bleeding chest wound that had reopened. On his heels, Wheeljack and Hoist stepped into the room and started to help patch people up. There were shouts from the bots near the right corner that Huffer needed immediate attention and Hoist went to tend to him. Out of the corner of her eye, Shay caught Sideswipe giving a nod to First Aid. The assistant medic quickly reached under Sunstreaker's plating to tug at wires and turn off pain receptors without any fight from either Twin. Mouth curved into a confused frown, Shay stared blankly while Sideswipe sat down.
Then he noticed she was there, "Shay! Don't' stay down there. You'll get stepped on." One servo was held out so the woman could climb on. Deposited onto their seat, the human snarled angrily at the injuries. Finished with the tawny lambo, First Aid moved on to Sideswipe.
Sunstreaker frowned when he noticed the slight tremor in the woman's arm and optics widened. He quickly brought up the mental walls he'd forgotten about until now and she gave a sigh of relief as the pain retreated to only a distant and easily ignorable ache. Giving a brief smile in gratitude that turned into a grimace, Shay continued to glare at the wounds and murmured.
"You guys do not look so good." At least the pain and annoyance radiating off the two had dimmed. First Aid stepped back and checked both warriors over before giving a short nod almost to himself. He backed off as Ratchet moved over to take a look at them. Sideswipe grinned cheekily.
"You should see the other guys. Total scrap metal." His brother snorted and Ratchet gave a rough 'Pah!' "Can't you glitches avoid any major injuries for just one battle?!"
A vacant look from the Twins and then sarcasm from Sunstreaker, "Um...no."
"You're all hopeless." Ratchet muttered in defeat, leaning forward to examine the shorn wires sticking out of the shoulder joint.
"I prefer the phrase 'cheerfully lost'."
Sideswipe snickered while the woman peered up at him confused, "Sideswipe, being lost and being hopeless are two completely different things." Sunstreaker rolled his optics and reached out his good arm to flick his brother on the helm horn. Smirking, he informed her dryly, "Unless he's hopelessly lost, which happens often enough."
"Hey!"
Ratchet gently whapped both of them on the back of the helm before things got out of hand, "Alright. That's enough. Shay, I'm afraid you'll need to move. I have to lay him down to reattach the arm and there just isn't enough room here."
It was not said unkindly. The woman nodded in understanding and prepared to climb down. A whine from the red hellion startled her.
"But we want our squishy nearby!" A bored expression from the bulkier mech was his only answer. Pouting in innocence, Sides looked at the human. Shay glared, "Don't be a crybaby. I'll be nearby. And when you are healed, I will shoot you. Squishy, huh."
Ignoring the mocking 'aaawwww', she climbed down and skittered over to where Wheeljack was repairing an unconscious blue and gray bot with orange faceplates and strange wings. Now that everyone was settled and some heading into recharge, it was far safer to cross the floor. Hauling herself up by digging fingers into the plated metal, the woman climbed onto the surface and sat down to watch the engineer work. A moment passed before she spoke.
"Can you converse with me or would that be unnecessarily distracting?" A quiet murmur to join the dull gabble and clanging going about the room. The inventor looked over although his fingers didn't pause as they disassembled a small bit of machinery in the Autobot's chest, "We can talk. Transistor replacement is simple, just takes time. What's up?"
Lips thinning, Shay watched Wheeljack work instead of looking at his face, "Is anyone extremely injured?"
She pretended not to see the knowing look in his blue optics. Even with the facemask, the Lancia was usually very easy to read and his skepticism was plainly obvious. He knew that wasn't the question on her mind. Playing along, he shook his helm, audio finials giving off a soft yellow glow. "Nothing life threatening. A few are going to be here awhile. Huffer had some of his major fuel lines ripped out, so we have to replace those. Sunstreaker's arm won't take more than half an hour. Normal stuff."
An almost awkward silence descended upon them, 'Jack's dark gray servos flitting over the charred metal and picking up new clean pieces to put back in. Shay laced her fingers. While she remained unmoving, eventually the Autobot spoke again.
"What did you really want to ask?"
Wheeljack had paused to peer at her, but the woman merely shrugged and looked away with an impassive face. He sighed, air venting out of his intakes as he turned back to repairs. The words rushed out of Shay's mouth almost without thinking.
"Why didn't they let First aid fix them, or even turn off the pain receptors at first?" Wheeljack winced. Still, steady but concerned cerulean optics looked over at the Twins and then returned to the human, not needing an explanation for who "they" referred too. He was pretty sure he didn't want to have this conversation. White armor with russet and green decals flattened just slightly and pressed closer to his body.
"Uh, maybe... you should ask them about that..."
"Wheeljack." Shay stared him right in the optic, voice brooking no argument, "I need to know what is wrong."
The frown deepened with worry, eyes widening as the corners creased. She looked... (dare he say it?) … sad. Primus, Wheeljack thought, that's not fair. So far the human had been angry, frustrated, and impassively calm. Pit, yesterday she'd carried around a squirt bottle with the explanation that if the Twins were going to act like prissy cats, she would treat them like it. In the face of Sunstreaker's snarls about the water on him, Shay had been downright bored. But never had he seen her sad. He didn't think anyone here save for the Twins themselves had seen the woman like this. This was the most vulnerable Wheeljack had ever seen the human.
It was cheating, completely unfair cheating. There should be rules against humans looking sad. They were small and mainly defenseless already! Looking mournful was an underhanded maneuver. Slag, he thought, I'll have to ask Prowl about making a new rule.
Armor flattening even more and shoulders slumping, the inventor relented, "Okay okay, but you didn't hear it from me. And cut it out with the face. Primus, you'd think someone was giving you lessons."
