ToT I'm SO sorry for not updating earlier. The idea for 'Hell Hath No Fury' had been bugging me for a while and has been pushing away thoughts for any other stories. Not to mention school and track seem to be ganging up on me to make my life miserable. After track practice, I get home around 5 or 5:30 then eat dinner, shower, and do homework. By the time I'm finished with homework, it's nearly bedtime. TwT Though unrelated, I was clocked at 69 seconds for 400 meters and 15.4 seconds at 100 meters. ((is proud of self)) XD;;
Erin lay sprawled out comfortably on Scorponok's back, mildly wary of the prospect of being pinched by moving armor plates. She wasn't particularly paying attention to what the scientists were saying; she didn't need any more reason to hate them and wish them dead. Not to mention she had to keep Scorponok from killing – or harming – them. No matter how much she wanted him to.
Armonie, next to Scorponok's left claw, blinked up at the ceiling blearily. She had woken up a little while after the scientists began to give their testimony. She seemed rather deep in thought with a deep frown on her young face, no doubt remembering some nightmare of her life in Italy.
Ratchet's cure worked, and the medic administered it to mech and human alike until he revived everyone in the base who had been affected by the toxin and nanites. Of course, everyone was oddly silent about their dreams, not speaking to anyone but their charges or guardians.
'Will we ever recover from this?' Erin asked sadly, tracing a random design on Scorponok's back.
Scorponok was silent, and it was Mei who answered her. 'Unlikely. Reliving one's worst nightmares coupled with their greatest desires?' if she could, she would've shaken her head. 'They were sneaky to use such ways, but not in a good way. Not like Jazz or Hound or Mirage. We'll all remember this for the rest of our existence.'
'Too true.' Thinking back at her own experience in the dream-state, Erin shuddered.
Scorponok purred beneath her, optics rolling up to look worriedly at her. Erin patted his head in reassurance. 'Nightmares come and go, but memories linger.' He said bluntly. 'It isn't until you face your fears that you truly feel free.'
There was silence between the three for a while and embarrassed, Scorponok sank down slightly. 'Wise words.' Mei said at last and Scorponok warbled up at them.
'Blackout told meme that.'
Both jumped in surprise as Ratchet leaned down suddenly, peering closely at them and ignoring the alarmed scientists. "Are you plotting something?" he asked suspiciously and Scorponok gave an indignant chitter.
"Nothing more serious than a nice long nap." Erin said, cheerful and unrepentant.
The green medic huffed, eyeing the teen perched neatly on the metal scorpion. "How's your knee?"
Erin shrugged. "It throbs a little, but as long as I don't jostle it, it doesn't hurt."
The Autobot in front of them made an odd sound. "Then don't jostle it." Erin grinned.
"Well ain't that sweet? A machine playing nursemaid." Parker sneered.
Erin only smiled mockingly at him. "Well ain't that putrid? Wanna-be scientists trying to be intimidating. Wanna see something really intimidating?" Scorponok knew his cue and acted without a second thought; his bladed tail arched so quickly that it made an eerie whistling sound. Before they could so much as twitch, Scorponok's tail struck three times, each time shaving a bit of hair from their army-style haircuts. "Scorponok here can shave your heads bald before you can blink twice. Ironhide behind you can incinerate you in a heartbeat, Ratchet can slice you in half in half a second, and everyone here has a way they could kill you in less than five seconds. Do you really want to mess with that? You already saw that Jazz has no problem with juggling you."
At that, all three went pale, though Parker's chin jutted out mulishly. "They're pacifists." He argued fiercely. "They'd never hurt us." There wasn't much conviction in his voice.
Erin smiled slightly. "Well then you haven't seen Mission City then, have you? Besides. Scorponok does pretty much anything I ask him to, and if I ask him to kill you, then he will." The scorpion arched his tail to reinforce the threat, and the scientists snapped their mouths shut.
Ratchet made an odd sound. "Someone has a mean streak." He muttered and Erin chortled. "Anyway, would you and Mei mind calling Defense Secretary Keller for us while we load these jerks in the brig? Ask him to send a few people and scientists to come and help us detain, control, and figure out this mess."
"It is doubtful that he would believe a teenager. A blind one at that." Samson sneered.
"Tell him that I said 'Bellum omnium contra omnes.' It means 'War of all against all', and it's our code-phrase." Optimus said, and Erin nodded. "He should say in return 'Che sara, sara''What will be will be.'" Doubtfully she eyed the stairs but slowly climbed down from Scorponok's back and began to climb down the stairs nonetheless, limping heavily but making it slowly but surely.
She walked to the console as the scientists were roughly picked up and marched away to the brig. The remaining Autobots were sent to flush out the rest of the humans and load them in the brig as well. In a separate cell, of course; the Autobots wouldn't be that cruel.
