Fan Fiction: Transformers/ Beast Wars
Title: Tried and True: Different dimensional links
A/N: Well, it would appear that the first chapter was to everyone's liking! That's great! Well, as promised, the second chapter has been posted, so please enjoy and tell me what you think. I'm thinking of changing the rating on this one but that'll come a little later…;)
Chapter# 2- It has a name?
The picture of a black screen came up into her minds eye, a line blinking as it stood idle. Then just as the black screen came into hr sight a series of data began to fill the black screen, followed by the soft electrical hum of a start-up.
Rebooted, Blackarachnia was finally able to slowly open her optics. Little of her strength started to return to her frame but not enough to move around very much. Though unable to move she could still see, hear and feel. She could hear the soft crackling of a contained fire, small but enough to send warmth into her frame. She no longer lay on the jungle floor but now Blackarachnia lay on a bed of broad-rimmed leaves covered with a blanket made of long grass blades interwoven with some sort of cotton-like material, rough dirt and rocks beneath the bed of leaves that served to keep her from the hard ground. Her vision steady, she looked around at her new surroundings and saw that she was now in a cave!
Blackarachnia moved her head around to see what else was there but there was nothing but solid walls of rock surrounding her, the light and shadows dancing across the walls as the flames played its soft, crackling sounds.
She was unsure of what to make of all this. One thing was for sure, she had to remain alert and on her guard. But seeing how she was still in a great deal of pain Blackarachnia could do no more than to look around and be alert much to her frustration.
"Ah! So you have finally awoken."
A low rumble voiced seemed to have come from nowhere. Blackarachnia darted her head in every direction, trying to see where the voice was coming from. A flash of a bolt of thunder from the rainy outside illuminated some of the darkness long enough for her to make out a tall and broad figure standing at the mouth of the cave, it's glowing gold eyes illuminating out of the darkness but with a sort of menacing look to it.
"I'm quite relieved to see that you are awake at last, my friend. How are you feeling?"
Its voice spoke with a low tone laced with patience and benevolence. The words its spoke gave her the impression that it was a being of the literal arts; a book worm as humans would put it.
"Ugh …like I was hit with an energon bomb by someone playing 'squash the spider'."
"Hmm, still feeling some discomfort, I see. Well, as luck would have it I have just the remedies we need to treat your ailments, my friend."
Blackarachnia heard the figure begin to approach her, the rocks and dirt crunching beneath its two, no longer four, feet. As it came closer its frame and appearance were becoming visible in her peripheral view.
Stepping close to the fire, a tall avian-like being emerged from the shadows of the cave. It was a male, a tall one at that, with shining silver armor combined with organic fur and parts of it s organic side were exposed from beneath that armor. Its organic body was muscular, from what she could make out. Broad shoulders, a well chiseled abdominal area with strong looking arms and legs. He had techno-matter armor over his shoulders, covering his chest and around his waist was a loin cloth-like armor attachments, knee and shin guards as well.
He had clawed feet with black talons. At his back were two broad wings rimmed with gold and black linings, folded neatly at his back.
Blackarachnia let optics venture higher and she saw his face for the very first time. He had a dark face guard over his golden eyes and lining his jaw. The face guard was connected to his wolf-like ears with spiked organic hair lining his cranium. His overall features were the likeness of a feral beast mixed with majestic flying organic bird humans called an eagle.
The figure approached her with a satchel slung over his shoulder. He came closer to where she lay and knelt down at her bedside.
She grew tense and her body reacted, pulling away slightly trying to put some distance between them. The figure noticed and gave an understanding smile as he started to dig through his satchel.
"Ah, forgive my sudden approach, my friend. I did not mean to alarm you. But I must continue to treat your wounds just a while longer. Oh! But as a bonus, I came upon a thick brush containing wild berries and parttok of them in the hopes that we may share them."
She gave the male an incredulous look.
"Berries? Are you nuts?!"
"Uh, sorry. I found no nuts but if you like, I-"
"That's not what I mean, you moron! Look at me! I'm not like the lowly beasts around this dump! Aaaahhh!"
She was getting riled up and forgot her wounds, the pain from them silencing her as it shot out as she moved. The male brought his hands up instinctively and placed them on her shoulders.
"Please be still, my friend! You are not fully healed just yet. Here, lie back down and be at ease."
Very carefully the male lightly pushed her back down on her back and onto the leafy bed.