Keeping a neutral expression, Shay turned her full and undivided attention to him and waited. After muttering something under his breath, Wheeljack started, "Sideswipe and Sunstreaker have issues with most medics." He paused in the hopes that the woman would take that explanation and leave it. No such luck, as narrowed eyes and crossed arms greeted him. Of course not, that would be too easy.
"You see... well... early in the war, they were stationed at a particular base. I was there at the time actually, although I didn't know them too well. It was a big base with lots of people. Anyways, you know how they are. Rule breaking, pranks, fights, jet judo when they were told not too. Usual stuff. But most of the officers on base didn't handle it to well. Now I heard this later, mind you, because I was down in my workshop most of the time. So apparently one of the officers got a transfer request through and when Sunstreaker went to the medbay, the CMO there sedated him."
"I don't understand." Dread started to gnaw at her gut.
Body language shifting into a cringe, Wheeljack hesitantly stated, "They knew he would put up a fight. The transfer was just for Sunstreaker. The officers wanted to separate them."
Shay's mind emptied, devoid of anything save for the last few words that her mind was trying to puzzle over but couldn't quite make sense of. Then she understood.
Red. Redredredredred.
Fury choked her vision, cutting off rational thought in a single slice. Internal howls of grief/horror/rage clawed up her throat, demanding vengeance. She would slaughter/kill/destroy any who tried to separate Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. How Dare They...
Wheeljack knew the instant she got it, the invisible shift that left something dangerous and wild in it's wake. It was impossible to miss in the safe normalcy of the medbay. Confused old denim blue eyes snapped into white blankness while the bot froze, arms still partially in Track's damaged chest. There was not a single tint of blue in those orbs. It was the palest he'd seen, gleaming ivory reflecting the bright overhead lights. With only the small black pupils against raging white, her eyes looked completely wrong. Time seemed to pause as the inventor realized that maybe telling Shay wasn't such a great idea.
If he'd looked up he would have seen Sunstreaker staring at him from across the room. The lamborghini had worried just a little because he'd forgotten to keep the mental walls up and Shay had felt the pain from his arm. So as he lay on the berth he tilted his helm to look over upside down. She's seemed alright over there with Wheeljack. While his brother was busy arguing with the medic, he carefully used the link to check in on the human. His optics lightened at what he found.
Shay didn't notice the intrusion. Her mind was elsewhere, completely gone.
/stick to the edges edges edges/ dark halls of metal -lights in the middle stick to shadows/ don't look at us (I)/ two figures stalking close to the wall -light feet avoid the crowd/ feral grins smiling sharp denta/ watch them all (all) don't trust/ fear fear (rage)/ No! Together one we one not two one ONE!/ angry angry angry/ dangerous/
/ "You are an absolute imbecile." Cold voice, hard tone. Threat?
Large-green-bad one, "They cause so much trouble! I have my orders. Separating them-" NONONONONO!
Two figures crouched in the corner, optics watching the officers argue without any sort of awareness. Mad optics. Freezing arctic blue tipped with alabaster. Red plating seemed blood colored in the shadows. It was dented and scratched from a fight. He crouched over the other. Golden yellow slumped his helm on his twin's elbow and looked for weakness from the threat threat threat...
"Suicidal. That's what you are. And you'll kill both of them!" Angry shout. Snarls. They growl simultaneously. They don't like the noise. They want to be left alone./
/Need together/ no one else don't come near/ don't come near us (I) (we)/ don't break us (me) apart/ can't.../ hard optics watching everyone around them/ red and yellow plating - predatory faces/ intent to kill/ spiral spiral out of control (none)/ no control/ fear... no, no fear/ just pain-anger-rage... betrayal?/ hunter hunters among.../ black rage creeping deeper and deeper.../
Arms pulled out to lay limp on either side, fingers spread and spine straightening. She still faced Wheeljack but he knew the human wasn't seeing him. Slowly, a shallow breath. He hadn't noticed that she'd stopped breathing for a moment. Then another intake. After a minute of replicating a stone statue, Shay relaxed by tiny degrees and hints of her eyes natural color blossomed within the iris. Finally, she rasped.
"Were they stupid?"
Her voice sounded off for a second before returning to it's normal inflection. Still, the tone was full of razorblades just waiting for a target to attack. No one else seemed to have noticed what had just happened and the regularity of everyone around them remaining unaware was strange. Hesitantly Wheeljack answered, "Twins... aren't that common. And not everyone knows they need to stay
together."
Moving slowly, the bot went back to repairs but kept constant watch of the human as if she were about to detonate. Across the room, the red frontliner didn't notice what had just occurred. They couldn't pick things up from the human unless they reached out and Sideswipe was distracted by placating an irate medic. Sunstreaker's tenseness mellowed out as he turned back to his twin. On the other medberth, Shay's hollow face softened the tiniest bit but continued to stare at the Lancia, waiting for him to continue. Any hint of vulnerability was long gone and had left cold fury in it's place.
"It didn't happen though. There was one officer, I can't remember his name..." Wheeljack shook himself, "But he was friendly with the Twins so he got the transfer canceled. Called in favors and pulled rank. At least those were the rumors. Think he was the Security CO."
"But yeah, Sunstreaker woke up and it did not go well. There was um... some fighting. After that, well, they had trouble trusting anyone. Especially that particular medic. People didn't see them too often. The Twins did patrol, grabbed their rations and holed up somewhere or another. I saw them in the halls once or twice and..."
He tilted his helm in thought, "It was like... you ever been to a scrap yard? Earth ones with all the junk."
A short nod, expression still shut down, "I go there to get parts sometimes for inventions. But scrap yard dogs, they don't outright attack but you don't want to get near because you know they'll lash out. They were like that. Really wary, leaning toward violence. They refused to go to the medbay and only went if they were practically dead and someone dragged them in. And then, one of them was always awake to make sure the medics didn't try anything funny. But even just around the base, Sides and Sunny got pretty nasty when people got near them."
