Chapter 2
It didn't take Nightfury and Starscream long to return to base, even though Nightfury remained in her bipedal mode to carry their target. She counted down the seconds before returning to base, accounting for how much life this little femmeling had before Shockwave stripped it away as he did with her. But what was she to do but obey, as much as she had hated doing so, it was all she knew along with the deadly shock collar keeping her on a short leash.
Stepping into the lab, she paused a moment to stare down at the little femme,
"I am so sorry," she whispered, feeling remorse grip her scarred spark, "May primus show me a way to make it up to you," then, pushing back these tank wrenching feelings, she strode through the lab doors with the same air of confident Shockwave had drilled into her.
"Lord Megatron, behold," Starscream bellowed, alerting their leader and chief scientist to their presence, "The newest addition to Project Ace," guiding his servo, both mechs peered at the stirring femmeling. "Thanks to my superior navigation and leadership skills, coupled with Nightfury's keen sensors, this little femme was easily sort out," Nightfury rolled her optics she she moved to the prepared medical berth, stiffening as she recognized an estranged look in shockwave's single optic,
Though the mech had no mouth component or any other necessary features to construct a faceplate, she had learned early on just what the stoic mech was thinking, having worked with and have been worked on by him.
"Yes, scans are picking up the same mutation. She's perfect," he cooed, petting the poor femme, causing Nightfury to cringe. It only made matters worse when Megatron strode over to observe the young femme, it didn't help said femme was recovering from Nightfury's pinch.
Pixel had thought all that happened was a bad dream. That she would awake from recharge to find herself surrounded by her team, no one dead and her strange encounter with the strange femme didn't really happen. But as her azure optics slowly onlined, she came to realize that she had awoken in her darkest nightmare; pinned and bound to a berth, Megatron looming over her and a mech she had only heard rumors about scanning her form.
She was about to scream in fear but her vocalizer locked up with fear, only strangled whimpers passed her lips,
"Ah, glad to see you're awake my dear," Megatron smirked, petting the trembling femme, "Well done Nightfury," he glanced over to said femme, who just looked away while leaning against the opposite wall, though she did feeling a little smug when Starscream began to complain when he wasn't thanked for his part in Pixel's capture, as nonexistent as it was,
"Wh...what's going on?" Pixel chirped, finally managing to get her vocalizer to work, though her voice was soft and weak, barely heard by the mechs,
"You should feel honored my dear," Megatron smirked, looking down at the terrified femme, "You are going to be a part of Decepticon history," before Pixel could question the tyrant, she felt a sharp prick and burning heat flowing from her neck tubing before her systems began to shut down. Her frame was completely numb but her optics were still functioning. "Alert me the moment she is ready," was the last thing she heard Megatron utter before her audio receptors shut down, her vision blurring as she watched Shockwave pick up medical tools and components she could only guess we're being added to her.
Her helm was tilted to the side, the last thing she saw was Nightfury, the femme that brought her here, mouth the word 'sorry' before turning away. Then, Pixel's world went black.
Time seemed to start again as Pixel's systems reactivated from the drug Shockwave had forced into her frame. But her receptors were assaulted with ranging levels of pain, she gasped and tried to move her limbs to elevate the pain, but moving -or there of - only made it worse.
"Don't move. You'll dislodge the implants," came a familiar voice, Pixel moved her helm slightly, only for Nightfury to stop her. The same look of guilt and sympathy painted her silver faceplates, causing confusion in the smaller femme,
"What's happening to me?" she choked, tears leaking down her faceplates. Nightfury did her best to clean the droplets from her cheeks but they persisted.
"Shockwave is making you into the perfect killing flying machine...like he did me," Nightfury admitted, being mindful of the countless cables, tubing and apparatus' hooked into the femme tiny frame; patches of armor missing, revealing her protoform. Her left arm had been removed and replaced with cables and such to implant and upload her new coding into new frame. Her helm had been practically cracked open and littered with cables, lines and wiring. One of her optics had been replaced while the other had yet to be installed along with her audio receptors. Se could only hear Nightfury through the apparatus connected to the side of her helm,
"Why...me?" she gasped, feeling the pain peek again, her eyes looking up to Nightfury, pleading to relieve her of the pain,
"You and I, as well as a few others still on this husk of a planet, have a rare mutation that allow us to survive these torturous experiments...you just gotta stay strong," Nightfury cooed, leaning over to take a medicater, dialing in a higher dosage of a receptor numbing agent,
"You...didn't want to bring me here?" she had to ask; this femme was not cruel as the mechs were, sure she was fearsome in appearance but Pixel could see something the Decepticons lacked: genuine concern,
"If I had a choice, you would be with some Autobot squad off of this rock. Now hold still, I'll give you something to deal with the pain, Shockwave will be back to finish his masterpiece and won't bother with a pain killer. Trust me,"
Nightfury's voice began to slur and fade as the dampener worked through Pixel's systems, numbing everything while her world fell back into a blissful abyss.
The second time she awoke, Pixel didn't feel the restraints on her limbs. Her chassis felt heavy though as she tried to sit up. Looking down, she gasped at the sight of her servos; her once dainty, rounded servos were now sharp and pointed. Finally feeling the difference in her body, she looked over herself to find her her wheels were gone, replaced with thrusters, her back fins were longer and took more of a wing shape, she even found fins on her arms. Nightfury was right, she was a seeker now.
