"You Autobots are pretty far away from home... Mind tellin' me what business you have snooping around in Decepticon territory?" The dark voice hissed. It was a Decepticon for sure, but which one? Hopefully it wasn't one of Megatron's lieutenants. "Last time I checked, Autobots rarely send a medic and a scout to do a warrior's job."

Anger boiled up inside my chassis, but I pushed it down. Staying calm was key to staying alive in situations like these. Twinblast, on the other hand, didn't seem to understand that concept. His struggles had already annoyed the Decepticon and now we were both being held at gunpoint by two separate Cons. "Who created the plague that killed these Autobots?" I demanded.

"Answer my question first, medic." The Decepticon growled, pressing the gun harder against my head.

I huffed, pulling my head away from the gun. "We came here to investigate the disappearance of an Autobot squadron. I merely wish to find a cure for this plague so you don't kill us all." I spat bitterly, though I knew what I was doing. It worked, thankfully.

The Decepticon laughed cruelly. "That's the point of a plague, isn't it? Besides, there's no way you'll be able to find the cure. Megatron is the only one who kno—"

"You idiot! You just told him who came up with the plague!" The other Decepticon snarled, making me smile a bit.

The Decepticon that was holding me snarled in anger and yanked my head back, punching me repeatedly until my nose and mouth bled. I only chuckled, which angered him more. "You think yer clever, huh?" He growled, his breath hot on my face. "I'll show you. Codex, throw the scout into the energon."

My optics widened and I tried to struggle, but was painfully held back by my arms. "No!" I pleaded, knowing the scout would surely die a painful death if he was thrown into the infected energon.

Twinblast only had a second to meet my gaze before he was thrown forwards, falling into the puddles of infected energon. He frantically tried to get it off of himself, but ultimately failed. It was already too late, he was infected. "Ratchet.... p-please... I don't wanna die like this... please.... h-help me..." He whimpered, practically squeezing my spark with that desperate look.

"I can't..." I barely murmured, wincing when the Decepticon pulled harder on my arms. A shiver traveled down my spine when he lowered his head down next to mine.

"Oh, but you can...." He whispered into my audio receptor. "You can save him from a painful, slow death. All you have do is... shoot him."

"N-No... I would never...!"

"Tell me... how could you live with yourself knowing that you let one of your own kind suffer when you could've stopped it?"

I swallowed hard, the foul taste of my own energon still lingering in my mouth. I couldn't do it. I couldn't shoot him! But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. And I hated it. "I... I.." I stammered, at a loss for words. My shoulder made a terrible noise when the Decepticon pulled it back further, nearly cracking the joint, and I cried out in pain.

"If you won't do it, then I'll make you sit and watch him suffer until you choose to." The Decepticon growled, forcefully turning my head so that I was looking at Twinblast.

The scout was already showing signs of being infected: shaky hands, energon leaking from his optics and mouth, it was coming on quickly. I couldn't help but shut my optics when he purged discolored energon, still pleading weakly for me to save him.

After another ten minutes, I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't just watch him suffer for hours on end. But... did I really have the guts to pull the trigger?

"Alright, medic. I'm gettin' tired of waitin'. Make up yer mind before I just kill you both." My captor growled in my audio receptor, making me flinch.

I didn't want to kill him. I didn't want to die. Why was the last resort always to take a life? "G-Give me a gun...." I mumbled, my voice cracking with emotion. My hands were shaking and I thought they were seize up.

I heard laughter and one of my arms was let loose, a pistol then shoved into my open palm afterwards. I wrapped my fingers around the handle, squeezing it tightly as I slowly raised it up. My hands shook more, causing the gun to shake as well. I couldn't look at Twinblast, I just couldn't meet his gaze again. He started sobbing when I aimed it at his head, gargled noises that were supposed to be pleas escaping his throat.

Tears built in my optics as I set my finger on the trigger and I choked on my own sobs.

"I'm s-sorry......"

BANG.