Chapter 1: Capture

BLAH = normal talking

BLAH (if not surrounded by "BLAH" or :BLAH:) = Shika is thinking…

:BLAH: = Comm link talking

Edited, August 5, 2011

Ironhide's Sparkiling: To those of you reading Mass Effect: Shika, I apologize for not posting. I am currently working on chapter 3 and it shall be posted here soon. As for now, here is how Shika learned of her Cybertronian heritage. It's kinda boring at the beginning, but just bear with me, it gets better as it goes along, I promise and if it doesn't then flame me all you want, but I won't let them bother me. Oh, and you might be confused about mentions of 'vampiric' powers. I'm also writing a Twilight fanfiction in which she is bitten by Aro and then she kills him. Not 'til after meeting the Cullens however. She also exposes them to everyone and causes worldwide panic! Doesn't that sound like fun? Anyways, I would appreciate it if you would review so that I can make the story better in the future.

The world Shika had been taken to this time didn't even seem human. Normally she would be in a green forest, a town, or, more often than not, plummeting towards the water filled planet. That, and the fact her vampiric abilities were working to some extent on this world worried her. She had noticed that other than on the Cullen's world her abilities from that realm usually didn't appear unless the planet was dangerous. Shika took a deep breath in through her nose. Despite not needing oxygen, she immediately noticed the lack of it in the air. She began to wonder if any creatures lived on this planet, or if she was currently alone.

She looked down at her hands, her arms partially cut off by the rolled-up sleeves of her white button up shirt. Her left arm was automail, meaning she could also use alchemy. She clapped her hands together and the red Philosophers Stone that Winry had kindly locked into her automail glowed. Sadly, the Stone could not take her home, its normal function. Only amplify the abilities of her alchemy.

She placed her hands on something that appeared to be high-grade titanium and the Stone gave her all the scientific data it could about the planet. She realized that the majority of the planet was made out of metal, as she expected, and gases. Only a small amount of water was found, and it was mainly in something that appeared to be egg cases? How could there be eggs? Were there really life forms on this planet? She took her hands off the material and the stone dimmed, the information solidifying into her mind. She was greatly shocked, all the material surrounding her seemed to be metal. What kind of creature could live here?

XXXXXX

Starscream flew to where he knew Lord Megatron would be. Upon arrival he transformed mid-air into his robotic form, his feet making sparks as he landed. He faced his Lord, greatly trying to keep his hate filled scowl from appearing onto his face as he kneeled before him, "Lord Megatron, there appears to be an intruder."

The Decepticon leader barely looked up to address his second in command, realizing that it was not likely to be an autobot, "Where?"

"On the eastern side of Cybertron, Sire, I could easily go out there and-"

"No." The mech interrupted, "Before you do that I want to know how it got here. I felt no peculiarities in the field Barricade put up."

Starscream ran the order through his processor, "It appears to have teleported, my Lord."

Megatron lifted his head more to look directly at his follower, "Not possible, it would still have made some sort of ripple in the barrier."

"But does it respond to Fleshlings?"

"It's a Fleshling?" Megatron boomed, rising from his throne, "Why was this not mentioned first?" his foot was now grinding Starscream's chest, gradually pressing harder with every word. Sparks began flying from around the point of contact.

"I-" he sputtered, the foot uncomfortably close to his spark, "I did-didn't think it- important that it was a- a Fleshling. Only th-that-"

Megatron kicked the subordinate Decepticon away in irritation, "I will decide what is important to be told, Starscream." Megatron sat back in the throne that was probably originally meant for a Prime, "Just go kill the pest. You can handle killing one measly Fleshling, can't you?"

Starscream, still recovering from his superior's assault, began to switch to his alt form, "Yes, Sire." he close to spat as he began to hunt the Fleshling.

XXXXXX

Shika heard the sound of a Jet plane engine somewhere off in the distance and turned her head to the sound, So it seems that whatever is here has advanced to current human intelligence. Maybe even smarter… I wonder if it's Hostile. She continued to stare in the direction the sound was coming from and soon a jet came into view. Shika sat on a block of metal about the size of a small car and crossed her legs, wondering if the pilot might see her, and it did.

She watched, bored, as the jet circled around for a landing. What did catch her by surprise was that it transformed in mid-air before landing not twenty feet in front of her, sparks flying in every direction around its feet. She stared at it, the most intimidating part of it being its piercing red optics and a metallic voice sending electric shocks through her spine, "Any last words, Organic?" the broad-shouldered mech stared down at Shikara, optics flaring. He flexed his claws, bending down enough for her to see exactly how much he wanted her dead.

Shika backed up, her eyes wide with both vibrant fear and curiosity. She slowly examined the robot from his feet upwards. His entire body was covered with odd tattoo-like engravings that seemed more like a language than an art. As she came up to the mech's arm, she came to an abrupt stop. Where there used to be claw-like hands, there were now intimidating large and powerful guns. Shika's eyes lit up further. However, this time, completely with fear, "Oh crap."

