Four reviews since I posted my last chapter… all from my little bro… I feel depressed… *sad face* Anyways, here's the next chapter of Project Mockingbird. Depending on how it comes out as I write it one of the twins will be in either the next chapter or the one after that, but I kind of think it'll be in the next chapter. Any guesses as to which one it'll be? Or what about how they meet? RedDragonKing you better not say anything since I already told you, else you'll regret it. *malicious smile* Thanks, by the way, to those that favorite/alerted this story and/or me as an author.
Hope y'all enjoy the latest chapter. Drop me a review, yeah?
Project Mockingbird
Chapter 10: A Bad Day And A Big Problem.
Lyre was back in the safe, controlled environment that was her office, sitting with her head in her shaking hands as she adjusted to what had transpired just a little over a day ago. There was a lot on her mind.
She felt ill; Beachbreak was dead. She'd never even met him. It shouldn't bother her as much as it did, the death of someone she'd never met, but it did. Seeing him lying lifeless on the ground after being dashed against the rocks at the base of the falls had bothered her. Not even the incredibly strong alien metal that served as his armor could protect him from a fall like that. His Energon had been all over the place, glowing bluish-purple liquid clinging to everything.
That was one of the things pressing so desperately in on her mind.
She'd fought a mech. A Decepticon, one of the bad guys, but still a person. She'd tried to kill him. She'd watched him as he died, had a hand in it even. She was disgustingly, sickeningly glad that he was dead. It disturbed her.
That was another.
The Allspark was not as completely destroyed as the Autobots had originally thought. It seemed to be remaking itself. Reforming. The shards were unstable, the energy signature fluctuating in a way that made them untraceable as they reconstituted. For whatever reason, she could sense when a piece of it was nearby.
That was another.
Starscream had escaped. He had almost killed Optimus and he did kill Beachbreak. Someone like him deserved to be captured. But he got away, he slipped through their fingers.
That was another.
Ironhide now knew of the existence of the non-Cybertronian Transformers, though he didn't know that that was what they were. He'd seen them with his own eyes, optics, whatever. He did not seem particularly pleased with the information.
That was another.
"It's all my fault."
She had messed up.
That was the worst part.
The part that she couldn't get out of her mind.
The thought that just wouldn't leave her alone.
She had messed up.
Bad.
Not just the part where she'd made a rookie mistake while fighting that Decepticon, resulting in her other body getting damaged.
Before that.
Before she'd ever entered the cave.
If she had used her head, thought things out like she should have… Things could have been different. Starscream might be captured or at the very least dead. Beachbreak might still be alive. The Autobots, already so few in numbers, might not now be one more short.
It could have gone differently.
Codebreaker had done her job; she'd watched her idiot partner's back and kept her from being killed by a Decepticon. But if Lyre, if Windfury, had never entered the cave…
"Oh god, it's all my fault."
If she'd never entered the cave system then Codebreaker could have been watching Starscream instead. She could have stopped him before he ever touched Beachbreak, before he ever threw him over the edge of Victoria Falls to die. If Lyre had kept her head in the game, not followed some weird feeling, then maybe things would have come out completely different.
"It could have been completely different. It's all my fault." She wasn't aware that she was speaking aloud. Wasn't aware that she kept saying the same things over and over again. The same things that were running through her mind.
Repeating.
She neither saw, nor heard, nor even felt, the little bot sitting on her knee alternating between worried chirps and soothing purrs. She didn't register her office door being slammed open, nor the angry male stomping towards her with an air about him that simply screamed 'fury'. "I knew it. You damned, infuriating, confusing woman, why are you always doing this to me? Can't leave well enough alone when it comes to you." Not even his voice reached her in the state she was in.
He grabbed her by the upper arms and hauled her to her feet, paying no mind at all to the displaced 'bot who sent disapproval his way via loud annoyed sounds. When she was standing at her full height before him he gave her a quick, sharp shake before pressing his lips to hers. He pulled away to yell at her. "Damn it woman! I hate you so much." But there was a soft tenderness in both his eyes and his voice as he spoke the words that took away their impact and viciousness.
Her eyes focused on him as his actions pulled her out of her thoughts and she stared at him for what seemed to be a very long time. Her eyes were sad. "Tony. Please don't Tony. You know what will happen." He did know, as did she, but even as she spoke the words her arms were reaching out and wrapping around him, pulling him closer even as she knew she should push him away.
It would not end well.
It never did.
They were bad for each other. Like a poison.
Too different, and yet, at the same time, much too similar.
They pushed one another.
Fought and yelled.
Eventually they pushed too hard and one of them would crack. Crumble a little on the inside.
They'd go their separate ways, live their lives.
But they always came back to the person who understood them the best. Who loved them.
And they did love one another.
It's just that they were bad for each other.
