Ep. 1 - The House of Stone and Light - Closed - Finis

[Dart]

Dart was so on edge that everything made her about turn inside out. The flicker of a swallow swooping down past her head. A rabbit bounding away into the stones. She snorted, she jerked to face each little rush of scent and sound, always with her body between the location and the man. He seemed determined, and she fed off his frantic stumble - go, go now. No time to lose, even though most of her was thinking it they had to slow down, they had to be more careful. Not that an Autobot might target a human, but it would target her, and that could lose them both their lives.

Her spoiler chattered and rattled. Finally, Dart snorted out another puff of air and forced it down. It clamped hard to her shoulders, tucking flat and frightened against her dirt-dusted frame.

When he stumbled though, she started to reach towards him, with a little word of concern, then thought better. He wasn’t terrified of her. Someone else might have wondered, but Dart did not. In these moments, your thoughts just turned to getting back, to saving those you cared about. You dealt with the appearance of giant robots later.

Er, probably in therapy.

When they finally stopped, Dart just stared at the place. High walls, huge dark cave. At any other time she might stopped to stand in the water and take it all in, silent and amazed by how gorgeous it was. The stone seemed to glow with the sun, the water was lapping softly at the sand. If she was by herself she might have found this place and sat here for hours, just quiet–

Now though, everything pressed in on her even though she was feeling incredibly small. Only one escape. She ran her gaze over the sides - no handholds, no place to leap and grab and drag yourself upwards, and...

When he pointed, the courier nodded. With one more nervous look into the dark, she lowered herself down until she was squatting on her haunches, long legs tucked under her. She braced herself on her fingertips, her nose close to the area, trying to sort out the scent, trying to pick up a recent scent of human to follow and – also focus on the splashes of fuel. Well, only one. It- it had to be the Autobot. Flier underground though – that’s better than in the air, right?

Call it in, call it in, call it - no. Can’t. They’ll just blast this place from the air. She didn't even dare call 911 on her own systems; last thing they needed was a bunch of park rangers caught in a firefight. That would make the news and with MECH on the prowl...

“What's your daughter's name, sir?" she asked quietly, still hunting for a more recent human scent.

[Deleted]

There wasn't one.

The man did not reply right away. Instead he stepped back, leaving her crouched amidst the rocks at the mouth of the cave.

"Miko," he said carelessly.

Cool air ebbed from inside. The reek of fuel hung in clouds over the trampled sand that lined the cavern floor. It still lingered about the man. But not a trace of human scent milled in the air. Only the soft echo of her voice returned to her from the curving walls.

Further within, the cave smelt of pain.

Something rustled behind her.

The man stood in the sunlight a short distance away, directly between her and the lapping water. Exhaustion still lined his face and he seemed to stand with difficulty, wrestling against some imperceptible strain. But a steely glint had entered his grey eyes, which studied her with undisguised loathing. He had shrugged off his filthy backpack, which he now held in the crook of his arm. Something heavy lay concealed inside it, a large and elongated cannister roughly outlined by the folds of the rugged fabric.

His grey eyes were hard.

"Don't move," he said coldly. "Don't you dare move, you Decepticon vulture. If I calculate so much as a twitch from you that indicates you are about to attack me or bolt, I will instantly detonate this tank round and blow you across the walls of this cavern for the next Vehicon patrol to find. In fragments. If you want to survive, you will do exactly what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it. Do you understand?"

A light breeze played across the sand. It ruffled his hair and the dirty tails of his shirt.

He flickered.

[Dart]

Miko?

Dart’s first thought was that it was a rather pretty name. It would be a nice name for a pet cat- oh. Oh, Dart, totally inappropriate. Then again, Cybertronian names weren’t that great in her opinion. There had to be more than a few angry dogs out there named something like Bonecrusher or Scrapper.

