"Under Weathered"—A TFP Story
Summary: Optimus is taken aboard the Nemesis, and is demanded by Megatron of a way to remove this disease from his body; meanwhile, the bots catch up with Starscream and they fight.
Transformers © Hasbro
Lily and Kylie © Me
(no flames, pretty please. If you don't like, THEN DON'T READ)
A/N: I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE SUPER INEXCUSABLE LONG HIATUS! I just lost interest in it for a long while DX Please forgive me...
Chapter 10
When Optimus came to, he felt himself being dragged across the floor. Weakly fluttering his optics open, he saw the floor was inches from his face; his mouth was sticky with Energon sludge, his head pounded, and his entire body ached and shook. The medicine Ratchet gave him had worn completely off. He was not doing well, and his brawl with the Decepticons only made it worse. He was too weak to lift his head to look around, but he somehow already knew where he was.
He was on board the Nemesis.
He felt two firm sets of hands around his arms, pulling him down the hall. His hearing was muffled as he slowly regained consciousness, but he could hear the Decepticons taunting him, while some were warning others to stay back. They thought of him as a germ, and he didn't blame them. He admitted to himself that he was a mess, and he was in this much trouble because he didn't listen to Ratchet. If—When, he made it back to base, Ratchet would chew it out of him for causing so much trouble.
When Optimus fully regained his senses, he coughed violently, spitting Energon sludge onto the floor and shaking his head. His throat felt strained and wet like he was choking on his own Energon—which, technically, he was. The loud voices of the other Decepticons rang in his wary audio receptors, increasing the throb in his head. His blurred, watery vision adjusted around him, and he realized he was being dragged into the medical bay, where he was harshly dropped down to the floor. Why would they bring him there? As he struggled to find the strength to push himself up off the floor, he heard a familiar voice—but something was off.
"Optibus Pribe..."
Optimus slowly lifted his head at the voice. "Begatrod...?" he said hoarsely.
Indeed, the Decepticon leader was there—and to Optimus, he could easily see he was not himself. As Megatron turned to him, he could see his red optics were a little duller, there were small Energon stains around his mouth, and he seemed to be shaking. He breathed heavily, as though he was trying to control himself, with a sick—literally sick—smile on his face. "I suppose you dow why you have beed brought here," Megatron said hoarsely.
Optimus panted and shook his head. "Dot...exactly..." he said with a cough.
Megatron scowled and glared harshly like he was some stupid animal. "Well. While od ady other occasiod, I would destroy you here ad dow, but at the bobedt, I deed you. You are here because of what you have wrought upod be!...Hehh...H-Hehh...HIIT'SCHUUH!" Megatron weakly and disgustingly sneezed, wiping his mouth with his hand and flicking it away. Optimus knew what happened in the field was an accident, but also knew it mattered not to Megatron. "However, I badaged to dotice you are surprisingly doig better thad I ab," Megatron added, slowly approaching Optimus, "so you will liger here udtil you codfess the bethods you use ad share theb with be."
"It's...buch bore...sibple thad you assube..." Optimus said, followed by a sniffle and more coughing. "Just...rest...ad warb fluids...so the hubads say..."
"Is that all?" Megatron hissed, not seeming to buy what Optimus had to say. "There bust be bore thad that! There bust be!"
"I assubed buch bore byself, but...buh...HAAT'CHOOW!" Optimus sneezed, and the Decepticons standing near him backed away quickly like he was some toxic contamination.
"But dothig!" Megatron growled. "You are do doubt hidig the true bethods so you cad be healed quicker of this disease of which you had idfected be with!"
"Do, Begatrod, it's—!" Optimus was silenced by being weakly kicked back, but in Optimus's hindered state, it managed to do some sort of damage.
"Siledce!" he barked. "Decepticods! Take hib away; if he still wod't adswer to you...you dow what to do."
"Yes, Lord Megatron," the Decepticons nodded. Some led Optimus away while the rest tended to their master's every want and need.
The Cons dragged Optimus into an empty cell, clamped shackled on his wrists, and suspended him in the air; the room was unsettlingly cold and Optimus shivered. Leaving him hanging there while he was already a mess was humiliating enough; he only hoped he wouldn't start crying for no apparent reason or throw a childish tantrum like he did with Ratchet. Three of the Decepticons remained and stood a fair distance from him.
"So, are you going to spit it out, or do we need to resort to torture?" one Con spoke harshly.
"I..." Optimus started off weakly, "already...told Begatrod the truth...That is all there is to it..."
"Oh, and you are just going to take some puny human's word for it?" said the second Decepticon. "Fine, then. Since you won't talk, we'll have to make you."
The third Decepticon opened a small vault on the wall, and revealed the torture device. Optimus sighed and cringed. "You have got to be kiddig be..."
