Thirty Days in a Second

by Cyndi

Summary:

You never know what the future holds. Sometimes, it falls apart, and sometimes, it changes you.

Notes:

• Translation into Русский available: Тридцать дней за секунду by Sister_Sybok

This was written right after "Shadowzone" and before "Partners" aired. I didn't realize Starscream couldn't fly in robot mode until he lost his T-cog later on in the series. Whoops. Oh well, roll with it, it's still a fun ride!

Chapter 1: Part One: When Portals Collide

Thirty Days in a Second

.o

Part One: When Portals Collide

.o

"In light of knowledge attained, the happy achievement seems almost a matter of course, and any intelligent student can grasp it without too much trouble. But the years of anxious searching in the dark, with their intense longing, their alterations of confidence and exhaustion and the final emergence into the light-only those who have experienced it can understand it."

-Albert Einstein

.o

Footprints trailed a lithe blue form moving across the sunlit snow.

"Arcee to base. I've sighted the debris. Looks like the Decepticons didn't melt as much of the glacier as we first thought."

"Acknowledged." Optimus responded. His voice was a welcome warmth next to the Arctic cold. "I'll have Bulkhead and Bumblebee ready to assist if there is anything worth retrieving."

"Understood. Arcee, out."

The clear skies and midnight sun were dazzling. Arcee squinted and made out the scattered debris only a hundred yards ahead. Eradicon corpses and pieces of the Nemesis stuck out like dark beacons in the sparkling white.

But the calm didn't last.

A shadow passed overhead. Arcee muttered a curse and crouched behind a snow drift. She readied her weapon and inched sideways to peer at the slender jet swooping towards the ground.

Starscream seemed to have the same idea she did. He transformed as he landed and walked up to the rubble, using his foot to nudge a nearby Eradicon corpse. Arcee noticed he'd recently replaced his missing arm, and his new hand held a scanner similar to her own.

And in approaching the debris field first, he discovered what Arcee hadn't yet detected.

The area was crawling with alert and hungry Scraplets.

"What the-AAH!" Starscream shrieked. In seconds he was overcome by a swarm of hundreds. He transformed his hand and blasted wildly, nearly hitting Arcee's hiding place. Scraplets fell around his feet. He dropped his scanning device and touched the side of his head. "This is Commander Starscream. Requesting an emergency ground bridge to my coordinates!"

Arcee's optics widened. The Scraplets were zeroing in on her, too!

"Scrap!" Arcee leapt to her feet. "Ratchet! Open the ground bridge, now!"

"You!" Starscream cried. He covered his face when the Scraplet swarm descended on him again. They were all over his wings and sides, chewing and drawing energon.

Arcee didn't have time to say hello. Part of the swarm spun at her with their piranha-like teeth bared. She shot them down as they approached, but not even her quick reflexes could keep up with their sheer numbers.

A green spiral yawned open near the debris field. Seconds later, another one opened right on top of it. The competing ground bridges spit electricity and fog that melted the snow beneath them.

Neither bot realized the error, and in blind desperation Arcee broke free of the Scraplets, sprinted forward and dove into the portal. She tucked and rolled until she came to a stop.

"Ratchet, close the bridge!"

No answer.

Arcee lowered her arms at the sound of a scream. She only had time to register she wasn't at the Autobot base before Starscream appeared through the portal. The green spiral exploded a nanosecond after his feet cleared it. Arcee saw his horrified face rush past her. Then the shockwave hit and everything went black.

.o

Icy wind sent snow swirling. Its teeth bit into anything foolish enough to challenge its power.

Arcee's optics fluttered open. She gasped at finding a Scraplet inches from her face...

...and her hand passed right through when she tried to swat it away.

Scraplets littered the ground everywhere. The sky was dull gray like an overcast day with a slightly darker patch near one horizon. Nothing sparkled. Colors were dull, as if someone sucked half the saturation out of every surface.

Arcee jumped to her feet and swung her hands at the Scraplets on the ground. Her fingers never made contact.

Now on the verge of panic, she touched her helm.

"Arcee to base. Do you copy?"

Static.

Arcee amplified her signal. "Arcee to base! Do you copy?"

Louder static.

Her gaze fell across a dismembered Scraplet lying in an energon puddle. The snow was disturbed. She kicked the Scraplet and her foot sent it flying. Surprised, she jumped back. Her heel splashed in the puddle of energon. It wasn't dull like everything else. Several smaller puddles mixed into half-concealed footprints leading to the snow drift she used as cover.

Arcee set her blaster on standby and followed the trail. She aimed the instant Starscream's feet came into view. "Hello there, Starscream. Fancy meeting you here."

Starscream offered no response. Well, how rude!

Then she edged closer and saw the reason he didn't answer. Starscream was sprawled face down in a small pond of his own energon. His hands and arms had the same defensive wounds present on any bot who ran into Scraplets.

Arcee kept her weapon trained on the Seeker. She tapped his leg with her foot. It was solid. She gasped and braced herself for an attack.

None came.

The wind picked up in intensity. Snow splattered across Starscream's prone form. He looked vulnerable and frail, nothing like the confident, commanding mech who once blasted her arm off.

"Starscream?" She knelt and picked his arm up by the wrist. His hand dangled, lifeless.

Sighing, Arcee tried her communications system. She risked opening her signal to all known channels.

"Arcee to anyone, do you copy?"

Static feedback ripped at her audios. She shut down her communications array and shielded her face with her hand. The wind hurt almost as much as the Scraplet bites on her shoulders and legs.

Great. The Scraplets stop and the wind doesn't. What next?

Arcee knew she was dead if she didn't find shelter immediately. She ran past Starscream to examine the rocky cliff-she remembered Optimus climbing it to attack the Nemesis. It had a cave buried in the ice. She swatted the snow with her hands and discovered she could affect it.

Arcee used her hand blaster to melt the snow away from the cave opening. Not a shelter to write home about, but it would keep the wind and snow off.

I better go get Starscream. As much as I'd love to leave his sorry aft out there to freeze...I might need his help figuring out what happened. Is he still alive?

Dropping temperatures made every movement painful. Arcee trudged inexorably towards Starscream's location. The Seeker hadn't twitched since she left his side.

Jerk, you better be alive.

She rolled him over and brought her face close to his mouth. Air brushed her cheek plating. A bot with working intakes was a bot who still had a Spark in his chest.

Arcee slipped her arms under Starscream's armpits to sit him up. His head fell forward towards his chest and the cold left his limbs stiff.

"Ungh...you're-heavier-than you-look!" Arcee grunted. Her feet kept slipping in the wet snow. Starscream hung as a dead weight in her arms, and it took ages to pull his lifeless chassis into the tiny cave. She was happy to discover enough room to get all the way inside.

Getting out of the wind made all the difference, but the snowy floor of the cave quickly became slick with shed energon. Arcee lit her headlights to assess Starscream's wounds.

The Scraplets did a number on Starscream's arms and wings, but the source of the bleed was a fist-sized hole in the thinnest armor on his side.

"Scrap." Arcee groaned. The nature of the wound nauseated her. She twisted Starscream's unconscious frame for a better look. He still had pieces of a Scraplet embedded inside. Energon welled up in the hole and spilled out all over her legs.

He's dead if this wound rusts over. Scratch that. He's dead in another hour if I don't stop the bleeding.

Arcee was no medic, but she knew enough to perform basic emergency repairs. She took out the field medical kit assigned to every Autobot and unrolled it to expose a small array of clamps, tweezers, scissors, wire cutters, sponges, electrical tape, a compact welding torch, solder coils and metal strips for patching open wounds.

She picked the Scraplet pieces out of Starscream's wiring. Occasionally, she paused to wipe away energon. He was bleeding out fast. She grasped the edge of a small metal sliver. It looked like a tooth, so she pulled as hard as she could and found herself staring at jagged shrapnel. Suddenly, the small energon trickle became a flood and Arcee realized her mistake.

"Oh, come on! Stop bleeding, you idiot!" Arcee growled in frustration. She jammed a clamp around the first energon line she found. Mercifully, that stopped the bleeding. She pressed a sponge into the wound to sop up as much fluid as she could.

Once she had a clear visual, she stared at several frayed wires and an energon line chewed completely in two.

Great. Nice job, Starscream. Look at all these supplies I get to waste on you. I'm only sorry you aren't awake to feel this.

Arcee moved the clamp higher on the shredded energon line and cut off the unsalvageable piece. She unrolled the electrical tape with her dental plates, found the other half of the broken vein and taped the entire thing back together. Energon soaked everything. The adhesive in the tape wouldn't stick. She double-wrapped the line for added protection. Then she released the clamp.

No further leaks.

Arcee released the air in her intakes. Starscream wasn't in imminent danger anymore. Now she could focus on repairing his damaged wiring. Marrying torn wires back together seemed like a picnic. She worked diligently to connect every cable to its brother.

Starscream remained insensate while Arcee welded the metal patch over his wounded side. Light from the welding torch sent bursts of brilliance through the small cave. When she finished, she brought her knees to her chest and sat back against the cave wall.

He needs energon, but I can't spare any...wait!

Arcee rushed out into the bitter wind. Every pain sensor in her body complained, but she bravely ignored it and trudged to the site of the portal explosions. Her scanner was gone-chewed into pieces by the Scraplet swarm. She prodded at bodies with her foot until one made contact.

Arcee didn't question it. A dead Eradicon didn't need the energon in his fuel tank anymore. She used her blades to split the Eradicon's corpse open from chin to codpiece and extricated its full fuel tank.

All this trouble for a fragging Decepticon, Arcee thought. Her lips curled in distaste at her own actions. I better grab his scanner, too...

Windblown snow erased her footprints as fast as they were laid down. Arcee only recognized the path to the cave by the large snowdrift nearby. She stashed the scanner and carried the fuel tank in both hands so it wouldn't leak. One inside the cave, she propped Starscream's head up on her knee and lined the outlet pipe up with his mouth. Gravity did the rest. She heard the energon trickle into his mouth and sat him up to make his body swallow it. This went on for several minutes-pour, sit him up, lay him down, pour again...

"Come on...get yourself out of stasis!" Arcee hissed impatiently.

Starscream coughed and energon dribbled down his chin. He started to swallow on his own. He remained unresponsive, but coughing and swallowing were a sign that his systems were online again. Arcee laid him back and checked his patched side to make sure it held.

Something about the environment nagged at Arcee's consciousness. She couldn't put her finger on it when exhaustion over-clocked her systems.

Putting aside her disgust, she stuck the fuel tank outlet hose into her own mouth and sucked out a few mouthfuls of energon. It was cold, but tasted fresh. She cast the tank aside. It clanged hollowly, empty.

"Thanks, Starscream. You hogged most of the fuel."

Exhausted, Arcee sat back against the side of the cave and shuttered her optics. Recharge found her in seconds.

.o

A crackling noise woke Arcee from her slumber. She quieted her intakes and listened, which was easier to do without the wind roaring outside. The sound came again. She focused on its source.

Starscream's hand scratched against the wet cave floor. Arcee's attention went immediately to the Seeker's narrow face. His eyebrows drew together. He grimaced and moaned.

Oh, he definitely felt his wounds now.

"Wake up." Arcee slapped Starscream lightly on the cheek. She did it harder when he didn't respond the first time.

"Uhhh..." Starscream opened his eyes. "You!"

