Children of the Allspark

by Ashalyn

A movieverse what if. What if the Autobots had retrieved the Allspark and left earth fulfilling their mission? What if they got word that the Decepticons had found two creatures with the same abilities of the Allspark? This is their story, my first fic! Updating my story again! Also upping the rating due to increasing tensions, violence and adult situations in further chapters.

7. Chapter 6

Chapter six:

Thank you everyone for being so patient with me!! Thank SOOOOO much!! :D I haven't fully proof-read this chapter, and don't have the time to proof read the others, so I'm just going to give them a once over and post them up. I'm currently working on chapter 13, so I will try to upload them to get caught up with that. As always, reviews are loved and adored! They give me the inspiration to keep writing!! Please review! Flames will be tossed in the lake. :P

Chapter six:

The first thing Lyn experienced was agonizing pain…the second thing was a blinding light. She groaned and squinted against the brightness. "Too bright…"She muttered weakly, raising an arm to shield her from the light, but whimpered as her arm screamed in protest.

"Careful now, you're still pretty banged up." Bonecrusher's voice told her. Lyn squinted in the direction of his voice but could barely make out his features in the silhouette.

She was about to ask where she was, but she already knew. She was in the repair bay or well, med bay as she herself called it. "It hurts." Lyn whimpered softly, resting her arm over her eyes, trying to stop the sharp throbbing in her skull.

"I know, it is going to hurt for a while." Bonecrusher told her as he walked over to a console and pressed a button. "You wanted to know when she woke, she's awake now, sir." Lyn blinked against the light, slowly regaining all of her senses.

"Very good…thank you…I will be there momentarily." Megatron's voice sounded over the link.

Bonecrusher's silhouette appeared once again over Lyn. "Try not to move too much. You took considerable damage, nothing terribly bad, but enough that you might not want to strain yourself for a while." He informed her.

Lyn nodded. "Can you kill the light? I'm sort of blinded." Lyn asked weakly, surprised at how little strength she seemed to have in her.

The light flickered, than was gone, leaving a bright spot in her vision. She blinked rapidly to try to lessen it, but the lack of light did little to lessen her headache. "Do you feel nauseated? Headache? Anything like that?" Bonecrusher asked as he looked down at her with concern etched on his face.

Lyn couldn't really feel anything past her blinding pain, but when she turned her head, dizziness hit her and a small wave of nausea washed over her. "Headache…yes. Nausea…yes, but only a little when I move." She answered simply.

"I see. Lower your arm down." Bonecrusher said and Lyn complied. "Very good, now this is going to be bright for a moment, hang in there for me." He warned her as the bright light suddenly flared to life in her eyes, moving from side to side, from eye to eye. She swallowed past a sudden wave of nausea that swept through her. The light disappeared. "You have a concussion. Not a severe one, but bad enough that you need rest and observation." Lyn groaned softly.

The door hissed open and Megatron came into view a moment later. He smiled down at her gently. "How do you feel?" He asked, looking at Bonecrusher for a moment. How is she doing? He sent the make-shift medic.

She's going to be bruised head to toe and she has a moderate concussion. She's going to need to stay here under observation for a while. Bonecrusher answered as he watched Lyn closely.

Lyn sighed and answered Megatron. "Horrible. I hurt. Everywhere." She muttered weakly, moving her arm back over her eyes.

Megatron frowned at the blood stained bandage wrapped around her bad shoulder. Is this new? Or did the old wound reopen?

Bonecrusher looked at his leader with a frown. A little of both, there are new scrapes there, but most of that is the old wound being reopened. Some of the reopened parts are fairly deep; they will need to be cleaned on a regular basis once more. Bonecrusher informed Megatron while speaking to Lyn. "I am going to bring you something small to eat. A soup and a few crackers, I need you to eat them. Try to keep it down. If you can not, there is a small basket beside you for you to be sick in. But do try your hardest; I do not want to place an IV to give you nutrients unless I have no other alternative."

Lyn flinched at the thought. How can a mech that big put in an IV needle in someone as small as me? She shuddered at the thought and nodded. "I won't be sick." She said in a weak but determined voice.

"Very good, I will return shortly." Watch her for me, if she changes, notify me immediately. Bonecrusher sent to Megatron, who nodded absently as he watched Lyn.

Megatron watched Lyn with concern. He had been aware of Blackout's interest in Lyn, but the mech also knew Megatron's need for Lyn, so he didn't fear Blackout harming her. While he had permitted Blackout's little escapade he also hadn't expected the other to take it quite so far. Lyn moved her arm away from her face and looked at Megatron; he suppressed a wince at the large amount of bruising that had formed on her face. It was obvious that she had met the wall face first at least once. "I talked with Blackout." He told her softly.

Lyn looked at him with a pained expression. "You talked with him." Her voice was still weak, but it carried a tone of agitation in it. That's all he did?! He just talked with him! He nearly killed me and all he did was TALK to him?! She thought desperately, wincing as her own thoughts caused her head to throb harder.

"This could have been much worse. Blackout was being…gentle with you." Megatron informed her; slightly irritated that she expected him to do more to one of his elites.

Lyn huffed softly, immediately regretting it by the darkened expression on Megatron. Unwilling to face his wrath in her current state, she quickly rectified that. "You're right…for as big as he is and all the strength he must have, I faired pretty well." She sighed feebly.

Megatron nearly sighed in relief that he would not have to reprimand Lyn for her insolence. In Lyn's weakened state, anything he did to her would be detrimental to her health. "He could have easily killed you. You are lucky he has restraint." Very lucky, he thought grimly as he recalled what he had been told had gone on during their 'fight'.

Lyn gave a slight moan as her head started to throb painfully again, the throbbing pain seemed to come in waves, it would get much worse, than it would taper off only to crescendo back to its previous height. "Very lucky." She agreed meekly, shielding her eyes with her arm once more.

"You are going to have to remain here for a time; I will visit as often as I am able too. But Bonecrusher will be here almost constantly to keep a close watch on your condition." Megatron informed her softly, he could tell her head was pounding so he kept his voice as low as possible.

Several minutes of silence passed before Bonecrusher walked back in with the promised food. He sat it down next to her. "You need to eat." He told her softly as she groaned at the sight of the food. She nodded and tried to sit up carefully, Bonecrusher placed a finger behind her back to assist her as well as he could. A wave of dizziness washed over her and for a moment she thought sitting up had been a very bad idea, but the dizziness faded away as quickly as it came, leaving only the throbbing of her head.

Lyn took the bowl in her hands and placed it in her lap, Bonecrusher kept his finger behind her to help support her while she ate. Lyn was grateful for his help. She didn't think she had the strength to sit up completely on her own at the time. Lyn used the spoon to carefully sip at the warm liquid, surprised that it was the perfect temperature. Eating wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She managed to eat the soup and the given crackers without even the slightest bit of nausea. When Lyn was finished, she sat the bowl back on the tray and looked at Bonecrusher. "Thanks…I needed that." She muttered gratefully. He helped lower her back down to lie flat once more.

"In a few hours I will bring you more food and something to drink. I will have something available at all times for you to drink. Until I know you can keep food down without problems I will bring it to you in intervals." Bonecrusher informed her as he gently straightened her blanket out for her. He looked at her shoulder and sighed. The bandage is going to need to be replaced in a few hours. He thought, slightly irritated at Blackout for reopening the wound.

Lyn nodded to him, glancing over at Megatron. "How long do concussions last?" She asked her voice was so weak and small that it was almost non-existent.

Bonecrusher thought for a moment, thinking about the severity of her own concussion and thinking about all the information he knew on such injuries. "I would say give at least twenty-four hours and you should be out of danger."

Lyn looked a little frightened. "I'm in danger?" Concern was etched in her voice.

Bonecrusher smiled reassuringly. "There are always dangers when you have head trauma. But I can tell you from my observations that you have little to fear, I do not predict any problems occurring. It is simply wise to watch a head wound for twenty-four hours before assuming the worst has past." He told her calmly, Lyn felt a little better, but she was still upset about it. Lyn felt a groggy, sleepiness take over her, and she looked at Bonecrusher in confusion. "Rest, you will need your strength. Sleep is fine, it is what you need right now. Go to sleep." He commanded her, but she was already slipping into a deep sleep.

Megatron looked at Bonecrusher with a frown. "What did you do?" It was a softly spoken question, but the tone was dangerous.

