Warrior Star's paws had carried her a fair distance from the Med Bay before she finally halted and sat, allowing her head to drop as she worked to quiet her rage. She gritted her dentals in silent frustration, cursing Breaksteel in her processor as Shadowfang's energon slowly dried on her jaws. She was suddenly vividly aware of the taste of the fresh energon on her tongue, and it sickened her. She raised a paw to her face, trying to scrape her brother's energon from her muzzle in vain.
I hurt him badly, and for what reason? He was right. He was innocent. I had no reason to attack him so viciously. Feeling the regret welling in her spark, she reached for her brother tentatively through their bond. She wasn't entirely surprised when he stretched the bond as far as he could, but it hurt. Primus, did it hurt. Shadowfang had been there for her when she had lost War Beast. He was the only one that understood her feelings and the loss she had felt.
It is only fitting that he leave me to suffer… She thought, but she reached for him again anyway, allowing her thoughts and emotions to drift through enough that if he wanted, he would feel them. She only hoped he would, and that then, he would understand.
Venting softly, she retreated from the bond entirely, and not just the one with Shadowfang. She stretched the one she had with Keystone, and then with Breaksteel. Then she locked out her comm link with Moonflight. Finally, she locked out all comm protocols altogether, fully shutting everyone out. It was a move that would cause utter chaos once the pack had realized why she was doing it.
Warrior Star tilted her head back, staring at the midnight sky as she pondered the mayhem in her processor at that moment. In such a short time, everything had gone…just so wrong. Swiftpaw was dead. Some damn mech had bonded with her. Her remaining brothers were furious at her. And her, well…Warrior Star just wanted to end it all. She didn't want to remain anymore. She saw no reason.
Almost as an afterthought, she lifted a forepaw to her throat, her deadly claws dancing over all the exposed cables that had only recently been repaired. She shuttered her optics as she carefully separated her main energon line from all the rest. Right as her claws closed around the energon line, something suddenly seemed to break in her spark and a torrent of emotions flooded her frame. Emotions that were not her own.
"Warrior Star! Don't!" Where the slagging mech had come from, the bronze femme didn't know, but suddenly Breaksteel was there. Moving like lightning, the storm gray mech closed his jaws around her forepaw, barely managing to stop her from ripping the line to pieces. She opened her optics, glaring at him through a pained haze of cobalt blue as his yellow optics stared right back.
Stupid slagging mech…why can't they just let me die? Warrior Star wondered furiously, then to her shock, she saw a spark-wrenching pain enter the mech's panicked optics. She stilled, finally realizing how he had known. He had been the one to break through. He had heard her. It was his emotions that she was feeling, his shock, his terror…and his love.
Slowly, her claws released the energon line, and as she lowered her forepaw, Breaksteel let go. The moment her paw was back on the ground, he moved, touching his nose to hers before pressing his helm into her chest. She was floored when she felt the mech trembling, and she lowered her head, allowing her jaw to rest between his massive shoulders as he shook like a frightened cub. She felt him reaching for her almost desperately through the still-new bond, and without thinking, she reached back, instinctively trying to comfort the mech.
I can't…I can't lose you… Breaksteel's voice was tortured, a mix of agony and fear that shook Warrior Star to her core. She shuttered her optics, feeling his tears leaking down her chest as she softly answered him.
You shouldn't have made the bond, mech. I was at peace with my fate. It is not up to us to change that. She felt his instinctive rebellion to her words, but he said nothing else. As Breaksteel grieved against her, Warrior Star suddenly became aware of a sense of urgency building in her spark. She turned her head to look behind her, reaching out with her senses to confirm what she already suspected. Her brothers, Moonflight, and Ratchet were racing towards her and Breaksteel. The bronze femme refused to acknowledge her brothers' presence or anyone for that matter, focusing solely on the mech that she was unwillingly bonded with.
"You chose the wrong femme, Breaksteel. I am beaten, broken, and ready to die. That's all there is to it." Warrior Star had no chance to say anything else; the moment Ratchet reached her, he grabbed her by the muzzle, slamming a syringe into the side of her neck and injecting her with a heavy duty tranquilizer. She shuttered her optics, welcoming the blackness of stasis as the medic initiated a protocol to temporarily paralyze her.
I asked for this…so be it… Then Warrior Star knew nothing else.
