Part two to my original one-shot! Whoo! Still planning on expanding it, but again no promises. We'll see where inspiration takes me. In the meantime - enjoy! :)

Everything is dark. A soft, pulsing sound tickles my ears. It's so far away, so much farther than it should be. The darkness slowly ebbs, turning into a thick fog. The noises grow in volume and vaguely I can make out a familiar beat in the tone. Still, it's all just so far away. The fog dissipates and my eyes flutter open, reveling dim surroundings made more obscure by the oppressive night. Night…dark…dim. Where am I…? I push myself up off my stomach to try and look around.

Immediately a spike of pain races up my arms and legs and everywhere. I yelp and fall back down. Another wave of pain hits me and I crumple inward. My limbs twitch and a soft whine ekes out of my mouth. Then it hits me. The sounds of reality blare like sirens – repetitive and deafening. I cringe. For a moment the pain dulls in comparison. "Capture the experiment! Capture the experiment!" The mechanical voice buzz. Ex…periments? I blink, slowly.

My eyes shoot open. That's right! I leap up. Electric pain cripples me, but I keep to my feet. I stumble forward and stretch my arms out, bracing myself against the wall. My limbs tremble and it takes everything in me to keep my jelly knees from buckling beneath me. I press my forehead to the bricks, breathing deeply in and out. I can do this. I just have to run. Ignore the pain. Ignore it.

I push myself up and turn hard, but instantly I go down. I clutch onto the wall to keep from collapsing completely. I whine softly. I couldn't have broken them, could I? No…they don't hurt enough for that. But…a dangerously close scream from the robots cuts my thoughts off. I jump and stumble backward. I'm so screwed. There's no way out…no way…no…

Darkness falls over me, a dark deeper than the night. It's a large, looming shadow. A scream catches in my throat and fear paralyzes me. I can scarcely look around to see what monster stands before me. Still, slowly, surely, I do. I force my gaze sideways. My heart quavers. It nearly bursts too as I fully see the creature before me.

It's large and bulky, far bigger than me. Its skin is bluish, startlingly so. Dangerously sized spikes protrude from its back and its mouth is as sharp as its gaze. A shiver rushes up my spine. Those eyes. They are a piercing sea green framed by deep black. They reach down to my very soul. And…and…is that a plastron? I scramble back and trip over myself. I fall and hit hard, a sharp yelp passing my lips.

He snorts. Snorts? He looks unfeelingly down at me. "You're disturbing my business." He says gruffly. He crosses his arms. "You know that, right?"

My mouth gapes. My eyes bulge. "You…you're talking?" I open and close my mouth uselessly.

He rolls his eyes. "Yeah," He says as if I'm stupid. "So are you. What's your point?"

I shake my head. "I…I…" I jerk my head up. The breath rushes from my lungs. A robot stands just across the street. He'll be here in an instant. I know it. He can't not see me here. He especially can't not see this enormous creature shadowing me.

He quirks a brow at me. He catches something in my eyes – I suppose – and jerks around. He tenses and lets out a low, rumbling growl. Pink blasts erupt from the guns the robots hold, aimed at the both of us,

I scream. I throw my hands up and cover my face. What else am I supposed to do against such odds? Self-defense training has long since fled my mind. A-And…they're robots.

The creature turns hard, back to me. He leaps forward and bends down low. A scream tenses in my throat, but it only comes out as a startled breath when his large arms swallow me whole. I'm lifted up off the ground, settling against his rough plastron.

Then we're moving. He jolts forward and I jolt with him. My head bounces back on the plastron and I grit my teeth as a spike of pain ensues. In the grand scheme of the night though it is a soothing touch. It lets me know I'm real and alive without shaking me to the core.

My head slams sideways on his arm as we turn hard right. My teeth rattle in my head.

He throws an arm out suddenly, a resounding crash following. There is so much force behind it that he loses me a little.

I slip and yelp, snapping my arms out and scraping my fingers along his arm as I struggled for traction.

