Kelly awoke to the sound of an insistent tapping. Arachnia was nowhere in sight, having woken up early to continue looking through the files of research data. Kelly yawned, turning her head to the source of the noise. The tapping was coming from the window. Kelly tumbled out of bed, dropping on her bottom then tiredly swaying over to the window. She immediately became lively when she saw it was Snarl. "Snarl!" She greeted, excitedly opening the window. The triceratops face leaned in closer, dropping his jaw to reveal Louise, slightly filthy but otherwise still in one piece. "Hey you found her!' Kelly frantically grabbed the doll, Snarl promptly closing his mouth afterwards.
The child hugged the doll despite how dirty it was. "Hehe! Thank you! Louise, you should thank Snarl for bringing you home."
Kelly manipulated the doll to lightly tap her face against his snout in a kissing gesture, making a Mwah! sound effect. This really confused the Dinobot, but that confusion washed away when Kelly gave him a sweet peck on his front horn. Snarl wagged his tail like a puppy. He honestly enjoyed the attention. It was then that Arachnia entered the room after she heard all the noise. Snarl immediately ducked out of view while Kelly beamed brightly at the techno organic. "Morning momma!"
Arachnia smiled, making her way over to the young girl. The room that they had claimed as their bedroom was actually a refurbished storage room. There were bedrooms suited for humans but they were small and cramped, Kelly immediately voicing her distaste, preferring to remain with her mother, which Arachnia was all too happy to oblige to. Much of the equipment/junk that had piled up from the previous owner were moved out into the main console room, allowing Arachnia to redecorate how she pleased. Once again, she made the inside of the room a literal spiders nest, with nets of webbing draped from the ceilings and attached to the walls, the finishing touch being a new silk bed for Kelly. Kelly did not mind the webbing at all, in fact she would often play with it in the fashion of a skipping rope, swings and climbing ropes. She saw it has her own personal playroom.
"Good morning Kelly. What was all that noise I was hearing? Were you talking to someone?' Arachnia inquired curiously, kneeling to be at better level.
"Oh! I was just talking to Snar- Hey! Where'd he go?" Kelly looked out the window, searching for her favorite Dinobot, but he was nowhere in sight. "He was right here," she pouted.
"Snarl? What was he doing here?'
"He brought back Louise for me." Kelly held up the doll with cheerfully with a bright smile.
Arachnia frowned doubtfully. She did not entirely trust the Dinobots, she did however believe that they would never dare oppose her. She already proved her dominance, she was smarter, she was more tactical. If their loyalty and affections towards her were not enough to keep them in line then she could always rely on fear. But this, how Snarl was getting closer to Kelly, and Kelly closer to him, unsettled Arachnia. It left her feeling conflicted. On one hand, this could give more incentive to those one tracked processors to protect Kelly and Kelly would have better companions. But on the other hand, and this was Arachnia's own irrationality, she feared that this was a secret ploy to get rid of Kelly. Just the thought of the latter made her maternal instinct kick in. She would have to keep an eye on Snarl and the rest of them.
Snarl lay on the beach. It was a cloudy day, with not a single ray of sun shining through, causing an almost grey and somber hue to fall on the island, but that did not affect Snarls mood. His mind was filled with his own thoughts and musings as he gazed at the sand town he and Kelly had created, which was still standing. The child was stirring up feelings of endearment in the triceratops and he wanted to continue their unlikely friendship, but he was still wary of Arachnia, especially after she displayed her strength and hold over the Dinobots. He was not as smitten with the techno organic as he used to be, though, the same could not be said for his brethren. They were still tripping over themselves trying to please their mistress.
Suddenly, the sand structure that Kelly and Snarl had put so much time and effort into was demolished by a very apoplectic Grimlock, crushing it with his large peds. Snarl was up instantly, shocked and angered himself. "Grimlock! Why you do that?!" He yelled.
