I am so sorry for the delay. I've been having intense writer's block like you wouldn't believe. Plus, there's a whole bunch of shit in my life that's been happening.

Now, before I get started, I would like to say something. Over one month ago, Chester Bennington, the lead singer of Linkin Park, Dead by Sunrise and briefly Stone Temple Pilots, passed away. He was 41 years old. He was someone who saved a lot of people - including yours truly - from their demons. My heart goes out to his bandmates, his wife, his children, his family and everyone who loved him. We will always love you, Chester. May you rest in peace.

REVIEW REPLIES!

TriGemini Prime: I am so glad I was able to help you create your own character. And I love Sound of Silence, especially Disturb's cover, so that will definitely get used sometime in the future. Might not be for this story, but definitely sometime in the future.

Airreon Princess: Yes! I'm alive! Thank you for enjoying my stories.

Awesomo3000: Yep. The only question is: is she hallucinating or is it something else?

katmar1994: Wait no more.

josephguy217: Thank you so much!

3luv4eva: Ooooh... That is so good!

Guest: It's co-authored, so I can't put it up for adoption without conferring with my two co-authors, which may be hard because we haven't spoken in years. To my dear fellow writers, this is something you have to take into consideration when you and another author write a story together.

SnowKi: And more you shall get.

Obviously, I own nothing related to Transformers: Prime, aside from any original characters and storylines I decide to insert into the universe.

I finally watched Transformers: Robots in Disguise and I enjoyed it. Although, mum didn't like that I decided to make her watch it with me. Sorry, mum!

You know how recently I took to the theme of naming chapters after songs? I've had a particularly hard time with this chapter, and I ended up using A Long December by Counting Crows. Really beautiful song. Highly recommend listening to it.

ENJOY!

...or not...

"Megatron?"

"What are you doing here?" Megatron once again demanded.

"I have no idea," Talida answered before taking in her surroundings, "What is 'here' anyway?"

"Luna One," Megatron responded.

"Cybertron's moon?!" Talida squeaked in surprise.

Megatron only nodded and looked over his niece. Talida followed his line of sight and saw a sight that broke her heart.

Cybertron.

"I can't believe this," Talida whispered as she took in the lifeless planet before her, "How could you do this?"

"Your father had a part in this as well, my dear niece. Do not be ignorant of his role," Megatron scolded.

"I think there are a lot of things you guys could have done differently. Maybe you guys would still have a home," Talida grumbled bitterly, "Speaking of home, I've gotta get back to mine."

"There has to be a reason you are here, my dear niece," Megatron said as Talida walked away from the view of Cybertron, "Where is your physical body?"

"Where's yours?" Talida shot back.

"I'm here," Megatron retorted.

"So I'm a hallucination," Talida drawled.

"I don't know what you are," Megatron admitted.

"To answer your question, I'm aboard the Nemesis," Talida said hesitantly.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOARD THE NEMESIS?!" Megatron boomed in anger.

"You seriously don't think I'm there by choice, do you?" Talida scoffed.

"Starscream...," Megatron growled, correctly guessing that his second-in-command had disregarded his protection order and kidnapped his niece.

"And your daughter," Talida added, "They've been taking turns torturing me."

"What for?" Megatron demanded.

"The usual thing. Location of the Autobot base, weaknesses in the Autobots, obviously trying to make me succumb to the disease and join the cause," Talida answered, "You guys need to work on your salesmanship."

"Our 'salesmanship' has worked well with many Autobots in the past, my dear niece," Megatron retorted, "You, however, are a special case."

"Why? Because my dad runs the Autobots?" Talida asked dryly.

"You do know who you are the incarnate of, right?" Megatron drawled.

"I know, I know, the Ruler Rayna. Reason number 375 why I would give anything to be a normal human," Talida grumbled as she sat down on a rock formation, staring at the lifeless husk of Cybertron in anger.

"If you were meant to be normal, Talida, you would have been born normal," Megatron said bluntly, "You are destined for a higher purpose. Rather like me."

"So leading the Decepticons was your higher purpose?" Talida snapped, "I'm sorry. I know you're my uncle, but I can't ignore what you did."

"But you ignore your father's role," Megatron stated.

"Of course I don't. I blame you both!" Talida yelled before taking a few moments to breathe and mentally count to ten, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Silently, Megatron just rested his hand on her back, frowning when his hand didn't go through her as he expected.

"So what are you looking for?" Talida asked.

"Something that will turn the tide of the war in the Decepticons' favour," Megatron answered, "What do you know of Dark Energon?"

