Nameless Lawyer #1: *in full body cast* Star? You gotta-
Star: Don't...own...ZzzzZZ
Just borrowing a Sherlock quote, not mine!
The Director had been acting strange ever since Lightning was found alive. It was understandably that he would be on edge, (the Elite who had betrayed them all and knew most of Sector Seven's darkest secrets was fighting beside their enemy), but this was extreme. He had become jumpy, more so than ever, would often mutter to himself and was becomingly increasingly more paranoid. And so, Overcast (S7's top hacker) had hacked the system. He scanned through the files quickly, tearing through firewalls with relative ease until he came to the file marked 'Undesirable #0089-Lightning'. Eyes lighting up, and pushing down the old hurt that accompanied the name, he broke the several blocks placed on it. He blinked at the information, leaning in closer, then lurched backwards. Overcast backed away from the computer screen, face stark-white behind his mask. He glanced over at his pledged, who met his gaze with her own horror-filled eyes. He opened his arms and she soundlessly threw herself into them, pressing her unmasked face into his chest.
"He was right. After all this time, he was right."
He ran his fingers through her long blonde hair, staring blankly. Everything they had been told was a lie. Their Unspeakable had been right, after all this time. Everything he had said was true, and they had spat on his face. They had betrayed him in the most grievous manner, and thus, tarnished the honor of their families. Sector Seven ranked third in their loyalty. Before it, it was to their Unspeakable. But even before that, first and foremost, it was to the Witwicky family. Their families had fought alongside the Witwicky's from before records began. And yet, when the youngest and last male heir desperately cried for their help after he had tried to escape Fault Line's clutches, she had turned on her heel and he had slammed his foot into the stomach of the pleading form on the ground. He shuddered at the memory, holding his pledged tighter.
"If that is what he did to his blood, how can he further justify this fight?"
He shook his head mutely and gently placed his hand on her stomach, a sad smile slipping onto his face as the tiny life inside kicked against it. His child wasn't even born yet, and it was already going through training. The Director had them both reading to their child at night, not Dr Seuss or Beatrix Potter, but instruction booklets and fighting techniques. Their little, innocent baby would not even have the fourteen years of innocence they had, but would be going to the small school in the new HQ with the other Elite-born children, learning how to count at 0900 and how to handle knives at 1100.
And he didn't want that for their baby.
They had talked, whispered secrets in the dead of night, about running as far away as possible. Never stopping, never allowing their child to be forced to go through the horrors they had. But the idea of it was merely a dream. Sector Seven owned them, owned their child from the moment it was conceived, and they would never stop looking for them. No-one ever escaped Sector Seven, not really. Those who left could still be called back at any time. Truly, the only ones who had truly escaped were them, and even they had eventually paid the price.
The door creaked open behind them, causing the two to spin into battle-stances, with him throwing himself in front of his pledged and unborn child. The greying man locked the door tightly, then met his gaze unwaveringly.
"I can get you out."
Dumbstruck, he took the papers from him. They flicked through them, mouths dropping open.
"But...but you told the Director-"
"This family is rotten."
The words that had burned in the revolution from the last organization, the corrupted one which birthed Sector Seven, hit them like a slap.
He glanced back down at the page, then looked up slowly, eyes pleading. "Are you sure? After all we have done to him...it would be more than his right to silence us. How can you possibly thing he would protect us?"
The man smiled sadly, shaking his head. "Because I know him. You're young, you're with child. He would never do anything to endanger a child, and you have seen the error of his ways. He would never turn away someone in need."
He looked back at his pledged, who was staring up with wide eyes, terrified to hope. Her hand came down to rest over her bump possessively.
"Where is Lightning? Where is our Unspeakable?"
Simmons smiled, and opened his mouth.
"Do we have to do this?"
Sam grinned at his brother, pushing a few pieces of cereal around his bowl with his spoon. "Yes."
"But...but I don't wanna!"
"...You're acting like a child."
"I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!"
Mikaela laughed, fixing the straps on her bag. Miles had collapsed to his knees in front of his amused brother, pleading with his Unspeakable. "Please! I beg you! I can't go back there! They...they suck the happiness and youthfulness out of us, Sam! I want to be happy and youthful!"
The teen rolled his eyes and aimed a kick at his brother as he quickly washed the dishes and went to brush his teeth. When he returned, he found his sister leaning against the door with Miles hugging the wall.
"Don't let him take me! I don't want to go back!"
Rolling his eyes, Sam grabbed his bag and the blonde by the collar, dragging him out the door, ignoring his attempts to twist away.
"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!"
A blonde blur shot past Thomas Johnson, daring past him and lunging behind the sleepy-eyed Bumblebee, using the mech as a shield. Optimus looked up from his coffee, blinking at the odd sight.
