White, Pink and Purple

by Odeena Sabnach

Just what are Thaliana and Alkari doing in Level 35?

Knowing how immature those two could get and adding the high-tech equipment in our base, I should’ve been a bit concerned about that, especially after the latest backfire which resulted in creating DB. Okay, DB was a nice guy, but that didn’t mean the rest of us were ready for an army of brilliant clones that used ‘dude’, ‘cool’ or other smart stuff like that every five words. Sure, Thaliana promised solemnly that it would never happen again, case closed.

I should’ve known better…

~

It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and a gentle breeze blowing. One of those rare autumn days that made you wish to go out and play.

Which was exactly what we were doing. Early in the morning, DB had proposed we played volleyball, and we had all accepted it with enthusiasm. In a matter of minutes we had the net put up, the teams settled, and before we knew it, the game was on.

Right now, after two sets won by my team (consisting of myself, DB, Rattrap, Black Arachnia and Terrosaur), and three sets won by the others (Serena, Cheetor, Air Razor, Megs and the original Dinobot), the score was tight, 14 to 14. One more point for either teams, and the game would be over.

It was my turn to serve. Everyone was watching me… no, staring at me nervously. That only made me feel even more uncertain. If there was one thing I wasn't good at, that was sports. Even Waspinator was better than me at this...

DB and I exchanged a glance, and he made an imperceptible encouraging sign. That made up my mind, and I decided to risk it and try a ‘falling leaf’ serve.

A ‘falling leaf’ is one of the most difficult techniques in volleyball. If you hit the ball at a precise angle, it would appear to fall farther then it actually would, and that practically guaranteed victory. There was a small problem however—I’ve never done it before.

“Are you gonna serve already?” Serena asked impatiently.

“Hold your gears, will you? I don’t think it makes a difference if I embarrass you now or a second later.”

“Embarrass me? Yeah, right. The only one you could possibly embarrass is yourself.”

“Oh yeah? Check this out.”

I took in a deep breath, and served. The ball flew through the air, and I saw Serena ready to hit it… this was it, we were finished. Her attacks were terrible (let’s remember that girl could lift a tank without even sweating). I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable…

“Point! Dua’s team won!”

“Huh…?”

For a second, I didn’t realize what happened; then, someone picked me up like I was a feather.

“You did it!” I heard DB’s voice. “We won the game!”

The other guys in my team were also cheering. Rattrap and Terrosaur were exchanging high-fives, and Black Arachnia was hugging Silverbolt.

“Nice serve!”

I smiled at Cheetor’s honest remark. “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself, Cheets.”

“That was a lucky hit”, Serena grumbled. “And anyway, it’s a tie. Next time, you won’t be that lucky.”

“Uh-huh.”

DB was still holding me…

“Um… DB? You can put me down now, I would mind breathing again.”

“Sure... okay”

He put me down with a smirk. “Nice job”.

“Thanks.”

Rattrap didn’t miss the chance. “Well, what are ya standin’ dere for, Chopperface? Kiss ‘er already!”

The others burst out laughing. I guess I blushed. DB was about to take Rattrap apart again, when suddenly, the alarm went off.

“What the—”

We stood there in confusion for a moment, then we al rushed to the base.

“And we were having so much fun…” Cheetor complained as the heavy titanium doors closed behind us.

~

Rhinox was already checking the security grid when we all poured into the control room.

“The alarm came from sector 37”, he informed me as soon as he saw me settled in one of the command chairs.

“Figures. What’s wrong?”

“Strange enough, nothing. Still… I did a quick scan of the area, and there’s no sign of life.”

“Um… excuse me?”

“I can’t find Thaliana or Alkari’s energy signatures anywhere.”

“Is that… bad?”

Serena was just waiting for the chance. “Of course it’s bad, stupid. This means they’re dead.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, shall we?” Optimus intervened, just as I was ready to snap. “They’re not necessarily dead. They could just be out cold. Either way, I'll need someone to check it out. Any volunteers?"

"I'm going", DB offered.

"Me too", I said quickly. Rattrap grinned.

"I'm--"

"No you're not."

Serena scowled at me. "And why not?"

"Because I say so."

"And who died and made you Primal?"

"Enough! Serena, you stay here", Optimus stated in a commanding voice.

"Ape", Serena grumbled silently. I smirked.

"Tarantulas and Black Arachnia, go with them. I expect a full report in fifteen cycles. The rest of you are dismissed."

"Wait! I wanna go, too."

"Great", I muttered under my breath. "You know, Rat-Face, this could be dangerous..." I continued more loudly. "Probably even lethal..."

Rattrap grinned even more. "Ya're not gettin' me with dat. 'Sides, I can't miss da chance ta--"

"Ahem. Get going already."

