~Knocked-Out~

Wounds

It had been so long since Nightstreak had felt warmth. Ever since that night, when she had experienced the true meaning of hate , not even the tightest hug could warm her up. No, it wasn't the water that kept her cold, nor was it the wind, but the past. The icy horrors of the past refused to leave her mind, and had made part of her memory their home. Every night, any dream that started off remotely nice, would be invaded by the fire, the chilled fire that would consume her happiness and leave her with just the pain. It hurt, more than anything. More than the horrific gashes that now covered her body, more than the sharp rock points that jabbed at her, it exceeded all pain. It is the internal wounds that hurt the most, as they are part of you permanently, pieces of your spark. Those are the ones inflicted upon you by those who you thought to be close, those who you never thought would betray your trust. Now, the external wounds did sting, those gashes were pretty deep, but they were quick sharp pains, the kind you forget about almost immediately. The internal pain is one that grabs on, and remains inside, slowly releasing it's poison. Those are the kind that stick with you, forever.

It had been so long, since Nightstreak had had a dreamless night, or any nice dreams for that matter. But that night.

That night, for the first time in years, she didn't have any fire in her dreams. For the first time, since the loss that had crippled the femme's life, she had slept happily, without feeling the urge to cry in her sleep.

That night, she finally felt what it really meant to be loved.

~~~~~

5 hour skip.
Knockouts optics flickered on, slowly and unsurely, and he groaned. His helm throbbed, as he looked around. He was on a small beach, surrounded by thick trees. The river raged on at the foot of the sand, brown and murky from the debris. The small grove was surrounded by steep rock faces, impossible to climb up. They were trapped.
Again
"Nightstreak." Knockout remembered, and looked around again, panicking when he didn't see the femme.
"Nightstreak!" He yelled. No answer. Had she... been swept away? It was possible, with the river raging as it was; Knockout prayed it wasn't the case. He stood up, wobbling around as he did. Other than his throbbing head, his arm aches with a large gash running across. Thank goodness it wasn't leaking Energon. Other than being coated with scratches and dents, his legs and peds seemed to be fine. Deep in his head, even though he hadn't shown it, he had felt dejected upon seeing the scratches.
"That's gonna take forever to buff out."
As he struggled to walk around, his mind wandered back to what Nightstreak has told him before...before...the wave.

"I love you, Knockout."
His spark fluttered at the words, as they echoed over and over again. He hadn't really gotten a chance to process them, before he had been swept away. Now that he thought about it, his spark glowed brightly.
She loves me, she loves me, she loves me.
Knockout didn't notice he was wandering around, until he stepped into the frigid water. He stopped and looked down. In the murky water, he noticed a sparkle. There was something down there. He bent down and felt around in the sand until his servo closed around something cool and smooth. He pulled it out, and nearly collapsed.

It was a piece of metal, bent into a sharp semicircle. It was gold.

Part of Nightstreak's helm.

Knockouts spark broke in half. His optics filled with tears, as he staggered back.
"No..." he thought. "No, no, no, no, no." Quiet sobs escaped his throat. "NIGHTSTREAK!"
~~~~
Her eyes fluttered open, and she shivered, cold from the ice wind. Her face stung with some invisible wound she could not see. Her bandage was peeling off her leg, revealing the wound, which was no longer leaking energon. Other than her throbbing helm and scratch- filled body, everything else seemed fine. The fine blades of grass brushed against her, as she looked around. All she saw was a vast grass field, filled with a blanked of yellow flowers. No where did she see a river.

She felt something sharp in her hand, and opened it, trembling. There, in her hand, was a red metal shard, with a black line running through it. She recognized it immediately.
Part of Knockout's arm.

Where was he? She looked around, trembling, tears forming in her optics. She remembered the wave, and being swept into the swirling water, but nothing else.

"Where am I?" She asked, then suddenly broke down into tears. She was alone. Again. After he promised her that she would never be alone again, there she was. Alone. Her spark ached, her chest plate stung, she wanted to go home.
A home she no longer had.