She let out a tired sigh and relaxed herself, her suspicious eyes never leaving the male. He then reached into his bag once more and took from it another bag containing the berries of which he had spoken about. He lay the bag down and reached into his satchel again and took out some leaves and twigs and other sorts of vegetation that seemed to give off a sort of medicinal aroma.
He reached one final time into his belongings and took out a ceramic bowl with another primitive and heavier looking bowl under it, with a rock-like handle in his other hand.
"What are those for?"
"These herbs here will help with your organic healing properties, so as to speed up the healing process and reduce any further damage from occurring."
"So, what? You expect me to eat that leafy junk?"
She heard him let out a light chuckle at her little quip.
"You are mistaken, my friend. I' am going to grind these herbs into a salve and apply it to your outer wounds. You have many cuts and scraps that I cannot clean out so easily from your organic parts without causing you harm and they need attending to. Well, that's only half of what it's for."
At hearing his tone in voice change Blackarachnia arched an eye brow.
"Half? What's that supposed to mean? What are you putting into my systems, Fido?"
"Fido? Er, what I mean to say is that there is some minor internal damage that I cannot reach and if left unattended, could cause more harm than good. So that is why this salve must be applied and consumed."
"So you expect me to choke that down?"
"I'm afraid so, my friend."
"Stop saying that already! I'm not your friend, got that? And there's no way in the pit that I'm even touching that crud, it looks like liquefied scrap."
At hearing this, his ears drooped and his expression sank.
"I' am sorry but there is no other way."
"Forget it, dog-breath! Besides, I'm feeling fine now."
Blackarachnia attempted to raise herself up and she propped herself up with her arms and bracing the weight of her upper torso on her elbows. She flung the blanket away and got to her knees when she was overtaken by a surge of pain suddenly shooting into her entire frame, causing her to cry out with a start.
She nearly fell forward as she tensed up from the pain but the strange male caught her and supported her body with his careful hands.
"You mustn't act so carelessly, my friend. Please lie back down and be at ease, for you must rest."
Unable to put up much a fight Blackarachnia had no choice but to let him help her lay back down on her back, her new found strength spent as quickly as it had come.
He took great care in helping her lay down, afraid that he would cause more harm upon her. Once she was lying down again he retrieved the blanket and covered her with it. She let out a tired sigh and let her frame sink into the leafy bedding once again. She may not be able to move much but it was better than before.
Blackarachnia watched through weary optics as the strange male took hold of the stone bowl in one hand and gathered some berries in the other. He began squeezing the berries in his hand, the red juice dripping between his fingers. It was at that time Blackarachnia had noticed, for the first time that on his upper left arm was the familiar insignia of the Autobot emblazoned there. Her face gave an uncomfortable look.
"Tch! Typical. Even all the way out here in the sticks I end up with an incompetent autobot."
She spat the words out as she glared in his direction, feeling greatly annoyed at this point. He said nothing but only turned to her and smiled.
He then finished with the berries and, turning to Blackarachnia, presented the bowl to her optics.
"Here. The juices I have extracted from the organic berries have significant healing properties in them. If you drink this it will help in your organic body healing much quicker. And even return your strength to you over time."
The irritated arachnid gave him an annoyed look then looked to the bowl of dark red watery liquid. It had a sort of sweet and earthy smell to it. She rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust.
"Sometimes I disgust even myself. Fine! I'll try it but if it tastes weird then expect to get it back all over your face, Rover."
"Fair enough."
'This guys' patience is getting on my very last nerve.' She thought to herself.
He gently propped her head up with his arm and raised the edge of the bowl to her lips. Tilting it carefully she took a small careful taste of it and found it a little to her liking. Giving him a sure nod she drank in more of the sweet tasting organic juice, a small amount falling from the corner of her lips as she gulped it quickly, feeling it slide down her throat and filling her insides. After a few more gulps he retreated the almost empty bowl, final drop of it escaping the same corner of her lip.
Strangely enough the organic liquid was filling, much to her surprise. She saw his face looking right at her, she guessed, waiting to hear her comment on the juice.
"Eh. I've had worse."
He then smiled at her, pleased to hear that she liked it at least a little enough to give him a reply.
"I'll try a wider array of berries next time. Now I must prepare the salve for your outer wounds."
He drank what little she left and set the bowl down. He reached for the herbs he took out before and tossed them into the bowl and, taking the handle-like rock from before, began grinding them against the stone bowl. Blackarachnia, feeling full and slightly active, looked on as he ground the herbs in the bowl with his arms and hands, the organic muscles beneath his flesh playing in rhythm to his movements. Her mind becoming too active, Blackarachnia decided to stir up a conversation.