Arcee caught his wrist before he transformed his hand into a blaster. "I wouldn't try that if I were you. You got chewed up pretty good by those Scraplets and you're not in any condition to fight me."

Starscream pulled his hand free and clutched at his side. "This-isn't the Nemesis..."

"Oh, wow, aren't you smart? We're still in the Arctic. The ground bridge portal freaked out and exploded."

"That sounds like a feedback loop," Starscream said. "How absurd! Ground bridge portals are the most stable-"

"It happened once before, when you decided to play zombie apocalypse with Skyquake's body."

"I'm not in the mood for your boring tales of woe." Starscream snapped. He let his head fall back and wiped at his face. His energon-stained fingertips left purple streaks in their wake. He didn't appear to care.

"Well, I've been here since-" Arcee froze and looked outside. There were no clouds or sun, yet the sky cast light. Her internal chronometer still registered exactly five seconds past midnight.

Time literally stood still.

"Starscream, what does your chronometer say?"

"Twenty-four hundred and five seconds. It's been there since I regained-" Starscream gasped. His optics were fixed on the mouth of the cave. He kicked his feet. "No...n-no, not again! Not again! Get away!"

Starscream's heels went right through a frozen Scraplet lying near the entrace.

"Now do you see?" Arcee went on. "The same thing happened to Jack, Miko and Raf. Two ground bridges opened too close together, and-"

"-the crossed energy streams knocked them out of phase," Starscream finished for her. He held his side and sat up against the side of the cave. Just that small effort left him gasping. He had to be in agony. "Such a...variable...came up in theory when I was building the space bridge. I never considered it...possible on a smaller scale. The margin for error...did you call for your bridge when I did?"

"Yes. Yes, I did. And guess what? This situation happened, and you and I are stuck in this theory you never wrote home about!" Arcee wanted to strangle him until his optics popped out. She frowned, folding her arms. Was Starscream for real? "You mean to tell me you never explored this possibility?"

Starscream glared at her, his optics hot coals in the darkness. "Do you think I had time to play with every variable during a war? This situation-the probability of it occurring is so minute!"

Arcee glowered back. Him with his red optics and Decepticon insignias. Why, out of all the people in the universe, did she have to get stuck with Starscream?

"We're in your improbable situation together now. And as much a I hate to say it, helping each other may be the only way we'll get out of this alive. So if I can stand to work with you and you can refrain from killing me...we'll get along just fine."

"Hah!" Starscream turned his head away. "This whole mess is your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yes, your fault! You Autobots can't keep your servos out of Decepticon business! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just be on my w-ARGH!" Starscream collapsed against the wet floor, both hands clutching at his side. He coughed and wiped his mouth. Energon stained his hand.

Arcee could not believe she felt sorry for him. She pushed his shoulders until he laid down again. "You just had a Scraplet chew its way under your armor. What? Do you think the energon all over the ground is mine?"

"You..." His optics moved from her face to his patched side.

"Yeah, but I'm no medic and I don't know how well tape is going to hold your pieces together. You shouldn't move around until your healing systems take care of the worst of it."

"Of all the people I get trapped here with..."

"Oh, stop whining. Would you rather be stuck with Megatron?" Arcee took small delight in seeing Starscream's pupils dilate in terror. "I guess he wasn't too happy with how you ran the show."

"Shut up about that!" Starscream spat. "I don't know how he managed to wake up! He was brain-dead. No CPU activity after your little stint inside his head. What were you doing in there in the first place?"

"I don't think that's any of your business." Arcee refocused on Starscream's portable scanner. It was far more complicated than her own. Even worse, the controls didn't respond to her touch. "Now shut up and rest while I try to figure this thing out."

She ignored Starscream's optics watching her fumble with the handheld device.

He started to laugh at her. It did not help her concentration.

"Shut up," she hissed.

Starscream swiped the scanner out of her grasp. He pressed a switch on the side and the screen came to life. "It helps if you turn it on first."

Frag you, Arcee thought. "Autobot handhelds are touch activated, okay?"

He ignored her and worked his thumbs over the touch screen. His optics narrowed at the readings. "Hm."

"'Hm' what?"

Starscream pointed the scanner at her. At the wall. At the pale light outside.

"According to the scanner...you exist, I exist, this cave exists, the wind, snow and low temperature exist..." His gaze shifted up to meet hers, "...but the rest might as well be empty space. It isn't even registering the sky."

"You sound just like a scientist." Arcee grumbled.

"Actually, I am a scientist." Starscream answered snidely. He let her see the scanner for herself. Sure enough, it showed signals-and a lack of them-exactly where he pointed out.

Arcee covered her face with both hands and let herself fall back against the cave wall. She didn't understand the situation. She felt so alone and cut off from everyone she cared about. The unknown terrified her, but pride wouldn't let her show it in Starscream's presence.

Starscream set the scanner down. "I'm setting my internal chronometer to measure the present time. You should do the same. We need some method of keeping track until we figure this situation out."

Nodding, Arcee did the same. "On my mark-now."

A means to measure the seconds in a timeless space did little to quell her unease. It offered as much comfort as a candle in a blizzard.

"Do you want me to patch your wings?"

Starscream's optics widened. He shifted uncomfortably away from her. "Ah, no, no...they require very precise care and should only be handled by a professional. The wounds aren't that deep. I'll be flight capable in twelve hours. I plan to recharge until then, so if you don't have any pressing matters..."

Arcee sneered. "You wish."

"Tch." He turned his back to her and went quiet again.

Arcee curled up on the ground. The whole three inches of distance she had between herself and Starscream didn't make for a restful slumber. Starscream's recharge was anything but peaceful. For hours, off and on, he twitched and groaned in the grips of his dreams.

Arcee closed her eyes, hoping against hope that this was nothing more than a nightmare.

Chapter 2: Part Two: Taking Shape

Notes:

Thirty Days in a Second

Thirty Days in a Second

.o

Part Two: Taking Shape

.o

"...yoo-hoo...wake up."

Arcee startled at that low voice right in her audio. So deep, so pleasant, and belonging to the last person in the universe she wanted to talk to. She didn't like the shiver it sent down her chassis.

Without opening her eyes, she aimed her blaster at the source.

"Back off."

Starscream chuckled at her. "If I really planned to kill you, you wouldn't be awake to point that thing at my face."

"I don't care." Arcee narrowed her eyes. "Back off."

His eyebrow twitched. "You Autobots can't take a joke."

"Decepticon jokes are about as funny as rust in an aft vent."

He leaned over her audio again, "You wound me."

She opened her eyes and glared, "Back off!"

Starscream snickered and scooted towards the cave opening. Arcee lifted her head and saw his legs walking away from the entrance. She wriggled outside to catch up.

Without the wind gusting, the temperature outdoors was almost pleasant. Safe enough to function all day and not require shelter.

Starscream stayed intent on his handheld scanning device. Arcee watched him thrust his fingers into a snow bank and walk a circle around it. His fingertips dug trenches in one side and phased right through the other. At the point where his hand stopped having an effect, he stuck his arm all the way inside and pulled back a handful of snow from-she wasn't sure how far in. Then he stepped into it. The drift collapsed when he emerged on the other side, his armor covered in slush.

Physics didn't work that way. How many universal laws did Starscream just break before her eyes?

Arcee had to look away. She hugged herself and mentally cursed. You're a soldier, Arcee! Get a hold of yourself! Stop this!

"Do you have any ideas yet?"

"Not until I take a scan from the sky," said Starscream. "My directional scanners can't pinpoint a magnetic pole. I have no sun to use as a reference and no idea which direction is which."

"Okay." Arcee marched right up to him and jumped on his back. She slipped her arms around his neck. "Let's go."

"Hey!" Starscream tried to buck her off. He almost succeeded. Then she wrapped her legs about his waist and he flinched at her knee touching his patched side.

She held on tighter and spoke into his audio. "I trust you about as far as I can throw you. I'm coming with you. Don't argue. Can you fly in your robot mode?"

"Not as fast as my alternate mode." He grumbled. When she refused to climb down, he sighed. "Fine. Hold on tight and mind the patch."

Starscream took off at a dizzying pace and Arcee momentarily closed her optics. He was someone solid and real amidst a great unknown. That alone made her hold onto him a little tighter. She dared to look down at the ground. The Nemesis debris and Eradicon bodies were thumb sized specks in the dull white snow. Far off on one horizon, the sky appeared slightly darker gray. All the air-the wind and the ordinary breeze-moved in that general direction.

"I can't detect the energon ore buried here, but I'm picking debris buried up to sixty feet under the snow." Starscream's voice vibrated through his back.

"Why are some things in phase and others out? It doesn't make sense. It seems so random."

"There's a pattern here. I just have to find it."

Arcee tightened her grip. The air chilled as Starscream followed the wind.

They flew.

And flew.

And flew.

The dark spot on the horizon never came closer. Like chasing a rainbow, it retreated at the same speed they approached.

Thirty minutes passed according to Arcee's current chronometer settings. She glanced at the barren terrain. They were passing the Nemesis debris and Eradicon bodies again, and they never changed directions.

"This doesn't make sense!" Arcee mentally kicked herself for letting her nervousness show. She just couldn't disguise her disbelief. Everything her optics took in defied reality.

Starscream offered no explanation until he descended for a landing. The snowy landscape grew until Arcee felt the jolt of his pointed feet touching down. She hopped to the ground while Starscream puzzled over the scanner.

"We went in a circle," she said.

"Mmhmm."

"So...what does this mean? Are we still on Earth or not?"

"Yes...and no." Starscream turned to look at her with a self-satisfied grin.

"Right. That really answers my question, Starscream." Arcee folded her arms. "Keep talking."

Much to her annoyance, Starscream chuckled and imitated her posture. "You're so stand-offish. Look around. I see no reason to hurry."

"Grr..." Arcee aimed her blaster squarely at his face. "I'm not in the mood for games! I don't like this place and I don't like you. Start talking!"

"Calm down first. You shouldn't ruin that pretty little face with such a sneer."

You arrogant little- Arcee powered up the blaster. "I'm not kidding!"

She heard Starscream's arm transform and stared down the barrel of his cannon. Its angry red center glowed like an accusing optic. The air chilled, and this time it wasn't the wind.

"Don't be impulsive." Starscream narrowed his eyes. "Shooting me won't get you the answers you seek."

"How do I know you won't shoot me?" Arcee growled.

"Do you want to return to your fellow Autobots? I thought so." He gestured with his cannon. "Lower your weapon and I might be inclined to talk."

"You go first. Stand down, Starscream. Then I'll listen to anything you have to say."

His weapon whined and glowed brighter. He thrust it forward for emphasis. "No, you stand down, Autobot!"

Arcee knew she had no choice. Starscream wasn't talking until she stopped posing a threat. She let her weapon fall to her side and hoped she wouldn't regret it later.

Starscream smirked at her. His cannon transformed back into an arm. "Before I begin...how much do you know about atoms?"

Impatience made Arcee grit her dental plates. Knowing she had no choice but to work with him sent a thrum of disquiet through her systems. Even worse, he enjoyed making her uncomfortable. Keeping calm was the only way she could stay on top of the situation.

Once she controlled her anger, she spoke.

"Enough to know they're the basis of everything. I know the chemical properties of energon, but I'm not a science bot. If there's more to it that relates to this, stop stalling and start talking."