"Scrap yard dogs." Shay growled lowly, lips curling up in a baring of teeth. There were still bleached streaks in the blue of her eyes.
Inside, Wheeljack felt sorrow tug at his spark. He wouldn't admit this aloud, would never admit this; but in that moment she looked just like he remembered the Twins looking back then. The aggression suppressed just under skin and armor, the savage presence and unblinking flinty eyes. A cornered animal stared out to flash it's teeth at the world before hiding behind a barely civil mask. He regretted telling her. The inventor lamented that he should have said 'no' and made her ask them to explain.
"What changed?"
But he had started so he had to finish, "A big transfer came through. A lot of bots, myself included, were moved to the Ark crew. Prowl was in charge of it and he made sure that both the Twins came. And new transfers go straight to the medbay for virus check-ups. So... they met Ratchet. You can imagine how that went."
She blinked and then laughed harshly, a rough and bitter bark as the last of the white faded away. The tense hardness in her chest disappeared and both the human and the bot looked over their shoulders toward where Ratchet was reconnecting wires in Sunstreaker's shoulder and arguing with Sides at the same time. Sideswipe stuck out his glossa. The medic held up pliers and snipped them with
a no-nonsense look. The tongue immediately retreated.
Snickering, the woman huffed strained amusement, "That must have been a sight to see."
"It was a loud first few days. Optimus told them that they weren't going to be separated but I don't think they really believed him. Prime and Ironhide had to drag them kicking and fighting in here and then Ratch literally welded their afts to the berths." Chuckles slid out as Wheeljack finished and slid Track's hood shut, quickly checking the diagnostics for any anomalies.
"I am surprised they didn't try to kill him." She murmured, eyes glazing over as faint echoes of emotions rebounded before fading.
The inventor straightened and glanced over again before admitting, "They did actually. Doc just grabbed them around the throat and yanked out a few wires to paralyze them. He did repairs and ranted the entire time that he wouldn't put up with any of their stupidity. If they were hurt, he'd fix them, end of discussion. Everybody that had been transferred figured they were gonna have a go at him again after that but... well they did. Instead of trying to hurt him though, they welded all the chairs, datapads, and tools to the walls. There wasn't so much trouble getting them to the medbay after that. Nobody's really sure why they changed their minds though."
"I would bet he earned their respect. And eventually trust." Shay stated quietly.
Wheeljack's finials flashed a happy bright turquoise, "That would make sense. But long story short; that's why they only let Ratchet repair them. Or another if Ratchet's there. They've come a long way since then, being comfortable with most everyone on base now."
"The kid," a nod towards First Aid clearing Cliffjumper from the bay, "gets a pretty hard time. Doesn't like leaving people in pain but the Twins won't let him help unless Ratchet's there."
Resting a chin on her palm, the woman watched Wheeljack move on to another bot. She stayed next to the unconscious warrior and scanned the room. Prowl stood by the wall while speaking in quiet tones to Ironhide, otherwise known as Big Red to her. By the hand gestures, the weapon specialist was re-accounting his part in the battle to the exasperated Praxian. Seated on the floor, Optimus consoled a worried Bluestreak who kept trying to get off his medberth. The main door opened, Red Alert poking his helm in before rushing toward a tall crimson mech with wing-like panels on his helm. Hound stepped in after, much to the CMO's dismay.
"Not injured, not allowed in here. Unless you slagged yourself up?" Ratchet gave the tracker a suspicious look.
Hound held up his servos, "Just came by to check." He called back before turning back out the door with Cliffjumper, the two talking animatedly. Shay studied the tired and worn expressions of those around her. There was a lot of happy and relaxed chatter because no one was dead and they'd won, at least this time. Sunstreaker's arm was reattached now and with help he sat up. Spending a moment in thought, the woman climbed down and went to stand by the Twin's table.
The medic nodded down at her, "I need to help fix Huffer's injuries first, but then I'll come back to finish the minor repairs. You two, stay here." He gave the Twins a glare before stomping over to help Hoist. Sideswipe scooped her up to plop her on the table once more, but his optics were distant. Guessing they were conversing over the Twin bond, Shay just sat and waited patiently.
Whatever was said apparently led to a disagreement. Sideswipe huffed and gave his brother a sharp poke only to get a slap in return. Affronted, he shoved Sunstreaker. Realizing they might not stop immediately, the human scooted back closer to the edge so she wasn't directly in the way. The lighter colored frontliner snarled and roughly pushed his twin onto the floor. Giving an excited whoop, Sideswipe lunged straight back up and tackled his brother to the berth. Shay gripped the edge of the shaking platform and turned around. A sharp whistle from her caught Ironhide's attention.
"Hey yah two! Quite that a'fore Doc gets yah!"
Ratchet looked over from farther back in the medbay, "If I have to come over there, I will make banging out those dents painful." Seeing the death glare, the Twins untangled themselves and resettled. Sideswipe pouted at Shay.
"Way to ruin our fun."
Turning so that only the twin lambos could see her face, she wiggled her eyebrows before returning her expression to it's normal blankness. Sunstreaker balked while Sides laughed, "Yay! We're corrupting you!"
"You mean you're corrupting her." Sunny grumbled, "I did no such thing."
Rolling her eyes, Shay stood and carefully looked over Sunstreaker's limb. Considering he'd just used it when rough-housing with Sides, it seemed to be okay. "I don't like the thought of you guys losing limbs. I hope you gave them hell."
"Of course," rough smirk in place, the golden frontliner gave a derisive snort and fingered the torn metal on his arm, "Couldn't let them get away with scratching me, could I?"
The tall red Autobot whose name Shay didn't know was seated on the berth to the left of the Twins, Red Alert on the chair between them. The woman thought the unknown bot turned into a firetruck because of the ladder on him but she couldn't be sure. He leaned over a little to grin at the lambos, "You always get scratched. You ever going to give the poor saps a break?"