"What-"
"Miles." Sam leaned against the doorway casually, arms and ankles crossed. "You are going."
"NEVER!"
Mikaela slid past Sam and Sat on the arm of Hound's chair, causing the mech to smile and place a small kiss on her cheek. Flicking his eyes away from the little interaction, Sam pushed himself away from the door and strode across the room powerfully, each step loaded.
"I promised your aunt that you would get a nice, normal education. So like it or not, you're going to school!"
"Why can't I stay here! We were practically ready for collage when we were twelve, we just do a few exams outside school and hey presto!"
"No, Miles. You are going to school and that is the end of it!"
"NEVER!"
Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb. Under his breath, he snarled something in Italian, none of which sounding too respectful of Miles's parentage. Optimus hid his smile behind his coffee mug, biting his lips to stop a laugh from escaping.
Sam sighed again, then let out a low chuckle. Miles's head snapped up, meeting Sam's eyes warily.
"Sam?"
"Miles? Do you remember that time in Peru-"
The change in the blonde was instantaneous. He snapped up straight and practically leaped around Bumblebee, darting over to the door.
"Come on man, what's taking you so long? We're gonna be late for homeroom! Epps is leaving on a food run right now!"
The blonde disappeared out the door, leaving a highly amused Sam waiting behind. Sideswipe cocked his head slightly, then let out what had to be his first smile from landfall, the lack of his twin and mate pulling tirelessly on his spark causing him to have trouble recharging and leaving him exhausted. "Blackmail. Nice."
Sam shrugged, and dropped into a mock-bow. "I try. Come on Kaela, time to go greet your little fanclub."
The girl's mouth dropped open and Hound's eyebrows shot up. "Fanclub?"
Grinning, the red-head put on a false falsetto, waving his hands about. "'Oh Mikaela, may I carry your bags?' 'Oh Mikaela, you radiate beauty like the sun!' 'My dear goddess, Aphrodite herself was never as-'"
"SAM!"
The teen took off like there was wings on his heels, laughing at his sister's fury. He shouted out a goodbye, daring out the door before the teen caught up to him.
Six long, boring hours later...
Miles sank into Bee's passenger seat, grinning at the other blonde. "Hey"
Bumblebee grinned back, ignoring the hint of blue rising in his cheeks. "Hey yourself. How was school?"
Miles shuddered, shaking his head and glaring at the boy flipping through his phone in the back. "It was horrible! Guh, stupid teenagers! It was all 'OHMIGAWD I LURVE YOUR HAIR!' and 'Yeah, I got well fit this summer!' and 'Look at me in my super short-shorts! I'm totally not being a total whore, because it's not a skirt!'! And then Trent?! Gods! I swear, if he had either hit on or touched Kaela once more,if Sam hadn't punched him, I would have!"
Bumblebee snapped his head around, and Mikaela had to stop herself from telling to keep his eyes on the road. "You hit him?! Mr Self-control?!"
Sam shrugged, rolling his eyes. "He was being a sexist jerk to my baby sis-"
"I'm older than you-"
"-baby sister. And, Miles? You're still a teenager."
"Bull, I haven't had the mentality of a teen since I was twelve!"
"Really? Wanna bet?
"...No"
Bumblebee and Mikaela choked down their giggles at the two's interactions. All four teens started to hum along to one of the songs on Bee's radio, only for Sam to pause as a message came in.
"Guys?"
"Hmmm?"
"Anna wants us to help pick a color for the bar. Bee, can we spin by?"
"Sure."
The Camaro swung around and made its way to the bar, unknowing that two pairs of eyes were watching it.
A few hours later...
"Are they asleep?"
Sam nodded, setting the Sparkling-Monitor down on the table. He leaned back in the sofa beside Optimus, watching Devlin, Sideswipe and Barricade playing poker with interest. He scoped up his book and began to read, unknowingly leaning into Optimus's side. The Prime, absorbed in his own book, barely noticed and when Sam unexpectedly shivered, he automatically wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
'Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not dare to conceive the things which are really mere commonplaces of existence. If we could fly out of that window hand in hand, hover over this great city, gently remove the-'
Sam shivered again, blinking and looking behind him. The door was open. Optimus glanced at him from the corner of his eye, looking up fully at the confused expression on his face.
"Sam?"
"I shut that door."
Optimus glanced backwards, blinking at the door. James looked up from where he was chatting animatedly with Mathews, a bemused expression on his face. "It must have opened with a draft"
Sam shook his head. "Yeah, probably." He leaned back again, rested his head against Optimus's shoulder and started reading again. Optimus looked down at him, his eyes very soft as he abstractedly twirled a lock of copper hair around his finger. He turned back to his book, only looking up again when Sam reluctantly moved to go make tea. The teen looked back at him, then his eyes sharped on something directly behind the Prime. He glanced away almost immediately, unseen by all but Optimus himself. Sam turned so his back was to the room, looking as if he was busying himself with sugar. Covertly, he slid his dagger out from the waistband of his jeans.
