Raptrana
Part Three: Anguish
It was a week later.
I groaned, and tried to crawl deeper into the coolness of under the bed of the
quarters I stayed
in. The heat was too much. And nothing I could do could stop it. My skin burned,
and the parts of
me that wasn’t burning, was trembling. My father had been in a battle, and
only now, was in a CR
chamber.
My Spark hurt.
My world dimmed slowly black . . .
“Abigail? Abigail! Where are . . . daughter.”
I felt someone pull me out of my cool haven. “Daughter, wake up.”
“Dad?” I whispered. My mouth felt weird, as if it was elongated. “I hurt
all over . . .”
“Shh,” he said, and I felt him pick me up, and then the next thing I
remember, was darkness.
Then, suddenly, light so bright, it hurt everything.
“Open your eyes.”
I opened them, and saw the same bot, who I had seen in the meadow. “What . . .
hey, you
again? Who the hell are you? What the hell do you want with me?”
“You’re still stuck on that, are you? Let’s see, now . . . I guess that
you could call me a
‘guardian angel,’ if you really want to. And I want nothing from you. I only
wish to help you with
your journey.”
I sighed, and asked, “Why am I here?”
He floated over to me, and tapped my . . . snout?! “What the . . . what
happened to me?” I
asked, as I looked myself over.
“You were given a truly Cybertronian form, when that surge hit. You’ll find
out more about
it when you return.”
“But . . . why am I here?”
“You aren’t supposed to be. Go back, to your father, and remember that you
are who you
make yourself to be . . .”
A sharp pain in my chest brought me back to my senses. I groaned, and could feel
my
stomach rolling. Arms encircled me, and I was held closely to someone. I opened
my eyes, and
looked at who it was. My father. He was smiling through tears, as I realized
that Cybertronians, too,
could cry. I touched his cheek, and tucked my head under his chin.
“I was afraid that you left me,” he rumbled. I sighed, and let him hold me.
“Rhinox thought
that you were gone for a moment, as well.”
“Did . . . did you tell them?” I asked weakly, looking at my hands. They
were three-fingered,
with deadly, curved claws.
“I couldn’t bring myself to. I don’t know, now, why I didn’t.”
“You . . . how did I come back?”
“Look.”
I looked over to my right, and saw Rhinox and another bot. “Who’s he?”
“Sure, I’ve changed, but is it that obvious?”
“Primal?”
He smiled, and said, “Sleep. You need your strength. I’ll see you when you
wake up.”
After he said that, he walked out of the room, accompanied by Rhinox. My father
looked at
me, and set me back down on the bed. I looked myself over, slowly, and sighed.
“Son of a . . . I really
oughta kill that one who calls himself my ‘guardian angel.’ He’s starting
to freak me out.”
“Who are you talking about?”
I explained to him what I had seen, and he nodded, his trademark frown slipping
into his face.
“You were murmuring something, before you . . .”
“Before I half-died. I know I almost did. And it was that angel guy, who sent
me back. What
did I say?”
“You asked, ‘Why am I here?’ then stiffened for a moment.”
“No details, please. I’m scared enough as it is about this form.”
My father dropped to his beast mode, and I saw that it was the same as mine,
except mine
was a lighter shade, almost a red. He sat, and propped his head up by mine, and
upon my request,
started explaining everything to me.
Everything.
It’s been three weeks, since the surge hit. And, I’m finally been able to
get up, and walk! The
freedom! Rhinox said that he wasn’t sure if I was able to go into the CR
chamber, as I believe Primal
told him about who I really am. I don’t mind, on a whole.
But what I do mind, was Rattrap.
The first day I was able to walk, I was trying out my robot mode, walking next
to my father.
I look only slightly like him, and that was what surprised me. I had his eyes,
but that was it. My face
was a light blue, and I was sure that I didn’t have his chin. I was
almost as tall as him, but I was more
feminine, obviously.
Our transformations was identical, as I’ve watched him. It totally freaked me
out, the first
time I did it. I was literally shaking, and I had to sit suddenly. Dinobot was
chuckling quietly, as he
helped me stand again. Then, I caught onto his laughter, realizing that I
must’ve had the most stupid
face, at the amazement of transforming. I had thought that it would hurt, or
cause at least some pain.
It didn’t, surprisingly. You know how you feel, right after you stretch your
back, or when you just
finish a set of stretches, that feeling of looseness, and you just want to sigh?
That’s how it felt. I had
noticed that the design from the pendant was on my shoulders. On one side, the
sword. On the other,
the ’Raptor. The pendant, however, was nowhere to be found.
Anyway, we were on our way to the command center. The second we reached it, I
heard a
whistle.
“Yo, cutie!”
I looked up to my father. He was snarling. “Chill. I’ll take care of
this.” I turned to the one
who had called me. “You’re Rattrap, aren’t you.”
“Slaggin’ straight, kitten.”
I ignored the comment. My father stalked off to the other side of the room, and
leaned against
the wall, frowning ominously. Optimus came up the lift, saw the scene, and
sighed. “Just don’t kill
him, okay?”
“Me?” I replied meekly, hoping he’d catch my drift.
