Chapter 1
Run Rabbit Run
Running…
Running…
Running away…
The blue mech crashed through the dying foliage and the rain, not even bothering to look behind him. The Monster could be following him for all he knew. That red Monster, Unicron himself hiding behind a shining visage…
Mud, stones and leaves were wedged in between the seams of his armour, but he didn't care about that or the uncomfortable sensations of organics grinding against his inner workings. If anything, it was a better pain than anything he experienced at His hands.
The mech's lone golden optic was wide, staring straight ahead, but occasionally darting to the sides to check that no one was watching him, no one was waiting to pounce and no one was waiting to catch him.
"Frag it all, Breakdown!" He shouted, his voice cracking slightly. "This is your fault! ALL OF THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"
"Breakdown… I want to know… Do you love me?" he asked quietly. "Please, tell me… do you love me?"
The larger Decepticon didn't answer.
He wanted to be friends with Knock Out.
But he didn't love him.
Never would.
"Knock Out… I…"
The red mech looked up to the larger, his optics holding hope yet an unspoken threat; say the wrong thing and you will suffer. "Yes…?"
Breakdown swallowed hesitantly, what could he say? Either way, the result would only end badly! Lie to a murderous psychopath, or get tortured and most likely killed straight afterwards… Ugh, what should be done!?
He swallowed again.
"Knock Out… I…" He started, preparing himself for the worst. "…I didn't want to say… but I… love you too."
There.
The medic's optics widened at the 'revelation', looking surprised but still happy. "You… do…?" He gasped.
"Yeah… didn't think it would be a good idea." He continued, the lie somehow more bitter than the 'dinner' shoved down his throat mere kliks ago. "Y'know, 'cause we're in a war… thought Megatron wouldn't take kindly to it… and I thought you didn't like me the same way."
Knock Out pressed a hand to his spark, looking very touched. "You… thought I didn't like you?" He asked, suddenly grinning and laughing. "That's ridiculous! Of course I love you!"
Breakdown forced himself to smile. "Makes me pretty damn blind, huh?" He said. "…Love you, Knocks."
The red mech's expression shifted, looking like he had just been proposed to. "Oh, Breakdown…" He hugged the larger mech. "I love you so much!"
The blue mech resisted the urge to gag when he was kissed again.
Breakdown's run slowed down to a tired limp, his whole frame starting to succumb to the chill and the rain. His HUD was swamped with warnings, the biggest declaring 'ENERGON LEVELS AT 10% - STASIS LOCK IMMINENT'
Good.
He had only taken a small number of energon rations with him when he left, not even bothering to search for more. Besides, the ones he had were good enough; at least he knew for sure that they weren't poisoned.
It was coming back.
He remembered how he was when he was younger. His greatest flaw was his crippling paranoia and it damaged his life to the point of practically no return and he felt it was a fragging miracle that the Decepticons kept him around. Maybe it was because of Motormaster.
NO.
Don't think of him!
…Actually…
Breakdown leaned against a muddy wall, his exhaustion finally catching up with him. He slid to the ground and hanged his head. So tired…
But he might see them soon.
The blue mech laughed bitterly. "So this is how my lights go out? Running out of energy on some mudball of a planet?" He muttered. "But… It's better than what could have happened…" He looked up and didn't even flinch at what he saw; they always found him.
For, in the shadows of the forest in front of him, Airachnid stood there, cradling her severed head in her arms.
"Hey Optimus, don't you think it's weird?"
"What do you mean, Bulkhead?"
"I mean the 'Cons. They haven't shown up for months now!" The green van explained, driving next to his leader. "Not even for scouting. I wonder what's happened."
"Whatever the reason is, we should still remain on guard." The Prime responded, his voice still holding his gentle authority. "Megatron could be planning something catastrophic and is merely biding his time. We will have to be prepared if that is the case."
Bulkhead grunted in response, honestly not sure about the conclusion. He didn't doubt his leader, but he was sceptical about the answer. The Decepticon's inactivity was still concerning; wouldn't they have at least sent some scouts to search out ways to complete their plan?
Something came up on his sensors. "Optimus! Do you have something too?"
"A Decepticon signature." The reply was quiet and held some surprise and suspicion. "It is only a few kliks away from our position."
"I'm gonna check this out!" Before Optimus could protest, the green van sped up, rain and dying leaves splashed as he moved faster. It wasn't just the fact that it was a Decepticon signature, but also the fact that it was a very specific one. One that he had loathed for several years now…
Bulkhead kept on going, not slowing down until he swiftly veered off the road and transformed. He looked around the area as he moved down the muddy slope, keeping a look out for his arch-rival. Behind him he could hear Optimus transforming as well and following him. The Wrecker shifted both of his hands into guns, getting ready to shoot if need be. He moved forward and when he spotted something, his blue optics narrowed.
The green mech moved ahead towards the large blue mech sat against a muddy wall, head down and optic shut. Bulkhead growled and aimed at the other's head. "Alright Breakdown!" He said, moving closer and closer. "Put 'em up! What are you here for?"
No answer.
He circled the Decepticon until he was standing in front of him, the barrel of the gun aimed at his face. "Hey! You!" He snapped, even tapping the barrel against the other's temple. "Get up!"
The blue mech groaned and opened his optic, looking up at the Autobot. "Bulk… Head…?" He muttered. "…Really… you…?"
The answer didn't seem to satisfy the green mech. "Cut the scrap!" He barked, pulling the gun away but keeping it aimed. "What are you doing here?"
Breakdown laughed weakly. "Come to… put me… out of my… misery…?" He asked, smirking slightly. "Thanks… nice of you… to do that…"
"What are you…?"
