Naïve Smokescreen - Part the Second

[wyntir_knight]

Naïve Smokescreen
Part Two

Disclaimer: Transformers belong to Hasbro and Takara, and are licensed to IDW and Dreamworks. My original characters are my own and any similarity between them and any existing characters from canon or fandom is purely coincidental. I claim no ownership by writing this work.

Author's Note: This is written in response to the 28 Character Meme floating about LJ. tiamat1972 requested this and I hope she approves. The next part(s) should be showing up in the next few days. This story does make mention of events in Regrets and Bad Day, but there are no spoilers and you don't have to have read either to get this. And, as always, this takes place in my own little twisted AU. And for those who want to look back or need a refresher, Part 1 can be found here.


Iacon, Theatre District, one week after the sector fell

I woke up with a start, looking around the alley that I had called home for the last few days. There it was again, voices coming closer to my hiding place. I pressed myself back against the wall, trying to wedge my body between it and a large crate, hoping that no one would find me. I was weak from running, weak from fuel loss, and unbelievably tired. I wouldn’t be able to put up a fight and I certainly wouldn’t be able to run far, so I just held my breath and prayed.

“Hey, Dynamo? I don’t think we’ve checked down here yet,” a soft, feminine voice said.

“Yeah we did,” a second voice said, sounding bored and annoyed. This one was male, gruff, and sounded like it came from someone big.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure we didn’t,” the first voice said. I head footsteps come closer to my hiding place, and closed my optics. It was juvenile, but a part of me hoped that I might disappear, that if I couldn’t see them, then they couldn’t see me.

“And I’m pretty sure we did!” the second voice said angrily. “Look, I’m tired and I wanna go home. Argent won’t know if we checked down every alley and hole, and he won’t care neither.”

“Fine. You head back and I’ll just take a look. There probably won’t be anything but I’ll feel better having checked,” the first voice said, coming closer to my hiding place. “Besides, if he asks us point blank and we lie, he’ll give us to Slice.” There was an edge of fear in her voice at the name.

“I suppose,” the second voice said reluctantly.

I was still sitting there in my corner with my eyes closed and my hands over my audios, so I didn’t see or hear the femme’s approach. My first and only warning I got was a gentle touch on my cheek.

“Hey there sparklet. What are you doing here?” she asked.

I think I would have jumped out of my skin if I hadn’t been bolted into it. As it was I was half-way across the alley before she had finished speaking. I think I would have made it to the next sector in record time if I hadn’t ploughed into her partner. I felt rough hands grab me and stop my flight, lifting me off the ground. I was spun around and held in a tight embrace, almost as if the behemoth who had me intended to make me part of his body.

“Hey, Apogee! Lookit what I caught!” a rough voice crowed from somewhere above me.

I still hadn’t opened my optics. I think that somewhere I hoped that if I couldn’t see what was happening, it wasn’t real. I had heard stories about what the Neutral gangs did mechs they found out at night, and I wasn’t going to acknowledge any of it.

I felt a gentle hand touch my cheek again and a whimper of fear escaped from my vocalizer. The hand withdrew.

“Let him down, Dynamo,” Apogee said. Her voice was soft, but there was a tone of command in it.

“Aw, I was just playin’ with him,” Dynamo said. “How was I supposed t’ know he’d freak out like that?”

“He’s just a sparklet. And you’ve got him scared out of his mind,” Apogee said.

I felt those rough hands put me down gently. I guess that the stress was too much for me to take in my frail state, because I felt myself begin to collapse. My fall was halted by those gentle hands that had touched my face before.

“Open your optics, sparklet. We’re not going to hurt you,” Apogee said.

I just shook my head, squeezing my optics closed tighter. I tried to pull away from those hands, but Dynamo held me in place.

There was a soft, pitying sigh from in front of me.

“I swear to you, we’re not going to let anything happen. You’re safe. Now just look at me, please,” Apogee said.

Trying desperately to control my shivering, and opened my optics slowly. She didn’t look like a monster, in fact, she looked completely normal. But I knew that looks could be deceiving and I wasn’t about to let my guard down.

“There, that’s better,” Apogee said, smiling. “Now, what are you doing in this ally?”

I kept my mouth shut and shook my head again.

“Apogee asked you a question!” Dynamo said, shaking me roughly.

I heard a squeak of fear escape my mouth as I closed my optics again.