Grimlock growled, standing taller in his Dinobot mode to appear more intimidating and assert that he was the alpha here, and it did work. Snarl was smart enough to realize that he was no match for the tyrannosaurus. He was their leader for a reason, specifically his strength. "What Snarl doing?! Dinobots not pet for puny human!"
"Snarl traitor! Snarl traitor!" Swoop squawked, ever the dependable crony and supporter to Grimlock.
Snarl felt trapped. He felt guilty, like he had just been caught committing a heinous sin. He was about ready to roll over and show his belly in submission when a certain thought struck him; what did he have to be ashamed of?
The human had been so nice to him, her gaiety attitude and soft affection were a welcome contrast to his brethrens rowdy and rough demeanors. He now understood why Arachnia cared about the child as much as she did; Kelly was not like other humans who ran away screaming or try to control them or lock them up. She was willing to forgive and accept. Being friends with her was nothing to be ashamed of. So, as he stood there being the target of Grimlock and Swoops spiteful glares., he made a choice. Admittedly, it was not the smart thing to do, it possibly may end with him beaten and bleeding on the ground, but it was the right thing. Snarl held his head up, surprising the others, and fixing them with an unintimidated, challenging glare. "Human...Kelly...Snarl's friend..."
_______________________________________
Kelly was just drinking up the leftover milk of her bowl of cereal when the entire island suddenly shook. The child screamed, running to Arachnia who was in the middle of consuming an oil can. Arachnia dropped the canister, scooping Kelly into her servos to keep her safe. "What was that? A m-monster?" Kelly whimpered.
Arachnia held Kelly close, scowling towards the main door. "Yeah, three of them."
The both of them trekked across the island, braving tremors and dodging falling trees. Kelly hunkered down on her mommas shoulder, squeaking fearfully. Arachnia could not leave her back in the facility under these circumstances. As they drew nearer to the source, the quakes become more violent and Arachnia was forced to cling to the trees that were still standing to keep her balance, quickly switching to the next tree, getting closer.
A large oak tree came crashing down, and after the cloud of dust and leaves settled, they were greeted by a sight of fighting Dinobots. Snarl was fighting back with all his might, but it was obvious that he was in worse shape than the other two, badly dented frame, leaking energon from open bite marks and scratches. Snarl bellowed, ramming his horns into Grimlocks chassis while Swoop flew above, rushing downward and attacking every few seconds.
Kellys heart clenched at the horrific sight. "Snarl?" she whimpered.
Snarl, with his acute hearing, heard Kellys call even through the chaotic ruckus, and cast a pained and helpless expression to the young girl. However, in that moment of distraction Grimlock made a comeback and slammed Snarl to the ground, seizing his jaws around the triceratops neck and biting down forcefully. Oil immediately spewed through the puncture wounds Grimlock caused, bleeding profusely. Snarl roared in pain. Kelly eyes teared up in fear. "Snarl..."
Snarl was repeatedly slammed into the ground, and with every time he was more oil spewed from his wounds, the brownish substance accumulating beneath him in an odourous pool.
"SNARL!!!" Kelly screamed, her tears now freely flowing down her cheeks.
Hearing Kelly's scream, Arachnia was broken out of her transfixed state. Her countenance fixed into an irritated scowl. Those primitive barbarians, just why were they fighting this time? And so extremely may she add. Even the times when they had squabbled over her affections in the past were not as intense as this. This was something else. Regardless of the reason, she had to put a stop to this. "Kelly, hold on tight to momma and no matter what; dont. Let. Go."
Kelly obeyed, holding on tighter as she stayed low, sending one more teary-eyed glance to the incapacitated Snarl before putting her head down.
