The Past

By: Omicron the IceQueen and Landray Depth Charge

Writers' Note: LDC owns Nova Blue.

There was a dark voice in her mind as she slept. "Omie..."

The girl’s hand twitched, but other than that didn't move, her body was as still as it could be, lying beside the Massive form of Depth Charge.  Her mind however, was neither still or asleep, nor awake.

"Omie," the voice called again and took shape of a soothing, motherly tone. "Talk to me, little one."

"Wha...?" The girl blinked into the blackness around her. Mind still groggy, she looked around seeing faint images of her pasts, they were just out of her mental reach but still there.

And there, right before her, was the visage of a beautiful Cybertronian female with haunting violet optics. She smiled, blue body glinting in some light the human couldn't see. "Hello, Omicron."

"Hi?" said the reborn colony, blinking more and then shaking her head to clear it up. "Umm...what's going on?  Because, you know, I was having this really nice dream about Brad Pitt."

"I'm certain you were," the pretty femme smiled. "My name is Nova Blue."

"Umm..." Omicron tilted her head, "I know you don't I?" She sighed, "Give me a minute, I need to wake up.  Primus I hate waking up..."

"You aren't going to wake up.  Not yet."

"Oh good news! Now I can conk out..."

"Please!" Nova Blue stepped forward. "I need to speak with you."

"Ummm...sure, and you really don't need to yell, I'm right here" The girl rubbed her head, what was it with bots and yelling?

"I didn't yell, your ears are merely more sensitive," she corrected lightly. "I need to discuss something of dire importance, to you and myself."

"Suuuuure..."

"Your guardian is dying right in front of you."

Omicron jerked up eyes flashing, "WHAT?!?!?" her stance reflected that of old Crom, a Maximal that used to serve under Depth Charge.

Nova Blue's optics narrowed ever so slightly. "You are his charge, but I thought that by now you would have realized that you have responsibilities in this partnership, as that is what it is: a partnership."

"We help keep his sanity." Omicron glared then paused. "It's my ‘job’ to try and help him keep sanity." Omie corrected herself.

"You're losing not only that, but more."

The girl stared into Nova Blue's optics, what was she talking about?  Omicron hadn't seen anything wrong with Depth Charge, granted she only been here for a week or two.

"He's going to die if you don't help him, Omicron."

"No, no, he can't." Omicron shook her head. "I just got him..."

The Omicronian stepped forward again, kneeling before the human. Her optics were captivating. "I've been watching from your eyes, along with everyone else. Only we see what you do not. Your behavior has been less than pleasant. You've become a burden, and a guardian's colony should never be a burden to him."

Abruptly her mind decided that it was time she remembered who Nova Blue was.  Memories slammed into the human with what seemed like the force of a freight train.  Eyes wide she stared at Nova Blue as she fell to her knees.  After a few silent minutes tears slipped down her cheeks, Omicron stared, tried and failed to say something, the memories burning white hot.

Nova was such a pretty femme, she and Depth Charge had hit it off almost immediately. Friends since secondary school, they'd transcended from the level of friendship to having such a deep love for each other the girl couldn't understand. When the blue and purple Maximal female was taken from him, a part of him had died as well.

"And that part," Nova continued from the thought band. "Is what is killing him, the dead in him is spreading, rotting him away."

"...no..." Omicron looked away the older femme, "I want to help.” she whispered staring at her knees, "I don't know how though..."

A strong purple finger lifted her chin. "Describe to me your behavior since you arrived here on earth, and I will help you figure that out."

"I got an attitude..."

"What kind of attitude?"

"Not really a nice one..."

"Perhaps you can try to fix your attitude.  That is part of the reason you have become a burden on his shoulders.  Not only that but I've noticed you are rather needy...a typical human female teenager, most are reassuring me."

"Hey, I'm barely 14!  I didn't choose to come here." The girl looked into the optics of the other, "You want to know WHY I have my attitude?  I'll tell you, I'm a 13 old runt whose only way of staying out of the 'bigger kids' way was my attitude.  It's not easy to stop doing what I've been doing for most of my life."

Nova's optics narrowed in anger. "Even if it's destroying someone who loves you?"

"I didn't mean that!"

"But it's killing him all the same, Omicron!"

"Stop calling me that!" The girl back up, away from Nova, she glaring, “I'm not just a colony you know!"

"No," the Maximal whispered. "You aren't.  Perhaps Primus was wrong in giving us to you.  It was a gift that should not have been given."

Her shoulders slumped, "I just want Depth Charge to see me as well, not just you and the others."  Omicron look up tears ready to fall, "I accept and understand that you all made me, and that I wouldn't be me without you.  I really do.

"But I'm also Kris, the 13 year old punk-wanna-be that has a good throwing arm." She pulled her knees up to her chest, looking her age.

Nova Blue pondered this, head tilting.  After a moment of deliberation, she whispered soothingly, "I understand that, but from the opposite end of the board you need to be MORE than Kris.  You can be Kris, but you need to be Omicron. You see," Nova sat down in front of the girl. "You don't need Depth Charge.  All you need from him is physical protection.  He, though, needs you to be his Omicron, and his friend."

The girl pushed her face into her arm to hide her crying, "I don't know how though..."

"Do you know how to be a friend?" inquired the dead femme.

Omicron peeked out of arms, but nodded. "I don't now how to be his Omicron," she muttered, “I’m just me.”

"Then be his friend. You'll learn as the time passes how to be both.  Help him when he needs, try not to be as needy as before.  Let go of the things you used to have and let Depth Charge give you things to replace them."

