Authors note

Hi! It has been a long time since I last posted. I have been so stressed about school and been to tired to write much. Summer break is here and I'll have more time to write. The story is getting more intense and we will soon find out more about the group who created the techno-organics. Also, I'll get a little M rated in the end of the chapter, a little heads up for those who don't like the concepts of things entering eye sockets.

The techno-organics

Chapter 30

The Autobots ran trough the mines, shooting down any Vehicon that stood before them on their towards Ratchet's signal. For a long time it had been cloaked by the synthetic energon but suddenly popped back on. Optimus quickly figured out that Ratchet was badly injured, leaking heavily. As he invaded the mine his mind kept going between Alabaster and Ratchet. At the moment Ratchet was his top priority but he also had to figure out what happened to Alabaster. Her plan might not been as dangerous as Ratchet's but it was just as reckless. Going into enemy territory without a plan or backup. Despite his disappointment he still understood where it came from. Sometimes young new recruits would take on missions too difficult for them because they thought too high of themselves, thoughtlessness or revenge. Alabaster wanted none of that, she just wanted to save a family member, she didn't even want to fight. He felt guilty for all of this, for letting Ratchet out on the field with experimental fuel in his system, and for Alabaster running off. They followed Ratchet's signal trough the tunnels, shooting down the remaining Decepticons in their way. Until they found him, half dead in a puddle of synthetic energon. They all kneeled next to him and Optimus put a hand on Ratchet's chest.

"Ratchet," he called. "Can you hear me?" A whimper was his only response and it was all they needed to feel a fraction of relief enter their systems. They quickly contacted Bumblebee and a groundbridge opened for them. Optimus and Bulkhead helped carry Ratchet towards the groundbridge but the sound of chaos erupted and they drew their weapons. Thinking the sound was coming for them they prepared for an attack, but soon realized they weren't the ones the Decepticons prepared to attack.

"Alabaster," Optimus realized and let go of Ratchet.

"Where are you going?" Bulkhead called out, holding onto the whimpering Ratchet.

"I'm going after Alabaster. Return to base."

"But."

"Now!" he ordered and transformed and drove back trough back the tunnels they came trough. The echoing of his racing wheels and his engine working on overdrive fueling the cascade of worrying thoughts. He didn't know what would happen if she encountered Megatron. All he could think of was how easily her fragile body would fall to pieces if she was foolish enough to fight him. When he neared the center of the mine he transformed and charged his weapon preparing to save Alabaster. But before he could step out of the tunnel he was attacked by a force that made him unable to move. He tried to overcome it with meager success only able the take a small step before the pain became too much. It was like his very insides were pulled in different directions.

He felt the invisible force try to twist his limbs, like it wanted him to look like a mangled doll. His circuits, energon and control over his own body, was no longer his own, not even his voice. He tried to contact the Autobots but it was like the force was in the process of crushing his voicebox, making him only able to give off hoarse whimpers. What could have caused this? It couldn't be some sort of new weapons the Decepticons have built, they didn't have the appropriate resources and the humans had nothing to steal that could aid them. If this was how he reacted, how badly would it hurt Alabaster if- By the Allspark. Optimus gasped and widened his eyes as the realization dawned on him. This was her doing. Her telekinetic powers, if she could use it on herself to control her hair, control her surroundings and fly, what stopped her from being able to use it on the insides of other creatures?

But why did she use it on him? Before Optimus came to any conclusions, he took a moment to calm himself. He had to be able to see beyond the pain and analyze the situation. He only had to do one at a time. Optimus closed his eyes and focused his mind away from the pain, he could still feel it but he had to be able to sense more then the pain. He started with his hearing, focusing after other sounds. At first he heard nothing, but soon heard other pained whimpers and the disturbing sound of grinding metal. So, Optimus wasn't the only one affected. The Autobots were already at the base so those sounds must come from the Decepticons. Alabaster probably uses her powers to defend herself and has no way no know that she's affecting Optimus too. And he had no way to contact her and tell her to let him go.

