Teela sat on the stool in the large room beside Trap-Jaws sleeping body. He was starting to get his regular color back into his face and his breathing had stopped hesitating on intake. Although his eyes ever moved behind his eyelids in what was most likely a nightmare, the giant cyborg didn't stir. Teela couldn't help but ponder to what terrors haunted him in his drug induced sleep. Was he reliving the crash?
She sighed and looked at the stitching stretching up along his side, peeking around from under his back. Tri-Klops had had to open him up quite a bit to work on his internals. She was sure there were even more along his back where Tri-Klops had worked to stabilize all torn organs before he came to collect her. It only took about ten minutes to get from where they met Tri-Klops to get to his medical room, and that was when he brought Teela through his loops and swerves for fun. How much time was cut when he brought Trap-Jaw? Did he perform surgery for the whole near forty or fifty minutes? That wasn't the cold man she knew on the battle field. How could he be a medic?
Instead of putting too much energy into questions she wouldn't get answers to Teela thought back to the crash instead. She had seen him, or at least a Sky-Sled, flying overhead and then spiral out of the air from her spot on the opposite side of the boulders he had crashed at. Now that she thought hard about it she might have even seen the initial blast that made him loose control. She hadn't seen however how he had landed on the ground below and how he and the Sky-Sled unwillingly meshed with each other in their impact, tearing each other apart across the ground they skid on. 'That would have been a horrible sight to witness. To happen to anyone.' She thought as the leaned on her arms against the table.
The other thing she now could now see clearly in her memory was the anger and not pain that had been in Trap-Jaws eyes. It was not aimed at her though as he had been staring her down and attempting to stand on his wrecked mechanical legs, but towards Skeletor. He was looking through her then.
'How much hatred does he carry with him all the time, working for such a bastard?' She thought rubbing her eyes in exhaustion. That hour of sleep did only so little to help her own condition, and now that she gone on that little journey and had found Tri-Klops she was even more fatigued after trying to act bold in front of him, and yet now she was afraid to curl up on the second clear table in the room and let herself drift off since he would be coming back.
Trap-Jaw stirred momentarily as his hand began to twitch, making Teela sit upright on the stool thinking he was going to wake. She smiled her best and quickly thought of something witty to say about how she saved his ass. Trap-Jaw though just turned his head away from her to the side and relapsed into a deeper and more quiet sleep, his hand making one final fist and relaxing. His breathing becoming more rhythmic and heavy, and from what the young warrior could see across the table the rapid eye movement had ceased. His nightmares had apparently stopped and he was now in dead sleep. Teela sighed in envy which eventually turned into a long yawn to her surprise.
"Well, I can't go back to that room Tri-Klops had brought me to earlier since the three eyed freak is supposed to be coming back soon anyways," She said aloud to herself as she looked around once more. "And I can't exactly ask him to let me stay longer after pressing his buttons the way I did." She yawned once more and looked towards the door he had gone through. How long had it been since he left anyways?
Teela looked down at the stitching again and as her eyes drooped down and her head began to sag a little she noticed a rag on the floor covered in blood. She didn't think anything of it at first, but at a second glance she gave it closer inspection and realized it was the torn piece from her shirt that she had used as a makeshift gauze. It was at a moment of necessity and she didn't even think about it then when she tore her top. Frowning she looked down at her outfit now to see the torn and ragged edges of her top. Through the events that had conspired she had completely forgotten her shirt was ripped and her stomach and waistline had been showing. 'This is most likely the cause of all the cold chills I've been getting.' She mused to herself, crossing her arms over her bare stomach. As she thought about this she started to become more and more self conscious about how little she was wearing now, and also irritated as she realized two grown men were acting disturbing towards her at times and had never mentioned anything.
'Probably for their own selfish and disgusting reasons.' She seethed, daring to glare at Trap-Jaw and then giving a sharp glance down the empty and dark corridor. Her arms tightening around herself in defence. It was now beyond her of how she was going to explain all this to her father once she got home. Should would receive an ear-full for not having called for backup. She wasn't even sure if her communicator would work down in these tunnels.
