Author's Notes:
Ookami: So, this is our first attempt at writing for NaNoWriMo. Hasn't worked out as well as we had hoped...
Neko: Yeah we got to about 6000 words... but on the bright side new story!
Ookami: And we may get 10000 in the end, but figured we would start getting what we have out now. So, this is more of a prologue, but the entire story will have a dedicated song to each chapter.
Neko: The songs are more of an accompaniment than actually having the words in the story like a song fic.
Ookami: We obviously don't own anything Transformers or the music that inspire us in creating this story.
Sunny(the fairy): And this story was inspired by the Fanfic Virtual by heartlessangel124. So go check that out and maybe even try and find how this came from that.
Neko: though to be fair this is technically based off of a RP that we were doing based off of virtual, and we were like oh what if it wasn't virtual reality... and that's how we got this, a version of the original RP may one day be posted.
Warning: Sparkling experimentation and abuse mentioned, though not detailed in the events.
Song: The Dragonborn Comes
~Two Sets, one Natural one Unnatural, of Day and Night or Fight and Flight, brought together in order to fight.~
Wind Rider POV
I woke with my helm hurting and wings saying nothing was similar. Not knowing how I could be somewhere wrong, I onlined my optics and tried to make sense of the room that I was in.
The room was dark, barely enough to see around without using my night sight, not that there was much to see in the room itself. There was only the berth I laid on to speak of, with a small divot in the wall that may work as a shelf, the white of the walls seemingly splattered with something blue. Looking at a small mound of blue in the nearest corner had me yelp softly. The blue was Energon, like the time the older younglings got too rough and needed medics, and the mound was the fuel crystallizing as the liquid left it. The far wall was open except for the metal bars that made it impossible to move onto the other side. There was a quiet figure that stayed there, their frame illuminated by the brighter lights the hall gave only to the mech. No, mechs would of responded to my yelp, but drones were not in the city most often. There was no sign of a window to the outside world, so I could not be sure of the time. The internal clock was supposed to be added later my creators said.
Speaking of my creators, why did they leave me in an open room that had been left unclean? I know my carrier would have glitched if they saw where I was. Knowing many drones have vocalizers installed, I asked: "Where are my creators drone?" It didn't move, making me believe I didn't say it right. Carrier said it was something about how you said it that made them listen. Before I could try to ask again, however, the drone moved away from the bars and across what I had to guess was a hall so the one with heavy ped steps could look in. What appeared from the corner had my vents freeze in fear.
A single red optic peered into the room from a deep purple frame that was bigger than any I had ever seen. He had crouched a little in order to look through the opening, revealing emotionless faceplates and a distant stare that seemed not to see anything living in front of him. His frame, however, seemed like it was rebuilt many times and created simply to make others obsolete in his presence. The optic seemed to zero in on mine, and I realized he only wished harm upon other mechs, explaining the drone for a fraction of a second before the terrifying being began to speak.
"Subject 293 is online, frame is stable and functioning properly. Requirements for initial testing are met, commencing initial test for Experiment 190 with Subject 188." The mech caused the bars to disappear into the ceiling as he spoke, taking me off the berth with the last words.
The statement did not answer my questions, so I asked in a trembling voice, "My designation is Wind Rider, do you know where my creators are?" For a couple of minutes, the giant mech didn't answer, moving through what must have been a labyrinth thing that trapped mechs, causing me to worry more that the mech was actually a drone in disguise. Moving to change levels, he finally responded without looking down.
"Subject 293 is to respond to Subject 293 unless informed otherwise. Subject 293 creators do not reside near our current location, nor will appear here. All Subjects belong to me, and will reside where I dictate unless disposed or relocated." Arriving at the desired level, the fearsome mech continued his steady gait as my processor's fans jerked on as I tried to process what was said.