Bonecrusher shrugged. "I gave her a small amount of something that will make her sleep for quite a long time. Long enough for the danger she is in to pass without any incident." He reassured Megatron.

Megatron grunted. "Very well, inform me immediately if anything changes." He said as he walked out of the repair bay. He hadn't gotten very far when he saw Starscream's two wingmates carrying a limping Starscream. He scowled. "I take it you failed." He growled, his voice surprised all three of them causing them to look up sharply.

"Lord . . . lord Megatron! It was an ambush! They were waiting for us! They must have known we would be coming!" Starscream practically whined as he looked at his angry leader.

"You failed me yet again, Starscream. It was a simple mission; can you not even complete those for me now?" Megatron sneered, enjoying the fact that the other Decepticon was in pain and now cowering in fear before him.

"There were too many of them!" Starscream whimpered as Megatron stepped closer to him, standing directly in front of him. Starscream's wingmates shifted uncomfortably.

Megatron looked at the damage done and smirked. "Do not fail me again. Next time I expect you to succeed. Get out of my sight!" He snarled. Starscream's wingmates quickly pulled Starscream away from Megatron and into the repair bay. Megatron made a sound close to a huff and walked on. "Incompetent fool." He muttered under his breath. Starscream's mission had not been top priority, and his failure had been expected, but the fact that he still failed yet another mission irked the Decepticon leader.

Megatron hadn't walked very far when he received a beep from his private comm. He stopped in the hall and answered it silently. "Yes?"

"Lord Megatron, I have intercepted a transmission from the Autobots. They are receiving aid from a planet not far from here. The people are willing to give the Autobots energon which is rich on their planet. They are sending a small group to pick up the energon in approximately a week's time, if not sooner." Soundwave's voice droned through the communicator in his usual monotone.

"Thank you, Soundwave." With that the link was disconnected. Megatron pondered this information as he resumed his walking. Suddenly an idea formed and an evil smile crossed his face. This is an opportunity that shouldn't be ignored…he thought to himself as he quickened his pace to begin the preparations.

Starscream felt relieved when the repair bay doors slid shut behind them. He sighed in relief. Bonecrusher looked up from his work and raised his brow curiously as Starscream limped farther into the room. "Get your aft kicked again?" The behemoth medic asked curiously.

Starscream grumbled under his breath, Skywarp elbowed him in the side; he glared at his wingmate and answered Bonecrusher. "It was a fraggin' trap." He growled. Bonecrusher motioned him toward one of the berths; Skywarp and Thundercracker helped Starscream over to it and helped him sit down on it.

"It's always a trap. The Autobots can sense you coming a quarter of a light year away." Bonecrusher remarked as he inspected the damage done. He grunted. "This shouldn't take long to fix." He glanced at the two wingmates; their damage was nothing their own systems couldn't repair.

Starscream watched Bonecrusher walk away to gather the needed tools, he glanced around the room and frowned as he noticed a tiny form covered by a blanket lying on one of the smaller work tables. "Is that . . . is that Lyn?!" He asked, keeping his voice down as he noticed she was sleeping.

Both wingmates looked over at the sleeping form. "Appears to be." Skywarp muttered and Thundercracker nodded his agreement.

Starscream looked over at Bonecrusher sharply. "What's she doing here?! What happened?!" He demanded, again, keeping his voice down to avoid disturbing her.

Bonecrusher looked over at Starscream and shrugged. "She got into a fight with Blackout. She lost." He answered simply as he returned to Starscream with the needed equipment.

Starscream gaped at him. "Blackout did that?! What is all wrong with her? Is she going to be alright?" The concern in his voice caused his two wingmates to look at each other. Bonecrusher gestured for Starscream to lie down on the berth so he could begin his repairs.

Bonecrusher sighed as he started to get to work on Starscream. "He killed two of her creations Megatron had her make and badly beat her. Her wounded shoulder, which was healing quite well, is now reopened and even more injured than before. The tendons are strained. She has extensive bruising all along her body. Pretty much the kind of damage one would expect to find on one of Blackout's toys when he's in a good 'playful' mood." Bonecrusher explained as he continued to make repairs on Starscream's leg.

Starscream remained silent, wincing occasionally at what Bonecrusher was doing. He looked over at his wingmates after a little while. "I'll be fine, go ahead and leave." They nodded and left. He sighed. "How long will she be out?" He asked, staring at the ceiling.

Bonecrusher grunted softly. "Hard to say…maybe a day…maybe longer."

Starscream grimaced. "I take it Megatron has already dealt with Blackout?" Bonecrusher just shrugged.

"I suppose so. I heard him tell her that he already had a talk with him." Starscream couldn't believe what he was hearing! Megatron only talked with Blackout?! Surely that wasn't what Megatron had meant when he had told that to Lyn! Certainly there had been more repercussion than simply being talked too…after all, when he did things wrong there were severe repercussions. Blackout was one of his elites, he had known better than to mess with Lyn, so surely more had been done against him! Or at least Starscream had hoped. "I wasn't very surprised to hear about the attack myself." Bonecrusher was saying, bringing Starscream out of his thoughts. "Once word of Lyn's failure reached Megatron, his anger with her had been outmatched by his anger with your failures. Rather than hurt her, he simply stopped protecting her. Blackout simply jumped at the opportunity presented to him."

Starscream blinked in confusion. "She failed him? How did she fail?"

Bonecrusher stopped working for a moment, looking at Starscream directly in the optics before going back to work. "I'm not entirely sure what she was supposed to accomplish, but I know it involved her sister and something about the Autobot base her sister was residing within. You'll have to get details from Lyn when she wakes up." He said with a shrug, trying to act indifferent.

"Her first real mission huh, too bad she failed it." Starscream muttered as he winced sharply as Bonecrusher hit a nerve sensor on his hip. "Hey! Easy!" He snapped, but Bonecrusher just ignored him and kept on working.

It was a while before Starscream was repaired to the point where his own systems would complete the remaining repairs. Bonecrusher had left him to check on Lyn and Starscream followed him. Bonecrusher glanced over at Starscream as he checked Lyn carefully. "You're free to go now you realize." He muttered as he moved the blanket carefully to investigate her wounded shoulder.

Starscream winced as he saw how bloody the bandage was. "Is it supposed to be like that? How long ago was the attack?" He asked, glancing at the make-shift medic.

Bonecrusher gave a heavy sigh and shook his head. "No. It should have stopped bleeding already. The attack was a little over twenty-six hours ago."

"And she's still bleeding? That can't be a good thing. Maybe you should wake her up and tend to her shoulder." Starscream muttered light, trying not to disturb Lyn.

Bonecrusher gave Starscream a pained look. "I think I know what to do Starscream, but thank you for your input. I was in fact going to wake her now. My scans have revealed that the danger of her concussion has passed." He informed the Seeker as he pulled a small jar from one of his shelves and pulled a small item from it. Starscream shrank back at the smell it emitted.

"What is that?! It smells horrible!" He exclaimed, no longer worrying if his voice disturbed Lyn.

Bonecrusher just gave Starscream a smirk and wafted the small object in front of Lyn, she gagged and coughed, but the result was acceptable. Her eyes opened and she immediately winced slightly. "Yuck!" She made a bad face as the smell lingered in her mouth as a horrible taste.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." Bonecrusher greeted her gently.

Lyn struggled to sit up and Starscream helped her gently, Lyn smiled warmly at Starscream. "Hey stranger! Glad to see you back!" She said, wishing for a moment he were smaller so she could hug him, she was so happy to see him.

Starscream smiled with equal warmth, Bonecrusher raised a brow and noted it for future reference. "I just got back earlier today." Mostly because I got my aft handed to me by a lousy Autobot . . . Starscream thought bitterly, but didn't voice it.

"Did you succeed?" Lyn asked him, wincing as Bonecrusher probed her shoulder gently.

"This is going to hurt, I have to clean out this wound and rewrap it." Bonecrusher warned her, she gave him a slight nod.

Starscream took the opportunity to distract her. "Unfortunately, I didn't succeed. We were driven back. Now, I hear you had a mission of your own while I was gone? Tell me about that." He asked of her as Bonecrusher carefully removed the bandage.

