See Prologue for disclaimer.
Chapter 53: The Deal
The guards wasted no time in surrounding them, keeping their weapons trained on the two humans. The Harley Davidson robot stayed where he was but dismissed the maid, letting the woman scurry away with her normal-looking janitorial cart. Absently Burns noticed the uniform she was wearing, complete with finely-pressed pants and long-sleeved shirt, a purple skirt-styled apron around her waist.
The silver insignia on the hair clip over her ear would have made him clench his fists if it wouldn't have provoked the guards. Soon her neatly braided head was gone around one of the corners in the passageway. Irregardless, very extravagant for a bunch of slaves.
The motorcycle looked at both men,contemplating them with blood-coloured eyes, but said nothing. Nothing they could understand, anyway. It sounded like a bunch of beeps, whirrs, and clicks. There were several intermittent pauses in which the revolutionaries wondered if he was about to give the order for the guards to execute them, bringing an abrupt end to their lives.
After several minutes of back-and-forth the robot before them spoke with a smooth baritone, "Come, humans. Lord Megatron wishes to speak with you."
Probably do more than speak, Burns thought. Evidently there would be no argument, for the guards pushed them forward roughly. The black motorcycle led the way through the halls, Burns feeling that his heart might burst through his chest at any given moment. Though he was trained as a Marine to stay level-headed in the most strenuous of situations and was sure that he was calm on the outside, inside he felt a burning fear and nervousness.
And he hadn't even met Megatron yet. No doubt he would be quite intimidating.
The guards did not touch them but flanked them, keeping the pace almost at a run. It didn't help Burns' beating heart. To his right Lennox was twisting madly at the marriage band on his left hand, betraying a sign of anxiety that did not show elsewhere in his features. The ranger's jaw was clenched slightly and his brown eyes remained focused ahead of him, filled with a fiery light.
Even at their fast pace a quarter of an hour must have passed before they were directed out of the hallway and into a darker, larger room beyond. It seemed to go on for forever to the small, short humans, row of oversized monitors upon row of oversized monitors being the only light provided in the space. A few of the robots working there looked up when they entered but soon went back to their work, disinterested in what had lost its novelty.
There was another fifteen minutes of walking on gleaming metal floors, during which they passed a huge throne in what appeared to be the center of the cavernous room. Burns kept his eyes away from it, surmising who it belonged to. Bastard.
Now they stood before an enormous panel in the wall, marked with strange alien symbols along the side. The one that had been leading them knocked on the metal, making a dulled clanging sound similar to a regular iron door knocker.
It slid open soundlessly, the next room no brighter than the last. A pair of bigger, seemingly redder robotic eyes peered at them from behind a monstrous alien desk, belonging to their conqueror. The guards shoved them in and the huge behemoth spoke in the foreign tongue, his voice a deeper, bone-chilling tone that almost felt as if it vibrated the metal underneath their booted feet.
Burns cursed his imagination. There was no way in the nine circles of hell that his voice was that strong.
Maybe when they got closer it would be.
The guards and motorcycle bowed when their leader was done speaking, shouting a series of "words" in unison and leaving the humans alone with their commander.
Megatron stood from his desk, stepping around it and scooping them up before either of them could react. He swept them off their feet in his huge, deadly, clawed hands with a roughness that made Burns' teeth clatter against each other. He tried not to look at the talons inches away from his comparably unprotected body, avoiding reflection on how many Presidents, Prime Ministers, dictators and royalty had met their end by those silver, sharp points.
But not Eleanor, for a reason undetermined. Nothing made sense whenever Nation had put their most brilliant minds together to try to connect the pieces of the grand puzzle, only for no conclusions to be made except that not enough was known about the situation. They had no concrete knowledge of Megatron's underlying motivations, and from the writings that they had received from the "Queen" Eleanor wasn't completly sure either. They had a few guesses but nothing concrete.
They were dumped carelessly on the metal surface of their invader's desk, and once Burns sat upright he marveled at the sheer size and enormity that was their assailant, that was his President's disgusting suitor. His body language reeked of Alpha Male, of I always get what I want and I will always take what I want.