Red Alert huffed in disbelief as Sideswipe mock gasped, "What?! Never! Besides," he added with a chuckle, "They should know better by now not to scratch Sunflower's paint." The bot in question flopped against his twin, too lazy to even badger him about the nickname. Shay's lips twitched up in amusement.
"I'll help you guys repaint later. But I have a serious question." The smiles washed away as the Twins looked down at her. Suddenly very nervous, Shay looked at her shoes and played with her fingers.
"Would you guys consider..." A slight pause as the human took a quick breath.
"If Ratchet wasn't there, would you let other medics repair you or at least turn off the pain receptors if I was there to keep an eye on things?"
Shay forced herself to finish before she could change her mind and clamped her mouth shut, posture tense and absolutely still. The Twins recoiled slightly, startled. They hadn't expected that. Those close enough to hear the conversations stared and around the room it grew quiet. Soon there was a dead silence. After a moment of her anxiety growing and despairing thoughts that she shouldn't have asked plaguing her, a torrent of emotions crashed over the human. Sideswipe made absolutely sure she felt the full extent of their reaction as Sunstreaker answered quietly.
Appreciation. Joy. Yes.
"You helped fix us before, so I suppose we could trust you if other medics needed to do repairs."
"Wait, WHAT?! What do you mean she's repaired you before?!" Ratchet bellowed from across the room. All optics flickered back and forth with interest between the two parties. Shay had let out a breath of relief at the Twin's answer but now turned to give the medic a funny look, one eyebrow raised. "We did mention before that they got in a fight with those two jets..."
Prowl jumped in, "Yes, but repairs were not spoken of."
"Oh," the human's eyes lost focus as she turned contemplative, "I forgot."
Sideswipe liked attention, but not this kind. Deciding to lighten the mood, he bounced a little and dislodged his brother. "Aww, you're sooooo cute." Shay yelped in surprise when the carnelian frontliner leaned over to give a gentle hug, "Gonna protect us from big bad First Aid right?"
Scoffs and laughter floated around, First Aid mock threateningly waving one of Ratchet's tools before returning to fixing Prime. The head medic just shook his head at their antics and turned away. Shay let out a breath of relief as the bots went back to their conversations. She didn't like everyone's optics on her either. Looking up at the giant still giving her a hug, the woman remarked flatly.
"You are loony tunes."
"I like loony tunes. Especially Road Runner." He straightened and Sunstreaker muttered something under his breath that sounded like 'dork'. Ignoring the insult, Sideswipe winked at them both. "Meep meep!"
With that exclamation he lunged off the berth. Ratchet's medic senses must have been tingling because as soon as Sideswipe's foot touched the floor he was whirling around and lunging toward the escaping hellion. In a blur of red and black, the lambo was cackling and out the door, an enraged ambulance at his heels. Shouts of 'MEEPMEEP!' and 'Get Back Here You IDIOT!' followed by sirens echoed from the hall, much to everyone's amusement.
The woman smiled and then sat down cross-legged next to Sunny, "My other question is whether Jazz might prank you guys for helping me break into his room."
"If he's bored he might," Lying down and carefully avoiding the human, he shuttered his optics with a sigh, "Or he'll be amused and let it be. Can't believe he played us all... wait, yes I can. It's Jazz." Dry sarcasm sat thick in his tone. Shay gently ran a hand along his side, fingers brushing only undamaged parts.
"I wonder if it's a special ops thing. He's not a bad sort, I don't think." A rumble of agreement.
They fell into an easy quiet, Sunstreaker resting as his recharge protocols took over and Shay delicately slumped over the undamaged metal on his other shoulder pad. She drifted off and eventually Sideswipe was dragged back in. Not willing to wake the other two, he settled on Red Alert's vacated chair and sat bored for quite a while as he waited his turn. Hours later, two-thirds of the medbay was now cleared and Shay awoke to low voices.
"But I don't like it!" Her red and onyx guardian was protesting, "You got scans earlier when Blue brought her in."
Ratchet sighed, sanding down the last weld mark on the frontliner's back, "I didn't get all the information I need because I didn't know what to scan for at the time. I would have done it earlier when you were gone but the time wasn't long enough."
The woman moved, stretching sore muscles slightly and feeling a tingle in her legs as the blood started to flow again. Both Sideswipe and Ratchet looked over at her with frowns. It was weird to see such a deep scowl on the frontliner's face when he was usually so cheerful. She whispered so as to not disturb Sunny from recharge, "Explanation please."
"I need to do one last test, with you far away from the Twins for a length of time, and then I believe I can call everyone together to discuss this." Shay grew worried at the white and red bot's tone. "Anything in particular I should be aware of?"
There was a brief pause with the medic's frayed azure optics tightening, "We'll discuss it when I have all the information." That did not soothe the woman at all. And by the sight of Sideswipe's back plating shifting higher, he didn't like it either.
"How far?"
They all lurched (or in Shay's case, jumped) in surprise and turned to find the gold lamborghini awake and looking at them. Ratchet stated calmly, "About seven miles. Ten hours should do it. I do believe you said you wanted to get out of the Ark Shay."
Sideswipe glowered, about to speak up but a higher pitched raspy voice from across the room butted in, "She come with Dinobots?"
Turning once again, the human found another bot staring back from two tables down. She'd never seen this mech before. He seemed to be on the taller side but without a huge mass of plating which left him somewhat skinny. Duller blue and gray plating predominated with an ochre barrel shape on his chest and a bright red helm that curved back. Strangely shaped wings stuck out behind from his shoulder plating. He tilted his head a little in curiosity and smiled, "Us Dinobots going to pond. Me Swoop invite you to come."