"Oh that . . . well, I didn't fair so well on my mission either . . . I was suppose to gain control over Dawn's mind and find out if they got to their base and if so explore the Autobot base to see if they had the Allspark on the same base that Dawn was stationed at. But Dawn proved to be stronger than I previously thought she was and I got shoved from her mind. When I told him . . . OUCH! Hey! That hurts!" Lyn yelped as she glared over at Bonecrusher, who apologized lightly and kept going.

"You were saying?" Starscream encouraged her to keep going, trying to distract her as best he could from what Bonecrusher was doing.

"Yeah…anyways, when I told Megatron that I had failed, he had been furious! But he didn't punish me. Or at least I thought I hadn't been punished . . . but it turns out that his punishment had been more than I previously thought. I figured that Blackout's attack on me and Megatron's light punishment of that crime was my punishment. Maybe not his direct intention but it definitely worked in his advantage." Lyn muttered wincing as Bonecrusher washed her wound with disinfectant.

Starscream thought about it for a moment. It did indeed sound like something Megatron would do, but that was risky…there was no guarantee that Blackout wouldn't go too far and kill Lyn. But then again, Blackout did have a lot of control when it came to playing with his new toys. "That doesn't surprise me at all." Starscream was about to say more when Megatron walked into the repair bay and glared at Starscream. "Great…It's back." He muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately for Starscream, Megatron did hear this, as did Lyn and Bonecrusher. Before Megatron's fist could connect with Starscream a force field jumped into being, halting his fist inches from Starscream's face. He growled and lowered his fist. "You can't protect him forever Lyn." Megatron snarled.

Lyn's composure was calm and collected. "As long as I'm around, you won't hurt him." She told him firmly.

Starscream looked smugly at Megatron. How does it feel to be thwarted oh mighty Megatron? She's on my side and not yours! Starscream spoke through sonic communication to his leader.

I will make you pay for your insolence; she can not be there to protect you all the time Starscream…Remember that. She has to sleep sometime. Megatron reminded his second in command. Starscream's smug smile faltered, making Megatron smile in satisfaction of the fear suddenly driven into his air commander. Megatron gave Lyn an easy smile. "Very well, as you wish. Now that you are awake…how do you feel?" He asked her, eager to get her mind off of the confrontation.

Lyn gave a weak grimace. "My head still hurts something fierce and I feel like I've been hit by a semi." She grumbled.

Megatron and Starscream both got the mental image of Optimus in his Earth-chosen form of the semi running her over. Starscream winced, while Megatron chuckled. "I can imagine what that would be like." Megatron said smoothly as he shoved Starscream aside, the force field having fallen a few moments prior.

They were silent while Bonecrusher examined her shoulder, fresh blood oozed from the wound. He sighed heavily. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cauterize the wound."

Lyn looked over at him sharply as he left her side to gather the needed equipment. "Cauterize . . . I don't like the sound of that, it sounds . . . painful!" Her voice was full of worry and fear, Megatron felt momentarily sorry for her. They all had to have things cauterized once or twice themselves and knew it was a painful process.

Bonecrusher returned to her bedside with a tool meant for extreme detailed work, perfect for the work he was going to do on Lyn. "I won't lie, this is going to hurt, but it is necessary. Your wound isn't clotting on its own and if it keeps bleeding, you run the risk of bleeding to your eventual death. You can only lose so much blood before your body starts to shut down." Bonecrusher explained as he carefully adjusted the tool for working on her delicate flesh. "Prepare yourself." He cautioned her as he prepared to work.

Lyn gave Starscream a pleading look that spoke volumes to her fear, he placed a reassuring finger on her back, stroking gently. When Bonecrusher began to work, the pain was beyond what she thought was possible. It brought back horrible memories of the treatment she had received when Incinerator had attacked her. Only this was worse. If that was even possible, which she had previously doubted, but now was unsure. A scream ripped out of her as he began to cauterize the wound. All three flinched; none of them had been prepared for the banshee wail that escaped her.

"You're alright." Megatron said soothingly to her.

"You're doing really well." Starscream reassured her.

"I'm almost done." Bonecrusher informed her.

Lyn could barely register what they were saying through the pain. In her life she had known pain; it had been a part of her almost daily life. She had always done something to receive punishment, but this was beyond what her tolerances could bare. By the time Bonecrusher had completed his work, she was very pale, panting and out of breath. She looked at Starscream with a pleading look that silently said 'help me'.

Starscream felt sympathy for her, he knew the pain he had endured while under repairs, but for her delicate body, it was obvious that she hadn't been equipped to handle that kind of pain. "It's all over now." He reassured her softly, continuing his gentle stroking on her back, she leaned against his finger. Bonecrusher had just completed rewrapping her shoulder and seemed satisfied with his work.

"As long as you don't overstrain yourself and barring your future involvements with Blackout, you should be looking at a good recovery. You will need to come here on a regular basis to get your wound cleaned out and redressed, but I can't see any reason why you would not reach a full recovery." Bonecrusher told her as he looked her over and than glanced at the other two. Keep Blackout away from her. If he manages to get a hold of her again, this wound will more than likely get much worse. I want to see her keep her arm; I will be disappointed if I have to replace it with a cybernetic one. He told both of them as he continued to watch Lyn.

"I have no intentions of getting into another fight with Blackout." Lyn muttered under her breath, but loud enough for all three to hear.

"That's good to know." Starscream muttered in response.

"I am sure she is probably eager to get to her own bed to sleep off what remains of her concussion and get away from this bay." Megatron said.

"Very well. Starscream you will escort her back to her room and immediately return to my office. We have things to discuss." Megatron told Starscream with a level glare that warned of many levels of pain for any argument or disobedience.

Starscream nodded. "As you wish, Lord Megatron." He answered politely, gently collecting Lyn in his hand and walking out with her, he turned to face Bonecrusher one last time. "I will see to it that she returns at once if anything changes." Than turned and left the repair bay.

Lyn sagged in obvious relief. "I'm so glad to be out of there." She muttered lightly, relaxing in Starscream's grip.

The walk to her room was mostly done in silence. Lyn was still recovering from her ordeal and Starscream was slightly worried how his impending chat with Megatron was going to go. Once he got her to her room, he opened the door and sat her on the ground. "I have to go now, you'll be alright?" Starscream asked her, she smiled weakly and nodded. "Alright, I will see you sometime tomorrow as long as my schedule allows." He informed her, giving her a mock bow and a sly smile, closed the door behind him and left.

Lyn sighed, the room was nearly completely dark, and she reached out with her power to turn the lights on. She blinked in the sudden brightness than froze as she saw what was standing at the far end of her room. "Blackout!" She whispered his name in fear.

Blackout chuckled. "Righteous fear . . . ah yes! You are wise to fear me, little fleshling." He responded to her as she backed herself up against the wall, wishing in vain that she could open her door so she could run for help. "There will be no running away from me." He told her smoothly, walking toward her slowly.

Lyn swallowed hard, her shoulder still throbbed as a painful reminder of what her last encounter with him had brought her. "Megatron will be most displeased if he finds out you hurt me again!" She tried to muster what strength and courage she could to use against him, but felt even that draining from her with each step Blackout took.

Blackout chuckled, walking slowly closer. "Who said I was going to repeat what I did to you last time? There are so many other methods I could use!" His voice was soft and calm, but the threat lying in the words was unmistakable.

Lyn felt herself falling to pieces. She had no protection against Blackout. He was huge and she was so small in comparison. It struck her as unfair that she would be trapped in her own room with him. "You come closer and I'll scream! Someone will hear me and come running!" She warned as he came within twenty feet of her.

Blackout's laughter made her flinch. "Could you scream before I had you? I know how to silence your cries for help, little fleshling." Lyn swallowed hard, she knew he had lightning fast reflexes, could she scream before he had her? She doubted it.

"Just stay back!" Lyn told him as she edged away from him.

She barely had time to blink before she found herself flying backwards, she landed awkwardly on her bed, and her head throbbed in protest. Blackout was on her in a heartbeat, his hand pressing her down into the mattress, his face just a foot away from hers. "Or you'll what?" He asked her softly, his optics glowing bright red as he faced his prey.

Lyn swallowed hard, she took a shaky breath and tried to muster up the courage to talk, but for some reason being in his presence took away all of her strength and courage. "I . . . I'll . . . scream!" She managed to say weakly.

Blackout chuckled, pressing his hand down against her a little harder, pinning her just below her shoulders against her chest. She winced as the weight strained her breathing. "With what air, little pet?" He asked her softly.

