It had been 6 months since the battle in Egypt. The Autobots and their allies at NEST went back into the Egyptian desert, hoping to find some trace of the leftover Decepticons. They wanted to find Megatron and offline him while he was still in a weakened state, stop him before he could regain his strength and enact some other world ending plan against the humans. Unfortunately, he knew how to make their life difficult, hiding quickly and effectively, determined to stay as such for however long he needed. It made Optimus weary.
Their recent search did not yield any results and as such they would be sent back to their base in Washington D.C as of the next day. Optimus opted for Ironhide and him to do one more patrol to see if anything could be gleaned from it. Ratchet, being the diligent medic that he is, suggested Optimus rest for once and not waste the time nor energon on a lost cause. However Ratchet knew that when his friend was this focused, there was no talking him out of it. So, he waited back at the base for the two to return or, Primus forbid, call for emergency treatment.
The humans seemed more relaxed than their cybertronian counterparts. They seemed excited to go back to the states, be able to see their families again and Ratchet couldn't blame them. If he had a chance to go back home, he would take it himself. He spent the majority of his time sorting through supplies, making sure they had what they needed for their trip back.
His commlink pings, and his spark drops. Did they find something? What happened? Dammit it shouldn't have been just the two of them going out! He answers and it's Ironhide requesting that he come to their location with medical supplies and to keep it quiet. Ratchet frowns. What are they, embarrassed that one of them got hurt? Why do they just need him and why keep the humans out of it? Ratchet vents, frustrated. Nevertheless, he would do as he was asked. He packed some supplies, explained to Lennox that everything was fine and that the three would return shortly. Lennox, thankfully, didn't question him, probably more so worried about getting his men home tomorrow. With that Ratchet transformed and left the base to the location sent to him by Ironhide.
Upon his arrival, he can see that neither of his comrades are injured but Optimus is antsy and Ironhide looks pissed. Ironhide walks up to him as he transforms to his bipedal mode, "You're not going to believe this." Ratchet raises an optic ridge, "What happened?" Ironhide huffed, "Ask him." He pointed at Optimus who was busy entertaining a rather frantic, cyber cat. He did a double take at the silver tinted beast, the size of a panther to humans.
"That's…" "Mercy's feline companion, yeah funny that." Ironhide interrupted the medic, "My main question is why the frag is it asking Optimus for help." Ratchet's optics widen, "For help? Are you sure?" Ironhide gritted his denta, pointed at Optimus again, in a manner of 'ask him', and then crossed his arms over his chassis, releasing an annoyed vent.
Ratchet walked over to Optimus, the cat rubbing along the Prime's legs frantically. "That's…" "It's Pounce, I know…" the Prime answers, his voice low, "Mercy is in danger." "And her cat comes to you? Why?" Ratchet all but snaps. Optimus flinches, how was he supposed to explain this.
"Why would Mercy be in danger? And why in the hell do you want to save her?" Ironhide stomps over. "She has been a pain in our afts since she got here. She helped Megatron kill you Prime!" "She has been undercover for me and it would seem Megatron found out." It was not the whole truth, but Mercy was definitely in her current predicament because of him.
"I don't believe that in the slightest. Not someone like Mercy." "Ratchet, you have to…" "What, walk into an obvious trap? She revels in misery! She has to be using your past feelings for her against you." Ratchet counters. "Finally someone with some damn sense." Ironhide grumbles.
Optimus audibly vents, his processor was trying to find some way out of this. The two were right about Mercy and Optimus' history before the war broke out, but they had no idea what has actually been going on between them in the past two years since her arrival, "Ratchet, Ironhide, as your friend, I need you two to believe me. Mercy is in danger and I need you two to help me. If we lose her, any information on Megatron dies with her." The cat at his pedes growls and bites at his legs, trying to get him to hurry and follow. The two smaller mechs look at each other. Optimus never asked them for much and his frantic tone had them leaning more towards helping him.
"If we die, I am killing you." Ironhide huffs. Optimus lets out a weak, relieved chuckle, "Thank you." He turns to the cat, speaking to him in Cybertronian, before transforming into his alt mode, the cat hopping into his cabin after pointing out the direction to go. The medic and the weapons specialist glance at each other, uneasy with this whole situation, but transform into their own alt modes and follow the Prime.
Optimus' processor was running a thousand miles a minute. They had been out here for a month and he met with Mercy in private once. Unfortunately, it wasn't like their usual pleasure-seeking encounters and ended with her kicking his knees out from under him and speeding off before he could stop her. The swift exit probably left her exposed, and she was found out, fragging around with the enemy leader. Optimus feels a pang of guilt in his spark, he should've worked harder to keep her with him.
