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Chapter 36: Vortex and Fireflight VI
Title: Scare
Rating: PG
Summary: There's a monster waiting
in the dark
Little, violet
optics shuttered open slowly, finding himself cool and alone.
Sniffling softly, the bornling began to roll over in his crib,
confused by the chill he could feel running up and down his
backstruts. The poor little thing froze as he ended up on his back,
the sight of his beloved mobile hidden behind the dark, looming shape
hanging over his berth.
A band of red
gleamed brightly in the darkness; a line parting and unfolding into a
grinning mouth of sharp, sharp teeth.
His first instinct
was to open his mouth and wail loudly for his carrier, but all sound
escaped the bornling entirely as the shadow leaned forward. Something
cold and sharp pressed against his tiny throat, solid against his
rapidly thrumming energon line.
The shadow slowly
shook a finger side to side, the red band winking viciously at him.
Wetness seeped
through the cotton, and the grinning shadow literally beamed as he
watched the bornling pee through his diaper, so obviously overcome
with terror that the hybrid's stressed systems could do nothing else.
Apparently pleased with this juvenile bout of mayhem, the shadow
leaned back again, taking the cold dagger's blade away with him too.
He could only
watch silently in horror as the shadows slunk then for the little
berth where his carrier slept, undisturbed by nightmares; his larger
servo running down the slumbering shih tzu's backstruts softly as he
leaned over him. Was the monster going to eat him?
And then the
shadow was gone, slinking for the window and out of it as silently as
he had come in. Terrified, the bornling still did not make a sound;
afraid that if he did, it would call the scary thing back.
Title: Plea
Rating: T
Summary: He only wants Vortex to
stay
Fireflight hummed
as he cleaned the nursery, putting away Breakdown's toys and putting
extra diapers on the change station for later. He was just setting up
the powders and wipes neatly when he felt a servo circle around his
waist, yanking him away from the stand. “V-vortex.....,” the
autodog smiled, turning his helm and seeing that red visor glowing
down on him.
The lynx grinned,
his visor dimming viciously as he lifted Fireflight up, cupping the
shih tzu to his chestplates. “Hmm..... Eager to see me, snowflake?
You going to give me a kiss too?”
At his taunting
suggestion, the sparkling blushed, before shyly leaning up the last
of the distance and pecking Vortex softly on his grinning mouth.
Stunned, the kittycon stared down at Fireflight, watching him quietly
for a few astroseconds. Smiling brightly, the shih tzu settled back
down in Vortex's arms, resting his helm on the other's broad
shoulders for a moment, sighing happily.
“I missed you
lots, Vortex,” he confessed sweetly. “I miss you more and more
every time you're gone. Will you come back home? If you do, then
I.... I can see you all the time! A-and I'll give you all the kisses
you want!” Fireflight pushed away enough to turn his pleading
optics up to the kittycon. “P-please, Vortex? I worry!”
Vortex ran a
finger down the autodog's cheekplate, watching as Fireflight turned
into the touch, giving a little shiver. “.....maybe,” he
answered, his mouth twisting upwards in a mischievous smirk, “You
make such a tempting offer, cutie, but.... I think something more is
needed. I don't think kisses will be enough.”
The shih tzu
shuttered his optics shyly, his cheekplates tinging magenta with his
blush. “W-what....,” he asked softly, “W-what w-would you
l-like?”
The lynx licked
his lip components, loving the way that Fireflight blushed darker at
the sight; one servo lifting to his mouth in innocent hesitance.
“Well, I can think of a few ideas,” he purred lewdly, visor
gleaming.
Fireflight glanced
around cautiously, but Breakdown was outside with his brothers and
there was no one else around to see. Turning his attention back to
Vortex, he leaned up again, planting a chaste kiss on the side of the
kittycon's mouth. “O-okay,” he stuttered willingly.
The mech chuckled
darkly before setting the shih tzu on the change table, spreading his
legs open as he swept in for a hungry kiss.
Title: Talk
Rating: T
Summary: Skydive shares Onslaught's
words with his family
Silverbolt hurried into the living room
the moment Onslaught opened the door for them. “S-skydive! What is
it? What's wrong?,” he asked anxiously, dropping onto the couch
beside his brother; grabbing his servos. Air Raid followed behind
slower. “When you called and said it was urgent, I didn't-”
“Please Silverbolt,” Skydive weakly
smiled. “I'm alright, see? There's just.... a matter I wanted to
discuss with you all.”
These words hardly calmed the oldest
shih tzu's frazzled nerves, but he forced himself to let go of
Skydive's servos anyways, glancing up uncertainly at the kittycon
that circled around behind the other autodog. “What.....,” he
swallowed slowly, “Was it that you wanted to discuss?”
Skydive's polite expression crumbled as
he sighed, servos curling into fists in his lap. “S-slingshot.....
