A/n this story takes place partially pre-series before going into the series.
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'War raged across the planet, just like our lord wanted. Death, destruction, chaos, all of this was his doing.
And I was one of his soldiers.
But how far can a soldier go before he begins to break? Before he crumbles? Before...'
"This is stupid." I muttered to myself as I stared at the datapad in my grip and the words I had written on them. I ended up turning off the data pad and returning it to my subspace before flopping back onto the cold berth of my quarters.
I stared blankly at the ceiling with crimson optics and a tired gaze, my mind running and racing despite not having a proper recharge in a very long time.
War had been raging my homeworld for Primus knows how long, a war I once thought was justified.
But with recent events, my loyalties and morals had begun to come into question.
"Y/D! Report to the Nemesis! Now!" My commanding officer, Starscream, shrieked over the comlink.
"Yeah, yeah, calm your circuits, Screecher." I grumbled in response.
"GET TO IT OR-" He started to bark before I cut him off by hanging up, my frame slowly rising up from the berth with a stretch of my wings and a satisfying round of pops from my joints.
I made my way out of my quarters and into the hall of the barracks I resided in, several other Decepticons looking over to me with suspicious glances before returning to their usual business.
I ignored their gazes and turned down the hall towards the take-off strip. My form shifting after a running head start sent me into the air. I cut through the skies with the grace and speed of a true Seeker, something that I was proud of but was far less vocal about compared to my C.O.
I eventually made my way towards the Nemesis's flight deck, where my forms shifted again as I landed. Almost as soon as my pedes made contact with the metal plating, Starscream came out and began to lecture me about 'being disrespectful' and 'uncooperative'. I tuned out most of what he said, at least until he said something that actually caught my interest.
"We have an Autobot prisoner for you."
Starscream's words caused me to perk up curiously, my optics meeting his as a result.
"Sir?" I asked. "What do you mean you have an Autobot prisoner?"
"Well, if you had been paying attention -"
"Aaaaand here we go again." I muttered to myself, cutting the second in command off.
"As I was saying," he continued with a growl. "We have an Autobot prisoner who may know the location of a great power source. However, I believe he needs some.... convincing."
I sighed in annoyance and waved my servo in a way that conveyed my distain for the whole affair.
"Like I told Lord Megatron, I'm no longer practicing nmemosurgery."
"Yet you still have the probes." Starscream said, followed by a smirk. "Surely they aren't there for show."
"Look, I don't think it's a good idea, okay?" I said firmly with narrowing optics. "But... I'll see if I can coax the information out of this bot."
Starscream sneered with a dark chuckle and motioned for me to follow. I reluctantly complied and followed the seeker inside the Nemesis, where we weaved through the various corridors to the brig. Inside one of the cells was a bot with a red and white paint job who looked no older than I was. His frame mildly dented and scratched from what I inferred was a struggle. Judging by the markings on his frame, I could tell he was one of the Autobot medics, something I did not like.
"This is the bot you want information from?" I asked Starscream with a hint of disgust in my tone.
"He knows where the power source is. All you have to do is make him talk." Starscream growled.
"Both you and Lord Megatron know that I do not harm medics!" I snapped. "It's dishonorable!"
"You and your stupid sense of honor!" Starscream barked. "Just shut up and do it! Unless you want me to get Lugnut to tear your sorry paint job apart!" I flinched in fear at the thought of the hulking mech, a shiver running up my spinal strut and causing my wings to fold tightly against my back. "That's what I thought." Starscream huffed. "Now get to it!"
"Y-yes, sir." I stammered out as I entered the code to the cell and retracted the bars. The medic scooted back and away with fear as I entered, his baby blue optics practically staring into my spark.
It made me nervous.
"Commander, please leave us be so I can focus on my work." I said to the seeker.
"Ugh, fine!" Starscream muttered. "Don't screw this up!"
Once Starscream was out of audial shot, I knelt down by the injured medic and carefully took his more injured arm into my servo, my optics quietly inspecting the dented and cracked metal
"What's your name?" I asked as I ejected out one of my various repair tools and got to work on fixing the medic.
"Wh... why do you care?" He asked with a quiet voice.
"Because I like to know the names of my patients." I said, not even looking up from my work. "My name is Y/D if you'd care to know."
"I... I'm Ratchet." The medic said with an increasingly confused expression on his face.
"Ratchet... I like that name." I said nonchalantly. "It suits you."
"Oh, um... thanks?" There was a long silence as I repaired the medic before Ratchet spoke again. "Why are you doing this?"
"Hm?" I questioned as I looked up at him. "Doing what?"
"Helping me. Why.... why are you helping me?"
"Morals." I said flatly. Thankfully, that answer seemed to satisfy the medic, and I was able to finish the repairs to his frame.
"Thank you." Ratchet said with a strange sense of awe.
"There is no need for niceties." I said. "But nothing comes for free, and you know what I wang."
"You want to know the location of the energy source. Well I can't tell you."
"This energy source must be powerful if you are willing to hide its location from me." I said.
"Listen, if Megatron gets ahold of this, everyone and everything on Cybertron will be destroyed." Ratchet said with increasing earnest. I studied his expression for any malicious intent or falsehood, but I could not find any on his face or in his optics.
"This... power source you Autobots are hiding. If it is this powerful, why have you not used it?"
"Because using it would be the death of us all." Ratchet said grimly. "And.... it wouldn't be right to use a source of life for a weapon of death."
Those words clicked in my mind, telling me exactly what the power source was in an instant.
"The power source," I said with an urgency in my voice. "What is it?"
"I... I shouldn't - "
"Please." I practically begged barely above a whisper. The medic paused a moment before sighing in defeat.
"It's the Allspark."
The energon in my tubing practically froze in place, my optics widening with an increasing fear.
"No, it... Megatron wouldn't dare...." I whispered. "He wouldn't.... would he? Sure, he's strong-willed and stubborn, but... this..." I was so shocked by this revelation that I ended up staring blankly at the floor.
"You didn't know that was what he was after, did you?" Ratchet asked. I shook my helm, and in that moment, I truly began to question my loyalties.
"He never told me anything." I said quietly. "I... I can't let this happen. I won't let this happen." I stood up and offered a servo to the medic. "Come with me, I'm going to get you out of here."
Ratchet took my servo, and I pulled him up on his pedes, the pair of us quickly darting through the halls and towards one of the shuttle bays. I shoved the medic inside and forced it to deploy, the medic and shuttle drifting off into space.
"TRAITOR!" I heard the bellow of Lugnut roar, my helm whipping around to see him, Megatron, and Starscream all aiming their weapons at me.
"I KNEW HE WAS A SLIMEY AUTOBOT SYMPATHIZER!" Starscream shrieked. I ejected one of my blades and held it defensively, my focus entirely fixed on the glaring warlord.
"Is it true?" I snarled. "Are you really planning on using the Allspark as a weapon?"
"Of course I am." Megatron growled as he drew his own blades. "Too bad you won't be alive long enough to see it come to fruition."
"Then I'll just have to stop you."