"I guess I can try..."

"Please try.  Think...think of someone else's welfare for once, little girl." She looked sad. "As much as I miss Depth Charge, he's not yet ready to join me."

"But what about my family?  Do I ever get to see them again?" Omicron asked, "Even my little brother?"

"I cannot answer that.  These robots live in your time.  I'm sure when they return home, so can you."

"I guess on the upside I don't have to put up with homework." She raised a brow before sighing, "I'll try."

"Good," the femme looked satisfied.

"Umm...how long am I going to be here?" Omicron tilted her head then said quickly, "I mean here, err...where ever here is..." She pointed down, meaning the place the two were sitting

"Right now, you are just outside of Portland Oregon, before the humans even evolved."

Her jaw dropped, "I...wha...?"

Nova giggled. "You went back in time about four million stellar--…I mean, four million years."

"Can I faint now?"

"I wouldn't.  You're asleep, fainting might kill you."

"I'll wake up and then faint...”

"That's fine.  But, before you do, tell Depth Charge I miss him, and I love him."

"Kay..."

She slowly disappeared.

"Wait a minute!" Omicron bounced to her feet.

Depth Charge lifted his head, optics activating. "...Omie?"

Omicron jumped, eyes wide she promptly fell off the berth, "ACK!"  right onto her butt.

The ray sat up quickly frightened she'd break her head on the rock. "What is going on?"

"Calling all painkillers, report to my butt." She muttered sitting up "Ouch that hurt..."

"You okay?  Fully functional?"

"Expect a sore rear end?  Yeah I think I'm fine..." She blinked.

"Good...so what, you have a nightmare or somethin'?"

"Umm...not really..." She jumped to her feet and tilted her head back then to the side as she looked at him.

Depth Charge arched an optic ridge as she so suddenly leapt up.  Maybe she did hit her head after all.

Briefly, just for a moment, her eyes had a soft violet shine to them then they returned to normal as she tried to pull herself back up, wich was hard to do considering her size.  But the color change did not go unnoticed by the ray as he reached down and offered his hand.  The girl wrapped her arms about his gauntlet like arm and he pulled her up.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

She let go and fell onto her hands and knees on the berth beside the Hunter, "Never been better!" shifting so she was sitting, Omicron looked up at the ray intently for a few minutes, trying to figure out how to say something.

This was a change in attitude he couldn't miss.  She had been confused, frightened, and even someone nasty most of the time since he'd found her on that beach, but now...now she was a strange sort of...perky. "What's on your mind?"

Once again she jumped to her feet, but his time she 'tackled' the ray in a hug, the two words she said were muffled.

Depth Charge was getting more confused and surprised by the second.  So as not to hurt her by her own force, he sat back when she tackled him and waited for her to repeat what she'd said.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, resting her forehead on is armor.

"For what?"

"For being a brat."

He tilted his head. "Forgiven."

She loosened her grip and looked up, that violet tint back, "Nova says 'hi'."

His optics went very wide. "What did you say?  How do you...?" Depth Charge sputtered in a shocked fashion.  He had never told her about Nova.

"I had a visitor...What?" she blinked head tilted to the side as if listening to some one other than Depth Charge.

"You can talk to them?" He whispered, shocked to the core.

"Hold on, Nova's trying to tell someone off..." She winced, "HEY!  I'm under age here!"

"Nova's talking to you?" He grabbed her shoulders. "Right now??"

"Ow, hey not so hard please, and she’s not talking to me right now she’s telling someone called 'Crom' off and not remembering I'm underage!" The girl tried to get out of the ray's grasp and ignore what was being said at the same time

"Crom...and Coquina?  What about her?  And Cybersub??"

Omicron froze, eyes blank.  When she looked up, her eyes were violet...no those eyes weren’t Omicron’s…

Depth Charge's own red gaze stared at her. "...Nova?"

She smiled, not Omicron's half grin but a soft smile, something the ray knew all too well indeed.

"Holy Primus above.." He stared at her, a rich froth-boil of emotions roiling in his optics. He swallowed. "How are you...doing?"

"Fine love," Nova said, in the back of her mind she heard Kris hurting herself laughing. "Take care of yourself, love."

Omicron's eyes rolled back into her head and she promptly collapsed.

"Nov--Omie!" He picked her up and stood, setting her back down.

"Oooo…remind me not to do that again..."

Depth Charge nodded wordlessly and sat next to her. He was dumbfounded, shocked...but he felt so good, knowing Nova was okay where she was. That was true, awesome proof that everyone he loved was in that girl, that girl he had to protect.

Omicron, Kris, shook her head, trying to clear it back to 'normal'.

A groggy, thick voice came through to her: "Omie?”

Yeah...? she thought looking around.

"Omie, wake up." It was Depth Charge.

Kris sat bolt up right, eyes wide.

"Hey," Depth Charge sat back, looking at her with concern.

She blinked up at him.

"You...passed out."

"Thank you for telling me, I was wondering why it was so dark..."

"Smartass," he managed a smirk, and gently stroked her cheek.

"'Course!" She smiled up at the ray, "That's the way I am m'man."

His optics dimmed in a blink and snapped back on. "Good."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Now go back to sleep, I've got another four megacycles before I need to patrol," Depth Charge goaded, poking her gently in the side before laying back down. "I value my shutdown quota."

Omicron as she grinned scooted over to his side where she leaned against him.

"So...you can talk to them…?" whispered the ray in the dark.

"Not all the time."

"...hey Omie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me talk to Nova."

"Umm...she was kinda pushy about it..."

He smiled slightly. "That's my girl.”