Slingshot told me that he saw that.... mech..... sneaking out of
Fireflight's window the other night. I, I don't want to blame you or
anything, but I know you didn't want to tell me Silverbolt.” He
smiled sadly at his brother. “You know how I worry, just as much as
you.”
Onslaught set a servo on the blue
mech's shoulder plating as he sighed again, helm lowering as he took
a moment to compose himself. In the silence, Silverbolt flustered,
hurrying to explain himself. “I-i'm sorry I didn't tell you,
S-skydive! I j-just didn't want you to w-worry when y-you were so far
al-along and knowing t-that he w-was-”
“I-it's..... it's alright,
Silverbolt,” Skydive interrupted kindly. “Please. I..... I'm not
mad at that, and again, it's not why I asked you to come here today.
I..... I wanted to discuss a possible solution....”
That caught the other two autodogs'
attention. Air Raid straightened up, sitting himself down in the
armchair, leaning forward in his seat seriously. “So that's why you
only wanted the two of us to come.....”
At the statement, Skydive nodded,
looking at each of his brother's in turn. “Because of..... Vortex's
training, Onslaught can vouch that normal routes of action would be
unavailable to us. He.... he won't be stopped, and he will more than
certainly return to harass Fireflight. It's what he.....,” the shih
tzu tried not to scowl, “Likes. What he finds fun.”
Silverbolt squirmed a little in his
seat, obviously unnerved now. “Are you.....,” he glanced at
Onslaught again, optics flared, “Are you..... honestly suggesting
what I think you are?! Skydive, how-”
Skydive quickly grabbed his brother's
servos, looking at him pleadingly. “Please, don't judge! I know
it's horrible, but.... but, after the war, Onslaught and a select
handful of ex-soldiers were signed on by the government for various
work. He explained to me already and.... and they have connections.
T-they could hire someone to take care of Vortex! It would all be
hush-hush and Fireflight would finally be safe from him! Can't you
see how beneficial this would be, Silverbolt?”
The taller autodog opened his mouth in
horror, but it closed shortly after, his optics dropping to the side
as he actually mulled over what the younger one had said. The room
grew tenser as they waited to hear what the oldest shih tzu would
say. “W-well....,” Silverbolt stuttered, “Maybe.... Maybe w-we
c-could-?”
“Would you just listen to you
all.....”
Helms turned to Air Raid, the red shih
tzu staring at them all with disgust. “How can you sit here and
talk about murdering another 'bot like it's.... it's..... nothing!?,”
he demanded angrily. “Don't you see what's wrong with this?!”
“It's just not some random 'bot, Air
Raid,” Skydive frowned, one servo cupping under his belly tersely.
“This is Vortex that we're talking about. The very mech that has
ruined our lives.....”
“And the same one who led Silverbolt
to meet Trailbreaker and for you to meet Onslaught, and for us to
have a beautiful home and not have to worry about the System ever
again!,” the youngling quickly retorted, “You can't just say he
ruined our lives, when even everything terrible he has done has led
us right here to this moment.”
Silverbolt leapt to his pedes. “But
he has hurt your baby brother! Does that mean nothing to you?!”
“Of course it does!,” Air Raid
snapped back, hackles raised. “Don't you dare for an astrosecond
ever imply that I have never cared about Fireflight's well-being,
'Bolt! We've all looked out for him the same, and he still ended up
in this situation, and you want to know why? Because he chose to!
This is something that Fireflight has chosen out of his own free
will!”
“Don't,” the blue shih tzu hissed,
optics narrowed behind his frames, “You dare use that as an excuse,
Air Raid..”
“Fireflight is a child!,”
Silverbolt added quickly. “He does not know nearly enough about the
world to be giving any sort of consent!!”
“Well maybe he does!!!,” Air Raid
screamed, drowning out anything else his brother's were going to say.
Onslaught did not intervene; glancing frequently from the sidelines,
double-checking that Skydive was alright. “I mean..... Primus!,”
the younger sibling shouted, “He gave birth to a sparkling for
crying out loud -one that he's proven to be amazingly efficient at
caring for all by himself! You can't keep saying that he's a child,
when it's very obvious that Fireflight is growing up. Even before
Breakdown, he was always very insightful. Fireflight is a lot smarter
than you're giving him credit for and you saying he's nothing but a
sparkling is just insulting.”
“But he is, Air Raid!,” Skydive
retorted angrily. “He isn't-”
The red shih tzu raised a servo,
pointing a sharp finger at his older brother as he snarled. “Wrong.
Fireflight is a youngling now. Why don't you two get it through your
thick helms,” he continued, looking between Silverbolt and Skydive
each. “You can't keep treating him like he's five..... One day,
Fireflight will be a full-fledged mech, and he won't need your servos
to hold onto anymore. What are you going to do then? Still call him a
child and try to spoon feed him?”
