Chloe wasn't sure what was going on. Or how long had passed, for that matter. But it certainly felt like several days. During that time, no Decepticons moved her from her cell after she'd been brought back to it. She hadn't seen Alexis during that time either. All she knew was that she was getting weaker with time.
No one, not even Alexis, visited Chloe's cell. She was left to waste away in her tiny cell without food and barely any water. Energon stopped arriving as well. She was beginning to truly feel the effects of being captured for so long. All she could do was ponder over her fate and whether the Autobots were working to save her or not.
The scrapping of metal was surprising and Chloe managed to lift her head to see a Decepticon in the doorway of the cell. He spoke to someone out of Chloe's line of sight before entering. He carelessly picked her up and headed back to the hallway. A soft moan escaped her lips as she was handled harshly before curling up in the being's hand, pain still throbbing in her chest.
"Where to?" The Decepticon asked another. The second replied with what Chloe both knew he would and dreaded. The torture chamber she's always been brought to when she was forced to endure what Soundwave, Starscream, or Megatron had in store for her. She used to always have an insult at the ready for the Decepticons who handled her, but today came none. Her throat was as dry as sandpaper, her voice as weak as wool and her strength running out rapidly again. She was jostled as the Decepticon started to walk.
Her thoughts slowly turned to Jazz and the other Autobots. Praying they'd come. Praying that there would just suddenly be an alarm and there they would be, all of them stood in the hole in the wall blasted by Ironhide. Waiting to take her home. But they weren't.
She was dragged from her thoughts when the Decepticon stopped at the torture chamber and opened the door, stepping inside to place her on the table. He then left her in silence. "W... What? T... That's it..? C... Cowards..." Was all she could manage before she slumped onto her side on the table and awaited whatever treatment they had planned for her today, her ragged breathing echoing around the room.
The silence of the room was deafening to Chloe. The large machine still hung above the table, though it had been cleaned of her blood was off. No Decepticon was present, no mech or femme to torture her. That in itself was almost startling.
"So we're cowards, are we?"
Chloe jumped, slowly sitting up to face the speaker. "Yeah... Cos you always run away from a battle like the wussies you are... Cos you can't win cuz you suck..." Chloe managed. Her optics scanned her surroundings to locate the Decepticon she was talking to.
"Do we? I never have..."
"Yeah so? All Cons are wussies... Cos they suck and are pathetic..." Chloe replied, still searching for the talker.
"Mm... I'll keep that in mind."
"So? Why bother?"
"Curious creature..."
"What? You got a problem with me being alive still? Or am I not dead enough for you?"
"I don't want to kill you. I want you alive..."
"Why? Why bother with me at all? I'm just a stupid little flesh creature, remember? Decepticons hate me. So should you. Or must I spell it out for you? With you being a Con an' all, I'm surprised you're keeping up with this conversation..."
"I'm just... curious myself. What, don't you recognize me?"
"Considering I can barely SEE out of these cracked optics AND you're stood in the shadows, no. I can't place your voice because my memory has been torn to bits. So no, I don't recognise you right now." Chloe stated bluntly, gesturing to her cracked optics that flickered weakly in the shadowy room.
"I can fix that, if you'd like. You remembered me before..."
"So? Why do you bother? The Decepticons have done nothing but hurt me, so why should you be any different? How do I know you ain't gonna hurt me again?"
"I haven't hurt you. Not yet, at least. I'm not like the other Decepticons. You should have realized that by now..."
Chloe saw a shadow move closer and place something in front of her before returning back to the darkness. Upon inspection, she found that the item was actually just a piece of bread.
"What? Are you trying to poison me or something?" Chloe replied, narrowing her cracked optics and moving away from the bread, not trusting it at all.
"Of course not. As I see it... you could starve to death right here or you could take a risk and eat what I give you. It's not stale or rotten. I suggest you take it. It was gotten for me to eat, after all..."
