Frozen Sparks

by Confused_NPC

Summary:

When Starscream uses a lens from a powerful space telescope and attempts to use it to melt through ice in the Arctic to gain access to an underground Energon deposit. Revealing more than an energon deposit…
-
Skyfire wakes up from being frozen for millions of years. He is unfortunate to find out that his homeworld is gone, there is a civil war going on and his partner is a war criminal… Will these star-crossed lovers be able to reunite under these circumstances?

Notes:

Takes place after episode 14 Out of His Head.

Chapter 1: Thaw

After stopping Starscream from melting a major polar icecap…Team Prime regroups after Megatron leaves Bumblebee’s consciousness and returns to his own body. Clearly, the Decepticons will take time to return to the status quo after Megatron was gone for so long.

As the team gathers and is ready to ground the bridge out of the area, Bumblebee spots something strange near an ice cap. ‘Hey!’ Bumblebee points at the ice cap causing the team to turn to look at what Bumblebee is pointing at. With Raf still on his shoulder Raf also turns and can see what Bumblebee is pointing at. It’s faint but they can see a glimpse of some red and rather large in the ice.

The ice looked partially melted making it easier to see what was in the ice. The team walks over as Bumblebee brushes off some of the snow and melted ice shards revealing a very large bot encased in ice. Ratchet walked over and looked up in utter shock. “A bot? Frozen?” Raf said, confused by what he was seeing.

“Is it Autobot or Decepticon?” Arcee asks as the rest of the team joins, staring at the mystery bot inside the ice. Ratchet begins scanning for vitals as the team looks for an insignia to identify what side they are on. Ratchet’s scan proved that the mystery bot was alive, but his signal was weak. “Bulkhead, can you break some of the ice and see if we can get them out of there?”

Bulkhead walks up and begins bashing at the harder parts of the ice, slowly chipping away at it. The rest of the team joins in using their blasters on the lowest setting to melt away some of the frost and less dense ice. After a few hours, the team was able to excavate the poor bot from the ice. His large white, blue, and red chassis is still covered in frost but Bulkhead and Optimus were able to drag the very large bot out of the ice.

They brought him back to base as no one recognized who he was. He clearly was some kind of seeker based on the large wings and turbines on his back. But he was much larger than most seekers in Megatron’s or Starscream’s ranks. Ratchet scanned the mystery bot again with his medical equipment and hooked him up to an energon drip to help replenish his dwindling supply. Ratchet couldn’t find any insignia on the bot so he must be a NAIL.

“What’s a NAIL?” Raf asked, confused by the strange term.

“A NAIL is a Non-Aligned Indigenous Life-form. Or Bots that didn’t take a side in the war.” Ratchet explained as he continued to monitor the shuttle seeker’s vitals. “Since he has no allegiance to either faction he most likely isn’t dangerous.”

It wasn’t until the next day did the mystery bot came to. He groaned as he sat up slowly clutching his helm, and was slightly shivering from being cold for so long. “Ap, Ap, Ap. Move slowly. Your joints have been frozen for a long time. They are very stiff and delicate at the moment.” Ratchet rushed over to help him up. Ratchet was used to seeing bots taller than him but this bot was almost ridiculously big. He was definitely taller than Optimus and had more bulk on him than Bulkhead. His build and size are probably why he survived in the ice so well and for so long.

“Ugh…my head…where…Where am I?” The mystery bot spoke.

“You are in our base’s med-bay. We found you frozen in the polar ice caps after one of our missions.” Ratchet explained, “What is your name?”

“My name?” The bot repeats and groans again as he rolls his shoulders, “My name is Skyfire.”

“Skyfire, what were you doing in the Arctic?” Ratchet asked, hoping to find out more about this mysterious frozen bot.

“We…we were exploring the planet…on an assignment from the Jhiaxian Academy…” Skyfire muttered,

“The Jhiaxian Academy?” Ratchet said in surprise as obviously the academy was destroyed during the war on Cybertron. Was this poor bot frozen before the war?

“You said we. Who was with you?” Ratchet asked,

“Did…did you not find him with me?” Skyfire asked, confused as panic began to set in. “Was Star not with me?”

“No, you were the only one we found.” Ratchet told him as he changed the energon bag. Skyfire looked down at the ground in shock. “No, no, no, NO! Star had to be in the area! Star…Star has to be ok!” Skyfire began to cry.

“Hey, hey. Calm down. We can send a team to survey the area. We can see if we missed anything but you were in some deep ice. The only reason we found you was because of the Decepticons ridiculous endeavors.” Ratchet tried to calm down the crying shuttle, Skyfire sniffled and looked at Ratchet, “What’s a Decepticon?”

“Oh, Primus no…” Ratchet realized his first instinct was right. He was not aligned with either faction…because he was frozen before the war began! “Hang tight I need to report this to Optimus. He…he can fill you in on matters.”

Ratchet then left to go tell Optimus what he just found and that this poor bot was frozen for 4 million years and has no idea what has been transpiring. Skyfire sat there on the med berth just in complete shock. “Starscream…I really hope you are ok…”

After a few minutes, Optimus and Ratchet entered the med bay. “Hello Skyfire, my name is Optimus Prime. I assume you have many questions.” Optimus said calmly and sweetly to not alarm the poor shuttle.

“A new Prime? Wow, what an honor to meet a Prime.” Skyfire held out a large servo and shook Optimus’s servo in kind. “I must have been frozen longer than I thought.”

“That’s an understatement,” Ratchet said as Skyfire raised a brow. He was curious about what Ratchet meant. Optimus tried to not reprimand Ratchet for the offhand comment but gently explained to Skyfire what had happened was going to need a delicate touch.

“Why would a Prime come to a primitive planet like this one?” Skyfire asked curiously, “Were you trying to determine if energon could grow here? That was part of what me and my partner were doing too. To Survey the planet as a possible energon harvesting site.” Skyfire explained to Optimus.

Optimus nodded, “Energon can indeed grow here on Earth. They grow deep underground in tunnels and mines.”

“Earth? So the planet has a name after all.” Skyfire said in surprise, “So…I guess that mission is done with. So when do we head back to Cybertron?”

Ratchet looked nervously at Optimus. Optimus took a deep inhale and looked at Skyfire. “We cannot go back to Cybertron.”

“What? Why?” Skyfire asked confused,

“You have been frozen for quite some time, Skyfire. After you left Cybertron, a war broke out.” Optimus explained calmly, and Skyfire looked absolutely shocked. “And because of this war, it left our homeworld inhabitable…”

“Wait…so…Cybertron is gone?!” Skyfire exclaimed in horror. Optimus slowly nodded and Skyfire looked over at Ratchet who looked equally upset and was facing away from Skyfire and Optimus. “So…so…” Skyfire was at a loss for words. “So…Cybertronians just live here now?”

 

“Well…no.” Ratchet interrupted, “Cybertronians left the planet in a mass exodus once the planet began dying. And because of resources and just circumstances, we are still fighting the war here, on Earth. Discreetly.”

“Discreetly?” Skyfire asked,

“The inhabitants known as humans are unaware of our presence on Earth. We do not wish to alarm them. Though we Autobots work with the human military of the country known as the United States to help keep our cover and to relay information.” Optimus elaborated, that this was a lot for Skyfire to take in.

“Wow…that’s uh…” Skyfire didn’t know what to do with this information it was just so much. “How..how long was I frozen for then? It must be a while since I missed most of a war…”

“About 4 million years or so.” Ratchet said bluntly, Skyfire’s jaw dropped, “WE’VE BEEN AT WAR FOR 4 MILLION YEAR?!”

Ratchet covered his audio receptors as Skyfire yelled. Optimus remained stoic, “I know this is a lot to process…”

“Process?! I get frozen for 4 million years and find out my home is gone, there’s a war going on and my partner might be dead! How can I process all of this?” Skyfire argued back,

“We do not know if your partner is dead or not.” Ratchet stated,

“Still! A 4 million year war?! There is a high chance Star isn’t alive. I mean he was one of the best fliers in Vos but…I don’t think he’d be cut out for war! He’s a scientist!” Skyfire argued back. Skyfire curled in on himself and wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his head in his lap.

“Optimus.” Optimus turned to look at Ratchet. “Maybe we give him some time to acclimate.”

“I agree. If you need anything Skyfire, do not hesitate to ask.” Optimus said nicely as the two exited the med-bay. Skyfire began to sob again… “I want my Shooting Star back…I want Starscream…”

Chapter 2: Shadows of the Past

Summary:

Skyfire meets the rest of Team Prime. Starscream uses Dark Energon and it goes as well as you expect it to.

Notes:

Thank you everyone for all the kudos and bookmarks! I didn't think the story would be so popular!

It’s been 24 hours since the Autobots thawed out Skyfire and he is not…acclimating to the news of his homeworld gone and there being a war…But the Autobots were hopeful that Skyfire would get over it soon enough.

Skyfire slunk into the main room of the Autobot base and began to look around. Skyfire noticed 3 more bots in the area he didn’t recognize. The yellow one turned and was beeping at him and alerted the other two to Skyfire’s presence.

“Uh hello…” Skyfire said meekly as the other three came over and introduced themselves as Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee. Skyfire noted that Bumblebee has a damaged voice box and it will take him a bit to translate what the scout is saying.

Then Skyfire noticed three other smaller creatures standing in the loft area near the back of the room. Skyfire walked over cautiously to the three small beings on the loft. “Uh…hello?”

“Hiya!” the one with pink hair said back, the other two waved. They introduced themselves as Jack, Raf, and Miko, the three human partners to the three bots Skyfire just met. “So you are Who-mans?” Skyfire said Jack shook his head “No, it’s pronounced Humans.”

“But there is no e in it…how is it Hue-mans?” Skyfire asked but the humans just looked at each other, not knowing how to explain English to an alien.

Optimus entered the room and saw Skyfire asking the human teens all about humans and their cultures. He even pulled out a small data pad…which was a normal-sized datapad but just looked comically small in Skyfire’s servos. “So there are different races and backgrounds of humans? Like Cybertronians?”

The kids explained the best they could, but some of Skyfire's questions were difficult for three kids to answer. Optimus walked over to Skyfire. “Skyfire, maybe give the humans a break. They are not scientists or historians, so they cannot answer all your questions.”

“Oh…sorry.” Skyfire puts his data pad away. “I can get pretty carried away sometimes.”

“All good, big guy.” Miko held up a thumbs up. Skyfire smiled at the friendly human girl and felt a bit more at ease. She reminded him of Starscream’s trine mate, Skywarp.

“So is this the main base of operations?” Skyfire asked, looking around the base area. “Yes, this is the Autobot base, Skyfire. Let me give you a tour.” Skyfire and Optimus left to go deeper into the base as Optimus began describing things around the base.

The three Autobots watched their leader and Skyfire disappear into the base. “So he seems nice.” Bulkhead said, breaking the awkward silence.

“I get why he would be skittish around us.” Arcee said, putting her servos on her hips. “Waking up after being frozen for 4 million years. I’d be wary and scared too.”

‘But at least he ended up with us and not the Decepticons.’ Bumblebee pointed out,

“Good point Bee. Who knows what Megatron would tell this poor bot.” Bulkhead noted,

“Nothing good probably. He and Starscream would probably fill his poor head with lies.” Arcee added that the three bots began discussing their next steps now that they have a new recruit.
———
Megatron was awake now and no longer in a coma from the space bridge explosion. And of course, finding out that Starscream tried to scrap him while he was unconscious wasn’t ideal either. Of course, the warlord had to punish and knock the sense back into the ambitious seeker after his failed attempt at leadership.

Starscream lay there on the medical berth covered in scratches, scrapes, dents, and littered with energon. Starscream was hooked up to the life support machine that Megatron was on not less than a day ago. The seeker was wheezing as he was in such pain from Megatron’s beating that it hurt even to move.

Starscream was lost in thought. He was so close to leadership, Primus he was close to taking out Optimus Prime if it wasn’t for Megatron coming out of the blue. Starscream could hear the droplets of energon coming from his frame. Guess Knock Out missed a spot to patch up. Starscream was still in disbelief of this. A day ago he was the leader, now he was scrap on a table…

Starscream heard pede fall as he opened his optics. He saw Megatron himself coming in. A feeling of panic and fear came over Starscream as he hoped Megatron wasn’t coming for round 2. “It would seem you are awake, Starscream.”

“Ye…Yes, Master.” Starscream said weakly,

“Are you resting comfortably?” Megatron asks sarcastically,

“I-” Starscream didn’t get a chance to answer before Megatron continued talking, “Despite the extent of your injuries. Our medical staff ensures me that you will make a full recovery…”

Starscream can hear the venom and sarcasm dripping from Megatron’s words. How little he actually cared if the seeker lived or died. Starscream groaned in pain as he tried to sit up in the berth and look at his master.

“Hopefully my recovery will be as swift as your wrath is, my liege…” Starscream coughed up some energon as it trickled out of his mouth and down his face. Starscream tried to wipe it away but his arm could barely lift high enough to get to his mouth.

Megatron began to chuckle, “Swift. An appropriate word. As swiftly things can change. As a short time ago it was you who was standing here while I was lying there. Right after your failed attempt to terminate me. But know this dear Starscream…our positions will never again be reversed.” Megatron then turned to walk out the door leaving Starscream to linger there in med bay.

Starscream’s anger began to rise. Megatron gloated over him, making him remember how he fumbled so hard. Starscream growled in anger and managed to sit up and began ripping the lift support cables out from his body. He got to his pedes and began to limp out of the med bay.

Outside the med bay, Knock Out was going over Starscream’s charts when he heard the door behind him hiss open. A limping Starscream came out which alarmed Knock Out. “Starscream?! What are you doing?! You haven’t fully recuperated yet!”

“I’m fine Knock Out! You’re a brilliant physician and did an amazing job.” Starscream said rather quickly to get the medic off his back. Knock Out walked over and was trying to help Starscream but then Starscream shoved him away. “Now get out of my way!” Starscream shouted then began limping away…Starscream once out of earshot of any Decepticons removed the Dark Energon shard from his subspace.

“Dark Energon may have replenished your strength master…” Starscream groaned as he leaned on the side of the hallway. “But how could you forget to reclaim your original shard?” Starscream said, looking at the glowing purple shard in front of him.

“Once the blood of Unicron flows through my veins…our positions shall be reversed… permanently…” Starscream said with an evil smirk on his face.
—----
“I hoped that my growing expertise on the subject would remain purely academic but…” Ratchet pointed to the screen of the computer which was showing signs of Dark Energon. “This is clearly a sign of a Dark Energon signature…”

“Dark Energon? Isn’t that just an old myth?” Skyfire asked the team. Optimus and Ratchet exchanged looks as they had to reveal to poor Skyfire the blood of Unicron was indeed real.

“Dark Energon is indeed a real thing, Skyfire. And Megatron sought it out to use it for his own purposes.” Optimus explained poor Skyfire was completely lost. “Who is Megatron?”

“Oh brother…” Bulkhead said, shaking his head. Arcee elbowed the wrecker in the side for being insensitive. Optimus also glared at Bulkhead but said nothing. “Megatron or… Megatronus, as you might have known him, is the leader of the Decepticons.”

“Wait…the gladiator from Kaon? He’s the leader?! Wow, that’s…something…” Skyfire said in surprise at this news.

“But recently Megatron used Dark Energon to reanimate deceased soldiers from the warrior on Cybertron to create an undead army.” Optimus explained further. Skyfire looked absolutely horrified. Someone bringing the dead back to life? And for such a wicked purpose…it’s terrible to think about. “But we managed to stop him. But it looks like Megatron is trying again…”

“So where did Megatron get more of that stuff?” Arcee asked,

‘And where is he going?’ Bumblebee added not liking the idea of Dark Energon out and about.

“Especially since the signature is moving at an alarming speed.” Ratchet added,

“And it’s heading to a familiar site…” Optimus said ominously, Skyfire was totally lost at what the Prime was alluding to.
—---
Starscream was speeding as fast as he could with all the injuries he had to Skyquake’s grave site. Starscream landed without his normal flourish as he didn’t want to aggravate more of his injuries. He saw the grave site in front of him and had the Dark Energon in servo ready to animate his own undead soldier.

“Ah, the grave site of the mighty Skyquake…so quick to reject my authority while you lived. But as the first of my reanimated warriors…you shall bow to my command.” Starscream split the Dark Energon shard in two and threw one half into the grave and the light from the Dark Energon seeped through the cracks of the rubble where Skyquake’s body rested.

Starscream opened up his spark chamber and stabbed the shard right into his spark chamber. Starscream immediately felt the effects of the Dark Energon course through his veins… He felt the sinister energy flow through his body. He expected to hear Unicron’s voice or some surge of power but…he just… burst into flames. It didn’t hurt…but this didn’t happen to Megatron when he did it. Starscream assumed maybe it just manifested differently but he assumed his new undead soldier would be ready soon…
—---
“It would seem Megatron is barely back from stasis and is making up for lost time. We must stop him from resurrecting Skyquake.” Optimus told his team, Skyfire was no fighter. He had no desire to fight or deal with undead warriors. Ratchet said that he would go in Skyfire’s stead and let Skyfire man the ground bridge here at the base. And Optimus insisted that Ratchet come as he knows more about Dark Energon than most of the team.

“Uh…how do you operate a ground bridge?” Skyfire asked meekly, he hated being annoying he was always told in the academy that he asked annoying questions but he really was just nervous to fumble anything. Arcee volunteered to hang back and give Skyfire a rundown of the system. Arcee pulled the lever to the ground bridge and the portal sprang to life as the four bots walked through. Little did Arcee or Skyfire notice that the four bots weren’t the only ones to exit the portal. The three humans also ran through the portal as Miko was determined to view her first ‘Zombie Con’.

The team realized rather quickly it wasn’t Megatron reanimating Skyquake but Starscream. “Starscream!” Optimus called out, Starscream turned to see Optimus Prime pointing his blaster at him. “Autobots!” Starscream yelled back aiming his missile at them.

“Stand down!” Optimus ordered his blaster trained on Starscream.

“No! You stand down!” Starscream then shot a missile at the group of Autobots. The team took cover behind two boulders that were nearby. “You cannot harm me while Dark Energon runs through my veins!” Starscream cried out hoping that like Megatron the Dark Energon in him would give him some sort of regenerative ability.

Unfortunately, that was unlikely as Optimus aimed, fired, and blew off Starscream’s arm. Apparently, Starscream should have listened to Knock Out as his injuries must have made his joints weak and able to be blown off so easily. Starscream saw his arm without his forearm and that his forearm landed a few feet away. He scrambled to grab it and hid behind a boulder near Skyquake’s grave.

He was pissed that it was taking so long for the damned brute to reanimate. Starscream couldn’t wait his arm was gone and he was in no condition to fight. The Autobots were closing in but then he heard the voice of a female he didn’t recognize…Starscream peaked over and saw in the distance the human allies of the Autobots were all here too. Starscream hoped this would distract them so he could make a clean getaway…

Then randomly two ground bridges showed up at the same time very close to one another… Which one was the Decepticons? And which one was the Autobots? Starscream didn’t care and hopped through the closest one and miraculously escaped the Autobots. But where the heck did his severed arm go? Did he lose it in the ground bridge? No matter, he’ll just go see Knock Out and get a new one out of storage…
—---
The Autobots saw that the two ground bridges that were close to each other caused a weird feedback loop and sent the four of them flying into a large mountain face. After the dust settled they hoped that the kids returned to base ok…

They asked Arcee and Skyfire to summon a ground bridge hoping they could locate the kids as Arcee or Skyfire didn’t see the kids arrive at base and since Starscream didn’t land in their base…the kids could be on the Nemesis or hopefully displaced in a third location.

Ratchet was doing various calculations to locate the missing children. Skyfire paused “Why did the kids go to the battle site, don't they know that’s dangerous?” Skyfire asked the team,

“You don’t know Miko…trouble is her middle name…” Bulkhead answered,

“What’s a middle name? Like a secondary designation?” Skyfire asked, Bulkhead paused…dang this new guy was dense…

“Is there a way to locate the child if they were sent to another location, Ratchet?” Optimus asked,

“Unlike us, the kids do not have tracking beacons so there is no way to know.” Ratchet answered,

‘Why don’t we just call them?’ Bumblebee suggested,

“Great idea, Bee!” Bulkhead then tried to call Miko and heard her cell phone ringtone echo in the base…well Miko was out of the question. Arcee then tried calling Jack and only got static and no answer, things were not looking good.
—----
Back on the Nemesis Starscream had the awkward moment of walking into the med bay with one singular arm…. Knock Out immediately put him back on the medical berth he stubbornly left earlier. “Starscream…” Knock Out wasn’t sure how to really ask this or understand how this happened, “So how exactly did you lose your arm?”

“I was just minding my own business and then it just…Fell off! Can you imagine the horror of me just standing there and then kerplunk! Gone!” Starscream lied hoping Knock Out would buy it, “Clearly Megatron inflicted more damage to me than you realized! Doctor….” Starscream practically hissed the last part hoping to make it sound more convincing…

“Ok…” Knock Out didn’t want to pry further for risk of a Starscream tantrum… “Well, this would be a perfect time for an upgrade then!” Knock Out made a few suggestions for upgrades but Starscream insisted on just a replacement…no need for any new fancy nonsense.

“Uh, Starscream…how do I put this delicately…your current model of the part is well…rather dated…” Knock Out was trying to say gingerly and to not upset Starscream.

“Are you calling me old?” Starscream glared at Knock Out,

“No, no your parts are…you haven’t had a model upgrade in quite some time…maybe you need to refresh the frame…” Knock Out was trying to be nice. Starscream in reality wasn’t old he just was bad at not getting his parts damaged…no thanks to Megatron…

“And what do you suggest a frame change?! We lack the resources for such a cosmetic request!” Starscream shouted, “My frame is fine, I just need a new arm!”

“Well, where is it?” Knock Out sassed back, “If you were doing nothing it should be hard to retrieve because I doubt I have another one lying around!”

Starscream paused, scrap he must have dropped it near Skyquake’s grave. “Well, it’s unrecoverable…”

“Uh huh…ok how did you really lose your arm?” Knock Out raised a brow and crossed his arms. Starscream was trying to come up with a lie when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He winced and doubled over…it was the shard… Starscream opened his chassis as Knock Out looked both confused and concerned as a shard of Dark Energon went flying out of his chest cavity and right into the wall. Leaving a sharp shard embedded in the wall of the med bay…

Knock Out and Starscream both looked dumbfounded as the shard was still glowing…apparently the Dark Energon didn’t really go into his system or his system just put it all back into the shard and just purged it in the most violent way possible…

“What the frag was that?!” Knock Out looked at Starscream. Starscream awkwardly chuckled and closed his chest plating… “Ok…hear me out…”

“Uh huh…” Knock Out was now more curious to hear Starscream’s explanation now…
—---
Back at the Autobot base, the team was still scrambling to try and find the kids. When Skyfire noticed Miko’s phone was buzzing. “Hey guys are the human phones supposed to buzz and light up?”

The team turned as Skyfire opened the pink flip phone and read the message on the screen. “In alternate dimension with zombie…help.” Skyfire read the message alarming the team.

“How is that even possible?” Arcee asks,

Optimus turns to Ratchet “Ratchet can we triangulate the geographic location of the cell phone signal?”

“In an alternate dimension?!” Ratchet asked incredulously,

“Easily.” Skyfire said as he walked over to the computer and began typing at a crazy fast speed, especially for someone with such large fingers. Skyfire started explaining with math, science, and terminology that even Ratchet had a hard time following clearly Skyfire was in his element.

“Calculating for relative time delays, spacial quadratics, and using the triangulation protocols of the ground bridge you can see that the signal came from the original ground bridge coordinates.” Skyfire said proudly, even Ratchet was impressed by his ability to explain the science behind it.

“But we looked there already.” Bulkhead pointed out,

“Yes but now calculating the ionic displacement and the fact they mentioned they were in another dimension…you said there was a feedback loop right?” Skyfire asked, Ratchet nodded. Skyfire began to type more, “All you have to do is recreate the feedback loop and basically recreate what happened and they should come out…”

Skyfire using the ground bridge system recreated the feedback loop and opened a portal where the kids were last pinged. The team teleported there and watched as the three kids ran out safe from any zombie Cons and out of the Shadowzone…

Chapter 3: Bonding

Summary:

Skyfire and Arcee bond over their old partners

It's been a few days since Skyfire woke up from his deep freeze stasis. And he has been acclimating more and more to life at the Autobot base. He really hasn’t left the base yet as he is told the inhabitants of the planet don’t know about them and that he isn’t exactly the best at stealth…

Skyfire decided to go to the top of the base and watch the sunset… He and Starscream used to fly to the highest point in Vos and watch the sunsets there…It was always romantic and very soothing to Skyfire. He really missed Starscream… Hopefully, Starscream is alive somewhere and they can be reunited…

But to Skyfire's surprise, he sees Arcee up top sitting on the edge watching the sunset next to a rather large pile of rocks. “Can I join you?” Skyfire asked which startled Arcee, “Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you…”

“For such a big guy you can be strangely quiet…” Arcee jokes,

Skyfire sat down next to Arcee. “Did you come to watch the sunset too?”

“Yeah. I just needed some air. Being stuck in the base all the time can be a lot...” Arcee answered but did not look at Skyfire.

“Me and my partner used to fly to the tallest point in Vos to watch the sunset…nothing like watching Luna-1 come into the sky over the Vosian skyline…” Skyfire said in almost a dreamy manner.

Arcee looked up at Skyfire, “Your partner huh? Optimus mentioned you were on a mission and your partner is MIA.”

“Yeah, I hope they are out there somewhere and not…” Skyfire looked down off the ledge, “You know.”

“I know a little too well actually.” Arcee said somberly,

“Oh…yeah…war…” Skyfire said bluntly, then it took him a second. “Scrap! I didn’t mean it like that!” He panicked, and Arcee just softly chuckled, “It’s alright I know you didn’t mean it to be hurtful.”

“I…just lost my most recent partner, Cliffjumper…” Arcee said sadly as she looked over at the rock pile.

“Oh…I’m sorry, Arcee…” Skyfire looked over and saw a small rusted horn on top of the rock pile.

“I don’t know who terminated him but…when I find out…” Arcee punches her hand signifying her anger and wanting to punish the bot responsible. “They’re going to be scrapped…”

“I bet Cliffjumper was a cool guy. Obviously, I never met him but…you seem like a cool person and you and your partner must be similar…right?” Skyfire asked,

Arcee chuckled, “Cliff? No way. Cliffjumper was always the first to dive into danger and come up with the most ridiculous strategies. He was sarcastic, hot-headed, and overly friendly…It’s why I loved him so much…” Arcee looked out toward the sun, “He was way different than Tailgate.”

“Tailgate?” Skyfire asked,

“My first partner. He was terminated on a scouting mission by an assassin named Airachnid…” Arcee sneered, “And unfortunately she is here on Earth…”

“Do you think Airachnid took out Cliffjumper?” Skyfire asked as if Airachnid took out her first partner it would be logical to think she could take out her second. “No, she wasn’t on Earth when Cliff went offline.”

“And it gets worse…” Arcee lifted her legs and wrapped her arms around them “Megatron used Cliff’s body to test Dark Energon and…he turned him into a Terrorcon…”

Skyfire looked at Arcee with pity, “That’s awful…I’m so sorry Arcee…” Skyfire cannot imagine the horrors Arcee and the rest of the team must have gone through over 4 million years of fighting…Skyfire is almost glad he missed most of it.

Skyfire could see tears beginning to well up in Arcee’s optics. “Hey, hey! Don’t cry!” Skyfire tried to console, “Think of all the good things about Cliffjumper and Tailgate…instead of how they went out…”

“You’re right…” Arcee wiped away the tears. “Sorry, I’ve been a downer…what about you?”

“About my what?” Skyfire asked confused,

“Your partner. What were they like?” Arcee asked,

Skyfire realized what Arcee meant “Oh! I get it now. My little Shooting Star. He was well…my total opposite.”

“Really?” Arcee asked with a raised brow.

“Really. I was more introverted and awkward and he was so boisterous and loud! He could command a room with his charisma and his intellect!” Skyfire gushed about his partner, “Star wasn’t just a brilliant scientist he was also one of the best fliers in all of Vos! He and his trine were part of an elite flying team that competed in the Vosian flying derby every year and won 10 years in a row!” Skyfire spread out his arms in excitement. “Star and I were paired for an assignment at the Jhiaxian Academy. That’s how we met and our friendship then…relationship…developed…” Skyfire blushed a soft blue as he was embarrassed getting so animated about Starscream.

“Ah…so it was more than a partnership…I see.” Arcee playfully teased,

Skyfire blushed more, “Yeah…it was. His trine accepted me immediately when I traveled to Vos to meet them. They were just happy Star finally found someone.”

“I don’t know much about trine or seeker culture but they’re like partners right?” Arcee asks,

“Uh well, it’s more complicated than that. I’m from Luna-1. We don’t really do the whole trining and squading thing. That’s more of a Helix and Vos thing. Star tried explaining it to me and it was like he was speaking a whole other language.” Skyfire admitted, “But either way his trine mates were his brothers so it was meeting important family members.”

“I see. So you two were really close.” Arcee said, leaning in a bit. “Yeah, we were inseparable. We took assignments together despite being different majors and wanting different things.”

Skyfire looked out as the sun was practically gone over the mountains of Jasper. “I miss him a lot. He always knew what to do in dire situations. He is such a small little seeker compared to me. I hope he isn’t frozen in the ice somewhere near where I was…”

“I bet he is still out there, Skyfire.” Arcee puts a servo on his back, “This Star guy sounds like a pretty good-hearted mech. And I bet he didn’t get frozen in the Arctic. He’s out there, I know it.”

The sun set and Arcee decided to get up. “It was nice chatting with you, Skyfire.” She then turned to leave to go back into the base.

Skyfire sat there looking out at the now night sky. “Starscream you better still be alive out there…” He said under his breath as he too went back into the base.

Chapter 4: Trapped

Summary:

Starscream gets stuck in a cave-in with the Autobots. Then one of them brings up the name Starscream hasn’t heard of in 4 million years.

Megatron asked Starscream to accompany him to an energon mine immediately. The two left the Nemesis and flew out to the mine in question. Starscream felt a pang of nervousness as he recognized the mine as one of his secret stashes. Hopefully, this is just Megatron wanting to reassess the mine and nothing more…right?

“Lord Megatron…” Starscream spoke up, “Far be it from me to question your intentions but…I do not understand why we have returned here after all this time. This mine hasn’t been active in more than 5 years…especially if this is a survey operation…we could have just sent Vehicons to-”

“Enough. Follow me inside Starscream…” Megatron said to stop the seeker from prattling on more. Starscream frowned and then internally panicked; they were alone and now going into a cramped, underground cave. This did not look good. Starscream worriedly walked behind Megatron into the cavern hoping whatever this is would be over quickly. Maybe a remote beating? A quick survey? A…no not one of those…it’s been ages since the two were together like that…

Megatron entered a larger part of the cavern and Starscream immediately saw his first big mistake…there were still drills in the cavern from when he hid the energon in the walls…hoping no one would find his emergency stash… “How intriguing…” Megatron said lowly and without surprise.

“What?!” Starscream faked surprise as he decided to play it up to help hide his misdeeds. “Incompetent fools! This mining equipment should have been relocated! Why is it still here?”

Megatron then looked at the angry little seeker, “That is a valid question.”

Starscream cleared his throat to hopefully talk his way out of whatever Megatron was about to do to him…”Please forgive me master for this oversight…I believe though it was Soundwave who was in charge of transport…” Trying to shift the blame to Soundwave…Megatron would never beat Soundwave…so it was a plausible lie that could get him out of a thrashing.

Megatron softly growled at them blaming of Soundwave. “But in all fairness during your interstellar travels, we all had to assume more responsibilities. Clearly, mistakes were made.” Starscream started backing up hoping that Megatron wasn’t going to grab him or hit him into the ground or the cave wall.

“Yes…Clearly…” He said in a low but irritated tone. Megatron then reeled back and punched his servo into the wall and plucked out a massive chunk of raw energon. “So this mine was stripped clean, hmm?”

“Master, I can explain!” Starscream panicked…he knew…

“Explain what?! That you have been hoarding a supply of energon for your personal use?” Megatron then dropped the chunk onto the ground and began to walk towards the frightened seeker.

“I have been wise to your transgression since the beginning…” Megatron walked a steady and menacing pace towards Starscream as Starscream began to back up more and more… “Not only did you pluck the Dark Energon from my chest in a failed attempt to snuff my spark. But you tried to raise your own undead warrior with it. It’s no secret you lost your arm in the process. And you failed to discretely have had replaced since then.”

“Damn it Knock Out!” Starscream yelled in frustration, he knew he shouldn’t have told Knock Out the truth. “Oh, I didn’t hear it from Knock Out…”

“Oh…” Starscream said awkwardly as he jumped back more and more as Megatron grew closer and closer. “Soundwave is quite adept at surveillance…I can assure you…” Of course, it was Soundwave.

Starscream’s mind was racing; there was no way to recover from this. He was going to get another mind-numbing thrashing from Megatron…just in a cave…he hoped. “The fact is Starscream…despite your treachery I’ve allowed you to carry on this long because I took a certain delight in your string of failures.” Megatron’s gestures and pacing were dramatic and intentional to make Starscream squirm as much as possible. The seeker was hunched back in an awkward position as Megatron leaned back up to his full height. “And now you’ve become tiresome…predictable…” Megatron aimed his fusion cannon right in Starscream’s face. “You’ve hit rock bottom…”

Starscream realized this trip wasn’t for a thrashing or anything promiscuous…it was to be his tomb. “Lord Megatron, I beg you! Please spare me!” Starscream got on his servos and pedes and was groveling for mercy from the warlord…Starscream can’t die like this. In an old energon mine being shot dead like a wild animal…

“You have ceased to be of use to me Starscream…so you shall cease to be!” Megatron announced as Starscream looked around panicked trying to come up with a reason to spare his life…he sees…a human?

Starscream did a quick double-take as he saw coming out from deeper in the mine Arcee and her human partner. Megatron followed Starscream’s line of sight and saw the Autobots staring back at them. Megatron growled and yelled in frustration that he didn’t notice the Autobots at all. He began wildly blasting at Arcee.

The Autobot grabbed her partner and hid behind some rocks to help protect Jack from Megatron’s blasts. Megatron began walking closer to where Arcee was as he continued to fire. His full attention was on the Autobot as Starscream looked towards the exit of the cave…this was his golden opportunity to escape…to live…

Megatron heard receding pede falls as he turned to see Starscream running for his life. “Starscream! You coward! You dare abandon me?!”

Megatron’s rage then focused on the retreating seeker as Megatron nearly blasted Starscream. He then transformed into his alt-mode and flew out of the narrow cave dodging all of Megatron’s attempts to ground and terminate him. Starscream managed to escape as Megatron’s wild blasts caused a cave-in narrowly… Starscream flew fast as he heard the rocks around him begin to fall and crumble. But a large boulder hit his wing and caused him to go spiraling vertically as his systems were blaring at him to stop. He transformed back into bot mode and went sliding across the ground. He was stuck in the cave-in so close to freedom…

It took Starscream a bit to dig himself a small pocket of space he could get to his pedes in. Starscream’s systems were so discombobulated that he didn’t know what direction was out…so he just started digging. After a while, he was feeling tired, claustrophobic, and scared. Will he find his way out? He heard something…banging? Metal banging…was it Megatron?

Starscream did realize during the digging that if he left Megatron for scrap and Megatron did get out…he would be hunted down no doubt. But if Starscream rescued Megatron…Megatron would have to spare him…right?

Starscream got closer to the banging and pulled the right boulder. “Put any doubt of my loyalty to rest, master. I have come to-” Starscream paused his speech as he realized it was not Megatron…but Bulkhead and his human companion. Frag. Wrong bot.

“What’s he doing down here?” Miko said in surprise and a hint of fear.

Starscream noticed that Bulkhead was holding up the ceiling of the room.

“Miko, get behind me, now!” Bulkhead ordered as Starscream dug his way further into the room.

“Well, well this is an unexpected surprise…” Starscream said walking into the room, “It’s Bulkhead and his pet human…Miko was it?” Miko ran behind Bulkhead and glared up at the seeker. “It certainly looks like you have your servos full, Bulkhead.” Starscream taunted the Autobot.

“Do whatever you want to me Starscream but leave the human out of it!” Bulkhead snapped back at the seeker. “Miko, run!”

“No!” Miko protested, “I’m not leaving you behind, Bulk!”

“It appears that the human wants to stay…” Starscream playfully tries to grab the human only to annoy and taunt Bulkhead further.

“Starscream…don’t try pushing me! You’ll regret it!” Bulkhead warned as Starscream walked behind Bulkhead towards Miko.

“You think you’re a big tough seeker!” Miko yelled back at Starscream, “ I know a bigger, tougher one than you! And he’s like three times your size!”

“Oh really?” Starscream said not believing her. Starscream cut off Miko as she turned to see Starscream looming over her. “And since when do Autobots have seekers in their ranks?”

“Since we got him out of the ice! Skyfire can totally kick your scrawny metal butt!” Miko yelled at Starscream. Starscream’s mischievous smirk quickly faded. “What the frag did you just say…” Starscream said coldly and quickly.

No, Starscream must have misheard the human. She couldn’t have said Skyfire…they were on a different planet…an extremely primitive one. Not Earth…He lost Skyfire in that snowstorm all those eons ago…He couldn’t have been frozen on Earth this whole time…could he?

“How did you learn that designation…” Starscream hissed at Miko.

“Miko, don’t answer him.” Bulkhead instructed, “He’s just trying to mess with us.”

“HOW DID YOU LEARN THAT DESIGNATION?!?!” Starscream shrieked making the cavern shake a little with how loud he was. Miko covered her ears. “Answer me?!” Starscream was getting angry. Was this human taunting him with the name of his dead lover? How low…Starscream wasn’t going to stand for it.

Starscream reached for Miko again to hold the human in place to get answers. But Bulkhead swiftly kicked Starscream into the wall of the room. Starscream clutched his torso as he puked energon. “Gross.” Miko said with a look of disgust.

Starscream wiped away the energon from his mouth, “You arrogant Autobots! I will-”

“You’ll what? Make me bring down the ceiling onto all of us?” Bulkhead yelled back. He had a point. Starscream could exit the cavern and try to find Megatron but no…this human had to answer him…did the Autobots truly excavate Skyfire? Was he alive? Was this all a cruel trick? He has to know.

Starscream went for Miko again but then a loud whirring noise caught his attention as a mining drill came out of the wall and caused Starscream to go flying back. “Jack! Get Miko out of here!” Bulkhead ordered as the human Jack jumped down from the drill and went to take Miko out of here. Bulkhead was really struggling with the cave ceiling and it was evident the big brute couldn’t hold it for much longer. By the time Starscream got to his pedes Jack and Miko were leaving the cave by using the drill. No, Miko knew something…but maybe Bulkhead would know too.

“And then there were two…” Starscream said coldly, “Now before the ceiling gives in on you…answer my question…How. Do. You. Know. Skyfire?!” Starscream shouted the last part.

“Skyfire? How do you know him?” Bulkhead asked confused,

“I’m the one asking questions here!” Starscream swiped with his arm. “Answer me! How do you know that designation?!”

Then the unfortunate happens yet again for Starscream. As he turned to see Arcee with her blaster pointed at him. He knew where this was going and sighed in defeat… Starscream at blaster point took Bulkhead’s position and was now holding up the ceiling. The Autobots leave through the tunnel Jack made with the drill and they are gone leaving Starscream holding up the ceiling of the room.

Starscream tried to inch his way closer to where he came in…slowly and carefully when he heard pede falls, heavy ones. “Master?!” Starscream called out as Megatron turned the corner to see Starscream in quite the predicament.

“Master, I came back for you! Master help me please!” Starscream begged as Megatron only glared at the seeker. “Master?!”

Chapter 5: Turning Point

Summary:

Starscream and Airachnid were sent after a Decepticon weapon. Only Airachnid leaves Starscream for scrap and Starscream has to make a choice

Megatron decided to dig out Starscream from the cave and allow him back into the Decepticon ranks. He did come back to save him despite his cowardly nature so there is some hope for the poor seeker. But Megatron had a special request for Starscream in order to really allow the seeker back onto the ship. A formal apology that would be broadcast over the Nemesis and recorded by Soundwave…shaming the seeker.

“I have made mistakes. Monumental ones. I now realize that I was never meant to be a leader or even an equal partner.” Starscream clenched his servos at that line thinking back to him and Megatron’s… relationship… “And I am at peace with that. I have gained a clear understanding of my place in the universe. Of who I am…Starscream.” He looked up at Soundwave’s visor, “Humble second-in-command to Lord Megatron. Thank you for listening…”

Starscream finished his recording and walked into the bridge of the Nemesis. He saw Airachnid and Megatron conversing…since her return to their ranks, Airachnid has been an annoying thorn in Starscream’s side.

“Is this true?!” Megatron said annoyed.

“Did Starscream not mention it?” Airachnid asked,

Starscream knew she was trying to get him in trouble for something now…He cleared his throat and walked over like he didn’t just get sold out. “And what exactly did I forget to mention?” Starscream interrupted causing the two to turn towards him.

“Starscream…” Megatron said with venom on his glossa. He may have allowed him to return to the ship but clearly, his opinion of him hasn’t improved. “The Harbinger…”

“What about the Harbinger?” Starscream asked, wondering why Megatron had an interest in the ship.

“Eons ago a Decepticon transport ship crash-landed on this planet.” Airachnid brought up visuals of the Harbinger on the ship’s screen.

“Common knowledge. We scouted the crash site when we first arrived on Earth.” Starscream said confidently, whatever Airachnid was up to it wasn’t working.

“Well, then you obviously recovered the experimental weapon prototype the Harbinger was transporting?” Airachnid asked, and there it was. Starscream winced he did not in fact recover any weapon from the crash site.

“Where is the crash site?” Megatron asked,

“It was never logged.” Airachnid smirked,

“So you are telling me not only that you failed to recover the weapon and you failed to record the location of the crash site?!” Megatron yelled at Starscream. Starscream flinched back expecting a hit but he recomposed himself to not look weak in front of Airachnid of all bots.

“An unfortunate oversight. But I know its exact location. “ Starscream taps his helm for emphasis.

“Then you can lead Airachnid there. So that she can retrieve the prototype for me.” Megatron ordered and turned away from the two. Airachnid looked over at Starscream with a triumphant smirk.

“My own native guide! How charming…” Airachnid said condescendingly. Starscream was shaking with rage…Now he has to guide Airachnid there.

The two headed out to the location. “This isn’t the Harbinger.” She said annoyed at Starscream hoping the blasted seeker actually knew where he was going.

“I will reveal the exact location of the Harbinger, once you tell me what we are looking for.” Starscream argued back.

“That information is need to know. As in you don’t need to know.” Airachnid sassed,

“I’ll have you know I am not to be trifled with…you can ask Cliffjumper…Oh wait you can’t 'cause I snuffed him out!” Starscream sassed back.

“You snuffed an Autobot?” Airachnid said almost impressed,

“Yes I did and without mercy…” Starscream said proudly,

“Even Megatron showed you mercy when he planned to terminate you at the mine.” Airachnid said rather matter-of-factly.

“What?! He told you about that?!” Starscream said in surprise.

“We talk.” Airachnid said with a cheeky grin.

Starscream rolled his optics, “The wreck is right below us…now let me find a point of entry…” Before Starscream could even turn around, Airachnid using her spider legs began drilling into the dirt down to the wreckage. Airachnid activated the ship's cargo manifest to locate where the weapon was being held. Starscream was going to say something about the Autobots being able to track it but honestly, it would be funnier for her to lose the weapon to the Autobots.

Airachnid scuttled to the section of the ship but only found a large dirt wall. “This ship must have split in half during the crash…” She said out loud. Starscream knew this. He just wanted her to tell him what they were looking for finally. “Or in the air…” Starscream said in a sassy tone.

“What?” She asked irritated,

“If you did your research, you would know that the ship was shot out of the sky by an Autobot battalion,” Starscream said confidently, finally he had her cornered.

“How far away is the other half?” She asked, now irritated with the seeker’s antics. Starscream looked at his sharp digits. “Well, that information is…need to know…” throwing her own words back at her.

Airachnid had enough of Starscream and decided to web the bastard. She shot out two webs that wrapped around his body causing him to lose balance and fall to the ground. Starscream was left in a state of shock as he didn’t see this outburst coming. “You are trying to make me look like a fool in front of Lord Megatron! Have me return empty-handed while you locate that weapon yourself.” She explained her reasoning for the webbing.

Honestly…Starscream didn’t plan that far. He just wanted her to look stupid. Recovering the weapon himself made sense but…honestly, he was just getting tired of the upper-rank politics and the fact she is trying to weasel her way into his position. So yes it was sabotage…but not to make himself look better.

“You are nothing more than a glorified opportunist and a scavenger! Nothing more!” Starscream hissed back at her. She leaned down in his face as he was insulting her, “Aren’t you one to talk…”

“I may have been an opportunist in the past but I have changed!” Starscream argued back,

“You’ll end up like Cliffjumper if you do start telling me where the other half of the ship is.” She hissed back,

Starscream grumbled in frustration, “A few klicks north of here through a stone arch.”

Airachnid leaned up on her spider legs and began to walk away. Starscream called out for her to untie him but she turned back towards him with a smirk, “When I retrieve the weapon I will come back. But that might be hard without my guide…” She alluded to leaving him there to rust. Starscream was enraged by her underhandedness. She left as Starscream started screaming profanities at her.

Starscream stopped when he stopped hearing her pede falls. He turned over onto his back. He was fed up. All the work he did for the Decepticons and they treat him like scrap! Skyfire… the human mentioned his name back in the caves the other day…did the Autobots have him? Is he really alive after all this time? And if so…could he join him with the Autobots? It wouldn’t be ideal at all but better than being left for scrap by ‘teammates’ and being beaten by their glorious leader.

But then he heard blaster fire and fighting. Just like he thought the Autobots did pinpoint the location. The fighting was brief and then he got picked up by Bumblebee and Bulkhead and brought to Optimus and Arcee who were topside now after chasing Airachnid. Starscream was pushed onto his knees as he looked up at the Autobots’ leader. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” He said bluntly, if he can bargain his way onto the team then he will.

“And what do you want in exchange?” Bulkhead asked not buying Starscream’s offer.

“I want to be on your side.” Starscream said simply,

“On our side? Yeah right! And I’ve been lobbing with the Fallen.” Bulkhead laughed,

Starscream immediately frowned at Bulkhead’s teasing. “You would never betray the Cons.” Arcee added,

“Wouldn’t I? What have they done for me lately?! All they have done lately is humiliate me, spy on me, demote me, and beat me! Megatron tried to snuff my spark literally less than a day ago! And even tried to replace me with that traitorous glitch Airachnid! And then she left me for scrap! So…why not rat them out?” Starscream ranted, he was venting heavily he didn’t know if he should mention Skyfire or not but what the hell why not?

“Plus…You…have Skyfire don’t you?” Starscream asked,

“You asked this back in the cave. How do you know Skyfire?” Bulkhead asked,

“He and I knew each other a long time ago. Back at the Academy, we worked together.” Starscream explained, Arcee paused…no he couldn’t be…could he?

“Were you the bot that was with Skyfire when he got frozen?” Arcee asked, no she needed to know if Skyfire’s Star…is actually Starscream…

Starscream looked down. “I looked everywhere for him. It was a harsh snowstorm that came out of nowhere. I ran my voice box ragged screaming his name and looking for him in the blizzard. I never found him…”

The team all exchanged looks of shock. Starscream seems very genuine with his response…painfully so. If he was lying he is one hell of an actor. The team split off as Arcee, Bulkhead, and Optimus decided to discuss matters while Bumblebee kept an eye on Starscream.

“Starscream for once in his life is telling the truth. Me and Bulk were there when Megatron tried to scrap him.” Arcee told Optimus,

“You can seriously believe Starscream can you?” Bulkhead added,

“Skyfire mentioned more of his partner and he calls him Star so it wouldn’t be a stretch for Star to be short for Starscream. And from the little bit I know a lot of it sounds like Starscream.” Arcee argued back,

“Either way. Starscream’s actions are always motivated by his selfish desires. Even if he was once allied with Skyfire we cannot place trust in him at the moment.” Optimus stated,

“I’m not saying that! I don’t trust Starscream as far as I can throw him but…think of Skyfire. The poor bot thinks his partner is possibly dead and if Starscream is his former partner it wouldn’t be right just to dismiss it for his sake. The one person Skyfire trusts is right here!” Arcee felt strange arguing for Starscream to join them but…If she had a chance to have Cliffjumper or Tailgate back in her life and her friends didn’t tell her she would be furious. “Either way our objectives align right now and we should take full advantage of it.”

“I agree with Arcee. We should at least use Starscream’s intel for now and see where his loyalties lie.” Optimus turned back to the webbed seeker hoping that he was making the right call.

Chapter 6: Past Relationships

Summary:

Starscream trying to gain the Autobots' trust ends up putting his pede in his mouth as he reveals some grim news to Arcee.

Notes:

Hope y’all are ready for DRAMA!

The Autobots dewebbed Starscream and threw him in the back of a truck trailer for Optimus to be carried to the Harbinger’s secondary location. Of course, the bots cuffed his servos and wings to prevent any betrayals or surprise attacks from happening with the seeker in case this is all just an elaborate ruse on Starscream’s part.

The team in their vehicle modes all approached the stone archway Starscream described. The team was still wary if this was all still a trap and Starscream is just using his knowledge of Skyfire against them…

“This could still be a trap…” Bulkhead said still not trusting Starscream.

“If this isn’t a trap, and Starscream sincerely wants to join the Autobots. The knowledge he possesses as Megatron’s second in command could be invaluable.” Optimus explains to his team. “Not to mention Starscream’s loyalty has always been questionable.”

“You can’t expect Starscream to be a permanent ally right?” Bulkhead asks,

“That has yet to be seen, Bulkhead. But every sentient being deserves a chance at redemption.” Optimus said to the wrecker.

“Even murderers? Like Airachnid?” Arcee asked with venom on her glossa.

“Without that hope…our kind may never truly experience peace.” Optimus said as he walked back to the trailer with Starscream inside. The team wanted confirmation of the location of the Harbinger. Starscream confirmed this as Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Optimus went to retrieve the weapon. Leaving Arcee to guard Starscream. Arcee begged to go along but Optimus thought her vengeance would cloud her judgment.

The team vanished behind the archway and went to retrieve the weapon. Arcee was pacing back and forth as Starscream watched. “So Skyfire…” Starscream broke the silence, “How did you find him?”

Arcee paused her pacing and turned to Starscream. “After you tried to melt the polar ice caps we found him encased in ice.”

“I still can’t believe that he survived something like this…” Starscream said still in disbelief that Skyfire is alive.

“He doesn’t shut up about you.” Arcee said coldly, “How does a bot like you end up with a sweetheart like that?”

“You know I wasn’t always like this you know…I’m not even that bad…not compared to Megatron.” Starscream said with a scowl,

“Really? You’re putting this on Megatron?” Arcee asked with a raised brow.

“Uh? Hello! He used the blood of Unicron to summon an undead horde!” Starscream pointed out,

“Didn’t you also try it?” Arcee remembers the whole Shadowzone debacle. Starscream frowned, “Well the Dark Energon rejected me! So…if the blood of Unicron is as evil as legend says it is, and it rejected me so…I’m not so evil?” Starscream realized it didn’t make him sound that much better.

“Again tell it to someone who cares.” Arcee snapped back,

“Like who? Airachnid? What I would do to get my clawed servos around her skinny little Insecticon neck…” Starscream made a grabbing gesture with his cuffed servos. He really hated her and it showed.

“So we can agree on something after all.” Arcee said with a servo on her hip.

“Oh, you have no idea…” Starscream said, rolling his optics. “She just showed up one day and the next thing you know she acts like she runs the place!”

Arcee smirked a little as this was kind of humorous that she was sort of bonding with Starscream of all people. “She whispered lies in Megatron’s audio receptors and tried to take my position as his right hand!”

“Well, she terminated my partner…” Arcee said somberly,

“What?! Now she’s taking credit for that too?! I did that!” Starscream shouted,

“What? You weren’t there.” Arcee said confused, what the heck was Starscream on about?

Starscream just realized he made a major blunder. “Uh…” Starscream was internally panicking. Scrap, his big mouth got him in a very bad spot. “Sorry, I must have gotten things mixed up…”

“Who are you talking about?” Arcee approached the seeker angrily.

“Nothing. Who are you talking about?” Starscream hoping to brush past this.

“Tailgate.” Arcee explained,

“Who’s Tailgate?” Starscream asked,

“Oh my Primus…it was you…” Arcee’s optics widened in horror, “You’re the one who terminated Cliffjumper!”

Arcee reeled back her fist and was ready to beat the scrap out of Starscream. “No, no you misunderstand!” Starscream puts up both his servos over his face in defense. “I can explain!”

“It better be one hell of an explanation then!” Acree cried out angrily,

“I…” Starscream paused; he really didn’t have a good explanation… “I made a mistake, a really bad one ok! We are in a war and at the time of opposing sides! Would you not terminate the enemy?!”

Arcee was getting closer and her scowl not fading. “You wouldn’t terminate a defenseless prisoner, would you?!” Which ironically is what he did to poor Cliffjumper but Arcee didn’t know that…

Arcee pulled out a key card and threw it in the dirt in front of him. “It’s the key to your cuffs…”

“What? Why?” Starscream panicked and worried about what Arcee had planned.

“Cliff would have given you a fighting chance.” Arcee told him, “Uncuff yourself, now.”

“I don’t want to. We’re on the same side now!” Starscream flinched and cowered before her.

Arcee pulled out her blasters. She was getting tired of Starscream stalling. “Take it!” She demanded aiming both of her blasters at Starscream. Starscream picked up the key card but immediately dropped it. He flinched again hoping she wouldn’t shoot him the moment the cuffs were off.

“You’re pathetic… You aren’t good enough for a bot like Skyfire…” Arcee put away her blasters. Starscream heard those words echo in his mind… Arcee crossed a line. Arcee put away one of her blasters to pick it up for Starscream. Starscream smirked as he may not have his blasters but he has very sharp digits… The moment Arcee bent down to pick it up for him he slashed at her side leaving deep claw marks. Energon began to drip and spill out of the wound. Arcee dropped the key card and fell to her knees the wound stung and was bleeding pretty bad.

Starscream took the opportunity to uncuff his servos. “You really should learn to keep your mouth shut…” He sneered as he walked towards her. “I thought you wanted a fight?” as Starscream got ready. The two began exchanging blows. Arcee pulled out her blade as one arm clutched the fiercely bleeding wound Starscream left on her side. Starscream had no blades but his clawed servos were sharp and slashing at her arms.

The two went back and forth exchanging blows when Starscream backed off and stood at his full height. “You should leave Skyfire out of this…he did nothing wrong.”

“Another thing we can agree on. But I can’t wait to tell him what a piece of slag his partner turned into…” Arcee sneered at him.

“I said leave him out of this!” Starscream shrieked as he lunged at Arcee and she rolled out of the way. “Like how you left Cliffjumper alone?! Skyfire is too pure of spark for a monster like you!”

Starscream paused…that really hurt. He knew he changed over the course of the war but…a monster? Starscream snarled, “Cliffjumper died a warrior! Skyfire couldn’t hurt a fly! Leave. Him. Out. Of. This!” Starscream lunged again, tripping over his pedes and slid against the ground. Arcee circled around him and got some distance.

“He still died because of you! I could have saved him if it wasn’t for you!” Arcee cried out tears welling up in her optics.

“Well, that’s too bad. Cause you didn’t save him or Tailgate! Two partners down! Let’s hope Jack doesn’t follow the pattern!” Starscream taunted,

Oh… Starscream should have taken his own advice as Arcee roared in anger and slashed at Starscream’s face leaving a deep but small gash right under his optics. Energon began to trickle out of it and down his chin. She began punching and slashing at him. Her blade was at his throat now. “Go ahead! Megatron will only terminate me for treason!” Starscream goaded she would actually terminate him…right?

“Like you had to convince me.” She said coldly,

“What?! No! Think of Skyfire! What will he think if you terminate me?!” Starscream argued,

“He’ll get over it. He already thinks you're dead.” Arcee said with hatred in her optics. She reeled back ready to cut his neck and take out one who took her partner from her.

Starscream’s optics widened…he… felt a cold shiver run down his spinal strut…no… Skyfire wouldn’t give up on him…Skyfire loves him…no…

Arcee looked up and saw Bumblebee standing in the distance looking absolutely shocked at what he was seeing. Arcee looked at him with equal horror as she realized she would be no better than Airachnid or Starscream if she terminated him. She put her blades away and got off Starscream. She fell to the ground clutching the wound…she lost a lot of blood during the fight. Bumblebee ran towards her and helped her up as Starscream used the time to retreat…far, far away from the Autobots.

After about an hour of walking Starscream attempted to remove the clamp on his wings by slamming it into a cliffside. He got it off but hurt his shoulders in the process. He didn’t care about the physical pain right now…no he has a high pain tolerance. He then looked down and just broke down crying his head in his servos… He lost his chance at seeing Skyfire ever again. No doubt the Autobots will turn Skyfire against him now… “I can’t believe I lost you again…”

Chapter 7: Reveal

Summary:

Arcee tells the truth of their latest battle to Skyfire against Optimus’s wishes… Skyfire does not take it well.

Notes:

You thought the drama was done? Nah…

Bumblebee explained what happened with the battle with Airachnid. The weapon was called the immobilizer and would free bots in place…hence the name. The weapon got broken during battle and that is why Airachnid retreated.

Bumblebee brought Arcee first to Ratchet to deal with her wounds. Then he got Skyfire to help him bring immobilized Bulkhead and Optimus to base and the broken weapon to Ratchet as he finished tending to Arcee he quickly repaired the weapon and restored Optimus and Bulkhead.

Skyfire was curious on how the battle went as he only heard Bumblebee’s explanation. Arcee was being suspiciously quiet and was sulking in the corner. Skyfire turned to Optimus, “Man, Airachnid must have done a number on Arcee.” Skyfire said, assuming seeing the bot who terminated her partner again got to her.

“Arcee did not face Airachnid.” Optimus told Skyfire,

Skyfire looked confused, “Wait…then how did she get hurt? She had those deep slash marks on her side and lost a lot of energon…”

Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Optimus all exchanged worried glaces. “There was another Decepticon there Arcee fought and received injuries from.” Optimus explained he wasn’t sure if Skyfire was ready for the news of Starscream’s betrayal and him being a Decepticon.

“Don’t beat around the bush, Optimus.” Arcee said harshly as she got up and turned to the team.

“Arcee…” Optimus warned her,

“Go ahead. Tell him the truth. Tell him who the Con is.” Arcee said angrily, Skyfire looked between Optimus and Arcee. He was very confused.

“Tell him or I will.” Arcee said angrily, Optimus remained silent as he didn’t like the tone Arcee was giving him.

Ratchet turned, holding Arcee’s chart on a data pad. He didn’t like this tension that was happening in the room and he didn’t understand why there was so much tension.

Arcee groaned, upset that the Prime was being so delicate with Skyfire. “The Con who hurt me was Starscream.”

