I know I took pretty long! I'm so sorry! *hides behind couch* But I did a longer chapter for you all! I hope that makes up for it! Enjoy please!
Note: There may be other torture techniques mentioned in the future chapters. The way I set it out, was that I didn't write out every torture scene, but they will be mentioned. How? I think you can probably guess, but if not, you'll have to wait and see :P
"Prime! This isn't looking too good!"
"What's going on Ironhide? What are you talking about?" Optimus' attention was pulled away from his old friend when he saw the outside of the base. It was surrounded by Sector Seven agents, most likely armed with sabot rounds and freeze guns.
The Autobots crouched behind some of the various buildings that were around the main part of the base.
"We need a plan; we can't just go rushing in there. The humans may be harmed." Ratchet said, zooming his vision in on the guards.
Optimus was about to reply when they heard a faint strangled scream from inside of the base, the noise of agony echoing off of the walls. His optics widened at the noise, instantly identifying it as hid brother's due to the tone, and he had had a lot of time to memorise his last living family member's voice of the years.
His optics quickly narrowed and became a brighter blue, like twin blue flames as the anger and rage rushed through him like poison.
Before anyone could stop him, he had charged his blaster, and aimed at the humans, letting a shot go. The humans yelped and tried to get out of the blast range, but they were too late. The blast almost vaporized their bodies at impact, and the Autobots stared in shock at their leader.
"Prime?"
"Over the years, I have NEVER heard my brother scream like that! NEVER! I am DONE showing mercy to these cruel, sadistic humans from this organisation, and I could care less about their well being!"
Ratchet opened his mouth to try and calm his leader down, but was stopped by Ironhide's hand on his shoulder.
"Leave it Ratchet. He's right. If we don't act now, they'll just keep on going. It may seem wrong, but the humans won't do anything about one of their own. Megatron isn't completely human and neither are we, they're not going to listen to us."
"Captain Lennox. We'll take care of the humans outside. You get in there and find Megatron, and hurry, I fear for his life."
Simmons wanted to take his eyes off of the scene in front of him, he really did. He hated watching this, but he couldn't stop, he was frozen in shock as the screams continued.
His skin went pale as he continued to watch, he was feeling nauseous from watching the Sector 7 leader peel back a part of the skin on Megatron's still healing shoulder, to expose the metal beneath.
"My, aren't you a very interesting specimen? I'll be sure to give you to my scientists after I'm done with you here. I expect it will be far easier to deal with a co-operative, dead subject, that a rebellious, living one, don't you think?" The man's voice came through the speakers, followed by a hoarse groan of pain from Megatron.
He pulled furiously at his bonds, not caring that he was starting to bruise and scratch his skin. He had to get out of these before it was too late.
The Sector 7 guard turned at the sound of running footsteps, and then let out a grunt as the bullet hit him in the head, before falling to the ground. His lifeless eyes didn't see the dark haired soldier running past him.
Lennox didn't glance at the body, learning a long time ago not to do that, as it would stay in your mind. That was often part of what drove soldiers mad in war, the knowledge that they had killed an actual person. If he didn't look, they weren't as real. At least, that's how he viewed it, and how he dealt with it in his own personal way.
He killed guard after guard in the hallways, shooting them only because they had been told to kill anyone who entered. It was kill, or be killed in this situation, and as much as he didn't like the loss of life, he had to remember that these people had willingly participated in torturing Megatron, only a few exceptions like Simmons set apart.
With these thoughts, of the sadistic agents harming the man he had gotten to know a little better over the few months, the resolve to find him and the anger to kill rose, making him hurry faster through the hallways. He wasn't really friends with Megatron, but they had come to a tolerant relationship. It might have become more, an actual friendship, if Sector 7 hadn't gotten involved, and now...he didn't know what state he was going to find the other man in.
He burst into each of the rooms, hoping to find the right one. He kicked the door of one open and blinked, before rushing forward at the sight of the Sector 7 ally handcuffed to a bar on the wall. "Simmons!" He quickly looked around for a key to unlock the cuffs, before giving into his impatience, and just shooting the chain in the middle.
Simmons yelped at the shot and then glared at Lennox. "Are you crazy? Wait- never mind that, you have to help Megatron before it's too late!"
"Where is he?" It was then that Lennox looked up and saw through the mirrored window, seeing the knife buried in Megatron's shoulder. At first, he had the same reaction as Simmons, frozen in shock. That was before his military training kicked in and he sprinted back out of the room, shooting the lock on the cell and throwing the door open.
The Sector 7 leader spun around, the knife he had a hold of that had been buried in Megatron, moving with him, thus cutting through the layers of skin and spraying blood across the wall and floor. Megatron let out a strangled cry of pain, and slumped against the wall, looking to be thankfully unconscious. At least he wouldn't be able to feel the pain.
Lennox snarled as the S7 leader started to beg for his life. "Please, have mercy!"
"People like you don't deserve just warnings!" He growled, before pulling the trigger and watching in a sense of satisfaction as the sadistic man died.
