Not a battle scene but it gets a tiny bit graphic/gory in this chapter.
I want to apologize for missing three or so weeks of chapters. School ran me over with many, many buses with finals.
The moment the twins could get off of the plane and transform, they did. I shadowed behind them for only a few, long seconds as my mind was still stuck on the fact Zayden was there. Fate just had to rub it in my face some more that I couldn't be back with him until this is over. And that stung worse than before.
Out of all the times, Zayden had to show up there, with William and his team around to watch everything unfold. Just a father meeting who he believed was his daughter. But she was dead. Zayden just couldn't see it. The poor man too blinded by his love and hope for the real Azar to be alive and well; not the monster she became, not the killing machine she was turned into… by her own mother.
An ice cube dripped down my spine. Rue. That bastard. Why did she do it? No matter how many times I dwell on that, any answer I come up with is illogical. A mother, or any parent in general, should care for their kid. They were the ones to bring them into the world, Rue and Zayden did that. One blamed me for my existence. The other tries their hardest to do what they can for their screwed up daughter. But that puts him at risk… And I won't be blamed for his death. I've been blamed enough for things not my fault.
With the future a complete unknown timeline, his death could come before mine; or the other way around. My DNA was horrible screwed with by Jasper, which made it unstable. At any moment, I could suddenly just drop dead without warning. For however I live, I could just drop dead. Worst part, Zayden knew this. He's read my files. The moment he learned that, he had his team working vigorously on how to stabilize my DNA so immature death doesn't occur.
After three years though, no one has been able to find a solution, may it be temporary just to ensure I don't drop dead at anyone's feet. I had death waiting at my door, ready to knock. That was the scary part; and it got worst after my connection with Sides and Sunny. I cared about those two on a different level than Zayden. It would devastate me, even after death, to hurt them in that way. Just thinking about caused me discomfort.
An inner pull drew me partially from my thinking. My thoughts continued to drown me but that didn't stop me from gazing up at the two iron giants. Trickle of worry drifted over the bond, their eyes holding the same emotions. It took me a moment to realize once more that we had made it to the base and to sober up the best I could. There were humans around. They couldn't see again in such a weakened state. I couldn't break down again. But it sure felt like I was going to.
Sides didn't like me lagging behind and carefully scooped me up. His eyes found mine. "Our audio receptor's are on, if you want to take some of that weight off of your shoulders," he offered genuinely. I felt him distantly through the bond.
A sorrowful smile broke out on my face. The gesture was small but had a larger meaning behind it nonetheless. It was hard to feel anything but chaos and exhaustion I felt this moment. The day had been long and extremely tiring after the events. "Maybe later. You know, not in front of the humans." My tone light in an attempt to joke. Thankfully, the two of them understood.
His brother scoffed at the mention of the humans. You and me both, darling. We both disliked humans, he probably hates them a bit more than me though. I didn't know why he did. Our first meeting gave me the feeling he didn't. The rest of the trip only reinforced that thought process. But why does he not like humans? I clearly had my own reasons.
They began the trek from the runway to the Med. Bay to get our wounds checked over. Ratchet will probably be on the happier side this time. My injuries were small compared to the other times I've come in. Only a few scratches and bruises with a headache to top it off. My throat and lungs did hurt from nearly being drowned by the girl.
My thoughts swallowed me again, drowning out sounds. Everything has changed. For better or worse, I've figured that out.
On one hand, whoo hoo! I've found my soulmates of another species from outer space. We got along perfectly fine. Sometimes we'll disagree or have different ideas. We work them out. All of us seem awesome for each other. They care for me and will protect me. I feel the same way with a few hiccups and foul thoughts popping up. But they couldn't blame me. After everything I've been through, my mental health has been ruined and destroyed. To trust random people was hard yet easy at the same time. That, I blame the lack of affection from my childhood. I become too attach to others too quickly that it's scary. That's what happened with Ratchet. His kind and understanding nature aided him too.
The other hand… Fate is cruel to me. Everything good and happy in my life is ripped away harshly without remorse. That's why I distanced myself away from Zayden. To protect him… or that's what I believe I'm doing. If I truly want to protect those I cared about, then I would leave Sides and Sunny behind as well. But, looky here, that's not happening. And my stupid brain thinks I can protect them. With that mindset, why don't I go do that for Zayden? Why am I here?
