Rating: M
Originally posted July 14, 2012
Chapter 1
It was silent in the throne room,
following Hellbat's scream.
Glancing away from the terminal for a
moment, Drillhorn shook his helm, before turning back to the
equations and formulae scrolling down the screens, trying to make
sense of the data. On his throne, Deathsaurus sat, looking down at
his subordinates with an almost bored expression. He had not been
phased by the spy's ghastly scream of horror. Though the wriggling
being he held under one servo had certainly been caught off-guard by
the cry.
“B-b-b-b-but....”
“Hellbat,” Deathsaurus began
exasperatedly.
“He -no, he's-”
“Hellbat.....”
Jallguar and Guyhawk shared a quick
look with each other as their fellow breastforce member began to
keen.
“Quit your blubbering!,” the
dragon-former snapped, having grown tired of waiting for Hellbat to
shut up and calm down so he could continue speaking. Immediately, the
spy bit his glossa and snapped his flailing arms to his chestplates,
the barest trace of a whimper escaping him last. “As I was saying,”
Deathsaurus continued gruffly, his glare daring anyone to interrupt
him, “It seems our lovely lieutenant commander was playing with
some dangerous and very secret toys in his room. His latest
experiment seems to have blown up in his face though.... and now,
we're left with a predicament. What to do with Leozack while we
attempt to fix this recent problem.”
The fore-mentioned mech -now a small,
dainty youngling- glared out from under the Destron commander's
servo, his arms crossed over his chestplates angrily and his lower
lip stuck out in an adorable, sulking manner. If Hellbat wasn't so
freaked out by the turn of events, he'd almost be hard-pressed not to
coo at the cute sight.
“B-but, umm.....,” the spy mumbled,
trying to look anywhere but at the down-sized teal jet. He twirled
his fingers anxiously, feeling more and more uncomfortable and
confused as the astroseconds passed. “W-what, er.... w-what do
w-we, uh....”
The scowl on Deathsaurus' face began to
retract, twisting upward in a mean smirk. “Obviously, our
lieutenant commander is out of commission until such a time we can
find a way to reverse his experiment's effects..... He is unsuited
for combat, research or anything else for that matter. My ship is not
made for sparklings, and henceforth, this one can't be running around
unintended.”
It was silent for a moment.
Deathsaurus frowned, realizing that
Hellbat had yet to catch onto what he was saying. “You are going to
be watching this brat,” he informed flatly, shoving Leozack forward
roughly.
The youngling tripped, cursed, before
straightening up, his wings twitching in his ire. “I don't want to
go with him! He's weird,” Leozack whined, in a young, almost
innocent high-pitch tone. “And I'm not a brat!”
“You'll keep an optic on him at all
times,” the dragon-former went on, as if the young mech hadn't said
a word, “Entertain him; feed him; keep him out of trouble..... I
don't want any more incidents to come about because of this self-made
disaster.”
Hellbat, if anything, got weirder as
Leozack was again shoved forward, the little Destron tripping over
his pedes as he stumbled down the podium's steps and into the other
jet's legs. Flailing, the mech first helped the youngling upright,
before quickly backing up a step; servos twisting together nervously
again as he twisted his helm around, emitting soft, tiny anxious
clicks from his vocalizer. Killbison started to laugh, about to say
something, before he was quickly elbowed by Guyhawk. Drillhorn
ignored everything going on behind him (as usual) and Jallguar seemed
apparently uncomfortable as well -though for what reasons, no one
could be really sure.
Scowling, Leozack turned his helm up
and narrowed his optics further at the strange Destron. Hellbat
quickly took another step back.
Grinning, Deathsaurus rose from his
seat, stepping down the podium and towards his soldiers. “He's all
yours now, Hellbat,” he said, passing by the spy. He slowed down,
leaning into the smaller mech, whispering into his audio, “Have
fun.”
“The rest of you!,” the Destron
commander snapped, moving on, “We have a very important mission to
proceed with. One member short or not, I demand the absolutely best
results. If you fail this, you can all starve. No victory; no
energon.”
Sweeping out of the room, minions in
tow, Hellbat and the young (and also oblivious) Leozack were left
alone -one still fidgeting like a caged pigeon and the other pouting
up a storm. Finally....
“So what are we going to do? I'm
bored!”
Flinching, the blue Destron started to
laugh uneasily, still shuffling backwards to the youngling's chagrin.
“I....I, um,” Hellbat stuttered. “M-maybe, urh, should w-we,
umm....”
Leozack's lower lip jutted out more,
and the jet quickly turned away, his wings shivering as he fought to
work down his blush. He literally squeaked when next he felt a harsh
tug on his wing, helm snapping back to see the teal jet glowering up
at him, fingers curled tightly around the appendage. “What? You're
going to ignore me now too? I may not know where I am, but I refuse
to be-”
Hellbat watched as the youngling
crossed his arms over his chestplates again, stamping his pede
angrily, in a fashion so similar to his old self that for a moment,
the spy could believe this was the real Leozack -his lieutenant
commander.
