Old stuff, language warning

[dens_extra_pups]

When something is gained, something else is always lost. Whether the loss is one unknowingly lost, or one freely given up in exchange, matters not. For every loss, there is a gain, and for every gain, there is a loss. When what was lost to gain is reclaimed, there is always a possibility of something other than the original gain being given up in exchange.-Author unknown, date unknown

4:42 AM Central Daylight Time-

The redhead jerked awake with a yell, followed by a groan when they realized what time it was. This was the third time in a week that they had woken up from a particular nightmare. Stumbling in the dark of their bedroom, they finally made their way to the computer desk and was soon connected to the internet. Researching various aspects of religion, although it was a strange topic to research, helped calm the frayed nerves that the Nightmare brought…

The soon-to-be-insomniac let their mind wander back to the events of nine months ago…but before the memories could become solid in their mind, the redhead noticed the insomnia website that they had stumbled upon. Rolling their eyes, the redhead got up, opened the window near their desk, and leaned out to look at the blue Corvette ZR1 Prototype parked in the driveway below.

“You couldn’t sleep either, I take it?” The instant messenger dinged with a message, and the redhead wandered back to their computer.

/Hey, cut me some slack, Ophi...I got back from patrol about an hour ago…and besides… ‘Hide said Barricade was seen in the area recently…/The worried ‘tone’ of the message made Ophi smile a little, knowing that her friend was worried about her.

“Well, isn’t that why y’all’ve upped the security around Sammy-boy, Mikky, and the rest of the Peanuts Gang?” Silence met her question for a few moments, and Ophi tried not to snicker while the Autobot in her driveway searched the internet.

/…I’m going to have to tell Sunny and Sides about that…I think they’d get a kick out of it…and Barricade’s only part of the reason for the increase in security. Our chief security officer landed a few days ago…and he’s one paranoid ‘Bot…/ The unfinished sentence caught Ophi’s attention.

“Lemme guess, the Twin Terrors don’t help with his paranoia?” The response was almost instantaneous.

/Not in the least…Truth be told, it is a bit amusing to watch Red Alert fritz from time to time…but right now, I think it’d be best if you go to bed and try to get some sleep. You know we have that meeting tomorrow...er…later today…/ Ophi groaned at that.

It was all well and good that the government had compensated her for the fact that her cellphone was no longer a cellphone, but a quirky miniscule robot; it just irritated her that they had to insist on having meetings every freaking month. Really, she was coping just fine, aside from the Nightmare…but the government dipwads didn’t need to know about that particular aspect of her life…

“Fine, fine…I’ll try to get some sleep…Showtime, where and when are we meeting this time?”

/Tranquility, and it’ll be another one of those late night meetings…/ Ophi could almost sense the pause /…and no, you are NOT allowed to mainline espresso like you did last time. Percy about fritzed when he found out how much you had consumed! Not to mention the reaming I got from ‘Bee after you nearly traumatized Sam!/

“…killjoy…and wouldn’t it be easier if we left now, instead of wait…oh wait, you said you got back an hour ago…sorry, I keep forgetting that you’re not a raging insomniac like me…what time are we leaving?” Ophi cursed mentally. It was easy to forget that her friend wasn’t a normal car.

/I was thinking around 10 AM or so…we’ll be doing a transfer about halfway there…Prowl said something about human emergency vehicles and speed limits the last time I talked to him, and I did a bit of research on my own…so I’ll probably beat you down there…/ Wait, a transfer?!

“Transfer?! Who’s picking me up this time?! It’d better not be Hot Rod! I LIKE living!” she could almost hear Showtime chuckling.

/Hmm, there’s an idea…Maybe I should call him and tell him-/

“ARE YOUR WIRES CROSSED?! I’D RATHER RIDE WITH THE DON QUIXOTE OF THE DECEPTICONS THAN WITH THAT NUTCASE!!!” The silence that met her comment was almost deafening.

/…I was kidding… ‘Jack volunteered to meet us halfway. He’s one of the best drivers we’ve got…and a scientist to boot. He’s probably curious about the caffeine intake limits of organics…and the way you keep pushing those limits into oblivion, and knowing him, he’ll ask…/ Ophi looked out her window, and noticed Showtime seemed to be shifting positions…almost as though she were…

“Showtime, are you BLUSHING?” Silence met her. Ophi grinned wickedly. “Is this ‘‘Jack’ the lucky mech? Or is it Hot Rod? Or maybe one of the twins? Is it Sunstreaker?” The response she got made Ophi almost fall over laughing.

/I PLEAD LEXAEUS!!!/

---

8:37 AM Rocky Mountain Time

The ringing of her cellphone was what finally got Ophi to wake up. She and Showtime were stopped at a rest stop outside of Santa Fe, according to the GPS. “Why’d we stop, ST?” Ophi stretched, glancing at the woman with red and gold hair in the driver’s seat.

“We’re at the transfer point... ‘Jack’s late…and there’s an entourage of vehicles heading this way…in fact, they’re pulling in now.” Ophi looked up, and sure enough, a string of five black SUVs was pulling into the rest stop. Showtime’s holoform frowned. “There seems to be someone in distress in the middle vehicle…should we assist?” Ophi shook her head before answering.