His comms ping and he can't trace it, let alone know who sent it. He listens to the message, bracing himself for what is to come next. "Prime…" The guttural growl can only mean Optimus was right, and his spark drops. "Megatron…" "I didn't think you had it in you. I can only hope that you had fun… She does have quite the scream." There is a sound of metal piercing through metal, followed by a shrill cry of pain. The Energon in his system goes cold, he has never heard her make that noise. How long has he been torturing her?
"It's a shame really, she was one of my best. And she got so close to you... Yet she didn't have the bearings to put a stop to this war." Another sound of metal going through metal. "You're going to regret this…" Her voice is weak and it all but breaks Optimus. "You say that like you're going to live." Optimus can hear the smirk in his voice. "And you say that like I've been known to fall easily…" Optimus feels a pang of hope in his spark, Mercy wasn't one to break easily, and she made no exception here. It must anger Megatron to no end. There is a pause in his message and Optimus holds a breath.
There is a dark chuckle on the other end and Optimus wishes he had offlined him in the battle at the Pyramids. "Come and get what's left, Prime." There is a sickening sound of the grind and crushing of metal and Mercy screams, static cutting into it at the sheer intensity of her pain. "Mercy!" Optimus shouts as the transmission ends abruptly. "Prime?!" Ironhide sounded as startled as Ratchet felt. "She is alive but we have to hurry!"
The cat, Pounce, led them in the direction where he last saw Mercy, where the Decepticons were taking shelter and what is now Mercy's prison. The rest of her companions had scattered as she was captured and hopefully all had stayed hidden. The cave starts to come into view and the cat pats at the inside of Prime's cabin door, wanting to be let out.
Optimus slows to a halt, letting Pounce get out before he transforms himself, the other two following suit behind him. They had been driving for a good hour before they finally arrived at their destination. They had to be a few hours out from the base now. The three were silent for a majority of the drive and were tense to say the least.
Ironhide catches movement out of the corner of his eye and turns a cannon in that direction. Mercy's spider, Skitters, comes out from hiding and she rears up, flashing her mandibles in warning at the Autobots. Pounce hisses in defense of the three and Skitters backs down, cautiously watching. Optimus turns to his weapons specialist and he lowers his cannon, watching the spider himself.
"If her beasts are close by then I don't think the Decepticons are here any longer." Ratchet observes. Optimus grits his denta, the opportunity to make Megatron pay escapes him yet again. Optimus begins to walk in the direction of the cave but Ironhide stops him, "If they aren't here, we need to be careful of any traps they may have laid for us." Optimus nods and let's out an unsteady vent, he was being irrational. Of course he was, the femme he just confessed his feelings for, which she promptly did not return, has been tortured because of it. He tried to clear his head, he was their leader, and he needed to act as such.
There was an explosion that lit up the night around them. Please Primus no… He stood in horror at the scene. So this is what Megatron meant by pieces. He wasn't fast enough. He wasn't fast enough and now she was dead because of him. When the initial light died down from the explosion, Optimus swore part of his spark did too.
"Optimus!" Ironhide shouts to get his attention, the taller mech looking over to see just what Ironhide was pointing out. To the east of the cave, far enough from the blast, are two figures, another animal shape, her bear, Tank… The other figure was slumped on the ground, the bear dragging it away from the explosion.
Optimus and Ratchet take off in a sprint to get to the two figures and when they get closer Optimus can see that the figure on the ground is definitely Mercy. There might be a chance… Optimus prayed to Primus and whatever other deity this planet had to offer that she was still online.
Upon their approach, Tank lets go of Mercy and stands on her hind legs, roaring at them to back the fuck off. The two mechs stop and Optimus tries to calm the understandably defensive bear, speaking to her in Cybertronian, "We're here to help. I promise, we can fix her." The bear looks at them, unsure of what to do, "Please, let us help her." Optimus tries to plead with the creature.
Tank steps down from her hind legs and bows her head, leaning down to nudge Mercy's faceplates with her nose, letting out a spark-breaking whine. She walks up to Optimus and nudges her helm into his abdomen, another whine escaping her, begging them for help. Optimus places a servo on Tank's helm and pats her gently.
"By the pits, you actually convinced her to join our side." Ratchet comments, walking over to the fallen frame of Mercy. Optimus hung his helm, if only he truly had. Optimus stops petting the bear, steeling himself to walk over to Mercy. As he moves in that direction, Tank follows close behind, Pounce and Skitters catching up, the smaller beast frantically meowing at the feet of the bear.
