Finally! Another Chapter done! These past few months have been very screwy, and I wish I could say there not going to get any screwier, but I have recently quit my job at the factory and found a new place to work. So this might be last chapter I write for a while. I'm finally finding my place in the world and it's going to take up a bit more of my time, but when I finally get settled in, I'm going to have a butt ton more time for writing and doodling. Have faith I will return people. XD
So this chapter bounces from place to place a bit. We start a memory about Bob and Steve, then transition into the present where Bob is still in the med bay, then to Antaeus up to no good Antaeus stuff, and then finally we end things with the Autobot's and Megatron in the center of the Earth. So yeah, just as crazy as my life right now.
(Anyone confused on what's going on with Cass, be sure to read MERCY: One Shots chapter 35.2. It will say chapter 16 in the listings.)
Special shout outs too: Cao dreams in books. Cao, you have just been so awesome too me ever since you started reading my fics and you have become one of my best friends in my adult life. Thanks for having my back!
Also a special shout out to NekoNoKami for being my continuous beta reader (even if I post before you can get to it sometimes XD) I always value your opinion so you will always have first dibs on a sneak peaks and first reads. Thanks for all your help and support for the past year and a half. You're awesome!
Remember! Don't be afraid to review and ask questions. I love to hear from my readers.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any stocks, trades, or licensing from the Transformers franchise. All rights are reserved for HASBRO entertainment.
MERCY
Chapter 36
"Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination."
-Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)-
"Excuse me, are you Bob?" A random Vehicon inquired a lone Eradicon inside the washracks. There was a moment of hesitation in greetings on the flyer's part, because he enjoyed a small amount of privacy when trying to perform his ablutions. It was why he often chose a solution spigot in the back of the room, but he knew it wasn't a solid plan in a communal bathing area. He sighed lightly but smiled softly under his visor.
"Yes," Bob replied, "I am. Can I help you something?"
"It's about Caspian."
There was no time for the grounder to react to the Eradicon's response. Bob immediately stood from the stool he was previously sitting on and shoved the stranger against the wall behind him. Steam swirled around the duo as the riled flyer pushed his forearm against the Vehicon's throat. The pinned drone nearly slipped on the solution that still lingered around the floor, but he found his footing as best he could and didn't put up a fight. He was expecting Bob to retort to his comment but was still put off by his instant offense.
"What about Caspian?!" Bob spat, unintentionally gaining the attention of some of his nearby comrades. Two more Eradicons and a Miner emerged from the mist, each of them posing at the ready to offer their support. The solitary Vehicon raised his servos parallel to his helm and continued to offer no resistance.
"Is everything alright here?" One flyer asked and stepped closer to Bob's side.
"We're fine…" Bob didn't mean to snip at his friend, but his defensive demeanor was not the easiest to conceal, especially when it came to the topic of Caspian's safety. "I can handle this. Go back to your washing."
"Are you sure Bob?" The Miner chimed in this time, expressing the extant of his concern as well. The Eradicon nodded calmly and silently coaxed him back.
"I'm sure… I will call for you all again if I need you."
Slowly, the small group of defenders backed away and left the two drones to deal with their own devices. It wasn't strange for conflicts to arise amongst the troops, and it was discovered over time that the best way to resolve them is to let the fighting party to either talk it out or fight it out. Either wise, it could lead to more drones getting hurt from getting involved. Which meat the Vehicon still pinned to the wall was left on his own as well.
"I will ask you one more time and depending on if I like your answer or not, I won't beat you into the poorly spackled grout on the floor." Venom dripped from Bob's vocals and pushed his weight further onto his pedes. The grounder remained composed, but before he could say anything in his defense, the Eradicon restraining him slipped on the wet floor. Bob would have hit the ground helm first if the mech he was threatening hadn't pulled him up.
"I'm trying to help." The Vehicon carefully lifted the other mech up right. "I understand your concern for the young model, and that is why I'm seeking you out." He paused a moment to turn his helm and quickly scope the room. The flyer stared at him curiously, but with more trust. He could've just let Bob fall and be done with this conflict, but now he understood the grounder wasn't looking for a fight.