"I'll keep it simple for you." Starscream straightened and folded his hands behind his back. "The particles that make up atoms are always moving. Some say they even phase in and out of time and space as we know it, but they do so at such a high speed that even we can't process it. My theory is the blast caused by the dueling ground bridge portals emitted enough energy to knock our very atomic structures into the 'out' phase. We've moved forward in time by a mere second, and we're still one second ahead of everything else. It's why all you see is frozen-even our chronometers. Nothing has happened yet."

"Wait. We're ahead of everything? Then why were the kids able to see us moving when this happened to them?" Arcee longed to find a hole in his theory. Her mind wasn't scientific enough, and it bothered her. What if he was lying?

"Oh. Them." Starscream leaned back. "They probably went backwards a nanosecond. Their brains wouldn't detect the delay on such a small scale, but they likely experienced normal time a nanosecond behind you. Imagine, if you will, that they slipped backwards for a longer period...say, five minutes. You would wave your hand, but due to the space-time distortion there would be a five minute delay between your action and them seeing your hand move. Do you understand now?"

"All right." Arcee shifted her weight in a vain attempt to hide her discomfort. "Why some Eradicons are solid and others aren't? Why aren't the Scraplets moving?"

"Several Scraplets followed me through the portal. They were vaporized by the intense energy. The rest are dead. All except the one I pulled..." Starscream's hand went to his patched side. "My theory-and it is just a theory-is the shockwave of the explosion affected everything that was sitting still at the time of the blast. Even snow shifting because of the glacier's movement would be 'out' of this phase."

"So we have wind here because it wasn't blowing when the portals exploded?"

He nodded. His gaze went back to the scanner. He paced, mulling over the readouts and muttering to himself. For a few seconds Arcee forgot he was one of the most dangerous Decepticon warriors in Megatron's army.

"In the simplest terms I can use...we're in a pocket of space-time only as large as the shockwave caused by the exploding portals. The universe beyond that point? It doesn't exist right now because time hasn't gone that far forward yet."

Arcee hugged herself tighter. The wind kicked up again and her systems weren't taking kindly to the frozen blast.

"Both of our teams will notice we've been gone too long. They'll come looking."

"They won't because they haven't reached that moment yet. It may be millions of years before we hear the tock that comes after tick in normal time." Starscream reached out and grasped her arm.

Arcee reflexively aimed her weapon at his head.

"Stop that!" Starscream hissed. "You're no use to me dead! I was going to take you back to the cave. It's too cold for both of us in this blasted wind!"

"I can walk on my own," grumbled Arcee.

"I spotted a better cave from the air. The one we're using is soaked in energon and snow. It won't stay warm enough."

"Which way?"

Starscream turned his back to her with a long-suffering sigh. "Hop on. You can't reach it from the ground."

Arcee's pride took the hit. There was no room for taking chances in the sub-zero temperatures. She climbed onto Starscream's back. He jumped into the air and turned sharply to the right. She spotted the cave right away-a dark mouth yawning high up on the glacier. It faced completely away from the wind.

Starscream landed on the ledge outside the cave. To Arcee's dismay, it was narrower than their previous shelter-so narrow it barely accommodated Starscream's wingspan. They climbed in feet-first and had nowhere to lay except against each other. Arcee stiffened at Starscream draping his arm over her waist.

What did Jack say humans called this position? Forking? No...no, something else. Argh, I can't remember! I sure as frag can't believe I'm laying like this with Starscream. Ugh...

"You'll have to excuse me." There was his voice again, right in her audio. "I have nowhere else to put that arm."

"Don't flatter yourself, 'con." Arcee whispered.

The combined warmth of their internals warmed the cave to a comfortable temperature. Arcee felt her servos relax for the first time since she landed in this other-time.

"How will we get back in phase with the rest of the universe?"

"I...don't know yet. Why? Are you in a hurry?"

"To get away from you? Yeah. You bet I am."

"Oh, come on. I can't be that horrible as company."

"You're a Decepticon and you blew my arm off, once. That's reason enough."

Starscream laughed quietly against her audio. Knowing he literally had no place else to put his head made it three times more uncomfortable. Suddenly, the hand draped over her waist reached up to brush her upper arm. "This arm?"

Arcee grabbed his fingers and twisted until he yanked his hand away "Don't."

"You're so temperamental."

"You're an aft."

Starscream had nothing more to say. Arcee let him drape his hand across her waist again. She stared at his long, slender fingers. They looked so delicate, as if the slightest pressure would crush them, but she'd seen Starscream's hands in action enough to know otherwise. Every Decepticon she fought had fingertips capable of puncturing the thickest armor. Starscream wasn't any different.

Arcee's mind wandered in directions she didn't want. She shied away from the very idea of that hand doing anything besides cause her pain. Starscream's fingers reminded her of Airachnid's spider legs. She clung to that thought to keep her mind out of the gutter. Feeling Starscream's regular exhalations on her neck didn't help.

It's because he's right up against me and it's been ages since I...since I've been held. Arcee rationalized. Then, frowning, she chased the thought away.

Fine, admit it. He has a nice sounding voice. So does Optimus, but Optimus doesn't excite m-argh! Okay, I know what's going on. I haven't interfaced in ages. My body is reacting by instinct. I am not in the slightest bit attracted to Starscream. He's a jerk, he's a 'con and I don't trust him. I'm stronger than this. Okay, body, stop it now. Right now.

She drifted into recharge to Starscream's intakes hissing in her audio. Heated memories of hands and kisses filled her dreams.

.o

"Who is Tailgate?"

Arcee blinked awake. She felt unusually warm and content. At least, up until she remembered who asked the question.

"What? Who told-"

"Nobody." Starscream made no attempts at moving away. Arcee wished he would stop talking in her audio. "You whispered the name in your sleep. Was he a lover?"

She stiffened and clenched her fists, turning her face to the floor so he couldn't read her perturbed expression. "None of your business, Starscream."

He flexed his fingers. They were far too close to her abdomen for comfort. "I was just making conversation."

"Don't."

Starscream leaned over her shoulder and spoke into her audio again. "Fine. Be that way."

Arcee squirmed. "Stop acting like you don't have your own nightmares."

He hesitated. Slightly, but she knew she stung his ego. The lapse didn't last long.

"Heh, heh. You certainly weren't having a nightmare. Oh, don't look so ashamed. Dream overloads happen to the best of us. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and the burst of heat."

Scandalized didn't even begin to describe how she felt.

"Did you..."

"Nope. My hand stayed right where it is now." He flexed his fingers again. "Besides, you didn't need any help at all."

Right then, Arcee wanted nothing more than to vanish into the cracks in the cave wall three inches from her face. Overloading in her sleep in Starscream's arms was the most humiliating-

"Overloads..." Starscream whispered to himself. He reached up to pull himself out of the cave and stood on the icy ledge. "The competing ground bridge portals overloaded when their energy streams crossed paths. If I simulate the same energy output, it might knock us back into phase with the rest of time."

Groaning, Arcee fought to staunch the burning in her face plates. "Right. Let's just build a generator out of wire clips and chewing putty."

Starscream ignored her quip. "Get on my back. We need to get to that debris before the wind starts up. I think there's an engine buried in the snow, but we won't be able to get it this time."

"The wind seems to show up every hour and blow for three. I've been counting."

"So have I. It's going to start again in thirty minutes. Hurry up!"

Arcee climbed onto Starscream's back. He flew to the debris site in record time. Arcee barely jumped off before he started digging in the snow.

"Should I look for anything specific?"

"Anything electronic. Anything. I can sort it in the cave, but I need to grab what I can before it gets windy. The debris should all be in phase with us. Get started!"

"Don't order me around." Arcee snapped. Then she took a step and fell waist deep in soft snow. She ignored Starscream's snicker while she pulled herself out. "I'm fine. Thanks for being concerned."

"Just start salvaging." He said, and promptly turned his back to pick through pieces of shielding.

Their salvage operation must have included Eradicon bodies. Starscream found the corpse Arcee cut open and tore viciously into it with his claws. Arcee took his lead and helped him with the disassembly.

"The body behind you should be tangible."

"Where will we store the parts?"

"I can cut a hole into the side of the cave, but don't get any ideas of trying to make the whole thing wider. It'll collapse."

"Yes, I know." Arcee grunted as her arm blades took the second Eradicon corpse apart. "This one has a full fuel tank."

"Keep it."

Arcee stuck the outlet hose into her mouth and drank a generous portion. The cold energon inside tasted bitter. Eradicons were notable for their large fuel tanks. Some even said the Decepticons designed them that way so they could cannibalize their fuel situations like this.

Starscream brushed past her, transformed and took to the sky. "I'll be right back."

"Hey!"

He was already gone.

Arcee peered at the collection of Eradicon parts. They hadn't started picking through the Nemesis pieces yet. She raised her optics to the horizon where the darker gray patch appeared larger than she remembered. Something about it seemed ominous, but she couldn't put her servo on why.

Probably some kind of storm. Arcee bent over the debris she collected. I better make something to carry this scrap back to the cave.

The wind kicked up again just before Starscream swooped out of the colorless sky. Arcee used his absence to fashion a carrying sling out of Eradicon armor and rubbery joint tensors. She found herself slightly admiring Starscream's physical strength-he carried her and the makeshift sling without any sign of a struggle. At least, not until they reached the cave. She noticed him clutching his patched side.

"Did you rupture the solder?"

"No."

"Then let me make sure it's not turning into a rust infection."

"I would feel it before you saw it." Starscream grunted. "The cold just hurts. I'm fine. Stash this behind you."

Arcee noticed the long hole he dug into the cave wall. It would hold everything they brought like a crude shelf. She stashed the items he handed to her and scooted over to let him climb into the cave. They could sit up if they kept their knees near their chests, but even then their legs overlapped. Starscream didn't appear to mind. Arcee tried not to squirm at feeling his pointy feet brush her calf armor.

Outside, bitter wind blustered across the desolate landscape. Arcee watched it turn everything into a haze of grayish-white. Occasionally, it howled over the top of the glacier. The sound set Arcee's circuits on edge.

Starscream acted unbothered by the noise. He stripped wires using his dental plates, separated the exposed tips with his fingers and put them aside. Occasionally, he pinched the tip of a wire between his barely-there lips and pulled its innards completely out of the insulation in one smooth motion. There was a focused intensity about him that Arcee couldn't help but watch.

At least, until he glanced up and saw her staring.

"Holoscans last longer," Starscream said, the insulation still clutched in the corner of his mouth.

Arcee crossed her arms and looked away. "Do you want help stripping those?"

He tossed a bundle into her lap. "Both ends. Copper wires get stripped completely. They have white insulation. Don't cut any red cables-let me do that. They have optical fibers and I need them intact."

"Funny, Autobot optical fibers are blue." Arcee remarked. She opted for her combination wire cutter and needle nose pliers instead of her dental plates. For a time the only sounds were the wind and the clicks of insulation being stripped.

The wind did not make for comforting silence. Arcee needed a distraction, so she asked the first question that came to mind.

"So, how did somebody like you end up working for Megatron?"

A moment passed where Starscream didn't answer. He bit one more cable, turned his head and spat the piece of insulation out the cave entrance. His red optics fixed on hers like hot coals. "I saw an opportunity to return Cybertron to its Golden Age, but he went the other direction. All he cares about is power. I...don't follow him because I like him." He chortled and put down his wire bundle. "He was almost sane once upon a time."