“I..... I can't believe you're
honestly defending that..... that.... fragger!,” Silverbolt cursed,
his optics wide with disbelief and disappointment. “How could you,
Air Raid? How-”
“I'm not defending him!,” Air Raid
yelled, fists clenching at his sides. “Primus, are none of you
listening to me?! I want to see that fragger in a pool of his own
energon as much as you do, but I'm saying stay out of it! This isn't
our choice to make!!”
“Because.....,” the youngling
softened his tone, sighing wearily, “Because as much as we don't
like it, he still makes Fireflight happy. And until such a time when
he does not..... we have no right to do anything. We've got to let
Fireflight grow up sometime, you know.....”
The room was silent. Glancing one last
time at his brothers, Air Raid turned around and left; shaking his
helm as he hurried from the living room. Neither Silverbolt or
Skydive attempted to stop him. Onslaught watched as the youngling ran
past the living room window and across the yard to the street, before
he returned his attention back to the two mechs staring remorsefully
at each other. What their younger brother had said struck the oldest
shih tzus hard; it would take time for them to digest Air Raid's
words and respond.
Silently, Onslaught left the living
room as well, heading to the kitchen to make a pot of tea.
Title: Happy
Rating: PG
Summary: He needs clarification
“Ar-Ra......?”
Fireflight padded softly into the room,
watching as his older brother folded the last of his shirts, packing
it away quietly in a suitcase. At his soft call, Air Raid paused,
turning and facing the smaller mech. “Hey, Firefly,” he smiled
sadly.
The white shih tzu canted his helm to
the side slightly, his optics dim and worried. “You're leaving....
aren't you?,” he asked, knowing without a doubt that was the case.
Air Raid glanced at his packed suitcase, before turning his gaze back
to his baby brother, sighing in regret.
“Yes. I can't stay any longer,” the
youngling answered, zipping up the suitcase and walking towards the
door.
Fireflight kindly stepped out of his
way, servos wringing themselves nervously before his frame.
“Y-you'll..... you'll come back though, right?,” he called out,
“I'm not never going to see you again, right Ar-Ra?”
Air Raid stopped, setting the suitcase
down and facing his younger brother. That sad smile was back on his
face as he knelt before the smaller shih tzu, taking Fireflight's
servos into his own. “We'll see each other again, one day,” he
promised, optics dim. “But I must go and spread my roots elsewhere.
You understand that, don't you Fireflight?”
The white autodog nodded slowly,
sniffling a little.
Air Raid searched his brother's face,
before he pressed his lip components together tightly; giving
Fireflight's servos a light squeeze. “Fireflight..... Tell me why
you like Vortex,” he requested softly.
Fireflight shuttered his optics in
surprise at the request, but he smiled anyway, a glimmer of joy
shimmering through the tears collected in his optics. “B-because,
he makes me happy,” the little shih tzu answered. “I.... I know
you don't like Vortex, but he's really not bad. He says funny stuff
to make me laugh, and he brings me gifts to show that he likes me.
When I'm sad, he cheers me up, and when I'm hurt, he comforts me.
Sometimes..... I get sad when he's not there.... especially when I
really wanted to see him..... but he always comes back, without fail.
And when he does, he says he's sorry and hugs me.”
“When,” Fireflight continued,
cheekplates colouring slightly with his affection, “When I'm with
Vortex, all the bad stuff seems to go away. I don't have to feel
scared, or lonely, or sad anymore. He protects me and he cares for
me..... That's why I love him.”
The very definition of love.
Lip components quirking upwards
queerly, Air Raid leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his brother's
brow. “Be happy, Fireflight,” he mumbled, quickly giving the
other shih tzu a hug. Fireflight wound his arms around his neck,
squeezing back tightly before releasing the youngling and letting him
stand up once more.
Fireflight did not cry or ask confusing
questions, instead, watching as Air Raid walked downstairs and out
the front door. Smiling sadly, he wished his brother good luck,
before turning and padding for Breakdown's room.
Title: Outcomes
Rating: T
Summary: There's only so many paths
left when everything else has been rejected
“Congratulations....,” the voice
growled as Vortex attempted to sneak through the attic, “....You're
slagged.”
The lynx only had an astrosecond to
feel his spark jolt in surprise before a fist was slamming into his
neck cables; wrapping tight around the cords and crushing them as the
mech was knocked to the floor. The wood groaned loudly at his fall,
the whole room spinning. Visor winking in his pain, Vortex tried to
stop his aching processor from twisting and winding, forcing his gaze
to focus on the ceiling above.
He coughed and offered a weak grin as
Onslaught's face pushed into his line of sight.
“H-hey.... d-daddy-o,” he hissed
cheerfully.
Onslaught squeezed Vortex's neck cables
tighter, lifting him up and slamming him back down against the floor
for extra measure. “Believe you me,” he snarled, “If I had a
choice, it would be the cold end of my muzzle you'd be greeting, not
me.”
