primus_seeress | Scourge Arrives

*his voice is a bit lower now* I was stupid. I got captured and tortured and didn't have the bearings to get out.

*she nods slightly* Torture is very hard for some to endure, warrior or not; but when the torturer has Chaos on his side... *she winces* No, I do not fault you that.

Cyclonus handled it. Could have handled it. Whatever. *puts his head in his hands*

*she frowns in concern* Do not fault yourself if your strengths lie in different areas than Cyclonus's. No one can have endurance in everything. *she wants very much to pat his arm, something to comfort him, but she is not sure how he will react. She settles for moving a little closer* But you feel that you have failed those you love.

*moves back slightly, head still bowed* I failed everyone. I should have run, I should have fought harder. I could have avoided being captured in the first place. *wings shiver again* You don't want to be talking to me about this, trust me. You'll just get an audial full of depressing ideas.

*she shrugs* It is my function. I hear many depressing things. Primus brings me peace. *She slowly, ever so slowly, reaches out toward him, but doesn't quite touch him* Please. I promise you, in witness of Primus, that I will not harm you.

*shakes his head again, then lifts it, smiling in an extremely unsettling fashion* But I might harm you. With what I say, I mean. You don't look like someone who's lost very much. I've lost almost everything at some point. My dignity, my leader, my peace of mind, my hope for anything better than a life of pain and shame.

*she looks unimpressed* I have lost my creators and teachers to a war they were not even fighting. I've lost many friends over the vorns. I have counseled many on both sides who have lost everything in an attack, those who have betrayed their people, betrayed their god, those who have had their minds taken through reprogramming and subterfuge, who have touched the darkness of Unicron, who felt there was no redemption, no hope, and no light to be found. And Primus feels these things, as you feel them, and shares them with me. I have felt the pain of losing everything, and it is agonizing. Believe me, I will feel what you feel, if you tell me, but it is my function, and I want to. *She does actually touch his arm now, fully expecting him to over-react, but resigned to it*

*bitterly* I'd think it'd lose a bit in the translation. *winces and draws back as she touches him* I've seen darkness. I've had it inside me. And if you think that means nothing can scare me any more, you're damn wrong.

*He actually reacts much less strongly than she had anticipated, but she leaves him alone for the moment. She nods at his words* Fear can take many forms. But, please continue, tell me what you will.

What's to tell? He made me do whatever he wanted, humliated me on purpose just because he could. The best times were when he was busy doing something else and let me be alone. *which is why he was out here in the first place* He's a sick bastard.

*nods* So I gathered, speaking to others of him. But... tell me how it made you feel. Tell me about how you were delivered from his grasp. Tell me why you were so afraid that I might know who you are. Tell me what you did in Rodimus Prime's universe. Tell me anything, whatever comes to mind!

I don't see why I should. *suspicious again* You could just go rattling it off to Cyclonus.

*Patient as always, Auspex shakes her head* I do not know Cyclonus. I don't even know the way to your universe. I especially doubt that an unaffiliated Transformer such as myself would even be acknowledged, let alone listened to. Do you not understand the role of a priestess? I live for nothing but to please Primus, and he is pleased when his children are healed of the ailments of the spark. There is no hidden motive, no subversive plans. You harbor your pain, therefore you must release your pain. That is my purpose, to aid the release of spiritual and emotional pain.

*scoffs* Void liked the release of pain too. I think he got off on it, actually. *shivers slightly* His room's full of my parts.

*she shakes her head, rather horrified at the comparison* That is not release of pain, that is causing pain, encouraging it. You need to expose it so you can put it behind you, not dwell on it and live in it, as he would have you do. *she shudders a little* You let him conquer you, if you live in fear of what has already passed.

Parts? *she looks a little angry, but not at him*

He's already conqured me, he did it a number of times. *hunches over* Void can feel the pain of others. If a part was removed when someone was in great pain, he can feel it when he touches the part. *wing twitches* He experimented. Tried different techniques on me and then tore a piece off to see what felt the best for him.

*Her eyes flicker offline briefly* So, he deliberately probed you for pain, to find what hurt you the most, removing parts, and did so repeatedly? He was not satisfied with one part, he collected them? As I said, I do not fault you the fear you felt. It was an experience of torment, and one you will never forget. And yet, you are still here, you are not in physical pain now... why are you afraid of someone touching you? You do not expect such treatment from everyone, do you?

I can't help it. I get scared when someone touches me, even lightly. *at least it's easier to talk to someone he doesn't know, rather than Cyclonus or another Decepticon. He feels completely weak and useless* It's just a reaction I'm used to. I flinched, he liked it. The more fear I showed, the better.

*she looks thoughtful for a moment. Then she holds her hand out to him* What of the reverse? If I asked you to take my hand, would you? It would be a step in the right direction, just a tiny step. I will understand if you cannot, but it may help.

*lookings skeptically at her hand, then reaches out and touches her palm with the tips of his claws* I'm not sure what you're trying to prove. *takes her hand*

First of all, that you have the confidence enough that you do not feel the need to cocoon yourself off from any contact entirely; that few others are as cruel as Void, and there are people you should not fear. Secondly, to demonstrate that Primus can be trusted, and myself as well. And hopefully, so I may be of some comfort. You do need it, even if you don't believe you do. You've been shown so much cruelty and ridicule; you need something to show you that someone does care what you've been through, and something to feel besides pain. *she closes her fingers around his hand just slightly*

What else would you tell me?

The others...if they don't think me an outright traitor, they think I'm a weakling. The Sweeps follow me, they get a bit more slack. *sighs and clutches her hand a bit tighter* Although I think they still blame me for what happened the first time I tried to run away.

*she nods patiently* So you did have the will to attempt an escape, and more than once. That shows that you are stronger than you think. What happened?

*his hands start shaking and he pulls away from her* Void made me pick one of them. Turned off control of my optics and audials so I had to watch... *he bites his lip, denting the metal* Void tortured him to death. He said it was supposed to be a warning, and that the same thing would happen to me.

At least the second time I tried to escape, I was the only one he hurt. I thought I was going to die that time, I wanted. If Dreadboots hadn't come along, I'd be dead. *because there are a lot of ways for a mech to kill himself, with or without a gun*

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