(Untitled)

[not_toothfairy]

[OOM, present day, the desert outside Barstow: " They're heeeeeee-eeeere....Ironhide stumps through the door with an odd sound like the THX noise played in reverse. He glances around at the assembled organics, grunts to himself, and makes his way over to the Bar. Once he gets a sizable glass of Singha beer, he settles in at one of the stools and

Comments

[im_so_sari]

The little Indian girl with the magical key is in a good mood as well.

"Hey, Ironhide!"

[not_toothfairy]

"Sari," says Ironhide in recognition, turning to find the sound of the voice. "Hey there."

[im_so_sari]

"How was your day?" she says, swinging into the stool next to him. "Mine was awesome."

[not_toothfairy]

"Oh," Ironhide says, "mine went pretty well, I think. Had some old friends turn up that I hadn't seen in a long, long time."

[im_so_sari]

"Who were they?"

[not_toothfairy]

"Arcee, Perceptor, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker," says Ironhide. "They just made it to Earth. Took 'em a while to turn around and head our way after they got Optimus' signal."

[im_so_sari]

"Why were they comin' to Earth to begin with?"

The Autobots in her universe only found the place by accident.

[not_toothfairy]

"Optimus signaled 'em after the battle over the Allspark," Ironhide says. "The American government said we could live there, now that Cybertron's not an option any more. So Optimus called to all the Autobots who might be listening."

[im_so_sari]

"How come Cybertron isn't an option anymore?"

She missed that part of the story.

[not_toothfairy]

Ironhide gives a faint sigh and looks down at the Key around Sari's neck.

"The Allspark was the only source of life on Cybertron," he says. "The War dragged out an awfully long time. The planet's still there, but it's half-wrecked at best, and without the Allspark, it's dying. If we left now, it'd be dead and cold by the time we got back."

[im_so_sari]

Sari sucks in a breath.

"You mean... you can't go home? Ever??"

[not_toothfairy]

"Earth's pretty much home now," says Ironhide. "But... yeah."

[im_so_sari]

"Ohmygosh. I had no idea..."

Ironhide will be getting a hug from an almost-eight-year-old human girl now.

[not_toothfairy]

Ironhide didn't see that coming, not in a million years, which is why the only sound he makes is a startled "Uh."

He looks rather as if he's trying to figure out how one flails with dignity.

[im_so_sari]

Funny, she gets just about the same reaction from Prowl.

"I'm sorry. That must be horrible."

[not_toothfairy]

"It's not something I'm fond of," Ironhide allows. "But we manage."