Arachnia took a moment, sliding her left leg slightly behind her and taking an offensive stance. Then, she charged straight into the fray. First, she went for Swoop, using a fallen tree to launch herself and collide her ped into the pterodactyl, knocking him out of the air and slamming him into the ground. Keeping him pinned even as he struggled, Arachnia stabbed him with her pincers, draining him of his strength. As soon as the pterodactyl went limp, she spun around to set her sights on Grimlock who was still assaulting Snarl. She launched herself in Grimlocks direction, landed on his back, wrapped her arms around his neck, and sunk her elongated claws into his throat. The claws were thanks to the download of Swoops abilties, now she just had to use it before her time limit ran out. Grimlock roared in pain, releasing Snarl who fell limp. The tyrannosaurus began to buck to get the techno organic off. Arachnia held on tight, not just for her sake but for the child also. She could hear Kelly whimpering in her audio receptor, crying fearfully. Arachnia gritted her denta together, desperately trying to inject him with her pinchers. Then, Grimlock slammed his back into a tree, getting Arachnia in the process. Had Grimlock known that it was Arachnia he would not have done what he did and what he was about to do. He spun around and flung her into the air, and with his great strength he threw her pretty far.
Time seemed to slow down. Arachnia felt weightless, her legs kicking the air, her arms reaching to grab anything to stop her descent. It was by miracle that she remembered at the last and crucial moment to activate the other ability she had stolen from Swoop. She sprouted wings proportionate to her body, turned around midair and caught the air currents under her, breaking her fall. Arachnia made her way back, landing directly in front of Grimlock. She was not just angry, she was furious. The Dinobot realized his egregious mistake. "Spider lady Grimlock no mean-"
She did not let him finish. Her pinchers sunk into his chassis, draining him and leaving him unconscious. Arachnia stood there in silence, staring in disdain at the Dinobot and the destruction around them before remembering Kelly. She turned to her shoulder to find the little sparkling was gone. Arachnia was on the verge of a panic attack when she noticed a little leg poking out under the seams of her armor. During all the chaos, Kelly had slipped in between the space in the armor, hiding. "Kelly!" Arachnia cried desperately, reaching a servo to try and coax the child out.
The leg was pulled back in before Kelly's little head appeared. "Momma? Is...it over?" The child's lip quivered. Arachnia sighed in relief, catching Kelly as she crawled into her open palm and embraced the little one the best she could. "Yes...its over Sunny."
Kelly perked and noticed Snarl still lying motionless. The poor triceratops looked barely alive, and the sight broke Kelly's heart as she began to bawl her eyes out. "Momma! Momma please! You hafta help him! Snarl's my friend, I dont want him to die! Please don't let him die! Please!" she wailed, hysterically.
Arachnia frantically tried to calm her down, promising to do everything she could to save the Dinobot her daughter saw as a friend. She knelt beside him and gently patted his face, Kelly cryng the triceratops name. A low rumble was heard coming from deep in Snarl's throat as he opened his heavy optics. He was still alive, but had lost a lot of oil. His life force was draining fast. Arachnia had to get him back to the facility. She siphoned more strength from Grimlock to boost her own. Carrying a big bot like Snarl was not going to be a walk in the park. The forest floor was also too destroyed and uneven for poor Kelly to walk so she had to go back into Arachnias armor though this time, she did not hide, staring at Snarl anxiously. She really hoped he would be okay.
As Arachnia hefted the larger mech on her back, the task being more difficult because he was still in his dinosaur mode, she proceeded to half carry, half drag him across the island. She took in the ruined landscape around them and heard a cynical cackle in the back of her mind.
'You want to keep the child safe but yet no matter where you go, danger will always find you. And now her...'
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A/N
I apologize for making you all wait so long. I have already had this chapter half finished on my laptop with a clear idea of where I wanted it to go. But even as I write this now it is midnight and I have a legal studies test tomorrow. The joys of school...
Anyway, I hope you're all satisfied with this update because I don't think I will be updating this book in a while. If I'm going to be adding new chapters, at all, I will be updating my books in rotations. And thank you all for supporting this book, if it were not for you guys who actually liked the content I would not even bother making the effort to continue. So thank you again, tell me what you think in the comments, vote and follow.