So I've been devouring the IDW comics for Transformers lately. I'd followed the More Than Meets the Eye line but nothing much else (drunk, insane robots on a fool's journey is amazingly fun), but the events of Shockwave brought my attention back to the main cast and what's been going on. I'd dropped IDW for about about a year or so and since catching up, I've developed a new favorite in Windblade. Her character is amazing in so many ways and she's a truly unique character, especially in her interactions with Starscream. Seeing a character who doesn't trust him, but is willing to believe in him while still being wary of just how untrustworthy he acts is a nice character for him to be around. Since he lost Megatron, he really needs a good dynamic. After all, the seeker is at his best when showing how he interacts with and manipulates the people around him.

Writing a story that focuses on Windblade and Starscream working around one another seemed like a fun idea and after brainstorming a few ideas on plots I think I came up with something that could be fun to read. Mostly focusing on the Ores that Shockwave created. I don't know if Windblade was just wrong about Starscream mining Metroplex for the Ores since when she brought it up to him he didn't deny it, but after learning Chromia was responsibly for the blackouts and bombings, she didn't bring the Ores up again. As far as I know it was never addressed further, even though this should still be a concern for the cityspeaker. I figured it would be fun to pick up on.

This takes place directly after Windblade #1-4. I just read Combiner Wars and I like the idea of the council of other colonies but as those stories are still in the process of being told I don't want to use them. I might have an idea that a later issue might mess with after all. I might however borrow ideas from it later on, like the idea of the forming of said council.

Despite this story is mostly going to focus on Starscream and Windblade though, this is not a shipping story for the two of them. I like Starscream and Megatron together, and due to the comics I also have developed a fondness for Windblade hooking up with Waspinator. Poor thing needs some affection and she honestly seems to care about him and his well being. Still, I can see the appeal of Starscream/Windblade so if you're a fan give this a read. No, they'll never get together but they are going to grow close in a platonic sense, or as close as Starscream can get to anyone while still acting out as he does.

That being said, there will be adult themes in this story like "interfacing" and mentions of a homosexual relationship. If this bothers you for any reason, you might not wish to read further. Everyone has preferences and if these bother you I'd rather not offend anyone on accident. Also, as note I do not own Transformers. All this is IDW, Hasbro, and others in the creative team involved. I only do this fic for fun.

Chapter 1: If Only I Knew

The night on Cybertron felt almost stifling with how warm it was, even hotter to those that were working late. In the brain module of Metroplex, Windblade was moving around as she replaced wires and fuses that were damaged, checked on progress reports on the power levels, made lists of materials she needed for new repairs and prioritized lists of complaints and needs of the citizens of Iacon she'd received that still needed to be addressed. Despite the heat, she moved around at a hurried pace, trying to get as much done as she could as her internal fans worked hard to keep her own systems cool.

The seasons were changing, the weather getting warmer, which was good. If Metroplex didn't have to worry about heating the city, power needs would go down by at least ten percent and maybe fifteen if she was lucky. She hoped the extra energy could go toward healing the titan desperately needed.

"Are you going to stay up all night again?"

Windblade paused from what she was looking over on a datapad but didn't turn to the source of the voice, usually so strong and firm now oddly quiet and subdued. She didn't want to face Chromia right now. She hadn't wanted to face her for the last few days, and had used the excuse of staying busy to keep a distance between them. It's not that she wanted to punish her friend but... what had happened, the bombs... three Cybertronians dead for no reason...

"I have a few things I need to finish up," she answered as she went back to work, taking stock of spare parts she had, not all of them needed. She'd have to see about bartering them off for what she was short on. Maybe if she asked nicely, Swindle could cut her a deal.

"Windblade, you need to recharge," Chromia stated. "You haven't been to your berth for days."

"I've been recharging here," she explained. "Too much to-"

"A few hours at your station is not enough to run on! You're going to hurt yourself! I didn't risk everything just for you to work yourself to death for these people!"

Her fingers stopped typing out on the datapad before she slowly put it down and turned to face her bodyguard. Despite herself, she couldn't quite lift her helm to look at the other bot, even though she knew she would have been more firm if she had.

