I am so incredibly sorry for how long its taken me to get these posted! I am actually still working on this story and have MANY chapters already complete and waiting for upload as well as spin-off chapters and other fanfics just sitting. Life kinda got really in the way, I am a proud survivor of cancer with so far no sign of its return and a very proud mother of two very strong little girls battling their own health problems. For those who have waited for me to finish, your wait is over :)
Chapter ten:
Lyn clenched her teeth in agony as Bonecrusher peeled away the bandages and took a look at her wound. It had been three days, and the wound was only getting worse. Bonecrusher had already told her that the red streaks going up and down from her wound were a bad sign. He had given her all the help he could, and it looked like the only way to prevent the infection from killing her would be to remove her arm. Lyn had argued that they should try to find some sort of antibiotic to take care of that part of the infection, but Bonecrusher had argued that it would be pointless as the bacterium that she had was resistant to any medication they might find.
Lyn hissed in pain as the last layer of the bandage was peeled away, revealing the angry, puss filled wound. Bonecrusher gave a sad sigh and shook his head at Lyn. "There is no getting out of it now; we'll have to remove this arm. You're going to die if we don't do something. There is no longer a choice now." He told her as he scanned her vitals once more. Her internal temperature had risen to now be at 102.1 degrees Fahrenheit, by her standards. The infection would spread in a matter of time, it was best he work quickly to save what little of her there would be left to save.
Lyn gritted her teeth and hissed at Bonecrusher. "There has to be another way! I won't lose my arm!" Her face was flushed, and he knew it wasn't from the anger.
"Your temperature is almost critical. If it gets any higher operation will not be possible. I will be forced to watch you die a slow and agonizing death." Bonecrusher told her softly.
Lyn shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. "But what about my wing?" She whimpered.
Bonecrusher thought for a moment. "Extract your wings; I will see if there will be a conflict. They will need to be out for this operation anyway." He told her, Lyn complied without further questioning or remark, she knew her situation was critical and didn't want him to bring Megatron or Starscream into this.
Lyn extracted her wings and hissed as she lifted her wings up to settle them comfortably. Her shoulder burned painfully, the agony was almost unbelievable. She felt the cold wave wash over her as Bonecrusher scanned her deeply, it lasted much longer than any other scan he had ever done on her before. She could tell he was deeply engrossed in studying the location of her wing and the possible complication it might give him with the surgery. "Well? What do you think?" She asked once the cold wave had passed.
"It is possible to do this without affecting your ability of flight." Bonecrusher sounded satisfied and confident. Two things Lyn learned to like in the medic.
Lyn let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear." She muttered painfully as she let her wings drop down a little more, hissing softly in the pain that the motion caused her shoulder.
Bonecrusher managed to not wince with her, but just barely. He knew the amount of pain brought on by an infection of this magnitude hurt fleshlings; he'd seen it happen first hand before. "I am going to administer you something that will put you to sleep for the duration of this operation. You will feel nothing. When you wake, it will be complete." He told her with a reassuringly as he walked over to his cabinets and grabbed what would be needed to put her to sleep for the operation. Lyn watched in apprehension as he came back over and looked down at her.
"Um . . . how are you going to use those when your fingers are so huge?" Lyn asked, swallowing hard as he set down the stuff on the berth beside her. Bonecrusher gave a sigh. Lyn wasn't too thrilled with the idea of having him try to put the IV in her with those huge fingers of his, even if they did split into smaller parts, it would still be awkward and probably painful.
A man appeared next to Lyn, crouched down at the supplies, sifting through them. Bonecrusher really didn't want to use his hologram while Lyn was awake, he didn't like her seeing it, but there was no other choice. "Like this." He answered through his hologram, moving his mech body to gather what he needed for the operation, he was thankful he'd had others help him design the arm for Lyn as soon as the incident with Incinerator had happened. His precaution turned out to be well founded.
Lyn blinked in surprise. "What . . . but how?" She asked she'd never seen a hologram before; none of them had ever activated one around her.
"This," He gestured to himself. "is a hologram. My own personal one, I can make it in any form or shape I desire."
"But . . . holograms are supposed to be a picture sent from a device. How are you touching those things?" Lyn asked her brow furrowed in confusion.
Bonecrusher walked over to her with the items he needed to lock her with the IV. "We have the ability of a holo-matter hologram. Holo-matter is a solidified hologram program; it allows us to interact with the world around us using our holograms." He explained calmly as he lifted her uninjured arm and tied a piece of rubber tightly around her upper arm to bring out her veins.
"How is that possible?" Lyn asked, her stomach fluttering in fear as she watched him feel around on her forearm for a good vein.
Bonecrusher smiled at her patiently. "It's best not to get into all the technicalities; you'll just get more confused. Let's just settle with the knowledge that we're highly technologically advanced. We can do it. Does the how really matter?" He found a good vein and used a cotton swab and a little alcohol to clean the spot.
Lyn hissed in pain as he pushed the needle through her skin, it was a short stab of pain, then when he had the IV lock secured, he removed the needle, blood whelmed up through the small tube before he sealed it off. "Ouch." Lyn muttered as he looked at her with a warm smile.
"You have good veins." Bonecrusher said as he picked up the next thing he'd brought to the berth, and set up the IV stand and grabbed an IV bag and connected it to a machine that would regulate the flow of the bag's contents.
"Thanks I guess." Lyn muttered as she watched him work quickly. She shivered despite her best efforts not too. Bonecrusher had already adjusted the room's temperature for her, but still, she shivered.
"It's the fever." He told her quietly and he seemed to work a little faster. "The quicker we do this operation the better off you will be." Lyn only nodded her agreement, not trusting herself to speak.
She was nervous beyond words, her stomach couldn't possibly have been any tenser, she was starting to feel a little nauseated due to all her tension. But she knew it had to happen. Bonecrusher had spoken to her about it for the past three days. It was important that I do this, my survival depends upon it. She thought to herself grimly as she watched him attach the line to her IV and set the machine accordingly.
"Alright, it's all set. Is there anything you want before I do this? Besides food, you can't eat or drink before we do this." He told her as he watched her closely.
Lyn felt true fear sink into her very soul. "Is Starscream available? I want him to be here, at least until I fall asleep. I don't want to be alone . . ." She nearly whimpered the last.
But you won't be alone, I'll be here. Bonecrusher thought as he nodded. "Very well, I will call Starscream and see if he can be here while I administer the anesthesia." He told her while his mech self paged Starscream. "Starscream, are you busy?" He asked the second in command politely in their native tongue.
"Depends on why." The flippant remark Bonecrusher knew would come.
