Raptrana
Part Seven: Finding
It was the next day. Dad and I were talking,
walking through the woods behind the summer
house. I showed him all my old hiding spots, for hide-and-seek, or whenever Jack
was looking for
me, to vent out on. Only, I never told him about Jack.
“I heard what you said to . . . slaggit. What is that child’s name?”
“Kerry.”
“Her. She’s quite wild. We had heard what she had screeched, directly before
you told her
off.” I looked at my feet, and shrugged. “Over all, you’re quite brave, to
say what you did.”
I looked up at my father, surprised. “You aren’t kidding me, are you?” He
looked at me, and
I chuckled, answering my own question. “No, you aren’t. You don’t do stuff
like that.”
“You’re learning, daughter, you’re learning.” He ruffled my hair,
smiling. “Now, on a more
serious note, when will your repairs be completed?”
I thought. “Tonight, at the latest. I was hit pretty hard, remember.”
He nodded, and I saw movement in the bushes behind my father. I motioned for him
not to
react, as I pulled my broadsword out silently. He nodded slightly, and readied
his optical lasers. He
whirled, and I ran in, chopping downward at a creature that looked like some
sort of blue wolf. It
backed away, and . . . transformed!
I saw the shape that it changed into, and ran. As I ran past Dad, I grabbed his
wrist, and
pulled him along. “Bad move, Dad! Really bad move!”
As soon as he saw the creature, we booked it back to the house, as we had walked
into the
forest while talking. Cheetor and Chandler were talking and smiling. Optimus saw
us running, and
he stopped in mid-sentence to my mother. “Abby? What’s wrong?”
“Blue wolf . . . swiped at it . . . didn’t know . . . transformed . .
. red now . . . angry . . .
chasing us!” I said, between gasps of air. I sat, panting, and heard heavy
footsteps.
Optimus chuckled, and Dad said, “I find . . . nothing . . . funny about . . .
it.”
“You don’t understand, Dinobot. We know this creature. Nightscream?”
“Yeah? What?”
“Noble’s around.”
“How’d he follow us?”
“I don’t know, but you’d better calm him down.”
“Oh? And how did he get angry?” He saw us panting, and sneered at me.
“Forget I even
asked.”
He walked right in the path of the charging red lizard, and I saw it stop. It
looked right at me,
and I put my sword into subspace, hoping that it knew how to forgive. Cheetor
sat next to me, and
snarled, “I don’t like it.”
“Why not?” I asked, still breathing heavily, but able to talk normally.
“Megatron once resided within its body, but we couldn’t figure out how a
Spark could reside
within an organic body.”
“Guess what?”
“What?”
“I had a Spark all though my life, and I still have no idea whatsoever why I
didn’t notice it
before.”
“Before what?”
“I entered the Beast Wars. Actually, right before, when Mom told me about who
Dad was.”
“Oh.”
I saw Nightscream walk over, behind the blue wolf-like humanoid. It came down on
all fours,
to look me squarely in the eye. I didn’t flinch, but only sat there. “I’m
sorry. I over-reacted.”
“He probably doesn’t understand,” a scornful voice said.
“Rattrap, shut your mouth right now, scum-sucker.”
The blue creature glared at Rattrap, then at me. It opened one giant hand, and
dropped
something silver in front of me. I immediately felt at my neck, and realized
that the pendant had
caught on something. I hadn’t noticed it gone. I picked it up, and said,
“Thank you.”
It smiled, and settled down on the grass, by my feet. Nightscream looked at me.
“He never
takes to anyone like that.”
I shrugged. “Do you know how many people have said that to me? I seem to have
this knack
with animals. Not that I’m saying that . . . uh . . .”
“Noble,” Nightscream supplied. “Yeah, I know what you’re saying.” He
smiled at me.
I smiled back, and felt someone lift me, facing them. “Carlos, you put me down
right now.”
He did, and said, “I gotta tell you something.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
I sighed, and shrugged to Optimus and Mom. “I’ll be back. For this one,
when you ignore
him, he doesn’t go away.”
Mom chuckled, as did Optimus and my father. “We’ll see you later on.”
Carlos led me to our secret hiding spot, where we had secret meetings when we
were littler,
and Jack invited Carlos’ family along. He was the only child. “I have to
tell you something, and you
can’t tell anyone else. The thing is, I can’t say what I have to.