She yawned again looking away from the dark passage. Waiting a minute more for any new signs of movement from Trap-Jaw Teela decided she should find something to keep herself occupied, so she hopped off the stool and began looking around the room in an attempt to find anything of amusement to perhaps help wake her up. Sleep was so dangerously close she could feel it pulling her down like a weight, and her mind was now begging her to lay on the floor even for just a short nap. Not something she was willing to let happen if Tri-Klops was going to be back any moment. His comments earlier were nerve racking and he might make good on some of his darker thoughts now that she had become more than a little bit of a bother and an easier target.
So she looked around again but found it rather plain in the room. The only thing that could kept her mind off sleep for a while more were the few remaining parts on the tray next to Trap-Jaw for his robotic arm and the strange device hooked to his chest. The rest of the room was bare other than for medical equipment and scraps of paper. Deciding she was too dizzy and tired to try and figure out how to put Trap-Jaws arm back together Teela focused more on the device. She went back to the stool and ran her hand over the machine, feeling how warm the silver metal was. Then she felt Trap-Jaws breathing increase slightly through the device. 'Somehow this machine must be attached to him, intermingled with his system neurologically.' Her inventors mind wandered over the possibilities of what the machine could be used for.
As she thought about this, eyes getting drowsy, her hand remained in place feeling Trap-Jaws breathing become steady once more. Her head began to grow heavy and tilt downwards as her eyes drooped shut. The yawning had now become stifled by this point as she now absently lay her head down on her free arm against the table. 'I wonder how though...' She cut herself off as her brain, too drained to care anymore as she slipped into a blank and dreamless slumber. Not even noticing that Tri-Klops had entered the room and approached her, nor that Trap-Jaw was now awake and looking at her. She was burned out and the world was gone.
When Teela awoke she was still seated on the hard stool and leaning against the surgical table with one hand outstretched over Trap-Jaws chest. She was just starting to stir when Trap-Jaw began to panic. He had been awake the whole time and at seeing the young girl lift her tired head and give one last big yawn he hurriedly, but carefully, turned his face away so it didn't look like he had been watching her sleep. His eyes then began to dart around the room looking for some something that could help him. His heart began to race as he feared what her reaction might be when she learns that she had slept like that for near over two hours. This was something new to him, being so friendly. He hadn't been sure of what decision would be best, weather or not to have Tri-Klops move her or let her stay resting against him. In the end of their hushed conversation though neither of them actually wanted to move her. Tri-Klops least of all.
Tri-Klops of course argued about how it would be funny when she wakes up, how stiff and sore she would be, and embarrassed. He wanted witness it first hand for her having chosen a stool over a freshly made bed and a cyborg over a soft pillow. He seemed a bit hurt in Trap-Jaws opinion, not that he would admit to it.
Trap-Jaw clenched his mouth tight and tried to breath normally as he thought of what to do; how to play it. No doubt something bad was going to happen in the end of this either way. He had no idea how to thank her for saving his life, or even if he should considering who he was and who he worked for.
Then in a sudden realization of where she was Teela pushed herself upright and away from the wounded villain she was laying against, in turn causing herself to lose balance on the stool and have it slip out from underneath of her. Her eyes went wide as she reached outwards for help, Trap-Jaw turning his head to look at her fall But not quick enough to catch her. She landed on the floor on her backside and gave off a loud grunt as she put her hands down to support herself. Letting out long but low groan she put a hand to her head in an attempt to still the now spinning room, feeling a bump where a cut had been.
Giving off a deep, dry chuckle after the initial surprise, Trap-Jaw peered over the edge of the surgical table. "So, how cushioned was yer fall?" He grinned wide, watching with mild hidden curiosity at the young warrior, one brow raised mockingly. This wasn't the start he was expecting.
"Ouch..." Teela breathed out as she began to stand. "Elders that hurts," There was now a sharp numb and tingling sensation beginning to enter her arms to accompany the bruise on her head. "I didn't feel the landing though. I must have been asleep on that stool for a while..." She considered as she couldn't feel her behind, now giving a large stretch and another yawn before the cool air gave a quick reminder that her stomach was still bare. She bent back down with her arms hugging her stomach.
