By the time Optimus and Chromia reached Ironhide, the clouds had progressively gotten darker and heavier. Rocks and dirt covered the ground as the first few droplets of rain splashed onto the ground, more following in suit. The two bots carefully maneuvered around the debris to get to Ironhide, and Chromia leaned down to her sparkmate and took his face into her hands. Optimus looked around anxiously, eyeing the terrain as he felt a feeling of panic rise in his chest; Elita and Bumblebee were nowhere to be found.
The battle for consciousness consumed Ironhide as the hefty red mech moaned softly, fighting to open his optics. "Ironhide," Chromia whispered softly to him, and he felt gentle fingers graze his cheek. "can you hear me?"
The red mech fluttered his optics open, and for a moment, he saw nothing but the shining of a bright light. 'Too bright," he thought as his vision soon cleared up. He rapidly blinked his optics, and soon he saw that Chromia and Optimus were leaning over him.
"There we go," Optimus said, pressing a hand on his chest as the red mech blinked his optics a few times. It took a moment before Ironhide looked around hazily, seeing that they were at the wreckage of the explosion that was caused by Blitzwing. As soon as his optics landed on Elita's destroyed comm link, his mind went into panic. "Jazz and Prowl are on their way to pick us up."
"Bumblebee and Eita-" He jolted forward, but a sharp pain coursed through his circuitry, and a loud groan escaped his lips. Chromia shushed him gently and eased him back down onto the ground, rubbing her hand over his forehead softly.
"What happened?" Optimus asked, leaning down to the injured bot. He glanced at Chromia, who shared the same worried look that was plastered on his face.
"S-Starscream… and Blitzwing. T-They took them," Ironhide gasped out as he sat up, with the help of Optimus. "Elita… her comm link was destroyed." Chromia turned around and saw the destroyed linkage, and she felt her spark drop from her chest to her feet.
"Primus," Chromia breathed out, and she brought a shaking hand to her mouth. Optimus hauled Ironhide onto his feet and steadied him, placing the red mech's arm over his own shoulders, and his other arm wrapped around his waist.
"Chromia, we need to regroup back at base. Ironhide needs to get checked out, and we have to figure out where the Decepticon base is." Optimus said, glancing over at the sky, seeing the transport ship come into view. "Elita and Bumblebee's lives depend on us." He looked at the blue femme, noticing her frozen posture. "Chromia."
"You think Megatron will kill them?" Chromia inquired, her blue optics anxiously reading Optimus.
"I… don't know. Elita, most definitely." That was the most terrifying thought. "Bee? He's young, and can easily be manipulated, unfortunately." he said, wiping a hand down his face.
"They're gonna be coming back for rounds soon," Ironhide drowsily said, leaning into Optimus' side. "It's o-only a matter of time."
The transport landed, and immediately the back door slid open. Jazz slid down the ramp of the ship and ran over to Ironhide, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I've alerted Ratchet and First Aid." Prowl called from the cockpit of the transport, watching as Optimus and Jazz carefully help Ironhide aboard. Chromia followed behind and sat next to her sparkmate, whispering softly into his audio receptors.
"Where's Elita and Bee?"
Optimus closed his optics in defeat, taking a deep breath in. "They were ambushed by Starscream and Blitzwing… they had to have taken them to the base, I mean no Decepticon is willing to make the journey to Kaon, which is over two hundred miles away." Optimus said.
"We'll get them back," Optimus said, looking at Chromia, who sighed heavily. She sunk down to the floor, placing her head in her hands. "It's like you said before, Elita is a brave and strong warrior. If she can handle a tense military mission, she can handle this" He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him. "We'll get them both back. We have to."
"Elita was pulling through before the attack," Ironhide said drowsily from his spot on the floor. "Also, when we see Starscream, remind me to kick his ass, that stun weapon really hurt," Chromia chuckled lightly and let out a shaky sigh.
"They just need to hold on for a little while," Optimus whispered to her, reassuring her and himself. "we're going to get them back."
Distorted voices from all around echoed throughout her processor. Her body felt heavy, like her arms and legs were filled with rocks weighing her down. She heard loud voices boom, and she opened her heavy optics, blurriness covering her sight.
"Look, she's coming to." Elita heard a deep voice said as she blinked rapidly, her sight adjusting to the darkness of the room. Planting one palm into the ground, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, and she immediately felt the sharp pain in her head. Blinking her optics, she looked around at the environment that surrounded her. "How hard did Blitzwing hit her?"
"Does it matter? The important thing is that we have Prime's sparkling, which means we have an advantage over him. And there's no doubt the femme is close to him." Elita heard the shrill tone of Starscream's voice, and she immediately shuddered. Memories swarmed her processor as she recalled what had happened in the last few cycles.
"What did the Autobots have to do to get you to enlist?" An all too familiar voice said, and she jerked her head to the side, seeing only a pair of dark, crimson optics. "Looks like she can barely fight off a youngling!"
