Author's Notes: Hi, everybody! Welcome back to another chapter of "Stranger of Utopia". This chapter is going to focus on Frazzle so we can get some more backstory on the character. Don't worry though, we'll see more Blades in future chapters. I like how this fic is turning out so far, and I hope to keep up the momentum of the story. Anyway, thank you for reading and if you want to you can leave a review :)
Chapter 4
A Sky Full of Stars
The next day was filled with missions for the Rescue Bots since there had been an accident at the museum. Animatronics were going haywire, and the Rescue Bots and their partners needed to be there to stop the wayward machines and save the people. Since Frazzle didn't have a human partner, she was left at the station with Cody, who was operating mission control.
Maybe now would be a good time to explore this rock and see what there is to steal... Frazzle thought to herself.
Frazzle took a couple steps toward the lift that would take her to the surface, but then Cody turned around to see what she was doing. She waved at him, he waved happily back at her, and she went to sit down on the couch.
Well, so much for that... Frazzle thought bitterly. I guess I could kill the kid, but organic fluids take forever to clean out of spike heel struts.
With nothing better to do, Frazzle was left to sit and wait. She needed to find a way to be a part of the action, that way sneaking off and stealing some tech wouldn't appear abnormal.
Maybe I should try leaving at night... Frazzle pondered. Yeah, I could just stay up and then sneak off while those fraggers are recharging. Hm, maybe if I go to recharge now I'll be fresh for the job tonight.
Deciding this was a good idea, Frazzle went back to her corner of the room and powered down for the day. She only hoped she could find something in one of the humans' labs that would please Overlord. When he wasn't happy, no one was happy. This was her last thought before she lost consciousness, which made her nightmares all the more noticeable...
At a Decepticon military outpost in Nuon, several grunts were working hard scrubbing the floors and walls before Overlord showed up to inspect the area. Frazzle, Razzle, and Dazzle were among those assigned to the cleanup crew, along with others they didn't know very well.
"Make sure every spot in your section is clean," Razzle cautioned her sisters, "Overlord has been in a fowl mood lately."
"I know. I can't believe he was dating Aftershock!" Dazzle howled in mirth, "How did they keep their relationship a secret for so long?"
"What I wanna know is how did she break up with him and not get shot?" Frazzle asked.
"Who says she didn't?" Razzle asked ominously, "Oh sure, Overlord kept his cool in public, but have any of us seen her lately?"
"She worked in the filing department. We wouldn't see her out here," Frazzle pointed out, "Besides, he probably had her transferred to a different unit so he wouldn't have to see her face plate."
The other two seekers nodded in agreement. Overlord likely didn't feel like dealing with a femme that had embarrassed him in front of his troops. He was the most powerful mech in the area with cannons as powerful as Megatron's and a nasty temper, yet he was also an overly sensitive mech with an inflated ego. It was a terrible combination from a social standpoint, but his power and tactical brilliance made the soldiers under his command fiercely loyal to him.
"Overlord returns!" A mech shouted at the assembled cleaning crew, "Everybody file in for inspection!"
The Decepticons scrambled to get in a straight line so Overlord could examine his troops as well as the areas they cleaned up. Dazzle was nervous because she wasn't finished scrubbing the floor she had been assigned, and her purple wings shivered noticeably.
/Stop doing that!/ Frazzle commanded her, /Do you want him to see you like this?/
/I-I can't help it,/ Dazzle's voice shook even over the comm.
Overlord's jet mode flew into the hangar and then gracefully transformed so that he was standing straight and towering over his smaller subjects. Everyone kept their gaze straight ahead of them so that no one could be accused of staring at Overlord. The last one to stare at him was shot in the leg. It hadn't been fatal, but the message had been sent. Don't stare at Overlord.