The whole team looked nervously at Skyfire whose optics went wide. Ratchet, who was clearly not informed of this, put two and two together. He dropped his data pad accidentally breaking it upon the realization the Skyfire’s beloved Star….was Starscream.

“What…” Skyfire said weakly,

“Arcee.” Optimus said in a more stern voice.

“He is going to find out anyway. Just rip the patch off and tell him.” Arcee gestured to Skyfire.

Skyfire chuckled awkwardly, “You must have made a mistake… Starscream isn’t violent…he would attack someone…”

“You don’t know Starscream.” Arcee said, turning to Skyfire. “Not only is Starscream violent and dangerous. He’s Megatron’s right hand goon. Or I guess the former since he left.”

“Well if he left then he’s joining us…right?” Skyfire asked Optimus. The Prime just looked sadly at Skyfire. Skyfire’s face fell. “No…that’s not…Star wouldn’t…”

“He did.” Arcee cut off Skyfire. “Not only is he a Con…he’s the one who terminated Cliffjumper. He took my partner from me!” Arcee stomped her foot in anger.

Ratchet picked up his broken data pad then dropped it again and another insane reveal of the mission. “Why did no one tell me any of this?!” He harshly whispered to Bulkhead and Bumblebee.

Skyfire’s whole world felt like it was crashing down around him. Starscream would never kill someone…Sure he can get rowdy and if overcharged can get into drunken brawls with Skywarp but… murder? No…

“There must be some kind of mistake…” Skyfire was in complete denial. Starscream would kill anyone…

“He told me himself.” Arcee said coldly, “The Starscream you knew is long gone, Skyfire. He’s a cold-hearted, evil monster.”

Skyfire was too in denial to listen, “Look there’s two sides to every story…Maybe if we ask him-”

“Skyfire, he tried to kill me!” Arcee shouted, “Starscream is a Decepticon! He is responsible for Primus knows how many war crimes and evil doings!”

“Arcee!” Optimus said a third time and actually raising his voice. The whole base felt the tension of the conversation but for Optimus to raise his voice it was bad. “I think you made your point.”

“No, Optimus.” She swiped her arm out, “Skyfire needs to learn what the rest of us have. That we are in a war. Treating him like a delicate little sparkling will not help him!”

Skyfire just stood there stunned. Starscream killed Cliffjumper…He’s a bad guy… Skyfire balled up his servos and just walked out of the room. “Hey big guy! Look I know this is a lot to take in…” Bulkhead was trying to defuse the tension the best he could. Skyfire just continued walking.

“Skyfire…” Optimus called out to him. Skyfire stopped walking and turned to the team…he was crying. “You’re all wrong! Starscream is a good bot! He wouldn’t do anything like what you are saying!”

“Skyfire…” Ratchet said with pity in his voice. “It has been quite some time since you two have seen each other…people change and-”

“I don’t believe you! Any of you!” Skyfire yelled as tears streamed down his face.

“Skyfire please…let’s all calm down and just talk things out.” Ratchet said as he slowly walked over to the shuttle.

“No more talking! I’m done!” Skyfire yelled as he stormed out of the main room of the base. The team called out after him but he didn’t listen. Everyone stood around awkwardly, “That went as poorly as I imagined it would…” Ratchet said, breaking the silence.

“Skyfire needed to learn this…” Arcee defended her actions.

“Well, ‘Cee you could have said it more…delicately…” Bulkhead argued,

“How do you think I feel?! I just found out Starscream terminated Cliff and you expect me to be super gentle to the bot who hasn’t stopped gushing over his murderer?!” Arcee shouted back.

“Arcee, I understand you are upset. And have a right to be so. But taking your anger out on Skyfire is not constructive…” Optimus stated Optimus was right. Skyfire didn’t do anything wrong. He just was clinging to the way Starscream used to be and not what he actually is.

Arcee sighed, “You’re right Optimus. I’ll…I’ll go apologize to Skyfire.”

Ratchet held the broken data pad in his servos. “Scrap… I needed this…”

Arcee left the main room and went towards Skyfire’s room and knocked. She called his name but no one answered. The door was ajar and Arcee went inside to see Skyfire wasn’t there…Where is Skyfire?

Chapter 8: Searching for a Star

Summary:

Skyfire refuses to believe the Autobots about Starscream’s crimes so he goes to hear it from Starscream himself.

Skyfire left the base and decided to go look for the one mech who can provide clarity for him. Skyfire decided to go to the location where the Autobots last saw Starscream to be a good place to start. Skyfire landed near the stone arch where the bots said they fought near. He could see energon spilled all over the ground and a lot of debris and dirt that was disturbed.

“Ok, Starscream…where did you go?” Skyfire said to himself as he began his search.
—---
“You left Starscream with the Autobots?!” Megatron yelled, “Do you have any idea of the consequences of your blunder?!”

“But my liege it was Starscream’s incompetence that cost us the immobilizer.” Airachnid defended herself from Megatron’s accusatory tone.

“I don’t give a frag about some trinket! My second in command is currently at the mercy of the Autobots!” Megatron was practically shaking with rage at Airachnid’s incompetence. “Which means…that all of the Decepticons intelligence and operations could be at the digits of the enemy!”

“An unforeseen oversight on my part, Lord Megatron. Allow me to go rescue Starscream from the Autobots’ clutches.” Airachnid did not want to experience Megatron’s full wrath like how Starscream does…she miscalculated how important the moron was to the Decepticon operations.

“He no doubt has been relocated at this point. So unless you can lure the Autobots out and exchange him for something then a rescue operation would be pointless.” Megatron poked holes in her plan. Airachnid winces as she is not a military strategist…she is a hunter, an assassin not Megatron’s punching bag.

“I will find a way to rectify this.” Airachnid said confidently,

“You better…” Megatron hissed,
—---
Skyfire continued looking around as he hoped to find a sign of Starscream nearby… But Starscream can fly and fly fast so he could honestly be miles away by now. “Starscream!” Skyfire called as he hoped he was maybe within hearing distance. “Starscream!”

Starscream just finished his slight emotional breakdown as he got to his pedes and wiped away the tears and energon on his face. “Fragging Autobots…” He said under his breath. Starscream was about to take off when he heard something or rather someone.

“Starscream!” Skyfire called again, no it couldn’t be… Starscream looked around the corner of the rock he was leaning against during his cry. Starscream’s optics widened in shock…it was Skyfire. Alive and here of all places. He was calling out his name and clearly looking for him.

Starscream was hesitant…was he looking for him because the Autobots were using him as bait? Revenge? Will Arcee jump out from behind him and try to terminate him again? Or is the big lug actually wanting to see him again? There was only one way to find out… Starscream took a deep inhale and slowly walked towards Skyfire.

Starscream expected a glare or a glower from the shuttle or maybe a blaster to the face…no doubt the Autobots wouldn’t send him out here unarmed… Skyfire turned when he heard the sound of pede falls behind him and there standing in this deserted wasteland was his Shooting Star.

Starscream paused as he and Skyfire made optic contact. And then Skyfire’s face broke out into the biggest, goofiest smile Starscream hasn’t seen in 4 million years. “STARSCREAM!!!” Skyfire shouted as the shuttle came barreling towards him with his arms outstretched as he pulled Starscream into the tightest bear hug possible. Skyfire spun around clutching Starscream for dear life. Starscream was feeling the pressure of the hug but let the big guy have it. He then held Starscream high in the air like he was some little sparkling and like he weighed nothing to the shuttle. Skyfire’s grin never left his face as Starscream realized the Autobots might not have told him of his misdeeds yet…

“I missed you so much! I was so worried!” Skyfire said happily, he pulled him into another hug.

“Skyfire…you're..crushing me…” Starscream winced as something Skyfire forgets his own strength. Skyfire realized he was holding Starscream too tight and loosened his grip, “Sorry I’m just so happy to see you!”

Skyfire noted that Starscream’s coloring was very different from the Starscream he knew back then. White, blue and primarily red was Starscream’s color scheme but now everything was so…muted and grey… but it was still obviously Starscream in the end. Skyfire didn’t care; he was just happy to have his beloved Starscream back in his arms.

Skyfire put Starscream down and just looked at him with those big bright blue optics with such happiness. Starscream smiled at Skyfire. The big goofball was still the same after all this time. “Are you ok? You aren’t hurt are you?” Skyfire was concerned after hearing he and Arcee had a battle. He saw the large gash under Starscream’s optic. And ran his big thumb over it. “You poor thing! We need to patch that up!”

“Skyfire you don’t need to baby me.” Starscream insisted as he moved Skyfire’s servo away from his face. “But your concern is touching. I…just can’t believe you are here.” Starscream said with a brief laugh. “I thought you were dead all this time…”

“Well…I was frozen alive for 4 million years so…If you didn’t think I was dead you’d be crazy.” Skyfire smiled, Starscream snorted at the stupid joke. His Skyfire…was back in full swing. Starscream’s wings fluttered happily as he spoke to Skyfire. “I came looking for you! I just…I needed to see you again.”

“Likewise.” Starscream said with a smile, he was feeling better now that Skyfire was here. Skyfire softly chuckled, “You won’t believe the craziest things I heard! They were absolutely insane!”

And ... Starscream blinked rapidly at Skyfire’s statement…oh no… “What…What exactly did you hear?” Starscream asked nervously, he hoped it wasn’t anything too bad.

“Like how Cybertron is gone and we are in some sort of civil war between Autobots and Decepticons! And, and that Megatronus, you know the gladiator? Is the leader of the Decepticons! Remember going to one of his matches in Iacon, remember?!” Skyfire stammered out he was just so excited to see Starscream again. “And, and there’s a new Prime and that now the war is being held in secret on this planet! How crazy is that?!”

“Skyfire, I’ve been fighting in the war all this time…I am very aware of all of this.” Starscream didn’t want to burst his little bubble but…yeah he knows all of this… “Oh..” Skyfire said bluntly, “Sorry right… I just…had to catch up on all of this.”

“It is alright.” Starscream took Skyfire’s big servo in his. He was just happy to see the shuttle so excited. “But I also heard some really crazier stuff too.” Skyfire added as he held Starscream’s servo tight.

“That…you’re Megatron’s right hand guy…and that you killed someone…” Skyfire nervously chuckles, “Like how ridiculous does that sound, right?” Skyfire looked at Starscream’s face expecting him to laugh with him but Starscream’s smile was gone and he looked horrified. “Right? Like it’s ridiculous right, Star?”

Starscream removed his servo from Skyfire’s. Skyfire’s smile remains but his optics…they had a look of pain in them. “Tell me that it’s wrong, Starscream. You didn’t kill Cliffjumper right?”

Starscream’s wings fell as he looked at Skyfire with a look of horror. Skyfire kept chuckling nervously, “Starscream you aren’t saying ‘no, or that’s ridiculous’… tell me that isn’t true…”

Starscream looked down at the ground. “It is.”

Skyfire’s forced smile fell as he realized the Autobots weren’t lying to him… Starscream did kill someone… “Well obvious it had to be in self defense… I mean if Cliffjumper must have attacked you right?”

“No.” Starscream said coldly,

Skyfire nervously chuckled, “Well I mean you didn’t commit horrific war crimes and helped Megatron use Dark Energon for evil…right?”

Starscream sighed, “I did.”

Skyfire was at a loss. “So…everything the Autobots said about you…is true…?” Skyfire was in denial still. Even with Starscream admitting to his crimes…he couldn’t believe it. His sweet, little shooting star is a war criminal?!

“The Autobots could have exaggerated some details but…everything you said is true. I did help Megatron with his undead legion. I did terminate Cliffjumper and I was part of the Decepticons…” Starscream stated, now looking at Skyfire in the optics.

“I…I don’t…that’s not…” Skyfire couldn’t believe it. He thought the Autobots were lying.

“So you’ve abandoned the Decepticons?” A third voice rang out as the two seekers turned to see Airachnid on the top of one of the boulders. “Maybe next time you defect you turn off your locator beacon…”

“Scrap…” Starscream was so preoccupied with crying he forgot… he pulled out his blasters and aimed it at Airachnid. “Skyfire, get behind me!” He did as he was instructed and got behind Starscream though…Skyfire was so much larger than him it was rather comical to see the smaller seeker trying to defend the larger one.

“And who is this big friend of yours? Sounded like he’s an Autobot. Looks like I can kill two birds with one stone.” Airachnid said as she approached on her spider legs.

“Airachnid I presume.” Skyfire said,

“So you’ve heard of me. Did Arcee talk about me? I bet she has only the best to say.” Airachnid said sarcastically,

“Actually I believe the wording was ‘evil, murderous spider glitch.’ I think.” Skyfire said bluntly, Starscream held back a laugh as Airachnid snarled at Skyfire’s unintended insult.

“Well, it doesn't matter. Megatron will be pleased with me once I take out his treacherous former second in command and the Autobots’ newest recruit…” She got into a striking pose when the sounds of approaching vehicles could be heard as Optimus Prime basically tried to run over Airachnid. He missed as she jumped in the air and he swerved into his bot form.

Optimus pulled out his blaster as Bulkhead, Ratchet and Bumblebee also rode in with their weapons drawn. Airachnid was surrounded. She growled in frustration as she then transformed and flew off. Since Starscream was a defector there was no need to bring him back…and can report the Autobots have a new recruit…

The Autobot turned from where Airachnid was to now where Starscream was with their weapons still drawn. Starscream put his blasters away as he turned to look at Skyfire. “I’m sorry.”

He then turned back to the Autobots. “You better take good care of Skyfire!” and then he transformed and flew off at an alarming speed into the distance. Skyfire watched as the love of his life just…left him.

Chapter 9: Information Overload

Summary:

Shenanigans ensue when Bulkhead gets info from a Data Cylinder stuck in his head. Skyfire tries to adapt to war life and Starscream abandoning him.

Skyfire was not handling the whole ‘Starscream is a war criminal/murderer/left him in the dust’ thing well. He was moping about the base that was driving Ratchet crazy. Ratchet was at the computer trying to concentrate on his work but between Skyfire’s mopping and Bulkhead and Miko watching monster truck rallies on the TV; Ratchet could barely form a thought.

“You know you could be out in the field helping Optimus right now.” Ratchet said to Bulkhead.

“Optimus doesn't need me to help look for some ancient educational thingamabob.” Bulkhead said dismissively,

This caught Skyfire’s attention. “What kind of thingamabob?”

“The ‘thingamabob’ as you two put it is a Cybertronian Data Cylinder.” Ratchet explained and even hijacked the TV to display information to the three of them. Miko was displeased that her monster truck watching was disrupted.

“There is no telling what important or useful information the data cylinder could hold.” Ratchet explained, “During the golden age of Cybertron dozens of these cylinders were created. Each contains various knowledge on a multitude of subjects, ancient history, biology, stellar cartography, medicine and so much more. When the war broke out the cylinders were hidden throughout the galaxy to keep from Decepticon reach.”

Skyfire found this fascinating, he remembered hearing about Data Cylinders but actually having one in their possession possibly. What knowledge could they unlock from the ancients?

“Being able to detect one signal here…on Earth is the opportunity of a lifetime…” Ratchet stated,

But Miko couldn’t care less. She wanted her monster trucks back on the television. Skyfire shook his head, she really was a lot like Skywarp. Then suddenly a comm alarm came in and Optimus requested backup as the Decepticons had also located the signal for the Data Cylinder.

Bulkhead got up and was eager to do some scrapping. Watching the monster trucks got him pumped. Bulkhead got ready to ground bridge to the location to help his teammates. Bulkhead ran through the ground bridge to go help. Then like clockwork Miko too ran through the bridge without Ratchet seeing. Skyfire did see her running into the bridge and panicked. He looked back at Ratchet and then back at the portal. “Miko…not again…”

Skyfire then ran through the portal after Miko. They ran into a massive battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Skyfire didn’t know where to look, he has never been in a fight before so what does he do?

Bulkhead punched one of the Vehicons and it staggered back, almost crushing Miko. Skyfire picked up Miko and the two went behind a large boulder. “Stay here! I can’t believe you ran off into a dangerous situation again!”

“I can’t believe you ran into a dangerous situation! Why don’t you go help them then?” Miko retorted,

Skyfire looked up and saw Optimus punch some red Decepticon that Skyfire didn’t recognize and in the distance, Arcee was fighting some big blue Decepticon with a hammer. Meanwhile, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were fighting Vehicons. Skyfire didn’t know where to go, does he call Ratchet for a returning ground bridge? Does he fight? He’s never been in a battle before so how will he do? So many questions running through the shuttle's mind.

Skyfire realized that he was close to the Data Cylinder. “Wait here.” Skyfire ordered as he put Miko down on the ground. He saw the red Decepticon heading for the cylinder. “Come to papa….” He said as he ran to grab the cylinder. Bulkhead then bashed into him, “Go cry to mommy…”

Then the blue Decepticon grabbed Bulkhead, “Say uncle…” As he held Bulkhead in a chokehold. Skyfire ran and grabbed the Data Cylinder but then a Vehicon began shooting at him. He activated his battle mask to protect his face and well…began to fight. Using his size to his advantage he was hitting and throwing Vehicons around with ease.

Miko silently cheered him on until Breakdown tackled him. “Airachnid mentioned a new Autobot.” He pulled out his hammer, “Didn’t mention he was such a big target though.” The tackle caused Skyfire to drop the Data Cylinder and it rolled near Miko. Miko then ran up to it and called Ratchet. “Ratchet come in!”

“Miko? This is a secure line I need to keep it clear for-” Ratchet paused, why was Miko calling him? Wasn’t she in the base? “Miko, where are you?”

“I’m with the thingamabob!” Miko answered,

“Thinga- the Data Cylinder?!” Ratchet realized

“Yes! Can you bridge it out of here?” Miko asked,

“I’ll put in the original coordinates.” Ratchet told her, as a ground bridge portal opened up…but far away from where Miko was. “Can’t you move it like 50 yards?!” Miko asked as there was no way she could carry the cylinder that distance.

“I need precise coordinates!” Ratchet reiterated,

Miko realized it was up to her to get the cylinder to the portal as everyone was occupied. Miko tried pushing it and then went for a more brutish way to have a running start and kicked the thing hoping it would move. But…then it started making a whirring sound and looked like it was transforming…the big red spot on the side opened up as the sound got louder and louder.

Skyfire noticed that Miko was next to the Data Cylinder, as did Bulkhead. “Miko?” Bulkhead said in surprise as he shoved Breakdown off him but he tripped and landed right in front of the red spot of the Data Cylinder. As a small red beam came out of it and went right into Bulkhead’s head. Knock Out then picked up the Data Cylinder and he and Breakdown ran into a ground bridge portal as the Vehicons flew off away from the battle as the Decepticons got what they wanted.

The team regrouped as the Decepticons vacated the premises. Bulkhead got to his pedes and insisted that he was fine. “I’m more impressed with Skyfire. You can do some really scrapping.” Bulkhead compliments the shuttle.

Skyfire removed his mask and smiled at the team. The team returned to the base and Bulkhead insisted he was fine after everything and refused to let Ratchet do his thing. Ratchet tasked him and Miko to clean up the base as Optimus instructed him to stay back.

It wasn’t more than 20 minutes later when Miko came running into the lab to get Skyfire and Ratchet to see what Bulkhead is doing. The two looked at what Bulkhead was writing and both him and Ratchet recognized it as Cybertronian mathematics.

They brought Bulkhead back into the med bay for a neural scan and found a hotspot in Bulkhead’s brain. Ratchet concluded that when Miko hit the Data Cylinder since Miko was considered ‘alien’ to the cylinder it thought it was in danger and purged the data… and luckily Bulkhead’s head was in the way so the data went right into his cranium.

“So what exactly is the stuff Bulkhead is writing?” Arcee asked, pointing to what Bulkhead already wrote on the wall.

“Not to get anyone’s hopes up…but it kind of looks like a formula for synthetic energon.” Skyfire explained, Bumblebee cheered as Arcee looked not surprised and excited.

“So we hit the jackpot?” she asked,

“This is a monumental discovery.” Optimus stated, “With natural energon in short supply and most of the mines controlled by Decepticons…having a way to produce our own energon could be advantageous.”

Skyfire remembered back at the Academy he and Starscream had attempted to try and make synthetic energon but all it did was become fancy jet fuel as it wasn’t exactly the most useful.

For the next hour or so Bulkhead was writing the formula on large slabs that once filled would be logged by Skyfire. Though Ratchet did another scan of Bulkhead's head just to confirm his theory of Bulkhead purging the data from his head…but it wasn’t so. Ratchet explained that information from the Data Cylinder was slowly consuming Bulkhead’s mind. Soon all he will know is just the synthetic energon formula. Ratchet realized that by the time he finishes transcribing the formula…Bulkhead as they know him will be gone…

“This isn’t a good situation.” Skyfire pointed out,

“I will not let lose another member of the team…even if it means losing access to something as valuable as synthetic energon.” Optimus stated,

“Maybe because the data is basically living energy…maybe we can try and put in something?” Skyfire suggested,

“Well the Decepticons have the cylinder…so how are we going to get it back?” Arcee pointed out,

“Megatron will bring it to us…” Optimus stated,

Skyfire went to check on Bulkhead and saw Miko playing her guitar. A stringed human instrument used to make music Skyfire learned. But usually Bulkhead enjoys the metal music Miko plays but…he just was irritated that she interrupted him from transcribing the formula. Miko realized by talking with Bulkhead his memories were beginning to fade…Miko turned to look at Skyfire.

“Sky, I think Bulkhead’s losing his memories…” Miko said concerned, Skyfire looked down and saddened by what Miko said.

“You already know…” She realized,

“Miko, we didn't want to scare you. Optimus has a plan to fix him…don’t worry…” Skyfire reassured her. Miko looked back at Bulkhead, “I hope this plan works…”

Skyfire watched for a bit as Miko desperately tried to jog Bulkhead’s memories…It was painful to watch. He went back to talk to Ratchet, maybe they can make something similar to the Data Cylinder in case the deal with Megatron falls through…

Then he heard the ground bridge activate as Miko stole Bulkhead’s ‘paint brush’ which actually was just a human sized mop…but she ran through the portal with Bulkhead following behind.

Skyfire sighed as he ran after the two… “Can Miko stop running into portals?”

Skyfire realized Miko brought Bulkhead to the monster truck arena they were watching on television earlier. Skyfire walked into the arena and saw Miko attempting again to jog Bulkhead’s memories. “Miko!”

Miko turned to see Skyfire standing there. “Skyfire?” Skyfire walked towards them, “I had to try something! Bulk’s memories are fading!” Miko said, concerned and gesturing to Bulkhead who resumed the formula on the wall of the arena. Bulkhead was completely ignoring her as he was getting more and more consumed by the formula. Skyfire looked down at the human girl who was doing everything to get her friend back. “Miko I know it’s hard…but we are going to save Bulkhead. Don’t worry.”

“But what if you can’t?!” Miko cried out, Miko turned to look at Bulkhead, “Bulkhead…” She began to approach Bulkhead’s leg. “I know that somewhere inside you, you’ll remember me…and I want you to know that…I will never forget you, Bulk. Even if you forget me…” She hugged his leg as he was still ignoring her.

“Boo…hoo...” A mysterious voice said, Miko and Skyfire turned to see Knock Out and Breakdown on the other side of the arena. “I’m shedding tears…” Breakdown said condescendingly, Knock Out chuckled at his partner's cruel joke.

“What are they doing here?!” Miko cried out,

“They are probably trying to get the formula from Bulkhead.” Skyfire said as he managed to snap Bulkhead out of his stupor. “My equations?”

“Yes, your equations!” Skyfire reiterated he looked down at Miko. “Get Bulkhead out of here.”

Miko nodded and led Bulkhead out of the arena. Skyfire turned to face Knock Out and Breakdown. “Skyfire was it?” Knock Out asked as the two Cons walked towards him.

Skyfire donned his battle mask and got ready to face the Decepticons. “Breakdown…take care of our new Autobot friend…I’ll go searching for Bulkhead…” Knock Out stated as Breakdown punched his hand and was ready to start fighting the shuttle.

Knock Out ran out of the arena as Skyfire tried to stop him, but Breakdown bashed Skyfire in the back causing him to fall over. “You aren’t much of a fighter are ya?” Breakdown taunted, as he brought out his hammer and was about to bring it down on Skyfire’s head. Skyfire grabbed the hammer with both servos and shoved Breakdown off.

Skyfire got to his pedes. “I really don’t want to fight you, Breakdown.”

“Well, that makes one of us…” As Breakdown charges at Skyfire. Skyfire blocked his hammer and he threw a punch at the Decepticon. He missed but then the two started exchanging blows as Skyfire really, really didn’t want to fight.

Breakdown then kicked Skyfire in the gut, sending him flying back. Skyfire skidded across the ground and looked up at Breakdown who was rushing towards him. “Oh, this is going to hurt…” Skyfire said under his breath as Breakdown tackled him and the two crashed through the walls of the arena into the parking lot where Bulkhead and Miko were at. Skyfire tossed Breakdown off him and he landed near Knock Out.

Knock Out had his buzzsaw out and looked like he was going to chop off Bulkhead’s head. Then Miko came rushing in with a metal pipe, tripped, and bashed herself against Bulkhead’s noggin. Then the whirling sound of the Data Cylinder as two beams came out of Bulkhead’s optics. Skyfire realized that Miko hitting his head worked like the cylinder… and the data was being purged.

The two Decepticons stepped back as they didn’t know what was happening. Once the beam dissipated the Cons went back to try and cut off his head Skyfire really didn’t want to do this…but he pulled out his blasters and aimed it at the two. “I really don’t want to shoot you guys but… Get away from Bulkhead!”

The two turned to face Skyfire who they didn’t know was armed. But then a ground bridge opened up and the rest of the Autobots jumped through with their blasters out too and aimed them at the two Decepticons. The two looked at each other and then booked it, transforming into their vehicle modes, and drove off.

The team grabbed Bulkhead and immediately brought him to Ratchet. The information was purged from his systems and Bulkhead woke up a few hours later and was fine. Miko was very relieved to have her partner back.

Chapter 10: Inorganic

Summary:

After Ratchet tests his Synth-En formula on himself. Skyfire gets concerned for the medic and his unusual behavior.

Notes:

Happy Holidays enjoy this double-chapter drop!

Ratchet and Skyfire continue to work on the incomplete synthetic energon. Ratchet’s latest batch was surprisingly stable as Raf watched the two testing it out on a test engine. The engine turned on and began to work. “Hey it’s working! Bee! Come over here!” Raf called for his partner.

“Ap, Ap, Ap. Hold your horses. This version of the synthetic energon needs further testing. Before we could use it for fuel, ammunition or first aid.” Ratchet explained,

“I mean it’s a good sign that it’s working at all.” Skyfire said with a reassuring smile.

‘Our reserves are at an all-time low…” Ratchet said somberly, “So we must keep working on the formula to help turn the tides of the war…”

Raf and Skyfire exchanged worried looks. “Optimus is planning on raiding an energon mine later…Are you going to join them?” Ratchet asked Skyfire, Skyfire looked surprised, “Uh…I wasn’t planning on it.”

“You held your own against Breakdown and Knock Out…” Ratchet said with a hint of pride.

“I’m not a fighter…I’m a pacifist. I only fought to help Bulkhead because he couldn’t defend himself.” Skyfire stated, Ratchet nodded as he respected Skyfire’s decision.

Optimus came into the room and announced that the team was going to raid the mine in hopes of getting some energon to replenish their resources. Ratchet warned that if they come back injured…he probably cannot repair them so to be careful. Optimus nodded as he and the team got ready to roll out.

The team left as Ratchet looked down in disappointment. “Sometimes I wish I could do more…” Ratchet said lowly. Skyfire was going to reassure the medic that he is doing enough but Ratchet then rushed over to the synthetic energon…

“Ratchet…” Skyfire said watching Ratchet prep the synthetic energon… “What are you doing?”

Ratchet then lined up the synthetic energon with his arm. “Ratchet! Don’t!” Skyfire was about to grab it but it was too late. Ratchet already injected it into his arm. Ratchet immediately went down and fell unconscious on the floor. Raf and Skyfire rushed over to the medic who was out cold. Both of them called out his name and Skyfire gently patted Ratchet’s face hoping to wake him up.

Ratchet finally came to…he was all groggy and first saw Raf as he was standing on his chest. Then he saw behind Raf was Skyfire who looked equally as concerned. “Are you ok? You fell pretty hard.” Raf said as Ratchet got up.

“What the frag were you thinking?!” Skyfire yelled at Ratchet,

“Language Skyfire! We have a child present.” Ratchet gestures to Raf. Skyfire then noticed that Ratchet’s normally blue optics were now the same eerie green as the synthetic energon…it must be running through his systems…

“Look I am fine…actually…I feel great.” Ratchet said, rolling his shoulder and arm where he injected the energon into. He checked his vitals on his display, “Ha! Energy efficiency up 30%...motor functions optimal?” Ratchet couldn’t believe his readings. He looked at the two and asked if they heard anything from the others. They shook their heads no.

After a few minutes Ratchet receives a comm message from Optimus asking for him to lock onto Arcee’s coordinates and bridge her out. Ratchet locked onto her signal and ordered her to decelerate and be ready to come back to base. Arcee denied orders as she was close to getting the energon from the Decepticons. Suddenly Arcee’s vitals were on the screen displaying she was hurt. Ratchet activated the ground bridge, “Skyfire, manage the ground bridge!” As he zoomed through the portal to go help Arcee.

The team retired after a bit and were talking about how amazing Ratchet was taking down the Cons. Ratchet, fighting? Skyfire was nervous with the fact he A, injected himself with the experimental formula and B, entered combat with said experimental formula in their system.

“Alright what’s your secret?” Arcee asked as she was dying to know how Ratchet was able to fight like that in the field.

“No secret…just a little something I like to call… Synth-En…” Ratchet then took a vial of the synthetic energon and tossed at Arcee to catch.

‘From the formula Bulkhead transcribed?’ Bumblebee asked, as Arcee handed him the vial.

“I thought the formula was incomplete?” Arcee asked, as Bumblebee handed it over to Bulkhead to look at.

“It is.” Skyfire said in a surprisingly rude tone,

“Well, clearly it is complete now.” Ratchet said, turning back towards the unhappy shuttle.

“Ratchet…I question the wisdom of using yourself as a test subject.” Optimus said as Bulkhead handed him the vial.

“Yeah, you aren’t the only one.” Skyfire added,

“Neither of you saw Ratchet fight like I did. He was in overdrive! We should all try this stuff!” Arcee said excitedly,

“I will agree that the initial results are promising…” Optimus slowly walked towards Ratchet and put the vial back in its holder. “But I think further testing should be confined to just machinery… Not Autobots.”

“I agree. We are far from testing it on fellow teammates as we do not know the long term effects it can have on the body. Or if there are any drawbacks.” Skyfire added, as he is happy Optimus and him are on the same page. Ratchet didn’t look pleased as he looked back at Skyfire.
—----
Later in the day Skyfire was walking down the hall with Bumblebee and Arcee as the two were telling Skyfire about what happened in the fight and how crazy it was to see Ratchet take out a whole squadron of Vehicons single-handedly. Then they saw Bulkhead get thrown through the wall and saw Ratchet walking out of the massive hole that was created. “You got competition, Bulk.” Ratchet said as he was hopping around and punching the air.

“I’m a bit stronger than I used to be…” As the three of them walk closer to check on Bulkhead, Ratchet does a fake-out punch on Bumblebee. “And a little bit faster too! Think you can take me, muscle car?”

Skyfire was definitely noticing a personality shift in Ratchet… Was this from the Syth-En?

‘I don’t want to fight you, Ratch.’ Bumblebee said, putting up his hands.

“Wimp.” Ratchet said as he walked away, he turned his attention towards Arcee, “How’s it hummin’?” He flirted with Arcee. Ok the Synth-En is definitely shifting his personality…

“Did he just-” Arcee was stunned with what she just witnessed.

Skyfire watched as Ratchet walked away. Skyfire followed Ratchet back to the lab. He saw Ratchet reach into the cabinet and pulled out more of the Synth-En. “Ratchet, no.” Skyfire said as Ratchet turned to see the shuttle standing there.

“I need to be at the top of my game. Our lives depend on it!” Ratchet argued,

“Optimus said no more testing on bots.” Skyfire reminded him,

“You have only experienced a small amount of the dangers we face on the daily. We need everyone at their best if we are to beat the Decepticons!” Ratchet argued as he injected himself with more Synth-En. Skyfire frowned, “Well don’t come crying to me when this bites you in the aft.” Skyfire said leaving Ratchet be… Why is it so hard to be a voice of reason?
—
The team got a signal that the Decepticons hit another energon vein. Optimus ordered the team to roll out. Ratchet interjected, “We could use the additional firepower…” Ratchet said as he casually leaned up against the doorway with his arms crossed and his leg propped up on the wall. Skyfire shook his head subtly, “This isn’t going to go well…” he whispered to himself.

“Skyfire can handle ground bridge duty…” Ratchet suggested,

“Oh no I’m coming. Bumblebee can do it.” The team looked confusingly at Skyfire. “I’m not a fighter… but I am a shuttle class seeker. I can lift heavy stuff and transport things. You'll need me to carry more energon back to base. This way if the Cons come back to the vein we could have most of it back here.”

“Big guy has a point.” Bulkhead added,

“Alright then Bumblebee will handle the ground bridge and Skyfire will join us to help transport energon.” Optimus said as Bumblebee activated the ground bridge and the team went to claim the vein.

Ratchet while hopped up on Synth-En was leading the pack and hopping over everything as the team ran and slid down a large hill towards the mining site of the Decepticons. The teams hid behind large rocks as they surveyed the surroundings.

The saw down below them in a large pit was a large number of Vehicons all guarding the massive drill being used to excavate the energon. Bulkhead pulled out the energon reader and found out the signal was weak.

“Glad to know that Megatron is just as desperate for the stuff as we are…” Arcee jokes,

“Let’s hope that Megatron won’t miss losing some energon to us.” Skyfire stated as he tried to banter with the team.

“Do you all talk this much during missions?” Ratchet said rather rudely as Skyfire frowned as he thought he was being friendly…

Ratchet then decided to spring into action. As he transformed and drove down into the pit at breakneck speed. The rest of the team followed him while Skyfire stayed back and observed…worse case he can be backup if things go wrong. The Vehicons naturally spotted them and began firing and heading towards them.

Ratchet was dodging the incoming fire of the Vehicons and rammed into a nearby Vehicon. He transformed and pulled out his blades, “Don’t worry I’m an emergency vehicle.” He said as a cheeky quip before going in and attacking the other Vehicons. The team was giving suppressing fire and back up to Ratchet as the team was far behind.

Skyfire watched as Ratchet left the team to deal with most of the Vehicons as he chased one up the steep rock face. Ratchet picked up a rock and chucked it at the retreating Vehicon. It hit the Vehicon and knocked him over. Skyfire was not liking where this was going….he flew over to where Ratchet was. He then saw Ratchet pull out his blow torch attachment and began melting the Vehicon under his pede.

“Ratchet!” Skyfire called out,

Ratchet stopped and turned to see the rest of the team catch up to where Skyfire was. Ratchet stopped melting the Vehicon as he lacked any useful information. Ratchet pulled out one of his blades and was about to kill the Vehicon. But Skyfire ran and grabbed Ratchet’s wrist. “What are you doing?! You torched him and now are going to end him like that?!” Skyfire said as Ratchet looked up at the shuttle.

“It’s called getting results!” Ratchet yanked his arm away from Skyfire’s grip.

“Ratchet, that was a Decepticon miner…not a warrior.” Optimus said as he approached the medic.

“And let me guess, I’m just the medic; And shouldn’t be trying to get information out of him?!” Ratchet said back condescendingly.

“Autobots should not inflict harm unless all other options are exhausted…” Optimus stated, “It is what separates us from the Decepticons…” Optimus practically hissed out the last part. Skyfire never has seen Optimus angry…even the cool and collected leader can show emotion at times.

“Is this really the time for another lecture, Optimus?” Ratchet asked, annoyed at the Prime. “You didn’t happen to find out Megatron’s current location did you? Well I did!”

The team got closer to Ratchet as he yelled at Optimus, “And do you happen to know where there is a massive stockpile of raw energon ripe for the taking? Because I do!” Ratchet placed a servo on his chest and was getting closer and closer to Optimus.

The Synth-En was making him more aggressive. This isn’t good. Skyfire walked over, “Ratchet we should all calm down and just-”

“Back off!” Ratchet shoved Skyfire off him and walked a bit away, “Calm is what caused us to lose Cybertron! The Cons have a warship, an army and all this energon…” Ratchet turned to look at his teammates, “You can’t possibly be that naive and not think Megatron is gearing up for something big!”

Ratchet began to pace as he ranted, “We’re wasting resources chasing after his crumbs! We need to be hitting him hard and hitting him now! And where it really, really hurts.” Ratchet punched his fist for emphasis as he finished ranting.

“Ratchet a direct assault could cause a lot of damage not only to the team but the human inhabitant too…” Skyfire pointed out,

“A direct assault will cause a retaliation and I will not risk innocent human lives…” Optimus added,

“And you have no problem endangering our lives?! Just ask Cliffjumper…oh wait. You can’t!” Ratchet said getting closer to Optimus again as he insults his leader.

Arcee’s optics widened, “You arrogant son of a-” Bulkhead held her back as she looked ready to kill him.

“Ratchet that was low…” Skyfire said to the medic,

“Oh really? Because your ex-partner is the one who terminated him! And then ran away like a coward when he saw you again! Don’t get angry at me over facts…” Skyfire’s optics widened as Skyfire isn’t a violent mech…nor is he prone to outburst but the tension was building and Ratchet was the catalyst causing all the problems right now. Now half the team wants to deck the medic in the face.

“Ratchet! Enough.” Optimus warned him,

“Oh, now you’re being the tough guy? Because usually, you're a bigger softy than Skyfire. You waste time after time not terminating him! Do you know how many bots like Cliffjumper, Tailgate or even Elita you could have saved?!” Ratchet was breathing heavily at this point.

Optimus was surprisingly calm but you can tell by the look on his face that Optimus was also getting pissed at the medic, he just wasn’t really showing it. He closed his optics and took a deep breath. “I believe the Synth-En is clouding your judgement, old friend. I am confining you to base till further notice…” Optimus ordered, “Bumblebee bridge us back to base…”

Ratchet clenched his servos as he wasn’t going to listen and when the team turned towards the ground bridge to return to base. Ratchet transformed and sped off. The team turned as Ratchet was gone from sight. “This isn’t good…” Skyfire said as the rest of the team was in disbelief.

The team went out scouting the area looking for Ratchet. They returned to base as they tried to locate his signal but couldn’t get a fix on it. “The synthetic energon must be scrambling his signal…” Skyfire stated, add another problem with Synth-En…
—
A half-hour passes as Ratchet’s signal goes back online. “Guys! Get Ratchet. I’ll man the ground bridge…” Skyfire said as the team sprang into action to go rescue Ratchet.

The team found Ratchet who was badly injured. He had a few dents in his frame and a massive green oozing wound on his side. Clearly, the Synth-En was out of his systems as the team was able to track him.

Skyfire learned a few medical tips from Ratchet since joining and he was able to hook Ratchet up to some medical devices and began monitoring his vitals. He wanted to flush any Synth-En out of his systems but they lacked the energon. Hopefully they can just have him rest and it filters out naturally.

Ratchet groaned and looked at the team, “I…I didn’t intend to hurt anyone I…It was the Synth-En…”

“We know.” Optimus told him,

“I just wanted to help.” Ratchet coughed,

“We know, old friend. But we almost lost something invaluable…our medic and a valued teammate…” Optimus smiled at Ratchet as the medic fell asleep allowing Skyfire to repair him up a bit.

Chapter 11: Rise and Fall pt 1.

Summary:

The Team attempts to stop Megatron from completing his Space Bridge and things take a turn for the worse.

Notes:

This chapter might be a bit filler-y but don’t worry! We will have some more Skyfire/Starscream drama to come 👀

Optimus began reciting a doomsday prophecy that was well-known on Cybertron. Even Skyfire remembers this ancient prophecy. “Uh why are you reciting an ancient Cybertronian doomsday prophecy?” Skyfire asked as he was confused as to why this is being brought up.

“Because I believe the planet being referenced is not Cybertron but Earth.” Optimus explained,

“Cybertron has been dark for eons…So Earth would make sense but still…” Ratchet pointed out,

“And to repeat Skyfire…why are we bringing this up now?” Bulkhead asked,

“Because the planetary alignment which the prophecy refers to…is nearly upon us.” Optimus explained in further detail.

And the team looked up at the solar map on the screen as at the end of the planetary alignment…is Earth. Only more proof that Optimus might be right.

“So when is this alignment supposed to happen? Skyfire asked,

“In a few days…” Ratchet answered,
—---
The human kids were scouring conspiracy boards online hoping to scrub any evidence of the Autobots off it. Most of the time it’s Bumblebee getting spotted. They replaced it with a talking cat gif of a cat saying ‘Take me to your feeder.’

This actually made Ratchet laugh. The kids are all stunned to see and hear Ratchet of all bots laughing. Skyfire even found it funny to see Ratchet laugh at the stupid meme. The kids then turned their attention to Optimus…maybe they can get the Prime to laugh…

“Hey, Optimus…you want to see something funny?” Jack asked the Prime,

“No.” Optimus answered bluntly,

The kids seemed disappointed to not be able to hear Optimus laugh. “Don’t take it too personally.” Arcee said as she entered the room, “Primes are built that way.”

“None of us have seen Optimus laugh, cry, or lose his cool before.” Bulkhead added as he was walking behind Arcee.

“While Optimus does keep his emotions in check…I have known him far longer than any of you.” Ratchet pointed out, He looked around at the other members in the room. “And he was different before he was made a Prime…” Ratchet looked over at Optimus.

“Optimus wasn’t always a Prime?” Raf asked as the kids now were all looking at Optimus.

“On Cybertron, one is not born into greatness but must earn it.” Ratchet explained,

“Different how? Like a party animal?” Miko asked,

“No, no. Definitely not like that…he was more like….” Ratchet looked over at Jack, “He was a lot like Jack.”

“Like me?” Jack asked both shocked and amazed.

Skyfire's smile faded a little as his mind wandered back to Starscream. How different Starscream was back then compared to Starscream now… “Yeah, people can really change, huh?”

Arcee felt bad for Skyfire…she figured he must mean Starscream. “Skyfire…your partner-”

The conversation was cut short as Agent Fowler popped up on the scream. “Prime!” He yelled, getting everyone’s attention. “Those tech heists my department has been tracking? We thought they were MECH as it follows MECH’s MO of stealth. But recent security camera footage proves otherwise. As security feed from the Pennington Ebb’s particle collider captured this.” As Agent Fowler sent over the footage of Soundwave on the screen.

“Soundwave…” Jack said,

“That’s Soundwave?! He looks way different…” Skyfire said loudly,

“You knew Soundwave?” Bulkhead asked,

“Well not personally. But me and Star used to go to gladiator matches and he was one of the gladiators…” Skyfire explained,

“Gladiators?” Miko asked,

“We’ll explain later, Miko.” Ratchet insisted,

“Anyway…” Agent Fowler continued, “The Con without a face managed to escape with a cutting edge phase conductor. And here is the rest of the stuff stolen to date.”

The team read the list of things and realized that the Decepticons were attempting to rebuild their space bridge.

“The Decepticons have a space bridge?” Skyfire asked,

“They had one til we blew it up. Looks like they are trying to make a new one.” Bulkhead interjected,
—----
Agent Fowler called again the next day. The Decepticons were actively robbing a military base, as Agent Fowler spoke. He said the military can hold them off but Optimus insisted that the humans be evacuated to avoid casualties.

Ratchet contacted Bumblebee as he was out with Raf and that the team might need backup. Ratchet turned to look at Skyfire, “Worse case is you might need to step up, Skyfire.”

“But Bumblebee is closer to the coordinates, surely he should be there soon…” Skyfire really did not want to fight. Then Optimus loudly called for a ground bridge as Optimus sounded worried, “Someone must be injured…”

Ratchet activated the ground bridge and both Ratchet and Skyfire were horrified to see the team come in with Raf looking sickly and pale…”Oh…no..”

The other human kids, Jack and Miko, ran over too. “Raf! What happened?!” Miko asked worriedly, Jack pulled out his cell phone and immediately called his mom who was a nurse. Maybe she could help Raf.

“Megatron happened.” Arcee said with anger,

“To my lab quickly!” Ratchet said as he and Arcee rushed Raf into the lab. Ratchet was frustrated as his equipment was right to help an injured human. Jack’s mom arrives shortly later and begins to take Raf’s pulse as she and Ratchet try to come up with a way to help Raf.

Bumblebee is very upset and he bashes the wall leaving a small crater. Arcee pins him to the wall “Bee calm down! You don’t think…” Arcee looks down then back up at Bumblebee “Don’t think I know how you feel? About watching a partner get hurt…revenge is not going to help Raf right now…”

Skyfire felt a bit of guilt…knowing that his partner, Starscream or rather ex-partner, is the one who killed Cliffjumper. Arcee hasn’t said anything since the time she blew up at him about it…but that was fair all the information was revealed…she was hurting and now Bumblebee was hurting watching Raf slowly die from some kind of energon poisoning Megatron caused.

Ratchet sighed in defeat as he let June take the reins. “Curse my stubbornness…” Ratchet said under his breath, “We brought these humans into our lives and I learned so little about their biology or technology…”

“Don’t beat yourself up Ratchet…” Skyfire said, putting a servo on his shoulder and giving him a reassuring smile. “You’re one of the best doctors out there. And You and June combined can save Raf.”

Ratchet nodded as he went to his computer and began running scans on Raf’s body. After a bit, June made the decision to take Raf to the hospital. “Nurse Darby, your human doctors will not be able to help him…”

“We can’t let him just die, Ratchet!” June yelled back at him,

“Rafael has been infected not with normal energon…but Dark Energon…” Ratchet revealed, Ratchet then began scanning Raf hoping to locate the dark energon in his system. “We must purge the dark energon from his systems.”

“But how?” Skyfire asked,

“We’re going to flush his system with energon.” Ratchet explained,

“Wait..isn’t energon dangerous to humans?” June asks,

“Yes under normal circumstances. But this is not the case now. The normal energon will fight the dark energon in his system.” Ratchet explained his plan. They rushed Raf into a special chamber as Skyfire drew energon out of Bumblebee to help Raf. There was a blinding light as the machine went off and the energon in the machine was working through Raf’s system.

Once the light faded June and the other humans rushed into the machine to check on Raf…thankfully Ratchet’s quick thinking saved the boy’s life as Raf weakly opened his eyes and smiled at everyone. The wave of relief washed over everyone as they knew Raf was going to be ok.
—---
Bulkhead returned through the ground bridge with the power source that Megatron and the Decepticon recently stole from the military base. But there was no sign of Optimus. Bulkhead explained that Optimus went to go fight Megatron…alone.

“How can you be this stupid?! You let Optimus go fight Megatron alone!” Arcee scolded the wrecker,

“I didn’t have a choice!” Bulkhead defended himself,

“We need to get a fix on his location now!” Ratchet said frantically as he began to furiously type away on the console. He then got a lock on Optimus’s location but he also got a massive reading of Dark Energon as well.

“We need to get Optimus out of there…NOW!”
—----
The team rushed to Optimus’s location Bulkhead jumped in first and landed right in front of Megatron. The wrecker began to bash and fight off the warlord to give the others some time to rescue Optimus. Arcee and Skyfire ran in second to grab Optimus and saw the most horrifyingly beautiful sight of a volcano erupting a vivid glowing purple. Purple shards of Dark Energon rained from the sky as the volcano oozed Dark Energon from its top. Skyfire had never seen Dark Energon before so the spectacle was mesmerizing…

“Skyfire! Focus!” Arcee snapped, as the shuttle turned to look at her. She rushed over to Optimus and began dragging him. But wasn’t getting much traction…Skyfire rushed over and the two began to drag Optimus through the ground bridge while Bulkhead continued to distract Megatron. Skyfire turned to see the warlord for the first time, glowing purple and looking even more menacing than he remembered from his gladiator days…

Once inside the portal, Arcee called for Bulkhead to retreat as he transformed and rushed to escape Megatron and the Dark Energon flying through the sky. Bulkhead jumped through as the portal closed behind them and narrowly escaped Megatron. Optimus was exposed to a massive amount of Dark Energon and needed his system flushed just like Raf.

“So Megatron found more Dark Energon?” Jack asked,

“Yeah, a volcano full…was Dark Energon hidden on Earth like normal energon?” Skyfire asked,

“Very unlikely…Which begs the question…what is the blood of Unicron doing on Earth?” Ratchet asked,

“Wait, the Cons killed a unicorn?” Miko asked, confused, as all the bots looked at her just as confused. “What’s a Unicorn?” Skyfire asked hoping maybe one of the bots knew but with the look on their faces…they were just as confused.

“You know a magical horse with a horn sticking out of its head… It prances around all sparkly and cutesy?” Miko used her pointer finger to demonstrate the horn on her head. “You just said the Cons have the blood of a unicorn.”

“Unicron! Not Unicorn.” Ratchet corrected her, “Unicron the Chaos Bringer. A dark evil entity whose blood is composed of dark energon. As legend would have it.”

“So you are saying this… Unicron is some kind of boogeyman?” June asks,

“Boogeyman?” Skyfire said confused,

“Made up spooky being that scares kids.” Miko wiggled her fingers for dramatic flare.

“No, Nurse Darby. Unicron is very real.” Ratchet corrects her, “Or was real? I just don’t subscribe to the belief that Dark Energon is his blood…”

“Look, I have heard enough.” June said as she crossed her arms and looked at her son, “Jack, help me get Raf into the car.”

“I thought Raf was ok now?” Jack asked as June pushed the gurney that Raf was on.

‘Where are you going with Raf?’ Bumblebee asks even though the humans except for Raf can’t understand him.

“He needs to be examined by real human doctors. And his family needs to know what happened…” June said like a stern parent. She couldn’t imagine what Raf’s family would think of all this but they need to know their son is fine.

“June…” Optimus struggles to get to his pedes as he staggers forward towards June, “It deeply hurts me that I failed to protect Rafael from Megatron. But I will do everything in my power to protect our human allies…” Optimus limps closer to her, “And all humans on Earth.”

June paused as she took in a deep breath, “Optimus they are just children. They are not equipped to fight in an alien war! I’m taking all three of them home and they will not be coming back til this Unicron stuff is dealt with…”

The kids protested as they wanted to stay by the Autobot'sZ side. Optimus understood why June was so worried. Jack and Miko refused to leave much against June’s wishes. June left but then Agent Fowler called just as they left the base. Warning them about the wild weather conditions and all the earthquakes that happened at the same time the volcano erupted.
—----
The weather conditions outside the base were dangerous as Bumblebee rushed out of the base to go save Raf and June and promptly brought them back to base, safe. After a bit of calculations Skyfire and Ratchet were able to determine that the earthquakes originated deep in the Earth’s core. Agent Fowler also arrived at the base to get a status update from the Autobots after they managed to get the power generator back from the Decepticons.

As Ratchet looked into more Skyfire made a disturbing realization. “Ratchet, can you convert it into audio files?”

Ratchet looked confused but did so. And then the horrible realization washed over everyone as the tiny tremors from the earthquakes…were spark beats…

“A heartbeat? But a heart pumps blood there is nothing to pump in Earth…” June pointed out but then Raf perked up, “The blood of Unicron…”

The team realized that the darkness that the prophecy foretold was about Unicron returning here on Earth. As somehow Unicron was in the core of the planet…

“So how do we stop this Unicron guy?” Agent Fowler asks,

“I do not know.” Optimus explained, Optimus then explained to the humans the legend of Unicron and how Primus created the 13 original Primes to stop him from destroying the universe. Optimus then had the awkward task of explaining to Agent Fowler and the other humans that Unicron didn’t come to Earth…but Earth must have formed around him and created the planet.

“So what now?” Skyfire asks,

“We must find a way to prevent Unicron from waking…and destroying the Earth in the process…” Optimus said ominously.

Chapter 12: Rise and Fall pt 2.

Summary:

Unicron begins to awaken and Team Prime must make an unfortunate alliance with Megatron and Starscream to stop the Chaos Bringer.

Starscream was flying around a desert area full of canyons. He picked up a weak energon signature there and with his knowledge of energon mine locations… he knew there wasn’t a mine nearby making the energon ripe for the taking.

Starscream was nervous to go out as the weather recently has become very unpredictable. But his energon reserves were getting low and he desperately needed to refuel soon. Starscream began to dig as he struck not normal energon…no but a vein of Dark Energon.

“Dark Energon? On Earth?” Starscream was befuddled, how could the blood of Unicron be in the Earth?

Not far from Starscream’s position he heard rock falls as he went to look over the canyon's edge he saw Optimus Prime and…some unknown bot. “Who the frag is that?” Starscream asked himself.

Optimus then began to fight this other bot. But then Optimus held out his arms by his side and put away his blades. “I humbly ask you for your ear, Lord Unicron…” Optimus said, looking at the other bot.

“That’s fraggin’ Unicron?!” Starscream said in surprise. No, Unicron is huge and a destroyer of worlds…he can’t be the actual Unicron. This must be some kind of misunderstanding… Starscream could barely hear Optimus and out of nowhere, they started fighting again. Unicron went down but then more rocky avatars of the Chaos Bringer popped up and Optimus was surrounded.

Starscream bit down on his thumb as he watched Optimus take out Unicron copies one after another. But as quickly as he was taking them out more of them appeared. Then Optimus was surrounded by the Unicron copies. Then as if Primus himself decided to help the rest of Team Prime showed up and was helping Optimus fight off Unicron, including Skyfire.

Starscream watched as his pacifist of a partner was now scraping with the Autobots. Starscream was so preoccupied with watching Skyfire he didn’t notice the Unicron clone behind him. Starscream shrieked in surprise as he blasted the clone and it turned to rubble. Scrap now Unicron knew he was here. Starscream growled in frustration as he too jumped down to help the Autobots.

Skyfire turned to see his ex-partner helping out. “Starscream?!”

“Why the frag is Unicron here?!” Starscream was shooting and destroying Unicron clones.

“Uh…long story…but we need to stop him!” Skyfire loosely explained,

“No duh!” Starscream sassed back as the rest of the bots now spotted the seeker helping them fight. They didn’t have time to protest as the Chaos Bringer was sending wave after wave of minions his way.

“Optimus, you need to fall back! You are Unicron’s target.” Arcee cried out as she kicked a Unicron clone,

“Reinforcements will not help you, disciple of Primus…” The Unicrons all said in unison.

“Unicron can track me anywhere. Even the shielding at our base can hide me for so long… I will not risk those back at base.” Optimus insisted on staying.

“Optimus, listen to reason!” Ratchet said through the comms, “If you do not survive we might all be doomed…”

Optimus sighed, “Very well. I will fall back.” The team made a protective perimeter around Optimus as they covered him to retreat. Even Starscream helped as he knew the legend so it was up to Optimus to stop Unicron. The team began to retreat from the canyoned area, blasting and fighting out of Unicron copies.

By the time they reached the open area of the desert, Unicron clearly had enough of the Autobots' shenanigans. The team all transformed and was driving or flying away from the copies as they stopped coming but then the ground shook. And out came a titan-sized Unicron copy that blocked their path. The team all transformed back into their bot forms and watched as the titan rose out of the ground.

“We're gonna be scrapped!” Starscream said in a panic.

“If we can’t beat Unicron or outrun Unicron what are we going to do?!” Bulkhead asked Optimus,

“We must keep destroying his vessels until we can find a way to neutralize Unicron once and for all…And not let Unicron destroy the Earth that we now reside on.” Optimus told the team.

“That’s your plan?!” Starscream objected,

“You have a better idea, Screamer?” Arcee asked, annoyed that Starscream was here at all.

“Starscream and Skyfire, can you take to the air and give us aerial cover?” Optimus asked as the two seekers nodded. Starscream already hated this but he wasn’t going to abandon Skyfire to the mercy of Unicron…

The titan Unicron walked slowly towards the Autobots as they fired at its lower legs in hopes of toppling the titan. Starscream launched a missile at Unicron’s shoulder causing a big chunk to fall off but not slowing the titan down. The team frantically kept shooting at the titan but they were doing very little to no damage to it. The titan began to swat away the Autobots and send them flying as the titan was locked onto Optimus, its true target.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee were desperately shooting at Unicron’s legs but it was ineffective. Optimus was staggering back as he couldn’t leave his team behind. Skyfire launched his own missile at Unicron but the titan just swatted Skyfire away causing the shuttle to spiral towards the ground. “Skyfire!” Starscream cried out as he nose-dived to make sure Skyfire wasn’t hurt.

Skyfire transformed and rolled and slid against the ground near the titan as it continued to go after Optimus. Starscream landed and ran towards Skyfire helping him up. The titan dragged its arm across the dirt sending rocks and debris flying in Optimus’s direction. The rocks form a small tomb burying the Prime inside and getting him stuck.

The rest of the team began to panic as they all raced to help Optimus. The titan lifted its large pede over the rock tomb and was about to squash Optimus when out of nowhere. Purple blaster fire that was aimed at the titan’s neck was being shot out. Starscream recognized the blaster fire as none other…than Megatron.

Megatron was zooming past the titan and took out the rocks that formed its neck and caused the whole titan to crumble. As the titan folded in on itself the rest of Team Prime transformed and drove to avoid the debris that was falling. Megatron landed near where Optimus was trapped and helped the Prime out of the tomb of rocks.

“Megatron?!” Bulkhead cried out in surprise,

Starscream and Skyfire slowly made their way over as Starscream hid behind Skyfire to avoid Megatron’s gaze.
—--
The humans and Ratchet were listening in on everything.

“Wait King Con is now there too?” Miko said in surprise,

“I thought Starscream showing up and helping was a big surprise…now Megatron?” Jack said, trying to figure out what was happening.

“I’m not surprised about Starscream considering his and Skyfire’s past together…” Ratchet said offhandedly,

“Wait.” Miko whipped her arms out to the side, “The heck you mean from their past together?”

Ratchet paused, “Starscream is Skyfire’s old partner and ex-sparkmate.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” Miko made a breaking gesture with her arms, “You’re telling me not only that Starscream and Skyfire weren’t just friends but they also dated?!”

The humans all turned to look at Ratchet, “Well…yes.”

“Wait, you guys can date?” Agent Fowler asked confused, leading his mind to a bunch of other questions that Agent Fowler did not want answers to.

“Why am I the last to find out about this?! Bulk is in so much trouble for not telling me! Actually no, Skyfire is in so much trouble for not telling me!” Miko said angrily as she didn’t know the hot gossip around the Autobot Base.

“I think Skyfire’s love life can take a backseat right now, Miko.” Jack said, trying to calm her down. “We have the world possibly being destroyed…”

“We’ll put a pin in it now but I need details later!” Miko crossed her arms,

“Besides all that… Megatron most likely aligned himself with Unicron…” Ratchet said angrily,

“Don’t be so sure.” Arcee said through comms, “He just saved Optimus from Unicron.”

Everyone in the base looked surprised and shocked by this news.
—---
“This is rather ironic…” Megatron said to Optimus, “Considering the last encounter we had you were trying to snuff my spark.”