He growls and tosses me up, but it is light and before I can scream I settle more fittingly in his arm. I let out a long deep breath, but I do not relax. The echoes of the guns rain all around us. Why? What do they need me for? And where are we even going? No…I'm not really choosing to go. Rather, where is he taking me?

I grunt with another sharp turn, then another, and another. Then it's gone – the noise. The mechanical screeching and constant beat of laser blasts is like a distant dream. All that is left is the steady pounding of his large feet and my own breathing.

Eventually we slow down. The rhythm soothes me and with the adrenaline fading I can't help but yawn. My eyes flutter and fog descends on me. I lean my head over onto his plastron, forgetting for a moment that this is not a bed but someone's body.

Then it shatters. Suddenly there is emptiness all around me and I fall the short distance to the ground. A soft sound escapes my lips and I cringe as I land, but it all fades in face of the confusion. "Huh?" I look up, my eyes round and mouth burgeoning into a frown.

He doesn't wait. He turns and walks away from me. He's in no hurry it seems, a startling contrast to their escape. I wonder where he could possibly be going. Back to that place? For his 'business' or whatever.

I start and realize with much more fear that – oh God, he is leaving. I scramble to my feet. It hurts, but it's nothing like before. I stumble at first but I quickly regain my footing and trot after him. I have so much to say, but all I can do is stare. I look intently at his back, or what should have been a back. My eyes widen and mouth turns into an 'o'. It's almost like a shell, a really big oversized shell. I slowly reach out, possessed by the notion of touching it all of a sudden.

He stamps his foot and his body goes stiff.

I squeak as I nearly run into him.

He blows out a heavy breath and turns slowly. His piercing sea green pin me down. "What. Are you doing?" He clenches his fists.

I cower. I take a step back so that I'm just out of reach. I mean, he's really big. "I…um…" I twiddle my fingers. "I just…"

He groans. "Stop. Following me." He lifts his fist slightly in a threat. Upon seeing me cringe and further distance myself he nods in what I can only describe as self-satisfaction. Then he turns and starts to walk away, this time much faster. Probably in hopes of losing me.

I stand there for a long moment, my brows slowly furrowing as I stare through watery eyes. My expression suddenly tenses and I scurry forward. I walk quietly, hyperaware of my footsteps. I try to match them to his, to hide them, but by the way he tenses and clenches his fists tighter I'm sure he knows I'm right there, just a step behind him.

Finally I speak up, very softly so. "But…" I pull at my sleeve. I avert my eyes as I dare to move up to stand side by side with him. "You…you saved me." I peek at him from the corner of my eye.

He scoffs. "Yeah, so what?" He keeps his gaze trained forward.

I shrug. "So…you're kind of…responsible for me…now?" My meek tone only worsens, tampering off in an upward inflection littered with uncertainties.

He lets out a cold, single syllable laugh. "I'm no babysitter." He digs his feet into the ground and pivots. He towers over me. "You just happened to be there," He jabs me in the stomach. "And I just happened to need you not captured. It has nothing to do with you personally or my morals. It was for my own good. Got it?" His eyes burn.

I lip trembles. "But…" My voice wavers.

"Just," He shakes his head irritably. "Just get lost." He points past me, toward the horizon. "Go bother some friends or family or whatever. I don't care. Just leave. Me. A-lone."

"Friends?" I hear my voice crack. "Family?" An image of my father and his deranged eyes flashes through my mind. I shrink and shudder violently. "I-I…" I shove my head down into my hands. Tiny sobs choke out of me and the tears well up to the brim. It's all I can do to hold it in.

"What are you doing?" I can't see it, but I hear the tiniest bit of concern in his words. "Stop it. What's the point of crying? You don't see me crying. Come on, stop it."

I tentatively lift my face. I look through wide tear filled eyes. "Why?" There is an edge to my voice that I didn't think I had in me. "I'm alone!" I shrill. I wipe fervently at my eyes. My sobs continue. "N-None of my frien-friends would take me as I a-am! And my dad, he…he…he turned me into this." I fling my arms forward. "And you…you d-don't want me either. Even a freak doesn't want me."