"Yes, Optimus", I said quickly, then I shoved everybody out. This was sooooo not good...

~

We were about half way down to level 35, when out elevator stopped. Prime.

I tapped on my comm-link. "Rhinox, what's going on this time?"

"I'm sorry, the generator--"

"Again?"

"Err... yeah. Hang on there, I'll get it up and at it in a minute."

I sighed. The elevator was dark, and the fact that I had to share the ceiling with Tarantulas and Black Arachnia didn't improve my mood. I crawled down silently and found myself standing next to DB. Funny, the lack of light and the fact that we were trapped in a confined space with Tarantulas didn't seem to affect him.

As if sensing my thoughts, Tarantulas chuckled, and I twitched.

"Don't worry", DB whispered to me. "I'm here. He won't try anything. Besides, I doubt he'd find you tasty anyway."

"What?" I gasped. "How--"

"I checked your medical record. Your blood consists mostly of," some weird chemical not even I heard about, "and it acts like poison for anything that presents organic elements."

"Um... thanks."

I had just found out that my blood resembles to a was in fact poison. I felt great. Just great.

"I thought you fixed the generator", I whispered to DB.

"I thought so, too. Drat."

"Double drat."

From somewhere in the dark, Rattrap chuckled. "Man, it's gettin' so romantic in here, ain't it."

"Shut up Rattrap", I muttered. "Come on, Rhinox... what's taking you?" I continued without even realizing it.

"What, I thought dat's what ya wanted--"

"Rattrap, I'm in a BAD mood. You DON'T want to piss me off."

I guess my tone finally convinced him, because he didn't say anything else. Instead, Tarantulas began to chuckle, which was ten times worse. Fortunately for everyone, the lights suddenly came back on, and the elevator began to move with a hiss.

"Finally", I sighed.

And a few minutes later, we were coming finally reaching level 35.

"So, now what?" Rattrap asked.

DB smirked. "I say we split up. Tarantulas with Black Arachnia, Dua with me, Rattrap... alone."

"In your dreams and my nightmares. I'm not going with Legs here", Black Arachnia immediately protested.

"I knew it. Ya just want some quality time alone--" Rattrap didn't finish the sentence, because I simply powered my optic lasers and shot him. He flew through the air and landed a few feet away.

"What was dat for?!" he yelled, drawing out his gun. "Why I oughta--"

DB calmly powered his optic lasers. "You oughta--what?"

Rattrap flinched. "Eh-heh... I mean, whadever ya say. Ya're the boss, yeah..."

"But I'm still not going with him".

DB sighed. "Alright then. You go with Rattrap, and--"

"No way! I ain't goin' with her, I don't care what Sir Drools-A-Lot says!"

Black Arachnia made a face, and I sensed the incoming conflict. "Um.... guys?"

Again, they all turned and stared at me. "Yeah?" Rattrap offered.

"I have a better idea. DB goes with Rattrap, I go with Tarantulas, and Black Arachnia goes alone."

They stared at me for a few seconds like I was some kind of an alien talking sandwich, then finaly DB nodded. "Oookay... You sure?" he added in a more quiet tone of voice. "If you want, I can go with--"

"No, it's okay. Now let's get going already, shall we?" I offered.

"Um... sure. So, Black Arachnia, you'll take the vents and do a quick scan of all the level, Tarantulas and Dua go left, and we'll go right."

There was a general mutter of agreement, and then we all turned and left.

I was alone with Tarantulas.

Thrillsville.

~

"So, tehahe, are the rumors true?"

I gave Tarantulas a suspicious look. "What rumors?"

"That you, tehehehe, like DB."

"Whatever makes you say that?"

"Tehahe, I guessed. Everybody's saying that."

"Well, I think everybody should keep their mouth closed. And I--HOLD IT!"

We had just entered what looked like some sort of weird lab, with a huge steel circle in the middle. A few steps away from it lay Alkari, offline. I rushed to him and nudged him gently. Nothing. Tarantulas was too busy chuckling.

"Don't just stand there! Help me!"

"Tehehe, of course."

Uh-oh. He had that look on his face. I've seen it before, usually on the faces of psychopath killers on TV. Just then, Alkari groaned softly.

"What happened?" Tarantulas and I chorused together, Tarantulas adding, of course, a 'Tehahe' of his own.

Alkari looked around in confusion before his gaze settled on my face. "Where's Thalia?"

"I was just gonna ask you the same thing."

He shook his head. "The portal really worked... and then... she walked in... and... a flash..."

"Ooookay. What portal?"

He sighed. "We were trying to open an inter-dimensional portal. The big surprise is, it actually worked. We have to go after her!"

"I'm not getting, tehahe, my molecules scrambled, tehahehehe."

"You just radio in that we found him, and tell everyone to get over here." I turned back to Alkari. "Can you open the portal again?"

