The techno-organics

Chapter 29

Freedom held onto Alabaster's shoulders harder, like she was making sure the sweet albino wouldn't slip between her fingers. Freedom had no chance to protect Anastasia or Valkyrie before, but she was going to make sure she could protect Alabaster. The bigger hybrid turned around, standing between Alabaster and Megatron like a wall. The warlord observed the snow white techno-organic and remembered her as the one getting into his mine, and the one defeating a handful of his soldiers. Her blue antennas confirmed it. But she wasn't in her armor and standing next to Freedom she looked so small and fragile. Not at all what he had imagined the spawn of Optimus Prime.

"Hello," Alabaster broke the silence and waved with a smile uncaring of the danger. Freedom grabbed Alabaster's mouth but the albino slapped her hand away and walked towards the towering robot despite Freedom's protests. "I'm Alabaster, nice to meet you," she greeted and extended her hand. Megatron raised a surprised eyebrow at her oddly cheerful behavior. Even if she didn't know who he was she should at least figure out he was dangerous by looking at him. This was the very first time anyone had approached him like this. Even as a gladiator, people who met him for the first time would be either scared or, if they were of higher status, look down on him. A soft smile grazed his lips as he stretched out his hand and the two shook hands.

"I'm lord Megatron, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Freedoms original"

"Her father?" she gasped and looked back at Freedom who were now even more stressed by the situation.

"And if I'm right, your original is Optimus Prime."

"You know my daddy?"

"We have fought for millions of years, and even before the war, we once considered each other as brothers." Freedom stepped towards the two. "I guess you could say me and Optimus were once like you two." Freedom put a hand on Alabaster's shoulder. She pulled Alabaster backwards and stepped between the two again.

"Stay away from him, he'll harm you."

"Freedom, you wound me," Megatron said mockingly "We got along so well." A smile hiding bad intentions grazed his lips. Alabaster stepped away to stand beside Freedom, putting her hand against her lower back she felt a new scar under her clothing; and her smile quickly vanished.

"Freedom, where did you get that scar from?" Alabaster looked up expecting Freedom to answer but she was quiet, glaring at the warlord. Alabaster's night blue eyes widened in rage as she looked at the warlord.

"Yes, that's from the very first time we met," was all he said with a sickly satisfied grin.

"He hurt Freedom," Alabaster whispered to herself before raising her head. "And what about the others, DID YOU HURT THEM TOO?" Megatron waited a while before answering, enjoying the sight of her confused rage and Freedom who tried to keep from her attacking him. In a way they were very alike to him and Optimus, back in the golden days when they were Megatronus and Orion Pax.

"Answer, you bastard!" this time it was Freedom who demanded an answer. She didn't like how much time he took answering and worried that he might have lied to her all along. At the same time blaming herself for ever trusting him even for a moment. Megatron glared at Freedom for cursing at him, but she stood unfazed. Alabaster growled and started walking towards him but was stopped by Freedom. She grabbed Alabaster by her arms, keeping her from walking any further. Meanwhile, Megatron sent a message to the warship, telling them to send guards to every entrance in the cave.

"Answer us or we will...

"You will what?" Megatron interrupted Alabaster's threat. "What can you do that won't make everything worse. It was your doing that led us to you in the first place."

"Shut up."

"It was you who broke into my mine, and if I have understood correctly, you decided to disappear which led the twins to me."

"Stop talking."

"You must be such an disappointment. You're the spawn of Optimus Prime, yet you're nothing like him. He's a hero, an inspiration in the eyes of everyone under his command, you're a dumb child. You're acting like a fool and running into danger whenever you get the chance. Where's the Autobots, where's the techno-organics? Did you just come into enemy territory without any plan?"

"Megatron, stop talking," Freedom demanded, earning another angered glare.

"Just let her go. I have been as cooperative as I can be so far, but if you put one metal claw one her I swear I'll make this whole mine blow up."

Megatron smiled at Freedom and slightly tilted his head to the side. Realization hit her as she understood he wouldn't let Alabaster leave. But that didn't matter, she didn't care if she would have to fight him and all of his army. Freedom was suddenly thrown backwards by an invisible force. Wiping the dust of her she looked up and saw Alabaster making up her mind. And in that moment, Freedom was genuinely curious about who would win. Granted, Freedom and Alabaster was almost equal in battle; but Alabaster had a trick up her sleeve that made her especially dangerous. Alabaster looked Megatron straight in the eyes as she got into battle position, challenging the warlord to attack her.

