It was a bright morning, a few weeks after the sole Xyleon had returned to the base, when everyone present could feel a darkness approaching. Sarah and Annabelle were still on base, mostly because the little girl had practically become Alexis' shadow, staying with the Xyleon constantly. And while the mood of the base had been lightened considerably, everyone could not help but feel that something was coming. The only question was what.
And who.
Alexis was curled up on one of the couches, seated beside Chloe, and with Annabelle on her lap. She was absently stroking Annabelle's hair, trying to listen to the television show playing in the background. "What do you think is going on?" she finally asked, turning her head to look at Chloe.
The Brit just shrugged. "Haven't the foggiest, Alexis... Haven't the foggiest..." Chloe slipped deeper into her thoughts as she pondered what was going to happen. Slowly Alexis nodded, a soft sigh leaving her as she focused on her bond with Optimus that was strangely quiet. She gently tightened her grip on Annabelle. The younger girl merely sat, entranced by the flashing colours on the TV screen in front of her.
"This is ridiculous. Completely," Alexis growled quietly, her free hand tightening into a fist.
"Hm?" Chloe slowly turned her attention to her friend from the TV, "What is? Sorry, kinda zoned out there..."
"I can't do this anymore," Alexis replied, shifting Annabelle so she could stand. Once she was up she placed Annabelle on the couch and took her natural form again. "I'm going to find out what's going on. And slaggit, if Optimus even dares to try to send me away, he's going to get it."
"Then I'm comin' too! I don't do babysitting AND I'm just as curious!" The Briton declared, standing and tagging after her Xyleon friend.
"You're just going to leave Annabelle there?"
"Well..." Chloe didn't have an answer, "But I hate babysitting!" Alexis sighed and backtracked, picking Annabelle up, since the child was asleep, and rejoined Chloe.
"We should at least get her back to her mother. Sarah will be worried if she finds us without her daughter," she told her younger friend.
The Briton nodded. "Makes sense, let's go!"
Together they headed to where Sarah was staying and safely delivered her child to her before heading to the mission room. "D'you think Optimus'll actually tell us what's going on?" Chloe asked, her visor flashing slightly in response to Jazz over their bond.
"No. Not at all. But I'm not going to let him send me away," Alexis replied, a certain growl in her voice suggesting that she wasn't in the mood to be messed with.
The Britisher fell silent, hoping to not disturb the peaceful silence that fell over them, as they soon arrived outside the mission room. Two Autobots, namely the base's Twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, were doing a poor job of 'guarding' the meetings that were undoubtedly going on inside.
Alexis motioned for Chloe to drop back a little before opening the door and stepping inside, holding it for Chloe. "Thanks.." Chloe muttered before standing beside Alexis, waiting for any of the mechs' attentions to be diverted towards them.
It wasn't long before an Autobot noticed them. Unfortunately, it happened to be the one mech that would be the most frustrated with them. His optics locked on Alexis, since she was the largest and most obvious, and frowned. They had caught Prowl's attention.
"Ohhh bugger..." Chloe muttered, contemplating briefly whether she should escape quickly or face the tactician's potential wrath.
"You aren't allowed in here," Prowl stated rather harshly.
"Prowl, may I just say something? I hold the same rank as Optimus Prime himself. I outrank you. Therefore, you cannot send me away or order me to leave. I do have a right to be here. If I must, I will order to be silent. The only one that could force me to leave is Prime. And so help me Optimus, if you do, you will suffer. I promise you that. And Chloe can stay as well," Alexis snapped. Prowl's doorwings ruffled uncomfortably before moving back to a high V shape.
"Fine. But you make any disruptions in the course of things and I WILL see to it that you are sent out. BOTH of you." At that moment, Optimus himself spoke up.
"Prowl," he said in his strong baritone voice, "Do not be so harsh on them. They wish to know undoubtedly what is going on so they will be allowed to know what is going on. Alexis, Chloe you may join the meeting."