Because I'm not going to leave the Terror Twins. They are mine. Fate is cruel though. I don't want them to get hurt because of me. Gods, that would devastate me if I was the one to cause them harm. My original mission may not have been to protect them. Things do change. They are now part of that and I will keep them safe. I'll kill Fate is I have to.
The Terror Twins are mine. Mine only. I felt warmth surround me at the thought and snuggled up into it.
Noise behind us caught my attention and brought me back to reality. I peered over Sides shoulder and spotted Bluestreak and Smokescreen about half a football field away. By the looks of it though, they were injured and were following us to the Med. Bay. Great. Not really though. I didn't want to deal with either of them. Especially Smokescreen.
Said bot was retelling parts from the battle to his non blue partner. A question popped up in my mind: Bluestreak didn't have any variation of blue on him but still was named that.
Back to the annoying, kid-like mech. At this point in his story, he mentioned seeing Aztec soldiers, of course he didn't know who they were, and shared how fierce they were.
At that Jasper base, there was a bit more Supers than expected. Thankfully, Aztec had shown up. They had the necessary skills and firepower to kill and take down said Supers. Of course I have abilities that could over power anyone there but even I had limits, everyone does.
Aztec was a force to be reckoned with. Was. After their fall, they've been forced into the dark corner and told to stay. That's how they've stayed alive for so long after losing over half of their soldiers. Which was once more my fault. If it wasn't for me, for my existence, none of this bull crap would be happening. To this day, I continue to blame myself for their deaths. So much blood pooled around my feet, I swear it was starting to drown me at this point.
We passed the entrance of the Med. Bay with the two close behind us. The twins weren't as badly damaged as the other two so Ratchet took them first. Well of course he had to give me look over to ensure I wasn't in danger of dying in Sides hands; which seemed to be happening a lot. He was actually surprised to see the lack of injuries adorning my body.
Ratchet motioned for us to move along after scanning over the three of us. None of us had anything severe. The twins took a seat on the bed furthest from the three of them. I lied down to get comfortable until Ratchet wants to patch up my wounds. Nothing hurt too badly thankful, one good thing to happen during these times.
The headache should've passed by now. Our five hour flight back and being so high up had worsened the pressure inside of my skull. I curled up into a ball and willed the headache to go away. At this point it felt like someone was hammer away at my head like pop goes the weasel.
Over time after us settling down in the Med. Bay, I thought it would at lessen in the slightest. Yet, it didn't and followed nausea which didn't help my empty stomach. I couldn't stand being curled up to Sides chest and forced myself on my feet. Mentioned mech gave me confused look and silently questioned my actions. My legs stumbled to carry me in a random direction. Everything was starting to blur after getting up.
"Azar?" someone questioned, possibly one of the twins. My mind was somewhere else. I could barely focus on anything with the pounding inside of my head. Everything felt light yet heavy at the same time; feeling like it was floating but being pulled heavily by earth's gravity.
"I'm fi-ne, I'm fine." Hopefully. I think. Ratchet glanced over at us with a questioning look. The nausea grew more instead of decreasing and dragged me in one direction. It felt like the world was suddenly tilting. My sense of balance tried to keep up but instead sent me tumbling over the bed's edge.
The fall was swift as something swooped down to grab me. My bond reacting to the touch, concern and panic rushing over. That didn't help my state of mind. My sluggish thoughts piling up to figure out what is happening. "Azar! What's wrong? Ratchet! Ratchet get over here!" Last thing I saw was the blurry image of two red and yellow blobs.
Run.
Fast.
Danger.
Death.
Kill.
Monster.
Help.
My chest heaved as the only sound in this place was me trying to catch my breath. Gingerly, I placed a hand on the moldy, grimy walls but reeled back once I remember. Panic spiked throughout my entire body. How could I be here? I was in the Med. Bay… Wasn't I? Dear lord, why do I have the worse headache in existences?
The cell walls were covered in old blood, mold, and grime. A thick, nearly impenetrable door sat, haunting my way to freedom. It was there every single day of my life. There were small melted holes in the steel but none had made their way to fully pierce through. No matter how many times I emptied my venom glands, it wasn't enough to fully create hole to escape.