XXXXXX

Starscream watched as the Fleshling dashed away at impossible speeds, well, for and Organic, not able to run it through his Processor. He jumped when he heard his Lord's voice boom over the Comm link, :Starscream!:

:Y-yes, Lord Megatron?: The second in command shook with fear and irritation at the abrupt and loud voice of his much hated leader. He knew, however, that if the Fleshling was not killed soon, he might be taking its place. He turned to his alt form and began pursuing the human.

:Have you exterminated the human pest yet?:

Starscream did the Cybertronian equivalent of a human gulp, :No, My Lord.:

:And why not, you worthless piece of scrap metal?: Megatron snarled, he knew that Starscream wasn't the most reliable soldier, nor the most trustworthy, but failure on this mission was unacceptable. How hard could it be to kill one Fleshling?

:It got away, Lord Megatron. At a speed Humans have only been able to achieve through vehicles.: His voice began to shake, fearing Megatron would have him killed for lying about what happened and was trying desperately not to let the larger Mech hear it.

There was a long pause on Megatron's end of the Comm as he thought about what to say next, :Show me.: Starscream replayed what he had seen through the link, starting with the odd Organic turning like it was going to run, at which Starscream was prepared to intercept the Fleshling but he was surprised by the fact she was going at a speed just under the one required to break the sound barrier.

Starscream was scanning the area as the memory was shown, :Megatron, I have relocated the Fleshling. Would you like me to-:

:No.: Even over the Comm, Megatron sent chills to Starscream's Spark. The abrupt interruption and the tone of the voice, along with the amount of malice sent through the comm. link was more than enough to remind him who was in charge here. :I want you to remain where you are until Barricade arrives. Keep tabs on the Organic's location until he gets there. Then I want you to find it and bring it back here, alive.:

Starscream landed in the same fashion as he had when he startled the Fleshling, :Yes, my Lord.: The Comm went dead. Starscream began muttering things in Cybertronian about how he wished Megatrom would become a scrap heap overnight.

XXXXXX

Shikara slowed to a stop. She looked back in the direction she had come, panting. I think I lost him… Dammit! Why is it that on nearly every planet I'm forced onto someone has a death wish for me! She kicked a piece of metal with her right foot, creating a satisfying clang from the ores in her faux leg colliding with the object. It pissed her off. She didn't even have to do anything and she'd be attacked or kidnapped, it's like she had a curse of some sort. Every time she goes somewhere new, someone has a beef against her.

She sighed, clapping her hands to complete the alchemic circle, then placed it on the object she had just kicked and turned it into an igloo like object. Shika crawled inside, in case the creature from before returned. She sealed off the enterance and created breathing holes in the roof to also allow light to flow in.

XXXXXX

Barricade drove up to his Decepticon companion, "Starscream, where is it?"

The 'Con turned irritably to the still transforming Barricade, "About 47 miles to the South East, the Crypt of the Primes, or what's left of it."

Barricade, annoyed, blew hot air out of his vents. The air hissed, highlighting his current mood, "Of all the places on Cybertron it had to be there… Primus, that place gives me the creeps…"

Starscream ignored the foolish comment and proceeded to tell the lower mech his plan, "Once we arrive, we fill the entire area with aerosolized fentanyl then take the Fleshling to Lord Megatron."

Barricade nodded once, "That plan might actually work for once." Starscream glared at Barricade, who was shamelessly maintaining a large grin. They switched to their alt modes and sped towards the Crypt of the Primes, dodging scraps.

XXXXXX

Shika sat in her metal dome, waiting for something to happen and praying it wouldn't. She had noticed that not all of her vampiric powers were to her advantage, such as although she had no need for Oxygen, her lungs still ached for her to breathe. Her vision, while better than a human's, was not to normal vampire standards. That, and her heart was beating, something she hadn't noticed at first but became obvious after her mad dash from that robot.

Shika sighed, then pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin against them, her heart still pounding a mile a minute. The fact she heard the roar of engines outside her little safe haven didn't help much.

Shika listened closer to everything that was going on. She tensed when she heard a metallic voice say, "Organic located." And made a run for it when she heard the sound of a gas being released and the scent of fentanyl hit her nose. She escaped the fumes, but not after inhaling much of what had surrounded her. She began to feel dizzy and fell to the ground. The last thing she heard was the same metallic voice, "Starscream, I have secured the Fleshling." before her world went black.

XXXXXX

The first thing Shikara thought when she woke up was, augh… my head… which also happened to be her fist spoken words. She rubbed her temples, fighting back the migraine that had infested her head while she was unconscious. As the migraine subsided to a headache and that to nothing, Shika realized that her automail limbs had been removed and were currently out of sight. Had it just been her leg she could have made another one, but considering those oversized action figures had the audacity to take both, she was at their mercy.

Shikara tensed when she heard the familiar clank of metal on metal, only, a hundred times louder than she remembered. Using her available limbs she pushed herself into a corner and tried to become as unnoticeable as possible. Which came to no avail.

