Like I said in the previous chapter…this isn't proof-read, there will probably be errors, I plan to eventually go back and proof-read them all, but with a four year old and a three year old….it's not an easy task. So bare with me here, okay? At least it's another chapter up :P Again, reviews are loved! I live for reviews and I haven't been getting any : ( Please review? Please?
Enjoy the chapter : )
Chapter Seven:
Lyn stretched as she stood up from her bathtub, grateful for Barricade's thoughtfulness of taking her to see Bonecrusher two days ago. He had given her an injection of something and in less than six hours her ribs had stopped hurting all together. She had been very grateful; after all, the idea of going into a battle situation with broken ribs was never a pleasing thought. Thinking about the upcoming battle made her stomach clench in sudden fear. She hadn't gotten used to the idea and now that her days were up, she feared when someone would come get her. Megatron had said a few days, it had been two already, so now it was just a matter of when they were ready . . . she desperately hoped that there would be no Autobots . . . Lyn didn't feel she was capable of handling that, at least not yet. She quickly dried herself off.
Lyn was just getting out of the bathroom, still dressed in a towel when she realized that Barricade was standing in her living room area. She froze, holding the towel against herself. "Barricade . . . what brings you here?" She feared his answer, but he only looked down at her.
For a long moment he was silent as he simply stared at her. Lyn felt herself blushing under his gaze. She suddenly felt all too aware that the only thing shielding his eyes from her nude body was the towel draped around her. "You are attractive to look upon." Barricade muttered after a long silence.
Lyn felt herself blush viciously. "Well . . . thank you . . . I think." She muttered in reply as she hurried over to her bed and looked longingly at the clothes lying there. "Do you think you could turn around so I could get dressed?" She asked, but Barricade didn't seem to care.
"I am in no way hindering your dressing ritual. I see no reason to advert my eyes." He answered as he continued to watch her. Lyn grimaced.
She sighed and tried desperately to get dressed without displacing her modesty. In the process of trying to get her underwear on the towel slipped off. She groaned and quickly pulled her underwear on, stealing a glance at Barricade, hoping in vain that he didn't see. He was looking straight at her. So much for my modesty . . . Lyn thought disheartened. She kicked the towel away and picked up her strapless shirt, putting it on quickly, but trying not to make it seem that way.
Barricade watched in fascination. Her body was alluring, a beautiful thing to gaze upon, but her scars were a curious thing to him. They were long and wicked looking, he knew upon seeing them that the experience of gaining them had been especially painful. "You are scarred." He commented, watching as she finished dressing.
Lyn sighed. "Yes, I am." She said shortly, not wanting to really get into the details as to why she was scarred.
Barricade hesitated for a moment and seemed to contemplate whether or not to pursue the fact. He had a limited knowledge as to what had happened to her for the past fifteen or so years, but hearing it from the actual source was an entirely different matter. But he decided that there would be many more opportune times to ask such questions. "I hope you have sufficiently rested. I am to take you to the hanger bay where you are going to be debriefed and we will be on our way." He told her, nearly smirking at the flinch she made upon hearing it. He pulled a small communicator from his subspace and handed it to her. "Put this on your ear, it is a communicator. This is how we will keep in touch with you during the battle."
"Thanks. Wait . . . we're there already? Didn't take us very long . . ." Lyn mumbled while she took the communicator and placed it around her ear, disheartened.
"You were told it would take only a couple of days." Barricade couldn't keep the smugness out of his voice.
"Yeah . . . well, I just kinda figured maybe it'd take a little longer for some reason." Lyn mumbled as she stepped closer to Barricade, who chuckled and bent to pick her up.
"Wishful thinking, isn't it called?" Barricade asked her as he straightened, looking down at her in his hand.
Lyn gave a soft smirk. "Yeah, something like that." Than she looked a little more worried. "So, do you have any idea who's going to be my guardian while this whole charade is going down?"
Barricade sighed heavily, Lyn jumped slightly at the sound of the air going heavily through his vents. She still wasn't used to that, after all, they didn't do it often around her. "I'm not sure. Megatron's not going to announce that until we are all gathered together. He has narrowed it down, but not singled it out yet."
Lyn nodded. "So who has he narrowed it down to?"
Barricade tried not to sigh again in agitation. "Well, as far as I know: myself, Blackout," Lyn cringed when he said that name. "Steelsbane, Negotiator, Shadowhand, Crisis, himself, or Incinerator." Lyn looked absolutely horrified with the last one.
"You can't be serious! He almost killed me! What makes Megatron think he won't kill me on the field by 'accident'?! I mean, come on! He hates me!!" Lyn whined in terror as she covered her face with her hands, her voice slightly muffled.
Barricade felt a smile tug at his mouth. "You'll be fine, I'm sure Megatron will choose someone that is going to keep you safe. Incinerator will not endanger you, it was simply his way of showing you who was superior, now that Megatron has told him you are not to be harmed, no harm will befall you." Somehow Lyn didn't feel very reassured. Barricade walked in the direction of the arranged meeting place in one of the hanger bays. He knew Megatron would be impatient, and hoped that he wouldn't be completely pissed that they were going to be late.
They walked in silence for a while, Lyn battled the butterflies in her stomach and Barricade tried to quiet his processor and think of what he would tell his angry Lord when he was confronted with how late they had arrived. The element of surprise was all in the timing, with as late as they were, it wasn't very likely that they would have the element of surprise any more, and that could make Lyn's mission that much harder. With advanced warning the possibilities of Autobots hearing of their attack as all the more likely, and with that, it was more likely that Lyn would be facing Autobot foes. Not something to look forward to on her very first mission.
As the approached the appropriate hanger bay, Barricade opened the door and stepped through. "How grateful we are that you've chosen to meet us here!" Megatron's voice was dangerously sarcastic, Barricade flinched.
"Forgive me, Lord Megatron, we were delayed." Barricade said solemnly with a bow.
"It's my fault that we're so late, don't punish Barricade . . . he told me it was important that we hurry, I was . . . that is . . . I had questions. I am sorry." Lyn stated giving her own little bow as best she could from Barricade's hand; she decided that telling him she had been bathing wouldn't be a good idea in his current mood.
