this town belongs to OVERLORD - A Transformers Murder Mystery Wild West AU

DAY 5 - into the woods.

"He's been like this for at least the past hour," Swerve said as he gazed upon the hunched Overlord. "I checked on him this morning. He's usually up before I am, and when I didn't see him out and about, I came up here to see what the matter was."

Swerve, Red Alert, and I stared at Overlord from the doorway to his bedroom, and I ventured into the darkness. Overlord was slouched at his desk, my journal and the interviews splayed out before him. The recordings were playing softly, and his hands were pressed to his forehead as he viciously studied.

"He was doing this all night," Red Alert added. He had started sleeping with Overlord after imprinting, and it also was a great form of protection during the night. Most were advised to stay with someone they trusted. "I don't think he got any sleep."

I shook Overlord's shoulder. "Dear, are you alright?"

Overlord dropped his muscular arms and glared at me with sunken, drained optics. "Do I look alright, Arcee? Do I look alright?!"

"Hey, hey, it's okay." I rubbed his cheek with a knuckle, trying to bring him to his senses. "You did a lot of work last night, but now you need to sleep." I took his hand into my own and gently guided him away from the crowded desk before sitting him down upon the bed.

Overlord took my hands into his own, and he stared at the crooked floorboards underneath our still feet. "I'm scared. These poor people...I have known them for so long. I don't want another to get hurt."

I used my hand to turn his face towards mine, and my fingers pressed into his round cheeks, squishing his lips. "I am as well, but we must stay level-headed." I gave him a small smile before pulling him into an empathetic embrace, and I could feel him slightly shivering in my strong grasp. "Let's get you some fresh air."

. . .

We were settled at the edge of the forest the grand EviroDome supported, and Overlord was feverishly collecting some of the wild white flowers that grew there. The meadow was warmed by a sudden thick breeze, and the trees's aluminum leaves swished in the calm winds. Some dirt specks fell onto my shoulder, and I looked up to see Overlord sweetly offering me a makeshift bouquet of blossoms, roots still attached.

"Oh, thank you," I said before I took them from his fist, and I watched a small grayish insect crawl over one of the pale stigmas.

Red Alert was busily attempting to clamber up a tree, and Overlord ventured over to him. They whispered back and forth for a bit before Red Alert ventured back to the town in the distance. Overlord sat at my side.

"What happened?" I inquired.

"I just kinda want it to be me and you right now. He just feels like one more responsibility right now. No offense to him."

"I understand. But he really does like you."

Overlord shrugged as he watched his small comrade wade through the thick grasses, slowly becoming smaller as he walked. Overlord scooted closer to me and slipped his arms around my small body, and I slyly watched him sneak in a peck on my cheek. I knew what he desired, and I really wanted it to.

A distraction.

Overlord and I breathed laboriously through our noses as our mouths slipped over each other, and he put a bit more of his body mass upon me. My back pressed against the forest floor, and the grasses rippled about as we made out happily.

"You're so smart," he cooed before kissing my cheeks passionately. "Thank Primus you came here. You are the most perfect person in the world."

"And I thank you for being kind. Kinda strange, but still kind."

I knew this vicious kissing would result in at least one of us sparking*, and as that thought passed through my mind, Overlord broke the kiss and screamed with agony. He pulled a bit away, his tense arms shaking as he tried to push through the pain. I could hear the loose gears inside of his limbs clanking. I had never sparked before either, and I became horrified of the notion as I saw my new lover break down into tears.

Overlord sat up and pressed his hands against his back. He whimpered and stamped his leg, and he hunched down quickly as a new wave of anguish swam through his body. I hastily got up and hugged him, and he pulled me in tighter, relishing in my comfort.

"Okay, okay," he breathed. "It's gone now."

"I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"That that happened."

"Oh, it's not your fault. I didn't realize it would happen so fast. At least I'll never have to feel it again. Oh, we still need to get you to spark," he said as he shoved me back down, and I playfully pressed my hands against his thick mouth.

"No. I've never sparked before, and I don't really feel like going through that right now."

"No one's made you spark?" His voice was muffled by my hands.

"Never."

"You deserve a good sparking, Arcee." Overlord peeled one of my hands away and gingerly kissed the back of it, and I recalled for a second when we first met. "Someone as intelligent, talented, beautiful, unique, and strong as you should be given an abundance of affection. Why is it always the boring ones that get all the attention?"

"Because the people of this world like those with nothing in their heads. They just want the physical aspects."

"I hate this planet."

"I do, too."

Overlord put his head upon my chest, and the feeling in my lithe legs began to dissipate. He was cutting off the circulation with his cuddles, but I was enjoying the warmth of his skin. I pet his cheek, and Overlord's optics shut as he listened to my spark pound.

"Who do you think it is now?" Overlord inquired. "You're smart. You probably know."

I sighed. "Overlord, I don't have any idea."

*A made up term originally used in my story "The Killing Song". It is when two Cybertronians kiss long enough, and the stimulation sends a delightful, lingering surge of energy through the spine. It is painful the first time because it opens up new nerve pathways.