Optimus opened his eyes who were blurry and static from the strangling ache that warped around him like an earth snake in the process of killing its prey. All he could make out was a blurry image of the other side of the tunnel. It led to the open space, vague rays of sunshine that reached him made up the dark silhouettes of contorted bodies lifted into the air. Soon after, Optimus noticed that he no longer could feel the ground beneath him and saw that he was engulfed in blue light. Yes, it must be Alabaster. But she must be unaware that she's hurting him, she can't see him in the tunnel and he can't move nor scream the get her attention. Optimus's back then hit the roof of the tunnel. He kept fighting Alabaster's control, growling in pain as he fought to regain so much as a sliver of control over his own body. But it was futile, no matter how much he struggled, he could never do more then raise his shaking limbs before the power engulfing him forced him back into position. So, this was Alabaster's true power. He already knew she was more powerful than she looked, but this exceed expectations significantly.

Optimus thought back at what Ratchet said before he went on his own after Megatron. That the techno-organics was really all made to destroy them. The more Optimus thought about it the more logical that accusation became. They all possessed incredible powers but they probably held themselves back in order not to hurt themselves or others. So far he had seen one able to reach hyper speed without red energon, healing powers, sedative spores, enhanced healing, portals that doubled as weapons and telekinesis. There was only one reason they would be designed with such powers. They were made to be able to kill cybertronians. But why would this unknown group feel the need to make the techno-organics that way? At first he thought the group wanted to use them for war or sell them to the highest bidder who would use them as soldiers, tools or whatever else they saw fit of them. But now it sounded like they had planned to wage war on both the Autobots and the Decepticons. But how were they able to figure out they existed on the planet in the first place? The only group of humans that knew of their existence were a small portion of the US government. Optimus was struck with a horrifying and gut wrenching idea. What if the American government was the ones creating the techno-organics?

That would mean that the ones that welcomed them secretly worked to make weapons to defeat them. That the US government had tried to clone them, and when they realized it wasn't possible they settled with creating the techno-organics. But agent Fowler was one of the few humans who knew of them and he seemed genuinely surprised to find out about the existence of the hybrids. Either Optimus was wrong, Fowler was bluffing or the human really didn't know. Considering that the hybrid project was classified to everyone but a certain group of people, it made sense why Fowler wouldn't know of them. This was a serious allegation, how would Optimus be able to prove it? Canary might be able to hack into their system and find information, and if Fowler was trustworthy then he might be able to look into it for them. Optimus was suddenly pulled from his thoughts when he felt Alabaster's powers disappear and he fell onto the ground. He felt his whole body hurt uncomfortably, like his insides tried to restore themselves and his energon had to relearn how to flow properly again. Putting his hand against his aching helm, Optimus rose and ran the other side on the tunnel to see the Decepticons recovering from the same treatment. He looked up and saw Megatron glare at the opening to the mine, covered in bleeding bruises and spitting out the energon bleeding from his mouth. The wounded warlord roared outraged and transformed, flying out from the mine. The Autobot leader felt his spark sink as he realized how powerless he was, unable to help or defend Alabaster. The one he had promised to be a parent to, to protect. The fact that he couldn't fly after them and save her from Megatron's wrath filled him with a horrible feeling that had him wanting to punch into the nearest wall. But he didn't, instead he kept his feelings in check and asked Bumblebee to open a groundbridge before any of the recovering Decepticons saw him.

Canary hated going to night bars. Drunks at every corner falling over their feet, screaming, cursing and talking bullocks. The flashing lights that shoot at the dense jumble of sweaty disoriented bodies. It was so loud it hurt her ears and there was so much people. What was worse was probably the drunk wannabe playboys that kept hitting on her. Walking away showing the bird sometimes did the trick but there was times were she had to give them a minor stab wound for them to back of. She had to be here though. Nikolai had left and in his emotionally unstable state she was worried what would happen to him. Canary sighed after searching the bar and waded trough the sea of people, thinking about her next step. She was swiftly hit with the scent of Nikolai's cologne and followed it trough the cloud of mixed perfumes until it led to a girl dancing in the crowd; clearly intoxicated. Canary discretely took a sniff before confirming it was Nikolai's brand. It was strong, meant to hide the smell of blood he kept claiming came of him, even when he was perfectly clean. They all saw it as one of his own delusions representing his guilt. That no matter how much he cleaned himself or even if he bathed in bleach or acid he couldn't wash away his sins. Canary tapped the women on her shoulder, making her turn around with a unbothered drunken smile. The techno-organic took her phone out and showed a picture of Nikolai.

"You're looking for him?" the girl yelled over the loud electronic music and started to giggle. "He-He's outside in the ally, I think he's with another girl."

