Rewind had adapted.
He followed Overlord, recorded, and found time to search for Dominus Ambus in data bases or conversation when the Six-Phaser was distracted. Rewind had started to call their room on this ship 'home' without much thought, and even recording the massive battles between the two Cybertronian parties had become common place.
Until today, it seemed.
"You're not hands on enough," Overlord said, dropping the corpse of an Autobot to his feet. Rewind backed up a step to avoid being splashed by the excess energon from the mutilated crunch of metal. Overlord opened his arms up, and held them out as if he were putting the carnage around the two of them on the battlefield on display. "It's not healthy. All that watching, and recording. You're wasting your existence watching instead of experiencing all the wonders I'm showing you. You really should start living, since I've so graciously let you keep your life, you know?"
"Sir?" Rewind scratched at the side of his replaced visor. His back stops itching, and now his visor begins. Would the little irritations never end? The red glass was scratched and cracked at the edges where Overlord's frustrations with the tiny repair work had made their mark. Rewind was only grateful his camera had escaped his wrath untouched. "Hands on with what?"
"Ah, a lack of imagination. See what all that recording has done? You barely can think for yourself." Overlord shook his head and went on the move. Rewind tapped behind him, climbing over debris and spare body parts as he struggled to keep up with Overlord's long stride. "Don't worry though, I'll start you off easy."
"Easy?" Rewind dashed after Overlord as he sped up. What was he talking about? Hands on? Not recording? Overlord was in a good mood from so easily wiping out the small troop of Autobots that had found the Decepticon camp, but this was odd. Normally he just pet Rewind, or demanded to see the footage. Not stomp off into the abandoned battleground after the fight was over. Rewind slammed into the back of Overlord's leg, and fell back on his aft.Perfect. "Overlord?"
"So eager? Excellent!" Overlord plucked Rewind up and put the data-disk on his feet. "This will be a great starting point. I've taken your insignificant form into consideration, for this first one. I've already done most of the heavy lifting, but I'll let you do the fun part."
"What are you talking about?" Rewind asked. Overlord rummaged through a bunch of fallen rocks. The massive mech threw debris aside easily, humming as he rummaged. "Overlord, what are we doing now?"
Rewind just wanted to go home and recharge, already.
"Here we are!" Overlord said, a light laugh in his voice.
Rewind jumped back a foot as Overlord dragged a mech out of the debris by his back leg strut. It clawed at the ground and screamed through a broken vocalizer as it tried to beat Overlord's grip away with wounded limbs. Rewind recognized the mech as a car, or some sort of truck, but the wheels on his arms and legs were scorched. Overlord pulled the screaming, writhing thing out of its hiding place and held it high above him. Overlord flicked the bot on the cheek before flipping him over and grabbing him by the shoulder.
Rewind recorded.
"Now then, to make this a little easier for you to reach." Overlord hummed once, before clamping his massive hand around the mech's legs. With a terrifying shriek of shredding metal, he ripped off the mech's legs with a single yank. He dropped the mech on the ground, standing him on his shattered thighs. Overlord steadied the mech as he whined and pooled energon, before tearing off his front chest plate and tossing it aside like the wrapping around a gift. "There we are. Easy access. Come here, Little Archive."
Rewind's optics were glued to the exposed beating, glowing spark casing on the shivering Autobot. His camera zoomed in, almost on its own accord, to capture every second of the shifting light beyond the glass. Life. Life itself. Rewind was frozen in place by the intimate beauty.
"Come on, don't be shy," Overlord smirked. He put a hand behind Rewind's back and pulled him forward until he was within arm's length of the beating spark. "Crush it. You're big enough to handle that."
"What!?" Rewind backed away, only to slam into the hand. Overlord loomed bigger than life over the two of them. Trapping the dying mech and Rewind together in his shadow. The damaged Autobot's eyes widened and he shook even harder. He cried out, a garbled broken sham of noises meant to be words through the beyond damaged vocalizer. He wanted to live. The same as Rewind. But. "You want me to what?"
"Kill him!" Overlord laughed. He pushed Rewind forward with a quick jab. "You spend so much time watching, I thought it was about time you learned the joy of getting your own digits dirty. So go ahead! Wrap your cute little hands around his spark. Rip it out. Crush it. Stomp on it. You've seen enough of my work to know what to do. Get creative."
Rewind shook his head, and felt his systems heat. "I can't."