Finding the keys, Mei took over and overrode the systems holding the base in lockdown, allowing the Autobots to access the brig and the other doors on base. And also allowing them to access the communications console. Racing along the delicate systems and programs, Mei brought up the comm. call for Defense Secretary Keller, activating both visual and audio with a simple "push".
"Defense Secretary…" the old man on the other end stopped suddenly in surprise, obviously not expecting to see a young girl. "Little girl, do you know who you've called?"
Erin rolled her dark, blind eyes. "Defense Secretary Keller, yes I know who I have called. I'm not a little girl – I'm turning sixteen next month – and I'm under orders. Optimus asked me to tell you 'bellum omnium contra omnes.'"
The man blinked in surprise. "'Che sara, sara.'" He replied, surprised. "You know Optimus?" he asked suspiciously and Erin nodded. "Where is he?"
Mei turned around; the Med-bay was empty save for her and Scorponok who was making his stately way over. "He's on his way to escort the scientists to the brig and flush out the remaining humans. Which reminds us. Ratchet asked us to ask you to send some people to help us out, as we have a small problem with a few pests."
Keller frowned. "Pests?" he echoed.
Erin shrugged. "Pests. You know, two legs, patchy fur, standing around five feet high, belonging to a secret organization called Sector Seven which was supposed to be shut down a year and a half ago… that kind of pest. We're having a real problem with them. They've set up their own little colony in our control room, the irritating little buggers."
There was silence for a long while from Keller. After a moment, she heard him talking to someone in the background, though the sound was muffled. "Okay." The suddenly-clear voice startled Erin, though she hid it. "I have a few squads en route."
"Danke. I'll go let them know." Keller may have nodded, but Erin wasn't sure. With Mei's help, she turned off the monitors and climbed on Scorponok's back. "High ho Scorpy, away!"
Shaking his head, Scorponok made his way to and out the doors then down the halls. 'Find PrimePrime?'
'Yes please, Scorponok.' Mei said as Erin yawned. 'We have a message to deliver.' The scorpion chittered but said nothing else, carrying them obediently down the halls. Finding Prime was easy; two turns and they found him in the middle of the hallway with a group of Autobots, weapons drawn.
Prime listened carefully to their reports on the matter and deemed it well enough that they could wait for Keller's men to arrive before infiltrating Sector Seven's control room. His anxious and angry men went to the rec. room to reenergize and ensure that their weapons were in working order. As the girl and disembodied AllSpark watched the great Autobot leader lumber away, she winced when she heard an unsettling sound, not unlike the almost-painful jangled note a TV made.
To her horror, it escalated until the fine hairs at the base of her skull and the back of her neck rose on end. Shivers ran down her back, and squeezing her eyes shut, she clapped her hands hard over her ears, hoping to cut off the sound.
'Uh-oh.'
Erin forced her eyes open and found the reason for Scorponok's worry. It was a scrawny little thing, perhaps four feet tall and armed with deadly-looking claws. It was silver with blue optics, and chittered angrily, to which Scorponok answered with a deeper, angrier chitter-growl. There was a hum as the scorpion's cannons whirled to life and trained on the little being.
'Scorponok!' the small creature chittered in surprise, rearing up from its territorial, wary crouch. 'Got girl!'
The scorpion hissed, arching his tail angrily though Erin could feel him shaking beneath her. 'Go away, Frenzy.'
'Scorponok! We have to get out of here.' Erin hissed, eyes squeezing shut once more. The sound was escalating to an unbearable level of pain for her. More than her inflamed knee, more than any of her injuries combined. 'Now.'
'Why?' Scorponok asked in surprise, an optic rolling to look up at her while his remaining three remained fixed on Frenzy. 'No danger.' Only then did he seem to notice the way Erin was crouched on his back, virtually every hair on her body standing on end. He warbled in worry, cannons disengaging and optics rolling until all of them were trained on her.
'We need to get to the infirmary.' Mei told him as Erin lapsed into an icy-hot blast of pain. 'There's something wrong. Really wrong.'
'Can hear us?' Frenzy asked, confused. 'Humans not hear us.' Scorponok had already begun running as fast as his legs could carry him in the direction of the med-bay.
'What is that?' Erin growled to Mei who did a mental equivalent of a shrug.
'I don't know. I'm going to check.' The AllSpark sensed her host's reluctant acceptance of it. 'I promise I'll come back.'
'…All right.' Erin leaned down until her face was against the metal of Scorponok's shoulder and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long trip to the med-bay.
--
Danke - 'Thanks'
Okie dokie. The story's beginning to wind down. :(
What are your opinions of Barricade and Frenzy? What would you like them to do? Barricade had been assumed dead a few stories back along with Frenzy, but they have come back by some means (which will be later explained. What would you like them to do? Join Autobots, bring Decepticons to try and capture Mei/Erin, tell everyone 'screw off' and walk away after giving a one-fingered salute, etc.
