UGH! Writer's-block, thou art the most sparkless of glitches. Curse you! This fight seem sooo anti-climactic than what I usually write Ugh… hopefully I'll have enough action later on in the story—including the next chapter—to make up for it. Sorry, guys. No big Primus-state battles until the end—that's part of the contract. What contract you ask? That's for me to know and you guys never to ask again.
WolfAssassin369—He soo deserves to get his aft handed to him. Majorly.
AllSpark Princess—You're on to something here.
Shadescribe—Starscream is a total, complete, Grade A moron. 'Nuff said.
Alice Gone Madd—Hunter: *reads comment, turns to me* Why are we friends with her again?
I do not own Transformers or anything in relation. I only own Hunter, the Hybrid race, and any other character that you may not recognize.
"Got a secret—can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save. Better lock it in your pocket; taking this one to the grave…" The Pierces; Secrets
6
Ω Servo Specialis Ω
(Keeping the Secret)
Autobot Outpost Omega One;
"Young 'bots," Ratchet grumbled to himself as he worked on fixing yet another broken device. "I swear they're part wrecking ball and all reckless!" He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Can't live with 'em, can't melt 'em down for spare parts."
/Optimus Prime to Autobot Outpost, do you read?/ Prime's voice suddenly came in over the comm-system.
Leaving his workbench, Ratchet crossed the room to the computer system and opened the line. "I read you, Optimus," he answered. "What seems to be the problem?"
/Ratchet, is Hunter all right?/
The medic paused for a moment, trying to decide what his old friend meant by that question. In all honesty, it could mean anything: health, energon levels, processor functions, mentality…. "What do you mean, Optimus?" Ratchet finally asked.
/I was inflicted with pain, Ratchet,/ the Prime explained gravelly, /and it was coming from Hunter's end of our bond. I nearly crashed because of it./
Ratchet raised an optic-ridge, an unsettling feeling churning in his tank. That wasn't good. That wasn't' good at all. In terms of Hunter's physical and emotional status the spark-link she and Optimus shared had yet to be proven faulty, and if Optimus had nearly crashed due to a sensation coming from Hunter's end of the link…. "She went with Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee to scout for an energon deposit several hours ago," Ratchet explained. "They contacted me when they found it, but they haven't since then. Hold on, let me check their signals." The white and amber mech quickly turned to the keyboard again and pulled up the GPS system. His optics widened in alarm. There weren't just four blue blips on the screen anymore—now there were also red blips. Lots of them. Decepticons! "It would seem the Decepticons have located the mine as well," the medic reported. "It appears they have the team pinned down." Ratchet then cursed under his breath in Cybertronian. "Optimus, I'm detecting the cellphone signals of the children at the mine as well!"
/Lock onto my coordiantes and bridge me back to base, now!/ Optimus ordered with all possibly urgency.
"Of course," Ratchet replied, about ready to pull up Optimus' GPS coordinates when suddenly it happened. Hunter's signature suddenly flared, changing from aqua-blue to stark white and blazing brighter than any of the other energy signatures on the screen. The mech gapped in bewilderment. What in the AllSpark…? "Optimus…" he murmured after a moment, "…Hunter's energy signature…"
/I feel it, Ratchet,/ Optimus cut him off, already knowing what his friend was about to report. The sensation was much the same as what the Prime had felt the first time Hunter and Primus had fused sparks: adrenaline-charging and intoxicating—overflowing with absolute power. But at the same time it felt very different as well: wild, dangerous—almost primal. /It is the Primus-state. Hunter has entered the Primus-state./ And if she had done that, something had to be terribly wrong.
Chile;
From her hiding place behind the energon spires, the Hybrid femme watched on, her eyes widening in awe. The Fuser had just gone into the Primus-state! This whole situation had most definitely just become a lot more interesting. "The Mistress is definitely gonna want to know about this," she murmured.
Everyone, 'bots, 'cons, humans alike, all stared in horrified wonder at the femmling standing before them; if "femmling" was even the right word at the moment. And it most definitely wasn't. Hunter wasn't a teenaged Hybrid anymore—she looked like a literal Cybertronian goddess! A seriously revved off one at that. Slag was about to hit the fan, and from the looks of it, Starscream was the main target, as he should have been.
As it was, the target himself looked even more freaked out than everyone else in the cavern. Gulping and whimpering, Starscream took a step backwards from Hunter, suddenly finding her more terrifying than attractive. Oh, slag. Oh, slag! "Well?!" he suddenly screeched looking at the surrounding Vehicons and Eradicons. "Don't just stand there like a bunch of dolts—take her! Protect your lord!"
The 'cons all exchanged glances, none of them all that pleased with the task of taking on the ticked off, glowing-opticed, half-ghost, superpowered femme. But they had orders. What were you gonna do? Priming their cannons, all the mechs pointed them in the femmling's direction, taking careful aim, those of them not holding down the Autobots, charging towards her. Without warning they all froze in their tracks, stopped by an invisible and rather painful force. They strained and tried to fight against whatever was holding them, but it was no use; they were all paralyzed.
Starscream's gaze flashed around in terror. "Take her!" he repeated. "I ordered you to take her! TAKE HER!"
"We—ugh!—can't… move… Sir!" a Vehicon reported. "Something's… holding us back! Ahhhhhhh!" The mech released a blood-curdling scream as the energon was literally and most brutally ripped out of his body along with the life-blood of all the other 'cons as well. Their sparkless husks crashed to the rock floor.
The energon went flowing towards Hunter, converging into two rings that spun around her; half making a ring that slanted up over her right shoulder, the rest forming the ring that slanted up over her left shoulder. At that point there was only one explanation as to what had just taken place—Hunter had used her energon manipulation to stop the 'cons and then pull the energon directly out of their shells. That, in and of itself, was scary enough, but the really freaky part of it? Hunter hadn't so much as moved a finger yet!
"Uh… can somebody tell me what just happened?" Miko voiced, still staring at the Hybrid.
