They had arrived at the city and Saphira had just finished braiding her hair and using hair clips to clip the braids to her head as she prepared to put one of the wigs on. She selected the platinum blonde wig to put on, it was a very drastic change from her black hair so she hoped it would do the trick. She put it on and used some clips to help secure the wig and applied the glue to the lace front. With the wig secure, she looked at herself in the rear-view mirror and smiled, she was surprised that blonde actually looked good on her. Of course, it wasn't like the luxurious, long, black hair she had and this wig was shorter than her mid back length hair.
"What do you think?" Saphira asked Bee as she eyed herself in the rear-view.
"Different, but I like it," Bee responded through the radio.
Saphira smiled and glanced at the gem she had beside her. She was still in the backseat of the Camaro, mostly because it was easier to keep hidden from the authorities this way and it gave her more room to spread out. She picked up the gem and held it on her lap, looking at it thoughtfully. She wondered what Optimus would think if he were here right now. She doubted he would like the change much, though he would be polite about it. She took a deep breath and hugged it, thinking about him. She wished deeply that there was a way to bring him back. Just like the decepticons were able to bring Megatron back.
"Chin up," Bee said through the radio. "We will get through this. His sacrifice will not be in vain. Trust me."
"I do trust you Bee…I guess…I am just hoping we can revive Optimus somehow too…" Saphira wipes away a few tears that fall from her eyes. "The decepticons did it…I am almost tempted to use that shard…"
"It won't be enough power to bring him back." Bee knew Saphira wanted him back so badly, but he didn't know what solution to give her for it. If he knew a way to bring him back, he definitely would tell her. "Let us just focus on the current problem."
She nodded silently. She did not know how far they were from Simmons' location. She also did wonder what he had been doing ever since Sector Seven shut down. She doubted he has been very happy about it ever since though, after all losing his job like that must have been pretty humiliating. She hissed and tensed as the symbols come back in her mind. She did not have anything to write them down, her finger moved to her wrist and began to scratch the symbols into her skin.
She jumped in shock when she felt a hand stop her, bringing her out of her trance. "They came back again, didn't they?" She stared at Bee's holoform in shock. She realized they could use their holoform and alt form at the same time. "Better to not scar yourself with them."
She glanced at her wrist and sighed in relief. "Thanks, Bee. You saved me a lot of embarrassment and pain."
Bee smiled before his holoform melds with the alt form. "We are almost there."
Good. Saphira looked out of the window to see where their destination was. The bots pull up in front of a small corner store. It was a run down area and Saphira was shocked to see that. It was a grocer they were going to. That was just great.
"I can see he's doing very well for himself," Saphira said sarcastically as the seat in front of her rolled forward to allow her out. "Alright, I guess…um, I'll go in and seek him out." She stepped out of the car and sighed deeply, glancing around nervously in case someone might recognize her. She glanced at the other bots. "Stay put. I should not be too long…hopefully." Saphira did not know what to expect as she walked towards the door.
As she entered, she saw it was indeed a grocer. It was busy with a lot of people waiting in line. On the wall, she saw the name of the store D. Cappuccio and Simmons. She smiled a little, wondering if this was his parent's shop. It would definitely make sense. She heard Simmons yelling loudly when she stepped inside, observing him for a moment. He definitely was not thrilled to be there, but it was a job. A woman comes over and spoke to him angrily, and she quickly found out that was his mother. Saphira chuckled a little.
She stepped up to the counter calmly. Simmons barely glanced at her when he spoke to her. "Take a number, young lady."
She smiled at him before responding. "Responding to S-Seven Protocol." The man looked up at her in shock and widened his eyes when he saw her. "Or am I in the wrong place?"
"My eyes don't deceive me," He said with a smirk before hitting the bell. "Alight, meat store's closed!" He walked around the counter to shoo people out, surprising Saphira by his actions. "Everybody out, out!" He glared at a woman who was reluctant to leave. "That means you lady, right now!"
Saphira was surprised that his mother and the other employees seemed okay with his decision. "You didn't have to chase your customers away, I am not that big of a deal."
"Not that big of a deal?" Simmons scoffed and rolled his eyes at her. "And yet, they have your face all over the TV. At least you were smart enough to give yourself a hair dye."
"Wig, actually," Saphira corrected him with a smile. "My hair is way too dark to be bleached."
The man chuckled a little before snapping at one of the employees who got upset about the butchered pig touching him. Saphira let Simmons handle it until the front of the shop was empty, and it was she just her and Simmons.
