Author Note: Hey lookie!!! I got another chapter up before Christmas!!! . . . Alright . . . so it was the day BEFORE Christmas and it was an hour and a half before Christmas . . . but STILL:D I did it! Please Review!! I'm begging you!!! Its getting a little discouraging that only a few are reviewing and to those of you who have reviewed? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!! Hugs all the reviewers and throws them presents I appreciate it so much!!! You guys are the best! If there is anything confusing, or you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Chapter 5:

It had been nearly a week and a half since Optimus and Ironhide had started Dawn on her 'training'. She still remembered fondly that first night Ironhide had spent with her because of how upset she had been. She hadn't known he had stayed all night until the next morning when she woke to find him resting in recharge beside her bed. She had watched the weapons specialist for a long time before letting him know she was awake. Since then, he had been her ever vigilant companion. He seemed to have almost a sense of when Dawn was in distress and knew exactly what to say to make her feel better. The only other person that shared such closeness with her was Optimus.

Dawn sighed as she thought fondly of the two of them. They were eager to help her to grow in her power, but were also ready to give her any support she might need. She hadn't seen much of the others, Ratchet mainly stuck around the repair bay where his office was, Jazz was always busy running around giving orders to the other Autobots in different parts of the base where she never ventured, and Bumblebee was just sort of everywhere all the time. She still seen him occasionally, he was nice to her and did spend time with her when she was practicing, he also gave her words of encouragement when she started to give up, but it was nothing like what she shared with Optimus and Ironhide, especially Ironhide. I never would have thought that the weapons specialist had a softer side. Dawn thought to herself as she made her way down the hallway toward her room.

She had just gotten finished with another 'training' session and was near exhaustion. Dawn closed her eyes for a moment, pausing in the hallway to allow herself a moment to relax. "Hey stranger! How ya doin' today?" Jazz's voice startled her so fiercely her power leapt to the surface before she could squelch it down again.

"Jazz! What are you doing on this side of the base? Don't you have work to be doing?" Dawn asked him, still struggling to get her power back under control.

Jazz was oblivious to her struggle. "Nah, I've pretty much got the day off today, thought I'd stop by and see how everyone's doin'. So, how ya doin'?" He smiled at Dawn, looking down at her as he walked closer to her.

Dawn returned the smile. "I've been pretty good. I'm sure you've heard that Optimus has been having me learn more about my powers, so that's what I've been doing." Jazz nodded that he had indeed heard, so Dawn continued. "Just got finished with one of those sessions, every time I master one thing they ask of me, they go and make me try something harder." She shook her head. "It's gonna take me years to get up to par with Lyn . . . and I don't think I have years."

"You're right, you don't. I'd tell ya what I know, but I'd have to clear it with Optimus first. I'm not sure if he wants ya to know everything just yet or not." Jazz said absently. Dawn's brow suddenly furrowed worriedly. "But don't go worryin' or nuthin'. You're safe enough here." Jazz added quickly at Dawn's distressed look. "The Decepticons would have to fight through more of us than they'd like to ta get to ya. You're more than safe here with us. So relax! Chill!

"So, have ya learned anything new? Besides gettin' better at what you've already known?" Jazz asked, folding his arms across his chest casually.

Dawn frowned slightly. "I haven't gotten the courage to try something new just yet. I can feel the power there, waiting to be unlocked, but I'm scared of what will happen when I do unlock it."

Jazz looked at her thoughtfully, than knelt down to be even with Dawn, looking deeply in her eyes. "Ya know, I remember when I was first startin' out. I had all this knowledge, but I was scared ta put it ta use. But once I started to do just that, I discovered that there wasn't anything to be afraid of. It's your power, it's under your control, and I know you can do it! You have more mental awareness than that trigger happy sister of yours does. So just relax and give it a try. You'll surprise yourself on how easy it is for ya once you let go and just do it." Dawn looked at Jazz dubiously.

"I don't think it's that easy." Dawn stated nervously.