Almost as soon as she got her feet –er –foot, into her little hole, a mech twice as big and ten times as scary than the two who had captured her entered the room. His red optics alone could have sent chills throughout her entire body. What he said next just added to the effect, "I know you are here, Fleshling, and unless you have a death wish, I would suggest you obey me and come out of hiding instead of being a coward."

Even though every voice of self-preservation begged her to keep quiet and stay hidden, she ignored them and pushed herself out of the hole as much as she could with the leg she had, "If I had my other leg back, I'd stand up."

The giant mech glared down at her, his optics narrowed, "If your faux limbs were returned to you, you would be back outside in seconds flat. You were lucky to have them, Organic, considering I was planning to remove one or two anyways if you didn't."

Shika gulped, hearing the venom drip off the mech's words, "Pl-please don't kill me…" her voice was weak and hoarse but could still be heard by the giant being in front of her.

"Your cowardice is insulting, Organic. No, I will not kill you. Not unless you disobey orders or annoy me to the point that I squash you like the insect you are."

Shika looked up at the oversized mech, attempting to gulp down the remaining fear as she did not take kindly to be called a coward, and he had called her one twice. She was actually far from it, she just enjoyed living, "Can I have my limbs-"

"No." The being growled, red optics flaring once again, "I thought I had-"

Shika, finally having her voice under control, cut him off as he did her, "You said you didn't want me running off." She slowly pulled herself to her foot, using her arm to help her keep balance, "And as I value my life I will do as you asked, seeing that you'd catch me again anyways if I ran off. That and reconnecting those damn limbs is going to be a pain in my neck."

The mech stared at her for a while, hunting for any sign that she was lying, before answering, "Fine, Organic. I will go retrieve your limbs." The large mech left as Shika looked for a route to get higher. Finding one she began to climb, desperately trying to get to a point where she could look the 'bot straight in the ey-optic. She got about 30 feet high before the mech came back in. Shika realized she was still only to the tips of his fingers. She sighed, "Damn…"

He growled, "Where are you, Fleshling?" She could see her arm dangling from his fist.

She waved from her post, "Down here."

He grumbled something to himself then threw her limbs at her, hitting her square in the gut, and pushed all the air out of her lungs. Recovering from the impact, she grabbed her arm and reconnected it to the base, wincing as feeling painfully crept to her fingertips. She flexed her hand before grabbing her leg and doing the same as she did with her arm, listening in case the mech had something else to say to her. Once she had her arm and leg in working order, she heard, "Demonstrate." from the mech.

She looked quizzically at him, "'Demonstrate' what, exactly?"

He whacked her from her post, irritably, and she collided uncomfortably with the floor, "Your speed, Organic!"

She sighed as she pulled herself off the floor, staying on this thing's good side was going to be difficult. She ran to a spot just above the mech's head, pushing herself harder than normal as to impress him, resulting in a sonic boom, "Happy?" she looked down at him, then jumped from her spot, landing loudly on the floor.

"No." it snarled, "I am never happy. The emotion of happiness is for the weak."

Shika thought about his statement, then rephrased her words, "Are you 'satisfied' then?"

"Better…" his voice was softer, "Barricade suggested I designate you based off your abilities. Taking that to mind, I have decided to call you Soundbreaker. Any previous designation you had now no longer exists. You will refer to me as Lord, Sire, or Megatron. Are we clear, Soundbreaker?"

Shika was silent for a long time, Megatron kicked her into a wall, "I said, are we clear!"

Shika groaned, then glared up at him, "Yes, Sire."

Megatron grunted then turned and left the area. The smaller black and white mech from her capture entered the room and looked down at her, his optics not nearly as intimidating as Megatron's, "I was surprised he didn't kill you at first, seeing as he only recognizes power, and at first glance, you seem incredibly weak. You do realize that your ability-"

"Yes, I know. It's completely unnatural." She looked up at the mech for a moment then face palmed and sank to the floor, "Oh god, I didn't just insult you did I?"

The mech looked down at Shika, confused, "Why would that be an insult?"

"Because Americans are moody…" She mumbled quietly to herself, "So who are you anyways?"

"My designation is Barricade."

"So you're the one who told Megatron to rename me!" she glared up at him.

Barricade kneeled down so that Shika could see right into his narrowed optics, making him much more intimidating, "Tell me, Soundbreaker. Do you prefer being called Fleshling? Or your new designation?"

"I liked the name I had."

His optics narrowed further, "Megatron, if you hadn't noticed, doesn't care much for your kind. You should be glad he even gave you a designation or you would be called 'Fleshling' or 'Organic' for the rest of your days on Cybertron."

"Cybertron…" Shika whispered the name under her breath, "What does that make you? A Cybertronian?"

Barricade stood up, "Although that name hasn't been used in millennia, yes, I suppose. My kind is known by two names, each coinciding with a different belief. Your kind might consider one side to be…"

"Evil?" Shika suggested, "Bad? But what are the names?"

"Autobots and Decepticons. Decepticons are the side you humans might call evil." She heard air stream out of the vents beneath his soulders.

"And what are you?" Shika had a sinking feeling she already knew the answer to that question.

"I am a Decepticon."