Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...midnightspookApril 22 2007, 22:49:23 UTC
As Echoshift reaches for his discarded arm-guns again, Blackstar manages to reach weakly towards him, trying to concentrate to invoke his own type of tangibility. There is a bare whisper of resistance as his hand passes uselessly through Shifter's leg, but it quickly fades.
"Hey Blackattack, you still there?" Echoshift asks. "We should probably get you off the cliff top in case that weirdo Autobot decides to come back, you know..."
Blackstar would like that. He would like that very much. He hasn't been hurt like this... He's never been hurt like this before, but he hasn't been badly injured in a very long time, short of the one that killed him. That had been blessedly swift. He's never felt pain like this, hadn't understood until now just how vulnerable he truly is. He would like nothing better than to get away from this place, get somewhere safe where he can rest and let the ache and the burn and all the pain heal.
Unfortunately, he's not capable of much more than a weak flail at the moment. He still feels hollow and empty, for all that he can tell that his functions have been returned to him. And that touch... the memory of it crawling through him haunts him even as much as he haunts the physical world. Like cloying mud, it clings, even though he knows he's free of the other mech. He isn't sure if he'll ever be free of that touch, and he shudders, wincing as the dull ache of his torment reawakens throughout him.
// Echoshift, Blackstar, we are collecting Auspex and will be up there shortly. //
Auspex? No... No, it's not safe... He'd come for her in the first place. There is no telling where that mech had gone to. He could by lying in wait right now, waiting to finish what he'd started with the sanctuary. The Commander's tone, however, brooks no argument; he is the Air Commander, Blackstar's Air Commander, and even the normally rebellious Seeker cannot resist that edict.
Blackstar is, unfortunately, not capable of resisting much, at the moment, and he knows it.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...0ut_of_sightApril 22 2007, 23:44:34 UTC
It's a bare whisper of a touch, but it's enough to get Echoshift's attention. Having returned his gaze to the direction of Auspex's temple a moment ago, he now looks back down again.
"Oh hey, so you're awake after all," and he even manages to follow the light teasing with a chuckle and a grin. The banter at least was familiar where everything else was not.
//'Fraid so,// he answers Auspex's question. Still crouched next to Blackstar, Echoshift's gaze is momentarily drawn back to the metal stake still held in one hand. He looks back up and glances at the place where Blackstar rests a hand over a particular spot on his chest. //Would you rather save the gruesome details for when you get here, or have me give them to you now and get it over with?//
His gaze goes back to Blackstar again. "Hey..." He taps the other's shoulder to get his attention. Or rather, he tries to. Blackstar isn't exactly very solid right now. "Stay here, okay? Don't go fading off before the others get here or something. They'll be here soon." Concentrate, Blackattack. Just for a little longer...
// Echoshift, Blackstar, we are collecting Auspex and will be up there shortly. //
//Gotcha,// comes the answer. //You have our location already?//
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...primus_seeressApril 23 2007, 00:08:05 UTC
//Would you rather save the gruesome details for when you get here, or have me give them to you now and get it over with?//
*Auspex sighs* //It's enough to know they're gruesome... I'll take your word for it, for the moment.//
Er.. *Auspex isn't sure why this is necessary... but she balks for all of half a second, before drifting up into Skyfire's cargo bay. Once she's there, she transforms, since she won't be going there on her own power, anyway. She seats herself, slight fidgeting giving away her anxiousness.* Thank you..
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...air_commanderApril 23 2007, 00:14:26 UTC
Starscream doesn't wait for Skyfire and Auspex, flying to the cliff-top as fast as his counterpart, if not faster. As he said to the others, distance is nothing to one no longer bound to the confines of a mortal body.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...attair_al_fadaApril 23 2007, 00:34:54 UTC
Starscream transforms and touches down beside Echoshift, almost in sync with his other self. He barely has a glance for Echoshift; ruby optics glow brightly as he looks over Blackstar.
There's barely anything left of Blackstar. He's the gutted shell of the ghost of a Seeker; nothing but his outermost armor remains. Starscream could always see Blackstar as the once-living mech he had been, but now, there's only the faded, worn shell over hollow emptiness. A long-dead mech whose internals were long since scavenged and stripped, and whose outer shell was tossed out into the scrap heap to weather and rust. Only the agony twisting Blackstar's face betrays that anything yet persists here.