"Not much," Talida admitted.

"It is another form of Energon that I used during the War for Cybertron. It is also known as the Blood of Unicron," Megatron explained.

"Unicron the Destroyer?!" Talida repeated in surprise.

She knew that story well. The story of how Primus and Unicron had been at war for so long before Primus created the Thirteen Original Primes and the Ruler Rayna to finally defeat Unicron and his own creation, Nadia. No one knew what happened to either.

"It was used to corrupt Cybertron's core," Megatron revealed, "It was why we had to leave our home."

Talida looked to her uncle in horror. She knew the Decepticons had somehow managed to poison Cybertron's core and it was Cybertron was the lifeless husk she knew it as today. But she had no idea that Dark Energon was used to destroy it.

"Why?" Talida whispered in horror.

"I wanted to destroy the Autobots. I didn't care who else got hurt," Megatron answered, "In war, you are blinded. There is a fog that prevents you from seeing what is directly in front of you. You never realize how far you have gone until the fog has lifted."

"So why are you looking for more of the bad stuff?" Talida inquired.

"It is a highly dangerous substance, my dear niece. His blood is considered to be the anti-spark and is rumored to be able to revive the dead," Megatron responded.

"So you are going to use this substance to revive...maybe all of Cybertron's dead?" Talida guessed, horrified when Megatron responded to her guess with a nod, "Wow. So you're gonna have us fight zombies?"

"What's a zombie?" Megatron asked in confusion.

"A dead person who has been brought back to life, but without the qualities that made them human," Talida clarified, "They're always shown attacking and eating humans and they're unable to think for themselves. They're tricky to kill."

"So I am creating zombies," Megatron mused to himself, "I dislike the term."

"When you think of a better one, let me know," Talida said as she, once again, focused on the lifeless planet before her, "So when will you be coming back?"

"When I find what I am looking for," Megatron reassured her, "You will know when I am back."

Talida was about to ask another question. She was about to ask how long that would take. But then she felt something pulling. A sharp tug pulling her away from wherever she is.

"What's happening?" Talida asked in fear.

"You are being pulled back, my dear niece," Megatron quelled her fears, "We will see each other again soon."

"WAKE UP, YOU LUMP OF FLESH!" Starscream was screaming at her as she came to.

"Oh, I was just having a pleasant dream," Talida pouted as Malita began removing her bonds.

With her arms secured behind her back, Talida was pushed out of her cell and back to the interrogation room.

Talida knew the drill by now. Tied to a chair. Be beaten. Tortured by other means. The same questions and requests made repeatedly. Where is the Autobot base? Betray the Autobots. Give into the darkness inside you.

Well, she thought she knew the drill before they proceeded to pin her to a table.

"Today, I thought we would try something different," Starscream began, "We've tried the human methods of torture - some supposed to be so brutal, it would crack anyone. So I've decided to try other methods."

Smirking, Malita walked around her, waving an Energon prod in the air. Immediately, Talida was nervous at the sight of it, though she wouldn't give her captors the satisfaction of showing her fear. It was painful for Cybertronians. One could only imagine how painful it would be for someone made of organic matter.

Even if she was only half-organic.

"Really? An Energon prod?" Talida scoffed, trying to play off her nerves with bravado.

"It's painful for Cybertronians. Imagine how it would be for you," Starscream retorted, "But you won't have to go through the pain if you tell me what I want?"

"How many times must you hear the same answers to the same questions?" Talida asked in frustration.

Growling, Malita was quick to stick the Energon prod into her side. Inhaling sharply, Talida's back arched at the pain that was coursing through her body. However, she did not let out the scream that was pressing against her lips.

She would not give her captors the satisfaction again.

"Painful?" Starscream simpered.

"Been through worse," Talida spat, gasping when Malita shocked her again for a shorter amount of time.

"I honestly don't think you have," Starscream sneered, looming over her.

Malita smirked, just itching to be able to dish out more on her captive. Clutching the Energon prod tightly, she began to charge it up again and went to press it into her captive once more.

Talida didn't give into the urge to scream like she wanted to. However, she could not stop the brief shout of pain from escaping when the pain became overwhelming.

"Ah, what's this?" Malita asked.

Talida was confused, but to her horror, Malita reached into the front pocket of Talida's jeans to pull out a folded piece of paper. Slowly unfolding it, Malita smirked.

Without when looking at it, Talida could describe to you every detail in the photo. Jack and Talida were at the local KO Drive-in simply enjoying their time together after a particularly long day at school. Someone decided to take a photo of them together and since they loved the photo, they had it printed and kept it on them.