"Lyn wants you by her side for a short time. I am about to operate on her, chances of survival are at 37%, if you want to see her, still alive, you'd better come." Bonecrusher replied to Starscream calmly.
"37%?!" Starscream cursed a few choice curses before he spoke again to Bonecrusher. "Of course, I'll be right there. I am near the med bay anyway." He replied a little more politely, then disconnected.
Bonecrusher sighed and looked at Lyn with a smile. "He will be here shortly." He informed her, Lyn sagged in obvious relief. Bonecrusher felt a twinge of jealousy, but held it back. It did him no good; there was no competing with Starscream. He was an attractive mech, and he was devious. If Starscream set his eyes on something, he usually found a way to get it. Except for leadership over the Decepticons . . . that seemed forever out of his reach.
Within a few short minutes, Starscream came into the med bay, concern written on his face as Bonecrusher met him a ways before Lyn's berth. "Do not go to her with that expression. She does not know of the risks. I do not wish to give her any more stress. She is bad off as it is. Do not tell her what I told you. I have never done this on anyone other than one of us. I do not wish her to know this could go wrong and very quickly, especially with her having a high fever." Bonecrusher explained to Starscream as he looked past Bonecrusher to see Bonecrusher's hologram comforting Lyn. Starscream nodded his understanding and changed his expression to one of kindness and caring. Bonecrusher moved aside to let him pass, for once grateful for Starscream's theatrical expressions.
Starscream quickly went to Lyn's side and smiled at her kindly. "Hey there, I hear you're trying to become just like me." He said in a playful tone.
Lyn gave a small laugh. "No, its more like Bonecrusher is trying to make me like you guys, I wanna keep my arm." She said as she gave a nervous laugh.
Starscream rubbed her back gently with a finger. "You'll be fine. Bonecrusher says everything should go smoothly." He lied smoothly. Bonecrusher showed no sign of the bold faced lie Starscream had just said.
Lyn nodded and swallowed hard as Bonecrusher removed the kink in the IV and started the machine so that it would begin to drip. Within a few seconds, she felt the cold fluid begin to pump into her veins, fear bubbled up in her stomach. Both Bonecrusher and Starscream could clearly read her fear in her vitals. "You'll be fine." Bonecrusher said as he touched her good shoulder lightly, giving her a smile which conveyed all his feelings into her.
Lyn searched his face for a moment, than relaxed. She looked over at Starscream, her eyes already starting to droop. "Don't leave me." She said to Starscream, looking up at him was getting harder and harder as her eyelids grew heavier.
Bonecrusher eased her back on the berth. She stared up at the high ceiling for a moment, than turned her head slightly so she could see Starscream. "I won't leave you." Starscream said softly, resting a finger on her stomach, so she could feel him there as she drifted into the induced sleep. After a few minutes, her breathing evened out and her vitals steadied. "Is she out?"
Bonecrusher nodded. "Yes. Now you may leave. I do not think you wish to stay for the operation. I can not waste time. Her temperature has risen slightly." Bonecrusher waited until Starscream left the room, than looked down at Lyn softly, his hologram touched her face lightly with a finger, tracing the bones in her face down to her full lips. With a heavy sigh, he braced himself for what he had to do.
For hours, Bonecrusher worked feverishly on Lyn. He had managed to stop the blood flow once he had amputated the arm, and was careful not to get too close to any parts of her wing. The most important thing had been to staunch the blood flow, having no blood on hand to replace in her what flowed out too quickly, keeping as much of her own blood as possible was a necessity. That part had worked out well enough; she'd lost a lot of blood, but nothing her body couldn't replenish with a little rest. He let the sound of the beep of the machine and her vitals set his pace as he patiently connected all the nerves in her shoulder to the synapses and relays on the cybernetic arm. It was a long and tiring job, but one that had to be done properly.
Finally, after fourteen hours, he stepped his hologram back and scanned the work he had just done. Everything was connected. He picked up a needle and pricked the metal tip of the finger, it jerked in response. He smirked. Everything was working properly. She could feel, and had reflexes with the cybernetic arm. He hoped that there would be no pain, if the nerves were too raw, or if he hadn't calibrated everything correctly there was the possibly of pain. He stopped the anesthesia drip and changed the IV bag to a special cocktail that would help her with her iron level and any nausea she might have due to the anesthesia when she woke up.
Once everything was done, he picked her up gently and held her to his chest for a moment, kissing her cheek lightly, savoring the taste of her pale skin.
"Well, well, well. Developing feelings for the little fleshling, are we?" Blackout smirked from Bonecrusher's left as he walked over. "That's dangerous, doctors shouldn't love their patients, makes it harder for them to treat their loved ones."
Bonecrusher scowled and had his hologram gently place Lyn's limp body in his hand along with her IV and vitals machines. He shut off his hologram for a moment while he moved Lyn to a clean berth. "Shut up." Bonecrusher snarled as he reactivated his hologram and carefully removed the machines and Lyn from his hand to the clean berth. He had done his best to keep her clean during the operation, what little blood was left on her back would have to wait until she woke up to be cleaned.
"No. I think I'm right. You love her, don't you? But you don't seriously think she'll ever love a monster like you, do you? I mean, look at you! You're hideous. Our femmes won't go near you, how do you expect a fleshling too?" Blackout asked, smirking as he watched the makeshift medic twitch.
Bonecrusher felt his optic ridge and face plates twitch at Blackout's words. It was true, even femmes of his own kind tended to shy away from him. How did he ever expect a fleshling to have feelings for him? I don't. He thought to himself. It is enough that I keep her healthy and functional when others would have her dead. He thought as he glared at Blackout. "You shouldn't be in my med bay. It specifically says for everyone to stay out unless it is a life threatening situation. You look perfectly functional to me. So why are you here?" Bonecrusher asked Blackout coldly.
Blackout's smirk widened. He knew he'd hit a nerve. Blackout switched from Cybertronian to a more common language, the one that Nicolei and Lyn spoke. "I only follow Lord Megatron's orders. He didn't tell me I couldn't come to check up on the status of our dear, sweet little Lyn." Blackout responded.
Bonecrusher answered in the same language. "She's fine. Now get out of here. She needs rest. She definitely doesn't need to see you first thing when she wakes up. It's mostly because of you that she had to have this operation."
Blackout gave a low chuckle. "I didn't tell her to go and fly with her shoulder like that. That was her and Lord Megatron's decision. I had nothing to do with it." He said with a smirk.
Bonecrusher gave a sound much like a snort. "Ha! It was because of you that the wound was reopened once it had nearly healed. You were the cause of its constant re-opening."