He bristles. Because I called him a freak? Oh well. He seems to grow in that instant. He squares his shoulders and narrows his eyes at me. "Here's a better thought." His tone is surprisingly calm. "Why do you want someone like me? Just look at me." He acts as if he might go after me, but he barely moves. "I could kill you in an instant. Don't you see that?" He pulls out his weapon and points it at me. "Just look at me. Look at this. And look at yourself. You're like a stick."

I wipe at my eyes again. The tears just come back. "So?" I whisper. I sniffle loudly. "You didn't do anything. You could have. But…you didn't. You…you even saved me." A choked laugh issues forth. "But I guess…guess that's like everything else."

"Look girl." He shakes his head. "I told you. I don't need the Kraang getting ahold of another experiment of theirs. Me saving you had nothing to do with it being you. Nothing personal. See? So I'm not 'betraying' you or whatever you think."

"I have a name." I grumble through my sobs.

"Yeah, and I don't care what it is." He says it immediately. There's not thought behind it. And it burns me up. But I don't snap. I shatter.

"Please," I lurch forward. I avoid his weapon and latch desperately onto his arm. "Don't do this to me." My legs go weak and I sink downward, only held up by my grip on him. I lean my head forward, pressing it against his strange skin. "I don't want to be alone…I can't be alone." Finally the tears flow freely down my face. I no longer have the strength to hold them in.

He shies away, I can feel it. He tries to pull away from me. But then suddenly he doesn't. He stands completely still. I wish I could see his face and maybe understand it better, but my body is suddenly heavy. It's all I can do to keep my hold on him.

"Don't go…" I say it over and over. I hiccup in my sobs and my speech is a mess of stuttering.

The next thing I know I'm standing straight. There is pressure on my shoulders and as I lift my gaze I see it is his hands. I look further up after that, up until I meet his sea blue eyes. They are hard, unreadable. There's something about his expression now though. Something…softer?

"Stop it." He says rather coldly. It makes my lip quiver more fiercely. "I told you there's no point to crying." He looks me over and a flash of emotion passes over his features. What? Did I have something on me? Blood? Oh…right, I did fall out of a window.

"You're messed up." He keeps talking. "You need medical attention." He releases one of my shoulders and lifts his large hand to my face. I cringe and shut my eyes, but there is no pain. He touches a finger amazingly gently to my cheek. "Yet you're so wrapped up in emotions it's like you don't even notice. How stupid can you be?"

I don't know why, but I laugh. It's choked and fifty layers of broken, but it's a laugh nonetheless. "I-I guess…I'd rather be in agony than feel…this way." I sniffle. My sobs ebb a bit, freeing my speech.

He makes a face, part disgust and part astonishment. "You moron." He retracts his hand. "What's the point? You can stull function with damaged emotions. You can't work with a useless body."

I shake my head, slowly. "Not me." I bite my lip. "I…I've been dying…for months. Ever since…" No, can't say that. Besides, he doesn't care. He'll only belittle it, calling it trivial or whatever.

"Stupid girl." He removes his other hand from my shoulder. I notice he does it with a little caution though. He moves as if prepared to leap forward at a moment's notice and catch me. "So are you just gonna walk around like that, all bruised up and bleeding?"

I raise my hand to my face and touch it lightly. Is it really that bad? I gasp and crumple forward. It hits me hard and fast. There are cuts on my face, the tears burning them are proof enough, but that's not the only thing. My stomach. I clutch at it and stifle a moan. My body trembles. "My…stomach…"

Again there is pressure on me. He has me by the arm, only this time he is not so passive. The ground is no longer a solid presence beneath my feet and suddenly I'm laying sideways, the familiar texture of skin and plastron surrounding me. "Stupid girl." He chides, but I don't miss the ring of worry that lies within those two words. I smile. My tears tamper off.