"Um... I'm not sure. I mean, I can open a portal, but I'm not sure it's the one she went through."

"No matter. Try anyway."

He nodded and walked over to a console.

"What happened?"

That was DB, walking in with Rattrap. Black Arachnia showed up almost at the same moment, all covered in dust and stuff.

"I hate you", she whispered to me. "Why didn't you tell me there were rats in the vents?"

"Rats? Yeesh, now I know what's with all the weird noises coming from the vents at night. I thought--"

"Got it!"

A pinkish wave of energy suddenly filled the ring. We all stared at it.

"It looks so... cute", Black Arachnia finally said.

Tarantulas flinched. "Eww, it's groce."

"Point." Somehow, I doubted this was such a good idea.

"So, what do we do now?" Rattrap asked.

"I say we go and tell--"

"Optimus? No way! He'll just send someone else through the portal, and we'll miss all the fun!"

I gave DB a puzzled look. "Excuse me--what?"

He looked even more confused than I was. "C'mon, you know what I mean! Why not just go in now, get Thaliana and get out? Optimus doesn't have to know about all this!"

"No way." Rattrap crossed his arms. "I'm not goin' in dere."

"Me neither, tehahehe."

"Are you guys gonna make up your mind already? I can't hold it up forever!" Alkari shouted. The instant our attention wasn't on him any more, DB lunged out and threw Tarantulas through the portal. Black Arachnia followed, and then, before I knew it, I was flying through the air. The instant I touched the pink surface, I felt my body somehow decomposing; a few seconds of confusion, from which all I could distinguish was a weird pink ooze, and just when I was begining to think that I had to be dead by then, the ooze changed to bright purple, and I landed hard on something.

"OW!"

That was Tarantulas. I looked around, trying to figure where his voice had come from.

"OW!" the scream came again. "Would you mind GETTING OFF?"

Oh yeah, there he was, sandwich between me and a very nervous Black Arachnia.

"Um... sorry."

The same instant, a high-pitched screech caught my ear, and DB landed on top of us. Tarantulas screamed again, Black Arachnia screamed with him, and I joined in the concert. Things got even worse when Alkari landed on top of the pile. If there had been any windows around, they would have surely broke.

Somehow, I managed to crawl out of the mess, and I stood up. Thankfully, nothing was broken. While the others did their best to do the same, I did a quick check of the surroundings.

Then I noticed something strange. The ground we were standing on, wasn't exactly ground. It looked more like clouds; white, puffy clouds that floated around. I couldn't see what was underneath them, and frankly I didn't want to know. The sky was also pink, with a slight purplish tint, and I could the sun was spreading a nice pink light, which, I noticed, made us all look... pink. Somewhere in the distant horizon, there was something that looked like a forest, colored in various tones of pink. There was so much pink around I was starting to feel sick.

"This place sure looks weird", I heard DB muttering. "And it's so..."

"Pink?"

"Yeah."

The others were back on their feet, and they were also throwing curious glances around. They also looked pink.

"So... now what?" Black Arachnia asked.

"What?! What were ya thinkin', ya overgrown stinkin' 'saurian?!" Rattrap yelled, clenching his fists.

DB smirked. "What, didn't you like the ride?"

"Why ya' stinkin'--"

"Um... I don't mean to interrupt you or anything, but I've set the portal to open again in a megacycle. We have to find Thaliana by then"

"Oookay..." Black Arachnia sighed. "I say we split--"

"Your head and see if there's anything there besides empty space", I said quickly. "We have every chance to get lost if we do. Instead, I say we leave someone here so we'll know where the portal will open, and the rest of us go and find Thalia."

"Sounds... good", DB said thoughtfully. "Okay, Tarantulas, you stay here. The rest of us will go... err, check that forest or whatever it is. I don't see any other place where she could be."

Tarantulas was ready to protest, but he swallowed his words. "Tehahe, fine by me."

"Let's get going then", DB commanded.

"Let's", I seconded.

I was NOT happy about this...

~

Seen from a closer range, the forest (it was a forest) looked even spookier. The trees were all white, and the light was reflected off their branches in all sorts of strange patterns that made my head spin. It seemed endless.

"Shall we?" Black Arachnia asked sweetly.

Alkari twitched. "Yeah, um... come on."

Suddenly, something flickered on my watch/comm-link/CFG/scanner thingy. 'Warning. Current time is now five in the afternoon. Your favorite show is about to start.'

I sighed. So long, Celebrity Deathmatch... HOLD IT!

"I know how we can find her", I said before even realizing it.

The others gave me curious looks. "How?" Alkari asked.

"I can set my... err, watch to scan for her."

"Do it", DB commanded.

I tapped a few codes, and the entire display turned green. After a few seconds, it beeped. 'Unit: Thaliana detected. Moving along vector: 5-9-1. Two other energy signatures detected.'