"So yer sayin' ya got a numb ass." Trap-Jaw grinned again and made to sit up before receiving a sharp pain in his side, reminding him his wounds were still fresh. He didn't like being strapped down and unable to go anywhere. "An' I need to piss." He grumbled point blankly, looking around for Tri-Klops to assist him somehow. He hadn't gone in over a day now, and moving made his bladder feel like it was going to explode.
Teela blushed at the sudden front of personal information and found herself looking around as well, staring down the black corridor in the absence of anything to say on Trap-Jaws new subject. Instead she began on what was supposed to happen for her before she had fallen asleep. "He was supposed to come back for me in an hour, not leave me until..." She stopped and looked around again in confusion and disorientation. What time was it anyways? She had no ideaa how long she was even asleep for. The cave made it so hard to tell weather it was day or night or how much time had even passed. It was like she was in a time capsule and was the only one who cared.
"He was here just after ya dozed off." Trap-Jaw said as he tried to turn his head all the way around to peer down the corridor behind him. He too was looking for the missing Swordsman's attention. "Then he was gone. He was in an' out a few times ta check up on me an' decided ya looked too funny so he left ya alone." Trap-Jaw shrugged with a laugh at Teelas unpleasant face and proceeded to pull at a large cord attached to the device hooked to his chest. "Tried ta get him ta move ya, but he wouldn't listen ta me. Seemed pissed about somethin'.." An alarm went off in a high pitch that made Teela cover her ears. "Actually, didn't wanna move ya, really. Ya seemed so tuckered out. Least I could have done I guess." He continued in a regular tone under the siren. Then he looked up from the device with an agitated face and upon seeing Teela with her arms wrapped around her head, staring at him with displeasure, he then gave a half apologetic look through the noise. "He'll be here in a minute!" Ye yelled over the irritating sound, wiggling the cord in his hand he had just pulled.
'He's a madman!' Teela thought as she watched the cord pump the last of it's fluids out before auto shut off engaged. What if he needed that? 'And that horrible siren! When will it stop?' She glared at Trap-Jaw who just looked at her as apologetically as he knew how to.
Sure enough within minutes Tri-Klops came storming into the room, sword drawn and green optic narrowing in on the two trespassers of his domain. "What the hell are you doing?" He spat in Teelas direction, accusing her for the sake of it, before turning on Trap-Jaw where he forced himself to keep his empty, clenched fist down. "This is not a toy you idiot!" He barked, stabbing his sword into the ground beside the table with more force than necessary. He then proceeded to snatch the cord out of Trap-Jaws still raised hand and reconnected it into its rightful socket. The siren stopped almost instantly.
Tri-Klops then pulled his sword back out of the ground and sheathed it to make his hands and the area around him more available, leaving a pathway to a drawer the syringes were in. He pulled one out and began to stalk back towards Trap-Jaw.
"Well I needed yer attention!" Trap-Jaw yelled as he tried to move away from the incoming needle. "I need ta take a fuckin' piss!" He shot as he squirmed towards the edge of the table. Tri-Klops paused in brief shock for a moment and then lowered the arm with the needle, muscles in his jaw working overtime. He looked like he was ready to kill and that scared Teela more than anything. Visions of the time he blasted her coming back in a flood, momentarily turning her to stone as she stood beside the stool and table, arms tightening even more around herself.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Tri-Klops raised his fist back as though to strike, but gritted his teeth and seethed for a moment before spinning around to toss the needle on the bench behind him, all muscles in his arms tense. He then proceeded to kick at the surgical table base as he tried to keep his temper under mild control. "You're a damned fool!" He all but roared. "You'll put your life in more danger just so you can go to the fucking toilet?!" Tri-Klops continued, receiving a concerned look from Trap-Jaw as he watched the Swordsman busy about the table now cleaning up the tools that scattered, cussing under his breath. He didn't turn around as he let his rage out on the fool behind him.
