**This chapter has parts in it that are non-con and somewhat graphic, it may trigger some people. If you are triggered easily, probably best to skip the second part of this chapter, when it returns to Lyn with the Decepticons. The rest of the chapter should be safe!**
Chapter 17
Lyn tucked herself tighter into a ball as she held her knees against her chest. Her arm had been carefully knitted back together by an injection of nanites which sped up her body's healing factors immensely. But it didn't stop the ache that now throbbed mercilessly through the old break. New fresh scars decorated her body, they had recently finished healing over, almost a week had passed since her 'lessons in obedience' had taken place with Lord Megatron. While most fleshlings would still be down and out from the wounds, she bounded back quickly. Bonecrusher had fretted over the broken bones, and cast his lot against Megatron's treatment, but he too quickly bowed before the raging glower of Lord Megatron. Lyn wasn't sure she was grateful for the ability to keep the flesh arm and heal it, after all, her metal arm gave her no pain once it was fixed...
It had been months now since she'd heard any response about Blade, and the silence made her wonder if he was even still alive. But given Megatron's involvement, perhaps he'd taken over all communications with her creation to Dawn as well. The idea of Megatron's involvement with Dawn's life made an icy pit form in her stomach.
A sound of shifting brought her attention back to the present, she muffled a whimper before it could escape. The room was dark to her, as it had been when she was with Soundwave, and the prospect of not seeing the impending attack coming made her more afraid than the actual pain of the attack could give. Her wings trembled, sending shivers of pain across her shoulders and hips. The room was so vast that Lyn couldn't pinpoint the location of the sound, her eyes strained in the near-darkness for any grasp of outline or sign of what might be making the sound. A deep growling came from behind her and she felt her wings hitch in fear, she reached for her power, but it seemed sluggish and unresponsive. "What's the matter, little one? The voice was harsh and soft, a voice she was very familiar with, she swallowed hard past her fear as it tried to solidify in her throat. "I warned you about Lord Megatron's temperament. I warned you not to disobey, to show respect."
"Cade? Please...can I just go back to my room? I've learned my mistakes, and I've no plans to repeat them..." Lyn started to plead with her captor, but he interrupted her with a cold claw tip pressed into the back of her neck.
"Ashalyn, I have my orders. I obey them without fail, regardless of my personal involvement, as would any Decepticon on this base. Remember that. I tried to warn you. Repeatedly. Bonecrusher has tried to give you the same type of advice. Now you will be paying dearly for your crimes." Barricade said quietly behind her, his voice neutral and disconnected.
Despite her obvious danger, Lyn felt a little surge of resentment. "My crimes? All I did was voice my opinion, used my courage and strength. I've never actually done anything to jeopardize the Decepticons! So what crimes?" She demanded, at least a little comfortable with the thought that it was Barricade with her and not someone extremely dangerous like Blackout or Soundwave or Incinerator.
Barricade let a sigh cycle through his vents, he didn't have the spark to really go fully through with his duty, and Soundwave knew it, which was why he'd been assigned a partner to handle Lyn...and she didn't even sense him. As if on cue, another deep voice answered Lyn from the darkness on the other side of her. "Any will that is not Lord Megatron's is a crime. His Will is our will, his thoughts are our actions, his orders are followed—exactly to his desires and wishes. There are no doubts, no opinions, and no strengths that are not of his design. So, little birdie, do you understand now?"
Lyn felt all the heat leave her body, a solid chunk of ice seemed to have formed where her stomach was and her heart felt as though it would both explode out of her chest and stop at the same time. Terror crashed over her so quickly she couldn't even remember to breathe. Blackout. Her mind identified him at once. Two dark glowing red orbs appeared just outside her dim shadowy vision, in the deep darkness of the room. "I didn't know...I haven't been raised to your rules..." She stammered out, her wings shivering violently.
"I know, which is why I get to educate you. If I deem your knowledge satisfactory, perhaps Lord Megatron will be forgiving one last time." Barricade stated as gently and softly as his harsh voice would allow. Blackout barked a laugh that caused Lyn to jump violently, her wings flaring out in fear, making pain explode up and down her body.
"Yes, Barricade will educate you. But not before I deal out the punishment you have earned, after I am satisfied you have been adequately punished, I will hand you over to Barricade for re-education. After all, Lord Megatron isn't without his...mercies." The tone of his voice didn't encourage Lyn to see the 'mercy' as long as she was left in Blackout's care.
~Meanwhile...back on the Autobot Base
Dawn stood with her chin held high as she faced the growing ire of the Autobot medic. "You could have told us you had the ability of teleportation! You should have told me at the very least! I was understanding about you keeping your wings a secret. But...this is not something you should be holding in silence!" Ratchet was irate, his Spark hammering in its chamber as his processor ran through all the possibilities and ramifications this ability held.
"They are my powers and abilities, why should I report every little one to you? Will you be judging me now on what I am capable of? I thought you were better than that!" Dawn accused him, her blue eyes looking up disapprovingly at the medic.
"Well no, of course not, but this isn't the sort of thing to...okay, maybe you're right, perhaps its best you didn't tell just anyone about this ability. However, you should have at least told your doctor, which is me, about this! What if something went horribly wrong and no one knew what you had done? What if someone like Skywarp grabbed you while you were in mid-warp and took you back to the Decepticons?" What if you decided to join the Decepticons and stole the Allspark right from us? Ratchet thought but dared not say out loud. It was the one fear on top of his processor right now, and he knew it was also going to be running through every Autobot who found out about this as well.
Dawn's frown deepened, her eyes grew distant, he could see she hadn't put a lot of thought into her action. He left her to think in silence, the base was still clearing out from the assault and the door wouldn't be unseal for a while yet, she had time to think. When she finally spoke, her eyes looked sad again, and the hurt she felt reflected within those endless depths. "You want to know why I keep my powers a secret from everyone? Why I don't open up and trust anyone with the knowledge of what I'm capable of?" Ratchet opened his mouth to speak, but she kept going. "Fear. I've seen what fear does to people, I've seen what it make them become, I've experienced the damage it can do to people. Fear is a powerful tool, its more destructive than any bomb ever created, its twice as effective as any poison, and once it takes root it will forever change your viewpoint and perspective.
"Once you know to fear something, you never look at it the same way again. I keep my abilities a secret because I've seen the fear in the eyes of Ironhide, Optimus Prime, even your eyes—when I demonstrated my powers. I've seen how everyone went from thinking me a small helpless child to a potential weapon. I've seen people change from seeing me as a living being to viewing me as a potential enemy simply because of my potential to become something I'm not. I'm not evil, yet you treat me as though I am a pretender. I'm not an enemy, yet you treat me like I could be. I admit I bow to no one, I will not submit authority to Optimus Prime, I will make no vows of loyalty to this planet's fleshling commanders. I stand on my own.
