Hello everyone! I am SO sorry about the unplanned silence and my absence. I finally got a job! And they started my hours out pretty high, so I'm still getting used to that. Please enjoy this chapter and thank you for your continued patience! <3
One moment her boots were planted firmly in the dirt and the next she was flailing mid air. Shrill cries of pure panic coupled with blatant shock ripped through her vocal chords.
Initially, Lauren had set her sights in the decrepit building, eyes glued to the rusted door as Soundwave wrenched it open with ease. The grating noise stabbed at her eardrums.
"It's about damn time. Have a hot date we didn't know about?" The familiar voice of Nitrozeus echoed teasingly.
Sucking in a sharp inhale, she held her breath as she lifted a foot to enter. Though, her foot never met the dirt as she was torn from her standing. Snatched away like the lowly rodent she felt like. An unceremonious shriek escaped as her lungs quelled.
"Oh? What do we have here? Master sent us a new toy." A shrill purr came from just behind her as she thrashed about the air, the earth growing more distant with each passing second.
The voiced taunted with a rasped titter.
"Put me down!" Lauren barked with a swipe of her hand.
"Laserbeak, put the human down." Soundwave called much too easily to the avian.
"As you say." A birdlike squawk made her ears ring.
Laserbeak tossed Lauren into the building carelessly, her body swiping against the frame of the door roughly. A pained yelp clawed up from her throat as she hit the ground sending her and her bag sprawling. Fresh, burning pain blossomed along the lower side of her thigh. She heaved out a strained curse as her hands flew to place pressure along the bleeding laceration. Her eyes were swift to land upon Soundwave who was swiftly approaching.
She outstretched her blood stained hand to halt the mech. "I'm fine, fuck- it's fine Soundwave." The brunette managed to her feet, all her weight displaced onto the opposite leg.
The mech obeyed without further commotion, an action she was thankful for.
Heart hammering in her chest and nerves set on fire, she stole a look around the room with a pained glare coloring her sun kissed features. "Hope you all enjoyed the show!" Spat Lauren with tear stained eyes, her brows furrowed to crease her forehead and her flesh flushed.
"Howdy, cowgirl." Nitrozeus mocked with a crude southern drawl.
"Oh, fuck off Nitro." Lauren wheezed to reclaim the oxygen stolen from her lungs in an attempt to steady herself and combat the pain. Every movement set her skin ablaze.
"Where is Lord Megatron?" Blackout was the next voice she recognized; calloused and harsh as he interrogated.
Opening her mouth to speak, she was cut off by Soundwave. "Lockdown caught the trail, he fell back to intercept. Updates pending."
Intercept? By himself? That had to be the worst decision he'd ever made. Lauren sucked in a breath haphazardly, her nostrils flaring as she pressed further upon her wound. Her pant leg now soaked uncomfortably in her own fluids.
It was fine- she was fine. It was only a cut, nothing more. She'd handled worse. She'd-
"And you're supposed to be his conjunx? Disgusting." An unfamiliar voice leered, stealing her away from her thoughts.
Staggering to face the voice, her eyes landed on another smaller, black mech. His optics pierced her effortlessly, she dare say his glare rivaled Megatron's with the sheer hatred that brewed beneath the burning light of his optics.
Show no weakness.
The words rang inside her mind, the voice not her own. Lauren swallowed down her pain and apprehension thickly. "Yes, why?" Her words came out hoarse.
Barricade growled scornfully. "I am not impressed."
"Cut the shit, don't be mad 'cause you're lonely." Nitrozeus bent to nudge her with a curled servo.
Lauren shrugged off the single optic mech as she stumbled slightly.
At that moment the whole building trembled, sending down dust and bits of rust. Starscream emerged with a less than pleasant welcome. "The human lives, a pity that you arrived and without our master. Still in one whole piece, yes. A pity."
"Shut your trap." Another rumbling voice came pointedly.
"Have more respect, Onslaught. You're almost," Starscream hissed a laugh. "Out of commission, wouldn't want someone to finish the job."
