It's short, but this is two chapters in a day. Yay me!
Yes, I still function. Thank you 2211Nighthawk and Autobot-Fangirl0203 for reviewing; angeldevil728 and fear4everleading for favouriting/following.
Her greens eyes flickered open, her vision blurred for a moment before clearing. Metal and bright white lights met her vision, something was beeping to her right and her head was hammering against her skull. There was cold metal beneath her and as Leon attempted to move, electricity sang down her arms and she screeched.
"The more you move, the more it will hurt."
Leon's head rolled to the side, painfully, and she took in the red mech standing a fair distance from where she lay. He had wheels with gold rims on his shoulders, large shoulders, and a small waist. He leered down at her, his red eyes gleaming in disgust and she knew something was wrong right then.
Autobots did not have red optics.
"Disgusting creatures, humans," The red mech sneered, shifting one of his fingers into a very sharp looking knife. "Very messy. And I've heard, little squishy, that you know where the Autobot base is. Would you like to tell me where it is?"
If this was not an Autobot, than he was a Decepticon. And 'cons were bad.
"No." She spat, and then squeezed her eyes shut. She didn't feel as his finger-knife lanced across her arm, but then she felt pain. And then she felt the knife on the same arm, crossing over the cut he'd just made. She whimpered, keeping her mouth shut and trying not to move.
"How about now?" he asked, his tenor tones sweet and sickly.
She shook her head and several shocks ripped through her body. The mech pushed one of his silver fingers against the cut he'd made as the electricity went through her. What came out of her mouth was something she hoped would never have to come out again, but she was loyal and knew that if she didn't give them the information that they wanted, the 'cons would kill her….or worse.
"You can tell me when you feel like it." He growled down at her. "Until then…."
Leon screamed against the knife that had just plunged itself into her leg.
Her green eyes opened and Ratchet's face wavered into view. Ellie let out a hoarse sob as she stared at him and Ratchet's mouth dipped into a sad frown.
"How are you feeling, Elina?"
"..hurts." She rasped, eyes filling with tears.
"What does?" Ratchet glanced at a monitor out of her line of sight, which consisted of the rafters.
"Everything." Ellie whispered, sliding her eyes shut as her body fought against the drugs she knew were pumping through her body. She wondered vaguely if Leon was getting the same treatm- "Leon?"
"We were hoping you could tell us, Ellie." Optimus spoke from the foot of the bot sized berth as Ratchet's holoform appeared beside her body.
"Flying bots…."She murmured as she fought sleep. "Purple and black, blue and silver, red optics….blew stuff up…."
Her eyes shut again, and she pushed against the soft blanket that was fluttered around her mind. Ellie kept her eyes shut as she continued.
"Got hurt. Leon was….Leon was taken. By the purple one."
The last thing she heard before drifting into the welcome clutches of sleep was Optimus' voice, deep and baritone, soothing…announcing possibly the worst thing to happen to her friend.
"Decepticons."
Sunny and Sides sat with Mirage in the corner of the rec room, all three mechs nursing large cubes of high grade. Most of the bots in the room were sneaking the triad pitying looks and sympathetic optics often turned their way.
Mirage simply stared down at his high grade, but Sunstreaker was getting angrier with each look and Sideswipe didn't both trying to calm him down. Why should he?
It was his fault, wasn't it? Lion getting kidnapped. If he had been there, if had gone with them to welcome the Wreckers, she wouldn't be with the Decepticons.
He could only imagine what they were doing to her; everybot had seen what Prowl was like, and his current personality was the result of 'con torturing. But Leon was a human….
Sideswipe looked up as Sunstreaker's fury exploded from his side of the bond they shared.
"The next bot that looks at us like that," He snarled, slamming his servos onto the table. "I will rip off their limbs and shove them up their tailpipe!"
Bots made a beeline for the exit, save for Ironhide and Chromia, who were minding their own business and talking quietly between themselves.