The Captain slid to the floor beside Megatron. His eyes widened at all he could see. Now that he was closer, he could see so many things that he had missed. The Decepticon had multiple wounds and scratches on his body, some deep, some shallow, and there was hardly any skin that wasn't covered in a various colour of bruise. His ribs showed, showing that he hadn't eaten for the weeks he had been here for and his skin was covered in blood, sweat and dirt.
Lennox shouted to Simmons over the speakers, yelling to him to find something to use as a bandage before Megatron bled out. The former S7 agent came back with several rolls of gauze. The soldier could have kissed the other man, if not for the fact he was keeping pressure on a wound. "Get over here and help me!" He took a closer looked at the wound and swore. "Shit!"
Simmons stumbled forward, nearly tripping over himself in his hurry. He dumped the rolls of gauze on the floor, careful to avoid the blood. "What? What do you want me to do?"
"Take over, hold the pressure on." Simmons did so, and watched as Will rushed out of the room, coming back with a needle and thread to stitch the wound up. "We're not going to get him out of here alive unless we try and close that wound. Its deeper than I thought it was."
He quickly dabbed the blood away from the cut so he could see, and then hurriedly started stitching it up, not caring that it wasn't perfect, only caring that it would help. He picked up one of the rolls of gauze and started tightly wrapping the wound, and the others that needed to be.
"That's the best I can do for now. The only medic we have with us is Ratchet, and there's no way he can fit in this part of the building." He grunted as he picked Megatron up. He was surprised and disgusted at the weight of the man; there was barely anything to him. "We need to get him out of here now; I think he's going into hypovolemic shock."
He looked down at the unconscious Decepticon and saw the signs of shock clearly. His skin was worryingly pale, his lips were a light blue colour, he was cold, he was sweating, and he could feel a rapid pulse when he had checked it earlier.
"Well shouldn't we treat him for that first?"
"One of the things you have to do with shock is maintain the body temperature, this room is freezing alright. The sooner we get him out and get him warm, the quicker he'll recover, now move!" He shoved past the agent and ran as quickly as he could down the hallway without jostling the wound or dropping the man in his arms. He was furious that the strong man had been reduced to this, but there was no one to put the blame on anymore. He had already killed the man who had put this one's life on a thread. There was nothing more he could do to that monster.
"C'mon Megatron, just hang in there!"
Optimus' blue optics fell on the dead humans scattered around the outside of the base. Normally, he would detest the loss of life. But he couldn't feel any remorse for these humans after what they had willingly done. He had heard the multiple gun shots going on in the building, and then they had stopped, He didn't know why, but he hoped it didn't mean that Captain Lennox had been taken down by some of the guards. He would hate to lose a friend like the brave human.
He looked down at Maggie, the human female leaning on the wall, hugging herself as her teary eyes fixed on the ground. She had wanted to go in with Lennox so badly, but they had stopped her, explaining that if she went in, there was a high possibility she would get killed. Optimus wished he could say something to comfort her, but he didn't know the outcome, he just prayed to Primus that his brother was still alive.
He looked up as he heard one of the fire doors bang open, Simmons stumbling out and holding it open and Lennox came out with something in his arms. Or rather….someone. His optics widened and filled with his emotional pain as he saw the broken and bleeding form of his brother resting in the arms of the soldier. He vaguely heard Maggie and Mikaela cry out in distress at the sight, Frenzy chattering nonsense nervously, Decibel beeping in worry, but he was too focused on his brother, the blood covering his pale skin, the multiple wounds and bruises all over him. He gathered that since there was no one else with the former S7 agent and the soldier, that the man who had done all of this, was now dead.
'Dead was too good for him.' He thought bitterly.
Maggie couldn't stop the tears trailing down her cheeks. She could see the reactions of everyone around her; Mikaela was in a teary state, just like her. Sam and Leo were in a frozen state of shock, while Marissa had her eyes narrowed as she looked at the wounds she could see from where she was. Epps was shaking his head at the sight, before turning away, unable to look. Even Ironhide looked disgusted at the state of the human.
'How could they do this?' Ironhide thought, his disgust filling his very spark. He had no remorse for these humans' deaths, and he could now see that Ratchet felt the same way. The medic's fists and jaw were clenched as tight as they could be as his scanner repeatedly told him the wounds and other various problems. His HUD was going crazy with the medical information, and the sheer amount of it that was bad, made his whole spark fill with rage. Ratchet could now see what Ironhide had said, he could remember it clearly.
'Why are we fighting to save the humans? They're a primitive….and violent race.' They were a terribly violent race, some of the verging on what had been done here. He told himself to remember that not all of them were bad, but his respect for the goodness of the race was diminishing.
"Let's get him out of here guys." Lennox said firmly, before anyone could say anything else. Optimus and Ratchet looked at each other, deciding on who should take Megatron. Optimus wanted his brother close, but he could see the logic in letting Ratchet take him. Ratchet nodded slightly at Optimus' gesture to take the human, and transformed quickly, opening the doors to the back of the ambulance. Lennox quickly got in and the doors shut.