That wouldn't have matter. The cell prevented me from using any of my abilities. A safeguard so I don't melt or burst my way through. Yet, they didn't take into account of the building energy always growing and in need of release. It has taken years to learn to control that and stopping any unwanted explosions from happening.
Metal clamps rubbed painfully against the top of my wings, preventing them from opening or being used. The appendages only acted as showy ideas with no use. And they were useless in that state. The muscles were barely worked while here. It made them almost unable to hold my own weight in flight. A surprising thing at the sight of my body. Cyrus is too stupid to realize without using or exercising a muscle, it depletes.
Only scales of bones. Muscles could be easily seen due to the lack of fat as my body ate away at itself to survive. I remembered why. One of the scientist pissed me off and injured me horribly. Oh Gods, the burning and melting inside of my veins was nearly my breaking point. My screams echoed throughout the building for what sounded like hours afterwards.
In retaliation, I bit her and pumped as much venom I could into her forearm. The screams of pure agony were music to my ears. That peace I felt was interrupted when another scientist smashed some sort of metal bar onto of my head. The horns on top couldn't fully absorb the strike and one broke off. It was enough to get me off of the other scientist. She was rushed off. My job had cost her the lower part of her forearm. Pride filled me when I heard about the damage I had done. If they want to create a monster, they better be ready and well equipped to handle one.
With her arm half gone and her production and work rate decreased, she was taken out. Quiet literally. They let me do the job. That was a death I enjoyed taking slowly and agonizing. Her screams were once more music to my ears. A smug smile had been stuck on my face for the rest of the day. Content and proud for killing her. She deserved it. All of them do.
I shakily raised a hand to run along the curve of my horn. The broken end sharp as it grew back to its normal state as fast as possible while my body was in this broken state. These people were so pathetically dumb yet smart that they somehow didn't realize for me to be strong and healthy, I need lots of food.
They blamed me for the lost of one of their better workers. To punish me, they stopped feeding me the needed nutrients to keep my body in a healthy state. The lack of food severely damaged my frame during that time. Which also caused one of the experiments they tried on me to fail. That pissed off Rue even more. She all of these horrible things to her daughter and for what? Why? Was she jealous? If she didn't want me, why gain full custody of me?
That damage also stopped me from obtaining anymore abilities or else it would kill me or undo all the work to create me. Oh ho, at the new information, Rue was even more pissed. She was enraged to the point you could see the fire in her eyes when she stepped into the cell to beat me into a bloody pulp.
Why was I here? And why did I pass out? For the first after a battle, I wasn't horrible hurt both mentally and physically. Oh, was this karma for that? Should I've let that weak water manipulator over power me? That would've been a sight to see. Maybe she would've put me out of my misery.
What was I thinking? I was content with my life at the moment. Wasn't I? The twins are my soulmate, mostly in their terms or culture, but nonetheless. I liked it. It feels nice to be around them. Of course in the begi-
The door rattled, the metal impossibly bending under the shake. Nails on a chalk board assaulted my ears and forced me to kneel down. My nails dug into my scalp. Tears dripped down to the floor.
Barking of dogs sounded off in the distance. Okay, come on. Ser-one moment I was on my knees, the next, my face smashed into the thick concrete ground. The headache had turned to make it feel like my skull was being spilt open with the Hulk's hands. I tried to scream but the sound didn't escape me.
Only terribly and painful screeching and barking dogs sounded around me. The door rattled once more, snatching my concentration.
Fear started to course through me. The noises were overwhelming me; this place bringing back horrible memories. My lungs unnecessarily gulped in extra oxygen as everything was becoming too much. Both of my hands trembling as my body started to twitch.
The stress was starting to get to me.
I startled even myself when I stood and snarled deeply. An invisible force clocked me hard on the cheek. The punch easily knocked me over without a chance. My shoulder jarred against the wall. Something felt off but I didn't have to dwell on it as excruciating pain flared through my shoulder and collarbone. It seriously felt like my collarbone had snapped under the pressure and weight. Sharp pain flared from the possible broken bone.
Okay, this seriously had to be dream? The settings had changed. Instead of being in my old cell, I was out in the hall of the same building. Something internally told me this was a different time though.
A warm substance brought my gaze down to my hands. Blood. And the limbs were nearly covered completely in it; so was my body. My mouth watered at the smell, even if it was my own. The pupils of my eyes narrowed dangerously, the predator side of me coming out.