Shadowfang stood next to his sister's berth, his flame red optics glazed over with the shock of everything that had just happened. Warrior Star, his strong, fearless, indomitable sister, had nearly killed herself. Breaksteel confirmed it when they got the femme back to the Med Bay. She had her main energon line pinched between her claws; only the mech's timely arrival had saved her.
Ratchet had immediately disabled her, hauling the bronze femme swiftly back to the Med Bay to check her for further injury before continuing on his repairs from her battle with Steelbite. Optimus had been told of the femme's actions, and Shadowfang didn't even need to look at him to see his concern.
What caused this? Why did she do it? Shadowfang wondered helplessly as he watched Ratchet continue his work diligently. The steel gray mech's optics wandered, falling on the stasis cuffs that were now secured to all four of Warrior Star's paws, locking the bronze femme securely to the berth. She had been shackled the moment they got back to the Med Bay with her. It was a hateful yet necessary action that grieved Shadowfang and Keystone both. Their sister had always been strong, the strongest of all the wolves in their pack. That she, out of all of them, had fallen so far…it was mute testament to just how much the bronze femme had suffered since her arrival on Earth.
But how? How did she get this bad and none of us knew it? Shadowfang couldn't help but wonder, his spark spinning and twisting in his chest so severely that it caught Keystone's attention. The black mech immediately reached through their bond to gently touch his brother's spark in an effort to calm him.
Settle, brother. Warrior Star needs our strength now, not our thoughts and fears. Keystone's words were meant to bring Shadowfang back under control and in focus, which they did. However, his words also had an unexpected effect when the steel gray mech spun to face his elder brother, his flame-red optics blazing with rage.
Is that not the exact reason Warrior Star is lying here, shackled to a berth? Are we all so determined to carry on this façade of indomitable strength that we just can't handle it when we realize that in reality, we're shattering? Is it for this reason that Warrior Star is in this predicament now, because we, in all our wisdom, refused to acknowledge that she really, truly needed us? She nearly died, Keystone, by her own actions. This is our fault, not hers. We failed her. Shadowfang's words shocked Keystone into frozen silence. Both wolves stared at each other, blazing red to startled gold, before the steel gray mech turned back to the bronze femme and watched her in silent despair. A heavy vent from Ratchet broke the quiet, causing both the black and steel gray mechs to turn to him expectantly.
"Fear not, mechs. She was unable to inflict any damage on herself. The only new injury I catalogued was the bite to her paw when Breaksteel stopped her from tearing the line in her neck. First Aid, come here. I need your help finishing the repairs from her last scuffle; we only have a limited amount of time before her system overrides the protocols I activated before the tranquilizer took effect. Her system will burn the tranquilizer in no time once she overrides those protocols." Shadowfang vented softly in relief at the news, then his optics wandered over to another berth nearby. Breaksteel was sprawled upon it, most of his armor missing as Jolt worked diligently on his repairs. Ironhide now had a huge pile of armor to repair, due to the amount of damage inflicted on Breaksteel, Warrior Star, Shadowfang, and Keystone during the battle with Steelbite.
Breaksteel had been almost eerily quiet after the group had returned to the Med Bay with Warrior Star, his light yellow optics half-open but not focused. He was in shock; Shadowfang could tell.
He made the bond to save Warrior Star, yet he nearly lost her because of it. The fates are so very cruelly ironic. Shadowfang mused silently, wincing slightly when a couple of his cracked dentals shifted against one another. None of the medics had had enough time to repair the damage to his muzzle and jaw before Warrior Star nearly ripped her main energon line from her throat. She and Breaksteel were the medics' main focus at the moment, which didn't really bother Shadowfang in the slightest. He knew that the mighty bronze femme would be furious when she came out of stasis and found herself in restraints. It would take the combined efforts of everyone currently in the Med Bay to keep the femme from going mad.
Shadowfang huffed, half in irritation and half in despair. It was going to be a very, very long day; he was sure of it.
A/N: Talk about a random plot twist from hell. I have absolutely no idea where this came from...but overall I like it. Adds more tension to an already crazy situation and it brings out a side of Breaksteel that, I must admit, I absolutely love. That and it threw in an interesting monkey wrench between the remaining brothers. Keystone's cold rationality just really pissed off Shadowfang, and he didn't hesitate to let him know it.
Anyway! Appreciate the reads and reviews, everyone! ^.^
As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.
Until we meet again...
Kani