It should have come as no surprise; it had only taken that enormous titan two days to conquer the once-formidable United States. On the very first day Burns remembered watching the news, his wife having gone to work, seeing that very giant fell skyscrapers with a single blast from his arm cannon and withstand machine gun fire like rain, the bullets not even denting his armor. He hadn't seen his wife since that fateful day, or even heard from her. He hoped in his heart that she was working for Nation, but it was impossible to tell since everyone used code names in written communication.
The monstrous hands slammed onto the table on either side of the two men, making them crumple again as the shockwave rippled through the surface. "WHERE." He snarled, fangs shining even in the dim light.
"IS." The anger of the heinous murderer before them felt as if it washed through the air in a cold baptism, making Lennox's stomach clench in fear despite his Army training. Fear is logical, he reminded himself. Instead he too tried to be angry. Showing that was less likely to be taken as a sign of weakness to the roaring colossus over him. Truly the television had done him no justice; like many things he had to be seen to be believed.
Even then Megatron was a hard pill to swallow. How Eleanor had managed being licked and kissed by such a mountainous, titanic beast he might never know, much less understand. No wonder she had been whimpering in her sleep, receiving attention from such a huge monster and the one that had ripped away her life.
"SHE?" Small specks of slime from the Decepticon Emperor dusted their bodies, illustrating the extent of the beast's anger. Eleanor had described being covered in that stuff unwillingly, and Burns felt for her. The sight of that huge, writhing, powerful-looking tongue only increased his sorrow for her. He remembered Simmons commenting that Megatron was trying to romance their President, and Burns wondered absently if licking was some kind of mating ritual among the robots.
He held up his hands in surrender, standing from the metal and looking up at the face of their enslaver. His fangs were stilled bared but he was waiting for an answer, red eyes narrowed and focused on the small humans on his desk.
"We have come to make a bargain, if you will hear us out." Burns thanked his lucky stars that no stutter had found its way into his voice, though it resided in his rapidly pumping heart.
The behemoth reclaimed his seat, resting himself with a groan of metal and clicking of gears. Even sitting he towered over the two humans, Megatron was pleased to note. He raised an optic ridge at the one trying to bargain, holding up its tiny, fleshy hands in a show of submission. Under different circumstances he would have been greatly amused; no human had begged him like this since some of their leaders had during the first days of his takeover.
He had humoured them, played around a bit, prodding for this and that to get their hopes up before crushing their hope and red, fluid-filled bodies in a single servo. Cowardice displeased him, and he had seen many beg for mercy on their knees moments before he killed them. Eleaniris was one of the few that tried to put on a brave face. Cute little thing. I can't wait to mark you as my mate.
Megatron almost groaned at the thought of giving her his mark, the one he had wanted to place on Circuitsia. It was all he could do to keep his optics from the paintings of his little incubus, the second now hanging proudly on the wall opposite the beach one. His spike might pressurize further if he cast his gaze over her perfect body. She must be regained first, his processor reminded him with a whisper.
The human had the gall to interrupt his lustful thoughts, continuing with its inferior agenda. "We are willing to make a trade." It gulped, little throat constricting in the movement he had liked to watch human Eleanor make when she ate the delicacies he had always given her. Megatron saw in its organic eyes a single flicker of doubt, of anger, until it went on to clarify.
"Information regarding Eleanor," it said, "for the freedom of humanity." Wet optics looked up at him, hope there that he would listen and accept. How he craved to crush that fragile emotion.
"I have a better idea." Megatron growled, his arms moving to encircle the two men. "You tell me where you put her and I spare your pathetic lives." Burns glanced at Lennox, who nodded for him to go on before they were crushed. Right as he was going to explain the giant picked up the ranger in a fist, raising the man to his face and shaking him.
"Where IS she? EXPLAIN, FLESHLING!" Lennox would have covered his ears at the deafening voice if his arms weren't pinned to his sides. Worse, the tyrant seemed to have smelled something. He was "breathing" harder, deeper, like a dog sniffing for a scent. The nose-like plating was moved to his hair, blowing it as the leviathan smelled him. Lennox was sure to stay deathly still, afraid of calling the giant out of his apparent trance.
"I thought…" Megatron muttered almost incoherently, his red eyes taking on a far-away, almost forlorn look and then switching right back to hard anger and stubborn hate. The great head shook itself, oddly similar to how a human would if they were clearing their mind.
