Transformers Prime - Hazy

Field Trip

Daniel and Jasmine drove in silence down the old dirt road. They were heading towards the Nevada/California border. He knew how important this was to her, how badly she needed some kind of answer, he just hoped that this little trip would give it to her.

He hadn't been expecting her to speak at all, considering the state she'd been in lately. She and Akane wouldn't even look at each other lately.

Jasmine: "Daniel, can I ask you something?"

He glanced from the road to her briefly, trying to read the expression on her face in a millisecond. Distraught? 

Daniel: "Of course, Jas. What's up?"

She took a slow breath, staring out the passenger window at the expansive desert they were driving through.

Jasmine: "Do you think . . . that someone would go through the effort of sending me a letter every day just to get near enough to . . . hurt me?"

He glanced at her again, but she'd turned the back of her head to him so he couldn't read her expression.

Daniel: "Jas, what is this about?"

Jasmine took a shuddering breath. This was one of the few times she could ever see being out without Akane in the near future.

Jasmine: "The letters . . . Akane thinks it's all some ploy to hurt me because of those idiots that attacked me before. Do you think anyone would use letters like those to get to me?"

Daniel thought about it a long moment, using his focus on the road to get extra time for thinking, but every second of silence that passed made Jasmine's spark sink.

Daniel: "I . . . I don't know, Jas. I mean, it's possible, but I don't think it's likely. But you know how Akane is since the incidents. He's only looking out for you."

Jasmine sighed, nodding her head lightly.

Jasmine: "I know he is, but . . . I just feel like he doesn't trust me. Like he feels like I'm going to get myself killed every time I walk out the door alone. These things aren't just for show, you know?"

She focused on her left forearm and it transformed to metal, the shape naturally mimicking a human's, but it could also transform into a gun-like shape. She'd done private target practice on a regular basis. Even though she was supposed to keep it hidden, she knew that if push came to shove, being able to defend herself with some crazy freakishness would be better than meeting death face-to-face.

When the metal emerged, it didn't even phase Daniel. He'd know about since he'd found her, and he had no issues with it. Her ability to change was what was going to make this new movie a blockbuster, and the sequels to follow, because no other director would be able to create those effects without computer generated imaging or animation.

Of course, Jasmine wasn't just an amazing find to him. She was family. He was the one to find her when she was lost. And he had taken a natural talent, turning her into a silver-screen A-list attraction.

Daniel: "I know, Jasmine. I think he's just a little overprotective."

She scoffed.

Jasmine: "Overprotective? He doesn't want me doing anything unless it's supervised. I doubt he would let me play Bingo in a retirement home without him there! Is he daft? I just . . ."

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

Jasmine: "I just want to have the letters . . ."

He'd only taken two so far. The one from yesterday that he'd discovered her reading and the one Angela was going to give her today. However bittersweet the words were, it didn't mean she didn't want to read them.