Blackout shrugged. "Perhaps." He said simply, looking over at Lyn where she rested on the fresh bedding as Bonecrusher's hologram carefully pulled a blanket up over her, to her chin, tucking her in lovingly. "Why do you even do that? She'll never love you."
"Maybe not, but at least I can show her kindness. My intentions at least are honorable. What of yours? You delight in giving pain and humiliation. What do you know of love?" Bonecrusher said softly as his hologram traced Lyn's jaw line, noting how peaceful she looked as she slept.
Blackout barked a laugh that nearly startled Bonecrusher. "You! Compassionate?! The one who hates everyone and everything?!" He barked another laugh. "What do you know of love? You've never felt anything like that before! You live to destroy! You only work here as a medic because you know the most about our anatomy, and only because you delight in ripping it apart, and Lord Megatron saw a fitting punishment to make you fix instead of destroy for failing to retrieve the Allspark!"
Bonecrusher snarled at Blackout, spinning and grabbing the other Decepticon by the top of his chest plate and pulled him close. "I won't be punished for slagging you. And I'll make sure you can fix yourself, because I won't be repairing you." He growled dangerously.
Blackout knew he was getting into deeper waters than he could tread and softened his smile. "Alright, fine. Love her all you want. It will never be reciprocated. She'll love me before she loves you."
Bonecrusher snarled and shoved Blackout hard away from himself. Blackout stumbled back, caught himself and straightened. "Get out. Of my. Med bay." Bonecrusher said each word carefully and softly, but the threat was there as Bonecrusher's arm cannon appeared and came online.
Blackout turned and started to leave. "I have a pet to attend to anyway." He said smugly as he left the med bay.
In Blackout's room-
Nicolei groaned as he slowly regained consciousness, he hurt everywhere. His left eye was nearly swollen shut and his whole left side felt as though it'd been hit by a bowling ball soaring through the air. "Fucking bastard . . ." Nicolei muttered as he looked around the room warily.
There was no sign of Blackout.
"Good. I didn't wanna see his lousy face anyway." Nicolei muttered darkly as he sat up completely and assessed his damages. His right arm throbbed painfully, his shoulder was probably dislocated, but thankfully he didn't think anything was broken, at least not on that arm. He winced as his ribs ached, they were very tender, most likely bruised at best, cracked at worse. His legs were sore; his knees ached so badly it almost brought tears to his eyes.
He looked up at the sky. "If there's anyone up there watching over me, rescue me from this place!" He prayed as he scooted himself painfully backwards until his back hit the wall. From this position, he had the perfect view of the door so he would know when Blackout came back. "I'm so sorry Okelani . . . I'm so, so sorry." He said softly to his wife, knowing she wouldn't be able to hear it from this distance. If they were still in the system, yeah, she'd receive it, but this far out, there was no hope of her hearing. Their bond together just wasn't that strong.
He pulled his knees up to his chest, wincing at the pain it caused, but held his legs there with his aching arms. "I wish he'd just kill me already." Nicolei muttered softly, resting his forehead on his knees, feeling the straining sensation as his muscles ached and stretched to accommodate the motion. He lifted his head up in time to see the door open and Blackout step into the room. "Great. His royal pain-in-the-ass Highness is back." He grumbled as Blackout headed straight over to Nicolei's little container.
Blackout smirked inwardly that his little toy was awake and mobile. He wondered just how damaged the little fleshling was after their last little . . . dance together. He kept his face blank, however, not showing the fleshling his excitement to get back to slamming his hologram's fist into him repeatedly. It have him a sense of satisfaction that he usually only felt when ripping Autobots apart with his bare hands. But he had something better planned for his little hostage soon. But until he could do what he wanted, he would be happy just beating on his little prisoner.
Blackout stopped just before the clear container, next to his desk, he grabbed his chair and pulled it over to the container, placing it in front of the container, he sat down luxuriously and watched the little fleshling for a moment, before activating his hologram inside the container.
Nicolei had gotten to his feet as soon as Blackout had sat down in the chair, he knew all too well what this meant, and he wasn't about to show he had given up. Far from it, he would fight until he was either unconscious or dead. There was no yielding and no giving up. Granted he did beg for mercy occasionally, because on one or two occasions, it had been granted, so it never hurt to try. There was no loss of dignity or pride to beg for mercy in his eyes, so if Blackout thought that by granting or not granting it he could damage his dignity or pride, Blackout would be sadly mistaken. "I take it you're well rested now? Gods know you needed to take a break after the beating I gave you earlier." Nicolei said with a smirk. He knew it wasn't true, but it would possibly irritate the Decepticon and that was the only way of fighting back that Nicolei could really do.
After all, what kind of damage could you really deal a hologram? Nicolei could only do as much damage as Blackout allowed, which usually wasn't much. The worse he'd done to the 'Con was to give him a bloody lip and make his nose bleed a little. Other than that, he seemed impossibly strong.
Instead of pissing off the 'Con, Blackout's hologram smirked at him. From the way it moved and responded, Nicolei could tell that Blackout had shut himself down to a minimal to put his entire 'essence' into the hologram. In technicality, Blackout was now the hologram.
Blackout shook his head. He had to admire the little fleshling's courage. After all the little fleshling had been through, he'd not given up hope and just submitted even once. He was a fighter, and Blackout was determined to see him broken.
Nicolei struggled to remain on his feet, his knees hurt him so badly tears whelmed up in his eyes, but he refused to let them spill down. He lifted his head defiantly to Blackout. "Just kill me already, because I won't tell you anything."
Blackout chuckled softly, taking a few menacing steps forward, and Nicolei took an unsteady step back, hitting the wall behind him. "Why do you always assume I want information?" He asked softly, his red eyes taking in the misery and agony that the fleshling was in and reveled in it.
Nicolei seemed a little uncertain. "Than . . . then why are you doing this to me?" He asked, unsettled at this news.
Blackout raised his arms up in a broad shrug. "Do I need a reason to torture you? Perhaps I simply find it fun. Perhaps to serve a darker purpose, either way, you will never know the reason." He said with a smirk, lowering his arms.
Nicolei growled darkly and shifted his position, putting a little of his weight on the wall behind him. "Just kill me already. I'm sure there are bigger fish out there to satisfy your morbid, sadistic pleasures on."
Blackout shook his head in mock sadness. "Sorry, but you're the only thing I have to torture now. Lord Megatron has outlawed my harassing the other Decepticons, and Lyn is currently unobtainable. So you're stuck with me." He gave a heavy sigh and acted a little dejected, than suddenly smiled evilly.
Before Nicolei could even take another breath, he found himself slammed against the wall with his feet dangling off the ground. Blackout's hologram stood nearly half a foot taller than him and was currently using the advantage to hold Nicolei by the throat, smirking at him as Nicolei gasped for air and clawed at the hand around his throat.