Arcee swore she saw a hint of pain in his eyes. "Chucking a load of Dark Energon through a space bridge never struck me as a sane move."

"Oh, that." Starscream rolled his optics. "You can't talk Megatron out of anything anymore."

She eyed the scratches still present on his armor. Megatron's touch wasn't exactly subtle.

"Back in the day, Megatron was a miner working underground. Then he rose to become a gladiator."

"Doesn't surprise me." Arcee said.

"I was head of the air warriors and was-still am-a scientist. I spent years studying Dark Energon. I know how dangerous it is, and I took a risk using it on myself...but that is beside the point. Megatron is who he is and his life has shaped him-and when I joined him, he shaped me, too." Starscream leaned back and flexed his feet. "Megatron is obsessed with power. He's obsessed with destroying Optimus Prime. His obsessions will be his undoing, but does he listen when I remind him? Nope. Oh, well! I'll just keep waiting until he gets himself killed."

"Nice plan." Arcee scoffed.

"Thanks." Starscream smirked. "Personally, I think he will eventually kill Optimus. Once Megatron sets his mind to something-"

"Optimus doesn't want to fight him. He does because he has to and it makes him feel guilty, but I know he'll do whatever it takes to stop Megatron. And frankly, so will I." Arcee stripped the last wire in her pile and set her bundle next to Starscream's.

"They were lovers a long time ago." Starscream grinned. "But they didn't get a chance to bond. They quarreled until the war swept all talk of their relationship into a corner. Speaking of lovers, Arcee..." He waggled his eyebrows at her, "...this Tailgate fellow..."

Arcee stiffened so she wouldn't flinch. Really? Could he pick a sorer subject to discuss? "It was a long time ago. I don't want to talk about it."

"Uh-oh, did he leave you?"

"Shut up about it!" She exploded, "Just drop it! I said that I don't want to talk about it! That means I don't want to talk about it!"

Starscream's voice became an uncharacteristically soft rumble. "Just tell me why you're so bitter and I'll leave the matter alone."

A hot prickle formed in her throat. Did he get a thrill out of making her uncomfortable? Perhaps telling the truth would shut him up.

"He's dead." She finally admitted, "The people I get close to tend to die on me." And that's why I keep pushing you away. You're a Decepticon and you aren't the least bit charming. You're my enemy. I don't want to start caring about what happens to you!

"Well, that explains a lot." Starscream leaned over to pick up another wire bundle. Suddenly, he gasped, grabbed his injured side and almost collapsed into Arcee's lap.

Arcee scooted over to examine the patch. This time, he didn't protest.

...it's too late to not care.

"I'm fine," Starscream whispered.

"No, you're not." Arcee thumbed the solder, "Does that hurt?"

"ARGH! Don't do that!"

"Guess so."

"Does the patch contain any nickel?" Starscream asked.

"Yeah. Ten percent. Why?"

He sighed. "My body doesn't like nickel. Now I know why it's taking so long to seal off the damage. It's rejecting the patch. Use scrap from that dead Eradicon instead."

"Nickel allergy, eh? That's pretty rare." Arcee squinted one optic. "Cutting that patch off is going to hurt."

He shifted his legs sideways to make his wound easier to access. "Megatron did worse and I'm still functional. Just get it over with before I change my mind."

"Don't order me around."

Arcee took out her medical kit. She burned the solder away from the patch and pried it off. Starscream hissed and bit his knuckles. A thin film of nanites made the edges of the wound glisten. A good sign of healing, so she didn't wipe it off. Inside, the tape binding his energon line together still held strong.

"The wound looks smaller than last time. It's not rusty, it's crawling with nanites. That's good."

"Mmhmm."

"You also have cracks around the edge."

"I'm very aware of that. It's because of the nickel. So much for your patch job, hm?"

"Tch!" Arcee hissed contemptuously. "It's not my fault you're among the two percent of the population with a nickel allergy. Now shut up and stay still."

She chewed her bottom lip and welded a strip of shiny black Eradicon armor over the hole. It stood out even more than the silver patch she used before. Starscream's legs stiffened beneath her-she felt it because she sat on them to keep him from kicking.

"Almost done...just don't put snow on it. It'll crack more."

Starscream's optics flickered and sank deeper into their sockets. Coolant condensation sparkled under the edges of his helm. His hands shook and he cycled air in short gasps. He was in a lot more pain than he let on, and Arcee wasn't buying his tough mech act anymore.

"Hey. I can stop for a minute."

"I'm fine. It's not the worst I've been through."

"It's still pain, Starscream."

"I'm not the only one in pain here." Starscream said pointedly.

Arcee resisted an outward cringe. Yes, she had her own wounds to deal with. Wounds not visible to the optics. She ignored Starscream's remark and continued her train of thought.

"You aggravated that injury carrying everything back, didn't you?" Arcee glared at him. "Why didn't you say something sooner? You dumbaft! Bending and twisting when you're rejecting a patch-where the frag is your CPU? In your aft? Your systems haven't fully recovered from all the energon you lost! Have you taken any fuel since you woke up?"

"No."

She shoved the Eradicon's fuel tank into his hands. "Don't argue. Drink some and rest. We're not going outside until you're stable. I can't have you collapsing in the snow when you're my ride up here."

"I'll argue my case when I have the energy." Starscream sighed. He put the outlet hose in his mouth and gulped like a mech who hadn't consumed energon in eons. "This is annoying. I hope the snow doesn't cover up the debris."

Arcee reached over and slapped the side of his head. "Stop it. I know where the wreckage is. I can dig it back up."

Starscream caught her wrist and turned her hand over on his palm. Arcee stiffened and tried to pull away. He wouldn't let go. His fingers had a stronger grip than she first realized.

"You should have been a medic." He tapped a fingertip on her palm. "You have the perfect hands for it."

Talking seemed to ease his pain.

"I was a scout like Bumblebee." Arcee smirked to cover up her discomfort. She set her eyebrows in a line. "Now, I'm a soldier."

"Mm. Not surprised at all. I came from a higher caste than Megatron. Hard to believe now, isn't it?" His eyes glimmered with pride. "None of us would be where we are now if I became the leader back then."

None of us would be the people we became because of this war, either. We are who we are because the people we meet shape our lives. Who would I be if I never met Tailgate? Who would I be if I never met Optimus? Who will I become by knowing you?

Arcee had nowhere to look besides Starscream's smoldering optics. They were so unusual-red with white pupils. Like metal in a forge. Like a being still taking shape.

"We can't change the past," she said.

He grinned, and for once it wasn't full of malice. "There's still the future. Look around. Blank slate. What will it look like when you arrive?"

She realized he still held her hand, and didn't mind as much as before. "I don't know." Cheekily, she smiled back at him, "I guess we both have to wait and see."

"I suppose so." Starscream said back.

Their eyes stayed locked as the wind gusted outside. Arcee couldn't look away. If a being still being molded existed behind those optics, did that mean she had an effect on the person taking form? Was everyone a constant work in progress? Was this experience shaping her, too?

All at once, she noticed Starscream's face coming a few inches closer. The weight of his presence surrounded her like a force field. She felt it pulling her in, and she realized she didn't want to escape.

Their mouths were a centimeter apart when Starscream suddenly buckled, letting go of her hand to clasp his side.

"Oh!" Arcee jolted back to reality. She scooted over as far as she could and helped him sit up against the wall. "Are you okay?"

"I just-I'm fine!" He batted her hands away before she could prod the patch. "I hate Scraplets."

"I had to solder your wiring back together," said Arcee. "Could one still be shorting-"

"No, it's the wound. The sting is very distinct. I'll be all right."

Still frowning, Arcee pushed herself to her side of the cave. Starscream said nothing more, and rested quietly with his hand draped over the patch. Arcee left him alone and focused on stripping insulation off a pile of copper wires.

Less for Starscream to worry about later, she told herself. By the Allspark, why did I almost kiss him? I hate him! That was a stupid move. I'm just lonely, and it's been ages since anyone treated me like a fembot instead of a fellow soldier.

But the real reason burned in her mind. It wasn't Starscream that she hated.

She hated that he reminded her of Tailgate.

Was it really so bad?

Arcee snorted to herself. It could be worse. What if she fell into this situation with Knock Out? Endless prattling about his personal modifications. With Soundwave? No conversation at all. Megatron? No, Arcee didn't let her mind go there.

Earlier, Starscream mentioned building something. Arcee glanced around at the piles of wires, motherboards and LED's. What was he planning?

"Let's just hope we have enough wires for whatever you're going to build," she mumbled.

No witty retort.

Worried, Arcee glanced up.

Starscream's head was bowed and his optics shuttered. He'd fallen asleep sitting up against the wall, and for the first time in awhile he appeared peaceful. Arcee decided she liked him better when he slept. His arrogant squint and snide little smirk were gone. Tailgate once said the best way to know a bot was to catch them in recharge-the only state where a person's face relaxed enough to truly see behind any front they put up.

Starscream looked so young, but Arcee knew he was much older than his appearance let on.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

She lifted a coil of copper wire from Starscream's hands and set it aside. Then she shifted to sit between him and the drafty cave entrance. Beside her, his shoulder rose and fell with his intakes. She saw his eyebrows twitch. It made her smile.

Sleep well, Starscream.

Chapter 3: Part Three: Glimmer of an Optic

Notes:

Thirty Days in a Second

Thirty Days in a Second

.o

Part Three: Glimmer of an Optic

.o

"Rise and shine."

That voice in her audio again, causing her a shudder that she didn't want to face.

Arcee brought her optics online. She lifted her head. Wait, when did she put it down on Starscream's shoulder?

Starscream waited until she sat up straight before he slid to the opposite side of the cave. He chuckled at her nervous shifting.

"How's your side?" Arcee asked, hoping her voice filled the awkward silence.

"Getting rid of the old patch made all the difference. It doesn't even sting." Starscream said, patting his flank. He inclined his head towards the cave entrance. "I think it's time to dig up the largest piece of wreckage. If it's the engine that I'm suspecting, and if it's intact. I'll be able to refurbish it into a generator."

"Scrap," Arcee sighed. "It's huge, Starscream."

"Don't worry. We have eternity to move it."

Incensed, Arcee remembered exactly why he annoyed the frag out of her. She lifted her leg and jammed her heel against Starscream's left wing, pinning it to the cave wall. While he was still stunned, she clambered into his lap, slammed his shoulders backwards and shoved her face close to his. "You aren't funny. You never were funny. I don't like this situation and I don't like you. Nothing is going to make this any better until we're back where we're supposed to be. I'd appreciate it if you started taking this seriously. Things will go a lot smoother. Got it?"

Starscream cringed despite his efforts not to. Most likely a reflex reaction he developed around Megatron. "You act like you're allergic to humor."

She smirked. "Maybe I'm allergic to you."

To her annoyance, he chortled. "Ouch."

"Ugh!" Arcee climbed off his lap and moved to her side of the cave. "You're so annoying!"

"That's a shame. You're quite entertaining."

"I'm thrilled."

Starscream turned his head. "The wind stopped."

Arcee forgot their argument and peeked outside. "Then let's go."