Megatron stepped closer, his eyes glowing dangerously with the anger he felt. "When I say haste, I expect you to come as fast as you can. When I say jump, you jump. There is no hesitation and no questions. If I deem you need answers I will give them myself." His fiery gaze turned on Barricade. "And you! You know better! You understand the need for speed in this mission! You dare to insult me by answering her questions and coming here this late?!" Barricade flinched away from his angry lord, he knew he didn't deserve whatever punishment was about to be dealt, but stayed silent, unwilling to put his leader's ire on Lyn. Megatron looked back to Lyn. "In battle, the best thing to start off a mission like this is the element of surprise, which ended nearly an hour ago! Our scans show us that they detected our presence nearly twenty minutes ago, which means they will have their military powers ready to attack us when we land! I was hoping that we'd catch them by surprise so that you could test your abilities without fear of the whole army crashing down upon us! Now you'll truly get to test your abilities to their maximum. And I expect you to succeed." He turned away from the two of them and faced the others gathered there.
"Since we will be facing a force much stronger than we had hoped and the possibility of distress calls being made before we were able to block their signals and Autobots on route at this time, I will be sending all of you out to protect Lyn. However, the primary two will be Barricade and Blackout. The two of you are to never leave Lyn's side, no matter what! Do I make myself clear?" The two of them nodded. "Excellent. Now, Lyn, you will accompany us down inside of Starscream, he will land you far enough away from the main conflict to allow us to get the upper hand before you jump in to test your powers. But after you get into the battle, there will be no backing out, no running away; you are there until we leave. Blackout and Barricade will protect you should anything get past the others. You will have nothing to fear." Megatron reassured Lyn as she felt the color drain from her face.
Somehow Megatron's words did not make her feel any better or safer for that matter. There were risks to every battle, she knew this, she'd heard Starscream tell her that she was to stick to her appointed protectors and to not stray from them for fear of capture or death. Two days of Starscream's warnings, and now it was time to face the actual battle itself. And she ruined it because of her stupid need to take a long bath. Now things were going to be twice as hard as before. Lyn nodded weakly to indicate that she understood. Megatron nodded. "Good, than we shall leave at once!" Megatron said as he looked to Starscream who transformed and opened his canopy for Lyn to enter.
As she did so and was secured within the aired compartment, the hanger bay was decompressed and the force field lowered so that the others could take their leave for the planet below. "You'll be alright, you'll see. I know you'll do well." Starscream reassured her softly as he started towards the opening.
Lyn opened her mouth to answer, but the words escaped her as Starscream shot out into space and down towards the planet. The ship they'd been in had been orbiting the moon orbiting the planet. Granted it had been on the far side of the moon, inaccessible to the dwellers of the planet. The planet was much different from the one she had come from. The oceans were greenish and the planet seemed to have more lush development than her old 'home world'. They were going down closer to the planet when Starscream gave her a warning. "The entry is gonna be a little bumpy, just to let you know. Don't be afraid, everything you see is perfectly normal." He told her as they entered the atmosphere.
Lyn swallowed hard as flames began to appear around them, the cockpit was violently jostled, but she felt the restraints tighten that much more around her until she feared it would cut off her ability to breathe. But she said nothing, rather willing to suffer from the tightness than being tossed about in the cockpit. She ground her teeth together to avoid biting her tongue accidentally.
"I know I said that it would be a little bumpy, but this was a little unexpected, I'm gonna pull us out of this turbulence, hold on!" Starscream warned her as he did an aerial maneuver Lyn didn't know and suddenly the bumpiness died down a lot. Only a few shudders remained as a reminder.
"What . . . what happened?" Lyn asked, swallowing past the slight nausea that she felt from the turbulence and the unexpected maneuver.
Starscream sighed silently. "The planet's gravitational field is different than the scanners had previously anticipated. I had to make the adjustment before we . . . er . . . before we made our way any farther into the atmosphere." He winced; he had almost told her that they would have crashed had he not corrected the mistake. He used his scanners to detect the others, and grimaced. They were all accounted for; he had silently been hoping that Megatron had crash landed. So much for that hope, he thought grimly as he made an approach at the predetermined spot where they would wait for the battle to get under way before introducing Lyn.
Lyn remained oblivious to their danger and simple tried to calm her nerves. This was where she proved her worth, where her future would be decided. If she didn't pass this test, her fate was bound to be worse than she could ever dream it to be! She swallowed hard past those thoughts as they came to a stop and landed on a flat plateau nearly a hundred miles from where the battle had been plotted to take place.
Starscream opened his cockpit and waited patiently for Lyn to climb shakily out and back away before transforming and standing silently beside her. They were silent for a while, time flowing quickly as Lyn tried her best to fight down the urge to panic. Starscream carefully observed her inner struggles, noticing how she was handling herself under the pressure of a looming battle and carefully watched for any signs of unhealthy stress. He replayed Megatron's orders. As long as she stayed within acceptable ranges for her vitals and her brainwaves were within functioning ranges the plan would go along as preordained, so he watched her closely. Her battle seemed to be difficult, but she was handling it really well. All of her vitals were well within optimum range.
Lyn looked up at Starscream and opened her mouth to say something when she heard the communicator in her ear beep. "Everything is ready. Bring her to these coordinates." Megatron's voice sounded in Cybertronian over the device. Lyn took a deep breath, while she couldn't understand what he had just said, she knew what it meant.
"As you wish." Starscream spoke in Lyn's language; he severed the link and looked at Lyn with a reassuring smile. "It's time for you to prove yourself, fleshling." Lyn winced at his choice of words; it was obvious that he was also a little mad at her for causing them to lose their edge. He transformed and she climbed into his cockpit, allowing the straps to latch around her, she closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down and reached for her power, it leapt up to her touch, she felt a smile tug at her lips. When she opened her eyes, they were swirling with the power she was holding. She was as ready as she was ever going to be. She only hoped it would be enough.
The sight that beheld her shocked her. She could barely tell the difference between the Decepticons and the native military. She knew that there were only between twenty to thirty Decepticons down here to her knowledge, but there had to have been hundreds of military vehicles! Not to mention the countless foot soldiers. Starscream landed next to Blackout and Barricade, both giving them cover fire for Lyn to get out quickly and be shielded as Starscream took off into the air again, giving them the air support they needed.
The scene was complete chaos. Her communicator beeped and she heard Barricade's voice. "Let us worry about the fleshlings, you work your powers on their vehicles, turn them just like Megatron told you."
Lyn nodded and turned to the battle scene around her just in time to see a missile headed in their direction. She flinched as the missile hit near them, sending rocks and dirt flying through the air.
Blackout looked down at her as he fired his gun at the cause of the missile, taking out the helicopter. "Do it now! Stop wasting time!" He growled softly to her through the communicator.
Lyn nodded and focused her power on the nearest vehicles. She released her power as she had always done, but as she released it another missile slammed into Blackout, distracting Lyn, her power flew wide. Blackout and Barricade both gave ear-piercing shrieks as her power lashed them. It wasn't exactly painful, but it was an entirely unexpected intrusion upon their systems. To Blackout's astonishment, the little damage the missile had been able to do was suddenly repaired, as though the Allspark itself had healed him. He logged it for further investigation later.