"This must be quite different to the job you had," Saphira said in a gentle tone. "Did you get any retirement or something when you left?"
The man glared at her, even though she was being sincerely curious. "You are the case that shut down Sector Seven! Got the kibosh, disbanded! No more security clearance, no retirement, no thing! All cause of you, and your…special cars!" His eyes glance down at her body, making Saphira uncomfortable again. "But look at you, you're so mature now. You were off the college, right?"
"I would be if not for what is happening now," Saphira responded and glanced away from him briefly. "Although, not even sure about that now since I might have blown my college year away."
"Is that so? Welp, not my problem!" Seymour turned to walk away from her.
She glared at him and grabbed his arm to stop him. "Why did you send me that email, Seymour? You can't just walk away and not tell me the reason why you sent me the email."
"I didn't think you would show up, if I am honest."
"Then why did you say you could help me if you were just fooling around?" Saphira shakes her head in disbelief. "I didn't realize you living with your mother has made you into an even bigger asshole than before."
"My mother lives with me, big difference!" He responded defensively with a smirk. "Unlike you, you who were disowned and kicked out. How is that working out for you? And NBE One is still kicking, huh?" She nodded at him and opened her mouth to speak. "How did that happen? Don't answer, I don't wanna know. I don't want anything to do with it."
He turned to walk away again. "Please Seymour, I need your help."
"Really, you need my help?" Simmons chuckled, shaking his head as he kept walking. "That is a sure surprise. After Lennox and Epps threatened to kick my ass for you back at S-Seven headquarters, I am not sure I want to."
"Oh come on! That was your own fault, and you know it!" Saphira snapped at him in irritation, the man stopped and looking at her in amusement. "Look, I am slowly losing my mind. I had a little crab bot plunged a device deep into the soft tissues of my brain and started projecting little alien symbols like a freaking home movie. And on top of that, I'm a wanted fugitive! I also had a piece of the Cube cause me to see symbols like the idiot Captain Witwicky all those years ago. They keep coming back and I want to write them down, I nearly wrote them directly into my skin…" She points to her wrist where she had started scratching. "If Bee hadn't stopped me, my arms would look like I am walking with red tattoos right now. On top of all that…I lost…we lost…Optimus. So you think you go it rough?"
Simmons seemed to be convinced as she spoke to him with his thoughtful expression on his face. "You said it projected images off your brain?" She nodded to him before he gestured for her to follow. "Meat locker! Now!" Meat locker? Saphira frowned, but she followed him anyway into the meat locker where she was met with carcasses of pigs and sheep hanging from the ceiling. She ignored them as Simmons drops down and grabbed what appeared to be a concealed door. He glanced up at her as he held the handle. "What you're about to see is top secret. Do not tell my mother."
He lifts the door as Saphira chuckled. "Not a word. I don't even know her."
"Thank god for that," Simmons muttered as he began to climb down into the basement.
Saphira glanced in and she was surprised to see it was a room for of a lot of things. She climbed down to see what was in here, there were so many files, books and she even saw the head of the tiny alien that had attacked her when Barricade chased her. She walked over to it and glared at it, smirking slightly as this seemed very appropriate for it. She wondered how Barricade would react knowing it was there. She heard the news on the TV, but she ignored it as it was not important.
She turned to face Simmons as he held a file with a smug expression. "Okay, Cube-brain." He opened the file suddenly and she widened her eyes when she recognized the symbols. "Any of these look like the symbols you saw?"
Saphira grabbed the file in disbelief because they were exactly what she saw. "Where'd you get these?" She looked at the man curiously, wondering what he knew.
Simmons walked over to a filing cabinet to use to climb to reach something at the top. "Before I got fired, I poached S-7's crown jewel, over seventy-five years of alien research which points to one inescapable fact. The transformers, they've been here a long, long time."
"I knew that," Saphira responded, surprising Simmons. "It has been inclined by the autobots that transformers have been here before. Maybe even before mankind existed. Mostly because of this Fallen guy that you probably saw on the TV."
