Chapter Text
Skids could feel a sharp pain throbbing in his helm as his optics flickered on. He was lying face down on the stone cold ground, in a small puddle of his own fluids. He tried to pull himself up onto his knees to figure out what had just happened. He looked up, trying to get his vision re-aligned, and instantly remembered he was in prison.
But not just any prison, he was in Grindcore- a literal hell that existed solely to torture and mentally break prisoners before shuffling them off world as slaves. He could hear metal clanging and distant screaming down the hall as he steadied himself against the nearest wall. A small light just outside the cell shone through the bars on the door. The shadowy walls had cracks and fist indents from past prisoners, and smears of energon stains on them. The smell of rubber burning was wafting throughout the entire place and made Skids feel slightly nauseated.
"The guard roughed you up again." a quiet, calm voice spoke. "This is barely your second day in here, and you've already been knocked out three times!"
Skids turned to see his cellmate, Quark, step out of the shadows and place a servo on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him as he looked him over for any serious injuries. Skids flinched when Quark touched him.
"Here," Quark said as he began to gently rub out the large dent from the guard’s fist. Skids bit his lip for a moment as Quark popped his plating back into shape, and he let out an appreciative moan.
“I want to box that guard in the audio receptors for hurting you.” Quark said bitterly. “The brutes and oafs that work here should be ashamed of the way they treat their fellow Cybertronians!”
“I could’ve taken him on if his two flunkies weren’t holding me down.” Skids said as he rolled his head side to side and stretched his neck a bit.
"I wish I was more of a proper medic," Quark said, "You have some open wounds on your midsection that I have no way to close up." His digits lightly ran across Skids’ gashes, wiping away some of the leaked energon.
“I’ll live.” Skids said. “I’m worried about you. You seem really upset. Are you always this wound up over your cellmates?”
“I get upset when I see decent beings like you be mistreated.” Quark said. “You’ve shown me kindness I haven’t seen in so long, I was starting to lose all faith in ever being set free. I want to repay you for that, but I don’t know how.”
“I take payments in the form of cash, credits, or life-time companionship.” Skids said with a smile.
Quark let out a small laugh. “I have no cash or credits, but I would be honored to spend a lifetime in this cell with you.”
“Good.” Skids said, “Now, er- is there any way you can help me rub out some of my scratches and dents? I can’t reach my back and I can feel where they got me from behind.”
Quark’s face fell from a smile to a look of concern when he walked behind Skids and saw the damage that had been done. Quark knew Skids must’ve put up a fight- he could see claw marks all over his back along with fist indentations and some tread marks from tires. He had burn marks from a hot prod around his lower back that was caused some of his wiring to be exposed. The sight of seeing it caused Quark’s spark to sink into despair.
“Oh Skids…” Quark whispered as he began to gently wipe away the tire markings. “They’re monsters for doing this to you.”
"Eh, that’s nothing." Skids said. "I used to get the scrap pounded outta me all the time. I had nowhere to live, and I’d bounce from town to town doing fighting matches for money. Mind you, this was before I was at the Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology--”
“You went to the Academy?!” Quark asked incredulously. His whole body froze and his mouth hung there for a moment. “I mean, yesterday you told me you were an Outlier, but, goodness- that place must have been amazing to see before it closed!”
“Yes,” Skids answered as he closed his optics for a moment to reminisce about his memories as Quark resumed rubbing Skids’ shoulders and was working his way down his back. “I felt at home there, amongst other bots like me who could do the most amazing things. The other students and I would always push each other to the limit to test our abilities. I had good friends there while we all learned how to sharpen our skills.”
“Did you ever have any free time to spend out in the city?” Quark asked.
“Oh yes, at first.” Skids answered quietly, “But as time went on, we rarely ventured out into the streets, since our kind was heavily frowned upon by the Functionalists. I liked everybody I was grouped with. So, I would throw wild parties at the Institute and get so trashed that anything and everything would happen. Heh, I usually ended up passed out on the ground, waking up in either my fluids or somebody else's. Even when I joined up with Orion Pax's team and then when we were exiled, some of us would still sneak off and let loose." Skids gave a sly smile as he looked back on some of his memories with his fellow students while under the care of Senator Shockwave, and later under the command of Orion Pax. He longed to have that kind of bond again. The thought of them gone from his life for good had suddenly opened a whole world of hurt he had tried to bury away deep inside him.