Starscream grumbled under his breath, “If only…” Thankfully Megatron has still yet to notice the seeker or hear his rude comment.

“That option remains very much in play.” Optimus gets up in Megatron’s face and stares the warlord down.

“I expect nothing less.” Megatron said getting more into Optimus’s face. “However, I have a proposal.” As Megatron steps away and walks a few steps with his servos behind his back. “Join me and help me bring down our mutual enemy… Unicron, the Chaos Bringer.”

“Huh?!” Starscream said surprisingly loud, Megatron raised a brow and finally noticed the seeker.

“Starscream…” Megatron spoke his name and the seeker flinched. Skyfire noticed that he was scared and didn’t like seeing Starscream practically shaking with fear.

“Lo-Lord Megatron…” Starscream said meekly as he walked out from behind Skyfire.

“Surprised to see you of all bots here? Don’t tell me you joined the Autobots?” Megatron asked,

“No…I was just in the area and noticed a Unicron-shaped titan walking around…heh…” Starscream said with fear. Megatron turned his attention away from Starscream and toward Optimus. “So Optimus, do we have a deal?”

Ratchet laughed through the comms, “Why in the Pits would Megatron help us?!”

“Because Megatron’s pride will not allow anyone but him to rule this planet…” Optimus explained to Ratchet as he walked towards Megatron.

“You know me all too well, Optimus.” Megatron said with a smirk.

“Is Megatron really that evil?” Skyfire whispered to Starscream,

“This is nothing…” Starscream said rather darkly, which alarmed Skyfire.

“You have a literal army. Why come to Autobots for help?” Starscream pointed out as Megatron growled at the seeker. Starscream flinched back in fear as he took a few steps back. “I mean you have soldiers, why come here for help?”

“Because, Starscream. This particular endeavor requires more than the soldiers I command.” Megatron explains, “The power of a Prime.” as Megatron gestures towards Optimus.

“Then why would we need you?” Skyfire spoke up as Megatron didn’t recognize him at first but then it clicked.

“Skyfire.” Megatron said calmly, “Starscream spoke highly of you. I was surprised when Airachnid told me that she saw a shuttle class seeker with Starscream…”

“Answer my question, Megatron.” Skyfire repeated more sternly,

“For you see I have the blood of Unicron in my veins. Optimus may be the only one who can defeat Unicron…but I am the only one who can guide you to Unicron…” Megatron explained,

“Hey Scream, didn't you try the whole blood of Unicron thing too? Can’t you guide us?” Bulkhead asked,

Skyfire looked at Starscream wide-eyed and in shock. Starscream awkwardly laughed, “Uh…it rejected me…so no.”

“Not surprising…” Megatron jabbed, Skyfire glared at Megatron with a scowl. Megatron turned back towards Optimus, “Optimus our past allegiances do not matter as all Cybertronians and humans alike are under threat of Unicron.” Megatron said as he walked towards Optimus.

“The past always matters!” Ratchet yelled through comms,

“I agree with Ratchet.” Skyfire said sternly, “The past does matter.”

“And how long would an Autobot and Decepticon truce last?” Optimus asked not sure to trust anything Megatron is saying right now.

“It will last as long as it is mutually beneficial…” Megatron confirmed what Optimus was thinking.

“And when the truce ends?” Optimus asks,

“I will conquer this world…my way.” Megatron says with a wicked smirk,

“Wow, honesty from a Decepticon the world is really ending…” Arcee said sarcastically,

“Aligning with the lesser of two evils is still aligning with evil!” Ratchet yelled through comms,

“Do you honestly think this is all the power Unicron has? This is merely a fracture of what the Chaos Bringer can do. Those foot soldiers are nothing but a taste of what is to come.” Megatron explained, “Unicron has yet to fully awaken. With each passing the bringer of chaos evolves. Mutating Earth from the inside out…what we have witnessed so far is but a prelude to the devastation that he will reign upon your world…”

“Oh, like how your quest for power destroyed Cybertron?!” Arcee cried out,

“Make no mistake, Autobot. There will be a planet left for me to rule…” Megatron snapped back at Arcee.

Skyfire stood there shocked…He knew the war caused Cybertron to go dark but he just learned that Megatron was the main cause of it…and Starscream helped him. Skyfire looked over at Starscream whose optics looked frantic as he tracked Megatron’s movements. Why was Starscream so scared of Megatron?

“And even if we did agree. Unicron is at the center of the Earth…we can’t just drive or fly there?!” Bulkhead pointed out a flaw in Megatron’s deal.

“There is one way…” Optimus said ominously,

“ABSOLUTELY NOT!” Ratchet shrieked from the comms, and some of the team flinched at Ratchet’s volume. “Ground bridging into space and onto a moving target is already insane…But now plotting a jump into an evil, sentient being!? Optimus you cannot be serious?!” Ratchet pinched the bridge of his face, “That much Dark Energon will debilitate you and make the battle even harder! Megatron has an immunity to the stuff even Starscream might have a resistance to it but the rest of the team does not!” Optimus listens to Ratchet’s reasoning. This unfortunately gives Starscream and Megatron more ammunition and reason to join them in stopping Unicron.

“Can you provide Megatron’s precise coordinates?” Optimus asked Megatron,

“If you transport us to this planet’s core. I can lead you directly to Unicron’s spark. The very heart of his darkness…” Megatron balled his servo for emphasis. Megatron was really laying it on thick for Optimus.

“Ok…even if we did all that… How are we going to actually stop Unicron?” Bulkhead pointed out,

“With the Matrix of Leadership.” Optimus answered,

“Uh…the Matrix of Leadership?” Raf asked as the humans all looked towards Ratchet for answers.

“The Matrix is a vessel of pure energy and the collected wisdom of the Primes.” Ratchet explained,

“Do we have time to go searching for this Matrix?” Jack asked,

“Optimus carries the Matrix of Leadership within him.” Ratchet said, patting his chest. “We do not need to look for it because we already have it.”

“By releasing the energy of the Matrix into Unicron’s spark we might be able to put him back into stasis…” Optimus spoke, he looked down at his spark chamber which is currently housing the Matrix.

The humans argued that Unicron should be removed from the Earth. But soon realized that they cannot as he is the Earth’s core and returning him to stasis is the safest option right now…

Then the ground began to shake as the titan reformed. Optimus called for a ground bridge. The team paused, as they realized they would be ground bridging two Decepticons into their base.

“We’re just going to let Starscream and Megatron waltz into our base?!” Arcee argued,

“Me and Starscream will keep the titan busy…consider my offer, Autobots.” Megatron looked up at the titan.

“What?! We’re going to fight that thing again?!” Starscream protested,

“Unless you want to get squashed, Starscream, you should listen to me.” Megatron argued as he transformed and flew up towards the titan to fight. Starscream looked back at Skyfire hesitantly as he sighed and joined his former leader in fighting the titan.

The team began to run through the portal. Skyfire looked back at Starscream and Megatron fighting in the air. He clenched his servos and ran into the portal back to base, hoping Megatron would be good on his word and help….
—---
“I know these are desperate times, Optimus but bringing Megatron and his former second-in-command into our base?!” Ratchet argued with the Prime.

“How can you let those monsters in here after what Megatron did to Raf and what Starscream did to Cliffjumper?!” June argued as she defensively placed her hands on Raf’s shoulders. Raf looked down clearly not wanting to remember the hours ago he was on death’s door.

“Starscream would not harm children!” Skyfire defended Starscream,

“Well when we were in that cave he wasn’t exactly being friendly…” Miko pointed out remembering when Starscream tried to grab her in the cave-in.

“They will be closely monitored as they come into the base.” Optimus reassured June, “And will only be allowed to linger here until we can ground bridge into Unicron.”

“And what is stopping Megatron from calling in an air strike once he knows where the base is?” Agent Fowler pointed out,

“Because we are ground bridging Megatron and Starscream, they will be unable to get a fix on our coordinates.” Optimus elaborates, hoping to calm the nerves of the humans.

“So once you drain the Matrix…what will happen to you, Optimus?” Jack asks,

“Since the Matrix has not been used in such capacities before…I do not know.” Optimus said, looking away from the humans. “But if humanity is to survive, I have no choice but to proceed.”

The Autobots all stood there as did the humans all sharing a look. The Autobots all said one by one that they would risk their lives for their human partners and save their world. The humans all smiled up at their adjacent partners and Optimus smiled back at his team.
—---
Back in the desert Megatron and Starscream are desperately fighting off more titans now as Unicron summons more. Starscream wasn’t used to fighting by Megatron’s side in quite a bit after he defected. And the fact Megatron is being quiet about it made Starscream nervous.

“Megatron…we cannot keep this up for much longer.” Starscream said through his comms,

“You may not be able to keep this up. But I can and will.” Megatron sassed back,

If Starscream was in bot form he would roll his optics. The fact he realized he has a thing for big, stubborn bots was not lost on him but still. If Megatron dies here the whole stopping Unicron this will be moot.

“If you die all of that prattling about an alliance will be useless!” Starscream pointed out,

Megatron chuckled, “It’s been a very long time since you spoke back at me, Starscream. It’s refreshing.”

“Refreshing?! You’d normally thrash me into the ground if sassed you. Of course, now I can voice my actual opinions since you can’t hit me right now!” Starscream shouted,

Megatron continued to blast at the titans. Megatron just chuckled at Starscream’s sass which irritated the seeker. “You think this is funny?! We might die!”

“I’m just reminiscing.” Megatron admitted,

“Reminiscing? Now of all times.” Starscream said in disbelief,

“Back when the two of us weren’t trying to murder each other…when we were together.” Megaton explained, “Of course that was a very long time ago and now you have your old love alive and well…”

“We aren’t together. He’s an Autobot. And I am not.” Starscream said as he launched another missile at a titan’s face. Blowing it up and causing it to tumble.

“Makes sense. Why would he want you now? After all the atrocities you committed.” Megatron jabbed, and Starscream just growled in anger. Of course he wouldn’t miss a chance at insulting him.

“You mean the atrocities you made me commit?” Starscream sassed,

“Don’t put it all on me, Starscream. You did plenty of things on your own…or is your memory faulty?” Megatron jabbed,

Starscream blasted another titan angrily as the last titan fell, Megatron and Starscream landed and transformed into bot form. Starscream glared at Megatron who was smirking at the seeker. “You really think you’re funny don’t you?” Starscream hissed at Megatron.

Megatron’s smirk remained, “It’s not a joke Starscream. I’m just stating facts…”

“Facts? Like how you’re a Dark Energon junkie and it has finally become useful? How’s that undead army doing by the way?” Starscream said, putting his servos on his hips.

Megatron’s smirk quickly faded, “At least Dark Energon didn’t reject me. And now my connection to Unicron can stop him. You couldn’t even get one Terrorcon to obey you…”

Starscream’s wings hiked up and he frowned at the warlord. “At least it means Unicron thinks I’m not an evil bastard…”

Megatron sneered and reeled back ready to deck the seeker. Starscream covered his face with his arms bracing himself for an all too familiar thrashing. Then a ground bridge opened up in front of them. Megatron paused, he and Starscream looked at the portal as they heard the titans reforming in the distance. Starscream immediately ran through to avoid Megatron. While Megatron slowly walked into the portal as it closed.
—----
Agent Fowler and June are adamant about hiding the human children while Starscream and Megatron are at the base. Miko protested naturally, “No fair! I’ve never even seen Megatron! Why do we have to hide?”

“For your safety.” June said sternly, “We do not want anyone to get harmed.” The humans all hid in the hall by the base’s main room.

The Autobots all stood ready to welcome the two Decepticons with their weapons at the ready. Starscream entered first as he looked around the room. “Quaint.” He said softly,

Then the heavy pede falls of Megatron behind Starscream got the team’s attention. Starscream moved to the side to make room for Megatron as he too entered the base and looked around.

The humans were all peaking over the corner of the hall as Megatron and Starscream entered. Raf glared at the evil bot who tried to take him out the day prior. Raf gritted his teeth…he couldn’t let Megatron get away with hurting him. Raf ran out as the rest of the humans tried to stop the young boy. “You…you…” Raf stuttered out as he ran towards Megatron.

The rest of the humans ran out of their hiding places after him and stopped him from getting any closer to Megatron. Megatron saw the boy out of the corner of his optic, “Ah…you’re looking better than the last time we met little one…” Megatron said as he turned toward Raf. Arcee blocked the warlord’s path as her blasters were trained on Megatron. “Humans are rather resilient aren’t they?” Megatron smirked down at Raf.

Starscream was confused at what they were talking about but clearly, he tried to harm the human child. Starscream just watched the exchange seeing what the humans will do next. The human, Jack grabbed Raf and ushered him over to another adult human female that Starscream didn’t recognize. “Don’t bother, Raf…he isn’t worth it…” Jack said glaring up at Megatron and making sure his mother got Raf away from Megatron.

“I know you…” Megatron said out of the blue, “Jack. I remember you from the mines…I never forget a face, even that of a human’s...” Jack turned and glared at Megatron as he joined Raf and his mother in walking away from the Decepticons. Miko clenched her fist and turned to Megatron, “My face is the one you’ll never forget if you double-cross any of them! You’ll never forget!” Miko leaned forward to charge at Megatron but Agent Fowler held her back as he dragged her to where the rest of the humans were.

Starscream looked over at Megatron, “Children just hate you don’t they?” Starscream smirked at his rude jab. Megatron just glanced over at the seeker with a scowl. Skyfire himself also couldn’t resist smirking at Starscream’s cruel joke. Megatron was bad news…only fair to make fun of him at his expense. Optimus broke up the whole tense situation as he instructed Ratchet to get the coordinates from Megatron to go and locate how to ground bridge into Unicron.

Starscream looked over at Skyfire who was watching Megatron carefully. “Why are you so scared of him, Star?” Skyfire asked as his gaze never left Megatron.

“Skyfire…” Starscream said softly, “It’s…complicated…It’s not the time nor place to discuss such things.”

“I don’t like him.” Skyfire said, squinting at Megatron who finally noticed Skyfire’s glare. Megatron briefly walked over to the two seekers as Ratchet continued to type in and set up the ground bridge.

“Problem?” Megatron asked Skyfire,

“No.” Skyfire answered, there was clear tension between the two. Megatron looked between the two and then over at Starscream who flinched back behind Skyfire. Skyfire noticed this and got between Starscream and Megatron. Megatron softly chuckled, “So you still carry a torch for Starscream?”

Skyfire didn’t answer and just glared at Megatron. Megatron just chuckled and leaned in toward Skyfire’s audio receptors. “Be careful with him… He has a tendency to betray his lovers. I would know…”

Megatron leaned back and saw the horrified look on Skyfire’s face. Megatron smirked and walked back over to Ratchet. Skyfire just looked behind him at Starscream. “What did he just say to you?” Starscream asked worried about what lies or nonsense Megatron just told him.

“Starscream…tell me you didn’t date Megatron?” Skyfire said quietly so as to not let the others hear.

Starscream wings drooped as he looked embarrassed. “Star…” Skyfire said disappointed. He now understood a little bit but that only made Skyfire worry more…

Ratchet alerted everyone that the coordinates were set and they were ready to ground bridge into Unicron. The portal started as the team got ready to head through as they disappeared into the portal they opened their optics and were inside Unicron. Skyfire stayed back with Ratchet as a form of backup in case the weather gets bad and the base needs repairs… Skyfire didn’t like letting Starscream walk into danger with the Decepticon leader and apparent ex but… the world needed saving.

Chapter 13: Rise and Fall pt 3.

Summary:

The Team ground bridges into Unicron to put him back into stasis…And Skyfire learns more about Optimus and Megatron’s history.

The team looked around and realized they weren’t in some random part of Unicron…but behind where his optics are…so they basically teleported into his head…how strange. The team began to walk and follow Megatron as they guided them through the body of Unicron. Starscream felt an eerie feeling walking inside a bot’s body of all things. He was surprised he didn’t feel pain or sickness from the Dark Energon exposure. He couldn’t get the Dark Energon to work for him and it literally and violently purged itself from his system last time he used it…maybe he has a resistance to Dark Energon?

But he was more worried about the Autobots. No doubt the second Unicron is back in stasis Megatron will attack or betray them in some capacity… He knew Megatron too well to not see it coming. Starscream walked up to Megatron Optimus saw this and kept an optic on the seeker.

“You better not be leading us to our doom, Megatron.” Starscream said sternly,

“Starscream, your paranoia is unwarranted…” Optimus chimed in as Megatron and Starscream looked at him. Megatron looked back at Starscream, “Have some faith in me, Starscream. We are on the same side… for now.” As Megatron pulled ahead.

Starscream grumbled, “I know you and Megatron have a unique history, Optimus. But you cannot be that naive to not see his betrayal coming the second we are done with this.”

Optimus looked over at Starscream, “I know.” Optimus looked at the back of Megatron, “I’m not that naive, Starscream. But for now we must put our pasts aside and work together to stop the bigger threat.”

“Really? Because I know for a fact, you and I have a similar past with Megatron…” Starscream said rudely, Optimus optics widened and he stopped walking for a second. The rest of the team caught up and noticed Optimus pausing.

“Hey you alright, Optimus?” Bulkhead asked, concerned by Optimus stopping. Optimus looked back at the two Decepticons in the front. “I am fine…just thinking…” As Optimus resumed walking. The team all exchanged glances as they continued to follow Megatron.

Megatron pauses as he grips his helm in pain. He groans in pain as he glows a vibrant purple. After a few seconds Megatron recomposes himself. “Unicron grows ever stronger…” He said ominously, and resumed walking.

“How do we know Unicron is mind controlling Megatron into a trap?” Arcee asks,

“We don’t.” Starscream chimes in, Arcee looks at the seeker and could tell from Starscream’s demeanor that there were no tricks, no schemes he was being genuine and he was just as worried as the rest of the team.
—---
Back at the Autobot base the humans, Skyfire and Ratchet watch the human news to get updates on the weather conditions of the world. So far everything is going absolutely insane, with snow in tropical areas, tsunamis, earthquakes and all sorts of other natural disasters. The human kids felt helpless; as did the adults. Agent Fowler himself punched the air, “I hate feeling so useless!”

“Agent Fowler there is nothing you can do right now.” Ratchet reassured the federal agent,

Agent Fowler turned to Ratchet, “There has to be something! Maybe me and my buddies at the Pentagon could-”

Ratchet sighed at the human’s stubbornness, “In the event that Optimus can’t-”

“Don’t you mean Optimus and Megatron…” Agent Fowler interrupted,

“”Look none of us are happy with this team up. Myself included.” Ratchet expressed, “With Megatron and Optimus back together again-”

“Wait again?” Skyfire interrupted, “Please tell me that doesn’t mean what I think it means…”

"That Optimus was a Decepticon?” Jack asked,

“That Megatron was an Autobot?” Raf asked,

“Wait…did Megatron and Optimus date?!” Miko yelled, clinging to the railing.

“No, no and …I don’t know but I highly doubt it! But they were very good friends a very long time ago.” Ratchet insisted,

“Yeah like how Skyfire and Starscream were good friends…” Miko said under her breath.

“Regardless of either of their dating histories…” Ratchet began, “Do you all recall when I said Optimus wasn’t always a Prime? Prior to being Optimus Prime he was an archivist named Orion Pax; who worked in the Iacon hall of records. The more he researched the more he learned about the corruption in high places. An inequality amongst the masses.”

“I could have told you that. Iacon’s social structure was built on corruption. Places like Vos, Helix, Tarn and even Kaon were beginning to adopt the corruption aspects of Iacon as the council was in the capital city.” Skyfire added,

Ratchet nodded, “Indeed. And Orion became inspired by a gladiator of Kaon. One whose words voiced concern of corruption. He took his name from one of the 13 original Primes, Megatronus. Megatronus challenged Cybertron’s leadership and demanded that Cybertronians be treated as equals. Through his political campaigning Megatronus amassed a large following, Soundwave amongst them.”

“Makes sense. Soundwave was a gladiator too.” Skyfire pointed out, “I must have missed most of the political stuff while I was in stasis. I only remember Megatronus as a gladiator.”

“You must have because the story does not end there.” Ratchet resumed his tale, “Orion began to correspond with Megatronus who became like a mentor to him and then became close friends. After a while Megatronus shortened his name to Megatron and decided to take his vision of a just Cybertronian society to the council. And it was here he revealed his true colors…”

Skyfire listened to Ratchet’s words as he missed the catalyst that caused the Cybertronian war they currently were in. “Megatron demanded that the old council be deposed by force and a new one erected in its place. And that he be named the next Prime. But Orion did not believe in violence as a means to achieving justice. The sparks and minds of the council were moved by Orion’s words. Since Cybertron’s golden age someone stood before them that could be worthy of the title of Prime. But that honor could only be bestowed if they earn the legendary Matrix of Leadership.”

Skyfire can see it more clearly now. Megatron felt betrayed by Orion by taking what he believed was his. And Orion got what he sought after… Ratchet continued, “After that Megatron severed all ties with Orion and the council and tried to seize control of Cybertron by force. With his growing army of followers he called Decepticons…”

“There has to be more to it than that.” Skyfire interrupted, he looked at Ratchet “Were you upper caste?”

Ratchet paused…“I was fortunate to be in the upper class, yes.”

“You said caste not class…did Cybertron have a caste system?” Jack asked,

“Yes, old ways of the government sought to quash individualism under a caste system, or better known as functionalism. This social system seeks to organize Cybertronians and their vocations by their natural alt-modes. For example someone with a bulldozer alt-mode can only perform a construction job, while a bot who turns into a microscope might only become a scientist.” Skyfire explained, “So someone like me and Starscream couldn’t become scientists…because I was a transport shuttle and he was an energon seeker.”

Skyfire clenched his servos, “Bots like Megatron and Soundwave were gladiators. Most bots didn’t become gladiators for the glory. They did it to get out of their lower caste or to earn money to get into a better place in life. I can see now why the Decepticons have a lot of seekers on their side… seekers were only thought to be good at military aspects or as tools…only in places like Vos and Helix did we have real rights as they were seeker cities. But even the looming corruption that was beginning to fade as well.”

“I don’t agree with Megatron but I can see how others like me would want to join him.” Skyfire looked saddened by hearing this… “Sorry to interrupt you, Ratchet.”

“It is alright, Skyfire. I find your alternative perspective quite interesting actually…but regardless.” Ratchet cleared his throat, “But Megatron’s ambition led him to desire the Matrix and he wanted it so he may claim it for himself. This led to the war we face now and how it ruined Cybertron…rotting it and depleting it from the inside out…Orion journeyed to the center of our planet to try and reverse the effects. He became face to face with Primus himself who bestowed the Matrix of Leadership onto Orion. Letting Orion Pax…to become Optimus Prime.”

“So Optimus got the Matrix from Cybertron’s core and is now going to give it to Earth’s?” Miko pieced together,

“What’s stopping Megatron from just taking the Matrix when they try to stop Unicron?” Jack asks,

“Only because it’s the only thing that can save this planet and so he can then conquer it…as he so eloquently put…” Ratchet said with irritation in his voice.

“Not that the leader of the Decepticons can be fully trusted…” Skyfire added,

“What about Screamer then?” Miko asked, “How do we know he won’t betray everyone?”

“Starscream wouldn’t, he wants to survive like the rest of us.” Skyfire defended, “Besides… he…he would help. Save the world I mean.”

“I trust Starscream just as much as Megatron but he is more likely to just run off…” Ratchet noted,

“Inside Unicron? Where’s he gonna go?” Miko jokes, “Besides Bulk will wallop Screamer if he tries anything.” Miko punched her hand. Skyfire was worried from the information he heard about Starscream that it wasn't looking good for the small seeker. But Skyfire deep down hoped that Starscream wouldn't pull any stunts and help stop Unicron.
—----
The team was getting closer and closer to where Unicron’s spark chamber should be. The team was crossing a glowing bridge-like structure as the spark chamber shouldn’t be too far away, according to Megatron.

Then Bulkhead grabbed his helm in pain. Apparently the Dark Energon was beginning to get to him. He was feeling dizzy as both Bumblebee and Arcee helped steady him as they crossed this bridge. Starscream was behind them and was relieved that he felt fine. Maybe that stupid stunt with the Dark Energon was a good thing. Starscream walked around them and was behind Optimus. Then Megatron paused as he turned to face the team, “He is preparing to expel us…”

“What the frag, does that mean?” Starscream asked not liking how ominous and cryptic that sounded.

Then the sound of buzzing and shrieking could be heard in the distance. The team began to look around, their blasters now drawn out. Starscream was beginning to panic as then they all saw them. Some kind of antibody measure is now trying to purge them from Unicron’s system.

Everyone pulled out their blasters and got ready to fight off the antibodies. The team began shooting at the antibodies as they drew closer to them. But as they shot more and more out of the air more just showed up. They also began to fire back which made the situation even less ideal.

“You could have given us a heads up on this oh, mighty guide!” Starscream shouted at Megatron,

Megatron didn’t have time to reply to Starscream’s sass as one of the antibodies shot his shoulder plating. The Autobots and Megatron turned to their right as they saw more antibodies appearing and were trying to blast them out of the sky before they could get close. All the bots were frantically shooting at the incoming swarm of antibodies.

Starsrceam’s back was toward Arcee’s of all people and the two looked back at each other, frowned and resumed fighting. A rogue blast came from a nearby antibody sending the two flying into opposite directions off the bridge. Arcee fell off on the right and Starscream on the left. Arcee pulled out her blades and was hacking and slashing the antibodies in the air while she fell onto a lower bridge below. Starscream thought wasn’t going to play this game. He transformed and decided to take the lead in what he does best in…aerial combat.

Starscream began zipping around and shooting down antibodies in the air. Megatron watched as his former second in command was above him shooting down the threats. That’s when Starscream noticed Bulkhead beginning to wobble and stagger. “Scrap… Bulkhead!” Starscream yelled, getting his attention but causing the wrecker to lose his footing and fall off the ledge of the bridge. Bulkhead was able to grab the ledge at last second and was now dangling there. Bumblebee heard Starscream’s shouting and saw Bulkhead struggling to hang on.

‘Hold on Bulk!’ Bumblebee beeped as he rushed over and grabbed Bulkhead servo right as he let go. Bumblebee was struggling to get Bulkhead back up on the bridge causing Starscream to grumble… “These fraggin’ Autobots…” Starscream turned and flew under the bridge and under Bulkhead’s pedes and with the momentum of Bumblebee pulling and Starscream slowly hovering up to the top they got Bulkhead back on the bridge.

Starscream transformed as he landed on the bridge now that the Dark Energon was affecting Bulkhead, Starscream needed to stay close otherwise the Autobots might blame him if he died down here…

Starscream looked up to see the most spectacular and unusual sight…Megatron and Optimus Prime…working together in perfect synergy. The two, fighting side by side. Optimus uses a damaged blade to swipe at incoming antibodies, Megatron kicking and slashing at others coming from the opposite direction. Then Optimus switched to his two blasters and was shooting at the antibodies above while Megatron dealt with the ones getting into melee range. The two were holding their positions very well and taking out a large number of the antibodies with alarming accuracy.

The two then began rotating around each other switching weapons. Megatron using his fusion cannon and Optimus using his blade for melee. Then Starscream noticed they both were moving up slowly towards them on the bridge… The synchronicity was insane. Starscream couldn’t believe Optimus and Megatron of all people would have such perfect battle chemistry…but it also made sense at the same time… the two have been fighting each other for eons at this point of course they could figure out how the other battles…

Starscream and Bumblebee regained focus as they led Bulkhead to the opposite end of the bridge. Starscream saw Arcee down on the bottom of the bridge…he could easily go do and scoop her up like he did for Bulkhead but whether or not she would agree is another story. Arcee was running towards where the others were and decided to jump on the back of a nearby antibody and rode it up towards the upper bridge. She then blasted the antibody and jumped off its back and ran towards the exit with the rest of the team…
—----
Ratchet continued to monitor the situation as the communication links were all down once they entered Unicron. The human children pointed out the flaw in the system though. As communications were down and it was hard to track their signals…how would they know when and where to pick up the team from inside Unicron.

The sound of tapping got Ratchet’s attention as it was incredibly annoying. Ratchet looked over to the source of the sound and it was Jack who was leaning against the guard rail with something in his hand. Ratchet looked utterly surprised to see what was in his hand, “Jack…where did you get that?”

Skyfire turned as he heard the surprised and almost worried tone in Ratchet’s voice. Jack stopped tapping the thing in his hand and held it up towards Ratchet. “Optimus gave it to me. I don’t know why…I mean it’s just a key to the ground bridge’s energy supply…” He gestured for Ratchet to take the small key from him.

“Jack, there is no key to the ground bridge.” Ratchet told him, the human boy looked both surprised and confused. “Then what is this?”

“That is the key to Vector Sigma…” Ratchet revealed,

Skyfire rushed over to see the key for himself… “Wait seriously? That’s so cool!”

Jack was still confused. Ratchet leaned in close to him, “You are holding one of Cybertron’s most important relics…”

Jack got up from where he was leaning and rushed over towards Ratchet, “Then I shouldn’t have this!”

“Optimus entrusted you with the key.” Ratchet explained and denied taking the key.

“But why?” Jack asked,

“Because he doesn’t plan on coming back…” Ratchet said somberly,

Skyfire looked confused at Ratchet as it suddenly sank into Skyfire. “We have to do something then!”

“There is nothing we can do now but wait…” Ratchet said, going back to the console.

“Then…then…send me! I-I can help! I have weapons! I can fight….kind of…” Skyfire begged,

Ratchet sighed and turned to the shuttle, “Skyfire sending you in without backup would be suicide…also…I never recalled giving you weaponry…where did you get them?” Ratchet now realized the shuttle had missiles, blasters and a battle mask of his own…

Skyfire looked surprised then a bit guilty. “I uh…I always had them…” Skyfire looked down, “It was something I hid cause I was a bit embarrassed. Before joining the Academy I was a deep space transport shuttle who would deliver things to the colonies. And sometimes you encounter some dangerous things in deep space…so we were outfitted with military grade weaponry to combat any and all dangers in space.” Skyfire fidgeted, “So I alway had weapons but deactivated them while I was in school…but when I came back online and saw we were in war I reactivated them…”

Ratchet nodded in understanding. “I see. There is nothing to be ashamed of Skyfire.”

“I’m a pacifist! Having weapons goes against what I try to stand for…I hate fighting…” Skyfire sighed,

“I know Skyfire…it’s why we had you stay back…” Ratchet walked over and placed a comforting servo on Skyfire’s shoulder.

Ratchet smiled gently at the shuttle, “There is no need to worry right now… I like to believe that everyone will return safe and sound…”

Chapter 14: Rise and Fall pt 4.

The team continued to fight off antibodies as they entered a new room. Swarms of the flying antibodies as they all were shooting at the ones entering the room they were currently occupying. Everyone was shooting at the antibodies and trying to hold them off. While fighting Starscream heard Megatron roaring in pain; he turned to see his former master on the ground.

“Megatron! What are you doing?!” Starscream roared, Megatron was on his servos and knees groaning in pain and now glowing an even more vibrant purple. Scrap is Unicron trying to take control?

Optimus noticed Megatron on the ground and called his name trying to snap him out of it. Megatron got to his pedes, rushed to Optimus, and grabbed his shoulder. Megatron then blasted 3 antibodies heading towards the Prime. Megatron staggered back, “Unicron’s spark is just beyond the doorway!” Megatron pointed at the closed-off door-like structure just ahead of him.

Megatron uses his spark filled with Dark Energon to bypass the security measures. The door and all the other doors that were behind it opened up quickly and Megatron began to walk through into the chamber. The rest of the team were fighting off the antibodies. Optimus turned to see Megatron entering Unicron’s spark chamber…

“Autobots! I will need you to keep our attackers at bay! Hold them off as long as you can!” Optimus ordered as he went into the spark chamber with Megatron.

Starscream turned as the rest of the Autobots nodded in understanding…but Starscream was not going to be locked out here being constantly bombarded by antibodies…Once Optimus rushed in, Starscream followed behind. Arcee noticed Starscream slinking away, “Where are you going?!”

“Optimus said for the Autobots to hold the line…last I checked I wasn’t one.” Starscream smirked and followed Optimus in. The door closed behind them as Arcee grumbled in frustration as the backstabbing seeker.

“Forget him ‘Cee!” Bulkhead yelled as he was blasting more antibodies. “We need to hold the line for Optimus! So he can do his thing.”

Optimus and Starscream rush down a long winding tunnel to see Megatron standing there gawking at something. Once in the room, they realized it was a massive purple ball of energy…a spark…Unicron spark.

Optimus and Megatron were standing side by side looking up at the massive spark before them. The purity of the Dark Energon could be felt, its strength and how dangerously toxic it can be. Megatron was immune and did not fault but as Optimus approached the spark he was staggering. Starscream was feeling some of the effects as he felt a small wave of sickness wash over him. Being so close to the source of Dark Energon in its purest state would have a negative effect on anyone not infected with the substance.

The spark began to pulse as Optimus approached it…sending energy wave after energy wave to knock back the Prime and stop him from what he is about to do. It even hit Megatron and Starscream as the wave of energy knocked over the smaller seeker. Megatron stood his ground but his optics lit up to an iridescent purple as smoke or some kind of disbursing energy emitted from his optics. Megatron clutched his helm and fell to his knees. Starscream looked at his old master in worry…not for Megatron’s safety but for what Unicron is doing to his mind…

Megatron roared in pain as he got to his pedes. He began staggering towards the Prime with his blade drawn. Starscream clamored to his pedes as he rushed over to block Megatron’s path. “Megatron! Resist! Don’t let Unicron-” Megatron swiped at the seeker sending him flying across the room.

Starscream saw Megatron looming over Optimus who was struggling to get to his own pedes because of the Dark Energon exposure…Megatron was about to raise his sword to strike down at the Prime. “Megatron! Don’t!” Starscream called out as Megatron brought his sword down.

It missed Optimus, and jammed into a space next to the Prime. “NO ONE COMMANDS ME! NO ONE!” Megatron cries out as he clutches his helm in pain and is screaming like a mad man. Then suddenly Megatron falls unconscious onto the ground. Starscream rushed over to see if Megatron was truly offline… but then he felt a sharp pain in his chest… the seeker stumbled and fell to his knees.

Then Starscream’s optics began to glow purple as he heard a voice in his head, “Why can I not control you?!” The booming voice of Unicron echoed in his mind. “You partoke of my blood…yet I can’t control you?! What a failure and disappointment…”

Starscream grabbed his helm in pain. “Get out of my head!”

Unicron laughed, “What are you little seeker? You are no ordinary Cybertronian…you possess a resistance to me…What are you?!” Starscream didn’t understand what the Chaos Bringer was on about. Just that his voice was very annoying. “Sorry to disappoint Unicron but…I am not a puppet for you to control!” Starscream got to his pedes as a white energy began to seep out from his own chest purging the Chaos Bringer from his mind. Thankfully everything went quiet but now Starscream had more questions than answers…

Optimus too somehow found the strength to get to his pedes as he opened his chest plating to reveal the Matrix of Leadership. “Matrix of Leadership I call upon you!” Optimus bellowed as the Matrix began to glow.

Megatron suddenly bursted in purple flames similar to the ones that came out of Starscream when he tried to reanimate Skyquake… Megatron got to his pedes but something was off. “You cannot defeat me, disciple of Primus! I have transcended physical being!” His voice wasn’t just his voice but also Unicron’s… Unicron was puppeting the warlord. “I alone will cause this world’s destruction and let the universe fall into chaos!”

Optimus ignored Unicron’s monologue and got to his pedes. “The Matrix of Leadership will save us all!” Optimus cried out, as he aimed the energy of the Matrix at Unicron’s spark. Unicron roared and aimed his fusion cannon at the Prime. Just as he was about to fire, Starscream shoved his arm and caused Unicron to miss.

The energy from the Matrix caused Unicron’s spark to become unstable as the Dark Energon was pulsing rapidly and erratically. The conflicting energies sent ripples and waves of power knocking back Unicron within Megatron and causing Starscream to fall over. Starscream looked down at his own chest that was glowing, “What the frag…” Starscream was perplexed by this but didn’t have time to question things…

Optimus stood there and let the energy from the Matrix pour into Unicron…once depleted the Prime fell to his knees. Starscream seemed to be the only conscious bot at the moment and witnessed something truly extraordinary. The energy from the Matrix fighting Unicron’s spark he could hear the Chaos Bringer screaming in agony as his spark imploded and all that was left was some purple sparkles as the energy dissipated…
—----
At the Autobot base a massive earthquake was occurring and all the humans plus Ratchet and Skyfire were hoping the base wouldn’t collapse. Then after a few minutes…the rumbling stopped. They waited a moment in case of aftershocks but…the shaking did cease.

“You don’t think…” Skyfire began,

“I know.” Ratchet responded, as he walked to the console to see if he could not track their signals without the interference of Dark Energon. Then the computer recalibrated and with a small beep everyone’s signal and vitales showed up on screen. The humans all cheered as this meant that Unicron was successfully defeated and the Earth was saved. Now they can bridge the team out of the Chaos Bringer with no issue…
—---
Optimus was on the ground as smoke emanated from his unconscious body. Megatron also came to, as he grabbed his helm in pain and got to his pedes. Optimus began to come to as Starscream heard the Prime groaning in pain as well. Starscream was far away from the two as he got to his pedes. Now that Unicron was defeated…the truce was no more.

Megatron chuckled as he walked over to Optimus with his sword drawn. Starscream felt his legs give out under him. Starscream’s whole body felt heavy as he looked up in a panic as Megatron stood over the Prime. Starscream tried to yell to warn Optimus but his voice box wasn’t working and only static came out…something is causing his systems to malfunction…

“Where are we Megatronus?” Optimus asked, Megatron paused and looked at the Prime in shock. He sheathed his sword and helped the Prime up. “Do you not remember, old friend?“ Megatron asked in a disturbing sweet tone.

Then a banging and crashing sound could be heard as Bulkhead busted down the doors to Unicron’s spark. “Optimus, are you ok?” Bulkhead asked as the rest of Team Prime filed in.

“Why did he call me that?” Optimus asked Megatron, Starscream squinted at the two…something was wrong…

“What did you do to him?” Arcee rushed forward in a striking pose.

“Who are they?” Optimus asked, It clicked for Starscream as he tried to get to his pedes. His voice fried as he tried shouting at the Autobots. Bumblebee turned to see Starscream trying to yell and tell them something… But then a ground bridge opened up behind Megatron and Optimus.

“They are our mortal enemies!” Megatron exclaimed as he directed Optimus to the ground bridge. “Go, I will cover you.” Optimus then began to run towards the ground bridge as Megatron began blasting at the charging Autobots. By the time Starscream got to his pedes Megatron and Optimus were gone through the ground bridge leaving Starscream alone with the Autobots.

The Autobots were all in disbelief as Optimus left with Megatron. They all turned to look at Starscream. “What happened?!” Arcee yelled at him as she hastily walked towards him. Starscream grabbed his throat and tried to speak. “I…don’t…know…” It came out extremely hoarse and he looked to be in pain.

“Meg…a..tron…trick…I don’t…” Starscream choked out as he fell to the ground again. Team Prime realized something was wrong with the seeker, maybe the Dark Energon exposure got to him after all. Bumblebee helped Starscream up as Arcee called for a ground bridge…
—----
The humans all eagerly and nervously awaited for the Autobots to return. Everyone saw most of the team returning through the portal as the ground bridge sprang to life. Bumblebee was helping Starscream through and Skyfire rushed over to help the seeker. Bumblebee handed over Starscream to Skyfire and helped him onto a nearby crate to sit on. The humans were relieved to see their Cybertronian partners were ok. But then they noticed that Optimus wasn’t among them…

“Optimus…is he?” Ratchet asked, hoping that Optimus didn’t perish during the battle with Unicron…

“Dead? No…” Arcee answered,

“But he left with Megatron…he acted like he didn’t know us.” Bulkhead added,

The humans all exchanged worrying looks. Ratchet sighed, “I have a theory…When he surrendered the Matrix of Leadership…he must have surrendered more than the collective wisdom of the Primes…he…he lost his memories…”

Chapter 15: What Next, Ratchet?

Summary:

Optimus now with amnesia and with the Decepticons…an injured Starscream in the base the Autobots try to come up with a plan to get Optimus back.

Skyfire was rushing over to help Starscream as the seeker was so wobbly and clearly got hurt during the battle. Skyfire grabbed the medical supplies and began scanning Starscream. “Is there anywhere it hurts?”

“No…” Starscream said his voice was slightly less hoarse. Starscream then tuned back into watching what the Autobots were discussing.

“But Optimus knew Megatron!” Arcee argued,

“They were like BFFs.” Bulkhead added,

‘It was really strange.’ Bumblebee chimed in,

“If Optimus did not know his own name or recognize you three…then it mostly likely was that the title of Prime wasn’t granted to him yet.” Ratchet theorized,

The humans were all confused and asked the medic what he meant. “With the Matrix of Leadership no longer in his body…it would seem Optimus reverted to his pre-Prime state…or rather returned to being Orion Pax.”

“Are you telling me Prime thinks he is a librarian and a Decepticon?!” Agent Fowler yelled,

“Being a Decepticon is a choice, Agent Fowler. And I have a hard time believing Optimus would make it at any point in his life.” Ratchet explained rather passionately to the federal agent.

Skyfire looked down at Starscream who was intensely listening to the conversation. Skyfire sighed as he finished taking Starscream's vitals and noticed some erratic pulsing from his spark. Skyfire was no physician so he would have to ask Ratchet what this means.

“So Megatron is working some kind of voodoo on Optimus?” Arcee asks,

“Voodoo?” Starscream chimed in as the Autobots turned to look at him. “Clearly you don’t understand how persuasive Megatron can be when he wants to.”

“You served under him…how do we find Optimus?” Arcee asked, getting closer to the injured seeker.

“The Nemesis is a moving warship…and it's cloaked. And last time I checked….” Starscream tapped his chin, “I’M NOT A DECEPTICON ANYMORE!” Starscream yelled leaning forward then back with a huff as he looked away from the Autobots.

“Just cause you aren’t in Megatron’s ranks it doesn’t make you not a Con, Scream.” Bulkhead stated as he didn’t like the seeker’s sass.

“It’s Starscream!” Starscream glared at the wrecker, “If you want information then I demand respect!” Starscream condescendingly checks his claws not looking at the Autobots.

Bulkhead frowned as he walked forward, “The only thing I’ll give you is my fist firmly placed in your-”

“Bulkhead!” Ratchet sighed as this was going nowhere, “Enough. We cannot keep bickering like this.” Ratchet turns to the seeker, “Do you have any information that could be useful to us, Starscream?”

Starscream paused and looked at the medic. “Nothing I’m willing to give away for free…”

“Starscream…come on.” Skyfire pleaded, “Can’t you just help us?”

Starscream looked up at the pleading shuttle, he was giving Starscream those puppy dog eyes that make it hard to say no. Starscream grumbles and rolls his optics, “Like I said the Nemesis moves. Tracking it down will be tricky.”

“But can you?” Arcee asked, crossing her arms and staring intently at the seeker. Starscream held her gaze, “It would take some time. Longer than probably you Autobots would like.”

“That will not do. We need to find Optimus as soon as possible to enact his contingency plan.” Ratchet told the group.

“Contingency plan?” Arcee asked,

What contingency plan?” Bulkhead asked,

“Are you talking about Jack’s key thingy?”Miko pointed to Jack who held up the key card.

“So what does the keycard do?” Jack asks Ratchet,

Ratchet turns to Jack, “It gives access to Vector Sigma…the repository of the Primes.”

“So is it like a supercomputer?” Raf asks,

“If it is, can we download Optimus’s memories back into him? So which one is it?” Jack asks, looking around the room.

“Vector Sigma is more than a supercomputer. It is an ancient source of mystical power. On Cybertron…” Ratchet explained,

June looked wide-eyed at the medic. “Absolutely not! Jack, you are not going to another planet!” as she points at her son who looks shocked by his mother’s outburst. Miko walks up, “I’ll do it!”

June turns to Miko, “You aren’t going either! No children here are going to another world. Not when there are multiple bots here who can go in your place!”

“June has a point. Why send a kid to do a bots job?” Agent Fowler asks,

“Because only a Prime or those chosen by a Prime can access Vector Sigma.” Ratchet elaborates,

Starscream continues to listen to the Autobots. Seriously? Choosing a human over his own subordinates? What a stupid choice. June looks up at Ratchet, “Why would Optimus willingly endanger a human?!”

Seems Starscream isn’t the only one with that thought. “Maybe Optimus thinks there is more to Jack than meets the eye…” Arcee chimes in,

“It doesn’t matter. The whole endeavor is moot if we cannot get to Cybertron.” Ratchet sighed,

“Now that, I can help with.” Starscream said with a smirk, everyone turned to look at the seeker.

“What are you talking about?” Arcee asked, wondering what the seeker was up to…

“I need medical attention…you need a space bridge…” Starscream said, crossing his arms.

“We blew up your space bridge, remember?” Arcee reminded the seeker,

“Yes…I remember that. But prior to my departure I was supervising the building of a new space bridge… here… on Earth.” Starscream told the bots.

“The Decepticons have a space bridge?” Ratchet said with a tone of hopefulness.

“Or at least parts of a space bridge…whether they finished building it or not is still up for debate.” Starscream noted,

Ratchet walked over and saw the scans and work Skyfire already did on the seeker. Ratchet was perplexed by the spark readings he was getting. The seeker looked fine physically otherwise… “You seem fine, for the most part, Starscream.” Ratchet said viewing his charts.

“Seriously? Something is wrong doctor! I collapsed and…” Starscream paused to mention the weird things Unicron said to him when he failed to take him over… “I lost my voice too. That is not normal!”

“It could be Dark Energon poisoning…I’ll flush your systems and then you tell us where the space bridge is.” Ratchet insisted,

Starscream pouted, he wanted more than a system flush he wanted a workup for once. Primus, he never thought he would miss Knock Out…but at least he wouldn’t rush him out of the med bay like this. Starscream glared at the medic, “Full work up or you can let Optimus rot with the Decepticons…”

Ratchet grumbled, “Fine.”

Starscream smiled victoriously as Starscream told them the location of the space bridge but insisted he could not guarantee if it was finished or not. But still provided coordinates that placated the Autobots. Ratchet continued to do a full workup of Starscream and was surprised by what he saw.

The seeker’s internals had significant amounts of patchwork and repairs, numerous parts replaced and the amount of scarring in places were strange. Ratchet chalked it up to injuries during the war but…Starscream couldn’t be that accident prone… Ratchet just brushed it off as he flushed the seeker’s system. He scanned his spark chamber and monitored his spark readings but…the anomaly that was happening before must have worked itself out because it was gone.

“You’re all set Starscream. We will ground bridge you out of here.” Ratchet informed the seeker, that Starscream did feel better but was still off. “No unusual readings?” Starscream asked, hoping the doctor could provide some insight into what went wrong in Unicron.

“Any anomalies faded away and returned to normal. Nothing you should be concerned about.” Ratchet informed him as he put the data pad aside, “Unless…there was something you wanted to be checked out?”

Starscream was nervous to mention it to the medic what happened in Unicron…the Autobots might hold him prisoner and study him like a lab rat if he went into too much detail. Starscream had to be careful about this… “No unusual spark readings?”

Ratchet paused…so the seeker did feel some strangeness in his spark. “There were some strange pulses when you arrived. But when I did the rescan it was gone. Do you have any spark chamber conditions, like an arrhythmia, chamber-myopathy, or erratic pulsing syndrome?”

Starscream paused…he had no spark conditions that he knew of. “I…I don’t think so.”

“Didn’t Knock Out give you regular physicals?” Ratchet asked,

“Yes. They went into the logs.” Starscream said with some attitude, “I rarely view mine. Unless it stopped me from doing my duties I didn’t care.”

“So you have no idea if you have any conditions? That’s incredibly irresponsible, Starscream.” Ratchet chastised the seeker, Starscream frowned at the medic. “What? We are at war. Megatron wasn’t going to give me time off if I was sick! Maybe injured and well how injured but…”

Ratchet sighed and grabbed the bridge between his optics, “Starscream. I don’t have the resources to give you a full condition testing…As far as I can tell you are good to go.” Ratchet looked at the seeker. “So will you?”

“What do you mean?” Starscream asked confused,

“Skyfire was worried sick about you.” Ratchet mentioned,

Starscream’s wings droop a little as he holds the medic’s stare. “What are you letting me stay? I don’t think Arcee and the others will like that.”

“We can put you in separate military housing until we get Optimus back. No need to run off.” Ratchet offered a pseudo olive branch to the seeker. He did help them stop Unicron and provided them with the space bridge coordinates. Starscream looked at the medic…was this a truce? Or a trap?

“No. I’ll go. I bet you’ll have your servos full with sending a human to Cybertron…” Starscream hopped off the examination table, “No need to complicate things further…”

Ratchet looked a bit disappointed at Starscream’s choice, but it was his decision. Ratchet led Starscream back out to the ground bridge and let the seeker walk through without issue.

Chapter 16: Opportunity

Summary:

The Autobots try to track down the space bridge thanks to Starscream, and prepares to go to Cybertron. Starscream was flying around and with a stroke of luck found the Nemesis overhead. He decided to infiltrate it for energon and information.

Starscream just left the base as Skyfire walks in, seeing the ground bridge close. “So…he left huh?” Skyfire said somberly, Ratchet turned to the shuttle and sighed, “Yes he left. He chose to.”

Skyfire smiled meekly, “Oh…well at least we have the coordinates thanks to him.” Ratchet could see the hurt in Skyfire’s optics. Ratchet hated seeing the shuttle suffer like this, “Skyfire…I think maybe you should let go of Starscream…clearly he is not the same seeker you knew and-”

 

Skyfire frowned instantly, “I’m not going to give up on him, Ratchet.”

Ratchet looked frustrated with him, “Skyfire…I tried to get him to stay, but he chose to leave. You have to understand he doesn’t-”

“He just…needs time!” Skyfire argued, “I bet he’ll come to his senses soon! He helped us with Unicron and the space bridge. He just…needs more time.”

Ratchet realized arguing with Skyfire is pointless. The bot’s delusional devotion to Starscream was going to be hard to break. Better not push it or the poor shuttle might have a breakdown.
—----
About a day or two later Starscream was scouring from energon. He wondered if the Autobots got the human to Cybertron to fix Optimus yet… Not like he cared but he was curious about their success or not.

Starscream was flying and saw a group of Vehicon seekers flying overhead…no…it couldn’t be. Starscream transformed and followed them straight to the Nemesis, Jackpot! Starscream managed to sneak aboard…now to find energon.

Starscream was slinking through the halls of the Nemesis. Starscream peaked over the corner and saw two guards in front of the energon storage room. Starscream took them out swiftly before they could call for backup or report him on the ship. Starscream began gathering enough energon to last him a few months but the tower of energon he was carrying obscured his vision. He thought about making a detour to the med bay to get his medical records…but…the risk of running into Knock Out or Breakdown was too great.

He ended up making a wrong turn into a spare room, a room that was occupied. Starscream could hear typing on the keyboard when it stopped he looked and saw Optimus looking directly at him. “Optimus?” Starscream dropped the energon and looked at the Prime.

“No, I am Orion Pax.” Optimus said calmly but looked at the seeker curiously. Starscream looked over at Optimus’s shoulder and saw the Decepticon emblem on his shoulder plating. Starscream decided to be cautious who knows what Orion has been told and how the Prime acted prior to being a Prime?

“What are you doing here, Orion?” Starscream asked curiously as he wondered what scheme Megatron concocted to give to the Prime.

“I am doing research for Lord Megatron.” Orion explained, “You are Starscream, yes?

“Yes…” Starscream answered questionably,

“Lord Megatron informed me that the Autobot captured and possibly terminated you. Did you escape?” Orion asked, his mannerisms and movements weren’t like Optimus’s. He was studying the Prime and trying to come up with an answer. “That’s what he told you? Seriously? What a lame lie.”

“Lie? Do you suggest that Lord Megatron would speak of falsehoods?” Orion asked, Starscream blinked at Orion and began to laugh hysterically. Megatron lying? The mech lies like a rug! Ha!

“I-I’m sorry that was just really funny.” Starscream said as he calmed down, “You really are being played aren’t you?”

“Played? You speak in riddles, Starscream.” Orion walks closer to the seeker, “Please tell me what you know.”

Starscream grabbed his chin and began thinking of a proper way to speak to Orion. He wasn’t Optimus anymore and maybe he could get some help from the clerk in getting this energon out of here. “If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours…” Starscream gestured to the energon cubes scattered on the floor. Orion figured out what Starscream was getting at. Orion began to bend down to help Starscream when the door opened and three Vehicons were standing there.

“Starscream!” One of the Vehicons shouted, Starscream yelped and hid behind Orion. They wouldn’t risk shooting the Prime as he is Megatron’s puppet right now. Orion looked at Starscream cowering behind him and at the Vehicons in front of him.

“Hold your fire!” Orion pleaded to the Vehicons.

Starscream wasn’t going to wait to see if they would listen. He jumped up transformed behind Orion and flew out of the room at an alarming speed even in his jet mode. A Vehicon transformed and was pursuing him. Starscream was more focused on trying to escape the Nemesis.

He was shooting down Vehicons in his way as he was also trying to shake his pursuer. “Damn it! I was so close!” He reprimanded himself, he clearly wasn’t going to shake this pursuing Vehicons he needed to take it out.

He transformed mid-air back to his bot form and timed it so that he could land on the flying Vehicons. Pulling out his blaster and just opened fire on the flying Vehicon at point-blank range. The Vehicon lost control and began to stagger once satisfied with the damage Starscream jumped off and transformed back into a jet and sped off. He could hear the sound of the Vehicon crashing behind him but he had no time to check if the Vehicon was truly dead.

Starscream was approaching the end of the hall near the flight deck but the door was sealed. Starscream scoffed as he launched a missile blowing up the door and speeding through the fires of the destroyed door to freedom.

Starscream was outside but was met with a mass array of blaster fire trying to down the seeker. Starscream was dodging and weaving the blasts as best he could. He nose-dived off the edge of the Nemesis and was almost clear but then a stray shot hit his main turbine and caused his systems to blare. Starscream cried out in pain as he spiraled down to the ground unable to really regulate his speed with his turbine damaged.

Starscream ended up engaging his crash landing protocol as he got closer and closer to the ground. He tried to minimize the damage as best he could but…it still hurt like hell. Starscream skidded against the ground of the wooded area he was in and ended up skidding right into an oak tree. With a painful grunt, he smacked into the tree and finally stopped skidding. Starscream was in a whole lot of pain and could feel the energon leaking from his turbine and from his sides.

He transformed and struggled to get to his pedes. His turbine was blown out and he had a massive gash across his right side that was leaking an insane amount of energon. Along with Primus, knows how much internal damage from the crash. He staggered over to a large boulder he could prop himself up against. He was alone, injured, and starving…scrap maybe he should have taken Ratchet up on his offer…

Speaking of Ratchet…he was probably Starscream’s only option for medical relief…but he had nothing to really offer in exchange. He told them about the space bridge already…Maybe he can argue that he saw Optimus? He can come up with something…He weakly lifted up his arm and began to type out an emergency message to the Autobots.
—---
Ratchet was monitoring a situation as apparently the Decepticons were raiding a military base and there might be a small chance Optimus might be a part of the raid. Ratchet was monitoring the team while Skyfire got any medical supplies ready in case the team got injured. Skyfire then sees an incoming message on a side console. Skyfire optics went wide when he saw it was from Starscream.

The message was addressed to Ratchet but since he was preoccupied…Skyfire read the message. “I have obtained information regarding Optimus…Bring medical kit…come alone.”

Skyfire was now nervous; Did Starscream get hurt? Did Starscream find Optimus? Skyfire walked over to Ratchet and tried to get the medic’s attention. Ratchet just shooed the shuttle away as he tried to focus on the team. Skyfire went back to the message and saw that it wasn’t far away… Skyfire sneaked away, transformed, and zoomed to Starscream’s location.
—---
Starscream waited, and waited, and waited…It was taking the Autobots an alarmingly long time to respond or show up. Starscream was worried he might go into stasis-lock if he did get treatment soon. Starscream felt his optic lids get heavy…he groaned as he looked down at the damage on his side. “Fragging Decepticons…”

Starscream heard the sound of a jet overhead…no, did the Decepticons find him?! Starscream’s optics shot open; he struggled to get to his pedes again when he heard it get closer and louder. Starscream stood up but was very dizzy… “No…I have to…have to…” Starscream heard his systems blaring as he got a low energon warning. Starscream got maybe three wobbly steps before collapsing and passing out.

Chapter 17: Kept Secret

Summary:

Starscream gets injured after trying to steal energon from the Nemesis. He is shocked when Skyfire comes to tend to his wounds. Skyfire sneaks an injured Starscream into his quarters and tends to the injured seeker

Starscream came to inside a room he definitely wasn’t in before. He sat up immediately, realizing he was not in the forest anymore but the room did not resemble the Nemesis. The walls looked like the Autobot base…did the Autobots find him after he went unconscious?

Starscream looked down and he was in a rather large berth with rather flimsy blankets and pillows. But there were tons of pillows around the seeker, and he was patched up…not well but better than bleeding out. Starscream looked over at the IV of energon leading into his arm. Starscream was still in pain but significantly less than when he was in the forest.

Starscream looked around the room and saw it was rather bare but still looked lived in. Data pad’s on the rather large desk table. Some extra blankets and empty energon cubes are neatly stacked in the corner. Starscream looked around the room…was this the military safe house Ratchet was talking about?

 

Then the sound of the door opening caught his attention as Skyfire walked in carrying some more medical supplies. “You’re awake!” He said with that signature goofy smile. He put the medical supplies down on the edge of the berth and went to go check Starscream’s IV.

“Skyfire?” Starscream was confused, Skyfire looked down at the confused seeker, “Yes?”

“Where am I?” Starscream asked,

“My quarters. In the Autobot base. I got your message but…Ratchet was hogging the console and the ground bridge…” Skyfire squeezed the IV bag to make sure the energon was flowing. “So I flew to the coordinates in your message. But I found you passed out! So I brought you back to base to give you medical treatment.”

Starscream looked at the rough patch job on his side. “Did…you patch me up?”

“Well…uh…yeah. So uh…” Skyfire awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, “The team doesn’t know you're here…or that you sent a message…heh…”

Starscream just blinked at Skyfire, he lied and disobeyed the Autobots just to rescue him. Starscream pressed his lips into a line, “So…they don’t know.”

“Yeah…” Skyfire said awkwardly, “So uh…your message you have information on Optimus?”

Starscream looked at Skyfire and remembered his message. “Well…uh…sort of. I saw him on the Nemesis.”

“You found the Nemesis?” Skyfire said wide opticed,

“Yes. It was a random fluke but…I saw him and talked to him or rather Orion. He was doing research for Megatron.” Starscream explained, “I didn’t have time to really ask as the Nemesis’s security came for me and blasted me out of the sky.” Starscream groaned as he shifted his position in the berth. “It’s not much but I figured the Autobots would see this as enough to treat me.”

“What do mean enough?” Skyfire looked at him confused,

“The information. The intel. Would it be enough for Ratchet to repair me?” Starscream elaborated,

Skyfire sweetly looked at him. “It doesn’t matter. I got the message and wasn’t going to let you rust out in the wilderness.”