Once the golden mech had calmed slightly, and had seated himself again, he picked up on his twin's dark lurking feelings. Sideswipe was normally a very bright mech, his side of the bond was often washed with color. Sunstreaker knew that he was the one with the dark shades in his spark, and he'd fought to keep his younger twin brighter. He'd done a good job until now.
Sunstreaker internally watched his brother's thoughts before he reached across the bond and sent waves of calm down the bond. He knew what it felt like, Sideswipe had calmed him like this often back on Cybertron. Normally, this worked…..but Sideswipe's dark navy feeling only seemed to shy away and darken more.
/It's not your fault. /
Sideswipe's servo twitched as his brother's voice melted through the bond, and his high grade swirled a little.
In response, Sideswipe sent the images that were tormenting his processor to his brother. Sunstreaker's hand moved of its own accord to Sideswipe's, his own processor tumbling into darker colors and black thoughts.
Mirage simply stared down at his high grade.
Megatron's optics narrowed as the door to his throne room was pushed open, the harsh scarlet color the brightest light in the room.
Knockout stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. His silver servos were clean, nearly shining and water dripped off one of his fingers to the stone floor.
"Well?" Megatron demanded. Knockout's lip components curled into a scowl and he shook his helm.
"The human femme is refusing to speak. She'll scream, but she won't speak." Knockout's optics did not meet his leaders, but stayed fixed on his chin. No-bot looked Megatron in the optic unless ordered to, or defying him…and those who defied him didn't live long.
"It has been an orn, Knockout! I want results!" One of Megatron's clawed servos tightened around the arm of his flimsy chair, the metal screeching in protest.
"If I may speak, my lord." Starscream sulked out from the shadows, his dark red optics attached to Megatron's optic ridge. His wings flicked as Megatron turned unamused optics to his SIC's half shadowed form.
"Do not waste my time, Starscream." The Decepticon leader growled.
"Of course not, oh mighty Megatron." Starscream extended his arms to the side and gave a slight bow. Knockout rolled his optics. "Perhaps, I can….have a go with the fleshy."
"Lord Megatron," Soundwave stepped into the room. "Report: Autobot base located. Request: Orders."
"Excellent work, Soundwave." A pleased note hummed through Megatron's vocal processor. "Return to your lab."
"Acknowledged." Soundwave spun on his heel-strut and left the room.
Megatron liked that about Soundwave. He was completely loyal, and was very brief and to the point. Starscream's fake flattery had gotten annoying very quickly. And now that he had found the Autobot base, Megatron had no need for the fleshy they'd kidnapped.
Well, Starscream had expressed an interest in it….perhaps he'd like to experiment. That would keep him out of Megatron's way.
"Starscream,"
"Yes, my lord!?" The seeker lurched forward.
"The fleshy is yours to do with as you wish. Dispose of it when you are done."
"Thank you, my lord. You are so kind in your giving, my lord." He backed out of the room.
"Knockout, you are dismissed." The red mech followed after the Decepticon Commander, a frown marring his face.
Starscream was headed in the same direction, muttering to himself. Knockout rolled his optics and entered the Med-Bay, pointing a finger to where the fleshy lay.
She was a gruesome site. Her brown hair was stringy and frazzled, some of it burnt in patches and in other places baring seeping cuts. Her arms and legs were singed, and raw, covered in still unhealed criss-crossing cuts. There were stab wounds in her legs, and her clothing had been discarded a long time ago.
Rust colored blood stuck to the table and the floor, her limbs and –until recently- Knockout's servos.
"Humans are so…messy." Knockout sneered.
"They are intriguing, Knockout." Starscream corrected, his mind in science mode. His whining tone had vanished, and Knockout was scrubbing at his servos in the pool of water to the side again. "I wonder…Perhaps Shockwave has an idea of how to make that work. What does a human need to survive?"
"Food, water, and blood." Knockout sneered. "It doesn't have a lot of the latter left."
"I can tell." Starscream rolled his optics. "I will return later. Do not let it die. I have big plans for it."
"Yes, sir." Knockout grumbled, eyeing the blood in distaste.
Ironhide wasn't surprised to find the older twins at the shooting range when he walked in, rather early in the morning to prepare for a training exercise with some of the rookies.