Did he smell her on me? Maybe not, since he seems unsure and he would have started pulling limbs by now. Even through the haze of danger and adrenaline, Lennox had to wonder what made this monster so protective of President Sherman.
Maybe she tastes good, he thought sickeningly.
The momentary sad look in their destroyer's eyes was not something that escaped Burns' notice and curiosity either. Good idea Lennox. The river might have just saved our lives.
Taking a chance he shouted up at the angry Decepticon, "We don't have her! If you set Lennox down, I can explain!" Megatron narrowed his optics but did not set Lennox down at all, prompting him to elaborate regardless.
"We were following her through the forest, keeping an eye on her and for any of your patrols. We stayed at a distance so that she wouldn't be spooked by us," hopefully that eliminates his possible thought of Eleanor's scent being on Lennox, "and eventually she came to one of your fuel plants. Lennox here can say more about what he saw." Burns looked up at his partner hopefully, passing the torch.
"She was coming back out, probably having taken some fuel, when three of those jets landed around her." Lennox noted the way the Decepticon leader's jaw clenched but went on nonetheless, "I believe they were named Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Starscream. Skywarp picked her up and vanished out of nowhere, but not before she tried to defend herself with these." Lennox wriggled, trying to get at his pack, and miraculously the hand opened and flattened underneath him.
Taking off his pack and unzipping it, he carefully pulled out her daggers and held them within clear sight of the tyrant. His red eyes saddened greatly but again the anger came back to wash it away. What is going on in that metal head?
Megatron was mostly listening out of interest with what tale the resistance was trying to spin, not really believing it and wanting to crush them so he could leave and search for his Queen, until he saw the human "Lennox" show him Eleaniris' daggers. I scared you into running away, little one. Regardless of whether Starscream has you or not, I will get you back.
"Prove to me that she was there. Prove that you haven't taken her and locked her away." Megatron growled, letting his red optics burn into the two humans. If they had her somewhere in a dark cell, he would rip apart every single human that got in his way and tried to hide her. No one stole anything from the Emperor of Destruction, let alone kidnapped his mate.
Burns and Lennox glanced at each other, unsure of how to prove it. Though the robot had calmed somewhat, if they failed to provide evidence of their tale he could easily decapitate them and leave their bodies for one of the palace slaves to clean up. Come on, think of something.
"I have not yet cut out your organic glossas, fleshbags. Speak." Megatron's ire was returning, manifesting itself in the claws by either of them as the clicked over Lennox's head and dragged lightly against the shiny surface by Burn's legs. It was still hard to comprehend his enormity.
"I…" Burns started, grasping about for something, anything that could provide evidence and save their lives. They had gotten through this horrible, atrocious deal so far. Megatron still had yet to speak about humanity's freedom, but they were in no position to get him to agree to anything they had in their trade.
"You must have surveillance footage." Lennox offered, breaking the deadly silence. "I don't think anyone saw, so it's possible that it was simply not reported to you."
Megatron raised an optic ridge, intrigued. Humans could be incredibly crafty when their insignificant lives were at stake, making them interesting to play around with before terminating them. They would beg and plead for mercy, prompting to reply that he had none. He received tremendous thrill from having control over life and death, even of creatures so small, weak and insubstantial. Nevertheless he commed for Soundwave to fetch the video from the mainframe, if it existed.
"If what you say is true, human," Megatron intoned with intrigue, "why tell me of this?" He chuckled morbidly and drawled, sitting back in his seat, "I did take your world's strongest, fiercest leader for myself, after all." He took the knives from Lennox and placed them on the table along with the pack, and toyed with the soldier in his hand, turning him introspectively between sharp fingers though he was looking at Burns. I wonder if he ever played with Eleanor like that.
The blatant disregard for life sickened him, but he answered the question anyway. "We agreed that she was safer with you." Burns shifted his weight, willing that the Decepticon would not press further.
"How so?" Megatron didn't stop his movements, much to Burns' chagrin. His disgust was beyond words.
"She looked healthy when I followed her." Lennox growled, trying to push at the fingers rolling him. He tried to avoid thinking about how his President would have felt in that very grasp. "And we don't know anything about these other robots."
Trying to steer the conversation - more like interrogation - back to the main focus, Burns tried to remind him, "In exchange for this information, you are to declare the manumission of the human race."