"Focus, Ashalyn!" Barricade snapped at her through the communicator.
"Sorry! Sorry!" Lyn apologized as she built her power quickly within her and unleashed it swiftly into the oncoming vehicles. The familiar thrum went out, a wave of dust rose from the ground as the power lashed out at the vehicles. Immediately the armor that was touched began to vibrate and transform. Upon transforming, they immediately began to attack the fleshlings who suddenly found they were facing more foes. Lyn felt her pride flare at having done it.
"Don't get cocky! That was only five! There are thousands more! Get to work!" Blackout growled at her as he quickly jumped in front of her to take the rounds streaming in headed for Lyn.
Lyn swallowed hard and built her power within her again. The repeated the process, it seemed a never-ending cycle. The more she transformed, the more that seemed to come. As she completed one area, Blackout and Barricade and the others moved her farther into the battle field. Exhaustion was beginning to take its hold on her when suddenly there came a warning that froze her blood. "AUTOBOTS!" The warning caused her 'guardians' to get closer to her and look about warily. Somewhere on this battlefield were Autobots and it wasn't a good thing with Lyn's first mission.
Blackout looked at Barricade. Megatron is going to be most displeased with her. She has only brought a little fewer than two hundred to life and she is getting tired and extremely stressed. She's failing. Barricade sent to Blackout.
Blackout grunted and looked over at the other 'guardians'. I think it is time to tell Megatron. Blackout told Barricade, the others nodded in agreement.
Barricade felt his spark ache for Lyn. He could imagine what Megatron was going to do and say to her once he found this out. She had already failed her first task Megatron had sent her to accomplish and now if she failed this one too . . . Megatron did not believe in the whole fleshling way of thinking. 'Three strikes and you're out' it was fail me once; I give you a second chance, fail me again and receive your dire punishment. Lyn's first 'punishment' had been for Megatron to not protect her from Blackout, that punishment was still technically going on. But if she failed this . . . there was no telling what Megatron would do to her.
Blackout paged Megatron's communicator. There was only a brief pause before he heard his leader's voice. "Yes?" Blackout let out a heavy sigh through his vents. Megatron was not in a good mood.
"Lord Megatron. Lyn is growing exhausted and is no longer functioning on the level she is required to in order to succeed this mission." Blackout told him, watching as Lyn flinched back as more missiles slammed into both himself and Barricade. He barely registered the assault, the missiles were not strong enough to deal serious damage, however they did knock Barricade back a step.
"Hold your position!" Blackout flinched at Megatron's growled response. This wasn't looking good for Lyn. "I'm coming to you." The last was said so quietly that Blackout suddenly felt a rare pang of sympathy for the little fleshling.
Lyn gathered her power within her and tried to focus it on the helicopters firing the missiles. Starscream was doing a good job of taking on their heavy artillery and keeping it off of Lyn and her guardians. But the helicopters were becoming a nuisance. As she unleashed her power, her focus strayed to Megatron as he roared up to them and slammed into him. Lyn's eyes went wide as she saw the jet shudder and transform in mid-air, slamming down to the ground hard enough to make the ground tremble. "I'm sorry!" She whined into the communicator to him.
Megatron strolled over to her and bent down to put his face so close to her she could have kissed him if she leaned forward slightly and spoke in a low dangerous voice to her. "You lack discipline. You trained for this. You are failing this test, little Ashalyn. If you fail me completely, I will be giving you over to Blackout to use as his toy when I do not require your powers. And I must warn you, I do not foresee needing your powers very often. Try harder if you do not wish to find out what kind of a master Blackout can truly be."
All the color left Lyn's face, her body started to tremble, and she stared at Megatron in shock. "But . . . but if you do that, I won't help you anymore." Lyn tried to sound confident and forced her chin into the air in a gesture of defiance.
A cruel and sadistic smile came across Megatron's face. "Oh, you will do everything I tell you too or you will wish you were still at the hands of your previous captors." He told her softly, Lyn nodded and cowered back slightly.
"Yes, Lord Megatron." Lyn said meekly as she made herself as small as she could.
"Now, I want every vehicle out here into one of us. Get to it!" Megatron snapped as he stood and looked to Blackout. "She's all yours if she fails. Starting today." Lyn's eyes went wide at the open announcement. He really wasn't kidding. Megatron cast one last look at Lyn before transforming and taking off into the sky.
Blackout looked down at Lyn with a very evil smirk. "Hear that little fleshling? You're all mine. So keep floundering. I know how I will play with you tonight!" He told her through the communicator.
Lyn felt tears threaten to whelm up in her eyes. "Try harder. The power is within you to do great things. Draw on that power to give you strength!" Barricade's voice echoed through the communicator to her in a private link. She looked at him and smiled weakly and nodded, turning back to the battle and gathered her power in for use once more, casting all exhaustion and fatigue to the winds.
They continued to work their way through the battlefield, Lyn was still feeling the edges of exhaustion, but with the power coursing through her at full stream, and it gave her a rush of energy that kept her going. If she knew how bad this was for her, she might have thought otherwise, but . . . Megatron's threat was keeping all such thoughts at bay. Lyn was feeling pretty lucky, so far they hadn't encountered any Autobots, she was grateful for that, she wasn't sure if the Decepticons could protect her from them if they really wanted to get to her. That thought was frightening to her. But she wasn't thinking of that at the moment. So when the Autobots suddenly attacked her 'guardians' she was completely taken by surprise.
It happened fast. She was building her power within her to change the next batch of vehicles headed directly for them, as she unleashed the power upon them something odd happened.
They screeched.
Steelsbane, Negotiator, and Shadowhand were focusing on keeping the fleshlings away from Lyn while Crisis and Incinerator were helping the newly transformed mechs get an understanding on why they were suddenly being attacked by the fleshlings and directing them to protect Lyn. Blackout and Barricade were currently trying to keep the missiles and projectiles from getting close to Lyn. She stared in disbelief as the vehicles kept moving forward; she spoke weakly into her comm. "Barricade?" There was no response. "Cade?!" She asked a little louder as the vehicles got closer, she lashed out with her power again, a stronger stream this time. Again, when it struck them, they hesitated for a moment, but this time there was no screeching. "BARRICADE!" She screamed into the communicator as they suddenly transformed and lunged at them. There was a moment of confusion as seven of them quickly closed the distance. The eighth quickly expelled its passenger and stayed back to wait for its passenger's signal.