He chuckled, and replied, “Fine, no mortally wounding him.”
I huffed, and crossed my arms over my chest. “How come you have to spoil everyone’s
fun?”
He shook his head. “Then be good.”
He walked down the hall, and I called after him, “You know that because of who
I am, that
I CAN’T BE!”
I heard only more chuckling, and I turned back to Rattrap. He was frowning, and
looking
between my father and me. Dinobot smirked at me, and I looked Rattrap straight
in the eye, drawing
to my full height. Rattrap flinched, as I leaned over, and snarled into his
face, “Let’s get it straight:
I’m not a ‘kitten.’ My beast mode is a ’Raptor, and I reject any
intentions that you’re trying to imply.
To be honest with you, I don’t like you. I never did.”
“Never . . . did . . . What the Pit do ’ya mean?! I never met you!”
I chuckled, and replied, “Ask yourself: what are appearances? I’m pretty
sure that my voice
is the same, huh, Dad?”
Dad thought, and nodded. “True. You’re correct.”
Rattrap swayed, then fainted dead away. I heard another person walk in, and I
called over my
shoulder, “It wasn’t me.”
“Is Rattrap dead?” a youthful voice asked. I turned, and saw a Transmetal
cat.
“Unfortunately, no. I wish that scumbag would die though.”
“What knocked him out?”
“Nothing, really. He just found out something of my past, and he . . . well .
. . fainted.”
The kid started laughing, and I turned to my father, rolling my eyes. “Not
really funny, if you
consider what he found out about me.”
The boy quieted, and said quietly, “Sorry. I’m . . . well, ah . . . this
kind of luck doesn’t really
happen to us.”
I smiled. “I understand.”
He smiled, and said to Dinobot, “Rhinox has the new sectors for your patrol
ready.” He
started to leave, but turned back around, and said, “Sorry. I forgot. My
name’s Cheetor. What’s
yours?”
This was the question I least expected to hear from anyone. It was also one of
the questions
that I really hoped nobody would ask. I wasn’t prepared to answer it. I
obviously couldn’t tell him
the name I was born with, because that was human. I’m Cybertronian,
now, obviously. I was a
’Raptor . . . so . . .
“My name’s Raptrana,” I said, smiling. He smiled back, and left the room.
I grabbed
Rattrap’s foot, and dragged him out of the room, then left him somewhere down
the hall. Where?
Oh, you’ll find out.
“You had to tell him?” my father asked.
“They’ll find out sooner or later. If they find out sooner, then everything
will be for the best.
I know, I wasn’t saying the same thing earlier, but now, well, I guess we have
to do something about
my identity.”
“Raptrana, huh? Hmm. Not a bad choice. It suits you.”
I shook my head, and Rhinox walked into the room. “Good to see you up,
Abby.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Uh, I don’t think that we should use my human
name. I’m
Cybertronian now, and I guess that it wouldn’t really be appropriate.”
Rhinox chuckled. “I see your point. And the name you chose works.
Apparently you learned
to transform?”
“Uh-huh.”
He nodded, and turned to my father. “Dinobot, would you mind teaching her to
patrol?”
“I’ve taught her much more than that. Surely one more objective wouldn’t
hurt.”
I smiled behind my hand, and said, “Or in other words, Rhinox, he’d be happy
to .”
Optimus walked into the room, and asked, “Where’s Rattrap?”
As if to answer his question, we heard a scream, and pounding. “Lemme outta
’ere!”
Optimus looked to me. I bit my lip, and said, “Well, he did ask for it,
making comments like
he did.”
“Just tell me where you put him, and you and Dinobot can go out to patrol.”
“Cheetor’s room.”
“Why?”
“You really want to know?”
“No.”
“That’s a wise choice.”
Rattrap sped into the room, and targeted me. “Dat’s torture!”
“You asked for it! Any more comments, and I’ll tie you to one of those
struts from the bottom
of the Axalon!”
“You half-”
I pinned him up against a wall swiftly, before I even realized it.
“Don’t. You. Dare.”
Rattrap’s eyes reflected my image, and I let him go, dropping to my beast
mode, and walked
behind my father, and glaring out from behind him. He, too, dropped to his beast
mode, and walked
onto the lift. I followed him, and I heard Optimus yelling at Rattrap for what
he almost said. I only
hoped that he left out that I was part human.
Once we were out of sight of the base, my father asked, “Are you okay?” I
snorted my reply.
He sighed. “You’re faster than I thought you’d be. Do you remember what
your weaponry is?”
“Broadsword, energy shield, optical lasers, and a pistol.”
He nodded. “A large weaponry, for one of your age. I can’t do much for your
pistol, but I
trained with a broadsword, and I also have optical lasers.”
I nodded, and we walked on. I heard jets, and saw Cheetor soaring up above us.
He flew
closer, and landed. “Hi!”
I nodded to him, and he said, “What’s the deal with Rattrap?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He’s polishing everyone’s quarters.”
“What?!”
“Something wrong with that?”
“Yes, something is wrong with that! Dad, I gotta go back for a moment, before
he reaches
my room!”