Suddenly, her sensors went haywire. She was bombarded by smells, sounds, sights and feelings so clear and detailed she felt her processor strain to process it all. Making a pitiful sound caught someone's attention,
"Focus. Your body still isn't used to the upgrade. Just concentrate on my voice," doing as she was asked, Pixel locked onto the voice and slowly, her processor began to push everything else out until only the voice remained. Opening her optic stutters, Pixel looked straight at Nightfury, a soft smile pulling his painted lips. "I'm glad you're alright," she said half-heartedly, know that now he was stuck in the same hell she was,
"What will happen now?" she asked, but simultaneously the 2 picked up 3 different energon scents approaching the lab,
"Looks like Shockwave will make an exhibition of you. A word to the wise, don't move," was all Nightfury said before the doors slid open, revealing shockwave, Megatron and Starscream. Pixel jumped when she heard the beards audible growl rumbling from Nightfury's throat as she walked away with a flick of Shockwave's servo,
"It appears she's survived the process. No scaring, no trauma to the protoform or armor, limbs are intact and no doubt you've helped her adapted to her implants," Shockwave spouted, not even looking at the older femme as he asked, just continuing to prod, grope and examine every inch of Pixel's frame,
"Easy calibration," Nightfury curtly responded, glaring at Megatron and Starscream as they approached the scared femme,
"Excellent work Shockwave. Is the procedure ready for mass production?" Megatron smirked, petting the frightened femme along with cupping Nightfury's cheek, despite her overwhelming urge to bite his fingers off,
"Yes Lord Megatron. Once our newest addition recovers and is fitted with a collar, we can send them both out and 'recruit' perspective candidates," the femmes cringed at the thought of bringing more into this twisted project, the pain still fresh in Pixel's mind while Nightfury's replied in her head,
"Starscream. Remain here while Shockwave and I discuss strategy. You are capable of such a simple task?" Megatron quipped, pulling a growl from the aggravated seeker,
"Need I remind you, my lord, it was I who found this little subject and returned her to you," he hissed, only to cower back in the presence of Megatron's glare and cannon,
"As I recall, Nightfury was the one who found the femme and returned her here, you were supervising her. Question me again, and termination will feel like paradise after I'm through with your insubordination," he growled, turning to leave the cramped lab with Shockwave in tow, never uttering a word.
Starscream growled at the prospect of 'babysitting' recruits but his mood lightened at the sight of the 2 femmes; Nightfury returned to her place beside Pixel, pulling the shaken femme into an embrace, resting her chin on Pixel's helm and wrapping an arm around her; oh the thoughts that bombarded his mind. Pixel was a particular interest for him, he loved petit femmes, but when he tried to approach, Nightfury hissed,
"Back off. She's recovering," the older femme growled, nuzzling the younger femme like a cyber wolf to its cub. Funny enough, Pixel nuzzled back in response, much like a cub to its mother,
"You do not order me femme, now stand aside," he ordered, but Nitfury merely stood before him definitely, she was only slightly taller than him but her posture and glare would make any bot shrink a foot or 2. But Starscream was stubborn, or an idiot, taking the collar controls from a nearby bench and zapped Nightfury,
Pixel screamed as she watched the thrashing femme claw and hiss from the pain the collar was inflicting in her neural circuitry. Once Starscream was au the femme was down, he swiftly crossed the way straight to Pixel, who tried to put as much distance between the mech and herself as she could, but her systems were still calibrating from the surgery and her legs couldn't hold her weight, causing her to collapse at the mech's pedes,
"Ah, you look better sitting at my feet, little femme," he smirked, kneeling down to get a better look at her, but her pained whimpers had an all too destructive effect on a certain femme.
Faster than either could register, Starscream was thrown across the room so hard his wings dented on impact. Scrambling up, pushing the stinging pain from his wings back to take on whoever did that, only to stare wide eye at...a demon.
A strange aura of pure rage and aggression whafted off of Nightfury, painting her in a flaming hue. Her gold optics blazed like a smelters pit and her fangs seemed to grow. A bellowing roar echoed through the lab as she charged. Starscream could only just get out of her clutches but still sustaining injuries. Backed into a corner, Starscream shuddered as a look of pure delight grace the femme's faceplates but anger radiated from her optics as she closed in. Her razor servo raised high, ready for the kill when suddenly Shockwave rushed in and managed to wrestle Nightfury away from Starscream and restrained but she continued to thrash and tug at her bounds,
"What is going on here!" Megatron roared, storming in to see Starscream with superficial injuries, Nightfury growling and hissing like a rapid cyber cat, and Pixel cowering in the corner,
"My Lord! The femme is defective! She attacked me without provocation!" Starscream bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at the enraged femme, only hissing in response,
"Unlikely. Nightfury's berserk mode only occurs when she is angered. You must've angered her," Shockwave moved over to his work bench to retrieve a nasty looking needle with some strange liquid within,
"She was helping me!" Pixel cried, fearing what was within the needle, but what peeked the Con's curiosity was how Nightfury reacted to the little femme; she stopped thrashing and hissing and simply looked at Pixel, "Starscream was advancing on me, he shocked her to get to me,"
Megatron glared at Starscream for his stupidity and his lack of restraint, sending him off before turning back to Shockwave and the femmes, seeing the mech's keen interest in the 2,
"It would appear that using Nightfury's energon to stabilize the little femme's upgrades has formed some kind of bond...an unexpected switch to control Nightfury's berserk mode," Shockwave stated, letting Nightfury go and allowing Pixel to hug the calming femme, "I must look into this,"
"Do so, then prepare them for their first mission. They are to scout energon in the eastern sector," Megatron ordered, smirking at the femmes before leaving. Shockwave guided the 2 femmes to a berth and began his tests. Not once did the pair release each others' servos.