Starscream drops to his knees, to more closely examine Blackstar as Skyfire lands a short distance away and drops his bow ramp. Skyfire's bow bay door opens, allowing Auspex to debark.
His gaze flicks to Blackstar's spectral guns, and his optics widen slightly. His face sets in an expression of cold fury. "What was done to you, Blackstar?"
He gently lays a spectral-real hand of his own on Blackstar's chest, letting his own strength seep into the broken ghost.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...0ut_of_sightApril 23 2007, 00:46:37 UTC
Echoshift boggles a bit.
"Two Starscreams?" He looks from the F-22 to the F-15. "Say, weren't you the one who randomly showed up at 'Cat and Dem's party just yesterday?" he asks the F-15.
He stands from his crouch and moves out of the way as Starscream -- the F-22 -- drops to kneel by Blackstar. He can't see what the other Seeker can; he has no view into the realm of the spirit world. So he simply remains nearby and watches, the metal spike of meteoric iron still gripped in one hand but forgotten for now.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...primus_seeressApril 23 2007, 02:00:04 UTC
Auspex is clear of Skyfire's bay door almost as soon as it opens, moving quickly to see for herself what the damage is.
She hisses sharply when she's assaulted by the depth of Blackstar's pain, nearly overriding the lesser emotions she senses there also. When she finally sees his condition -- torn, broken, discarded, thinned to the breaking point -- she trembles, turning away for a moment, tight-lipped, reaching for and clinging to Primus's solace; partly from the horror, but mostly from the anger...
Some creature of Unicron, had the audacity to come to her sanctuary, a place that should be a safe refuge, and attacked one of Primus's children in his very place of worship... someone who had entrusted her with his secrets, had come only to bring her word of his hope... and timed it so that she would not be there to prevent this from happening... and why?? If they wanted her attention, they have it now.
After a moment, she's calmed sufficiently, and turns to kneel beside the fallen spirit-seeker as well. She hasn't yet used her connection with sparks to touch a free-spark that wasn't tangible, preferring to ask their permission first; but she does now, remaining in close communication with her god, entwining him in her spark and around herself, so that she can carefully take Blackstar's hand.
She can feel the touch of Chaos that has hold of him, lurking like a clinging fog, and begins to gently fan it away, drawing it out, letting it die in the open air of the physical world.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...midnightspookApril 23 2007, 03:37:04 UTC
Two Commanders touch down, and for one moment, Blackstar wonders if he's too far gone and this strange double vision is merely a symptom of his slow dissolution. Memory reasserts itself after a moment, however - the second Starscream at the party. The one most likely from the Nexus. Blackstar isn't sure why he is here, too, but he pushes the confusion away when the embodied Starscream drops to his knees beside him. Blackstar has never seen ruby burn so coldly before.
The gentle touch, one that he can feel, that can actually touch him as opposed to Echoshift, almost makes him sob with relief. Strength trickling back in to him, no longer being carved out, does much to calm him and focus his pain-fractured thoughts. He blinks hazily up at Starscream, letting the words roll through him, the hard edges and furious regard rattling through the hollow emptiness in a curiously comforting way. Decepticon fire, and, although it doesn't give him any strength really, it gives him strength. Enough to force coherency from his thoughts to answer Starscream.
"Claws... To catch. Took my guns. Pinned... trapped," he manages softly, slowly sliding his hand away from that hole punched by the cold iron stake. He shudders, pale light in his optics flickering as he continues, "Carved... emptied."
He pauses for a moment, feeling the memory of that touch ooze through him. Though he tries to halt it, tries not to shame himself before his Commanders, he cannot stop the faint whimper before he confesses, "Torn apart... Worn. Auspex's temple, he-"
Shapeshifter, worn like a skin... inside me...
He breaks off as Auspex kneels beside him, taking his hand. More relief as that touch slowly weakens under Auspex's patient care. He turns, expression drawn as he meets her gaze with guilt in his own.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...attair_al_fadaApril 23 2007, 04:26:51 UTC
Most mechs would feel sick, crawling horror at what was done to and with Blackstar. The absolute vileness of it is enough to sicken most decent, rational sentient beings.
Starscream isn't decent and is only rational if the occasion requires it. He's done things nearly as vile himself. What he feels is cold, burning rage that anyone dared to so use one of his own Command; rage--and a spike of absolute hatred at the being responsible. Starscream cherishes that hatred, like his nine-million year hatred of the forces that robbed him of Skyfire, like his long grudge against Megatron. Hate is an old friend of his; it's one of the things that stamps him forever a Decepticon.
