Airachnophobia (Airachnid X Male Reader)

9. The Spider Draws the Short Straw

     Megatron took one last look of distaste at his prisoner before turning to talk to his medical officer, Knockout. The cherry red mech stood at attention, waiting for his master's orders. It had only been a few weeks in Earth's time since Airachnid's betrayal, but Starscream, his second in command, had finally made something of himself and carried out Megatron's orders properly.

     The orders were to capture the traitor alive, so she could be brought to the nemesis for questioning, a job which the gray Decepticon reserved for Knockout, who had a sick obsession with cutting open other Cybertronians. Not that the broad shouldered leader had a problem with that. No, it was just the kind of torture the Decepticon cause needed to extract information. Unfortunately, the information extracted pointed to the Autobots gaining possession of the immobilizer, a relic that used to sit within the halls of the nemesis, guarded by vehicon troops at all times.

     How Airachnid had managed to give the slip to the guard, steal the item in question, and injure Starscream badly enough that he was unconscious for the better part of the last twenty solar cycles was beyond Megatron's comprehension. As far as he understood, his troops were properly trained, and the ship worked efficiently like a human factory. There should not have been a way for the bug to do what she did.

     For once in his life cycle, though, Starscream cleaned up the mess. He had captured Airachnid not long after he woke up, though Megatron didn't know much more than that. He hadn't bothered to read the report.

     "Knockout," the giant gray mech's voice boomed throughout the medical-bay-turned-torture-chamber, "I have what I need. You may do what you want with the vermin." After a moment of hesitation, the red con let a genuine smile take over his faceplates.

     "As you wish, my Lord." He bowed as he spoke, a servo across his chassis.

~~~~~

     "So, the only reason you were pairing up with the bug bot was the death threats?" Y/N had grown familiar to Jack Darby's obnoxious questions that had answers found in the story Y/N had already told him. As he had just finished relaying his Airachnid adventure to the Autobots, the only of the three human charges he didn't like spoke up. "No other reason?" Y/N rolled his optics-- eyes, his eyes, and opened his mouth to respond. Damn Cybertronian terms were getting stuck in his brain.

     "Did you have another idea in mind? I'd love to hear your thoughts about my experience." Y/N could taste the venom in his own words, but it seemed like Arcee was the only one of the two partners to catch on to the disdain in his voice. Jack was oblivious.

     "Not particularly." The boy trailed off at the end, looking around and scratching his neck. Telltale signs he was lying. Clearly, his guardian bot had had enough, as she was visibly seething at Y/N's presence, something he took great satisfaction in. The only thing seeming to keep her in check was the Prime's servo on her shoulder.

     "I think that's enough for today. Thank you, Y/N, for sharing your story with us. You must forgive young Jack for his questions, he is only wary of your loyalties, as are we all. We wanted to be certain you were not a Decepticon ally." The red and blue mech stepped forward with a few hand gestures as he explained.

     "Airachnid isn't-" Y/N cut his sentence short as his attention was caught by a fourth human, one who bore a striking rebalance to a member of the Autobot roster. "Who's the cosplayer?" He couldn't help but ask. Standing on a platform next to Ratchet was a perfect human representation of Arcee, the two-wheeler. At his mention, the Arcee replica turned to face him, smirking.

     "This is a holoform. All Cybertronians have one. It creates a tangible human body for us, and I use mine to help Ratchet with small things sometimes. What's the problem, your precious Airachnid forget to tell you about them?" Her smirk set itself even deeper into her face as she spoke, creating a mimic of wrinkles most humans don't get until old age. Y/N's mouth was still open, so he consciously shut it.

     "Precious my aft..." He said quietly enough so only Bulkhead, who was next to him, could hear. The green mech laughed to himself out of surprise due to Y/N's use of Cybertronian curses. Just then, a moment of realization set in as he thought of exactly what he wanted his favor to be if he ever saw the ex-Con spider again. Nothing had ever been so clear. Arcee said all Cybertronians have a holoform, which means...

     so does Airachnid.

~~~~~

     Knockout turned a corner in the Nemesis as he leisurely strolled to the Vehicons' training hall. He didn't bother to knock before entering as a smile broke out, stretching his faceplates.

     "Done with our prisoner?" He asked no one in particular as he approached the circle of Vehicons surrounding the unmoving body of the once Decepticon traitor. When Megatron had given him the go-ahead to do what he wanted with her, Knockout had decided against slicing her up. He didn't even want to know what was in that vile bag of parts. Instead, he had given her over to the Vehicons to do what they wanted with her. She had been a large source of casualties among their ranks, so the doctor assumed they would want revenge. "I'd like to dispose of this thing as quickly as possible."

     The Vehicons made small protests, declaring they weren't done with her yet. It didn't look like there was much left to do though. The femme appeared as if she had been dropped through a waste grinder many times over. Knockout commed Soundwave, asking where he should dispose of the body. In response, the silent mech just opened a Ground Bridge to the already wasted forest from the last battle.

     "Fair choice." The red mech evaluated as he ordered the Vehicons to dump the body through the portal. Good riddance.

~~~~~

     On his way home after being dropped off in the forest by the Autobots, Y/N chanced a visit to the forest clearing. Once he found his way through the brush, his eyes were met with the view of an ex-Con he was happy to see. She was not, however, in the state he wanted to see her in. With shaky hands, the man found his way to the recent calls in his phone and tapped on Optimus' name.

     "Y/N?" The mech questioned. With a shaky and unconfident voice, the man replied.

     "We... have a problem."