Jazz dismissed her worry with a small wave of his hand. "Of course it is! You just have to learn to relax and trust yourself. Power is a lot like breathing; it's natural and should be second nature to you. You've just been holding your breath for so long you've forgotten what it feels like."

"I never thought of it like that before." Dawn said thoughtfully, cocking her head to one side, seeing Jazz in a new light. "Thanks, you've given me a lot to think on." She said as she smiled warmly.

Jazz nodded and smiled back at her. "Not a problem! I'll catch ya around, a'ight?" Dawn nodded as Jazz straightened and waved her farewell before continuing down the hallway opposite of her direction.

Dawn watched him go for a moment longer before turning and heading back toward her room. The way had become very familiar by now, and while it took her nearly fifteen minutes to make the walk, today at least wasn't as exhausting as other days had been. She still remembered a few days ago they had kept her for much longer than usual and she had barely been able to make the walk back. Thankfully Optimus had had enough sense to follow her and rescue her by carrying her back to her Apartment. Dawn shook her head as she saw Nicolei walking down the hallway with Okelani on his arm. "Hi guys!" She called to them happily.

They both smiled at Dawn and waved at her in greeting. "Hey! How's it going? Learn anything new today?" Okelani asked as they walked up to her.

Dawn shook her head. "No, not really, just learned a little more control is all."

"Did you blow anything up?" Nicolei asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

Okelani elbowed him in the side. "Nicolei! Honestly! You could be nicer!" She scolded him as she smiled apologetically at Dawn. "You'll have to forgive him . . ."

Dawn interrupted with a smile. "No, I'm not offended." She looked directly at Nicolei. "No, I didn't blow anything up today, but I did throw something through a wall!" She said cheerfully.

Nicolei laughed and playfully smacked Dawn's shoulder. "That's my girl!" He praised her as Okelani started to pull him away.

"We've gotta be going, we're gonna be late." Okelani urged him as she smiled over at Dawn. "We'll see you around!" Than they were leaving, walking down the hallway with Lani scolding Nicolei the whole time until they were beyond earshot.

Dawn sighed and continued walking. She knew that at this time of night, Zandaros and Mirage would probably be in bed, so there would be no encountering them. Heck, at this time of night she should be in bed! But they, Optimus and Ironhide, had insisted that she work longer than she had the day before. For nearly ten hours they'd worked today, sometimes with only Ironhide, sometimes with both of them, and on one occasion with only Optimus. Her sessions were usually shorter than that, being between five to eight hours… but a ten hour session? What were they so afraid of that they were pressing her so hard to learn to control her powers? Dawn felt her mind slide over several possibilities and shook her head to clear her mind of them. No, the Decepticons wouldn't be interested in kidnapping me… not when they have Lyn… and the Allspark wasn't on this base, was it? Dawn frowned; no one had ever really answered her question as to the whereabouts of the Allspark. They always skirted around that question.

Dawn paused in front of her door and frowned. There was a little package lying on the ground in front of the door. She picked it up, surprised that it was actually a little heavy and opened the door. As soon as she stepped in, something felt wrong. Dawn tried hard to fight down the panic that suddenly surged through her. The room was drenched in shadows which seemed to shift with the light from the hallway. "Hello? Anyone here?" She called, her voice wavering slightly.

: Don't be afraid. : Dawn heard the voice inside her mind, she nearly dropped the package.

Quickly she sat the package down on the ground and gripped her arms tightly in a self-hug. "Who's there?!" Dawn demanded softly, fear still clinging to her voice.

: Don't you recognize me? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Don't even recognize your own sister. : The voice taunted her.

"Lyn? But… are you okay! Where are you! Why are you contacting me?" Dawn asked, her eyes filling with tears as she felt the bond between her and Lyn alive with the communication between them.

: Always the kind one. That will be your downfall, dearest Dawn. I'm coming for you. I do not like us separated, we will be together again, and you will join with me: The voice told Dawn in a soft almost menacing voice.

Dawn shook her head. No, this can't be! Lyn doesn't sound like this! Dawn thought fiercely as she shook her head. "I won't join you! You're with the Decepticons! They're evil! You should join with me on the good side! Lyn please! See the truth before it's too late!" Dawn heard herself plead as she felt her sister's mind fold over hers.

