The following day, Athena waits for Nacelle, Thundercracker and Skywarp to come to the appointment she has made with Thundercracker.
She had met Thundercracker and been formally introduced to Skywarp, who she, until that point, only had known secondhand, when she months ago had come to tell Nacelle that she wanted to take him up on his offer of therapy.
The black and purple seeker had shown to be a pleasant acquaintance, and she understood what Thundercracker had seen in the sire. But while everything seemed good, she detected small tells in Skywarp's behavior that spoke of prolonged trauma and a PTSD diagnosis. She had not said anything, mainly because Skywarp is Nacelle's client, but also because of the tells that are so painstakingly obvious in her own behavior.
She wasn't there to help Skywarp but get help herself with her own painful traumas.
It had surprised her to witness Thundercracker's startling mental development despite Nacelle already having described his mysterious moment of recall. And if she hadn't known better, she would have believed Thundercracker to be a completely different person from the one she had met at Retrograde's complex.
Now, with the knowledge of Hotspot's progress, she is itching to get the blue seeker in the processor scanner and compare the result to the scan Hotspot had performed on Thundercracker not long after Retrograde's procedure. With the time that has passed, she expects to see a processor that has healed the damage done to it because Thundercracker's improved speech, lack of stammering, as well as his mental development and social understanding, all point toward that.
What she can't explain, and what had had Hotspot puzzled too, is the way Thundercracker had been able to connect what he felt in his spark to Skywarp and, based on that, had made the correct conclusion on who the Sire to his sparkling is. Such a thought process would require information about his past he shouldn't have access to in his current situation. Simply because it had been erased along with everything else Retrograde had taken from him. It should have been gone from his memory, unable to ever be remembered or recalled, but he had.
It further makes her curious to see what is happening within the blue seeker's processor.
All of this is unprecedented.
No one has ever experienced a trauma like Thundercracker's, and the fallout of it is new science in the making. No one knows the end result or how it will affect him and his life quality over time. They only know he has survived it once before, but also that the person he became afterward had been heavily influenced by those doing the atrocious act against him.
She has not heard Nacelle speak of the previous Thundercracker ever having recalls and wonders if it is a result of him being allowed to develop independently with only a minimum of influence from his surroundings.
The door swooshes open and draws her from her thoughts, and she turns to greet her visitors, but it is not the three seekers that enter. Torment looks around as he walks toward her and pulls her into a gentle embrace.
"I know you are busy, but I had to come and see you before I depart."
"Depart?"
Hadn't he just told her it was too dangerous out there?
Wasn't that the whole purpose of her working with Hotspot from a distance?
Torment sees her deepening frown and the accusation in her optics.
"I know what I told you, and the danger has not changed, but something urgent has come up that can't wait and needs my special talent for stealth." He says, kissing the top of her head before letting her go.
"How long will you be gone?"
"A few days."
"Days?!"
Fear seizes her spark at all the things that can happen to him in that time span, and clearly sensing her acute distress, Torment kneels before her and takes her trembling hands in his strong ones.
He looks her in the optics, his optics softening as he soothes her.
"I know this is a new scary world for you, but remember that I do this for a living and have done it for a long time. I know you will be worried about me, but I am skilled at what I do and will be fine. If you need someone to talk to or be with while I am gone, Talon's door is open for you whenever you may need it."
His words don't make her relax, but they do calm her a bit and manage to drive the paralyzing fear away.
"Can we be in contact?"
Torment shakes his head.
"Sadly, no."
She looks down at her hands in his, knowing in her spark that they can't have a life together if she can't handle this. Because this is his life and how he lives it. On the edge and constantly at risk of losing it.
Her hands grab around his in a firm, unyielding grip as she looks up to meet his optics with determination.
"Come back to me."
Cold mercilessness glints in his optics at her order.
"Nothing in the world could keep me from returning to you." He vows and pulls her into a fierce kiss that leaves her desperate for air when he finally lets her breathe.
The door swooshes open and she grudgingly turns her attention away from Torment to see her appointment arriving.
She looks back at him, painfully aware that he can't keep staying, yet still not ready to let him go. But for the sake of their future together, she has to. And with the sheer force of will, her hands release their fierce grip on his and she hugs herself for comfort as he rises and leaves the laboratory with a last glance back at her while Nacelle, Thundercracker and Skywarp enter.