Blinking in surprise, Shay pondered the incorrect use of pronouns. A resounding negative threaded through the link from Sunstreaker but his twin was the one who spoke, "I'm sure she'd be fine with you Swoop, but you know how Slag gets. And Grimlock hasn't met her yet."
Sides let a wince crawl across his face, but his emotions gave him away. He didn't want her to go either.
"Rawk," A weird squawk crackled out of Swoop's vocalizer, "She safe. Swoop promise."
Unease still shivered and nipped under her skin from the lambos but Ratchet didn't seem completely against the idea, "That pond is close to the distance I need." He looked down at Shay with a small frown, "Would you be alright going to see the other Dinobots if Bluestreak went with you?"
Puzzlement swamped the feeling radiating off the Twins. Shay was quite confused as to why the twins were against her going with the grammatically challenged bot to meet some others, who exactly the Dinobots were, and why Ratchet was asking permission instead of just ordering like usual. And before she could even open her mouth to ask for answers, Sideswipe rebelled against the Doc's decision, "Why Bluestreak? He couldn't handle any of them if things get rowdy..."
Enough was enough. Cutting him off with a short yip, the woman jumped to Twinspeak, "I believe I can make my own decisions."
"The Dinobots are dangerous." Sunstreaker replied in shortened syllables and static filled creaks, ignoring how Shay crossed her arms. Swoop looked back and forth confused, unsure of the strange language composed of a mixture of Cybertronian and multiple Earth tongues. Ratchet just leaned back against the wall and waited impatiently.
Scowling, the human's temper flared, "So are you. They are Autobots, are they not? And if Ratchet believes Bluestreak is enough backup just in case then I don't see the problem." The aforementioned medic lifted an optic ridge. After so long with these particular brothers, he could at least pick out his name in their language, that specific series of harsh clicks and low croons. It didn't help explain what they were saying though.
The Twins shifted at Blue's name and Shay's eyes narrowed. That edgy feeling leaving acid in her gut made a bit more sense now.
Jealousy.
"Sides, you are the one who complained that I did not have enough friends. I can be around him if I choose," Identical sets of armor flared and her hard expression softened minutely at their possessiveness, "That does not mean I am replacing you. No one can do that. But I make my own choices, remember?"
Sunstreaker gave a critical look and nodded slightly at her reminder. Pouting slightly, his brother glanced away before nervously tapping his fingers on his knees. Exhaling loudly, Sides looked back at her.
"Kay, sorry. Just don't piss them off."
"I will not die." Switching back to English, the human gave them a gentle smile before turning to the Dinobot. None of them noticed how the CMO's optics widened at her statement before swiftly returning to gruff annoyance.
"Are you done yet?"
"Quite." Shay didn't turn and merely looked over at Swoop, "I would like to go with you and meet the others. Will there be any problems if Bluestreak comes?"
The big bot smiles and hopped off the berth he was sitting on to come over, "No. Talkative Bluestreak friendly."
Within minutes Shay was at the Ark entrance with the gray Datsun and a happy Dinobot about to lead her off into places unknown. The medic gave Blue a scanner and simple instructions to scan her every half hour. Grumbling about having to finish repairs on the yellow dandelion of doom, he headed back in. Left with her companions, Shay took a moment to check her bonsai tree on a little rocky space a few feet away from the base. Content that it was alright, the woman glanced at Swoop curiously.
"What is your alt mode?"
Instead of answering, the tall bot transformed. Gray and blue, amber and red biometal plates slid inward and outward until an extremely large beast-like creature sat before her. Staring in awe at the almost delicate fiber-woven wings and sharp beak, the human let out a pent-up breath.
"Oh..."
A pterodactyl. A dinosaur. Of course, Shay thought, the Dinobots have dinosaur altmodes. How amazing was that?
Without meaning to, she laughed, highly amused notes ringing from her throat. The pleased expression and proud body language that had graced Swoop disappeared as he scowled down at her. How someone could scowl with a beak was beyond her, but somehow he managed with narrow optics. The flier's voice deepened a little while Bluestreak shifted nervously, "Why you laugh at me Swoop?"
She stopped immediately, "Oh no, I'm not laughing at you. I'm just..."
A pause as Shay searched for the right words and Swoop's wings hiked up, "I was just surprised. Your alternative mode is amazing and I was laughing because it is one of the best that I have seen so far. Whose idea was it to use a dinosaur model for an alt mode?"
Still watching the tri-colored flier worriedly, the Praxian piped up with almost dry exasperation, "Wheeljack."
"Well, it's brilliant. Dinosaurs..." she repeated with a mild grin. Swoop leaned down carefully to study her with suspicious optics.
"You Shay mean that?"
Her smile slipped into a sad apologetic expression, "Yes. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. That was completely my fault and I am sorry Swoop." Hesitantly, the woman stretched out a hand to lay it gently on his beak, well aware that a simple move from the metal pterodactyl could snap her wrist off in a heartbeat. Behind her, the sniper tensed. Even at the best of times, the Dinobots were a temperamental bunch. Shay was lucky it was Swoop and not one of the others or there would already have been a fight. He didn't think Swoop would hurt her but the big bot was sensitive about his appearance.
Finally, the flier's wings lowered to a more neutral position and the bot rumbles slyly, "You Shay like Swoop's flier mode?"
"Very much so. It's impressive." Allowing another grin, Shay asked, "Are the others fliers too?"
"No." Radiating smugness, his armor puffed up and out in the tiniest bit of pride, "Me Swoop's brothers not fliers. Only Swoop." She lowered her hand and stepped back.
Noting the sharp claws not only on the joints of his wings but also on his feet, the human could only shake head in wonder, "You must be terrifying in battle."