"I stand on my own, not because I want too, but because I have been given no other choice. I cannot trust anyone around me. I cannot trust Optimus, I cannot trust Jazz, Ironhide, or even you. You all have that look of fear when you see me. That piece of uncertainty that makes you second guess every action I do, every step I take. I went from being able to be who I am, to having to learn how to not be me! As soon as Optimus and Ironhide saw how strong I had become, how destructive my powers could be, they threw the lid back on my powers so quickly it sent my head spinning! No warning, no discussions, just fear. Fear of what I could become. Fear of the potential I had.
"And it is that reason, I keep my silence. Fear is a dangerous thing. I lived my life surrounded by fear. Ruled by fear. I thought I had become free of that fear, but I see that the Autobots are no better than those militants who held my sister and I. How long until you punish me for the use of my abilities with pain? You have already locked me in my rooms for using them. You have already forbid me from using them. How long until you become the captors I escaped from? Do I need to run from you as well?" Tears were running freely down Dawn's face by the time she fell silence. Her words so charged with emotion that Ratchet's Spark ached with sorrow for the small child.
Ratchet knelt down and wiped a hand over his face plates, he hadn't realized it had been so transparent, or that they had changed so much since they had first met her. He looked at her, and for the first time in a while, truly saw her. Standing there in the corner, wings crestfallen to the floor, her hands now covering her face as she wept, her shoulders shaking from the silent sobs. Small patches of dried blood across her body from the various injuries she'd sustained while trying to make it here. Injuries he didn't see at first through her sudden appearance. The Allspark sat in the center of the room, its brilliant markings glowing gently in the same set pattern, casting a glowing light around the room. She hadn't come to steal the Allspark, she'd come to stand to protect it. She wasn't a threat, she was an ally, a friend. Had they lost the chance to salvage that view? Could it be restored? Her heart was broken over their treatment of her, and how many promises did his people make to her that had already been broken?
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize how far things had escalated. I'm sorry I didn't notice it sooner." Ratchet said softly as he scanned over her vitals and watched her closely. "This can still be fixed, we can salvage this mess and repair all the broken pieces. Yes, I agree, fear is a powerful weapon. And its also an invisible one, it sneaks in and infects those who are unsuspecting. We can make this right, Dawn. I will make this right. I will see to it that Optimus and the others see you for what you are, which is not a threat. You are one of us, we never should have tried to make you into anything different. I am truly sorry Dawn..." Ratchet trailed off as his communicator beeped. He didn't want to answer it, last he had sent out was that Dawn was in the room with him and could teleport, he had triggered what would be a wave of panic. Now he would have to quickly squelch all that fear before it got carried away.
Reluctantly, Ratchet silently answered the communicator. :Ratchet here.:
Optimus' voice sounded relieved. :Ratchet, I received word that Ashadawna teleported into that room with you while the battle was raging. Is everything alright?: The implications were heavy in the infliction of Prime's words.
:Everything is fine, Optimus. She was just worried for the Allspark, she teleported in here to protect it in the event we hadn't reached it first. She's a little cut up from the battle, and shaken up, but she's okay.: Ratchet tried to think of how to reassure his worried leader that all was well, and that Dawn wasn't a threat, he knew the next line of questions that would take place.
:Has she ever mentioned to you about this ability to teleport?: Ironhide's voice joined in through the frequency, and Ratchet wanted to punch the wall, it was an open communication. All Autobots listening in would hear the conversation. So much for privacy for Dawn and a chance to speak with his leader prior to publicly announcing Dawn's ability.
:She might have mentioned it in passing, I do recall being harried that day and rushing her away.: Ratchet replied, grateful for his annoyed feeling and not needing to fake that at least. Certainly a white lie such as this would be allowed. It would save Dawn a lot of agony, and maybe cost him a bit of time in the med bay under isolation for lying later. But Dawn would at least be cleared and this bought him time to speak with his Prime regarding her treatment later.
:You should have told us of this gift, it would have allowed us to better prepare the base...: Ironhide was mumbling when Ratchet's mouth dropped in sudden realization as he looked back up and over at Dawn, who was sitting in her far corner, rocking in time with the changes in the Allspark's surface.
:The room is shielded...: Ratchet almost whispered, a new fear shivering over his Spark. How had she gotten into the room? It was protected and shielded from any and all forms of teleportation and warping. Why hadn't he realized that? If she could get in, that meant two things...first, the room wasn't as protected as they'd first assumed and at risk to Skywarp, or second and ultimately more frightening...Dawn's ability couldn't be shielded or blocked against. It was something more complex and extraordinary than warp capacity or teleportation.
The silence that fell through the communicator was deafening as everyone listening absorbed the information. It was Optimus who broke the silence. :Dawn will be placed into protective custody until the base is repaired, she will have the comfort and security of her rooms deep within the brig for now, once we...:
Ratchet interrupted, astonished at the order. :You're going to lock her in the brig?! For what?! She was protecting the Allspark!:
Optimus' voice was calm and patient. :I'm not doing it to punish her, I'm doing this to protect her, there is no where secure for her, and until we have it established where the leak of information is coming from and how the Decepticons knew exactly where and how to hit us, I feel it safer to keep Dawn locked away where she can be easily guarded. Any comforts we can give her will be given...:
Ratchet snorted in pure anger. :How about the comfort of gratitude? Or freedom? Or of open air?! How about the comfort of knowing she has friends here among us and is not suspected of being a villain?:
:Until I have all the facts, she must be detained. I cannot be certain she did not act to steal the Allspark or is not altering your feelings with other abilities that I do not know of. Until I can know for certain that she is innocent, I will have her gently detained. No harm or discomfort will come to her while she is under investigation. It is as much for her protection as it is our own.: Optimus' word was final. Ratchet looked at Dawn and felt a deep sense of sadness. Her words echoing through his Spark. How much longer until we hurt you indeed...Ratchet thought to himself as he shook his head.
:Very well, Optimus, just as long as you know I am strongly against this. She is innocent and we have been treating her wrong for a while now. If you create a monster, its on you.: Ratchet said snappily as he removed himself from the line. They could chat and set up her prison cell without him. He wanted no part in it! Now he would have to explain to Dawn that this new 'imprisonment' was not punishment, but a safety precaution. He did have to admit, the brig was one of the most secure places on the planet aside from the room they were currently in.
