AN: This takes place after my fic "Pleasure Model 1516209132119" and takes place after the Decepticons are imprisoned and Optimus becomes Magnus. Rated for some graphic material.
Everything is fine, fine, fine
Through the sunshine and the rain
I got a peace of mind
You know I can't complain
I make it a point to thank the Lord
When I got Him on the line
I'm feeling good and everything is fine
~~ Josh Turner's "Everything is Fine" ~~
The Stockades stank. They didn't just stink like when a home needed to be clean or when you drove through the mud. No, they stank like the Pit itself, the smells of energon and lubricant mingling with those of slow death and fleeting life, the smell of rust decaying the once powerful Decepticon's and of them stewing in their own fluids as they slowly rotted away.
Shockwave's cell was one of the worst. It was a clean box, usually only used for high security prisoners. Megatron was in a similar box, along with Starscream and his clones, Lugnut, Blitzwing and Swindle. The other mechs were free to move about their cells, except for Shockwave.
Shockwave was held up in his cell by a long pole, his knees spread obscenely wide and his hands bound behind his back, behind the pole, with his interface panel removed to reveal his port and plug. Or what was left of his plug. The thick appendage had long since been mutilated and torn apart, nothing but a mess of limp wires, tubes and hydraulics. His head was tied to the pole as well by a blindfold over his single optic. The thin sheet of his chestplate had long ago been removed to show the thick, twisting tubes of his arteries and veins as they encircled the delicate glass sphere of his spark chamber. The chamber itself was shattered, the pale red glow of his spark flickering in recharge at the moment, but brightening every few seconds.
Shockwave sat in a pool of lubricant, covered in the stuff and barely able to move from the amount caked into his joints.
"Shockwave?" The mech didn't respond and Starscream licked his lips, looking around at the others. They were watching him, waiting for him to get a reaction out of the mech. "Shockwave, please, wake up." Starscream fairly begged, pressing his fingers to the glass of his cell. Shockwave was still, not even twitching. If it weren't for his spark and the glowing of his energon they would have thought him deactivated.
"Starscream, is he going to be alright?" Lugnut asked from his cell, the mammoth Decepticon looking so childish and young. Starscream didn't respond but stood, looking around. There were no cameras in their cells, just at the doors.
"Sunstorm, I need you and the others to cover me." Starscream whispered and the sycophant nodded, obediently and silently looking at Thundercracker. TC stood and suddenly began to loom over Skywarp, whispering softly to the coward. His actions were harsh and intimidating, but his words were gentle and soothing.
"It's arlight, Skywarp, you're going to be alright."
"I'm scared TC…"
"It's fine, you're going to be fine, shhh, shh, I'm here, they won't hurt you while I'm here…"
He cornered the youngest clone and Dirge began to claw at the door, looking around in a paranoid fashion while Ramjet and Sunstorm followed him. Slipstream and Thrust were gone and had been for several hours, they would be back soon and the seekers knew it. Starscream stood on his tip toes, reaching up to the loose air vent above them and wiggling it gently. It finally came free and he pushed it into the ventilation system, clawing his way into it before managing to wriggle himself into the shaft. He had to fold back his wings in a painful way, but determination had made him numb to it.
The decades in the Stockades had made the Decepticon's more atuned to one another, had made parts of their personalities that had laid dormant for millennia emerge in their mutual suffering. Starscream had proven to be the most matronly of the group and the most empathetic, surprisingly, and he would often sneak into the cells of his fellows to comfort them or to help ease their suffering.
Lugnut was one of the largest Decepticons, but surprisingly (next to the clones) he was the youngest, having the mindset of a youngling in the body of a war machine. Starscream could often be found with the large behemoth jet wrapped around his frame, shaking and clicking, Lugnut wanting nothing more than a gentle touch and a warm spark.
Starscream would also sneak into Megatron's cell and allow his leader to merely stroke him and hold him, the mech wanting to make sure that his soldiers were still alive, that they were still tangible beings and not just figments of his imagination.