A whuff from her intakes as she drew in another bit of air and concentrated on the spot. Sand flicked up, and Dart struggled to sort through the mess in the air and on the ground. The hot stab of fuel and pain was so thick in her sensors she wanted to turn her head away into open air; to draw in the blue sky and bright colors overhead. First Breakdown. Now this mech. Didn’t matter that they were not on the same side, it just made her internals churn. She didn’t need visual confirmation; the picture in her head was there and raw and - come on, concentrate. Get on that trail and get these two–

A blink. Two? No. None. Nothing. Suddenly it was the lack of scent that smacked the courier as if it was a good hard slap from a rolled up newspaper. Dart could smell fuel, and she could smell burned wire and plating shot through. But there was not a single hint of human, and not the smells she could touch on and understand as ‘girl’. No sweat, no blood, no clothes with a hint of dryer sheet, or the scent of shampoo, makeup, deodorant.

She blinked and lifted one hand off the sand, turning her head to look at the man behind her.

It abruptly all clicked.

Like the sound of a rifle trigger in a very quiet part of the woods.

His expression. His body language. Hate and disgust apparent in them as well as his words. The fact that she was in a dead end, and there was no doubt a straight line between the avatar and the mech himself who was holed up in a bloody cave. Pinned down. No way past or back or up. She'd effectively trotted right in and made herself an easy target. How had she missed it? Easily.

Stupidly. Because Dart had never once fathomed in her life that a mech would be able to pull off something like this. She watched humans all the time and the Autobot’s avatar behavior had been utterly convincing. Completely human, down to the limp and stagger and shock. Wait... How was he actually holding a shell? Was that possible? Hers didn’t work like–

His avatar flickered. Oh, that. That was utterly familiar. It sure worked like that.

Dart froze completely for the second time that day. Not even a sniff escaped her- she stared at him, one hand up, still crouched low against the Earth. Her spoiler thrummed into a tiny rattle across her shoulders. Dart was utterly terrified and tried to make it stop. Hopefully the Autobot would not think she was about to somehow transform it into some weapon and decide to hit the trigger right now.

Well, you like Earth nature, she thought. Good chance you’ll be one with it, Dart.

“Y-yes, sir,” she stuttered. “I understand."

[Deleted]

"Good," said the man.

Far back in the cave, where the sunlight gave way to deeper shadows, something moved.

It heaved upright, its joints groaning as they unfolded. On creaking legs it dragged itself forward, limping heavily. Sand streamed from gaps and ugly rents in its plating. Using its rifle like a crutch it limped from the rear of the cave, walking with difficulty, dripping a black trail in the sand behind it.

It was a giant Autobot.

Before it reached daylight it stopped and lurched against the wall. It leaned there, glaring at Dart with red eyes. The shadowy gloom made it hard to make out little more than its outline, which only revealed that it was a tall mech, broad through the shoulders, with armoured forearms. Tank treads reared up from its back. Something big was rammed through its chest, though the darkness made it difficult to see just what the foreign object was. Fuel choked through the intakes in the mech's plating and seeped down its legs, staining the cave floor beneath it.

The mech hefted its rifle and aimed it at her. Its fusion generator whined into life.

Behind Dart, the man spoke.

"Here's what we're going to do," he said.

He swung his backpack over his shoulder again. "You are going to remain here with me, in this cave. Move so much as a finger, and I will not hesitate to shoot you. Meanwhile, you are going to send your avatar back outside with mine, so that I can keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't go wandering off looking for Decepticon help. Together, our two avatars are going to search this valley for an outpost, a ranger station - anything with a radio I can work with. My comm suite got fried in the last fight, and I sure as hell am not giving you a list of Autobot frequencies to ring up for me. If fact, if I detect you transmitting anything over your radio, you can consider yourself dead."

He glared. "Do you understand?"

[Dart]

She was supposed to stay still, she knew it. Dart was trying her best not to twitch, not to move or shift her weight at all. A few drying drops of water slid down her legs, etching random lines in the dirt that hazed her plating.

However, when the mech moved, it was instinctive to turn her head; align her nose with him. Hidden in the shadows as much as he was, at first all Dart could make out were his optics, which were- red. Nearly the same color as Pyrotech's. That thought sent an involuntary flinch running up her relays.

Just a color, right? Red. Blue. There were other colors too out there, bright yellows, sharp purple, forest green... even an amazing copper-orange, nearly as bright as some of the stones in this canyon wall.