I’ve never told anyone this, and my
Mom and Dad said that I couldn’t.”
“Couldn’t what?” I asked. “Carlos, we’ve now each other for years,
now. You know that you
can always tell me what’s on your mind, and I’d never judge you.”
He nodded. “I know. So . . . just watch.”
I smiled, but it was immediately replaced with a hanging jaw. Instead of the
Carlos that I
knew as the human, I saw an obsidian panther, with jet-black wings. Then . . .
he transformed.
“You’re Cybertronian,” I whispered, looking into his optics.
He nodded. “I’m sorry I could never tell you.”
“Carlos . . . or is it?”
“I’m also known as Maelstrom. Please . . . just don’t . . .”
I reverted to my beast mode, and watched, as he did too. “Tell anyone. I know.
You never
told anyone about who I was, so I’ll repay that. The thing is, is that I think
that Optimus has already
known. He knows these things. You’re heard of the Oracle?”
“That’s a myth.”
“To you, maybe. I was killed in the Beast Wars, and– ”
“What?!”
I sighed. “You weren’t supposed to know. I fought alongside Dad, to save the
human race.
We died, but Optimus, through the Oracle, consented to have us given new bodies,
that looked
exactly like our old ones. The only difference, was that I had a human mode, as
well. Dad didn’t. I
don’t mind that, because I wouldn’t adjust to it easily. What about your
parents?”
“They were both Cybertronian.”
“That would explain your fascination with our race, in general. But . . . what
about the
dance?”
“Even if you weren’t Cybertronian, I’d still love you.”
“Carlos . . . if you even start talking about it, I’ll beat you.”
“No you won’t.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Actually, yes. You know how to use a sword?”
“Probably better than you.”
“What?!”
“Dad taught me everything he knows about sword fighting. Or dueling, as
we sophisticated
ones prefer to say it.”
He laughed, and I smiled at him. With one immense paw, even to me, he tapped the
tip of
my snout gently. “You’re still beautiful.” I could feel a blush coming on.
He laughed again. “And
talented. How can you blush in your beast mode?”
I shook my head, smiling. “No clue. That’s the first time anyone’s
commented on that.”
He smiled back at me, and changed to his human mode. “Please, though.”
“Don’t worry about it, Carlos Maelstrom. I’ll keep your secret, until you
decide that it’s time
to reveal it.”
He sighed, and we walked back to the house together. I saw Dad scowling at me,
and I knew
that Mom was the one who had kept him from sneaking after me. I shook my head,
and said to
Carlos, “Dad’s managed to sneak after me, every time I’ve talked to you.
The first time, Optimus
hauled him back up the lift shaft. The second time, I glared at him, and he
left. The third time, this
time, Mom kept him here.”
Carlos looked shocked, but he then laughed. “That’s why you were so
tense a few days ago!”
“Naw, really?”
He shook his head, and I caught his eyes. I saw in them, a desire to suddenly
change into his
beast mode, and fly. I grinned. “Your choice.”
His eyes widened, and he said, “How did you know?”
“I know you, so you can’t hide anything from me.”
“I should’ve realized that sooner,” he said. “That would’ve made
things a whole lot easier.
A whole lot . . .”
“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep inside? Even some of the Maximals are.
It’s supposed
to be a chilly night,” Mom was saying. She grinned mischievously. “And
Carlos will be in there.”
“Mom!”
She laughed, and walked into the house. Cheetor walked out of the shadows, and I
hid my
face in my hands. “Oh, no.”
“You’re blushing.”
“Shut up.”
“You’re as red as that shack, over by the oak tree.”
“Go away.”
He chuckled, and put an arm around my shoulders. “Ah, don’t worry about it.
You two are
good friends. I can see that. Really good friends.”
“Cheetor, I’ll kill you. I swear it, I’ll kill you.”
He only chuckled even more. “Yeah, sure, Raptrana. Whatever you say.”
I went to my beast mode, and saw my father, already asleep. I curled up by him,
and looked
over his shoulder, at the house. My night vision was just about flawless, and I
saw my mother in one
of the windows, smiling at me. I knew that she saw proud at me, because of the
way I’d behaved
myself, and that I’d found my father. I smiled back, and dropped off into a
deep sleep, no knowing
of the danger that was only hours away . . .