"So be it," he said and shot at her. Alabaster easily used her blue gauntlets to absorb the energy, leaving glowing in prints in the unharmed metal. Realizing it didn't work, Megatron unsheathed his sword and charged towards her. With just the flick of her arms two elongated metal objects fell from her sleeves and when she raised them, they transformed into two axes. Forming an X with the axes she was able to block Megatron's attack just in time before he hit the top of her head.

"These looks like they were made by Nikolai. Tell me, how is he without his twin?" Megatron taunted.

"Do not speak of them." Alabaster tried to push his arm away, making an opening for her to attack his frame. Megatron reacted quickly though and nearly hit her across the face before she used her hair to pull herself backwards.

"That's interesting," Megatron commented, eyeing her hair who had now come to life. He also noticed that the way she stood wasn't like the way of a fighter, she stood on the top her feet like a dancer. When he went for another attack he was further surprised by her way of fighting. Her movements were light and elegant, and the way she evaded his attacks were further resembling the movements of a dancer. Her attacks on the other hand were fast and precise but still held the same elegance. The way she was fighting, it was like she was dancing on a stage instead of fighting a death match. It was like she wasn't even taking this seriously, like this was all for fun; and it angered Megatron. He was able to distract her by trying to shoot her, predicting where she would move he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up, strangling her. Freedom gasped and ran forward, getting ready to attack when Megatron threw Alabaster in her direction. Surprisingly, Alabaster was able to stop herself midair before flying into Freedom and gracefully placed herself on the ground. Now both the girls was pointing their weapons at him, Freedom's sword and Alabaster's axes.

"You're a fascinating one, aren't you," Megatron purred before a series of gunfire was shot in their direction. Both girls flew forwards, avoiding their shots before getting past them and flying trough the series of mines. Alabaster had no opportunity to map out the cave, they just flew. Eventually they reached the center of the cave that already had several soldiers pointing their guns at them.

"Surrender now!" someone shouted, but the two remained in the air.

"Don't make the situation worse then it needs to." Somehow Megatron had gotten to there before them. Standing on a height, looking down at them with an expression of superiority.

"Look around, there is no way for you the escape. Even if you leave the mine you won't get far without serious injuries. And you're not good for fighting now in your state, Alabaster."

The hybrid didn't understand what he meant until she felt the smell of burning flesh. She looked down and saw a bad scorch on her waist. The pain suddenly hit her in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. This was a new type of pain, a pain she have had no chance of getting used to; and thus her body reacted as it should. She touched her wound, seeing her fingers getting stained with blood and ash.

"I'm not surprised all of this happened. Things always seems to get worse when you get involved. The mine, the attack on the warship and now."

"You better shut up Megatron!" Freedom threatened. "Shoot us and I promise we all will go down in a blaze of glory." Freedom pointed her burning hand at a nearby energon crystal. The air was now tense with danger and hostility. The two techno-organics couldn't fight them all and the Decepticons couldn't shoot without risking that Freedom would make the entire mine explode.

"Is that really what you want, Freedom?" Megatron challenged.

"Do you think I have a wide variety of options at this point?"

Megatron shifted his focus at the other techno-organic. She seemed to be not as mentally strong, he had a better chance to affect her than Freedom."Aren't you gonna do anything, this is all your fault after all."

Alabaster's eyes widened and Freedom was quick to tell her not to listen to the warlord.

"You could have remained unnoticed, you could have all kept living in secret without any of us ever knowing, if it wasn't for your own foolishness. I applaud your attempt to save your comrades, but have only managed to make the situation more dire, and it'll only get worse. Look at Freedom, she's risking her life just to save you both."
Alabaster did as asked and was met with the reassuring gaze of her friend who still claimed everything would be alright and to not listen to him. But she saw it in Freedom's eyes, and felt the beating of her heart, she was scared. She was scared and at her limit, not knowing what to do, making her heart rate rise to an unhealthy degree.

"Give up and you won't be hurt any further. Do one good choice for once."

Liar. They would get hurt, badly if they surrendered. She couldn't go home without Freedom, not after coming this far. A tear trickled down her cheek as she realized what she had to do. Megatron mistook it for her reaching her limit and thus had a sick victorious grin on his face. She hated doing it because it was dangerous and painful to those she affected.