But- but if Dart had seen this mech casually, at at some other point, she would likely have assumed he was a Decepticon, just by his stature, his bearing, and... his alt mode. Those were treads. No, those looked like tank treads. Military alt-mode. This mech had to be a frontliner for the Autobots, and--

Had to have been a terrible fight between him and the Vehicons. He stank of a grevious injury. whatever was rammed into him had ruptured lines, and she could make out the lines of something stabbed through him. Not what it was. Just that it was there, and he was standing with it in him surrounded by a puddle of gore. No, he was actually functioning with a wound that would have downed most mechs.

Dart flinched again as the weapon powered up, but stayed exactly where she was, even though everything was screaming at her. Run. Run now. Get out, take a chance. If you don't you're dead. If you move, you're dead. Her main pump was hammering so loud that it felt like it was rattling her audios.

At least he was talking. Not shooting. She listened. She forced herself to crouch there and listen to every word. Her spoiler flattened a bit more with each sentence until it looked as if it was going to press her chest down to the earth. The deep gouges over her sigil started to ache. Dart tipped her chin, exposing a flash of pale grey throat, and then caught herself.

"Yes, sir," she said. "I- I understand."

It was in the courier's programming, rooted deep down. She was meant to carry messages. Many of them were simply a paragraph of orders, told once. Dart was expected to remember the important things exactly as they were said. Word for word. Especially the important things.

This classified as very important.

Caught between the mech and his avatar, she tried to nod to the one even as the other gave a motion and swung his pack over his shoulder. There was a wince, but it was for other reasons this time. That whole avatar thing was sort of... um...

"Stay here. Send- send my holomatter avatar with you," she repeated dutifully. Go search for an outpost, a station - er, there's one- I passed one a while back, sir, but there's Vehicons up top of the canyon between that one and us."

"Don't - don't go wandering off looking for help," she hastily continued before he accused her of calling them. "Find you a radio that you can use. Do not contact anyone, do not transmit anything over my radio, or I'm dead."

A soft little huff of air escaped her and she shuttered her optics. "Totally understand, sir, but - I think I need to let you know that, well, my generator - I mean uh, the holomatter generator for my avatar, you know? It's kinda... er, kinda..."

She looked between the mech and his avatar cautiously and then back at the sand beneath her. Stop rambling, Dart, get to the point. "It's not the best, sir."

[Deleted]

The man narrowed his eyes at her.

"It'll do," he said.

Inside the cave, the big Autobot turned until his back was against the wall. He stood for a moment, huffing, and marshalled his strength. With his rifle still levelled at Dart he sank down to the sand again and leaned back stiffly, spreading his feet a little. He laid his rifle across his knees and motioned curtly for her to sit against the opposite wall.

Motes of dust floated in the space between them, glowing brightly when they drifted through a sunbeam.

"So, those two Vehicons are still back at the east station, are they?" said the man. He swore and turned sharply and strode back down the beach, his hands on his hips. "Waiting for me to stick up my head. Damn it. We'll have to find another station. Something that has transmitting capabilities. I don't know this area well. Only have a basic geographical map. So you're going to take point as we follow the river. Where I can keep you in sight."

The mech sat in the shade in stony silence. His red optics were fixed upon Dart.

Down on the beach, the man looked west and shielded his eyes from the sun. He shouted, "Well? Fire up your avatar and get on out here. We're moving."

[Dart]

Dart nodded, and rose slowly to her feet. She glanced around as if she half hoped someone else would show up and help her out of this mess. That wasn't happening. In fact, she had a pretty good guess that the other two weren't coming down here if they could at all help it. They were hoping they'd killed him. Nope, he looked... pretty lively.

without a further word, she dropped her hands to her sides and padded across the sand. She barely disturbed the earth as she followed him into the dark, taking careful, cautious steps to where he gestured. Dart coltishly folded down where he told her to, tucking her long legs underneath her. Carefully, she set her hands on her thighs, and leaned back a bit, feeling the cool stone click against her back.

She glanced to the wound in his chest, and then quickly looked away. The whole cavern reeked of fuel, of injury, of scored metal and crisped wiring. He was bleeding- leaking, Dart, leaking terribly.

"Yes sir, still there," she said. Now that was... odd. The avatar talking and the mech sitting here focused on her. She met his optics for just a second and then ducked her chin again, focusing instead on the stones around them. Sandstone. Coconino sandstone and Kaibab limestone scattered in to be exact. Most of the canyon was built by forces of pressure. She remembered that from the overlook pullouts all along the way.