She looked worse then he could've thought possible. There were metal pokers driven into her shoulders and hips, with other holes in her frame suggesting more than just those. Her plating was twisted and torn in some places. Some had signs of being torn to make it quick put clearly that wasn't doing what Megatron needed, because other plates were more delicately pulled up, slowly, painfully, to reveal the cables underneath. The cables and softer plating of her protoform was twisted and torn too, making Optimus feel sick.
Neither mech had seen Mercy in such a state. She was a very capable fighter and to see her in such shape, Megatron really spared no expense on his work. Mercy pissed him off. There was a jagged claw mark down her abdomen, matching Megatron's, and Optimus swore he would make sure that mech stayed offline for good.
"I have a pulse, but her spark… it is faint…" Ratchet said, trying his damnedest to stabilize her. Optimus wanted to hold her close, beg her to stay with him, "What can I do to help?" "Stay the frag back. She is delicate as it is right now. I have to be quick. We have to bring her back to base with us, possibly even to the states." "What? Our allies would never let that happen." Ironhide chimed in after the Prime, "They might just, their radars picked up the explosion and are on their way, with more medical supplies," He reassures Ratchet before he has a chance to say anything, "If she really has any important information on the Decepticons working as your spy, they'll take her with us."
Optimus processor couldn't take anymore of this. There was too much at stake. If she survived, would she keep up the charade, or would she rat them out? Would they kill her if there was nothing useful to them? "Prime." He is snapped out of his thoughts by Ironhide, "You're pretty shaken," Optimus cursed how transparent he was being, "She knew the risks, she knew this could happen when you try to play both sides. We just have to make sure she survives." Ironhide tried to reassure him. Maybe he wasn't as transparent as he thought. However, there was an uneasy feeling in his spark due to all the possibilities of what could happen. But there was a small, selfish part of him that was happy she could survive.
The first thing to kick in were her audials. It was a quiet room save for the incessant beeping, her vitals probably. She heard shuffling next, Mercy figured she wouldn't be alone. She didn't feel any restraints on her wrists, so either Megatron had switched it up and found a use for her, or Prime was an idiot, and saved her.
She barely opened an optic, the lights were uncomfortably bright, and the infrastructure was obviously human. She spotted a walkway where humans could be more level with the Cybertronians and she swore. It was a makeshift med-bay, considering the height difference between the two species. She closed her optic, the bastard should have just left her to die. She could never go back to the Decepticons, and she refused to work with the Autobots and their little human pets.
"Is she doing better?" Ah, speaking of the bastard. She hears his pede-steps get closer to the berth she is laying on. "She should come out of stasis shortly." And the good doctor, "Her injuries should be healed, save some tenderness and minor dents. But those will heal in time." "Good, higher ups are getting antsy." The human leader, Lennox. "Are we sure this is a good idea?" The voice of Lennox's comrade, Epps. "He's right. Mercy is not going to let her fate be decided by a couple of humans…" Ironhide chimed. Good the gangs all here.
He was right though, Mercy would be damned if she were to let humans have any say when it came to anything about her. She wasn't going to give them the chance. She felt something moving close to her helm and instinctively went to grab someone by the wrist. She felt a gun barrel pressed to her forehelm, "Ratchet!" Optimus spoke, startled. Mercy grins, "Now, Doc." Her vocals were hoarse, just how long had she been out? "Is that anyway to treat a patient?"
She opens her optics completely, registering the face of a rather indifferent doctor, "Depends on the patient…" "Ratchet…" Optimus warns. Oh, so he does care… He cares more than Mercy would like. The medic removes the gun from her helm and Mercy drops his wrist. She chuckles, "Such a warm welcome, I'm flattered." Optimus shifted uncomfortably, something told him she wasn't going to cooperate like he had hoped.
"I wouldn't get too comfortable." Epps warns, leaning against the railing of the walkway. "Noted, fleshling. How long have I been out?" "We'll be asking questions." Lennox replies. Mercy scoffs, "How you treat house guests leaves much to be desired." Optimus saw the shift in his allies stances, they were getting impatient.
"Not even three little questions?" She taunts. Optimus steps in to try and ease the tension, "We can at least grant you that." She turns her helm to look at him for the first time and her ruby red optics catch his cerulean ones in a glare. If looks could kill, that… would have stopped his spark on the spot. She was pissed, and she very much blamed him.