"What was that about?" Nacelle asks as he looks from Athena to the departing Torment and then back at her again, frowning.
"He is leaving for something urgent," Athena answers, clearly affected by it. And Nacelle hugs her to comfort her while wondering what is going on in their society to demand Torment's sudden presence.
Now that everything with Torrent, Highline and the Organization has been solved, he no longer receives any information from anyone.
He is there of his own volition now, refusing to leave before Athena is ready for it, and it is clear that Talon wants him gone from the cartel's headquarters. Whenever he sees and speaks to the Polyhexian leader, Talon appears friendly, but his field tells a different tale, no longer open and welcoming. He is back to pure brutal business and views Nacelle as an enemy.
Shade is still there for them, but he has become more distant and no longer shares any information with them, not even when Thundercracker asks questions. Which has confused the blue seeker and led to tears at times. It hadn't been easy to explain the reason for the new skepticism and growing degree of hostility in the black and silver carrier's field to Thundercracker in a way that would make him understand it wasn't directed at him per see but at Nacelle because of who Nacelle is.
He wants to stay here for Athena as long as he can, but everything has an end, and the Polyhexian Cartel's hospitality slipped up weeks ago. He, Thundercracker and Skywarp will have to leave soon before things worsen further.
Because he understands the criminals fully.
He is their enemy, and their temporary alliance is over, yet he continues to stay where he is no longer wanted.
If he keeps pressing it, there is no knowing what Talon will do, and he doesn't want to continue to poke and annoy the monster to find out where the limit of its patience lies. Not that Talon would do anything that would hurt Thundercracker and Skywarp, but it is best to not take the chance and get out from under his ominous gaze before something unfortunate happens.
But first step first.
He releases Athena and looks around the room, studying the sheer amount of equipment before looking back at her.
"You wanted to talk about Thundercracker and his lost memories?"
Athena composes herself and leads them to a makeshift office in the corner of the laboratory where they can sit down and talk.
While she had been indisposed, Hotspot had finished their report to the Ethical Council. The Ethical Council had reviewed the data she and Hotspot had acquired from the salvaged datapads with Thundercracker's previous identities, as well as their in-depth analysis of the viability of each identity if they were to be restored.
After careful deliberation, the Ethical Council had considered their assessments and, as a result, had granted them permission to go forward with the current version of Thundercracker, acknowledging the significant risk of bringing back any of the former versions of the blue seeker's identity. The margin of failure and the high chance of a negative psychological fallout had been too significant for the Ethical Council to even consider them a viable option.
It fits her and Hotspot well since this is the result they had hoped for, and now it is time for them to move along with it.
The first step is to scan Thundercracker's processor again to better understand what is happening within it and deduce if they have to make changes to their plans based on what they find and if it will cause complications to Thundercracker's treatment.
The next step is to gently introduce Thundercracker to the memories they intend to return to him as the first ones, to not make them overwhelm him when he receives them. That will be done by allowing him to view them on the screen in her laboratory. Taking it in his tempo to let him slowly digest it as he gets introduced to the memories. Because doing it too fast can overload his processor and cause adverse side effects since they are doing this blind without knowing how his processor will cope with seeing the memories this way.
To prepare the processor to receive the lost memories, Hotspot had suggested stimulating Thundercracker's processor in the specific areas of it that work with memory recall and storage. He has apparently had great success with it on Retrograde's other victims before uploading the stolen memories to their processors. But their whole identity had not been altered, only the memories Retrograde, Torrent and Highline hadn't wanted them to remember. It is uncertain if it will help Thundercracker the same way.
But at least it is a gentle procedure without any pain or discomfort aside from a light tingle in the processor originating from the electrical coil fastened against the right temple.
It is an effect easily achieved by other means, and she has engineered her own device to use on Thundercracker now that she can't take him to see Hotspot.
"Yes." She answers Nacelle as she sits down in the chair behind her office desk and looks at the three seekers across from her, her optics meeting Thundercracker's to talk directly to the blue seeker. "I spoke with Hotspot yesterday and can tell you that we have been granted permission to go ahead with returning your lost memories to you. It will be a prolonged process, but Hotspot has salvaged what he can of the memories taken from you. However, before returning them to you, there are some procedures we need to follow to make sure we don't unwittingly cause you harm."
She pauses, allowing Thundercracker to digest all the new information and giving him time to ask questions if he has any. But he remains silent, and she continues with the purpose of the appointment today.