“Well,” Quark said, “you’re a highly likeable guy. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t enjoy your company.”
“Thanks. I wish we would’ve met sooner. I enjoy your company too.” Skids replied. It felt so good to have such gentle digits touch him. “So, what did you do with your free time before the war? It must’ve included going to med school or massage classes because the rub down you’re giving me is divine.”
Quark blushed and gave a smile, “No, nothing medical. I always enjoyed a good mystery. I had a best friend who was a detective- Nightbeat. Oh, how I loved listening to his stories! Later on I worked with a wonderfully intelligent fellow- Brainstorm- who I dare say has one of the greatest minds of our time. Our scientific discussions about his inventions were always riveting.”
“Those guys sound incredibly dull. You never went out and partied all night?” Skids asked.
“No,” Quark said, “I, er, wasn’t the ‘party bot’ type I suppose. I always preferred intelligent conversation with those closest to me.” Quark fell strangely silent but he continued to rub Skids.
“Did you have a conjunx endura?” Skids asked quietly.
“No.” Quark said with a tinge of sadness to his voice. “I was much too involved with my work to ever consider having one. Did- do you have one?” he asked.
“Not officially...” Skids said thoughtfully. “There was one bot I had that special connection with. Roller and I would drive off for hours to go drink and talk into the night. He wasn't a true Outlier like me- he didn't have special powers, but he certainly had a lot of other talents..." Skids smiled when he thought about their first kiss, and gave a deep sigh as he briefly recalled their first recharge together. "We even promised each other that if he or I never found anybody else, I’d be his conjunx… but he went M.I.A. early on in the war. I searched for him for ages, and the other Outliers never did find him either. It tore me up on the inside for a long time.” Skids felt a huge amount of sadness well up inside him, but he quickly changed the topic- he didn’t want to look weak in front of Quark.
“But, um, losing him certainly never stopped me from having a decent frag every now and then. Ever had any lovers before?” Skids asked. He was dying to know more about Quark’s past so he didn’t have to discuss his own.
“No.” Quark said in a small, shy voice. “I always wanted to connect with someone, but I don’t think anyone was ever turned on by me.”
“So no drunken, lust-filled, one-night stands then eh? Those were always my favorites.” Skids said with a grin. Quark’s optics widened in surprise.
“Primus, NO!” he said embarrassingly. “I could never do such a thing! But, then again, who’d ever want a boring geek like me anyway?”
Skids gave a small laugh, “You’d be surprised. On the nights I would venture out to bars, I’d make it a point to hit on geeky types like you. I preferred to interface with bots that looked like they weren’t going to beat me up in the berth.” Quark let out a laugh as Skids leaned his helm onto Quark’s shoulder for a moment.
"I miss my friends." Skids said aloud. "I've lost contact with almost all of them. I don't even know if they're all alive anymore."
"I've lost contact with the ones I care about too." Quark said as he rubbed slower on Skids. "I often wonder what happened to them. But I suppose, as long as you have the memory of them alive in your mind, they're never truly dead." Quark was shaking a bit as he continued to rub away Skids' pain- he himself was trying not to break down in tears.
Skids shifted a bit and tried to change the subject again. "So, what did I say to the guard this time?" he grinned.
"I'd rather not repeat it myself." Quark huffed as he put his servos on his hips disapprovingly.
"That slag-eating fragger deserved it and you know it." Skids said as he turned around to face Quark. "All the Decepticons working in here are the sadistic freaks who can't find anybody else to get off with!"
"Skids!" Quark shushed at him while placing his servo over Skids' mouth, "Please!" he begged, "Please don't say things like that out loud anymore!"
His optics was full of fear and worry as he continued. "I can't watch you beaten and tortured over something so trivial as insulting guards- you're the only person I've encountered during my time here who has shown me any kindness. It would completely break me to watch you die!"