"Oh he is!" Bluestreak exclaimed, calmer now that a catastrophe had been diverted, "You should see the cons when he comes flying in! They totally run for cover. And the other Dinobots turn them into scrap metal. Actually, you probably shouldn't see that because it's not safe for the humans and you'd have to be nearby to see." His animated chatter turned apprehensive as he realized how bad an idea that was. Swoop straightened and happily flapped his wings.
"Come meet other Dinobots!"
With that he took two steps back and jumped into the sky. When high above their heads, the Autobot let out a joyful shriek and spat out a stream of fire. Shay gave a whistle. Giant metal dinosaurs that could breath fire. Wheeljack was like a ten year old boy with genius capabilities. The woman laughed again and hopped into the waiting Datsun's cab. They took off after the flier, leaving a cloud of dust rising up in their wake.
The pond was quite beautiful, set in the cusp between two larger slopes. Huge redwoods and gnarled oaks congregated with pines to blanket the southeastern shore while the other side stayed clear of most foliage save for long grasses and dandelions. It was just perfect for sunbathing. Pre-noon daylight danced over the still water and lily pads where the rays showed through scattered clouds. As the woman stepped out of Bluestreak carrying a lunch sack and a book, Swoop glided in around a flock of wild geese to land only a few feet away.
"What you Shay think of us Dinobot pond?" Tilting his elongated helm at her, the more organic looking Autobot ruffled his wings and used the right one to point at the water.
Closing her eyes to better hear the cicadas and rustling stalks by the shore's edge, Shay breathed deeply. Wet earth and evergreen's bite greeted her. Just barely noticeable came the scents of murky waters, golden rods in bloom, and moss covered stones. It reminded the human of the woods at her dad's house. The place that had been (and sometimes still was) home. A tension she hadn't noticed until just then eased away inside and for the first time in a while, her shoulders didn't feel like she was carrying a heavy load. Letting her lips curve up slightly at the sound of bickering blue jays, Shay opened her eyes, "It is peaceful. Thank you, for allowing me to see it."
The words were barely out of her mouth when a hulking shape pulled itself from the water. Startled, Shay lurched backwards against the Praxian who had transformed. With muck and water crashing off it's metal hide in waves, the four-legged beast shook. Drops sprayed out. Frogs cheeped in alarms and scattered to safety.
'How deep is this pond?', the woman thought absently as she took in the plates aligned on the back of the stegosaurus and the slowly swishing spiked tail. He was only a yard or so out and they hadn't even seen him under the water until he stood. Once again the giant reptilian flared his plating to get more of the dripping liquid off.
"Warm?" Swoop rasped curiously.
Plodding up onto land, the other Dinobot nodded but didn't elaborate. Lazily settling himself on the grass, the bulky bot stretched and curled his tail. Apparently comfortable, he turned to study Shay with bored optics.
She gave a small wave in greeting, "Hello."
No reply. The bot just watched her. Swoop butted in as Bluestreak started to look around nervously, "Him Snarl. Snarl, this human Shay." Another nod and a low grumble that wasn't threatening.
Loud stomping came from the trees and the Praxian's doorwings shot up in alarm. Across the way, three figures stepped out of the woods and made their way towards the short sniper and the human. The largest bot in the center, obviously the leader, stalked across the grass and stopped before her. A blue visor and gray face mask concealed whatever his expression may have been.
He was huge.
Staring up up up, the woman let out a quiet breath and mentally counted to thirty to calm herself. This bot was taller than Optimus, and did not give off comforting waves like the Autobot leader did. Like the other dinos, he was tri-colored in carnelian, silver, yellow. It seemed that Swoop was the only one with blue on him. On the leader's left was a red, black and silver dino with a crested helm in bot form. On the other side, a triceratops scraped his front legs against the ground before moving to settle on the grass next to Snarl.
They were all watching her. Well, not Bluestreak. Plating flattened and tense, the sniper's nervous optics flickered around the other Autobots. Blue was comfortable around Swoop because the flier was actually really nice. It was just when all the other Dinobots were around that the Datsun got fidgety. Said bots were continuing to stare at the woman. She didn't like it.
Unconsciously straightening, Shay turned her face up to the visored behemoth with crossed arms, "Hello, I'm Shay. Swoop invited us to come here. Is that alright with you?"
Bending down until their faces were only inches apart, the bot rumbled in a deep bass voice, "Me Grimlock, King of Dinobots. You Shay polite." It didn't sound like a compliment. But it didn't seem like an insult either, just a fact. The human frowned and replied promptly.
"I try to be polite with everyone. Except for Sideswipe and Sunstreaker when they're trying to irritate me and Ratchet because we tend to argue."
A few chuckles and deep amused rumbles echoed around the group. Bluestreak's doorwings flickered down into a more relieved position but he still held himself carefully. The crested bot smirked down at Shay, "Him Ratchet argue with everyone. Loud. Me Dinobot Sludge." He tacked on to introduce himself. She nodded.
Apparently deciding all was good, Grimlock and Sludge picked a spot to settle and sat. Swoop clacked his beak and followed, plopping down next to Shay and hedging her and Bluestreak in the middle of the group. The silvery bot hunched silently and plating clamped tighter around himself. He remained uncharacteristicly quiet. Frowning, the woman sat down indian-style as Blue also knelt.
"Bluestreak, is something wrong?"
"Uh... it's uh... You guys don't usually like people being here... at your pond that is." Blue said quickly and cautiously, looking at the surrounding Cybertronians.
The triceratops lifted his head a little and promptly snapped, "We don't."
Seeing the talkative Praxian shrink a little, Shay gave his leg a pat and stated calmly, "Easy Bluestreak. If we need to leave, then we'll go. There is no need for trouble."
"No." Grimlock rumbled ominously, "You here. You Shay stay here for now. You Swoop do good job bringing but why him Bluestreak?" The leader turned to the smallest and thinnest dino. He got a wing shrug.