Before Ratchet could say anything to her, Dawn looked up at Ratchet with sad eyes. "I heard." That single statement felt like a plasma cannon had been fired at his bared Spark.
"I'm sorry?" Ratchet stammered out, hoping his first impression of what she'd meant had been wrong. Please be wrong! He begged himself as he listened to Dawn's quiet response.
"I heard the conversation. They're going to seal me in the brig to protect both you and me until everything has settled down. Its more for protection than punishment and you're supposed to keep me here until after they get everything set up." Dawn's words melted his Spark.
SCRAP! He thought as he tried to quickly smooth things over, Dawn stood up and moved closer to the Allspark, which had shifted its pattern and seemed to be emitting a strange altering pitched sound. "I will make sure they listen and all this gets worked out properly. There's no reason to be like this, sad and afraid—I'll make sure you get your private rooms back and full freedom very soon..."
Dawn looked up at Ratchet, her eyes filled with fury and rage, but her voice stayed steady. "I am not afraid. I fear nothing. There is nothing anyone can do to hurt me anymore than has already been done." She blinked and the fury and rage was suddenly gone, replaced with uncertainty and worry. "But I don't know what I should do...do I let Optimus lock me away until he feels all is well? Do I run away and find another place to hide until I can rescue my sister? I don't know what to do..."
Her voice was so soft, and she looked suddenly so small and young—it was hard to imagine that this was a being who was capable of doing anything other than flight. Yet the truth was frightening. Ratchet stayed very still, Dawn was within touching range of the Allspark, her eyes reflecting the strange light it emitted, now her hair starting to move from the energy the Allspark was giving off. Ratchet didn't want to make a move toward her for fear of making her think he still feared she would steal the Allspark and was a threat, but he wanted nothing more than to ensure the protection of the most important artifact within their race. "If you run, you will be proving to Optimus that you have something to hide, just allow him to feel secure and I will work to see you free as soon as it is safe for you to be without heavy guard—not because you're a threat, but because you are precious and need to be protected from the Decepticons. Even with all your power and ability, you are still so young, and need to be sheltered and protected. I will do my best to help you, Dawn, but you have to let me. You have to let me in and confide into me, so that I can prove to the others that you are innocent..." Ratchet let the last word trail off as Dawn's hand came into contact with the Allspark, the entire power in the room went down, the only light was cast off the Allspark and from the same intricate markings now visible on Dawn's wings.
Seeing her wings lift and slowly spread as she maintained contact was awe-inspiring. The intricate markings appeared to have always been there, simply hidden from view until the right catalyst presented itself. The Allspark and Dawn were communicated. Dawn's eyes were closed, and a soft hum replaced the earlier pitching he'd heard. After a moment of observation, he realized the humming was actually the energy vibrating within each feather on her wings.
But after a few minutes of watching, Ratchet turned his attention back to what she'd said and felt his Spark grow icy cold with dread. How long had she been able to hear their communications? How well could she intercept it? Was it just as plain as the telepathic communication she shared with her sister? Was it as clear as the audible communications from the fleshling forces the Autobots were partnered with? The fact that she'd heard his communications with Optimus and the others really didn't settle well, it left a very cold pit inside his Spark. Too much had been said in 'private' around Dawn, too much had been decided where she shouldn't have been able to hear.
Yet she'd obviously understood. It was little wonder she was so upset with the Autobots! They had treated her as an inferior species, unknowing that she was more an equal. Primus, she might even be our superior! Ratchet thought as he quickly tried to formulate a plan to explain all this to the others without using the vital communications system and without making Dawn feel anymore alienated.
Dawn however was completely ignorant of Ratchet's inner turmoil. Eyes closed, mind opened to the warmth of the Allspark, she allowed the soft comfort of the artifact to fill her and listened to the gentle song. The information transferring to her from the artifact was faster than any computer or processor any Transformer could possibly make or have. Her body accepted the transfer of memories, information, the vast faucet of knowledge sinking into her very DNA. The information that seemed to be flooding mostly into her was images of beings who looked more like she and her sister.
Dawn was impervious to time, it seemed only seconds that her hand came into contact and the transfer began that suddenly a pressure pulled her gently away from the Allspark. She blinked and looked up to see Optimus Prime knelt down behind her, a large finger wrapped around her mid-section had been what pulled her back away from the Allspark. "Optimus?" Dawn asked, disorientated from the sudden separation from the Allspark.
"Dawn, we need to talk, please, come with me?" Optimus' voice was gentle and kind, like it had been when she had first been rescued by the Autobots. She nodded and allowed him to gently guide her into his large hand, she retracted her wings to compensate for the smaller space and allowed the Autobot to take her where he wanted. They left the sheltered room housing the sacred artifact and into the devastated remains of the base itself. Dawn stared around her at the devastation, it was extensive and didn't seem possible that anyone survived such a gruesome scene. "Ratchet explained to me a few things, vital things that we all could not see ourselves until it was almost too late." Optimus' voice distracted her from the devastation to look up at his sober face.
"No one is perfect, no matter what they claim. I am certainly no exception. I was wrong in my thoughts and actions toward you. I let my fear rule my judgment. I should not have done that. As a leader, it is my dire responsibility to ensure that I use my judgment to protect those under my care. I failed you, and I am sorry. I should have taken more care into your actions and needs than my own fears and the endless strings of potential outcomes. I let the fear of what your sister—your twin—became determine how I looked at you. I shouldn't have. I am sorry.
"Instead of being your rescuers, we simply became another set of captors, and that was never our intention. I do not want to make you our enemy, I want us to remain allies, to stay friends." Optimus paused, looking down at the tiny form in his hand. She seemed weightless, and so trusting as she stared up at him. "There is so much we don't understand about your species, in all our travels we have never encountered a being like you and your twin. Unfortunately we let the fear of the unknown guide our steps in your care, and it has done you a serious wrong.
"A wrong I will make up to you. If you allow me the chance. For the time being, however, I have to place you in an area where you will be safe. I am not putting you here to keep you prisoner, nor am I placing a lock on any door from the outside...I am simply keeping those who would harm you away and letting you know you are safe while you sleep." Optimus' words brought a curious mixture of anger and relief in Dawn. She was angry because that part of her screamed that it was a trap to get her to willingly walk into a cage, but yet the other part was relieved that Optimus listened to Ratchet—who kept his promise to make things right—and that she wasn't being locked up until she was deemed not a threat, but rather just being protected.
Before she had much time to truly contemplate the real meaning, Optimus was opening a massive blast door to the brig's hallway and leading her down the long hallway she'd grown familiar with since visiting Thundercracker. But Optimus seemed to be taking her much deeper than she had ever been, into the much more secure parts. It seemed impossible to believe in such short time that the Autobots had been able to create a massive nine-room floor plan with working plumbing for her. Yet there it was, as Optimus lowered her to the ground and gestured her inside.
