"Today I saw my hero fall apart.
The one who taught me to be strong.
On the outside I look fine,
but on the inside I am dying."
–– Papa Roach, "Do or Die"
Smokescreen poked his head above the ground and looked about. There was nothing in sight but the ruins of Autobot Outpost Omega One, still smoldering. The sky above was black, despite the fact that it was only late afternoon. Smokescreen grunted and slipped back into his underground cavern. He approached Optimus, who laid on the ground. unmoving.
"The 'Cons stripped the place clean." He sighed and sat down beside the dying Prime. "I couldn't even find a patch kit."
Optimus mumbled something, but it came out static-laced and choppy. Smokescreen shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I…don't understand." His door wings twitched. "This sucks." He frowned and bowed his head. "And I said it would be easy. How stupid am I?" He glanced at Optimus.
The Prime offlined his optics. The sound of his fans was barely audible. Smoke rose from beneath his plating. Smokescreen may have been imagining it, but his paint seemed to be fading to a dull gray.
"Hang on, Optimus."
...
"I never knew there were so many Rockies." Miko hunched lower in her seat. "Where are we going anyway, Bulk?"
"The Wreckers have a backup plan in case someone gets separated from their unit. We meet at a certain set of coordinates." He drove faster. "If Jackie's still alive, he'll be there."
Miko sighed and leaned her head against her hand. All she could see out her window was rock, but the driver's window was a different story. They were driving on the side of a mountain, so the rest of the valley stretched beneath them, green and luscious. The sun was nearly gone, hidden by the mountains that rose in the distance. The sky was a brilliant red; it reminded Miko of blood.
"Do you think he's still alive?"
Bulkhead slowed. They'd reached the spot––a meadow full of blooming, multicolored flowers. He opened his door. Once Miko hopped out, he transformed.
"I don't know." His voice was uncharacteristically quiet. Miko frowned. "Being a Wrecker is dangerous, Miko. There are tons of ways he could've gotten killed––"
"But there are also lots of ways he could still be alive!" Miko blinked back tears. "We can't lose hope, Bulk!"
Bulkhead shrugged and sat down. "I just don't know, okay?"
Miko crossed her arms and leaned against his leg. Within moments, she was asleep.
...
Pain. That was all he'd known since they pulled him from the wreckage of his ship, barely conscious. He resisted the urge to scream when the electric prod was dragged across his chest. He could tell that one would leave a scar.
"I know you have information, Wheeljack." Starscream's chilling voice filled his audials. The Seeker was bathed in ebony shadows; they dipped into the crevices of his face and crawled across his frame like ink.
Wheeljack glowered at his captor. "I already told ya, Screamy, Prime's bots didn't know I was comin'. They never bothered fillin' me in." He bared his denta in a snarl. "So knock yourself out. I ain't talkin'."
Starscream scowled and jammed the prod into Wheeljack's neck cables. This time a small yelp did escape, but he clamped his jaw shut and cut it off. The pain in his sensory net overloaded his right optic. Starscream smirked. His EM field expanded to brush Wheeljack's own. The overpowering sensation of * satisfaction nearly made the Wrecker gag.
"Lord Megatron will find out where the Autobots have gone, whether you tell me willingly or not."
Wheeljack spat a glob of energon in his face. "Since when were you so loyal ? You tryin' to make Megsy proud?" He got another shock in his throat for his troubles.
Starscream raked the prod across his left finial. The smell of burning metal filled the air. Wheeljack howled and kicked out, hitting the seeker in the knee. Starscream shrieked and stumbled back, his left knee now dented and leaking a steady stream of energon.
"You slagger!" He flexed his claws. "You're lucky Lord Megatron wants you alive!" He slammed the prod on a table and left the room. Wheeljack simpered at his receding wings.
...
"That's it! Put your backs into it!" Knock Out crossed his arms where he stood atop a pile of rubble. Cybertron's sun was just appearing over the horizon, but a rust storm was already brewing. The drones below him continued their work of digging up the Iacon relics from the ruins of the Omega Lock, in the Rust Sea. Knock Out hoped they'd find the phase shifter––he really liked that thing.
"Sir, someone's coming!" One of the Vehicons waved and pointed to something in the distance. Knock Out shoved the drone aside and focused his optics in on the approaching entity.
"It's an Insecticon." He frowned. "Probably one of our sentries."
They waited for the bug to land and transform. It cocked its head as it scanned the Decepticons. Knock Out narrowed his optics and tried to approach it, but then it transformed again and flew back the way it had come. It came back after a few minutes and chirped at him.
"I think it wants you to follow it, sir." As if to prove the Vehicon's point, the Insecticon flew in circles around the medic. Knock Out rolled his optics, then transformed and allowed the bug to lead him away. He kept his comms off––no need to bother Megatron unless necessary. Within moments, his scouting team disappeared, enveloped in rust and fog. He suppressed a shudder and drove faster.