Transformers Prime: Through Bad and Through Worse

Chapter Nine

Moving lights made jagged shadows, an eerie silence always poisoned the air, and the berth was extremely cold in the cell at night, and to make matters worse, the abdominal pain the sparkling was causing, it was all enough to fill Ratchet to the brim with fright. Tonight, he lay on his back, staring up into the darkness, shivering slightly, his optics offering the only light in the room. Ever sound made him jump. Every vehicon passing the cell made him worry, inwardly he cursed himself for being so afraid, but worry for his sparkling eventually and apparently took over, and he became absolutely terrified as the night drove on. Finally, when he managed to fall into a discontinuing and dreamless recharge, a loud and demanding voice woke him right back up.

"Get up." Megatron ordered, his red optics gleaming.

Nooooo... Ratchet sat up a little, yawning. "B-But.. it's so late..."

"We are preparing for the meeting with Orion Pax, get up swiftly. That's an order." The warlord crossed his arms, a grim look on his faceplate.

Ratchet groaned and rolled over, putting his back to the gladiator. "Your outta your fragging mind.." He muttered, just loudly enough for Megatron to hear him.

"Medic, I do not wish to inflict harm on you or your sparkling.. so I suggest you obey." Liar, you do want to hurt me.

"Come back and threaten me when I have the energy to respond." Ratchet pulled the blanket over his shoulders and replied, closing his optics, drifting back into recharge very very slowly.

Megatron waited a few seconds, watching him, anger boiling in his optics.

The medic had just begun to reach full recharge when the blanket was yanked off of him, exposing his frame to the freezing air.

"Aaaaaaah!" Ratchet cried out, rolling over to face Megatron angrily. "Wh-What are you doing?!"

Megatron glared at him, before tearing the blanket in half and throwing the shreds on the ground. "Get off your aft, before I strike you."

"Frag you." Ratchet grumbled, hauling himself off the berth, wincing in pain as the sparkling shifted a little. "Sparkling needs sleep, you know. It's complaining."

The warlord raised an optic ridge, watching Ratchet grab a prescription energon cube and sip it, the bitter taste making him cough.

"What do you mean?" Megatron demanded after a few moments silence.

"Huh?" Ratchet looked up at him.

"What do you mean, 'the sparkling's complaining', how can you tell?"

"You just feel it. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it's a simple shift in position." The medic replied, gagging at another sip of the energon.

Megatron nodded in thought, before pulling out a pair of cuffs, gesturing for Ratchet to come over. Ratchet stared at the cuffs for a moment.

"... I don't like the looks of that." He said quietly.

"Well your going to have to. Come here." Megatron said sternly, agitation increasing slowly.

Ratchet took one last drink of the energon cube and set it down before approaching Megatron timidly, coming to stand before him.

"That's better. See how much easier it is when you obey?" The warlord chided, taking both of Ratchet's wrists and locking them in the cuffs, cranking them tighter than needed, which drew a yelp from the medic. "Now, shall we go?"

Ratchet looked away, a hint of shame in his optics.

This drew a laugh from Megatron. "Let's go."

He dragged a resistant Ratchet out of the cell and to the bridge, where Soundwave and Sky Rocket stood at the monitors.

"Contact Orion Pax. Send the coordinates we discussed, and tell him to meet us at the first light of dawn." Megatron ordered to Soundwave, who nodded and began typing.

"We know for sure he'll come alone?" A grey seeker with red detailing and stilettos spoke up, his red optics skeptical.

"If he truly cares about his lapdog, he will." Megatron smirked down at Ratchet and nudged him a little.

"He'll know it's a trick." Ratchet muttered.

Soundwave turned around and faced them.

"He's commed the archivist. We're ready to go." Sky Rocket said, gesturing to the silent mech.

"Megatronus..." Ratchet murmured, gazing up at the warlord with pleading optics. "Don't do this..."

Megatron smiled and pushed Ratchet forward, leading him to a vertical pole with pipes leading up it. "Don't fight." He unlocked one cuff from one of his wrists, and cuffed it to the pole. Now one of Ratchet's wrists was cuffed to a pole. Fan-fragging-tastic.

"I expect you to stay here without complaint until I retrieve you." Megatron told him grimly.

Ratchet gave a small nod.

The warlord walked away.

The sparkling shifted, bringing a strange feeling in Ratchet's abdomen; a servo fell over it gently.

"Orion will get us out of this, little one..." He whispered. "Don't worry..."

"How's the sparkling?" Sky Rocket asked, walking over, optics shining with concern.

"Not sure..." He replied, his voice a hushed whisper.

"I'll scan ya." She smiled, activating her scanner and doing so, before looking at the results. "Well, it's healthy, bit more energon and sleep will do it good, but otherwise, it's fine." Sky Rocket flashed him a kind look. "You make a good carrier."

"I hope so..." Ratchet hugged himself with his available arm. "Orion doesn't even know about it... I... it'll never... live to be born..." He whispered fearfully.

"I'm sorry...." Sky Rocket murmured. "I'm wish there was something I could do..."

"Megatron, it's time for the meeting." The seeker suddenly spoke up.

Megatron smirked at Ratchet. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's begin."