He voices a curse, not in any language of Cybertron, but in the language in which he first read of the spell used on Blackstar: Classical Arabic. "" Starscream doesn't much care if anyone in earshot understands Arabic; he considers it a highly approprate malediction. It's from the pages just after the ones describing the spell used on Blackstar.
"I warned you there were those who could sense you, or do more than sense you--I did not expect you to meet them on Cybertron," Starscream says coldy. The anger hides behind a slight frown and optics burning far too brightly for the shadows under his cowl. "I have heard of the dark ritual he used you for. If he knows other rituals from the same source, he is dangerous--but probably other than sane. If he is sane, he is powerful and dangerous beyond belief."
He glances at Auspex significantly. "What kind of enemies do you have, Priestess? A shaman did this, a skilled and powerful one. Blackstar was not a weak spirit to be easily dominated by some amateur would-be Dark Scientist."
Starscream's gaze almost involuntarily flickers toward Skyfire. "...Though appearances can be very deceiving."
"I need to repair Blackstar's form, and we need to restore his essence and power, Auspex. First, though--" Starscream reaches over and picks up Blackstar's guns, "we decide what to do with these."
He looks down at Blackstar. "You don't want these put back on just yet, I don't think. Not unless you want to find that hollowness filled with something very un-Cybertronian."
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...attair_al_fadaApril 23 2007, 04:34:51 UTC
Skyfire sees nothing more than what Echoshift sees, and hears what is spoken aloud--but he has a bit more background.
There is a curious, intent look on his face. "I remember Morninglord telling me about a world where the tribal priests believed that they could invest their warriors with the ghosts of enemy tribesmen whom they had slain and beheaded, and so fool the guardian spirits of the enemy tribe's village, thus opening it up for attack. Are you saying something like that was actually done?"
He doesn't miss Starscream's involuntary glance in his direction, and actually smirks. "Took you weeks to clean the smell of fish out of my hold, too," is all he says.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...air_commanderApril 23 2007, 08:24:44 UTC
Starscream cannot feel Blackstar's pain the way Auspex does, but he can see him, and the black ghost's condition fills him with anger that rivals the fury of his counterpart. Someone, some vile being, has indeed messed with what's his.
In that state, Echoshift's question barely registers with him, and is only acknowledged belatedly and distractedly. "Yes, I am indeed that Starscream."
Skyfire's remark about fish is met with a wry, "I would like to hear that story sometime when we have time for that."
For now, there are other concerns. Starscream turns to the other Starscream, "You said you need to repair him. I suppose you meant both 'you'? Unless you work better alone -
"The guns - can you seal them away somewhere nearby and safe?" Given all the considerations about strong dark powers, Starscream doesn't want his other self to hold something defiled for too long.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...primus_seeressApril 23 2007, 09:52:35 UTC
*The glow of Auspex's optics steadily increases, as Blackstar describes what happened to him, his emotions saying as much as the few words he can utter. She'd wondered how the Chaos-wielder had entered the temple without being thoroughly oppressed by the energy there... but this?? He did this to Blackstar, apparently just outside the temple... had eviscerated the core of his spark, dismembered him, bore his form like a skin... simply so he could enter the sanctuary and lay corruption on it? All this suffering, simply for that??*
*It's... almost laughable. He'd have to have known that what he did to the free-spark would anger her and her god more than any potential vandalism could... living beings come before mosaics, buildings, even records of covenants!*
*Whoever it was, he'd probably planned the vandalism (and planned to do it quickly, since the residual Order of the place would certainly hamper him), but had found Blackstar, who was here at entirely the wrong time. But, she supposes, this person could not pass up the opportunity to insulate himself, and completely infuriate a servant of Primus, simultaneously. Well, It worked.*
*she shakes her head firmly at Blackstar, concentrating so that she can squeeze his hand reassuringly* Don't be concerned about that. What he did to the temple is easily reversed. That's trivial, compared to what he did to you.