"That risk you took is exactly why I'm doing this," she explained. "I need... I just need to fix these problems. I can't look like I'm not trying right now. Starscream could rat us out any time he wants. He could always decide to send for another cityspeaker, one who didn't get tricked into almost killing countless Cybertronians just to get back home."

Chromia flinched at the words though Windblade didn't feel all that guilty. She felt used right now and needed her space. She knew eventually it would go away though... eventually... she hoped.

"The best chance we have is to make him happy with my work again. Besides, even if that wasn't true, Metroplex is trying so hard for everyone right now. He needs me."

"One lone cityspeaker isn't supposed to try to take care of a whole Metrotitan alone. A whole team should be on this."

"I'm the only one here. I'm not about to shirk responsibilities. He's a living being and he's in pain. My recharge schedule is much less important."

"It's not to me."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you aren't going to be making decisions based on your priorities anymore then."

The second cutting remark did the trick, though this time there was guilt in Windblade's spark. She tried her best to ignore it, even as Chromia looked on her, her expression clearly hurt. The blue bot just lowered her helm before turning around to leave.

"Alright. I'll just... I'll see you in the morning then," she stated. "Please recharge at least a little though."

"I will," the seeker promised, though she didn't honestly know if she'd keep the promise. She should. Her power levels weren't doing well. Most of them were just creeping up on the red, but she wasn't really doing any heavy lifting or anything, just mostly taking stock and getting through backlog. She'd be fine.

She'd certainly faced worse things these last few months than a handful of days without a proper night in her berth.

The cityspeaker's first experiences with Cybertron had been rocky, to say the least. It was a planet torn apart by war, not even fully habitable now, and there were still so many that wanted to continue fighting. It was dangerous a lot of the time and she had already seen her fair share of risks living here than she had most of her life on Caminus. Of course, a planet struggling for peace after recovering from a war she didn't completely understand was bound to have some trouble. Everything she'd heard over her stay, the battles, the companions slain or lost, stretching on for millions of years, it made her wonder how anything had survived at all. All of that though was only a scratch on the surface of something she didn't entirely understand, a side-effect of being an alien to the world.

It was a history that was so old but it was still all new to her. Names that were famous to everyone around here still were unknowns to her and it made her helm spin at times. So many lines drawn, so many causes fought for and lost, only to be revived again and again.

As much as she hated to admit it, she could understand why Chromia has been so desperate to get her away from here.

Not that she could judge or felt she even wanted to. It was not a cityspeaker's role in existence to take sides or to chose one way over the other. It was important to keep balance and help all life. Of course, it was easier said than done. Not everything could be saved. Caminus itself had problems, a world that might not survive if left dormant. She had left her home in the hopes to save it and had found herself in more danger than she could have ever imagined.
Caminus was hardly perfect, but it was what she was used to. The Way of the Flame taught reverence, balance, and to help all that were in need. It didn't mean it always did so, but through the teachings she'd learned her way of life. While not as religious as she probably should have been, she did have her philosophies and the truths she knew she had to hold onto.

Coming to Cybertron at the end of a war millions of years in the making painted the world in a worse light than it actually was, as well as its people. She believed that in the deepest core of her spark. There were those here that had been hurt badly and who lashed out, but it was not hard to see why. No one here did the things they did without reason. She'd seen into both sides, though admittedly only a little, but she had learned something from both Autobots and Decepticons.

Each one had their belief they were the one hurt in all of this, and that they'd hurt the other side only in retaliation. It wasn't what the Autobots claimed, that all Decepticons were evil monsters, and neither was every Autobot filled with the desire to subjugate everyone around them. At the core, deep down in almost every Cybertronian she met and talked with at any length of time, there was a memory of pain inside of them and the desire for a better world.

The only problem was that everyone seemed to have a different idea what could make the world a better place.

The cityspeaker wanted to believe no one was evil for the sake of being evil. There was no villain standing on a roof cackling his evil plans for domination or destruction or whatever other cliché just for fun thing said villain could think of. There was always a belief behind it, a reason for what he or she was doing. She'd seen it in her own bodyguard, in Autobots, and in Decepticons. She'd seen people hurt and struggling, powerful and dominating, yet all with the same idea.

"I'm not the one at fault. I did what I had to."

It was terrifying to her that such truths could be so convincing to other bots. They really saw it so black and white. They did see the other side as that cackling villain that only hurt others just because it was easy.

