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Return of the Autobots, Ch. 8

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Chapter Eight

For a long time they just drove, both in silence. Iris had found that the Camaro was a bit speech impaired, while Iris herself wasn't sure what to say in general. What DID you say to an eighteen foot tall alien robot that just happened to be your car?

So for most of the ride, Iris sat silent in the driver's seat, twirling the strange shard in her fingers. After some time though her eyes began to grow heavy, so she lay her head against the window and curled up in the seat, closing her eyes for a bit.

She was asleep for longer than she'd thought. When she opened her eyes, the first lights of dawn were beginning to illuminate the sky; but Iris didn't recognize the road they were on. If anything it looked abandoned. She and her Camaro were the only ones driving along this route.

At least, that's how it was for the next minute.

As Iris was about to fall asleep again, she found that they weren't alone anymore. Glancing in the rearview mirror, the girl caught sight of several other vehicles coming up behind them. Her first reaction was possibly something like panic, wondering if they were allies of the dump truck that had tried to waste them. But the Camaro didn't seem worried in the slightest.

The first one to get close was a Peterbilt diesel truck with a blue and red flame paint job, a crystal silver/white trailer towing along behind it. As it approached, her car slowed a bit, allowing the truck to take the lead. The second to catch up with them was a yellow and white car that looked like a mix between a Hummer H2 and an ambulance. It pulled up alongside the truck, but still stayed a little behind it. The last two were a silver corvette stingray and a blue Chevrolet volt. They stayed on either side of the Camaro, but a little ways behind it.

Once this formation had been achieved, all of the vehicles went into overdrive, following the truck onto a side road and back into the desert. They drove until the road was no longer visible from where they were, a situation Iris assumed they were aiming for.

If they were friends of the Camaro, odds were they could transform too. And they probably weren't aiming to become a human tourist attraction.

When they stopped, Iris slowly got out of the car, staring in amazement at the various cars in front of her.

The diesel was the first to change, the front of the cab pulling apart into two different chest plates revealing a head. The trailer disengaged as the bot began to stand up on two legs, three of the six wheels on each. His arms came next from the sides as the top of the cab rolled over, becoming shoulders. More gears and plate kept shifting, even as the bot stood up to its full height: an incredible 35 feet in total.

Iris turned in a full, slow circle, watching each and every car stop and then stand, looking down at her. Their eyes were all the same luminescent blue, but somehow, each was still original in another way that made them each unique.

Her eyes lingered on her Camaro as it, too, stood. Though he went to one knee and held out a hand towards her. Iris reached back, her hand curling halfway around one of his fingers. The silver corvette nudged her car's shoulder.

"Makin friends, wherever you go, just makin friends," he chuckled.

Her car nudged back, but it was more of a shove. The ambulance took a step forward and got in between them.

"That's enough." Just by looking at him, and listening to his voice, Iris could tell he was rather old for…uh, whatever race these guys were.

The diesel knelt on one leg, bending forward so that he put himself on a somewhat less intimidating eye level with Iris.

"Are you the granddaughter of Samuel James Witwicky?" he asked. His voice was deep, but held a sort of comforting tone. The voice of a leader, but the voice of a friend as well. It took Iris a bit to realize that he was talking to her, having been absorbed in the marvel of what was surrounding her, but when she realized it Iris nodded once.

"Y-yeah. Iris Bay Witwicky," she responded, instinctively using her full name in a formal introduction.

The bot nodded once. "My name is Optimus Prime. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"Or Autobots, for short," the ambulance interjected.

Optimus gestured towards the ambulance with a small sweep of his arm. "My mechanic, Ratchet." Ratchet offered a simple nod as a greeting, which Iris returned politely as the truck continued, this time pointing to the one who had nudged her car. "My first lieutenant, Sideswipe."

Sideswipe saluted with two fingers in an overconfident fashion. If he could have smirked, Iris swore he would have. The next one to be introduced was the Chevy volt, though he didn't wait to for Optimus to say who he was.

"Call me Jolt," he said confidently. Ratchet shot him the evil eye, which was funny for Iris to watch since they were robots. Afterwards she turned to the Camaro, not having to look that far up since he was still kneeled.

"What about you? What do they call you?"

He made a few whirring sounds, but nothing truly audible came out, so Optimus answered the question for him.

"Our scout, and your guardian. Bumblebee."

Iris looked up at Bee with a smile, tapping her knuckles on his open hand. "Bumblebee…fits," she acknowledged, noting the two pieces on the Autobot's head that looked like thick antennas, and how the two front car doors and two back window pieces created a sort of winged look for the yellow Camaro. "How come he can't speak like the rest of you?" she asked.