"Now, you see? I have a problem; I've gone nearly five hours without doing something bad to you. And we both know I just can't stand a day when I don't hurt you at least once ever few hours." Blackout said with a smirk.
Nicolei clawed at his hand, gasping for breath, he could feel his face heating up from the lack of sufficient air and fought panic as his vision started to turn grey and become tunneled. But he refused to allow his panic to control him. He knew that Blackout wouldn't let him die, that he was probably closely monitoring his vitals.
Sure enough, just when Nicolei thought he would pass out, Blackout released him, letting him fall to the floor in a heap. "Pathetic little fleshling." He sneered as he kicked Nicolei in the ribs, eliciting a yelp of pain before Nicolei could stop it. "Even little Ashalyn is made of tougher stuff than this!" He growled as he reached down and grabbed Nicolei by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up into a standing position, forcing him up on the tips of his toes so he could be nearly nose to nose with Blackout. "And you consider yourself a warrior!" He scoffed at Nicolei as he brought Nicolei closer, and whispered. "Just wait until we find the Autobot base . . . I will enjoy what I do to your little wife, and perhaps I'll even let you watch."
Blackout smirked as the fire lit in Nicolei's eyes and seemed to banish all his pain to suddenly bring his leg up hard into Blackout's groin, but Blackout twisted to the side just in time to avoid the painful hit, he shoved Nicolei away. Nicolei stumbled back a step, than lunged at Blackout. "Don't you dare even think about touching Okelani!" He screamed at Blackout as he brought his fist down hard on the side of the 'Con's face.
Blackout side-stepped the blow and brought his own elbow down on Nicolei's shoulders, causing the other to crumble at his feet. Blackout chuckled. "Silly little fleshling. Do you honestly think you can best me? You keep trying, and yet you never succeed!" Blackout laughed right out as Nicolei tried to get up to his feet, but Blackout slammed his foot down on his back, leaning his full weight down on the fleshling. He leaned over to be above Nicolei's turned face. "I admire your strength, little fleshling, but the harder you fight me, the worse your punishment is going to be."
Nicolei had his hands flat against the floor and his elbows up at his sides, braced, waiting for Blackout to shift his weight so he might throw the 'Con off of him in a single swift move. His ribs screamed in protest to the weight bearing down on him. Nicolei knew that if Blackout stayed there too much longer, he might pass out from the pain. The weight suddenly disappeared and Nicolei found himself being lifted from the ground by the back of his shirt. For a moment he was weightless, then as the opposite wall came rushing towards him it dawned on him that he had been thrown. He tilted himself just in time to crash into the wall shoulders and back first, instead of head first.
Blackout walked toward him slowly, his steps as graceful as ever, not even breathing hard. But then again, did holo-matter holograms breathe at all? Nicolei didn't know, and he didn't figure Blackout would answer him if he asked. "Poor little fleshling, are you going to stand up and try to fight me again? Or are you going to be a good boy and stay down this time?" Blackout asked his voice filled with amusement.
Nicolei stumbled unsteadily to his feet. "I'll make you regret ever taking me as a prisoner, you stupid, poor excuse for a walking computer!" Nicolei growled, but it came out weak and shaky.
Blackout laughed out loud as he continued to close the distance. "Oh no, I'm so scared! The big bad little fleshling is gonna make me pay for treating him so badly!" Blackout said in a mocked frightened voice.
Nicolei ground his teeth together as he tried to hold himself steady as he watched death itself approaching him slowly. I have to remain strong! If I falter now, all is lost. I have to keep it together; I can't give in, no matter how much it hurts! He told himself as he braced himself.
Without warning Blackout was suddenly a blur of movement as he suddenly slammed his fist into Nicolei's still tender stomach, his other fist arching up straight into his chin and jaw, knocking Nicolei from his feet, throwing him backwards to the ground. Nicolei's head spun sickly as it bounced off the hard floor on impact; but that pain was soon replaced with another as Blackout slammed his elbow down on Nicolei's agonized ribs and used his other hand to punch him again in the face.
Before Nicolei could even think of raising an arm to defend himself Blackout was suddenly straddling his chest, Nicolei's arms pinned beneath his legs, with Blackout grabbing his shirt collar and slamming his other fist repeatedly into his unprotected face. The pain was indescribable. But as he felt the shroud of unconsciousness sinking in, Blackout stopped and stood, standing over Nicolei with a smirk of satisfaction. Nicolei used the last of his strength to grab Blackout's leg and try to knock him to the ground.
It worked. Caught off guard, Blackout's center of balance was tipped and he slammed into the ground beside Nicolei, but rolled to his feet effortlessly and gave a dangerous growl, as he regained his footing, he gave a barrage of savage kicks into Nicolei. No words were spoken, and Nicolei wasn't grateful, he'd rather the Decepticon scream at him, or rant like a normal bad guy than these vicious fits of rage that did serious damage.
Nicolei lost count of how long Blackout kicked him, but when the Decepticon finally stopped, Nicolei was deeply unconscious, and already starting to turn black and blue from head to toe. His eyes were both nearly swelled shut, his lips were fat and bleeding, his nose was most likely broken from a well placed kick, and Blackout could detect a wide variety of minor internal damages, nothing life threatening, but Nicolei would definitely wish they were when he woke up.
Blackout's hologram shimmered off and he frowned as he scanned the little fleshling. There were a few broken bones that had to be tended too, left untreated, they would get infected, and he had the chance of losing his precious toy. He sighed; it served him right for losing his patience and control on the little fleshling. He knew how delicate they were, but the fact that the fleshling had knocked him off his feet had caused him to lose control. Maybe that had been the fleshlings plan all along, it made sense, and did the fleshling not keep telling him to just kill him? Blackout felt his frown deepen as he realized just how close he'd gotten to fulfilling his toy's wish.
Scowling, he stood and reached into the small container to pull the fleshling out delicately. He'd definitely need to see Bonecrusher. A smile twitched on his face. He'd have to make sure that Bonecrusher didn't use the same delicate methods of caring for Nicolei as he did for little Lyn.
Back in the med bay- more than three hours later~
Lyn came around to the sound of Bonecrusher's cursing and someone whimpering and occasionally crying out in pain. Disorientated, she tried to blink past the fuzziness in her eyes, trying in vain to get them to focus. She sat up carefully, using her left arm to push herself up. As soon as she was sitting upright fully, it dawned on her that she had just used her injured arm to move herself. She brought her left hand up to look at it, and stared in awe. It was perfect, beautiful, and thankfully it looked very feminine. She had been worried that it would be bulky and seem out of place on her, but it looked perfectly natural, aside from the fact that it was metal and the rest of her was flesh. Lyn flexed her hand carefully, amazed that the reaction was instant, just as if it had been her original flesh and blood. There was no pain, and as she clenched her fist, she could feel her metal fingers touching her metal palm, she touched it with her other hand and nearly gasped in amazement that she could feel the touch.