Alexis growled mildly at Prowl before motioning for Chloe to follow as she took a seat near Optimus, forcing herself to calm down or risk snapping yet again. "Uh, little help here Alexis?" The techno-organic said meekly, realizing that how on Earth she was going to join her friends was going to be via being picked up. Alexis smiled, and offered a hand to Chloe before moving the human up and setting her on the table.
"I'm sorry for the interruption gentlemechs and men," Alexis said, shooting a glare at Prowl briefly. Just before Chloe stepped off her friend's hand she could feel that Alexis was trembling.
"Alexis? You okay?" The girl asked quietly as she stepped off her friend's hand. The Xyleon didn't respond verbally, instead giving an extremely slight nod as the meeting resumed. Optimus gave a brief recap for the two girls.
Both girls listened quietly, the younger of the two hardly understanding any of it. Everyone once in a while, Alexis would speak up, offering her opinion on what was being discussed. But other than the higher-ranked officers of both human and Autobot alike exchanging and giving opinions, not a word otherwise was spoken.
Partway through the meeting, Ironhide spoke up for the first time since the two girls had arrived. "Ah say that we jus' hit them Cons where they stand! Blow 'em outta the ground 'fore they can hit us!" The gruff warrior said, gaining the agreement of a few officers from both species.
"Uhh Ironhide I don't think that's such a good idea..." Chloe spoke up for the first time, shyly looking around at the other mechs and men before looking at Optimus for permission to go on. Optimus gave a slow nod while Alexis gently nudged Chloe's back with a finger to get her to continue.
"An' why not?" Ironhide growled. All optics were on the small teenager as she gathered her courage to speak.
"Well, for a start we don't know exactly where they are. The Decepticons could be anywhere on Earth and we've got no real way of tracking them. So we'd be realistically wasting our time if we searched every inch of the world only to turn up little evidence of where they were," Chloe paused, waiting again for the green light to continue.
"Second, not enough firepower. I mean, yeah in 2007 you guys proved that Sabot rounds with enough magnesium in their cores was enough to take one out or do significant damage but they cost billions to make and deploy -"
"You've done your homework..." One of the officials spoke up before gesturing for the girl to continue.
"-And thirdly if you DID try to take them all out it's always possible that, well, ANOTHER city-wide or even world-wide war could erupt and cost thousands of lives... Not to mention what it did the last two times to the Autobots. In 2007 we lost Jazz and a lot of good soldiers of NEST. In 2009 we lost Optimus himself and even MORE soldiers and you were badly injured near your spark too, Ironhide. Now, if we try to do it, there's a strong chance the losses could be greater. Do you really wanna risk it?" The Briton fell quiet, her body trembling as a thick murmur went around the table, and sank back into her seat beside Alexis' hand. Alexis curled her hand slightly, stroking Chloe's side to help her feel better, despite the flinch that ran through her at the reminder of losing Optimus.
"Ironhide, the idea of destroying the Decepticons for good is one that we've wanted to succeed in one time and time again. We've also proved that they're slippery and hard to eliminate. Megatron's been brought back to life before. The only thing we can really do is set up defenses where we think they'll attack," Alexis pointed out. "If we're ready, we can hold our ground. The Decepticons are too set on destroying the Autobots to really accept defeat." The points the girls were bringing up gained more than half of those present to agree.
"So we can wrap up this meeting for today, those who agree with Ironhide raise your hand" Prowl spoke. Few people and Bots raised their hands.
"And those who agree with the girls?" A majority of those present raised their hands. Prowl stood and spoke, gathering his datapads.
"Well then soldiers and gentlemechs, that is the conclusion we have reached for now."
"Meeting concluded." Optimus said, sorting out his own datapads as every one bar Alexis and Chloe left. Once the last person had left, Alexis stood, drawing Optimus' attention. "They're coming, aren't they?"
