Standing in the doorway to Athena's recovery room, Nacelle silently observes Torment with growing worry. Almost a month has passed since Talon killed Torrent in what the media called the 'hour of reckoning'.
And he must give them right.
When he had been allowed to watch the countless news feeds from the various operations taking place at the same time all over the planet, it had indeed felt like a reckoning. Especially with how the most dangerous criminals in their society willingly worked together with the law enforcement authorities to combat the sinister complot in their society's political midst.
Not all the Organization's undercover agents had made it into the enforcers' hands alive.
Some had been brutally executed in front of rolling cameras, the leading members of the various criminal organizations coming with public statements as the enforcers picked up the pieces.
The most startling sight had been the operation carried out at the Senate.
Due to its importance, the political seat of power had had all the attention of the news media when the Polyhexian Cartel locked down the airspace around it as the groups of heavily armed frontliners and enforcers led by Hailstorm and Topkick walked up the stairs to the majestic building.
And when Topkick left the Senate with Highline in cuffs, the Vice President had been hung out publically as the mastermind behind the political complot the criminal organizations with their global operations had combated.
The civilian population had declared the leaders of the criminal organizations as heroes. At the same time several prominent investigative officers announced that they had never seen anything like it and were baffled by what was happening.
Talon had visibly basked in the positive public attention he received, allowing several news media to interview him about his role in the global operation and giving the public an insight into their preparations before the attack on the Senate.
In the meantime, Athena fought for her life.
Her condition had been critical, and Flux and his team had fought for hours to stabilize her. Nacelle had sat with Torment as they waited for any news from the physicians. When Flux finally came out to give them an update, he explained that Athena had been so critical that while they managed to stabilize her, she was in a coma.
Torment has been by her side ever since, sitting beside her medical berth in a silent vigil and only fuelling when Talon brings him a cube of energon.
In the weeks that have passed with Athena in a coma, Nacelle has been free to leave the confines of the Polyhexian Cartel's headquarters, and Prowl is impatient to get him home, but he can't leave yet.
Not before he knows that Athena will be okay.
Torment's love for her is evident, and Nacelle's spark aches at the sight of the silent sire.
Stoic and calm but with a wounded, bleeding spark.
What happens if Athena doesn't wake up?
What would Torment do in reaction?
Because Nacelle is certain that there will be one, and when it comes, there is no doubt that it will be violent.
Who will his target be?
Torrent and the Organization have already been dealt with.
So, where will Torment then direct his fury?
This is why Nacelle can't leave yet.
They need to have some control of the situation, or they will be completely unprepared when a violent conflict fueled by a grieving spark finally breaks out.
However.
Not all is as worrisome as Torment's silent vigil.
There have been positive developments, too, in the weeks that have passed.
The relationship between Thundercracker and Skywarp is now so far along that Nacelle no longer has to watch them as a hawk. Thundercracker's processor has clearly healed the damage done to it, and he no longer stammers. And with Skywarp's help and support, the blue seeker is developing even faster now. Learning and understanding societal norms and expectations.
He is getting closer and closer to becoming a fully mentally developed individual on the same level as everyone around him. Reading between the lines and understanding contexts and the deeper nuances in every kind of communication.
His questions are getting increasingly more advanced, and the same is his answers to questions he gets asked. His grammar and syntax have improved dramatically, and he can now form longer and more complex sentences without missing words or completely botching their meaning.
Some of the previous Thundercracker has begun to shine through, which is an influence that clearly comes from his spark, and it makes Nacelle happy to see those brief but more and more frequently occurring glimpses of the Thundercracker he once knew. That Thundercracker is not entirely gone but seems more and more to be a unique and integrated part of who Thundercracker is at his spark. A part of him that never can be erased.
But no matter what they do, he will never return to them as he once was. Thundercracker is forever changed because of what was done to him. All they can do is help him pick up the shattered pieces of his life and restore it the best they can.
Athena looks up from her work when there is a knock on the front door of her apartment.
She walks out to open it and catches Torment in a fierce embrace when she sees him, relief flooding her spark.
"Primus, Torment! What happened? Where have you been?" She looks worried up into his optics, savoring the feel of his frame against hers. "Five days have passed and I have been so worried. No one would tell me anything. Aurora would not answer my questions and told me that Prowl was too busy to talk to me whenever I contacted them to find out what had happened."