In an attempt to explain himself or at least get somewhere else in this madness of a conversation Trap-Jaw continued. "Well I ain't gunna piss myself." He was attempting to make it sound like it was a good idea at the time. "An' I ain't gunna die with a full bladder neither if I got the choice." He looked down at the machine attached to his chest.
Tri-Klops spun around. "You twit, you'll empty your bladder and your bowels when you die anyways, so it wouldn't matter! Piss yourself now or die and piss yourself." Tri-Klops stomped over and began releasing brakes and connecting the main part of the machine to what could be a backup battery on the table itself. Then he began to roll the table towards a closed doorway on the one side of the room that Teelas had her back to most of the time. "And you have your own personal servant right now who even sleeps at your side; you could have had her do this!" Tri-Klops let the table roll into the wall by the door as he opened it, revealing another dark room.
"Ouch! You ass!" Trap-Jaw whined, grabbing his stomach as Tri-Klops pulled the table back and began to push it through the opening. "An' she ain't gunna do this!" He started to argue, feeling a bit embarrassed that Teela was even there to see this now.
"Shut up or I'll make you do this yourself." Teela heard as the door slammed shut; the echo lasting an eternity.
She stood there alone in the middle of the room for that moment of eternity, in that time capsule alone. She stood for that moment and then another in complete silence, her mind trying to catch up to what had just happened. Then as a pain grew in her chest the young warrior realized she had been holding her breath. this whole time. With a quick exhale she came upon an even quicker regret of having let all the air out so fast, and grabbed hold of the nearest work bench to lean against. Her fear had seemed to escaped her with her exhale.
"Well, that was rather..." She thought for the words to describe it as she looked towards the closed door, the room still spinning and sparking in her vision. Shuddering she turned away to look around the room she knew to be bare for something to get her mind off of what she had just bore witness to, and what was most likely going on in the closed off room. The dramatic events were too much for her to handle after having just woken up. Her processing ability was still back at the point where she had woken up leaning against Trap-Jaw. 'I need a scolding hot bath with a wire cloth...' She thought gloomily.
Now looking at the now empty spot where the table had been she was starting to come back. "Looks like it hasn't moved in a while." She said as she studied the thick patch of dust, which in itself made her wonder. Giving another more in depth glance around Teela noticed that this room, unlike the one she was supposed to have slept in, was not very well kept. It was more barren in objects other than tables and medical equipment, but now looked after.
As she wandered she caught herself on a work bench that had a row of power tools for surgery. So she knelt and ran a finger under along the floor, feeling the thick dust there as well. Pulling back up she wondered if Tri-Klops ever did an extensive clean of more than just his bedroom area. After all, this was supposed to be his med lab, shouldn't it be sanitary? She also started to wonder now about the other rooms in the tunnels and the condition they were in, as she didn't exactly take notice of the rest of the places she had wandered into while she had been trying to find her way out.
"So Tri-Klops, as clean as you are you still needs a woman's touch. And here I thought you would have made a better caretaker then the maidens in the Palace." She joked to herself, feeling a little better now that she had a few hours sleep. She felt more refreshed and ready to handle whatever she needed to so she could make it back home. Maybe now she could even figure out what to tell her father and the others Masters about her absence, and the state at which she returned in.
Hearing a rushing noise Teela stood away from the patch of dust and didn't dare look towards the door as it bashed open against the wall. "Ya don't need ta be such a fuckin' prick!" She heard Trap-Jaw shout. Then the table was pushed up beside her from across the room in what seemed like half an attempt to hit her and the other just to get it in place. Tri-Klops continued past them and stalked out of the room back down the corridor he had come from, not a word to either of them.
"What was that all about?" Teela mustered, looking on, once more in slight terror, at the retreating Swordsman.
"He's just being a real ass today. Why? I don't fuckin' know!" Trap-Jaw growled as tried to reposition himself, seething in pain instead so he let himself settle back down into the position that was apparently making him uncomfortable. "He doesn't get much sleep, which is no one's fault but his own, so he's a grouch." Looking upwards to the ceiling Trap-Jaw bellowed, "He needs his fuckin' nap time!"