"I am afraid so Alexis. Our scouts, scanners and continuous patrols have picked up growing activity in cities across Earth." Optimus replied, concern in his optics.
"But... Why? What more do they want? Chloe spoke up again, still trembling at having had officials of the Government listen to her.
"The possibilities about why they're coming are countless. Optimus, I'm fighting," Alexis stated, her voice firm but her body shaking. The Prime looked up from the datapad he was browsing through.
"You most certainly are not, Alexis!"
"I am. I'm not a sparkling that needs constant attention. Yes, I get hurt. But I'm not about to lose you again. I will fight. I can stay near an Autobot, and away from Megatron, but I can fight. You know that. I won't stand by again."
"Alexis, I do not want you to see you get hurt! Autobots are easily repaired, I'm afraid Xyleons are not. I suppose I can't change your mind. But at the first sign of you not being able to handle the ferocity of battle, I am pulling you out. Understood?" The Matrix-bearer said firmly. Tears began to fall from Alexis' optics but she nodded all the same.
"Understood, Prime, sir."
Optimus nodded, hoping that nothing beyond repair would happen to his bonded. Alexis offered a hand to Chloe. The Brit carefully stepped onto the blue skin of her friend's hand, sitting down as she trembled still. Alexis pulled her hand close, Chloe cradled in it, and offered her mate a soft smile. "I'll be careful if you are..." That said, she turned and left the mission room.
Optimus just gave a soft sigh before gathering the last of his datapads and files, leaving soon after the girls.
"Where to?" Alexis asked in a shaky voice after a moment of silence.
"Umm... Rec Room me thinks... Don't fancy a lot..."
Slowly the blue girl nodded, changing directions to go to the Rec Room. Her spark was aching and she simply wanted to curl up in a ball and forget the word 'Decepticon' altogether. Sadly, that was impossible. Upon reaching the Rec Room both girls were met with quite a sight. Most of it was ablaze at the alarms hadn't even gone off.
"What the-?" Chloe said, stunned as finally the intruder alarms sounded, signifying that Decepticons were attacking.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Alexis shrieked. She set Chloe down gently. "Get to safety Chloe! Please!" Her skin hardened into armour, and a hand lengthened and changed into a blade. Her face was protected by a mask that formed, but her optics were still in plain view, wide and terrified.
"No way! I'm finding Jazz!" The stubborn Brit said, staying put by her friend's side. Not willing to fight her friend, Alexis snatched Chloe up, taking off at a sprint. She activated her comm-link as she ran.
::Jazz, report! Where are you?::
~Jazz? Please be okay! Where are you?~ Chloe hailed through their bond, hoping desperately to find the silver mech.
~Outside in the airstrip! Don't come out! There are Cons everywhere! We're holdin' them back! But they're gonna break through soon!~ Jazz replied quickly through both the bond and the comms.
::Head inside! I'll take your place! You have a bondmate to care for!:: Alexis responded through the comm.
::I'm one of the frontliners! I can't!:: Jazz said quickly, darting out of the way of Blackout's blades.
~Jazz! Please!~
::That's an order!::
The silver saboteur reluctantly pulled himself out of battle, speeding indoors and almost crashing into Alexis.
"Alright! Alright you have me here! But get to safety yourself! We're being overrun by Deceps!" Jazz said, his visor flashing deep purple.
"Jazz what's going on? Why are they attacking now?" Chloe said in panic, her own visor responding with the same coloured flash.
Alexis merely placed Chloe in Jazz's hand, giving him a look before running to join the battle. She heard Jazz cry out to stop her, but she ignored it in favor of doing her part. She dodged a blast of fire, scanning the battlefield for the closest Autobot.
"Jazz behind you!" Chloe cried out as Barricade smashed his way through the roof, sending rubble and the bondmates to the ground. As Jazz was left to battle the Decepticon, Chloe was half unconscious and bleeding, her visor cracked and her vision fluctuating.
"J-Jazz!"