*She blinks at the long sentence Starscream says in the lyrical language... she has no idea what he just said, but the vehemence with which he delivers it suggests a very well-deserved curse, and she has no desire to refute it.*
*She shakes her head at Starscream's question* My only true enemies are enemies of Primus. Specifically, those who serve Unicron. It was his Chaos that I felt in my temple, and echoes of it still drift around Blackstar. The only individual I know of by name... *she reflects for a moment* ..is Sideways. *her voice drops again to that strangely inflectionless tone* He'd had a hand in Jetstorm's reformatting. I see little reason for a servant of Unicron to attack as remote a sanctuary as mine... typically the larger ones near the cities receive the most negative attention, as they are the most visible. My temple was deliberately targeted. Perhaps Unicron is angry that Primus has stolen one of his servants from him, through me. *That will be something to seriously think about. Later.*
*She almost shrinks back from the guns as Starscream brings them closer. She tenses, at any rate, glaring at them like poisonous creatures* He's... something of his still remains there, and it reeks of Chaos..
*She glances up at Skyfire as he relates his anecdote about tribal priests* Many things of that sort are possible with enough dark energy... none of which should be done. *she frowns down at Blackstar in concern for his pain, rubbing his hand soothingly as she continues drawing out the Chaos energy. It would go faster if she could better concentrate...*
We really should move him... the temple is safe. *Her tone suggests that it will be safe, even if she has to die in the process of keeping it safe.* It's safer than a random cliff, at the least. I... think I can do something about the guns, depending on what exactly has been inflicted on them... but I'd rather not, out here.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...0ut_of_sightApril 23 2007, 16:10:55 UTC
Echoshift winces slightly as Blackstar recounts events as best he can; it certainly helps to clarify exactly what Echoshift had been seeing when Blackstar had sent him those flashes of imagery earlier. Starscream was getting a verbal explanation; Echoshift had actually watched some of it happen. And the verbal explanation he's just about close enough to overhear only serves to make the unpleasantness of those images worse.
He continues to observe the others with curious, watchful optics while they work. The Starscreams in particular are beginning to catch his attention. Auspex had been someone with whom he had always associated the weird and mystical, but since when did Starscream know so much about this stuff too? There was still a lot about this whole situation that didn't make much sense to him, and now he's starting to think there's something he's missing. More words are exchanged; Starscream reaches over and picks up Blackstar's substanceless guns...
That list of questions is beginning to get longer again.
Echoshift reigns in the impulse to actually voice any of those questions right away. He remains oddly quiet, and simply watches. Perhaps a little more observation would yield one or two answers for him. Besides, there was enough going on already that he figures he can wait until they get off the cliff and to somewhere more sheltered before he starts poking people for explanations.
Skyfire's remark about fish, of all things, makes for an abrupt and absurd momentary change of topic given the current circumstances. The big white shuttle earns himself a baffled kind of look from the Eurofighter, followed by a half-curious and half-amused expression that seconds the F-15 Starscream's sentiments.
Auspex's mention of Sideways and Jetstorm is the next thing that catches Echoshift's attention. Great, he thinks to himself. Just when we were thinking that the whole mess with Void had been left behind already...
"We really should move him... the temple is safe. *Her tone suggests that it will be safe, even if she has to die in the process of keeping it safe.* It's safer than a random cliff, at the least."
Echoshift quirks a slightly grim smile at that. This at least was something that did make sense to him, even if all the mystical voodoo jargon did not. "Been saying something like that for a while now myself," he comments, sounding a little more subdued than would be called normal for him. "'Cept that I can't pick him up. You can though." And here he glances at Starscream too, not just Auspex.
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...midnightspookApril 23 2007, 18:10:36 UTC
Blackstar winces under Starscream's words, knowing that he'd been lucky. He understands, seeing Auspex, remembering what was done to the sanctuary, that he is only a part of this message for the priestess. He'd been left on purpose. Given how easily he'd been captured, manipulated, used... violated... The Autobot hadn't had to release him at all.
"Didn't understand," Blackstar confesses. "He felt strange... but I didn't understand. Seemed harmless. An Autobot."
There's a sense there that he seemed harmless, not because he was an Autobot, but simply because he did. Blackstar shudders.
"Silver. Dull silver with... things... on his doors. Autobrands. They moved."
He shudders again as Starscream holds up his guns, catching the implication. The Autobot's touch had... had crawled through him, but more hateful than that had been the intimacy of that touch, flooding him from the inside out. He flinches slightly from his guns, having been craving the illusion of their safety until this moment. Instinctively, he seeks comfort elsewhere.
