On the Open Road

[Verity Carlo]

Characters: Verity Carlo , Open to All
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Content Warnings: Possible theft, Abandonment worries
Plot Summary: Just another normal day for Verity, except for one small factor: she can't find Springer. Had he left, or had something happened to him? Either way, Verity wants to move on out. What sort of trouble will little miss Wrecker get into?

[Verity Carlo]

Where.

Was.

Springer?

Verity hadn't been too concerned when she had woken up in their hideout out in Nome to find her tall, green friend hadn't been with her.  Maybe he'd just gone out for a quick stretch or something and he'd be right back.  Except.. he wasn't.  She waited for a day, but no sign of Springer at all.  Worst of all, she couldn't get in contact with Impactor or any of the other Autobots.  It was as if their signals had all vanished from her phone.  How frustrating..!

It was by the second day that she began to grow even more concerned.  What if Springer had just plain left?  Hadn't that been what Uncle Mags and the others were about to do?  And he was going to send her back to Earth when she'd stowed away!  She wasn't about to let it happen again.  Taking out a notepad, Verity left a note on the desk just in the off chance her friend were to return, informing him that she was going out and how to get in contact with her.

And so, she packed up her few belonging and made her way out.

Getting across Alaska wasn't exactly easy.  She could just take the long way and trek it on her own, but that in itself was risky when the temperatures got to be below -70 degrees for a good portion of the time during winter, as well as dark for the near entirety of the day.  The easiest way to get across Alaska.. would be by plane.  So naturally, she did what anyone would do in this sort of situation.. or at least something Verity would do.  She swiped someone's boarding pass to get out to Fairbanks.  At least she could take the roads from that point.

A near four hour plane trip later, she decided to trek out on her own for a place to rest for the night.  There weren't many people out on the roads, and the ones who were most likely were going to the airport itself.  She'd keep on walking until she got to the nearest motel, unless something were to cross her path of course.

[Deleted]

Springer was, at the moment, doing all he could to avoid running into any Decepticons in the mysteriously restarted warfront. His encounter with Hypnos had been fortuitous. Not many of Megatron's soldiers would be so willing to simply explain the situation to him, not when he'd made the name he had for himself. He was a Wrecker. More than that, the Wrecker. He honestly couldn't remember the number of Decepticons he'd personally slagged or whose deaths had been due to his orders. Neutral or not, alone, he was a target.

Which is part of what worried him about being separated from Verity. If anyone dug into his recent life, it wouldn't be hard for them to find his human ally. And, while she was named among his Wreckers, there was no denying that she couldn't possibly take on some of the 'cons he could list just off the top of his head. Not that she didn't have the bearings to try. That worried him too, just as much as it made him feel a certain amount of camaraderie and respect for her. She truly fit in with the Wreckers, organic as she was.

It was because of his worry that he had continued his search for her, continuously waiting for her to call him and demand to know where he had gone.

The call never came.

So, when he returned to Alaska, it was without much hope. He'd seen the empty plot of ground where their home had been, with no sign of its, or her, previous existence. Still, the whirring of chopper blades carried over the trees as he tore through the air, toward the last place he'd seen her. He was braced for disappointment, the emptiness of the clearing...

Wait!

There it was!

Even as he transformed in midair, he reached out with his sensors. No signs of life. His pedes struck the ground with a loud, earth-shaking boom. That hardly deterred him. He could pick out the remnants of tracks in the snow, and he knew it wasn't in her nature to sit still. Especially with no one there to tie her down. Guilt pinged in his spark, despite his knowledge that losing her hadn't been his fault at all.

He folded down into his earthbound vehicle mode and activated his holoform, a broad man with brown hair and brilliantly blue eyes, in order to better explore the house. It didn't take him long to find her note. Which meant it shouldn't take long to find her. Note in hand, he headed back outside. Out of habit, he reached up to touch his audial as he activated his comms, calling her cell phone. First, he needed to confirm that she was safe.

[Verity Carlo]

Verity kept on walking, hands in her coat pockets to keep them warmed up.  Wearing gloves and technology just didn't work sometimes, and while they did make the kind of gloves that worked with touch screens that added bulk just made it harder to work with.  Fortunately, there were such things as hand warmers.  Just had to open up the package, toss them in your gloves or pockets and voila!  Instant warm hands for awhile.