Another sharp cry of pain jerked her out of her thoughts and over to a berth across the room. She blinked in surprise. It was the fleshling that tried to capture her when she was on that planet below! For some reason she'd thought he would have been dead by now. But he sure looked like he'd rather be dead now. Bonecrusher used a massive finger to push the fleshling back against the berth as he injected something into his arm with the small pieces his finger could split into.
Lyn looked around her and stretched lightly, her back kind of felt tight, as though she had skin that was cracking and tight on her back, she reached back with her right arm and scratched the itchy sensation. Something strange flaked off. She looked at her fingernails and winced . . . dried blood. Than again, what did she expect? He was so huge and there wouldn't have been much of a way to clean her back until she woke up.
Bonecrusher left the fleshling's side and went to do something else when he stopped at the sight of Lyn sitting up. His expression softened slightly. "Lyn, how good to see you awake. How do you feel?"
Lyn smiled at him. "I feel pretty good, still feel a little weak and slightly light headed, but I'm good!" She said with a small grin.
Bonecrusher looked relieved as he saw her use her left arm. "That's good, now, if you don't mind, may I check your arm?"
Lyn nodded and held it up for inspection. She felt the cold sensation as he scanned her slowly, than brought out a small sharp tool from one of his fingers and poked her arm. "Ouch!" Lyn yelped as she pulled her arm back, blinking in surprise that she felt the sharp object as though it were on skin rather than metal.
"Your nerves seem to be accepting the arm well. Now, make a fist for me." Lyn complied. Bonecrusher watched closely how everything moved and how quickly the arm responded to her thoughts of moving. So far, everything appeared to be picture perfect. "In a little while, after your blood count has risen to acceptable levels, I will have you test your arm a little more intensely. But for now, just rest." He told her with a smile.
Lyn nodded, than gestured over to the fleshling on the berth. "What's up with him? I figured Blackout would have killed him by now, or Megatron would have had him destroyed by now. After all, I didn't think Decepticons took prisoners."
Bonecrusher sighed as he looked over at the fleshling. "He is Blackout's toy. He'll be around for as long as Blackout can resist killing him. Which could be awhile, Blackout is pretty good at keeping his pets alive for prolonged amounts of time, whether they be mech like us, or organics like you." He told Lyn as he watched the fleshling twist in pain of the treatment Bonecrusher had given him.
Lyn frowned, fear seeping into her stomach at the threats she'd heard about becoming Blackout's toy herself. "What's wrong with him?" She asked as she watched him thrash and listened to him whimper in his agony.
Bonecrusher shook his head. "Nothing that I and a little time won't heal."
Lyn's brow furrowed at his avoiding answering her question. "Crusher, what's wrong with him? What did Blackout do that put him in such agony? Please tell me, that might be me someday . . ." She said the last slightly louder than a whisper.
Bonecrusher looked deeply into Lyn's luminous blue eyes and sighed. "He's got several broken bones, a lot of strained muscles, some torn tendons and ligaments, and more bruises than I've seen on any organic that still lives . . . Blackout went a little too far with him this time. He lost his restraint for some reason, he's usually more calculated than this."
Lyn let the words sink in as she watched him with the slightest twinge of sympathy. But then she remembered how he had tried to take her, how he had tried to 'rescue' her and take her to those Autobots that would destroy her if they ever got their hands on her. No . . . there would be no sympathy for him she decided, and looked away. "I figured I would be sore and in a lot of pain when I woke up. Not that I'm not grateful for the lack of either, but . . . why is that?" She asked Bonecrusher, swiftly changing the subject back to its original track.
Bonecrusher was inwardly relieved that they resumed talking about Lyn. "Well, there are a few reasons for that. One is that it is possible your body has fully accepted the cybernetic limb and there will be no residual pain. The other is the fact that I am still giving you a low dose of painkiller through your IV. I am hoping that it is the first option, however, I am realistic . . . it is most likely the latter. We will know when I take off the IV drip. But don't worry, you'll be on it for at least another day or so, I need to be keeping a close eye on you for at least three days. Just to make sure everything is alright." He explained to her as he scanned her again.
Lyn nodded. "Alright, I don't mind. At least while I'm here I don't have to worry about Blackout coming and doing anything to me." She said, than started as she realized she just said the last part out loud.
Bonecrusher smiled slightly. "No. Blackout won't be touching you while you are in my med bay." The tone of his voice spoke volumes to Lyn. It warmed her to feel that she was protected while she was down. "Now, if you would, please move your wings and make sure everything is functional."
Lyn nodded and lifted her wings, she winced in pain as she felt the skin pull tightly against the cybernetics, but it quickly vanished as she continued to stretch out her wings. As soon as she had them fully extended, she held them there for a few seconds, before dropping them back down. She could feel the icy cold of his scanner washing over her as she did so. "A little sore, but I think every thing is okay." She said her voice pinched slightly with pain.
Bonecrusher nodded his agreement. "Everything seems to be in order. The skin is gonna take a little time to adjust to the cybernetic limb, but within a week you should be more than capable of testing your wings in flight. If something is wrong, we'll just attend to it then. Nothing we could do right now anyway, you're weak from your blood loss and need to recover before you go through any more procedures anyways." Bonecrusher said softly.
Lyn sighed and looked back at her Cybernetic arm again, her left arm had always been her strong point, and now, it literally was her strongest point. Her entire left arm from her shoulder blade to her fingertips was cybernetic. "Crusher?"
Bonecrusher looked down at her with a soft expression. "Hmm?"
"This isn't the beginning, is it? A sign of how my life here is gonna go is it?" Lyn asked, looking up at him with sad eyes.
Bonecrusher felt his spark ache as he pictured the rest of her life with the Decepticons. Eventually, they would get the Allspark back, and then . . . Megatron would likely have no further use of Lyn. It wouldn't be hard for Blackout to convince Megatron to give her to him. If Blackout were to get her, she would probably end up with more than just her arm that was cybernetic. Megatron wouldn't allow Blackout to kill Lyn, but he wouldn't stop him from having his fun with her.
Finally, after such a long pause that Lyn didn't think he was going to answer her, Bonecrusher spoke softly. "That is impossible to determine. You will not be harmed by Incinerator again; all others know damaging you is strictly forbidden. You will not be harmed this way again."