'Of course he is.' Canary thought with a look so judgmental it would would make the most confident person crumble in shame. The girl pointed to the door leading to the outside and said something that got drowned by the music before Canary walked away. She tried to push her small figure trough the sea of drunk humans. Most of the time people didn't see her right away didn't move away for her even when she tried nudging them away. She knew if she used too much force when pushing them then she would risk starting a fight, again. When a man bumped into Canary and spilled his beer over her chest, she turned turned her hands into fists and angrily showed her teeth like she was ready to punch someone in the face; she finally had enough. Once the guy was gone, she took a deep breath and faced herself trough the floor. Not many was aware of their surroundings enough to see, but those who did blinked and blamed the alcohol or the drugs. She moved trough the ground like it was water before peaking out to see if she was near the exit. Like a ghost she stepped out of the ground, making more people put down their drinks and tell themselves they have had enough. Before going out she put her hood up, preparing herself for the cold London night. When she stepped out into the alley she turned to the side and spotted Nikolai making out with a girl. Canary started to blush and turn were she stood as Nikolai pushed the girl against the wall, protecting the back of her head with his hand. Canary picked up an empty can from the ground and threw it at Nikolai's back, making him stop and turn around.

"Little sister," Nikolai greeted merrily and waved unbothered. Clearly drunk, slurring and having a hard time standing straight. He gently took the hand of the girl in his arms and introduced her to Canary. The mute girl did nothing but crossing her arms and glaring at him. Understanding even in his drunken state, he turned to the girl again.

"I'm so sorry, but I have to go." He placed a kiss on the back her hand, making her blush before going back in. Once they were alone Nikolai's face became pale and he had to lean against the wall to stop himself from falling over. This was even worse than usual, more parties, alcohol and sex than usual. He looked sick, ready to fall on the ground and crawl into a ball until the pain was gone. Canary looked at her older brother sympathetically, at first she thought this was just another of his nights out, like he used to do when he had his sister. But looking at him now, you could see this wasn't for the sake of fun; but for the sake of numbing himself from the pain. Realizing this Canary put a hand on her heart, feeling it twist in pain as she walked closer to the shell of Nikolai. He felt a small hand place itself on his shoulder, making him look and meet Canary's dark sad gaze.

"You have always been so smart, you must have figured out that I'm not enjoying this like I used to." Canary nodded slowly and raised her hands.

"Let's go home."

"Home? We don't have a home, we never have, we've only had each other," Nikolai barked almost insulted. Realizing how he spoke to Canary he apologized before his eyes turned to the ground. "Why must we suffer, why must we bring suffering? We escaped a life of abuse for nearly a year of freedom, and now we are being hunted. It's like we are hated by life itself, and maybe we should be. None of us was supposed to exist, we are all crimes against nature. Hurt by humans and hated by cybertronians for merely being." In stung badly in Canary's chest as he said those words, because no matter how cruel, they held truth. She remembered first seeing children walk on the streets and playing on the playgrounds. It was so strange to see children having fun, smiling, laughing and playing instead of awaiting instructions to train and study. It was the first time she ever felt jealous, but also confused and heartbroken. She remembered thinking, "Was this how it was really supposed to be? Why couldn't we have lives like them?" But she remembered something else as well. She remembered something Alabaster had said. Canary gently placed her hands under Nikolai's jaw and made him look at her.

"It is tragic that we were cheated out of normal lives. But we are free now. We have all been reborn. We can do what we want now. Go where we want, do and learn what we want. We can make ourselves a home, become a family and become our own people instead of different types of weapons. So when life decides to give us another reason to hate it, let us all face it together." When Canary was finished she walked forward and gave Nikolai a hug. He was so sick of the sentiment, it never worked and had started to get annoying. He was so frustrated and wanted to shout at her to leave him alone. But she knew she meant well, they all did, and he they didn't deserve to be treated that way. Nikolai just acted like it helped in order to make them stop and hopefully leave him alone long enough to drink, party and fuck until his mid was numb.

"Canary." The girl jumped like he had heard a ghost whisper into her ear. "We need a portal, quickly." Canary was attacked with a weird feeling of utter joy and confusion and surprise she for a moment forgot what to do.

"Canary, can you hear me!" Freedom shouted this time in fear and Canary pulled herself together enough to get working. She projected a map in front of her and used it to locate Freedom's position.

"What is happening?"

Canary took a moment to quickly sign a few words before getting back to work. Nikolai's breath was caught in his throat as hope filled his chest. He was so chocked he didn't know what to say but watch with terrifying hope as Canary worked. But as she was about to transport them she noticed a hidden frequency withing Freedom's chip. She investigated and found out someone had hacked into it and was tracking her and listening in on her. Canary had to transport her somewhere else and remove the frequency before bringing her home. Or the Decepticons could use it to find them.