Auspex's touch is cool and soothing, chasing the memory of the Autobot's loathsome aura away, while Starscream's is more like fire, burning into him, tempering strength back into his shattered form. He leans into that strength, craving it, until Starscream's words of restoring him penetrate. He understands what Starscream means to do, only, this time, it wouldn't be a brief touch back to share information. This would be deeper, the call stronger, even harder to resist. His optics flare briefly as they dart to Starscream's firey glare, his hand clutching at Starscream's where it rests on his chest.
No... You can't. I can't let you do that. Not for me. I'll heal, Commander. Please don't do that to yourself...
Re: Someone Has Been Prowling In My Sanctuary...attair_al_fadaApril 23 2007, 18:33:54 UTC
Starscream glances at his other self, then Auspex as he studies Blackstar's cannon. "Not to worry. Fire does not burn fire, nor does darkness blind darkness. Hmm... this taint is not exactly or wholly of Unicron, either. There is something more... primal about it."
//Did you forget? Unicron has no power over us; he had to bargain with us to get what he wanted, and still didn't get it. Unicron is not the only Chaos-Bringer--he's just the big, destructive, noisy, attention-getting one. We are chaos ourselves.// Starscream reminds his other self privately.
He studies the guns with interest, opening an access plate and looking within. "Blackstar, we can either modify this, or ask the priestess to cleanse it. Your attacker intended the taint to affect you through your power and control channels--and in your current weakened state, it would have completely corrupted you. I can change it so the taint affects the beam, instead. Want Chaos lasers?"
A glance at Auspex. "You are right, we should not work here. Priestess, cleanse your temple. I'll hang on to the guns."
He looks at the other Starscream with a mischievous smile. "Air Commander Starscream, could I impose on you to carry Blackstar back to the temple? Skyfire, I think you should just carry all of us in one go."
//Blackstar, stop sounding like one of those sappy Autobots. Shut up and don't argue with your repair technician OR your commanding officer--didn't they teach you that out in Gallen Sector? I know what I'm doing--and explaining that much is obviously a sign that I'm going soft.//
"Hey Blackattack, you still there?" Echoshift asks. "We should probably get you off the cliff top in case that weirdo Autobot decides to come back, you know..."
Blackstar would like that. He would like that very much. He hasn't been hurt like this... He's never been hurt like this before, but he hasn't been badly injured in a very long time, short of the one that killed him. That had been blessedly swift. He's never felt pain like this, hadn't understood until now just how vulnerable he truly is. He would like nothing better than to get away from this place, get somewhere safe where he can rest and let the ache and the burn and all the pain heal.
Unfortunately, he's not capable of much more than a weak flail at the moment. He still feels hollow and empty, for all that he can tell that his functions have been returned to him. And that touch... the memory of it crawling through him haunts him even as much as he haunts the physical world. Like cloying mud, it clings, even though he knows he's free of the other mech. He isn't sure if he'll ever be free of that touch, and he shudders, wincing as the dull ache of his torment reawakens throughout him.
// Echoshift, Blackstar, we are collecting Auspex and will be up there shortly. //
Auspex? No... No, it's not safe... He'd come for her in the first place. There is no telling where that mech had gone to. He could by lying in wait right now, waiting to finish what he'd started with the sanctuary. The Commander's tone, however, brooks no argument; he is the Air Commander, Blackstar's Air Commander, and even the normally rebellious Seeker cannot resist that edict.
Blackstar is, unfortunately, not capable of resisting much, at the moment, and he knows it.
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"Oh hey, so you're awake after all," and he even manages to follow the light teasing with a chuckle and a grin. The banter at least was familiar where everything else was not.
//'Fraid so,// he answers Auspex's question. Still crouched next to Blackstar, Echoshift's gaze is momentarily drawn back to the metal stake still held in one hand. He looks back up and glances at the place where Blackstar rests a hand over a particular spot on his chest. //Would you rather save the gruesome details for when you get here, or have me give them to you now and get it over with?//
His gaze goes back to Blackstar again. "Hey..." He taps the other's shoulder to get his attention. Or rather, he tries to. Blackstar isn't exactly very solid right now. "Stay here, okay? Don't go fading off before the others get here or something. They'll be here soon." Concentrate, Blackattack. Just for a little longer...
// Echoshift, Blackstar, we are collecting Auspex and will be up there shortly. //
//Gotcha,// comes the answer. //You have our location already?//
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"We fly," he says. "Sky, load Auspex and let's go." With that, he transforms and circles once, then flies straight to the cliff-top.