"I think…" Raf began with a gulp, "… Hunter just manipulated energon with her mind." Still seated on the floor, he scooted farther away from Primus-infused Hybrid.
"Is that even possible?" Jack questioned.
"Apparently!" Miko snapped.
With a snarl, Hunter began to advance towards Starscream, the energon still spiraling about her. Each step she took seemed to quake the cavern.
Starscream, who seemed to be even more freaked out by what had just happened than anyone else, was backing even farther away from Hunter. Every step forward she took he took three backwards. Fumbling, he opened his comm. and all but screamed into it, "Backup! I need backup! My armada, come to me!"
A moment later the sound of roaring engines came from above, drawing everyone's attention up. Starscream's backup was coming.
Hunter's lipplates parted in a thunderous growl. Starscream was safe for now; those 'cons were more of a current threat than he was, but they wouldn't be for long. Igniting flames at her feet, the Hybrid lifted off and rocketed into the air, going to meet the 'cons halfway. "Rrraaahhh!"
At that moment a ground-bridge opened up in the cavern and a red and blue Peterbilt came roaring through, transforming mid-air as it vaulted out of the vortex. Optimus landed in a crouch, some pieces of his armor still adjusting, then he stood and took in the scene before him. His gaze first went to the swarm of snuffed Decepticons littering the cave floor, then he saw his team, Starscream, and the children, all of their gazes directed upwards. He, too, looked up. His optics widened and behind his battlemask, his mouth gapped open. "Hunter…."
Still jettisoning upwards, Hunter reeled an arm back, held it there for a moment, then threw it forward. "Hah!" The motion caused some of the energon spinning around her shoot upwards towards the oncoming 'cons in the form of thousands of little crystallized energon slivers. The slivers made contact with some of the closest Decepticons, ripping through their bodies, either killing them instantly or causing them to crash and perish that way.
The rest of the 'cons quickly wheeled around and quickly made their aggressor the new target. They let loose in a barrage.
Drawing her arm back once more, Hunter pulled the rest of the energon with it, forming the liquid into a long whip. She snapped it forward, catching one of the 'cons with it. With that, the femme began to rapidly spin, using the 'con as a wrecking ball to take out oncoming others. She thinned down the field considerably more this way. "Yah!" Hunter threw the energon and the 'con down to the floor of the cavern. "Ahh!" She was suddenly blasted in the backplate and tumbled through the air several feet until she regained control. Turning back around, the teen snarled up at the mechs still firing at her. They weren't going to get away with that! With a roar, she zoomed back up to their level. "Rrrraaaahhhh!" She flat-out blasted through the closest two Decepticons.
Shaking off his daze, Optimus turned back to his team. "Autobots!" he shouted, drawing their attention. "Take the children! Get them back to base now!" The Autobots sprang into action, transforming to their alternate modes, picking up their charges, and speeding across the cavern towards the still open ground-bridge. The disappeared through it, Prime watching after them. When they were out of the way, he turned his attention back to his daughter, who was still battling the 'cons.
"Yah!" Hunter punched a hand out, palm facing outwards, and sent a kaleidoscopic beam of cosmic energy shooting towards a group of 'cons. It disintegrated them. "Hrah!" Throwing out her other hand, she did the same thing again, taking out another portion of the enemy. Quickly spinning and diving out of the way, the teen dodged a barrage of cannon fire, diving down closer to the ground and soaring back up into the air. With a growl the femmling threw her hands back and then forcefully forward, palms facing outward again. A larger, brighter, even more powerful energy beam shot out from her hands, taking out the rest of her aggressor's. With the armada taken care of, Hunter turned her glowing gaze downwards toward Starscream, who was still cowering there like an idiot. The Hybrid snarled. Without warning she cut the flames at her feet and went plummeting through the air until she landed in a kneeling position on the cavern floor with a resounding boom and slammed her right fist into it. "Ahhhhhh-ugh!" The impact was so powerful and so concentrated that much of the earthy crust of the cave floor disintegrated into dust from the impact, revealing nothing but energon beneath it.
Optimus' optics widened at the sight. "By the AllSpark…" he whispered. That was a ton of energon.
Starscream, too, was staring in amazement at the energon. How in the name of Primus was it possible for that much energon to be on a little backwater planet? Hearing a snarl, the Seeker's attention was drawn from the energon back up to the Fuser. He gulped when he caught the killer glint in her glowing optics. If he didn't get out of here now, he was nothing but scrap metal and spare parts! Problem was, he was too bent out of shape to fly! Whimpering, the Emperor of Destruction frantically glanced around, trying to find some way out of here. His optics suddenly lighted on the elevator. It was his best option. Taking one last quick glance at the Hybrid, he went sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him in that direction, got in it, and frantically pressed the button to make it go upwards.
Hunter watched after him, gaze ever narrowing. Standing up erect, the sixteen-year-old suddenly threw her right hand out in front of and across her body. A large fissure opened up at the edge of the exposed energon because of it. She did the same thing with her left arm and another crack was formed. Throwing both of her hands backwards, the Fuser created two more on either side of her, then she crouched down, clenched her fists, and launched herself into the air one more time. The large chunk of energon that she had separated off quivered and groaned and shifted before finally breaking free from the earth and floating up after her. Hauling the energon up with her, Hunter soared up and up until she was well above the Nemesis. She hovered there, opened her hands, and lifted them skyward, hefting the energon chunk—which was about a quarter the size of the warship itself—up over her head. Clenching a fist again, she threw it down, hurling the energon at the warship. "Hrah!" The chunk slammed into the Nemesis, causing a massive explosion and mangling a large section of it.
On fire, smoking, groaning, creaking, and still lighting up in smaller explosions, the Nemesis slowly began to tilt forward and to the left, losing altitude at the same time. It slowly began to through the hole into the cavern.