"Him Ratchet say Bluestreak come with Shay." It was impossible to tell what Grimlock thought of this with the covered faceplates. It was easy to see what the Datsun thought of this, mouth open in surprise. "You planned this?"
Swoop bobbed his head in agreement. Shay looked up at him and questioned. "Why?"
Sludge transformed into a long-necked and four-legged dinosaur she couldn't remember the name of off the top of her head. Now more comfortable sprawled across the softly sloped grassy expanse, he answered, "Talk to you."
"Chatty not invited." Grumpy Triceratops grumbled again.
Grimlock also transformed and suddenly there was a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex leaning across their circle to snap it's jaws as the three-horn. "Slag."
The other dinobot, Slag apparently, promptly lay his helm on the ground and didn't move. It was deafeningly silent for a few seconds as Shay struggled to get her heart under control. Seeing a larger than normal before oneself was not something she was used to. Calming herself, Shay made sure everyone could see her lay a hand on Bluestreak's leg and left it resting there to show that he was staying with her. She very much wanted to reply to Slag's comments with something rude but a little voice that sounded suspiciously like one of the Twins reminded her not to annoy Dinobots. The human settled for giving the metal reptile a hard stare before turning to Grimlock.
"Why did you want to talk to me?"
"Autobots ask us Dinobots avoid human." The leader stated mildly.
Bluestreak interrupted, "They were probably afraid you'd scare her like you scared the last humans that came to the Ark, those diplomats..." The gray and red bot's mouth snapped shut when Grimlock turned to him, apparently not done speaking. "Us Dinobots watching. You Shay strange."
"Good strange!" Piped up Swoop. A tail swish came from Snarl who had yet to speak a single word and had merely watched the proceedings so far.
"How am I strange?" Shay inquired. The Tyrannosaur seemed to study the human for a moment, head turned so an optic could focus on her. It was like seeing a tiger watch you. Only Grimlock was many times more dangerous than a mere wild cat. Finally, he rumbled.
"Us Dinobots strong," he seemed to pause, as if unsure of how to put things in the right words. Sludge rolled a bit onto his side and stretched out his neck. The woman didn't know what type of ancient reptile he was based on, but she was pretty sure long-necks were herbivores. So why did he have sharp denta? Sludge picked up at the momentary pause, "Strong protect weak."
"The Twins believe that," Shay admitted quietly, "That's one of the reasons they are Autobots."
The others nodded although Slag's was more of a rumble and a shrug. Grimlock continued, "Strong protect weak and strongest in charge."
"Optimus not strongest. Him Grimlock strongest..." The triceratops muttered before the biggest dino gave him a look. Slag settled down again. Grimlock let out a deep and heavy sound from his chest that wasn't quite a grumble but neither was it a purr, but somewhere in between.
"Optimus Prime smart. And he take care of other Autobots. Me Grimlock take care of Dinobots. Why you Shay," he swung around to look at her, finally getting to what this all had to do with the woman, "try to take care of flashy twins? Him Sunstreaker and him Sideswipe stronger. They protect. Why you Shay act like you protect?"
There was silence as Shay thought over their logic. Grimlock said they'd been watching, so they'd probably seen the quarrels between Sunstreaker and herself. The insult they muttered without barbs or any real head. The times where Sideswipe purposefully annoyed her just so she'd have a target to practice her slingshot. And he thought her being angry was the funniest thing in the world. Maybe they'd seen her eyes light up when Cliffjumper and Sides had brawled in the rec room a few days ago. The Dinobots had somehow noticed that for all the sass and verbal jabbing they did, she would still stop whatever she was doing if they asked. Shay was always making sure the brothers were okay, even though they were tough frontliners who didn't need a little human's help.
They had somehow noticed that even though the Twins were no longer glowing orbs in a glass container, Shay was still looking out for them.
Releasing an inaudible breath, she tried to explain it in a way they would understand, "I am not strong physically, like the Twins are. But I will not, and refuse to, just sit back and let everyone else take care of the problems. Because I am an idiot who cares."
"They are mine. I consider them family and family looks out for one another, not just the strong for the weak." She trailed off and internally winced at the possessiveness springing up. It was worse now that she couldn't feel Sunstreaker and Sideswipe.
The stegosaurus titled his head, speaking for the first time in a rasping voice that was not quite as high-pitched as Swoop's, "Family good."
"Us Dinobots brothers are family. Take care of each other." The lone flier squawked. Grimlock chuckled, a sound Shay could definitely have gone without hearing. By the twitch in his doorwings, she could tell Bluestreak agreed with her. The sound raised his hackles but Grimlock just huffed another laugh.
"You Shay glitchmouse trying to be Dinobot. Funny."
"More than one person seems to think so." The woman replied dryly, thinking about not only the situation with Jazz but Sunstreaker's amusement when she behaved as if the metal giants couldn't harm her. Shay wasn't stupid. She just recognized the possible threat and moved on. There were more important things to do than let fear take over her mind. Not that it stopped her from shrieking bloody murder when Sideswipe jumped out of nowhere to startle her.
Fluttering his wings, Swoop scooted closer, "You read story now? Doc say you out here for ten hours."
A blink of bewilderment. That was all they'd wanted to ask her? And then a frown as all the Dinobots perked up at the word 'story'. Even Slag and Snarl looked slightly excited. Giant metal fire-breathing dinosaurs with grammar issues and lots of sharp teeth liked stories. Go figure.
Bluestreak giggled as he came to the same realization and relaxed a bit. The other bots shoved closer; Swoop ending up leaning against the sniper, Grimlock sprawled on his chest and the other three jostling each other for space. Shay's lips twitched up the tiniest bit in amusement. Opening the book she'd brought, she began.