"What?!" Barricade growled as he turned to see what Lyn was screaming about just in time to be blasted in the shoulder. "BLACKOUT! INCOMING!" He roared as he quickly abandoned the helicopters and quickly engaged with the Autobots "Everyone, attack the Autobots!" He ordered as he struggled to remain in position to protect Lyn from being captured.
Immediately, all attention went to the Autobots, but no one seemed to see the fleshling creeping along, trying his best not to be stepped on or noticed as he crept toward Lyn. He stopped just a few yards from her. "You must be Ashalyn. I've heard about you from Dawn. It's time to come with me. You're time with the 'Cons is over!" He told her as he smirked. This is going to be too easy! He thought as he took a few steps forward to grab her, his Autobot 'guardian' staying in the distance to collect him and his soon-to-be prisoner.
Lyn stepped back from him, momentarily unsure. She looked up at Blackout and Barricade, who were locked in combat with the Autobots. "What are you afraid of? He's only a fleshling, you can handle him!" Steelsbane growled through the communicator and Lyn stopped retreating and lifted her chin in defiance.
Lyn smirked at the man before her and used her powers to lift him effortlessly into the air and hold him there. She looked around her and used her powers to locate every single Autobot that now fought the others, focusing all her powers on the individuals, she smirked at him. "Oh no, I'm not going anywhere! I'm where I belong!" She smiled as she felt the thrum of the Autobots life force through her power, she was connected to them, and they didn't know it. "Say goodbye to your friends." Lyn said softly to him as she watched the Decepticons rip the Autobots apart, savoring the feeling of their life forces disappearing one by one.
The fleshling cried out in frustration, fear and rage at seeing his comrades killed at the hands of the Decepticons. This was supposed to be a peaceful mission! We were supposed to set up an alliance with these people and pick up the first shipment of energon they were going to give us! He thought in frustration. There weren't supposed to be Decepticons anywhere near here! What happened?! Why are they here?! They shouldn't have even known about this place!! He thought desperately as he fought back tears at seeing his friends getting killed. A few of them had been his friends since the beginning of the Autobots setting up base on his home-world.
The Autobot who had carried the fleshling quickly disappeared into the chaos, it knew there was no retrieving its charge and that report of this attack must be made to Optimus and the others. It slipped off, quickly cloaking itself to disappear completely from both scanners and visual.
Lyn's communicator beeped and she listened closely to the voice on the other end. "It's time to end this. You are in the center, do what you have trained to do. Finish this!" Megatron's voice came told her.
"But I won't have any strength left! I'll be too weak to do anything more!" Lyn protested, fear creeping into her stomach at the thought of what Megatron was asking her to do.
"We will care for you. You have nothing to fear. Do it!" The last was a snarled command.
Lyn took a shaky breath and swallowed hard. She looked at the fleshling hovering in front of her. "Barricade, what do we do with him?" She asked through the communicator.
"I'll take care of him when we are finished. Render him harmless until I can take him." Blackout responded as he took out another helicopter, having already destroyed the Autobot he was fighting.
Lyn looked at the fleshling curiously. She thought carefully the best way to render him harmless. A smile crept across her face, and the fleshling flinched upon seeing it. It wasn't the kind of smile you wanted to see on the face of your enemy. She used her mental powers and brushed his mind, her mind gently caressing him as she probed how hard to hit to make him unconscious. "Nighty, night little fleshling." Lyn said sweetly both aloud and in his mind as she lashed with her mental powers. He gave a cry of pain than slumped in her grip, falling unconscious.
With him asleep, she released him from her powers; as soon as she was done he'd fall anyway, so there was no point in continuing to hold him in the air. She closed her eyes and reached her mind out, laying down a blanket of her mental touch. "All air support has been handled." Crisis told her through the communicator as he received word from Starscream that there would be no more air assaults. Lyn acknowledged it and wrapped herself in a force field and unfurled her wings. She opened her eyes and looked over at Barricade. "Cade, could you please give me a toss?" She asked him through the communicator. He didn't respond, but he did turn to her, pick her up and toss her straight up into the air, Lyn used the momentum to flap her wings a couple of times to achieve loft and flew high above the battle. Her mind still blanketing the ground, she built her power up as far as it would go until she thought she would burst or it would explode out of her. She pressed herself to build a little more, a light blue light enveloped around her, as she gently flapped her wings to stay aloft, the pain in her shoulder barely registering.
Soldiers on the ground shot up at her, but the weapons were useless against her force field. She knew the shield wouldn't last for long, but it would last long enough for what she had planned. As the energy waved off of her in heavy bursts, a burst of wind emitted from her causing a thick cloud of dust to waft off the ground. "Do it!" Megatron's voice sounded through the communicator, she felt like her heart would burst from all the power she was holding. She'd never gathered this much before. She screamed as she unleashed it. A very visible blinding blue flash swept down from her and out in a circle around her. Everything mechanical that it touched trembled and suddenly transformed.
Megatron watched with a smile at the radius the power swept too. From the air, he had the perfect vantage point. After the wave left visual range, he could see feel it on his scanners. It swept an impressive eighteen hundred miles in all directions before dissipating.
Lyn felt herself losing consciousness, her strength was leaving her in a quick fashion. Her wings folded and she felt herself fall toward the ground. Waiting for the impact, hoping she'd be unconscious before she hit. A hand caught her, the impact with the metal hand wasn't painless, but it hurt a lot less than the rocky ground would have. The hand held her gently as a voice filled her ears as her world went black. "You did well." It was said softly, almost the way a lover would speak. She barely acknowledged who had caught before blackness sucked her in.
Barricade sighed heavily, air rushing through his vents as he held Lyn gently. He looked at Blackout. She is no longer functional. She is in recharge now.
Blackout nodded, watching her in 'Cade's grip. I will inform Lord Megatron. Blackout disconnected from Barricade and opened a private communication directly to Megatron. "Lord Megatron," Blackout used their native language. "The fleshling has expended all the energy she contained. She lies in recharge. What is your wish?"
Megatron knew that she was unconscious, he had watched her fall. "I am coming. Good work." He told Blackout as he shifted his direction slightly and headed in the direction of Blackout and the rest of Lyn's 'guardians'. Within a minute, Megatron was standing in front of Barricade and the others. With Lyn having transformed every machine within eighteen hundred miles, there was no longer anything for them to do. The other 'transformers' had already killed most of the foot soldiers and many more had been killed when the machinery transformed in the beginning.
Megatron looked at Lyn with something akin to fondness. She had proved to be a powerful ally after all. Her mission could be considered a success. She'd done as she'd been ordered. Her pulse that had transformed the machines had had no adverse reaction to those already bestowed with a spark. Lyn looked so peaceful cradled in Barricade's hands, her wings acted almost like soft cushions that supported her in his grip, although he was almost certain she'd hurt from it when she awoke.