"It's not safe to speak here… Can you meet me in my quarters?"
"I don't even know your designation." Bob huffed, now thinking that this was turning into some kind of ruse. A rather elaborate ruse at that, just to try and get some aft.
"My name Steve." The Eradicon quirked his helm curiously at the newly named drone. Was he talking to thee infamous Steve? The former consort to the former Second in Command, Steve?
"How do I know this isn't a trick? How do I know you're not just trying to get to Caspian through me?"
"You don't, but I have reason to believe the young model is in extreme danger." Steve lifted his arm strut and showed Bob his newly welded wrist. It was convincing enough to warrant the flyer's attention. "Antaeus did this to me… In front of Arachnid."
"Bob…" A solitary whisper slipped past a weak Eradicon's audios. He was conscious, but not alert yet. He could feel something cold slip over his servo, but nothing registered in his CPU. It could have been another servo, or for all he knew, it was a large drop of water. Either way, he was dead to the world around him, so the drone trying desperately to reach him was left alone to ponder his next course of action.
"Oh Bob, please wake up… I have finally received the instructions from Arachnid. Her plans are way worse than I thought… Then again, I never really knew what to expect…"
"Hnnn…" Bob moaned in his recharge, slowly gaining activity in his processor. He stirred and mumbled something under his horridly shallow intakes. "Cass… The… Plan…"
"Yes. Yes Bob, I'm still ready for our plan. We need to play on scenario number three, but we need to change a few things." Steve took his comrade's lifeless hand in his own and sympathetically held it close to his chassis. Eventually, he lightly kissed Bob's knuckles, feeling a need to be more nurturing. "I have the rendezvous location. You were right… They are planning to kidnap Caspian, and I'm the one that needs to receive him at the first checkpoints."
"How… Many…?" The weak Eradicon slowly regained his collective thoughts and started to remember where he was now and how he got there. Rest would have to wait because his family needed him now more than ever. "Checkpoints… How many… Checkpoints?"
"Easy." Steve lightly pecked the knuckles again and patted the back of the cold servo. "Don't strain yourself yet. Just keep the private link we set up open for now. I will contact you and let you know when and where to open the Ground Bridge… I… I have to leave now."
"Now…?" Bob flinched. Arachnid's plan was starting now? It felt like the Eradicon only blinked and suddenly all Pit was about to break loose. "What… What are they…? Going to do to Cass…?"
"It's better if you don't know too much. Plausible deniability is our best course of action against both Arachnid and Antaeus, and Megatron. Just be ready to open an emergency Ground Bridge when I call for you."
It was quiet for a time, but Steve could feel the dread in Bob's frame as his hand shook against his neck-cables. Not knowing what the future held for someone he loved was probably worse than knowing everything in full detail. It only made the Vehicon more determined to see his plans through to the end.
"My current ETA is ten minutes, but travel time between the checkpoints is expanded between a half hour or full hour. I will contact you when I reach the fourth checkpoint. Expect my call close to three hours. Squeeze my servo if you understand."
It was a weak grip, but Steve understood his message and tucked the servo back onto the berth. Gentle tears rolled down the flyer's face, so the other drone took it upon himself to wipe them away. He accidentally brushed against a bandage over Bob's cheek, causing him to flinch from the tender pain beneath it. He settled back into the berth instantly; too tired to fully take his pain seriously. Steve also cringed when he finally took in all of Bob's injuries. He was burned, cut, stabbed, and covered in scratches, scuff marks, and dents in his armor. His opposite wing strut was laced in a pin up cast, which meant his arm was broken clean beneath his violet plating. Mesh was healed over with medical adhesive and rapid welding, and although the sealants were closed evenly, they would still scar. Caspian must be a very important young model for Bob to knowingly risk his function the way he did. Confronting Antaeus in an attempt to feed him false information was almost the equivalent of spitting in Megatron's face. The chances of survival were beyond slim. But Bob could live with a broken strut or two as long as it insured Caspian's safety.