Hunter watched on. Then, as abruptly as the Primus-state had activated it simply deactivated; the glow of her eyes and insignia faded away and the silhouette of Primus disappeared leaving Hunter looking like the teenager she was again. "Ugh…." Optics rolling back into her head and the fire fizzling out at her feet, Hunter began to plummet back towards the earth as well.
Breaking into a sprint, Optimus quickly morphed back to his semi form mid-stride and barreled across the cavern floor. He vaulted off a large spire of energon and up into the air, transforming back to his Cybertronian form as he did, and flew through the air towards Hunter, catching her in his massive arms. "Huh-uh!" The Prime landed on the side of the Nemesis, tumbling for a ways as it was unavoidable. When he'd righted himself and found his footing again, the mech started running towards the edge of the crashing ship and launched himself off the side. Landing on the cavern floor, he tuck and rolled into a kneeling position. Quickly he checked the unconscious femmling cradled in his arms to make sure that she was all right before getting back up on his feet and running for the ground-bridge. Without a second to spare he lunged through it.
Eyes widening as she realized the nose of the warship was coming right in her direction, the Hybrid femme quickly lurched to her feet and waved a hand across her body, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Just in time, too; the Nemesis crashed into her hiding place just seconds after she disappeared. Reappearing in another cloud of smoke outside the mine, the femme put a hand to her spark and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. That had been too close! "One thing's for sure," she panted to herself, "I definitely picked the right day to follow the girl." Waving a hand across her body once more, she disappeared again.
Autobot Outpost Omega One;
Optimus came through the ground-bridge into the base, Hunter still unconscious in his arms. However, her current insensibility wasn't his concern. It was the criss-cross pattern of nasty scorch marks and burns that covered her chassis from neck to ankles that had him worried. She hadn't healed yet! Why hadn't she healed yet?! Without a second thought, the large red and blue mech headed towards the med-bay, calling for Ratchet as he went. The Prime tenderly laid his daughter down on the medical berth, stroking her helm and murmuring softly to her in Cybertronian. "Ratchet!" Optimus called once again when the medic didn't appear on the spot.
The medic came running into the lab, the rest of the team following. "What's wrong, Optimus?" he asked, sounding as well as looking alarmed.
"Hunter," Optimus panted. "She is… she has not… she is unconscious and hasn't healed, Ratchet." The mech was in such a tizzy he was having trouble getting out a single, coherent thought.
Ratchet hurried forward and gave Hunter a quick look over before scanning her. "It's no wonder," he commented after a moment. "Her energon levels are dangerously low."
Optimus' tank sank, his optics widening in horror. Low energon levels could be a death sentence for a Cybertronian, even for one so powerful as Hunter. If they weren't raised to a stable level soon….
"Easy there, Son," a gravelly, calm voice suddenly filled the room, abruptly interrupting the Prime's thoughts. Everyone turned to see Greasy, in robotic form, standing there in the center of the doorway. He was smiling reassuringly at them all. Coming into the room, he came over to the medical berth and looked Hunter over, picking up one of her hands and examining the burns and scorches on her arms closely. He patted the unconscious femme's hands and gently laid it across her mid-plate before looking up at Optimus. "Don't start worrying yourself to death," he told the larger, younger mech, "she's not quite ready to join the Well of All Sparks just yet. Get a little energon in her and she'll be right as rain."
Suddenly a weak groan left the femmling in question, her optics slowly cracking open to reveal a fuzzy, spinning world. There was a warm presence beside her. Hunter almost instantly recognized it and tried to reach out towards it, her hand trembling with the effort. She was so tired. "Dad…" she croaked.
Turning is full attention back to his daughter, Optimus sat down on the berth beside her, taking her hand in his. He was startled to find how cold it was. "I am here, My Shooting Star," he soothed, stroking her cheekplate. "I am right here."
"Keep her quiet," Ratchet ordered. "I'll go liquefy some energon to start a drip."
"Make a little extra for her to drink as well, Ratchet," Greasy told the mech as he left the room. "A little energon in her belly will help get her going." That said, he turned back to Hunter and gave her an empathetic loo and placed a loving hand on her helm. "How are you feeling, Hunter?" he questioned, voice soft.
Hunter turned her head to meet his gaze. "Exhausted," she heaved. All at once her faceplate twisted up in pain and she groaned, quivering as some of her wounds began to heal at an agonizingly slow pace. "Frag!" she grimaced, sucking in a sharp vent.
"Shh," Optimus soothed her, trying to feed her as much comfort and strength through their bond as he could. It pained him to see her hurting like this. "Easy, Sweet-spark. Try and relax for the moment."
"Easy for you to say," Hunter snipped through clenched denta. "You're not the one covered in third degree burns!"
"Hopefully you won't be for much longer, either," Optimus stated. "Once we have some energon inside you, you should start feeling better."
"I hope so," Hunter groaned. She sucked in another sharp vent, screwing her optics shut, as another burn started to heal. Had she possessed the strength to, she would have squeezed, and more than likely crushed, her father's hand in her grip. Fortunately for him she didn't have the strength at the moment.
"Mind tellin' me what happened to you to put you here, Hunter?" Greasy questioned, stroking her head.
Hunter stared at him with a half-lidded gaze for a moment before closing her optics. Swallowing, she licked her lipplates and uttered, "Starscream. That sick son of a glitch, Starscream."
A deep, savage growl suddenly rumbled through the room, causing everyone to look in the direction of its owner—a certain Autobot commander. A dark scowl shadowed Optimus faceplate and his hands were clenched into fists, his chassis rigid and tense. He looked like he was about ready to kick someone to Cybertron and back then tear them apart. If that someone was Starscream, it definitely wouldn't be a bad thing. Go, Prime! "What did he do?" the Prime demanded, denta clenched.
"Hit on her," Miko answered before Hunter even had a chance to open her mouth, "what else?"