She shivered a little as she continued her trek, hoping a motel or something would pop up soon.  The hand warmers were only going to do so much good, and they didn't last forever.

All it took was a sudden vibration in her pocket to distract her from that thought.  In her surprise, the human slid on a patch of ice, landing right on her derriere.  Verity didn't immediately get up, but instead pulled her phone out from the pocket.

...It was Springer.

Her eyes widened, staring at her phone for the longest while before actually answering the phone.  Was it really Springer?!  Naturally he'd call after she left, but.. what if it wasn't him?  Could Cybertronians aft-dial?  What if it was a distress call?  All sorts of things ran through her head as she swiped to answer the call.  "Springer..?!"

Boy would this be awkward if it wasn't him.

[Deleted]

Springer's processor was on a focused rampage as his holoform fizzled out and his vehicle mode settled in the snow. She wasn't picking up. Not right away. Was it these new Decepticons? Had they found her already? Or perhaps Tarantulas had somehow survived? Or was it this odd reversal in time? What was even going on with that? He didn't know what else to call it, what with the war suddenly being back on with the presence of these bots he knew weren't around when Earth had been the site of their war previously. Plus, there was the disappearance and sudden reappearance of his and Verity's home...

She answered. Finally and his worrying slowed to a fixed line of thought. Ascertain her situation, follow up. To the point and simple.

"Verity," he couldn't keep the relief out of his tone, "Are you alright?"

Her safety was his primary focus. After all, neutral or not, he was still an Autobot at spark, a natural protector.

[Verity Carlo]

It was him.

It was really Springer.

Verity didn't immediately reply to her friend's question, just taking it all in as she had when the phone had initially rung.  She'd been so worried that he had left or that something had happened to him..  She didn't want to lose another friend, just like she thought she'd lost Hunter.  Just like she'd lost so many Wrecker allies when she first joined.

Ironfist...

"Yeah.  Yeah I'm fine.  A little butt hurt I guess.  Nothing that won't work itself out.  Ice hurts when you land on it."  The girl joked, but it was more of an act if nothing else.  "What about you though, Springer?  Where did you go?  What happened to you?  You took off and then never came back.  I only left the house maybe.. eight hours ago?  I'm about four hours northeast of the house at this point.  Small place called Fairbanks, but still moving."  She got back up onto her feet, continuing her walk as she kept up the conversation.

"I thought you'd left me.."

[Deleted]

Springer vented. He would have shaken his head had he been in bipedal mode. His processor took a moment to translate "butt hurt". Despite being around Verity regularly, he still struggled with some of her vernacular. 

"Yeah, I'd suggest you keep your feet from now on," he replied, equal parts serious and lighthearted.

His concern was still raging. She was out of his reach, and the enemy was abroad. He seriously doubted that the other Decepticons would be as understanding of his new position as the last pair. He still carried his reputation from the war, and he had no doubt that there would be a certain amount of prestige that came with killing him. Especially, if for that individual, the war was still on and he was still considered the leader of the Wreckers. 

He vented again as Verity began to question him. His spark gave a painful squeeze at her last statement. 

"No. Wreckers don't leave their own."

Not unless it was that individual's choice. And not that he was a Wrecker anymore. At least, not officially. But vorns of leadership were hard to leave behind, and the words were spoken with the same sternness he'd used to call his men to order. 

After a pause to gather his thoughts, he spoke again, tone showing just how tired he was.

"To answer your questions: I honestly don't know, Verity. I went out for a flight and, when I came back, the cabin was gone. Then I encountered a pair of Decepticons," he paused for a moment, tone turning grim, "They were glad to inform me that the war was still on and that it had never ended. At first, I thought they were lying, or misinformed...but I did a bit of checking, and, whatever the case or cause, the war is back on...Verity, it's strange. Things aren't adding up. At all..."

He trailed off.

"Do you want me to come pick you up....?"

After his disappearance, he didn't know if she wanted him about right now. 

[Verity Carlo]

Verity kept on walking as she listened to Springer's voice over her phone.  She honestly would not have been surprised if he didn't know what she'd meant by butt hurt, but that was just how she rolled.