~Optimus?~
The Prime froze, not allowing himself to react to the shocking Language of Old spilling from the teen's lips. The other Cybertronians also froze, eyes wide. Optimus cleared his throat, but otherwise stayed where he was, pushing down his shock.
~Yes?~
~Don't move.~
Sam spun and the dagger flew out of his hand, aimed directly at the Prime. Time seemed to slow. Optimus could see the concentration on Sam's face, the fury in his eyes and the gleaming, wicked-sharp point of the dagger. If he wished, he could snap his arm up and snag the dagger mid-air.
Don't move.
The Prime stayed frozen. The dagger grew closer and closer, then just missed his cheek and shoulder by mere centimeters. Then time sped up again as a roar of pain echoed behind him. Optimus threw himself forward twisting around to face the area the shout had come from, the others in the room automatically spinning into defensive positions, only for a red blur to lunge past him.
Sam launched himself over the back of the sofa, colliding with the cloaked man and tackling him to the ground with a snarl. They grappled for a moment, then twisted to their feet. The masked man grabbed the top of his arm from where the dagger had skimmed a deep cut, kicking the stained blade out of the way. Both of them circled each other, their bodies sinking into two low predatory crouches, as taunt as a bow-string. Then the masked man lunged forward.
And, unlike just over a week previous with Miles, Sam did not hold back. He met him half-way, both of them colliding harshly. The two warriors weaved in and out of each other, making sharp slashes and deadly blows. They were snarling and spitting at each other, sounding more Cybertronian than human. The others in the room went to lunge forward, only to be stopped at Blaze's sharp command.
"Do not interfere! Invalidate the challenge and he is automatically granted superiority over Lightning!"
The others turned to him, aghast. Matthews' dark hair made his face shockingly pale "He needs our help!"
The blonde looked back, no trace of familiarity on his face whatsoever. "His will is for you to stay back! Interference will only cost his life and your own!"
The masked man's fist shot out like bolt of lighting and caught Lightning on the jaw. He flew backwards, hitting his head against the wall. The man started towards him, slowly and purposefully. Optimus stepped forward, only to be restrained by Miles's ironclad fist on the back of his shirt.
"Do you yield?"
Lightning's head snapped up, blood from his split lip trickling down his chin. "As long as there is breath in my body, never."
Then, he flipped himself back onto his feet and swung around, his foot catching the man in the chest and sending him reeling back. Lighting's fist shot out, again and again and again, dazing the man and making him drop to his knees. The Undesirable started to move towards him again, lifting his dagger off the ground. Something twitched in the corner of Blaze's eye, then he too lunged forward, grabbing the once-undetected blonde Elite around the waist and yanking her back from where she tried to leaped at his Unspeakable. The blonde in his arms kicked and spat like a wild thing, racking her nails across his bared skin and biting on his arms, trying desperately to reached her pledged. His own knife appeared in his hand and he moved to press the tip into her stomach as a warning, only to go numb at the hard bump there. He spun and slammed her back against the wall, eyes wide.
"You carry life?"
The blonde's face, twisted in fury and panic, softened minutely. Blaze let out a sharp exhale, then turned her so his front was to her back and his knife to her throat. Now that it had moved from her child, the Elite relaxed slightly, but tense eyes stilll on her Unspeakable as he made his way over to her pledged.
"Why are you here? What business brings your travels to this place?"
Lightning's words were rich and cultured, and steeped in tradition. He no longer looked like a slightly-edgy teenager, his entire posture was lifted, making him look and sound as if he was of royal blood. He turned to the frozen others, his face high and regal as he commanded,
"Leave."
It was testimony to how taken aback they all were that they left silently, slipping into the hanger where the various other sat with their guns pointed at the door, ready to burst in at the first hint of trouble. Optimus's bi-pedal mode unfolded and he gestured to Jazz quickly.
"Imagelink."
The silver bot nodded silently and quickly brought up ad image of the Elite kneeling in front of Lightning. He bowed his head slightly and almost whispered,
"We plea for sanctuary."
Lighting visibly recoiled and Blaze let out a poisonous hiss. Many watching took a steo towards the door, only to pull back. For them to interfere with what was clearly Sector Seven tradition would be like the humans interfering with their customs. One wrong move could end in bloodshed.
"Sanctuary? You dare ask me for sanctuary?!"
"My Liege, please. I beg you-"
"Beg? Beg?! How dare you! How dare you ask me for such a thing! When I came to you, pleading safe haven, you sent me back to my tormentors with a knife in my side and a curse on my name!"