As he regarded his troops everyone worried that he might see some small imperfection and call them out on it. The tension in the air could be cut with a vibroblade. He stopped in the middle of the room, right near the seeker triplets, and they all feared he had spotted Dazzle's shoddy cleaning job. He turned to Frazzle, whistled for her to come to him, and motioned for her to follow him. She looked back at her sisters nervously, and they gave her sympathetic but ultimately unhelpful looks.
/If I die I'm not talking to you two anymore,/ Frazzle groused at her sisters before following Overlord out of the room.
Overlord led Frazzle to his private dining chamber and motioned for her to go inside before him. She was afraid this was some sort of trap. Perhaps since she was trine leader she would be punished for Dazzle's actions. Either way she couldn't disobey his orders, so she reluctantly went inside.
Frazzle had never been inside Overlord's dining room before, and she was surprised at just how small the room was. There was a simple pewter table, two chairs facing each other, a couple decorations on the back wall, an energon dispenser with cubes, and nothing else. Frankly she was surprised he could fit in the room given his height.
Overlord stood by the chair next to the wall and motioned for Frazzle to sit down in the chair next to the door. Somehow being near the exit gave her a small measure of comfort, so she tried to relax and hope this wasn't anything dire. Overlord then poured two cubes of high grade energon and gave her one. Wait, she was being invited to refuel with him? Well, this wasn't what she was expecting at all.
"Try it," Overlord ordered; motioning to her energon.
Frazzle gulped nervously and then took a small sip of the high grade. She gave him a nervous smile and said "It's good."
"Good? I should hope so. It was flown in from Helex," Overlord replied in mock offense, "Now, you're probably wondering why you're here."
"Yes, sir," Frazzle replied, but then worried that she wasn't supposed to speak yet.
"It's very simple, seekerlet," Overlord replied; using a pet name that Frazzle had never heard before, "I need a new secretary in the filing department. Aftershock didn't work out, unfortunately. Oh well, she won't be missed. Anyway, how many words per breem can you type?"
"Um, 136, sir," Frazzle replied awkwardly, surprised at how normal Overlord seemed at the moment. She was so used to his outbursts and insane battle tactics that to have a normal pleasant conversation with him seemed unheard of.
"I suppose that's good enough," Overlord replied; unimpressed, "You will of course need to learn the filing system, but I think you'll be good enough for the position. Also, you and your trine need to upgrade your blasters. They're a joke, and the Autobots will kill you if you aren't prepared."
"Yes, sir," Frazzle replied a bit more confidently this time.
"Good," Overlord nodded agreeably, "Now, enough of this boring office talk. Let's do something fun!"
"Um, what did you have in mind, sir?" Frazzle simpered, seeing the more manic Overlord shine through the normal facade.
"Hm...Last one to down their high grade is an Autobot!" Overlord shouted gleefully as he grabbed his cube.
Overlord then started chugging his high grade, and Frazzle realized he was already ahead of her. She then grabbed the cube and started chugging hers down too so she might have a chance at winning. The dark room seemed to get brighter as her body was filled with the burst of energy the high grade provided.
As she continued to drink from her cube she noticed the things decorating Overlord's wall. There was a painting of two gladiator mechs fighting to the death, an artistic holo-photo of a shopping mall for some unknown reason, and a silver mask. Well, it was a face plate, but with no optics it looked like a mask.
When Frazzle's cube was almost empty her tipsy processor finally caught up with what she was seeing. That wasn't just any old face plate. That was Aftershock's face plate!
Overlord pounded his empty cube down on the table, and then Frazzle set her cube down as well. She wasn't used to drinking high grade, and she felt like slag. Her helm was pounding, and the room was too bright. She knew Aftershock was dead now, and that Overlord was keeping her face mask as a trophy. The worst part was Frazzle could do nothing about it. Overlord was her commanding officer, and in the Decepticons disobedience was punishable by death.
"I win," Overlord declared proudly, "Now, I get to pick what we do next."
"Can it involve a medic?" Frazzle asked dizzily.
"No," Overlord replied cheekily, "I want to go flying with you."
