This
is the Night
By:
Sinead
Lyrics
transcribed on:
Written
on:
Author’s
Note: Got a few ideas, so
I’m back at the good old compy, even though I’m technically not supposed
to be writing. *grins* I’m supposed to be doing vocabulary for English
class, but I don’t like Edgar Allen Poe, so I’m putting it off for the
moment. I’ll crack down on it in a moment, though. Right. So. I don’t own
Hacker, Beast Wars, Depth Charge, Clay Aiken, or the song, “This is the
Night.” So nyah. . . . But I own Donovan.
When
the world wasn’t upside-down
I
could take all the time I had
Hacker
yawned and stretched. It was a Saturday morning, and a lazy one at that. Her
clock-radio read the time
What’s
worse, is that she, herself, didn’t want to leave.
But
I’m not gonna wait when a moment can vanish so fast
’Cause
every kiss is a kiss you can never get back
After
changing, Hacker walked though the mirror, and into the middle of an argument
between Optimus and Depth Charge. The leader was just about to reply, when he
saw her. His mouth closed prematurely, and Depth Charge turned. Hacker
blinked. “I can come back later, if you’d like. Arguments are sometimes
good things. They get the blood flowing. Sometimes you even think when in the
middle of one.”
“Primus,
you’re slagging irrepressible!” Depth Charge managed to sputter out, once
Optimus had clearly and angrily stated that he’d be back when the Manta was
in a better mood.
“And
what else would you have me be?” Hacker asked, walking up to him.
Lift
me up
In
your eyes
She
reached up for him, and he blinked, then picked her up completely, to
sit upon his bed, with her leaning against his chest. She blinked, and
whispered, “She was right.”
Depth
Charge blinked. “Huh?”
She
looked up at him, and pointed to his chest. “Two separate beats in there.
Sinead said so a while back, and . . . I’ve always wanted to know if she was
telling the truth.”
If
you told me that is what happened as well
You’d
be right
His
optics glittered with amusement. “Spark and mech-pump. Soul and body. Even
our slagging neural system has a pulse, but it’s nigh undetectable. Only
when . . .”
“When
what?” Hacker asked, all seriousness, now. Something was up, and it was the
same thing that had kept him from talking before. “Tell me.”
“When
a bot is dying . . . their mind slows. The neural pulses are detectable then,
and only then.” He sighed, and looked away from her. “Their final memories
are broadcasted into the nearest bot, so that they can be identified. It’s a
special frequency that cannot be deleted from the system. If the bot carrying
the information is killed, then both his, and the previous bot’s memories
are transferred into another bot. And it just goes on.”
The
human reached up to rest her palm upon the side of his face, gently moving his
head to look back at her. “How many memories do you hold, Depth Charge.”
I’ve
been waiting forever for this
This
is the night
He
shuddered, and covered his optics with his free hand. “Too slagging many.
Just too many.” He sighed huffily, and then growled, “But why the slag am
I telling you?! Blast it. Go away. You don’t need this.”
“What,
a so-called ‘weak’ bot?” Hacker asked, folding her arms across her
chest. “Yeah, I was warned of this. Megs and Starath went through this.
Megatron, now known as Micheal, thought that he had to be the strongest person
for Starath. What does she do? Completely disregard it. None of us really care
how strong or weak you are.” Her voice lowered to a whisper, “Besides. I
don’t need to go away. I need to be here. With you. Something’s
telling me that there’s something you want to say, something that you need
to get out of your system.”
When
the answer to all my dreams
Is
as close as a touch away
Depth
Charge shook his head. “I can’t. It’s too slagging painful to tell you
of what I wish I could unload upon someone. I don’t want to submit you to
that kind of horrors.”
“Pal,
I’ve lived through horrors of my own. Know what alcohol is?” As she said
that, Depth Charge looked at her solemnly. She sighed, and looked at her
hands, resting in her lap. “Not rubbing alcohol, but stuff that’s made out
of fermented grain. Smells bitter, most likely tastes worse than urine, and it
can and has ruined lives. My father . . . he’s an alcoholic. Me and my mom
couldn’t even live with him for a while, and it’s hard. Alcohol rips apart
families, and it ruins people. I know. I’ve seen it first-hand.”