To that there was a slight explosion from down the tunnel which Teela could only guess was Tri-Klops' response. Trap-Jaw turned his head to face straight forwards and clenched his jaw looking at nothing in particular. "I don' know what his problem is." He repeated.
Teela looked around for a moment out of nothing else to do and then back at Trap-Jaw, who although he was very good at masking it, seemed very uncomfortable. "How about I help you into a better position?" She offered, a little disbelieved at herself. "Then I'll tell you what I think might have gotten him this way..." She looked to Trap-Jaw who just stared at her, examining her as though she had hit her head more than once, but never argued as she pulled him up farther along the table towards the small pillow and helped him shimmy around into a spot he found more suiting for his stitching.
"What would you know about that blasted Codex?" He found himself asking as he watched himself slip down the table a little. Tri-Klops had tilted it upwards a few degrees, enough for the slick thing to not want to keep it's tenant.
"Well, after you were put out-" Teela pushed the table back down to where it was at an angle where Trap-Jaw could still sit up a bit but without sliding.
Trap-Jaw thought for a moment and then nodded with a slight grin. Remembering back to the once sided fight about not wanting the needle. "I didn't do anythin' stupid, did I?" He asked all of a sudden, cutting Teela off. She looked at him startled. She was now beginning to feel like shock and terror were all she would feel while waiting to go home. She hoped that this was just one large and vivid nightmare she could wake from.
"Uh, from what I could understand of it, nothing out of the usual..." She began and Trap-Jaw rolled his eyes.
"No, nothin' towards you..." He stopped himself and looked down, brows furrowing in deep thought. "Where'd my belt go?" He looked up, a shadow of hurt and confusion etched onto his face. Apparently not all the drugs had worn off yet.
"You dropped it back at the secret entrance to Snake Mountain... in an attempt to lessen the weight on the Sky-Sled..." Teela recounted, now beginning to worry. "You don't remember that?"
Trap-Jaw thought for a moment. "Nope... not really..." He looked around. 'It must have been really bad if I dropped my belt.' He thought, feeling sad now and quite bare as he stared at his stomach. Then he looked over and a sly grin crept onto his face as he realized he wasn't the only one whose stomach was now showing. "What made ya all of a sudden decide ta change yer fashion choice?" He looked up mischievously. Teela looked down and her cheeks flushed, arms crossing over her bare stomach. "I didn't know ya liked belly tops." He continued, scratching at his own bare and now cold belly.
"This happened as I was trying to save your life, you ungrateful-" Trap-Jaw put up his hand in defence as Teela raised a fist in the air.
"Whoa, no need ta get all self defensive. I know, I'm just teasin'." He tilted his head playfully. "I ain't gunna hurt ya. I ain't even got the capability at the moment." He nodded down towards his wounds, his hand now held the machine over his chest. "My arms' not even put together proper yet. Trik leaves that for last." Teela glared at the cyborg and crossed her arms over her stomach once more which only made Trap-Jaw chuckle. "Hey, mine's showin' too." He said now patting his abs.
"Well it's not proper." Teela huffed. Earlier she was upset that no one mentioned her bare stomach to her, and now she was upset she was being teased for it and the villain in front of her was trying to make light of it. "Do you want to know what's causing Tri-Klops to act like this or not?" She pressed in an attempt to change the subject and hopefully get the giant cyborg to stop glancing down at her stomach. Trap-Jaw nodded in a friendly manner which just unnerved Teela even more.
"After you were put under he took me to where what I presume is his room that also houses his kitchen, and showed me where the food was. He was already irked that I was staying as a guest, which apparently meant using his bed. He changed sheets and then left while I ate. I couldn't sleep though so I started to wander through the tunnels and eventually came across him working on something." Trap-Jaws face made it clear he was more than a little confused, or wanted more details, but when Teela stopped he remained quiet. She could see though in his brows that it was killing him to listen without interrupting, but she continued.