"If something doesn't make sense then wait until the end of the chapter and I'll explain. All clear?" A chorus of agreements in growls and yelps, "Chapter one. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal..."
After the story, they all lay down to rest, Shay with a sore throat from talking far more than she was used to. Many hours later the buzzing of a phone woke the woman from an uncomfortable sleep. It wasn't restful but it wasn't like she wanted to get up either. There was a reason she left her phone off. If it didn't ring, then she could deal with whoever it was later. She's explained this once before to the lambos and the Twin's agreed with her reasoning. That was probably a bad thing.
"Fraggit."
Groaning, the woman lifted her face from the bag that had been turned into a pillow. The rest of her was sprawled on the grass. A few inches to the left lay Bluestreak tracing patterns and shapes in the clouds and Swoop in recharge half slumped on the shorter bot. The Praxian's optics looked over at her when the buzzing sounded again. Shay growled. Her chest hurt because the Twins weren't there, she was tired but didn't feel like sleeping, and was really not in the mood to deal with whatever it was.
Muttering threats, the woman dug into the bag and pulled out the irritating chunk of metal. Open, click speaker phone, answer like a civil person, "What?" That was not civil, she reminded herself.
"Shay, how are you doing?" 'Oh hey dad. Nice to hear from you. Call back when I'm actually awake.' The human refrained from saying it out loud and grumbled something only partially intelligible. "Sleeping. Tired. Talk to Blue." And with that she chucked the device at the gray bot.
Making a sound akin to a squeak, Blue barely caught the little device with one free servo, the other pinned to the ground by a cuddly pterodactyl. Apparently caught by surprise, he started talking at the cell phone, "Um... Hi! Who am I talking to? I mean, you're probably a friend of Shay's because she doesn't have a lot of people call her..."
Swoop sat up from dozing to peer blearily at the bot as if questioning why he was speaking right now. Sludge was recharging only a few feet away but didn't seem to be bothered by the chatter. Maybe he was a heavy sleeper. In the water, Grimlock and Slag splashed around trying to catch fish. Overhead, the sun was below the horizon but still left enough light to tint the atmosphere a nice hazy and calming saffron. Shay struggled to catch that encompassing darkness to go back to slumber and failed.
There was a startled silence from the phone before the speaker answered, "I'm Darian, Shay's father. Who exactly are you and why is my daughter sleeping?"
His tone was deceptively calm but the female could hear the wrath building. She laughed out loud when it finally clicked in her barely awake brain that her dad was making assumptions. Sitting up, she stumbled over and grabbed the phone from Blue's open palm.
"We're resting. Outside. Because it is warm and the weather is nice. Get your mind out of the gutter and put away the shot gun."
"Napping because tired." Swoop yawned, beak clacking. He was rather confused as to why there was a problem with naps in the daytime. That's why they were called naps and not just recharge.
Darian ignored his daughter's biting remark, "Where are you? Are you going to pick a place to stay soon or are you still traveling?" No, she couldn't just be off wherever doing whatever. Her dad had to know exactly what was going on. She was getting really annoyed with trying to come up with creative explanations for why she was over near the west coast.
And then Shay had an idea. A terribly mischievous sort of idea because apparently if one spends enough time getting emotions from a certain hellion they pick up the ability to imagine Really Bad Ideas. That bot was such a terrible influence on her.
The woman woke up a bit more, letting a dastardly smirk grow across her face. Bluestreak gaped at the expression and stared as Shay answered, "I am in Oregon, near Portland. I'm not going back to South Carolina because I can't stand living in the city. I have no idea when or if I'll stop by Jade Creek. If you want to see me, come visit."
And with that, she ended the call and snapped the phone close.
Bluestreak continued to gawk while her smile returned to it's normal frown. He questioned slowly as Swoop settle himself back on the grass for more recharge, "Are you channeling Sideswipe? Because that was definitely a Sideswipe face. Like, the one he has when he's going to make Prowl really really mad."
"A little bit," Shay admitted, picking up her bag and making sure everything was back in there, "It's getting dark. Are we going back soon?"
The sniper nodded and made sure to get one last scan. They said goodbye to the sleepy dinos and the playful ones in the water before heading back down towards the Ark. As soon as she was buckled, the Datsun asked, "Are you sure asking your Dad to come is a good idea?"
"Absolutely not."
Bluestreak rolled down his windows to catch a light breeze, "Then why?"
"You heard Ratchet bellowing about me being the most stubborn human he's ever met, right?" The woman tied her hair back so it wouldn't knot up.
The Datsun trembled around her, bouncing on his axles with a giggle, "Yeah. Everyone heard that."
"Well, now he can meet the person I got that from. I'm a little sick of trying to balance all of this and keep my nosy dad from poking in. I have a bad habit of trying to do things all on my own so this time I'll let the officers deal with explaining to him."
With only a few birds going to bed and just awakening crickets, it was very quiet. Cybertronian engines didn't make as much noise as human built ones unless they wanted too. Out in the forest slope and zipping along a logging trail, there was a serene silence. As if the world was still.
"You know, just because you're an adult doesn't mean he's going to stop being your dad." Her ride murmured. A light pang of guilt poked into the tense cold spot in her chest. It sounded like this conversation had hit a nerve for him. Sighing, Shay leaned forward to slump against his wheel.
"Well, now he will know what is going on. I should have told him from the start. Maybe." She amended with some thought. "Bluestreak, can we go faster? I don't feel good and I want to check on the Twins."
The bot poured on more speed as they raced under the evening sky.
.
.
.
Shay was reading the first Harry Potter book. I do not own Harry Potter.
'Voice' refers to Blaster as in 'The Voice of Cybertron'.
I'm sorry this took so long. It turned out longer than planned and I had final exams and projects to finish.
Going to try to finish this story at around 31-32 chapters. So we're almost there!