"Identify".

"Unable to comply. Energy signatures are of alien nature."

Rattrap sighed. "Dis brings back memories..."

"Come on, let's follow her signature."

"What about the other two, DB?" Alkari asked cautiously.

"What about 'em?"

"Well, what if they are aggressive--"

"Either way, we'll have to face them sooner or later. Now move."

A few minutes later, we suddenly heard some voices laughing. One of them was Thaliana for sure, but I couldn't tell who the others were. Probably the guys whose energy signatures my scanner had picked up earlier. We approached cautiously. I was beginning to spot a clearing among the trees. Then I saw Thaliana. She was sitting on a fallen tree, and at her sides there were--

"Hol. Ly Grandma. What in the Pit are those?" I muttered.

Rattrap squinted. "Well, dey remind me of da Vok, if dey weren't so pink..."

Thaliana saw us too, because she waved her hand towards us. "C'mon, guys! Come and meet my new friends!"

The rest of us were puzzled.

"Friends?" Alkari mumbled. "That's it. She really lost it this time."

We all approached her. One of the two... um, huge, flying, pink skulls turned to us.

"Oh, hello there", it said in a perfect English, with a pronounced British accent. "I am Laurence Augustus the Third. Pleased to meet you."

"Um... hi?" I said timidly.

"This is Thomas Brillianticus the Second."

"Hello", Thomas said.

It took us a little while to recover from the shock, during which Thomas and Laurence floated around us curiously. Finally, DB spoke.

"Thalia, you have to come back with us. Now."

Thaliana made a face. "Aww... Already?"

"Yeah. already. We have to go back before Pop-Op finds out about this."

"And... before the portal reappears. If we miss it, we're stuck here for good", Alkari added. His gaze fell on my watch, and his face fell. "We have to get going, it will re-open in less than five cycles!"

We exchanged concerned glances.

"We'll never make it in time", Black Arachnia yelled. "We must--"

"Oh calm down", Thomas suddenly intervened. "We will take you. Just tell us where."

"Um... we left one of our friends to mark the spot", Alkari offered.

"Really. Alright then, here we go."

I have no idea what happened then. All I know that, suddenly, we were back on the puffy clouds. Tarantulas was asleep on a small 'hill'. Black Arachnia nudged him.

"Tarantulas! Some old friends here that want to play!" she whispered gently.

Tarantulas' visor flickered a few times, then it lit up. "What old frien--AAARGH! STAY AWAY!!!"

He started to shoot blindly towards the two skulls. They both seemed rather amused.

"Hey, that tickles", Laurence chuckled.

"Yes, stop it", Thomas added.

Black Arachnia was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.

"What's that all about?" I asked her after she finally calmed down enough to listen to me.

"You know, he had some... unpleasant encounters with the Vok. They... um, killed him and all."

"Oh."

The pink portal began to appear out of thin air. Thaliana made a sad face.

"It's been fun, you two. Really. I wish I could stay, but--" the portal was fully open now "--I have to go back to my own dimension. Maybe I'll come again sometime, okay?"

"Very well, Thaliana. Take care, and--"

I couldn't hear the rest of the sentence, because two metallic arms caught me and lifted me.

"Hey! Put me down" I yelled. The next instant, the world seemed to turn upside down and inside out, and the pink ooze came again. A few seconds later, I landed on what appeared to be someone's arm or whatever. This time however, I moved away as fast as I could, and the rest of the group landed on an unsuspecting Depth Charge.

"Ouch! Hey, what in the Pit--"

"OW! Get yer pincer outta my spleen!"

"S.O.B.!"

"You do realize I hate you, right?"

"Gah, GET OFF!"

And, above all, the computer's voice: 'Warning. Circuitry overload. Experiment will de-atomize in T minus fifteen seconds."

All as one scurried through the door, except for me. From my own experience, I knew what de-atomization meant.

"Five. Four. Three. Two. One."

"Get outta there!" Rattrap shouted. The same instant, the steel ring and all the computers around slowly began to melt down... until all was left was a puddle of liquid metal, which two maintainance droids were already absorbing into some weird recipients.

"Chicken", I muttered. Then I joined the rest of the group in the halls and we all went for the command room to report to Optimus. Turned out, Op-Op had gotten worried and sent Depth Charge down to investigate. Officially however, we only had 'some problems with an old security grid', but 'there was nothing to worry about any more' (quote, DB). End of story.

Or was it?

~

I slowly crawled towards my quarters, with the two trouble makers close behind. A very hyper Serena was waiting in front of the door.

"Hey, guess what?" she said as soon as she saw us. "I found this nice pink wallpaper in the stores, and I put it up. Surprise!"

Suddenly, I felt soooo dizzy...