1NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Neera ached. Everywhere.

She groaned, prying her eyes open to the dazzling light of fluorescent lamps. What had started off earlier as a small headache had quickly transgressed that into a full blown, head throbbing, nausea inducing migraine that flared like a spear through her skull when she opened her eyes. Wincing, she screwed them shut again, reflexively curling her thin body into a ball on the hard, cold surface she was lying on, shivering.

"I don't know, Starscream. This one doesn't seem to be functioning to me." A oily voice drawled near her. Neera flinched when a large finger nudged her in the side, too weak to do anything more.

"Heart-beat; above normal, breathing rate; near hyperventilating, skin temperature; five degrees below normal. Unless my scans are seriously malfunctioning Hook, the female is indeed alive." Another, whiny voice dead-panned. The first - Hook- snorted at the rib, and Neera got the vague impression that it moved away from her.

"So... what exactly does Megatron want with the human anyway?"

"If you hadn't noticed yet, it was with an activated Minicon, meaning that the two must have binary bonded."

"Starscream- that's MY area of expertise-"

"Otherwise I wouldn't tolerate you in here..." the whiny one muttered.

"- and it is highly doubtful that an organic would be able to survive the process."

Neera heard a distant whirring sound, and she wearily cracked open her eyes again. Her vision was blurred, and everything appeared to be smeary blocks of color. Two blobs in particular- a white and red one and a deep blue one- were moving about near her. They slid in and out of focus, and she dimly realized that they were giant robots like Cyclonous.

The red and white robot approached her, grasping her right forearm between its immense fingers. A stab of pain blazed through her skull, and she whimpered, weakly pulling at her arm as black spots crowded in on the edges of her vision.

"Hold still." The whiny one ordered gruffly, though surprisingly, its voice was ever so slightly softer than it had been. Neera, struggling just to stay conscious, simply let her body go limp, wheezing with pain.

Something pricked her in the forearm, and somehow she knew that it was a heavy needle gliding into the vein.

The red and white one moved away from her, leaving Neera lying prone beneath the glaring lights once again. Gathering all her strength into a single motion, she touched the needle in her arm and found a slender tube running from it going off beyond her line of slight.

Her throat was dry, only able to let out a hoarse sound akin to static when she opened her mouth. The blue one was back next to her, reaching down to touch her again.

"Don't touch her, Hook!" The red and white one yelled. Hook, his hand inches from Neera's face, turned his head away to look at the other.

"What's with you, Starscream? It's only a human."

"Yes, a human that might hold the key to multiple bondings! Don't touch her or you'll mess up my scans!" Starscream added.

Hook snorted. "Yeah. Whatever." Neera let out a ragged breath of relief as it moved away from her, shivering again. The pain in her head had turned into a heated throb spiked with moments of intense, flaring pain.

"Look, if you want to make yourself useful, go question the minicon. It's the one that's all silver. It will know if it was binary bonded to the human."

"Fine, sure." The blue one huffed, walking away. There was the sound of doors hissing open then door hissing closed, and Neera was alone with Starscream.

Darkness blotted out her awareness for an unknown length of time, her mind fading in and out of consciousness. Sometime another needle had been put into her other arm, and still another time a giant finger had gently brushed her hair away from her face, and behind it, a stony face broken by a crack of pity stared at her.

Neera turned her head to find the red and white robot at a large workbench of some sort, studying data on a large computer screen.

"What do you want with me?" She rasped, unsure if it could hear her or not. Without turning its head, Starscream answered;

"You binary bonded with a minicon, something that's supposedly impossible for an organic to do. So, naturally, Megatron's very curious about what makes that possible."

Neera let her eyes close, goosebumps rising on her arms with the chill of the unnaturally large room.

"Where's Axel? What have you done with him?" Her voice came with more strength than she actually felt. This time, Starscream turned his helmeted black head towards her.

"Don't you know of his condition? You should." His voice, whiny and condescending, held a note of amusement.

"How..."

"Axel, as you call the minicon, partnered itself with you. You are linked together, giving you the ability to KNOW what is happening to the other. Your link is obviously not as strong as I had originally assumed." He added, almost as an after thought.

Neera, suddenly hopeful, tried to call out to Axel, only to feel like the voice of her mind was choked with a suffocating wad of cotton. She couldn't make a sound. Seeing the struggle plainly on her face, the robot smirked.

"Ah ah ah! We couldn't have you two contacting each other and organizing an escape, could we?" He taunted. "I injected you with a drug that inhibits certain mental functions, namely being able to communicate with your partner."

