Transformers Fan Fiction ❯ Fragments of Memory ❯ A Woman amongst Them ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter 8: A Woman amongst Them

 

Parts were strewn about in the normally neat workshop as bits and pieces of the Decepticon were examined and either discarded or set aside. Arianna stood on an upturned trash bin, staring amazedly into the chest cavity of the opened transformer. Ratchet found her much better company now that time wasn't of the essence, and actually enjoyed the way she soaked up his lectures. She could make an amazing medic one day, if she were an Autobot, Ratchet thought. The others, while appreciative of his efforts, failed to realize just how delicate and complicated their bodies were. It was refreshing to have an audience who gasped and nodded in all the right places as he talked over his work. He had kept her sequestered to his floor for the hours they had been back at her request, and at the sight of her obvious interest, invited her to watch on as he rebuilt the Decepticon. Arianna was not ready to face the other Autobots. Ratchet had felt the tears spilling on the seats before he realized she was sobbing quietly in his cab on the way to headquarters. Asking her what was wrong had apparently been the wrong thing to do as she burst out into shuddering sobs. She had cried the name “Allen” and Ratchet actually flinched at the soul-wrenching wails emitted from the human. A brief glance from his work revealed that all the redness had gone from her eyes. The trip back had taken nearly a day and a half, and evening was starting to set on the second day.

 

A resounding knock came on the door startling them both.

“I'm sorry to bother you both, but I thought Arianna might like something to eat.” Optimus Prime said gently, letting himself in. He carried a small tray with a gallon jug of water and something that looked like it was once a sandwich. She could see another Autobot peeping over the tall one's shoulder excitedly.

“I can't see her, Prime, I want to see!” Ironhide prodded Prime in the back to move him through the door faster. Arianna sat down on her trash bin and glanced up at the two shyly. Prime danced to the side as Ironhide ducked under his arm and hunkered down at Arianna's level.

“OHH you look just like Mikaela!” He said poking her gently. Arianna got the distinct impression that if he could, the black armored transformer would pinch her cheeks.

“Stop scaring her, Ironhide, mind your manners!” Pime scolded.

“Sorry.” Came the curt reply. Ironhide only apologized to Optimus Prime, and then only just. “But she's so big now!” a disgruntled look fleeted Arianna's features. “No! Just big, yeh know, compared to being little…”

“I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots.” Prime said, shoving Ironhide aside and proffering the tray which Arianna took, trying to look appreciative. “This is Ironhide, my weapons specialist. You'll have to excuse us, it's been so long since we've seen you, and he's excited.”

“Right, like your whining and pacing earlier was the picture of patience.” Bluestreak said from the doorway. A sidelong glance from Prime shut him up, but a smirk remained on his face. The rest of the team filed in as if on request.

“Bluestreak, our mobilization specialist.” Prime waved to the blue and yellow pin-striped Autobot. He was tall and thin, with large missiles adorning his shoulders. “Wheeljack, our inventor.” The shorter, stout transformer gave a little bow as the blue panels on either side of his head flashed in greeting. Arianna cocked an eyebrow. Was he decorated in Italian colors?

“You already know Ratchet, our inventor. Bumblebee is our intelligence expert and Hot Rod our first lieutenant. Welcome to our base, Arianna.”

All she could do was nod, surrounded by all these enormous robots.

 

She ate the sandwich to be polite, washing it down quickly with half the water. Where had they gotten peach marmalade? Bluestreak babbled on about his home state on Cybertron as if he was used to being background noise, and Ironhide kept trying to get so close that he went cross-eyed looking at her. Wheeljack was now engrossed in the refurbishing of the Decepticon and Optimus Prime was talking quietly with Ratchet. The looks both of them kept throwing her made her uncomfortable.

“You know, I could give you some semi-automatic weapons I have stashed away.” said Ironhide after much debate. Arianna considered whether or not they would be convinced if she suddenly fell asleep. Actually, sleep sounded like a good idea. The past few days had been spent sleeping in Bumblebee's back seat, not that she disliked it, but a bed would be nice.

“Where can I get some nightclothes and a shower?” she asked quite loudly. All of them turned and stared at her as if she was speaking in Russian. Arianna sighed. She guessed as much. “Can I go to sleep?” she inquired hopefully.

“Of course!!” Sounded Ratchet as several transformers rushed around in small circles before Prime scooped her up and carried her to the living area, where a large platform clearly designed for his own species sat. Wheeljack dug in a giant trunk and whipped out some oily rags, like overlarge blankets to Arianna. They both looked rather proud of themselves. She strangled a sigh down and smiled toothily.

“Thanks guys, now a little privacy?” There was that Russian language look again. “For…woman-things?” she intoned, grasping for any sort of reaction. This seemed to make them panic slightly and they all retreated with hurried goodnights down into the base.

“Ohmihgodthankyou.” She breathed out.

 

Several hours after she was left alone, and the sound of pneumatic tools ceased, Arianna jumped down from the platform. The top floor was the only one with windows and the new sliver of moon winked in. She wondered how she could open such a huge door, but then spotted a smaller door inlayed in it. The base from the outside looked like a giant water cooling tower. The woods surrounding the structure were dense and green, a pleasant pine smell washed over the girl. They were in Upper Michigan, Ratchet had told her, not too many miles from the coast of Lake Superior. Arianna was a fan of geography, maps in particular, and could picture what the landscape would look like as if topographied before her. She started walking along twin tracks away from the base and a gurgling drew her into the woods. Not far from the makeshift road was a small brook, clear and cold. No doubt a small tributary to the large lake, Arianna smiled in delight and with a look around, stripped and began to thoroughly scour her clothes using crumbling sandstone to cleanse the fabric of blood and grease. She was slightly messy by nature, but a woman could only stand so much.

 

Bumblebee and Hot Rod rumbled tiredly up to the base on the smooth dirt road. Both walked inside quietly, knowing everyone would be asleep in the small hours of the morning. The yellow Autobot's chest tightened in anticipation; it had been nearly two days since he had seen Arianna. Hot Rod immediately went down to wake Ratchet as he was fairly damaged. Bumblebee saw the couch and a few discarded rags. Those morons! Didn't they know he had already stocked up on the things a human would need most? They were all in storage in his room; a pullout cot, some clothes, and canned food. A brief search of the base revealed Arianna was not inside. The anticipation turned to cold fear when he couldn't find her. Two days, he had left her for two days, and the idiots had lost her already! His sensors picked up something as he stepped outside, and small footprints in the soft dirt began the trail. He followed it quietly, not wanting to scare Arianna and was rewarded with a rock violently thrown at his head.

“Hello!? Can I -please- at least BATHE by myself?” Arianna couldn't see in the faint light who had crept up, but she suspected it was Ironhide with her military assault rifles in tow.

“Is that the thanks I get for saving you?” Bumblebee said lightly.

“Bee?!” Arianna squeaked. She threw back on her clothes that were still sopping wet and ran out to him.

“Are my comrades grating your gears?” he asked, lifting her up.

“You could say that,” she said, chuckling. “But you're here, so it's all ok now.”

Bumblebee thought he would burst with pleasure.