"She succeeded her mission, Lord Megatron. I trust that you won't be handing her over to Blackout to have as a pet?" Crisis asked, his optics looking from Lyn to Megatron than over to Blackout.
Megatron smirked. "Well, that all depends on how well the next phase in this mission goes . . ." He was saying as they all heard a small moan come from the ground. Barricade looked down and sneered.
"This fleshling was with the Autobots, Lyn disabled him long enough for her to use her power in the massive wave." Barricade told Megatron as Blackout walked over to the fleshling as he struggled to rise from the ground.
"Do I have your permission to keep him and interrogate him for possible information regarding the Allspark, Lord Megatron?" Blackout asked as he looked down at the fleshling.
Megatron smirked. "I know you so badly want a pet, feel free to take him." Blackout smirked back and reached for the fleshling as he managed to get to his feet. The male fleshling scrambled out of reach and took off running in the opposite direction.
Blackout almost laughed at the attempt to escape. He let his prey get a few meters away than took five giant steps and swept his hand down, snagging the fleshling right off the ground. He gasped as the air left his lungs in a huge whoosh from the impact of Blackout's hand. "Never run from a Decepticon." Blackout chided him as he squeezed tight enough to stop all struggling the fleshling was giving him.
With the fleshling under care, Megatron sent out the orders to the Decepticons he had chosen and looked patiently in the sky for Starscream. Almost as if on cue, the second in command soared up to them quickly and transformed, landing meters from the rest of them. He gave the fleshling in Blackout's hand a strange look as he walked over to them. "Did she . . . succeed?" Starscream asked, almost afraid of the answer. He'd seen the power explosion spread out on the ground below him, but he hadn't been certain if it had been involuntary or if it had been by Megatron's command.
"She has done well today. She has earned her place today." Megatron answered calmly. From his good mood, Starscream could tell that Lyn had followed orders and had not done anything to dissatisfy the Decepticon leader. For that, Starscream was grateful.
"What of this planet?" Starscream asked, looking at all of the new additions around them, a few of them still killing whatever fleshlings they could find.
"Since it is so rich in resources, we will claim it, this will become our base. I have already left orders for twenty-five of our men to stay behind and lead the newly created Decepticons in building the base for us while he return to the Nemesis for the time being. We will now have the unlimited energon we need to succeed this mission. With Lyn, we will soon have unlimited manpower as well." Megatron told his second as he looked back to Lyn. "Take her to the ship, and then to Bonecrusher."
Starscream was about to ask 'why Bonecrusher' when he saw the answer for himself. The bandage wrapped around her arm was bright red with fresh blood. It was obvious that flying wasn't the wisest idea but it was the best way she could unleash her power efficiently. "Very well, Lord Megatron." Starscream answered politely, unwilling to spoil his leader's good mood, he stepped back and transformed into his jet mode and opened his canopy. Barricade slipped Lyn in the seat and Starscream quickly secured her, being mindful of her wings, and closed the canopy and took off for the Nemesis.
Megatron watched them go before turning back to Blackout with a half smile. "You may return to the ship with your fleshling as well, Blackout. I know you are eager to discover what secrets he may hold for you." Blackout gave an evil smile.
"Like hell I'm going with him!" The fleshling hollered up at them, glaring at Blackout. "Release me! Or I'll make sure your death is slow and agonizing!" He threatened. Blackout chuckled lightly, amused by his newest victim. "Laugh all you want, you ugly son of a bitch! But I will be the death of you! I will destroy that damned ship that carts you around as well! Just you wait and . . ." Blackout cut him off by squeezing his hand sharply, causing the fleshling to gasp in sudden agony and silence to fall over the scene.
"Much better." Blackout muttered as he looked at his leader and nodded. "I will see you when you return, Lord Megatron." He said with a short bow as he transformed and lifted off into the air.
The fleshling cried out in agony as Blackout transformed around him, it was an excruciating experience, the metal pinching, twisting and constricting him before he was finally dumped unceremoniously into a seat where the straps were wrapped around him so quickly that he hadn't the chance to even acknowledge that he was in the seat before the restraints were crushing him. "What did you do that for?! Do you have any idea how much that fucking hurt?!" Blackout chuckled. "Oh do not laugh at my expense you expensive, walking trash compactor!!" He snapped, trying in vain to get the straps off, kicking at the control panel, landing several vicious kicks. Blackout grunted and simply tightened them a little farther, forcing him farther back in the seat. He took a few panting breaths, trying to get air through his squeezed ribcage.
"What was I supposed to do? Set you on the ground and ask you to climb in and strap yourself to the seat so I could take you back to my quarters and torture you at my leisure?" Blackout asked the humor obviously still in his voice. The fleshling scowled, folding his arms in agitation.
"Whatever." He grumbled as he listened to Blackout chuckle to himself as they began their ascent through the atmosphere. He stayed still for a few more seconds, than suddenly lashed out, kicking the control panel hard.
Blackout growled deeply and pulled the restraints so hard that the fleshling cried out as his chest made a loud 'POP' and he tried not to whimper as the restraints pulled a little tighter still. "If you kick me again, we'll see how you do in an airless environment." Blackout snarled as they headed toward the Nemesis, still at least fifteen minutes away on the dark side of the planet's moon.
The fleshling gritted his teeth and thought a million remarks, but couldn't say a single one without the pain being evident in his voice, so he stayed silent. Blackout grunted his mastery over the fleshling and they continued on in silence.
Meanwhile, back on the planet, the last remaining Autobot carefully made his way out of the planet's atmosphere, sending a message back to the Autobot base that Optimus resided in. "Stormchaser to Base, do you read me?" There was a long agonizing silence, for a few minutes Stormchaser feared that he would be forced to uncloak himself in order to send out the message. He didn't know where the Decepticons had hidden their ship, but he knew for certain that he was no match for a fully equipped warship.
Finally there was a crackled reply. "This is Base. Mission status?" Stormchaser was so relieved to hear a familiar voice that it didn't occur to him who exactly he was speaking too.
"Mission a failure. The planet is lost. Decepticons attacked, I have reason to believe that they had Dawn's sister with them. She did something, brought all the machines here to life . . ." He paused, his spark aching. "They've captured Nicolei . . . I could not save him."
There was silence for a few minutes; Stormchaser continued his journey away from the planet. Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes, just as the Decepticon warship, the Nemesis, came into view the answer was received, along with some bad news for him. The small vessel he had been traveling in had been overtaken by the Decepticons. It had taken them a short time to reach the planet in the vessel, but alone . . . it would take a long time . . . and it would be a long journey, at the very least nine days to get back to the main base at his highest speeds. "Acknowledged. Return to base as soon as possible. Base out."