Subject 293 was what he wanted to call me, but that will be confusing if there was another "Subject" he was taking me too. My creators were not here, and would never be here if he was right. They wouldn't leave me with such a scary mech on purpose, so I had not been allowed to be with him first. That meant this was wrong, but he was too strong and big to hit at. He also said that the "Subjects" belong to him, so did he really not see me as a femme? That was wrong too. He also said that the "Subjects" could be disposed of, but that only happened to broken toys at home. The fact that a big mech would treat a sparkling like a broken toy scared me more, but I didn't dwell on it long, I still was trying to see if there was another way the words could be taken. Too soon in my mind, it seemed that we appeared where he wanted to be.
Like most of the labyrinth of a building we had passed, the room we entered was white based, but that was where the similarities ended. The walls and some parts of the ceiling had paint transferred onto the white, while more energon covered the lower sections of the wall and dominated the extra color on the ground. The berth was a singular slab that looked more like it was for working on welds than recharging, covered with similar paint and energon coloring, though the extra colors mostly were drowned out by the energon blue. The room was cleaner than the last one though, and effort seemed to have been somewhat placed on the area. In the corner farthest from the moving bars as possible was a near-colorless sparkling that looked near my age and height curled defensively. The only colors on their frame were energon blue and flecks of a bright pink that seemed to have peeled over time. It took a lot to cause that on a frame I thought though.
The frame in the corner seemed to grow smaller as it looked at the mech and me without any sign of emotion either as the bars flew up into the ceiling just to crash down as soon as the mech had tossed me inside. "Subject 188 is to interact with Subject 293 for Experiment 190. This will occur for 3 hours. Begin." The giant mech left the area, though the other sparkling seemed to wait until the ped steps faded before moving towards me. For a moment I feared it would stay emotionless as it moved closer, as everything had been so far.
"Hi, I'm 188... or rather that's what He calls me, you're 293 right?" the sparkling said with a broken but kind smile.
Hope flared that the sparkling was more like me than it seemed at first. "Yeah, but I like the designation Wind Rider better, the idea of him saying so many numbers when there is more than one seems silly. The string he said before he left was long as it was."
"I'm guessing I'm the first one you've met, other than Him of course, don't worry he doesn't come back till 2 hours and 57 minutes have passed. So were you abandoned by your caretakers or Orphaned or Taken? Or maybe something entirely different, but those are the only ones I've seen." 188 sat down near me.
"I think taken? I don't remember how I could be here, but my creators would not let me stay with a scary mech on my own..." I faltered near the end, trying not to cry now. The younglings said I cried more than I needed to back home, though I may not see them again.
188 made comforting movements " It's ok to cry, I do it a lot, and the new subjects always do, this is a lot to process. I could tell you a bit about what I remember before I came here if that would make you feel better, but I don't remember much... I've been here a long time."
Shaking a little from the emotions and feeling almost safe with 188, I started to cry while trying to lean against the other. "Creators are going to be worried now... I don't know how far from Vos I am now... No wind either to help..." Stilling to try and get my vents back in order, I quietly asked, "Why did you end up with Him? You look like a Vos sparkling too."
188's vents kicked up for a second before she spoke. " I was from Vos, both of my creators were too... my Carrier gave me to Him... She no longer wanted me and my other caretaker had already left... The only thing I remember her saying to him was that he could have me as long as I could never be traced back to her..." 188's optics started tearing up. "...But that was a long time ago..."
I gave her a soft hug, hardly touching if I could see her wincing from too much pressure. "Sorry that she seemed not to care..." My system decided to hitch from the tears still falling, but tried to sound less teary. "How long is long? If you know... This place can make time still and grown mechs lost if it really is a labyrinth..."
188 leans into the hug attempting to get closer without too much pain."I know he gives the numbers in order, I know I have few memories of outside, I know I've almost forgotten my original designation, and I know he normally gets one subject at a time and doesn't get us too often but I don't know how long I've been here."
Knowing she wasn't going to move away at least, I let my arms barely touch her frame. "So, there has been over a hundred subjects between us... That must be a long time then." Shifting a little to look around the room to see the multitude of colors, I ask, "What was your original designation? If I use it when talking, maybe we both can remember longer."
188 shifted slightly as if the question caused pain."... Night Aria... but please not while He is near, he doesn't like that and He punishes it... it took me a while to learn that if you listen to him, respond to his designation for you it hurts less, he still hurts you but no additional pain."
