Deadzone Ficbit
Being able to think past the pain and fear was a luxury Overlord didn't usually let his victims have. Nightbeat had figured that out on day one, just as he'd figured Overlord was doing it to him deliberately.
Couldn't use Pee-Dee like a knife if Nightbeat was too out of it to recognize her.
Chains pulled his shoulders into a strained position, compounded the matter by being the only support he had. Half his wiring was exposed, another quarter burned past recognition. Overlord still hadn't touched his head. It was only a matter of time. Or maybe he liked the nauseating anticipation that roiled through both Nightbeat and Muzzle whenever the monster entered the room. Neither of them would be surprised.
The room was dark, but no darker than Nightbeat preferred when he was feeling melodramatic. The sound-dampening wasn't good enough; Overlord didn't grok how well he could hear. His little monologues to Pee-Dee were as loud as if he was in the same room with Nightbeat. He'd counted Overlord's forces by their footsteps, built a mental map from those same footsteps. He even heard the damn demons outside.
He heard the scrape as Overlord casually dug his fingers into the back of Pee-Dee's helm. Worse, he heard the soft rasp of metal against metal as she leaned into the touch.
***
"I thought it was clever of you," Overlord said as he drove a red-hot poker into Nightbeat's side, "to use Junkion suggestibility to make sure she fell for you."
Nightbeat gripped his chains hard enough to dent his fingers. "-the frAAAAUGH- you talking about?"
"Telling her it was inevitable. Making it into a story. Calling up all the tropes of the bickering couple. You neatly shunted Mirage and your Emirate out of the running and ensured she'd wind up in your berth sooner or later." Overlord smiled. "As I said, it was clever of you."
"You slagheap," Nightbeat hissed, kicking out. He didn't care it was useless, the monster had no right-! Something sickly churned through his lines. She'd mentioned playing certain roles before, hadn't she? Certain people, she called by characters' names rather than their own. Sometimes, she even thought the world itself played like a story.
Overlord tore off his foot. Nightbeat hardly noticed as his mind raced.
Unicron took control of the Junkions through teevee broadcasts. Her entire race talked in other people's words. She switched from no-nonsense, by-the-book cop with him to rule-breaking rookie with Kup, he'd watched her.
He'd been overcharged, he thought numbly. Overcharged and thinking only about himself, but she'd still thought he was right and she'd been so damn upset...
Overlord dug fingers into his throat. "You'd do so much better if you kept that cleverness in mind, Nightbeat. I'm no naive, innocent young Junkion, but I'm sure you can think of some way to get what you want out of me." That smile widened. "Except for her. I made sure she could trust me."
Couldn't use Pee-Dee like a knife if Nightbeat was too out of it to recognize her.
Chains pulled his shoulders into a strained position, compounded the matter by being the only support he had. Half his wiring was exposed, another quarter burned past recognition. Overlord still hadn't touched his head. It was only a matter of time. Or maybe he liked the nauseating anticipation that roiled through both Nightbeat and Muzzle whenever the monster entered the room. Neither of them would be surprised.
The room was dark, but no darker than Nightbeat preferred when he was feeling melodramatic. The sound-dampening wasn't good enough; Overlord didn't grok how well he could hear. His little monologues to Pee-Dee were as loud as if he was in the same room with Nightbeat. He'd counted Overlord's forces by their footsteps, built a mental map from those same footsteps. He even heard the damn demons outside.
He heard the scrape as Overlord casually dug his fingers into the back of Pee-Dee's helm. Worse, he heard the soft rasp of metal against metal as she leaned into the touch.
***
"I thought it was clever of you," Overlord said as he drove a red-hot poker into Nightbeat's side, "to use Junkion suggestibility to make sure she fell for you."
Nightbeat gripped his chains hard enough to dent his fingers. "-the frAAAAUGH- you talking about?"
"Telling her it was inevitable. Making it into a story. Calling up all the tropes of the bickering couple. You neatly shunted Mirage and your Emirate out of the running and ensured she'd wind up in your berth sooner or later." Overlord smiled. "As I said, it was clever of you."
"You slagheap," Nightbeat hissed, kicking out. He didn't care it was useless, the monster had no right-! Something sickly churned through his lines. She'd mentioned playing certain roles before, hadn't she? Certain people, she called by characters' names rather than their own. Sometimes, she even thought the world itself played like a story.
Overlord tore off his foot. Nightbeat hardly noticed as his mind raced.
Unicron took control of the Junkions through teevee broadcasts. Her entire race talked in other people's words. She switched from no-nonsense, by-the-book cop with him to rule-breaking rookie with Kup, he'd watched her.
He'd been overcharged, he thought numbly. Overcharged and thinking only about himself, but she'd still thought he was right and she'd been so damn upset...
Overlord dug fingers into his throat. "You'd do so much better if you kept that cleverness in mind, Nightbeat. I'm no naive, innocent young Junkion, but I'm sure you can think of some way to get what you want out of me." That smile widened. "Except for her. I made sure she could trust me."