Skyfire transforms into his shuttle form and lowers his aft cargo ramps. The two aft bay doors yawn open wide.
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*Auspex sighs* //It's enough to know they're gruesome... I'll take your word for it, for the moment.//
Er.. *Auspex isn't sure why this is necessary... but she balks for all of half a second, before drifting up into Skyfire's cargo bay. Once she's there, she transforms, since she won't be going there on her own power, anyway. She seats herself, slight fidgeting giving away her anxiousness.* Thank you..
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There's barely anything left of Blackstar. He's the gutted shell of the ghost of a Seeker; nothing but his outermost armor remains. Starscream could always see Blackstar as the once-living mech he had been, but now, there's only the faded, worn shell over hollow emptiness. A long-dead mech whose internals were long since scavenged and stripped, and whose outer shell was tossed out into the scrap heap to weather and rust. Only the agony twisting Blackstar's face betrays that anything yet persists here.
Starscream drops to his knees, to more closely examine Blackstar as Skyfire lands a short distance away and drops his bow ramp. Skyfire's bow bay door opens, allowing Auspex to debark.
His gaze flicks to Blackstar's spectral guns, and his optics widen slightly. His face sets in an expression of cold fury. "What was done to you, Blackstar?"
He gently lays a spectral-real hand of his own on Blackstar's chest, letting his own strength seep into the broken ghost.
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"Two Starscreams?" He looks from the F-22 to the F-15. "Say, weren't you the one who randomly showed up at 'Cat and Dem's party just yesterday?" he asks the F-15.
He stands from his crouch and moves out of the way as Starscream -- the F-22 -- drops to kneel by Blackstar. He can't see what the other Seeker can; he has no view into the realm of the spirit world. So he simply remains nearby and watches, the metal spike of meteoric iron still gripped in one hand but forgotten for now.
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She hisses sharply when she's assaulted by the depth of Blackstar's pain, nearly overriding the lesser emotions she senses there also. When she finally sees his condition -- torn, broken, discarded, thinned to the breaking point -- she trembles, turning away for a moment, tight-lipped, reaching for and clinging to Primus's solace; partly from the horror, but mostly from the anger...
Some creature of Unicron, had the audacity to come to her sanctuary, a place that should be a safe refuge, and attacked one of Primus's children in his very place of worship... someone who had entrusted her with his secrets, had come only to bring her word of his hope... and timed it so that she would not be there to prevent this from happening... and why?? If they wanted her attention, they have it now.
After a moment, she's calmed sufficiently, and turns to kneel beside the fallen spirit-seeker as well. She hasn't yet used her connection with sparks to touch a free-spark that wasn't tangible, preferring to ask their permission first; but she does now, remaining in close communication with her god, entwining him in her spark and around herself, so that she can carefully take Blackstar's hand.
She can feel the touch of Chaos that has hold of him, lurking like a clinging fog, and begins to gently fan it away, drawing it out, letting it die in the open air of the physical world.
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The gentle touch, one that he can feel, that can actually touch him as opposed to Echoshift, almost makes him sob with relief. Strength trickling back in to him, no longer being carved out, does much to calm him and focus his pain-fractured thoughts. He blinks hazily up at Starscream, letting the words roll through him, the hard edges and furious regard rattling through the hollow emptiness in a curiously comforting way. Decepticon fire, and, although it doesn't give him any strength really, it gives him strength. Enough to force coherency from his thoughts to answer Starscream.
"Claws... To catch. Took my guns. Pinned... trapped," he manages softly, slowly sliding his hand away from that hole punched by the cold iron stake. He shudders, pale light in his optics flickering as he continues, "Carved... emptied."
He pauses for a moment, feeling the memory of that touch ooze through him. Though he tries to halt it, tries not to shame himself before his Commanders, he cannot stop the faint whimper before he confesses, "Torn apart... Worn. Auspex's temple, he-"
Shapeshifter, worn like a skin... inside me...
He breaks off as Auspex kneels beside him, taking his hand. More relief as that touch slowly weakens under Auspex's patient care. He turns, expression drawn as he meets her gaze with guilt in his own.
"He used me... to defile..."