Starscream’s wings perked up…his sweet Skyfire, disobeying the Autobots for him. Starscream smiled at Skyfire who was fluffing some of the pillows near Starscream. Starscream watched the shuttle tend to him in such a sweet manner. “You don’t have to do that, Skyfire.”

“I want to.” Skyfire smiled at the seeker, Skyfire finished fluffing the pillows and checked the patch job that he did on Starscream. “Sorry it isn’t that clean. But I think I did a good job!” Skyfire said making sure there were no leaks.

“It’s fine. I…appreciate the effort at all.” Starscream said watching Skyfire checking the wound. Skyfire went over and grabbed a buffer. “I’m gonna smooth it out. Is that ok?” Skyfire asked as he came back over.

“Uh…sure.” Starscream said in surprise, Skyfire was gentle with the buffer to not agitate the patch seams. It did hurt but Starscream has a high pain tolerance and didn’t want Skyfire to feel bad for his efforts. Starscream would turn away when he had to wince so Skyfire wouldn’t notice. Once done Skyfire took a fiber cloth and some wax to shine the patch so it didn’t look so obvious that it was a patch job. “All done!” Skyfire exclaimed and looked up at Starscream with a sweet smile.

Starscream smiled back at Skyfire and thanked him for tending to his injuries. Starscream tried to get up and immediately winced, just he took more internal damage than he thought. “Where are you going? You have to rest.” Skyfire pushed him down on the soft pillows and tucked him in the berth. “You are in no condition to go out. Doctor Skyfire’s orders.”

Starscream scoffed, “You aren’t a medical professional.”

“Yeah, well, I’m all you got right now and I say you need to rest.” Skyfire said adamantly,

Starscream smiled at Skyfire. He liked that Skyfire was being a bit stern with him and tending to him. “Fine. I’ll stay. But only if you stay too.”

Skyfire looked down at Starscream all cozy in his berth. Skyfire walked around the berth and got into the berth and got close to Starscream in the berth. Starscream looked at him and Skyfire returned his gaze.

Skyfire placed a servo on Starscream’s side and gently began to rub his side. Starscream felt warmth billow up in his spark from the simple gesture. It has been a long time since Starscream felt true comfort. Skyfire’s large servo encompassed most of Starscream’s slim waist as he ran his digit over the patch job he just buffed. Starscream practically melted into the touch as it had been such a long time since he was in a safe and comforting position. He knew Skyfire wouldn’t harm him, wouldn’t trick him or betray him…this led Starscream's mind to wander a little.

Skyfire’s own spark was palpitating; he had his little shooting star in his arms again. No running and even cuddling a bit. Skyfire pulled Starscream closer to his body and wrapped his large arms around the smaller seeker. Starscream was caught off guard being pulled into a hug and cuddle as he squirmed a little in a panic. Skyfire was confused and looked down at Starscream, “Are you ok?”

“Uh…sorry. Just it’s…been a while.” Starscream said embarrassed,

“Oh…” Skyfire felt a little bad. “I mean you always were the biggest cuddler in your trine…I guess Skywarp and Thundercracker not being here on Earth must make things hard…”

Starscream felt a shift in his mood… “They’re dead.”

Skyfire optics shot open as he looked down at the now somber seeker. “Oh…oh no. Star I didn’t-”

“It’s ok. They died a long time ago…” Starscream tried to calm the now panicking Skyfire. “You couldn’t have known.” Starscream buried his head in Skyfire’s torso. “I need this please…let’s not sour the mood.”

Skyfire’s optics softened and began rubbing Starscream’s back in a soothing manner to calm and assuage the seeker. Starscream closed his optics and wrapped his arms around Skyfire and hugged him tight. Starscream didn’t want to let go as the two seeker’s spent hours holding each other tight until they fell into recharge.

Notes:

I hope you guys enjoyed some fluff!

Chapter 18: Plans into Motion

Summary:

The team secures the space bridge and sends Jack and Arcee to Cybertron. Skyfire struggles to keep a curious Starscream in his room.

The two seekers woke up to the sound of Skyfire’s door being banged on. “Hey, Sky!” Bulkhead’s voice rang through, “Ratchet needs your help!”

Skyfire’s optics were weakly open as he looked down and saw Starscream still clutching him tightly. Skyfire yelled back, “I’ll be there in a minute!”

Skyfire looked down at Starscream who looked up at Skyfire. “Just stay here and rest.” Skyfire whispered and placed a gentle kiss on his helm. Starscream was caught off guard by the kiss and saw the shuttle get up and walk to the door. He left the room as Starscream got a glimpse of Bulkhead as the two left down the hall. The door closes as Starscream sits up in Skyfire’s room.

Starscream’s curiosity was getting the better of him. What were the Autobots up to… He got up out of the berth and snuck out of the room. He slinked down the hall and saw all the Autobots in the room discussing their next steps.

“So the Decepticon space bridge is located here according to Starscream’s intel.” Ratchet points to the highlighted location on the monitor. “We have scouted the area around it and we have seen Vehicons going in and out of the location so at least Starscream is telling the truth.”

Starscream huffed, why would he lie? Then again it would have been easy to trick them by recommending a random mine. But he didn’t and that should speak volumes.

“So do we have a consensus?” Ratchet turns to the humans all waiting and standing nearby.

“Can humans even breathe your atmosphere?” June asked, still clearly not on board with all of this. Agent Fowler clears his throat, “I can hook Jack up with a state-of-the-art suit from NASA. He’ll be fine, June.”

“Besides, he isn't going alone.” Arcee stepped forward, “I’ll be going with him.”

June wasn’t convinced, “It’s just so dangerous…” She looked at her son with a worried look.

“Mom. If we want Optimus back, I have to do this.” Jack had to reassure his mother but she had to put her feelings aside. Starscream watched the look on June’s face. “So the human’s carrier is concerned. She should be…this could go south easily…”

Ratchet turned to Skyfire, “I know you try to avoid violence, Skyfire. But we will need you to help the team hold the space bridge. So you might have to fight.”

“I understand…” Skyfire didn’t seem happy with this revelation that he had to leave the base. Especially since Starscream is still locked in his room…or at least he thinks Starscream is in his room. Starscream frowned at Ratchet’s insistence on Skyfire fighting. “He doesn’t need to fight…”

“We will ground bridge the team into the energon mine that the space bridge is located in. You will have to neutralize any Decepticon forces you encounter to secure the space bridge and so that Jack and Arcee can go to Cybertron.” Ratchet reiterated the plan, Starscream rolled his optics at such a simple plan. On paper this is easy but in practice…

Starscream’s mind wanders for a second as he thinks about his encounter with Orion on the Nemesis. Obviously, Orion isn’t an idiot, and it is possibly coming to his senses even without the key to Vector Sigma. “Maybe Prime will just return to normal regardless of the key…but the Autobots aren’t aware of that…”

“Stealth is paramount for this mission.” Ratchet said as he looked to the team, “We cannot allow them to signal their warship and swarm us before we secure Vector Sigma.”

Starscream was getting bored with the discussion and decided to do more snooping. He found the other’s quarters naturally, the training area, Ratchet’s lab/ the med bay, and their energon storage… “I’ll make a note to hit that later…” Starscream muttered to himself as he went back to the lab.

Starscream was poking around the lab and looking through Autobot files since…well he was bored and no one could stop him. He found a vial of weird green stuff that had a note written clearly in Skyfire’s handwriting… ‘Synth-En, do not drink!’.

“Huh…the frag is Synth-En?” Starscream said confused, thinking it was some kind of Earth thing and one of the Autobots was stupid enough to try and taste it. He could hear the ground bridge activate in the distance. “So off they go…”
—---
The team used a frequency jammer to stifle Decepticon communications so that any Decepticon in the mine couldn’t comm for backup. The team takes out the Vehicon miners and security for the space bridge rather quickly as they comm back to base for Jack to come through.

Jack arrived dressed in a space suit and Ratchet began punching in the coordinates to Cybertron. Jack walked over to Arcee and looked up at his partner, “You ready?” Arcee asks, Jack nods and holds up the key to Vector Sigma. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“I will leave the space bridge open so that there will be no lag. And it will be easier to locate upon your return.” Ratchet explains his plan, Jack frowns “Wait you’re not dropping us off right at Vector Sigma?”

“Vector Sigma’s location is shrouded in myth and rumor. It is said that the path of the Primes leads there.” Ratchet explained, “So I am confident Optimus gave you the proper tools to find it.”

“Why is all this Prime stuff shrouded in mysterious and cryptic messages?” Skyfire sighs, “I mean come on, can’t we just get this straight forward?”

Bulkhead and Bumblebee just shrug and look at one another. Skyfire sighs, “I don’t understand why all of us need to be here.”

“Skyfire, this is an important mission. This is an all-services-on-deck situation. Why are you so keen on going back to base?” Ratchet asked, curious by the shuttle’s defiance.

“What Starscream hit you up for a date or something?” Bulkhead jokes, Skyfire went quiet for a second before he rolled his optics, “Ha, ha make fun of my tragic love life.”

“It was just a joke, Sky.” Bulkhead is now feeling a bit bad. But the awkward tension was cut immediately to normal tension when a voice over the space bridge communication window came through. It was Breakdown, and he was asking for a status update.

“Scrap…” Skyfire said worried,
—---
Starscream got bored and went back to spying on the humans. “Wonder what they are doing now that the bots aren’t here…”

“Well, Breakdown will recognize most of our voices…” Raf argued,

“What about Fowler?” Miko pointed to Agent Fowler, “What me?”

“Yea,h you!” Miko exclaimed, “Breakdown doesn’t know your voice!”

Breakdown? Did the Autobots already run into trouble? Starscream watched as Agent Fowler went to the comm mic and spoke into it. “Everything is normal. Apologies for the delay.”

“Everything is normal?” Breakdown said, his voice came through the speakers. Starscream rolled his optics, “The simpleton is being duped.”

“Are you sure?” Breakdown asked,

“Yup. Everything is A-OK!” Agent Fowler said over the mic, “How are you??” Agent Fowler asked and Starscream audibly face palmed but no one noticed. Apparently, the humans felt the same thing as Starscream…and they too cringed at Agent Fowler.

“Uh…fine…I guess?” Breakdown responded, clearly not expecting a Vehicon to ask him about his day. “Look…just don’t be late again!” Breakdown hung up and the humans all exchanged relieved looks.

Starscream shook his head, “Lucky for them Breakdown is better at battle than at thinking.”
—---
After the scare from the call from Breakdown. The rest of the team waited patiently for any updates from Jack and Arcee.

Then the team got an alarming call from Jack. Apparently, there were Insecticon sentries on Cybertron and one woke up and was now fighting with Arcee. “An Insecticon? On Cybertron?” Ratchet said in disbelief.

Skyfire was confused and worried now for the human fighting off an Insecticon on Cybertron of all things. “But I thought Cybertron was abandoned?”

‘Could be that the Decepticons left sentries just in case?’ Bumblebee beeped,

“Sentries? That’s…weird but I guess that makes sense.” Skyfire said, still trying to grasp war concepts.

Arcee agreed to keep the Insecticon busy as Jack rushed into there the keycard to Vector Sigma was guiding him. “Shouldn’t maybe one of us go to their location to help?!” Skyfire suggested, Ratchet sighed “I wouldn’t advise it, we need to monitor the situation…not get more involved.”

Skyfire was getting exhausted with the stonewalling and ridiculous situation we were in. Four bots just standing around just in case Decepticons show up…When the important task is being left to one bot AND one human. Not to mention Skyfire left Starscream in the base and could be discovered if he does something stupid… hopefully, he wouldn’t…
—-----
The humans listened intently to what was happy as they had access to Arcee and Jack’s comms too. Starscream could hear the panic in Jack’s mom’s voice when he and Arcee split. When they announced an Insecticon sentry had gone active…and now they can hear Skyfire’s desperate desire to help despite his pacifist nature.

Starscream listened as well and he was curious as to how this was all going to play out. What will they do once they get to Vector Sigma? How will they get this key thing to Orion? What if the Cons show up? So many variables and so little time left to get this done before things can get dicey.

Starscream returned from his quick thoughts when he heard Jack’s mom screaming “What the heck are Scraplets?!”

“If the Scraplets get to Vector Sigma it could prove to be a huge problem…” Ratchet said over comms,

Oh frag…Scraplets. Wait Vector Sigma…legendary archive of the Primes…invested with Scraplets? What a wild timeline we live in. Starscream was continuing to listen in as now things were getting interesting but then the audio cut out!

“Ratchet? Ratchet?! What’s happening?! RATCHET?!” June cried out desperate to know what was happening to her son.

Starscream felt a pit in his fuel tank…something was wrong.
—---
The team immediately turned as they heard another ground bridge open. They all turned to see none other than Megatron himself entering through. “So…Vector Sigma is more than a myth…”

He must have heard them talking as he entered. Megatron sneered at the group of Autobots now occupying his space bridge. “You Autobots have gone to impressive lengths to recover your leader…” He looked around the room at the Autobots all getting ready for a fight, “But be assured…” Megatron clenches his servo, “I will not be underestimating you again…”

Megatron began a slow but menacing walk towards the group. “So I expect Arcee to be coming through that portal any second now…With a possible reloaded Matrix of Leadership?” Megatron clearly caught on and now the team has to defend the space bridge from Megatron.

“We defend the space bridge at all costs!” Ratchet exclaimed as he walked in front of it to block Megatron. Bulkhead and Bumblebee did the same. Guess Ratchet’s instinct to guard the bridge was more on point than Skyfire thought…

The whole team begins to engage their weaponry to fight off Megatron. Skyfire looks between the two causing the warlord to laugh. “Oh…Skyfire…poor scientist who has no concept of war…”

Skyfire frowns, “I can fight, Megatron…better than you think…” Skyfire engages his battle mask and draws his own weapons.
—---
The humans were panicking and trying to get the bot's attention from the space bridge. Starscream listened more intently, “They lost contact…maybe don’t try contacting them? Humans…so nervous…”

Raf turned as he heard something from the hall but Starscream hid before the boy could see him. Starscream panicked, “Oh now they listen…fraggers…”

“Agent Fowler…do something! I need to know that Jack and Arcee are ok!” June cried out desperately,

“June it’s out of our hands right now…” Agent Fowler said, trying to calm the woman down. June was hyperventilating now and beginning to make the other children nervous.

“Can the carrier see that she is alarming the other children?” Starscream said quietly, “Hopefully they contact them soon because the carrier might have to go to Cybertron herself for her child.”
—--
Jack and Arcee came through the ground bridge they initially came through and found a rather disturbing sight. The team scattered around the area…, with Bulkhead and Bumblebee unconscious, Ratchet groaning in pain, and Megatron battling with Skyfire.

Skyfire was slightly taller than the warlord and the two were servo and servo in combat. Arcee was about to jump in when suddenly another ground bridge opened up and none other than Orion Pax walked through. “Megatron!” He calls, causing the two to stop fighting for a moment.

“I cannot let you harm them. They have done nothing wrong,” Orion said proudly. Megatron sneered and looked at Orion. Why do you care? You are not Prime.”

“I may not be…or it may be another lie by you…but… My sympathies lie with the Autobots!” Orion announced, causing Arce and Jack to smile. Even with amnesia Orion still had the spark of an Autobot.

Orion then brought out his sword, one of which was damaged but the threat was still there. Megatron was outnumbered now… 3 Autobots versus one Decepticon… Orion, like Skyfire not having combat experience, charged at Megatron and Megatron jabbed him in the gut which caused the archivist to wince horribly…

Skyfire ran over and became backup…while Megatron was focusing on Orion, Skyfire threw in a face punch sending Megatron flying off to the side and letting Orion drop to the ground. Orion grabbed his stomach and hurled up energon…it was a deep jab.

Arcee nodded and looked at Skyfire look over and the two charged at Megatron to distract him while Jack restored Optimus. Jack ran over and held up the charged keycard from Vector Sigma. The energy from the keycard then poured into Optimus’s chest plate causing it to open. The energy flowed as Skyfire and Arcee held off Megatron.

Megatron looked on in horror as he saw the human restoring his enemy. Megatron bashed Arcee to the side but Skyfire pulled Megatron into an armlock and held him back. The warlord struggled against the shuttle. Megatron gripped and growled against the shuttle and ultimately kicked him in the gut with his pede causing Skyfire to let him go. Megatron kept charging forward drawing his sword and jumped in the air to strike down at Orion.

Orion caught the sword in his servos. Orion looked up and Megatron knew from the look in Orion’s optics…that it wasn’t Orion anymore..but Optimus. Optimus was back. Optimus donned his battle mask and decked Megatron right in the face, sending him flying back. Skyfire and Arcee and the rest of the team that was coming were all looking on in awe. Optimus was truly back in business.

The rest of the team gathered by Optimus and all drew their weapons. Megatron groggily got to his pedes and saw that the Autobots were in full force and ready to take him down.

Ratchet called for a ground bridge which arrived rather quickly and the team began to funnel through it while taking potshots at Megatron to keep him back and stopping them. Megatron was being held back as he roared in anger at the Autobots all filing out of the space bridge area one by one. Ending with Optimus going last and lingering a hateful gaze on Megatron…
—----
The humans all watched as the team funneled in from the space bridge and June was clinging to the rails hoping to see Jack also walk through. When he did the woman practically fainted with relief as she slumped down still holding the rail and smiling.

When Optimus finally entered the room everyone began to cheer happily. That was Starscream’s cue to leave as if the Prime now restored caught him in the base not only would Skyfire get in trouble Starscream didn’t want to become a prisoner of war.

Starscream snuck back into Skyfire’s room and got under the covers. He got all snuggly in as he heard the door open and Skyfire enter. “Hey…you awake?”

Starscream turned over and sat up, “Yes. The loud cheering was hard to ignore…”

“Sorry…” Skyfire said awkwardly, “We got Optimus back.”

“I assumed.” Starscream said bluntly,

“You stayed in here the whole time…right?” Skyfire asked,

“Of course.” He lied.

Notes:

I hope this episode wasn’t too boring. I will get back to the SkyStar drama next chapter ;)

Chapter 19: Argue

Summary:

Starscream recovers and he and Skyfire discuss things. Leading to an argument between him and Skyfire.

Starscream continued to rest during his stay at the Autobot base…though he was getting stir-crazy being mostly confined to Skyfire’s room. Skyfire was naturally doting on the seeker. But being stuck in one room for so long was making Stascream nervous and bored.

Skyfire came in and saw Starscream pacing back and forth. Skyfire was confused to see the seeker so agitated over nothing. “Star? Are you ok?”

This snapped Starscream out of his stupor. His wings twitched a bit before looking at Skyfire. “I’m fine. Just thinking.”

“You know you can talk to me, Star.” Skyfire said with a reassuring smile, Starscream sighed he knew he could but would that complicate things?

“I’m getting tired of being cooped up in here.” Starscream said,

“I know…but maybe it’s finally time to have the talk?” Skyfire said sweetly but still had that twinge of fear in his tone.

“Talk? What talk?” Starscream was confused, and Skyfire awkwardly twiddled his thumbs. “You know…”

“I don’t actually. Please enlighten me on what you think is so important?” Starscream's tone was a bit harsher than he intended it to be. He was just on edge.

Skyfire took in a deep inhale, “About joining the-”

“No.” Starscream cut him off,

“Star…” Skyfire whined, “You can’t be serious?”

“I am. I cannot join the Autobots. We have been over this.” Starscream crossed his arms,

Skyfire frowned at Starscream’s stubbornness, “Why not? You’ve helped them in the past…why can’t you-”

“Because I killed Cliffjumper, I spent centuries antagonizing them, I was Megatron’s second in command for ages! They aren’t going to trust me. Primus, Skyfire, Arcee is ready to rip my spark out for what I did.” Starscream explains,

“I mean maybe she’ll come around…I just…” Skyfire looked down into his lap, “I want you around Starscream. Not as a secret. But us doing science together again, going for flights, and…” Skyfire blushed, “Other things…”

“I know Skyfire…” Starscream walked over and sat down next to him taking Skyfire’s larger servos in his tinier clawed ones. “But…there’s just too many complications…Look when I take over the Decepticons-”

“Not this again…” Skyfire interrupted, “Starscream…you left the Decepticons.”

“Because Megatron is a faulty leader! He let Unicron take him over! He failed time and time again blaming it on me or others…It’s Megatron!” Starscream ranted,

“Starscream taking over the Decepticons will not solve anything.” Skyfire responded,

“It will! We can be together without issue!” Starscream argued,

“Starscream you’d become the enemy!” Skyfire explained, “I like the Autobots…and you’ve only said bad things about the Decepticons…”

“Because it’s not under my leadership! You can spend all your days doing science! No going into battle, no fighting. Doesn’t that sound nice?” Starscream said, gripping his servo tighter.

Skyfire thought about it for a second. “It does, but Star…the Autobots are my friends.”

“And what am I? Not someone you care about?” Starscream yanked his servos away. Skyfire’s spark dropped, “Star you are someone I care about deeply…don’t do this…”

Starscream stood up and got in front of Skyfire, “Do what? Force you to choose between me and people you barely know? People who force you to fight in a war? Not focus on what you want? I’m offering you something you want, why can’t you see that?”

Skyfire looked up at him, “Starscream you don’t have control of the Decepticons. You’re on your own. Can’t you see that? The stuff you want to offer you can’t…and Megatron isn’t so easily defeatable. Starscream you’re a smart mech please, please see reason.”

Starscream groaned in frustration. “Skyfire can’t you see the potential though?!”

Skyfire frowned and his shoulders slumped, “Starscream you’re pinning everything on a fantasy! A power trip!”

“Power trip?! I’m sorry I have ambition!” Starscream’s wings hiked up in anger.

“It’s not ambition, it's delusions of grandeur!” Skyfire is a patient person but clearly Starscream is not seeing what he is seeing.

“DELUSIONS?!” Starscream shrieked,

“Starscream, shush!” Skyfire tried to calm him down, “The others might hear!”

Starscream’s fans engaged as he was so angry. How could Skyfire be so deluded by the Autobots? Why can’t he see Starscream’s vision?

“Fine…” Starscream said quietly, he walked over to the door and opened it.

“Starscream?! What are you doing?!” Skyfire harshly whispered,

“Leaving.” He said turning back to Skyfire,

“What?! No!” Skyfire grabbed his arm, “Just cause we don’t agree…doesn’t mean we can’t work things out!”

“Yes, it does!” Starscream shouted, and Skyfire shushed him again. But Starscream huffed, “We…we want too different of things.”

“Star I…I love you please…” Skyfire begged, looking like he might cry.

“I love you too.” Starscream said somberly, “But…things aren’t like they used to be.”

“But they can be…Star please. Give the Autobots a chance…” Skyfire begged,

Starscream took a deep breath, “Skyfire-”

“No! It’s not fair. You’re saying I’m choosing the Autobots over you but it sounds more like you are choosing the Decepticons over me!” Skyfire said with tears in his optics.

Starscream paused…was he choosing the Decepticons over him? No, once he has the Decepticons under his control he can try and work out a treaty with Optimus…yes. Peaceful agreement to end the war. No hubris this time. Skyfire can keep his Autobot friends and Starscream can have the Decepticons.

“I need time, Skyfire. Give me some time.” Starscream finally spoke, Skyfire sighed and let go of the seeker. “Ok. But…don’t wait til you’re hurt again to contact me…ok?” Skyfire softly smiled at Starscream.

Starscream smiled back, “Of course.”

Skyfire walked Starscream out of the base waiting til night time to do so. The two walked a bit of distance to avoid being spotted and Starscream turned back towards Skyfire. “I’ll be back for you…someday.”

“I’ll be waiting for you to come to your senses, my shooting star.” Skyfire leaned down and kissed Starscream. Which surprised the seeker but…Starscream kissed back before transforming and flying off. Skyfire waved him goodbye before softly sobbing as he walked back to base.

Notes:

Will Starscream’s ego be his downfall? 👀

Chapter 20: What a MECH-ing Pain

Summary:

Bumblebee loses his T-Cog to MECH. Starscream gets an idea to team up with MECH so they can get him energon...

Skyfire was mopey around the base and the others couldn’t figure out why. Every time someone asked he would do what Ratchet did and dismissively wave and say he was fine. The team left to go check out a signal of an unearth Iacon relic even Ratchet was going. Skyfire stayed back on bridge duty.

They returned after maybe an hour or so with the relic in hand. Something called the Spark Extractor…which by its name doesn’t sound so good. Optimus explained to Skyfire that it is what it sounds like. A Decepticon weapon able to extract one's spark.

“That doesn’t sound like an Iacon relic?” Skyfire stated looking at the weapon.

“Some of the confiscated Decepticon weapons we put Autobot signatures onto so that the Decepticons couldn’t track them…” Ratchet explained,

“I see…” Skyfire looked over and saw Bumblebee regaling the humans about what happened in the battle and how he managed, thanks to his wheels, to snag the Spark Extractor from Megatron. He even picked up one of Raf’s race cars to show off more on how he did it. Bumblebee looked so excited to tell his friends about his adventures.

Skyfire smiled at the scout’s excitement. He did a loopy loop with the toy car and handed it back to Raf. “Loopy-loop huh?” Bulkhead said with a hearty chuckle.

“We got a dangerous relic away from the Decepticons…we should be happy.” Skyfire said, joining the team.

“At least we have a bit of good fortune lately…” Ratchet said watching the team all laugh and have a good time. “Let’s hope it stays that way.”
—----
Starscream was flying around and searching for the locator signal that popped up on his radar. Is an Iacon relic nearby? Just his luck. He zoomed as he got closer and closer to the location.

Starscream got close and landed near the site. He was up on a cliff over where the signal was coming from. To his shock, there was no relic. Scrap, so much using it as a bargaining tool. No, it was something much worse. MECH…and they had…Bumblebee?

“What are these butchers doing to the poor scout?” Starscream whispered to himself, as he observed. He could hear a car engine closing in on the location…Starscream looked up and saw Bulkhead zooming to the spot.

Starscream looked back down and saw it…Bumblebee’s T-Cog is being handed off and the MECH agents are scrambling to leave. They got quicker…that’s alarming…They apparently used their knowledge from dissecting Breakdown to their advantage. MECH agents got into their copters and zipped out of there before Bulkhead could arrive. They were in the air once Bumblebee began to regain consciousness. Starscream looked down at the Autobots then up at the MECH copters disappearing. “Hmmm…I have an idea…”

Starscream transformed and followed the MECH agents to wherever they were taking Bumblebee’s T-Cog. Starscream saw they were traveling quite a distance. He hated that these humans were making him waste his limited supply of energon following them…
—---
After Bulkhead and Bumblebee returned and Bumblebee mentioned the signal being a mislead and him going unconscious. He had trouble with his ability to transform. Ratchet began doing a scan immediately…This wasn’t good. So much for the recent good fortune…

Skyfire saw the look in Bumblebee’s optics and saw him internally panicking. “Don’t worry Bee. Ratchet will fix you up!” Bumblebee tried to relax but…he was nervous.

Raf ran up to the examination table, “You can fix him right, Ratchet?”

“I hope so…whatever stunned Bumblebee might have fried his T-Cog…” Ratchet explained as he continued to monitor the vitals.

“T-Cog? Is that like a T-Bone?” Miko asked,

“No, a T-Cog is the organelle that Cybertronians use to transform and use weaponry. It’s very important. Is that what a T-Bone does for humans?” Skyfire both explains and asks Miko. Miko shrugs “I don’t think humans have T-Bones…only cows.”

“What’s a cow?” Skyfire asks,

“By the Allspark…” Ratchet interrupts Miko and Skyfire’s debate on cows. “Bumblebee’s T-Cog isn’t fried…it’s missing…”

‘Missing?!’ Bumblebee beeps in horror. Everyone’s optics and eyes widened in horror as someone apparently snatched an organ out of Bumblebee.

“But…the Cons have their own T-Cogs…why steal Bumblebee’s?” Jack asks,

“Megatron is evil but he isn’t a ghoul…which leaves…” Ratchet turns to Optimus,

“MECH…” Optimus says grimly,

Skyfire looks confused as everyone looks upset and angry… “Uh…like a male bot?”

“No Skyfire…the criminal military organization made up of humans. They are interested in our technology and have in the past…used extreme methods to get information on our species.” Ratchet explains to the confused shuttle.

“Oh that…does sound rather ghoulish…” Skyfire looks over at a distraught Bumblebee. The scout sits up and puts his head in his servos, almost weeping. Skyfire felt terrible for the scout and sat next to him rubbing his back.

“It would appear MECH’s knowledge of Cybertronian biotech has grown more sophisticated.” Ratchet said to Optimus, “With the limited number of team members we have, losing one is already a major disadvantage…”

“I know…” Optimus looks over at Bumblebee who gets up, ‘I need to track down MECH and get my T-Cog back!’ Bumblebee exclaims, Optimus stops him and places a servo on his shoulder. “Bumblebee, you are not presently equipped to deal with such matters.”

‘Optimus you, you don’t understand! I lost a vital part of who I am!’ Bumblebee protested,

“You misunderstand Bumblebee…” Optimus leans down more, “I do know what it is like to lose a vital part of one’s self. And because of this I know what it is like to put one’s faith in those around you…” He looks up at the rest of the team. “We will get your T-Cog back…”
—----
The MECH agents furiously type away trying to get the T-Cog installed into their own mechanical version of a Cybertronian. Silas orders his scientist to commence a beta test. The optics of the fake Cybertronian begins to scan a helicopter… As it finishes the scan the machine begins to whirl and ultimately…well…fails. The alarms start blaring as the machine begins to spark and convulse as the scientists begin to turn off the various systems.

The scientists and Silas all turn when they hear a sinister chuckle coming from the doorway. Starscream opens the hangar door slowly as he enters the room. “You are the ones who turned poor Breakdown into a pitiful science experiment? How hilarious…” Starscream strolled in and stopped when the MECH agents all scrambled to grab their weaponry and aim them at Starscream. Red scope lasers all litter the seeker’s frame as he looks around at the humans surrounding him.

“So what is a Decepticon doing strolling into our base? Come to avenge him?” Silas asks,

“Oh please…” Starscream waves his servos dismissively, “If I came to avenge him you’d all be screaming for mercy right about now…Besides I am no longer affiliated with that entity.”

“Then why are you here?” Silas asked, clearly not amused by Starscream’s bravado and antics.

“To propose an alliance…” Starscream placed his servos behind his back and straightened to his full height. Silas gestures for the agents to lower their weapons. Starscream noticed that the small red lasers all slowly one by one began to disappear.

Starscream cleared his throat. “For starters. A T-Cog…which you recently acquired…” Starscream smirked and walked past Silas who looked up at the seeker with blank expression as he strolled by. “T-Cogs aren’t technology…but biology.”

Silas looked at him curiously, “Biology you say?”

“Yes.” Starscream grunted as he sliced a small part of his digit and let the energon flow. He placed the bleeding digit in the ‘spark chamber’ of the fake Cybertronian.

“See…simple Earth electronics won’t cut it. You need Energon. The lifeblood of our kind. We need it to function and thus need it for our organs to function…” Starscream explained, "So…since we both desire energon…I believe an alliance would be…prudent for both of us.”

“And how do we locate Energon?” Silas asks,

“I can give you its chemical makeup and we can locate new deposits together and…share the resources.” Starscream elaborated,

“If it can meet MECH’s rather large demand…” Silas said, cocking his head upwards at the seeker. Still sizing up the rather lanky and clearly conniving Decepticon. Starscream chuckled again, “Planning for an army are you?”

Silas stood there and said nothing. Which means Starscream was right… “Don’t be so bashful…I am no stranger to ambition….”

Chapter 21: Starscream’s New Ally

Summary:

Starscream spends so much time with MECH harvesting energon and trying to see if MECH can be reliable…so far only one MECH agent proves so.

Starscream had spent the next week working with MECH. They managed to find a rather large energon deposit. Starscream tried talking to the humans but they all snubbed him. Starscream huffed…”The Autobots’ humans aren’t this rude.”

“Don’t take it personally. It’s Silas’s orders to minimize talking to you.” A random female MECH Agent said looking up at the seeker.

“Is that so? How come?” Starscream is a bit offended by this news. The human shrugged at the seeker’s question. “Not sure. Seems like a waste.”

“A waste hmm? What’s your opinion…miss…?” Starscream looked down at her and even kneeled down.

“Alexis.” She said not looking at him as another soldier walked by. Starscream saw the soldiers walk by and began to harvest the energon. “Well…Alexis…at least someone here at MECH has some common sense and courtesy to ask the alien lifeform questions.”

“Exactly! How often does one have a chance to ask an alien questions?” Alexis agreed. Starscream chuckled as he heard the one human amongst this group of militants bothering to speak to him.

Most of MECH was either mining or guarding the energon that was harvested. Alexis shuffled over towards Starscream. “So your name is Starscream, correct?”

“Yes. My designation is Starscream.” Starscream clarifies, “So since you seem to be the only one interested…what do you want to know, Alexis?”

“Well…I guess more about your people? I mean…all we know is that there are two factions, one the Autobots. The other Decepticons.” Alexis elaborates, “So what’s your homeworld like?”

“Our homeworld right now is a war-torn wasteland…hence why we hid energon on backwater planets like Earth…” Starscream said with a bit of anger in his voice. Alexis felt awkward as apparently she asked the alien a wrong question. “Oh…I…uh…sorry?”

“Oh…don’t take it the wrong way, human. I…I just hate having the reminder. It's not your fault you didn’t know.” Starscream tried to assuage the human as it really wasn’t her fault. She sighed a bit of relief that she didn’t piss off the alien. “So uh what else can you tell me?” She asks, looking up at Starscream. Starscream taps his chin, “Tons of things human. I have quite the knowledge…”

Silas turns back to look at Starscream and sees him talking with one of the soldiers. He squints and frowns at the two laughing. He walked over, “Soldier, focus on security and less on socializing…” Alexis stiffened and went back to her post guarding the harvested energon.

Starscream frowned as it was nice to have someone to talk to for even a little bit. He should seek out the human later when Silas isn’t around…
—-----
Bumblebee has been so antsy being cooped up in the base. Skyfire and the humans tried to find ways of distracting him before Ratchet started to lose his patience. The humans try television but with the constant car commercials Bumblebee felt even worse. Skyfire thought having him help with sorting files would help, but Bumblebee was bored in a matter of minutes. Skyfire felt bad for Bumblebee…’This is probably how Starscream felt when I kept him here…’ Skyfire thought as he watched Bumblebee pace back and forth.

The team was out retrieving another Iacon relic, so no one else was at the base. And Raf was supposed to be home soon as per his mother’s request. With Bumblebee not having a T-Cog and well…Skyfire not exactly an option to return the boy home, it was up to Ratchet as the last viable form of transportation to take him home.

Ratchet grumbled and looked over at Skyfire. “Monitor the situation until I get back.” Ratchet transformed and let Raf get inside before speeding off towards the boy’s house. Leaving Miko and Bumblebee with Skyfire in the base. “Well…now what?” Miko asks, looking at the two.

“What do you mean, Miko?” Skyfire asks, confused by her question.

“Well Ratchet is away…maybe…” Miko looked at Bumblebee, “Maybe reach out to Scream?”

‘Miko?! What?!’ Bumblebee beeped furiously,

“Oh hush, Bee! Come on Sky’s been mopey since Starscream left! Just a check in call…” Miko gestured to the computer. “Ratchet will never know unless someone tattles.”

‘Uh…we are to monitor the situation! Not make personal calls to Decepticons!’ Bumblebee argued even though Miko couldn't understand him. As they argued, the team called in for some support from Skyfire. Skyfire began to panic as now Ratchet was gone and he was on bridge duty. Bumblebee heard the call and told Skyfire to send him instead.

“What?! But you can’t transform!” Skyfire objected,

‘Well you can’t leave right now so…’ Bumblebee argued, Skyfire groaned as he activated the ground bridge and let Bumblebee go through. Miko ran up to the railing, “So we gonna message him or what?”

“Miko…” Skyfire said dismissively,

“Don’t Miko me! I know you two are super close! It’s Starscream’s loss if he can’t see how good you are for him!” Miko pointed at the shuttle, “It’s just a message…not like we are telling him to come over…”

“Yeah…you have a point…” Skyfire realized, Skyfire then typed out a simple message. ‘Just checking in…how are you?’ Skyfire turns to Miko who gives him a thumbs up. Skyfire sent the text message to Starscream.
—----
The MECH agents finished mining that location as they began to clean up the site. Starscream looked over at Alexis who discreetly waved goodbye to the seeker before rushing after the other agents. Starscream softly gestured back as to not bring attention to her.

Starscream then got a ping as he saw an incoming message. ‘Just checking in, how are you?’ Starscream rolled his optics at Skyfire’s message, but secretly he was touched that the shuttle cared about his well-being.

Starscream responses back, ‘I am fine. Thank you for checking in.’
—----
Skyfire sees the incoming message from Starscream. Skyfire’s face lit up when he saw the message and Miko’s face smiled when she saw Skyfire’s smile.

“He’s ok! He said he is ok!” Skyfire cheered,

“See? Harmless.” Miko said smugly,

“Ok you had a point.” Skyfire said, still smiling, but then he got an emergency message from the team that Bumblebee needs medical attention. “Uh oh…”

Ratchet as if on cue returns to base. Ratchet transforms and walks over, “Everything alright?”

Miko and Skyfire exchange looks… “Uh about that…”
—---
“I cannot believe you allowed Bumblebee in the field!” Ratchet yelled at Skyfire, the rest of the team tried to calm down the angry medic. Bulkhead was just coming back after dropping off Miko and came back to Ratchet finishing up fixing Bumblebee after apparently the scout fell off a cliff trying to catch Knock Out.

Bumblebee came to, as Ratchet looked over at the scout, “You already lost your voice box and your T-Cog…you want to add your spark to the list too?!”

Bumblebee just sighed, ‘I’m useless…’

“Don’t say that Bee. You aren’t useless.” Skyfire reassured the scout,

Arcee stepped forward, “Look I hate to break up the pity party but… the Cons just added a new relic to their armory…”

“Neither praise nor blame will change current events. We cannot afford to take any unnecessary risks.” Optimus stated as he tried to intervene. He looks over at Bumblebee, “Bumblebee…until further notice you are confined to the base. Until the matter of restoring or retrieving your T-Cog can be met.”

Bumblebee’s optics widened in shock, ‘But Optimus! I-’

Optimus held up a servo, “I do not want to hear protesting. I am doing this for your own good.” Optimus then began to walk away. Ratchet looked back at a saddened Bumblebee and got an idea. “Optimus…”

The Prime turned to look at the medic. “I know the possibility of retrieving Bumblebee’s T-Cog from MECH is…highly unlikely or would be extremely difficult considering MECH’s stealthy approach to things. Which is why…” Ratchet took in a deep inhale, “I want to offer Bumblebee my T-Cog.”

Optimus turned and looked surprised at the medic, “Ratchet-”

“I don’t rely on my T-Cog as much as Bumblebee does! I am mostly confined to the base! Skyfire is out as an aerial combatant is too useful plus his T-Cog probably is too big or incompatible.” Ratchet turned back to see Bulkhead and Arcee comforting Bumblebee.

“We cannot afford to lose any more team members…” Ratchet said somberly, giving Optimus a lot to think about.
—----
Starscream watched as the MECH agents figured out how to process energon and were putting barrels of the stuff in a storage location. Starscream found the ideas of barrels inefficient compared to energon cubes but humans do what they can he guessed.

Alexis walked in and saw Starscream inspecting the barrels and smiled at the seeker. She wasn’t wearing her mask at the moment and Starscream saw a MECH agent without a mask smiling at him and put two and two together. “Hello, Alexis.”

“Morning, Starscream.” She said happily, “Checking the goods?”

“You can say that. I don’t understand barrels versus cubes.” Starscream said, turning the barrel in his servo.

“Cubes? Like crates?” Alexis was confused,

“Yes. It’s easier to store and stack.” Starscream pointed out,

“Well…barrels are easier to store liquids so…we used that.” Alexis explains,

“Weird.” Starscream mutters as he puts the barrel back down. “I haven’t heard anything from Silas in a bit…things going good?”

Alexis shrugged, “He runs around so much I haven’t heard anything on the grape vine.”

Starscream blinked, “You…get information from fruits?”

Alexis laughs, “No, no it’s a saying. It means no one is passing down information.”

Starscream tilts his head back in a ‘Oh’ kind of expression as he realizes what she meant. “You humans and your strange sayings.”

Alexis laughs at Starscream, causing the seeker to chuckle a little. “I guess it is humorous, isn’t it? I’m glad at least one person here gets to explain things to me. Silas asks questions but doesn’t elaborate…how does a military operation supposed to work fluidly if only one has all the information…foolish is what it is.”

Alexis shrugs, “Look, I just work here. I don’t get paid to really…lead things.”

“That does beg the question….” Starscream turns and kneels down in front of her, “Why did you join MECH?”

Alexis looked a bit uncomfortable as she shifted awkwardly. “I did it for the pay…My family has a military background and I need the money for college.”

“College hmm? Education is important. What do you wish to study?” Starscream asked, now a bit curious.

“Political science. I want to be president someday!” Alexis said a bit too loud. Starscream chuckled, “Ambitious. I like it. Why settle when you can shoot for the stars?”

Alexis awkwardly chuckled at Starscream’s response. “Yeah well…I want to fix things. And politicians can do a lot for a community.”

“You have a kind heart, Alexis.” Starscream smiled sweetly at the human.

“Thanks…I try considering all…well…this…” She gestures to the questionable illegal things she is doing. “Not exactly good or legal but…”

Starscream chuckled, “Oh believe me… politicians of any race…always have their means and motives…you just need to do what you can to succeed. The ends justify the means.”

“Machiavelli… Interesting.” Alexis said as Starscream stood up. He looked and saw the half-built ‘Transformer’ that was in the hangar. “I hope Silas can get this fake up and running. I can only supply so much information with the rudimentary technology you humans have to make things work.”

Alexis got a sinking feeling in her gut. If Starscream provides everything he knows…will Silas keep his word and work with him? Or will the ends…justify the means…

Chapter 22: Change of Heart

Summary:

Alexis tries to warn Starscream of Silas’s betrayal. But Bumblebee and Skyfire break in to get Bumblebee’s T-Cog back.

Ratchet and Optimus agreed to let Ratchet donate his T-Cog to Bumblebee. Since Ratchet will be under during the procedure, it is up to the others to do the surgery, and by others….he means Arcee. Since Bulkhead and Skyfire’s digits were too big and clumsy to properly do the surgery, it was up to Arcee, who can do it swiftly despite not having any medical training.

Ratchet walked her through the procedure and showed her how to do it with ease. Arcee still was nervous, but Jack and the other humans hype her up, saying she could do it and it will help Bumblebee a lot.

“So does this mean Bumblebee is gonna turn into an ambulance now?” Miko said out loud, “Or be all cranky like Ratchet…cause…that be weird.”

They began to prepare for the surgery as Ratchet and Bumblebee lay down on the medical berths. Arcee began by administering the anastatic to Ratchet first. Ratchet’s optics began to close as he went under. Arcee was about to administer it to Bumblebee when the computer went off.

Skyfire looked at the computer as another Iacon relic revealed itself. “Another Iacon relic must have been unearthed.”

“The operation will have to be put on hold.” Optimus stated, Arcee stopped as Bumblebee sat up. “We must go get the relic before the Decepticons.”

“Arcee can still do the operation, can’t she?” Jack asked,

“We need more help on the battlefield. Skyfire remains here and keeps an optic on our patients. Bulkhead, Arcee, we will resume the operation once we return. Transform and roll out!” Optimus said as Skyfire opened the ground bridge.
—------
Starscream was pacing back and forth outside the hangar. “How long does it take to create a larger energon processor?!”

Silas walked over, seeing the griping seeker. “We are working as fast as we can. The schematics you provided were extremely helpful.”

“I am aware of that…” Starscream sassed back, “But I suppose that humans can only work so fast.”

“Indeed.” Silas said with a slight scowl, “We will notify you once it is finished.” Silas began to walk away as he turned to the nearest agent. “Keep an eye on him…he might be more useful than he thinks…”

The agent paused as it was Alexis…her masked face hid her reaction. “What do you mean, sir?”

“We have a prime specimen here. Once he provides all his knowledge…we will need more…materials to grow our transformer army…” Silas explains,

Alexis knew it…Silas was going to betray Starscream. Scrap what can she do? If she tells Starscream then MECH will know she betrayed them. If she lets MECH betray Starscream then she’ll lose her new alien friend…choices such difficult choices.
—-----
At the Autobot base, an incoming message alerted the people inside. Agent Fowler popped up on the screen. “Prime!”

Skyfire and Bumblebee walked into frame, “Uh, he isn’t here, Agent Fowler.”

“Well then relay the message then. I just received data from a satellite imagery that I believe is the center of operations for MECH.” Agent Fowler explains, Skyfire looked over at Bumblebee whose optics had widened.

“Bee…no…”Skyfire warned, as Agent Fowler disappeared from the screen.

‘But Skyfire…If there is a possibility to get my T-Cog back…’ Bumblebee reasoned, ‘We don’t know when the team will come back…and MECH moves constantly…we need to go now!’

“Bumblebee…” Skyfire said looking at Bumblebee’s puppy dog eyes and then looked over at the humans. “Can you guys handle the ground bridge…I can’t let Bee go by himself.”

“You got it, Sky!” Miko held up a thumbs up,

Skyfire turned to look at Bumblebee “Alright, let’s go get your T-Cog!”
—----
Alexis was pacing outside the base as she was worried for Starscream. She went back in as the science team was testing out the energon in their transformer. Alexis walked back in as Starscream was also watching the science team and seeing if they actually got things to work properly.

As they were about to test the door of the hangar got ripped open. Everyone turns to see Bumblebee ripping the door open followed by Skyfire behind him. Starscream was puzzled seeing them here as the MECH agents ran to grab weapons to fight off the Autobots.

The MECH agents began to fend off Bumblebee as he entered. Skyfire then looked in the room and was shocked to see Starscream with the leader of MECH. “Starscream?!” Skyfire called out as Starscream was startled. Silas looked at Bumblebee fighting off his agents and turned to Starscream, “We are retreating! Deal with this and make sure you secure my T-Cog!”

“What?! I am not one of your soldiers! You-” Starscream was cut off as Silas ran off.

Bumblebee saw the makeshift transformer and knew his T-Cog had to be inside it. Bumblebee tripped open the transformer and went to grab his T-Cog when a stray blast hit him and sent the scout flying back and dropping his T-Cog. He landed in some electrical equipment and it temporarily stunned him as sparks and electrical currents went wild and zapping him.

Starscream with his blaster out walked over and grabbed the T-Cog off the ground. Skyfire turned to see Bumblebee on the ground and Starscream holding his T-Cog. “Starscream! What the frag?!”

Starscream looks at Skyfire, almost forgetting he was there. “I’m doing what I have to! I needed energon…they needed energon easy alliance!”

“This is…that’s not…It’s wrong!” Skyfire stammered, “That’s Bumblebee’s T-Cog!”

“I know that! I saw them take it.” Starscream snapped back,

“You what?! Why didn’t you help him?!” Skyfire was in disbelief at this. Maybe the Autobots were right about Starscream being evil…

“They were gone too quickly to help. Plus I wasn’t going to risk my T-Cog.” Starscream argued, by this point Bumblebee came to and got up. ‘Hand over my T-Cog, Scream!’

“Or what? Skyfire isn’t going to hurt me. And I have the T-Cog.” Starscream sassed, Skyfire was stuck in a pretty sticky situation. He doesn’t want to hurt Starscream but…he wanted to get Bumblebee’s T-Cog back…

Alexis rushes over, “Starscream…”

Starscream looks down and sees her standing there, “Not now! Can’t you see that-”

“Silas is going to betray you. Even if you give him the T-Cog.” Alexis shouted,

Skyfire and Bumblebee exchanged looks then looked back at Starscream. “So…he’s a liar…Agh!” Starscream stomped his pede on the ground. “Trectrous humans!”

‘I could have told you that. MECH is not to be trusted.’ Bumblebee beeped with some sass.

Starscream puts his blaster away. “Fine. Take your biomech.” Starscream holds out the T-Cog as Bumblebee walks over and takes it. Starscream huffs as Bumblebee is overjoyed to have his T-Cog back. Skyfire smiled at Starscream’s decision, guess he isn’t so evil after all.

“Thank you, Starscream.” Skyfire said with a smile, Starscream waved dismissively. “Don’t thank me. Thank Silas for being a backstabbing glitch. Now if you excuse me…I have energon to steal.” Starscream walked away as he began to grab the barrels of energon. Alexis watched as the two Autobots began to leave.

“So…” Starscream said, getting Alexis’s attention. “You betrayed Silas and MECH. I suppose you’ll go home now.”

“I can’t Silas will track me down. I…I just didn’t want to see you get scrapped.” Alexis admitted, Starscream smiled as maybe all humans clearly aren’t traitorous. “Well…you can join me. I mean I don’t know how to take care of a human but…at least Silas can’t track you since he probably would look for both of us.”

“I can take care of myself…but the company would be nice.” Alexis said, taking off her MECH mask and throwing it aside.
—---
Bumblebee and Skyfire walk a bit away before calling for a ground bridge. As they were about to call the bridge, a ground bridge opened up near where they were. The two got into a fighting stance as this could be the Decepticons.

Only it wasn’t the Decepticons…it was Optimus and the rest of the team…looking at them…a bit peeved off. The two let out a sigh of relief as they relaxed. “What were you two thinking?!” Arcee yelled at them. Bumblebee held up his T-Cog, ‘We got my T-Cog back! Now we don’t need to do the surgery!’

Optimus’s stern look did not fade. “We will discuss this back at base. But…I am glad you got your T-Cog back, Bumblebee.”

The team then went back through the ground bridge as they all returned to base. Ratchet gave Bumblebee’s audio receptors a good stern talking to as he then took the T-Cog and put it back inside Bumblebee in a quick surgery. Team Prime is back at full throttle…

Chapter 23: Venting

Summary:

Starscream and Alexis escape from MECH and Alexis stays with Starscream at the Harbinger…and listens to Starscream vent about Skyfire…and other things.

Starscream took Alexis and the two flew off to the Harbinger. Alexis looked around in pure wonder at the crashed alien ship. She couldn’t believe that humans hadn’t found something like this…

Starscream carried Alexis inside and placed her on a large work table so she could get a better view. She was looking around her eyes practically sparkling as she looked at the ruined alien vessel. “This is so cool!” she said running around on the table trying to look at everything. Starscream chuckled at her antics as it reminded him of one of those human pets that scurries around…what were they called? Hamsters he thinks.

“It’s not as impressive as a functional ship but…it’s system works and I can use it as a safe haven for now.” Starscream elaborates,

“Still it’s cool. Not every human can claim they were in a spaceship.” Alexis smiled as she sat on the edge of the table.

Starscream went to the computer terminal and began to type on it, and pulled up what humans need to survive. Alexis laughed, “Starscream, I can take care of myself. You don’t have to search up how to take care of me like a pet.”

“Well…I just want to be informed is all…” Starscream huffed,

Alexis smiled but something was on her mind… “So…I know very little about the whole Autobots and Decepticon stuff…you’re a Decepticon right?”

Starscream turned to look at her, “Yes. I was their second in command for a very long time. Prior to that…I was in the military and in charge of energon seekers and before that… I was a scientist.”

“That’s quite a resume. I mean…How old are you exactly? I mean…sorry that was rude.” Alexis realized what her question was.

Starscream chuckled, “It is fine. Our species have significantly longer lives than humans. I’m about 4.2 million years old.”

“Million?! 4.2 million years old?! Dang no wonder you’ve accomplished so much.” Alexis leaned forward looking at the seeker.

‘Well 4 million of those years have been in war. The conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons have gone on for 4 million years.” Starscream said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“That’s…sad. I’m sorry that you’ve been stuck at war for so long.” Alexis said, trying to comfort him.

“It is quite sad. I mean even if the war did end the tension between the factions is explosive and the hatred runs deep. Not to mention our homeworld is gone. So…there would be no way to return to normalcy.” Starscream sat down in a chair next to Alexis, “Hence why we came to worlds that energon can grow on, why we are on Earth of all places.”

“Huh…that’s…even sadder.” Alexis now felt bad for Starscream. She wanted to place a hand on him but he was still far away.

Starscream looked up at the ceiling, “I know it is. But…we have to do what we can to survive after all.”

“I guess. I did have one question though…” Alexis scooted closer to Starscream, “You mentioned back at the base that the really tall Autobot wouldn’t hurt you…why?”

Starscream’s face contorted into a look of shock and embarrassment. “Well…uh…well…we uh…we used to be well…uh…” Starscream stammered, “He’s an ex.”

“Oh?!” Alexis leaned in, “He’s your ex…now things are getting juicy.”

“Ha, ha.” Starscream said sarcastically, “Yes he is my ex partner. We have a… complicated history at the moment.”

“At the moment? Isn’t he your enemy?” Alexis asked,

“Yes well he was frozen alive for the past 4 million years and missed most of the war. Only to find out our world is dead, there is a war and well…I was on the other faction until I decided to go rogue.” Starscream crossed his legs, “Primus I’m glad he didn’t wake up when I was still with Megatron…”

“Megatron?” Alexis didn’t know the name, Starscream dismissively waved his servo, “The leader of the Decepticons. An absolute brute.”

“Wow, that's one way of getting to second in command.” Alexis teased,

Starscream stammered and angrily looked at the way-to-pleased human. “That is not how I got my post! I am one of the best fliers in Vos! I am a respected military leader! I did not sleep my way to the top!”

“So you guys…” Alexis takes her finger and makes a circle with the other and does the crude depiction of sex as she repeatedly did the gesture. Starscream blinked and rolled his optics with a ‘seriously?’ expression. “Yes. We do that too.”

“So you have a…” She looked down and back up,

“Yes? And you don’t have to be so crass, Alexis.” Starscream crossed his arms and was now pouting a little. Alexis laughed at the pouty seeker, “Come on Starscream. You have to admit it’s kind of funny to find out a giant alien robot isn’t so different from us humans…well in that regard.”

Starscream scoffed, “Well…just cause we have some similarities…doesn’t account for tact.”

“Well it is a bit funny.” Alexis smiled, “I mean is it also metal?”

 

“We are moving on from this topic.” Starscream said bluntly,

“Fine, fine. Well, tell me about them.” Alexis said, copying Starscream’s pose. Starscream raised a brow, “About who?”

“Megatron and Skyfire…your exes. Let’s dish.” Alexis smiled, but that smile quickly faded as Starscream went on a hour-long rant about how much he hates Megatron. He got up and was pacing around the room as he ranted. Why he’s a bad leader and why he, Starscream is the superior choice to rule the Decepticons. Alexis regretted asking about it…

“So what about Skyfire?” Alexis was desperate to get off the topic of Megatron. Starscream paused in his rant, “Skyfire?”

“Yes. You haven’t talked about him yet…what is he like?” Alexis asked as she shifted her position. Starscream paused as his wings twitched a little, “He’s a…what do you call it, a marshy-mallow?”

“Aww so he is a big softy?” Alexis cooed,

“Yes. He’s so sweet it will rot your dentas…” Starscream smiled thinking of Skyfire, “He’s a pacifist and a brilliant scientist. Despite him being an Autobot, I can’t see him as a Decepticon. He’s too… pure.”

“Do you still have feelings for him?” Alexis was curious about the way he talked about Skyfire, which was vastly different from the way he talks about Megatron. Starscream’s wings dropped low “Yes. I still love him. Primus it’s…” Starscream clenched his servos, “It’s complicated.”

“I can see that.” Alexis sat up straighter, “Then…why don’t you join the Autobots? Be together with him. You care about him…”

“Too much bad blood. The Autobots would never let me truly join. Besides…recently I terminated one of their teammates…and all the…other things I have done in the past.” Starscream sat back down in his seat.

“Ah ok…well you got me so… at least you got someone on team Starscream.” Alexis patted his shoulder plating. Starscream smiled as he and Alexis continued to talk nonsense for a while.

Chapter 24

Summary:

Wheeljack returns and meets Skyfire.

“Prime!” Agent Fowler popped up on the computer monitor. “What in Uncle Sam’s beard are your people doing?! We had an agreement! No collateral damage!”

Optimus looked rather surprised as he heard the federal agent yelling at him. “Agent Fowler…I can assure you all Autobots are present and accounted for.” As he gestures to the team nearby.

“Then explain to me why there are reports of two bots tussling 20 miles outside of Omaha, Nebraska!” Agent Fowler sasses back,

“Could be Decepticons. There has been a lot of in-fighting lately. Megatron can’t seem to keep his ranks in line.” Arcee mentioned,

“Well I just arrived on the scene so take a look…” Agent Fowler redirects some kind of camera pointed at the scene. Below him in the camera’s view is what looks like a large blue seeker with a Gatling Gun who looks like…Skyquake? And he is firing at…Wheeljack?

‘But the Decepticon can’t be Skyquake right? He’s offline and even if it was him wouldn’t he be a zombie because of Starscream?’ Bumblebee mentioned. Skyfire frowned about the whole Starscream trying to have a zombie warrior thing…but brushed past it.

“Ha, ha! It’s Jackie! Jackie’s back.” Bulkhead cheered,

“I don’t care if Abraham Lincoln is back! We have to contain the situation before we all end up on the 11 o’clock news!” Agent Fowler argued,

The team didn’t waste any time as Ratchet fired up the ground bridge and they all ran through to go support Wheeljack and fight this Skyquake doppelganger.

Skyfire turned to look at Ratchet, “So…which one of those guys is ours?”

“The one chucking grenades…” as Ratchet points to Wheeljack on the monitor.

“Oh…more members would be helpful.” Skyfire said as he watched the team join on the screen.

“Helpful is a strong word…especially since Wheeljack is more of a… lone wolf type.” Ratchet said with a hint of disdain.

“Oh?” Skyfire was confused, “Well Bulkhead seemed excited to see him.”

“They served on the Wreckers together. They have old bonds.” Ratchet said as they watched this unknown Decepticon scanning the vehicle Agent Fowler was in. Then he transformed and zoomed off into the distance. “Scrap he escaped.”

A few moments passed as Optimus called in a ground bridge and the team returned to base, Wheeljack with them. Wheeljack had some scrapes and wounds from the fight so Ratchet rushed over and tended to the wounds of the wrecker. Wheeljack quickly looked up to see Skyfire.

“Who’s the jet?” Wheeljack asked,

“His name is Skyfire. He joined us a few months back.” Ratchet explained as he got his tools out, Wheeljack just kept staring at him. “Not often you see fliers joining the Autobots…”

“Skyfire’s history is…complicated to say the least.” Ratchet then began to mend the wounds on Wheeljack’s shoulder plating. Wheeljack flinched and jerked back at the pain of the blow torch on his shoulder.

“Wheeljack!” Ratchet chastised,

“Then be more gentle, Doc!” Wheeljack snapped back,

“Hold still then!” Ratchet said as he went back to tending to the wound. Wheeljack held still as Ratchet did his thing. Wheeljack looked over at Optimus who walked into the med bay to get some answers on the wreckers' rather explosive return. “Sorry commander, the fireworks? It won’t happen again.”

The rest of the team all entered the room and gathered round to hear Wheeljack’s story. “Look, I was tracking Dreadwing across a thousand miles of space.”

