Author's Note: Thank you everyone for all your support and ideas, I really appreciate it. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.
Seraph awoke with a sudden gasp. She sat straight up and examined her surroundings. She was on the Nemesis again; she was in the corner of an empty control room. No, not empty. Megatron sat in his throne, rubbing his temple as if his helm hurt.
Seraph leaned up against the wall, and slowly slid up it so that she was standing. Megatron didn't notice her as she scooted along the wall toward the door. Just as Seraph made it to the door, her pede caught on a desk and she went plummeting to the floor.
Megatron's servo slipped from his helm as he spotted the black and purple autobot scrambling to stand. Megatron chuckled evilly and stood. He pressed a button on the side of his chair, and the door swished shut. Megatron slowly walked toward Seraph who was pushing herself away from him. She kept on sliding backwards along the floor until her back met the cool metal of the door.
Megatron smiled cruelly and said "Experiment 1244. Have you come crawling back to you true master?"
Seraph looked up at him, her optics wide. "My name is Seraph. And I have no master," she said.
Megatron just laughed, somehow finding irony in the situation. "No master? You belong to me. I created you. No matter what lies you are told, you belong to me and you are a Decepticon; I engineered it into your very coding."
Seraph shook her head, "No, I will never be a Decepticon," she said.
"And then again, you always will be. You were created for the Decepticon cause, you were created by Decepticons, you even have Decepticon heritage," Megatron pushed.
Seraph wouldn't believe it. She would never be a Decepticon. They were evil, and she wasn't evil. Even though she may have been created with wicked intent, she was not evil; right?
"You think you are an autobot just because Optimus is your carrier, and you are sorely mistaken. How do you know that we didn't purposely leave you with the autobots? How do you know that you aren't just a tool being used to infiltrate the autobots?" Megatron said getting ever closer to Seraph.
"No, you're lying." Seraph was losing her cool; everything she believed was crumbling, falling apart.
"Now why would I lie to you? I wouldn't lie to one that is of my own creation," Megatron said. Now he was bent over in front of Seraph; his mouth mere inches from Seraph's audio receptor. "And I certainly wouldn't lie to the offspring of one of my most loyal followers."
Seraph growled. She may have had some of Soundwave's code in her, but that didn't make her a Decepticon.
"You know," Megatron purred in her audio receptor, "you have Soundwave's color scheme, and his intelligence. I don't know why, but you seem to lack his loyalty. With time, and punishment, I believe that you will turn on your beloved autobots. It's in your coding to deceive and betray."
On the last word Seraph lashed out, striking Megatron in the helm. Megatron was caught off balance and fell. Seraph jumped on him and proceeded to hit Megatron in the face.
"I will never betray the autobots!" she screamed. Seraph didn't know if she was trying to convince Megatron or herself. Seraph kept hitting Megatron, who began to bite at her knuckles. Soon Seraph's servos were leaking energon, but she kept beating Megatron. Megatron had had enough, and grabbed a hold of Seraph's arms and tossed her off of him.
Seraph landed with a thud across the room. The two stood and ran toward each other; flames of anger could be seen in both pairs of optics. Megatron and Seraph clashed, throwing fists at each other's faces. Seraph gained the upper hand, landing punches more often than Megatron.
Seraph's processor was a wreck. It was filled with thoughts of everything she believed, every doubt Megatron had put in her mind, and satisfaction. Satisfaction that she was giving Megatron what she deserved. Seraph was filled with a sudden burst of energy and she struck Megatron again and again, overwhelming him. Seraph continued to beat Megatron until he fell up against a wall, exhausted and leaking energon.
Seraph felt joy in the fact that she had beat Megatron, the cause of all her problems. Maniacal laughter wiped the smirk off of Seraph's face as she looked at Megatron.
Megatron kept laughing as he spat energon on the floor and said, "That joy, you're no doubt feeling, is proof. You are a Decepticon. No real autobot would take satisfaction in beating up an enemy." Megatron broke into another fit of laughter.