"Bulkhead, stand down!" Optimus called out, approaching the two rivals. "Even if he is a Decepticon, something is… wrong with Breakdown."
"You can… say that again…"
"Shut up you!" Bulkhead turned to face the Prime. "I don't think we can trust him… He could be playing something!"
Optimus didn't say anything and instead moved closer, kneeling in front of the blue mech. "Breakdown… What has been going on?" He asked, gently placing a hand on the other's shoulder. "Why have the Decepticons not appeared in the past few months?"
Breakdown laughed bitterly. "They're… dead… all of 'em…" He hissed. "I saw them… but… since I… saw them go… they won't stop following me… Airachnid's here… she's staring at me…"
The response made the Prime's optics widen and Bulkhead to look concerned. What did he mean? "The Decpticons are offline?" He asked, receiving a nod in return. "What happened? Who is responsible?"
"Wouldn't… you… like… to know?" The blue mech's optic dulled in its brightness and he looked ready to pass out. "Same mech… who's been… trying to… kill… me… all this… time…!"
The green mech finally put his gun away, looking worried but still wary. "Optimus…" He started. "What do we do? I mean, Breakdown could be lying, but… he looks too beaten up to be lying…"
The Prime stood up and held his hand out to the blue mech, making him look up in surprise. "Breakdown. I may not know your circumstances, but I can tell that they are dire." He said, his voice radiating charity and warmth. "I therefore give you an offer. You can come and stay at the Autobot base until you recover."
The Decpticon's optic widened at those words, looking absolutely stunned at the mere idea. He glanced over to his rival and then to the Autobot leader. Hesitantly, he held his hand out shakily, grasping onto Optimus' own. He grunted as he was pulled up, his leg threatening to give out from under him as he moved. The Prime looked down and spotted the deep wound on the other's leg.
"…He did that…" The blue mech wheezed, taking a few steps forward, only for his leg to finally buckle. However, before he hit the floor, Prime caught his frame and looked very concerned. "Breakdown… who did this?" He asked again.
The blue mech grunted, falling silent for a few kliks before he answered. "…Kn… Kno…" He said, his voice barely audible and his optic flickering.
Optimus looked up at the Wrecker. "He's weakening. We have to get him back to base." He declared, raising a hand to his audial to open his comm. link. "Ratchet, open the Ground Bridge and prepare the Med Bay. I will explain the situation when we arrive."
"Y-You can't be serious!" Bulkhead shouted, still unsure of Breakdown's story. "H-He's a 'Con! He could try to—"
The Prime glared at the green mech, his optics showing that the argument would not continue and that his decision was final. "Help me carry him." He ordered.
He was about to protest again, but relented and placed his rival's arm across his shoulders as the Ground Bridge appeared.
Breakdown was barely conscious when he was being dragged through a Ground Bridge, his HUD declaring he only had 7% energon left; once he hit 5%, then he would go into stasis lock and go offline shortly after.
Nice.
His hearing started to dull along with his sight, the Autobot medic's – Hatchet? No… Ratchet, that was it! – shouting barely registering.
"Optimus! What is HE doing here!?" He dropped his tools and stormed over to the three mechs.
"He was out in a forest, but he's lost a lot of energon." The Prime explained firmly. "We need to repair him immediately."
Breakdown tuned out the rest of the argument, only just paying attention when he was being dragged again, this time into the smaller – and far less foreboding – Medbay. He glanced around the room and his gaze settled on a set of tools, nausea bubbling up in his tanks.
They were like ones that…
"No… please…" He finally said, struggling weakly in the two mechs' grasp. "Don't do this… Please…!"
They didn't seem to listen, laying him down onto one of the medical berths with care. The blue mech's ventilations hastened, his optic darting around the room but he didn't see the Prime or Bulkhead or the medic, nor the brightly lit Medbay.
He was back on the Nemesis, strapped down to one of the berths, darkness almost completely engulfing the room and, smiling down at him, was that monster… Scarlet optics and paint, claws to tear mechs apart and a corrupt spark…
"…have to sedate him."
Those words froze the energon in the blue mech's veins, his mind submerging further into his haunted memories.
"NO!" He shouted, somehow finding enough strength to struggle around more, even as he was being pinned down. "DON'T! PLEASE! I BEG OF YOU!"
A pinch in his neck cabling brought Breakdown back to attention, his flailing becoming more sluggish as the sedative worked its way through him. His optic dimmed and turned to the side, spotting the two mechs up against the wall.
"…No…"
Steve tilted his head.
Starscream only smiled, his empty optic sockets chilling his very spark.
Ratchet sighed irritably when Breakdown finally went unconscious. "Well, that was more difficult than it needed to be." He said, setting up an energon drip. "Probably delusions caused by energon deprivation. Made him think that he was being tortured."
Bulkhead and Optimus, however, looked unconvinced. "That's not like Breakdown…" The green mech said, looking with concern(?) at the blue mech. "If he was hurt, he'd just insist that he's fine! Not… whatever just happened."
"If you say so." The medic huffed, scanning his patient. What was Optimus thinking, letting a Decepticon into the base!? "Now, would you please move out of the way? I need to repair our 'patient'."
With that, the orange and white medic opened up the unconscious mech's chest plates to get a look at his spark…
He dropped his scanner at what he saw.
"By the Allspark!" He gasped, his optics and mouth wide open in shock.
Bulkhead and Optimus leaned in closer to get a glimpse of whatever made Ratchet lose his nerve. The Wrecker winced. "Scrap… this is bad…"
The Prime's optics narrowed in a calm anger. "We know one thing for certain… Breakdown has gone through something that he won't share."
For, carved into the metal near the blue mech's spark, was a message written with a rushed hand yet with careful precision.
'KNOCK OUT AND BREAKDOWN FOREVER'
TBC