She'd never believed such senseless monstrosity could exist, that there was always a reason for those actions... but she'd also once believed Chromia would never betray her, and that there were pure souls out there that only wanted to help. She'd seen Optimus Prime let the Decepticon leader who'd started all of this go free, bending rules on technicalities for reasons she couldn't even fathom and she'd done the same by bargaining with Starscream to save her bodyguard even after she'd murdered three Cybertronians just to convince her charge to go home.

Her convictions had been so much stronger when she'd first come to Cybertron. Now... she didn't know anymore. She'd heard countless times from the citizens of this planet the ends had been meant to justify the means, and she'd seen what such thinking had led to. To her, finding balance was what was supposed to be right.

Only she hadn't felt like she'd been balancing anything lately. She'd been compromising one principle to ensure the survival of another. What good were the greater morals though when the smaller ones where thrown aside along the way? It was like a house built without foundation, doomed to fall.

Such thoughts had been troubling her a lot these nights. It was enough. She had to do something about it. True, Windblade did not understand everything yet. There were still so many questions that needed answers, problems to fix, and Cybertronians to help. It was a job that had been started so long ago and here she was only at the end. She was only one bot and she certainly knew she couldn't possibly solve it all by herself. She didn't even fully understand it yet. Even those she worked closely with were mysteries to her, but she had to do something. These thoughts plaguing her would eat her alive otherwise.
This war and the fragile peace that had followed was a knot. A million little problems that had long ago turned into a huge mess that needed to be sorted out. One couldn't go straight to the core to fix it all in one fell swoop. Little things had to be taken care of first, problems understood and fixed, cords made free from the snarl as it were.

Windblade was only one bot. She knew for a fact she could never solve everything. It was too much, but she could start small. She could find a tangled cord and unravel it with a little work. With every tangle the lines would become easier, freeing others around her from this mess they were now trapped in, perhaps those that could help her with all of this. Maybe with enough work and time this problem could be solved head on not by her alone, but by all the Cybertronians who'd been hurt in this long conflict.

To do that though, she needed to help those that could help her. Ironically enough, the one that had struck her as the most powerful to assist to clean up this mess was also the one most caught up in it.

Starscream was a walking mass of complexities and she'd been confused by him before. More often than not it seemed harder to talk to him than it was to talk to Metroplex. A grand titan was complicated, old, and had thoughts that could span the stars and thus were hard to comprehend at times, even to those trained to do so. The leader of Cybertron was much younger and smaller of course, but was every bit as complex. There seemed to be layers around him of bitterness and hate. He was arrogant. He was cruel and conniving. He thought about himself first and foremost.

He'd screamed for the lives of other Cybertronians.

Windblade could have warped the space bridge to her needs so easily. She could have had Metroplex go to her home. Starscream couldn't have stopped her. He'd struggled fruitlessly and begged... but not for himself.

He'd begged for others.

It was the thought she kept coming back to. It was something she couldn't forget or let go of. He was well inside Metroplex right alongside of her. His own life wasn't in danger, neither was his rule. The ones that didn't die would still see him as a leader and he'd be able to easily blame her and Chromia for the deaths that would have resulted. It would tarnish her and make him look like a defender. It would have gained him so much to just let her do it. Even if he'd been stranded on her planet, he'd still have had so many willing to follow him and suddenly have an excuse to wage war on and try to conquer a new world he wanted anyway.

So why hadn't he just stayed quiet and let her do it? He hadn't known about the other colonies. He hadn't known he still had something to gain from Windblade. She'd told him all that afterward to ensure Chromium's safety and he'd agreed then for his own gain.

At that moment he'd acted for himself but before he'd acted for others.

Everyone she had talked to had told her the same thing, that Starscream only cared for Starscream. Surely he was the most selfish Cybertronian alive. It was the common opinion, right? If everyone thought that though, how did he get chosen to be put in charge? Why had he actually visited her in the hospital when he actually hadn't been the one to attack her? She'd thought he only wanted to gloat, maybe finish the job and yet he'd actually been innocent and she'd been wrong. He could have just wanted to know what was going on but she didn't honestly know anymore because he was just too confusing. It wasn't safe to assume she knew any of his reasoning anymore. So she kept coming back to the important questions, unable to move on from it. What did Starscream really want and how was it he hoped to gain anything when using such horrible methods guaranteed to make enemies?