Arcee, Lily, and Bumblebee zoomed in their little lifeboats towards the ferry the Decepticons were traveling on. They were closing in, preparing their attack: they would jump aboard on each side of the ferry from their lifeboats and take down Starscream and his goons before they reached the oil rig.
"This is it," Arcee said, "get ready."
"Ready as we'll ever be!" Bumblebee bleeped from his boat.
Lily grinned ahead when something took her mind off the mission; she glanced down at her chest and slightly rubbed it.
"Everything okay?" Arcee asked.
"Hmm," Lily replied. "Papa seems to be in…almost like a merry mood."
"How do you mean?"
"Well, it's not sad or frustrated. It just feels light, but also kinda heavy. Whatever that means. I just hope he's okay."
"Let's not worry about that," Arcee told her. "Right now we need to focus on the mission. I am sure Optimus is fine."
Meanwhile, aboard their ferry, Starscream was chortling excitedly as their ride neared the oil rig with each passing second. "We are almost there, men!"
"Good," moaned one of the Vehicons, "because I cannot take anymore of this stupid sea-sickness."
"Soon, all of that energy will be ours! And once we harness that energy, we will not only overpower the Autobots, but also overpower Megatron himself!"
The second Vehicon was still by the rail, trying to get rid of the swirling feeling in his fuel tank. That was when he spotted a lifeboat coming up on the starboard side of the ferry, and in it was something that alerted him. "C-Commander Starscream! Starboard side! Autobot!"
"What?!" Starscream growled and came over, and he saw Bumblebee sitting in the boat. "Curses! How did those Autobots manage to catch up with us?! We must not allow that scout to get in our way! Fire at him!"
"But sir! We'll be spotted by the humans!"
"I do not care! Finish him off!"
Suddenly, there was a single blaster fire coming from behind, and the Starscream turned to see the Autobot Arcee holding the unconscious Vehicon in her grasp, with Lily standing beside her. "Mind if we cut in?"
Of all the punishments and tortures Optimus had endured, on Earth and on Cybertron, this had to be the worst he had ever experienced.
"AHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHA! S-STOP!"
He was kept still by one of the three Decepticons while another tickled him all over with their torture device—a giant feather. Where in the world they found one that enormous was beyond him. The second he saw it, Optimus knew exactly what he was in for. On any other day he would have handled a few tickles and would have found the feeling annoying, but in his current state, he was practically putty in the enemy's hands.
"Aww, look at the tough Autobot leader, rendered down to a fit of the giggles," taunted the Con torturing him.
"D-DOH BORE! AHAHAHAHA! STOP IT!" Optimus laughed and pleaded stuffily, coughing every now and then.
"Not until you give us the information our lord and master seeks!" the third Decepticon, standing on the far side of the room, demanded.
"I—HAHAHAHA—ALREADY TOLD YOU—HOOHOOHOO! T-THAT'S ALL THERE'S TO IT!"
"You must be lying! Alright, men, go for it!"
While Optimus was still calming his giggles, the Decepticon holding the feather brushed it rapidly over the poor Prime's vents, even forcing the tip in and twirling it. Optimus's laughter instantly shifted into quick hitches. "HAHAHA…haha…Ah hah haah! Aaat-CHOOO!"
"No, you idiots!" the third Con exclaimed. "Lord Megatron's orders are to torment him but not allow him to expel like that! We must not let him contaminate us with the disease he carries!"
"Yes, sir!" the second Con nodded.
Optimus panted shakily, forcing himself to swallow the vile Energon sludge building up in the back of his throat. He regretted ever leaving the base, let alone the warmth of his berth, whether he was influenced by medicine or not. The child inside him wanted to fuss and throw a fit about the discomfort and the desire to return home, but as a Prime he had to tough it out. But this was one interrogation where he desperately wanted to give into, just to relieve the irritable feeling inside.
"Arcee is going to turn us into slag for this!" Bulkhead exclaimed. "How could we lose him in only a few minutes?!"
"Uh, I think you should be more worried about what Lily might do to you," Miko smirked.
"Alright, let's not panic," Ratchet said. "He could not have ventured far in his condition; he's drained most of his energy from our little skirmish earlier."
"And from the amount of Energon he spat into those blankets," Bulkhead added.
"Is there any way you can track him, Ratchet?" Raf asked.
The medic shook his head. "Even if there was, Rafael, his signal would be weak due to his health. I've tried everything to pick up even the slightest bit of information, but there's nothing!"
Kylie whimpered and tugged on Raf's sleeve, giving him a fearful look.
"I don't want to believe it either," he said to her.
"What is it?" Ratchet asked the boy.
"Kylie is worried that the Decepticons might have taken him."
The two Autobots' optics widened at that notion. "I-It's a possibility," Ratchet stammered, "one that I hope has not come to pass."
"I'm going to go out and look for him," Bulkhead said and transformed.