“Dynamo! Stop that!” Apogee said sharply.

“Yeah, but-,” Dynamo began.

“I don’t care! Stop frightening him!” Apogee ordered.

“Please, let me go! Just get it over with and let me go,” I begged. “Please!”

I felt those hands on my face again and I flinched. This time Apogee didn’t pull away. She tilted my head up and held it there.

“Open your optics and look at me,” she said.

There was something in her voice, something caring and gentle. It made me want to trust her. So against all the instincts that were screaming in my head, I opened my optics, and found that she was staring right at me, looking at me with nothing but compassion.

“That’s better. Now I swear to you, we will not harm you,” she said. “I need you to tell me why you were in this alley.”

“I was hiding from the gangs,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, but why are you here. Don’t you have a home to go to?” she asked.

“I … no,” I whispered miserably.

The look of compassion on her face turned to one of infinite sadness and understanding.

“Alright, you’re coming with us then,” she said.

“We can’t just take him with us!” Dynamo said, taking firm hold of my arms. “The boss’ll kill us if we bring in some useless sparklet.”

“And what would you suggest we do?” Apogee asked. “We can’t leave him here. Look at him, he’ll be lucky if he survives the night.”

“That ain’t our problem,” Dynamo argued. “If he dies then so be it. Let ‘im be used fer parts fer all I care. But I ain’t takin’ him back!”

“It’s not your decision to make!” Apogee said, a hint of irritation creeping into her voice.

Through the argument I did what I could to escape, which wasn’t much. It was as if Dynamo’s hands had been welded to me. I didn’t know if I could trust Apogee, but I did know without a doubt that Dynamo would kill me as soon as he had the chance. I had to get away any way I could.

“Stop strugglin’!” Dynamo barked at me. “Yer gonna stay right here until we figure out what we’re gonna do wit’cha!”

“I-I promise I won’t tell anyone anything! Please, just let me go and I’ll forget all about you! I’m sorry I was in your alley! I won’t come back! Please just let me go! Don’t hurt me! Don’t kill me! Take whatever you want, just let me go! I promise I’ll forget all about you!” It was like my vocalizer was purging every thought that had ever been in my head.

“Dynamo! It is not your decision!” Apogee yelled. “I will deal with Argent and I will take responsibility for this one! Now. Let. Him. Go!”

I felt Dynamo let go of my arms and I tried to run. My body betrayed me though, and as before, I collapsed. This time though, Apogee didn’t catch me, and I landed in a puddle of cold liquid that I prayed was water. It was all too much. I couldn’t take any more, and I felt my world begin to close in around me. The last thing I remember was curling into a foetal ball, and the vague, distant sound of Apogee speaking softly to me.

Comments

[darkfire-blade.livejournal.com]

Aw, so how old would Smokescreen be at this time? If he's a sparklet here, then perhaps by the time Ratchet and 'Jack, or rather 'Jack meets him for the first time, he'll be the Cybertronian equiv of a late teen/young adult?

Ohhh, a bot origin story, well sorta yah? Nice to see Smokescreen back up and running. I was going to comment on the part one this morning, but by the time I got back home from school, part two was up so I'll post all my thoughts here.

So ol' Argent and Slice have been in practice a lot longer than I thought. Goodness.

You know, the thought of Smokey having a diff body and stuff back then makes things very interesting. Poor 'Jack never gets to find out who this flirtatious 'Blue' is. *secretly hope he will one day...*

I look forward to more!

[wyntir-rose.livejournal.com]

Aw, so how old would Smokescreen be at this time?

Well I'm thinking that if he was human he'd be no older than 13. By the time Jack meets him I figure he'd be closer to 20. I can't even begin to hazard a guess as to how old he'd be in Cybertronian years. I can't really wrap my head around the age of a race that lives for millenia.

Poor 'Jack never gets to find out who this flirtatious 'Blue' is.

He may yet. I think it depends on whether Jazz decides to get involved. So far I have no plot bunnies like that, but you never know. ... Wow, I just realized I'm being kind of cruel to my poor mechs hearts in my version of things.

[ladystarscream.livejournal.com]

wow. Good background sotry for ol' smoky. I never really thoguht about him much, since he was allways a background character. way go bringing him out into the spotlight!
Well written.
*goes to find part 3*

[wyntir-rose.livejournal.com]

Thank you :)