: Stop being so weak Dawn… Give yourself over to me... Let me ease your pain… Let me in: The voice sounded so calm and so reassuring suddenly, Dawn felt her will draining from her.

"I can't." She whimpered; the shadows around the room seemed to deepen as the mental touch prodded harder.

: Give in to me… Let me ease your pain… Let me take over: It was harder this time than before to remain in control as the mental touch folded over Dawn like a puppet master taking control of the strings. She could feel the other brushing against memories, shifting through them lightly as though searching for something.

"No . . ." Dawn whimpered, crouching down putting her hands up to her head. "Please stop!" She whimpered as she shook her head in an effort to clear the touch away.

: You can't win against me. I am stronger. We will defeat the Autobots together! Give yourself to me: The voice exclaimed softly to Dawn.

At the point of hearing that she would be used to destroy the Autobots Dawn thought instantly about Ironhide, Optimus, Ratchet and the others. Something inside of her mind pushed hard against the intruder, shoving Lyn from her mind. "No! I will not be used to hurt my friends! Not by you! Not by anyone!" She shouted as she stood quickly and severed the link, closing her side of the twin bond with a ferocity her twin had never seen in Dawn before.

"Dawn? Are you okay?" The voice made Dawn spin, her power instantly coming up to the surface; she reined it in swiftly as she saw who had spoken to her.

"O…Optimus! What . . . what are you doing here?" Dawn stammered as she blinked past her confusion.

"I wanted to make sure you got to your room alright. What's wrong? I sensed an energy spike coming from this room. What happened?" The concern in his voice nearly made Dawn cry in relief that someone cared so much about her.

"I… I just fought my sister." Dawn answered as her knees suddenly felt like jell-o, she fell down to her knees and Optimus rushed into the room.

"you fought your sister?" Optimus scanned the room, finding it empty of anyone else; he looked down at her in concern. "How?"

"When we were younger, we used to play a game. We used to try to take control of each other and see which of us could withstand the other. I always lost. But I always let Lyn win too. I never tried very hard to take her over, so she was always able to hold me off." Dawn explained shakily, looking up at Optimus as he knelt down in front of Dawn. "She tried to take me over. but since this time was no game… I shoved her out and sealed my end of our bond… She wanted something; I felt her trying to go through my memories. It was as if she was searching for something." Dawn's eyes unfocused, starring at some point between herself and Optimus.

Optimus thought about what Dawn had just said and sighed. "At least you were able to fend her off." He mumbled mostly to himself than to her. "Are you alright?" He asked her, noting that she looked paler than normal.

Dawn didn't seem to hear him; she was still feeling that probing sensation of having her memories rifled through. What was she really after? Would she really try to take control of me? If so, why? What could she possibly gain from it? She's with the Decepticons, far away from here, what could she gain with taking control? "The Allspark." Dawn muttered out loud.

Optimus stared at her. "What?" He asked Dawn, suddenly concerned.

Dawn suddenly focused on him and leaned forward urgently. "Please tell me that the Allspark is not here." Her eyes pled with his optics.

Optimus leaned back, astonished at her statement. "Why?" He narrowed his optics at her.

"Lyn was looking for information on the Allspark. I didn't know anything about it, so she couldn't get anything from me." Dawn explained, than felt panic rise up in her throat. "Please tell me it is not on this base."

Optimus took a deep breath. Well there's no use in hiding it from her any longer. He thought as he shifted his position in front of her. "It is."

His answer hit her like a 70mph semi slamming into her. "Can I see it?" Dawn distantly heard herself ask.

Optimus thought about it for a moment, than nodded. "I don't see the harm in it now that you already know that it's here." He muttered, almost not believing he was actually going to let her see it. But then again, if what he suspected was right, the Decepticons already knew that the Allspark was there so there was no reason not to let her see the Allspark.

Dawn snapped out of her haze. "Really?" She asked, surprised that the Autobot leader would let her see their most prized possession.

