CHAPTER ELEVEN

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Warning: Physical and Mental Torture. Mild depiction of PTSD.

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"Nobody can save me now,"

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Jack opened his eyes to a familiar, dim sight.

Even with the decreased lighting there was still pain, a splitting headache cracking his skull in half. He groaned in automatic response, shifting and hissing as his shoulders ached too. It was then he realized he could not move his arms to console himself, his fingers flexing and his bones grinding against metal cuffs.

His eyes shot open, this time refusing to close them for very long as he painfully tilted his head to the side.

Oh, yeah.

Immediately he remembered what happened, gazing at the silver chain which kept him taut and anchored to the wall in this kneeling position.

Mirage did not even have the luxury of time to give Megatron a snarky answer before he was picked up by his hood and flung into the Groundbridge portal from which the tyrant came from. The Cybertronian made the mistake of forgetting that Jack was inside him, transforming and flinging the young man into the unforgiving metal of Darkmount's hall. Jack barely remembered rolling to a stop, his gun still clutched in his hand as he watched Mirage make a run for it towards the portal. The Autobot had instead been greeted by a nasty fist to the chest, flinging him backwards. From there . . .

He had raised the gun to put a few bullets in Megatron's skull, but he had been blindsided by an electric attack. He had no idea who it was, however, he suspected it had been Soundwave. Any other Decepticon likely would have let him do it, or at least given him a bit of a chance before interfering.

Dread filled his limbs when he realized what this meant.

I'm back. I'm back at his mercy.

Jack gritted his teeth, starting to pull at his chains as panic bubbled in his chest. He had to get out, he needed to leave.

His attempts became more frenzied when he failed to wrest free, even trying to just pull his hands through, but the cuffs were so tight they were stopped by the base of his hand. Even if he tried to break a thumb, it would not do any good. He was trapped.

"No, NO!" He screamed then, out of desperation, unable to help the tears which threatened to spill from his eyes. He did not want to be here; Megatron had never done this before, where he had interfered with an attack. He had always left his inferiors to do it. And now, the one time he had decided to participate . . .

Jack hung his head, taking shuddering breaths as he tried not to induce a full-blown panic attack. The past gripped him in a tight hold, reminding him of what happened the last time Megatron had taken him prisoner.

I can't let him do anything. Optimus . . . he has to live. He has to fight. I would rather die than let Megatron take advantage of me again.

His muscles quivered, forgetting his pain as remembrance of Ratchet, of the horrors they witnessed together, flashed across his thoughts. His quivers soon turned to shaking uncontrollably, terrified of what was to come. He was certainly going to be tortured. Him and -

"Mirage?" He looked back up, turning his head this way and that to survey the room. He noticed his gun and supplies were in a pile behind him, as if his captors were unsure what to do with everything. Surely one would think Megatron would just have them throw it away, especially the obvious weapon, however there was no way to guarantee they actually knew what it was. That, or they kept it as a mocking reminder there was no way he could escape. Even if he tried to reach back, there was easily a car length between him and his weapon.

His initial look-around informed him that Mirage was nowhere to be found, which left him even more uneasy. Where was he? Did . . . did Megatron . . .

Before he could finish the thought, if he even dared, the door opened. He realized it was behind him, the human forced to either crane his neck or guess as to who could be entering the room.

But he had no need to make any assumptions.

"You are awake. Good." The voice still gave him chills. Each word was like a caress from Death itself, but instead of promising to take his pain away, Megatron would inflict it to the point Jack wished he could die.

"Leave me alone," he said, the words sounding much more pathetic than intended. 

"You do not make any commands here," digits worked their way into his hair,  gripping them at their roots and forcing his head back. Sharp denta grazed against his ear. "Nor are you in any position to."

Jack tugged against the chains, writhing as he tried to free himself out of the tyrant's grip. His entire body shuddered, shivering as sharp claws gripped his chin, keeping his head in place. 

"Why do you struggle, Jack?" the voice hissed against his skin, and he swore he felt nips against the cusp of his ear. A thumb stroked his cheek, gentle enough that its sharp edges did not cut his skin. "You have nothing to fear from me."

The young man suppressed tears. "You're hurting my friends. My family. You tortured Ratchet-"

"Only until he saw the truth." Megatron countered, his gentle touch moving to his jaw, then down the side of his neck. "Your Autobot friends have continued this war, putting countless human lives on the line . . . and for what? So they can rule your planet?"

"No, so we can be free from your tyranny," Jack snarled, feeling dangerous tips dance along his collarbone, tracing the bony ridge there. 

"I seek only to unite your world, not further divide it as the Autobots have," the dictator replied, voice calm and soft. "I may rule your world, but I would never bring it to ruin like they have. They have continued this fight knowing full well it would jeopardize your human friends. So many lives could have been spared, had they not continued to attack."

Gritting his teeth, Jack closed his eyes as tears finally dropped down his cheeks, cutting through the dirt on them. As always, Megatron had a point. When had he ever been wrong?

"Why me?" He asked softly, choking down the sob which tried to work up his throat. "Any human, at any time . . . why me?"

The touch ran down the center of his chest, the digits in his hair relaxing their grip enough so he could turn his head, gazing into smoldering optics. Tingles ran down his spine as they tangled with his locks, the other servo stopping at his waist, the touch lingering before an arm wrapped around him.

"It has always been you, Jack," Megatron replied, intense stare keeping him in place even as it ran down his frame. "You stayed behind to retrieve information which was not yours to have, you remained with Ratchet, even returning to him when freedom was so close to being yours. You have been a constant within the entirety of my victory; even though I wish to take all the glory for myself, it is unfair of me to not credit the one catalyst which lead to this very moment."

"This moment?" It was hard to breathe, his body shivering in such close proximity to the Decepticon's powerful EM field, a burning pulse which beat against his skin. If he had not been chained up, his fingers would have been curled into chest plates, a palm pressed into the pulsating Decepticon insignia. His breath hitched, stopping altogether as the arm around him tightened its grip on his hips, helm dipping down.

"Yes, this one," scarred lip plates parted, preparing to meet his soft, tender mouth.

APRIL FOOLS

YA SCRUBS

THIS ISN'T A REAL CHAPTER

I HOPE I GOT YOU, AND ALSO MADE YOU VERY, VERY UNCOMFORTABLE

MAYBE EVEN S I C K

YES, THIS STAYS UP FOR 24 HOURS EVEN THOUGH I DEFINITELY MADE THIS WAY TOO LATE FOR IT TO BE AN ACTUAL APRIL FOOLS THING.

ACTUAL CHAPTER WILL BE UP SATURDAY MORNING

UPLOAD SCHEDULE HASN'T ACTUALLY CHANGED

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Okay EDIT: I gotta keep this bit up . . . the comment's section is way too hilarious and I crack up with everyone's reactions. xD I'll place this at the end, so our regularly scheduled updates can still happen, but this stays up!! Thanks for all the craziness, guys!