Lyn looked up at him, trying hard not to think of the implications. "But what of Blackout? He seems to be above the rules and laws of the others . . . do they not also apply to him?"
Bonecrusher sighed softly. This was where it got tricky. "Blackout is what you could call an elite fighter. He has certain privileges that are above those of the other Decepticons. There are only a handful of us who have those kinds of privileges. They give Blackout room to disobey to a certain extent. That is how Blackout is allowed to cause you the distress and misery that he has been putting you through." Lyn looked torn between anger and terror at the thought of him being allowed to cause her so much pain and agony without repercussion. "However, there are a few things he is not allowed to do under any circumstance."
Lyn swallowed past her fear and waited for Bonecrusher to elaborate, but he stayed silent. "So what is he not allowed to do?"
Without further word, Bonecrusher walked away and went back over to the other berth that held Blackout's toy. Lyn watched him go, worry knotting her stomach, but she said nothing to stop him from leaving. She knew well he had a very nasty temper, so far, her luck had held and his legendary wrath had not fallen upon her. She didn't want to press that luck by trying to press for information. Lyn sighed softly and lowered herself back down, she was still a little sore and tired, she stared at the ceiling for a little while, than slowly drifted off to sleep while listening to the muted, incoherent conversation between Bonecrusher and the male fleshling.
Back with the Autobots~
Dawn snuck as quickly and as quietly as possible down to the brig where Thundercracker was kept. There was something inside of her that just had to see him again. No one would be looking for her because of how late it was, she wasn't required to do anything early in the morning so she decided to pay a late night visit to the 'Con. After all, he would more than likely be in recharge and she would be free to look at him without fear of disturbing him or of being in danger.
She wrapped herself tighter in her power as she walked past the only guards on duty just outside the brig door, which was thankfully open, and slipped silently through the huge doorway. Moving quietly and swiftly she finally stopped in front of the only occupied cell. Thundercracker was slouching against the side wall, close to the glowing force field like bars that sealed him in. They were wide enough that she could have walked through them if she wanted, but she decided looking at this distance was good enough.
She glanced around to make sure nothing was watching and shook her head at the lack of cameras or any other monitoring devices down there. I guess they're really confident that the guards outside will be able to handle anything that might happen. She thought to herself as she lowered her power and dropped the invisible shield that had cloaked her.
No sooner had she dropped the cloak, than did a deep voice rumble from the cell. "Well hello there. Dawn, right?" Thundercracker asked as he sat up a little more and turned himself to look at her more comfortably.
Dawn nearly jumped out of her skin, her wings flared out in surprise and flared in an offensive way. It was an instinctive motion, one meant to intimidate an opponent by appearing larger than she was; it worked well with the wild animals on the planet she grew up on. But she felt suddenly foolish doing it to a thirty foot tall mech. "Ye . . . yeah . . ." She stammered as she tried to force her wings back down to her sides, but her wings seemed to have taken on a life of their own and remained flared.
Thundercracker did his best to suppress a snicker at her reaction to him, but didn't hide the smile. He eyed her wings, they were indeed much like her twins, only a different color. It was impossible to tell their exact color due to the darkness and the glowing light cast by the bars, but he supposed they were mostly white from the looks of them. "You have impressive wings. You shouldn't hide them; you should be proud of them and carry them with pride." His voice was soothing and deep.
Dawn felt her face flush and her wings slowly lowered themselves back to her sides, his voice having calmed her sufficiently. "I don't know about that. Having wings is more of a nuisance than anything else . . ." She half turned to show Thundercracker her back, the shirt she was wearing was torn badly in the back where her wings had made their exit. "And it was a nice shirt too." She said with a half smile.
Thundercracker shook his head slowly. "You should have clothes specially made for your wings. You should bear them with pride; all creatures born with wings are noble and superior to all grounders." He told her, than softened his voice a little. "You are something extra special, little Dawn."
"Thank you . . . Thundercracker . . . but I'm nothing special. I'm just an abomination of nature, something that shouldn't exist in life." Dawn said softly, casting her eyes to the ground, her wings sagged to the floor as a wave of sorrow filled her.
Thundercracker didn't need to be a telepath like Soundwave to figure out that she was in considerable mental distress. And this would play well in his favor, so he scooted forward a little more, closer to her and the bars and spoke softly. "You are not an abomination, either you or your sister. You are miracles of life! You are an angel. That plain and simple, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
Dawn looked at Thundercracker in surprise, her wings lifting slightly as her mood lightened a little. "You know, you're not as mean as they all said you were. I thought all Decepticons were cruel, vicious and mean. The way they talked, you would kill me rather than look at me. And you're giving me compliments and speaking civilly with me."
Thundercracker laughed slightly. "Since I'm calling you Dawn, why don't you call me Thunder? And I'm not such a bad mech. The Autobots give us a bad reputation because we're the 'bad guys' and they're the 'good guys', they're supposed to say bad things about us 'Cons. But we're not really that much different from them. We're only mean when we're in battle, other than that . . . we're just as nice as everyone else here on this base." He explained with a smile.
Dawn looked at him suspiciously. "You'll forgive me if I seem a little hesitant to believe you. After all, just like I was told, you're called Decepticons for a reason." She told him as she watched him closely for any signs of being irritated or growing short on his patience.
He remained calm and collected, the soft smile never leaving his face. Thundercracker internally thanked the powers that be for allowing him to spend so much time with his testy and irritating wingmate, Starscream, because of having to keep his cool around his Air Commander, it was easy to remain calm and collected, and easier to keep the smile on his face. "That's fine; remain as skeptical as you wish. I am not offended by it." He told her smoothly, leaning back against the wall of his cell again.
Dawn's lip twitched as she looked around self-consciously. "Alright, fine." She muttered more to herself than to the captured Seeker.
"Have they been treating you good here?" Thundercracker asked her as he watched her curiously.
Dawn stepped forward a little closer, but stayed a fair distance from the glowing bars. "Yeah, they treat me really good. I have my own apartment, a training room just for me, and everything I could possible need is given to me."
There was a slight pause. "What about friends? Someone like yourself to hang around, do you have any of those?" Thundercracker asked, watching her expression closely. There it was, the almost imperceptible flinch, but he still saw it.
"Why do you ask that?" Dawn asked, trying to keep her voice neutral and not give away that she was desperately lonely for companionship.
"I am asking, because here you are, seeking the company of a known enemy instead of sleeping. Had you any friends, you wouldn't feel the need to seek out company in dangerous places." Thundercracker replied smoothly and softly, monitoring Dawn closer than before for any signs she might give away.
And give away things she did, she shifted her position uncomfortably. "Well, I have a few friends . . . they spend time with me when they are available."