Shivering once more, the girl looked on ahead and was happy to spot a McDonalds not too far away in the distance, and a 24 hour one to boot.  Perfect~.  Nice place to just camp out for awhile, get warm, and maybe a coffee or two.  Thank God for the cheap stuff.. even if it didn't always taste the greatest.

As her friend explained what had happened, she didn't know what to believe.  The war?  It never ended?  How could that have been possible?!  Her eyes widened just at the thought knowing full well that Springer wouldn't lie to her about something like that.  Although she was even more confused when it came to the magical house they had taken up residence in.  Had he just gotten lost?  Houses don't just appear and disappear.

"Dammit..  And here I was hoping to live out my days of retirement with you.  If the war's still going.. it's only a matter of time before it spreads out this way."

And then came the question, causing Verity to stop in her tracks.  Did she want him to come for her..?  Of course she did, but there was that lingering doubt in her mind.  What if he left again..?  "Springer.. I want you to come pick me up.  I don't know where we can go, but.. I miss you.  I can hang out at the McDonalds by the Fairbanks airport until you get here.  Like I said.. four hour flight.  I can just hang out and get some coffee and food.  I've got some cash on me so it's not like I'll starve."

A smile came to her lips as a thought came to mind.

"Want me to check and see if the ice cream machine's working while I'm there?"  She knew damn well Springer wouldn't know what that meant, but she couldn't resist.  Since when did they ever work?

[Deleted]

All he needed was her permission. Springer took to the air with a surprising amount of agility for a bot so large, his blades whirling as they propelled him forward again. At the moment, he was on a mission. Verity's safety came first, so he would head there to begin. Then, they would figure out what in Primus' name was going on. 


"Unfortunately, I'm not sure that guys like me get a peaceful retirement," he replied grimly.


He didn't mean to voice his darker thoughts, but, the Wreckers had done enough slag during the war that he doubted living out the rest of his days peacefully was in the proverbial cards. As nice as that would have been. 

Her reminder of the length of the flight, mixed in with her assurances that she would be alright for the time being, were met with a confident smile that didn't quite reach his optics. It was a ghost left over from his days as a commander, when he would fling himself in a situation that was, as the humans said, fragged up beyond recognition, without a second thought. 

"I'll make it in three. Stay put, and yeah, if you want some ice cream, checking with them would probably be good."

Of course the Earth joke flew right over his helm without his notice. 

Springer deployed his scanners as he put a bit more energy into his speed, a dark throb spearing his spark when he realized just how instinctual the action was. He sighed internally. Maybe it was a good thing that he hadn't bee able to lay aside his soldier's habits. At least, for now. 

[Verity Carlo]

Poor Springer..

"Look, if you don't get to have a peaceful retirement then I'll raise some hell. You've earned that time off, and so have I for that matter but not as much as you have of course. After all the crap we've been through, a vacation is the least they could give us. Trip to Disney? I dunno."

At that point Verity was just rambling, quieting for a moment when she finally noticed. "Point is, I've got your back, Springer. You're getting that happily ever after whether they think you should or not." Verity? She wasn't as worried about it. In fact, it wasn't even something she'd considered. As long as her bestest pal got to live the life he deserved, then that was perfectly fine with her. She just hoped she could remain a part of it.

Verity wasn't quite sure her friend would make it to Fairbanks as quickly as he said he would, but she wasn't going to argue it either. At least the guy was coming period. Just meant one hour less waiting in a nice, cozy but also obnoxious fast food joint.

"Just for you~. I'll check the ice cream machine just for you. I'll keep the line open just so you know I'm still here and that I know you're still there too."

Finally reaching the entrance, the girl stepped inside to the familiar smells and sounds of that which was known as McDonalds. At this time of day there weren't many here outside of people too early for flights, those who just arrived and were in dire need of foodening, and the truckers. Once it was her turn, she ordered a couple of burgers, some fries, and a coffee before asking the age old question. Indeed it had been working! Along with the order, she got what was known as a McFlurry, confusing the heck out of the workers with the strange combination of her order.

Once she finally got her food and drink, she ducked into a quiet booth.  "Good news, Springer. Hell has frozen over. The ice cream machine works~."