Overlord then pulled a remote out of his subspace and activated the roof. The roof separated and a night sky filled with twinkling stars could be seen over the claustrophobic room.
"Now, let's transform and show the world what real fliers look like!" Overlord exclaimed cheerfully, "Last one in the air is Bumblebee!"
"H-Hey, wait!" Frazzle shouted as she struggled to her pedes, "I'm *hic* coming too!"
Frazzle then transformed into jet mode and followed Overlord up in the air. She took a moment longer than normal to right herself in the air due to the cube of high grade, but once she was flying beside Overlord the wind on her wings made everything feel right.
It was a surreal experience to fly alone with her superior officer. Overlord never hung out with his subordinates socially, and he certainly never shared his high grade with them. Part of her briefly wondered if there was something dangerous in that drink, but then dismissed the notion. She felt fine, and she and Overlord were flying. This was a good thing, she was sure of it.
"Hey seekerlet, watch this!" Overlord hollered without using the comm despite them both being in vehicle mode.
Overlord then started flying in a corkscrew fashion around Frazzle, and she couldn't help but be impressed by Overlord's control and skill as a flier. He was as graceful as the sky dancers of seeker folklore, and she wondered why she had never seen this side of him before. He was almost...beautiful.
"We're gonna land on those mountains!" Overlord ordered as he began his descent.
Frazzle followed him without question and together they landed on the Crystal Mountains outside Nuon. It was an isolated spot filled with blue, purple, and red crystals against a rugged metallic surface. The only sounds that could be heard were the wind and their own thrusters powering down.
"That was so cool!" Frazzle exclaimed enthusiastically, "Your flying is amazing, sir! Why don't you ever do stuff like that in battl-?"
Before Frazzle could finish her sentence Overlord had grabbed her shoulders, turned her to face him, and kissed her hard on the mouth. Frazzle struggled to break out of Overlord's grip, but that only made his kiss more demanding and his grip more painful. Finally, after what felt like breems, he let go.
"Sir!" Frazzle shouted furiously, though she also felt flustered from the suddenness and the high grade consumption, "What the frag was that!? I'm not your girlfriend!"
"I know, and you never will be," Overlord replied in amusement, "You are my soldier however, and I can do whatever I want with you. Since we're going to be working closer together from now on you better get used to that. Whatever I ask you do, wherever I send you you go, and whatever I say you take it. After all, peace can only be achieved through tyranny. I'm honoring you, seekerlet. I'm giving you the keys to peace. You should be grateful."
With those words Overlord turned away and flew off, leaving Frazzle standing on the mountain and gasping for breath. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Frazzle was so proud of her strength and her independence, yet somehow in one moment Overlord had managed to make her feel more powerless than she ever had. Worse yet, she would have to work for him as his secretary. Disobedience was punishable by death, after all.
Frazzle awoke from her bitter memories to see she was on earth in the Rescue Bot HQ. Thousands of years later, and Overlord still controlled her life. She felt so pathetic, but at least by now she was used to that feeling. Oh well, one thing Overlord had taught her over the vorns was how to use her feminine charms to get what she wanted out of her enemies. That brutal lesson was coming in quite handy regarding Blades and the rest of his merry morons.
Frazzle was ready for her mission, so she tip-toed past the other recharging Rescue Bots and went up the lift to get outside. She would find a lab and steal something to make this worthwhile. She had to, or else Overlord would be upset. Such a shame too, since she had actually hoped to rejoin Megatron instead.
When Frazzle made it out she thought she was in the clear, but then from the side yard she heard a voice say "Hey, Frazzle. I see you wanted some air too."
Frazzle turned around and aimed her blaster, only to see it was Boulder sitting in the grass and looking at her with those gentle blue optics that all Autobots were known for. Typical. She just couldn't catch a break.
"Have you had a chance to observe how the stars look from earth's night sky?" Boulder asked, his face the very picture of serenity.