Lyn whimpered softly, flinching away from him as he leaned in a little closer to her. "Please . . . just go away . . ." She whimpered softly.

Blackout smiled maliciously. "Oh no, little pet, I intend to stay. You had better get used to me; because when your usefulness is up . . . you become mine." To Lyn's distress, she felt a tear roll down her cheek. She was deathly afraid of Blackout, and for good reason.

Someone help me . . . Lyn thought desperately, but knew that no one was going to come to her rescue. The fact that she had been rescued from him last time had been a miracle, she couldn't hope for two miracles in a row. Blackout pressed a little harder against her chest, she struggled to take in a full breath of air, but could only manage to gasp a few mouthfuls of air at a time. "Please! I can't . . . breathe!" She whined softly, struggling lightly beneath his grip.

"You look like you're breathing to me." Blackout answered with a vicious grin. Lyn whimpered and felt more tears slide down her cheeks. "Giving up hope so quickly? Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I thought you were better than that." He chided her gently, but eased his weight off of her slightly to give her a little more breathing room anyway.

Had Lyn been thinking clearly, she would have summoned her power and used a force field to shove him away from her. She would have used her power to strike back at him, force him out of her room, and scream for help. But Lyn wasn't thinking clearly. Fear had completely clouded her mind, all she knew was that Blackout was dangerously close to her and so far, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood. A million different pleas crossed Lyn's mind, but she seemed paralyzed to even say a single one.

Blackout watched with a satisfied expression, he could sense her fear, smell it and practically taste it. From the cocky, ever-eager-to-fight Lyn this was a distinctly appealing thing. He loved to put the cocky and arrogant into their rightful place…at his feet, begging for mercy. Suddenly Blackout removed his hand, still bracing himself against the wall to hover over her; he lowered himself closer to her. "You will never be better than me, remember that…always…my pet." He said softly to her, Lyn cowered lower into the mattress, squeezing her eyes closed, trembling in fear. "Don't tell anyone about our little 'talk' either." Blackout chuckled lightly and stood. He savored one last look at the trembling, frightened Lyn before opening the door and walking out, closing the door after him.

Once Lyn heard the door close, she risked opening her eyes. Blackout, her terror, was gone. She broke down and put her hands to her face and wept without shame. Sobs wracked her as she shook with the force of them. No matter how self-assured she was she knew she would never be a match for Blackout. He was too big, too strong. That thought made her cry even harder. She was utterly alone. There was no one on this ship that would be coming to her aid. Starscream and Megatron were her only real allies. Maybe Barricade, but he was always busy with his own work, as most likely would be Starscream now that he was back. She would be stuck with the insatisfiable Megatron. While he did praise her when she did as he asked, nothing she ever did seemed to really be good enough for him. He always asked something harder, something much more difficult of her the next time. Lyn felt her sobbing getting harder as the totality of her loneliness sunk in.

Starscream had lingered as long as he could away from the inevitable meeting. He wanted nothing more than to go back to Lyn's room and spend the time with her, or go spend time with his two wingmates. But that couldn't happen. He had seen the look on Megatron's face. He was not to be denied right now without due consequence. Starscream shuddered; he didn't feel like that kind of pain, not now, not ever. He took a deep steadying breath and rapped once on the door. "Enter." Starscream opened the door and entered, the door hissing closed behind him. "You wished to speak with me, Lord Megatron?" He asked politely. It never hurt to be polite when one's leader was in a particularly difficult mood.

"Do you enjoy your time with Lyn?" Megatron asked, folding his hands patiently, looking at his nervous second in command, smiling inwardly at how seriously Starscream had taken his warning glare earlier.

The question took Starscream off guard. "Do I enjoy my time with Lyn?" He repeated the question.

Megatron resisted the urge to roll his optics. "Did I not make that question clear enough, Starscream?" He growled dangerously.

Starscream quickly recovered. "She intrigues me. I like being around her, her powers are most interesting." He answered quickly.

Megatron sat silently for a few moments. "I see." He said after a short pause, than the silence dragged on, Starscream fidgeted uneasily. Megatron had not told him to sit, had not given him permission to sit. He was just staring at the Seeker without saying a word. Just when Starscream was about to break the silence, Megatron spoke again. "If you value your time spent with Lyn, you will do better on missions I send you on. You will not fail me again, do I make myself clear?" His voice was still calm and even, but the unsaid threat was all to clear for Starscream.

However, he couldn't resist, the little voice inside of him that always defied Megatron spoke through him. "I can't promise that." He winced inwardly at this, knowing Megatron was already in a dangerous mood.

Megatron raised a brow at Starscream. "Than I can't promise you will be able to see Lyn again. I can post guards outside her door, or better yet I could always move her room next to Blackout's and connect them. He will keep you out for sure, especially since he's very territorial about others around his 'pets'." Megatron's smile grew at the distress of his second in command.

Starscream swallowed hard. "I'll do my best not to fail you again, Lord Megatron." The last thing Starscream wanted was for Blackout to have complete access to Lyn. That would end Lyn's days of fun and begin a whole new hell for her. He'd heard some of what she had endured on the planet they'd rescued her from, but what she'd experienced then would be nothing compared to what Blackout would put her through. This injury she received this last time would only be the beginning.

"See to it that you do." Megatron murmured as he watched his second. Yes, the thought of Blackout having Lyn was definitely having the predicted toll on his Seeker. He smiled inwardly at this and logged it for future reference. "Dismissed." Megatron told Starscream, looking away and busying himself with something else.

Starscream took a deep breath and left, eager to go see if Lyn was fairing well. He walked as casually as he could, but felt himself driven to move faster. The corridors were empty, for that he was grateful, he didn't want any distractions to keep him from his goal. As he got closer to Lyn's quarters he saw his worst nightmare walking casually toward him. "Blackout." Starscream growled under his breath, than a frightening realization dawned on him. He was coming from the direction of Lyn's room! Blackout gave him a wicked grin and walked past him, chuckling lightly to himself at Starscream's expression. Starscream hurried down the hallway to Lyn's room and stood at the door for a long while listening. Do I go in and check? Should I? Surely he wouldn't have hurt her, Megatron would be displeased with him at that, surely he wouldn't risk that wrath. Starscream couldn't hear anything, but then again, these doors were pretty thick, so he might not hear her if she were talking, only if she were to scream like she did that one time from her nightmare.

Starscream took the chance and opened the door. Lyn was exactly like he was afraid she would be, curled in a ball, lying on her bed across wise, and sobbing hard. He hurried over to her and placed a hand gently over her. She flinched immediately, drawing tighter into herself. "Shush! It's okay, it's only me!" He said softly to her, keeping his voice even and gentle, trying not to let the anger and hatred he was feeling toward Blackout enter his voice.

Lyn uncurled a little and looked at him. "Starscream?" Her voice sounded so meek, so feeble it nearly tore his spark in half. He smiled at her reassuringly, sitting down right beside her bed, she got up, wincing as she pulled her wounded shoulder and curled up against his hand. "Hold me!" She whimpered he curled his hand around her delicately, supporting her as she laid limply in his grip.

"Did Blackout come to you?" Starscream asked, but Lyn just sniffled. "Lyn, tell me! Did Blackout come to you? Did he do anything to you?" Lyn's eyes seemed locked on a spot between herself and Starscream, her only response to his questions was to tremble. "You can tell me . . . did he hurt you?" Her trembling increased, her eyes filling with tears again. She won't tell me. Starscream thought bitterly. His irritation was about to show when Lyn suddenly buried herself in his hand and wailed.

"He told me not to tell anyone!" Starscream almost didn't understand it. He had to replay it a few times before what she said fully sunk in. She was weeping hard again, her body shaking with the force of her sobs.

Starscream stroked her back with his thumb. "There, there, everything's alright now. He's gone. I'm here. He won't hurt you, Megatron would kill him if he hurt you again and he knows it. It's all psychological warfare." Starscream muttered to her softly, he knew well how Blackout worked, even Autobots were afraid to be alone in a secluded area with him. Even most Decepticons were afraid to be alone with Blackout. Starscream, however, was not one of them. He had no fear of the other Decepticon. Maybe it was the fact he was slightly larger than the other mech, or maybe it was because he was second in command. He wasn't entirely sure, but Blackout didn't intimidate or faze him one bit. He'd been in plenty of fights with Blackout, and always he'd come out on top.