"Canary! We need a portal!" Freedom shouted with more fear than before. Canary's eyes darted around the holographic screens in front of her and ones inside her eyes. She spun the globe in front of her trying to figure out the best place to transport Freedom, but the more her friends voice echoed in her head froze. Nikolai quickly saw this and pointed at one place in the map. A field near the facility they escaped from. Canary quickly opened a portal for Freedom and when she saw her signal changing location, the mute girl closed it and began working on her other task.

"Did it work? Are they safe?" Nikolai anxiously walked closer to Canary, to which she responded by signing for him to wait before going back to work. She hacked into the chip in Freedom's brain and located the foreign frequency. She attacked it with every code and trick she knew, but it carried no effect. It was too difficult for her to remove remotely, the only way to get rid of it was to physically connect to the ship and remove the frequency. Canary opened a portal, reached behind herself without watching and grabbed Nikolai by his tie and dragged him after her. Letting out a short surprised cry at being suddenly yanked by the neck, Nikolai followed in a awkward position as they walked trough.

Freedom leaned over Alabaster who had one of her sleeves pulled down, giving Freedom better access to stitch the albinos shoulder together. The girl who currently was being sewn on worked on another part of her body, her knee who also had been torn open after Megatron's attack.

"Wouldn't it be convenient for you to learn how to properly sew your own body together by yourself?" Freedom cut the thread off with teeth. "What's the point of carrying needle and thread when you don't know how to use it?"

Alabaster was still struggling with the stitches on her knee when she turned her head around.

"I practice and practice, but it's hard with my messed up hands."

"Well, I'm not much better," Freedom sighed and gave the needle and thread back to Alabaster who put it in her pocket. "Unless you're careful until Rachel and Widow does it, you'll lose an arm, darling."

Alabaster used her teeth to cut the thread before pocketing the needle too. Freedom's last statement repeated in her head and Alabaster gradually got a questioning look before turning to Freedom. "Rachel is a medic, so I understand why you would count her in, but why Widow?"

"Didn't she get herself interested in knitting and embroidery?"

"Yes, but it doesn't involve sewing...Or does it?"

Both girls took a moment to think, Alabaster's eyes moved around as Freedom placed her fingers at the side of her face.

"Let's just ask Widow when we get home," Freedom said and rose up. Alabaster followed suit but as she was halfway up her knee gave up and Freedom nonchalantly caught her before she fell to the ground. As Alabaster held onto Freedom's bicep for support they felt the air suddenly change smell. It wasn't the fresh forest scent of running water, pines and earth, it was the smell of a big city. The smell of garbage, car fumes and cigarette smoke. They turned towards where they felt the smell came from and saw a dark indigo portal. Trough the portal came two familiar figures, a girl with lavender hair and dark blue hoodie, and a ginger dressed like a modern gentleman.

"Freedom!" Nikolai shouted, happiness filling his voice so suddenly after so long it made tears well up in the corners of his eyes. But not tears of regret, shame, fear and longing, but of happiness. He ran forward and tackled Freedom into a hug. They both faltered for a moment before the taller girl wrapped her arms around Nikolai tightly. Freedom laughed relived and lifted Nikolai of the ground as she hugged him tighter.

"I'm so happy to see your angelic face again. I was so scared I had lost another little sibling. Is Anastasia with you too?"

Freedom opened her eyes as her smiling expression transformed into guilt. Her amber eyes turned downwards as she placed Nikolai on the ground again. The boy quickly noticed the change in Freedom's mood and his heart started t race anxiously. His brain conjured every possible bad scenario, and he hoped that this was a cruel prank Anastasia came up with and that she's hiding behind a one of Alabaster's projections.

"I'm sorry, Anastasia isn't with us."