Chloe blinked, her vision not clearing at all. Cautiously, her hand reached for the bread, snatching it up and tearing off a small bit and placing it on her tongue. 'It's not poisoned... Or stale... Or rotten... Maybe they are here to help me...' Chloe thought, slowly chewing on another piece. The Decepticon remained silent and unmoving in the darkness, still not revealing themselves to Chloe. Silence passed over them until Chloe broke the silence again; having finished the food she was given.
"Ok, what I don't get is... Yes thanks very much for that, but what are you doing here if you're a Con?"
"You're welcome," the Decepticon said, its voice softening slightly and becoming more female in tone. It was one of many pieces of information of a blurred whole. Chloe remained silent, thinking things over and getting frustrated at being presented with so little answers.
"I've told you why I'm here..."
"Yeah, to apparently help me. But why?"
"It's because I'm curious about you..."
"So what's so 'curious' bout me? I haven't died yet? I'm still so annoying?"
"No to both. You're just... human. And still quite interesting. Despite what your attitude."
"What's wrong with my attitude? I have every right to be pissy with you all because you took my best friend from me!" Chloe shouted, fury eating away at her. The Decepticon gave a low rattling laugh.
"You still don't recognize me, do you?"
"Well how am I supposed to? I can't see!" Chloe shouted again, beginning to get super frustrated.
"Let me give you a clue then..." There was a click somewhere in the darkness and the Decepticon cleared her vocalizer. When she spoke again, it sent chills of horror down Chloe's spine. "Is this better for you? Can you place my voice now?"
"You suck." Was all Chloe said before turning away, tears pricking her broken optics again. The Decepticon laughed again and the click repeated, changing the voice back.
"I've changed... As I'm sure you can tell now..."
"You suck. You really do." Chloe repeated, every word paining her to say.
"Do I? Last time I checked... I'm the only one truly interested in keeping you alive. It's why I haven't done anything more than toy with you. I could be so much worse."
"Then why don't you? You've already taken away every last hope I had for both of us getting out of here together, so why not end me?" Chloe felt something prod her before she sight blurred further. It went black for a moment before there was another click and she blinked to readjust to having her optics repaired. And suddenly... she could see again.
Chloe's optics went wide. She caught sight of the Decepticon for the first time since being brought to the room. Alexis stood before her. Her hair was down this time, hanging down so some was in her face. Her optics were still blood red, casting a harsh glow onto her skin which was tainted with grey. She wore a skin tight black dress decorated with sharp barbs that didn't look right on her. And she was cut and bruised further, making it look like she just stepped out of a very bad brawl. She wore heavy black makeup too, which she never would have before. And Chloe could clearly see scars on her neck from where she'd tried to claw the collar off as a prisoner.
"What... What happened to you Alexis?" Chloe said, tears pricking her optics again. Nothing could hurt her more than this sight before her.
"What... What happened to you Alexis?" Chloe said, tears pricking her optics again. Nothing could hurt her more than this sight before her. "And don't say that you've been made perfect because you haven't. They always said to never ruin pure things with chemicals..."
Alexis sighed and moved back into the darkness, hiding almost perfectly in the shadows. The red of her optics stood out through the black all the same. "Nothing I didn't want."
"Nothing should have happened to you... You were perfect how you were before... Not now..." Chloe forced her tears back as she watched what used to be her friend fade away into the shadows again.
"No... I was far from perfect. I was trapped. My Lord's only shown me what I could be."
Chloe gave a strangled hiss before replying.
"He ruined you... He showed you what you could be that's from another dimension... This isn't you Alexis... This is just crap..."
Alexis cackled, her new voice deeper and hissing, and was slow to reply, "It's who I've chosen to be. Who I want to be. Always wanted to be..."
"Lies. And you know it. Don't lie to me, Alexis, because there's only one thing that hurts more than that machinery."
"Oh... my dear Chloe... you haven't felt pain yet."
"Shut yo face... I have..."
Once more Alexis moved forward, her hand shooting out quickly, and her claws just starting to dig into Chloe's flesh. Just deep enough to get a response. "!" Chloe cried out in pain, but not enough to get a satisfied expression from the Xyleon, "I have known pain... In every way possible... Only death could be relief..."