"Why are you doing this for me? What do you have to gain from it, Rover? You know what I' am, don't you? If it's a reward your after, I have nothing on me. If its gratitude you're expecting then you can forget about that too!"
"Yes, I know fully well of what you are but that is not relevant. Your allegiance is not what defines you but it is WHO you are that I' am most intrigued about. As for a reward, I require none. Just knowing that you are alive and well is enough for me."
He gave her an assuring smile and continued to grind the herbs. She felt a loss for words. She couldn't come up with a snappy come-back or a witty retort as she would normally do in situations like this. For the first time in her life an autobot had rendered her speechless, without even trying, without even realizing it perhaps. And she made sure he didn't know of her sudden silence, disguising her speechlessness with a grumbled sigh.
Neither one spoke for a long while. The only sounds coming from inside the cave were the gentle cracklings of the fire, the heavy rain falling from outside the cave, the forceful grindings of the male preparing the salve with him silently grunting with effort. A strange medicinal aroma began to fill the air as the herbs were ground.
Blackarachnia felt a light and refreshing feeling wash over her frame, the juice working its healing properties into her organic systems. She felt the pain slowly ebb away as the healing process began to take effect. Feeling almost better, Blackarachnia moved herself so that she now lay on her left side where she could keep a cautious optic on the male.
"Hey, bone-brain!"
"Yes, my friend?"
"Quit calling me your 'friend' already! The name's Blackarachnia. So what's yours? I can't keep calling you 'Rover' and 'Fido' all the time."
"My apologies, my manners were absent when we first met. I' am called by the name of Silver bolt, my fri-uh, Blackarachnia. It is quite a pleasure to make your acquaintance. It is especially comforting to be in the presence of another organic."
"Yeah …"
'Too bad our acquaintance has to be short lived! Once I'm able to, I'm outta this place.'
She thought to herself with a sly grin. Still with her optics on the male she saw his golden optics seriously focused onto his task, his arms and hands working diligently and with a quiet strength to them.
"So how long was I out for?"
"Three days and two nights. I must admit that on the second night I was beginning to grow concerned."
At hearing this Blackarachnia couldn't help but to arch a brow in interest, a small grin at her lips again.
"Oh? And what were you so concerned about?"
She saw his grinding motions come to a slow halt as he weighed his words in his processor.
"Well …my concerns were of you, of your well-being. It pained me to see such a magnificent femme such as yourself lying on the jungle floor and unconscious. And with wounds, no less! I felt disgusted just to think who would have the audacity to cause you such harm. Tell me, where you in a battle of some sort? Was someone pursuing you?"
"That's none of your business, fuzz-n-feathers! Besides, I don't need to answer to the likes of you, an Autobot freak!"
"Mmm, perhaps I overstepped some boundaries with my constant questions. Very well then, I shall ask you no more on the matter."
Silverbolts' calm voice and patient demeanor made Blackarachnia scoff sarcastically under her breath.
"What's your story, anyway?"
"Ah! Are you interested in my origin?"
"Well, I gotta past the time somehow, don't I?"
Silverbolt chuckled lightly at her little light remark.
"Very well then. My tale is a bit complicated to explain. I cannot remember much prior to being on earth but I remember fragments of my arrival. My stasis pod had crashed out of orbit and entered the earths' atmosphere, crashing into the African jungle. My protoform was exposed to the elements and my spark was on the verge of joining the matrix. But then just as all hope was lost, a strange and feral looking earth creature, with comrades in toe, pulled me from my malfunctioning pod and saved my life. My scanners picked up their DNA traces and my form is the end result. I was puzzled as to why I was with two fused forms until I found out later that the very same creatures that saved me had just finished dining on a rare find, an eagle I think it was. And this is the latter."
He set the rock down as he finished with the herbs. Silverbolt brought the stone bowl up to his face and took in the aroma. He reached into a compartment and took out a small foil package. Blackarachnia immediately grew alert at seeing it and narrowed her eyes at him.
"What's that?"
"This is ground energon. I made this with the last amount I had in my pod and sealed it in this small package. A small pinch of this will help to reconstruct your techno-matter while boosting up the healing rate of the organic properties."
Blackarachnia saw Silverbolt dip his fore finger and thumb into the foil and take a small amount of the fine light blue powder. He sprinkled it into the salve and stirred it into the mix. He stopped to take out the rock and, seeing he had spilled some onto his hand, licked it up. He smacked his lips lightly, tasting the salve.
"Hmm, it needs something more."