And why... why had he been concerned for lives that weren't his own when he had nothing to gain from it?

Windblade had once believed in Starscream to an extent. She'd wanted him to be a good leader. Not from any merits of his own of course. It was because any rightful ruler should care about his land and people. She'd had faith more in an ideal than the bot, but it had still been there. Then when she'd thought he had tried to kill her, she wanted nothing more than to do everything in her power to stop him to save Metroplex. She would have killed him if she'd had a chance, believing him to be a monster.

She felt like she'd walked away from that experience a little wiser. To be honest, she hadn't been right either time. Starscream wasn't a good mech by any stretch of the imagination but he hadn't been responsible either. He'd come to her suspecting her as the one at fault, and he hadn't been far off the mark either.

That's what rubbed her the worst, that in this case he had been completely in the right. He'd been undermined by Chromia, taking the blame for these actions caused by her bodyguard before sweeping it all under the rug, though not very successfully. The official story was it was all maintenance, that the bomb had been just a natural explosion because Metroplex was hurt and such things would happen time to time.

Very few had bought the lie, and Starscream had not enjoyed the attention or bad press it had gotten him. The glares he'd sent her after the press release had made her plating ache uncomfortably. Even her giving a statement with him confirming his story hadn't seemed to sway the public. Not that anyone blamed her. If anything it seemed she was being cast in the sympathetic light, caught under the ruler's thumb and being sabotaged every step of the way.
It wouldn't have surprised her if he'd dropped the whole deal right then and there just to spite her. He didn't seem the type to like taking blame even for things he had done, much less what other bots were responsible for.

She'd scurried home to Metroplex after that and hadn't seen the other seeker since.

It was clear to her that she didn't know the first thing about Starscream. Her predictions about what he wanted and his behavior couldn't have been more off. It made him impossible to predict, and that was a huge problem considering she was going to have to maneuver around him for a long time to get her work done.

Windblade would much rather work with him. She didn't want to have to try and play this game, guessing his moves and trying to sort out which ones would help her and which ones would hinder her. She didn't want to allow some of his schemes to go through while stopping others. Despite her home being a theology, she was no politician. A member of the Way of Flame that ruled over the people, yes, but she'd never been trained for this sort of thing. She wasn't a liar or a schemer. In effect, working against him would be trying to beat him at his own game and she didn't much fancy her odds.

There was already a million ways he could stab her in the back and make it look completely justified. Because... well, it was justified. She'd bought freedom for herself and Chromia by promising him something in return, but it didn't make what had happened any less real.

Without knowing Starscream properly, she didn't have a chance working either with him or against him. Could she even work with him now? She didn't know.
One thing she did know about him though was that he was troubled. He surrounded himself with people he couldn't trust yet seemed to constantly be looking for the next betrayal. It was like he was painting a target on his back before snarling at anyone who came close before even knowing if the dagger or actual help was in store for him. She didn't know entirely why that was but she had her suspicions.

She knew he'd been a part of the war, a large part. Decepticons weren't exactly trustworthy and he'd been in charge of a lot of them. The war hadn't been kind on anyone and he couldn't have been an exception. What had happened to him back then to make him this way?

Windblade wanted to be his ally, despite everything. She had to save Caminus. To save Caminus she had to save Cybertron. To save Cybertron she had to somehow deal with Starscream.

She just didn't know how to pull off that last part.

She looked down at the datapad in her grip and her vents suddenly kicked into overdrive, blowing out the hot air that seemed to be clinging to her just underneath of her armor plating. This was getting her nowhere. It would do her no good just to hide in here and feel guilty over her mistakes. Whatever she did or didn't know about Starscream wasn't going to come together by staying away from him. There was just nothing else for it. She needed to get to know him better. Even if he was the sneaky bastard everyone said he was, at least getting a feel for his patterns would help her along the way of predicting him better. He most certainly wasn't an ally at this point but she didn't relish the thought of having him as an enemy either.

Somehow she had to fix this. It certainly wasn't going to do her any good to just wait around. Every day that passed, the space bridge became closer to completion. There was only so much time, even if she were to delay the repairs to that particular part of Metroplex. Something she wasn't willing to risk, given that Starscream would no doubt see it as a break in their deal.