"Oh, that's his name huh?" Simmons shrugged and grabbed a folder and tossed it down to Saphira. "But how do I know about that, Saphira? Archaeologists found these unexplained markings in ancient ruins all over the world." Saphira placed the folder down to open it curiously. Simmons climbed back down and she pulled out pictures, widening her eyes as she saw the symbols. "China. Egypt. Greece." Simmons walked over to an old move projector and Saphira looked at the projection curiously as he points it out. "Shot in 1932. These are the symbols you're seeing in your head?" Saphira nodded as Simmons walked over to the table and pointed at the pictures. "Same ones over here right?" She nodded again and smiled slightly, he was good at finding out stuff it seemed. "So, tell me, how did they end up all drawing the same things? Aliens. And I think some of them stayed." He grabbed another file, Saphira blinked as this seemed to be going pretty fast if she was honest. "Check this out, Project Black Knife." He opened the file and pulled out pictures of different vehicles and aircraft. "Robots in disguise, hiding here all along. We detected radioactive signatures all across the country. I pleaded on my knees with S-7 to investigate it, but they said the readings were infinitesimal, that I was obsessed. Me, can you imagine that?" Actually, she could imagine that, but she kept her mouth shut.
"Megatron said there was another energon source here," Saphira said, glancing at the images curiously as she wondered about the symbols. Simmons reaffirmed that and she nodded to him as she was not lying about it. "And that these symbols, maps in my head, would lead him there."
"You talk to your autobot friends about this?" Simmons asked curiously.
She nodded. "I have, but unfortunately the source is before them. They don't understand this. Barricade didn't either, only mentioning it could be the language of the Primes…"
"Hang on, Barricade's a decepticon isn't he?" Simmons asked with a curious frown.
"Uh, he's changed sides…well, he's removed his decepticon badge for now, he wants to join the autobots, but they're being cautious. For good reason, obviously." She smiled slightly at him and the man nodded slowly before she continued. "Whatever the energon source is, it predates them, it's before them."
"So it comes before them?" Simmons asked and Saphira nodded affirmatively. "Well, then we're porked. Unless we can talk to another decepticon. And unfortunately, I am not on speaking terms with them. Somehow, you are with a former decepticon."
She smiled at him with a chuckle. "Well…I just happen to have another decepticon."
"Huh? Really?" Simmons looked at her in shock. "Should I be worried?"
"Nope, he's just a scrap bot," Saphira responded as she walked to the stairs to climb up. "I'll go and get our little friend right now."
Saphira climbed back into the meat locker. She grimaced a little as she saw the carcasses, but she walked out of the meat locker and through the store to head back out to the bots. She walked over to the Camaro and opened the trunk.
"What are you doing?" She jumped and turned to see Barricade's holoform looking at her curiously. "Do you need a decepticon in there or something?"
"I am just making this guy cough up more information," Saphira responded as she grabbed the box and closed the trunk. "He already knows about you anyway Barricade. Don't worry, I have this guy on a leash."
Barricade watched her walk back towards the store. "Are you sure you don't need me?"
She shakes her head. "Sorry, Barricade. It is best you stay with Bee and the twins."
Barricade said nothing as he watched Saphira walk back into the grocer. He wanted to follow her, but he knew it was better to remain watchful. Especially with so many people and decepticons looking for her right now. He begrudgingly waited for her to return, Bee himself was amused by Barricade's annoyance. He would get used to it.
Saphira returned to the basement with the box, Simmons eyed the box with fascination as he had no idea Saphira kept a little bot in her pocket. She placed the box on the table and began to open it. "This is going to be a little bit sad, I've had him locked up in here for a while."
Simmons smirked at her. "This is going to be entertaining for me."
She rolled her eyes at him and opened the box. She held the chain as the tiny bot jumped out angrily. "I will have so many decepticons on your butt!" The bot threatened, glaring at Simmons.
Saphira tugged on the chained and lifts a spanner in case she had to use it. "Hey! Behave!" She snapped at him, the bot flinched and pulled at the chain, trying to take it off. "Like I sad, this is sad."
Simmons stared at the bot curiously with a smile. "I spent my whole adult life combing the planet for aliens, and you're carrying one around in your purse like a little chihuahua."
The bot chewed at the chain and turned, glaring at Simmons as he heard what he said. "Do you want a throwdown you pubic fro-head?" He groaned and rubbed his left eye. "Ah, my eye…"
She tugged on the chain to make the bot look at her. "I'm sorry," She said in a very sweet tone. "I'm so sorry about your eye. But if you're a good boy, I'm not going to smash up your other eye." The bot listened to her and seemed to understand as he clutched his hands together nervously. "I won't smash it, just tell me what these symbols are. Please?"
The bot looked at the pictures below him and frowned slightly. "Ah, I know that, that's the language of the Primes." He turned, glancing down at the pictures of the vehicles. "I don't read it, but these guys…" Saphira picked up the pictures, showing them to him. "Where the freak did you find photos of these guys?"