"First and foremost, we need another scan of your processor to ensure that all is as it should be. Nacelle has told me about how you recalled memories related to Skywarp and made the connection between him and your sparkling. It confuses me and Hotspot because while it is good that it happened, it should not have been possible in your special situation. After the scan, I want to introduce you to some of your lost memories on the screen you can see in the back of the laboratory. Hotspot has sent me a recollection of memories safe for you to be introduced to, and we will take it in your tempo. So, when we come to that, let me know if it becomes too much for you or if you can handle more. That is mainly the purpose of our meeting today. Then, when we have ensured that your processor is functioning as it should and is fit to receive our treatment, we can move on to the actual treatment."
She rises and finds the processor-stimulating device and shows it to Thundercracker.
"This device will hopefully help prepare your processor to receive your memories. Hotspot has had success with it when returning memories to Retrograde's other victims. But your case is a bit more complex, and we will see if it has the same effect on you as it had on them."
Thundercracker reaches for it, and she offers it to him to hold. When he takes it, it is done so carefully that it is as if he is afraid it will break in his hands. He is holding it almost reverently as he studies it and she sees many feelings on his face.
"What if I'm not ready?" Thundercracker asks as he looks up from the device and meets Athena's optics.
"You will be." She reassures him, all the confidence in the world in her voice. "That is why we perform preliminary tests. If something isn't right, we go from there and make new evaluations or change our treatment plan for you. But you, Thundercracker, are ready to become whole."
Thundercracker still looks dubious, and her spark hurts seeing him this insecure.
It is a huge step for someone who doesn't know better.
Thundercracker doesn't know what he can't remember. Doesn't know how incomplete he is at the moment without that which is missing. He clearly loves Skywarp and feels a connection to the black and purple seeker, but he doesn't know what they have had together before.
What he has forgotten.
She leans forward and offers her hands to the blue seeker with their palms up, smiling when Thundercracker gently puts the device down on her desk and places his hands on hers.
"You have come a long way since I met you for the first time." She says while gently closing her hands around his in a reassuring grip, her thumbs rubbing his hands soothingly in comfort. "It was right after what happened to you, and the seeker I see in front of me now is how I prayed you would become. Hoping beyond hope that you would be okay. Safe away from those wishing to do you harm."
Tears fill Thundercracker's optics as she speaks, and she feels tears form in her own optics in response.
"I know you are ready because I know you, Thundercracker. The original you and the previous you and who you are. I have seen bravery in all parts of who you were and who you are. Together we will make you whole again at the tempo you can handle. Nothing will be forced upon you. Everything will be done in agreement with you."
The tears run down Thundercracker's cheeks, and she clenches his hands in comfort, smiling softly at him as her own tears spill over.
"Okay?"
"Okay," Thundercracker answers, a myriad of feelings in his optics.
But at the same time, he seems more relaxed and settled.
She slowly releases his hands and takes the device, rising to put it back where she took it.
"Are you ready for me to perform a scan of your processor?"
Thundercracker rises with a nod and she leads him, Nacelle and Skywarp over to the scanner, where she instructs him on how to lie and to stay completely still while it generates the images of his processor. Half an hour becomes an hour and then two before it is complete and she stays by his side all the way while Nacelle and Skywarp retreat to another part of the laboratory to speak together as they wait for the scan to finish.
With the final beep, she frees Thundercracker and guides him to slowly stand up. Skywarp comes to Thundercracker's aid and keeps him from toppling over when he puts weight on his feet.
"I'll send these to Hotspot when we are done for today," Athena says as she extracts the data from the scanner and saves the data on a datapad. "When we have reviewed the images, I will schedule an appointment with you, but until then, let us move on to the next step."
"My memories."
She nods as she leads Thundercracker over to her work computer and gestures for him to sit in the chair in front of it.
"I have already prepared them for you to view. Some are a single picture taken from a larger whole, while others are live images or longer vid-files. You switch between them with a tap on the navigational keys on the keyboard and can browse them as you see fit, going back and forward if you need."
Thundercracker taps the navigational key and the screen comes to life with the first memory - a single picture of Skywarp in unfamiliar surroundings.
"Do you remember where this was?" Athena asks gently when she has given Thundercracker time to study the memory fragment.
"No. There is something, but I cannot grasp it."