"Wasn't it her that beat the living daylights out of you? I don't think you're one to be talking, Frenzy." Elita ignored the conversation between the Deceptions, and she looked around the cell that she was in, her optics landing on a familiar yellow youngling.
"Bumblebee!" she whispered under her breath as she dragged herself to the youngling, pulling him into her lap. His optics immediately opened, and he gasped happily, wrapping his arms around her neck.
"Lita!" the youngling squealed too loudly. "You're finally awake," he said in a more hushed tone as he made himself comfortable on her lap. "they've been watching you ever since I woke up." Elita looked into the darkness, her optics landing on a pair of red ones that were fixated on her.
"Where's Optimus?" Bumblebee asked quietly, looking up at Elita as he did so. She leaned against the wall and held the youngling closer to her chest, keeping her optics locked onto the red ones that stared back at her. "Is he coming?"
Cackles of laughter exploded throughout the small room, and three Deceptions emerged from the cloak of darkness, and Elita recognized two of them. "You really think Prime is stupid enough to come after you?!" Starscream said in between laughs as he leaned forward with an evil smirk. "He doesn't even know where this base is located."
Elita frowned, a sudden realization hitting her. She thought back to what Chromia said just a few groons prior to their mission; they didn't know they obtained the blueprints for the base.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," Elita muttered under her breath, in hopes that no one would hear. Bumblebee pressed his face into Elita's chest plates, wanting nothing more than to go back to the Autobot base with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. "He'll come for us, don't worry." she whispered into Bumblebee's audio receptors, rubbing her hand up and down his back.
"So, what's your big plan? Hm? Gonna take me to Megatron, in hopes that I'll tell you where my base is?" Elita asked with no care. She didn't care what they had to do to her to get information out; she wasn't gonna risk hundreds of lives just so she could avoid getting a few scratches. She knew better.
"That's exactly what we have planned for you." Frenzy said, bouncing up and down slightly. One of the mechs, who appeared to be blue and white, roughly grabbed Frenzy by the shoulders and pushed him to the ground. "Don't be jealous because I managed to sneak into the Autobot base, Barricade, I guess I'm just that brilliant."
"Yeah, apparently so brilliant that you got your ass kicked by a femme. Yeah, I'm steaming with jealousy, Frenzy." Barricade retorted sarcastically, rolling his optics at the minibot.
"I don't want you to leave me," Bumblebee whispered, tears forming in his optics. Elita pulled him back slightly and brought her hands to his face, gently wiping away a stray tear.
"It'll be okay, I promise." she whispered softly, caressing his cheek gently. "You have to be brave for me, can you do that?" Bumblebee solemnly nodded, and Elita leaned forward, placing a tender kiss to his forehead.
Bumblebee held a special place in her spark. The love she felt for the youngling was no doubt unconditional. She had been told the story of Bumblebee being rescued by Optimus and Ratchet, and her spark ached for him. He was such a young bot, and he had his creators ripped from him when he was only a sparkling. He had to grow up in the middle of a war, let alone on a military base.
"Bumblebee, I need you to be brave for me, okay?" Desperation shook in her voice, and she felt as though she could cry. She knew what was gonna happen, she knew that she was prone to leaving the Deception base covered in scratches and mech fluid. "Promise that you'll be a brave bot for me."
"Okay," the little bot mustered. "please don't leave me, I don't want to be alone." he whispered fearfully. Elita held him tighter and glanced up, seeing a hefty mech walk into the dark room.
"I have to, but I'll be back as soon as I can." she whispered to him as she pulled him away for a slight second. The femme placed the youngling on the ground behind her and attempted to shield him from what ever the mechs had planned.
"You comply with us, or we hurt him." Starscream said as he opened the cell door, Barricade coming up next to him. Elita gulped and nodded solemnly, and the two mechs strided into the cell, roughly grabbing the femme up by her arms. She grunted at the force and stumbled, and a pair of stasis cuffs were placed on her delicate wrists. "Try anything funny, these will shock you and fry your circuitry. So please, try something." Starscream seethed as Elita glared at him. The femme turned around and saw Bumblebee quiver slightly, and she offered him a comforting smile.
"This way, Autobot skum." the seeker said as he pulled on Elita's cuffs harshly, pulling her forward. "Megatron's been expecting you. Says he's got a special surprise for you." Elita gulped and followed him down the hall, Barricade following behind her. She glanced behind her, taking in the mech's posture, seeing him fidget with his hands, and his shoulders were hunched over. "I'll take her from here, you guard the youngling. Rough 'im up if he needs it."
Elita kept her glare on the Decepticon, watching him closely as Barricade tensely walked backed to the holding cells. Starscream grabbed Elita's cuffs and pulled her forward, pushing her into a room, and she grunted as she felt her knees being pushed in.
"At last, I have the genuine pleasure of meeting the newest Autobot officer." A low, deep voice said as Elita looked ahead, shuddering slightly. She looked ahead and saw a towering grey mech stand up from a throne, and quietly descend towards her. "Optimus Prime must've been incredibly stupid to appoint a fragile femme, such as yourself." the mech said as he stood in front of Elita, towering over her.