"When I found him working he already seemed different. He snapped at me and retreated out of the room instead of lashing out at me like I had though he would, which I don't know why I did it, maybe it was because he had walked away, I followed him. I tried to get him to talk to me but he was nothing but one giant back." Trap-Jaw stopped smiling and nodded as he knew that opaque mask all too well. "So I gave up and decided to come back here, but before I got too far and lost my way he corrected me for some reason, and then led me here himself. Afterwards though he stormed out saying he'd be back in an hour which I guess I fell asleep before he returned..." She stopped and looked at Trap-Jaw who now had looked away from her and was staring at the spot his belt had been. "What's wrong, or should I dare to ask?" She leaned against the work bench, studying the cyborg.
"That silent mask is in place for a reason. An' it just so happens that, from what ya tell me, last night he seems ta have unwillin'ly let it slip off for a moment." Trap-Jaw continued to keep his eyes averted from Teela. He wondered for a time how much he should tell her. 'If I tell 'er about Trik, he'll kill me for good.' He thought. 'I'll let that jackass tell his own side.' Trap-Jaw mused to himself as he began to pull at the exposed wires of his mechanical legs. 'I most likely opened up to her a bit an' acted like a damned fool as I was dyin', so why not tell 'er my side of things?' He thought as his hand now hovered over where his belt used to be. 'Dropped this after all.'
Teela watched Trap-Jaws actions for a moment as he moved through his own thought process. She had a feeling he was going to try explaining something to her, but his hand moving from place to place concerned her a little. She thought about the way Tri-Klops had acted and decided this must be tough for him to, as Trap-Jaw had said, let her in. "You OK?" She asked finally when she noticed he had been staring at the work bench to his left for a while now.
"Yea..." He said, mild confusion in his voice. "That's closer than I remember..." He pointed to the bench and then looked over to the one Teela was leaning against. "An' that one's farther..." He frowned. "Ass didn't even lock me in place..." Teela smiled now realizing it herself and took hold of the table, readjusting it to its regular floor position and locking down the wheels.
"No, you two were at it pretty good. Sorry." She said as she locked the last wheel into place. "Mind you, you did almost hit me on the way back over here." She said giving him a playful look as she stood back up. Trap-Jaw smiled and shrugged.
"I wasn't in control of drivin'." He added as he pointed his thumb behind his head and down the passage. "Seems I'm not in control of drivin' myself a lot lately." He paused and waited for any remarks from Teela, a part of him wishing she'd start a snide banter with him like Evil-Lyn would instead of all this calm talk and willing an emotional breakthrough. He sighed instead when she said nothing. "Don't worry 'bout Trik, he's really just an ass all the time." Trap-Jaw heard himself say, the words were now starting to form without much effort, as though he had begun to bleed out once more. "He'll either like ya or he won't. There's no in between with that guy." he looked down to his stitches to check for blood. Nope, nothing. 'Maybe it's internal? Or m I really going soft on this girl?' He thought.
"Yea, well with the way things are going I'd rather him not like me, but still honour his word and take me back to the surface so I can go home to a hot shower and a decent meal." She gave a side smile through her own self pity but let it fade as Trap-Jaw returned it. 'You idiot. You get to go home to fine foods and friendship while he's stuck with that stuff that could only be considered as burning material and brutality.' Teela frowned and hugged herself as she leaned against the workbench again. This time she was to Trap-Jaws left beside the stool she had picked up off the ground.
"Don't worry, he'll let ya out. I'm awake now an' if he don't then ya just stick close an' if he goes for ya I'll grab 'im." Trap-Jaw pretended to reach out and grab the would be assaulting madman. Though when Teela didn't smile at this he stopped and looked at her bemused. "Hey, I'm not gunna hurt 'im. I still need a medic." Teela looked up and shook her head.
"No, it's not that. Did you even hear me when I was talking about going home?" She asked now a little shy and embarrassed.
"Yea, I heard ya. Ya wanna go home ta have a shower an' a decent meal. So what?" He asked scratching at the under of his helmet, just where it met his jaw. "I know our food can be shit."
"So what? That's it? Doesn't it doesn't bother you that there's a major quality difference between our two homes?" She dropped her arms and grabbed the edge of the work bench, eyes now looking to the ground. She let them rest anywhere, just not on Trap-Jaw.
