Prisoners (2)
The Autobot’s had almost made it out of town without any incidents. Then they heard over the radio about how there seemed to be an army of cars and vehicles heading through town and the police had decided to investigate the parade of vehicles, especially with the news about people spotting strange vehicles and girls going missing. They had set up a barricade to halt Optimus and the others travels, right at the exit to the town. On most days, Optimus would have stopped and resolved the situation peacefully. Today was not like most days.
Instead, he sent Concrete, one of his wreckers, in first. With scanners showing that none of the officers were actually in their cars, Concrete slammed into the barricade and hauled tailpipe to a different part of the town, getting all of the officers to chase after him in the process. With the law out of their way, Optimus and the others continued on their drive towards where Pinkie’s location was last recorded.
“Your tracking device has gone dark?” Ratchet asked Optimus when the Prime had told Ratchet of the news, once they were far outside of the town. “But I thought that you said the Deceptacons would be unable to find it.”
“I did and they haven’t. The device has not been destroyed. It is more likely that the signal is being blocked by something. But what could be blocking it I have no idea,” Optimus replied grimly, before his optics narrowed at the sight of something that didn’t belong. Having spent so many years battling against the Cons, Optimus had become quite adapt at seeing through cloaks and camouflage technology. So when just the faintest of shimmers appeared in the distance, he knew what he was looking at.
“Autobots, prepare yourselves! We are almost at the true base of the Deceptacons,” Optimus roared to the Autobots over the radio, before the base of the Cons opened up and dozens of Cons in their vehicle forms began pouring out of the hidden base. The sides of Optimus opened up and twin cannons emerged from within, which unleashed upon the advancing Deceptacon horde. The two armies collided and the area was filled with energon fire, screeching tires and explosions rocking the very earth beneath their feet.
“Optimus, we do not have time for this! Every second that we spend out here fighting these fodder is another second that Soundwave can use to torture Fluttershy!” Ratchet roared over to Prime before using his scalpels to tear through a Cons tires and send him into a death spin. “We need to get inside the base now!”
“Agreed. Jetfire, give Ratchet and I covering fire. We’re going in,” Optimus said over the comms before he and Ratchet floored it to the entrance of the base. Optimus used his bulkier frame to bully any and all Cons out of the way, while his armored front took the brunt of the Deceptacon fire so that Ratchet wouldn’t be hit. Jetfire swooped in overhead and blasted as many of the Cons out of the way as he could, before all three of them prepared to open fire on the front of the Deceptacon base. Yet the moment before they could, the doors themselves opened up and allowed Ratchet and Prime to enter inside.
“The doors just opened up on their own, Optimus. Smells like a trap if you ask me,” Jetfire warned Prime right before Prime and Ratchet drove into the base.
“It most certainly is a trap, Jetfire. However, due to the danger presented to Fluttershy and her friends we have no choice but to walk right into it,” Optimus replied, noticing how the doors slammed shut behind them. Optimus and Ratchet both transformed into their robot modes when they reached a large, central chamber of the base, where a fork in the road awaited their next move.
“What now, Prime?” Ratchet asked Optimus, who looked from one path to the other.
“Ratchet, you have a closer connection with Fluttershy than any other Autobot. Do you think that you can connect with her to feel where she is?”
“I can try,” Ratchet replied before he closed his eyes and began to reach out for Fluttershy. Then a wave of pain washed over him and his eyes snapped open with a yelp of surprise. “Yes, I can sense her. She’s in pain and weak, but I can definitely sense her energy. She’s being held down the right-hand path, Optimus.”
“Good work, Ratchet. Go and free Fluttershy…while I deal with whatever is coming to us.”
Ratchet looked at Optimus with confusion before he heard the metal footsteps coming towards them. His optics widened with shock when the colossal, silver chassis bot appeared in the light. From his size to his body shape and even the weapons he carried, there was only one bot that came to Ratchet’s mind when he laid eyes upon him.
“Megatron,” Ratchet whispered in fear as the bot stepped into the room with them. Optimus narrowed his optics at the Con, before he shook his head and summoned his double sided, orange energy axe into his grasp.
“No Ratchet, while this bot may have the body and weapons of Megatron, this is not him. A replica, perhaps, designed to look and fight like him. But this not Megatron,” Optimus replied before glancing over at his friend once more. “Go. Retrieve Fluttershy and her friends. I will hold off this empty suit.”
Ratchet looked like he wanted to argue, but after a moment of waiting he turned and took off down the right-hand path, leaving Optimus alone to face the faceless suit of armor. He gripped his axe tightly in both hands before he and the armor began to circle one another, each waiting for the other to strike.