Optics narrowing at the wall, a small smile still found its way to my face. "Well, Night Aria, it works out that He seems to not mind us talking amongst ourselves for now. Could you tell me how you remembered your number? I am sure I will get confused if he talks like he did earlier. No flight ability yet makes processing numbers harder creators said."
Night Aria giggled. " It takes some getting used to, but normally you're by yourself and so you know he's either saying the experiments number or your designation, you just kinda learn it... I think you're the first subject that I'm going to actually miss, and not just cause you are a pretty green color." Night Aria leaned more into me.
That caught my attention more than the worry of how much I was most likely going to get hurt. "Well, I know that I look nice in this color, but why would you miss me? I doubt this place really is as quiet as it sounds, right? All the Subjects between us are just not close, there is enough space here for that."
Night Aria moved away so she could look into my optics. " Besides Experiment 190 I've never seen another Subject, well at least not another alive... Sometimes, you can see them offline in a "room" but more often you see a drone going to dispose of the frame, and even that's rare. And after this experiment, we most likely will not ever have a chance to speak again."
I stared in her grey-blue optics for a long minute, wishing I could see the joking mischief that the younglings would get with a lie or the shifty nature when there is guilt of hiding something in the statement, but there was neither. "He actually gets rid of mechs like if they were just silly old toys that didn't hold together?" My vents shuttered as I had to remind myself to vent, fear making my processor fritz lightly. "He won't let you talk with anyone except for that experiment? I thought... I thought we needed to talk to be able to stay sane."
Night Aria gave me a sad smile. " Yes, bots normally do, and He doesn't make much for conversation, that's how a lot of the other subjects go apparently, they can't stand the isolation and loneliness. He likes me I think, or as much as he can like something other than causing pain and logic... this experiment is almost always done with me, it's never succeeded, I don't know what he does if it does, but this experiment is how I manage to stay as stable as I am. Well, this and my ability."
My processor was slightly fritzing at the fear and the realization at how alone the Subjects end up here, but I couldn't let myself stay distracted for long, time was not readily visible here and wasn't sure how long we still had now. I lightly touched my overheating helm onto hers, saying "Well isn't He some kind of mean, making you be able to interact with others and then take them away. It makes me scared of how your ability is the only other thing that keeps you-you, but maybe whatever it is will let you remember me a little more at least Night Aria. That way you remember your designation easier since I won't call you anything else." Removing my helm from hers, I smiled a little and flicked my wings in a hopeful sorrow. If there was a chance I wouldn't see her again, I had to make it count now.
Night Aria smiled and started tearing up. "I really like you, I'll try my hardest to not forget you, maybe one day we will meet again, but for now we still have 1 hour and some dozen minutes. So let's give ourselves something to remember..."
Nearly tearing up in response, I nod and then start telling her about the things I enjoyed and the games many sparklings played at home, teaching her the things she would have known growing up in her home city. The entire time I called her by her proper designation and ensured she knew how to find her place if she ever had returned.
The time passed faster than I could of thought, and Night Aria suddenly froze "He's going to be back here soon... I don't want you to leave... I like you!" Aria started crying and hugged me tightly.
Hugging the battered form of the femme gently, I tried not to hurt her as I joined at in crying for the friendship that never could be if she was telling the truth. She cried out the sadness, fear, and frustrations of all that I had come to know of Night Aria and the fact that we would not see each other again. "I... I like you too Aria. I want to stay with you too."
That was when the pede-falls of the giant mech became apparent as the entrance into the room was soon covered by the frame of the mech in question. Feeling the ghostly pass of medical and other scans being performed on the two, I looked up warily at the single optic that appeared to encompass the entire faceplates. The scans stopped, and the door opened to allow Him in, "Experiment 190 complete, results are a success. The secondary phase will begin shortly. Subject 293, detach from Subject 188." Forcing myself not to cling tighter at the demand, I slowly let go of Aria and permit Him to lift me.