"Roger that, Base. I'm on my way." Stormchaser sent as he made a wide berth of the warship and lined himself up for the jump. He dropped his cloaking only moments before making the jump, hoping in vain that either no one noticed, or they were too wrapped up in their victory to worry about a lone Autobot.
A few hours later:
Lyn woke up to the feeling she was being watched. She moaned and opened her eyes, immediately regretting it as a blinding light flooded her vision. "Bright . . ." She muttered as she tried to sit up, instantly her shoulder screamed in pain, she whimpered and relaxed back against whatever she was lying on.
"Welcome back to the med bay." Bonecrusher's voice sounded slightly amused. "You must really like it here, you come here often."
Lyn groaned her whole body felt like it weighed a ton. "Yeah. Just can't get enough of you." She muttered with a light smile. "Why does my shoulder feel like it's injured again? I don't remember hurting it." She asked weakly, squinting against the bright light.
Bonecrusher walked over and tilted the light out of her face. Lyn put a hand to her chest and frowned. "When you took to the air you reopened your wound. I do not suggest flying until your shoulder is fully repaired." He told her as he set down the antiseptic and fresh bandages down beside her.
Lyn put her hand flat against her bare chest. Bare . . . she squeezed her eyes shut and felt heat rush to her face, neck and chest. She moved her hand lower and was relieved to feel her pants. "Why am I not wearing my shirt?" She asked softly, opening her eyes to look at Bonecrusher who simply shrugged.
"You're shoulder needed tending too, the shirt was interfering, so I removed it. Do not worry, it is still intact. Now . . ." He gestured to someone just beyond her bedside. "Come help me sit her up so I can dress her wound." Lyn tried to get her body to look over at who he was talking too.
"Of course." Lyn nearly groaned again at the sound of Starscream's voice.
Of course it would be Starscream. He was the one, who brought her to the med bay more than likely, so why wouldn't it be him who was here watching after her? She gently lifted her head and let it fall back unceremoniously back against the berth. "Just don't look." She muttered as he walked over and stood beside her berth, looking down at her.
He smirked, his optics flickering over her body. For a fleshling she was very attractive. He held back the frown at the scars which marred her beauty. "Of course." He gently used a finger to help her into a sitting position. Lyn groaned as her body creaked in protest and her exhaustion began seeping back into her muscles. She had not fully recovered from her massive power usage yet, she still needed much more rest. She tried to sit up on her own, but gave up and leaned fully against Starscream's finger for support.
Bonecrusher silently went to wrapping the shoulder in silence, simply keeping a close optic on Lyn. He sighed softly; she was in bad shape and didn't even realize it. Megatron had gone a little too far with her; she wasn't prepared to release so much power yet. Her vitals were still dangerously unsteady, but she was holding on like a true soldier. That honestly impressed him about her. "You might want to retract your wings; it will make this more endurable." Bonecrusher suggested.
Lyn closed her eyes, wincing occasionally as Bonecrusher worked, but nodded and retracted her wings. That was so stupid . . . I should have taken the punishment . . . I could have killed myself. She thought bitterly as she struggled against the soul clenching weariness that seemed to seep into her. Was pleasing Megatron really worth this? She asked herself as she felt Starscream lowering her back down.
"Was it?" Starscream asked, jarring Lyn from her thoughts.
Lyn opened her eyes to look up at Starscream, who was bent over, knelt down beside the berth. "Was it, what?" She asked, slightly confused.
Starscream lowered his voice. "Was pleasing Megatron really worth it?" He asked, causing Lyn to flinch weakly.
Had she said it out loud? "I said it . . . out loud?" She asked and he nodded. What if someone had heard her? But then someone had . . . but what if it had been Megatron? What would he have done to her for saying it? She shuddered lightly. Lyn sighed. "I would do anything to make him happy. He rescued me from my hell. I own him everything." She answered sadly. Lyn wasn't sure why she was so sad by that fact . . . but wait, she did know. His rescuing her had stripped from her the only thing she valued in life, her twin sister, Dawn.
Starscream remained quiet for a moment, looking at Lyn in silence. After a few minutes, he spoke, so softly she almost thought she was hearing things. "What he did was reckless. You shouldn't put too much faith in him. He's dangerous." Then, a little louder and with more force he said: "Trust in me, I will protect you. If it were up to Megatron he would have given you to Blackout by now. I, alone have spared you from that fate! Believe in me, more than him."
You play a dangerous game, Starscream. Bonecrusher told Starscream with a disapproving look as he completed his scans of Lyn and replaced the blanket over top her. She is Megatron's pet. She belongs to him, playing these . . . mind games will only lead to your deactivation. She will not turn against him. Sometimes he hated the fact that he remained neutral in the constant battles between Lord Megatron and his arrogant second in command.
Starscream let out a heavy sigh through his vents, startling Lyn slightly. I have no intentions of setting her against Lord Megatron. I am simply telling her the truth. Starscream sent to Bonecrusher with a glare before looking back at Lyn. "Get some rest now; you look like you could use some." He told her with a gentle smile, brushing her uninjured side with a fingertip.
Lyn smiled uneasily, than closed her eyes, surrendering to the darkness that was so eager to swallow her. But sleep did not come so easily. Though her exhaustion was deep rooted and she felt too tired to even twitch an eyelid, sleep refused to fall over her. She was so exhausted she couldn't sleep. She felt herself sigh deeply as regret flowed over her. She heard the soft whirs and gears moving from Starscream and heard the footfalls a ways away and figured that Bonecrusher had gone back to whatever work he did when she was not in need of his assistance.
"You are not sleeping." Starscream's voice came softly next to her, closer than before, she could almost hear his processors work as close as he was.
"Not from a lack of trying . . ." Lyn muttered weakly, her throat aching from use, practically screaming for her to just rest.
Starscream was about to say more, but stopped himself. Talking to her wasn't going to help her sleep. He released air through his vents softly, her hair moved gently in the breeze it created. He observed her for a while longer, he had nowhere to go to at the moment, wasn't due to make any appearances in the near future and his damages were minor and could heal on their own, so he straightened, picked up a chair and set it down beside Lyn's bed and took a seat. He would stay there until she fell asleep. "I will protect you while you sleep for as long as I can. Sleep, Lyn. You've done well today." He told her softly, his finger brushing her uninjured side once more.
Lyn felt her lips tug in a weak smile and felt a weight lift off of her. She felt her mind swirl for a moment suspended over the chasm that was the deep, black, void of unconsciousness and let go and Lyn allowed herself to slide into it.