The
large Maximal’s shoulder sagged, and he laid back. Hacker struggled to stay
on his chest, and just as she was about to fall off, Depth Charge’s hand
reached up, and caught her gently, helping her sit up straight again. She felt
one of the beats within his chest speed up, and she looked at his face. He
sighed, and then said, “They have stuff like that on Cybertron, too. My
mother’s two brothers were like that. I don’t even know where they are, or
even if they’re still alive. But . . . oh, Primus.”
Why
am I here holding back
What
I’m trying to say?
“What
is it?”
His
optics deactivated, and he whispered, “My brother could have been like that,
had he been allowed to lead a normal life. But now . . . I’m sworn to . .
.”
Hacker
didn’t press in, but instead, she slid to sit by his side, leaning against
him. She felt the tremors passing over him, and then turned to look at his
face. His red optics were off. Hacker left his room quietly, only to grab an
item and return. Depth Charge was about to leave, just as she was entering.
“Charge? Don’t go yet.”
Lift
me up
In
your eyes
He
walked over to her, and knelt upon one knee, to reached out and take the
outstretched object. He sat again, then looked at it. “What is it?”
“A
stuffed animal. That’s my bear, Vinnie. He’s my favorite, but . . . I’d
like you to keep him.”
Depth
Charge looked at Hacker. “I-I can’t take this! Hacker . . .”
“You
can, too. And If you try returning it, you’ll only find yourself waking up
with it in the morning, ’cause you know how quiet I can be,” Hacker
replied, grinning.
If
you told me that is what happened as well
You’d
be right
Depth
Charge sighed, then let his shoulders fall. “You’re generous.”
“There’s
a price.”
“I
figured as much. You’re sneaky, too. What is it?”
“I’ll
tell you when you’re ready to give it to me.”
Hold
me close
To
your heart
Depth
Charge reached over, and pulled Hacker close. She heard his soul and mech-pump
start to synchronize as she rested her ear against his chest. His voice
reverberated deeply. “Is it my love?”
“No.
I’m being insolent, but I’m guessing that you’ve already considered
giving it to me.” She looked up at him again, and said quietly, “You
won’t accept the price now, and I know that, but I’ll ask it of you soon.
I promise.”
I
would go with you to the ends of the earth
And
we’ll fly
The
words slipped out of Depth Charge’s mouth before he could stop it. “Stay
with me until I’m asleep?”
Hacker
blinked up at him, then smiled, and wrapped her arms around his neck, as he
froze awkwardly, not knowing what to say after that. With a laugh, the human
teenager replied, “As long as you don’t throw out the teddy bear!” Her
voice sobered. “You have nightmares.”
I’ve
been waiting forever for this
This
is the night
“Yes
. . . of . . . of my past. Almost everything that I remember is a nightmare. A
nightmare that I still haven’t seemed to wake up from yet.”
Hacker
slid down to sit in front of Depth Charge. “You’ll wake up. I know you
will. And I think that it’ll be painful, but . . . I think that when you
wake up, you’ll be in heaven.”
“I’ll
die, you mean.”
“All
the others had to.”
This
is the night where we captured forever
And
all that tomorrow’s begun
Depth
Charge blinked once, slowly. “The others . . . Matrix, you’re saying that
. . . they die, and–”
“And
become human, to live with their life-companion.”
He
saw the blush creep up onto Hacker’s face. With a mental evil grin, he
leaned forward, and asked, “So why are you telling me this, hm?”
See
the bait, gauge how she would answer to him . . . Hacker grinned through her
blush, and leaned closer to Depth Charge. “Because you’re my favorite.”
After
tonight
We’ll
never be lonely again
“Favorite?”
This wasn’t what he had been expecting. He sat straight again, still holding
the bear, and looking quite confused.
Hacker
laughed, and sat back. “Right. Favorites are the characters that we love the
most. Megatron is Starath’s favorite, Rattrap is Sapphire’s favorite, and
Dinobot is Sinead’s favorite.”
“Yes,
Rattrap said something about us being cartoon characters,” Depth Charge
replied softly. “About how he had seen how a few had made actual shrines to
characters. Sinead’s part of the web site, he especially mentioned, was
practically a shrine all onto itself for Dinobot.”