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Starscream isn't decent and is only rational if the occasion requires it. He's done things nearly as vile himself. What he feels is cold, burning rage that anyone dared to so use one of his own Command; rage--and a spike of absolute hatred at the being responsible. Starscream cherishes that hatred, like his nine-million year hatred of the forces that robbed him of Skyfire, like his long grudge against Megatron. Hate is an old friend of his; it's one of the things that stamps him forever a Decepticon.
He voices a curse, not in any language of Cybertron, but in the language in which he first read of the spell used on Blackstar: Classical Arabic. "" Starscream doesn't much care if anyone in earshot understands Arabic; he considers it a highly approprate malediction. It's from the pages just after the ones describing the spell used on Blackstar.
"I warned you there were those who could sense you, or do more than sense you--I did not expect you to meet them on Cybertron," Starscream says coldy. The anger hides behind a slight frown and optics burning far too brightly for the shadows under his cowl. "I have heard of the dark ritual he used you for. If he knows other rituals from the same source, he is dangerous--but probably other than sane. If he is sane, he is powerful and dangerous beyond belief."
He glances at Auspex significantly. "What kind of enemies do you have, Priestess? A shaman did this, a skilled and powerful one. Blackstar was not a weak spirit to be easily dominated by some amateur would-be Dark Scientist."
Starscream's gaze almost involuntarily flickers toward Skyfire. "...Though appearances can be very deceiving."
"I need to repair Blackstar's form, and we need to restore his essence and power, Auspex. First, though--" Starscream reaches over and picks up Blackstar's guns, "we decide what to do with these."
He looks down at Blackstar. "You don't want these put back on just yet, I don't think. Not unless you want to find that hollowness filled with something very un-Cybertronian."
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There is a curious, intent look on his face. "I remember Morninglord telling me about a world where the tribal priests believed that they could invest their warriors with the ghosts of enemy tribesmen whom they had slain and beheaded, and so fool the guardian spirits of the enemy tribe's village, thus opening it up for attack. Are you saying something like that was actually done?"
He doesn't miss Starscream's involuntary glance in his direction, and actually smirks. "Took you weeks to clean the smell of fish out of my hold, too," is all he says.
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In that state, Echoshift's question barely registers with him, and is only acknowledged belatedly and distractedly. "Yes, I am indeed that Starscream."
Skyfire's remark about fish is met with a wry, "I would like to hear that story sometime when we have time for that."
For now, there are other concerns. Starscream turns to the other Starscream, "You said you need to repair him. I suppose you meant both 'you'? Unless you work better alone -
"The guns - can you seal them away somewhere nearby and safe?" Given all the considerations about strong dark powers, Starscream doesn't want his other self to hold something defiled for too long.
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*It's... almost laughable. He'd have to have known that what he did to the free-spark would anger her and her god more than any potential vandalism could... living beings come before mosaics, buildings, even records of covenants!*
*Whoever it was, he'd probably planned the vandalism (and planned to do it quickly, since the residual Order of the place would certainly hamper him), but had found Blackstar, who was here at entirely the wrong time. But, she supposes, this person could not pass up the opportunity to insulate himself, and completely infuriate a servant of Primus, simultaneously. Well, It worked.*
*she shakes her head firmly at Blackstar, concentrating so that she can squeeze his hand reassuringly* Don't be concerned about that. What he did to the temple is easily reversed. That's trivial, compared to what he did to you.
*She blinks at the long sentence Starscream says in the lyrical language... she has no idea what he just said, but the vehemence with which he delivers it suggests a very well-deserved curse, and she has no desire to refute it.*
*She shakes her head at Starscream's question* My only true enemies are enemies of Primus. Specifically, those who serve Unicron. It was his Chaos that I felt in my temple, and echoes of it still drift around Blackstar. The only individual I know of by name... *she reflects for a moment* ..is Sideways. *her voice drops again to that strangely inflectionless tone* He'd had a hand in Jetstorm's reformatting. I see little reason for a servant of Unicron to attack as remote a sanctuary as mine... typically the larger ones near the cities receive the most negative attention, as they are the most visible. My temple was deliberately targeted. Perhaps Unicron is angry that Primus has stolen one of his servants from him, through me. *That will be something to seriously think about. Later.*
*She almost shrinks back from the guns as Starscream brings them closer. She tenses, at any rate, glaring at them like poisonous creatures* He's... something of his still remains there, and it reeks of Chaos..