Hunter rolled her sapphire blues. Could Miko have been any less tactless with that answer than she had been? The Hybrid wanted to keep her spark-father at least somewhat calm and cool here. The last thing any of them need right now was a riled up, over-protective Prime on the loose and heading back to the Nemesis to make scrap metal out of Starscream. That could only end badly. (For the most part it could only end badly for the Seeker, but there was a chance that it wouldn't end all the nicely for Optimus either, so it was better to keep him at the base.) "Thank you, Miko," Hunter sighed sarcastically. "You've been oh-so helpful." To large hands where suddenly clasping her face in a gently but firm grip and the sixteen-year-old was forced to look up into the intense, deeply gazing optics of her father.
"Hunter," Optimus said, the tone of his voice telling her to level with him. "tell me the truth. What did Starscream do? What did he say?"
"Nothing that won't give me nightmares," his spark-daughter answered, "but nothing that inappropriate either." She smirked. "I bit his hand." Hunter giggled as she watched a small, prideful smile curl her commander and father's lipplates at her declaration. Her optics drifted shut when he kissed her between the optics.
"That's my femme," Optimus whispered loud enough for only Hunter and more than likely Greasy to pick up.
"Huntress," Greasy came back into the conversation, "what did Starscream do exactly?"
Hunter turned to take her Hybrid mentor into her gaze again. "Apparently when Bomber died," she explained, "he left some of his toys on the Nemesis; 'Screamer's latched on to some of them."
"What toys specifically?" Greasy inquired.
"I don't know how many he has," Hunter answered, "but the two he used today were some sort of telekinetic powered gauntlet and something called an Agony Web. He caught me up with that."
"An Agony Web," Greasy murmured thoughtfully. He nodded his head and sighed, "Yep that would explain the burns and scorch marks. Those things are a much sought after tool among Hybrid bounty hunters; very effective. Also a bit pricey; only the best can have them—unless you manage to steal one."
"Well, Bomber left his behind and Starscream latched on to it." Hunter sighed. "Not gonna do him much good now though."
"What makes you say that?" Greasy asked.
"I destroyed it."
The old Hybrid gapped, his optics wide with disbelief and wonder. Agony Webs were a virtually indestructible piece of Cybertronian tech, that's why so many bounty hunters wanted them. They were an almost fool proof trap! "You… destroyed an Agony Web?" he breathed. "How in Primus' name did you manage that?"
"Starscream had a hold of Raf," Hunter answered, recounting even as she wished she didn't have to. "He was threatening him." The Hybrid's eyes travelled past her Hybrid mentor over to where Bumblebee was standing, Raf sitting upon his shoulder. "He was going to kill him. We were all pinned down and none of us could get to Raf and then…"
"BOOM!" Miko suddenly exclaimed, jumping back into the conversation. "The net just literally exploded and Hunter's standing there, optics and logo all glowy and stuff. Way epic!"
"Hold on," Greasy said, holding up a hand as he looked at Miko, "you said Hunter's optics and Hybrid insignia were glowing?"
"Bright as day," Bulkhead replied with a nod. "Had some kind of shadow or something around her, too. Looked a lot like when she…"
"The Primus-state," Hunter cut in, drawing Greasy's attention back to her, "I went into the Primus-state."
"The Primus-state?" Greasy repeated. "You're sure?"
"Positive."
"We all saw it," Arcee stated.
"I witnessed it as well, Greasy," Optimus informed the older mech. "Hunter was without a doubt enveloped in the Primus-state and she battled the Decepticon while there."
The rusty old Hybrid was silent for a moment, thinking this over carefully. He turned back to Hunter. "Were you in anyway trying to go into it?" he interrogated her, looking serious and grave.
Hunter shook her head. "No," she answered. "No, I wasn't—I just went into it without warning. It was almost like… it activated on its own."
Greasy's mouth twisted and twitched, his brows knitting together in a long line. This wasn't good. This wasn't what he wanted to be hearing at all. "What happened while you were there?"
The scarlet femmling shook her head and shrugged. "Just what Dad told you," she answered, "I took out the 'cons, but if you ask me it was… serious overkill."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean I just butchered 'em," Hunter croaked. A fearful look came to her optics and she shivered, sucking in a shuddering vent as she did so. "I took their energon, Greasy," she breathed, voice quavering. "I just ripped it right out of their bodies without hesitation or thinking. I couldn't stop myself. I tried but I couldn't! No matter how hard I tried I couldn't control myself."
"You mean you had no control of yourself at all?"
Hunter shook her head. "It was like my body had a friggin' mind of its own! I could see everything that was happening—I knew what I doing—but I wasn't telling myself to do any of it! It was like I was trapped inside of a part of myself and I couldn't get out." Tears were in her optics now, trickling down her cheeks as she recalled the ordeal. She had never felt more terrified of herself in her life than she had when she'd been in the Primus-state. To see the things she could do—her powers could do—but to not be in control of herself, to not be able to stop what she was doing despite how much she tried… there wasn't even a word to describe the horror. How could anyone trust her after that? How could she trust herself after that?
"What about Primus?" Greasy questioned.
Hunter shook her head. "I could feel him trying to reign me in," she admitted, "but he couldn't. There were a few times when he almost did but it was like I threw him out or… my body threw him out." The teen lifted a hand and covered her optics with it, frustrated by the whole thing. "It's hard to explain."
"It's all right, Hunter," Optimus assured her sympathetically.
But it wasn't all right. Greasy knew it. Hunter going into the Primus-state without trying; becoming extremely violent and committing acts that she otherwise wouldn't commit while in the Primus-state; neither she nor Primus being able to control the Primus-state—none of this was good. Either the Fuser or Primus had to have control over the Primus-state otherwise the Fuser was just a time-bomb while she was in it; a weapon. Virtually nothing would be able to stop her. And there were plenty of people out there who would stop at nothing to get their hands on a weapon that powerful. "I don't like this," the old Hybrid stated. "I don't like this at all."
"Greasy, you're not helping me calm down," Hunter grumbled.
