Divided Souls - Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Julia reclined back into the passenger seat of Dimitri Schlagen’s (probably) European sports car.  She marvelled at how the comfy seat seemed to mould perfectly to the contours of her body.  She stretched out her long legs, slipping her feet a little out of her new shoes.  She glanced at Dimitri whilst his gaze was fixed on the road ahead.  His mahogany hair flopped down into his eyes, but was incredibly stylish, and gave his face an even more chiselled appearance.  His jaw was strong, his face angular but graceful.  His eyes were set quite deep into his face and he had a rather prominent nose.  The shirt he wore was pristine without a single crease.  Julia frowned and then shrugged inwardly to herself.  She had had a long day and wasn’t about to wonder why Dimitri Schlagen’s shirt did not have a single crease in it.  They cruised smoothly down the street, Dimitri resting one arm casually on the door. 

Julia leant her head against the head rest and closed her eyes, fingers coming up automatically to massage her temples.  She was pulled from her reverie by a voice that sounded as if it had been forged from velvet. 

“Difficult day?”  Julia opened her eyes to find Dimitri looking squarely at her, an almost hungry look in his eyes.  She laughed and ran a hand through her dark black hair, checking to make sure it hadn’t escaped the chignon that she had carefully wound it into that morning.  

“Difficult?  Not so much difficult as long.  I have a new assistant, she’s great and really kind, but she’s just so eager.  She follows me round like a little lost puppy.”  Dimitri laughed and placed his gaze back onto the road.

“What is so bad about that?  Having a slave…um assistant is my personal idea of heaven.  Someone to buff my finish, that’s what I need.”  Julia stifled a snort and rested her chin on her hand. 

“’Buff your finish’?  Is that a euphemism?”  Dimitri shook his head, seeming to misunderstand her joking tone of voice.

“No – I like to be…I mean I like the car to look good you know?  You never know who you will end up bumping into.  For example, I might bump into a beautiful woman on a dull afternoon in New York City.”

Julia blushed beetroot red and looked down at her knees. 

“You’re very forward for having just met me.  No lady friend waiting at home?”

“No.”  Julia was taken aback by his blunt answer, and she took it to mean that their conversation was over.  They spent the remainder of the journey in an awkward silence, Dimitri drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and humming tunelessly under his breath.  She fiddled with her hands in her lap for a few moments before taking a breath to speak once more.

“Do you mind if I put the radio on?  I love music in the car.”  Dimitri said nothing, just nodded his head ever so slightly.  Julia was about to reach for the knob that switched the radio on when it seemingly turned itself on of its own accord.  “Woah!  Did you see that?”  Dimitri waved his hand non-dismissively. 

“It does that from time to time.  Heheh…sometimes I swear this car has a mind of its own.”  The radio crackled for a bit before settling on a station that was currently playing an opera number.  “Ahh.  Some civilised music for once.  So many stations on this primitive radio device play those loud, obnoxious ‘rock’ songs, and the rest just sound like scraplets being terminated.”  Julia didn’t reply, or bother to ask what a ‘scraplet’ was, but wound down her window just a little.  She was starting to feel rather nauseous and needed the air to get a clear head. 

The car was silent once more, and Julia was grateful when she realised they were only two blocks away from her apartment.

“Dimitri?  Could you drop me off just here please?  I don’t live too far away.  It won’t take me long to walk from here.”  Dimitri looked horrified at her suggestion. 

“Ms Jenkins!  I could never allow a femme to walk home alone when it is within my power to see that she arrives back to her domicile safely.”  Julia said nothing but sighed.  There was a right turn coming up after the next traffic intersection, she would tell him to drop her off outside a random apartment building, walk in and then wait for him to drive away.  She was starting to get an uneasy feeling about Dimitri Schlagen.  She was just about to tell him to take the turn when she noticed he had taken out a long silver rod with a glowing blue tip. 

“What the hell is that?!”  She leaned away from Dimitri, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. 

Dimitri chuckled and the next words he uttered sounded like a cat purring in the sunshine.