We move, but it's nothing like the first time. It's a slow pace, one that doesn't jostle me in the least. It doesn't take long, but it takes longer than it normally would have taken him. All the while my breaths come heavy and strained. If only he hadn't said anything. Then maybe I'd never have moved on from my initial state of shock.

Soon he stops in an alley. I lift my head and honestly it doesn't look like anything special. It's bleak and full of things people have thrown away. "Here." He walks to the back of the alley. He sets me down, this time much easier. He lays me against the back wall.

There's a box to my right and I let my body lean over on it. I breath out, the sound heavy and shuddery. I try to find something to focus on, so I don't have to look at my stomach and how bad it really looks. But it's an alley. There's nothing in alleys. So I just close my eyes.

He moves around. His feet make it easy to keep track of him. His mumbling does as well. I can't make out what he says, but he is going over something with himself. I suppose he doesn't have any friends either so it's probably the only way to be social.

"Hey," I hear him say, this time really close and directly at me. I open my eyes to see him only a few feet away. He is crouched down, balancing on his haunches. "I've got some stuff that can help. But you're going just have to go with it. I need you to take your clothes off."

I start. My eyes snap open and I jerk upright. I cringe as the movement causes a spike of pain. "N-No." I shake my head fiercely.

He sighs. "Look, you've got glass stuck in your body. Some of it is big and easy to maneuver but there's some that's going to be small and practically invisible with those clothes covering it." He frowns. "You weren't afraid of me before." He crosses his arms and scowls. "Why now?"

"I-It's different." I wrap my arms around myself. "I-I just…just no." I shake my head stiffly. "Please, just do my stomach. I…I can do the rest." Not really.

He sighs. "Whatever girl." He reaches for me, quickly halting himself. "Can I…um, lift your shirt a little?" He grimaces. What an awkward question.

I hesitate. Gradually I unwind my arms from myself and reveal my stomach. I nod a single time.

He rolls my shirt up and finally it's too much. I can't not look. I glance down and nearly choke on air. There's so much red. How did I not feel this? The glass protruding from it is particularly large.

He is careful. He removes the glass with a strange amount of ease. It is one of the most painful things I've ever experienced, but it soon fades into relief. He wraps my stomach and then moves back. He stares intently at me after that, most notably my face. I duck my head. I suppose it's the cuts there that draw him. He can't bear it. He needs to fix it, fix me. But I don't need it. At least I pretend that's so.

"You're face…" He frowns deeply. "I could do that too." He makes me smile, a small broken sentiment. "It's all bloody."

I shrug. "If you insist." I touch my stomach lightly. Already it feels so much better. It makes me question my decision for the rest of my body, but only fleetingly. No…no one can see me so exposed. Not now or ever again. I tense instinctively, but quickly push it back down.

He smiles weakly, the first sign of a positive motion thus far. He dabs my face with a cloth, rubbing away the blood. He uses disinfectant and it stings, but as with my stomach it's all for the best in the end. He places Band-Aids over each cut and it makes me wonder through the whole thing where in the world someone like him – someone who looks so abnormal and frightening – would get such things. He can't just walk into a drug store.

I smile softly. My eyes are brighter than they have been in months. "Thanks." I whisper. I tug at my sleeve. "I feel…better."

He shrugs. "It was nothing." He looks away from me.

I start to say something more, but something catches my eye. I tilt my head. Is that a belt? "Hey," I blink slowly. "What's that…?" I tentatively reach out and tap the S at the center.

He looks down. "Oh." Suddenly his expression is darker, shadowed with memories. "It's, nothing really. Just, stands for my name is all."

I perk. "Oh. So…what is it? Your name I mean." I hold my breath. Maybe now he'll be willing to talk more.

"Slash."

It catches me a bit off guard, but in the end I figure it's a perfectly fitting name. It's dangerous, much like how anyone would think of him upon a first glance. I thought it too. "My name's Liz." I smile, wide and surprisingly genuine.

He snorts. "Liz, huh?" He stands up. "Well, you can stay there for tonight. After falling out of a window that high up you need it." He turns to go.