"Bring him back to us…" The Eradicon whimpered as he bit his bottom lip. "We have protected him for so long… He needs to be safe…"
"I understand." The grounder above him soothed him back into relaxing on the berth. "Set your internal alarm, and try to recharge until I reach you… I promise, I will protect him and bring him back."
Bob was already out cold, but Steve said his good-byes to him nonetheless. This plan was sloppy and reckless, but it was the best shot they had, and though the main focus was the protection of the carrying mech, Steve was also looking forward to the possibility of screwing over Antaeus and Arachnid.
"Stop squirming you little maggot!" A tall Eradicon hissed as he clambered through a forest thicket. A much smaller drone, gagged, bound, and slung over his shoulder, struggled weakly to get out of his grasp. It was a little adorable to Antaeus when the little micro-bite tried to escape when he first came to an hour ago, but now it was getting irritating. "If you don't behave, I will drop you and make sure you land on your front! Do you want to be responsible for any damages done to your sparkling?! Huh?"
A sad whine responded to the threat and the tiny grounder surrendered to his captor. He kept still apart from fearfully shaking in place and occasionally shifting from his uncomfortable position. Cass's torso plating made it difficult for him to rest over the flyer's shoulder properly, but he at least had room to push himself up right on one of the Antaeus's back slats. The flyer appeared to be fine with that, as long as the Bearer stopped trying to kick and scratch him.
"Very good…" The larger mech expressed mockingly, ignoring the muffled undertones he suspected were obscenities. He chuckled lightly, finding his little captive's anxiety to be amusing. Through the corner of his optical visor, he ogled the tiny and pert aft gently shivering beside his helm. No wonder Megatron was so enthralled with such an inferior mech, even for a drone. Such a delicate frame full of temptations and potential. "We are almost there… Not long now gorgeous."
Even Cass had his limits to his own patients and the little quantity he had left to hold onto he quickly let go when two long digits roughly guided over the center of his pelvic plating. Before they could slide any further, Cass swung his still booted ped, and it made target with Antaeus's face. Fortunately, he was still wearing his battle visor, but unfortunately the ped was so heavy it cracked his optical slit.
"You little prick!" The flyer shirked angrily. In his fury he flipped his prisoner over and kept his promise.
"NNNNMMMM!" Cass screamed through his gag as he hurdled to earth below him. He barely had time to process what was happening to him and he closed his optics tight. Time slowed down when the world went dark, but impact was inevitable so at the last minute, he curled in on himself. He imagined hitting the ground and with any luck he would just roll in the dirt without hurting Mercy, but instead he landed on something midair. It felt like a railing or more likely, he caught himself on a tree branch. His frame tensed as he expected it to break, or he might slip from it, but he was amazed when he remained suspended in the air. Eventually he felt the tips of his pedes grace the ground and the alleged branch curled under his chassis. Cautiously, Cass opened his optics to discover his faceplate was mere inches from heavily tangled and sharp debris. He quivered on the verge of purging as his anxiety swirled in his gut, but he swallowed it hard. The lump in his intakes hit the base of his tanks, and it made his Sparkling jitter just below the hard mass. He felt very weary, but he could not allow himself to pass out. The little drone needed to keep himself alert, lest he fall prey to more cruelty of his kidnapper… Or now realizing he was being held by another drone, kidnappers.
"Are you out of your processor Antaeus?!" The new Con cradled Cass sympathetically and carefully turned him over in his arm struts. "He is carrying for Primus sake! You could have killed the unborn!"
The young model already knew it was Steve who had caught him because he recognized his voice. It was still fresh in his mind since their last encounter nearly a day ago. Cass's mind registered to Steve's hold immediately and his first instinct was to struggle. He did only for a moment but became overwhelmed from his continued angst and became limp within his taller counterpart's embrace. His air vents struggled to take in enough cold air to keep his systems from completely shutting down which caused his mettle to quake from the strain.
"Be at ease Caspian…" Steve soothed a servo over the shorter mech's chassis and cleared away some of the condensation and dirt. "Stay still for me and I will remove your mouthpiece and cuffs. Promise me you won't scream now."