"Shockwave!" Starscream landed in the cell with a small splash, carefully moving to remove the blindfold. "Shockwave, please, wake up…" The seeker stroked the dimmed red optic and slowly it began to online. Shockwave suddenly began to shudder and whine and Starscream held him to his cockpit, shushing him and stroking his helm and bent antennae.
"H-hurts…" the spy whimpered and Starscream looked down at the mech. His thighs were trembling and trying to clench shut and Starscream knew what must have happened.
"It's alright, it's alright… Nah-nah… Shh… Nah-nah…" Starscream cooed softly, kneeling in the lubricant and reaching down to Shockwave's port. Shockwave choked and sobbed openly when Starscream reached inside and found what was there. It was a small, spiked cylinder with thin thorns at least two mechano-inches thick. Starscream winced as he eased the device out, staring at it before subspacing the item, gently massaging away the pain in Shockwave's port. The mech whimpered and choked before relaxing slowly, slumping in his uncomfortable position. Starscream sighed and stared at Shockwave, the mech having slipped back into forced recharge. He reached up and stroked Shockwave's antler-like antennae before standing up.
"Starscream!" The seeker turned at the shriek from Skywarp, but he was too slow. A fist connected with his face and he was sent flying back into a wall, gasping in pain as he slid onto the lubricant-covered floor.
"How you got out of your cell is a mystery, Decepticon,"
Starscream looked up and saw that the guard was one of the three who had brought back Thrust and Slipstream. The femme looked like she had tangled with a trash compactor and lived while Thrust was shaking and looking like he was about to purge.
"But it will be the last time when we remove your legs."
"No!" Skywarp wailed and Megatron was standing up, looming on the other side of his door. TC had covered Skywarp's mouth and was holding the youngest seeker to his chest, hushing him and stroking his helm as the small coward whimpered and looked on the verge of tears.
"It's alright, Skywarp, it'll be alright." Starscream whispered as he was hauled out of the cell.
"You're delusional if you think it will all be fine." The guard chuckled and he grabbed the seeker and pulled him so that his back was to his chest, Starscream facing his clones.
"It'll be alright, I'll be alright, don't worry, don't worry."
"Starscream!" Megatron called and slammed his side into his small cell, panic clear to Starscream even though anyone else would have seen only rage.
"Leave him alone!" Blitzwing called out as well, having been watching everything silently. He rarely spoke now, but when he did it was in a desperate situation.
"It's alright… It'll all be fine… I'll be fine…" Starscream's optics were offline as the two other guards came over. One of them grabbed Starscream's left leg and jerked it half-way off with one easy pull.
Not many people knew why Starscream was named Starscream. Thundercracker had earned his name because of his sonic booms, Sunstorm because of his pyrokenisis, Skywarp because of his teleportation and Slipstream because of her ability to become intangible. Seekers earned their names due to their special, individual abilities.
Starscream's ability was his voice. Starscream shrieked loudly as his leg was finally jerked completely off, the pitch high enough to cause the cells to rattle and the mechs' audials to give out. The first tug on the second leg sent Starscream's voice up another octave, shaking the metal walls violently.
"What's going on?!" One of the mechs called and Starscream stared at the shuddering ceiling before taking a deep invent and letting out an audial shattering shriek that sent the ceiling coming down.
There was an outraged roar and Starscream saw Megatron rising from the rubble of his cell's ceiling, kicking down the weakened structures of the walls. Blitzwing and Lugnut were doing the same, the guards dazed from the sudden turn of events. Lugnut ran to Shockwave's cell, tearing off the door and grabbing the bound mech, roughly jerking his bonds off and cradling him carefully to his chest. Blitzwing grabbed hold of one of the guards' guns before running to the Seekers' cell, blowing the lock off and ushering the fliers out. Thundercracker picked up Skywarp while Dirge and Ramjet helped Thrust and Sunstorm picked up Slipstream. Megatron grabbed Starscream and his disembodied leg and the Seeker looked up at his leader.
"Mega…"
"Shut up, Starscream." Megatron ordered gently and stroking the Seeker's cockpit soothingly before he turned to the others. "Get as far as you can, if you get out of this hell then find others and get help."
