Talon turns around to face Torment when the door has closed behind Prowl.
"Now I see why you chose to work with him. With the right incentive, he could be convinced to work with us in other areas. With the authorities on our side, we could finally take control over the underworld and force our foes to heel."
Torment arches an optic ridge.
Prowl is the most incorruptible enforcer he has ever met. He is too principled and morally founded to ever be swayed to their side. It is why he decided to take him out before their unexpected alliance. It had become a liability to have Prowl breathe down his back while he was in the vulnerable position Torrent had put him in. He needed to strike preemptively against the enforcer to be able to focus fully on his issue with Torrent.
Thankfully Highline's message had distracted him from taking the killing shot.
"How would you accomplish that?" He asks curiously.
"Everyone has a weakness," Talon states calmly with a scheming smirk. "We just need to find his."
An uneasy feeling settles in Torment's spark, but he mercilessly ignores it.
What does he have to lose?
Athena already sees him as a monster, so he might as well be one.
"I know who it is." He states with a hard smile. "And I know how to handle it. But I need to be in charge of the operation against the Organization to complete it. So the question is if you are ready to relinquish some of your power to get this to succeed?"
"You will still report to me when it comes to the major decisions."
"Agreed."
"Then I have no issue with you taking charge of the operation, as long as Flux clears your health and you stay within our headquarter until you have received your upgrade."
Torment stares into Talon's stern optics, and for the first time, he can see his adopted creator's fatherly affection openly displayed in them. Their relationship has never been a normal one, and it is first now he begins to understand what Talon feels for him.
Looking back, it is a wonder how he didn't realize it earlier, but all he knew about Talon back then was the horrors the leader of the Polyhexian Cartel had committed. And looking back at his own actions, he has committed atrocities of his own that he now will have to live with.
-Position compromised.- Talon's full attention returns to their current situation at the urgent message he receives from their local leader in Kalis.
"Time to move."
Kalis is not their territory, and he has sacrificed their local base in the city-state to save his heir. It leaves them open and vulnerable to attacks, and he is evacuating all of his members in Kalis when he and Comet are leaving the city-state. He can always rebuild his presence in Kalis when an opportunity shows itself; until then, he is focused on bringing his heir home safe with him.
The longer they stay in the city-state, the higher is the risk that the Kalisian Mafia discovers his exact whereabouts now that they know that he is here. They have to leave now before their foes decide to attack.
-Meet us outside the hospital. We are evacuating.- Torment sends an urgent message to Darksteel while he and Talon hurry down the Intensive Care Unit Department's corridor towards the elevators. None of the physicians or nurses pay them any attention. Their silence has already been bought with a decent donation to the hospital prior to Talon's visit.
Darksteel waits for them outside the hospital and stares warily at Talon as they walk over to him. It is clear that he still feels intimidated by Talon's presence and Torment decides to handle it here and now. It is only fair that Darksteel knows what he is getting himself into.
"I am sorry that I have kept you in the dark, Darksteel, and with the current situation, it is only fair that you now get full disclosure." He says and gestures with his hand towards Talon. "Talon is, as you know, the leader of the Polyhexian Cartel. But what you don't know is that he and I have a history together. Before you and I met, I worked for him for hundreds of years until I felt the need to stand on my own and left the cartel. He is like a creator to me, and I am his chosen heir. I know that you have questions, but they will have to wait until we are in safety onboard Talon's transport."
Darksteel looks at Torment in contemplative silence, taking in and processing the new information before he turns to Talon.
"Where do I stand in this?" He asks the Polyhexian leader warily.
"You are my heir's confidant and will continue to report to him like you always have," Talon answers calmly before he briefly turns his attention to the sky, scanning it for incoming threats. "We can discuss this further when we are in safety. Right now, we have the Kalisian Mafia breathing down our backs, and I would rather avoid a confrontation."
"Understood, Sir."
Darksteel begins to visibly relax, having established his position in the new order of hierarchy, and Torment grabs his friend's shoulder firmly, looking him in the optics.
"I'll send you the coordinates."
Darksteel nods curtly and steps back to survey their surroundings, scanning for possible threats as Talon had done moments before, prepared to defend them against incoming hostilities while Torment steps towards Talon and gets embraced in a firm hold. Talon ignites his thrusters and swiftly brings them high into the air. This close to him, Torment can feel how smoothly his creator's frame is working to overcome the forces of gravity. Talon changes direction, and they fly towards the coordinates provided by the pilot flying Talon's heavily reinforced stealthed transport. As they get near to it, the cargo bay opens and Talon lands within it moments later.
Torment sends the exact coordinates for the interior of the transport to Darksteel, and his friend materializes within the transport a few moments later.
