Trigger Warning: sexual assault and character death!
.
. .
. . .
Steeljaw struggled to escape his captor's hold. Unfortunately, Thundertron's servo has a crushing grip on his wrists.
"I admire your fighting spark, but it's pointless," Thundertron stated.
"Like I wouldn't try," Steeljaw retorted.
When Steeljaw took his next step, he put a little too much pressure on his recently damaged leg and faltered. Instead of stopping and waiting, Thundertron tightened his grip and yanked his captive forward.
"Quit that!" Steeljaw snapped, stumbling once more. "I can't walk properly, you know!"
"Oh, my apologies!" Thundertron mocked.
Before Steeljaw knew it, he was being picked up and carried away.
"I didn't mean it that way!"
"But I can't have you damaging yourself even more than you already have, now can I?"
Thundertron leans forward and nuzzles Steeljaw while tightening his grip around the other's shoulders. Steeljaw twists and turns, trying to dislodge himself from the unwanted touches, but the Captain isn't having any of it. He angles his new hook-for-a-servo to slip under plating and graze soft protoform. The movement in his arms subsequently ceases and desists.
"You're only making this harder on yourself," Thundertron murmured, lips ghosting along his captive's neck.
"Shut up," Steeljaw hissed, a shiver running along his backplate.
"Mmm... I think a part of you likes this."
What? He thinks? No! Absolutely not! What the frag is wrong with him?
Steeljaw doesn't hesitate to retaliate. He manages to free one of his servos, flexes his claws, and slashes Thundertron, just barely missing taking out his optics. The Captain yells and shoves his captive off him as he allows his servos to assess his injury. Steeljaw takes the opportunity to put as much distance between himself and Thundertron as possible, but the universe doesn't seem to be on his side right now. Just as he was about to run, he stumbled into something solid.
I'm blocked by a fragging tree! Of course! Now of all times!
"You ungrateful little mech!"
Digits wrapped around Steeljaw's neck and hoisted him off the ground, slamming his frame against the tree...
"You are making things more difficult than they have to be, little Lupicon."
And ravaging it in a lust-filled high. Steeljaw tried to get away, but he could barely move. Once again, he was forced to tough it out.
.
.
.
.
.
"Frag, that was wonderful!"
Satisfied for the time being, Thundertron relinquished his hold. Steeljaw slid to the ground, exhausted. He may not have been the one initiating the action, but his frame took the brunt of the Captain's erotic frenzy.
"Well, are you just going to lay there?"
"If you want me to go anywhere, you're going to have to drag me," Steeljaw snarled.
Thundertron scoffed and rolled his optics. He yanked Steeljaw to his pedes and, with more force than necessary, twisted his arms behind his back.
"Do you not know how to keep that elegant muzzle of yours shut?" Thundertron questioned. Keeping a tight arm lock on Steeljaw, the Captain forced him to walk.
"Don't make me have to do something to shut you up permanently! Now git!"
Steeljaw barely had the strength to fight back. He was trapped, no matter what.
.
.
.
.
.
"THUNDERTRON!"
Steeljaw recognized that voice, and when he raised his gaze, he swore he had never been happier in his entire life. Bumblebee, Starscream, Slipstream, and Thunderhoof were standing in front of the Tidal Wave, blocking its entrance.
"You've crossed us one too many times, Thundertron," Slipstream raised her voice to be heard over the distance. "Your vessel has been commandeered, and your remaining crew dealt with. I am telling you now to release Steeljaw, or else..."
"WHAT?" Thundertron grabbed Steeljaw by the back of his neck and lifted him into the air, right in the line of fire if someone was to attack. "Or else what, Slipstream? You're going to shoot?"
Strong digits dug into Steeljaw's neck. The Lupicon whimpered in pain as he struggled to get a hold of Thundertron and claw him off.
If this was any other situation, it would be absolutely embarrassing, especially in front of Thunderhoof!
Said mech was 10% anxious and 90% angry. Nobody – outside of relatives, i.e. Phantomjaw – is allowed to torment Steeljaw except for him!
Still, nobody dared to make a move. They couldn't risk it, not with Steeljaw directly in harm's way, and Thundertron was all too well aware of that. He laughed at his victory.
"Figured as much. You wouldn't risk harming him. So soft-sparked. Now, if you don't mind, we'll be on our way!"