“I thought you were trying to find old wrecker members and Autobot refugees?” Bulkhead asked as when Wheeljack initially left that was the objective.

“Well I was at first…until I found one…a wrecker…Seaspray…” Wheeljack said,

“Ha, ha! How is old barnacle butt?” Bulkhead asked cheerfully,

“Actually Bulk…not so good…he’s dead.” Wheeljack said with restraint and anger in his voice. Bullhead’s optics shot open as he stepped back a bit, “What…no…that can’t be.”

“But it is…and Dreadwing is to blame…” Wheeljack said as he explained how he followed Seaspray’s ship into the Milky Way galaxy and so did Dreadwing who somehow attached an explosive to his ship and…

And Dreadwing, after his little stunt, was heading to Earth for some reason. So Wheeljack followed him back and here we are. Skyfire and the rest of the team listened to the story Wheeljack was telling. Poor Seaspray…and this Dreadwing sounds very dangerous.

“I have heard of Dreadwing… he was a captain of a seeker armada back on Cybertron. He and his twin brother, Skyquake, are fiercely loyal to the Decepticon cause. He no doubt has come to Earth to give allegiance to his one true master… Megatron.” Optimus explained,

“I hope he enjoyed his visit! Cause it will be his last!” Wheeljack exclaimed as he got up from the seat. Ratchet grumbled and Skyfire’s optics shot open…his last? No Wheeljack wasn’t planning on…

“Isn’t termination a tad extreme?” Skyfire piped up,

Wheeljack turned to look at the shuttle, “Have you not been part of the war? So it’s alright for them to take us down but not take them down?!”

“I’m just saying termination is a tad extreme and we do not have to do what they do.” Skyfire tried to calm down the wrecker, “Oh so Seaspray can’t be avenged or the other countless bots that Dreadwing took out?!”

Skyfire now understood Starscream’s sentiments…how there is too much bad blood from the war. How he can hear Wheeljack’s rage in his voice. Skyfire sighed…maybe Starscream was right. But maybe Skyfire’s sentiments were shared amongst the Autobots as Optimus spoke up, “Wheeljack…this planet is heavily inhabited. Any retaliation against the Decepticons must be strategically calculated. And calculated as a team. Less we risk the human population and any casualties amongst Earth’s inhabitants.”

“Are you seriously suggesting we don’t do anything?!” Wheeljack protested,

“You! Loose cannon!” Agent Fowler yelled as he entered the base. He angrily walked towards the railing of the walkway, “Your cowboy antics almost blew our cover!”

Wheeljack was confused. It was then explained to him that the human population is unaware of their presence. That they are robots in disguise; And Agent Fowler was upset that he had to clean up the mess that Wheeljack left as it was a rather…hefty mess.

Clearly from the argument between Agent Fowler and Wheeljack, Ratchet’s point that Wheeljack was a lone wolf was very clear. Wheeljack stormed off as Optimus explained why Wheeljack was so insubordinate to the federal agent and Skyfire's too as he didn’t understand the situation.

Optimus explained as Bulkhead walked off to talk to Wheeljack. Skyfire listened and it sounded a bit familiar…it reminded him of how he met Starscream’s trine. How he met Starscream in a way…

Notes:

I know this chapter was short but I hope you enjoyed it!

Chapter 25: Memories

Summary:

A flashback of Skyfire recounts the day he met Starscream and his Trine.

It was Skyfire’s first time in Vos. The city possessed incredibly tall buildings and tons of aerial Cybertronians all flying about their daily business. Skyfire was only to make a quick layover in Vos to get to Iacon, to the Jhiaxian Academy where he would begin his educational journey.

Skyfire walked over on the terminal and had to hunch down as most seekers were larger than most ground base Cybertronians… Skyfire was still the stand-out in terms of height being a shuttle from Luna-One. Skyfire entered and looked around the train car he was in waiting for it to take off.

What caught his eye was a trio of identical seekers. It was common for most Vosian seekers to come in sets of two, three, and even six in some cases. But the trio were being rather obnoxious in the car, getting people around them annoyed. Especially the one with the black and purple plating, his laugh was rather loud. The primarily blue one was trying to calm him down. Chastising him and telling him to behave. But the red, white, and blue seeker was staring directly at the shuttle making very apparent optic contact.

Skyfire looked away and turned around but it was too late, he was walking over. “You have an academy datapad.” the red seeker pointed at the datapad that Skyfire was holding. Skyfire looked down and then back at the seeker, “Uh…yeah…I am heading to Iacon. For my first day…well…tomorrow.”

The other two now were watching their sibling talking to Skyfire. They two approached as the small gaggle of seekers now crowded around the shuttle. Skyfire was flustered as the trio of lightweight-class military seekers gathered around him. “I didn’t think there would be other seekers at the academy.” The red one spoke, looking Skyfire up and down.

“Are…are you three attending the academy too?” Skyfire asked,

“Pfft. Just this egg-head…” The purple one jabs the red one, and the red one rolls his own optics.

“Skywarp seriously…calm down.” The blue one said,

Skywarp rolled his optics, “TC, you are a wet blanket. We’re going to Iacon! We barely leave Vos, this is going to be a fun trip!”

The train began to hover and move on from Vos heading to Iacon. “It’s nice to see another seeker attending…considering the academy’s… preferences….” The red one said looking at his sharped digits.

Skyfire smiled, “Yeah… I passed the entrance exam and even got a scholarship! It’s really the only way I can afford to live in a city like Iacon or even attend the academy…”

The red one crossed his arms and looked at him with a rather judgemental stare. “Huh…fascinating…”

Skywarp snickered, “Come on Star…don’t be so judgy…Isn’t it a good thing more seekers are going to the academy?”

“Not like a scrap for brains like you could get in.” Star apparently teased, and this sparked an argument between the brothers. TC the blue one walked over and profusely apologized for his brother’s rude behavior.

“I’m Thundercracker by the way. The purple one is Skywarp and the red loud one is Starscream.” Thundercracker introduced, he also explained they were going with Starscream to Iacon at their creators' behest as Iacon can be a…dangerous place for seekers. This sparked a rather sweet and informative discussion between the four of them.

Vosian seeker culture is…well rather bougie amongst most flying Cybertronians. The city is full of tall spires and beautiful glass buildings above the clouds and the culture of Vos is vastly different from cities like Iacon, Tarn, and even its sister city of Helix. The city was ruled by a council of Winglords and was more…of an oligarchy than a democracy. Vos focused on flying capabilities and their military prowess in the sky. Vos had the highest percentage of outliers among its population.

And from what Skyfire gathered from talking with the trio… Starscream lacked an outlier ability like his two brothers and well…his creators basically paid for him to get into the academy as he had great military potential and or scientific potential. Skyfire found some comradery with these three as there would be some other seekers in Iacon he could talk to and potentially hang out with.

After a few hours, they arrived in Iacon. The four seekers all got off and saw the golden and silver buildings of Iacon. The academy rested in the center of the city so the seekers made their way there but were clearly getting glances and could hear comments from Iacon residents as they walked by.

Skyfire himself stood out horribly due to his size and the three random seekers he met on the train seemed to be kind enough to be his backup. Especially the seeker who would be his classmate, Starscream led the way as he was walking in front of Skyfire with Thundercracker and Skywarp behind him as they let Skyfire be in the middle.

Skyfire never really had friends…he was created into a lower caste where he worked in shipping and transport on Luna-One. But he was unusually bright and it clearly showed as he took the exam and earned a scholarship. And that brightness and awkwardness made it hard for him to befriend other shuttles who were more blue-collar than academics.

But these three were different, despite Thundercracker and Skywarp being outliers and probably will join the Vosian military… Starscream in this case was the true outlier…wanting to be a scientist.

Skyfire learned that Skywarp’s power was teleportation and that Thundercracker’s power was creating sonic blasts and could even control slight electrical pulses. Starscream huffed as he heard his brothers tell Skyfire about their powers. Starscream unfortunately didn’t get a cool power…but at least he can rely on his intellect.

They arrived at the Jhiaxian Academy and saw all the students walking around campus. They all gave the seekers dirty looks… they could hear whispers, ‘What are seekers doing here?’, ‘They aren’t students right?’, ‘Maybe they're just security?’

Skyfire heard them and tried to make himself as small as possible. Starscream on the other hand… sneered and hiked up his wings taking up more space as he found the whispers ridiculous and childish. They entered and the trio basically ignored the comments and tried to find their individual dorm rooms for Starscream and Skyfire.

The funniest surprise was when the two were actually roommates. They looked at their assigned dorm rooms and realized the two seekers were forced to bunk together. “Of course, the academy put the two seekers together…” Starscream sneered as Skywarp rushed in and flopped onto the smaller berth. They all entered and saw the larger berth and the small berth on the other side of the room.

“This room is tiny…” Thundercracker said looking around,

“It’s…nice at least. The barracks on Lune-One are…about this size.” Skyfire said as he sat down on the berth. The trio all sat down on Starscream’s side.

“Well, Skyfire…looks like you’ll be seeing plenty of us from now on…”

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed the short little flashback stuff! And some of my headcanons!

Chapter 26: Bad Timing

Summary:

Alexis runs through the woods and runs into Airachnid about to terminate Breakdown… Starscream intervenes.

The drama with Wheeljack only escalated as the day went on. Skyfire spent time down memory lane when Ratchet ordered Skyfire to prep the med bay. Apparently, right after the whole argument with Agent Fowler, Bulkhead and Wheeljack ran off and got into a fight with Dreadwing…

Skyfire was amazed at how quickly the two wreckers found their enemy and already battled. Things only got worse when they could just see only Wheeljack and not Bulkhead. Apparently, a whole other situation with Optimus and Wheeljack resulted in a rescue mission with Bulkhead. All in all, Wheeljack’s visit back to Earth was very eventful. Between Wheeljack and Optimus, the duo saved Bulkhead but failed to capture Dreadwing.

Wheeljack chose to stay on Earth after getting looked over. He scanned an alt-mode and decided to go exploring the planet…discretely, of course. But at least no crazy revenge was sought, and that helped Skyfire’s conscience.

Skyfire laid down in his berth and turned over to see the empty spot Starscream used to occupy when he was here. “I hope you are ok Starscream…I miss you so much.”

Skyfire then turned back onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. He decided to just go back down memory lane again…It was nice to reminisce. Then Skyfire drifted off to recharge as he remembered all the good times he had with Starscream and his trine.
—---
Alexis and Starscream were in the woods. Apparently, there is a nearby cave system that might have energon. Starscream followed his locator device in his servo as the duo continued to walk.

“It’s so eerie at night.” Alexis said, looking around the woods. Her night vision isn’t as good as Starscream’s, so she can only see so far in the direction they are going.

Starscream looked down at her. “Relax. You have backup. At least we can confirm its location, and we’ll bring the mining equipment in the morning.”

Then they both stopped as they heard a commotion in the distance. Sounded like…fighting?
Alexis ran towards the sound. “Alexis!” She couldn’t see so well, but could hear perfectly fine as she heard fighting and clearly someone needed help. Alexis saw that the moonlight was illuminating an open area as she saw two Cybertronians fighting. One looked female and kind of like a spider, and the other… oh…it was Breakdown. The bot MECH tore apart ages ago.

Breakdown was chuckling as he walked closer to the spider bot that Alexis didn’t recognize. Then Starscream came running out from the woods and spotted all three of them. “Scrap.”

“Starscream…what a surprise…” Airachnid said as she launched a web at the surprised Breakdown. Which caused his hammer arm to be webbed to a large boulder nearby. “Gahh! You little!” Breakdown began to struggle against the webs.

“And who is this?” Airachnid walked closer to him and began to stare at him with her predatory gaze. “A little human who came to help…how sweet…”

“Stand back, Airachnid!” Starscream aimed his blaster at her. Alexis looked back then up at the Insecticon huntress who was staring her down.

“It seems like a party is happening…” A mysterious voice said as everyone turned to see Silas and a group of MECH agents arriving on the scene. “And all being our old dance partners…”

“SILAS!” Everyone shouted, and all the bots exchanged looks. Realizing that the whole group that was currently there had run-ins or team-ups with the MECH leader.

“Not like an old human ally to arrive…” Airachnid hissed,

“You teamed up with them?!” Starscream questioned, “Guess I’m not the first Con, too…” he said under his breath.

“You teamed up with him too? Small world…” Airachnid sassed,

“You both have screws loose to team up with these butchers!” Breakdown added,

Silas’s team aimed their weapons at the Decepticons, all bickering. Airachnid looked at her surroundings… The boys can stay here and be prey to MECH. She wasn’t going to end up on a dissection table. She blasted at Silas, causing the humans to reflectively defend themselves reflexively. She then turned and webbed Starscream’s blaster and then began digging a tunnel to escape. There were too many variables to risk getting dissected, injured more, or Primus forbid…terminated.

Once the dust cleared, it was Starscream, MECH, Breakdown, and a very confused Alexis. Starscream looked down at his blaster, then at Breakdown. “For Primus sake! How have we gone into this position again?” Starscream aimed his missiles at Silas. “Breakdown! A little help!?”

Breakdown struggled against the webbing from Airachnid’s stunning shot. Silas looks down at the seeker and the struggling Decepticon… “Stun both of them now!” Silas orders as a MECH agent behind him nods.

Alexis wasn’t so keen on letting any Cybertronian be gutted by MECH so she aimed her own weapon at Silas. Her rather… spacey-looking rifle that was given to her by the same entity that she is fighting at the moment. “Silas! You are not leaving with them!” The red laser was aimed right at Silas. While several were aimed back at Alexis. Starscream’s servo with a missile was also aimed at MECH, his sharpened digit out, ready to pull the trigger and blow up Silas and his mindless MECH goons away.

There was a standoff… the human weapons could do some damage to Alexis, and a stun blaster was handy at the moment… but it couldn’t take down two Cons…Breakdown was moments away from freeing himself and Starscream’s missiles were already at the ready. Silas already had a missile and blaster aimed at him… He looked at Starscream. “You betrayed us.”

“Ha! Please… I’m not a moron! I was next on your proverbial chopping block the moment my intel wasn’t useful to you!” Starscream snapped back,

Silas’s gaze went down to Alexis… “Is that what she told you?” Silas chuckled, “You believed a dumb college girl over a military leader? Some intelligent species…”

Starscream sneered at Silas’s attempt to goad him. Starscream looked down at Alexis and back at Silas, “As a military leader myself…it isn’t hard to see other’s bullshit. Especially when it’s confirmed by their own men.”

“Come now, Starscream, no need for foul language… We are all after the same thing… the energon.” Silas said, trying to deescalate the situation.

Breakdown paused... there actually was an energon deposit out here? That wasn’t a lie to get Airachnid to lower her guard… Was it true?! Breakdown was hoping that Dreadwing would come barreling in soon to help deal with Starscream the traitor, Airachnid, and the humans who cannibalized him way back when…

The energy in the area was palpable as all parties were on edge. Silas looked down and saw the webbing on Breakdown’s hammer thinning. MECH was anything but reckless, and with both Cons wanting revenge, this could turn ugly. “Men…we’re leaving…” Silas made a gesture as all the little red lasers disappeared and the MECH agents began to fade into the woods.

Silas walked backwards, following his own agents. “This isn’t over, Decepticons!” before vanishing into the darkness of the woods.

Breakdown tore off the webbing, finally. He got up and looked at Starscream and his human friend. “So now what? Are you going to turn me into Megatron?” Starscream asked Breakdown. Breakdown wiped away any residual webbing and looked at the seeker.

“No.” Breakdown said calmly,

“No?” Starscream questioned,

“Yes. No. I mean…” Breakdown was confusing himself, “I owed you for saving me from MECH the first time... Consider this payback. I never saw you.”

Starscream put away his missile and his blaster. “Glad to see there is some honor in the Decepticons…”

“Now you might want to scram before Dreadwing shows up… He isn’t as forgiving as I am.” Breakdown said, looking down the tunnel that Airachnid made.

“Who’s Dreadwing?” Starscream asked, not recognizing the name.

“New bot. Just joined about a week ago. So scram before he shows up!” Breakdown said, looking back to where Dreadwing might show up.

Starscream nodded and scooped up Alexis. “Thank you, Breakdown.” as he ran off into the woods. The energon can wait for now.

Breakdown sat down on the ground as Starscream disappeared from sight. Dreadwing came running in right after… “Where is Airachnid?!”

“Gone. Had some problems.” Breakdown said, standing back up,

Dreadwing noticed the hole. “You couldn’t wait for backup, could you?”

“It wasn't that! MECH showed up and tried to take me again. Thankfully this time, Airachnid and I scared them off before she escaped herself.” Breakdown half-lied,

“MECH? What is MECH?” Dreadwing asked,

“I’ll explain on the way back. Megatron isn’t going to be happy that they are poking around more… especially since they are now looking for energon themselves…” Breakdown said he still can't believe that Starscream was stupid enough to give them information on energon…

“Fine. Lord Megatron will need a report anyway.” as the two Decepticons headed back to the Nemesis.

Notes:

So we ain’t killing Breakdown! Let’s see how the big guy does now that he’s in the story… Plus the pact that Breakdown owed Starscream and it went nowhere…now it went somewhere.

Chapter 27: Enemy of my Enemy

Summary:

Airachnid defects from the Decepticons and plans to unleash her Insecticons on Megatron. An injured Starscream panics as Alexis is in danger…

Starscream and Alexis walked away from the scene as they didn’t want this Dreadwing to spot them. After a while, Starscream stops, vents whirling from the excretion as he pants. “I think we are far enough, Starscream…”

“I hope so. We still have to find the energon site nearby…” Starscream said as he began to stop panting. He put Alexis down as she looked to her left to see a cavern opening. “You mean like that conveniently located cave next to us?”

Starscream looked over and pulled out his tracker… “Huh…guess I ran in the right direction.”

The two entered the cavern and began to track down the energon signal. A small gleam of that neon blue up a cliff face. “Looks like we found our target.” Alexis said triumphantly. She looked over at Starscream, who knew the cavern was too narrow for him to fly up and get Alexis close enough to harvest.

Starscream began to scale up the wall with Alexis on his shoulder plating. Starscream managed to get close enough to pluck the energon from the wall. “I still can’t believe I’m reduced to scraping for energon scraps.”

“Quit whining and hand it over.” Alexis said, being handed down the scrap of energon. Well, a scrap for Starscream. The chunk of Energon was half the size of Alexis’s whole body. Alexis held onto the energon scrap as Starscream slowly lowered himself down and hopped to the ground. “Let’s see if there are bigger and better shards of energon.” Starscream said to his human companion.

Alexis smiled, but then her smile faded as she heard the distinct sound of heavy pede falls echoing in the cavern. Starscream heard it too and paused…too heavy to be Airachnid, too heavy for Breakdown, Starscream didn’t know who Dreadwing was so he couldn’t determine… Starscream saw down the other side of the cavern…an Insecticon…

The Insecticon ignored the two and then jammed its arm into the cavern wall and pulled out a massive chunk of energon. Starscream and Alexis shared a look, then looked back at the large Insecticon holding the chunk. Starscream, “You there! Insecticon!”

“Starscream…” Alexis whispered, “What are you doing?!”

“Relax I got this…” Starscream reassured her,

“You there! I am your superior! Hand over that energon to me now!” Starscream demanded, the Insecticon…didn’t respond…in fact, it ignored the seeker. Starscream stuttered, and Alexis held back a laugh at the seeker’s failed attempt.

“You stupid brute! Hand over the energon!” Starscream slapped the back of the Insecticon, and some sparks flew, and a scratch mark from Starscream’s claws embedded in his armor. The Insecticon turned slowly towards Starscream. A low growl escaped the Insecticon.

“I think we should run…” Alexis said as she could feel the anger from the Insecticon…

As Alexis said, it lunged at Starscream. Starscream screamed as he began to run away from the Insecticon. Starscream started running and running through the cavern. Starscream saw a narrow crevice that Starscream’s lithe form could squeeze into, and not let the Insecticon follow him. Starscream squeezed in and desperately crawled back into the small crevice. The Insecticon began to claw and shriek at the seeker; it was too big to get to Starscream. Its claw fit into the opening and was swiping at Starscream’s legs. Starscream pulled his legs back and curled into a ball to prevent the Insecticon from grabbing or injuring him.

Alexis was clinging to Starscream’s face plating as she, too, was scared of the Insecticon. “You savage! Keep the stupid energon! I hope you choke on it!” Starscream shouted at the beast. Alexis looked over at Starscream. “Don’t you have to make it a liquid?”

“Not always. We can eat it, but it will damage your denta…” Starscream explained quickly as his optics shot back at the roaring and clawing Insecticon at their only escape. Then the Insecticon…pauses and goes quiet.

A female voice is heard…almost alluring and oddly familiar… “Come to me, minion…come to your queen…”

The Insecticon then removed his arm from the crevice and began to back off. It was going towards the voice. Starscream was still panting and trying to compose himself as his fans began to shut off. Alexis jumped off as she heard Starscream’s fans getting faster. The last thing he needed was her hair getting stuck in his fans or losing a finger.

Starscream began to crawl towards the entrance of the crevice. He saw the Insecticon round a corner and disappear. Starscream crawled out of his hiding spot and began to stalk the Insecticon, wondering where it was going.

Starscream peered around the corner to see…Airachnid and the Insecticon. The Insecticon then walked towards her and bowed, offering her the energon. Starscream was angry. The supposed Decepticon soldier bowed to her, but not him?! This is ridiculous!

“What the frag, Airachnid?!” Starscream walked towards Airachnid,

“Starscream…I’m not surprised to see you slinking around here…” Airachnid jabbed,

Starscream’s wings shot up in anger, “You little…” Starscream cleared his throat. “Why is the beast listening to you? It's savage!”

“You can say the beast and I are…distant relatives…So our kinship makes him more…obedient.” Airachnid explained as she gestured to the Insecticon.

Alexis was looking around the corner and watched the three of them. Alexis was wary of what the three aliens might do. Starscream she can predict, but the other two…

“Airachnid…” Starscream said in a suspiciously sweet manner. Airachnid raised a brow… “Yes, Starscream…?”

“Since you and I are…well…rogues of the Decepticons. And wanted to be terminated by Megatron…maybe an alliance is in order?” Starscream leaned in a bit, holding his servos together.

“An alliance? And what can you offer me, Starscream? A human pet to toy with?” Airachnid looked beyond Starscream and at Alexis, who hid behind him quickly. Starscream glanced back and scowled. He cleared his throat. “No. The human is off limits, Airachnid. Her knowledge is too valuable.”

“Valuable?” Airachnid chuckled, “What can a human do for us?”

“Her knowledge of the human interwebs, the human psyche and how this planet operates… to name a few. And you can offer the well…muscle.” Starscream gestures to the Insecticon standing by, also observing the seeker. Airachnid chuckled, “I doubt a human can really offer anything to me… Not like she can kill Megatron.”

“No…but we both desire Megatron’s death…We can take down Megatron and claim the Decepticons for ourselves!” Starscream clenched a servo in emphasis as he smirked, thinking his plan was brilliant and convincing enough for Airachnid.

Airachnid’s face had a permanent smirk. Airachnid shifted in her position and got more comfortable. She placed a servo on her hip as she leaned down and rested her head in her other servo with a smirk. Starscream began to get nervous. He didn’t like this…

“But…The idea of ruling the Decepticons and spending time with you are the least of my concerns or desires…” Airachnid smirked, Starscream stuttered in disbelief…she was casting him aside?!

 

“But you had me at take down Megatron…revenge would be sweet.” She punched her servo into her other servo. “But…I need to see if my new assassin is up for the challenge…”

Starscream optics glanced over at the Insecticon…oh…oh…no… The Insecticon roared and pounced at Starscream. The seeker barely made it away as a large gash was left on his leg. He could feel the warm energon leaking out of his leg at an alarming speed. He needed to get out of here…

Starscream saw a tunnel that was large enough for him to crawl through but small enough that the Insecticon couldn’t. Starscream began to crawl through the tight hole and try to get to the surface. He could feel the rocks scraping against his chassis and the energon leaking out of his leg. After a few minutes of crawling, he heard the sound of the Insecticon's roars and clawing growing fainter and fainter. He finally managed to get to the surface.

He staggered over to a boulder and fell over. The adrenaline in his system was waning as he now just felt pain in his leg. He didn’t have the means to close up such a gash. He needed medical attention.
—----
The Autobots received a high-frequency signal with an embedded message. Skyfire recognized this as Starscream…Ratchet did not, as he missed the first transmission. “What is this message?” Ratchet asked as he opened the message on the computer.

“I have obtained information that is useful to you. Bring medical kit.” Ratchet read out loud, Skyfire was now worried. Starscream got hurt again, and Skyfire can sneak him into the base to fix him.

“Skyfire.” Ratchet called, and the shuttle looked over at the medic. “Grab the med kit. Let’s see what Starscream has to offer.”

Skyfire nodded and grabbed the med kit as Ratchet fired up the ground bridge. Ratchet also asked Bulkhead to tag along as backup in case Starscream tried anything. After the fiasco with MECH and finding out Starscream worked with them, they can’t risk anyone else being incapacitated, temporarily or worse, permanently. The trio got ready and walked through the ground bridge to see what information Starscream could provide.
—---
Starscream felt sluggish as he tried to lift his leg up and tried to minimize the blood loss. He watched as the energon slowly dripped from his leg… “Fragging Insecticon…” he mumbled as he looked himself over for any other injuries.

Then he saw the ground bridge open up, and Bulkhead jumped through, blasters out and scanning the area before Ratchet and Skyfire came through. Skyfire’s spark sank when he saw Starscream bleed there as Ratchet and Bulkhead walked up to him.

“Make it worth our time, Starscream.” Ratchet said bluntly,

Starscream groaned and looked at the three Autobots. “Well, like myself, Airachnid has gone rogue. She is no longer with the Decepticons.”

“And we care why?” Bulkhead remarked,

“Because she now has an Insecticon under her command!” Starscream shouted back,

“An Insecticon on Earth?” Ratchet said, stunned. Skyfire remembers Arcee and Jack facing off against one on Cybertron…now there is one here on Earth. Not good.

“And she plans to…take down Me-” Starscream stops himself. If he tells the Autobots that she plans to terminate Megatron, the Autobots might not help.

“She plans to use it as a way to retaliate against her enemies…I can provide you with her current location.” Starscream corrected,

“An Insecticon on Earth is bad news, Ratchet.” Bulkhead told the doctor.

“I’m not sure this information is worth wasting our limited resources on…” Ratchet said, looking back at Starscream.

“Ratchet, come on, he gave you the information. Help him!” Skyfire begged,

Starscream stammered, too, hoping for Skyfire’s presence and back up by swaying the medic…then it hit Starscream…help… allies…oh no. HE LEFT ALEXIS IN THE CAVE!

Starscream shrieked when he realized. The Autobots looked at him funny. “I left Alexis in the cave with Airachnid and the Insecticon. You Autobots have to go save her!”

“Who?” Bulkhead tilted his head, wondering what nonsense Starscream was on about.

“My human ally! When I was running away from the Insecticon, I…I forgot to grab her…” Starscream embarrassingly admitted,

“WHAT?!” Ratchet yelled, “You endangered a human?! Starscream, are you daft?!”

“Well, I was running for my life! Sorr,y I forgot to grab her!” Starscream yelled back,

“Wait that MECH operative?” Skyfire stated, Bulkhead and Ratchet turned to the shuttle. “That human girl that told you Silas was going to betray you?”

“Yes, her. She has been staying with me to avoid Silas’s wrath.” Starscream explained, “And since you Autobots care so much for humans…go help her!”

“Bulkhead, contact Optimus and tell him the situation.” Ratchet ordered. The wrecker nodded and began to comm Optimus. Ratchet deemed the situation dire now and worth helping the seeker. Ratchet began to patch up Starscream’s leg as he provided the coordinates to Skyfire.

Optimus, Bumblebee, and Arcee all arrived on the scene. Ratchet finished patching up Starscream, and the seeker stood up with his newly repaired leg. Starscream felt nervous being surrounded by Autobots…he shimmied closer to Skyfire as he could feel the hateful gaze of Arcee on him.

Starscream nervously chuckled as he looked over at the two-wheeler. “Starscream…” Optimus called, which snapped the seeker out of his stupor. “Yes Optimus…?”

“I am greatly disappointed in you endangering a human. And I would like you to join us in rescuing your human companion.” Optimus basically ordered,

Starscream blinked…the hypocrisy was palpable as the Autobots regularly endanger their human companions on the daily… But he was in no place to argue right now, being surrounded by the Autobots. Starscream cleared his throat, “Of course. I wish to rescue Alexis. Hopefully, Airachnid hasn't found her yet.”

“With an Insecticon in play, we have to be extra careful. And we cannot let this Alexis get hurt.” Optimus told his team, “We will head to coordinates now. Ratchet, return to base and contact June. Just in case Alexis needs medical attention.”

Ratchet nodded and left through the ground bridge. The team began to make their way to the coordinates that Starscream had provided.
—---
Back in the cave…. Alexis was hiding in a narrow crevice. She was armed, but her weaponry probably cannot do much damage to the Insecticon or Airachnid. But earlier, she heard Airachnid calling the Decepticon,s basically antagonizing Megatron and luring him to the cave with the Insecticon.

“Great…Starscream left me, and now Megatron is on his way…Starscream, you slagger, you better come back…” Alexis muttered to herself as she peeked out over the corner of the boulder. She saw Airachnid climbing up onto a rock and the Insecticon hiding. She heard loud pede falls approaching way too heavy to be Starscream… as Megatron rounded the corner and entered the chamber.

“Airachnid…” Megatron hissed as the Insecticon huntress looked at the Decepticon leader. “Megatron.” She acknowledged and smirked.

“That’s Megatron…Starscream has a type…” Alexis whispered to herself as she watched the two talk.

“Your execution is long overdue…” Megatron aimed his fusion cannon at Airachnid. But unbeknownst to him, the Insecticon was on the ledge behind him. The Insecticon leapt off the ledge and tackled the Decepticon leader. The two fumbled about on the ground as they rolled closer to Airachnid. She jumped up onto the wall and climbed up, getting out of range of the two combatants. But still, a good view of the fight below.

Megatron was able to fling the Insecticon off him and throw him where Airachnid was. Megatron got to his pedes and heard the beast roar at him. “An Insecticon? Stand down! I am your master!”

The beast roared and lunged at Megatron as Megatron dodged the attack. Airachniod chuckled from above, “He listens to me, Megatron…now let the games begin…”

Megatron growled as the beast rushed him and grabbed his helm, throwing him against the wall. Megatron, while in the air, managed to flip over and land on his pedes. He looked up at the beast with anger in his optics. Alexis was close but also away from the chaos but…the risk of getting squashed was getting greater and greater.

She hopes Starscream will show up soon. Things are getting dicey…
—----
The Autobots arrived at the location that Starscream had provided. The seeker followed behind Skyfire as he knew the Autobots would save Alexis but was worried about Airachnid and her Insecticon soldier. They saw the long tunnel that led into the abandoned energon mine and began to make their descent.

The sound of a fight grew louder and louder as the Autobots came onto an unusual scene. Airachnid, the Insecticon, and…Megatron? Megatron and the Insecticon were locked in a heated battle. His fusion cannon which could have ended the fight quickly was webbed…most like Airachnid’s work. But both fighters were determined to kill the other, and it showed.

Starscream began to scan the room, looking for Alexis. He saw a glimpse of her reddish brown hair between one of the boulders. But she was too close to the fighting Megatron and the Insecticon. Optimus and most of Team Prime were watching the fight…Arcee had different plans as Starscream was ignoring what Optimus was saying to her and trying to come up with a way to save Alexis.

Then he heard Arcee transform and saw her go after Airachnid… Well, at least there is someone she hates more than him. Optimus yelled after her as Airachnid heard her coming and was hit right in the face with one of Arcee’s tires. Airachnid staggered back as Arcee pulled out her arm blades and got ready to fight.

Megatron looked up briefly to see the Autobots and Starscream all watching him… “Today is full of disturbing surprises…” as he backhanded the Insecticon away from him. The Insecticon landed near where Alexis was. The Autobots are now seeing her. Starscream grumbled and jumped off the ledge. “Starscrea,m wait!” Skyfire called after him, but the Seeker rushed past Megatron.

Megatron managed to grip his wing as he yoinked the seeker back. “What a surprise seeing you of all bots with the Autobots…” Megatron hissed at Starscream. Starscream looked up at Megatron with fear in his optics, as now he was pulled into the battle with him and the Insecticon. Alexis saw that Starscream was in danger… “Hey, bucket head!”

Megatron turned to see Alexis emerge from the crevice. “A human?” Megatron stated before the Insecticon tackled him, causing him to lose his grip on Starscream. Starscream, now freed, rushes over and scoops up Alexis. Starscream jumped in the air and transformed with Alexis in his cockpit and zoomed out of the cavern.

It all happened so quickly that the Autobots had no time to react. Skyfire blinked as Starscream zoomed past him. “Did…did he just leave?” Skyfire said, dazed by the last few seconds.

‘I…I think so…’ Bumblebee beeped. Skyfire then turned and looked at the team. “I’m going after him!”

Skyfire transformed and zoomed out, too, before Optimus could object. Seems like Optimus is having a hard time getting his team in order today… Arcee vanished into the tunnels of the mine, fighting Airachnid; there was no way to track her at the moment. And now Skyfire disappeared…so many parts going wrong, it wasn’t looking good.

Optimus watched as Megatron pulled out his blade and swiftly decapitated the Insecticon while it was distracted. The head went flying off, energon trailing behind it as it landed on the ground and rolled up against the wall.

“That is what happens when you fight a champion gladiator of Kaon!” Megatron roared in victory. “Whether they be Decepticon…” The Autobots all jumped down off the cliff, blasters ready and aimed at Megatron. “Or Autobot…”

Megatron looked around and assessed his surroundings. He was outnumbered and incredibly tired after fighting the Insecticon. Megatron took two steps, and his knees buckled as he fell. Scrap.
—----
Starscream zoomed out and was a bit away from the mines, but not too far. Starscream lets Alexis out before transforming back to bot mode. He felt a wave of relief washing over him now that Alexis was safe. “Apologies for the late rescue…things got complicated.”

“I’m glad you showed up at all. Either Megatron or the Insecticon was close to squashing me.” Alexis chuckles; they hear a jet engine getting closer as Skyfire landed near them. “Why did you run off?!”

“What do you mean? I need help getting Alexis…and well…the Autobots are a good distraction so…” Starscream rolled his wrist as he made his point.

“So we’re a diversion?!” Skyfire realized Starscream’s intent.

“I mean…I didn’t expect Megatron to be there. So…thanks for the help.” Starscream shrugged rather casually at the whole situation.

“Starscream, that is cruel! You can’t…it’s not…” Skyfire realized he had been used by the very bot he loved. “How can you use me like that…”

“I didn’t use you! I used them…” Starscream pointed back at the mine. “You just happened to be here is all…”

“Starscream, quit while you're ahead…” Alexis cringed,

The three heard the light pitter-patter of Airachnid’s spider legs as she hid in a tree. The two bots turned and saw Arcee racing into an unknown trap. Then she got webbed and was wrapped in the spider’s webbing and being lifted up into the tree by the huntress. Airachnid crawled down and lifted Arcee’s helm to face her. “This may not be the day I remove Megatron’s spark, but it is the day I remove yours…”

Then, as she was about to strike, Starscream shot a missile. It hit Airachnid, sending her flying off the webbing, but she rolled out of the way at the last second to not take the damage from the following explosion. She was on the ground looking up at the two seekers and the human girl accompanying them.

Starscream shot off another missile as Airachnid dodged and began tunneling away to escape. Arcee struggled in the webbing as Skyfire rushed to help her out. Starscream kept his distance as he and Alexis stood by. Skyfire managed to get the webbing off Arcee, and the two Autobots were now looking at Starscream and Alexis.

“A thank you would suffice…” Starscream said, leaning forward with his servos on his hips.

“A thank you?!” Arcee said incredulously, “You didn’t tell us Megatron was going to be here!”

“Well, he wasn’t when I left!” Starscream argued, “Besides, I scared off Airachnid and saved your sorry aft!”

“He did save you…” Skyfire added. Arcee just glared at him.

“Look, just cause he saves me doesn’t make him a god bot, Skyfire.” Arcee looked back at Alexis. “Or that he allied with a human.”

“But Arcee…he-” Skyfire was interrupted by Optimus, who commed the two, stating Megatron escaped and they fought off his rescue party of Vehicons…he was asking where they were now so they can regroup.

Arcee commed back and explained that Airachnid escaped and that she was with Skyfire and Starscream. It was a few minutes later when Optimus and the rest of the team showed up. Starscream grumbled he just wanted to get out of here with Alexis not be lectured by the Autobots or captured.

Optimus looked down at Alexis. “I am glad to see you are unharmed, Alexis.”

Alexis looked up at the Prime. “Oh, uh…thanks…uh, sorry I don’t know your names…other than those two…”She points at Bumblebee and Skyfire.

Optimus introduces the team to Alexis. Starscream began tapping his pede; he was getting annoyed at the fact the Autobots were getting so chummy with his human partner. “Alexis…” Optimus addressed her and got down on his knee to get closer to her height. “Skyfire informed us that you were a member of MECH.”

“Uh…yeah…former member… Silas wasn’t too happy I ran off with Starscream.” She looked up at the seeker. “And trust me, I have to hate to you guys at all. I just want to survive.”

“I understand that. We work with the human government, Agent Fowler; our human contact with them can assist you. He can offer you safety from Silas and stop you from being a fugitive.” Optimus explains,

Alexis looked shocked…She knew a little bit about this, but a chance to go home and see her family? “But what about Starscream?” She asked and looked back at Starscream.

Optimus stood back up and looked at the seeker. “You did endanger a human. But you also saved them. Your actions and motives on things can be quite questionable…but I have seen a change in you, Starscream.”

“A change?” Starscream quirked his brow. What was Optimus getting at?

Optimus looked at his team, then back at Starscream, “I want to offer you to join us.”

The entire team looked absolutely shocked. “Optimus, you can’t be serious?!” Arcee objected as she walked closer to the Prime. “After all he has done, you’ll let him join?!”

Optimus looked down at her. “Starscream is no longer with the Decepticons. And expressed his desire to join us previously. He shows he has compassion for the life forms that reside here. And has helped us in the past numerous times…Like I said there has been a change in Starscream.”

Alexis turned to Starscream, “This is great Starscream! You can join them! We can be safe and not have to hide anymore!”

Starscream’s face was blank. He has been helping them…but mostly to serve himself…but also… There was the whole thing with Unicron, giving them the space bridge location and of course, giving Bumblebee back his T-Cog…

“No.” Starscream said flatly,

Everyone looked surprised. Especially Skyfire…but Skyfire knew Starscream wouldn’t join. Skyfire still looked so disappointed though… a part of him thought maybe now that Optimus offered it…he hoped he would take it.

“Why not?” Optimus asked,

“I…I…” Starscream honestly didn’t have a good reason not to. Then he looked at Arcee whose expression was unreadable. But he could see in her optics that she was happy that Starscream wasn’t joining.

“I just can’t.” Starscream said as he began to walk away. He then paused and turned back and saw Alexis following him. “What are you doing? They can offer you safety.”

“I’m your human partner, Scream. You ain’t getting rid of me that easily.” Alexis said with confidence.

Starscream chuckled as he transformed and let Alexis in his cockpit again. Then he zoomed away. Skyfire watched Starscream reject Optimus’s offer and his human companion joining him. What a weird day.

Chapter 28: Horror Show

Summary:

The Autobots find an abandoned spaceship underground and realize it is home to a Spark Eater

It’s been two days since Starscream rejected joining the Autobots. The team was still baffled by the seeker’s decision, but he made his choice. Skyfire was out on the top of the base watching the clouds. Sure, he can go for a flight but he…he just felt lost. Starscream rejected another chance to be with him…maybe it was time to give up on him. Clearly, he wasn’t important enough to Starscream…

Skyfire felt a tear run down his face plate… “Oh..” He wiped it away and then heard an incoming message. “Skyfire…” It was Starscream.

“Starscream?” Skyfire questioned,

“I want you to understand why I said no.” Starscream wanted to explain that he couldn’t let the shuttle be mad at him.

“I know why, Starscream. You still believe you can take down Megatron and take over the Decepticons…” Skyfire explained to him. Starscream went quiet, “Well…yes.”

“So there is nothing more to discuss.” Skyfire was going to end the call when Starscream scoffed. “You’re upset.”

“Of course I am upset! You keep making bad choices!” Skyfire argued,

“Look…I know this seems strange now but… We'll be together again.” Starscream almost sounded like he was begging.

“We could be together now!” Skyfire sounded tired of having this discussion.

“I’m sorry.” Starscream said softly, “I hurt you, used you and…I really do miss you. I just can’t join the Autobots. To be honest, I considered it. I just…I’m not Autobot material. Arcee still hates my guts, I served under the Decepticons for so long there will be habits that are hard to break and I don’t know if the rest of the Autobots are as patient as you…”

Skyfire understood Starscream’s concerns. “I…I understand. But I really hope you reconsider.”

“I…I will think about it.” Skyfire could hear the smile in Starscream’s voice. Skyfire smiled too and ended the call. At least Starscream will consider it….hopefully.
—---
Skyfire returned into base and the team was discussing a strange signal they received from underground. It was an Autobot distress signal coming from a ship most likely…but underground?

“Could be an old signal.” Ratchet stated,

“Or a bot is in distress and needs help.” Bulkhead argued, “We don’t know. Don’t you think it’s strange?”

Optimus looked at his team, “It does warrant an investigation…Bulkhead, Arcee I will send you two to scout it out. See if there is an Autobot in distress.”

Bulkhead and Arcee nodded understanding their task. Ratchet opened the ground bridge for them to go and find this mystery signal.
—----
Starscream intercepted an Autobot distress signal… was Skyfire in danger?! Alexis was asleep and Starscream was worried she might get in danger again if he brought her. So he went alone.

Starscream arrived at a cavern…great another cave…Starscream walked down the tunnel and saw almost in a dreamy cavern with a downed ship. There was glowing moss around the ship…it looked like energon but was fuzzy. The ship was covered in this stuff…and the ship looked old, like the Harbinger. Covered in rust and rather large it clearly was an Autobot ship but…why was it in cavern?

Starscream walked up to it and saw the door was blasted open from the inside…eerie…maybe it was shot out of the sky and ransacked. Maybe there was stuff on this ship that could be useful…Starscream walked in the rather dark and gloomy ship. He could hear water dripping, the ship creaking, and the air rushing through holes in the hull…the Harbinger was dinghy but this was way worse and a thousand times spookier.

Starscream looked into rooms and saw barracks, berths and other storage. “This wasn’t a cargo vessel…but still no bodies yet…”

Starscream spoke too soon as he found a corpse. But it didn’t look like a normal rusting corpse…it’s helm was ripped open and so was it’s chest plating. Like if an Insecticon or Beastformer ripped them apart. But the rest of the body was intact. “What a horrid fate.”

Starscream stepped over it and continued. Maybe like the Harbinger the system might still work…but with the rust and it being exposed the elements so…who knows until Starscream can find a console. Starscream saw something in the corner of his optic…a glow…not like the moss but green? Starscream looked over and in the depths of the darkness he saw three floating orbs… green, blue and white. Then he saw optics above those orbs glowing a vibrant red.

“Hello?” Starscream asked confused, red optics usually means Decepticons…but something…something was wrong. “Who are you? State your designation!”

“Ssssparrrkssss….” The bot hissed, then Starscream saw a panel of light flashing in the corridor the bot was standing in. Starscream got a better look… The three glowing orbs were floating in its abdomen…its mouth full of fangs…and long metal and clawed tentacles grew out of its back…Starscream recognized this thing…yes…thing, a Sparkeater…

Starscream could hear an annoying buzzing as the Sparkeater stood there tentacles lazily swaying almost like it was waiting…Starscream took a step back and then the creature jerked its head to the side and then began to rush towards Starscream. Starscream screamed and ran down the hall. He made a turn and heard the Sparkeater crash into the side of the hall. Starscream was fast but he was in the Sparkeater’s territory…this wasn’t good.

Starscream then found a working door and opened it and rushed into the room. The Sparkeater was clawing at the door and trying to get in. Starscream saw another door and exited out of it and continued to run down that hall. He then crashed into something and fell right on his aft.

Starscream’s vents were whirling as he looked up to see Bulkhead and Arcee. “Oh thank Primus!” Starscream said with relief trying to calm himself down.

“Starscream? Why are you here?” Bulkhead asked,

“I saw a distress signal and came to investigate…but…that’s not important! We need to leave, NOW!” Starscream gets up and grabs Arcee and Bulkhead's wrists.

“Hold your horses, Scream. What’s wrong?” Bulkhead yanked his wrist away as did Arcee. Starscream’s wings hiked up in frustration. “We are not alone here! There is a Sparkeater chasing me!”

“A Sparkeater? Really?” Arcee didn’t believe him, “Only young sparklings believe in a ghost tale like that.”

“Well it’s more fact than fiction! If you want to die, suit yourselves! I’m leaving!” Starscream threw his servos up in defeat. He did warn them if they die, they only have themselves to blame. Starscream had no idea where in the ship he was or how to get out…frag…

Starscream’s wings fell and he slumped forward a little. Scrap he might need the Autobots’ help. “I don’t know how to leave…” Starscream said with a tinge of frustration. Bulkhead looked at Arcee and she looked at him then at Starscream, “Look you save me from Airachnid…We’ll let you tag along until we can find the source of the signal.”

“Let’s hope that Sparkeater doesn’t find us first…” Starscream mumbled, as he followed the two Autobots. They walked down the hall as they heard sparks pop off and the creaking of the ship… everyone was quiet which made the tension worse. “Place is spooky huh, Cee…” Bulkhead said to break the silence. “Definitely, don’t know who is down here but let's find the signal and whoever sent it.”

“I told you it was a Sparkeater. Luring dumb bots in to eat.” Starscream mentioned again,

“Again with this…there is no Sparkeater.” Arcee argued, the two-wheeler turned to the seeker and pointed at his chest plate. But Starscream wasn’t looking at her, there was a silhouette at the end of the hall that got his attention. Bulkhead turned and looked towards where Starscream was looking at. “Hey! Are you the one who sent the distress signal?” Bulkhead yelled at the bot at the end of the hall.

“Yyyeessss….” The Sparkeater answered,

Bulkhead chuckled, “See we found them.” He turned to Arcee and Starscream then back towards the mystery bot. “Now let’s all go and we will have our medic check you-” Then Bulkhead paused as it saw the tentacles behind the bot coming out slowly. Then the Sparkeater walked slowly towards the three of them in an unnatural way. Then it roared halfway down the hall and both Bulkhead and Starscream screamed as Arcee looked for an escape route.

Arcee pulled out her blasters as Starscream already began running away and yelled for the Autobots to run. The trio ran down the hall as Bulkhead was the slowest and tried shooting at the Sparkeater to slow it down. He hit the Sparkeater in the face, stunning it for a split second and disorienting the monster.

Arcee found a door and managed to open it. The three ran in before the Sparkeater spotted them as it roared and ran past the door down the hall. The three listened to the footsteps fade behind the door as all of them were venting and trying to calm down. “An ‘I told you so’ is so warranted…but I will be the bigger bot…” Starscream sassed as he looked around the room.

All of them would have gone pale if they could…around the room was a battle worn room and rusted, battered bodies littered the floor. All with their helms ripped open and their brains gone; along with their chests ripped apart and their spark chamber’s damaged and dark.

“Sweet Solus Prime…what the heck happened?” Bulkhead said in disbelief,

“I can give you one guess…” Arcee snarked back,

There was a computer console past the sea of bodies as the three of them carefully walked over them and towards the computer. They saw that this is where the signal was coming from. Arcee turned it off, “So you were right, Starscream…”

“What was that?” Starscream held a servo to his audio receptor, “Was that Arcee telling ME I was right?”

“Yes, and stop being an aft. We need to find a way out of here…” Arcee said, looking around at the room of corpses.

“We need to take that thing down…what if humans find this thing?” Bulkhead suggested,

“Well, humans don’t have sparks. It’ll starve and die…I hope…” Starscream argued back,

“Unless the Cons come here…and Megatron gets his servos on a Sparkeater attack dog…” Arcee proposed it as a very disturbing but scary idea. She wasn’t completely wrong. Megatron tried to weaponize the dead for the war. A Sparkeater wouldn’t be a stretch…

“So what? How does one kill a Sparkeater other than starving it?! There aren’t many tales of Sparkeater’s dying!” Starscream huffed,

Arcee attempted to comm the base, but all she heard was static. “It put up jammers…”

“Great…so what? We trap the beast?” Starscream suggested, both Bulkhead and Arcee look at each other and then back at Starscream. Starscream didn’t like this….
—----
The base hasn’t heard anything from Bulkhead and Arcee in a while…this wasn’t good. Ratchet was getting nervous and Optimus found the silence not a good sign.

“We haven’t heard from them in a while… You don’t think something happened, do you?” Ratchet suggested,

Optimus walked over to the computer and attempted to comm them. “Arcee. Bulkhead. Report in.” All they heard was static.

“A jammer? That’s not good.” Skyfire stated,

“Bumblebee and I will head to the coordinates to locate them…” Optimus stated as Bumblebee and Optimus waited for the ground bridge.
—---
The two Autobots dared to ‘volunteer’ Starscream as bait. Starscream objected, but he was outvoted, naturally. Starscream waited outside the room for the Sparkeater to show up. He was making noise and calling out to the creature. Taunting it and trying to get it to come to him.

He heard the hissing and pede falls of the Sparkeater as he locked optics with the beast. The creature roared, and Starscream yelped and ran in the room. Arcee and Bulkhead were hidden with their blasters ready to attack the Sparkeater and hopefully take it down.

Starscream ran up to the console in the back of the room as the Sparkeater lashed its tentacles at Starscream, as Arcee jumped out and tried to slice at the tentacles but it was reinforced and armored. So her blades did nothing. The tentacle wrapped around Starscream’s waist as Arcee looked back at Bulkhead, who charged at the Sparkeater with his wrecking ball. He began bashing the Sparkeater, trying to get him to release Starscream.

Starscream felt the tentacle yank him forward and bash into Arcee, sending her flying into a corpse pile. Bulkhead felt the Sparkeater grab his throat and threw him at Arcee. Arcee looked up to see a flying Bulkhead towards him. He landed on her and they both groaned as Bulkhead and Arcee tried to get up, but the corpses made it hard to get up.

Starscream felt his blood run cold…he was Sparkeater food…he didn’t think he would go out like this. His brain eaten and his spark another collection in the Sparkeater’s fuel tank…

The Sparkeater let out that buzzing noise, which made Starscream wince. “You don’t lull…wwwhhhyyy?” The Sparkeater snarled,and Starscream was confused. Lull? All Starscream heard was an annoying buzzing. The Sparkeater’s tentacles wrapped around Starscream’s throat as the Sparkeater put its palm on Starscream’s chest.

A warm sensation came over Starscream, and he involuntarily opened up his spark chamber. Starscream struggled as the Sparkeater began to absorb Starscream’s spark. Arcee finally got up. “NO!”

Arcee charged at the Sparkeater, who whipped one of its tentacles and slapped Arcee to the side. Arcee bashed her head against the wall and was knocked out. Bulkhead got up and was shooting at the Sparkeater and doing nothing. “Let him go!”

Then that annoying buzzing started again, and Bulkhead froze…his arms and shoulders slumped as his optics went blank…He was in some kind of trance. “What the frag?!” Starscream shouted and looked over at the tranced Wrecker. So that is what the buzzing was supposed to do.

He felt the energy of his spark go into the Sparkeater’s mouth…Starscream thrashed and clawed at the armored tentacles trying anything to get free…he could feel his lifeforce being drained… There was white light flowing into the Sparkeater, and it felt endless…even the Sparkeater was perplexed, Starscream could tell as the beast’s face plate contorted into a confused and concerned expression.The energy wasn’t stopping or slowing down…his spark, a ball of energy that should quickly be eaten, was taking the monster a long time to consume.

The Sparkeater roared, “What issss thisss?! No! SSSssstooppp!”

The energy wasn’t stopping, and the white energy began to seep into the seams of the Sparkeater and his abdomen turned white and was glowing from the energy from Starscream. Then the Sparkeater dropped Starscream, but the energy kept flowing into the monster…Starscream looked up in bewilderment…what is happening??

Then the energy stopped and the Sparkeater…exploded! With a loud and bright flash and bang, the Sparkeater was ripped apart. The light faded as there was sparkling debris from the energy and the destroyed sparks within the beast. Starscream looked down at his white and glowing strong spark. He closed his chassis quickly and saw Bulkhead and Arcee come to…

They looked at the dead Sparkeater and back at Starscream. “What the frag happened?!” They both asked…Starscream…had no answers.

Chapter 29: What an Outlier of a Problem

Summary:

After killing the Spark Eater, Starscream questions if he is an outlier like his brothers…

Arcee and Bulkhead looked at Starscream, both not able to figure out how the seeker survived, let alone killed the Sparkeater. “What did you do to kill it, Starscream?” Arcee asked, walking over to her Autobot compatriot.

“I…I don’t know. It was consuming my spark, and then it…it exploded!” Starscream shrugged, honestly, that is what happened. He didn’t know how, but it did to kill the Sparkeater and save the three of them.

Arcee and Bulkhead exchanged looks, they can see from Starscream’s alarmed state that he wasn’t lying…but it still confused them. Then the trio heard pede falls as they all turned and aimed their blasters at the approaching figures. They saw Optimus and Bumblebee in the doorway.

“Arcee, Bulkhead. Are you two alright?” Optimus asked as they looked in the corpse-ridden room. The two nodded, and Bulkhead admitted to still feeling dizzy from the Sparkeater. The Autobots filled their leader in on what transpired.

Starscream’s wings went flat against his back as he felt so panicked…this was something like with Unicron…another evil being confused by his existence…His mind was racing, his spark had a unique signature, and after Unicron, even Ratchet was perplexed…was he maybe an outlier after all? Was his spark his outlier ability?!

“Starscream.” Optimus addressed the seeker and snapped Starscream out of his thoughts. “Why are you here?”

“I…saw the distress signal…” Starscream explained,

“But why did you come to an Autobot distress signal?” Optimus questioned,

Starscream bit his lip. “I thought Skyfire was in danger.”

Optimus acknowledged by lifting his head back a bit. “Ah, I see. Are you alright?”

“No…No, I am not. I’m shaken, confused, and well…shell-shocked.” Starscream uncharacteristically admitted,and Starscream was nervous and slightly manically chuckled. “I killed a Sparkeater with my fragging spark! No, I am not alright!”

Optimus could hear Starscream’s panic… “We will bring you back to base for a medical scan of your spark from Ratchet.”

The Autobots, to Starscream’s surprise, didn’t object. They almost looked like they were concerned for the seeker. Starscream has been turning down many of the Autobots’ offers of joining and help…well, till now. He needed answers, and Knock Out was clearly not an option at the moment, so…Ratchet it is.

The team and Starscream got out of the ship and left the cave. No one talked to Starscream as he tried to calm down and get his thoughts together. The team could see how shaken up Starscream was from this whole experience and they too were curious how the seeker’s spark came into play.
—----
The ground bridge lit up the base’s room as Ratchet and Skyfire stood by with a medic kit and ready to rush anyone into the med bay. To the two’s surprise, they saw Starscream walk through with the rest of the team.

“Starscream? We just patched you up! What happened?” Ratchet asked, and the human kids all rushed over to the railings to see the seeker walk in. Optimus walks over to Ratchet and begins to explain what happened.

“Ope. Scream’s back. Maybe this time he’ll stay with the team…” Miko jokes,

“Miko, it isn’t nice to get Skyfire’s hopes up.” Jack replied,

“He looks shaken up. I wonder what happened…” Raf added,

Starscream looked around to see the familiar sights of the Autobot base. Again, he walked into his supposed enemy’s territory without any issue. Skyfire automatically rushed over to Starscream once he heard about the Sparkeater.

“Star…are you ok?” Skyfire asked gently and sweetly. Starscream was still lost in his thoughts as to what this all meant. “No.”

“It’s gonna be ok. Ratchet will figure out the problem, and we’ll fix it!” Skyfire said confidently, he began rubbing the seeker’s shoulder plating to comfort him. He remembers back in school how this would soothe Starscream after a particularly bad experiment or a not well-placed exam.

“You don’t get it…I’m not injured…something is just…wrong or…right? Or always been there?” Starscream himself was still trying to put the pieces together.

Skyfire looked at him confused, clearly everyone was lost and just relieved that a potential Sparkeater had been dealt with. Ratchet walked over to the two and urged Starscream to follow him. “This time we are doing a full physical. Clearly something is up with your spark, but who knows what else you don’t know?”

“Well, excuse me, Ratchet. I know my body well enough to seek help!” Starscream argued back,

“No need for sass, Starscream. I am here to help. Without your medical records, I basically have to start from scratch. So this could take a while.” Ratchet informed him,

Starscream scoffed as he honestly hadn’t had a full workup since he was still with the Decepticons…after the horrid beating Megatron gave him post him being comatose. Starscream hopped on the berth and let the two scientists do their thing.
—--
“So is Scream part of the team now?” Miko asks,

“No. Starscream is not. But we have extended this kindness to him as a form of thanks for stopping the Sparkeater.” Optimus explained,

“So Starscream stopped this spooky monster, and you are just letting him in the base?” Jack pointed out,

“We ground-bridged him in, Jack. Like when we did with Megatron, Starscream has no idea where the base is.” Optimus clarifies,

“He saved me and Bulkhead from becoming the Sparkeater’s next meal. It was out of character for Starscream to save anyone but himself…” Arcee noted, “But he still did. I still don’t trust him. I know you offered him a spot on the team, Optimus…but you can’t wipe 4 million years of bad blood by a few kind acts…”

“I understand your hesitation, Arcee. But there is a change in Starscream. Not only physical, apparently…but internal. There is some good in his spark that has been emerging.” Optimus said, placing a servo on his own chest plate.

Ratchet emerged from the med bay. “Optimus.”

The humans and bots all turned to Ratchet, “So what’s the deal, Ratchet? Is Scream alright?” Bulkhead asks,

“Well…I did a more thorough workup and…honestly, the damages Starscream has internally are…” Ratchet looks back, hoping Skyfire wasn’t overhearing, “Alarming.”

“Alarming how?” Raf asks,

Ratchet took in a deep breath and then released it. “I know seekers, especially military ones, experience tons of injuries over the years, but these are substantial. Starscream would have to be incredibly accident-prone to receive most of these injuries…that or…someone intentionally tortured him at some point…often.”

Optimus hears this and pauses… Megatron wouldn’t…would he? They were in a relationship at one point or another. Starscream should be…he couldn’t have been. “Did you ask Starscream about it?”

“Without proper records, his information could be inaccurate. Plus…I don’t think grilling him about past injuries will help with his spark issue.” Ratchet said,

‘So there is a spark issue?’ Bumblebee chimed in,

“There is…But I think it’s more than an issue. Not a preexisting condition, mind you. But…I think Starscream might be an outlier.” Ratchet stated,

“Scream an outlier? Huh…what’s his power?” Bulkhead asked,

“What’s an outlier?” Jack asks,

“An outlier is a Cybertronian being who possesses a unique ability or skill from mutation in their CNA.” Optimus tells the human children.