Lyn didn't know for how long she'd been sleeping, but she awoke to the sounds of Cybertronians talking to each other in their native language. "Look what you did?! I told you to keep it down or you'd wake her!" Bonecrusher growled in Cybertronian at the two mechs who were in his bay arguing with each other.
"She's just a fleshling, its not like she's of that much value anyway. Lord Megatron will most likely be throwing her aside as soon as we gain control over the Allspark anyway." The first mech scoffed as he spared a glance at Lyn who was rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Yeah, I mean, she can't be that important." The other mech said as he smirked at Bonecrusher. "Or is it that you have feelings for this little fleshling femme? Is that what's going on? The medic has a soft spot for the fleshling! How sweet!"
Bonecrusher clenched his clawed hands into fists and heaved a deep sigh through his vents as he attempted to calm down. They wanted him to get egged on. They wanted him to lose his control. He refused to give in to them. Instead, he pointed toward the door. "If you both can talk like that, then you can repair your damages yourself. Get out of my bay!" He said calmly.
The two mechs looked at him in shock. They had expected him to get riled up. To get angry, but not to calmly, yet firmly tell them to leave, that wasn't the result they were expecting from him. "But . . . you're our medic! You have to repair us!" The first one whined. Lyn listened to it all; she could almost make out what they were saying, her mind translating bits and pieces. But mostly, it was just warbled words and whirls of sounds Lyn had never heard before.
Bonecrusher gave a sound that resembled a mixture between a snort and a laugh. "I am not required to do anything. You are in no danger of deactivation." The two mechs looked at each other, than back to Bonecrusher. The second opened his mouth to say something, but Bonecrusher cut him off. "I will personally remove you from this bay if you do not leave of your own accord immediately." Bonecrusher emphasized his statement by extracting his pulse cannon and charged it. Even though he wasn't pointing it at either of them, the threat wasn't taken lightly and the two quickly departed from the med bay.
Lyn had managed to get up on her elbow by that time and had seen the threat and their reaction. She looked at Bonecrusher warily. Is he in a bad mood? Is he gonna take it out on me if I say the wrong thing? Am I in danger from him? She asked herself as she suddenly found herself wishing that Starscream was there with her. "What was all that about?" She asked after a short internal battle debating whether she should speak to him or wait until he spoke to her first.
Bonecrusher walked over to the berth she rested upon and looked down at her, scanning her as he spoke. "It was nothing. They did not require my services, and this is not the recreation room. So I told them to take their meaningless arguments elsewhere." Bonecrusher stated as he frowned. Lyn's body was still in desperate need of rest, her power signature however was at the strongest he'd ever seen it.
Lyn nodded. Not entirely convinced, but from the pieces of conversation that she had thought she had translated, it sounded pretty close. "Oh, okay." She said as she winced, bringing herself into a fully upright position so she could put a hand to her throbbing shoulder. "How long was I asleep?" She asked, her stomach felt beyond empty, but she wasn't hungry, then she noticed the small IV line that was in her left hand and the half empty bag of fluid it was attached to. How do they manage to utilize an IV and stuff that is so small when they're so big? She asked herself, but decided best not to question, she probably didn't want to know the answer anyway.
Bonecrusher cocked his head slightly to one side as he studied her. "Eight days, twenty-one hours, forty-nine minutes, and two seconds." He answered plainly.
Lyn felt her heart skip a beat. Eight days?! Almost nine!? "You're kidding . . ." She said so softly it could have been mistaken for a whisper.
"No. I do not joke about things of this kind of importance. You gave . . . us quite a scare. I had to take drastic measures to ensure your survival after you would not wake within fourteen hours of beginning your recharge cycle." Bonecrusher informed her, completing his scan and looking at her for any other signs that might warn of something going wrong with her.
"If I've been asleep for almost nine days . . . then why is my shoulder still hurting?" Lyn asked as she glanced at her shoulder, a yellow stain mixed with the blood on the bandage. She frowned. The yellow was a new development. She hadn't had anything like that on her bandage before.
Bonecrusher gave her a sad look and shook his head. "This is not the best environment for an organic. There are bacteria here that are dangerous for fleshlings with open wounds, such as you. I have done my best to keep it clean and sanitized. But it is infected. I have been cleaning it and treating it as best I could while you were sleeping. Now, hopefully, it will be easier that you are awake." Lyn blinked in both shock and mild surprise.
"Infected . . . but that doesn't sound so bad . . . aren't here like . . . antibiotics that I can take or something like that to make it better?" Lyn asked, her shocked mind not registering that such things might not be available on a ship filled with mechanoids that didn't require such things.
Bonecrusher released a rush of air through his vents in mild irritation. She obviously didn't know anything about how bad infections could be. He pushed aside his irritation and sighed softly as he looked at her. "It isn't that simple. There are no antibiotics that you could take that would make you better. This isn't a simple bacterium that medicine could take care of. But I am doing everything in my power to save your arm."
Lyn blinked. Save my arm . . . is it really that serious? She thought as she blinked up at Bonecrusher. "It's that bad?" He nodded. "Oh. What do you need me to do? What can I do to help make this go away?" Lyn asked, concern and fear creeping into her voice.
Bonecrusher felt a small smile creep onto his face. "Co-operation with me, which is all you can do." He said simply. And it was the only thing Lyn was capable of doing, everything else would depend upon him. If he failed, she would lose the arm. He wasn't the best medic, but he did pride himself in his ability to fix whatever problems came his way. This was just another problem he would have to resolve. He simply hoped he had the ability to save her arm . . . if not, then the process of giving her a cybernetic one would be difficult at best, but with the knowledge that he would be working around a wing . . . that complicated matters much more. He had no experience working with winged organics . . . there was no research on them either. Winged fleshlings such as Lyn were so rare they were merely legends and myths. How does one study about a myth? He pondered as he watched Lyn struggle with the simple statement he had just said.
Lyn nodded. "If that's all I can do, than I will co-operate to the best of my abilities, you have my word on it." She said her mouth suddenly dry at the thought of losing her arm.
Bonecrusher nodded. "Very good." He grunted as he turned away and went to gather the supplies he needed to tend to her arm now that she was awake. Lyn stayed silent as he watched him come back with the objects he needed. She struggled to stay silent as he unwrapped her shoulder and went to work at cleaning it and redressing it. It hurt more than it used to, and tears sprang to her eyes as he poured small amounts of disinfectant on her shoulder, but she stayed still and did her best to do as he ordered her too. By the time he was done, Lyn felt extremely weak and nauseous from her dizziness. "Rest now. I will wake you in one hour for you to eat something small." Bonecrusher told her, she nodded weakly and lowered herself back down onto her little bed; she pulled the covers up and closed her eyes, surrendering to the sweet blackness which closed around her.