She put the datapad down after saving the progress she'd made and walked out from the room she'd been doing her work. There was no reason to delay. Maybe Starscream was still working. He seemed to be on call during the entire cycle anyway. With luck she might even catch him in a good mood. It would help, since she didn't know exactly what she was even going to say to him. For now, maybe it might be best just to clear the air.

She'd considered flying but she was so low on reserve energy right now, she didn't want to waste any on flight. Besides, it would be nice to stretch her servos and actually walk. Being cooped up wasn't doing her frame any favors.

Despite the late hour, there were still plenty of other bots up and about. Some greeted her warmly though most just passed her by in the crowds. She smiled and nodded back to them, already feeling a little bit better.

Maccadam's New Oil House was along the way, buzzing with activity as usual. It made her spark ache to think about how much everyone there had helped her, even if it had mostly been for the patrons to get back at Starscream. They'd helped her a lot when she'd asked for it, and it made her feel grateful. Even if she never came to an understanding with the leader of Cybertron at least she knew there were those that did indeed have her back.

A little bit of a commotion right at the door caught her attention. A few bots where there, seeming to be shoving someone out. Her optics widened in surprise when she saw Waspinator fall to the floor, buzzing and doing his best to stay out of the way and not get the rise of those that had pushed him. They all looked ready to start kicking and stomping on him.

"Hey!" she cried out as she rushed over, pushing past the crowd to reach the bots that were looming over him. She didn't know any of them, and there was no Decepticon or Autobot symbol on any of them. Members of NAIL then? It's not like independents didn't cause trouble before for both sides. "What's going on here? What are you doing to him?"

"Stinking Con snuck over and was drinking out of my energon!" the biggest one snapped. Windblade didn't get too close. He seemed angry and was literally twice her size, not to mention his friends who weren't quite as big as him but much larger than her. "I could have kicked his aft! He's lucky I just brought him out here!"

She was pretty sure the whole reason he'd been brought out here was to abuse the poor thing, but if pretending this bot was graceful enough not to resort to violence would help her settle this without trouble it was worth it.

"Look, I'm sorry my friend stole some of your energon but it is a bar. Bots get drunk and do unwise things all the time. It's nothing to make a scene over. I'm sure he's sorry, aren't you, Waspinator?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder at him. He'd gotten up from the ground and was now cowering behind her. She didn't know if she should feel honored he thought she could protect him or if he was so desperate any kind of shield would do.
He nodded very quickly, as happy as she was to solve this without violence.

"Wazzpinator very sorry!" he said quickly. "Wazzpinator just loozzze helm. Will never do again, Wazzpinator promizzze. Wazzpinator down on luck and creditzzz. Pleazze don't hurt."

It wasn't clear if the groveling or her reasoning got through to the group, but with a little snort and flex of their plating, they're turned and left. Windblade couldn't help the relief that washed over her. She'd rather not have risked a fight.

"Are you okay, Waspinator?" she asked him as she turned around to face him. He looked a little dented and dirty, but otherwise fine. Still, she wanted to make sure he hadn't been injured.

"Windbladezzz save Wazzpinator. Just like against blue lady bot," he said in awe.

"Oh, you mean Chromia. Yeah, well luckily those guys were just as willing to listen to me," she said with a small smile. "I'm glad you're okay, but what are you doing stealing energon?"

"Wazzpinator only took a sip. No creditzzz to pay for energon, see? Swindle took last bit of money. Wazzpinator thought if sneaky enough, wouldn't get caught."

"I guess I can understand but you shouldn't do things like that," she chastised gently.

"To be fair, Wazzpinator didn't get caught much. That wazzz fifth bot Wazzpinator took drink from," he said, his wings flittering suddenly as he grinned.

"Oh... well, good for you then?" she replied, a bit confused. She wasn't sure she should have encouraged such things but he looked so proud of himself. It was not something she saw often with him. "Tell you what, are you still hungry?"

"Uh... a bit. Why?"

"I'm heading off to take care of some business, but if you like we can have some energon when I'm done. Why don't you walk with me?" she invited. "I have plenty back home. I don't mind sharing, especially if it will keep you out of trouble."