"This is from D-14." Skywarp explains, crouching beside Thundercracker while looking at the screen.
"D-14?" Thundercracker questions, looking at Skywarp.
"It is where we first met, your previous self and I."
There is a warning sound from Nacelle, and Skywarp looks at the green and white seeker.
"Keep it neutral, Skywarp. I know you want to elaborate and that Thundercracker wants to understand. But this cannot be rushed. With time, you will know everything, Thundercracker."
Thundercracker nods in understanding and looks at Skywarp with a smile.
"Thank you for telling me."
Then he taps the navigational key again and this time a vid-file of him flying plays. The following memory fragment is of Skywarp again. And then unfamiliar people appear. A little beige-colored carrier and an enormous grey sire. None of them causes any reaction in him and he moves on.
Picture after picture.
Vid-file after vid-file.
When the screen finally goes blank after the last memory, his processor is spinning, trying to make sense of all the new impressions it has received.
He rubs his temple, feeling an approaching headache.
A gentle hand rests on his shoulder.
"Are you okay, Thundercracker?"
He groans in pain and shakes his head.
No.
The headache increases in intensity with each second, and his sight has started to blur and darken.
"I d-d-d-d-do-o-o-on't f-f-f-f-fe-e-e-e-el s-s-s-so g-g-g-go-o-o-od." He slurs, cradling his head in his hands as the pain becomes unbearable.
The next moment everything goes dark and he loses track of time, waking up confused an indefinite time later in the medical bay with Skywarp by his side and Athena and Nacelle a distance away, speaking with Flux.
"What happened?"
"Your processor could not cope with all the new information and overheated."
He looks at Skywarp and takes the black and purple seeker's hand in his, smiling affectionately at him.
"I love you."
It is the first time he has said it out loud, but he has felt it in his spark since he first saw Skywarp in the hangar.
Skywarp grows silent and solemn, tears falling slowly from his optics, but his optics are full of love and happy feelings, and it reassures Thundercracker to see.
"I love you too. Always have. Always will." Skywarp finally answers, leaning down to rub his forehead affectionately against Thundercracker's.
At night that same day, Athena finds herself alone in Torment's quarters and unable to enter recharge, her mind making up all kinds of horrible scenarios of what could happen to Torment while he is away. Not letting her find solace or rest. And after having spent hours twisting and turning and as many staring up at the ceiling without achieving any rest, she rises from the berth and leaves the quarters to wander the endless corridors.
Torment has taught her how to read and interpret the directional numbers on the walls, and she can now navigate the maze of corridors without getting lost. After walking mindlessly around for some time to see if recharge would find her that way, she ends up at the double doors into the Command Center. Torment had told her Talon would be there for her whenever she needed it, and she needs help to find him.
Opening the double doors slowly, she peeks inside, not wanting to disturb the one on duty if it isn't someone she knows, but in the darkness of the room, she sees the familiar silhouette of Hailstorm against the light of the main screen and steps inside.
Hearing her steps, Hailstorm turns around.
"What are you doing here, Athena?" He asks in surprise.
She steps closer.
"I need to see Talon, but I don't know the location of his quarters. Torment didn't tell me where they are located before he left, only that I would be welcome there if I needed to not be alone during his absence."
Hailstorm nods in understanding.
"I'll get someone to take over for me. Then I can lead you there." He says and rises from the chair in front of the main screen when Stampede, a few minutes later, enters the Command Center to take over whatever Hailstorm had been doing.
Then Hailstorm leads her out of the room and down myriads of corridors. She pays close attention to all the numerical directions they pass to ensure that she can find the way on her own whenever she needs it. Because she is sure that she will take Talon up on his generous offer a lot during Torment's absence.
"Torment would not have left if it hadn't been safe for him to do so. And Talon would have handled it differently if there were any signs of threat. I hope you understand that." She looks up at Hailstorm as he speaks, detecting a wisp of something soft in his cold optics that fits well with the gentler modulation of his usually stern voice. "We do not go carelessly into danger but assess the risk of any mission and make our decisions based on that. I know this is all new to you and frightening, but Torment will be safe. He is the one most capable of working solo due to his special training as an assassin."
It is comforting to know.
They talk a bit more until Hailstorm stops at an unassuming door and knocks on it. A long minute passes before the door finally gets opened and Talon looks down at her with a soft smirk.