He embraces her and she leans more firmly against him.
"I'm sorry that you have been kept in the dark." He says softly as he picks her up at carries her into her apartment, closing the door behind them with the push of his foot.
"About your work for the Joint Investigation Unit?" She asks curiously as he walks into her living room, still with her secure in his arms.
His optics fills with an uncommon wariness.
"And something else."
He puts her down and they sit on her couch, Torment looking at her with pained optics.
Before she can ask him what is going on, he throws the bomb: "I worked together with Torrent."
She stares at him in utter shock, unable to comprehend what he is saying.
"What-"
Hearing his following words, where he explains how he came into contact with Torrent and provided the psychopath with the means to destroy their society, her disbelief grows, and she refuses to accept what he is saying.
"No, no..."
She rises from the couch and begins to pace back and forth, talking to herself as she tries to make sense of what he is telling her. Then suddenly an epiphany hits, and she turns to him, a rage unlike anything else she has ever felt filling her.
"You!"
The rage consumes her.
"YOU KNEW!"
She realizes how stupid she has been.
"I told you about Retrograde, but you already knew about it, didn't you! And then Thundercracker..." She breathes in sharply as she makes that connection as well. "Primus! I saw your expression when I told you about him but didn't understand!"
She barely refrains from slapping him as her rage boils over and nearly consumes her reason. (If I had just listened to you.)
"How could you-" (I did not mean this.)
Torment's whole posture is that of pure suffering as he feebly tries to defend his despicable actions, and she can't take anymore from him. (I should have been more understanding.)
"Get out!" She yells furiously at him. (I should have given you the time to explain.)
The door closes behind Torment with a gentle sound of finality and Athena collapses to her knees in utter regret.
"I'm so sorry, Torment." She sobs. " I should have listened."
She reaches imploringly out for the door with her hands, silently begging him to return. For it to never have happened.
"FORGIVE ME!" She screams brokenly as she gets consumed by regret.
The door opens, and she stares in shock as he walks towards her in all his deadly glory.
"You cast me out like a piece of trash. Why should I want to come back to you?" He asks as he kneels in front of her, his optics cold as ice as they bore into her.
"You didn't listen to me. Why should I listen to you now?" He adds in a voice devoid of anything but spite.
He caresses her cheek almost affectionately and she leans willingly into the touch, savoring it. But the moment she gives in to him, he pushes her forcefully away with a sneer.
"No, my dear, I will not forgive you for what you did."
He rises and walks away without glancing back, the door again closing behind him.
"I'M SORRY!" She screams in utter despair, breaking down as grief consumes her.
A hand suddenly rests calmly on her back, caressing her soothingly as she cries.
"I told you this would happen." Torrent states with a smile in his voice. "He will never forgive you for what you did."
She tries to ignore him, but his presence is choking and she can barely breathe with him touching her. The next moment she finds herself with his hand around her throat as he effortlessly lifts her from her huddled position on the floor.
"You are mine now. No one else's." He growls. "No one will come to save you. No one cares about you. If you thought Torment would come to rescue you, you are sorely mistaken."
She fights against his hold on her, but it is futile and darkness envelopes her as she loses consciousness.
When she regains consciousness again, it is to the sight of a dark and dimly lit room and she looks bewildered around.
"Stay still."
The voice is deep and full of care and she turns to its owner.
Ozone kneels beside her, carefully tending to her injuries from Torrent's last brutal rape of her.
She winces when he gently cleans away the traces of transfluid around her valve opening and allows him to feel for internal damage with a pair of digits, squirming in pain as he examines her.
He is the only one that cares about her in her new reality, but he can't protect her against Torrent.
In that, he is as much a victim as she is.
Their optics meet and he gives her a reassuring smile as he gently pulls his digits out of her.
"Torment is here."
She looks at him with a confused frown.
That is not what she remembers him telling her.
Something isn't right.
The door to her cell suddenly opens and bright light spills into the room, blinding her. When she is able to see again, Ozone is gone and she is alone, but the door is still open.
She rises and stumbles towards it.
An endless corridor greets her outside her cell, leading to who knows where.
But one thing is certain in her spark.
She can't stay here.
She needs to find a way back.
A faint memory of dearly loved cold and merciless optics brushes her mind, but she is unable to grasp onto it and make sense of it.