"His vocoder was damaged during battle," Ratchet replied.

Iris made a note of that as another thought walked into her head. She turned to Optimus, pulling the shard from her pocket with a quick, flourished stroke.

"This is what you guys want, right?" she asked, reaching on her tiptoes to set the object in his hand. Optimus stared at it for a time, his eyes reflecting a deeper meaning behind the sliver than Iris could understand. But still, he seemed satisfied.

"Yes. It is," he responded, his metal fingers curling around the tiny fragment.

Iris tilted her head. "Um, Optimus Prime? What is that shard…exactly?"

Optimus was quiet, but not for lack of words to say. It was a silence, Iris realized, that was triggered by a past riddled with pain and loss. Also seeing this, Ratchet stepped in and answered for him.

"That shard is a fragment of the All Spark, the life giving cube that created us and our planet. It was destroyed in the fight between the Decepticons, and us."

"A fight your grandfather greatly contributed to," Optimus added, finding a place in the conversation in which he could speak.

The statement threw Iris for a loop. "My…grandfather?"

"Yes. It was he who helped to lead us to the All Spark when our journey brought us to Earth for the first time. And it was he who helped us bring down the leader of the Decepticons: Megatron."

Iris did not doubt that if anyone else had been in her position, they would have laughed and taken the opportunity to walk away and never look back, not being able to believe what they were being told. But it was different for her. While the specifics had never been revealed to her, Iris's grandfather had openly declared the fact that they were not alone in the world on more than one occasion. And her brother, the one person Iris trusted more than anyone, had always told her to trust in Grandpa Sam's words.

So she took the Autobots at theirs.

"But…if it was destroyed, how does that shard exist?" she asked.

"A reasonable question," Optimus agreed, "but one that even we Autobots have no answer for. However, Ratchet theorizes that the raw Energon given off by your sun, as well as the Cube's unique qualities, have caused it to reform over time."

"Energon?"

"It's what keeps us going. Our lifeblood, if that's what you wanna call it," Sideswipe explained for her. "Suns give it off in one of the rawest forms in existence."

"But this shard, is not the only one that has begun to regain shape," Optimus cut in as Ratchet gave Sideswipe the same glare he'd previously given Jolt. "Four other pieces like it have reformed, and now lay in different locations across this part of your country."

Optimus Prime stood, his fellow Autobots standing by his side as each of their gazes looked to her. Even Sideswipe and Jolt, whose personalities Iris could tell were similar to that of Jason's, appeared serious for this brief moment, their leader's words.
"Iris Witwicky. We now ask you, for your help. If the Decepticons find the other shards before us, your world may be in grave danger."

Anticipating Iris's reaction, Ratchet added onto the conversation before she could speak. "It is no coincidence that a relative of our past human ally should find a shard of the Cube."

Iris glanced up at the Transformers standing in front of her, her eyes lingering on each one in turn. When her eyes found Optimus, she saw that he really believed that they needed her help. She looked at Bee for a moment.

"If you guys really think you need my help…" she trailed off.

A single nod from the being called Optimus Prime was all Iris needed to know that she was making the right decision.

Road trip time.
Transformers: Return of the Autobots
Chapter Eight

Ah, so finally we get something DECENT happening! I've noticed that when I'm writing a story, if the action doesn't start right away, I tend to get bored. But I chose to stick it out with this one, and I'm really glad I did. It was SOOOOOOOO worth it! :D

Oh, by the way, I recently read a comment on Chapter Three of this story that I was not happy about. I realize that not everyone likes my story, I get it, okay? I'm not so bigheaded that I think everyone has to like my story because I wrote it. But what I don't appreciate is nasty commentary. If you don't have something nice to say, keep it to yourself. There's no need to comment on and trash it. DeviantArt is a place for people to post their art and ideas in freedom, not so that jerks out there can open their big mouths and spew acid all over it. Say something nice or don't say anything at all, alright? As for you guys who have always been supportive of my story, thank you. It really does mean a lot to a new artist like me.

Chapter Seven < [link] Chapter Nine > [link]



Transformers belongs to Hasbro.
Iris and storyline belong to me.
© 2011 - 2024 RedRangerJayden
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TheSilverhyena's avatar
Well, started from chapter one, it's nearly 1:00am, and I'm so hooked on this I can't look away! This is one of the best Transformers fan fictions I have found. Keep up the good work!