“Let’s watch ‘em and see what’s going on first… aw, fuck. It’s those asshats from S7…scratch my original idea. We need to move. Now.” Showtime unlocked her doors, and Ophi climbed out of the passenger side, while Showtime’s holoform got out as well. They could both see several of the former Sector Seven agents surrounding a Caucasian woman who had at least six inches of height on Ophi.

“You have five minutes. Get in there, do what you need to do, and then get right back out here.” The woman scowled at one Reggie Simmons, before muttering something that was more than likely obscene in nature, judging by Simmons’s reaction.

Showtime didn’t bother hiding her smirk, which confirmed Ophi’s suspicions. What caught Ophi’s attention next was that there was a white sports car pulling into the rest area as well, and that Showtime’s smirk grew even more wicked.

“Ophi, wait here. Wheeljack and I will help the woman, and then you can do what you do best…I’m recording this so Sunny will shut up…” Ophi shook her head.

“You and your stupid arguments…Just try not to make anyone piss themselves, okay? I wanna be the one to do that...” Apparently, their voices had carried, as the Sector Seven group had paused to listen to the ‘argument’.

That pause would prove to be their downfall, as the woman they had been escorting chose that moment to elbow Simmons in the stomach, stomped on his instep, hit him in the face, and then kneed him in the crotch, before running towards Ophi and Showtime. “Eat shit, asswipes!”

The woman, another redhead, was almost to where Ophi was standing when the Sector Seven goons caught up with her. “Get your fucking hands OFF OF ME!” None of them noticed the white sports car had stopped, and was in the process of transforming, as was Showtime. They did notice, however, when suddenly, some of the men trying to pin the struggling woman to the ground were dangling in the air from the hand of a large white mech.

“I believe the young lady made a request. It would probably be in your best interests to fulfill that request…I don’t think Showtime’s had much recharge, and she tends to be a bit trigger-happy when she hasn’t had much recharge…” Showtime was nodding eagerly, bow drawn and arrow loaded.

“Not to mention the fact that you dipshits were supposed to have disbanded nine months ago.” Ophi stated, helping the woman to her feet. “What the hell is going on here? And don’t give me that ‘Government Business’ bullshit, Simmons.” Whatever the still-in-pain government agent was going to say was interrupted by the fact that the woman that the Autobots had gone out of their way to rescue had fallen back, and was sitting on the ground, staring.

“Holy fucking HELL. Those are robots! This’d better not turn out like Evangelion!!!” Ophi sighed, shaking her head before approaching the woman, hands out and palms up.

“I have no idea what Evangelion is, but those two are some of the ‘Good Guys’…They won’t hurt you, I promise…”

---

2:23 PM Rocky Mountain Time

"So that's how I wound up realizing that I must've been nucking futs to take on the Casino Job…and why I'll never ever take on a job that lists openings in Grave Shift." The larger woman stated, taking a long draw from her coffee.

In the hours since her rescue, Den (she had insisted that that be how Ophi, and anyone she came into contact with after the rescue for that matter, address her) had not only calmed down, she had felt comfortable enough talking to a 'Ginormous Benevolent Alien Robot' to answer Wheeljack's and Ophi's questions. "Anything else you wanna know about me?"

Ophi spoke up before 'Jack could. "Yeah…What's up with your hair?" Den scowled a little, before answering.

"I like dying my hair, I just get a bit lazy with upkeep…" She quieted down, seeing Ophi's small smile and shake of the head.

"That's not what I meant…I meant how many hours do you spend getting your hair to do that wavy flippy thing? I can't get my hair to do that for anything…" Den's expression changed in an instant, to a sly grin.

"Are you sure you really wanna know?" Ophi narrowed her eyes at the pale-skinned redhead seated across from her in the McDonald's booth of the Phoenix Airport. "You sure? You're gonna be jealous…My hair does this," here, Den indicated the waves, "all on its own. All I do to it is run a comb through it in the mornings and right before I go to bed…" Here, she paused, as though in thought.

"'Course, I usually have my hair pulled back in a ponytail too…it tangles like a bitch though…and I can't get it to curl for anything…oh, before I forget…thanks for covering the plane ticket to Omaha…You didn't have to do that…I swear I'll get you paid back, it'll just take me awhile…" Ophi shook her head, dismissing the statement.

"Don't worry. It's the government's money, and it's the least I could do, seeing as it's technically the government's fault you got taken against your will…Just remember to stay in touch, okay?" Den nodded, before scribbling a phone number on one of the napkins and handing it to Ophi.

"If you're ever in the Omaha area, or anywhere within a 40-mile-radius of Red Oak, call me, and we can go clubbing or something like that." With that, she headed off to the terminal that lead to the flight that would take her home. Ophi sincerely hoped that the woman would be able to find a job soon and get her life started on the path she wanted it to be on. Den was a nice enough girl, for an incureable caffeine addict from the sticks.