Jazz quickly found himself pinned against the wall, Barricade clawing at his chest to stab his spark. "I'll slice out your spark, saboteur!" Barricade snarled, claws scratching and grinding away at Jazz's chest armour.
A piece of debris hit Barricade in the face, knocking him away from Jazz. He snarled in pure anger as he sat up, searching for his attacker. He caught sight of the one that attacked him, and a low growl was ripped from his throat. Through the open hanger doors he could see the creature Megatron was so amazed by. The female that was always out of reach.
Jazz stood again, having been knocked over as well when Barricade was. He located Chloe among the rubble, running to her side to defend her as Barricade surged to his feet, choosing Alexis as his new target. Chloe shook her head to clear it off the stars and shapes surrounding her vision, a fresh wave of dizziness attacking her senses.
"J-Jazz..." Just then, an explosion ricocheted inside everyone's heads.
"Barricade... Stand aside..." Lord Megatron commanded coolly, knocking Alexis unconscious with the simple throw of a slab of concrete.
"Yes, master," Barricade said, moving out of his leader's way.
Jazz, picked Chloe up, holding her close.
"So, the saboteur has come back to the living realm I see..." Megatron purred, teasing Jazz as he moved cautiously away from the approaching warlord. Jazz was more worried for Chloe's safety than his own.
"What's it to you, Megatron?"
"Well, saboteur, I thought I succeeded in ripping you in half... Looks to me that I was wrong.. Perhaps I should fix that as I take my little experiment away..." Megatron said slyly, whipping out his cannon and shooting at Jazz's knees, sending the silver mech to the floor. He cried out as he carefully tightened his grip on Chloe to protect her. He transformed a hand into a gun, shooting at Megatron's face hoping to take out an optic. But he missed as Megatron lunged for his prize, taking the limp girl and knocking the light from Jazz's optics, temporarily, in one fell swoop.
"What about this girl?" Barricade asked, kicking Alexis' shoulder, causing her head to turn towards Megatron. Her optics flickered faintly.
"We take her too. Both of them will be fun to... twist... I'd like to see how their bonded will react to having their lifeless carcasses left on their doorstep..." Megatron replied, cruelty in his blood-red optics and sly voice. Barricade gave a nod, carelessly pulling Alexis out from under what Megatron had thrown while Megatron snatched the limp Brit into his claws and transforming into the crude styled jet, Chloe strapped in tightly despite her injuries, and took off.
"Decepticons we have what we came for!" Came the ordered retreat from the warlord, the multiple fliers transforming and taking off into the smoke-filled sky. Barricade handed Alexis off to one of the fliers before transforming and speeding off having an escape already planned for the grounder.
"Autobots! Regroup!" Optimus ordered, fear in his optics at he commanded every fighter to cease fire.
It was at that point that Alexis stirred, her systems sensing the fact that she wasn't on the ground. Her optics came online and she blinked them to clear her sight. Only to wish that she hadn't. She screamed in terror, her sword reforming back into a hand as she struggled.
"Keep still and you won't fall to your death, girl!" Starscream hissed in Alexis' audios, metal claws digging into fleshy skin.
"Let go of me!" Alexis shrieked, completely serious. She knew falling would cause her a lot of damage, but she could always change into something else. She realized that at being knocked unconscious had reset her to her true form. Pain spread from the puncture points and she gasped.
"I said be still! I won't hesitate to kill you were you are!" Starscream screeched.
"You expect me to trust you?!"
"No I expect you to shut up and be still!" Starscream said, truly living up to his name. Alexis winced but didn't obey.
"Unhand me!"
"Absolutely not!"
"What, afraid?"
"Not of you! I'd rather keep my spark inside my housing unit, thank you very much! Megatron won't hesitate to do that!"
Alexis froze, mostly because of how high they were. She could hardly see the base anymore. But she knew that somewhere there, both Jazz and Optimus were suffering. Tears began to fall and she apologized over her bond. She stopped breathing, for her Xyleon form did need air to function. She could survive without it for a little while, if she was in space or armoured especially, but she would soon need it again. Hopefully, Starscream wasn't aware of that fact.