"That's what this is? Yer takin' pity on me? Wasn't saving my life enough, now ya gotta worry about the quality of the food I eat, the state of the water I bathe myself with, how hard my bed is?" He pulled his brows together for a serious look. For some reason it bothered him a great deal now that she was avoiding eye contact. "Hey, kid, I don't care." He pressed, trying to get her to look at him once more. "What I've got is a lot better than some ships I've lived on growin' up. An' though I may not always wake up with all my parts, I still wake up, alright?"
Teela looked up at him, her green eyes had a distinct haze about them. They looked lost and hurt. Lost because she didn't know what to say to him, what to ask to get a better understanding about his situation and he wasn't upset at their differences but more at the fact she was. And she felt hurt for Trap-Jaw, for Tri-Klops, and even for poor Stinkor who had been lying on the floor back at Snake Mountain, even though she didn't know if he was anything like the man in front of her.
She thought hard for a moment. She had gone from not wanting to even consider Trap-Jaw anything more than a lowly, vial creature to now considering him a living, near equal being. This had been a long and tiresome journey that didn't make any sense and she just wanted it to be over, though at the same time she wanted to understand why she was starting to care so much about the people of the Dark Hemisphere, and why, in the pit of her being, Trap-Jaw was starting to matter.
The warrior woman focused her eyes and looked Trap-Jaw dead in his. "Tell me why you work for Skeletor then." Her green stare pierced into his yellow eyes and he shifted uncomfortably. "Tell me why you allow yourself to be put through so much abuse if you know you could have better." She listened to her own words moments after each fell from her mouth. She thought about them herself while Trap-Jaw stared hard at her, wondering if he should listen to her commands.
More fidgeting on his part and then a dark expression fell over his face. He sighed and it lightened a little. He was going to tell her anyways so there was no need to let her get all emotional like this. "I can't tell you everythin'," He began, looking away from her and down towards his mechanical built arm, running his organic hand over it. "That's just too much an' it just brings too many of the others into it, an' they wouldn't appreciate that if they found out. An' I can't tell ya my whole back-story, we ain't got a whole year." He chuckled looking over with a slight grin, now scratching around the device hooked to his chest. "But I'll tell ya what, ya come an' drink with me an' I'll tell ya as much as I can..." He trailed off, expression softening as he looked down at his legs. "Well, when I'm up an' about." He laughed this time.
Teela clenched her muscles where she stood. What was he going on about, and did he just ask her out? 'I think I'm going to be sick.' She thought, feeling her body trying to get away. Yet she remained where she stood, arms now tight around herself once more, glaring at him. After a moments pause she shook her head. There was no use putting energy into something that wasn't going to happen. She looked at Trap-Jaw who just continued to stare at his legs, mind seeming to have lost itself in thought; in reminiscence. Teela having noticed this relaxed even more.
"Hey, Eternia to Trap-Jaw." Teela jabbed lightly. He shook his head and looked over.
"Sorry, just tryin' to think 'bout what I can tell ya right now. I'm not much of a talker unless I've had a few good strong Drink in me." He looked to her and shrugged. "Ya can even bring someone if ya want. I'll be bringin' Trik of course. He's the only one who can handle me if I don't have the sense to walk back home." He started to laugh aloud. He seemed set on going out for drinks.
Teela raised an eyebrow at this. "Yea, I'll think of who I could bring with me to have drinks with two of Skeletors finest." Her tone made her sound as if she was mocking him. Trap-Jaw started scratching the back of his neck with a put out look and Teela rolled her eyes.
"I'll find someone I can trust then, but among the Masters, it's going to be hard to find someone who's willing to go out drinking. Not to mention I'm not of legal age yet." Trap-Jaw laughed again and looked at her with a 'Who cares?' expression which made Teela feel more exited about actually doing it. Though the matter still stood that she and he were both in no position to go out at the moment, so she pressed. "But are you still going to tell me anything today, or are you just going to give me the run around until Tri-Klops comes back for me?" Trap-Jaw nodded now content. With a deep breath and one last look down the corridor to make sure Tri-Klops wasn't there yet, he began.