Lift
me up
In
your eyes
Hacker
laughed, nodding, understanding that it most certainly was. She’d seen it
many times, and knew that it would only grow over time. Depth Charge reached
over Hacker, and into one of his drawers in the desk. He pulled out a
necklace, with a delicate cross hanging upon it. “Will you see Sinead
soon?”
Hacker
reached out to touch the pennant. “Why?”
“Dinobot
passed this to Rattrap, telling him that if he ever saw Sinead, to give it to
her if he had died in the valley. When Sinead managed to come to the Wars
through Starath’s mirror, he didn’t have it on him at the time.” Depth
Charge handed the Celtic cross to Hacker, who looked it over. He smiled at her
intense studying of the object, and said, “When Rattrap knew that he
wouldn’t live, he told me to take care of this. It has to get back to Sinead
and Dinobot.”
If
you told me that is what happened as well
You’d
be right
Hacker
pulled on Depth Charge’s hand, tugging at him to follow her. “Come on.”
“Through
the mirror?”
“Dinobot
wasn’t as tall when he went to Sinead’s time and place. That, and Megatron
didn’t have the time to really get over to Starath’s house often, so I
think that you shrink a little if you come over.”
Hold
me close
To
your heart
When
they crossed through, Hacker looked up at a six-foot-tall version of Depth
Charge. He folded his wings closer to him, as he followed her into the living
room, where she sat at a computer, signing into an instant messenger service,
activating the voice service. “Sapphire!”
“Nope.
Dis ain’t her. ’Sup Hacker?”
Depth
Charge chuckled. “Mouse, you’re still alive? Pity.”
“Depth
Charge?!”
Sapphire’s
voice screeched, “What?!”
I
would go with you to the ends of the earth
Hacker
laughed, as other authors activated their microphones, and asked for more
proof. A new user signed on, and Hacker smiled, as Donovan’s voice called
out, “Sinead’s about to pass out on the couch, but she says hi to
everyone.”
“Even
Depth Charge?” Sapphire asked mischievously.
“Yeah,
pass it on.”
“Consider
it passed,” Depth Charge rumbled. “I have something that belongs to
you.”
“Slag!”
Rattrap cried out.
Something
hit something wooden, causing Sapphire to sigh, as Rattrap’s grumbling and
whining of pain carried over. “Didn’t I tell you that hitting your head
upon my hardwood desk is a hazard to your health?”
And
we’ll fly
Donovan
was silent for a moment, before Sinead’s sleepy voice piped up, “Was that
Depth Charge? Hacker!!!”
“Yes?”
the drummer replied sweetly.
“We
have to meet.”
“Well,
considering that Depth Charge is in possession of something Dinobot left
behind, I guess that we have to.”
Donovan’s
voice was soft and disbelieving, as he asked, “Is it the necklace? The
cross?”
Depth
Charge’s reply was just as soft, but reassuring. “Yes.”
I’ve
been waiting forever for this
Sinead’s
laugh carried over, and she said, “Botcon! Crud . . . OTFCC. That’s what
it’s called, now. We’re going to OTFCC, and you’re bringing Depth
Charge, whether he’s human or not!”
“Sinead,
that could be a very bad idea,” Sapphire said cautiously.
“Oh,
okay. Whatever. But we’ll record it for him to see! Howzat?”
“Sinead,
you’re barely this side of sanity, aren’t you?” a new, male voice asked.
Sinead
laughed again, and replied, “Megs, I’ll have Starath sit on you!”
There
was an evil chuckle that came from the once-Predacon tyrant, and an
uncomfortable silence filled the chat room. Finally, Donovan’s irritated
sigh sounded, as he grumbled, “You’re a sick man. Don’t you even think about
saying what I think you’re about to say. Primus . . .”
This
is the night
Depth
Charge chuckled, and Hacker reached for his hand, finding it, and holding it,
as he leaned against her chair lightly. His other hand rested upon her
shoulder, knowing that what she had said earlier was true.
He had already given her his love, his heart and soul. And he never wanted to be alone without her ever again.