Lyn was shaking her head slightly. "No, no, no! He said I'd be his pet! That I better get used to him!" She whined softly, shaking harder as she wept.

Starscream sighed. No, there would be no getting out of this predicament easily. Once Blackout decided to pick a toy, a pet as he called them, he stuck to that individual until that individual died or someone, usually Megatron, forced him to relent and find prey elsewhere. There would probably be no such luck this time. Megatron had already stated that should he fail Megatron again, Lyn would be given to Blackout. It wasn't the threat that scared him; it was the fact that the next mission might very well be an impossible one just to separate the two of them. Megatron had already grown irate about the fact that Lyn had grown so attached to himself, and seemed to be determined to separate them at any cost. "I can't promise that Blackout will never bother you again, I can't be here forever to protect you, but I can promise that I will do my best to keep you out of his grasp." Starscream told her as he continued to just stroke her back gently and be supportive of her while she cried.

After a long time her sobs finally stopped. Starscream's gears were stiff from staying in this one position for so long. He stopped stroking her back and looked at her closely. Her deep breathing and still form were a perfect indication that she was asleep. It was all fine and dandy because it was getting late and he had to get back to his own room to catch up on some recharge for the next day. He gently laid her back on her bed and pulled the covers over her. "Sleep well, Lyn." He said softly as he flipped off the light and left the room.

Darkness swirled around her, an impenetrable blackness that threatened to consume her. She swallowed hard and fought back panic as she felt another touch brush against her back, she spun to face it, but the darkness just swirled out of reach again. "What do you want from me?!" She shouted, her voice trembling slightly with the fear she felt.

A dark chuckle filled the blackness surrounding her. Lyn hugged herself tight, she resisted the urge to drop down and curl up in on herself. "Are you afraid?" The voice was smooth and masculine.

Lyn's voice was barely a whimper. "No." There was no confidence, no self-certainty, and no arrogance in her voice. She hugged herself tighter as another caress of the darkness sent a shiver through her. It wasn't that it was cold, it was that the touch was . . . radiating evil. "Leave me be!" She shouted, hugging herself tightly, rubbing her arms briskly, and trying to shake off the feel of the darkness as it caressed her.

Another dark chuckle, Lyn felt the hairs on her arms and neck rise. "I know what scares you." The voice said smoothly.

In front of Lyn the image of Blackout shimmered into being. He smiled wickedly at Lyn. "I will have you, my pet. It is only a matter of time." His voice sent a chill of terror down her spine.

Lyn dropped to her knees and covered her ears with her hands, closing her eyes tightly. "No. No. No. No. No." She muttered over and over again, nonstop as she rocked gently on her heels.

Blackout chuckled and shimmered away in the swirling darkness. "I know your fears. I know your weaknesses. You cannot hide from me. I know everything about you." The voice said softly, sounding as if it were right beside her. Lyn flinched away and laughter echoed throughout the darkness. "Poor lost child. So far from home, tsk, tsk, tsk, but than you'll never find home either, will you?"

Lyn felt a wail building up in her chest, she wanted to let it out so badly it hurt. But she bit it back, knowing it would do her no good. "Home is where I make it." She managed to say with little trouble.

The voice laughed, making Lyn wince. "Say that if you will, maybe some day you'll believe it!" The voice's laughter was condescending and condemning. Lyn felt what little self-esteem she had draining from her.

"Who are you?" She whimpered softly, folding back in on herself.

The voice chuckled darkly, than whispered as if right next to her ear. "Haven't you figured it out yet? No? Such a shame, but you will, soon." With that the voice's haunting laughter returned.

Lyn gathered her courage and strength and jumped to her feet. "Tell me who you are! I command you!" She demanded, pushing aside all of her fear, uneasiness and weakness.

The voice's laughter died away. "You dare to try and command me?" The response was barely a whisper. "I will show you to respect me!" With that the image of Blackout shimmered into being, and walked maliciously toward Lyn.

All of her courage and strength drained from her, she cowered back, trying to tell herself over and over again that it was not real, it was only an illusion. She felt her back collide with something solid, she turned around slight to see what she had hit and felt her heart drop into her stomach. "Hello creator." Incinerator smirked down at her, his cannon whining as it came online and too aim at her.

"Please . . . no . . ." She muttered weakly as she quickly backed away from Incinerator and into the waiting hand of Blackout. The last thing she knew before the agony hit her was his hand wrapping around her waist and lifting her up.

She screamed. . .

Lyn awoke screaming and thrashing, something heavy and solid was holding her down. She struggled violently in its grip. "Come back to us. Wake up." A voice intruded her confusion; it was a familiar voice, calm and reassuring. She ceased her struggles and blinked in complete confusion. She wasn't in her room.

"Where . . . am I?" She asked, her voice cracking slightly, her throat very dry.

Bonecrusher sighed, air wheezed through his vents in relief. "You're in the repair bay. You gave us quite a scare." He pushed a tray next to her and gestured to it. "Pour yourself something to drink, you probably need it."

Lyn sat up painfully and obeyed, pouring herself a glass of water. She took a few long draws before setting it down and looking around her. There were four mechs around her. Bonecrusher, Barricade and Megatron she recognized, but the fourth was unfamiliar, she knew she had seen him before, but she didn't know his name. "What happened?" She asked, looking back at Bonecrusher.

"You tell us. At first I thought it was a simple nightmare, but your brain patterns suggested something else. You were emitting enough energy to power this ship for the next couple months." Bonecrusher stated as he looked at the other three briefly. "I was worried you wouldn't wake. We tried everything, but what finally did it is a mystery to us."

Lyn frowned. "Oh." She muttered, looking down at her hands, her shoulder throbbed painfully, but glancing at the bandage revealed no blood seeping through. She sighed in relief. At least one thing was in her favor. She didn't relish getting the bandage changed and the wound cleaned out so soon after Bonecrusher had worked on it.

"The way you were screaming . . . I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks. You kept pleading and begging for mercy that you were obviously not being shown." Barricade said with a shudder. Lyn looked over at him. Barricade had taken to doing patrols through her corridor on most nights, he shared this duty with two others, but he stayed up the longest making sure no one tried to attack Lyn. There were still Decepticons that didn't approve of Lyn's presence, although most had gotten used to it by now.

Lyn thought back to her 'dream'. There had been no escaping and what had the voice been? It had acted like she should have known it. How was she supposed to know who or what that voice had been? As far as she could remember this had been the first time she'd encountered it, although there was something very familiar about the feel the darkness gave off. She just couldn't place what it was. "I'm sorry." Lyn muttered to Barricade.

Barricade smiled kindly at her and shook his head. "Don't be. It's not like you did it on purpose. This is the whole reason I do my patrols, not just to protect you from other Decepticons but also to protect you from situations similar to this." Lyn gave him a wobbly smile, than looked at Megatron, who was frowning down at her.

Megaton was deep in conversation with the fourth mech. Lyn could tell they were communicating because the air nearly vibrated around them. Finally, Megatron spoke to her. "I want you to tell us exactly what you dreamed this night. Try not to leave anything out. This is important." Lyn swallowed hard. She didn't want to recount her dream, which meant reliving the terrifying parts near the end. "Please." He added the last with nothing even close to politeness.

With everyone looking at her expectantly, she recounted her 'dream'. Every little detail that she could think of adding, she added. She even added her own feelings and thoughts, going into graphic detail. When she started to tell about Incinerator and Blackout she had to force herself to remain calm and continue to talk. Megatron encouraged her when she felt her strength begin to wan, but she hardly faltered. Once she was finished, she fell silent. Looking at all four worriedly, Megatron looked back at the unknown mech and nodded, together they headed for the door. "The decision is yours, Bonecrusher." Lyn looked nervously over at Bonecrusher, unsure as to what that meant, but he only nodded and turned his attention back to Lyn.

"So little one . . . I suppose you probably don't have any more insight into your 'dream' than you already told us, do you?" Bonecrusher asked, but Lyn shook her head. "I didn't think so." He sighed and looked at Barricade. "Why don't you take her back to her room, I'm sure she would like to relax and unwind before she starts her day today."

Barricade nodded and looked at Lyn. "Are you ready to go?" Lyn nodded so he scooped her up in his hand and nodded to Bonecrusher before walking out the door to head back to Lyn's room. "Are you going to be alright alone?" He asked, looking down at Lyn as he walked.

