Twist

Chapter 40: Monster

"It's okay," the silver mech assured her, his voice soothing her limbs before she'd even fully onlined. She knew the voice was familiar, but she couldn't name the owner. His blurry face became more clear and Temptest soon felt very afraid. "I'm not going to hurr you."

Seemingly true to his word, the mech was carefully pressing gold into her faceplate. There was a leaking crack beneath her optic and he was filling it the same way he'd been taught to in the pits.

"D-16," he told her. "Call meh Megatronus."

What was going on? Temptest could faintly remember him running out of the arena with her over his shoulder, but more vividly, she could remember him pounding her into dust.

"Wha—" Temptest coughed as a small pain ignited in her chassis. "Huck!"

Megatronus winced. "I'm sarry. Ya shudn't move er speak. Damages. I'm tryin'na fix em."

Temptest blinked back tears, her brows furrowing in confusion. Something loud hit the wall outside and Megatronus flinched, his optics flying to the door and staying there until he was sure the sound was unrelated. After a moment, he sighed and turned back to her.

"I dragged ya inta this," he apologized. "I'm sarry. I... I'm goin'ta fix it."

Fix what? The fact that they were both criminals now? The Pits of Kaon? Slavery? The entire corrupted system that governed Cybertron? There was nothing he could fix. Not in a million years.

Temptest reached out and touched his arm softly, doing her best to smile.

At least he'd die a hero.

As she onlined, Temptest felt herself tense up. Her audio receivers were ringing incredibly loud. She tried to adjust the volume, but it was internal.

"Don't mess with the volume," Ratchet chastised. "Terminate your connection to your communcations unit. I haven't finished installing it yet."

Temptest did as she was told and sat up. She was sitting in the Autobot medbay, alone, with just her, Ratchet, and Bumblebee was sitting on a chair not far away.

"What's going on?" she questioned.

"Well after you lost your processor, nearly killed us all in the groundbridge, and freed Megatron, we came and rescued you from Megatron. Sound fair?"

Temptest blinked. "What?"

Ratchet yanked a particular sensitive wire. "Yeah, don't ask me. If it wasn't for Optimus, I'd have left you for dead."

"Ratchet!" Bumblebee glared at the medic. "Optimus said—"

"I know what he said," Ratchet snapped. "Now shut up so I can install this comm and get on with my unfair life."

Temptest took a moment to internalize his words. Ratchet hummed with satisfaction, glad that everyone was silent, and kept working on the device attached to the side of her helm.

"I tried to kill you?" Temptest asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'll say!" Ratchet scoffed. "You shot Arcee, mauled Optimus, and went psycho all over Megatron. If you hadn't attacked him, we could have taken him prisoner and ended the war, you crazy glitch."

Lost your processor.

Psycho.

Crazy.

Temptest felt her spark retract in terror.

A thousand flashbacks and premonitions suddenly slammed into her helm, taking her on a disorienting trip through her own fears. The world faded in and out until Temptest was shoving Ratchet away from her and climbing off the berth. She could hear him yelling at her, but everything else was so loud now too. Too bright and too dark. Threatening her with it's existence, but even more than that, she was threatening it.