Having her fingers fall off and then get reattached numerous times had given her hands a series of nerve damages, making it difficult for her to move them correctly. But she still managed to stretch them before turning them into fists and then spreading them. Alabaster took a deep breath before with the flick of her wrists unleashing her power. Every Decepticon suddenly screamed and groaned in pain as they suddenly lost control of their bodies. No matter how much they struggled they weren't able to do anything as their bodies twisted into unnatural positions. Alabaster fought against the pain from her wound as she gracefully lifted her arms, making them all float in the air in positions that made them resemble broken toys. Freedom breathed out and lowered her hand as she gazed upon the cluster of robots in the air. She noticed that Megatron was not among them. He was still on the platform fighting against Alabaster's control. The warlord growled and his entire body shook painfully but he managed to get on his feet. He was still shaking tough, his face twisted with confusion and pain.

In the midst of all the mind numbing pain, he tried to figure out what had made it seem like earths gravity suddenly increased tenfold. Megatron looked around and saw his soldiers hanging in the air with limbs that threatened to twist off their bodies. Megatron looked down and locked eyes with Alabaster. She was the one doing this, but how? Alabaster gasped as she saw Megatron fight against her grip. Only one person was able to resist her powers and that was Freedom.

'That's right,' Alabaster realized . They were related, Freedom and Megatron must share something that makes it hard to use her power on them. Alabaster shifted her grip, keeping the Decepticons in the air and motioning her other hand down. He still wouldn't return down and started to walk towards them and so she increased her effort. The metal on his body cried as the pressure increased, energon started to run from his mouth, legs and back as he kept fighting against her control. Freedom gasped and put her hand on Alabaster's shoulder.

"Stop it. You're hurting him."

Alabaster shifted her gaze between Freedom and Megatron a few times, thinking it over. In the end she sighed and was about to lower her hand when Freedom stopped her again.

"Not yet." Freedom nodded upwards to the opening of the mine.

"Got it." The two flew upwards in high speed, wanting to get away as fast as possible before contacting Canary. As they reached the outside, Alabaster's grip started to loosen. She tried to hold her grip a bit longer but eventually had to let all the Decepticons go. They all fell to the ground and tried to gather themselves again before going after the hybrids. Megatron was the first to fully rise. He spit out the energon in his mouth before roaring. The warlord transformed and flew out of the mine and trough the blue sky after the two. Freedom looked behind herself as she saw Megatron flying closer. Panic gripped her and she grabbed Alabaster's arm and shot fire from her fist, making them accelerate forwards.

"Canary," Freedom called trough the communication chip. "We need a portal, quickly." She looked behind her and gasped as she saw that Megatron was starting to catch up to them.

"Canary, can you hear me!" She shouted this time. The air was suddenly knocked out of her as Megatron flew right into both of them. Loosing their grip on each other and flying into different directions, all the while falling downwards and shouting after each other. Alabaster tried to use her telekinesis on herself again, but the hit had open up multiple wounds. Every time she tried, the power would stimulate her exposed nerves, creating such a terrible pain that almost made her pass out. Megatron flew right into Freedom again and again and again, making her fly into multiple directions, never giving her enough room to get her bearings. Megatron finally transformed midair and grabbed her by the throat as they both fell.

"You abomination!"

Freedom mustered a chuckle before saying, "Like you ever saw me as anything else."

Megatron suddenly felt his arms scorching and burning, the metal on his arms started to burn an orange color making him let go and giving Freedom opportunity to fly away. Megatron quickly transformed and followed her as she flew towards Alabaster. Freedom caught her just in time before she hit the ground.

"Canary! We need a portal!" She shouted even louder this time. Freedom kept flying close to the ground until a dark portal opened up ahead of them. Freedom used all the energy she had left to fly faster, without knowing how close the warlord was. Closer, closer it came as she was suddenly shot at, making her lose her balance. Finally she reached the portal, crashing trough as it closed, leaving Megatron behind them. Megatron transformed and landed at the spot were the portal once stood and roared enraged to the sky.