Then she nodded and shuttered her optics again. "Right. Firing it up, sir."

It took her a bit before- okay, there, that was it, she'd been practicing with this. It wasn't easy, but then again, nothing else had been either since she'd been reactivated. There was something downright amazing about being able to sit in her vehicle mode and also be somewhere else at the same time. It was also disconcerting, a bit disorientating-- well, at least to Dart.

A few moments later there was a flicker of light off to one side of the courier.

It hissed, it crackled. For a second there was some weird flicker, like it was fighting between angles and places, trying to manifest itself in two entirely different ways. A noise slipped from the femme somewhere deep in her chest; a growl that was not anger, simply frustration...

Then she looked up and a tiny smile quirked her lips. "Coming," she said, and it was both from her and the light that had solidified into shape and height and form. A young woman, her blue eyes peering warily out from underneath her wind-scruffed bangs. She was tall, lean, and could have been one of any number of track runners from any college campus across the States. Her dirty-blonde hair was swept back into a ponytail, and tied with a purple band.

The avatar wore faded old bluejeans with a rip in one knee, worn pair of sneakers, and a black T-shirt with a lavender silhouette of a galloping horse on the left breast. There was an inscription under the horse in tiny cursive letters, but it was faded and hard to read. Around her waist was tied a charcoal and orange sweatshirt, folded over. It had an orange Nike Swoosh on one sleeve showing. Oddly enough, the left sleeve also appeared to have been torn at one time and not very well hand-sewn back together with black thread.

The avatar fidgeted, even if the courier was still and seated. It looked around, and then seemed to take a deep breath. "I'm coming, sir..." she called, and then the young woman trotted out onto the sand and came to a stop nearby the bearded man.

She rocked back on her heels, and stuffed her hands in her jeans pockets. Her toe scuffed at the sand. "Sorry. It never calibrated quite right," she offered. "It takes a minute to warm up."

A glance up the river bed. "Yes. They're still up there. I'm- I'll take the point, right. I- I know some of the area. It's been a while though since I've been here myself, sir."

[Deleted]

The man waited at the edge of the river. Sunlight haloed his scruffy hair, the fuzzy edges of his worn and bloodstained shirt. He squinted downriver, his brow furrowed beneath what little shade his hand provided. When she drew up beside him he lowered it and looked around.

For a moment he said nothing, merely studied the lanky young woman standing awkwardly in the sand. An odd look flickered across his face Then his gaze hardened and he glanced away.

"Good enough," he growled. He gestured curtly to the west. "Get moving."

Beyond the lagoon the canyon narrowed again. The river flowed bright and quick, the current making the water sparkle where the sunlight fell upon it. Above them rose the great red walls. They walked at the foot of the massive cliffs, along a shore of broken rock and sand sprinkled with flowering brush. Here and there a spit extended into the river, a smooth hump of sand. The water was clear, so that Dart could walk along the shallows and see the colourful pebbles that lined the river bed, and tiny winnowing fish.

Ahead of them the canyon wound into the distance, the walls pale and violet with atmosphere. Not a trace of human life could be seen, and the wind sang a lonely note high upon the cliffs. But the sun was warm and the gentle shoreline made for easy hiking, with nothing more treacherous than gnarled driftwood to step over. It might even have been a pleasant trip, if not for the company.

Behind Dart, the man was in black mood. Since leaving the beach he had made no attempt to speak with her. He walked in silence, his eyes burning at the back of her neck.

Despite the fact that he no longer needed to keep up the ruse he still trudged at her heels with a limping stride, his footfalls heavy. Now and then he staggered. When at last he stumbled over a rock he let out an oath and came to a halt.

"Stop, Decepticon," he said.

He leaned against a boulder, clutching the bloodstain that sat over his chest. He glared about himself. "What is this place? My map indicates no name."

[Dart]

Dart hadn't hesitated; she swung silently out and took point. It was soon obvious from where she stood, where she placed herself as they walked, it wasn't just the mech's brooding, dangerous presence that kept her where she was. It was something else, trained into her from long hours of work and duty on this world. She took the point.

