Nineteen: Disquiet

Nothing was right on board, the sudden return of someone assumed dead and then the near castration of Deathwing had disturbed everyone. Tyrant had insisted that their missions were still the same and this was little more than a family matter that did not need any of their input. All the same, Tyrant made a point to take Doom out regularly and keep him out of the way of Boulder as he got larger. Doom did not understand any of what had happened, he'd been happy with his parents and siblings and suddenly someone else had come in and kept chasing him away from his mother's side. Every time Spike had gone to try and hold his baby, Boulder would stomp on him.

Doom found Wildfang would hide him with her, take him with her regularly to keep him out of danger and he would also spend time with his father. But it made him incredibly clingy to Spike every time they had a moment together. Boulder still had duties so when he left, Spike would grip hold of Doom and try to soothe him and feed him and keep him comfortable. Doom could sense there was much more going on and so could the other offspring as they continued to try and get on with their lives but… Wildfang and Boulder hit an impasse with one another and soon Wildfang didn't go to work with them but stuck with the huge flying dragons that were in charge of transportation.

With Boulder back, Smog was all over the place again and all over Cheetah… Slash and Scorch were aware something was wrong but only Jackal seemed to have a real good idea. He tried often to try and get Boulder to make a point that Cheetah was to keep away from Smog but to Boulder, Cheetah was now his only daughter who actually cared what her father thought. Cheetah thought of course that she was back in good graces and that everything should be fine, but if anything she felt like Smog was taking her away more, things were happening more with him and she felt too ashamed to bring it up to her father because Smog warned he might reject her as he had Doom and Wildfang.

Slash found himself being pushed to be around females more and he, Jackal and Scorch were dragged over to the female units and Boulder arranged them to have their first experiences. Scorch panicked and ran away, going to find one of his friends because he felt his mother could not do anything against this situation. Jackal panicked too but thankfully; he'd been growing a friendship with one of the most powerful dragons that came aboard ship with his group to share information. This male thankfully was on hand to tease and make a point that Jackal could hang out with them for a while. It was a lucky escape but being the oldest Slash had to show he was on good terms with all the girls and that he knew how to use his special gift. His father put a lot of stock in him for being so lucky and being so powerful, he expected Slash to have the girls clamouring for him and many were but they were more trying to keep Slash away from a father they all felt had totally lost it.

Comet Chaser had gained some pleasure for it all, until his meetings with Spike in the medical rooms and finding that there were two obvious problems with what he had brought to them. The first was that Spike was never allowed to be alone, either one of his children or Boulder or one of the others was on hand to keep an eye on everything. Boulder had assumed that Deathwing had seduced Spike within the medical room and thus Spike was not to be left alone there. It meant Comet couldn't even speak to him about anything they usually did because the privacy between them was gone and there was no way to communicate with Spike outside of their working hours without Boulder being around to make things awkward.

Comet had tried to tell himself it wasn't his business and Spike couldn't produce offspring anymore so it was not like he should care. He tried to make a point that he shouldn't think such a thing and yet the second thing kept grating at Comet. All the other dragons noted it but Spike said nothing and they did not know what to do or how to respond to it… that was the fact that Spike was getting beaten regularly and it seemed like a whole 360 turn from Boulder… only his jealousy had made it obvious before that Boulder was actually quite vindictive.

Spike had finished his rounds in the medical office and he didn't want to go back home, the kids would be away till late and though Doom was cuddling into him as he finished the cleaning, he'd have to go to his father tonight. Spike didn't like that he had to send any of his offspring anywhere but the others didn't like hanging around much either. Boulder was on ground patrol with Smog so, hopefully there might still be sometime to have with Doom as he sighed and hooked his baby right up and against him as Doom giggled.

“Mama!" Doom beamed, loving every time he was hoisted up and snuggled. It broke Spike's heart every time but nuzzled against his baby and then began to bounce him gently. Doom was getting pretty heavy but Spike was not going to miss this chance to play with his baby. Not to mention there were rumours too that a new home planet had been identified and soon they would be starting up a better colony. Spike was thinking about it as he bounced his baby and then hoisted him over his head, making Doom's wings open out. “Mama! Fun!"

“Yes it is… and you know what would also be fun? If when we arrive at this new place, Tyrant allows me the chance to choose to be with whomever I want to be with. Boulder's not the male I paired with!" Spike stated with a firm huff, bouncing the baby again as the door opened and Wildfang strolled in with a massive slice down her face. It was enough that even Doom cheeped an 'uh oh' and Wildfang was looking particularly peeved. Spike gently settled Doom down but the big baby clambered up onto the examination table, beckoning for Wildfang to join him there. She grinned wickedly and then slunk up onto it to give him as kiss and a smirk as he cuddled her face and pointed to it. Spike shook his head. “Owie indeed… what happened?"