The two girls crashed trough and rolled over the soft grass together. Twigs, stones and grass getting caught in their hair and smudging their clothes before getting to a stop. Exhausted from the escape they both laid still in the grass, catching their breaths. Getting up from the ground seemed like a too big of a task at the moment. They were exhausted and almost every part of their bodies hurt in some way. Alabaster's wounds were sore and aching, and Freedom finally felt the sensation of the several bruises and probably broken bones Megatron had given her. She noticed the poetic irony, she got a scar from when he captured her and would probably have more from when she escaped. But despite that, it felt like they were in heaven after escaping the Decepticons. The gently running sound of a river was nearby, insects and birds flew in the air buzzing and singing. No drilling, cries of pain or sounds of shooting. Just nature, just stillness and peace.
"Are you okay, Alabaster?"

"Yeah, got nothing that Rachel can't fix," she joked. "It was nice meeting your original. He's creepy though."

"I know, what more did you think of him?"

"He's really mean, he's polite though, I like that. And he's a noble, right? Didn't he call himself 'lord'?"

"Being a warlord is not the same as being a noble, honey."

"Maybe, they are aliens, it maybe works differently were they come from. But it that's true, then you would be a lady. You could introduce yourself as lady Freedom."

Freedom cringed displeased and embarrassed and covered her eyes with her forearm.

"That sounds awful, shut up," she laughed and hid her face behind her hands. "It's bad enough that I accepted the name you suggested for me, now you must give me silly titles?"

"What? I thought you liked your name."

"I do. But I don't like people giving me looks every time I introduce myself." She got a pondering expression as she considered the idea of changing her name.

Relief washed over her like a gentle waterfall, she was no longer surrounded by darkness and the metallic cold of the warship. She was warm, laying on soft grass breathing in the flowery air rich in oxygen as laughter tickled the inside of her chest. She was free, again. Guilt and anxiety attacked her though when she remembered Valkyrie and Anastasia. Freedom got up on wobbly legs, looking around herself like she was still hoping the portal was open, so she could go back and get them.

"What's the matter, Freedom?" Alabaster got up and dusted herself off as she observed her friend.

"Valkyrie, Anastasia...They're still there," Freedom panted. Her dark skin shun in the gentle sun for the first time in a while.

"I left them. I told them we would escape together."

Alabaster walked over to Freedom and gently placed her hands around the taller girl's face. Making her look down into Alabaster's eyes. Nothing was said for a moment as Alabaster brought her down to kneel in the grass together.

"Everything will be alright. We will save them too," Alabaster spoke reassuringly, running her fingers gently trough Freedom's fluffy hair.

"But I left them. I stayed in order to protect them, so Megatron wouldn't hurt them."

"I understand, but nothing can be done now. I miss them too, I'm worried about them, and I'm worried about you," Alabaster added, making Freedom jerk in surprise. Worried about her, now?

"Why are you...?"

"Don't ask me why I'm worried about you!" Alabaster yelled.

"You were beaten, scared and trapped. You had to shoulder the responsibility of keeping the others safe without thinking about yourself. You don't have to be strong for other people all the time, especially when they can take care of themselves."

Freedom stared at Alabaster, stunned by her sudden outburst. This was so unlike the usual childish and naive Alabaster she was used to. The albino took a deep breath and brought her hands down in order the grasp Freedom's. One hand still covered in metal.

"You have to think about yourself too. Weren't you afraid too?" It felt like Alabaster had pressed a button with those words. A steadily growing avalanche of suppressed emotions came to the surface, making their way to freedom's gut, chest and eyes. Freedom leaned forward and buried her face in the crook of Alabaster's shoulder before wrapping her arms around her torso.

"I want to go home," Freedom whimpered as Alabaster felt her shoulder get wet. "I've missed you so much. I don't want to go back ever again." Freedom cried harder, clinging onto Alabaster tighter like a scared child hugging their toy. Everything she had bottled up came rushing in long deep wails, taking her strength and making her lean closer to Alabaster. The albino rubbed comforting circles on Freedom's back as she looked around after any signs of Canary or the others. Where was she?

A/N: I got the name Freedom from a TV show were a one time character had that name. They made fun of it but I personally thought it sounded beautiful. Alabaster on the other hand originated as a Steven Universe OC, hence her name.

I took inspiration from bloodbending in the Avatar series to Alabaster's power. It's not blood bending, it's her telekinetic but she's using it on peoples insides in order to control them. Their blood, bones and organs so to speak.