"English"
::Comm. link::
{Cybertronian}
[HUD notifications/scans]
::Bond conversations::
:Speaker speech:
"Intercom"
Memories/flashbacks/stasis
{:Ghost/apparition speech:}
(Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers; just my OC(s).)
(Authors Note: Hello my darling readers! I'm sorry it's been a while since I posted the last chapter but I've been working on other stories and projects lately. I'm still very much in love with this story, so bare with me as I continue to post whenever my other projects allow me a moment to focus on this particular story. Thank you for taking the time to read this FF and I hope you all are enjoying it as much as I do.)
Chapter 9
Filly continued to watch the scenery pass by for almost an hour until her optics honed in on an approaching human city. She stared in wonder at the various buildings, curious as to what purposes they served while humans went about their business, completely oblivious to the Cybertronians coexisting among them. As far as they knew, they were just ordinary vehicles, which is exactly what the Autobots wanted them to believe. The less they knew of their existence, the better.
Shortly after arriving in the city, Prowl's voice sounded in through the speakers as he sent out a Comm. link to the group, ::Alright, our objective is to keep an optic out for a vehicle that Filly can scan. Seeing as how her frame is too small for a standard automobile, the local dealerships are out of the question. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, you two scout the residential areas. Smokescreen, you and I will head downtown and check through the business district. Jazz, feel free to take Filly sightseeing but refrain from leaving the city limits and keep her inside your alt form at all costs.::
::Can do Prowler.:: Once the Comm. link ended, Jazz asked his little femme, :Wha'dya think sweetspark? Wanna take a tour of the city?:
She happily nodded, "Oh yes please!"
At her enthusiasm, Jazz emitted a chuckle before splitting off from the group. While he remained hopeful that they'd find a vehicle for her to scan, Jazz was enjoying having her ride inside his alt form. The little movements she would make made him smile, to which he would send her an array of loving vibes through their bond before sending some off to Prowl.
As they toured around the city, Filly curiously asked in a worried tone, "Do you think we'll run into any Decepticons?"
At her question, Jazz stated, :I pray to Primus that we don't, but if they do happen to show up I'll make sure you're safe. Prowler said ta keep ya inside my alt form, so that's exactly what I'm gonna do. Now, if I have to transform, I'll shift ya into ma sparklin' hold for a little while.:
"Oh, I remember my Carrier's sparkling hold. It was warm and safe and roomy when I was smaller. She kept me in there a lot when she had to work because she didn't like not having me close by. I guess she was afraid I'd get hurt or we'd be separated if the Decepticons suddenly attacked our location."
:She was wise to keep ya close, sweetspark.: He gently hugged her with the seatbelt, making her smile.
As they rolled along the busy street, Filly looked in the rear view mirror and asked, "Baba, what were you and Papa like before I came to Earth?"
:Well, we were pretty much the same as we are now lil' spark. Before you came into our lives we were trying to get sparked, but hadn't been successful in our attempts. Now that yer here we've been able to fill a void that has plagued us for vorns.:
"But don't you still want to have a sparkling of your own someday?"
:Filly, you are our sparkling,: Jazz's voice was serious sounding yet laced with so much love. He gently hugged her with the seatbelt and spoke in a soothing tone, :We may not have sparked you, but that doesn't change the fact that we love you and think of you as our own creation. You mean so much to us, to all of us, and we would never allow you to feel that you aren't deserving of our love or that we would ignore you if I suddenly became sparked. Your Papa and I love you so much and while we still want to create a new spark together someday, that doesn't change the fact that you will always be our sparkling and we will always love you.:
At his supportive and kind words, Filly felt her optics starting to leak out of happiness for she knew Jazz meant everything he said. "Baba…," she turned around and hugged as much of the seat as she could while he used the seatbelt to hug her once more and internally wishing he wasn't among humans so that he could transform and properly hug her.
:There, there, my lil' spark. No need to cry. I'm right here. I love you Filly.:
"I love you too Baba," she snuggled into his seat and smiled when she felt gentle pulses caress her spark as he sent loving vibes through the bond they shared.
XXXXX
After nearly half an hour of driving around, Sideswipe's voice suddenly chimed in through Jazz's speakers via Comm. link ::Hey Jazz, Sunny and I found a vehicle for Filly to scan. It's located in the ritzy neighborhood north of the shopping center. I think she'll like it.::
::Alrighty Sides, we'll head that way. I'll inform Smokescreen and Prowl of the situation. You and Sunstreaker continue to patrol the area and keep an optic out for any signs of Decepticon activity.::
::Will do.:: The Comm. link disconnected, to which Jazz then contacted his sparkmate while heading off towards the twins' current location.