Waspinator shrunk a bit inside of himself and clasped his claws together, looking around suddenly as if expecting a trap. Of course there wasn't one and after a few minutes of fidgeting he seemed to calm down and nodded.

"Okay. Where Windbladezzz going?" he asked.

"Just to see Starscream," she answered before she saw him tense suddenly. "Don't worry! You can wait outside! I don't think it will take long anyway. I know you don't like him after all."

"Uh... well... uh... gee..." he buzzed a bit, seeming even more frantic than before. "Starzzzcream might want to hurt Wazzpinator. Did fight him after all."

"Well, that was smoothed over. No worries," the seeker assured him. "Of course, if you don't want to than you don't have to. I just thought you'd like the company and a meal."

"Wazzpinator izzz still hungry..." he admitted slowly. "Okay."

"Great. Come on then. I'll try not to take too long," she said, holding out her hand to him. "Shall we go?"

He looked down at her hand and up to her face a few times before he shoved both of his own behind his back and looked away suddenly. She felt confused on what could be the matter, but before she could ask he was already walking along, scurrying even.

Well, he was a strange sort of bot. Just another one she wished she understood better. One thing at a time though.

She fell into step with him and walked along. A few attempts at small talk later, and he seemed to come around. While he didn't say as much as she did, it was pleasant company at least. She did her best to stay away from the topic of where they were going, instead just talking about the city and her job, how repairs where going along on the titan and the past sixth months. While he didn't share much about himself, he nodded to her words and seemed to genuinely listen. It was a good sign he was becoming comfortable.

Conniving bots were outside of her realm of experience but a mech in obvious need of a friend was something she knew very well as a cityspeaker.

"Well, we're here," she said as they reached their destination. The headquarters of the housing of Starscream's government office was as big as ever, as overly large and gloomy as it always looked, and every bit as intimidating. Despite his facade of a caring and friendly politician, he certainly enjoyed trying to make himself bigger and scarier than everyone around him. What a contradiction, especially since it made working with him so hard, something he was always trying to convince everyone is what they needed to do.

Did he try to be confusing on purpose or was he just not as good at manipulating people as he thought he was? Well, he was in charge of a planet. That had to indicate something.

"I'm going to go inside. Do you want to wait here or go to his office?" she asked. "Somewhere to sit might be nice for you and I don't think there are many inside right now."

"Wazzpinator go with you. Might be loose valuables lying around," he said. "Need to pay off some debts."

"I... I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," she decided hesitantly before going inside with him. Not like it should bother her if he got a few credits off of Starscream, though something told her that she was compromising morality again in a bad way. It was hard to be strict though when he looked so needy. He wasn't a bot that got a lot of breaks in his life.

The building was empty, mostly, except for some guards. She was waved through, though glared at, and she kept Waspinator close just in case. It wasn't until she reached Starscream's office did she see someone else outside of security. Rattrap was at a desk just outside, tapping away furiously on a datapad which he stuffed out of sight the second he noticed the pair. Right, because that didn't look suspicious at all.

"I'm here to see Lord Starscream. Is he still working?" she informed the bot before he could ask.

"Boss is always working," he grunted. "It's a bit late past appointment times though."

"It's an impromptu visit," Windblade explained. "I'll only be a bit."

"Hey, wait. You can't just go... Hey! I saw that! You put that statue down right now!" Rattrap snapped, shifting gears suddenly when he saw Waspinator trying to slip something valuable behind his back. She didn't mind the distraction, sneaking past the pair and slipping in the door before she could be stopped. Morals or no morals, she knew an opportunity when she saw one.

"By Primus, what is that vermin's problem now?" the seeker inside hissed as he looked up from his desk from whatever he was working on. The room was bathed in shadows, only the light of a monitor on at his desk, making it hard to see anything but his face that furrowed in displeasure at the sight of her. "Oh, it's you."

The femme couldn't help but wince, but at least he wasn't trying to torture her again. So far, so good.

End of Chapter 1

Windblade, you're more optimistic than I would be in your shoes. It's not personal though, he doesn't really like anyone.
On a side note, if the universe hates Waspinator it's nothing compared to how my spell check feels about him. So many Z's it tried to erase. It hated it.

If you liked it, please review. If you hated it, please review and pretend you enjoyed it for my sake.