They flew to the debris field in silence. Starscream wasn't kidding when he mentioned an engine. The wind must have blown the snow off it while they rested. It looked like a long, black cylinder tilted upright in the surrounding white. Its nozzle was intact and Arcee's olfactory sensors detected the pungent odor of fuel inside. Her keen eyes made out the hand holds on the fin for maintenance workers to secure themselves during in-flight repairs. Standing up the way it was, the sharp fin on the side resembled a metallic spire reaching for the sky.

This thing is three times as tall as I am, but it's pretty hollow. Two bots could move it. Heh, Bulkhead could move it all on his own. Too bad the big guy isn't here to help.

An idea struck.

"We need to dig out a cave near the ground." Arcee said. "If we can drag this there, we can use the lower cave for shelter while we work."

"The engine can burn us a hole in no time flat. The side of the glacier with our current cave is entirely in phase." Starscream held his chin between thumb and forefinger. "Let's try it and see what happens. I'm going to tip it over, so you might want to step back."

Arcee scrambled out of the way. Starscream leapt onto the black fin behind the nozzle. He grabbed the nearest hand hold and rocked his weight back and forth. The engine wobbled, but refused to budge!

"It's not working!" Arcee hollered. She used the handholds on the side like ladder rungs to scale the side of the engine. "Looks like it has a stabilizing counterweight at the bottom. It's going to take both of us to tip this thing, so let's throw ourselves against the fin on three."

"Ready when you are."

She angled herself forward. "One...two...three!"

Both bots threw their full weight into the metal fin. The engine rocked and groaned.

"Again!" Arcee cried.

More low groans. The dizzying sensation of falling in slow motion. Arcee grabbed Starscream's arm and they leapt off the engine as it toppled onto its side like a cut down tree.

Arcee held tight to Starscream's upper arm by reflex. The snow spoiled their perfect landing-Starscream's heels slipped and he fell flat on his back. Arcee landed in a heap on top of him. Her impact caused the snow drift to collapse and bury Starscream from the shoulders up.

"If that's the scariest thing that happens here, I think I can deal with it," said Arcee. "So...Starscream?"

Starscream lifted his head and coughed up a mouthful of snow. He blinked and raised his eyebrows. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one."

For a moment he reminded her so much of Tailgate that it ached. The retort she always used in response leapt off her tongue of its own accord. "I guess the Pit just froze over. I agree with your sentiment." She moved her hand to his patched side without breaking eye contact. "Are you okay?"

He covered her hand with his own. His face relaxed into the expression he wore when he recharged. "I'm fine."

Arcee held his gaze another moment before climbing off. "C'mon. Let's drag this thing back and burn ourselves a cave before the wind starts again."

They worked together to drag the heavy engine up to the glacier. One pushed, the other pulled, and they traded off to keep the workload equal. The slippery snow worked in their favor, allowing them to reach the glacier just as the breeze picked up.

Arcee stood back while Starscream hotwired the engine to run a test burn. It punched a hole right into the ice and gave them a new cave to work with in just five minutes.

Later, Arcee relaxed on her side in the uppermost cave while Starscream fussed over the engine. She passed the time by separating the last wire bundle and estimating the total length.

Outside, the wind blustered with a fury that made the cave chilly without another body keeping it warm. Arcee didn't disguise her relieved sigh when Starscream wriggled into the available space behind her. How did he lay on his side with those wings? Did they somehow fold up out of the way?

Arcee had almost reached a conclusion when Starscream's armor touched her back.

"Ah! You're freezing!"

His voice in her audio, low and almost purring. "I had to make sure there weren't any cracks in the fuel lines."

He draped his arm over her waist. Icy frost covered his arm and fingers.

"You took a long time." Arcee grumbled. Not that I was worried or anything. Nope. Not at all, because you're an aft and almost froze solid!

She felt him smile. He was that close. "I like to be thorough."

"You could have died out there."

"Are you worrying about me, Arcee?"

Arcee turned enough to peer over her shoulder. "A little. Happy?"

Starscream squinted and smirked. "How touching of you to care."

She made a face and resumed her original position. "You're my ticket out of here. Do me a favor and stay alive until you do your job. Then you can die any way you want."

"You were worried."

If a statement could ever light a flame in Arcee's belly, that was it. She turned over to glare at Starscream's smirking face. "I've lost people that I care about. It hurts. It's why I hate working with partners. I worry a lot! It's what Autobots do. I would appreciate it if you stopped treating everything like a joke. It isn't funny, but what would you know about losing someone close to you? You were the little rich bot who only knew high society life. You don't know how good you had it, do you?"

Starscream's mocking air deflated. He narrowed his optics and his voice became colder than the frozen wind. "I know more about loss than you think. This war left no one unscathed."

"Oh, what? Did you lose your trine?"

The wince on Starscream's face said it all. Seekers were created in groups of three-a main mold and two gestalts. Some said their bond was closer than those of Spark-bonded bots.

"Oh..." Arcee rubbed the inner corners of her optics. She hated how much she regretted her statement. "I shouldn't have said that."

"They died a long time ago." He closed his eyes and let his let his head rest on his folded arm. "I've been over it for centuries."

No, he wasn't. She might as well pour acid into his Scraplet bite. The effect was the same.

Scrap. I'm so used to hating 'cons...it's easier when I forget they have feelings, too.

Arcee's optics drifted to the red Decepticon sigil on Starscream's chest. They were made of the same materials, yet that symbol separated them like a void between two differing ideals. She reached out and placed her hand over it. Warmth, a Spark like her own, pulsed beneath her palm.

"I don't pretend to understand Decepticon ideals, Starscream, but grief is the same no matter which side you're on." She returned her gaze to his face. "I'm sorry."

Starscream opened his optics and looked into hers. Mech fluid glistened in the inner corners, but his voice was steady when he said, "Then we're even. We've both lost people close to us, and I don't know what makes you Autobots tick either."

Arcee chuckled and, without thinking, wiped away a teardrop before it dripped across his face. "Are you okay?"

He heaved a sigh to regain his shaken composure. "I'm fine. We should recharge and conserve our energy."

"Yeah." Arcee turned over again and wriggled until no space existed between them. For warmth, she told herself. Just for warmth.

When Starscream's arm inevitably flopped over her waist, she reached down and interlocked their fingers. He responded by bringing his other arm around to pull her closer against his chest.

Later, Starscream braved the unknown and scouted the entire landscape from the air. He spent several twenty-four hour periods building a map. Arcee collated the data with landmarks she recognized from the ground until they had a complete picture. Their world was only fifty square miles in diameter.

Arcee designated the darkest horizon as west, and from that she created a coordinates system they could use when out of visual contact. There was less risk of getting hopelessly separated, which allowed them to venture beyond the debris field.

Twenty miles from the wreckage, Arcee found a dented container of energon treats buried in a snow bank. The surprised delight on Starscream's face made her Spark turn over, and the reason why scared her. She ignored it while they feasted on the sweet, chewy cubes-and together they ate them all in one sitting.

"Ooh, my aching fuel tank." Starscream plopped down onto his back on the cave floor.

Arcee sympathized. Energon treats had no nutritional value, but they tasted so good. She used to pilfer them from Bulkhead's secret stash until he caught on and found a better hiding place.

Between windstorms, Starscream spent a lot of time scraping on the walls of the lower cave. He was so focused that Arcee stayed away to avoid disturbing his thoughts.

Day by day, the gray patch on the "western" horizon grew darker. Occasionally, it looked downright black, and whenever it was black the wind blasted with a terrifying fury. More than once Arcee had to dig Starscream out of the snow and drag him into the lower cave.

Another time, the wind hit as she scouted the debris field on foot. The driving snow blinded her. Starscream found her using a piece of hull as a shield. She had no memory of him returning her to their cave, but she didn't miss how fast he appeared at her side when she regained consciousness.

"Oh, good, you didn't freeze." Starscream snorted.

"Took you long enough to find me," said Arcee.

"You didn't tell me you were leaving the caves."

"You didn't ask."

Starscream settled into his space behind her. Arcee let him pull her against his chest. He bent his head and exhaled hot air on the back of her neck. "Don't do it again."

"Why, Starscream, were you worried?" She challenged him.

"I needed your extra set of hands to hold down a cable." He replied. A blatant lie. "You weren't there."

Arcee laid her hand flat on the cave floor. Starscream's shifted up to cover it with his long, sharp fingers.

"Don't leave again without telling me," he said in her audio.

He was worried.

"I won't." Arcee turned her hand over. Their fingers interlocked against the dull blue-white cave floor. She smiled and closed her optics.

Starscream was gone when she woke from recharge.

Many "mornings" passed without his voice waking her up, and Arcee started to miss it. She caught herself thinking it was cute each time Starscream stopped in the middle of a conversation and bolted to the lower cave to scratch a fresh idea on the wall.

"Scrap. Cute? Now he's cute?" Arcee groaned at herself. "What are you doing?"

The awkwardness continued when she helped him move coolant lines so he could work inside the engine. He legitimately needed an extra pair of hands to hold them out of the way while he strung the optical cables through holes he drilled in the hull.

"I think I can just reach..." Starscream reached his arms over Arcee's shoulders and fit his hands between the coolant lines she pushed aside. His chin was practically on her shoulder. "Get closer to the engine. I need to get my arm in-" Something clicked and the tips of the optical cable lit up. "Ah! It has power!"

"Nice work!" Arcee turned her head to grin at him.

Starscream's face was right there. Their eyes locked. Then he smirked, took hold of her wrists and guided her hands to release the coolant lines. His fingers were warm from their prolonged contact with the engine's power source.

"You're warm," she breathed out.

"Put your hands here." He pushed her hands into the open panel. The heated power source was welcome relief from the constant, gnawing chill. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to do that anymore. I only ran power to make sure the optical cables work. It uses fuel, and we can't waste it."

Arcee shrugged one shoulder. She cleared her vocal processor. "We should take cover. The wind is about to blow."

Blinking, Starscream gave his head a shake and backed away. He walked into the lower cave. "Coming?"

"Of course."

That time, they settled down face to face. Arcee fell into recharge listening to the buzz of Starscream's Spark pulse.

Weeks slowly passed. In the middle of it, a whole twenty four hours went by where the wind would not let up enough to venture safely outside. Arcee and Starscream spent much of that day in recharge to conserve their energy.

.o

"Arcee? Arceeeee..."

That voice in her audio-familiar now-made the cold air bearable.

"Mm. Five more minutes."

"Heh, heh!" Starscream bent closer, rumbling, "You said that five minutes ago."

"Frag you." Arcee responded tiredly.

"You won't be able to walk for awhile if I did that."

Weeks ago, Arcee would have been scandalized by such a bold statement. She didn't know when she'd become accustomed to Starscream's off-color remarks. Were they ever that bad?

"Careful, Starscream. I frag back."

Laughter. His laughter was like thunder and smoke. It sent a shiver down her back struts.

No. Don't even go there. Ugh, Arcee, you idiot. He's a Decepticon! You're an Autobot. It won't work and you'll have to go back to fighting once we get out of here. Get a grip!

"Grab the wires we stripped. I'm going to transfer our supplies to the lower cave." Starscream reached across her to pick up a pile of motherboards.

Arcee started passing cables and supplies to Starscream. He carried them to the cave below. It took four trips to transport everything. Then he assisted her in reaching the ground.

She stiffened when they touched down. "It's colder than it was when we got here."

Starscream inclined his head. "By five degrees. It's the metal of the engine. It utilizes cold reflection technology to keep the fuel from freezing. The ambient temperature will return once it's finished radiating the cold of the wind away." He placed a hand on his chest and his pride filled his voice. "It's just a little something I designed before the Nemesis came to Earth."