"Hey, wait for me, Bulk!" Miko exclaimed and hopped in, and then the two drove out of the base, the others watching them go.
"While Bulkhead searches, I will resume vigil on the monitor, in case anything shows up," Ratchet stated. "You three…do something to keep yourself occupied."
Rafael, Jack, and Kylie looked amongst each other in silence, until Raf suggested, "Want to make another get-well card?"
The three Autobots and two Decepticons still conscious glared at one another. Bumblebee and Arcee aimed their blasters while Lily stood behind them for her safety; Starscream and the other Vehicon aimed their blasters directly at the Autobots.
"Do you really want to fight this fight?" Starscream said. "You will reveal yourselves to the humans."
"We'd rather have our existence known than let you win this war," Arcee growled.
"Yeah, and you're outnumbered!" Lily added. "Just surrender, before things get ugly!"
The lieutenant laughed aloud at her weak threats. "And what will you do about it, Auto-brat?"
"You should be more concerned about us," Arcee answered and fired her blaster.
"Agh!" Starscream ducked. "Decepticons! Take flight! To the rig!" They transformed and took to the air. The Autobots leapt back into the rafts and took off after them. Bumblebee and Arcee aimed their blasters and fired, trying to shoot them out of the sky.
"Will we need to attack them if they reach the rig?" Bumblebee bleeped.
"They won't reach the rig," Arcee replied. "They'll be sinking to the bottom of the ocean when this is over. Now let's go."
"But, what if we don't catch them?" Lily asked.
"Be optimistic. We'll put a stop to Starscream's scheme and return to base, and you can help Optimus get well." That managed to put the smile back on Lily's face.
Prime was suffering.
His arms ached from being suspended into the air by the restraints—technically his whole body ached from being ill. His breathing was hitchy and shaky, the Energon sludge stuck in his airways rattling. His optics were teary, and his vents were on the verge of running like a river. His cheek plates were flushed and his helm throbbed. He didn't want to do this any longer.
"You look like you are in pain, Prime," said the Vehicon holding the feather. "Are you ready to give us what we wish?"
Optimus couldn't say a word or else he'd start uncontrollably hitching again from the irritation just sitting at the edge of his vents. He couldn't handle any more of it, not after being unable to relieve himself for the past half hour. Multiple times he felt like he would pop and feel better, but then it would shrink away back inside of him. If it were to hit him now, he could probably blow the door down like he did back at base. And maybe the Vehicons along with it…
That was when a plan hatched in his head.
"Fine, then. We can tell you cannot endure of this much longer. Unless you want our little session to continue—!"
"You're right…"
"Eh?"
Optimus wearily raised his head, dull, watery optics staring at them. "I cad't…go through it buch bore…I've already t-told you…what Begatrod wishes to dow…yet you codtidue…" He wearily glanced down and noticed the feather ever so lightly grazing the edge of his vents.
Perfect.
"H-However…" he continued with a heavy sniff, "it…wod't batter adyway…"
"What are you blathering on about?" scowled another Vehicon.
Optimus sniffled again, wincing at the familiar, itchy feeling starting to grow. He never thought he would reach for this kind of goal, but it was his only way to escape. "I-I bead…you have beed teasig be for so log…I cad't…hold…" He forcefully hitched, causing one Vehicon to take a step back. After a moment he regained control and settled.
"Y-You are all so worried about…getting codtabidated," he continued, "but…you dod't deed to bake codtact with the ailig persod id order to catch their illdess."
"What?" said the three Vehicons.
"You cad be at least id the sabe roob with theb. That is h—huh…how this kide of virus works…" Optimus tightened and loosened his fists as the irritation steadily grew and fell.
"You are lying!" exclaimed the Vehicon with the feather, unaware it was sliding a little bit more deeper and deeper into the Prime's vents. But the Cons didn't know this was what Optimus wanted to happen.
"S-S-So f—fuh...for all you dow…you c-could a—ah…already be cod—codtabi…cuh…codtabi…dated…" Knowing the uneasy Vehicons won't dare come near him, and having no intentions of holding anything back—if he could—he allowed his body to do the work and he slowly started hitching, violently.
"He's going to—!"
"We can't be contaminated!"
"We have to get out of here!"
At that instant, as Optimus became more and more unstable, the three Vehicons fled the room for cover. After an eternal moment…
"YAAAAAAIII—IIITTCH'OOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!"
The door was blown down.
Optimus panted, spitting Energon sludge from his mouth. The irritation was partially gone, but some lingered. The force of the sneeze also knocked his restraints loose. He weakly pulled and broke free from the left restraint. The weight caused the right one to snap, and he fell to the floor. His legs were too weak to support him and he face planted.
"Ow…"
Slowly and wobbly, he got to his feet and dizzily walked out of the room into the hall, holding it for support. He was now free from the interrogation torture room.
Now he needed to get free from the ship.