There's the real reason, Megatron thought smugly, cowardly as ever, these humans. "You are aware that you are trading my rights to Eleaniris for the freedom of humanity, yes?"
The two men nodded grimly, neither of their eyes meeting his optics. Eleaniris, would you have defended humanity so if you knew they were using you to get what they want? He would be sure to bring this up when he got her back in her home in his lap. Perhaps that would whittle down her persistent defense of the pathetic parasites.
He replied vaguely, "Something will be done when my Queen is returned to me." Then, smug as any first-class dictator, the Emperor added darkly, "You have my word."
They released sighs from their lungs, which Megatron only had knowledge of due to his study of human first aid prior to fetching the human Eleanor. He hadn't wanted to lose her to death as he had Circuitsia, and had always been sure to carry extra coverings, food, water, and a set of bandages and salves. Thankfully he had never had to use them for Eleanor, but they had had plenty of "close calls," as she would say.
How he missed her. Against his will his optics turned to the walls, gazing over her paintings. With any luck she would be found soon and he would no longer recharge alone.
Burns and Lennox followed the alien's gaze to the walls, their fists clenching when they saw the paintings of their President. Something is wrong here, Burns thought, very, very wrong. We are missing a huge piece of the puzzle, one that decides what the rest looks like. A single ping killed further reflection and the giant finally dropped Lennox and pressed a button out of their sight.
Soundwave entered with a datapad, Megatron mildly surprised that the humans had been telling him the truth. The mech did not spare the bugs a second glance but did lay his cargo on the warlord's desk. "The footage is there, my liege. Do you wish for anything else?"
Megatron responded in his deep Cybertronian, "Send orders for a cell to be prepared. These ones will be with me for some time. You are dismissed." He dipped his helm in acknowledgment of his leader and left to return to his duties of supervising warship launches. Perhaps, if he had the opportunity, he could sneak away and comm. Grace.
"Let's see…" Megatron drawled, taking the huge tablet that the other robot had put down. He opened it with a claw, bringing up a video. It was transparent, allowing them to view it even though the metal alien held it in the air over their heads. Sure enough, visible in the corner, was the confrontation with Eleanor, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp.
After the clip had ended when Skywarp had disappeared and Thundercracker and Starscream left in their jet forms - Why didn't they just hold on to Skywarp? - Megatron put down the tablet and turned it off.
"So you were telling the truth." He contemplated them, crossing his arms over his chest. "What to do with you now? You are rebels, after all."
"How do you know that we are rebels?" Megatron chuckled at the display, humans always thought that they were so very clever.
"Your proposed trade shows cooperation with a larger organization. It is unlikely that two humans would come here to bargain while risking their worthless lives." He quirked his lip components in a smirk, pushing the unseen button again for the door to open. The same silver Mercedes stood, waiting, and came in.
"It was a pleasure doing business with you." he drawled lazily, "Soundwave here will escort you to your, ah, room."
"I have changed my plans. You are to place them with the other that we are holding. It is amusing to see them try to escape me." Soundwave took the men and left again, allowing the tyrant his space to plan and consult the admirals of his ships. Eleaniris needed to be found before Starscream offlined her, or did something worse to his helpless little flower.
He contemplated the daggers that had been left on his desk, venting slowly, as he pulled up the comm. link with the several admirals. They should respond immediately, and then he could plan how to kill the traitor and regain his Queen. She would be found alive, he told himself. He wasn't going to let her slip through his fingers again.
If it was necessary the Justice Division would assist. In fact, he rather liked the thought of Tarn scaring Eleaniris into his open arms. Then she would be more grateful for his protection, rank, and power in the Decepticon forces. Then he could practice some of the reassuring gestures that he had already known but Susan had refined.
"Grace, it was so awful. How could anyone be so cold-hearted to order such a thing?"
"Susan, Susan. Please." It was awkward for Grace to comfort the older woman, since the past couple of years had their roles reversed usually. Susan was like a mother to her, like a mother to all of them really. Especially for Eleaniris. It was strange that she suddenly had to be the strong one.
They were standing in one of the back storage rooms of the library, among empty datapads and underneath cool blue light. They had been assisting the librarians lately, mainly working in the back and fetching the heavy datapads when needed. Grace had been here when Susan had come in weeping, not even telling her what the source was by making generic statements about something terrible.