The ceiling was incredibly high in the very front rooms, but further back, they lowered dramatically and became a multilevel apartment complex. Yet it was only for her. "We carefully re-designed your apartments with your unique abilities in mind. We added some features you might enjoy, and added a hologram room for you to practice anything you wish. While the rooms might be within the confines of our maximum security cells, it was also the best place with the most room and security to allow you the highest freedoms. The shielding around these areas are the exact same as in the Allspark's chambers, so if you wish to teleport yourself anywhere, there is nothing blocking you, yet there is also no threat of Skywarp getting in.
"You are safe here. These rooms are yours for as long as you wish to stay here. There is no outer lock, only you can lock it from the inside. The guards outside will ensure that no one other than you or those you invite can get access to your apartment either." Optimus was saying as Dawn started to wander around the apartment with her jaw dropped open.
"Are there cameras?" Dawn asked, remembering her previous apartment with all the different hidden cameras and such devices. As she wandered around the massive apartment, she gently ran her hand over the walls, Reading with each soft touch of her fingertips.
"As a precaution, there are cameras placed in strategic areas on the apartment, but none of them are in private areas. Most of them are located at the access points as a last security precaution." Optimus answered softly, making mental notation of her actions as she explored her new space.
Dawn nodded, her own findings echoing the words of Optimus, he wasn't lying to her, that was a great benefit in making her feel a little more at ease in trusting him again. Perhaps this relationship she had with the Autobots could be fixed. "Is there another way for me to reach out if for some reason I find myself unable to teleport or need immediate assistance?"
Optimus nodded. "Yes, there is a communication system linked directly to our public comms should you need anything. Someone will always be available to answer the call." Dawn nodded, and walked back toward where Optimus remained in a kneeling position. "If you don't mind, I do have a question for you, one that I feel I should have noticed and asked you long ago..." Dawn tilted her head slightly to the side to indicate she was listening.
Drawing a long sigh through his vents, Optimus watched Dawn closely as he asked. "How long have you been able to understand our unique means of communication? Do you understand other languages in this same manner?"
Dawn felt a small smile tug at her mouth. "I felt your bursts of communication when we first met, but it took a while for me to decipher it. I'm not exactly sure when I became fully able to hear and understand it as we are speaking now, but I have tried to ignore it as its really rude to eavesdrop." Dawn felt her smile fade as she looked away, heat warming her cheeks a little. "Of course, I couldn't avoid hearing what was said during the battle, there was too much tension and no other distractions..."
Optimus nodded, but persisted. "Do you eventually learn all languages as you learned our pulse communication?"
Dawn shook her head. "No, not really. I mean, I guess if I really sat down and studied the language for a long time, had a keystone to actually decode the meanings and help understanding the translation from the unknown language into my own, sure...but it isn't as natural for me to learn actual languages like that. My sister could..." Dawn hesitated, a deep sadness sinking further into her chest as she instinctively reached out through her bond to feel her twin, grasping only the gaping emptiness of the sealed void Lyn had created. "But she was always more talented than I am..." Dawn finished very quietly, almost to herself.
Optimus sensed her sadness and responded kindly. "From what I've seen of you, I do not feel you are the weaker, I believe there is strength in you just as there is in her. Just because you both share differing views and have separate abilities doesn't mean one is stronger than the other. As your training proved to you, it is only in how you practice you're abilities that determines your true strength, as long as you keep trying and moving forward in what matters most to you, you will remain strong. There is no contest between the two of you as to which is stronger or better at anything."
Dawn looked up at Optimus. "Perhaps you're right." She gave him a small, still weak smile. "I just keep thinking of how competitive she was when we were growing up, of how impossibly strong she seemed and how unafraid she was of the world we knew so little about, and to me that was a strength I can never own up too..."
Optimus stopped her with a gentle gesture. "You have shown more strength and courage than you give yourself credit for. It was you're abilities that saved Mirage and you from being permanently captured by the Decepticons, it was you're strength and powers that have protected you when you needed it most, and it has been your strengths and power that allowed you the speed and courage to teleport into the Allspark's chambers without knowing what truly awaited you there. For all you truly knew, Megatron himself could have been there stealing it..."
Dawn hadn't thought of it all like that, and shook her head. "If Megatron had been there, my sister would likely have been nearby and I would have sensed her. I just knew I couldn't let them Decepticons get the Allspark and have both it and my sister...I was only doing what I had to in order to protect..." She trailed off, to protect my friends, she finished in her mind.
Optimus seemed comfortable to let her sentence remain unfinished. "While you are free to come and go from your apartments as you will, I do ask that you show extreme caution when traveling through our prison area, there are prisoners here who might cause you harm if they got a hold of you. Please give them a wide berth. Is there anything else you'll need before I take my leave?"
Dawn looked around the apartment one final time and shook her head. "I don't think so, if I find anything, I'll give a shout." She gave him her best reassuring smile, though it came out weaker and less sure than she'd intended. Optimus nodded and left her to her thoughts.
As soon as she knew that Optimus was gone, Dawn went straight to one of the isolated rooms in the apartment that she knew had no cameras. While she had been connected with the Allspark, she'd seen a great deal many things that she seriously needed to work through. The images of people like her had flashed through her mind, she'd never seen or heard of another like her, apart from the extremely few memories she had of her mother's rush to save both Dawn and Lyn. These images were something she needed to learn more of, and she knew now that all the information she needed was right within her own mind. She had but to figure out how to access it.
Laying down on her bed, she allowed herself the chance to relax and drift into her thoughts, but with all the excitement and the battle that had just been fought, it wasn't mediation that she drifted into...but sleep...
~~~Dream
Dawn blinked in the thick darkness, it seemed to almost be a living thing that threatened to suffocate her with each breath she heaved, so thick it choked her, thick with a substance that stung her eyes. "Hello?" She called uneasily, feeling her power slide effortlessly to the surface, at the ready should she need to use it.
The darkness seemed to writhe around her, its emptiness caressing her body, sliding between each feather of her wings, making her shiver at the almost oily touch. She made an effort to retract her wings, but the remained extracted and only rose into a defensive flared position at the offensive touch. "So brave..." A non-voice seemed to whisper from the darkness, it sounded as if it were right in her ear and yet so far away simultaneously.
"Who are you? Why am I here?" Dawn asked, gathering her power tightly to her, ready to lash out at the slightest indication of further threat.
"I am Death." The strange whisper answered just as it had before.