[Deleted]

Verity's threat to 'raise some hell' brought a smile to the wrecker's lip components. That attitude was why she'd fit in so well with his team. And why they'd all cared about her so much. He had yet to see something that could successfully keep Verity Carlo down. 

"Thanks. There's no one I'd rather have watching it. But, you've earned that peace too, Verity, no question. We've both been through enough slag," he chuckled, "Disney sounds great. No mouse ears, though."

Her reassurance that she would check the ice cream machine for him led to a scoff of amusement. Now that his initial worry was gone and he was focused on getting to her, he could afford to be amused. As long as their line stayed open, he'd be fine. They both would. 

He waited patiently while she ordered, focusing his scanners on the surrounding area. No sign of Decepticon activity. Or Autobots for that matter. Had that pair in the woods been truthful? Was the war really back on? They acted like it had never stopped...After he had Verity back in his protection, they'd need to get in contact with some old friends. Maybe Magnus? Or Kup? Pit, as long as it wasn't Prowl, they'd be fine. 

"Good," he replied when Verity informed him of her good news, "Don't eat it too fast."

The infamous 'brain freezes' humans got were amusing on occasion, but, he had no interest in Verity being in pain. 

"So," he said casually, "If there are 'Cons on Earth, there's probably 'Bots too," after all, the Autobots would never let combative Decepticons roam wild, "Anyone you're hoping to get in contact with if that's the case?"

[Verity Carlo]

Verity had honestly meant it. She didn't care who she had to beat up, but Springer was going to enjoy the rest of his days whether the Autobots or Decepticons liked it or not. She may not have known the entirety of his life story, but she knew enough and honestly she couldn't care about the rest. Springer was her friend, and one who actually stuck with her as much as fate allowed, and that was the only thing that mattered. They both had been through many rough patches, and a vacay was the least the Autobots could do for them.

"You mean Thunderlips and Charlotte's Freak Show? I'd say I've had my fill of it all too, but looks like we've got more baddies to beat up. How many times do we have to teach these guys this lesson, huh? Just give up the whole 'Hail Megatron' bit and I dunno.. maybe stop the war for real?" Even the Wrecker girl had to laugh at her own jokes. "And what do you mean 'no mouse ears'? What's the point of going to Disney if you don't have mouse ears? Everyone's got 'em! They even have the kind that light up these days. Might cost a pretty penny, but I know a way or two of getting some dirt cheap."

And by dirt cheap, she meant swiping a pair.

Once she got her order, she sat down and looked over her food, plotting what to eat first. Obviously not the coffee. Hot coffee is hot after all. "Of course I won't, Springer. I've got better things to do tonight than puke~."

Promptly picking up one of the fries, Verity found herself dunking it straight into the McFlurry as she listened to her friend speak. An odd combination really, but it had a real nice sweet and salty taste to it. Yum..

"I dunno.. I'd really like to catch up with Uncle Mags and Ratchet if time allows. Wonder how Jimmy and Hunter are doing these days, too. I did sorta ditch them to join the Wreckers after all, against Uncle Mags' wishes. Heh.. What about you, though? Anyone you still wanna catch up with after the crazy shit we've been through?"

[Deleted]

Despite the confusion of the day, Verity's brand of humor and sarcasm was lifting his spirits. That, combined with just how quickly the ground sped by beneath him. The triple-changer's body tilted with the force of just how hard he was pushing his propellers.

"Thunderlips, huh? Don't know that anyone's ever had the ball bearings to say that to Overlord's face."

He figured that, after the phase sixer had literally rearranged him, he could either settle for being traumatized or laugh about the guy. The latter option seemed better.

"Well, if we've got to beat them up, I guess we'd better go get help. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have someone I know at our backs than leaving them open."

He didn't particularly relish the idea of hooking up with the Autobots again, but, many of them were old friends. They could at least be trusted.

Verity's comment about the ears drew a sound of amusement from him.

"You wear them. I'll get a photo. And don't puke."

That was the human word for purging one's tanks, right? It wasn't pleasant as a Cybertronian and he doubted it would be pleasant for Verity either.

"It wouldn't be bad to see Magnus and Ratchet. I suppose I'd better say hello to the Prime, too...if Kup's around, I'd definitely like to talk to him..."

There were others he knew, old friends he would say hello to, but, no one else was quite as pressing.