"As well I shouldn't," Greasy snapped back. "This isn't good, Huntress, not by a long shot. This is exactly why I've been pushing you during out sessions to keep this sort of thing from happening! What happened to you today—what you did while in the Primus-state today—was just a glimpse of the power you possess. That was just a fraction of your power and you couldn't control it! What do you think it would be like if you really let loose during the Primus-state? When it that state you are connected to all of the cosmic power in the universe—every last bit of it; you could destroy an entire solar system if you wanted to! And from what you just told me, that possibility could be very real."
A heavy uncomfortable silence came over the room, forcing what Greasy has just said to sink in, and it sunk in to no one more deeply than it did Hunter. She could destroy a solar system? She had that much power flowing through her when she was in the Primus-state?
"Whoa," Miko suddenly uttered, breaking the silence, "that's intense." She summed up what everyone else was thinking perfectly.
Much to everyone's relief, Ratchet came back into the room at that moment, a cube of liquefied energon in one hand and a barrel of the stuff in the other. "Here," the medic puffed, handing the barrel to Optimus. He went around and began to ready the energon drip.
Barrel of energon in hand, Optimus moved and positioned himself on the berth so he could slip an arm under his daughter and help her sit up. He raised the barrel to her lips. "Drink," he murmured.
Hunter blushed a bit, embarrassed by the fact that she was still too weak to even sit up by herself let alone hold a barrel on her own. She felt like a helpless sparkling! The teen almost refused to drink the energon in retaliation but then she really would have looked like a sparkling for pouting. Besides that would be counterproductive. The energon was supposed to help her get her strength back, so how would she be helping herself by refusing to drink any? Plus the energon smelled so good! Tilting her head forward, Hunter took a small sip of the liquid, only to be hit with an intense craving for it once the flavor exploded on her tongue. She began to take bigger, more vigorous gulps, chugging it, unable to get enough of the stuff. But she was forced to stop when she broke off into a coughing fit. Too much at once.
"Slowly," Optimus scolded, frowning his disapproval and pulling the barrel away from her. "Slowly." He held it to her lips again, only tipping it back far enough once she'd conceded.
While Optimus took care of that, Ratchet worked at the drip and got it hooked up to a line in Hunter's arm. It wasn't much longer before the teen had the strength to handle the barrel by herself. Her wounds were beginning to heal up much more quickly now as well and wasn't quite so painful. A sigh of relief escaped the teenager. That was much better!
Optimus smiled and nuzzled the crown of Hunter's helm, feeling her relief as well. He gently combed his large digits through his daughter's wires, straightening them out. Now they were getting somewhere. "Greasy," the Prime said after a moment, turning his attention back to the old Hybrid, "do you have an idea what could have caused the Primus-state to activate on its own?" All eyes and optics turned to Greasy, including Hunter's even as she continued to down her barrel of energon.
Greasy sighed heavily and scratched the back of his head, seeming to tip his ten-gallon hat styled headset as he did so. "Well," he uttered after a moment, "yes I do. I can't say officially, but it's a good bet that, if Hunter was trying to get to Rafael to save him from Starscream, the fear of losing someone she cares for along with the desperation to save them was what caused it to happen."
/So you don't think it was the fact that she was in the Agony Web and in pain that caused it?\\ Bumblebee buzzed.
Greasy shook his head. "That might possibly have had something to do with it, but I seriously doubt it. I honestly believe it was the combination of fear and desperation that pushed Huntress over the edge."
"What makes you say that?" Ratchet inquired, running another scan on Hunter and checking her vital signs.
"The circumstances for one," Greasy answered. "For another, and probably the most likely reason, Huntress is much like her father was in terms of basic instincts."
"What does that mean?" Jack asked.
"When it comes down to the line, the top basic instinct of most people is to protect themselves," Greasy explained, "self-preservation. There's nothing wrong with it—it's perfectly normal. But Comet Thunder never had that, at least not to the great extent that most do. Even when he was no bigger than a bean sprout his first and foremost instinct was to protect those he cared for. Violently protective at times, particularly when something was in his way." Greasy turned his gaze back on Hunter and smiled a soft, almost reminiscent smile. "Huntress is the same way. In many regards she cares little for her own safety—and considering she has numerous lives that makes complete sense—but she cares greatly for the lives of her loved ones."
"That makes sense to," Hunter replied, setting down her empty barrel and wiping off her mouth. "My entire life I wanted a family and I looked so long for and fought so hard to have one." A look of sheer determination and fierce loyalty flashed into the youngling's optics as she added, "And I'm not about to lose a single member of it."
Greasy nodded. "It's true," he agreed. "Huntress places her family above everything, including herself. You've all witnessed that, first hand."
"When Hunt fought Bomber," Bulk concluded with a nod.
"Exactly," Greasy said with a nod of his own. "But at that time, Hunter wasn't bonded with Primus yet. Had she been, more than likely what happened today would have occurred then."
Hunter groaned. "So you're saying this is gonna happen every time the people I care about are in danger?"
"I would certainly hope not," Greasy grumbled, shaking his head. "If that were to happen we may very well have to figure out a way to separate you and Primus until you've gained better control. What I'm saying is that this happened under extremely dire circumstances. You were incapacitated and Rafael was very close to death."
"Yeah, can we not talk about just how close to being eviscerated I was, please?" Raf squeaked, trying his hardest to forget about the situation. He wouldn't be able to sleep for a week.
"You feared losing him and were desperate to save him," Greasy went on, "that's why the Primus-state activated. You were trying to save your friend and the Primus-state made it possible." The old Hybrid sighed heavily and shook his head, optics closed. "I'm afraid at this current point the Primus-state is more a defensive mechanism than a state of being. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, Hunter," he assured the teen, patting her knee. "It simply means that you love your family and would do anything to protect them. It's the fact that you can't control yourself while you're in the Primus-state that worries me."
"Why is she unable to assume control, Greasy?" Optimus questioned.