Cass didn't have the strength to scream, but he wanted his restraints removed regardless. His helm nodded weakly then lifted his chin so Steve could keep his promise and unclip his gag. He could feel the larger mech's hand slip close to his audio, and he flinched a moment, but eased himself into a calm acceptance. The carrying mech closed his optics and tried to ignore the ruffling noise of Steve's digits reaching to the back of his neck cables and fiddle with the clasp.
"Ahhh…" Cass gasped lightly when the gag was finally pulled away. A thin string of oral lubricant followed its path in the air, and Antaeus watched through his cracked visor as it evaporated before him. The largest drone's engines quietly rumbled under his plating, indicating his twisted interest in his hostage's vulnerability. He dared himself to move closer, but Steve was not going to put up this monster's scheming. He tossed the mouthpiece to one side, then lifted his arm with his weapon drawn in hotblooded fury. His threat wasn't taken seriously at first, but the grounder was indeed not playing around, and he fired a shot at Antaeus's pedes.
"You little—!"
"Don't even try it!" Steve pulled Cass closer when he felt the little grounder try to pull away again, but never let his guard down in front of the agitated Eradicon. "I read that datapad in full detail, and Arachnid clearly instructed that Caspian was to remain safe and untouched! You're part of the job is done… Now return to the ship! I'm sure your Mistress could use your assistance on the Main Bridge!"
"Please…" Cass discovered he still had some energy left within him, but all he could do was continue to plead for his safety and his young one. "Please… I beg for compassion… Take me back… Please… I vow to keep silent…"
"I'm sorry Caspian, but I promise you that I'm the lesser of two evils. I will keep you safe…" With a broken spark, Steve gently set the shorter Vehicon on a soft patch of earth. However, he stood quickly to make sure he kept Antaeus in his sights and at a very long arms length away. He snarled and with full authority in his voice, pushed the flyer further back into the forest. "Your job is done here. Leave. Now!"
Both of the taller drones scowled at one another, encouraging Cass to inch backwards into the crook of a large tree root. He curled into a fetal position as best he could and hugged his torso protectively.
"M' Lord…" He whispered, ignoring his kidnappers to the point they faded away in front of him. "M' Lord… M' Love… Help me…"
It was hot, quiet, dark, and constricting in the center of the Earth. The heart of this strange planet's core reflected perfectly on the thoughts and emotions streaming through the Cybertronians exploring it's depths. Almost an hour went by without any of them saying a single word, but everyone walked through the dense atmosphere on alert the whole time. All three of the warrior Autobot's knew they were being watched by invisible optics, and it did not help that their guide through this hostile world was their worst enemy.
Megatron clearly didn't care if the others couldn't trust him. He didn't quite trust them either, but they all just happened to have a common goal at the time. To stop Unicron at any and all cost, and no matter how heavy the price. Of course, Optimus had the most to lose through all of this. He didn't know what would happen when he used the Matrix to seal Unicron away. He might walk away unscathed, or the most likely scenario, he would die. Ratchet was just as aware of this possibility and though he even knew he wouldn't be able to talk his mate out of his strategy he still tried. There was a moment, a very quick, brief moment where the medic was able to pull Optimus aside and out of the other's sight. He pleaded with his lover not to do it. To think of him and their future Sparklings, but that is exactly what was on the Prime's processor as they discussed all options. His thoughts and spark chamber was full of the love he had for Ratchet, for his unborn young, and for the planet they now call home. This love was the catalyst that inspired the Leader of the Autobots to do everything in his power to ensure his family had a future. Before departing, he kissed Ratchet passionately, and cradled his servos over the housing of his Sparklings.
Optimus turned away from his old friend with a warm smile, but a very heavy conscious. The white mech did his best to hold in his emotions but holding back his tears was virtually impossible. The last thing the semi heard from his mate as he walked away was Ratchet's quiet weeping behind him.