Bumblebee and the others were far from happy, but just as Slipstream was about to hand over custody of the ship and its occupants...
One moment, a beam appears out of nowhere, hitting Thundertron and blowing him back, forcing him to drop Steeljaw. And the next, the Captain is disintegrating into thin air.
Silence.
It is broken by rustling brush, and a strange-looking, mahogany and white mech with hooves and pinkish/red optics steps into the light for all to see. Nobody recognizes him, except for Steeljaw.
He can't be here. It can't be him.
"Didn't think I had to save your aft again so soon, Steel."
It. Is. Him.
"Eh, Steel, don't tell me ya already forgot what my Slagmaker Cannon does!" The new mech teased, brandishing his weapon as he moseyed on over to Steeljaw. When the Lupicon didn't answer, the mech grew concerned.
"Steel, you good?"
Suddenly, Steeljaw lunged forward and wrapped his arms around the new mech.
"Ramulus, you're alive! I never thought I'd ever see you again!" Steeljaw cried, pressing his helm against the other's chassis.
"Clearly," Ramulus chuckled, relishing in the comfort of his mate.
"Where have you been all this time?"
"Busy."
Steeljaw leaned back and looked up at Ramulus, silently asking him to explain further.
"Well, after I had to... ya know... for your own good, I had to pretend that you died on the battlefield that day. Believe me, it wasn't easy. You remember how paranoid Lio Convoy was?"
"Oh, yes, how could I possibly forget?"
"Right. Anyway, he got worse. I couldn't risk our secret being found out, so I had to..."
Ramulus vented and leaned forward, resting his helm atop Steeljaw's shoulder plate.
"Really commit to the false reality that you were actually gone. I hated it. Didn't feel right about the whole thing, but I kept telling myself that I did it for a very important reason: to keep you safe."
Steeljaw tightened his hold on his mate.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that on my account. If I wasn't injured during the battle, things could have been different. Maybe even better."
Ramulus barked out a laugh. Steeljaw twisted his helm to stare at the other mech.
"What?"
"You seriously think things would've been better if you returned from that battle unscathed? In the end, you and Lio Convoy would have just gotten into another argument!"
"Of course, because Lio Convoy always made rash decisions that cost us more in the long run than any waiting game I ever played!"
While Steeljaw continued to rant about stuff from the past to Ramulus, everyone else stood idly by, determining when the best time to intervene would be. Which wasn't very long as, not even five minutes later, Knockout and Moonracer come running out of a bridge-portal.
"Did I hear right? Is he here? Where's the mystery mech?" Knockout bombarded, practically bouncing on his pedes.
"We don't mean to interrupt, but we would very much like to meet him!" Moonracer added a lot more calmly, but even she appeared just as giddy as Knockout.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on! Who told you..." Slipstream began to ask.
"Starscream." Both medics interrupted.
Slipstream and Bumblebee turned to look at the silver Seeker.
"Hey, I thought I would let them know beforehand," Starscream defended. "Figured I might as well save us the trouble of explaining it to them later."
"Starscream, I'm not sure if you can tell, but Steeljaw and his mystery mech are sharing a moment!" Bumblebee exclaimed, exasperated. "If I were them..."
"It's alright, Lieutenant."
Steeljaw's voice caught Bumblebee and the others completely by surprise. They all turned and spotted Steeljaw limping over to them, accepting support from Ramulus.
"Steeljaw, are you okay?" Bumblebee fussed, looking over his team-mate's injuries: dents, scratches, and puncture wounds; a bruised neck, chafed wrists, and a mangled leg.
"You mean aside from everything that just happened with Thundertron before Ramulus killed him?" Steeljaw answered with a rhetorical question.
Bumblebee was not amused.
"How can you joke about this?"
"First of all, I'm not. Second, I don't have to worry anymore. Thundertron is gone, and no doubt Slipstream is going to handle his crew..."
Steeljaw broke off with a chuckle, sounding slightly embarrassed.
"But, I have Ramulus back, and that's all I really care about right now."
"By the stars, have you gone soft!" Ramulus teased.
"Shut up! You try living with the bots I've been stuck with this whole time and see how well you turn out by the end!"
Ramulus burst out laughing. With his optics closed, he didn't notice the blue tint to Steeljaw's faceplate. Everyone else did, but they didn't point it out.
.
.
.
.
.
