Lockdown

I talked with Prowl and the other guys later on. I wanted to know what had happened to all the other Auto-Losers. What I got was something I really didn't expect.

Prowl was just kinda relaxing on what Bumblebee called the Chicken Nuthouse, which was actually just an old chicken coupe. I didn't really wanna bring it up with the other two, since they probably got the worst of it, but I was wrong. Bumblebee just got the crap beat out of him. It was Prowl and Sari who suffered most.

"Hey there, partner" I said.

I could've sworn I scared the holy shift out of him when he fell off the Chicken Nuthouse.

"Don't you know not to disturb someone when they're trying to meditate?".

I already saw where this was going.

"I know now" I shrugged.

"Okay then, don't do it again. What do you want anyway?".

"What happened to your other buddies?".

"I told you, they died".

"How? Who else was a fighter, Prowl? Who?".

He really didn't wanna tell me, but he knew I wouldn't stop pestering him until I got my answer.

"It was about three years ago when we came back to Earth to liberate some other fighters. We got separated on our last mission. Bulkhead disappeared. We only know that because he didn't come back with Optimus".

"And you guys?".

"I'm getting to us. So we were a little shaken by what was going on. This planet had changed into one just like Cybertron, but only it was mechs forced to serve humans for their entertainment. Ratchet died of shock, we assume, but no one really knows what happened. He just wouldn't come online one day and that was that. After that, we were growing weaker, especially Optimus. He was so withdrawn and depressed after what happened to Ratchet. We tried to help him, but nothing ever really seemed to work, no matter how many mechs we saved. He just thought he had nothing to live for, so he kinda used Cybertronian arsenic and…well, I think you know the rest".

"So the fearless leader committed suicide, eh? What a dumb-aft" I had to speak honestly. You don't kill yourself over the death of a comrade, it was just wrong and stupid in my optics.

"Don't say that! Optimus Prime was everything to the Autobots. Losing him meant only one thing: We had to look out for each other before we could save anyone else, even if that meant watching other members of our kind die. Then we were attacked later on by a group of Mech Fighters and placed into the hands of a Master I know you're familiar with: James Hall".

I couldn't believe it! Prowl and the two kids…they suffered at the hands of the one who abused me. I didn't wanna hear more, but I had to know what kind of torture Hall put them through. Prowl continued when I didn't say anything.

"Bumblebee refused to fight our own kind, and so he was punished for it. He was beaten, electrocuted, and he busted almost every circuit in his body. But things got extremely bad when Hall learned what Bumblebee's real weakness was: Sari. You wouldn't believe what that man did to her. Every kind of torture became a reality for that girl. I'm surprised now that she can hold those memories in. She doesn't cry on the outside anymore, but I know she still suffers. Bruises fade, Lockdown, you and I both know that, but the pain never goes away. So, whenever Bumblebee refused to fight, he would take Sari and do terrible things to her. All the while Bumblebee was chained to a wall where he was forced to watch. He was stripped of his weapons and everything, so he couldn't do a thing even if he had a chance".

I didn't wanna bring up what Hall did to Sari, so I didn't ask. "What about you?".

"Me? I just kinda held it all together. If I won my fights, the torture wasn't as bad for Sari, but if I lost, it was worse. Through time, I became one of the best fighters around, just like you. See, he had me a few years before he got you. We managed to run away, but only to get caught again by another Master and forced to fight again. That's when Peter and his other chick friend Alexis came in and saved us. Alexis set up a lawsuit against Hall and our new Master and we won, so we became Peter's property and the two men went to prison. Ever since, the police have been stepping up to find those Underground Masters. We've been here since the lawsuit was filed".

It kinda didn't make sense, but I just went with it. Bumblebee and Sari went through enough. Prowl got off the easy because he fought, but I felt bad for those two. It plagued me for the rest of the night, even when Shadow and I went to try to recharge. She recharged soundly, but I couldn't.

What's wrong, papa? It was Chamaeleon.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Just go back to recharge".

Papa, please, don't tell me lies. I don't like it.

Ha! He got the honesty bug from me.

"It's nothing Chamaeleon, I promise. Just some stuff that Prowl told me that's all".

Was it that bad? Did it scare you?

I had to admit to him, it did scare me a little. If anyone were to do anything like what Hall did to those three, Primus, I'd kill him. Plus, my boys, the ones that truly gave my life meaning, I couldn't let that happen to them or Shadow for that matter. I loved all three of them too much.

"Yeah" I said at last, "It did scare me".

Don't worry, Papa. Nothing's gonna happen to us. I promise.

"How can you be so sure of everything?".

"He's right" Shadow joined the conversation, "Nothing is gonna happen to us. Baby, it's gonna be okay. Prowl told me all about what happened earlier today between you and him. You can let it out, Lockdown. I won't tell anyone about it".

Shadow Wing sat up on the berth and let me put my head against her spark chamber and I just started…crying, I guess. Why them? Why the kids? Why Prowl? Why anybody? Nobody should've had to have gone through that! Nobody, yet almost everyone I cared about was affected by it.

"It's okay, Lockdown. We'll be alright…all of us".

Yeah, just have a little faith, dad. That was Camelio.

Yeah, maybe it was gonna be okay. But then I knew it never would be okay. Like what Prowl said, bruises fade, but the pain stays all the same.

A/N: What's up my people? What'd you think of this? I tapped into my more dark side and this is kinda what I came up with. Yes, the Alexis mentioned is the one from Armada. Thank you tlcoopi7 for giving me that idea. She'll play an important part later, I promise. As will another character, one I never gave much thought to before today. Read the fic It Felt Like A Punishment, and you'll know who I'm talking about. If you don't, well, you're just dumb. Just kidding. If you don't, just think about it really hard. It'll come to you! See ya later!