Optimus nodded. "Yes. But it will have to wait until tomorrow, you need your rest, there will be plenty of time then." He told her.

Dawn shook her head. "I'm not really very tired. Can I see it tonight?" She asked, hoping that it wouldn't wait until the morning. She knew that if she gave him the opportunity to think on this, he might change his mind.

Optimus sighed and looked at Dawn intensely. While she did show signs that she was tired, she was definitely not exhausted, or at least not that he could tell. Ratchet was always better at perceiving these types of things than he was. Ratchet was, after all, a medic; it was his job to know such things. "Very well, but we won't be staying long." Dawn nodded her agreement and glanced down at the package.

"Can I look at this first? It was by my door." Dawn asked as she picked up the package. Optimus nodded and watched as she broke the seals and opened the package. Inside were a small note and a wrapped bundle. She scanned the note. I know you didn't get to take much with you when you left your home planet, so here are some of the more luxurious things you had to leave behind. I'm sure they'll fit, if not, come see me, I'll work something out. Your friend, Elena a.k.a Mirage There was a rose drawn by the signature and Dawn smiled as she undid the bundle. There were several outfits that not only looked comfortable, but felt extremely soft. "Wow! I've never had clothes this nice!" Dawn said excitedly as she looked through them all. Optimus smiled at seeing her joy, secretly making a note to tell Mirage thank you next time he saw her.

Dawn got carefully to her feet; her knees still felt kind of weak but held her fairly well. She placed the new clothes on her couch and turned to face Optimus. "Ready?" He asked, his deep voice a pleasant rumble. Dawn smiled and nodded. "I will carry you, it is a long walk by my standards, and it will be easier on you." He explained, Dawn nodded and allowed herself to be picked up. Optimus closed her door after him and started down the hallway.

It didn't take long before Dawn was lost, so she stopped keeping track of where they were going. They passed several Autobots that she didn't know that showed deep respect to Optimus and there were more people like her walking around, patrolling, Optimus had told her. While this base was secure, there was nothing left up to chance. After nearly forty-five minutes of walking and listening to Optimus go on about their surroundings Dawn felt herself lulled into a light sleep. Optimus noticed and fell silent, smiling to himself as they neared their location. He nodded to the two Autobots that were guarding the room and punched in the code. Unlocked, the door slid open and he walked through, locking the door after him.

"Dawn, we're here." He murmured to her, she opened her eyes groggily and looked around.

In the middle of the room, suspended in the air somehow, was a cube. It was not huge like she expected it to be, but rather small, small enough for someone her size to carry. Optimus set her down on the ground. She looked up at him. "It's so . . . small." She almost sounded disappointed. Almost…

Optimus chuckled. "Don't be deceived, it is the most powerful artifact we have ever come across or even heard about. This is the Allspark. It has powers similar to you and your twin sister." Dawn walked closer, looking at it curiously, all her previous sleepiness forgotten.

"So this thing can give life? Like Lyn did to her vehicle? Like I did to the music player?" Dawn asked, endlessly intrigued by the small object.

Optimus stepped closer, watching her with a smile. "Yes, almost exactly like that. We have yet to test your powers in that field, but I can assure you, when we do, you will be well protected." He added the last at the look of panic that flash across Dawn's face as she looked up at him sharply.

"The last time I used that power my creation nearly killed me." She said her voice hollow. She looked back at the Allspark and stepped closer. She stopped suddenly when it began to react to her presence. She looked back at Optimus with a worried expression.

Optimus, however… was intrigued. Normally one of his kind had to activate it in order to get such a response, but it had activated on its own when she approached it. "It's alright… it can't hurt you." He reassured her as he stepped closer, inspecting the Allspark.

"Is that normal?" Dawn asked warily.

"No… it usually has to be activated before it responds to someone. For some reason your presence activated it. That's very interesting…" Optimus answered her as he continued to watch the Allspark resonate in sync with Dawn's own power.

Dawn gave Optimus a worried look. She could feel her power pulsing within her, her power's reaction to the Allspark was disturbing. "Is this a bad thing? Should I be worried?" She asked, looking back at the Allspark.