Knockout, Steeljaw, Ramulus, and Moonracer enter the med-bay. It is no longer hustling and bustling with frantic Vehicons, but a couple still remain, tending to Phantomjaw. Acid Storm is nowhere to be seen, most likely having been escorted by his siblings to their shared quarters.
"Is my brother alright?" Steeljaw asked. The Vehicons stopped working and looked to Dead End, who had his backplate to them all as he scanned incoming data.
"I'm sure you can see for yourself, but if you're asking whether he'll live and go back to normal, then yes," Dead End answered.
That was a relief to Steeljaw.
"Good."
"In that case, mind taking a look at Steeljaw?" Knockout suggested.
Dead End pressed a button on his terminal and turned around to face his visitors. He performed a quick scan of Steeljaw before answering.
"Minor injuries will repair themselves with some good old fashioned recharge, and the same can be said for the bad leg once it's reset."
He pointed to a berth just a few spaces away from Phantomjaw.
"Come on, then. Let's get you fixed up."
"And everything else!" Knockout added as Steeljaw limped off, Ramulus by his side.
"For someone who is so eager to pawn-off his own patient onto me, most likely to save himself the pain and agony of buffing himself for the dozenth time this chord, you sure seem persistent to actually do the job by ordering me around."
Knockout promptly shut up after that. He couldn't possibly come up with something that would rival, let alone beat Dead End. To avoid any further embarrassment, Moonracer decided it was time to leave. She grabbed her stunned mentor by the arm and dragged him out of med-bay.
.
.
.
.
.
"What happened to him?" Starscream asked, pointing to Knockout's limp frame.
"Dead End sassed him and he couldn't think of a good comeback so he just..." Moonracer explained, stopping and gesturing to the red frame.
"Froze," Bumblebee vented, shaking his helm.
Starscream found it quite funny, as did some of the others in the room, except for one, who seemed more concerned than anything else.
"What's got you in such a rut, Thunderhoof?"
At Bumblebee's question, the room's occupants turned to the Cervicon, whose gaze was solely focused on the same corridor that Moonracer just dragged Knockout through.
"Thunderhoof, are you even listening to us?" Saberhorn questioned.
Silence.
"I think he's ignoring us," Underbite decided.
"Wonderful deduction, Underbite," Fracture replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"No need to be a smart aft about it!"
Silence.
The mechs and femme waited patiently for news of the Lupicon brothers' recovery, which came nearly half an hour later with the appearance of Dead End.
"How are they?" Bumblebee was the first to ask.
"Stable and resting, so no visitors unless I say otherwise," Dead End curtly answered, pushing past the bots in his way. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to check on Acid Storm and make sure Nova didn't accidentally ruin my work."
Despite their bevy of questions/comments/concerns, no one dared to stop Dead End...
"Oh, and Moonracer?"
Except for himself.
"Yes?" Moonracer piped.
"Make sure nobody tries to get into med-bay. Not only do both Steeljaw and Phantomjaw need rest, but Steeljaw specifically wanted to talk to his friend in private. I'd hate to have to clean up any mess that will result from the interruption."
Silence.
"Is there any way we can spy on them without going anywhere near med-bay?" Knockout asked once Dead End was out of audial range. Everyone was startled, as they all thought he was still out of it.
"Of course that's the only part you heard!" Moonracer was completely unsurprised.
"Hey, I can't help it if I'm... What's the human phrase, again?"
"Being nosy," Bumblebee educated, already seeing where this was going and not liking it one bit.
"Ah, yes, that! Thank you! And please, don't tell me you aren't the slightest bit curious, too?"
Bumblebee pouts.
"Thought so! Okay, who has any ideas on how to eavesdrop without getting caught?"
"I might know someone who can help," Starscream spoke-up. He gestured for everyone to follow him, including a disgruntled Bumblebee and Moonracer.
.
.
.
.
.
A series of knocks distracts Shockwave from his work. He stops and goes to open the door, and is unsurprised by two pairs of red optics staring at him with what humans would call puppy eyes.
"Starscream, Knockout," Shockwave said, looking from one to the other. "Logically speaking, whatever it is you two are up to, it is something disastrously illogical."
"We just need obscure access to surveillance of the med-bay!" Knockout explained.
"We promise we won't be long!" Starscream reassured.
Shockwave did not like the sound of this at all. He knew from experience that these two were basically chaos incarnate. However, if he wanted to get back to work anytime soon...
"Very well, but don't touch anything."