-1This chapter covers several months

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aboard the departing ship, Zephyr was at a loss. She was alone in enemy territory now, heading away from any hope of rescue or help. Galvatron dragged her to a room of the ship and tossed her inside. "Have fun," he growled and shut the door on her, leaving her completely alone. Breaking down completely, she fell to the ground and wept.

Megatron paced in the conference room, wearing a long furrow into the floor. "I am such a fool, I should have known my creation better than that," he stopped and thought. "…No, I should have known myself better than that," he corrected himself. //The only thing that came through the link was the sound of utterly heartbroken weeping.// Megatron slammed a fist into the wall at feeling her cry. This was all his fault, he could have prevented this another way, but instead he let himself be played and let his beloved be taken away by a mad idiot. //She didn't know where she was, but she supposed it didn't matter because she wouldn't be getting out of this one. This was it. It had to be. She wondered how long it would take her to die.// "Please stop thinking like that, Zephyr," he muttered to himself, but directed to her. //A sad smile was sent his way, as if to apologize for not being able to see any other way out.// Megatron, too, gave a sad smile. //"I'm sorry I got you into this mess, Zephyr, I am so sorry," he said, trying not to lose it completely.// Both tried to reassure the other that it wasn't their fault, that they had done everything they could. //There was a flicker of fear, along with an image of Galvatron entering, before she tried her hardest to force the link into a blackout.// This sensation disturbed Megatron greatly. What kind of horror was she anticipating? What could be bad enough to block from even him//"No, Zephyr!"// he cried out, but it was too late, the link had blacked out.

The next half hour was silent as she held the link closed, only the occasional flicker of pain, disgust and hate coming through. Megatron felt these and wondered what was happening to her. "Please let her be all right," he prayed, closing his eyes before turning around to meet Optimus. "Have you made contact with her at all?" That was the first question. "Yes, but very little," he said. "Any guess as to where they are now?" he asked. "No," Megatron replied. It was then that the link reopened… //Energon. A lake of it, a sea of it, as far as she could see. She was lying face up on the floor, only the floor was gone, replaced by a seemingly endless sea of energon…// Megatron nearly felt his spark explode as he viewed this, and he let out a terrible scream. Optimus slapped his brother. "What is wrong?" Megatron started shaking. "He… He…" Anger rose up in him. "I'll kill him!" he roared. //She could hear someone chuckle, and then the sound of a door closing. She was alone again.// Megatron was about to lash out in anger when Optimus stopped him. "Calm down and tell me what happened, Megatron." And so he told him, and the next thing that came through the link, a chuckle, a door closing, and a feeling of loneliness.

That was how it began… what could only be described as a living hell. She resisted at first, blacked out the link when he came to spare her love the agony she suffered. Galvatron smiled cruelly as he pushed her down onto a metal bed, still stained from the energon of last night, and the night before, and the night before, on and on and on… "Ready for more, my little bunny?" She growled weakly, her will beginning to break, offering halfhearted resistance not because she was afraid but because it was what she always did. He grinned at that and pounced on her. "I thought you wouldn't, but it's so much more fun when you fight back, because then I can break you all the more." Her immediate reaction was to try to make the link black out again, but this time she failed. Was it because she was too weak, or did she just not care anymore? Galvatron grabbed her chin roughly and kissed her harshly, beginning the process of claiming her as his once again. //Her spark was going numb, the ability to feel emotions sliding away, disappearing into the cold despair spreading through her.// This time she didn't really resist much. She was used to it, after all. //Megatron reached out to her, wishing he was there, wishing he could beat Galvatron until he was metal shavings upon the ground, wishing that she did not have to go through this.// Things went differently this time… at least for one of them. //This time the link remained unblocked, and everything poured through.// Optimus had to hold his brother up as Megatron felt the agony Zephyr suffered; the abuse, the rape, everything. She almost welcomed the pain, because that was all that was left. Nothing else remained in her, all emotions and ability to care long gone from her spark. Pain was all she could feel, and so she was almost all right with it. Once Galvatron was finished with her, he smiled and threw her up against the wall on the other side of the room, then laughed wickedly as he made his way to the door. "I'm glad you've become submissive, Zephyr; it seems I've broken you." He laughed again and exited. None of that mattered. //"I'm dead," she muttered to herself. "I'm dead, but my body is alive…"// Their pain mixed and mingled until neither of them was sure whose suffering was whose. //"Zephyr…"// Megatron whispered, but he got no response. She had fallen so far that she had passed beyond even his reach, it seemed. Even the voice of her love couldn't stir any feelings in her. What was he to do when the one he loved was suffering so horribly that she no longer cared or felt any emotion other than pain? He sobbed in his brother's arms as the coldness of despair, of utter hopelessness closed over her, and in so doing it closed over him too. //"I'll never escape. This is my life, now. This is my life…"// Megatron shook his head. //"That is not your life. I'm getting you out of there. I promise," he muttered.// Even that brought no hope, and that hurt him further. "We'll find Galvatron," Optimus tried to reassure him. "If not to rescue Zephyr, then to make him pay." Revenge wasn't the Autobot way, but he was almost willing to make an exception after all the pain and suffering the other Decepticon had caused his brother.

The whole planet was in mourning alongside the Lord High Protector. With her gone, it was as if their world had returned to those dark days when the All Spark had been lost. Their new Golden Age was fading fast. The Lady Wellspring was the life force of the planet itself, and only in her presence could new lives come into being. As she suffered, so did the planet she'd sacrificed so much for. The same went for the people. Her connection to their world meant that her suffering was laid bare for all to see, if they only knew what to look for and where to look. Buildings that had previously looked new began to age, edifices crumbled, things broke down, luster dulled, paint faded… The previously vibrant colors of their world dimmed to a lifeless gray that seemed just shy of death. The military as a whole was trying in vain to hunt down the renegades, focusing all their resources on getting her back for the sake of their ailing world. Civilians merely offered up prayers, both for her safe return and for the sake of their suffering Lord High Protector…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One can only hope they'll find her soon, you know?