At least the shift in settings had silenced the scratching and strange barking. The absolute stillness unnerved me instead. This felt worse without any sounds. I tensed up, ready for anything or anyone to come knocking down the doors.
Until the screaming and shouting and children. Off to my right, it was the same exact door from the previous battle. The kids! They were behind there.
Without another thought, I rushed towards the steel shut door to release them. My talons clawed at the cream colored floors to push me forward quicker. Yet, as hard and quick as I sprinted, it seemed like I never got an inch closer. Every step kept me the same distance away from the door. The sounds never getting closer.
The hall was moving and other doors whipped by me but the door stayed the same distance. My legs ached the longer moved, yet no progress was made. An urge overcame me. I needed to get to that door. Whatever was behind there was somehow important to me in some strange way. What could be possible a door that I dreamed up?
It became apparent no matter how long or swift I ran, the door wouldn't get any closer or further away. I slide down against the wall in defeat. My lungs once more heaved for actually needed oxygen. Wait, why would I need air in this dream/nightmare world? It wouldn't be any use to me, everything here was fake and made up from my own mind.
I didn't know what to do. The urge only grew stronger, worst with time and lack of movement. Maybe it was my way out. And if I couldn't get through it, I would be forever stuck in this place. No way out. No way home. No way to Sides and Sunstreaker. Thinking about them struck a nerve in my heart. I wanted them… I seriously wanted them.
Someone put a bullet in brain, please. Death was an easy way out.
The sounds of the children quieted down until more silence washed over. Now this was even worse. My ears rung from the lack of noise and caused me to scrunch up my nose. Why was I here? Was this a hor-
My lungs fought for a single breath. It was too quick and caused me to cough painfully. Something large pushed against my chest and held me down.
Panic flooded my veins. The first thing to come to mind was fight. With the overwhelming weight of fear based energy clawing to be freed, I released it to shove away the thing. My eyes were blurry, unable to focus on anything. It didn't help my thoughts were all over the place and couldn't be placed on a single thing before the thought was replaced with another.
So many noises of humans, vehicles, machines, voices worsened my condition. Nothing could be processed fully in this state of mind. I struggled to get to my hands and knees to try and scramble away in the least.
The pain stabbing like a serrated knife, over and over, in my chest. I couldn't breathe, yet there was enough oxygen around me. Everything in the settings felt fine but something with myself was off. Thoughts flew by, trying to get things straight. My eyes still unable to focus on anything. Shapes and color were the only thing I could see. Nothing made sense.
A cry tore at my lips. It wasn't going away and continued to throb at each beat of my heart. The bond wasn't helping me either. The faint feeling overwhelming me and worsened my condition. What in the hell happened?! I don't remember getting stabbed so where was it coming from?!
Tear spilled down my cheeks as my body gave up and collapsed on its side. I curled into a ball and clutched a hand at my head to make it stop. The torture causing my body to fail, unable to make sense of anything, senses frail and broken. My other limb went to lay a fist where the agony originated from. Electricity bubbled from my chest and zapped at my fingers. The sparks didn't hurt, just shocked.
Over the warbled, jumbled sounds, I heard a voice, one I knew too well. Sunny? I pushed past the pain and tried to find the golden bot with my blurry vision. The light from this place only worsened what felt like a migraine throbbing in my head.
Said mech was standing closer than I expect due to his voice sounding so far away. With my hand clutching my head, I reached in a silent plea for help. I didn't know what was happening and why my chest was hurting so damn much. He could ground me, his aura could help my chaotic thoughts.
Sunstreaker mirrored the movement with hesitance until his fingers touched mine own. Everything started to wash away. The noises calmed down enough to give his voice complete attention. The pain had dulled some. "-ack to us. Everything's alright." For the first time since I've known him, he actually sounded like he was taken over with worry.
Once most of the strange effects had passed besides the stabbing in my chest, I sat up and flexed my claws to hold on tighter. My vision had fixed itself enough to spot the worrying engulfing their expressions. "W-wh, what happe-ned?" I stuttered, stilling trying to calm down my racing heart.
Sides cleared his throat and glanced over at his twin for only a moment. "You fainted and nearly fell to the ground off of the berth. Sunny was able to catch you. We called for Ratchet to see what caused you to faint. He doesn't know. And hours later, you started to convulse and freak out in your statis." His voice sounded pained at he recounted what happened after I passed out.