Snickering, Arcee made a dismissive gesture. "Well, look at you. Mister Superiority."

"Hmph." He sagged.

"Oh, sorry, did I pop your ego?"

Starscream cocked an eyebrow. "No. What gave you that impression?"

"You're an aft." Arcee said. Her optics drifted to the deepening gray fog on the horizon. Its center looked blacker than ever. A thin line extended "eastward" like a shadow stretching in the sunset. "I don't like that. It keeps getting darker."

"I know. It's worrying me a little. The wind never entirely stops, either, not since that line started forming," said Starscream. He ducked into the cave beside the engine where he laid everything out. "Now that my schematics are complete, I want to finish gutting the engine before it starts gusting again. Ah...by the way, I require the tools in your medical kit for this."

Arcee followed him inside and handed over the requested items. Her optics were drawn to the full extent Starscream's work within the cave. Detailed schematics and mathematical equations arched from one wall to the other. Ratchet could have made sense of them in a Spark beat, but to Arcee it looked like Ancient Decepticon.

It struck her, wholly, for the first time that yes, Starscream was a genius. Only an extraordinary mind could come up with something of this magnitude.

"That blasted wind is going to gust stronger than ever once it starts. I'm going to convert the nozzle into a hood. I'll be focused on delicate circuitry-just a single snowflake may destroy everything."

Arcee's eyebrows drew together. "Do you need help?"

"No...I can take care of it myself. It isn't heavy. Get those motherboards and pry off the Eradicon CPUs. I will need them later."

Arcee knelt next to the supplies while Starscream climbed onto the side of the engine. Several loud thwack-thwack sounds followed. She located the motherboards Starscream asked for and arranged them according to size. Wiring and disarming bombs were a skill she prided herself on. She could identify a CPU unit in her sleep.

Eradicon CPUs were palm-sized-well, her palm anyway-circular disks arranged in clusters of four. Arcee had no trouble prying them off the bright blue motherboards. She piled the CPUs by the wall.

She heard a loud, final THWACK followed by silence. Peeping outside, she noticed Starscream on top of the engine again, busily securing the reversed nozzle with rivets. He wiped his hands in the snow and disappeared beneath the hood he created. It covered all but his long legs and dainty feet. Near them, paneling had been removed and the engine parts underneath gleamed.

"Stick these panels with our supplies." Starscream's hand popped into view with two black panels. Arcee's fingers brushed his when she took them into the cave and set them next to the motherboards. He passed her several more odds and ends-including several power coils-before the annoying wind made its comeback.

"Handle the power coils with care. We're stranded if they break." Starscream said upon stumbling into the cave. He shook the snow off and sat down across from Arcee. This cave had more room, so he stretched his legs out when he leaned back against the wall. "What are you doing?"

Arcee glanced up. She held a thin copper wire in one hand and a long, transparent crystal tube in the other. Inside the tube, fine purple strips of specialized energon wire were strung through loops of neon green destronium. This combination let the metals react to heat and create plasma energy. It powered everything from decorative lights to spaceship engines.

She fed the wire through one end of the tube and pulled it out the other. "Thought I'd get you a head start. I'm stringing the wires through this power coil."

"That's the way to do it if you're building a bomb." He pointed out.

She shot him a dirty look. "Fine, genius. Show me."

"Heh, heh...you were close." Starscream came forward and folded his hands around Arcee's. His fingers guided hers to pull the wire out of the coil's end. Turning it over, he led her through feeding the copper wire into one of two ventilation holes in the middle. "Bring it out to this side. Now feed the next one through the other side so they cross inside. Try to get at least five wires through each hole, or the plasma will leak out and melt everything."

Arcee's optics widened slightly. "You're going to cause a feedback loop."

"Yes." He pointed to the a spirals and lines on his schematic. "The power will jump from coil to coil, building up in each one until the engine overloads and generates an energy pulse equal to two ground bridge portals. I'm hoping that if I-we-assemble everything exactly right, the generator will knock us back into phase with normal time. My only concern is we will have just one shot at this. The energy output is going to burn those coils and wires to a crisp, so it has to count."

"You seem excited to try it." Arcee smiled.

Starscream refocused on her face. His optics were sharp and more alive than she'd ever seen them. "I was going to attempt this experiment when Megatron ordered me to build the space bridge. I memorized the mathematical equations necessary to calculate everything in case I got a chance in the future. Building it...I never had the chance until now. The original schematic wouldn't have worked. Ah, it's techno babble and boring to most bots, but this is the one success-if it works-that Megatron can't take away from me. I kept telling myself 'in the future, you can try sometime in the future.'"

He grinned and made a sweeping gesture at the wall, "Now look at me." His hands curled into fists and spread open again, "I'm in the future, building this thing!"

His grandiose movements, when coupled by their situation, made his whole speech hysterical. Arcee covered her mouth and laughed at the irony.

"What?" Starscream stared at her. "What are you laughing at?"

Arcee couldn't stop guffawing enough to talk. The puzzled looks he shot her made it worse.

"You-your..." She imitated his hand movements. He got her meaning, and in moments the cave rang with their shared mirth.

"So-does this mean-that-I'm finally funny to you?" Starscream asked between gasps for air.

"Fine," she sighed dramatically, "You're slightly funny."

Laughing felt great. Arcee couldn't remember the last time she had a laugh this good. She regained her composure to find Starscream watching her. His optics burned in contrast to the faded blue-white of the cave around them. A hint of a smile still existed on his face, but the glimmer in his eyes...Tailgate used to look at her that way. She wasn't sure whether to be unnerved or flattered.

"You should laugh more often," he said.

Something about his expression stopped Arcee from loading a snide remark into her verbal weaponry. She felt her fuel pump working faster. Why was he doing this to her? He wasn't the best looking mech in the universe-at least in her opinion. Attractive, yes, but not the kind of person she would introduce to her friends back on Cybertron!

Starscream knelt and grasped her hands again. His touch sent an electric pulse straight through her body. She realized he was visually taking her in the way organics took in the scent of a rose.

"Arcee, do me a favor."

"What?"

Starscream set the plasma coils aside. "Don't punch me."

"Why would I punch you?" Arcee arched an eyebrow. His gaze penetrated all the way to her Spark. Decepticons were known for their intense stares and he was no different.

"Just..." Starscream ducked his head and cleared his vocal apparatus. In doing so, he brought his face closer to hers. "...this."

He kissed her.

Arcee stiffened where she sat. Every sensor in her body sprang to life.

A voice in the back of her mind screamed all the reasons why this was wrong. Fraternizing with the enemy meant a court marshal and expulsion from the Autobot army.

Then another inner voice asked her: What are you afraid of? Who would see them here? What if the device didn't work? What if the future only lasted as long as their fuel supply? What if this was her last chance to feel this way?

What if she opened up?

The quiet voice won. Just for now, it won.

She closed her eyes. She cupped the back of his head. She parted her lips to draw him in. His hands caressed her cheeks and she felt a long forgotten warmth somewhere near her Spark.

Starscream knew how to kiss. Arcee could tell he had experience by how deftly he worked his mouth over hers. Pressing, retreating, nipping at her bottom lip and sending delightful tingles through her system.

And she liked it.

Arcee pulled back to cycle air. Starscream, also cycling heavily, leaned closer for more. She smirked, put her hands on his shoulders and shoved. He toppled backwards against the opposite wall. Open-mouthed shock didn't begin to describe his expression. She climbed onto his lap while snickering at how wide his optics opened.

"Hey, I didn't punch you now, did I?"

"No," Starscream exhaled, "but pushing someone away usually means you don't like their advances."

"I didn't say stop."

Arcee dipped her head and tasted Starscream's mouth again. His hands snaked up her back-and when she didn't stop him they eagerly explored her body.

"Fine," he hissed in her audio. "I won't stop."

And Arcee shivered, unashamed. His voice excited her. He excited her. She couldn't deny it in the face of their actions.

This is a place where factions don't matter. We're the only two people in the universe right now. He feels so good. Don't rationalize it. Don't think. Don't ruin this. Nobody has to know.

Sharp fingertips capable of shredding metal caressed her in ways she never thought possible. They returned to every place that made her gasp and shiver. His touch brought back sensations and emotions she hadn't let herself feel in millennia.

"We're still in a war," Starscream whispered into her throat.

"Don't think about it right now," said Arcee. His hungry kisses nearly sent her over the edge. Nothing could stop the avalanche of actions and reactions now. By the Allspark, why couldn't she look away from his optics? "Please, just don't think about it."

His hands cupped her hips. He craned his neck for another kiss. She grabbed his chin and greedily accepted it. Long-ignored parts of her plating shifted to make room for him.

Starscream paused when he felt it. He met her optics in a silent question-and she nodded. Beneath her, his codpiece slid down with a soft click Then he was inside her, his jack long and thin like the rest of his body. He filled the emptiness where she ached the most. Dizzying, warm and so alive.

"Starscream," she moaned. He sprinkled kisses across her throat. She looked down and saw his Decepticon symbol gleaming in the blue light of her own optics.

Insignias didn't matter here. Futures and pasts didn't exist. There was only now. And now, she needed him.

Arcee caressed Starscream's wings, watching how a simple touch nearly rendered him helpless. His fingers found her wheel wells and all at once the snowy world became an inferno.

They rocked together, straining and desperate. Every kiss burned. Every touch seared. Every look smoldered.

Starscream shifted to his knees and twisted, pressing Arcee against the only part of the wall not marked by schematics. She started to whimper. It felt so good, so good. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He planted his hands on the wall to keep his balance and his gaze bore right into her Spark.

"Arcee," he snarled possessively.

Arcee grunted something resembling his name. The electricity he sent through her body reached a crescendo. She clung to him, frantic, her optics flaring.

"Call my name again," Starscream whispered in her audio.

"Starscream!" Arcee gasped. She clutched his armor, cooing softly to encourage him.

"You're close," he crooned, his voice adding to her excitement. "I can make you overload right now...right now."

Arcee floundered in a sea of sensation and emotion. He was holding her at the edge on purpose! Could he do anything without being a jerk?

He brought his mouth close to her audio again. "Do you want that overload, Arcee?"

"Yes!" She clawed at his back and looked straight into his optics. "But I should warn you...I'm a screamer."

"Ooh." Chuckling, he flicked her wheel wells. "So am I."

Arcee stopped thinking. Nothing else mattered. All of creation funneled to a single point within her body. When Starscream pushed himself deeper into her, he touched it, and it exploded. Helpless to resist, she threw her head back with a shrill cry and let the maelstrom wash through her body. At the edge of her vision she saw Starscream's upper lip pull off his dental plates. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists, his fingertips cutting trenches in the ice. His face contorted and his guttural moans of release became the most erotic sound she heard in her life.

Arcee didn't know anybody who let go like Starscream. Mechs tended to hold back and keep quiet. Starscream didn't. He shuddered. He groaned. He rolled his hips. He made no secrets about how good it felt. The sight of him so open in the throes of overload burned itself into her memory. She cupped his face and tenderly kissed him between the optics. He opened his eyes to gaze into hers. She did not shrink from their intensity.

They collapsed together in a tangle of limbs. Their breaths came in unison, each heated exhalation creating clouds of steam.