"They're stars. They all look alike," Frazzle replied dismissively.
"To the untrained optic, maybe," Boulder replied knowingly, "When you see how the clusters and constellations look however, you'll know what I mean. See that tiny thing that looks like three stars in a straight line?"
"Yeah. So?" Frazzle asked huffily.
"That is the bottom of the Trigger Bucket constellation," Boulder informed her, "You can't see as much of it from here as you can from Cybertron. Do you know what they call that constellation on earth?"
"Aisle 4?" Frazzle deadpanned.
"Nope. Orion's Belt," Boulder told her.
"Seriously? Orion is a name on earth too?" Frazzle asked, interest piqued.
"It certainly is, though an old fashioned one," Boulder explained, "There is so much about earth that fascinates me. Some of their ancient architecture was made from stones, yet it is as intricate as molded clay. The city of Petra was carved out of a cliff. I don't think any city on Cybertron came from a cliff."
"Some were made with the bodies of city-formers," Frazzle pointed out.
"I suppose that's true," Boulder mused, "The difference between earth and Cybertron is that earth's Titans weren't real. The folklore of earth is fascinating too, and the animals. There are so many different species that I haven't even learned about all of them yet."
"Blades said something similar," Frazzle commented neutrally, "You know, for a Rescue Bot you sure do talk about a lot of thinky stuff."
"I suppose I do," Boulder replied goodnaturedly.
Frazzle felt torn as she sat next to the big green Autobot in the yard outside the station. On the one servo she needed to make up an excuse to leave so she could go out and steal inventions. On the other servo she knew Boulder could testify to seeing her. Besides that, there was something Frazzle wanted to ask him, and the curiosity was just eating her up inside.
"Boulder? Do you think the caste system was a good thing?" Frazzle asked in a more subdued voice than she normally used, "I mean, if you could be anything in the universe, do you really think you would've still been best equipped to be a Rescue Bot?"
"Honestly?" Boulder asked, and Frazzle nodded, "I didn't question it when I was younger. The caste system was always there, so much a part of our social fabric that it was as guaranteed as the planet's atmosphere. That being said, I did used to fantasise when I was a sparkling."
"Fantasise?" Frazzle asked.
"Yeah, I would imagine I was born a different mech in a different caste," Boulder recounted with some fondness, "I would imagine I was of the scientific caste. I would grow up to attend the best institutions and then become an archaeologist. I would discover the secrets of the ancients, and deliver all sorts of powerful and precious artifacts to the museums of Cybertron. I always wanted to study history, and explore the cultures of other worlds as well. I knew it couldn't be though. I was built to be a Rescue Bot, and there was no upgrade to change that."
"The new Prime claims he abolished your corrupt system," Frazzle noted, "Yet he still ordered all of you to stay here as Rescue Bots. You still aren't free to leave. Doesn't that bother you?"
"Not really," Boulder replied casually, "We do good work here. We protect the people of Griffin Rock, and I still get to study earth and explore its various landscapes. I live a good life, and I'm grateful to have been given a second chance. Especially now, at night, when I get to look at a sky full of stars and see it in a way I never have before. I'm also grateful for my new friends, especially Graham. He and I may not have the same type of scientific interests, but we both understand how it feels to be so caught up in a project that the world just melts away."
"I see," Frazzle replied, unsure of what she was supposed to say.
"Would you like to know some more constellations?" Boulder asked placidly.
"Um...no thanks. I'm just gonna go back inside and...reevaluate my life," Frazzle replied in defeat as she got up and trudged back into the HQ.
This was harder than Frazzle had thought. During a normal battle scenario she would just shoot the Autobots and take what she wanted. This wasn't a normal scenario however. She was one 'Con surrounded by four Autobots. She was on a stealth mission and trying to impress her commander. Strangest of all though was that she was getting to talk to the Autobots in a way she never had before. She knew she would eventually betray them, but it wouldn't be easy to do now that she had seen a gentler side to them.