Alexis snarled, her fangs once again catching the light. She withdrew her claws and looked up at the machine. Slowly she sighed and moved away, though she stayed in the light of the room. Once seeing that she still had Chloe's attention she smirked and held out an arm. She gently placed a hand on her arm and dug her claws into her own skin hard enough to make her black blood rush to the surface.
"Stop it."
"No... I don't think I will," Alexis snapped. Her optics brightened and widened when her claws dug further. She grinned.
"I SAID STOP IT!" Chloe screamed, curling up tight under the table as Black Charade made her move to possess the Briton again. Upon seeing signs of Black Charade, Alexis removed her claws from her arm and flicked the blood off them. Her sick twisted grin only grew.
Having been obscured by the table from the twisted Xyleon, a black claw reached out from under the table, dipping a sharpened finger into the pools of blood that were on the floor. Black metal fingers probed the blood, exploring it like a child discovering water for the first time.
A single red optic opened in the darkness, blinking as it took in its surroundings before shutting off again; the light around it was too bright. The optic opened again, blinking and readjusting to the light around it. Slowly, Black Charade crawled out from where she was hiding. But only part of the demon machine was there, as if it had merged with the human side of its host.
The demon-machine crouched there in the light, poking and probing the blood on the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. In one clawed hand was her usual weapon but the other was a naked human's hand. Only flesh, no protective shell. The black metal only went as far as the human girl's right thigh, further than that was the tattered material of her jeans.
The Xyleon watched, interested by the display. She stayed out of the other's way as she slowly walked around the table, blood dripping from her hands. Black Charade never looked up at the other being in the room, her single optic focusing solely on the pool of blood that was the same colour as her optic.
"A... A... Al... AlE... xIs..." Black Charade grated, her vocaliser grinding as she spoke and her voice as soft as nails. Alexis smirked and nodded to Black Charade.
"Yes...?"
"B... Bl... BlO... BlOoD..." Black Charade stated, never looking up at the Xyleon as she spoke. Then came a startling question for Alexis, for she knew Black Charade questioned nothing like this.
"W.. WhY...?"
Alexis' optics narrowed in annoyance and confusion. "Why what?"
"W... WhY... B... BlOoD...?" Black Charade grated again, knowing what she meant. Alexis only hissed. "Y... YoUr... BlOoD... W... WhY?"
"As if you were the only one who was tortured..."
"H.. HuRt... YoUrSeLf... WhY?"
"To prove a point."
"Why?" Black Charade said again, her voice switching back to the child's.
"I'm stronger than your host... I have a lot left to prove to my Lord..."
"Why prove it to him?"
Alexis' expression turned to one of confusion and her voice faltered, "I must... He's... the one that made me into this... I owe it to him."
"He.. made you... a... MoNsTeR..."
"I'm no such thing!"
"HuRt YoUrSeLf... HuRt Me... We ArE oNe AnD tHe SaMe..."
Alexis flinched and once again tears began to slide down her cheeks, creating black lines across her skin. "You're faulty! You're wrong..."
"I aM nO sUcH tHiNg... We WeRe BoTh CrEaTeD bY MeGaTrOn... We BoTh BeLoNg To HiM... We ArE bOtH hIs TwIsTeD cReAtIoNs... MaDe FoR hIs SiCk EnTeRtAiNmEnT... YoU kNoW iT's TrUe..."
"No! No! It's not true! It's not!" Alexis screamed, backing away from Black Charade as if the tiny human was a threat to a being as large as her. She clutched her head as her optics changed between blue and red and her screams became agonized cries.
"I am... sorry... Alexis..." The metal monster said before standing and approaching the Xyleon, the insane grin painted on the metal mask boring into the colour-changing optics of the Xyleon before her. "But you know... it is the truth... You know... how he loves his toys... You know... what you are now is a lie..."
Alexis continued to back away until she was against the wall. She was trembling badly and gasping at the pain practically shattering her processor. The world distorted and twisted in her optics as her spark fought itself, the only thing that remained clear was her view of Black Charade.