"How long has your mate been carrying?" Megatron finally asked when he and the Prime found themselves walking side by side. Optimus didn't humor his curiosity and just continued walking ahead. "Come now Optimus. It's not as if it's a secret now. Even with Ratchet's bulk it was obvious he was with Sparkling... And I'm very certain you are his Sire."
"Focus on the mission Megatron." The semi's voice rumbled with very little sensitivity. "Ratchet and the life he built without you is none of your concern."
"Avoiding such questions can come off suspicious Optimus." The warlord chortled to himself, finding their forced banter to be entertaining. "Perhaps I have made the wrong assumption, and you are not the old mech's mate… It makes me wonder who it could be then if not you. It can't be the scout. Much too young. And I'm very certain it is not the green Wrecker. If memory serves me right, he just wouldn't be Ratchet's type."
The red and blue mech needed to stifle his engines. He came close to grumbling in anger, and he couldn't allow himself to be emotional around Megatron. He was sure he failed and could feel the silver mech's smirk widen as he noticed the tension in Optimus's metal. The Prime wasn't certain if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Bumblebee also noticed his leader's distress, but the youngest Bot took it upon himself to pick up his pace. He stepped in between the two mech's ahead of him, giving Optimus an opportunity to walk further ahead and push Megatron single file behind the yellow sports car.
"I don't think that was very necessary…" The Decepticon huffed but allowed the transition. There was still a long way to go in the large cavern known as the center of the Earth, and it was best not to start more drama. Bumblebee ignored him but didn't do much to hide his contempt for Megatron at all. His door wings twitched every time the silver mech's EM field brushed too closely to his metal, and he hissed on every irate step in front of him. For whatever reason in logic that Megatron didn't understand, the warlord felt a bit of empathy towards the young model. Perhaps it was the scout's size and age, and how he slightly reminded him of Caspian. "May I confide in you a moment scout?"
Bumblebee whistled and clicked a quick response but offered no objection. He was certain Megatron would just speak to him regardless of protest.
"About your little human friend…" The short bot nearly burst an Energon cable when his EM field crackled furiously. His damaged vocalizer barely emitted any noise at all as he felt like screaming, but he took a deep intake instead and continued marching forward. "I understand, truly… I know apologies will mean nothing, because I'm not actually sorry for attacking you, but I do have a small regret for hurting the boy. If I had known he was traveling with you I would have left you alone on that road. I hold no high opinion of humankind, but this is our war after all, not theirs."
His wings still stood erect with fury, but there was honesty in Megatron's words. Bumblebee did not feel forgiveness in him from the speech, but he did feel less obligated to blast the monster in his codpiece.
"Are we any closer to the main chamber Megatron?" Optimus asked now that he had quelled his emotions. He didn't hear a reply and found it strange. Up until that moment, Megatron had been very compliant in his assistance and now that he had gone speechless, things became suspicious. "Megatron?"
"He froze again Optimus." Bulkhead announced as he and Arcee moved closer from bringing up the rear. "We noticed he's been stopping and zoning out occasionally behind you, but this is the longest he stayed suspended…" When he was close enough, the Wrecker waved his giant servo in front of the silver mech's face. Megatron didn't even blink and his optics glowed eerily in a bright violet haze. "Should we poke him?"
"Cass…" The green bot jumped when the catatonic warlord suddenly came back to life, but a second later it was obvious Megatron was still stuck in a trance. "My treasure… Caspian…"
"Megatron…?" The Prime dared himself to touch the Decepticon's shoulder. This seemed to do the trick, and immediately woke Megatron from his illusions. He appeared to be more excitable, or perhaps fearful as his optics darted around the cavern, like he was trying to remember where he was. When it all sunk back into his CPU, Megatron snapped back into a serious demeanor and pushed himself ahead of the group.
"We must hurry! There is very little time now!" Head on he trudged zealously; disregarding the odd stares of the trio of Bots. Their thoughts of him and his own sanity was not important at the time, but the vision he had of his mate-to-be was. It was a blurry daydream, to put it mildly, but he understood that his Bearer was distressed, and needed him to be there by his side.
"Hold on my love…" He whispered in a quickened pace. "I will be there for you soon…"
-END-