The Autobots had been at it for centuries, starting to grow weary of fighting and never winning. They were losing 'bots to the Decepticons, losing supplies, losing hope...

Now they had lost their final femme, a young one called Arcee, due to an ambush. Her partner had taken off after her, vowing to not return until he found her. But Arcee had been tucked away under Cybertron's surface.

And the only one that would see her every day for the thousand years she was missing would be Airachnid, Shockwave's latest crack at super-Cybertronians.

Arcee spent her days moving from tied to a cold berth (Sleep Time), tied against a pole while Airachnid fed her spoiled Energon to "keep her strength up for today's activities", and then tied with her arms above her helm, often times for hours before Airachnid decided to return to her. Sometimes she would hang there until well after Airachnid left and a blind drone would come for her to tie her back onto the berth, which was momentarily incredible to Arcee since it was missing his glowing optics. She tried speaking with it, trying to get any response, any voice to help drive the ones out of her helm, but the drone tipped its helm up and showed her the ugly scar over its throat. Airachnid had blinded it and tore its vocodor out with some form of acid.

Arcee sighed and rolled her helm to the other side, staring at the wall. She sighed softly and closed her optics.

But Airachnid went to her as soon as the drone left and she strung the little femme back up. "Give me the attack coordinates."

She had said that one sentence ever since she had her claws on Arcee. That was all Arcee heard from her, and then Airachnid said other things, like Food and eat up.

Arcee had begun to hate that sentence. She was too young to be given something as big as attack coordinates, and her team leader had kept her as far away from any combat as he could whenever he could spare a few servos simply to guard the base, other bases, medics while they worked. But when she was captured, she had been with Tailgate on a mission that had been deemed "so easy a sparkling could do it". Someone should have told Tailgate that, because he missed and they wound up fighting the Decepticons servo-to-servo. They were separated, she and Tailgate, and then Arcee had been ambushed by Airachnid while trying to get back with her partner.

It had been years since she had last seen Tailgate, and she was losing hope that he would come to her rescue.

Arcee growled lowly. "I don't know the attack coordinates."

"Give me the attack coordinates."

"I don't know them!"

"Give me the attack coord-"

"I don't know them!"

Airachnid smirked at her, then backed out of the cell. For the first time since Arcee arrived in the cell, the only lighting in the cell was turned off and Arcee was left to hang by her arms all night. The drone didn't come to retrieve her, and for days, Arcee hung.

She had been strung up like that for a week before Airachnid returned. Arcee's helm was resting against her arm, and she looked broken, but her optics were shining as bright as ever.

Airachnid remained silent as she just stood in the room. She didn't turn the light on, she didn't even move. She just stared at her for a good hour, then left her.

Arcee was left with the voices in her helm, her optics narrowing in anger, but she could not bring herself to speak. She knew what Airachnid was trying to do, and she wasn't about to give her a servo in assistance.

Airachnid was trying to break her down, make her suffer for holding back unknown information and, mostly, for interrupting her. Arcee didn't know how long she could hold on.

Already her arms were aching, she felt hollow, and her spark was humming softer now in the quiet, damp, dark cell with no window, no heat source, and now no light.

She began to tremble, but she forced her body to be still.

Don't let the demons win, she thought. Don't let the demons win.

So she held on with all she had, held onto Tailgate's voice as he remarked how strong she was.

Yes, she thought. I am strong. Tailgate thought so himself.

I am strong.

But still, there was a nagging little voice deep in her helm that wouldn't let her believe that.

You'll break soon. You'll see.