"What if we don't get out?" Lugnut asked and Megatron looked away.
"Then we die Decepticons. We die for freedom from Autobot Tyranny."
The Decepticons nodded and followed their leader, Blitzwing grabbing the two other guns and subspacing one before hoisting the other two, holding them at the ready. There were alarms blaring and guards running through the halls, but the Decepticons managed to avoid them, hiding in shadows and empty cells. They were at the entrance and exit to the Stockades when the door opened and they came face to face with a small group that they hadn't dreamed of seeing again.
There, right before them, stood the Earth Autobots that they had fought for so long. They looked shocked at what they saw, the two longtime enemies silent as they stared at one another before Megatron growled, grabbing Optimus' neck and turning him to slam the smaller mech to his chest, shielding himself and Starscream.
"Try anything and I will kill him." He growled. Prowl, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Ratchet were silent before Ratchet stepped forward.
"We have a ship docked just outside, come on."
"But Doc-bot!"
"Shut up, Bumblebee!" Ratchet shouted and ran over to Sunstorm and Slipstream. "They need medical attention! Now I suggest you get your aft in gear and help me get them to the ship!"
Megatron was shocked but didn't protest. He didn't release his hold on Optimus either, but the mech seemed to take it into stride, allowing himself to be manhandled by the Decepticon leader, telling him which way to turn to get to the ship.
"Decepticons!" Someone shouted and Optimus was whirled around, the other Decepticons hiding behind the shield of Megatron's bulk.
"Shoot and he will die!"
"Magnus!"
"Do as he says." Optimus choked out as Megatron's hand tightened on his neck.
"What are you waiting for?! Shoot!"
"Put down your weapons!" Megatron roared, lifting Optimus and the Magnus choked, optics widening and hands scrabbling at Megatron's thick fingers.
"Shoot!"
The mechs looked conflicted before they obeyed Megatron, dropping their weapons as they watched Megatron back out, the seekers running ahead with Lugnut and Blitzwing close behind. They boarded the ship with no problems and when the hatch closed Megatron dropped Optimus, the mech gasping and choking for breath, turning to see Megatron and the other mechs shoving boxes and crates aside within the Cargo bay, Blitzwing and the Seekers grabbing blankets and tarps and seeming to build an enormous nest. Megatron sat in the center of the nest, Starscream in his lap, and the seekers curled around him, Ratchet and the others watching in fascination as the mechs seemed content to merely sit together, curled like an enormous family of birds or wolves. But what fascinated them all the most was Megatron leaning down to curl around Starscream's body, the seekers trilling and trying to get as close as they could to the magenta and gray seeker.
"He needs to be treated, all of them." Ratchet whispered, his gaze wandering over the group. Not a single one of them had their chest armor or interfacing covers on, they were covered in filth and looked severely depleted on energon. It was a wonder they had fought their way from the Stockades as easily as they had. By all appearances they should have deactivated from exhaustion half-way through.
There was a sudden retching sound and Ratchet turned to see Shockwave purging his tanks, lubricant spilling from his hidden mouth and Lugnut whimpering as he clutched the other Polyhexian liked a doll.
The medic's optics widened in alarm and he ran over, taking no care of the snarls and aggressive actions of the seekers surrounding him as he knelt beside Shockwave. His energon veins were tainted an unhealthy blue from the amount of lubricant tainting his systems.
"I need to get him to medbay and perform an energon transfusion."
"I'll do it." Megatron stated immediately and Ratchet shook his head.
"Your energon is most likely tainted from being in that living Pit, you'll need a transfusion as well."
"Let me." Optimus stated, stepping forward. "He's about my size, and besides…" He stared at the mech. "He'll take better to seeing me when he wakes up than anyone else."
No one questioned the mech as Ratchet nodded and ordered Lugnut to carry the spy to his medbay.
"I'm so sorry, old friend." Optimus whispered when Shockwave was placed on the nearest berth, Lugnut sitting on another one, staring at the older mechs with a wide optic. He looked on the verge of tears and Optimus smiled as Ratchet linked the two mechs up, beginning the transfusion.