A/N: Just a little drabble I wrote. It's not very good at all, but I needed to get it out of my head.
Cover art by mucun : / / mucun. deviantart gallery/ ?offset=72#/d2118o4
Disclaimer: I own only the idea of the noose (not the human kind).
The Noose
The noose.
Similar to its human counterpart in appearance, but with a key difference: it doesn't choke its victims to death, instead this simple-looking invention drains a Cybertronian of all power, eventually extinguishing the spark. However, this odd invention was meant to be used exactly like the original noose, perhaps because it would be entertaining to watch the mech dangle and squirm while he slowly died…
On this particular day, for the first time since its creation, the noose was going to be used in public, for the execution of three traitors who tried to overthrow Megatron. The entire army was to watch the event, though many were watching from monitors due to distance.
At last the time had come. Soundwave led the restrained traitors onto the platform and placed a noose around each one's neck. The crowd roared in anticipation. That is, all but one.
Sunstorm watched sadly as the nooses were tightened around the necks of Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp. There were four traitors in total, but Sunstorm had been spared from his co-conspirators' fates. The gold Seeker was being forced to watch their execution from a cage, well more like a transparent box, placed not too far from the platform.
Sunstorm's servos were shaking as Soundwave read out loud their crimes. The plan had been foolproof… It would have worked if Sunstorm had finished off Soundwave. But he had been so sure that the TIC was dead then, and now they were paying the price for his negligence.
The caged Seeker regretted his choice to help his twin, but the idea had been perfect. It could have worked, and not only that, but Starscream offered Sunstorm something he had wanted for many years: his freedom. Freedom from Shockwave's never-ending experiments.
Many years ago Sunstorm had been normal, but the war began and Vos was destroyed. Sunstorm and Starscream were separated from their creators and each other during the attack on the city. Starscream was lucky and had been taken in by neutrals, Sunstorm, on the other hand, had been found by Shockwave. For so long Sunstorm was experimented on and kept away from most mechs. All this while his twin rose through the Decepticon ranks. Sunstorm never knew how long Starscream knew about his location before the tri-colored Seeker finally visited him.
The bound Seekers kept their faces neutral throughout Soundwave's listing, never once showing a sign of fear. Sunstorm wondered, How can they be so calm?
"Query: Last words?" Soundwave asked.
Thundercracker and Skywarp remained silent and only glanced in Sunstorm's direction. Sunstorm wished they would scream and curse at him, but they didn't.
Starscream smirked and sneered, "Long live LordMegatron."
From his throne, Megatron made a gesture to Soundwave, who nodded and pulled a lever. The trapdoors beneath the Seekers opened, causing them to fall and the nooses to activate. The effect was immediate: all three were screaming as the nooses painfully and slowly drained them of all energy.
It took all of Sunstorm's strength to keep standing as he felt the other half of his spark dying. The moment Starscream's spark faded, Sunstorm collapsed, last thing his sensors noticed was the audience's cheers.
XXX
There were four mechs in the meeting room: three were the Decepticon High Command and the fourth was the last traitor.
"Query: What will we do with him?" Soundwave asked Megatron, looking over at Sunstorm. If he died or lived on in agony made no difference to the telepath, either way, Sunstorm would pay for nearly killing him and his Cassetticons.
"There is a reason why we're keeping him alive," Megatron said, and nodded at Shockwave to explain.
"Over the millennia I experimented on Sunstorm, I've noticed two important side effects," said Shockwave, "One was that he continuously gives off enough energy to power several bases. The second was that his spark is now invulnerable; he's basically immortal now. What I am trying to say is that Sunstorm is the perfect generator. With him, we won't be as hard-pressed to find Energon."
The Seeker was barely conscious and only half listening to them, had he been an average Seeker he would have died moments after Starscream did.
XXX
When Sunstorm was moved to a new prison, he didn't notice. His HUD warned him of the oncoming stasis lock, but he did nothing to prevent it. The pain in his spark was too much to bear and he stopped caring about what would happen to him next.
He just wanted to escape the pain.
A/N: I warned you guys it wasn't that good.
EDIT: BackgroundRobot-11 has written a spin-off/sequel called Darkness in the Light. Warning: it's going for a more horror vibe.
But if you liked, then please review.