"Megatron," she breathed out as he chuckled darkly, looking at her with his crimson optics.
"Ah, so Prime's mentioned me before?"
"H-He may have mentioned you before," Elita felt her voice waiver; Megatron was bigger and taller than her, and there was a high possibility that she was leaving here with more than a few scratches. If she was even leaving the base at all.
"My Lord, we caught her and a small youngling in the outer rims, we presumed they had come to spy on us." Starscream said as he bowed slightly, looking up at his master. "What are your orders with the little one?" Elita shuddered slightly, and Megatron took a step forward, pulling her up harshly by her bonds. He pushed a button in the middle of the restraints, and electric currents were sent throughout Elita's body, quickly shocking her. The femme let out a cry of pain, falling onto her knees as she felt her body become weak.
"Ah, so it does work." Megatron said calmly, looking down at the panting femme. "No harm shall come to the little one. So help me Starscream, if there's one scratch on that youngling, you will be the one to answer me!" the dark lord bellowed at his first lieutenant, the only sounds in the room that were heard was Elita's labored breathing.
"Y-Yes, my lord." Starscream said as he walked out of the room, hanging his head low. Elita grunted and started to lightly shake, and she looked up at Megatron, his dark crimson optics staring her down.
"I can make this plain and simple; you tell me where your base is, and I won't hurt you." the grey mech said, lowering himself to her height. "We can do this the easy way, or my personal favorite, the hard way." he said evilly, eyeing Elita's blue optics.
"I'm… not giving you… any information," Elita said through pained grunts, feeling her circuitry start to hurt and ache. Megatron chuckled and stood up, pressing the button once more. Elita felt more shocks circulate her body, and she soon felt a small scream escape her mouth.
"Did Prime ever tell you about our relationship to one another?" Elita shook vigorously, keeping her optics focused on the ground. "I trust that you already know that we're brothers, though. Now what you don't know is that I offered him a deal. With his military skills, he and I could've ruled Cybertron, brother and brother side by side." Megatron pulled a small clicker from the throne that sat on the sides, pushing the small button that was placed in the middle.
Another series of shocks and electrical currents ventured throughout Elita's body, and the femme let out a pained grunt that grew into cry. "Of course Optimus didn't like the idea of us ruling the world, and so he grabbed his soldiers and threatened to overthrow me, which ultimately led to this war, and it all could have been avoided if he had just complied with me." Megatron looked over at the femme, noticing her pained posture. He walked over and kneeled, roughly grabbing her face in his cold, rough hands. "Now, my dear. I'll ask you one more time. Where is your base?"
Elita forced herself to look into his dark optics, a feeling of uncertainty building up in her chest. She grunted as she felt his grip tighten, his long, sharp finger digging into her face. A warm, sticky fluid ran down the side of her face as Elita whimpered weakly, blinking drowsily.
"No," she whispered weakly, and she prepared herself when she saw Megatron pull his fist back. He punched her hard in the cheek, sending her back a few inches on the ground. She felt mech fluid in her mouth, and weakly spat it out, drowsily looking up at the evil Decepticon.
"Barricade!" Megatron bellowed as ELita sighed, letting her head hit the stone-cold ground. A few moments later, the blue mech appeared in the room, bowing at his master.
"Yes, Lord Megatron?"
"Take her back to her cell, give her no medical attention whatsoever. I will continue her interrogation tomorrow." Megatron said as he walked back to his throne, sitting down with a delighted sigh. Barricade hesitantly grabbed Elita by her arms, lifting her up onto her weak legs, and he walked her out. Elita shook with every step she took, glancing at Barricade every few astroseconds.
"I-I know y-you don't want to do this," Elita said weakly, looking at the mech. Barricade glanced at her, a sorrowful look plastered on his face. "you could be so m-much better."
"You don't know anything about me." the Decepticon said as he unlocked the cell and took the stasis cuffs off her, pushing her into the cell. "I'd focus more on staying alive then I would on me." he said as he locked the cell door, quickly and quietly vanishing out of the room.
Elita let out a pained grunt as she pulled herself up to a sitting position, leaning her head against the wall. She looked around the cell and saw Bumblebee looking at her with scared optics. Opening her arms, the little youngling scrambled into her lap, pressing his head to her chest. The femme let out a small whimper of pain, feeling a burning sensation in her circuitry.
"Is Optimus coming for us?" Bumblebee asked as he looked up at Elita, his bottom lip quivering ever so slightly. Elita looked down at him and placed her hand on his cheek.
"I have no doubt that he'll come for us, we just have to be patient with him." she whispered, offering him a smile. "Why don't you get some rest, okay?" The youngling nodded and snuggled into her chest, and within a matter of klicks, he was in a peaceful recharge.
Elita allowed herself to let out a small groan, and she felt tears well up in her optics. She felt herself become weaker as she laid her head against the wall, wanting nothing more than to get Bumblebee and herself out of the trouble they were in.