He reached to the pile of strained berry pulp and took some in hand. He held his hand over the stone bowl and gave the small pile of pulp a fierce squeeze and drained what little juice it had left, letting it fall into the salve. Silverbolt mixed them together, the tint of the mixture turning from a pale green color to light lavender, and took another taste. He seemed pleased by the addition of the berry juice.
"Better! Now then, I must first apply the salve to your exterior wounds."
"Lay off, bone-brain! I never gave you permission to lay a finger on me and I don't intend on doing so any time soon!"
Silverbolt seemed a little thrown off but then simply nodded his head in understanding.
"Very well then. You seem stronger now so you should apply it yourself then. If you will excuse me for a moment."
Silverbolt rose to his feet and headed for the opening of the cave. Blackarachnia couldn't help but to smirk to herself, thinking she had finally touched a nerve with the Fuzor. Wanting to add injury to insult she called to him in a mocking tone disguising it with pleasant sounding words.
"Beg pardon, kind sir. But have I offended you?"
"Not at all, my lady! I was just coming to sit at the entrance and watch as the rain continues to fall, though I may have little to view seeing as how the rain has become a mere light shower now. Still, I will sit here with my optics away from you so as to grant you your privacy. You are after all."
She looked at him with wide eyes and an open mouth in an incredulous way as she saw Silverbolt sit on the ground facing the opening while stretching his wings to their full span to act as a big blind to keep the world from seeing into the cave, his back to her.
'What is this bots defect, anyways?'
Blackarachnia thought bitterly to herself as she began detaching some of her armor. Her body still ached from before, seeing some cuts in her organic parts and dents in her techno-matter armor.
She traced one of the cuts, one that was particularly deep across her chest, lightly with her claw and winced when she touched the wound. She noted that though she had time to rest her organic body still maintained some minor but effective damage to it; the deep cut especially was still open with mech fluid still evident.
Looking at the organic ooze she held in the bowl she began to question the Fuzors' true motives. A part of her said she should at least try it but her other part assumed trickery was his game in the guise of kindness. Not wanting to take any unnecessary chances Blackarachnia stalled.
"Hey, Rover!"
She called to him over her bare shoulder, still seeing that he had his back turned to her and his wings were still widely open. She was surprised to see him in the same position as before.
"Yes, Blackarachnia?"
"How do I know if this stuff will really help with my injuries? What if it ends up killing me instead?"
"I assure you it will do you no harm and it will heal your wounds. I even sampled it myself before your very optics, did I not? Twice, if I' am not mistaken."
'Slag, the bots' gotta point.' Blackarachnia admitted to herself in her processor.
Blackarachnia groaned irritably and dipped her finger tips into the salve. It was cool to the touch and had the body of melted jell-o but otherwise not too unpleasant. She took an even amount in her fingers and, with a careful hand, applied the salve to the open wound.
It stung at the contact, a light hiss escaping her through clenched teeth, but the sting itself was short lived and died down to a warm and dull throb. The smell of the medicinal herbs mixed with a light hint of the earthy berries from earlier made it somewhat tolerable. She waited to see if there were any side effects but none came.
"Hmm, not bad, Rover. This slop seems to be useful after all."
"I'm glad it is to your liking!"
Even without looking at him Blackarachnia could tell Silverbolt was smiling as he spoke. She let out a soft chuckle beneath her breath and continued to apply the salve into her wounds. It was when she saw a single ray of light that Blackarachnia grew immediately defensive, crossing her arms over her exposed chest with a scowl on her face.
"Hey! What're you doing over there, Bone-brain?!"
"The dawn …it comes. The sun is emerging from over the horizon, piercing the misty morning fog with its light and splashing its golden colors over the far reaches of the land as it overcomes the nights' lingering presence and lulling the moon into a well deserved sleep. It is a magnificent sight but somehow …it has sadness to it, be it the mist or the lingering colors of the night but it is the dawn, none the less."
She had to admit the bot could paint quite a picture with his slick linguistic skills, though she would never blatantly admit that to him or any one else.
"Hmph."
That was the only sound she made as Blackarachnia returned her attention to applying the salve to her wounds.
'This is gonna be a long day …'
-End
A/N: Well, well! What has every ones' favorite arachnid gotten herself into time, indeed? And what hardships await these two techno-organic transformers? Can she really trust him? Does he really trust her?
So many questions, so little time on the computer! But I will try and update soon. In the mean time, your contributions of comments would be most appreciated! (Word play has sort of grown on me.) Thank you!!!