“Oh this?  This is a little something I like to call my Energon Rod.  Would you like to have a go?  It’s a very entertaining toy.”  Before he gave Julia the chance to answer, he shoved the rod into her neck.  The last thing Julia saw before she lost consciousness was Dimitri seemingly fading into nothing and the steering wheel turning on its own. 

Autobot Outpost Omega One

After three days of lying in bed, I had finally convinced Optimus and Ratchet that I was well enough to get up and walk about a little bit.  Optimus’s hand had hovered behind me nervously, there as a support if I needed it.  I’d tried to reassure him that I didn’t need it; but my legs were surprisingly wobbly after lying in bed for three days straight. 

I was sat at the little table in Optimus’s quarters whilst he and Ratchet spoke in quite clicks at the opposite end of the room.  I didn’t really hear what they were saying, but I trusted that Optimus would tell me if he thought it was necessary.  That was something that made our relationship so special, we just got each other.  We were like two halves of the same soul.  We trusted each other implicitly and I knew we would both do anything for each other. 

I finished my toast and lightly got to my feet, stretching out the kinks in my muscles.  Optimus’s head snapped up at the sound of my chair being pushed back.  As our eyes met, his face broke into a wide smile and I answered with one of my own.  He hurried over to me and scooped me up even more gently than usual into his palm. 

“Good breakfast little one?”  I nodded and assumed my normal position in his hand, my good arm wrapped around his thumb.  Ratchet approached us and smiled at me gently.

“And how are you feeling this morning Sky?  Can you do a little something for me?”  I raised my eyebrows in surprise and moved forward a little in Optimus’s palm. 

“I’ve been okay thanks Ratchet, I feel a little wobbly, but other than that I am not in any pain at the moment.  What would you like me to do for you?”  Ratchet chuckled quietly and pulled something tiny out of one of his sub-space compartments. 

Between his thumb and forefinger he held a tiny (to him) piece of scrap metal.  Optimus and I looked at each other quizzically before looking back at Ratchet. 

“There is no need to look so worried Sky, I just want to perform a little experiment.”  Optimus seemed to guess what Ratchet was up to before I did. 

“Ratchet, perhaps we should wait until Sky is fully functional once more before attempting…this test of yours.”  The worry in Optimus’s voice was unmistakable and I looked up at him, asking him a silent question with my eyes.  His thumb moved to gently stroke my back and he tickled the back of my neck softly, causing goosebumps to rise on my bare arms. 

“It will be okay Optimus.  I have faith in Sky, and I know you do too.”  Turning his gaze to me, Ratchet held up the small lump of scrap metal.  “Sky, can you direct the right amount of energy towards this scrap metal and destroy it?  If you can do that, it will give a good indication of the amount of control that you have over the energy that is currently within you.” 

I nodded and sat up straight on Optimus’s palm.  At first I squeezed my eyes tightly shut and concentrated intensely on the block of scrap metal in Ratchet’s hand, but nothing happened.  A funny feeling came over me then, just like I had felt on the Nemesis.  I gave into instinct and let my hands shape themselves, this time the energy flowing effortlessly from them.  After a few seconds of allowing the energy to build up, I supressed the intensity and watched it for a few seconds before letting it go.  It floated harmlessly around me, touching my hair and leaving it slightly static afterwards.  It was so beautiful, like smoke the exact same shade of blue as Optimus’s optics.  I directed it towards the lump of scrap metal, and the force of the energy knocked it right off of Ratchet’s hand and obliterated it in mid-air.  The pieces floated slowly down like paper to the ground and settled at Optimus’s and Ratchet’s feet.  I was pleasantly surprised and looked up at Optimus to see that his mouth was slightly open, his optics looking down at what had been the scrap metal in amazement.  Ratchet laughed and clapped.

“Brilliant!  This is fantastic Sky!  Once you have fully healed and are properly operational once more, we can perform some more tests!” 

Optimus raised me to his face and nuzzled me tenderly with his helm.

“Well done little one.”  His voice was quietly amazed, and he wore his signature gentle smile on his face plate.  The silence was interrupted by heavy footfalls swiftly followed by Bulkhead’s face appearing around the steel doors to Optimus’s quarters.