Lyre sobbed into his chest as he held her carefully, running his fingers soothingly through her hair. She was fragile in that moment and he treated her that way, it was not often that she let herself be fragile. She never said anything after that, just cried; he murmured quietly to her, calming phrases that she didn't even hear, all the while running his fingers through her hair and pressing the occasional kiss to her forehead, cheek, lips.
Ein watched, silent now, perhaps even a bit confused by their actions, this was, after all, the same man who had made Lyre cry before. The one she'd seemed to almost hate.
He didn't understand.
But, that seemed to be a theme when it came to humans. They were all so confusing and complicated. Or was it just the humans he'd met? Admittedly, he had not met all that many.
He was worried about his human. His Lyre. She was… to be honest his programing had identified her as his femme creator, a surrogate 'mother', but still his one and only. His mech creator had yet to be identified. Ratchet's theory was that the reason his femme creator could be a human was because he had not been made in a more conventional manner; she had kept him safe, making her a 'protector', she was a female, making her a 'femme protector'. The first femme protector a bot knows is their femme creator, so to him that is what she became.
He was not entirely sure how she would react to that information. Part of him expected her to accept it with ease, she seemed so open to the idea of the Autobots when she ought to be at least a little afraid, the other part of him feared that she would find it too strange, too odd. That was only a small part of him though. Even so, he had Ratchet hold off on telling her, he was… nervous about it.
There was a sudden loud, cracking, thunderous sound.
The walls trembled.
*With the Boss Man*
Optimus was concerned about the human femme, Lyre.
Loss was something with which he was unfortunately quite intimately familiar, as such, he was also quite familiar with how he and the other Autobots dealt with that loss. He was less familiar with human coping mechanisms, especially the odd Lyre's. Humans were, in many ways, very much like Cybertronians, but in other ways the two species were completely different, he was uncertain which one this would fall under.
Younglings, there were times he was almost certain she would be a youngling were she truly Cybertronian, but perhaps that had something to do with her mischievous and rash nature, younglings did not handle death well, often they needed a stronger, more mature 'bot to help them deal with the shock and the sudden swells of negative emotions such an event caused. That it had occurred while she was on her first mission, as leader at that, made it even worse, even if the event was not directly related to her. Likely she would analyze every action, every decision, she would conclude that it was her fault if she followed proper logic.
Realistically though… realistically there was very little she could have done, the Allspark was a mysterious power that not even the greatest of his people had ever fully understood. If it had wanted her to find it, as seemed to be the case, she would have had very little say in the matter.
She could not be faulted.
*Back to our Leading Lady*
Lyre was suddenly very much aware of her surroundings. She clutched onto Tony for a different kind of support then what she had needed only a moment ago as her mind worked furiously. "We need to get to the Link-In room. Now!" Their artificial bodies would allow them to handle the situation better; everything about them was faster, stronger, and more advanced.
He was already leading the way before she had even finished speaking.
*At a previously mentioned, but still undisclosed, location*
"How are things progressing?" It was posed as a question but there was a quality about it that made it into a demand.
"The operation is under way Capo. I'm amazed; The Baron was ready so quickly."
"Don't be. That conceited bastard. Said he was surprised we took so long to call him. Apparently he's been ready to move ever since the attempted grab, he already had almost everything in place, he was just waiting for the go-ahead." Frustration; an immature, almost childish, anger.
"Don't let him get you so riled up. It's his job to be ready for every eventuality; I would be rather disappointed in him otherwise." A teasing smile but the eyes did not match. The eyes were full of menace. "And do be careful with your words, I'd hate for you to say something that offended him before the job was finished, he's so sensitive you know, he might decide to stop before everything was done. That would make me quite unhappy, you understand."
Gulps all around; body language shifting to nervousness. "Si Capo, we will be more careful." Fear.
"Oh, I knew you would understand." Satisfaction.
*And one more time*
They did not need the enhanced sensors to know that what they were feeling were small bombs going off. They did, however, need them in order to locate where said bombs were placed. "Holy shit!" Tony's voice was filled with his shock as he registered what his scans were telling him.
Windfury voiced her agreement. "How did they even get that many positioned throughout the building? And without anyone noticing?" She felt fear welling up in her mind, threatening to overtake her. The terror was not for herself. She didn't waste another second as she remotely activated the evacuation protocols.
Alarms blared.
Explosions rocked the building.
Warning lights flashed.
People continued to die.
Windfury and Tony, he never did choose an alternate name for himself, quickly went in different directions, both with the same objectives in mind. Clear path blockages, disable bombs whenever possible, and help people evacuate. They were not overly concerned with the safety of their own bodies, as the Link-In room was the most heavily protected and structurally sound in the entire building. That moment as they went their separate ways was a turning point and it would affect the rest of their lives.
And there would be regret.