Lyn nodded, thinking of how Blackout had been waiting for her. Surely he wouldn't do it again, not so soon. She thought as she spoke to Barricade. "Yeah, I should be fine, I've wanted to clean it for a while anyway, and I'll just do that to clear my head." She told him as they stopped in front of her door. He set her down and opened the door. "Could you . . . check my room for me?" She asked, deciding not to take any chances on Blackout waiting for her again.

Barricade smiled down at her and walked in, flipping the lights on and walked around her room a few times, checking every little corner. "Nothing here, its all clear." He told her as he walked back over to her.

Lyn looked up and smiled. "Thanks Barricade, I appreciate that." He nodded to her with a smile of his own.

"Not a problem. I'll be down the hall if you need anything." Barricade informed her as he turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Lyn took a deep breath and looked around her. The room wasn't quite a mess, but it definitely needed some tending too. She sighed and started to work, she pulled free her little music player and put her earphones in and turned it on, after fastening it to her clothes, she started to work on her room.

Between the loud music and how busy she had made herself, she didn't hear the door slide open, or see the huge mech that walked into her room and shut the door behind him. He smirked as he watched her feverishly moving about the room, at the moment she was doing dishes, one hand simply holding the dish while her uninjured arm did all the moving. He folded his arms as he watched her work. He thought about interrupting her work and speaking with her, but she seemed to be in the groove for working, so he patiently waited for her to complete the chores she'd been neglecting.

Lyn grabbed a towel and dried off her hands. Her hips were swaying slightly to the music and her eyes were shut when she turned around otherwise she would have seen her doom looming before her. He smirked and unfolded his arms, ready to spring on the instant. She mouthed the words to the song and danced a little, her eyes still blissfully shut. The one thing that he was was patient. Her eyes opened and her mouth fell open in shock. "You . . . but . . . Barricade was . . . how did you . . ." Lyn stammered as her hands fell limply at her sides. She took a deep breath to scream and he pounced, slamming her against the floor hard. The air left her lungs in a great whoosh! She gasped at the pain that lanced through her shoulder as his hand pinned her down, pressing down so hard that it threatened to crush her. Grey spots floated before her vision as she struggled to remain conscious.

"Oh, don't you pass out on me, stay with me." Blackout murmured gently to her, his voice soft and reassuring. Lyn felt her heart pounding in overtime as she moaned breathlessly against the pain, but she fought to stay conscious. Not because of Blackout's words, but because she didn't trust him to be weak and defenseless in his presence.

"Get . . . off . . ." She gasped as she struggled beneath his hand. Blackout eased the pressure off of her a little and she took a shaky shallow breath. Pain exploded throughout her chest, she winced. "Are you . . . trying to . . . kill me?" Lyn asked in gasps, her chest felt like it was going to explode with each gasping breath.

"No. You won't die; you've only got a few cracked ribs." Blackout answered her as he did a quick scan over her, checking to see if he had done any major damage. "Best get used to pain, life is full of it." He told her softly, leaning down so that his face was only a few feet away from hers. "Scream and I'm going to show you a whole new meaning to the word 'pain'." He muttered softly to her as he eased his hand off of her and ran a finger down the length of her body. Lyn shuddered, feeling more than a little violated by his touch. Blackout simply chuckled lightly. "Better get used to me, Megatron has already promised you to me, my little pet." Lyn felt herself flinch at what he was implying. If it was true, her hell had truly only begun. But then again, wasn't that Blackout's way? To trigger one's deepest fear and make it seem reality, make you so tangled in your fear that you couldn't see the truth anymore?

"I don't believe you. He wouldn't do something like that . . ." Would he? She finished her sentence in her mind, she really didn't know Megatron that well, and maybe it would be something he would do.

Blackout's response snapped her out of her thoughts. "Wouldn't he?"

Lyn swallowed hard. She didn't truly know . . . and that thought frightened her. "If he wants me to continue to use my power and help him he certainly better not!" She was exasperated, her eyes going wide as she struggled to keep her mind from going over the possibilities of being handed over to Blackout.

Blackout's smile made her blood run ice cold. "With me as your master, you would be more than willing to do everything we asked of you. I'm sure you can't even imagine what I could do to you, how much pain you could suffer before your body broke, how much agony you would endure before your mind broke. Oh I don't need your will to use your power; you can be completely broken and still use your power. I would have you begging to please me." Lyn felt the color drain from her skin. She shrank back away from him as well as she could, he let her retreat a little. "And beg for me you will." He told her darkly as he bridged the distance between them once more. Lyn cowered back, lying completely flat on the ground, wishing she could disappear through the floor to escape him.

"I beg for no one." Lyn said as she fought her fear and made a desperate reach for her power, she could feel it there, swirling below the surface, but as she grabbed it, it slipped through her fingers like water. She nearly cried in frustration. Her powers were always responsive to her! Why, all of a sudden, was she so incapable of using them?! And right when she needed them most too!

Blackout smirked as he watched her. It was obvious she had expected to suddenly fight back, but her fear had completely drained her ability to touch her powers. Fear was a powerful weapon, sometimes the most powerful weapon in his arsenal. Fear does funny things to the mind, and keeping you separated from your power is just one more bonus in my favor, little Lyn. Blackout thought as he watched Lyn pale a fainter shade of white. He was about to say something to Lyn when there was a light knock on the door and it opened revealing Starscream.

Starscream took only half a nana second to register that Blackout was threatening Lyn before acting. "Get away from her." He growled dangerously low, his arm cannon whining as it charged, pointing it at Blackout.

Blackout scowled and pulled himself away from Lyn. "She's a fleshling, Starscream, why protect her?" He asked the Seeker as he stood his full height and flexed his fingers, preparing his body for battle.

Starscream walked toward Blackout slowly, keeping an eye on the huge mech and watching while Lyn scampered away from him. Blackout glanced over and growled as he noticed Lyn had moved beyond his reach. There would be no hostage this time, which meant he would have to face the Seeker with his own prowess. Starscream noticed the attention flicker back to Lyn and used that moment to attack, he lunged the distance, using his thrusters to give him a sudden burst of speed and impacted Blackout hard, his fist connecting with Blackout's face as he turned to face the attacking Decepticon.

Momentarily caught off guard, Blackout struggled to regain his senses as Starscream continued to pelt him with hit after hit, not giving the other Decepticon a chance to recover. Blackout managed to grab one of Starscream's hands as Starscream made to punch him and forced it back away from him. Starscream didn't hesitate as he brought up his other hand and slammed it into the other mech's side, as soon as his cannon touched Blackout's side, he unleashed three short bursts, firing directing into Blackout's side. Blackout grunted in pain and whirled away, slamming against the wall, he could feel his armor buckling under the heat of the plasma. He spun against the wall and used the wall to push off and charge Starscream, who easily grabbed him by the waist and slammed him against the wall again.

"You're not match for me, and you know it!" Starscream gloated as he threw Blackout away from himself and smirked as Blackout stumbled for a moment before catching himself.

"That's what you think." Blackout growled as he launched himself once more at Starscream.

The Seeker smirked as Blackout charged and quickly darted to the side at the last possible moment, grabbing Blackout from behind by the shoulders and pulled him roughly to the ground. He quickly formed his sword and set it against Blackout's neck. "I won. Now, get up, and get out before I finish you and take Megatron's wrath for it." The Seeker growled as Blackout got painfully to his feet and shot a cold glare at Starscream and limping out the still open door. There was energon splattered around Lyn's room where Blackout had been, it was obvious that he'd be spending a little time with Bonecrusher before he'd be back to harass Lyn again.

Lyn walked weakly out from the area she'd been hiding in and looked up at Starscream. "I didn't think anyone was going to come." She said softly.

Starscream knelt down to her and smiled sadly. "I would have come sooner if I had known I wasn't the only one with the idea of visiting you."

Lyn shook her head. "It's not your fault . . . you didn't know. How were you supposed to know? Blackout is supposed to be staying away from me from what I gathered from Megatron. But Blackout keeps telling me that Megatron is going to give me to him. So . . . I'm not sure what I'm supposed to believe anymore." A look of confusion passed over Lyn's face, than she winced.

Starscream frowned. "Did he hurt you?" He mentally cursed himself for not being able to scan her and tell if she was injured or not.