“Heed my words, replica. If you have any sentience in your body, stand down and surrender. For if you do not, I will have qualms about destroying an empty suit.”
The armors response was to raise the dark star saber and lunge at Prime, who lift his axe to intercept the blow.
“Very well. Have it your way.”
[=O=]
Everything hurt. The pain was so bad that Fluttershy struggled to remember what it felt like to not be in pain. For nearly five hours she had been the plaything of Soundwave, who had subjected her to all sorts of Cybertronian forms of torture. She had been electrocuted, burned, blasted with sound and then electrocuted some more. Then, after being subjected to the pain, Soundwave would try to trap her with a hologram, the same one he had used on her friends. And each time it failed.
“Your resistance does not make sense,” Soundwave muttered to Fluttershy as he ceased the electric current that had been flowing into her body, getting Fluttershy to weakly hang her head as her breathing came in with slow, ragged breaths. “Your resilience for pain and your ability to fight through the hologram reprogramming does not match your physique, mental strength or your character. Yet you continue to fight. How?”
Fluttershy couldn’t respond. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth she’d throw up, scream or say something to tick Soundwave off further. She didn’t know what was a dumber move at that point. So instead she took the moment of reprieve to use her magical power to slowly, and stealthily, heal some of the damage that Soundwave had done to her. Not enough to remove the bruises or burns, but enough so that she’s be ready for the next wave of agony.
Soundwave waited a few seconds to hear her answer, but when all he was met with was silence he turned and picked another device off of the table. This one had three long and sharp looking blades on the end of it and it was a sickeningly yellow color, making Fluttershy think that it might have been poisoned.
‘He won’t kill me,’ Fluttershy thought to herself as Soundwave approached her with the device. ‘Ultracon wants me alive. If Soundwave was allowed to kill me I have no doubt he would have. No, they still need me alive. This will hurt, but that’s all.’
With that thought giving her strength Fluttershy gritted her teeth and prepared herself for the next wave of pain. Soundwave reached up and moved the device closer to the hanging body of Shy, but before he could continue the torture an explosion rocked the base and caused the Con to stagger backwards. He raced to a nearby terminal and brought up an image of what was going on.
On the screen Fluttershy saw dozens of Autobot’s and Deceptacons duking it outside of the base. On another screen, she watched as Optimus collided with the Megatron style suit of armor, which was evenly matched with the Prime. And on the final screen her eyes filled with hope and joy as she saw Ratchet racing through the base, down the corridor that she hoped lead to where she was.
The door to the chamber opened a moment later and Ultracon walked into the room, the look on his face telling Fluttershy that he wasn’t worried in the slightest. “Ratchet is on his way here to free Fluttershy. We can’t allow that. Go. Take your revenge on him.”
Soundwave nodded before he left the room, leaving Ultracon all alone with Fluttershy. Ultracon watched the battle between the Autobots and the Deceptacons on the screen for a few moments before he turned to look back at Fluttershy.
“Five hours of being subjected to Soundwave’s torture and not so much as a crack. If you weren’t my enemy I’d want you on my side,” Ultracon said in an impressed tone to Fluttershy, who just glared back at him. “Once more, I didn’t expect this out of you. Sunset maybe. Rainbow Dash perhaps. But not you, not the weak little girl who speaks softly and prefers not to be noticed by anyone. I thought you would be the weakest link of your friends.”
“I don’t like conflict. I’d prefer it if everyone got alone. I also don’t like to raise my voice. People seem to get nervous when I get angry,” Fluttershy spat out in-between pained breaths. “But as for weak? That’s something everyone gets wrong about me. You have no idea how strong I really am. How strong I have to be.”
“Perhaps I am wrong. But we will have plenty of time to figure out just how strong you believe yourself to be. Seems Optimus is starting to get the upper hand on the armor. Can’t have that now, can we?” Ultracon asked before he pressed a button on the panel, opening the chest plate slightly so that Optimus could fully see the girls inside.
Optimus’ optics widened in shock, before he slowly lowered his axe to his side. The armor slammed a fist into his face and sent him crashing into the wall, where he struggled to remain standing as the armor pressed its advantage.
“Take a good look, Fluttershy,” Ultracon said to Fluttershy as he gazed upon the sight with glee. “For you are about to watch the death of the last Prime.”
As Ultracon said this, with his eyes completely glued to the screen, Fluttershy let out a small whistle, one so soft and meek that Ultracon never would have heard it. But there was something nearby that did hear it. For the moment after Fluttershy whistled…
A small squirrel poked its head out of her pocket.