"Lord Megatron would prefer you to be alive, Xyleon Princess..." Starscream's scratchy voice grated in Alexis' audios. Her optics widened slightly and she hissed.
"I'd rather die than go near him," she snapped in anger.
"Are you sure..?" Starscream said slyly, pretending to drop the Xyleon. She screamed, latching onto Starscream out of fear. She was panting and her optics were as wide as they could go.
"Ack! Get off me! I can't see!" Starscream screamed, prying off Alexis' death grip over his optics. A smirk crossed the girl's face and her grip tightened causing the already out-of-balance flier to be flying even worse.
:: Hey Megatron. Did you miss me? You better come back, or you'll lose both Starscream and me. Do you really want to lose us both?:: Alexis said, aware of the fact that Megatron wouldn't want to let her die. He had always been drawn to her, and at one point even told her that he would take her for his sparkmate.
::Starscream you dare drop the girl and I will have your optics out of their sockets before you can say 'scrap'!:: Megatron threatened, flying quickly beside the Seeker and allowing the Xyleon to cling to his alt mode instead.
"Now then, Princess, I won't wave away your games so you stay still and don't mess around. Or else it is ground level slag for you." Alexis let go of Starscream and found herself falling for a second before she managed to grab onto Megatron. Suddenly she was dangling and frightened.
"Y-yes, High Protector Megatron," she responded, choosing to use his past title instead of the one he prefered. The warlord snarled, choosing to fly rather dangerously as a form of punishment.
"You dare call me that again, child, and you will see what will happen to your human friend.." As he spoke, spiked wires wrapped tightly around Chloe's neck and almost strangled her, blood being drawn from the spikes digging nastily in.
Alexis shrieked, her hold tightening as she trembled. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Lord Megatron!" Megatron 'relaxed', flying in a straight path and the wires loosening their grip around their prey. "M-Megatron... why?"
"Why what?"
"Why do you do this? Once... you were great... Now you're cruel. Why?"
"Because no one listens when you act nice... I thought Prime taught you this..." Megatron said, slight sarcasm in his tone. Alexis flinched, looking down. Her spark twisted within its chamber and she let out a shakey breath.
"You lost my respect the first time you attacked me. You just won't give up," Alexis whispered. Megatron gave a short sharp laugh before the spiked wires wrapped around Chloe's body again.
"Would you like to repeat that? And watch your friend be hurt?"
"Megatron..." Alexis started, knowing what he really wanted. He wanted her to submit. He wanted to rule her. To own her. He wanted her to lose everything she was to become what he wanted. "Do you really want me?" Megatron seemed to ponder this, for he fell silent and the wires constricting the younger girl paused in their work. Alexis' hands began to slip on purpose, just slightly, as she waited for Megatron's reply. She was sure she already knew it.
"I want you to be mine... mine and no one else's... But I'm so sure you already knew that answer, didn't you?"
"I did. But why?"
"Because a tyrant can never have.. too... much to rule over..."
"Is that all I am? A prize? Something you can win?"
"Ohh didn't you know that? I thought it'd be obvious!"
"I am not a prize. You could never win me if I was. I'm not at all like you," she stated in a faltering voice.
"Ohhh but you will be my precious Xyleon... You will be..." The tyrant replied coolly, the damned spiked wires cutting ever deeper into the human's softer flesh, hoping to aggravate the dark power within.
"What?!" Alexis' cried out in a shocked squeak. A sudden shift caused her to slip, and she once again found herself falling. This time, she didn't scream, knowing Megatron would catch her. He wouldn't lose his prize so easily. Soon enough, and true to her thoughts, Megatron swiftly caught his treasure.