Optimus shook his head. "No, I don't think so. This is just another mystery we'll have to figure out." He smiled at her reassuringly as she continued to frown at him. "Don't let it worry you, I'm sure the Allspark is simply recognizing the power within you and responding to it."

Dawn thought about that for a moment, than nodded a bit reluctantly. "Yeah, that's probably it. I mean, if I do have power similar to the Allspark, I guess it would make sense that it recognizes it inside of me." She said more for her own benefit than that of Optimus'. He smiled at her as she stepped a little closer to it, regaining some of her previous bravery. The Allspark continued to react, but did nothing extraordinary beyond simply shimmering little energy arcs off of its surface. She watched the Allspark intently for a few more minutes before turning back to Optimus. "This is going to sound really weird, but . . . this thing feels like my sister, if I just close my eyes and just feel . . ." She told him as she closed her eyes and felt the Allspark caress her mind.

Optimus felt a sudden pang of sympathy for Dawn. Her sister was all Dawn knew, being together was their world, and now they were apart. "Oh?" He asked, vaguely interested in this new development.

"Just the feeling this thing is giving off, if I closed my eyes I could easily mistake it for Lyn." Dawn explained as she opened her eyes, looking into Optimus' optics.

He blinked in surprise, her eyes weren't the usual bright blue, and they had turned nearly silver with the power sweltering beneath the surface. They seemed to glow. "Let's go, it's late and you need to get your rest." Optimus told her as he held out a hand for her; she walked the short distance and climbed into his hand, settling into his outstretched palm.

"I am pretty tired . . ." She muttered as she gave the Allspark one last look. We are practically family, so much alike, you and I. She thought to the Allspark, and could swear for a moment that she got a response in the form of it brightening and warmth that flowed through her mind. She smiled and snuggled up in his hand, curling up against his fingers; she closed her eyes and sighed. The only family I have left . . . She thought distantly as she settled down.

Optimus sighed and walked over to the door, typed in the key code and opened the door. He waved at the guards, locking the door behind him, and walked back in the direction of Dawn's apartment. She's had a long, tiring day. A good night's rest would be good for her; I will make sure none of us wakes her up too early tomorrow morning. He thought as he watched Dawn as she fell sound asleep in his palm.

He had nearly gotten to her apartment when Jazz stopped him. "Optimus, we've gotten word that one of our outposts reported Starscream and his wingmates tried to raid our energon stores."

Optimus looked down at Dawn and tried to keep his voice down. "What happened?"

"Well, they were able to drive them away, in fact, only one of our seekers managed to drive off Starscream, the wingmates retreated when he did." Jazz said with a smug smile. "In fact, Starscream didn't really seem all that interested in trying very hard to get the energon; they seemed to be preoccupied. My guess is all has something to do with their newest acquisition. But that's just my guess." Jazz said quietly with a shrug.

Optimus grunted softly. "We can only hope that this isn't a ploy to get us off sight of their true goal." He looked down at Dawn. "I really need to be putting her in her room. I will speak with you later Jazz." Jazz nodded and let Optimus walk away. What are you planning Megatron . . . Optimus thought to himself as he continued his way to Dawn's apartment.

Back on the Nemesis . . . a few days later . . .

Lyn was fuming. Her attempt at finding information had failed, and her attempt at gaining control to explore the Autobot base had failed. Megatron had not been pleased at her failures. But his temper had held and her punishment had been basically non-existent. Now she simply sat in the abandoned hanger bay with her two loyal creations Burden and Nitrostrike. They had been her constant companions, much to Megatron's dismay. He was no longer able to have a moment alone with her without at least one of the two there.

Lyn pulled at a piece of dead skin from her almost healed shoulder. "Don't do that, you're going to make an open wound again." Burden scolded her gently as he stepped closer to her.

Lyn just looked up at him and pouted. "No I'm not! It's just dead skin; it has to come off anyway." She reasoned as she continued to pick at it.

"Bonecrusher isn't going to see it that way." Nitrostrike said softly, watching.

"And Bonecrusher isn't going to find out, is he?" Lyn said with a sarcastically sweet smile.