"My legs, they were gone before I came ta Eternia, an' this device on my chest an' that cool scar you've seen, it ain't just superficial decoration. I ain't gunna get into that today though. I'll give ya the basics an' maybe you'll understand." He paused as Teela looked at the device, now seating herself on the stool beside him once more. "It ain't gunna blow up neither, so don't worry." He laughed and she shot him a sharp look.
"That's not what I was thinking." She said. Trap-Jaw just smiled.
"When I met Skeletor he wasn't the same lunatic ya know him as. He had a plan, an' he was a leader. A great leader who never threw a punch unless ya deserved it but some stuff happened. I ain't gunna get into that today even though his back-story might help out all of ours.
"Eventually I grew tired of his new found madness an' I wanted out. He had become reckless an' violent, much as ya see him today. So, I told him I quit. Took it quite lightly really. Just beat me an' threw me out." Teela narrowed her eyes at him. That was lightly? Trap-Jaw shook his head. "Naw, lookin' back on it I was plenty pissed that day. That was the first time he'd done that ta me. Now, it's routine and rougher." Teelas expression softened slightly at Trap-Jaws tone. He wasn't telling the story as though he was still angry, more just disappointed.
"I took off an' decided I was best on my own. Decided I could raise my own army-" Teela stifled a snort of laughter which drew Trap-Jaws attention away from his story-telling. "I'll tell ya more 'bout that part later, when we go out for drinks." He continued as she placed a hand over her mouth. He glared at her playfully now. "Anyways, I went back with my army an' tried to take on Skeletor. It backfired on me an' that's how I lost my arm an' jaw an' got the discoloration in my face." Teelas eyes widened. "Yea, the bastard tried ta melt my face off." He chuckled, remembering how he almost beat that skull-faced demon.
"Skeletor did this to you?" Teela asked, interrupting Trap-Jaws remembrance. She was in more shock than she had expected. "And yet you still work for-" Trap-Jaw cut her off, seemingly now annoyed.
"Yea, he did it ta me. An' yea, I still work for 'im. But this is where I start to explain why." Trap-Jaw shifted so he could look at Teela better. He wanted to look her in the face and have her understand what a messed up world this was. "He was gunna kill me, drop me over the edge of Snake Mountain. Mistook my reach for his nonexistent throat as a plea for mercy where I was actually tryin' ta still kill him." Teela looked at Trap-Jaw as he talked. "He laughed and threw me ta the side as Tri-Kops came up reportin' my army was almost wiped out. So Skeletor walked away to finish pickin' them off an' left me to Triks care."
"Is that why you'll only go to him?" Teela asked, staring into Trap-Jaws yellow eyes. 'There must have been more life in them at one time.' She thought.
"Yea, I guess ya could say that. He did bring me back from the dead. He didn't have ta; he didn't really get along with anyone at that point in time, though I had tried once or twice to befriend 'im." Teela tilted her head in question, trying to think to a time before Trap-Jaw was like this. "Trik didn't, and still doesn't, like anyone. Yet he stayed all night an' worked on me. As I understand I had died, an' he worked on me 'til I was brought back. He gave me my jaw an' arm. He made it so I was able to get back up an' walk again." Teela remained silent. "I owe 'im my life, more times now than I can count.
"My reinstatement didn't come without a price though, of course. I'm no longer trusted and he doesn't care what happens to me." Teela wrapped her arms around herself and leaned back a little ways, looking down at her knees. "I used ta stay at Snake Mountain 'cause I was trying to plan my revenge against Skeletor, but as you've said it's not worth it." Trap-Jaw remained looking at Teela. She looked up at him when he paused. "I don't stay for Skeletor anymore, for any reason, I stay for Tri-Klops. An' his reasons ta stay are a bit more complicated than mine, more personal and hard to understand." He frowned, brows together and eyes nearly burning into Teela as he leaned forwards. "There's a reason we wear these masks Teela, there's a reason we don't take 'em off."