"E-Eleanris is the only one that can st-stop t-this. She is the only one that has a c-chance, however slim it is that she can change the mind of that mon-monster." Against Susan's will her mind kept showing her the picture of the summary of the orders that lay in that damned tablet. Times like this she cursed her photographic memory.
Grace let the older woman burying her face into her shoulder, wetting her plating with what Soundwave called coolant while she sobbed and heaved. "She h-has to k-know what he is going to do. Talia should too, because Shockwave w-wrote it."
"But we can't comm. her... " Grace bit her lip, pondering how Eleaniris could be reached. She had tried many times since she had seen Megatron last, only to be met with an error message saying that the recipient could not be found. It was different than the static-like noise that was heard if the call was waiting to be answered or rejected, similar to a ringing on a phone. Soundwave had also mentioned that dead silence meant that the intended recipient was dead.
Silence with "recipient not found" was something she had not received before.
"I can ask Soundwave, but I need you to give me a moment. Is that okay Susan?" The older femme nodded, still sobbing but a little quieter now. Grace gave her a look of sympathy and rubbed the other's back one more time before stepping away.
"Soundwave," Grace murmured shyly in the way that she knew drove him crazy, "can I talk to you real quick?"
His rumble of pleasure came clear through their connection as his deep voice cooed, "Of course. But make haste, precious. The consequences for disobeying Megatron's direct orders are always great."
"Is there a way to talk to Eleaniris besides the comm. link? Is there any other way at all? Now mine isn't working with her, and I'm afraid."
"How isn't it working? Is it silence?" Soundwave sounded worried now, and gone was his playful banter. If Eleaniris was offline, Megatron would be angrier than words in any of his language packs could describe. Soundwave had witnessed him mourn - though it was not Decepticon custom - Circuitsia with a ceaseless fury. Should he have been asked to pick a point in history when his lord's hate of Optimus Prime had become no longer "professional" (so to speak) but more "personal," he would pick the moment that the Prime had killed Circuitsia.
"I keep recieving an error message, something about her not being found or whatever. But is there another way to contact her?"
Soundwave could have kicked himself for not thinking of it earlier. If he hadn't been so busy thinking about Grace's absence from her usual place in his lap and about the launching of the warships he might have remembered. "Borealis, Eleaniris' gryphon, shares a mental link with her. It might be possible, if she is somewhere connections do not work."
"Should we tell Megatron?" Grace asked him worriedly over the comm., biting her lip in concentration.
"I will be the one to tell him. I must leave now, little bird. Is breá liom tú." Grace smiled despite herself as he said "I love you" in Irish. Ever since she had shown an attachment to her land of birth in her shouting match with Megatron, he had been throwing little phrases in here and there. Some of them she didn't know the meaning of and had to tell him so, to which he would chuckle and say them in English. This one, though, her parents and grandparents had used many times with her.
"Is breá liom tú." She cooed back, closing the sequence for the comm. link. This was perfect! Since Soundwave was "at work" she and Susan could sneak into her mate's quarters, where Wheelie and Borealis had been staying in the Queen's absence. Grace had a hunch that Megatron wasn't recharging in his own apartments, if he was recharging at all, and had moved them for this reason.
Perhaps they, and his suite, reminded him of Eleaniris. Regardless, she told Susan of their opportunity and the two went straight up to Soundwave's quarters, the latter finding hope in her heart that Eleaniris might stop the dreadful things that were in store for the human race.
Knockout had finished with his work, setting aside the datapad that had documented the procedure for Cyberformation. It was a breakthrough, that he was sure of. Making organics into viable mate material had been an excellent idea, though he was worried over what had possessed his leader to choose a particular weak organic as a mate and then had the procedure designed around her. Nevertheless that small detail would not deter him from scouting out his own prospective polisher.
There were other femmes on record that had gone through the procedure, and he would start with those first. Looking at the Decepticon file of a random one showed that she worked in the library of the palace, sending the medic on his way.
"How can we serve you?" Kimora greeted the Aston Martin, eyeing the way he swaggered in. She didn't trust mechs she didn't know what to expect of, but her processor told her it would be fine. Bonecrusher had commed her to say that he would be visiting later "on a professional trip only," he had joked. There were always a few kisses and gifts involved when he came to fetch information. In other words, it was hardly ever strictly professional.