"Your boyfriend's cute," Malita smirked, "Perhaps we should arrange an introduction."

Immediately, Talida began struggling against her bonds, desperately trying to break free and rip that photo out of Malita's hands.

Maybe even throttle her enough to consider leaving Jack alone.

"Looks like we finally found her weak spot," Starscream mused as he observed her reactions.

"You hurt him and I SWEAR TO PRIMUS I'LL KILL YOU!" Talida screamed, her eyes flashing red for a brief moment.

"How? You can't even break free of your bonds," Malita tormented.

Breathing heavily as her eyes turned red once more, she began screaming as she struggled violently against her bonds. Starscream and Malita simply watched in amusement. They had been waiting for this since the moment they captured her.

They had waited for her to turn dark.

Malita's prediction was wrong. Talida was able to break free of her bonds, and the first person she lunged for was Malita. Grabbing her by her hair, she threw the older techno-organic into the nearest wall and chased after her. Malita, who was, admittedly, the stronger fighter of the two, was struggling to keep up with her opponent's rage. And when Talida pressed her thumbs into her airway, she truly began to fear for her life.

That is, until Starscream came up behind her and injected her with a strange purple substance. Almost immediately, Talida slumped forward, her eyes returning to their normal blue and her breathing as heavy as it was before her episode.

"Please...don't hurt him," Talida whimpered.

"Oh, I would have considered leaving him alone, but your lack of cooperation has convinced me otherwise," Starscream sneered before turning to a Vehicon guard, "Lock her back up and ready the troops. We have a target to hit."

The mysterious substance Starscream injected into Talida had worked its magic on her. For two days, she was out of it. For two days, she was in a daze that nothing could break. Malita hit her and tortured her for hours and got nothing in return save for a blank stare. For some reason, she was kept in her cell for those sessions. They didn't bring her to the interrogation room as they always did before.

Something was different today. As Malita struck her across the face again, hard enough to draw blood from her split lip, Starscream walked into the room.

"No luck?" Starscream inquired.

"Whatever you gave her...I don't know what it's done to her, but she just stares," Malita answered, "Nothing I say, nothing I do... She's not breaking."

"I may be able to change that," Starscream smirked before kneeling before Talida, "You really should have cooperated with me, you know. You should have given up the location of the Autobot base when I first asked you to. You should have joined the Decepticon cause when I first offered the opportunity to you. Then maybe...your precious Jack would still be alive."

Malita expected Talida to give Starscream the blank stare she had always given to her. However, she watched in interest as Talida's eyes widened in horror at the implication.

"What did you do to him?" Talida asked, desperately struggling against her bonds.

"Just know that it happened to him because of you," Starscream snarled as he uncurled his fingers to reveal the object he held in his hand.

It was a piece of cloth. Cloth that was clearly ripped off of a piece of clothing. Talida recognised it anywhere. It was a piece of Jack's shirt. That brown short-sleeved shirt he always wore over his white long-sleeved undershirt (which he always wore regardless of the weather). It wasn't the piece of cloth that horrified her.

But rather the blood that stained it.

Immediately, Talida began panting heavily as the horror washed over her. Her skin turned pale at the thought of Jack - her best friend, the person she loved - being attacked by the very beings she had sworn to protect him from. The very darkness she had tried so hard to keep from him.

All of it was in vain.

Trembling, Talida began screaming. Screams that even broke the sparks of the Vehicons guarding her cell. Screams that even touched Malita (though she did not show it). Screams that sent pleasure through Starscream as he watched his captive suffer.

Screams of pure heartbreak.

Struggling against her bonds, Talida was blinded by the hot tears that shed from her eyes as she continued screaming. Satisfied, Starscream dropped the cloth on the floor, leaving it there to torment his captive further, as he left her cell.

Malita went to follow, but at the doorway, she stopped and turned back to Talida. Her screams were becoming hoarse as her throat began to ache from overuse and her body shook with each and every sob. For a brief moment, she even felt sorry for her.

But then she remembered herself as she shut the door to the cell, leaving her captive to scream Jack's name repeatedly as her very soul shattered.

So...am I evil? Or am I evil?

Now this contained the last torture scene you will see of Talida for this story. Mainly because, as you have seen, torture scenes are not my forte. I'm all sunshine and candy in my stories and if someone tried to tell someone in my story that the word is on fire, I'd hand over a marshmallow. And yes. I know that's from Grey's Anatomy. I watch the show on-and-off.

So you should know the drill by now. Review. Fave. Alert. Whatever.

See you later, alligators!