“Oh this… turns out there's this whole bunch of other dragons who don't get along with Tyrant's world view and have been trying to pull us back since we left. I didn't care about it, but on a scouting mission with Jackal and Cheetah, ran right into one of their patrols. Sent the other two back and then took them on in a fight myself, made sure to really give them a good going over and got a scratch to my face for my troubles." Wildfang stated gently and then Doom was trying to lick the wound so Spike hooked him up onto his shoulders. Doom gave a giggle, gripping onto his mama's back and lounging there with a grin as Spike carefully wiped the wound clean with an antiseptic and then Spike was scowling towards Wildfang as he noticed a few other marks and a familiar smell.

“Something else you want to talk about? You're all in your twenties now so I'm not going to lecture and tell you that you're not old enough but… if I need to castrate some dragons when I see them…" Spike warned softly but Wildfang gave a snigger of amusement and stuck her tongue out. She might have been in a real battle but she'd actually been pretty surprised by the response as she gave a giggle.

“The pair of them… called Smoky and Royal I think… wasn't really paying attention but… the moment they saw I was packing a surprise, we all seemed to go from one kind of wrestling to another kind…" Wildfang teased and Spike rolled their head in disbelief. He padded back over to get something to cope with the smell as Doom clung to his mother and called Wildfang fun. Wildfang was giggling at her mother's reaction and then gave a smirk. “Seriously mum… I didn't think I could use both at the same time but they're shockingly flexible… I thought it was just talk when the guys were saying how Slash had serviced five girls at once… now I wanna know how much I can handle at one go."

“Your brother did WHAT!" Spike barked, suddenly feeling a hideous rage build within him that was going to explode the moment he saw Slash! But then Doom was gently patting at their neck and Spike took in a steadying breath before rolling onto his side so that Doom slid back into his grip and was held in a cuddle. Spike nuzzled at Doom lovingly, licking his forehead and then peppering his cheeks in kisses as he snuggled him. “Oh Doom… please don't be like Slash… or Wildfang… you need to save yourself for someone super special…"

“Someone who doesn't mind having a titanic…"

“WILDFANG!" Spike interrupted, but Doom gave a giggle, grabbing his mother's face and kissing at Spike lovingly. Wildfang couldn't help but snigger and then the door opened as Scorch and Slash padded in, the pair of them looking a bit battered with scratches on their hard chest and shoulder scales. Spike then hooked Doom up to Wildfang's paws and he continued to snuggle with his big sister, tucking under her head and turning around so they could watch Slash and Scorch. Scorch went straight up to Spike, hooking his big arms around his mother and snuggling tightly, Spike cuddled him back but was glowering across to Slash who suddenly pulled his head back with an expression of surprise. “Heard you both might have bumped into trouble… although I also heard something about taking five at once… Slash…"

“Nah… there were only four and I smashed most of them into rocks and knocked them out! But Smog and Dad hung back with Cheetah and Jackal to check it out more. But… the bad guys won't be trying to mess with us any time soon, heh." Scorch beamed and Spike grasped his cheeks, kissing him softly on the middle of the head and then nuzzling noses. As always Scorch was childlike in his joy and wonder but he was actually a very decent fighter and not really as dim as he made out. He settled back comfortably to sniff at Wildfang's wound and then noticed Doom, the pair waggled their tails at one another and soon Doom was on the ground with Scorch, the pair of them wrestling around in delight for a time. But Spike was glaring at Slash who was giving a grimace as he realised what might be happening, only to give a grimace.

“Well… uh… it turns out it was a good arrangement… they're my friends and they've offered to take me, Cheetah, Jackal and Scorch with them to another ship. Smog would be coming too but, Wildfang's hanging out with the big transporters now and… and Doom isn't really allowed to stay with us so…." Slash was not really sure how this was coming across to Spike. He hated that he was telling his mother that they were all moving out, but then again their dad had become unpredictable and mean. They did not want to be around him if they could help it and especially when they were grown up now and needed to go on their own steam.

“You're… you're all… all leaving me?" Spike whimpered, suddenly ignoring their initially shock over what Slash had been up to with the females but now concerned that he was being abandoned! He shouldn't think like that of course, they were adults now and it would be a chance for him and Boulder to sort themselves out. But at the same time it felt like the children were leaving because they didn't quite believe in Boulder being who he once was. It felt almost like they were going to abandon him to the abuse that Boulder was giving him… but could he blame them? Boulder and he probably needed the time together and Spike gave a grimace as he then snorted. “What about Smog… why is he going with you?"

“Smog's in charge of unit Ma, he's much easier to work with than dad and… and he looks after us, he's always done in the past." Scorch stated gently, grabbing his little brother and then blowing air onto Doom's belly to make him shriek out in utter delight. Spike turned to look to them with an anxious expression, not quite sure what was happening and feeling Wildfang tensing up beside her as she gave a growl.