"I am so sorry... But you need to wake up…" She said again, slowly pressing the blade of her weapon into Alexis' ankle again. Alexis' optics went wide at the new rush of pain before dimming away to nothing as she slipped down the wall and fell unconscious. Her body was unable to cope with what she was going through.
~~~~~ X Time Later ~~~~~
Blurring lights ran past her vision, blinding her as she opened her optics to a darkened room. The power was out, with ricocheting noises surrounding her. It was like a battlefield had erupted. Looking down around her, Alexis saw the crumpled form of the human child with blood pooling around her. An explosion shook the building they were in to its foundations and dust fell from the ceiling, the broken lights swaying with the force. Shouting could be heard from further away as a battle took place, no doubt.
Alexis felt tied to what was going on, as if she was to blame, and separate at the same time. She tried to climb to her feet, only to have pain flare from her ankle which forced her back down. She snarled in frustrated and ripped a section of her dress to wrap her ankle with to stop the bleeding. She then picked up the human girl and walked to the door, just as it swung open.
"Alexis?" A voice cried, almost making the Xyleon fall back to the floor.
Alexis' optics went wide then narrowed as she growled in annoyance and frustration. Her free hand changed to a blade and she pressed it to the mech's throat.
"Move, Autobot!" she ordered.
"Hahaha, no." The mech replied, wrapping an arm around Alexis' waist and dragging her from the room.
"LET GO OF ME!" Alexis screamed, thrashing as much as possible. She dug her claws into whatever part of him she could reach, whether it was his shoulder or chest she didn't care. Her blade dug into his metal as well in her attempt to get free. A grunt was the only sound of pain that came from the mech, proving that her struggles were of no use.
"Quit it Lexie..."
Her optics went as wide as possible and she froze, her optics turning blue. "Ironhide?" she called softly in her true voice. Ironhide smiled slightly, but never put her down.
"I'm here Lexie... I'm here... Just hold on to that true part o' ya til Ratch' can sort ya out... Kay?"
"W-what's h-happening t-to m-me?"
"Megatron ruined ya mind... We're gonna fix ya, ok?" Ironhide replied, still keeping a tight grip on the Xyleon.
"O-okay..." she answered, practically going limp in Ironhide's hold. Tears were falling again and she jumped at every noise. Ironhide continued to walk down the corridor, getting the feeling he had forgotten someone.
"Say... Didn't you have somethin' in ya hands?" He said, breaking the silence. Alexis nodded slightly, and looked down, uncurling her hand to reveal Chloe. The Xyleon's optics went wide again and she made a sound that was a cross between a whimper and gasp. She looked up at Ironhide in fear.
"I-I... h-hurt her... d-didn't I?"
Ironhide's expression darkened a bit. "I don't know. Only you can know that. I wasn't there when you might've..." A weak cough drew both aliens' attention to the frail body cradled in Alexis' hands. "Chloe? Kid, can ya hear meh?" Ironhide said, soon leaving the base through a hole blasted through a wall earlier and entering the stinging cold air outside. A moan of pain was all that they heard before gunshots erupted in their audios.
"Crap! Running!" Ironhide yelped, running back to where the other Autobots were grouped, keeping a tight grip on both girls. Alexis only screamed and turned her free hand back to normal. She curled her hand around Chloe to protect her, and latched onto Ironhide with her other hand. She shut her optics off, slipping back into the battle going on in her spark. Her mind was telling her to attack Ironhide while he was distracted to free herself, while her spark was telling her that she was safe with him and needed to trust him. The fight within her was growing worse. And so was her terror at what she was becoming.
Ironhide's shouted words were becoming more and more distorted to the Xyleon, drowned out by the gunshots and the fighting around her.
"Just hold on Alexis!"
She watched the blurred battlefield for a moment before she was dragged back into darkness, and it fell silent for her once more.
"Will she be ok?"
"I should hope so..."
"Are you SURE though Ratchet?"
"Do I look like a mind-reading-ninja?"
"WELL...
"JAZZ GET OUT OF MY MEDBAY!"