Neera's eyes drifted to the needle in her arm and the tube leading to it, suddenly far to weak to tear it out of her body like she so desperately wanted. Her mind screamed with the agony of being separated from Axel's presence. Their link was obviously much more powerful than they realized, or Starscream wouldn't be going to the lengths he was to suppress it. Neera turned her head away from him, the only gesture of defiance she could muster. All she had wanted to do was save Jonas. Now, she didn't know how she would be able to save herself.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Axel groaned as his systems one by one came back on line, automatically running a self diagnostics check. Nothing was damaged beyond what internal repairs could handle.

Slowly, muscle cables grinding against one another, he forced himself to his feet. Where ever he was, it was pitch black.

Immediatly, his CPU went to Neera. He hurriedly did a life sign and body heat scan and found that she was no where near him. His energon pump contacted painfully with fear, knowing she could be anywhere- and in danger.

Axel pressed against the link only to be met with pain. He could feel the fear in Neera's mind but couldn't touch her consciousness when he tried to comfort her. Something separated them like a wall of spikes, increasing his panic ten fold. Feeling his way to the wall, Axel jumped with surprise as a large, dusty door slid open, letting harsh artificial light stream in.

A large figure was shilloutted in the door way. It moved towards him, speaking.

"Well well, lookie what I found! A minicon!" The voice taunted. Axel knew that voice, and hatred rose within him like bile.

"What have you done to Neera, Hook?" The robot ceased in its approach, folding its arms over its large chest plate, green optics glowing in the gloom.

"Oh I haven't done anything. Not sure what Starscream did, though." The flippant words horrified Axel, his spark core crying out in dismay, his mind desperately reaching out to Neera again, only to be forced back.

Hook ginned maliciously. "What's the matter, Minicon? Can't contact the fleshy?"

"WHERE IS SHE HOOK?" Axel yelled.

"Safe, for now. Once Starscream's done with his experiments though, Megatron might decide to dump her body in outer space just for kicks." The evil blue robot threw back its head and laughed like a Hyena.

Axel clenched his fists, wanting to pull his ion cannon out of subspace and blow that triumphant smirk right of his face. It wouldn't help him- or Neera- though. Perhaps he could find a way to rescue Neera if Megatron thought that they weren't linked, since security would be more lax then.

Yes, he would wait until Neera was safe to exact his revenge on his torturer from so long ago.

"So...What's it like Minicon, to be connected to something so useless? I thought you had better taste then that."

Axel's optics blazed with anger only restrained by the urgency to save Neera. His partner came first.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He ground out.

Hook cocked his head in question, touching his chin thoughtful, that hideous grin still marring his features.

"No?"

"No."

Hook laughed. "You're a cool liar, Minicon, as always. I guess three thousand years of hibernation didn't change you at all, did it? If only you hadn't resisted joining the Decepticons you could have been the most powerful among us behind Megatron. I suppose that's why he always took such an interest in you. For a minicon, you're unusually powerful, yet you were never willing to go that extra step. That's what makes you weak." Hook laughed again.

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen! You were powerful enough to frighten mighty Megatron, and then you went and bonded to a human!"

"I never bonded to any human." Hook quirked an eye ridge.

"No? Then why- pray tell- was she with you? Who DID activate you? Hm?" Axel tried to cobble together an explanation, but could think of none.

"Hahahah! Poor minicon. Can't even think of a good lie anymore?"

Axel's optics dimmed. Softly, he said;

"I would give anything to take back what I did on Cybertron."

Hook's grin fell.

"Awe well. I guess you really didn't have what it took after all." A perverted light came into his eyes. "I think I'm going to enjoy watching you dismantle yourself after I kill the human. We're going to have fun after Starscream's done with her..."

Hook turned on his heal and walked out, the doors screeching closed behind him, leaving Axel in the stiffling darkness once more.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

My body hurt.

I knew that it wouldn't be much longer until the things that monster put into me killed me.

I stumbled through the dark halls, moving on instinct, the wires that I had broken to escape trailing behind me, my blood leaving small droplets on the metal floor.

There was one room open at the end of the hall, and I went in. Consoles five times my height were packed into the room, lines of data and schematics scrolling across their screens.

Every part of my body screaming in pain I jumped strait up and collapsed in a heap on the console, my ragged breath coming in short, gurgling gasps. But that wouldn't stop me. I had escaped and come too far to give up.

I didn't know if it would work.

My hand pressed serval buttons that I had seen them press before.

I didn't know if anyone would here me.

My hand moved again, sending out the distress call.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Light years away, in a galaxy unknown to mankind, on a planet made entirely of metal, in a cluttered back room full of stacks of disks and heaps of forgotten gadgets, a light lit up on the console, blinking serenely to the empty room.

Blinking.

Blinking.