Skids sighed and leaned forward into Quark for a comforting hug. "This place is awful." he said, "But at least we have each other to keep company until we get shipped out to the mines or whatever.”
“If they planned on turning me into slave labor, it would’ve happened long ago.” Quark said quietly. “There’s only one fate in mind that the Commandant has for me.”
“No,” Skids said, “I won’t let him. He doesn’t scare me! I will figure out a way to stop that from happening.”
"Skids," Quark said, "I- I don't want to die in here, but I fear I'm going to end up on the executioner's block because I'm not as big or strong as you. Let's face it, the whole point of Grindcore is to torture and kill those of us with useful information, or sell off the ones who can be used for enslavement. They’ve already probed my mind for data, and I'd make a useless labor slave- I don't even have a vehicle mode! "Quark let an oily tear drip out from the corner of his optic. “There is no other option but death for a useless, silly old sod like me!"
"Shhhh," Skids said as moved one servo up behind Quark’s neck and the other down around his hip. "Don't say things like that. You're certainly not useless to me. I felt more than just a friendly connection with you the moment we met."
"I did too. “ Quark quipped. "Your smile helps me forget about the pain and suffering all around me." He reached up and put his servos around Skids' neck. Their lips were almost touching. “I haven’t felt wanted or needed in so long I’d forgotten what it feels like.”
Skids leaned into Quark’s lips and whispered, "I never did properly thank you for giving me that massage, now did I?"
Quark’s reply was muffled out with a deep, passionate kiss from Skids. He gave a soft moan as Skids ran his digits softly across the back of Quark’s helm. Skids slowly ran both of his palms down Quark’s body, letting out small moans as his digits caressed their way down to Quark’s hips.
Skids broke the kiss for a moment and whispered into Quark’s audio receptor, "I want to take away all your pain, and give you nothing but pleasure. You deserve it." Skids began to kiss his way down Quark’s neck cables.
“I’ve never interfaced with anyone before.” Quark said nervously.
“Would you do it with me right now if I got down on my knees and begged you?” Skids teased back.
Quark could feel his internal heat rising, and the pressure building behind his interface panel was becoming noticeable. “Skids,” he panted, “are you sure you want to do this with me? You don’t have to do this out of pity.”
"You don’t understand how badly I need this right now." Skids said as he began to flutter kisses across Quark’s lips. The kisses turned into gentle bites as Quark gripped onto Skids’ shoulders and moaned in a moment of pure ecstasy. Skids groaned and gave another playful bite as he grabbed Quark by the aft with both servos and pinned his back against the nearest wall. He wrapped Quark’s skinny legs around his hips and as Quark slid his servos firmly around Skids' neck they looked into each other’s optics for a moment.
“I trust you.” Quark said.
“I promise you won’t regret it.” Skids replied in a deep whisper.
Quark broke the deep stare and he pulled Skids in for kiss. “Oh Skids…I need you!”
“Ah, but I need him even more!” A charming, deep voice said as the door to the cell swung open with a loud clang. His scarlet optics burned bright through his purple Decepticon insignia mask as he strode in.
Quark froze as Skids turned his head toward the door and growled, “Go frag yourself, Commandant.”
The imposing tank-former gave a small chuckle as he stared straight into Skids’ optics. “Why would I do that when I have a handsome toy like you to play with?”
“No thanks.” Skids growled, “I’ve already got a play-date with Quark, and I’m not interested in one with you.” He gently put Quark’s pedes back down on the ground and turned around to face the Commandant.
“What a shame,” The Commandant replied in a silky tone, “I was planning on having a wonderful conversation with you over a glass of innermost energon. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other- I’m sure you’ll enjoy recalling the good old days with me. You’d be my special guest for the evening!”
“I don't want to be friends with a scum-bucket ‘Con like you! And there’s nothing you have to offer that I could ever want.” Skids spat at him as he stood in front of a trembling Quark.