They were restless. More often than not lately, they were found either at the shooting range or at the race track, wearing themselves down.
Both of them were high-strung, though Sideswipe fell into dark and consuming moods at strange hours of the day. Sunstreaker….it was best to avoid him.
The golden mech was itching for a fight. He wanted to get his servos on a 'con and rip them to pieces, which was what he was currently doing to the hologram of Skywarp and Thundercracker.
His roars of fury were muffled by the soundproofing on the thick walls, but Sideswipe was seated in a corner, blankly staring at the floor. He was in one of his moods and he didn't seem to register when Ironhide walked in.
Sunstreaker didn't appear to either, but when Ironhide shut off the hologram, the mech whirled on the old warrior and launched himself forward, snarling profanities.
Ironhide stepped to the side, avoiding the angered front-liner. The black mech grabbed the back of Sunstreaker's neck and smacked the wires beneath the edge of his helm. Sunstreaker went limp, and Ironhide threw him over his shoulder
"Sideswipe," The silver mech's blue optics rose slowly from their spot on the ground, stared at Sunstreaker for a kilk and then met Ironhide's. "Come with me."
Sideswipe obediently rose from the ground and glided after the weapons specialist, keeping his optics fixed on Ironhide's heel-struts.
Ironhide led him into the Med-bay and handed the pair of twins calmly over to Ratchet, who merely shoved Sunstreaker onto a berth and watched as Sideswipe curled up next to his brother.
The two older mech shared heavy looks before turning away, Ironhide heading out the door, and Ratchet back to the skeletal metal arm on his work-bench.
Ellie was still in a drug induced coma, fed by IV's, and kept under with drugs. She hadn't been awake longer than five minutes in the past two and half weeks, but she was healing.
Unfortunately, her left arm had been severely damaged in the explosion she'd been caught in, and Ratchet had been forced to amputate. Ellie's burns were healing slowly, most of them third-degree, and the stump of her left arm was wrapped in bandages, but had scabbed over.
Epps had come to visit his niece every day, and had cut off the burnt ends of her hair. Ellie's dark hair lay around her ears now, the ends just brushing her neck.
Mirage had been sent on a mission in Canada, as his moping and fretting had gotten on everyone's nerves.
Optimus, Prowl, and Wheeljack were searching Earth with their limited technology for any sign of the 'cons and Leon.
There hadn't been any sign of her since Texas.
Ratchet sighed, burying his helm in his servos.
Starscream stood back from his blueprints and formulae, tapping his clawed digits against one of his workbenches. Shockwave and Soundwave stood stoically just in front of him, processing the information laid out.
"Well?" Starscream grumbled.
"Answer: Affirmative. Suggestion: Report to Megatron." Soundwave replied, his digitized tones making Starscream rolled his eyes.
"You do it. Shockwave?"
The single optic'd mech was quiet several kliks before he spoke. "I do not see a reason why is should not work. Perhaps, commander, I can assist you."
Starscream nodded slowly, smirking as eye watched the human in the corner of the room, frozen in the state Knockout had left her through a machine that pumped several human drugs into her systems. A human doctor had been taken from the ranks of humans who the 'cons had enslaved to build their underground fortress, and he had healed her to the best of his ability.
"Very well. Soundwave, report to Megatron. Shockwave and I are starting immediately." The three mechs split ways, and Starscream took one final glance at the holographic board, depicting the several outlines of the human in the corner, and the inner workings of both a human and a Cybertronian.
The image wavered and shifted, and Starscream leered happily at the diagram. A femme's silhouette and mechanisms showed on the screen as he turned away.
Shockwave lifted the half-blown apart protoforms of the Autobots Arcee and Elita-One, his single optic glancing back and forth between the diagrams and the femme's bodies.
"Let's get started, shall we?" Starscream dropped Blackout's mangled protoform onto one of the tables.
Several other hulking protoforms could just barely be seen in the background, small and large, bulky and slim, mostly Decepticon, some mangled, some just hatchlings.
All of them offline.