The arguing continued and Lauren took the moment to study everything and everyone. Her eyes were quick to find the rafters where that bird- Laserbeak perched himself like a bad omen just waiting to strike.
The animal like bot cocked its head to the side with a sinister grin, his wings flexing to kickup more dust.
The entire thing gave her the heebie-jeebies and she tore her sights away, but could make out the distinct sinister chortle the bot conjured.
Onslaught, as she came to learn, was sat off in a corner, his hand rested atop his chassis loosely. He was battered, beaten, and looked like a subtle breeze would end him. Starscream hadn't been exaggerating. Though, despite his war torn state, he appeared to look ready for a fight if one was brought to him, a true soldier.
Her eyes roamed to Barricade and, he too, looked worse for wear. What had happened to them? Was it human doing? Did we even possess weaponry capable of such a feat? She winced.
The black and white mech kept his glare pointed and sharply trained on her every move, as if ready to pounce at any slip-up, ending her measly little life.
Lauren was in shark infested water with an injured fin. Keeping her nerves subdued was proving stressful as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively.
The mechs in question had no way to rival their declared Master in height or general presence, but the smaller bots somehow managed to make her feel smaller than ever. Perhaps if she curled in on herself enough they'd forget about her entirely.
Soundwave stood off toward a far wall silently, his arms hung static beside himself. His optics trained upon the smaller human's overall disposition. He was walking the fine line most would call a 'hair trigger'; ready to thrust himself into action if a moment called for it, ready to ensure the safety of the femme at all costs.
Orders were orders.
Lauren's sapphire eyes found their way to the officer in question. Hissing through clenched teeth, she snatched up her bag before limping her way towards the decepticon. The fabric of her pants soaked darkly, clinging grossly to already dirty skin.
"Leaving the party so soon cowgirl?" Nitrozeus quipped over his shoulder.
"Let the human flee, that's what they're good at. Running." Barricade growled deeply, his voice baritone.
"Not so good. They never get far." Starscream added blithely, the chortle that followed suite was dark and sadistic in nature. His one remaining optic narrowed on her back and she could practically feel the glare.
The implications behind the seeker's words made her skin crawl, but she ultimately ignored the morbid banter as she hobbled away.
God, when would she get a break? A pang of discomfort ached within her chest, whether it was of her own nature or his went unnoticed. The stinging pain currently assaulting her leg was distraction enough.
"Do you require Scalpel's assistance?" Soundwave inquired flatly.
A quick glance to her leg left her shaking her head in refusal. "Could you just help me up there?" Lauren cocked her head back, gesturing up with her chin.
Soundlessly, the silver mech deposited her upon the cat walk that was barely able to cling to the wall.
The brunette hissed in pain as she supported herself, keenly aware that her request brought her much too close to Laserbeak's perch in the rafters.
Forcing her eyes away from the bird, she hobbled toward what used to be an office door.
The hinges gave some resistance, but relented after a tentative shove, squealing from years of non-use and rust. A thick layer of dust caked each and every surface respectively, she coughed. The room was relative in size, with windows that overlooked the main floor. The tacky carpeted floor scratched against the soles of her boots as she dragged herself in, the desk aiding her for support. Her bag slunk off her shoulder and she did nothing to catch it as she dropped her full weight into the moth-eaten swivel chair.
A curse was hissed through her lips as she fingered at her wound. The bleeding had long since slowed and was grossly coagulating with some bits trying to stick to the cotton pant leg.
Gnawing at her lower lip in an attempt to stifle her whimpers, she gently plucked the sticking fabric. Tears threatened to break as she sucked in a deep breath, nostrils flaring and cheeks hot.
God, she was tired. All she could dream of was a good night's sleep, but somewhere something deep within told her not to get her hopes up.
Sapphire eyes wandered to peer out the dirty windows, her eyes shifting to and from each mech that sat just beyond the threshold of the office. The paper-thin walls did nothing to muffle their voices, but it was a hell of an improvement from being out there.