"Time to leave," Talon tells the pilot, and the stealthed transport begins the flight back to Iacon.
Hours later, they land within Talon's underground stronghold at a secret location within Iacon's city border. Talon firmly dismisses the group of curious onlookers that wait for them as they step down the transport's ramp while Torment tells Darksteel to report to Hailstorm, Talon's second in command, who is the only one that doesn't respond to Talon's dismissal and patiently waits for them at the foot of the ramp. Then he and Talon walk towards the command center in companionable silence.
Curious glances from the heavily armed sentinels positioned along the corridors follow him as they walk towards the heart of the stronghold. The familiar surroundings make him slowly begin to relax, but he has learned to never lower his guard completely, and it proves to be a wise decision when a figure suddenly steps out of the shadows and attacks him.
The figure is deft, agile and strong and pushes him to his limit. His frame is still recovering from his ordeal at Torrent's hands, and he winces when some of his deflecting movements stress his still-healing wounds.
"Enough!"
At Talon's order, his attacker immediately stops and steps back with a respectful bow.
"Shade." He greets with a genuine smile at Talon's lieutenant, and their hands meet in a strong, firm and friendly arm handshake.
"It is good to see you again, Comet." The black and silver tank-former greets with a smile of his own. "When Flux is done with you, I have left a present for you in your quarters. I hope that you will like it."
"I'll look forward to seeing what it is."
"I know you will," Shade says with a wink before he fades into the shadows again and is gone.
Torment winces when they begin to walk again. Shade had not held back when he attacked him, and he expects that the rest of Talon's inner circle in the following days also will confront him to test his capabilities. He needs to convince them that he is the right choice as Talon's heir, or he won't have their loyalty when the time comes for him to take over the leadership.
Flux is waiting for him when Torment walks into the medical bay an hour later.
"Welcome back, Comet. It is good to see that you are okay." The elderly physician greets and leads him into a secluded area of the medical bay. "They have done a good work on you in Praxus and Kalis. Your spark has integrated fully with its new chamber while your systems are working in perfect balance after the major surgery you have been through. Nothing I have read in your medical journals should hinder you from going through a frame upgrade, but Talon wants to be sure that you are in perfect health before you go through the procedure, and you need to find out what you want to be done."
Torment listens intently to Flux while they walk, but he stops when they enter the secluded area reserved for the high-ranking members of the Polyhexian Cartel and sees his old frame kept in a cryogenic tank. When he has recovered from the initial surprise at the sight, he walks over to it and studies the worn surface with marks after hands that seem to have caressed it continuously at the same spot over a longer period of time.
Flux walks over to stand beside him.
"You are the most important thing that has happened to him since the loss of his beloved Tidalwave. After he lost him, Talon vowed to never find another, and he accepted that he never would get a family. But then you showed up and filled the void in his spark with another kind of love. He has kept it hidden until now, and you should have seen him when he received Shift's message. I have never seen him like that before. He would have done everything to get you to safety but had to rely on the members at our local base to secure your safety before it was too late. It made it clear to everyone around him how much you mean to him. He would start a war for you and is sending a strong signal to his enemies that if they dare target you, they will be faced with the brunt force of his might. It might have been a long time ago, but no one has forgotten what happened the last time someone hurt someone he cared about and loved."
Torment sighs.
He hasn't forgotten either.
It all happened a long time before he joined Talon and had caused a hundred-year-long bloodbath between the Polyhexian Cartel and the Tarnian Syndicate. The conflict broke out when rogue members from the Tarnian Syndicate, who was unhappy with a newly negotiated truce between the two organizations, kidnapped, raped and killed Tidalwave, Talon's beloved and bonded-to-be. It was first when leaders from other organizations stepped in and forced them to negotiate a new fragile truce that the horrors Talon in his grief had instigated ceased. But there has been an underlying hate and distrust between the two organizations ever since, and it has only become slightly better after Torment assassinated the Tarnian Syndicate's leader and his second in command.
"I believe that when he met you, you awoke something within him that finally made it possible for him to move on from the loss of Tidalwave. He could relate to your pain and suffering and knew that you needed his support to get through it without ruining your life. He has always wanted sparklings, but after the tragic loss of Tidalwave, he vowed never to fall in love again. You filled out that age-old need, and if I know him right, he knew what you would become the moment he laid his optics on you when you confronted him. All you needed were the right guidance to recover from your loss. A ruthless but caring hand to steer you in the right direction until you were ready to stand on your own. I don't think he imagined how much you would grow on him over the years or how hard it would be when you demanded to stand on your own. It was a hard but wise decision for him."
"You talked with him about it, didn't you?"