She also was silent, because she understood... he'd speak if he needed to. The silence was fine. She could hear things better, the birds, the wind, the water. She kept an ear cocked for the roar and spit of jet engines.

Her avatar meandered a bit like a human's might. Like a geology student out for a day hike in the wonders around her, Dart picked her way around driftwood, she chose easier areas with the sand and packed dirt.

Once she slowed to peer down at the minnows flicking silver in the shallows, and another time she veered aside to avoid a lizard sunning himself on the path. However, she was always moving somehow; not just walking, but... warily taking account of their surroundings. She swung her nose into the breezes coming off the canyon; she paused and focused instantly on a clatter of rocks that echoed down from somewhere far away.

However, Dart could always feel the Autobot's dark presence a step behind her. In the back of her head, she could sense it sitting in front of her, rifle on his knees, just watching both places. That was a big rifle. It no doubt made big holes.

When he called for her to stop, she dug her heels in and did so immediately. She turned to face him, and watched his hand press against that bloodied patch.

"Stopping, sir," she affirmed, and then looked around them with a bit of surprise.

"This place? Oh. Um, we're in Marble Canyon," she said, tucking her hands to the small of her back. She looked up at the rock walls that towered far above them. "Northern Arizona. It um... it's about forty, thirty miles to the head of the Grand Canyon from here."

A pause. "It's actually not marble down here, though. Not at all. Limestone, it's all limestone. You can find fossils down here all the time, though."

"They nearly put a dam in here once," she murmured, and looked back down the river and then back up at the stone walls around them. A hawk soared overhead, gliding lazily in the warm updrafts. "It would have completely destroyed it. It's- it's protected now, sir. A national park..."

Dart trailed off. "They were only able to get Glen Canyon dam in, I think. It's-"

The young woman caught herself, and then shifted her weight. She doubted suddenly that was anything this Autobot wanted to hear, or even would care about, no matter what state he was in. Her hands came back around and picked at the knot in her sweatshirt, she adjusted it a little before turning her nose back into the breeze. "It's been a while since I was here, sir. I'm a little rusty on the particulars, I'm sorry."

[Deleted]

Though the man was in an obvious ill-temper, he did not interrupt her as she spoke. He watched her in silence, his gaze cold. Her words drifted across the space between them, above the sound of the chuckling river.

When Dart trailed off the man shifted to rest his shoulders against the rock. He drew in a deep breath, and eyed her.

"For a Decepticon you seem remarkably well-informed about the particulars of this region," he growled. "Enough to know about finding fossils, and have an awareness of the damage that a dam's construction would do. I would expect to hear those kinds of details from the locals - not from one of Megatron's soldiers. Not without a reason."

His eyes narrowed. "What interest does this canyon hold to the Decepticons?"

[Dart]

There was a bit of a blink from the girl. She brought up her hand and ran it through her bangs, brushing her tangled hair out of her eyes. Her foot lifted and at first she looked as if she might paw at the scattered red and grey stone. Instead, the Decepticon caught herself, and then she turned back to him with a shrug that lifted her shoulders; and a tiny, lopsided grin that was utterly sheepish.

"I just... I've been reading all the informational signs," she replied. "I mean, all the National Park signs on the pullouts. Where the people- the humans- go and stop to take pictures of things."

Then she hesitated. Her gaze flicked to his chest, and the bloody smear on his shirt.

"As for the interest? Ah, if I had to make a guess, sir..."

Dart hurried to look away from that wound, and accidentally met his icy grey gaze.

"It's probably because you're in it," she said quietly.

[Deleted]

The man grunted.

"I figured that part out for myself roughly two hours ago," he said.

When her eyes dipped to his chest he frowned and lowered his gaze as well. He lifted his hand from the ugly bloodstain and scowled. Beneath the sunlight the avatar shimmered and rippled once, like lines of static trawling down an old television set. When the holo re-solidified again the bloodstain was gone. Only the dirt and grime remained.

He wiped his hand on his thigh and fixed her with a suspicious look.

"So, let me get this straight," he said darkly. "You're trying to tell me that the reason you, a Decepticon, know certain specifics regarding this canyon is not because you uploaded the information from a database Soundwave gathered on Megatron's orders in readiness for some 'Con objective here.. but because you've been parked out in human rest areas reading the tourist signs?"