"Arcee," Starscream whispered.

"Shhh." She touched his mouth and laid her forehead against his. How could a few shining seconds make him look so beautiful? Why did something so fleeting feel so powerful?

Their eyes stayed locked. Everything between them changed in those few fevered minutes. Arcee wondered if she would regret it later.

If later ever came.

Chapter 4: Part Four: Bursting Bubble

Notes:

Thirty Days in a Second

Thirty Days in a Second

.o

Part Four: Bursting Bubble

.o

"Something's wrong." Starscream said.

Arcee wasn't expecting that to be how he woke her up after what took place hours ago. They were still lying where they fell. She felt the cold slide of his retracting jack and the click of his codpiece moving back into place. Taking his cue, she closed her port and sat up. So did he. His optics flicked back and forth.

"Something's definitely wrong," Starscream went on. "Do you feel it?"

"What is-"

She sensed it then. A strange, ringing vibration filled her head. The floor rippled slightly. There was a brief pause followed by an eerie silence.

Then their stored supplies started to rattle. Arcee heard the power coils clinking together in the safety of their makeshift box.

Starscream squinted, "What the..."

Suddenly the ground itself swung sideways. Everything jerked back and forth like a boat in a storm rolling over railroad tracks. Starscream and Arcee hugged the floor so they wouldn't be tossed side to side. Icicles broke loose and shattered, showering the cave in ice chips. A pile of motherboards tipped over and spilled onto the floor.

"Earthquake! Get outside!" Arcee yelled. She grabbed Starscream's arm and they scrambled out of the cave. Snow crashed down on them as the entire glacier swayed like a mortally wounded behemoth. For one pump-stopping moment Arcee feared the whole thing was collapsing. Off to the side, the salvaged engine wobbled and its loose wires swung to and fro.

"Come on." Starscream hauled her further away from the glacier. They staggered dizzily over the quaking ground and crouched near the debris field. Arcee squeezed her optics shut and told herself to stay strong.

Just when she thought it would never end, the shaking slowly lessened. Lurching became gentle swaying and then faded to stillness. Everything fell quiet.

Assured it was over, Arcee opened her eyes.

Ten feet to their left, a long crack split the ground in two. Arcee approached and peered into it. She stared into a void. Unnerved, she jumped back and looked up.

Against all logic, the sky appeared to have a crack in it, too. White fog swirled around and into the rift like smoke escaping narrow window. Her gaze followed the line to the blackening horizon.

"Starscream!" She pointed.

"That's..." Starscream breathed out. His mouth fell open. "Check the cave for cracks. Hurry!"

Arcee transformed to get there faster. She examined everything thoroughly. There weren't any cracks-just the mess of fallen icicles and toppled supplies. She reported this to him via their com link.

"I don't like this," she added.

Starscream appeared at the cave entrance and grabbed his handheld scanning device. He faced Arcee, soldier to soldier. "Stay here and wire those coils. I need to investigate this. I'll be right back."

"How long will it take?"

"I'm not sure."

"The wind is going to kick up again."

"I'll hurry."

Starscream took a running leap and transformed in mid-air. He sped off towards the dark horizon before Arcee could blink. Arcee clenched her shaking servos and hurried back into the cave. Her hands kept trembling. She forced them to stop, and managed to get all the coils wired before the wind began with a fury unseen since she arrived.

Ten minutes passed. Fifteen. Thirty.

Where was Starscream?

"Arcee to Starscream," she tried her com, and only heard static. That was never a problem before. She boosted her signal. "Arcee to Starscream! Scrap, answer me!"

Her com picked up the clicks of a working receiver, but she couldn't tell if he tried to answer or not. The clicks faded into a steady background hum.

Now more worried than ever, Arcee stuck her head out of the cave. The breeze sent snow flying over the glacier in foggy sheets, but she barely made out a shape approaching on foot.

"Starscream!" She called.

Starscream was covered completely in frost. His joints crackled. He collapsed just inside the cave. Arcee grabbed him under the armpits and pulled him all the way to the back wall.

"I'm-I'm fine." He could barely talk. "The wind kept throwing me off course. I had to land and walk. Had to..." His optics fluttered.

"Stay awake!" Arcee slapped him across the face, startling him to alertness. She used her welder to warm her hands and pressed them to his belly area. A little trick she learned shortly after her first trip into the Arctic cold. It would warm two major energon lines and pull the heat to his core. "You dumbaft, you're almost frozen! Why didn't you answer my com?"

"I tried. There was too much interference." Starscream answered. He grimaced and held his ice-coated shoulder. "I shut my com off after your first ping failed. No sense in both of us freezing."

"Don't sacrifice yourself on my account. I can take care of myself." Arcee rolled her optics. "Ugh. Never mind. What were you looking for?"

Starscream's expression became grim. He picked up the scanner and examined it for a long moment before he spoke. "Do you know the physics of bubbles?"

"It's something about surface tension. Raf mentioned it once."

"Yes. They exist because of surface tension. Once the water in them evaporates, they pop. Soap adds to the surface tension and prevents evaporation. It holds a bubble together and that is why soap bubbles last longer than a bubble of pure water."

"What does this have to do with time travel?"

He fixed her in his burning red optics. "We blew a bubble out of space-time when our ground bridge portals exploded. This is no problem if you go backwards in time, as you're just blowing a bubble in the very substance space-time bubbles are made of. However, we have reached beyond the universe, so there's no 'soap' to hold this bubble together. It's starting to pop, and it's going to take us with it if we don't finish the generator soon."

Something cold settled in Arcee's Spark. "How long?"

"I don't know for sure."

The chill in Arcee's Spark threatened to swallow her whole. She forced it down. Don't give up yet. You're still alive. Where there's life, there's hope.

"I got the coils wired. What do we do next?"

Starscream's troubled expression melted into his characteristic smirk. "Hand me those Eradicon CPUs."

They worked for hours, huddling under the engine nozzle or in the cave whenever the wind became too strong. Starscream spent days taking parts inside the engine and rearranging them in ways Arcee never imagined possible. She helped by soldering wires to circuit boards, handing him tools and reminding him to drink some fuel.

Quakes became an occurrence as common as the wind. None were nearly the magnitude of the initial tremor, but Arcee noticed the void in the sky growing slowly wider. The wind seemed to be rushing towards it like air escaping into space.

"I suspect-" Starscream's voice was muffled by the solder coils he held in his dental plates. He took them out to continue, "-that the crack has been there since we arrived, and the wind was caused by it opening and closing. I shouldn't have ignored the gray patch as much as I did."

"So that thing has been opening and closing until our little bubble finally breeched?"

"Exactly."

"Scrap. I hope it doesn't suck us up before we get out of here. I know a few people who might be upset if I never came back to base."

"I don't think it will. The rift is expanding outward, so things will disappear from the sky down until-"

"Don't say it." Arcee cut him off. She didn't want to focus on that possibility until all other options were exhausted.

Starscream installed another motherboard. "I wish Megatron was with us. I wouldn't mind leaving him here when everything ceases to exist."

Arcee snickered. "Now the Pit is really frozen."

Neither said another word for awhile. Starscream climbed around the engine-turned-generator. Arcee strung wires between motherboards. They worked until the wind nearly knocked them into the nearby snow banks.

The lower cave no longer held their body heat, so they retreated to the smaller upper cave. Starscream used extra panels to block the entrance. Then they huddled chest to chest in a tangle of limbs, taking turns drinking from the Eradicon fuel tank.

"Not much left." Starscream said. He set the outlet hose aside.

"Wow. Freeze, starve or cease to exist." Arcee snorted. "I hope we get out of this before we're stuck with one of those three."

Starscream sighed. "And when we get back to normal time...what then?"

It was just a question, but it weighed more than the mass of the universe.

Arcee picked her head up and stared down into Starscream's optics. Normal time meant their normal lives again. Back to war. Back to their respective factions. Back to hate and pain and energon-shed.

"We're soldiers," she said softly. "We do what we have to do, so let's not make any promises. But here...we have now. Don't waste it."

She felt his fingertips brush her cheek. He pulled her down and pressed his mouth to hers.

"The present is so fleeting," Starscream whispered in her audio.

Arcee thumbed the Decepticon sigil on his chest. "I know."

"We can't have this when we go back. I'll be shot and you'll get court marshaled. This can't come between us on the battlefield. We both know that."

This. The unspoken emotion forming between them like a bud waiting to burst open.

"If it's really meant to be," Arcee looked up at him again, "Let's find each other after the war is over."

Starscream gripped Arcee's arms when the cave shook around them. "That may be a long time, Arcee."

Arcee tried to ignore the tremor. "We can remember this until then, and hope we don't end up shooting each other."

They laughed uneasily as the ground stopped shaking. The wind quieted down. Starscream pulled the panel away from the cave entrance and they stared up into the blackening sky. All around, the world was shaded in an eerie twilight.

"Let's get back to work." He said.

And for hours, they focused single-mindedly on their project.

"That intake manifold has to be tight." Starscream instructed.

Arcee fumbled with her tiny welding torch. "I know. Let's hope you didn't draw it upside down."

"I didn't. I'm very thorough."

The ground trembled. Starscream helped Arcee brace herself and finish welding the manifold in place. She picked up the solder coil.

"Scrap! Starscream, I don't think we have enough solder."

Starscream rubbed a hand down the middle of his face. "I'll see if any can be taken off the Eradicon parts. String this across the top of the manifold." He passed her a handful of copper wires.

Snow swirled over the top of the glacier and spilled down onto them. Arcee worried about pieces of the ice itself breaking off to destroy their work in progress. She didn't realize Starscream went back into the cave until he returned holding pellets of solder in his left hand.

"I scavenged it off the Eradicon parts." He said. A strong wind gust nearly knocked him over. His wings were like sails in this weather. "Finish up and close the panels. I'll install the power coils once the wind stops."

Arcee forced herself to stay calm and finish the task at hand. Blasts of cold air spiraled up under the makeshift hood. Coupled with the cold-reflecting metal, each gust was agony. Static flickered at the edges of her vision. Arcee managed to weld the last wire before her senses faded.

.o

"Arcee? Arcee!" Hands shook her shoulders and patted her cheek plates.

Every movement hurt. Arcee grimaced as she opened her eyes. Starscream bent over her. Rime coated his armor and his eyelids drooped, all signs of the torpor caused by the cold. It wouldn't be long before their wiring lost its ability to conduct electrical impulses.

"Starscream?" She whispered. "What happened?"

He wiped the frost off her body. "Your sensory circuits shorted out. I barely got you up here. I thought you..."

She touched his mouth, "No. I won't go out like this."

"And to think, just a short time ago, I wouldn't have cared at all."

Arcee snickered and punched his shoulder. "Me either."

Outside, the wind roared like a beast ready to devour everything. Arcee twisted her head to try and look, but Starscream blocked the opening with a pair of computer panels.

"How close are we to finishing the generator?"

"It needs the coils, and that will be very delicate work. I'll do that myself." Starscream turned to grab the Eradicon fuel tank. The patch on his wounded side was gone, replaced by a piece of steel wool he'd stuffed into the hole.

"Starscream!" Arcee gasped.

He glanced at his side. Then at her. "It doesn't hurt anymore, and we needed the solder. Here..." He handed her the outlet hose. "Fuel up."

Arcee choked down the bitter, stale energon. Could something that awful be considered fuel? She pushed the hose away after a few gulps. Starscream picked it up and drank as well, grimacing.