Lyn managed a small smile. "I'll be alright, just a few cracked ribs. Nothing can really be done about that, they'll heal with time." She told him as she suppressed another wince as she took a shaky deep breath.

Starscream frowned. "Are you certain you don't want Bonecrusher to look at you? There might be other damage that you don't know of." But Lyn shook her head.

"No! It's . . . alright, honestly. I don't need to see the medic." Lyn muttered the last thing she wanted to do right now was see him twice in one day. Bonecrusher was nice and all to her, but still . . . he was a doctor and she hated doctors with a passion! Plus Blackout was probably headed there now.

Starscream sighed and motioned her to sit down on the chair a little ways away from her. "Please, sit down. Rest, you look like you need it."

Lyn walked unsteadily over to her living area and sat down carefully in the chair, wincing as the motion made her ribs hurt. She leaned back in the chair and looked over at Starscream. "You know Megatron better than almost anyone else, right?" Starscream nodded, it was true, and he'd studied the leader far longer and more intently than most of the others who simply followed mindlessly. "Do I have anything to fear from what Blackout has been telling me? Will he give me over to that monster?"

Starscream sighed. Do I tell her what Megatron has threatened me? Or do I simply reassure her and cross that bridge when it comes down to it? He asked himself as he watched her expression closely. She was worried, that much was clearly evident, as well as the pain written on her face. "For now you don't have anything to worry about. I will make sure that Blackout doesn't get you the way he keeps promising, even if I have to destroy him myself." The thought of deactivating Blackout made him wince, doing such to the third in command would be highly unwise, and Megatron's wrath would be at an all time height. He'd probably wind up in the brig for longer than he'd care to stay. But it was meant to reassure Lyn, nothing else. Besides, it hadn't really been a lie, as long as he succeeded his missions from hence on Megatron would allow him to stay with Lyn and not hand her over to Blackout.

Lyn smiled weakly, and closed her eyes as she rested her head back against the chair. "For now . . . but what about long term? Is this something I'm going to have to worry about? I mean, I'm still young, I have no idea what my lifespan is going to be, I could live for centuries for all I know, or just only a short time. The doctors on back on that planet could never tell just exactly how long we would live." She shrugged. "Oh well . . . I guess I'll just enjoy what my life has given me now, so if I do ever end up with Blackout I can look back and see how my life had been good." She muttered.

Starscream forced himself to smirk. "That's a good way of looking at it." He said as he felt himself swallow hard just thinking about her in Blackout's hands. Her life would take a turn she'd never imagined. Blackout could make his 'toys' live for a very long time.

Lyn shrugged and looked at Starscream and smiled suddenly. "I enjoy time we spend together. It's good to have you back." She muttered the last as she closed her eyes again. Suddenly she felt very exhausted.

Her words hit Starscream so hard he almost flinched. Would she still feel that way if she knew that he had plans on using her against Megatron? He had her trust, all he had to do was build up more so he could learn exactly what kind of powers she had so he could decide how to strike against Megatron. That was still his plan, right? Suddenly he wasn't so sure he should do it. He shook himself mentally; maybe he was getting soft . . . "I enjoy our time as well." He said smoothly, watching an easy smile come across her lips tiredly. "Perhaps we could continue our lessons in flying sometime soon. I don't foresee going anywhere anytime soon."

Lyn looked at him tiredly. "That sounds nice. I'm definitely stronger than I was when you last left. I haven't shown you what I can do now."

Starscream sighed. "You should probably take a small nap before the others come to collect you for whatever it is that Megatron has been having you do recently." He told her as he watched her struggling to stay awake.

"No . . . I'm fine, I don't need to sleep." She said, her eyes barely staying open.

He chuckled lightly. "Yes, you do. Now, go! Sleep for a while, I'll see you later." Lyn sighed and closed her eyes, falling almost instantly asleep in the chair. Starscream chuckled one last time as he looked at her before leaving.

Lyn wasn't sure how long she slept, but the gentle touch on her shoulder and chest brought her back to the waking world. "Huh?" She muttered sleepily.

"Wake up . . . how are you feeling?" Lyn blinked a couple of times to make her eyes focus and looked up at Barricade.

"Barricade? Alright, I guess. What's going on?" Lyn asked, sitting up a little, instantly wincing as her ribs screamed in protest.

Barricade frowned at her obvious pain. "Lord Megatron sent me here to retrieve you." He studied her face as she took a few deep shaky breaths. "I'm supposed to take you to see him." He repeated himself when she said nothing.

Lyn smiled weakly that she understood. "Alright, give me a second, okay?" Barricade nodded and stepped back so she could have some room as she got up carefully and went to the back of her room to splash water across her face to wake her up more. She dried off her face and came back to Barricade who was watching her intently. She smiled up at him, saluting sarcastically. "Take me to your leader." She said in a sassy tone.

Barricade sighed at her joke and shook his head. "He's your leader as well now, you realize." Barricade pointed out as he reached down and gently picked her up.

"With all this being carried around all the time I'm gonna forget how to walk." Lyn muttered loud enough for Barricade to hear as they headed out the door and to wherever Megatron was waiting.

It took them a little longer than it usually took to take her to the 'usual' places Megatron always seemed to linger around. It was also a part of the ship that she hadn't previously been too. Scratch that, she'd been this way once but only once and she couldn't remember what was down this way. She was about to ask Barricade when they came to a door marked by strange markings that she'd come to realize as Cybertronian writing. Barricade gave the door a short knock. It opened. They stepped in and Lyn suddenly remembered. This was Megatron's 'office', the place where he went to do his plans and arrange everything that needed to be done that was Decepticon.

Megatron looked up from a data pad and smiled at Lyn easily. "Lyn, how do you feel?"

Lyn shrugged as Barricade set her down on the massive desk. She decided to remain standing; it was what hurt her aching ribs the least. "I've been better." For some reason she felt the need not to tell him about Blackout.

Megatron grunted and glanced at Barricade. "I feel that you have practiced your abilities sufficiently for you to be in a combat situation. You will be heavily protected, so you have no reason to fear." He reassured her as a wave of fear passed over her face. "But your abilities to bring technology to life will be very handy to us. Especially your ability to bring it to life without touching them and this test will show exactly what your limits truly are." Megatron told her as he watched her expression carefully.

Lyn went through a barrage of different emotions. She was happy that she'd finally see some action, happy that she'd finally be using her powers as they were meant to be used, but also she was scared that she would be hurt or forgotten in the mess and heat of battle. She was also a little afraid that this might mean she'd have to confront her sister on the battlefield. Maybe not this time, but eventually, the Autobots would be bringing her sister into the fight as well. She didn't relish that thought. "It would be nice to know the true limits of my power, yes." She agreed with Megatron as she felt her chest puff out in pride at being useful finally.

"Good, than I'm glad we agree. We will arrive there within a few short days. I suggest you get all the rest you can get. You're going to need it." Megatron told her as he nodded to Barricade. "You are dismissed now."

Barricade looked down at Lyn and gently gripped her and held her while he gave a small bow to Megatron and carried Lyn outside of his office, stopping once the door closed behind them. He looked down at Lyn. "That's quite a mission you've got coming up. Are you going to be up to it?" He asked her softly, searching her bio signs as she seemed to ponder his question.

Her bio signs were jumping all over the place, showing fear, excitement and . . . something else. He couldn't quite pin point what exactly it was. "I guess I really don't have a choice. I managed to bring a handful of vehicles to life at one time, so I'm guessing it shouldn't be too hard to bring multiples to life. The worst I can do is fail." Lyn tried to make it sound upbeat and unafraid, and she would have been convincing, however, Barricade could clearly see her fear through his scans.

"It's alright to be afraid. Failure with Megatron is never taken lightly. Failure should be feared greatly." Barricade told her gently as he started walking back the way they had come.

"Can we not go back to my room? I don't wanna go back there just yet." Lyn muttered as she looked up at Barricade.

"Where do you wish to go than?" Barricade inquired, glancing down at her for a moment before looking back up.

"Anywhere but back at my room, I don't wanna take the chance of seeing Blackout again." She muttered, Barricade nodded and changed direction. Lyn didn't even ask where they were headed.

For a few minutes there was silence, when Barricade couldn't stand the silence any longer, he spoke softly to Lyn. "Fear is sometimes acceptable. You should be afraid of this new mission. Testing ones limits for the first time is not an easy task." Lyn looked up at Barricade, a frown on her face. She looked about to say something, but Barricade stopped her short. "You can not hide your fear from us. We can read your emotions like you would read a book."