All she knows is that she needs to find back to them.
To their owner.
Whoever he is.
Her spark aches fiercely as she stumbles down the corridor, supporting herself against the nearest wall as she moves.
It feels like an eternity has passed when she stops up with tears falling from her optics.
Is there even an end to this?
Hopelessness suffuses her and she collapses on the floor.
Utterly drained of any energy to move on.
She stares up into the scintillating ceiling and sees the twin moons and stars calmly move in their astronomical orbits as time moves on around her.
"Athena?"
The gentle unknown voice wakes her from her trance and she sits up.
Who is there?
There is a ghost of an awareness briefly connected with hers.
Then she sees him and rises slowly, looking curiously at him.
He is entirely white with gentle optics.
"It is time for you to wake up."
He steps closer and holds out his hand.
"Wake up?"
He nods.
"Where am I?"
He looks around with a contemplative look in his optics.
"An imaginary world made up by your mind, it seems."
Then he returns his attention to her and looks at his open and inviting hand.
"When you are ready."
Torment looks up from his huddled position in the chair beside Athena's medical berth when alerts go off, the monitors monitoring her processor informing him of a significantly increased processor activity. He looks at the monitor showing her spark pulse and other vitals and sees an increase there too.
He rises from the chair and leaves the room to find Flux, and it is at this moment Athena sluggishly onlines her optics, seeing the unfamiliar back of him as the door closes behind him.
She looks confused around at her surroundings.
Where is she?
The door opens and an elderly physician walks over to her, his optics vaguely familiar.
"How are you feeling, Athena?"
She recognizes that voice but can't quite understand from where.
A gentle hand on her shoulder brings her into contact with his field, and slowly she begins to piece the pieces together.
"You came to me in my dream."
Flux smiles warmly and sits down on the edge of the berth.
"Sometimes the processor needs a little nudge." He says as he checks her vitals. "Do you feel ready for an in-depth examination of your processor function, or do you need some time to recover your energy?"
Knowing the procedure, Athena agrees to it.
It is best to get it over with as soon as possible.
She can always relax afterward.
As Flux performs the examination, she asks him questions about what had happened and where she is, but he is vague in his answers and keeps reassuring her that she is safe.
According to her GPS systems, she is nowhere close to any of the known hospitals - in fact, it tells her that she is far below ground which confuses her.
The examination reveals no degradation in her processor function, and it fills her with relief. There is no permanent damage after what Torrent did to her. Only a deep psychological trauma that in itself is more than enough to deal with.
The mere thought of Torrent causes her spark pulse to increase drastically, and Flux turns the monitor off when the alert goes off for the fifth time due to an anxiety-triggered elevation.
"Time for you to get some rest." He says before he leaves her recovery room, and within moments, Athena is in a deep, peaceful recharge.
Torment waits for Flux outside Athena's recovery room and looks questioningly at the chief physician when Flux finally leaves her room after more than an hour.
"How is she?"
Flux puts a hand on Torment's shoulder in reassurance. The heir tries to hide it, but Flux knows how to read him and sees Torment's distress.
"She is lucid, and there is no lingering negative effect of the drugs Torrent used on her. The examination of her processor function shows no degradation, which is what we hoped for. Her prognosis is good if she remains stable. She needs to rest, and we will observe her closely for a few days, but after that, she will be able to receive visitors."
Relief floods Torment's spark.
"And her mental state?"
Flux lets out a long sigh.
"I'm not a psychiatrist, so it is hard for me to say. To me, she appears mentally stable, but there were instances as I examined her where she had an irrational reaction to something I did or said. In addition to that, I also saw a profound touch shyness. She needs time to acclimate to the fact that she is no longer Torrent's captive and is safe here. The good thing is that she showed no apparent fear, only an increased wariness."
When Flux, with a comforting pat on his shoulder, leaves him alone at the door to Athena's recovery room, Torment doesn't know what to do with himself. Over the weeks with her in a coma, he has grown used to watching over her. But now that she is awake, he no longer has that right.
They are no longer together, and it will only distress her to see him.
He has done what he had been obligated to do, and now that her recovery is certain, he no longer has an excuse to be by her side. He touches the door to her recovery room with his palm but doesn't open it. Instead, he turns away from it and leaves the medical bay, taking the easy way out like the coward he is. Unable to face up to his romantic problems.