"I did." Flux admits. "He needed someone to make him see reason. If I hadn't discussed your situation with him, then he never would have let you go. It would have ended in a conflict between you, and he would have lost you for good."
Torment shakes his head in disbelief while a wry little smile plays on his lips. In a matter of hours, he has learned more about his creator than he did during the hundreds of years he worked for him.
"Before today, I wouldn't have believed you, but-"
"-now you have seen a new side of him. A side few knows exist and fewer has seen."
Flux smiles warmly when Torment nods in understanding.
Neither Talon nor Torment are good at showing their emotions, but no matter how hard they try to hide them, the fact is that even the most hardened sparks have feelings.
"Have you decided what you want to have done to your frame?" He asks and returns to the reason for their meeting.
"Aside from the necessary upgrades, I am more interested in an upgrade of my weapons systems than a radical change to my frame. I like my current frame-type and how I look." Torment explains.
"It should be possible, but your new frame will be larger and a bit bulkier than your current one due to the extra layers of armor." Flux pulls a datapad out from subspace and hands it to Torment. "Like this."
Torment studies the schematics on it and looks up in surprise.
"How did you know?"
"When we discussed the creation of your current frame, I decided to prepare for when you would return to us. Talon had already told me a long time ago that you would be his heir, and I knew that you would need this upgrade someday." Flux answers with a smile that slowly turns deeply serious. "I have not made any decisions on its internal weapons besides the usual defensive weaponry, and it is up to you if you want any external weapons. Becoming his heir changes things for you, and it is paramount that you feel comfortable with the capabilities of your frame because someday you will find yourself in a situation that will require everything of you to survive."
Torment's expression darkens.
He has already been in a situation like that and is only alive because of his friends and family.
"I understand."
"I'll give you a few days to think before we talk further about it. It won't take long for us to fabricate your new frame or make the necessary changes. We should be ready to perform the frame upgrade at the end of this week, but before we get ahead of ourselves, I need you to lie down on the medical berth over there and let me go through your systems."
Torment opens the door to his assigned quarters and steps inside. It is larger than the one he used to have, but he wasn't the heir to their organization back then.
He walks over to the desk and places the datapad Flux had given him on it.
There is a lot he needs to consider.
"Hello, Comet."
He turns around at the voice and stares into a pair of well-known optics. His gaze slowly wanders down the carrier's beautiful, sleek and sensual frame until it lingers at the open valve. It takes all of his willpower to look away from the sight, and he frowns when he meets the carrier's optics again.
"Flare."
Flare steps through the doorway to the berth room and walks towards him.
"You aren't happy to see me?"
The prostitute stops a short distance from him and looks searchingly into his optics.
"What are you doing here?" He asks, despite already knowing it.
"Shade sent me."
Of course he did.
Flare was his favorite.
It would only be logical to send him as his 'Welcome Home' present.
"I didn't think you still would be working for us." He explains and opens his arms to the carrier. Flare leans into his embrace, and Torment offlines his optics for a brief moment when he scents the carrier's unique scent. It awakens the pleasurable memories of the times they have spent together.
"Shade convinced me to stay," Flare murmurs softly while he lets his fingers slowly explore Torment's chestplates. He notices the healing wounds and looks into Torment's optics before he lowers his lips to one of them and kisses it gently. "It looks like you need my tender care."
Torment looks stiffly into the distance while the soft lips touch his frame.
What are you doing, Torment?
His mind's version of Athena stares at him.
I thought you loved me.
Pain stabs into his spark.
Was it a lie, just like everything else?
The memory of what he has lost is simply too painful to bear, and all he wants to do is forget her and move on with his life.
He can sense that he is on the verge of another emotional breakdown but refuses to let it control him. In his desperation to remain in control of his emotions, he brings Flare into the berthroom, where he sinks into the welcoming heat and moves with desperate, hard and brutal thrusts while Flare embraces his frame and softly vocalizes his own pleasure.
Flare knows who and what he is and accepts him as he is.
Something Athena never would be able to.
He has to let go of her.
As long as he keeps hoping, he will never be able to move on.
The pain in his broken spark feels like a mortal wound, and his optics burn with tears that threaten to fall from them, but he hardens himself and then lets go of the last vestige of hope he has for a life together with her. She will move on with her life and find new love while there will be no one else for him. His only comfort is the fact that she will be safe, far away from him and his dangerous, conflict-filled world.
Goodbye, Athena.
Overload claims him, and he thrusts one last time before he roars in pleasure while he ejaculates deeply inside the prostitute. Flare undulates his hips gently to prolong his pleasure, and Torment shudders when the energy slowly leaves him. He collapses on top of the carrier and rests his head against Flare's chestplates.
Flare caresses Torment's back soothingly with a gentle smile.
"Welcome home."