::Prowler, Smokescreen, what are your current locations?::
The SIC's voice sounded in through the speakers, ::I'm on Baxter Street heading west towards Davis Boulevard.::
Smokescreen then replied, ::And I'm currently on route towards Smith Avenue and should be nearing the shopping center in about five kliks.::
::Well you two don't need to worry about findin' Filly a vehicle anymore cause Sunny and Sides apparently found one that'll suit her smaller stature. If nothing else, she can use it as a temporary disguise until she finds one she likes. I'm on route towards their location as we speak.::
::Alright then, drive safe and inform us if you pick up on any Decepticon activity.::
::Can do Prowler,:: Jazz smiled as he felt his sparkmate send loving pulses through their bond. Once the Comm. link was disconnected, he asked his little femme, :So, you excited to finally scan a vehicle sweetspark?:
She happily nodded, "Oh yes, yes, yes! I can't wait to have my own alt form! I don't care what it looks like so long as it'll accommodate my size. And like you said, I can use it as a temporary disguise until I find something else, but knowing Sunny and Sides, it must be something amazing because they're all about style."
:True dat lil' spark,: he chuckled while following Sideswipe's coordinates to the location of the vehicle in question. After several minutes of navigating through human traffic, Jazz came upon the ritzy suburbia Sides mentioned, to which he soon spotted the Lambo twins patrolling the neighborhood. ::Alright Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, we're in the area so where's the vehicle you were talking about?::
::It's located down Darcy Street in the driveway of house number 4927. Trust us, you'll know it when you see it,:: there was an obvious smile in Sunstreaker's voice.
Filly eagerly glanced out of the window, watching the houses pass by as they made their way down Darcy Street and approached house number 4927. What they saw in the driveway of the large manor, left them both in awe: It was a black colored Licensed Mercedes Benz CLA45 12V Kids Ride-On Car with an MP3 USB Player. Obviously this little vehicle was not meant for on-road traffic, but it was just the right size for Filly and would serve its purpose at providing her with an alt mode to transform into.
At her excitement, Jazz internally smiled and asked, :Whaddaya think Filly? Is this vehicle suitable to your liking?:
She nodded, "Oh yes it is! It's perfect!"
There was a chuckle heard as the Comm. link was open to the twins. ::We knew you'd like it. Sunny and I had stumbled upon other smaller vehicles, but this one stood out the most and had your designation written all over it.::
"Thank you for finding this for me. I'll go ahead and scan it," she then focused her attention on the smaller vehicle and scanned its frame into her processor. "Can we go somewhere isolated so I can transform?"
Sunstreaker answered, ::There's an abandoned warehouse in the southern district of the city. We'll Comm. Prowl and Smokescreen and inform them of the situation while we escort you both there.::
::Sounds good to me,:: Jazz replied with a smile in his voice. He then followed Sideswipe while Sunstreaker rolled along behind him. As they left the suburban/residential district and made their way downtown Filly eagerly watched the buildings pass by, excited to get out and transform.
XXXXX
Upon arriving at the large, abandoned structure, Jazz and the twins rolled past the gate and entered the warehouse before quickly scouting the structure to make sure that it was safe to transform and that there weren't any humans in the area. Once it was safe, the twins transformed first while Filly exited Jazz's alt form, to which he then transformed and smiled down at her, "Alright sweetspark, show us your new form."
Filly closed her optics and concentrated her energy on transforming before the sound of shifting hydraulics and gears was heard. Before the Autobots now rested an apricot colored mini Mercedes Benz. Filly happily reved her little engine and asked, :What do you think?:
Jazz chuckled and knelt in front of her, "I think ya look amazing lil' spark."
"Yea, Filly, you look great," Sideswipe agreed while Sunstreaker crossed his arms and smirked as she revved her engine again before taking off in a little plume of dust and drove around their legs.
She then stopped and transformed, looking at the improvements to her armor. While it was still basically the same, she now had little wheels on heels and headlights on her chassis. The tiny femmling fluttered her winglets and looked up at the twins, "Now that I have a vehicle form, can I race with you two?"
At the disapproving look Jazz was giving them, Sunstreaker knelt before Filly and gently rubbed the top of her helm while being mindful of her fins, "I'm afraid you're still a bit young for high speed drag racing bright spark, but we'd be happy to give you driving lessons sometime."
"Really?!" She beamed, fluttering her winglets in excitement, making the mechs chuckle with mirth.