“So Starscream is a mutant?! Like the X-Men??” Miko asked excitedly, the bots all exchanged looks, not understanding Miko’s reference.

“Uh, sure?” Bulkhead answered,

“Anyway, outlier abilities come in all sorts of forms. For now, we know it pertains to his spark.” Ratchet steered the conversation back on topic.

“So Starscream is an outlier after all…” Skyfire said, entering the room and joining the conversation. “After all? Do you know something we don’t?” Ratchet asks the shuttle.

Skyfire nods, “His siblings were outliers. I always thought it was strange he didn’t have a power, but they did.”

“So it's genetic…well, that makes more sense.” Ratchet now understands, “From the limited testing I managed to do…his spark is not like a normal Cybertronian’s. It’s more durable, powerful than an average spark. It would explain how he survived such damage internally and whatever caused it.”

“Internally…” Skyfire’s spark sank a little. Skyfire assumed he’d taken damage over 4 million years of war, but…The fact that Ratchet seems worried about it is not good.

“So what is your official conclusion, Ratchet?” Optimus asked the medic, Ratchet looked down at his notes and data pad. “Well…not to be blunt but…my working theory is that… Starscream’s spark is…well…immortal.”

“I’m sorry, what?!” Arcee exclaimed, and the rest of the team looked just as shocked and confused.

“So…wait…Starscream’s immortal?!” Miko exclaimed as well,

Ratchet sighs, “It would be the most logical conclusion…which I personally find ludicrous saying, but…Yes.” Ratchet turned to look at the Autobot leader, “Optimus, even without his records, the patchwork, the replacements, the damage…even the most seasoned warriors would have slowed down or struggled. Starscream is fine on the battlefield and clearly shows no sign of really struggling. His spark is resistant to Dark Energon; the power from it alone apparently can kill a Sparkeater. A being designed to eat sparks! It sounds insane, but…Starscream’s spark is truly an anomaly.”

‘Telling Starscream he might be immortal is a terrible idea…’ Bumblebee piped up, ‘I mean no offense, Sky, but… giving someone like Starscream the knowledge he might be immortal? Imagine the chaos.’

“I agree with Bee. We cannot tell him this.” Arcee swiped her arm out in emphasis of the point. She looked over at Skyfire. “You cannot tell him!”

“Tell me what?” Starscream said, and the entire room turned to look at the seeker. Everyone paused as they didn’t know what Starscream had heard. Starscream looked at all the faces of the Autobots and the humans, who looked like they had just gotten caught doing something they weren’t supposed to.

“You're hiding something, aren’t you? What is it? Am I dying? What?!” Starscream was getting more nervous…was he dying? Were the Autobots discussing something bad? He was completely in the dark.

Ratchet looked to Optimus and then back at his data pad. “Well, I have some questions…”

Ratchet walked over to Starscream and led the seeker back to the med bay. Starscream looked over his shoulder and looked back at the Autobots exchanging glances and looks…something was up.
—---
Ratchet sat down in a chair and began questioning Starscream. Starscream was sitting on the med berth and was lazily swishing his legs. Starscream can feel his wings twitching…he didn’t like this.

“Starscream, I have some rather odd questions to ask you.” Ratchet began as he cleared his throat. “Skyfire said you had siblings who were outliers…correct?”

Starscream nodded but then paused. “Wait…you’re not telling me what I think you’re telling me…are you?”

“You are an outlier. It’s pretty evident.” Ratchet cut to the chase, “Your spark is unlike anything I have seen. And it is what I deduce is your outlier ability.”

Starscream blinked and frowned, “That’s my power? A hardy spark?! What a jip!” Starscream crossed his arms, “Skywarp could teleport! Thundercracker could create concussive sonic booms and control electricity! And I get a weird spark?! What a rip-off!”

“I don’t think so. You should be grateful.” Ratchet looked at the seeker with a serious expression, “That ‘hardy spark’ you are complaining of…is probably the only reason you are still alive without any true drawbacks.”

“Pardon?” Starscream quirked a brow,

“Starscream…I saw the damage you’ve taken, even at a quick glance, you should have a limp or some sort of more severe joint aches, a physical handicap…but you don’t. Primus, I saw you get your arm blown off, and you don’t seem to have any residual pain or trauma from that…I know Knock Out and even his predecessor Hook were capable physicians and can replace parts and patch you up but the physical therapy after would take a lot of time…” Ratchet put down the data pad, “I know we’ve been fighting a long time and the wear and tear of battle can cause problems. But you should be blessed to have a spark that can somehow bolster your physical condition.”

Starscream just stared at Ratchet with a blank expression…then he began to chuckle…then laugh…then laugh harder. Ratchet leaned back, confused, “You think my injuries were from battle?! All of that from battle?!” Starscream laughed…. but it was hollow and full of pain...

Ratchet was confused… “Then where did the injuries come from?!”

“You aren’t naive, Ratchet… come now, don’t be so oblivious.” Starscream said, beginning to calm down, “Who do you think gave me the injuries…” Starscream's glare was intense and full of pain, rage, and frustration.

Ratchet then felt his fuel tank sink… “Megatron…Megatron did all of that?!”

Starscream chuckled darkly, “Not all, but Primus the regular beating and borderline torture…plus…” Starscream paused, he didn't want to go there… but he continued, “Megatron would regularly throw me around, berate me, demean me… and Primus knows how many other negative things towards me. This has gone on for a long time, and you’re telling me…that Megatron would have killed me at this point if it wasn't for my spark?…what a cruel joke.”

“Starscream…” Ratchet felt so sorry for the seeker. But Starscream flipped around and turned his back to Ratchet, “I need some time to think…can we take a break?”

“Yes…” Ratchet got up as he walked out of the med bay. Starscream placed his servo on his chest over his spark chamber. “Maybe my spark should just give out…”

Chapter 30: Going Ghost!

Summary:

Starscream tests his outlier abilities and weirdly turns into a ghost and tests it out in the Autobot base…

Starscream sat in the med bay after learning his spark is what makes him an outlier. Extra durability? Weird energy abilities he can’t control? Resistance to Dark Energon is pretty good, but what else can this spark do?

Starscream flopped down on the med berth. “Stupid spark…Or I guess not? Why couldn’t I have a normal seeker power? Like superspeed? Creating storms? Something more…flashy. Nope, I get a sturdy spark that makes me hard to kill? I’m basically a cockroach.”

Starscream sat up and looked down at his chestplate… “I wonder if you can do other things…hmm…”

Starscream laid back down and began to focus feeling the pulse of his spark quicken. Starscream steadied his breathing and focused on his spark…he could feel the energy surging through his body but like how it was with Unicron. Then he felt an electrical-like surge and then Starscream shot upward. Starscream looked around “What the frag was that?!”

Starscream got up, but he felt…off. He didn’t hear his pedes hitting the ground. Starscream also felt lighter…He was already a lightweight class seeker, but he felt like he was in the air, not on the ground. He looked around the room, and his optics shot open as he looked down and saw himself still asleep on the medical berth. Starscream then looked down at himself, and he was…transparent. He was a ghost.

“What the frag?!” Starscream shouted his voice a little echoey and hollow-sounding. “Did…Did I just die?!”

Starscream rushed over to his body…he was hovering over it. He felt weightless as he flew through the air without his wings…so cool but also…alarming. Starscream looked at himself on the berth. He didn’t look offline…he looked like he was in recharge. Starscream calmed down for a second. “Ok, maybe this is part of the outlier scrap…yeah, an actual power. A weird one…”

Starscream attempted to go back into his body as he felt his spirit get sucked into his frame and he shot upwards on the med berth. His fans engaged as he looked himself over. Starscream was breathing heavily. Starscream then smirked…oh…oh this is going to be interesting. He tried to talk, but his voice was failing again…scrap just like with Unicron.

Starscream felt weak like before…maybe try again before Ratchet comes back? Starscream lay down and felt that surge as his spirit left his body. Starscream hovered around the room and saw that his servos would ghost through objects. “Hmm…can’t grab things.”

Starscream then heard pede falls coming towards the med bay ,and Starscream panicked. What would Ratchet think if he saw Starscream’s ghost?! Starscream was rushing back to his body, but it was too late. Ratchet entered the room. Starscream looked at him and Ratchet…didn’t look back. In fact, Ratchet looked over at the ‘sleeping’ Starscream and sighed. “I guess a recharge is in order after today’s ordeals.”

Ratchet couldn’t see him… Starscream smiled wickedly…Primus, maybe this outlier stuff wasn’t so bad. Starscream then floated out of the room towards the main room of the Autobot base. “O,h this is fun.” He said out loud but clamped over his mouth…no one reacted. They couldn’t hear or see him… He was practically invisible and untouchable.

Starscream floated towards Arcee and shoved his arm through her chest. Testing to see if anything happened. She shivered, “That was weird.”

Starscream removed his arm and floated around the room, observing the Autobots and taunting them without their knowledge. Arcee walked over to Optimus who was on the computer, “Optimus we still have to deal with Starscream.”

“Arcee…” Optimus turned to the two-wheeler, “I understand your hatred and dislike of Starscream. After all he has done and what happened with Cliffjumper.”

Arcee sighed, “Well, now that we know his outlier ability…he can be a bigger threat.”

Starscream smirked, ‘Oh, she doesn’t know how much of a menace he can be.’

“I mean, what if Starscream has more abilities? You know, besides basically being immortal.” Arcee pointed out,

Starscream paused….Immortal…HE’S IMMORTAL?! Things are starting to click now…he is just confused how it took nearly 4 million years for his outlier ability to manifest. But maybe it always was there, lurking under the surface and needed a catalyst to activate…and his battle with Unicron was that. And the encounter with the Sparkeater only emphasizes it, and it explains how he’s doing this now; Megatron couldn’t kill him as he would just become this…Oh, this has a lot of potential!

Starscream was a bit peeved that the Autobots hid this from him. But to be fair if you found out your enemy was immortal, I wouldn’t tell them either. Starscream hovered over to Arcee as she continued to talk to Optimus.

“Thank you, Arcee… For opening my optics.” Starscream chuckled as he floated away.

Arcee turned as she almost felt a presence near her…strange. Then Arcee turned back to Optimus as she resumed talking to him. Starscream continued to watch the two talk. “So what are we going to do?”

“We only theorize that Starscream might be immortal based on Ratchet’s findings. Whether he is, is still up for debate. But we do not know what Starscream plans after getting checked over. Whether he wants to join us or go back to being a rogue.” Optimus sighed. he was getting tired of seeing Starscream basically waltz into his base as if he were a team member, only to disappear again.

Arcee clenched her servos. Oh, Starscream can see the gears turning in her mind…she is so unhappy he is here. He doesn’t blame her. Starscream killed Cliffjumper. If the roles were reversed and Arcee killed Skyfire, the hatred would still be there. Starscream saw Arcee storm off, clearly not happy to let Starscream stay.

Starscream was hovering a bit off the floor while lost in thought…then the human kids funneled back into the room and the smallest one, Raf…locked eyes with Starscream.

“Uh…Starscream…how are you doing that?” Raf asked, Optimus paused as he faced the young boy and looked where he was looking. He saw nothing. “Rafael…what are you talking about?”

Raf looked at Optimus, then back at Starscream. “Wait…you don’t see Starscream hovering there?”

Optimus furrowed his brow…what was Raf talking about? Jack and Miko were also looking at Starscream. “Also Scream is kind of…see-through?! Wait…did Starscream die and become a ghost?!”

Optimus was still absolutely lost. A ghost? Bumblebee and Bulkhead heard the commotion and came over. They looked at where the kids were looking and like Optimus…saw nothing. “Miko what are you talking about nothing is there.” Bulkhead said as he walked over.

Starscream froze…the humans can see him… “Wait…they can see me?”

“Yeah, we see you?! And hear you too!” Miko yelled, pointing at the seeker. Starscream began to panic, “Scrap!” Starscream yelped as he flew through Bulkhead and zoomed back to his body. Bulkhead shivered as Starscream passed through him. Then the kids ran down the stairs and went to find Ghost Starscream.

The bots followed the kids as they followed Starscream. Starscream entered through the closed door of the med bay and went back into his body. Bulkhead opened the doo,r getting Skyfire and Ratchet’s attention. “Bulkhead?” Ratchet addressed as the kids rushed in towards the ‘sleeping’ Starscream on the med berth. Miko climbed up as she saw Starscream lying there, and he came too. “Explain yourself!” Miko pointed at Starscream as the seeker sat up.

“Miko, we are all still confused by what all of you are talking about.” Bulkhead pleaded with the girl. Jack walked over, “We saw basically a ghost that looks like Starscream in the main room! Then it flew in here and…” Jack looked up at Starscream, “Well now the ghost is gone…”

All the bots looked at Starscream, who looked at them. Does he convince them that the humans are lying? No, they trust the humans more than him… Does he play dumb? The longer the silence lasted, the more awkward things got.

“Starscream…what are they talking about?” Skyfire asked,

Starscream blinked as he felt that fatigue take over. He tried to talk, but nothing came out… Starscream then tried again and it was very hoarse, “I…I…”

Ratchet was alarmed as he rushed over and began to scan Starscream’s voice box. “Your voice box is fine…why can’t you speak?”

“Because he was a ghost a second ago!” Miko shouted with her hands on her hips. “Scream was a ghost, maybe he has to get used to his body again or something?”

The human might have a point…but he couldn’t be certain that was the cause. It went hoarse with Unicron…maybe his body isn’t as durable as Ratchet thought it was…

“Starscream…just nod or shake your head no…where you a ghost?” Skyfire asked, trying to make sense of all this. Starscream’s wings immediately fell as it was Skyfire asking and he was looking at him with such a worried expression. Starscream deeply inhaled and nodded.

“Wait…what?!” Ratchet said flabbergasted,

The entire team looked shocked and confused. Starscream sheepishly looked away from everyone. “How?! Why? What?!” Ratchet was completely baffled.

“This requires further discussion. Starscream, I know you cannot speak at the moment…” Optimus walked over and handed him a data pad. “Please type out why and how you became a ghost.”

Starscream looked at the datapad, and his shoulders slumped. As he spent the next hour attempting to explain why he was a ghost…

Notes:

Starscream got caught snoopin’. Also, he’s a ghost. I wanted to incorporate the iconic Ghost Scream, so here he is!

Chapter 31: Loss

Summary:

Starscream and Arcee come ahead after talking about who they lost in the war.

Now that Starscream has explained his newly discovered outlier abilities. Most of the team was completely shocked that Starscream had this power…

Starscream himself felt better after a bit of staying in berth and not doing much. He began to feel bad, he abandoned Alexis as he sent a quick message to the Harbinger…whether she gets it is a whole other story. Starscream hopes she gets the message. Starscream was now worried about sneaking out…He needed to test his outlier abilities without the scrutinizing optics of the Autobots.

Starscream got off the med berth and immediately prompted Skyfire to grab him. “You are not going anywhere, mister.”

Starscream scoffed and frowned, his wings slumping down as he sat back down on the med berth. “You cannot keep me hostage!”

“We aren't, we just…need assurance.” Skyfire told him, Starscream turned to look at him, “assurance?”

“Yes, you apparently can turn into something that most of us have a hard time comprehending. And apparently only visible to humans when in that state…which…still trying to understand how but…” Skyfire felt Starscream yank his servo away.

“Come now, Skyfire. You have to understand how much I envied my brothers for their powers…can’t you just be happy for me?” Starscream said, looking at Skyfire with a meek smile, “I mean, think of what I can do now! I mean, I still don’t know the full extent of my abilities.”

“That’s why we are trying to run tests. We want to help you, Starscream.” Skyfire reassured, “Please understand that.”

Starscream waved dismissively at Skyfire. “They just want to find a way to stop me. A way to prevent me from reaching my potential.”

“No, they don’t, Starscream…” Skyfire pleaded, “We offered you multiple times to join us, but you are so stubborn!”

Starscream huffs, “I told you I plan to take over the Decepticons!”

Skyfire dropped his head and sighed, “You’re so stubborn, Star.”

Starscream saw how exasperated Skyfire was. Starscream placed a servo on his shoulder. “I still care for you, Skyfire. I just… I need to do this.”

Skyfire pressed his lips into a line. There was no arguing with Starscream at this moment. Skyfire told Starscream that he had to check on the reports and left. Starscream was alone in the med bay for maybe a few moments before he felt optics glaring into the back of his helm. Starscream turned to see Arcee standing in the doorway, with her arms crossed and not looking happy.

“You apparently can turn into a ghost now?” Arcee said as she walked in,

Starscream shifted to look at her, “Yes. But I-”

“Can you just stay a ghost?” Arcee said with some snark,

“Ha, ha…” Starscream said humorlessly, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes. Make you reconsider some of the bad actions and terrible things you’ve done.” Arcee stated,

“Your servos aren’t clean either.” Starscream argued,

“I didn’t kill someone close to you.” Arcee argued back,

“So this is still about Cliffjumper?” Starscream squinted his optics, “So all my good deeds mean nothing to you?”

“No.” Arcee answered, “Because most of your ‘good deeds’ were self-serving.”

“Maybe…but they were still things beneficial to the Autobots!” Starscream pointed at her, “Besides…we have all lost people close to each other in this war!”

“But yours came back.” Arcee snapped,

Ah…this wasn't just about Cliffjumper…She was jealous…jealous of Skyfire. Starscream chuckled, “I never imagined you were the jealous type, Arcee…”

Arcee lunged forwards with her blade at Starscream’s throat. Starscream leaned back, avoiding the blade. “Let’s see how immortal you really are…”

“Calm down! I was stating a point!” Starscream argued his optics were glued to the blade.

“You didn’t lose someone you love!” Arcee cried out,

“Of course I have!” Starscream argued, “I lost my trine! I thought Skyfire was offline all these years! I have grieved, I have lost, I understand! Clearly, you haven’t gotten to grieve fully!”

Arcee didn’t move but was studying him. “Your trine?”

“Yes, my brothers.” Starscream said with a bit of bitterness. Arcee moved back, no longer pressing the blade at his neck. “Explain.”

Starscream looked at Arcee…her optics looked like they were searching for a genuine answer from the typical lying, scheming seeker. Starscream took a deep breath and began, “I am a triplet. I had two other brothers, Skywarp and Thundercracker. Both were outliers, well…I guess now we all are…heh…”

Starscream looked down, “They died in two separate incidents. Skywarp went first. He went on a reconnaissance mission, and they brought back only his wings… Thundercracker went next, when he…he didn’t take Skywarp’s death well and tried to defect…He tried to defect, and Soundwave found out and they…blew the escape ship he was in to smithereens.”

Arcee retracted her blades. Starscream’s voice was filled with sorrow. This was no manipulation tactic, this was genuine sadness. “As in Vosian tradition, when one loses their trine, they dull their colors; A sign of mourning and death. You probably can recall when my paint job was flashier, more vibrant, can’t you?”

She could. Starscream’s paint job used to be a gaudy red with blue and white accents. Now she understands the change in coloring. “Primus, I tried to talk Thundercracker out of it…I replay it so much in my head. He called me selfish…saying I chose the Decepticons over our trine. That if I listened, Skywarp wouldn’t be gone… He was right. I thought Skywarp could handle the mission…But I didn’t account for the monster that was, Overlord.”

“Overlord? You sent him to spy on Overlord?!” Arcee was flabbergasted,

“I didn’t know he was there! If I did, I would have sent someone else!” Starscream yelled back, “I didn’t know…”

Starscream buried his head in his servos, and Arcee could hear sniffles. Arcee took in a deep breath, “When I lost Tailgate…We were on a recon mission too. I didn’t know we were being hunted down by Airachnid. She ambushed us and knocked us out. Then we woke up, we were tortured for information, and then Tailgate taunted Airachnid to get her off me. I was too weak to fight back. Then…she pierced his spark and snuffed him out.”

Starscream looked up, and Arcee looked as upset as he was. “I’m sorry.”

“Are you?” Arcee asked,

“Yes. If this makes you feel better…Cliffjumper…went quickly. No torture, it was swift.” Starscream tried to comfort her in his own twisted way.

“It doesn’t, but…the way you bragged about it…” Arcee scrunched her face, “It makes me sick you enjoyed it.”

“That is the Decepticon way.” Starscream adjusted his position, “We relish in the termination of our enemies. I guess it’s a sick, twisted way to torture our foes…”

“Whose idea was it to turn Cliff’s corpse into a Terrorcon?” Arcee asked; she knew the answer but wanted confirmation. Starscream looked at her, “I can confidently say it was Megatron. It was his first test with the stuff.”

“Figured. You’re too squeamish to do it.” Arcee jabbed at the seeker,

Starscream chuckled, “You got me.”

The sad and tense air was beginning to lift. “At least we have one thing in common…” Starscream said, breaking the silence. Arcee tilted her head. “We both hate Airachnid.”

Starscream and Arcee chuckled a bit at Starscream’s joke. Arcee looked at Starscream and hopped off the berth. “I still don’t like you, Scream.” Arcee turned to look at him, “But I hate you a little less now.”

Starscream laughed, “Oh, I don’t blame you. If the roles were reversed, I’d hate you, too. But…I do appreciate our…little bonding moment.”

Arcee smirked back at him, “Bonding is a strong word…But I appreciate getting to know you a bit better, but… If you do join us. I hope you can prove how you are not a piece of slag.”

Starscream chuckled again, “If I do join…I will make sure to do that.”

Arcee left the med bay, and Starscream lay down on the berth. His mind wandered, thinking about his brothers, how close he was to them. Then his mind went to Skyfire, how much Skyfire meant to him, and…how he originally lost him…

Notes:

I know the official deaths for Thundercracker and Skywarp is being eaten by Sharkticons but I found it boring. So I decided to have even more dramatic deaths. I hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 32: Arctic Thunder

Summary:

After talking with Arcee…Starscream remembers how he initially lost Skyfire.

Starscream ran down the hall to his and Skyfire’s dorm room. He aggressively pushed the open door button until the door finally opened. “Skyfire!” Starscream shouted, causing the shuttle to nearly fall out of his bed. “Starscream? What is it?”

“We are going off-world! We got the grant to go scout!” Starscream said excitedly,

“Wait? We did?! But so many other students applied for it.” Skyfire was bewildered,

“Oh please…I have my ways…” Starscream said proudly,

“Please tell me you didn’t blackmail the teacher this time? The fact it worked on that final was a miracle…” Skyfire reminded him,

“Yeah, yeah. It was one time! This was something else! Good work and…a greased palm…” Starscream said the last part as a murmur. “Greased palm? Starscream, did you bribe him?!”

“Well, we got the grant, didn’t we? What’s the point of having a sire who is a winglord if I can’t use the influence once in a while!” Starscream argued, “Besides the point, we are going to this remote planet to scout if it is good for energon!”

Skyfire wasn’t happy about how they got the grant, but was happy Strscream got it. Skyfire patted his spot next to him on his berth. Starscream smiled and hoped next to him and snuggled up next to the shuttle, “ We just have to be more creative in making it fair.” Starscream wrapped his arms around Skyfire’s waist. “I just want us to have a chance like the others…”

“I know Star…” Skyfire kissed the top of Starscream’s helm. “But we got it. And the others can kiss out exhaust fumes.”

Starscream laughed, “I knew you’d be happy!” Starscream hugged him tighter, and his wings flapped happily as Skyfire laughed at the excited seeker.
—---
The day came as Skyfire and Starscream got aboard the ship to the remote planet to scout. The two went aboard the ship with the crew that would help them. They seemed to be confused as to see two seekers instead of the normal students they deal with.

Starscream saw the judgmental stares from the crew as Skyfire was too occupied with just going off-world with Starscream. Skyfire held Starscream’s hand tightly, and Starscream smiled up at the shuttle. The two walked into the ship and, after a few moments, left Cybertron’s orbit to head to the planet to scout out…

Skyfire was practically giddy with excitement as Starscream saw the shuttle practically vibrate in his seat. Starscream was happy Skyfire was happy. Starscream was smiling at the excited shuttle. ‘You’ve been off-world, though, Skyfire. Why is this any different?”

“Because I can do it with you! And it’s for science and not a job…” Skyfire said, looking out the window of the ship. Starscream blushed a little at the answer as he smiled at Skyfire. Skyfire was such a sweet spark. Starscream can’t believe how lucky of a bot he is to have him in his life.

It took maybe a week with the space bridges to get to this remote planet. It was so out of the way…but if it can host energon, it might be worth it. The two saw the planet come into view. A predominantly blue planet with hints of land and ice visible from their ship. Their ship pinpointed the best location for energon near the more icy areas.

The ship landed on the icy tundra. The ship opens, and the cold air hits the two seekers. Starscream immediately started shivering as Skyfire wrapped his arm around the smaller seeker. “Don’t worry, Star…I got you.”

Starscream looks up at Skyfire with a smile. “Thank you. It is rather cold.”

“I figured. The cold is hard to get used to.” Skyfire chuckled, “But a big bot like me is used to being in a colder place.”

Starscream shivered, “Oh…ok…”

Starscream froze as Skyfire helped push him along in the cold weather. It slowly began to snow as they followed the tracker. They were getting closer to the location on the tracker. It led to a cavern area, the entrance was large, large enough to fit Skyfire.
The two went into the cavern and began taking mineral and soil samples. They began processing it to see if it was compatible with energon. Unbeknownst to them the snow outside was beginning to pick up speed and density. They were in the cave for at least two hours. Once they got enough samples and figured they were going to lose daylight. Starscream and Skyfire began to make their way out of the cave and saw a blizzard!

“What the frag?! It wasn’t like this before.” Starscream shouted, but it was difficult to see through the density of the storm.

“Maybe we wait and see if it subsides?” Skyfire suggested,

“We don’t know how long that will be! The crew might abandon us if we take too long.” Starscream knew the crew was giving them side-eye and remarks as two seekers doing science work. And Starscream wouldn’t put it past them to leave them for scrap.

Skyfire and Starscream waited for about 30 minutes to see if the storm would slow down. It actually ended up picking up speed. Starscream was getting antsy and nervous; Skyfire could see that Starscream was beginning to panic. “I think we have to go, Star.”

Starscream took a deep inhale, “Ok.”

Skyfire took the lead as he blocked a lot of the incoming snow from hitting Starscream. Starscream was relieved that Skyfire was blocking the snow a bit, as it was so cold and the wind was harsh. The roaring sounds of the wind mixed with the wintry mix of the snow made it so difficult to move forward. The more they walked, the harsher the weather got. Starscream felt the ice shards forming on the tips of his wings. The two couldn’t see very far into the distance as the snow was blinding. Starscream has the tracker that will lead them back to the ship. It was easier to read with the shadow cast by Skyfire. Starscream looked down and saw they were getting closer, but they were going at such a slow pace. “Skyfire, can you move faster?” Starscream asked,

“Not really, I can barely see!” Skyfire answered. Skyfire put up his mask to block the snow for a minute. But all it did was cause frost and snow to cover the optic holes in the mask. So he quickly realized the mask was useless...great.

The two continued as a large and powerful gale of wind came right at them. Causing Starscream to fly backwards and a distance away. “Starscream!” Skyfire yelled, but the sound was muffled by the storm. Skyfire went to try to find Starscream when a loud cracking sound echoed under Skyfire’s pedes. Then a loud crash could be heard as Skyfire fell down an icy crevice. Starscream heard the crash and looked up, but didn’t see Skyfire. “Skyfire! Skyfire, are you ok?!”

No answer. Starscream scrambled to his pedes but…didn’t see the shuttle. Starscream got up and continued walking in some direction. He just assumed Skyfire didn’t see him get thrown back by the wind and continued forward. Starscream walked and walked until he saw the silhouette of the ship in the distance. Starscream saw the ship and tried to run, but his joints were iced over. He could feel and see the ice forming on his knee joints. As he ran over, he heard an alarming creaking as he was worried his thin frame would snap under the cold. He managed to get close enough for the crew to open the hatch and let him aboard. He was rushed in by the medic of the crew and began to defrost.

“Where is Skyfire?” Starscream asked the crew, and they all looked at each other, then back at the seeker. “He ain’t with you?”

Starscream’s spark sank…no, oh Primus no… Starscream jumped up and ran to the bridge. “Skyfire! We need to search for Skyfire!”

“What are you nuts?!” One of the crew said, “The storm is too severe. We can look after it, subsidies.”

Starscream was venting rapidly and having a small panic attack…Skyfire…be ok. Starscream ended up passing out at some point during the storm due to fatigue and all the frost in his system needing to warm up. Starscream was out so long that when he awoke the next morning, the crew was already trying to scan to find Skyfire. Starscream ran to the bridge for a status report. The captain of the crew was dreading this as he told Starscream they went over the areas the tracker recorded and found no sign of Skyfire. “Are you looking hard enough?! His chassis is white and blue! The color of the fragging snow!”

“Seeker! Calm your turbines! We are looking. Your shrieking isn’t gonna get us closer to finding him!” The captain shouted back, and Starscream paused and then huffed at the captain’s answer.

“Fraggin’ seekers.” The captain said under his breath, Starscream let the racism slide for the moment as there was more to deal with than the captain's dislike of him.

They spent a total of 5 Earth days looking for Skyfire. Starscream himself, flying around and calling for Syfire at multiple locations. They went around the world and the Arctic area multiple times at this point. The crew was getting frustrated with Starscream. His refusal to turn back to Cybertron was getting the crew pissed. The captain was searching the tundra one last time. Starscream looks out the window of the bridge down at the snowy landscape below.

“Starscream…we are running low on fuel if we don’t turn back today. We won’t have enough resources to get back to Cybertron.” The captain told him, Starscream’s back was still to the captain.

The captain clenched his servo, “I have to think of the others and not one lost seeker….”

Starscream whipped around, “He is not just some lost seeker!” Starscream stood up, “He is your benefactor! As am I, and we leave when I say so!”

The captain sighed as he looked at his men, who began to circle around Starscream. Starscream looked around and was confused, “What are you, GAH!” The crew grabbed the seeker and began dragging him to a closet. They locked him in. Starscream began shouting and banging on the door, demanding to be released.

“Set a course for Cybertron.” The captain ordered,

The ship began its ascension into the atmosphere of Earth, heading back to Cybertron. Below them, a large fissure in the ground and a frozen-over Skyfire watch as the ship leaves without him.

Chapter 33: Doppelganger

Summary:

MECH creates Nemesis Prime and terrorizes the Autobots. It becomes up to Alexis and Agent Fowler to go and stop Silas…

Agent Fowler stopped by a local military base. After his visit, he began driving back to his hotel room, but was being tailgated by a stupid semi-truck. He gestured for the semi to go around him. But the truck only got closer. Then it rammed into the back of Agent Fowler’s car. This action causes Agent Fowler to spin out and his whole car to turn and face the assailant.

“This ain’t normal road rage…someone is after me…” Agent Fowler said to himself, He saw the semi getting closer than he noticed a detail between the blinding light of the headlights…it was the Autobot insignia… “PRIME?!” Agent Fowler was baffled as to why Optimus would try to run him off the road?!

Agent Fowler quickly spun his car around and began to zoom as fast as he could away from the assailant. He was speeding and saw the truck following him. “Prime, have you lost your damn mind?!”
—----
Back at base, the human kids were racing toy cars with their respective Autobot partners cheering them on. Skyfire was observing from a distance and was smiling at the kids' antics.

When a call came in and interrupted the fun. “What in blazes are you bots doing?!” Agent Fowler yelled through his phone. Everyone turned to look at the screen. “What are you talking about, Agent Fowler?” Ratchet asked, confused by his anger.

“Prime has lost it! He’s trying to run me off the road!” Agent Fowler yelled,

“What?! Optimus would never!” Ratchet argued back,

“Well, is he in base?” Agent Fowler sassily asked back,

“Well, no but-” Ratchet was cut off. “Then I’ll take that as confirmation he’s trying to kill me!” Agent Fowler steered over, trying to shake the truck.

Agent Fowler was flooring it, but the truck was still on his tail. They were now crossing a bridge when the truck sped next to him and slammed Agent Fowler's car into the guard rails, causing sparks and scratches to form on the car. Agent Fowler jolted as he felt the truck hit him. “Damn it!”

The truck had enough strength to break the weaker part of the guard rail and cause Agent Fowler to tether on the edge of the bridge. The truck then began to back up and looked like it was getting ready to push him off the ledge. But before they could do it, a ground bridge portal opened, and the bots ran out to investigate. They tracked Agent Fowler’s location via his cell phone.

The bots sped towards Agent Fowler and the truck. The truck panicked and backed up and tried to speed away. Arcee and Bulkhead transformed, but Arcee saw the truck leaving. The bots saw the insignia and realized Agent Fowler wasn’t making things up, but Arcee wasn’t convinced. She transformed and chased after it. Bumblebee saw Agent Fowler’s car slowly tipping over. Bumblebee transformed and jumped off the edge as soon as the car fell over the edge.

Bumblebee managed to grab the bumper of the car. But then the bumper broke off, and Agent Fowler was falling. Bulkhead turned and jumped off the ledge. He was heavier and able to fall faster. As he landed, he positioned himself to catch the falling vehicle. “Are you alright in there?” Bulkhead asked Agent Fowler. Agent Fowler nodded as he felt the adrenaline leaving his body.

Arcee was zooming after the truck but lost track of it in the darkness of the night. Arcee paused, but then was blinded by headlights as the truck rammed into her and knocked her unconscious.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee tracked down Arcee and brought her back to the med bay for Ratchet to look her over. Agent Fowler joined the other humans in the base as he waited to see if Arcee was alright.

Skyfire turned to look at Agent Fowler, “Are you sure it was Optimus?”

“I saw the insignia and it looked just like Prime!” Agent Fowler was getting tired of being questioned about this. Arcee grumbled as she, with assistance, walked out of the med-bay. “I have to agree with Fowler, it looked like Optimus…but also was busy getting knocked out to really take it in.”

“I still say it is impossible.” Ratchet argued,

“Why would Optimus try to take out Agent Fowler?” Jack asked,

“Because he wouldn’t!” Ratchet argued,

Ratchet was about to pull up Optimus’s location to prove that the semi-truck that attacked Agent Fowler and Arcee wasn’t him. But then found that Optimus was returning to base at that precise moment. Optimus drove in slowly, then transformed. He noticed the tension almost immediately. He saw the whole team watching him as he walked into the base, even some flinching and almost ready to look like to attack him.

“Is something wrong?” Optimus asked, noticing everyone staring at him and the tension in the air.

“We were….wondering where you have been?” Arcee nervously asked,

“We haven’t…been able to reach you…” Bulkhead added,

“I was outside our communication range…”Optimus reached around into his subspace; Bulkhead and Bumblebee pulled out their weapons and aimed them at Optimus.

Optimus looked curiously and then produced a large chunk of Energon. “I was deep in an energon hotspot. So communication was…compromised.”

Everyone lowered their weapons. But Optimus was still worried. “Why did you….pull out your weapons?”

“We uh…were nervous.” Bulkhead said,

Agent Fowler walked forward, “We had a semi that looked like you tried to run me off the road.”

Optimus looked surprised. As his subordinate lowered their weapons. As they lowered their weapons, Agent Fowler got a call. Agent Fowler answered as he heard the most insane thing. “What do you mean Prime is attacking a military base?!”
—---
Starscream and Alexis were near a military base. As they normally would sneak to. They would sneak to in order to get supplies for Alexis to survive in the Harbinger. But as Starscream flew over to the local base, he saw the craziest thing… the military fighting Optimus.

“What the frag?!” Starscream exclaimed,

“Why is Optimus robbing a military base?!” Alexis asked,

“He wouldn’t…which is why this is wrong.” Starscream said to her. He knew Optimus’s character at this point…he wouldn’t attack humans. Nor would he rob them, not with Agent Fowler at their disposal.

“This is wrong.” Starscream said as he got lower in the sky. “Can I investigate?”

“Works well for me to rob the place.” Alexis shrugged, and Starscream laughed as he lowered himself closer to the fighting. Starscream landed, and Alexis ran into the base to get supplies. Starscream transformed and frowned, “Optimus, what the frag?!”

Optimus turned to look at him. “Starscream…why are you here?” the voice was Optimus’s, and it looked like Optimus…was it him?!

“Get out of my way…” Optimus aimed at Starscream and fired. Starscream avoided the attack and rolled to the side. “Ok, not Optimus.”

Then, as Starscream aimed at the imposter, a ground bridge opened up and the true Optimus and the rest of the Autobots showed up.

Starscream paused… ‘What is happening right now?!’ Starscream looked at the Autobots, who looked at him. The fake Optimus looked between the two and transformed and ran off. But Optimus really couldn’t inform Starscream as the human military mobilized against their attacker…or well, who looked like the attacker.

Starscream began to back off as the military began to attack the Autobots. He looked back at the base and scurried back over and saw Alexis running out with supplies. Starscream transformed and let Alexis get in his cockpit, and the two zoomed off. The Autobots were slightly offended that Starscream dipped and ran off.

Optimus ordered the Autobots to retreat as the military began to fire at them. They ground bridged out of the area and saw Agent Fowler arguing with his military contacts over everything. “It wasn’t Prime!” Agent Fowler yelled through the phone. Optimus and the rest of the Autobots walked through the ground bridge and came upon this. Agent Fowler went quiet as he listened to his superiors. Agent Fowler’s face said it all…it wasn’t good. He was scrunching his face and scowling. Optimus and the other Autobots walked over to the human as he finished his call.

“The military is on high alert. They are under strict orders to attack any bots they see. Also…was Starscream at the base?” Agent Fowler asked, and Skyfire looked at the group. They nodded and said they spotted him and Alexis at the base. Skyfire seemed surprised to hear Starscream happened to be at the scene. Skyfire was hoping that Starscream wasn’t involved in this.

“This is so bogus! Optimus was framed!” Miko cried out,

“It isn’t fair.” Raf added,

“I understand all of you know I am innocent. But that does not change the military’s order. Our imposter poses not only a threat to the Autobots, but humanity itself.” Optimus said to the group,

“Yeah, but the imposter is also 30 feet tall and able to transform into your likeness….” Agent Fowler reminded Optimus.

“But the Decepticons wouldn’t resort to something like this? Didn’t they already try that with Jackie?” Bulkhead reminded the group of the Wheeljack imposter they faced a while ago.

“There is only one other group capable of understanding Cybertronian technology and would gain power by attacking human military bases…” Ratchet turned to Optimus, “MECH.” Optimus answered with a slight scowl.

“MECH made a fake Optimus?” Skyfire questioned, “Why? How?”

“They tore apart Breakdown from cranium to heel strut to understand our kind. Not to mention, they also tried to take Bumblebee’s T-Cog.” Ratchet explained, “They understand Cybertronian technology and biology better than we thought.”

“But where did they get the T-Cog? Starscream returned Bumblebee’s T-Cog.” Skyfire pointed out,

“Who knows.” Arcee interjected, “Could have easily picked it from a dead Vehicon. Like the vultures they are.”

“Then all they had to do was scan a similar vehicle mode for Optimus.” Skyfire said,

“Fill the tank with energon…” Jack added,

“And say hello to Nemesis Prime!” Miko shouted,

“And so, where do we start? MECH’s base could be anywhere!” Agent Fowler asked Optimus, the Prime looked at him. “Not necessarily. MECH may understand our biology well, but they do not have access to ground bridge technology.”

“Which means they must be within a certain range from where Agent Fowler got attacked and the military base…” Skyfire grabbed his chin and began doing mental calculations on the distance.

“Well if it’s in driving distance…we should go kick their copycating butts!” Agent Fowler shouted,

“Easy Agent Fowler…I do not find it advisable to put yourself in harm's way.” Optimus told the federal agent.

Skyfire then got an idea…There is another human who could help stop MECH….
—---
Alexis was putting away her supplies in the small corner of the Harbinger that Starscream sort of set up for her. Where Starscream got a functional fridge, bed, bedframe, and a couch was beyond her. But it was her cozy little living quarters.

She was putting away the milk she had stolen when Starscream came walking in. “Do you think they are behind the fake Optimus?” Starscream asked out of nowhere.

“Who?” Alexis turned,

“MECH. It seems to fit their MO. And it would put the Autobots against the human military.” Starscream twirled his wrist. Alexis frowned. Starscream was right, it does sound like a Silas plan.

“If they were smart, they would have picked a flying bot. So they can travel a longer distance and get away quicker.” Starscream noted, Alexis laughed, “The only flying bot they could make would be you.”

Starscream frowned, “They could make a Skyfire.”

“They probably would have a hard time making a bot that big.” Alexis added,

“Whatever. Still, you aren’t curious what their plan is?” Starscream asked again,

“I am curious. But what can we do? We don’t know where they are.” Alexis pointed at the seeker. Starscream scoffed, “Child’s play.”

“Huh?” Alexis was confused,

“It has to be within driving distance of the military attack.” Starscream stated, “Silas may understand our biology, but not our technology. Like I said, they can’t fly, so they can only rely on the fake Optimus’s alt-mode. Nor do they possess access to a ground bridge, so teleporting is out of the question.”

“So, look for an abandoned building near the military base?” Alexis stood up. Starscream’s logic made sense.

“Exactly.” Starscream smirked, “We should pay Silas a visit.”

Just then, Starscream gets a comm call. “Yes? Skyfire. Nice of you to-” Starscream paused as he listened to Skyfire talk. Alexis watched the seeker nod, then chuckle. “What a coincidence. We were already planning that. You have a possible triangulation already? My, you Autobots work quickly.”

Starscream ended the call, and he turned to Alexis. “Let’s go stop MECH.”
—----
The Autobots began their search using Ratchet and Skyfire’s calculations. The team spread out and began to search the desert area near the attack on Agent Fowler and the military base. Bulkhead was out in the more rough terrain, commenting on the lack of anything other than cacti and tumbleweeds.

Arcee and Optimus were on various roads that led through the desert. Arcee commented that she saw nothing…Bumblebee, on the other hand, came up to a complex factory-like area…perfect for MECH to take up shop. Bumblebee reported this in and Optimus ordered the scout not to go ahead alone as he wanted the team to rendezvous at his coordinates.

Bumblebee paused as he heard Optimus’s order, but then he heard a jet about…and noticed a familiar F-16 flying into the base. ‘Great, did Starscream go back to MECH?’ Bumblebee mumbled to himself. Bumblebee then decided to go ahead and check.

Starscream landed and let Alexis get out. She was armed and ready to face Silas. Starscream looked down at her, “I will handle Bootleg Prime. You go stop Silas.” Alexis nodded and rushed away to find MECH’s center of operations. Starscream pulled out his blasters, eager to fight MECH’s newest project.

Bumblebee transformed and began walking down a passageway in the factory area. Bumblebee heard heavy pede falls and turned to see the silhouette of Optimus in the shadow of one of the silos. Bumblebee aimed his blasters at the figure in the shadows. “Bumblebee, it's me. Lower your weapons.” Nemesis Prime said as he gestured a lowering motion.

Bumblebee wasn’t sure… ‘How do I know you're the real Optimus, huh?’ Bumblebee asked,

Nemesis paused, “I’m sorry, what?”

He was the fake. Bumblebee began shooting as Nemesis Prime charged at him. Bumblebee managed to shoot him in the stomach and dodge a right hook punch from Nemesis. But with his left servo came down and bashed Bumblebee in the back of the neck, causing the scout to crumple a little and lose focus. Nemesis used this time to wind up a kick and punt the scout into one of the silos and knock him unconscious.
—-----
The rest of Team Prime arrived at Bumblebee’s coordinates. Optimus told them to fan out and keep their optics peeled for the fake. Little did they know MECH already had eyes on them as a MECH agent reported seeing the team arriving.

Bulkhead went east, Arcee went north, and Optimus went west. Bulkhead was walk when he heard something rush towards him and in a narrow area between two silos was ambushed by Nemesis Prime. Nemesis began bashing the stunned Bulkhead repeatedly until the wrecker was out cold.

Next, unfortunately, was Arcee, who rounded the corner and was bashed on the head by Nemesis Prime. She staggered back when Nemesis kicked her into a mass of metal crates. She weakly tried to get up but one sucker punch from Nemesis and she was out too.
—----
“I believe I can isolate the frequency of the remote link that Silas must be using to control Nemesis Prime. I should be able to find his exact location.” Ratchet said as he typed away on the computer.

“Remote link?” Raf questioned,

Ratchet looked at him, “You didn’t believe that MECH can make a full autonomous being, did you?”

Skyfire walked over, “ It’s probably like those Mecha Animes Miko showed us.”

Ratchet rolled his optics at the mention of Mecha Animes. Miko smiled, “I hope he is piloting the bot from the inside. Because one punch from Bulkhead and he’d go splat!”

“With how careful MECH is, I doubt Silas would risk taking physical damage like that.” Skyfire stated, while Skyfire talked, Ratchet got the coordinates. Agent Fowler walked to the railing. “Then reopen that bridge.” Agent Fowler points to the ground bridge.

Ratchet and Skyfire looked shocked at the federal agent. “Agent Fowler, did you not hear Optimus recommend you not getting involved?”

“Exactly, recommended. I don’t plan on dancing with any bots. And there is a human element in play here. If you haven’t noticed, I happen to be a highly trained government agent!” Agent Fowler pointed at himself.

Skyfire bit his lip…does he tell them he told Alexis? “What if there were other humans who went?” Skyfire squeaked out. Everyone looked at the shuttle. “Like who? Miko?” Jack jokingly pointed at her.

“Yeah! Me and Fowler can show Silas a thing or two!” Miko smirked, punching her hand. Ratchet looked puzzled at Skyfire, “What did you do?” He could already tell Skyfire was guilty by his demeanor and how he kind of scrunches up when he is nervous.

Skyfire flinched a little, “Ok…so…”
—----
Optimus was looking around for his doppelganger or any signs of MECH agents. But to his surprise he spots a pair of wings sticking out from behind one of the silos. Coming into view, not noticing him yet was Starscream. “Starscream?”

Starscream yelped and turned to Optimus blasters ready. “Optimus? Or uh…Silas?”

Optimus frowned as he put away his blasters. “Optimus.”

Starscream was skeptical…”Prove it.”

“You were at our base recently. And discovered something new about yourself.” Optimus wanted to remain vague in case MECH was listening in. Starscream squinted, “More detail.”

“Your outlier ability.” Optimus specified,

Starscream lowered his weapons. Silas wouldn’t know what an outlier ability is. Starscream didn’t get that far into explaining more about their kind to the MECH leader, so only Optimus and the other Autobots would know about it.

“Why are you here?” Optimus asked,

“Uh…revenge? Hello? We need to take down Silas!” Starscream exclaimed,

“Starscream…You didn’t bring Alexis with you, did you?” Optimus asked,

“Uh…well you see…” Starscream awkwardly chuckled,

“Well, I’ll have to keep an eye out for her then…” A third voice said out of nowhere. Starscream and Optimus turned to see Nemesis Prime standing behind both of them. “Optimus Prime and Starscream…what a pleasant surprise.”

“Silas…” Starscream hissed,

Optimus pulls back out his blaster, “The deception ends here, Silas.”

“Does it?” You could hear the smirk in his voice as Nemesis charged at Optimus. Nemesis pulled out his blaster and was shooting at the two. Starscream ran off and hid behind some crates for cover and began firing to help Optimus. Optimus, too was firing as he also charged at Nemesis Prime and began sparring with his doppelganger.
—---
Alexis was still trying to locate the main base of operations. She checked numerous silos and tried to avoid or take out cameras as she went. “Damn military goons…why can’t I find the right spot?”

She then saw a ground bridge open up and Agent Fowler jump through. “Agent Fowler?” she said a tad too loudly. He turned to see Alexis, “Alexis? I didn’t think I would find you so quickly.”

Before either could answer or question the other, a loud bang got their attention. As Nemesis Prime was fighting Optimus. “No time to talk, do you know where the base is?” Alexis asked quickly, before Agent Fowler could answer, his phone rang. Ratchet’s voice came from the other end, directing him to the remote frequency location. “Copy.” Agent Fowler answered as he looked north at where Ratchet told him to go.

Agent Fowler rushed to the location, “Follow me.” Alexis nodded and followed the federal agent.

They continued north until they found guards outside and, using the weapon Alexis had, which she tricked out with a silencer she stole from the military base…she sniped the guards. “Did you just?!”

“Darts, Agent Fowler. No bullets.” Alexis reassured him. He sighed a bit of relief that she didn’t murder anyone. They continued into the silo and found the entrance. They found a ladder into the silo and below was a massive computer with a control seat, massive tubes and circuits all going in and out of it. And sitting in the main control seat was Silas, as on screen it showed him fighting Optimus and Starscream.
—----
“My robot chassis possesses all your speed, strength, and firepower.” Silas boasted as he punched and kicked Optimus. He kicked Optimus back a few feet and aimed his blasters at the Prime. Firing at him as the Prime charged and tackled him. Starscream aimed a missile at the two, but Optimus was too close.“Damn it, Prime, move!”

Nemesis Prime then flung Optimus away from him and gave Starscream a clear shot. Starscream fired, and Nemesis Prime ducked, causing the missile to miss. “Two on one seems hardly fair…” Silas teased, and Starscream growled in frustration. He missed, damn it!

Nemesis aimed at Starscream and hit him square in the chest. Starscream went flying back, and his head hit an exposed beam. The loud cracking sound could be heard as Starscream’s helm started bleeding, and he slumped down onto the ground. Optimus’s optics widened in shock as he then got up and faced Silas.

“With my superior martial capabilities, MECH has achieved the perfect blend of man and machine!” Silas boasted,

“I’m getting really tired of your boasting, Silas.” Optimus said, annoyed.

“Then shut me up…” Silas smirked in his seat. Nemesis got into a fighting stance, ready for the Prime’s next move. Silas was dodging Optimus’s punches and blasts as he was pushed back against the silo of their main base of operations. Silas felt a large pipe behind him and began climbing up to the top of the silo. With Optimus behind him.

Silas immediately pulled out his blade and was ready to attack. Optimus did the same, and the two battled with each other's blades swiping and trying to strike the other. The two’s blades clashed, and they were using all their strength to push the other back and down. Silas proved victorious in this as he pushed Prime’s sword down and in a quick circular motion, stabbed Optimus in the stomach. Optimus yelped out in pain as the blade pierced his stomach, his optics widening in pain and surprise.

“The main difference between us is…I do not feel pain.” Silas twisted the knife and jabbed it in further. He removed the blade and stood up as Optimus slumped to the floor, grabbing his bleeding torso.
—---
Agent Fowler and Alexis snuck up on Silas, but then the security quickly caught them. One came up behind Agent Fowler and grabbed him. The other had their gun aimed at Alexis’s head and took her weapon. The security guards guided the two over to Silas.

Silas smirked as he delivered his victory speech, “Imagine a whole army of transforming robots. No one could stop us, the newly exemplified MECH!” Nemesis was about to decapitate Optimus when the guards guided Alexis and Agent Fowler over.

“Alexis and…Agent Fowler? What a surprise. Lots of unusual appearances today.” Silas said, getting out of his seat.

Alexis frowned, her and Agent Fowler nodded at one another and took out the two guards right in front of Silas. Alexis kicked him in the groin and then kneed him in the face. Agent Fowler elbowed the guard in the gut, then threw him over his shoulder onto the ground. He landed weird and was out cold.

“We’re here to pull the plug on your video game!” Agent Fowler cried out as he rushed Silas. Silas, with a swift and quick motion, managed to knock over Agent Fowler onto the ground.

Alexis rushed back over to the guard who was unconscious and had her gun. She grabbed it and aimed it at Silas. “I was wondering when you would reappear. I wouldn’t do that…” Silas said, turning to Alexis.

“Oh? And why not?” Alexis took off the safety. Silas smirked as Agent Fowler got up. “Unless you want your parents to…have an unfortunate demise…”

“You wouldn’t!” Alexis angrily cried out, aiming at Silas. “Wouldn’t I? I told you during training…anyone who defies MECH…will pay the price. One press of a button… and they’re dead.” Silas points to the console with some buttons on it. One must be the go-ahead to do something terrible to her parents.

Agent Fowler scowled as he charged Silas again, and the two exchanged blows. The two shoved each other back. “Ex-Military?” Agent Fowler asked, “Special Tactics. You?” The two exchanged blows again, “Army Ranger.” Agent Fowler answered. Alexis couldn’t get a clear shot as the two fought. Agent Fowler landed a gut punch, and Silas dodged a face punch. “Retired, clearly.” Silas sassed back, “I may be out of shape. But I can still kick ass!” Agent Fowler yelled,

Silas smirked as he roundhouse kicked Agent Fowler in the neck. Then followed through with a second kick, sending the federal agent flying back. Alexis had a clear shot and missed as Silas pulled out his own gun and shot her in the leg. Unlike Alexis…Silas was using bullets. Alexis cried out in pain and dropped her gun. Clutching her bleeding knee. Blood pooled under her as Agent Fowler looked up in shock and rage. “Alexis!”

Silas cocked his gun and aimed it at Agent Fowler. “Don’t move.”

Agent Fowler paused as he heard her groaning in pain nearby. Agent Fowler then focused back on Silas. “Do what you want with me, but leave her and her family out of it!” Agent Fowler cried out as he got onto his elbows. “And if I don’t?” Silas smirked, feeling victorious. Agent Fowler began chuckling. “What’s so funny?” Silas asked, irked by the chuckling.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Agent Fowler asked,

“Get what?” Silas asked, aiming the gun at Agent Fowler’s head.

“I can’t beat you and your agents…I was just buying Prime some time…” Agent Fowler smirked,

Silas realized and panicked as rushed back to his control as he came back to Optimus beating the ever living crap out of Nemesis Prime. Optimus jumped in the air and slammed down his fists onto a downed Nemesis Prime, and Nemesis crashed through the ceiling. The large mech fell down onto its creator. Creating a massive plume of smoke and debris. Alexis looked over and saw the offline mech and a smirking Agent Fowler. Fowler rushed over and grabbed Alexis, and helped her up. “We are getting you a doctor. No objections this time.”

“Ok…” Alexis said weakly, and the two looked up and saw Optimus looking down at them. “You better get back to base, Prime.” The sound of helicopters in the distance got Optimus’s attention. “I’ll handle this.” Optimus nodded as he ran off, grabbed his team and an unconscious Starscream, and rushed back to base.

Chapter 34: Q&A

Summary:

Agent Fowler has to explain to his superiors about the Nemesis Prime incident and some other recent events…

Notes:

I know this is the clip show episode and mostly would be Agent Fowler talking and not a lot of action, but…I hope you guys enjoy him trying to recap all the shenanigans!

Agent Fowler was summoned to his superior's office. “Special Agent Fowler…please come in.” General Bryce said as he gestured for Agent Fowler to sit down. Agent Fowler noted the cameraman on the side of the room filming him and General Bryce.

“What’s Private Daley doing with that camera?” Agent Fowler asked as he took his seat.

“He will be making a record of today’s session.” General Bryce told him.

Private Daley got a tad too close, and Agent Fowler jeered at him and told him to back off. “Sorry, I didn’t dress up for the occasion.”

“No need to worry, Bill. This will be standard procedure.” General Bryce waved dismissively, “But I do need to inform you that our higher-ups are on the warpath.”

Agent Fowler’s eyes went wide as he leaned in closer to General Bryce. “They want answers to the most recent events?”

“Perhaps…we should start with the demise of Optimus Prime?” General Bryce said in a serious tone.

Agent Fowler sighed, “I already told you and outlined in my report that it was not Prime! Prime is not dead! He is alive and well.”

“That is difficult for our superiors to accept. As we recovered his body from the MECH site. And it is difficult to accept without seeing Optimus and the imposter together.” General Bryce said, gesturing with his hands side to side.

“That didn’t seem like the wisest at the time…” Agent Fowler pinched the bridge of his nose. “The sky jockeys were on strict orders to attack any bot on sight!”

“Well…we were under the impression that Optimus turned on us. Heightened security comes with that.” General Bryce argued,

Agent Fowler handed the General a manila folder. “Anyway. The recent incident with MECH allowed us to gather more intel on them and their leader, Silas. Or rather his real name of Colonel Leland Bishop.” General Bryce opened the folder and saw that the file contained more pertinent information on Silas. “Ex-Special Tactics and the architect of Project Damocles.”

“I recall Damocles. It was targeting laser satellites… was put into storage due to its…dangerous prospects.” General Bryce looked down at the file as he put it on his desk.

Agent Fowler looked at Bryce with a serious expression, “It was the main reason for his discharge. He had even wilder ideas that he practiced with great abandonment once he went rogue.” Agent Fowler recalled what Ratchet told him about what happened to Breakdown and the fact that they basically dissected the poor Con. Or the whole incident with Bumblebee’s T-Cog…

“And according to the reports, he perished in the recent attack?” General Bryce asked,

“We have yet to locate his remains.” Agent Fowler stated, “Either way, we are afraid other agents like Silas are ex-special tactics or impressionable young kids being recruited.”

“You mean currently enlisted?” Bryce asks,

“The main reason to cover their faces.” Fowler suggested, “I would urge a thorough investigation. And make sure that MECH hasn’t endangered more youths.”

“Yes, I saw you brought in a…” General Bryce pulled out another folder. “Miss Thi Dang?”

“Alexis, yes. She defected from Silas’s ranks.” Fowler explained,

“Why didn’t we hear about a defecting member of MECH earlier? Why bring her in now?” Bryce asked, Agent Fowler awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “She was in the care of a Decepticon.”

“So the Decepticons have human allies too?” Bryce said surprised,

“No, no.” Agent Fowler crossed his hands over, “She was basically picked up as a stray from Starscream.”

“Which one is Starscream?” Bryce looked through his files, unable to find the file on him.

Agent Fowler sighed, “ Maybe a recap is in order. The Autobots and the Decepticons fight over Energon that they stockpiled and grew in secret on our world. We work with Team Prime, who reports to me, and in turn I report to you. There have been incidents where the Bots have saved my bacon, and there have been times I saved their metal backsides.”

“Ok. Noted. Can you just, for my sake, provide a roll-call of the current roster of Team Prime?” Bryce asked, slightly embarrassed that he couldn’t remember everyone.

Agent Fowler cleared his throat, “Sure. We’ll start with Bulkhead. He’s the Bots’ muscle. Not the most agile, but what he lacks in grace and brains… he makes up for with heart and strength.” Fowler punches his hand to emphasize.

Agent Fowler smiled, “Then there is Arcee, the two-wheeler. Don’t be fooled by her small stature, she packs a punch. Next is the team scout, Bumblebee. He may be a warrior in training, but he seems more than accomplished if you ask me. Arcee may be a bot of few words, but Bumblebee doesn’t use any. A run-in with Megatron caused the scout to lose his voice. We can’t typically understand him, but he can communicate.”

“Then there’s the medicine aspect handled by the team’s medic, Ratchet. The doc is rather…tightly wound if you catch my drift.” Agent Fowler made a gesture with his hand to emphasize his point. “But he brings his A-game when the situation calls for it.”

“Then there’s the newbie…Skyfire.” Agent Fowler looked at General Bryce, “Poor Bot, was frozen for most of the war and woke up recently. Kid is a scientist, what Ratchet can’t do, Skyfire can. But don’t let his brains fool you. His size and strength are something to be feared.”

“Skyfire is a jet, right?” Bryce asked,

“A shuttle, to be more specific. What he lacks in fighting skills, he makes up for with his brains and kind heart.” Fowler placed his hand over his heart.