“S-still.....,” the lynx coughed,
“S-still u-upset t-that t-the l-lil' pup e-ended up r-running away
f-from you t-that f-first time?”
“And whose fault was that?!,” the
green mech roared. He punched Vortex, watching as the smaller
kittycon spat energon across the attic floor. “Here I thought you'd
gone off and scampered somewhere far away for good..... Only to find
out that you've been sneaking around the city, making frequent visits
to a certain sparkling we all know.” He punched the lynx again.
“And also you've been sneaking into
my house.....” Onslaught narrowed his optics, fangs bared at his
son. “Bold, bold move, brat..... Did you think I wouldn't
notice that my food was missing? Or that certain things had been
moved around in your room? It would take a giant fool not to predict
your course of actions, and I.....” He crushed Vortex's neck cables
once more. “Am no fool.”
The grey mech writhed and choked, claws
scraping up and down Onslaught's arm; trying to wriggle out of his
centre of balance and trip the older 'bot up. But the serval was
good..... well-trained and experienced....... Vortex's cheap tricks
would not work on him. Sniffing in disgust, Onslaught let his son go
before he blacked out, standing up and kicking the lynx in the side
for the fun of it.
“Well, since you're here anyway,
there's a few things we need to discuss,” he began, walking to the
attic door. He shut and locked it, turning next and barring the
little window in the room. Satisfied that Vortex would not be running
off anytime soon, the serval turned, seating himself in a chair that
the other kittycon could not recall ever having been there before.
Wheezing and hacking lightly in pain,
Vortex pushed himself up, wiping the energon off of his face. He
stared, unimpressed at his sire, as the other kittycon pulled out a
dagger and block of wood, whittling away as he sat in his chair.
“Now, you're probably wondering why I
haven't killed you yet,” Onslaught continued casually. “Again,
not my choice. After all the slag you've done, I'd love to string you
up by your nasty, little spike and flay you alive, son. To bash in
your helm and put an end to your sick, little games would bring me no
end of joy..... unfortunately, to the chagrin of my wife and I, I
can't. You see.....” He twirled his piece of wood idly. “The
little one's family has discussed it, and one of the younger ones
-Air Raid, I believe- brought up a good point. Somehow, someway, you
make my son-in-law happy.....”
“Now, I wouldn't want to upset lil'
Fireflight, who's sadness would in turn upset my grandson and also my
wife, henceforth including my soon-to-be bornling as well...... so,
killing you is no longer an option,” he explained, cutting away at
the wood again.
The lynx's tail twitched. “....you
have a point?,” he croaked.
Onslaught sent the grey mech a vicious
glare. “Silence you. I did not give you the permission to
speak.” He worked away at carving for a couple kliks, before
he started speaking again. “Because of this..... delicate
situation, an alternative course of action is being taken. As you
obviously mean so much to Fireflight...... you will now be a
permanent fixture in his life.....”
“....what?,” Vortex gaped.
The serval smirked. “You will be
moving back here and live in your pathetic, attic room, where I can
keep a constant optic on you. You will visit Fireflight and Breakdown
every day, whether it be here or at his house, and you will be under
constant surveillance. Seventy-five percent of your finances will be
transferred over into a bank account accessible only to Fireflight,
with the intent of giving the lil' one all the funds he needs to
support himself and Breakdown.”
“Seeing as you knocked him up in the
first place,” Onslaught explained, ignoring the lynx's
shell-shocked expression, “It's only fitting that you accept your
role as Breakdown's sire and assist in his upbringing. Though if you
hurt that child in any way, I shall break every pipe in your
body.....” The serval snarled dangerously, fixing the other
kittycon with a glower. “Fireflight thinks you are something good.
We all know otherwise. But because he cares for you so deeply, you
shall be there for him. The moment you hurt him, or the moment when
he discovers what you really are..... I'll be there, with my gun.
Don't think for an astrosecond that I won't.”
At the threat, the grey mech's hackles
rose; cracked visor flashing in rage. “W-who are you t-trying to
fool, o-old-timer?,” Vortex hissed. “Y-you can't do anything!
You're w-washed out! I'm a free mech! I can do whatever I-”
The green kittycon rose to his pedes,
taking one step forward and back-handing the lynx- hard. Yelping in
pain, Vortex dropped to the attic floor, clasping his face in his
servos. Rolling his optical sensors, Onslaught turned away from his
son and walked casually for the door. “You should consider it a
blessing,” he called over his shoulder plating as he undid the
lock. “For once, there's a 'bot in this world who doesn't consider
you a psychotic, raping scumbag. Maybe you should learn to appreciate
him.....”
Ignoring the soft groan that echoed
behind him, the serval opened the door, stepping out of the attic and
locking Vortex in once again.
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