As the bars fell behind me for what felt like the last time, I heard a voice shout out " Wind Rider!" He stopped, turning so we both could look back into the colorful dreary room and small frame inside, "I... I don't know what's going to happen... But I Promise I won't forget you! I Promise!" With a slight growl that seem to come from the entire frame, He glared as the room suddenly lit up with electricity, causing Aria to yell before falling limp on the ground.
"Subject 293 is Subject 293, no other designations are permissible." With that small declaration, we continued to wherever the mech wanted to go, a whimper barely held back as I thought about how painful that must of been. Instead of thinking about what we left, I forced myself to try and feel prepared for what was to happen to me now.
~~~~Sometime Later~~~~
My frame was considering of stilling on me, I was sure since I never felt this level of pain in my life. In a way, the only thing I considered nice of Him to do was the constant scans that never seemed to stop, since those were probably the only things that kept the pain from turning into a sudden demise. These thoughts would sometimes get merged with ones of Night Aria and would make me wonder how she could handle the years that she had been here. He had brought me into a new experimenting room and had secured me to one of two berth-slabs before leaving. Forcing my helm to look at the screens I could in a vain attempt to know what was about to happen to me. Very little of it made sense, though it said something about artificial spark twins and some mech designated Shockwave at the top of each screen. Resigned to being surprised by the experiment, I let my frame relax once more. The door to the room opened again, and I dimly let one optic shine in the direction to see what had not been in here already. What He held was a winged frame, that could be none other than Night Aria, 188 in this miserable place that could be called the Pit.
Swiftly she was secured to a berth, my optics a lit brighter as we looked at each other with relief and fear at what couldn't of been a good situation. "Experiment 190, Phase 2 commencing now..."
He said more out loud to his actions, but I couldn't hear it over the sudden searing pain that ripped across my frame, while I vaguely felt my chest plates moving away. It felt like I was being torn apart and melted along the edges at the same time, noise and light and sensors all being overstimulated to the point of breaking while also craving to sense more. And suddenly there was more, and the levels of pain that came with it proved to be more than my processor could handle as it all turned to black.
I feel my frame feel like it had been melted right below the outer armor as I slowly wake from the forced shutdown, my optics slow in focusing on the shape in front of me that appeared to be on the same slab I was. It wasn't normal for that to happen, ever since getting here my recharge had been without anything or any bot to be near. When I could finally process the image in front of me, I nearly jumped in surprise and only was held down by the fact my frame still claimed to be incapable of doing so. Instead, I settled with a soft staticy shriek "Night Aria!"
She gave me a pained but excited smile. "Wind Rider! I'm so happy you're ok! That one hurt more than most of them do..."
"Yeah," I responded with static still lacing my words, "but we both survived it. I kinda wonder what the second phase did though since it needed both of us. Do you feel like the underside of your armor is melted too?"
"Technically the first needed us both too... but yeah it feels like it's melted... maybe missing a piece... I thought... I thought that you ended up as one of those frames that get carried through the halls... I was worried... I'm glad you are ok..."
Venting as hard as I dared with the pain, I responded, "Well, not as much of the pretty green anymore, but made it far enough to see ya again Aria. I kept on wondering if you ended up that way, and if not how you handled being here for as long as you had..."
Night Aria vents kicked up a second before she spoke "... Remember how I mentioned an ability I have... it allows me to turn off all pain receptors and emotions entirely until I see it's safe to have feeling and feelings again..."
Before I could respond to that, He entered the recovery room that he had placed us in, looking like someone had tried to steal his energon treat but had responded with slicing them with that laser scalpel of His. "Experiment 190 Phase 2 completed, results are proving positive. Subjects 188 and 293 are stable and the bond at proper levels. Final preparations required. Note that Subjects refuse to acknowledge Subject designations. To prevent constant punishments in the future that could lead to offlining, and the success in progressing to this stage of Experiment 190, Subjects will be redesignated. Subject 188 will respond to Lunar Cascade now. Subject 293 will respond to Zephyr Shift. Failure to comply will result in punishment for both Subjects.
End of Wind Rider, Subject 293, Zephyr Shift POV
~Two sets, one natural one not, day and night, aerodynamic and swift, forced to fight, let's see how the story into legend shifts.~