Dawn felt the painful darkness pull at every fabric of her being, threatening to rip her into a thousand different directions, calling upon her power, she pressed the darkness away and shielded herself from the tainted touch it smothered her with. A brightness seemed to illuminate around her as her power shielded her. "Why am I here! What do you want?" Dawn demanded, the pressure and presence of the darkness retreated slightly from her power's shield.
"Clever girl," the voice echoed softly all around her. "so much more than your twin. Strength well concealed. More useful, yes, we have much in common."
Dawn felt her anger boiling to the surface. "What do you know of my sister!" Dawn demanded, her eyes darting about at the darkness, turning in place to try to locate the source of the strange whispers.
"Everything." It whispered, closer this time, and for a moment, she locked eyes on something so frightening and horrifying that it made her very soul shrink back in fear...
~~~End Dream
Dawn woke up with a shout, her power raised fully around her, wings extended and flared as she became fully aware of her surroundings. Blinking, she tried to calm the slamming of her heart as it threatened to beat its way out of her rib cage. The dream at been so real, the darkness so suffocating, and...she stopped, she knew there was more, but the harder she tried to recall it, the further it seemed to slip away. It was important, she'd seen something in her dream, but now it was gone. "Just a nightmare..." She muttered to herself as she shifted her shoulders, her flared wings starting to prickle her something fierce.
With a groan, Dawn arched one of her wings around in front of her and winced, every feather was puffed out of place, she hadn't just flared, she had 'floofed' as she'd always called it. It was a fear-response that always irritated both her and Lyn when it happened. The action forced every feather to separate and rise independently, making it necessary to resettle each feather or risk injury when the wings were retracted. With this in mind, Dawn took herself out into the open living space, and sat on the back of her sofa and went about the long task of 'unfloofing' her wings.
As she was halfway through her other wing, she heard a muffled snicker come from the door way. Looking up, her eyes lit up as she saw Adrian standing there, a smirk on his lips. "What happened to you? Stick your finger in a light socket?"
"Adrian!" She squealed, forgetting her task of re-seating the feathers and rushed over to him, throwing herself in his arms.
He caught her, staggering backwards a bit with a grunt. "Easy there, you're a bit heavier with those wings out! You trying to crush me?" He asked as she quickly balanced her weight off of him and looked slightly embarrassed.
"Sorry about that..." Dawn muttered as she looked up at him with bright eyes.
Adrian chuckled. "Glad to see you're okay! I heard that you had decided to go straight into the heart of battle and feared the worst! Not really sure what you were thinking, going in like that! You could have gotten captured or killed! I'm just really happy you're okay!"
Dawn felt her face flush and pulled away, pulling her unfinished wing back around to continue picking at feathers as she made her way back to the sofa. "I was fine. Stayed far away from any danger, just wanted to make sure the important things were protected, that's all." She muttered, not meeting his eyes.
Adrian nodded, following her over to the sofa, his smirk returning as she went back to the adorable task of fiddling with her feathers. "I've seen a lot of really adorable things in my days, but honestly, I'd have to chuck you doing that right up to the top with seeing a rabbit clean its ears and a guinea pig clean its face..." Dawn blinked at him, lost in what he was referring too. Adrian waved it off. "They're small adorable mammals that I saw once on this distant planet I was assigned too. You'd thought they were cute too, I'm sure. Point is, that is the most adorable thing I've ever seen someone who looked human ever do! Truly, and you make it look even more adorable by turning that bright shade of red while doing it!" He said as he burst out laughing, his laughter only made Dawn's face, neck and chest burn hotter as her blush crept slowly down from her face into her chest and collar area.
"It needs to be done...this is why I don't 'floof'. It's horribly inconvenient..." Dawn muttered softly as she finished with her wing.
Adrian stayed silent while he watched her finish, savoring the moment of solitude for the two of them. He knew his time would be short, and eventually he'd be found out and recalled, but for now, this one-on-one time was nice. He still felt twinges of guilt for his thoughts when he'd heard she'd hidden she could teleport. But could he really blame her? She'd probably hidden that secret to avoid the exact situation she'd found herself in, being blamed for a traitor when she'd only been attempting to do what everyone else in the base had done...protect the Allspark.
It took Dawn another fifteen minutes to finish with her wing, by the time it was finished, Adrian had a new respect for the great strength and beauty she possessed. "Are they water-proof?" He asked as she flexed her wings out a bit, giving them a little test movement before searching for missed feathers.
"Why? Planning on throwing me into water?" She gave him a half-smile through two of her large primary feathers. Adrian chuckled. "For the most part, yeah, they are harder to fly with when wet, especially saltwater, but its not impossible. Why?"
Adrian shrugged, his eyes following the curves of Dawn's body as she straightened and stretched, her wings lazily following her arms up as she relieved tense muscles. "No particular reason other than curiosity. Do you even know how to swim?"
Dawn nodded, her wings lowering down, still twitching once in a while, sending her back to search for yet another missed feather. "Lyn and I used to go swimming in this little river area behind our complex. It was very isolated and deep in a few areas, she didn't like going into the water, said it was a waste of energy. I didn't like that we weren't allowed to fly, so I found a good way to exercise my wings by swimming underwater. Lyn used to make fun of me for it, but honestly, underwater swimming with wings is much like flying, and it makes the muscles extremely fit. So when I eventually decided to fly...I didn't have as much problem as I thought I would. Lyn would only glide, she thought that was good enough I suppose..."
Adrian put his hand on her arm as she lifted her wings in the familiar way to retract them. "Don't, you should leave them out once in a while. They're really quite beautiful. You shouldn't keep them hidden, they're as much a part of you as your arms and legs, so why hide them?"
Dawn started to blush again, but didn't retract her wings, letting them relax once again at her sides. "Most people find it uncomfortable to be around me with my wings out. They either become jealous or fearful of me. Its like a visible reminder how different I am and how powerful I can be when I really want. I usually just keep them hidden so people can fool themselves into thinking of me as a small little girl who can't defend herself or cause any damage. It's easier that way." She didn't meet Adrian's eyes, instead she looked down at her hands as they fidgeted in her lap.
Adrian stood up and gently pulled her face so that she was looking at him, his eyes finding hers. "Listen to me, you should never be someone other than who you are! Don't worry about what others think, they'll either get used to it, or they'll avoid you. Pretending to be something your not is extremely hard on your soul and puts too much pressure on you. Follow what your heart says. I think you're beautiful and precious the way you are right now, as the real you." Dawn's blush deepened, but the smile she gave him was genuine.