"As I've stated already," the mech responded, "the Primus-state activated itself due to Hunter's basic instincts—fear of losing her family and the desire to protect it. Because it's activated on such pretenses the Primus-state turns into more of a "Primal-state"."
"Goes wild, you mean," Arcee surmised.
"Basically," Greasy nodded. "Hunter goes into a rage that next to nothing can control or contain—not even Primus himself. Her instincts take over and her body follows along."
"That explains the low energon levels," Ratchet mumbled, scratching the back of his helm, "and the weakness and fatigue."
"And the fact that she didn't heal," Greasy added. "All of her power goes into the Primus-state, even the power her healing ability uses."
"So essentially what you're saying is that I turn into an uncontrollable, enraged, cosmically powered, unstoppable monster," Hunter summed it all up glumly. "Fantastic. And just when I thought being the Fuser couldn't get any more fun."
"What do we do about this, Greasy?" Optimus questioned, giving Hunter a reassuring squeeze.
"Nothing," the Hybrid answered with a shrug. "Until Huntress learns to communicate with Primus so that they can truly become one being instead of two beings in the same body there's nothing we can do. Only when that connection has been made will both she and Primus have control of the Primus-state. Until then she's a loose cannon with it."
"I am sitting right here, ya know!" Hunter growled, glaring at her Hybrid mentor. Greasy could be so blunt he bordered on pure rudeness.
"The only thing we can possibly hope to do is keep Hunter out of situations like the one that happened today. Unfortunately we can't guarantee that." Greasy sighed heavily and met Hunter's eyes with a sorrowful gaze. "However," he went on, "there are some preventative measures I think we should take."
"Preventative measures to help keep me under control?" Hunter questioned hopefully. It would be really nice if they could do that—make her life and the lives of those around her so much easier. The teen really had no desire to be popping into the Primus-state whenever without any type of control. Control was nice. Especially when it was over herself.
Greasy shook his head, placing a gentle hand on her shoulderplating and giving it a light squeeze. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for that, Huntress," he informed her apologetically.
Hunter groaned in disappointment, slumping against her father's side and she looked down dejectedly. So much for that.
"I'm talking about measures we can take to help keep Hunter, as well as the rest of you, safe," Greasy clarified.
"Say what now?" Miko asked, looking totally confused.
"I don't think I need to tell you that there are a lot of bad people out there—human, Hybrid, Purebred alike," Greasy went on. "I also don't think I need to tell you that many of them would just love to get their hands on Huntress. With as powerful as she is already and as powerful as she can become Hunter is in almost every regard the perfect living weapon. And if she were to fall into the wrong hands…"
"Who knows the amount of damage someone could make me do," Hunter finished for him, voice barely above a disheartened mumble. This just got better and better as it went along. Why had Primus chosen her to play this role exactly?
Greasy nodded. "If someone were to find the key that triggered your Primus-state the results could be devastating," the old mech continued. "Not just for you, but for your family, your friends, everyone, and everything." He lifted a hand and gently cupped Hunter's cheekplate, making her look back up at him. "If they could control you, Huntress, they'd very nearly have the entire cosmos in the palm of their hand."
"What are you proposing, Greasy?" Optimus questioned, gaze on the old Hybrid severe. The Prime would do anything to help his spark-daughter—anything—but there were just certain bridges he was not willing to take at this point, and he wouldn't force Hunter to take them either.
"I think it would be best if we… changed the way today is remembered," Greasy answer hesitantly.
"You mean," Hunter said, understanding what Greasy was trying to put into words, "change out memories."
The old Hybrid pressed his lipplates together in a thin line and nodded. "Yes," he said softly. "Particularly yours, Hunter."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!" Bulkhead exclaimed, coming forward and waving his massive hands in the air. "Back up a minute here—you're saying that you have the power to go into somebody's head and just change memories willy-nilly?" That was just a little bit to creepy for the ex-Wrecker's like. He didn't like the thought of people up in his cranium messing around with stuff. Some major damage could be done with that.
"Well, not willy-nilly," Greasy replied. "I'm not powerful enough to do it whenever I want, though there are some Hybrids who are, and I like to have the permission of whoever I do it on first. It makes it easier when they aren't as resisting."
"So you want all of us to forget how Hunter was able to go into the Primus-state," Jack stated, though it sounded a bit like a question.
"More than that," Greasy corrected. "I think it would be safer if the concept of Huntress going into the Primus-state at all was forgotten completely." He turned to look at the person in question as he said this, watching her expression and gaging it as best he could. So far Hunter had shown any signs of agreement or disagreement. And the only thing she showed right now was thoughtfulness and perhaps a little concern, but that was about it. If the femmling didn't go for this, Greasy didn't know what he'd do.
"So," Hunter uttered after a moment, still thinking it all over, "what you're saying is that you want to rewrite our memories of today completely? It'll be like I never even went into the Primus-state at all?"
Greasy nodded. "Hopefully I won't have to remove the whole memory, just the point where your Primus-state was activated, and then I'd put in a new one. That's how you would remember this day from now on."
Hunter became quiet again, once again turning it over and over in her head. "This will protect my family?"
"It's the best option," Greasy assured her. "If you can't remember ever going into the Primus-state or how you got there it will be harder for your enemies to take advantage of you and exploit you. They'd have no reason to hurt you and your friends if you really don't know how it works."
Hunter bit her lipplate and chewed on it, thinking it over some more. After some length, she looked up at her family and asked, "Guys?"
/Whatever you decide to do we're behind you, Hunt,\\ 'Bee assured with a thumbs up. The others nodded and voice their own agreements.
Hunter then turned to her father to see what he thought of the whole idea. "Dad?"
Optimus met her sapphire blues and smiled reassuringly. "If Greasy believes this to be the best option to protect you," he responded, "then I believe we should listen to what he says. But it is your decision, Sweet-spark. I will support you whatever you decide."