“You didn’t just call Dinobot ‘dad,’ did you?” Cheetor asked. I
ignored him.
“You know the way, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but . . . oh. Damn. I’m an idiot.”
Dinobot chuckled. “You remember, don’t you.”
I chuckled, and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Remember what? What’s going on?” Cheetor asked.
I shook my head. “It’s okay, Cheets. I’m . . . I’m only a little
confused at the moment. Not
much of a change, really.”
Dad shook his head, and I shrugged. Cheetor sat. “Okay. There’s something
going on, and
I’m left out, as usual.”
“Don’t. Only . . . what . . . two? Yeah. Only two people other than my
father know a certain
fact from my past, and I don’t think that anyone else would honor my request
to keep it a-”
A call interrupted me. ~Base to Raptrana and Dinobot.~
“Yes?” we asked simultaneously.
~You two get back here immediately. Understand?~
“Sure,” I said. “Why?”
~You’ll understand when you get here. Base out.~
I shook my head. Cheetor said, “Well, whatever. I’ll see you later.”
He took off in one direction, and we ran in the other, back to the base. When we
were in sight
of it, I saw two dark figures waiting in front of it. Once we arrived at it,
inevitably out of breath, my
jaw dropped.
“Uh . . . I, uh . . . I’m looking for a human named-”
“Carlos?” I panted. “What the . . . what are you doing here?”
“Abby?” He sat suddenly on a boulder.
Optimus smiled at me, and said, “I’ll be inside. Dinobot, come with me.”
Dad looked to me, and I said, “I’ll be fine.”
He nodded, and stepped onto the lift.
Carlos kept looking at me. I sat in front of him, still in my beast mode, not
wanting to spook
him, if I transformed. He finally caught enough guts to ask, “What happened to
you?”
“I changed.”
“Obviously, Abby . . . but how?”
“A Quantum surge hit, and some of the Maximals acquired new forms. I looked
like I was,
half Cybertronian, half human, when it hit.”
“But . . . God, Abby . . . does that mean you’re a full Cybertronian now?”
I nodded. “I think so. I’m not all that sure.”
He sighed, and said, “I miss you so much.”
“Carlos . . . it’s okay.”
“What you said in that letter . . . That’s the guy you fell in love with,
huh? He bore you away
to the middle of nowhere.”
“Carlos!” I said, shocked. “He’s my father!”
His eyes widened, and he turned a bright red. “Oh. Sorry.”
I sighed, and stood, looking over the savannah. “It’s okay. I was shocked
when I first met
him, too.”
“Abby, nothing is like it used to be. Your mother . . .”
I whirled. “What about her?”
I heard the lift lower a little, and I saw my father crouching silently there. A
hand grabbed
the back of his neck, and hauled him up, leaving me alone with Carlos again.
“Your step-father was in a car accident.”
“And?”
“He’s dead.”
I sighed, and looked at the ground. “I hope he went to Hell, for how he
treated me.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“But what were you saying about my mother?”
“She has full custody over Chandler and Brannon. They’re sad about it, and
they miss you.
I can’t find one person who really doesn’t.”
I looked Carlos full in the eye. “And when you go back, you can tell them that
I miss them
even more.”
“You’re not coming back with me?”
“Carlos, you know I can’t return. I . . . I need my father right now.
I miss Mom terribly, but
I can’t return as of yet. I’ve barely begun to know him, and I want to know
more.”
Carlos nodded. “Then when will I see you?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“What if both you and you father returned? Then him and your mom-”
“No,” I said, more sharply than I meant to. “It won’t work out. Please
Carlos, try to
understand. Neither of us can return, unless we’re meant to. If we try to
resist what we know has to
happen, we get nowhere.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying! You’re meant to be with me, Abby!”
I sighed. “Carlos, That’s not what I’m saying. I’m not meant to be with
you right now. Maybe
never . . . I . . . Carlos . . .”
His eyes searched mine wildly. “Abby . . . you aren’t saying . . .”
I felt my face harden. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
He said not another word, but walked off, back toward a portal that appeared out
of nowhere.
It looked almost identical to the one that I had gone through. He took one last
look over his shoulder,
and walked through. The portal disappeared.
I sank to my knees, sobbing. What have I done? I stood, and ran. I ran over the
savannah, into
the woods, to the clearing that I had first met my father in. Night was closing
in fast. I ran on, taking
great sobbing breaths. I saw the caves that held the furs. I collapsed on them,
sobbing my heart out.
There was no end to the tears. They seemed to come from unknown reserves,
unknown reservoirs.
Arms encircled me, and held me close. “You love him, daughter.” I could only
nod. He
continued. “You also did what you though was right. You could have gone with
him, but you stayed.
Why didn’t you leave? I wouldn’t have stopped you.”
I took a deep, shaking breath. “I can’t leave you, Dad. I need to know . . .
I need to learn a
lot more.”
“You could have learned it later.”
I only shook my head. He shook his own head, and lifted my chin to look at him.
“You’re
quite an amazing child, Abigail Raptrana.” He held me close again, and
chuckled. “Quite amazing
indeed.”