She missed Megatron. Her chest constricted at that realization. Lauren was no stranger to the feeling of nostalgia, but something about this felt different. She missed her grandparents, her mother even, but... she did not yearn for them, be that what it may.
Another pang had her forcing out an exhale, her face screwed up in discomfort, eyes focused downward to peer at her leg.
The pants were fucked, destroyed, ruined. She grimaced at the crude tear revealing her skin like a bad fashion statement. The garment was too big, sure, but it was all she had for the time being. What was she supposed to do? She hadn't had money before she was taken hostage and she certainly didn't have money now!
Her chest ached once more.
Carefully, Lauren shimmied out of the pants (which proved to be more difficult than it was worth).
The wound truly looked worse than it felt. Did it feel pleasant? No, not one bit, but the pain was manageable.
Her skin was a mess of dried blood, fresh bruising, and sweat. The laceration was unsightly, spanning from her shin toward her thigh. The cut was jagged and uneven with some sections being a bit deeper than others. She could only hope that she wouldn't have to face off against tetanus, Lord knows she could do without that.
Swiping the bag from the floor, she hastily fished around for anything to wrap the wound. It'd be cleaned later, she just wanted to get it covered for now so that the draft would stop nipping at her nerves and tender flesh.
Her fingers brush something, bingo!
Lauren fished out the tatters of a previous shirt. It wasn't a proper bandage, but really, had she been doing anything by the book recently?
Ripping the cotton garment into lazy strips, she dutifully wrapped the majority of her leg, sparing her knee for needed movement.
She stuttered an inhale with a clenched jaw. Once the last knot was tied, she hunched to rest her head upon the dusty desk. Steadying her breaths, her eyes slipped shut as the sounds beyond the walls seeped in.
Her chest ached leaving Lauren to exhale shakily. Another ache and then another.
God, she should've pressed for more answers, asked more questions, demanded explanations. The aches weren't painful, per say, but left her feeling distinctly hollow, empty even. Her body felt heavy with exhaustion and her heart heavier with woe. Was it a distance thing? How far was he from her then?
Did he miss her too?
Lauren pushed herself off the desk, sending her swiveling backwards in the rolling chair. The room was dim, but at least it was an actual room. Not a cave, a vehicle cabin, or a rock alcove.
Her brain wrestled with her heart, or whatever she had in there now. All the emotions flowing through her being felt both familiar and foreign, similar and yet contradictive. Was that what being crazy felt like? Was she losing it? If she'd told a therapist a decade ago that she'd been abducted by robot aliens, she'd been shipped off to the nearest psych ward quicker than she could say 'just kidding!'.
An uncomfortable throb broke her from her thoughts, the other decepticons could be heard just beyond the paper walls.
Sapphire eyes trailed along her crudely bandaged leg, she frowned. It wasn't as if the wound was horrible in nature, she'd honestly experienced worse when working on junk, but the principle of the matter is what irked her.
Soundwave seemed capable enough and whole heartedly loyal to his leader, but ultimately, she was not an extension of Megatron, at least the others didn't recognize her as such.
Her mind repeatedly wandered back to Megatron at every given chance. She snit before throwing her head back to stare up at the tiled ceiling muddy brown water stains littered the cheap tiles. Hopefully, it wasn't mold, but that was the least of her worries. The brunette huffed tiredly, ignoring the way her leg throbbed under the tightly bound cloth, her spare foot gently rocked the desk chair back and forth, making the world spin slowly with subtle creaks. The close banter just outside acted as a type of white noise even if said noise was produced by those that are less than favorable.
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The ground came quicker than she would've liked, shiny hues of silver and black. The metal dragging against the steely surface was deafening.
Lound chants in a foreign tongue reverberated off of every available surface, rattling her- him to the core. Megatron spat electric colored liquid like venom before hastily climbing back to his feet.