The red optics darted down to study her, causing her to shift nervously. He picked her up abruptly, making her squeal embarrassingly. She only did that when Bonecrusher laid one on her.
"Good, strong frame." The mech studied her limbs, fingering each one with his other servo. She glowered at him and opened her mouth to speak, only for him to cut her off with, "Pretty optics, too." He looked at her in the optics for the first time, cocking his helm.
"How good are you with a polishing cloth?"
"I don't even know you! Put me down!" Kimora wriggled in his grasp, not caring if it was quite the fall to the floor. Her body could probably handle it.
The mech tsked, "Name's Knockout, beautiful. And is that how you should speak to your future mate?"
Flabbergasted with the overwhelming cockiness of the mech holding her, Kimora let her mouth hang open.
Thankfully Knockout was cut off from any more forward remarks by a welcome, familiar, growling voice. "She's already claimed, medic. Go polish yourself and leave my mate alone."
Knockout turned, giving her a view of Bonecrusher as he stood in the doorway. His body language projected territorial, testosterone-soaked possessiveness. She might have giggled if it wasn't such a stressful situation. "Bonecrusher!" Kimora called, squirming even harder in "Knockout's" grasp.
Bonecrusher snarled and gnashed his claws, hunching up his shoulders to appear bigger. "Are you challenging me, medic? You know how this ends."
Knockout knew, and set the femme on the ground as quickly as he could. She scampered off to stand behind the towering legs of her mate, staying in his shadow. Remembering the formal words and in fear of his paint job being ruined, he said clearly, "I renounce."
Bonecrusher relaxed a modicum, keeping his optics on Knockout as he bent to scoop up his scared mate into a servo. He gave the medic one last, warning snarl and walked away to a different part of the library, leaving the cocky medic to keep searching.
"What was that?" Kimora asked fearfully, looking up at the Bonecrusher's sand-colored faceplates. The atmosphere had implied that the words of both mechs held more than a mere surrender, that it was, in fact, traditional and bore some significant meaning.
"Among the Decepticons, precious, mates are regarded as special assets. So much so that sometimes one mech will challenge another for a mate. Typically only the Dominants are the ones that fight in these formal Challenges."
"And you're the Dominant?" Kimora asked warily.
"Yes." Bonecrusher chuckled and said playfully, "Naturally, since I'm bigger than you Kims." He had oversimplified a bit, but the other factors were not ones he thought Kimora was ready to hear yet.
She scoffed but gestured for him to elaborate. He smirked and clarified, "The fights are to termination, and the survivor is the one that keeps or earns the Submissive at stake. No one else can intervene in a Challenge once it has begun, though usually Challenges are not held over already-bonded femmes."
"So the Submissive has no say in what happens to them?" Kimora cocked her helm to the side, letting Bonecrusher's stride rock her in his servo.
"No." Bonecrusher's smirk grew wider, "That's what 'Submissive' means, Kims." She should have expected that the Decepticons would have such societal norms. They were such domineering and possessive creatures, why wouldn't they fight to the death over a girl? It was pretty romantic, when she thought about it.
"And if Knockout had actually challenged you-" she started fearfully, only for him to finish.
"I would have won," Bonecrusher reassured, "and you would owe me a few kisses for saving you."
She giggled and punched at the large Decepticon playfully, making the mech chuckle at her adorable display, "What did you need to check out again?"
"You." He leered, lowering his helm to rain down kisses on her body. She laughed at how quickly he had learned human pick-up lines. As she went to try to fight him off of her, jokingly of course, she remembered Submissive. I wonder if Eleaniris ever had those rules explained to her.
Note to my guest reviewers: I need to approve your review manually for them to appear on the site. Usually I do it almost immediately, but sometimes there are delays. Sorry for the inconvenience.
nadillaandlaprasthefireandice - I'm taking a lot from IDW's All Hail Megatron, actually. Thanks for the review!
KayleeChiara - Something tells me that Megatron isn't done with the rebels he has captured… Thanks!
TheLionfart - Thundercracker had better watch his step. Thanks!
sakurawriter - More Eleaniris next chapter. Thanks!
kate - Here it is! Thanks!
xxyangxx2006 - I like 'overlordy.' Thanks!
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