"I try not to make a habit of repeating myself… but since my first question went unanswered, how long have I been out?" "The last two weeks." Optimus answers, the others making no real effort to answer her. "Ratchet stabilized you but your injuries were severe. He induced stasis to increase your chances of survival." "Lucky me…" She scoffs. "More like, lucky us." Epps mutters, and Ironhide agrees with him. Mercy could honestly care less, if they had anyone to blame why she was here, it was Optimus.
"Where are we?" "Classified." Lennox answers immediately. Mercy rolls her optics, "I don't even get the general vicinity?" "Hell no, you don't." Epps backs up his friend. Optimus raises his servos to try and calm his allies, "I am sure we can meet each other halfway." "You're being a little too kind don't you think, Optimus." Ratchet interjected. "Oh, he's always had a sweet spot for me~" She taunts. "That's what I am worried about." Ironhide mutters and Optimus swallows hard. This was getting too close for comfort.
"The Eastern Coast of North America." Lennox answers. "See was that so hard?" Mercy mocks him. "Careful before I consider that your third question." Lennox crosses his arms over his chest. "Fine, fine. Where are my beasts?" "The bear and spider ran off as soon as we landed. Didn't seem too worried about what happened to their mom." Epps answers. Mercy smirked, no they did what they were supposed, they are just waiting for her signal to come find her. "The wolf is MIA." Epps continues and Mercy hides a frown. Sparks wouldn't be around any longer. Megatron made sure of that when he killed the poor beast in front of her.
"Pounce has been with me ever since we brought you here." Optimus said, stepping closer to the berth. Mercy grits her denta, of course he has been. Sometimes she wonders if that cat likes Optimus more than her.
"Our turn. Where is Megatron hiding?" Lennox asks, almost immediately. "Your guess is as good as mine." She rolls her optics. "What are the Decepticons planning?" Epps continues to question her. Mercy laughs aloud, the sudden movement very painful, but she didn't care. "Why the frag would I tell you?" "Because you're supposed to be Optimus' decepticon spy." Ironhide, says incredulously, raising an optic ridge at Prime. "Clearly that is not the case…" Ratchet says, folding his arms and watching the Prime as well.
This is where it would get complicated. "Is that what he told you?" She slowly sits up on the berth. Her entire body ached. She held the side of her abdomen, the plating still healing from one of the pokers. She winced but continued with her taunting, "Prime… you would lie to your own team?" "Mercy…" he kept his voice low, warning her. Mercy feigned a look of hurt, "You wouldn't be ashamed of me, would you?" "Mercy…" he warns again.
"Optimus, what the hell is going on?" Lennox asks. "I can explain privately…" Mercy cuts him off, "Or I can explain right now. Your precious little leader likes to rendezvous with me to…" she leans against the edge of the berth, crossing her arms over her chassis, "Let's just say, to vent out frustrations~" She gives Optimus a once over, a sultry look in her optics that normally would have driven him crazy but right now made him very uncomfortable.
Ratchet and Ironhide look disgusted, more so at Mercy then Optimus. The humans, however, were stunned silent, trying to process what exactly was said and slightly horrified at the unintentional lesson in Cybertronian anatomy. "Mercy, this is between us." Optimus tries to reason with her. "Mmm, yes, but it is so much fun exposing the 'oh so pure' Optimus Prime."
"You used his past feelings for you against him…" Ironhide huffed. "Oh, there were no feelings at first I can assure you… until recently…" Her sultry look becomes a glare that matches Optimus' own, "But that's what you Autobots do… get attached to unnecessary things." She turns her glare towards the humans who return it in kind. This was too much fun for Mercy. Optimus was the reason she no longer had allies to go back to, so she was going to make his own allies think twice about him. The tension was palpable and Mercy was thriving in it.
As the bots continue to argue, the Autobots in defense of Optimus and Mercy throwing more fuel on the fire, the humans turn to each other, "I have learned more about the Big Man, then I think I ever needed to." Epps shakes his head. "Yeah I am still stuck on the 'frustration' thing…" Lennox agrees. "We have to do something, things are going from bad to worse."
"Oh that would've been more fun if he used me for information, but alas, he did not. He was very selfish~" Mercy replied to Ironhide's recent accusation, "But if it helps… I didn't get any information from him, so don't worry about your little operation with your human pets." Ironhide vented angrily, and Mercy readied herself for a fight, regardless of her current condition. Lennox held his breath, she needed to be removed from this situation if they were ever going to get the full story from Optimus.