"Why?" Overlord smirked, shoving the trembling Autobot forward so that its chest nearly engulfed Rewind. The spark pulsed, and energon dripped. It fell on Rewind's visor, and sunk into a crack. It hit his optic and he flinched. "You watch in silence all day why I kill Autobots. You're already guilty aren't you? We're just taking the next step."
"This is completely different!" Rewind argued. Energon dripped down his arms, and the heat from the spark burning and desperately clinging to life. "I won't."
"You will."
Overlord shoved Rewind into the Mech. He crashed into the chest, and felt his own spark ignite. Fear and disgust filling him at every inch. Rewind struggled back, his hands groping into the empty cavity of the chest, clinging to loose conduit and wire. Slick oil and gears. Overlord held him in place with a single finger. Rewind cycled air through his vents madly as he tried to scramble away.
"You finish the job, or I crush you here and let you both die together," Overlord hummed, drawing a circle on Rewind's back. "Is that a better incentive?"
Rewind shivered, unable to focus on anything with Overlord behind him, and his arms elbow deep in damaged parts and lifeblood. His spark reached toward the spark chamber hanging loosely on its stem. Wanting contact. Warmth. Some comfort. How could he crush it? A gush of energon splattered his chest as the dying mech coughed his insides out. Rewind nearly purged his own tank.
"Or has all you've done so far to stay alive and find that special someone been for nothing?"
Rewind clenched his hands, and the mech before him gurgled. He'd ripped out a gear. Rewind hadn't meant to! Oh Primus, he was doing damage just by touching the mech.
"I mean, isn't that what you said? You'd do anything to stay alive until you found him? Or was that wrong?" Overlord cooed, his voice practically inside Rewind's head. The steady stream of energon that had been flowing was thinning. Most of it on the ground. The spark before him was less and less bright by the moment. "Time is ticking, Little Archive. If his spark extinguishes before you put it out with your own cute little hands, than you can consider your archiving days over."
Dominus Ambus. Would he even want to see Rewind after all this? Would he look at him the same with so much energon on his hands? Rewind trembled. The spark beat.
Overlord kissed the back of Rewind's helm. "Tick. Tick. Tick."
Did it even matter?
Rewind grabbed the spark chamber, beating heavy and warm under his hands. A fresh stream of pink energon, burned as it spilled out over the newly disturbed parts. He grit his teeth and slammed a foot into the mutilated thigh of the Autobot. He braced. Rewind pulled, his systems and gears straining. The spark chamber was in there good and tight. Rewind pulled harder. He had to live. He had to live! Rewind had to see Dominus again. He had to. The stem of the spark chamber sparked, as it pulled free from the neck. Rewind screamed, "AMBUS!"
The thick cord holding the chamber to the mech snapped free, and Rewind fell back. He collapsed on the ground, hitting hard on his back where an Autobot logo used to reside. The victim's beating spark was still in Rewind's hands. Separated from its life-force, the mech's body collapsed into a dead heap. As it greyed, Rewind rolled over, cradling the spark to his chest. He sobbed, lifting it high over his head.
"That's it," Overlord whispered. A tongue licked thick lips. "Do it."
Rewind smashed the entire chamber into the ground with a primal yell, distorted in his vocalizer. The glass cracked, and the metal bent. But it didn't break. Rewind lifted it again and slammed it down again. He could hear the energy lashing out wildly. A hum and a spark. Rewind smashed it again. And again. Crunching metal under his hands. Dominus. Ambus. Dominus. Ambus.The name of the mech Rewind was so desperate to see again became his mantra. Do it. That's it. Go my little Archive. Overlord's words was his fuel. Rewind would destroy this life. He beat the chamber against the metal road until the glass shattered.
In a single burst of light, the spark dispersed out of the cracks of glass and metal. With nothing to contain it, it dissolved into nothing.
Rewind shuttered, exhaling air through his vents. It was done. He was done.
"A little crude, but points for energy." Overlord slid his hand under Rewind's still form, using both to maneuver the small data-disk into his palm. He rubbed the small thing, trying to warm the cooled energon in his shocked little form. "But don't worry, you'll get better in time."
Rewind pat the palm of Overlord's giant hand, and slowly moved his fingers along the metal until he found a grip between the joints to hold. Chuckling, Overlord cupped Rewind between his hands as if it were time for recharge. Rewind violently slammed off his glaring red optics, letting him sit in darkness. Sweet, darkness hiding the energon and oil covering his hands and armor. Rewind curled into a ball and screamed.
Overlord took them home.