"Is this they?" Saphira asked curiously as she held up the pictures.
"Yes, Seekers pal!" The bot confirmed. "Oldest of the old, oh they've been here for thousands of years looking for something, I don't know what. Nobody tells me nothing, but they'll translate those symbols for you. And I know where to find them."
"You do?" Saphira smiled at the bot, he nodded. "Great! Show us, please."
The bot nodded and stretched out his limbs, cracking his wrist and turned to face a map on the wall, shining his lights on them. Saphira and Simmons look at the map, looking at every dot of where the Seekers were. Saphira smiled when she saw the closest one was in Washington. It was a three hour drive, but it was better than nothing.
"Looks like the closest one is in Washington," Simmons said with a smile. He looked at Saphira. "Mind if I tag along?" She blinked and looked at him in surprise. "Oh, don't tell me you considered not taking me along with you. I am not going to sit on my butt waiting for you to save the world again."
"You know he'll be useful to you," The bot said to Saphira. "After all, you can't even use money to buy food and stuff."
"Oh, yeah…of course, I can help with that." Simmons did not like that the bot had said that and glared at him. "Way to make it sound like she's using me."
"I had forgotten about that…but that isn't why I would drag you along. Anyway…" She opened the box and gestured to the bot. "Get back in please."
"Aw…must I?" He whined at her with a frown. "I thought I would be let go!"
"You could change sides like Barricade, you know," Saphira said with a smile. "But you're still a decepticon right now. So, get in!"
The bot grumbled and rolled over to the box. "At least you ain't tossing me in, I guess this is a step forward."
"Keep it up, and I might let you off the leash," Saphira said to him as he laid in the box and closed the lid. She locked it and walked to the ladder to climb up. "Is your mother gonna being okay you are leaving her alone with the shop?"
"Of course she will, she's been harping on me to get out for months anyway," Simmons responded roughly as he followed her. "I'll just go get changed, grab my bag and we can go."
"And just to let you know…" Saphira stood in the meat locker and waited for him to climb up. "If you do anything to annoy me, you get to spend time with Barricade. He's outside right now."
The man widened his eyes in shock at that. "Um…fair enough."
She chuckled as he walked out of the meat locker and she followed to head out of the deli. She walked out to Bee and put the box back into the trunk and sat in the passenger side, waiting patiently for Simmons to get in.
"Where are we heading?" Bee asked through the radio curiously.
"Have you heard of Seekers?" She looked at the dash curiously. "That little bot said they can translate the symbols I've been seeing. There's one in Washington, we are going there."
"Legendary people, huh? I guess that makes sense." Bee seemed amused by this. "Where in Washing are we going?"
"Um…not sure," Saphira frowned, she didn't even ask. "Maybe Simmons will know. He's coming with us. Partly because I need to be able to buy food and he has money for it."
"Understandable. A useful idiot."
She chuckled softly at Bee's response. She didn't deny that fact at all. She tapped her fingers on the dash, humming to herself gently as she waits for Seymour to arrive. He walked out shortly after wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, he yelled at someone as he walked out and strides over to Bee to get in.
"Alright, I was able to figure out where that little bot was pointing," He said as he gets comfortable in the seat. "Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, that is where we are going." He glanced at the sideview mirror as the Camaro's engine began. "Is that Challenger Barricade?" She nodded at him. "Hmm, at least he's lost those stickers."
"I would be respectful about it though, Barricade did it also so he wasn't so obvious to the other decepticons. They know he's betrayed them. So…yeah." Saphira took a deep breath and smiled. "I guess we have about three hours together."
"I figure we can stop at a gas station on the way to get some food and drink, I don't know if you've had anything to eat since this whole excitement." She shakes her head because she has not. "Alright, that is the plan than."
She chuckled again, this man was very excited to get back into the game. She knew he probably missed being able to know this classified stuff, and now she has told him. She just hoped it was not a bad idea. She looked out the window thoughtfully as the bots drive away from the store to begin heading towards Washington. Her mind went to Optimus again. Her heart was aching so terribly at the moment. She wanted to hug the gem, but she wouldn't. Not in front of Seymour. It was back inside the glove compartment. But she did glance at the compartment, imagining the gem sitting right in front of her at this very moment. She hoped that they would find the answers they need, and that this Seeker they were heading towards was not a decepticon. Although, she did wonder if some of the older decepticons were wiser than Megatron and not as rash. She did not know. She only knew they would find out very soon.