“They aren’t the indestructible war machines we hoped they were, are they?” Bryce asked bluntly,

“Don’t get it twisted.” Fowler swiped his hand, “They can take serious punishment. But even they have their weaknesses.”

Agent Fowler looked down, “We learned that the hard way…after losing Cliffjumper.”

“And for the record…Cliffjumper was the last Autobot casualty?” Bryce asked,

“I told you already, the lifeless body you have in storage isn’t Prime!” Fowler snapped back, “It’s a knockoff!”

“We only have your word to go on, Agent Fowler. Miss Thi Dang is still in the hospital, and is an unreliable source as she defected a while ago. Plus, we have no trace of Silas or the technology that created this ‘knock off’ Optimus.” Bryce argued,

“A clean scrub is MECH’s MO! You know this!” Fowler crossed his arms and glared at the general.

“Well, your last major debrief indicated that Optimus joined the Decepticons.” Bryce holds up the folder towards Fowler. “Not willfully! Prime had amnesia! I know I was clear on that.”

“Bill…” Bryce sighed, “You can see from outside observers how that can look, and with the recent attack on the military base. The five stars are getting nervous. We are placing our trust in those who can easily turn against us.”

Bryce leaned back in his chair and gave Agent Fowler a serious look. “Which is why they want me to bring you before a tribunal, Bill…”

“What?! If they do that, the whole operation can be shut down! I-I can go to jail!” Fowler stammered, he stood up, “Prime is anything but a loose cannon. He takes into consideration the human lives in every battle he goes into! They watch where they step….heck even the kids-”

“Kids?!” Bryce called out confused,

Agent Fowler realized quickly that he had made a blunder. Fowler sat down and awkwardly chuckled as the camera circled around him. “That’s what we call our in-house support team.”

“I wasn’t aware there were others…” Bryce leaned forward, not liking learning so much new information, he had no record of…

“Like Alexis…they aren’t enlisted…” Fowler nervously explained,

Bryce scowled, “You involved civilians in a major government operation?!”

“Highly skilled and accomplished civilians. I mean, you found Alexis’s information.” Fowler gestured to another folder on Bryce’s desk. General Bryce picks it up and looks at it. “Her school credentials are impressive. And if Silas recruited her she must have some decent training…”

“Exactly!” Agent Fowler got more animated, “Our in-house team has special skills in things like… computer science, medicine, communications, and recon. What they lack in discipline, they make up for with outside-the-box problem solving. They proved time and time again that they will put their lives on the line for their country and their planet…”

“So these civilians have had contact with the enemy?” Bryce asks,

“Yes, and have forged meaningful relationships with the bots as well. Even Alexis with Starscream of all bots.” Fowler chuckled a little.

Bryce raises a brow, “Yes, you mentioned this Starscream earlier…he wasn’t on the roll-call.”

“Starscream is a Decepticon…technically.” Fowler rolled his wrist. “I mean, he defected.”

“So he’s an Autobot now? From our reports on the Decepticons here…” Bryce finally found the folder, “Starscream is Megatron’s right-hand guy…”

“Was. Was his right-hand guy. Starscream went rogue. He…does his own thing…” Fowler awkwardly explained,

“Speaking of Megatron…why haven’t the bots taken him out?” Bryce asked, curious as to why the Decepticon leader is still alive.

“It’s not like we haven’t tried. Hell, there was a time we needed Megatron and Starscream’s help to take down a bigger threat to humanity than the two factions.” Agent Fowler sighed,

“Right, the unicorn….” Bryce sighed,

“Unicorn?” Fowler was confused,

“In your report, it states that Megatron and Starscream teamed up with the bots to fight a unicorn!” Bryce even holds up the piece of paper that clearly says Unicron, not unicorn.

“Unicron! Not a unicorn! Unicron is the Bots' equivalent of Satan! He-” Fowler sighed in defeat, “Permission to strike this from the record.”

“Granted. Now back to Starscream…he is not part of any faction, yet he kept Miss Thi Dang alive…why?” Bryce asked,

“I am…not sure. But Starscream at one point was teamed up with MECH before leaving with her. He didn’t want to end up on MECH’s dissection table.” Fowler looked down. “Starscream is unpredictable. He has helped the bots numerous times in recent events…He hates the Cons almost as much as the Bots do.”

“So why have there been no attempts to terminate Starscream if he is so unpredictable?” Bryce is now getting more perplexed by Fowler’s information on the seeker.

Fowler was feeling very uncomfortable about revealing this information… “He and Skyfire have a history…”

“The newbie? What kind of history?” Bryce was now on edge,

“Uh…an old friendship.” Fowler lied, “Starscream was Skyfire’s partner prior to being frozen. And their…friendship is rather complicated now, obviously. But it’s so complicated that Starscream ends up helping more than hindering these days because of their past.”

“Ok…so Starscream is more of an informant than a liability?” Bryce is trying to understand,

“No…Yes? He uh…helps when it suits him. He is an opportunist after all.” Fowler clarified, “But they aren’t the only rogue Con and Bot with history. Airachnid and Arcee are enemies and have a complicated past. Airachnid, like Starscream, went rogue recently, and unlike Starscream, she isn’t going to cooperate.”

“Megatron cannot seem to keep his inner circle in line, hm?” Bryce deduced,

“With this level of infighting…you don’t think we can recruit a Decepticon to our cause? Maybe convince Starscream to join the ranks officially if he helps so much?” Bryce asked,

“Prime tried with Scream already, and he turned him down. But there is another bot Prime respects, Dreadwing. But after seeing him blow up a whole town…I doubt it would be anytime soon.” Fowler answered,

“So if Optimus thinks that a Decepticon like Starscream can join their ranks, why can the latter not be said? Why can’t an Autobot join the Decepticons?” Bryce theorized,

“Ratchet told me once that being a Decepticon is a choice. And one Prime wouldn’t willingly choose given the options. Even with amnesia, he came back to fight Megatron and join the Autobots once again. Optimus is a true warrior, a true ally to humanity.” Agent Fowler looked seriously at General Bryce. “As liaison to the Autobots, I think now is a terrible time to call into question Optimus’s character!”

Bryce sighs, “I’m sorry, Agent Fowler…until we know Optimus isn’t dead-”

“Oh, for the love of-” Agent Fowler pulls out his cellphone, “Prime, I need backup!”

The ground-shaking sound of pede falls echoes as Agent Fowler goes to the window and pulls up the blinds to reveal a very alive Optimus Prime. “Agent Fowler, you require assistance?”

“General Bryce just needs to know the state of your health and welfare.” Agent Fowler gestured to the general.

“I am fine. How are you?” Optimus asked,

General Bryce stood up and leaned over his desk as he looked at Optimus through the window in disbelief and nervousness. “I uh…am fine, soldier.” Fowler smirked happily as he finally made his point across.

“Bill, I think I have what I need to make a persuasive argument to the higher-ups.” General Bryce gulped,

“That sounds wonderful, Gener Bryce.” Agent Fowler and Optimus share a knowing glance at one another.

Chapter 35: So…

Summary:

Starscream wakes up in the Autobot base and freaks out about Alexis being injured.

While Optimus and Agent Fowler were out discussing…things with General Bryce, Ratchet was patching up and checking Starscream’s vitals after the battle with Nemesis Prime and MECH. Agent Fowler and Nurse Darby are taking care of Starscream’s human ally, who got shot by Silas during the battle.

Starscream subtly groaned as Ratchet turned to see his optics opening up. “Well, it looks like you are awake.”

Starscream clutched his helm and leaned upwards as he looked towards Ratchet. “Wh-What happened?”

“You got knocked out. And suffered a pretty bad helm injury. I patched and buffed it out.” Ratchet explained,

“Primus, I come here for medical attention practically every week now…” Starscream muttered,

“You do.” Ratchet sassed back, “Maybe it’s time to join the team so you don’t have to be constantly coming back here when you need medical attention.”

“Ha, ha.” Starscream said humorlessly, “I’m not joining.”

“Why are you so stubborn?” Ratchet turned to face Starscream with his servos on his hips. “For Primus sake, Starscream, you already acknowledge you are here every week. You helped us with MECH and all the times before that! Why are you so resistant to joining us?”

Starscream scowled, “Because I am the rightful leader of the Decepticons.”

Ratchet scoffs, “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Starscream squinted at the medic,

“Starscream…you are not a Decepticon any longer. You left their ranks, you are friends with humans, you help us out frequently…You. Are. An. Autobot!” Ratchet spelled it out for him.

Starscream crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. “No. I Am. Not!”

“Primus, you’re like a sparkling!” Ratchet pinched the bridge between his optics.

Starscream huffed and turned back to Ratchet, “Once I become leader of the Decepticons, I will allow a peace treaty with the Autobots. End the war, and we can then work together to rebuild Cybertron.”

Ratchet sighed, “What fantasy world are you living in?! You live in a broken-down ship, you steal to survive, and get injured every other week!”

“It’s called ambition, Ratchet.” Starscream leaned forward and sneered,

“No, it's called delusion!” Ratchet sassed back,

“You just can’t see my vision.” Starscream pointed at the medic,

“No, I can see perfectly fine. Maybe that knock on your noggin caused brain damage!” Ratchet argued,

Starscream got up. “Doesn’t matter, I am leaving. I will gather Alexis, and we will be off.”

Ratchet paused as he looked at Starscream, a bit concerned. Starscream picked up on this and looked at the medic, “What?”

“Well…um…she isn’t here.” Ratchet told him,

“What?! She left without me?!” Starscream shrieked,

“No. She is in a human hospital.” Ratchet clarified,

“WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED!?!” Starscream shrieked louder,

Ratchet covered his audio receptors. “She got injured during her conflict with Silas.”

“That slimy little…Where is the facility?” Starscream walked closer to Ratchet,

“Ap. Ap. Ap. No. You are not going there.” Ratchet stopped Starscream, he placed a servo on Starscream's chest and blocked his path.

“Get out of my way!” Starscream snapped,

“No! You cannot waltz into a human facility and kidnap an injured human!” Ratchet yelled at him,

Starscream frowned and stomped back to the med berth and sat down, pouting. Ratchet shook his head, “You really are acting like a sparkling.”

Starscream’s wings hiked higher at the comment. Starscream glowered at Ratchet as he continued to block the door. Ratchet heard pede falls and saw Skyfire trying to come in. “Oh! He is awake.”

“Skyfire!” Starscream jumped up, “Help me! I need Ratchet to move.”

Skyfire looked confused and down at Ratchet. “Ap. Ap. You are not raiding a hospital!”

Skyfire sighed as he saw how excited Starscream looked and how done Ratchet looked. “Starscream…no.”

“Not you too!” Starscream yelled as his wings flapped angrily,

“Let her rest, and then we can bring her here. Then you can take her back, ok?” Skyfire tried to negotiate. Starscream thought about it and then his wings relaxed. “Fine.”

Ratchet and Skyfire sighed in relief as Ratchet stopped blocking the door. Starscream walked out calmly as he walked into the common area. Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead along with the human kids all turned to look at Starscream.

“Starscream.” Arcee addressed,

Starscream looked at Arcee. “Arcee. Bulkhead. Bumblebee. Humans.”

“So you finally gonna stay, Scream?” Miko asked, leaning over the railing.

Starscream scoffed, “No.”

“Why not?” Miko asked,

Starscream rolled his optics, “Why are you Autobots begging me to join so badly?”

“Because you’re constantly here.” Arcee spoke up,

‘Because you help us out constantly?’ Bumblebee beeped,

“You got a human friend and show up wherever we are.” Bulkhead added,

Starscream made a confused face, then cleared his throat. “While…all of that is true…I am not joining.” The team all either rolled their optics or shook their heads at Starscream’s answer.

“Come on, Starscream, just join. What about Skyfire?” Jack asked,

“What about him?” Starscream asked as Skyfire entered the room.

“I mean, aren’t you two…you know…” Jack made an awkward gesture as he tried to spell it out without saying it.

“This whole will they, won’t they thing is like my mom’s telenovelas.” Raf interjected,

Skyfire and Starscream exchanged looks and then looked confused at the human kid. Before Raf could explain, Optimus and Agent Fowler returned to base. Agent Fowler gets out of Optimus, and Optimus transforms and walks towards the group.

Fowler sighed, “So…is Scream a part of the team?”

Starscream’s wings drooped and growled. “Why the frag is everyone asking me that?!”

“We told you why.” Arcee smirked and crossed her arms.

Starscream walked over to Agent Fowler. “Where is Alexis?”

“She’s fine, Starscream. She is in the best care, and she will be out later in the week and back with her family.” Agent Fowler explained,

“What?” Starscream’s wings hiked up as he heard the last part. “Back with her…NO! She is my human partner!”

Agent Fowler stepped back, hearing Starscream yell, “And she has a family who is missing her. Look, now we can protect her family from Silas and MECH-”

“You didn’t even stop them!? Don’t tell me that weasel escaped?!” Starscream pointed at Agent Fowler.

“Starscream,” Optimus interjected. Starscream looked up at the Prime. “We stopped my doppelganger. And Silas was definitely injured during the event, but we have not recovered his remains or the machinery they used.”

“Remains?” Starscream then began to laugh… “Oh, maybe you Autobots might be fun to join.”

“It was not intentional by any means. Silas was a dangerous threat and still might be out there.” Optimus clarified, not being happy that Starscream is giddy about killing.

“Starscream. You are welcome to stay here until Alexis is recovered. Or we can ground bridge you to the Harbinger.” Optimus offered,

“Optimus, that is a dangerous idea.” Arcee objected, “If he stays, he might find out where our base is.”

“I already know where it is.” Starscream shrugged,

Everyone looked at him. “WHAT?!” practically everyone yelled in unison.

“Oh please. I’ve known for a while! I've known since…uh…” Starscream tried to remember when he found out the location and realized it was Skyfire’s fault. “It doesn’t matter when… I know a military silo outside Jasper, Nevada.”

“Did you find out when you were a ghost?!” Miko asked,

“When he was a what?!” Fowler looked up at Miko,

“Starscream’s outlier ability allows him to turn into a ghost.” Raf elaborated, Agent Fowler was bewildered by this news.

“Yeah! Like Danny Phantom!” Miko added,

“Danny WHO?! I just…what is going on here, Prime?!” Agent Fowler turned to Optimus,

“Starscream possesses an outlier ability that other Cybertronians do not possess.” Optimus explains as clearly as he can. Fowler just looked dumbfounded and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Great, do I have to call the Ghostbusters?!” Fowler half-heartedly jokes,

“Wait, that's a thing?” Bulkhead asked, and Starscream got nervous.

“No, they're fictional…I was a…nevermind.” Agent Fowler sighed as he was just tired from the events of today. Starscream sighed in relief.

Starscream turned to Optimus, “I will return to the Harbinger. I feel my presence here might confuse the team further.”

Optimus nodded, and they sent Starscream on his way.

“10 bucks says he’s back in a week.” Miko turned to Jack,

“I’m not dumb enough to fall for that.” Jack jokes, “Starscream might be back sooner.”

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed this dumb filler chapter. I wanted the whole team sassing Starscream and peer-pressuring him to join. Plus also the dumb Ghostbusters joke, if you know you know.

Chapter 36: Rom-Com

Summary:

Miko and Alexis try to set Skyfire and Starscream up on a date.

A week passed, and Alexis was let out of the hospital and was able to see her family. Her family was so worried about her and was hugging and telling her how they missed her. Alexis did feel bad not seeing Starscream for over a week. She really had no way to contact him outside of the Harbinger.

Agent Fowler paid Alexis’s family a visit. He explained vaguely what happened to Alexis as she didn’t exactly want to tell her family that she got tangled with a terrorist group for money for school…Fowler basically lied to them and told them she was forced to work for them and that they were under government protection from MECH.

Alexis stopped Agent Fowler from leaving. “How is Starscream?”

“Don’t know. Haven’t seen him since he disappeared to the Harbinger after he found out you were in the hospital.” Fowler answered,

“Is…is there a way to contact him?” Alexis asked,

“Come to the base with me.” Agent Fowler offered,

Alexis turned back to her family and back to Fowler. “We’ll use a ground bridge, right?”

“Of course. You don’t live close to the base.” Agent Fowler smiled, “You’ll be back by dinner.”

Alexis smiled and got into Agent Fowler’s car. Fowler called the base, and as they drove down an empty road and the ground bridge opened, and he drove through. Alexis got out and saw the inside of the Autobot base. Alexis walked further and saw Ratchet and Optimus at the computers. Bulkhead and Miko were discussing something in the corner of the room, and Raf and Bumblebee were racing cars in the loft area. She didn’t see Arcee and Jack, meaning maybe they are out driving or somewhere else in the base.

“Um…Ratchet, right?” Alexis asked,

Ratchet looked down at her. “You’re Alexis, yes?”

“Yes. Um…can you call Starscream for me?” She asked,

Ratchet nodded and put in Starscream’s comm frequency and sent a message to the seeker. Within a few minutes, Starscream was at the base via ground bridge. He rushed over to Alexis. “You are ok, yes?” He knelt down, worried for his human friend.

“I’m fine, Scream.” Alexis smiled up at the seeker, and he smiled back.

Starscream looked up and saw the Autobots staring at him. “Let me guess more harassment about joining?”

“Nope. We offered, and you keep refusing. As the humans say, no point in beating a dead horse.” Ratchet shrugged,

Starscream was doing the mental math to understand the saying. “Dead horse?”

“Don’t ask. Nurse Darby and Agent Fowler use it.” Ratchet answered,

Starscream made a face but shrugged. “Well, give me your cellular communicator.” Starscream held out his servo to Alexis.

“My phone?” she asked, confused.

“Yes.” Starscream gestured with his servo to have her hand it over. Starscream, somehow, with his slender digits, managed to set up his comm frequency in Alexis’s phone. Alexis took the phone back and smiled now that she had a way to contact Starscream.

Starscream looked around the base, and Skyfire walked over to him. “Hey Star…”

“Skyfire.” Starscream addressed,

“Do…Do you want to go for a flight?” Skyfire asked nervously, and Miko and Bulkhead perked up.

Miko looked at Bulkhead, and Bulkhead looked at her. The two were curious about what the seeker would say. “Sure, Skyfire. I would love to.” Starscream smiled at him. Starscream’s wings flapped a little happily. Skyfire noticed this and smiled wider.

The two walked down the hall and to the top of the base. Miko looked at Alexis, who was a tad confused. Miko rushed over, “You've got to help me!”

“Huh?” Alexis asked,

“Uh, hello? The cuteness, that i,s those two.” Miko pointed at the two seekers leaving.

“I thought they were exes?” Alexis said,

“Pfft. Nope! They have a whole cursed lovers thing going on.” Miko waved dismissively,

“Oh…Oh!” Alexis realized, “Wait so…we…oh my god we have to!”

“See you get it!” Miko stretched her arms out happily. The rest of the base was confused as to what the two girls were talking about.

Alexis and Miko began giggling and ran over to Bulkhead. “You’re helping!” Miko pointed, and Bulkhead was very confused.

About an hour passed, and Skyfire and Starscream returned. When they came down, they saw Bulkhead blocking their way. “Bulk, what are you doing?” Skyfire asked,

Bulkhead blushed a bit… “Uh, you need to go to the training room.”

Starscream and Skyfire looked at each other, confused, but if Optimus wanted them there…

The two entered and saw the lowlights and heard soft music playing in the room. In the room, a Cybertronian-sized table with energon cubes and little lights everywhere. The two seekers were confused.

Starscream looked back into the hall and saw Bulkhead scurrying away. “I have a feeling this is a Miko idea.” Skyfire said as Starscream returned.

“Oh? And that would be? What a date?” Starscream laughed,

“Starscream…” Skyfire blushed as he wrung his servos nervously.

Starscream looked at him. “You actually want to do this?”

Skyfire nodded quickly. “I miss you…a lot.”

Starscream’s wings drooped as he saw the embarrassed and rather adorable face on Skyfire. Starscream couldn’t resist the cute face of Skyfire.

“Fine.” Starscream took Skyfire’s servo in his and led him to the table. The two sat across from each other and listened to the soft music and felt the romantic ambiance of the room.

Starscream was in need of energon and wasn’t going to throw away free energon. He took a greedy sip as Skyfire noticed this. “When was the last time you refueled?”

Starscream shrugged, “A while.”

“A while? What’s a while?” Skyfire asked, concerned,

Starscream looked down sheepishly, “Weeks…”

“Starscream! Weeks?!” Skyfire then handed him his cube.

“Skyfire, that’s yours.” Starscream shoved it back,

“Nope, it's yours now. Refuel.” Skyfire crossed his arms and sternly looked at Starscream.

“What are you, my creator?” Starscream laughed,

Skyfire’s stern look softened. Starscream took the cube as he greedily consumed his original cube. “So…Obviously, the Autobots treat you well. Are you able to explore things like how you want to?”

Skyfire smiled, “I mostly help Ratchet. But recently we have been working on the Synth-En formula!”

“What is that?” Starscream remembers the vial he saw…when he was snooping, when he was staying here in secret.

“Synthetic Energon. A way to make artificial fuel.” Skyfire said excitedly,

Starscream’s optics widened, “Artificial Energon? How…interesting.”

“Yeah, it causes really bad aggression and burns through normal reserves too fast for proper use right now.” Skyfire explained,

“Aggression? How do you know that?” Starscream asked,

“Uh…there was a short time Ratchet used himself as a test subject and uh…got his aft handed to him by Megatron.” Skyfire said awkwardly,

Starscream laughed, Skyfire couldn’t help but smile. He loved Starscream’s mischievous giggle. Starscream looked up at him. “So the cautious medic was a bit reckless. I bet you had to patch him up, huh?”

“I did a good job! He’s alive, right?” Skyfire smiled, and Starscream laughed again. He can’t remember the last time he laughed and enjoyed himself so much.

The two mindlessly continued talking and going down memory lane. The two talked about school and their silly experiments. Classes and how he and Starscream navigated the academy. Starscream loved this but bringing up the academy always left a sour taste in his mouth.

“So what experiments have you been working on lately?” Skyfire asked,

“Nothing. Just surviving.” Starscream took a sip of Skyfire’s cube.

“Nothing? Not like the science genius Starscream to have something up his sleeve.” Skyfire tilted his head,

Starscream looked down into the energon cube. “I haven’t done much science since I lost you. They…they used your ‘death’ as a way to get me expelled.”

“What?!” Skyfire slammed his servos on the table, causing the energon cubes to jostle.

Starscream flinched, an old habit. “I just went back to Vos and joined the military. My creators were displeased, but they understood.”

“Starscream…” Skyfire’s spark sank.

Starscream looked down, “I don’t want to discuss this more.”

Skyfire frowned and took Starscream’s servo and rubbed the top of it with his thumb. “Well I’m not dead. And you can more than happily do science with me again.”

Starscream looked up and smiled, “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Skyfire smiled, “You’re my shooting star! My sweetspark, my little star, my…”

“No, you know I hate that last one.” Starscream warned,

“Screamy-Wheamy,” Skyfire said anyway. Starscream scoffed. Skyfire laughed heartily, which caused Starscream to laugh more too.

“When was the last time you had some fun?” Skyfire asked,

“A long time. I mean…most of my time is scheming and surviving.” Starscream shrugged,

“Well…I know you’re tired of hearing it. But if you stay…we can do this more often.” Skyfire smiled, Starscream scoffed, “I know.”

“I’m not gonna pressure you and ruin the mood.” Skyfire smiles, “It’s getting later in the evening, and the top of the base has a nice view of the sunset. Want to finish your cube and go watch it?” Skyfire suggested, Starscream chugged his cube, causing Skyfire to giggle. Starscream wiped his mouth with his arm and got up. Skyfire walked around and held out his servo for Starscream. “Such a gentlebot.”

Skyfire smiled and took Starscream’s servo, and the two walked servo in servo to the top of the base. Miko and Alexis noticed them walking down the hall and high-fived.

The two seekers were at the top of the base as the beautiful sunset of oranges, purples, and pinks covered the sky. Over the clear desert area, it was just beautiful. Skyfire sat down first, but to his surprise, Starscream sat in Skyfire’s lap. Skyfire blushed as Starscream rested his helm on Skyfire’s chest.

“I’m picking the best seat here.” Starscream smirked. Skyfire’s face was a bright blue. Starscream saw this and smiled, but to Starscream it felt…bittersweet.

“The last date I was on was with Megatron.” Starscream said dryly,

“I figured…” Skyfire hated that Megatron was brought up. But he wasn’t surprised.

“He wasn’t always awful. He was romantic at one point in his life.” Starscream said bitterly, “Then it… just changed over time.”

“War can do that.” Skyfire rubbed Starscream’s back.

“I-“ Starscream hated talking about Megatron on his date with Skyfire. But…he felt safe talking about it.

“We don’t have to talk about him.” Skyfire cut him off.

“I need to. I want you to understand how dangerous he is. You met him only a small number of times. You haven’t fought him.” Starscream cupped Skyfire’s face.

“I have though.” Skyfire said,

“What?!” Starscream shrieked,

“Yeah, when Optimus had amnesia. Remember? You were here in base.” Skyfire told him,

Starscream just blinked. “YOU fought him. Not Bulkhead or Ratchet, Primus or even Bee?!”

“Megatron was barreling through, and we needed to hold the bridge for Arcee.” Skyfire said,

“You’re a pacifist! You don’t fight!” Starscream placed a hand on his hip.

Skyfire chuckles, “I guess I can fight. Only when I really need to.”

Starscream hugged Skyfire. “They shouldn’t make you fight.”

“I chose to. I was more worried you’d get caught snooping.” Skyfire smirked,

“You don’t know if I was snooping!” Starscream argued,

“I know you well enough.” Skyfire teased, Starscream scoffed, and looked out. The sky was getting darker, and the sun was almost gone.

“I don’t want to leave just yet.” Starscream said,

Skyfire’s optics lit up. “You want to stay?!”

“I want something…” Starscream mischievously smirked, and Skyfire looked confused at him. Starscream pulled himself up on Skyfire and kissed the shuttle.

“Your room…now.” Starscream climbed out of Skyfire’s lap and tugged at Skyfire to follow him. “Come, my sweetspark.” Skyfire got up and then carried Starscream bridal style to his room…

Chapter 37: Fun Time

Summary:

Skyfire and Starscream decided to have some fun together after their makeshift date.(spice)

Skyfire carried Starscream to his room and gently placed Starscream down on his berth. Starscream looked up at Skyfire, who was hovering over him and smiling so widely. “It’s been a while for me…4 million years to be exact.” Skyfire joked as he crawled onto the berth.

“Well, I am happy to inform you I have learned a few new tricks since the last time we were together…” Starscream smirked as he wrapped his arms around Skyfire’s neck.

Starscream pulls himself up and brings his lips to Skyfire’s. Skyfire greedily kisses Starscream and holds Starscream in place under him as he is on all fours over the berth. His servo is tight on Starscream’s turbine. He used his thumb to rub the back of the turbine as Starscream moaned into the kiss, feeling Skyfire’s loving touch once again.

Starscream was more than eager to swish his glossa in Skyfire’s mouth. Skyfire swished back eagerly. The two were making out for a bit until Starscream broke the make-out session. “Lie down.”

Skyfire obliged and rolled onto his back, and Starscream crawled on top of him. Starscream began grinding and rolling his hips on top of Skyfire’s panel. Skyfire groaned and leaned his head back as Starscream continued to tease Skyfire’s panel. Starscream took one of his digits and traced the panel outline. “You’re such a tease.” Skyfire groaned. Starscream chuckled, “Are you really surprised by that?”

“No…” Skyfire could feel his spike pressurizing and pressing against his panel. Starscream crawled forward and began kissing and nibbling Skyfire’s neck cable. Skyfire moaned and groaned as he felt Starscream’s glossa tease his neck. His denta tugging at the larger cables and his glossa touching and teasing the smaller ones near it. The pressure of his spike was getting unbearable, but he didn’t want to open his panel so early.

Starscream wrapped his slender legs around Skyfire’s waist as he went from nipping at the neck cable back to Skyfire’s lips. Skyfire loved that Starscream was being so forward with what he wanted. Skyfire cupped Starscream's backside as Starscream smirked in the kiss. Starscream leaned back as his aft was pressed into Skyfire’s servo. Skyfire rubbed Starscream’s aft and elicited a moan from the seeker. Starscream can feel his own spike beginning to pressurize in his panel. Skyfire broke the kiss and just looked at Starscream, “I missed this.”

Starscream laughed, “Me too.”

Starscream and Skyfire touched their foreheads together and just stared into each other's optics. Skyfire then tilted his head up and kissed Starscream once more. “You’re too cute sometimes.” Starscream said with a chuckle at the quick kiss.

“Can’t help it.” Skyfire smiled,

Starscream shimmied down to Skyfire’s panel. “Open up.”

Skyfire did as such, and his large spike sprang to life. Starscream smiled as he looked at it. The large pale silver member with blue and red biolights… Starscream chuckled, “Primus, I almost forgot how big you were.”

“That won’t be a problem…right?” Skyfire asked nervously,

Starscream scoffed then chuckled, “It wasn’t a problem then. It won’t be now.”

Starscream opened his own panel, and his valve was leaking! Skyfire felt it drip onto his thigh and laughed, “Calling me eager?”

“Oh, please, it’s been a while since I got a good fragging.” Starscream dismissively waved,

Starscream shimmied down Skyfire’s body and was face to spike. Skyfire looked down at the mischievous seeker, wondering what he planned to do. Starscream’s optics met Skyfire’s as he smirked and took the tip of Skyfire’s spike into his mouth. Skyfire arched his back slightly and groaned. Starscream ran his glossa down the large shaft of the shuttle and took his slender digits to Skyfire’s valve.

Starscream’s slender digits were teasing the outer layer of Skyfire’s valve while Starscream’s mouth was occupied with his spike. He didn’t want to nick Skyfire’s valve; his digits were much sharper than they used to be back at the Academy. He went slowly, running a digit over the outer nodes and then in a circular motion, moving in more and more, making sure to tap a node as he went in further.

Starscream was using his glossa to tease the now-leaking spike. Skyfire’s optics rolled into the back of his head from the onslaught that Starscream was doing. The moaning and groans from Skyfire were music to the smaller seeker. Starscream mischievously chuckled as he pushed further into the valve of Skyfire.

Starscream’s own spike was leaking as the moaning was getting him going. Hearing his sweet Skyfire enjoying himself was making him hot. With his other free servo, Starscream began to stroke himself. Starscream began moaning and groaning himself as he finally felt some relief. As much as he loved hearing Skyfire’s moans, he needed some relief for himself.

Skyfire heard Starscream moaning and looked at the seeker who had just removed his mouth from the shuttle’s spike. Skyfire can hear his vents whirling in his audio receptors as he gets closer and closer to overloading. Skyfire heard the needy moans and whimpers from his partner. Skyfire smiled and adjusted himself. He leaned over and picked up Starscream.

“Sk-Skyfire?!” Starscream said, surprised as he was caught in the moment.

“Shush…” Skyfire said sweetly, “I think it’s time, my little star.”

Skyfire’s servos completely encompassed the small seeker’s waist. Skyfire lowered Starscream onto his large spike. Starscream cried out in pain as the spike tip entered his aching valve. “Skyfire…Primus…”

Starscream’s fans began to engage as he was moving his hips over the large spike. Both of them groaned as the waves of pleasure hit them both. The smaller seeker’s rolling of his hips and the surprising tightness of his valve was driving Skyfire wild. “Star…” Skyfire whimpered and moaned, “Keep going…”

“You…think I’m…gonna stop…” Starscream brokenly said as he picked up the pace.

Starscream began to groan and whimper, which made Skyfire leak more…god, Starscream was such a tease without any effort. The sounds of them grinding and clanking as they got more heated were echoing through the room. Both their fans were audible as they were so overheated and caught in the moment. Both of their faces flushed, and they looked at each other in the optics… Both feel an intense connection.

Both could feel the overload coming soon…Starscream moved faster as Skyfire began to join him and bucking his hips in sync with the seeker. Both moaning, whimpering, and groaning loudly. Skyfire struggled to focus as he was clouded with lust and pleasure. Starscream thrusted and moved faster, harder, and with more need. Skyfire bucked harder and harder as the smaller seeker was practically bouncing on his crotch.

Skyfire felt the overload rush over him like a tidal wave. As he loudly groaned and came. Starscream could feel his valve filled with transfluid and could feel the excess leaking and gushing out of him. Starscream is feeling this overload himself. His exposed spike ejected transfluid and covered poor Skyfire’s entire chassis.

The two were panting, and their fans were whirling, which were the only sounds in the room. Starscream was arched, and his head was faced up to the ceiling as his chest rose and fell. Skyfire’s mind was still clouded, but seeing Starscream still mounted on him was…still such an enticing feeling.

Starscream dismounted Skyfire’s spike as it began to depressurize. Starscream crawled over to Skyfire’s side and flopped down next to the shuttle. Skyfire wrapped his arm around Starscream and pulled him in. Both were covered in fluids, but clearly not caring as Skyfire was desperate to get Starscream in his arms. Starscream buried his face in Skyfire’s chest…Starscream was satisfied, but something felt so overwhelming for the seeker…

It has been a long time since Starscream had a…proper and well…gentle fragging. Starscream tried to hold back tears as he just hoped that if he did cry…Skyfire wouldn’t notice. Skyfire rubbed Starscream’s back as the two continued to cuddle.

Chapter 38: Conflicted Feelings

Summary:

Skyfire tried to convince Starscream to join the team. He and Starscream argue

Notes:

!!!Trigger Warning mentions of SA!!!

After their interfacing…Skyfire got up and got both of them a towel to clean off the fluids they had gotten covered in during their fun. After they cleaned off, Starscream was all curled up in the berth and hogging the blankets and pillows.

Skyfire looked over at how cute Starscream looked, all curled up. He could help but smile and chuckle. “You look cute like that.”

Starscream’s wings perked up as he looked at Skyfire, “Your berth is comfy.”

Skyfire chuckled, “Starscream…” Skyfire crawled into the berth with him. “You know you can stay in this berth more if you stay permanently…”

“Not this again…” Starscream groaned,

Skyfire turned to look at him, “Starscream, come on… I know you can be stubborn, but…”

“No, buts.” Starscream huffed, “Can’t we enjoy a post fragging bliss?”

“Star…we can do it more often if you stay. We don’t need just to enjoy it on occasion when we can snuggle and be together.” Skyfire went to hug him, but Starscream pulled away.

“And you know what my goal is.” Starscream squinted, and Skyfire sighed as he pulled back.

“Let’s not argue…” Skyfire looked at him, trying to backpedal, “You’re right, we can just enjoy our time together.”

Starscream was still frowning and turned over. Skyfire sighed again, “Star…”

“You don’t get it.” Starscream said coldly, “I did so much for the Decepticons. While Megatron was fragging around in space, I held the fort down here on Earth. I increased Energon production efficiency by 20%. Primus I’m pretty sure the Autobots thought we left because I was stealthy about it! I was careful! I was respected and worked hard! Then Megatron came back and all my work was undone and I was a joke! And that was just me here on Earth! Let’s not forget we have been at war for 4 million years!”

“I’m sorry, Starscream.” Skyfire felt bad for Starscream. He went to touch Starscream's shoulder but he knocked his servo away.

Starscream turned and sat up and looked at Skyfire, “You. Don’t, GET IT!”

Skyfire looked confused as to why Starscream was mad at him. “Then explain it to me.”

Starscream’s wings rose up higher, “I want to lead! I don’t want to just fight! I want to lead our people back home and be a proper ruler. I have proven that I can lead! But there is one major obstacle in the way…Megatron…”

Skyfire frowned, “Look, I understand you hate Megatron, but-”

“BUT?! BUT?!” Starscream repeated, “He doesn’t deserve to live. He’s a bastard, a warlord, and he is selfish! He doesn’t deserve the following he has!”

“I understand that Megatron is a bad guy and our enemy. But death? Isn’t that an extreme?” Skyfire didn’t like that Starscream was so bloodthirsty.

Starscream’s optic twitched, “He deserves death! The amount of times I tried to kill the fragger is in the thousands!”

“Wait…you were trying to kill him while serving him?” Skyfire was bewildered,

“Yes! And every time it failed…” Starscream was gesturing wildly, “Then the stupid cycle will go around and around…”

“Cycle?” Skyfire raised a brow,

Starscream paused and looked down at Skyfire. He laughed…a hollow, painful laugh that quickly turned manic. Skyfire was getting nervous, “Star…”

“Oh, sweet, simple Skyfire…” Starscream finally began to calm down. “I failed or did something wrong, i.e., trying to kill him, or messing up a report, or anything that pissed him off. He would try to scrap me. Sometimes mild or sometimes severe…depending on how angry he got. I was constantly in the med bay.”

Skyfire’s optics widened in shock. “What…” Skyfire said softly in disbelief, “No…Star…I-”

Starscream clutched his sides and looked down. “Oh, please don’t look at me like that. I dealt with it. I mean, I kept my guard up just in case he backhanded me or just yelled at me for some bullscrap.”

Skyfire’s spark felt like it would break, “You shouldn’t have gotten used to it! Primus, Starscream. The fact Megatron beat his troops…”

“Not the troops…just me.” Starscream corrected,

“What?!” Skyfire blurted out, Skyfire sat up, “He only hit you?!”

Starscream looked away, “Yes. I told you we had a complicated relationship.”

“You two dated?! How, how can he…he do that to someone he loved?” Skyfire said in disbelief,

Starscream started laughing again, “Love?! You think he loved me? How romantic of you to assume that.”

Skyfire’s spark continued to ache as Starscream talked. “Star…he had to have had feelings for you…he wouldn’t have dated you otherwise.”

Starscream scoffed and rolled his optics, “I know you're a sheltered romantic, Skyfire…it's one of the many reasons I fell for you. But…sure it was nice in the beginning…then the war started, and then…he showed his true colors.”

Skyfire wanted to hug Starscream. “Star…” Skyfire’s voice cracked; he wanted to cry.

“Oh, Primus, why are you crying? I haven’t gotten to the bad part yet.” Starscream said rather cruelly,

“What?!” Skyfire cried as tears formed, “How can it be worse?”

Starscream sadistically smirked, “Oh sweet Skyfire…you’re a smart mech…can’t you put it together?”

Skyfire was so upset. He was frantic, “What? What else could he possibly…” Skyfire paused and began thinking, and then it…clicked. “Starscream, he didn’t…do things in the berthroom to you, did he?”

“Ding, Ding.” Starscream chuckled, “He was into…rough things. Whether I wanted to or not.”

Skyfire felt tears fall down his face. “Star…why are you ok with this? Why are you joking about it?!”

“Because it’s the only way to cope!” Starscream yelled, “Besides, everyone treated it like a joke, so why not laugh?!”

Skyfire’s spark was pulsing rapidly…he felt like it was going to break. “Star…” He began to sob, “I’m sorry…”

“You're probably the only one who is.” Starscream grimaced,

Skyfire was sobbing in horror. “Star, please…you can’t go back to them after they treated you like that!”

“It would be different. No Megatron, no beatings, no forced interfacing, no humiliation…” Starscream said confidently, “After all that, don’t you think I deserve something?!”

“It’s not the answer!” Skyfire yelled back, “Primus, Starscream. How could you let it go on for so long?”

“Oh? And how exactly can I leave? Say no and expect it to work? Just fuck off into the ether? Hide out? Join the enemies who will probably throw me out as soon as I do something wrong?! I’m better off alone.” Starscream ranted,

“You're not alone! You have Alexis, you have Team Prime…you have me… Starscream, don't lock yourself away from help…” Skyfire tried to convince him.

“It doesn’t give me the vengeance I deserve!” His wings hiked up high as he continued, “The retribution for millions of years of shit! Pure SHIT! You weren’t there! You don’t get the pain I had to endure! I lost Skywarp and Thundercracker, I lost Vos, I lost Cybertron! All I do is lose! I want to finally, finally have a fucking win!” Starscream began to cry as he felt his fan engage.

“Starscream…” Skyfire wanted to hug him, but He went to, but Starscream threw the blankets off and began walking to the door. Skyfire got up too and blocked the door. “You are not leaving!” Skyfire holds out his arms.

Starscream looked up at Skyfire, who was just as upset as he was. “You cannot stop me, Skyfire.”

“You’re going back into that bed, and we are going to recharge! I’m gonna snuggle and cuddle you till you can’t move and you can’t do anything about it!” Skyfire ordered,

Starscream laughed, “Oh, Skyfire…sweet Skyfire.” Starscream clenched his servos, “I’m sorry.”

Skyfire looked confused, “Sorry for wh-AGGGH!”

Starscream activated his blaster and shot Skyfire in the knee, causing the shuttle to fall down and stop blocking the door. Starscream stepped over the bleeding Skyfire and turned back to him, “You deserve someone who wouldn’t hurt you.”

“Starscream! Wait!” Skyfire headed out of a servo as Starscream ran down the hall, disappearing out of the base. Skyfire lay there on the floor, clutching his knee as he cried more. “Why Starscream…why?"

Notes:

I know you guys didn't expect angst, but...is it truly a Starscream fanfic without him sabotaging things?

Chapter 39: Fallout

Summary:

After Starscream hurt Skyfire, he felt terrible. Skyfire felt conflicted about Starscream now.

Starscream flew back to the Harbinger…alone. Alexis was back with her family, and Starscream was not in the mood to talk to anyone. He decided to stroll down parts of the Harbinger he didn’t get a chance to explore. Starscream knew the Harbinger was only half a ship as the other half was buried underground…He sighed as he felt terrible about how everything went.

“Primus, I’m a fuck up…” Starscream clutched his helm, “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” Starscream bashed his servo into the wall, “I shot him! What the frag was I thinking?!” Starscream began to cry. “Stupid!” Starscream continued punching the wall until he heard something fall. He stood up and continued on his stroll.
—--
Skyfire managed to get to his pedes and limped and hobbled his way to the med bay. Ratchet was cleaning some medical supplies when he saw that Skyfire was injured. “What in the-??”

Ratchet rushed over and helped him to the med berth. “What happened?”

Skyfire looked down at his knee and began to sob. “Starscream…”

“What about Starscream?” Ratchet didn’t like where this was going…

“St-Starscream, he-he…” Skyfire buried his head in his servos.

Ratchet frowned, “And to think I thought he was changing his ways…”

“Why…Why did he shoot me?” Skyfire cried,

“Starscream is a complex person, Skyfire.” Ratchet walked over and began cleaning the wound. “Can you tell me what happened before he shot you?”

Skyfire continued to sob. “We were umm…I don’t want to say…”

Ratchet raised a brow, “Come now, Skyfire. We are adults, it can't be anything that bad.”

“We um…” Skyfire clamped his hands in his lap, “We um…were um…having fun.”

“Having…Oh!” Ratchet cleared his throat at the realization. “Ah…ok…no need for detail…just how did it escalate?”

“We were done, then we were talking in berth and…I asked him to join us again.” Skyfire admitted,

“We need to stop asking him. He said no. He has no interest in joining us. Nothing will change that.” Ratchet stated,

Skyfire felt tears down his face. “I…I was hoping I was enough…”

“Skyfire…” Ratchet could tell the poor shuttle was hurting. “He…he has his spark on vengeance.”

“I know. He told me some of the reasons he hated Megatron…” Skyfire looked at Ratchet with a serious look. “He beat him, Ratchet.”

Ratchet looked at Skyfire, not with surprise but just…neutrality. Skyfire frowned, “You don’t look surprised…”

“He…told me some of his more extreme injuries…weren’t from the battlefield. I was just as surprised and confused. And just as concerned.”

“You knew?!” Skyfire asked angrily, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’m a doctor, Skyfire. I’m sure Starscream wouldn’t be comfortable with me airing this information. Plus it wouldn’t change anything.” Ratchet continued to work on his knee.

“Yes, it would!” Skyfire cried out, Ratchet paused, and looked at him, confused. “I would have known! I…I would understand why he hated him so much! I didn’t know! I couldn’t help.” Skyfire cried more as tears dripped onto his lap.

“Skyfire…you couldn’t help. You can undo what Megatron did to him.” Ratchet tried to soothe. He placed a comforting servo on Skyfire’s shoulder. Skyfire was a crying mess. He continued to sob as Ratchet worked on his knee. After about 20 minutes of crying, Skyfire broke the silence. “He shot me, Ratchet…He wants his revenge more than he wants help…”

Ratchet sighed, “Starscream’s desires are narrow-minded and delusions of grandeur.” Ratchet finished cleaning up the knee. “He wants what he wants and will do whatever underhanded and questionable way to get it.”

“He’s not my Star…my Star wouldn’t hurt me.” Skyfire said sadly,

“We did try to tell you, Skyfire.” Ratchet sighed, “I’m not going to tell you I told you so. I just…we all were surprised at Starscream’s slow but clearly changing self. He was doing well, helping us, and even has some sympathy for humans…but…he’s still Starscream. And you have to understand he wasn’t going to be the same bot from 4 million years ago.”

“He shot me! All because I blocked a door! I just…I just wanted to hold him and tell him everything was going to be ok!” Skyfire argued,

“Skyfire…” Ratchet placed a servo on his shoulder once more, “I understand you are conflicted…but expecting Starscream to do what you want isn’t going to go the way you think.”

Skyfire looked down, “It felt like my spark was breaking…” Skyfire began to sob again.

Ratchet sighed, “Let me walk you to your room…” Ratchet helped Skyfire up and led him back to his quarters. Ratchet was now really conflicted about Starscream’s behavior and making him an even bigger threat. He knew where their base was, and with his reputation for treachery now back in full swing, the Autobots had a liability.
—---
Starscream walked down the hall towards the end of the ship. “I could go for some high grade right now…drown out the sorrows…”

Starscream stopped at a door he hadn’t noticed before. He found the opening keypad and opened the door. In the room were 4 cloning protoforms. Starscream blinked, “Protoforms?”

Starscream began hatching a scheme… “These are designed for cloning…Who better to ally with than myself?” Starscream chuckled as he walked over. He looked for a syringe to siphon some of his blood to make clones. As he found the syringe, he paused… “Wait…this could be a bad idea…”

Starscream put the syringe down. He began to think…would they be immortal too? Would they even listen to him? It was himself, after all, any version of himself would want to claim as the ‘proper leader’. Even the original Starscream would probably get exhausted dealing with multiple versions of himself. Starscream looked at them…he was torn. Clone or not to clone…that is the big question.

Starscream felt his wings twitch. “Cloning…one Starscream is a handful…but knowing I can clone myself could be useful…In case I lose this body. At least if I turn into a ghost, I can just…” Starscream paused again, “Wait…can I possess people?!”

Starscream still has so many questions about his new outlier abilities. He had so many schemes he could do if he could possess people. Possessing Megatron and having him off himself?! Oh, how hilarious.

Starscream began chuckling. “Ok…clones a backup plan…but my actual body is vulnerable when…uh…I need to find a name for it…But I can’t risk the Decepticons finding my body, and I’m stuck as a ghost. And finding the Nemesis is troublesome…”

Starscream began pacing, trying to scheme and figure out his next step. Anything with the Autobots is out…Skyfire is probably hating him right now. He could contact Alexis for support…but then the Autobots might catch him in his plans.

Starscream sat down in the room and was tapping his digits against his thigh. “Hmm…First, I need to find the Nemesis…then I can enact my plan.” Starscream got up and attempted to triangulate where the Nemesis, as Operation Poltergeist, is in effect.
—-----
Ratchet went and informed the team of what transpired with Starscream hurting Skyfire and running away. Most of the team was surprised and angry at Starscream’s actions.

“Can’t believe that Scream would hurt Skyfire…” Bulkhead said in disbelief,

“I told you we couldn’t trust him. A few good deeds aren’t going to change a bot like that.” Arcee crossed her arms and looked over at a distraught Skyfire. “Skyfire can do better.”

‘Arcee…that’s mean.’ Bumblebee scolded, ‘Skyfire has enough sparkache right now.’

Skyfire frowned and looked away. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”

Everyone began to feel bad. ‘Sorry, Skyfire.” Bumblebee apologized,

Optimus looked over at the shuttle. “Skyfire, I understand your personal relationship with Starsream is complicated. But I cannot let him back in base if he is attacking Autobots. Even though he knows where our base is…If he is spotted, he will be attacked on sight.”

“I…I understand, Optimus.” Skyfire said, rubbing his arm,

Skyfire walked away. “I need some time.” Skyfire went to the outside of the base, and he transformed and flew off to think…Was his relationship with Starscream officially over?

Chapter 40: Operation Poltergeist

Summary:

Starscream plans to kill Megatron. Bulkhead is trapped on the Nemesis and he and Starscream come to ahead. Team Prime goes to stop Airachnid’s hive.

Starscream finally found a possible location for the Nemesis. It was not moving as it was picking up energon, so it would be stationary for a bit. He managed to fly in without getting spotted and snuck aboard. As Starscream slinked around, he had his guard up, ready in case the patrol spotted him or he ran into Megatron sooner than expected. Starscream, too, was looking for a small spot where he could hide his body so he could use his ghost powers.

Starscream was looking around and then bumped into something…or rather someone, as he turned blasters out and came face to face with Bulkhead of all bots. Starscream furrowed his brow, “Bulkhead?!”

“Starscream?!” Bulkhead called out,

The two lowered their weapons and stared at each other for a moment. “Why is it every damn time I sneak aboard the ship, there is an Autobot skulking around?” Starscream asked, looking at the wrecker.

“It’s bad enough what you did to Skyfire. Don’t tell me you decided to go back to bucket head…”
Bulkhead sneered,

“Absolutely not! Now move! I have things to do!” Starscream stood up straight and tried to walk past Bulkhead.

Bulkhead moved and blocked Starscream’s path, “Scream, please. I need help off the ship! I can’t contact the others for a ground bridge, and I can’t exactly fly off this thing!”

Starscream grumbled and rolled his optics, “I’m sort of on a time crunch here, Bulkhead.”

“Look…” Bulkhead jabbed a digit into Starscream's chassis, “We patched you up tons of times! You owe us. So-”

“So? Last few patch-ups, I either helped you or gave you information! So…” Starscream shoved Bulkhead’s servo off his chest, “Unless you want to bargain…I see no point in delaying my plans!”

“Wow…you really have turned back into the old Scream.” Bulkhead said in disbelief,

Starscream squinted at Bulkhead, “Now…let me through!”

“The exit, Scream…” Bulkhead demanded in a threatening way. Starscream clenched his servos and looked at the wrecker.

“It’s Starscream! And you can find it yourself!” Starscream shoved past Bulkhead, but then Bulkhead grabbed the tip of his wing and flung him into the wall. “Gahh!”

“Listen, you backstabbing, spindly, little roach! You hurt Skyfire badly! Not just physically but emotionally! I’m not gonna let you just waltz away to do whatever dumb scheme you're planning!” Bulkhead yelled, “So help me off the ship!”

Starscream glared up at Bulkhead and then flexed his servos, making sure his clawed digits were at the ready. He sneered, then slashed at Bulkhead’s chest plating. Leaving a deep, clawed cut. Some bubbles of energon began leaking out of the wound. Bulkhead felt the sting of the attack and looked down at his servos shaking in rage at the audacity of Starscream.

Starscream picked himself off the floor. “Now, back off!” Starscream began to rush past Bulkhead, but he wasn’t having any of it. Bulkhead let his rage take over as he punched Starscream with his wrecking ball and sent him flying back and skidding against the ground. Starscream felt the pain in his back and wings as he heard Bulkhead roar in anger and was immediately on top of him. He began wailing on Starscream, punch after punch.

“This is for Cliffjumper! Skyfire! Arcee! And all the other poor bots you backstabbed!” Bulkhead yelled, and then one heavy and hard hit with his wrecking ball onto his helm. Energon was splashing a little as the last hit not only knocked out Starscream…but took him out.

Bulkhead vents were whirling as he looked down at a dead Starscream. “I know you’ll come back to life, I think…But for now, if you can’t help me…I won’t let you get away with your scheme.”

Bulkhead dragged Starscream’s corpse to what looked like a closet. Bulkhead looked outside and checked his surroundings. He began to leave, hoping he didn't cause too much noise. Starscream's body began to glow subtly as the light peeked out from under the door. Starscream’s spirit exited his body as he looked down at his lifeless frame.

Starscream huffed and sneered, “That fragger killed me!” Starscream looked around his surroundings. “At least he found my body a hiding spot…now…to find Megatron…”
—---
Skyfire was trying to put the whole Starscream incident behind him and focus on his work. Ratchet was checking the computer quite often as he hadn’t heard from Bulkhead in quite some time. Ratchet turned to the team and mentioned he was picking up strange underground readings.

“Is it of earthly origins?” Optimus asked,

“I am not sure. I may not know what it is, but I do know where it is.” Ratchet said as he pulled up the location of where the underground activity was happening.

“It would appear these are the coordinates where we last encountered Megatron.” Optimus said as he observed the location on the screen.

“And Airachnid…” Arcee added,

“And Airachnid’s Insecticon.” Ratchet pointed out,

“You don’t think there’s more of them, do you?” Skyfire asked,

“There is only one way to find out. Ratchet, activate the ground bridge.” Optimus ordered, Ratchet nodded, and activated the ground bridge.

Skyfire wanted to go and help since Bulkhead wasn’t available…But he really did not like the idea of fighting Insecticons. Ratchet looked over at him, “You don’t have to go. Optimus, Arcee, and Bumblebee are capable enough.”

“They probably can use the backup.” Skyfire said as he felt guilty.

“I understand you don’t like to fight. We will not force you. Besides, your knee probably needs a bit more recovery time.” Ratchet pointed out,

Skyfire nodded as he looked down at his knee. “Ok. I’m uh…I’m gonna take a refuel break.”’

Ratchet nodded and let the shuttle walk off. “Poor kid.”
—--
Optimus and the rest of the team arrived on the cliffside just above the cave entrance. They watched as they exited the ground bridge, a massive swarm of Insecticons flying away. Optimus looked up and realized Airachnid must have found a hive of Insecticons in the same place she found the previous one. No doubt they are off to find the Nemesis and terminate Megatron.

“The most logical assumption is that Airachnid is sending her hive to terminate Megatron.” Optimus said out loud.

Arcee frowned, “Don’t see why we should stop that. Even if we could.”

“We might not be able to stop the assassination. But we can stop Airachnid before her troops return and it becomes a bigger issue.” Optimus donned his battle mask and aimed his blaster below as he spotted Airachnid. The rest of the team joined him as Airachnid could hearn the whirling of their balsters. She turned to see the Autobots on the ledge above her.

“Rear guard…engage.” She ordered, as about 5 Insecticons in the rear broke off from the swarm to aid Airachnid. They flew over and activated their blasters, and began opening fire on the Autobot team.

A massive explosion from all the blaster fire erupted and caused a large smoke cloud. But then the sound of an engine roared out as Arcee in her alt-mode jumped off the cliff and was coming for Airachnid. Airachnid looked surprised as she began to move so that Arcee couldn’t catch up with her.

Arcee and Airachnid run off into the nearby woods as they disappear from the battlefield. It was up to Optimus and Bumblebee to fight Airachnid’s Insecticons. Optimus and Bumblebee were doing their best to shoot the flying Insecticons surrounding them. Optimus got on as it fell to the ground with a small explosion. But there were still 4 more flying around them.

Arcee was zooming after Airachnid when out of nowhere, 2 Insecticons came to aid their queen. They were blasting and aiming at Arcee as she continued to drive and maneuver around the small explosions caused by the weapons of the Insecticons. The quick zig-zag maneuver helped avoid getting hit by the blasts, but it was very annoying.

Hilariously enough, the Insecticons were not aware of their surroundings. And one crashed into a tree and knocked into the other Insecticon, sending him flying towards the ground…where Airachnid happened to be. Airachnid cried out in shock as the Insecticon landed right in front of her, creating a small plume of debris, dirt, and dust.

Arcee arrived at the same spot as the dust cleared, and she transformed once she heard Airachnid digging. She looked over and saw a large tunnel being dug into the ground. No doubt that Airachnid was trying to escape. Arcee rushed up to the hole in the ground and knew she had to pursue Airachnid underground.
—-----
Starscream was floating around the Nemesis when he finally spotted Megatron in a random hallway. “Finally…” Starscream grumbled as he flew over to where the warlord was. He rushed over and wanted to test if he could indeed possess people and get Megatron to off himself.

Starscream was smirking as he rushed into Megatron. Megatron paused as he felt a chill enter his body. He shuddered and clutched his helm. He felt fuzzy, then he felt a surge of energy through his frame. His optics went purple as he growled and fell to his knees.

Starscream, once inside, Megatron was immediately blocked off. He saw a purple surge of energy, and Starscream’s ghost was quickly ejected out of Megatron’s mind. “What the frag?!” Starscream spun around and could hear Megatron’s vents as he got back to his pedes. Megatron looked around as he wanted to see what caused this strange feeling, but he saw nothing.

Starscream growled in frustration. “How did he resist me?! That purple energy…Dark Energon.” Starscream chuckled, “Guess Unicron is the only bot who can possess you, Megatron.”

Starscream looked back, his experiment a failure. Now he has to get back to his body and either try to kill Megatron himself or escape…maybe Bulkhead will make a distraction for him? Starscream’s body wasn’t far. Let’s hope he can even go back into his damaged frame.

Starscream floated away as Megatron turned, feeling a presence…He looked down the hall and saw nothing. “What on Earth…” Megatron began walking down the same hallway Starscream’s spirit was…

After a bit, Starscream found the closet his body was stuffed into. He phased through the door and returned to his body. He groaned in pain as his head was killing him. He could taste blood in his mouth, and he felt weak and dizzy. “F-frag…ugh…I can’t even focus…” At least he could talk, his voice hoarse but…at least that was an improvement.

Megatron walking down the same hall noticed the small puddles of energon spilled on the floor, damage to a small part of the wall, and a tiny trail leading to the closet. Megatron raised a brow and walked to the closet. He could hear subtle groaning coming from within.

He opened the door as Starscream’s vision was still blurry, but he saw the light hit his optics and would never forget Megatron’s silhouette. Starscream shrieked as Megatron looked down at him. Megatron grabbed him by the throat and picked him up. “Starscream…what an unexpected surprise.”

“Meg-Megatron…how…” Starscream was clawing at Megatron’s servos to release him.

Megatron chuckled, “You managed to escape me when I was fighting that Insecticon…but luck would have it, you show up on my ship. No doubt to plunder it yet again.”

Starscream gasped and wheezed as he was flailing in Megatron’s grasp. Megatron chuckled at Starscream’s struggle. “You aren’t going to get away this time. You have been spending time with the Autobots, haven’t you?”

Starscream’s optics went wide; he didn’t like where this was going. “You’re…you’re…” His voice still hoarse, “misunderstanding…”

Megatron’s grip tightens. “I think I understand enough.”

Starscream gasping from the pain. He stopped flailing as it made it worse. Starscream felt so much pressure on his throat as tears formed in his optics. Starscream knew he couldn’t really die…but if his body gets too damaged, he’s stuck as a ghost. Or at least that’s the theory.

“Tell me what you’ve learned from the Autobots. Or I snap your neck!” Megatron threatened,

Starscream looked into Megatron’s optics. “I…I have information…”

Megatron smirked, “Good.” He dropped Starscream, who began coughing and clutching his throat. “Now tell me, and I might let you live.”