“Wrong answer, Outlier.” The Commandant sneered at Skids as he quickly shot out a hand and grabbed him by the throat. Skids struggled to reply a garbled insult at the Commandant as Quark gasped and cowered down to the ground.
“You slag-eating mother fragger!” Skids shouted as he tried to squirm out of the powerful grasp around his neck.
“There’s no need to be rude toward me, Skids.” The Commandant said in a condescending tone. “Hasn’t anyone ever taught you any manners? I’m sure I could give you a lesson or two about how playing nice to me has benefits for both of us.”
“I’d rather die than learn how to please you!” Skids retorted.
The Commandant pulled Skids’ face up to his mask and growled, “Well, since you’re not cooperating like I had hoped, I suppose I’m going to have to do some convincing in order for you to spend some time with me.”
He unceremoniously dropped Skids to the ground face first as he locked optics with Quark and reached out to grab him by the wrists. Quark let out a cry for help. Skids looked up to see him scream loudly in pain as the Commandant began to crush Quark’s wrists.
“STOP!” Skids shouted as he quickly scurried up and over to Quark’s rescue, but the Commandant backhanded him in the face and knocked him down hard to the cold floor.
“Honestly Skids, for a super-learner you’re painfully slow at understanding how all of this works here at Grindcore.” The Commandant quipped.
Quark howled in pain as the Commandant slammed him against the wall and pinned him in place with one massive foot. He pulled Quark’s arms outward and began to slowly tug them out of their shoulder sockets. Quark could feel his inner circuitry being torn bit by bit, and was starting to leak fluids from his underarm plating.
“I just love the way I can hear your arm cables snapping apart one by one.” He whispered in a smooth, low tone as Quark was sobbing in agony.
“Please, STOP!” Skids screamed as he struggled to get up off the floor. He was still dazed from the last blow.
The Commandant dug his sharp fingers underneath Quark’s plating and severed more lines, causing a gush of energon to the ground. The sickening splashes to the floor were drowned out by Quark’s shrills that echoed all throughout the cell. Skids could feel little droplets splatter on him and he lay there in shock for a moment as fear and panic gripped him.
“Mmmm,” the Commandant moaned loudly. “I can’t wait to hear how many more times I can make you scream.” He said in a mockingly sweet tone. Quark’s right arm was dangling by a single cable, and the Commandant had one wicked digit gently scratching at it, drawing out more whimpers and cries from Quark. Skids rose to his pedes and grabbed the Commandant’s arm.
“PLEASE!” he shouted over Quark’s cries. “Whatever torture you want to do- do it to me instead! Please leave Quark alone. I can take whatever sick punishments you hand out here in this hell-hole!” He couldn’t bear to see Quark hurt any longer.
The Commandant paused. Quark stifled a scream as wet, oily tears flowed down his face. He released his foot and let Quark clatter to the floor in a puddle of his own fluids.
“You think this is just about me fulfilling a torturing quota while I’m at work? Oh Skids, your lack of logic is truly pitiful. I thought you would’ve recognized me by now and that you’d be more... understanding of the whole situation.” The Commandant sneered at him. He looked directly down into Skids’ optics as he continued, “I have use for your talents, but clearly you need more of an incentive to work for me. So, let me call a medic for your precious cellmate while I escort you to my office for a more private conversation.”
“No.” Skids said gruffly. “I’m not playing your games anymore. I mean it- leave us alone! Or else!”
“Or else, what?” The Commandant turned and completely towered over Skids as he gave a short, evil laugh. “You starting something, buddy?”
That phrase sounded familiar to Skids. Not just the voice saying it, but the way he said it- almost as though he meant it as a sick inside joke- and a sense of dread washed over Skids as he suddenly remembered who said those exact words to him millions of years ago. His optics widened in fear, and his mouth fell open in surprise at the realization of the Commandant's identitiy. The Commandant reached up to Skids’ Matrix mark on his face and gently brushed at it. "Ah, so you do remember me after all this time.” He said smoothly. “Please remember it again when you wake up in my office.”
A hard blow to the side of his helm knocked Skids down. "Roller... why?" he whispered as his world faded to black.
*******