He scoffed. "Next you'll tell me it was for your own personal interest."

[Dart]

At the the static Dart quickly turned away and let him reset himself, before glancing back. She understood; don't show how bad you're hurt. It was the way of the world. No, it was the way of nature; once you did, then all the predators started trying to kill you. Even though the bloodstain was gone from his shirt, she could- well, she could still smell it, in that other place. Actually, it was so thick she honestly taste it, hot and thick, bubbling slowly out of him with every pass of his pump.

She winced. Please don't go down and accidentally shoot me. Or on purpose shoot me. Either. Both.

His voice thankfully derailed that thought. It was going some not so good places.

"Yes sir," she replied instantly.

"I mean - ah, yes sir. For myself. No one else cares about these things, really." Then she caught herself. "Well, not many folks do, humans included, I guess."

For a second, a wistful expression crossed the young woman's face. Then she quickly lifted her chin as if to sniff the air, and sidestepped a little in the sand.

"I did get assigned here, waiting for orders, if I was needed. I drove up here, and I did drive from rest area to rest area, honest. I was reading all the signs... well, okay, I was people watching too, but--"

Dart shifted her weight from foot to foot and tucked her hands behind her back, like she was reciting a missive at the end of a run. "Marble Canyon was discovered by John Wesley Powell. He was a self taught geologist, so he knew the stones weren't marble. He just thought the colors looked like marble, and he felt it deserved a grand name."

A pause. "Er, and the reason I know about dams is that I was stationed in Oregon, sir, for a long time. It's a big issue down there. It is here too, but for different reasons. Here, it's water rights."

"I read a brochure someone dropped," she admitted. "On Hoover Dam."

[Deleted]

The man stared.

"You read it in a brochure," he said flatly.

He had listened to her earnest history lesson without speaking, his expression one of angry bewilderment. Now he made a noise of disgust and struggled to push himself off the rock.

"A Decepticon who cares about things, who likes humans, who watches them," he said. He threw up his hands and turned away. "Who knows about John Wesley Powell the self-taught geologist and who read a damn brochure on the - Hoover Dam! What the hell. Now I know this can't be real. This is just a - a damn distraction, is what it is. Let's just - walk. Just walk!"

He shouted the last words. His voice rang up the canyon walls and echoed into the sky.

The man stopped. He scrubbed one hand down his weatherworn face, then laid it over his eyes, standing tense and still. He breathed in deeply.

"Just - pick us a trail and follow it," he said. "No talking, no - distractions. And only stop when I tell you to. Get a move on. Walk!"

[Dart]

As the man struggled up, the courier rocked from one foot to the other and watched him shove himself off the stone behind him. The low noise in his throat was one she understood on some visceral level, and yet it was the other things that had her rising nervously up on her toes.

The tilt of his head. The way the Autobot curled his shoulders around and dropped his chin slightly. Tension translated into vision; the avatar had no treads, no massive extranious parts, no thick chunks of protective plating in places that hid the rising cues of stress, confusion... and worse.

He was furious. He was upset. He was hurt and he was angry. It layered on the Autobot like the bands of stone rising far above them.

Dart managed to stay still. She listened to every word that he said and nodded, which was a trick that had got her unscathed through a lot of Decepticon briefings over the years.

However, she could not stop herself from recoiling instinctively from the roar.

Her avatar flickered under the sudden surge; it wavered and flickered, and then snapped back, leaving her standing a few feet from where she'd previously been. Immediately, both of the young woman's hands came up, and she ducked behind her right arm, shielding her face. The other came to guard the center of her chest, and she bit her lip, wincing.

Abruptly, Dart dropped both hands and squared up. She'd learned. A quick strike was better than a whole lot else.

All he did was breathe.

She had kind of forgotten how that was supposed to work. Air out - air in? No, the other way around, whoops.

"Yes sir!" she saluted. She looked left, right, and then immediately spun to find the trail again, trying to desperately remember where the nearest station was. There had been scents of people back there. Maybe- it was possible there were rafters down here. A station, something. Anything.

Heck, even a time traveling phone booth as long as he could make a call out on it.

Dart shut her mouth, trotted a few steps ahead and then started walking, picking her way along the river again. She was very glad she hadn't mentioned the brochure on Yellowstone.