It could have been viewed as cruel, but Maggie knew why she wasn't allowed in the back of the ambulance with Lennox and Marissa. They both had a degree of medical profession, even if it was only very little when it came to Lennox, and it was more important to save Megatron's life, that her little selfish desires. She got back into Optimus as he transformed, and she leaned back in the seat, content that they had at least found Megatron.
He would be safe now.
As soon as they had gotten Megatron in the back of the ambulance, they had started acting out Ratchet's instructions. They rolled Megatron onto his side unless he unconsciously vomited due to the shock. They quickly cleaned and wrapped any wounds they could see, the bandages varying from strips of gauze, to adhesive pads and tape. By the time they had finished, almost the whole of Megatron's right arm was bandaged, the upper arm, and wrist down to the hand on his left, his left leg was wrapped up to the knee after they had discovered some blood soaking the filthy pair of jeans he was wearing, they had ripped the fabric apart to find a knife wound right up the side of the leg, and almost his whole chest was also bandaged. The parts that weren't covered in the gauze were patched with the adhesive tape and pads. His face was mostly undamaged, apart from a bruise on his left cheek which could have been gained from a backhand or a punch, and a knife wound that was now covered by a thick adhesive pad.
After they had finished bandaging him, and wrapped him up in several blankets, they were trying to calm themselves from the adrenaline rush that had come from hurrying to save a life.
"Well done you two. You did well." Ratchet said; his voice quiet from an emotion they couldn't identify.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Marissa yawned, relaxing against the side of the metal bed she was leaning on as she and Lenox sat on the floor, having no where else to sit. The inside of the ambulance was different from others. It was bigger. On one side, there was the metal bed, covered by a thin mattress that was secured to the top. Ob the other side was a few metal lockers, filled with various pieces of medical equipment that could be used to treat variety of different things.
"I think he'll be just fine, as long as we keep the wounds from getting infected, he should recover rather quickly...physically at least."
Marissa made a noise of agreement, knowing that there was going to be a large amount of mental recovery to go through also.
"Uhh, guys, we might have to stop off at the nearest gas station. I'm low on fuel." Bumblebee's voice buzzed (no pun) over the comm. They heard Optimus sigh heavily and agree before they all pulled off the road into the gas station, all deciding to refuel whilst using Simmons, Epps and their papers from the government sort out how to get it for free. It wasn't like they could pay; they didn't have any money on them.
Marissa groaned as she realized that she had left her bag with Blackout, she needed her phone in there to call the medics at the base and tell them not to panic. "Blackout landed in a field a short distance away, I'm going to go and ride with him okay, I left my bag with him."
"Okay, see you later." Lennox smiled; the woman smiled back tiredly and exited the ambulance. Lennox stood up and stretched, before looking down at Megatron again. He almost jumped through the roof of Ratchet's alt mode when he saw a pair of rust red eyes staring at him.
"Megatron! Christ! How are you feeling?"
"...not good..." Came the quiet voice, it was hoarse and cracked due to the sheer amount of screaming he had done, not being able to hold them in. "W-Where am I?
"In Ratchet. We're heading back to the Vern base now."
"...Maggie?" Lennox held back the smile that almost broke free. Oh this Decepticon had fallen for her big time.
"She's with Optimus; she had to stay with him so we could treat you. You were a wreck." Megatron grunted quietly in acknowledgement before he struggled to sit up.
"Ratchet?" Lennox said, looking to the front of the vehicle.
"He can sit up, just help him." Will looped an arm around just under the Con's shoulders, avoiding the wounded one, and gently helped him sit up. Megatron leaned against the side of the ambulance, shuddering from the effort of sitting up. It wouldn't have affected Lennox if he had been sitting up, as he was healthy, but Megatron had been beaten, starved, stabbed, drowned and dehydrated for the entire space of his imprisonment. The exertion was immense to him, the strain on his body making him feel even more exhausted.
"Megatron, maybe you should lie down agai-"
"Matt."
"What?"
"My name isn't Megatron anymore remember." Megatron let his head loll to look at Lennox, a small grin appearing on his face.
"Okay, I won't call you Megatron anymore. But seriously, maybe you should lie back down."
"I'd really rather not." Matt gave him a small defiant look, making Lennox grin. So he wasn't completely broken, he was just a little beaten down. 'Or a lot, considering the amount of bruises he has.' Will thought.
They sat there quietly for a few minutes as they waited for the other Bots to finish refuelling, and for the two men to finish negotiating with the owners of the gas station. Will looked down as he felt something softly fall against his shoulder. He looked down and was surprised to see Matt resting his head on it, finally giving into his exhaustion. Lennox gave a small smile and put a hand on the head on his shoulder, playfully ruffling the hair without waking the other man up.
He shifted and laid them both down, carefully moving Matt so that he didn't cause any accidental pain. He lay down behind the Con and slung an arm over him protectively, as if the Sector Seven agents were going to come back to life and pop up any moment. As long as he breathed,
Matt was safe.