"Ugh, I'm not taking fresh energon for granted ever again," Starscream grumbled. Then he tipped the tank over and shook the hose near his mouth. He set it down again. It gave a hollow clang. "That's it. No more fuel."

Sighing, Arcee closed her eyes. "Just as well."

"There are worse ways to-"

A crash sounded outside. The ground didn't just shake-it lurched. Starscream was thrown into one wall and Arcee smashed into the other. Arcee's foot hit the panel. The wind whipped it away to reveal a night sky. No, not night-a growing void. Arcee rushed to the entrance in time to see a giant chunk of land break apart and disappear, and for the first time in awhile she felt terror course through her circuits.

"Oh, no!" Starscream climbed out onto the ledge. "Windy or not, we can't wait any longer! Come on!"

Arcee jumped onto his back and he hopped to the ground. The violent wind almost hurled them against the glacier. She could barely see through the sheets of snow swirling towards the sky.

"Hold onto the fin! Don't let it roll!" Starscream yelled over the roar. He came outside with the box he'd fashioned out of cast off motherboard pieces and spare wires. Inside, the power coils glimmered-their last hope.

The air itself bit down. Arcee gritted her dental plates, focusing only on keeping her fists closed. Sideways icicles formed off the edge of Starscream's helm. She barely made out his hands pushing the first coil into place and twisting the cables together. The next followed. Four were soon settled and wired. He laid them end to end down the whole length of the engine. It kept rocking despite her efforts to hang on, but she refused to let it roll over.

Something else caught Arcee's attention. The box of coils started to move. She jammed it in place with her foot. "Starscream, the box!"

He grabbed it. She saw him swaying.

"Starscream! Stay awake!"

Starscream dropped to his knees. He shook his hands and went back to work. His fingers still had their dexterity. He had six coils in place. So far, so good. Arcee counted down the number left to install.

Five coils...

Blackness reached the opposite horizon from which it started. The wind no longer had a direction, it blew everywhere and punished everything in its wake.

Four coils...

Another chunk of land shot into the sky. Starscream didn't look up. Arcee watched it get pulverized.

Three coils...

Cliffs thirty feet away crumbled. Their remains were gone in a Spark-beat.

Two coils...

Arcee lost all feeling in her fingers. She felt the ground shift beneath her feet. Terrible crackling sounds signaled another piece of the world disappearing.

One coil...

Suddenly, the cliff above them broke apart and spiraled into the sky in a spray of snow.

"Got it!" Starscream slammed the paneling shut and pressed a button. Purple lights flickered in a chasing pattern from one end of the engine to the other. Then they started to blink and light one at a time as the power coils came to life.

Beside them, the remains of the cliff shattered. Ice showered them like missiles. They ducked behind the fin.

The lights kept climbing.

"It's working! It's working!" Starscream crowed over the roar.

Arcee turned her head and saw his optics alight with utter joy. Even he, a Decepticon, still had hope in the face of annihilation. She decided not to tell him how Autobot-like he was acting.

Another light lit. Another landmass vanished. The generator hummed and released waves of heat so potent it burned in contrast to the frozen landscape. Arcee had feeling in her fingers again.

And not a moment too soon. She became aware of her feet rising off the ground.

A blast of wind whipped Starscream violently backwards. He tried to fly against the air current, but it buffeted him like a tornado. Arcee lunged and grabbed his hand.

"Starscream!"

"Arcee!"

"Hold on!"

Everything wobbled. Arcee grimaced. The generator slid over the empty space that used to be the lower cave. A piece of land ten feet away broke off with a crash.

Somehow, Starscream pulled himself back to the generator, but his grip failed and Arcee's hold on his hand was the only hope standing between him and oblivion.

"I've got you!" She yelled.

Starscream gazed at her through the unforgiving snow. The wind yanked the steel wool clean out of his side. His eyes reflected the generator.

The last light lit and the entire array flashed.

Arcee felt Starscream's hand escaping her grasp. He couldn't bring his other arm around. She saw him trying. His optics were huge, desperate.

"Starscream! Hold on!"

The ground beneath Arcee's feet cracked. Tiny ice shards bombarded her face and chest.

"Arcee!" Starscream shouted. "It's-it's pulling me...!"

She had him by his middle knuckles. Her hold on the generator began to weaken. The tensors in her wrists screamed in protest. Tears welled in her optics-and the void even pulled those off her face. Sheer desperation kept her steady.

"I won't lose you! Starscream! I won't let go!"

More ice whistled through the air. A landmass directly behind Starscream was lifted away into the dark. Nothing else existed except them, the generator and a ten foot circle of glacier.

Starscream's hand slipped until Arcee only held his fingertips, and they were sliding across her palm. The sharp ends cut into the metal. But Arcee bore the pain. Anything to keep Starscream with her.

"Arcee..."

His fingertips lurched another centimeter. She felt a wire in her wrist break.

"Arcee!" Starscream bellowed. "Look at me!"

Arcee looked up and saw him mouth the three words they couldn't say in the safety of the cave.

"No! Starscream...no!" She struggled desperately to hold on, but the tighter she gripped the harder the void pulled.

The generator beeped and glowed brilliant white. Arcee heard it hum.

"Starscream, it's working! Hold on!"

Starscream smiled at her. A sad smile. A smile that said goodbye.

Suddenly, his fingers were ripped from her grasp. He cartwheeled in the blackness like a marionette without strings.

"Starscream!" Arcee shrieked.

She was still screaming Starscream's name when the EMP hit. Her vision dissolved to static. Then she knew no more.

Chapter 5: Part Five: Ripples FINALE

Notes:

Thirty Days in a Second

Thirty Days in a Second

.o

Finale: Ripples

.o

Coldness.

Silence.

Stillness.

Numbers.

Twenty-four hundred and six seconds.

Twenty four hundred and seven seconds.

Twenty four hundred and eight seconds...

Arcee opened her eyes to the midnight sun shining in a brilliant blue sky. The snow around her sparkled. She swung her hand at a dead Scraplet lying nearby, and her fingers made it roll across the ice.

Back to normal time again. Back to the safety of an intact universe. Back to the war she spent her life fighting.

For her, this was a bittersweet victory. Everything went back to normal minus the person who made it happen. Arcee wiped at her optics. Her Spark ached with memories of red eyes and long fingers, yet she refused let her tears fall. Starscream wouldn't want that.

"Starscream..." She stood up, faced the sun and hung her head to honor his bravery. Her blue armor glistened with frost. "Thank you."

Sacrifice-something she never thought a Decepticon would do. Yet a span of time shorter than a Spark-beat changed everything.

"You're welcome." A voice crooned in her audio.

The pain froze in Arcee's chest. Her optics sprang open wide. She whirled and threw herself into a pair of waiting arms. "Starscream! Oh, scrap...I thought-"

Starscream caught her and covered her mouth with his own. They kissed that way for ages. He pulled back and grinned. That cocky, annoying and wonderful grin she never thought she would see again.

"So did I...for a nanosecond. Are you disappointed that I survived?"

"You aft! You dumbaft!" Arcee snarled. She kicked his legs out from under him and flipped him onto his back in the snow.

"I'll take that as a-oof! Was that really necessary, Arcee?"

Arcee rolled up a snowball and lobbed it point blank. She watched it explode between Starscream's optics.

"Yup. Very necessary."

He wiped his face. "What a strange way to show someone you're happy."

"You should see me on a bad day. I make everybody miserable." Arcee snorted, helping him up. She pulled her temper back and calmly asked, "What about the generator?"

"The void consumed it right after it sent the pulse." His optics gleamed like they did in the cave. "But don't you see? My generator worked. It worked!"

She grinned and clasped his hands. "Time travel."

"The best part is knowing nothing can affect the past. I can write all about my success without worrying about Megatron abusing it later. Unfortunately, it will be millennia before I can build a stable generator and attempt another experiment." His eyebrows went up, "Not that I'm in any hurry."

"I'm gl-"

"Ratchet to Arcee. Do you copy?"

Their smiles faltered. Ratchet's familiar voice was a stark reminder of where in time they were.

Arcee touched her audio. "Copy."

"Thank the Allspark! Are you all right?" Ratchet's voice had a nervous quiver. "The ground bridge just overloaded! Did another bridge open near yours?"

"Yes, but I'm fine. Everything's fine, Ratchet." She squeezed Starscream's hand. "Everything's fine."

"Be on alert," Optimus joined the channel. "Sensors indicate Starscream is close to your location."

Arcee almost giggled. She decided not to spill the peas. Or was it beans? Earth vernacular was still new to her.

"Acknowledged."

"I'll be able to bridge you back shortly. I have to recalibrate your coordinates into the computer." Ratchet said. He sounded utterly relieved.

"Yeah, about that?" She gazed into Starscream's eyes. "You might want to do a Scraplet cleanup. Some of them woke up. There isn't anything worth retrieving here now, but I'm not sure which Scraplets are dead and which are in stasis."

Bulkhead shrieked in the background. That time, Arcee did laugh. She came so close to never seeing their faces again, and they had no idea. To them, she never disappeared at all.

She remembered to stop her timer. Seven hundred and twenty hours, twelve minutes and fifty seven seconds.

"Acknowledged. Prepare to bridge home in five minutes."

"Thanks, Ratchet. Arcee, out." Arcee released her com button and took Starscream's other hand. "Back when I lost my grip...you said something. Did you-"

Starscream nodded his head. He glanced down at their interlocked fingers. His optics had the faintest glimmer of pain. "Now we go back to war."

"And when it's over?" She asked.

"If we're both still here..." He smirked and brought his hands together around hers. His eyes pierced her Spark with a promise from the depths of his own. "I'll be waiting."

She embraced him. He awkwardly returned it.

"Whatever happens, we can remember," Starscream sighed.

Arcee could not believe she felt mech fluid in the corners of her eyes. Then she decided tears weren't the worst thing in the world. She let them fall in silence. He brushed one away with his thumb.

"Kiss me goodbye?" She whispered.

He obliged. It was desperate and hungry, and for that moment time stood still once more.

Electrical discharges signaled an incoming ground bridge. The green portal silhouetted Arcee and Starscream while they held desperately to their goodbye kiss.

Starscream drew back. He released Arcee's hands without a word. She watched him turn and walk away.

Just before she entered the ground bridge, she looked back.

He was doing the same.

Arcee raised her hand in a wave.

Grinning, Starscream waggled his eyebrows. He transformed and lifted off in the time it took Arcee to roll her eyes at that last, asinine gesture.

You arrogant aft. Arcee thought, but she couldn't resist an amused smirk. You never know what the future holds. Sometimes, it falls apart...and sometimes, it changes you. Starscream, if everything works out right...you'll be part of it again. I'll wait as long as it takes.

Arcee faced the portal, admiring the yellow and white striations in its green swirl. She felt like a pond after someone threw in a stone. Her surface looked the same once the ripples died down, but underneath she was forever changed. The same thing happened to Starscream. She saw it in his eyes, and it gave her hope. No matter what happened, they could remember how their lives were altered in the glimmer of an optic.

Arcee composed her expression. Life would go back to normal once she returned to the Autobot base. She couldn't stall forever.

"Arcee?" Ratchet's voice came over her com signal. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just fine. Warping home now."

With a final sigh, she entered the portal and melded back into the present.