"Enough!" Lennox shouted, making the bots turn their attention towards him. "Get her the hell out of here." "I will not be your prisoner…" Mercy growls. "And you won't. You're more effort than you're worth." Lennox counts, throwing the Autobots off. What was his game? "Will, what are…" Ironhide begins to question. "Best case for her, we run into her again and tear her apart." "You honestly think you would be able to stop me?" Mercy chuckles. "We have better training and more soldiers now. And you have no one to back you up this time." Mercy flinched as Lennox called out her lack of allies, "If this is the reason you were tortured by Megatron, you really think he will take you back? Which is your worst case, he finds you again. It just so happens to be our best case." It was Optimus' turn to flinch. Lennox was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Mercy would be a fugitive, on the run from NEST and the Decepticons.
Mercy would never admit it, but she had some modicum of respect for the human at this moment. She leaned up, flinching and holding her side again. Optimus goes to help her but she brushes him off, "Don't touch me! Just give me back my damn cat." Ironhide and Ratchet go to escort her out, calling Bumblebee and a few armed guards to watch her as they take her to the exit of the base.
Optimus walks to his quarters, and opens the door. Pounce looks up at him across the room expectantly. The door closes and Optimus vents, absolutely chestfallen. This was not what he wanted, this is not how he thought he would be found out. Now he had to say goodbye to the femme he charished… no, the femme he loved. Primus knows if she would survive, she was still in recovery and Lennox was right. Regardless of how he explains the situation after Mercy leaves, she was the enemy and if the energon detectors found her, they would offline her. Though, if Megatron got ahold of her again, the thought made his spark ache.
"Come on Pounce." He calls the cat, and the feline runs over to him immediately, jumping up into his arms as Prime holds him close to his chassis. He was going to miss the time he had with the cat. These past two weeks with the beast made him feel like he wasn't alone. He reminded the Prime of the good times back on Cybertron, being friends with Megatron and Mercy. A time before the war broke them all apart. Pounce rubbed his helm against the plates on Optimus' face, almost as if he could sense what the mech was thinking. Optimus scratches the cat's helm in return, opening the door and walking out to meet the others.
Her escort got her to the entrance for the Autobots, a massive sliding door that led out the side of the base with a ramp that they could drive up to get out. The atmosphere was… less than pleasant. The humans had their guns aimed at her, she even counted a couple snipers on top of the buildings. Mercy began to doubt whether they would really let her leave and not try and gun her down on the way out. So much for a sense of honor, not that she would grant them the same courtesy, but it's the thought that counts right?
Optimus walks into view, holding Pounce close and the sight makes her nauseous. She clenches her servos, gritting her denta and turning to face away from the group. The cat was always fond of Optimus and Optimus felt the same closeness. The idea of being offlined by Megatron began to look more and more appealing by the minute.
Optimus walks up to Ironhide and Ratchet, Lennox and Epps on the ground next to them. "If you would permit me…" "Go say your goodbyes, Optimus." Epps answers his request before he can finish. "The only reason I am letting her walk is because she means something to you, whatever that may be." Lennox reassures him. "We have worked with you long enough to give you the benefit of the doubt." Epps continues. "You can say goodbye. But you need to explain everything." Ironhide chimes in, Ratchet agreeing with him. Optimus vents, agreeing to do just that and grateful they were understanding right now.
Optimus walks up to Mercy, her back still turned to the group, she counted at least 6 snipers. She really had the humans worried, the thought made her grin, at least that was another positive, besides ruining the trust between Optimus and the Autobots of course. She can sense him behind her and she turns to face him. The look in his eyes, the sympathy, the loss, the pain in his optics makes her sick. She scoffs and looks away from him. Hm, interesting, the count was at 7 now.
"Mercy, you can join…" "What part of this whole situation makes you think I want to join your little Autobots?" She snaps. "They'll kill you!" He kept his volume down but his tone was desperate. "Honestly at this point, I wish Megatron finished the job. Maybe we would both have some dignity left." Her biting wit makes him flinch. She couldn't mean that… "Pounce, we're leaving!" She tries to call the cat but he hesitates, looking up at Optimus and then back at her, not moving.
Mercy vents, "Must you take everything from me?" Optimus can't help the devastated look on his face at her words. She turns away from the two, walking out the door and beginning to transform into her alt mode. Optimus looks at Pounce, "Watch her, please, for me. Make sure she lives." The cat meows and jumps from his grasp and runs up to his master. She opens the door and the cat hopes inside. She shifts into gear and peels out of the side entrance, driving up the ramp and out into the city, making a beeline to exit the city itself. Optimus watched her leave with a heavy spark, wondering if he would ever see her again.