Seraph's mouth parted in realization; she was turning into a Decepticon. Seraph held her servos out in front of her, backing away from Megatron. Her servos were covered in energon, hers and Megatron's. She was ashamed of herself. How could she sink down to the level of the Decepticons? I am a monster. Megatron was right, she was becoming a Decepticon.
"Imagine what Optimus would think," Megatron said. He knew that he was destroying everything that Seraph stood for, everything that made her who she was. Megatron stood up straight, and limped over to a control panel. He pressed a button and immediately a barely alive Optimus was dragged into the room by two Vehicons. At the same time a video appeared on a large screen. "But then again, you could always ask him yourself." With that Optimus was tossed on the floor, and to his credit he didn't scream out.
Seraph looked at her father, lying on the floor unmoving. "Optimus?" she asked, her voice wavering. Optimus's helm turned so that his face was staring straight at Seraph. His optics were flickering, his lip was busted and leaking energon, and there were cracks and scrapes all over his chassis. Unbelievably the corners of Optimus's mouth pulled up into a small smile at the sight of his daughter. Seraph took in the sight; how could she have let this happen? Optimus's expression went blank as he lost consciousness.
Seraph looked up at a grinning Megatron. "What have you done to him?" she demanded.
"Not much, yet," Megatron answered. "And you still haven't noticed the video."
Seraph's optics shifted from Megatron to the screen. It showed a dark room, and in one corner huddled three children. Two boys, and one girl. Seraph's intakes hitched as she realized Raf, Jack, and Miko were being held captive by the Decepticons.
Megatron chuckled. "I'll give you one thing. You do take after the autobots with how slow you are to realize things," he said.
"You better have not hurt the children," Seraph warned.
"They are fine, although a bit cold," Megatron said. Seraph growled at Megatron and started for him. Both of the Vehicons aimed their blasters for Seraph, causing her to stop. "Everyone is fine, Seraph; for now."
Seraph glared at Megatron. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
"It is a cruel universe we live in; one in which death is common, and we are forced to make choices," Megatron explained. He turned around and started to pace the room. "Only one can live Seraph: Your beloved father, and leader of the autobots, or the innocent earthlings."
"You wouldn't," said Seraph.
"I would. You will choose one to die, and if you don't, both of them die." Silence followed Megatron's statement.
Seraph looked at the floor between her pedes. How could she decide between the two, and what was Megatron trying to accomplish by this? Seraph couldn't let them both die, she had to do something.
Megatron circled around Seraph, saying "You know that Optimus would want you to save the children; he was always one to give his life for another's. But are you as willing to give his life? The children are innocent, this is our war; why should they die? But if Optimus perishes, will your autobots even be able to protect this earth?"
"Why are you making me do this?" Seraph asked. "Why not just kill me?"
"Death is one of the few ways out of endless pain," Megatron replied. "We all know that you would give your life for them, but we can't have that. You are much too valuable."
Seraph closed her optics. She couldn't do this.
"So, which will it be? Will you sacrifice the one who brought you into this world, or will you kill children who have done nothing to be here?" Megatron asked.
Seraph thought about it. Should she save three innocent lives now, and lose the one person who understood her, cared for her. Or should she save Optimus, saving countless lives in the future, while sacrificing a few now? "I," Seraph said. "I-I can't. I just can't."
Megatron's mouth was a tight line. "I'm disappointed. Why can't you?" Megatron prodded. He knew she was on the verge of cracking, but he wanted to break her; shatter her completely. "Can you not bear the thought of being responsible for taking someone you love's life? If so, you should know that your actions cause them both to die."
At that Seraph crumpled to the ground, on the verge of tears. Megatron smirked; he had succeeded in cracking her. He looked at the two Vehicons and nodded. They aimed their blasters at Optimus's helm, and prepared to fire. Megatron grabbed the back of Seraph's helm and jerked it up; she was going to watch Optimus die, and then the children suffocate.