"Oh?" Thundercracker's voice sounded relieved. "And who are they, if I might be so bold as to ask?"
Dawn tilted her head up a little farther to meet his optics with her blue eyes. "Actually, they are Optimus and Ironhide, as well as Jazz, Bumblebee and Ratchet." She said with a satisfied little smirk.
Thundercracker gave her a sad smile and shook his head a little. "Do they befriend you because of you? Or do they befriend you because of your potential and your power?"
Dawn's smirk failed her and was replaced with a frown. "Umm . . . because they care about me . . ." She said with a little uncertainty in her voice.
"Do you use your powers for them?" Thundercracker asked, hiding well the eagerness to place distrust within her towards the Autobots.
"No. They only ask that I practice them so I might be able to face my sister, or defend myself in a dire situation where no one can assist me." Dawn answered, feeling pretty confident about it.
"I see. And what if you were to stop your training now and decide to live a peaceful life instead of preparing for war? Would they let you? Or would they press that you had to learn your powers? That could all just be a ploy to get you to train and get well learned in your powers so that they can use them for their own means." Thundercracker told her gently, keeping his face with a sad expression with a little concern mixed in it as well.
Dawn shook her head. "No, they've only just recently started to have me use my ability to create others like you. Most of my training has been focused on my other powers."
Thundercracker could have laughed out loud, she'd given him information he previously didn't know. "Think about it, little Dawn. I know you're brilliant. Put the pieces together. Of course they wouldn't need your Allspark ability . . . they have the Allspark. But what they do need and could use are your other powers. I'm sure if they can protect the cube, they could easily put you in with the cube in the event of an attack and protect you just as easily." Thundercracker told her, he nearly held his breath while he waited for this new information to sink in.
Dawn was silent. Her mind was reeling with this new possibility. They had been pressing to her that she needed to learn how to fight. That it was because of her inevitable conflict with her twin . . . but was that they're true intentions? How many times had they told her that they'd kill Lyn if they got the opportunity? Sure, they promised her the chance to sway her sister, but they also said they wouldn't watch her get killed in the process. Could that mean that they needed her as a weapon? Could they be no better than those they called their enemies?
Tears swam up in her eyes as she thought about those she had considered her friends being no better than their own enemies. Using her only for a tool and not considering her as a living, caring, feeling person. "I've been such a fool. I'm sorry, forgive me, I had no reason to make you question your life here." Thundercracker's voice intruded her thoughts.
She looked up at him with a shaky smile. "No, its okay, really, it's always good to hear about your life from another's perspective. I simply hadn't thought of it like that before . . ." She had to stop talking as her thoughts went back to her confession to Ironhide of her feelings for him. She wished right then and there that she were back in her room, safe behind her doors, away from prying eyes so she could curl up on her bed and cry.
"I'm probably wrong about all this. After all, I don't know how they treat you, or how your life here really is. I'm just saying what I do know of the Autobots, they act like they're superior to us, but they're really no better." Thundercracker said softly, watching Dawn closely.
Dawn gave a weak smile and shook her head. "They tell me your kind were extremely tricky. How do I know that you're not just saying all this to trick me? From what I hear, you Decepticons got your name because that's what you're best at, deceiving people. From how I've seen life here, they care about me and they're not doing things to train me to be a tool, they're just preparing me for facing my sister."
How wise of them. Thundercracker thought, but smiled and shook his head. "It's up to you on what to believe, I won't force anything upon you, if you want to believe that I'm trying to deceive you or trick you, than believe that. Whatever is easiest for you to believe, but I warn you, what is easiest is often not what's true or right." Thundercracker told her with a note of caution.
Dawn frowned slightly. His words were true. As much as she hated to admit it and wanted to believe he was telling her nothing but lies . . . his words were true. "That might be, but a masterful liar could spin the truth so that it suited his way. But I will ponder upon what you have said." Dawn said carefully as she watched him for any sign of being satisfied or a smirk or anything that might give him away.
He did nothing but nod and give her a slight smile. "Very well, it is up to you to decide what you will believe and what you won't."
Dawn was about to say something when she heard voices and footsteps coming. She looked around swiftly than looked back to Thundercracker. "Listen, I was never here and we never spoke! Right?"
Thundercracker smiled and nodded with a light chuckle. "Of course." Dawn nodded and concentrated her power on folding around her to cloak her from sight. Thundercracker was slightly surprised when she disappeared from both sight and sensors. "Impressive." He muttered lightly as those approaching came into view. "Ah! Look, it's the tiny, yet mighty Jazz." Thundercracker said with a smirk as he climbed to his feet.
Dawn hesitated as she pushed herself tighter against the wall, holding her power to her as tightly as she could so as to remain undetected. The others walked fully into the room and Dawn took the opportunity to quickly walk behind them for the exit and leave before anything could happen that might cause her to be distracted and drop her invisibility shield.
As soon as Dawn had gone far enough away from the brig to not worry about being found out, she dropped her invisibility and sagged in relief. She had a lot to think about . . . Thundercracker had seemed as honest as she'd seen anyone be, she was usually pretty good at detecting lies, but she hadn't sensed any from what he was saying. So did that mean he was telling the truth? She wondered as she slowly made her way back towards her apartment. She still wanted to do nothing more than think about what had been said by Thundercracker. If what he said had been true, then the Autobots were training her to use her as a weapon once she had disposed of Lyn for them. Without Lyn in the way anymore, they would be free to use her as they saw fit.
Dawn shook her head slightly to clear it as she paused in her walking to look around, she'd taken a turn she hadn't meant to take and now . . . as she looked around . . . she was quite lost. "Looks like I have to backtrack." She muttered to herself as she turned around and then froze as a tall, deeply tanned man stood not to far away from where she stood.
"It's never a good habit to have, talking to one's self." The man's voice was deep and rich, it reminded her of Ironhide's voice, only it didn't sound as metallic as his did. She looked at him thoroughly, he stood somewhere between 6'5 and 6'9, she was never a good judge of height; he had kinda dark brown hair that looked lighter when the light hit it just right. His eyes were almost an electric blue, but they were so beautiful and depthless that she thought she might get lost looking into them. She had already noted his almost bronze complexion, and let her eyes trace over his well defined muscles. He wore an almost too small white t-shirt and not too tight but not too loose blue jeans. As she let her eyes roam back to his face, his mouth was quirked in a half smile and his eyebrow was raised. "It's also not polite to stare."
Dawn felt her face heat up as she quickly looked away, embarrassed that she would be caught ogling over someone so openly. "I'm sorry." She said the humiliation evident in her voice.