"Don't think you will escape me anytime soon, my precious..." The warlord crooned, "Ohhh no... You will be my perfect queen..." At that moment, Chloe stirred ever so slightly, her optics and visor slowly changing into a deep red. A frightened sob left Alexis and she shut of her optics, running out of energy to fight what Megatron wanted. His dark dreams were coming true, and there was nothing she could do to protect herself.
Megatron gave a final laugh before landing at the remote Decepticon base's location, transforming and dumping his soon-to-be queen and catching his test subject human.
"A-AleXiS...?"
Alexis rolled to avoid breaking something, and ended up on her back looking up at Megatron. Her optics were dimmed in misery, but she forced, actually forced, a note of hope into her voice.
"Right here. Are you okay?"
"T-ThInK s-so..." The teen replied, curled up tightly in Megatron's hand as her voice switched back and forth between Black Charade's and her own. "I d-dOn'T knOw..."
"Come on Chloe, please... Hold on. For me..." Alexis responded, sounding more weary than ever before.
"I'll t-tRy t-tO... !" A sudden pain as hot as fire and yet as cold as ice ripped through the girl, making her cry out and double over in pain. Megatron, however, gave a soft and cruel coo.
"Come to me... My creation... I'm here..." He spoke, coaxing the psychopath out from its dormant state in the Briton.
"Megatron, leave her alone!" Alexis shouted, springing to her feet and calling on her blade. She pressed it, her hand merely sharpened to a deadly point, against his chest in a desperate attempt to save her friend. But he just laughed a cruel and cold laugh.
"Your pathetic sword will have no effect on my armour, girl, now if you value your life and your friend's you will BACK OFF!" He roared the final two words, his optics flashing a dangerous crimson.
"A-Al-lExIs... H-HeLp Me..." Chloe said weakly as Black Charade began her takeover again, the crude yet melodic voice switching in for the standard British tone.
"No, Megatron! Stop this! Let us go! Please... just let us go..." Alexis begged, stepping back helplessly. She winced when she was restrained by Starscream. A collar was forced onto her neck and her optics went wide. She began to scream as a shock was sent through her body, forcing her hand to return to normal. She dropped to her knees, wailing in agony, clawing at the collar which was a thin band of black metal designed to hold a Xyleon in a single form. It was deadly because it drove them mad, usually leading to them taking their own lives.
"N-NO! AlExIs!" Chloe cried out in Black Charade's voice, stunning the grey warlord into dropping her. As the Brit fell the same crude black metal burned its way up her legs and arms, coating her once more. The staff-sword forming in her hands with the same lethal blade coated in black. Copper joints replaced parts of her fingers and the crude and jagged black mask covered her face again, ripping away her visor as she discarded it into the dirt. "LeAvE hEr AlOnE!" Black Charade screamed at the Decepticons, darting forwards and slashing sharply away at said Decepticon's leg.
Starscream yelled and backed away, dragging Alexis with him. "Megatron, stop her! What is she doing?!"
"How in the Pit am I meant to know, Starscream!?" Megatron roared at his Second, stepping forwards so a pede blocked most of the killing machine's path. "Black Charade you are my creation! I order you to stop!" Megatron commanded, using a jolt of electricity to bring the psychopath to a halt. Black Charade faltered in her step before crumpling to the ground, her obsidian-black armour bursting into dust and blowing away, leaving a fourteen-year-old girl in its wake.
Alexis' wails broke off to mourning sobs, giving up on her clawing to reach out to Chloe, not able to think because of the collar.
"Starscream lessen the volts on that collar, I want her alive not insane or dead!" A voice ordered, cryptic and distorted in both girls' ears. Starscream did as ordered and suddenly Alexis could see straight again. She gasped for air and freedom, looking up at Megatron with dull, glazed optics.
"Take her inside to the cells along with her pathetic friend. I will see to them later." Megatron ordered, his voice still distorted in their ears.
"Yes, my lord," Starscream replied, giving a short bow. He pulled Alexis to her feet and picked Chloe up. He followed orders and brought them to the cells.