Well, she had the votes. Looking down again, Hunter continued to put the whole concept through more consideration, weighing the pros and cons. She didn't like the idea of having someone screwing around in her head any more than Bulkhead did, but if it was the best option to protect her loved ones, how could she say 'no' to it? Finally the sixteen-year-old closed her optics and sighed heavily. "Let's do it."
Greasy nodded with a slight, relieved smile. "Good, girl," he praised her, patting her knee. "I should say before we start that I am not powerful enough to change all of your memories in one sitting. We'll have to do some of you now and then the rest at another date."
"How many of us can you change memories for right now?" Bulkhead questioned.
"Mmm…" Greasy did some quick calculations, "… aside from Hunter four others. Hunter's will take up most of my energy. Hybrid memories are not the easiest to alter and remove."
"Better change the kid's memories then," Arcee stated. "If this is about protection they get taken care of first. You, too, 'Bee," she told the young scout, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Younglings first."
/I'm not a youngling!\\ Bumblebee retorted angrily. Then his glare softened and became a sheepish look as he tapped his index digits together and mumbled under his breath, /At least not much of one….\\
"Aww!" Miko exclaimed in sheer disappointment. "You mean I'm not gonna get to remember any of the epicness that happened today? This sucks!" She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted dejectedly.
"Safety first, Miko," Bulkhead reminded her.
"Will this harm them, Greasy?" Ratchet questioned.
The old Hybrid grinned brightly and shook his head. "Not in the least bit," he assured the medic. "They might feel a little light headed and tired after it's all said and done, but that's about it. And the fact that they're agreeing to it willingly will cut down on the stress quite a bit. The main concern is what memories I'm going to put back into their heads after I take out the originals." Greasy turned back to look at Hunter. "Huntress, considering you're the reason we're doing this, I think it's only fair you decide what the memories should be."
At that a small smile creased Hunter's face. "Well, I don't know for sure what all you can make up, Greasy," she replied, then looked up at her father lovingly, "but I'd like to remember Dad coming to the rescue." She snuggled closer to Optimus' side and rested her head on his shoulder causing the Prime to return her affections.
"Who'd've guessed that?" Miko whispered to Jack.
Greasy chuckled. "We'll have to see what I can find to work with once I get in there, but I think that should be easy enough." He then took Optimus, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Arcee into his gaze and looked at them severely. "Be warned," he told them, "you four will have to help play this façade up as well. Until I can change the rest of your memories along with the young ones' you'll have to pretend as if none of this ever happened. This is crucial. Do you all understand?"
"Yes, Greasy," all 'bots replied. At least all 'bots except a certain Prime.
Greasy turned and gave the young mech a cold glare. "Optimus?"
The Prime sighed heavily and nodded reluctantly. "I understand, Greasy," he assured the Hybrid. "It's just… I do not enjoy the concept of lying," his gaze suddenly fell to Hunter, "especially if I am to be lying to my daughter."
Hunter smiled, touched by how much he valued her trust. The femmling squeezed his large hand that was intertwined with her considerably smaller one and cuddled even closer, sending out a reassuring sensation through their link to his spark. "Daddy," she murmured gently, lovingly, "it's okay. You're lying to me to protect me and it won't be for very long. You have my permission."
Optimus smiled, some of the dreaded weight lifting off his shoulders now that he had her permission. Yet again he just couldn't understand what he had done to deserve the most loving, understanding, loyal, and trustworthy femmling for a daughter. Whatever it had been he was most thankful for it. The mech pressed his lips to Hunter's helm in a soft kiss.
"All right then," Greasy sighed, wringing out his fingers and arms. "I ask that those of you who I'm not altering memories for leave the room and don't come in until I'm finished. It will be easier that way."
"Remember," Hunter murmured to Optimus as he got up to leave, "I pre-forgive your lying."
Optimus chuckled and smiled at her over his shoulderplating as he, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Arcee all exited the med-bay and closed the doors.
"Children, Bumblebee," Greasy addressed them as he took them into his gaze, "lay down on the floor, please, and try to relax." He turned to Hunter. "You too, Huntress." The younglings all did as they were told. Once they were all prone and as relaxed as they could get, Greasy slowly made his way around each of them, telling them to stare into his optics for a period before tapping them on the forehead, rendering them unconscious. He started with Miko first, then moved to Raf, then Jack, then Bumblebee, before finally making his way over to the berth where Hunter lay. The old mech sighed and smiled down at her. "Ready?"
Hunter smirked confidently back at him and nodded. "Let's do this."
"Okay then. You know the drill by now—gaze into my optics. Deeper—that's a girl—now hold it." After a moment or two, Greasy touched the center of Hunter's forehead and the sixteen-year-old easily fell into a deep sleep, just as the others had done. Now came the work. Placing a loving hand on the sleeping teen's helm, Greasy looked down at her sadly and shook his head with a heavy, mournful sigh. "I'm so sorry, little one," he murmured, regret heavy in his aged voice. "I'd give anything to not have to do this to you." He stroked her cheekplate. "Not again."
An hour passed. Then two. The Autobots were starting to get a little bit nervous about what was going on in the lab, wondering if this had really been that great idea after all. Altering memories? It sounded sort of risky. After an eternity the doors to the lab finally opened and Greasy came out, looking the slightest bit worse for wear and now surprise. It probably wasn't easy to take away and put back prefabricated memories and Greasy wasn't exactly the most powerful Hybrid around. The 'bots all came rushing forward and surrounded him, gazing at him expectantly.
Sighing, Greasy declared, "It's done." He swayed a bit and Optimus caught him by the arm, helping him to stand. "Thank you, son," Greasy slurred with a nod.
"The younglings…" Ratchet started.
"Are all fine," Greasy assured them all. "As I said before they may feel a little bit woozy, but other than that they'll be just fine."
"What of their memories?" Optimus asked.