"I'll tell him." Nitrostrike spoke softly, his amber optics looking evenly at her. Despite Nitrostrike's size, he was really soft spoken and gentle. Very non-Decepticon traits that had caused much upheaval along the ship, but out of respect of Lyn and fear of Megatron, not many challenged him, although those that did quickly found him to be a fairly competent fighter.

Lyn continued pouting at him. "That's not very loyal of you." She stated with a frown.

Nitrostrike smirked slightly. "What wouldn't be loyal of me is to let you destroy yourself." He told her softly yet firmly.

"I'm not destroying myself; I'm simply doing a little light self-grooming." She crossed her arms and looked away, sulking.

"sulking… very unbecoming of you." The voice made all three of them jump. Blackout smirked.

Burden shifted uncomfortably. "What are you doing here?" He demanded.

Blackout ignored him and turned his attention directly to Lyn. "I noticed you have no guards. Megatron isn't guarding you as fiercely as usual. I wonder if that has anything to do with your recent failures." Lyn flushed in both anger and embarrassment, Blackout's smirk widened. "There's no one to protect you from me now." He said smoothly, his red optics brightening with malice.

Lyn looked nervous, but both Burden and Nitrostrike stepped quickly between her and Blackout. "What do you call us?" Nitrostrike asked.

"Dead…" Blackout said simply and before either could comprehend what he had said, he brought up his full charged plasma cannon and sent two shots, one into each of the mech's chests, knocking them away and launched himself with blinding speed at Nitrostrike.

Nitrostrike was reeling from the direct hit to his chest; he could feel his chest armor melting under the blow. The pain was blinding. Before he had a chance to recover, Blackout was on top of him prying his chest plating apart. He grabbed Blackout's wrists trying to pry his hands away from his chest plate but Blackout was too strong. Lyn watched in horror as Blackout swiftly ripped the plating off of Nitrostrike and put his cannon right against his vulnerable spark and fired… Nitrostrike never stood a chance, not against a Decepticon as powerful as Blackout.

Lyn barely had time to scream a warning to Burden before he lunged from the deactivated Nitrostrike to the still down Burden. "NO!!! Stop it!! STOP!!!" Lyn screamed as Blackout repeated the same thing again with Burden, who did not fight back as well as Nitrostrike had.

Blackout stood up over the now deactivated Burden and looked hungrily at Lyn. "Now who will protect you from me, little fleshling…" He purred at her, kicking Burden's body out of his way.

Lyn scampered backwards. "Nonononono . . ." She whimpered over and over again as she quickly retreated back away from the approaching Blackout.

Blackout powered down his plasma cannon, he had no further need of it. This is going to be real easy. He thought as he slowly approached her. "You can't run from me, little fleshling…" He purred to her as he bridged the distance between them.

Lyn desperately clawed for her power, but in her fear and panic it wouldn't respond. This can't be happening to me! She thought desperately as she continued to back away quickly. But fear hit her stomach hard when she bumped into something solid behind her. She glanced back and saw the wall. "Oh shit . . ." She whimpered as she turned to see Blackout coming to a halt right in front of her. "Please… don't kill me…" She whimpered as she cowered in front of him.

Blackout smirked in triumph as he crouched down closer to her, pushing her against the wall with a finger. "You need not fear for your life." His smirk broadened. "There are worse things than death." He told her, his red optics burning with malice and hatred. Lyn winced as his finger pressed her harder against the wall, she could feel the air being pressed from her lungs, drawing the next breath was harder and harder each time. She struggled against his finger, trying in vain to wiggle free. "Yes… that's right… struggle. That makes this that much more fun." He chuckled softly as he watched her.

"Please!" Lyn begged breathlessly, her lungs burning for a full breath of air. He released her suddenly and she practically fell forward, catching herself at the last moment with her hands. She only paused for a moment before trying to make a run for the door, which she hoped feverishly, was still open. If not . . . well, she'd be trapped in here alone with Blackout. And Blackout didn't tire easily… from what she knew of him, he had the best endurance of them all, save for Megatron and perhaps a few others she didn't know.