“Just do me a favour… you're the big brothers so you've got to watch out for Cheetah… don't leave her alone with Smog for any reason. I don't care whether she thinks she's in love with him or whatever, but there is a serious need for you to keep her safe. It's just because she's got to show she's mature enough…" Spike began, sitting on his hind legs and wagging a hand, saying it before Wildfang could. Wildfang was nodding her head in agreement and Scorch and Slash looked to one another, confused but then were nodding their heads too. Spike gave a soft nod of his head in relief before the door opened and Deathwing stepped in to check on them.

“Daddy!" Doom giggled in delight, bounding over to his father's side and got himself hooked right up into Deathwing's chest. The big dragon was beaming in amusement as he nuzzled and snuggled up against his baby, kissing his forehead before noticing the others. He was looking towards Spike with a desperately sad expression but noticing three of the kids were back, he guessed it was probably best he took Doom and left. Doom noticed and then turned around with a whimper. “Want mama!"

“I know baby but… you know Boulder is mean to you and mummy doesn't want him to be mean to you. Mummy is trying to make him understand… but don't worry, I'll see you tomorrow." Spike beamed in delight and nuzzled Doom's nose. There were tears in his eyes and Doom clasped his mother's nose, looking towards him desperately. Deathwing kissed his son and almost went to kiss Spike but knew not to, Doom then began to bawl heavily as he was taken out of the room and Spike started to sob too. It didn't matter that he got to see the baby tomorrow, he was still being separated from his baby every day and he sobbed and whined hideously. “Oh my baby… my baby!"

“Mama…" Scorch shuffled over and wrapped one of his huge paws around Spike, pulling his mum into his big body and hugged him tightly. He felt sad too, he didn't like seeing his mother in such a terrible mess and it was another reason he didn't want to stay around. Their dad was being so mean, when their mother had four of their older babies stolen away and he and Spike had both been miserable for it… why was it he was forcing this baby away? Scorch cuddled his mother until the crying ebbed and Slash was looking to the side, not wanting to acknowledge it because he was letting it happen too and Wildfang was growling, but knew when she brought it up she was hurt too.

The doors opened gently and Jackal, Cheetah, Smog and Boulder stepped in… Boulder was looking very angry and was sneering towards Smog who was bearing a Boulder-shaped slash across his neck. Spike pulled his head from Scorch to notice it and realised that Smog must have said the boys were staying with him. Spike was not unhappy to see that Boulder had hit Smog, but he doubted it was because he knew Smog was a piece of dung, it was probably because he was losing control of his kids. Sometimes Spike wondered where their Boulder had ever gone… whether he had died all that time ago and Spike didn't want to deal with it.

“Mummy… did Wildfang tell you what we met? I never knew there were dragons out there who think Tyrant is wrong! They were real scary!" Jackal whimpered, bounding over and quickly wedging himself into the hug between Spike and Scorch. Spike wrapped about him tightly, being her only small son, Jackal was still very much a baby and being the nervous wreck he could be, he tended to appreciate the fussing a bit more. Jackal snuggled to his mummy, using it to duck out of the way of Boulder's scowling face as he padded over to Wildfang and gave her a sniff. The pair of them locked eyes and it was obvious the pair were not happy with one another and certainly did not believe one another was someone either could get along with, but Boulder gave a grunt.

“You did good Wildfang… you made a decision that kept everyone safe and I'm glad you're alright. I was a bit worried you looked like you'd been through hell… but you cleaned up good." Boulder stated, perhaps the kindest thing he'd said to Wildfang in all her memories of their rathe clashing lifestyles. She was surprised, this was a strange way to experience her father and Boulder even gave her a nuzzle. But with that he looked towards Spike with a firm look and then turned to the clock on the wall with a soft grunt. “Well… as everyone here's made their decision… it's time we got on with our lives too. Come on Spike."

“I'm just checking them over and then…" Spike began, but Boulder turned around with a violent snap.

“NOW!" It was enough they all ducked down and Spike just gave a groan. He nuzzled each of his babies goodbye with a miserable expression and then turned to leave. He did not want to leave but they waved goodbye and then seemed to cluster together for comfort. They felt awful for leaving their mother alone like this, but there was little they could do when it was so clear that Boulder would not let Spike go.

Spike and Boulder padded towards their room in silence, Spike's head down and tears sliding down his muzzle. He was not sobbing loudly or making any noise, he knew there was no point as they continued on and yet, Boulder turned his head down and noticed. The blue dragon curled his lips, confused over what was going on with Spike when it was obvious that he just wanted to be with Spike all the time. He didn't understand the miserable expression and when they stepped into their room, he gave a soft grunt.

“What are you crying about? The kids are all grown up… they don't need us and surely this should be our time together. We've constantly been pulled apart and I will not let anyone pull us apart again… it's just you and me Spike… finally!" Boulder stated and Spike just seemed to settle down as if to sleep, he was confused by his feelings right now… if only because he didn't want it to just be him and Boulder at all!