Don't steal my sunshine

Chapter 3

-Ratchet's POV-

A bond shared between two lovers can be a blessing and a curse. In this case, it was a terrible curse.

Ratchet could only imagine the pain Wheeljack was feeling through their bond. Right now, he was being worn down for information. Tortured is actually the better term to describe it.

The pain was so great that his pain receptors were overloaded and his systems couldn't keep up with the injuries here and there. There was a good-sized pool of energon beneath where he was hanging by electric cuffs. His strength had been sapped from him the moment he entered the torture room.

He was wavering in and out of consciousness and he could barely make out the form of Starscream in front of him. He spat energon from his mouth, breathing heavily.

"You worthless piece of scrap! How is it possible that you don't have any information at all!" Starscream growled, holding a sharp finger against Ratchet's neck.

"I-I told you.... you aren't g-getting anything from me..." Ratchet rasped, coughing a bit and groaning.

"I should just kill you right here, right now. But that wouldn't help us now would it? I know how to get information from you..." Starscream smirked, turning on his heel and walking out of the room.

Ratchet's optics widened when he reached out to Wheeljack through their bond. He could only feel pain, which made his pain even worse. He cried out in agony at every blow that struck Wheeljack, feeling like he was being hit himself. Coolant streamed down his face but he didn't care. He hung his head in despair, waiting for the horrors Starscream would create.

-A few minutes later-

Ratchet's head perked up when he heard the door open. He looked up, hearing a scraping noise coming near the entrance. What he saw next would be forever burned into his memory as a nightmare.

It was Wheeljack, covered in his own energon and missing an arm. There were deep scratches all across his white armor and scorch marks where fire had burned him.The wounds were all too familiar, they pointed to the one Decepticon who could produce such wounds: Predaking.

When Ratchet saw his face, he was even more horrified. Wheeljack's left optic was ripped from its socket, leaving a savage wound on his face. Energon stained the area, streaking down his face.

"Recognize him? I don't, at least not after Predaking was finished ripping him apart!" Starscream laughed, ordering the vehicons dragging Wheeljack to drop him in front of Ratchet.

Ratchet stared down at him, sadness tearing through his spark like a knife. He forgot his own wounds and desperately wanted to help Wheeljack, but he was too weak and the cuffs were too strong.

"Now that I have your attention, you better give me what I want.." Starscream huffed, strolling up to Ratchet and stepping over Wheeljack's limp form.

"What do you want..." Ratchet growled, narrowing his optics.

"The location of your base."

Ratchet sighed, closing his optics. Giving this information would possibly save Wheeljack's life, but it would also endanger the lives of his other teammates. He faced a hard decision, maybe one of the hardest he's had to make in a long time.

An idea popped into his head. Maybe he could tell Starscream the location of their first base which they abandoned when they first landed on Earth. It might actually work, so he decided to give it a shot.

"If I tell you, you have to promise that you won't harm Wheeljack anymore.." Ratchet mumbled.

Starscream smiled, leaning forward. "No promises, now tell me."

Ratchet sighed, proceeding to relay the coordinates of the old base to Starscream, who nodded excitedly. He smiled a bit when Starscream stepped back in satisfaction.

"I knew you would spill it at some point." He laughed, turning around. "You two, take them to a different cell and lock them up." He waved to the two vehicons and they released Ratchet from the electrical cuffs.

Ratchet fell on the ground, energon splashing up onto his armor. He immediately crawled over to Wheeljack, trying to see if he was still alive.

"Wheeljack... can you hear me?" He whispered.

Wheeljack shakily raised his head off of the floor, looking up at Ratchet. He smiled a bit before the vehicons pulled them apart, dragging them into the hallway.

Ratchet stared hopelessly at Wheeljack, wishing he could do something to ease his pain. He decided that since they were together now, he could shut his bond off from Wheeljack so that he wouldn't feel his pain anymore. He closed the walls down around his spark, blocking any of his feelings from escaping into Wheeljack's bond.

As they were being dragged, Ratchet slowly reached his hand out, taking hold of Wheeljack's remaining arm. He held it tightly as they approached their cell, hoping that they would have some alone time so he could try to repair as many of Wheeljack's wounds as he could.

The door slid open and they were thrown into darkness again, the stank smell of spilled energon filling the room.