Those were the sounds that reached Chloe's ears as she slowly woke up, her breathing amplified by the oxygen mask strapped around her mouth and nose. The two Autobots continued to argue, oblivious to Chloe waking up. In the background she was fairly sure she could hear another Autobot speaking, Ironhide by the sounds of it, but she didn't know who he was talking to.
"J... J... a..." Was all she could manage before she lapsed into silence, unnoticed by the quarrelling mechs.
"Hatchet? Jazz? Chloe's up," Ironhide said, despite the fact that he was paying more attention to something else. Both mechs stopped arguing, their attention snapping to the limp form on the medical berth before them. Ironhide huffed and went back to softly talking in the background.
"Chloe?" Ratchet called gently, hoping for a reaction from the figure on the berth. A sign, any sign, that she was getting better and would survive, would be a sign for the best. A soft moan was the only other response he got, aside from Chloe shifting her head to a cooler spot on the pillow upon which it was resting. Ratchet looked over at Jazz before moving off to work with the machines attached to Chloe by wires.
"J... Ja... Ja... z... z..." Chloe breathed, her optics flickering…
"Right here Babe..." Jazz said, transforming to activate his holoform.
"Jazz..." Chloe managed to pull open her half-fixed optics, a weak smile painting her scarred face. He took her hand and stroked it gently, smiling himself in relief.
"There's mah girl."
"Hey Jazz..." Chloe said weakly, her voice muffled by the oxygen mask.
"Cazz... Ya scared us..." Jazz stated. He sat beside her and stroked her hair gently. "Hurt real bad, weren't ya? You're safe now... I'm not loosin' you again."
"I know... I'm sorry Jazz... The Decepticons hurt... me..." Came the weak reply, tears brimming in the broken and dim optics as she remembered the events from the Decepticon base. Jazz continued to stroke his bondmate's hair. He leaned over and kissed her forehead and sighed.
"Not your fault..."
"Alexis...? What... about her? Is she ok?" Chloe said, her optics wide as she remembered her best friend's unstable state of mind. Jazz sighed again and pointed over to where Ironhide was. Chloe just managed to turn her head, seeing that Ironhide was talking to a dark figure.
Alexis was layed out on a medical berth, restrained by thick metal bands on her wrists and ankles. It was quite possible, that she looked worse than before. The grey of her skin had grown, dulling the blue. She was panting and sweating, with her head turned towards Ironhide. It was clear though, that was unconscious, for her optics were dark and she wasn't responding to anything Ironhide said. She looked as unhealthy as Chloe did, and was just as thin and sickly looking as the human girl.
"She's woken up a few times," Ratchet said to fill Chloe in. "Most of them though she wakes to try to get up and fight our assistance or to instantly break down emotionally. The two personalities are clashing enough to make her suffer. I'm starting to doubt that she will recover..."
"But... She has to recover... Black Charade made her confused... I think... it was something Charade said that confused the personalities..." Chloe tried hard to remember, yet her efforts were in vain. Barely a scrap was left of her memory. She had forgotten again.
"What were we talking about?"
Ratchet frowned instantly and looked away from what he was doing to study Chloe. "About Alexis..." he replied gently.
The girl's expression became more confused as she tried to remember. "We... were?"
"We were..."
"I don't... remember... Are you sure? I know how your processor is gettin'..."
Ratchet looked over at Jazz in concern.
"Chloe... I think there's something wrong with yours..."
"Baby, you were talkin' about Alexis with Ratchet," Jazz confirmed, fear building in his spark.
"I wasn't! ... Was I? Why don't I remember?" Chloe said, her optics wide and her mind beginning to panic.
"Chloe," Ratchet started only to stop when he heard Alexis mumble something under her breath. All optics flicked to the limp form on the berth on the far side of the room.
"Alexis?"
Alexis' optics came online after a moment, blue in colour. "N-no, s-stop it... 'Hide? W-what's...? N-no!" She began to pull at the restraints, panic clear on her face.
"Alexis, calm down. It's ok." Ironhide said gently, putting a warm hand on the Xyleon's cold skin.