Seraph glanced at the monitor with the children on it, and they were looking around as if something had startled them. They began to walk around the room, looking for something; each ones' breathing becoming more rapid. And that was when the first one fell. Raf passed out on the floor, unconscious. Jack and Miko rushed to his side, both pale from lack of oxygen. Next Miko passed out, followed by Jack. But before he passed out, he gave one forlorn look into the camera. Tears streamed from Seraph's optics as she watched her human friends die.
Megatron jerked her helm again so that she was looking at Optimus. Just before the Vehicons fired Megatron whispered in Seraph's audio receptor, "And this is all your fault."
The Vehicons fired and Seraph screamed in horror, "No!" The world faded to black as Seraph cried over her fallen comrades.
Seraph's optics shot open to reveal a dimly lit base. Tears were flowing from her optics as she looked around the room. She was still on the medical berth, and Ratchet was at the computer looking extremely tired.
Seraph covered her mouth with a shaking servo to try and muffle a sob. Ratchet turned around at the noise; a grumpy look on his face until he saw that Seraph was crying. His face immediately melted into a mix of kindness and worry as he walked over to her.
Seraph, now curled on her side, couldn't control her sobbing. Ratchet kneeled down in front of her and tried to calm her down. "What's wrong?" he asked in a soft voice.
"Nightmare," Seraph managed to choke out.
"It's going to be fine, it was just a dream," Ratchet tried to sooth. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked after a while.
Seraph's sobbing lessened as she wiped away her tears and cycled her air deeply. "Optimus, is he ok?" was all she said.
"Yes, Optimus is fine. He is just around the base," Ratchet said.
Seraph nodded, the fact that Optimus was fine calming her a little.
"Are you alright?" Ratchet asked.
Again Seraph just nodded.
"I'm going to go finish my work at the computer. Is that alright with you?" he asked.
"Yes," Seraph said.
Ratchet returned to his computers, occasionally glancing back at Seraph. Ratchet continued his work until Seraph spoke up. "Ratchet?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied. Ratchet walked over to Seraph, and sat on the berth next to her.
Seraph kept her optics focused on the floor. "In my dream," she said, "I had to choose between saving the children, and Optimus. I was on the Nemesis again, and Megatron was there. He kept on saying things like "The children are innocent, why should they die?" trying to sway me to one side or the other. And I couldn't argue with his statements, they were true." Seraph stopped talking for a moment, remembering the horrible dream. "I couldn't decide, I couldn't be responsible for someone's death. And whichever one I would have chosen would have left me guilty. If I chose Optimus to die, I would have saved three lives, but lost my creator. Should I have chosen the children, Optimus would never be able to live with himself knowing that he lived because of another's death. He probably wouldn't be able to look at me the same, either. And because I couldn't decide, they both died," Seraph said. She felt so hollow despite the fact that it was only a dream; it had felt so real. "I believe that if I had more time, I would have let the children die to save Optimus," she said.
"Not long ago, I would have chosen to save Optimus as well," Ratchet said.
"And now?" asked Seraph.
"I am not as sure as I was," he said.
"Does it make me a horrible autobot to choose to save Optimus over the humans?" Seraph questioned.
"No, Seraph. Your opinion may differ from others, but that does not make you a horrible autobot. We need different opinions to keep everything that we do in perspective," Ratchet explained.
"I just don't want to do anything wrong," Seraph said.
"You can't be taught everything, Seraph. You have to find some things out by making mistakes and learning from them," Ratchet said.
"Some people cannot afford to make mistakes."
Author's Note: Well I hope you liked this chapter; it was very interesting to write. So, will Wheeljack stay to help raise Seraph? What do you think Seraph's dream meant?
My thanks to everyone who told me their ideas and reviewed and all that good stuff I love it all so much. Please review and tell me your ideas, predictions, what you think Wheeljack will decide on doing, what you liked, what you didn't like, et cetera. : ) Next Chapter should be out soon.