Meanwhile. . .
Nicolei folded his arms and frowned as he looked at the huge mech in front of him. "You might as well kill me. I'm not gonna tell you nothing!" He said, lifting his chin up in defiance.
Blackout chuckled to himself, but remained silent, continuing to do his work at his desk, ignoring the fleshling who sat in a small clear container on the floor in the corner not far from his desk. This wasn't the first time the fleshling had spoken to him this day, and it certainly wouldn't be the last time. But he continued to ignore the fleshling, denying him the simple pleasure of a response. It had been nearly nine days since he had taken the fleshling prisoner. Nine days of isolation and the only attention he gave the fleshling was when he gave him food and water. Nothing else. Not one word, not even a glance, or at least not one that the fleshling could detect.
Nicolei slammed his back against the wall of his enclosure and slid down the wall until he sat on the floor, facing Blackout, his knees drawn up to his chest, his elbows resting on his knees. He scowled on the outside, his face set in a determined look as he stared holes into Blackout. But on the inside, he felt extremely nervous. It had been nine days, and the Decepticon had asked him nothing. Hadn't even spoken to him once, hadn't even acknowledged him except for giving him food and water. And even then he'd gotten the same attention as someone watering a plant in the corner. What is he going to do with me? He asked himself, his insides wrecked with nervousness. Than a darker thought struck him, will I ever get to see Okelani again? He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.
Blackout took the opportunity to steal a full glance at his prisoner. He could tell from his scans that the fleshling was scared, nervous and suffering from distress. Now, he would act, he would begin the fun task of breaking him. But it would start out small, something that the fleshling would be able to endure with ease, make him think that this was going to be a walk in the park, than, when he was comfortable with the level, increase it beyond his endurance, push him to the limits of his pitiful organic body, than leave him hanging between life and death, wondering what would come next. Than stop, and let the isolation and solitude tear and rip at him until he was fully healed. Oh yes, this was going to be a lot of fun. Blackout thought with a smug smile as he rose from his seat and sauntered over to the enclosure.
Nicolei felt the presence of Blackout looming over him and looked up. He was surprised to see the 'Con staring down at him with a straight, unreadable face. Nicolei stared up at him in disbelief, than jumped violently when a man appeared in front of him dressed all in black with black military issue boots. He blinked in surprise. What is going on? He asked himself as the stranger stepped closer to him, Nicolei scrambled to his feet, unwilling to let this possible new foe catch him off guard.
The man in black stopped five feet from him, and Nicolei took a moment to actually take in what he looked like. He was a man of incredible stature. Okelani would probably have said he was the most handsome thing she'd ever laid eyes on, and she would have been right. His beauty was almost unnatural in its perfection, and the grace he had as he moved reminded Nicolei of that of the predatory creatures he used to watch on his home planet as they stalked their prey.
"Impressive . . . Decepticons can make holograms as well!" Nicolei said after a very brief pause as he realized what he was staring at. The hologram said nothing, but began to close the distance between them. Nicolei dropped into a fighting stance and waited. He refused to be a pushover; he was going to prove to these 'Cons that fleshlings could fight just as vicious and as hard as any of them.
What happened next, happened so fast that Nicolei didn't even register that he'd been hit, he simply felt himself slam into the wall and than found himself face down on the floor, his face throbbing painfully, his side hurting severely and a huge weight pressing down on his back. He tasted blood. Nicolei groaned as he felt the weight dig farther into his back, grinding against his spine. He gritted his teeth and rolled suddenly in an effort to throw his attacker off.
He succeeded. Blackout's hologram staggered back from the unexpected move and stepped back a step, Nicolei took the momentary surprise to roll to his feet and lunge at his opponent. He made a fist as he lunged and slammed it into Blackout's face.
Or well, it would have connected had Blackout not suddenly sidestepped and grabbed Nicolei by the shoulders and slammed him down into the floor, still gripping one of his shoulders and pulling the arm back painfully. Nicolei bit back a yelp which threatened to burst out as pain radiated from his shoulder.
Suddenly, Blackout released him and let Nicolei roll to his feet once more. This time, however, there was no pause, no moment for Nicolei to attack, Blackout instantly leapt onto him, slamming into him hard, his left fist slamming hard into Nicolei's jaw and face in rapid succession. Lights danced in Nicolei's vision as his vision went grey, unconsciousness threatening to enfold him as he grappled with the suddenly vicious Blackout.
The blows didn't stop, or ease up, they kept coming. Over and over again, Blackout pelted him with blow after blow, varying from his face to his chest, to his stomach than back to his face from his perch straddling Nicolei. The only thing Nicolei could do was try to shield himself as best as possible to avoid losing this match completely. But he knew fighting Blackout like this was futile. The 'Con wasn't going to tire or get breathless, his energy would and very well could last for days with only using his hologram. But Nicolei's energy was limited.
After what felt like an eternity, Blackout suddenly stopped and stood up, looming over the bleeding and agonized body of Nicolei. He allowed a self-satisfied smirk to cross his hologram's features as he looked down at Nicolei. "What . . . what do you . . . want with me?" Nicolei managed to ask, his vision singled out to tunnel vision as his eyes were almost swelled shut and his mouth busted from the blows he'd taken from the Decepticon.
Blackout just smirked, but said nothing. Nicolei struggled to his feet; Blackout stepped aside to allow him to regain his footing. He watched the fleshling, intrigued that he would still want to rise after everything he'd just experienced. Nicolei climbed unsteadily to his feet, wavering, he glared daggers into Blackout, who almost burst out laughing. After all, the beaten, battered body of the fleshling glaring at him was a comedic sight. At least to Blackout it was anyway. But he held his silence.
Suddenly Nicolei lunged at Blackout, his fist soaring through the air, connecting with the surprised 'Con's face. But it didn't knock him down, nor did it do any damage. However, it did piss Blackout off. Blackout drew his right fist back and slammed it into Nicolei's face, knocking the fleshling completely unconscious; he crumbled to the floor in a heap. Blackout scowled. He had underestimated the fleshling; he hadn't expected that final surge of strength. While the blow hadn't done any damage other than slight pain, he shouldn't have allowed the fleshling to even come that close to him!
He snarled at the unconscious heap and kicked it hard in the side, before deactivating his hologram and storming out of the room. He needed to destroy something, and taking his anger out on his new pet wasn't going to make things any better. He might accidentally kill the fleshling, than he'd be angry and bitter with himself for his stupidity. No, he'd go to the shooting range within the ship's holo-room. He'd go destroy a few Autobot holograms for a while, then he'd come back to check on the status of his fleshling.