"That might be true for you, but in my experience, others discomfort becomes my peril. If it makes you feel better though, I'll leave my wings out when you're around." Dawn didn't want to hope on a life where she didn't need to hide who she really was, because reality was always cruel and found inventive—often painful—ways to remind her how alone and unique she was in the universe.
"Well, that's a start at least! Maybe eventually you'll realize that it doesn't matter what others think or feel, only what you feel and think. You're a very smart, kind and beautiful woman, unique to everything I've encountered in my life, you should shine that light for the rest of the world to see rather than dousing it because they might not be ready to see it yet." Adrian said with a smile.
~~Back with the Decepticons...
Lyn felt as though her world had been shattered into a billion pieces. Nothing was ever going to be the way it should have been. She curled herself tighter into a tiny ball in the far corner of her little cage, for the moment, she was alone. Her wings ached like never before, her face was swollen and her arm felt as though it'd been broken again, though it still moved and held weight and probably was just badly bruised.
She'd been taken to a different room all together and Blackout had taken time to make sure she realized that she was no way in control of her own situation any longer. He'd kept her awake for what felt like days, refusing to give her even a moments rest, then suddenly leaving her alone for perhaps an hour to shiver and shake in terror of his next assault on her.
Lyn had come to fear Blackout's ability to use holomatter more than his true physical size and strength. As it happened, holomatter took less effort than the slight physical effort it took to beat her with his own hands. Being so small, he didn't want to accidentally do too much damage, and yet she hadn't felt he had such thoughts when his holomatter beat her so badly she felt she'd die from the pain.
She was still isolated in a separate area of Blackout's quarters and kept in near darkness constantly. She wasn't sure how long she'd been trapped there, how often it truly was that he returned to terrify and abuse her, but she did know that she didn't want to ever see his monstrous face ever again...
A sudden merciless grip on the back of her neck forced her, face first, down onto the floor, the impact forced a weak cry to escape, her face screaming in so much pain she feared her nose and cheekbone had been broken by the impact. "Are we learning yet?" Came the soft, sadistically seductive murmur in her ear from Blackout's holomatter.
"Please...don't hurt me anymore!" Lyn managed to choke out, tears streaming freely down her face.
Blackout grinned and placed a knee on the small of her back, between the bottom of her wings, pressing down his 'weight'. Lyn squirmed as her wings thrashed against the sudden agony that seemed to explode from his knee on the extremely sensitive pressure point. He chuckled darkly, "I see you have the same weak points every Seeker has, too bad you fliers are such easy targets once you're grounded!" He grabbed a hold of each of her wings in a hand at the upper shoulder and yanked them backwards, delicate tendons and muscles screamed in response to the movement opposite to the direction they wanted to go, and Lyn did her best to quell the urge to fight harder to get away.
Submission, she thought, I have to submit or this is going to get very bad very quickly! I can't afford him to break my wings! Her thoughts were filled with terror and pain, all she wanted was a change to tell Lord Megatron that she'd learned her lesson and would never betray him or disobey him again. Yet the days had turned to weeks, and still she remained in Blackout's merciless care, even the ability to see Bonecrusher had been denied...instead, Blackout had taken to simply injecting her with healing nanites every night and seemed to take enjoyment out of seeing the hope of escaping him, even for a moment leave her eyes. "Please! I'll do anything! Just please stop!" Lyn cried hoarsely, her throat felt as though it should be bleeding for how dry and sore it was.
"Anything...?" Blackout asked as he tightened his grip on her wings, his fingernails lengthening to become claws, digging into the tender flesh between her feathers. She nodded as best she could, and Blackout yanked on her wings harder while digging his knee down forcing her into a painful semi-upright position, her back cracked and popped in a final warning that the discs and bones were at a breaking point.
"ANYTHING!" Lyn screamed as her wings threatened to dislocate from the strength of his pulling back and the lack of her ability to compensate by moving further to stop him.
Blackout released her wings suddenly, pressing a single hand down directly between her wings and shoulder blades, his knee sliding off her back and straddling her as he leaned down to put his holomatter's mouth to her ear, whispering. "Remember that, little birdie, when I come tonight to play."
Tears streamed down her face, a small line of blood was leaking from her busted lip and nose from being slammed back into the floor when he released her, being unable to catch herself. "Please...just no more pain...please!" She whispered, her blue eyes searching for mercy that couldn't be found in her captor.
"We'll just explore...new ways to educate you, but don't worry, you'll be fine. Tomorrow, Soundwave wants to see you again." She flinched, she didn't want to encounter the psychic again. Blackout's face grinned wider. "Fear him, do you? Now you know why the rest of us have deep respect." With a final thought of torment to leave Lyn with, Blackout reached under her and let his holomatter's hand slide under her shirt as she was pressed against the floor, roughing fondling her for a moment before disengaging his holomatter.
With her tormentor gone, and the new violation a promise of the permission she'd given him...a loud wail of despair and anguish tore from Lyn's throat before she could stop it. What have I done?! She thought, still feeling the phantom hand as it brutally fondled her. He'd found her one darkest fear—likely through the psychic's shifting through her memories, or simply out of luck...she wasn't sure. Curling herself into a tiny ball, her mind replayed the horror she'd watched her sister go through all those years ago, she'd felt it, but she'd never had it happen to her...now it seemed, those horrors were coming back to truly make her pay the ultimate penance.
Blackout mentally hated the fact that right as soon as he found the one true and deepest fear of Ashalyn, his newest and most anticipated pet—even if only temporarily so—he received a summons from Lord Megatron. Resisting the urge to growl, he deactivated his holomatter and immediately went to see what his leader needed of him.
The journey to his leader's quarters, where he'd been summoned, were short. The massive doors marked both the entrance to his private quarters as well as his work station, separated only by an second set of massive doors once inside the the room. Blackout pressed the pad to announce his arrival and waited patiently for the doors to open.
Once the doors opened, Blackout walked in, hearing the doors slide shut behind him, and walked the short distant to his leader's desk, where the Warlord waiting patiently. "I take it your time with Ashalyn is being well spent?"
Forcing down his agitation, Blackout bowed. "Yes, she is quickly learning her true place among our ranks. It wouldn't take much to make her bend a knee and break that feisty will of hers, if you so wish, Lord Megatron." Blackout answered.
"Good. In the morning, we will test her powers, and see if my experiment can be successful or not. Do you feel up to helping me test this experiment?" Megatron asked, his crimson optics glowing with the malicious delight mirrored on his face.
Blackout nodded. "Your will is my action, what would you have me do, Lord Megatron?"