Greasy tapped his headset. "There's a reason my helm is as big as it is," he stated. "I have them all stored in here. The Hybrid council has a Hall of Memories that was created for situations just like this. Once I'm completely finished here I'll go there, have the memories extracted and they'll be put into archives and stored away."
"You mean you can't just destroy them?" Arcee inquired.
The old Hybrid slowly shook his head. "Memories can't be destroyed," he explained. "They can be forgotten, suppressed, removed, changed, but never destroyed." He motioned into the lab. "You can all go in now if you wish."
That was all the team needed to hear. All but completely shoving their way through the doors, they all came back into the lab to see their companions and teammates still asleep.
"Bumblebee, Jack, Miko, Raf, rise," Greasy ordered. Still asleep, the young mech and the children all rose to their feet at once—it was rather eerie but also fascinating to watch. Once they were standing, the old Hybrid turned to the others. "You should all probably take your places." Once everyone was in position, he snapped his fingers. Three set of eyes and one set of optics all opened instantaneously, bright and alert just as though nothing had happened.
"Hunter's gonna be okay, right Ratchet?" Jack was the first to speak.
Ratchet was a bit caught off guard, not at all ready to be answering any questions right off the bat, but after floundering about for a moment he got into the roll. "Uh—er—um, yes, Jack," he answered. "The Agony Web put Hunter's circuits through a bit of a fry, but with some rest she should be fine."
That was when a groan left the femmling in question. All eyes and optics turned to Hunter to find her stirring on the medical berth, starting to wake up. Slowly her sapphire blue optics twittered open and she looked around hazily, trying to make sense of the world around her. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being wrapped up in the Agony Web and being electrocuted by it. Had she passed out? Was she on the Nemesis now? What had happened? Where was everyone?
"Hunter?" a deep, warm, familiar voice softly murmured.
Hunter's gaze traveled in the direction the voice had come from and she focused in there. She had to blink a few times to get her vision back in order and once it was she was greeted with a loving and beloved face full of concern. The femmling slightly smiled. "Daddy," she rasped.
Smiling back, Opitmus sat down beside her and stroked her forehead. "Shh, Sweet-spark," he soothed her. "I'm here. Daddy is right here."
"What happened?" Hunter croaked.
"What is the last thing you remember, Hunter?" Optimus questioned. He needed a better idea of how Greasy had made this play out. They all did.
Hunter was quiet for a minute and carefully thought over exactly what she remembered happening. "Starscream had me trapped in this thing called an Agony Web," she slowly recalled. "It hurt real bad and was electrocuting me and getting tighter and hotter every time I moved. Then 'Scream walked over and picked up Raf. He was gonna kill him. We were all trying to get to him, but we couldn't. I was closest but each time I moved the Agony Web got more and more painful and..." She looked up at her spark-father. "And that's the last thing I remember. What happened after that?"
Biting back his guilt and swallowing hard, Optimus prepared to lie to his daughter—his only child—for the first time. He didn't like it. He didn't want to do it. But it had to be done, for her safety and for everyone else's. "I was out on patrol when I felt your pain," the Prime began, deciding that if he kept the lie as close to the truth as possible it wouldn't hurt as badly. "I contacted Ratchet and he told me that you and the team were out mining energon. Then he discovered that the Decepticons had appeared on the site as well, so I had him bridge me back to base and then to the mine. When I arrived…" and here came the lie, "… you were unconscious on the floor, still encased in the web and Starscream was still in possession of Rafael."
"Optimus saved me," Raf suddenly cut in. "Then he helped get the rest of the team free."
"Once we were all on our feet we took out the rest of the 'cons," Bulkhead continued on, "and Starscream ran like the coward he is."
Hunter snorted. "Figures."
"You missed the whole thing, Hunt!" Miko exclaimed, looking as excited and hyped up as ever. "It was all bam!, pow!, crash! And Arcee was like slice!, dice!, 'Take that!' And Bulk was going bang!, boom!, 'Not today, Decepti-creeps!' And 'Bee…"
"Okay, thank you, Miko," Jack laughed awkwardly, coming over and covering her mouth with a hand. "I think she gets the picture."
Giggling at the exchange of her friends, Hunter turned her gaze back to her father. "Well," she sighed with a smirk, "looks like you saved the day and me again." She chuckled. "What else is new?"
Chuckling, Optimus stroked her cheekplate with the back of his digits. "Well, I am your father," he commented. He leaned down until his faceplate was just inches from hers and cooed, "And it is a father's duty to save his little girl, is it not?" The Prime nuzzled the young Hybrid and kissed her forehead before pulling her into a warm embrace.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hunter nuzzled into the Autobot's neck, sighing contentedly. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered.
Stroking her backplate, the Prime smiled. "I love you, My Shooting Star," he returned. "More than anything. Never forget that."
Hunter giggled. "I think it'd be pretty hard."
Everyone else watched on with warm smiles, moved by the touching scene between Team Prime's father-daughter duo. Well, everyone except Miko. Face twisting up in disgust, the Japanese teen stuck out her tongue. "Blech! Mushy stuff," she complained. "Gross."
Pulling away from her spark-father, Hunter turned a glare on the other girl, an unamused look on her faceplate. Optimus, too, turned in Miko's direction, not looking any more pleased that his daughter. "Miko," Hunter growled, "take it and shove it." Optimus joined her in saying the last part and the two turned to look at each other again, Hunter's optics wide with surprise, her jaw dropped. Had Optimus seriously just quoted her catchphrase along with her?! Both father and daughter burst out laughing, pulling each other into another hug.
"Okay, seriously, guys," Miko griped. "The mushy stuff—enough, please!"
Confession #19:
I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but the Agony Web is actually inspired by a thing called the "Agony Matrix" that the DC warlord Darkseid uses. Yup. It's actually pretty intense. *snorts* He uses it to pin down Superman and it WORKS, so you can only imagine!
Confession #20:
Oh, come on, Miko! We all know you have a mushy bone somewhere in your body! Just admit it!
REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR HYBRID QUESTIONS!