Lyn folded her arms across Barricade's thumb as she fidgeted a little in his grip, wincing as her ribs protested. "I guess that's true enough." She muttered, than sighed. "This isn't going to be an easy mission is it? This is going to be really hard, isn't it?"

Barricade sighed and stopped in front of a door, he looked down at her and shook his head, using his free hand to punch in a number in a key code and walked in as the door opened. "No mission is ever really an easy mission when you're first starting out. You need to seriously take into consideration what you'll need to do once you get onto the battle field. Battle is nothing like anything you have ever experienced before. There will be chaos, explosions and extremely quick thinking will be required. If you're not on top of it all, you'll be under it all. While I realize that Megatron is at least going to give you a protector, don't rely on that mech. You never know if you're gonna get separated. Especially if we encounter Autobots, I can almost guarantee you will be separated if your protector has to fight an Autobot." Barricade told her.

She looked around her in amazement. The room made her own seem small in comparison. There was a huge berth against the far wall to her left, and to her far right there was a desk and what looked like a computer console. The rest of the room was decorated and furnished with things she'd never seen before. "Where are we?" Lyn asked, Barricade looked around and shifted his weight, suddenly uneasy.

"This is my quarters." Barricade answered simply.

"Oh." Lyn answered just as simply as she continued to survey the room. It was meticulously clean and well done. Everything had its own place and nothing was disorderly. "Do you really think we'll encounter Autobots where we're going?" Lyn asked, feeling a pit of ice open up in her stomach.

Barricade dropped himself into one of his chairs and set her gently on the arm of the chair. He stared at her for a moment. "It's hard to say, there is no telling where the Autobots are and where they have taken a holding at. The sector we are traveling to is pretty far from any known Autobot bases or outposts, but with their own numbers growing everyday, it's hard to say where they will be tomorrow." Barricade told her with a heavy sigh as he watched Lyn ease herself into a sitting position.

Lyn drew her knees up to her chest, ignoring the pain in her chest. "Do you know where we're going?"

Barricade found himself wishing for a glass of energon to drown himself in. "Yes." He answered simply.

Lyn pursed her lips together and set her chin on her knees, watching Barricade closely. "Is it going to be difficult? To do what Megatron wants me to do?"

Barricade thought about that for a few moments, than just when Lyn figured he wasn't going to answer, he answered. "You will have plenty to work with. And he wants you to bring them all to life, do not forget that."

Lyn frowned, than put her forehead on her knees and stared down at her stomach. They were quiet for a long time, she felt herself slipping deeper into thought the longer silence. This is what I've been wanting all these years. A chance to prove my powers were worth something, why am I so afraid? Certainly Megatron won't be seriously upset if I can not do as much as he hopes I can. Right? She asked herself as she heard Barricade shift on the chair and felt the shadow pass over her as he stood up, Lyn felt the silence would finally end after what felt like hours.

Barricade stood over Lyn looking down at her. "You should go to the hanger bay and practice, Megatron has several machines that you can work with." Lyn sighed and looked up at Barricade.

"This is going to be my toughest challenge yet, isn't it?" She asked her intense blue eyes stared up at him.

It was that moment that Barricade saw the black speck in her right eye, he frowned. Such occurrences were rare . . . the people who always had the mark were usually people who craved pain and relished in the agony of others. Or at least that's what he had heard. "You'll survive." He grunted as he watched her stand up painfully. "Perhaps you should go see Bonecrusher. You do not want to go into this fight with injuries. Getting them looked at would be highly suggested." His gaze fell over her bandaged shoulder. He almost shook his head. Megatron must be half mad to want to force her to use her powers while she is still recovering. Her shoulder is barely healing and now this new injury? Megatron is pressing his luck a little far. Barricade thought as he gently picked her up and headed out his door to take her to the hanger bay where they had stored all those machines for her to bring to life. Earth had been abundant in machinery to steal, and so had several other planets they'd stop at for supplies on their way to Lyn and Dawn's planet. At first everyone was baffled as to why Megatron had stolen all the machinery, without the Allspark the machinery was pointless and gaining the Allspark seemed like a fading dream.

Then they had been told of Ashalyn and her twin, Ashadawna, a new hope started to stir among them. Suddenly stealing all the machinery made sense. If these females truly had the power of the Allspark, than they could start rebuilding their army to face the Autobots and eventually regain control of the Allspark itself. Barricade pulled himself out of his thoughts as they neared the hanger bay, he keyed in the code and the door slid open for them.

She took a deep breath and looked up at Barricade as he silently communicated with one of the other Decepticons to warn them of more about to be created so they could be debriefed after their 'birth'. Barricade didn't exactly agree with bringing things to life like this. He preferred things to go the way they were meant to. But they would never be like that again; there weren't enough femmes around and no Allspark to give new life to the newly created sparklings. "Barricade?"

"Hmm?" The sound seemed weird coming from Barricade.

"I . . . nothing never mind." She decided against saying what she had about said. Barricade would think her weak and she didn't want him to think any less of her than he probably already did. After all, Barricade had been legendary for hating fleshlings. Surely she was no exception.

Barricade looked at her oddly for a moment, she couldn't define what the look was, but he simply looked away and took her over to where her 'starting point' was and set her down on the ground. "I will remain here while you work." Lyn gave him an odd look. "Someone has to send the new recruits to their destination for their debriefing." Barricade explained feeling a little agitated that she hadn't picked up on that fact prior to explanation.

Lyn nodded and sighed as she looked around her. There was more there than there had been in the previous day. That meant that new shipments of equipment had been brought specifically for her to create into 'transformers'. She rubbed her hands together and went to work with Barricade watching her as he leaned against the wall.

Two hours later

Lyn slumped against the wall. Barricade had sent the last of the newcomers to their destination and was now staring at Lyn. "You did great. I don't think you'll have much to worry about in the upcoming battle." Barricade reassured her as he closed the distance and knelt down in front of her.

Lyn gave him a tired smirk. "Yeah, creating nearly thirty at once was hard . . . but at least I was able to do it. I'm not really as tired as I thought I would be, so I guess I'll be down right exhausted when I'm finished with the battle. I can already see that I'm gonna be bringing much more than thirty to life at once." She sighed and smiled up at Barricade. "You really think I did a good job?"

Barricade nodded. "You'll be fine. I imagine that Megatron will give you a nice long break after this battle. He just wants to test your abilities in combat. That's all." Barricade reassured her as he held out a hand for her.

Lyn pushed herself away from the wall and walked over to his hand; he gently wrapped his fingers around her and lifted her up, straightening himself, than he turned to the door to leave. "Hey . . . Barricade?"

"Hmm?" Lyn couldn't suppress a grin at strange way that sounded coming from Barricade.

"Um . . . you know Megatron, right? I mean, you know about his personality and stuff. His whims? Stuff like that?" Lyn asked, looking at his face, searching it for anything that might be written there.

Barricade hesitated for a moment. "I know him well enough." Suddenly he didn't like where this was going.

Lyn shifted a little bit in his grip. "Do I have anything to fear of him giving me to Blackout? I mean, I keep getting told by Blackout that I'm soon going to belong to him . . . is there any truth to that do you think?" Lyn regretted asking as soon as it escaped her mouth.

Barricade sighed, or at least that's what Lyn took the sound to mean. "I don't know the situation, so I can't presume." He finally said after thinking about it carefully. This wasn't a subject he wanted to get into. Megatron was dangerously unpredictable; he was nearly as unpredictable as Starscream was predictable that he would try to overthrow Megatron.

Lyn slumped in his hand. It hadn't been the answer she had been hoping for. She'd been looking for reassurance that it wouldn't happen. That Blackout was just playing on her fears, but she wasn't getting any. In fact, the answers were making her afraid that it might be true. "Oh." Lyn said in a defeated tone.

"Let's take you to Bonecrusher to get checked out. I'm still worried that you won't be in prime condition before the battle." Barricade said calmly as he started to walk toward the med bay.

Lyn groaned, but being in Barricade's hand, there wasn't anything she could do to protest except for letting her head fall painfully against one of his fingers with a dull 'thud'. "No . . . not Bonecrusher!" She moaned against his finger as she stared at the moving floor. Barricade just chuckled lightly and kept on walking.