Blackout let her get back to her feet, but before she got out of range he lashed out with his hand and hit her square in the back, sending her tumbling through the air. She let out a yelp briefly, her wings flared out to break her fall. Blackout smiled, it had been what he was waiting for. He wouldn't break them… after all, Megatron wouldn't be pleased if he permanently damaged his prize, but he would make her doubt herself. He set his cannons on stun faster than a human heartbeat and fired three shots, hitting both wings and than square in her back. She gave a loud yelp of pain as she dropped nearly ten feet to the ground, landing on her healing shoulder; this caused her to let out another yelp.

Lyn laid limply on the floor, tears of pain and fear brimming in her eyes. She was no match for Blackout… She knew that he was simply toying with her. He'd used his weapons, and while they had hurt, they did no real damage to her aside from the pain. She struggled to sit up, but her back screamed in protest, so she turned her head to watch Blackout as he crouched down to her again. "Please . . . leave me alone . . ." She whimpered softly, not caring if he saw her tears as they streamed down her face.

"That's right… beg for me… Plead for me to show you mercy…" His voice was soft and almost seductive, making Lyn shudder.

Lyn felt her anger overriding her pain. "I'll never beg for you!" She growled through clenched teeth.

Blackout's smug smile faded, being replaced by something much more dangerous… a frown. "Don't challenge me little fleshling, you can not win." His voice was still soft, but it held a deadly edge to it.

Lyn swallowed involuntarily. She was pushing him too far and she knew it. But the little voice inside of her railed against what Blackout was doing to her. She pulled herself to her feet in front of him. "You're just afraid you'll be beaten by a fleshling!" She snapped, almost wincing as his expression grew darker.

Blackout didn't say anything or give her any warning; he simply backhanded her hard enough to send her flying through the air and into a wall. She grunted as she fell down and hit the floor. He stood and walked over to her, looking down at her. "Stand…" He commanded simply, Lyn struggled to her feet, not because he commanded her, but simply because she wasn't about to stay down and show him she was weak.

"Is that the best you can do?!" Lyn snapped as she swayed dangerously on her feet, her body screaming in protest, her shoulder bleeding from the damage she had received.

Blackout gave her a wicked smile and picked her up before she could comprehend he had even moved. He held her tightly in his hand, her wings clamped painfully within his grip. "You will learn to respect me, little fleshling, even if I have to break you." He told her softly, his eyes glowing with sadistic pleasure as he slowly started to tighten his grip.

Lyn could feel her wings straining under the pressure and retracted them, it was extremely painful but she was grateful once they were gone. But the pain from his grip didn't cease, it only increased. She gasped as she felt her ribs strain in protest. "Stop!" She gasped the little voice of her anger gone completely.

Blackout smirked at her and shook his head. "Not until I see you have fully comprehended the mistake you have made." He tightened his grip, forcing the air painfully from her lungs.

"Alright!" She gasped, wincing as her body screamed in agony. "I'm sorry! Please!" She sucked in what little air she could get through his unmerciful grip. "Please!"

"You want me to let go? Fine!" He took a few steps back and made a quick judge of distance.

Lyn was only momentarily relieved about his releasing her until she realized she had been thrown. It seemed an eternity before the wall stopped her flight. She grunted, and struggled to remain conscious. Someone help me? She thought weakly, too weak it seemed to try and send out a telepathic cry for help. She tried to get her eyes to focus as the menacing form of Blackout slowly walked over to her. "No more . . . I beg you." She managed to say, raising a hand weakly in protest.

Blackout was about to say something to her when another voice rang out throughout the hanger bay. "That will be enough, Blackout." Lyn frowned in confusion, she didn't recognize the voice. It was flat and almost monotone, but Blackout immediately obeyed the newcomer and growled a response she didn't understand before turning and stalking away. Lyn tried to focus on her savior, but instead her vision stayed blurry and doubled. "You require medical attention." The flat voice told her as she felt herself carefully lifted and carried.

"Thank you…" She managed to get out before blackness overtook her.