“Boss!  We’ve just picked up a ton of Decepticon signals, we’re gettin’ ready to go now!”  Optimus wasted no time, quickly but gently transferring me to Ratchet’s hands and giving me a gentle peck on the cheek.  He followed Bulkhead back to the main communications room, Ratchet and I quick on his heels.  Arcee was like a horse chomping on the bit as Bee pulled the switch down to activate the GroundBridge.  As the GroundBridge came to life, Optimus turned to regard the members of Team Prime. 

Arcee was like a coiled spring, tense and ready for action.  The main screen displayed at least twenty Decepticon life signals, fluttering around the monitor too quickly for me to count them separately.  I knelt nervously in Ratchet’s palm, hanging on to his fingers tightly.  Optimus was in full Prime mode, his leadership mask firmly pulled down, leaving no trace of the tender Prime I had witnessed only a few moments before.  Bulkhead and Bumblebee were ready to go, waiting patiently for Optimus’s command. 

“Autobots, we will travel to the coordinates where the Decepticon life signals originated from.  Now, roll out!”  Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Arcee all transformed into their vehicle modes, engines revving and sounding like a thousand wild buffalo waiting to stampede.  Optimus was just about to begin his transformation sequence when a familiar and enthusiastic voice spoke up. 

“Boo-yah!  Where are we going this time?  Grecko-ville, Chile, The Big Apple?”  Optimus seemed to sigh inwardly before reaching down and gently scooping Miko up into his palm.  Her legs continued to run even as she was lifted off of the ground.  “Aww man!  Lemme down!  I wanna kick the scrap out of some ‘cons!”  Optimus fixed her with a gentle but stern look that said she would do no such thing.  Ratchet puffed hot air through his vents and held out his other hand for Miko.  Optimus gently deposited the squirming, protesting girl into it. 

“Many thanks old friend.  I promise that Bulkhead will relieve you once we have returned from investigating the Decepticon emergence.”  Ratchet said nothing but gave a dismissive shake of his head, his way of saying that he didn’t really mind ‘baby-sitting’ Miko.  It was a job that even the best sentinel would struggle with.  Optimus held out his hand for me and Ratchet slid me carefully into his waiting palm.  Optimus raised me to his face and held me so that I was resting my forehead against his faceplate.  I sighed in mock sadness and Optimus drew back in alarm. 

“Sky?  What is the matter?”

I giggled and patted his face affectionately. 

“If only you had a nose, we could do Eskimo kisses then.”  Optimus relaxed and smiled at me, bringing his huge face in close so that it filled my field of vision totally. 

“That’s alright little one, I can still do this.”  As he uttered these words, he nuzzled me softly with the base of his helm finial, similar to the way a cat rubs their head against their owner.  He then took me between a finger and thumb and set me down on the catwalk.  His little finger lingered on my cheek and I leant into it, enjoying the comfort that it brought.

“Don’t you dare come back with a single scratch okay?  Otherwise I’ll kick your aft.”  I winked as I said it, and Optimus bowed his head, totally serious. 

“I would not dare madam.  I’ll see you later little one.”  Then his body folded in on itself and with a snarl of his engine, and then he and the other ‘bots were gone.  Miko was still wriggling in Ratchet’s hand, but he made sure to keep a firm grip on her until the GroundBridge had completely powered down. 

“Aww man!  Why didn’t ya let me down so I could go Doc ‘bot?”  Ratchet sighed and started to walk away, but Miko simply broke into a brisk jog and ran in and out of his legs. 

“Miko!  If you are not careful, I will step on you and you will indeed go ‘squish!’” Ratchet said, referring to the first time that he had met Miko more than a year ago.  Miko threw up her arms in defeat and joined me on the catwalk. 

“Hey Sky!  How are you feeling after your vay-cay with the ‘cons?”  Miko knew nothing of my apparent ‘power’, and I intended to keep it that way for as long as possible. 

“I’m okay thanks, feeling a little rough but it could have been worse.”  I lowered myself onto the faded sofa and Miko came to sit next to me.  She surprised me by taking my good hand, tripping over what she was trying to say.