"Of course sweetspark," Sideswipe knelt down and booped her on the olfactory sensor, making her giggle. "Sunny and I are excellent drivers. But before we take you out joyriding, you'll have to create yourself a holoform."
"Why?" She tilted her helm in curiosity as she looked to her Baba for answers.
Jazz smiled and stated, "Because your alt form doesn't have a roof and by human standards, your form is considered a toy to some degree. This just means that you need a driver behind the wheel or else it draws unwanted attention to yourself. We all have holoforms but we don't always use them when we drive among humans because of our tinted windows. But if we were to take you to a human recreational area for the afternoon, then we'd have to use them."
"So if I wanted to drive around the humans, I'd have to use a holoform to blend in further?"
"Basically, yes. I'm sorry sweetspark."
She smiled, "That's okay Baba. I did say that I wanted to study humans and what better way than to use a holoform to get close to them."
"Eww, you actually want to mingle with those fleshbags?" Sunstreaker asked with a look of disgust. "They're so squishy and greasy and organic. It's unnatural."
"Maybe to us, but to them it's natural. I want to see humans up close for myself and see if they're like us."
"Trust me bright spark, they're not."
"But we don't really know that. What if they're different in appearance, but similar in other things?"
"I'm almost hesitant to ask what similarities they could possibly share with us," Sunstreaker stood back up and emitted a slight grunt.
Filly was about to speak when she heard vehicles approaching their location. On instinct, she transformed into her alt mode, but thankfully didn't have to flee because said vehicles ended up being Prowl and Smokescreen. She rolled over to them and honked her little horn. :Papa, Uncle Smokey! Look at my new form! Isn't it amazing?!:
The two Praxions transformed and smiled down at her. "You look great sparklet," Smokescreen chuckled as she circled around him.
"Indeed," Prowl agreed. "This new form will serve you well and help you blend in among the natives of this planet. I assume you were informed about the holoforms?"
She transformed and nodded, "Yea, Baba told me I'll have to create one when we get back home. I can't wait to see what my human holoform will look like and I can't wait to see all of yours as well."
"Good luck convincing Sunny to use his," Sideswipe smirked, earning him a glare from his twin.
"Aww, please Sunny? Pweeeease…," the tiny femme used her cuteness to her advantage and looked up at the yellow frontliner with large, innocent optics that sent a pang of guilt through his spark.
With a defeated sigh, Sunstreaker gave Filly a small hint of a smile, "Fine…But don't expect me to use it whenever Sideswipe and I take you out driving."
She gave him a gap-toothed grin and fluttered her winglets, "I won't."
XXXXX
As Jazz had promised earlier, Filly was now playing in a scenic area while her guardians remained close by. Granted, they weren't anywhere near a human settlement, but they remained vigilant regardless.
Filly was currently sitting on the ground watching a rabbit nibble on some desert grass with curious fascination. She hadn't been able to get close to any organics before now. Her optics focused on the creature with wide wonder as she slowly made her way closer to the little animal, without it noticing. She slowly reached out to try and touch it but stopped herself for fear of frightening it away. Deciding not to make her presence known, she left it to its nibbling while silently crawling back to where she was before.
Looking up, Filly noticed three small glints of metal in the sky and asked, "What's that Papa?"
The Praxion glanced up where she was pointing and narrowed his optics, "Decepticon Seekers." He looked over at his sparkmate and stated, "Get Filly out of here while we hold them off!"
Jazz gave him a nod of understanding before scooping up their tiny femme and transforming into his alt mode while placing her in the front seat and buckling her up. "Baba, what's going on?! Are we under attack?!"
:I'm not sure babydoll. Sometimes these Seekers appear outta nowhere and pick fights for no reason.:
"Why? We didn't do anything wrong."
:I don't know sweetspark. My guess is they're just bored and looking for a fight. Regardless, we cannot allow you to be discovered. Understood?:
"Yes Baba, I understand."
:Atta femme. Now, if things get rough an' I have to transform, I'll shift ya into ma sparklin' hold, okay?:
"Okay Baba." She clung onto the seatbelt and watched as the scenery passed by in a blur before she noticed a dark, foreboding shadow appear overhead that was followed by the loud scream of a jet engine.
Seconds later, Filly found herself being shifted around as Jazz suddenly transformed and moved her into his sparkling hold for safety. She trembled as memories of her past encounters with Decepticons crept into her processor, but those thoughts were quickly washed away as she felt herself being cradled in a cocoon of warmth and safety. The only light she could see was the warm glow of Jazz's spark as it pulsed and flared within its protective, transparent casing.