Starscream’s body felt like a wreck. His head was foggy, and he could barely think, let alone come up with a clever lie to tell Megatron. Megatron was blocking his only escape. Starscream looked up, “You said might.”

“Yes. I did. Depending on how good the information is, I might let you live. If it’s worthless, then your life is forfeit.” Megatron said coldly,

“What…if I sweeten the deal…” Starscream sat up. Megatron looked at him curiously. Starscream hated that he was considering this. But he can’t use his mind right now…so…body it is. “For…old time sakes…” Starscream adjusted his position, and Megatron could see his half-lidded optics and the all-too-familiar smirk.

Megatron chuckled, “Whoring yourself out to avoid punishment? How very in character of you, Starscream.” Megatron watched as Starscream got to his pedes and leaned into the warlord.

“Come now…when was the last time you had some fun, hmm?” Starscream traced circles into Megatron’s chest plating…Primus let this work…

Megatron’s expression was unreadable. Then he took Starscream's servo and yanked it up, lifting him off the floor. Starscream yelped as Megatron held him. “That may have worked on me in the past, but no longer. You’re a good frag, Starscream, but you’re not good enough to make me forget all the betrayals and transgressions you’ve caused.”

Starscream’s mind was screaming at him. He couldn’t think…his head was throbbing as he was panicking. “Enough games tell me what you’ve learned from the Autobots?!” Megatron threw him to the ground and aimed his fusion cannon at him. Starscream was panicking. What can he do to get out of here?!

Then the whole ship shook. Megatron stumbled to the left and was trying to keep his balance. There was enough of an opening for Starscream to rush through. He scrambled to his pedes, his body fueled by fear and adrenaline as he rushed out of the closet and down the hall. Megatron turned as he regained his footing to see the small seeker rush past him. “STARSCREAM!!!” He roared as the seeker disappeared from view.

Before he could give chase, Megatron received an urgent message. A swarm of Insecticons were attacking the ship. Megatron growled and looked back at where Starscream went. “You live for now, Starscream…”
—--
Arcee, with her blaster at the ready, was looking for Airachnid. She was on guard and looking around. She came to a halt when she saw what was in the chamber she entered. A massive amount of stasis pods, probably where the hive was hidden here on Earth. She saw all the empty pods lining the walls and ceiling of the chamber. But still no Airachnid…she must be hiding in here somewhere…

Little did Arcee know Airachnid was on the walls…waiting to strike. Arcee walked further into the chamber and looked at the empty pod in front of her…she saw in the reflection of the metal pod Airachnid on the wall about to strike. Arcee turned and began firing at her. Airachnid didn’t expect her to react so quickly, as she rapidly fired and blasted her off the wall. Airachnid fell to the floor and groaned in pain.

Arcee walked towards her blasters at the ready. Airachnid looked up at Arcee, “When you extinguish my spark…make it hurt. You know I would extend that kindness to you…”

“I’m not like you.” Arcee retorted,

Airachnid frowned, and then with one of her spider legs, she tried to strike at Arcee. “Very well then, combat it is.”

Arcee backflips backwards away from Airachnid and pulls out her blades. She notices that Airachnid is standing suspiciously close to one of the stasis pods that is open. Arcee used her blades to block the incoming blows from Airachnid’s spider legs as she managed to regain her footing. She jumped in the air and kicked Airachnid in the jaw, causing her to reel back, and then, from the momentum of the fist kick, flipped over and kicked her in the stomach, sending her stumbling back. One of Airachnid’s spider legs tapped the stasis pod, activating it. Airachnid heard the beeping from the pod and immediately began to panic.

She couldn’t escape in time as the pod closed around her and severed a small part of one of her spider legs. She began banging on the pod's walls as, in a matter of seconds, she was put into a frozen-like stasis.
—---
Megatron was on the upper deck of the Nemesis, fighting off the invading Insecticons, when all of a sudden, they stopped attacking and landed on the deck with him. They surrounded him as they all stopped and stared at him. “Master…” One of them purred out, and Megatron lowered his fusion cannon in surprise.

“Well…isn’t this a nice surprise…” Megatron smirked, looking around at his now newly acquired hive.

Starscream ran and ran as most of the Vehicons were busy with the Insecticons. Starscream didn’t care what the emergency was, all that it was a distraction. Then another explosion could be heard as the ship shook again. Starscream staggered a bit as he felt the aftershocks. He began making his way towards the flight deck in hopes of escaping during the chaos.

As he got closer to the flight deck, he finally saw Bulkhead again. Bulkhead looked surprised to see Starscream up and about so soon. Starscream wanted to curse out Bulkhead for literally killing him and stuffing his body in a closet…but there was no time.

Starscream’s head still hurts, and his vision begins to fail him. But he had no choice but to find a way but to fly out of here. He transformed, but even in his alt-mode, he was struggling to focus as he zoomed out of the ship. As he flew away, he noticed it beginning to fall out of the sky as it was descending at a rapid pace.

Starscream flew back to the Harbinger and landed awkwardly as he limped into the fallen ship. Starscream managed to make it to his room when he collapsed onto his berth. Starscream was exhausted from the adrenaline from earlier running its course. His head is still throbbing from Bulkhead’s beatdown. “Rest…I need rest…”

Starscream curled up in his berth and fell into recharge after a very eventful day.

Chapter 41: Sentience

Summary:

The Decepticons take a daring action, which forces both factions to feel the heat. Agent Fowler called in Alexis as backup to stop the Nemesis from attacking NYC.

Bulkhead managed to get back to base. He noticed that the Autobots had acquired a stasis pod with Airachnid tucked away inside. Bulkhead then began debriefing on what happened while he was on the Nemesis and how, during the Insecticon chaos, he took out their ship's main engine. The kids and Agent Fowler were there as Miko was so eager to hear the tale that Bulkhead was weaving.

Skyfire listened intently as he mentioned Starscream and that he ‘knocked him out.’ Bulkhead was afraid to admit he actually killed him since that was his anger taking over. And the fact that Starscream is still out there, not being dead.

Skyfire frowned, “Why was he even on the Nemesis?”

Bulkhead shrugged, “Didn’t tell me. But most likely wanting energon or to kill Megatron.”

“By himself?” Arcee questioned, “Starscream isn’t stupid; he wouldn’t just walk into their base and try to kill him on his own turf.”

“Regardless of what Starscream was up to…shouldn’t we take advantage of the Con’s ship being down?” Jack suggested,

“I agree with Jack. We should hit them while they are vulnerable.” Arcee agreed,

“Megatron’s ship may be grounded. But we are vastly outnumbered. Especially now that Megatron has Airachnid’s hive at his disposal.” Ratchet pointed out,

“I could call in an air strike?” Agent Fowler suggested,

“I think…we must go to more extreme measures…” Optimus suggested, then Optimus walked down the hall to the relic room and opened up the container containing the Spark Extractor.

Skyfire’s optics went wide, “What?! No!”

Optimus turned, “I understand your…opposition, Skyfire.”

“Since when is murder the only option?! I thought you didn’t believe in that?!” Skyfire argued,

“I do not. But this might be the only chance we have to end the war.” Optimus pointed out,

“So murder is fine now? I’m sorry, Optimus, but I am calling this into question.” Skyfire crossed his arms and was glaring at the Prime.

“Skyfire…if we can terminate one to save hundreds of thousands…would you not take it?” Ratchet asked the shuttle, Skyfire paused, and couldn’t believe that they were trying to suggest ripping out Megatron’s spark is the humane thing to do right now.

Skyfire clenched his servos, as much as he hates Megatron and the horrible things he has done. Skyfire cannot fathom the idea of just ending someone. “I’m not going to be a part of this.” And he stormed off. Optimus sighed, knowing this was wrong, but as the leader of the Autobots, he had to make tough calls.

Skyfire walked back into the main room and noticed the computer was going off. He rushed over and noticed a massive spike in Dark Energon readings…at the location of the downed Nemesis.
“Guys…there’s a massive energy spike where the Decepticon ship went down…and it looks like it’s Dark Energon…”

The whole room went cold as everyone looked up at the screen in confusion. Did Megatron infuse Dark Energon into his ship? What kind of effect would that have? Is it going to make things worse?

“Autobots…We need to mobilize, now.” Optimus ordered,

The team got ready as Skyfire stayed back with Ratchet. He had no interest in going on this murder mission. Skyfire retreated to the medbay to clean supplies so he could keep himself busy. Ratchet watched as the upset Skyfire walked away. As Ratchet activated the ground bridge and Optimus gave the order to roll out, Optimus was stopped by Agent Fowler. “Prime. If you are planning on unleashing a super-powerful doomsday weapon in a final showdown with the Cons…I, as a human being, need to witness this as a representative of the people here on Earth.”

Optimus allowed this as he let Agent Fowler come with him through the ground bridge. The team regrouped on the other side of the bridge and saw the Nemesis rising from the cliffside where it had crashed. The ship began making its way towards the Autobots on the ground. The Nemesis activated its blasters as more and more exterior weaponry began to appear.

It began to fire and attack the Autobots as Bumblebee, Arcee, and Bulkhead ran a distraction for Optimus, who had the Spark Extractor. The ship quickly realized that the Autobots were dodging it and changed tactics. As it pulled out a satellite-looking weapon that fired and hit Bumblebee first, causing the scout to freeze and skid against the ground until the momentum died. Bumblebee wasn’t dead or injured, but he was paralyzed and unable to move.

Arcee and Bulkhead quickly fell victim next as Bulkhead was hit first, and his sudden stop in movement caused Arcee to crash into him. Then, as Arcee bounced against the ground, the beam hit her, freezing her still. Optimus saw his team being frozen in place, and now he was alone in the charge. Optimus began to charge past the frozen members of his teammates and towards the Nemesis. He dodged the first few blasts. But then succumbed to a rogue blaster beam hitting him in the leg, causing him to stumble. He groaned in pain as he stopped for just a split second, and then the stasis beam that hit his teammates finally got Optimus.

Agent Fowler looked on in horror as the whole team was down. Agent Fowler looked up at the Nemesis above him and was now panicking. Were the Decepticons gonna come in and take care of the Autobots who are frozen? Were they gonna come after him next?!

Agent Fowler looked up and saw the blaster change over to where he was standing. “Crap…” Agent Fowler couldn’t outrun them; he was a sitting duck. Then the blasters turned away and retracted into the Nemesis.

Then in a strange twist of fate…The Nemesis began turning and heading away from the battlefield. Agent Fowler looked so perplexed as the Decepticons had the perfect opportunity to destroy their enemy, and now they are leaving?

Agent Fowler called Ratchet and Skyfire and informed them of the mess that had happened. Ratchet and Skyfire gathered their frozen teammates and brought them back to base.

The kids looked up at the bots, who were frozen, and felt terrible for them. Skyfire frowned, part of him was glad he didn’t join them in the fight, otherwise he too would be frozen. But…maybe if he flew the Spark Extractor and Optimus to the ship, he wouldn’t have failed…

Ratchet could see the conflict on Skyfire’s face. “Skyfire, you don’t need to feel guilty.”

“I just…couldn’t be a part of an assassination attempt.” Skyfire frowned,

“Regardless of the mission, the Cons are making a beeline across the Atlantic. Heading straight for North America!” Agent Fowler interjected,

“Wait, we can track them?” Jack asked,

“Yeah, why aren’t they cloaked like usual?” Raf added,

“None of this makes sense. They had us at our mercy. Why leave?” Agent Fowler questioned,

“Heck, they even left that Spark Extractor thingy.” Miko added as Skyfire and Ratchet recovered the Spark Extractor and put it back in the relic room.

“Maybe since they aren’t cloaked…maybe the communication relays are open?” Jack suggested,

“Wait…so are you suggesting we just call Megatron and ask what is going on?” Skyfire wanted to make sure.

“That’s not what he is suggesting.” Ratchet looks back at Jack, “Is it?”

All the kids exchanged looks and then faced Ratchet, and all shrugged. Then Ratchet turned to Agent Fowler, as he was the only human adult in the room. Agent Fowler, too, just shrugged and gestured for Ratchet to just call them. Then Ratchet looked over at Skyfire, who also wasn’t sure what to do, and like the others…shrugged.

Ratchet rolled his optics at the fact that he was outvoted. He then began finding the communication frequency of the Decepticon warship and tried to contact Megatron. Ratchet called Megatron’s name through the comms, but after a moment of silence and no answer, Ratchet tried again.

After another moment of silence, the comms beeped, and an unrecognized voice picked up the line. “Megatron has been relieved of his command.”

“Who is this?” Ratchet asked, curious as to who took over the Nemesis.

“Who is this?” They repeated back with a hint of sass.

“Have you taken control of the Decepticon vessel?” Ratchet asked,

“I AM the Decepticon vessel.” The Nemesis answered, “Any Cybertronian that interferes with my mission will be neutralized.” Then the Nemesis broadcast its camera footage onto the Autobot’s computer. Showing just like the team in the base, all the Decepticons aboard the Nemesis were frozen in place, unable to stop the ship.

Everyone but Ratchet looked on in horror as the Nemesis showed all the frozen bots. Ratchet focused on its words. “What is your mission?”

“Priority one, my mission is to decrypt the Iacon database and recover Decepticon technology.” The Nemesis explained,

“For what purpose?” Ratchet was wondering why the Nemesis… a ship would be interested in Iacon relics. Then the Nemesis paused for a few moments and disconnected the call.

“Looks like it didn’t like being questioned.” Skyfire retorted,

“Did it just hang up on us?” Miko asked, “Rude.”

“Rude!? There is a giant spaceship flying around collecting Decepticon weapons of mass destruction! I think it being rude is the least of our concerns!” Agent Fowler argued with Miko.

“A spaceship full of neutralized Decepticons.” Jack pointed out,

“Point?” Agent Fowler said, agitated,

“This might be our only chance to download the entirety of the Iacon Database from their computers.” Jack suggested,

“And then Optimus can decode it.” Raf added,

“That’s actually a good idea.” Skyfire added,

“It’s brilliant.” Ratchet noted, “Then Skyfire and I will infiltrate the Nemesis and download the database.”

“Uh…hello? Bad idea.” Miko interjected,

“Yeah. You heard it. Any Cybertronian that interferes with it will be neutralized.” Raf reminded Ratchet.

“Yeah…any Cybertronian…” Jack realized and turned to Agent Fowler, “We should infiltrate the ship.”

“What?! I will not endanger you kids by letting you run around a warship!” Agent Fowler objected,

“Raf is probably the only one who can properly decode and download the database!” Miko argued, and Raf nodded in agreement.

Agent Fowler sighed…the kids were right. “Fine. But…I am gonna make a quick call…”
—---
Alexis recovered enough to be able to walk normally again. She still went to physical therapy after being shot by Silas. But she is doing much better physically. Though part of her was nervous, as after she and Miko set up Skyfire and Starscream on the blind date, she hadn’t heard anything.

Nothing from Starscream, Miko has been vague with her texting, and Agent Fowler leaves her on read. Alexis was in her room at home when she decided to give Starscream a call…it was so unlike him to not reach out.

Starscream was lying in his berth for hours. He was saddened and still in pain from the whole debacle on the Nemesis. When he heard a chime, a call was coming through. It was Alexis.

“Alexis?” Starscream said weakly,

“Starscream? Are you ok? You sound terrible.” Alexis asked, concerned,

“No.” Starscream said bluntly,

“Care to elaborate?” Alexis asked,

“I did some stupid things and now I'm paying the price.” Starscream said with a tinge of anger.

“What kind of stupid things?” Alexis asked, now both curious and worried for the seeker.

“Well, I tried to kill Megatron. And I ended up…ugh…getting hurt.” Starscream admitted,

“That was stupid. Why didn’t you call Ratchet?” Alexis asked,

Starscream went quiet, “Ok…so…uh…I did another really stupid thing.”

“Oh no. How stupid?” Alexis asked nervously,

“Very. Like I cannot go back to the Autobots…ever.” Starscream admitted,

“What?! What did you do?!” Alexis yelled, “Last time I saw you, you and Skyfire were holding hands and being cute.”

“Things…escalated and now I can’t go back…” Starscream tried to remain vague…the last thing his throbbing head needs is a lecture.

“Ugh! Starscream! How can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time?! I mean, come on! I can see if I can smooth things over.” Alexis suggested,

Starscream sighed, “Probably not. Skyfire and I…”

Alexis then heard a beeping sound coming from her phone. Another person was trying to call her. It was Agent Fowler. “Hold on, Starscream, I have another call. I’ll call back in a second.”

Unbeknownst to Alexis, she accidentally made it a three-way call. “Agent Fowler?” Alexis said, addressing the new caller.

“Alexis, I might need your help.” Agent Fowler stated, Starscream realized he was hearing this conversation and remained quiet. What were the Autobots up to that they needed Alexis’s help?

“Uh…ok? What happened?” Alexis asked,

Agent Fowler began to explain what had transpired. With the Nemesis gaining sentience and their plan to download the Iacon database from the Nemesis, while all the Cons are frozen. It will attack only Cybertronians and not attack humans. So basically, it was up to the kids to get the info, as Raf is the only one who can read Cybertronian and download the database.

Starscream listened intently. To him, this was hilarious. Megatron messed up, and now the Autobots were not only going to take advantage but possibly rescue him from his own blunder? How hysterical.

“So what do you need me for?” Alexis asked,

“Look, the kids are well…kids. You have some military training and are one of the few people I can call on to help. I can only protect them so much.” Agent Fowler admitted,

“So you want me to join them in infiltrating the Nemesis?” Alexis wanted to confirm.

“Absolutely not.” Starscream finally spoke up,

Alexis and Agent Fowler paused and were confused. “Starscream?” Agent Fowler was confused by how Starscream was on this call.

“Shit! I made this a three-way call.” Alexis realized as she looked closer at her phone.

“Alexis has just recovered from her battle with Silas, and now you want to endanger the children again by bringing them to Megatron’s warship? Are you all insane?!” Starscream berated,

“Raf is the only human we have that can translate the database. We don’t have a choice.” Agent Fowler argued,

“Well, naturally, I will not allow you to endanger my only ally!” Starscream yelled,

“She wouldn't be your only ally if you didn’t shoot Skyfire!” Agent Fowler argued,

“You what?!” Alexis interjected in surprise,

“Semantics! Look, I will join you as a guide. I know the Nemesis and can lead you to the main database.” Starscream offered,

“The Nemesis will freeze any bot that goes onto it. How exactly can you help us if you are frozen?” Agent Fowler asked,

“As a ghost!” Starscream answered,

“Right, the ghost thing…” Agent Fowler pinched the bridge of his nose, “And how will you get to the ship…”

“Ok…so…” Starscream started,
—----
Agent Fowler got off the phone and rejoined the group. “Ok…I need you guys to keep an open mind…”

“Uh oh…did Alexis say no?” Skyfire asked,

“No…she said yes…but…without some help…” Agent Fowler said nervously,

“Starscream?” Jack asked,

Skyfire felt his spark drop. Agent Fowler looked at Skyfire and rubbed the back of his neck, “Uh…yeah. He insisted, he said he could guide us through the Nemesis.”

“And how will he do that? Any Cybertronian will get frozen if they get near the ship!” Ratchet argued,

“As a ghost. Duh.” Miko answered,

“That’s right, we can see him as a ghost, but Cybertronians can’t.” Raf explained, “So maybe the Nemesis won’t notice him.”

“But he can’t interact with things…if you get hurt…” Skyfire argued,

“Which is why Alexis is coming. She has military training. Between the two of us, we can guard the kids.” Agent Fowler explained,

Ratchet sighed, “Let me guess, Starscream has to come here?”

Agent Fowler nodded. Skyfire frowned. He was still hurt and upset, and now Starscream was coming here! He was not looking forward to seeing Starscream again. Ratchet activated the ground bridge as he grabbed Alexis first and then recalibrated it to get Starscream.

All eyes and optics were on the seeker as he entered the base yet again. His frame was damaged, and he was struggling to walk through, but he did. Ratchet looked at him curiously, “Bulkhead?”

“Y-Yes… I suppose a helm fix is too much to ask for?” Starscream asked Ratchet,

Ratchet looked over at Skyfire, who was ignoring the seeker. “I can fix it while you’re a ghost. But this is the last time!”

Starscream sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

Starscream looked at Skyfire, who was looking at him with disdain. Starscream felt a pain in his spark…he regretted what he did. Starscream walked over to the med berth and lay down. He felt the energy surge out of him as he glowed subtly and turned into a ghost. His spirit floated towards the humans. Agent Fowler was spooked to see a semi-transparent Starscream floating towards him, but he quickly got over it.

The humans all gathered and got ready to infiltrate the Nemesis. Ratchet handed Agent Fowler what would essentially be a Cybertronian USB to download the database onto. Ratchet opened the ground bridge and sent the group to the Nemesis. Ratchet asked Skyfire to monitor the situation while he fixed Starscream’s helm.

The humans and Starscream’s ghost arrived through the ground bridge in a random hall of the Nemesis. “The data core should be accessible from a data console.” Starscream said as he began drifting down the hall. The humans followed him as they came to a corner and saw Knock Out of all bots at the closest console.

“Found one…I think.” Alexis pointed at Knock Out, who was frozen at the console.

The group walked over to Knock Out. Miko ran over and knocked on Knock Out’s lower leg. “Doc Knock is knocked out.” Miko jokes, and the others joined her as Raf looked up at the screen.

“The ship has decoded 3 Iacon locations already.” Raf pointed out, the group looks at the screen and can see in Cybertronian writing 3 lines highlighted and in bold on the screen. The data below is rushing and calculating as the ship continues to decode.

Alexis kept her eye peeled for anything off. Starscream began to look around as well. “So eerie without anyone moving…”

“Yeah. Let’s download the database and get out.” Raf suggested,

Agent Fowler and Raf climbed up the frozen Knock Out. The two got to the console controls, and Agent Fowler found the port for the drive. Agent Fowler plugged it in, and it began to download. Jack and Miko began watching it download when Jack looked over and noticed the next location where the Nemesis was heading to. Based on the geolocation, it looked like it was heading for Manhattan.

“Why is the Nemesis heading to Manhattan?” Jack asked,

Starscream turned to look at the screen, “Because it’s the first location it decoded.” Starscream pointed at the decoded locations. As the ship added a 4th decoded location to its roster.

“What would a relic from Cybertron be doing in the Big Apple?” Agent Fowler questioned,

“We did find that other relic in a museum that one time…maybe it’s in a museum?” Miko suggested,

“Most likely it was there before the city was built.” Starscream stated, “So probably underground.”

“Which means…it could destroy the city looking for the relic?” Alexis questioned,

“Well, now our mission has gotten more complicated.” Agent Fowler spoke up,

“How exactly?” Starscream asked,

“We are not going to let this ship attack one of America’s biggest metropolitan cities!” Agent Fowler argued, “Skyfire, what are our next steps to stop this?”

“Best bet is to disable the navigation system.” Skyfire told him,

Raf pointed to an adjacent console, where Agent Fowler walked over and touched it. The console then zapped Agent Fowler and caused him to stumble and fall off the console that the human kids were standing on. Alexis rushed over and checked his pulse. He was alive…unconscious but alive.

“System interference detected! Interference will not be tolerated.” The Nemesis roared as it realized someone was trying to mess with its mission. A security camera came out from the ceiling and was aimed at the console. Just like Agent Fowler said, the Nemesis didn’t register the humans. Nor did it register Starscream’s ghost.

“We need to move.” Starscream suggested, “It’s probably not scanning for human lifeforms. Once it does…”

“We're toast.” Raf finished,

“I’m gonna bridge you guys back.” Skyfire said through comms,

“No. We are the only ones who can stop this! Jack argued,

“The human is right. We need to take advantage of its confusion while we can. Otherwise, we all will be outed and a city destroyed.” Starscream argued, “Since Megatron was stupid enough to fill this thing with Dark Energon. The best way to stop it is to purge the system.”

“And how will we do that?” Miko asked,

“I know the location. Follow me.” Starscream ordered,

“What about Fowler?” Alexis asked, “Someone should stay with him.”

“I will. I can monitor if there are any more codes deciphered.” Raf offered, The rest of the humans climbed down Knock Out while Raf remained on the console to keep an eye on Agent Fowler.

Alexis, Miko, and Jack rushed after Starscream’s ghost as he led them to the power core of the Nemesis. Within the chamber was a frozen Megatron in the pose, trying to purge the system. “Seems we aren’t the only ones with that idea.” Starscream mused as he saw Megatron’s servo on the lever.

“To purge the system, it has to be done manually.” Starscream pointed at where Megatron is.

“And how will we do that?!” Alexis argued, “Megatron’s servo is already on it!”

Jack volunteered to climb up onto Megatron and try to move Megatron’s servo and pull the lever. He used all his strength and was struggling to move the heavy, metal servo. Then the camera came out of the ceiling again as it scanned the room. Then a loud beeping could be heard as Alexis and Miko looked up. “I am infested with alien lifeforms!” The Nemesis exclaimed as it locked in on Alexis and Miko.

“Crap! It caught us!” Miko exclaimed,

The giant claw on the side of the room used to refuel the energon into the core activated and turned to face the two girls. As it tried to strike them. Miko and Alexis jumped to the side as the claw came down. Starscream was watching and was upset that he couldn’t do anything. Starscream rushed over and was worried he’d get purged again. When he went for Megatron, the Dark Energon purged him…

Starscream grumbled as he entered the claw that was chasing the girls. The claw was short-circuiting and stuttering. “What is this?!” The Nemesis yelled in confusion. Starscream could feel the Dark Energon trying to purge him…but it wasn’t as strong as when he tried to enter Megatron’s mind. Starscream was able to control the claw for now. Alexis and Miko cheered as the claw turned away from them.

“Starscream!” Jack yelled, “Knock over Megatron!”

Starscream turned the claw and and at full speed, bashed into Megatron’s back. Causing him, in the barely balanced pose he was in, to fall backwards. Starscream exited the claw as he and the kids watched the system being flushed. The purple hues began to fade as the more bluish tones and lighting returned.

Then the frozen pose of Megatron went limp as he was beginning to come out of stasis. “Scrap! We need to move!” Starscream yelled as the group of them rushed back to Raf and Agent Fowler. As they were running, they could see the Vehicons and Insecticons beginning to move again.

Raf watched as Knock Out began to groan and move. “Guys…” Raf yelled as he saw them down the hall. Thankfully, Agent Fowler was coming too at this time as he sat up and watched the kids rushing towards him. Raf pulled out the drive as it managed to decode one last set of coordinates before the system was purged, giving them 5 in total.

Knock Out adjusted his optics and saw Raf with the drive in front of him. He smirked, “Well, what do we have here?” Knock Out said in a sickly sweet way. Raf gulped as he pulled the drive closer to him.

A ground bridge opened up behind Knock Out, getting the medic’s attention. As the humans realized this was their escape. “No, you don’t!” Knock Out cried out as he went to grab Raf.

Starscream rushed into Knock Out. The best way to see if he can control a bot without Dark Energon in their veins. Knock Out paused as he went limp for a second. Raf looked up at Knock Out, “Huh…this is…weird.” Knock Out was talking, but Starscream’s voice was coming out.

The possessed Knock Out helped Raf off the console, and the humans rushed towards the ground bridge. Starscream exited Knock Out after the last human went through the bridge. Starscream turned back to Knock Out, who was shivering and blinking rapidly. Starscream flew through, and Knock Out watched the bridge close in front of him, wondering what the frag just happened to him?

Chapter 42: Split Duties

Summary:

With the Nemesis decoding 5 locations of Iacon relics while it was sentient. The Autobots split into 5 different groups to go after them.

As the humans and Starscream’s ghost returned to the Autobot base, the rest of the frozen team began to start moving again. Ratchet, done repairing Starscream’s helm, came out to see everyone back and the team returning to normal. Starscream floated over to his body and returned to it. He felt a lot better as he sat up and joined the group in the main room. He kept his distance but wanted to hear what was to happen next.

Ratchet took the drive and uploaded it into the computer, and uploaded the 5 locations that were decoded along with the database. The 5 locations popped up on the screen, and the team looked at all five.

Ratchet turned to Optimus, “The Nemesis managed to decipher 5 locations while it was sentient.”

Optimus looked up at the screen, “If we want to have any hope of recovering the Iacon relics before the Decepticons do. We must divide our resources.”

“Are you sure that is wise, Optimus?” Ratchet asked, “We already are outnumbered by the Decepticons. Splitting the team apart could be disadvantageous.”

“I understand that. But I believe swiftness takes priority.” Optimus told Ratchet,

“So, divide and conquer essentially?” Skyfire asked,

“Yes.” Optimus confirmed,

Arcee glared over at Starscream in the corner, “What about him?” She pointed at the seeker. Starscream awkwardly chuckled as the rest of the team all looked over at him. Skyfire frowned that Starscream was still here after everything. He looked away from Starscream and looked back at the computer. Starscream noticed the snub and felt his wings slump down.

“Starscream…” Optimus addressed as he walked over to the seeker.

Starscream scrunched up a little in fear. What was Optimus planning? What was he going to do with him? Optimus stopped right in front of him as Starscream nervously looked up at him. “Your allegiance to the Decepticons is questionable. Your allegiance to us is also just as questionable after what you did recently. Where do you stand?”

Starscream looked curiously at the Prime. Starscream looked past Optimus and at the others who were glaring at him. “I…uh…well you see…” Starscream was struggling to find the right words to express what he was thinking, mostly because he didn’t think this through.

“I am against Megatron, obviously.” Starscream began, but the rest of the team didn’t buy it. They all were still looking at him with disdain. “Optimus…I do not want Megatron to acquire these relics as much as the rest of you…”

“But what’s stopping you from betraying us and taking the relic for yourself?” Bulkhead sneered,

Starscream frowned, “Nothing really. But…I don’t want Megatron to have it more.”

“He already knows the locations. Just let him tag along with someone.” Skyfire said, slightly annoyed and dismissive.

“Really? You think bringing him to one of the locations is a good idea?” Arcee argued,

“No. But there’s a limited number of us. If he wants to prove he isn’t a total slagger, he can help.” Skyfire looked over at Starscream, who looked hurt that Skyfire had just called him a slagger.

Optimus turned to Starscream, “Are you going to help us? Or do we have to stop you from being a hindrance?”

Starscream didn’t like the sound of that. Sounds like Optimus was giving him two very unpleasant options. Either help them or be locked away…Even if he did do his ghostly thing, his body is still trapped in the Autobot base…

“Fine. I’ll help.” Starscream decided,

The team sighed. Optimus noticed the unhappiness in his team. “Starscream will accompany me on our mission.” Optimus told the team. Everyone was immediately against letting Starscream be alone with their leader. There was a bit of arguing that went on for a few minutes until Optimus called them all to stop.

“Uh, guys…” Skyfire pointed to the screen, “The Cons are leaving New York.”

“They must be heading to the next set of coordinates.” Optimus theorized, “If the relic existed prior to the city, then the relic must be underground. No doubt Megatron has dispatched a team to recover it.”

“How? They would have to knock over buildings and dig into the ground.” Arcee pointed out,

“Subway tunnels.” Jack interjected, “New York is full of underground tunnels.”

“So now that human endangerment is no longer a concern. Maintaining our disguise will be necessary.” Optimus turned to Arcee and Bumblebee, “I believe you two are best suited for a mission into a densely populated city.”

“I hate to point out something.” Jack interrupted, “But New York has millions of people. No doubt someone will notice two vehicles driving on their own. Especially underground.”

“So what are you saying?” Arcee asked,

“You’re going to need a face man.” Jack explained, and the team all looked confused.

“You’re gonna need a human to speak on their behalf.” Alexis helped explain, “A car and motorcycle driving on their own? Let alone talking or interacting with people. “

“You have a point, Alexis.” Optimus agreed,

“I mean, I’m probably the best to go.” Miko offered, “I grew up in a major metropolis, unlike Jack.”

Jack looked at her, “I’ve been to Cybertron.”

“Well…” Miko frowned, “Cybertron doesn’t have subways…” She paused, “Does it?”

Skyfire nodded yes to the human girl. Miko now had many questions about Cybertron’s subway system…but those questions are for another time.

“Agent Fowler is our best option as a human liaison.” Optimus turned to look at Agent Fowler, who was still out of it after getting zapped by the Nemesis. He was in no condition to do any missions.

“I can go.” Alexis offered. Starscream looked at his human ally with a frown. “I mean, next to Fowler, I’m probably the next best candidate.”

Starscream waited to see the Autobots' reactions. Optimus quickly glanced at Starscream for his reaction, but he could tell the seeker was waiting for him. Optimus then turned back to Alexis, “I appreciate the offer, Alexis. But I feel conflicted dragging another human into the mix.”

“So bringing them is fine.” Alexis points to the kids, “But bringing me is a problem?! I’m an actual adult!”

Starscream smiled that Alexis was standing up to Optimus. “I understand, Alexis. But after getting injured by Silas…I do not want you in harm's way without proper assistance.”

“I’m not fragile, Optimus. I just helped you guys get the coordinates and was running around. My leg is good.” Alexis crossed her arms, “I think you don’t want me to come because you don’t trust me.”

“I never said that.” Optimus stated,

“But it’s how you’re acting.” Alexis confronted, “Fowler trusts me enough to help infiltrate the Nemesis. Why can’t you trust me to go to New York with your team?”

She had a point. Optimus sighed, as maybe having another human to help could be useful. “Ok. Alexis, you may go to New York with Jack and Miko.”

Alexis smirked happily as Ratchet got the ground bridge ready. Starscream looked away and was a bit annoyed, but at least Alexis had support for this endeavor. The group left rather quickly as the next group was getting ready.

“Ratchet, I do not feel comfortable sending you alone for a mission…So I contacted Wheeljack to meet you.” Optimus insisted,

“What?! Wheeljack? Seriously?!” Ratchet exclaimed, “He’s a wildcard. He doesn’t listen!”

“Skyfire can handle things in Australia. I’m more worried about keeping our medic safe.” Optimus insisted,

Skyfire nodded, understanding he would be going by himself to Australia. Skyfire looked over at Starscream. “What about him? Who is going with? You said Wheeljack is going with Ratchet, Arcee, and Bumblebee are going to New York…Is he going with Bulkhead?”

Bulkhead made a face and looked at Starscream. Starscream looked around the room as the remaining Autobots all glared at him. Optimus looked at Starscream, “He will go with me to the Arctic.”

Bulkhead and Ratchet’s optics immediately went wide. “What?!!”

Ratchet tried to argue with Optimus. But Optimus insisted that he could keep a proper eye on Starscream. They all argued with Optimus’s questionable decision. Starscream, out of the remaining options, thought Optimus was the least awkward. Bulkhead literally killed him a day ago. Ratchet was paired with Wheeljack already, so no need to go with him, Skyfire…yeah, no, so Optimus it is.

Raf was manning the ground bridge as He sent Bulkhead to his location next, and then he sent Ratchet, who was going to meet Wheeljack at his ship, the Jackhammer. Once they both were sent off, Skyfire walked up to Optimus, “Are you sure you want to take Starscream? I can handle him.”

Optimus looked at Skyfire with a serious expression, “I have some things I wish to discuss with our questionable seeker. It is better if I take him so he may not feel pressure from the others to…withhold information.”

Skyfire was now curious what the heck Optimus wanted to discuss with Starscream…but that was Optimus’s choice, and as the leader, he really could not argue. Skyfire sighed, “Ok, Optimus, if you are sure.”

Then Skyfire walked over to the ground bridge and was sent to Australia. Optimus turned to Starscream, who nervously winced as Optimus’s gaze fell onto him. “Are you ready?”

Starscream nervously chuckled, “Of…of course. To the Arctic…”

Raf opened up the last ground bridge and sent Starscream and Optimus to the Antarctic…ready to find whatever relic is there.

Notes:

I know this chapter was shorter, but I had to set up the next few chapters. Trust me next chapter is gonna be fun!

Chapter 43: Temperament

Summary:

Starscream and Optimus head to the Arctic to find an Iacon relic. Optimus is eager to talk to Starscream about his past transgressions. But they are soon interrupted by Dreadwing.

Notes:

I wanted to thank you guys for the 120 bookmarks, over 1000+ kudos, and 25k hits! Thank you for liking my silly fic! Now onto the Arctic drama!

Optimus and Starscream exit the ground bridge and enter the frozen tundra of the Antarctic. Starscream immediately shivered from the cold air of the Arctic. “Damn frozen wasteland, of course, a relic would be hidden here.”

“The temperature isn’t cold enough to mess with our biometrics, Starscream.” Optimus informed him. Starscream slumped forward a little and rolled his optics.

The continued walking as Optimus used the Iacon location on his tracker to get to the location. Starscream kept glancing over at Optimus. He was nervous that the Prime was so insistent on him joining his trek into the Arctic.

“Optimus…” Starscream broke the silence. “Why did you want me specifically to join you in the Arctic?”

Optimus was silent for a second, “I wish to discuss some things with you. Things that would be better to discuss in private.”

“Oh?” Starscream raised a brow, “Let me guess…Skyfire?”

“Partially. More about your relationship with Megatron.” Optimus clarified,

Starscream froze. Megatron? Why would Optimus want to know his relationship with Megatron? Starscream scoffed, “You know what it was. It was…complicated. You know we were together at some point, it soured, I hate him. End of story.”

“Did he beat you?” Optimus asked,

Starscream felt his wings twitch. “Yes. Constantly. Mostly for my failures. And sometimes just because…” Starscream rolled his wrist as he spoke, “He’s a violent mech. You of all people should know this.”

“He wasn’t like that. Not always. Yes, he was a gladiator and fought in the colosseum. But there was a sweet mech under all that spilled blood and battle.” Optimus sighed as if he were reminiscing. Optimus sighed, “I am sorry he hurt you in such gruesome ways.”

“So…Skyfire told you about…what happened in the berthroom?” Starscream asked,

Optimus paused walking as he stopped suddenly. Starscream looked confused…oh no, Optimus didn’t know, and now clearly was putting the pieces together. Starscream’s optics widened in realization, “Oh…uh…scrap…”

Optimus’s face looked bewildered and upset. “Starscream…I’m sorry. I did think he would hurt you there…”

Starscream’s wings drooped, “Optimus…let’s not…”

“He wasn’t like this. I don’t…I don’t know what happened to him to make him like this…” Optimus sounded genuinely upset.

Starscream was getting slightly irked. “Because he isn’t how he was!” Starscream shouted, and some snow fell off the ledge of the icy cliffs they were walking by. “You got him at his best! I got him at his worst! We had two completely different experiences being with Megatron!”

Optimus was surprised at Starscream’s anger. Starscream’s wings then hiked up, “He wrote you poetry! He would take you around Cybertron on cute little dates! He whispered sweet nothings in your audio receptors! Me? I get the yelling, arguing, and constantly hoping he’s not in a bad mood! I don’t get gifts, I get beatings! You know how I know this? How do I know he did all this for you? Because he never got over you! He still cares for you! Even if you're enemies! He never let go of you! It’s an obsession! And would constantly compare me to a fragging PRIME!”

Optimus froze, not expecting this at all. Optimus recomposed himself, "I'm sor-”

“Do not say sorry! I don’t need pity! I…I don’t know what I need!” Starscream gestured wildly, “I just want to get the stupid fragging relic!”

Optimus walked towards Starscream, who was venting loudly. He got closer and closer, then, before Starscream knew it, Optimus pulled him into a hug. Starscream froze. Starscream felt a wave of panic as he was being held close to Optimus. Optimus then let go and rested his servos on Starscream’s shoulder plating. “Starscream, I know you faced a lot of trauma with Megatron. I know it is not easy to deal with or overcome. We are at war; we are technically enemies. But I still believe deep down that all sentient beings are capable of change and of redemption. Even with your questionable actions…I believe you are capable of good.”

Starscream was trying to scan Optimus’s face plate for a read on the Prime. But he was stoic and looked dead serious. Starscream just froze…Primus, he didn’t know what to think. “I…I don’t…look Optimus…” Starscream looked down, “I want to lead the Decepticons!” Starscream looked up at Optimus, “I deserve a chance at leadership! I led them here on Earth for 3 years before Megatron returned and was Megatron’s second in command for a long aft time. I deserve a chance to show what I can do!”

Optimus looked at Starscream, “And why can’t you do that with the Autobots?”

Starscream opened his mouth to object, but then he paused. “You…would let me lead?”

“I am still the leader of the Autobots…but we do not possess a strong aerial force like the Decepticons do. I can’t give you my power…but if you are willing to change your ways and mend the bridges you burned…I can see what I can do.” Optimus said as he removed his servos from Starscream’s shoulders and began to resume his search for the relic.
—---
They continued walking for a bit until they arrived at the location that the database said the relic would be at. But it looked like someone beat them to it. A large square shape was carved out of the side of the mountain. With tiny red flags planted around the location.

“It would appear someone else has acquired the relic.” Optimus said as he began to recalibrate the locator to track the relic’s signal rather than relying on the database.

“And from the tiny flags, my guess is humans.” Starscream shrugged,

Then the sound of flying jets caught both their attention as a group of flying Vehicons landed around them with their blasters pointed at the two of them. Then, behind Starscream, Dreadwing landed as Starscream turned in shock. “Skyquake?!”

Optimus glared at Dreadwing, as Dreadwing addressed Starscream, “I am not Skyquake. I am his twin. My brother is one with the Allspark…thanks to you, traitor.”

Starscream nervously chuckled, “Ah…well, um…” Starscream began to back up closer to Optimus. Though the truth was that Skyquake fell at the servos of Bumblebee...guess no one told Dreadwing...

“Dreadwing….” Optimus addressed, Starscream remembered that name that Breakdown told him…ah, this makes more sense to the seeker. “I have no intention of fighting you if you leave now…”

Starscream just had a dumbfounded look on his face as he looked at Optimus. “What?! Just let them leave?! Are you daft?!”

Optimus side-eyes Starscream, then focuses back on Dreadwing. “I have no intention of leaving until you give us the relic.” Dreadwing said as the Vehicons charged up their blasters.

“I’m giving you one last chance, Dreadwing…” Optimus draws his own blasters, as does Starscream, as they both were ready to defend themselves. Dreadwing pulls out his Gautling Gun and begins firing at the two of them. Both Optimus and Starscream quickly dodge out of the way as the Vehicons too join the fray.

Starscream ducked and dodged out of the way of the Gatling Gun and he ended up falling onto the ground. Starscream clamoured to his pedes as he continued to fire at the Vehicons who were firing at him. Optimus’s attention was taken by Dreadwing as he charged at the Decepticon officer.

Optimus transformed and began to charge into Dreadwing. As he hit Dreadwing, he was rammed into the wall of ice behind them. He transformed back to his bot mode and began punching and wailing on Dreadwing. Dreadwing managed to catch Optimus’s fist and pushed back against the Prime. He then kicked Optimus in the torso and shoved him back a few feet so Dreadwing could get some space and be able to move.

Starscream decided to take it to the air to deal with the Vehicons. On the icy tundra, he had less of an advantage. So he transformed and flew up high and was followed by the Vehicons. “Dammnit, Prime, can you help?!” Starscream chided to himself as he saw Optimus focused on Dreadwing down below.

Starscream did all sorts of aerial stunts and tricks to avoid the blasts from the Vehicons pursuing him. Starscream managed to get behind them and transformed mid-air and landed on the back of one of them and steered him into the Vehicon to the left of him. The Vehicons crashed into each other as Starscream fell down a few hundred feet in the air before twirling and back into his alt-mode. But he still had two Vehicons still on his tail to deal with.

Dreadwing pulled out his sword, and Optimus pulled out his blade as well, and the two began an intense sword battle. The two blades clashed and clanged as they hit one another and tried to slice at the other. Then Dreadwing and Optimus, using all their strength, began pushing each other using their blades. But Dreadwing was winning out as he pushed Optimus back further and further until Optimus managed to shove Dreadwing’s sword aside and shoulder checked him back, causing him to stumble. But then Dreadwing noticed that Optimus was close to an icy ledge that Dreadwing could use to his advantage. He charged as Optimus brought his blade up to strike him, Dreadwing tackled him, and the two went over the edge.

Starscream watched Optimus and Dreadwing go over the ledge and fall to the snowy ravine below. Starscream grumbled and hoped Optimus didn’t get injured from the fall and could keep fighting. Starscream tried to round back to Optimus to help, but the flying Vehicons cut him off.

Starscream cursed as he pulled upward to avoid a collision with the Vehicons. The other two began to follow Starscream up in the air. Starscream tried his best to go as high as he could into the atmosphere. He then pulled a maneuver that allowed him to flip backwards and get behind the Vehicons, and he blew up their thrusters as the two then began to free-fall towards the ground. Starscream pulled forward into the air and past the falling Vehicons.

Optimus got back to his pedes as he struggled to stand after being tackled off a cliff by Dreadwing. Dreadwing noticed that his reinforcements were all gone, and it was just him. Optimus noticed Starscream flying around and then, with a flourish, landed next to him with his blasters locked on Dreadwing. “So much for your numbers advantage, Dreadwing.” Starscream smirked at the Decepticon commander.

Dreadwing looked at Starscream and Optimus and decided to transform and fly off. Starscream blinked as he was ready to pursue, but Optimus stopped him. “We have to find the relic. Pursuing Dreadwing is not our priority.”

“But he is also looking for the relic. He is a threat and should be eliminated before he finds the relic before us!” Starscream argued,

“We have deduced that humans might be in possession of the relic. We must make sure the humans are not in danger from Decepticon forces.” Optimus explained, and Starscream groaned in frustration.

“Well then, where do we go, oh mighty Prime?” Starscream asked with some sass.

Optimus pulled out his tracker and recalibrated it to follow the signal of the relic. “We go south.” As Optimus began to walk in that direction, to where the relic might be located.

Starscream and Optimus began their walk to find where the relic could possibly be. After 30 minutes of walking, they found a military research station in the Arctic. Starscream sighed in relief, “Well, let's get the fragging relic.”

Starscream began to walk when Optimus stopped him. “We must clear the base before entering.” Optimus told him,

Starscream just blinked at the Prime. “Seriously?! I understand you have a fondness for humans, Prime. But Dreadwing doesn’t have the same tact and caution as you do, and he is still out there!”

Optimus commed the base, “Rafael, is Agent Fowler conscious?”

“I’m here, Prime.” Agent Fowler answered through the comms.

Optimus told Agent Fowler he needed the research base cleared before he and Starscream could proceed. Agent Fowler got to work in 20 minutes, and they cleared the base. As soon as Starscream saw the humans gone, he transformed and flew to the base at breakneck speed.

Optimus shook his head as he rushed after the impatient seeker. Optimus rushes after Starscream towards the base. Starscream lands and begins searching for the relic amongst all the buildings. Optimus finally gets to the base and sees Starscream attempting to look into a window of one of the buildings. “Starscream…did you forget I have the signal of the relic on my tracker?”

Starscream makes a face and stands up, “Right…so where is the relic?”

Optimus looks at his tracker and begins to walk towards what looks like a hangar. Optimus opens the door and looks inside to see the relic encased in a massive block of ice. Starscream blinked at the massive chunk of ice, “How the heck did humans carry this?! Even we would have trouble transporting such a large block.”

“Does it matter?” Optimus asked Starscream,

“No…just making an observation. The question is now, how will we acquire it? It’s stuck in the ice!” Starscream pointed at the chunk of ice in the hangar.

“It doesn't matter; neither of you will be taking that relic!” A voice from behind the two rang out. Starscream and Optimus turned to see Dreadwing with his Gatling Gun pointed at the two.

Starscream and Optimus pulled out their own weapons. “You will not be taking this relic, Dreadwing.”

Starscream’s optics flickered between the relic and their opponent. Before anyone could fire, Optimus charged at Dreadwing and tackled him so that he was farther away from the hangar. Starscream just blinked, “Well, that’s one method.” He said under his breath and turned back to the relic.

Dreadwing dropped his Gatling Gun and was struggling to break out of Optimus’s grasp. He then managed to flip Optimus over and shoved him into the icy ground. Dreadwing stood up as Optimus struggled to get to his pedes. Dreadwing ran for his Gatling Gun, but he was shot at by Starscream and fell back into the snow.

Starscream then looked back at the relic and, with the heat from his blaster head, began using the residual heat to begin melting through the massive ice block the relic was stuck in. Starscream watched as the ice began to turn to water and drip down the block. Starscream rolled his optics and groaned as he murmured, “This is gonna take a bit…”

Dreadwing groaned as Optimus grabbed his wing and, with all the strength he could muster, tried to throw Dreadwing as far as he could. He went flying and slid through the icy ground. Dreadwing crashed into a far-off building, and unbeknownst to Optimus, Dreadwing managed to drop one of his explosives near where he was standing.

Optimus’s optics widened, and he heard the beeping as he looked down. Optimus then booked it and ran away to avoid the blast. Optimus heard the blast, and the wave of the blast caused him to fall forward as Dreadwing rushed over during the confusion with his sword drawn. Optimus rolled over and saw Dreadwing jump up in the air as he tried to bring down the blade on Optimus. Optimus pulled out his blade and blocked Dreadwing’s attack.

Starscream watched as his blaster cooled down, and he grumbled. “Great.” He powered up his blaster to keep the heat going. “What a waste of energy…”

“Do you require assistance?” A voice that sounded exactly like Starscream’s said. Starscream stood up and began scanning the room, looking for the being or cause of someone to speak with his voice. He then saw a shadow behind the crates in the hangar.

Starscream shouted, “Who are you? Why mimic my voice? Is this a sick joke?!”

“Mimic?” The voice said, “But this is my voice…” It sounded sad and hurt by Starscream’s question.

“NO! It’s my voice!” He shrieked,

Starscream then heard pede steps, and a pair of red optics were glowing in the darkness. Starscream’s optics went wide as his jaw went slack. An exact copy of him walked out. The only real difference is where he had red accents on his frame; this one had yellow accents instead. “What is this?! Who are you?!”

“Uh…” The mystery copy said nervously, tapping his digits together. “I’m…Sunstorm.”

“Sunstorm?” Starscream said his blaster was still trained on this Sunstorm individual.

Sunstorm looked nervous as he kept his optics on Starscream’s blaster. “Yes, I am Sunstorm…who are you?”

“Who am I? WHO AM I?!” Starscream repeated, almost offended by Sunstorm’s naivety. “I am Starscream, second-in-, former second-in-command of the Decepticon Armada!”

“OH!” Sunstorm smiled gleefully, he rushed over and grabbed Starscream’s servo, “The infamous Starscream! Ah! It’s such a pleasure to meet you!” Sunstorm vigorously shook Starscream’s servo as Starscream just stared confused by this bot.

Sunstorm let go of Starscream’s servo. “Ah! My creator spoke at length about you! You’re incredible!”

“Creator? Who created you?” Starscream asked as another explosion rang out. Starscream turned, “Scrap! Prime needs help.” He looked at Sunstorm, “Unless you can melt ice super quickly…”

“I can!” Sunstorm said as his wings flapped happily. He rushed over to the massive block of ice, and his servos began to glow a bright yellow color. Starscream watched as the heat produced from Sunstorm’s servos quickly melted the ice super fast and in a matter of a minute the relic fell out onto the floor. Sunstorm picked it up, “Here you go!”

Starscream just stared at Sunstorm for a moment. “The frag was that?!”

Oh! Yeah that…I’m a defect, and my outlier ability lets me produce radiation heat! I can also shoot heat blasts! It’s really cool!” Sunstorm said confidently,

Starscream just slowly took the relic and then looked back out at the battle. “Hey…how good is your aim?”

Sunstorm tilted his head at Starscream, who was now evilly smirking. Starscream grabbed Sunstorm’s arm and pointed at Dreadwing, who was wrestling with Optimus. “See that seeker? Shoot him.”

“Why?” Sunstorm asked,

“Because he’s an enemy of mine and is gonna hurt Prime!” Starscream points at Optimus, who was now kicking Dreadwing so that he would let go of him.

Sunstorm nodded at Starscream and held out his servos, and a blast of energy surged out of his palm and at Dreadwing. The beam hit Dreadwing in the shoulder as he roared in pain. Optimus looked over, confused as to why there were two Starscreams. But the really interesting thing was what was happening to Dreadwing’s shoulder. The metal was melting as it was molten. The part of his shoulder armor was bright red and dripping into the icy ground, and sizzling as it melted the ice. Dreadwing roared in pain as he clutched his shoulder, but only ended up burning his servo.

“What the frag is this, Prime?!” Dreadwing asked with a sense of fear in his voice as he looked up at Optimus.

Optimus looked on in horror as the energon blood began to spurt out of the open wound of the eaten-away plating. Dreadwing looked over and saw two Starscreams. But then Sunstorm aimed again as Dreadwing held out his servo, “I yield!”

Starscream blocked Sunstorm as Dreadwing painfully got to his pedes as more of his armor melted. He was wincing in pain and looking at Starscream with the relic. Optimus looked at Dreadwing, “Go.”

Starscream smirked, and Sunstorm lowered his servos and looked upset. Dreadwing called for a ground bridge. As the bridge opened, he practically limped into the portal and disappeared as the ground bridge disappeared.

Optimus turned to Starscream and Sunstorm. He was just…confused, “What…who…who is that?”

Starscream smiled and faced Sunstorm, “This is Sunstorm.”

Notes:

Didn't expect that, did ya? Now let's see what our new seeker has to offer.

Chapter 44: Sunstorm and Rainbows

Summary:

Dreadwing was badly injured by Sunstorm, as Starscream and Optimus were confused about where this copy of Starscream came from.

Dreadwing left the Arctic, and Starscream smiled triumphantly at Sunstorm, who looked very nervous. Sunstorm waved his servo at Optimus, “Uh…Hello…”

Optimus walked over as Starscream handed the relic to Optimus. Optimus looked at the relic, “This is the Apex Armor…I am glad we got this armor instead of letting it fall into Decepticon hands.”

“The Apex Armor, huh? Sounds fancy.” Starscream mused,

Sunstorm felt nervous in the presence of the Prime. Optimus turned to Sunstorm, “Who are you exactly?”

“I told you his designation is Sunstorm.” Starscream looked at Sunstorm, “He was in the hangar!”

“Ok…” Optimus looks at Sunstorm, “Why were you in the hangar?”

Starscream paused…yeah…why was Sunstorm in the hangar? Starscream turned to Sunstorm, “Why were you in the hangar?”

Sunstorm pauses and blinks, “Oh, the ground bridge brought me here. Then I saw all the little creatures run away and fly off. I just stayed in the hangar until they were all gone. Then you all came and well…here we are.”

Optimus and Starscream exchanged looks. “Ok…where did you bridge from?” Optimus is now a bit nervous and still confused.

“The lab.” Sunstorm answered,

“What lab?” Starscream asked,

“My creator's lab.” Sunstorm answered again as if it was obvious.

Starscream blinked “Right…you said your creator was a fan of mine?” Starscream asked, now curious to know who this creator was.

“Jhiaxus is his designation.” Sunstorm explained, both Optimus and Starscream looked shocked to hear that name of all names: Jhiaxus, the famed scientist from Cybertron’s golden age. Starscream and Skyfire attended the academy named after him! Everyone assumed he perished ages ago…but to find out he is not only alive, but for some reason made a clone of Starscream? So many questions.

“Wait, Jhiaxus made you?! The famed scientist? I thought he was dead?” Starscream asked, still in disbelief.

Optimus was listening to this and was getting more and more confused and concerned. “Why did you use the ground bridge to come to Earth, Sunstorm?” Optimus asked the seeker, as Sunstorm faced Optimus, he paused as his wings drooped.

“I uh…escaped and punched in some random coordinates and ended up here.” Sunstorm said meekly,

“Escaped?” Starscream raised a brow, “Why…why did you run away?”

Sunstorm crossed his arms and clutched them in a defensive and hurt stance. “My outlier ability allows me to produce radiation and manipulate it. My create-, Jhiaxus, saw me as defective. So to find purpose for me, he devised a device that would use me as a sort of…battery as an alternative to energon-based equipment.”

Optimus looked at Sunstorm with some pity and felt bad for the seeker. Starscream clenched his servos in anger, hearing this. “It reminds me of when Shockwave wanted to use Skywarp as an alternative to ground bridging to conserve energon resources… Thank Primus, Megatron talked him out of it.”

Starscream looked at Sunstorm, “I’m guessing his lab isn’t far if you were able to ground bridge here.”

“It’s on the moon.” Sunstorm stated,

Starscream paused…they surveyed the Earth’s moon when they arrived on Earth years ago…they would have noticed or possibly picked up Jhiaxus’s lab. How was he undetected and yet so close by? And how did he get energon?

“So…can you elaborate as to why Jhiaxus…cloned me?” Starscream gestured up and down at Sunstorm.

Sunstorm tilted his head, “I don’t know. I wasn’t the only one.” Sunstorm spoke,

Starscream felt a chill going down his spinal struts. “Great…There are others.” Starscream then looked over at Optimus, “Well, we have a new problem to look into.”

“Jhiaxus is a renowned scientist. Whatever his intentions are, the relics are more of a priority right now than whatever Jhiaxus is planning.” Optimus stated,

Easy for Optimus to say there isn’t a supposedly not-dead and renowned scientist cloning him. Closest thing Optimus had to a clone was Silas making that doppelganger of him.

There was a long pause; both Optimus and Starscream were waiting to see what the other was going to say. Sunstorm was the one who spoke up first, “So…are you going to leave?”

“We have acquired what we were looking for.” Optimus looks down at the Apex Armor.

Starscream pulled Optimus to the side, “One moment, Sunstorm.” The two walked over to the other side of the hangar.

“This is so strange.” Starscream said, “A clone of me with a different outlier ability? I mean, I would think he could be a long-lost sibling of mine. But…Primus, it’s weird hearing my own voice coming out of someone else…”

“I understand you are…unnerved by recent circumstances. I, too, find this all strange.” Optimus looks back over at Sunstorm, who is looking at a snowmobile curiously. “I do not sense any malicious intent from Sunstorm. But I am hesitant to let him come back with us to base.”

“Understandable. You don’t even want me there…” Starscream scoffed, “But he seems more like a lost sparkling than a dangerous warrior.”

Sunstorm continues to explore and is looking into the windows of the research base. “That may be true…but considering that we are on a hunt for Iacon relics, adding a new variable to our mission could be considered a hindrance.”

“I can take him. He is…a variant of me?” Starscream wasn’t sure that Sunstorm was a true clone of him, but…more like an unusual copy. “I just need to bridge back to where I am staying.”

“Understandable. But be wary, his outlier ability seems very…dangerous.” Optimus said as Sunstorm tapped a window. Starscream shook his head at the curious seeker. He walked over, and Optimus watched Sunstorm and Starscream's interactions. Sunstorm smiled as his wings flapped happily and he rushed over and hugged Starscream.

Starscream looked at Optimus, who looked like he was communicating with the base, and a ground bridge portal opened. Optimus walked over to the two seekers, “This will drop you near the Harbinger.”

“Thank you, Optimus.” Starscream said as Sunstorm let go of him. Sunstorm also thanked Optimus as he bounced happily that he got to have more time with Starscream. The two seekers walked through the portal and vanished to the other side.

Optimus called for his own ground bridge, and he went back to base…only to walk into utter chaos.

Notes:

I know this was a super short chapter, but I wanted to give Sunstorm some time to shine! And well…OP and Star had questions