Oh..... oh, what had become of his
glorious superior?
Swallowing back the bitter sorrow
lingering on the back of his glossa, the bigger Destron attempted to
act as normal as possible, even as the other mech decided he had
grown tired of Hellbat's silence and kicked the spy.
“And I bet you weren't even listening
to a word I said! You big, stupid cog!,” Leozack shouted. “I'm
bored! I demand that you entertain me. NOW!”
“U-umm, yes. Of course,” Hellbat
grinned, his unease slightly put off at the moment as more of his
superior's former personality shone through. That angry, demanding
tone..... Perfect. “M-maybe, eh..... Oh! Let us go check out the
rec room. I'm sure we can find some toys there.”
Beaming like a fool now, the blue mech
turned and began to skip off, oblivious to the insults the mini teal
jet was screaming at his backstruts. Forced to be stuck with this
idiot all day, Leozack grudgingly followed.
xXxXx
“And this is the rec room!” Opening
the doors with a flourish, Hellbat merrily led them into the large
room, turning to his charge with his optics glimmering in his joy.
Dragged into a little impromptu tour along the way down the hall, the
youngling walked into the common area with his arms crossed over his
chestplates and his lip component jutted out in a fierce pout.
“I don't like this place,” he
grumbled, glancing around quickly, “It's dark and its boring. This
whole place is dull.”
The blue Destron's grin somewhat fell
at that statement. “O-oh, but it isn't really,” he tried to
persuade. He hurried forward, pulling open seamless drawers that were
built almost hidden into the walls along the room. “See, see!
There's, um, some old games here that I think used to be Drillhorn's
and a puzzle book Jallguar was playing with a couple orns ago....”
The spy pulled out something long and ribbed, that he stared at
blankly for a few astroseconds before promptly dropping it back
inside the drawer. “....I don't know how that got in there, but,”
he continued, shutting the drawer, turning and smiling at Leozack
again, “There's lots of stuff we can do.”
“We? I don't want to do anything with
you,” the teal jet pouted more. “I hate this place.....,” he
mumbled, turning his helm and staring at the floor. Hellbat almost
whimpered in sympathy at the action; Leozack painted such a pained
picture, the way he stood, postured and optics turned to the floor
forlornly. He wanted to reach out and hug the little mech tight to
his chestplates.
The spy had his servo half-raised to do
just that before he quickly dropped it again.
This wasn't his Leozack. His Leozack
would dislike being touched. Or being thought of as weak.
Folding his servos together nervously,
Hellbat missed the way that the youngling looked up at him then,
suspicious optics taking in the bigger mech's frame. “I s-suppose,
we, um....,” Hellbat mumbled uncertainly, torn in his feelings as
he gazed at some crack in the floor beneath his pedes. “O-oh! You
must be hungry! Would you care for some energon?”
The little jet looked practically
shocked at the inquiry. Huffing in childish annoyance again, he
propped his servos on his hips, twisting his helm in the other
direction as he pouted. “Of course not! I don't want to eat any of
your st-” The sound of gurgling fuel tanks interrupted the
youngling. Shuttering his optics in surprise, Hellbat looked down
upon the embarrassed Leozack, almost tempted to coo as he saw the
youngling's cheekplates darken with a blush.
“I-i- That doesn't mean that I'm
hungry!,” Leozack stammered quickly, “I didn't make that sound,
you did! You're trying to make fun of me!!” Overwhelmingly flushed
now, the teal mech turned about and bolted from the rec room, running
as fast as his little legs would carry him.
Stunned, Hellbat only stared at the
empty spot his miniaturized lieutenant commander had just vacated,
before he realized Leozack was running away from him and into depths
unknown in the space cruiser. “S-slag!!,” the spy whimpered as he
hurried from the room, hoping to Primus that he was heading in the
right direction. “L-lord Deathsaurus is going to O-OFFLINE me if I
lose t-the lieutenant commander!!”
xXxXx
This place was a giant, dark maze.
Leozack scrambled around another
corner, pushing himself to go faster even as he gaped at the
ridiculous length of the corridor he'd turned into. Ignoring the
coolant burning in his optics, the youngling ran and ran, not knowing
where he was going and not caring. He'd woken up in this strange,
dark place, with big, weird mechs all around him, all talking unknown
or scary things. He'd been confused at first, and still was a little,
really, but now he was just mad and annoyed and.... slaggit, he
needed to get out!!
These gloomy walls felt like they were
pressing in on him from either side, and every corridor only led to a
darker, danker hallway than the last. Where were the other 'bots?
Where were the windows? He wanted to hear his neighbours talking,
wanted to see the diamond-cast stretch of universe; needed to know
that he was home, and safe, and surrounded by people. His people. He
didn't want to have to do anything that giant mech said, and the same
went for the weird blue one that was made his personal warden.
He didn't know this place and he didn't
plan on staying either!