"Alexis? You ok?" Chloe asked, still confused at how they got out alive.
"M-make it stop! Please! Please!" Alexis cried. She flinched away from Ironhide as much as possible and her optics brightened with fear. Ironhide grabbed a small needle full of a mild sedative and gently pressed it into Alexis' neck, allowing the fluid to drain into her systems.
"It's ok... Calm down..." Ironhide said gently still.
Alexis whimpered and her optics changed from blue to red and back before going dark. "O-Optimus... r-run," she whispered. She stayed awake but quiet, sobbing as she twisted her wrists in the metal holding them in place. Ironhide didn't turn back to face the others in the room, instead staying by Alexis as she struggled in vain while confusion clouded Chloe's face and optics again.
"What happened?"
Ratchet sighed, his optics moving from Alexis to Jazz. "Get some rest, Chloe. You need it," the medic said softly.
"No I don't, I just woke up..." Chloe protested, forgetting that she'd already been awake for more than ten minutes.
"Chloe... rest. There's something wrong with your memories and ability to remember information. You didn't just wake up. You've been awake long enough to learn of Alexis' situation and forget what I'd said," Ratchet responded, careful to keep his tone even.
"I didn't! I just woke up! I swear I just did!" Chloe's optics were wide again at the fear of forgetting again. Ratchet just gave up and moved over to speak with Ironhide instead while Jazz remained where he was, his expression that of someone caught in a hard situation. "Jazz? Why can't I remember?" The girl whimpered, looking to her bondmate for answers.
"I don't know... The 'Cons probably messed with your mind like they did hers..." Jazz replied slowly.
"They can't have... Please tell me they didn't Jazz..." Chloe said, nearing tears at the thought of her memory being fiddled with too.
"I... can't..." Jazz said. He looked over at the medic and felt his spark breaking. Chloe had returned to him, broken and battered. Alexis had been taken from the Decepticons, just as broken and possibly worse. "I'm sorry..."
"But... Wh... I don't understand..." She said, sitting up and pulling the mask from her face that was still giving her oxygen. Instantly her lungs tightened, screaming for the good stuff to be given back. Jazz gently put the mask back on Chloe with a slight smile.
"You can't take it off yet…"
"But I want to..." Chloe said, tears leaking from her broken optics as she hugged Jazz tightly, almost breaking down into his holoform's warm chest.
"Ya can't... We'll get through this... I promise," Jazz stated. He gently hugged Chloe back.
"O.. Ok... T.. Trust you... Jazz..." She sobbed, slowly forgetting again as she slipped into dreams of confusion and insanity, all of them ending with the same thing. Entrapment. Jazz could only sit there and hold her, feeling as if his spark was being ripped out.
"Ironhide... we need to tell Prime about this... What's happened to them both," Ratchet said softly, keeping his voice as low as possible to avoid disturbing Chloe, Jazz, or Alexis. Ironhide merely nodded, inwardly panicking at both girls' situations.
"Ah know Ratchet.. But is it right for us tah put more on Prime's plate?"
"No, but he needs to know. Alexis is still bonded to him. I scanned her spark earlier. They didn't break the bond. And she's still a threat to his safety," Ratchet replied.
"I know that too..." Ironhide sighed, giving in, "Alright.. So we tell 'im... But when?"
"Now? Chloe's in recharge again, Jazz is here if Chloe wakes, and Alexis is calm because of the sedative you gave her. We won't get a better time..."
Ironhide nodded again.
"Alright... We're both goin'..."
"That was what I was suggesting," Ratchet said. He moved away and headed to the door, feeling the hopeless of the situation growing with each passing moment. Ironhide followed, a heavy weight tied to his spark as he left the Medbay and, what he hoped, the grief behind.
Together the two headed to their Prime's office to report what was happening with both girls. Upon reaching it, Ratchet knocked on the door and was beckoned inside by Optimus. They entered and stood in front of Optimus' desk. "Can I... help you both?" Optimus said, almost wearily as he looked up from the datapad he was drawing on.
Ratchet sighed and replied, "You need to hear this... It's about the girls..."