Namesake

Namesake - Sixteen

          Her eyes stared listlessly at the darkness above her, absorbing the still atmosphere. The base was quiet, as was usual at this time of the morning. Alice lie awake in her quarters, listening to the soft breathing of her mechlings. Something was coming. She didn't quite know what it was yet, but it kept her up at night. Well, technically morning.

She let out a quiet sigh, sitting up silently. She sat there for a moment, swaying slightly in time with her pounding head. Eventually, she got moving again, Ignoring her pulsing headache and getting off of her bed. Sliding to the floor by shimming down the firefighter pole, Alice pressed her forehead to the cool metal. It helped the pounding somewhat.

"Mom?" Steel's voice echoed quietly throughout the room. Alice looked up smiling slightly at the sight of her sleepy mechling. His optics barely glowed.

"I'm fine. Just a bad feeling," She told him. Her son hummed before reaching down and picking her up. She felt him lay down, then he laid her on his chassis near his spark. Alice smiled softly into the darkness.

"Steel?" Silence. "Good night sweetspark."

          The cause of her bad feeling showed up a few days later in the form of a Decepticon attack. At least, that's what Alice would like to think. But the feeling hadn't left yet, and Optimus along with a few others hadn't returned from the moon yet. She huffed irritably.

"Somethin' on yer mind Cheshire?" The Autobots had taken to calling her that after seeing a prank war between her and Sam. She'd won, of course.

"I dunno Jazz. It's not really my mind, it's something a little more than that. Something's coming, and I'm worried it isn't a good something," Alice replied drearily, turning to look at the mech. His visor flashed a bit brighter in understanding, the temp. SIC of the Autobot humming in thought.

"Now usually when Ah have a feelin' like thah mahself, Ah usually listen to it. What do yah think yah should do?" Jazz asked, an unusual aura of seriousness emanating off his body. Alice gave his words a moment to settle before nodding decisively.

"Someone's coming, a 'bot I'm nearly one hundred percent sure. But their not how they used to be. Keep an eye out for me?" Alice warned at last, asking the silver mech for some help. Jazz nodded.

"O'course lil' lady." He agreed solemnly. A second later he bounced back to his more charismatic side of his personality, engaging Alice in a conversation about how she'd pulled off her last prank.

"You used the vents?" Jazz asked, at her response to his earlier question. "When?" Alice smirked deviously.

"There's a reason the scene of the crime was in the rec room closest to the firing range." She stated simply. Jazz chortled, his whole frame shaking with laughter.

"In broad daylight! Ah nevah woulda guessed." The mech commented wistfully.

"Don't expect to be able to guess my pranking methods. Even the builders of the base don't know how I get around."

          The mech they'd brought in was half-frozen, and loomed over Alice by several stories. It made the young woman feel afraid, for some reason. None of the other Autobots had made her feel this way— they'd always had something intrinsically good about them.

"He's... tall." Alice stated, knowing that it was obvious. The mech that Optimus and his moon team had recovered was in cryostasis, and a bit taller than Optimus himself.

Her now dubbed migraine stabbed at her left temple, the damn thing probably doing it for shits and giggles. Still, her 'illness' couldn't stop her from wondering why the bad feeling focused on the mech. Traitor! Something in her hissed violently. Alice shook her head lightly. Maybe she needed to get checked by Ratchet.

One-Who-Is-To-Guard-And-Wait, He-Is-Tainted! The voice insisted. Abruptly her whole body pulsed, shivering form what– Alice didn't know.

"Alice!" Optimus's voice was muted as her blood rushed in her ears. Once-Prime-Now-Traitor! Protect-Pillars! The voice flooded her mind, overtaking it. Eventually, it was too much, and Alice, the human half of whatever she had become, was forced unconscious.

Alice's eyes glowed an Autobot blue, near crystalline. Her head turned, facing the wary Prime. Her chosen, her favoured. She opened her mouth to speak.

"One-Who-Is-To-Protect-And-Lead-Optimus-Prime," Alice called, her voice metallic. Optimus looked towards her.

"Protect-Earth-Terra-Home. One-Who-Is-To-Guard-And-Wait-Sentinel-Is-Tainted. Once-Prime-Now-Traitor-Seeks-Destruction. Protect-Vessel. Protect-New-Home." The Allspark, Optimus realised, spoke through Alice's lips.

"Sentinel? He has betrayed us?" Optimus asked, his voice showing none of the hurt and worry that churned in his processor. Alice looked at him, the Allspark's expression grim.

"Once-Prime-Now-Traitor," it affirmed, "Protect-New-Home." It repeated itself. Then the blue glow left Alice's eyes, the orbs becoming brown again. Her body collapsed, nearly crumbling to the floor. Optimus quickly caught her prone form, bringing it to the medbay.

Alice moaned, hissing as her head ached and pounded. It had been two solid days of this crappy affliction and it didn't feel like it was ever going to leave.

Something touched her forehead gently, spreading a cool gel-like substance over it. The pain gradually disappeared, defying her very recent thoughts. Alice cracked her eyes open, enough to see Ratchet's worried faceplates, and smiled.

"Thanks Ratchet," she croaked, her throat dry. The medic gave her a worn smile, before handing her water. She drank it greedily, ignoring the chemical taste. She was back asleep not long after.