The last thing he recalled was the screams.

Screams of pain and terror.

His memory files were hazy as he struggled to come out of stasis.

All he could really grasp was that he was trapped.

Trapped beneath something wet and heavy.

And yet, what sensors were active registered temperatures increasing outside.

His muddled mind struggled to piece together the clues, but it was just far too hazy.

Slowly, he brought his optics online, trying to gather his scattered thoughts. He tried to raise a hand, only to fail. Slowly, his tactile sensors began to come online, and now he could feel he was trapped in something icy cold.

He opened his optics, only to be greeted with the sight of something white and wet. He shook his helm, dislodging some of the white powder enough to expose his head.

Now he could see where he was.

Trees all around him, covered in thick icy condensation. The ground was covered in a thick white blanket of the stuff, and its crystalline structures glistened in the light from the sun. It was in a sense, beautiful, but at the same time lethal to any and all organics that lacked sufficient coverings on their fragile bodies. And yet it was not as brutal as it appeared to be, if the rapid thawing of the crystalline icy condensation was any indication.

His energy readouts beeped and he felt an intense pang in his lower torso, right in his fuel tanks. He doubled over, loosening more of the white covering and exposing more of his blue and white armored form.

He struggled to get out of his icy prison, feeling his frame shaking with the effort.

His mind was suddenly flooded with the screams and pain and agony and hunger and guilt and-

He screamed as he clasped his hands to his helm, shaking in terror and panic. He tried to speak, but his vocalizer was thick with static. All he could do was try to keep his demons at bay.

No matter what, he was not about to let them win...

For now...