Midnight twisted in Blaze's arms. "My Liege, please hear out our case! We had not idea of the wrongdoing being done to you-"
"Folly! Did you not see my injuries and agony, not hear my screams as I was dragged away?! You may had not been told directly, but it was right in front of you like the pages of a book!"
Each word that was spilling from the teen's lips as if he could not contain them any longer, was stab though Optimus's spark.
Midnight was almost sobbing now. "My Liege, I beg you! If sanctuary is not what can be granted, at least make it as though we have departed into the Other Plains!"
Some of Lightning's anger abated slightly as he looked at them, from left to right. "Why? Why now do you seek forgiveness and aid?"
Overcast looked up at him with sorrowful black eyes. "Our child."
Lightning's head snapped back to Midnight, who drew away her cloak slightly so the Unspeakable could see the slight bump there. "Our child is already being raised in a now-pointless war." He voice was soft and thick with pain, "It will be taken from us and its innocence will be stolen. All of us, you and Blaze especially, know what it was like to be raised as soldiers. We do not want that for out child."
Lighting's head moved from left to right quickly, and for the first time, his grip on his dagger wavered.
"Blaze. My sword."
His Partner nodded, waiting for Lightning to take his place before disappearing. He returned seconds later, re-taking his position. The Unspeakable carefully drew his fingers across the blade, before twirling in quickly and laying it to rest against Overcast's throat. The Elite shut his eyes and Midnight let loose a horrific wail. The ones watching suddenly found it hard the breathe as they stared into Lightning's unforgiving face. He pressed the blade into Overcast's neck until a thin line of blood appeared.
"You betrayed your Unspeakable. You betrayed your family's honor. It is more within my right to end you here and now. However-"
Midnight stopped struggling and Overcast's eyes shot open. Lightning suddenly pulled the sword back and sliced it across his own hand. He quickly knelt and took Overcast's, making the same long and thin cut. He closed both the hands together in an almost handshake, one of his arms gripping Overcast's elbow.
"-You will collect your things from where you have hidden them and be back here for 0600 tomorrow. You will be stripped of rank until you have proven yourself worthy. And if you ever betray the beings on this base, I will cut your heart from its chest, understood?"
Overcast nodded numbly, eyes not leaving Lighting's.
"Swear it."
"I swear in on the blood of my ancestors."
Lightning nodded as rose to his feet. Overcast quickly moved to Midnight's side, wrapping an arm around her waist. Lightning moved until he was directly in front of Midnight, where he then sank back onto one knee. He carefully pushed her top up slightly, just so her bump was revealed. Then, using his still bloodied finger, he gently traced a strange twisting shape on it. Both the to-be parents grasped loudly, and Midnight's eyes filled with tears as Lighting spoke.
"I swear to you and to the Gods that judge us, that from this moment until my last breath leaves my body, this child will have my blessing and protection against all harm."
She brushed away her tears. "Thankyou."
Then, like a pair of ghosts, the two now-also-Ex-Elites seemed to vanish into thin air. Lighting stood where he was for a moment, then glanced up at the camera.
"So I guess you're all very confused."
The security system was a joke to hack. One would have thought that a building that was created solely for the young and defenseless would have had better security...
The young and defenseless, innocents unable to protect themselves, whose only crime was studying alongside his target.
It rose up in him, his deep, primal urge to protect the young, fury and disgust swirling through him. His angular features were torn, half in excitement and half in agony. Each iris was split right down the middle, one half vivid, mocking red, the other soft, tortured violet. The two colors looked like they were at war with each other, each trying to consume their foe. The violet put up a desperate fight, but was eventually devoured by the other. He blinked twice, then smirked. Under the emergency lights inside the corridor, his hair had a strange red tint. Full lips pulled into a cruel smirk, and the holo let out a chilling laugh and twisted the door handle.
He straddled his waist, pinning his hands above his head. Grinning down at the shirtless teen beneth him, he began kissing the side of his neck, laughing at his muffled curse in reply. He gripped both wrists with one hand and traced the lean male's tattoos with the other. The blonde strighted up and leaned over, his hand reaching out to grab something off the bedside table, only to freeze at the photo encased in frame standing there. He let his eyes roam over it, taking in the image of two smiling teens locked in a happy embrace.
"Who's that?"
The teen beneath him stretched an arm out and slammed the photo down. The blonde's brown eyes met mossy green.
"No-one", Mathew breathed. "Now, where were we?"
...yes, i am that flipping cruel to Sam...
...I am actually sort of excited to hear all the death threats you guys will give Matthew...he hasn't really done anything extreme before now and you all hate him to bits!
...I am very tired... night... ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZ
