Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost in the Shell or Transformers, just my OC's & the plot.
Additional disclaimer: Matti belongs to JillTheCrazy1
SPARK IN THE SHELL
CHAPTER 54: GRATITUDE AND VEXED MINDS
"Uh, are you okay? You're not gonna faint are you?" Trailbreaker asked nervously as Matti stared up at him in shock and awe, behind him Bluestreak and Bumblebee both watched on in equal apprehension, not moving a single inch, for fear of unintentionally spooking her.
"...Uh...I don't think so...you three were cars ten seconds ago, now you're giant robots?" Matti replied in a partially dazed stupor
"Well, yes, that's why we're called transformers?" He replied with a nervous grin, Matti inwardly face-palmed herself, 'DUH! 'Transformer'? What else would he be called?' she reprimanded herself.
"Uh, okay?" she replied, wondering just what she'd gotten herself into; seeing the look on her face, Batou was quick to put an arm around her shoulder and lend her his big brotherly reassurance, to which she felt at ease.
"Don't worry about it, Trailbreaker wouldn't hurt a fly, if anything he'd offer it a drink and a rest before sending it on its merry way; that's why he, Blue and Bee are the best guys for you to meet first" Darren smiled from where he sat on Trailbreaker's knee; steadily, Matti approached and ran her hand over the intricate metal on the black bot's leg, swallowing hard and letting go of her nervousness, she looked up into his face and sensed his alien aura pulsating beneath his being, it certainly didn't feel human, but it's wasn't a bad aura either.
"So, you guys really are from outer space?" she asked
"Pretty much, but then, earth is a pretty cool place to live; nice roads, beautiful scenery, and fine vintage fossil fuels, can't complain really" Bluestreak joked, Matti couldn't help but grin.
"I can see why you love them, they are pretty awesome" Matti looked up at Batou
"See? I'm not a complete duffus when I asked you to trust me on this" he replied
"And wait 'till you see the rest of the guys! Your gonna love' em!" Miles grinned from where he was perched on Bumblebee's shoulder
"Um? We don't want any unnecessary panic here Miles, let's just stick with the 'yes their giant alien robots so there's no need to freak out' step first okay?" Batou suggested, to which Matti looked at him incredulously.
"What? I'm not gonna freak out! Do I look like I'm about to have a spaz attack to you? No, I can handle this and I'd like to meet the rest of the Autobots, if their as cool as you three I can defiantly handle this!" Matti exclaimed confidently
"You're sure?" Morri asked
"Yes? Wasn't it you who convinced me to take a chance on myself? How do I know I can handle it unless you let me find out for myself?" Matti grinned, to which Morri smirked.
"Touché, okay then, let's go and meet the rest of the gang..." Morri replied as she lead the way down the access ramp down to the lowest level of the building's underground parking lot, to where the section's motor maintenance garage was located and where the section's Tachikoma hangers were situated. Batou looked over at Morri with a slight look of uncertainty on his face, but Morri simply shot him one of her 'don't worry, I got this covered' looks and carried on as the three bots transformed and wheeled on down with Mile's and Darren in tow.
The morning had certainly been interesting, after the 'demonstration' in the interrogation room, everyone been both bewildered and amazed by Matti's abilities. Though few words had been said when they first met her, their mixed looks spoke for themselves. The fact that she had no cyberbrain and that no-one told her about all this left them with very few if any conclusions (logical ones at least) as to how she knew they were there in the observation room; the existence of other intelligent life in the universe was one major fact that had been complicated to accept, but contemplating the idea of clairvoyance was something new entirely, but was it totally beyond everyone's belief? Not likely, Miles, Hailey, Sam and Danny were in awe at Matti's performance; Mikaela, Glen and Darren were a little more reason minded but were never the less impressed, the section 9 team on the other hand were somewhat on the fence; had it been any other time and place chances were they probably would've been more sceptical if not dismissive, but when the fact that they were friends with giant alien robots reminded them that this was NOT any other time and place and this was for real, the idea of clairvoyance suddenly held a level of possibility. Maybe not a high level of probability, but if the existence of aliens was possible, why not this girl and her abilities? In the back of his mind the Chief couldn't help but wonder how many other things that simple fact would apply to, it certainly had had an effect on the team, and not just on the surface. And the one thing that made them keep their scepticism to themselves was the way Morri had held the whole conversation with Matti, all the way throughout she'd held Matti's attention with confidence, honesty and fluid calmness; she'd been tactful, quick to read the situation, and had managed to sway the situation in her favour. The Major had been quite impressed, and realized Morri had subtly hinted that debating over Matti's abilities was not open for discussion, this, the other agents had noticed too, so the impression of impassive frustration was evident in their stance's and the way they greeted the girl with unreadable faces, compared to the kids who were just simply impressed. But regardless, the feeling of overall uncertainty had been dispelled and everyone was for the most part, alright with the conclusion that Matti was clairvoyant, but even though no one was lending any form of doubt or criticism, the feeling of some form of complication was lying just beneath the surface, and no doubt it would make itself present in time; that, both Matti and Morri knew, would have to be careful of. Right after the team met Matti outside the interrogation room and discussed the details of the test with Morri, Jazz called for her to come down and meet the Autobots right away; but just to be sure that she wouldn't be too overwhelmed, Batou recommended a 'tester' to see if she could cope okay in the presence of the giant robotic beings (much to Matti's chagrin), to which only the 'friendliest and most approachable bots' (as Batou's described them) would do, so Trailbreaker, Bluestreak and Bumblebee were called up to meet Matti.
Which was what had lead up to now.
"Hey, where did the Major go? I didn't see her when we came out of the interrogation room" Matti asked
"Nah I didn't either, she's like that though; here one minute and gone the next, but that's just how she is...although this time I was hoping she'd stick around for this" Morri sighed
"Maybe something came up and she had to see to it, you know how she never likes to leave things unchecked" Batou offered impassively, Morri simply looked at him as if to say 'you and I both know that's not the case'; the privet conversation between Morri and the Major had seriously vexed him, letting him listen in on their conversation without letting him make any form of interjection was one thing, but the Major's reactions had raised a red flag in the back of his mind. No doubt he would confront her about it later, not least for what nearly happened to his sister, but for now he wanted to see this thing with Matti through, once he knew she would be okay, and then he could worry about the Major. As they reached the bottom level of the parking lot and approached the huge twenty metre high hanger doors at the far of the level, Matti straightened up and inhaled deeply, in readiness for whatever was about to happen next, any form of apprehension was immediately squashed down by her eagerness to see the giant's, curiosity was now more powerful than fear, something she was not use to...and it felt good.
"Brace yourself" Miles grinned
"Okay, nothing to worry about" she mumbled under her breath, the internal locks on the doors clanged and clunked as they unlocked out of place and the doors slid open like a pair of elevator doors.
Inside the hanger bay the Tachikoma's were sharing their hanger space with Jazz, Jay-jay, Hot Rod, the Lambo twins and all the drones bar Ravage while the seekers and Deathshot were up on the roof hiding under the sniper's hologram projector; since yesterday's downtown battle left most of the city in a panic, the Autobots now had to be cautious in how they went about hiding themselves in plain sight, not that it was a problem, but with the news networks working the general populous into a panic over the prospect of more giant rouge robots running around unchecked, it was better to be over cautious than blasé about it; no one was taking any chances, not when the situation had reached this level of fever-pitch. From the hanger's observation window, the chief watched as Matti was blown away by the other Autobots, he couldn't help but smile when Jay-jay came running up and glomped Matti by the waist in a fit of jiggling squeaks and chirps, to which everyone laughed and cooed the little femme to let her go, but Jay-jay wouldn't have any of it, she loved hugging 'squishy bots' and Matti certainly felt nicely warm and soft; behind him the elevator went ding and Tom stepped out.
"Hey, how's Matti doing?" he greeted as he joined Aramaki at his side
"It would seem miss Walsh is getting along with everyone quite nicely..." the chief directed his gaze down to hanger floor, where Matti was running circles around the other bots with Darren and Miles as they played 'tag' with Jay-jay and the drones. "Wow, she's taken to them better than I thought" Tom smiled offhand
"Indeed...that was quite a gamble your cousin took, having us bear witness to that 'demonstration' without prior knowledge was certainly taking the initiutive" the chief continued
"Well, she figured she didn't want to leave any room for doubt, it goes without saying that she's the understanding type but when she really wants to put a particular point across she will back you into a corner so you can only see one way; heck I can't even remember how many times she's use similar tactics to corner me into doing odd jobs around the house; she's smart like that" Tom replied
"...Tell me, beside's Miss Walsh's clairvoyance, what was it about the girl that made her take such an interest in her welfare?" the chief asked, Tom looked at him for a moment, contemplating his thoughts and turned back to watch the scene below.
"...I don't think it's a case of Matti being personally special to her, Morri's one of those people who can smell a rat from a mile away, and I think there was something the Major was gonna do that she didn't agree with, that would've resulted in Matti being in a wholly different right now" he replied frankly, the chief quirked an eyebrow
"What was the Major was going to do?"
"I'm not sure, but I think the Major was gonna call someone in; we didn't exactly have time to talk about it before the demonstration we only had ten minutes to get everything together, but I think Frenzy hacked the phone lines to divert a call to the Niihama mental health facility, I don't know what went on but whatever was originally gonna go down the Major didn't follow through. Whatever Morri said beforehand managed to make her change her mind" Tom shrugged; he didn't notice the look of suspicion in the chiefs eyes as the old ape simply gazed down into the hanger, his thoughts beginning to turn in the direction of suspicion.
The day passed by uneventfully, but the atmosphere was muted; in the section's dive room Glen, Frenzy, Darren and anyone else who cared to see, watched the news updates of the ongoing rescue operation to find survivors in the ruins of the fallen Sukaitawa buildings, of the fifty five thousand people that were in the three buildings at the time they fell, barely a fraction of that were pulled out alive, and over three times as many were found dead so far, and the body count was rising by the hour. All across the city the military and emergency services were stretched to their limits as they continued help those who were still trapped in the subways, the basements of their office blocks and the rubble of the other fallen buildings around town. All day long the fires of yesterday's battle continued to burn and darken the city skyline with smoke and ash, emergency vehicles darted back and forth between the various hospitals around town, even the more able-bodied civilians were contributing to the less fortunate survivors by helping out any way they can. Everywhere across New Port and the other city's that were attacked, stories of survival, courage, fortitude, sorrow and humanity filled the online news forums and sites as countless individuals relayed their stories of where they were the day Japan was attacked by the unidentified rouge robots. Although no one said anything, everyone couldn't help but feel dreadfully guilty over not being able to go out and help with the rescue efforts, with their superior strength the Autobots could easily shift the heavier rumble and debris, and with their sharper sense's the drones could easily sniff out any buried survivors; Deathshot even put forward the possibility of specially formatting some of his carbon based nanites to interface with human tissue to help heal the more severely incapacitated victims. As they peeked out from the entrance of the section's parking lot, and over the top of the helipad, the Autobots felt their sparks weigh heavy within their spark chambers; they felt so useless, and helpless; and the humans weren't feeling much different. They hated having to hide away from their fellow man in his hour of need, deep down within their being, the ancient voice of instinct panged at them to go out and help, to be there for each other and be there to simply to let the lonely know that they weren't alone.
But elsewhere within section 9 HQ, someone had more troubling concerns.
Breathing a sigh of frustration as she removed the dive terminal from her neck ports, the Major slumped back in her chair and turned to look out the window; since Morri's demonstration this morning her thoughts had been vexed with doubt and uncertainty over last night's events. It was odd in as much what happened did happen in real time, but looking back on it now, the memories of what went on didn't seem...right, at least, right for what was at hand and the emotions behind them. As she scanned the section's IR camera footage and her external memories in detail, she was shocked to find that she had been aggressive, angry, frustrated and hard on poor Matti, and she was even more alarmed to find that she did indeed call the Niihama mental health facility, asking them to pick her up and section her after she refused to cooperate. A terrible feeling of guilt began to bite at the back of her mind, how could she do that? Why would she do that? It made no sense, but at the same time confusion also made her ask herself why she couldn't see things clearly, why had she been so aggressive? It wasn't like her to lose her temper in such a way, especially not towards a kid acting bratty, attitude like that she could take on any day of the week, but what made her falter like that? Did the stress of last night really get to her that badly? And if so why take it out on anyone nedalone a kid?
None of this made any sense; suspecting the possibility of an 'outside influence' she'd used her external memory device and custom made virus-sweeper programmes to check for any form of a ghost-hack or hidden viruses (a month ago she would've dismissed the idea of anyone being able to hack into her mind; but with the knowledge of giant alien robots with far superior technology being a present factor, it was best not to take any chances), but when the programmes flashed green and gave the all-clear, it only confounded her even more; she even checked the section's network functions and security protocols, even the Tachikoma's online agent functions were not left to chance, all of which came up clean (for the most part, Frenzy's little hacking viruses were easy enough to get rid of; much to the drone's annoyance), nothing was there to suggest anything out of the ordinary. Maybe it really was all in her head and she was just trying to grasp at shadows that weren't really there, but even so, she knew her behaviour was out of line and her actions were inexcusable (she was so thankful she didn't see the chief when they got back from the mission, heaven knows what might have happened). As her thoughts went round in circles and she twiddled the white paper crane in one hand, a gentle tap at the door snapped her mind back to the here and now as the door opened and the heavy footsteps approaching from behind told her who it was; she sighed and waited for the immanent reprimand from Batou, it was no less than what she deserved for nearly locking his little sister away in a mental hospital, but as the seconds ticked by and nothing happened, she cautiously turned around and was surprised to see Batou standing calmly with an impassive frown; this was certainly different.
"I know why your here Batou, and to be honest, I don't know where to begin..." she ruefully sighed in shame
"I figured as much, you know you can be pretty heartless when you want to be; but I couldn't believe you'd be so cold as to lock my sister away just because you lost your temper with her" Batou replied impassively, the level of complete non-emotion in his voice really grabbed her attention; was he so pissed off at her that he'd shut off his emotions completely? Either way, she knew she'd done wrong by him, and there was no way of disputing it otherwise, to do so would be just making sorry excuses for herself and that was not who she was. For a moment she didn't know what to say, but then, apologizes are never easy for anyone, especially when your prone to being proud.
"...I, don't know what happened, last night was-...didn't make any sense" was all she could say, Batou's frown softened as concern replaced his hard edginess; now he was really concerned, he hadn't seen her like this since that time she dived Hideo Kuze's ghost line during the individual eleven case, or more so now as she looked utterly spent, this wasn't good. Pulling up a seat by the desk, Batou sat himself down and looked her in the eye.
"...There were a hundred things I wanted to say to you, after I found out that you really did call the mental hospital I had this whole rant planned...but after this morning I don't think that's really important anymore; what worries me now, is what's up with you? You've been in here all day and have spoken to no one, Matti's been wanting to apologize to you and everyone else is concerned, even the chief's not sure what to think, and that goes without saying after he saw the bodies of our doppelgangers" he said calmly, she didn't reply, and simply glanced down at the little origami crane in her hand.
"Look; I know this whole thing has really taken a turn, what happened yesterday-...I still can't believe we actually survived it, and the Black Lotus...hell even I still can't believe the truth, the fact that they weren't even human to begin with, and that we didn't even have an inkling? I don't even want to try and imagine what would've happened if the Autobot's hadn't shown up when they did...for what it's worth we own them for saving our lives that day, even if it was accidental and they didn't even know we were there, the fact that we survived is something to be grateful for...and if you think you're the only one trying to confront the reality of all this your dead wrong. We've all been taking it hard in our stride Major, even the kids have trying their best to play soldier just to keep up with us; last night Becky and Becca went back to the safe house in tears when they saw the news of the Sukaitawa buildings fall, Darren was so exhausted from the fight he crashed in the dive room and fell asleep, and Glen's so worried for the Autobot's rescue party he nearly had a panic attack...don't think for one minute you've got it worse than the rest of us, because you weren't only one there when the towers fell, or when we were down in the underground bunker..." Batou said; she gazed up at him before passing another deep rueful sigh.
"...Thanks Batou...but, I don't even know where this is coming from; why, I was what I was last night, that wasn't me last night, I-"
"No, don't beat yourself for getting over stressed about the job; we may be the most elite police unit in Japan but at the end of the day we're only human -" the Major's face turned impassive as she hid away her dubiousness, she always hated it when that figure of speech was applied to cyborgs like herself, not least because of the irony of it, not being a human in the truest sense of the word, she felt it was an inaccurate metaphorical analogy in philosophical terms. "...there's only so much we can do within the limits of what's plausible, but it would be fair to say that this last month had been a real test of what we can really do when push comes to shove" he continued, the Major leaned back in her chair and stared off into empty space, her crimson eyes glazed over slightly as she seemed to drift off to somewhere else.
"Undoubtedly...But even so, we've been pushing ourselves to keep up with them too; accepting the reality of non-human life has been a burden on everyone, not least because of what we've had to confront within ourselves, our own humanity has been a mixed blessing for them, on the one hand we can offer so much more than what a normal human can achieve; but at the same time we've presented ourselves as somewhat of a paradox; cyborgs, humans dressed up as machines while still trying to retain the essence of our humanity. I can't help but wonder, if, to the Autobots, that seems strange, or just...sad..." she said in a day dream-like manner; Batou quirked an eyebrow and sat there in bemusement. 'Where did that come from?' he thought in the back of his mind, for a long moment neither of them said word, then Batou got up and turn to leave, stopping at the door and looking back at her.
"You know...sometimes, I wish you'd trust me..." he softly spoke with a slight frown
"Trust you? ...On what?"
"...To just-...never mind..." he sighed, and quietly left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts; as he walked down the corridor his thoughts of her became twisted with guilt and concern, he knew she wasn't the type to just lay it all out, but something about what she said raised more than just a few red flags. Was it possible something had happen to her and that it affected her on a deep seated level? If that was the case, how was he going to be able to help her this time around? But then, his mind began to taunt him with memories of the times she'd strained if not tainted his trust in her...
His mind cast him back to the day when, during the Laughing man case they were 'escaping' the Umibozu and that sniper bullet blasted her head clean off; the bitterness of that memory bit him like a snake, why didn't she warn him? Or at least hint that something was going to happen, even if she had warned beforehand that it had to go down the way it did he would've played the part of the grieving teammate without question (it wouldn't have been the first time he'd have to feign his emotions for the sake of a mission): but to let him believe that she had died in such a manner was...hurtful; and even worse, she never apologized for it. Even when the dust of the Laughing man case had settled and Section 9 was back in place carrying on its usual duties, once or twice she had glanced at him with that 'I'm sorry, but you know why I had to do it' look; but it still wasn't the same as apologizing in person, and the simple act of saying I'm sorry can mean a lot to one who's trust is a valuable commodity. His thought's even turned back to that day on Dejima Island, and how, when he heard her say that she was going to follow Kuze onto the net with the refugees, he ran like hell for leather across the Dejima docks to find her, he wasn't going to let her go, not without him, he couldn't imagine her abandoning him and the rest of the team to the fate of that damn nuke...but then, would she have really gone without him? Had Kuze affected her mind so much that she wasn't thinking how she should? And that, in some way she had fallen under his spell?
That's when it hit him
Was something happening to her now? Again? Had something happened at some point over this past month that had subtly and stealthily managed to slip past her conscious notice and take root behind the perimeter of her ghost line? If Kuze could do it (albeit unintentionally on his part...if at all, it really was unintentional?) why not someone else? But who, if any could be brave, smart or stupid enough to try and get past her defences? No one came to mind...no one human at least. But even if someone had tried something on her, the external 'symptoms' of a ghost hack would be present, and being the pro cyber-warfare specialists both he and the rest of section 9 would've noticed something was off; but then, that was under usual circumstances, having non-human sentient beings thrown into the mix didn't do much for the definition of 'usual circumstances', and as such, it made for trying to figure it out even harder with more obstacles thrown in the way.
But wait a minute...what if...ghost hacking wasn't part of the equation?
What if...this was it? ...what if this was the case that would finally show the cracks in the Major's armour?
Batou stopped as he felt his heart skip a beat and a cold flush rushed down his spine all the way to his ghost...No...It couldn't be that! It just couldn't be! She wasn't the type to falter, to self-doubt or to second guess her own methodology. Her attitude, demeanour and sheer grit were what made her the backbone of this section, everyone was drawn to her because of her unique talent and the fact that she was one of only a handful of people on the planet who were super Class-A hackers made her all the more formidable and fearsome...for all those reasons he admired her as a soldier, and cared about her as a friend...for all those reasons, did it make him fail to see the hidden dangers? That even she had a breaking point just like everyone else? ...
'Cyborgs, humans dressed up as machines while still trying to retain the essence of their humanity. I can't help but wonder, if to the Autobots, that seems strange or just...sad...'
He carried on walking back towards his office, regardless of whatever the cause for her sudden change in character, the fact remained that something was wrong with her; he entered his office, sat down behind his desk and switched on his computer; as soon as the desktop appeared he pulled up the case file for the Black Lotus, his face hardened with concentration as he read over the details of the case.
Elsewhere in the building:
"So, I take you've enjoyed today?" Morri grinned as she walked along the corridor
"Are you kidding? This has been awesome! Meeting you guys has been a total blast!" Matti grinned; Matti's introduction had been interesting to say the least, after being charmed by Jazz and his prize winning smile she felt so much more at ease and in practically no time at all she and the Autobot gang were friends. For most of the day they mainly talked, the kids and bots told the story of their lives back in their own universe; how they came to be stuck in this universe via a rift in time and space caused by the DRD, how they first met section 9 and how they offered to help, how they were betrayed by someone in the government and then had to run, and from there the whole other crazy and complex (and in some parts tragic) set of circumstances that had lead them to here and now. When she agreed to join the Autobots and section 9, she had a rough idea that the situation she was in was deep, but nothing had prepared her for anything THIS deep; at certain times she couldn't help but feel like she was in a movie, being in the presence of these giant alien beings was so surreal yet exciting, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up when she realized that this was for real; it was scary, but when the kids reassured her that it was okay to be scared, she unusually felt okay with it, and decided secretly not to delve too deeply into it, for fear of unnecessarily winding herself with worry and fear.
"Heh, well, I'm just glad your okay with it all" Morri sighed with relief, her expression turning mildly serious for a moment "I was kinda worried that you'd freak out, you know not everyone can cope with being around the guys, and not just for fear of getting accidently stepped on...some people just aren't able to get their heads around the fact that giant transforming alien robots exist, and I don't mean to make that sound blasé"
"That's understandable, but seriously? If Batou thinks I was gonna freak out then he was way wrong! And what made you think I couldn't handle it?" Matti quirked an eyebrow
"Well, the Major wasn't the only one who read your file..." Morri frankly replied, Matti snapped her head round and looked at her incredulously as her shoulder's tensed up.
"And?"
"It said you had issues when you were a kid and that you were hospitalized for violent behaviour and attempted suicide; that was years ago when you were still a teen, you've obviously changed a lot between now and then, and I personally don't like to make my mind up about someone's character based on something that's typed on a piece of paper, it's bland and it's not the same as meeting them in the flesh and getting a feel for their personality firsthand. When it comes to knowing about someone, I'd rather make my mind up about them the old fashion way, or not at all" Morri replied plainly and frankly, Matti blinked in surprise and eased up in relief.
"Sorry, it's just...my past isn't particularly something I like to touch upon; and please don't take it the wrong way but, I have an issue about people knowing that I was in a mental hospital when I was a kid" Matti replied quietly as she looked away and folded her arms
"Hey, we all have secrets-"
"-Yeah you, kinda said that before" Matti interrupted with a small sheepish smile, Morri couldn't help but let out a light chuckle "yeah, I did didn't I?" she replied
"It's just...some secrets; are too painful to share, and some, can give people the wrong idea about who you are...let's just say; I've had to work hard to get my life in shape, and to, have the courage to go out into the world knowing that not everyone is out to get you..." Matti explained uncomfortably as she pulled her arms in a little bit tighter
"Hey don't worry about it, I understand... I won't say anything okay?"
"Okay...uh, didn't you say there was one more guy I had to meet?" Matti asked, trying to change the subject
"Ah yes, he's been waiting for you all day, he wanted to wait until you were more comfortable with the guys before you met him...I should warn you though, he's not like the others, he's a little more, shall we say, 'austere'?" Morri explained as she stopped in front of the entrance to the firing range and typed in the right entry code for the door. From the tone of her voice Matti figured this was serious, and steeled herself for whatever was behind that door. "He can be quite sly and has a particular 'Hannibal Lecter' kinda feel to his personality; but don't let his demeanour intimidate you, he's really an okay guy, just make sure you don't say anything to piss him off, he may be sentient but he's not tame...but more importantly, listen to what he has to say" Morri continued
"Huh? Why?"
"Because he's the guy who discovered your clairvoyance, and found out how you discovered the insignias..." Morri replied, Matti's eyes widen in amazement; the door opened to reveal a dark, almost pitch black room with barely the faintest of light emanating from the furthest end of the room, Matti leaned in cautiously but found she could hardly make out anything, Morri stood by the side of the door and gestured for her to step in.
"You're not coming in?"
"Sorry, but he wants to see you alone; said there were things he needed to discuss with only you"
"If he's as powerful as you said, why didn't he try to 'reach out' to me earlier?"
"Don't know, for all I know he could've sneaked into your mind and has been watching through your eyes this whole time"
"Seriously? He's that powerful?" Matti's eyes grew wider in astonishment
"I don't know, why don't you find out? ...I'll be back when you're both done okay? ..." Morri replied and turned to walk back they way they came; looking into the gloom and taking a deep breath, Matti tentatively stepped in through the door and was only a few paces in when the door suddenly shut behind her. Swallowing her fear and looking around, the shapes and forms of the mock-up outdoor enclosure were silhouettes against the gloom and the shooting stalls were dark with no light within them at all; the only light that prevented the whole room from being in total darkness were the lights above the door that lead through to the room where the gun cages and armoury were situated. Ordinarily Matti didn't mind the dark, it was a typical fear she'd overcome during childhood like any other kid; but the thought of this particular Autobot had her concerned.
'He may be sentient but he's not tame'
What did Morri mean by that? Taking a deep breath, Matti concentrated on what she wanted to see and looked all around the room for any sign of any auras that would denote the presence of another; there were other ambient energies present, this room was certainly used regularly by the other section 9 agents, but there was nothing alive in here. Suddenly, a rush of air from behind made her snap around, but nothing was there; she was half way through a sigh of relief when a deep rumbling growl made her freeze like a rabbit in the headlights; warm breaths of air breathed down the back of her neck and a strange red light illuminated the back of her shoulders, neck and head, swallowing hard, she slowly turned around and was confronted with a mouth full of silver teeth.
"Boo!"
Matti gasped, jumping so sharply that she fell over backwards and landed on her backside, standing over her was a giant robotic panther about the size of a large horse; it's armour was sliver and dark grey with sleek sharp lines and edges, it's shoulder's and neck were lined with sharp spikes, all four of its paws had a set of large claws and it's long tail was topped with a particularly large mace with four huge blades, and set square in the middle of its head was a singular red optic glowing brightly light luminous blood. It was both impressive and terrifying and with a deep growling chuckle the creature stepped around her and flicked its tail contently.
"I have to say, as the sibling of your brother, your format was certainly not graced with his stout design" Ravage purred with a grin
"Uh, I-I'm more like my mom, short and skinny; B-Batou get's his size from dad's side of the family" Matti replied nervously, she squeaked in alarm as the panther bent it's head down, grasped the back of her hoodie in its teeth and pulled her back up onto her feet; immediately she stepped back, being sure to give his tail a wide birth.
"Obviously...So? You were the cause of everyone's grief this morning?" he purred as he came up alongside her.
"U-uh, apparently?" she replied, trying like hell to quash her nervousness and stop herself from wanting to run to the door.
"Don't be so modest, your little 'talent' really got the Major riled, and seeing her pull her hair out over little old you was certainly a treat" Ravage purred gleefully
"Y-you don't like her?"
"Well, that depends; there's hatred, and then there's finding that certain someone who confounds you to no end. Oh don't get me wrong, she's more than capable of taking on the likes of me; but her particular 'austereness' just tempts me to no end" he grinned, Matti simply passed a nervy chuckle and dropped the subject, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what he meant by that.
"You uh, wanted to talk to me about something? ..." Matti asked, Ravage tilted his head to the side and curled his body around hers, she stood still with her shoulders hunched up, trying not to snag her hoodie on his sharp shoulder spikes; as his one optic looked into her eyes, a sense of dread began to creep up her spine and in the pit of her stomach her instincts screamed at her to run; she couldn't deny the impression of absolute fear this creature gave off, by his size and strength alone he could easily bite her head off in one go, but regardless, she had to know how he 'discovered' her, she wanted to know whether he really shared the same clairvoyant abilities as her, and whether he could teach her anything; swallowing hard again and breathing several deep breaths, she stood firm and met his gaze with nervousness and curiosity.
"...Tell me child, do you fear me? ..." he purred, looking into his optic, Matti knew she couldn't lie; she didn't want to imagine the consequences for screwing around with something as terrifying as him.
"...Yes..." she whispered
"Good, I don't tolerate liars very well, their vocalizers can be so easy to rip out; but then, you already know that don't you?" he smirked as his optic began to pulsate, Matti suddenly felt as stiff as a statue as her vision was filled with luminous colour; she gasped as she realized she was looking straight at his aura as it blazed and flickered in vivid blood red, swirls of white, blue and gold circulated the red 'fire' like embers rising off a bonfire and pulsated like a heart, every beat sent out a wave of intoxicating energy rich in power, wild restlessness, and the taste of blood. Matti strained hard not to fall over and faint as the aura threatened to overwhelm her, but what really shocked her was that her 'second sight' had been activated without her mental command.
"...H-how? ...how did you do that?" she stammered as the aura faded from her sight and the energy subsided like water running downstream
"It's easy enough; a mind as tense and fragile as yours is as easy to slip through like a gust of air through the trees; as simple as scanning through a few data streams...and it's a good enough incentive for you not try anything with me, small and meek as you are, I don't like to leave anything to chance" he smiled
"What do you mean my mind is...tense and fragile?"
"Your memories cast a long dark shadow upon the present tense of your mind; you have endured much within the time of your infinitely short lifespan, and have gained half as much in your latter years to make life 'normal' for yourself...you've sacrificed much to keep your gifts secret, as has your brother, who risked his own life for you...your anger, your stubbornness and your willingness not to yield has kept other's prejudice ay bay; and even now, you're scared to let your guard totally down, for fear of disappointment in this new set of circumstances" Ravage purred , Matti wanted to retort back but nervously thought better of it when it struck her that he read her mind, in that case there wasn't much point in trying to bluff either.
"...Yes, but what are you getting at?" she asked, trying to get the upper hand
"Your fears are not without reason, but how do you intend to serve as part of our gang if you're going to let your nerves get the better of you in the face of danger? You and your brother may share the same genetic format, but whether you were graced with the same grit and strength of will remains to be seen" he replied, Matti quirked an eyebrow
"Remains to be seen?...you really think I can help you guys?" she asked, to which Ravage swatted his paw over the back of her head.
"Did you not pay attention to a single word Morri said this morning?" he reprimanded as she rubbed her head, "She knows you can do this! And if there's one thing I know for sure about that girl it's that she never lie's nor does she tell the truth without conviction...Yes she only knew of your gift because of me, but when she first saw you she knew there had to be more to you than just a scared little femme trying to push everyone away!...don't insult her judgment by thinking that she'll think less of you if you falter!...When I channelled my mind through hers so as to see you for myself, I sensed her heart going out to you, her caring and understanding allowing you to be at ease, her open-mindedness allowed you to see her for what she truly was; the thing about auras is that their like fingerprints, they never truly change, what you saw in her is true, and there is no reason for you to think anything otherwise of her, or any of the others, understand?", Matti reluctantly dropped her gaze and nodded in acknowledgement.
"But...what happened yesterday, the battle downtown? How the hell am I supposed to go up against something like that?" she asked
"You won't, your brother would never allow it, and frankly your design is not really cut out for front line warfare anyway. No, each and every one of us is good at something and every talent combined together makes for a strong unit, your gift is no acceptation and you will serve your part in your own way"
"How?"
"When the time comes, you'll know; but for now, you need to know how to safeguard your mind and how to best apply your gift in the right way for the right circumstances...the one who showed you the insignias had to be very powerful to reach you from your dreams, if one as powerful as myself is really out there, you have to be prepared, just because he sent you to us does not necessarily mean he may have the best of intentions"
"You know how I found the insignias?" Matti asked, Ravage's optic flashed bright red and in an instant the room faded into total darkness and overhead were countless stars, galaxies, nebulas and planets, the whole universe stretched above, below and all around her, and high overhead the glowing blue eyes of the strange alien entity shone down on her; she flinched away but instantly found herself back in the firing range with Ravage staring intently into her eyes.
"The one you saw that night was certainly of our race, his essence is so powerful that it's embedded into your own being; I don't know who it was that you saw, but whoever it was, was very powerful. Their aura was so vast and encompassing that even the impression of it is enough to make my servos ache...but what concerns me about him is the circumstances you met him in"
"In what way?"
"Whoever it was, I sensed through you that indeed their power is vast, but somehow, it wasn't their total power; he said that he was imprisoned and I believe he may have been telling the truth, I sensed something was keeping him from fully expanding his power out. Indeed if he was totally free he could've taken over your whole body there and then and left your conscious mind drifting in that 'limbo' existence; but something about him told me he wasn't that kind of bot, his aura, as powerful as it was, was gentle and warm, a kind spark with intentions of a plan most great...but to what it is? That's where you come in child"
"...But, if I'm to serve a greater purpose in all this then aren't I already too late? In that dream I saw the downtown battle, I saw people die and...I saw Batou die..." she softly whimpered
"Clearly what you saw was not what went down yesterday; yes many innocents died, but your brother still lives...what you saw has not yet come to pass, but the question we face now is how do we stop that future from unfolding" Ravage nuzzled her cheek
"You don't know? ...But I thought you had the same abilities as me?"
"In a sense yes, you possess the same telepathic traits as I, and the ability to see the ambient energies in all things, both living, dead and inanimate; but for some unfathomable reason you also possess the ability to see past the chronological passing of time, space and reality, and see the energies that have yet to animate and bring forth the present. The future is not set in stone child; there are infinite futures that exist beyond the present tense of the time-space continuum, all of which, in accordance to the present set of circumstances and cause to effect, have a certain level of probability of becoming reality...and yet, of all the likeliest of futures, you see the correct one...and this certain ability of yours hasn't failed you yet, has it?" Ravage purred ominously
"N-No, it hasn't; but, how come I have this gift in the first place?"
"Who can say? Telepathy was certainly not unheard of on Cybertron, every once in a while a sparkling would be onlined that possessed the ability to see into the minds of others, though they were few and far between, only about a handful of clairvoyant individuals existed on Cybertron at any one time; but you are the first clairvoyant organic I've ever come across...and that in itself is most peculiar since telepathy cannot be defined by carbon based genetic formatting"
"Why should it be peculiar? My mom was clairvoyant; she obviously passed her gift onto me"
"Passed on? ...or merely have been influenced by the same force that gave your creator her gift? Telepathy and other such empathic abilities are often the result of one-off super-stellar phenomenons...there are infinite energies that flow throughout the universe, many of which cannot be created nor be destroyed, they simply 'have always been'... They take on countless forms in both mass, matter and anti-matter; always moving and always constantly shifting up and down onto various planes of reality, many of them are constantly moving in motion in response to cause and effect's and many are responsible for influencing pretty much everything, from the alignment of the planets all the way down to the molecular alignment of the protein structure of your very DNA..."
"...So? I'm clairvoyant because some cosmic energy found its way to Earth and somehow screwed around with my mom's DNA?" Matti blinked in bemusement
"Well, anything's possible, and I wouldn't put it past Primus to try...but either way, such profound understanding's of the secret workings of the universe are best left as mysteries, and not without good reason; many simply waste away or are driven beyond the boundaries of insanity just trying to figure out how the simplest of things come to be so...It doesn't do well to dwell on what could be and why the world is as such; but what I do know, is that you are here, and you have a purpose to fulfil child"
"In that case, are you, going to teach me how to be a better seer?"
"Seer? That's a good one; fortunately you already know how to use your gift quite aptly, but I will pass one important little piece of knowledge what will serve you well"
"What's that?" Matti asked, but before she could take another breath the blood red light of Ravage's optic encompassed her whole vision and her whole body felt like it was suspended in warm water; all around her mind felt like it was gently being sharpened like a sword on a file, her focus felt longer and much sharper than before, as if she could see the ambient energies around her with more clarity and range. But, in the back of her mind she envisioned barbed wire popping up like brambles and slowly creeping around the perimeter of her consciousness, but not actually touching her, slowly she felt encompassed but not trapped until she felt her mind completely surrounded and protected by a garden of barbed wire rose bushes, every rose looked like it had been sculpted from chrome steel as every petal shone and gleamed with the silver radiance of moonlight; as quickly as the experience began, the panther's red aura began to fade and the barbed wire rose-bush garden disappeared from her sight, when it was finally over her knees gave out from under her and Ravage nudged her to the side so she could lean against him.
"Wh-...what did you do just now?" She stammered as her head stopped spinning and her equilibrium balanced out
"Just a little something to keep any would-be 'mind-jacker's' out, rather than waste precious time on countless hours of deep meditation, I simply implanted a little defensive measure into your sub-conscious so as to keep the more vital aspects of your mind intact, should anything, Primus forbid, were to happen...time is a commodity that we cannot afford to waste, and I'm afraid you'll have to 'learn the ropes' whilst on the go with us" Ravage replied, Matti simply nodded and sighed.
"Then, I guess, all that's left for me to say is; thank you"
"For what?"
"For saving me from being thrown into a mental hospital, and a whole load of other things that would've gone down if no one had believed me...when it comes to trying to prove myself and what I can do, people...either think I'm a skilled magician, or, just freak out...To be honest, I don't really know how to prove myself, I've spent so long trying to hide what I am that I'm just afraid to even approach them...I don't like coming off as a coward" she softly replied, dropping her gaze in a sense of shame
"Well, maybe that's something we can help rectify; you know, maybe your brother-" Ravage abruptly stopped and snapped his head up, his ears twitched and moved around as if listening to something, then his optic pulsated rapidly as if responding to something
"What's up?" Matti asked
"Something is going on in the main debriefing room; come, get on and hold on tight!" Ravage replied as he lowered his forequarters down, Matti nervously climbed up, being sure to sit well behind the shoulder spikes and yelped in fear as the panther sprinted off out the door, down the corridor, to the nearest emergency fire escape staircase and up to the section's main levels; Matti held on for dear life as her knuckles turned white from gripping the armour plating that formed the scruff of his neck and she braced herself, trying hard not to scream as the panther galloped at break-neck speed; finally he screeched to a halt outside the main debriefing room and allowed Matti to slip off. She staggered into the debriefing room with Ravage at her side; there they found all the kids and agents looking up at the giant monitor in shock and disbelief.
"What's going on?" Ravage demanded
"Shush!" Ishikawa hissed as he turned up the volume, on the monitor the news anchor man appeared and looked straight ahead before speaking:
"-We interrupt the usual viewing schedule for this emergency broadcast: in the wake of yesterday's nation-wide attacks by the unidentified rouge military AI's, the American Empire has released an official request to the Japanese government demanding the immediate hand-over of the AI's; officials in the Pentagon have released a statement claiming that the AI's are part of a new line of combat exo-suits that were property of the American Empire but were produced by one of Japan's leading weapon's manufacturers under contract from one of America's top AI developers. Although the reasons for the apprehension remain unclear at this time; the Pentagon has stated that the seizer of the exo-suits is an unlawful act of international treason under article 16 of the security treaty. American forces are currently poised to pull out of all of Japan's American military bases within the next week and the American Navy has mobilized its preliminary forces; which consist of the aircraft carriers, the Abraham Lincoln, the Enterprise, the George Washington, the Nimitz, the Ronald Ragan, the Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Harry S. Truman, along with several destroyers, amphibious assault ships and missile cruisers, all of which are set to enter Japanese waters within the few days. Within the last few hours the Prime Minister has put through a request to the American Empire for an emergency meeting to discuss settling the situation and hopefully attempt to defuse the situation; the American Empire's Secretary of Defence has not given a reply at this time but if the AI's are not located and turned over to the American Imperial forces, then under article 46 of the security treaty the American Empire will enter Japan and seize control of the GSDA, SDA and MSDA until the AI's can be found and apprehended; at this time all Japanese citizens are asked to remain-"
"...holy shit..."