I woke up, and saw that I was tied up securely, but still in my beast mode.
Megatron was
leering at me and my father, who was lying beside me. “Search the house, and
if you find it, bring
it to me.”
I struggled, but all I could really do, was wiggle my toes, and snap my tail
from side to side.
I saw Mom being dragged out of the house, along with the rest of the kids . . .
and Carlos. He saw
me, and I swear, looked ready to kill Megatron. I could feel the rage rippling
off my father, as he saw
the small procession. I already knew that no human would try to help us. They
would keep as far
away from Cybertronians. I heard a voice say inside my head, Use your claws.
I frowned, and saw Optimus looking at me. I stopped struggling, and discreetly
looked down
at my claws. My hind legs could reach my arms. I looked back to Optimus, but he
was looking at my
father. I kind of knew, that he was telling Dad the some thing. Then, he closed
his eyes, and I heard,
You two, together, are more than perilous. You’re more than formidable.
You’re dire. Teach
Megatron the meaning of a dire-warrior.
At the same time, we unsheathed our claws, and released ourselves, jumping to
our feet, and
transforming, all in one smooth movement. We stood with weapons drawn and ready.
Carlos looked
ready to change, but I shook my head. Megatron turned away from my mother, and
saw us. “You two
will never give up, will you?”
“True warriors will never be defeated, without a struggle,” my father
snarled.
“Careful,” I breathed. He nodded so slightly, that I almost missed it.
“Hah! True warriors know when there isn’t a way out!” Megatron
sneered. We didn’t reply,
as we knew the silence over insults scared your opponent. Mom watched us. I knew
that we were
helpless against shielding the kids from this. I looked to her, and she bit her
lip. I looked away, and
then back at Megatron. I narrowed my eyes, and me and my father went into a
hunting formation,
from when he was teaching me in the Beast Wars. The only difference, was that I
was in my beast
mode, and not in my robot mode, as I was now. He went to his right, and I to my
left. We shot down
or destroyed any of the drones that even threatened to isolate us. Megatron
leaped at us, roaring to
his three generals, “This is my fight!”
As he charged us, we waited until the last moment, before dodging to the side,
and swipe at
him, as he barreled past. He shot out, and managed to hit Dad on a glancing
blow. In result, he
dropped his shield, and took a double-handed stance. I shot at Megatron with my
optical lasers, and
dodged his return fire. Dad followed my example, and we shot at him from a
distance. Not all that
hard of a task, if you think about it. Megs is a pretty large target. In doing
this, neither of us noticed
until too late, that the three generals had snuck up behind us. One of them
pulled my arms behind
me, and I remembered going through this once before. And I wasn’t about to
have history repeat
itself if I could help it.
With a wrathful yell, I broke free, scrapping the general behind me. It was the
one who
controlled those unicycle-looking drones. I could care less, as I heard Megatron
start to shoot at me.
I did a flip in front of the one who was holding my father. Megs shot at where I
was, ending up
hitting his general. Or generalette, as she yelled once, and
dropped, freeing Dad. I handed him his
sword, and we faced Megatron together.
“Good move,” Dad murmured.
“I don’t like it, when history repeats itself,” I replied.
“I’ll take on Megatron. Free the others.”
“You were killed last time that happened,” reminded him, as we waited for
Megatron to
attack. “I don’t want to see that again.”
He growled, and said, “You will do as you’re told, daughter. Go.”
I sighed, but obeyed, running over to Cheetor, and freeing him. “Get the
others.” He nodded,
and I ran back to my father, who was engaged in battle with Megatron. He was
knocked down, and
I saw his sword in Megatron’s hand. With speed unknown to me, I ran over,
between the descending
sword, and my father, blocking it with my own sword. It dug harmlessly into the
earth by my father’s
side. I rolled, and got to my feet. Megatron turned to me, and I snarled, “You
ever touch my father’s
sword again, and I promise you that you’ll never be desired by any female, no
matter how primitive
they may be!”
He sneered something to me in Cybertronian, then repeated it in English. “You
half-human
monstrosity! All you’re good for, is target practice!”
I held my tongue, and only glared at him He rushed at me, and I ran at him.
Right before I
swerved out of his way, I thrust my sword at his gut. He caught it with his arm,
but I had too
vigorous of a grip, so I ripped it out before he had time to react. I whirled,
only to be winded, as he
whipped his good arm around, catching me in the stomach. I sat on the ground,
trying to catch my
breath. My sword had been knocked out of my reach. My energy shield had been
destroyed earlier.
I reached into my sub-space pocket, and felt the handle of my pistol. I drew it,
and aimed at
Megatron, sobbing for breath. I shot, hitting Megatron in his torso multiple
times. I couldn’t avoid
it, as he aimed his own weapon at me, and fired. Heat and flames encircled my
body, but I didn’t
scream, only shot higher up. When he stopped firing at me, I saw that I had
almost hit his head. I
dropped back, and saw Dad’s face in front of mine.
“Hold on, daughter. Hold on.”
I saw Carlos, the human, standing over me. He looked to the side, then back at
me. His eyes
were full of pain, and I saw him change to his beast mode. Dad jerked in
surprise, and Carlos
Maelstrom’s nose rubbed against my cheek. He then turned, and ran at Megatron,
who was standing
again. He snarled, and transformed to his robot mode. He took out double katanas,
and held ready.
Cheetor joined him, and I said to Dad, “I want to see this.”
Mom came over, and helped me sit up. Dad didn’t tear his gaze away from
Carlos, as the boy
and Cheetor ran at Megatron side-by-side. I saw it all, and I saw the reason why
Carlos named
himself “Maelstrom.” Mom held me to her, and I sighed, letting myself be
pulled into her for a
moment. Then, I said, “Mumma . . . I have to go to my beast mode.”
She nodded, and let me go, for a second. Once I was safely there, she held me
tighter to her.
I felt my consciousness drift, and soon, the pain was gone, as I slept deeper
than ever . . .
Voices surrounded me, soft, and unsure.
“You’re sure she’s fine?” Mom.
“Lynne, all she has to do now is sleep it off. She’s fully repaired. Trust
me.” Dad.
“It isn’t that I don’t trust you. I . . . I’m just . . .”
“Worried. I know. So was I, when she first got her Cybertronian form. She
almost died.”
“How many times has she almost died, now?”
“Ah . . . Lynne, please, don’t ask.” Optimus.
“Well, if she can’t ask, then I will.” Carlos.
Dad grumbled a reply.
“What?”
“Would you count almost getting herself killed as one?”
“Yes.”
“Slaggit. Five? Maybe six?”
“Maybe?!” I heard someone screech.
I groaned in response, and heard everyone stop talking. I felt a hand on my
forehead. “Baby,
lie still.”
“I’d be better off, if whoever just shrieked, hadn’t,” I mumbled,
opening my eyes. I saw Mom
smiling. Dad was behind her, and Carlos was peeking around Dad, in his beast
mode. Optimus was
behind them all, smiling at me. I heard a whine, and saw a blue shadow behind
Optimus. “Where
am I?”
“Inside. You keep still, Abigail, or . . . or . . .”
“Mom. I know. I’ll listen.”
“A first,” Dad grumbled.
Mom looked at him in shock, and I chuckled. “Really, Dad. I didn’t think
that you were that
complimentary, to say something as loving as that.”
“You whelp. Don’t overexert yourself, you understand? I’ll beat you, if
you do.”
“No you won’t,” I chuckled. “You’ll only threaten to. Sorry, Dad. I
know you too well, now.”
He smiled, and nodded. I saw Carlos there, in his human mode. “Hey, Abby.”
“You. Lunatic.”
“Good afternoon to you, too.”
“You had to ask how many times I’ve almost been killed?”
“I’d never get the answer out of you.”
“I know.”
He shook his head, and a blue wolf-like snout poked over his shoulder. I reached
up weakly
with my hand, and rubbed it. “How long have I been out?”
“Six days, give or take a few hours. You’ve become popular around here,”
Optimus replied.
“One of your younger sisters told one of her friends that you saved Katyana,
and then . . . well . . .
news spreads.”
“Where was Noble, while I was asleep?”
“Guarding the area, along with the rest of us.”
“Why?”
Optimus just smiled, and pulled Mom and Dad over to the corner, apparently
asking
something of them. Carlos sat on the edge of my bed, and asked, “How long
until you’ll be able to
go to your robot mode?”
“I dunno. I think about another day, but I’m not sure.”
He stroked my forehead, and smiled. I smiled back, and felt Noble lick my snout.
I snorted,
and blew into his face, as I had done to Katyana. He curled up next to my bed,
tucking his limbs into
a more comfortable position, like a dog would. He whined at the door, and I
followed his gaze.
Nightscream and Chandler were there.
“Sis, you really are insane.”
“What did you expect?”
They laughed, and walked into the room. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to
exchange
insults, as Optimus and my parents came back to me. Mom cupped my head in her
hands, and said,
“You behave.” She then left, gently tugging Chandler behind her.
I looked to Dad. “What was that about?”
He didn’t answer, but instead, picked me up.
“Hey! Dad! Aww, c’mon! This isn’t fair! Put me down! Please? Dad!”
He ignored my protests, as he carried me down the stairs. I could almost see him
smiling at
the pouty-face I was making. As soon as we reached the bottom, he set me down,
and said, “Walk
over to the door.”
“Why didn’t you let me walk down the stairs by myself?”
“Just walk to the door.”
I snorted, and said, “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“You’ll see, once you walk to the door.”
“I’m as stubborn as you are.”
“I know. So listen to me.”
“Nope.”
“You willful brat.”
“Yup.”
“Walk to the door.”
“I told you before: not until you tell me what’s going on!”
I heard a knock, and so I walked over to the door, slowly and painfully. I
looked out, and saw
Cheetor standing there. “Took you long enough.”
He opened the door, and led me outside. Dad followed, and as soon as I was
outside, my jaw
dropped, and I could feel my knees weakening. A black Fuzor was suddenly on my
right, and as I
could feel my knees start to give out, he stood next to me, and supported me.
A tall Cybertronian was standing in front of me. He smiled down at me, and
kneeled. “You
should know me, little one.”
I sat, finally remembering that I had seen his face while traveling through the
Matrix. I was only able to whisper, “You’re Depth Charge.”
“That’s correct. The Matrix is a tricky thing, no? I also served under
Optimus in the Wars,
and now, I’ll serve him again. This time, beside you and your father.”
I smiled, and replied, “It’s an honor to meet you.”
“As is you.”
“Why me?”
“Rattrap told me about you, your father, and your combined feats. Optimus made
a point to
continue your objective, to protect you and Dinobot from dying in vain, while we
were still fighting
in the Wars.”
He smiled, and picked me up, to sit on his shoulder, as he stood. I saw over a
few trees, and
saw Botanica, Silverbolt, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia keeping a whole crowd of
humans from
entering our private road. “Tell me that they aren’t here to see me.”
“Then I won’t.”
I sighed, and grumbled a few classic human cusses. Depth Charge looked shocked
for a
moment, then he chuckled. “I suppose that doesn’t fall under the behavior
setting that your mother
set out for you, does it?”
“Honestly? Not at all.”
He laughed, and set me back down on the ground. I walked over to the big oak
tree, and sat
’Raptor-style. Meaning, I was lounging on my side. Dad came out presently, and
sat beside me. “So.
Now you’re a celebrity now, mm?”
I smiled. “Not intentionally.”
He said nothing more, and Carlos Maelstrom sat on my other side. Mom came out
with
Katyana and Chandler, and set the infant up against my side, then sat on Dad’s
free side. I smiled
down at the Little One, and laid my head down, coincidentally by Carlos. He
smiled at me, and I
curled around Katyana. Chandler sat on Carlos’ other side, playing some game
or another on his
Game Boy. I thought about Katyana’s name.
“Mom?”
“Yes, Abby?” she responded.
“Where’d you get Katyana’s name?:
Mom chuckled. “From an ancient Japanese weapon.”
“A katana?”
“Yes.”
I smiled again, and thought, She’ll be one of the strongest children ever.
My face fell. Then
again, we’ll all have to be strong, with Megatron around. He’s always going
to try to kill either me,
Dad, Mom, or any of the kids. I felt my confidence return fiercely. But
not with me around.