"Unable to recharge?" He questions as Hailstorm dismisses himself.
"Yes."
Talon steps back and gestures for her to enter.
"Then come in."
She takes the invitation and follows Talon into his private quarters. To her surprise, his quarters are/look nothing like she would have expected of quarters belonging to a criminal organization's leader. Especially not with the feminine touch standing out here and there among the sparse masculine furnishing.
"Are you bonded?"
She wants to take the words back the moment they are out of her mouth, seeing the immediate change in Talon her question causes.
Pain and remorse fill his optics while his wings sag a bit.
In the blink of an optic, his confidence has been stripped from him, and she sees a side of him no one has ever seen. Not even his most trusted.
"No, we never made it to that before he was killed."
She slowly steps closer to him and gently places her hand on his arm to offer comfort.
"I am so sorry for your loss."
Talon looks at her in silence for a long time, sensing her deep care for him, her field open and affectionate like Nacelle's had been to a lesser degree when he had had a spark to spark with the green and white seeker. He is not used to this, and instinct has him wanting to close up and protect himself, but instead, he opts to open up further about everything he had gone through back then. And over the following hours, he tells Athena more personal things, things he hasn't told anyone except Flux.
Athena takes it all in, learning more about the fearsome sire as she asks questions that lead to more startling revelations. It leads to a better understanding of Torment, the motivation behind his actions, and the life she will have by his side. Talon lives her worst nightmare, having lost the one he loves to his enemies, and she now understands why Torment had been so protective as he had when she wanted to go outside the safety of the stronghold.
She is no longer just an innocent civilian but a high-priority target for his enemies.
A valuable bargaining chip they can use to hurt him like Torrent had.
It scares her to realize that, but it also makes her determined to never give them a chance to do so.
Talon has put her life with Torment in a new perspective, and if her time with Torment is going to be short for whatever reason, she is going to get as much out of it as possible. There is no point in being afraid of the unknown. She needs to focus on the here and now and live her life with him to the fullest.
Three hours after Hailstorm knocked on his door and Talon invited Athena into his home, he watches her recharge peacefully on the couch in the main room of his quarters while he sits behind his desk and works.
He is waiting for an update from Torment on how the extraction operation in Praxus is progressing.
They had to act fast when the Senate announced the reinstatement of the Joint Investigation Unit and increased its funding to enable it to fulfill its mandate to fight globalized crime.
The moment he heard the announcement, he knew Praxus would soon be lost to them, and Torment is there now to wind up their businesses and relocate their activities and members elsewhere before it is too late.
It is a simple mission, carrying no immediate danger but requiring a tactical use of stealth to succeed. Something Torment is the most qualified for.
Usually, losing territory would be bad for them. But in this specific situation, Talon has no misgivings about relinquishing control over Praxus to the Joint Investigation Unit without a fight.
With the Joint Investigation Unit soon so strongly represented in the city-state, it will require too many resources for them to retain control of it anyway. And the fact that his enemies will face the same peril if they attempt to take the relinquished territory sits well with him.
Praxus will, from now on, be a neutral territory fully controlled by the law-enforcement authorities.
Another benefit of the tactical move is that it will seem to have weakened them in the optics of the law-enforcement authorities, and the Joint Investigation Unit will turn its focus elsewhere instead of going hard at him and his organization as the first. While they, in reality, haven't been weakened at all but merely have relocated their activities elsewhere.
As his enemies get weakened by the Joint Investigation Unit, he can step in to exert influence on and support the illegal markets in the contested territories left vulnerable and ripe for the taking by the conflicts between his enemies and the Joint Investigation Unit.
-Relocation a success.-
A pleased smirk curve on his lips at Torment's update.
-And our assets?-
-Safely stored in Polyhex and ready to be distributed whenever we need the extra firepower.-
-Good. I have someone here with me who looks forward to your return.-
-How is she?-
-As could be expected. She had Hailstorm lead her to me since you forgot to show her the location of my quarters in your hasty departure.-
-I was pressed for time and knew she would find you one way or another. The most important is that she found you. If she is awake, tell her I miss her and will be home soon. If she is in recharge, leave her be and let her get all the rest she can.-
Talon looks softly at the small figure on his couch.
-Rest it is, then.-
Torment signs off, and Talon leans back in his chair, satisfied with the outcome, and decides to get a few hours of recharge himself.