"That's quite all right. No harm, no foul." He said with a warm smile. "So . . . find yourself a little farther from your path than usual? I don't see you walking this way often; or at all for that matter." He said in a friendly tone, his eyes trying to catch hers as she glanced up at him sheepishly.
"No. I took a wrong turn while I was deep in thought and now I'm sorta lost." Dawn admitted, feeling her face heat up once more at the confession.
"I see." The stranger said and Dawn felt her face blush a little more at the fact that a handsome man was taking the time to talk to her.
"So . . . do you think you can help me find my way back?" Dawn asked, hoping that the stranger would say 'yes' so that she could spend a little more time with him before they parted ways and she likely never seen him again.
He smiled. "Of course, I would be honored to escort such a beautiful woman around the base." She had just managed to stop the blushing when he complimented her, causing her face to heat up once more. His smile broadened in good nature as she blushed.
"Thanks." She said as he nodded and looked around.
"So, where do you live on base anyway?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at her in question.
"Well . . . it's kinda hard to explain. If you can take me to the med bay I can find my own way back." Dawn said, a little ashamed of the fact she still didn't know the base good enough to give someone directions to her apartment.
He nodded. "Very well. The med bay can be gotten too by going this way; it's a bit of a walk, are you okay with that?"
Dawn chuckled lightly. "I don't see as how I've got much of a choice. I have to walk regardless of how far or close it is." She said in a laugh as she looked at her handsome companion.
He kept a straight face. "If it's too far, I'll carry you." He said calmly and without a hint of it being a joke.
Dawn's face got serious. "Really?" He nodded. "Well, that won't be necessary, let me assure you, I can walk the distance." He nodded again and started to lead the way, walking slowly so that Dawn could walk beside him. "So . . . I don't even know your name." He kept his face dead ahead, and didn't act as though he heard her. "Um . . . what is your name?"
He turned his head to look at Dawn slightly as they walked. "Adrian." He said simply, Dawn usually felt skittish around new people, but around him, she felt comfortable and at ease. While he kept his sentences down to bare minimum, she didn't feel as though he was being reclusive or offish. That was simply his style, she was sure of it, or at least she hoped that's what it was . . . but she was usually never wrong in judging a person.
"Well, hi!" She said with a smile. "My name is Ashadawna! But you can just call me Dawn, everyone else around here does." She said happily.
Adrian looked over at her with a smile. "It's nice to meet you, Dawn." Dawn felt her heart speed up a little at seeing his smile flashed in her direction.
"So . . . what's your purpose here on the base?" Dawn asked, for some reason she desperately wanted to hear his voice and soak up as much of him as she could before they parted ways and she never saw him again.
Adrian was silent for a while and for a moment, Dawn had thought perhaps he hadn't heard her again, but just as she was about to ask again, he responded. "Well, I guess you could say I'm the resident weapons specialist." He told her, casting a glance her way.
"Oh." Dawn replied, than after a moment of silence, added. "Like Ironhide?"
"Yeah, you could say that." Adrian replied.
They walked in silence for a little while longer, Dawn was grateful that Adrian seemed to know his way around, because she was definitely lost. They had taken so many turns down different hallways and had seemed to be going in circles, except for everything kept changing so she knew they couldn't truly be going in circles. Dawn sighed, her eyes lingering once more to the powerful figure walking beside her. Will I ever see you again? She asked him in her mind, not daring to speak the words where he could hear.
"Alright, things should start looking familiar to you now." Adrian spoke suddenly, jarring Dawn out of her thoughts, she took a glance at her surroundings and sure enough! She recognized where everything was. And as if to point out where the med bay was, Ratchet came walking out with Ironhide.
Ratchet did a double take on Adrian and looked over at Ironhide. "Hey, what's your . . ." He stopped in mid-sentence at the death glare Ironhide gave him.
Don't you DARE say it! Ironhide said darkly to Ratchet, who just looked at Ironhide with a lifted brow ridge.
Care to explain? I know I told you to be open with her about your feelings, but this isn't what I had in mind. This is cruel and uncaring. If she falls in love with it, how are you going to explain to her to truth? Ratchet demanded, fixating Ironhide with one of his famous glares.
I'll figure that out if it happens. Was Ironhide's only response to Ratchet as he looked at Dawn with a smile. "What are you doing up so late? Aren't you usually in bed by this time of night? In fact, it's nearly dawn! And how'd you get so lost?"
Dawn blinked in confusion. "How'd you know I was lost?"
Ratchet gave Ironhide a smug look. Ironhide shifted uncomfortably. "Er…well…you see? You were walking in from a direction I've never seen you come from before. So I just assumed you were lost!"
Good save. Ratchet mumbled to Ironhide, who just gave a grunt of acknowledgement.
"Oh…I guess that's true. Yeah, I was lost, I was…taking a walk around the base and took a wrong turn…I just happened upon a place that I was unfamiliar with and couldn't find my way back. That's when I met Adrian here!" Dawn said with a smile, looking over at her new friend.
"Ah, good thing he came along when he did then. Otherwise you'd have been lost for a good long time. Until someone did the rounds at least, then you'd of been discovered and taken back to Optimus or Jazz if he was easily accessible." Ironhide said, than smiled broadly at Dawn. "Ratchet has something to give to you, don't you Ratchet?"
Ratchet cycled a sigh and nodded a little reluctantly. "I finally got around to taking care of your creation. But you need to be extra careful with her, she's fragile and only made up of the metal and plastics that the CD player she originated from was made out of."
Dawn smiled, but inwardly felt a little disappointed, it would be harder to sneak out and see Thundercracker with Metalstar hanging around her all the time… "That's awesome! When does she come back to my apartment to stay with me?"
"Oh…not for at least a day or so, I'm seeing what I can do for her since she's so fragile. I don't want her to break anything when she transforms, and she can't take on other alt modes being that fragile either." Ratchet told Dawn.
Dawn nodded. "Oh…okay, that's cool. I was just curious; take as much time as you need." Dawn said with a smile, hoping Ratchet did take his time and gave her a little more time sneaking off to see Thundercracker.
Adrian looked over at Dawn. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later, since you have no more need of me…"
Dawn cleared her throat and looked over at Adrian as he turned to walk away. "Well, you could escort me to my apartment, it's a long way back and it gets lonely. I'm sure Ironhide is probably busy, right Ironhide?"
Ironhide gave her an odd look, than nodded. "I've got work that can't wait. Inventory isn't going to do itself after all." He muttered and Dawn gave a triumphant look to Adrian.
Adrian smiled. "Alright then, I'll escort you back to your apartment." He said with a small laugh.
Dawn beamed and ran over all the things she wanted to talk about and say to him while they walked. She was determined to find a way to see him again, even if it was just once a week!