"Simple, I wish you to temporarily break Ashalyn's will. I do not wish to permanently damage her mental state, not as of yet at least, but I do need to see if her power can be used while her will is broken and use her as I desire, when I desire. Do you feel this can be accomplished before tomorrow?" Megatron eyed his elite, already knowing the answer, he could feel the excitement and eagerness to get started on this particular mission.
"Yes, Lord Megatron, she will be ready for you by the morning." Blackout said with a salute to his leader.
"Excellent. Also, Blackout...she is not to be physically damaged beyond simple repair. I need her fully intact and function. You are dismissed. Do not fail me." Megatron said smoothly, Blackout turned and left the evil Decepticon leader to his dark thoughts and felt the smile creep across his faceplates as he made the short journey back to his quarters.
He had hoped this day would come, and finally, it had. Even if he were only allowed to break her temporarily, and not fully, the wonders he could have with her for that short time...he would savor them and force her to enjoy every single second of it!
As he entered his quarters, the first thing that hit him was the delicious scent of Lyn's fear. Turning the corner to the room he kept her in, separate from where he now kept Nicolei, the sight of her curled into a tight upright ball, wings curled tight against her body, her hands clasping her knees, rocking back and forth with her forehead resting on her flesh forearm, made him smile.
"I have a few precious hours left with you, little birdie. Let's make the best of it!" Blackout had activated his holomatter and whispered into Lyn's ear, soft and seductive like a lover. A soft sob of despair, muffled from her position, escaped her. "Stand up."
Lyn heard the command and shivered, her body screamed at her to obey, but her mind was frozen in terror. Her worst nightmare was standing in front of her, and she knew this wasn't one she'd wake from...it was one she'd eventually live every single day. How stupid was she? To believe the lies they told her? To fall so quickly and hard for the hope she'd be able to use her powers as she was meant to?
Blackout didn't give her time to think or hesitate for long, he slid his full consciousness into his holomatter, as he'd often done with Nicolei, and grabbed a fist full of her hair, pulling her to her feet. "When I give a command, it will be followed immediately." Blackout growled, his other hand curling into a fist and slamming hard into the soft flesh of her stomach.
Lyn would have doubled over had he not still had her hair clutched tightly in his grip. Gasping for breathe, her eyes opened wide as she saw him pull his arm back again. She mouthed the word 'please' just before his fist made hard contact with her side, again the tender flesh just below her ribs. This time he released her hair and let her fall to the ground, a gasping, sobbing cry escaped her as she curled up around the pain exploding in her middle.
"Stand." Blackout said once more, this time he gave her less time before unleashing a vicious flat-footed kick to her back, right between her shoulder-blades, causing her wings to shirk back in fear of damage. "I will not repeat myself again, next time I will simply keep beating you until you finally obey the command."
Lyn struggled to gain her feet, she felt hot tears gushing down her cheeks as the pain in her stomach, side and back kept her on her hands and knees. "Please...I'm trying..." Lyn whimpered, but her body simply didn't seem capable to standing.
"Fine. If you prefer..." Blackout said as he planted a vicious kick straight into her middle, lifting her clear off the ground before she slammed painfully down on her left wing. "I am fine with simply beating you." Blackout finished as he reached down and grabbed her right wing in a cruel grip, he could feel the delicate muscles, tendons and bones under his holomatter's fingers. Such a shame I am to keep her 'fully' functional, Blackout thought to himself, wanting nothing more than to feel those delicate intricacies snap and break in his hands.
Being pulled bodily up to her feet by her right wing, Lyn sobbed, her voice a hoarse and breathless whisper. "Please, Blackout, please." Finally on her feet, he released her wing and exchanged that grip for her throat, lifting her up until her toes barely scrapped the floor. Her eyes went wide in absolute terror as air suddenly became a real challenge to get past his grip. "Stop! Please!" She choked, her hands flying up to the hand at her throat, he simply lifted her higher, letting her feet dangle above the ground. She kicked uselessly, her hands clawed at his holomatter, but it didn't matter, pain didn't affect holomatter.
Squeezing a little tighter, Blackout lifted her a little higher, his arm almost straight as he held her up above him. He could feel those little veins pulsing madly under his grip, her delicate little larynx, which housed the all important windpipe, being easily closed by his grip. Her face was dark red as her body tried to compensate for the sudden inability to breathe. Her body thrashed, her wings pounded his holomatter, legs kicked out in effort to get away as her hands pried and clawed uselessly. "Stop fighting." He whispered as he saw the lack of oxygen begin to take over as her pupils began to dilate.
Lyn couldn't have been more terrified, she had thought just being near Blackout had been bad! But this, this was beyond any horror she'd ever experienced! His merciless grip around her throat, the agony in her jaws as the weight of her body felt like it would rip her head straight off her neck! As his grip continued to tighten, she began to fight, clawing not just at his hands, but also at her powers. She had to get free of this! Blackness was starting to creep into her vision, her body began to fight harder, instinct driving her to do everything to get free, and his words distantly etched into her conscious mind. 'Stop fighting.' She forced her body to go limp, her wings vibrating and quivering in agony. He can't kill me, Megatron wouldn't allow it...Lyn thought, but they'd already said, there were so many ways to keep a fleshling alive...she'd seen what Blackout had done to Nicolei.
Without warning, Blackout released his grip on her throat, letting her drop nearly a foot and a half to the floor, the only thing that spared her from collapsing upon impact was the instinctive response from her wings, flaring out to balance her as soon as her feet hit the ground. "Good girl." He said as he softly caressed her face.
Lyn's hand shot out and slapped his hand away, she did not want him to touch her like that! For a very brief moment, her courage roared to the surface, her pride and hot-temper rushed through her, she was opening her mouth to angrily growl 'Don't touch me!' when her head snapped so hard to the left she thought her neck had been snapped, her body followed the motion and she landed painfully down on her left wing, those nerves already screaming from the earlier impact. She blinked a few times, warmth spilling from her face, she looked below her to see a small line of blood streaming down. Reaching shakily up towards her face, she cried as her hand came back covered in blood.
Blackout had slapped her, his claw-like nails leaving deep, but not too deep, gouges across the right side of her face. "If you do not want praise, I am happy to oblige with only more pain." He told her softly, his lips moving against her ear, his clawed hand gripping her tender throat again, threatening to drag her to her feet once more.
Lyn shook her head, wincing as the motion made one of the claws slice below her earlobe. "I'm sorry..." She whispered, the last of her courage leaving her as the icy pit swallowed her entirely, washing her body in a surrendering wave of terror. He wasn't pulling punches, or going 'easy' on her anymore, yet at the same time, Lyn knew that this was still mild compared to what he would do once she was his 'pet'. Screw Megatron and his false ideals of them being equals...as soon as she was able to get free of them all, she would release Nicolei and run away to her twin...staying here was suicide now!