Lauren could pass out given the sudden whiplash of the action, but alas she'd not be granted such a mercy, forced to watch through the optics of a body that was not her own. Questions bubbled to the surface. Was this Cybertron? But, she'd seen that already she thought. Was this before?
Megatron shot to height, his talons flying behind himself. The mech ripped a sizable weapon from his back chassis. The surrounding crowds broke out into an uproar.
She studied the item in the moments she was able to gaze upon it. Sleek, shiny, sharp. It was a beautifully crafted double edged axe. She'd only caught the briefest glimpse of the inscriptions etched deep into the alien metal. It's like a medieval weapon got a futuristic makeover.
He launched into a flurry of an attack, wielding the axe with practiced precision and ease. He roared as he downed the opposing mech, his denta bared for the universe to see.
A growl escaped him at the sound of heavy footfall from behind. He pivoted and evaded an onslaught from a smaller mech, narrowly avoiding.
The previously downed mech launched into another attack, tackling him to the ground.
Lauren seemed to choke on her breath as she watched Megatron roll to exchange blows, kicking the attacker away with just enough time to dodged the smaller bot.
Crimson optics were swift to spot his battle axe before he retrieved it, climbing to his feet to catch a blow to the chassis, knocking him back.
She could feel the way his metals expanded under his pants and the way his growls echoed through his vocalizer. It left her breathless.
The knockback created the needed opening for the smaller mech to ambush from behind, launching himself up to latch onto Megatron's back like a leech.
The decepticon stumbled for a second, caught off guard. His recovery was swift as he swung back, catching the smaller mech, and ripping him away in a grand flurry of raw power.
The smaller mech was weightless as Megatron drove him into the ground, readying his axe to deliver a swift end.
The mech spotted the bigger mech the second before the edge of his weapon could end the downed bot. Swiftly, he swerved changing the momentum of his swing. With a fearsome battle cry and a two handed hold on the weapon, Megatron swiveled and swung the axe in way of the oncoming attack, decapitating the bigger bot.
The smaller mech returned the cry with one of his own before lunging.
Lauren choked as Megatron caught the mech by the neck, rendering the captured powerless in his death grip.
The crowd was so loud in that moment she- he couldn't even hear himself think as he ripped the smaller fighter clean in two.
Megatron heaved tiredly before raising his battle axe in victory, overseeing the crowds that chanted for him.
"Megatronous! Megatronous! Megatronous!"
Megatronous...? No, his name was- is, Megatron.
He bared his teeth in response. " Yes, call my name!" The thought had startled her.
His optics scanned the crowd and she was star struck at the vast amount of attendants, then it occurred to her. He stood amidst a colosseum. His optics traveled further before landing at the peak of the ring. There sat a far more seclude ima cavea with few mechs. Her stared long and hard at those seated, his anger fought with satisfaction at the barbaric display.
A chamber door slid open and, as if scheduled, he stomped his way out of the colosseum, weapon securing placed upon his back once more.
The room he emerged into was met with knowing looks from other mechs. Other fighters, she figured if their physical states were anything to go off of.
Megatron crossed the room, those in his way made haste to duck out of the way, clearing a path for the esteemed gladiator. Ducking into a small side room, the decepticon tyrant took it upon himself to drop into a seat. Just as quickly, another mech appeared in the entrance way.
"What're you looking to get done?" The other mech quipped as he made his way over to a machine that sat off in the closest corner. He'd retrieved something handheld.
The crimson optic mech sat in silence for a moments time, before replying gruffly, " Power." The word came out with a growl tailing the final syllable. The alien language sounded harsh and odd to her.
The opposing mech gave a single nod as Megatron lifted his arm, reaching across himself to cuff his opposite shoulder servo. The action served to expose the side of his chassis and side plating.
The machine sat off in the corner rumbled to life with a purr as the mech crouched to begin his work of laser engraving.
What was that? Was it a robot equivalent of a tattoo? She'd never noticed it before, but then again, she hadn't been looking for it. Perhaps he no longer had the marking?
Lauren had so many questions that went unanswered.
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