With clearer vision, I took a moment to glance over the area and found Ratchet standing off to the side. What caught my eye was the wet ground and the water dripping off of him. What the…? "When you finally came online, Ratchet tried to hold you down. You must've not realize it was him and used your powers to push him away. Don't worry, you didn't hurt him." But I could've.
I glanced down at my free hand before curling the limb into a fist. Water dripped down my cheeks once more as I couldn't collect my emotions in front of the audience.
"Yeah, I'm okay. You only used water to push me away. Caught me off guard but nothing's injured. But you on the other servo aren't anywhere near okay. Your heart stopped twice and the flux of the twins spark essence had dwindled to an extremely dangerous low level. Probably the reason why your heart stopped. But I can't figure out why the flux got so low when they were right there."
Under this stressful situation, my mind wasn't in the right place. "Am I going to die?" was the first thing to come to mind.
The question had startled everyone. Sunstreaker had closed his hand around mine. Sides stood there with pure fear in his eyes at the realization this could be my end. Ratchet sputtered, "no! Not under my watch. I just need figure out why that happened. How are you feeling?" Determination filled his voice, yet trickles of fright dropped in through the cracks. He wasn't lying though, he just sounded unsure about the situation. What did happen?
Ratchet sounded tense as he moved to one of his tables where he picked up a tablet to read over. I stayed quiet, contemplating whether or not to tell him the truth. The looks on the twins face gave me the answer. "Not good. My, my chest f-feels like someone's stabbing there without remorse. And I just had a horrible nightmare after I passed out."
"Okay. Do you think anything in your nightmare might contribute to what's occurring?" I cringed at the reminded and nervously played with my hair with my freed limb.
"The, the stabbing. I remember that was in there… Um, I…" Come on! Just spit it out. "I, I was in my old cell. It started out like a flashback but, but quickly turned to a, a nightmare." My gaze flickered, unable to stay on one thing. Never did it once go over to any of the bots. For the life of me, I couldn't meet any of them in the eye. The nightmare flashed behind my eyelids. A cold drop of water slid down my spine and caused me to tremble. That place still and will forever haunt me, even in my dreams. What am I saying?! They are the center of my nightmares and dreams. Always striking fear deep into my heart.
Pity grew on the older mech's face. This time around, I didn't have the strength to quiet it. "Anything else that may be important?" I solemnly nodded my head and scooted closer to the yellow mech still holding my hand. Said being got the message and gently, more than ever, picked me up. He held close to his spark where I could hear the humming. Its noise sweeping over me like a warm blanket in the middle of winter, a comfortable fire alit nearby.
Instead of it wash away my worries, it did nothing, not even ease the pain in my chest.
"I… I've been having these-these strange dizzy spells, I, I guess is the way to explain them. I feel extremely dizzy and everything is disorientated. It… It actually felt like what had happened before passing out. Just not as bad. They're usually… mild. Like the one I told you about," I explained and rung my hands with each other.
Ratchet sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose. At the moment, I felt like a seven year old again, dealing with my irritated mother after breaking something. I was no longer the fierce dangerous killer many knew. No, this time, I was the scare, fearful child asking to sleep with my parents after a nightmare.
"Didn't I say to come to me if they keep happening?" In this vulnerable state, I felt weak and scared. My body folded in on itself as I shrunk my head from his sight.
"It's only, it's only happened less than a-a handful of times. Jazz saw me have one… I fell off a lamp post." Sunstreaker gave me a reassuring squeeze and sighed, shaking his head.
The medic's expression turned deadly. "He saw what?! And didn't tell me! I swear I'm going to weld his aft to the ceiling." It took him a moment to somewhat calm down from his sudden anger. "Azar… what am I going to do with you? I need you to tell me these things so I can help you. This is a very sensitive situation where the outcome can be deadly, for not just you but them as well." At the mention of the twins, I gazed between the two. I didn't want me to be the reason they die, for something that could be solved.
"But seriously, Ratchet. Is she going to offline? Is that chance high due to whatever is happening?" Sideswipe snapped at the CMO. His anger dribbling over to me in the bond. I whimpered silently and curled up more into a ball, seeking protection.
The mech in question gazed straight at Sides with an expression of seriousness. "I don't know, Sideswipe. I don't know."