Lyn's thoughts were interrupted once more as her head snapped viciously to the right, her body twisting to go with her, just before she made contact with the ground, Blackout lashed out, grabbing her left wing and swung her as hard as possible into the wall face-first. "I don't care." Blackout said into her ear as he held her firmly against the wall, her face awash with agony, her left wing still held in a tight grip as his body pressed her harder against the wall. He put his lips against her ear, whispering softly. "I wonder...do you feel as tight, hot and wet as our femmes do?" Lyn struggled weakly as Blackout's free hand slid down the front of her skirt. "Well! Isn't this a surprise?" Lyn's face burned hot as she felt tears streaming down her face. "You must not care if others touch your intimate parts, after all, if you did, they would be covered by more than a simple long skirt..." Blackout told her as his fingers explored her downy folds.
For a moment, Blackout felt like he would lose all control and just take her right then, even though he'd never mated as one of her kind, he was certain her anatomy wasn't so different than the Stuvarian or Humans from Earth. Lyn finally managed get one of her down to his wrist and attempted to pull him away. "Stop! You can't!" She managed to whimper out before Blackout pulled his hand free from her skirt, spinning her around to face him by using her wing, twisting it into a painful position as she spun.
"I can, and I will!" He snarled at her, in one solid motion, he effortlessly sliced her shirt cleanly open, from collar to near bottom, and without hesitating in the same motion ripped her skirt down from her hips to fall onto the floor at her ankles. Mostly naked now, exposed to Blackout's hungry and greedy eyes, he slammed her to the floor. Her wings just barely managed to move in time to avoid being crushed beneath his and her combined weight. Lyn lay beneath Blackout, her eyes wide in sudden pure feminine terror, his holomatter over top of her, his knees between her legs, his hands on her shoulders close to her collarbone, it would be so simple, so easy...yet Megatron's worse echoed in his mind... "I need her fully intact and function." Did that mean he could not interface with her in case she might be untouched? He growled a deep, threatening sound from his true-self, bringing a harder sob of fear from Lyn as her eyes squeezed shut.
"I will risk that wrath..." Blackout growled as he used a hand to reach down between her legs and explore her once more. From this angle, it was much easier, she made no motion to stop him, her eyes squeezed shut, blood leaking from the gouges on her face, busted lip and nose. But if I take this risk, and Lord Megatron had his own plans for her, I risk losing too much...Blackout thought bitterly, while his leader had never openly taken a foreign species to his berth before, what he did in private might never truly be known.
Leaving Lyn mostly unspoiled, outside of general touches, wouldn't fall outside the allowed lines he'd been given. But the thought of having her this close, this open and available, yet not being able to interface with her based on a command infuriated the 'Con. Hatred radiated off of Blackout's true-self in palpable waves, the energy seemed to affect Lyn more as she began to sob uncontrollably. Blackout shook his head in angry amusement. "So easily broken, aren't you? Just the thought, just the threat of physical violation, and you fall completely apart...Yet, from how you feel, you are fresh and unspoiled...no one has taken that step into such a daring violation of you as yet, why are you so afraid?" Blackout asked, a clawed finger tracing her pale skin over her pelvic bone as she sobbed.
"Please...I promise I will never do anything rebellious again...I promise!" Lyn sobbed, she could feel the rage reverberating deep inside the angry Decepticon, with each second, he seemed to become even more agitated and restless. His words spoken, did nothing to encourage her that she was out of danger...the only hope she clung too, was that he had originally indicated their time together was short...but was a mech's short the same as hers?
"That didn't answer my question." Blackout tsked her, pressing his claw tracing her abdomen a little harder down, cutting a very fine line as he dragged his finger across her soft skin.
"Please...I don't know! I'm just terrified of being hurt! Please!" Lyn sobbed, using every ounce of self-control to stay her body and not struggle to get away from him. She knew, as soon as she moved, he would pounce, and everything would be much worse...
"You do know. Everyone knows why they're afraid of their fears. You just refuse to speak it. Tell me, or I shall experience how good you feel myself and you'll scream to me your fears...Every. Last. One." The last was emphasized by him leaning over and pressing his holomatter's hips against her open ones, letting her feel the threat was real.
"I watched them do it to Dawn! I heard her scream. I felt her pain...please..." Lyn's eyes were wide, looking straight into his holomatter's eyes as she blurted out what he wanted to know.
Leaning back once more, Blackout grunted. "Good girl. Wasn't so hard, now was it?" He asked soothingly, going back to gently caressing her exposed skin with a clawed fingertip. Her skin shivered as foreign touch danced across the surface. She truly was untouched then. The Struvian planet she had been found on had been a cruel and evil place for the girls. How interesting that the one harmed the most, it seemed, went to the Autobots. He would definitely have to report this back when he handed her over to Soundwave...
Lyn felt as though she'd somehow betrayed the last ounce of trust her twin might have had in her. They had made a promise, a pact with each other, that neither would ever speak of what had happened. It had been Lyn's fault they had attacked Dawn...since no whip, no taser and no amount of punishment seemed to quell Lyn's desire for using her powers, they had used the one weapon in their arsenal that ended up forcing Lyn into obedience.
They had tortured Dawn for days in front of her. It had been the final act, that had broken Lyn down into obedience. Her threats of destroying them all, ripping them apart for hurting her sister, had fallen silent as soon as they'd begun. It hadn't taken Lyn long to realize Dawn's pain could have been stopped far earlier if she'd just held her tongue and behaved...But her stubborn pride and dignity refused to be harmed by their cruel captors...and Dawn had paid the price...
"Have you learned your lesson, obedience is better than rebellion?" Blackout asked her, noting the changes in her vitals suddenly. She nodded, and he looked over her once more. Her clothes were destroyed, not that it mattered, most of the Decepticons felt it would be more appropriate for her to wear nothing. She didn't deserve or had not earned the right to wear what she chose. The bleeding in her nose had stopped, her lip as well, the gouges across her face still oozed with blood though, and bruises were beginning to decorate her body, but she looked in much better condition than any previous prisoner he'd been handed. She broke so easily...Blackout was almost disappointed. He had hoped she'd put up a better struggle. No matter, his time with her was practically up, he might as well simply take her early to get cleaned up and be presentable before Soundwave and Lord Megatron.
As Blackout stood and pulled Lyn roughly to her feet, she struggled to obey immediately. Her mind numb, and her body screaming, Lyn could only put herself in a mental box and remind herself in a scolding fashion. This is the life you chose, remember that...you chose this path, now you have to walk it...