Hello darkness my old friend...
Nearly four orbital cycles now, he mused to himself, impressed. He'd known few bots to last so long under such conditions, though in fairness, the desire to keep any of them around this long did not strike him often.
Yet she was close, he knew. So gloriously close. The way she had fallen apart, become recklessly unhinged during their last encounter proved just how threadbare her resolve was. She was so raw and vulnerable and uncertain, always afraid, always on edge. No one could stay in that state for long. She was ready to break. He smiled. This next part was his favorite.
Her torment became his main focus, allowing her nearly no rest. At times he would inflict it himself, other times he would enlist the assistance of his followers. Megatron considered which method he preferred, deciding that - at the moment – he liked to watch. He could get a better picture this way, see everything that was happening without missing a single detail.
Her slight frame writhed beneath Starscream's talons, the scalding hot torture implement he was using peeling the paint from her frame as he held it too close, singeing the metallic blue finish. He withdrew the rod from the bottom of her left pede and made his way along the table, holding the device aloft as he considered where to strike next. He regarded her taut expression, considered melting the dainty little crest from her helm when his master stopped him.
"Not her face."
Nodding, he redirected his efforts to her right winglet, making her squirm and pull away to no avail. The smell of molten metal filled the room as she opened her mouth in a wordless cry.
Megatron stepped toward his captive, waiting for his second in command to pull back before he reminded her, "You don't need to continue enduring this. It can stop... at any time... you know what you need to do."
Her defiance lacked the fire it once held, helm shaking weakly after a moments hesitation.
"Why do you continue to deny me? For what purpose? A cause that no longer exists? You're a smart femme... where is the sense in that?"
He nodded to Starscream, who pressed the rod against the sensitive region on her chassis just below her chest plating. Her frame tried to twist away, but she could only go so far in her restraints.
"What pitiful few of your faction are left know nothing of your presence here. No one is coming for you, Arcee... no one."
Megatron could see his words finding purchase in her processor, could see them tumbling around in her mind. She closed her sightless optics and turned away from him, shaking meekly as she felt the scorching heat draw nearer to her once more.