Intakes heaving, Leozack almost tripped
as he took the next corner too fast, catching himself and coming to a
pause; servos resting on his knee joints as he bent over and tried to
expel some of the heat building up from his aching components. Over
his humming circuits he could hear that weirdo calling out, searching
for him. The very thought frightened the little jet again and Leozack
jumped into a sprint, searching desperately for an exit -any kind of
exit.
There!
The youngling skidded to a stop,
slamming into the wall with a deafening clang, before he shook off
his daze and bolted into the little room. It was an airlock chamber.
He knew, because they had them back at the Fortress. Leozack had seen
some of the bigger 'bots operate one during a field trip. An airlock
chamber was as good an exit as any other one. Quickly, the teal
mechling climbed up some pipe rigging poking out of the side of the
wall, stretching out and reaching for the operation panel placed
inside the chamber with him. It took all his focus to remember
exactly what he'd seen the adults do, made even harder by the fact
that he could hear his warden getting closer. His shouts for the
youngling to not run away were very distinct right now.
The chamber light changed from a flat
white to a deep red, just as the room filled with a quiet beeping,
signaling that a pressure change was about to begin. Grinning,
Leozack jumped back down to level ground, watching gleefully as the
doors to the dark hallway closed, just as he saw Hellbat appear on
the other side. But it was too late now. The blue mech wouldn't be
able to reach him before the chamber doors opened on the other side,
freeing the teal jet from his prison. Jittery with anticipation,
Leozack watched as the door mechanism curled back and unlatched, a
slow grind echoing as they started to pull apart.
Soon, the flat expanse of space would
be his!
Black, cold water roared into the
chamber at the thinnest gap, startling the youngling who leapt
backwards, slamming into the wall behind himself. It swirled thickly
around Leozack's pedes, filling up the chamber quicker than the jet
could have expected. Shrieking in terror, for he did not know what
this liquid was nor had he expected it to come crashing into the
chamber so suddenly, Leozack attempted to scramble upwards, his neck
cables craned in a desperate effort to keep his face above the water.
But as soon as the chamber doors were finished opening all the way,
the youngling was sucked out into the rest of the ocean by the
current swirling into the airlock and back out again.
It was colder out here, scarier.
Leozack struggled to move, but the freezing liquid flooded into the
seams of his plating, filling his vents and water-logging his other
components. Though fluids usually would pose no major threat, to a
youngling who had not expected such a mass amount and wasn't able to
seal his inner circuitry from its presence before he was surrounded
by it, the freezing water would slowly stall or render various
components and functions useless. With even longer time, the icy
temperature could overwhelm his heating and spark-support systems,
leading to eventual shutdown and the extinguishing of his spark.
He didn't want to die!
The jet tried to move, but found that
already his limbs were locking, the salt water putting too much
pressure on his joints and interrupting the electrical motion command
his processor kept relaying to his frame's motor grid. Leozack sunk
further away from the ship he had just been in, falling deeper and
deeper into the dark, wet, frigid world that had now become his
reality. He could sense motion all around, especially underneath him
and it sent the youngling's spark into a terrified whirl, but there
was nothing he could do. He was trapped. Sinking.....
Already, his systems were activating
emergency stasis protocol, re-routing power to try and keep his
primary functions running. Unable to suppress the feeling of
hopelessness screaming out from his spark, Leozack watched as the
ship slowly became more and more obscured by the water's depths....
until he could watch no more....
xXxXx
Emergency stasis activated.....
Running status update....
Running.....
Running.....
Update Complete. Diagnosis:
operational.
Activating start-up protocols.
Rebooting.....
Re-
xXxXx
He was being carried. Slowly, Leozack
onlined his optics, still feeling chilled to the piping. At first, he
only noticed darkness and thought for a moment that he must still
have been sinking into the ocean. But then the gloom started to pull
back until the youngling could make out shapes and features again,
and he realized he was being cradled in a net made up of warm, blue
arms. Sluggishly, he craned his helm back, staring in confusion up at
the one carrying him. Feeling his gaze, the other Destron glanced
down, red optics dimming slightly in relieved kindness at the
youngling.
“Lieutenant commander..... you're
awake. I'm glad.”
The teal mechling said nothing (not
that he could really. He must of shorted out his vocalizer), noticing
then that the blue jet was wet just as he was. Had he rescued the
youngling? Catching Leozack's stare, the spy smiled beneath his mask,
clutching the small mech tighter to his chestplates. “Just relax,”
he said in that same gentle whisper, “Let your systems have a
little more time to reboot before you try to do anything. Hellbat's
got you in the meantime.”
Leozack shuttered his optics slowly at
the other mech's name. Hellbat..... he thought tiredly, Hellbat had
saved him. Even though he'd run away in the first place....
Overcome by exhaustion, the youngling
rested his helm back on Hellbat's chestplates without a fuss, being
rocked by the blue Destron's warmth and gentle gait into a peaceful
recharge.
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