"This isn't funny," Nikolai scolded, "It's not funny at all." He looked around after anything that Anastasia could be hiding behind. "Anastasia, you bitch, just come out. Come out so I can..." he sobbed heavily and held his stomach like it was feeling sick. "I just want to hug you." Reality hit him hard as every fiber of his body shrieked at him that Anastasia was not there. That he was still missing his half, still alone. He fell onto his knees before falling sideways into the grass and suddenly he couldn't feel anything. There was no tears left, no feeling of anger regret longing or anything like he had experienced the last few days. H was unable to feel anything anymore. He was hollow. Alabaster walked over to him and kneeled down beside him. She gently placed her hand against his back and when he didn't react she kept petting him in a repeating motion. Alabaster didn't realize what he was experiencing and thus kept comforting him without knowing it had no effect. Freedom stood still in the same spot and tried to blink away the tears that still managed to run down her face. Canary knew she had to work quickly before anyone managed to track their position. They had already wasted much time. Canary ran forward and quickly Freedom. She wanted to make it longer but still forced herself to let go before Freedom had time to answer it.

"Listen closely," canary began. Freedom wiped the tear from her eyes and focused on Canary's raised hands. "The Decepticons managed to hack into your chip, there is a big chance their tracking you so I must physically connect to the chip in order it fix it."

"Connect to the chip?" Freedom gasped. "But it's in my brain, how are you going to reach it?"

"Pick an entrance," Canary said expressionless.

"Pick an- Oh fuck me," Freedom realized and covered her mouth in horror. She bend over and loudly groaned in disgust and frustration. When she got back up again her hand hand was still over her mouth and she saw Canary with an apologetic look.

"Couldn't you at least bring me something that would sedate me so I don't have to feel your little tentacles inside my skull?"

"There is not enough time for that," Canary said with gritted teeth and stomped with her foot like an inpatient child. "I said 'pick an entrance' but the best way is trough..." she stopped and pointed at the inner corner of her eye. Freedom looked in that moment ready to throw up or pass out. She opened her mouth to argue when Canary raised her hands. "There is not time."

Freedom took a deep breath and covered her mouth as she felt her body getting ready to throw up. She took a few deep breaths and swallowed several times, making the content of her stomach stay where it were. "Okay," she said in a weak shaking whisper. Canary eyes her for a moment before signing, "Please kneel, you're too tall for me to reach."

Freedom swallowed one more time and felt the blood in her head drop to her feet. She considered letting herself pass out just so she wouldn't be awake for this, but she knew it would make more trouble than good and bit her tongue in fear of what awaited. It couldn't be that bad, right? She carried the toxic blood of an intergalactic god, and compared to all the other painful things she had been through this shouldn't turn out to be too bad. That thought shattered like a mirror thrown against a mountain as Freedom saw tentacles come out of Canary's fingertips.

"I'll have nightmares for years and I will also hold a grudge on you til we both die."

"Understandable," Canary mouthed and walked closer to Freedom and grabbed the side of her head, steadying her head before bringing the tentacles closer to her left eye. Instinctively Freedom closed her eyes but it proved futile as the tentacles moved trough her eyelids and entered trough the corner of her eye. "Painful" is not the right word to describe it. Disgusting, disturbing, repulsive and all adjectives you could think of was more fitting. Painful or not, it didn't hinder Freedom from screaming bloody murder. She could feel the cold metallic tentacles inside her skull. The brain itself can't feel so luckily she didn't have to experience the tendrils touching her mind as it worked on the chip. But she could feel the vibrations travel trough her skull and the stinging feeling left in her eye. Freedom brought her fists to her sides and repeatedly hit her hips and thighs. The short moments she didn't scream she instead focused on her breathing. Freedom took quick deep breaths like she was readying herself to scream again before she did just that. But her screams became weaker and hoarser each time, like her own voice couldn't handle what they went trough and considered escaping the nightmarish scene. After some time, Canary started to finally retract her tendrils. Their travel trough Freedom's eye socket created an almost burning feeling because of the friction. Freedom gasped in a mixture of pain and relief and fell to the ground, covering her eye and kept screaming.

"Fuck you," she cursed her friend. "Fuck you, I hate you! I hate you!"

Alabaster who had been watching the scene since she first heard Freedom's screams turned to her friend and ran up to her, ready to comfort Freedom. Instead, Freedom screamed and pulled away as Alabaster made an effort to touch her.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted and started to feel a small trail of blood run from from the corner of her eye. "I want to go home!" Those words snapped Canary from the cloud of guilt that had laid over her mind. She turned around and stretched out an arm which opened a dark portal. Alabaster turned around and saw Nikolai still lying in the grass and stretched out her hair to gently grab him and help him to his feet. Suddenly they all heard of a groundbridge opening somewhere and for a moment there was no fresh trauma, just the instinct to run away from a dangerous enemy. So they all ran and jumped trough the portal before anyone saw them.