A panic rises within me, hitting fast and hard. "Wait!" My cry comes out a bit strangled. My eyes widen and body trembles slightly. "W-Where are you going?" I bite my lip – hard. It's hard enough to hurt a little.

Slash gives me a pointed look, one that screams of how ridiculous he thinks I am. "Out." He says shortly. He turns and heads down the alley. Only a few steps later he stops, sighing heavily. "I need to go back to the building to scout some things out." I hear the words beneath the words. You messed up my plans. Now I have to get them back on track.

It hurts, but at the same time it lifts my spirits. He wouldn't have bothered hiding it before. Still, "Well…" I rub my arm. "Can't that…wait a little?" I hope I don't sound too panicky. I lock my gaze with his. "Please?"

Slash stares for a long moment. "Look, I need to do this and you need to get those glass pieces out. Me being gone will give you time to do that without having to worry about me seeing…anything." It makes me wonder if there is really anything to see after my transformation anyway. Either way, I wouldn't want to be seen that way, he's right.

"No," My voice wavers. "Don't go. Don't…leave me alone." My lip trembles. "They might…come back." My throat tightens. "And then I'd…I'd…" I can't even bring myself to say it aloud. I draw my legs up and lay my head flat against my knees.

It's silent after that. I swear neither of us even breathes. Then there are footsteps. Without looking it's hard to tell where they're going. But in the next instant I know. His shadow falls over me, still for a long moment, just standing there and thinking probably.

Eventually he moves. He turns himself around and sinks down to the ground next to me. "You're such a baby." From the corner of my eye I see his turn his head away from me. A deep frown curves his lips and his eyes look genuinely annoyed.

I grimace. "No one's forcing you to stay." I mumble into my knees. "If you hate this so much, then go. Just go." I try to sound fierce and angry, but my voice cracks at the edges.

He snorts and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, right." He crosses his arms and looks farther away.

I breathe out heavily. If he's just going to sit there and pout, then I'm not going to let this opportunity go to waste. It makes me nervous. The very thought turns my stomach inside out. Still, it's just too tempting. I scoot a bit closer. My mind races with flashes of what ifs both consoling and disgruntling. But I ultimately ignore every single one of them. I lean over, resting my head against his shoulder. I scrunch my body up and nestle my head deeper until I'm comfortable. Then I let my eyes fall closed.

Slash starts. He nearly jolts up and topples me over, but he settles quickly enough so I don't have to react or even open my eyes to see what he's thinking. He resituates himself against the wall and even seems to relax a little. At least the muscles in his arms aren't quite as tight. "Stupid girl." He grumbles.

I am shifted suddenly. Something wriggles behind me and around my opposite shoulder. It's him. He pulls me a little closer, hugging me loosely. "You'll freeze to death this way." Yeah, sure. His denial makes me smile though, probably more than his sincerity would.

"It's summer idiot." He asked for this. I open one eye after that. I peek at him to be a hundred percent sure he isn't furious for my calling him out.

"Spring." He corrects. "And this isn't a house. You don't know how it gets. You sheltered little girl." He smirks despite his words.

I roll my eyes but I smile all the same. My eyes flutter closed and I yawn softly. "Thanks…Slash." I mutter dreamily. Sleep quickly wraps itself around me. I feel all of the world and all my problems slip away. It's in no small part due to the large creature next to me. With him by my side nothing can touch me. I only need to worry about him slipping away during the night. But even that seems unlikely. He'll stay. His hand on my shoulder is proof enough for me.

"It's nothing." His words are faded and after I hear them it all disappears. My mind goes blank, just like when I fell out the window. Only now there's no pain. It's a good night.

BOOM! How many of you expected Slash to be the one that helped her? Originally he wasn't. But then my friend and I had awesome ideas and then I couldn't not do it. It had to be done. And it was so unbearably fun. I hope he wasn't ooc. I tried my best to make it natural. And I love the way it turned out, so I can only hope you feel the same.

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please review! :D