*She glances up at Skyfire as he relates his anecdote about tribal priests* Many things of that sort are possible with enough dark energy... none of which should be done. *she frowns down at Blackstar in concern for his pain, rubbing his hand soothingly as she continues drawing out the Chaos energy. It would go faster if she could better concentrate...*
We really should move him... the temple is safe. *Her tone suggests that it will be safe, even if she has to die in the process of keeping it safe.* It's safer than a random cliff, at the least. I... think I can do something about the guns, depending on what exactly has been inflicted on them... but I'd rather not, out here.
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He continues to observe the others with curious, watchful optics while they work. The Starscreams in particular are beginning to catch his attention. Auspex had been someone with whom he had always associated the weird and mystical, but since when did Starscream know so much about this stuff too? There was still a lot about this whole situation that didn't make much sense to him, and now he's starting to think there's something he's missing. More words are exchanged; Starscream reaches over and picks up Blackstar's substanceless guns...
That list of questions is beginning to get longer again.
Echoshift reigns in the impulse to actually voice any of those questions right away. He remains oddly quiet, and simply watches. Perhaps a little more observation would yield one or two answers for him. Besides, there was enough going on already that he figures he can wait until they get off the cliff and to somewhere more sheltered before he starts poking people for explanations.
Skyfire's remark about fish, of all things, makes for an abrupt and absurd momentary change of topic given the current circumstances. The big white shuttle earns himself a baffled kind of look from the Eurofighter, followed by a half-curious and half-amused expression that seconds the F-15 Starscream's sentiments.
Auspex's mention of Sideways and Jetstorm is the next thing that catches Echoshift's attention. Great, he thinks to himself. Just when we were thinking that the whole mess with Void had been left behind already...
"We really should move him... the temple is safe. *Her tone suggests that it will be safe, even if she has to die in the process of keeping it safe.* It's safer than a random cliff, at the least."
Echoshift quirks a slightly grim smile at that. This at least was something that did make sense to him, even if all the mystical voodoo jargon did not. "Been saying something like that for a while now myself," he comments, sounding a little more subdued than would be called normal for him. "'Cept that I can't pick him up. You can though." And here he glances at Starscream too, not just Auspex.
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"Didn't understand," Blackstar confesses. "He felt strange... but I didn't understand. Seemed harmless. An Autobot."
There's a sense there that he seemed harmless, not because he was an Autobot, but simply because he did. Blackstar shudders.
"Silver. Dull silver with... things... on his doors. Autobrands. They moved."
He shudders again as Starscream holds up his guns, catching the implication. The Autobot's touch had... had crawled through him, but more hateful than that had been the intimacy of that touch, flooding him from the inside out. He flinches slightly from his guns, having been craving the illusion of their safety until this moment. Instinctively, he seeks comfort elsewhere.
Auspex's touch is cool and soothing, chasing the memory of the Autobot's loathsome aura away, while Starscream's is more like fire, burning into him, tempering strength back into his shattered form. He leans into that strength, craving it, until Starscream's words of restoring him penetrate. He understands what Starscream means to do, only, this time, it wouldn't be a brief touch back to share information. This would be deeper, the call stronger, even harder to resist. His optics flare briefly as they dart to Starscream's firey glare, his hand clutching at Starscream's where it rests on his chest.
No... You can't. I can't let you do that. Not for me. I'll heal, Commander. Please don't do that to yourself...
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//Did you forget? Unicron has no power over us; he had to bargain with us to get what he wanted, and still didn't get it. Unicron is not the only Chaos-Bringer--he's just the big, destructive, noisy, attention-getting one. We are chaos ourselves.// Starscream reminds his other self privately.
He studies the guns with interest, opening an access plate and looking within. "Blackstar, we can either modify this, or ask the priestess to cleanse it. Your attacker intended the taint to affect you through your power and control channels--and in your current weakened state, it would have completely corrupted you. I can change it so the taint affects the beam, instead. Want Chaos lasers?"
A glance at Auspex. "You are right, we should not work here. Priestess, cleanse your temple. I'll hang on to the guns."
He looks at the other Starscream with a mischievous smile. "Air Commander Starscream, could I impose on you to carry Blackstar back to the temple? Skyfire, I think you should just carry all of us in one go."
//Blackstar, stop sounding like one of those sappy Autobots. Shut up and don't argue with your repair technician OR your commanding officer--didn't they teach you that out in Gallen Sector? I know what I'm doing--and explaining that much is obviously a sign that I'm going soft.//
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