Airachnophobia (Airachnid X Male Reader)

21. New Enemies

     "Knockout, care to explain something to me?" Starscream drawled as he walked into the medical bay. Knockout rolled his optics and turned around to face his superior.

     "What is it, Screamy?" He asked, annoyed. The seeker vented in frustration at the nickname, but chose to ignore it, as he wanted answers.

     "Could you please explain why the first thing I hear from one of the troops upon my return is that there's a fleshie on board the Nemesis?" The Decepticon Lieutenant tapped his pede against the floor impatiently, scowling at Knockout.

     "Because, Starscream, it's one of the Autobots' pets. We can use it as a bargaining chip, threaten to offline it if they don't do what we say." It was the medic's turn to get impatient as he rolled his optics and crossed his arms. Instead of noting his subordinate's behavior, the seeker grinned maliciously, staring off into space as his processor worked overtime to consider what such a specimen could do for him.

     "In that case, take me to this fleshie."

~~~~~

     Y/N woke up with a headache. He had no awareness of his surroundings, no clue how long he was out, and his vision was blurry. On top of all of that, he was laying on the most uncomfortable surface he could have ever imagined. It felt like a bunch of Legos were digging into his back.

     As he tried to wiggle around and ease the discomfort, he also found that he was strapped to the surface. His first thoughts were of Airachnid, wondering how she had fared in her fight against the intimidating Decepticon they had encountered. He had faith in her combative prowess after he learned of her escape from her previous faction, but he also knew any battle could be turned on its head by the smallest of things. After he had spent a few fair moments worrying about her, he tried his restraints to see how tightly he was bound. With his head locked in a position, he was unable to determine visually what they were made of, but they didn't budge when he pulled on them.

     His mouth was dry, and his back was starting to get sore from the uncomfortable material he was strapped to. It also felt like something was draining his energy, though it could also just be dehydration. If something didn't happen soon, he wasn't going to remain conscious for very long. His already blurry sight was getting worse by the minute, and he couldn't even make out the room he was in, let alone think forwardly enough to find a way out. His awareness was shot, his senses were dull, and he had no way to contact either Airachnid or the Bots.

     Just as he was about to give in to unconsciousness, he heard the sounds of a massive sliding door opening from his right. The telltale clanking of Cybertronian pedes on metal told him there were two of them, likely Decepticon. One of them stopped in front of Y/N, but he couldn't make out any details due to his fading eyesight.

     "I have some questions for you, little one, and you're going to play nice with me or you'll regret it." Y/N assumed it was a mech speaking given his voice, though he couldn't be sure. "Now, how could you possibly be so foolish as to be captured by Soundwave? I didn't think the Autobots let their pets wander around outside." The Decepticon closed the gap between them, his red eye only a few feet from Y/N's face.

     "I'm no Autobot pet. What made you assume I was?" He boldly questioned the Decepticon.

     "Huh? Why else would that all-knowing creep even bother with capturing you?" This time, the question came from the second mech who was lurking in the back. Even with his blurred vision, Y/N could tell he was bright red. "You're a meat shield, a bargaining chip, I can't come up with another logical reason. You're just a tiny human, it's not like you have any other value."